Sorry this took so long guys, had a bad case of writer's block there. Knew what I wanted to happen but didn't really know how to write it. Hoping its not too bad. Will try to get the next chapter up sooner if I can pull myself away from Oblivion long enough too X3 Also I should probably say that this fic will be going on hiatus at some point in the future as we're getting near to the end of the contract with the internet provider and we might not be going with them again so I've no idea how long it will take us to decide and get it all organised. That shouldn't be for a month or two though.

Anyway, hope you enjoy this one guys and I also hope they seem more like the infected this time rather than just zombies.

Chapter 4

Fairfield, Connecticut, USA

One week after first infection

2:30pm

Cass sighed as she paced the room they had barricaded themselves into. They'd been in here for a few hours now but there were still too many infected wandering around outside for it to be a good idea to risk going out there. Zoey sat on the floor by the window and watched Cass pace.

"Pacing won't get us out of here any quicker," she pointed out, "We just have to wait until they leave the area."

"And if they don't leave?" Cass worried, "They could simply keep increasing in number, we've gotta have a backup plan ready and I ain't resting till I've thought of it."

"There isn't much we could do from here except try to get onto the roof," Zoey sighed, "And who knows if we could even get anywhere once we made it up there."

"We have to survive," Cass said, "There's just no damn way in hell I'm gonna let there even be a chance of this being our last day on earth. Those zombies ain't gonna take us down...no power in the 'verse can stop us." Cass' Firefly reference made Zoey smile.

"You're right," she nodded, "No matter what the odds we will survive. We'll get through this together somehow and before you know it life will be back to normal."

"If it can go back to normal," Cass muttered.

"What do you mean?" Zoey asked, confused. Cass simply shook her head and continued her pacing. Zoey continued to watch her with a puzzled expression. She couldn't help but wonder exactly what had happened during the time Cass had been forced to go back yesterday, whatever it was it seemed to have had quite the effect on her. She was a lot more paranoid about things today and could not rest easily unless they had some form of escape plan. She did finally sit down, however, and rested her back against the wall, hugging her knees close to her.

"You ok?" Zoey asked her, "I mean, you've barely had any rest."

"I'm fine," Cass grumbled in reply, "I just wish we could find out what's going on out there. I mean it's been nearly a week since things started getting bad, someone has to be doing something by now surely...other than standing outside the city."

"I'm sure they're doing all they can," Zoey assured her, "It must just be a delicate situation that they have to approach carefully. I mean they can't really rush into things, they'd end up getting more people infected."

"I know, I know," Cass replied, "For once in my life I'm just wishing there was some news..." At that moment the chorus of Save Me Some Sugar by the Midnight Riders blared out from Cass' pocket. It was the ringtone for her mobile meaning she finally had some signal. She hurriedly jumped to her feet so that she could pull the phone out of her pocket and check the caller id. It was Ryan! Not noticing the infected outside starting to run for the building, she answered the phone.

"Ryan?...It's ok, I'm fine and so is Zoey, she's with me, we're currently holed up in an apartment block...The city is swarmed with infected individuals...yeah it's like their zombies or something...no, I haven't been bit...no I'm not just saying that to stop you from worrying, where are you anyway?...uh-huh. At least you're safe then and I guess it explains why nobody seems to have done anything here...really? We'll keep an eye out for them then."

As Cass continued to chat with her brother, Zoey stood up and moved to the door, a worried expression on her face. She was sure she could hear hurried footsteps from inside the building.

"Please say they haven't," Zoey worried to herself as she slowly and quietly began to open the door. The door was halfway opened when her suspicions were confirmed and a small horde of infected began to shove their way through the doorway. Whilst a few of them jumped at Zoey, a few of them ran towards Cass, who had dropped the phone in fright.

"Cass? Cass! What's going on? Are you there? CASS!" CRUNCH! Ryan's panicked yells were cut off as Cass stepped backwards onto the phone as she attempted to dodge a swipe from the nearest infected.

"Fuck!" Cass swore as she pulled out the pistol she had taken the day before, "You bastards can't allow us just a little bit of happiness, can you?" She fired, hitting the infected that had swung at her in the chest. Zoey on the other hand was trying to fight them off with a knife which, whilst not as effective as a firearm, was still helping her at lot more than bare fists which seemed to be the infected's weapon of choice today.

BANG! BANG! The source of the gunshots was drawing closer, hopefully they'd still be alive when they got there.

"Move your ass Francis or I'm leaving you behind!" snapped the older of the two men. He was dressed in a military uniform, complete with the green beret that sat atop his grey hair. A lit cigarette rested between the lips of his bearded face, positioned in such a way that it did not fall out even when he opened his mouth to speak. This was useful considering his M16 required him to use both hands. The younger male, Francis, seemed like a typical biker gang member of some sort, possibly Hell's Legion if his tattoos were anything to go by. He held a shotgun in his hands and wore a grumpy look upon his face.

"Shut up Bill," he retorted, "Why the hell are we even going towards the gunshots? Surely we should be heading away from them?"

"Gunshots mean there's people still alive out here and by God I'm going to help them," Bill replied, "Save as many as we can and who knows Francis, you could find someone you actually get along with."

"...I hate it when you're right," he grumbled, picking up the pace, "I'm telling you now though, we better find some chicks soon to make this be worth my while."

"We have to get out of this room!" Zoey called over to Cass, "It's too cramped in here to defend ourselves properly."

"Look for a gap between them and go!" Cass ordered, "I'll follow when I can."

"I am not leaving you alone in here with them," Zoey replied determinedly, "I'm not going through the risk of losing you again."

"You won't lose me," Cass promised, "No power in the 'verse can stop us remember? Now either head to the roof or try to get out into the street and I swear I will meet up with you when I can and if I'm lying may God strike me down where I stand." Zoey hesitated for a moment, killing another infected as she did so. She could practically feel Cass' eyes burning into her, begging her to leave.

She sighed. "If you die, I'll kill you. Good luck."

"Stay safe," came the reply as she fought her way out of the room. It was a lot less crowded out here with the majority of the horde being in the room she had just left, it looked like it wouldn't be too much of a problem making her way to the street where she would at least have somewhere to run if things got too bad.

Cass backed closer to the window and pulled the trigger again. Click. Click. She was out of ammunition.

"Oh crap," she whimpered, lashing out with it instead. She couldn't really do much more than that, she was becoming cornered and was separated from any other weapons they had brought with them.

~Can't give up now~ she thought to herself ~I promised Zoey I'd see her again, and I am not about to break that promise. Not to her, not to the one I love~

Zoey ran around the corner of the hallway that lead to the stairs, only just managing to stop before she collided with an elderly looking gentleman.

"Whoa there young 'un," he said, "Nearly knocked me off my feet there."

"You've got to help us," Zoey begged him, "My best friend Cass is stuck in the front room two floors up, there's a lot of them in this place."

"Not just one chick but two?" the younger male chuckled, "Sounds like this is my lucky day. I'll head on up there while you check she's not hurt." Zoey glared at him as he walked past her. How could anyone be thinking like that in this kind of situation? Cass' life was in danger!

"Here," the older one said, handing her a pistol, "It's a hell of a lot better than using a knife, just try not to waste the shots."

"Thank you..." Zoey started, not knowing who it was exactly that she was thanking.

"William Overbeck," he replied, "Though most just call me Bill and that was Francis."

"Thank you Bill," Zoey managed to smile, "I'm Zoey." Bill nodded in acknowledgement.

"Are you hurt?" he asked, "Or are you ok to lead the way to your friend?"

"I'm fine," Zoey replied, turning back to lead the way upstairs, "It's just a few scratches." Bill nodded and followed her silently. The apartment block was a lot noisier now with shotgun blasts added to the screams of the horde and very occasionally the sound of either pistol shots or M16 gunfire as Zoey and Bill picked off the ones Francis had missed. It didn't take long for them to catch up to him. He was trying to blast his way into a room full of infected. Zoey could hear cries of pain from Cass coming from within. Was she being bitten? She pushed her way forward, shoving Francis out of the way as she did so, weaving through the crowd of infected, receiving a few punches and scratches for her trouble. She soon found Cass who had been knocked to the ground and was now trying to defend herself as the infected kicked her and stomped on her. Blood trickled down from her nose where she'd been kicked at least once.

"Cass!" Zoey called out, aiming and firing at the infected closest to Cass.

"What are you doing kid?" Bill's voice came from the doorway, "You're going to get yourself hurt if not killed!"

"Zoey?" Cass replied, "I told you to get out of here, who are those..." Her question was cut short as she failed to guard herself from a particularly powerful kick to the head which rendered her unconscious.