A/N: Hey everyone. I see that I have gotten some hits on this story but only one comment. Don't think that's a good thing, lol. Anyway, I will continue with it I guess. Like I said it's my first try at writing, so it's probably not that good, but I'm enjoying it. I did not put a disclaimer in the first Chapter so here it is….Of course you all know I make no money or profit from writing this story, nor do I own any of the characters.…….. I just like playing with them.

And for 0clairebear0 please don't kill me yet....wait till after I finish the story :)

How Long

The sound of the juke box changing songs made Zoey slightly jump. She slowly turned her head towards it only to hear another country song start playing. No one spoke as if they are were too afraid to break the silence. She looked towards the bartender to see that he had not moved from his spot and was staring directly at her. She must look frightening to him with the dead man's blood on her. She looked down at her bloody hands to see them shaking uncontrollable.

"What just happened?" She heard the well dressed man ask.

"Ahhgggggg!" Zoey whipped her head around in the direction of where biker boy was thrown. Due to her shock, she had totally forgotten about him. Jumping up from the booth she was sitting on, she walked towards him. He had sat up and was slowly rubbing the back of his head, with a dark scowl on his face. She stopped a few feet away from him as he looked up at her.

"What the fuckin hell was that? He just threw my ass clean across the room!" He said as he slowly got to his feet.

"Are you ok?" Zoey asked him. He did not answer her at first, only looking at her as if she had grown two heads.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just got a fuckin headache right now…..God I hate headaches." She watched as he put his head in his heads for a second. "You ok? Is that your blood or his?" He asked pointing to the dead guy on the floor.

Zoey shuttered remembering how she watched the man's head explode all over her. It remaindered her of the watermelon fight her and Jamie had gotten in to one summer. Watching the watermelon as it fell on the hard concrete ground, shattering into a million pieces, that's how that man's head looked. For a moment Zoey thought that she might throw up in front of everyone. She felt the bile rise and it took everything she had to keep it down. This was not the time to lose it in front of these people.

"His." She whispered. Biker boy shook his head in understanding and started walking to the bar. Zoey couldn't move for a minute, it just seemed so surreal. She could feel the blood start to dry on her face and in her hair and it didn't help the sick feeling she had. Turning towards the door of the bar she saw her car and knew sooner or later she would have to change, a long hot shower sounded too good at this point.

She heard the jukebox cut off suddenly and looked over to see the old man pull the cord from the back. "Enough of that shit!" He said to no one in particular. She watched as he went and sat back down at his table, finishing his drink. Putting her hands in her pocket, Zoey pulled out the keys to her car and somehow found the strength to make her legs work. As she got to the door she heard someone come up behind her, looking around she saw the well dressed man standing there.

"Thought I would come with you. Some fresh air would be nice right now." Zoey nodded her head in agreement and they both proceeded to step outside. The first thing that struck her was how quiet it was. It seemed not even the cars were making much noise and this frightened her. She walked to the Ford Focus that her parents had given her when she went off to college. The thought of her parents made her almost breakdown, and her brother, God he must be so scared right now she thought. Popping the trunk, Zoey reached in to grab her suitcase, hoping like hell there was some kind of shower in the bar.

"I'm Louis by the way." Zoey looked at him and gave him a small smile. "Zoey." she said simply.

"Zoey, do you have any idea what's going on?"

"No, not a clue….just that it's some kind of virus, that's all the news was saying. I didn't even know that is was bad."

Just then there was a scream in the alley across the street. The sound was something that Zoey had never heard in all her eighteen years. It was so chilling that for a moment she thought that it couldn't be real. A part of her, the morbid part, made her want to go check it out, just to see what would make something produce that kind of sound. The other part….the sane part, told her to get her ass back in the bar. She stole a glance at Louis and notice that he had went pale, which was a hard thing to do seeing as he was black, but she could see the horror in his eyes, and decided that it was time to get back inside. Turning to walk back inside, she noticed that biker boy was standing in the doorway watching them. He must have heard the scream as well, because he was looking from them to the alley that it had come from.

When she got back inside she asked the bartender if he had a shower that she could use. Luck was still on her side because he shook his head yes and went to show her the way.

As she walked into the bathroom, she got a good look at herself in the mirror and stood there staring in shock for a few minutes. The blood had dried on her face giving her a look as though she had bathed in blood. She could see little pieces of white and matted hair on her cheek and she finally lost it. Falling before the toilet just in time for the bagel that she ate that morning to make it's way into the porcelain god. Zoey did not even realize that she was crying until she fell back against the wall and let her tears fall shamelessly down her face. She felt she deserved a little breakdown after what had just happened.

After a few minutes she finally made herself get up and start the shower. Standing there underneath the hot water, made her feel a little better, as if the water could wash away the memory of that man's head exploding as well. She knew that her sleep would be filled with nightmares for a while to come. grabbing her soap, she started scrubbing her skin raw, not feeling clean enough.

She stayed under the water until she was shaking from the coldness that it had turned into after using all the hot water. Slowly stepping out she reached for a towel and started to dry herself off. Looking into the mirror she saw herself again, and thankfully the only thing that was red was her eyes from the crying.

Looking into her bag for some clothes, she pulled out her favorite jeans, a white tank top, and a red pull over. She had noticed when she went to grab her suitcase earlier that the night had turned slightly chilly. She wasn't planning on staying too much longer, and wanted to be dressed comfortably.

Walking back into the bar, all eyes turned to her. She noticed that the old man, Louis, and biker boy were all sitting at the bar watching the T.V.. Walking over to join them, she noticed that it was the local news.

"I want to repeat this for everyone again….the Emergency Broadcast System has advised everyone to remain inside. If you believe you are infected, remain calm and go to the nearest hospital. You might be experiencing flu like symptoms which is one of the first signs of the virus."

Zoey felt her whole world come crashing down on top of her. Wasn't that what Jamie said their mother was feeling. "Dear God!" She whispered.

"If you suspect someone is infected, please stay away from them. Not only is it contagious but some the side effects from the virus are disorientation, anger, vomiting, boils, and in most cases even death. Again, please be advised to stay inside and away from any infected."

The bartender turned away from the T.V. to face Zoey as he spoke. "You got that man's blood on you…..he was obviously infected, which means now you're infected."

She had not even thought about that fact. If he was infected, that only meant one thing……she would be next. The thought made her start looking around frantically at the four men watching her. How long would it take for her to start feeling sick and then what did they say……attacking people? She slowly scooted off her chair and walked to the window, looking out at the dark street.

"I want you out of my bar now!" The bartender's terrified voice broke through Zoey's thoughts as she turned around to meet his gaze.

"I don't have any way of getting out of town. I have no gas in my car to even get ten miles down the road. Where am I suppose to go?" She asked desperately.

"I don't care, just get out of here before you get us all sick." The anger in the bartender's voice caught Zoey off guard. She supposed she couldn't really blame him, he was scared and she understood why he wanted her out. Still, the thought of being out there without a way around was not something she wanted to experience.

"Wait a minute Tommie, you can't possibly think of sending her out there. You heard that scream as clearly as I did….whatever made that sound is still out there!" Biker boy said as he stood up sending daggers into the bartender.

"Yeah I heard it, and I'm trying to prevent that sound from coming out of this bar! Francis you saw all that blood on her as clearly as I did……don't you think she would be infected now?"

"Maybe, but just sending her out there by herself with no way of getting around is crazy. Just wait till she shows signs of being sick, then send her on her way….until then, don't even think about it"

Zoey was stunned to hear him speak to the bartender like that. He did not know her from Eve, yet he was trying to save her life. Just looking at him, you would not have believed he would have given a damn.

"I agree. It's too early to start thinking she's sick. Just everyone chill out and have a drink. It won't hurt us to wait it out." Zoey gave Louis a thankful nod for speaking on her behalf.

"Are you guys crazy or something? Oh yeah let's sit around and wait to die! Idiots!" The bartender started making his way towards Zoey, who slowly started moving backwards towards the wall.

"Son, if I were you, I would just make my way back over behind that bar and shut your damn mouth. Nobody is kicking anybody out of here and if they try, well……I used this gun one time tonight and I don't mind using it again." She watched as the old man held the gun up for everyone to see. That made the bartender stop in his tracks. He and the old man stared one another down for a few seconds before the old man spoke again. "If you don't agree with us, why don't you be the one to leave?"

She watched the bartender turn his full attention to the old man as he spoke. "This is my establishment and if I want someone to leave…..they leave old man!" He started walking back towards where Zoey was standing when there was a click that filled the quiet room. Everyone turned to see the old man's gun pointed in the direction of the bartender.

"Do I need to take some practice shots to prove to you that I'm not playing, cause believe me I won't mind." His deadly voice made him seem years younger than he was.

Slowly the bartender made his way backwards towards the bar, gulping in a breath of air like a fish out of water. "You just stay over there and don't step a foot closer to this bar, or I will shoot without a care as to what that old man will do." He said to Zoey without looking at her.

She clumsily sat in the nearest chair wondering when the first signs of the virus would hit her. Even though she didn't want to be out there right now, she didn't want to put these stranger's in any more danger then they already were. For a moment she thought about just leaving….if she was infected, what was the worst that could happen, but maybe there was a chance she was alright…..there could be some immune to this nightmare right? She put her head in her hands as the realization of her situation came crashing down. It was only a matter of time now, and it would be all over for her.

She heard someone sit down across from her and looked up to see biker boy watching her. She thought for a moment that maybe he had a death wish being this close but couldn't tell him to get away. She felt comforted that he didn't seem to be scared of her like the bartender was.

"And how long do you suppose we wait to see if she turns?" The bartender spoke from is position at the bar.

"As long as it takes." Biker boy said looking directly at her.

Comment pretty please!!! :)