I forgot there were thirty one days in October, not thirty, so that's got me panicking less. I doubt any of these remaining chapters will be too long either and I only have a handful of OTP challenge prompts left to do. There is light at the end of the tunnel people!

Well, there was good news and bad news for the running, now exhausted, crowd. Firstly, the zombies chasing them seemed to disintegrate before their very eyes, tumbling to the floor with breathy wails as their skin finally peeled apart and their muscles dribbled away. The skeletons fell out of the gloopy mess only for a moment before falling still in the puddles of their bodies.

Stelios hadn't thought anything else would phase him at this point, but the sight made him want to be sick. Luca, in fact, paused to vomit on the floor before Mathias pulled him back into a run.

Now, the bad news was, despite how they thought they were clear, the little gaggle had the misfortune to have their one exit blocked by yet another of the disgusting creatures, who didn't look anywhere near ready to fall apart.

Stelios stalled, poking his head out the corner as several of those behind crashed into his back. But thankfully they were still unnoticed.

He gulped as he turned to face the others.

"We have a problem," he hissed.

"You're lost?" offered Alin, who was ignored.

"No, there are more of the things, right by the fire exit," Stelios growled, and at that point little Andrei started crying, Kuzey threatening to join him, if the boy was actually willing to do such a thing in front of all these strangers. Carlos said nothing, clutching Alfonso's hand. Ever since they'd admitted the Edelsteins were dead, the pair had hardly said a word, faces stony and grim.

"So we can't get out?" asked Angie, "we're going to die?"

"Woah, let's not give up so easy," Stelios raised his hands, giving the crowd a reassuring smile. "I have a plan, okay?"

Mei raised a rather cynical eyebrow. "Your plan being?"

"I'll distract them, and you make a run for it when the coast is clear."

"So you're sacrificing yourself?" The glare Hassan gave him almost made Stelios buckle.

"No," he lied, "I'm just gonna lead it away whilst you run."

"And get eaten," insisted Hassan, "on purpose."

"I honestly hope that doesn't happen."

"You said no one would be sacrificing themselves." Mohammad looked angry. He wasn't on the verge of exploding into violence, but Stelios could see the outrage bubbling away beneath the surface. Hurt, too.

"And they won't," he tried, "look, just stick together and stay close behind me. I'm going to subdue the thing, then you all run past. Up the stairs, down the fire exit. Don't look back."

"But-"

"I'll be fine." Stelios would not be fine. He knew this was a stupid move and he'd probably die to make sure the others got out, but at least people would say he died wrestling a zombie. That was a way to go.

"I'll go first," he hissed, rounding the corner to find the thing still there, pacing the corridor as if lost. Lucky, because if that was the case, then whoever released those things probably didn't know about the fire exit.

Stelios steeled himself, resisting all urges to run away blindly, screaming like a baby, and walked forward with bold determination, fists clenched, jaw squared, sweat almost blinding him as he kept walking. He wasn't going to back down. He was going to save everyone.

He was spotted soon enough, the creature hobbling over with a snarl, and he raised his fists, scissors clenched in his hand. It would be easy, right? All he had to do was bury them in its brain, and he could live too.

As he prepared to stab, he waited for the thing to strike. The zombie- an old man in a hospital gown- moved forward, ever so slowly, hissing in his face and Stelios gagged at the blast of rancid air hitting his nostrils.

But it didn't strike.

Stelios knew he should make the first move before it ripped into his face, but he couldn't. It was fascinating, watching the thing up close, its teeth barely holding together in its gums, weeping sores and black muscle under the skin. The thing's nose was falling apart as it glared right in his face.

But still it didn't attack.

"What the hell?" he muttered, as behind him Angie spoke up.

"What are you doing?" she hissed, "kill it?"

"I will, I just thought it would attack first," he told her, "why is it leaving me alone?"

The zombie drooled right onto his shirt, but still it didn't attack.

"Am I immune?" he asked no one in particular. This had happened before, right after he left the canteen. Dr Davies had hesitated from ripping into him too, and at the time he'd assumed it was some shred of humanity left in them, but this wrinkly old nutsack had told him to go back to Spain every time he tried to put a catheter in and pissed himself whenever he could just to spite the staff.

Yeah, why the hell hadn't he stabbed him yet?

"How the hell can you be immune?" Mei squeaked.

"I don't know," replied Stelios, "but he's not eating me."

"Maybe he doesn't want to eat people?" asked Alfonso, inching closer to investigate until he was right next to them. "Fascinating?"

The zombie lunged for Alfonso, biting into his face and dragging him to the ground. The man was dead before he could scream.

Stelios cried out in horror as the other survivors bolted past, Angie grabbing him by the coat to pull him out of his shock. Stelios did even think until the breeze of the outside hit him, everyone around him torn between relief and horror.

"We have to go back," Carlos was saying, "come on, there's no way he's dead!"

"You saw him die!" Mei cried back.

"Yeah, Dr Angel just fucking stood there like an idiot and let him!" Carlos waved an arm, "what the hell is wrong with you? You could've killed that thing before it attacked anyone!"

"I… I don't…" Stelios shrank away, "I wasn't thinking."

"Damn right you weren't thinking!"

"Look, mourn Alf in your own time," Mei poked Carlos in the chest. Hard. "For now let's focus on the fact that we've made it out alive and the escape route is just over there!" She pointed at the black railings of the stairs snaking down the side of the hospital. "We're free!"

"We can talk about this in therapy," Mohammad added.

"A little help though," called Kim-ly, holding back the door they'd just burst through.

"Oh, right," Alin pulled a face, finally deciding it was safe to let go of his brother to drag an old crate over, the others adding various piles of debris to keep out the zombie currently snacking on Alfonso.

"Let's go," Stelios spoke up the moment the exit was blocked. "No point standing around waiting for them to break through." He took the lead once more, peering over the edge to check the coast was clear.

"Look!" he called, "police! They're here!"

With a collective cheer, the survivors began to descend, Mei leading Kuzey, Alin and Andrei down the steps first, waving wildly to signal to the police that they were there, and alive. Mathias helped Luca down next, the boy shivering and babbling to himself, then Kim-ly and Carlos ushering Cheng and making up the rear. Only Stelios hesitated, Angie and Mohammad lingering on the top balcony of the steps to wait for him.

"I think…" Stelios stared down at the others, meandering to the ground, at last free and safe. "I think I need to stay behind."

"Not this again," groaned Mohammad, "just come with us already."

"Look," he insisted, "I'm immune, right?"

"If you say so," Angie looked at him cynically, "I mean, it's not conclusive proof, in my opinion."

"Well I think it is." Stelios glanced back at the barricaded fire escape. "If those things break through, they could escape and infect the whole world." He jiggled up and down on the balls of his feet, cold with sweat.

"You have a point there," sighed Angie.

"If I'm immune," he continued, "then I can block off the exit, go back to look for anyone left alive, lead them up here so they can escape, and destroy the stairs so none of those monsters can use it. I might even find a way to destroy them too."

"But what if you're wrong?" asked Mohammad, grabbing his hand, "what if they tear you apart?"

"Then I am an idiot and deserve it," Stelios replied, half-joking. "Look, you two take care of yourselves, okay? Mo, you'll get help after this, right?"

After a moment's thought, Mohammad relented with a nod. "If it'll make you happy, I'll give being alive another go." Stelios couldn't tell if he was being genuine or not, but he'd take it for now.

"You too Angie?" he asked his best friend, who gave a nod too.

"Please come back," she begged, "don't do anything stupid."

"Like run through a horde of zombies?" he grinned, "I'll be fine."

He took them both by the hands, giving them a squeeze before letting go. "Now hurry."

Stelios watched them go. Two pairs of dark hair bobbing as they clanked down the steps, snaking ever so slowly to join the others nearer the ground. He'd worried about them being attacked by monsters breaking through the window, like poor Eduard, before remembering that all windows and doors were impenetrable, for once a piece of good luck. Well, not for the police below desperately tying to break through to rescue those inside.

Deciding it was best to get on with things, Stelios dragged what he could over to the stairs to create a temporary blockade, one he could pull apart again if he needed to escape with other survivors. Hopefully it'd hold against the undead.

Wheeling round, he was just in time to find someone barrel through the fire escape, tossing the barricade aside as if it were blocks of Styrofoam. This figure wore a glittering green mask, a large, intimidating form underneath an oversized hoodie, and was most certainly alive, despite the mad neon eyes.

"Oh, sir," Stelios greeted, running over to him. Okay, odd attire, and he'd certainly never seen this man before in his life- he'd remember such a strange fella- but at least it was someone else he could save. "If you just come with me, I can get you ou-"

The stranger drew back a fist and punched him straight in the nose. Stelios fell to the floor like a corpse, world fading to darkness above him.

Oooh, the Liberator's identity's getting revealed next chapter, excited? Got any guesses?