July 2nd, 15:30; Small cabin in the woods, border between Nevada and California.
Cody looked down at the girl, who was starting to choke and foam at the mouth. The final stages. He sighed. It really wasn't fair, but then again...none of this was. "Levi, she's turning." He called over his shoulder, completely calm. Kyle gave him a sad look, while Farlan was screaming at Cody that 'she wasn't turning!'
Levi took a deep breath and slowly started to walk towards his friend. He sat down, with the gun in his hand. "Izzy, can you hear me?" He asked. She turned her head to him, nodding her head. She was crying. "Does it hurt?"
She nodded.
"I want you too know, that I always loved you like a little sister. Forgive me for this, okay Izzy. Because I'm doing what's best." He aimed the gun. He didn't give her the time to process what was happening before he pulled the trigger. There was a bang, then blood and brain matter splattered all over the couch and floor.
Farlan was screaming, sobbing, pounding his fist against the wall. Levi was crying, but mourning in a far more subdued way. He looked to his other friend. "Do you hate me?" He asked.
"No...no, of course not Levi." The two grown men hugged and cried over the body of their friend.
"We need..." Kyle looked at them nervously. "We need to dispose of the body, and all the blood. I'm not sure...but it's possible that the disease can spread through all body fluids of the dead."
Levi wiped his eyes and nodded. "Go get me some sheets. I'll do it."
"Mr. Levi, you really don't have to-"
He cut Kyle off. "I'm going to finish this kid. Go get me some sheets, rubbed gloves, a bucket, and a few cleaning rags."
"Alright. Just wait here."
July 2nd, 2015; 15:59. Walking down the 395 highway.
"Where are we even going Smith?" Hanji asked, brushing their long hair out of their eyes. They were sweating buckets, clutching their folders.
"A...gas station?" Erwin suggested, sweating just as much. He looked around him, but saw nothing. A few tricks of light made it seem like there was water not too far away. "We just have to keep moving." He told them, trying to help them walk. He and Mike were used to this, being in the military, they had been in heat far worse. But Hanji worked in a cool lab without having to do much strenuous work, so they would be half way to collapsing by then. He was worried about them getting too dehydrated and passing out. "Come on Hanji, we'll find something. Just keep going, one foot in front of the other."
They nodded, stumbling forward, trying to keep on their feet.
"Yeah, just like that Hanji, you're doing great."
July 2nd, 2015; 17:04. Somewhere in Northern Californian.
Mikasa frowned, turning the key in the ignition. It wouldn't turn over. She groaned, and hit her hand against her face a few times.
"What's wrong Mikasa?" Armin asked, looking at her with worry. He gently grabbed her wrist, to keep her from hitting herself again.
"The car won't start." She told him.
"O-oh...well, I'm sure if we find jumper cables or-"
"No Armin, it's not the battery." She groaned. "Look, just go wake up Eren, we don't have any other choice but to look for a new car." Mikasa got out, and started to look through the many stopped cars in the middle of the road. She looked in the windows, hoping that at least one of them had keys still in them.
She wrapped her scarf tighter around her neck, trying to calm herself down. This was all really starting to get ridicules. Dead people all over the place, looters, she was sure that all over the country people were looting and murdering one another. She considered herself lucky. Her and her group had only run into three of those things. But she was ready at any second, for a large group of them to come out of nowhere.
It's a good thing she was.
"Mikasa!" She heard Eren scream. Armin was screaming too, swinging the rake he had brought with him.
July 2nd, 2015; 17:19. Parked on the 395 highway.
Jean was filling up the car while the others were asleep in the car. It wasn't very late, only about five in the afternoon, but after a long day of avoiding zombis, of fighting zombies, and driving nowhere for hours, everyone was a little out of it. Jean rubbed his eyes tiredly. In a few hours, her was going to make Marco drive, so he could sleep.
He grabbed a granola bar from the trunk and ate it in a few bites. He cursed when he saw four of those things slowly making their way towards him. One of them seemed to sniff the air, let out a growl, then charged. "Fuck!" He yelled, grabbing the gun from the back and aiming it. He shot, the thing fell over, but didn't stop moving. It twitched on the ground, unable to stand back up.
Jean crawled back into the car. Marco and the kids had been woken up by the sound of the gun. Jean turned the car on, then hit the gas, leaving the monsters behind him.
"W-what's going on?" Sasha asked, her face pale, as she gripped onto Connie.
"Just a few of them, don't worry about it, we're safe now." Jean assured her. He started to drive slower, not wanting to get in a crash.
"Jean?" Marco asked suddenly, pointing out the window. "What's that?" He pointed at three people who were hobbling down the highway. One was grabbing onto the really buff one for dear life.
Jean pulled up closer to them. "Uh...you guys need some help?" He asked, getting ready to slam on the gas if they tried to rob the teens.
The one holding up the tan woman nodded his head. "Yes...yes some help would be very appreciated."
Jean nodded. "Sasha, Connie, sit in the back."
July 2nd, 2015; 17:09. Somewhere in Northern Californian.
"Mikasa!" Eren screamed, swinging his bat down on the head of a child who was trying to claw off his face. "There are too many!" One rushed him again it grabbed his bat, and tried to take it out of his hands, while it snapped its jaws.
Armin came up behind it and hit it a few times until he cracked its skull.
"Run!" She told them. "Just run!" She grabbed the two boys and started to sprint down the road. Many of the monsters started to fallow after them. But it was easier to deal with ten then it was to kill twenty. Mikasa swung and hit anything she could, sometimes only being able to knock them off their feet. The strange thing was, when they fell on their backs, they didn't seem able to get up again.
Eren hit one that was creeping up on her from behind. "Shit, Mikasa, what are we going to do without a car?" He asked, as they continued to run down the highway.
"We'll find one...don't worry." She promised, but secretly, she was wondering the same thing, but it wouldn't do anyone any good if everyone was panicking.
July 2nd, 2015; 16:50. Walking down the 395 highway.
Mike and Hanji looked a exhausted. In the end, he had to carry Hanji, but he needed to keep going. If he stopped, then he wasn't sure he'd be able to start again.
While they walked, there was the odd strangler that would try and attack, but either he or Mike would shoot it. The only place that seemed to be a instantiate kill was their heads. Anywhere else they would keep going, keep getting up, unless they landed on their backs.
He pushed on, preying that they might find somewhere soon, or Hanji would die. They needed water, and soon.
"Hanji?" Mike asked them, shaking them awake. "Hanji, you need to keep your eyes open, do you understand?"
They nodded, but leaned their head against Erwin's arm. "Yeah..."
"Good, just keep talking." Mike told them. "How about you tell us, why you think this virus is spreading so quickly. It was observed back at base camp that it took seven to ten hours for the infection to take over the host."
"The...water." The whispered. "The water, if a million people drank water at the same time, they'd all become infected, then they'd bite people, and those people would change the normal way. It's just a theory but...it seems more likely then not."
"Yeah, how do you think they got the virus in the water?"
"A bribe...maybe? The virus would have to be something that can live in water. Seeing as how not everyone is one of those creatures, I'm going to guess that this virus isn't airborne."
"That's good...at the very least." Erwin put in his two cents. "So, there's some hope then."
"Yeah..." They said, then slumped against Erwin, passing out.
"Shit!" Erwin cursed. "Hanji, fuck, wake up!"
"They're dehydrated." Mike said.
"I can see that, thank you Mike." Erwin lifted Hanji off the ground, and held them upright. He looked up when he heard gunfire, and what sounded like a kid screaming.
"Fuck, we need to get out of here, now." Mike told Erwin.
"But-"
Erwin was cut off, as the sound of an engine started to slow. An older car stopped near them, and four teenagers looked at them, ready to jump away at the first sign of trouble.
One of the older teens, the one behind the wheel looked at the three of them, taking in Hanji's passed out form. "Uh...you guys need some help?"
Erwin nodded his head rapidly. "Yes...yes some help would be very appreciated."
"Sasha, Connie, sit in the back." The teen ordered the two.
The two jumped into the trunk where there were three other seats. They stacked some stuff, then grabbed a few water bottles.
"We have room for one more back here." The girl said, handing Erwin a bottle of water. "The really tall one can sit with us, and then you make sure that she drinks some water. If you're hungry we have food...we robbed a gas station."
"We didn't rob them." The one behind the wheal said. "They were all..." He cut himself off, and looked down at his lap.
Mike climbed in the back, sitting next to the boy with a shaved head. "Thank you...for stopping." The solider said. He helped prop Hanji up and put the bottle to their lips. They quickly grabbed it and drank it within seconds.
"Whoa there Speedy, slow down, you'll get a stomach ache." The bald kid said, handing Hanji another bottle of water. He fished out a few more and gave them to Erwin.
"So...who are you guys?" Marco asked, turning around in his seat.
"My name is Commander Erwin Smith of the United States Military." He pointed to the other man. "This is Lieutenant Commander Mike Zacarius." Then to Hanji. "And Professor Hanji Zoe. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Wow, fancy. What's the military doing poking around anyways?"
"Really Marco? You expect thousands of undead people to just pop out of the ground and for the government to do nothing about it." Sasha said, clearly teasing him.
"Ah, heh. Yeah, I guess you're right."
"I'm stopping for the night." Jean said, pulling over into an abandoned parking lot. "We'll take watch, Connie and Sasha, you two go first." He handed Connie his shot gun. "Then we'll take you three wherever you need to go."
"Oh, thank you." Erwin said.
"Where are you going anyways?" Marco asked.
"Uh, we were going to a research center in Nevada." Hanji answered, having their first coherent words for the time since meeting the kids.
"No kidding?" Jean asked. "We were heading that way, we were thinking that it might be safer in the mountains. I guess we can go a little further to drop you off."
"That's very kind of you." Mike said, before he leaned over and sniffed Connie. The teen looked a little horrified. Mike smiled, nodding his head decisively.