4. Dying on the Edge

Francis felt a cold, wet drop fall onto his face. Then another drop fell onto him followed by another and another. He rolled over, wiping the water from his face, to avoid the drops. He rested his head on his girlfriend's shoulder. She suddenly woke; shaken Francis' cold skin. Slightly irritated, she looked up at the ceiling and groaned.

'For Christ's sake, Francis!' she moaned, getting out of bed. 'You could put something under that leak instead of letting it spill everywhere!'

'I'm right on it,' Francis mumbled, reaching blindly to the floor and picking up a shoe, sliding it under the leak. His girlfriend muttered in annoyance before noticing the time. Then she cried in shock. This woke Francis up more sufficiently than the cold water. She started getting dressed quickly, pulling on a pair of dark leather trousers.

'You're running late,' Francis noted passively.

'Thanks,' she cried, flicking her messy red hair out of her face. She pulled on a white undershirt that had a picture of a Chihuahua with a flaming head on it and a more formal top on over it. 'Today is the day when the boss decides who's going to be the new assistant manager and I'm damned if I'm not getting it because I'm late!'

'Amanda,' Francis said tiredly, 'I know this means a lot to you but don't get so worked up about it. You'll get grey.' Amanda gave Francis a venomous stare and pulled on some shoes.

'When I'm gone, see if you can fix that leak,' she suggested. Amanda gave him a kiss on the cheek and went for the door. 'That lamb on the side is for dinner tonight, so don't eat it!' She then stopped, turning to face him. '…and… try and find a job today, okay?' She gave him a pleading look.

'Yeah, fine,' Francis muttered. Amanda smiled and left the bedroom. 'Don't crash any planes today,' Francis jokingly called out to her.

Francis put a bowl under the leak and got dressed in his favourite leathers. He left the apartment and climbed the stairs one floor and went for the apartment directly above Amanda's, apartment 404. Francis knocked on the door and waited. When there was no response he knocked again, to the same result. Deciding to try again later, he left the apartment building and went down the street to buy a newspaper. As he headed back, he flicked through the work wanted sections and noted particular articles of interest.

Sat once again in his girlfriend's apartment, he read the paper in front of the television. As he flicked through articles about global recession, people being murdered by mobs and the large number of people who were unemployed, the news suddenly attracted his attention. The newsreaders were talking about an article that he had just read.

'Four tourists were murdered early in the morning; being attacked by what witnesses described the as "a mob, completely foreign to humanity". The four students had been taking a gap year from their studies and were exploring the local nightlife when the attack took place. Witnesses say the four were ambushed by the mob of an unknown number of people, who proceeded to attack with seemingly no motive.'

Francis put the paper down to take in the story, however he had no time to do so as there was a crash from the bedroom. He promptly stood and ran for the door, barging through and slipping over. As he stood up, he noticed the floor was wet. He then noticed, perhaps something more obvious, that the ceiling had a massive hole in it where the leak had come from. Francis saw up through the hole a kitchen, water leaking down one of the work surfaces and down into the apartment.

Enraged, Francis stormed out of the apartment, too angry to close the door behind him. He went downstairs and hammered his fist on the landlord's door. The landlord opened it, looking very agitated.

'Whaddaya want?' he asked, not noticing Francis' venomous expression.

'Get the spare key to 404 and get me into their apartment,' Francis said through gritted teeth, 'before I kick the door down myself.' After having the situation explained to him and taking into account Francis' mood, the landlord took the spare key for apartment 404 and accompanied Francis to the doorstep. The landlord knocked weakly on the wood and was only answered by Francis' increasingly irritated stare. Finally unlocking the door, the landlord and Francis both stepped into their destiny.

Apartment 404 looked beyond damaged. The furniture was broken, the walls were damaged and stained and there was no one to be found. Francis carefully stepped over a broken bookcase and went for the kitchen. The landlord entered the lounge where the television had a chair through its screen. Both Francis and the landlord noticed the copious amounts of what appeared to be blood splattered all around.

'What happened here?' the landlord thought aloud. Francis stepped into the kitchen and saw the hole that peered down into his girlfriend's apartment. A sink tap was leaking; water splashing everywhere and eventually causing that hole. Francis managed to turn off the tap and stepped back from the hole. The landlord appeared behind him and stepped forward. 'Man, some shit defiantly went down in here… did you hear anything?' Before Francis could answer, his vision was drawn just over the landlord's shoulder. The doors of a large coat closet were slowly creaking open. The landlord turned to see what Francis was staring at. The next thing he saw was a flash of something propel itself from the closet and grab him, to start tearing at his flesh. As he was grabbed, the landlord stumbled backward, knocking Francis over and down the hole back into Amanda's apartment. He bounced off the mattress onto the floor was knocked out cold.

Once again a cold wet drop woke Francis from his slumber. Only this time it was not water, but something far more unnerving. Opening his eyes and seeing the blood fall to his face, Francis immediately stood up and ran for the bathroom, washing his face and neck. Then, he stepped into the lounge, looking at the television that he had left on. It was the evening news. Unable to believe the time, he missed the report.

'It has been reported that there are dangerous and aggressive riots citywide. People are urged to stay indoors and do not leave their homes under any circumstances.' As the report went on, the picture started to break up. 'National Guard… control… please…' were the last words broadcast before everything was nullified by static. Francis looked outside the window and down onto the streets. The sky was dark but the streets were bustling with as much activity as if it were day. Cars were abandoned on the street, doors wide open. There appeared to be people wandering around, seemingly aimlessly. He then heard a scream; a woman had run into the middle of the road yelling for help. She was being chased by two other people. Those who were staggering about with no purpose suddenly found one and burst into life, running for her. However instead of helping her, they pinned her to the ground. They then started to attack her; clawing at her face and flesh, tearing deep into her skin and completely decimating her body. The screams pierced Francis' soul.

He ran for the front door, locking it and constructing a barricade of chairs and a bookcase. Doing the same for the bedroom, he had locked himself safe inside his girlfriend's apartment. Francis' thoughts then drifted to Amanda… she was most likely dead. She might have suffered a fate like the woman outside. If these attacks were citywide, then surely they had got to the airport. Airport security couldn't handle an entire city of insane people, neither would the National Guard. No one could handle something like this.

Francis heard a low hiss come from behind. Shivers went down his spine as he realised that he had prevented anything from coming inside, along with preventing anything inside from escaping. Slipping out of the chair, he knelt slowly to the ground. He saw the shadow of something pacing around in the kitchen. He looked over toward the front door barricade and realised he must have left the door unlocked when he had left. The time he was unconscious was plenty for something to slip in but why had it not attacked yet. Leaning around the chair, he saw a figure crouched over the lamb that Amanda had left out. It was prodding the meat, squeezing out the juices and hissing gently at it. Looking over, Francis saw the door to the bathroom was open. He slowly stood up and went for it.

The crouched figure jumped upright and turned, screaming at Francis. It leaped straight for him. Francis dived out of the way and ran for the bathroom. He got inside and slammed the door shut as the creature jumped past the door. Locking it securely, Francis stepped backward and sat down on the toilet, breathing deeply. Suddenly, a hand tore through the wood and reached inside blindly. In a panic and grabbing the first thing close, Francis picked up the toilet brush and hit the hand with it. The attacker grabbed the brush and pulled it through the hole. It then screamed and put two hands through the door, wearing it down. In a matter of moments, it would be broken. Francis went through the cupboards rummaging for something to defend himself with. The door then burst to pieces, the hunter inside with him. Jumping into the shower, Francis pulled the glass door shut. The hunter shattered it and knocked Francis to the ground. As he fell, Francis knocked the taps, turning on the water in a blisteringly hot shower that caused his attacker great pain. Momentarily disoriented, the hunter leant up and scratched at the air. Francis reached for a piece of broken glass, gripping it firmly. The creature then looked back at the pinned target and moved quickly for the kill. Francis plunged the shard of glass into the beast's neck, causing it to cough blood all over his face and then limp over dead. Francis rolled out of the shower, gasping for breath. Looking into the cloudy mirror, he saw his scratched and bloody face. This would be the face of one of the four survivors inside the operations room of one of the city's subway power plants.

Francis, supporting Bill, helped him inside the operations room and sat him down at the table Louis was hidden behind. Zoey ran to Louis, embracing him firmly. The four survivors were finally together.

'Damn it,' Bill groaned, clutching the bullet wound in his arm. 'Why the hell did you do that?'

'I'm sorry!' Louis cried, releasing himself from Zoey. 'I thought you were a zombie!'

'Do I look like one of them?' Bill yelled, pausing between each word.

'Since when do zombies shoot?' Francis added. Louis gave him an unpleasant look. 'I'm Francis by the way.'

'That's Bill,' Zoey said after Bill refused to introduce himself. Louis attempted to smile but Bill refused to look at him. Zoey placed her bag on the table and took out her collected medical supplies. She also emptied the sparse ammunition she had left and one last makeshift pipe bomb. She went over to Bill and started tending to his wound.

'What are you, a doctor?' Bill asked.

'Nah,' Zoey chuckled. 'Just watched a lot of ER…'

'And people said television and videogames would doom us all,' Louis said, attempting a joke. It failed. There was considerable tension in the room. Francis was busying himself barricading the door that they had just come through, desperate not to be involved in the awkward situation. The fact of the matter was simple, however; they would all have to work together if they wanted any chance at escape. It was hardly as though an escape route would land on their doorstep.

In the distance, a gentle roar could be heard. Getting louder and louder, closer and closer, the roar could only be that of an engine.

'Sounds like a chopper…' Bill said, voicing what everyone was hoping. Zoey and Francis immediately left the operations room and ran down the office corridors. The helicopter's engine noise was almost right on top of them. Ahead, there was an open office door and a large window through the room. A searchlight streaked past the glass as the helicopter flew overhead. Running to the window, Francis and Zoey looked up into the sky at the helicopter. It was headed for a tall building that stood out in the now, desolate city. Mercy Hospital sliced through the grim and the hopelessness, standing tall and strong, a beacon for the helicopter that had landed on the roof. Watching it closely, Zoey and Francis leant forward holding their breath. The helicopter then took off once again and made its way over the buildings, heading close to their position. Francis grabbed a computer monitor and threw it through the window. As the monitor smashed into an unsuspecting zombie's head, the helicopter roared over. Francis tried to yell at it to stop but to no avail.

'To anyone who can hear this,' a voice from the news helicopter cried out over a megaphone. 'Proceed to Mercy Hospital in one hour for evacuation.' Flying away into the darkness, Francis looked over to the light, the hospital. Zoey on the other hand, looked at the hospital with apprehension, the thoughts of escape clouded by unforgotten memories. Before Francis could share his excitement, there was a distressed woman below breathing heavily below that caught his attention. With glowing red eyes and a computer monitor covered in blood beside her, the zombie stared up at the two, shaking with what appeared to be rage.

'What the hell is that?' Francis cried. The witch let out a piercing scream and ran forward, smashing through the front doors of the offices. Bill, upon hearing the cry, stood up and grabbed his shotgun with his good arm and Zoey's pipe bomb with his bad arm. The witch tore up the stairs and ran with her claws ready toward Francis. 'Let's get out of here,' Francis suggested, stepping away from the window. As they proceeded to move, the witch appeared through the door way and knocked Zoey aside. It then jumped onto Francis and was poised to destroy him with her claws. Only Zoey's screams could be heard, over Bill's shotgun fire. Kicking the witch off Francis, Bill shot her out of the window and then threw the pipe bomb after her. Landing on a car, the alarm started to wail. The witch screamed with the noise and then looked up at Bill. She was then incinerated when the car exploded with the pipe bomb.

A distant roar echoed over the flames, the roar of countless people rushing with the sole intent of destroying the people that had disturbed them.

'Oh, this is gonna get bad…' Bill muttered. 'We gotta move, now!' Louis staggered out of the operations room, clutching some pistols. He threw Zoey and Francis theirs and kept one for himself. He also carried Zoey's bag of ammunition. Outside, the infected congregated on the entrance to the building. Running into another office, there was another window that led to an alley. Bill dived through the window and fell into the alley, but tore his back. He did not see the chain fence that had been put up to stop people accessing it. 'Jump!' he cried. Zoey, nervous about missing, hesitated. Francis pushed her out and she fell, being caught by Bill. Louis then jumped over but landed on the other side, harming his already frail ankle. Seething in pain, he limped forward with Zoey. Bill stayed behind to wait for Francis.

'Come on you idiot!' Bill cried. Francis jumped out of the window but fell right down to the ground. A large tongue had wrapped around his body, constricting him. Bill saw the smoker through the window and shot it expertly. The window now clogged with smoke, infected were blinded for a moment. 'Come on!' Bill ordered Francis from the other side of the fence. Francis obeyed and started climbing; however more infected were coming from down the other end of the alley. It wasn't long before they'd get to him. Bill needed more ammunition but didn't have enough time to reload as the horde had finally arrived, clutching and clawing at Francis, who was at the top of the fence but couldn't pull himself over. Jumping up, Bill climbed to Francis, grabbed his shoulders and leant back with all his might and pulled him to the other side of the fence. Francis pushed himself off his saviour.

'Thanks, I owe you!' he grinned.

'You wouldn't have to owe me if you didn't stand around like an idiot!' Bill cried, his own way of saying "you're welcome". However, they could not talk as the horde were climbing the fence after them. Running for dear life, the two shot back at the few who had made it over. As they got far enough away, the fence itself broke down and the infected flooded into the alley. They ran as far as they could; coming up to another fence that needed climbing. Throwing his shotgun over, Bill began to climb, followed hastily by Francis. The two ran into what appeared to be a truck stop, with deserted cabs and a refuelling station.

'Bill!' they heard Zoey cry. She was on top of the roof of the warehouses with Louis. The two ran for them, the infected smashing through the other gate fast. Jumping up on one of the cabs, Bill and Francis made their way onto the trailer and then ran for the roof. The infected swarmed around them, climbing up the cab and trailer as well as flooding the entire area. Bill jumped onto the roof and ran higher, however Zoey screamed at him to 'get down!' She and Louis fired at the refuelling pumps, causing them to ignite and then explode. The flames engulfed the entire area and the force of the blast knocked the trailers over. The ground around the pumps shattered and crumbled and glass all around shattered in unison. The explosion had destroyed the infected, leaving the ground that they had just crossed nothing more than a fire pit of destruction.

'I can't believe we made it!' Louis gasped, lying back on the tin roof. Bill removed a cigarette and used the towering flames to light the end.

'Son, we just crossed the street,' Bill took a long breath of smoke and exhaled, sounding satisfied. 'Why don't we hold up on the parties, until we're on that helicopter?' He looked over at Mercy Hospital. The four spotlights that graced through the sky almost looked as though they were beckoning for them to come. Three of the four spotlights had started to flicker and the sky had become overcast. Rain had started to fall gently but in the distance thunder could be heard.

'We should get to the hospital before we have to fight the weather and the zombies,' Louis suggested.

Stepping over the roof, the party of four lowered themselves back to street level. Just around the corner was Mercy Hospital. As they approached their haven, they walked in a diamond formation with Bill taking point, Louis watching the back and Francis and Zoey watching the sides. The odd zombie straggler was easily dispatched as they got closer to their destination. Stepping into the hospital grounds, Zoey looked up nervously at the building.

'You alright?' Louis asked her. Zoey was pale but nodded weakly.

'When we get inside we'll find the first elevator,' Bill instructed. 'Then we can ride it as high as we can and wait on the roof.' Drops of rain had started to fall, gently at first but gradually getting worse. Lightning struck nearby, the large flash causing Zoey to jump. She stood still in the rain causing everyone else to stop.

'Zoey,' Louis called out. 'What the hell are you doing?' Francis went over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders.

'What's the matter?' Zoey shook herself free and walked forward, into the hospital's reception. 'What's her deal? Francis asked Louis. Louis merely shrugged.

Inside the reception, there were bodies scattered about. Some infected were still staggering around but they were killed by the survivors. Stepping past the reception desk, Zoey saw the computer monitor she had knocked over when she escaped from here the first time. The four stepped past the desk and over to the elevators. Bill pushed the call button, but was met with a buzz.

'Broken…' he muttered. He looked around and sighed. 'Looks like we're gonna have to climb!' The survivors then began climbing the stairs. After ten flights Francis demanded a break. Collapsing to the floor, Francis massaged his legs while Bill merely paced for a while, checking his wound. Zoey leant over the barrier, looking for infected.

'So what's the deal then, Zoey?' Louis asked. 'Why do you seem so on edge?' Zoey turned and rested on the barrier.

'I'm fine,' she lied. 'I just… don't like hospitals.' She looked around nervously, her eyes meeting Bill's. He gave her a disbelieving look. 'When the infected took over the city, I was already here,' Zoey said, attracting an inquisitive look from Francis.

'Why were you already here?' he asked. Zoey paused a moment and rolled up her sleeves. Old bandages were wrapped around her wrists. 'Oh,' Francis said as Bill turned away. 'I see…'

'They locked me in an isolation room… if I hadn't done this, I'd probably be dead.'

'We should keep going,' Bill said, continuing up the steps. The others followed closely.

However, they had only climbed a few more steps before they encountered an obstruction. A whole section of the stairs had collapsed, making it impossible to continue climbing. Getting off on the next floor, the survivors split up in twos to find another way around. Zoey and Louis found it; a service elevator that was still working. When they met with their companions, they observed the compartment for a moment.

'It's operating on a different power supply,' Francis said, 'and it goes to the building site upstairs.'

'Or straight down again,' Zoey noted.

'Well we're not backward at going forward,' Louis said and stepped into the carriage. Everyone else followed and Louis pushed the button, sending them skyward.

'Why are they so fast?' Zoey asked abruptly. Everyone looked at her. 'Some of them are missing skin or have been hurt a lot and they're just so damn fast!'

'I want to know what makes them like this…' Louis thought aloud.

'A better question is how come we're not like them?' Francis added. Everyone thought for a moment. 'I mean, we've all been bitten or scratched by those things and we've not turned into them.'

'Yeah,' Zoey agreed. 'We've shared the same environment, too, and we've not shown signs of turning into one of them… maybe we're immune!'

'So it's caused by a virus?' Louis asked.

'It makes sense,' Francis said. 'Maybe it leaked from a lab or something.'

'Terrorists could have released it into the water systems!' Louis added.

'How could anyone want this to happen?' Zoey said dismissively.

'Perhaps they didn't know everything about it?' Francis suggested.

'We can find out all the answers when we get out of here,' Bill said with a tone of finality. 'For now, we should focus on getting out of here because it's the only thing that matters.'

'Sorry Bill,' Zoey said, breaking the brief and awkward silence that followed his statement. 'We're just speculating, you know?'

'There's no use for speculation when you're dead,' Bill replied bluntly.

The elevator stopped and the doors opened. Before them was a construction site; scaffolding, tools and equipment lay scattered around. There were no infected in view and curiously, there were no corpses on the floor. Slowly, Bill stepped out of the elevator and raised his shotgun. The only sound that could be heard was the rain and the thunder in the distance. Cautiously, the survivors made their way through the construction zone. There were no exterior walls, only tape that warned of the hazard. Francis peeked over the tape and saw the vast drop. They were about 23 storeys up, surely far away from any infected.

A pipe fell off some scaffolding, causing everyone to jump. They all turned to see it fall onto the floor and roll toward the edge of the building, falling down to the ground. Zoey sighed with relief and they all continued moving. More things around them became unsettled as they moved, due to the wind that had come with the rain. Unsecured tarpaulin scattered around, ladders began to slide and scaffolding creaked. The noise was getting quite loud; they had to yell just to hear each other. Francis, at the back, pivoted around quickly after hearing a crash. Behind him, Bill and Zoey had turned a corner. Louis was making his way forward when he looked to his left through a dark doorway. A hunter dived out from it and grabbed him, causing him to drop his pistol. Louis and the monster rolled across the wet floor and over the side of the building. Louis managed to clutch onto the ledge but the hunter would not let go of his foot. He tried to shake it free but was unable to. Francis, meanwhile, turned around and ran right past Louis' pistol that had begun sliding toward the edge of the building, to rejoin his companions. Louis kicked the creature's face so that it wouldn't bite him. The gun slid closer and closer to Louis' hand while the hunter plunged it's claws into Louis' leg, trying to climb up his body. Louis screamed in pain and tried to lift himself up. He got his head high enough to see his gun an inch away from the edge of the building. It fell off, Louis caught it and he shot the hunter in the face.

His attacker was falling down the 23 stories however Louis was not rising to safety. He was not clinging to the edge of the building with one hand. He had no strength to lift his other arm up. He was stuck, his grip gradually weakening. The other three survivors had heard the gunshot and stopped.

'Where is Louis?' Zoey asked.

'I thought he was with you!' Francis said.

'Oh shit,' Bill pushed past the other two, who then followed, back to where Louis had disappeared. They looked around and Bill noticed the dark doorway. He stepped inside and found something, although it wasn't Louis. He stepped into a slimy substance, a substance that stuck to his boots. Before he could do anything else, the drywall before him was instantly torn apart and an obese zombie stood before him. Before it could vomit, Bill shot it in the stomach, which subsequently covered him in bile due to the blast. Bill was blinded and staggered out into the open again. He headed close for the ledge but was grabbed by Zoey. The wind and rain stopped; the storm had passed over. However, the silence was filled by the wails of the undead, storming toward the three remaining survivors. The missing construction workers were heading their way.

Louis attempted to call for help but his cries were drowned out over the seas of shouting, screaming and gunfire. From ever direction, the infected converged on the three survivors. Bill was still unable to see, so Francis and Zoey were keeping them at bay. Francis swapped his pistol with Bill's shotgun and started blowing the creatures away. One of them grabbed Bill from behind. Thinking quick, Bill grabbed the zombie's arm and attempted to throw it over his shoulder. However, he only tore the beast's arm off. Zoey shot a couple of infected in the head and noticed Bill's distress. She yelled at him to duck and he did so, causing the zombie to be on his back. She kicked it off him and over the edge. Louis watched it fall down to its death.

Zoey threw Francis more ammunition and Bill began pulling off headshots as Francis kicked away the infected while reloading the shotgun. He wasn't sure how to do it and as a result, he was knocked over by a group of infected while he wasn't looking. Bill ran over to him and shot away some of the horde, while Zoey tried to help from her position. She was closest to the passageway that led away, which was also haemorrhaging infected. As she fired, killed and reloaded, Zoey was slowly being pushed to the edge of the building. Bill helped Francis up and reclaimed his weapon, reloading it quickly. Francis ran to Zoey to help her while Bill covered him. As he got close, so did the infected and Zoey slipped off the edge. Francis grabbed her while her foot was still sliding off and pulled her up. When she fell, Zoey looked over and gasped as she saw Louis clinging off the edge of the building.

Her feet firmly on the ground, Zoey dashed for where Louis' hand was planted. As she got close, she saw Bill get dragged away; a smoker tongue was wrapped around him. Desperate, Zoey ran away from Louis and over to Bill. She ran around the corner and took aim, shooting the smoker in the head from over 20 feet away. Bill fell to the floor but got up again, running back toward the fight. Zoey ran back for Louis' position and knelt down. She grabbed his wrist firmly and tried to pull him up. Louis looked up at Zoey desperately. Suddenly he let go of the edge, unable to keep his strength any long. Zoey fell down onto her stomach, unable to take his weight. She tried desperately to lift him but to no avail. Unsure of what she was doing, Bill and Francis formed a protective ring around Zoey, keeping the remaining infected at bay.

'Grab my hand!' Zoey yelled.

'I… can't,' Louis said desperately.

'Yes you can!' Zoey cried forcefully, trying with all her effort to pull him up. 'Listen to me you son of a bitch; I'm not going to let you die now after everything that's happened! We've survived the zombies so far and I'm gonna be damned if you die from falling off this crumbling piece of shit. Now grab my hand!' Louis tucked his pistol away and slowly raised his hand. Closer and closer it got to Zoey's. He put all of his effort into reaching up and grabbed her, holding on with the last ounce of strength he had left. Zoey raised her body, and shifted into a kneeling on one knee position. The pulled as hard as she could to bring Louis up. She pulled as the zombies around her died. One of the infected tore through the scaffolding, causing a confused ruckus. It ran straight for Zoey but was destroyed by Bill's shotgun. Zoey strained herself as she hauled Louis up over the edge and back to relative safety. She pulled him up and they both collapsed, Louis landing on top of Zoey. Zoey grabbed the gun from Louis' pocket and began shooting upside down. The horde soon died. The infected had ceased their insane pursuit. The survivors had won the battle.

'Thanks,' Louis gasped as he stepped off of Zoey. Francis helped her up and she and Louis swapped weapons. Zoey raided her bag for more ammunition but looked up, her face white.

'We're out of ammo,' she whispered.

'I think we've killed every creature in this God damn hospital,' Bill said. 'The rooftop should be just ahead.' He was correct. The remainder of the journey was absent of any infected. Soon they had reached the roof access ladder. Bill climbed up first and stepped onto the heliport first. The four spotlights that surrounded the building were still active, calling for any other survivors. The current refugees stepped onto the heliport and looked at it with a sense of awe. Even though it was derelict, clearly damaged after countless battles, they had become emotional at the sight. Zoey had tears in her eyes; she could hardly believe that she had come this far.

'None of us could have made it here,' Bill said, 'without each other.' Zoey nodded, tears streaking down her cheeks. Louis put his arm around her as they headed for a small structure to the rear of the landing pad. Francis looked at his watch.

'We've got five minutes until we're free,' he said, barley able to contain his excitement. Even Bill was smiling. As they stepped into the building, there was a surprising sight before them; weapons, medical supplies and ammunition in copious quantities. Rucksacks and backpacks were also stacked in a corner. A radio was located away from the supplies and Bill went over to try and contact someone while the others went over to treat themselves. Zoey stuffed her bag with ammunition, medical supplies, and some Molotovs that were around. She also took a large hunting rifle and loaded it. Francis took an automatic shotgun and filled a backpack with ammo and supplies. Louis took an assault rifle with his supplies. Everyone also took a second pistol. Francis loaded up a bag of supplies for Bill, who was talking to the radio. Handing him his second pistol, Francis knelt down next to the radio.

'No response?' he asked. Bill shook his head. Suddenly the radio burst into life.

'This is news chopper five,' the pilot said. 'Is there anyone there, over?'

'News chopper five,' Bill said excitedly, 'we are four survivors on the roof of Mercy Hospital. We are healthy and safe, request immediate evac, over!'

'Copy that, Mercy. ETA one minute.'

The sound of the helicopter could be heard already. Everyone stepped outside and stared into the sky, looking for their escape. Zoey looked through the rifle scope into the distance and saw the helicopter heading for them. She jumped up and down excitedly as it got closer and closer. Standing at the foot of the ramp that lead to the landing pad, Bill leant against the wall and lit up a cigarette. Taking a deep breath, he felt as though it tasted a little better, a bit smoother. He smiled to himself as escape came closer. Louis and Zoey were already waiting on the landing pad, chatting excitedly.

'What do you want to do when we're safe?' Louis asked her. Zoey tore her stare from the helicopter and onto Louis.

'I dunno,' she answered truthfully. 'You know before I never really thought ahead that much… but now I guess… I know it's silly but everything that's happened has given me a completely new view on life!' Louis smiled at her. 'I mean, having to fight for your life means that surely it's worth living, right?' Louis stopped her from talking by pulling her head toward him and kissing her gently on the lips. When he pulled away he blushed.

'That's thanks, for saving me back there.' Zoey grabbed Louis and pulled him close, kissing him passionately. The two embraced each other while expressing their affection, as Francis stepped out of the other room loading his shotgun.

'This is a lot easier than yours,' he said to Bill. Francis then noticed Louis and Zoey on the helipad. He smiled and then looked at Bill.

'Don't even think about it,' Bill said. Francis laughed and sat on the ground, deciding to let Zoey and Louis have their moment. As his palms were rested on the floor, Francis felt a vibration. He then felt another one, stronger than the first, then another and another. Bill stepped forward, noticing them, too. They were like footsteps…

'Tank!' Francis cried as the helicopter flew past, muffling his warning from the other two. The gunshots, however, did alert their attention. Louis and Zoey pulled away from each other as a tank crashed through the building and yelled loudly. The helicopter levelled out and began hovering next to the landing pad.

'Quick, get in!' the pilot called. Zoey looked back at it and then at the tank again. She began shooting at it, along with Louis. Bill and Francis were trying to get away from it, but the tank was too quick. It punched Bill so hard that he flew all the way over the landing pad and crashed into the side of the helicopter. As Bill fell past the landing pad and safely onto the roof, the helicopter lost its balance and started flying erratically. The tank pulled a chunk of debris from the collapsed structure it had crashed threw and threw it at the survivors. Louis and Zoey dived away from each other, out of the way of the debris that flew into the helicopter's tail rotor. The vehicle suddenly jolted upward and began spinning uncontrollably. On the landing pad Louis, Zoey and joined suddenly by Francis saw their only chance of escape begin to fly out of control. Bill had made his way to the roof access ladder and screamed at Francis. Francis noticed him and nudged Louis and Zoey. They all ran for the ladder. The tank, whose attention was attracted by the damaged helicopter, ignored them as they each slid down the ladder. The four survivors ran as fast as they could through the construction site, jumping over the mass of zombie corpses that they had killed earlier. They turned a corner and saw the elevator in sight. The helicopter, meanwhile, had lost altitude as it circled the hospital in an attempt to stabilize itself. The tank followed it close to the edge as the helicopter came closer and closer to crashing. Soon, however, the helicopter crashed into the construction area of the hospital, in the area directly underneath the tank. The beast fell into the fireball as the landing pad was destroyed. The wreckage tore through the construction site, causing the entire hospital the shake. Bill hammered on the elevator button and the doors opened. Inside, he pushed for the bottom floor and the doors closed as the walls outside were destroyed in a fireball. As they moved down, the compartment was struck by the wreckage, causing it to tilt suddenly. The elevator violently shot down the shaft and eventually through the walls, crashing through the floors of the hospital. The metal compartment tilted and turned as it crashed through the floors of Mercy Hospital, back down to the living dead. Inside, the four survivors were being thrown around the crashing box. It suddenly crashed and stopped on one floor, but skidded toward the side of the building. It smashed through some windows and finally stopped. The compartment hung perilously over the edge of the building, about eight stories from the solid concrete below. Slowly, the box containing the four survivors began to tilt…