Part 1 - "Happy New Year..."

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Rainclouds covered the sky in a dark overcast as Valhalla City became covered in rain. The ruined buildings and city streets were silent save for the patter of raindrops and the occasional movement caused by the wind.Be it from within or from the outside, all could see that this metropolis was just a shadow of its former self, less than a shadow even. But despite that, there are those who survive within it, forming their own routines and habits needed to preserve their life in this harsh environment. This day, something will break that routine

Suddenly, the city-wide emergency speakers began emitting some kind of high-pitched noise, like feedback from a microphone. It was happening all across Valhalla City. Outside of what used to be an electronics store were one of these many speakers. It drew a small pack of infected (who seemingly appeared out of nowhere from metal debris), towards it as they began snarling, scratching, or jumping up at the speakers. This sort of thing was happening everywhere, unfortunately dooming any survivor unfortunate enough to be near one when it happened.

Eventually, the feedback began changing to a more comprehensible voice. Though still garbled with static here and there, one could easily make out what it was saying. "Hello? Hello, is this thing on? Can anyone hear me? Actually... no, scratch that, none of you can respond right now. What the Hell was I thinking... Alright anyway, there's not much power left in the city so we need to make this quick. If any of you are alive we implore you to head over to Memorial Park. There will be armed people wearing neon green bandanas waiting for you. If you want to get out of this place alive, go there now. You have twenty-four hours to go there, after which the people waiting there will leave to bring the survivors over to our Safehouse. We cant risk Infected following different survivors if we told our exact location, so please cooperate. Let me say that again. If you want to get out of here, head to Memorial Park, and stick with the men wearing neon green bandanas. You have twenty-four hours. Good luck out there..."

And with that the speakers went silent once more, leaving any survivors who had heard it, wondering whether or not they should heed that message.

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At an airfield near Valhalla City...

While the rain was already starting to pour, several military helicopters flew overhead, heading for a landing zone where they could refuel before the operation. Floodlights, tents, jeeps, and even tanks were littered across the field. On the runways were a few large cargo planes. Both active soldiers and civilian volunteers were running across the field in different directions to complete various duties. Inside of the main terminal of the airport, a large number of soldiers were being gathered. Many of them bore the U.N. patch on their uniforms, while equally many wore W.U. symbols on them.

A makeshift command center was created out of the terminal, with a large projector system set up against a clear wall. An impromptu stage created using boxes and containers, was propped against it. Soldiers chatted amongst each other, wondering what they would be told during their briefing. Their attention was diverted when the projector was activated and three people stepped up on the stage. One of them was an aged-looking bald man wearing military fatigues, the other was younger man wearing a white lab coat and glasses, and the last one was a woman wearing a formal officer uniform. The military man stepped into the middle of the stage where a microphone was.

"Attention!" The man said to get the soldier's to quiet down. "My name is Colonel Lionel Castor. I will be your field commander for this operation, and you will refer to me as Colonel or Sir. Now you all know why you're here. You are all volunteers who have shown traits which will make you invaluably useful to the search and rescue of people inside the Valhalla City quarantine zone." He said. He then paused for a moment before continuing.

"I wont lie to any of you; the threat is as real and dangerous as they say it is. Maybe even worse. So now I'm going to give the stage to Dr. Phillip. He is one of the scientists who has worked with the division who accidentally created this infection. He will brief you on everything we know so far about the infected. So my first order for all of you is to listen up! Chances are you will only hear what he has to say once, so keep your ears open and make sure you remember every single word." The Colonel continued. He then gestured at the man in the lab coat and glasses "Dr. Phillip, you may begin..." The Colonel finished as he stepped aside and allowed the other man to step up to the mic.

"Okay, I'm sure you've all heard rumors from both news and mouths as to the nature of this infection. I am here to either dispel or confirm these rumors. Everything I say shall be the exact truth." Dr. Phillip said. The projectors began showing a slideshow detailing information on the bacteria and the stages of infection.

"First off, the infection is passed on by having the fluids of an infected be injected into your bloodstream. We're unsure if swallowing the fluids have the same effect, but it would be best to avoid ingesting them all the same. Once infected, it has three stages. Phase one: Sickness, Phase two: Anger, and Phase three: Mutation. In Phase one, the infected person will claim to feel "unwell" yet they will have trouble explaining what it is exactly they feel is wrong with them. They are also prone to lethargy and will fall unconscious randomly, even if they are rested. At this point, the virus has only recently entered the body and has just found locations where it can thrive. The Sleepiness is the body trying to gain the energy needed to attempt to fight off the foreign infection. In Phase two, the infected will no longer exhibit sleepiness, but they will still feel unwell. They are also prone to fits of rage and will lash out at anyone for even the slightest reasons. Sometimes, there is no reason at all. They will also exhibit a craving for undercooked meat. By this time, the infection is starting to take them over, and making them become feral. Phase three is the final part of the infection. Their skin will change to a fleshy red look, as you can see on the projector. All of their mental faculties and reasoning are gone. What is left is now a fierce, cannibalistic hunter. Their senses of sight, smell, and hearing will be enhanced by this mutation, and they use these heightened senses to track down live prey and kill them for food. Once someone has reached Phase three, they are as dangerous as this infection gets." Phillip said, pausing to catch his breath, and give the soldiers time to let the information sink in.

"Once someone has entered Phase one, they can no longer be killed. Shooting, stabbing, dismemberment, or beheading will not kill them. They will only stay dormant for a limited amount of time as their body regenerates the lost parts and ejects the foreign weapons inside them. Phase one will stay dormant for about fifteen minutes. Phase 2, ten minutes. And Phase three, five minutes. The only known way to kill them off for good is to remove their spinal column, as that seems to be where they regenerate from. However, given how quickly they reawaken from dormancy, this is impossible to do unless they are restrained somewhere they cannot break out of. Still, the best courses of action are to leave the area after rendering them dormant, set them on fire to stop them from fully regenerating and fully reawakening, or drag the body off somewhere where they wont escape or will be able to track you from, like a locked room or a deep pit."

"The last thing I shall say to you all is this: Do not take them lightly. These are not your average, horror-movie zombies. They are brutal, clever hunters. And within the city, they cannot be killed. So keep your head sharp, and a weapon ready. Only your wits will see you through this alive... Colonel, I return to you the stage." Dr. Phillip finished as he stepped aside.

"I hope you all followed my order and listened to him. If you did, you are now fully aware of the dangers that lie ahead of you. So now... I will give you all one last chance to back out. There is no shame in leaving now, and I refuse to go in there with anyone who only volunteered half-heartedly. So if you are having second thoughts and wish to leave, you may exit the terminal and head to your respective leaders for debriefing." The Colonel said. He waited silently for a few minutes, and around four or five soldiers slowly left the building.

"Is that everyone who changed their minds? No one else?" The Colonel asked to make sure. "Alright then... All of you who remained here, I can say without a doubt are either the bravest or stupidest men and women I've had the pleasure of meeting. There's no turning back now. But before we prepare for the operation, let me introduce you to Lieutenant Cascades." Lionel said gesturing to the woman in the officer's uniform. "She will act as an advisor to us, and will relay new information and orders as needed. She will also be our only link to the outside world once we're in the quarantine zone, so try not to piss her off." He continued. "Anything you wish to say to our volunteers, Lieutenant?" The Colonel asked the woman. The Lieutenant shook her head. "Very well." Lionel said as he turned back to the crowd of soldiers and checked his watch.

"The operation will begin in one and a half hour, sharp! Head to the armory and pick up your standard equipment. Equipment includes an urban combat uniform, kevlar vest, the Multi-purpose ballistic helmet with gas mask and nightvision goggles, incendiary grenades, and an HK416 Assault Rifle and a Beretta M9 Pistol if you're not carrying your own specialized weapon of choice."

"Once you have your equipment ready, you're free to do whatever you please until the operation starts. By then, you should report to the designated helicopters which were assigned to each of you before you came in here. I'll be waiting for you all there. Dismissed!" The Colonel finished as he stepped off the stage and let the crowd disperse. He gave one last glance at the volunteers. "I hope these people understand the gravity of this situation. And will be smart enough to keep each other alive..." He thought to himself as he left to prepare for the deployment

Rain. Just what Lian needed. This hideout of hers had just dried out of supplies and it was time to move. Ever since the city fell into anarchy and chaos, Lian had been bouncing from survivor group to group. The first few days it had been with some neighbors from her apartment building, but eventually they had died, all one after one, taken by the infected and later becoming one themselves. Lian had seen it. How they turn from nausea to confusion to unconciousness... And then eventually becoming one of them. The monsters. The horrors.
This particular hideout was a very small and old convinience store, or it had been. It was long since dry of supplies but Lian used to be in the same group with the owner, who had hid supplies in the back, away from most looters' eyes. Eventually, he too had been taken by the infected, dragged out into the streets and torn limb from limb to protect her. The memory of it all made her nauseous... The blood... Shaking off the thought, Lian got up to scramble her things together. A dark green knapsack she carried had all her belongings. Some canned food, two bottles of drinkable water and a magazine to a gun she didn't even have. She had taken it off a dead police officer, but his gun had been nowhere in sight. Instead, she carried around a crowbar, not only for the potential of melee but also so she could pry open doors or loose boards. It really did come in handy. In the sidepacks of the knapsack she had hoarded a bunch of different types of batteries. She didn't know if they worked or not, and she only had a small flashlight of which only a few of the batteries fitted, but you could never be too sure. Something she had learned from all this time in the city alone is you take what you can get.

Sighing, she went to the back of the store again where the last owner had hid the supplies. The secret storage was all but empty now. There was a can of ravioli though. Maybe it was still edible? Shrugging, Lian packed it into her knapsack and turned around to leave when she heard the noise. A loud static, growing in both pitch and volume. If there's anything she knew about the infected is that they have good hearing and smell. Quickly she dived back into the storage room. The front of the store was half-covered with the metal curtains that stores used to keep their place safe when closed. Lian couldn't remember what they were called, but point is they weren't enough to protect her from the infected on the outside. The windows were loosely boarded with planks but it had holes that the infected could easily rip through. She lay hidden, waiting, watching. Infected slowly started to crawl about, seemingly appearing out of nowhere from the shadows. They clawed at the posts which made the sound. Cursing low to herself in Chinese, Lian could do nothing but watch. It's my lucky day... she thought, but then the static was exchanged for a voice. Listening intently and awestruck, she heard the voice talk about a chance of getting out of the city. A chance of salvation. Memorial park? Is he insane?! There's ten thousand infected from here to Memorial Park!
She bit her nail, a bad habit she had when under stress. She had to think, and think fast. The best way to get there was probably through the subway or maybe the sewers. The streets weren't safe, but then again the subway and sewers are garuanteed to not be safe either. When she was sure the infected had left, she swinged her knapsack off her back and rummaged through it. There, a map!
It was a map of the city, marked out with a big "you are here" dot maybe twenty blocks from Memorial Park. She had taken it from the tourist bureau just across the street from the convinience store she had holed up in, so finding herself on the map wasn't that hard. The hard part was knowing what streets had collapsed and were inpassable and which streets could still be used for traverse. Maybe if I stick to the alleys until I get to Asgard Substation... It's just a block away... she thought, but was interrupted by a sound from the store. She quickly grabbed her crowbar and hid herself, looking out toward the small store. Was it a wandering infected? A survivor?

(( Feel free to jump in as a survivor right there, people! ))

Today was significant. It was the first day Morgan had set foot outside on her own since the quarantine began. Before now, she had always been accompanied by Daniel. Today, she had only his leather jacket for company. And she was terrified.

It had been three days since he'd disappeared, and the carefully rationed food was beginning to run out. Between anxiety and a serious lack of food, she had already lost so much weight. She couldn't afford to drop too many more pounds, not if she wanted to survive any decent amount of time. Daniel had been out scavenging three days ago, and hadn't returned that evening. She'd stayed up all night waiting, praying that her friend was all right. But he still hadn't returned. Two days later, she knew she had to go out and search for him. Daniel's leather jacket was too big for her, but she'd put it on anyways. Her own jacket had been locked in the university residencies when they'd fled, and he'd had an extra.

Morgan walked quietly, silently. She constantly checked over her shoulder, scanning her surroundings for any sign of motion. She took each street at a jog, hiding in doorframes and empty alleyways, always checking that the coast was clear. Every time a breeze blew, rustling some garbage or disturbing a pile of dead leaves, she panicked. Several times now, a plastic bag had caused her to go scurrying off into the nearest alleyway. It didn't help that she had no idea where to begin searching for Daniel. Where had he gone to look for food? She refused to allow her mind to entertain the concept that he might not be alive anymore. She refused. Turning around a corner, she started cautiously down another empty street.

At that moment, crackling static sounded through the city. It increased in a deafening feedback loop, getting louder and louder with each passing second.

Fear froze Morgan in place. Her hands flew up to cover her ears, and she looked up and down the street in terror. All along the road, the infected seemed to be coming to life. They were attracted to the noise, and she was standing in the middle of the street. She was standing in the middle of the street, and she was undoubtedly going to die.

She turned tail and sprinted, straight to the nearest doorway. It was some sort of tiny convenience store. Mercifully, it was unlocked. She tore the door open and slammed it quickly behind her, kneeling down to hold it shut. A body slammed against the door, one of the infected, and she squeezed her eyes tightly shut. A second time, the door rattled as the infected person outside slammed his weight against it. A squeak of terror escaped from Morgan's throat. Outside, the static was clearing, forming instead into proper words. Morgan was far too preoccupied with keeping the door closed to even begin to pay attention. She opened her eyes once more, looking up at the doorway to the convenience store as the infected charged it again. Her weight wasn't enough to keep it closed, and it opened several inches before she could slam it shut again. But she had seen what she needed to. There it was, the lock. She reached up and turned it quickly, locking the door. It wouldn't hold for long...

At that moment, she heard a yell, a human yell of pain, sound from outside. It was loud enough to be heard above the sound of the the speakers, and loud enough to attract the attention of the infected outside the door. Morgan knew whoever yelled was as good as dead already. If they weren't inside a building, they were gone. But she couldn't help but cringe in sympathy for him.

The message had said something about Memorial Park. She knew where it was, but she didn't have a hope of getting there alive in a day. Not by herself...she needed to find Daniel first, and she needed to find him alive. She rubbed her hands against her face, fingers shaking from the close call, and backed away from the door. Straight into one of the convenience store shelves. Empty plastic containers clattered to the ground, and she fumbled to catch them. In doing so, she managed to knock the entire metal shelf over, and it clattered against the ground. "Crap!" she hissed under her breath, backing away as quickly as she could.

"This is not as comfortable as I thought it would be..." Casey groaned. He was laying across a large collection of unopened bags of marshmallows. The convenience store he was currently holed up in offered little 'comfort' and a bed of marshmallows, to Casey, sounded pretty awesome. Despite his failed attempt at making a bed of fluffy sugar, he couldn't help but grin. Only in a fucked up situation like this would doing shit like creating a bed of marshmallows ever be possible.

Giving up on his bed, Casey sat up and grabbed a bag of marshmallows. Ripping it open, he shoved two giant puffs into his mouth. There weren't many other options for food in the store. Most of it had been looted and, more than likely, wasted. The people who lost their shit and went on looting sprees were the ones who most likely died with the shit still on their backs. Oddly enough, the streets weren't littered with bodies. It was littered with various things that people were trying to transport before they were attacked.

Casey forced the giant pieces of sugar down his throat and looked around. The store was awfully lonely and the soft rain outside wasn't helping. Being around people had actually been what kept him alive so far. You see, Casey made sure that when him and whoever he was with at the time came across trouble, they died and he didn't. With them dead, these monstrosities, whatever they were, became preoccupied with eating their new source of food rather than chasing him. Though, with all his companions having expiration dates, eventually he wouldn't have companions anymore. Thus his solitude.

Not only did he need to find new people to sate his boredom but to ensure he would keep alive. He needed to come up with a plan. Reaching into his pockets he retrieved a pack of Newports and a small green lighter. Smacking the pack against the palm of his hand he began to lose himself in thought. If he left now and one of those things found him, he didn't have any get-out-of-jail free cards, aka people fodder. He could wait here until someone found him, but who knows how long that would take. Making a signal or sign was needless danger as it might just attract the monsters rather than the people. He needed to move... but how could he do it safely?

"Shit." He had packed the cigarettes too much. Annoyed, he unwrapped the pack and pulled out one of the cigarettes, turned it upside-down, and put it back in the pack. It was his 'wish' cigarette. What he wished for? I cant tell you! Lighting a different cigarette, he took a long pull. What to do? What to do?? It was such a bother to have to think so much. He wished he had some weed to smoke instead of cigarettes. He actually wasn't a big cigarette smoker... but he needed something.

Just then, the air suddenly burst with a high pitched noise. Startled, Casey dropped his cigarette onto his lap. Cursing, he scrambled to grab the cigarette without burning himself or his clothes. "What the fuck is that noise?" he said aloud. Having retrieved the cigarette, his eyes now scanned the poorly blockaded store front window. He could see those things moving around out there, obviously attracted by the noise. Or, better yet, distracted by the noise. Now was his chance!

Casey put out the cig and sprang to his feet. He knew there was a side door that led to an alleyway in the back used for loading. He quickly made his way to the back, keeping low to avoid detection. Emerging into the empty alley, Casey's heart was racing. He loved it. He darted through the alley and toward the street. Peeking around the bend, he could see the monsters clawing at the speakers that were responsible for the noise. Keeping one eye on monsters down the street, he quickly scanned the nearby buildings. Some of them were utterly impossible to get to unless he climbed atop some of the abandoned cars. The closest store he could make it to was another small convenience store. If he were lucky he would find some survivors, or, at the very least, an outlet to a safer/clearer road. If he were unlucky, it was littered with monsters.

It was then that Casey saw a young girl barreling down the street, a once-human monster at her coattails. Casey rolled his eyes as he saw her go straight to the store that he had his eye on. Of-fucking-course. Just my luck, he thought as she flew through the door, barely keeping the thing out. That girl was probably about 100 pounds soaking wet and this thing is definitely around 200. No way she's keeping it out

Just as Casey finished that thought, a death cry could be heard over the speakers somewhere down the road. That announcement had obviously fucked over several people. However, this new sound drew the attention of the monsters. The monster, as well as some of the ones that were at the speaker now flew down the road toward the scream. This was exactly what Casey needed. A new companion. He had to get to her. She was his ticket to keeping alive.

Though, he wasn't sure if it were safe. What if she locked the door? What if there were more monsters in that store and she was already dead? As he weighed the pros and cons a voice came onto the speaker. It seemed like the man was talking about a safe zone but Casey couldn't tell. He really didn't have time to listen. Finally, he made a break for the store. The window shutters were half closed and the only other thing that kept him out was some wooden boards. Quickly, he kicked one of the boards out and slipped into the store. After he got in, he glanced back to see if he made it in undetected by the things outside. As far as he could tell, he was safe. His next order of business was to check the store. The last thing he needed was to be shot in the back having been mistaken for a monster. He spun around and took cover behind an empty food shelf.

The announcement coming from the speakers was done now... but he had no choice. "Hello?" he said, risking to speak in a hushed voice."I know you're in here."

God damnit. Lian thought. She had seen both of them, the first crashing in through the door and the other through (what used to be) the window. This was the sound she had heard, the girl knocking over something on the shelves, mostly empty containers or garbage. Anything that was left to salvage in this place was long gone. Lian carefully stepped out with her crowbar high in hand. "Both of you shut up. Move toward the back of the store, quiet and quick. Do it now, and make no sound. Say nothing until you are here." she said in as low a voice as she could manage for them both to hear without the infected catching drift. The announcement had just ended and the beasts were crawling back into whatever spot they lurked at before. One thing was certain, the streets wouldn't be safe for at least an hour. Well, not that it could ever be safe, but it's all a matter of perspective.
Now, if the two would do as she said and quietly moved to the back of the store, they would quickly spot Lian standing next to the half-opened door to the back storage. With simple eye-contact and a wave of a hand, Lian directed them both inside. It was much safer in there and they could speak without anyone hearing there. She had been careful not to leave any of her supplies in the open however.
If they wouldn't come to her, she would simply wait. One hand on the door, another on the crowbar. If infected came bursting through the door, Lian would be safe. The other two would distract or keep the infected away while she... No... She could never leave people to their death. Knowing her, she'd probably do anything in her power to try to get them into safety. She didn't think about that it might cost them all their lives if such a thing were to happen. Shaking the pesimism off, Lian considered the third option.
If one of them came to her, but the other did not, she would wave the one who did inside and risk a small whisper to the other one, saying "I'm closing the door. Last chance."

Either way, she wouldn't wait long. They had to do as she said now or be locked out. With infected around, Lian had to wait for a while more before leaving. Damn...

No sooner had Morgan managed to knock over the shelves than another sound echoed through the empty convenience store. She nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of wood snapping. Turning, she could see that someone was breaking in, smashing through the boards that held the store's windows shut. Oh god, it got in. Thinking it to be one of the infected, she scrambled away.

She quickly hid herself, crouching down behind the nearest shelf that she hadn't managed to knock over. She was silent, too scared to even breathe. The seconds seemed to tick by painfully slowly. Any moment now, whoever had broken in was going to charge. She had seen people killed by the infected before. It was not pleasant. That's what's going to happen to me, Morgan thought, and tears of fear stung her eyes.

But instead, a voice called out softly. A man's voice. "Hello? I know you're in here."

Her held breath left her lungs in a gasp of surprise. If possible, she crouched even lower behind the shelf. There was a person in here. A living person. Not an infected, but not much better. She knew that she had to stand up, approach him, ask for his help to reach Memorial Park...but she couldn't do it. She clenched her hands tightly, trying to find the courage to bring herself to stand. What if he's dangerous? she questioned herself. What if he thinks you have something valuable. Food. What if he attacks you for it? What if he doesn't need any allies?

Before she could ask herself any more 'what if's, another voice sounded, female this time. "Both of you shut up. Move toward the back of the store, quiet and quick. Do it now, and make no sound. Say nothing until you are here."

Maybe it was the fact that it was spoken as a direct order. Maybe it was because Morgan was now more scared of what would happen to her if she didn't follow these directions. But this time, she moved. Her hands shaking violently, Morgan stood and moved towards the source of the female voice, and away from the male one. She reached the back of the store quickly, and saw the girl who had spoken. The split second of eye contact that Morgan made allowed her to register long, dark hair, and Asian features. The young woman waved her forward, gesturing to the back room. Immediately, Morgan's gaze flitted down to the ground. Again, she seemed to freeze for a moment. Thank god she'd been ordered to keep quiet. It took away any pressure she might have felt to force herself to speak.

She forced herself to move once more, following Lian's directions and moving through to the back room. Once inside, she turned and found an empty space along the wall. Morgan backed up against it, crossed her arms tightly over her chest, and stared at a single point on the ground. Slowly, she inhaled, and then exhaled, calming her frayed nerves.

*BEEEEEEEEP*

“Emily, get out of bed already. Food’s ready!”

Ian pulled open the microwave door and grabbed the bowl inside. Grabbing two bottles of water from the very nearly empty case, Ian walked up the stairs that led to the second floor. From there he carried his breakfast to the table that sat on the house’s small second floor balcony. The overhang from the roof kept the sitting are dry despite the slight rain. He put opened one bottle of water for himself and set the other on the opposite side of the little table. Canned mac and cheese was good cold, but it was even better hot. “Talk about a life of luxury,” Ian said to no one. He was completely alone.

The people who owned this house were most likely dead. There was no other reason they wouldn’t have returned that Ian could think of, especially when theirs was the only house around that still had some power. He’d gotten lucky when he’d seen the sunlight glinting off the black solar panel affixed to the building’s roof. The front door was broken and it looked like someone had looted anything of value from the home, but the door was easily barricaded, and Ian didn’t care about anything material that wasn’t actively helping him stay alive. Mac and cheese. He cared about mac and cheese right now.

Ian took a small bottle from one of his many pockets and squeezed a few drops of a dark red liquid into his bottle of water. “Mio, what would I do without you?” He chuckled but was silenced as the sound of a jingling bell rang out from somewhere close. He waited a minute, and sure enough, from a nearby side street came a familiar shape. It was Mr. Smiley, the infected that had been following Ian for the past couple of days.

Ian waved to the impotent predator, knowing full well that it could not see him. Mr. Smiley was named that because Ian had sprayed a yellow and black smiley face over its own. Ian washed down his breakfast with a gulp of cherry-flavored water. The smiling face was merely decoration; the true mask was beneath the paint. A thick loop of duct tape to keep its jaws closed, spray its face with enough spray-on rubber to keep it from seeing or smelling anything, do the same on its ears, and then wrap the entire head with duct tape to keep the mask of rubber on. He’d done the same with its hands, though he’d added handcuffs and another layer of tape beneath the spray-on rubber.

Mr. Smiley turned and started walking down the road towards where Ian was. The bell tied around the infected’s ankle jingled with each step. He wasn’t entirely sold on the bell. Sure, it did make it easier to know where the infected was, but it came with a nasty drawback. Ian dived back inside the house as a crowd of infected emerged from the road Mr. Smiley had come from. The noise from the bell seemed to attract other infected thinking it was a literal dinner bell.

Ian left the bowl and the second, untouched bottle of water and ran back downstairs to grab his things. All of those infected would pass right by this house is less than a minute. In other words, he needed to be gone fast. His machete was still at his side; Ian only took it off to cut something or to sleep. Ian kept everything else with his bag, which he’d left…

Ian burst into the bedroom and grabbed his bag from where he’d hidden it under the bed. A quick check showed him that everything was exactly as he’d left it. Ian had been late to the party that was looting every store in the city for supplies, but he’d made out with plenty of less apparently useful supplies. Ian’s pack was stuffed full of spray cans of every sort imaginable. There were cans of spray paint, hairspray, spray-on rubber, hornet spray, and even a bright red fire extinguisher, its nozzle poked through to the outside of the bag. If one bug beneath all of the cans, they would find an equally startling amount of lighters, a few of the stick type but mostly the standard convenience store variety. And that wasn’t even the most questionable contents of the pack; it also contained two pairs of handcuffs from the local sex toy store which unfortunately had unadvertised quick-release mechanisms that had to be removed before the cuffs were any use, some ball gags from the same store that fortunately required no modification to use, a multitude of sharpened metal pieces wrapped in strips of rubber, a piece of rubber tubing, rolls of duct tape, and one pair of real handcuffs from the police station. One of the cops there had still had his with him when he’d been eaten alive by the infected. He’d died too quickly to become an infected, though it probably hadn’t felt quick for him. Ian had actually scored three pairs of cuffs from that little trip downtown, but one was now holding Mr. Smiley’s wrists and another now hung uselessly from another infected’s wrist.

Ian ran to the kitchen and threw the two remaining cans of mac and cheese and three remaining bottles of water into his bag before bolting up the stairs and slipping out the bedroom window to get to the roof. He checked his watch to see how long it had taken him to be gone. “Twenty seconds give or take. Not bad.” Just as he said it, he heard an infected hit the barricaded front door. It was difficult to stay in one place too long and not leave a scent, and days without a shower were not helping that problem any. Smoke began to rise from the front of the house, the sign that an infected had made it past the barricade and had set off the fire trap. A lighter and a bucket of gasoline was too rich a gift for an infected, but it was something Ian had to do. He was laughing hysterically as he brought up his hood and mask to cover his face. Just another day in paradise.

Ian ran down the center of the road with a good chunk of the swarm that had been following the infected that had been following him now directly chasing him. “See, isn’t it so much easier without the middleman?” The infected weren’t much for conversation. Ian dodged into an alley, jumped onto a trash can, and grabbed the rail of the fire escape. The infected tried following, but Ian had purposefully jumped up on the opposite side of the escape than where the ladder pulled down from. He was already three floors up and jumping over to the next building by the time the infected finally managed to get the ladder down. Their bodies might recover over and over after dying, but their brains were another story.

Ian was sitting with his legs hanging over the edge of the top of the building where he’d stored his extra supplies when the speakers all over the city suddenly blared to life. What new development was this? Ian was only half paying attention to what the man speaking to the city was actually saying though, the other half of his attention watching the poor little girl who had found herself in the street when the speaking man had decided to speak. She was most certainly going to be dead quite soon. If she was lucky the infected would eat enough of her so that she didn’t come back. If she was unlucky… Well, then Ian would try out his next method of rendering an infected harmless on her. She was pretty enough, and to be frank he felt middle-aged men were grossly overrepresented among the infected. Apparently they enjoyed eating their wives more than their wives enjoyed eating them. Ian laughed and resumed watching the girl’s death.

The girl was quick thinking; he had to give her that. Diving into a store was her best chance of surviving. Ian felt that she made a poor choice on running to the door she did, as a boarded up place with the shutters mostly up would likely be locked tight, but to his surprise the door opened for her and she managed to keep the infected out to boot. Unfortunately for her, someone else had chosen that exact store to hide in. “A girl versus an older man, I wonder which will kill the other. If this was a fighting game I would be playing the guy and Emily would be playing the girl and she would kick my ass, so I think I’ll bet on the girl.” Ian knew how terrifying a girl could be when she needed to; after all he did have a sister at home.

That infected was still banging on the door too loudly, and there was a whole swarm around the now-silent speaker. Ian felt the sudden urge to introduce himself to this new crowd of infected. If he burned them over and over, he might be able to test if the infected were capable of learning. Ian pulled his legs back onto the rooftop and pulled his pride and joy favorite toy from the top of the pile. It was a length of PVC pipe, almost three feet long with a narrow barrel and a fat canister-like body with a red button duct taped to the top. One of the rubber-wrapped pieces of metal was already loaded into the narrow end. Ian unscrewed the back end and sprayed inside with one of his cans of WD40.

A tiny red dot appeared next to the head of the infected that was trying to get into the store, but the dot quickly moved over to sit right at the base of the infected’s neck. Ian pressed the red button and the sound of an explosion filled the air, nearly loud enough to drown out the sound of the chosen infected’s head being blown off. Ian would never call his grandfather’s tinkering or the hardware store boring ever again. “This thing fucking rocks!”

Ian whistled down at the infected, but any that hadn’t turned after the shockwave from the air cannon likely weren’t infected and were merely normal dead people standing up. Unfortunately, the air cannon was too much of a pain to reload for multiple shots, otherwise Ian would have loved nothing more to have rained down heavy artillery fire all day long. Still, it wasn’t often a crowd of infected gathered right below where he stashed the fun stuff.

Ian lugged a heavy plastic sealed bucket over to the edge of the roof. He removed the two bottles that he’d duct taped to its cover for safe keeping and set those aside. He’d probably end up tossing them into his pack. The bucket fell to the ground far below and exploded, spraying liquid and goop everywhere, covering the nearest infected completely. The trio of dropped lighters, kept lit by simple tape, was all it took to turn the street into a firestorm or gasoline and napalm.

Ian ran down the building’s fire escape five steps at a time, falling more than running down stairs, until he jumped down to street level. The infected were in chaos, or at least those not downed by the unextinguishing flames. It seemed only right to give them some sense of order back since he was the one who had caused them to be in such a state. “Hey-lo good sirs and sir-ettes. Would you like to grab a bite to eat? I know of a really good place, and it isn’t even very far.” Ian sprayed the first infected that rushed at him with wasp killer in the eyes and then brought his machete down for its arm as the blinded infected just barely missed tackling him. “Free food! Follow meeeeeeeee!” Ian sprinted away with his arms out like he was a kid pretending to be an airplane, laughing freely as the ravenous predators closed the gap between them and him with startling speed. The only infected still outside the store now would be burning for a good long while even with the light rain.

As Casey sat crouched behind the shelf, awaiting the girl's response, he kept one eye always on the hole he just entered through. Something was happening outside, he could tell by the sounds, but he couldn't tell what. It sounded like someone was going mad. Though, he couldn't afford too much attention to the outside as someone on the inside was talking and it wasn't the pipsqueak that he followed in here. As he listened to this new person talk he couldn't help but grin. Another woman. When you're in the business of keeping others around for entertainment until they need to be fodder, woman were the best.

He could hear the pipsqueak respond first. Casey peered past the shelve that hid him and spied the girl as she made her way to the back of the store toward the voice that commanded them. Keeping low, he followed suit and moved to the back of the store. There he found the unknown voice that had ushered him back there. Another young woman, though this one Asian. As Casey came closer to the storage room he equipped his most charming smile. Raising his hands he spoke.

"Ladies! Its good to see such lovelies as yourself still alive!"

Entering the storage room he quickly examined the pair. The pipsqueak he followed into the store was leaning against the rear wall with her arms drawn up across her chest. She might as well have been curled up in the fetal position on the floor. Casey doubted how useful she'd be as entertainment. The other girl, on the other hand, looked to be much more promising. She held herself up straight, appeared to be in good shape, and was apparently ready to give orders when she needed. Most importantly, she was the type who would help you if you were in need.

"Nice place ya got here," Casey said looking about the tiny room. "Though, I have a feeling you don't expect to stay long."

Vincent had listen intently when Doctor Phillip was speaking. After all, it was his job to make sure the Soldiers stayed healthy and uninfected. Uninfected, the word sounded odd to say under the circumstances of his volunteering. He was here to find his daughter's step-dad and he was determined to find him alive or dead, the latter of which being more likely if what the doc said was true. Vincent looked about the crowd of soldiers and noted their expressions. Some were more than ready to go into this but others were scared but too chicken to leave. Those scared soldiers were the ones who were far more likely to ruin the mission by jumping at their shadow. Vincent couldn't promise he wouldn't act the same way but he knew what it meant if they were to fail their mission. The armory was full of soldiers grabbing their ammunition and guns while the supply men and women handed out the combat uniforms, Kevlar vests and helmet.

Vincent visited the supply men and grabbed his uniform and armor before he went to grab his guns and munitions. There were men changing in the showers where they could fit and others changing directly behind the armory. It took Vincent no more than a few minutes to change into his urban combat uniform and Kevlar vest yet he kept the helmet on his belt. Vincent returned to the armory and grabbed his berretta and HK416 as quickly as he could. He didn't quite agree on the idea of grabbing the incendiary grenades but it really wasn't his choice. Vincent left the armory to head towards the hospital to pick up his medic pack. The hospital was well lit and filled with equipment that had been airlifted in. Vincent was quick to grab a pack of bandages, sutures and wire. The only reason Vincent really picked up the medic pack was as a sort of morale boasted, people felt better when they believed somebody could help them when they were hurt. Vincent left the hospital and went to his barracks, there was something there he needed to pick up there.

"Oh shut up" Lian said and rolled her eyes at the man's comment. Although he was easy-going, and that was always a plus in Lian's book. When the two were inside, Lian took a last look around the store before stepping inside, closing the door after her. She looked at the two. "Nice place ya got here." the guy said. "Though I have a feeling you don't expect to stay long." Damn was he right. This place was starved. "Yeah... Been staying here for a while now. Nothing left of use here." she responded as she walked away from the door, only barely doing eye contact with him as she walked by. She walked over to the girl, and ducked down on a knee so their heads were leveled. "I'm Lian. You alright?" she said, trying to get eye contact with her. She was in shock or something, that much was obvious to Lian, but why? The city's been shit for a long time, how did she survive alone if she was constantly shocked? Then it hit her... Maybe she hadn't been alone until now. "This is the first time you've been alone for a while, isn't it?" she said carefully. "I'm sorry."

She took a seat next to her, and looked at the guy again. "So what's your name?"

Lian had been trying to ignore the strange sounds outside the store. She couldn't hear what was going on, but it sounded like the infected had found a snack or two. She didn't like the thought...

Standing in the back, around a few other soldiers, Inna listened to the information and instructions loud and clear. She may have been a quiet girl, but her expression spoke rather loudly at that moment, loudly of her fear. Staring down at her feet timidly, she could see her legs shake slightly, but it took her a moment or two to finally steady them. This was the real deal, out of country conflict. Part of her was glad she was better utilized as a sniper, a sharp shooter away from most of the action...that part was the greater part of her, the part that wasn't a hero. Her...previous spotting partner, 'he' was the hero type, but now she was here in his stead. And what a hopeless thing to be thankful for, being better as a snipe than...she knew there'd be a time where she'd have to do more than take out far off targets. Still, with all her fears and doubts, she moved on out without hesitation.

As soon as she got her hands on a provided sniper rifle, she fervently began to take it apart, piece by piece, examining pieces and parts, cleaning and oiling them carefully. It was calming, and there wouldn't be much time to do this once they were...out there...it was her personal meditation. No one she knew had volunteered as well, so all she had was this. The snipe rifle was clean, and so far, didn't seem at all faulty...the faulty one was her.

Lionel

Fully dressed in the urban combat outfit along with his vest, the Colonel was finishing an equipment check at one of the Armory tables. One of the iconic pieces of equipment that the troops would be carrying was the multi-purpose helmet. It was a ballistic helmet, combined with an armored gas-mask (which allowed some degree of face protection), as well as goggles attached to the top of it which had both zooming and nightvision capabilities. Slinging the helmet on his belt, he began checking his weapons and ammunition. He made sure to keep 5 magazines each for his HK416 and Berretta. Aside from these two weapons, he carried along a small, high-powered revolver armed with 6 bullets. He always carried it on assignments, though he never really used it as a weapon before. It was more of a "good-luck charm" for him.

Aside from the Incendiary grenades, he also took a matchbox, and a flare gun with 3 flares. Though he'd mainly use the flare gun for signalling. Everything else he needed (from a water canteen to rappel lines) were already stored in the numerous pockets of his uniform. The amount of equipment the soldiers were to be carrying made them cumbersome, but Lionel knew they would need every last item if they were going to last long inside that Hell-hole of a city.

Once he was satisfied with his equipment, he made his way to the helicopters where a few officers and volunteer soldiers had gathered. The officer called Lionel over. "Colonel, a word with you please?" He shouted over the sound of spinning chopper blades. "What is it, sir?" Lionel asked as the man approached him. "Just wanted to make sure you weren't going to change your mind about going in there first." He said. Lionel shook his head. "I'm the field commander, so of course I'd need to be there to direct the men when we first step foot inside." He responded. "That's true. But still, it would be a serious blow if we lost the field commander so soon into the operation. We're still not entirely sure of the amount of infected at the Alpha landing-zones, so it would be best to exercise extreme caution.... Just a reminder as an old friend, Lionel." The officer finished saying.

The Colonel nodded. "Thank you, Gray. I'll take care of myself. You just make sure the people around here don't panic too easily." He said, half-jokingly. "I'll try my best. And I hope the next time I see you isn't inside a coffin." Gray replied with a small smile before heading off. With that, Lionel checked his watch, "Almost time... I'll brief the team on the situation once they're here, and then hope they'll remember it one were above Valhalla..." He thought as he stood at the occupied helipads.

Morgan's anxiety dissipated little over the next few seconds. The close call with the infected when the speakers had sounded would have been enough to damage her calm for quite a while. But now...she glanced up for the briefest of seconds. Now, she was stuck in a room with two people she didn't know. And no matter how hard she tried to convince herself that she might be safe with them, she couldn't bring herself to accept it as truth.

She tuned Casey's voice out carefully as he spoke. He wasn't speaking to her specifically, therefore what he was saying was not of immediate importance to her. Instead of paying attention to him, she continued breathing in and out, staring at that single point on the ground. Slowly, her tense muscles relaxed. Not a lot, but enough to make some slight difference.

At that moment, the Asian girl who had beckoned them into the room entered Morgan's field of vision. Any calmness she had managed to attain was immediately gone. She introduced herself as Lian. I should answer her. I should say my name, Morgan thought to herself. My name is Morgan. Say it. But whatever pathway of nerves was responsible for transmitting messages from her brain to her mouth had ceased to function. She could only listen to Lian speak and dodge her attempts to make eye contact. "This is the first time you've been alone for a while, isn't it? I'm sorry."

Morgan chewed her lip, and reluctantly nodded in confirmation. Before now, she'd always had Daniel around. He was the only one she had spoken to in weeks.

Finally, she seemed to find her voice. Though Lian had already turned back towards Casey, Morgan took the chance to speak. She didn't look up, and it looked as though she was speaking more to herself than to the others. "M-m-m-m...m-my na-ame is Mo-or-org-gan," she said, stammering so badly that her face immediately turned red from embarrassment.

The girl only nodded in response to Lian's question. Or well, she already understood, but the question was just to confirm. This girl... She had someone before. Someone who is gone now. Someone who took care of her and is now probably dead, turned into one of those... Things. Lian looked over at the man. He didn't respond. Not that Lian cared, the way he carried himself and that smirk on his face just told her he was up to no good. The sooner she could get out of here the better. When the girl spoke however, Lian turned back to her, and managed a smile. Morgan. Her name was Morgan. She stammered so badly it was painfull to watch, but Lian just gently placed her hand on Morgan's right upper arm. "It's alright. Nice to meet you, Morgan. I know how you feel. I had a friend here too." she said, her voice losing power at the end of the sentence. Clearing her throat a bit to not seem too emotional, she continued. "But let's not talk about that now. We have to get out of here as soon as possible. You guys heard the speakers, right? Memorial Park is just a few blocks away, we can make it if we stick to the shadows and avoid open spaces." she said and stood up, trying to assume some authority over the situation. Lian knew that if someone slowed her down she might be killed... Or worse... But she simply couldn't abandon Morgan, this poor girl by herself. She walked over to the door, passing Casey with just a slight glare. The storage room door had a small window she could look out of, and good thing it even had a slider. Opening the slider, she looked out into the small store. The shelves were just as they had been before, nothing but dust and waste. She looked at the hole in the boarded-up window that Casey had gone through. "You sure made a mess when you came in here... And that ruckus outside... I say we be ready to move in 20 minutes tops. You guys alright with that?" She closed the slider and turned around, her hands on her hips. "We're not gonna die here. Right Morgan?"
She didn't know if the attempt at motivation actually helped the girl but at this point Lian was trying her best. Just a little bit of cheering up and Morgan would be able to move so much faster, Lian knew. It was always like that when she was exercising or when she was out climbing. Motivation is the best fuel, and to be motivated you need to be in a good mood.

Lionel

The helicopters were already in the sky, and Colonel Lionel stood at the front of one of the aircraft, looking at the eight soldiers seated before him and holding onto the railing on the ceiling. As the sound of the motor engines filled the air, he raised his voice to a shout, to make sure his orders could be heard. "You already know your objectives from the briefing on the ground, but I'll go over them again to make sure you don't forget it." He said loudly.

"The first teams to be sent in have been split into three groups. Alpha Squad, Bravo Squad, and Charlie Squad. We are Alpha Squad. Our job is to go inside the city before the rest of the rescue force, to find and secure a landing zone and command post for them to drop soldiers and supplies into. Our helicopter will drop us off on the roof of Unwavering Faith Hospital. Bravo Squad will land on top of a large parking building to the east of the hospital. And Charlie will be dropped off on the roof of an apartment complex to our west. These are some of the highest spots in the city where a helicopter can land. Each squad is going to survey the city from the roof and look for a good open area to set up a camp. Afterwards, we make our way down the building and meet up on the way to the area each squad agrees upon. I will remain in radio contact with the other squad leaders at all times to make sure each person knows the status of each squad. If I should die for any reason, you have orders to retrieve the radio and re-establish contact with the others. The other squads have similar orders." He explained

The pilot spoke up. "Sir, we're nearing the L.Z." He said. The Colonel looked out and saw Valhalla City below him, wrecked and decayed. From high above, he could see no signs of life in the dark streets and buildings below. Though surely some survivors must hear the sound of the helicopters above them.

"Alright. Again, once we've selected a site to set up camp, all three squads will clear the area of infected and set up flare signals to show the other choppers were to land. Just stay close to each other and work together. Follow your orders and you WILL get out of this alive." He finished saying. He looked out the helicopter once more and saw the target hospital just up ahead, the helicopter quickly closing the distance. "It's almost time..." He thought. He felt a little apprehension at what they were about to do, but it had to be done, and none of them had any right to walk away from this now.

"Everybody, masks on and guns loaded!" The colonel ordered as he strapped on his gas mask and helmet. He took out his rifle and flicked off the safety switch. The pilot stopped the helicopter in the air and slowly descended. "L.Z. Is clear, sir. Alpha Squad is free to drop." The pilot said. The doors of the helicopter opened. "Go! Go! Go!" Lionel said with a muffle from his mask as he hopped off the vehicle and onto the roof of the hospital. He aimed down the sights of his gun and scanned the area while the rest of Alpha Squad jumped out and did the same. "I want two people covering that stairwell door! Make sure no infected bust through it. I want eyes on the east and west. Make visual contact with Bravo and Charlie as soon as they land!" He ordered, gesturing at each location.

He flicked on his radio as his men got into position. "Bravo, charlie, what is your status?" He asked. "This is Bravo, we've just landed and are securing the L.Z." A muffled voice answered from the other side. "This is Charlie, we're preparing to drop now." Another voice answered. "Good, once you two have secured the landing areas we start looking for a place to set up camp." Lionel replied. "Roger that, Charlie squad ou-"

"This is Bravo! We got contact!" The voice shouted. Thinking quickly, Lionel headed to the east side of the roof and put his goggles up to his eyes. Aside from nightvision, they could also be used as regular binoculars. He zoomed in and saw Bravo Squad in the distance, opening fire on two infected running wildly at them. On the lower levels of the parking lot, some infected heard the commotion and began climbing out of cars and debris to investigate. "Bravo, hold your position, take them out, and drop their bodies off the roof! But whatever you do, keep your distance while they're still standing!" He ordered into his radio. He then turned around to face his own squad.

"I need a sniper over here now!" He shouted.

Despite the fact that she’d barely been able to get her own name out, Lian seemed friendly enough towards Morgan. She acted kind and comforting. However, when she empathized with the fact that Morgan was now alone, she spoke of her own friend in the past tense. Even if Lian’s friend might be gone, Morgan knew that Daniel was alive out there somewhere. He was too stubborn and resourceful to be dead. Heading to Memorial Park, that would be her best chance of finding her friend once more.

She listened to Lian speak. Outwardly, Morgan gave no indication that she was paying any attention. She could have been deaf, if no one had known better. But inwardly, she was paying close attention, committing every word to memory. At the suggestion to move in twenty minutes, she finally acknowledged with a silent nod. At the encouraging words, her only response was another wordless nod. No eye contact was made.

However, shortly after Lian finished speaking, a noise from outside broke through the relative silence. It was quiet, but unfamiliar, and more than enough to make Morgan’s body tense up rigidly once again. She strained her ears, and the noise seemed to grow slightly louder. A distant humming…almost like a helicopter. “Wh-wh-wh-“ she started to say, but her mouth had jammed up once more. Speech was impossible.

She took a breath, trying to find her voice again. Her stuttering ‘w’s had been quiet enough that Lian might not have heard them. However, in the few moments that it took Morgan to regain her composure, a louder noise pierced the silence. This was a noise she knew, having heard it more often than she’d have liked in recent weeks. Gunfire. She looked in alarm in Lian’s general direction. “Wh-what was th-tha-at?” she stammered quickly.

When speaking to Morgan, Lian wasn't only trying to comfort her and make her feel safe, but she was also trying to comfort herself. This ordeal was starting to get to her. She knew deep down, she would never be the same after this... If she'd ever walk out of this one alive. Standing up, she opened up the storage door carefully. There was a sound... A helicopter? Rescue?! Maybe going to Memorial Park was a brilliant idea after all! ... If... If they get there. Lian felt a lump in her throat. She swallowed hard and glanced behind her, at Morgan. She didn't know this girl very well but for some reason she wanted to put on a hard front for her. Or maybe it was for herself... Bah, whatever.
"Maybe we should get going now instead." Lian said quietly, then turned to look out the door again. She opened the storage door halfway and snuck out to listen closer to the sound. Yes... it was a helicopter, and from the sound of things it was close. But.. No, it was leaving now. Did it pick someone up? Or drop someone off? Lian returned to the storage room.

"I think a helicopter just flew by. I couldn't see anything but it stayed around for a moment then left. it's--" Lian was interrupted by another sound. A horrifying sound. Morgan got the same look on her face. “Wh-what was th-tha-at?” she asked, and Lian could only shake her head. "Gunfire. she responded simply. The sound was all too familiar to her at this point. "Whatever the helicopter dropped off is having trouble. What do you wanna do Morgan? Forget about them and go to Memorial Park or ... Something else?" she asked. She asked for two reasons mainly, to see how Morgan reacts to taking decisions and some authority, and also to see how she feels about investigating a firefight against the monsters. She felt a bit mean, seeing as this girl is not brave at all, but she had to know SOMETHING about her. If they're gonna stick together for a while, might aswell test her, right? But still... Lian was fighting an inner battle with herself. Part of her wanted to just go to the park and be gone from this place as fast as damn possible, but the other part of her, her concience, urged her to help whoever dropped by helicopter. The monsters will rip them to shreds... Can't just leave them there... Damnit. Lian turned to look out the storage again to hide her troubled face from Morgan. She had to stay strong.

Lionel

In response to his call, a female soldier approached him and crouched down near the edge of the building in the direction of the parking lot. Lionel crouched down next to her. "I'll act as a spotter for now. Keep your sights on Bravo Squad and I'll let you know of any incoming threats. The sniper nodded silently.

Lionel clicked on his radio again. "Bravo, what's your status?" He asked. "Sir, we've cleared the roof. We're dropping the bodies over the edge now and are preparing to head down. I don't think we can stay up here much longer. That noise is sure to have attracted more of them" The squad leader answered. "Copy that. Just make sure you drop them on the side opposite of the exit you're going to be leaving through. And watch your backs, we'll try to cover you, but the pillars and debris are going to block our sight." Lionel replied. "Yes sir." Bravo leader answered again.

Lionel adjusted his goggles and scanned the parking structure. Bravo was making their way down one floor, while a creature seemed to be kneeling behind a wrecked car, hidden from Bravo's line of sight. "Hostile, a few meters ahead of Bravo squad. Crouched behind a car." Lionel said to the sniper. The female soldier adjusted her aim, and fired after two seconds, sending a loud crack through the air. Lionel watched the infected fall over. "That's a hit." He confirmed. He then clicked on his radio again to speak with Bravo Squad. "Don't bother messing with any bodies you come across, just keep heading down. Once you're on street-level, find a defensible position to hole up in until further orders." He said. "Yes sir! The squad leader replied as the team kept moving forward quickly, keeping an eye on their surroundings.

Lionel returned to searching the parking building for any more infected. "Two more. One floor below Bravo. Next to that busted pick-up truck." He pointed out, keeping his fingers on the adjustment dial of his goggles. The sniper adjusted her aim, and then fired a shot. She then took another few seconds to target the next one, before firing another round. The 2nd Infected dropped dead just as Bravo squad reached that floor. Lionel kept on scanning around, but failed to find any more infected in the building. He activated his radio. "I don't see any of them anymore. But keep your eyes peeled, they might be hiding in our blind spots." He said. "Understood, sir. We're keeping an eye out." the squad leader said.

For a while, it was smooth sailing. There didn't seem to be any more infected lurking around the building. Bravo Squad had reached the second to the last level when Lionel spotted strange movement. "I got something. One floor below them. On ground-level. It's pretty dark, but I think I saw a silhouette." He said to the sniper. Lionel spotted something else as soon as he finished speaking. "Make that two silhouettes..." He added. Bravo squad had just arrived on the ground floor, when some kind of swift movement. He switched to Nightvision mode.

"Shit, that's infected. Take them out!" Lionel ordered. The sniper fired, but the shot hit a concrete pillar behind the moving shadows. "They're fast..." The sniper said with a hint of a Russian accent. She fired again, and managed to hit the body of one, staggering it, but it was still standing. "Bravo team! You got two infected coming in fast, watch out!" Lionel said quickly. Looking down, he saw gunfire lighting up the ground floor, and the infected closing the distance on the soldiers. However, the infected were cut down before they got within a dangerous range. Bravo Squad quickly sprinted out of the building.

"Bravo, what's your status?" Lionel asked through the radio. "Operational and all men accounted for, sir. We're now searching for- FUCK!" The squad leader exclaimed before being cut off. Lionel looked at them, and saw one of their soldiers being grabbed by the leg by an infected stuck underneath fallen rubble. The squad fired upon it and managed to make it dormant. "Is your squadmate alright?" Lionel asked. "I... don't know sir. We'll have the medic look at him once we're somewhere safe." Bravo leader replied. "Alright, make it quick. Me and Charlie are going to scout for a place to set up a camp before linking up with you. Hold out until then. And get some distance from the parking lot, all that gunfire is sure to have attracted more of them there." He concluded.

Lionel got up from his prone position, and gestured at one of his other soldiers. "You, get over here and act as a spotter for our sniper. Keep Bravo squad covered until they're out of sight." He ordered. He then looked around the vast city-scape for a good place to create a base and evacuation center. "This was a Hell of a rough start... Better hope nothing worse goes wrong until we have a camp set up." He thought.