The light prick of a needle made me whimper, my eyes fluttering open to find someone kneeling beside me. A man with cropped, black hair looked at me as I groaned. "Who...are you?" I coughed, finding the strength to sit. "Where did everyone go?"
"I'm Brad and I hate to say this but there's no one else here." He answered, holding a syringe in his hand. Taking a moment to clear my head I looked around the room only to discover he was right; apart from us everyone else had left.
"Those assholes. I'm sick and they just leave me here to fend for myself." I snapped and he shrugged, offering a hand. "Thanks...Brad was it? I'm Bridget." I said, a little calmer as he helped me stand.
"Why aren't you chipped?" Brad asked and I raised an eyebrow, feeling a little lost. "This is a chip." He said, pointing to a faint glow just above the base of his neck.
"Wait, back up a step. There's a chip that has Zombrex in it right?" I asked and he nodded, turning his head back as I scratched my forehead. "I think I could use one of those."
"Did you get bitten recently?" Brad asked and it was my turn to nod, pointing to my ankle. "How did that happen?"
As he headed for the door I followed, still limping a little but at least my fever had vanished leaving me with a clear head. "I was on a bus when it broke down so I decided to climb out. That's when a guy tried to eat me and when I tried to get back on the bus, the driver shut the door in my face. So it was either be eaten or run so I made my choice and ran for my life. Ended up meeting Nick who saved me though not before I ended up with a deep bite on my left ankle. Still at least I'm not a zombie." I explained, watching as Brad peered around the corner before he turned back. "Okay your turn."
"I was infected a while ago. The chip I had implanted was supposed to give me a dose of Zombrex once every twenty four hours but now it doesn't work, it shorted out or something and I started to get sick. If Nick hadn't given me a dose..." He trailed off and I nodded, peeking around the corner. "I still need to talk with Cora." He added and I grinned, kneeling to grab a discarded wrench.
"Your girlfriend?" I asked and he blinked, eyes widening for a moment before he managed a weak laugh. "I was kidding, Brad. Anyway what brought you to Los Perdidos? I was on vacation...some trip huh?"
"I'm from the ZDC, Agent Brad Park." Brad said, briefing showing me his badge. "Nick told me that the ZDC are harming people and I want to know why he would think that. We're trying to save the survivors."
"I believe you. I mean, you could have left me to die and taken the Zombrex for yourself but you didn't. So I want to return the favor; I'm going with you." I said, frowning when he shook his head. "I'm not staying here on my own. I've already been left behind once and I'm not letting it happen a second time. Whether you want me there or not I'm going with you."
"I can see there's no arguing with you is there, Bridget?" Brad sighed and I gave him a quick grin, stepping into the hallway.
Together we headed through the hallway, ending up outside to find the nearby streets filled with hordes of zombies. "Oh crap, where to now Mr ZDC agent?" I asked and he pointed to the roof. "Wait, up there?"
"Unless you have a better plan." Brad asked and I frowned, wondering if he was joking. Turns out he wasn't, grabbing hold of drainpipe before he pulled himself up and onto the roof. "Here, give me your hand." He said, holding out his hand.
With an eyeroll I stepped towards him only to hear a groan behind me. I whirled around just as a zombie grabbed for me and I yelped, quickly moving towards Brad. He grabbed my outstretched arm, pulling me up with a grunt as the zombie leapt at us. As Brad helped me onto the roof I heard a sickening thud, the zombie's head now just a mess of blood and brains.
"Thanks." I gasped, catching my breath as he stood over me. "Now where to next?"
"To the hospital. I need to speak to Cora." Brad answered and I nodded, following close at his back with my wrench at my side. It took a lot of detours, mainly due to the zombie hordes and the baricades set up to stop them, before we made it to the hospital. Waiting just in front of the hospital was a young woman wearing a labcoat, waving her arms at us.
"Brad, I wasn't sure if you were okay." Cora said, looking at me for a moment. "Is she a survivor?"
"I'm Bridget, nice to meet you. Brad gave me Zombrex after my 'friend's abandoned me. It's only because of him that I'm not one of those things." I explained, looking at the zombies milling around outside.
"My chip malfunctioned and if Nick hadn't given me a dose of Zombrex I wouldn't be here." Brad said, glancing at me when I climbed the wall overlooking the zombies below. "Hey be careful." He warned when a zombie tried to grab my foot and I kicked it, nearly overbalancing.
"Yeah I know. Don't want to be zombie chow." I replied, walking back to my new friends. "So what happens now? Is there a way out of the city?"
"Several of my patients have had their chips malfunction. We need to find out why and so I need you to find as many as you can." Cora explained and I sighed, secretly hoping that she knew a way out of the city. "There's a Special Ops truck with a weapon that can kill the zombies leaving the chips intact. I need twenty brought back."
"Alright we'll bring back as many as you need. Bridget, maybe you should stay here with Cora." Brad suggested but I shook my head. "Fine but maybe you should grab a better weapon than that." He said and I quickly searched the area, coming back a few minutes later with a shotgun I found. "I hope you're experienced enough to use that weapon."
"Does playing Resident Evil count as experience?" I asked and his eyes widened. "Relax, I used to play Paintball...once or twice." I added a little quieter and he rolled his eyes towards the sky.
"Come on, let's go find the Special Ops truck." Brad said and I quickly followed as we made our way through the streets, keeping our eyes open as the zombies nearest the hospital finally noticed us. Groaning they started to move towards us and I recoiled from the stench of rotting meat, my hands gripping the shotgun tighter as I took in the sight of dozens of undead converging on us. "There's too many of them. Come on, there's a car!" Brad called out and I raced after him as he headed towards a green and black sportscar.
We barely made it, some of the zombies moving so fast I could feel their rotted hands clutching at my t-shirt. I janked over the passenger side door, slamming it into the face of one male zombie who tried to bite me. He fell over as I climbed inside, pulling the door free just as another one clawed at the window. Jumping in, Brad started the car just as the horde closed in and as the car shot forward I resisted the urge to laugh as two zombies were sent flying.
"Where is this truck anyway?" I asked, watching Brad dodging zombies left and right. "Oh and we need Zombrex now don't we?"
"The truck's on the freeway entrance, just outside Central City. We need a weapon called the Pacifier to get the Zombrex chips Cora needs. To get the Zombrex we need to head to the Police Station. Cora told me there's a van there that has what we and her patients need." Brad explained, his eyes on the road ahead.
"Cool then that's where we're going. Hopefully it's a quiet trip." I replied, and Brad turned his head slightly one eyebrow raised. "You know what I mean." I giggled and he gave me a quick nod, returning his attention back to the road.