Necropolis

Day 1. 7:15pm. Kevin.

Gotta love that girl's spunk. Joanna stood beside me, shotgun at the ready. For a second I thought of taking it from her, because in all likelihood I could put it to better use, but I let her hold onto it.

...Almost.

"Jo, lemme see that thing real fast," I muttered, holding out my free hand. I held out my pistol to her in trade, almost as collateral. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, hesitating a moment, then handed it to me. She tentatively took the Springfield by the handle and hefted it. Immediately I pumped the slide on the shotgun, ejecting the shells one at a time. I pulled each of them from the air with practiced ease until the gun clicked empty. Six shots. I slipped each shell back into the under-barrel and worked the slide once more, chambering a round. Handing the shotgun back to Jo, I left my hand extended and she slipped the pistol back into my grasp, the tip of her finger brushing my palm--accidentally, I'm sure. "Remind me to show you how to clean that thing after this is over. You have six shells. Count them as you fire, and aim carefully. It may be a shotgun, but if you get careless and shoot me in the ass, you're never getting a date with me."

She nodded and smiled briefly, but then she was all business again. She raised the shotgun to her shoulder, then looked to me for the word.

"Okay, open her up," I said. She reached out, using the crook of her off-arm to steady the barrel of the shotgun--good instinct--and turned the handle on the door. With a small creak in the relatively silent store, the door swung open. Instantly I was sighting down the Springfield's barrel to acquire targets. There were none.

"Shit, sonofabitch," I hissed. The floor was speckled with blood, and the speckles turned into a trail and rounded a corner. All the office doors in the hall we could see were closed. We still tried each one before moving on. Distinctly I was aware that the adrenaline pumping through my bloodstream had killed the pain in my knee.

When we came to the corner, I held a hand out behind me to stop Jo. I looked back at her and mouthed wait, then raised a finger to my lips. As quickly as I could manage on my bum knee, I swung around the corner and raised my pistol. I almost swore aloud, but kept my composure. The door at the end of the office was ajar, and blood pooled out from under it.

Day 1. 7:17pm. Joanna.

Jo kept her shotgun up, every sense on fire. She just wished she could hear past the heartbeat pounding in her ears. She was glad Elaina had decided to follow Bernard in the end -- it meant less distraction for her and one less person to worry about.

Still, when Kevin disappeared around the corner, she held her breath. No shots were fired... That had to be a good thing, right? She glanced back quickly to make sure it was still clear. The blood on the floor unnerved her.

Kevin's hand appeared from the corner and waved her forward. Jo quickly turned the corner, keeping close to the wall. The sight of so much blood -- so much blood! -- forced her to close her eyes and swallow the bitter taste that had risen into her mouth. They had to keep going... They had to. She opened her eyes and saw that Kevin had advanced slowly. After checking behind her once again, she caught up to him, keeping the gun focused on the door.

He gave her the signal to wait again, then slowly approached the door. He paused for a second before swiftly kicking the door open, grunting at the stress put on his knee. "Sonofabitch," he swore.

Immediately, Jo saw it wasn't just out of pain.

Blood was smeared across the floor of the office, and things were scattered as if there had been a fight. But that wasn't what caused Kevin to swear. No, what had caused him to swear was the fact that at least thirty zombies now inhabited the room, and they were feasting. As Jo watched, a corpse in office attire began stirring, his face thoroughly eaten out, and he slowly climbed to his feet. He -- or it, rather -- looked straight at her.

"Oh fuck, Kevin... Oh God..." Jo froze up, looking at all the corpses. She realized in horror she recognized two of the bodies, or rather the clothes, as the bodies were currently being ripped apart. Angela and Tazin... Oh God...

"Back up."

Kevin's voice barely registered in her mind. She didn't move.

He turned around and locked eyes with her. "Back the fuck up, Joanna."

Nodding quickly with a whimper, she backed up a step. Apparently it wasn't enough, as Kevin quickly shoved her back a couple feet, room enough for him to create decent space between them and the doorway. He turned to face the zombies again.

Jo's eyes widened when he pushed her. "Don't fucking --" But instead of finishing her sentence, she took a breath -- something she realized she hadn't been doing -- and with still-shaking hands, she put the shotgun back up to her shoulder. "I hope you have a plan," she hissed.

"Get to that corner and crouch down. Aim high, but don't fire till I tell you to. There's a lot of these fuckers -- every shot counts," he whispered quickly.

She did as he told her, but couldn't help thinking, There's no fucking way this can end well. Not nearly enough fucking ammo. Her thoughts ceased when she saw his body tighten as he got ready to fire.

Day 1. 7:23pm. Bernard.

"It's not the end of the world."

That Spanish voice. Elaina. Bernard turned away from Anne to greet her, but the words must have taken too long to reach his lips. She blushed slightly and hurried to explain herself.

"Kev and Jo didn't want me there. I couldn't have helped them, even if I was the world's best zombie killer." She didn't appear to be unhappy, but more like she was accepting something that she already knew.

"Well," Bernard smiled and threw her a bandage, "you can help me."

Jamie watched the exchange with a look of detached confusion. He kept glancing at Anne and edging forwards to help. Bernard had told Jamie to stay back and let him work, but it was hard to resist the temptation to do something. And now, Elaina had turned up.

"I don't mean to be rude," he began, stepping closer to Bernard and Elaina who were both kneeling beside Anne, "but is there nothing that I can be doing right now?"

Bernard winced inwardly and bit his lip. How thoughtless, the voice of Dr Steinman chastised him in his head. He thought quickly.

"Actually, yes," he faced him, and noted the look of relief on Jamie's face at the words, "I'll need some warm water. Make sure it's clean and don't bring me anything too hot. Can you do that for me?"

"Of course." He nodded, and then ran off to search for water. His immediate action seemed to fill him with resolve, but he hadn't asked where he could find any hot water...

Elaina raised an eyebrow at him. "What sort of bull-shit was that?"

Bernard grinned. "The type that removes unwanted people. We'll use the antiseptic wipes to clean the wound now. Can you get them? They're in the front pocket of the bag."

She pulled the medical pack towards her and rifled through the front pocket. After a moment, she withdrew two packs of the cloths.

"These?"

"Yep!"

They were silent as they worked, but Elaina broke it first. "It's really not the end of the world."

"How can you be so sure?" Bernard replied, images of Bethany rising unbidden into his mind. He closed his eyes, and tried to dispel them, but he found they would only leave when he opened his eyes again. When he did, Elaina was looking at him curiously.

"Because," she finished, "because if it was the end of the world, we wouldn't be doing this."

Bernard stared at her, at the simplicity of her words, but the enormity of their meaning. "Yes," he said, "I think you're right."

Day 1. 7:28. Katalyn.

I hovered near the tents, wondering where everyone had disappeared to. The faint echoes of voices were like ghosts in my ears. I closed my eyes and felt the air around me. How it vibrated with life, the particles rising and falling, reacting to every motion I made. I stood still and listened. The faint hum of activity. The soft swish of something up ahead. Palm trees perhaps.

Then I peeled my lids back and stared up, searching for the source. My neck prickled with that feeling of being watched and my heart began to pound as I heard footsteps and -

"Do you know where I can get warm water?" Jamie asked. I snapped my neck back and stared at him, trying to shake the trembles that ran across my back.

"Well there's..." I paused to breathe deeply. "There's some cooking equipment up here so I suppose we could warm some through."

"Thanks."

Day 1, 7:20pm, Keri


Keri walked slowly around the store, she had to find Kevin and Jo. They had disappeared a little before and she was getting worried. Bernard had said something about finding two other missing people, but she was worried they ran into trouble. She slowly made her way back towards the offices to see if they were there. She had left a note with one of the other girls to give to Dave if he showed up while she was gone telling him to stay put, it was in a sealed envelope and hopefully he wouldn't need to get it.
She slowly walked into the offices and swallowed hard trying to ignore the stench. She heard voices and she hurried towards them when she heard a gun go off. She picked up her pace pulling her gun out. Jo and Kevin were fending off a hoard of zombies at least thirty strong. Kevin had shot one where the bullet ripped through two of their spines.
Keri aimed the gun and shot out another's spine, "Need any help?" She asked watching the group of zombies carefully. She didn't hear Kevin's response as she put a bullet into another zombie coming their way.
"How much ammo do you have?" Kevin demanded,
"About twenty rounds, no more then that." She replied shooting another zombie after leveling her gun.
They slowly brought the number down as the zombies charged. She swallowed back any fear that dared rise up in her, this wasn't the time to be afraid. She loaded her last bullet in her gun and looked at Jo and Kevin, they looked to have enough to finish off the rest with their ammo sense her's was gone.
She leveled to gun one more time, aiming carefully, every shot counted and this one was going to do a zombie some serious damage. The zombie got closer to her and she pulled the trigger. It feel inches away from her, the shot had barely missed the spinal cord. It crawled toward her, and she jumped back running into a wall. "Little help here." She hissed, but it was to late, the zombie grabbed her leg as she swung her fist making contact with it's head. She bit back a scream as it bit hard onto her leg. "Jo, I know you don't like me very much." She yelled tearing the zombie's head off it's shoulder, "So to make sure I don't turn into one of those things, finish me off, will ya. At least one of you, please." Shear pain was pulsing through Keri's leg as she shoved the zombie away. She looked at another that was getting closer to her. She tossed Kevin her gun and stood up running at the zombie pounding it's face in with her fists, she was going to die fighting.

Day 1. 7:33pm. Jamie.

"Thanks," Jamie said. "I'm getting it for my friend. Bernard says it can't be too hot."

"Okay," Katalyn said and smiled at him. "Do you know how to heat it yourself?"

Jamie bit his lip. "Well, depends how we have to heat it." He considered how many things he didn't know how to do, and winced.

"It's all right," Katalyn said. "I'll go do it now. I shouldn't be too long, okay?"

"Okay," Jamie said. "I'd probably just get in your way anyway.

Katalyn didn't meet his eyes. She turned and moved away into the distance. Jamie sat down beside a tent, and began to consider Bernard's words.

It's not like it's the end of the world...

If it wasn't, though, then it was the end of his world. Everything that he had known was gone by now, and he would never get it back. Life as he had known it only days ago was out of reach.

How could he say that it wasn't the end of the world, when there were things outside that wanted to tear him apart? He had seen his room try to eat him. No matter how he thought, it didn't seem as though there was any way out of his situation alive. He was going to Hell.

Costco is Hell, he thought.

A small groan escaped him. "Are you all right?" Katalyn asked, returning with a pot of steaming water.

"Yeah," Jamie said, his voice little more than a whisper. "I was just . . . thinking."

"Not a good idea," she said.

"Huh?"

"Thinking. Try not to do it. It's not going to help you now."

"I know. Can't help it, though. Well, I'd better get the water back to Anne. Oh," he said when he saw Katalyn raise an eyebrow. "That's my friend. We crashed the car."

Katalyn nodded. "Oh." It seemed to be all that there was to say.

Jamie met her eyes. "Exactly."

Day 1 Dave 7:27pm

Dave felt a shearing pain in his leg. He gritted his teeth and lifted the trouser leg. No mark, he was okay. But wha...

His mind wandered and her face appeared she looked sad and saying something. Keri... so many memories, why he feel pain without wound... oh fuck! no she couldn't die, what had he ever done to deserve losing Derrick and now he was sure it was Keri. Maybe he was overreacting. She couldn't die... He'd finally got over all worries and and slept with her again. If she was dead... No she just had to live. No one else trusted him...

His hacking never harmed anyone really... he only took a little money from someone account it wasn't lots... Just enough... Was his time in jail not enough punishment...

He felt like he was sick, the feeling... she had to stay alive...

Dave sped up his pace and ran he'd no idea where she was, he just knew something was up. He had to get to her. Just then he turned corner and ran smack bang into Bernard.

He leapt up but Bernard grabbed his wrist he tugged hard but he kept hold, "What are you doing?" Dave wrestled vainly but Bernard was actually quite strong.

"You can't go down there, Jo and Kev are-- hold on, your pulse is -- Jesus! Dave, sit down there and breathe slowly. You're gonna trigger an attack or something!"

Pulling angerily Dave snarled, "If she dies it won't fucking matter!"

Still he kept hold and began to tug him back, "Hold on. You don't know she's down there. Just sit down and take this logically: why would she be with them anyway? She wouldn't. Now sit!"

Dave wouldn't have any of it, "She is there I know it, can't you fucking feel her!"

"Of course I can't, and neither can you! This is just paranoia, sit down!"

He growled, "You've obviously never been loved then..." but he sat down..." For a while Bernard was quiet, then he sighed.

All of sudden he knelt down and wept uncontrollably tear streaming down his face. He felt like his heard been ripped in half physically. It was horrible. He'd been horrible to Bernard the young guy was lost in thought. Who was he to judge him. Just then a feminine voice asked, "What is going on here?"

Velna-


Velna ran over the rafters, she had gotten bored, she wanted to see what that fool of a leader of theirs was doing. She frowned, they had gone into the office area and she couldn't get in there through the stupid rafters, not easily, she would have to climb over a wall. She looked for the easiest way over and finally found it. She jumped over and landed hard on one of the rafters. She kept going listening for voices waiting to see where they were. She finnally heard them and froze stiff at the view in front of her. They were cornered by only a few zombies now, one of the girls that had been with them charged at a zombie her leg bleeding from where she had been bitten. Velna covered her nose and looked around for something to help them with.

'Why help them, you knew this would happen sooner or later.' A voice laughed in her head. She laid down on the rafter and watched, her pulse was pounding, she needed to help but there wasn't anything she could use to help them with. She didn't have any guns. Just a few knives. She felt bad for the girl, Keri, she had seemed like a tough girl. Velna almost laughed out loud, just like it always was, the tough and able ones died taking care of the weak. And here were three of the toughest out of the group that she had seen cornered by zombies. She shook her head, life was so unfair.

Day 1. 7:42pm. Katalyn.

"Exactly," Jamie said, meeting my eyes. For a moment I was caught by the sorrow in those brown depths. Then I blinked.

"Let's get the water to Bernard before it cools," I whispered. He nodded and, turning around, began to lead the way back through the store.

"Does he have a cloth?" I asked as we passed a cleaning aisle. Jamie hesitated. I shifted the pot into one hand so I could lift a pack from the shelf.

"Thanks," he said. "They should be just around..." he paused and quickened his pace. I followed to find Elaina alone with a young woman. "Where's Bernard?" The panic is his voice registered in my mind and I looked across to Elaina and then down at the girl. Was she...?

"He went to look for more bandages for when the dressing needs to be changed," Elaina explained quickly. My gaze shifted to the bloody gauze wrapped around Anne's head. Some crash.

"Should have put the water in a flask," I realised, thinking it would be used to clean the wound but then, why did it need to be warm?

Day 1. 7:45pm. Bernard.

You are a doctor, Bernard. Your actions will determine whether a man can return to his wife and family, or whether his life slips away in a hospital bed. To some, you will be a hero, a live-saver, a miracle-maker.

To others, you will always be a monster.

You have a great power; you can control who lives and who dies, and people simultaneously revere and fear that. Be careful Bernard. People do strange things when they are under pressure. You have the skills, but you will need to be strong. And that is what I worry will let you down...

"Fuck it. Come on, Dave," Bernard broke the silence and held out a hand to the sobbing man before him, "let's go see if we can find her."

"It's too fucking late man!" Dave said, his hands clasped around his face. It hurt Bernard to see him like this. He was meant to be helping, not bringing misery to those in his care. "She's-- oh God --haven't I been punished enough?" A cold chill ran through Bernard. What was wrong with him? There was no way Dave could just know what was happening to people, or was there?

"Ok, come on." Bernard pulled the reluctant Dave to his feet and lead him back to where Elaina was looking after Anne. Bernard already had the new dressings; Dave had met him on his way back. When they arrived they saw four figures. Jamie had returned with the water and Kat had come with him. Great, thought Bernard, more people to disrupt my work.

"Bernard, I've got the water!" Jamie said and waved me over. He was clearly pleased with his work and Bernard congratulated him for it. "Well," he said, "Kat was the one that heated it." Bernard tested the water and nodded. It was fine, he could wash out the wound again and re-bandage it.

After that, there was little more to do other than cross fingers and pray. And looking at the state of things, praying wasn't going to help now. Where are you God? Bernard asked. He got no answer, and, strangely, that was comforting.

Day 1. 7:35pm. Joanna.

As Keri rushed the zombies, Kevin and Joanna instinctively moved forward, getting closer to their targets so they wouldn't hit Keri accidentally. It was a joke, really: the girl would have to be killed, just like the rest of them.

"Jo, please!" Keri cried out, struggling with the zombie she had just attacked.

There's no way, Jo thought, stubbornly inching forward and taking out another monster. The cries for help shook her deeply, but she had to remain focused, had to help Kevin...

Another zombie fell, and it seemed two more took its place. Kevin took them out, then aimed at Keri when the girl screamed in agony.

Jo looked past Kevin, not wanting to watch -- and choked. "Kevin!"

He looked up, but too late. They were at the door. A zombie had ventured too close, and it grabbed his gun hand. "Shit, motherfucker," Kevin hissed, punching it in the jaw as hard as he could with his other hand. It wasn't much, but it was enough to make it loosen its grip, just enough for Kevin to twist his hand free and shoot the bastard in the head.

Jo watched it all, frozen in place.

The corpse fell to the ground, but another group was right behind it. "Jo, you need to shoot Keri," Kevin grunted. "I'll take care of this pack. Go!"

No, I can't, she wanted to scream, but raised the shaky shotgun to her shoulder.

"Jo, please, do it --" Keri's plea turned into another scream, her body writhing in pain.

She aimed.

Kevin grunted as he shifted position, trying to get a better shot on the nearest zombie.

"Jo!"

"Keri, I'm sorry, forgive me..." Jo whispered, closing her eyes and pulling the trigger. The gun kicked against her shoulder. She heard a grunt, then the sound of a body falling to the floor.

Oh God... I killed her... She could focus on nothing else. She's dead. Because of me. She thought I hated her, and...

A scream broke through her thoughts. "Jo... th'hell did you do?!" The words were slurred, strained.

Jo opened her eyes quickly. There was Keri's body, covered in blood, face down -- she had to be dead!

But she wasn't.

She was yelling profanities, mixed with sheer cries of pain. But she wasn't moving.

Jo looked on in horror as the few remaining zombies moved in. She had aimed high, as Kevin had told her. Keri's back had been turned to her as she shot, and most of the spread had hit her upper back. Jo felt sick when she realized: the BBs had not hit any major organs, nor had penetrated her brain, but as the rest stuck in her skin -- no fun fate at all -- some had hit her spine.

Keri was paralyzed from the neck down.

"Oh God..." Joanna dropped the shotgun, raising both hands to her mouth. Tears blurred her vision as she listened to Keri's gasping screams.

Jo, what the hell did you do?!

Falling to her knees, her eyes never left the too-still body on the ground. She watched as Keri took shuddering breaths, straining for air. The sound of Kevin's gun didn't register anymore until the last shot was fired, and it fell silent. Keri was pleading now, half-sobbing, half-choking on her own blood. Begging for death.

"Oh God," Jo whispered. "Kevin?" she called, almost in hysterics, "Kevin, please... God, please..."

Kevin turned to her, offering his pistol. She shook her head violently. "I can't... Please..."

He nodded once, then slowly made his way to Keri's body. Aimed, fired. Jo jumped at the sound, then finally closed her eyes, her body trembling.

She heard Kevin limp further into the room, his uneven footsteps falling further away. "Come on. We have to check the rest of them," he grunted.

She made no move to help him. I couldn't even kill her... Paralyzed her in the middle of her attackers... Again, she forced herself to swallow the bitter taste rising into her mouth. She could not breathe.

A loud shot made her jump again, and she opened her eyes to see Kevin standing over a corpse, his pistol still pointed at its head. He looked over at her. "Help me check, goddamnit!"

She slowly climbed to her feet, picking up the shotgun and wiping the tears from her eyes so she could see a little better. Careful not to look at Keri's body -- No one should ever have to go through that kind of hell... -- she began checking the pile of corpses next to the doorway, looking for movement. Her thoughts were not on her task. She caught herself staring at the chewed-out cheek of what had previously been a young man, barely older than Keri.

"Shit," she heard Kevin hiss, and looked over. He was standing over the bodies of Angela and Tazin. Two shots later, and they joined the rest of the corpses.

Finally, Kevin finished checking the rest of the room. It took him a full minute to cross the room again, wincing every time he put his weight on his bad knee. "Come on," he grunted as he reached the doorway. He grabbed Jo's arm firmly and pulled her away from the corpses, away from the door.

Nothing registered except the image of Keri struggling still flickering in her mind, the sound of her screams when she could struggle no more echoing through her thoughts. Nothing else registered, until she saw how slowly Kevin was walking, how severe his limp was. How his face contorted with every other step.

Wordlessly, she wrapped his arm around her shoulders, wrapping her own arm around his back. She didn't look up at him, but he seemed to accept her help, slowly shifting his weight to her support.

At least this I can't very easily fuck up.

Day 1. 7:35pm. Kevin.

Sonofabitch. She fucking shot her.

"Kevin, please... God, please..." She was on the verge of an anxiety attack. I spun the pistol on my palm and rotated it 180 degrees, to the butt of it was pointed to Jo, ready for her to take. I had no way of knowing her mindset--did she want to finish it?

She shook her head suddenly, more of a flail than a notion of denial. "I can't... Please..."

Fine.

I took three steps, aimed, and fired. Not Keri anymore. Not Keri. Didn't just talk to her an hour before. Not human. Zombie. Corpse. Not Keri.

I closed my eyes. Fuck. Fuck fuck fuckfuckfuck. I kicked the closest corpse, digging my heel into its skull.

"Come on. We have to check the rest of them," I said to Jo. One of the Zeds was still squirming, having taken a shot to the throat that damaged the spinal cord. It's mouth was still working, trying to bite at my shoe, only a foot or so away. It's eyes were glazed, its tongue lolling about wildly.

"Fuck you." I fired a single shot into its brain. A waste of ammunition.

I looked to Jo, who was staring blankly at the gun in my hand.

"Help me check, goddammit," I growled.

She got up slowly, almost as if in a daze, and trudged around the room, the shotgun heavy in her hands. I gritted my teeth against the pain and frustration and nudged another corpse with my toe. I made my way to the center of the room, where the zombies had been gathered when I first kicked the door down. A desk had been shoved against the back corner of the room, probably in the scuffle that took place. Laying over the desk was Tazin's corpse, already badly gnawed. His sword lay on the floor, stained with black blood. A zombie's head was a few feet away, the body it belonged to nearby. He'd gone down swinging.

Angie.

I'd known her for years. Never got along with her....not by a longshot. But still...fuck. Her body was nothing like it had been in life.Her clothes were shredded by countless bites, every inch of her skin covered in blood.

"Shit."

I put a bullet in each of their foreheads, just to be sure. It took every ounce of my willpower, every shred of strength I had not to sink to the floor right then and there. Then Jo was there, lifting my arm around her shoulders and getting under me. I tried not to lean on her too heavily, but my knee was on fire and my mind was going crazy.

Together, without a single word passing between us, we walked back to the others, closing the door to the offices behind us.

Day 1. 7:48 pm. Katalyn.

"Where the fuck are the others?" A familiar voice demanded.

"Over here, Kevin," Bernard called wearily, glancing across at Dave who had tensed, his shoulders jerking back and going rigid. Had he been crying? The now familiar glint of tear trails were smudged across his face. He clenched his hands and looked expectantly across the aisles.

"What's going on?" I asked as Kevin hobbled into sight, supported by Jo. Both faces were hard and full of grief and their clothes were torn and splattered with blood. Joanna's brown hair was plastered to her face by blood and sweat that led a grimy trail across her neck and Kevin's leg looked badly twisted and mauled.

"Sit him down over here, either of you been bitten?" Bernard asked in a 'matter of fact' tone that resonated with an ill placed authority. Back and forth he seemed to fluctuate between the cool, calm doctor and the man inside. It was as if some internal conflict had hold of him, but then weren't we all in the same position.

Day 1. 7:48 pm. Katalyn.

"Where the fuck are the others?" A familiar voice demanded.

"Over here, Kevin," Bernard called wearily, glancing across at Dave who had tensed, his shoulders jerking back and going rigid. Had he been crying? The now familiar glint of tear trails were smudged across his face. He clenched his hands and looked expectantly across the aisles.

"What's going on?" I asked as Kevin hobbled into sight, supported by Jo. Both faces were hard and full of grief and their clothes were torn and splattered with blood. Joanna's brown hair was plastered to her face by blood and sweat that led a grimy trail across her neck and Kevin's leg looked badly twisted and mauled.

"Sit him down over here, either of you been bitten?" Bernard asked in a 'matter of fact' tone that resonated with an ill placed authority. Back and forth he seemed to fluctuate between the cool, calm doctor and the man inside. It was as if some internal conflict had hold of him, but then weren't we all in the same position.

"If I was bitten, d'you think I'd fucking be alive? Think I'd let myself live with that? No I'm bitten, you fucking moron." Jo helped Kevin lower himself to the floor and then Bernard approached, frowning.

"There's zombies in here?" I asked worriedly. "Because if there are, shouldn't we be searching for the others? And maybe we can make some sort of stretcher and move everyone back to the tents?"

Dave: Day 1
7:55pm

His head was pounding and he felt as if he was walking on some summit the lack of oxygen hurting his head. How could she be dead? *Thump* His heart went. She had to be alive, they'd laugh over this over his paranoia. *Thump* He ignored others heading for where he knew she was. *Thump* Suddenly he felt something grabbing him. *Thump* He wrestled, no Keri didn't know he was okay. A soft voice sounded, it was Keri. The object wouldn't let go. No... Keri... she needed him, he growled, "Let me go!" The object responded by making him face it. The face escaped him it was an object animated with various expressions. He heard a voice, not Keri's the lies it told,

"She's dead, Dave."

No Keri wasn't dead, he could see her just beyond his reach she stood waiting for him, if only he could reach. The object knew his name. He had no idea how. It it's gaze on him and spoke again, "Look at me, Dave. Keri is dead." He shook his head and pointed down the aisle.

The object was adamant, "Her body is that way, Dave. Lifeless. She's gone. You can't help her...and seeing her corpse isn't going to help you."

Dave watched in horror as she was engulfed by zombies. He looked at Kev, "You did nothing, she was right there!"

Kev whispered, "I did everything I could for her, Dave. There were just too many."

Tears welled up in his eyes, "S...she's really gone... she believed in me... Kev... your probably right about half the stuff you think of me... I just so believed we'd both survive..." Dave felt his pockets and remembered what happened in the room, and sighed with a mixture of emotions.

Looking at him Kev continued, "But she's gone. You have to accept that."

Nodding Dave wiped his eyes, "I... we did more than sex up at that office... I found some footage and downloaded it on to a CD-ROM. It's the least I can do... consider it an apology for leading one of us to death in Pipes."

Kevin blinked once. "Good work, Dave."

Smiling weakly Dave took the disk out his pocket and handed it to Kev, "It should run on a DVD player here. It's best I could do."

Turning away, Kev added, ""Okay. Go ahead and sit down, man. We have some chair and stuff set up over by the bed I was laying down on earlier. We'll be there in a minute or two, cool?"

"Yes, and thank you."