The Outbreak

[Kendra // Shane // Lilith]

Carter had gone out to try and get a radio or a television and a better first aid kit. She found a small one that was easy to carry and was almost back to the Entrance Plaza when a window was smashed in by some of the zombies. "Oh shit!" She said and ran the rest of the way to the Entrance Plaze, only to find a gate blocking her. "Oh no, no, no. HELP! SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP ME!"

She turned around only to see a couple zombies slowly making there way towards her. She turned back towards the gate and tried to pick it up but someone had locked it. Instead she started to bang as loudly as she could on the metal bars. "HELP ME!" She screamed as loud as she could, hurting her throat. They were getting closer and closer to her, which just made her scream louder.

Maci woke up with a horrible headache and looked around the room. "Carter? Where am I?" She stood up, shakily, and stumbled into the small waiting area where there were three shopping carts full of stuff. Then she noticed Will. "Survivors? Who are you?"

[Elijah]

"Oh! Hey, uh, you're not the other girl," he chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. Suddenly he heard a scream come through the monitors. He turned his head to see Carter by one of the gates, being surrounded by zombies. Will pressed the intercom button and shouted, "Throw whatever you have at them Carter! I'll be right there!"

Will left the security office and ran back to the other survivors by the doors. "Give me the key!" The survivor refused at first, and Will decided it was best to stop wasting time and just punch the guy in the face. He grabbed the key and ran before any of the other suvivors could stop him. When he made it to the gate Carter was at, he had a little trouble getting the key to work. "Shit, shit, i'm sorry! I'm trying!" Finally, the key went in and Will lifted up the gate, just enough so that Carter could slip under.

[Kendra // Shane // Lilith]

Carter smacked one of them with the large first aid kit she was holding and kicked another one before Will was able to get the gate unlocked. She threw the first aid kit and t.v. under before she quickly slid under. She shoved the gate down after her and pulled the lever up to lock it.

She moved away from the gate, panting, and on the verge of tears. She had never been through anything as scary as that. There felt like there was a lump in her throat and her heart felt like it would pump out of her chest. She looked up at the gate, where the zombies were reaching through to try and grab her and Will. Some of them she recognized, her old english teacher, one of her neighbors. It was sickening.

Maci was really confused, but the guy left before she could say anything. She looked over at the monitor and her eyes widened as she saw these disgusting humans walking towards Carter. She watched as they almost grabbed Carter before she managed to slip under the gate.

[Elijah]

When the gate was closed and they were 'safe,' Will did something that wasn't in his nature. He embraced the crying girl and rubbed her back soothingly. He whispered softly to her, telling her that it was alright and that she was safe. "I'll take care of you, alright? I'll do whatever it takes to keep you safe. Okay? Come on...your friend is awake and waiting for you..."

[Kendra // Shane // Lilith]

Carter didn't usually like guys she didn't know hugging her and she never cried infront of them, but for a few minutes she sat there in his arms. After she got it out of her system she wiped her eyes and took a deep breath. "Let's go..." She stood up, took one more look at the zombies still trying to get through the gate, and then walked back towards the security office. "H-h-how did you get the keys?" She didn't know that there were more people in the mall.

Maci walked out of the office, wanting to find Carter and find out what was going on. She had a bad feeling about being there and wanted to find her friend so they could get the hell out of there. She walked to the entrance where she saw a small group of people, mostly men. "Excuse me, can anyone tell me what's going on? I'm trying to find my friend." She held her head as a wave of dizziness washed over her, making her stumble a little. She probably had a concussion.

[Elijah]

"I hope your friend isn't the one that punched me in the face, because i'm gonna kill him!" one of the men grumbled. Just then, Will and Carter came into view. Will tossed the man his keys back and mumbled a 'thanks'. The man he'd punched for the keys put his hand on Will's chest and shoved him back. "Where do ya think you're goin'?" Will really didn't want to fight this guy, especially with zombies crowding around. "I-I-I'm sorry I-I h-hit you," he stuttered, returning to his nervous self. "She w-was in trouble, I-I--" before Will could finish, the man's fist connected with his face and sent him flying to the ground.

[Kendra // Shane // Lilith]

Carter went back to herself when the guy punched Will. She pulled the guy away from Will and glared at him. "What's your problem asswipe?! He saved my life so I don't give a damn what he did to you. If you touch him again I will throw you to the zombies, got it?" She shoved him and lent a hand to help Will up. She didn't care whether she hurt Will's pride or not, she just wanted to go back to the office.

"Carter!" Maci said with a mixture of happiness and relief. "Are you okay?!"

Carter nodded and when she got a chance she hugged Maci quickly. "Yeah I'm fine. How are you feeling? Look we need to get back to the security office and stay in there, I don't know if we can keep them out there for long."

[Elijah]

Will wiped his bloody nose with his sleeve and headed up the stairs to the second level where the door that led to the security office was. He didn't mind Carter standing up for him, he just didn't want to have anymore confrontations with the other survivors. He really didn't want to hear the guy disrespect Carter, because then he'd have to hit him again. "Come on---"

One of the benches holding the doors shut suddenly shifted and slipped. The zombies who had been pushing on that set of double doors broke through and started to rush inside. The zombies were kind of slow, but there were so many, that speed didn't matter. Will had no choice but to lead everyone up to the office. "COME ON, UP HERE! TO THE SECURITY OFFICE!"

[Kendra // Shane // Lilith]

Maci screamed as Carter took hold of her and pulled her along. "Come on!" She shouted and ran as fast as she could to the security office. When everyone got into the office she helped the other people block the door. She was thankful that there weren't any windows there. It took around five minutes to board up the entire door secure enough so that the zombies wouldn't get through.

Maci sat on one of the chairs in shock. There were zombies! Everything she thought was fantasy turned out to be real. She wasn't tough like Carter. She could already feel tears slipping down her cheeks.

[Elijah]

A few stragglers, who'd been close to the door, had been eaten. Thankfully, most of the survivors in the entrance plaza had been saved. Will, after helping Carter board up the door, joined everyone else. He had to explain the situation. I've played zombie games all of my life, and most of these people haven't even touched a game system since....since Pong.

"Everyone just...just sit down and try to relax. I understand that the situation we've been thrown into is....terrifying, but please try to relax. I promise that you're safe up here. We will NEVER unboard the main door to the office. I checked out the blueprints and there's another way in and out. Through the vents. That leads you to the rooftop which then leads to the warehouse. I'll use it to go get us food and bring anymore survivors in."

[Kendra // Shane // Lilith]

"Anymore survivors? We can't fit many more people in here. I mean this isn't that big. We only have four different rooms here." Carter wanted to bring in people but there was only room for a couple more unless they wanted to squeeze. She did want to find her mom and sister. She needed to at least try and save them.

[Elijah]

"I'm not going to turn away someone when they're being chased by zombies. I won't do it. Whoever's still alive must be scared shitless, alright? They need help." Will gave everyone some time alone and went to go check the monitors. Zombies were filling up the mall. There was more than one entrance, and there was nothing stopping them.

Will paid Maci and Carter a little visit and sat down beside them. "Hey, how are you guys? Do you want something to eat?"

[Kendra // Shane // Lilith]

Maci shook her head. "No thank you..." She mumbled.

Carter glanced at Maci before rubbing her back soothingly. "No, thanks. I think our nerves are still a little out of wack. Um, I want to thank you for saving me. I would've been...one of them if you hadn't unlocked that gate. If there's any way I can make it up to you, please let me know."

[Elijah]

"It's no problem. I wasn't going to stand there and watch you die. I'm terrified of the zombies, sure, but your rescue seemed...important," he smiled. Will left for a moment to go grab some snacks out of one of the shopping carts Carter had collected. He returned with enough snacks for all three of them. He nibbled on a granola bar and sat back down beside the girls.

"So, you live in town? How old are you guys?" Will asked, trying to start a conversation.

[Kendra // Shane // Lilith]

"I'm eighteen and Maci's seventeen. We live in the Hollow Estates. What about you?" Carter ended up taking a granola bar, finding herself very hungry after the whole ordeal. She tried to drown out the soft bangs from the zombies hitting the door. There was only one good thing about them, they were really stupid. She didn't know anything else about them though because she didn't play video games anymore.