Coach had offered to take over coaching duties for the freshman football team when the head coach had gone home sick. He was running some of the trickier plays, hoping that a wildcat offense could fool the opposing team come Friday. The problem was that the running back was struggling to take a snap from the shotgun formation.

"Come on, Otis, eye on the ball! You gotta be ready for the snap," Coach shouted.

"I know, Coach, sorry," Otis said. "Hey, I'm feeling nauseous. Can we take five?"

"Shit. Okay, everybody, five minutes for a water break."

The team gratefully made their way to the sidelines. Coach took the opportunity to get himself some water as well. While Coach refreshed himself, he saw someone coming towards the field from a distance. It was hard to tell from the distance, but it looked like whoever was approaching was coming in fast. As the silhouette came closer, Coach recognized who it was.

"What's Coach Brown doing here? He said he had to go home sick."

As Coach Brown came closer, Coach could see that he was discolored and frothing at the mouth as he approached. "What the fuck?"

Suddenly, Coach Brown was upon the field. He lunged at Coach and bit him in the neck. Coach cried out in pain, and quickly the freshmen knew something was wrong.

"Run! Run! I'll hold him off!" Coach shouted.

The team, not knowing what to do, scattered. It seemed Coach Brown, or whatever had possessed Coach Brown, was confused by this, unable to find someone to chase. The only student that couldn't get away was Otis, the quarterback. He fell over, and Coach Brown went for him and bit him in the neck.

"No!" Coach yelled. Panicking, he could think of nothing else to do but to throw a football at Coach Brown and hope that he could lure him away from Otis.

To his horror, not only did Coach Brown turn to go after him, but Otis did as well. Coach could see Otis turning before his eyes, his skin becoming green and his mouth beginning to froth. Coach turned tail and fled, hoping against all hope that if the monsters who had taken over Coach Brown and Otis would come after him, they would not pursue any of the other freshmen. As for himself, he could think of nothing else other than to get to his truck and continue to lure these zombies away from the school.

Being overweight, Coach was struggling to keep ahead of the zombies that were after him. They began nipping at his ankles. At one point, Coach Brown lunged on top of him, and Coach had to push him away with nothing but his own body strength and the adrenaline coursing through his veins. Fortunately, he pushed Coach Brown into Otis, which slowed them down for a moment. That was all the time Coach needed to get into his truck. He fumbled for the keys, dropping them in his panic. He cursed to himself and leaned down to pick them off the floor of the cab. When he straightened up, Otis lunged towards him, his head getting through the open window and only inches from biting at Coach. Coach shoved his head out of the vehicle and managed to start the truck.

"Come after me, you sons of bitches!" he yelled, pulling away from the school, making sure he drove at a pace at which the two zombies could pursue him. He could see some of the freshmen watching what was happening at a safe distance. Coach was too far away to shout out any orders to go back into the school or call the police. He then remembered that he had his phone on him, so he fumbled through his pocket and grabbed the phone. He flipped it open and dialed 911.

"Nine one one, what is your emergency?" the dispatcher asked, sounding dull and disinterested.

"I'm being pursued by two zombies! I just left the Memorial High School football field heading...uh...south, I think. You gotta get some uniforms down here!"

"Sir, this line is reserved only for emergencies. I don't know what kind of horror movies you've been watching recently, but holding up this line is punishable by law."

"I'm not joking, damn it! I have a real emergency!"

"Sir, I'm sure you must think this is amusing, but I'm going to hang up the phone now."

"No no no, please, do not hang up this line! Listen!" Coach held his phone out the window, trying to point it towards the two zombies that were pursuing him. Unfortunately, he drove over a speed hump, and the impact made him drop his phone out the window.

"Shit!" Coach yelled. It was too late to go back to retrieve the phone, so he had to leave it behind as he continued to drive down the road. "I just paid off that phone, too."

The good news is that the zombies he was luring had been diverted away from the rest of the football team and also the school at large. Unfortunately, there was a large curve in the road again, and Coach took it too fast. The truck rolled over, end over end, and crashed into a tree.

When Coach opened his eyes, he realized that the two zombies that had been chasing him were nowhere to be found. He crawled out from underneath his truck, and he howled in pain. He looked over at his right arm only to find that it looked completely out of alignment. He had to hold back a sudden feeling of nausea.

Nursing his arm gingerly, he rose to his feet and looked around. It seemed there was no one to be found. Coach gingerly took another look at his arm, trying to assess what might have happened to it. He realized that he was going to need hospital care to get a professional opinion on his arm, because the way it was hanging from his body didn't appear natural. He walked out into the road, hoping to flag someone down for a ride to the hospital, but the road was deserted. Swearing under his breath, he turned around to find he was suddenly face to face with a giant zombie. The zombie screamed directly into his face.

Coach awoke with a start, screaming and looking around in a state of total panic. It woke up the rest of the survivors on the bus as well, except for Francis, who had elected to take over driving for Coach a few hours prior. After realizing he had just awoken from a bad dream, Coach finally calmed down.

"Son of a bitch," Nick groaned. "I was having the most comfortable sleep I've had in a week. The fuck is your problem?"

"Sorry, Nick," Coach muttered, rubbing his head. "Bad dream."

"Well if I don't get my beauty rest," Nick said, "your bad dream is going to end up being my nightmare. The fuck were you even dreaming about?"

"It was less of a dream, and more of a memory of what was going on when this Infection hit."

"Had one of those myself not too long ago," Francis said from the driver's seat. "Can't remember how long it's been. Hard to keep track of the days anymore."

"I had one of those, too," Zoey said.

"Same," Rochelle added. "Sometimes I think our minds are still trying to process everything that's happened. We spend all our days trying to survive, so we don't have time to think about that other shit until we're supposed to be dreaming.

"Well, it was a bad reminder of how things were at the beginning," Coach said. "I used to be a health teacher and coach football. I don't know what happened to any of my students."

"You leave a family behind, too?" Zoey asked. "I had to watch my family turn right in front of me."

"I wasn't blessed in that department," Coach said. "I chose to focus on my teaching career with no one but the man upstairs guiding me. I used to worry about that, but now I'm kinda glad I didn't have a family. I would never have wanted them to go through this shit."

"I was too young to really get a chance to do any of that," Zoey said.

"It's not too late for you," Louis said. "Not for you, either, Coach. If we can find a settlement of other people with immunity, we can rebuild from there."

"I could tell you what I think of those odds," Nick said, "but I think you already have an idea."

"It must be exhausting to be that cynical all the time," Louis said. "You're even trying my patience, and if you knew me, you'd know how hard that is to do."

"Can you people stop squabbling for five minutes?" Bill groaned. "You're giving me a headache and a craving for a cigarette."

"Smoke up, old man," Nick said, rummaging through his pocket and pulling out a pack of cigarettes. "Ended up stashing some of these from a gas station not far from that bus depot."

"When the fuck did you have time for that?" Bill asked.

"You guys were arguing about something stupid, I don't know. I got bored and started snooping around and found these. Be grateful I didn't hold out on you, old man." Nick tossed Bill the pack.

"Be grateful I didn't leave you behind as zombie chow," Bill said. "Fuck, these are Marlboros. You know how long it's been since I've smoked these?"

"It can't have been any time after the Infection hit," Nick said.

"Not even before," Bill said. "This shit went way up in price. The damn government called it a ;sin tax' but it fucked over old smokers like me. I've had to settle for fucking Basics for years."

"Forgive me if this talk of cigarette brands isn't enthralling me," Zoey said, "but what's the difference?"

"It's like being used to driving a Volvo for years and then suddenly getting the chance to drive a Cadillac," Bill said. He pulled a lighter from his breast pocket, lit one of the cigarettes, and took a long drag from it. "Fuck, this is the stuff," Bill said, exhaling the smoke.

"Fuck, I can smell that from here," Zoey said. "Can you crack a window open back there?"

"Sure, Zoey. Sorry," Bill said. "I know this kinda thing is an acquired taste."

"'Acquired?'" Zoey asked. "If that's 'acquired,' then lung cancer must also be 'acquired.'"

"That's one thing you young people could never understand," Bill said. "You'll never know what it's like to start your morning with a cigarette and a coffee while you're reading the newspaper."

"Next you'll tell me you got daily deliveries from the milkman," Nick said. "Sometimes things change for the better."

"Look around you," Bill said. "None of this screams 'better' to me."

"I didn't say everything had changed for the better," Nick said. "Obviously I wouldn't have asked for any of this shit."

"Then we can agree on that, at least," Bill said. "I've been to war zones, but I never thought I'd see one in this country."

"My grandfather used to tell me stories about his own grandfather," Ellis said. "Says he fought in the Civil War and shit. Course, I was too young to really understand what the fuck he was talking about."

"You guys were on the wrong side of that war," Nick said.

"Says the Italian." Zoey scoffed. "Did your grandparents fight in World War II? How did that work out for them?"

"First of all," Nick said, "I never claimed to be Italian. Well...at least not with you guys...right? Did I ever say I was Italian?"

"I'm too exhausted to give a shit," Rochelle said with a moan.

"Second of all, even if I was Italian, I ended up in this country, so it couldn't have been a total loss. 'Land of the free, home of the brave.' Shit, there's an idea that didn't age well."

"Can we not make this political?" Louis asked. "This Infection doesn't take political sides, so I don't think we should either."

"Louis, come on," Nick said. "Your ancestors came here in chains. You don't think that was political?"

"You son of a bitch," Louis said. He rose from his seat and dove towards Nick. Rochelle and Coach, who were the closest, grabbed his arms to hold him back.

"Oh shit!" Nick yelled. "I pissed off Little Miss Sunshine! Didn't think that was fucking possible."

"Will you fucking shut up?" Zoey asked. "God, you have an uncanny ability to piss off literally everyone you meet. I don't even know why we continue to drag your sorry ass around. You've done nothing but complain the whole time, so give me one reason we shouldn't leave you outside as zombie bait!"

"I'm a better shot than at least half of you," Nick said. "Toss me if you want, but you're gonna have a harder time surviving without me."

"Louis, honey," Rochelle said. "You should try to calm down."

"Nick's an asshole," Coach said. "Trust us, we've known him longer than you have, but fighting each other ain't gonna solve shit."

"How can you two, of all people, be asking me to calm down after what he said?" Louis asked. Nevertheless, he stopped struggling, and Rochelle and Coach let him go.

"He's blowing off steam," Rochelle said. "Trust me, he said something similar to me when I first met him, and I cocked him in the jaw. He stopped bothering me after that. Well...at least about that."

"Fuck, Louis, you gotta loosen up," Nick said. "You've got Roch and Coach literally blacksplaining me to you."

"Fuck off, Nick," Rochelle said.

"Guys, come on," Ellis said. "Ain't it bad enough what's happening out there? Why we gotta be at each other's throats like this?"

"I agree with Ellis," Zoey said. "The real bad guys are out there, not in here."

"You actually believe that?" Nick asked. "Or are you trying to get into Ellis's pants? Trust me, honey, there are easier ways to do that, especially for a girl that looks like you."

"Oh my God…" Zoey said, pinching the bridge of her nose. "What the fuck is your problem?"

"Look at Ellis. He's fucking blushing!" Nick yelled.

"Alright, fuck this," Rochelle said. "Louis, I'll give you one free shot at Nick."

"Don't bother," Coach said. He went over to Nick and punched him in the face.

"Ow!" Nick yelled. "What the fuck, were you like a heavyweight boxer or something? Well...maybe I should've just said boxer. Calling you 'heavyweight' is a bit redundant."

Coach leveled a second punch at him.

"Shit, okay, okay, I get the point. I'll stop."

Coach returned to his seat, looking smugly satisfied.

"Fuck, you've got a hell of a right hook," Nick said. "You could take out a Hunter with a punch like that."

"Nah, that wouldn't be possible," Coach said. "You're far too delicate to compare to a Hunter."

The other survivors had a chuckle at that.

"Fuck it, fine. I deserved that," Nick said, rubbing his forehead. "In all honesty, me needling you guys is kind of a defense mechanism. If you'd lived the kind of life I led before this shit happened, you'd understand why I act like this."

"You've told the three of us all sorts of shit about your old life," Rochelle said, "and I can't even believe a tenth of it."

"So I embellish," Nick said. "If I wasn't a master at bullshitting people, I'd have been killed long before this apocalypse happened. You can believe that, at least."

"Fine, I guess I can believe that much," Rochelle said.

"Fuck me, I can't see shit out here," Francis said. "The fuck is with these headlights? They're so dim."

"Hang on," Rochelle said, moving towards the front of the bus. "You've been driving in the dark for hours. Why are you just mentioning this now?"

"I thought I could deal with it," Francis said, "but I think I've hit like three things since getting on this highway, and I can only hope they were animals or zombies."

"Hey, genius, your lights aren't even on," Rochelle said. She flipped a switch, and suddenly the road ahead was much better lit. "Next time say something sooner if you're not sure."

"Okay, Roch. Thanks."

"Don't mention it, sweetheart," Rochelle replied, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Seriously, don't. You don't want to give people a bad impression."

"Har har," Francis said. "You're lucky you're cute."

"Likewise." Rochelle returned to where the other survivors had gathered. "Shit, I'm actually a little bored now."

"Bored?" Nick asked. "Fuck, I guess I need to try even harder to piss you off. That would be a first."

"I don't doubt it," Rochelle said. "You know what, there is something I've been wondering about for a while now, but there was never any time to bring it up."

"Shoot, go ahead," Ellis said.

"When this fucking Infection hit," Rochelle said, "I can't believe there were so many people who refused to wear masks or get vaccinated."

"Oh my God," Nick said, "you're right. I knew a lot of people who thought this whole thing was invented by the government to keep people in line."

"Why the hell didn't you go along with them?" Rochelle asked.

"Because I'm a man of science," Nick said. "Just because I was around a bunch of those conspiracy nuts doesn't mean I was one of them. It's actually kinda insulting that you'd lump me in with those retards."

"So you didn't think the whole thing was some weird conspiracy?" Rochelle asked.

"You think I'd be here if I was?" Nick asked. "Fuck, I'm the first one not to believe what the government tells me, but putting a cloth over my face? That was a no brainer. Once my old friends started getting infected, I realized I was gonna last longer than all of those fucking chumps."

"I find that hard to believe," Rochelle said.

"What? I'm serious about mask wearing."

"Not that. I find it hard to believe you had friends."

The other survivors laughed, and even Nick had to chuckle and give Rochelle some applause. "Nice one."

"Shit," Ellis said. "No one in my family believed anything the government was telling us. Thought the whole thing was some liberal conspiracy. I was a dumbass and believed them. If I hadn't been immune, I woulda died like the rest of them. When I lost everyone else in my family, I finally woke up and realized this shit was for real."

"What happened to Keith?" Coach asked.

"Shit, he died, too," Ellis said. "I never thought I'd outlive him, he seemed so cool."

"Hold on," Rochelle said. "I thought you said you guys lost touch just before you started high school."

"Did I say that?" Ellis asked. "Well, you know, I sometimes tell myself that so I don't have to think about what really happened to him. But no, in the end, he was just another victim, and I was somehow immune. There ain't a day goes by where I don't wish it was the other way around. I think he woulda done a lot more for himself than I could've."

"Ellis," Zoey said, wrapping her arms around him and kissing him on the cheek. "I wish you wouldn't be so hard on yourself. I'm not religious like Coach, but I think you survived for a reason."

"I guess," Ellis said with a sheepish grin. "I appreciate that, Zoey, thanks."

"Don't mention it," Zoey said.

"So as long as we're taking inventory," Nick said, "Rochelle worked for a news station, so you knew the facts before any of us did."

"Yes, we were some of the first people to break news about the Infection."

"Nice. Coach, you worked at a school."

"Yeah, but when the school I worked at started mandating masks and vaccines, I was surprised. I thought the kids were gonna be the ones to rebel against it, but the kids handled it just fine. It was the parents who went ballistic."

"Fuck, that's ironic," Nick said.

"Yeah, we had more parents pulling their kids outta public school than ever before," Coach said. "Of course, most of those families ended up infected, and only a handful of kids and families at our school ended up with complications. I'm glad I had no problem with the regulations. Everyone was asking for prayers when their family members got sick. No one realized that the lord had provided us with the tools we needed to fight this infection: the vaccines and the masks."

"Damn," Nick said. "The lord works in mysterious ways. So, Louis, you were, what, an IT worker?"

"Yeah," Louis said. "No one I knew had any problem adjusting to the new regulations. Still, things in my city ended up really bad. A lot of poorer people couldn't get to a doctor to get vaccinated, so a lot of them ended up getting sick. I was lucky to have the resources I needed to keep myself safe."

"And Zoey," Nick said, "your college probably required vaccinations, right?"

"Of course," Zoey said. "Shit, even some of the most right-wing schools in the country required masks at least. But I didn't need that to convince me. I was first in line to get the shot. Unfortunately, my parents were skeptical. I think they could have still been alive today if they hadn't been so close-minded."

Ellis gave Zoey a hug, which she gratefully accepted. "I'm sorry, Zoey," he said, kissing her on the cheek.

"It's fine," Zoey said. "I wouldn't have realized I was immune without that."

"And Bill, you're a veteran, so I'm sure the VA must've hooked you up with all that good shit," Nick said.

"Yes," Bill said. "I suppose that worked out for the best in the end. I had to convince a lot of guys I served with to swallow their pride and get the damn shot. After the way we were treated after Vietnam, a lot of us got angry at our government and stopped trusting it. If I had been as cynical as those guys, I probably wouldn't be alive today to tell you about it."

"What about you, Francis?" Nick asked. "Can't imagine many of your biker friends were all hyped up to do what Uncle Sam told them."

"That's an unfair stereotype," Francis said. "The problem wasn't that they didn't believe in that shit. The problem was it came to us too late."

"What?"

"We were out in the middle of nowhere when the Infection hit," Francis said. "There wasn't a doctor's office for miles. We all swore we'd get the shot as soon as we returned to civilization, but none of my friends got the chance. The Infection got to us before there was anything we could do about it. If I wasn't immune, I'd have died with them."

"Fuck, man, I'm sorry," Nick said.

"No you're not. You wouldn't have ever gone near me or any of my friends before this shit happened."

"No, man," Nick said, "you're right about that, but I've seen you out in the field. You're one of the toughest guys I've ever met, and I was on good terms with bouncers twice your weight. You've got a lot of heart, man. All of us do, really, or we wouldn't have lasted this long."

"You are right about that," Bill said. "I guess even a broken clock is right twice a day."

"Thanks," Nick said, sneering at Bill.

"Shit," Francis said. "You guys feel something?"

"Huh?" Bill asked. The survivors stopped talking for a moment, and they could feel a rumbling underneath them getting worse and worse.

"That can only be one thing," Ellis said.

"Shit!" Nick yelled. "Look out there!"

Everyone scrambled to the side of the bus where Nick was pointing. From a distance, they could see the outline of a giant figure coming towards them.

"Tank!" Zoey yelled. "Get your weapons!"

The survivors scrambled to pick up their weapons, but by the time they were able to load up and take aim, the Tank was too close. It took one swipe at the bus, and the bus was sent hurtling through the air. Time seemed to slow for the survivors as the bus toppled end over end, rolling into a mass of trees and coming to a halt upside down.