Chapter 2

The two hicks could finally see the helicopters atop the hotel by noon the next day, although they were still a good few miles from their destination. They marveled at the sheer emptiness- well, except the random abandoned car or pet- of the streets of Savannah, a once crowded and inviting place. Ellis couldn't help but cringe as they past a few different bodies, all too mutilated for him to identify. Definitely not how he pictured his home town to one day appear. If anything, it was a nightmare come true. It was something from those video games he would play as a kid where you and a few strangers were forced to survive in an apocalypse setting together.

"Almost there, El," Keith stated, smiling over at him quickly before returning his focus forward. He clenched his eyes shut as they passed over another "speed bump", trying to ignore the crunch that came with driving over it. "God, I won't miss this."

Ellis only nodded his head as he rolled his window down manually, wishing to catch one last whiff of Savannah air before joining the chaotic mess he assumed the evac would be. He looked out, and froze as he spotted someone stumbling along, their gait rather disconnected and erratic as they walked along the sidewalk. He knew this person, too! It was Jed!

"Jed!" He called out the window, leaning out and waving at his friend. If Jed was there, then Lizzy had to be, too. "Jed! Keith, stop! It's Jed!"

Keith looked over real quick, hitting his foot against the break pedal. Sure enough, there was Jed. But, something definitely wasn't right. Keith just couldn't put his finger quite on what. "El, something don't seem right here..."

"Jed!" Ellis called again as he forced his door open, hand grabbing the hunting rifle as he began to charge toward another one of his friends. "Jed! Where is everyone? Where's Liz-"

For the second time in barely twenty-four hours, Ellis was cut off by an animalistic cry of rage. He found himself stumbling backwards in shock as his hands fumbled with the safety on his weapon. He ran backwards, trying to shoot the now charging man as Keith's own gunshots resounded throughout the previously quiet city.

Finally, one of them landed a successful shot in Jed's head, causing an explosion of blood and brains to erupt about them. Ellis didn't even stop to think as he scrambled into the truck and slammed the door behind him. "Keith, go!" He ordered, his thoughts going a mile a minute.

Jed was supposed to be with Lizzy, but he wasn't. Jed had become one of those things, like his mom. What if Lizzy was still with him when it happened? Did that mean she was dead? Or had she gotten away alright? What had happened to his sister?

"Shit!" Keith hissed as something came into view. It was huge, covered in raw muscle, and the ugliest thing Keith had probably ever seen. "What is that thing?" He cried as he threw the truck in reverse and gunned it. "Ellis, shoot the damn thing!"

Ellis was trying with all his might to knock the thing down with a good shot to the head. But, it apparently did not want to go down so easily. It didn't help either with Keith's crazy backwards driving. "Keith! Just stop and get out! I don't think we can take that thing down!"

Keith slammed his foot down on the break, a force almost powerful enough to give them both whiplash. The two men scuttled out of the truck, running towards a nearby alleyway in hopes of escaping. It was only after getting five feet down the alley, though, that Ellis remembered their duffle bag full of supplies. He looked back, but immediately decided against going back at the sight of the giant pink thing behind them, pursuing them in an ape-ish manner.

Keith spun around, firing a few shots from his shot gun into the thing chasing them. Still, it refused to go down, merely stumbling a little with each shot. Keith groaned as he whipped back around and tried to catch up with Ellis. The younger of the two had gotten a little bit ahead of him, and seemed to speed up as the door to the hotel came into view. It was nowhere near as packed as they had thought it would be.

The hotel was in shambles; it's entrance doors were ripped off of their hinges, and all the windows were boarded up. 'Evac Center' was sprayed in red paint over its original sign, and there was an arrow beside it that pointed upwards. There was blood slathered all over the ground before the thirty story building, amidst a sea of bodies.

Ellis and Keith quickly stepped around the bodies and charged through the doorway, stepping over many other bodies about the tiled floor of the main lobby. They slipped precariously in still wet puddles of red substance as they dashed for the staircase. The monster chased after them, trampling the bodies and breaking anything in its path. They noticed three other people trying to get the elevator to come to them, an old man that Ellis thought looked somewhat familiar, a young woman in a Depeche Mode tee-shirt, and a rather gruff looking male in his late thirties in a dingy white suit and blue shirt. The man in the suit looked over at the noise and cursed motioning for the others to follow the passing natives.

"Ellis! You go ahead, I'll hold him off!" Keith ordered, shoving his friend forward gently. "Go!" Keith commanded as he pulled out the matchbook from his pocket, and a few firecrackers as well.

"Keith, NO!" Ellis cried as he tried to run after him. The woman snagged his elbow in her arm and pulled him through the doorway. Ellis caught one last glimpse of his friend who charged the creature, lit firecrackers held before him. His face had a look of pure determination on it as he and the creature neared each other.

Ellis whimpered as he turned away from the door, charging up the stairs in a hurried manner. He couldn't look back; Keith would not have wanted him to. So, Ellis did his best to get ahead of the others, to be the first to safety. For Keith. He threw his gun down, not wishing to keep it as a painful reminder of what happened. He gripped his hat firmly in one hand, prepared to throw it aside as well before he stopped. He slowed as he let his hand dropped down to the rail, remembering exactly what the note had said on the hat.

Go kick some ass in style, Ellis. Make sure Keith don't get himself killed.

He couldn't keep to the second part, but he could still kick ass in style like Lizzy had wanted. And he would. He would enjoy every moment of it, for his mother, Lizzy, Jed...

Keith.