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"Abandon all fear all ye who enter here".

Chris tried with great difficulty to focus on the sign before him. His eyes were glassed over from the torturous sun above him. His throat was dry for having been without water or food for three days. Three days was not that long to him. Once he and his father had gone five days without nourishment. His body still however responded to his situation. He had started out the morning with more hallucinations. It was by the grace of God that they were not around when he was so weak. The weight of his rifle had dug into his skin causing raw sores to form on his back. He continued staring at the sign before him. His mouth hanged open and exposed to the blistering heat. Flies swarmed around him but he was without the energy to swat at them. In times of emergency they made a needed meal.

"Brother?" he heard someone whisper behind him.

Quickly he turned bringing the rifle to his shoulder. Fear could always renew strength. He again strained his eyes to focus on the target before him. It was not a zombie. A normal looking man stood before him. His hands were outstretched towards Chris. Realizing he still had his rifle centered Larry lowered it.

"Water." Chris managed to gurgle out.

"There is plenty for you inside brother."

"Inside where?"

The man pointed to the sign at Chris's back and smiled.

"You may rest there brother."

Rest…so long and unremembered. Since they arrived and covered the earth none could offer such an option. Yet the man before Chris seemed so comfortable with saying it, as if he was sure of his promise. His eyes were clear and without the thick lines which hung beneath Chris's. Indeed he looked well rested. A slight stomach on the man also drew Chris's attention. Not only had this man come from a place where there is rest, but there would also be food.

"You look worn my friend," the man whispered, " why don't you put down your weapon and come with me. If you are weak I will carry you."

Chris raised his gun again, the delirium getting worse, "You keep your hands to yourself."

"If that is how you want it brother."

Behind the pair the familiar yells of the undead echoed. They were close. Chris could smell their carrion. The man before him seemed not to care. The familiar smile still painted his face, causing Chris great discomfort. The cries rose up again this time much closer, and they could now hear the shuffling of their slow steps.

"They are near my brother," he spoke, "will you stay here and be carried off by them in pieces, or come with me?"

The world began to spin faster. Chris could no longer support the weight of his head. His hands trembled under the weight of the rifle. Behind the stranger he could now see the growing crowd of zombies. As he and his guide came into their sight their eyes grew wide with hunger. Moaning even louder they attempted to quicken their slow pace. Chris looked back into the eyes of the man before him.

"Hey," he spoke, "I didn't mean to scare you like that."

"It's alright brother I know you are weak."

Chris could barely force from his mouth a last request before fainting, "Hey brother…you think you could give a guy a lift?"

With this said he collapsed to the road.

"Of course brother…of course."

The man effortlessly hoisted Chris from the ground leaving his rifle where it had fallen beside him. Leaving fear behind, as directed by the sign, the pair made their way to Eden.

He could not see. His face was damp after hours of sweating. He wondered how his beaten body had found the moisture to perspire. Slowly his senses began to awaken. His whole body seemed frigid now, perhaps the chill of death. He did not want to entertain this thought too much. It felt like…ice. He shifted his body and felt cubes of ice accommodate his new position. A light appeared before him, but it was blocked by seemed to be a cloth. His breathing quickened as the world around him began to come further into focus.

"Brother?" a voice spoke into his ear.

With great speed Chris ripped the cloth from his face and his eyes devoured his surroundings. A man once leaning over him now backed away and fell to the floor. He rose from his ice bath to find himself completely naked. Along the far wall a woman behind a desk blushed with embarrassment at having seen his naked body. The room he was in was institutional looking. The walls were without pictures, the floor a dull ivory. Years of military training taught him that after a situation is assessed quick, decisive action is to follow. Leaping from the tub of ice he started after the man on the floor. Turning him over so his face was pressed to the floor Chris wrapped his arms around the man's neck and began to squeeze.

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