Danielle woke up tangled in her headphones. She pushed her disheveled hair out of her face and glanced over at the alarm clock. The bright red letters read 9:29. "Shit", Danielle sprang out of bed. She needed to be on a bus at 10:00 if she wanted to get out of the city. She jumped into a pair of dark skinny jeans and decided to throw her favorite leather jacket over the white v-neck she was wearing. Her mother had gotten it for her when she left for the big city as a going away present. Danielle thought her mom would get a kick out of seeing her in it. After slipping into her boots, she began putting together a bag of clothes and things she might need while she was away. As she tied her hair in a tight bun, she remembered her father's going away gift, a .357 magnum that laid in her nightstand drawer. Danielle hesitated as she pondered if it was really necessary to arm herself for a bus ride. Recalling her last encounter on public transportation, she threw the revolver in her bag and headed for the door. Advancing into the dark living room, Danielle slipped and caught herself on the arm of the couch. Looking down, she saw that a dark, slippery substance smeared on the wooden floor had caused her to loose her footing.

"What the hell?" Danielle flipped on the lamp that stood beside her. As the room became illuminated, Danielle realized that this substance was exactly what she had hoped it wouldn't be, blood. "Oh no." she whispered to herself as her eyes followed the trail of blood leading to Tara's door. She pulled the gun out of her backpack and slung the bag back over her shoulders. With her gun raised, she slowly walked over to Tara's bedroom door. Holding her breath, she gently turned the knob and pushed the door open.

"OH GOD!" Danielle retched, seeing Tara's naked butchered body sprawled across the bed. Her stomach looked like it had been ripped open, her insides mutilated. Danielle looked around the room, but there was no sign of anyone. The sick fuck that did this must have bolted. Danielle cursed herself for not getting a good look at the man Tara had brought home last night. Although, courtesy of the thin walls, Danielle was able to hear Tara cheering his name, Tyler, right before she drowned out the noise with music. She had always warned Tara to be careful about who she brought home, but Tara never cared for what Danielle had to say. Dropping her weapon to the ground, she pulled out her cell phone and dialed 911. "Pick up, dammit, pick up" she mumbled to herself. Finally, she heard a woman's voice on the other end. "Please, my room mate's just been murdered and I-" Danielle realized she was speaking to a recording, a recording explaining that the service was down. "No, no, no, no." She redialed, back turned to the corpse, afraid of seeing up close the damage that had been inflicted on Tara's body. Again, no luck contacting the authorities. Her curiosity took a hold of her. She almost dared herself to look at the body. Gazing over her shoulder, she couldn't believe what she saw. Tara's eyes, clouded and milky, were wide open and staring back at her. Tara snarled and snapped her teeth at Danielle as she began to lift her disfigured body off the bed. Danielle screamed and fell to the floor, reaching for her gun. They both stood up at the same time, Tara's insides pouring onto the floor. For a second, they stood there taking each other in. Danielle scrambled out the door and slammed it behind her, Tara crashing into it. A low growl erupted from the other side.

"What the fuck!" Danielle panted. Tara had to be dead. She had to be. There's no way she could have been alive. There was a fucking hole in her body! Nevertheless, she continued to frantically pound against the door. Finally, Danielle pulled her eyes away from Tara's rumbling door and ran to the kitchen counter to search for Tara's car keys. She found Tara's purse and scrambled around trying to locate the keys with her hand. "God dammit!" Danielle yelled in frustration as she dumped the contents of the bag on the counter. She heard the jingle of the metal keys fly out and slide across the counter, falling onto the other side. "Fuck" She ran over into the kitchen to find the keys. Danielle screamed as she finally saw Tyler, blood oozing from his mouth. He screeched and leaped for Danielle. It happened too fast for Danielle to get away from him. He grabbed her arm and bit down, causing Danielle to scream in pain. With Tyler's jaw still clenched down on her left forearm, Danielle pulled her revolver out of her back pocket, placed it against Tyler's temple, closed her eyes, and pulled the trigger. She felt the force of the gun as it blasted through Tyler's skull, his jaw loosening as his brains splattered across the kitchen cabinets. His limp body fell to the ground, blood pouring from the hole Danielle had just made in his head. This time, she didn't allow herself to freak out. She jumped over his carcass, grabbed the car keys, and ran towards the front door.

Before opening the door, Danielle peered through the peephole. Her heart dropped. Standing right in front of the door was Danielle's elderly neighbor, Ms. Hartman. Her arm was missing and it looked as if a chunk of her face had been bitten off. Behind her were dozens more of those things. The entire hallway was filled. "Oh my god" Danielle whispered to herself. "They heard the gunshot." She backed away from the door, going back and forth in her head trying to figure out what to do next. She ran back to her room and swept her curtains aside, looking out the window. She was speechless. Black smoke filled the sky of the city. Down below on the streets were smashed up cars, some engulfed in flames. People ran in all different directions. It was complete chaos. She took a deep breath, opened the window, and climbed out onto the fire escape, saying goodbye to the apartment she had shared with Tara for 5 years. Directly below her, 3 stories down, was Tara's car. "Thank God" Danielle said to herself. She began to quietly crawl down the stairs, trying not to catch the attention of anything on the ground.

She had made it all the way to the last flight of stairs when she stopped and tried to figure out a plan to get to the car without being seen. There was no way she'd be able to lower the ladder to the ground without it making a horrible loud noise. As Danielle looked hesitantly over the railing, a woman burst through the window next to her. Danielle screamed and lost her balance. She tipped over the rail, but managed to grab onto the ladder. Being pulled by Danielle's weight, the ladder flew downwards until it jammed and came to a stop. She dangled about 15 feet in the air. With no idea what to do next, she continued to clench the rusty end of the ladder. She couldn't climb back up; two more of those things had crawled through the broken window and were now snarling at Danielle's suspended body. Down on the ground, a few more had noticed her screams and began to make their way over to her. "Shit" Danielle grunted. She had to let go before more of them started to circle around her. She looked down one last time and finally unclenched her hands, bracing herself as best she could.

She hit the pavement hard, the side of her right thigh taking most of the blow. She wailed as soon as the pain hit her. Trembling on the ground, she wanted to lie there and collect herself, but she couldn't. A group had already began running for her. She rolled over and sprinted for the car, ignoring her throbbing thigh. Now, everything on the street was fleeing towards her. She swung the car door open and threw herself in, her hand instantaneously jamming the keys in the ignition. She flew down the street, hitting a few of those bastards as she made her way for the freeway.

It was like a scene pulled out of some apocalypse movie. Danielle constantly had to swerve around totaled cars that had blocked most of the road. It was hard to keep a fast enough speed with all the debris she had to avoid. But, if she stayed still for too long her car would certainly be ambushed. In the distance, she could see a bus that had tipped over onto its side and completely closed off the road. "Oh, God, how the hell am I gonna get through that" She drummed her fingers along the steering wheel. As she got closer to the accident, she noticed a man standing in the middle of the road waving his arms as if to tell her that he wasn't one of those things. She slowed down, thinking she might be able to offer him some help. When she got close enough to him, she motioned for him to come over to the passenger side so she could pick him up. Instead, he ran over to Danielle's side, grabbing at her locked door. "What are you doing?! Other side!" She yelled through the glass. He looked into her eyes and raised a shotgun at her window. He began to holler at her.

"Open the fucking door now! Don't try any stupid shit or I swear I'll blow your head off!" Danielle looked around furiously; if it weren't for that damn bus she could have easily sped off. "Hey!" he yelled. "1...2...-"

"Alright, alright!" Danielle put her hands up and opened the door, grabbing her bag as she exited the car.

"What you got in there?", he motioned to Danielle's bag.

"Wh- are you serious, it's just-just clothes and shit." she said.

"What about this?" he swiped her revolver out of her pocket.

"Hey!" Danielle tried reaching for her gun, but stopped when she felt the barrel of the shotgun pressed against her forehead. She glanced over into the distance and spotted a pack of those un-dead beings running in their direction. "Please, you can't leave me here. You can't take my gun and my car and leave me here! Please!" She begged.

"You're not my problem" He lowered himself into the car and made a U-turn, heading in the direction Danielle had just come from.

"Fucking bastard!" Danielle picked up a rock and threw it at the back windshield. The retreating car caught the attention of the zombies originally following Danielle. She threw her head in her hands and tried desperately to keep from breaking down. It would be impossible to go on while on foot, especially with those things at every corner. She decided that she had to get off the freeway while she was still able to. It was only a matter of time before she'd wind up being chased again. "The mall's not too far from here." she thought. She didn't want to let go of the idea of evacuating back home just yet, but she had no other choice. It would be relatively easy to get to the mall; she could even see the edge of the parking lot farther off in the distance. She'd be there in about 15 minutes, 10 if she ran. She began thinking about C.J. as she jogged along the road. She hoped to God that he was there at the mall and that he was okay. If she wouldn't be able to see her family, at least she'd be able to wait this whole thing out with him.

Just as she was about to finally exit the freeway, she spotted Tara's familiar vehicle smashed up against the front of a dump truck. "Fucking idiot" she said to herself.

"Please, please! Is someone there? Please help me." The same man who had robbed her earlier was now crying as he frantically tried to escape from the beaten up car he stole from her. "Please, my leg's stuck! Please, get me out of here before those things find me!" he pleaded.

"Calm down! Shut up before they hear you!" Danielle snapped at him.

He finally became silent, now seeing Danielle's face. "I- I'm so sor-"

"Shut up" Danielle cut him off before he could finish his bullshit apology. "Hand me the guns, now." She commanded. He did just as she asked and generously handed over the two weapons. She placed the revolver back in her left pocket and threw the shotgun in her backpack.

"You have to understand, I-I was desperate. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to do that to you. Please help me" he stammered.

Danielle, straight faced, looked deep into his eyes and said "You're not my problem." She turned her back and began to walk away, once again heading for the mall.

She could hear him sobbing behind her, begging for her help. "Please, please! Don't do this to me! I'm a person! Please!"

Danielle tried to drown out his calls, but she couldn't. She rolled her eyes and let out a deep breath. All she could think of was how disappointed her father would be in her. This wasn't who she was. As much as she liked to think that she was some cold-hearted bitch, she couldn't bare the idea of leaving someone to die. Even if this person just so happened to do that very thing to her not 10 minutes ago. She reluctantly turned around and attempted to help free his leg, which had gotten caught in the midst of the collision.

"Oh thank you! God bless you, thank you so much!" he cried.

"Shut up." Danielle said once again. She wrapped her hands around his damaged leg, trying to release it without causing further harm. "Damn, this thing's really in there" she said, attempting to position his leg to get him out.

"Oh shit, hurry! Those things are coming!" he whimpered. Danielle looked up to see 4 racing towards them. With no time left, she ripped his leg free. He wailed in pain as the jagged metal sliced up his leg.

"Come on! We gotta go!" Danielle yelled at him. She ran off the freeway, heading towards a metal fence that separated her from the mall. She looked back to see the man trailing far behind, his leg slowing him down. More zombies followed the 4 that Danielle had first seen. Danielle grabbed onto the fence and began climbing for her life. She reached the top and threw herself over, looking back one last time. The man was on the ground screaming as the creatures dug into his flesh.

Danielle ran as fast she could for the entrance of the mall. Once she got to the employee entrance she punched in the security code and slammed the heavy metal door behind her. The area around her looked untouched. She sighed with relief and began walking further into the mall. Surely by now someone had to have seen her on the security cameras. "Hello?" She yelled out. "Is anybody here?"

"How did you get in here?" Ben questioned her, his gun raised. Danielle jumped at his voice.

"Oh, thank God! You scared me!" Danielle laughed. "Where's everyone else?" She wondered about C.J. in particular.

"I said, how did you get in here?" He persisted, his voice getting louder.

"Ben, calm down, I used the security code like I always do. Why are you pointing your gun at me?" Danielle asked, feeling uneasy at the sight of his weapon.

"You can't be here. You need to leave." Ben demanded.

"What? Ben, those things are out there! I can't go back out there, they'll kill me!" Danielle whimpered.

"Well you can't stay here." Ben was completely cold.

"Ben, please don't make me go back out there! I'm not one of those things! I promise!"

"How am I supposed to know that's the truth? You expect me to just believe you and let you just stroll on in here?" He began shaking his head. "No, no. I'm not doin that. Not again."

"Ben, I said I'm not one of those things! Look at me! I'm talking to you, there's nothing wrong with me! Put your fucking gun down!" Danielle was getting angry.

"Yeah? The asshole who gave me this was walking around and talking just like you right before he fucking sank his teeth into me!" He pulled up his sleeve to reveal a bloody bite mark just above his wrist. "So, you know what, fuck you. I'm not taking anymore chances." He wrapped his finger around the trigger.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing!" Danielle heard the familiar voice coming from behind her. C.J. walked up to them, Bart and Terry trailing behind.

"We don't know where she's been, C.J. She could be infected. I'm not letting you fuck everything up." Ben kept his gun aimed at Danielle's head.

"What's wrong with you man, look at her! Nothing's wrong with her!" Terry yelled.

"Shut the fuck up trainee! You don't know shit." Ben argued.

"Please, make him stop." Danielle said to C.J. "There's nothing wrong with me, I swear."

C.J. walked over and stood in front of Danielle, shielding her from Ben's gun.

Ben shook his head in frustration. "Get out of the way" he commanded C.J.

C.J. pulled out his gun and pointed it at Ben. "Put your fucking gun down." he said.

Ben looked over to see Bart also pointing his gun at him. He rolled his eyes and let his arm fall to his side. "You're gonna get us killed." he complained. "Keep her away from me." he added, walking away.

Danielle sighed as C.J. turned around to look her in the eyes. She reached up towards his shoulders and pulled him into a hug. His arms followed, gripping her closer to him. C.J. realized that Bart and Terry were looking on and broke the hug immediately. He cleared his throat and tried to be cool. "So, uh, you alright? You sure you're not hurt?"

"Yeah" Danielle replied, feeling a little weird to be pushed off of him like that. "I'm a little banged up, but I'll survive." She remembered the bruise that must have been forming on her thigh. "You guys mind if I go find a restroom or something?"

"C'mon, I'll take you upstairs. You aint running around down here alone." C.J. told her.

"Yeah, especially with Ben out to get you." Terry tried to lighten the mood.

The four of them made their way to the elevators. Danielle noticed that C.J. was acting a little strange, kind of bossy and colder than usual. It bothered her, but she didn't think too much of it. She was just happy to finally be somewhere safe and with living people.

C.J. didn't take his eyes off of Danielle. He couldn't believe how relieved he was to have her with him. Although, now wasn't the time to get all sentimental. Ben had fucking lost it. C.J. felt that he was basically in charge now. He had to make sure everyone stayed in line. They couldn't risk someone else losing it like Ben had. It was now C.J.'s responsibility to keep everything from falling apart like the rest of the city. He had to keep everyone safe. He had to keep Danielle safe.