"Doc, git 'im up, now!"

The hammer clicked back on the .45 revolver which was being pointed at an old African-American man wearing a white smock, which could hardly be considered white any longer as dirty and blood-stained as it was.

The man holding the gun towered a foot and a half over the 5'11" doctor and barked another order, "Ah said, git 'im up! We hafta be gittin' outta 'ere, Doc. We can't have no dead weight."

"Dead weight? If I give him a shot of adrenaline now, he could die!" The doctors brown eyes burned into the pale blue eyes of the gunman in anger, "I won't have anyone else dying!"

A diminutive brunette who had been standing in the doorway for the entire exchange entered the fray, "Bart, put your gun away. We need the doctor. Matt, give him the shot. If.."

Matt cut her off, "Did you hear me if I do it now he'll.."

"Doctor Greene! If you don't hurry we could all die. The gangs are burning everything down to get to all of us. We either leave him or he walks out of here. We're gonna need every man, woman, and child to fight our way out of here. We can't spare two to carry one."

Matt's head dropped, "Sam, his injuries aren't fully healed. If I force him awake he could go into cardiac arrest and die." He looked back to the woman's eyes, silently pleading.

"We have to leave him if you don't. He'll either die now, or the gangs will kill him. We could use an extra gun, so I'd rather take the chance. Do it."

Matt knew times were desperate and that this man was not likely to survive anyway. He had been supprised when he was travelling with the groups away from Denver months ago and saw the man all by himself along the highway. He could swear that before the man fell unconcious that their eyes connected. Being the only doctor around, the people had need of him, and when he said they had to bring the unconcious man with them or he would walk away forever, they agreed. Times hadn't changed much, except in seven months the gangs became worse and spread out more, wrecking havoc on any last vestiges of civilization left. It was time to run again, since the people of the small town were outnumbered three to one, and this time they were less reliant on Matt. The newly forming Hell they were forced to survive in was making everyone tougher. However it was also making them less patient and forgiving.

The doctor went to his medical bag and took out his vial of adrenaline. He also removed a fresh needle from it's sterile packaging, wishing he had more sterile needles than the few he had left. After attaching the needle to the suringe he plunged it into the vial and drew out a measure of adrenaline. After he drew enough, he pulled it out of the tiny container and expertly flicked the needle with his fingers to clear any air bubbles from the tube. He looked once more at Bart then Sam. Sam nodded at him, with no expression on her face.

Matt took a deep breath and headed over to the man laying in the bed. This was the man he had found so many months ago. He had kept the man alive all this time as though it was his own son. That's why this was going to hurt so much more. The unconcious man was bare-chested except for bandages in various spots to protect the still-healing burned skin on his body. Matt placed his wrinkled hand on the man's chest, making sure he knew exactly where his heart was located. Having found what he was looking for, he didn't hesitate a second and suddenly stabbed the needle into the man's chest, and emptied the suringe into the heart. As swiftly as he had placed it in, he drew the needle out. An eternity passed for everyone in the room.

The man on the bed's eyes openned suddenly and he began yelling at the top of his lungs, his eyes darting back and forth across the three others in the room. He quickly sat up, receeding with his back against the wall at the head of his bed. The man's burst of energy was gradually fading when he asked, "Who are you? Where am I?"

Matt breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at the man, "I'm Dr. Matthew Greene. And you friend, you're in the land of the living. What is your name?"

The mans rapid breathing was beginning to slow and he quietly said, "I don't know. I still don't know."