Tristan: "This is bad," Chuck says before slamming the hood down. "Well, it's bad but it's not so bad." "Define not so bad," Bailey asks. "Well for starter," Chuck answers, "All our fixes yesterday almost completely drained the battery. There isn't much juice left in it." "Fuck," I say, shaking my head. "What does that mean? Another trip back to the mall?" "You blew up the helicopter," Rebecca says. "Whatever parts were left in there are gone." Once more, I shake my head. "Don't have a heart attack, grandpa," Chuck says. "I said almost. The battery is almost drained. Almost drained. I also said there isn't much juice left in it. Meaning there's a little bit left over. Not enough for the three of you to drive out of here but enough to jumpstart her if you give her a push." "Give her a push," I repeat. "What the hell are you talking about?" "Come on grandpa. Haven't you ever heard the phrase pop a clutch?" "Pop a what," Rebecca says. "If you call me grandpa one more time, I'l
Tristan: "Chuck," I scream as the infected bites down on his arm. Chuck screams as he shakes his arm but the infected wouldn't let go. Eyeing the car, Chuck grabs the infected by its head and slams it against the car over and over. After the fifth time, the infected opens its mouth and falls to the ground. "Chuck," I yell, running to see Chuck's arm. With a gun in my hand, I prepare to do it. I prepare to shoot Chuck. It sounds cruel. It sounds harsh, but it's better than being an infected. It's better than being a mindless zombie, only focusing on finding and eating. As I approach Chuck, I notice his wound. "What the hell," I say, not seeing any blood. Instead, I see something soft and white. "Relax," Chuck yells, seeing the gun in my hand. "And don't shoot me. At least not yet." "What the hell," I say again, pointing at what is supposed to be a bite mark. As I look closer, I realize what is going on. "Are you, are you wearing some sort of body armor?" "It's called padding," Ch
Bailey: "Will you knock it off," Rebecca yells from the front passenger's seat. "No," Tristan yells from the back seat. "Come on Bailey! Stop the car! You've been driving for hours! It's time to call it a night." I look out the window and see the moon floating high in the night sky. It accompanies by a bunch of stars around it and some dead trees beneath. "I'm not tired," I say. Tristan kicks the back of my seat and jerks me forward a bit. "Real mature." "I don't care if you're tired or not," Tristan says, "I care that it's nighttime. Don't you remember what I said before? Don't you remember anything? During the night, the infected are more active. They come out and hunt for food. Us!" "We're in a car," I say, "By the time any infected see us, we'll be five miles from them. You don't have to worry." "Of course, I have to worry," Tristan replies. "It doesn't matter if we're on foot or wheels, the infected will not stop us. They will see us and they will chase us until they are e
Tristan: As I turn left, I walk through a doorframe with no door and enter what looks like a storage room. There are a bunch of wooden shelves lined up against the walls but like the shelves outside, they're all empty. Besides the empty shelves and a push cart, there really isn't anything else in the storage room. I turn around and go the other way. Using my lighter as a guide, I walk past the first hallway and toward the right. The hallway leading to the right doesn't go very long. It ends after a few steps with two doors on opposite walls. I place my ears against both doors and prepare for any infected before opening. The door on the left turns out to be a small office with old paper scattered everywhere. There's a rusted chair and a broken desk in there but nothing more. I check the door on the right and it turns out to be a small restroom. I lower my gun and walk back to Rebecca who is still looking around the gas station. "Clear," I say as soon as she sees me. "How about you?
Rebecca: My eyes blink open as I yawn and stretch my arms. I want to rub my eyes but I forget I'm wearing a gas mask so I accidentally hit myself in the air. "Ahh," I say after hitting myself. I instead shake my head. "Fuck." Once fully awake, I look around and see Bailey still sleeping on the ground. She's sleeping near the extinguished fire, the fire nothing more than a pile of charcoal papers and a fainted trail of rising smoke. "Hey," I say as I push myself off the cold tiled floor. "Where the hell is Drifter?" I turn my head left and right but don't see the bastard anywhere. The only ones in the storage room are Bailey and me. "Hey Bailey," I say, dropping to my knee and shaking the girl. "Wake up. Come on. Get up." "What," Bailey says, pushing herself up. She yawns and clears her throat and also hit herself in the head. "What? What is going on? Is it infected?" Bailey grabs her baseball and looks
Tristan: I watch with the rock ready in hand. The shadow in the red mist is huge, and it seems to be growling. It moves fast, running and disappearing before somehow reappearing behind us. "What is that," the kid shouts. I look around, trying to keep my eyes on the shadow but, somehow, it's like it knows it's being watched and is disappearing into the mist on purpose. "Wait for it," I say, holding out my hand. "Wait for what," Rebecca asks, her shaking body turning left and right as the growls come from all over. "Wait for it," I repeat. "Wait for it!" I hear the sound of squashing mud from the side and turn. I see the shadow emerges from the red mist. A large, grey wolf with bloody cuts and open wounds leaps out. The wolf shows off its sharp yellow teeth as it growls. I scream as I charge toward the infected wolf. I slam the rock against the side of the infected wolf's face, knocking it to the forest f
Marcus Fellow: As I run, I look down the sight on the top of my assault rifle. The second the infected wolves are in my sight, I squeeze the trigger and shoot it. The wolf whines as it falls to the side. "Get him to his feet," I yell, pointing at the man as I run past him. Two of my soldiers help the man to his feet while the rest of my squad follow after me. As the wolves charge and jump at the mother and her child, I wave my fingers, giving the order. "Engage! Engage! Engage!" My soldiers and I light up the sky with flashes of light. Our rifles scream louder than any thunderstorm. By the time we're done, the forest is a mess of dead infected wolves. However, despite how many dead dogs there are, I know we're still not safe. I keep an eye out as I approach the two. "Easy," the mother says as I walk up to them, pointing my rifle at them. "Easy." "Are you friendly," I ask. "Are you friendly? Answer the question!" "We're friendly," the kid replies, holding up both her hands. "We'
Bailey: "Wow," I say after walking through the steel door and seeing the bunker. "This isn't much." The bunker is smaller than the one in Boston and with fewer lights. All of the buildings I can see aren't much more than makeshift tents, put mostly together with what looks like rope and sheet metals. It doesn't have metal walls. In fact, it doesn't have any walls at all. I can see the exposed dirt. As soon as I said those words, I feel a slap on the back of my head. While rubbing my head, I turn around to see Rebecca glaring at me with red eyes. "Sorry," I say, lowering my head. Tristan, Rebecca, and I turn around when we hear a grinding sound. We see two of the soldiers closing the steel door. With the door close, the soldiers around us take off their gas masks, revealing their sweaty, dirt-covered faces. "So now what," I ask, taking off my own mask. "You three will have to come with us," Marcus answers. He shakes his