Austin's head exploded with pain. He stumbled out of his bed while the other seven were instantly woken up by the extremely loud screeches of the Screamer. The Screamer was standing outside the door of the hideout. It was wrapped in a straitjacket, and had a few grimy hairs covering its scalp. Its skin was a pale grey. Its eyes glowed yellow.

"Fuck! Shut him up!" yelled Cliff. Austin climbed down the stairs, managed to open the door, and fired his gun. The screaming didn't stop. The Screamer was running away! Austin chased after it, Tallie and Max following him.

Tallie held her baseball bat, but she couldn't keep up with Max and Austin sprinting after the Screamer. Suddenly, she was left all alone. Tallie looked around in horror.

"Oh great." She muttered. Austin was still running after the Screamer when he managed to shove his knife through its head. The Screamer dropped to the ground, its super loud screeching finished.

"Wait." Said Austin, noticing only Max. "Where's Tallie?"

Tallie ran through the Horde, dodging bites and punches thrown by the Infected. But out of nowhere, a large puddle of acid formed at her feet.

"Jesus!" she yelled, jumping over the acid, only to be wrapped in a slimy…tongue. The Smoker pulled her through the Infected, all the while letting them bite and beat Tallie. Then a few shots rang out. The Smoker's head exploded, and the Infected scattered. Tallie noticed some…woman…with a long neck running away, acid dripping from her mouth. Max ran over and unwound the tongue from her body.

"Thanks, Max." she said, smiling.

"No problem." He said. Just then, more acid appeared at their feet. "Ow!" yelled Max. Tallie and Max ran, the hideout door in sight. Then Max noticed it was open. Inside, a Charger was beating the hell out of Mila and Cliff. They were the only ones really awake, and Max had left the door open when he left.

Max fired about seven times, blasting the Charger into pieces. Austin arrived at the doorway, slightly out of breath. He closed the door behind him.

"Ok, what the hell was that?" asked Cliff.

"I don't know." replied Mila.

"Screamer." said Austin. "I found this notebook. I didn't get to read the rest of it, but it said something about a Screamer. I guess that's what that was."

"Go get it." said Max. Austin took the steps two at a time, and reached under his bed…finding nothing there. He looked on top of the bed, under the pillow, in the sheets, and everywhere else, but the book was simply not there.

"It's gone." breathed Austin.

"Could one of the Infected have taken it?" asked Tallie.

"I don't think so." replied Austin. He brought her and Wolf downstairs, while Mila pulled Jackson and Ken from their beds. They all gathered in the main room.

"I have a feeling that there is more than one Screamer." said Austin.

"How do you know?" asked Jackson.

"The book listed the Screamer with all the other Special Infected I know. There was also one other I didn't recognize: the Spitter. I have no idea what it is."

"I think I do." said Tallie, and everyone looked at her. "When Max saved me from the Horde, I had stepped over a puddle of acid, and then afterwards, there was this splash, and some acid appeared out of nowhere."

"What? So this Spitter essentially spits acid?" asked Jackson.

"Yeah." replied Max. "I saw it, too. Some long-necked bitch." Mila whacked him on the arm.

"Then that means that there is possibly even more Special Infected we don't know about. And there's also something I heard on the news before the power went out. There are certain kinds of Infected that have extra abilities, but they aren't Special Infected. For example: the Mud Men."

"What are those?" asked Mila.

"Some kind of Infected that crawl out of swamps, throwing mud at you and blinding you."

"What is that?" asked Jackson.

"What?"

"That." he said, pointing through the door. A Screamer stood there, its straitjacket hung loose.

"Oh shi…" started Austin. The scream rang through the air.

"God damnit!" yelled Cliff, grabbing a crowbar and chasing after it. The others followed, grabbing all kinds of weapons. As they ran, it sounded like more screams were building up.

"Is there…more than one?" asked Tallie.

"I think so." muttered Jackson. A Charger appeared from thin air, ramming into Mila and shoving her into the ground. Cliff fired once, twice, three times. Austin kept running towards what was now two Screamers.

"What is this, a goddamn infestation of Screamers?" yelled Max. He pumped his shotgun and fired next to Mila, exploding an Infected's head like a ripe watermelon. More zombies poured from the sidestreets, and soon the group was all but surrounded. Max smiled.

"Pipe bomb!" he shouted, throwing the pipe bomb he had in his shirt. It flew over everyone's heads, beeping loudly. It rattled across the road, coming to a stop underneath a car. Infected crawled all over it, and then…nothing.

"What?" muttered Max.

The car exploded, sending pieces of Infected and shrapnel all over the place. One large piece struck Tallie in the leg, making her cry out. Another whipped Max's har right off of his head.

"Damn." he muttered. Something ran into him, knocking him down onto the ground. Max looked up. The glowing eyes of a Screamer looked back at him. "Shit."

The screaming started up again…and then abruptly stopped, a knife halfway through the Screamer's head. Wolf stood there, his hand outstretched like he had just thrown something.

"Thanks." said Max. Wolf helped him up, and then looked around. "Shit."

Everyone was gone, except for Wolf, Tallie, and Max. A few streets away, Ken, Austin, and Mila trekked through the littered roads. Cliff and Jackson were standing in front of a large building. It was a skyscraper.

"Where'd everyone go?" asked Cliff.

"No damn idea." muttered Jackson.

Cliff, straining his knee, motioned for Jackson to follow him and set off to some glowing lights in the distance. Using the crowbar as a crutch, Cliff walked through the streets, Jackson following him.

"Fuck." said Ken, a few streets away. "Where did everyone go."

"Max?" Mila called out. There was no answer. Then, Mila and Ken saw some lights in the distance.

"What's that?" asked Austin.

"I don't know." said Ken, going to get a closer look.

Tallie stumbled through the streets, being held up by Max and Wolf. They were also going towards the strange lights in the distance. These strange lights turned out to be a supermarket. Its big neon lights were still on, displaying the name 'Buy Mart'.

"What in the world is this?" asked Wolf. Austin, Mila, and Ken appeared from around the corner, and then Cliff and Jackson soon after.

"What the hell? A supermarket? Where's the damn mall? The survivors always go to a mall in the damn movies!" said Cliff. The big glass doors slid open, almost inviting.

"Something's strange." said Wolf. Just then, the road shook, and everyone heard a loud roar.

"Tank!" shouted Max. He ran inside, the others following him. Tallie only just made it, her injured leg making her walk very slowly. Wolf and Max pushed over some shelves, blocking the doors and windows. He pushed over another shelf as a barrier, and then waited.

"Here he comes." said Mila.

Author's Note: Oh no, Tallie is injured and a Tank is on the way! How will they hold against that? And some bad news: Next chapter, there will be the first character death! Oh noes! Who will it be? Also, I am asking you to please submit a character for my crossover: A Bounty Hunt. There is one fricking space left! Hurry, time is running out!