I am starting to give up. Smh.

REVIEW REPLIES: (These are going to be really short and sweet; sorry!)

-The Beautiful Filth
Hmm...I believe he would be referred to as a Doctor, though professor can work as well. Hehe! I am excited to continue writing for him so I can answer the rest of your questions! Thank you for reading and reviewing! :D

-ZeDancingHobbit
I cannot promise the safety of ANY of the characters in this story. They are in the zombie apocalypse after all. :) Thanks for reading and reviewing! I appreciate it!

-mozzi-girl (The Beast)
You just blew my mind. That all was completely unintentional, but I guess I can make it part of the story, since I like the continuity of it all. I should really stop changing the story in review replies, but you give me amazing ideas, and I can't help it! ^^' Thanks for reading and reviewing! I appreciate it! :D

Okay, quick note, I just got back into school and if homework is like how it was on this first day, then I doubt I'll have much freedom this school year. And the thought of going to college in two short years just dawned on me and I really want to work on getting my grades up as much as possible and I have a job to maintain as well, so you all know what that means. I'm going to be gone for awhile. I'll post as much as I can, but I can't promise anything.

Also! I am running out of ideas! I have started the next chapter over and over again, but none of the ideas that I have have been working out for me! If you guys have any opinions on how the next chapter should go, please feel free to tell me! In fact, I am more than just encouraging, I'm BEGGING! I like this story and I don't want to have to take it down because I hit a wall.

And another short note; how do you guys feel about a spin-off to the Officer Diggs series (Officer Diggs, Hostage, Minion, Family Relations...) about Jay Lynn? I have an idea...somewhat. I really want to try it, but I'm just worried that I'm already extending the story past its breaking point. If you guys like the idea or even have some thoughts about what I should put in, please tell me! I'd love to hear from you all! :D

That's about it! I'll see you guys when I can and I hope you all have a wonderful rest of the week! :D

Thank you!


Chapter Eleven: The Shortage

The next few days at the camp were spent arguing and worrying about impending attacks. Only one other night we faced a small horde of Infected. They dragged their bony corpses along the edges of camp and moaned loudly, as if trying to challenge us. To say the least, it worked. Nick went insane from the noise and fired the first shot, which sparked a movement in the horde. Natara and Nick decided to face this horde alone while the rest of us watched from the warehouse.

News about Bill's health was cloudy. Kai would be quite happy one day, explaining how some tests had proved negative, but shortly after, he would mourn as if Bill had already became Infected. His strange behavior confused the new parents and we had no choice but to tell them that their son had a fifty-percent chance of contracting the virus. They weren't too happy about that.

To help Zoey and Ellis out, we took turns watching over Bill so they could get some work done. Zoey was relieved to finally carry her own weight and not have to worry about putting strain on a baby. She did most of the work, though Mike did his best to help. Allison and George had handled his injury to a point where he wouldn't become Infected, but the number of activities he could do were very limited.

Today, Mike confronted us on a matter that was of the upmost importance.

"We're running out of food," he barked from his lawn chair. "Our water supply has also been cut short."

John V. nodded slowly. "I say we send two groups out; one for water and the other for food."

"And a few of you guys should stay behind to watch over Mike and the baby," George added and the rest of us nodded. I turned to look at Natara, who was currently watching over Bill. She shrugged towards me and I refocused my attention towards Mike.

"You guys know I'd just LOVE to help you," Mike growled, rolling his eyes, "but Nurse Allison and Doctor George won't let me leave this damn warehouse."

"It's not like you're the only one who's facing problems," Ken grumbled.

"So what, your girlfriend is gone," Mike retorted in mock sympathy, "do you want a blankie and bedtime story to go with it? Look kid…"

Ken started to charge towards Mike, but Coach held him back.

"He needs a good punch to the face," Ken spat and Coach shook his head.

"The only thing that'll cause is trouble, Brother," he replied. "We're all on edge…"

"Don't you dare start this crap with us," Joey hissed from a corner. He didn't care for us too much. He would prefer to stay a few feet from us, as if he were worried we were infected. "We've been living in this…this crap-hole for more than ten weeks. Of course we're all on edge. In fact, we've gone straight off the edge weeks ago!" He kicked away a discarded metal bowl. Leilani sighed heavily and reached over to comfort Joey, but he shrugged her away. "I don't need anyone to comfort me right now, Leilani," he muttered.

"Coach is right though," Allison spoke up. She stepped ahead so she the others could see her clearly. "We fought, but never like this. I understand we all just want things to go back to normal, but we gotta accept that it's never going to be that way."

"Can we just discuss the matter at hand?" John V. continued. We looked towards him and he nodded. "Thank you. Anyway, I was thinking we have Carriers on both teams, assuming we may run into some Infected out there."

"Allison," Mike began, "do you want to lead one group. And Zoey, do you want to lead the other?"

The women were quick to respond with a short nod. Ellis tried to convince Zoey to stay back, but she shoved him off.

"Alright," Allison began, "I guess I'll take both Johns, Joey, Rochelle, Coach, Louis and Kai to go get water."

"And I'll take," Zoey skimmed over the remainder of the Carriers and Colonists, "Mal, Natara, Ken, Leilani, Francis, Nick and George."

"What about me?" Ellis asked and Zoey smiled.

"You can stay behind with Mike and the baby," she replied. Ellis looked defeated, but had learned before it was difficult to argue with his wife. He took Bill from Natara's arms and disappeared into the bedrooms. Mike groaned as he stood from the chair.

"Alright," he began, "try to be home by sunset."

"Don't worry," Allison replied and we all rushed out of the warehouse.

-C.O.D-

"I hope Ellis is okay," Natara muttered. We were digging through abandoned houses, trying to find anything we could use for food. Every single house we hit seemed completely dry. I threw an empty cereal box aside and sighed.

"I'm sure he's fine," I replied and pulled a plastic container from its resting place on a shelf. "Besides, with all the women around, he hasn't really had a chance to be with his son."

Natara laughed. "He's a cute baby! You can't blame us."

Francis walked past us, grumbling about how much he missed all of the greasy, fast-food places he had gotten to know so well from parading around the country on his motorcycle. "There isn't anything in this house," he shouted.

"Shut up!" Nick replied from a neighboring room. "Hey Zoey…Are these packing peanuts edible?"

"Of course not, you idiot," Francis called out and ripped a couch cushion away and smirked. "What about a half-eaten Cheeto?"

Natara gagged and resumed tearing through cabinets. "We have some cans in here," she called, "but I'm pretty sure it's all dog food."

Ken charged out of one room, his hands placed on his head. He looked like he was about to shoot someone. Ken approached me, Leilani following closely behind.

"I am this close to emptying a clip on every half-wit in this house," Ken hissed and Natara raised an eyebrow. He caught her action and shook his head. "Excluding you, Nat."

"Thank you," she replied and opened each can to discover that they were, indeed, filled with dog food. Frustrated, she tossed the can aside and continued to rummage.

"What's wrong?" I asked Ken and before he could respond, Leilani approached the two of us.

"Where did you put it?" she demanded.

Ken rolled his eyes and faced her. "I. Don't. Have. Any. Food."

Nick came out of one room holding a box full to the brim with packing peanuts and George had a few cans in his possession.

"This house is empty," George concluded, "aside from these few cans I found. Let's move to the next house."

Nick dropped his box. "I am sick and tired of searching for nothing," he growled. "I haven't eaten a proper meal in a long time and if you think I'm bad now just wait until we don't have any food left whatsoever."

"Would you all just shut up?!" Zoey yelled, and sure enough, it worked. The house fell silent. "Thank you. Now listen to me; I am sick and tired of you all fighting. I know we're hungry, but with the attitude we all have, we're not going to accomplish anything."

"Where are we going to get food with all of these empty houses, Zoe?" I asked. "I hate to agree with everyone else, but this scavenging trip has proved itself to be a huge kick to the ass. We've gone through how many house and all we have found were three stupid cans of food?"

Nick groaned loudly. "Let's just go back…"

"No," Natara responded. "Zoey's right; we need to change our attitude. Maybe we're just not looking in the right place."

"Right place…" George muttered and his face lit up. "Of course!" He turned to Leilani. "Hey, do you still know where that citrus tree is?"

Leilani smiled. "Of course," she said and smacked her forehead. "There still should be plenty of fruit."

"Citrus…Tree?" Ken asked and Francis shook his head.

"A tree that produces citrus fruit, dimwit."

Ken raised his fist, but George stopped the brawl before it broke out. "Come on, guys! We'll be eating again in no time."

-C.O.D-

It was the most beautiful thing I had seen since I got here. That's probably why it was guarded by a large iron gate. It was a large, leafy green tree with pounds and pounds of oranges weighing the thin branches down. George threw a burlap sack over the gate and began climbing over, followed by Leilani, Zoey and Natara. Ken decided he would catch oranges that Francis, Nick and I threw to him while sitting on top of the fence.

I was already sitting upon the fence, focused on one particular orange near the top of the tree, when Leilani screamed.

"What's wrong?" Ken asked and I looked over to see what had startled her; hoping for it to be a snake or rat. My face drained of all color. "Seriously," Ken continued, "what's going on?"

Lying right underneath the citrus tree was a young man of Native American heritage. He was scratched up pretty badly and a few of his bones did look broken. Something about him set me off. He didn't look like a bad guy, but he looked like someone I knew…Or should know. George immediately knelt done and pressed his fingers against the man's neck.

"He's still alive," George announced. "Thank goodness." He turned to Leilani. "You, Zoey, Natara, and Nick stay here to collect oranges. Ken, Mal, Francis and I will take this guy back to the warehouse."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Nick asked. "For all we know, he could be a serial killer."

"No," I muttered. "I've seen this kid before."

Natara looked up at me raising an eyebrow. "What? When?"

"He was in the newspaper a few months ago…Something about being a sharp shooter, or whatnot."

"So…Is he trouble?" Francis asked and I shrugged.

"There's only one way to find out."