Once the trees cleared we came up to the back of a red bricked building. On the other side seemed to be a black rusty gate that looked like it hadn't been used in years. I gulped at the sight of the one little light post nailed to the side of the bloody wall. Running my freezing fingertips along the thick iron bars I sighed to myself. This is not my day.

Miley huffed in frustration and grabbed the freezing handle. I gave her shoulder a tap when she began to pry the door open pointing down to the lock on the handle. She smiled nervously and took a step back. "I knew that."

Timmy rolled his eyes, "Yeah, of course you did detective..." He walked up to the door and grabbed a small silver wire off the ground. The lock let out clicks as he tried to pick it open. After a while he through the wire down and tugged on the lock. It wouldn't budge.

Miley sighed, "Now what?"

My eyes caught sight of a dumpster down the small clearing that sat quietly against the wall. Timmy looked at me with the same idea. We hustled over to find something heavy, hoping to smash the lock apart. Miley came over to watch, of course, and covered her nose at the stench. Timmy looked over at her with a glare.

"Aren't you going to help?"

She looked at him like he was crazy and laughed hysterically. "Me? No thank you."

"Oh, come on," I blinked away the tears, "Miley, it's not that ba-"

"No."

"Fine," Timmy said meeting her strained eyes, "go keep watch."

She looked into the dark woods and faced away from us. Her foot began to pat on the soft dirt making me giggle. She's seriously scared!

Enjoying the momentous occasion I watched for a couple more seconds before going back to searching with Timmy. He had found a pole and set it to the side. Eventually, I had to jump into it and dig around more towards the back. A dumpster really did sound like a good idea at first, but now that I'm in the big middle of it...not so much anymore. Timmy froze and fear filled his eyes.

"Did you hear that?" He asked, and I rolled my eyes.

"Timmy, this is no time for an episode of Let's go Hunti-"

"Sh! There it was again."

A moan came from around the corner another building down, sending chills down my sides. Timmy muttered something under his breath and grabbed the pole off the ground. My eyes grew wide. Another moan came as a shadow finally appeared, stretching far ahead of the body. Easing myself out of the trash I heading towards Miley.

"Miley," I whispered, "I need you to search the dumpster for me."

"What?" She halfway yelled, taking a step back. "Ah hell no! I am not getting my arms dirty while Timmy goes and plays a game of cops and robb-"

"Do it for me then." I pleaded, "Please?"

She clenched her fist and looked away, trying to resist. "Fine."

I smiled, "Okay thanks! Now I will lift you in there while-"

"I HAVE TO GET IN THE TRASH?" She exclaimed, I nodded then tossed her in. She toppled over the side and disappeared under the mass of dirt. I looked under the trash bin and grabber a lighter pole.

Running over to Timmy, I watched him get ready to make a home run. I listened as the moan doubled in sound and more shadows started to appear. Miley's voice came above them as she began to complain and curse about being seen trash digging. "Miley, shut up and be quiet!"

"Well, it's me whose in the trash!" She yelled, digging in the area around her. Timmy jumped, my voice startling him.

"Shaylin, what are you doing here?" He asked. I shrugged. "Giving you a hand."

"But you can't help. Go help Miley...by the looks of it she could really use some help right now." He nudged me over towards the dumpster.

"I think I can handle something as simple as this."

"But you've never hit something before, let alone a person. Just trust me on this-"

Behind him a zombie jumped out and knocked him to the ground. His pole went flying and rolled down the ally. I took a swing at the zombie but missed, hitting the hard brick wall instead. The pole vibrated sending loud bang through the alleyway. Timmy covered his ears while Miley groaned, "What just happened-"

She saw the zombie and screamed. I watched her leap out of the dumpster and loose her balance. The zombie grabbed my shoulders from behind as Miley hit the ground. I threw my leg up and kicked it's stomach sending it stumbling back into the wall while Timmy came back with the pole. He struck at the face getting it in the head. It's neck cracked and the monster began to stumble around, almost dead from the blow. I took the chance.

My eyes narrowed at the zombie and I sent my foot flying into its side. We both hit the wall then I took my pole from the ground and beat it repeatedly. I tried my best to aim for its face, and when blood began to run I knew it was working. A loud crack erupted from its neck and it collapsed to the floor.

"Shay, look out!"

Several more came lurching around the corner towards us. They all moaned in the same tone looking for something to naw on. I looked at the three and took a deep breath. This is going to get iffy... I took my right leg and kicked ones knee, forcing it backwards with all my might. It bent backwards in a loud snap and he fell to the ground letting the others fall over him. His leg broken. The bone stuck out several inches exposing the internal muscles. I held back the urge to gag.

I walked up to the zombie and jammed my pole into its head. The skull was tougher and way harder to penetrate then the movies described. I jumped up and let my weight come down sending the end through it's skull. The bone crushed underneath and the face afterwards looked completely caved in. One grabbed my leg and pulled me to the ground.

Timmy gasped and took my hand. Quickly pulling me away he fought them off so I could catch my balance. Taking my pole out of the zombies head he charged at the other two and knocked them onto the ground. I kicked the girl's head repeatedly till I heard a crack, then watched as Timmy finished off the last one.

After the fight was over, he walked over and whipped the blood from my arm. I was breathing heavily, my head pounding like a timpani. Miley sighed in relief as he took the pole and beat the lock until it finally broke open. I wiped the hair out of my gate swung open and the stretched out alley laid out before us. Miley glanced back.

"Do you think they're all gone?" She asked.

"Well, the entire city is in pieces and everyone else is dead walking the streets. I'd say there's bound to be more anytime soon." Timmy said, being the first one to enter the ally.

I quickly walked on ahead, ready to get out of there. The thought of everyone in the city being out to get us scarred the hell out of me. "What makes you think tha-"

Flames fell from the sky above me and a loud rip echoed in my ears. I looked for the safest way and tried to see where we were. The light blinded me. I stumbled around trying to see past the raging smoke. A rough force hit me and knocked me to the ground and my face and hands began to sting.

"Shaylin, you've got to be more careful! Think before you act." Timmy said, dusting himself off. Miley rushed over and pulled me up. She began to check me for injuries and I pushed her hands away.

"Stop that."

Timmy rolled his eyes, "Your welcome." and walked over to the red car across the street. We followed closely behind him, me rubbing my scratched hands. Miley was walking behind me and every time I looked back she would glance around checking for zombies. There was a loud thud and she had tripped and fallen. I looked back and saw a body under her. The girl was about eighteen, kind of short, and had probably been dead for only minutes.

Miley looked down and screamed. Jumping back she crawled away, eyes tearing up. I helped her up as she practically screamed again paranoid. Timmy pulled us behind the car she hid beside me clutching my clothes, not once taking her eyes off the girl.

"Miley, are you okay?" I asked, then turned her face towards mine. "Are you okay?"

"Did it bite you?"

She slowly shook her head and the grip on my clothes lightened. Her hands were shaking as she looked again at the body. "So much blood...so many lives lost..."

"Answer us, Miley!" I shouted. She looked up at me and nodded, then let go.

"I'm fine." She said, then darted her eyes down the road. A car engine roared loudly as it pulled up.

We ducked lower behind the car, the headlights passing by as it came to a stop. When the guy stepped out I gasped and Miley's mouth fell open. The young man looked down at the girls body and bent down to get a closer look. He was mumbling something to himself, nothing I could hear, and Timmy sighed. Shadows began to move from the allies towards the man, and he didn't seem to notice a thing.

"He's dead."

"He's toast."

"He's...cute."

Timmy and I looked at Miley who just shrugged. I rolled my eyes and watched a zombie emerge from the building beside us. It began to walk towards him. Miley gasped, and I got ready to scream. Timmy grabbed her hands and covered my mouth. "Shh."

The cop turned around and aimed at the zombie, after shooting several times more came out. Confused he shot again, but not high enough to kill them. The girl underneath reached over and grabbed his shoe scrambling for a bite. He shook her off and backed up into an ally with the zombies following him. Timmy pulled us up and led us in the other direction, "Let's go."

"But he could get hurt." Miley protested, looking back where he had left. Timmy sighed,

"Better him than us."

I held my hands up, "Whoa, wait a minute. You think it's okay to follow strange girls through a cemetery, but sentencing a man to death because it's not Jill Valentine is okay?"

He shook his head, "I'm not sentencing him to death, he looked like he could hold his own."

"Well we can't! Face it Timmy, we're alone, cold, and defenseless. I can fight, but not good enough to hold off an army." I said crossing my arms. Timmy's eyes met mine, "We are leaving. Our priority right now is to get somewhere safe."

Miley walked over and told me to forget it, then followed Timmy. She didn't even know where he was going, but on the other hand, neither did I.

The door clamped shut the second we forced it closed, trying to put a good barrier between the zombies and us. We had just ran down Main Street with a whole section of the cities undead following behind. We were in a garage shop. A car repair shop. I rested on one cars hood while Timmy checked the place out. The banging against the door stopped, and Miley peaked out the window.

"They're leaving..."

Timmy gave the thumbs up and began searching the toolboxes. I shivered. The temperature seemed to be dropping like rain, making the situation even worse. He picked up a wrench and started testing different ways to use it. Miley walked over to the other side and we switched places. I needed to find me something to fight with too.

Most boxes were empty or filled with tons of screws and bolts. The owner was definitely unorganized. So I opened drawers all around for something useful. When I opened the last one on the bottom left, something shined beneath the wires. Shoving them to the side, I reached in and pulled out a handgun.

Taking it in my hand, I studied it. When it seemed to be the real deal I practiced aiming with it. Miley looked and she came over to see it as well. She looked at it with wide eyes and we both stared. I had never held a gun before. It seemed to send chills through me with its touch. Timmy's eyes shot over to us and his eyes widened. He took it out of my hands and twirled it around.

"I'll use this." He said, then checked it for bullets. "It's just like the one that cop had."

I rolled my eyes, "You mean Jill's?"

"You're still on that?"

I snorted, "I believe it was me that found it."

"Yeah but I can use one."

Miley threw her hands up, "Fine by me." I leaned against the wall, "What makes you think I can't use a gun?"

He smiled at us, "Because I am a guy who can protect myself, you guys can't."

"Well, what makes you think I can't fight? I did just take down a zombie back there."

"With my help."

"After you fell to the ground." I pointed out, he narrowed his eyes, "Well I am stronger."

"What makes-"

"Timmy, look out!" Miley screamed. Our gazes shot over to the zombie on the ground, reaching out for him. Timmy stumbled back and fell on the wood floor, and the gun in his had went flying towards me. I looked at Miley with alarm. "Come on, we've got to get it off-"

"B-but I can't fight!" She stammered, my mouth gaped at her. "But you fight all the time at school!"

"Those were just threats, I can't really-"

"DAMMIT MILEY!" I grabbed the gun and rushed over to Timmy, the zombie wrestling over him. Lifting the black stained metal gun up I pulled the trigger and the bullet went flying into the monsters side. It took to the ground and immediately charged our way again. Timmy blinked once and I shot again getting the thing right between the eyes. He laid there in shock as blood splattered on the side of his face. I sighed in relief.

Something grabbed my shoulder and pushed me forward, sending me to the ground beside Timmy. Unlike him, I held onto the gun for dear life and shot it in the chest shortly after. The zombie stumbled back then continued to walk towards me. Think, Shaylin, think! I jumped up till I reached the pole above me and grabbed it tight. The monster collapsed onto Timmy after a kick in the neck... dead for real this time.

I pulled Timmy out from under the zombie and had him sit on the hood of the car. He was shaking just like Miley had earlier, and there was no Jill Valentine around to distract him. Taking the gun I handed it to him and walked towards Miley, who was also shaking. "I am so sorry, I didn't know what to do!" I patted her on the shoulder and tried to clam her down. "It's okay... the thing is dead now."

Timmy sighed and began to calm down. Miley came over and sat by him while I walked over to another shelf, hoping to find another gun. He sighed again and swallowed. "Shaylin, how did you do that?"

I shrugged, "My mom taught me."

He glared over at me, "She did? How?"

"My father used to take street fighting lessons, when he disappeared mom showed me the moves he had taught her. So I could defend myself...I guess."

"That's so cool!" Miley exclaimed patting me on the shoulder. "Why didn't you tell us?"
Timmy narrowed his eyes at me, "Yeah, why didn't you tell us?"

I folded my arms, "Maybe because I didn't think I would ever haft to fight again?" He leaned back and shrugged. "Well, it doesn't surprise me any, with your family working for Umbrella and all."

"Well, it doesn't surprise me how it was that your dad that was killed. He was the only person who knew any other way through the gate."

Timmy gave me a glare. "What are you implying?"

"What are you implying?" I asked, my voice rising.

"I'm saying that you dear old mother works for the bad guys!"

"You don't know that! Besides, it was your dad that designed the gate. They probably planned this with him the entire time."

He jumped up, "My dad would never help kill thousands of people!"

"Neither would my parents!"

"I never said anything about your dad, but now that you mention it-"

"Good God, Timmy, shut the hell up! You're always marching around trying to be the hero and save everyone in sight. When will you realize that I don't need your protection? What am I, huh, your pet?" I asked, face boiling red.

He laughed, "Like you know about self defense? Face it, Shay, you need help."

"The hell I do! You've been yelling at me about "being careful" for years!"

He through his gun down and it went off, sending a bullet right behind Miley's turned head and into the wood ceiling.

"See!"

"See what?" He asked crossing his arms.

I frowned. "That bullet almost hit Miley! You don't think things through and have no self control."

"Like you do?"

I rolled my eyes with a laugh, "I could kick you ass that's for sure. And believe me it's looking like a good idea right now."

"I wasn't raised by someone who made a human killing virus!"

"Your still on that."

"My sister died the minute we arrived, and she was still breathing when we left." He said, then glared at me. "Maybe killing just runs in the family for some people."

"Your blaming... me... for killing... your sister." A tear rolled down my cheek. "HOW DOES THAT MAKE ANY FUCKING SENSE AT ALL?"

"What caused you to change so quickly?" He asked in disbelief. I stomped my foot. "My mom not being there for me did. You and Miley's over-protectiveness did! And I've been trying to hold it in, but I just can't anymore...it's driving me crazy!"

He sat back down and looked away, "Ditto...everything would've been better if this had never have happened."

"Well, I'll keep it from getting any worse."

"What!" Miley exclaimed, stepping into the argument.

Timmy's eyes met mine, "What do you mean?"

I nodded. "I'm going to fix the dilemma. I'm leaving." Walking to a box, I dumped the contents onto the floor and picked up a knife that was at the bottom. All that filled the room as I silently walked towards the back door were my footsteps. They were stunned speechless.

Shoving it open I walked into the cold night, the breeze blowing around me. Miley took my arm.

"Shaylin, wait!" She pleaded, I met her eyes.

"What."

"He didn't mean it, I swear Shay-" She stopped after she said my nickname, the one my dad had given me and my mom later on called me after he left. "Just, just give him time to cool."

I sighed, "I appreciate the advice Miley...but look at him." We watched as Timmy picked up his gun and sat back on top of the car without looking our way or saying a word. "If he really wanted me to stay he would've stopped me." She breathed in to say something, but after thinking about it she let it out in a sigh. "Exactly. See you down the road."

Turning around, I began to walk away while Miley stood there under the streetlight silently. She took my arm again, "Please, give him time."

I shook my aching head and the small light above us went out. Taking this chance I pushed her away and my footsteps quickened as I felt Timmy's eyes shoot this way. Miley began to call my name. I scurried around the corner out of sight and when her voice stopped I let out a shaky sigh. This was it, no turning back. The dimly lit street laid out before me as I walked away quiet and alone.