[b][u]CHAPTER 2: Survival in the Decay[/u][/b]

[img]http://zombiepop.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/28-DAYS-LATER.jpg[/img]


The truck they used to escape the hive had proved to be extremely useful for them.  Stockpiles of weapons and ammunition, from M16's to a rocket launcher, all neatly put away in the boxes in the back.  Of course General Brooks wouldn't be able to let something like this go.  Night after night, they kept moving and staying on the road.  They slept in shifts, only stopping to move vehicles out of their way and to siphon more fuel.  

The first few nights the helicopters could still be heard off searching for them, sometimes too close for comfort.  Missiles with the ZVirus would fire off through the night's sky, each heading to different parts of the country.  The general and his rogues were tearing the world apart, one city at a time.  The virus spread like wildfire.  It was already too late for things to be turned back to normal, even with them having the cure.  Briggs and Dallen wanted to go back to the hive, to attempt to kill the rouges.  Majority decision ruled out over it, as there were far to many under the general's rule.  They needed an army.  

28 days later the group was still on the road.  They were parked on an empty highway in the hills just outside of the next city.  The same as everything else, the city was still smoking at the heart of it.  From the distance it looked just like Mecha city did after the chaos.  

"Looks like a bad idea," Kenjen told the group.  He was on top of the military truck with Steven, looking at the city through some binoculars.  "...like everything else."

[color=steelblue] "We need food, medicine," [/color] Dallen started.  [color=steelblue] "We can just drive through, if any of the walkers are there we have enough ammunition to get cleared and get out."[/color]

"We should have stayed in the country," Blake spoke up.  "Found a farm, we need a place to stay.  To hunker down.  We can't keep running forever."

[color=steelblue] "They would eventually find us, you know that," [/color] Dallen said, speaking of the military rogues that created this outbreak.  [color=steelblue] "We've lost them, but our trail leads here.  We go through the city, we will lose their trail for good.  Then we find a safe place, we just have to push a little longer." [/color]

[img]https://uscrow.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/zombie-apocalypse-head.jpg[/img]


By noon they all rolled into the city inside the truck.  The engine was loud, but the city was empty.  As the towers came closer into view, Leroy Book put an army helmet onto Erin's head that sunk her hair in.  The little girl was the only one unarmed, but they had to bring her regardless.  Nowhere was safe anymore.

[color=steelblue] "Keep the truck moving slowly," [/color] Dallen told the driver, Briggs.  [color=steelblue] "We scavenge the surrounding area for supplies, only quick things.  In and out.  If we see the dead, blow your whistles and get back to the truck." [/color]  Along with the weapon stash they stole from the general, they also had a few whistles and flares.  [color=steelblue] "Ready?  Now." [/color]

Briggs kept the vehicle at under 5 mph, pausing on the brakes frequently as a few of the group ran off in either direction.  They ran into the nearby houses, using their melee weapons to break in if needed.  Kenjen snapped a door open with a crowbar, then quickly ran inside and headed to the kitchen, where he filled his bag with various goods from a stocked pantry.  Steven and Ethan both had luck on the other side of the street, coming away with canned goods and bottles of water.  These homes were freshly evacuated, meaning those living in them probably didn't have the time to pack.  

Everything went smoothly.  All scavengers returned with loads of food, water, and over the counter meds.  It was enough to last them a good long while, but not forever.  When everyone returned back to the truck, they continued on at a faster pace.  They had enough fuel to get them beyond this city, but what came after that no one knew.

Suddenly the radio on the dash of the truck crackled on with static, and what sounded like a voice.  Briggs messed with the frequency until the voice was clearer.  It was a woman's voice.  "Help!  Please, help us!  ...trapped in the mall..."

Briggs drove the truck over a hill that overlooked the city.  On the other side of the barren freeway was Meadows Mall, which was mostly surrounded with the undead.  They huddled mostly around the large parking lot, except the warehouse area of the mall which was seemingly open and clear.

"Yes, you.  The military truck.  We saw you coming into the city," the voice continued.  "Oh, please have a radio.  Please, we've been trapped in this mall since it started.  There's only a few of us, we're good people!  Please, we'll run out of food soon."

As the woman spoke on, the group had a little talk amongst themselves.  If they were to help, they would not only have to lose some of their supplies, but they could risk their lives.  If they didn't help, those within the mall would eventually starve, or succumb to the undead masses that clawed the walls around the massive building.  

"We're barely alive as it is," Blake told them.  "Just keep going, we have to look out for ourselves."

"For once I might have to agree," the pastor added.  "Being nice nowadays means being dead."

"Come on, are we savages already?" Kenjen spoke up.  "We have to help them, because we're the only ones who can.  That has to be what we're about.  It has to."

"I'm with Kenjen," Steven added.  "It's what's right."

"What's right will get us all killed Steven," Briggs said.  "We have to keep moving.  This is about survival now."

"Survival doesn't mean we abandon our own," Kenjen said.  "It's us and them."

"Tell that to the general..." Blake added.

"I say we help," Ethan chimed in, feeling his conscience way over him.  

The rest of the group looked over to Dallen, Elizabeth and Erin so that they may way in.  

"Whatever the majority vote, we stick together," Leroy Book told them all.  "At least until we're past this city and far away from here."

[color=steelblue] "I say we keep moving," [/color] Dallen finally said.  

Only two votes left to decide, and the little girl's vote counted amongst them.  They were a group now, and whatever the majority was, would be the direction they would all take.