"It's Lizzy," sighed Mary in relief.

"It was Lizzy," mumbled Henry as the woman, now obviously a zombie, shuffled out of the darkness, and towards them with a look of glee. Before she could get too close, Henry raised the cane towards her. "You stop, right there."

Instead of obeying, Lizzy lurched towards him, her hands outstretched. Before she could reach Henry, who was in the front, he hit her in the stomach with the cane.

"That's not nice, Henry," said Barbara Jean, stepping around him. "She was a nice woman."

"Was, Barbara Jean, was," sighed Mary.

With a growl, Lizzy lunged at Barbara Jean and they both toppled to the ground.

"No!" screamed Ginny, rushing towards them as Henry and Mary stared in shock. Ginny grabbed Lizzy's arm but instead of releasing Barbara Jean, the zombie turned around and bit her on the top of her hand, tearing off a chunk of skin. She made a guttural moan and began chewing, a satisfied grin on her face while Ginny howled in pain.

Henry sprang into action, hitting the dead woman in the head as hard as he could with the cane.

Stunned, the zombie fell to the side.

"Ginny? Are you okay?" he asked, pulling her away from the creature.

"It hurts," she moaned. "Feels like someone threw acid on my hand."

Lizzy, who'd obviously recovered, let out a screech and crawled towards Barbara Jean, who was still sobbing hysterically, on the floor.

Swearing, Henry raised the cane, hitting the creature on the head several more times, until she finally stopped moving.

"You okay Barbara Jean?" he asked, pulling her up off the ground.

"Yes," she replied. "I'm fine."

Mary grabbed Ginny's hand and examined it. "This looks bad. God, you poor thing! We'd better find you a bandage and some peroxide."

Ginny tried to swallow, but found it was difficult. Her entire mouth was dry and her tongue felt thick. "I feel so warm and...I just..."

"Watch out!" screamed Barbara Jean, backing away.

The two other zombies, who'd obviously finished feeding on Ben, were already upon them. Before anyone could react, one of the creatures grabbed Barbara Jean, tearing into her cheek with its teeth while the second, reached for Mary, who screamed at the top of her lungs.

"No!" hollered Henry, raising the cane, towards Mary's attacker. He slammed it into the back of the zombie's head and it dropped to the floor.

"Oh, no....Barbara Jean!" gasped Mary.

Henry turned back towards the woman, who was already dead from the glazed look in her eyes. The zombie was greedily attacking her bloody neck with vigor, ripping and tearing at her skin with teeth and fingers.

"Lord... have mercy," choked Mary, backing away.

Horrified, but sensing that Barbara Jean was beyond help, he grabbed Ginny's good hand. "Come on, Ginny. We have to get out of here."

Instead of obeying, she fell to her knees. "I...I have to lie down," she whispered breathlessly.

"No. Get up! I can't carry you, woman. Not after that hip replacement last year. You've got to get up!"

She shook her head. "It's okay. You know...I'm just going to take a little nap."

Tears filled Henry's eyes. "Mary, you have to help me lift her."

Mary nodded, but before she could move, two more zombies turned down the hallway and began staggering towards them.

"Forget leaving the building. Let's get her back into my room," said Henry.

"Yes, quickly," agreed Mary.

They pulled Ginny up and grabbed her around the waist, when the other zombie, who was snacking on Barbara Jean, decided to intervene. It grabbed Ginny's housecoat from behind and bit her on the back of the leg.

"Henry!" she cried out, as the zombie ripped a piece of skin from her leg. Blood gushed out of the wound and she fainted in their arms.

"Damn you to hell," snarled Henry, glaring at the zombie as they tried pulling Ginny out of its reach.

But the zombie wasn't finished yet. It got on its feet and then lunged towards her, biting Ginny on the back of her neck, its teeth gnashing and tearing at her skin.

Mary screamed in horror and released Ginny, who toppled to the ground.

Henry turned around, raised his boot and kicked the zombie in the pelvis with his boot.

The monster fell backwards, but instead of lying still, it quickly crawled towards Ginny, viciously biting and tearing into an exposed thigh.

"Ginny!" cried Henry.

"Watch out, Henry!" gasped Mary as the two other zombies arrived, joining the one on the ground feeding on Ginny.

Henry, horrified and defeated, turned to Mary. "We have to get to Neil's room. He has a gun. I almost forgot!"

"He does? How in the hell did he hide it?"

"In his guitar case," said Henry, grabbing her hand. "I'm surprised nobody noticed when there was never any music coming from his room."

"This is insane," moaned Mary, taking on last glance at the two older women who'd been alive and playing strip poker less than five minutes ago.

"Try to focus on getting out of here," mumbled Henry, wiping a tear from his cheek. "Can't help them now."

They raced towards the elevator and found it wasn't working.

"The electricity must be out in the entire building," said Mary, pushing the button several times. "I thought it was just a fuse or something."

"The stairs," he pointed to the stairwell. "No other choice."

"At least Neil's room is on the main floor. Let's go."

They went down two flights until they reached the main floor.

"There were several zombies on this floor, the last time I checked," she whispered as they stood outside of the doorway.

"Let's hope they've scattered."

Fortunately, there weren't any zombies when they opened the metal door and glanced down the hallway.

"Let's go," said Henry, pulling her out of the stairwell.

They snuck down the hallway and rounded the corner, when Mary sucked in her breath. "Zombie."

"Oh, hell," sighed Henry, recognizing the man whose gun they were about to borrow. "It's Neil."

They watched as zombie Neil shuffled down the hallway, away from them. When he rounded the other corner, Henry and Mary made a run for it, rushing to his room and slamming the door.

"Dammit," groaned Henry, limping. "These hips aren't made for speed anymore, Mary."

"Are you okay?" she asked, looking concerned.

His eyes twinkled. "Well...nothing a little T.L.C. couldn't cure. Unfortunately, there's no time for that. If we make it out of here alive..."

"If we make it out of here alive," she said. "I'll massage your hip and even let you cop a feel. This time I won't even slap your hand away."

He grinned, remembering the last time he'd tried touching one of her breasts. She'd cussed him out, but there was something in her eyes that told him she'd been a little flattered. Angry, but flattered. "Oh, you've just given me something else to live for, by golly. We're getting out of this place- you can count on it, Mary. I won't let you down."

"Good. Now, let's find a gun and get the hell out of here. I don't understand why there hasn't been anyone out here to help us?"

"It's the zombie apocalypse, Mary. I told you it would happen someday."

She nodded solemnly. "Yes, you did. As crazy as it sounds, you might not be too far off. I've heard rumors....Anyway, I've tried calling nine-one-one, and they aren't even answering. That right there tells me, things are bad all over."

Henry shuffled over to Neil's closet and opened it. Finding the guitar case, he pulled it out and set it on the ground. "Well," he said, opening up the case. "We have a couple things on our side."

"What?" she asked, kneeling down next to him.

He pulled out the gun. "A loaded rifle," he said, checking it and nodding. "Some extra bullets... and us still breathing. I call that pretty damn lucky."

"I never thought I'd be happy to see a gun in a retirement home. But as far as I'm concerned, this is a gift from God."

He snorted. "Well, I doubt God had anything to do with this, Mary."

"No, but if you had died and I'd have never known about this gun..."

"Can't argue with you there. That means I'm the gift, though Mary, not the gun." He grinned lecherously. "Feel free to unwrap me later, if you'd like."

She shook her head. "You just never give up, do you?"

His face became serious. "Laughter gives me hope, Mary. If I can still make you laugh, then there's hope."

She patted his arm. "I understand. Now, let's gather some things and then drive to my house."

"Sounds like a plan."

She stood up. "Um, Henry?"

"What?"

"You ever fire a gun before?"

He stood up. "Damn tootin', I've fired a gun! Now, my eyes aren't what they used to be, but I can still shoot."

"Okay. I just had to ask."

"Don't worry. I've got you covered. And Mary?"

She looked up into his eyes. "Yes, Henry?"

"I want you to know that I appreciate you coming for me. You risked your life to save mine and I'll be forever grateful."

"Of course, Henry. I'd do it again. You and I have become really good friends. There is no way I'd leave you behind."

"Same goes here. Now, let's saddle up and get out of Dodge. Something tells me we have a dangerous ride ahead of us, Mary. That what we've just seen here is nothing compared to what we're going to be involved with later."

"You think it's worse out there? That it'll be even more dangerous"

"Damn right I do."

"Then...why are we leaving?"

"We have no other choice," he replied, staring off into space. "And, something tells me...we're needed somewhere else. I don't know how or why, but I feel it in these old, rickety bones."

"Oh."

He turned back to her. "That reminds me- I need to get something for the trip. Something back in my room."

"It might be too dangerous, going back up there."

"I need my pills, Mary. You forget, I'm almost ninety."

Her eyebrows shot up. "What pills? You're the only one here not on pills."

"Just some vitamins, to keep me going strong."

"Well...okay. If they mean that much to you."

As they walked towards the doorway, she reached into her pocket. "I almost forgot...I took the bus today, but I found someone's car keys on the ground when I was running to your room."

He reached for them. "Oh, Cadillac, good going Mary."

"I think they're Lizzy's," she said somberly. "That poor woman."