~The Innocent Can Never Last~

~Chapter 4~

It had been an hour at the least. The group took on wave after wave of zombies; including a ridiculous amount of Hunters. Cassie leaned on the wall, scratches and bruises from the infected riddled her arms and legs. Her pajamas were ripped, shredded even; blooded from the attacks. She dropped her hand gun to the floor, groaning as she slid down onto her bottom. Lizzy sat beside her, a few scatches on her skin, but Cassie had shielded her from any seen damage. Nick walked over to them, chuckling a little," You think that was bad, princess? That wasn't anything compared to hordes I've seen." Cassie shot Nick a look from under her bangs, too tired to come up with a smart remark.

The elevator on the far side of the room opened as Ellis, Rochelle, and Coach walked back into the room; dissapointment apparent on their faces.

"No evac?" Nick said, turning slightly to the three.

"There WAS a evac," Rochelle said, twisting her axe in her palms, annoyed," of course, CEDA wasn't there. We're on our own.. again."

"I guess we'll jus' try another evac location," Ellis said, shrugging.

Cassie rubbed a small cut on her cheek, mumbling slightly. She should have known they'd be left. She wondered if they'd have to go to New Orleans and deal with the bombing and the bridge.

Fucking CEDA.

...

They left the parking deck of the hospital and began to drive back towards the interstate, planning to head towards Jackson, Mississippi.

"Hey, stop by Cato's Closet," Rochelle said, leaning forward and pointing towards the small store between a bakery and a pharmacy. The lights were mostly out, only a few spots of the sign glowed red in the setting sun.

"Why the hell would we want to stop at a clothes store for?" Nick mumbled as he carefully chipped dried blood from his suit.

"Cassie and Lizzy need some clothes. Pajamas won't work in their favor," Rochelle said, patting Coach on the shoulder as he pulled into the parking lot.

"I dunno, Rochelle, I use'ta have a fit to wear my pjs all day," Ellis chuckled.

Cassie climbed out, wincing as the pain from her wounded leg came back, the adrenaline rush from the fighting in the hopsital too far gone for her to ignore the throbbing pain. She helped Lizzy down and held her hand as they walked with Rochelle into one of the broken windows of the store. Nick, Ellis, and Coach stayed in the truck, watching for any signs of danger.

Cassie picked herself out a comfortable pair of jeans and a plain green t-shirt. She quickly found a pair of socks and a nice pair of running-the-hell-away sneakers. Rochelle helped Lizzy find clothes, but Lizzy refused any help getting herself dressed, slipping into one of the changing rooms and locking it.

The three emerged from the window, hurredly getting back into the truck.

"Well, ladies, now that dress-up time is over, can we go?" Nick said as he pulled his shotgun in the window and rolled it up, leaning back in his seat.

Rochelle nodded, getting comfortable with Lizzy in her lap as Coach pulled back onto the road.

...

"It's getting too dark," Coach said as he slowed the truck down. They ended up in a rural little town not far from Tuscaloosa. Cassie peered out from the window and picked out a small, concrete home; obviously a bit older than the other houses. The thing that caught her attention the most was the attractive safe house door on the front.

Coach pulled into the small, gravel drive way. The group cautiously got out of the truck, each, aside from Lizzy, aiming their weapons into the darkness, waiting for something to come out.

Much to their relief, they made it in the safehouse without any sort of confrontation with the infected. Cassie laid her weapons down and helped Lizzy get into one of the cots.

"Lizzy, are you feeling alright?" Cassie frowned as she placed her palm on Lizzy's forehead, frowning even more as she felt the heat against her cool skin.

"I'm just tired," Lizzy assured Cassie as she pulled the thin blanket up over her head, wordlessly refusing anymore examination from her sister.

Cassie sighed and walked over to a cot, sitting down, looking at the others. "Well, might as well get some rest, hm?"

The other four nodded, saying goodnight before they all got in their own cots, settling in for sleep.

Cassie pulled her handgun closer to her cot and laid down, pulling the blanket up to her shoulder, staring at the wall until sleep began to wear at her mind, carrying her to a troubled sleep.

...

Whimpering.

Whimpering and sobs.

Cassie slowly opened her tired eyes, waking up more as she sat up, listening to the woeful noises. She recognized Lizzy's voice within the sad sounds.

"Lizzy? Lizzy, what's wrong?" Cassie called into the darkness, rubbing her eyes and peering into the darkness, hoping her vision would allow her to see a little in the black of the night.

She was answered with more cries and sobs, soft, barely audible, as if they were coming from another room.

Cassie hurriedly groped the floor for a flashlight, sighing in relief as she found one, turning it on, shining it around the room, "Lizzy, where are you?" She followed the soft noise to a slightly ajar door, the darkness inside seeming even more eerie than the darkness Cassie had just woke to.

She pressed her palm into the door, pushing it open slowly. She shined the flashlight around the room before it rested on a small, hunched form in a corner, it's back heaving with sobs.

"Lizzy! There you are," Cassie said, walking towards her sister," Why didn't you wake me up? Are you al-" Cassie's voice strangled in her throat as the light and her close proximity shown what her sister really was.

Her small hands were gnarled, long, and sharp as knives. Her hair had started to grey at the top and her skin had seemingly shrunk to her skin. She turned her head sharply to Cassie, a shrill shriek rising from her throat as her bright red eyes locked on Cassie's wide brown ones.

"Oh.. G-god, no.." Cassie dropped the flashlight, letting it thump to the floor. She started to back up as Lizzy stood, her claws flexed, open, ready to rip and tear her sister to shreds.

Cassie ran backwards, as fast as she could, screaming for the others. She gasped as a long clawed hand came from the darkness and ripped a gash in her green t-shirt, right over where her stomach was covered.

"What the fuck?" Nick shot up in his cot, instantly groping for his shotgun, cursing loudly as he fell from the cot.

"Witch! Witch!" Rochelle said as she took a moment to listen to the shrieks and growls coming from the infected girl's throat.

Coach was already groping for the light switch, telling everyone to stay calm even though he knew it was pretty much a futile effort.

Ellis had his gun out already," Turn on th' goddamn lights, I can't see!"

Cassie was still running, trying hard to avoid the razor sharp claws that once where the small hands that she held while she walked with her.

Coach flipped on the light switch and the sound of guns firing was all that filled Cassie's ears for a few long seconds. She dropped to her knees and covered her ears, gritting her teeth as the gun fire rang in her ears.

When she turned she saw Lizzy, laying on the floor, a large pool of blood was forming around her lifeless body. Two bullet holes where in her head, one in her side, and another in her shoulder. She stared, swearing that the open red eyes flashed back to their luminescent brown for a brief moment before they went to a dull red forever.

Ellis walked over, his gun still ready," Damn.. I wouldn'ta shot her if I-"

"No.. You had too. She couldn't have been helped, anyway.." Cassie stood wearily, trying to steady her shaking legs.

"She must have been infected pretty badly; she turned so quickly," Rochelle said as she took a blanket and draped it over the small body. The blanket turned red in almost an instant, soaking up the blood.

"Well, I saw that coming in a way," Nick said, sitting down a cot and rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"A little more respect, Nick?" Coach mumbled, walking over to Cassie and placing a hand on her shoulder,"I'm sorry about Lizzy. She must have been hiding it from you because she was afraid. But, she wasn't likely to last long, Cassie, she was just a little girl."

Cassie nodded, turning away from the bloody heap on the floor.

She looked wearily at the mostly baracaded window as the sound of zombies came from outside, attracted by the commotion.

She heard the sound of a witch wailing loudly amongst the group; the sound ringing in her already throbbing head.

She snatched up her hand gun from her cot and made a beeline for the door, snatching it open, letting her get a full look at the horde.

And all she had was a handgun.