(A/N) okay, so this chapter isn't entirely new. its just a redo of the one I removed, updated to fit better with TDRI, which is finally airing (in canada). no major changes other than a few character discriptions and names.
also, sorry it took so long to get this out but... I got skyrim for christmas X). not as a gift mind you, bought it my self and I have to say... its th best 60 bucks Ive ever spent. it just doesnt stop. Ive played it every day for the last 3 weeks and everyday I discover something new. if you havent picked up this game yet, do it now... oh, and this also got me interested in doing an elder scrolls fic.
anyway, Im wanting to get another chapter of this up tomorrow to make up fro the long wait for this rather lack luster prize. no promises though. Im going to try to be more diligent with my writing from now on, but Im still really busy with school (why the hell did I sign up for German 101 lol). so anyway, enjoy.
Chapter 1
Five days.
Five long days they'd been traveling the country side, searching for any sign of civilization. They'd found a town once, one with residents who were smart enough to have walled off their little village before the virus reached them. The travelers had tried to enter the town, and maybe make a life there, but they were turned away at the gate. "Outsiders ain't allowed." The man had said, his finger on the trigger of his shotgun. They had been kind enough to supply them with food and some more ammunition, but entering the town was not happening. That was day two. Since then they'd found more towns but they were completely devoid of life… but not so much of the undead. They'd had more than a few shoot outs since leaving Playa des Losers and Duncan's bed sheet full of ammo didn't last as long as he'd thought it would.
Gwen's pregnancy was still unknown to anyone except Leshawna and Bridgette. Five weeks in her belly hadn't started to grow yet which she was thankful for, wanting to keep it a secret from the others as long as possible. Bridgette and Leshawna often snuck her extra food from their rations, which she felt bad about but they all but forced her to take it and watched her until she ate. They had encouraged her to tell the others so that they would understand her dilemma, but Gwen always refused. They would immediately know that Trent was the father and they knew that he had been infected. If they made the connection and realized that the baby might be infected… she didn't want to find out what they might do.
On the fifth day the finally ran out of gas, ironically near a gas station which had been completely cleaned of gasoline, unleaded and diesel. It was Cody that spotted the sign. A typical green road sign that told of specific cities and how far they were from the current location. It was sitting at the foot of what had once been the poles that supported it. The actual name of the city had been spray painted over and it now read, "Fail City, 5 kilometers."
"What do you guys think?" Cody asked. "Could be a lot of supplies there. Gas too."
"Yeah and there could also be a lot of undead brain munchers." Chris pointed out. "Cities are dangerous business."
"Let's take a vote." Courtney said. "I say we go. If there's any chance of finding supplies and food we need to take it, regardless of the dangers."
"I agree with Courtney." Duncan said.
"Only because she's been rocking your world." Chris chuckled. "I say we head another direction."
"I'm with Chris." Heather agreed. "There will probably thousands of zombies in the hordes of a large city, and we're limited on bullets."
"I can't believe these words are coming out of my mouth, but I agree with Heather." Leshawna said, suddenly wanting to brush her teeth afterwards.
"I've got to agree with Courtney and Duncan." Cody said.
All eyes turned to Gwen and Bridgette and immediately Gwen's thoughts turned to the baby. On the one hand supplies and food were definitely needed, and in a large city there was more than a good chance of finding enough food to last them a couple of months, including Gwen's extras for the baby. On the other hand there was no doubt that it would be teeming with zombies, and she was becoming more vulnerable day by day. This early on it might not be a problem, but one slip up or one complication could mean the end for her and the unborn child. She suddenly found herself wondering if zombies could get pregnant or carry a baby to term, but she pushed the foolish idea out of her head.
"Let's do it." She said, before looking to Bridgette.
"Well…" the blonde said, pondering for a moment. "If I say no it'll just be a tie so…" she trailed off and started walking down the road, the others following her without question.
~FIVE KILOMETERS DOWN THE ROAD~
"Sir, we've got eight incoming. Five female, three male."
"Are they infected?"
"Negative. These guys are armed to the teeth. At least two guns each and one of them is carrying… I think it's a pillow case full of arms. Another's got a bed sheet full of ammo."
"Military?"
"Don't think so. Mostly pump action and hand guns. Nothing automatic. No uniforms either."
"Hmm… All right. I'll send someone to check them out. Good work, Brick. You too, Lightning. Over and out."
Brick turned off the walkie-talkie and shoved it back in his pocket. Brick was a young man, not even out of high school before the outbreak. He was muscular, had a rather large chin, and his hair was buzzed down into a crew cut. He wore a tight, military green t-shirt, long blue jean shorts, combat boots, and a pair of dog tags around his neck. Brick was a good soldier, in mindset, trade, and blood. He'd come from a long line of military men and women and was well on his way to joining the armed forces after graduation, but the situation he and his companions currently found themselves in cut his plans short. He returned to the window with his binoculars to continue watching the travelers. He and Brick were inside of an abandoned house, second floor, atop a hill just outside of the Fail City. They'd been put on North-West Sentry duty, North-East and South being occupied by others.
"So what do you think the Boss Man have done with these new drifters?" Lightning asked. He was tall, black, hair cut short; wearing a dark blue and yellow jersey with a "1" on it and a pair of cargo shorts. Like Brick, he wasn't even out of high school when everything began. He had been the typical jock back in those days, playing on the football, basketball, and baseball teams at his school. He was there to watch the door in case any of the undead decided to crash the party.
"Probably the usual." Brick said. "We'll watch them until they leave and if they try to take anything we need we run them out of town."
"Yeah, but the Boss Man could decide to be generous and let them stay, like… like those other two." Lightning growled as he clutched his gun tighter. "Still don't trust them."
"Oh get over it." Brick said. "The only reason you don't trust them is because they almost shot you. They're all right. And one of them can actually help with Cameron's work."
Lightning snorted. "Please. That voodoo the shrimp has been working on is a dead end. You can't cure this. It's the goddamn apocalypse, man!"
"You didn't do too well in school, did you?"
"Did well enough to stay on every team I was on and carry them to victory."
Brick rolled his eyes and turned back to the window. "Whatever." He gazed through the binoculars, spotting the travelers again, but this time he noticed something interesting. "Hey Lightning, come check this out."
Lightning came over and took the binoculars from him. "What am I looking at?"
"Take a good look at our gaggle of drifters." Brick instructed. "You remember those two girls that the new guys are always talking about?"
"Yeah." Lightning said, eyeing the group through the window. "What does that have to do with…? Oh! I see what you're getting at. Well… this just got interesting."
"Indeed." Brick agreed, pulling out his walkie-talkie. "Sir... We've got something interesting here."
~FAIL CITY~
"What are the fucking odds?" Duncan asked, cringing at the gruesome sight before them.
"This can't be accidental." Chris said. "Someone must've put that shirt on it and then impaled it on the sign post."
What they were referring to was a decaying human body which had either fallen onto or intentionally been skewered with a sign post. It was dressed in a black T-shirt with the words "Dead End" printed on it and one of the arms had been position in a way that it pointing into the city. It was a disturbing sight and a clear warning. People weren't wanted here.
"Is it too late to change my vote?" Bridgette questioned.
"Yes." Courtney said as she began the march forward, the others, some reluctantly, following her.
Fail City was what anyone would expect after seeing a zombie apocalypse movie: completely abandoned, cars in the streets, an eerie wind blowing around every corner, the moaning and groaning of the undead in the distance, and of course the foreboding feeling that they were being watched. They made their way through the broad, main roads of city, knowing that the back roads and allies were likely death traps waiting to happen. At first all they came across were office buildings and factories, the latter of which could make good temporary shelters once they stocked up on food and supplies. As they continued deeper into the city, the sounds of the undead became more prominent as did that foreboding feeling. But then it seemed that luck had finally found them.
"Look! A Wal-Mart!" Gwen announced.
"Don't bother." Cody said. "It was most likely… actually, almost definitely picked clean the second the zombie virus was confirmed by the government. What we need to do is find…" Cody stopped as he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. "No way…" He took off running down the road, parallel to the Wal-Mart but not towards it. The others followed after him, having absolutely no idea what he was up to. He stopped at the building directly behind the Wal-Mart, a big smirk on his face. "They actually did." He chuckled.
"What are you talking about, Cody?" Leshawna asked.
"That's a Wal-Mart Distribution Center." Cody explained. "Almost no one knows where these are and they're usually stocked with enough goods to fill ten stores. That is where we're going to grab what we need. There's no doubt in my mind. Even if it was raided, it was only by a few people and I doubt they took more than they can carry."
Taking his word for it, everyone rushed to the front door of the building. Duncan broke the window and unlocked the door. They stepped inside and made their way through the small office area and soon found themselves in the main part of the facility, where everything was stored. Cody was right, it was filled with all kinds of food, supplies, and even guns and ammo.
"Cody, I would kiss you but I don't swing that way." Duncan said before running into the maze of shelves and refrigerators, intent on finding the ice cream. Courtney quickly followed after him, as did Chris, Heather, and Gwen. But Leshawna and Bridgette stayed behind and both gave the skinny boy a quick peck on the cheek at the same time before rushing after their friends.
"And the meek have inherited the earth." Cody chuckled before following after the two girls.
An hour later the group had filled five duffle bags that they'd found with any and all canned food and other foods that wouldn't spoil anytime soon, especially cereal and junk food. The best part was that they were still working on filling at least three more. That much would last them a month, if not longer, if rationed properly.
As Gwen and Bridgette worked on filling the sixth duffle bag with canned vegetables, Duncan walked up to them carrying two cardboard cases of drinks under his arms. "Soda or alcohol?" he asked them.
"What?" Bridgette questioned.
"Soda…" He lifted up his right arm slightly, which carried a case of Dr. Pepper. "… or alcohol?" He lifted the other, which carried a case of beer.
Bridgette didn't even hesitate. "Pop." She said. Duncan set down the case of beer and ripped open the Dr. Pepper box, handing her a can.
"What about you?" He asked Gwen.
"Um… do you have any bottled water, actually?" she asked.
"Let me check." Duncan said, walking off.
Bridgette smiled at her. "Smart choice." She said.
"Everyone knows alcohol can harm unborn babies." Gwen said. "And soda is bad enough for you as it is."
"True." Bridgette said, opening her can. "Not drinking pop does make about a five pound difference at the end of the week…" She took a swig, and sighed as the sweet liquid slid down her throat. "But it tastes so good."
At that point Duncan returned with Gwen's water. "Thanks, Duncan." She said.
Duncan proceeded to pass out refreshments to everyone else, only Chris and himself accepting the offer of alcohol. Then Duncan raised his drink. "Attention, everyone. I'd like to make a toast." He said, causing Courtney to chuckle. "First, to us for having survived this fucking long. But also, to Cody, for if it weren't for him we'd be starving right now."
"And to me and my people, for having let you take as much of our food as you have."
Everyone turned their attention to the nearest end of the isle they were in, finding a woman standing there. She had tanned skin and long, pinkish purple hair braided down to her waist. She wore a yellow tank top and tight blue jeans and she held a sawed off double barrel shot gun in her right hand, pointed into the air. Duncan immediately reached for his gun, but quickly froze as he felt the muzzle of a hand gun pressed against his back. The wielder of this weapon was a black teenager, about as large as Owen was, with a soul patch under his lower lip and a stern look. He wore a dark red baseball cap backwards, a black leather jacket with a red hoodie underneath and a white under shirt below that, and a pair of jeans. Before anyone could go to Duncan's rescue they heard the clicking of another gun behind them. The third intruder was a girl, same age as the other two, with shoulder length blond hair. She wore a gray sweat shirt and sweat pants.
"So here's the plan," the pink haired girl continued. "We're not completely heartless, so you can take one bag and we won't have any problems so long as you leave town."
"So, what? You just get to lay claim to everything in here while other innocent people starve to death?" Courtney demanded.
"As a matter of fact, we do." The blond said, pointing her gun at Courtney. "So why don't you take what we've offered you and move along?"
"Let me handle this, guys." Chris said, slowly moving over to the pink haired girl. "Hi." He said with his signature smile. "I'm Chris McClain. Famous TV star. Hosted Cooking with Chris, almost won a recent figure scatting competition, voiced Scratching Post in the Cats Don't Talk movies. Maybe you've heard of me."
"Nope." she said, lowering her gun and pulled the trigger, sending a shotgun slug flying right past Chris's head faster than the speed of sound. "Now back the fuck up!"
"What?" Chris shouted.
"Idiot." Heather growled.
Cody pulled Chris away before going back to talk to the pink haired girl. "Are there more of you?" he asked.
"What?" the pink haired girl asked.
"Clearly this isn't your base, just a storage facility. You live somewhere else… are there more of you there?" she eyed Cody suspiciously, trying to figure out his angle. "Look, if there are more of you than us, then you have a right to more of the food. It's only fair. Maybe we could speak to your leader, work out some kind of deal?"
After a few seconds of contemplation, the pink haired girl nodded to her larger companion and he tossed her a walkie-talkie from his pocket. "You're actually listening to this guy?" the blond demanded.
"He has an honest face." She responded, putting the walkie-talkie up to her ear. "Hey, G, you there?"
"What's up, Sierra?" asked a voice from the other end, male and strangely upbeat.
"Me, Jo, and B have a few guests cornered at the Fridge." She explained. "They want to meet the boss. Ask him if it's cool if we bring them home."
"Two seconds." The voice said. He didn't speak again for about thirty seconds. "Boss says it's cool, but keep your guns on them until you get here. He's calling in the others from the field just in case they try anything."
"No problem." Sierra replied before tossing the walkie-talkie back to B. "All right. Let's move. And I want all of your hands where I can see them… leave your guns."
They all dropped their weapons and held their arms at their sides. "March." The blond, Jo, ordered.
As they walked, Leshawna hung back by Cody. "Thanks for saving our asses back there." She whispered. "How do you always know exactly what to do?"
"Are you kidding?" Cody questioned. "I've read more books, seen more movies, and played more video games about zombies than most of you have probably heard of. If there's such a thing as an expert at this stuff, I am one."
It was when they took their first steps outside and into the street that things got complicated… well, not so much complicated as deadly. Jo was concentrating so much on making sure that their prisoners didn't set a toe out of line that she failed to see a car and bumped into it. As soon as the alarm sounded the undead hidden throughout the city began to wail and shriek. "Jo!" Sierra shouted, turning to her companion.
"Sorry!" Jo apologized.
Sierra kneaded her temples giver her order. "Everyone back inside! You guys grab your guns and meet us at the second floor balcony. I'll call for back up."
Everyone ran back into the building and Duncan and the others immediately went for their guns, grabbing them and then heading for the portable staircase which Sierra, Jo, and Silent B were racing up. The upper level was just a railed off platform going around the perimeter of the building, likely used by supervisors to oversee their employees back before the virus outbreak. Chris was the last off the stairs, the zombies breaking into the storage area as soon as he set foot on the upper level. B dove down to the floor and grabbed the portable staircase, pushing it over to remove the zombies only means of getting to them.
"How are we supposed to get down now, you jack ass?" Heather demanded.
B just flipped her off.
"Okay, guys. It's going to be a few minutes before the cavalry arrives, so we're going to have to hold our own for a while. Take out as many as you can. We've got to make Scott, Sam, and Dakota's job as easy as possible."
Everyone took their position at the railing, guns in hand, and took aim. The floor below had already been flooded with the undead, some having caught the scent of frozen meat and trying to figure out how to open the freezer door. Heather, using a scoped hunting rifle, took aim at one of these individuals and took the first shot. The bullet caught the beast just below the neck and dropped it to the ground, but the sound of the gunshot had also caught the attention of the rest of the undead. The horde began to frenzy below them, making aiming unnecessary and the survivor's job much easier. They began firing blankly into the horde, taking down a zombie with every bullet but there was no end to them. For every one that went down two more took its place.
It was with the sound of clanging metal that they became distressed. "Oh no!" Sierra panicked as she looked down through the hole in the floor. Some of the zombies had found the portable staircase and were trying to push it back up to get to them. "Since when are zombies so god damn smart?" she demanded. "Anyone who's got a scoped rifle, trade me guns."
Heather handed over hers and Sierra began picking off the beasts going for the staircase. But it seemed a fruitless venture, as every time she shot one it had been replaced by the time she'd picked off the rest. "Zombies," shoot, "shouldn't," shoot, "be," shoot, "this," shoot, "organized!" shoot.
"You have no idea." Gwen said.
"Where do they keep coming from?" Bridgette questioned.
"My guess, the local grave yard." Jo said.
"The virus works on already dead bodies?" Leshawna asked, shocked.
"Where the hell have you been?" Jo questioned.
"Shit! I'm out of ammo." Sierra cursed.
"The rest of us have about five rounds, each." Courtney announced.
"So what do we do?" Heather snapped, using her final bullet.
It was then that Sierra heard something outside. A kind of revving sound along with the rat-tat-tat of an automatic rifle. She smirked. "We enjoy the show."
Suddenly a garage door began to open just below them and an engine roared, a box truck charging inside once the door was open and crashing into the crowd of zombies. A hatched opened on the top and a red headed boy wearing a white tank-top and long, baggy blue jeans popped out with an automatic rifle in hand. He began firing wildly into the horde as the undead began clawing at the box truck. A second hatch opened and a thin girl popped up, long brunet hair, a pink to, slightly darker pink jeans, and a pair of red sunglasses.
"There they are!" she called, once spotting Sierra and the others. She ducked back down into the truck and climbed through the small door into the front. "Sam, back up about twelve feet, just below the balcony. They'll be able to jump on top of the truck and climb in through the hatch. There's eleven counting Sierra, Jo, and B."
"No problem, baby." Sam agreed. Sam was a slightly overweight boy with short, curly, light brown hair as well as some fuzz growing on his chin. He wore a light yellow shirt with a yellow and orange horizontal stripe along the chest and an orange collar, a pair of blue jean shorts, and glasses. Sam shifted the truck into reverse and lightly hit the gas, happily running over any zombies that happened to be behind them.
"Hey, take it easy when you run those things over!" Scott called from the back, still shooting zombies from the hatch in the roof. "You're throwing off my aim! Dakota, more ammo!"
Dakota grabbed more ammunition for Scott and climbed back up through her hatch, handing the bullets to her friend before calling to the others. "Okay! It's only about a five foot drop! Just jump on top and climb in through here." She then went to rejoin Sam in front.
Bridgette was the first to make the jump, followed by Courtney, Cody, Chris, and then Heather. "C'mon, Gwen!" Leshawna pleaded. "You've got to go next!"
"I c-c-can't." Gwen stuttered. "What if I hurt… it?"
Leshawna groaned. "C'mon. We'll go together." Together the two girls climbed over the rail and grabbed each other's hands. "On three. One… two… three!" Leshawna jumped… Gwen didn't. This threw off Leshawna's balance and she landed on her side, almost rolling off the edge of the truck. She would've been doomed had it not been for Scott tossing his gun aside and grabbing her at the last second.
Gwen watched as Scott helped Leshawna into the truck and closed his hatch behind them, horrified at what had almost happened. Then she felt an arm swoop under her legs and wrap around her shoulders. Duncan was picking her up as he climbed onto the railing. "What are you doing?" she demanded.
"Saving your dumb ass!" he answered as he jumped, landing perfectly on his feet.
He dropped Gwen down into the still open hatch, Scott catching her in his arms, before he jumped in himself. Sierra, Jo, and B jumped down and climbed in after them. "That's everyone!" Dakota said. "Get us out of here, Honey Bear!"
"With pleasure." Sam replied. He hit the garage door button before shifting into reverse again. He barely waited for the door to fully open before stomping down on the gas pedal going back into the street. A quick turn and a shift into first gear, and they were off. The zombie horde chased after them, but was unable to keep up with the speed of even the bulky vehicle.
Gwen looked over to Leshawna who was sitting in the corner being looked over by Sierra and Jo for injuries or bites. Leshawna looked back at her. It wasn't hatred, or even distain in her eyes. Just… disappointment. "I'm sorry, Leshawna." Gwen said.
"Yeah." Leshawna said. "I bet you are."
