For Vicky

     Well, here I sit, a gun in one hand and a detonator in the other. I'm a little surprised about how things turned out. Don't get me wrong, I've always said I wanted my life to have some meaning, some purpose to make life worth living. I just didn't expect that purpose would walk hand-in-hand with death. Resting my head against a car, I try to remember back before things went to hell.

     I was working two jobs, both at minimum wage, and some odd jobs for neighbors just to keep my head above water. Everyday was a race to get one job done and then hurry to the next. You'd think someone with as much potential as me, someone willing to put their blood, sweat, and heart into everything they do, would get a chance to advance in life, but no. Life is a cruel motherfucker wanting to stomp you in the ground. People always using me as a stepping stone get where they need to go and do you think they would remember where they came from, who helped them get where they are? No, they don't even look back.

     I was starting to believe no one cared at all and then I met her. Sad to say I though she was there to shit on me like everyone else, but as we started talking I just felt different about her.

     "Hi! I'm Vicky," she says.

     "I'm Luke," I say as we reach out to shake each other's hands.

     "You live around here?" I say.

     "Actually, I just moved here a week ago," she says.

     "So, what brought you here?" I say.

     "I just needed a change, I couldn't handle where I was in life anymore." "I was just running this continuous routine, every second of my day was planned, everyone using me to get where they needed to go and leaving me behind." "I helped everyone, they were like a bunch of robots that were ordered to do jobs they can't fully do and I being the one they asked for help." "After I'd help them, they'd shove me right back into the dirt." "I was always there when people needed me and I never got anything in return, no reward, not even a thank you." "So, I moved here to hopefully change all that," She says.

     We talked a lot about each other's lives. We had so much in common, we shared just about everything with each other. Eventually, things grew into a relationship that I believe neither of us were expecting. We held each other up through all sorts of shit. We were in love and I was starting to have hope in life again, it was perfect. I wish it could have lasted forever, but I guess life had different plans.

     You hear reports of it on the news and in the papers. Stories of people in some mindless, rage attacking others, ripping them apart like they never eaten in their lives and their victims were a juicy steak. In my mind, it was all just a story to scare people. Just some small incident twisted by the media to get their ratings up. I thought it was all just a load of shit, until I saw it with my own eyes.

     One night, Vicky and I were driving home from a restaurant I had taken her to for her birthday. We stopped at a red light, no cars on the road and no one around. We turned to look in each other's eyes and leaned over to give one another a kiss. It was one of the best moments of my life, I never felt so loved.

     I wish that could have lasted forever, but it was abruptly interupted by gunfire. We both started looking around, wondering where the shots came from. And then we saw a man run around the corner. Before I could put my foot on the gas to speed away, he ran up to the car and pointed the gun at me through the window.

     "Get out of the car or I'll blow your fucking head off," he said.

     I complied and stepped out of the car. While doing so, he told me to turn around and then he hit me over the head with his gun. I fell to the ground and grabbed the back of my head, at the same time hearing a gunshot coming from the car. I heard the car door open and close and then saw it speed away. As I think back, I still debate if I should have ever got out of the car.

     As I came to my senses, I looked over with a blank look on my face. I saw Vicky lying on the ground face down in pool of blood. I was so shocked by what I saw, I just stared at her with a blank look on my face. I crawl over to her and turn her over, she was still breathing. I hold her in my arms, rocking back and forth.

     "You're the best thing to happen to me in a long time," she says.

     "I know, I love you," I say while looking in her eyes, still shocked by it all.

     "I love you, t...........," she says before going limp in my arms.

     I hold her close and kiss her on the forehead. I press my head against hers as tears begin to roll down my face. Only now does it hit me as the tears mix with the pool of blood. The tears flow out of my body along with all the hope I had for this world.

     I start to hear footsteps coming from down the street. It sounded like a whole gang of people. I give Vicky one last kiss on the forehead and gently lay her on the ground. I stand up and walk down the street to see what the sound was. I see people walking around like they were looking for someone. I assumed they were looking for the asshole that jacked us so I start to yell and wave at them.

     "Hey, over here, that son of a bitch just car jacked us and murdered my wife," I yell at them, tears still rolling down my face.

     They all stop and turn towards me. I keep walking towards them, yelling and waving my arms around. Eventually they start to walk towards me.

     "Yes, over here, come on," I say.

     They let out a low moan as they move towards me. They move faster as they get closer. As they get closer I see their cloths are all torn up, bite marks all over them, some missing huge chunks from their bodies, and blood coming from their mouths. When I see that they're so torn up, I realize that something isn't right. Finally, one of them gets with in arms reach of me.

     "Are you all right?" I ask her.

     As soon as I ask, she lunges at me and grabs my shoulders.

     "What the hell, get the fuck off me you crazy bitch," I yell as I push back on her.

     She tries to pull me in, snapping her teeth like some wild animal. I shove her off of me and she falls to the ground. I step back, shocked at what happened, and start to move backwards. She gets back up and lets out a low moan. The others start to get closer and try to grab me as well. I start to move backwards as they move closer. I turn around and run the other direction. As I get to the end of the street, I look around and see more people coming out of the shadows. Clothes torn up, covered blood, and chunks of flesh missing from their bodies, some wounds so deep the bone was showing. I keep running, I run until my legs burn and I could barely hold myself up.

     I eventually come acrossed some old warehouse district. The place seemed lifeless, no people, no cars, nothing. It was like everyone just packed up and left. I kept walking and headed home. I didn't even bother going to the cops, corrupt, pastry-eating pigs were to busy handling this fucking "crazy people" mess, its not like they would have investigated Vicky's murder anyway. As I walked, I heard voices from a few blocks away. I keep walking and slowly approach the area the voices are coming from. I turn a corner and see two people backing up into an alley as three of those crazies walk towards them in a weak limp. As they are driven backwards down the alley, I walk down the street and see them as they are trapped by a dead end. I look down the alley and they look back with fear in their eyes.

     "Help us, please," they yell with a scared voice.

     I keep walking with a casual stride, I don't even look back. I didn't give a damn what happened to them, I'd lost all hope in this world, everyone could rot in hell. I hear their screams and I don't even blink an eye. I didn't feel a damn thing, not one ounce of pity. I kept walking and then I started to think about Vicky. All the good times we've had and the bad ones we helped each other through. Every time I took a step I started to miss her more and more. I walked until I dropped to my knees and cried. It was at that moment something clicked in me. A feeling of sadness overcame me, I remembered all the goodness and hope she'd given me. I rose to my feet and turned towards the alley. I ran back, darted around the corner, and grabbed a metal pipe laying on the ground. As I got close, I raised the pipe and swung at the closest one, knocking it into the wall. One of the others turned towards me as I reached back and hit it with a blow to the head, caving in it's face. The third one grabbed one of the people by the arm and began raising it towards it's mouth. I rushed over and shoved it to the ground and hit it repeatedly over the head. The first one got back up and began moving towards us so I walked over to it and hit it over the head. It fell to the ground and I hit it with two more blows, cracking it's skull wide open.

     "Are you all right?" I asked, this time with the pipe ready to swing just in case.

     "Yeah, we're all right," the man said with a relieved voice.

     "Thank you for saving us," the women said as she hugged me.

     "We should move," I said, trying to catch my breath.

     "We can go to our house," the man says.

     We all start moving through the town, trying to be as quick and as quiet as possible so not attract any unwanted attention. We come to a house in a small neighborhood and we all run inside. As we begin to settle down, we introduce ourselves to one another.

     "My name's Andrew, this is my wife Kim," he says to me and shakes my hand.

     "Hi, nice to meet you," she says and shakes my hand as well.

     "I'm Luke," I say to them.

     "We have some food and something to drink in the kitchen if you want," she asks.

     "No thanks, I'm just a little confused about whats going on," I say.

     "Maybe there's something on the news about it," says Andrew.

     He walks over to the t.v. and turns it on the news station.

     "We are getting reports of attacks from all over the city." "People with wild and aggressive behavior are attacking others at random." "Police have arrested individuals and taken them to area hospitals for mental evaluation." "No comments from police or the mayor on to what maybe causing the violent behavior." "We do have reports that special teams from the Center for Disease Control have arrived at area hospitals, hinting this maybe a viral outbreak of some kind." "Police are asking everyone to stay in their homes and secure any entrances." "We will be updating this report when further information is available," the reporter says, before it returns to the normal broadcast.

     "Where are the doors in the house?" I say.

     "There's the front door and a back door," Andrew says.

     "We should lock them and block them with something," I say.

     "We can put the couch in front of the front door and the kitchen table in front of the back door," he says.

     We bolt the doors and block them.

     "Do you have anything to block the windows?" I say.

     "I have some wood boards in the basement I used to fix up the house, we could use those," he says.

     We nail the boards over the windows and shut the blinds. As we wait for new information from the news, Kim gets some drinks from the kitchen and we all sit down and get more acquainted.

     "Thanks for saving us, I thought we were dead," Kim says.

     "No problem," I say.

     "We were going to a friends house when those people came out of nowhere." "We saw that their clothes were torn up and they were bleeding so we thought they were mug or something." "Andrew walked over to them to see if they were all right and one of them lunged at him." "They kept getting closer so we backed up and end up in the alley." "They pushed us into a dead end and kept getting closer." "Then you showed up and stopped them," she says.

     "Your head is bleeding," she says.

     I reach back and feel wet blood in my hair.

     "I'll go get something to clean that up," she says.

     She goes to the bathroom and grabs a wet wash cloth and a first aid kit.

     "Ow!" I say as she wipes the wound clean.

     "Oh, sorry," she says.

     She cleans my head with some rubbing alcohol and bandages it.

     "What happened to you?" Andrew says.

     I hesitate for a moment before answering his question. I started to think of Vicky and about what happened. I started remembering the car jacking and the gunfire and Vicky laying on the ground. As I do, I lay my head in my hand, covering my eyes, and begin to cry.

     "Me and my girlfriend Vicky were driving home from a restaurant I took her to." "We stopped at a red light and then we heard gunfire." "A guy came from around the corner and ran up to the car." "He pointed the gun at me and told me to get out." "As I did, he told me to turn around and he hit me on the head and I fell to the ground." "When he got in, he shot Vicky, then pushed her out of the car and sped off." "I look over and see her lying face down on the ground, bleeding." "I crawled over to her and turned her over, she was still alive." "I held her in my arms until she died." "It was her birthday," I say as I cry hysterically, both hands now covering my face.

     "Oh God, I should have never got out of the car." "I feel like I killed her," I scream.

     Andrew's jaw drops, eyes wide open, while Kim covers her mouth, tears rolling down her face.

     I continue to cry for a few minutes, Kim walks over and holds me in her arms. I eventually regain my composure and continue talking.

     "I start to hear footsteps from down the street so I kiss her on the forehead and lay her on the ground." "I stand up, walk down the street and see people walking around." "I yell to them, waving my hands around, trying to get their attention." "Eventually they all turn towards me and begin to walk in my direction." "I kept walking until I notice that their clothes were torn and they were bleeding, just like the people who attacked you." "I walked up to a women that was there and asked if she was all right." "She lunged at me and grabbed my shoulders." "I push back on her and she keeps pulling on me and snapping her teeth at me." "I shove her to the ground and then ran." "I kept running and eventually ran in to you two," I say.

     "Maybe we should check the news again," says Andrew, trying to take my mind off the subject.

     He walks over to the t.v. and turns it on the news station. The reporter comes on just as she repeats her report.

     ".....I repeat, the C.D.C. has confirmed that the source of the violent behavior is an unknown virus." "No word as to the origin of the virus, but the C.D.C. is investigating the matter." "The governor has declared Marshall Law for the city and order the National Guard to secure the city amid the crisis." "People are advised to secure weapons, shelter, and survival supplies in that order." "The virus is transmittable through fluid contact with infected persons." "Refrain from contact with anyone with bite-like wounds or show any signs of illness." "Everyone is order to remain in doors and defend themselves from any infected until further instruction," the reporter says.

     After watching the news, I dry my eyes as I stand and begin to prepare like the reporter said.

     "We should look for weapons," I say.

     "We can check the basement for something," Andrew says.

     "I'll start gathering food and putting it in the living room," Kim says.

     Andrew and I check the basement for anything we could use. We find an axe, a crowbar, and a baseball bat. We all gather in the living room. I take the axe, Andrew takes the bat, and Kim takes the crowbar. We sit around eating food and watching the news for more information.

     "I'm so scared," Kim says as she begins to cry.

     "Everything is going to be ok, they will eventually find some way to handle all this and things will go back to normal, we just need to wait it out," Andrew says as he holds her close.

     I started to think about what he said. I didn't believe anything would be normal after this. Vicky is dead and now I'm all alone, no one to love, no one to help me through this world. I really didn't care if things got better, I had nothing worth going back to. We sit there for a little while and then the reporter comes on again.

     "Hey turn that up," Andrew says.

     I reach over and turn the volume up on the t.v.

     "We have just received information that hospitals in the surrounding area have been overrun with the infected." "Police and military forces are struggling to gain control of the situation." "We have reports that the virus has mutated the bodies of the infected, causing major injuries such as massive open wounds or missing limbs to have no affect on the survival of the individual." "The defending forces have shot hundreds of rounds into the bodies of the infected with no result." "Only until they shot the individual in the head did they stop them, leading to believe that the virus must be affecting the brain." "Those defending against the infected are advised to destroy the brain to stop them completely, I repeat, destroy the brain to stop them completely." "This broadcast will repeat until new information is available," the reporter says and then the broadcast repeats.

     "Destroy the brain, huh?" "I guess thats why those guys in the alley didn't get back up," Andrew says with a curious look on his face.

     "I don't think anybody would get back up from that," I say and then we all laugh.

     Right as we're laughing, the window breaks and arms start poking through the boards.

     "Oh shit!" I say as I jump out of my seat and grab the axe.

     "Ahhhhhhhhh!" Kim screams as she reaches for the crowbar.

     Andrew grabs the bat and we run over to the window and start to shove them back.

     "How the hell did they know we were here?" Andrew yells.

     "They must have heard the t.v.," I yell back.

     We keeping shoving them back and then they start to break their way through the front door.

     "Kim, push back on the door, don't let them get through," I say.

     She stands in the middle of the room frozen in fear.

     "Kim! Hurry," Andrew shouts.

     She rushes over to the couch and holds it up against the door. Then we hear banging coming from the back door.

     "They must be trying to break through the back," I say.

     I run into the kitchen and hold the table up against the back door. We keep holding them off for what seems like an eternity. Andrew tries to shove them back as they start to rip the boards from the window. He keeps shoving until one of them reaches in, grabs him by the arm, and bites down.

     "Ahhhhhhh," he screams.

     He rips his arms out of its grip and hits it over the head, knocking it back. I run into the living room and see him staring at the wound. We look at each other in shock, both knowing what is to come. He looks at Kim as she stares back, jaw dropped and tears beginning to flow from her eyes. At that moment, the back door begins to break.

     "I love you, baby," Andrew says to Kim as he begins to tear up.

     "Get her out of here, you can go out the upstairs window, jump on the neighbors roof, and climb down on to their shed," he says to me.

     Kim runs over to Andrew, but I grab her before she can reach him.

     "No, Andrew, no," Kim screams as I pull her up the stairs.

     As we go up the stairs the back door breaks free and crazies come rushing in. I look down to Andrew one last time to see him hitting one of them over the head with the bat. We reach the upstairs window and jump out on to the neighbors roof. We climb down on the shed and on to the ground, crazies banging on the fence between the houses. We climb over the fence between the yard and the alley and run. We keep running until we come to an old laundromat. Kim leans her back up against the laundromat and begins to cry, sliding down the wall as she does.

     "Oh God, Andy," she says, holding her hands over her face.

     I walk over to her and sit down next to her. I hold her close, wanting to say something, but can't. We both have suffered a great loss, both are hurting deeply. I could say I know how bad she felt, but honestly, I couldn't even imagine. After a while, we leave the laundromat and start walking. She doesn't say anything, she just keeps walking with her head slightly pointed downwards, eyes still watery with tears and sniveling from time to time.

     "My parents live close by, we could go to their house," she says with a snivel.

     "Ok," I say with a calm quiet voice.

     We keep walking and then we here a loud bang.

     "What was that?" Kim says startled.

     "I don't know, keep close," I say.

     We walk down the street and look around the corner. We see a car crashed into a telephone pole, the engine smoking and horn blowing. We walk over to the car carefully, looking around for anybody or anything. As we get closer, I look in shock.

     "Thats my car!" I say, eyes wide open.

     I move closer, holding my hand out to signal Kim to stay put. I look inside to see if anybody was in it.

     "Nobody's inside," I say.

     Just as I finish my sentence, we hear gunfire.

     "Stay down!" I say to Kim as she moves closer to me.

     We walk a few blocks over, cautiously moving closer to where we heard the shots. We reach the end of the block and source of the gunfire. We check to see if anybody is around and then we start to hear more shots.

     "Shhh!" I say as I grab Kim's shoulder and gently press her down.

     We look down the street and see a man run into the intersection, firing shots back the way he came. Then, crazies start running at him. He shoots the first one in the head and then the second as it follows. As he tries to shoot the third one, another crazy comes up behind him. He tries to swing the gun around shoot it, but is too late and is grabbed by the arm and bitten. The other one grabs him and he falls to the ground.

     Even though I knew the bites were deadly, I couldn't stay there and watch him suffer. So, I got up and started running down the street, Kim following behind.

     "Ahhhhh!" The man screams as one crazy chews on his arm and the other rips his guts out.

     I get to the end of the street and as I reach the man, I reach back with the axe and swing it as hard as I can. I hit the one chewing his arm in the head, splitting it in half. I put my foot on it's chest and rip the axe out and at the same time reaching the axe back for another swing. I look at the one with the man's guts in it's mouth and swing, also hitting it in the head and splitting it in half. I rip the axe from it's head and hit it one more time.

     As I recover, I look down at the man in disbelief. He looks back, just as shocked to see who his rescuer was.

     "You," I say, standing over him.

     "Please....... help me," he says.

     "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, please help me," he says as he start to cough up blood.

     I look into his eyes, squeezing the handle of the axe. Part of me wanted to beat the hell out of him with the blunt end of the axe, but another part of me thought of Vicky. I knew she wouldn't want me to hold on to all that anger. I look down and see the gun lying next to him.

     "This is the only help you'll get from me," I say as I reach down and grab the gun.

     He looks at me as tears begin to roll out of his eyes. I point the gun at his head, he closes his eyes, and I pull the trigger.

     "We should keep moving before more crazies show up," I say as I turn my head towards Kim.

     She nods her head and we start heading towards her parents house. We keep walking until we reach a one-story house surrounded by a small white fence. We walk to the door and Kim knocks, at the same time watching and listening for anything that might be around. Finally, the door opens and we see a woman in her late 50's standing there.

     "Mommy," Kim says with the sound of relief in her voice.

     "Kim," the women says, stunned by who she sees.

     "Oh God, Kimberly!" she says happily as she reaches out and hugs her.

     "Come inside," she says.

     We get inside and lock the door. We walk into the kitchen and see a man, also in his 50's, sitting at the table.

     "Thank God, Kimberly, are you all right?" The man says as he gets up from the table and rushes to hug her.

     "I'm ok, daddy," she says as she starts to tear up.

     "Who's this?" The man says as he stares at me with confusion.

     "This is Luke, he saved me and Andrew from those things," she says.

     "Good to meet you, my name is James," he says as he reaches out to shake my hand.

     "This is my wife, Susan," he says as he points towards his wife.

     "Hi! Nice to meet you," she says as she shakes my hand.

     "Where's Andrew?" James says.

     She turns her head away from him and begins to cry.

     "Here baby, sit down," he says as he pulls a chair from the table.

     She sits down and holds her hands over her face. James sits down at the table, him and his daughter facing each other.

     "What happened?" He says as he puts his hand on her knee.

     "They got Andrew, those things got him," Kim says sobbing uncontrollably.

     His jaw drops in shock while Susan holds both hands over her mouth.

     "We were walking to a friends house just a few blocks down when those things came out of no where." "They surrounded us and drove us back into an alley." "We tried to escape, but the alley was a dead end." "We kept moving backwards until we reached a wall." "They were getting closer and closer and there was no place to run." "I thought it was all over and then Luke came." "He killed them all and rescued us," she says.

     "Thank you!" James says, holding his arm out.

     "No problem," I say as I shake his hand.

     "After that, we all went back to our house." "We turned on the news and it told us to secure the house and find weapons to protect ourselves." "We secured the house and got weapons just like news said and waited, waited to see what happens next." "Then all the sudden, those things attacked the house." "We tried to fight them off, they tried to come through the windows and the doors." "Andrew was trying to stop them from coming through the window and me and Luke were stopping them from coming through the doors." "Then, one of them grab Andrew and bit him." "He told Luke and me to get out of the house." "We escaped out the upstairs window to the neighbors roof just as they broke through the door." "Andrew fought them off until we could get away," she says, still sobbing.

     "Oh God, Kim," James says as he holds her head in his chest.

     Susan walks over and puts her arms around her, kissing her on the back of the head.

     "We came here after that," she says as she leans back and starts to calm down.

     "Well I'm glad you did, I'm so glad you're all right," Susan says as she hugs her again.

     "The news said that the military is evacuating people to the mainland." "They've already blown up bridges acrossed the channel," she says.

     "Then we need to get out of here and get to the bridges," I say.

     "We can take the car," James says.

     We all grab what ever we could defend ourselves with and go out to the car.

     "Here, you drive," James says as he throws me the keys.

     We all get in the car and head towards the nearest bridge.

     "Turn on the radio, maybe there's something on it about any of the bridges," I tell Kim.

     She turns on the radio and tunes it to the local news station. She tunes in right in the middle of a broadcast.

     ".....has blown up both the North and South Roosevelt bridges and the South Harrison bridge is now closed for demolition, leaving only the North Harrison bridge open." "All island residents are ordered to evacuate across South Harrison bridge to the mainland." "Health screenings will be issued before access to the bridge is permitted," the reporter says and then the broadcast repeats.

     "We have to hurry before we're stran.....," I say just as a couple and their child walk in front of the car.

     I turn sharply out of the way to avoid hitting them. As I turn again to avoid hitting a building, I over correct and flip the car.

     "Ahhhhh," we all scream as we brace ourselves to keep from being thrown around.

     The car flips four times before it lands on its roof.

     "Uhhh," I moan as I grab my head and turn to check on everyone.

     "Is everyone all right?" I say as I try to unbuckle myself.

     "I'm ok," Kim says as she holds her head.

     "I'm fine, but I think Susan is unconsious," James says as he reaches over to Susan.

     "Susan, Sussie are you all right?" He says to her as he gently shakes her awake.

     "Huh," she moans as she awakes.

     "Yeah, I'm ok," she says softly as she grabs her forehead.

     We all climb out and head towards the bridge. We finally come insight of the bridge and see crowds of people standing in front of it.

     "There it is," I yell pointing my hand towards the bridge turning my head to look back at Kim and her parents.

     As I point, a crazy comes out of nowhere and grabs my arm.

     "Get off me, you motherfucker!" I yell as I try to shake it off.

     "Ahhhhh," Kim screams as she looks on helplessly.

     As I swing it around to the front of me, it raises my arm to its mouth and sinks its teeth in.

     "Ahhhhh," I scream.

     I raise the gun to its head and pull the trigger. It falls to the ground and I grab my arm and hold my hand over the wound.

     "Shit, shit, shiiiiiit!" I yell as I jump around holding my arm.

     I remove my hand from my arm and look down at the wound with a painful look on my face. I look back at Kim and her parents, James and Susan's jaws drop while Kim holds her hands over her mouth.

     "We need to move," I say.

     Kim nods her head and we all head towards the bridge. We get to the bridge, I stow the gun, and mix in with everyone else. The crowd pushes us forward to the health inspectors at the front. We eventually get to the front and see soldiers and machine gun nests guarding the bridge and inspectors next to barbed wire fences holding an electronic device and mouth swabs.

     "Open you mouth," the inspector says to Kim.

     She opens her mouth and the inspector wipes her mouth with a cotton tipped swab. He puts the swab in the device and it turns green.

     "Go," he says to Kim as he pulls her through the opening between the barbed wire fences.

     Just as Susan gets to the front, a section of the South Harrison bridge is destroyed. Everbody looks over quickly to see it fall in to the channel. Fighter jets fly over the bridge.

     "Keep moving," a soldier yells to the crowd.

     Susan moves forward and is inspected, passing. Then James is inspected, also passing. Finally, I reach the inspector.

     "Open your mouth," the inspector says.

     I open my mouth and just as the inspector is about to take the swab, he is interupted by a soldier shouting.

     "Incoming!" The soldier shouts as he points towards the city.

     We all turn around and see a massive horde of infected heading towards the bridge.

     "Open fire!" Another soldier yells.

     The soldiers and machine gun nests start to fire on the horde as everybody screams and rushes on to the bridge. We weave through the cars jammed on the bridge, trying to move as fast as we can. As I run, I see crazies attacking people, probably infected people who were mixed in with the crowd. Then, I see a crazy running towards a soldier who has his back turned. I pull my gun from pants and point it at the crazy's head. Just as the soldier turns around to see the crazy coming at him, I shoot it. I rush over to the soldier to see if he's all right, Susan, James, and Kim follow.

     "Are you all right," I say.

     "Yeah, thanks to you," the soldier says.

     He turns to talk on the radio.

     "Where's those fighters? This bridge needs to come down, now," he says.

     "They're three minutes away," the operator respondes.

     "Damn it!" "Is the bridge wired?" the soldier says.

     "Yeah, but the damn remote got crushed when all those fucking people ran into me," another soldier says.

     "Get off the bridge, I'll blow it from here," the soldier says with out hesitation.

     "You'll be killed," says the other soldier.

     "Then so be it, now get out of here" the soldier says.

     He walks over to an explosive charge as the other soldier runs and wires a detonator to it.

     "You guys need to get out of here," the soldier says.

     I look back at Kim and her parents, and stare into their eyes. I see the innocence in them and it makes me think of Vicky.

     "I'll blow the bridge," I say, staring at him with a serious face.

     He looks back at me, dumbfounded by what he hears.

     "What? Get the fuck out of here," the soldier says.

     I put out my arm and show him the wound.

     "I'll blow the bridge," I say again.

     He hesitates for a moment and then hands me the detonator and nods his head.

     "Get them out of here," I say to him.

     "Come on, we need to get out of here," the soldier says as he pushes Kim and her parents across the bridge.

     "Thank you!" Kim says looking back.

     I watch as the rest of the crowd crosses the bridge, shooting any crazies I see. Finally, as everyone crosses the wired section of the bridge, I turn and wait for the horde of infected to come closer. I wanted to blow as many of those fuckers to hell as I could. I sit and lay my head against a car, a gun in one hand and a detonator in the other. Death stares me in the face, my life flashing before my eyes. As I press my thumb down on the detonator, I smile and say one thing:

     "For Vicky."