"Wake up."
     "Wake up mister protector." Chad heard as he felt a swift kick to his side and his eyes shot open to see that Joe was standing over him with a couple cans but his first instinct was to find Natasha. His eyes finally spotted her near the ledge of the rooftop, her two arms on the ledge and her head on her arms. She was just looking down but still looked like she was on her deathbed. She had the covers wrapped around her tightly and had a can of some food near her but it was unopened. As well as there was some cloth next to her that was red from blood. Chad didn't do anything but push Joe out of the way and walk over to Natasha, he knelt down so he could be closer to her and tapped her shoulder lightly.
     "Hey Natasha, how are you feeling?" Chad asked with eyes of concern but hope at the fact she was actually moving without much help or at least he assumed. Chad had caught the clanking of two cans hitting the rooftop floor and then a following louder clank of the rooftop door closing. He just ignored it though and waited for her responce.
     "I feel like my arm is being ripped apart. It hurts so bad. I feel a bit stronger but I don't know if thats a good sign or a sign that maybe I'm becoming one of those things." Natasha said weakly as she lifted head and then slumped back down on her good arm. The mere second that Chad's eyes looked into Natasha's eyes, he could tell that she lost all hope of living. That she had almost given in to it and just was waiting for herself to turn. Chad took her chin gently and made her look into his eyes.
     "Never," Chad paused as his eyes showed his seriousness as well as his expression. "Will let you turn. I'll find a cure if I have, if I have to find some scientist to figure it out. I'll not let you become one of those things. If it kills me, you will survive." His expression died alittle from that stern seriousness as he let go of her chin and grabbed the can, pulled out a knife and cut it open. He then handed her the knife so she could use it as a utensil.
     "You need to eat something Natasha," Chad smiled softly. "You need to keep your strength up." She slowly took it and took some of the food out of the can, being careful as she could not to cut her tongue. She didn't eat very much as her stomach hurt as well but Chad was determined to help her and she wanted to at least return the favor. Try to be stronger.
     "Thank you." Natasha said as she leaned back into her original position of watching the few creatures that remained on the streets. Not many did during the day and that was so shocking. Everything had vanished, even the giant t-rex creature had vanished from their sight. There was no sign of life. There was no sign of help. She felt like it was their destiny to die but with Chad she had a bit of hope. Chad could tell that his small speach and caring had brought her hopes up a bit but he wanted to succeed. He knew he'd have to find someone who knew what was happening to get a cure and that was his hope. If he can sustain bites without any affects, then so could others. There just had to be a reason they could duplicate.
     "Natasha I'm gonna check your wound, can you give me your arm?" Chad said placing his hand out waiting for her arm to be placed in it. He didn't want to just yank it to him to check but he was worried besides the fact that it may be infecting her that it may be getting infected like any other wound can. When she placed her hand gently on his hand she cringed from the pain her arm was giving her. He slowly pulled back the makeshift bandage and found that the wound was indeed infected. He could tell and without any medical equipment they'd have to make an extra stop to the hospital which was in the opposite direction then Joe's house. Chad slowly covered it.
     "We're gonna need to get some medical supplies, I'll go to the hospital and you'll stay here with Joe. You just rest and try to eat a bit more. We need to keep your strength up, okay?" Chad put the question mark at the end of his statement, hoping for a good tone from her that was going to say. Yes! Yes, I'm going to put all my strength in staying around.
     "Please don't leave..." Natasha said almost frantically even though she knew she couldn't go with very well, she'd be a burden. She finished it even though she knew she was only gonna get him killed in her heart, she just didn't want to be left alone with people she didn't really know when she was at the broken state she was now. "Please take me with you...I promise I'll keep up."
     "But Joe will look after you Natasha, I promise you that he will not let anything happen to you." Chad said, not even remotely thinking of allowing such a thing. She needed her rest but he didn't want to leave her in her state either. He didn't really know what to do unless he could get her to change her mind.
     "No," She said and paused as her expression turned more serious. "If you're gonna risk your life for me, I want to come along. At least...maybe I can help." Even though her words came fast and strong, her tone held alot of weakness in it.

     "Thats out of the question," Joe shouted back to Chad, they were in the front of the shop with the reinforced door shut. "She's dying!"
     "I have to try Joe!" Chad shouted back just as loud if not louder than Joe's tone. "She's my friend and she's like my little sister now. I promised her and I'm not gonna let that virus get her. If I die then I died trying to keep my promise or I can sit in your blast room, day after day knowing I let a girl die when maybe, just maybe if we can stop the infection on the arm it'll give her more time. Maybe theres a doctor who can use my blood or test it. MAYBE THERE IS A CURE!"
     "Then why haven't we heard of it already? This spread so fast that its not even in our state only anymore. Starlight City is just the first on the map to go. News broadcasting went out, radios rarely have broadcasting near us anymore. Yeah sure, its not spread everywhere but its spreading fast. The military would've done something if they could've. Our country isn't that fucked up that we won't even try to save ourselves." Joe argued right back in anger, their movements, hand gestures and expressions fit perfectly. All being of anger and arguing. Both stubborn as hell and both not giving a budge.
     "Would you not try to save me?" Chad asked in a soother tone before it rose up again, after seeing the expression of defeat on Joe's face. "Well she's like that. She's family now and I'd die protecting her. She wants to come with. I need your lightest weaponry but the hardest hitters. Magnums, anything I can carry and help her walk. Its gonna be hard and I know nearly impossible but I gotta try." Chad said before Joe placed his hand on his shoulder and waved keys in front of his face.
     "It'll draw more of them to you, the engine but it should get you to the hospital. After that, I don't think you have enough gas. So unless you get some before hand then theres no saying if you can get back to my house in time. Chad, you know I'd come if I could but I have to get back to my house and get that family there. I would go if it was you up there. I would, even if I knew against my better judgement. I'd expect you not to for me but I know you'd do the same. You have six to eight hours before they'll show up, the big ones anyways. It'll take you at least an hour drive to get to the hospital. We need to time this together that way I can give you back up fire to get to my car and when you drive away the engine will draw them to you and give me and the family time to run the other way. Let me go get them ready and you go up to Natasha." Joe said in his old squad leader tone, a tone that always meant he had it all figured out already and in short time. Chad always was comforted at how fast and easy Joe could make decisions and usually the plans were picture perfect, never stopping until successful. Chad snatched the keys from Joe's hands and headed back with Joe but up to the rooftop instead. Chad quickly ran to Natasha as she had one hand holding her hair back and she was vomiting in the corner of the rooftop. Though it wasn't that she vomitted that concerned Chad. Its what was thrown up. It was a combination of food and blood. She turned to Chad after she was finished and was nearly in tears. She put her arms around Chad tightly and started to cry on his shoulder, finally broken down at the fact she was dying.
     "You're gonna be okay. Joe has a car and we're gonna take it to get you to the Starlight Hospital. They're gonna go ahead and get to Joe's house and we're gonna meet them back once I get you fixed up and wound cleaned up." Chad said but held her closer, knowing the hold was more needed then the words, he couldn't help but be in pain as well. He wanted to just shoot whoever made this infection. Man, beast, environment or even God himself. He didn't care, he just wanted it to end or at least the one who started it to pay.
     "I'm not though! I'm not gonna be okay...people that are gonna be okay don't puke up blood!" She said loudly, her tone held that she didn't wanna be babied. She knew he was just trying to make her feel better but it didn't and it only made her think she was even worse off then she thought.

     "You ready Joe?" Chad said as he put his right hand up, greeting by Joe's right hand.
     "Always buddy." Joe said as he pulled Chad close and their chests bashed together in a show of their friendship. "Come back alive now won't you? Oh and don't wreck my baby. She may be a junker but she's my junker." He said the last part jokingly which just made Chad laugh a bit as well. Chad turned to Natasha and went to her, lifting her one arm around his shoulders, his right hand on his desert eagle and his left arm and hand on Natasha. He had to help steady her as she was far from stable enough to walk by herself. He knew this was gonna be the hardest thing he has done so far in this city. Esspecially once night started to roll around and the big creatures started to come out. It wasn't seconds later that Joe busted out the door and started shooting any of the few creatures left which attracted the rest of the undead fiends around, some coming out of buildings and others just coming from the distance. While they were focusing on Joe, Chad and Natasha went rushing to the jeep as fast as they could. Joe only had to kill four of the undead fiends before Chad and Natasha had got in, Chad having to take one out once he had gotten Natasha in the passenger seat. Chad leapt into the driver's seat, put the keys in fast and with that the car was off. A loud slam as one of the zombies were drove over. Chad could see Joe and the family running off in the direction that Joe's house was. The mother was holding the little girl in her arms tightly as the father had a shotgun and Joe was strapped up. He looked like Starlight's very own Rambo. Chad helped Natasha get her seatbelt on while he drove in a zigzag, purposely trying to draw more attention to give them a distraction now. A few zombies being driven over and a few more out of places. It'd be a long drive and he knew Natasha could use more sleep so he started to drive a bit more steady and watched as she reclined the seat and slowly was drifting off to sleep. He put his hand tightly on the steering wheel with his gun in it as well. His eyes glanced down at his bite wound from last night and to his surprise it is gone. He didn't know how but he wasn't gonna complain. That just meant one less infected wound to deal with.

     Natasha was standing in a park, all alone expect for one creature. There was a creature standing at least four foot tall, it had eight legs and moved like a spider might expect it looked nothing like a spider. It had a thin body and on both the top of the bottom of the body there were sharp boney-spikes. It lunged at her as she started to run as fast as she could but every few steps she felt her body give way, her body was consumed each run by some kind of poison. Veins were being pushed to the surface that she could see all her veins just under her skin as she clenched her fist she fell to the ground, unable to run anymore. She felt sharp pains going through her back as the creature had leapt onto her back impaling her but missing vital organs. It then started crawling away with her impaled still. It wasn't long and she was being hoisted up a building, she was beat off the creature's spikes with a couple of its legs. Her body bruised, weak from blood loss and god knows what kind of poison. She opened her eyes once to glance around only to see small creatures like the one that had impaled her, but these she got a better focus on and they had huge teeth just like the mother, she had watched enough television to know she was just brought back as a snack. It was then that she felt at least six different bites, they started to eat her alive and the worse thing was she wouldn't pass on. She just kept feeling the pain, her body screaming, her mind screaming, but her voice had no energy in her body to scream.
     "Wake up." Chad said as he nudged Natasha lightly, he could see she was having a terrible nightmare and he didn't want to wake her but it'd be better for her to be awake then having a nightmare that was making her toss and turn so much. "Natasha its just a bad dream, wake up." She jerked up with a weak scream. Then she laid back only to blush, it was easy to see on her pale ghost cheeks.
     "I guess I didn't take well to that dream." She chuckled nervously. She didn't like being shown weak right now, she wanted to prove to Chad she could be more than just a nuisance.
     "Don't worry about it Natasha," Chad smiled as he tapped her on the head lightly. "We all have bad dreams and speaking of lately. If all we gotta worry about is bad night sleep, we're sitting great." He ended it with a chuckle, as really that was true. If all they worried about was good or bad dreams, then they were better off then worrying if they were going to die or not.
     "Chad...Thank you, I owe so much to you. Even if...Even if I don't make it. You've done so much for me, thank you. I just want to make sure you know I appreciate it, if I can't tell you later." Natasha said as she leaned against the window, staring out at the sky. Chad placed his right hand on her hand and continued on driving, he didn't need to say anything. It was already all said and showed.

     "Natasha, are you sure you want to come in?" Chad asked as he circled the hospital a bit. He didn't want to stop and give the fiends a chance to grab or break the car in any way. They had made it a bit late as he had stopped to get gas and during that time they nearly got to them.
     "Yes, I want to come with you. I think I can walk." Natasha said as she stared at the hospital. "We should go through the front doors, the parking garage is too dark. It would be easy for those bigger things to get to us. Hey! Look theres someone in there."
     "Maybe its a doctor," Chad paused as he focused on the person inside the hospital and could see a bloody ax in their hand. "I don't think he's gonna be very friendly."
     "Chad I'm scared, what if that man isn't a man and is one of those things." Natasha said as she seemed to slink more over towards Chad as they came to a dead stop at the front. The axeman inside slipping into a room and out of sight, only sign of him was the blood on the ground. Chad's keen eyes spotted a body with no head laying in another room. It could be the man was fending the fiends off or that he went insane. Either way, they had to go in and the slam on the window of Natasha's side jerked him back out of his mind.
     "Natasha unbuckle and come towards me." Chad said as he readied his left hand on the automatic window button and his other hand had the desert eagle posed perfectly at the undead fiend's face. Just the window in the way. Once Natasha was literally in Chad's lap he hit the window button and let off a shot from his desert eagle, sending a bullet straight through the fiend's brain and out the back of its head. It fell flat and with that he opened his door and helped Natasha out as well, rushing to the hospital front doors. When he got to the hospital he jiggled the doorknobs, they were locked from the inside. He cursed under his breath as he pulled out his pocket knife and started to jimmy the lock. He hoped he could pick it in time. He had given his gun to Natasha incase any of them had showed up. She wasn't a seasoned shooter or anything but she could shoot well enough in a normal state. With a quick forceful push, he unlocked the door and the hospital door swung open. He quickly pulled Natasha in and shut it back, relocking it so fast that she almost dropped his gun when she was pulled in.
     "Anyone in here?" Chad asked as he slipped his hand to Natasha's and relieved her of gun duty. He rose it up in a defensive position and had his other hand on Natasha. She was walking on her own now but only slowly, very slowly. She was unable to really move that fast without taking a short pause and her breathing was heavy when walking like she was running or putting alot of effort into it. There was no anwser though to Chad's words so he kept on forward, going very slowly to find the medical supply room. They needed some disinfection medicines, bandages, and even pain killers if they can find them. It was then that Natasha shrieked as there was that man again running through the halls in the opposite direction of them.
     "MISTER WAIT! We're not your enemy. Who are you? I'm Chad!" Although his words were quick, they fell on deaf ears. They were completely ignored and the axeman was once more out of sight.

     "This is gonna sting." Chad said as he took her arm and held a bottle over her wound, getting ready to pour it but he was waiting for her go ahead. Which she gave a nod of her head to confirm. She then closed her eyes and closed her mouth. It hurt already so if it was gonna sting on top of it, she knew it was gonna be extremely painful. It was as well, you could see in her eyes that it hurt so bad, her body tensed tightly and there was a few ears in her eyes. The wound immediately looked better after he poured alot of the Hydrogen Peroxide out onto her wound which was over necessary but he was determined to make sure it wasn't infected. He also went to work on cleaning around the wound gently and ended with putting a bandage on it. It took at least twenty minutes to do all his work and find all the stuff. The bite wound looked extremely better after being cleaned up and she did say it didn't hurt as much but she still felt really sick. He was worried that wouldn't help much but he ignored it and continued to search for some pain medication. He finally found a bottle in a locked case that said percocets, so he smashed it open and pulled it out, getting two out and putting the bottle in a pocket.
     "Here take these two and it should help with the pain." Chad said as he handed her the two percocets and gave her a bottle of water he had. She took them happily, praying that was true.
     "Madam, do you really wish to be treated like a baby?" The man from before, the 'axeman', spoke as he leaned against the door way. Immediately Chad grabbed his pistol and pointed it towards the man. "How rude."
     "Who are you?" Chad demanded to know before he'd even consider lowering the gun.
     "Santo Acciai, I go around here now as the holy axeman. My father was a lumberjack and was very much religious, while I, myself, am not religious. He was. So now I go by what my father wanted me to go by. If you don't want the girl to see a fight, I shall ask you to step outside. Otherwise, we'll fight here." Santo said as he slipped outside. He had a pair of black pants on and a white t-shirt with a small black vest going over that. He wore leather boots and you could hear they were new as he slipped out of the room, they squeaked. His ax being the last thing one could see before he was out the door, Santo twirled it so you could see the handle and blade spinning as he vanished. He had an accent that Chad couldn't place but he didn't really care.
     "Stay here Natasha." Chad said as he pulled out his second desert eagle and got ready for a fight. Chad quickly exited, shutting the door behind him. He refused to let her hear what was happening or at the very least not see it.
     "You don't know what this virus can do," Santo said as he stared at the ground and was as if he didn't even care that he had two guns pointed at him. "It can change a man, in a good way. Not like the undead ones but in a good way. It can make you stronger. Make you faster. Hell it can heal a man. No side effects..." Santo's expression turned cold as he turned to Chad, his eyes showing psychotic thoughts from deep in Santo's mind. "And I cannot allow you to try to find a cure." With that a small knife was impaled in Chad's shoulder, he hadn't even seen Santo go for a knife but felt the sting. Santo stood still with the wide axe in view, he kept twirling it around in a circle, it looked like a propellor.
     "You crazy fuck!" Chad said as he pulled the knife out and tossed it to the ground, firing off two shots towards Santo. One from each desert eagle. The chamber jerked back as the bullet was fired from the chamber, flying out as such as fast speed no human eye could see as soon as it got near Santo there was a loud clank, clank. Two seperate sounds as the bullets bounced off of the axe and landed a few inches from Chad's feet, having been reflected back.
     "How the hell did you do that!" Chad said in shock. Santo had blocked the bullets with his axe and Chad hadn't even seen him move until they were flying his way. There was no way he could've seen the bullets.
     "Gli uomini si sono evoluti." Santo said with an heavy accent. He then gestured his hand as if he didn't care. "And you are not going to stunt my growth. If you hunt for a cure, I shall kill you."
     "I have to find a cure for Natasha! She's ill and I won't let her turn!" Chad said as he fired a few more bullets but the next thing he felt was being kicked down onto the ground and almost as if things went slow motion Chad felt himself pulling his guns up in a cross manner, blocking Santo's axe. Sparks flying as metal to metal clashed. Just then Natasha had walked out of the room and shouted Chad's name. This had thrown Santo off guard and gave Chad the time to kick him in the crotch and send him flying over Chad's head, giving Chad enough time to spin around on his feet and put the pistols aimed at Santo again.
     "I told you to stay in there! I don't want you to get hurt." Chad said as he didn't move an inch from being in front of Natasha and staring down Santo.
     "Ah," Santo said with a smile. "You love her like a sister. Let me tell you something." Santo paused before his accent came back and his words spoke in his native tongue once more that roughly translated to. 'Those who have such prized possessions, cry when that possession is lost. Men who protect another, only end up with heartache, as they are murdered by an enemy. I'm that enemy.'
     "Speak in english damnit!" Chad shouted as he backed up so that Natasha's body was tight against his back and was back into the room, so there was no way Santo could get to her without getting through himself first.
     "Eh, my friend. You need to bone up on your italian if you wish to speak to me." Santo said as he tucked his axe behind his back, handle down into the back of his belt. "Simply that was a threat on the lady's life. If you proceed to try to stop the virus from spreading, then you deserve to lose those who are close to you. The virus is very unique Chad. The virus can make a man become more than a man, or it can slowly drive one into a dead state of mind. I met one person once that was immune to it but it had neither affected their mind or their strengths. Mine? Its affected me. My ability is far beyond a normal human's, you've seen it. You have it as well, my brother. Or do you not notice you have no bleeding from the knife wound earlier?"
     "What?" Chad said and instinctively checked his wound from before and it...wasn't there. "So I can heal extremely fast? Is that what we can do? Though Natasha's wounds haven't healed. She hasn't turned either, she's getting sick though. Is there a way to make her immune, a way to give her my blood/genes that make me immune and stronger?"
     "Pfft," Santo said with a laugh. "You really don't get it, do you? She's going to die. She's too far gone even if there was a way to cure her. You should just get rid of her before she bites you. Although...you've wasted alot of time and," Santo pointed to the front door as the sun started to go down before continuing, "you won't have to do it yourself. The dark ones are coming, they can smell us. See, we may be immune you and I, but we're not one of them. We're higher beings. You should really try reading some of the old files on the virus. It spread so fast but they don't care. No one cares. Its time for a purifying, those who survive as humans, higher beings. Shall make a brand new world. Those big creatures and brainless men and women have nothing against us. We can kill them all once we all band together but first, we need to see who shall be worthy of being in the new world."
     "You're crazy!" Chad shouted at the man, "and who doesn't care! What files! How do you know so much?!?!"
     "Easy," Santo was in Chad's face before he finished, "I was on the project." Before he could say a reply, Santo was running away faster than a human could run. He had busted straight through the glass doors of the hospital, slashing at a couple of the creatures as he let all the rest inside the hospital.
     "That bastard!" Chad shouted as he turned to Natasha. "You think you can keep up?" She shook her head that she didn't think she could run or keep up and thats when he decided to do the only thing he could. He knelt down and she got onto his back, he was carrying her on his back as he went running back towards the back of the hospital, praying for a back exit that was free. Then he'd have to circle back to the front or they'd end up being greeted by those creatures had on. It was already dark out by the time Santo let them in.

     "Natasha, how you doing back there?" Chad said as he finally reached the back door of the hospital with no resistance but he could hear creatures barreling through the front and many steps of footsteps, they were being followed and that was for sure. Natasha just replied softly, she was feeling a bit weaker and she coughed while she was on his back, not on purpose but she coughed a bit of blood of again. She could tell as it was on his shoulder. He pushed the back door open and went rushing out and shot at any creatures that got near. They were lucky all the way to the car that there was none of the big ones but soon as he started the car. A huge creature that had to be the size of a giant gorilla, its body looked as if it was made of rock but it moved just like a gorilla does, moving on all fours but it was very obvious which was the arms and legs. It had no fur and when it took a step it broke the hospital floor and anything near it. It was made of pure bone or muscles.
     "What the hell are these things and it is a virus too if that man is right. So it was obvious thats how it was transmitted, through the bites like he suspected. Though people have immunities to it Natasha, fight it and you'll have an immunity to it. I'm sure of it!" Chad said with hope as he gunned the jeep as fast as he could. The rock gorilla creature came rushing out of the hospital, busting what was left of the doors out and rushing after the jeep. It had to be moving at least forty miles per hour, as it was keeping fast pace and the jeep was going at least fifty-sixty miles per hour. Chad hit the gas hard and nearly hit the steering wheel as he did it. The creature was going even faster until it just gave up after about a ten minute drive. When things slowly settled down, Chad turned to Natasha. Her skin looked like you could see her veins, her body was shaking rapidly as if she was freezing and he could hear she was having a nightmare or in pain as she started to groan. She started to have wild spasms to the point he pulled over for a minute to hold her down. She was scratching at herself and clawing, it went like that for two minutes at least before she slowly calmed down and the veins seemed to fade away. Her weak expression looked up at him, he could tell she wasn't all there. He worried she was turning but he wouldn't do anything without knowing if she had. It was then that she said something quietly, "Papa, I'm sorry...I can't do it anymore." She was delirious and couldn't tell from past and present. She was thinking of a memory of her telling her father that same line. Chad just kissed her forehead and gave her a hug, whispering a few words of encouragement.

     A couple hours later and a drive few more creatures having to be sidetracked to be lost. It took them forever to lose the creatures and they had ran out of gas at least twenty minutes from Joe's house. He had parked the jeep on the side of the road and put up some sheets over the windows, pulling Natasha back into the back of the jeep's enclosed area. He made sure that they were ducked down and were quiet. She hadn't woken up yet since her fit and dilirium attack but he knew at least she hadn't changed yet. Chad closed his eyes and slowly drifted to sleep.

     "Chad." A woman's voice called to him. "Chad wake up." Then a pinch to his arm which made him nearly shout at in shock. "Finally! Chad! I'm okay I think...I don't hurt anymore....my wound still is there...but my pain its gone! I don't feel sick anymore."
     "Are you serious? Natasha...you're okay?" Chad said with shock and happiness, he hugged her tight and thats when they felt the car be shoved and after that another big shove came and the jeep was rolling around on the road like a ball in a soccer game.