<span style="font-style: italic">Well, that made things a lot simpler,</span>Nathan thought as Rainie dashed off after the child. Still, Nathan didn't think he could have left a child out there even IF the other two wanted to. Grown men and women with guns were one thing, but that kid couldn't even be a teenager yet.<br/><br/>A.J. followed Rainie with a string of curses. Neither of them looked; Rainie was focused on the child and A.J. was focused on his sister, but Nathan hesitated a moment longer, long enough to see the infected wheel around the crashed bus and head towards the gunfire. It saw A.J. sprinting for the alley and tried to turn and chase him instead, only managing to topple over at its high speed and roll a few times. But that only slowed it for a couple seconds. It threw itself back to it's feet and started towards the alley again.<br/><br/>Nathan wasn't about to let it get there. As it started getting back on its feet, Nathan sprinted out in the street towards it. The foul thing didn't have time to gain any momentum before Nate slammed the butt of his shotgun into the back of its head mid-sprint. With a hollow crunch, it flipped head over heels and landed on the pavement with the sound of a wet sponge. The young engineer skidded to a stop and spun to make sure it wasn't getting back up. Not a twitch. Black, rotten brain matter and old blood dropped from its skull in chunks.<br/><br/>But life wasn't so easy that you could get by clubbing one of<span style="font-style: italic">them</span>from behind every now and then and expect to get away free and clear. More were coming around the bus and heading down the street now and Nathan didn't stand a chance of making it to the alley before they spotted him.<span style="font-style: italic">How many is that? Ten? Fifteen?</span>His shotgun only held ten shells and if he started firing those, it would only draw more monsters to him, Rainie, A.J., and the child.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">Well?</span>A deep breath. A firming of conscience. A second's look towards the alley. The others were safely in cover; not a one of them looking out towards the street to see what was happening. Nathan smiled,<span style="font-style: italic">fucking hero,</span>then turned and sprinted down the street toward the gunfire. The infected followed with screams of elation, leaving the other humans safe in their hiding.<br/><br/>He could keep ahead of them for a while, but if he didn't lose them soon he would tire. There just wasn't any good narrows to lose them in anywhere in sight. Another figure materialized ahead of him. It could be another survivor or another infected. Either way, Nate didn't plan on getting close; he turned down an alley praying that it wasn't a dead end. He was gasping for air now.<span style="font-style: italic">I have to slow them down.</span>Another wad of duct tape, a fragmentation round this time, came from his pocket. He was short on incendiary grenades after setting those fires. Fragmentation grenades were much easier to make.<br/><br/>It was hard to keep your mind clear in these situations. Chaos everywhere, blood pounding in your ears, something else to fear everywhere you looked, and somehow things only ever got worse. The match only sputtered and died when Nathan tried to light his homemade grenade. He cursed and threw it at the ground, sprinting around a corner.<span style="font-style: italic">I'm gonna die.</span>he thought,<span style="font-style: italic">was it worth it?</span><br/><br/>He was in back alleys now, between the filthy backs of buildings, and an open doorway stood ahead of him. A risk, but he was so tired. Nathan spun as he reached the door. Shouldering the shotgun he fired off a round without really aiming. The lead zombie's hips disappeared and the one behind it staggered. Nathan didn't wait to see the torso hit the ground; he spun inside and slammed the door, then leaned against it and gasped a few hard breathes.<br/><br/>That lasted until a weight slammed into the door, then another.<span style="font-style: italic">I have to keep moving.</span>