DAY 5 They all had nightmares that night. When they woke, each of them had a small sense of feeling that none of this was real. That they were safe with everyone they loved back at home and all would be well. The sudden realization that they were surrounded by undead came haunting back at them, as did the smell from the dead body in the room. Dallen awoke next. He had nightmares of his daughter being killed again and again. How he couldn't save her. It didn't matter to him whether he lived or died anymore, all he wanted to do was keep moving. He wasn't just going to give up, it wasn't in him to do so. He ate some peaches as his girlfriend Lucy woke up. She immediately put two fingers to her temple to stop the incoming headache, then she covered her face to block out the smell of death. Dallen notioned with his hands for her to eat, but she nodded it off with a disgusted look. Kenjen woke up on the floor, the first thing he saw being Gwen. She was still asleep, but he couldn't help but to marvel at her beauty. Suddenly Gwen opened her eyes and caught him staring at her. "Uhh, I wasn't...ummm," Kenjen started. "Good morning, Kenjen," she said with a smile, until she rose up and remembered their situation. "...nevermind, I take back the good morning part." "I know, I'm not even sure how we all slept," Kenjen replied. "Must have been the exhaustion." As everyone either tried to eat something or not, Lucy took Dallen aside. "I want you to know that I love you," Lucy told him, stern and bold. "You don't have to say it back, I just wanted you to know." She also wanted to go on a little longer about his daughter, and how she was trying so hard to get earn her trust. She knew Dallen would shut her down, so she stopped it there. [color=steelblue] "Lucy, everything's changed now," [/color] he started, but she just walked away. She understood, and was ready to do what needed to be done. "What if things go bad?" Kenjen asked as the group gathered around the corpse, all now wearing the bedsheets around their clothing. "I mean, I'm pretty confident that things are going to go bad." "Stay close and blend in," Gwen stated. [color=steelblue] "Things go south, kill as many of them as you can before they take you out," [/color] Dallen said. [color=steelblue] "Shall we?"[/color] Dallen slammed his axe down on the corpse, bringing it back up and repeating. Guts and blood spilt all around, and those watching on started to feel sick to their stomachs. The insides were spread all over everyone, and when they realized they needed more guts, they brought a few walkers into the cafeteria and took them down with ease. The hospital seemed to have far less of the walkers roaming around, as was at least evident from looking down the hallway. The windows to the cafeteria were too high on the ceiling to see what the real situation was like outside, and they also had filters on them to taint the view. The group had little choice but to just go for it while they were at the ready. Using the medical supplies they had, such as gloves and protective facewear, they each covered themselves up with the gore. After Kenjen was done hacking away all over himself, they made out for their escape. Dallen lead the way with Lucy right beside him. They headed down the corridors toward the eastern gate entrance. When they arrived to the exit, everything seemed dark outside. The crowd of the undead was still roaming, all aimlessly. However Dallen was right, as there were much fewer of them. The group would be able to move between them in a line, assuming everything worked. Dallen even started having second thoughts. [color=steelblue]" Get as far as you can, then head north," [/color] Dallen gave them all the direction with his finger. [color=steelblue] "Try to stay together, or at least within proximity. If you go down, you're on your own." [/color] "What!?" Gwen almost said louder than their whisper voices. "You failed to mention that bit!" [color=steelblue] "If you help someone that goes down, they will get you," [/color] he said and went to the double doors, quietly prying them open until they were. [color=steelblue] "You all know what to do."[/color] Dallen walked out first, trying his best to mimic the undead's movements and motions while they weren't hunting flesh. They simple just stayed around the same area, stumbling or slightly moving in one direction or another. None of them noticed Dallen, and so the rest of the group joined. It was hard for them to stay together, as quickly one by one they all were forced to avoid the undead. None of them were noticed though, and they were all still within sight. As horrible as it was, it looked like they were going to make it. Dallen could already see the other side of the horde, where the trees stood tall and looming. Then, the sky above them opened up. As the group were nearing the end of the horde, rain began to pour from above. The skies were already grey, but they grew darker as the rain grew more and more. "It's gonna wash the scent off!" kenjen whispered, feeling bits and pieces of flesh falling off from him. [color=steelblue] "Keep moving!" [/color] Dallen whispered. Suddenly the rain became a harsh pour, as it flowed rapidly and hard. Gwen looked down at herself and realized that all of the guts and blood was completely washed off of her soaking sheet. She started to panic, but still kept moving. A few of the undead nearest to them would sniff or lick at the air, but the rain was able to mask a lot of their scent as well. However, it would not last very long, as one walker started to become suspect. The thing started to stalk Gwen, still unsure of what it was smelling or sensing. It then moved in to take a bite from her shoulder, but she stopped it dead with a long knife to its forehead. The other undead started to take notice, not only of Gwen but of all of them now. The scent was fading from them. [color=steelblue] "Keep moving!" [/color] Dallen said. If they could just make it to the tall trees, there would only be a few of the undead after them. They could easily take them out, then be on their merry way. The walkers were slow and stumbly, as they weren't so good with moving in the wet rain. However, they didn't need to rest. "The ambulance in the lot!" Gwen shouted. "They leave the keys in them!" She instantly started her way toward one, taking out a few walkers in her path. Kenjen followed her, trying his best to protect her by taking out a few himself. Before Dallen could respond, the two were already running off with a straight line toward a parked ambulance vehicle. Kenjen guarded as Gwen opened up the driver side door. She was right, the keys were even in the ignition. She hopped in and started it up, not realizing the walker from the back of the ambulance was coming toward her. It pushed its head through the hole that separated the front and back of the ambulance, then took a large bite into the back of Gwen's neck. She screamed and fumbled with the buttons, accidentally turning on the emergency lights and sirens. All of the undead turned their attention toward them. "Gwen!!" Kenjen yelled in horror as he watched the walker from the back rip a piece of Gwen's neck off. Gwen managed to stab the attacker with her knife to take it out, however she could feel the infection already coursing through her veins. Kenjen had no choice but to leave her, and so he ran to attempt another of the parked ambulances nearby. Gwen then closed herself in the vehicle and took off, leading herself and the horde away from the others. One last attempt to help people, but it was only seconds later that she lost control of her feelings and senses. The only thing she could feel was the intense pain of her ripped flesh at her neck. Her insides felt like they were exploding, and all she could do was lay across the seat and turn. Right when they were about to reach the start of the trees, Lucy screamed in horror. She had taken out two of the walkers, but a third came out from her view and sunk its teeth deep into her right forearm. She shoved the thing off of her and sunk her knife deep into its skull, falling over to the ground with it as she did the motion. Dallen hacked a walker's head off with his axe, then sliced another down as he witnessed Lucy go down. She was now on her knees, looking up to him from a distance with a few walkers in between them. "Dallen, I..." Lucy started, but they swarmed her. She was taken to the dirt as numerous walker's tore her apart, ripping at her flesh and tearing off her limbs one after the other. She hardly had any time to scream, as her throat was ripped from her early on. Dallen stopped and stared, almost running over to her to attempt to help. It happened so fast, just like that she was turned into nothing. The attention of the walkers turned to her corpse, and the sounds coming from the ambulance in the parking lot. Dallen almost felt stuck in place, but within seconds he kicked back into it and kept moving toward the trees. Turning to his side he could see that Elizabeth was the only one left with him, though they weren't exactly out of it yet either. There were still a small group of hungry walkers moving toward them, the rain still pounding down on all. [color=steelblue] "We have to fight!" [/color] Dallen shouted. He tore off his sheet of guts and raised his axe as they approached. One after the other, he swung hard, clean shots at all of their heads. He took the heads clean off of the first three, then started slashing and pushing until they dwindled in numbers. [color=steelblue] "Come on!"[/color] He ran up the hill and into the tall trees, taking out any other walkers nearby. By the end of it, only the two of them stood there atop the hill in the forest, looking back at the chaos they just left behind. Still, they weren't out of it. Groups of the undead still pursued them, but the rain caused the ground to turn into a thick, muddy paste. It helped keep a majority of the dead back from climbing the hill. [color=steelblue] "Look!" [/color] Dallen pointed toward the large lot of the hospital. An ambulance drove through the undead and headed up to the road that went deeper into the mountains. Dallen quickly flagged the driver down, unsure of who was inside. "Get in!" Kenjen yelled, and so they did. They piled into the front together and sped off as fast as the ambulance would take them. No words needed to be said, as they all knew that the other two didn't make it. It wasn't the time to talk about it, it was time to keep moving. "That horde might head after us, all the way back to the ranger station," Kenjen pointed out. "We can't stay there anymore." Dallen said nothing, all he could think about was Lucy and Gwen. How they were just killed. His daughter. Everyone was dying around him, and he felt cold to it all. Finally, after a long beat, he replied, [color=steelblue] "We head north, the cold might slow them down."[/color] Kenjen nodded, but couldn't stop thinking of the deaths they just witnessed either. Poor Gwen, he thought. They had lost two, but they still managed to retain all three of their medical bags filled with medicines. A harsh price to pay, but it opened his eyes on what the world was like now. Dallen tried to hold it in, but tears started to run down his face. He buried his head in his hand as they drove down the long, dark road. When they finally reached the ranger station's area, the sky again seemed to change. The storm still raged on, but within it, at the top of the peak where the station was, a fog loomed. Lightning crackled all around, turning what was once day into the dark of night. The fog appeared to be a radiation storm, similar to the one that haunted the city of Mecha at the start of all this. "I got a bad feeling about this," Kenjen stated.