Disclaimer: I don't own any of the recognizable characters, Valve does. Were Nick mine, I would be so pleased.

Roanoke II carried many remembrances of the town it used to be before the Infection. While it disposed of it's former name, it held onto some of it's dearest traditions. One of those traditions was the Harvest Festival, or Autumn Festival, or Fall Festival, depending on whom you spoke to. The people of the town thought that it was especially important to carry on the tradition after the Green Flu, to keep life as normal as possible. Even if the Flu had originally in the same festive month.

Ellis had truly enjoyed this celebration. He liked the community it fostered, the smiles it brought to people's faces, and especially the food. God how the food was awesome. As he got ready to head into the main stretch of town that day, he made a mental list of all the foods he was going to partake in. It sort of reminded him of a much smaller scale Georgia National Fair, something that he missed dearly in this new life. While the Harvest Festival ultimately couldn't compare, at least it could bring forth a pleasant nostalgia.

Rick had closed the garage early that day specifically because of the festival, and Ellis had gone straight home to get ready. He knew that Nick and Francis weren't going to get off work until five, like usual, so he would have two hours to kill before his date arrived. Rochelle had grudgingly agreed to hang out with him until then, and while she wouldn't admit it he KNEW that she was excited too.

He put on his favorite Midnight Riders shirt and a nicer pair of jeans. He wasn't going to dress like a tool, but he did want to look a little classed up. Any bit of effort he showed Nick in that area would get him brownie points, and brownie points were always a good thing. He considered not wearing his trusty cap, but changed his mind, thinking that would be TOO weird and obvious.

He was thinking of heading out a little early so he could pig out a bit before Nick arrived, as he knew he'd get disapproving looks if he indulged in foods that the gambler was no longer willing to eat freely. Corndogs and sweet potato pie, here I come, he thought, but just as he was about to walk out the door his phone rang. He hesitated, thinking that maybe he'd just let it ring, but then relented and picked it up quickly.

"Hello?"

"Hey sweetie, you need to come over right away!" Rochelle said, voice a little frantic.

"Ro, if there's another brown recluse in your bathroom, you're on your own, I'm hittin' the festival early," he said.

"First of all, you suck, because if there WAS a poisonous spider in my bathroom I would probably get bitten and die. And you'd feel bad. But second of all, there isn't a spider in my bathroom, it's bigger than that," she said. "Come over."

"Aw c'mon! I wanted to eat before Nick shows up and whines about the fatty food!" Ellis complained.

"It will take ten minutes, stop your bitching and come over here!" she exclaimed.

"Can I at least get a 'please' or somethin'?" he asked, and she huffed.

"Please? Pretty please with sugar on top?"

"I coulda done without the sarcasm, but yeah, I'm comin'," he said, and hung up. Better feed the cat, who knows when I'll be home, he thought. He knew that if Nick had his way he wouldn't be home until tomorrow morning. Hell, if ELLIS has his way he wouldn't be home all weekend.

He rushed to Rochelle's, the tempting thought of junk food still at the forefront of his mind, and hit her intercom repeatedly just to be annoying. It clicked on and she snapped 'you're such a child!' before buzzing him up. He cackled to himself and trotted up the steps, hoping that she wasn't lying and that it WOULD only take ten minutes tops.

She opened the door for him even before he could knock and pulled him inside before slamming it shut again.

"Jeeze Ro, what's got you so jumpy?" he asked as she spun back around.

"Things don't make sense!" she replied, rushing for her kitchen table, which was more cluttered than usual "So you know how I've been looking into Creevy?"

"You aren't STILL doin' that!" he exclaimed, disapproving.

"Spare me, of course I am," she replied, picking up a few papers. "So my contact, Set, he's been sending me some stuff via Snail Mail about this guy-."

"I really wish you wouldn't-."

"- and it's weird, Ellis, really weird," she said, putting a form up in front of his face. "Look, he rented a UMoveIt truck a couple weeks ago, right? How come there haven't been any moving trucks around town?"

"I'm puttin' off corndogs for THIS-?"

"And look what I just got yesterday from Set!" she continued, ignoring Ellis' less than enthusiastic commentary. "He never returned the truck! He reported it as stolen, AND Chief Jacobs signed off on a police report that was sent to the UMoveIt in Durham!"

"Well that's why you haven't seen it around town! It was stolen!" Ellis said.

"But there was no truck to begin with, Ellis! I've been outside his apartment multiple times since the date on this sheet, and not ONCE was there a moving truck outside of it," she insisted. "So where has this truck been?"

"If it was stolen-."

"Where would it go? You need a travel permit to get out of town, and there are cops at the open gates to check for those. If a truck was stolen it wouldn't have gotten out of the city limits," she continued.

"….. Okay, I'll admit that that is kinda weird," Ellis said, scratching his head. "But nothin' that's criminal. Creevy's done some bad things-."

"How would you know?"

"Because Nick told me!" he said, exasperated at how nosy she was being. She was downright obsessed.

"Well hey, if you know something-!"

"NO. Stop askin' me about stuff I can't tell you, it's bad enough I mentioned it in the first place!" he stated.

"UGH, fine," she said, shrugging it off. "… But don't you think-?"

"I THINK I want to go to the Harvest Festival and get some corndogs before Nick shows up and whines that he can't eat them," Ellis interrupted, holding up his hands. "I also think you should just leave it alone, cuz Nick and Francis'll be done soon and you shouldn't do anything to jeopardize that."

"Well la dee da," Rochelle said, sarcastically. "I'm sad to hear I'm the only one who's at all concerned about how shadowy this guy is-."

"You aren't the only one concerned, but until Nick is out of danger I'm not helpin' you one bit!" he snapped, and then groaned because he knew Rochelle was going to jump all over that. WHY do you have such a big MOUTH? he thought to himself as she pointed at him.

"Okay, see, that's interesting! WHY is Nick in danger?"

"Ro, PLEASE!" he begged. "I just wanna go to the Harvest Festival and I just wanna make sure that Nick and Francis get out of this Z-Man stuff in one piece! Two pieces, cuz there are two of 'em. Look into Creevy all you want after that, but leave it alone for now!"

"….. Dammit," she muttered. Of course Ellis had a good point. Her inherent inquisitiveness was a hard beast to fight, but she knew that, at the moment, she had to fight it. "… Do you need an escort to the Festival? At least until Nick shows up? Because I'd like some company until Francis does."

Ellis shrugged, still a little sore but pleased that he had managed to convince her to drop it, at least for now. He knew he'd have to nag and remind her that Nick and Francis would also be affected by her investigating, but he had no problem with that.

"Sure. But we hafta get corndogs."

"You're obsessed," she tisked, and he snickered.

"Maybe a little bit." She shook her head as she grabbed her keys, and playfully shoved him.

"And how are things going with your favorite Z-Man?" she asked, curiously. She was actively trying to seem interested and supportive of their relationship, especially since Nick and Francis weren't necessarily leaving as early as they had thought.

Ellis smiled dreamily, and nodded. "Good, real good. He's been in a great mood lately cuz of the news they got. Well, a good mood for Nick is still kinda sarcastic, but it's a happy sarcasm."

"That's good," she acknowledged as they stepped into the hallway.

"And….. Okay, I'm gonna regret tellin' you this, cuz you have a big mouth-."

"Not as big as yours!"

"-But….. I think I love him."

Rochelle stopped mid-door lock, and spun around, smiling widely. "Sweetie, that's awesome!"

"Wow, you're actually happy about that? I thought you'd've been all 'now Ellis don't get your hopes up about Nick', blah blah blah," he said, skeptically, and she waved him off, scoffing.

"Well that might be sage advice, but I'm not raining on your parade THAT much! You're in love, Ellis! That's wonderful!" she chirped. "What did he say when you told him? Tell me everything, it couldn't have been as bad as when Francis first told me he loved me, I said 'thank you', how awkward-!"

"Uh, I haven't told him," Ellis admitted.

Rochelle finally locked her door and they strolled down the hallway, her eyes narrowing slightly. "How come?"

"Cuz what if he just says 'thank you' like you did to Francis?" he admitted. "I'm just gonna wait 'til the time is right. Then we'll see."

"Do you think he doesn't love you back?"

"No, I just….. I wanna be sure. So I'm waitin'."

"Well, that's up to you, I guess…. I did eventually tell Francis I loved him back, you know."

"That's real nice of you."

They arrived on Main Street just as a crowd had gathered around the wooden stage that had been set up in the Town Square. Such a crowd before the dance started meant that it could be only one thing: the pie contest, followed by the pie walk. Flossie Crandall was the obvious frontrunner, though there were a couple of Dark Horses in the running.

"This is so ridiculous," Rochelle said, but Ellis was standing on his tiptoes to try and see what pies were up and who was in competition.

"I really hope she doesn't win with that pecan pie again," he said, disapprovingly. "We get it. She killed zombies with it. Who cares? Oh my GOD look who's up there, Ro!"

"Who?" she asked, trying to stand on her tiptoes too and using his shoulder for a brace. "Dammit, why are so many people into pies in this town?"

"It's Wednesday!" he exclaimed, and Ro scoffed in disbelief, trying to crawl on top of him. "HEY-!"

"Holy SHIT!" she hissed, the sight of the raven haired and surly teen on stage perplexing her. Wednesday had her arms crossed as she stood over her sweet potato pie, chewing on her lip and eyes shifting from the judges to Carlisle, who was giving her a thumbs up in the crowd. "I bet she learned from the master."

"Aw, I hope she wins and I hope I get to participate in the pie walk, AND I hope I get her pie!" Ellis jabbered, letting Rochelle ride piggyback on him. As he tried to see over people while holding his friend up, he noticed Mark Creevy standing to the side of the crowd, eating a corndog and watching the pie contest with little interest. He was about to point him out to Rochelle, but decided against it. He could only take so much of her commentary, and he wanted her to NOT think about Creevy at the moment. Chief Jacobs moved up next to him, eating a funnel cake and saying something to the CEDA agent. Creevy nodded, and looked at his watch. Ellis snorted, and looked back at the pie contest, pushing the Government Official from his mind.

As Ellis and Rochelle watched the pie contest, Nick and Francis were finishing up their patrol at the West Gate.

"I'm going to eat about three corndogs, four pieces of cornbread, probably two pieces of pie, and wash it all down with beer, lots of beer," Francis listed as Nick loaded the trunk of the car back up with their weapons.

"And then you'll have a heart attack at the end of the night," the gambler sneered, the very idea of all that food disgusting to him.

"Come on, it sounds like the only thing to do at this stupid festival is to eat food, so that's what I'm gonna do," Francis stated gruffly. "MAYBE I'll bob for apples if Ro makes it worth my while."

"Do you know how many germs are in one of those apple buckets?" Nick asked.

"Hell, I might even take her on a spin around the dance floor if she wants me to, I'm in such a good mood!"

"Psh. Dancing sucks."

"GOD you're no fun! Why are you even going to this stupid thing if you hate everything so much?" Francis asked, locking the gate.

"Oh, it's ME who hates everything? Talk about pots and kettles! Besides, I want to get laid, so I do things I don't necessarily want to do in the pursuit of that goal," Nick replied, double checking the lock by tugging on it a couple of times. "Ellis wants me to go, so I'm going."

"Whipped."

"As if you can talk!"

"True. What's happened to us, man?" Francis asked, a bit morosely. "We used to be the most eligible bachelors in the bureau. Now look at us. Monogamous and shit. If I didn't love her I'd be disgusted with myself."

Nick smirked as he got in the driver's seat of the BMW. "So what, are you going to stick around here for her once we're done?"

"Huh?" Francis asked, closing the door behind him. "I don't know. Maybe? I figure it would be me over you, right?"

Nick chuckled, and shrugged as he started the engine. He actually didn't know how to respond to that, as he hadn't let himself think about it. Probably because he didn't want to know what he'd ultimately come up with, be it staying or going. He would have to make up his mind eventually, but he preferred to put that off as long as he could. There were too many factors, and he would rather just not think about them.

"… I hope there's some kind of vegetable at this stupid thing. NOT okra. And sweet potatoes don't count," Nick changed the subject.

"If you just opened your mind to sweet potatoes you wouldn't have any problems," Francis said, defiantly.

While Nick and Francis drove towards the Main Street, Barbara Dane was weaving through the crowd, pulling her lavendar sweater around her frame a little more. She wasn't cold, she was just a bundle of nerves. She looked around for Creevy, and when she saw him near the stage she felt her body begin to shake. They were going to go through with the plan tonight, and yet she still had a very unclear picture of just what they were going to do. She scooted through the other revelers, and tapped Creevy on his shoulder. He turned his head to look at her, and smiled eerily.

"Well you made it," he said. "I was starting to think that perhaps you'd changed your mind."

"No," she said, shaking her head, and Chief Jacobs looked her over. She opened her mouth again, but found herself at a loss for words to see him.

"Don't worry about him, he's with us," Creevy stated, and Jacobs nodded stiffly. "Alright, let's go somewhere a bit more private so I can brief you on your tasks." She nodded again, glancing up at the wooden stage. Pies. She longed for the days when her most complicated problem was burning a pie. She made brief eye contact with Wednesday, and then turned away sharply.

"Yes, let's," she agreed, and followed Creevy off through the crowd. He took her by the elbow, grip a bit forceful, and she flinched.

Once he'd pulled her into a quiet alley, he reached into his pocket and removed two small keys. "I'm only going to tell you this once, so listen carefully. You are going to hop on your bike and you are going unlock and to go through the West Gate into the Grey Zone with this key-."

"What-?"

"AND once you're in the Grey Zone you are going to turn down the third dirt road on the left, following it for about two miles. You'll be in the woods, near a stream. In a clearing you will find a UMoveIt truck. You will find keys in the glove compartment. Drive that truck back to the West Gate, unlock the fence, open it up, and open the back door. That will be locked too. You use THIS key for that. But when you do, I suggest you get back in the driver's seat and shut the door. Quickly."

"I don't understand-."

"Once you're done, and you'll know when you're done, believe me, drive the truck back out to the clearing. Do NOT lock up behind you, the gate has to remain unlocked," Creevy continued, reaching back into his pocket and removing a lighter. "Once you've parked it, torch it."

"Agent Creevy, I can't-!"

"You not only can, you WILL do this," Creevy snapped, taking her wrist in his hand and squeezing it.

"But what if I get attacked-?"

"You'll bring this too," he interrupted, removing a large handgun from his holster. "It will protect you."

"I don't even know how to shoot-!"

"You'll learn. You'll probably have to, and quickly," he simpered , his breath right on her face. "No time like the present, cutie-pie."

"I don't know-."

"Just think about the rewards. Think about WHY you're doing this, and you will find the strength," he said, finger wrapping through her blonde hair.

"I don't even know WHAT I'm doing!" she exclaimed, pulling her face away from his hand.

"The 'why' is the most important thing!" he snapped. "Take your beau back, Barbara! Take back what's yours! Don't be the spineless victim Nick loves to prey upon!"

She swallowed, fear and determination duking it out in the pit of her stomach. She was admittedly terrified of Creevy and the way he was behaving. But his words still resonated with her. She couldn't for the life of her handle the idea of Ellis being with that cruel and malicious Z-Man. So even if she didn't know what she was about to do, she needed to feel that it was justified, and that it would solve her problems.

So she accepted the gun, and nodded weakly. "When should I go?"

Creevy looked at his watch. Five ten. Nick and Francis were most certainly done patrolling by now. "Go in an hour." He placed the gun in her hand, and lightly brushed her palm as he pulled his away. "Remember all the things I told you. Don't deviate, and it will all work out."

She nodded, placing the gun in her purse, and rushed off before the willies got the better of her.

Nick and Francis parked the car on one of the side streets in town, as Main Street had been closed off to all vehicles. Nick locked the doors to the Beemer, and listened to the slightly distant sound of music in the air.

"Couldn't you park closer?" Francis complained as they strolled the blocks towards the Town Square. "We've been walking all day, I think I'm getting blisters on my feet. I HATE blisters."

"Stop your whining, I didn't have a choice," Nick replied. "Everyone in town is here, where else was I supposed to park?"

"I don't know. Just closer."

" 'Just closer', how inspired. God you're dumb." Francis slugged him in the kidney. "OW! If I piss blood I'm going to kill you."

Once they did arrive at Town Square, the actual popularity of the festival was fully apparent. It was a sea of people in front of them, some heading towards Carlisle's for discounted drinks, others heading towards the park for the hayrides, and still others remaining near the booths set up on Main Street.

"So how the hell are we supposed to find them in this crowd of people?" the gambler bitched, a bit flabbergasted that this festival was so popular.

"Just keep our eyes peeled, I guess," Francis shrugged. "Heh, I could get out the binoculars if you want!"

"Smart ass," Nick said, looking at his watch. Almost six. He knew that the dance started in about an hour. While he wasn't about to dance, he figured that if he hadn't found Ellis by then, he'd go to One Eyed Jacks, the roadhouse on the other side of town that was hosting the event. Surely the mechanic would be there.

"Aw yes, sweet potato pie for sale!" Francis hooted, and beelined for one of the stands with merriment and anticipation. Nick, not wanting to lose his partner too, followed. He wouldn't be caught dead alone in this hick festival.

"So are you going to dance?" he asked Francis as he stood in line for pie.

"Maybe. Depends on what they play. If it's rock and roll, sure. If it's country, fuck that. Why are you so hung up on dancing?"

"I can honestly say I don't know," Nick admitted, irked. "Because Ellis is probably going to want to dance, but he won't SAY that he wants to dance, so I either get to be a) the dweeb who dances at a hoedown, or b) the asshole who doesn't dance with his date."

Francis made a whip cracking noise and flicked his wrist, and Nick was about to thump him in the head when he heard "Hey Nick!" to his right. He turned to see Ellis and Rochelle walking towards them, Ellis carrying a pie in his hands.

"Oh Jesus, did you buy a whole pie?" Nick exclaimed, and Francis hopped right out of line at the thought of FREE pie.

"No, I didn't buy a whole pie," Ellis sniffed. "I got selected in the pie walk and I won one of Wednesday's sweet potato pies!"

"Wednesday makes sweet potato pies?" Francis asked.

"Yeah, pies that win the red ribbon in the pie contest, actually," Rochelle said. "Flossie Crandall won, AGAIN, but Wednesday came in second. Ellis was pretty excited."

"I was, I was REAL excited cuz I love sweet potato pie an' it was real nice that Wednesday won," Ellis jabbered, and Francis licked his lips and tried to poke at it. "HEY, get your own pie!"

"You can't eat a whole pie by yourself!" the biker protested.

"How would you know?" Ellis stated, yanking the pie away from him. "Nick, tell him to back off my pie!"

"Go buy your own pie, Francis," Nick muttered, wondering how many times the word 'pie' would be said before the day was through.

"Oh come ON, sharing is something you shoulda learned in pre-school!" Francis snapped, and Rochelle rolled her eyes.

"You're both babies, I'll buy you a slice of pie, Francis," she said, hopping in line.

"Must be nice to have a sugar momma," Nick teased, taking the pie from Ellis. "Give it here, kiddo, I'll put it in the car."

"I'll come with ya!" Ellis said, cheerfully. "Ro, Francis, meet us at One Eyed Jacks at seven!"

"We can come right back," Nick said, but Ellis shook his head.

"No, I want some time alone with ya," he said, resolutely, and Nick grinned.

"One Eyed Jacks in an hour," he repeated, and snagged Ellis by the arm as they walked towards the BMW. At least Ellis wouldn't whine about the parking job.

Once the pie was securely in the backseat, Nick closed the door and turned to smile at the mechanic. "So how many corndogs have you eaten?"

"Just one."

"Lies."

"MAYBE two. But I won't eat any in front of you, I promise," he said, holding up a hand in scouts honor. Nick shrugged.

"Do what you want, kiddo, I don't like corndogs," he said, shrugging. "Though ACTUALLY, thinking about it I would LOVE to see you put a big corndog in your mouth and eat it nice and slow…"

"Nick, c'mon," Ellis said, cheeks turning pink.

"So what did you want to do at this festival? You have your pie, you've had your corndogs, the dance isn't until seven," the con man continued, leaning against the car lazily. "…. How are we going to pass the time?"

"We could go on a hayride!" Ellis suggested.

That wasn't what Nick had been implying.

"Ugh, hayrides are annoying," he said. "SO annoying. The hay makes me itch. And it gets in my clothes. AND the horses smell."

"Aw, but they're fun. You still don't like horses?" Ellis asked.

"Not really."

"Hm….. Well we don't hafta go on the hayride."

But once he said that, Nick saw that a disappointed look had crossed the mechanic's face.

So of course they went on the hayride. And even though Nick hated the stink of the horses, and even though the hay poked through his pants and made him itch, he subtly linked hands with Ellis, doing his very best not to bitch.

"Don't ya just love the fall colors?" Ellis asked as the wagon bumped and jostled on the road. "I love all the colors that come out this time've year. And all the smells, like woodfire and leaves. It's supposed to rain next week so we gotta enjoy it while we can, you know? Did I ever tell you about the time that Dave and I went into one of those haunted houses at Halloween time? Well, it wasn't a very good haunted house, our church was puttin' it on and so it didn't have any 'demons or demonic symbols', so no witches or ghosts or vampires or nothin'. Instead it was just, like, mummies? I guess mummies aren't demonic."

"No Keith?"

"Oh no, Keith was there, he was one've the mummies!" Ellis laughed. "He came out at the top of the steps of the mad doctor's laboratory-."

"Laboratory? Mummies aren't in-."

"I know, but it was what it was," Ellis shrugged. "So he came out at the top of the steps, but his feet got all tied up in his wrapping! He tumbled down the steps, hitting every one right on his ass! Broke his coccyx in THREE places."

"How does someone even do that?" Nick exclaimed, so loudly the teenagers on the other side of the wagon shot him a dirty look (as they didn't appreciate an interrupted make out session).

"I don't even know!" Ellis said, and began to laugh at the memory. "MAN it was one've the funniest Halloweens ever! Mainly because he couldn't move from his bed, but he still managed to throw cherry bombs through his bedroom window at trick or treaters who were tryin' to egg his house! Course, then one exploded in his hand-."

"Enough!" Nick begged. Ellis complied, and held his mouth shut while he tried his best not to laugh. "Jesus Christ when I meet Keith I swear I'm going to kick him just on priciple."

"…. When ya meet him, huh?" Ellis asked, arching his eyebrows. Nick flicked some straw off his pants, and nodded.

"Probably won't even phase him."

"Probably not, no," Ellis said, and brushed up closer to his beau.

Barbara had managed to find her way to the UMoveIt truck without running afoul any Infected. She had barely been able to control her bike she was shaking so hard, and now that she had gotten to her first destination she had a tiny bit of solace. From her perspective, it looked like a normal truck. She carefully walked to the driver's side, and opened the door. She settled into the seat, and opened the glove compartment to find the keys, just like Creevy said. She picked them up gingerly, and knit her brow. This all seemed very strange. But she did as she was told, and started up the engine, slowly pulling the van out from the trees.

Her mind wandered as she drove. She wondered if Ellis was at the Festival right about now, if he was with Nick. If they were having a fun time and if he even thought of her these days. If he even thought of her, well, ever. Did he ever think about those baked goods she would make him, look forward to them? Did he ever think about her when he ate bread from the bakery, or when she would sing in the choir at church? Or had he never given her a second thought, just as he hadn't given any of the women in the town a second thought? Sure, she'd been warned by others who had pursued him, but she was just convinced that she was special, that she was the one he would open his eyes to. And now she had to wonder if it wasn't just one big delusion…

And if it was just one big delusion, why was she even working with Creevy in the first place?

The road started to get a little bumpy as she drove down it, and she muttered, pulled from her thoughts in an effort to keep the truck under control. She'd only driven a mid sized moving truck once in her life, when she helped her college roommate Becca move from Austin to El Paso. And even then Becca had done most of the driving. As the truck bumped and jostled, she bit her lip, begging the vehicle to calm down and stop giving her a hard time.

And THAT was when she heard the noises in the back. There were clawing sounds behind her head against the metal, clawing and yowling and moaning. Her heart began to race harder, and she felt a cry rise and leave her throat. She continued to shriek and yell with each noise and thud behind her. She gripped the wheel and sped up, not quite thinking that she would outrun the noise, as the noise was in the truck just as sure as she was.

"OH GOD!" she screamed as the wails and shrieks grew louder and multiplied, and she braked the truck and spun it around once she saw the chain linked gate. The racket from the back was nearly deafening, and she put her hands to her head, shaking it back and forth in disbelief.

As if acting on survival instinct and survival instinct alone, she leapt from the driver's seat and into the temperate October night. The only thing going through her mind at the moment was what Creevy had said to her, and she fished the keys out of her sweater pocket, unlocking the gate first and shoving it open. She then turned to the door to the back of the truck, and unlocked the padlock, throwing the flap up to see many Infected in the metal cage. What had she expected? People, maybe. She'd hoped it was people. But now that she was staring into the frenzied and glowing eyes of the monsters, she spun around and ran back to the driver's side, slamming the door shut and covering her ears.

The Infected, not having seen natural light except through a slit in the roof, were confused at first, their howls and snarls subsiding momentarily. But once it was clear that they could move from the small cramped space, they all ran for the freedom.

The truck swayed and rocked, and Barbara held the steering wheel in an effort to keep still, screaming and whimpering with the motions. Once it had stopped, she floored the accelerator pedal, speeding back into the Grey Zone, leaving the zombies to roam freely towards the commotion of the Harvest Festival.

As she drove she wept, horrified about what she had just done, still terrified and unable to calm down. As more Infected began to make appearances in the brush, she honked the horn fervently in an attempt to scare them off. It seemed to work, and she kept honking it, trying to stave off her panic and hysteria.

But she screamed loudly when a large, veiny, behemoth of a zombie suddenly burst in her path. It roared, beefy arms flailing through the air in a rage, and Barbara might have fainted had she not seen a Tank before. True, she had only seen one once before, at a distance. But she had seen the damage it could do, as she saw it crush a car without so much as missing a beat. She stared in horror at the beast in front of her, jaw trembling and knuckles white. She had no time to be shocked, however, as it smacked the truck angrily, cracking the windshield, and Barbara quickly switched gears to reverse, hitting the pedal and flying backwards. The Tank's interest did not hold on her, however, as it was more interested in the smells and sounds of the dozen-some Infected that were going towards the town. This gave Barbara a stay of execution, and she switched gears and swerved around it awkwardly, wheels peeling against the dirt road. She managed to keep control of the truck, speeding forward and speeding down the road, though she continued to scream hysterically as she did so.