---

---

Natalia let Sonya lead her to a more discreet location, away from the open space. There was a human voice shouting in the distance, all the more reason for Sonya to hurry.
"Wait.. I have to go back. I can't stay out any longer. All that noise and commotion is going to make getting home even harder if I wait.. On top of that who knows if Toxo heard it, they may send people out in search of the culprit," Natalia said then, halting Sonya by not walking further. Sonya's cold eyes met with Nat's, frowning slightly. Now, really? They had barely escaped...
"...Right. Yeah, whatever," Sonya nodded in response, feeling a flash of something that seemed dangerously like disappointment. It was understandable. After all, Natalia was a big thing amongst Toxo. Despite hating Toxo, Blue couldn't help but feel impressed by the woman's high position.

Natalia was momentarily distracted by their joined hands, and Sonya realised she hadn't thought much, just grabbed the woman's hand in the moment. Did it bother Natalia? Why did the thought of it potentially bothering Nat bother Sonya even more?
Not good with reading emotions, Natalia's blushing went unnoticed by Sonya. She wrote it off as them having run just a moment ago.
"Take care and be safe Sonya, we can try this again soon," Natalia then said, parting their ways. No one called her Sonya anymore. It was weird, yet oddly warming. Sonya looked at her feet before looking back at Natalia and accepting that she had to go.
"Don't go and get yourself killed," Sonya responded in her usual parting manner. Even though she wasn't smiling, her voice held that softer undertone reserved for the brunette only.

Turning away before Natalia could completely disappear, Blue continued on her trail alone. She had little to no idea where she was going, her first priority was to find a place to camp. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, Sonya began to feel the burning sensation of her wound. If only she wasn't so fucking rubbish at first aid. Her bicep would most likely get infected if not cleaned, but Blue's only health measure was to wrap a cloth around it to stop it from bleeding. Huffing, the woman busted into a seemingly abandoned building, trying to find a highground. What she really wanted was some alcohol and other parts, such as bottles, so she could refill her bomb supply. She had used nearly all of her explosives, and for what? I mean she had survived, but now she was all alone again. Gosh, did Sonya miss tinkering. She just wanted to build some explosives before she got ambushed by the infected again... or worse, ambushed by humans.

“We have a safe house nearby. You are welcome to come along and get some food, we don’t have any on us at the moment. It’s a couple of hours by horse longer if you walk.” One of the other men helped Anna up on to his horse. “If you really are The Saint you are welcome to join us back at HQ, the boss doesn’t believe in the rumors of The Saint.” Another man rides up along side Grace and extends his hand to her to help her up. Dave gets back on his horse. The guy riding with Anna wasn’t to thrilled she was holding on way to tight for his liking or ability to breathe normally. @ravensmuse

Johnny Blackburn had been prone for the last forty minutes, waiting for the deer to come further from the tree line. He was far from the Parris Security of which he stayed, deep in the desert area leading toward Nevada. Here there were cliffs and canyons stretching as far as the eyes could see, little life left out here save for the animals. It was rare to find deer so far out, but he had been tracking one for the last couple of hours. Finally the deer emerged from the shrubs and Johnny readied and aimed his wooden oak longbow. He was a good thirty yards away when he loosed the arrow, it narrowly missing as the deer scurried off into the trees. "Shit!" He had never really been the best with a bow, but ever since finding it he had been getting better. Just not today.

It was getting late. Johnny preferred being out by himself, sometimes for weeks, which was why he volunteered to be a hunter. Even without the deer, this was a successful venture. Walking back to his brown horse, Brisco, he checked his belongings one last time before he would head back to camp. Four squirrels, two rabbits, and eight quail. This was a successful hunting trip, though the deer would have topped it off. Setting his machete and longbow in the horses satchel, he got on and directed home. As they moved through the valley, he rechecked his handheld radio to see if there was any reception.

"Hello, anyone read? It's Johnny-" he spoke into it, only to receive static back. He needed to get up in altitude and much closer.

A few hours in to his trek, he noticed there were many vultures flying up in the sky nearby. Something big was dead, as there were more and more of them flocking together just over the hill. Deciding to check it out, he rode Brisco over and onto one of the hills that led to a cliff. On the other side, he hopped off Brisco and got to the edge. There were hundreds of infected all grouped together in one massive horde, all of them seemingly coming from the city and walking directly towards home. A haunting chill passed over his spine, the former Rockstar had not seen this many grouped together since the concert days way back when. He tried the radio again.

"Parris, Parris you read it's Johnny," he said, climbing higher for better reception. "There's a massive horde to the southeast of base, heading toward you, copy? 'Bout two days march away, I'll try to lead them off. Over."

Carson was walking around HQ checking in on all the departments. When someone came running towards him, when the person caught up he mentioned that they got a call from a hunter. "Transmission wasn't the greatest quality. We made out massive horde and heading towards. Two days away." Carson put his hands on the messenger. "I don't care what it takes get me more information from that hunter. Also send word to every team we have out there, they are to get back here now. If that horde is coming our way we are going to need everyone defending the base." He shoved the messenger away. He ran towards the armory. "We potentionally have a massive horde coming our way in two days time. No telling when or where it is coming from. Plant explosives in the ground, on the trees, I don't care how." He ran to the vehicle depot. I am going to have the Quarantine tent removed get those APCs out there around the base. Once they are out there let the aire out of the tires, without slashing them. Get as many people as you need to help. They will slow them down and act as shields for people to shoot from. The zombies can climb over it but with all the hatches sealed they can't get in. Remove the windows, that way they can be used to shoot out of, the zombies can't get in through there because of the bars or they are to small." He then ran to the medical wing. "I have to have the Quarantine tent moved temporarily so that the APCs can get out until further notice it will be moved to either the left or right of the gate. You pick just be quick about it and get it done." He grabbed a water they had and guzzled it. He went to the center of the compound and rang the bell. Anyone not busy with his orders began to gather. "We potentially have a horde coming our way. I already began the preparations for the possibility. If the horde comes, everyone fights. No one gets to set this one out. If you see someone get overrun do not try to be a hero, do not try to save them. Focus on your task and only your task. Failure to do so will cause more deaths. If you can't shoot worth shit you will be a gofer running to get whatever a fighter needs. You will be armed with a knife, axe, whatever melee weapon we can scrouge up. If you meet a zombie take out the knee and stab it in the head. Now go back to your regular duty assignments when you are needed for something else we will find you."

Grace listened carefully, noting locations and the men's mention of HQ.

Anna had already scampered up onto the first man's horse. She looked white knuckled as she gripped onto the beast for dear life. She felt a pang of guilt, and a quick read of these men looked on the level. However, she refused to leave Anna in a camp that may or may not be on the level. She heard the chatter about a horde over the walkies, her jaw tightening at the mention of that number of infected. Thankfully the scarf she kept around her lower face kept the obvious notes of her anxiety concealed.

"I'll tag along, I keep my weapons. Any area with the white wings means I've got traps rigged up, I'll point out if we're close." She muttered briskly, before taking the man's arm and getting up on the horse. She felt a little uneasy, but if there was any truth to the rumors of that many infected. She had a chance to fight, and maybe finally, end."

Grace, the Saint, was tired. Yet she felt somehow it was a disservice to her fiance and those who fell fighting to simply let it end. She's go out, in a barrel of gunfire and vengeance before that would happen. Till then, there were lives that needed saving.

The Saint still had work to do...

Anna looked towards Grace nervously, as the riders made for HQ.

Ryder had a schedule his body and mind were used to after so many years in this apocalyptic bullshit. He rarely ever fired up one of the four-wheelers to check on everything. It was a waste of gas, and it was loud, too. Vehicles weren't often used these days. The ranch was huge, though, so walking around, checking on things, took a decent amount of time. Not that Ryder minded. What else was he going to do? He was a hands-on type of man. He wasn't going to trust anybody else to run this place, to hand him over papers with their amount of supplies, and trust it completely. He had to see for himself, so everybody knew it was a bad idea to attempt a lie.

Thus, he started his rounds. At first, it was pretty normal. Food levels were normal, enough to last another four months, though he'd have to send scouting parties out in the next two weeks to look for more. He never liked to go under three months. The armory was good; all weapons had been checked in and out accordingly. The store was doing well; by the rate of supplies going, they had enough to last them another two months, though that was something else the scouting parties could keep an eye out for. He needed to call a meeting together, and form those scouting parties as soon as possible. Nothing seemed mechanically wrong with the place, though the engineers were still doing their rounds when Ryder had bumped into them.

He happened to be upon one of the watchtowers, having a conversation with the man atop it about not fucking napping, when the bright flare caught his eye. It made him take pause before he snatched the binoculars from the man's hand, and looked. Who the fuck had explosives? It was rare to see things like that anymore. It was a risk to send a group out, since a lot of the infected would be attracted to the noise it surely caused, but most of the shit they had was because they took risks. He lowered the binoculars as the light show kept on, then shoved the bulky thing towards the man.

"See what you would have missed from napping? Don't let me fucking catch you sleeping again, got it?" he didn't wait for a reply, leaving the startled looking man. Usually, Ryder would have said more, even done something, but he had more important things on his mind right now. The most important thing: why wasn't the other watch tower reporting the explosions? If he found another fucking napper... he scowled.

He didn't have time to wait for the other watch tower. He'd be heading over there shortly after this anyway. He grabbed the walkie that was on his belt, and pressed a button to make it flick to life. Nearly everybody had a walkie, the numbers building as the years went on. He pressed the button, and rocked back on his heels as he spoke.

"Hello, hello, Ryder here. I got visual of a pretty fucking light show in town, so get a party of five to eight together, and head North. Don't be fucking dumbasses; watch for the dead, they'll be attracted to the sounds. There's also a meeting at the wonderful Alek's bar," he was grinning like a wolf as he said this, "at 1400 hours. If you don't know what fucking time that is, learn military time. I'm not saying that again, damnit. Ryder out," he put the walkie back before continuing on.

Now, to go to the last watch tower, and see why they hadn't reported. The watch tower he had previously been at, and the one he was going to now, were both facing the direction of town. There was no excuse for not reporting. The walking was brutal; after all, the watch towers were posted on each corner of the ranch. While he headed towards the watch tower, he checked on the fields. He didn't know too much about crops, but they didn't seem to be rotting, and their leaves were intact, so that was good enough for him. As he was walking, he had confirmation that a group of seven was put together. They were leaving in five, in two trucks, to check out the explosions. His group worked fast, yet he wouldn't tell them that. It was expected. It was like telling somebody "good job breathing." It should be fucking natural to follow his orders with no hesitation.

He reached that watch tower and saw a familiar figure on top. Lauren. Ryder felt himself grinning, because he couldn't help it. He really enjoyed the woman's company. She was funny, sarcastic, and fucking beautiful. He couldn't complain about any of those. He caught the end of what she was saying, something about luscious locks and a tower. He felt amusement course through him, yet he was briefly distracted. He noticed Natalia, somewhat in the distance, looking in his direction. Yet, he assumed not at himself. She walked off shortly after, more than likely not noticing him underneath the watchtower, slightly hidden by one of its support beams.

He knew Lauren and Natalia's relationship was not the best. Their first impression of one another was not a good one, and it had seemed ever since, they hadn't been able to shake it. He knew some of his members had hard relationships. It was a large group, with different personality types. There was bound to be some tense moments. But, these were two women he respected highly.

Though, the only time he would step in was if it caused problems for the group. Besides that, honestly, he didn't give a fuck if they hated each other. Sure, it'd be nice if they didn't, but it wasn't like it caused him too many problems. They were as happy and healthy as anybody could be in this world without each other, so whatever. He took a few steps out from the tower, tilting his head up to the sun, having to squint some to see Lauren.

"Oh, Rapunzel, Rapunzel, stop fucking around and do your damn job," he called up jokingly, laughing afterward. He pressed the top of his bat into the ground, using it as a cane to lean against, crossing his ankles. "See anything interesting, darling?" he called up in interest, raising an eyebrow. He had a feeling she saw the explosions, and hadn't reported it, unless she wasn't paying attention. Either way, he'd have a few words with her about it.

Staring off into the distance, the woman in the watch tower suddenly remember she was forgetting something.

Lauren jumped when the sound of her responsibilites called out to her from below in the form of a sexy british accent. Shit. Had she forgotten to report in this explosions. She reached for the radio as if to correct this mistake, but it was already too late. Her eyes quickly took in information she should have caught onto already. Natalia entered her view (bitch), and scouts were going off to investigate those explosions. Of course they were; someone tossing up molotovs within the horizon line of Toxo is vitally important information. How had she fucked up like that? She didn't realize the molotovs would be pertinent information. She didn't think like Ryder did. He was ontop of his game at all times- nothing got past him. It's why he was in charge and someone like her wasn't.

Ryder was the only person in the world who could make her feel so inadequate before even admonishing her. Hopefully he was too far away to see her temporarily shocked expression, but she somehow doubted it. There's no reason he would ask something like that if something wasn't wrong. Despite his joking nature, Lauren was upset at herself for disappointing Ryder by fucking up.

"Yeah...saw some explosions, couple miles that way in the northern suburbs." She sluggishly raised her bare arm and pointed a finger towards that direction.

"I'm sorry, sir. I failed to report it in." She said, geniune in her apology and losing her usual tone. Her eyes followed the progress of the men and women gathering to investigate. Then she looked back down at Ryder. Despite the fact that she was a storey or two above him, Ryder's joking tone, baseball bat cane, overall hotness, and the most important fact she fucked up big time had sucked the humor from her, and made her feel small. Lauren didn't even know if she was in trouble yet- but it didn't really matter. He was one of the few people in this world who really got it, and she wanted his approval.

"Anyone wanna try climbing my luscious blonde locks to get up to the top of the tower?"

Alek stopped in her walk to the cafeteria when she heard a bored sounding voice call out. She recognized the voice fairly well, it was Lauren, one of Ryder’s top bitches as Alek always said. She didn’t personally have any beef when it came to the other woman. They had only interacted a couple of times, but it was easy to tell Lauren wasn’t the nicest person in the world. Though, not many of the people that lived in this camp were the nicest people. The people who had been considered nice in the world were all basically dead, an extinct race that was likely never to return. Nice people were weak and weak people had been the first ones to die when the shit hit the fan. Still, Alek didn’t exactly hate Lauren but being as she was so close to Ryder, she had decided a while back that it was best to not try to befriend the woman. She’d thought about replying to the joking question Lauren had thrown out to no one in particular, but before she could say anything a shiver of irritation hit her at the sight of seeing Ryder come.

Alek turned quickly before he could lock eyes with her. She only made eye contact with Ryder when he was up close and personal. If she didn’t then he would think he had complete power over her, which in her mind he did not. He may have had some little portion of power over her because she lived in his compound, but that was as far as his power went. Truth be told she was actually looking for some way to escape this place. Of course she didn’t dare tell that to anyone, but it was true. During the few times she went out on raids she was always on the search for somewhere else to go. She’d thought about setting out and just finding a small quite place out in the country for her to live by herself, but she had yet to make that step. Going out by yourself was a hard thing to do, even if you did despise the place you were in and the people who ran it.

Alek listened for the two speak back and forth for a while, forgetting the fact she was going to get breakfast. She had walked over to a nearby post, where she couldn’t be seen, continuing to listen to them and smoke her joint at the same time. She always found it funny when Ryder was disappointed in someone. The person he was disappointed in always had this sound in their voice when they responded to him. This desperate need to please him type of tone. It made her laugh to herself a little. She would never sound like that, no matter what she did to disappoint the asshole. She would rather die than say sorry to him.

"I'm sorry, sir. I failed to report it in." Lauren said to Ryder in that same voice Alek always found amusing.

“What a suck up…” Alek said to herself quickly, laughing under her breath.

Kate flinched and jumped up, confused for a moment about where she was. Dim artificial light was a familiar sight, which told her she was in her lab. A sharp pain in her neck on the other hand revealed that she had fallen asleep at her desk. Again. Tilting her head slowly to the sides, she tried to put all those pesky little parts of human neck back into their original position. Several loud cracks and even more curse words later she could finally move her head around without feeling like it is going to break off.

She slowly wobbled outside right into her little garden, feeling at least 80 years old, and a reluctant smile appeared on her lips. No matter how angry or cranky or sad she was, this place always made her feel better. It was a tiny piece of normal world, a place where you can forget the fact that there are actual zombies out there who want to eat you or that the deodorants are nearly extinct species. Many people thought she was crazy because even after full day of hard work in the fields, especially the first few months, where the group fought for survival, she always found a few moments to go and plant flowers or rose bushes or other nice things around the base and take care of them. But Kate believed that once the imminent threat of death is gone, people need more than just food and water and weapons. There needed to be something pretty in the world, something that made you smile even during your worst moments.

The sudden sound of bell ringing, while feeling like a hammer pounding on her nerves, quickly made her forgot about roses or her sore neck. The adrenaline rushed through her veins, making her heart beat faster. She ran over to the center of the compound and listened to Carson’s speech. ‘Now that is really motivational. If zombs start eating your friend alive, just use his screaming as a distraction to take out as many as you can. And I thought I was cynical today,’ she thought with a smirk. Being ironic was her way to fight the fear. Over the past few years she had learned how to fight but it doesn’t mean she wasn’t scared to death with the idea of fighting a horde of flesh-eating nightmares.

When he finished talking and turned to leave, she ran over to him. “Carson, wait, I need to talk to you. I overheard from the others that we have two days till the horde gets here. That is not enough time. If we are forced to retreat behind the walls, the entire crop will be trampled and destroyed,” she frowned imagining the dozens of rotting bodies moving over the fields. “With my current workforce I estimated we will need at least two weeks to harvest everything. I need more people if we want to save at least the potatoes, corn and the vegetable garden.”

Just as he was about to talk six APCs rushed passed and out the gate. "If all goes to plan between the bombs I got the weapons depot planting and the APCs with people in them shooting and the watch towers we'll have more than enough fire power to kill them all. If we are forced to retreat behind the walls, your crops getting destroyed will not be our biggest problem. Our biggest problem won't even be those things. Our biggest problem will be each other. A horde large enough to force us behind these walls will not leave quickly, it may take weeks or months for it to disperse and humans need something to rail against when the shit hits the fan, we won't be logical about it. We'll turn on each other, we'll do the zombies job for them. I've seen it first hand during my time with the Marines. If we had food it might keep it at bay for longer. Grab anyone who isn't currently assigned to other horde defense duties and get them working on it." Carson left.

---

---

Sonya had been wandering around for a while. An uncharasteristic coat of sweat tingled on her forehead, making her suspect the gash on her bicep had some inflammation, undoubtedly due to Sonya not cleaning it and the cloth scrap around it being a bit dirty itself. In case you hadn't noticed, first-aid really wasn't Sonya's forte. She was more into the "boom" and "crash" sort of stuff.
Rummaging through all the empty apartments along her way, Sonya had already found herself a few ingredients for making new handy bombs. She was especially running low on her Molotovs, and for that she not only needed bottles, but also alcohol. Too bad most the glass bottles she came across were broken, and the plastic ones wouldn't have quite the same effect. She'd have to make do, it seemed.

Almost all the apartments had already been looted well before her, so there wasn't much anything that she could use without getting creative. Sonya had half a dozen empty bottles and a pouchful of leftover gunpowder, but she still needed a lot more. All the closets in the houses were mostly empty, save for one where Sonya found some random spices. She did take the pack of yeast because it could be used for many things, but everything else she pretty much left in place. There was a reason no one camped in the houses anymore, after all. Everything was gone, and they had no value for being safe.

After some careful digging and a handful of houses later, Sonya's luck began turning. It was then that she finally found some alcohol tucked away under a sink. The bottle seemed opened, which was a bummer, but Sonya found it didn't matter that much because what she found was indeed vodka. Yes, she had tasted it and yes, she knew it was dangerous to taste things she didn't know their origins of. She just didn't quite have that kind of self-perseverance anymore, let alone an intact joy for living.
Shedding her worn leather jacket Sonya took a new look at her wound. Yup, it looked as bad as it had felt, she concluded. The open wound had stained the cloth covering it completely, dark blood seeping out of the gash. Fuck me, Blue thought, more annoyed than worried. Maybe she should have been worried, though.
Opening the bottle of vodka again, the woman poured the clear liquid as sparingly as possible on her bare bicep where the skin was already beginning to look red. Hissing through her teeth at the sheer pain the contact caused, Sonya paid farewell to her newlyfound, precious vodka. What a waste of an ingredient, she thought with a sour face. The burn of the alcohol didn't go away, making Blue bite her teeth together violently to prevent a growl from escaping her lips. She didn't know if the alcohol would make the wound better or worse, but honestly, she didn't care at the moment. She had once heard alcohol was supposed to sanitize wounds, but with Sonya's luck, she had somehow done it wrong now as well. From the looks of it, the wound was still bleeding and not looking even remotely better, so the woman decided to spare rest of the alcohol for bomb-making instead of half-assed attempts at playing a doctor.
Wrapping the same, dirty and bloody piece of cloth around the injury, Sonya continued looking through the cupboards. She managed to find more alcohol - yay for that - but her victory was shortlived as she suddenly heard noises from outside. People, not zombies.

Fuck. Had Toxo sent people to investigate the bombing? They had for sure seen them, so it was a possibility too high to leave out. Sonya cursed silently, seeing no escape plan. Why couldn't Nat have just... told them something? Fuck if she knew, but she was screwed now. Thanks, Nat, Sonya thought bitterly, even though she knew deep down the woman couldn't have prevented this.
Trying to stealth her way out of the building - perhaps there was a back door? Please? - Sonya listened carefully for the noises coming from outside. She heard a muffled voice from the street; someone was talking. She wasn't about to find out if she knew that someone, since they were from Toxo probably anyway. Finding her way out unnoticed, Sonya took off with a run so fast her lungs were left aching. Soon she was out of the housing area, now nearing big roads that were dotted with lone cars. If she didn't already know they were out of gas, Sonya would have definitely emptied the tanks for her own use.
...Or she could just try to find something useful from a gas station, she mused. That sounded like a plan. There had to be one around here somewhere.

The radio was cutting in and out as some people back home were trying to respond to him. Something about Parris setting up for all out war, as well as something about Kate's garden. "Tell Kate, I don't give a damn about her garden! No, no don't tell her that." He only got static back now, so he clicked it off.

Johnny rode Brisco atop a hill parallel to where the horde would be. He was about an hour and a half ahead of them, though could smell them still when the wind picked up. Below him a mound of rocks led down to where a lone gas station was, the vehicles around it were broken down and aged. If the horns worked, he could make them sound off and lead as much of the zombies this way as possible. This area was far enough away from home that if the horde came down here, they would disperse toward the trees and into the canyons. That was the plan anyway.

"Alright Brisco, lets do this!" he spoke to his horse. He pulled the reigns for the horse to go down the rocks and hill but the animal stopped at the edge, refusing to go. "Come on Brisco, we have to get down there. Move!" He tried again, this time the horse pushed backward and let out a cry. "Look buddy, I know you're scared. I am too, but I won't let them get you I promise. We just, we just gotta do this. A lot of people might die otherwise, are you with me?" The horse nodded its head. "Okay then..." Being sure of having cooperation this time, Johnny pulled the reigns to go forward. Brisco bucked and kicked sideways, knocking Johnny entirely off and down the rock covered hill. He luckily missed the big rocks on the way down, bumping and crashing into a few sharp ones along the way. He landed face first in the wet grass below.

"The fuck!!" the Rockstar yelled in anger, wiping his face as clean as he could with his sleeves. He looked up to the horse who still stood atop the hill. "Fine, stay up there! See if I give a damn about you when they start coming!"

Johnny spat and then stormed off and toward the gas station first. Smashing the glass doors, he knelt and entered carefully as to not cut himself again. Most all of the shelves were cleaned out already, making it a quick look. He ran into the office and looked around, seemed cleaned out as well. The last place he looked was the desk drawer, and inside that drawer was a blow horn and some porn magazines, as well as some mace. Johnny pocketed the mase and went to leave, though sounds from outside paused him. Was the horde already here? He then quickly checked his revolver, only 5 bullets left. The horse carried his bow and eleven arrows. He heard the sounds again, this time closer. He ducked low and made his way behind some cover.

This plan had to work and it was already going to shit.

He didn't have time to stay there, so he moved and exited the station. Staying low he looked around the building and back to his horse. Nothing but the wind. Good. He ran to one of the cars, an old faded blue ford Taurus. The window was already down so he unlocked it and pressed on the vehicle's horn. It let out a loud, normal beep. It wasn't loud enough, he needed all of these vehicles to start honking plus his blow horn. Grabbing some bricks and sticks, he set them near to him on the ground. In the trunk he found some tie down straps, though there were not enough. Pressing the brick to the horn, he tied it as tight as he could while using the stick to hold it in place. The horn rang out loudly, continuous and lasting. Being pleased with the outcome, he knew he would have to wait a bit longer until he set them all off together. That would take timing...and more things to use as rope. He pulled the brick off and stopped the noise for the moment, looking around. Some vehicles had to be moved.

---

Punishments varied within the walls of Toxo. It didn't stem from laziness on Ryder's part, because Ryder was rarely lazy, but from that unpredictability he was known for. He didn't want to be seen as consistent in some of his actions, because he didn't want anybody around him to be too comfortable. When people got comfortable, they got lazy, or brave, which could be more dangerous than being lazy. He knew he wasn't the most liked guy on this ranch, but it was his ranch, and he would make sure everybody fucking knew it. He wasn't here for friends, after all. Yet, he had a soft spot for Lauren, something that was hard to admit to himself. He didn't get soft spots for anybody, but here he was. He hadn't missed the brief flash of shock on her face, even with the sun slightly in his eyes. He hummed when she mentioned the explosions, both eyebrows going up.

"Some explosions, huh? Hm." he said, an edge of amusement still in his voice. "I hadn't taken notice," he couldn't quite drop his playfulness with Lauren. Something about the woman always brought it out. "Listen," he continued, hearing the geniune apology, "why don't you come down here real quick, so we can talk easier?" Ryder didn't go to people when he had something to say to them; they came to him.

Well, Lauren thought, at least he seemed to be having a good time. Reciprocating the semi-lightheartedness of his tone, she called down to him. "Maybe we'll both get lucky and the ladder'll break." She joked, obeying his suggestion and making her way down the wooden ladder. A short climb ladder and she was down at his level. She had a hand on her bare waist when she came to a stop in front of her leader.

"No luck, the ladder held." She deadpanned, using her free hand to thumb at it over her shoulder. While she was expecting some kind of punishment, mildly playful was Lauren's default state in most situations, and rarely slips out of it. A genuine apology was rare, but she would give one to anyone who deserved one. Not one to remain somber for long Lauren quickly slipped back into her old self, reassured by Ryder's amusement. Of course like anyone she wasn't looking forward to her reprimanding in whatever form it took, but it was important for a strong leader to maintain order, lest people start getting fun ideas. That was something the people of the Whispering Pines Ranch never learned.

Lauren was one of the few people that could get Ryder to let out a geniune laugh on a daily basis. Her humor was something he fed off of, considering majority of the Toxo group was full of more serious faces. Not that he was complaining; he didn't want everybody to be downright miserable in here, yet he had to draw a line somewhere. Again, getting too comfortable and all that. Lauren was different, though, and it was probably noticeable. That worried him somewhat. He didn't want her to become a target because he let her comments and jokes slide, but it wasn't like he immediately jumped down anybody else's throat when they said a joke or two. Lauren may get away with a little more than others, though, that was for sure.

He watched her come down, eyes being drawn to her exposed skin for a few seconds. Though, once she was facing him, he was looking her in the face. "Damn," he sighed, shaking his head and shifting his weight. He swung his bat up onto his shoulder, it nearly clipping Lauren as he did so, causing her to flinch. "I must have loosened the bolts on the wrong fucking ladder. Guess we'll figure out which one it is when somebody breaks their neck," he looked off in the distance for a moment, pursing his lips some, before shrugging and focusing back on Lauren. Ryder always enjoyed putting on a little show when interacting with people; sometimes, that little show could be really scary.

"Look, you said sorry," Ryder said, all the humor gone from his voice, stepping closer to her. He was practically towering over her now."But, y'know, you say sorry now, what happens when you do it again? Are you going to say sorry?" he smiled down at her, though it didn't reach his eyes. He swung his bat out in an arch beside them, before letting it rest gently against Lauren's exposed side. Of course, none of rusty nails were piercing her skin, but the threat was there. "I get real tired of hearing the word sorry. So," he lifted the bat a little, letting it slide across her skin. He had leaned down while he was talking, his breath fanning across her face. "don't fuck up again. I don't want a reason to cut that sharp tongue out of your pretty little mouth, okay?"

Lauren listented silently. The bat was cold against her side, impossible to ignore. As Ryder went on, her heartrate began to rise, and she went shallow of breathe. Fear was a weakness, and Lauren knew this, but it didn't help. Still as a statue, she did nothing but cast her eyes downward as he leaned in. Her exaggerated but quiet breathing caused the bat to move with her rising and falling torso, a strange sensation that certainly didn't help. The woman wasn't afraid of much, but she was afraid of Ryder. Knowing the reasons behind the fear didn't help. Lauren had done the same thing to other people out in the wild, but of course Ryder was a master. His presence was overwhelming. This is why Ryder was in control, and someone like Lauren wasn't. Power plays like this were the reason he mantained control over the facility, and were necessary for the betterment of the group. Yet the rationality of the situation didn't dissuade the shivers down her spine as his threats hit home.

"I won't fuck up again, sir." She said, her voice unintentionally low.

Ryder had a power in Toxo that would make a lesser man feel heady and believe he was invinicble. Ryder was not a lesser man. He realized that he did have a power over the people of Toxo, but it was one he had to wield carefully and catiously. He was not naive enough to think he was the only one who could have the position of power he does. He knew there were others out there that could rule with a heavy and steady hand like he did. If he let the power get to his head, or thought himself to be unbeatable, then he would be taken down. That was where a lot of leaders fucked up. Ryder wouldn't fuck up like that. He was nothing special; he just knew how to attach strings to people and use those puppets wisely.

Lauren was fucking terrified. Ryder was close enough that he could see the quicken fall of her chest, the way her eyes were downcasted, how her body shivered. It didn't make him feel good, but it didn't make him feel bad, either. It was just what had to be done to assure this place kept running smoothly, and to assure he stayed at the top. Striking fear into others, yet having their loyalty, was power to Ryder. "Now, that shit is what I like to hear," Ryder never pushed his punishments further than they had to go. He wasn't some sick fuck who got off to that. So, he backed off, dropping the bat and stepping away. "Lauren, you were one of the guys who helped me take over this place," he said, reaching out and giving her shoulder a reassuring squeeze, "So, I fucking know you won't fuck up again. You're better than that shit."

She nodded, relieved the bat was away from her body. Looking back up at Ryder she nodded a little more rapidly more to reassure herself. At this point her back was as stiff as board, but the hand on her shoulder eased the tension a little bit. She trusted him more than anyone else here by a long shot. He let her off with a warning. Granted, it was an excellent warning, probably some of his best work. He read the situation, and knew he got his point across. Still, he managed to instill the image of her tongue out of her mouth despite the fact that she knew he wouldn't do something like that. At the same time, in that moment, she believed he really would. The monsters outside constantly threatened her life, and would certainly deliver on their threats if they had the chance. They didn't scare her. Ryder did. Funny, that.

"Well, at least the shit helps the crops grow, right? I can't even..." She trailed off, looking back down at the dirt, which made Ryder raise an eyebrow. Damn, Lauren, she thought, could you cut it out? She mentally chided herself for being so shaken up by him. Would he lose respect for her for being so affected? She couldn't know.

"Would you like me to go back up to the tower, sir?" She asked, looking back up at him with a serious face and standing at some sort of an attention- though Lauren was no army woman. She hadn't realized that for the moment, the world around them had vanished. Now she thought about if anyone else had seen the encounter. She hoped, if anyone did see, it made them realize Ryder was strong rather than herself being weak. She didn't dare look around, though. Not with Ryder still here.

Okay, perhaps Ryder felt slightly bad for scaring Lauren so much, but that was because it was Lauren. If it was just some random group member he only knew the name of, he wouldn't give a shit. He didn't like caring, because those feelings get in the way, but he couldn't treat her any differently. She wouldn't want that, either. So, he stomped down the little peep of guilt, because this had to be done. If he went easy on the few people he liked, they would be targets of jealous people, and they would be his weaknesses. He refused to let anybody find out his weakness were two women within these walls. He eyed her as she collected herself. He had affected others like this, so it was nothing new. It was the people who weren't affected that made him weary. They were ones that he kept a close eye on, though he kept an eye on all the members. Nobody could be completely trusted in this world, after all.

He didn't say anything to her question, at first. Instead, he tilted his head, eyes taking in her stance. His dark eyes lingered on her exposed skin briefly before they darted back to her face. He tried to not openly oogle at any of the women and men here - he didn't want anybody to try to use that against him, because it would only piss him off - but Lauren was very easy on the eyes. "Finish out your shift, then come to the meeting. I want you there." he replied, beginning to trun on his heel to leave. But, he snapped his fingers, saying, "Oh!" and turning back to Lauren. "Before I go, at fucking ease, soldier." he grinned at her, "It isn't that serious, darling." he playfully winked at her before turning to leave, walking with a confidence that only a powerful leader could get away with.

Lauren broke out into a small laugh at that point. Smug bastard, she thought, jokingly. "Fuck," she said in admiration to herself, watching him walk away. She grabbed the radio in her hand, burned the image of it into her mind, and began her climb back up the ladder to finish off her shift, and eventually rejoin Ryder and the others for his meeting.

---

---

Sonya still remembered her first kill. How could she not? She hadn't been built for this, none of them were. Five years ago, give or take since Sonya's perception of time was getting a bit blurry, just as the outbreak had initially began, she hadn't been like this. Strong, harsh or cold. Back then Sonya's self would've probably described her current self as "hella edgy", which kind of made Blue cringe. She had become a different person, inside and out.
She hadn't known it wasn't infected. The woman had just thrown herself at the young Sonya, begging something incoherent. Sonya had panicked, and next thing there was blood everywhere. Sonya's vision had blurred with red, she didn't know what was happening. She had shot the woman, not even between her eyes, but right through her right one. Breathing heavy, Sonya had watched as the woman's eyes stopped looking lively and her body went limp, falling backwards on the ground. She hadn't known. She hadn't known. She hadn't. It couldn't have been her fault, she had just been defending herself. Right..?

Shaking the odd memory, Sonya jogged along the runaway. There was a gas station up ahead, something to look forward to. She had better get out of sight soon anyway, since the longer she hanged out in the open, the risk of her getting caught increased exponentially. Slightly out of breath, Sonya was just a couple feet from reaching the station, as a horn honked. It wasn't too loud, but caught Blue so off guard she darted around the corner. Shit. Fuck, who was making noise here? Did that someone want to get them killed? Taking her gun out of her pocket, Sonya rounded the corner stealthily while looking for the source of the noise. Cars, it had to be one of the cars. Wait... was that a fucking horse over there? What the hell?
"Hey, what the fuck do you think you're doing", Sonya growled as she spotted a man over to her left. Body tense, Sonya pointed him with her gun, not hesitating to off him with her gun if need be.

Grace looked about frantically as the rider kept a strong pace to get back to HQ when she saw what the squeal over the radio was about...

My god....

She cursed as she saw the horde, it was more then she'd ever seen before. It wasn't numbers anymore, it was a sheet of pure destruction. A tide of flesh, teeth, and death. The audible click click click, of the undead teeth gnashing chilled Grace to the very core. She tapped the rider on the shoulder. He glared behind her as she tried to tell him to slow down.

"Are you crazy?"

Grace looked again at the horde. "We need to slow that down, they'll steamroll everything!" She had no idea how she'd begin to go about slowing down something that size.

She had to try...

The man shook his head, "We need to get to HQ, now!" Grace sighed as she drew her pistol.

"Take Anne and go!" The man looked like he was about to argue once again, but he saw the pistol and decided better. Grace was on the ground without another word, running towards the horde. Her heart screaming in her ears as adrenaline forced her up on the first wall. The closer she got, the more she realized that this was a truly stupid idea. Shaking her head, Grace pushed those thoughts back. Her job was to protect the innocent, this horde would kill anything that got in it's way. She couldn't stop the horde, she didn't have enough bullets, bombs, or a plan to divert the wave of death.

Wait, she didn't have to stop the horde, just break it up. Right?

Grace shook her head, forcing her rising fear back down once again. She forced her rational brain to put together the plan, she had to force the zombies to become disoriented, she knew noise and light had some effect on them. The sickening click click click grew louder, the ground itself began to shake. Grace looked about for a decent place to set this plan into motion. The closest building had a fire escape, Grace was climbing up the rusted metal ladder as quickly as possible, her pulse screaming to run, to hide, this is not something she could win.

As Grace got to the final elevated section of fire escape, a fat sluggish zombie lurched towards her; one arm cut off at the elbow. Grace drew her collapsing baton in a single fluid motion. The steel weapon cracked against the mans skull, the resulting bone crushing with the sound of dried wood under her attack. He crumpled against the railing, before taking the section of rusted guard rail off as he plummeted to the concrete below.

Grace looked at the masses below, her plan feeling much less intelligent by the minute. She grimaced as she dropped her backpack and pulled several large brightly colored tubes from her pack. Wedging them the best she could into the closest windowed flowerpot, with enough of an angle to hopefully sail over the horde Grace said a prayer to any deity left that would listen. Drawing out her fiance's lighter, Grace grinned to herself, "let's save them one last time..." She lit the first firework, and felt something inside her give way.

The firework fizzled for a moment before the spark went dead. Grace looked at the tube, hope extinguished. She was about to try a relight when the fireworks began to scream to life, sending bright multicolored explosions above her alongside the crackling screech of the more noisy sparks. Grace looked at the teeming hordes below, hopeful she was right.

The sickening masses below her slowed down, looking up at the display. The horde of chalky eyes looked up at Grace, who glared down at the legion of undead as she prepared the second part of her last hurrah. Four long metal tubes, filled with black powder and marble sized ball bearings and strips of cloth to elevate her throws farther were all she had to stop a giant mass of undead.

Picking up the first explosive, Grace felt the weight of the bomb almost make her wonder if she could propel it far enough. The explosives were designed to either punch through skulls, or break legs and mangle feet. If she could get these into the masses, it'll thin them out, and maybe give others a fighting chance. Closing her eyes as Grace picked up the first bomb, she lit the fuse with no more ceremony. She swung the pipe by it's cloth harness for the count of five before releasing it into the air.

The pipe bomb swung lazily to the middle of the street as the hissing fuse reached the end of the line. There was a massive explosion, followed by dozens of little pops of dust as the explosive fired the bearings through buildings, windows, and zombies. There was a sickening sound as the bearings struck the legion, as a rather large cluster of zombies fell over. Grace didn't wait to see the results of her first bomb as she readied the second.

Bang!

This explosion was timed a little longer, the bomb fell into the horde before detonating. Radiating waves of undead toppled over, legs and feet nothing more than a mangled mess of meat and pulp. Grace noted less fell this time, the bearings much more effective if it detonates above the skulls. The third bomb did so, this time farther away. Another sickening wave of meat and teeth fell to the ground. Grace silently cheered as she weighed the last bomb in her hand. The horde was still stunned by the last few flickering sparks, but the outliers were already starting to move.

Grace noted that where there were piles of debris and newly re-deaded zombies. Their still moving counterparts were having difficulties moving through the mess of meat and broken limbs. Some zombies began to move in opposite directions to bypass the mess of broken bodies. Some zombies toppled to the ground, unable to keep a proper sense of balance thanks to the slick visera that coated the ground.

"Last one, let's make this count." Grace muttered as she held the bomb for a moment. Part of her realized, that she could just hang onto it. She did enough, she's thinned the horde. Even if she was the hero, she'd still be alone. She survived, he didn't, they didn't, and it...it wasn't fair.

NO! She had to keep fighting!

Grace yelled as she threw the last pipe bomb above the chattering horde. She had to keep going! She promised! The explosion jarred her back to the battle, as the bearings tore through the center of the undead.

Grace never felt the bearing strike her, yet the warm sensation as the blood ran down her leg made her realize something wrong happened. She looked down to see a sick rapidly expanding red splotch on her shirt. The pockmarks in the stone around her letting her know the bearings had peppered the building, and her as well. She looked stunned down at the rapidly expanding bloodstain.

"Fuck..." She muttered before collapsing on the platform. Grace stared up at the sky as she tried to will her legs back to life, they were numb. The shock setting in, her bodies way of at least protecting her from pain. That was nice, she at least could stare at the sun while she waited for the end. Grace looked at her hand, it was thick with her blood. She wasn't sure why, maybe to let someone know what had happened here, or maybe make sure someone knew where she fell. The hope her supplies were at least going to aid someone else was a pleasant feeling as Grace pulled herself up. Her legs didn't want to work right, like they were made of rubber. She slapped her hand against the pale white stone of the apartment building. A wet sound as her blood streaked the wall, she wanted to make damn sure someone knew the Saint went out fighting. She made one blood stained wing, before she fell to her knee. She groaned as she placed a hand in the blood soaked duster, she began to paint the other wing as her arm went numb. She looked at the offending limb, before falling to the grating once again.

She smiled peacefully as the warmth granted by the shock radiated to the rest of her body. Grace stared at the blood-stained wings emblazoned on the wall as darkness swept over her. Grace's final thoughts as she welcomed it, were of peace.

She'd hopefully thinned the horde out, or at least forced the zombies to be broken up into more manageable packs for the others. She smiled grimly as she saw a man waiting for her, the same stupid smile he had when the first met. He gestured to her to come along, she finally found him.

Her fight was over, finally....

---

---

Diana sat in the saddle keeping a watchful eye out as Redhawk drank from a stream before crossing and allowed herself to admire the beautiful mountain scenery around her. The birds sang in the trees a good sign that there were no infected nearby as butterflies with powder yellow green wings sprinkled with tiny brown spots. The looked like Cloudless Sulphurs, Phoebis sennae Linnaeus a fact that struck her as odd considering their range was normally found in the south east but with the altered climate among other things who could say?

She had gone up into the mountains after the farm she’d made refuge was raided while she and Redhawk had been out gathering things to make poultices. She had lost a lot in the raid but the past five years had taught her to never leave home unless she was prepared for a long trip and never leave her medical equipment or those things she might need if she were forced to run.

She had lost her box of blank leather bound journals which she’d scavenged from the remains of a bookstore leaving her the four filled journals and two blanks; to her a tragedy. (Some dam bandit is using my paper a but wipe or fire starter) she thought as she nudged Redhawk forward to continue to follow the game trail she was on.

---

---

”Alright everyone settle down we don’t have long DHS has drafted all of us under the National Security provisions and your complaints are useless.” Said Doctor Besner in his deep and rich voice

”What do these tyrants think they can just come in here and start giving orders and drag us away; don’t they know that we’re working on a solution to the Pandemic with UC?” demanded Doctor Kestler

The two black clad DHS officers acted as if they wanted to interject but held back allow the County Coroner to try and restore order which Doctor Besner did with one of his shut your mouth looks.

Diana as usual sat in the back of the 5 other doctors who worked here relaxed and waiting till she might be called on not enjoying any unnecessary attention. As the youngest Doctor there and barely out of school she knew she’d be seen as little more than a junior who should have remained quiet which she did better than anyone.

Doctor Besner told the group how UC was now a hell hole of infected and how all their work now meant nothing without the labs there to do the experiments suggested by their research. He explained why they’d been hearing gunfire all day and how the troops sent to guard the Hospital and Coroner’s offices and labs were now needed to help with the evacuation. He told them that incidents of infected patients attacking their Doctors had depleted the supply of trained medical staff and that they were now more concerned with the living so they were now going to be split into pairs with the coroner’s assistants and techs pressed as nurses.

---

---

It had been a rough 2 years since Diana had enjoyed her old quiet and gently paced life and from what she’d been able to find out she was the last of her old life all her friends and colleagues now gone; she’d watch Kestler die along with the nurses about 6 months ago.

It was now all such a blur of faces gone but not forgotten and she was using her memory to look into that peaceful past when Sergent Wains stepped into the former 7/11 now turned triage medcenter.

”Doc the Captain says we’re bugging out in two hours any can’t move on their own and awake offer them a hotshot and those that ain’t do yourself; no need they suffer when the stampede gets here.
If you want I can get one of the Greenies to help or do it for you.” offered the formally fat and formerly retired Chief Petty officer.

---

---

Diana used to think of Sacramento as a pretty town but now she would forever remember as where she’d lost Sergent Wains, Todd Three fingers, Maggie Simpson and Christophe Papalos the last of the Irregulars.

She didn’t look back as she urged Redhawk a beautiful Gelding given to her as reward for saving the baby of a group of people traveling higher into the Cascades; why hadn’t Tom just allowed their group to join them? He had wanted to continue scavenging for supplies in the outskirts of Sacramento a bad decision because the towns were fief to infected and Warlords the later two legged beasts the death of her party and all she could do was bugout after watching two of her friends murdered.

She was the Last of the Irregulars, a lone wolf in a world of hunters out for her blood or worse; she’d seen the results for young women captured by bandits and planned on ending herself rather than face such a terrible death.

---

---

The game trail followed the backside of a ridge and before she moved over it like an Idiot Diana made sure her backtrail was clear then found a temporary hiding spot for Redhawk then squat walked up to the top of the ridge finishing her last 15 feet on her belly.

She never knew what she might see when she peeked over ridges but she knew it was better to do it on your belly than walk or ride over it and silhouette herself to any dangers the other side. What she saw filled her with excitement and worry in one neat and itchy ball of yarn; a windmill.

It was a dam Windmill she was sure of it even though she only caught a glimpse of the blade tips as they lifted higher the the top of a smaller ridge about a mile away where judging by the fact it was moving meat it was attended by people that had the skills and knowhow to keep it turning.

Ducking back over her side of the ridge Diana sat scratching her head as she tried to think of her next move.

She thought about it making an internal list

• Windmills took skill to keep operating meaning who ever owned it had enough supplies to feed people to do the work.
• Electricity, windmills meant electricity and that meant water pumps, lights, electric motors, and maybe even hot water; dam she could use a hot shower.
• People, wind turbines could put out as much as 2.5 to 3 Megawatts making for around 6 million Kilowatt hours a year supplying enough power for around 1,000 to 1;500 homes
• Electricity meant power of a different sort as well, political power, military power

It wasn’t that she minded military types just tyrannical ones so she sat and struggled with what her next move was.

---

---

Lauren's shift was coming to end and nothing had happened since the explosion incident. The sun was climbing higher into the sky, reaching it's vertex. The watchwoman had been on high alert for about an hour now, but nothing had caught her eye. Hopefully that didn't mean she was doing a good job, and not a bad one. It was impossible to tell. She was looking through her binoculars when she heard heavy foot steps up the ladder. Who was next? Lauren couldn't remember. A skinny bald guy's shiny dome surfaced at the top of the ladder, and he climbed inside with a grunt. He looked at her blankly.

Lauren squinted, as if his bald head was reflecting and hurting her eyes. "Geez, can't see anything. Guess my watch is done."

He blinked apathetically and leaned to the side of the watch tower so she could move past.

"Okay, well, don't think too hard." Lauren said, and went to go climb down the ladder, handing him the radio she hadn't yet used. Just then, there was a distant crackling, and Lauren froze. She peaked her head back over the top of the ladder, eyes wide, craning her neck. The guy went lazily to the radio, but Lauren scrambled back into the tower.

"Hey, look, it's basically still my watch. You just wanna-" Mid sentence, she grabbed the radio from his loose grip, and held it infront of her mouth, squinting into the distance.

"We got somethin'...sounds like," she paused, now putting the binoculars to her eyes. Distant flashing lights. "Sounds and looks like fireworks. Literal fireworks, to the north, north east. Someone's having a party without us. Right at the end of my shift."

Satisfied, she put the radio into the man's hand. "Shh, don't say anything." She faux-romatically put a finger to his lips. He barely reacted. What a bore, but apparently she could get away with anything with this guy. She'd have to keep that in mind. Lauren confidentally made her way down the ladder. Her stomach rumbled, and she put a hand to her bare midriff, pausing halfway down the ladder Unfortunately, there were no tears of her enemies to feast on nearby, so she'd have to go to the mess hall for lunch. After all, she'd skipped breakfast.

Meanwhile, Ryder had gotten a whiff from the "mess hall" and couldn't resist heading that way. The mess hall was just one of the sheds that had turned into a common place for everybody to eat together. Naturally, Ryder had been okay when that showed up. Having places they could meet up, spend time with each other, and become friends would only make their team stronger. Ryder would like all the members to get along, but this was far from a perfect world. So, he settled for most of them getting along, and others tolerating each other. He found that, sometimes, forcing them to go on scouting missions or raids together could possibly create a better relationship, but that didn't always work. He found that out the hard way, unfortunately. Nonetheless, for the most part, he rarely had any troubles out of the group members.

But, again, this was not a perfect world. On his way to the mess hall, he checked in with the small group that went to check out the explosions. It didn't take them long to get back. After all, making Ryder wait was not a good idea. The man had already waited long enough, and he made it clear that it had been nearly an hour since they set out. Plenty of time to get there, check it out, and report in. Did Ryder also have to teach people how to use walkies in the meeting later? Robbie, a trusted and skilled scouter, reported in heavy breaths that the biters were thick in the area. Ryder had known that would be an issue. Robbie reported that somebody had attempted to wreck a neighborhood, but they couldn't find anybody human within the immediate area. Ryder told them to fan out a little, keep searching. If they were on foot, they couldn't had gotten too far.

The mess hall had a decent amount of acitivity, considering it was lunch, though most members were doing their jobs by this time of the day. Not that Ryder wouldn't had been annoyed if they took a damn lunch break. People have to eat. Ryder's eyes scanned the room, seeing who was here, when he saw a very familiar face. Natalia. The young woman was sitting next to Aaron, who didn't look like he was talking much. Ryder began to walk over, whistling casually, his bat resting on his shoulder. He began to walk by Natalia's table, pretending he ddn't see her, before he cut off his whistling with a dramatic, and fake, gasp. He took a few steps back, looking at Natalia with widened eyes.

"Natalia!" he said, smiling as he blew out a breath, slumping his shoulders and pointing his bat at her, "Funny seeing you here!" he slid into the seat across from her, laying the bat on the table in front of him. "How have you been, sweetheart? It's been so long!"

Receiving less than a response from Aaron, Natalia furrowed her brows, shoulders slinking to a shrug. "Fine..Suit yourself man. The woman sang out, attention shifting back towards the food she had been savoring. As soon as she leaned forward to nip a piece of pancake from her fork, a loud gasp sent the utensil clanking across the table. Agape eyes of varying blues and green would dart to the figure that had planted itself across from her, her stiff posture slumping to that of a more relaxed one upon realizing it was Ryder. "Ugh! Ryder.. You scared the hell out of me." Natalia groaned out, a playful smirk playing at her features while she reached across the table to retrieve her fork. "It has been quite a while... Oh how my heart has bled for your presence once more." A youthful giggle would bubble up, slipping past the woman's lips before she continued. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Ryder chuckled at Natalia's reaction. He hadn't thought he would scare the woman with his stupid entrance, though Natalia did seem out of it, now that he thought about it. "Seriously, Nat? I've taught you better than to be scared of something like that." he shook his head in mock disappointment, reaching over and stealing part of her biscuit. He rose an eyebrow at her as he chewed, using her napkin to wipe his fingers off. "You are quite the poet," he deadpanned, hitting his amusement caused by how dramatic she was behaving. He managed to snatch another piece of her biscuit. "Obviously, I came to steal your food," he replied, after he had swallowed, grinning at her.

Natalia would watch as Ryder stole piece after piece of her food, arms crossing over her chest childishly. "Well, first of all I was completely emerged in my food, that you're now happily scarfing down. How is it?" Her bottom lip would poke out in a pout as she mustered up the best puppy-eyed expression she could. "They're pretty damn good pancakes, so I suppose it wouldn't kill me to let you eat somebefore I eat them all." Natalia would sigh dramatically, using her fork to push the food around on her plate, just as she was about to open her mouth to crack another sarcastic remark, the walkie both her and Ryder carried came to life. A familiar voice rang out, informing those who listened of the sudden commotion that had been seen off in town. Natalia swallowed roughly, recalling the events that had unfolded earlier in the day. She wondered if it was Sonya again, or worse yet a result of the horde the two had caused to form. "Fireworks? Who the hell would be shooting off fireworks? You think it's a diversion, or maybe to lure people in even?" The brunette's face scrunched up in thought, pointer finger tapping absentmindedly at her lips.

Ryder stared at Natalia pouting, before popping another piece of food into his mouth while maintaining eye contact. He shook his head at her. "You know that pouting bullshit doesn't work on me," he said, and while the words sounded harsh, his tone of voice wasn't. "Oh?" he looked at her, both his eyebrows going up. "You're letting me eat some of your food?" he was ready to challenge her some more, but their walkies came to life. A few other walkies within the room came to life as well, Lauren's voice overlapping, though still understandable. "Damn." the leader mumbled after the walkie cut off. What the fuck was going on today? He thought Natalia's words over. "Speaking of which," he said, grabbing the walkie off his belt, "there were explosions spotted earlier. Which I'm sure you heard me report on." he paused when bringing the walkie to his mouth, and stared at Natalia.

"Obviously, some fucked up shit is going on out there. I think I know just the right person to figure out what the hell is happening, too." he pretended like he was going to talk into the walkie, then snorted. "Wait, she's right across from me." he said, lowering the walkie, and looking Natalia in the eye. "Take three to four people out there, check it out. Explosions and fireworks in one day? Soembody is busy out there."

A curious Natalia would listen to and examine Ryder's movement's, grin faltering to an expression soaked in dismay. "Bu-....Fine.. Alright, alright. I will find some assholes to take out with me, people that are muchslower than me so I don't have to worry about being eaten by zombies."Natalia swung her leg out from under the table to stand, lifting her arms up in a stretch before brushing her shirt back down into place. "If I die, I will make sure to come back as one of those infected just so I can come here and be a pain in your ass one last time." A wink would be thrown in Ryder's direction, hands patting each holster to assure her weapons were secured in place. The sound of the cafeteria doors shifting open would draw Nat's attention away from the present conversation, Lauren's familiar figure stepping into the room. The once lighthearted expression Natalia held would very rapidly diminish, an exasperated huff confirming her annoyance. "Great..."

"Sure is, sweetheart." Lauren said, approaching and humorlessly winking at Natalia, whom Lauren had very little but contempt for. Ryder always liked Natalia...for some reason she couldn't fathom. She trusted Ryder's judgement in almost all things, but he could never comprehend why he respected the little backstabber so much. She tried not to pull down her tank-top to hide the two and half inch horizontal scar mid-way up her back that Lauren was always reminded of whenever she saw Natalia. She didn't want to give her any satisfaction she might garner from eliciting a reaction so easily.

She turned her gaze away from Natalia and towards Ryder. "Did you hear the news? It's mardi gras in town." A little hungry, she began to make her way over to the kitchen to get some food.

Ryder wasn't too thrilled with Natalia's reaction to him sending her out. That would result in a talk later. He wasn't going to let her get away with having an attitude about doing something necessary. He didn't make these choices lightly, especially when it came to sending Natalia out on such a dangerous mission. Though, the joking afterward lightened his mood some, until Natalia's supposed arch nemesis walked in. They could at least make an attempt to like each other, shit. He looked between the two, standing up, fingers wrapping around the handle of his bat. He was about to scold them both, but instead, he looked at Lauren. A wicked grin began to form on his face. "I sure did, darling," he said, and stuck his bat out, in front of her, to stop her from walking off. Lauren halted, and looked back at him.

"Not so quick," he said slowly, giving her a easy grin, and looking at Natalia. "I found one of your assholes. Find two or three more." he pressed the bat into Lauren's stomach a little, giving her the hint to step back to them, and she did, retreating a step away from the bat. "Look, I'm not your fucking parent, so I'm not giving you a lecture on behaving out there. You two are adults, fucking act like it." he looked between the two women, and his eyes locked on Natalia. "You have the lead," he told her, and looked at Lauren. "Grab a quick bite while Natalia finishes getting the other shit together, okay?" he dropped the bat, and smiled at both women. "Most of all, be the fuck careful out there."

Everything within Natalia screamed out with frustration, but instead of revealing the distress that hindered her she plastered her face with a bleak smile. "Yes sir..." were the only words she could assemble without sounding entirely sarcastic or bitchy. She respected Ryder and would behave accordingly, she knew the consequences to crossing the man. Ryder had a feeling that Natalia kind of wanted to slap him, which amused him to no end, honestly. Natalia's eyes would shift over towards Lauren, narrowing only for a moment as she went over Ryder's order in her head. "I guess we should get the other two assholes and head out.." Natalia's words were curt, she had no desire to sit and converse with the other woman.

As Ryder gave his orders, Lauren inhaled as she looked into his eyes, nostrils flaring and her own eyes widening, a oddly curious smile creeping over her lips. Okay, she thought. I'll play the game. "Aye aye," she said with a short two fingered salute to the man,which made him grin at her.

"Sure thing, Nat. I'm gonna go grab a bite to eat while you sniff around," Lauren said, bouncing back a little on her heels, turning her back to Natalia and heading with haste over the mess hall to finish her meal, Ryder's eyes briefly following her. Ryder, Lauren believed, had miscalculated. But she'd just have to see, because she trusted his judgement more than her own, apparently. A curious thought. Either way, she went to grab something high power to tide her over as Natalia headed off to recruit someone. After all, she was in charge, right?

The nickname sounded so wrong rolling off Lauren's tongue, Natalia resisted the urge to wield her blade right then and there, jaw clenching instead. A glare would be shot in Ryder's direction, obvious discontent radiating off the lithe colombian woman. Natalia was known to push limits, a short temper and firecracker for a mouth often landing her in hot water. She would speak no more, hoisting her backpack over her shoulder as she excused herself, just barely missing Ryder's shoulder as she passed to exit the mess hall.

Ryder was almost surprised by Natalia's behaviour. She had a tendency to step out of line, something Ryder always took care of, but this was really crossing the line. Ryder did not stand for nasty looks being shot his way, especially from his right-hand. They, of all people, should know better. He didn't hesitant to catch her upper arm in a tight grip, tugging hard enough to pull her close to him. Natalia halted, body forced backward to face Ryder. He was probably gripping hard enough to leave fingerprints, and that was his intent. Anger was swirling inside him, only the two warring women able to get him this worked up, but he had enough control to not let it show. He leaned down enough so his lips barely brushed against the shell of her ear. "You keep that fucking attitude up, you won't be able to walk out of those gates again," he whispered quietly into Natalia's ear, his voice void of any emotion. He tapped the end of his bat lightly against the back of one of her knees, his threat clear, "I don't give a shit if you're upset with my decision. Don't you dare behave that way again. I'm going easy on you now, but if this bullshit happens again?" he let out a soft chuckle. "Oh, sweetheart. You will be fucking hurting. Now, act like my goddamn right-hand should, go fucking do what you're supposed to, and act like a goddamn civil human being," he let go of her arm, stepping away, and looked down at her. He smiled, a quick flash of white teeth. "Come back in one piece, Nat," he told her, acting like he hadn't just threatened her, before turning on his heel. He walked off with his bat on his shoulder, whistling merrily.

---

---

She smelled him before she saw him and so had raised her Head Cracker holding it in a high stance her feet placed in a wide stance so she could pour every ounce of her weight and strength into the swing and the skinny tall infected male didn’t keep her waiting. Leaning back just before the swing and then pushing all of her body into the Bat she connected hearing a half second later the crack of bone breaking as she stepped aside the Infected falling to the ground near her feet. Recovering the bat as Wain’s had taught her she brought it down on the back of the skull of the now still attacker making an insurance deposit that he was now permanently dead.



Diana then remained where she was her ears and eyes sweeping the area for any signs he had friends as she worried if the sounds of her bat strikes might have alerted any of the Windmill people. The birds had stopped singing momentairly laying low till they could decide if the coast was clear as a light breeze stirred the leaves forcing her to rely on her sharp eyes.

After two minutes to clear the area of any chance of other infected Diana headed to Redhawk taking care to go on her belly at least four times so she could listen from a hiding place in the scrub. She had a good laugh inside her own head thinking how silly she would have looked to the pampered and careless old self. She was now what she’d always called a human animal but never really meaning it or understanding it, a clever animal; a breathing animal.

There was good reason most animals moved through the world in a state of paranoia, they didn’t want to be eaten and in the natural world everything was food to something else eventually.

When she found Redhawk he only acknowledged her with a small toss of his head because he too understood that sound was a sure way to let things know he was near. So she inched close to his legs and waited about 45 minutes before slowly standing and once completely erect she stood as still as a statue for another 15 minutes paying close attention to her horses ears and nostrils as she used her eyes to scan the terrain for movement.

Satisfied that she was alone; no more infected or breathing she lead Redhawk out of their temporary hiding place moving back the way she had come so she could keep as much of the ridge between herself and the windmill. As she and her only companion a horse walked a meandering course between the low scrub she thought more about her situation.

Alone verses the Unknown

• Alone she was an easy target for every manner of predator breathing or infected. Sure she could depend on Redhawk but even he could be slipped up on like they were about 7 days ago; she had been lucky when the three infected stepped on a mirror hidden beneath the leaves around her camp.
• Unknown she could be walking into a situation where the people there were ruled by a despot who would force her to be their doctor and allow his thugs turns with her a situation she couldn’t allow.
• Alone she was human and needed the company of her kind or she’d soon be carrying on conversations with Redhawk and expecting or fabricating answers to keep her company.
• Unknown she could have everything including her horse taken and be herself sold to some Trader who dealt in slaves; she had met two women with hollow eyes who had managed to escape such a situation about a month ago. She had to kill them when they tried to kill her and take her things. What a waste.
• Alone all her knowledge both before and after the outbreak would die with her and it seemed a crime to allow that to happen. She had no aspirations that she was the keeper of knowledge but she did know that letting the knowledge of medicine slip even further back than it already had against her oath to aid those that needed her and out here by herself she was in violation of that same oath.
• Unknown…..To hell with the unknown she thought as she wheeled Redhawk toward the Windmill

---

---

Teeth were bared in response to the constrictive grip that had been placed around Natalia's arm, her wide eyes glued to the man as he scolded her. Her mouth could form no words, a sheepish nod the only thing she could offer as she scurried off out of the cafeteria, her hand massaging the tender and now slightly rosy patch of skin on her arm. Natalia wandered the compound, grabbing the nearest set of men she could find. She explained the orders she had been given, instructing the men to gather the keys, a duffle of supplies, their weapons, and a walkie. The men would oblige, heading off to their tasks while Nat veered off to assure the vehicle had enough gas to make it into town and back. Upon arriving to the vehicle parking, Natalia would examine each of the automobiles before her. They would need something larger than a car, the truck was something she preferred and it allowed more space to haul their supplies as well as anything else they could come across. Lowering her backpack so that it rested on her hip, Natalia rummaged through her belongings, fishing out a small flashlight, backpack returning to its original postion. Her hands gripped the fuel cap on the truck, twisting it and briskly removing it in order to shine the flashlight's bright glare inside. "Cool.." The light revealed the tank was about half full, enough for the trip if they drove quickly and sparingly. They would have to avoid any disruptions in travel. Natalia unhooked the walkie from her pants, raising it to her mouth while her finger jammed against the button that allowed her to speak. "Alright, the truck is ready to go.. Get your asses over here and let's get out. We don't have all day." With that she tossed her backpack into the trucks bed, heaving herself over the edge as the two men she had instructed to gather their things, came into view. They each carried a bag and a weapon, tossing the bags with Nat before situating themselves in the trucks front seats.

Meanwhile, Lauren had finished her small meal and went off to a nearby armor that carried her favorite weapons. She had her bolt action rifle for range and power, a handgun for more close-quarters rapid fire shooting, a machete for stealth and worse case scenarios, and her personal favorite, her collection of home-made spears. Long shafts of lumber with sharp blades fastened to the ends. These bad boys allowed range and precision for silently dealing with the zeds. One good stab to the face and the zombies have a new face cavity.

Natalia's voice crackled through the radio Lauren had picked up, telling her ass to get over there. Lauren laughed, eager to see what was in store. Either way, she picked up four spears- leaving only one in storage- and held them between her arms in a well-practiced way. They were tied together with a simple rope until they were needed. She made her way over to what she saw was a truck. Four spears over her shoulder, a rifle strapped to her back, and a pistol and machete at her hip, Lauren looked like a walking arsenal.

"All right!" She called out, grinning and trying to catch Natalia's eyes. Lauren also noticed she had the two of them sitting in the back. "The party truck is here." She tossed the spears into the bed of the truck, the wood rattling against each other. She climbed in cheerily and sat down, rocking the truck with her arrival; An eerily genuine smile on her face.

"Got us a seat together, Nat?" Lauren asked, rubbing her palms together. "That's so sweet."

Natalia gave the other woman a side-glance, exhaling her words as if they took immense effort in formulating, "Mmm.. Yeah, thought we could use the time into town to really get to know one another." Her tone was sarcastic, body shifting to fully face Lauren. "How's the scar?" Her hand would lazily motion towards Lauren, a devious grin twisting at Nat's lips.

Lauren's smile twitched, a spike of anger running up her spine. She slapped the roof of the truck, not taking her eyes off Natalia. "Get us goin', boys. Go north east, down Pearle Avenue, that area is where the fireworks went off. Stop us a few blocks short." Lauren leaned toward Nat as the truck rumbled to a start.

"I'm proud of you, Natty. You went right for the jugular this time- learn from your mistakes?" She ran her tongue over her lips, with a curious expression. "I mean-" She laughed as she spoke."Those are brave words considering I'm looking right 'atcha."

"Oh, so attacking one, singular person, as a group is now considered brave? Hm..." Natalia's face would contort in mock-thought, head nodding slowly. "Lauren, I could have let you die. You were foaming at the mouth I heard, they were so ready to off you themselves." Again her hand would raise, a shooing motion trailing her words. "You got what you deserved.. You left me nearly dead out here, with nothing .. I should have left you to die from that poison. But I didn't, who know's what that says about me as a person. All I know is you couldn't have cared less if I survived the shit your little group put me through.

Lauren cocked her to one side, still maintaining eye contact. "Natty...I feel like you're taking this ancient history too personally. I was just following orders. It wasn't 'my little group.'" She raised her arms, signifying a larger whole.

"It was Toxo. Ryder's group. The group Ryder let you live in, now. You think we still don't go around mugging people? You think that's changed? I'd hate to hear it if you were having doubts about our methods, Natty." Her eyes flashed with malice, but the smile survived.

Natalia's body slumped to a more relaxed posture, arm dangling over the edge of the trucks bed. Her head would turn to examine their surroundings, the truck swaying with each movement. "I know exactly what we do, but I also know while Ryder doesn't frown upon doing what we need in order to survive, he doesn't encourage beating strangers nearly to death... Honeslty I really do wonder what he'd think of everything that occurred, the real reason why I stabbed you Lauren. He just thinks I'm some crazy bitch who decided to get payback huh?" The woman eyed Lauren, her hand fidgeting with the holster that held her blade. "But like you said, that's ancient history. Shouldn't dwell on the past." It was clear the incident was a great irritation to Natalia, not in the sense that it angered her, a deeper emotion lurking beneath the surface.

Lauren laughed. For the first time she looked away from Natalia, catching the eye of the passenger up front who had turned around upon hearing a loud noise.

"I'm sorry...it's just- You're right. He doesn't encourage beating nearly to death. That's just my personal flare. He'd probably have wanted me to, uh, be more conclusive, I guess. Hind sight, 20/20, yadda yadda." Lauren paused. But hey. I'm glad you're here." Lauren wondered about what perceptions Natalia had about Ryder. What she did, and did not know.

"You're one of us now. You have been, for a little bit. Ryder likes you a lot, y'know? You're in a good place." She reached out and put a hand on Natalia's knee, giving it a friendly shake. She then leaned back, folding her hands over her torso, raising her eyebrows.

"Good talk?"

Lauren's sudden shift in tone was perplexing, drawing Natalia's attention in as she spoke in a much kinder manner. It was such a foreign thing and the following physical contact garnered a drab smile. Natalia knew she couldn't succumb to the kindness, exposing weak spots left her vulnerable. But for the moment she relished in the serene, transient connection the two had shared. "He trusts me, that's all. I'm his right-hand man, whether he likes me or not doesn't really matter. As long as I am loyal, I am trusted." Natalia shrugged, glancing towards the two men up front before continuing. "I like Ryder though, he's someone I've always looked up to.. He saved my life in this hell-hole of a world."

Lauren nodded wisely, an overly contemplating expression on her face. "Really, you should thank me- if we hadn't had our fun encounter you'd never have met Ryder. How's that for a silver lining?" Lauren made a shrug gesture with only her hands.

"-And, since you asked, it's doing fine. Doesn't hurt anymore." She fell into a silence, no longer showing teeth in her smile, but still having a content look on her face, as if she was right where she wanted to be.

Natalia narrowed her eyes slightly, a dubious gleam relfecting the doubts she held for Lauren's kind behavior. Before she could comment further, a mass of sound would rip her attention towards the road, the truck slowing in speed. Ahead of them stood the town, the sound of snarls resonating between buildings. The path the truck was on became blocked, the undead swarming a building ahead of them. "Shit... A fucking horde.." Natalia smacked the roof of the truck, alerting the two men up front to come to a stop. They were far enough away that the horde could not sense them, but the danger was still prominent.

"God damn," Lauren said, leaning forward a little bit, getting a good look at the ugly bastards. She turned and looked at Natalia. "Well?"

"Someone was obviously here, those fireworks, and look.. Natalia paused, pointing towards the mangled bodies scattered among the live infected that paid them no mind. "Looks like a bomb of some sort ripped their bodies apart? Someone was trying to slow them down, cut the numbers." The woman unholstered her pistol, checking to assure it was loaded before heaving herself out of the trucks bed. "You two are going to have to distract this horde, honk the horn as many times as it takes and then reverse. Lead them away from the town a ways, not towards home but that way." Natalia pointed down a road that lead opposite of Toxo, the two men nodding once she had finished. "I will call you on the walkie once Lauren and I are done checking this out, get away from the horde and come pick us up then." she would exhale, glancing in Lauren's direction before motioning her to follow. They would have to step back and get around the buildings to allow the truck to draw the hordes attention, giving them the gap they needed in order to investigate.

"Christ, Nat, hope we find something worth it." Lauren said, surprised that Natalia would make an attempt at dealing with a horde. What was she hoping to find? Excitement buzzed through her, and she could almost guarantee she could escape if something went wrong, so she was all for it. Lauren grabbed a spear, planning to use it has her primary weapon until a bad situation arose. Holding the point high above her head in her right hand, she followed Natalia into the breach. Before Nat could get too far, Lauren called out to her. "Grab a spear, keep the zoms offa ya,".Natalia glanced toward the bundle of spears Lauren had brought, snatching one herself before leading the other woman towards a nearby building.

The possibility that Sonya had caused the chaos that had erupted in the town drove Natalia forward, slinking behind a building out of the hordes sight. The truck would rumble backward, the horn blaring on a continuous loop. The sound would immediately capture the hordes rabid attention, each infected clawing their way towards the sound as if it were necessary for their survival. Natalia watched closely, crouching down with a weapon in either hand. "Alright... Lets go. They're distracted but we have to be careful, quiet. There may still be stragglers hanging around." Her words were hushed, figure lifting from the crouch to creep forward. In one hand she aimed her pistol, the spear right behind it as a form of backup in case her gun jammed.

Lauren rolled her eyes with exaggerated motions as she went into a crouch and followed behind Natalia. "Quiet? Lame. I kill zombies exclusively via headbutts," She held the spear safely, having practiced using it for a few years at this point. If she was careful, it would not bump or clatter into anything until the woman wanted it too.

As the woman spoke behind her, Natalia heaved a sigh, head shaking while she continued forward. "Headbutts you say? Hmm.. Things are slowly beginning to make sense." she scoffed, holding a hand up after to signal Lauren to halt. Her finger would direct the other woman's attention towards a marking on the wall above them, however it was hard to make out what exactly the image was supposed to be. "What the hell is that? And what is it even drawn in?"

"It's a little messy, but it looks like the symbol of that crazy bitch. What's she call herself?" She snapped her fingers together a few times, trying to remember even though she already did. "The Pope? No, the Saint. Bit pretentious- but it's a pretty bad ass, to, uh, write it in your own blood."

Lauren noticed, then, a female figure laying nearby, on a fire escape. It was a bit hard to see her from where they were, but it looked like the zombies hadn't heard her yet, or at least couldn't get to her. Either way, she wasn't moving. Lauren saw some loot on her, though. It was pretty possible that was the Saint herself, dead somehow, and if she was setting of explosions than she might still have some on her. Either way, through the grate floor of the fire escape there was small, infrequent drops of blood.

"Well, Nat, we found our culprit. Might be the Saint herself. Bet she's got some good stuff on her." Lauren said suggestively.

Natalia's eyes would move to examine the figure Lauren had pointed out, her brow furrowing in thought. "Lauren, no.. We are not stealing from her until we assure she's dead." the words were hissed out, Nat's expression contorting to a scowl. Lauren shrugged. Fearing Lauren would loot the woman regardless, Natalia quickly moved to reach the ladder, discovering her height hindered her ability to climb up. "Help me up there, I'm too damn short." Natalia turned to face Lauren, arms crossing as she waited. "I will check to see if she has a pulse, if she does I am going to have to bandage her wounds with something.. I don't know how we will get her down."

"Why are you ever worrying about moving a corpse? Grab her stuff and let's get out of here, no time for a memorial service for all her grand deeds." Lauren approached, set her spear against the brick wall, and kneeled down with her arms cupped in front of her to help the other woman up.

Lauren's words recieved no reply, Natalia's attention and desire to nurture pushing her to investigate the body. Using Lauren as support, Natalia heaved herself upward, grabbing ahold of the raised ladder, finally able to pull herself up far enough for her feet to be placed on the ladders steps. Wasting no time, Natalia clammered up the steps, finally arriving to the small landing. The woman knelt beside the body laid there, eyes scanning over her form for the source of the blood. Before she would tend to that however, Natalia's fingers fumbled to press against the bodies neck, a feeble pulse signifying the body had some life left in it.

"So? What's she got?" Lauren called up quietly, seeing Natalia search.

"Life... She's not dead." Natalia shifted to get a better look at the woman sprawled out unconscious, blood soaking nearly the entirety of her clothing. "Okay.. We have to help her.." Trembling hands would get to work, moving the body this way and that to really see the extent of the damage.

Lauren made an exasperated noise. "What? Why?"

The sound of clothing tearing would ring out as Natalia ravaged her own shirt, creating strips to wrap around wounds, hoping it would stop the bleeding enough to get the woman back to their home. "We have to get her down, I can do more when we get in the truck, I have a small medkit in my backpack.. It should have something that can help."

Lauren was having trouble rationalizing Natalia's behavior. She watched as Natalia tore off pieces of her shirt. It wasn't even feasible, let alone necessary. "Is she hot or something? I mean- what's your deal? I can see her blood from here."

Natalia exhaled dramatically at Lauren's words, all while trying to formulate a plan to get the woman down from the landing. "She's alive Lauren, bleeding out. It rings a fuckin' bell...I'm not leaving her here." Natalia sat back, becoming overwhelmed with the entire situation. She swiped her bloodied hand over her forehead, removing the forming perspiration. "Just please Lauren, help me."

"How? You just wanna fucking toss her down here? Then we have to carry her sorry ass all the way back to the truck." Lauren glanced around to see if any zombies were nearby. None yet. Off in the distance she could still hear the horn. Hopefully those guys were safe, otherwise their little dynamic duo was dead fucking meat. All because Nat wants to be a hero?

A glare would be shot down at Lauren, her sarcasm pushing Natalia nearly to her limit. But, the woman regained her composure, sighing deeply before snatching the nearby backpack belonging to the woman she was currently trying to save. Natalia gripped the bag tightly as she rummaged through its contents, hand landing on a wound up rope. "Alright, she has a rope. I can create some kind of harness that we can use to hoist her down. Hurry up and get something to fucking stand on Lauren, now!" The words were curt, her voice stern and demanding.

"Shit..." Lauren murmered, going to find something.

Without waiting for a reply, Natalia got to work on knotting a harness, weaving the rope around and under the woman's arms. She did this a few times, numerous thick nots put in place to assure the harness wouldn't come undone. It took some time, but she was satisfied with the end product, lifting herself to her feet. "I am going to tie this rope to something up here, I'll hold under her arms and slide her off the edge, you grab her legs and we hope to god this doesn't give way..."

Lauren had returned with an old dumpster. Pushing it caused the ancient rusted wheels to complain and squeal high pitched noises. Lauren laughed, slightly hysterical. "Oh man, this is just fucking brilliant." The horn continued to blare, a constant reminder of the danger. Lauren climbed on top of the dumpster, maintaining balance. Luckily it was heavy enough not to immediately roll out from under her. She had a bit of a distance so she could grab the woman without falling over. She raised her arms high, looking up at the harness Natalia had concocted. Fucks sake, she thought. Lauren could die because of this, and she would die a comically useless death. All cause this clueless bitch was in charge! Fuck!

Natalia looped her hands beneath the woman's arms, dragging her body towards the edge of the platform. Before she would began hoisting, she tightly wrapped the end of the rope on a bar beside her. Giving it a good, firm tug, she began sliding the body forward and off the edge, making sure to keep a grip on her upper half so she didn't just plummet to the ground. "Okay, grab her legs! Natalia continued pushing, giving the rope more slack to allow the body to slowly lower, enough be in reach for Lauren. Confident Lauren would manage grabbing the woman's legs, Natalia briskly spoke into her walkie, demanding the men come back with the truck so they could leave. "Okay Lauren, you got her? I'm going to give it some more slack so you can lay her down on the dumpster. Tell me when she's down!"

The woman below reached out her arms, catching the unconscious body, grunting with the effort as she maintained her balanced on the dumpster. Lauren crouched and laid the woman down onto the dumpster and then jumped down. "She's down here, now." Lauren said. Just then, she heard the familiar noise of one of the infected turning the corner of the alley. Some homeless guy, all fucked up, he had heard the noise and was jogging unsteadily to their location, his grey eyes staring at nothing. Cursing under her breathe, Lauren quickly fetched the spear from the wall.

It reacted as she ran towards it, spear held in both hands. He bared his teeth and went to lunge when Lauren went low and stabbed upwards into it's jaw from a safe distance. It slackened and it's weight dragged the spear to the ground before Lauren yanked it free. "Bet that wasn't the last one. You're gonna need to cover my ass if you expect me to carry this dead fucking weight." Lauren said up to Natalia, not hiding the antagonism in her voice. She went to grab the woman off the dumpster, one of her hands sliding beneathe the curve of the unconsious woman's back to get a grip from underneath. Immediately, Lauren felt her hand become damp with blood. Great, she thought. She was gonna get bled all over.

The sudden sound of an infected lurking near caused Natalia to grab her weapon, watching from above as Lauren successfully brought its life to a halt, the body collapsing with a thud. Hearing that the wounded woman had been properly hoisted down and settled, Natalia would clamber down the ladder, hopping onto the dumpster before finding her place on the ground. "The guys are coming, they should be here any sec-" just as she mentioned the truck, it rumbled near, halting to allow the men to quickly exit and run towards both Natalia and Lauren. "No, we got her get back in the truck, we have to leave NOW!" Natalia got a tight grip on the unconscious woman, helping Lauren heave her towards the trucks bed. Lauren was forced to drop her spear, leaving it behind to carry the woman fully. A perfectly good spear, lost! They approached the bed of the truck. "On three push her over into the bed." A nod would be thrown in Lauren's direction, Natalia's voice strained. "One, two, three!"

The two of them managed to get the unconscious woman into the bed of the truck. "Who the fuck-?" The passenger turned to look at the two of them and their new cargo. Lauren clambered into the truck, leaving faint handprints of the Saint's blood. Her eyes widened as more zombies came from the direction of the alley, first attracted by the sound of the dumpster, and now by the sound of the car's wheels whirring on concrete. "Get the fuck in!" She shouted, the zombies already gaining on them.

Lauren pulled her handgun free, and fired two shots off, hitting a zombie in the head on the second shot. There were more coming now, far down street and three of them much, much closer. Lauren grabbed a spear from the bed of the truck in one hand, prepared to fend off the undead. She braced herself to prepare for movement, getting low and steady.

Natalia positioned herself on the edge of the trucks bed, snatching her backpack from the floor. With her focus on looking for the medkit she had mentioned earlier, she forgot entirely about the danger she had put herself in. "We're in, let's go!" The girl shouted towards the men in the front and in response the trucks tires squealed against the cement, taking off in a direction opposite of the forming swarm of infected. Natalia, hands occupied, was unprepared for the sudden jerk, losing her balance on the ledge. Herself and her backpack would be sent over the edge, a loud thud following. For a moment she would lay stunned, blinking away the fuzziness to realize what had happened.

Lauren scream-laughed."Oh-ha! Fuck! Stop the truck!" She yelled, and the truck began coming to a halt. Two infected lurched onto the side of the bed. Swearing again, Lauren fired into their foreheads as they climbed on. Two, three more came on different sides of the truck, and more were on the way. Fortunately, they were easy targets. Two dead in two shots, and the third grazed off it's bald skull. Lauren flipped her spear upside down and slammed downwards into it, causing the shambling monster to fall back. More were on the way, and Lauren had to reload.

"Shit.. Just go! Keep going! I will radio in, I'm fine! Get the woman back to Toxo!" Natalia got to her feet, motioning for the truck to continue on, the threat of the infected too dire. The agitated swarm scrambled closer, leaving Natalia no choice but to retrieve her backpack and whatever contents she could from the the ground, before scurrying off to find shelter. While allowing the truck to continue on may prove to fatal, Natalia knew if it stopped the risk of the wounded woman dying would be something she could never live down. They had taken all these risks to save her, she wouldn't allow her death to be caused by an error she made.

Lauren glanced up as Natalia scrambled to safety, away from the truck, a few ugly bastards trailing after her. The truck was already beginning to move, the driver nervous. "Go! Go!" She shouted, the truck screeching as the driver floored it, immediately pancaking a zombie. One latched onto the back of with it's two pale hands, the females fingernails were long or broken. It snarled up at Lauren, in response to which she stuck her spear into its face. It went limp, tumbling to a bloody halt as the truck left Natalia and a group of twelve zeds behind. Lauren quickly sat down in the truck as it swerved between scattered groups of undead, the assault unrelenting. It wasn't safe to stop. Lauren's heart was racing, adrenaline pumping.

Natalia took a moment while trying to escape the mess of infected, to look over her shoulder, watching as the truck screeched off in a hurry. She cursed under her breath, averting her attention forward to continue sprinting. Terrified was an understatement, the undead were increasing in numbers and now she had to somehow find sanctuary. The woman would continue on, weaving between buildings in attempt to lose any undead that had caught onto her presence. Spotting an exit that would allow her access out of the town, Natalia would maneuver her way towards the goal. Just as she began to think the worst was over, a highly aggravated infected, tall in stature, lunged out from an ally parallel to her. The beast was on all fours, foam frothing at its decaying mouth. Natalia had no time to run around the creature, her hand instinctively reaching for her gun, discovering it was missing from its holster. "Fuck... The fire escape.." Natalia's voice wavered, the mistake proving to be detrimental as it gave the infected enough leverage to shove Natalia to the ground.

Lauren radioed in back to base. Hopefully Natalia wasn't hiding in a closet, because she might be able to hear Lauren's voice right now. "Base, base, come in. This is Lauren. Natalia's separated from the group. Large horde, can't stop. We're in the truck. Shit! " Lauren ducked low as a zombie came over the hood in the truck and almost landed in the bed, scrambling to re-orient itself as it bounced off the side and tumbled back onto concrete.

"They are fucking everywhere!" She shouted into the radio, looking in shock as zombies continued to chase after the truck. Natalia, Lauren thought, was fucked. All cause of this Saint lady. Lauren glanced down at her features, eyes closed, skin a little pale, mouth open and probably sucking in air. Double whammy for Natalia if she dies before they got to base.

Beneath the infected, snapping and snarling, Natalia shrieked. Using her hands to keep the monster just out of reach of her face. With no way of reaching her knife, Natalia began sobbing in a frenzy of horror, sure that this would likely be what would kill her. Her arms about to give out, the infected inching closer to her skin, Natalia's hope was all but gone until the sudden blare of her radio a few feet away, caught the zombies attention. The rabid beast released a blood-curdling howl, scurrying towards Lauren's voice emanating from the radio. Natalia took the brief moment of security to retrieve her blade, charging towards the occupied infected. Her eyes sealed shut, stab after stab splattering her face with beads of scarlet. The infected squirmed for a while, a final blow to the head leaving it motionless, but even then the onslaught from Natalia would continue. Only when Lauren's voice rang out once more, Natalia would cease, grabbing the radio from the floor, her thumb embracing the button "Don't send anyone to look for me, I'll be fine.. I found somewhere to hunker down... " It was a lie, her voice quivering out of pure distress, but she wanted no other Toxo members to live the same fate.

"Nat," Lauren's voice crackled through her radio. "You fucking sure about that? We could let this bitch die and try to come after ya." Lauren said, but her uncertainty may have shown in her voice. There were a hell of a lot of zombies in the way, even if they did stop and turn around. Then Lauren might die, which was the worst possible outcome. "There's a lot of fucking zombies..." Lauren stated, watching one plunge from the top of a roof after them, splatting onto the concrete. The truck showed no sign's of showing down.

Hearing Lauren speak again, Natalia heaved a shaky sigh, tears welling in her eyes. Before she would respond, the girl would compose herself, lifting the radio "Uh... Yeah.. Yeah I am fine Lauren. It would be dumb coming back, keep going, make sure that girl gets tended to. Check her wounds... I'll see you guys soon.." Natalia quickly hooked the radio onto her pants before beginning the trek out of the hell-hole the town had become.

Lauren laughed to herself. Yeah, sweetheart. See you soon.

Grace could hear flowing water.

Looking around, Grace found herself on a bridge, a roaring waterfall to her left. The scent of salt, and ocean hung around her. She gingerly stepped upon the bridge, was the battle she fell at a nightmare? Her Fiance's death, the zombie outbreak, everything was just a fever dream? She gingerly reached to her belly, where the bearing ripped through her. She lifted her shirt apprehensively, preparing herself to feel shredded flesh instead of smooth skin.

The wound was gone?

Grace shook her head, no, this can't be right...

A voice she'd accepted would never be heard again could be heard on the bridge. "Hey Red." The deep southern drawl, the gentle way the name rolled off his tongue. She mouthed the name she'd been afraid just mentioning would finally break her.

"Grayson..." she asked softly, expecting to see a mangled zombie on the bridge waiting for her, instead of the man who taught her everything.

"Nah Red, just some old coyote lookin' for his girl." Grace felt her legs begin to give out again, flashes of the fire escape came back to her.

"Grayson, I...I thought you were dead. Zombies, and we got over-run, and you left me!" She sobbed as she tried to crawl to the bridge. Her legs still numb from shock, why did she know her legs failed due to shock?

The bomb, it was real... Is this her brains way of protecting her from the truth, just a happy illusion to let her drift away. Grayson's calm voice snapped her back to the current situation.

"I'm a choice darlin'," The voice, still soft, yet there was an underlying note of concern. Grace coughed as she felt something wet in her throat. She drew her hand away from her lips, dark red blood stained her hand. Grayson continued, his soft blue eyes full of concern. "Yer dyin' darlin, eventually the lights are gonna go out. I ain't blaming you if you are ready to let go, you fought hard, you saved so many lives. You earned a chance to let go." His voice hung just above her head, she looked up pleading for Grayson to help her up.

"I can't darlin'," he said sadly. "You haven't crossed over yet." Grace let her hand fall back to the dirt, she looked angrily at Grayson.

"What? I had to lose you, I lost our friends, I lost everything!" She felt tears welling up in her eyes, her voice shook as her rage took over. "I can't do this anymore, I want to let go." Grayson looked sadly at Grace, he sighed as he picked up the bloodstained duster. He knelt beside her as he looked into her eyes.

"Darlin, is that what you want?"

Grace bit her lip, she dropped her gaze to the earth. She wanted it to be over, she was done, but is it okay to let go? Her voice, was nothing more than a whisper as she raised her green eyes to Grayson. "I can't let go, can I?" Grayson smiled soft as he extended a hand to her.

"That's the girl I'm proud of, you have the tools to protect those who can't do it for themselves. The Saint's somethin' more, she's a message to everyone who gave up. The light in the dark." Grace smiled between sobs at her fiance.

"Your a real jerk, you know that right?" Grayson laughed as he draped his duster around her once again.

"I know darlin, I'll be waitin' fer you at the end of the road. Till then," he placed her head beside his neck, the familiar Shscent of cinnamon and coffee hung around her. She smiled as she heard the waterfall roar louder as the sound of rushing water became replaced with the growl of a truck. "I love you..."

Grace slipped from her fever dream, and back into darkness once more.

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