POV: Dani

I didn't question her. I ran. I turned on my heel and started making tracks fast. The girl was quick on her feet, and moved easily over the rough terrain, surprisingly keeping up with me. Years of paintball tournaments kept me in shape and gave me knowledge keeping your ankles intact. Two many times my team-mates had broken their ankles and lost a game. But this wasn't a game I wanted to loose.

"This way!" the girl yelled at me, taking a turn for the forests edge. I followed her, getting a quick glance behind me. A whole pack of infected weaving around the trees swarming towards us. I had never seen so many all at once before and it scared me. I jumped over a fallen tree, and dodged sharp branches of the trees. Up ahead, where the tree line broke into tundra, I saw the familiar sight of a medieval stone wall. Were we that close to the castle? No… it was a small encampment. I saw the gate, and walls going both ways and as I passed through them, I saw it was nothing more than a large circular wall, forming a room with no roof. The walls themselves were no taller than eight feet high.

"The gates!" I yelled. I slid to a stop and spun around. Vera was at the gate holding the rope that kept the gate open. But she didn't let go, "Shut it!" I yelled. But she didn't. She was watching the infected race toward us. She was insane! Three infected passed through the gate, and suddenly she let loose. Two more tried to pass through, but only one made it as the gate came crashing down on the second.

"Are you insane!" I yelled. Now the infected stood between me and Vera putting us both in each other's line of fire. Neither of us could shoot unless we risked hitting each other. But a quick glance at Vera and I saw she had no intention of shooting them. She held a thick stick in each hand, and spun them around her eyes alight. All the infected, turned to her… as if the knew her… as if facing an old rival they had been waiting a long time to take out. Not even one of them was facing me. I starred completely horrified.

Their stench reached my nose and I wanted to gag. The smell of rotting flesh, dirt, grease and stale blood hung in the air like a heavy, molded blanket. I tried saying still, find relief of the distracted infected. Then three of them screamed and they all started for her. My blood froze.

Vera threw down one stick, and pulled out a knife from thin air. She waited until the infected were yards away before sprinting across the encamping, blood stained teeth close behind. She didn't slow as she got to the wall, but instead jumped, running vertically up the wall, and then springing herself into the air, up and over the infected heads. She landed behind them, slashing her knife diagonal upwards. The scream of that particular zombie was cut short as her blade got him from the chest, across his neck, and up to his chin. She then spun around, and swung the stick in her hand, colliding it with a second on the head. The third swiped at her, and she pulled back, and kicked high, her foot connecting with the zombie's chin. The zombie stumbled back, but the forth was on her arms stretched out, and clawed at her. She ducked and came back up, sinking her knife hilt deep into zombie flesh. She let go of the knife, took the stick in both hands, and batted at the head of the third zombie who had recovered his balance. It was down for the count, and Vera turned back and yanked her knife back out before the zombie could fall. The forth had stumbled on it's comrade's fallen body, and seemed to be deciding wether to eat his friend or go for the fresher meat. But he didn't have much time to decide. Vera finished him off, taking a bullet to the chest. The shot rang out and echoed off the walls, as four infected lay dead. One shot, four dead. She was good.

"She can handle herself." Alex had told me when we were playing cards, "Don't get on her bad side. You won't come off it."

"What's she got against us anyway?" Tags had asked, "I mean ya we held you at gunpoint but we didn't try and KILL you like she claimed."

"She's difficult to understand." Alex said, "My sister has been through things no one, not even those who survive today, has ever been through. No one should ever have to go through what my sister suffered that night."

"What happened?" I asked. Alex shook his head.

"Not my place to say." He answered. I figured whatever it was, she had nightmares about it that night. We had all woken up to her scream, and thought there was someone in her room, trying to kill her. We found Alex after find her her door locked, and Alex said it was all ok. I doubted it.

I could see something in her eyes now… something alive inside her. She fought with a focused rage, an anger that powered her into a killing being. Disturbed or not, my stomach tightened seeing what looked like the average athlete turn into an expert killer.

Vera turned to me.

"Don't worry about the ones outside or anything." She muttered with sarcasm. I could hear the raged blabber of the infected outside the wall.

"Sorry." I muttered, "Look out!" the infected had someone scaled the wall, and one had taken it's height advantage to the extreme, and jumped off the wall at Vera. It knocked Vera to the ground, landing on top of her, and knocked the knife from her hand. I raised my rifle, and shot the second head coming over the wall. Cocked, and shot again, the third head coming over the wall. Two more coming over the wall, both fell, their lives ending with the lead from my gun. Vera was struggling under the infected, trying to hold him back, her face turned away in disgust. The infected clawed at her, and growled, it's mouth watering.

I ran over and swung the butt of my gun into it's stomach, knocking him off Vera. I then flung the other end of my gun around, and finished him off. Two more shots went off behind me and I found Vera had taken out the last one coming over the wall. The Zombie fell, breaking bones as he landed. I aimed my rifle, and made sure all zombies were dead, before lowering it. I looked at Vera, and swore.

Her arms were covered in blood, a wound on her side bleeding through her shirt and jacket. She slowly sat up gripping her gun and her side. I ran over.

"How many shots you got left?" she asked, her voice a bit strained.

"Enough. How bad is it?" I asked. She licked her lips.

"I've had worse." She muttered, "And I'll live. We best get back though." She attempted to stand, moving in stiff movements."Ah!" she lost her balance as she put weight on her left ankle. I saw her blush as my hand moved to steady her. I felt my own cheeks get hot.

"Easy…" I said, "Come on." I threw the gun's strap over my shoulder, and wrapped my arm around her waist, and flung her arm around my neck. She was stiff, though from pain or from me I didn't know. I felt the hot wetness of her blood soaking through my own shirt, and dripping down my neck from her arm. We had better get her back fast.

"Can you move?" I asked.

"Easy." She breathed, "Let's just hurry." I nodded.

We got to the bikes without any problems. I heard the screams of infected from further in the forest, but I get any visual on them. Vera refused to leave without picking up our dropped piles and packing them… which left me strapping them down tightly to both bikes.

"Can you ride?" I asked.

"Better than I can run I guess." She said.

"We'll go slower then full." I told her, "keep your eyes ahead of you… breath. Don't faint on me alright?" I think she attempted to glare at me, but all I got was a look. We started our bikes and headed off, just as I saw movement from the deeper shadows of the woods. We headed across the tundra, moving at a slower pace than before, but faster than any infected would be able to run. I rode as close as I could to Vera without putting either of us in danger, and watched her closely. She was struggling with gripping the handles, and I could tell her entire body ache. Of course it ached, I thought, she was slammed to the ground by an infected body jumped at her from five feet up! Fact is, she was doing pretty well.

Up ahead my eyes caught a dirt path being stirred up into the air, forming three trails. It was Alex, Tags, and Flint, coming to our aid, from hearing the shots. I saw them, and both me and Vera slowed to a stop. I planted my feet, balancing my bike. But Vera's bike tilted on her bad leg, and I saw her start to fall. I jumped off my bike letting it fall, and caught both her and her bike before they could fall. I could feel Vera shaking under her jacket. I didn't know if it was from adrenaline or the cold, but either way shaking woud pump more blood.

"Lovley… well it's not broken there's the good news." She muttered.

"But probably drastically strained or sprained."

"Way to be positive nitwit." She said. I said with a smile,

"Your bothers up ahead." I held her bike stead for her until the three arrived.

"What happened?" Tags asked, pulling to a stop, "We heard shots."

"What the…" Alex saw his sister and I covered in blood, and cursed.

"She's a little shaken." I said, "One of them jumped on her from above." Alex kicked the stand on his bike and ran over. He lifted his sister's chin.

"Hey Vera…" Vera said nothing as her brother looked her over. He swore a few times, pulling back her sleeve and jacket.

"She's been bitten…" Alex said. From the side of my eye I saw Tags and Flint shift uneasily gripping their guns. For a long time it was silent.

"She's infected…" Tags said.

"No…" Alex cut him off, "I have to get her back…"

"Alex…" I started. It was obvious Vera and Alex were close… more than just family. They were all they had left. But having hope for one who's been bitten was nothing more then foolish.

"Can you guys ride back and pick up the extra bike? I'm going to ride with Vera back to camp." Alex said.

"Alex she's going to…" Flint tried to say.

"Please?" Alex looked frantic. I saw the look in his eye, and it was all Flint could do but nod. Alex got on Vera's bike behind her.

"Hang on Vee, we'll get you home." Alex said and started the bike and took off. We watched them go.

"What happened?" Tags asked, "You guys forget to take safety off the guns or something?" I looked at him. I didn't blame him for the question… no matter how stupid it was. We weren't use to packs of infected… maybe two or three in the area but never up to ten.

"We got attacked." I said, "There were six ahead of us and more came round." Tags and Flint exchanged glances.

"More? What like a pack?" Tags asked suddenly looking around, and blowing his hair out of his eyes. For a brief moment you could see the color of his eyes.

"More like a horde of drunken psycho's." I answered, "They got some kind of smaller encampment out there that we took refuge in."

"What about you… you ok?" Flint asked. I nodded. My mind flashed to the scene for the thousandths time since it happened. The infected charging in, close enough for me to see rotting skin hanging from bone and muscle in all to well of detail. Their yellow stained eyes searching for their meal… and finding there was enough to go around. But then they all turned to Vera. I had been around plenty of infected. Seen their behavior repeat itself to many times to be called random. They saw food and not food. That was it. Anything else didn't matter. So why did they focus on Vera? If anything, from a zombie's point of view, I had been the meal. I was bigger than the slim figure they had targeted. Why? It just was normal for any infected to act like that… wasn't natural. But I had decided to keep my thoughts to myself for the time being, until the appropriate moment.

"We took them out and one of them got to Vera." I said, "I didn't know she had been bitten."

"So what do we do?" Flint asked. I didn't know. I knew the situation Alex was in all to well. To many people had dealt with the same situation, all with the same outcome, to expect Alex was going to do the right thing. She was going to turn and they'd all be put in danger, because she was INSIDE the castle. Sides, and infected with the kind of skill she had, was dangerous.

"Well first we get back to Dub. We have a little less then 24 hours until she turns." I said, and got on my bike, "Flint pick up the extra bike like. Tags I need you to find Dub and tell him what's happened. I'm going to go talk to Alex."

Everyone went their separate ways. I had been working with these guys for years now, and I thought I couldn't have been luckier to have guys like these as best friends. I knew they would get the job done quickly.

I found Alex in Vera bedroom, putting her to bed. He had carried her in as she couldn't walk on her ankle. Her skin was already beginning to pale and sweat.

"You'll be alright." Alex said, and then saw me.

"I'm thristy." She breathed. I swallowed. That was the first sign. Always being thirsty.

"I'll get you some water." Alex said. From the look in his eyes, he knew. He knew all to well. He shut the door to Vera's room and crossed his arms looking at me.

"How's she doing?" I asked. Alex's easy-going somewhat goofy personality had given way to a strong stance and a hard glare.

"She's fine." He said. I hesitated, watching Alex watch me closely. I didn't know what he was thinking, but it was clear they were negative thoughts about me.

"You weren't kidding when you said she could take care of herself. She took out three by hand." I said. Alex gave a stiff nod.

"She usually will. She has a certain rage that drives her." He said darkly. He still had not moved his glared from me.

"Alex, you know…" I started.

"Look, you and you're friends are welcome to the food. You can load up and leave if you'd like."

"Is that your advice or a suggestion?" I asked. Alex tensed, and suddenly I realized that could very well be as dangerous as Vera… if not more so. Alex and his sister had survived out here for this long, telling me they weren't armatures.

"Do whatever you'd like. I'm not telling you to do anything." Alex said and started to walk away. I licked my lips. So many people went into denial when someone close had been bitten. Alex would refuse to do what was necessary and he was putting himself in danger because of that. He seemed like a good guy… he didn't deserve to become infected by his sister, because of his sister.

"Alex…" I said stopping him, "She's going to turn." Alex continued to walk away, ignoring my comment, not because he didn't hear me. He heard me. Heard me loud and clear.