I don't own Naruto, I do however own this story and plot, you plagiarize, I get maaaaaaad. You don't want to see me mad.

Welcome To Hell

Seventh Chapter

It was something I couldn't tell them.

No matter what...

'This is bad,' Kakashi thought as sweat gathered on his furrowed brows. Sakura's breath had not eased up since she passed out hours ago from he pain in her foot and knee. However it was not her leg that was his immediate worry. Sakura's arm had begun bleeding once more from the old wound that never healed properly. She claimed she had been clawed by a random Zombi she killed just weeks before meeting up with the men. But now, Kakashi frowned, placing a cool hand on her brow, he wasn't so sure. Normal wounds like a simple clawing healed up in a matter of weeks, but this wound had been with her for almost two months now and it still hadn't even closed up. It was possible, he thought, that she had gotten an infection that prevented it from closing up but than there would have been signs, inflammation, excretion of pus that was the norm but none of these had shown, they didn't change, as if she had been ravaged only the day before. The only difference were the spreading angry red lines spreading jaggedly from the wound. Those scared Kakashi in a way he didn't understand.

Kakashi carefully unwrapped the soiled gauze from around the arm, dark patches of dried blood clotted the skin surrounding the three jagged cuts. Kakashi lost his balance as Sasuke swerved the SUV sharply to avoid a large pothole in the middle of the highway. Cursing under his breath as he regained his balance, the white haired ex-soldier groped around under the back bench seat for his bag.

"How is she sensei?" Naruto asked softly from the front passenger seat. He had twisted around to get a better look.

"She's not good Naruto," Kakashi told the blond hauling the bag up onto the seat beside him. Naruto had started calling him sensei when Kakashi taught him how too use his twin hand guns Naruto had salvaged from his family home when they had fled the hoard. Kakashi didn't even try to stop him anymore. "It's her arm again, I just don't understand why it wont close up." He pulled out a bottle of water and staggered once more as the SUV jerked again to the side. "Fuck Sasuke drive steady!" Kakashi snapped. Sasuke gritted his teeth and said nothing, his tightened grip on the wheel went unnoticed by his companions.

"It's not my fault some fucking moron decided to try and destroy the highway!" He hissed back to the elder man.

Kakashi rolled his eyes,"Naruto I need you to open a fresh pack of gauze while I clean the blood off her arm. Sasuke see if you can find a hospital near by. We need to splint her leg and find some disinfectant, maybe that will help her arm."

"Got it." Naruto replied as he grabbed another bag and rooted for a pack of gauze. Sasuke grunted and leaned forward to punch in his request into the GPS. Kakashi waited for Sasuke to finish and had placed both hands back on the wheel before opening a bottle of water from his bag and soaking a rag to clean the wound. Kakashi lifted her arm and began dabbing gently. Sakura groaned in pain as the movement jostled her leg. Sweat and dirt mixed on her skin and Kakashi held a wet hand to her forehead.

"She's burning up," Kakashi told the two as he continued to clean her arm. "Sasuke, drive faster. Have you got a location on a hospital?"

"There's one on an offramp three exits down." Sasuke told him, "I don't know what we'll find there Kakashi. A year without electricity to keep the refrigerators going to keep medicine cool... I don't think we'll find anything." He glanced back took one look at Sakura's pained face and locked his eyes once more on the road.

"We won't know until we try." Naruto told his friend opening a packet of gauze and handing it to the older man.

Kakashi accepted the gauze and began wrapping it expertly around her arm. The wounds were still seeping blood, but it was now a clean, watery red rather than the black, thick, clotting ooze from earlier.

"Here," Naruto offered another wet rag. Kakashi took it and placed it on the fevered girls forehead.

"Our lives were certainly a whole lot less complicated before you came along my dear," Kakashi sighed, looking down at Sakura. He eased away from her so to not accidentally jar her leg, "But then again, they would be a whole lot less interesting if you hadn't." He finished with a smile.

"Yeah, you hear that Sakura-chan!" Naruto chirped in, "You can't die, you wouldn't want us to be bored now do you?" Sakura merely coughed in response.

"She wont die." Sasuke said suddenly, "She's too damn stubborn to die." Keeping his eyes on the road Sasuke pulled onto the offramp. "Right?" Naruto blinked at his friend, surprised at his sudden encouragement and grinned.

"Yeah!" He agreed with enthusiasm as Sasuke rolled his eyes. Kakashi grinned at his two companions and sighed.

xxx

"I'll stay behind to make sure nothing happens to Sakura." Kakashi told the two as they suited up outside the SUV. "I'm just going around the block to fuel up, we all have radio contact so if need be I'll be there for a quick get away." Sasuke nodded as he strapped his favoured katana to his lower back, and slung a full automatic M-14 assault rifle onto his shoulder.

"Just don't go too far." Naruto muttered as he tucked the list of items they needed into his front vest pocket and picked up the empty duffle bag they would use to carry the items back. Kakashi grinned and leaned against the vehicle. "Again, I'm just going around the block." He reminded the blond, "I'll also be on the look out for fresh water so you don't need to worry about that. Just stay focused on getting what's on that list and get the hell out of there. I don't sense anything near but with these new evolutions and mutations we're seeing, I wouldn't put anything past Them."

"Greeeeeaaat, just what we need, undead bastards who can hide their presence, just great." Naruto drawled with a roll of his eyes.

Sasuke reached over to a near by tree and half jokingly knocked on the trunk to ward off the jinx. After surviving this long you can't blame any of them for being just a little superstitious. "Lets go get this over with." He told the blond. Naruto grinned and started off towards the abandoned hospital. Sasuke took one last look at the fitfully sleeping woman, made a 'tsk'ing sound and followed.

I never wanted them to know...

xxx

"Man, this place is crreeeeeeeepyyyyy!" Naruto grimaced as he slowly cast his flashlight around an empty patient room. Torn drapes waved lazily back at him as the cold, dry air blew in through the broken window. Bloody smears decorated the walls of the entire building like a grotesque wall paper. Sasuke could still hear the echos of the screaming people as they fled the infected undead that hunted them.

"The sooner we find what we're looking for the sooner we can leave." Sasuke told his friend as he kept an eye on the reception area near by.

"Right," Naruto replied, turning away from the room and gazing down the hall lifting his hand gun and doing a quick sweep with his flash light., "You just want to get back to Sakura-chan." He teased the stoic Uchiha.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and refused to look at his moronic companion, also refusing to reply. He simply began walking away when he saw the coast was clear, stalking carefully down the dark hallway, katana drawn and at his side in his left hand. He trailed his right on the wall, fingers feeling the different textures and ridges of dried blood from the smooth, boring wall paint. The whole window ahead of him cast a sharp relief of light on the debris covered floor. He paused, his eyes narrowing as his Sharingan noticed movement.

"I mean," Naruto continued his arms resting lazily behind his head, "Who wouldn't. Pretty girl, unconscious and helpless. Anything could happen really, what with no way of defending herself and anything..."

"Shut up moron," Sasuke growled lowering himself into a stance.

"See! Even you are getting upset, man you must be blind if you can't even realize you..." Sasuke cut him off with a sharp slap to the side of the head. Before Naruto could protest Sasuke gestured to the shadow he could see out of the corner of his eye. Immediately Naruto got serious, placing his flashlight in his teeth he drew a long hunting blade and held one of his hand guns at the ready.

They pressed themselves up close to the wall and Sasuke silently counted down with his hand. 3-2-1. The pair flung themselves around the corner weapons at the ready. The tattered window curtain flapped back in answer. The pair breathed out easily, the tension leaving their bodies temporarily.

"Man, if one of those bastards doesn't kill me before we get to Konoha, the bloody stress of getting there will."

"Yeah." Sasuke replied stretching his neck to help relieve the stress, "Come on, we need to find that medicine."

"Glad we found the splint and gauze right away," Naruto said patting the bag on his hip, not minding the Uchiha's cold answer. He was used to his antisocial tendencies by now. "Lets see what else we can stock up on while we're at it."

"Might as well." Sasuke agreed, "We don't know if the antibiotics will work, so just to be sure, gather up as much gauze and rubbing alcohol we can find for future injuries."

"Gotcha," Naruto gave the Uchiha a mock salute and a grin. Sasuke smirked back and froze. The smirk slowly disappearing from his face as he swung up his gun.

"Naruto down!" he yelled just as the massive, rotting corpse leaped out of the shadowed doorway.

xxx

Kakashi exited the abandoned gas station with his arms laden with food. This was his third trip into the building picking up supplies. He guessed the people in the neighbourhood were in too much of a hurry to escape the hoard that they didn't stop to grab anything.

'Lucky!' he thought with a smile as he all but skipped to the SUV. A surprise greeted him as he got there. Sakura sat in the open back doorway with her head resting against the frame.

"Yo," She greeted with her eyes still closed.

"Yo," Kakashi replied moving around the vehicle to dump the snack food into the back with the real food and boxes of bottled water.

"Where are the other two? Looting?" Sakura asked the older man.

"Yeah you can say that." he replied, shifting things around so nothing got crushed.

"Where?"

"The hospital, we're low on the basics." Kakashi said.

"By themselves?" Sakura asked opening her eyes.

"Someone had to stay with the sleeping princess." Kakashi told her looking up from his stock pile with a smile. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"I can take care of myself." she muttered.

"So how's your arm?" Kakashi asked with a suspiciously innocent voice. Sakura huffed and closed here eyes again not answering.

"It's a legit question Sakura," Kakashi said, "Your arm opened up again. I need to know."

"It's numb." She told him, "I can't move it." Kakashi frowned and came around from the back. Lifting her arm he peeled back the bandages to take a look.

"Has this happened before?" he asked the girl.

"No," Sakura drawled she frowned and clenched her eyes. "Damn, my head." Kakashi looked up from his examination with a worried look. "It feels like it's about to split open."

"Could be a side effect from the numbing in your arm." Kakashi told her slowly replacing the bandages on her arm. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, besides the obvious.

"Ouch!" Sakura clutched her head as the pain intensified, a terrible throbbing behind her eyes. It got to much to bear and she turned her head away from Kakashi and emptied her stomach, acrid bile burned her throat and mouth.

"We have to get back to the Hospital." Sakura muttered.

"Damn!" Kakashi's sudden outburst made Sakura look up. Her eyes widened and she dived back into the SUV to retrieve her rifle. Kakashi had already drawn his hand gun as they were surrounded by the dead.

"Where the hell did They come from?"

xxx

Adrenalin is often credited with enabling humans to do amazing feats, such as rescuing a human being crushed under a car, or running into a burning building to save those trapped inside. No one, however, mentioned the feeling of complete invulnerability. Sasuke thought this as he dodged the thrown chunk of concrete flying towards his head. Naruto took the opportunity of the monsters distraction to dive behind it and fire two direct shots into the back of its' head. The thing shrieked with the sound of crying dogs. It whipped it's head around, eyes burning red and it hissed at the blond.

"No way," Naruto said weakly, his body froze in the monsters murderous rage. "My bullets don't work?" Sasuke glanced back at his friend as he ran to the monsters blind spot.

"Stay focused idiot!" He yelled at his friend. The monster turned at his voice and swiped at him with a large over muscled arm. He jumped back and felt his back collide with a wall, trapping him.

"Sasuke!" more cracks of gunfire as Naruto emptied his clips into the things back. Sasuke drew his sword and blocked the monsters large hand as it attempted to crush him into the wall. He gritted his teeth and stones ground themselves into his back.

"Get out of here!" He yelled to Naruto.

"What? No way!" He yelled back.

"You don't have any more clips, and only a hunting knife." Sasuke gasped out, his muscles screaming in exertion, "Look. He's more interested in me. Hurry, find the antibiotics! I'l catch up!"

Naruto hesitated unsure of what to do. He knew he'd be useless now that he had no more clips, but...

"Just go!" Sasuke yelled as he felt the wall give a little more behind him.

Naruto clenched his teeth and his nails bit deep into his palm. "Fuck..." he muttered. Frustrated that he couldn't do more. "You better come back alive you bastard!" He yelled and the took off down the hall towards the stair well.

Sasuke grinned, "of course you moron..." the wall finally failed and Sasuke was sent into the dark room beyond, with the monster tumbling after him.

xxx

"Damn it, Damn it, Damn it!" the blond ran down the dedicated hallways of the fifth floor. He heard the wall give below and had to hold himself in check so he wouldn't run back. His footsteps were sharp in the silence of the hospital. On instinct he drew his hunting knife and pivoted as he reached the corner reversing the knife he drove it back handed into the skull of the corpse waiting on the other side of the corner. He yanked it out ignoring the splatter of blood on the wall and his white shirt as he leaped over the falling body and continued to run down the hall. Just as he hard the body hit the ground with a liquid sounding splat he saw a door at the end of the hall, with a grill locked window beside it used to dispense drugs to patients.

"Bingo." he sped up his pace. Reaching the door he grasped the handle, turning to only to find it locked. He gaped at the door nob "Really?" he pinched his nose with a sigh a small tick appears on his forehead. "Screw it." He muttered and kicked the door in smashing it off the wall. Light streamed into the darkened room and a horrible smell smacked him full in the face It was a smell he had come quite accustomed to. The smell of decomposing flesh.

"Awe geeze." He looked away from the sight before him. People, escaping from the Dead had barricaded themselves into the tiny room. Five men and women all huddled together in a too small room. Naruto held a hand over his overly sensitive nose. He could still smell the fear among other putrid scents and sights. Humans did what they could to survive. Even off each other. Poor bastards. He thought stepping over a lady's hand, a charm bracelet still glinted through the blood coating it in the dim light. He tried not to think about what he might be stepping on when his shoes made a soft squishing noise now and then. He stepped over them one by one, ignoring them as best he could.

'Sometimes, being a compassionate guy reeeeeealy sucks.' he thought grimly. He made his way to the wall in the back where the hospital had kept all the drugs they needed. He opened the duffle bag he had brought and began taking bottles off the wall. Painkillers, antibiotics, sleep aids, anything he thought they needed in the days to come. 'Definitely are going to need sleep aids when we get to Konoha.' He figured.

xxx

"Get in the car! Get in the car!" Kakashi yelled. Running around to the drivers side. Sakura stopped her firing to load a fresh clip and nodded quickly, knowing that if she opened her mouth she would throw up. She could barley focus on aiming never mind pulling the trigger, for each shot felt like an ice pick being driven into her skull. She holstered her weapon and reached for the door, before freezing. For a moment she got this sickening feeling in her gut. A cold sweat broke out on her back and forehead and felt her heart beat suddenly become heavy in her chest.

"Sakura!" Kakashi's yell broke her from her reverie and her eyes came back into focus to see a corpse reaching for her neck. She threw herself back from the thing with a yell and kicked out, catching the thing in the chin, snapping it's head back.

"GO!" she yelled. Kakashi complied, throwing the SUV in gear and stomping down on the gas. The vehicle lurched forward, the momentum causing the open door to slam itself shut. Sakura sprawled across the back bench seat and panted. The sick feeling in her gut hadn't gone away, if anything it go worse. It wasn't nausea per say, but it made her feel horrible anyways.

"What the hell happened there?" Kakashi asked her angrily as he sped down the road, keeping ahead of the sudden appearance of the hoard. Why did this keep happening to them?

"I don't know," Sakura gasped. She pulled her self up and leaned forward to grab Kakashi's shoulder. "We have to get back to the hospital." She told him. "somethings wrong." He glanced back at her and took note of her feverish state.

"What do you mean?" he asked the girl. Sakura shook her head resting it on her hand.

"I don't know," She whisper, "I just...know it. Something bad is happening to them. I feel it." Kakashi looked at her for a moment longer before nodding sharply and returning his eyes the road. Sakura fell back to her seat and rested her head on the back rest and covered her eyes with her arm doing her best to keep her stomach from rebelling and screaming in agony. Kakashi glanced back at her, his mind whirring. It wasn't to be unexpected, he reasoned. After being bitten, each one of them had developed interesting abilities in some fashion. Sasuke's Sharingan, Naruto's sense of smell and extreme resilience, his own ability to accurately predict a persons movements. It could be because she was only scratched and not bitten it had taken a much longer time for her ability to develop. To sense her allies position and situation... almost psychic tendencies to locate what they needed and what to avoid. All their abilities stem from some sort of aspect in their lives before this all began. Sasuke's family lineage, Naruto's love of sports and food, Kakashi's training as a sniper...but what was Sakura's source? Kakashi nearly spun out as he took the last corner at full speed, fishtailing violently causing Sakura to cry out.

'Not important,' Kakashi concluded as he screeched to a halt in front of the hospital. Jumping out he grabbed his semi-automatic.

"Third floor..." Sakura breathed. Kakashi stopped and looked back at her.

"What?"

"Sasuke." Sakura said, "He's on the third floor, fighting...something. Naruto is on the fifth floor heading down." Kakashi paused to take this in, marvelling at her newly developed ability.

"Gotcha," He replied and locked the doors before running to the building to help his younger companions.

xxx

After the wall had collapsed, everything was silent. Sasuke had jumped back at the last moment and was now crouched in the corner away from the window. The scar on his neck began to burn, a sign, Sasuke knew, of his family's legacy awakening in him. He was named after his ancestor, the one who last wielded the Sharingan. Made him wonder if just maybe his mother and father knew what they were doing. 'Maybe it was just fate.' he thought venomously as his senses sharpened. His eyesight cleared, his sense of smell picked up the faintest sent, his hearing recognizing the quietest sounds. Even time slowed. His grin widened transforming his face into a mask of malicious enjoyment.

I didn't want them to see...

The large Undead stood slowly, questing it's head side to side, trying to pick up any sound he might make. Sasuke blinked slowly his red eyes glowing dimly in the darkness. He held his katana in font of him. The light filtering in through the ragged drapes slid down the length of the blade, glistening dangerously at the point.

He tensed his legs, shifting his stance, his shoes scratched the rubble strewn floor. The Things head snapped up and Sasuke lunged striking with his katana point first towards the Things heart, thrusting with one hand, the other reached behind him to pull out a throwing knife and hold it reversed in his other hands grip. His blade pieced the monsters shoulder as it dodged left. It jerked it's shoulder back throwing Sasuke off balance and it gipped his blade in it's hand and ripped it out of it's shoulder.

Sasuke let go of the sword before the Thing threw it and him across the room. He watched the sword fly through the air and embed itself in the wall. He ran towards it, throwing his knife at the Thing. The knife made whistling sound, distracting the Thing for the moment he needed to close the space between him and his favourite weapon. But the monster was faster then he previously estimated and at the last moment he had to dodge left, flipping himself away from the monsters powerful fist. With a loud crack the fist went through the concrete floor and stuck there, sending chips of rock and tile flying. A small piece grazed Sasukes face, cutting his cheek bone. Blood dripped down his face making him look as if he was crying.

Sasuke landed on the wall, his hand balancing him and he launched himself off the wall, pushed himself off the monsters back, his hand reaching for his sword. The undead Thing managed to free it's hand, spraying more rock and tile everywhere. Faster than Sasuke realized it was capable of, it grabbed his ankle, and spun throwing the Uchiha across the room. Sasuke's back was going to be one big bruise in the next morning. He pushed himself up from the floor, blood dripping from his face and mouth, provided he lived through this that is... he felt his lips move on their own. Into a form they had never been in for a very, very, long time. He smiled. He smiled wide, lips separating showing his teeth. This was fun... he was having so much fun... he licked his lips, standing on his feet, straightening with his blood red eyes locked onto the monster in front of him. It had seemed to notice him too because it walked forward with short, but sure steps.

Before he could get his bearings Sasuke leaped forwards, his long black coat flowed behind him like wings. He kneed the thing in it's face cutting his knee in the process on the monsters sharp fangs. It's head snapped back from the force of his blow, it's own weight bringing it down, it landed heavily on its back and Sasuke skidded on his knees for five feet, turning as he did. He reached out with his hand, bumping into the wall he closed his hand on the hilt of his Katana, yanking it out of the wall in one pull. Dust added their layer to his clothes and skin. His eyes glowed brighter as he stood. His body was numb to the pain, but he knew he couldn't last much longer. He had taken too much damage before this fight even began and Sharingan still took a bit out of him. Not as much as it used to but still quite a bit. He needed to finish this now.

'Ah well,' his mind thought absently, 'it was fun while it lasted.' he spun the sword lazily in a circle. Gathering his strength. His neck was the only part of him in pain. The scar his brother gave him ached ferociously making his blood burn. He eyed his opponent. It's neck was as thick as a tree trunk. It would take real effort to cut through it in one strike. Than he stopped, and thought. The skin, and muscle, is thinest at the back of the neck...where the spine was. Oh yes.

He didn't even wait, didn't stop to think of how he would do this. He just went. Completely unlike himself, he lost himself in the joy of the kill. He ran to It's right side and stopped suddenly placing his sword in a drawing position by his hip, he brought it out quickly across his body, the momentum bringing him with the blade, adding more power and slammed the blade into the back of the monsters neck, severing the bone and nerves within. In that instant, the corpse froze in mid-reaction. It's arm caught him around his waist, claws digging into his left side. Blood sprayed, from both It and him.

With effort Sasuke pulled his blade free, and cut the hand off the corpses hand off it's wrist. Allowing it to fall with the rest of it's body. Carefully extract the claws from his side. He yanked it out the last inch and bit his already bleeding lip to keep from making a sound. Damn he hurt. The pains and aches were beginning to catch up to him. He felt a bubbling in his stomach, it traveled up to his mouth and he began to laugh. He laugh loud and free, letting out all the tension of the fight, of his life, of things he didn't understand, and just for the sheer joy of victory.

"Sasuke..." The quiet voice, Brought Sasuke back to reality he stopped laughing and looked over to the opening he had made in the wall. Kakashi stood there, his gun hanging on his shoulder. The mans shocked expression showed something Sasuke didn't want to see on anyones face.

...how much I enjoyed this terrible world.

End of Chapter