AN: Hey guys, just wanted to send out a quick thank you for the reviews, and I fully intend on posting more, I have a couple of things already written out, and there will be around 14-ish chapters, more if the pacing feels off. I can't wait to see how you like it.

Chapter 2 - K-mart's Rescue

Whoever the hell this girl is, she's got a damn good thing going. Shelves lined with canned food, camping gear, ammunition, weapons, she had everything a budding survivalist would need. "Did you find all of this here?" I asked, checking her arsenal for ammunition and weapons that matched mine. Damn it. I left my pistol out there. She had plenty, but it would be aggravating to learn the quirks of a new weapon.

"No, I scavenged the area pretty thoroughly." I nodded, I could see that. She could stay in here for months and never run out of food, water on the other hand would be a bigger problem, she only had two cases of bottled water, I imagine the rest went out of stock just as soon as disaster hit. "What, uhm, what are your plans."

I looked over my shoulder to see the blonde girl was hugging herself, still standing by the door. There was a hint of loneliness in her eyes that spoke of how long she'd been in here on her own. She probably hid in here most of the time, whether the danger was survivors or infected. "Passing through. I was running low on gas, and food."

She nodded, "You can take some of mine, I have plenty."

For a brief moment I considered turning her down, if she got trapped here, she would need that food. Then I realized that she wouldn't need anything that would outlast the water. The first things I grabbed were the dehydrated meals, travel rations were perfect, lightweight, high calorie, and easily prepared. She watched me with tired eyes as I took her whole stash. Maybe fifteen bags of the stuff, it would make a huge difference in the long run, and give me something to do in the nights when travel was no longer an option. "You have a problem?" I asked, she shouldn't have offered if she didn't want to share so much.

She hesitated before asking, "What's your name?"

The question took me aback, but I responded quickly enough, "Alice." The name stirred up the disgust in my heart, but it was the only one I knew, and it worked well enough for me.

The girl waited for me to say something more, maybe ask her a question, but it never happened. While I slid a box of .22 ammunition into my backpack, she said, "K-mart."

I looked over at her, vaguely remembering that work on the banners across the displays on the other side of the freezer wall. She blushed, and looked like she was trying to melt into the wall as she said, "That's my name. K-mart."

"Huh." I said it and immediately felt bad, not only had I dragged an entire horde into her hiding place, and scared the shit out of her, but all I could say was huh. Before I could open my mouth, the first pair of fists thunked against the wall of the freezer, causing both of us to look. The others would follow quickly. "You coming?" I asked, grabbing a replacement pistol from her shelf of options, the sub-machine pistols were tempting too, those suckers could bring down a lot of heads in a short time.

"Coming where? We're stuck in here until the horde moves on." The poor kid doesn't understand hordes very well.

"That horde isn't moving on, and we're not stuck." I looked up at the ventilation system above us, "That's our exit, unless you want to be chum."

The comparison did the job, she stiffened, "Let me get my things." While she packed as much as she could carry, I grabbed a ladder from the corner and set it up so we could reach the vent. This would be such a pain in the ass without it, thank god for stupid ass regulations. I ripped off the vent cover, and the girl, K-mart, sorry, I mean K-mart gave a little squeak.

"You always this loud when you're hiding?" I snapped. Already the talking was getting old, and the girl didn't look mentally ready to handle a fight if it came up. I revised my previous estimate of her age, with reactions like that, she can't be more than fifteen. "Get up there." I urged, stepping off the ladder so she could go first. If neither of us was staying, then those sub-machines are mine. I hooked the two onto my belt and shoved all the ammo for them that I could find into my pack. There was never time to reload in a fight, but afterwards it would be a priority.

I followed the girl up the ladder to see her peeking over the edge of the damn freezer at the zombies congregating below us. I grabbed her arm and yanked her back, "This isn't the zoo. Move, I have a vehicle in the parking lot." She nodded, her face pale. She did fall in line behind me, and followed orders well, which is more than I can say for most of the assholes I ever tried to help. She kept two steps behind me as we made our way over the back room via the shelves that used to hold the overstock. Most of the zombies were still around the freezer which was good for us.

A couple of stragglers followed our trail, and pretty soon more would be coming. We hit the doors that would take us out the back of the store onto the loading dock and I leapt down, holding up my arms for the girl. "Jump." I hissed. She stared at me wide eyed, terror written on her face, and I have no patience for it.

I moved to leave her when she shook her head frantically and hopped down into my arms. The kid was impossibly light. I would have to worry about that once we got out of this place. Her hesitation cost us our lead, five undead were closing in. "Get that door open." I jerked my head at the exit that was chained shut, it was the only door that would work without electricity, and a lot of damn noise. I left my new toys in their holsters and pulled out my knives, it's time to get back into practice.

The zombies were in an arrow formation whether they knew it or not, two in front, three shoving them from behind. I took a deep breath, my heart pounding in my ears. I waited until they were just a few feet away and leaned forward, slicing through the first two necks like butter. I took a step back, took another breath, calming my heart. I heard a gunshot behind me and whipped around to see the girl had shot the lock off. Damnit, I picked the door because it was quiet! I turned back to see the zombies had taken advantage of my distraction, they were faster than I had expected in the head and all of them were within reach and their slimy hands grabbed my arms.

Panic set my heart racing and I kicked one in the pelvis hard enough to send it flying back forty feet, its body splattering as it hit the corner of a shelf unit. I ripped my arms back from the remaining two, and brought the kukris up to catch them both as their momentum sent them headfirst into death. I was starting to hyperventilate, fuck me. The horde stumbled around the corner after us, tripping over each other to get to us first.

I ran back to the girl and shoved her out the door into the freezing air. "Come on!" I hooked an arm around her shoulders and half dragged her into the parking lot where things were a lot closer to what I was used to, half-frozen corpses struggling against the cold, wandering as single entities, or in pairs. I took barely a second to look for the yellow hummer before I found it and yanked the girl after me, I needed to get away from this place.

We made it halfway across the lot before she slid on a huge patch of ice, and I felt as much as I heard the snap in her leg. She let out a blood-curdling scream that got the attention of everyone in the damn town. I tucked away my weapons and scooped her up, ignoring the limb that was bending in more places than one while I trotted to the snowmobile. The danger was over, but my heart was beating out a frantic pace. We need to move, gotta keep moving, get out of here.

I stared at the snowmobile and her broken leg. "Fuck me." I ripped open the door to the yellow hummer and set the whimpering girl into the passenger seat. I took everything I had left on the mobile and tossed it into the back of the monstrosity of the vehicle. Slipping across the hood, and into the driver's seat, I slammed the door shut and started searching for keys. This all could have been avoided if I'd just ditched the damn snowmobile as soon as it was out. What's the damn point of going north to avoid people if I just pick them up on the way? How the hell is a kid with a broken leg supposed to handle fucking alaska? This stupid ass thing probably gets shit miles. We'll be stopped at every damn town just begging for fucking gas. I should have filled more of those cans. What if the tank is fucking empty? That had my hands fumbling even worse than before. I was starting to shake. Get it together Abernathy, you're the scariest thing this world has to offer and you're falling apart.

"D-do you always talk to yourself?" The girl whimpered, pointing to the keys already sitting in the fucking ignition.

"Yes." I snapped, turning on the car and jerking it into reverse. I ripped out of the parking lot, and ran through probably a dozen undead before I made it out of town. By that point the girl had passed out from pain. She didn't witness anything that happened after I pulled to the side of the road beside the city limits sign.

My lungs screamed for air, but no matter how I struggled for it I couldn't breath, my eyes clouded by the tears spilling down my cheeks. My heart slamming in my ears and drowning out all else. I pressed my forehead into the steering wheel, gripping it so hard, that I could feel it warping in my hands.

Cold iron slammed into my face and sent me flying, my head nothing more than a glorified baseball to the giant. His trunk like legs shook the ground with each step as he stomped over to me. Someone dropped a pair of batons by my head, trying to even the odds between me and the monster. I pushed through the pain of broken ribs, and torn muscles, and got to my feet, a baton in each hand.

They felt like nothing, air, long feathers maybe for tickling his rage. It's all I seemed to be doing. A tank would be easier to demolish than this beast. We settled back into the dance, he would swing wide, almost hit me, I would dodge and get a few pointless hits in. Hopelessness sank into my heart as I realized I was going to die. I had nothing left, I hurt everywhere from the few hits that he'd landed, and the constant movement had done its damage long before he could get a hold on me.

My temperature was rising, and it was only a matter of time before I collapsed from the exertion, no one could maintain this pace. No one except the monster. He kicked me in the stomach, my reaction too slow, and I felt what seemed like each of my organs exploding before I landed on my back, pain searing it's way through my body. Air. I need air. My lungs wouldn't work, and panic set my heart racing even faster.

His heavy steps grew near, bouncing me on the pavement until my body finally gave in, doing what it was supposed to. I gasped for breath and scrambled clumsily to my feet. Blood trickled from my mouth, the taste of iron overwhelming. He was almost close enough to hit me, and I had only one chance left to beat him, after that I might as well throw myself off the building. The infected below would be kinder than the slow death that this abomination would administer.

I saw the jagged piece of metal behind him just in time to duck under his swing. It was agony, and more blood tried to force itself up my throat, choking me. I slammed my foot into his chest, driving him back a step. Kick. Dodge. Step. I don't know how long the mechanical pattern continued before I heard the metal rip through his body in a way that made me want to puke. I slammed my fists into his chest, pushing him further onto the spike. He'd stopped fighting as soon as the metal pierced his chest.

Liquid ran down my cheeks as I realized the sobs I heard were my own. I rested my head on its chest, not caring that it could snap my neck. I'm so tired. I could have fallen asleep if someone hadn't started clapping behind me. "Excellent work Project Alice. Finish him. He is obsolete."

"No." I couldn't. It was all too much. I wish I had lost.

"You've proven your superiority, there is no point in his existence now. End him."

I looked up at the monster and realized his eyes were blue. Matt. The eyes of an abomination gazed into mine, and I couldn't help but wonder who the real monster was.

"Initiate Project Alice. Confirm."

"Confirmed." I murmured, my mind going blank. Though my body trembled from the exertion, I held firm.

"Terminate Project Nemesis.:

"Affirmative." I snapped Matt's neck.

I woke up, lifting my head from the steering wheel only to feel its shape indented into my skull, and sweat running down my neck. The girl was still out, but that leg would need checking. I couldn't exactly let her be a cripple, she'd never make it in this place. I looked around the car, making sure we were safe before climbing into the back seat to look for my first aid kit. I didn't need it, but it was reassuring to keep it with me, to pretend I could be hurt. To pretend I was still human. I found the kit, and cut some wood that would work for splints. Now the uncomfortable part.

The girl woke up to the stick I shoved in her mouth, and passed out almost immediately from the pain as I set her leg. I wrapped her up carefully, and put a blanket around her before setting out again. She didn't wake up for hours, something I was personally grateful for, it gave me time to calm down. K-mart didn't make a sound upon waking, examining her leg in silence, gingerly poking at the deep purple bruise around the break. She sat back and looked out the window at the passing trees, "Where are we going?" She finally asked once it was too dark to watch the road.

"South west." I replied. It was the best chance at finding a big city, or a hospital where I could stock up on pharmaceuticals, and far away from the ice.

"Oh." She went quiet again, patting her armrests in what seemed like a pattern. "You know driving on ice in the dark is like, really bad."

I huffed, and pulled to the side of the road, careful not to jostle her leg as we shifted onto the gravel shoulder. K-mart gave a small smile as I turned off the car, and reclined her seat all the way before going back to sleep. I let my head fall into my hands and rubbed my temples, trying to ward off a growing headache. What am I getting into?