"I am getting sick and fucking tired of this bullshit, lemme tell ya," Chad muttered mostly to himself, as he and Nick moved the now heavy dark green garbage can filled nearly to the brim with various components of several bodies. Moving the can to the corner, where Nick said it would go for the time being, was a two person job. Each of the boys had to grab one of the two handles to carry it, and even with both of them tag teaming it it wasn't exactly easy. Or fun. There was a distinct absence of any sort of fun lately, especially in this matter.

Mike had arrived to talk to the pair about five minutes ago, and the visit had lifted Chad's spirits somewhat. Not that the company of Nick wasn't uplifting, but every little bit helped. And any moral support is helpful if you happened to be wearing rubber kitchen gloves and plastic garbage bags on your legs, as both boys were.

"And down," Nick said, lowering the can with Chad in the desired spot, as far in the back corner of the room as they could get it. It blocked several lower cabinets, though the boys payed that little detail no heed. No time to worry about such things.

"Now the woman," Nick shrugged at the blue tarp wrapped corpse on the other side of the kitchen.

"Oh, now this is just gettin' old," Chad muttered, "I am never doing this shit again, not even for you. I mean, I love ya and all, but no."

"Agreed," Nick nodded, taking a step over towards the wrapped body as Chad mimicked that move, joining his best friend at the wrapped corpse.

Nick again checked the that his M4 rifle was secure on his back, something he had done what seemed like a thousand times since this clean-up project began. He refused the remove the weapon, or his black vest that had the spare magazines for it, and he had ordered Chad to do the same. He said that they would never be without a weapon. It was a decree that he had passed earlier, but would remind the rest of the group as soon as he could.

Chad felt the weight of his aging M1 carbine, and the leather mag pouch on his belt. The weight was completely new yet it seemed very familiar. Chad was hoping that soon he wouldn't notice it at all, and it would become a part of him; as accustomed to him as one of his arms or legs.

"So, what's up with you?" Chad asked, taking the legs of the downed female zombie in his hands, and Nick grabbed her shoulders. Chad only knew which end was which because the boys had wrapped her up only a few minutes ago.

Nick and Chad heaved her up, and were somewhat shocked at the realization that it felt as though it weighed less then the garbage can. It didn't seem possible, as the uncle had lost what Chad assumed was most of his blood, and therefor a good portion of his mass, but then again, the pair had scooped up much of the blood using the snow shovel they had acquired in the garage. The shovel was currently propped up against a section of the kitchen counter a few feet away.

The aunt must've been much, much smaller then the uncle then the two had anticipated. It was difficult to tell as the uncle had been in several dozen pieces. They began carrying the body of Ashley's aunt to the corner where the remains of her uncle were already filed away.

Ashley. Chad hadn't even known her name before today, yet had watched her on many different occasions, She was just the hot blond girl from health class. Hot, Chad nearly smiled at the word; it was the word he would've used aloud when referring to Ashley to any of his friends or acquaintances, but the word he always had in mind was beautiful. She was perhaps the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. And he had seen a few. Actually, Chad mused, he hadn't had time to think like this the entire day. Though he had spent quite a bit of time around her, none of these thoughts had popped into his mind. He was too busy, he guessed, with more important matters.

And now he was here, with his best friends, Nick and Mike, in that very girl's relatives house, with her upstairs. Her, of all people, here. Sure, Nick and Mike were here, but that was far more likely, as the three, especially Nick and Chad, were rarely apart. But Ashley, someone Chad hadn't come within more then ten feet of before this morning, someone he had had his eye on for some time, was here. What were the odds? Chad thought. Well, probably pretty slim, but Chad decided not to contemplate them. This girl, Chad liked her, he realliy liked her. And he didn't even know her. Noy until today, anyway. Chad hadn't even told Nick the extent of his crush, knowing that Nick's first suggestion would be to talk to her, something he just hadn't gotten around to. It almost made no sense, as Chad was very outgoing. Oh well, Chad told himself. He decided to push Ashley from his mind yet again, at least for the next few minutes. He had a job to finish, and as disgusting as it was, he had to do it, and he didn't want to be distracted. At least not yet.

Nick shrugged at Chad's question, a very subtle move, as Nick was occupied with carrying the corpse. It may have been lighter then the man's, but it didn't mean it wasn't somewhat difficult to carry. "I dunno, I guess I'm alright," Nick said, "Y'know, besides the whole 'World gone to hell, me in charge' thing. No worries, no pressure."

"Hey, hey, hey now," Chad replied, "No one here's more capable then you.I mean, look at all the shit we've had to deal with already? It's a fuckin' miracle we're all still here, and not trying to kill people... And eat them."

The boys reached there intended placement spot for the body--right next to the garbage can--and they lowered her down placing her gently next to her fallen husband. Chad tried hard not to think about these people, who they were, what kind of lives they had, how they had lived, it was just to distracting. Not to mention depressing.

Nick released the body and stood up to his full height. Chad followed suit, and locked eyes with Nick, "You do know you're the best to get us out of this, right? I mean, if it was me, I would've led us right off a fuckin' cliff or something."

"I dunno about that," Nick replied, "You're slightly more intelligent then that."

Chad sighed, "I think you missed my point. You're the fuckin' best person for this. Motherfuckin' God himself, or Mohammad, or fuckin' Buddha for that matter couldn't have chosen someone better. At least not someone I'd prefer to follow."

Nick just stared at Chad for a few moments, before nodding slightly several times, then snapping to attention again, "Right," he said, "Moving right along... Let's get that tarp spread across the floor, then get our asses upstairs," he said quickly, pointing to the folded tarp.

Chad, knowing he had gotten his point across, nodded his agreement to Nick's plan, as his the bigger teen moved over to collect the folded tarp that he had placed there for the very purpose it was now being used for.

It only took the boys several minutes at most to unfold the blue tarp and spread it evenly across the floor of the kitchen, covering any blood they had missed. The tarp nearly covered up the whole floor, effectivly covering up any blood they had missed, and making the room somewhat usable again.

The pair then stripped off the gloves and the garbage bags, and added them to the blood contents of the green garbage can. The pair were not upset to see the protective measures they had taken thrown away. At least, Chad thought, the plastic armor had done it's job. The teens were miraculously clean of most blood, and only the occasional drip had gotten on them during the clean-up. They had been careful not to make more of a mess then what they were trying to deal with.

Nick brought his M4 carbine to to bear, flicking the safety off, and checking to make sure it was set to semi-auto. "Alright, let's do another sweep of the first floor, and check Mike's barricades," Nick said, as Chad also readied his rifle.

The boys then proceeded to check every single room of the first floor, peeking out of every window as they went. There were no creatures in sight during any of the checks, and Chad had commented on how it the absence of them was even more frightening then if they were there. Nick had readily agreed.

Nick said that the barricades were fine for now, but to keep an eye out for anything heavy that could be moved to add onto them.

Satisfied that the house was clear, and no immediate danger threatened them, the pair climbed the stairs to the second floor, weapons held loosely but ready in their hands.

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Tracy led the way upstairs, with Mike following closely behind, his 870 shotgun, gripped tightly in his huge hands. Molly followed right behind him, still looking fairly ill, with Ashley right behind her. Ali brought up the rear a few feet behind. She was more separated from the group then anyone else. As usual.

"So, what's the plan?" Tracy asked slowing down to become even with Mike, who was currently in charge because Nick wasn't here right this second.

Mike was about to answer, when the girl shook her head several quick times and added, "No, no. I don't mean for the next five minutes, I mean for the res of our lives... What's the plan?"

"Yeah, Mike. What do you think will happen?" Molly added in from behind Tracy.

"I couldn't say, ladies," Mike informed them, "But we can't stay here forever, and I'm sure Nick's plenty well aware of that. It's his call for what we do next. And I for one trust him to come up with something good."

Tracy nodded, "Well, I guess that'll have to do."

"Yeah," Mike said, "The situation may suck, but hey, we're all here, so I think it's cause to celebrate."

The group reached the top of the stairs, and Mike spoke up, "Um, Tracy. Let me get in front of ya, kay?" Mike wanted to be sure nothing had gotten in, and with his shotgun and skills he was most qualified to take point indoors. Or anywhere else, for that matter.

Tracy did as she was told, attempting a welcoming and warming smile, which actually turned out pretty good, and Mike passed her raising the shotgun to his shoulder, "Alright," he said, "Y'all just wait here, and lemme check everything out."

It seemed a little ridiculous, because if any of the undead had gotten in, Mike didn't think they'd be upstairs relaxing. They'd come right for the occupants of the house, and promptly rip them to pieces.

But if Nick was trying to teach the group anything, it was never drop your guard. And Mike was all over that philosophy.

He thoroughly and completely checked every upstairs room, including the hall closet, and finally arrived at the master bedroom which was at the end of the hall. Nothing hostile yet.

He stepped into the master bedroom and did several sweeps with the barrel of his shotgun, and was satisfied.

The big teen turned back and faced the cluster of girls, who also clutched their various firearms waiting for something to just pop out of nowhere, "Okay," he said, "We're cool. Bring it on up."

Mike then turned, and spotted the medium sized T.V. mounted on a dark wooden dresser of some kind, and positioned at up against the wall at the foot of the bed. A very familiar set-up.

Mike took the few steps to the T.V. and flicked it on, his hand immediately jumping to the minus volume switch, just waiting to turn it down.

The T.V. flickered to life just as the four girls entered the room.

Mike waited and waited, but when the sound finally caught up with the screen, he realized that it was so quiet that even he, who was right next to it, could barely hear it.

He sighed, "Cool, no worries.", he said, turning it up somewhat so it could be heard by the people in the room. It was a man's voice, and it sounded vaguely relaxed. That was in turn, relaxing. He stepped back, his line of sight taking in the whole T.V. He waited for the news on edge, as the girls did. What the hell was happening out in the world? Had anything gotten better? Or was it not even possible to get better?

All five teens remained silent, as Mike backed up and sat down in the middle of the end of the bed; Molly quickly joining him, and leaning against him. He wrapped his left arm around her, as he stabilized his shotgun in his right.

The man on the T.V. was an anchor, Mike guessed, and he looked grim, as if that was a surprise.

And the news he brought wasn't very good.

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I do not write enough. I'll blame that on the giant history paper I had (I still havn't finished it actually) But when assigned something like that, I can't seem to get my creativity for other things going nearly as easy as usual. And it friggin' sucks.

Anyway, here's the update, and I hope you all like it. And don't worry, I have some action scenes planned, but that takes a backseat to character development for the time being.

Hope everyone's still on board and enjoying the story.