Author's Notes: I'm actually really happy with the direction that this fic is going and I might decide to make it a little longer than I had originally planned. Something is wrong with , it won't let me show a change of subject, and I don't know how long it will be like this. I give an extended apology for this, but there really isn't anything I can do. For now my readers are just going to have to deal with it the same way that I am: bitch and moan even though you know nothing will happen, lol. On with the show!

Chapter 11

Scott only had six rounds left in his pistol before he would be forced to switch guns. The mob of ghouls larger than he thought it would be, and he knew that he'd be dead in a few minutes. He eased back on the trigger once more, sending a bullet straight into the brain of a lifeless monster. It collapsed to the ground instantly, tripping four others behind him.

There was a mass growing of dead monsters just about twenty feet in front of him. The group of non-walking dead people was only about six or seven compared to the twenty or thirty that were still rushing him. He guessed that there were at least a hundred or more of the beasts still in the Corral that hadn't found there way out yet due to it's massive size.

One of the monsters rushed at Scott with a speed he didn't know was possible and he had to think quickly to put one in his neck, sending the thing to the ground in sever seizers.

The problem with the plan that he'd come up with was that he wouldn't know when Terry and Nicole made it to the barracks, therefore he wouldn't know when he could turn and run. He knew that he could outrun all of the partially decayed people, he'd been on cross-country and ran track even before he joined the military.

An elderly woman in a Sunday morning dress came at him with a slow pace, dragging one leg behind her. Standing next to her, a man wore nothing but boxer shorts and tube socks pulled up to his knees. Both of the monsters were turning a gray color and their skin had started to crack from being pulled so tight. With every step they took, Scott could hear the tissue breaking and falling back into place.

Viewing the man as more of a threat due to his speed, he put a bullet between his eyes and then counted up how many more rounds he had. He totaled up with three left in that gun, so using his free hand he reached to the hidden holster that he had on his right foot. As he did so, he fired a shot into a child's shoulder, putting him into the shakes. He still couldn't make himself kill the little ones; they looked too much like real children.

"Scott!" He could hear Kenneth's shouts from far down the corridor. The sound echoed down the hall like a wave of sound; starting quite and slowly building its way up until it passes and then it starts to fade again into the crowd of monsters.

He wanted to turn around and see if the large man was standing behind him with his shotgun, ready to back him up, but he already knew that wasn't the reality of it. Kenneth was at the barracks still. He was there, safe for now.

"Yeah?" It was the only word he could manage just before he pulled the trigger on another mindless monster. The blast from the gun was like a slow strobe light or a flash of lightning. For just one instant it showed the long hall for what it was. When that flash came, Scott could see the snarling faces of people that had died and risen to eat. He could see the hunger set heavy in their eyes and he pitied them.

"Come on!" Those two words showed Scott that he'd done what he wanted to do. He protected Nicole and got her to safety, now it was his turn.

Using the last round in his gun to put down the old lady, Scott pulled his next weapon up. He had it sighted just in time to see Dr. Moran standing in the back of the group. The poor doctor was covered in blood and was naked. It made Scott wonder just how he ended up that way.

"I'll be there in a second." He fired a shot. "Get the door ready to barricade!" He shouted it out as loud as he could as he started to retreat back a few steps at a time. He didn't want to give the impression that he was fleeing because he thought that he might be able to loose them in the twisted corridor if he could surprise them with his run.

Being on his feet and not having a plan, Scott did the only thing he could think of. He pointed the gun at no one in particular and started to go trigger crazy. If he could manage to hit a few of the ones on the front row they would fall down and trip up a few that were behind them. It was the best he could come up with to give himself a better shot. Afterwards he was left with nothing but he speed and his combat knife that was sheathed on his wrist.

As soon as his last shot was fired, he turned around and took off in an all out sprint. He hadn't thought about the fact that his legs were still tired from carrying Terry. He still had a great deal of speed, but he wouldn't be able to hold it for long.

He listened to the sounds of moans and groans as they faded off and he knew that he'd lost them for the time being. As he ran he pulled out his knife with a little bit of trouble, just to be safe. The ground under him felt gritty and loose. The gravel had never felt that loose before, but then again he'd never been forced to run on it. The ground slowed him down a bit, but not enough to let the monsters catch up.

Just as he thought he'd be home free, he saw something come out of one of the off branching hallways. It was one of the monsters, but this one looked familiar. He didn't have any time to think before she knocked him to the ground, straddling him. Dr. Jones, or the former doctor, was biting at him with teeth that were overly exposed due to a lack of skin where her upper lip should have been.

She was, by far, the most terrifying of all the monsters. Her once pretty hair now had clumps of dried blood through out and was tangled beyond words, her clothes had been mangled and torn through, her upper lip was missing completely, her left eye was popped and leaking a white and red fluid, and she was covered in bite marks.

When she knocked him down she also knocked the knife from his hand. He had one hand on Dr. Jones' neck, keeping her at bay, and the knife was just out of his reach. He had his arm stretched out as far as it would go, but he just couldn't touch the only weapon he had.

He knew that every second he spent fighting Dr. Jones was another second that the monsters were getting closer and closer. He brought his foot up and placed it in Jones' stomach and, with all the force he could, he pushed her off and into a rock wall that was behind her. It wasn't long before she was back up on her feet and charging at Scott.

He scooted his body over, grabbed the knife, and looked over just in time to see Jones jump out at him. She landed in just about the same place that she had been in before; on top of him, one leg on each side of his body, biting at him with only his one hand on her neck keeping her from it.

He knew that only a headshot would kill her, but he couldn't get his arm up there without risking a bite, so he jabbed the knife up into the soft skin of her gut as hard as he could. He could feel the still warm blood pouring down his hand as the blade struck organs. Jones didn't even flinch.

He started to work the knife in and out and in circles, hoping to cause some kind of damage that would send her into those shaking spells. He felt the metal strike something hard, deep down inside of her. He assumed that it was her spine, so he worked around it, trying anything to get her off. He could hear the others coming to join and he knew he had to do something fast. He picked a spot on the long, hard cord and, with all his upper body strength, he pushed it in. He felt and heard a wet snap and she started to shake on top of him.

He knew that she'd lost all control over her motor functions and she wouldn't be a threat anymore, so he simply pushed her off and got up. He looked down at his forearm and took note of the amount of blood that was on him. The knife couldn't even be seen due to the massive globs of crimson blood. He decided that he better not spare it another thought and took then he took off down the hall again.

He could see the door and Kenneth outside, and he thought that the monsters wouldn't find them for a while. He figured that he bought them some time, just as he passed another stretch of hallway. Another familiar face popped out, but this one was less familiar. He knew it was the male subject that they had moved into Dr. Moran's room, but now he was out and just behind Scott.

"So much for gettin rid of the monsters." He said to himself as he ran up to Kenneth, who already had the shotgun up and pointed at the monster that was approaching.

"Where is everyone?" Scott asked in a rush.

Kenneth pulled the trigger, allowing an explosion at the end of the gun that left the monster with no head.

"Ana's in her room and it's lock up tight, Phil and Wilson are in that one," he pointed to one room just down from the one they were at, "and Terry and Nicole are in this one waiting for us."

"Where's Wilkers?"

"Terry is tying him up in there; he is our prisoner." Kenneth said the last part with a smile. "Now we own the silo."