I kinda wanted to add more, but i thought it was long enough. Hope you like it! -mlove

A roar from the infected sounded from outside the house; the silence was over. The survivors knew they were skilled with weapons and were used to the fighting; it was as easy to them as breathing now. But where there were only eight of them—seven able to fight—and there were possibly a hundred against them, maybe more. It was not going to be easy to get out of there.

"We have to move," Coach said picking up his guns and reloading them. The others followed suit; they needed to have ammo, it was essential.

"I hope we can find more ammo somewhere, I'm running low," Nick muttered.

"Is there any in the house?" Bill asked, picking up Zoey carefully.

"No. Already checked. Found some pans though," Nick responded giving one to Bill's free hand.

"Here Nick, I have some extra ammo if you need it," Rochelle said.

Ellis wasn't listening to their idle conversation. His attention was focused on Zoey, who at the moment was being carried by Bill. He secretly mourned the fact that he no longer needed to carry her. But he was grateful that those men were there. They had patched her up well; she looked a little better now, but it still wasn't enough. She still hasn't woken up yet.

In a way, he felt a little ridiculous that they were risking their lives to save this woman. He had put all of his companions in more danger because he had found her. Then again, if he hadn't found her, she would be dead by now. The guilt subsided a little when he thought that. She was alive now because of his determination to help her.

She was pretty. Of course he noticed that right away, even with the fact that he was almost killed multiple times since he had found her. Even unconscious she looked nice, peaceful. He hoped he was still around by the time she woke up. Maybe her personality would be just as nice as her appearance. He was pretty sure it was.

"Ellis c'mon!" Coach called from the door, already armed and ready. "What's wrong with you today?"

"I don't even know man…" he replied pulling out his axe. He was out of ammo as well; that was the only weapon he had left. Not that he was too disappointed; he had to admit, he was pretty good with an axe. He gripped it tightly and held it in front of him, ready.

Let's do this.

As soon as Nick and Coach moved the dresser away from the door, a hand burst through it. Barely a second later, more hands and feet followed, destroying the door as if it were merely paper instead of solid wood.

Ellis was right behind the other two men, and attacked as soon as the dresser was out of the way. He kicked down the door; it no longer needed to be there, and slashed the infected trying to get in. Blood splattered to the floor. He stepped outside, leaving the doorway clear for the others to follow, then gasped.

Fear seared through him; it seemed to chill him to the bone as he stared at the sight before him. There were more of the infected than any of them could have imagined. It seemed impossible to get through. Why was it that no matter how many of them they killed, they always kept coming back?

Were they even killing them?

There was no time to stop and ponder on the issue. A huge crowd of them were closing in on their small group, they had to act now. Whatever they were doing, it knocked out the infected long enough for them to get away.

Ellis gripped his axe tightly and swung, slashing as many heads as he could see. But with every head he slashed another replaced it a second later. The handle was growing slippery with the blood of the infected but he held strong on that grip. He killed like he never had before.

"Don't try to kill them all!" He faintly heard Nick shout. "Just try to get through!" Even this small task seemed impossible, there were so many. Too many. But he was glad he could still hear the gunshots of his companions. It meant they were still close by; they had to stay together to stay alive.

"Guys!" shouted Louis from somewhere behind him. "Back up!"

He tossed an object, and they all heard the familiar beeping and backed away from the direction he threw it. Instantly most of the infected tore away from them and towards the source of the noise. The fact that they were distracted easily was occasionally a good advantage. More followed, leaving a somewhat distinct path towards the street for the survivors. They ran, more like sprinted, down that path and a few seconds later the pipe bomb exploded, it along with dozens of the infected being destroyed in the blow.

"Yes!" Ellis shouted.

They stayed close together, enough that their weapons would allow, keeping each other protected. Ellis glanced over at Bill; to his relief he still had a good hold on Zoey. Ellis turned back forward, reminding himself to keep his head clear for the fights that lay ahead.

Now out of the grass and onto the street, things seemed a little clearer, but they didn't stop running just in case. Some of the nearby infected were very aware of their presence. But Francis and Rochelle in the front, both of whom had excellent aim, shot them dead before they could attack.

"Francis where do we go?" Rochelle shouted, panting a little from the run. Francis paused a moment, taking in his surroundings and thinking.

"I think it's this way," he said taking a sharp turn down an alley.

"Yeah, I remember passing that pawn shop," Louis agreed, pointing to a nearby building. As they cut through the alley, they slowed down. It was clear in this area and they weren't sure what was going to be waiting for them on the street on the other side.

They huddled around each other at the exit of the alley. Rochelle and Francis, still in the front, poked their heads out, checking the area. After a moment, they nodded to each other, then nodded to the others behind them. It was safe—for the moment.

Cautiously, quietly, they all followed one another out of the alley and onto the nearby sidewalk. They held their weapons up, ready but it didn't seem to be necessary; this street was oddly quiet. There were only a few infected wandering the area and none of them seemed the least bit interested in them. It was best not to disturb them, if they didn't want more trouble.

So they walked, eventually lowering their weapons and looking around the street.

It was a relatively large street; one that would've been filled with life if the world had not been mutated and destroyed. You could almost picture the people walking up and down the street; girlfriends shopping, parents pushing their children in strollers, couples holding hands and glancing through the windows of the stores.

Ellis looked around this street feeling saddened by the destruction that had taken place over just a few months. Everyone he knew and loved had either died or become mutated; there would never be a normal life for him, or anyone else, again. But he had to remember that he was not completely alone. Those traveling and fighting with him—fate had thrown them together and they were his family. And now the mission was to help a new addition to the family. And damn it, they were going to get there.

They did not speak while they walked. All were absorbed in looking around for any infected who wanted to attack; there was nothing to talk about anyway. Trying to keep his mind off of morose thoughts, Ellis scanned as well, searching for something, anything that could be useful. So far there was nothing. These buildings were destroyed; there might be something of use inside, but there was no time to thoroughly check. The only noticeable thing in this area was a bunch of cars. Cars….

"Guys wait," Ellis said in a hushed voice. "Maybe we could use one of these cars to get us to the hospital faster."

Everyone stopped walking and turned to look at him with curious expressions.

"Ellis you know messing with these cars could trigger an alarm," Nick reasoned.

"These cars are broken down anyway. The zombies probably messed with them," Coach added.

"Well just thought it'd be worth a try." Ellis spotted an old truck and moved towards it. "Look, this one would be big enough to hold all of us! I think I can still remember how to hotwire it…" he trailed off, walking around the truck, thinking. "I'm gonna try it."

He grinned and punched the window, shattering it, then unlocked the door. Everyone held their breath, expecting an alarm, but none came. The infected didn't seem to notice their presence, even when Ellis had shattered the window. Ellis got into the truck swiftly and got to work, leaving the other to surround the truck, covering him.

"So far, so good…this over here…" Ellis muttered to himself. "Ok, think I almost got it..."

A distant crash interrupted his train of thought. He glanced up, and saw a tank through the window of the truck. It was far away, but it was approaching them fast, destroying any objects in its path. Fuck…

"Tank!" he shouted, alerting the others. They already seemed to know; not even a second later he saw Nick, Coach and Francis running towards it already firing.

Ellis had to work faster. He went back down, and racked his brain, trying to remember all the steps. It was difficult; his mind was racing.

"Ellis, hurry up!" Rochelle called; she started to fire her gun too.

"Anyone have a Molotov?" Ellis heard Louis shout. The voices began to grow distant; they were all running towards the tank. He heard the tank flip a car, triggering its alarm.

"Oh shit," he muttered. Another roar erupted through the air; it was almost as loud as the tank's screams of fury. A loud crash, Nick screamed in pain…

Ellis's hands were shaking. "One more thing…"

The truck roared to life. "Oh YES!" he shouted, hopping in the front seat and placing his hands on the wheel. The truck was a little rough, but still better than being on foot. Only missing the other cars by a few inches he drove the little ways ahead to his friends. He held his axe out the window, slicing any nearby infected as he drove. "Whoo!" he shouted, the thrill coursing through him. He approached Bill first, stopping the truck. Bill put Zoey in the back first, then hopped in the back himself.

"Wow you're pretty agile old man," Ellis called.

"Years of training," was all Bill responded before pulling out his sniper rifle and fired.

The tank seemed to be tiring out. Ellis looked ahead and saw it drop to its knees, its signature sign of defeat. But there was still the rest of the infected; the destroyed car's alarm was still blaring loudly.

Ellis drove up to the others. They each got in, no longer worrying about killing the rest of the infected; the car would take them away anyway. The mutated beings clawed and punched at the truck, furious that their victims were escaping. Ellis did not hesitate; as soon as he saw Francis hop in the back with the rest, he drove off not looking back.

He put both hands on the wheel; it was a little hard to drive when there were so many other cars in the street. But he managed to maneuver around them. He could hear gunfire from the back. This did not surprise him; the truck was old and loud. He could see the infected turn their heads sharply as he approached.

"I see it! The hospital is right around this corner!" Louis shouted from the back.

Ellis turned sharply, leaving the others in the back to grip the sides for safety. Ellis saw the sign too, and drove towards it. The hospital was so close…they were going to make it.

He pulled up in front of the hospital entrance, and got out axe in hand. Francis was right, the place was covered with infected. The others jumped down from the back, this time Francis grabbed a hold of Zoey, and they all rushed to the entrance.

Ellis managed to clear some of the way but there were more coming towards them, hissing, claws outstretched as they ran inside the hospital.

"Hurry, get upstairs!" Bill shouted. "We can barricade ourselves in one of the rooms!" They raced to the stairs. The sound of shattering glass could be heard from behind them as the infected followed them inside the building. Louis and Coach, in the rear fired constantly trying to get them off of their backs. Ellis, in the front sliced as many of them as he could see. His face, his clothes, all were now soaked with blood.

They made it to the second story, and Ellis raced into the first room he saw, the others trailing behind him. They seemed to be in a patient's room; fortunately, this one was empty save for a dead person lying on the bed. Louis grabbed a large cabinet as soon as they were all in and blocked the door. It rattled and shook; the cabinet most likely wasn't going to last…

"Guys!" Francis shouted putting Zoey down on the floor. "I don't feel a pulse anymore…"

"What?" Louis shouted his back against the cabinet trying to keep it up against the door.

"Maybe there's a defibrillator in here," Rochelle said instantly going through the supplies in the room. Ellis joined her search, frantically going through the drawers and shelves. She can't be dead…

"Found it!" Rochelle shouted running back over to Zoey. Those two words were like music to Ellis's ears; he ran back to her too, leaning over Zoey's pale face. Francis took the paddles and placed them to Zoey's chest. Ellis's heart was beating faster than it ever had. She can't be dead, he thought once more. She can't.

A burst of electricity surged through Zoey once. The others watched and waited, worried.

C'mon Zoey…

Another burst.

Please…