that is the website that you will find pics of most of the guns used in TUP.

" " =Speech

< >=Josh’s personal Thoughts

( )= Evans Personal Thoughts

{ }= Authors Notes

Chapter Two: Attempt at Escape

Evan and Josh made it to the Zellers mall entrance with little effort and only losing about three of Evan’s sniper rounds. "It’s almost to easy." He said to Josh as he lined up another zombie that seemed to be trying to close in on JD and the Hummer.

Evan pulled the trigger and about 100 yards away a zombie’s head turned to mush and the body shut down for good this time. "How the hell do you shoot so good?" Josh asked his friend as Evan shouldered his rifle.

"Practice. Years of practice. I got a pellet gun for my 14^th birthday and a paintball gun for Christmas about two years ago, I’ve been shooting them constantly. I just use the same skills here." Evan responded as the automatic doors of the mall opened to reveal a totalled mall.

Josh nodded as he flicked the safety on his Magnum off and scanned the immediate area. "That’s cool, you’ll have to teach me to shoot some time."

Evan smiled. "I’ll show you on the next zombie we see."

Josh smiled. "K. But let’s focus on the objective here. We need good CDs, stat."

"Ok, let’s head to that CD store in the back of the mall, you’re sure to get some gun training in during our little journey." Evan said, bringing out one of his two MP5s and making sure the safety was off.

Josh and Evan turned right and started to pass through the woman’s clothing section when they spotted their first zombie. It was half clad and hanging around the woman’s change room. "Looks like we caught her at a bad time." Josh joked nervously, finally starting to consider the idea of taking a life.

Evan smiled. "Don’t worry about it. The thing is already dead. Just imagine you are in some first person shooter and that is the demon thing that you have to kill to progress in the game."

"How do you take this so lightly!" Josh recoiled, getting the zombie’s attention. It let out a hiss and started to stagger towards the duo.

"Remember the Blade speech? Here is the world underneath, here is the real world Josh. Line that bitch up and pull the trigger." Evan said, angrily, trying to intimidate Josh into doing what he would have to do many times before they got to the safe haven of the Congo.

Josh shakily lined up the advancing zombie’s head in the Magnum’s sights. He looked over to Evan for support. Evan shook his head lightly. "Put your other hand underneath the gun for support." Josh did so and found that the shaking for the most part stopped, though his heart still quivered in fear. "Good, now fire one shot." Josh pulled the trigger back gently until the firing pin slammed into the shell and sent a piece of super heated lead flying into the cranium of the female, half naked zombie, which soon ceased to be. The Magnum round continued past the zombie’s head and imbedded itself into the woman’s dressing room wall. The casing popped out of the gun effortlessly as another shell was pushed into place. The casing hit the ground and rolled around for a second. Evan bent down to pick it up and handed it to Josh. "Want to keep the casing of your first kill?" Josh shakily put away the weapon and took the casing into his palm. It was still warm, that for some reason unnerved Josh who shoved it quickly into his pocket.

With that the pair walked out of Zellers and into the rest of the mall. Then Evan caught sight of the televisions in radio shack, which had been turned to the emergency broadcast station. A man was jabbering in some language that Evan could not understand, but then the sub titles came on. Evan blinked twice and holstered his MP5. "Oh… My… GOD…" Evan stated.

"What?" Josh said, who was still remembering the gore of his first kill. He then looked at the television and his anime watching reflexes kicked in and he caught the sub-titles. "Oh shit." He muttered.

"The Congo is under attack by the USA." Evan read. "Three T-Virus missiles are reported inbound to the key habitats of the Congo, there is minimal chance of survival. The human race is doomed." He finished before sorrow over took him and he retreated into the radio shack, finding two cashier zombies. He almost didn’t notice them and certainly didn’t care. He thought about killing them. *What’s the point. * He thought, as he opened his arms as if to embrace their version of death. Two gunshots rang out and the zombies fell roughly to the floor. Josh picked up the casing from his two latest kills and threw them at Evan.

"If you wanted to die, you shouldn’t have taught me how to shoot." Josh said seriously.

Evan turned around. "Why aren’t you thinking the same thoughts I am? The rest of the world was hit. We may be the only survivors in the entire world and we are all guys. We can’t reproduce an entire population! Even if there was a girl, we would be dominated by our id side and fight over her for breeding rights."

Josh looked confused. "Id?"

Evan shook his head. "Freud’s theory. We all have an Id and an Ego, as well as a Super Ego. Ego covers our ‘human’ side and Id is our more basic instincts."

Josh smiled. "See, you have a reason to live. You have to educate the few survivors and their children. Surely if we survived there must be more out there."

Evan smirked. "I suppose you are right." His stomach growled. "But right now I have to feed my Id and grab some food. I’ll worry about teaching the masses later."

Josh nodded in agreement and the pair re-entered Zellers to scrounge up some munchies.

Back at the gas pump JD was just finishing filling up an extra gas tank for the Hummer when three zombies approached him. The first, about 20 feet away had been gutted by something as its intestines were hanging near his feet and his uncovered heart was beating a slow rhythm. JD shot him quickly in the face just to make himself stop looking at the disgusting thing. The second was a pregnant girl, maybe about 23 but definitely no older. She seemed to be in almost perfect shape except for the tell tale bulge of a child in her stomach. Josh had to look away when he shot this one. But shoot her he did, two shots, one in the gut out of pity for the child and one at the neck, severing the spinal chord. The third disturbed JD the most. His father lurched forward, his left ankle dislocated and the meat of his calf almost completely gone. He was missing half of his face and it seemed that only tendons allowed him to control what was left of his jaw. But despite this disfiguring Josh knew who it was. Tears welled up in his eyes and his aim grew shakier as he attempted to pull the trigger, but he didn’t get enough force until his dad was only 5 feet away. The bullet flew out of the barrel and Josh almost wished he could have stopped it, but he knew that he had to do this. The steaming lead turned the zombie of Josh’s father’s remaining eye into jelly as it entered the cranium through the eye socket and destroyed the left side of his brain. He staggered, swaying right then left and finally falling to his more weighted right side. His skull spilt on contact with the unforgiving cement of the Canadian Tire parking lot. Josh fell to his knees and cried. Still crying he dragged his father’s corpse another 5 feet from the Hummer and doused him with gasoline. He then walked into the pay center and grabbed a book of matches after shooting the zombie staggering behind the counter about three times. After that he walked out to his father’s cadaver and said a prayer of deliverance, lit a match and tossed it on his father’s body. The stench of burning flesh rose like a mist and Josh soon had to retreat to the Hummer to escape the putrid smell. He finished filling the extra fuel can in peace and loaded it into the back of the Hummer beside the guns and strapped it down with some duct tape he had found in one of the nearby cars. He got into the Hummer and watched the flames cremate his father.

Evan sheathed his bloodied katana ad looked down on the heap that was once a zombie. "I don’t know if those munchies will stay down if this keeps up." Evan said, picking up his large Zellers bag filled with junk food.

Josh checked the clip of his Magnum. "Well if you would stop using the katana maybe it wouldn’t be so gory."

"But I want to save bullets if I have a population to kill. Sides, I have to practice using this. I may run out of ammo in the most inopportune time." Evan said seriously.

Josh nodded and filled his clip sombrely as the pair made it to the CD store. "So JD wanted Good Charlotte and Reel Big Fish?"

Evan nodded and then brought out his katana and cleaned it with a napkin from a nearby Burger King. "Ah, now the case is going to be all messy." He griped as he put his katana back into its sheath.

Josh couldn’t help but laugh. * All this shit is going on, Evan had just gotten over being suicidal and now he is joking about the mess that zombie gore makes in his katana sheath. Well, at least he’s back to normal. * Josh thought as they entered the open CD store. There were three zombies, all clawing at the storage room door.

"What the hell. Why are the not wandering? Is somebody behind that door?" Evan called out.

A muffled cry for help emanated from behind the storage room door and Evan and Josh set to work with their swords. They made easy work of the three undead, their practice with sticks and tubing allowing them some skill with blades, and the fact that they knew each other so well and what the other was probably about to do allowed them not to kill each other in the process. Evan checked the gore covered door and found it to be locked. "Open the door! We are human!" Evan looked the storage room door over and found that it was airtight. *This person must have been in here since the bombing or he or she wouldn’t be alive… wow. Maybe there is hope for humanity yet. *

The door opened slowly, revealing a girl of about 18 or nineteen. She had long blonde hair that went about halfway down her back. Her eyes were aqua, her lips red and full. She was well built, her curves smooth and pleasing to the eye. She stood about 5’7" and had lightly tanned skin. Both of her ears were pierced and had simple silver studs. She wore a blue belly top that read ‘Angel’ in sliver sparkles and a mini skirt that showed off her gorgeous legs. Evan blinked twice and Josh was amazed. "Hi." She stated, bringing the boys back to reality. "I’m Stef. And you are?"

Evan regained his composure and smiled courtly. "Evan McNeely. This is my best friend Josh VanHalteren."

She looked Evan over. His brown eyes seemed hard and unkind, and his brown hair that bordered on black was wild and unkempt. He seemed to be muscular, or at least have a decent build, but she couldn’t tell do to his army green suit and padding. He certainly was armed though, his sword covered in the gore of her dismembered pursuers. She then turned her attention to Josh, he was attractive, but in a different way than his friend. He seemed to be more kind and forgiving than his seemingly battle hardened friend. His blonde hair was poofy and kind of funny looking against his slender face. He was slightly taller than Evan but most definitely skinnier, but not disgustingly so. They pair looked to be about 19 –20ish. Neither of them had any piercing or tattoos that she could see. Evan lit up a cigar and she automatically could relate to him, as she was a smoker herself. "Hey." She said, addressing Evan. "Do you have any cigarettes?"

Evan shook his head. "Nope. I’ve just got Colts. Want one?" she shook her head and the trio started to move. Evan and Josh picking out some CDs. "Why are you guys looting the store? You surely don’t need CDs do you?"

Evan shrugged. "We’re going to have to survive and I figure that since we have a CD player in the Hummer we might as well grab a couple for the road."

Stef was automatically attracted to the pair even more after the mention of Hummer. "You guys have a Hummer? Cool!"

Evan shrugged. "I guess. Hey. You want some smokes?" The girl nodded her nicotine craving kicking in. "Let’s head to the Magazine shop, they sell smokes and cigars. Sides, I could use a good magazine to pass the time."

Stef nodded and the pair headed to the Magazine shop that was a short walk away while Josh continued to plunder the CD store.

Stef and Evan made it to the Magazine store without any zombie attacks, but Evan spotted a few wandering just down the hall in Mrs. Vanelli’s and a couple staggering behind the counter of Burger King. He shrugged them off and walked into the open-faced store looking for the cashier that would undoubtedly be nearby waiting for a snack. Evan peeked over the counter and found the once female cashier in a bundle, seemingly dead. He drew his Beretta and put a bullet, much to the surprise of Stef, in the corpse’s head for good measure. He then went around the counter and grabbed two packs of Captain Blacks and four larger cigars as well as a pair of cigar clippers. "What kind of smokes do you want?" he asked Stef.

"Players." She responded, still in shock at what the youth had done.

"Light?"

Stef nodded.

"Ok, Wanna grab me a copy of PC Gamer, that Play station one, and Popular Mechanics?" Evan paused and scanned the shelves as he grabbed a carton of Players light for Stef and put it under his arm, hoisted up by one of his Ingrams. "Um… and a Guitar world. As well as Inquest."

Stef did so quickly. Not wanting to stay in the open any longer. Evan motioned for them to go and as they left he grabbed a Playboy and a Maxim. He quickly put those under his arm that had the cigarettes and hurried to catch up to the sprinting Stef.

When they got back to the CD store Josh was ready to go. He had all the CDs he wanted and Evan had picked out in a CD holder and had left the CD plastic guards strewn all over the floor of the shop. "Ready to go?" He asked the pair.

Evan and Stef looked at each other and then at Josh. "Yup." Evan said calmly. Stef just nodded. Josh shrugged. "Ok. Let’s roll then." The trio then started to leave the mall.

Back at the Hummer, it had started to rain outside. It was light rain, but it at least drove the smell of burning flesh away for a bit. It still remained vivid in JD’s senses though. He almost regretted what he did. But it kept the zombies from defiling his dad’s corpse anyway. JD looked up from the steering wheel and spotted a trio of people running towards the Hummer two of them with guns out and the other appearing to be a girl. He recognized Evan from a distance, picking out his tell tale Canadian army suit and then Josh in his white muscle shirt. *He is lucky it’s June. * Thought JD as he started the Hummer. *But who is the girl? *

The trio approached the Hummer quickly, Evan motioning to something behind them. Josh saw what it was quickly. A small pack of dogs was in hot pursuit. Evan got into the back seat as per the katana agreement and Josh hopped into the passenger side, Stef following Evan who scooted over to allow her entrance. "Run into some problems?" JD joked as he started to drive away from the rapidly distancing hounds.

Evan laughed. "But it was worth it. We have another survivor."

Stef blushed as Evan introduced her to JD. "Stef, JD. JD, Stef." JD nodded as he was currently trying to manuver around the clogged traffic of Lindsay. Evan started to question the newest member of their party as he handed her the carton of smokes. She broke it open eagerly and held her hand out for Evan’s Zippo.

Evan handed her the Zippo and started the question period. "So where are you from Stef?"

"I’m local. From Lindsay. Used to live on Sussex Street." She said.

"No way! That’s where I just moved to!" JD said excited to have something in common with such a gorgeous girl and knowing that he was the only one who didn’t have a girlfriend that may or may not be alive.

Stef looked JD over, he was a shorter boy, probably 17 maybe 18 at the most. *Why is he with these guys who seem to be older? He might have been a private in Evan’s squad. * She thought, noting the lieutenant badge on Evan’s right arm. JD was kind of pudgy, but not so that he wasn’t cute or anything, just not her type. She liked them well built and tough… kind of like Evan or Josh, JD seemed nice though, like Josh and unlike Evan, though he must be pretty serious to be in the army long enough to make lieutenant.

"So Evan, how long have you been enlisted?" Stef asked.

"Huh? Oh, the gear. Yeah, I’m not really in the army. I just needed protective gear and this was the best I could find in Bush Boys." Evan said.

Stef pondered this. *Ok, so he is not a lieutenant. What about JD? * "What about JD? Is he in the army?"

Evan laughed. "No. Sides, there is no army now. Practically everyone is undead now. Oh yeah, JD. They hit Congo. It’s gone."

JD stopped the Hummer and turned around to face Evan. "What?"

Evan nodded. "Yeah, they hit Congo. It’s gone, we have no place to go."

JD inhaled deeply and Evan lit up a Colt. He puffed it once and looked pensive. "We need to find any other survivors, if everyone who is still alive bands together we might be able to get some semblance of humanity back together. We can’t rebuild off of three guys and a girl." Evan said, offering a quest to the passengers of the Hummer.

Everyone thought about this and then agreed. Evan smiled roughly. "Ok then, we will need to spilt up if we are going to find everyone."

Josh looked shocked. "You mean to say that we should all just go our separate ways and then somehow find each other at some given point in time?"

Evan nodded. "I want to discover if my girlfriend is still alive. I’m going to have to go to Cambridge to do that. I don’t want to burden you guys with my own little selfish hopes. You guys can continue to search as a group and I’ll go to find her."

JD bit his lip. "Evan." He started. "I’ll go with you. You might need back up."

Josh smiled. "I’ll go to. I haven’t got anything better to do. My readers are probably zombies now so I don’t have any ties there. But I do want to find Nikki." Evan nodded.

"She’s closest. We’ll search for her first. Unless Stef has someone to search for that would be in the immediate area." The triple power (Our click’s name) trio turned simultaneously to Stef who just shook her head no.

"I don’t have a boyfriend. But what about family?" She said sadly.

JD hung his head and tears came freely. Evan put an arm over his buddies back. "What is it dude?"

JD looked up at Evan and Josh. "I had to kill my dad." Evan and Josh looked shocked for a second and then the brunt of JD’s words sank in. They all put a hand on JD and offered support.

After about twenty minutes of mourning the group started to sadly discuss what they would do.

"I have to check on my family." Evan said.

Josh nodded. "Same here."

JD wiped away a tear. "I need to make sure my mom is Ok and that my sister is fine."

Stef closed her eyes for a second and shook her head. "I don’t have a family here. They died, one of you killed my father; he was trying to eat me. My mom died giving birth to me and I have never had any siblings." She said mournfully. Evan put an arm around her in an attempt to comfort her, she took hold of his arm and held it close.

"It’s ok. You are still alive. You are the future of mankind." Evan said offering hope and support.

Stef smiled through the tears. "You guys will protect me right?" Evan nodded, smiling kindly back. *Maybe Evan isn’t such a tight ass after all. * She thought. *But he has a girlfriend… maybe… we are all looking pretty bad probably. * She said, looking over the group. *Everyone has lost someone, or might have lost someone to this tragedy. * She let out a long sigh and snuggled closer to Evan who didn’t fight it. JD had started to drive again and they were nearing the rubble of 7-11. *But I might be the future of humanity. I could be everyone’s mom if there are no other girls alive. But who would be my ‘mate’ as it were? * She thought. She looked up at Evan, his face stern and focused on the window behind her. He noticed that she was watching him and looked down at her and smiled. She smiled back and then shifted her vision to the back of Josh’s head. Then over to the tri-hawk of JD with it’s bright orange tint. She looked back up at Evan. *He would be the one I would probably pick out of this little group. * Evan smiled down on her caringly. For he knew her importance to humanity.

Josh was the first one to get out of the Hummer. "Let’s start looking for Nikki and my family here." He offered.

JD nodded. "K. But do you think they went back to the house if they survived?"

Josh nodded. "That’s where I would go so I have to hope that they would think to do the same thing."

Evan smirked and lit up his last Colt and tossed the package to the cement of the 7-11 parking lot. "I certainly did a number on this place." He joked, looking over his own handy work. He then turned to Stef. "Can you use a gun?"

Stef nodded, seeming to doubt herself. "I think so. Just point and shoot right?"

Evan nodded and grabbed a Beretta from the back of the Hummer and handed it to her and then started to go through the ammo pile to find bullets for it. Stef pointed the gun at a nearby building and lined up a sign. She pulled the trigger and found that the gun was empty. "Hey Ev?" She started. "Why isn’t there any ammo in here?"

Evan grabbed four clips and handed them to her, she tried to put one in the gun but had it backwards. Evan corrected her. "Cause if there was and we hit a vicious bump then there is a chance of the guns going off and killing us."

Stef nodded and shook the thought of that little mishap out of her head. "Ok then. Can I take a practice shot?" She said, motioning to the wall.

Evan shook his head no. "Nope, we need to save ammo. Take a practice shot on the first zombie you see."

Stef smiled. "Will you be there to guide my hand?"

Evan nodded. "Sure."

Josh looked over at the pair and smiled. "Hey Evan? When do you want to head to Cambridge?"

Evan frowned at Josh. "Shut up Josh."

Josh smiled broader. "Ok then, I’m heading to my place."

Evan nodded. "You want some backup?"

Josh’s smile grew even more. "Sure, JD let’s give them some privacy." JD laughed and followed him, leaving Evan and Stef alone.

Stef moved up close to Evan who took a small step back. "What is it Evan?" She asked, sounding intimate. "We’re alone now."

Evan looked shocked. "I have a girlfriend. And I barely know you." He said, sounding slightly disgusted at Stef’s innuendo.

Stef smiled up at the 5’11" boy. "Then let’s get to know each other." She suggested.

Evan finished his Colt and took the roach from the filter. He tossed the roach on the ground and stomped it out and then started to chew slowly on the flavoured filter. "Alright." He said between chews. "I’m game for that."

Stef smiled again and started. "I’m Stephanie Hunter, 18 years of age and presumably the last female on Earth that isn’t trying to eat you. Your turn."

Evan spat out the filter and started to play with his Zippo. "I’m Evan William McNeely, 17, and I still have hope that my girlfriend and family are alive. Oh yeah, I’m a gamer; I enjoy watching a good anime and writing fan fics. My current favourite animes are: Fruits Basket, Oh My Goddess, and Final Fantasy Unlimited. Oh, and Dragonball. My favourite computer games are Oni and any Diablo-esque games."

Stef smiled. "I also like anime but I’m not to big on gaming. My favourite anime series are Ranma ½ and Gundam Wing."

Evan laughed. "Josh’s favourite is Ranma, and JD loves Gundam Wing. I like the two series but they aren’t my favourite."

Stef laughed. "So the survivors are all anime freaks? Oh that’s funny."

Evan smiled. "Yeah. Which reminds me. I have to steal the rest of Jacob’s Computer anime CDs and then we can get a nice computer and watch them to pass the time once we have found a bunch of survivors."

Stef nodded. "Good idea, wanna go get them? Where does Jacob live?"

Evan pointed in the direction that Josh and JD had gone. "He is Josh’s older brother."

Stef started walking in that general direction and Evan caught up and lead the way.

When they had gotten there it was like they had walked into a bloodbath. There was gore all over the front porch and JD’s Benelli had blown the door open presumably. Evan peeked into the open doorway and noticed a corpse against the far wall with a trail of blood leading up to it and shotgun entrance wounds all through it’s skull and upper torso. "That was Jacob." Evan pointed out as they walked past the shotgun-riddled corpse. Evan spotted another corpse up the stairwell that was at a 90-degree angle from Jacob’s corpse. "His sister Holly." He pointed out and turned when he heard a low moan coming from the kitchen. Evan and Stef rushed into the kitchen area and almost slid on the tile flooring. And noticed three zombies stumbling towards a fallen Josh and JD reloading his shotgun. Evan pulled out his MP5 from his right leg and let out a small burst, careful not to hit JD or Josh. This did nothing more than get the zombies’ attention. They trio turned and Evan recognized them as being the remainder of Josh’s family. Once they were in a safe spot that he couldn’t hit JD or Josh he opened fire at head level, killing them all quickly. Evan and Stef ran past the cadavers and confronted Josh and JD. Josh was bleeding heavily from the neck and JD had just finished reloading the gun. "Why are you guys here?" JD asked shouldering his gun and helping Josh to his feet. Josh stood for a second, staggered and fell again. Evan pointed to his other best friend.

"What happened to him?" He asked.

JD looked downtrodden. "He was bit by his dad. I thought I had loaded more shells in the gun but I was wrong. When I turned to shoot his dad it was to late and there was no bullets."

Evan looked down on Josh. "Man, you Ok?"

Josh motioned to his neck and let out a hoarse laugh. "No way dude. I got bit hardcore in the neck. I’m done. Take my guns and leave a grenade." Evan complied and pulled the pin on one of the many grenades that lined his chest.

"Hold this down." He said, keeping the release held tight in his hand as he passed it into Josh’s hand. Josh did so and a tear fell from his right eye.

Evan shouldered the Bullpup and handed the Magnum to Stef. "Just hold onto that until you… pass away… your muscles will go limp and the grenade will detonate before you turn." Josh nodded.

"It’s been great being your friend Evan. You to Josh." He then struggled to turn to Stef. "It was nice meeting you Stef. Take care of my friends eh?"

Stef nodded. She had started to cry but didn’t notice it until now as the droplets ran across her cheeks and made her mascara run as well.

"Get out of here." Josh ordered motioning to the door with his free hand.

Evan could see that his friend was slipping and nodded a farewell. Josh forced a smiled and reached into his pocket producing the casing from his first kill. "Take it Evan. Make a necklace or something." Evan took the casing and nodded again, tears coming freely to him. "Go." JD, Stef and Evan did so. Leaving one of the few survivors and a good friend. They had driven about a block when they heard the grenade detonate. Stef put a comforting arm around Evan and JD tried to focus on the road. Stef offered comfort to Evan, running her free hand trough his short, brown hair and talking softly to him telling him about the sacrifice Josh had to make so that they could continue to live. Evan wept softly in her arms lamenting the loss of his greatest friend. JD stopped the Hummer by Evan’s house and looked back on his friend. Realising that he would not be capable of fighting if he had to JD went in alone.

Three small zombified kittens guarded the entrance to the house and Josh dispatched of them quickly, finding a bigger cat just behind them in shreds as though the young had eaten the mother. He kicked it gently and when it didn’t respond, moved into the house, which he found unlocked. He searched the house from top to bottom to no avail. Nobody had been here. The place was in perfect order, well, for a house that had just undergone a taste of viral warfare. Josh went into Evan’s room and grabbed a few things like Evan’s paintball gun, mask, paintballs and CO2 cartridges, as well as a small CD case that held a bunch of burnt CDs that had anime titles on them. *Evan will probably want these. * He noted as he looked around the room for anything else. He noticed Evan’s pellet rifle and pistol. *That’s where he learnt to shoot. Cool, I’m glad he at least had some knowledge of using a gun. Plus this paintball gun will give him something to train others with. * Josh thought optimistically. He packed the stuff as well as a pair of jeans, a blue muscle shirt and Evan’s favourite Vegeta anime shirt into Evan’s school bag and walked out of the house. Once at the Hummer he tossed the bag into the back by the guns and hopped into the driver’s seat. He looked back to where Evan and Stef were and noticed that the pair had fallen asleep holding each other. *Ahh. Aren’t they so cute? * Josh thought as he started up the Hummer and took of towards the highway near Evan’s house.

Evan woke up with a jolt as Josh slammed the breaks. "Huh? Wha?" He confusedly attempted to grasp what was going on. He noticed Stef and smiled. She had been kind to him when he needed her most. He was happy to have saved her. "What’s going on Josh?" He asked, trying to keep his voice low so not to wake Stef.

Josh pointed out the front window and Evan automatically knew that they had trouble. "Highway is blocked. There are countless zombies out there. Everyone must have been trying to get to an Airport to get to the Congo. To bad even that option is cut off now." Josh said sounding un-amused.

Evan nodded and watched as the many zombies staggered around, occasionally taking a bite out of somebody who had severed their spine or fractured their skull in an accident. All of the zombies looked to be a mess, intestines and other innards were now worn on the outside. Evan was glad that Stef didn’t have to see this. "Have you checked the other highways or exits from the city?"

Josh nodded sombrely. "Everything is blocked. The good news is that the majority of the zombies are in these concentrated areas. So we can use e-mail and chat rooms to contact the rest of the world and say that we are alive. We could also attempt to learn how to fly a plane. I mean, the local airport shouldn’t be to crowded. But first off we should probably try to learn."

Evan nodded and motioned to Stef. "Ok dude. But try to keep it down, Stef is sleeping."

Josh smiled. "You two an item?"

"No." Evan responded quickly.

"A bit nervous about getting close to her?" Josh asked with an evil looking grin.

"Maybe." Evan responded defensively.

Josh smiled. "Good, cause you have a girlfriend."

Evan nodded and remembered his significant other. "I miss her Josh." He said, tears almost flowing again.

Josh nodded. "I bet you do."

Evan wiped his eyes. "I have to see her. Or at least her from her."

"We’ll get to the Library and you can e-mail her from there."

"Ok."

"Hey dude. Why don’t we make the Library our base of operations? I mean, it is pretty sturdy. It’s got barred window, glass double doors, an elevator, internet hook-ups, lots of books to read, a couple electrical outlets. Snag a big screen TV and a PS2 and we are set!"

Evan smiled. "Good idea Josh! Man that would be the sweetest once we clean it out of zombie filth and fix her up with our own little décor. Dude that would rule!" Evan gave Josh a low five and the trio headed off to the Library to set up camp until they found a better place or a way out.

Josh parked the Hummer outside of the Library that was on the crowded main street, after Evan moved a few of the other cars into some semblance of street order. At least there was a straightaway down this section of the street allowing them access to their new home. Evan entered the Library by himself, leaving Josh to watch over the still slumbering Stef.

Loud gunshots and broken glass were heard coming from the Library with a loud scream of Evan. "Josh, bring Stef and get over here…. Oh yeah don’t forget the guns." Evan entered the library and sat down on a stool waiting for Josh and Stef.

"Ok man where here, oh yeah, I brought you some of your stuff." Said Josh while he put Stef down on the steps.

"My Vegeta shirt. And my anime!! I love you Josh." Evan said while jumping in the air.

Stef woke up due to Evan’s jumping and loud voice and asked, "What’s going on here?"

"Oh, Josh picked up some of my favourite things from my house" Evan answered.

The trio went into the elevator and went into the basement to look for computers and junk. But to their surprise they found only zombies. Evan gave Stef a pistol and taught her how to shoot. "Just put your other hand underneath the gun for extra support and squeeze the trigger." Evan told Stef.

Stef unleashed 2 bullets hitting the zombie in the groin. "Oops I’ll do better next time" Stef said jokingly.

And with that Josh shot the remaining zombies. The trio went back to the 2^nd level of the library and found computers, as well as 2 zombies.

"Hey Evan? Mind if we use our swords on these guys?" Asked Josh.

"Sure"

Josh and Evan both took a slash at each of the zombies’ head decapitating them. Stef went on into the computer room and began powering them up and hacking through the password screen.

"The Hell?!?!" Josh asked

"Since when were u a hacker?" Evan also asked.

"Since I was in grade 9, I began reading books and learning from chat rooms. Remember the "I Love You" Virus? Well that was me." Stef answered adding a giggle

Each of the three went onto the computers and began looking at chat rooms to see if anybody was there. Evan went on to email his Girlfriend.

"Dear Rachel, This is Evan. I’m writing you to see if you’re alive and ok from this attack. If your alive please email me back ASAP.

I Love You!

~ Evan ~

Just then Josh spoke up. "Hey guys I found somebody! There is a survivor!!!"

"Really? Where?" Stef asked

"Its in the Drunken Hicks Chat room" Josh answered. "Apparently this guy survived due to the amount of moonshine he drank." Josh filled in Evan and Stef.

Just then the drunken hick wrote Josh. "Help me! There are zombies out sideeeeeeeeeeeeeeee…….." The message said.

"FUCK!" Josh yelled at the top of his lungs. "He died"

"Damn it!" Evan and Stef yelled and punched the computer screen. "Ouch"

Just then the trio heard books falling and a slight moan followed by five or six more. They were getting closer and closer. The trio looked at each other, nodded and ran there separate ways with loaded guns in there hands. Evan ran upstairs, Stef went back into the basement and Josh went into the children’s section of the library. Where he saw something that made him throw up. There were 2 or 3 kids, each with decaying flesh falling from there bones. Josh couldn’t kill them so he picked both of them up and locked them inside a locker.

Gunshots were heard coming from upstairs followed by two bodies hitting the floor. Then two more shots were heard from the basement. It was now Josh’s turn. Two zombies came towards Josh with books in their hands. One of them hit Josh causing him to fall on the ground, Josh shot up, killing one of the zombies but the other zombie threw their book at Josh causing him to pass out. Just then Evan ran downstairs and saw the zombie inches from Josh’s head. Evan saw Josh’s sword on the ground and picked it up.

"Oh no you don’t! You already took one Josh away from me!" Evan yelled getting the zombies attention.

Evan threw the sword like a Javelin impaling the Zombie. The zombie staggered back but remained up. Evan rushed the undead thing and grabbed the hilt of his katana, twisting it so that the edge was facing up and hauling on the blade, splitting the zombie in two. The clotted blood flung from the back of the ex-person and covered the nearest bookshelf, but Evan’s little task had been completed. That zombie wouldn’t be trying to eat them any more, that was for sure. He looked down at Josh and couldn’t help but laugh. He was covered in gore. Evan didn’t know why this amused him but he really didn’t care, it felt good to laugh. He dragged his friends body into the children’s section of the Library where he heard some clawing against on of the lockers. *What the hell? * He thought as he approached the locker. He noticed the ventilation holes and figured it was probably zombies, but he couldn’t take that chance. He slowly opened the locker door, revealing two child-sized zombies who were currently eating each other. Evan turned away for a second and realised what he had to do. He thrust forward with his bloody sword, sticking the first child in the eye and destroying half of its brain. Then, with a quick flick of the wrist spun the sword so that the edge would be lined up with the other zombie’s throat and slashed. The first child’s head split in two with a sickening crack and the other kid’s head separated from its body. Evan turned away and kicked the locker door shut, containing the corpses. He then turned back around and scratched a little reminder not to open this door unless you want to clean it with his katana. He then cut a small piece of carpet from the Library floor and sat by Josh, cleaning his blade.

Stef had run into no resistance as of yet. She scanned the area around her to no avail. There was no zombies down here. She slowly retreated back up to the first floor of the library and spotted Evan sitting by a fallen Josh, cleaning his blade. "Hey! What’s up with Josh!? Was he bitten?"

Evan shook his head, much to Stef’s relief. "No. But he was close."

Stef breathed a sigh of relief and sat down beside Evan, putting an arm around him. Evan smiled at her. "So are we going to be here a long time?"

Evan nodded. "Fraid so. The roads are blocked and filled with zombies of people who wanted to get out."

Stef held Evan closer. "That’s to bad. I guess we’ll have to just wait until we get a plan or something right?"

Evan nodded again. "Yeah. I’m going out for supplies. Anything you want?"

Stef though about it. "Maybe some new clothes. And a good CD player."

"K. I’m also going to nab a big screen and a PS2. Any games you want?" Evan asked, starting to get up, much to Stef’s dismay.

"Nah, like I said, I’m not to big on gaming."

"K. See you in a bit then." Evan said starting to leave.

Stef got up quickly. "You’re going out by yourself!?"

Evan shrugged. "Can you watch over Josh? I mean, we can’t just leave him unconscious and defenceless."

Stef nodded and sat back down, cocking her pistol. "Ok. But call out before you enter on the way back. I might be a bit trigger happy."

Evan smiled. "I know how you feel. And I will call out. Umm… what kind of clothes do you want?"

Stef shrugged. "I’ll go get them later. You worry about getting food and entertainment. Oh, and maybe some bedding."

Evan nodded and made a mental list. "Sure thing. I’ll be back in a bit… um… can you snag the keys off of Josh?"

Stef nodded and reached into Josh’s pocket till she found the keys and tossed them to Evan. "You owe me for that."

Evan smiled and waved as he left to get supplies. There wasn’t many zombies in the immediate area, or at least that Evan could see at the moment. He had taken the majority out with the combined efforts of the 7-11 assault and trying to get the street back in order. *I should write a book on this. * Evan thought to himself as he started up the Hummer and popped Mushroomhead into the CD player. He changed it to song 3 and backed out of his parking space. He didn’t have to go far for his first stop. The Video store called Video King was only a few blocks down, near the last place that he had cleared cars. He laughed as he noticed the harsh transition. It was daylight now, so all the blood on the street glistened and had a strange almost black glow to it. He noticed that the corpses had disappeared. *Guess the masses got hungry. * Evan joked as he got out of the Hummer, leaving it on so that Mushroomhead was blaring as he entered the open video store. He scanned the area and noticed a few zombies in the back of the store. *Hmm… they must be looking for a nice movie for the kids. I really should suggest ‘Evil Dead’ I think they might relate to it. * He thought as he unsheathed his katana. *I’ve been using this blade more than my guns. Weird. * He thought as he snuck up on the closest zombie. He scanned the area for any other zombies on the floor or nearby and spotted none. He smiled as he slipped the katana under the male zombie’s groin and thrust upwards, cleaving the monstrosity in two. The zombie didn’t even get time for a moan. The next zombie though, spotted the action, or smelt the gore and staggered over to check it out. Evan decapitated him swiftly. *I think I might be desensitised to violence… I blame TV. * Evan thought as he lopped off the top part of the final zombie’s head with relative ease. *These things are hardcore slow. * Evan thought as he took out his piece of carpet and wiped his blade of the filth. *Yup, to easy. * he then walked over to the PS2 section of the store and found, much to his liking, that the Playstation 2 was still in store. He grabbed a few titles that he liked and few he had heard Josh talk about, as well as the final fantasy games for normal Playstation. He then headed over to the counter and peeked over, spotting a corpse on the floor in a cashier’s uniform. *This is getting old fast. * Evan thought as he drew his Beretta and put a bullet hole in the floored zombie’s head. It withered for a few seconds and then it ceased to move. Evan set the game cases on the counter and went around to find the games and their instruction manuals. He gathered up the games in their rightful cases a few minutes later and put them under his left arm, keeping the Beretta loose in his right hand. He looked both ways after exiting the store and put the games in the back seat. He went back for the PS2 and did the same. Just as he was about to leave, something dawned on him. *Why stop at a PS2? I could grab a free X-box too!!! * Evan did so, grabbing any x-box game he deemed worthy of his standards as well as extra controllers for both the PS2 and X-box. He loaded all this into the Hummer and took off to Value-mart to grab some food supplies for tonight.

*I should probably leave the majority of the food in the store cause it has working fridge and freezers. * Evan reasoned as he entered the store. He looked shocked as he discovered the amount of zombies inside. *Wow… they must have been thinking the same thing I am… stock up and buckle down. He caught sight of the meat section and noticed zombies had feasted on most of the produce there. *Must save steaks!! * Was the thought that rushed through Evan’s mind as he holstered his Beretta and took up his sniper rifle. He checked the clip and then checked behind him to make sure that he wasn’t being flanked and then started the warfare, beginning with the closest zombie. He had finished his first clip with no misses. He loaded up his second clip and noticed that the remaining zombies had started to crowd their fallen comrades and eat. Evan took advantage of this and broke out the Benelli. With a few well-placed shots the remaining zombies died off with minimal damage to the wares of the store. Evan rushed to the meat section and found the majority of it in ruins. He was near tears when he spotted a small section that hadn’t been even touched on. Whole turkeys and steaks were lined up in what seemed to Evan a ‘holy’ arrangement. He rushed to the front of the store and grabbed a plastic bag and put two packs of T-bone steaks in it. He then casually walked into the other areas of the store, grabbing cookies, steak sauce, Orange juice, some frozen corn and instant mashed potatoes as well as a tub of margarine. He fit all of this into about three plastic bags and headed out of the store to load the wares into the Hummer. He spotted a few zombies and a couple dogs that were wandering around. He quickened his pace and hopped into the still running Hummer, checked the gas and saw that it was low and headed out to his next stop. The Zeller’s mall.

A short time later, Evan had filled up the Hummer and driven to the back entrance of the mall. He entered cautiously, an MP5 at ready. He checked his surroundings and found that there wasn’t any threats, he holstered his MP5 and drew out one of his packs of Captain Blacks and lit up. He put the pack back in his left breast pocket and drew the MP5 again. He edged past the magazine shop he had entered earlier and almost stopped to grab a couple smokes but focused on the task at hand. He edged slowly down the main hallway towards an Radio Shack. He spotted a few zombies in Bootlegger/Rikki’s but ignored them. *Worry about those when I need a new pair of jeans… or when I take Stef out for clothes. * He thought as he crept by, not getting the dense zombie’s attention. He made it safely to the Radio shack and found that there was only about two zombies that had entered since the last time he had been there and again, the corpses of his previous kills were removed. He checked his PSG1 for ammo (the sniper rifle, I found the name for it online) and put away his MP5. *Might need the long range in case the stupid dead guys decide to make a move. * Evan thought as he changed the clip to one that was full and reloaded the other one. He shoved the full clip into his lower right leg pocket along with the majority of the 30.06 ammo. Which Evan noticed wasn’t as he thought 30.06 but 7.62mm X 51 but he wouldn’t tell JD that to retain his presumed knowledge of guns. He quickly selected a Television set that was about 51" and unplugged it and covered the screen with duct tape to prevent it from shattering. He then started to lug the TV from the store when the two zombies acted up forcing Evan’s hand or in this case his PSG1. Two shots rang out and Evan continued to haul the TV from Radio Shack. *I’m a regular looter. * Evan joked to himself as he neared the exit of the mall. *I should probably make a permanent open door for this door. * Evan thought as he shouldered his rifle and plucked a grenade of his chest. He duct taped it to the door frame and quickly did a small physics calculation. *One more on the opposite side should secure the deal. * He grabbed another grenade and taped it to the opposite side of the glass door. Then he shoved the TV into Mrs Vanelli’s neglecting to see the zombies there and more focused on the task at hand. He ran to the doorway and pulled the pins on both, releasing the clasps he ran like hell to escape the blast. He made it to the CD store he had looted earlier and dove inside, again noticing that the corpses were gone. But that didn’t matter now. The explosion ran out through the abandoned mall… well abandoned by the living anyway. Evan peeked around the corner of the entrance to CD Plus and saw that his grenade idea had worked. He smiled and thought up another good idea. He searched CD Plus quickly and grabbed an Anti skip Discman and some headphones. He found a grocery bag behind the counter of the store again checking for the cashier to be face first. Finding no zombie he grabbed the bag and tossed the Discman in, nabbing a few other CDs that he wanted including the Stabbing Westward CD that had the song ‘The Thing I Hate’ and a few Techno CDs that were lying around. He rushed out of the store and put the bag on top of the TV and finally spotted the zombies. He shrugged them off and ran back to Radio Shack, the zombies in slow pursuit. Evan spun quickly and noticed that he had easily outran the zombies and entered the Radio Shack. The bodies from his latest kills were still there which didn’t bother him the least. He walked to the back of the store, picked out a high-end gaming computer and grabbed the box. He hauled the computer back to Mrs. Vanelli’s dispatching his pursuers with his Beretta and began to load the things he had picked up in the mall into the Hummer. Then it dawned on him. *I need computer games. * He rushed back to Radio Shack and found that the bodies were gone from both of his recent fights. *What the hell is going on here? * He thought as he grabbed a few of his favourite titles and some that he had never heard of before as well as a Starchoice satellite disk. *There probably isn’t anything on TV but you never know. *

Evan loaded all of the stuff into the Hummer and headed back to the Library where he unloaded it in the Children’s section. He spotted Stef asleep on the floor and JD on one of the computers playing a child’s game. "You took my Hummer." He stated with a tinge of anger in his voice.

"I needed to grab food for tonight as well as some gaming essentials." Evan responded sounding surprised at Josh’s anger over such a small thing.

"Dude. You should get your own car." Josh offered, sounding more forgiving.

Evan laughed. "You are probably right."

Josh nodded. "Did you get a Playstation 2?"

"Huh?"

"PS2? Did you get one?"

Evan nodded. "You best believe."

"Games?"

"Wha?"

"What games did you get?"

"You can look them over if you give me a hand unloading the stuff." Evan offered.

Josh shut off the game he was currently playing and walked out. He had changed into normal clothes and was wearing Evan’s Vegeta shirt. "Dude? Why are you wearing my shirt?"

"Cause you stole my Hummer." Josh stated.

Evan shook his head with a smile. "Fine. But you are carrying most of the big stuff out of the Hummer."

"I don’t know dude. I might drop something. You don’t want that to happen? Do you?"

"No. But if that is the case you are at least going to help me carry the stuff."

Josh nodded as they reached the Hummer. He grabbed the food bags and started to bring them in. "Careful with those!" Evan called out. "Those were some of the last steaks at Value-mart!"

Josh looked into the bag containing steaks with a sort of awe. "Wow. You must have had to fight for these."

Evan nodded solemnly and picked out the bag with the X-box and controllers. The pair eventually got all of the crap into the children’s section of the library and semi organised. Evan decided to confirm his little guess about the disappearing bodies and opened the locker he had scratched on. It was empty. "Did you clean this out?" He asked Josh, who shook his head as a response. "Weird. There was two bodies in here."

"You mean there isn’t now?" Evan nodded. "Weird." Josh said as he hooked up the TV and PS2.

Evan closed the locker and hooked two controllers to the PS2 and sat down in front of the TV. "What are you playing?"

Josh shrugged. "Still haven’t checked the games you grabbed."

Evan smiled. "Dynasty Warriors it is." He put in the CD for Dynasty Warriors and pressed power.

Josh smiled and picked up the second player controller and they blew about an hour playing deathmatch.

"Hey guys? You want me to cook you some breakfast?" Stef asked

"Yeah you better woman" Evan answered being the chauvinistic bastard that he is. "Before I slap you in the face" Evan added in an Eric Cartman voice.

"Man Evan your too mean, Stef would you like a hand?" Josh asked

"Sure"

Josh and Stef took the elevator down to the basement into the staff room, which had a stove in it. The two began making bacon and eggs, Josh spat in Evans food due to him being a chauvinistic bastard and Josh felt that Evan needed to learn a lesson.

Just then Stef and Josh heard a rattling at the door followed by "mmmm bacon BOH GOB" from a familiar voice.

"Holy Crap its zombie Evan!" Josh yelled.

The figure slowly walked through the door with drool coming off his mouth. "DIE YOU FREAKISH ZOMBIE!" yelled Stef, followed by three shots from her gun.

"Ok, Stef, this is why I gave you a paintball gun." Josh explained followed by Evan yelling and screaming, "You better hope I can reproduce!" Evan said with a really pissed off voice.

After a good breakfast and a lot of ice for Evan the trio began to play Xbox. So far Evan was winning in "Bloodwake" and after awhile of loosing Josh threw his controller at a nearby computer and stormed off.

"I’m going for a drive you guys, have fun," Josh yelled before driving off in his Hummer.

Josh was driving around thinking. *Man Evan needs a car and I’m gonna help him with that* and with that Josh drove to a nearby snow removal office. He left his Hummer taking along his sword and his twin 9mm H&K and proceeded to walk into the office. For some reason Josh was not scared of what he saw. Which was a horde of zombies feeding off each other and a dog. *Well might as well work on my marksmanship* Josh thought as he shot 2 zombies in the head at close range. And drew his sword and decapitated the other three zombies. After Josh cleaned up the mess he made, he stole the keys of a snow plow and put the tow cable from the Hummer to the snow plow. With that Josh drove to the nearest gas station to fill the hummer up. *He takes my friggin hummer and he doesn’t even have the nerve to fill it up, I’m gonna kick his ass* Josh thought as he finished filling up the hummer. Josh towed the Snowplough back to the library, neglecting to kill any more zombies. *Man, killing zombies is getting boring. They are way to easy! * Josh though as he unhitched the plough and parked it beside the Hummer.

"HEY JOSH!!!" Someone called out from above him.

Josh looked up and squinted, trying to filter out the sun. "Evan?"

Evan sat on the roof of the library with his Discman, PSG1 and as much ammo for that gun as he had. "Yup!! I’ve been hunting zombies for about as long as you’ve been gone. Oh and taking notes on a little theory I’ve had."

Josh could barely hear what Evan had said because he had started to mumble at the end and a slight wind had picked up. "OK!!! HAVE FUN!!"

Evan waved and got back to his hunting fun. *Hmm… He got a snowplough… I wonder what for? * Evan thought as he filled one of his four magazines with ammunition. *I’ve shot a bitch load of the undead today and what do you know? The bodies decompose at incredible rates, or another zombie comes along and eats the first. * Evan noted as he rested the butt of his rifle on the flat rooftop, the bipod holding up the front end. He picked up a decent sized yellow notepad and jotted these discoveries down. *I must be bored if I’m attempting to discover what is killing our enemy when I should just let it be and have them destroy themselves… Maybe I should capture two or three of them and place them in an artificial environment and study their habits and watch for and advantages and disadvantages, well, besides the obvious. * Evan thought as he picked up his rifle again and started to scope in on some movement he had spotted across the street. He found a person in decent shape, except for an obvious broken leg that that girl shouldn’t be capable of walking on. He watched her for a minute to see if it was truly a zombie or another survivor. She just limped along uncaring with a dumb expression on her face. Evan turned a small dial on his scope and focused in on her eyes, they were cold and white, no colour whatsoever. *Zombie. * Evan thought, dashing aside any hopes that there was another survivor to be found yet. *All in good time. * He thought as he pulled the trigger and the matter that made up the girl’s cranium splattered all over the wall just behind her. *All in good time. *

End of chapter two.

Author’s notes.

(Wow. That is long. I mean that is probably one of the longest chapters I have ever written. And I wrote the first nine or ten pages before I even started to rotate it off to Josh. Also, I seem to be the finishing force behind this story. Josh was going to leave the first chapter at six pages, so I took it and added including that surprise ending that I just had to do. I had been tempted to do it even earlier than that but the timing I don’t think could have been more perfect. Oh well, I have been doing character sketches, the guns and army gear may not be exactly accurate, but bear with me. Which reminds me, I have the sites where you can take a look at the weapons used in TUP, though I didn’t put up the link for the Beretta and there are many models of Benelli, me and Josh decided on the second shotgun from that page to be ours for the story. And the 30.06 mix up was true before, I had thought of a gun that I thought existed but didn’t so I changed it to H&K’s lovely PSG1 which has an entirely different ammo type. Oh, and the gun underneath the PSG1 on the rifle page of the H&K site was another choice, but I think I’ll get it later. There is a whole stash of guns just waiting to be picked through! Oh well, I must sound like a gun freak (At points I am) and I think I’ll let Josh have his author’s notes before I hit the nineteenth page. Until next time, remember, Chaos is fun!!)

[Yeah, Evan is right I WAS gonna leave it at 6 pages but meh, Thank you evan!!!! Anyway’s I really think that this story is shapening up and I really wish Evan would LET ME WRITE! Anywhos im not big on writing authors notes so im gonna stop Bye]