Fight For Your Life

"Did she just say..." Steph trailed off.

"No...It can't be!!" Rukia grasped the sides of her head. "What do we do?! We can't escape!"

Ichigo rose to his feet and loaded a clip into his assault rifle. "There is only one thing to do. Fight!"

"But Alice can't see! How can we fight?!" Steph cried.

"You keep her safe. Rukia and I will guard the entrance. Tatsuki, keep my sister safe." Ichigo charged out through the door and into the outside world. He saw Jill sprinting towards him, her eyes wide with terror. "How bad is it?"

Jill doubled over and wheezed. "They tore down the fucking fence!"

Ichigo was taken aback by the shocking words and he almost fell over.

"We can't fight them! There are too many! We have to pack up and run for it!" Jill ran inside. "We can't waste any more time!"

Ichigo slowly back-tracked, keeping his eyes fixed on the door. He could hear them before he could see them.

"Ichigo! Hurry!" Rukia tugged on his sleeve, but her friend was frozen. "Ichigo?! Ichigo!!"

"Get back." He growled as he walked to the doorway. He opened fire and kept the trigger down until the gun clicked on empty. He then stepped back and slammed the door shut. He and Rukia ran down the short corridor back to their base. On the way, they heard windows smashing and a legion of footsteps.

"We're doomed!" Jill cried as she packed a bag.

"We can't run!" Ichigo roared.

"Of course we can!" Jill snapped while loading her Berretta.

"The whole town is covered with zombies; this is the only safe haven in the whole town, possibly even the whole country! We need to defend this outpost or we will all die!" Ichigo's speech did little to stir the others.

"We're all going to die anyway..." Orihime whispered through sobs. Tatsuki comforted her.

"Look. We've got to decide now. Either you run with Jill, or you stay with me. Decide now." Ichigo stood at one side of the room with his assault rifle resting across his chest in his folded arms. Jill approached the door and waited expectantly for followers.

"Alice can't run, she's still blinded..." Steph murmured.

"I don't need to see them! I just need to kill them!" Alice growled, sitting up and reaching out for her sword. Steph gave it to her and then helped her up.

"Well, I guess I should stay, but..." Steph looked down at the floor and sighed. "I'm not a fighter. Sorry." She walked over to Jill who smiled.

Rukia took up her automatic pistol and closed her eyes. "I'll fight by Ichigo's side until the very end."

Karin walked over to Jill. "I'm not staying here. Either I wait for death, or I run into his arms and frankly the faster the better."

"Karin, no!" Ichigo called after her.

"Sorry, Ichigo. But after seeing what you did to goat-chin and Yuzu...I can't stand to be close to you anymore..." The words stung and each one pierced him like a sharpened blade. Karin waved goodbye and walked out the door.

"Hime, the decisions up to you." Tatsuki whispered. "I'll stay by you no matter what, so choose our path."

"Kurosaki-Kun?" Orihime crawled towards him and he kneeled down to be level with her. "I'll always miss you." Orihime kissed him briefly and then went out the door, her eyes clouded with tears.

"See ya Ichigo. You were a great friend...Maybe I'll see you around another day." Tatsuki patted him on the shoulder.

"If I'm one of them, then kick my ass like you used to in karate class." Ichigo said jokingly. They both laughed before parting ways.

The fleeing group gave their last goodbye before setting off out the front of the school. Because of the opening in the back, most of the zombies had left the front gate to find the opening. Jill led her small team through the gate and then closed it behind her. She saluted towards the office before jogging after her comrades.

*****

Inside, the three brave warriors counted their ammo and prepared themselves for possibly their final battle.

Ichigo put on a thick coat he found in a cupboard and put all the spare ammunition in the inner pockets. He then slid a hunting knife into a sheath on his leg.

Rukia wore two holsters for her automatic pistols. She also carried a battery operated drill in a backpack.

Alice took her sword and slung her shotgun and sub-machine gun across her back.

Now they were ready for war!

Ichigo led the way out into the corridors which were beginning to fill with zombies. The trio used their melee weapons to slay the small group. They then ran out into the open where the zombies numbered in the hundreds.

"There are so many! How did they all get through?!" Rukia shrieked.

Ichigo pointed to the large portion of the fence which had been torn down. "More will come, we have to try and get rid of this lot before the reinforcements arrive!"

Alice took out her sub-machine gun and blinked several times. She could see them now, not crystal clear, but well enough. She let loose a rain of bullets on the blurry shapes which tore through the front row. Ichigo added some additional firepower while Rukia picked off the stragglers that survived the first assault.

Gaining some ground, the trio walked out the door and began clearing the area further.

Ichigo unleashed the fury of his rifle, mowing them down and tearing the rotten bodies to pieces. The low wall of corpses did nothing to distract the remaining zombies who clambered over to the fresh meat. As the front wave advanced, more zombies streamed through the broken fence, surging through as one giant mass, like a wave.

"Shit! They keep on coming!!" Ichigo roared.

Rukia fired frantically, her fingers frozen on the trigger. She screamed furiously as she took down the advancing beasts.

Unfortunately, the strong offence was not enough and the undead horde was beginning to regain their lost ground.

"Fall back! Get inside!!" Alice cleared the way with one large blast from her shotgun and then the opened the door and dived through. Ichigo took up the rear as Rukia made her way in.

"Ichigo! Hurry!"

Ichigo turned around and took three steps before something pounced on him. He cried out in alarm as he was knocked to the ground. The creatures quickly surrounded Ichigo and a few headed for the door.

"ICHIGO!!!"

"Leave him! Shut the door!" Alice yelled.

"I can't! I can't leave him out there!!" Rukia shrieked between tears.

"He's probably dead!" Rukia gasped. "If he is still alive he'll find his way back to us. Now come on!" Alice wrenched the door shut and grabbed Rukia's hand, leading her down the corridor. They turned a corner and nearly bumped into a gang of the infected citizens. They moaned painfully as they shuffled across the floor. Rukia howled and shot them down, emptying both guns. She reloaded as they continued on. Round the next bend, the zombies were more concentrated. Their numbers had grown. More were in the building now, clogging the halls like fat in an artery.

Alice used her shotgun to clear a path but it was quickly refilled. "Damn! We can't go this way! Turn back!"

The two women spun on their heels only to see more of the undead filing in. A section of wall had been knocked down and several windows were smashed, allowing the wretched creatures entry.

"The stairs!" Rukia shouted over the growing chorus of grunts and growls. They made a desperate run for the stairs and leapt up three at a time. When the reached the top they entered the closest room and took out all the desks and formed a barricade on the steps, blocking the creatures off.

"How many more stairways are there?" Alice asked, rubbing at her eyes.

"There are three more."

"Lead the way." Alice commanded.

*****

Ichigo threw the small child off of his back, just as his yellow teeth were about to bite through his arm. He then unsheathed the hunting knife and slit the childs throat. In a matter of seconds, he had become surrounded. The zombies were everywhere!

Ichigo spun in a circle with the blade held out, managing to cut through a few throats. He then took out a pistol and shot down three of the ghouls straight in front of him. The small gap held and he barged through, knocking a few down in his mad dash for safety. He made his way back to the door and tugged at the handle. The door was locked.

"Hey!! Open the door!! I'm still alive!! Open the door!" Loud snarls came from inside. Ichigo punched the door and cursed before taking out his assault rifle again. "It's time to go Rambo on these bastards!"

Ichigo roared a fierce battle-cry as he let loose, spraying lead into the oncoming horde. The blood of dozens of enemies sprayed his body, soaking him. He continued to scream, even as blood spurted into his face. Despite his efforts, they were still getting closer. He only had two metres of space between him and the front line.

Ichigo took a few steps back and then shoulder charged the door. The door buckled, but held firm. He did it again.

Only one metre left.

Ichigo slammed the butt of his gun into the wood and it splintered.

Half a metre. Their decaying hands stretched out to claim their prize.

Ichigo barged the door again and it dented, splitting even more, but not enough.

The hands clasped around Ichigo and their claws raked against his flesh. Ichigo roared defiantly and swiped at them, knocking them away, but they returned immediately. Ichigo slammed his back against the door, screaming at nobody for it to open. The zombies swarmed all over him and he hacked madly at them, but to no avail. Out of rage, he grabbed the nearest zombie by the shoulders and rammed his skull into the door. A spot of blood coated the timber on the first hit. Ichigo drew him back and hurled him again, and again and again.

The zombies were embracing him now, wrapping their arms around him and preparing to bite.

"!!!!!" Gathering every last bit of strength he had, he drove the man's skull into the door one last time. As his head split apart, the door caved in and the weight of Ichigo and a dozen or so ghouls leaning against it caused them to all tumble through into the building. Ichigo stagged to his feet and stumbled away from the ghouls who were already climbing over their fallen brethren.

Ichigo escaped one army, only to encounter another. The halls were choked full of rotten corpses of the living dead.

Ichigo reloaded his assault rifle and prepared for another round.

*****

WAREHOUSE

Renji woke to the sound of nails scratching and grinding against steel. The noise was awful and he gritted his teeth as he covered his ears. The others got up and they approached the source of the sound, swords raised. The weapons would not harm the zombies, but it would slow them down at the least.

Momo lifted the door and Renji hacked at the guest, before he could even see it. When the door was opened fully, they looked out into a barren wasteland which was slowly filling with the undead.

"We've been discovered! What do we do?" Momo asked.

"We'll leave. We are not able to fight them at this time. Come on." The captain commander led the way, followed by Toshiro, Renji and Hinamori. The tiny group flash stepped past the shambling hordes and found a new safe haven in the form of an abandoned shop. They boarded up the large windows and barricaded the doors before resting once more.

*****

SOUL SOCIETY

Ukitake looked down upon his ruined kingdom. He was commander of a small force against a far larger army. This war would be unwinnable, but it would grant him an honourable death in the least.

His train of thought was disrupted by the arrival of a panicked guard.

"What is wrong?" Ukitake asked calmly.

"Well, we have found some survivors." The messenger explained.

"Any captains?"

"Yes! It is Captain Soi Fon and Captain Kommamura!"

Ukitake smiled. He had some reinforcements. "Let them in." He commanded.

"But...The undead are swarming the gate! If we open them to let in the captains, then surely they will raid this barracks and kill us all!" The guard bowed his head and waited for a response.

"Hmm. We can't let two fine warriors die...but we can't let those creatures inside either..." The grey-haired captain thought for some time before walking towards his men. The guard followed. "Troops, gather around the gate! We are going to open it and allow our comrades entry! Make sure you don't let the undead get through!"

"Open the gate!" The soldiers roared to the gate-keepers who pulled a lever and then hauled the great gates open. A soon as the smallest gap opened, the zombies charged.

"Stop them!! Don't let them in!!" Ukitake roared to his men before sending a hell butterfly to his two companions outside the gates. "Godspeed men. We can't hold them off for long..."

Both worlds are now torn between a vicious war with the dead, but will either world manage to survive against such impossible odds? The battle has only just begun and there will be blood!

The time for hiding is coming to an end. A massacre is about to take place and no one is safe. Who will survive against the horde of zombies? Who will fall? Find out in the next unmissable chapter!

Please review, adoring zombie fans! Your comments make the chapters keep coming!