Chapter 24 Safe Zone
When the helicopter landed to the safe zone I felt like my prayers had been answered and my nightmare has finally over. I felt peace and was finally able to live my life again and see my family, if they survived.
"Hayden, it's finally good to see you in person." Joey said walking up. "Hayden, you don't look good, I think we should take you a doctor. To be honest, none of you guys look good, but we are going to make you a plate and we will get you guys a room."
"Thank you, so much." Rochelle said. Joey smiled. Danny had a clipboard and walked over to us.
"You guys are probably going to hate this part. You have to tell me your full name and age, so we can place the update info in "Find a Survivor". Everyone gave away their full name and age after that I was sent to a doctor. Rochelle decided to tag along with me.
"Doctor Jones, we have a patient with for you, her name is Hayden Loughlin." Danny said knocking on the door. She opened up the door and motioned me to come inside the room. She motioned for Rochelle to come in too.
"What's wrong?" She asked.
"I was cut by a crazed teenage girl with a knife on my right arm and I was burn by acid on my left thigh and I was wonder if you could to see if they were infected or not." She nodded and I took off the bandages.
"Oh, the acid burn is healing I want you to wear a brace so, it doesn't peal. And with your arm just keep it bandage and I think you should be better in about a week or so." She told me, she placed the brace around my thigh. "I think you should be able to walk better now." I tried walking and she was right, I did walk better.
"I'm glad that you are feeling better, Hayden, I'm just glad we are out of the hell hole." Rochelle told me trying to start a conversation. I gritted my teeth, honestly, I wasn't paying attention to what she was saying. I was more worried about the teenage boy staring at me. "Hello? Hayden?"
"Oh, sorry, Ro, I just have a strong feeling I know that guy." I pointed over to him and Rochelle averted her eyes toward him. The guy was frightened when I noticed he was staring at me. "He reminds me of my crush, Lane."
"Lane?" Rochelle asked.
"It's his middle name, he would be a senior at my high school. A sweet kid, I mean he could be a dick, but we made fun off each other. It was what we used to do. I missed that kid, he was going to ask me out, but I was forced to date Ethan."
"I remember you telling me about him. I am sorry, your brother did that."
"It wasn't my brother's fault, he was just stressed about his life. He regretted a lot of shit he did, and that's why he did that he would have believed anybody. Sometimes, I felt bad for him." Rochelle sighed.
"Well, he is coming over here, maybe it is Lane." The dark browned hair male made his way over to Rochelle and I.
"I hate to say this, I was staring at you a lot lately, and I'm just glad to see you again, Hayden." It was Lane. The nerdy senior, I met when I was a freshman. He did made it out alive. I was speechless, that we even did our handshake right. He would do a fist bump and I would high five him. Rochelle rolled her eyes.
"I guess you guys have some catching up to do." I giggled a bit until Rochelle made a little smile on her face.
"Yeah, we have some catching up to do, can you please tell the team, that I will be back later around 3 maybe." She smiled and nodded, she waved goodbye before she left to make her trek back to the room.
"So, who was that girl with you? And what do you mean by team?" He asked as he rose his eye brow.
"That was Rochelle, she was part of my team who I killed zombies with. We searched for help for months and finally just got here. How the hell did you make it out alive?" I asked him while smirking.
"Well, after your brother realized you weren't in the car anymore he was going to come back to get you, but the town refused to let him back in. I snuck out and he told me to get in the car and the CEDA helped up from there."
"I heard the CEDA just gave up."
"They did. I was shock we were able to get out live with their help, but literally in three days we reached here and been here since."
"Lucky you, did my parents make it out alive?"
"No, not that I know of, but that would be a good question for your brother or your sister. Shall I lead the way?" He put his arm out as a jester for me take hook my around his. I chuckled at his gentlemeness. I wrapped my arm around his and we started our way to my brothers' room.
"Has Ben changed at all? Is Melissa still a major bitch?" I asked him. He laughed at me and then shook his head no. I wasn't surprised at all, I knew for sure Melissa wasn't going to change her personality anytime soon.
"Just stay here and then talk to them." Lane unlocked the door and started talking to my siblings. I could hear Ben angry that I still haven't made it, Melissa complaining how she doesn't have make up. I just couldn't wait to jump into the room and give them a heart attack.
"So, you just left her with a teenage boy?" Nick asked talking to Rochelle. "He could be a stranger and do something to harm her." Nick joked around with Rochelle which made her laugh a little bit.
"It's not like that Nick." Rochelle tried to say in between laughs. "She knew this person she told me that he goes to her high school and they wanted to get some catching up on some info." She explained.
"Rochelle, you might find this kind of awkward, but since I met you and we talked alone I always got this weird tingly feeling in my stomach. I don't know if I like like or I just ate something rotten."
"What happens if it was both?" She moved closer to him which made his heart pump faster, it felt like was going to burst from his chest. She smiled at him and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.
"I think it was the first one." She smiled at him again. "Rochelle, since this isn't that awkward anymore and since no one we really knew made it would you like to get some coffee?" He was nervous, he had never been nervous trying to ask someone out. Was she different from the rest? Whatever it was, both Nick and Rochelle were both happy.
"Damnit, I wish they would tell us all right, I still have a feeling that she is alive and I just want to get one hug from her. We have been here for about eight months, I miss her like crazy." Ben muttered to Lane.
"I guess you prayed hard enough then." I said slowly walking into their room. Ben was in shock, he thought I was dead, he even tried to believe that I wasn't alive anymore, but his thoughts were wrong.
"Hayden Loughlin!" Ben and Melissa shouted as they came over to hug me. I grabbed on to the two of them tightly and the hug lasted long. "How long have you been here?" Ben asked releasing from the hug.
"For about an hour or so, I was at the doctor, cause of spitter acid, it wasn't good, you guys are looking didn't have to go through the shit load of zombies. Not going to lie, if I didn't find Ellis and the rest of the team I would have died."
"Damn, that must of have sucked." Lane interjected. I slapped him and he whimpered a bit.
"Like I used to say before, if you have a big mouth be prepared to be slapped." I smiled at him and lightly punched my shoulder. "Enough about me, so Ben did Maggie and Regina make it out alive?"
"Yeah, they did, I just wish we were all in that car and was able to make it to the safe zone together. Hayden, the real question is for you. How the hell did you get out? I heard that the CEDA just decided to give up."
"They did. I heard on the radio to get to Georgia as quickly as possible. I thought that was going to be safe haven, I ran for three days straight and made it the exact location they wanted us to meet them. All of the damn helicopters were gone, the CEDA said they were at the mall. By the time we made it to the mall, they were infected and no one was able to be safe. We just tried our best to find people who would get us to safe haven."
"That must have been really hard, I'm shock you aren't crying over the fact they you don't have any nails." Melissa said. I rolled my eyes along with my older brother. Lane shook his head until he heard a knock at the door.
"I got it." Lane walked over and opened the door and Maggie walked in with Regina quickly.
"Ben, Hayden is here." Maggie squealed. "She made it this morning, I just looked and wanted to tell you that right away."
"Maggie, I'm right here."
"Oh, well, I feel stupid, but I am so glad to see you again." I hugged her. "I honestly thought you were dead, but hey, I guess I prayed hard enough." I smiled.
"Hayden." Regina smiled. I hugged her and gave her a high five.
"How did Regina take it that I wasn't here for so long?" I asked giving Regina a kiss on the cheek.
"She was a bit devastated, but we cheered her up somehow it was hard, but I know, she is going to be happy now that you are here." I smiled again and looked at Regina. It must be hard to be growing up in world so cruel like this.
"So, Rochelle do you think I have changed at all?" Nick asked. Rochelle stopped drinking from her cup and looked at him sternly. "I was told change was a good thing and just never had the heart to change."
"I think you have changed for the better. At first you were all about you Nick and you put everyone else's life behind yours. I don't know who the hell it was, they gave you an idea for change."
"So, do you like the new me or not?"
"Nick, you are fine, just make sure you are still true to yourself and your heart." He smiled at her and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. She smiled and took another sip of her coffee before she looked at the clock. "Well Nick this was fun, I'll see you back at the room hopefully soon.
"All right, I'll see you then." She smiled at him and she left him alone at Starbucks. "I guess trying not being an asshole can score me a date with a pretty little lady." He threw away his coffee and left, but as he was leaving an image from his past came to haunt him.
"Remember Nick, you need to be tough and not give a shit about anyone else, but you." His eldest brother told him.
"What happens if I meet a girl?" He asked.
"You can care about her too, but remember to put yourself first."
"I know for sure, my eldest brother was wrong about that." Nick muttered before he walked into a clothing department to get some more clothes.
Ellis walked the hallways trying to find the room his brothers and best friends stayed at him. All the hallways looked the same and to him it reminds him of passing period during high school going to your class rooms. He saw a girl, probably three maybe even four years younger than him walking the opposite direction to him. "Excuse me, miss, can you please help?" He asked.
She stopped walking and looked over to him with a smile. "Yeah, I can help, what's up." She asked him. Ellis felt he lost his voice, he had never saw a girl as beautiful as she was.
"Well, I just arrived her and I have been trying to find my siblings and my best friend room and I kept getting lost in here. By any chance could you help me find there room. It's 310B." Ellis asked as politely as he could.
"Their room is not too far from my own room. To let you know, we are on level C we need to go up a flight of stairs. I'm Zoey, by the way." She smiled at him while putting her hand out to greet him.
"Thanks so much, Zoey, I'm Ellis." He shook her and smiled back at her.
"Well, it's nice to meet ya Ellis, let me lead the way." Ellis liked how she has an outgoing personality, he was already stunned by her looks, but since she has a great personality along with she maybe a keeper.
"Damn, that guy is so hot." She quickly turned around to get another look at his face. "I wonder what he thinks of me. I hope it's something good, maybe I should give him the room number so we can talk to meet each other." Since both Francis and Louis have been seeing girls, she has been a bit lonely.
Ellis couldn't speak he was just stunned and Zoey was a nervous wreck trying to find away to ask him he would like to talk to her later on around 7, so she wouldn't be so lonely. It would have been silent the whole way until Zoey decided to say something.
"Ellis, by any are you free tonight?"
"I don't have any plans, but I would like to have some plans with you." He flirted a bit. She smiled at him.
"Oh, well, I like that idea. Here's the room. You can give my room a call, I will be there the whole night. Do you want the number?" She asked him. Ellis nodded and she took out a pen and wrote her number down. "See ya later." Ellis smiled and waved goodbye before he knocked on the door.
"No shit, it's Ellis!" Keith yelled. "Guys, Ellis is here." Everyone in the room walked over and gave Ellis the biggest hug ever. "I told you guys he wasn't died, I knew it, maybe sometimes you have to believe your heart not your brain."
"When did you get here?" Dave asked. Ellis walked in and shut the door.
"About two hours ago, I was hanging out with my friends with my friends before he went our separate way."
"We have some much things to catch up with." Sam, his little brother interjected. Ellis smiled and looked over to his older brother.
"So, did she survived?" Ellis asked. Paul shook his head no and looked out the window.
"He hasn't been able to cope the pain of the loss of his wife and child. We usually just let him be." Keith added. "Enough about us, how did you survive and why did it take you so long to get here."
"My friends also known as my teammates were supposed to be saved by the CEDA, but they went to shit and they all got infected before we arrived there. We had to trust people we didn't know, to get us here and with the Air Force, they finally got us here."
"That must have been hard." Dave said. He looked around until he noticed Ellis had a phone number on his arm. "Oh, look at this Ellis has a date with a girl, tell us about her." Dave suggested. Everyone but Paul brought over a chair to listen to his story.
"I'm getting sick of them being so god damn loud." Lane cursed.
"Lane, no swearing around Regina." I shouted at him. I was watching her because I told my siblings and Maggie to get out of the house and to have some fun. "And who lives right next door to you?"
"Ben has met them, and he told me that only two out of the four are cool. The rest of them are major pricks. I personally don't want to meet them, they constantly have parties and they are close to being kicked off of this level."
"Hmp, I'm going to give them a piece of my mind, Regina, do you want to come with?" She nodded, she was adorable four year old. I picked her up and left the door. "I'll be back in about five minutes." I walked next door and knocked on the door loudly. I heard footsteps coming over to open the door.
"We are trying to listen to a story." Keith hissed and rolled his eyes at me.
"I'm trying to get catched up with my friends and family and I can hardly hear what they are saying, maybe you can tone it down for a bit. And my brother's daughter needs to get some rest soon and I don't want you waking her up."
"So, you are telling me to quiet down?"
"Yes, I would appreciate that."
"Keith hurry up." Ellis shouted.
"Ellis?" I asked walking into the room.
"I never said you could come in."
"Hayden, what are you going on this level?" He asked.
"My brother lives next door and I'm visiting him until about 5. I'm guessing this Keith and Dave."
"Yeah, it is."
"Well, I'll see you later, I'm going to get back to my family and friends now." I replied walking out of the room going back to my own. Lane opened up the door and when he heard my footsteps.
"So, are they going to quiet down?"
"I hope, but I saw my friend over there and I hope he shuts up. So, by any chance do you guys have an xbox console?"
"Actually we do, want to play some?" He asked.
"Sure."
It was now 5 o'clock and we were all back in the room talking and laughing until Coach was the first one to speak up. "Well, I'm going out with some friends; I should be back around midnight." Coach said exiting the room.
Nick looked over at Rochelle and they both nodded and agreed that they were going to leave together to go play some poker, so the two of them left. I was talking to Ellis for a bit until he looked at the clock and noticed it was seven, he explained how he was going to call up this one girl.
Then it was down to me, I could have gone back to hang out with my friends and family or finally get the privacy that I wanted. I decided to go with the privacy thing. Even if I wanted to talk to my family, it would have been my parents even though they didn't survive. I grabbed my headphones and started to listen to "Would You Still be There" by Of Mice & Men.
A/N: Late update, yeah, I know, I was so stress out of finals because some of my grades weren't the best, so I took a mini break from writing any of my stories. There is one more part that I'm going to upload today too, which would be the last part. I know this was a shitty chapter is was kind of rush written, I hope you will enjoy the last chapter better than this one.