Ok guys. I lied. This isn't the last chapter. There's just no way I could get everything in here without it being extremely long, so I cut it in half. So, Chapter 11 will be the final chapter. I swear. Sorry for the length, I was feeling creative. Please review! I'd really appreciate it. Enjoy.

Ellis had finally calmed down. I said nothing to him the entire time, I just waited while he let it out, not caring that he was soaking the chest of my tank with his tears. My hands were in his hair, combing through it soothingly.

We lay there in silence, my head lulling onto the pillow. Ellis' breathing slowed and deepened as he dozed off on my chest.

Just as I slipped into unconsciousness, Ellis suddenly rolled off of me and onto his back, sprawling out on the other side of the bed, jarring me awake.

"Zoey," He said, staring up at the ceiling.

"Yeah?" I mumbled groggily, rubbing my eyes.

"I've been thinkin'…you know that body we found down by the chopper crash? The old guy?"

I sat upright, suddenly at attention, taking him by surprise. "What about him?"

Ellis looked up at me. "You knew him." He stated, sounding factual.

I sat silently while I thought of what to say. When no response came to me, I sighed, defeated. "Yes." I said, leaning back against the wall. "I did…How did you-"

He shrugged. "I ain't never seen you hurt so much as you did when we found 'em."

I chewed on my inner cheek. "Yeah. He was a good man." That was the understatement of the century.

Ellis stared up at me, thinking of how to phrase his next question. I answered it before he had a chance. "Yes, I was on the helicopter when it crashed."

He sat up, leaning back against the wall, too. His face was sympathetic. "How'd you make it?"

I chuckled humorlessly. "I almost didn't. I was barely alive when you guys found me. I would have bled out."

Ellis nodded, mulling this over. "'N was it just you two?" He pressed, unable to hold back his curiosity now that I was finally talking about it.

I shook my head. "No. There was four of us…" My breath suddenly hitched in my throat. "Bill, the one we found, Louis and…" I hesitated before naming the last, looking up at Ellis. "Francis."

Ellis' lips pursed briefly, but I didn't miss it. "You don't know what happened to the rest of 'em?"

My eyes fell on my hands. "No."

Ellis took my hand and began playing with my fingers, keeping his eyes down. "This Francis…"

"Ellis," I scoffed, pulling my hand away. "don't worry about it…" I said. I didn't want to think about him, for fear my voice would give it away and I'd cave. I crossed my arms over my chest stubbornly, turning my head away.

Ellis stayed silent beside me. "Well, when I try to get close to you and ya'mutter another guys name…I think that's a pretty damn good reason to worry…"

"No, it's not." I snapped. "He's dead Ellis. Gone. So you can stop trying to compete with a guy who isn't even alive anymore." I said, much more hostile than intended, and leapt from the bed. Saying that hurt. It was one thing to think about it, but to finally admit out loud that Francis was probably gone, was a whole different story.

I paced around the room. Now Ellis had me thinking about it, and I wasn't going to stop. Francis was in my head, and just like what always happens when I start thinking about him, I can't stop. A whole jumble of emotions overcame me every time. Guilt, fear, anxiety, sadness, anger…

"Did you love him?" Ellis asked sheepishly from the bed.

I swiveled around. "Shut up!" I shouted. "He's gone! I'm never going to see him again! So just shut up!" My temper had gotten the better of me, especially since I had hardly been provoked.

Ellis looked taken aback, but I was pretty positive that after today, no emotional outburst of mine could phase him.

He got up from the bed and walked around to stand in front of me. "I wasn't askin' you outta jealousy, Zo…" He said quietly, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. "I was wonderin' if you missed him…as much as I miss some people…so that I don't feel so damn alone."

I kept my eyes on his quietly, not exactly sure how to respond. "Yes. I miss him. I miss him so much that sometimes I can hardly think of a reason to keep fighting."

I could see Ellis' expression fall slightly at my words, but he didn't retreat. He nodded, taking a step back. Except I took a step forward, filling the space between us. I took a hold of both his hands, looking up at him. "Ellis…I can't make myself forget him. But right this minute, I can't think of anybody else I'd rather have my back."

Ellis smiled brightly against the dark room. "We gon' make it outta here together no matter what, I can promise you that."

I nodded, pushing my lips onto his. It started out slow and comforting, taking on the mood in the room. But after a minute, our hands began to roam, and the kiss grew deeper, more feverish. It felt like we had just discovered each other for the first time, and I wondered why I didn't give in to him sooner, because I was sure as hell missing out.

I don't know how long it was but eventually we laid down to sleep for good. I rolled over and curled into a ball, hitching the blanket over my shoulders, ready for sleep. I felt Ellis behind me, his breath tickling the back of my neck.

My eye's scanned the room habitually, landing on a picture of his mother on top of the dresser. I remembered what I'd done, and how I'd lied about it. I felt guilty; not for the reason one would think, I felt guilty because I didn't feel guilty about doing it. I wondered what kind of person that made me.

When I could finally peel my eyes open, I had to squint to get used to the sunny room. The windows weren't boarded up, the house was left almost exactly as it was, and I remembered the risk we were taking sleeping here. But I didn't get out of bed. I rolled over on my back, staring at the ceiling fan. If I really tried, going only by the room I was in, it almost felt like a normal world was awaiting me outside this house.

A couple minutes later reality set in and I thought about how close we were to South Carolina, how close we were to salvation. I daydreamed about what was waiting for all of us there. A hot shower? A hot meal? Sleeping peacefully? The comforting knowledge of safety?

Ellis was still snoring lightly to my left. I slid out of bed and dressed quietly, trying not to wake him up just yet. He needed as much rest as he could get.

As I descended down the stairs, I slid my pistols into my belt. Everybody was awake already. Nick was leaning against the front door frame, Coach thinking intently over the map, and Rochelle was sitting beside him on the couch, staring down at her hands. She looked up at my approach, jumping to her feet and bounding towards me.

Nobody, least of all me, was expecting it when she sent her fist into my eye.

"Ow," I flinched. Nick held my chin to keep my head in place as he pressed the cool compress against my eye. "cut it out!"

"Quit moving around, then!"

I held still, gritting my teeth. He was being unnecessarily aggressive. "What was Rochelle's problem?" I asked quietly. She didn't hold back, either, for such a small person she put a considerable amount of force into it. What had I done to piss her off? After she swung at me, I half expected her to either pounce on me or have to be restrained yet wanting to pounce on me. Instead, she gave me a black eye, turned on her heel, and plopped back down on the couch before anybody could react.

I didn't ask her what her problem was, my eye had hurt so bad. I ran to the bathroom, and Nick followed to help, which, needless to say, surprised the both of us.

Nick shrugged, but I could see that he knew. "Maybe she has a little crush on Ellis…"

I shoved his shoulders away from me in the cramped bathroom. "Not funny, Nick. Seriously, don't lie to me."

He took a step back, pinching the bridge of his nose, staying silent for a few moments. His voice lowered. "She knows what you did."

I opened my mouth to say something, but no words came out. Nick looked down at me tiredly, leaning back against the counter.

"I…I didn't…what did I do?"

"Don't play games, Zoey. I saw."

He knew I shot Ellis' mom and lied about it. "But…so what? What's it to you? You don't even like Ellis…And how did Rochelle even find out?"

"I told her."

He could tell I was surprised. Nick was definitely not the 'sharing' type of person… "I still don't understand…you guys don't understand. I had to do it!" I said, lowering my voice when I realized I was almost yelling.

"I don't think it's just the fact you shot his mother that pissed her off…I think it's also that you lied about it, and then crawled into bed with him." At this, Nick too looked annoyed.

I bit my inner cheek. They were making it sound so terrible. It didn't seem wrong in my mind. I shook my head at him. "You guys are wrong. You don't know anything…"

I tried to leave the bathroom, but Nick grabbed hold of my arms and shoved me back to where I was standing, bringing his face an inch from mine. "You want to know what I know? I know you're a selfish human being with no thought of anybody but herself. You lost your fuck buddy now you're here stringing Ellis along. And you know what's going to happen when we finally reach Charleston? You'll forget about him. You'll forget about all of us." He said this through gritted teeth, spitting these words out at me.

How could Nick say that? It sounded nothing like me, or so I thought. Of course I was hurting over Francis, but Ellis meant a lot to me. I didn't want to forget these people.

Of course I didn't want to, but would I?

The answer was yes. As soon as we were safe I knew I planned on branching off onto my own. Wasn't that the unspoken agreement we all had from the beginning? Were we expected to depend on each other for the rest of our lives?

And Ellis. Would I leave him?

Then I realized that I would. And I could. I believed I'd be able to walk away from him easier than I should be able to. In the face of the apocalypse I couldn't figure out what was important to me and what was important to my survival. What was I ruling by, instincts or emotions? Was I stringing Ellis along simply to keep myself alive, or was it because I wanted him for myself?

My eyes began to sting at my selfish revelation. I nodded. "I know, I know…"

Nick didn't back away as I assumed he would, he stared down at me while tears began streaming down my face.

"I don't know what I'm doing. I'm just…what's going to happen to us?" I had never asked Nick a sincere question as this before, not a question that my emotional stability depended on. And I asked myself: Why did I let Ellis fall in love with me? I never did a thing to prevent it, never said anything to him to make him think he shouldn't…was it my fault we'll both end up hurt in the end?

"That's something bigger than us, kid." He said, his voice softening. He leaned down, pressing his lips against my forehead. He said the next thing with a sour expression. "It'll lie in the governments hands."

"Ellis, we're heading that way." Coach piped in, pointing the opposite direction that Ellis was walking. We all paused where we were standing outside his house.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I just wanna stop on over by my old mechanic shop…Only a block this way. I'm pretty darn sure I can get a ride for us if you guys will gimme some time." Ellis proposed.

We all looked at each other, except Rochelle. She avoided my eyes. At least, she avoided the eye that wasn't purple and swelling. When Ellis asked what happened, Nick told him the most obvious lie in the book: I fell into a doorknob. The worse part was Ellis believed him.

"Uh…of course we'd wait for a ride, what kind of question is that?" Nick said.

"Well, that depends." Coach added. "Are you sure ya'll can get a ride together? I don't wanna sit 'round here waitin' and end up just killin' time…"

Rochelle said nothing, just leaned against the mailbox with an exasperated sigh.

Ellis gave Coach a look. "Are you doubtin' me, Coach? I'm damn near the best mechanic 'round here!" He exclaimed.

Nick looked at the abandoned town around us. "That's not exactly saying much, Overalls."

Ellis was in the back of the shop, hidden beneath the hood of an old pickup truck. Coach helped as much as he could to get things moving, but his limited knowledge of cars did little. Nick was sprawled out in the bench of the truck, while Rochelle and I were on the sidewalk out front, keeping watch.

"Pretty dead around here, huh?" I said, attempting small talk.

She nodded, not looking at me, and continued pacing up and down the sidewalk. We sat in silence for a long time.

"Ellis, are you almost done in there?" I yelled from outside.

His voice was muffled under the hood. "Just about, gimme a minute and she'll be runnin' like brand spankin' new!"

I could hear Nick snoring from the bed of the truck. I wished Ellis would hurry, it was increasingly awkward out here with Rochelle and my swollen eye. I'd cast side glances in her direction and often find her staring at my black eye. I knew she felt guilty, but she was also too angry to apologize for it.

After some more time I gave in. "Rochelle, look, I know you know." I began in heated whispers. "But I didn't know what else to do. I couldn't let him do it himself. I didn't want him to have to live with that."

She stared blankly at me. "I want to understand, Zoey. But I can't."

I took a step forward. "Why don't you understand?"

"How could you do that to someone to supposedly care about? Lie to them about something like that? Then crawl into bed with them like nothing happened, was it a way to make yourself feel better? I'm sorry. I just don't get it." Rochelle shook her head at me, looking everywhere but my eyes.

I thought of how to respond in order to make myself seem like less of an asshole. "I don't know how to explain it to you other than to say I felt it was the right thing to do." I couldn't tell her I felt terrible about it. I dug around myself to feel something; guilt, sadness, regret…but I showed no signs of any of those.

Rochelle stared at a building across the street.

"How can I fix this between us?" I asked.

A thought ran through my head. We were almost to Charleston. Why did I want to repair things between me and Rochelle? Did I honestly care that she punched me in the eye, or what she thought about me? Was I worried about our friendship?

No.

My motive was to fix things between us so I could be sure she'd feel obligated to watch my back. So I wouldn't have to fear her using a personal grudge against me to toss me to the zombies. It was a selfish move. I was a terrible person.

Rochelle finally met my eyes. "It's not you and I you should be trying to fix. You need to tell Ellis."

"No way, that would defeat the whole purpose!" I argued.

"Not entirely. He still didn't have to kill his own mother."

I bit my lip. A screeching cry suddenly permeated the air, coming from the roofs above us. "What the-" I didn't have time to finish my exclamation. A dark figure suddenly dropped directly on top of me, bringing me to the ground. My back slammed hard against the pavement; I could feel the gravel pierce my skin through my sweater. I immediately knew it was a Hunter. It was shrieking in my face, it's saliva showering me as it took it's claws to my flesh. I thrashed beneath it, trying to shout but ended up choking on my own voice.

Blood. A lot of blood. I was positive it had torn out my insides.

I was relieved of it's weight as it disappeared from on top of me. I couldn't see through the shroud of darkness that overcame my vision. I tried to move my hand, willed my muscles to cooperate so I could defend myself, but nothing happened. My head fell limp into the sidewalk. I heard shouts, but couldn't form them into words.

I didn't feel the ground below me anymore, somebody's arms curled underneath me. This movement brought searing pain from my torn flesh. My eyes fluttered open and I hollered, before slinking into unconsciousness.

"Hold it on there, god dammit!"

"Could you drive a little more slowly?"

"We gotta stop the blood!"

"Shit, shit, shit, stay with me, Zo!"

"Give me your shirt."

"You sure you shot that mother fucker?"

"Is she going to make it?"

My eye's felt like they were glued together. I peeled them open to see the lightening sky above me, only to notice it was moving. Looking around me I realized I was in the bed of a truck, sprawled on my back. How I got there was a mystery to me.

I tried to move, to sit up, but the pain that came with it was so severe I had no choice but to fall back into the bed. I grinded my teeth in agony. I tried to fight through the haze of pain and fatigue and remember what happened.

I was talking to Rochelle. There was a noise. I woke up here.

My mouth was dry. That was all I could think about: how thirsty I was.

The truck drove over something big, pushing me around. I fought back the urge to cry.

"Aye, you're awake." Ellis said soothingly, suddenly appearing next to me. His eyes had circles under them. "Oh, thank Jesus you're awake!"

I nodded. My mouth was so dry, I was afraid I couldn't talk. "Water?" I croaked.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Ellis assured. He stuck his head through the back window of the truck. When he reappeared, he tilted the bottle towards my lips and I had to lift my head to keep it from spilling. I drank it greedily.

"What happened?" I asked after I downed the bottle.

"Hunter." Ellis said, brushing hair out of my face. "Got you pretty good, too…"

It all came back to me. "How long was I out?"

"Almost two days. Only thing that kept me goin' was feelin' your heartbeat…I was sure you was a goner."

"Have you slept?"

"Not much."

Ignoring all my muscles joining together in protest, I slid myself over to the right side of the truck, giving Ellis plenty of room to my left. He hesitated at first, but the thought of sleep was too enticing for him. He lay on his back next to me.

We lay in silence for a while.

"I thought you were gon' die."

I slid my hand into his. "Guess it just wasn't my time."

"But we're almost out of gas!" Rochelle said, referring to the pickup truck that was covered in blood, guts, and bits of clothing. Completed with a cracked windshield from plowing through zombies. Ellis wasn't underestimating when he told us this thing was a beast of a machine.

"Yeah, and we're also almost there!" Coach retorted, keeping his eyes on the road. His words lit a bit of hope in all of us.

"Well, we sure as hell won't get there without any gas." She muttered, leaning back against the passengers seat.

"Ro, have you somehow managed to forget everything that has happened in the past several weeks? Now, if we can't make it there on foot I don't know how the hell we managed to survive this long." Coach said, angrier than I'd ever seen him. I was sure he was just anxious to finally get to Charleston. If the apocalypse ever chose a time to really wear on Coach, it was now. We were so close to salvation we could almost taste it. Though that was probably literal in Coach's case. We had all lost weight, but it was on Coach that it really showed.

"Jeez, Rochelle," Nick said, mock exasperation. "if I didn't know any better I'd mistake you for my ex-wife."

Rochelle huffed in response, turning her head towards the window. Nick, Ellis and I were in the bed of the truck, listening through the opened back window, guns loaded, picking off zombies we passed and others who were a distance away just for fun. It was still extremely painful for me to move, and as soon as I got the chance at our first rest-stop I assessed the damage.

My torso took the brunt of the attack with lacerations so deep I was surprised my entrails weren't hanging out. It tore through the fabric of both my sweater and my shirt, leaving patches of my wounded flesh exposed. Every time I came in contact with someone or something, even the breeze, it stung horribly, setting my unprotected nerves on fire. They patched me up as best they could, even managed to disinfect the wounds, wrapping cheap, some handmade, bandages around me.

Looking at myself, I thanked the Lord I was immune. Then an unmistakable wave of hate washed over me. If there was a Lord, he wasn't getting my thanks for what he was allowing to happen to us. I spat on the ground in his honor.

We had all grown tired of Rochelle's bantering, and finally stopped at a deserted gas station. I went into the convenience store alone with my pistols. The air was thick with dust that unsettled as I pushed open the door. The light on the ceiling was flickering ominously, a bloody streak on the counter beside the register, which was broken into and cleared out.

Most of the shelves were empty or knocked over. I stepped over the corpse of a young woman who wore a uniform bearing the gas stations logo. I didn't look too closely at her, as she was ripped completely open.

The only thing thicker than the dust was the smell. It was a stench unlike any other, all bottled up in this store without any circulation of air. I pulled the collar of my shirt over my nose, which helped little.

I moved up and down the aisles, picking up things here and there: sunflower seeds, a box of gauze, a loaf of bread and some peanut butter. These were pretty much all that was left in the store. In the freezer section, I took a heavy bag of ice that we could let melt for drinking water. Carrying all this, I was forced to stick my pistols in my belt.

As I made my way to the door, I saw Ellis pumping what little gas was left into the truck, a triumphant smile on his face nonetheless.

Before I walked out, I remembered something and turned back towards the cash register. Behind the counter, I stuck my knife into the lock and opened up the glass case, grabbing two packs of cigarettes for Nick. Now my hands were really full.

I made to step over the body. I looked down. It wasn't there anymore.

Simultaneously, my stomach dropped in shock and I sensed something behind me. I hesitated not one second before I swung the bag of ice in my hands, using all the strength I could muster, into the face of the infected woman who had just re-risen. It stumbled onto it's side, and I took this chance to drop the ice and reach for my pistols. Only it regained its composure quicker than I estimated, and as it lunged towards me again I dropped everything that I had and resorted to my fists, planting a right hook into the side of its head. I felt the blood and goo from it's deteriorating skull on my knuckles.

It stood again, but this time I had my gun ready. I took one last look at it lumbering slowly towards me, it's stomach torn completely open and spilling out as it walked, it's hands outreached towards me, grasping for what it couldn't have. I sent one clean shot between it's eyes, watching it fall to the ground and perish for the second time.

I gathered everything back into my arms and made my way leisurely towards the truck.

"There you are, get anything good?" Coach wondered. I tossed everything I found into the bed, and they eyed the blood-stained bag of ice wearily.

"What's on your hand?" Rochelle asked, reaching for it. I pulled it back, wiping it hastily on my jeans. I didn't feel like sharing.

"Well, let's get a move on." Nick said, clapping his hands. "Overalls here was able to suck just about enough juice outta here."

Ellis nodded triumphantly. "Yeah, it was nothin'…" He said modestly.

"Oh, that reminds me." I said, reaching into the pocket of my torn sweater. I tossed the two packets of cigarettes at Nick, who caught them without a problem. He stared down at them, then at me.

"Zoey, I really never, ever thought I'd say this…but I fucking love you." He exclaimed, grabbing a hold of my face and planting a kiss on me. I pulled back.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Now you owe me." I said, ignoring Ellis' disapproving glare.

Nick jumped in the back of the truck happily, immediately lighting a cigarette, inhaling and leaning back with a content smirk on his face. It was a sight, really. How that nowadays the littlest things brought us happiness.

Coach and Rochelle climbed in the front seat. Ellis turned to me. "How yah feelin'?"

I shrugged. "I've seen better days."

He smiled. "Haven't we all?" He leaned in for a kiss, only to be interrupted by the ground below us beginning to tremble.

Ellis hopped quicker than me into the truck, leaning over the side and hauling me in as Coach floored it.

"Agh, leave it to a fucking Tank to ruin a perfectly good cigarette!" Nick shouted, tossing his bud onto the street just as Ellis was pulling me over the side of the truck. Coach swerved on the road, and I fell the rest of the way in, landing directly on my stomach. I groaned loudly.

Rochelle poked through the passenger side window, sitting half-out, half-in. "Take it out!" She demanded, aiming her AK steadily, opening fire.

We all composed ourselves, readying and loading our guns. The snapping and locking sounds of our weapons echoed around us, only to be drowned out by the Tanks bellowing roar.

It was still a way's down the street, but close enough to hit. Coach tried to drive as steady as possible, but it was hard with overturned cars and bodies laying in the streets.

My ears popped with the exploding butt's of rifles in my ear. The Tank was moving faster than any I had seen, this one probably being more desperate for a meal. People were growing rather scarce nowadays.

I emptied an entire magazine on it, but I had no why of knowing if my bullets reached it or not. "Fuck!" I exclaimed, falling back into the bed to reload.

"Coach, swerve!" Ellis hollered. I looked up to see a hunk of the road flying towards the truck. Coach broke hard and swerved, sending the truck into a tailspin. Ellis fell onto his back, Nick somehow holding his stance, still shooting at the oncoming Tank. The cement slammed into the tail of the truck, causing us to spin even more out of control. This time Nick didn't hold his balance, and collapsed backwards out of the truck, and onto the road.

Coach hit the gas.

"Coach, STOP!" I screamed, louder than I'd ever done before. I didn't know if he heard me, but he wasn't moving particularly fast. I jumped from the truck, my legs buckling under me as I rolled onto the street. Nick was just getting his bearing down the road.

"Nick!" I yelled, limping towards him while shooting in the direction of the Tank.

"Zoey, no!" He shouted at me, limping a little himself as he ran from the Tank. It was getting closer

The shaking ground below me threw me off balance, and I fell over just as Nick reached me. To my left I saw Coach moving in reverse back towards us.

"You fucking stupid bitch!" Nick said, trying to haul me to my feet.

A car came soaring through the sky towards us. I grabbed Nick's collar and pulled him on top of me, rolling over and shielding him with my body. It seemed to move in slow motion. I could feel the air above my head penetrated by the car, my hair being tossed around, the roof brushing against my back, barely missing us.

It slammed on the road next to us, rolling and blocking Coach's way. I heard the car doors slamming as they jumped from the truck. This time Nick rolled over, jumping to his feet, dodging the bullets flying at the Tank.

Nick pulled me from the ground, throwing us both onto the side of the road when the Tank swung it's car-length arm. Only then did I realize I lost my pistols in all the commotion, but Nick swiveled, showing no mercy as he unloaded the entire magazine of his SMG on the Tank. It stumbled backwards at Nick's onslaught, but grew even angrier.

The car that it threw at us suddenly disappeared, as the pickup truck came into view, moving in reverse and flying towards the Tank. Coach and Rochelle were in the middle of the road where the truck was blocked from us, waving frantically for Nick and I.

"Where's Ellis?" I managed to ask as Nick dragged us both over to them.

He looked over his shoulder. I met his gaze. Ellis was screaming furiously as he rammed the truck into the tank at full speed, Ellis himself slamming into the steering wheel at this impact, rolling completely over it's massive body and crushing it's head. He didn't stop at this, he put it in drive and made sure he heard the crunch of its skull.

I fell to the ground and Rochelle's feet, Nick leaning over beside Coach, trying to catch his breath. My entire body hated me, every single muscle and every single bone screaming their protests. I looked down at myself, at the blood seeping through the bandages from this exertion. Rochelle helped me to my feet, and I leaned heavily on her.

"Zoey, you're okay, you're okay." She repeated as I buckled into her, unable to hold myself up any longer. Nick was brushing the dirt off of his suit.

The pickup truck rolled on over to us, Ellis jumping from the driver's seat. Rochelle couldn't hold me up any longer, and Ellis relieved her of my weight, catching me as I fell over again.

Everybody jumped into the truck, not wanting to wait around for a second onslaught. This time Ellis was driving, and he laid me across the bench in the front seat, everybody else falling into the bed.

"God damn, Zoey. You really are a crazy mother fucker." He said, starting the truck, shaking his head and chuckling humorlessly. "You almost got yourself killed for Nick." He added with a mock sneer.

Blackness was creeping into my vision. "Ellis," I said, leaning against the passenger side door, my legs stretched out in front of me.

"Yeah?" he responded, looking over at me as he weaved down the dark road.

"I'm the one who shot your mom." I said weakly, before succumbing to unconsciousness.

"I think he hates me." I said, looking down at Ellis' sleeping form. We sat in the bed of the truck, alternating turns driving. Rochelle took the wheel, much to Nick's doubt, and Coach was snoring in the passenger seat.

Nick shrugged, puffing on a cigarette. "I don't know, kid. I'm pretty sure I'd hate you too if you shot my mom." He paused. "No, on second thought I think I'd love you for it."

"I'm serious, Nick." I said sadly. "I had absolutely no discretion."

"Honestly, now, Zoey. What do you expect? What did Ellis expect? It's life or death here. Kill or be killed. Not 'have discretion while killing the zombie version of Ellis' mom'. If the kid actually has it in him to be hurt about what you did, it's a mystery to me he made it this long."

I sometimes wondered why I didn't listen to Nick as much as I probably should.

"Zoey, Zoey, wake up!" Rochelle said, shaking me awake. I sat up, my clothes sticking to me with sweat, plastered to my wounds. The sun was bearing down on us.

"What?" I asked, rubbing my eyes. She pointed ahead of us. I met what she was looking at.

The two story-high, impenetrable steel gates were just down the road. From the distance I could see the armed guards parading around the front. It looked just like it did on the TV. I felt like I did when I was a kid and we'd finally reach our vacation spot after hours of driving.

Ellis was driving, Coach in the seat beside him. Nick was still snoring at the end of the truck.

"Oh my God, Zoey. We made it. We made it!" She shouted, tears welling up in her eyes. She lurched forward and embraced me, sobbing into my hair.

"There, there." I said comfortingly. "I know. We're going to be okay." I said as enthusiastically as I could.

I woke up Nick when we were closer. When he saw with his own eyes that this place was the real deal, he gave me a look I'd never seen on him. "Nice job, Zoey. You were right." He said, shaking my shoulders.

We were halted a little ways away from the gates by two armed guards in military apparel. "Please step from the vehicle." They ordered.

We all obliged, trying to look as healthy as possible, standing next to each other. I looked over at Ellis, but he didn't return my gaze.

"Are any of you infected?" One of them asked. I wondered why they even bothers with that question, I assumed nobody ever told the truth.

We all shook our heads.

"Have you come in contact with the infected?"

We all smirked, looking down at ourselves. "No, we came all the way from New Orleans in a private jet." Nick said sourly. "If any of us were prone to infection, we'd know."

The solider eyed him wearily. "Very well. You're to leave your vehicle and weapons here, proceed right down to the entrance of the gate for further inspection." Before we walked away, I caught one of them staring at my torn, bloody skin.

"Hunter." I said, answering his unspoken question.

He stared at me as we walked away, before turning to the other guard and whispering something. They both laughed.

"Form a straight line." The guards ordered immediately after we reached them. To our right were four cages, inside were what looked like Rottweiler's or German Shepherds. One by one we had to walk past them. My heart hammered behind my ribs as each of them went before me, without the dogs so much as whining. At this I was extremely grateful.

I took a deep breath and followed suit. I imagined the dogs going insane when they smelled me and me being hauled off by the guards for immediate execution. But in reality, nothing happened. They stayed just as silent.

"You're to report to the Medic for a mental and physical examination, as well as disinfection." Said the guard, tearing a piece of paper from his board and handing it to me. "Welcome." He added with a wink, and ordered the gates to be opened.

I finally woke up. I don't know how long I was sleeping, but for the first time in a long time I felt rejuvenated. I sat up from the cot I was issued from hundreds others. Where we were staying was like a long hall, the walls lined with cots.

They gave me new clothes. I stuck with my jeans but accepted the plain white T-shirt. After we each visited the Medic for extensive inspection, we were all cleared and registered in the camp. They washed me from head to toe, disinfecting each of my wounds and bandaging me up properly. I felt the best I could ever remember, as if I could run ten miles with a horde on my tail.

Looking around, I immediately spotted Ellis, Nick, Rochelle and Coach still sleeping heavily on their cots. It felt like nothing else, being able to sleep comfortably, not having to keep a weapon in your hands or possibilities in your head.

I walked from the sleeping hall and into the sunlight, actually taking in the camp around me. The buildings were built last minute, but they seemed durable enough. There were five different buildings identical to the one I just emerged from, all circled around what would be a town square. The sleeping hall, the dining hall, the Medic, the facilities and showers, and the recreational hall, which held a basketball hoop and bookshelf of old books and outdated magazines.

Further away was the military sect, cut off from the civilians by a long, barbed gate. I didn't dwell much on that part, and made my way towards the dining hall. I looked at all the people around me, who were walking around, talking and laughing. I felt terrified, jumping away when somebody came even close to me.

It occurred to me that I'd never be the same. Would I ever be able to be around groups of people ever again? At any moment they could be zombies instead. Is this really something one could get over?

I shook my head to myself, pushing open the door to the dining hall.

Most tables were occupied, I concluded as I stood holding a small tray of food. It felt like high school all over again, and I shuddered at the memory. I spotted a vacant table with only one other occupant, and weaved my way over.

I sat across an older looking man, whose hair was beginning to fall out and graying up the sides. His face held years of smiling and laughing, which didn't seem to be making appearances nowadays.

He looked up at my approach, and I sat across from him, immediately digging into my food. The camp had it's own garden, so my meal consisted of soup full of all sorts of vegetables and an apple on the side.

"Hi." He greeted me, putting down the novel he was reading.

I nodded at him, shoving down my food.

"I know everybody here. Why haven't I seen you?" He asked.

I shrugged. "My...friends and I just got here a day ago."

He looked taken aback. "And I was almost positive we were done getting refugees. How'd you make it?"

"Pure willpower." I smirked.

He didn't answer, just kept staring at me. I resumed eating my meal, not the least bit intimidated, as I assumed he was going for. It was going to take a lot more than a cold stare to scare me now.

"You made a mistake. You shouldn't have come." He said simply.

It was my turn to stare. Before I could form a response, he stood from the table and disappeared among the groups of people exiting and entering the dining hall.

After I ate, I took a shower. Possibly the longest shower I'd ever taken. I couldn't get what that man said out of my head. What did he mean we made a mistake coming here? How could it possibly be a mistake, was he implying that outside this place was better?

I wouldn't dream of it.

I retired back to my cot, somehow still exhausted, and snuggled into the cheap blanket. I hadn't seen any signs of Nick or the others, but I assumed it was easy to lose track of people in this place.

I willed myself to sleep.

Somebody crawled into my cot. Somebody warm, who settled in behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me into him. I grabbed hold of his hand, turning my face to his. "I am so sorry, Ellis." I whispered, feeling the tears in my eyes.

His hand moved to my face, holding it as he kissed me, brushing away the tears with his thumb as they fell. He didn't have to say anything for me to know he had forgiven me. I snuggled against him, feeling his breath on the back of my neck.

As I fell into a heavy slumber, I heard him whisper in my ear. "I love you."

I woke up in the middle of the night, having to go to the bathroom extremely bad. I extracted myself from Ellis' arms and padded quietly towards the exit, not wanting to wake up all the other sleeping forms around us.

I pushed open the doors, and nearly collided with a guard.

"Oh, sorry." I said, beginning to move away.

"What are you doing, miss? It's past curfew." He said, grabbing my arm.

"Curfew?" I reiterated. "I didn't know there was a...I just really have to use the bathroom. Please, I'll be quick."

He eyed me up and down for a minute, before jerking his head in the direction of the facilities. "Make it quick."

I practically ran across the square to the bathrooms, bursting through the door. I kept the lights off, my eyes already too adjusted to the darkness, and went over to the stalls, the linoleum cold beneath my feet.

Before I went into the stall, I sensed somebody behind me. I swiveled around defensively, but they grabbed my shoulders. I brought my knee to their gut, and when they buckled over, brought it up to their face, hearing the bone crack with the impact.

"Zoey..." The figure said as they lay on the floor, their hands over their face. The voice was horribly familiar, and a pit formed in my stomach. I flipped on the lights, a gasp of shock escaping my lips, and fell to the ground beside them.

I had to choke back my sobs of joy. "Oh my God, Louis!"