Left for Dead

"CEDA was informing the public about the situation of the Infection, the spread of the virus, areas under quarantine, and ways of prevention of disease. The agency mainly used radio and television as the main media outlet source to inform the public. They mainly used emergency frequencies to update information to the public and the status of the evacuation centers in the areas. When approached by news crews and agencies, one of the CEDA teams in the South Atlantic Region in The Vannah were assigned to do a report with myself and provide a statement and update on information. However, CEDA never told people how bad the Infection was spreading and how bad the situation was due to the mass panic and chaos it might provoke; therefore, this report never aired or occurred." Rochelle explained ignoring Ellis and Coach.

I scoffed, "If CEDA is so damn good then where the fuck are they? and how come I've saw some of these zombies in hazmat suits and police gear?". Rochelle raised an eyebrow, surprised almost by my questions.

"When the Infection first began, CEDA first tried to contain the virus by quarantining the infected individuals from the public by keeping them in isolated buildings. However, this method was unsuccessful. With the Infection raging out of control and multiple victims becoming infected, CEDA then had to take the next step of full town and city evacuations. CEDA then began setting up evacuation centers around major urban centers such as hospitals, arenas, or malls where people were "forced" to go and await further instruction. A CEDA representative would assess the evacuation centers and provide hourly updates over all radio frequencies of the current conditions; however, it is presumed that the infected individuals also made their way to those locations and quickly almost every evacuation center was overrun by the Infected. " She replied as she took a deep breathe, ready to add more.

"The police gear guys? When the Infection was spreading out of control and the public started to find out the truth behind the Infection and how bad the situation was getting, everyone started to panic and began rioting, causing chaos. CEDA hired a private security firm to help with local law enforcement and the agency to help maintain control. The security officers wore protective gear such as helmets, bulletproof padding, and used nightsticks instead of firearms (due to CEDA Management Policies) to help maintain control of the public. They helped keep crowds organized and under control at evacuation centers while stopping rioters from causing chaos until the Infection hit. With the officers dealing with the public, it was difficult for them to tell who was infected and who wasn't; therefore, it was easy for the security officers to succumb to the Infection.

That also being said Amber..." Rochelle began before sighing and staring at the rest of the group. "With the evacuation centers being overrun, it is rumored that CEDA either became infected themselves or that they have abandoned the public completely. The Survivors usually head for the nearest evacuation center in hope for help and to be transported out of the infected area; however, by the time they arrive at the evacuation center, it has either been evacuated or completely overrun by the Infected." She added bluntly.

"When the fuck were you planning on telling us that?!" Nick jumped in.

Rochelle raised her arms up in defense. "Hey hey hey! It's pretty obvious to see that most of them are overrun but that doesn't mean they're still not taking people out of here. Hell we saw a chopper with our own eyes taking survivors out of the city at an overrun EVAC center" Rochelle defended.

Nick shook his head in disbelief.

"Are any of you fucking people concerned that there's gonna be people out there wanting to kill us?!" Nick exclaimed as he threw his hands up in the air. I stared down at the floor. Nick was right. This could all very well end badly. There's survivors out there that are pissed that they got left behind. It's really not just zombies we have to worry about anymore.

"What about the military? You hear anything on them that we should know about miss secrets?" Nick sarcastically asked. Coach cleared his throat and rolled his eyes. Ellis set his shotgun down and walked back over to the couches. He removed his hat again and put his head down.

"Well..." Rochelle began. "There's the bus depot.. CEDA once was in control of it, then it was taken over by the military and was overrun ― It can be assumed that everything was fine until the Infection caught up to the evac station. With the Infected at their heels, the panicked civilians rioted in an attempt to get to freedom. Knowing that it would be impossible to take everyone and make sure the virus didn't spread, the military was forced to take action and shoot all civilians outside the gate." Rochelle blurted out causing everyone to stare up at her.

"So now we have to worry about the fucking military? I thought they were suppose to be saving our asses?!" Coach roared as he slammed his fist down on the coffee table causing me to jump. I looked over at Ellis who was now chewing on his nails, this must have made him nervous.

"Our only hope is to find CEDA.. or the remainder of CEDA to get us out of here.." Rochelle trailed on knowing she had caused stress to the whole group. It wasn't her fault. The moonlight shined against her african american complexion. Rochelle was a beautiful woman.

"Or we wait until we die from zombies, survivors, or the fucking military!" Nick smiled widely and shook his head "Get a fucking grip" He added.

"Settle the fuck down" I grumbled. He glared at me immediately after I spoke. Ellis smirked as he looked over at me. "The infected can't swim" I added causing everyone to look at me.

"I know.. how do I know? Every safe house I've been at and every news report I've heard while they were still on the air claimed that they cannot swim." I explained. No one really had anything to say at this point.

"We have to get to that mall..." Nick started.

"We go at dawn... this is our only hope and it's the only plan we got" Coach added.

"What do we do once we get there?" Rochelle asked.

"Get ammo and whatever else we can from the CEDA evac stands" Coach replied.

"It's simple. We just gotta find it, gas it up, and I'll drive that thing to New Orleans my damn self." Ellis interrupted as he put his hat back on. "Then we'll be at Whispering Oaks in no time" He added.

"It's settled then. We make our way to the mall first thing in the morning" Nick declared. Everyone nodded and looked around. "I think we should all consider raiding this dump for food and then hit the sack while we still can. I don't want to chance having a can of fucking beans for my possible last--" Nick was interrupted by familiar crying outside the front door. A survivor?!

Ellis, Coach and Nick stood up and turned their attention to the front door. Ellis looked over at Coach who nodded in approval. Ellis slowly picked up his shotgun and walked over to the front window that was poorly boarded up. He peeped through the space in between two of the boards. He turned back at us quickly. "It's a witch... keep those lights out!" He instructed. My heart began to pound against my chest remembering what Rochelle told me about the "Witch". A special infected. My heart beat became rapid as the cries became closer and closer. I noticed Rochelle had quickly blown out the few candles that were on the coffee table.

"We ain't got enough ammo to take that bitch out" Ellis stated as he walked back towards the rest of us.

"We need all the ammo we got to get us to that god damn mall." He added. I cocked an eyebrow, "Can't we just use an axe or something?" I asked in a whisper.

"It takes several shots to the head to take her down. We can't afford to accidentally miss. Let's all get some rest and wait for her to take off. We attempt shooting her and fail, a whole bunch of God damn zombies will be swarming this place like flies on shit" Ellis explained. Make's sense I guess.

"I don't know about you guys but I'm gonna take advantage of us being in a place where there's actual rooms with beds in them. I saw four rooms up there... I'm not sleeping down here" Nick stated as he turned to walk up the stairs. Coach and Rochelle followed. "I hear you on that!" Coach said as he motioned everyone to come upstairs. I wasn't tired so I remained sitting on the couch.

"You guys coming?" Rochelle stopped and asked as the other two had disappeared up the stairs. I shook my head no. "I think I've got enough sleep" I replied shortly. Rochelle looked over at Ellis who was now sitting directly across from me on the other couch. "I'm gonna keep watch" He stated. She nodded and made her way up the stairs.

Oh God, oh God, oh God... I'm all alone with Ellis. What do I say? This is awkward. He's too cute. His cuteness is making this awkward. Do I stare at him. Should I just stare down at the ground? Do twiddle my thumbs? ahh!

"We should go and raid those cupboards for any good shit before the others come back down here realizing they can't sleep cause they're too hungry" Ellis said awakening me from my brain fight amongst myself.

"Hell.. yes" I replied as I stood up. I was so hungry I could a whole Chinese buffet... mmm. Chinese... what I wouldn't do for Chinese food right about now!

Ellis lit one of the candles on the coffee table and carried it as we made our way to the kitchen. We began to search through the cupboards. Finding empty boxes of food that other survivors must have got to first. Ellis cursed under his breathe as he searched. I smirked as I opened the pantry door that Ellis forgot to even bother looking through. Bingo. 8 chocolate pudding cups. 4 boxes of Kraft Dinner. 2 cases of Pepsi and a bag of chips. Fuck it.

"Look what I found" I called out to Ellis. I turned around and was startled from Ellis standing behind me holding an unopened bottle of Jack Daniels Whiskey. He smirked as he stared down at me. I nodded. "Fuck yes!"

"Lets do it!" Ellis exclaimed.