Day 1: Fish Out of The Water

It was a cozy afternoon. Nikolai and George were finding their way back to the mall. With all the medicines they had at their disposal they could treat the injured women. Nikolai was looking at the bags and backpacks full of medicine, drugs and equipment.

George on the other hand was focused on watching the streets. It was not pleasant for him to see how some groups of dead people were scattered in different points of the streets, eating. It was annoying for him to dodge the abandoned cars that, clogged most of the avenues as everyone was trying to get out and in from different points of Vallimorth, but it was too late.

—You know, Nikolai, I was walking along these streets believing that my life would be simple... I wanted to retire in a few years and rest in my home, together with my husband.

George was driving very carefully because he didn't want to hit a car and set off an alarm.

—We all want something and life denies it to us. It's as simple as that...

Nikolai was thinking about how some buildings were giving off smoke from some of the windows that were open. Maybe something exploded inside them?

—If this is global... and if we are the last humans walking the earth... we must secure the mall, our hideout. I have no plans to leave now, and I don't think I'll be getting the hell out of Vallimorth in a few days either.

—Oh, Nikolai... I forgot you weren't from this country. I promise you that we will be a great and formidable group. We will all help each other and make this painful life less miserable.

—So be it...

From a distance they could both see how groups of people defended themselves from the dead, others decided to run to avoid being caught, while some were devoured.

Nikolai compared those desperate cries for help to those of war. Those cries asking God to come down from the heavens and save them.

But no one came.

Nikolai was asking George to drive faster, and that he didn't want to see any more of that "visual crap." The most grotesque thing was that, apparently The Raiders were not the only scum in Vallimorth. Armed, masked people in vans were shooting at every living thing they could find.

Nikolai saw an execution line, with men and women alike, of all sizes and colors. One by one, they were shot in the head as if they were nothing.

—Can you believe this shit?

—I don't even want to turn around, George. Let's just... let's go back to the mall. We don't have time for this.

George continued driving, ignoring those people who were lined up and getting punished for things that never happened. Nikolai thought that maybe the zombies were an irony about who they were and had always been the real monsters.

All this time, the monsters were... human.

And soon there were sounds of gunshots. Apparently someone had triggered a gun, a different one, and the sound was so loud that surely any undead would have heard it being too far away.

Nikolai looked again at the execution line. Apparently someone of the executed had a gun and defended himself, killing the executioner. This caused the other civilians to flee to different directions while people from the group of criminals were shooting at them.

Two males were approaching Nikolai and George's position, apparently they were civilians who would be executed by the masked men. Nikolai was telling George to start the damn car and leave them behind, but something in George made him wait for them.

Sure enough, both men saw the car start and approached, terrified, and implored him to open the doors. Nikolai knew they were in danger when a bullet shattered one of the car's mirrors.

George opened the doors and the men jumped in, shooting in the direction the bullets were coming from, and George sped up.

—We're here for medicine, George, not for a ride with crazy assholes trying to make more holes on us! —He pulled out a pistol and also tried to attack the people who were shooting at the vehicle from a distance. —Fuck, George!

—We have to lose them! We have to! —A grown man, about George's age, ordered. He looked well-armed, even had a bulletproof vest just like the other guy who looked like him, albeit a younger version.

—We're not going to die here! I refuse to die here! —The young man shouted. To shoot better, he had to smash the rear windows. He managed to puncture the tires of a vehicle that was chasing them and in which there were also armed people, attacking.

—Lose these pigs, George! —Nikolai ordered, furious.

—I'm trying! There are so many barricades that it's hard for me to find my way! Keep firing!

George ran over everything in his path, and honked his horn at the people who were running for their lives in terror. In his escape, he took the lives of some unwary people who crossed his path, but he wasn't about to stop to apologize.

The young man was shot in the arm and the bullet penetrated completely. As a result, the older man took a grenade from his belt and removed the pin. He threw it after holding it in his hand for a few seconds, and it exploded over one of the pursuing vans, killing all the occupants.

—Tommy! Damn it, they shot my son! FUCK! TOMMY!!!

The grown man placed his belt a little above the wound and closed it tightly after a few turns.

—For fuck's sake, George! Hey, you son of a bitch! What the fuck are you doing?!

Nikolai watched as George stopped the vehicle, moved to the back seat and attended to the injured young man. Nikolai immediately took the role of the driver, reluctantly.

—You stupid American! You put me in the driver's seat when I don't know how to navigate the damn streets!

—You'd rather have one of those rotten people in the car, you Russian asshole?!

—I'll drive! Just tell me where we're going! —The older man opted to stop the argument.

—To the fucking mall! We have a shelter there!

—I know how to get there! I'll drive! —The man agreed. Nikolai moved to the passenger seat and handed the man the car. —Bryan Fisher.

—I don't give a shit! Drive, motherfucker!

Nikolai grabbed a shotgun as more men were following them. Bryan nodded and drove through the dead streets of Vallimorth, destroying lamp posts and trash cans.

Kalinic kept firing, while George tried to stop the bleeding from the wound by trying to apply a tourniquet. In the process he got blood all over himself, it looked like he had murdered someone.

After a while they were at Vallimorth's Shopping Mall parking lot.

—All right, Bryan and Nikolai! Grab all the damn medicine bags and follow me! I need protection, as I'll be carrying Tommy and won't be able to use my arms to hold a gun.

Equipped with the bags and coming out well armed, Nikolai and Bryan shot any monster that came near and gave George a clear path.

Megan observed everything from the security room and used the alarms of other premises to attract the attention of the dead. By this time Jason and Michael were returning from the HER ladies' clothing store, as they had left the body of the woman who had lost hope in the same dressing room where Mia was found.

—Jason, buddy!

—GEORGE?! WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO YOU?! —Michael immediately approached his husband, as he was bloodied.

—Help me get the boy up! He's hurt!

—Of course!

Jason was the first to climb stairs to get ready to receive the injured man.

The group tried to help Tommy up the stairs, which was really painful and difficult, as he had to use strength in both arms to climb. Below him was George, who was pushing the boy's body against the stairs so that he could put his feet well on each step.

Perhaps it was the adrenaline that gave him enough strength to support himself and be assisted by Jason who pulled him up to the roof.

Bryan was the last to go up, and who put a glass over the space to prevent more people from going up, and to not make the opening look suspicious.

The group took an elevator and descended to the secure area. Bryan and George were helping Tommy, while some of the women in the group were terrified by what they saw.

—Oh, God, George! —Holly covered her mouth at the sight of the bloodied Tennyson.

—What can we help you with, George?! —Mia was in the hallways and opened the door to a room for George, which led to a break room.

—The bags! I want the damn bags, Nikolai! You've got my fucking bandages and towels in there!

Nikolai didn't object and gave the bags to George. Bryan, who was standing to the side, began to cry as he watched his son suffer.

—God! God, no! Oh, my God! Is he going to be all right, Doctor?

—I want you to apply pressure to this area!

Bryan listened, and it was painful to watch Tommy moan.

One of the girls from the armory, Lilly, saw what was happening and immediately went inside, she could see that the wounded man was the victim of a gunshot. When George saw her he yelled at her.

—What the fuck are you doing here, girl? Get out! We don't need anyone to-

—Hear me out! Don't you FUCKING dare to think after what happened to me I'll let an idiot like you talk to me like that! I'm a nurse and I've treated people like him! So do everyone a fucking favor and let me help him! —Lilly objected.

She politely asked Bryan to step back. The man nodded and told his son he would wait outside, he was still crying and felt like he was saying goodbye.

They were all in the hallway, watching from afar as Tommy cried and screamed about the procedure being done to him. Lilly was apparently removing the remains of the bullet.

—He's my son, my only son! We lost his mother back there and he's all I have left! —Bryan covered his face in shame and fell to the ground on his knees. Nikolai looked away, sorry for his earlier action.

Holly leaned over and hugged him, for she too had lost someone.

—Believe me... I know what it feels like to lose someone you love. I...I lost my husband, and all I have is my daughter. So... please calm down. George is a good paramedic who has already helped us.

—But my son! Look at him, how he's in pain!

—I know, I know! I can see and hear it too! Your son needs your strength, if he sees you breaking down... he won't make it. Your son is holding on and sacrificing all his pain for you, who are his father. Do you think you could calm down a little and give your son the same strength he gives you?

Bryan stopped moaning and carved his face, his eyes that were now red and looked at Holly, to proceed to hug her.

—But mom... you're talking about....

—Not a word, Molly! Please. That's all I'm asking.

Molly nodded and opted to stay quiet, watching her mother comfort an injured man.

Tommy's screams and shouting echoed through the corridors of the safe zone.