Ryan

"Took you long enough." Logan muttered.

"I had to make sure she was going to go to my parents' place." I tightened the strap on my duffel bag, glancing at Logan who'd packed in the time I was talking to Mel.

"Did she really take that long to be convinced? We just fucking saw Jen and Stacy eating people!"

"Yeah, but she didn't. You wouldn't believe it either if you didn't see it." I glared at him.

"Alright, let's just get the fuck out of here." Logan shook his head and hands, obviously just wanting to leave..

"Where'd you park?" I asked quietly as we opened the dorm room. The hallway was just as quiet as when we'd come in.

"In Parking Garage I," Logan stayed on my heels as we moved quietly through the stairs and lobby.

The dorms had been quiet, but the campus was chaos, with some students screaming. I was glad to see the campus wasn't full with whatever Jen and Stacy were considered. Zombies? Cannibals? I wasn't sure.

Staying quiet and keeping to ourselves worked in our favor as we made it to Logan's car. "We're heading to the airport?"

"Yeah. I need to get home." I mumbled as I shot a text to Mel.

R: Let me know when you get to my house

What should've been a thirty minute drive to the airport took an hour. Logan waited for me in the departures line as I ran inside to check for flight information. Yelling reached my ears before I saw the mob complaining at the airport clerk desks. I jogged over to the flight information display screens, only to seem them all with the status of 'Canceled'.

Shit.

I turned around, glancing over the airport, as the mob grew louder. My gaze stopped short at the entrance where a scraggly man in torn clothing and a worn-out coat analyzed the crowd. His eyes darted around, unable to focus on one source of sound. His eyes were trained, looking into the crowd like a wild animal ready to attack prey. I recognized them. They were just like Jen's when she scanned over the lecture hall. I glanced behind me, unsure if there were plenty of him, before reverting my attention.

I couldn't look away as his eyes finally zoned in on one person and he ran. That wasn't a fucking zombie. Zombies were supposed to be slow. Dumb. I wish Mel was here. With having seen this, I was sure she'd be able to point out what the hell was wrong with them.

Once he moved out of the way from the entrance, I made sure to jog back out slowly as a louder chaos erupted. That was definitely going to attract some more. I looked around as I jogged for Logan's car. I spotted another guy in scraggly clothing, and he seemed to spot me too. He hissed before running towards me, and I picked up my pace.

A cop was yelling at Logan, telling him to move and to stop blocking traffic. I made it to the car, jumping in and locking the door as I watched the chaser's head snap towards the airport and his body shifted directions immediately.

"Drive." I breathed roughly.

"The cop is in the way." I could tell Logan was annoyed without even looking at him, just by his tone. I stared at the sidewalk before looking over at the cop that stood yelling through Logan's window.

My heart was pounding so damn hard, I could barely hear the cop's voice. The cop's attention shifted to a high pitch scream that we all heard. With the cop's attention shifting, there was no way he could've seen the homeless guy jump him.

Logan screamed and shifted gears, as I repeated what I'd already said, "Drive!"

We ran over one of them as we pulled into the exit lane, but I don't think it mattered at this point.

"What happened to getting a flight?" Logan asked, seemingly just out of breath as I was.

"There are no flights. They've all been canceled." I ran a hand through my hair and sunk into the seat. There had to be another way. Driving would take days, and I didn't have days. If this really was nationwide, everyone would probably be freaking out in a day.

"We need to get to a base. An army base or something." I whispered, my eyes shifting for no reason as my mind raced.

"Isn't the government usually in on these things?" Logan glanced at me from the road.

"This isn't a fucking movie!" I hit the dashboard, planting my face in my hands and taking a few breaths, "I have a really good friend who's in the army, he should be able to get us on a plane if they're sending them out now."

"Do you have to call him?" Logan asked.

"I should."

I slid out my phone and dialed up Tristan.

"Ryan?" Tristan sounded surprised.

"Yeah, I need your help."

"What's up?"

"I need to get into an army base to get a flight over to Jersey. I'm trying to get home, and all flights were canceled from Oakland. Have you seen the news?"

"A bit, I sound like a damn conspiracist, but everything looks connected."

"They're like zombies, Tris. They're attacking people, and fucking eating them." I grunted, running a hand over my face.

"You saw this happen?"

"Yeah, two girls, and I've seen a few people get jumped by these people. They look normal- but they're not. Their eyes fixate on people like a fucking wild animal- like they're going to catch their next meal." I sounded crazy, but what the hell was I supposed to say?

"Alright, I'm going to try getting in touch with the Alameda headquarters. I'll let them know you're on your way and you need transportation. I'm going to try to get you clearing, Blackwood, but it's not the same as asking for a vet."

"Thanks, man. I appreciate it. I just need to get out of here. I'm with a friend- Logan Watson."

"That makes it a little harder, but I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks."

We hung up and I plugged in the directions for the army base.

A guard at the gate lifted his hand to bring our car to a halt, "Identification?"

Logan and I handed over our IDs. The guard glanced at our cards before looking up at us, and back down, "Purpose for visitation?"

"Transportation-"

"Woah, woah, woah." The guard that attended us, and a few other guards stopped an Escalade that pulled up beside us.

It looked like a security detail by the sight of the two guys in the front seats. The windows were tinted black, had it not been for the driver rolling down his window I wouldn't have even seen them. The guys wore all black, a sniper visible by the passenger's seat.

I couldn't hear what they were saying, but the driver jutted his thumb towards the back seat, and when one of the guards attempted to look back there, the driver pushed him away from the car.

The guard spoke into the walkie talkie, before signaling to the other guards to open up the gate. He came back to Logan's side, "They'll attend to you inside. Keep your IDs out." He handed us back the IDs.

"Does he think we're with them?" Logan whispered as we drove in behind the Escalade.

"Absolutely not." I muttered.

We pulled into the base, greeted with plenty of guards, and a bustling hangar. Only a few planes were being fueled, and the rest were empty spaces for where the planes should've been.

Logan and I watched the guards in the security vehicle get out, and open the door to a woman in a lab coat. Blood was splattered all over her, as well as her security team. Something told me they'd just come from an area filled with those things.

After being personally interviewed by the Sergeant on base, he allowed us to stay there temporarily. This meant if there wasn't an available plane in the next couple of days, we had to leave.

We sat off to the side, watching everyone move with their own personal tasks. "What's your deal?" I turned to Logan, to see him asking the woman in the lab coat as she sat next to him.

"I'm a doctor- a scientist. I just want to leave- like you two." The woman corrected herself. She looked nervous with her hands running over each other, and her flickering gaze. Guilt- that's what it was.

"Where are you trying to go?" I eyed her.

"Anywhere safe."