Alright we're on to Chapter 7. As I said before, chapters 6-9 can be read in any order once completed, seeing as they all occur in the same timeframe. BTW I won't write the next chapter unless I get one review from ten different people. That's the deal, so give me feedback. Anyway, here is our next group.

Chapter Seven

Nick looked over his shoulder at the two girls behind him. To him, the girls were little more than useless in case if an attack. His Uzi was stowed away in its holster, Nick's wary hand placed expertly atop it. He walked with a great caution upon his step, and the chatting companions behind him were nothing more than a nuisance.

Behind him, the new friends Abby and Anna were talking. In a matter of a week, they had become inseparable. They were talking of happier times and their lives before the virus. However they were smart conscious enough to know to not stray far from Nick. He didn't have a long temper.

The group stayed close, and continued their walk through the abandoned streets of downtown Mar Del Azul. This was primarily a business district, so they would only have to be wary of a few places. Nick took every bit of memory of this area into consideration while walking. It had been a long time since he had been there. A long time since he had visited home.

Nick understood that what he was doing was potentially deadly, and he could be risking the lives of others. But he wanted to know. He needed to know. Then he stopped cold. He had arrived. A window was broken, the door was torn from it hinges, and a pile of corpses sat on the steps. What a homecoming.

"Nick, what's wrong? Why are we stopping here?" Abby asked quizzically. She looked at the house wonderingly. She and Anna walked closer to the house, and then looked back at Nick. He hadn't moved. Abby asked again.

"Nick are you alright?" She reiterated, walking towards him. He advanced towards the house quietly. He withdrew his Uzi, and walked into the house. More bodies were on the floor. He ran into the kitchen. Blood dawned the walls.

"Mom! Dad! Are you here?" He called out. No response. He ran into the Living room. Nothing but blood and broken tables awaited him. He ran back out to the front of the house. Abby and Anna stepped in.

"Nick what are you doing?" Anna asked impatiently, her temper beginning to rise. Nick hardly seemed to hear her. He raced up the stairs, and opened a door. Suddenly, his footsteps stopped. His voice silenced, and Anna and Abby ran up to see what had happened. Nick stood in the doorway, looking at the bed that was his parents'. There were two corpses lying down, side by side. Their hands intertwined, and a note by the bed. Nick walked up and read the note. He dropped it and fell to his knees. Abby walked up and read the note. She quickly realized what had happened. She sat down next to Nick, but she didn't know what to say.

"Nick, at least they went quietly and painlessly. At least they went together."

He looked at her solemnly, but he nodded. They had work to do, and sitting and weeping would not help them through this mission. He stood up, and withdrew his gun. The three of them walked out of the room, and Nick gently closed the door behind them.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door to the left. Nick immediately turned and aimed. It was the room that used to be his brother's. Now, he had no idea what inhabited it. He warily approached the door, and Abby and Anna got on the other side. Nick raised his gun, and flung the door open.

Across the room was a man covered in blood. His back was turned to Nick, so he couldn't see much about him. The man turned to look at Nick, and then completely turned around, revealing vibrant red eyes. Nick stared blankly.

"…Ren?" he asked, lowering his gun. He took a step forward, and then it attacked. The infected man ran at him and tackled him to the ground. Nick kicked it in the mouth, and it retaliated with four solid punches to the cheek and chin. He grabbed his Uzi and put three well-placed shots in its forehead. It stumbled off of him, but charged again.

"What the hell?!" Nick exclaimed. He fired another burst into the creature, this time into its leg. It collapsed on the ground, but then began crawling towards Nick. Finally, a flurry of rifle shots stopped its advance. Anna stood proudly over her first kill.

"What the hell? I thought they were supposed to die after a headshot!" Nick said.

"Yeah. And they're also supposed to try to eat you. From the looks of it, it just tried to kill you." Abby added.

"Hey guys he doesn't have a bite mark on him. This was not a zombie, or at least not one that was caused by the Solanum virus."

"You're right. The moment I said his name, his eyes got really wide." Nick said

"Well how'd you know his name?" Anna asked

"That was my brother"

_-LATER THAT DAY-_

Nick walked more silently than ever. His eyes screamed glistened with anger. His group walked once more quietly down the street, though this time everyone was quiet. Everyone else's group had said they'd get food, so Nick decided to get "other" supplies. Only one place would have the supplies he was looking for. And as he turned the corner, he knew exactly where he was going. He saw the large building with four decorative columns and steel double doors in the front. The Mar Del Azul Police Station stood proud and tall. Nick walked up and drew his gun. Many people would seek refuge in this building for a host of reasons, security primarily. Nick walked in, crouched and alert. Abby and Anna filed in after him.

The main office was covered in blood, and bodies littered the floor. Bullet holes made dominoes out of the wall, and half-eaten corpses made an odor that would make any man cry. However Nick braved the storm, and walked down the hall. He finally found the room he was looking for.

In a big city, you're liable to find many illegal items. The most incriminating of which are guns. Many forms of Illegal guns were used in gang wars in Mar Del Azul, and most of these weapons were found and locked away at the police station. That is what Nick came for.

He opened the door to the confiscated weapons room and walked in. The walls were covered in weapons of all different shapes, sizes, designs, and colors. Nick dropped his Uzi, as it seemed smaller than ever in this giant room of armament. He looked over and saw an AK-47, and an AK-74, and an M16 assault rifle, even an M1A1 Thompson machine gun. Nick saw the Tommy gun and unhooked it from the wall and its large drum magazine.

Anna took a second before choosing a Sawed-off shotgun and a Desert Eagle. She went into the room to her left and found mounds of ammunition. She took about four boxes of ammo, and proceeded out to load her gun.

Happiest of all was Abby. She dropped the gun she was once in love with, her double-barreled shotgun, and let out a squeal of excitement. In front of her were the two most imposing guns she'd ever laid eyes on. On her right, an Armsel Striker, more commonly known as a Street Sweeper. She grabbed the automatic, 12-gauge shotgun and smiled. And to her left, there was a shotgun she'd never seen before. It was a sawed-off variant, but that's not the imposing part. What peaked her interest was the fact that it had three barrels in a triangular formation. She grabbed it and looked at the side of the golden handle. Etched into the side was the word "Hydra". She also took this gun, and then raided the storage closet for 12-gauge rounds.

"Alright does everyone have what they need?" Nick asked. Everyone nodded.

"Its almost dark. We have to hurry if we want to make it back before nighttime." Anna said wisely. Everyone was in acquiesced, so they quickly left the station. They ran silently down the street, looking up at the falling sun. In the distance, they heard a car alarm go off.

"It sounds like someone found trouble." Abby said.

"Its coming from uptown" Nick said, "I think Shauntell's group was handleing that district. He'd better be alright."

From behind them, a moan was heard. Nick turned too see a growing mob of zombies behind them. From the shambling mob, a few faster ones sprinted out in front. These bore resemblance to the one that had attacked Nick earlier. He pulled out his Thompson and sprayed the horde down with lead, killing or injuring a good many of them. But they drew closer and closer as the group wore down. Suddenly, almost a quarter of them were sent flying back, and then quick powerful bursts took out the rest. Nick looked over. Abby was happy with her new Street Sweeper.

As they ran back, Nick looked over at Anna.

"Hey! You're the nurse here. How come some of the zombies are fast, but the other ones are still slow?"

Anna gave him a confused expression.

"Honestly I'm not sure. But if I had to put my money on it, I'd say that the Virus is mutating into a stronger strain."

They spent the rest of the run home in complete silence.