Jared nudged the door open with his shotgun, gently peering into the

store. While there hadnt been any sightings of Walkers, he didnt want to take
any chances or be careless. Nicole right behind him, he stepped into the area.
The only sound was the groups footsteps no groaning, no dripping, and
certainly not the sound of teeth biting into flesh. Perhaps Mason was right? Were
they really running out of walkers?
Clear?
It was Nicoles whisper that brought Jareds stare back to the group,
causing a little bit of discomfort for Omid the whole area had been walker-free
since they had left the house.
The man with the shot-gun nodded. Yeah. Not a sound.
Strange. But not unwelcome.
Alright, Omid huffed. Lets move. Mason, you know the drill. Anything
out of date or close to being out of date is useless to us. Nicole, Jared, anything
electric is-
Luxury, yeah, we know. Were not children. Nicole interrupted.
Omid was glad to know that they finally understood the meaning of the
word rules. But regardless, he was starting to wonder if bringing Jared and
Nicole along was a good idea.
All four of them have split up, but it seemed as if Mason was constantly
tailing Nicole, but Omid merely shook his head and stuck to his own job.
It seemed too easy to be normal. Something was certainly not right about
the whole situation. It was too eerie for a casual day in the zombie apocalypse,
as if something was obviously about to happen but no one knew what. Omid
didnt know what this feeling was, but he couldnt shake it. But suddenly, his
question was answered with aWALKER!
Walker? Huh? Where?
What?!
WHAT THE HELL WAS HAPPENING?
Omid jumped into action almost immediately. He dropped everything,
apart from axe he had armed himself with. A gunshot went off, but Omid couldnt
tell if it was Mason or Jared who had called out. Pretty soon, he managed to run
to the back corner of the store into Nicole, almost knocking her over.
What happened?
It was more a demand then a request, really, but the rush of the situation
was something he hadnt really felt in a while they had been prepared to take
out walkers from a distance, not close up.
Jared was attacked!
Omid, hand me that axe!
That request came from Mason, who threw his own weapon onto the floor
it had been Mason who took out the walker, not Jared.
The bite on Jared was located right on the end of the mans shoulder.
Throughout this whole drama, he couldnt believe that Jared had been stupid
enough (or careless enough) to manage ignoring the tell-tale signs of a walker
unless said walker managed to learn how to shut up his or her groaning.
But still. Mason wanted the axe, but bite mark was . . . yeah, no. But
luckily, it wasnt Omid who was going to tell Mason to screw his fucking head on
straight. It was Nicole.
Mason, are you crazy? You start hacking off at his shoulder, youll just
start killing him quicker.
It was a pretty helpless situation. What do you do? What would you do in
something like this? Jared was unconscious already. How on hell ridden Earth do
you make this decision for him?

Well, he couldnt just let Jared turn.

Nicole, get Mason out of here.
Mason whipped his head around. Fear and shock dominated his features.
What? No, NO! No, you cant-
Come on, Mason, we have to go!
Nicole literally dragged him away from Jared (somehow mustering the
strength to leave herself). Mason didnt leave quietly, though. If anything, he was
probably just attracting more walkers. But Omid didnt have much mental
strength to tell him to shut up, and neither did Nicole.
Jared was unconscious through this whole ordeal. Nicole, Mason and Omid
had all missed that fact. The man wasnt even breathing anymore, but Omid
didnt know how. But the groan of another incoming walker pulled Omid out of
his thoughts.
Training his gun on the fallen friend, and Omid pulled the trigger.

By the time Omid made it home, it was clear that everyone was in shock
and panic. Mason had broken down, the only person managing to help him out
was Nicole. Even Masons own father was unable to help him calm down. Jareds
death had shaken everyone.
Speaking of shaking, thats what Omid was unable to stop doing. He didnt
remember much of the journey home, but he had made it with little to no
problems (other than having to handle a second walker). He just kept striding
home, unable to think about what had actually just happened. Well, he knew
what happened, it was just that he couldnt seem to grasp that he did what he
did. He did it because he had no other choice, thought, right?
Right?
Getting a glass out, Omid poured it full of water. When he tried to take a
sip, water sloshed out, his shaking uncontrollable. Fearing that hed drop it, he
put it back down onto the table, and ran a hand through his hair, one hand
holding him up straight on the bench in front of him.
You should rest.
Christa put her hands on his shoulders, lightly rubbing them.
Somehow I dont think Id be able to sleep. He sighed, leaning back in
the chair. Hows Mason?
Nicole is holding him up.
I thought she would. Shes always been a strong girl.
Well, shes kinda had to be strong.
Omid nodded, relaxing a little. Finally, after a minute or two of silence,
Omid stood and took Christas hands. I feel as though I killed him. But . . . by
the time I took the shot . . . he stopped breathing. He was unconscious the whole
time, and-
Hey, She lightly kissed him, wrapping her arms around his neck. We
both knew this was going to get harder the longer we survived, with more people
around us. You did what you had to do. Mason wasnt going to be able to do that,
and I doubt Nicole would have done it either. It may take a while, but theyll
understand.
He sighed again, nodding slowly. Finally, he hugged her close, burying his
face in the crook of her neck.