Quick Authors Note:

   For getting this story to its first thousand reads, I've decided to publish a special alternate ending as a thank you!

   This is definitely one of my favorite stories I've written so far and Iris was a personal favorite character of mine. Killing her off was a very tough decision and while it'll remain the official ending, let's play pretend for a little while, shall we..?

Day 1,733

I leaned against the back wall of the room I was in, staring at the splintering door in front of me. The dead were almost through. I'm running out of time.

I looked from the bite on my arm to the detonator, then over to the pistol in my other hand.

   "Fuck it." I said, raising the pistol and squeezing the trigger... Dropping the first undead asswipe behind the door.

   I squeezed the trigger again, dropping the next.

   That went on until the gun clicked, signaling it was empty.

   I quickly got to my feet, dropping the pistol to the ground.

   More of the door broke through, whole arms reaching in after me.

   I pulled the C-4 from my bag, tossing it in front of the door. Then, I looked out the window behind me. "Here goes nothing." I said, taking a few steps back before letting out a yell, charging shoulder first through the window.

   As it shattered around me, I pressed the button on the detonator, sending smoke and debris flying over my head.

   Then, I hit the ground, blacking out...

—————

"We're so fucked... We're so fucked..." Arthur said, repeating the phrase over and over again.

The hallways were quiet, I gripped Laila's hand tightly, holding her close to me.

"Arthur... I really need you to be quiet..." I whispered.

He looked to me. "They just ripped him right through the floor... The last of our protection... We're so fucked..."

I shook my head, grabbing his shoulder with my free hand. "Arthur, we have to keep moving."

He kept muttering to himself.

I rolled my eyes slightly before slapping him hard across the face. "Arthur!"

He jolted a little, locking eyes with me. "I'm sorry, let's move."

He walked in front of us, slowly leading us down the empty hallways.

As we crept through, I heard a floorboard creek, then another one.

I turned quickly, seeing a few of the undead slowly making their way down the hallway. "Shit, they found us." I said, taking Laila's hand again.

"What do we do?" Laila asked.

Arthur grabbed my arm. "C'mon!" He yelled, pulling us down the hallway.

Our breathing was heavy as we sprinted down hallway after hallway, unsure where we were going.

Suddenly, we hit a dead end, a locked, metal door stood in our path.

Arthur slammed his shoulder against the door. "Open up!" He yelled.

I turned around, seeing a small hoard turning the corner in front of us.

I took a defensive step in front of Laila. "Arthur, they're coming!"

He kicked the door. "Why won't you open?!"

I knelt down, grabbing a loose water pipe from the floor. "Arthur!"

"Open the fucking door!" He yelled.

Then, behind the mass of walking corpses, I saw her. Assault rifle in hand, shoulders heaving.

"Get down!" She yelled.

I grabbed Arthur and pulled him to the floor as Iris opened fire.

Heads exploded before their bodies hit the floor. Blood stained the white walls.

I covered my ears, Laila and Arthur doing the same.

Then, we heard a click, signaling the gun was empty.

Iris dropped it to the ground, looking over the pile of dead bodies. "Bite me." She said, spitting on the floor.

I got to my feet quickly and ran towards her. She wrapped me in a tight embrace.

"I thought I'd lost you." I said.

She pulled back before pressing a deep kiss to my lips. "Not yet... Although..."

I looked down at her outstretched arm, blood leaking from the jagged bite mark.

"Iris..."

She collapsed to her knees, her breathing weak. "I don't know how much longer I have left, Doc."

I knelt down in front of her. "Hey, stay with me. We're gonna save you..."

She looked up into my eyes before hers fluttered closed and she fell back.

"Shit!" I said, taking her in my arms and lifting her up.

I charged right up to the door. "I know someone's in there... Please, we need your help..."

After a minute of silence I dropped my head, Iris's limp frame clutched tightly in my arms.

Then, the door creaked open, a young woman sticking her head out. "Is she bit?"

I quickly looked up. "Yes, but-"

"Get her inside." The woman said, pulling the door the rest of the way open.

Two men rushed past her, taking Iris from my arms and taking her inside.

They set her on an operating table and the woman quickly grabbed a syringe, testing the needle before jabbing it into Iris's arm.

"What's that?" I asked as the men slammed the door and locked it.

The woman pulled a revolver from a nearby drawer. "A cure."

My eyes widened. "You have a cure?"

She checked her watch, pistol trained on Iris. "That was the last of it. We ran out of samples."

I glanced from her to Laila, then to Iris. "Is she gonna make it?"

"Ten more seconds." The woman said.

I counted down slowly in my head...

"... Three... Two... One..."

Iris suddenly shot straight up, gasping for air.

I grabbed her shoulders. "Iris, are you ok?"

She slowly turned her head, looking deep into my eyes, her breathing heavy.

Silence filled the room for what seemed like an eternity before she leaned in, pressing a long kiss to my lips.

I cupped her cheeks, kissing her back. "Oh my god, I can't believe that worked!" I cheered.

The woman set the revolver down with a sigh. "Yeah, well, that was the last of the AB Negative serum..."

I glanced at her. "Maybe not."

"What do you mean?" The woman asked.

Laila took a step in front of me and I rested my hands on her shoulders. "AB Negative..."

The three doctors shared a look, then a smile.

The woman nodded to us. "Alright, let's get to work..."

   After the vaccine was ready for mass distribution, we got a direct line to what was left of the U.S. Government. They agreed to pick us up via helicopter and fly us out to the large underground bunkers they had been living in.

Once we got there, they moved quickly, producing thousands of vaccines a day, using airplanes to deliver them to survivors on the ground. They even found a way to weaponize them. Kill squads scoured the streets, now protected by our vaccine, putting an end to every corpse that moved and picking up as many survivors as they could.

We still had a long fight ahead of us, but it was finally turning in our favor...

Day 2,347

   My eyes slowly fluttered open. They scanned the room before looking down, seeing Mackenzie's head laid peacefully on my chest.

   I smiled a little before wrapping my arms around her, taking note of the jagged scar still left on my arm.

   Suddenly, a knock rang out from the door.

   Mackenzie perked up.

   "Who is it?" I asked.

   "Laila. I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" Came her response.

   Mackenzie and I shared a laugh as we got out of bed. I pulled the door open and Laila stepped through, two drinks in her hand.

   "What're those for?" Mackenzie asked, stretching her arms.

   Laila handed them to us. "It's champagne. We're celebrating."

   I took a sip. "Celebrating what?"

   "Didn't you hear? Thirty-four states have been deemed safe. Work crews were sent out to start rebuilding. They estimate another fourteen months before the country is clear of those things." She replied giddily.

   Mackenzie and I shared a look and clinked our glasses. "Cheers, then."

   We took a sip before following Laila out into the hallway.

   A group of her friends walked past as she turned to us. "Stay outta trouble, you two. I'll catch up with you later."

   We waved her off as she jogged over to her friends.

   I downed the rest of my champagne as the female doctor from the lab approached us. "Hey, Kenzie, I just came by to let you know we won't be needing you today."

   Mackenzie nodded. "Alright, thank you."

   She nodded, looking down as she rubbed her arm.

   That's when Arthur approached us. "Doctor, I was just looking for you."

   She looked up at him, folding her arms over her chest. "Here to ask me out to dinner again?"

   Arthur stuttered. "W-well... I mean..."

   Mackenzie and I laughed as I patted his shoulder. "Good luck, stud."

   Then, we made our way further down the hallway, leaving them behind.

   We made our way to an observation post, looking down at all the workers milling about outside, not a fear in the world.

   "'Kenzie?'" I questioned.

   Mackenzie giggled. "Is that jealously I detect?"

   I rolled my eyes, leaning on the railing. "I don't get jealous, Doc."

   She leaned next to me, bumping my shoulder with hers. "Just like you don't smile, right?"

   I flashed her a smirk. "Whatever..."

   She returned it before leaning in, pressing her lips to mine. "You're the only woman for me, you know that..."

   I moved a few stray hairs out of her face then, taking in her delicate features, nothing but sincerity behind her beautiful eyes. "I love you, Doc..."

   She blushed. "I love you to, Corporal..."

   We stayed there for a long while, watching the workers in silence. Happy to be alive... Happy to have survived..."

The End