Ryland jolted up in her bed, her lungs seizing as the power moaned to a halt in the hospital. The silence was deafening, until she began grasping at her throat, sobbing.

"No. No please…", she begged to no one as her breathing became so labored she could barely stand to sit. So, she stood from the bed and leaned her hands on it. To her left, she noticed her emergency tank, and quickly unbuckled the strap holding it in. She fumbled for a few seconds, her vision becoming blurry as she shoved a tube onto the nozzle and began turning the valve frantically. After the oxygen began hissing through the tube, she slung it around her face and held it to her nose with shaky hands, because her life depended on it.

After a few breaths, she was able to calm her breathing, and brought a clammy hand to meet her forehead. What was happening? Why were the lights out? Taking another deep breath, she padded over to the door and peered through the small rectangle of glass, her oxygen trolley in tow. She quickly gasped, tears stinging at the corner of her eyes as she stared at the carnage in the hall. There was blood, puddles of it, in various places that she could see. The lights flickered, as the emergency generators fought to keep them alive, and in the floor a woman reached for the door, staring at her eyes as her hands clutched and her half torn jaw flexed. Her eyes were clouded, and her intestines lay on the floor next to her.

Ryland had to fight the urge to vomit as she also fought the urge to help the woman, her hand on the doorknob. Suddenly, a face appeared in the window, a man, snarling and salivating all over the glass as he attempted to get to her…to…bite her?

"What is this?", she asked herself, as a gunshot caught her off guard. She covered her ears and sobbed loudly, as pellets dented her door and the man disappeared.

"Are you alive in there?", a voice called to her. She said nothing, just stood staring at the door, "ANSWER ME!"

"YES! Yes please don't shoot me…I'm sick and…I don't know what to do…please…", she sobbed, sinking to the ground. She didn't know if this man wanted to kill her, or if he was here to save her…or eat her.

"Get on your knees and don't move. I'm coming in. Try anything and I'll blow your head off…", he explained through the door. Since she was already down there, Ryland placed her hands on the back of her head and stared ahead as the door opened.

"Please…", she whispered as a boy, around her age entered, shotgun in his hand and blood covering his neck and shirt. He looked exhausted. He looked like he had been through hell, "M-my name is Ryland. I'm…I'm a student at ASU. I'm just like you. Please don't kill me. I'll do anything you want."

"What?", he asked, absolutely confused. He shut the door behind him quietly, and locked it before stepping up in front of her, "Why would I kill you? You look pretty harmless."

"I'm…that man…"

"He's dead.", the boy explained.

"I know! But he tried to…I mean I think he tried to-. He tried to eat me…To bite me."

"He's dead. They all are. They are all coming back, somehow and…apparently we're food.", the boy explained, setting his shotgun on the empty bed beside him, "What's wrong with you?"

"I don't know. I have something wrong with my lungs. I have to have this…"

The boy closed his eyes and sighed through his nose, visibly frustrated with her situation. He ran a hand down his face as another shotgun blast sounded from outside the hospital. It was another survivor. Ryland simply brought her hands down to her lap, causing the boy to flinch.

"I'm sorry, but…maybe we can just get out of here. We can find the others that are still alive in here. There's hope, right? What's your name?", she asked him, and he rolled his eyes.

"I've checked every room for the past ten floors. Everyone is either dead or gone. Your family apparently doesn't give two shits about you. They left you here with nothing…bailed. We have to do the same if we want to survive. Last place we need to be is the hospital…", he explained once more, before turning his head to look at her finally, "I'm Travis."

"I'll follow your lead…", she whispered, standing from the ground. She swung the backpack of oxygen onto her back and started for the door.

"And how do you expect to lug that around?"

"With those things out there…the last thing I'm worried about is dying of oxygen deprivation. I'll make it until I don't. For now…you said we needed to leave. Let's leave.", Ryland whispered in a hurry as human footsteps ran their way down the hall outside, and Travis joined her, counting down until they ripped the door open and entered the hallway.