Part 3

Jade

Jade Harley watched as one of her best friends fell off the roof and into the ally below, Jane Crocker screaming and reaching out to grab him. Dirk Strider lept up from his seat and tried to get him too. Jake English held Jade back while Roxy Lalonde held back Rose, just to make sure they don't do anything dumb. But neither Jane nor Dirk made it to John in time. He was already in the ally by the time Dirk got to the ledge. Rose broke free from Roxy's grasp, hurling herself towards the ledge. As she ran past, Jade noticed her cheeks were coated in tears. Has Rose ever cried? Jade wasn't sure, but it still surprised her to see her friend cry.

"John you idiot!" She yelled down at the swarm of zombies. Jane and Dirk had to hold onto Rose to keep her from throwing herself over the edge. "John you stupid dumbfuck! Why the hell would you do that! You'd better survive or else!" Rose was full out weeping now. She sank to her knees, choking on her tears. No one knew how to respond. Roxy knelt down beside her, resting a hand on her shoulder. "Rose," She didn't look up.

"Rose, honey, he'll be fine. He's just…blowing off some steam." Dirk and Jake exchanged looks of uncertainty but didn't say anything. Jade stood slowly, deciding whether or not to comfort Rose. She didn't comfort her when Dave went missing. Actually, Jade didn't have time to cry about him. It's either run or get eaten. And she had chosen to run.

Once Rose was done crying, she stood, turning to face the group. Her make-up was runny, and her lipstick was smeared from her wiping her nose on her sleeve. Her clothes were tattered from running through the woods and the zombies grabbing at her. Rose looked horrid, and she knew it. The girl walked past the group, grabbing her backpack and slinging it over her shoulder. Her voice was barely a whisper. "Come on," she said, "we've got to get somewhere safe…" The group obeyed, following the ghost of a girl from roof to roof.

"Hey…Dirk?" Jade asked as they jumped to another roof. He looked down at her, under his shades his orange eyes were ablaze. They looked distant, lost even. "Yeah Harley?" She paused a moment. What she wanted to say has been nagging at her, refusing to leave the back of her mind. She was afraid to ask, however, because she didn't want to make the older Strider brother to feel bad. "Will we ever see Dave again? Or John?" His pace slowed, thoughts collecting in his mind. Jade slowed down too. The others didn't seem to notice however and kept running.

Dirk pulled Dave's aviator frames from his pocket, holding them tightly in his hand. The broken glass dug into his skin, but he didn't care. He didn't care about anything anymore. If Dave were a zombie then he would rather be dead. The being that he raised himself…the mere thought of him possibly being…damn it. He was losing himself again. Dirk turned to Jade and smiled slightly. "Of course. One way or another…" He looked off into the distance, a few walkers coming into site. "We will…" The Strider left Jade to herself. She understand what he meant. Oh god she knew what he meant. She didn't want to believe it though. She wouldn't. Pushing the thought to the very back of her mind, Jade headed back towards the group, who had stopped at the last building before the edge of town. When she arrived, their mumbles and low whispers stopped, and they all turned in her direction.

"Jade," Jake said, standing from his seat. "Do you think we should split up and look for John and Dave, or move on without them?" Dirk walked towards her too, his face emotionless. "Jade, you dated my little brother once. We have to go look for him."

"What about John?!" Rose called, walking towards them as well. Roxy followed her, her face blank. "Who cares about that buck teethed loser!"

"Excuse me I do!" Rose and Jane exclaimed in unison, ganging up on Dirk. That boy needs to learn to keep his mouth shut. Jake shook his head and turned to Jade. "Jade…if we split up, there's a chance not everyone will come back. If we leave now, then our group, or, what's left of us, will be safe. Do you really want to put other people's lives in danger?" Jade's eyes scanned the scene, taking in everything. Rose and Jane were screaming at Dirk, who was screaming back at them. Roxy looked lost, staring off into the distance. Below them was a sea of zombies just waiting for one of them to trip and become their next meal. Then there was the comfort of the sun setting over the horizon. Somewhere out there, there was a safe place. A place with no danger and peace. Which was exactly what Jade wanted. But…the girl scanned the area again, a frown playing onto her face.

"No man left behind…" She whispered. She looked up at Jake, her emerald eyes shining. "We leave no one behind! It's my fault we lost Dave anyway…the least I could do is try to find him. As for John…he's one of my best friends! I can't just leave him!" Four pairs of eyes gazed on the Harley girl, as she spoke, her confidence growing with each word that came from her heart, "Would you leave a sibling behind if you knew they were out there somewhere?" Jade's eyes drifted to Dirk, of whom was smiling at her. She smiled back. "And would you leave behind someone you love?" Jake's eyes glanced at Dirk, who didn't seem to notice the boy's wondering eyes. Jake's face suddenly filled with such emotion, so much that he started to choke on tears. He held them back though, not wanting the others to see him break down. "You're right…I'm sorry…"

The group split up into two separate groups: Roxy, Jane, and Rose; and Dirk, Jade, and Jake. Roxy's group went back to where John was last seen, and Dirk's group went back to John's house to see if there was any clues as to where his brother could be. Just before they split, Rose came up to Jade, tears still stinging her eyes. Her voice was barely a whisper, but it was still audible. "Jade…if…if I don't come back and you find John…tell him I said yes…" Then she left with the rest of her group. Jade didn't really know what she meant by that, but obviously John did. Maybe he asked her out or something? Who knows.

Jade's group went back towards the center of the city and Rose's group went back towards the ally John had fallen into. As they traveled, Jade couldn't help but think that maybe John had jumped on purpose. He knows well enough that jumping into a batch of zombies is suicide. So…maybe he…

"Jade," The girl blinked and looked up, seeing Dirk smile at her. The group had stopped at an old dollar store, the windows shattered and the door boarded up. He pointed inside, and Jade squinted behind her glasses, making out a soda machine in the corner of the room that said Faygo. This made her laugh a little. "Please tell me we didn't stop to get some soda." But Dirk and Jake were already inside. Feeling a sudden chill run down her spine from the sudden realization that she was out in the open alone, Jade followed the boys inside, carefully stepping over the window frame. Dirk was filling Jake's bag with all different kinds of Faygo. She glanced around nervously, an unsettling feeling creeping into her stomach. "Guys we really shouldn't be in here…" Many unpleasant feelings were starting to well into her stomach.

Dirk glanced at Jade, his hand finding his katana immediately. "Jade!" Jade stiffened when he said her name and looked behind her, a zombie only inches from her face. Her scream filled the store and she topple backwards, falling onto broken shards of glass. The zombie advanced, stumbling over a shelve that had fallen over. Another zombie went towards Dirk and Jake, closing in on them. He couldn't handle both at once…Dirk glanced over at Jade, of whom was fumbling to get her bag open. He was sure she could pull something off, if not then surely Jake will attack it.

Jade grabbed a pistol from her bag and once it was out she fired, hitting the zombie right between the eyes. It fell on top of the one Dirk had quickly decapitated. Jake looked over at Jade, his eyes wide and eyebrows raised. "Jade did you fire that gun?"

"Yes why?"

"Bloody hell! The sounds going to attract more!" Her face paled and she dropped the gun back into her bag. "I'm sor-"

"We don't have time for apologies. We need to get out of here." Dirk said, grabbing Jade's arm and hoisting her up. She winced and looked down at her hands which were completely covered in blood. "Wha-" Dirk tugged her out of the window they had climbed into, not giving her time to analyze her wounds. It hurt a lot but she didn't have time to cry about it. They needed to get somewhere safe. The zombies were starting to follow them as they ran down the streets. Jake shot some walkers in the head as they ran, Dirk cutting off some heads with his katana. Jade got the gun from her bag and fumbled with it, shooting some zombies in the arm. It wasn't enough though. There had to be at least 40 of those fuckers following them.

"Jade focus!" Dirk said from in front of her, stabbing another walker in the head. She nodded, holding the gun at eye level. She aimed quickly, right for the forehead of a walker. Her hands started shaking. It was coming at her quickly. It was faster than the others. Damn! She had to concentrate! Before she could have any second thoughts, her finger slipped and a bullet went clean through the skull of the walker she had been aiming at. Her first one. It felt good. She shot more and more, going faster than Jake or Dirk combined. It helped that her grandfather had taught her how to wield one of these when she was just a little kid.

They came to a fire escape and Dirk made them climb up and go to the roof. Jade dropped to her knees and puffed, trying to catch her breath. The boys were doing the same. "Damn. Nice work guys." Dirk said once he recovered from the run. Jake's pistols returned to their holsters and Jade's gun found it's way into her belt. She smiled at the two of them. "So, where to now?"

"I suggest we head towards the river. Maybe that's were he thinks we all went?" Jake suggested. Dirk shook his head, his gloved hand running through his white locks. "No…he wouldn't have gone there. Maybe he went back to the apartment to snag some shit. Yeah, that's probably where he went." Jake and Jade stood up, looking at each other. "How are you sure that he went there?"

"I'm not but where else are we supposed to look! He could be anywhere! Out there by himself fending off zombies. What if he's hungry? Thirsty? What if he's hurt?" Panic began to settle in Dirk's stomach, tears threatening to break through his calm barrier. Jake put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry we're going to find him. Let's go to the apartment okay?" Dirk nodded, putting his katana back in it's sheahe.

The Strider apartment was on the other side of town by the clubs and nightly hang outs. Dirk worked at the club beneath their home, usually leaving Dave alone by himself at night. Dave worked at the club down the street from Dirk's during the day. It wasn't as busy during the day as during the night but that was okay. Dave got money for what he did and that's all he cared about.

Dirk unlocked the door and held it open for his companions. Jade looked around. She had been there plenty of times before. Mostly while she and Dave had been together. It seemed messier now though. Smuppets were lain in random places, puppets were strewn everywhere. Clothes cling to furniture and the furniture seemed to have been moved around a lot for random strifes.

They had drawn their weapons before they had walked inside just in case some zombies had found their way into the cluttered mess. Dirk had told them that it wasn't likely but always being on guard was key to survival. That and some other necessity shit . Jade held her gun low, but high enough to bring it to eye level in case something came at her. The made their way through the place, kicking aside Dirk's toys and dirty clothing.

Jade wandered to Dave's room, which had a big KEEP OUT sign hanging on the front of the door. It made her smile. His privacy had always been invaded no matter what he did to keep it from being so. She twisted the doorknob and opened the door a little, nudging it open with her gun. Something rustled from inside the room and the hair on the back of Jade's neck stood. She brought up her gun, ready to shoot as she moved into the tiny bedroom.

It was even more cluttered than the rest of the apartment. Dave had clothes covered the floor, music posters covering every inch of his walls. On what was supposed to be his desk was a set of turn tables which he used to make his music. "Dave?" She whispered, glancing around the room. The rustling was coming from the other side of the bed. A gulp slid down her throat as she walked towards it, being careful to keep her distance.

The thing stopped rustling and she stopped, keeping still. A hand reached out from under Dave's bed suddenly, making Jade shriek. "Jade?!" The boys called from the other room. Jade, frightened to death, shot at the hand, a moaning coming from under the bed. Another hand came out and Jade backed into the wall. She let the zombie crawl out from under the bed before she tried shooting it. She had missed, hitting it's back. It groaned, reaching for her ankle. She shrieked again, stepping on it's hand. This only made her lose her balance and fall over onto Dave's stinky clothes. The walker had a hold on her ankle now, trying to drag itself onto her back. Her screaming didn't cease as she tried to kick it off, only making it scratch into her leg. "DIRK! JAKE!" During her fall, her gun had fallen out of her hands and somewhere into the pile of clothes. She was searching quickly, tossing things behind her to try to maybe even distract the creature clinging to her leg. But it was no use. She didn't have time to find it and the zombie can bite her at any given time.

Jade quickly scanned around her to try to find an alternative to the gun. Nothing really stood out to her. Damn it! It was on her legs now and if she kicked then it would just slide up onto her back and she'd be done for. Something glistened to her left and she reached out towards it, grabbing it and bringing it to the zombie's forehead. It wailed loudly as Jade stabbed the broken sword into it's skull until it was finally dead. Dead dead. Jade pushed it off of her and lay there, facing the ceiling, trying to catch her breath.

"Jade?!" They boys finally came into Dave's room and rushed over to her. Jake picked her up in his arms. "Are you alright?"

"Were you bitten?" Dirk asked, examining the scratches on her legs. "I-I don't think so. It only scratched me."

"Damn it! Jade listen to me and listen real fucking good," Dirk turned around to face her, seriousness written all over his face. "I'm not sure if scratches will change you but if it's supposed to then I will not hesitate to kill you. I'd do it not only for the group but also for you. We don't want you to suffer as one of them." He gestured to the bloody, beaten zombie corpse. Jade winced but nodded slowly. She hadn't really planned on becoming a zombie and if she had ever gotten bit, she was going to ask to be killed anyways. It's what everyone would want.

Dirk wrapped her scratches in one of Dave's clean shirts. She was surprised he even found one. He wrapped it tightly around her leg and stood, helping her and Jake up. "Good?" She tried to walk on it but the pain was immense. But she bit her lip and nodded. She didn't want to seem like a weak joint in the group. That would only slow everyone down. Everyone was always babying her and she was sick of it. She can do things on her own she doesn't need anyone's help. Not anymore. She might as well go off by herself.

But if she did that she might end up like John and Dave. Missing in action. Those words had always scared her.

Jake let Jade lean on him when she needed too as they left the apartment. "I thought he would be there…" Dirk sighed as he ran his slim fingers through his hair. Jake glanced over at him and gave him a weak, comforting smile. "It'll be alright chap don't worry, we'll find him."

"But what if we don't? What if we don't find my little brother." Tears began to build along the rim of Dirk's eyes behind his shades. Jade watched as one slipped down his cheek. She felt sorry for him. Jake stopped and held Dirk's face between his hands. "I said we'll find him Dirk. I promise." They stared at each for a long while. "Alright…" Dirk finally said, breaking away from Jake.

They moved back to John's house, hoping to find more evidence.

"Wait." Dirk stopped the group, holding two fingers to his lips, signaling them to keep quiet. They obeyed and drew their weapons just in case. Dirk slowly crept towards a tree, looking up into the branches. Something was moving up there. Branches creaked as whatever it was moved, trying to get out of Dirk's line of vision. But Dirk moved with it. He started to climb, not taking his eyes off it. Jade and Jake watched helplessly as Dirk disappeared into the tree. They waited a good ten minutes before walking over to the trunk.

"Dirk?" Jake whispered. Suddenly Jake was on the ground with a Strider strewn on top of him. "Ow…" Dirk said, sitting up and rubbing his head. In his other hand was a red and white shirt. Jade stared at it. Just…just stared. Dave was just up in that tree but he had done nothing to even let them know he was okay. "Dirk…that…that shirt…it's Dave's…isn't it…"

Dirk stood, helping Jake up as well. He turned to face the girl and nodded. "It is…damn it he was there. Just as I was about to grab him he disappeared. All he left behind was his shirt…" The article of clothing was torn apart with blood stains spattered all over the stupid thing. The sleeves had been ripped off to make the shirt into a tank top, or, Dave had been hurt and had to bandage the wound.

"At least we know he's alive." Jake whispered. Dirk said nothing, just stuffed the shirt into his belt. He looked up at the tree again before shaking his head and moving again. Jade and Jake exchanged weary looks, following the boy.

Jade was going to find Dave. No matter what.