Part 7

Ash's footsteps echoed in Jim's ears as he scanned the floor below him. They were fast and frantic, moving towards their area of solitude where Jill was waiting, most likely scared out of her wits. Jim couldn't stop the swear words spilling from his lips, they rolled off fluently and without pause, and his hand tightened around the railing that separated him from the zombies underneath.

Slowly, they ambled in every direction. Jim didn't know how they knew they were here as this place, according to Jill, had been relatively ignored in the past. Judging by the sheer number of bodies and their sudden synchronized arrival, something had tipped them off about their whereabouts. Yet, their information must have been pretty vague as they didn't seem to have a set direction in mind. A large group followed the path they have recently taken, while the others wandered off to different parts of the shopping centre. Very soon, the entire bottom floor would be packed and they would be trapped.

Jim reluctantly turned his back on the growing armies downstairs and faced the hallway that lead to the staff room. He could see both Ash and Jill standing at the very end. They appeared to be arguing, as Jim could see the rapidly gesturing arms and wild looks. Ash had his hands clasped onto Jill's shoulders, and although she kept trying to twist out of his grasp, he was holding steady and made sure that she was looking at him and not in Jim's direction. Strangely, their voices didn't carry so Jim couldn't hear exactly what they were saying, but he had a pretty good idea regardless. Ash must have been talking in hushed tones to try and keep Jill calm.

After a moment of struggling, Ash seemed to win out. Jill stopped thrashing and stared at the floor, shoulders dropping in acceptance. Jim watched as Ash lifted her face and spoke slowly and surely, before turning her body around and pushing her towards the staff room. He followed her and came back a few seconds later with his cricket bat in hand and a look of determination on his face. It reminded Jim of the expression Ash had been wearing when they had first met him. By the look of it, Ash was ready to beat down some zombies. Sadly, Jim couldn't say the say about himself.

A tap on his hand, still wrapped around the railing, caught his attention. Jim looked around, startled at the touch, to find Spock's hand resting near his and tapping a rhythm on his fingers. Confused, Jim looked up at Spock and followed his gaze down towards to the advancing mob. He had almost forgotten the situation they were in. Jim would have smacked a hand to his forehead if things were a little bit less serious.

During the absence of Jim's attention, the zombies had grown exponentially in numbers. There was barely a patch of tiles that didn't have feet shuffling over it. Their combined noise and smell was enough to make Jim stagger back a few steps. All his senses felt like they had just been violated. They were also moving quicker than Jim had given them credit for. Already, they were climbing the motionless escalators and getting closer all the while. Panic flooded his body, and although it was pulsing in his veins telling him to start moving and do something, he couldn't seem to get his feet to comply.

"Jill's in the staff room. I told her not to open the door unless it's for us."

Ash had returned and was standing to Jim's immediate right, while Spock was still waiting on his other side. Ash stared at the sea of heads and then back Jim, as if he was waiting for some sort of command, like Jim was going to issue a battle cry and then they would run into war. Jim couldn't. He wasn't sure what to do. It was three against hundreds. They might have the advantage of higher ground but that wouldn't be for long. There were already a handful on their floor and only meters away.

Unsurprisingly, Ash was the first one to act. He must have seen the hesitation in Jim. He hopped on his toes like a boxer warming up for a fight, took a deep breath, and then moved around Jim and Spock. The closest zombies were less than five meters away now and he wasted no time in taking it down. He swung the bat with as much force as he could muster and it caught the zombie on what remained of its jaw. The malnourished bones cracked and splintered and Jim could say for certain that it was the most disturbing thing he had ever heard. The zombie was knocked off its feet and was propelled into the railing; which was only just over waist height so when it hit it, the force sent it toppling over the edge. It plummeted the short distance and took out a few more zombies with its impact with the ground. Ash grinned and moved on to the next closest one.

Jim was shocked and a little repulsed by Ash's apparent joy. The noise that had sickened him, seemed to be some sort of reward to Ash, it fueled his actions and caused him to swing a bit harder next time. Jim lifted the baseball bat in his hands with trepidation. The cricket bat was heavier, he told himself. The baseball bat shouldn't make as much noise. Or at least, that's what he hoped.

Jim patted Spock's back as he stepped past him and went to join Ash. The number of zombies that managed to climb the escalator was increasing, and they were steadily filling the upper floor as well. Jim didn't know if it was as packed in other parts of the shopping centre, but something told him that they knew where they were now and would be closing in on them.

The first time Jim swung the baseball bat, it hit the offending zombie in the neck. The bones holding the things head up shattered and the head lolled limply on its shoulders. It didn't slow the thing down at all. He swung again, this time over head. Even with his eyes clenched shut; he knew he had met his target. It was like a paper cut, he could feel the bat move through the zombies head. When he opened his eyes again, the zombie had crumpled to the floor, its skull in pieces, some scattered on the floor, some hanging off the bat. He tried to breathe in, but found he couldn't. His chest felt tight and cold. His hands were hot and clammy.

Another zombie stepped over the corpse of the other one and lunged at Jim, scaring the breath back into his lungs. Instead of not being able to take a breath, he was now taking too many and he felt dizzy and light.

Spock joined them and was knocking down zombies almost as proficiently as Ash. The sickening sounds and jolts to his hands didn't seem to faze him at all. Jim didn't know whether to feel jealous or proud of the fact that it affected him so much.

Jim thought things were going well. The bodies piled up on the ground around them, and other zombies were beginning to have trouble getting closer to them because of it. They had defended themselves moderately well so far, Jim thought. Not one zombie had gotten close enough to attack them yet; one of them would jump in and beat the zombie to the ground before it got the chance. They looked after each others backs and made sure everyone was safe. Jim held a faint thread of hope. If it carried on like this then they might survive this. The thought of an entire world having succumbed to the zombies, and what chance would four people have of surviving, didn't even cross his mind.

It didn't cross his mind until he spotted the zombies approaching from behind them. The top floor looped around the edge and some of the zombies have taken up the fact to their advantage. Jim backed towards the hallway leading to Jill, shouting and alerting Spock and Ash about the others surrounding them. Spock turned and saw the group forming around them, choosing to follow Jim's lead of retreating back down the hallway. Ash, on the other hand, either hadn't heard him or was choosing not to. He pitched the bat at another zombie, this time aiming for its feet. It was swept off its feet, just like Jim had been when Ash had done that to him, but it didn't stop it, it just climbed back to its feet while Ash attacker another. It was like Ash was just toying with them, if he wasn't hitting to kill, then he was just hitting for his own enjoyment.

The top floor was swiftly becoming just as crowded as the bottom floor, and if they didn't act soon, Ash would be surrounded. Spock seemed to understand as well and he stepped back towards them again.

Zombies had closed off the gap Jim and Spock had used to get into the hallway, and had formed a circle around Ash. Jim hoped Ash was doing more than playing with them now, because if he wasn't fighting now he would be dead. With the zombies focusing on Ash, they had their back to the hallway, and removing most of them out of the way was unusually easy.

Eventually, Jim and Spock and make a path to the centre of the circle. They made it just in time to see Ash get completely surrounded. One hung off his arm and stopped him from lifting the bat, another lay on the floor and clung to his trousers, while another crept up behind him and latched onto his shoulder with its teeth.

Jim had to reevaluate his earlier thoughts when he heard Ash yell. It wasn't just pain, it was anguish and anger, frustration and annoyance all rolled into one. It was officially the worse thing Jim had ever heard.

Instinctively, Jim rushed forward. He ran and crashed into the zombie tearing the flesh off Ash's shoulder. A spray of blood hit Jim in the side of the face as he tackled the zombie to the ground. The coppery smell was strikingly obtrusive over the stench of rotting flesh and it caused Jim's stomach to turn over uncomfortably. When they both hit the floor with a crash, the thing turned its attention to Jim instead. Its teeth snapped and reached for any part of Jim's skin it could get close to, while Jim was trying to wrestle his way out of the zombies grasp and back on to his feet.

With blood dribbling down his body and two zombies hanging off his person, Ash seemed to explode with emotions and un-vented rage. Just like the life-sustaining-liquid coursing out of the fresh wound in his shoulder, the feelings of determination and purpose just couldn't be contained. A harsh kick sent the zombie at his feet rolling a few paces away, and a whole bodily forced swing of a fist made sure that the other zombie attached to his arm had to stagger backwards.

Jim, meanwhile, was still struggling with the zombie he had tackled. He had managed to straddle the thing with the baseball bat pushed into its neck to keep it at bay, but every time he tried to move away, it would move with him. Its long fingered hands were digging into the arms holding the bat in place and scratching deep gouges into the flesh. Jim had no choice but to stay where he was and hold the bat firm while the zombie thrashed beneath him.

Ash's head swam as he attempted to get his bearings back. He felt a little unsteady on his feet and his limbs were aching from holding himself up. He looked wildly around, only barely registering the crowd around him. A vaguely human-shaped blur sort of lumbered closer, its arms outstretched. Before it could get close enough to touch him another blur darted into view knocking the first blur back into the crowd. A spark of recognition went through Ash's brain and he remembered where he was and who was trying to keep the area around them relatively zombie free. Spock struck out again when another zombie made to grab Ash in his confused state.

A sharp pain shot through Ash's neck; it felt like someone had just poured boiling water onto his shoulder and it was streaming down his back leaving a trail of scorched skin in its wake. He prodded the epicenter of the pain, and was sure he passed out for a second. It flashed white and then suddenly, when his vision returned, everything was crystal clear. He pulled his hand back from his shoulder and marveled at the stained skin on his palm. It was then that he spotted Jim on the floor.

Ash reached over and tightened his fist in Jim shirt and pulled him back with more strength than he thought he had left. Jim yelped when he was lifted to feet by a hand he hadn't realized was so close. The baseball came with him, but he was dragged so quickly that the zombie had no chance of getting a bite in by the time Ash swooped in and slammed the cricket bat into its face. Jim didn't even glance at the mess that exploded over the tiles, and instead dragged Ash back, who had jumped right into defending them again.

"We had to get back to the staff room." Ash struggled in Jim's arms, and Jim had to completely encase him and hold him still. "If we stay here, it's suicide."

Jim had to force out the word suicide because he suddenly remembered McCoy's words in his office before he left. McCoy had been right. This was a suicide attempt and it was all Jim's fault that Ash was currently bleeding through his shirt and onto Jim. And if they didn't do something soon, they would all be dead.

Jim tightened his grip on Ash when he tried to shake himself free. Ash managed to snake out a limb and nearly knocked Jim out when he flung it into his face.

"Enough!" Jim bellowed. "Spock, help me get him back to the staff room!"

Spock abandoned his efforts off trying to get rid of every zombie in the vicinity, there were simply too many of them now. He took the struggling Ash from Jim's arms, and was doing a better job at restraining him with one arm than Jim had done with two. Jim quickly stooped down to retrieve the baseball bat he had dropped when he grabbed Ash. He spotted the cricket bat lying not far from it. Still, Jim chose to keep the baseball bat, something told him that the cricket bat wasn't as lucky as Ash had believed it to be.

He rejoined Spock, flanking the side that he was holding Ash to him, and tried to see over the heads surrounding them; he had to orientate himself in order to find the direction of the hallway. He panicked for a second when he thought he couldn't see it, and then with a wave of relief he spotted the darkened roof that stretched down into the hallway. The direction that they needed to go was thankfully only blocked by a small amount of zombies. With both Jim and Spock pushing their way through, they made it back to the hallway with surprising ease.

The zombies followed, trailing after the flesh they so very wanted to feast upon. They bumped into each other and the whole group tried to turn on the spot and grab the retreating bodies. The fact that there were now so many of them played to Jim's advantage. They had forced themselves into an area that wasn't that big to begin with and were now trying to following them down an even smaller hallway, but it wasn't really working. Jim and Spock managed to drag Ash most of the way down the hallway before the zombies had spilled after them. A trail of blood leading to them seemed to be enticing the zombies and kept them on their path.

Jim banged on the staff room door with the palm of his hand, silently praying to god that it would be loud enough to alert Jill.

"It's us! Open the door!"

There was a sound of something being dragged on the other side of the door. The door rattled and he could hear Jill mumbling incomprehensibly under her breath. Jim glanced at the door leading to the hallway, seeing that it was still empty; and when he turned back to the door it swung open and Jill's hands reached out and grabbed the arm that was holding Ash on his feet. She didn't say anything, but panic was evident in her eyes; she helped Spock drag Ash, who had gone basically limp now, into the room. As Jim hurried through the door and went to go shut it again, he glimpsed a hand reaching around the door to the hallway. They were coming. Jim slammed the door shut with more force than was necessary, and cursed quietly to himself once more.

He checked twice that he had correctly locked the door. Just to the side of the door, the desk had been hastily pushed aside. Jim grabbed the corner and pulled it back in front of the door; it didn't expect it hold if at all, but it created a false sense of security which was all that mattered.

Returning his attention to the situation inside the room, Jim dashed towards the sofa where Ash was sitting hunched over. Jill sat next to him, her hands nearly a blur as she fussed over him. Spock was rummaging through a drawer in the kitchen with his back to the rest of them. Jim dropped to his knees in front of the sofa, reaching forward to tilt Ash head attentively to the side. What was left of the skin on his shoulder glistened from the shine of the torch that Jill was now aiming in his direction. There wasn't much Jim could do, it was still oozing blood and was too big to cauterize, which was admittedly quite a drastic measure. Spock joined them and held out a large, clean dish towel. Jim took it with a nod, folded it and gingerly placed it over the wound. A feeling of déjà vu washed over Jim, and he hoped that Ash would have a better outcome than Williams had, but with McCoy not being here, there was very little chance of that happening.

Jill leaned across and continued her fussing by removing Jim's hand and replacing it with her own. She lifted her towel, wincing at the amount of blood that already soaked through, and swapped hands wiping the excess blood off onto her thigh. She muttered reassurances as she worked and Jim tried to ignore them. The glazed look in Ash's eyes probably meant that he also wasn't really listening to her.

Jim could sense Spock's eyes on him as he looked Ash over, making sure that there weren't anymore serious cuts or wounds. After that he couldn't stall any longer. He stood back up and walked towards the door, Spock followed as quickly as possible. It looked as though they were just reinforcing the door, checking that it would hold for an indefinite amount of time; but really Spock had just wanted to draw Jim away to say the thing that Jim was dreading. When Spock talked, it was quiet and steady, as though it was easy to say, but Jim was having trouble just listening to it let alone saying it.

"The logical thing to do would be to kill him. He will eventually turn into one of them. We can not deny that."

"I know!" Jill looked, startled, in their direction. Jim tried to calm himself down, but couldn't find anything to help him, all his thoughts just led to more desperation. "I know that, I do. It's just, he isn't one yet. We can't kill him." Spock looked as skeptical as he could, but Jim just shrugged it off. "I'm not clinging to false hope, alright, I know he's gone. He just hasn't gone yet and I'm not being the one to speed up the process, okay?"

Spock nodded. Jim tried to swallow down the lump in his throat. They both pushed at the desk even though it was already as close to the door as it could get, but neither man really paid attention.

Ash grunted in pain, and Jim heard Jill whisper an apology in a meek voice. Ash looked deathly pale in the eerily lit room. Jill had placed the torch on her lap as she tended to his shoulder, and its white bulb had made Ash's bloodless skin turn almost colorless. He bared a striking resemblance to the creatures locked out on the other side of the door, but so far he hadn't made any attempts of nipping at Jill's arm which was teasingly close to his face, so that was a good sign. His eyes held a brightness that had been missing just moments before and he seemed more alert and aware of his surroundings, which was also good.

Despite this, Jim didn't allow himself to build up hope. He still remembered what Ash had said to them when they first met, 'One bite from those things and you're infected as well.' Ash had been bitten. It was as simple as that. No amount of spin on the situation can change that. It was over for Ash. But it wasn't over for the rest of them. He couldn't let himself get bogged down by this unfortunate turn of events, he still had a survivor to rescue.

The baseball bat was lying on the floor near where Jim had stooped to get a better look at Ash's shoulder. He went to go retrieve it, but shuddered when he got that all too familiar sensation of someone's eyes following his every move. His neck felt too exposed as he bent to grasp the metal, and when righted himself he met Ash's glare. His eyes were glazed again and fixed firmly on Jim. Jim quickly stepped back and clutched the bat tightly at his side.

After he removed himself from Ash's personal space, his eyes seemed to spark again and he just looked in pain. Something told Jim that they would have to think of a plan very swiftly. The door was holding so far, and Jim could barely hear their rasps and screeches, but it wouldn't do them much good if they were also trapped with one on the other side.

---

"Captain!"

The noise and its echo, even though he was expecting it, made McCoy jump. He ran his bandaged hand over his cheek in a routine he had done many times since they had started searching through this supposed abandoned shopping centre. With the blood from his hand and the blood from his still bleeding face, the blue material was steadily turning a murky reddish brown colour. The adrenaline from their, undoubtedly stupid, yet courageous, entrance had long since warn off; McCoy was left with a shaky feeling of paranoia and jumped at every sound, even if he was the one making it.

Sulu was marching a few shop lengths ahead of him, randomly shouting at the top of his lungs. The ear shattering voice cutting through the silence didn't seem to bother him as much as it did McCoy, and he repeated the action every now and then, hoping for a reply each time but never getting one.

From what McCoy could gather, the shopping centre was empty. They had yet to come across anything that gave them any reason to believe that someone was trying to survive in here. Though gutted at the thought, McCoy was beginning to convince himself that this was hopeless cause.

"Captain!"

McCoy froze. Rubbed subconsciously at his cheek. Regained his train of thought. Then continued following Sulu.

He spotted a closed book shop and stopped right outside of it. The familiar black bars kept him from getting too close, but the moon light filtered through the large windows near the roof and shone directly at the shops front window. Bookcases lined the wall with barely a gap between each novel on the shelves. Tables sat at odd intervals around the room and had handfuls of book haphazardly placed on the surfaces. He was too far away to read any of the titles so he just settled on looking at the covers of the paperback books.

Despite the grime that built up on the window after the amount of time it had been left unopened, McCoy could still see his reflection in it. He looked terrible. His shirt was ripped and ruined leaving parts of his stomach on show, and that was just the front. McCoy knew he had slashed open his back on the glass when he had dropped into the bathroom and he could only imagine what his back looked like. It stung with every step he took so he guessed it wasn't pretty. Dark shadows covered one side of his face and some dipped down on to throat. He must have looked quite gruesome with blood stains covering most of his body. From appearances alone, he could probably pass as one of those monsters.

It was no wonder they hadn't came across anyone here. With Sulu's shouting and McCoy's appearance, any survivors were most likely taking their chances on their own. Looking at his reflection he had to admit, he didn't look very approachable.

"Captain!"

McCoy watched himself jump. His eyes when wide and he stared straight ahead. Behind his eyes, many different scenarios ran through his head; the most vivid one had zombies suddenly spilling out of every shadowed area of this shopping centre. In his head, they were both surrounded in seconds and there was nothing he could do. The world behind eyes was suddenly filled with stark red images and chilling screams.

Then it was gone. He was back staring at the bland colourless reflection. There were no zombies surrounding them and McCoy was safe for the time being. But, try as he might, he couldn't shake the helpless feeling he had when he those things were so close to him.

"Sulu, that's enough. I don't think there's anyone here."

McCoy could have kicked himself. Seconds after he spoke, they heard a groan. They knew exactly what that meant; then sure enough, like clockwork, a figure stumbled around the corner, arms simply being used as paper weights and definitely not for balance. Another followed shortly after, then another and another. Soon, there were at least ten of them moving towards the pair.

Being the first one to jump into action, Sulu jogged back to where McCoy had stopped and grabbed him by the arm. McCoy didn't notice straight away, as he had his eyes fixed of the approaching group, but when Sulu started to shake his arm he let himself be dragged towards the stairs they had just passed.

They climbed the steps as quickly as they could and took off around the second floor of the shopping centre. They got further around than they would have on the lower floor, but it wasn't long until they came across another obstacle. The group, this time, was more than twice as big as the one that run into downstairs. McCoy and Sulu stopped and ducked into a large alcove to get their breath back.

Adrenaline had abandoned McCoy yet again. He had all the disadvantages; ragged breathing, a racing mind and a rapid heartbeat but none of the crazy ideas or a sense of indestructibility that usually accompanied it. He had no idea of what to do and he was slowly getting surrounded. That was when he heard it. That was when he heard the one thing that could clear his head and fill it with plans of escape and made him feel invincible. He heard Jim's voice echo over all the groaning and shuffling feet.

The first thing they heard was a scream of anguish, which did nothing but push McCoy further into his spiral of defeat, but then the hazy overcast cleared and sun poked through the figurative spell that had been cast over him when Jim's voice sounded over everything else.

"Enough! Spock, help me get him back to the staff room!"

Jim was still alive. He was alive and just around the corner. McCoy couldn't stop the relieved grin that spread over his face. He quickly stopped though, when he felt the gash on his cheek strain and split open further. He turned to Sulu to see if he shared his feeling of euphoria and managed to catch him in the act of readying himself to shout out again. McCoy reached over and clapped a hand around Sulu's mouth, cutting off his deep intake of breath.

"Shhh, we don't want everyone knowing where we are." He waited until Sulu nodded behind his hand, before he removed it, nodding back.

McCoy turned back to the direction Jim's voice came from. He poked his head out of the alcove as far as he dared and tried to gauge how far away Jim must have been The wall of zombies that separate them could be two bodies thick or twenty bodies thick, there was no way of knowing lest he run full pelt into the midst of them, which was never going to happen.

The odd feeling of calm that washed over him, thanks to Jim's voice, made plans form in head without much probing. He stared at the group and clamped a hand onto the communicator. He unclipped it and tested the weight of it by bouncing his hand up and down. He nodded to himself and turned back to Sulu once more, his plan now straightened out in his mind. He pushed the communicator in Sulu's hand and closed his fingers around it for him, making sure that Sulu kept a hold on it.

"Run straight for the door. I'm going to distract them and get them out of the way for you." Straight away, Sulu shook his head frantically.

"No, no, no. I don't think so." He pushed the communicator back at McCoy, but neither of them seemed to want to hold it in their hands for more than a few seconds. "You're the doctor. You're the important one; they're going to need you more than they need me."

Since no one could keep hold of the communicator, Sulu, when it was his turn to push it away, threw it forcibly at McCoy's chest. He knew that McCoy would scramble to catch and that would give him the few precious seconds he needed to get past him.

Without giving McCoy a chance to retaliate, Sulu escaped from the alcove, shouting and waving his arms as he did so. He made sure to keep far enough away so that no one could unexpectedly grab him, but he moved as far away as possible from McCoy so that he would have a clear shot at Jim.

McCoy sighed in relief when he successfully caught the communicator and clutched it to his chest protectively; his reprieve was short lived though as he was back to panicking when he looked up and noticed that Sulu was gone. He quickly attempted to follow and leapt out of the alcove, searching for a fast moving blur in the moonlight with darting eyes. He spotted Sulu on the other side of the second floor; his actions had managed to draw most of the zombies in his direction, but some still remained crowded around the hallway. Sulu's gaze locked with McCoy's and he frowned at him. McCoy felt rooted to the spot.

Sulu pointed in the direction of the hallway, and then took off. He was still shouting and weaving dangerously close to the enemy, but always managed to evade it in the last second. The zombies left on McCoy's side of the floor finally noticed the new target and began to hobble in Sulu's direction; however, the way that Sulu had run meant that they would have to pass McCoy and the alcove in order to get to him.

McCoy acted quickly. He didn't want the things to spot him and become deterred from following Sulu, so he dove back into the alcove. It felt smaller than it had just moments ago as he pressed his back against the wall. His arms were crisscrossed over his chest and his knuckles paled around the communicator. He even held his breath to make himself as invisible as humanly possible. Which was ironic as he knew the zombies themselves didn't breathe either, and refusing to breathe wasn't a very human thing to do.

He stood still for a long while, and even began to feel dizzy from holding breath. The moonlight kept playing tricks on him as well, every time he thought he saw a shadow approaching it turned out just to be a trick of the light. When a figure eventually did appear walking past, McCoy gasped in a lungful of much needed air then struggled to keep himself silent. His shoulder blades hurt from the force he was pushing them into the wall but he ignored it and focused on keeping his breathing if not nonexistent then shallow at the least.

The things moved past without noticing McCoy's presence so close to them. Their shuffling gait was slow but eventually they were gone. McCoy clipped the communicator safely onto to his belt again, testing it by giving it a tug, and then leant off the wall. He placed his hands flat against the wall behind him and braced the toes of one of his boots where the wall connected with the floor. He looked like a sprinter getting ready for the starting pistol, only he felt a lot more nervous that he would have if he was actually in that scenario.

One deep gulp of air and he was ready. He pushed off the wall with his hands and foot and shot out of the alcove, praying that he wouldn't run straight into a zombies that was straggling behind the main group. He skidded at bit at the acute turn he made upon exiting the alcove, but regained his footing and sprinted down the stretch of tiles that lead to the hallway Jim had disappeared through. His eyes were drawn to battered looking cricket bat that was discarded on the floor. Without slowing, McCoy stooped to hook the handle of the bat as he ran; he gripped it tightly and carried on.

The area was basically clear. There were a few bodies littering the ground and a handful of zombies were still milling about at random interval, but none of them were any trouble for him. He reached the opening of the hallway and finally skidded to a halt. In front of him there was a vast region of darkness. He didn't know if it was just his eyes not adjusting to the dark, but it seemed to stretch on endlessly. Even his faint shadow, formed from the little amount of moonlight behind him, was being devoured by the black. He felt slightly safer by the addition of a weapon in his hand, but it still didn't fill him with confidence.

There were scuffed shoes hitting the tiles somewhere behind him, so he had to make a decision quickly. He was debating whether to take the thing at a run, or whether he should step slowly and surely. If there were more zombies down there, would it be better to knock them out of his way or sneak past them quietly? How would be know when he was nearing the end of the hallway? What if he ran full pelt into one of them? Would he be able to fight back in total darkness? What if there were loads of them waiting in the shadows for him? He might be able to win if it was one against one, but how would he fair if he was outnumbered and blind?

"Fuck it."

He kept one hand on the wall to his left, as if he was trying to find his way out of a labyrinth, held the bat defensively in the air with his other hand, and ran. It was a scary feeling, running into the unknown. The rough texture of the wall tickled his fingertips, and the bat was too heavy to keep in the air so he dropped it back to his side, but he kept running. He didn't encounter anything at first and was beginning to hope for the best, but eventually he met complications.

His wrist whipped back and he almost lost his grip on the bat. He couldn't see anything, although he didn't doubt himself, there was definitely something there and the bat had just collided with it. He wanted to keep running but his legs had other plans; he stopped and waited to see if anything made any noise. Sure enough, something groaned. It was so loud and right next to McCoy's ear. It wasn't accompanied by an exhale of air so he didn't know exactly how close it was, but McCoy had already ruled out them breathing so it might he standing right next to him for all he knew.

Cursing his own stupid at stopping, McCoy blindly swung the bat at his side. Again, it hit something at he got a groan in response, though it wasn't in pain and it didn't even vaguely resembled anything human. He scrambled to put his hand back on the wall, hoping that he was still facing the right direction, and then carried on running.

Nothing else blocked his path, and it wasn't long before his hand brushed past a door frame. The door was wide open or it might have just been empty, he didn't know, but he quickly sidestepped through it and into another pitch black room.

He knew it was probably not safe to start shouting, but he did it anyway. If it caused the zombies to find him he didn't care, he just hoped that Jim would find him first.

"Jim?!"

McCoy followed the wall next to the door frame. He ran his hand along it and quickly reached the corner of the room.

"Jim?!"

McCoy took a shaky step in the new direction and managed not to trip over anything in the process.

"It's McCoy!"

He hoped Jim could hear him. McCoy's hand hit something else, another door frame. This time, the door was shut. He tried pushing it open but it must have been locked; he felt along the front of the door and couldn't find any sort of lock. He found the handle and tried pushing it down but it resulted in nothing, the door stayed shut.

"Jim, are you in there?! It's me, McCoy!"

McCoy pounded his fist on the door after he shouted, to let whoever might be on the other side know that they weren't just hearing things and he was really there. It surprisingly also helped McCoy feel more at ease; standing in the midst of a pitch black room made him doubt things. It was like he was standing on nothing, surrounded by nothing, but the fact that he could still make noise helped consolidate his own existence.

He stopped slamming his hand on the door and waited with baited breath, wondering what would happen next. He couldn't hear any movement on the other side of the door and that worried him. McCoy had been hoping that the door would spring open as soon as he had started shouting, and Jim would be waiting on the other side. But so far, the only thing that met his voice was silence.

McCoy stood with his shoulders slumped in the darkness. The cricket bat was close to slipping out of his hand as all the fight seeped out of McCoy's body. His head dropped and his chin hit his chest; he knew he shouldn't have gotten his hopes up, everything was too easy and he had gotten ahead of himself.

Suddenly, McCoy stiffened. His body went rigid and his head shot up. There was a bright light being aimed directly at his face and he had to squint and shield his eyes with a hand. A figure was silhouetted in the doorway, but due to the blinding light and his now streaming eyes, McCoy couldn't even begin to work out who it was. Something hooked onto what was left of his shirt and dragged him forward into the room and closer to the source of the light. McCoy realized that he had no choice but to let himself be manhandled and stumbled inside. He distinctively heard the door slam shut behind him, but at the moment he didn't care, he was too busy trying to stem the constant stream of water coming out of his eyes from the impromptu blinding.

Hands rested on his shoulders, but the owner of them kept quiet and otherwise still. It took McCoy a couple of seconds to force himself to open his eyes again, and when he did, he had the urge to rub his eyes in bewilderment to prove to himself that he was seeing things. He eventually gave in to the urge and tried to clear his face of the tears, blood, dirt and sweat that must have been covering him, but he still saw the same thing went he was finished. Jim.

It was the same grin and bright eyes as he was seen countless times before and again they were being directed at him. Just like all the other times, McCoy smiled back, though his was slightly less enthusiastic. It wasn't that he was any less glad to see Jim again; this entire time it was thoughts of Jim that kept him going, it was just that if he smiled any wider the gash on his cheek would split open again and he was sure he had lost enough blood today as it was. Jim didn't seem to mind. His grin was wide enough and enthusiastic enough for the both of them.

Jim waited until it looked like McCoy had orientated himself again, before he pulled him into a hug. His arms tightened around McCoy but were quickly lifted away when he felt the still warm blood squelch. Jim's eyes widened with worry as he stepped back and forcefully twisted McCoy around so that he could see his back. The blood, from the cut the window had inflicted on him, had soaked through, turning patches of his back a funny purple colour.

McCoy's view of the world twirled again when Jim wheeled his around once more. This time, Jim's hands cupped McCoy's face and his fingers gently probed the wound on his face. His head swam from being rotated in circles, but even through the haze, he understood Jim's worry. His voice finally found him again, and he was muttering assurances to Jim before he even realized he could. He repeated, I'm fine, I'm okay, don't worry, more times in those short seconds than he was sure he had ever said in his entire life. Usually there was no one to hear them, but Jim was there and he appeared to be immersing himself in the words.

The world containing just the two of them suddenly populated when they heard a groan of pain over the top of their low tones. McCoy eyes zeroed in on the people huddled together on the couch behind Jim. One of them was bleeding profusely while the other fussed and tended to the wound as much as she could. He was reminded of the whole reason why he was here. McCoy reluctantly pulled himself away from Jim's hands and addressed the whole room.

"I don't know how long we have, I doubt Sulu will be able to keep them occupied for long, so we need to get armed and ready to this room in a matter of minutes."

He eyed the man on the couch wearily, moving him would be difficult and would undoubtedly weigh them down. The woman sitting next to him was shakily violently, so much so that she was having trouble holding onto the small blood drenched towel she had in her hand. From the look of it, leaving the man behind would not be a possibility.

"Sulu's here? What do you mean 'occupied'? What's he doing?" Jim questioned.

"He's giving you a chance and buying us some time." McCoy held Jim's gaze and made sure he understood him. "I just hope it's enough."

"Unfortunately, we are limited in our choice of weapons." Spock stopped next to Jim's elbow, effectively closing off the small circle they had formed. "It was quick thinking, on your part, for picking up the cricket bat. We are sure to need it if we are going to have to fight our way out of this."

McCoy glanced down at Spock's words. He had forgotten he was holding the cricket bat tightly in his hand. Jim and Spock were also holding bats, but with a quick scan of the room, McCoy realized that that was the extent of their defense. Though, it was more than what he and Sulu had survived on, it was hardly enough to fight off an onslaught of the living dead.

"Is this all we have?" McCoy asked, secretly hoping that they would suddenly reveal a huge barrack of weaponry to be used at their disposal.

"Sadly, yes." Jim seemed to share in McCoy's disappointment for a moment, but then he straight back to grinning. "But, hey, it's kept us alive so far, so we must be doing something right."

McCoy clapped his bandaged wrapped hand onto Jim's shoulder, marveling in his ability to keep a positive attitude, even in the face of death. It was inspiring, to say the least.

Although his hand was still bleeding underneath the bandage, he knew it wouldn't be enough to leave a bloody handprint in its wake, so when he pulled his hand back he was surprised to see a hand shaped mark on Jim's shoulder. McCoy checked his hand and was relieved to find that it wasn't dripping blood, but it still left him confused. Jim followed his gaze and awkwardly tried to get a glimpse of the mark just above his shoulder blade. A memory of Ash dragging him backwards off of a zombie flashed through his head, so he nodded towards him on the couch.

McCoy took that as an invitation to approach him. The woman backed off slightly and let McCoy work but was always within an arms reach of him. There wasn't much McCoy could do for him here, and he even admitted to himself that there was probably nothing he could do for him back on the Enterprise as well, but he certainly didn't voice that thought. McCoy grabbed the blanket bundled up on the couch and began tearing it into strips. He wound it haphazardly around the man shoulder and under his opposite armpit, crossing over his chest. The strips were uneven and the threads were quickly unraveling, but it should hold for the immediate future, he hoped.

After that, he held out a hand and helped the man to his feet. He stumbled and his legs nearly gave way, but both McCoy and the woman caught his arms before he hit the floor. To test that the man would be fit enough to escape the room, at least, McCoy made him circle the room a few times. He seemed to grow in strength each time he circled, which was a good sign; he just needed to get his muscles moving again. Until then, he needed someone to lean on in case his legs grew weak again.

Jill grabbed one of Ash's arms and pulled it over her shoulders, letting him rest some of his weight on her. It helped considerably, but it meant that neither of them would be able to wield a weapon. That left McCoy, Jim and Spock to carry the only weapons they had. Thankfully, McCoy's injured hand was his left, so he could still comfortably swing the bat if he needed to.

Eventually, they were ready. To McCoy, if felt like he had been in this room for hours when, in reality, it was less than ten minutes. He couldn't even begin to imagine how claustrophobic it must have been for Jim, who had apparently been trapped in here for many hours now.

Despite having taken the lead during his time on this planet, McCoy was grateful to step back and let Jim take charge again. He made sure to keep close to Jim as they pottered about the room, making sure that they had everything that could possibly be of use to them, and then McCoy followed Jim to the door. Jim was first, with McCoy and Spock standing less than a meter apart either side of him and Jill and Ash stayed at the back. Hopefully, the zombies would be so few and infrequent that they could be handle by only three of them and there would be no danger for the hobbling pair at the back.

"As soon as we open the door we're going to want to find the nearest exit. We can find Sulu afterwards, but our top priority is getting out, okay? Does everyone understand?" McCoy searched everyone's face; Jim's especially because he knew his plan of surviving first, and finding Sulu second, would not go over well with him. However, he was surprised to see Jim nod and accept the plan without question or needing to add to it himself, he simply understood the extreme danger they were in and knew now was not the time to argue. "Is everyone ready?"

"Almost." Jim had gone back to staring at the door after McCoy had held his gaze, so when he was the only one to quietly answer the question, McCoy was unsure whether he had actually said something or if he had imagined the sound.

Jim's hand slowly slid off the door handle, and after he had turned around, it grabbed tightly onto the back of McCoy's neck. They didn't meet each others eyes, they each just moved in closer, ignoring the fact that were trapped in a small room in the middle of a zombie apocalypse surrounded by people who were bleeding and holding weapons. Jim kissed him fiercely and without reservation and McCoy kissed back with equal enthusiasm. All the worry they had been harboring seeped away and they relaxed into each other.

When Jim finally pulled away, breathless and shaking slightly, he still avoided McCoy's eyes. He made to turn back to the door but found he couldn't. During the kiss, McCoy's hand had grasped hold of the front of Jim's shirt in his bandaged hand, and when Jim turned McCoy held him in place.

Jim's heart was pounding from the fear of what was coming and the adrenaline from the kiss and McCoy could feel it beating against his fist. He tugged down on the material he had in his hand, and finally Jim met his eye. It was only for a split second but it was enough. Quickly, Jim leaned in for one more kiss; it was short, sweet and with the lightest hint of pressure, but then his hand was gone from McCoy's neck and back on the door handle.

"Okay. Now I'm ready."

McCoy scowled at the back of Jim's head, and then at Spock, who was staring at them both with a raised eyebrow. Jill didn't say anything, though that was most likely because she was too wrapped up in keeping Ash on his feet; he was already beginning to waiver a bit like he was having trouble just holding up his own weight.

Jim unlocked the door and swept it open. Jill had left the torch resting on the couch behind them, so their shadows appeared stretched out and inhuman on the floor. The room was empty, so they breezed through it and into the hallway leading to the shops. The group seemed to move smoother than McCoy had thought they would; Ash wasn't even slowing them down since Jill was near enough dragging him along.

McCoy lifted the bat, remembering the zombie he had passed on his way up, but his efforts weren't needed as the hallway was as empty as the other room. They reached the shops without having to stop at all. Jim paused when they exited the hallway. He scanned each direction then tilted his head in question towards McCoy, silently asking which way he thought the exit was. McCoy pointed to the right, knowing they weren't far from where he and Sulu had found a way in, and that in turn wasn't far from the main entrance.

They stepped around all the bodies littering the immediate area and kept an eye open in case one of them started moving again. By the time they had reached the alcove McCoy had hid out in, the bodies disappeared and they instead trained their eyes to spot an exit.

Everywhere else they walked was empty. Their footsteps and Ash's labored breathing were the only things they could hear. McCoy wasn't sure what Sulu had planned when he ran to distract them, but it was evidently thorough.

They came across another set of stairs and stationary escalators and decided to return to the lower floor. It wasn't as useful for checking their surroundings, however, if they wanted to find a way out they would need to eventually descend to this floor.

After around fifteen minutes of searching, they spotted a small square patch of moonlight on the ground near the left wall. Jim strode purposefully towards it, with both McCoy and Spock hot on his trail. Jill struggled to keep up as she was carrying nearly twice her weight now, but when he reached them they had already found the small door to the outside that the light was streaming through.

Jim tried the handle. It turned, but when he tried to push it open it didn't move. Glancing through the glass, he could see a number of cardboard boxes piled up at the base of the door. He braced his shoulder on the door and pushed, putting all his weight into it, but the boxes still refused to budge. He tried and tried, growing increasingly more frantic and forceful each time it didn't move, until with one dramatic heave it slid open enough for someone to squeeze through. He kicked the boxes out of the way then opened the door fully letting everyone else out.

All Jim could think about was 'they were outside'. Obviously, he wasn't the only one as everyone else had stopped to stare at the sky. The moon was full and positioned directly ahead of them. It was the most inspirational, uplifting thing he had ever seen. It fueled every cell in his body and told him he needed to survive this, he needed to survive this while knowing he had done everything in his power to help everyone he could. Now that they were outside, they needed to find Sulu.

The door had led them into an alleyway that was faintly lit thanks to the moon, and judging by the striped pattern of light leading down it, there were many exits that dispersed into larger areas. Jim waited until everyone had gotten their fill of the novelty that they were outside before he began moving again.

The first exit he came across was blocked by a huge bin, but beyond that he could see the tops of heads creeping past in the same direction as they were traveling. The second exit showed the same thing; however, this time, there was no bin blocking their path. It led straight to the hoard of zombies that were now moving away from the shopping centre. Jim slowed his breathing, despite knowing full well that they wouldn't be able to hear him over the collective groaning and shuffling.

He signaled to the rest of the group that they were going to have to run past all these exits. Their footsteps should be muffled and getting away was definitely their main worry. All of them nodded in agreement, though Jill's was with wide eyes and Ash's head lolled down to his chest afterwards.

Jim was right about their footsteps being near silent compared to the noise of the zombies, and they ran past all the exits without being seen. Jim had kept glancing at them as he ran, just waiting for one of them notice the fresh meat running by so closely. At the end of the alleyway they hit a brick wall, literally. Thankfully, the last exit was the only one that wasn't blocked by zombies. Nevertheless, Jim still wasn't too keen to use it as it would lead them directly into their path and waiting hands. They were uselessly trapped again.

He turned back to the rest of the group. Spock had Ash's other arm over his shoulders as he had struggled to run with only Jill's help, and because he was taller than Jill, she was left to wrap an arm around to Ash's waist to keep him on his feet. McCoy stood right next to Jim, so close that their shoulders were touching, but he wasn't looking at Jim, he was staring at the communicator on his belt. His hand was resting on top of it like he was proving to himself it was still there. He knew they could escape now if they needed to, but he also knew that neither of them would want to without Sulu. Scotty needed them altogether in order to safely transport them back, so that's what they had to do.

McCoy looked up from the communicator with his eyebrows knitted together and defiance in his eyes, and then it slipped away as he seemed to focus on something over Jim's shoulder. Jim was standing very close to McCoy, so when McCoy suddenly cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, it caused him to jump nearly an inch into the air. When McCoy removed his hands from his face, Jim saw he was smiling. He whirled around to face the same direction as McCoy, to see Sulu running full pelt down the alleyway, a group of no less than a hundred zombies following his lead. They squeezed themselves down the alleyway and Jim was sure the same thing was happening down all the exits.

Behind him, he heard the familiar and reassuring chirp of the communicator. Scotty's voice filled the alleyway and McCoy's voice echoed when he answered. Sulu was close now, but that also meant the zombies were close.

There was a crash from the other end of the alleyway that meant the bin was no longer blocking anyone's way.

Jim's body began to feel light, but he was unsure whether it was because of the transporters or the fact that he had stopped breathing.

Something screamed, though it sounded far away. Sulu finally reached them and was wheezing with his hands on his thighs. The first wave of zombies was now mere meters away. If one of them lunged they would have Sulu in their grasps. Jim shut his eyes.

---

Scotty was frantically pressing buttons and muttering calculations under his breath. McCoy's sudden communication had frightened him with its urgency. He just hoped he could get them in time. Finally, he had done all he could. He sat hunched forward, back tense and air trapped in his lungs.

Outlines appeared on the pads, and then they slowly formed more solid objects. Scotty counted five people. That meant that they had one survivor.

Nobody moved. It was like they were frozen on the spot. Scotty got up and carefully approached them; he didn't want to startle them.

It was the woman that moved first. The shock must have finally gotten to her because her eyes rolled back into her head and her legs gave way. Luckily, Scotty was close enough to catch her before she hit the ground. After that, everyone else seemed to deflate. Jim's shoulders dropped and he allowed himself to breathe again, McCoy slumped into the wall and sighed, Sulu actually sat down and attempted to get his breath back and even Spock stumbled unsteadily when he went over to help carry Jill.

"Where's Ash?"

McCoy looked up and weakly searched the area around them. Ash wasn't here. Jim was staring at him, waiting for him to answer.

"I guess he didn't make it."

Without taking his eyes off of Jim, McCoy addressed Scotty and told him and Sulu to take Jill down to the sick bay. Spock left with them, holding one of Jill's arms over his shoulders. He stepped closer to Jim and placed his hands on either side of his face. He had never seen Jim look so disheartened before, and it hurt him that he knew there was nothing he could do about it.

"You have to remember, he was infected." Jim tried to turn his head and tear his face free from the reassuring hands but McCoy wouldn't let him. "There was nothing we could do. He was gone the moment he was bitten."

"I know. I just wish I could have helped them more. It wasn't much of a rescue, was it? We only managed to save one person."

"Well, that's the thing. We saved someone. That woman is alive, thanks to us, and I'm sure she appreciates it. You did great. You're a great captain."

McCoy lightly kissed him. It wasn't meant to be a sexual thing; he just wanted to show him how deeply he believed in his own words. It was Jim's hands clutching at his neck that turned to kiss into something more powerful. He let it go on for a while; he waited until Jim's hands loosened on his neck before he pulled back. When he stepped away, Jim was grinning wildly at him. It sure didn't take long for Jim to bounce back, did it?

They both left the transporter room and headed towards the sick bay; Jim's hand never left the spot on McCoy's back as they walked.

"Hopefully, Jill can explain was happened." McCoy really hoped she could. He didn't like the unresolved feeling he had, and he didn't think he would be able to live without knowing all the facts.

"Speaking of what happened, what happened to you? You're cut to ribbons." Jim laughed; spirits already high again. "Even I managed to keep my shirt on this time, but you, you're missing half a shirt."

"It was a window." McCoy kept looking forward. He didn't need to see and hear the laughter in Jim's voice.

"A window?"

"Yep."

"You survived an entire zombie apocalypse and the only scars you have to show from it were caused by a window."

"Yep."

"And you thought I was going to be the one who would have trouble with the inanimate objects."

Jim's laughter was still ringing when they entered the sick bay. McCoy ignored him and dropped the cricket bat, which he was still carrying, at the back of the room. Jim hopped up onto one of the bed next to the one Scotty and put Jill on. He had stopped laughing but the grin was still firmly on his face.

Spock had been hovering by Jill's bed, and when Jim and McCoy walked through the door he was suddenly alert again. He was halfway to the door before he spoke.

"My shift officially started three hours ago, and with your permission Doctor, I would like to return as soon as possible."

McCoy was busy searching through a drawer for a hypospray but he still heard Spock and shot down his words without having to turn around.

"Well, you're not having it. Get back here, sit down and be quiet." He set about working on Jill, who had about a years worth of malnourishment to catch up on, and only slightly smirked to himself when he saw Spock stiffly perch himself on the bed opposite Jim's.

Scotty watched all of this from the back of the room. He had hung back after placing Jill down just in case he was needed for anything else, but it was clear everything was covered. McCoy could easily handle the four of them. He had to smile at the way Spock had obediently returned to the beds and was now sitting patiently and uncomfortably. Jim obviously found it funny as well because he was still grinning. Jim also had his eyes fixed on McCoy as he worked. Every time McCoy circled the bed, reaching for numerous hyposprays and medical instruments, Jim's eyes followed him. Scotty thought the gaze would have been unnerving, but McCoy worked as if he didn't know he was the centre of attention. Though every once and while, he would glance up at Jim and roll his eyes when he saw Jim was still staring.

The door underneath Scotty's back jumped. Straight away, he twirled around and glared questionably at the offending door, waiting tensely for it to move again. Within seconds it was shaking and Scotty found himself treading uncertainly backwards. He risked taking his eyes off the door to check if anyone else had seen or heard it, but no one else showed any sign that they had noticed it.

His eyes were drawn to the cricket bat McCoy had lent against the wall. There was obviously something in there, and he would need a weapon. With more conviction than he actually felt, he grasped the bat and faced the door. It was no longer rattling, though that still didn't help put him at ease. He could hear McCoy moving behind him and he could also here something on the other side on the door.

Scotty forced the breath out of his lungs; he hadn't realized how dry his mouth and become and it burnt as the air left his body. His trembling hand reached out and tapped the lock on the wall then, with a whoosh, the door swept open.

He barely had time to register that there was someone standing there before it leapt at him. Scotty's reflex was to swing his arms. The bat hit the thing squarely on the head and it dropped onto the floor. It didn't even make a move to get up but Scotty didn't trust it. He swung again, this time lifting the bat over his head and bringing it down with much more force than was necessary. He continued to beat the body over and over until his arms started to tingle from the bat ricocheting off the floor.

He didn't look at the body; he just let the bat slip out of his hands as he turned back around. Jim, McCoy, Spock and Sulu stood staring at him and he silently retreated from the morgue, his whole shaking. Jim came forward and slapped a hand on his shoulder, chuckling as he did so.

"We could have used that kind of enthusiasm earlier."