Chapter 6

Carlos waited for me at the bottom of the ladder, we must of looked ridiculous! I was in a wedding dress and Carlos was wearing a terrible ensemble ready for a pensioners day at the beach.

He took my hand firmly as he cautiously walked to the end of the alleyway that separated Peters house and the one next door to it.

"Can you see anything?" I whispered to Carlos as he peered around the corner of the house, out on to the street.

Carlos shook his head. "No... it's deserted!" He replied.

"Deserted?" I questioned. Surely their must be one zom- creature about." I said correcting myself. I didn't like the word zombie.

I had a careful look around the corner myself. There was nothing. It was eerily quiet.

"Let's get going then Carlos." I said pulling him out in to the open by his hand.

We ran across the road to the side with the beach on it. It was pitch black still.

I could hear the helicopter in the distance it was still circling around above us.

The car park was so close, I could see the street lights that lit it up.

"We are gonna make it zoe!" Carlos whispered with a smile.

In that instant an ear piercing bang of a gunshot came from the direction of the house we had just left.

My heart died knowing what James had just done and that Kendall was no longer with us.

"Zoe we have to go!" Carlos said in a panic.

"But James will be out in a second!" I argued.

"Zoe we have to go now!" Carlos said pulling me, it was then I could hear the stampede of feet coming towards us.

"RUN!" Carlos then shouted.

I couldn't see anything that Carlos could, I felt something cold and wet brush against me, it made me scream.

A jolt from my hand that was attached to Carlos finally made my legs start running.

"Where did they come from?" I panted out as we fled.

"No idea." Carlos replied. "Down here!" He whispered. Then jumped.

He dragged me down with him, I had no clue where we were until I landed flat on my face in the sand. Carlos had taken me off the embankment and down to the beach.

Both of us scrambled against the wall, hiding from the creatures that sped past us above our heads as we pushed our bodies so far in to the wall to not be seen.

My chest heaved in and out. Carlos looked at me, we didn't speak for a few moments. The helicopter whizzed past above our heads announcing that it will be landing in 5 minutes.

"We won't make it in time!" I whispered to Carlos.

"What do we do?" He said turning and peaking his head over the wall that separated the beach from the road. "There are loads of them out there now. I didn't realise James was going to use the gun!" He hushed at me.

"It wasn't exactly much of a choice he had was it los!" I snapped. Thinking of my poor James with having the option of shooting Kendall in the head or cracking his neck in a head lock.

"How is James going to get out if those things are surrounding him?!" I said quietly, now crouching up and looking over the road to the house James was in.

"Over there!" Carlos said pointing towards a large white van. James was on top of it, the creatures were oblivious to him but he was never going to be able to get down and get to the helicopter, he was surrounded by about 15 of them.

"We need to create a diversion" Carlos said.

"How?" I asked, dusting the sand from my face.

Carlos looked around, trying to find something to throw, the only thing we were surrounded by was sand.

"Do you still have that knife?" Carlos asked.

I nodded. I didn't really want to give it to Carlos, I wasn't one hundred percent certain that he was zombie free. Obviously his saliva was very infectious.

"Zoe! We don't have time for this! Do you want James to be able to run?!" He moaned.

I nodded and handed over the knife that was wrapped in a cloth, tucked in to the bodice of my wedding dress.

Carlos unraveled it from the cloth and pointed it at me. Fear struck me for a second, Carlos then cut a large section from the skirt of my satin dress.

"What the hell are you doing! That's an 18 thousand dollar designer dress!" I hissed. It had taken me months to find the perfect dress.

"I'm trying to save your husband! Carlos said as he packed some sand in to the square of fabric he had cut from me. Carlos then tied up all the corners until he was left with a tennis ball sized sand bag.

Carlos then stood up and launched the home made sand bag like a grenade.

"Shit! I missed." He hissed out, then pointed the knife at me again, cutting another square from my once exquisite dress.

I watched as Carlos filled this new section with sand and folded the corners up tying them tightly.

He gave this sand bag a kiss for luck. I stood up with him this time. Trying to see what he was actually trying to achieve.

Once again Carlos launched the sand bag in to the air. It became obvious what his plan had been when the bag smashed through the windscreen of a sports car that was parked at the opposite end of the road to what James was stuck on.

The car alarm sounded off, and the headlights flashed up on the car like a Christmas tree.

The noise of the smash and the alarm then created a stampede of creatures towards the car. Away from James!

"RUN JAMES!" Carlos shouted over the alarm.

I did just see in the darkness, James jump off the van and run towards the car park.

"Let's go." Carlos said. Grabbing my hand and running along the beach towards the car park. I could see the helicopter doing the final rounds in the air, it wasn't staying still so not to attract its landing position to any creatures.

"Shouldn't we get up on the road los!" I said as we sped down the beach.

"This way is quicker. It's just through..." He said skidding to a stop.

"What's wrong." I said looking up at him, catching my breath.

"They are in the water!" Carlos said in a whisper.

I turned to face the ocean. I wish I hadn't, I wish I had kept on running.

The moonlight lit them all well. They were just stood there, stood waist high in the sea, each and every one of them looking at Carlos and I.

"Zombies!" I finally said, looking at the large group of possibly 30 or more of them.

"Why are they in the sea?" Carlos whispered, too scared to move.

"Carlos I have no idea but I'm not wanting to stick around to find out!" I said, took his hand once more then ran. Ran so hard, and so fast.

I knew the creatures from the sea were now in pursuit of Carlos and I. The manic sound of splashing as they ran to catch us, to kill us was the scariest sound.

I upped my game, no longer caring that my lungs couldn't carry the breathing my legs needed. I ran for my life.

Carlos' hand was yanked out of mine as he lost his footing and fell to the sand.

"GET UP!" I screamed going back for him.

One of the wet zombies that was in the lead stopped and grabbed Carlos by the leg. My instinct for my own survival kicked in. If I lost Carlos then I would lose all hope.

I raised the knife that was in my hand and swung it down, cutting the hand of the creature clean off.

"GET THE HELL UP CARLOS!" I screamed pulling at him.

Carlos did get up, he did run, he grabbed my hand once more as our feet did us justice and carried our worn out bodies towards the helicopter.

I turned my head to see the army of super fast zombies behind us. They didn't need lungs to breath, they didn't need air to run. They just wanted one thing. Flesh!

"It's landing!" Carlos said as we cut through the bushes.

The bright light on the bottom of the helicopter lit everything up as bright as day.

"We are going to make it zoe!" Carlos gasped out as he helped me weave through cars towards our rescue party.

I trod on sharp stones and razor sharp grit that lay on the car park road, it didn't slow me down. I was so close to safety, so close to James.

The men that were on the helicopter as we approached it were dressed in camouflage. I had never been so grateful to see the US army!

The soldier that was by the door of the helicopter held his arm out for us, obviously he could see we had brought deadly company with us.

"QUICKLY!" He demanded as he pulled me in by my arm.

Next in was Carlos. I hugged him as we both made it onboard safely, the helicopter then took off before the huge crowd of creatures could cause it any damage.

I scanned the people on board, a few civilians were also on here, but no James!

I looked back out towards the open door. The crowd of zombies below us trying to reach up to the helicopter as we hovered just out of their reach was mental.

It was then I saw James, his hand was held up to his head in an attempt to shield the helicopter light from his eyes.

"We need to go back down!" I yelled at the army guy that had helped me onboard the helicopter.

"What's your name miss?" Was all he replied.

"What, what do mean what is my name? My husband is down there! You need to get him!" I shouted over the noise of the rotating helicopter blades.

"There are too many infected to land at the moment miss... your name? We need the names of everyone that comes on board." He said looking sympathetic, a pen and clipboard of paper in his hand.

I sobbed as I looked down at the hoard of creatures that were stopping James from getting rescued. They were all too busy trying to grab the helicopter out of the sky to realise James was on the outskirts of their crowd. "Zoe Maslow... Mrs Zoe Maslow." I cried.

Carlos wrapped his arms around me as he too looked out towards James stranded below us.

"Your name sir?" The soldier asked Carlos.

"Carlos Pena." Carlos said sadly as he looked once again at James.

My sobs were uncontrollable as I buried my head in to Carlos' shoulder. It was only a matter of time before the creatures spotted James.

"Is that a census? Like a register?" Carlos asked the soldier.

The soldier nodded. "This is everyone that we have picked up with the two helicopters. You two... and him." He said looking at James. ".. Are the only survivors that we have seen left in over 4 hours" he revealed.

"Please.." Carlos said grabbing at the clip board. "Alexa... Alexa Vega... It's she safe?" Carlos stuttered out in a panic.

I cried as I watched the soldier scan through names on his clip board.

"I'm sorry sir... we haven't found anyone of that name." He said to Carlos.

I sobbed harder. Carlos then peeled me from his body.

"Is lexie okay, zoe? Honestly?" He asked.

I cried so hard. I looked at James who was now waving his hands in the air in an SOS wave.

"ZOE!" Carlos yelled. "Is alexa okay?!" He said holding me tightly by my shoulders.

I shook my head as my tears rolled. "I'm so sorry los... I'm so sorry, she didn't make it." I sobbed.

Carlos let go of me, the shock realisation of this news had stunned him.

"Los im so sorry... I'm so sorry." I said over and over.

Carlos nodded as he too looked out at James doing his SOS wave.

"Will you go back for him?" Carlos asked the soldier. His voice shaking with emotion.

"If we can land then yes but we can't take the risk with all the infected down there right now.

Carlos nodded again, he turned to me.

"Lexie was my life... just like James is yours, zo'" he said softly.

"I know!" I blubbed.

"Do what Kendall asked and make it count okay... make your life with James count!" He said, he gave my hand a squeeze. "Get him!" Carlos said to the soldier pointing to James. Carlos then jumped from the helicopter.

"LOS!" I screamed as I watched him go. He fell down in to the rabble of zombies who all huddled in tightly to get a piece of him. Carlos ran though! He ran as far as he could, causing a diversion. The creatures followed him yards up the road until he was captured and brought down. I cried so hard.

The soldier moved me to one side as the helicopter lowered. I cried my eyes out as I watched James approach it. The helicopter then hovered just low enough for the soldier to lean his arm down and help James on board.

James wrapped his arms so tightly around me. I cried and cried in to him, so grateful that he was safe but so sad at the price that had to be paid for it.

"I love you james." I sobbed in to his shirt.

"I love you too." He replied. "We will make them proud zoe... we will make them so proud." He said as the helicopter flew off to safety.

James and I were headed for a completely new life. Our marriage was to be the beginning of a new world for us both!

The end...

Author note: thanks to all who read and review this. I can't tell you how interesting it was to write.

No members of big time rush were harmed in the making of this fanfiction, lol.

Natalie xxx