Chapter 2: Madonna!

August 3, 7:00 A.M.

"Day two, huh?" Sara sked, looking darkly at Johnson as he tried to push a cup of coffee her way. She turned away and sneered. "Coffee makes me nauceous..."

"What? Weirdo," Johnson said, laughing. He took her coffee and drank it. "I'll send for some juice or milk... you want a muffin? Bagel?" Sara looked at him and then looked awya, thinking. She didn't want to accept anything from this cop. She felt that it would show weakness... Then again, she needed to get her story out. she could be nice for a few days...

"Bagel. Raisin... and apple juice," she said, turning to him. "Now, where were we...?"

July 25, 11: 37 A.M.

"Three... days?" Sara breathed, not able to believe it. She slowly got up and looked around, frightened. What if those psychos were already in the mall? What if they saw her land on the roof? What if-

"Hello there," a voice said. She squeaked and whirled around. there was a Hispanic man in a white shirt with corn on it (Wow... And she was told that SHE had a starnge fashion sense...), gray pants pulled up a little high, and brown cowboy boots. He had long hair, maybe two or three inches longer than Sara's, a very thin goatee, and dark, piercing eyes. Sara could almost see a little anger behind them.

"Wh... What's going on here?" Sara asked, looking over her shoulder to see the mob growing below the mall.

"You brought this upon yourself," he said, moving closer to her. She didn't move, but she tightened her grip on her camera, not afraid to use t as a weapon if she had to. The man smiled and walked away. Sara didn't move for a few minutes. She then walked to the edge of the roof and snapped a few photos before turning to the door leading to the staircase. She opened the door slowly and tried to make her way down the stairs as quietly as possible. She heard voices downstairs and she froze.

"...over here! Put it on top of..."

"You never come home anymore... is that what you call...? Stop yelling!"

"...hurts so bad..."

"MY BABY! MADONNNAAAA!"

Sara slowly made her way down the stairs and held her camera, ready to capture anything. She was greeted by a frantic old woman. She squeaked and dodged the woman, allowing her to run up to the roof. The woman turned back around and began shaking Sara.

"Have you seen my Madonna? I can't live without my precious baby puppy-woo!" she sobbed.

"Whoa, lady!" Sara snapped, swatting the woman's hands away, "There's more important things going on than a missing dog. Now, can you tell me what's-"

"MADONNA!" the woman shrieked again and ran back down the stairs. Well, at least there were a few sane...kinda sane... people left. Sara quickly walked down the stairs, looking down to the main door. A makeshift barricade had been built, and it appeared to be keeping the crazed people out. There was an overweight man with a heavy southern accent commanding the other people building the barricade. She snapped a picture of the survivors building the wall and then made her way down to the first floor.

"'Scuse me, sir?" Sara asked softly, standing behind the man. He turned around, staring down at her with beady eyes. She could see exhaustion in them... How long had these people been here?

"Eh? Where'd you come from, now?" he asked, scratching his head. His eyes then got wide. "Is there another entrance?"

"No! No, I fell out of... my helicopter," she said, crossing her arms and grumbling, "I hit the roof. There are no other exits that I know of."

"The other areas are blocked off, now. They can't get in... yet," he said, looking back to the barricade of furniture, garbage cans, and other various objects., "But no need to worry. Zombies are stupid and slow. They won't git through fer another couple o' days."

"Z... Zombies? Wha?" she asked, snapping a picture of the zombies behind the barricade. She shook her head. No way these were zombies!

"Why was it so hard for you to believe that they were zombies?" Johnson asked, puzzled.

"I was taught that zombies were merely movie elements. I grew up watching all of the zombie movies known to man... Hell, I've played several games with zombies in 'em," she said, taking a bite out of her bagel, "You expect me to believe that the same creatures from my PS2 were standing in front of me? No. I was in denial, I guess." She looked away blankly. "I heard Alex was sick... is it true? The guard told me."

"Just finish the story for today... then you can see him," Johnson said, feeling slightly guilty for keeping her away from her friend.

"Yep," the man said. He stepped in front of Sara as she was taking pictures. "Feel like makin' yerslef useful?"

"Not really. I'm busy-"

"Too bad!" he said, glaring at her, "We need all the help we can git! Go find stuff to block the door with!" he ordered sharply. Sara sneered and turned around. She froze when she saw a boy standing by the stairs.

He was about her age, if not a year or two older, tall, and slightly pale. His hair was about an inch shorter than Sara's (Sara's hair fell down to her chin), black, and covered his eyes. He was thin, and was wearing a plain black shirt with long sleeves and a pair of faded jeans with several holes in them. He looked up when he felt someone staring. sara felt a chill go up her spine when she saw his light brown eyes. They seemed to stare right through her.

"Guh..." she said. Were she a cartoon, her eyes would have been huge, pink hearts... Was she drooling? No.

"So... Are you and Alex-"

"It was a crush," Sara said quickly, looking away, "Y'know... He's not a bad looking guy... but there's no romance." Johnson smiled and looked down, shaking his head. He knew she was lying.

"No time t'be droolin' over boy, now!" the overweight man yelled, shoving Sara towards a hall of stores, "Git down there!"

"Yessir," Sara growled, walking away quickly. Her flirty side kicked in, and she began swaying her hips lightly as she walked away, in case the boy was still looking. Can you blame a girl?

She frowned when she looked at the end of the hall and saw that it was blocked by a gate. Great. If the barricade failed, all they would have to retreat to was the secong floor and the roof, and after that, they would be trapped. Plus, she didn't know how much of the second floor was blocked off. Sara clutched her camera close and quickened her pace. She saw a shape moving on the other side of the gate. Up close with zombies!

"Hello Time!" Sara said, smiling. She dashed foward, as did the shape. She frowned when he got close enough for her to see what he was. He was just a regular old man. He walked with a cane and was wearing a red tux-ish suit. He was balding, except for a tuft of white hair on top of his head. She took a picture anyway. She was snap happy. The man glared and rushed to the gate, poking it through the holes, nearly hitting Sara in the face! "Aaah! Watch it!"

"Why have you summoned me here?" the man gowled, waving the cane at her.

"What're you talking about? I just got here!" she said, backing away and taking another picture of him, "I don't know what's going on here... Hey! Wait!" The old man turned and jogged away. "Can you raise the... never mind." She shrugged and began to walk back to the main plaza when she heard the old lady again.

"Madonna! My Madonna is out there!" she was crying. Sara ignored it and continued walking until she actually saw what was happening.

The woman was breaking down the barricade.

The other people around her were trying to hold her back, but she managed to knock them back and throw down a grandfather clock and a few benches. that was enough for the zombies to get in. Sara screamed and ran up the first few stairs, stopping to look back. The woman was in the crowd. She saw blood splurt up and the screaming for the dog stopped. One of the men that tried to hold her back was quickly overtaken. An overweight zombie tackled him to the ground and bit down on his throat, pulling back sharpl and causing blood to spray in all directions. Sara felt the color drain from her face and she took off to the second floor. She saw a man waving at her and another survivor who was already on the second floor to folow him. She didn't know what else to do, so she took off after him. She was so scared, she wasn't even sure where she was going. She just kept her eyes on the man in front of her until he stopped running. She ran straight into him, falling back onto her bottom.

She looked up, wide-eyed at the room and the man she had followed. She was in the security room, obviously, because she saw a row of monitors above a desk on the other side of the room. There were three or four large couches, and even a couple of mattresses... She guessed that some other survivors must have already made this room their "base".

She looked up at the man. He was tall, black, bald, and had a very muscular physique, even though it was covered by a large yellow shirt and khakis. He seemed like he would be in law enforcement, because Sara felt that he had that sort of "I know you did something wrong and I'm going to find out what it is" look to him, y'know?

"Where are the others?" he asked her, holding his hand out to her. She grabbed it and stood back up. She looked around, still confused.

"I-I don't know... I hope they got away," she said, biting her nails. She knew that they didn't make it... once again, however, she was denying that this situation was even real. She looked to the other survivor that came with her. He was a security guard, and he was welding the door shut. "H-Hey!"

"As long as the zombies are in the mall... We should stick to using the air vents for travel," the man said. He was about to walk away, but Sara grabbed his sleeve.

"Hang on! What the hell is going on here! Will someone PLEASE tell me?" she asked impatiently.

"That's none of your concern," he said, yanking his sleeve out of her hand.

"Hell yeah it is!" she snapped, "I was almost eaten by those... zombies! Of course its my concern! Now please tell me-"

"I'm going to go find other survivors," he said, ignoring Sara. She sneered and crossed her arms.

"You got a name?" she asked. The man turned and glared for a second.

"Brad. Now stop talking," he said, climbing into one of the vents. Sara shrugged and sat down on one of the couches. Her head was still spinning. She couldn't believe that this was happening... She felt herself drift off as she passed out on the couch, falling sideways and letting her head rest on the armrest.

"Only two made it... wow," he said, unwrapping a power bar.

"In the security room, yeah," she said, "Alex and a number of others found shelter in other places, I guess... I never asked him how he got by the first wave of zombies."

"Hey... Wake up," a voice said, gently. Sara groaned as she felt a hand on her shoulder. Whoever was talking began lightly shaking her. She opened her eyes slowly at first, then shot up and began looking around rapidly.

"How long was I out?" she said, panicked. She felt a pair of hands grab her shoulders and hold her steady. She turned her head and saw a young woman with blonde hair, shoulder length, and dark blue eyes. She wore glasses and a hair barrette, pulling some of it away from her face. She was a lot curvier than Sara, and wore a gray dress-suit along with high heels.

"Just a few hours," the woman said gently, "You're just in shock... You'll be fine." She looked into Sara's eyes and smiled with relief. Sara slowly stood up and looked around.

"Has anyone else... come in?" she asked, looking towards the security guard that came in with her.

"No... Brad went out... but he hasn't been back since you passed out," she said, looking towards the monitors, "he went across the street... to the other buildings nearby."

"Other buildings?"

"Yeah, a supermarket, a pharmacy, and even a couple of outlet stores," the woman said, standing up and walking towards a desk, "I'm going to find him... stay here," she ordered. Sara saw her holding a gun as she climbed into the vent Brad had used. Sara waited about ten minutes, until she was sure the woman was gone. She grabbed her camera off of the floor where she dropepd it and began moving towards the vent. She stopped when she realized she was unarmed. She decided that she would wait until she got out there before worrying about weapons... after all, she was a fast runner, and she remembered that the zombies moved at a slow pace. Sara turned towards the security guard.

"If they get back before I do, tell them I'll be back in a few minutes," she said. She didn't have time to be worrying about survivors, she needed to get her story! You can call her self-centered if you want, but hey. She had a job to do. She could worry about the others later. She climbed into the vent and began crawling, unsure of where she was going. She kept going until she saw another vent that had already been opened. She guessed that that was where she would find Brad and the woman. She peeked through it to check for zombies. When she didn't see any, she slowly lowered herself as far down as she could, and then let go. She landed on her feet as quietly as possible. She froze and began listening out for any signs of life. She heard slow, sluggish steps from around the corner. "Zombies, eh?"

She saw an emergency fire extinguisher on the wall. She figured that that would work for now. She took it out of the case and crept around the corner, hugging the wall. She heard whoever was on the other side quicken their pace. She dashed around the corner and raised the extinguisher, ready to bring it down.

"Aaaiiiieee!" Sara froze when she ran into the woman from before.

"Jesus Christ!" Sara exclaimed, stumbling backwards. The woman was on the floor, a little shaken up. Sara saw her ankle. It was swollen, maybe sprained. The woman tried to get up, wincing as she stood. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, you're hurt... You need to go back to the security room."

"No! I can't find Brad! He was attacked!" she said, panicking. She held the gun tightly. Sara groaned and looked up at the ceiling. Okay... Brad and this chick may know what's going on... may as well help...

"If I get Brad... Will you tell me what's going on?" Sara asked, holding her hand out to take the gun. The woman looked at her, unsure if she could trust Sara. She sighed and looked down at the floor, knowing that she probably couldn't help Brad if she was hurt.

"I can't tell you anything without Brad's permission... but I'll tell you what I can when he returns," she handed Sara the pistol, "My name's Jesse, by the way."

"Sara Richardson... Photojournalist," she said. Okay... not exactly a journalist... but you never knwo who might want to hire her after this story aired! "Where's Brad?"

"Other side of the mall... There are two plazas. You can get to the second one through this hallway rather than the direct link, since the gates have blocked it off."

"Okay, I'll be back. See ya'!" Sara said, trying to give Jesse a smile to reassure her. She took off, seeing Jesse get back up by using a chair. She hoped that she would find out what was going on when she found Brad.

4:00 P.M.

"Wow... You told a lot more today than yesterday," Johnson said, turning off the recorder. Sara looked towards the door.

"Alex isn't really sick... is he?" Sara asked, worried. Johnson looked at her and sighed.

"The wound he received when we grabbed you wasn''t treated in time. It's infected, and he'srunning a moderately high fever... He's asleep now, but you can see him," he said, looking away. Sara jumped up and allowed herself to be led to another cell by the guards. She walked in and they shut the door behind her.

"You can stay here tonight," one of the guards said. She watched them leave and sat down on the floor by the bed, looking at Alex's flushed face. He was breathing hoarsely and shallow, and his eyes were clamped shut. She could see his hand grabbing the wound on his side tightly, as if it would help. She placed her hand on his head, letting him know she was there. He stirred lightly and let his head roll over in her direction. Sara smiled and held back her tears. He looked awful.

Alex opened his eyes slightly and looked at her.

"Sa..." he started. Sara held her other hand up to silence him.

"Shh, just go back to sleep.. I'm not leaving," she said. Alex moved closer to the wall, making rom on his bed. Sara's eyes widened a little, but she kept her composure and sat on the bed beside him. She stroked his head to calm him down as he began to sweat even more and groan in pain.

"It hurts..." he croaked.

"You'll be okay... I promise," she said softly, laying down. He slowly relaxed and fell asleep. Sara smiled to herself and pulled the covers over him. She eventually fell asleep beside him, unaware that Alex had wrapped his arms around her in his sleep.

Nyahaha... Sorry, I can't resist the fluff. Sorry Alex didn't get that much screen time now... but I promise he'll come in soon, since I promised he'd be introduced in this chapter. I feel bad. Please don't be mad at me!