Chapter One

"Coming live from the fox five news room, the super flu has claimed its fifth victim in New York City with cases of the flu spreading as far out as California. Local officials are yet to be calling this an epidemic but precautions are being made and the CDC is stating that there is no need for alarm, just get your flu vaccine and all should be fine"

Two Months Later...

The car engine roared down what use to be a busy main street and now all it was consumed of was empty cars and signs of looting at the local shops, most of which were boarded up now with graffiti lining the once prestine stores..

"wow I remember when I use to complain about all of the traffic here" the guy sitting behind the wheel of the small honda said as he drove..

"I know, its like a ghost town now" the red headed female said as she looked out the window at the surreal view before her..

"Yeah if only that was true" the guy said sarcastically as he glanced down at the gun in the console..

"do you think they are really gone" the girl asked as she kept staring out the window, it almost seemed like a dream, or a nightmare considering how you looked at it, it wasnt too long ago that these same streets were filled with work commuters and cars as far as the eye could see, now it was deserted and eery. Sometimes she thought she would just wake up and that this all would of just been a horrible dream after all..

"You know the answer to that sis, they are out there" he began as his voice drifted.."somewhere" he finished as he pulled up to a local grocery store, the windows were broken in, glass filled the ground and reminents of old food laid on the sidewalk outside.."You ready to do this?"

"sure" she swallowed hard, she was never ready for this. She glanced at the gun placed tightly in her hand..

"Lets hurry up" he finished as he grabbed his gun and they both got out of the car.."and remember if anything goes wrong then run and keep running" he finished as she nodded at him and they began to head inside..

It was only three months prior that she would have been heading off to work at the local watering hole and complaining about her reckless brother and yet here they were. It was amazing how a situation like this could force someone to grow up.

Natalie was only twenty four years old, initially at the prime of her young adult hood, she may not of had the best job in the world but she had been going to school as well, she was to be a forensic tech but those dreams were over..

Rex on the other hand was merely twenty one and not too long ago his days were spent in front of a video game console or at the black jack table at one of the local casinos in AC and now he was essentially her protector, what a change of roles they had, she still wasnt use to this but she wouldnt of given it up for the world, Rex had saved her, like literally saved her..

Two Months Ago..

It was a night like every other, Harry's Bar was packed with the regulars and for a Wednesday night it was getting quite packed, she was sure that with her tips alone her cable bill would be covered for the month.

"How about another one darling" Charles the local drunk slurred as he leaned against the bar..

"you know maybe you should try and eat something Charley, drinking on an empty stomach" she began as he rolled his eyes..She had been serving him drinks since noon and it was already six.

"did I ask for your opinion" he snapped at her.."Just give me the damn drink" he said as he slapped a five on the counter and she sighed, she couldnt save the world..

"is there a problem here" Harry the bar owner said as he walked over, a tissue clutched in one hand, the flu going around had been really bad this year, it seemed like everyone had it..

"No problem at all" Natalie said quickly, she knew that she wouldnt win by arguing with Harry, plus he was all about the money regardless of how it was made. His loud coughing caught her attention as she went to pour Charley a drink, watering it down as she did so.."You may want to get that cough checked out Harry" she said as she handed Charley his drink..

"You just worry about the drinks Red" Harry said with a cough as he covered his mouth and she rolled her eyes, nope she wouldnt win, she quickly went back to tending the bar..

Natalie grabbed a burger and fries to go as her shift ended, it seemed like everyone that came into the bar tonight had that damn flu, she couldnt wait to get out of there and away from the sickness, she quickly blasted her music as she headed to her small apartment on the southside of town..

Getting into her small apartment she quickly headed to the fridge to get a beer to have with her dinner, she hated that sometimes that place seemed so quiet, and it wasnt always like that, just a few months prior it had been filled with laughter and happiness but Brian had ruined that when he decided to bring some chick there while Natalie was at work, what a surprise she had when she had come home early one day from work only to find him in bed with some girl, it was the last straw and now she was alone yet again, it seemed she would be doomed to be alone and the only thing worse then that was turning into her mother, the town drunk, she shook the thought from her head as she ate her burger and flipped on the tv..

It seemed like the television always had the same depressing war crap on, the sight of towns in shambles was enough to make a person sick and so she finished off her beer and headed into the shower, tonight she would get to sleep early and maybe even go for a run tomorrow..

As she walked away and down the hall she hadnt seen the message that was coming across the bottom of the tv screen cause the picture shown wasnt of some war torn country but of the very state she lived in..

Officials are warning everyone to stay inside and lock the doors. This is not a test.

Sleep never did come easy for her, especially not now when the damn apartment was so quiet, she tried not to think of it as she laid there, she was better off without Brian, she knew this but even now, at times like these she hated the quiet..She rolled to her side and attempted to fall asleep, tomorrow was a new day and she was just that much closer to having her dream become a reality cause soon she would be out of this town, soon she would be a forensic tech..

She awoke sometime in the middle of the night to her neighbors yelling and she sighed as she laid there staring at the ceiling, seriously she didnt even understand why people choose to stay together when they so obviously would do better on their own, she banged on the wall a few times as she laid there, maybe they would get the hint, I mean it was nearly 3 am.

The sound of a large crash made her jump up as she looked around and then a scream was heard, a scream that sent a chill down her spine and she wasnt about to let this go on anymore, if she had to go over and break a fight then so be it and so she quickly scrambled out of bed in her pajama bottoms and tshirt.

Oddly enough it was quiet now as she headed out into her living room, she contemplated calling the cops, I mean what if someone was hurt, she had heard a scream but now it was just quiet, like eerily quiet..She got to her front door and opened it, the lights were flickering in the hallway setting a dreary scene and she swallowed hard as she forced herself to the apartment next door, she could hear noises inside but she couldnt make out what they were and then she sucked in a deep breath and knocked..

"hello?" she said a bit loud as she stood there.."are you ok in there" she asked again as she listened for a sign but heard nothing..Then the sound of a doorknob turning got her attention as she waited..

"Jesus Natalie, thank god your ok!" the sound of Rex's frantic voice as he came running over to her made her jump as she spun and looked at him, he was a sight to see, his eyes wild, his hair a frightful mess and something red was all over his shirt. He grabbed her hand and began to yank at her arm.."come we have to go, now.." he said with such a chill to his voice that it panicked her as she yanked her arm back..

"what the hell rex!" she snapped at him but before he could answer a loud banging sound was heard from the door she was just previously knocking on and they both looked..

"Oh man, we gotta go nat, we gotta go now" he grabbed her arm again but this time he held it tight and hard, nearly making her fall as he yanked her..

"what the hell has gotten into you rex and what the hell is all over you!" she yelled again as he began to drag her down the hall..

The sound of another crash sent that same door cracking open as she flung her head back to see what had happened and it was at that moment that she literally thought she was seeing things cause there was her neighbor, covered in blood with a huge gash on her shoulder and neck but she was standing and moaning something awful..

"NOW!... were going NOW!" Rex yelled as he pulled her frantically through the hallway..

"what the hell is going on" she yelled out and then her eyes got wide as the once nice yet loud neighbor opened her mouth and began growling and moving towards them. Rex had yanked her out of the apartment building just in time for her to see total chaosis in front of her, cars were on fire, some were busted in, other neighbors were outside and running, others were on the ground, were they dead? She couldnt even fathom any of this as she looked around all wide eyed and shocked..

"Natalie lets go!" Rex yelled as they got to his car and he fumbled with the door knob, she couldnt get her eyes off of the scene before her, it looked like a war zone but then someone or something grabbed her free arm and when she looked she saw it was the local owner of a small fruit stand, Mr Lee but he didnt look like himself at all, his eyes were bloodshot and crystal blue, gashes covered his face and at the present moment he was literally trying to bite her as she tried to break free of his grip but then a loud bang went off and it took her a second to realize what it was as blood sprayed her tshirt and she watched Mr. Lee drop to the ground like a sack of potatoes.."get in...get in" rex yelled frantically as she turned to see him standing here with a 9mm gun in his hand and she gasped.."HURRY!" he yelled as she began to look around at all the people, but they didnt look like people at all, it was horrifying.."FUCK!" he yelled as he got to her and shoved her in the car as she stayed completely in shock..

She watched as he ran to the other side and got in just in time for another neighbor to slam against the passenger side window, causing Natalie to scream out in horror as Rex peeled out into the road..

Back to present time..

It took her days to get over the fear, confusion and shock of what she was witnessing. All they could seem to understand was that the super flu that had infected so many people had some how changed those very people into these god awful monsters, ones that attacked and ate the flesh right off of screaming people.

Rex had been convinced it was some military experiment gone bad and now they were all paying the price, and over the days and days of hiding out it seem to look like they were the only ones alive in this god awful city, well except for the monsters out there but they werent even human anymore but something horrifying like out of a nightmare or a scary movie.

They hadnt even seen their mother since all of this had started, the location of her apartment was in a part of town that had become uncrossable, hundreds of those things were there and so they accepted her fate, as hard as it would be..

So now it was just the two of them, against the world, literally. Moving from place to place, always seeking shelter, never really stopping, it was like a constant battle everyday and an exhausting one at that but it had to be done, it was a do or die world and neither of them were trying for the later..

Natalie moved cautiously through the abandoned store, the place smelt of rotting meat and vegetables, it had been nearly a month since all of the power got cut off in AC and as far as they knew it could have been the world too, they literally hadnt seen a sign of life for over a month now and that in itself was depressing even though neither of them tried to think of it, they had each other, thank god..

She picked up a can of potatoes from the nearly barren shelf and inspected it, it really sucked that this is what their life was reduced to and that all she had to look forward to was eating these damn potatoes..A sound across the store caught her attention and immediately her eyes met Rex's as they both shared a nod and pulled out their guns. Rex pointed to an office located near the back and he began to make his way over, natalie not too far behind.

She hated this part, the unknown, even after two months of living in this crazy nightmare it never did seem to lessen the effect of what these monsters looked like, her heart began to race as she sucked in a quiet breath..

The sound got louder as they neared and then it was accompied by the sound of something falling and that made her jump..

"Lets just go" she whispered to Rex, she knew that whatever was on the other side of that door wasnt going to be anything good and it was no use in rattling it up..

"we need the supplies in here" Rex whispered back seriously as he put his gun up and his hand went to the door knob..

"it cant get out of the room" she continued as he looked at her..

"Just stand back ok, I got this" he said protectively and as much as she hated to admit it, she knew that she definitely wasnt cut out for this new crazy world and so she backed up but with her gun still very much steady in her hand..With a final look at her, he quickly pulled on the door but instead of coming face to face with a flesh eating monster they saw a very large, very dangerous looking cross bow aimed directly at them with an equally looking dangerous man on the other end of it..

The man on the other end of the bow seemed shocked for a moment as he looked at Rex, both of them with their weapons still raised..

"what the hell were you thinking of doing" the man finally said a bit loud as he looked at Rex and then glanced quickly at natalie.."your gonna attract everyone one of those fuckers in a ten mile radius" he said angrily as Rex kept his gun up and the guy lowered his crossbow..

"this is our store, we claimed it first" Rex said as he kept the gun up..

The man rolled his eyes at him.."settle down rambo last time I checked this place was free to the public"

"I mean it...this is ours" Rex said again as the man went to walk past him but Rex kept his gun up..

"Rex" natalie tried to be the voice of reason, I mean this is the first person they had seen in forever even if the man before them looked like he was built for this kind of world.

He was rugged in appearance, his hair long and dark, his face unshavened, his clothes consisted of a white dirty tank top and jeans, black boots on his feet, he looked ready for anything this world was about to throw at him and his eyes, she wouldnt forget those eyes cause over the tough exterior were the bluest eyes she had ever seen, honestly considering they were all probably the one people alive in this world, well he was pretty damn good looking..

"Put the gun down kid, before you hurt yourself" the man said a bit sarcastically, apparently not affected by the sight of a gun pointed at his face..

"Rex...just calm down" Natalie said quickly, she hated to see this escalate..

"You should listen to your old lady" the man said again..

"she aint my old lady" Rex cocked his gun back some more..

The guy shook his head as he looked at Rex and it almost looked like he was about to back up but within an instant he had Rex face down on the ground and the gun removed from his hands..

"Stop it...stop it your hurting him" Natalie yelled now as she ran over and the guy looked up at her as he kept his knee on Rex's back who was now groaning in pain..

"You son of a bitch" Rex groaned as he laid there..

"You should of put the gun down" the guy said to him..

"get off of him or I swear" Natalie said as she stood there in front of the guy with a gun in her shaking hand..

"Put the gun down sweetheart" the man said with a sarcastic laugh..

"I aint your sweetheart, now get off of him" Natalie said more demandingly as she cocked her gun back..

"Or what? Your gonna shoot me?" the guy laughed and then within seconds the gun went off as the bullet skimmed his shoulder and he promply fell off of Rex..

"son of a bitch you shot me" the guy said in shock as he grabbed his arm and Rex jumped up to his feet now as natalie stood there with her hands shaking, she couldnt believe she just shot him..

"Hows it feel asshole" Rex said with a wide grin on his face but before the guy could say anything at all a very familiar sound echoed in the small store and they all quickly turned to see two of those flesh eaters walking in...

"Oh you gotta be fucking kidding me" the guy said as he began to get up..

"Nat we gotta go, just head out the back" Rex began a bit frantically..

"You apparently have a death wish, huh" the guy said as he pulled his crossbow around..

"Natalie, now" Rex said a bit more louder as natalie stood there in shock.."Go!"

She nodded her head quickly and ran for the back door..

"Now your gonna get us both killed" the guy said to Rex angrily as he shot off his first arrow and hit one of the things in the head as it dropped..Rex aimed his gun as the guy looked at him.."I swear to god kid if you shoot off another round I will personally put an arrow in your head" the guy snapped as he shot out another arrow and Rex watched in shock as the other thing fell to the ground, before he could say anything the sound of Natalie's piercing scream was heard from the back door..The guy was over there before Rex could react and Natalie was charging back inside the store cause out in the back had to be atleast fifty of those things..

Once inside she promply slammed right into the large mans chest as he pushed her aside.."Go...Now" he yelled at her and she didnt waste another second as she ran back into the store and over to rex..

"Theres so many" she said frantically as she looked at Rex..

"Get to the car,...now" Rex said as he turned to leave..

"You cant just leave him here, they will kill him" Natalie said quickly..

"He isnt our problem" Rex grabbed her arm..

"Rex! Stop...we have to help him" she said as anxiety ran through her..

"why? He was gonna kill me, remember" Rex yelled at her..

"Cause you wouldnt put the damn gun down" she yelled back at him..

"Hey you shot him" Rex said back to her and before she could answer the man was running back in as he looked at them and ran past..

"You better hurry up or you'll be dinner" the man said as rex and Natalie looked at each other and then ran out of there as a ton of those monsters came crashing through the back door.."is this your car?" the guy asked as they got outside..

"Your not getting in" rex began as he looked at the guy..

"Like hell im not" the man answered as he opened the car door..

"rex we have to go" Natalie said quickly as some of the things began to get to the front of the store and more were heading down the street now..

"we are not going anywhere with him, are you crazy" Rex yelled out...

"Your about to be dead kid, get in" the man yelled as he revved up the engine of the car. The streets were becoming flooded with those things as Rex and natalie looked at one another.."Im not gonna ask again"

"Shit!" rex yelled and then grabbed Natalie's arm..."come on, lets go" he said as they both jumped in the car and within seconds the guy was peeling out of there, hitting into a few of the flesh eaters as they made their get away..

They made it about a half mile up the road when Rex finally yelled as he held his gun up.."pull over"

"Put the gun down kid" the guy said as he drove..

"Im not kidding, pull the hell over" Rex yelled and the guy abruptly stopped the car, he looked pissed..

"Get out" the guy yelled at Rex..

"what? This is my car" Rex yelled as he kept his gun pointed and Natalie watched frantically from the back seat..She didnt know what the hell to do..

"I seriously doubt that" the guy rolled his eyes.."I wouldnt even try it darling" he finished as he looked at natalie through the rearview mirror, she had the gun pointed at the back of the seat, towards the man..

"Its two against one buddy" Rex laughed now..

"How about its you against them" the guy nodded to the street where a few more of those things were coming over.."we can do this the easy way or the hard way, and im really not in the mood"

"Rex just put the gun down" Natalie finally said as Rex looked at her..

"she's a smart girl" the man said..

"this is our car Nat" Rex said quickly as he held the gun towards the guy..

"do you want to die kid!" the guy yelled loud..

"Rex just put it down!" Natalie yelled as her voice shook and those things got closer..Rex looked out the window cautiously and then back at the guy, slowly he lowered his gun as he huffed..

"stubborn asshole" the guy grumbled and then quickly skidded off down the road, neither Rex nor Natalie knew what their fate would be now, part of her worried that maybe they would be better off with the monsters outside of the car..