Sorry for the delay guys. I got grounded among other things so I couldn't do anything. Anyway read and review please.

Disclaimer: The actions of Shauntell in no way, shape, or form reflect upon me or my thoughts.

Chapter 3

Shauntell looked at the girl. She looked like an angel for a moment. Then he noted the rocket launcher on her shoulder and discarded the thought. The blond man to her left extended his hand to Shauntell. Shauntell went to take it, but fatigue rolled over him mercilessly. He lifted his hand, but could do no more. He collapsed into a heap on the ground.

____----THE NEXT DAY---___

Shauntell awoke with a start. He looked around, fear gripping him for a second. Where were his friends? Where was his gun? Where was he? His mind raced with these questions and more. He closed his eyes again, hoping that this was just a bad dream that would soon go away.

"Calm down. It's alright, you're safe" a feminine voice said to him. It was soothing and smooth.

"Yeah, for now" a deeper voice said.

"Oh yeah? Well then you can SHUT UP," The previously smooth voice exploded with sarcastic fury, then quickly resettled. Shauntell finally opened his eyes. Above him sat a very beautiful girl. She had brown hair in a ponytail, blue eyes, and looked to be just a few years younger than he and his friends. He slowly sat up and absorbed his environment, which in this case was a tent.

"What happened?" He asked.

"You passed out, probably due to severe exhaustion or from a severe after shock effect" the man said. It was the same man who had offered his hand. The man walked over and held his hand out again. Shauntell took it gingerly.

"Hogan" the man said simply. Shauntell realized shortly thereafter that this was the man's name

"Shauntell Jackson" he responded. He looked over at the girl questioningly.

"Anna," she said. She flashed him a smile, and then went back to whatever she seemed to be doing. He looked again at the man.

"Umm… my friends. Are they…?" Shauntell began.

"All sleeping in different tents." Hogan said without expression.

"Alright." He stood up without another word and walked out of the tent. Daylight shone through the trees as he walked into the heart of the camp. Several tents of varying sizes were set up in a circle. Everyone in the camp was moving quickly. A few of these people were with Shauntell's group.

"Hey what's going on?" He asked Nick.

"They're packing up" he responded, looking down at his injured arm.

"Oh. Where are they going?"

"I don't know. They're trying to get off of this godforsaken island"

"Hmm… do you think we should just go with them?"

"No. They don't know where exactly they're going. To be meandering around while the walking dead are here is utter madness"

"True. So then what do you think we should do?"

"I'm not sure. Probably go back to Bull Run, use the radio, and find out what to do from there."

"Sounds good enough I guess. I'll go ahead and tell the others." Shauntell rose and walked into the tents to awaken his comrades. Some were awake, while others had to be stirred. Once everyone was awake, they took their guns and went back to the town. They walked with a sense of caution well around them. They got back to the small town in around thirty minutes, though town could no longer describe the scene. Corpses littered the streets, and a fresh coating or dark, red blood covered the town.

The group moved quickly through the town, trying to pay no attention to the half-eaten bodies that lay lifelessly around them. They moved to the city hall, the building hey were in the previous night.

With Bailey and Lauren acting as guides, they navigated through confusing hallways and such to finally get to the radio control room. Upon entering, they saw the previous radio host dead, portions of flesh missing and at his arm, entire limbs. Shauntell sat in the room and picked up the radio. He began sending out signals on all frequencies to get anyone to respond.

"This is Shauntell Jackson. My friends and I are trapped on an island infested with zombie-like creatures. We need to know what is going on and what we need to do. Over." Shauntell's message broadcasted for thirty minutes until he finally got an answer.

"This is Major General Beck speaking. I have received your distress signal. Over," a gruff voice said over the radio.

"Thank god! General what's going on?" Shauntell asked.

The general sighed, "We're not totally sure yet. But I'll tell you what you need to know. First off, they are, in fact, zombies. However the zombification process is nothing supernatural. It is caused by a rare virus called Solanum. This virus is always fatal, as there is no cure to date. The virus infects one's brain, where its cells begin multiplying and it eventually shuts down all other organ systems. At this point, the person is pronounced dead. However, the virus still has the brain alive. After about 24 hours of infection, the host is reanimated into a zombie. This zombie has but one function: eat. We don't understand why, but all we know is that they desire to feed on human flesh."

Shauntell looked at his group. They were all frightened at this news. Somehow, in some way, this was terrifying beyond all other things Shauntell had ever faced, but he continued listening:

"Thankfully, the virus is not found in nature and there are no strains transmittable by air, contact, or water. The only way to get it is from the bite of a zombie. To kill a zombie, you must destroy the brain. Nothing else will kill or even affect it. After killing zombies, burn the bodies, as the flesh is still highly toxic."

"Sir if I may interrupt you for a second. We don't plan on staying here. We have limited supplies and we need to get off this island! Over." Shauntell interjected.

"Ah thank you for bringing that up. In 50 days, we will be quarantining the island. If you want to get off of the island, you need to get to Union City by then. We will make one trip everyday to pick people up. If you come after the fifty day pick up, we'll have to leave you. Is everything clear? Over."

"Yes, General Beck. Thank you. Over." Shauntell said

"Godspeed. Over and out."

Shauntell glanced over at his group. They exchanged worried looks with one another, but Shauntell quickly began thinking of a plan.

"Alright. We need to go back to the camp, tell them what we've heard, and convince them to go to Union City." He said. No one asked a question. They all wanted to get out of this town and get back to where they felt safer.

Quickly, they ran back to the camp and presented their idea. It was met easily with ridicule.

"No! Union City's three weeks away walking. Meanwhile, we've got a ship waiting for us just a week away in Tobias!" Joe, the brown haired, wiry one, said.

"Yeah that's just ridiculous!" The red-haired girl said.

"We're telling you what the General Beck said! If you go to Tobias, you'll get eaten alive!" Monroe said.

"Whatever." The redhead said. "Alright let's start moving out. The sooner we leave the sooner we get there." Her voice trailed off as her attention switched to the people in her squad."

Shauntell felt defeated. But he did feel some redemption as he saw Anna and Hogan walk over to his group. With two new people in the group and now finally a destination, they set off on their three week journey to salvation.