Pausing when the blonde woman resisted her, Christina began to let go. Fear shot straight to her chest. “Sorry,” she whispered absent-mindedly. She wasn't about to force anyone along with her, neither was Tony, but she was reluctant to let this woman get stuck behind with the infected so close by. As soon as she turned back to Chris, they ran out of the town and immediately onto a dirt road. With the woman tethered to her, and the girl to Tony, she felt the tiniest bit more confident about their survival.

If she imagined the creatures were flames, she could bring herself back to before the outbreak, when she and her team coursed through burning apartment buildings. She developed a great deal of muscle and endurance as a firefighter, but her legs still ached from days spent running and avoiding sleep. She looked back at the group.

Eight. All alive. [i]Keep them that way.[/i]

As soon as the girl looked uncomfortable, Tony moved away. He grasped the revolver tightly as the group began to slow down, nodding when the girl spoke to him. When they couldn't hear the undead any more, Chris slowed down and let go of the blonde. The moment she stopped running, the ache in her legs increased. Stumbling, she winced, until Tony's hands came to her side and supported her.

They came upon the cornfield as Christina's legs began to buckle. She wasn't sure if she liked the idea of a potentially overrun farm, but she knew she wouldn't last very much longer if they had to keep going on foot. Following Rena and the others at the back of the group, she struggled through the dense crops with Tony's help, acutely aware of their increased vulnerability inside the tall corn.

Behind them, something crept out of the corn; Chris leaned back on Tony and struck out with her baton three times before it finally fell. Along the trail of survivors, there were more shouts and sounds of fighting as they inched through the cornfield. After what seemed like hours, a message passed through the group. The fence was close, but so were the undead. 

Chris and Tony stopped and listened; they couldn't see ahead of the seven other survivors. The conversation was their only means of learning how many undead lurked in the farm. [b]“Okay long rangers up front. We need to pick some of these guys off before we venture any further into the property.”[/b]

Firing a rifle now would be just as dangerous as in the town, but Chris stood as straight as she could manage and pulled the rifle down to her hands. It never hurt to be safe. Tony started to protest, but she quietened him.