Dr. Creepen's Dungeon - S5 Ep271: Episode 271: Zombie Apocalypse Horror

Episode Date: September 1, 2025

Use the promo code SUPERBAD for 10% off your T-shirt! https://dr-creepens-vault.creator-spring.com/listing/the-devil-is-in-the-detail Tonight’s tale of apocalyptic terror is every chapter of ‘The Last Radio Call’, a wonderful series by Positive_Tennis_6626, kindly shared with me via my sub-reddit and narrated here for you all with the author’s express permission: https://www.reddit.com/user/Positive_Tennis_6626/

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Welcome to Dr. Creepin's Dungeon. The zombie apocalypse fascinates us because it strips life down to its raucest core, survival. Zombies are both terrifying and strangely familiar, mirroring our fears of disease, societal collapse and the loss of individuality. They embody the dread of becoming mindless, consumed and erased, while forcing us to imagine how we'd endure if the world as we know it crumbled overnight. In these ruined landscapes, human nature is laid bare, making the genre as much about the monsters within us as the ones outside, as we shall see in tonight's epic feature-length story.

Now as ever before we begin, a word of caution. Tonight's tale may contain strong language as well as descriptions of violence and horrific imagery. That sounds like your kind of thing. And let's begin. The Last Radio Corps, by Positive Tennis 662626. Chapter 1. Normal day. 55 to dispatch.

Show me 108 from that call. Put me on Highway 35, near mile market 157 for radar. I saired into my patrol cars radio. 1045, I've you cleared from the call and out at 35 for radar. The dispatcher replied in a always calm demeanor. I sat in the median running radar with a speed lock to 10 over the posted limit. The constant low warble of the radar unit was just background noise to me at this point I just opened up CAD, that's computer-aided dispatch, or as the general public like to call it,

the laptop in the cop car. I just opened up the program to start my report and my cell phone started to ring. The screen said, Erica. I answered, hey babe, how you doing? That's good, I'm fine. I looked over at the clock. 16, 21 hours and my shift ended at 17,700 hours.

I have just over half an hour left pending any last minute calls that come in. I love you two. Have fun on your girl's trip. Let me know when you get there. I'll miss you two, but don't worry, I'll be fine. Let's see if I can pick up an extra shift this weekend. I've got to help pay for our wedding. It's only three months away.

Okay, yeah, I've got to finish up some paperwork. Love you too. Bye. I put the phone back in my pocket and started my report. On, date redacted. At approximately 16.10, I, reserve deputy Alex, badge number 55, got dispatched via radio to address redacted in District 2 for a report for a battery in process. When I arrived on the scene, deputies Kirby, badge number 26, and Welch, badge number 9, had already arrived and had the suspect in custody and were waiting for a transport to the jail. I spoke to the victim, named redacted, who I later identified by his state driver's license. He informed me that he was just out for a jog when someone attacked him and bit him on the arm twice and leg once. The victim was able to get away and call 911.

Some Burst Fire Department arrived to take him to Mercy Medical Hospital for treatment. See form 5-910-79 for full report. I just clicked on the report form after finishing my synopsis this report when a call came over the radio. 5280, 5290 respond to 618 Chattenden, 618 Chattedin for a group of five fighting. I laughed and thought,

how fun with that Sumbrus PD. I always liked to keep the radio in my squad cast set a scan to listen for SBPD frequencies. I work for District 2 in the county of Bear Creek. The biggest city in my area is Sumbus, with a population of 91,170 and employs 153 police officers.

There are other smaller towns in my district with, no more than a few thousand people at most. Some burst is surrounded by mountains on three sides, and the Cook Cook River a mile long on the fourth side. The main way in and out was over the Cook Cook Bridge, or the Big Sea, as we call it. That's why I normally write reports on Highway 35. If anyone was going to run from SBPD, this was the main thing. only way out of the city. I've gotten a car with my spike strip on more than one occasion. My radar went from a low warble to a high-pitched ping. I looked up on the display screen, 90 miles an hour. I let out a soft, far under my breath. I looked in the rearview mirror

to see a Toyota Corolla flying up on it. Close my laptop and put my squad in drive. my foot on the brake and hand over the light bar control I really didn't want to stop any car this close to the end of watch but 90 in a 65 is something I can't just overlook Toyota blew past me activated my emergency light checked to make sure it was safe to pull out into the traffic and flaw it growl of the Crown VX V8 rumbled to live as I took off down the highway

in pursuit of the speed as I sped away you could hear my radio dispatch This is 5290. Myself from 50 to 80, five individuals at gunpoint, sand backup. The dispatcher replied with, 104, 5270, 5260, 5250, respond. 1033 to 618, Chattleton. 618 Chattedin to back out 5280 and 90.

All other officers stay off the air until I hear back from 50280. I just caught up with the speeding vehicle and pulled it over. Our dispatcher for the county is different than the city, so I was able to radio my information to dispatch. 55 to dispatch, I said. Go ahead, 55, replied the dispatcher. Dispatch, can you own a 28 on a Toyota Corolla? License plate boy Victor Adam 279, BVA 279, silver in color, occupied times three. A few moments later, dispatch came back with 10-4.

vehicle's clean which means it's not stolen the tax is a current and the owner of the vehicle is not wanted in connection with a crime I walked up to the vehicle and pressed my thumb onto the towel lights so if anything were to happen to me

they could dust the car for Prince and find I was there I walked up to the driver door but stopped short just behind the A-pillar of the car you never want to get right up in front of the window that makes it way too easy to be killed The driver rolled down his window, and I did my introduction. Hi, I'm Deputy Alex with the Bear Creek County Sheriff Department.

The reason for my traffic stop is that you were going 90 and a posted 65. Any reason why you were speeding today? Also, can I see your driver's license registration and proof of insurance? I always like to have the driver talk to me and look for stuff at the same time. If they're drunk or nervous, they typically can't do it. both at the same time. The driver said to me, Hey man, sorry, I didn't realize I was going that fast.

There were two girls in the back seat of the car, maybe no older than 12 or 14. Blonde girl spoke up. Yes, you did, Daddy. You said if we don't get up to the cabin before sundown, I'm going to tell you a new one. Well, I was trying to keep the grin off my face at this. The driver said to me,

here's my driver's license, sir. I took his license and asked, Mr. name redacted, is this your current address? Yeah, let me just give you my insurance card. Blonde girl started talking to me. Hi, officer, how are you? I kept one eye on her dad

to make sure he wasn't reaching for something he shouldn't be. I turned to her and replied, Not too bad. How are you? How's school going? It's good. This is my friend Jessica. She's sleeping right now. The girl next to her had jet black hair covering her face.

Her head was wedged in between the door and the headrest, which is the most comfortable position one can get in a car. You staying out of trouble? I said in a joking manner. I'm trying to, but my dad says if I develop early like my mom, it'll be hard for me to stay out of trouble. I coughed, trying to hold back a laugh. Glanced at the dad.

He was red in the face. from embarrassment. Officer, I found my insurance card. I took it from him and walked back to my patrol car. 5.50 to dispatch. Can you run a 27 for me? 10-4. 55, go ahead with your 27. Dispatch responded. I was just about to read off the name on the driver's license when the emergency tone on my radio went off. I looked down at the small digital display on my patrol car's.

radio reading Channel 4 SBPD. It was flashing red. Someone must have hit the emergency button on their police radio. When pressed, it gives the officer who pressed the button 30 seconds of open mic time to say whatever they need to say with no interruption. What I heard next is something no officer ever wants to hear. Officer down. Officer down. Shots fired.

5280 is down. We got a mob coming after us. Two additional people have been shot. I'm dragging 50 to 80 down Chatterton Street. I need backup now. There were some noises coming through the radio. It sounded like dragging on pavement and then yelling. Stay back!

Two pistol shots rang out over the radio. Then there was silence for exactly one heartbeat. Dispatch came on with a calm voice, but it was traced with a hint of panic. Tackler. Tack alert. Tack alert. Offices need immediate assistance.

618, Chattleton. 618, Chattano. Offices down, shots fired. This is in all units respond. 1033, tack alert. Unknown conditions of the officer. Unknown number of assailants. 618, Chattahiton.

Tack alert. Tack alert. Tack alert. I jumped out the door of my cruiser and ran up to the car. It's your lucky day, buddy. Here's your information. threw it all in the front seat of his car. I have to go.

Now, slow it down and drive safely. Jessica, the girl in the back, was awake now. Our eyes locked for only a few seconds. She had the prettiest emerald green eyes I think I've ever seen. I knew I'd never forget them. I stumbled for a second. Hi officer, she said. Well, that traffic stop will be the last normal thing

that would ever happen to me. Jumped back into my police car, slammed it into drive, and pushed the gas pedal to the floorboard. This was an officer down, a brother in blue, and I was going to go balls to the wall to get there. I grabbed my radio and called dispatch.

55 to dispatch. Clear me for that traffic stop. Show me 1017 in route to that attack alert at 618 Chattenden. Going off frequency, we'll be on mutual aid one if you need me. Before I got a response back from dispatch, I changed a mutual aid one on my police radio. I did all this while driving at 120 miles an hour. Took the closest off ramp, crossed over the highway and got back on the highway,

this time driving towards the city of Sunburst. In my rearview mirror, I saw the lights of another police vehicle. I slowed down so we could travel together. The police SUV was a state police vehicle. I quickly switched to the state police frequency, pressed the police frequency, pressed the Pushed a talk button on the radio. Stay, please, on 35. This is Deputy Alex from BCSD.

Are you responding to the tag alerts? 10-4. Do I need to take the lead? Ask the trooper. If you could, I'm not familiar enough with the area. 10-4. Taking the lead now, replied the trooper. The trooper honked his air-horn twice and passed me on the left.

10-4. FYI, we're on mutual aid-1 frequency. I said before switching back over. Two more squad cars fell in line behind us. One was a city of Bellevue police squad, which is a small city a few miles away from Sambors. The other was a Bear Creek County deputy. Our convoy of four squad cars surged ahead

with the emergency lights flashing and sirens wailing. We drove at approximately 100 to 120 miles an hour for about five minutes when a voice came over mutual aid one. As God in Ken, the Sumberers, SBD. I'm the incident commander for this DAC alert. All SBPD officers form up in your civil control team leaders. BCSD deputies, state police and other responding agencies are staging six blocks west of Chattenden, forming up and heading downtown. Once on scene, we were directed to a side street to park our squad cars. I was confused on why we were staging six blocks away

from the original court. Also, why were we supposed to head downtown in the opposite direction? Found a group of six deputies from my department and one lieutenant standing around talking. I walked up and asked, What's going on? Lieutenant O'Connor turned around to answer. Well, nice a year to join us. I was just about to tell everyone.

He looked at me and said, you're a reserve deputy, aren't you? I pointed to my shoulder patch. Underneath the shirt department logo was a small tap that said reserve on it. Yes, sir, but I'm looking to be a good fit for full time when there's an opening in the department. Lieutenant O'Connor waved the answer away and asked, Have you ever done any riot control? I was trained and certified in crowd control, including pepperball and beanbag's usage, sir.

Good. Now, listen up, everyone. Lieutenant O'Connor said. The mob that attacked the two officers have turned into a riot and have moved to the downtown area where they've been attacking anyone and damaging property. Their numbers have sworn up to 500 or so. The mayor said that this is an unlawful assembly and, rumors have it, the governor has declared a state emergency and is calling in the National Guard.

Why are they doing this? The young female deputy asked. Lieutenant O'Connor replied, Well, there are three facts about riots. One, grounds are anonymous. Two, anonymity breeds violence. Three, violence lowers consequences. You need a catalyst to set off the violence.

I'm guessing the two officers shot someone who was well-liked in the community. Do we know the status of the two officers? That's the same female deputy. Last I heard, their backup showed up and pulled both of them out of there. They were in real tough condition, lots of bad cuts, people even bit them. They were transported to Mercy Medical Hospital for treatment, answered the lieutenant. There were a few murmurs from the deputies. One even did the sign of the cross over his chest.

Now, let's get down to brass tax and discuss our role in restoring peace, Lieutenant O'Connor announced. The front and second echelon of officers were made up of SBPD and some of the smaller downships. SBPD has six of their CRT or crisis response team, aka SWAT, with us. Their captain will be the team leader for the riot team. Three of the CRT

officers will be the gas officers in charge of using smoke and gas grenades. If needed, the last two will provide deadly force overwatch on top of the bear cat. One of the protesters gets ready to throw a Molotov cocktail or pull a firearm. These guys will be ready to shoot.

Stay police. along with our canine and SBPD canine, we're on the arrest team. The sheriff department, that's us, we rearguard and transport. We have two of our paddy wagons here that will be used for transport. Our job is to make sure

no one slips in behind the group and tries to attack us from the rear. We'll also swap out with the arrest team if needed. Now everyone, don your riot gear. If you have less lethal with you, like the large cans of pepper spray or pepperball guns, Break them out now.

Be back here in ten minutes. I'm going to check in with the incident, commander, let him know the number of deputies I have. I walk back to my squad car. A little confused on how a riot could form so quickly. Emergency vehicles, with a sirens blaring, could be heard racing around the city in all different directions, no doubt answering 911 calls

and doing their best to keep the city from falling apart. The CRT Bearcat armored car rolled past me as I got to my car. The throaty rumble of its diesel engine passed me. As weight shook the ground, giving me a surge of confidence that we could restore order. I got into my riot gear as quickly as I could. Think of a suit of armor made of hard plastic plating with thick foam padding underneath, and then covered by Nomex, which is a very flame-resistant material. I clipped my drop-leg gas-mast pouch on my left side.

I then holstered my Manadnock hardwood, 2,800. 100. Well, that might sound fancy, but it's just a wooden riot baton. I had to do some digging around the truck of my squad, but found the hard plastic case and flipped it open. Inside, protected by foam, was a Tipman 98 custom paintball gun in bright yellow. I assembled the gun and loaded it with pepperball rounds. Unlike normal paintball rounds, they were filled with pepper spray instead of paint. When the round hits someone or something, breaks apart and sends pepper spray in a powder form everywhere. I put on my belt with four reloads of the pepperball gun.

Each reload holds 200 rounds of pepperball. Checked to make sure the CO2 tank was screwed into the pistol grip of the gun and working properly. After ensuring that it was all in correct working order, the other deputies and I returned to the staging area. SBPD took over a parking ramp for the staging area or rally point. Their mobile command and control unit was a heavily modified RV complete with antennae, satellite dishes and cameras protruding from all areas along with a flushable toilet trailer and a large tractor trailer with an OWI arrest processing center.

Ask one of the local cops why there was a processing center. He told me it was for processing large numbers of people without overloading the jails. They can fingerprint, photograph, run names to search for warrants, either give a citation, or cut them loose, or load them directly onto the prison bus to be taken to the local jail. There were several ambulances

staged here as well to treat both protesters and officers. As we began to move out, one of the EMTs holding a cup of coffee in a styrofoam cup gave the passing officers a two-finger salute and said, Good luck out there.

Jab to two. Chaos in the streets. We marched a few blocks north and I do mean March. The sound of all the boots hitting pavement at once has a psychological effect to any rioters. The team leader, a captain from SBPD, ordered a company of officers

just a hair over 90 police officers from all over the area to a halt. First echelon of officers formed a line and donned their gas masks. Behind them, the second echelon did the same. Being that I was in the rear of the group two blocks from the front line, I was lucky enough not to have to put on my gas mask right away.

I only needed to put it on if things really kicked off. As I was facing away, I sneaked a peek over my shoulder. I could see thousands of people in the streets, just six or seven blocks away, but stretching as far as I could see. Every now and then, the sound of a window breaking, punctuated by the occasional scream could be heard. The smell of burning electronics was wafting in the air, and a thin layer of haze was beginning to fall.

Buildings that were dozens of stories tall lined each side of the street. The captain announced, Okay, everyone, listen up. We need to disrupt the crowd into lesser, more manageable groups of people. Their cause in damage to the city have been declared an unlawful assembly. We're not here to deny anyone their first amendment right to free speech. We do need to curb the violence in the city. What exactly they're upset about?

It's hard to say, but this ends now. Remember your training and help the man or woman next to you. We'll push up one block at a time and clear each intersection, then move forward. We want to disperse and discourage the crowd from any violent actions. Arrest only when necessary, only the people who are instigating. If they run, let them run. Don't break ranks to chase them down. We're going to move up two blocks and then stop.

Right, let's move out. We moved up two blocks and stopped. The captain started speaking to the crowd on his megaphone. This is the Sunburst Police Department. This has been declared an unlawful assembly. You must disperse immediately. Used to smoke, tear gas and paying compliance munitions have been authorized. You may be arrested.

The captain repeated these messages a few more times. A female deputy next to me leaned over and said to me, You know what's weird? I don't hear any chanting or people making. in demands. All I hear a moans. I listen closely, she was right. There was no chanting that people normally associate with protests, just a low, then the command came to move up another block. I heard, we're only two blocks away. On three rounds of smoke between us and them, fire when ready. The fast, p, p, p, p, from the officers firing their Mill Corps six-shot, 40-millimeter launcher, could be heard.

Within seconds, smoke-filled the streets and blocked the view of any protesters that I could see. Lieutenant O'Connor yelled at me. Alex, eyes front. Watch your sector. I could hear chanting coming from the street in front of me, and I'm coming out from one of the side aisles. I remember what they were protesting, and honestly it doesn't really matter. About a dozen of them were walking up on us.

A few were holding makeshift weapons, and the men out front with a megaphone was making a list of dumb demands to the police. Lieutenant O'Connor walked up to me and said, Alex, fire on the man with the megaphone. He is the voice of the group. Stopping him or driving him back will discourage the rest. I raised my pepper ball gun and pointed at the man who was still a block away from me and yelled,

and leave or you'll be fired upon. Well, just kept coming at me. Mind us weird things in high-stress situations. I wasn't having any moral or ethical dilemmas about what I was about to do, though. I thought, hey, I used to be on a semi-prol paintball team. What if I still have the skills? It's been a few years, but it's like riding a bike right. Yeah, probably.

I fired quick six shots, four of them hitting the man's megaphone, and the other two going wide to the right. Yep, I still got it. Man looked confused as to why his divine. he stopped working. Fired at his face, the pepperball broke and sent the powder into the air. Lieutenant O'Connor came over and gave me a hard thwap on the helmet. Alex, you don't aim at the face.

He aim at the feet or the chest. Do you know the liability you just put yourself in? Then he leaned in and whispered. But off the record, that's a hell of a shot. God, I hate the people with the megaphomes. The rest of the protesters formed phalanxes. around the group's leader with umbrellas, shielding him from any more pepperballs. A female deputy next to me stepped forward with her 12-gauge beanbag shotgun

and shouted, Beanbag! This signal to everyone around her that the gunshot they were about to hear was coming from here, and not anyone other than law enforcement. She fired, and the bean-bang ground punched right through the umbrellas, causing the small group to retreat around the block. This all went on for a short time. The group would approach us, and we'd fire at them, and they'd retreat.

Lieutenant O'Connor came up at some point and said, Mask for gas, mask for gas. Half of us put on our gas masks, while the other half guarded them, and vice versa. I've been so focused on protecting the back of the riot team that I never took the time to look to see what was happening in the front of the formation. As soon as I put my mask on and checked for a good seal, and I heard a dozen quick... the launchers, no doubt launching tear gas into the rioters in front of us.

Then two mottoms, as two canisters arched over our heads and towards a small group of protesters. Lieutenant O'Connor said to all of us, asked the captain to fire off two rounds of tear gas at that group, since they've been harassing us this whole time. Well, that shit should run them off. The tear gas filled the street, we were unable to see the protesters. A few minutes went by I could hear the front line officer shouting

Move back and hitting their wooden batons against their riot shields The tear gas cleared up enough for us to see the group running away As they hightailed it for the hills A figure appeared from the side alley Between two buildings

Shuffling towards us His head rested on his right shoulder Like his neck couldn't support his weight His clothing was old and torn when what I was hoping was motor oil clung to his shirt. His arms were outstretched and his hands were opening and closing in an almost automatic fashion. I raised my pepperball gun and fired six quick rounds at the guy's feet. The pepper powder wafted into the air.

The man didn't seem to be affected. I raised it higher and fired another burst into the man's chest. Still he didn't care. I fired about two dozen pepperball. hitting him all over. I even saw the powder fly right into his face. I remember reading that 1% of the world's population is immune to pepper spray. The only time I've seen someone shrug off hits like that is when they're high on crystal meth.

This guy moved too slow for a meth head. I looked over at the female deputy, you can see the look of worry on her face, which I'm sure was reflected on my own face. She fired the beanbag shotgun, hitting the man in the shoulder. He spun around and landed on the ground hard, not once trying to break his fall. He heard his teeth break as they hit the roadway. Arresting, move in, was shouted from someone behind me,

and two big guys went out to secure the guy we'd just been backed. They got him in flex cuffs, which are basically very big zip ties, when a second man scrambled out from the other side, close to the arresting. He fell on top of one of the arresting officers. I dropped my peppable gun and let it dangle by its sling in front of me. I ran towards them with all the speed and power of a big rig flying down the highway and slammed my hard plastic shoulder protector into the man's chest, knocking him off the officer and sending both of us tumbling to the ground.

Before I could get up, the man I just hit fell upon me and started trying to bite me. He bit down hard onto the plexiglass face protector of my gas mask. His teeth left indents in his mouth. was wide open, his tongue licking the outside of the visor. Black, thick saliva dripped onto my mask, blowing out the world around me.

The squeaking of his tongue on the plexiglass sent shivers down my spine. My pepperball gun was wedged between us, and I couldn't get any leverage to flip the man off me. That's when I saw the blur of a bright green buttstock of a shotgun make contact with the man's face. Then strong arms were helping to pick me out.

Lieutenant O'Connor said, Easy there, Alex. We're going to send you up near the front. The SWAT team's medic will look at you and should have something to disinfect that mask of yours. Another deputy had to guide me up to the front since my mask was covered in black gunk that nobody wanted to touch.

I heard an unfamiliar voice in a Texan accent say, Jesus, that's one way to test if your mask actually works. Sitting down here, I got him. I was guided to sit down at the rear bumper of the armored swat truck. Same voice said, Now don't move. I'm going to spray you down with some disinfectant and try and get that nasty stuff off your mask.

After a minute or so I was, in his words, disinfected. My riot gear felt heavier now and the SWAT medic in Formia who's doused head to toe in disinfectant chemicals. The medic turned to walk back inside the armored swatruck and said, Hey Doc, far be it from me to judge your medical ability, but what is that grey spot on my face shield?

The medic came back out with a set of pliers and pulled on the mask until the grey spot was gone. The medic looked at the object between his pliers. Well, would you look at that? It was a human tooth. Damn, that man must have bitten down hard to get it stuck in the visory a mask like that. Sure enough, it was a tooth.

It wasn't a small piece either. It was most of the two. I looked at the medic and said, Hey man, did you have some water or something I can have? He nodded and said, Yeah, let me dig some out. I got a case of water inside that swat truck. He went back inside the armored swat trunk.

I stood there and just took a second to let the situational awareness sink in. We heard the sound of smoke and tear gas grenades being fired and a steady moaning could be heard over the swat truck's diesel engine. I leaned around the armored truck just enough to be able to see the other SWAT guys on the arrest team decked out in full battle rattle beside the milk or grenade launchers that looked like giant revolvers which held six 40mmy-millimeter grenades. Each man had a heavily customized rifle slung on his back. No doubt they were fully automatic. Now I'm a bit of a gun nerd. The accessories they had looked like some alien technology hanging off their rifles.

As they were firing the grenade launches, the smoke became too thick to see much past the arrest team who headed into the smoke. I lost sight of them for a moment. And the next thing I knew, they were back with someone handcuffed and a bite hood over the offender's head. The bite hood was a thick cloth bag that was solid on the bottom and made of a mesh netting on the top. That way the person who was wearing it could still see where they were going. Prevented the wearer from biting or spitting on the officers. They walked the arrestee, past me, and put the person in the back of the paddy wagon yelling, And this one's full.

The transport van left, and another one took its place. I managed to talk to the two officers as they made their way back to the front before they were obscured by smoke. Yeah, how's it going up there? Not since we haven't moved in some time. One of the officers spoke up. Yes, getting tough up there. We're holding one intersection, but there's there. coming at us from two sides.

The front and the second echelon are almost 100% engaged and the protesters are trying to push their way through with brute force. And we're scooping one or two of them up at a time and arresting them. But these fuckers are biting. We're running low on bite hoods.

You guys have any in the rear? Shook my head and up. We only made two arrests so far. We just tossed them in the wagon. I'm just guessing, but I wouldn't know. I was pretty much blind when they brought me up here for a medical. Tries for help could be heard coming from the front. The officer just looked at me and said,

I guess we're needed. He gave me a fist bump. Just then the SWAT team medic poked his head out of the back of the SWAT truck. Hey man, I have your... But his words were stopped mid-sentence. As a snip followed closely by a ping could be heard. He dropped my water bottle, which was disappointed. since the cap was off of it, and it spilled everywhere on the pavement.

The medic jumped out of the armored truck and looked up when another snip and ping could be heard. I looked up to where he was looking. I had no idea what that sound was, or what was going on that caused the medic to jump out so fast. Saw the two SWAT officers on top of the truck, who were the deadly force overwatch. Their rifles had high-end suppresses and scopes, along with bipods extended as the two officers laid bell. down out on the roof. I saw it happen. The first officer

and then the other squeezed back on their trigger with the rifles tied up against their shoulders. They moved back ever so slightly that I almost missed it. A rifle barely made a sound, but I heard another soft stip. No doubt subsonging ammunition

was being used. The only real indication that the rifle was even been fired was the ping from the ejected casing as it clanged on top of the armored roof. The medic said something into his radio, which I couldn't hear because the SWAT team was special and had their own radio frequency that was encrypted. This way no one with a police scanner could listen in.

He jumped inside the SWAT truck like a man who'd just been set on fire and came out with a heckler and a COK MP7. This was my dream gone. He extended the stock and shouldered the small rifle, pointing it forward towards the direction of the riot team. The shooting from the office has picked up with more urgency now. So fast that I couldn't even tell the difference between the two sounds. I heard the first unsuppressed shot ring out from somewhere ahead of us.

The two canine dogs started to bark. The hackles on their back raised ready for orders to attack. Another pistol shot rang out, followed by another. I'd deathly quiet for a brief second. I looked over at the SWAT medic. I noticed that the barrel of his weapon was shaking. This rattled my nerves. I know he's just a SWAT medic,

but he's still on the SWAT team and does all the same things the rest of the SWAT team does. Granted, he's normally towards the back of the team, but he went through the same training as everyone else. Watching someone like him get nervous is never a good thing. The SWAT officer with a grenade launchers slung them behind their backs and brought their rifles up. Then,

It happened. It was like someone who flipped a switch. Almost instantaneous pop of pistols from all over could be heard. Through the smoke, I could see the muzzle flashes of over three dozen pistols. It's as if every riot officer on the line got sick and tired of dealing with the rioters when just collectively said, screw this. This is much easier anyway. And then just started shooting them.

The loud rip of one of the SWAT officers' rifles on four, full auto added an exclamation point, exclaiming that whatever was going on, all resemblance of law and order had broken down. Through riot offices in full armour, bearing shields and wooden batons sprinted past. They were covered in the black gunk. Then a group of three ran past yelling. Fall back. The line has collapsed. Fall back to the rally point. Pistol shots were still coming out from the front. But the firing had started to die down. Whether it was from running out of ammo or being taken down, I'll never know.

Chapter 3. The collapse. The sounds of moan shadowed the din of combat. Became shambling out of the smoke like some hellish nightmare. The SWAT team opened up. I watched as one of the rioters took over a dozen rounds to the center mass and did not go down. One of the SWAT officers I could not see who was going all out on full auto. Now the machine gun only fell silent after a bloody scream. A lady in a business suit

grabbed one of the officers as he was reloading his rifle. He hit her with the stock of his rifle, took a step back, and let his rifle go. He brought up the milk or grenade launcher on his back. He fired close to point blank, the 40mm round punched a hole in her chest. A sternum completely caved in, a loud snap sound echoed. as the round hit her, spin snapping in and coming to a stop. The grenade went off and smoke started to billow out of her chest as she fell on top of the officer. I took off running and a few other riot officers were running as well. I was trying to suck in as much air as I could, but was failing miserably due to the gas masks.

I felt trapped and closed off. I wanted to rip off my mask and suck in the air, but with all the tear gas I knew I'd be done for. I had to fight down the rising tension in my sense. stomach. Vomiting with a gas mask on is an experience I didn't want to have, but the thought of all those officers firing into a crowd of unarmed civilians made me sick. I reached my opposition, rearguard, and yelled, Lieutenant, Lieutenant, the other deputies were looking at me like I was a madman. I know the distance was only four blocks, but they had to hear all the shooting that took place.

Lieutenant O'Connor ran over. Alex, what the hell is going on? You just had a dozen guys from the front run past saying something like, they're not human. And what's with all the shooting? I don't know, man. I saw one of the rioters get hit a dozen times. They don't die.

You can't kill them. I was told to fall back to the rally point. Lieutenant O'Connor said, Just stay here. I'm going to see what's happening. He jogged into the dense smoke The other five deputies and myself Stead there looking at where the lieutenant had disappeared into the smoke

His tall shots rang out Lieutenant O'Connor ran back at us yelling Far back to the rally point now His hand was bleeding And I could see a ragged wound on his arm His service pistol was unholstered All of us took off running We were only eight blocks away from the rally point

I figured we could regroup and go in more heavily armed if necessary. As we turned the corner, the scene that awaited us was in utter chaos and disarray. Officers were fighting with people. Paramedic was fighting someone off while a police officer hit him repeatedly with his baton. He hit the person so hard that the baton broke in heart. Few of the deputies waded into the maelstrom to help. Two officers were backed into the wall of the parking ramp while several people slowly shambled

towards them. One of the officers had a large can of pepper spray and sprayed everyone in the face. Pepispray was dripping off them, but no one in the group seemed to care. The other police officer pulled his service weapon and started shooting into the group. One of the rounds missed and actually struck another officer in the shoulder, causing him to fall down. As he fell, three of the things jumped on him. The door to the OWI at RIS processing center opened up and a bunch of them came walking out. the moans growing louder with each footstep.

Two deputies with bean-back shotguns started shooting into the crowd of them. As they made their way to waters, Lieutenant O'Connor began shooting his pistol over. Notice that every time around struck their head, they'd go down and stay down. I pulled out my pistol but was hesitant to shoot. There were fellow officers and other first responders in the mix. I couldn't bring myself to shoot. Lieutenant O'Connor yelled over the battle raging in front of us. Ditch the last lethal's and head back to the car.

We need to get out of there. The remaining deputies and I ran for our cars a few blocks away. There were only four of us left. Made it to our cruisers, huffing and puffing, trying to breathe. Everyone ditched their gas masks. The smell of death was in the air along with burning buildings and melting plastics. It was all an assault on the nostrils. One of these things was walking down the street alone.

Single headshot put it down. What's the plan, Elsie? Where do we go? One of the deputies asked. Lieutenant O'Connor spoke. I don't know. Get out of the city. If you have family in the city, get them and get out. If you can't get out, head towards the SBPD headquarters building. It should be safe there.

The female deputy asked, You mean get out and head back to the Sheriff's Department? No, these things, whatever they are, more than likely taken over the Sheriff's Department. The jail is attached to that building, and we've been transporting the rioters there. There have been more than a few of them. He pointed at the thing laying in the streets. He was wearing a janitor outfit and had black blood covering the front of his body. I don't know where you guys should go, but get out and be safe.

I'm already done for it. That's not true, Lieutenant. Yeah, it is Alex. Look. Tener O'Connor showed us the wound on his hand. It looked like someone took a chunk out of it between the thumb and pointer finger. Like a badly infected bite wound. Black line spider web from the contact point all the way up his arm.

I bet you any money, I have whatever is causing all this. There's no point in trying to get out for me. All I can do is delay them from spreading. out. Lieutenant O'Connor reached into his police SUV and came out with his patrol rifle. Sound of footsteps of hundreds, if not thousands, could be heard. A chorus of moans was carried out in the wind. Lieutenant O'Connor shook each of our hands with his healthy hand and wished us all the best. The three remaining deputies, myself included, shook hands with each other as well.

I was the last to pull away. I didn't know how far this thing was spreading but I needed to get out of the city somehow I tried to call Erica but all I got was your car cannot be completed as dialed please try again later the last thing I saw was Lieutenant O'Connor propping his rifle in the crook of his SUV's door

starting to fire as a slow motion wave of things slowly wore towards him didn't even make a dent in their numbers I drove a short time trying to get back onto Highway 35 and get out of the city. I go up a block or so and see a crash blocking the road and have to double back and take a different one. It's quiet in my squad car. Well, I was actually thinking,

how the radio should be going crazy right now. Then it hit me. A radio. I still have it set for mutual aid one, not the sheriff's department frequency. I went to change it, but my riot gear was rubbing against the prison cage. Now, I knew I should have taken this off. but on the other hand, it is bite-proof and I might need it. I actually had to turn my torso just to get at the radio control knob.

That's when I heard the air horn and looked up to see a flashing red light of an emergency vehicle. It's coming at me from the passenger side. I heard the crunch and felt the impact as my crowned vehicle flipped onto its roof and spun like the top. My duty bag went flying and my documents and paperwork scattered everywhere. The hit deployed my airbags and something hit my head really hard. I felt myself starting to black out. The last thing I remember hearing was the AM FM radio being turned on in three tones of the emergency alert system.

This is not a test. The following message is transmitted in the request of the Bear Creek County Sheriff's Department. This is a shelter-in-place warning for all residents of Bear Creek. lock all of your doors and do not open them for anyone until the all clear is given this message will repeat i could tell that i was being dragged the sound was more intense than the pressure on my back the sound of my metal riot helmet scraping across the pavement was the first thing that awakened my senses it barely make out the voice in the distance easy Alex we'll get you to safety there was one other voice this one a female

Open these doors right now, or I'll break the glass, and no one will be safe. I could hear the sound of cheesy background music playing. It was peaceful and relaxing. As someone ran up to me, I could hear gunshots ringing out. Someone was yelling. In here, it's safe here. My vision was blurry, and I couldn't make out what they were talking about. Hey, buddy, I'm going to need these.

I heard the unsnapping of buttons and the tugging. on the front of my belt. I subconsciously reached from my sidearm. Still felt it in my holster. The voice said, Don't worry, Alex. You'll get to keep that. Another voice from farther away yelled.

Hey, get back out here. They're closing in. I blacked out again. I could faintly hear a female voice yelling. I'll be moving. Felt like I was floating. Bright light filled. my vision like a train coming down a tongue.

I opened my eyes and let out of groan. It felt like I'd been on a drinking bender all night. My head was pounding. My vision was finally coming into focus. I could see a man in an EMT uniform shining a flashlight in my eyes. Welcome back to the land of the living, deputy. What happened? My croak.

You got into a car accident and took a pretty big hit to the head. I'm lucky for you, you still had your riot helmet on. You reached down and lifted my riot helmet to my face. A big dent on the right side was clearly visible. I asked as I tried to stand on shaky legs. Well, Deputy, you're on the fifth floor of the luxurious sunburst downtown hotel and conference center. The room was large with big glass windows. The windows overlooked downtown.

A small coffee shop with a sign that proudly stated, serving the seat. his best coffee was displayed. Comfortable chairs and couches attuned the area. A handful of people were in the room. Most of them were wearing worried expressions while on their cell phones trying to make calls. Hey, I'm Peter, by the way. Alex, I said, shaking his hand.

Yeah, he would have called me a few hours ago when that jogger got attacked. Hey, how is he? Well, he's probably dead, Peter answered. A voice called out from over by the windows. Ew, what up, brother. I turned to see who it was and was overjoyed when I realized it was Tenney, former Bear Creek County Sheriff Deputy,

who left the department a few years ago to work for the city of Sunburris Police. Tenney walked up to me. I noticed he wasn't in uniform, just a black leather jacket and blue jeans. He had a pistol in an off-duty holster on his left side. We embraced and performed our handshake, slapping our hands together. It's hard for me to translate, but the meaning behind the shake was clear. We're safe now.

We always did handshakes after any major incident or adrenaline-producing events. So, zombies, who knew? Tenney said. I looked at him confused. Zombies. It can't be that. Zombies are not real. They can be. This is not some Joel McKinney novel or some George A. Romero movie.

This is real life. The dead don't just walk around. Tony walked me over to the big windows and pointed down. On the streets below, dozens of bodies lay face down on top of a moving cop car. My cop car was upside down and on fire. Back half of an ambulance was sticking out of a clothing store. A group of six were on their knees gathered around something laying on the ground. Two people ran down the street followed by a group of 30 who were slowly following after them, arms outstretched.

You could hear the collective moans which caused others to get up and follow. My head was spinning. Whether that was from the car accident or the newfound information that they were in fact zombies, well, couldn't be sure. I flot myself down in one of the chairs. A woman brought me a glass of water in a cheap styrofoam cup and sat down across from me. She was African American and short, about 5.5, if I were to guess. She wore a business-looking suit that was stained with dry blood. She had a badge on the front of her belt and a pistol on her right hip.

Her leg had a bandage on it, and she walked with a subtle limb. Tenney sat on the arm of the chair next to her. Alex, this is Talham, detective with Somburst PD. It's really nice to meet you. But thanks for the water, I said as we shook him. hands. Peter came over and sat down next to us as well. Tenney reached into his jacket pocket and handed me an empty magazine for my pistol and said, before I forget, you'll have these back. Sorry, but we had to use them when you were unconscious at the time. I took them and did a

quick check of the bell. Everything was still there, minus the magazine. I pressed the magazine release button on my service pistol. It's all that it still had a full magnet. Well, that's one bright spot, thought to myself. Pulled my radio off my belt and set it on the small coffee table in front of us. Does anyone else have a radio? I asked. I didn't have time to grab one, Tenney replied. Peter pointed to the bright green shoulder mic on his radio and said, Batteries are dead on mine.

I looked at Tallinn. I had to use mine to escape, she said. I took a deep breath and said Okay, mine's on mutual aid one I was at the downtown riots A bunch of us were I explained what had happened When I was finished

They all had a look of shock on their faces Now since we were safe at the moment We all agreed that we were only going to listen in And try to get a story of what was going on Out in the city I switched over to the SBPD frequency I don't think anyone was ready for what we heard with chaotic emergency alert tones going off non-stop.

I need backup at the intersection of Jackson and division. I got hundreds of them. I need... Officer down. Officer down. Jeff shout. A team two. St. Marys is last.

I repeat. The hospital is last. We don't have the first profile to hold the... Hello. Someone helped me. I found this radio on a dead police officer. I'm hiding in a closet, but... They know I'm here.

Please send you... Rapid fire gunshots followed by screams and moaning could be heard. This is Trooper 377. I've got a mix of about two dozen offices and private civilians with firearms trying to hold them back on Cook Coop Bridge. We need more units out here. An explosion drowned out the transmission, followed by... Jesus H.

They're bombing the bridge. All units get off the bridge. The transmission cut out. Seconds later, we all heard several distant booms. One of the people that was up here with us yelled. Look! Everyone looked out the window to see three fireballs blossom from the direction at the bridge. A man wearing a black polo shirt with the word security on it said,

Up here, we can see better from the roof. Tenney and I ran to the stairwell and a few others followed. I look back and saw Tallinn and Peter staying behind. who burst onto the roof just as the last of the fireballs was burning out. Big black smoke poured out from where the explosions had come from. Two fighter jets came in screaming past with the glow of their afterburners visible in the setting sunlight. Two sharp booms echoed out. What the hell was that?

The security guard asked. Someone replied. Sonic boom. They're not supposed to get that fast over the United States. The last time they did that was 9-11. The jets banked hard and started flying back towards us. Some of the people started waving their hands and jumping up and down, trying to get the pilot's attention.

Something dropped from under one of the fighter jet's wings, followed by a plume of white smoke which formed behind the object. A few seconds later, the cell phone tower that was erected on the building a few blocks over exploded. Then another tower exploded, followed by a third and a fourth tower. All around the city, they went up in a ball of fire. Tenney yelled, Everyone off the roof right now. Everyone ran back down the stairs as more fireballs sprang up on the various TV, radio and cell phone towers across the city.

As we all made it back to the fifth floor. Tallinn walked over with my radio still in her hand. So, what happened up there, boys? She asked. Oh, looks like the Air Force is blowing up all communication towers, I replied. Whatever's going on, they don't want us getting a message about it to the outside. Well, that explains why your radio went silent. They blew up all the radio repeaters.

You'd be lucky to get more than two blocks with this thing, Talon explained. As she tossed the police radio back to me, I noticed that she looked a touch paler than she had before. The hard lines on her face which she'd, showed years of street-hardened experience. Slowly faded, she plopped herself back down to one of the oversized chairs. Peter rushed over to her and began to check her vitals. He looked up at us.

Well, it's not a bite, he said immediately. She got a bad cut when he hit your squal car. She wasn't wearing a seatbelt in the back of the ambulance and went flying into the bulkhead. I think she's nicked an artery. Got the bleeding slowed without using a tourniquet, but she lost a good amount of blood. The fact she's still conscious, let alone walking, is a miracle. Now that we don't have communications with the outside world, let's try to get a big picture of what's going on, I said.

I began to share my events, starting with the attack alert and ending with the crash. When I was finished, Talham began to retell her experience. Chapter 4. Detective Tallon The phone rang on my office desk. Hello, Detective Talon. The words made the coolness of my lips curve up in a subconscious smile. Detective, this is Captain Matt. I got a call from one of the patrol officers,

possibly a 187 at the South Side apartment. I got three bodies. CSI is already there photographing the scene. Get your partner and get over there, ASAP. Yes, sir, I said, I'm trying to keep the excitement out of my voice. I know it might sound bad to be excited about dead bodies This was my first case

I was assigned after getting promoted to detective And going through all the classes and training I sprang out of my seat Still felt weird going from a full duty belt With every police tool under the sun to do my job It's just a pistol, a spare mag And one set of handcuffs Trying to suppress my excitement

I calmly walked over to my partner's desk My heart was racing a million miles an hour Detective Evan was my partner He was out of shape His 15 years behind a desk as a detective Was obvious around his midsection Hey Evan I said

We got one Evan looked around the computer monitor At his desk and asked Well What do we got Possible 187 homicide At the south side of apartments With three victims

With a deep breath A squeak of his office chair He stood Tossing the keys to me Saying? I bring the car around in front if you're driving. I pulled the unmarked maroon Crown Victoria to the front and haven't got in. We just pulled onto the street when the police radio and the car came to light.

5-2-80, 5290 respond to 618 in Chattenden, 618 in Chattedon for a group of five fighting. We headed to the south side of the city when two marked police cars drove past us in the opposite direction with their lights and sirens activated. I thought to myself, go get them, boys. We crossed the railroad tracks to the city's south side. Evan let out a grunt of disdain and said, What a dumpster fight. What do you mean by that? I asked. The south side's all ghetto.

This is the fifth murder this month. You know how many drive-bys and how much gang shit happens over here? Not to mention the home invasion. Yeah, this was my beat for. five years. I know the area. Yeah, there are some neighborhoods that are bad. There's no denying that, but a lot of these people work hard. This is where poverty meets pride. Overwhelming majority of the people keep the yards clean and their houses look in spick and span. Don't let a few bad apples ruin it for everyone. With both parents working and kids off to school, criminals know no one will be home

so it's easy pickings. That's why most of the people here have bars over the windows to deter the would-be home invaders. We got to the apartment complex. A police car with its emergency lights on was on the side of the road and traffic cones blocked the roadway. I flashed our emergency lights hidden in the grill and visor and the cop moved the traffic cones for us. We pulled up and put the car in park just as the police radio started back up. Dispatch, this is 529 myself and 5280 have five individuals at gunpoint, Zambacco. Dispatcher replied with 10.4. 527. 5250-60-5250-50. Respond. 1033 to 680 in Chatterton. 618 Chatterton to back up 5-280 and 90.

All other officers stay off the air until I hear back from 50 to 80. Her police sirens from different parts of the city as the officers were on their way to help another officer. We walked under the crime scene tape, which was super cool to do and makes you feel like you're important. I saw two ambulances with their back doors open and two gurneys with white sheets over them. The driver of one of the ambulances was chowing down on a sandwich. I recognized him from my time as a beat call. A lot of the first responders get to know each other from all the different calls they go on. They normally end up becoming good friends.

I walked up to the ambulance just as Peter beat down on his lunch. He held up my badge and said, License and registration. Peter had a laugh which caused crumbs to fly out of his mouth and land all over the steering wheel. Peter then rolled down the window after swallowing his food. Hey, Talon, how are you? It's been a while since I've seen you. I thought you switched patrol areas on me.

Nothing like that. But I did make a detective. That's why I've been off the road for a few months. I haven't been to our book club meeting. I've been studying, I replied. That's awesome. Congratulations. I'm guessing that's why you're here?

Yeah, it's the first case they've assigned me. You're going to give me your take on it. My ears are open. I know you're a big mystery fan of those who did it books. Yeah, sure can. When I arrived on the scene, we had three victims. Older male, older female, and a younger male. My best guess was a murder-suicide.

Shot his wife and kid, then ate the licorice himself. Did five minutes of chest compression on the female. male and younger male, as they were pulseless, not breathing. We were unable to revive them. Two gunshot wounds were located on both victims with no shell casing around. I guessing it was a revolver, maybe a 357, definitely hollow points as there were no exit wounds on the backside. Now I'm just waiting for them to load them up on the rig and take them to mercy medical

for the examination. It's a very good deduction you have, I said. Will I however need an official statement from you and the other. other paramedics on seeing the work on the bodies. Also, hold up a second on loading them up. I'd like to take a look at them quickly. As my partner and I walked back to the ambulance, Evan said to me, good detection on his part, but don't let his side of the story sway the way you gather information. I get he's your boyfriend and all, but I recommend seeing the crime scene first before you start questioning people. First off, he's not my boyfriend. And second,

I know that. I just like to get inside on things. We got to the gurney and lifted up the sheet covering the victim. The female part of her shirt was cut away and two bullet wounds were visible in her chest. I had one of the EMTs helped me roll her on the side, and just like Peter said, there were no exit wounds. I removed my examining gloves and said to Evan, possible hollow point rounds. It could be smaller FMJ round that struck the ribs and didn't go all the way through.

I turned to the EMT. I have the doctor e-man with the findings when he's done. I handed him my business card. Just then, the sheet moved. I jumped back as the EMT and Evan let out a laugh. These fresh cops are you never ever seen a death twitch before a detective? The EMT asked with a chuckle. I shrugged off the response and Evan and I turned towards the apartment.

A very young-looking officer was guarding the crime scene. The officer took our names and badge numbers and signed us in. Put on our hair nets, face masks, gloves, and shoe booties to avoid tracking any unwanted DNA to the crime scene. The CSI and crime scene investigators were hard at work photographing everything. Small plastic numbered tents were strewn about the area. Talked to one of the CSI texts. Get me a list in a brief description of...

what evidence was removed and what was still needed processing. I walked around paying particular attention to the blood splatter on the ceiling and walls. I saw a couch not too far from where the suspect had eaten his own gun. Asked the CSI Tex if we could lift the couch up. They didn't see why not since they'd already processed that room. Evan grabbed one side and the other CSI tech grabbed the other and they lifted. Ah, there it is, I said. The CSI Tech, not lifting the couch, looked over and said,

Yep, began snapping away with his camera. After a few minutes, Evan led out of strained. You two almost done. God, this pig is heavy. The CSI Tech nodded at me. Using sterile metal tweezers, I grabbed the pistol and removed it from under the couch. Evan and the tech set it down with a thump. I examined it closely.

It was a 357 revolver. Evan grabbed an evidence bag and I popped open the revolver cylinder, saw that all but one round had been fired. I dropped the rounds into the evidence bag, making the weapon safe for the CSI text to handle. A voice called out from the front door. Detectives, could you come here quick? Evan looked at me and asked, Did you see what kind of bullets they were before you sealed the evidence bag? I took a second to think and realized I hadn't.

No, I didn't. I replied sheepishly. The voice called again. Detectives. Evan said, Talon, these are the small details you need to remember to check. Now this is clearly an open and shut case,

but remember to slow down and check. I'm glad you found the suspected murder weapon. Evan was cut off when the voice, almost in a panic, called out. Detective, some of this is going on out here. I haven't let out a sign. Probably the victim's family members.

I'll go see what the deal is. A moment later, haven't caught out to me. Well, Talon, your boyfriend got one thing wrong. They're not dead. I stopped what I was doing and yelled back. He's not my boyfriend. And yes, they are. I mean, I examined them myself.

Well, come out here and look. Why? I replied. Well, I don't know what's going on. It can't be possible. It's not possible, I asked, while making my way over to the window to look outside. They're moving on the freaking gurney. Who is?

Evan's voice went up in Octave. The fucking dead people. They're getting up. I looked outside to see the younger male starting to move. Female EMT was beginning to check for a heartbeat with the stethoscope When he sat up and bit the EMT on the arm She loud a scream I saw skin and flesh get pulled away from her arm Very large EMT built like a lumberjack rushed in and punched the teenager who just bit his co-worker in the face

Sending him rolling off the gurney onto the ground Female EMT was spraying blood everywhere Oh the bite must have gotten the radial artery The other EMT on scene rushed in to stop the bleeding. They put her in the back of the second ambulance and raced off. The female started to move as well.

She got off the gurney and started walking toward the young officer guarding the crime scene. Evan was standing in the doorway behind it. The young officer fumbled around his beltline until he found his taser. In a shaky voice that cracked when he spoke, he said, Don't come any closer, you'll be tased.

She was scrambling forward, getting closer and closer with each step. Evan yelled, He's just taser already. She's crazy. The officer pulled the trigger on his taser. The probe shot out with a pop and made contact with her flesh. The one faltered for a second and kept walking forward with her arms extended towards the young officer. And Evan yelled,

You stop her again. The taser gives a five seconds. and zap. The back of it even has a countdown timer so the officer knows when it's safe to arrest the post or give them another zap if they're not complying to the officer's orders. I saw the timer count down from five to zero. That woman never stopped walking. The young officer looked back at Evan. Eyes wide and scared. What do I do now, sir? If you got pepper spray, now I'd be the time to use it, son. The officer dropped the taser on the ground and found he, he's done. He's not. can of OC pepper spray.

A one second burst is all you need, but in his panic he emptied the whole can into her face. Did nothing to discourage the woman from coming forward. The officer who never moved from his spot, then had a scream as the victim of a shooting no more than 30 minutes ago, bit into the officer's neck. Evan pulled his pistol out and shot the woman point blank in the face, causing her to fall down and stay down. The officer was choking on his own blood.

One of the EMTs ran up to help as the teen got up from the ground and made his way toward Evan. Evan turned and fired three rounds into the teenage. Watched the new holes form right next to where the previous gunshots were. Fury of shots rang out as the officer who was at the roadblock ran up and emptied his pistol into the team. bullets ripped into his body and he went down. The EMT working on the younger officer jumped back in alarm as the officer. arm as the officer grabbed onto Evan's leg and bit down hard. Evan fell to the ground. I ran out with my pistol in my right hand. Before I could even raise it, Evan fired one round

off, hitting the officer in the head. Blood began to pour out of the leg bites. Luckily, the other EMT and Peter jumped into action as the officer from the roadblock reloaded and moved forward, talking into his radio. They put a tourniquet onto Evan's leg and cinched it down tight. Evan led out a groan of pain. We put him in the back of the ambulance and sped off towards Mercy Medical Center. The last thing I saw out of the ambulance his back windows was the teenager getting back up, walking towards the officer.

The two CSI Techs ran out of the building. Chapter 5. The Hospital I got on my portable police radio. This is Detective Tallon. 1033, 1033 officer down. We need a police escort to Mercy Medical. We're on the south side of 9th Street, just north of the railroad track.

Break. Send additional units to the south side department. An EMT from SBFD and an office from SBPD have been attacked. Shots have been fired. Dispatch sounded frantic. It was like everything in the dispatch center decided. to go tits up all at once. Message received.

No units available at this time. They're downtown dealing with a riot on other urgent calls or just not answering their radios. Hey, good luck. I looked at my radio in complete shock and yelled out loud. No units available? How the hell are there no units available?

Shit, I'd take a meter made blocking traffic to help up at this point. The ambulance with its lights flashing and siren blaring and raced down the empty street. streets. Peter, I yelled. How much longer do we have? Oh, we're three minutes out.

I'll let him know we have an officer down and we're coming in hot, but no one's answering me at the hospital. Every now and then a cop car or fire truck would zoom past and an occasional gunshot could be heard. Peter's partner was calling vitals over the radio. Evan lost consciousness at some point. Blood sloshed back and forth with every turn we took. We heard the sounds of helicopter blades.

overhead as the flight for life helicopter ambulance was coming into land on the roof. This brought forth a surge of hopeful. They'd got a helicopter him to a different hospital, I thought. The parking lot was full of cars and people rushing other people into the front entrance of the building. We raced into the ambulance bay to see the other ambulances from the crime scene already here. The garage door closed automatically behind us. Peter, the other EMT and I all jumped out, expecting to see a team of doctors to whisk Evan up to the waiting chopper.

Instead, we were greeted with screams. The other ambulance's back doors were open and a bloody handprint was on the inside of the glass. Blood dripped down the back of the rig and went down the small drain built into the floor of the garage. The other EMT agreed to stay with Evan and continued checking his vitals until we could get someone here to help. It would be too risky to move him until we knew for sure. we could get help. Peter and I took off down the hallway and passed some dark offices. We ran into the ER room, which was an absolute Charnell house. The nurse in scrubs was lying face up as two doctors scooped up her guts into their mouths. A security guard was being torn apart

by one nurse and three patients in hospital gowns. One of them still had an IV in their arm. It looked like someone had taken a can of red paint, put it in a mixer with no lid and fully sent it. A janitor was gnawing on someone's arm. Banging on metal doors could be heard. The doors had quarantine signs that were obviously quickly slapped on at some point. It had to be around 30 of these horrible things in this room.

I whispered to Peter. You need to get out of here before they notice us. Peter nodded his head, indicating a yes. He started to tiptoe our way back to the double doors that would lead us down the hallway and back to the ambulance. Before we opened the door, we saw a dozen of these things come out from the room. It was a surgical team in scrubs and masks.

There were black stains on their masks and all over their scrubs. Thinking quickly, I took a crash cart, a medical cart with a defibrillator, medical supplies, and basically everything else you'd need to bring someone back from the dead. Moved it quietly in front of the door, blocking it. It was also blocking our only way back to the ambulance, though. Peter, I whispered. You know this place better than I do. How do we get out of here?

I have an idea. I'll need your radio. I gave him my radio. With a few presses of the buttons and one turn on the knob, he had it all set. He then told me the plan. I'll take the elevators there over to the left. He pointed to the three elevator doors.

I'm going to use your radio and throw it down the hallway. I changed the frequency to one of those non-use channels. I'll press the orange button on top of a radio which would activate the emergency tone on your radio. When all these sick people go over there, we'll take the elevator door and go out through the basement. Peter, you're a genius, you know that? He then threw the radio down the hallway

and it bounced off a wall and into a room. Peter pressed the orange button on top of his radio and the emergency tone began to go on. The creatures got up and started showing. shuffling towards the sound. We made our way over to the elevators and pressed the button. The soft ding sounded like two symbols crashing together. It caused two of the monsters to turn towards us.

I brought my pistol as the door chimed open and we backed in. They were getting closer. Peter kept hitting the closed door button. You know it doesn't matter how many times you press that button right. It won't close any faster, I said. right as the doors were closing the hand got stuck between them which caused the doors to reopen

put my pistol to the thing's head and shot it I followed that with a shot at the one behind it the door closed and reopened again the body was blocking the door so I jumped out of the elevator and moved the body quickly but the gunshot got everyone's attention I started shooting and was able to drop a few more

with some headshots before they could get to the elevator doors. The doors finally closed. We both let out a sigh of relief. Peter took his ID badge out and put it next to the scanner, which allowed us to take the elevator down to the basement. As the doors opened, I had my gun up and ready. Hawley was white and clean with the smell of disinfectant in the air. The sign said morgue.

I looked at him with an expression that read, You can't be serious. I checked and cleared the offices as we made our way down the hallway. I didn't want any surprises coming from behind me. As we checked the last office, he saw a doctor with a bite mark on his arm, who was sitting in his chair and a small pistol was on the floor. The side of his head was blown clean out.

I cleared the office and noticed a small tape player on his desk. I clicked play and listened to the voice of the dead man speak. Circulatory, respiratory, respiratory. and other vital functions have terminated. These subjects are all, well, by all medical definitions, deceased. The infection is spread through direct fluid contact. Must enter the bloodstream through an open wound. Infection duration depends on the size of the wound

and its proximity to a major blood vessel. Reanimation will occur no later than one to 32 minutes after the victim's primary life functions have stopped. Once reanimation has occurred, the person will respond with immediate homicidal aggression. This has proven to happen 100% of the time. I gasped and Peter said. It's a hoax.

It's got to be a hoax. There people just don't get up and walk around. I looked at him and said, I think we're dealing with zombies. As we pushed into the door that said exam room, we saw that there were several autopsy tables. All but one of them was empty. On the occupied table, the subject began to move.

Flopped onto the floor and stood up. All of his vital internal organs fell to the floor. Okay, Peter, explain that. He has no organs in his body now, and his large intestines are dragging behind him. He's just a hollow shell. I fired one round into where his heart used to be and yelled. Come on, Peter, tell me how this is not real. he's dead, but he's got to be.

Fired another round into his neck. But how is he moving then? Peter yelled. As a medical man, I have no explanation. God, just kill it already. Shut it in the head, the man dropped to the floor. Oh man, oh shit, Talon.

They are zombies. Peter gassed out as he started hyperventilating and pacing back and forth. Man, oh no, we gotta get out of here, like now. Okay, Peter, calm down. Now, you said there was a way out through the basement. How did we get out? I asked.

There's a loading door that leads to the parking lot. We use it to have the hearse pick up the body on the backside of the hospital. We'll have to run through the parking lot. We made our way through the last room where they store all the cold bodies. Hearing the banging from inside their individual lockers gave me the chills. We opened the door, ran up the ramp into a world of chaos. Screams and gunshots rang out. It's like being in a war zone. The air-aid sirens were going off like crazy. Stopped Peter a second and said,

Why don't you radio your partner to have him drive the ambulance over to get us? Then we can head to St. Mary's across town to get Evan some help, or just drive out of the city. Radio's dead, Peter said as he clicked the push to talk button twice, which resulted in no sound. crap well so much for that idea right let's get this over with we started jogging around the side of the hospital staying close to the wall saw a man holding a baby carrier in one hand running toward a car with four zombies after him my police instincts took over i ran out and darted out into the parking lot they were on him fast i stopped raise my pistol and shot all four saving the man's life. He hopped into his car and took off,

with not even so much as a thank you. I turned to jog back when something grabbed my foot and bit down. A zombie had pulled itself from under a car and got me. I panicked and shot it. Slide locked back on my service weapon. I reloaded and had a second to breathe. Peter came running over. Did it bite you?

He asked. Yeah, but only on my composite. towboot. I then kicked the twice dead person in the head. I made a mad dash to the ambulance garage. We were running at a good clip when the sound of a jet engine started to spool up and the whooshing of helicopter blades became louder. We both looked up in time to see the air ambulance lift off. Turned to Peter. God, I'd love to be in there. Above all this, safe and... Where I could finish the helicopter took off and shot out to to the left and then right back at the building.

There were three people hanging on to the skids of the chopper. The chopper was clawing for altitude and the engine was screaming. The rotor blades were trying to beat the air into submission with each rotation. An alone, shambling figure stumbled next to the helicopter, which was almost level with the rooftop. We both watched as the zombie got sucked into the air intake and shot out the backside in a mess of gun. The helicopter flamed out as the engine was starved of air and free fell to the ground below and exploded. Right at the entrance of the hospital, we stared for a moment as the zombies came out on fire, shambling around. Peter and I then sprinted to the ambulance garage and Peter used his ID badge to unlock the door.

She shut the door, saw Evan tearing chunks out of Peter's EMT partner. Said a short prayer, raise my pistol and shot Evan in the back of the head. head. Then I shot Peter's partner as well, to be safe. Took Evan's gun, badge and spare magazine. Peter started the ambulance, and I hopped in the back. As we made our way out of the city, we drove over the emergency lights on. It didn't matter that anyone who was on the road didn't care. We were coming up to an intersection.

I was leaning into the front of the ambulance, telling Peter where to go when he suddenly locked up the brakes and we hit something hard. I was flung forward, my leg hitting the edge of the bog head. I remember feeling a deep, sharp pain, and then... Nothing. I woke up to Peter yelling. Down, we need to move fast. I could also hear gunshots.

I opened up the door to see someone dragging a sheriff deputy out of his cruiser. He got him halfway out and turned around to shoot three zombies in the face. He proceeded to drag him out and drag him over to a nearby hotel. I ran over to help. Peter grabbed his medical bag, slung it over his shoulder and followed. The man was arguing with someone on the other side of the hotel's glass door. After everything I'd seen today, I was done dealing with people. I walked up and pointed my pistol at the glass and said,

Open these doors right now, or I'll break the glass. Then no one's safe. The pimply-faced kid was wearing a black shirt that said security. His eyes went wide as he stared down the barrel of my pistol. He locked the door and Peter helped the other guy carry the deputy inside. The man came back out and showed me his police badge. I'm Tenney, he said. I showed him mine and replied,

Detective Tallon, Homicide Units. I realized that the title had somewhat lost its meaning now that the dead were walking. Zombies started shambling towards us. Officer Tenney raced back to the upside-down squad car and came out with a deputy's patrol rifle and started blasting the walking dead back. A couple of survivors ran up and into the hotel. Tenney was walking back when the rifle went dry.

He discarded the empty rifle and pulled his pistol back out and kept shooting until he ran out of ammo. The more continued to come. He ran back to the sheriff's deputy and pulled the pistol mags off his belt. He then ran back out shooting, thinning the horde that slowly made their way towards us. and he was down to his last mag he ran back in and told the security guard to lock the doors

Peter and Tenney carried the deputy to the elevators and we all rode up to the fifth floor Chapter 6 Officer Tenney I was working the dog watch That's 10pm to 6 a.m., except it was more like 10pm to 8 a.m. I was held over on a dumb 9-1-1 call that came in at 5.40 a.m. on the west side of the south side

of the city. An old lady called 911 to report her stolen cats. It was close to 6 a.m. when I arrived to take the report. The old lady told me that someone had stolen her cats. Every night, I let my nine cats out and every morning at 5 a.m. they come back to the door. None of them came back, she explained. I think someone's storm. The name's a catrick, Puzzinator, Cleo Catra, Apollo Por solo Jennifer Winston Perchill

Gin Spur and Purrince Fluffy Bottom I told her I would canvas the neighbourhood I did two slow laps in the patrol car and then parked in front of her house I spent ten minutes on the computer

playing solitaire and then got out and told her I'd send one of our best animal control offices over to take a full statement as soon as they got in well, she was overjoyed. I drove back to the police station, punched out, and changed into my street clothes. I drove to one of our locally owned grocery stores and tapped on the glass.

Normally they don't open until nine, but I knew the owner very well. The sliding doors opened. Hey, Tenney. Got your bags right here, Lisa said. Thanks a lot. Where's Matt? The old man's out sick.

Yeah, a lot of people. are sick. I don't know from what. Well, pharmacy has been swamped these last few days. Don't think there's a single drop of cold medicine left in the building, Lisa replied. Took the bag from Lisa and got back in my truck. The bag consisted of four frozen hamburger patties and a six-pack of ice-cold beer. A beer can't be sold until after 9 a.m. per city ordinance. My field training officer taught me this trick.

Become good friends with the store owner. stop in before your shift and buy your adult beverages and have them hold on to them in a cooler in the back until you're done with your shift. It's not uncommon to stop in after a shift and see five or six bags in the back with different offices' names on them, entered my condo complex and parked my truck.

I got out and saw Ten Coat Tony walking towards me. Now Ten Coat Tony was so aptly named because he always wore ten coats regardless of the weather. He was a well-known homeless man who hung around the complex even after being kicked out by security. I talk to Tony every now and then. He likes to tell me what house was making meth or who had warrants. Hey Tony, how's it going this morning? I asked.

Tony let out and... Damn, Tony, that sounds bad. You should go to that free walk-in clinic and get yourself checked out. Well, his response was another. Well, have a good one. I said as I walked into my condo. I put my pistol and badge that I carry off duty on the table and walk to the backyard of my condo.

I headed to the small gate park that connects all the ground floor condos. I fired up the small propane grill that we all share and put the burgers on as I cracked open a beer. Yeah, it was close to nine in the morning, but when you work third, 9 a.m. feels like 9 p.m. I just flipped the burgers and sat down in the lawn chair when Leo, the condo security guard, came up to me. You know, the owner doesn't like people drinking in the communal yard early in the morning.

Makes the place look less inviting to new residents. I slammed the rest of my beer and popped the top on a new one. I understand you have a job to do, Leo, and I can respect that. Don't sweat the small stuff. If someone is breaking into cars or trespassing, by all means stopping. One person drinking one beer at 9 a.m. on property they paid a living. Not a reason to get your underwear in a bunch.

Leo took a step back and put his hand on the revolver he carried. A voice from one of the other condos yelled out. Leo, leave him alone, go deal with Tony. It's in the parking lot again. Dave, a third-shift worker at a steel mill, walked out of his place and up to me. Hey, Tenney, can I bomb one off you? I handed Dave a beer and we clinked bottles,

and down to third of it in Juan Paul. With a satisfying... Things are getting crazy out there, ain't they? Dave said. It was a statement more than a fact. I wouldn't know. Got me working in the rich west side. A bunch of old people with money.

People who call the police if they see someone who has skin darker than that of an Irish man. Today I took a call about missing cats. That's what happens when you pay the city. the $8,000 a month. They make sure you have a cop right there when you need it. Or should I say allegedly pay $8,000 to the city? Dave and I let out a laugh.

Took the burgers off the grill and offered one to Dave, who politely declined saying he'd already eaten. Dave continued. You know, my wife works at the hospital. Yes, I do. She had to do blood draws on more than one unruly person for me, I answered. Oh, anyway, she got caught into work early and she left me with some weird voice messages.

We're not allowed to have our cell phones on the mail floor. So when I finish my shift at 6am, well, you just listen to him. Dave said as he pulled his phone out of his pants pocket. After a few seconds, he hit play. Voice message, time 3, 27 a.m. Hey, honey, sorry to call you at work, but Dr. Fisher called out to him. in early about something. I didn't really hear him. I was half asleep.

The shower turned on, the light hum of a bathroom fan could be heard in the background. So, I'm just stepping in the shower now. I don't know when I'll be done, but don't let the kids sleep too late. You know how teenagers are. Anyway, I love you. Anyway, I love you, and I'll see you when I get back home. Bye. Voice Mail, time 449 a.m.

He just got out of surgery, well, kind of. The weirdest thing happened. There was a hesitant pause. The guy we were working on flatlined and the anesthetologist hit him with a high dose of adrenaline. The surgeon zapped him with the AED paddles and he came back, but his vitals was still flatlined. The patient got up off the surgical table. Fortunately, we didn't start cutting into him yet. We all left the room and security's handling it right now.

We were told his heart monitor was not working. Someone in the background was running, followed by someone shouting, Cobleu, Cobleu in the ICU. Look, I've got to go. I love you. It was rapidly said before she hung up. Voice mail. Time 505 a.m.

Muffle talking, running footsteps, and the sound of fabric against the microphone could be heard. pocket dial, most likely, I said. Dave nodded in agreement. Then we heard a male's voice. Okay, time of death is 5.07 a.m. Let's get him strapped down. We don't know exactly what's causing this,

so let's get him down to the quarantine area and call the CDC and the MIDRP to let them know we got another one. There was a scream followed by more footsteps and a woman yelling. Where are you taking my husband? There was some more arguing back and forth. Doctor, I've got one moving in room too. A male voice followed. That's only been two minutes this time.

Another male voice could be heard. Oh, Jesus, it's speeding up. I'm calling security. The last voice we heard belonged to a female. Forget that. Call the police. Then the line cut out. Voice mail time 531 a.m. There was a sound of heavy breathing followed by the starting of a car.

Dave, they cancelled all vacations and leaves. They're calling in everyone. The CDC, DHS, FBI, just everyone. There's no medical reasoning. Long story short, some of the other nurses and even a few doctors left. I don't know if I'm going to have a job tomorrow. as could be heard squealing as if someone was taking a turn at high speed. I'm getting the kids, heading up to your parents' cabin up north.

Please meet me there, ASAP. Then there was a brief pause. I love you, Dave. Wow, that's some heavy shit right there, I said. I know, I feel bad for not going. I tried calling, but it went to voicemail. Well, there's no self-service of the cabin. Before I got to my car last night, the mills manager told us that due to the number of people calling in sick,

we'd get triple pay on top of our overtime, Danny. That's almost $200 an hour. Well, I can't pass that up. I'll work a double shift, meet the wife and kids tomorrow. I'm also more than a little peeved at her. I checked the bank statement for today, and there was a withdrawal for $2,000 that she spent at a shop called Army Surplus and Survivor. She knows money's tired Oh, sorry

Don't mean to ramble on with my personal matters I'm gonna head in and go to bed Hey, thanks for the beer I went back inside my place and turned on my Xbox I was ready for an hour or so of gaming Before I went to bed as well Sat down in my lazy chair And before I could grab the controller

I was asleep I woke a few hours later to my cell phone ringing The TV screen showed the main menu screen of Dead Island still playing. I had a new voicemail from the police department. All off duty law enforcement personnel are required to report for immediate assignment. I turned the TV off and thought, well, there goes my day. I called the police station where I work from and got a hold of Captain Stafford.

I told him I'd be in as soon as possible. I opted into the shower and changed my clothes. My uniform and duty belt stayed at the police substantiated. station in my locker. Grab my gun and badge and ran out the door. Got into my truck and saw that Davis' car was gone. Sped out of the complex to the sound of Leo yelling, Slow it down or I'll report you.

The traffic was crazy. People were running stop signs and speeding like the world was ending. I saw a minivan with a family in it go onto the sidewalk. The heck is going on? I said out loud to myself. I was only a few blocks away from the substation. I saw a young woman trying to fend off a man from assaulting. I threw my truck in park, jumped out and reached my police badge in my pocket, put it around my neck.

I ran at the man yelling. Hey, asshole, police, stop. I tackled the man to the ground and the woman ran away screaming. I thought with this guy for a minute. He was bigger than me, but a lot slower. Well, almost like he was drunk. He let out and... I tried to bite me a few times.

I had him on his stomach with his hands behind his back. With no cuffs on me, there wasn't much I could do. I pinned his hands down with my legs and called dispatch, but it just kept ringing. A man from one of the stores came over with a roll of duct tape. With his help, we were able to tape the man's hands behind his back. That's when I heard the sound of approaching police silence. Here come the boys in blue, I said. The two police cars race right by me.

I could see a third one coming down the street with its hood all dinged up and scrape marks along the push bumper, along with a cracked windshell. Jumped out into the street, partially in front of the cruiser, and held out my badge. The police car screeched to a halt. I ran up to the driver's side as the window was being rolled down. Police, I said, while holding up my car. my badge and ID for them to see. I've got someone who needs transport to the jail for battery. I'll fill out the paperwork once I get to my substation. The two offices in the car look terrified

to no end. They both got out and I noticed the officer in the passenger seat was holding a shotgun. I brought the officer over to the person on the ground and together we got the suspect into the back of the police car. Start to finish, he was trying to bite us. Before the officer left, asked what their assignment was. The officer holding the shotgun said, We're on our way to the hospital, but we had to divert. A detective on the south side needed backup. Something about an officer down.

With that, the two officers left with a prisoner in the back of their car. I hopped into my truck and started to drive to my substation, horrified by the carnage. Traffic was at a standstill. After five minutes of not moving, I jumped the curb and drove through. some small brush and ended up in an empty fast food parking lot. I part my truck and walked the four blocks to the station. I tucked my badge under my shirt and kept my pistol concealed so I wouldn't draw attention to myself.

While I was walking like everyone else, trying to blend in, my situational awareness had skyrocketed up to the max. I saw a guy across the street pick up a brick and throw it through a pawn shop glass door. The man entered and the sound of a shotgun being racked. could be heard. I froze, waiting for the shot to ring out. The man ran out of the store, yelling and cursing at the person inside. I tried to suppress a chuckle and thought, that person is upset because they can't freely loot a store. When I approached the front of the station, a wave of dead bodies laid on the ground in front of the main doors. Pop marks made

by bullets riddled the wall behind all these bodies. The main doors were broken and smashed in. brass casings of both rifles and pistols were scattered everywhere, reflecting in the sunlight. It looked like glistening dew on grass. I walked up the steps with my gun out, the low, ready. I walked down the hallway leading to the lobby of the police department. There was an officer on the ground. But he was torn apart and had a single gunshot to his head. The officer's name tag said, E. Hudson.

Damn, that really sucks. Eddie just transferred here from Texas not too long ago, I thought. The bullet-resistant glass we used in the lobby to separate the front desk from the office had multiple bullet impacts in it. It was cracked and spider-webbed all over the place. I used my ID to gain access into the building. Suddenly, all the lights went out. A second later, every other overhead light came on, and I could feel a slight vibration under my feet. The backup generators must have clicked on.

The first floor had a few offices and a break room with a door leading out to the backlock where the squad cars were parked. I stuck my head out and saw that only two cop cars were left. I walked up to the second floor which had our armoury, locker room, workout room, roll call room and the showers. I opened the door to the armoury and was stunned to see it was empty and completely cleaned out. No radio, taser or flashlight. The weapon racks were empty as well. MP5s, 870s, 590s, M4s, even the three Gulf War era M16 that no one ever used on patrol. But for some reason the top brass didn't want to get rid of.

Well, it was all gone. Every last round of ammunition was gone as well. I walked into the locker room next. Like a tornado had gone through. The lock on my locker was cut and my spare magazines and my belt were gone. slammed the lock shut and yelled Come on I went into the roll call room

and saw that papers were all over the place and the windows overlooking the front parking lot were broken aisles of brass laid in front of the windows clearly a battle had taken place here and I'd missed it every name in the second shift was crossed out along with most of the first shift as well only a few in the third shift In the corner, a handful of names, with mine included, said M-I-A.

Above that, someone wrote, head to police H-Q. I saw Hudson's name crossed off on the second-shift list. I thought, what? He didn't evacuate to H-Q? He was in the hallway. Then it hit me. It became unsteady on my feet. I found the nearest waste basket and heaved my gut sounds.

They didn't evacuate. They were killed in the line of duty. All of the second shift died less than 48 hours ago. I was recently joking around in the break room with them. Now they're all gone. I sat on a desk and let the entirety of the situation wash over me. Chapter 7. A drive through town.

Scream or a gunshot. I can't remember which broke me out of my grieving trance. I searched the desks and found a spare squad car key. Luckily, all of our cars are keyed the same, so this key will work on all the cars in the fleet. I opted not to change into my uniform and instead stayed with what I had on. I went to the marked squad car and tried to start it,

but got nothing but a click, click, click, of a bad starter. The only other car left was a Ford Fusion unmarked car. It started and had a full tank of gas, which worked for me. Police headquarters building shares the same building as City Hall and sits on top of a small hill. Fortunately, I'd have to drive through most of the city to get there. I wanted to swing by the National Guard Armory. Few of the guys on the Force were in the National Guard,

and I wanted to see if we were going to get help from the big green machine. Took a side street in order to try to get a better view of the armour. So a large, lifted pickup truck smashed through both sets of chain, Lincoln. razor wire fencing and crashed into the building, got stuck halfway out. Hundreds of the people were walking through the hole in the fence. I reached into the center console of the squad car and found the binoculars that most undercover cops have with them. I saw the people walking, completely ignoring the razor wire on the ground.

It was astounding to the point of sick fascination as one person became completely entangled in the razor wire. I just kept trying to walk forward, even as the razors cut deep into their flesh. They all shambled their way into the building. I'd seen enough and left, never once getting close to the armour. I continued to drive, letting the images of people's limbs getting torn to ribbons occupy my thoughts. My peripheral vision caught a bright light. When I looked out at the passenger side window, I saw the large flames engulfing the city's large indoor shopping centre. I locked up the brakes and got out of the car

I got a good look at the mall and realised there were no firefighters around A fire this size would have called for every firefighter not only from the city but everyone from the surrounding area as well I was on the outer road to the mall I saw something come out of the mall's entrance which was blazing inferno I reached into the passenger seat and grabbed the binoculars the neck loop got caught on the siren control box

and when I gave it a yank to free them, it accidentally turned the siren off. I ignored it and turned my attention back to the flaming scene before me. I saw a few people walking about in the days. Their clothing was smoking and singed. Their skin was charred black and appeared to be falling off. I turned off the siren and reached for the radio mic, but I couldn't find it.

I panicked and looked around everywhere. Where the police radio was normally kept was an empty, hole with wires sticking out and a post-it note that said, Radio is broken, waiting on new one. Love fleet management, along with a frowny face at the end of the note. That explains why it was so quiet in the car, I thought to myself. In my shock of realizing that most of my fellow officers were dead, I never once thought about using the radio.

I lifted the binoculars to my face once again as the figures in the parking lot were now walking towards me. I could feel my blood turned to ice, when a dozen, then two dozen, followed by too many for me to count, came walking out of the inferno of the moor. Some were smoking, but most of them were on fire, stiffly moving and walking straight towards me. They were all locked in on me, staring at me. Even the ones with no eyes were slowly marching towards me. The wind carried the smell of burning flesh and the sounds of mules. I panicked and took off.

Two black burnt-out masks on the road were the only traces of evidence I was ever there. I drove fast with my police training kicking in. I just wanted to get to the police headquarters. I could hear the screams and cries for help. Tore my soul not to stop and investigate, but I slowed up at an intersection, two cars had hit head on. The driver wasn't wearing a seatbelt and was sticking out of the windshield. Skin around their face,

arms had been filleted. Two people were eating the driver. Found a clear section of road and got up to 45 miles an hour when a lady with a baby stroller ran out in front of me. I hit the brakes, snapped the wheel to the left and jumped onto the sidewalk, going airborne and hitting a telephone pole. The airbags deployed. I did not black out, thank God, but I was in the days. Desperately wanted to check on this woman and her baby. I got out, still breathing in the powder from the airbags, and I managed to cough out. You're okay, ma'am. The lady looked on in shock after just witnessing my car crash.

Yes, I am, she replied while slowly trying to walk away. Is your baby okay? She looked at me confused and asked, Baby? There was a long pause, then she said. Oh yeah, the baby. He's fine. as well. I started walking towards her. She looked scared, so I reached into my pocket and put my

police badge around my neck. I said, it's okay, ma'am. I'm a police officer. I'm worried about your baby. I'd just like to check you to make sure he's okay. Her eyes went even wider when she saw the police badge. She hurriedly replied, no, it's okay, officer, he's fine. I need to go. Even in her days, something wasn't adding up. When I got close, so I noticed her pupils were dilated. She had very quick and jerky eye movements, and her face had a slight twitch to it. Ma'am, you were in the middle of the road and not using a crosswalk.

I'm going to need to see some identification, so I can issue you a jaywalking citation. If you had this look at me, you can't be serious. Bailey had a show ID when asked his obstruction, and you can go to jail. I said, as the sounds of chaos, continued all around us. People were running past,

tires were squealing, and emergency vehicles could be heard all over. She mumbled something under her breath, and turned to reach into her purse. I quickly walked over and looked inside the baby stroller. There was no baby in there, only boxes of suitor fed,

bottles of nail polish, and other common ingredients to make crystal meth. Bored out a switchblade from her purse and screamed, Look, I'll cut you up good. Swung the blade at me. I grabbed the baby stroller and shoved it away and pulled out my gun. She looked on as the stroller rocketed into the curb and fell over, emptying all the contents onto the street and down the sewer drain.

She emitted an unholy scream. So loud and shrill that I honestly thought her lungs were going to explode. She ran away from me as I took off after her. I don't know why I did. Maybe it was just instinct. or maybe it was because she pulled a knife on me. I made it a block before I lost sight of her. It took a second to get my bearings

and saw that I was at the grocery store. It was early morning. The doors were smashed and people were running in and out, mostly carrying food, clothing and baby formula. Every now and then someone with nothing but alcohol or a flat TV screen would run out. I walked inside and watched the frazzled people loading up shopping carts with supplies and running out.

I had a faint whisper that sounded terrified, calling my name. I looked over the front of the counter, I saw Lisa. A right eye was swollen shut. The cash register that normally sat at the service counter was ripped right out of the counter. All the cigarettes they kept on the shelves were gone. My God, Lisa, what's going on? I asked. I don't know, Tenney. Everything was fine this morning.

I was a little busier than normal. Last hour or so we had lines around the store with people ready to check out One person got mad and pushed past without paying and everyone else followed Now it's just a madhouse I called the police an hour ago but no one's shown up Now everyone is just looting I don't know what to do Lisa said with tears streaming down her cheeks

I took a second to think and came up with a quick idea Not really sure if it would work Hey, does the Stor's PA system still work? I asked as I made my way over to the microphone stand. She nodded her head, yes. I grabbed the microphone and hit the store-wide announcement button. I leaned over to Lisa and said, Darling, you might want to cover your ears for this next part.

As she did so, I pulled out my service pistol and fired two rounds into the air, causing everyone to freeze in place. Spoke into the microphone. attention shoppers attention shoppers the police are here and shooting looters drop what you have now and leave or you will be killed that is all as if everyone had the same idea at once the sounds of things hitting the floor could be heard followed by feet slapping the floor 40 or more people ran out of the store at lightning speed after everyone was out of the store lisa and i walked around we found one of the employees hiding behind the meeting counter and a pharmacy tech hiding in the break room. We were just about to finish sweeping the back storage room when we all heard a wet smacking sound accompanied by groans and moans coming from a janitor closet.

I opened the door to the closet and saw the two topless teenagers, a boy and a girl, frantically sucking face with each other like it was at the end of the world. Lisa yelled. Stephen and Elizabeth, oh my word! Panic, the two stopped and frantically looked for their shirts. The four adults, myself included, tried our best to keep the smirk off our faces. After everyone was properly clothed and ready, I told the group, I'm heading to the police headquarters building, and should be safe there.

They all agreed and wanted to come with me. None of them had a car, so you'd have to go on foot. Lisa told everyone to grab a backpack from the school supply section, put a few cans of food, bottled water, and first aid kit, along with a bat from the sporting goods section. in their back. After everyone was ready and relatively armed, he set off. We made it a few blocks when we came across a car smashed into a building. There was a person pinned between the car's bumper and the brick building. The person was moaning and trying to reach for us. A snap and

cracking sound was heard as the person broke free and landed on the ground. He started crawling his way towards us, organs and guts falling out as he continued to crawl our way. someone in the group said how's that possible are they still alive I replied with I don't know and I raised my pistol

and fired two rounds one into the shoulder and one in the heart this thing didn't seem to notice or care that it had been shot Stephen piped up still a little embarrassed after getting caught trying to get to second base

dude haven't you played left for dead before look better the undead you know, zombies. You have to shoot them in the head to kill them, unless they are the return of the living dead zombies, in which case, you need to burn them. I raised my pistol up and fired one round into his head. The creature stopped moving and laid still on the road. Stephen then said, Hey, what did I tell you? Okay, undead. Suddenly there was a mix of emergency sirens and a loud crash. I looked up two blocks and saw a police car flip upside down. down and an ambulance crashing into a glass storefront. I yored to the group and took off running while the others struggled to keep up with me. When I got to the intersection, I saw that the cop car said Bear Creek County Sheriff on the side.

I need to check on the officer to see if they're okay. I used to work for Bear Creek before I transferred to Sunburst PD. I crawled into the driver's side window that was broken by the impact and immediately recognized the deputy despite him being in full riot gear. The M FM radio was on in the cruiser And the robotic voice of the emergency alert system Was repeating a message I undid Alex's seatbelt

And started to get him out of the cruiser and somewhere to safety I looked around and saw a hotel Ah, that's better than nothing, I thought And started to drag Deputy Alex across the pavement I noticed three zombies coming out of a building near me I pulled my pistol out, shot all three of them Reholstered and bent down to continue dragging and I saw Alex's eyelids flutter a little.

Lisa ran up to me and grabbed Alex's other arm. Alianed in and said, Easy Alex. We'll get you to safety. Together we dragged him over to the hotel. The sound of his riot helmet scraping against the pavement was unsettling. I saw the back door to the ambulance open up, and a person in an EMT uniform got out, followed by a female. We reached the door to the hotel.

I tried to open them, but they were. were locked. There's a security guard standing nearby. I told him I was a cop, but he still refused to unlock the door. The female from the ambulance ran up, pointed a pistol at the kid behind the glass and yelled, Open these doors right now, I will break the glass and then no one is safe. I thought to myself, damn, why didn't I think of that? She then said, Peter, help him get the deputy inside. Peter, the EMT, and I got Alex into the lobby of the hotel. Peter stayed behind to check on Alex. I ran over to the female and showed her my badge, Officer Tenney. He pulled her badge from her belt and said, Detective Talon, homicide unit. I saw the others from the grocery store

running towards us, but the undead were closing in on all of us. I ran out to cover the group, diving into the overturned squad car. I quickly came out with Alex's patrol rifle and started shooting. With no additional magazines for the rifle, it quickly ran out of ammo and I discarded it onto the ground. It might have been more ammo for it in the squad car, but there was no time to look. I yelled, in here, it's safer.

I shot my pistol dry, but more of the undead were coming. I ran back into the hotel and up to Alex, pulling the two magazines he had on his duty belt. Hey, buddy, I said. I'm going to need these. Alex moved a little and his hand lazily went to his pistol in the hostel. Don't worry, Alex.

We'll get to keep that. I shot and shot and shot until I used up both magazines that I'd taken from Alex, thinning the onslaught of the undead until there were none left. I ran back into the hotel and looked at the security guard. He locked the door. Detective Tallon and Peter grabbed Deputy Alex, picked him up, took him into the elevator, pressing the button for the fifth floor.

Chapter 8. Deputy Alex Well, damn, is all I could say. Tenny put his hands in his pocket and said, Yep. Taller went to stand up but clasped to the floor. Shit, Peter said. Yeah, she's losing blood. She needs plasma fast. Blood would be better, but I don't know her blood type.

Any in your ambulance? I asked Peter. He shook his head, no. We used it up trying to save her partner. Danny stepped up and said, Guessing the only place to get some is in a hospital. That's also a place we do not want to go. Peter shook his head no and said,

Actually, there's a fire station nearby that might have some. Tanny jumped in. Bull crap, there's no fire station in the tourist district. I've responded to enough drunken fights and car accidents there. The closest station's on Walnut Street. It's at least a 30-minute walk from here. Peter put up a hand to stop, Taney. Now, let me rephrase.

It's the closest unmanned station. It's an old fire station that closed down and is now used as an auxiliary storage unit. It's mostly used for specialized equipment like hazmat trucks and brush trucks. It's also where we stall the rescue boat for winter. He even had a helicopter landing pad for the air ambulance, not to mention we use it as a resupply point for all our ambulances and fire trucks. Well, I cut in. So, will there be plasma there?

No doubt. I bet no one would have looted it. Looks like a warehouse only about four blocks from here if we cut through the park. What about physical security? Tenney asked. Peter replied, riot shutters. They look like heavy due to garage doors that protect both first floor. floor doors and windows and second floor windows when closed.

Also has a fenced-in parking lot. Tenney raised an eyebrow and asked. Over-pressured, CBRN and PFBL. That's correct, Peter said. I was confused as hell and spoke up. Hey, can we stop talking in alphabet soup language? Danny and Peter laughed a little. It's just a fancy way of saying it's safe, Tenney said.

Well, we're going to do something, let's do it quickly. The sun's going to be going down soon, and I don't want to move at night in the open, I replied. Tenney stood up on the small coffee table and began speaking to everyone in the room. Everyone, listen, listen up, we need to get detective talent some medical treatment. Suffice to say, hospitals are a no-go. There's a fire station four blocks from here. Tenney turned to look at Peter, who nodded his head, yes. Yeah, four blocks from here.

It'd be a much better location to stay safe. Deputy Alex and myself will not force you to leave, but we are both going. We were leaving in five minutes. A lady ran up to me. I could see the anger in her eyes. I'm not going anywhere. That's fine, lady. Like Officer Tenney said, no one is making you.

Yeah, but you need to help us, she said, poking her fingers into my chest. I was trying to keep my professionalism, but it was getting harder to do so. She was targeting me because I was in uniform. What would you like me to do? She replied in a stern tone. You are the police. You're supposed to protect us. It was then that I lost my cool.

Lady, one fucking cop who was ten minutes away from clocking out when all this shit happens. This is not some PDA meeting where the louder voice gets heard. There are two options. One, you come with us or two, don't come with us. The lady who was steaming mad at this point yelled, I want your name and badge number. I'm going to be filing a complaint and speaking to your supervisor. Well, I started to laugh at her.

I put my arm around her and watered to the window. In a scarily calm voice, I said, My supervisor is down there somewhere, shambling around with all the dead. But please go find him and do that. tell him I hurt your feelings. Tenney put a hand on my shoulder. Come on man, let's go. Our small group consisting of myself,

Tenny, Peter, five people from the grocery store, two of which were carrying Detective Tallinn, got into the elevator and rode down to the ground floor. Denny and Peter ran over to the ambulance and quickly got a folding stretcher out and raced back. Tenney dropped two of the zombies on his way back. He quickly got Tallon onto the stretcher.

At every intersection, I would peek my head out. to make sure it was clear. Then he would dash across the street to secure the other side, and then the group would go across with me in the rear. We crossed the park with no problem. The occasional shouting and squealing of tires could be heard. The air smelled of structure fires.

In the parking lot of the park, a school bus that says Sunshine Daycare was parked. The front windshield was covered in blood. Little bloody hands began slapping at the windows of the bus, and the doors began shaking. I looked at Tenney and his look mirrored mine. No one wanted to deal with undead children. We left the bus alone and made it one more block up.

The sun had just about dipped below the horizon now. We all saw the red and blue lights of several emergency vehicles. This gave the group hope that maybe this would be a safe place after all. Then he approached the group as we all jogged towards the lights of salvation. In the event of most radio communication, all SBPD officers on duty have to report to the fire station or police department, whichever one is closest to them. Clearly, some of my colleagues knew about this place and did not tell anyone. A chair rang out amongst the group as we rounded the corner to see four SBPD squad cars sitting there in front of the firehouse. All of them were parked in different angles and directions.

Doors have been flung open and brass casing lay around blackened, colored stains. The emergency lights that were flashing caused all the shadows to jump around. We had the group stay back as Tenney and I cleared the building. Peter gave us a rough layout from memory and we entered. The vehicle bays were all empty with the garage doors open. Even the boat and trailer were gone. There was one door on the left and one door on the right. Also on the right side was an old brass fireman's pole.

We went left. The room we entered was, as Peter had said, a big warehouse. Shelfes line the walls in the center of the room, complete with portable oxygen tanks, gauze, hemorrhage control, and other equipment and devices. There was a palette of cardboard boxes with a crescent moon symbol on the side, along with a bunch of bottled water. I noticed a small walk-in freezer with a plastic seal on the door. The label on the door said plasma.

The warehouse was cleared, and we continued to the right side. The ground floor had two small offices in a break room. At the far back was a locker room where we heard the sound of running water. When we walked into the open bay shower, there was steam everywhere. We found three firefighters, two in full bunker gear with their oxygen tanks on. One had a red and silver fire axe sticking out of their back. Their full face respirator was hanging on the ground. The last firefighter was in a green hazmat suit.

The suit was fully inflated and he was trying to bite through the plastic window on the suit. A small female lay on the ground. Her dark blue uniform was unmistakably of police uniform. Her legs were missing all the way to the knees, and she had an empty pistol in her hand. Blood leaked from a single hole in her head. The red mixed with a shower of water as it swirled down the drain. Tenney and I each shot two times and all three figures dropped. Kenny started kicking one of the now twice dead corpses.

I grabbed him. "'Chillman. Hold it together.' "'You looked at me and said, "'She wasn't even a cop. "'That's our police cadet's uniform. "'Things must have gotten so bad "'that we sent them out before graduation. "'Look at her duty belt.

"'Just a holster, nothing else. "'Sure enough, he said police cadet on her shoulder patch. "'Tenny, we still have to clear the rest of the building. "'He nodded as we met our way up to the second floor. The smell of old, musty bed sheets hit us two steps from the top. We opened the door with a loud creep. It was pitch black. I activated my pistol, mounted light and shone it around.

It was a big room with about two dozen beds and several doors. Opening the doors, we saw that it was either single or double bedrooms. Beyond that, it was a kitchen and pantry. All the cabinets were bare. A washer and dryer were off to one side. It looks like the room's cleared, Tenney said. Yep, it appears so. Kenny's eyes flickered over to the fireman pole that led to the garage below, and he cracked a grin.

You thinking what I'm thinking? I asked. Before I could finish, I heard, uh, woo. Tenney slid down the pole. I followed him, making the similar sound as we slid down the 12-foot pole. We signalled for everyone to come over. The place still had power running to it. Then he and I turned off the emergency light in the squawker.

Peter and the group got Talon into a bed and immediately got a bag of plasma and hooked her up to the IV. Lisa and another employee went to take care of the four bodies in the shower. Then he closed the garage door and the riot shutters. With Talon sedated, Peter, the pharmacist, Tech and I went into the warehouse to see what kind of medication they had on hand. Peter, I got to ask. I saw a pallet of MRIs and the pallet of water. What's up with that? Peter turned to the pharmacy tech

and rattled off a bunch of medication names that they'd need. Then he addressed my question. This building, besides being a resupply point and storage area for the fire department, was enough supplies to keep the city operational in case of a natural disaster for up to three days. After that, outside resources should arrive. That's interesting. Didn't know that, I said. Yep, most people don't, Peter replied.

I walked out of the warehouse and up to the second floor where I heard Tenney's frustrated voice. Oh, come on, man. I found him in a small room crammed full of radio gear. I leaned against the doorframe and asked, What's going on? He turned in the swivel chair to look at me. Nothing, Alexson. I mean, nothing on the two-way radio from low frequency to HF, civilian band, police, military, county to county, ground to air, local estate, even ham radio frequency.

I've tried everything in between, and there's nothing. Someone is jamming every radio frequency on the spectrum. Then he flipped a few switches and turned knobs and then pointed to the small digital display. It read 34.9 up. Tenney went on This is the National Guard Radio frequency Tenney spoke into the radio handset

Sierra Bravo 4210 to anyone on this frequency Please respond Turn to look at me See Nothing Alex Switched over to several other channels 47.42

52.525 138.225 158.25 156. and repeated the message. He looked at me again and said, See, nothing, except for here. This is where it gets weird.

You moved the dial on the radio, and the screen displayed 162.40. Static filled the speakers. So what? Every radio you've tried is full of static, I said. Yeah, Taney replied. This is the common radio frequency for. the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA.

You know, the weather radios you can buy at any big box store. Well, this is the frequency they use. They're jamming the damn weather channel. Someone really does not want any information going in or coming out of sunburst. I looked at him and my mind was made up. Tenney, need to get out of here. Need to get out of the city and find Erica. No one knows if this is an isolated event or if it spread all over the county or state.

You said everyone was falling back to police HQ. I went ahead there if I'd find out information about this. I'll swim across the Cook River if I have to. I'm coming too. Someone has to keep your ass alive out there. The two of us found Peter and the rest of the group and talked to them about it. Everyone, Deputy Alex and I are going to head to the police headquarters to try and find information about what's going on and to check in with our chain of command.

If we can have everyone writing down their information on this paper, and I'm going to pass around, then we'll let the people in charge know who's here and try to get help sent. Might even be able to get a medical evacuation for Detective Tallon. Peter will be staying behind to look after her. We're not leaving you undefended. We're leaving Tallinn's service pistol here for you guys. Now there are exactly eight bullets left. Alex and I will also have eight bullets.

left. We'll move the squad cars minus the one we're taking to the inside of the building. Should you have to leave, use them. The keys will be on the front of seat. Right, any questions? Everyone shook their heads, no. Before we left, we tactically acquired a box of MREs in a case of water. Tenney and I walked out of the fire station and started moving the squad cars inside the empty garage. So, Alex, um, what car are we fancy into? today. Tenney asked. With three Crown Vicks and one new police SUV. Well, I've got my eye on that new SUV, I said.

Police SUV was dark blue. Some burst police was painted in white along the side with the city's crests behind it. The word's traffic units were written below that near the bottom of the door. A license plate reader was mounted just below the light bar. A push bar was mounted to the front bumper and an antenna of all sizes of was fastened to the roof. Said our goodbyes and left the fire station. I drove and Tenney rode shotgun, giving me directions on where to go.

He made it six blocks when I saw a face in my rearview mirror. I yelled. What the heck? Slammed on the brakes, the wheel screeching to a halt. A loud thump echoed off the prisoner cage in the back. Tenney looked at me and said, Hey, what was that? He both turned around to see a dead guy in the back seat.

He was handcuffed and trying to bite through the plexiglass window separating us. Tenney said, Oh, snap, I know this guy. You know this guy? Yeah, Tenney replied. I know this guy. It's Tony. I saw him this morning and...

His sentence trailed off to a stop. I gave him a questioning look. Tenney continued as the realization became evidence. Yeah. God, he might even have been a zombie when I told to him this morning. Tony let out an... From the back seat to the squad car. Tenny, we can't just have a dead guy in the back of our car.

Not after the last time. Penny raised his hands in mock surrender. Okay, okay, just roll down the back window and I'll take care of it. He said. I rolled down the windows, his ten... Tenney stepped out. So, what's the plan here? Even with the windows down, you still have the window cage in the...

Single shot rang out. Tony's body went limp in the back seat. Tenney rehusted his pistol and hopped back into the passenger seat. He smacked the dash twice and said, Okay, let's go. I rode my eyes at him, got out and made my way to the trunk of the car. He began rummaging around. Roll Flares, kitty letter, traffic cones.

Ah, here it is, I said, while reaching for the bottle of bleach and rubber gloves. I'd on the gloves and started pulling the now twice dead Tony out of the squawker. Tenny got out and asked, What are you doing? I looked at him as I lifted Tony out of the car. Working on my deadlift. Tenney let out a sarcastic laugh at this. I started pouring the small bottle of bleach. onto the hard plastic seats.

As I was pouring the harsh-smelling cleaning agent onto the footwell, I noticed something. Hey man, come here for a second and look at this. What is it? Tenney asked, as he made his way over to my side of the squad car. I pointed to the floor of the prison cage. Look, this one solid plastic piece which means... But Tenney finished the sentence for me. When John Doe gets drunk and blows chunks in the back seat,

who no longer slosh its way under the driver's seat and onto my shoes. I nodded my head and replied. Exactly, and look at this too. I pulled up on a small metal ring no bigger than a keychain ring. Instantly, the liquid bleach started spilling out from under the car. Oh, how's a drain? Oh, Fort Motor Company. You do know how to make a squad car.

We both got in and started driving down the road. Tanny and I talked about how nice it would be when we get these new SUVs for normal duties. For the next few moments, I forgot about the zombie apocalypse going on. We're just people talking about work. Chapter 9. Highway. To hell. Right, take the outer ring highway. It's only a 20-minute drive to police headquarters from here.

Tanny said, as he pointed for me, to take the on-ramp. I made a ride and got up to the top of the on-wring. ramp only to be stopped by a line of cars that stretched as far as the eye could see. Well, now what? The road's blocked. Well, Alex, roads work in both directions. Just drive on the other side of the highway, see? He said while pointing.

It's clear. No traffic or accidents. Wouldn't that take twice as long looping around the whole city? I asked. Not if you drive against the traffic, Tenney replied. I went red in the face and admitted I didn't even think about it. doing that. I drove down the ramp, made a turn and started going up

the exit ramp. I activated the police cars, take down lights on the light bar, along with the emergency lights and the high beams. This would illuminate anything in front of us for a good distance out, and warn any oncoming motorists. I was driving 45 miles an hour.

Then he leaned over the centre console and said, Hey, Grandma, speed limit 70, let's pick up the speed. Excuse me for wanting to be safe as we do something incredibly dangerous, I replied. What'll happen if we had an oncoming driver? Tenney gestured with his hand out of the window and said,

What driver? Everyone's dead. We then drove in silence. The only sound was the SUV's wheels on the roadway. The tension was high in the squad car. Tenney spoke. Yeah, Alex. Does that deputy, forget his name.

One who had the devil on night watch. Does this still work there? I shook my head and no and said. He transferred back to Texas shortly after you left. Okay. Teddy said, and turned to look out the passenger window. It was my turn to speak up now. Hey, Tenny.

You know who would absolutely love what's happening right now? Who? Remember a few years back that we had that in-service training with the other departments. We all went out drinking after. I looked over to see Tenney start to crack a grin. Well, I continued. Yeah, that female deputy told us her whole job is to babysit the gas station at the edge of town. All those weird stories she told us after pounding back those shots.

Now, this would be a normal day for her. We both let out of love. And he pointed to all the cars on the other side of the highway and said, Man, so many cars. People are either trying to escape or just trying to get home. It didn't help that this all took off around rush hour. Yeah, that's for sure. This highway is notorious for traffic backups on a good day, I replied.

Then he shone the police car passenger spotlight on all the cars parked bumper to bumper. A lot of the cars had their doors open, with the driver no longer there. Some of the windows were smashed while others had zombies still stuck in the car with seat belts on. You even had the insides covered with blood as if a red can have painted exploded. You know what this reminds me off with all these cars? Tanny asked. Not a clue. Remember when we got caught in early to assess the neighboring county because of those chemicals that leaked into the town's drinking water.

Everyone who drank it was hallucinating that monsters in purple fog were out to get them. I was in the middle of taking a drink of water and almost choked on it. I nodded my head, yes, and said, Yeah, and we had to put that tiny town on lockdown. Good times indeed. I looked over and saw spotlights illuminating a fenced yard with guard towers. I pointed and said, Well, if worse comes to worse, we can always hold up in the prison.

Tenny looked at me and said, Yeah, prison of the undead sounds like a winner to me. Then he went back to looking out his window. You know what's weird, besides the undead. The electricity in some parts of the city is still on, but in other parts it's not. He pointed to an area that was completely dark. Some places the power's just out.

I mean, maybe someone took out a utility pole, but, well, you think they'd have systems in place. Stop the car, Alex. Stop the car. I slammed on the brake so fast that the squad car's ABS kicked in. You hear that, Alex? Kenny asked me. I rolled down my window and listened to the distant sound. I looked around and saw the flashing anti-collision lights on top of a roof close to downtown. There's a helicopter at 2 o'clock in that section of the building with no power, I answered.

The helicopter started to slowly lift off into the air and head toward us. Tenney and I both got out of the cruiser and continued watching as the chopper headed our way. Tenney looked at me and said, Up the trunk. I'm going to try to signal it with some roll fliers. Maybe it'll be our ticket out for here. A few seconds later, Tenney came back to the front of the squad car with a flare in each hand and set them off. waving them back and forth to get the pilot's attention. The helicopter flew right in front of us.

Under the corner of my eye I saw a fast-moving dart with a long flaming tail smack into the top of the helicopter and explode. The chopper went into a fireball and fell to the earth, hitting the elevated highway in front of us and collapsing the roadway. Half a second after the crash, we heard the sound of a jet flying overhead, saw the glow of two engines banking hard to the left. Well, screw me. Did the military just shoot down a helicopter? Tanny shouted.

It would appear so. We both walked the edge of the hole in the highway. I continued on. Let me guess. Turn on my flashlight and shone it. There was the ramp only a few hundred feet away on the other side of the 50-foot hole. That's our exit we need to take to get to the HQ building. Tenney just nodded his head yet I let out a growl and we started walking back to the car We got in turned around and headed to the last ramp off a few miles back

Tenney got the CAD opened and went through things on it Hey get this There are 97 911 calls pending right now Also make a left here Tenney said Is there anyone logged in? Can you send messages on point to point? I asked point to point is the messaging program that officers used to send messages from squawg computer to squab computer No one's on the network's down

Go up two blocks and make a right Well, what are some of the calls? I asked Tanny started typing on the CAD Let's see Sold in progress We're sold in progress Home invasion Home invasion, car accident, car theft, home invasion

Oh, no freaking way. Tenney shouted. What? What is it? Tenny looked up. Make a left and keep going on straight. A person in the middle of a complete societal breakdown called 911 to report his neighbor's grass is over seven inches long. Then it violates the city ordinance.

Tenney sighed out loud and then said, There's always one. Hey, Tenney, the helicopter crashes right in front of us. Am I going right or left? Then he looked up. The squad car's laptop was telling us to turn left. He then turned on the spotlight and shot it on the still burning wreck of the helicopter. It was brown with gold colours.

The logo on the side said G-O-N. The pilot was dead, hanging half out of the cockpit with his headset dangling around his neck and a pool of blood on the ground below him. Tenney looked at me and said, I figured it was the G-O-N traffic chopper. no many helicopters fly around the city. We continued on, reaching the main avenue that was a straight shot to the police headquarters building.

We were in a traffic jam like no other. Cars were flipped over and a fire truck with its lights on, a slow rotation lay on its side. By hoses and other equipment were hanging out of it like organs from a great beast. A semi-truck carrying live cows jackknife the trailer rocked back and forth violently. Desperate moves from the cows inside could be heard, as hundreds of zombies surrounded the trailer,

reaching into the slots and banging the sides. But the squad got into reverse and left the area. Tenney directed me down a few side streets, and we quickly arrived at a large gate blocking a driveway. Tenney got out, typed in the code, and the gates started to open. Once he got back into the car, I asked. How do you know about the code to this gate? This is my apartment complex.

I'm the fourth building on the ground. floor, he answered. Yeah, um, we're stopping at your place? Yeah, Tennie said. Got to pick up a few things and I need to use the bathroom. You know everyone likes a home field advantage. While Tennie was inside doing his business, I started flipping through radio stations. I kept getting the same robotic EAS message.

Stay inside. Lock all of your doors and windows. Turn off all heating and ventilation systems remain quiet. Stay tuned for further details. I had the window of the squad car rolled down, trying to soak in the cool night air. My eyelids started to feel heavy. It wasn't until we stopped in a relatively safe area that I got a minute to soak in all that had happened. The clock on the dash read 1.23 a.m.

Tenny walked out with a plastic bag in one hand and got in the passenger seat. Hey buddy, got you something, he said. Then he reached in and pulled out a bag of beef jerky. can of rip it and a box of bullets. I greedily grabbed the ammo from him. I counted 20 rounds left in the box. I forgot I had some ammo left after my last pistol requal day. FMJ and technically not supposed to be used on duty,

only for training, but I figured we could just ignore that policy today. Ten for you, ten for me. That'll make one full mag each and one magazine with only two rounds in it. You must be tired after working the second shift. Go ahead and have this rip it. I took the energy drink, cracked it open and took a long gulp, instantly feeling a surge of energy like my body had just got a jump start. Jeez, this has got a kick to it, I said.

And he just laughed and said, Yeah, never underestimate the power of ripet. So, what's the plan from here? We'll cut through the apartment complex and onto the other side. Across the street is a cemetery. We'll drive through and that will get us about two blocks from City Hall. Police HQ, Fire HQ and the courthouse. And they're all in one building.

We'll get in and be safe. Sounds like a good plan to me, I said as I slammed the rest of the rip-it can down. We made it halfway through the complex when a lone zombie wearing a badly stained and wrinkled uniform shambled its way into the middle of the parking lot. It was about 50 yards away when it let out and... started to walk towards us. Hey, it's Leo, Tenney said with a mouthful of beef jerky.

Friend of yours? I asked. No, he's an asshole. Then there was a long pause. Oh, I'm going to shoot him. Tenney unholstered his pistol and opened the passenger side door. I grabbed his shirt and pulled him back in. Hey, I've got a better idea, I said with a smirk. I don't like that.

look you've got, Tenney replied. Well, Tenney, this squawker has a ram bar on it. Might as well use it. Alex, it's a push bar, not a ram bar. Second, you know that just because you have it doesn't mean you need to use it. I rapidly replied. Oh, yes, it does. I put my foot to the floor.

The squaw car engine roared as it picked up speed to 45 miles an hour before hitting Leo with a loud gut-turning snap as the lower part of the push-bar made contact with both kneecaps, instantly shattering them. Leo's head made contact with the hood of the squad car with a thump sound, denting the front. Oh, damn it, Alex, you dented the hood.

God, you're an ass. Kenny said as he got out of the car. A few seconds later, the sound of plastic hitting concrete at a high velocity could be heard, and Tenney yelled out. You freaking kidding me? I sprang out of the cop car. He's still already out of the holster

and saw Tenney kicking in the now twice dead body of Leo. Then he turned to look at me and said This guy wasn't asked from day one. It always come into a situation half cocked And if things turned south on him He put his hand on his revolver like he was going to draw and shoot. I can't even count how many people

tried to get him fired for being an idiot. Tenney pointed to something and smashed it into several pieces on the ground. Turns out the revolver was just a starting pistol. The barrel was plugged and didn't even have bullets for it. I can't even tell you how many times Dave and I would... Tennie stopped mid-sentence. You okay? I asked.

Tenney nodded his head. Yeah, man, I'm good. I just hope Dave made it out of the city. You made it through the apartment complex. Tenney directed me to drive across the streets and through the cemetery. The gate was open, a stone arch above the gate read, Resurrection Cemetery. Down the road, and to the left stood a two-story warehouse building that overlooked the cemetery. A sun bleached, dirt-covered sign was on the roof.

The lettering was faded, and the lights illuminating the sign were flickering. But I could just make out the words, you need a medical supply. We went through the gates of the cemetery. I was uneasy, but Tenney helped reassure me. anyone who's buried here is six feet underground is not getting out. Even if they did get out, they probably left to eat brains. I laughed at this. In the back parking lot of the medical supply building,

two ambulances were parked in the parking lots. One had the rear doors open, and the other had its emergency lights on. A cop car sat parked in the parking lots. It had to be about 30 of the undead feeding on six different bodies. We continued through the cemetery at the bottom of a small hill. A blue 1967 Pontiac Le Mans was rammed into a tree. A female driver with long blonde hair slumped over the steering wheel unmoving. The road twist didn't turn through the cemetery,

but eventually we came out onto the other side of the road. We made it two blocks until we were stopped. This time it wasn't due to car crashes or traffic backups, but instead by three concrete jersey barriers, along the road. Behind that was a city snowplow. His plough was lowered to the ground and the wing plows on each side of the truck lowered as well, blocking off the roadway and all of the sidewalk. Two road signs next to the concrete barriers read, road closed. I looked at Tenney and asked, What do you make of this? He looked at me, shrugged his shoulders and said,

Oh, frankly, I don't know. Normally with something like this, He pointed to the city snowplow clearly put there to block access. It'd be done when a visiting dignitary head of state or the president of the United States comes. Closing off avenues of approach creates what would be the only way in and out for the general public. Also normally be manned with a handful of police officers to stop people from doing what we're about to do, just crawl over the barrier and walk in. Danny and I got out of the squad car. I turned the car off so we wouldn't be wasting gas.

and then locked it and pocketed the keys. We easily went over the snowplow wings. As we walked, Tenney explained that this part of the city was the old downtown. That's why all the shops share a wall and the façade of each building is old brick. Right before we reached the city hall square, two cop cars parked nose to nose blocked the way. We could hear the rumbling of generators and see powerful spotlights illuminating a city park with white tents dotting the area. We both slid over the hood of the cruiser and walked not into safety, but instead to the aftermath of some battle that had taken place. Chapter 10. Overrun

Started walking towards the City Hall building. The area we were in took up four square city blocks with City Hall, the police and fire headquarters, along with the courthouse taking up the centre. A big white inflatable tent with a red cross on it was erected in the middle of City Hall. Hall Park. We entered the tent from one of the side doors and walked inside to see desks that were flipped over and papers laying all over the place. It was as if everyone just got up and left in a hurry. There was a large water, coffee and tea dispenser in one corner, along with some styrofoam cups.

Torn red cross vest lay over the back of a folding chair. We made our way to the front of the tent. Plastic orange pylons with police tape hung between them stretched from the tent to some sort of medical area. We walked down there to see six mobile medical buses parked next to each other, with thick black cables snaking out of them, all leading to a portable generator. Several police cars with their lights flashing were in a parking lot next to the medical area, and traffic cones were laid out to create a travel lane in the parking lots. School buses with handwritten lettering in the front windows read, evacuation bus.

The buses were idling nearby as if they were ready to whisk people to safety, or to bring them in from danger. Two city buses along with city construction vehicles blocked the roadway into the city hall park. Hello, and the distant thumps of hands slapping the side of the bus could be heard. Looking back towards City Hall, I noticed that there was temporary fencing, roughly seven feet high and topped with razor wire stretching along the backside of City Hall, around from one end of the street around City Hall to the other end of the street. As we got closer, heavy concrete blocks held the fencing in place. Tenney was able to find a section of fence

that was acting as a gate with a set of handcuffs as the lock. Using his handcuff key, we pushed open the gate and closed it behind us, locking it back up with the handcuffs. We made our way to the front of City Hall. If the backside looked like the humanitarian rescue effort,

the front of the building looked like a war zone. Mounds of bodies lay on one side with city dump trucks in a line waiting to get filled with more. Heavy earth-moving equipment someone by the city and some painted army green was sitting around abandoned. There was evidence as a bulldozer that was now stationary, had a pile of bodies in front of its blade,

and was ready to push it into the larger pile. I was left speechless by this carnage. Unlike all the other roads that blocked the main road, a four-lane avenue that led to the front of City Hall was wide open. Concrete barriers were set up in a way to direct traffic to head towards a vehicle gate, which led to the backside of City Hall. Looks like that's how people were going to be brought in, Tenney said. Bodies lay all over the avenue.

Flashing lights from emergency vehicles blocked every side streets on the avenue. Brass casings, empty rifle and pistol magazines, along with discarded weapons, lay all around. I picked up the dropped M4 with an underslung grenade launcher. Tenney looked at me with speculation. The weapon felt damp. I opened up the underslung grenade launcher and a 40-millimeter empty casing, dropped out. I picked it up off the ground and my eyes went wide. This was not a 40mm millimeter smoke or gas round, but a fragmentation round. I felt queasy. My head swimming.

Hey, what's wrong, brother? Tenny asked. Tenney, how bad did things get here when they started popping off grenades? I don't know, man. I don't know. He replied as he put his hand on my shoulder. I let the M4 clattered to the ground. My hands came back dark red with blood. I woped it off the best I could on the grass and continued on. A tan eight-wheeled truck with the word Oshkosh ridden on the front, with a large fuel tank on the back, was parked next to a portable generator that was hooked into City Hall

and was running dozens of floodlights in the area. Bodies lay on the ground everywhere around City Hall. Closer we got to the steps, the more we notice dead bodies in police and digital camo uniforms. Two Humvees with mounted 50-caliber machine guns on their roofs were part behind a row of concrete jersey barricades. Biles of 50-caliber brass casings lay all over the hood and ground around the humvies and dozens on top of dozens of empty ammo cans lay beside them.

On the steps leading to the main doors of City Hall were sandbags that covered the front steps. Two belt-fed machine guns lay abandoned on top of the sandbag wall. their barrels blown out of the overheating brass and disintegration links lay everywhere. The doors to City Hall was smashed off the hinges and the glass in the doorframe was broken. Benches, chairs and office furniture lay in a mountain in front of us, blocking off access at the end of the hallway to the main building. Only the security checkpoint was still open.

Tenney walked behind the desk at the security station and waved his wallet in front of the card reader attached to the door. The light went green, we both stepped in. bypassing the last desperate attempt to keep the dead out. We emerged from the backside of the security room and into the main corridor of City Hall, behind the makeshift barricade. National guardsmen, police and other city employees lay everywhere. Dark red and black blood coated the floor and parts of the walls.

Metal police batons and combat knives lay on the ground. Then he spoke. These guys were fighting hand to hand near the end. All these bodies in this close of a space. No, thank you. All the lights were on in the building, and that made it all the more creepy. Gave off this vibe like everything's normal. Just ignore the dead bodies on the floor.

Made out a way down one of the hallways to a blue sign that said, police headquarters. Both saw movement in the door across the hallway. Media relations room is what the sign said. A small glass window inside the door showed five TV cameras on their side, each with their own brightly colored logo displayed on the camera. Journalists, cameramen and a few cops were inside, all shambling around and clearly dead. A small wooden podium was on its side.

In the background was a large city crest with American flags on each side that were smeared in blood. We made a note of it, but headed inside to the police headquarters building, hoping to find someone in charge or away. Behind the bullet-resistant glass, three zombies with blue police record keeper's shirts were banging against it. I looked at Tanny and said, Well, aren't we off to just a banger of a start?

I've got a short laugh for this. The second floor was the 911 dispatch center. The same fate awaited our dispatches. All of them were zombies walking around with their headsets still on their head. Unfortunately, this room was behind glass and afforded us the luxury of not having to go in there. The fourth floor had a few interview rooms and floor five was all offices. The interview rooms were all empty and the office doors were all locked. Tenney and I didn't feel like spending a lot of time kicking indoors so we continued on.

We arrived on the rooftop where the helicopter pad was located. Dozens of bodies lay all around us. Tenney walked over to an air conditioning unit and said, Hey, there's a TV camera here and it's still recording. That's nice, man, but... Can we just get off the roof and figure out our next move? Maybe the marina still has some boats. We can get one and get to the other side of the Cook Cook River,

I replied as we started making our way back down. Tenney went into one of the interview rooms with a TV in it. This TV was mainly to show people that they got you on camera doing the cry. Tennie started to mess with the camera and hooked it up to the TV. What are you doing? We need to get out of here. This place gives me the creeps. Tenney waved his hand at me in a just one minute, motion and said, yeah, I just want to see what's on this camera. Maybe it'll give us some clues on

where everyone is. Yeah, Tenney, I know where everyone is. They're dead and walking around. Now, can we just go? I begged. Hold on. Think, yeah, I got it. Tenney said as the TV screen went from blue to video. This is what was on the camera. Chapter 11, the news camera. The camera. The camera was on inside the media relations room. A wooden podium with a handful of microphones a door on the top, and behind it was a city crest with two American flags on each side. A man in a suit and tie that was neatly pressed, and wearing a confident expression, took the stage.

Hello everyone. My name is Mayor Palmeri. Before we begin, I'd like to take a moment to say how truly grateful we all are to our fine men and women in Laura enforcement. Now, I'm going to turn it over. to a police chief Smith. Mayor Palmeri stepped to one side as Chief Smith made his way up to the podium. Thank you all for being here.

I'll just get started. Two SBPD officers who responded to a 911 call were ambushed and attacked by a group of individuals. During the struggle, the officers were able to call for backup shortly after shots were fired from one or both of the officers. Additionally, officers responded from all over the area, including the Bear Creek County Sheriff Department, highway patrol, many other surrounding agencies. Both officers were taken to the hospital where they were expected to recover. I'll take your questions now. A reporter off-camera asked,

What was the original call that the officers were responding to? The police chief replied. A group of people fighting. Next question. Someone else in the room asked, Why were the officers' injuries? Cut some laceration to the face. arms along with bruises and a few bites, the police chief said.

Another reporter spoke up. What about the uptick in hospitalization and 911 more calls for medical services? Now the chief looked angry. That has nothing to do with the topic. Next question. Are the officers involved in shootings and the protesters downtown linked? The mayor quickly got up and went to the podium to speak. As of right now, we do not have any information.

information linking the two incidents together. If people want to peacefully protest, they can. We just ask them to respect law and order. Now, no more questions. Static filled the screen for a second and then cut to a clear image of the mayor walking in, looking a little weary but still maintaining a confident stride. Behind him were the police chief and several other city workers. The mayor stepped up to the podium and cleared his throat and began speaking. As of now, I have declared the downtown demonstration to be an unlawful, assembly under riot. In the last 30 minutes or so, I've received numerous reports of individuals and

officers being injured, along with property damage, both city and private. The mayor slammed his fist down with a loud thought. This will not be tolerated. Chief Smith and I have decided to call all off-duty police, fire, and emergency medical technicians in for immediate assignment. I did speak to the governor. We're activating a small contingency of the National Guard. They'll be here within the hour. They'll be taking a hands-off approach to the situation. Now, rest assured, we'll get this issue under control. No questions. The group walked off the stage with reporters yelling a fury of questions in hopes that the mayor would stop and answer one. The camera returned to static and then cut a moment later to an image of a soldier in a digital army combat uniform. The rank of

lieutenant colonel was behind the podium. His name tag said Dewey. His uniform was crisp and his haircut was high and tight. He gave the impression of, do not worry, big army is here to save everyone. Behind him was the mayor, along with some of his staff. The mayor looked tired. Dark circles started to form below his eyes, and his hair looked like it was graying due to stress.

The army officer said, As the mayor said, we'll be in a non-combative role. We're just here for logistical support to keep the civil government functioning as best as you can. I'll take questions now. One reporter in the back asked, Will your men and women be armed? Lieutenant Colonel Dewey replied.

My men were out in the field on a training exercise and were armed with their normal weapons once we entered the city. But before taking our places, we handed over our weapons to the local National Guard Armory for storage. If the time comes that they need to be armed, rules of engagement is not to fire unless fired upon first. Right, next question. Someone near the podium inquired.

What exactly is the guard doing to help? Dewey answered. No question. We will help in the support of the civilian operation and evacuation. That last part caused a lot of the reporters to start mumbling. One person yelled. What do you mean, evacuation? Even the mayor looked confused.

Do we shout it out? All right, everyone calm down. We're just trying to evacuate people who've been caught up in the violence, or if we suspect the violence downtown, we'll be moving to other parts of the city. If that's the case, we'll be knocking on doors to let residents know. The mayor's assistant ran into the room and whispered something to the mayor. And the mayor yelled, What? To his assistant, she just nodded her head, yes.

The room went silent. The mayor went up to the podium and said, Ladies and gentlemen, I just received information that the Cook Cook Bridge is glad. no questions at this time. Everyone left the room in complete silence. The screen filled with static and cut to an outside shot of the city hall. The camera was sitting on the stone steps and two people from the waist down could be seen. One of the two said,

Hey man, can I bum a cigarette off you? The other person replied. Yeah, sure. Behind them, the image was out of focus. We could easily distinguish a dozen or so military vehicles driving around. tiny figures could be seen running around setting up tents the sound of heavy equipment backing up could be heard in the distance someone was barking out orders to a group of soldiers

this went on for a while as the two people enjoyed their cigarettes unaware that the camera was on a third pair of legs showed up in dark blue tactical pants you guys know the rules no smoking within a thousand feet of city hall one of the men retorted really paul well all the shit going on today why aren't you out there dealing with a riot Paul tapped his leg bomb knee

I'm just doing it to look busy honestly the way shit is coming down in the city the last thing I care about is a few news reporters smoking by City Hall loud metal clanking against metal stopped the conversation of the three men's shorts hey Troy one of the men said

get a shout of that will you Troy picked up the camera and swung it around just in time to see a soldier on top of a Humvee put a belt of ammunition to the crew served weapon and pull the charging handle on the side three times. A small black object fell away from the weapon on the opposite side of where the ammunition was being fed into. Camera ran Troy said, They're just testing it, right?

Like a show of fox. The camera swung back around to the police officer named Paul, who looked scared. He shook his head and said, I served ten years with the guard. Those boys looked like they're digging in for a mother of a fight. The camera swung back around, showing people in ACU camo, running around and unloading wooden boxes full of ammo. Others filled sandbags while in other groups set up fences and razor wire.

On the main avenue, tow trucks were moving cars, and police officers were setting up roadblocks on all the side streets. It looked like someone had kicked in an ant-hill the way that everyone was running around on the edge of panic. and all the while sergeants were barking out orders. The camera turned back to see Officer Paul take a long drag on a cigarette, clearly not caring about smoking within a thousand feet of City Hall. Paul said, they're clearing the main avenue and turning it into a killbox.

Those 50 cows mounted on the Humvees, or you don't put firepower like that just anywhere. The main approach corridor has fences going up on the side, as to keep any unwanted people from flanking the rear. ball dropped his cigarette and ground it out with his shoe yeah right evacuate my left nut they're gearing up and this place is the alamo someone opened the main doors to city hall and said you two coming they're doing an emergency military briefing the camera cut to the media room where lieutenant colonel dewey was standing behind the podium next to the mayor the chief of police and a few other city hall staff members lieutenant colonel dewey started to speak State of emergency has been declared for the city of sunburst and is effective immediately. The city is under martial roar.

Curfew from 8 p.m. tonight until 8 a.m. will be enforced. Anyone who's caught outside during these times will be arrested and detained without counsel. Looters will be prosecuted with deadly force. All reserve military personnel, the National Guard, along with anyone who was discharged from the military within the last six months or any active military personnel on leave inside the city required to report to City Hall or to the National Guard Armory for deployment. Telephone networks, including landlines, are to be used for rescue efforts only. With that being said, rescue efforts are being made to help the civilian population.

We will come for you and bring you to City Hall where it's safe. You'll be allowed one personal bag when the time comes for evacuation. Bring ownership records of your property, but do not attempt to defend said property. You can only be evacuated after a full medical exam. No questions. Lieutenant Colonel Dewey then walked out of the room. The reporters went crazy, yelling questions. Well, a few just yelled obscenities at the lieutenant colonel.

The screen went to static for a moment and cut back to the mayor. His suit was now wrinkled and covered in sweat stains. His tie was missing and he looked like he was on the verge of claps. The news reporters were shouting questions at him. What's going on? Evacuate from what and to where? Why the cell phone is not working? We're getting reports of the military shooting on armed civilians.

Is this true? The mayor spoke up. Quiet down, everyone. I understand you have a lot of questions. Dr. McCall, head of our public health department, will fill you in. A blonde female with her hair up in an efficient ponytail and wearing a white lab coat calmly walked up to the podium. She was looking down, clearly ready to read from her script.

Hello, members of the press. My name's Dr. McCall. I'm the head of the Public Health Department for the city of Sombrust. I've been in contact with several local hospitals as well as the centers for disease control and prevention. Our analysis is that... Dr. McCall paused. Our analysis is... It was a longer pause followed by the shuffling of note cards.

The mayor who was standing off to the side said, Doctor, just read the notes in front of you. McCall gripped the sides of the podium Her knuckles turning white And her left eye began to twitch She took one deep breath As she grabbed the note cards And threw them in the mayor's face

No Jim I'm done with this shit These people have the right to know what the fuck is going on No more light, no more cover-ups This thing has spread too big and too far Ladies and gentlemen of the press The mayor began to yell Amma have you arrested for instigating panic

McCall quit back. Then arrest me. She turned back to the cameras and continued. For reasons yet to be determined. The mayor jumped in front, trying to physically stop her. A small struggle ensued until a police officer ran up and separated the two. The mayor shouted, We are under martial law.

I'll have you shot. The mayor lunged for the officer's pistol. The two went to the ground fighting for control of the way. weapon. Three news reporters ran up and helped subdue the mayor until the officer could get handcuffs on him. The room went silent as the ratcheting sound of handcuffs could be heard. Someone brought the doctor a glass of water and as she drank it, she had a thousand yards stare on her face. Someone from the back of the room softly said, Please doctor. Go on. McCall cleared her throat and said,

reasons yet to be determined by medical sciences the bodies of the recently deceased are returned to life and attacking the living the scope of this epidemic has reached its tipping point as over half the population has succumbed to this disease with the phone lines down or taken over for military use it's impossible to know if this is spread across the Cook Cook River into the surrounding cities

we do not know if the original disease is a virus bacteria parasite or whatever We do know the people that the undead kill get up and kill, and then those people get up and kill. Right. Any questions? The room was silent for a moment as the cameraman moved his camera around. Every reporter had their mouth open, stunned by the news they just heard. Someone near the stage slowly raised their hand like a kid in school who wanted to ask a question but was too scared to do so. Is there any way to stop them?

Dr. McCall answered, Lund forced trauma to the head, particularly around the pre-fundal cortex, frontal lobe, or somatocensory cortex. Although these things are dead, we speculate parts of their cerebellum, brainstem, and motor cortex are still active, but very fragile.

There was yelling coming from off-camera. Stay back, right there. You could hear the sound of a door opening and gunshots ringing out. The camera that was on the tripod fell over. The officer who'd arrested the mayor ran over behind the camera and said, Get off of him. The sound of flesh and skin tearing was followed by.

Damn it, he bit me. The camera was picked up as a gunshot rang out. One police officer was on the ground with a dead body on top of her. The other officer's hand was bleeding badly. Three more zombies dressed in suits and ties shambled in and began to attack the reporters in the room. The cameraman ran away. Just then, four heavily armed police officers rushed in from a different door.

The team of officers was led by the chief himself. They started shooting into the group of reporters as one of the officers grabbed the mayor, running out of the room. The cameraman took off running down a hallway and out of the door. He ran down the steps into a big tent where a bunch of military personnel had equipment. Someone shouted, Sir, you might want to see this drawn footage from the front line. Lieutenant Colonel Dewey walked up, putting his hand on the shoulder of the drone pilot.

What am I looking at, son? We are looking at zombies in division strength, maybe 10 or 20,000. They're stretching back from here to almost downtown. Chapter 12. Stay and fight or cut and run. As tenant Colonel Davy rubbed his chin and turned to his other offices and said, Captains, tell the men to be ready. Once the last of the cavalry scouts get back inside the wire,

have the soldiers with M4s start firing at 200 meters. The M240 Bravo and M249 machine gun crews will open up at 100 meters. Claim all are set up as the last-ditch effort to push back. Our mission is to delay the zombie. Did we pause for a moment and said? Zulu. We're calling them Zulu. Our mission is to delay the Zulu advance

until we can evacuate all refugees to safety. The National Air Guard only has a handful of rotary wing aircraft spinning up and making their way here, but it's going to take some time to get here. Lieutenant Colonel Dewey turned as if finally noticing the camera and yelled, "'Who are you? Get that camera out of my face.' As his hand covered the camera lens and the picture cut out. A few seconds later, the picture came back and the cameraman had moved near the front line. Soldiers were firing into a mass of the undead as they slowly shambled towards the sandbag and razor-wise.

defenses. Every now and then, the sounds of dozens upon dozens of rifles firing non-stop would be drowned out by the sound of machine guns firing. The trace-arounds glowed red like an angry hornet as they shot toward the army of the dead. When the bodies began to stack into a meat wall about three to four feet high, made of the twice dead citizens of sunburst, the bulldozer would show up and push the bodies off to one side, where a front-end loader would load them into a city dump truck to be hauled away. It seemed like each time this was done, the wall was moving closer and closer to the defensive line. As all this continued on, the soldiers on the other side were running up and down the line,

picking up spent in empty magazines and handing out new one. The camera zoomed in on a machine gun crew and on the person behind the gun firing in bursts while the loader linked up belts of ammunition and ate out of a brown MRE plastic bag. The sound of helicopter blades made the cameraman spin around and watch as two big, rotored green helicopter flew next to the roof of City Hall. It didn't land, but instead lowered its back ramp onto the roof while it hovered off to the side. The camera zoomed in to see people run onto the ramp

and fill the large chopper before it took off and was replaced by another helicopter. The camera cuts out then. The camera cut back to the cameraman running toward the City Hall. Angry yelling was coming from the green tent. The cameraman stopped running towards City Hall and turned toward the tent then. Sticking the lens into the opening,

the camera picked up the voices. Lieutenant Colonel Dewey was talking to his radio telephone operator or RTO. Do you have any air assets available to use? What about those F-15 that were flying around before? The RTO replied. They got recalled back to base to rear-arm and flying combat air patler around the state capital. We have anything that big army can chop our way, 8-10s or maybe some F-22 out of right pad?

Hell, I'll take a kid on a hang glider with a slingshot at this point. Well, sir, we have an E3 century based out of Tinker FB. We're in figure 8s above us, but that's just a surveillance aircraft and not armed. There was a brief pause as the RTO spoke into the radio. He came back with... We have Thunder, sir. What's Thunder? Lieutenant Colonel Dewey demanded.

The RTO replied. Not what, sir. Thunder is a call sign for the M-109 Paladin platoon self-propelled artillery. They are set up and ready maybe 15 minutes ago. Lieutenant Colonel Dewey scratched his chin and turned to another army officer and said, Captain, don't find out if we have any trained forward observer in our unit. Bring them back here and find out if we do call for artillery that the evacuation shoppers will not be caught in their lanes of fire. The camera cuts out.

The camera cuts back in, this time fully inside the tent. Someone off camera shouts. A man need more ammo, sir. They're running out. Someone replied. Goffey Miller. He's the logistic officer in charge. Another voice further back.

Someone told me Lieutenant Miller went awulf. They said something about how there were too many Zulus to stop. Took off in a Humvee. Camera swings over to a sergeant with a radio in his hand speaking loudly. Thunder, thunder. This is Romero. Fire mission troops in contact. I need one.

round. Just the fire to airbursts 30 meters over. The person on the other side of the radio repeated the instructions back for him. Zulu's in the open. Fire on target Bravo. Over. Once again, the person on the other side repeated it back to him. A few seconds later, the radio said, Romero, this is Thunder. Shot over. The sergeant replied with, Thunder, Romero shot out. Some time passed when the radio came to life again and said, Thunder, Romero, splash over.

The sergeant responded with, Romero, thunder splash out. The sound of a distant whistling could be heard as the artillery shell went overhead. The camera zoomed in on the front line as an explosion took place and hundreds of zombies could be seen falling down. A cheer could be heard coming from the front line of soldiers.

The sergeant grabbed the radio and said, Thunder, good effect on target. Same location. Started target bravo and walk your fire back to target Sierra. Fire for effect. The person on the radio reported the same message. Shortly after, multiple whistling sounds could be heard as explosions filled the sky. The camera saw all the devastation as the air burst of the 105-millimeter artillery shells exploded and range shrapneled on the undead below.

The artillery bombardment was shredding the zombies, and internal organs became external very quickly. bones were pulverized and turned into a fine powder which hung in the air like a foggy haze. The camera cuts out. The camera comes back to Lieutenant Colonel Dewey, yelling into the radio. Thunder, what do you mean you're out of ammunition? I need you to put warheads on foreheads. You're the only thing keeping us alive out there. Thunder, Romero, actual.

I resupply vehicles through a track and can't reach us for some time. We are Winchester on Amow at this time. Good luck, Romero. Thunder out. The radio went to static. Screams and shouts of panic could be heard coming from the front as the artillery fire faded. Lieutenant Colonel Dewey said, Gentlemen, ordered the man to fall back inside City Hall and prepare to defend it. An army officer ran up and said, Lieutenant Colonel Dewey, sir. Generals want you out and they want you out now.

The last bird's leaving in a few minutes. This news caused a panic as everyone in the headquarters tent ran. Tables were flipped and people tripped. The camera turned to City Hall as a private, punched a lieutenant in the face and ran up the steps. The cameraman made it up the steps as the 50-Cal on top of the Humvees started shooting into the slow mass of the undead as Claymore's went off,

temporarily pushing the wave back, but only for a moment. Inside City Hall, people were panicking. Some yelled, Barricade the doors. People began carrying furniture and other assortments of office supplies to the doors. Gunfire and screened. began as the cops and soldiers started shooting zombies in close quarters of the lobby of City Hall. They were trying their best to hold back the tide of the undead, but ultimately failing.

View was blurry and bobbing as the cameraman ran for the stairs. He made his way up two flights and was breathing heavily. A zombie in business pants and a white button-down shirt, which was now stained, red with the blood, staggered out of the doorway and lunge for the cameraman. The camera goes flying and a struggle can be heard. The camera is picked up and slammed into the zombie's forehead again and again. The lens cracked and black bodily fluid covered the view. A few moments later, it's wiped off with a rag.

We see stairs as the camera is pointed down. The door banged open and we heard helicopter blades and gusting winds. People were pushing their way onto the last evacuation helicopter. In the group, the camera caught a glimpse of the mayor. He's uncoved and being escorted by the chief. of police. Suddenly a soldier holding a rifle fired a round off in the air and everyone on the roof stopped. A man in a flight suit stepped out with a megaphone and said, This chopper is almost full. Please get into an orderly line. More choppers are on the way.

Someone in the crowd yelled, No, they're not. This caused a panic and people tried to surge onto the chopper. The soldier with a rifle opened fire. The camera hit the floor as bullets nailed the ground in front of the camera, creating little pop marks in the concrete roof. When the gunfire stopped, people were moaning and crying for help. A few that were killed in the onslaught of bullets suddenly got up and started eating the one still crying out in pain. The camera rises up and the cameraman runs towards the chopper as the ramp begins to close. The chopper starts to take off.

The cameraman, still holding the camera, grabs onto the ramp one-handed as people start to pull him in. Lieutenant Colonel Dewey looks at him and says, son you must be the luckiest S-O-B I've seen to make it on this bird As Lieutenant Colonel Dewey rolls up the man's sleeve The camera turns and we can see a bite mark on the cameraman's arm Dewey's face turns to a hardened expression

And he throws the cameraman and his camera some 20 feet back onto the rooftop The camera lands with a thard on top of an air-conditioning unit Zombies surround the cameraman as he screams out in pain As the undead tear into his flesh A zombie bumps the camera and causes it to spin around and zoom in. Now in the frame and zoomed in, you can see the last helicopter flying to safety. There are flashes of light inside the cabin of the aircraft, and then nothing.

Then there are more flashes inside the cockpit. From a distance, there was a faint sound of gunfire as the twin-rotor-armie Chinook helicopter banked hard to the left and dove down out of frame. Second later, there was a faint sound. a fireball. Chapter 13. Deputy Alex Part 2. I turned the camera

off since there was nothing else to see. I looked over at Tenney, who had a thousand yards stare. He stood up, walked over the wall and just started punching it with his right hand over and over until his knuckle split and blood started to run down his hand. I grabbed him, but he

threw me off and punched the wall two more times. He spun around and slid down the wall until he was on the ground hugging his knees. Then he started talking while in the fetal position. It's gone. It's all gone. No command structure. No higher up to report to. No more police.

It's all gone. Then he kept mumbling under his breath. It's gone. It's all gone. Just then there was a loud bang on the other side of the wooden door, followed by two more loud bangs and the moans of the undead. I turned to see the door start to splinter. I grabbed one of Tenney's arms. but he was like a concrete statue.

He wouldn't budge. A hole formed in the door and the smell of rotten, dead flesh assaulted the room. I looked up at the ceiling and said, Lord, forgive me for what I'm about to do. As I drew my taser, took the cartridge off the end. I stuck the exposed prongs to tenny's arm and zapped him out of his mental state.

He came out of his trance with her, What the hell? It took him a second to get his situational awareness. back. He saw the door as it continued to splinter and crack with each hit. Where did they come from? Tenney asked as he drew his side arm. I don't know, man. Probably from you banging on the wall like an idiot, I replied. I walked over to the door and put my hand on the knob and said, Okay, on three. One, two, three. Flung the door open and Tenney shot the first three undead in the head, and I shot the remaining two.

We burst into the hallway to see more of them coming out of the office doorways and down the hallway. We both took off for the stairwell, shooting one more zombie that was making its best effort to go up the stairs. Made our way back to the main corridor of City Hall. There was banging and moaning coming from the barricades. You've been here before, Tanny. Where do we go? I asked, on the edge of panic. Just then down the hall, a courtroom door opened up and no less than 30 walking corpses shambled out after us. He ran the other way past the media room, and we continued down a hallway through a small breakroom and out of side entrance.

He started running around the building to head back to the squad car, and I'll admit it, I thought I was in pretty good shape. Tenny and I were huffing and puffing as we straddled over the snowplow blade as we stopped by the car to catch our breath. It was then that we heard it. Hundreds of footsteps slowly approaching us and being drowned out by the wet moaning. Tenney got in the driver's seat while I hopped in the passenger seat We got out of there I squealed as my face got pushed up against the window Due to the centripetal force

Tenny, slow down man You're doing 45 in a 25 when the zombies can maybe walk at five miles an hour tops I said He swerved left and right Dodging abandoned vehicles and debris in the street As we tried to put distance between us and City Hall The squad guards takedown And high beam lights were on

We made another left and came to a dead stock. Thousands upon thousands of zombies were in the street from one sidewalk to the other. There were too many to just blush our way through. Ten he jacked the car into reverse, back the car up and executed a perfect U-turn. In the process, he hit a zombie in mid-turn. Front corner panels swung around sending the undead asshole flying. He hit the side of an empty dumpster with an echoing, We both let out a laugh as I rolled down the window and gave the following horde of dead the finger.

A couple of minutes later I was still in tears from the zombie dumpster stunt. I was just a little worried that my sanity was starting to slip. Hey, Tenney. Remember when we got that 911 call from a bunch of people about a killer dumpster rolling around? Tenney's laughter just started to subside, but picked back up immediately once I mentioned the story. Yeah, he said between laughing. and trying to suck in enough air to speak. By the time we got there,

the people chasing it, the people chasing it said it went into the ocean. We both let out another round of laughter, the stupidity of everything. We drove for a little while and found ourselves in a subdivision. The street lights were still on, but all the houses were dark.

Tenney? What gives with the lighting? I asked as he slowed the squad car down to a crawl. This is the city's attempt to go green. They put solar panel. terminals on top of the streetlights which charge the batteries in the base of the pole. As you can see. Teddy continued as he turned on the spotlight and shone it at a group of houses still being built.

This is a new housing development being built. It used to be a farm field up until about two years ago. Suddenly, a dark human-looking shadow darted across the road just outside the view of our headlights. Tenney hit the brakes and the car came to a stop. We looked at each other and Tenney spoke. first. Was that a person? I replied sarcastically.

It had to be. Dead things don't run that fast, and if they do, their ankles will snap off. Zombies 101. With that, we both bowed out of the cop car, took off after the figure as it went into a fenced-in backyard. Both made it to the gate

as the yard lights in the backyard came on. They were most likely solar-powered and motion activated. The backyard was a small metal shed off to one side. There was also an empty in-ground swimming pool containing a small amount of standing rainwater and some leaves. The person had their back to us, looking left and right for a way out. The fence along the backyard was a six-foot-high privacy fence made of wood.

Our law enforcement training kicked in as we got closer to this person. Went to one side of the pool and Tenney went to the other. When we were within 15 feet, a caught out to this person. She spun around when she heard my voice. She had to be no older than 19. Her blonde hair and brown eyes. This woman was wearing jeans and a black shirt with a picture of a person's head wearing a military helmet and smoking a cigar. The words above the picture read,

Vic never dies. Who are you two? The voice was trembling from fear and the look on her face gave us the impression. She wasn't expecting to see anyone alive. Tenney spoke up. I'm Officer Tenney. This is Deputy Alex. We're a policeman.

Can you tell us your name and where you're from? My name? She paused. My name is Val. I was out with a group of friends when all this happened. You of us were headed to the local church. Someone on the radio said it was safe because the dead could not enter God's house. That was a lie.

They got in. It was a massacre. I made it out, but just barely. Tenney and I locked eyes for a second as we both saw the bandage on her arm stained brown. I spoke to Val. Where are you heading to? I only ask because you're the first living person we've seen in hours. I don't know where I'm going, Bao replied.

I'm just trying to get away from people. I need to get away. The eyes flick down to the pistol on my duty balance. When you've been a cop or armed security guard long enough, you can just tell when people are staring at you or staring at your gun. Okay, we're trying to get out of the city. Why don't you come with us? we can all get out together. Tenney said as he took a step forward.

Val took a step away from him. No, she yelled. No, I can't. I need to stay away from people. I can't be near people. Val, see a bandage on your arm. Did you get bit? Tenney asked. The mascara started to run down Val's face as she began to cry. I can't do it. I can't. I tried. You've got to believe me. I tried, but I'm not strong enough to do it. What are you home?

Tenney started to ask. Before he could finish his question, Val pulled out a small snub-nosed revolver from behind her back. Tenney and I yelled, Gun! At the same time as we drew our guns and moved laterally, looking for cover or concealment. There was none, so we both pointed out our weapons at her, and I yelled in a commanding voice,

drop the gun. Do it, do it now. The gun was still in her hand and pointed at the ground. I did a quick glance at Tenney and he nodded at me. It's hard to explain, but when you work and train with someone a lot, you can pick up on non-verbal cues. I hosted my pistol and got my taser out. I was just inside its maximum range.

Val saw me bring out my taser and the look on her face said she was dying today. As I was bringing my taser up to have her ride the lightning, she brought her pistol up towards Tenney. I screamed, stop, and dropped my taser, drawing my sidearm. I knew I wouldn't have time to aim. I just cleared leather and pointed my pistol in Val's direction and fired four rounds from the hip. Just then I heard two rounds from tennis pistol and a single round from Val's snobnosed. The mind does weird things under high stress.

I remember seeing my first round hit Val in the upper thigh. Her leg expanded out as the bullet entered and created a temporary wound, cavity that was four times the size of the bullets, before the elasticity of the flesh closed back up, leaving a bullet-sized hole. My second round landed close to the first, as this did the third round. The fourth round missed completely. One of Tenney's rounds struck Val's wrist and shoulder, causing her to drop the small pistol. She took a step back and looked down as blood gushed from her leg like a fire hydrant.

Ten seconds passed. Her brain has not yet registered the fatal injury to her body. She looked back at both of us and said, Oh, that hurt. Then she clasped to the ground like a sack of potatoes. I let out a breath. I didn't know I was holding. I grabbed for my radio mic to call in shots fired,

but then remembered that all the dispatches were undead. I took a second to make sure I wasn't hit by the bullet she'd shot. I yelled over. Tenney? You good, man? I had a response that sounded like a person in pain. Well, it was simple, he said through gritted teeth, before I looked over and saw Tenney fall down. I ran over to see a bloodstain starting to grow under his shirt.

Oh shit, Tenney, you've been hit. I'll get the first aid kid. I stood up, but Tenney grabbed my leg. I looked down to see Tenney nodding at Val, who started to get back up. Her eyes, glossy white. She opened her mouth and let out and... I reloaded my gun and fired one round into her head. Tenny then began to speak.

Alex, the bullet hit me right below my Kevlar vest. I think it lodged up my spine or something. I can't move my legs, buddy. There was a brief pause, and then he said, Hey, behind you. To end to see two zombies approach the open gate at the backyard. I fired, killing both with one bullet each. Grabbed Tenney under the arms and started to drag him.

to the car. We'll get you back to Peter. He'll fix you up. Before I could even get to the other side of the pool, four more zombies walked in. I shot all four on the slide on my gun, locked back. I reloaded with my last magazine.

They only held two bullets. Trail of blood was following us as I began to drag tennie again. Four more zombies followed by another six behind them showed up. I froze, not knowing how to get out of this situation. Then he raised his pistol and fired.

He looked up to me and said, Hey, just leave me. I'll take as many of these bastards as I can. The window for escaping was already closed as more of the undead swarmed into the opening to the backyard. Whether drawn to the sound of gunfire or the crazy amount of blood, it was hard to say. Get some, brother, I said as we bumped fists.

I ran over to Val and grabbed her snub nose and gave it to Tenney. Then he shot his service pistol dry as I ran into the metal shed and closed the door. I had four more pistol shots. A pause, then one more. That last gunshot hung in the air like a trumpet blast welcoming a great warrior into Valhalla. I looked around the small metal shed with my flashlights. It was a riding lawnmower, some holiday yard decorations.

One blue five-garend cherry can filled with kerosene, two red jerry cans filled with gasoline. One was full, and the other had about a fourth of the gas left in it. There were no windows, and with a door closed, only a small crack of light shone in. I turned off my flashlight, not wanting to attract the undead to my whereabouts. Then I silently sobbed to myself, the loss of such a close friend and former co-worker who was pushing me to the edge of a mental breakdown. I don't remember how long I laid on top of the damp wooden floor. Constant moaning of the undead in the backyard was like some psychological,

warfare. I was already on the edge of losing it, and every now and then a zombie would inadvertently bump up against the metal shed doors or walls. My frayed nerves would fray a little more each time. I pulled the magazine out of my pistol to check for the tenth time. Yep, still two bullets, I thought to myself. I lay there in hopeless despair. When I heard a dog barking. As I was laying on the ground, I tried to convince myself that it was in my head. nothing could possibly be alive out there. Then heard it again. Barking.

The kind of barking a dog would use to get the attention of someone or something. But then I noticed the sound of the moaning zombies outside began to get quieter. After a few more minutes, it was really quiet. Suddenly I heard a scratching coming from the lower part of the shed door, followed by a low whimper. I unholstered my pistol and slowly pushed the door open. Saw that the backyard was empty. There was a moaning sound coming from the empty pool.

I got something push against my leg, which caused a surge of adrenaline and panic to course through me. They immediately jumped back. I looked down to see a small dog sitting there looking up at me. It was a Pembroke-Welke-Welch-Korke. I guess that he was just a little over a year old. He sat there, ears pointed straight up, occasionally rotating to listen to its surroundings. His little nubbin of a tail was wagging something fierce. creating a miniature dust storm in the dirt.

I bent down and gave him a good scratch behind the ear, which you really seemed to laugh. Yeah, where did you come from, little guy? The corgi just stared at me. I stood up and walked over to the empty pool, which was now full of zombies standing shoulder to shoulder. When one of them noticed me, it perked up and began to moan.

This caused the 50 or more other zombies to also perk up and moan at me. Okay, that noise is going to bring more here. I need to get out of here, not let Tenney's sacrifice go to waste. I ran back to the squat car with the little corgi in hot pursuit of me. The car was still in the middle of the street. It was running and both doors were open. I got into the driver's side and saw it had less than half a tank. Then I remember the gas cans in the shed.

Just about get out when I heard of bark. I looked over on the corgi was in the passenger seat with a look that said, Come on, let's go, on his face. One second, buddy. You stay here, I said to the dog. I ran out of the car and went back to the shed. As I grabbed the gas can, I had a thought. Am I really talking to a dog?

Does this dog really understand me? I saw the corgi run towards me as I was about to exit the shed. Walked up to the kerosene, barked once and head-budded the blue container, trying to communicate for me to take this one. Sorry, dog. I won't work in the car. I paused and thought of a different idea. As I was filling the cruiser gas tank,

I heard the sound of nails on metal and looked over just in time to see the corgi jump from the ground to push the bumper and form the push bumper to the hood of the cruiser. He sat on the hood of the car, watching everything and scanning for threats. I was impressed and felt just a little safer. When I finished fueling up, I went into the trunk, grabbed a road flare, went back to the pool. started dumping the kerosene into the pool on top of all the zombies.

Their moans carried into the night as their rotting hands reached up in vainly. Tossed the empty gas cans in for good measure. I lit off the road flare, stood back, threw it into the pool. There was a large wash followed by intense heat and flames. The pool and the zombies within it went up in an inferno of fire. I looked over at the dog who lifted his nose in the air in a fast gesture, I took his way of saying, Nice one.

Both got into the squad car and left the neighborhood. We drove for quite some time, me lost in my own thoughts, and the dog looking out of the window, keeping an eye on things. Chapter 14. Tactical corgi. I heard a licking sound and looked over to see the dog

licking the empty water bottle. He was panting a lot, and his gums and nose were dry. I stopped the car in the middle of the street. You thirsty, buddy? Hang on, I've got some water in the back. Cutting the empty water bottle in half to make a makeshift bowl, I filled it up for him, and within seconds he drank it all down.

He let out a couple of bucks. I refilled the dish three more times, and his stomach let out a gurgle. Damn, poor guy must be hungry as well, I thought. Upon taking a closer look, I noticed the corgi had a tag around his neck. The tag read, some Burr City dog pound. I looked into his eyes and asked, Did you escape from the pound little guy? He barked once.

I let out a laugh. I'm not going to take one bark as yes and two barks for no. Okay, I will. The dog barked once as if to acknowledge my response. I think there's a pet store nearby. That sounds like a plan? Go to the pet store, get you some dog food. As I said this, the corgi let out an enthusiastic, loud bark.

I laughed out loud. It feels good to laugh again, I thought. I put the car in drive and we headed to the outlet mall. We pulled up to the mall. The parking lot was damn near empty with only a few cars and one pickup truck that said, brush it LLC on the side. The outlet mall mainly consisted of clothing stores and home decor stores. There was a small pharmacy in an electronic store.

The windows and doors on both were smashed and appeared to be picked clean by looters. We found the pet store, hometown pet supplies. The store next to it was called Mountain Outfitters. The pet store had its front glass door broken and a few bullet holes in the glass. Next to Mountain Outfitters set a delivery box with the words BP trucking and shipping painted in green on the side. The truck was empty and the ramp leading from the back of the truck to the ground was out. A hand cart used for bringing in deliveries was on the ground. Next to the ramp there was a pool of dry blood staining the area.

I got out of the squad car with the corgi following me. He trotted up to the broken doors and started to growl. The heckels on his back were raised up in alarm. McCorgie ran over to me, jumped on my leg and used his nose to boop the holster on my hip. I looked at him, and he booped it again. I realized what he was getting at and said, Oh, buddy, I only have two bullets left. I pulled out one of my empty mags to show him and felt kind of silly for doing it.

He sniffed the empty mag, looked at me and rolled his eyes. He let out a huff and warped. back to the entrance of the pet store, started barking. I stood there for a second and thought, did this freaking dog just roll his eyes and huff at me like I'm the issue here? That dog's too smart for his own good. In the blink of an eye, the corgi shot into the dark pet supply store, running around and barking.

I could hear the movement and the sound of the undead. With the takedown light shining into the building, I could make out a corgi-sized fur missile running back and forth. four, maybe five zombies slowly chasing after him. I called out to the dog just above a whisper. Come here, boy, we need to go. We can go someplace else and find fruit for you. And the corgi shot out at the store like a hellhound out for blood

and ran up the ramp with the delivery truck. Zombies from the store started to file out. I ran back into the car. Well, if I had to leave this dog, so be it. I'm not dying tonight, something like a dog. I sat in the car and watched as the first. five zombies filed up the ramp towards the still barking corgi as he backed further into the delivery truck. The barks became more echo enhanced in the confines of the empty truck. When the last zombie

made its way into the truck, the dog sent by the Deos X Machina gods ran down the ramp, jumped onto the hood of my car, unlocked eyes with me. Well, it was hard to explain, but at that moment I knew exactly what to do. I ran the car up the ramp of the truck, jumped, grabbed onto the truck's back door and closed it just as the first of the walking dare got to me. The door closed with a loud crunch as I locked it. I tried to move when it was stuck. I began to panic that something had a hold of me. Spun around and broke free to see a rioting hand. The forearm snapped off at the elbow, sticking out from under the heavy truck door. Looked to the hand as it opened and closed. desperately trying to find something to grab.

Corgi looked at me, tilted its head, and let out a little howl in laughter. I was more taken aback than anything. I know dogs howl, but to hear it come from such a small dog was almost comical. I walked towards the hometown pet supply sign in the window when something caught my eye. In the window of the mountain outfit is a poster said,

mountain hiking trail maps available inside. Trails for all types, beginner to expert hiker. We have what you need for the day hiker to the over-the-mountain hiker and everything in between. An idea formed in my head. I looked at the corgi and said, Hey, let's call shopping. The dog and I walked into the pet store.

I had my pistol out even though the dog gave no signs that any undead were nearby. The first aisle, we went down at one of those rotating shelves with a bunch of name tags on it. I looked down at the corky and said, Hey, let's give you a name. I can't keep calling you dog or buddy. Now, one barked for yes and two barks for no. The dog barked once. Started going through the names on the shelves.

Barthali me? I asked. The dog barked twice. I replied with a double yes. The dog grounded me. Hey, how about this? I'll just read the names and you bark when you like it. The dog barked once.

Toby. Peanut butter. Wait, how about Lucky? No? How about Charlie? The dog barked once. So you like the name Charlie? The corgi started to bark excitedly and jump around.

Okay, okay, calm down. Charlie, it is. I put the name tag on Charlie's collar. I stood up and put my hands on my hips and said, Well, Charlie, let's get you some food. You're probably starving. Charlie barked and ran down the dog food aisle. I took off after him at a brisk wall. walk. Bored out my flashlight since the squad car's headlights did not illuminate much past the

first rows of the shelf. Charlie ran past a bag of dog food that was torn open and had been spilled all over the floor. It went right up to a bag called Royal K-9. The image on that bag was of a corgi and fancy attire sitting on a throne. The wording under the picture said, Royal K-9 for dogs with a more refined palette. It was the most expensive bag on the shelf. Charlie kept pouring at the bag and let out a few little wimpers. I said, Just because you're a corgi, you think you're a descendant of the queen or something? Charlie replied with a bark.

I rolled my eyes and grabbed a food bowl off the adjacent shelf. I opened the bag, filled the bowl up and set it down. Charlie attacked the food like the undead attacked the living. He ravenously devoured the food in less than a minute. He looked up at me, sat down on his butt, that had a small burp and smiled at me. All the while his little knobbed tail was wagging back and forth. Grabbed a 50-pound bag of dog food, carried it out to the squad car,

put it in the trunk, went back inside the pet store. I could hear a squeak, squeak, squeak, coming from one of the aisles. I turned down the aisles where the sound was coming from. Cotton stuffing and bits of fabric were everywhere, and there was Charlie in the middle of it laying on his back, tummy up in the air with a blue plastic squeaker in his mouth. I let him be. Every dog deserves to have some fun. I made my way over to the small outdoor section where I picked up two leashes, two collapsible water dishes, a pair of dog socks and hiking boots.

Just then, Charlie trotted around the corner, sat next to me looking on in confusion. I began looking for the harnesses. After finding one that fit Charlie, I loaded up the stuff I grabbed into the pocket of the harness. I asked Charlie how it felt. He walked around. He walked around. a little awkwardly. I adjusted the weight and added a doggy first aid kit, which was his idea, not mine. Charlie was running around the store like the harness with his equipment on it was nothing. I turned to Charlie and said, Oh, now it's my turn to go shopping, but first let's pay for all this stuff. On the way to the front of the store, I stopped and grabbed a handful of tennis books.

Charlie's eyes lit up in delight. I went up to the counter, opened up my wallet and took out three twenty-dollar bills, my sheriff-deputy business card, and a note that said, I had to use some other items. Hope this covers it. If now, please call me, and I'll reimburse you for the rest. Deputy Alex. I put the money in the note on the counter, and when my eyes caught sight of two glowing green dots. I reached up and pulled out a Sig Sauer P-229-9mm. I dropped the magazine and racked the Slyden was rewarded with a single bullet flying out of the chamber and a magazine full of ammunition. I looked at Charlie. Not the same ammo was my service pistol, but it'll do.

You think the owner would be mad if I took it? Charlie replied with a couple of barks. We walked out of the store, gun in hand, and headed into the mountain outfitted. Open the doors and Charlie walked in with his nose up in the air, sniffing for any zombies in the building. After a few minutes, with no growling or barking, I figured it was safe to enter the store. The store looked like a tornado had gone through it. Managed to find a large hiking backpack, a small two-person tent, a sleeping bag in a compression bag, a small air of mattress, some hiking clothes, along with some other odds and ends such as matches, bug spray and sunscreen.

All the camping food was gone, along with the water filters. It did manage to find a small backpack stove and two fuel canisters. I checked the back storage room. It was also picked clean except for a flare gun. The last thing I grabbed before we left was a trail map and a compass. I put everything in the back seat, looked at Charlie and said, If there's anything else you want,

go get it now before we leave. I got a bark in response as he rushed back inside the pet store, came out with a smile carrying a two-pack of hard plastic chew bones between his teeth and a stuffed duck that squeaks laid across his back. I looked at him, shaking my head and said, Don't you look happy with yourself? He barked in response. We drove for a while until we came across a dog park.

It was fenced in which made it the safest spot to stop and rest. I was starving and decided to break out one of the MREs. It was a Mexican-style chicken stew. I was trying to figure out how to cook it. I looked at Charlie and said, Oh, looks like we need a rock or something to cook it. After a few minutes, I got the food cooking inside the plastic container. I spread out the map on one of the picnic tables and I started talking through the plan to Charlie.

Okay, so here's the plan. I'm going to head to the marina, get a boat, get across the Cook Cook River. That doesn't work. We'll move on to Plan B. The airport sounds like that's where they were going to evacuate people from. A plan C is to drive as far as we can into the mountains and hike the rest of the way. We're looking at four to six days depending on how far we go each day. Charlie just tilted his head in confusion. I gave him a noodle pet and said,

Don't worry, come hell or high water, we're getting out of here. After finishing my food and throwing the tennis ball for Charlie quite a lot, I put the remaining MREs in the backpack along with some of Charlie's food as well. We set out for the marina. Charlie was curled up in the front seat sleeping without a care in the world. Meanwhile, I was fighting sleep. Sunrise was only a few hours away. My eyelids were heavy, I opened the window to get some fresh air.

The night's cool air felt good on my face. As we approached the marina, my hope began to fade. Even though we were still two blocks away, I could hear the unmistakable sound of the undead. Charlie awoke and immediately started to growl. The parking lot was full of cars. Now, incidentally, everyone else had had the same idea as me. I pulled up to the end of the lot overlooking the river. from boat docks. It was covered in a veil of darkness. Charlie was on the edge, his ears

perked up and his nose was sniffing the air. Ah, forget it Charlie, I said. It's full of the dead. Listen, you can hear it over the sound of the engine. Flipped on the spotlight and pointed it down towards the docks. The inky black water reflected the light. As I moved the beam to one of the docks, we could see the zombies were shoulder to shoulder. Most of the boats were gone, but a few were still moored to the docks. Their hull spilled over with the undead. We heard a loud splash as a zombie fell into the water. Moving the beam farther out into the water,

I saw a few zombies that were floating with life vests on. Charlie let out a loud warning bark and I moved the spotlight beam closer to us. There are a handful of zombies maybe 25 yards away, shambling up the small grassy hill towards us. One of them had a harpoon sticking out of his chest. Another was missing an arm. That was almost too gross to look away. There was another loud bark from Charlie at the same time

that an undead face smashed against the passenger's side window. Smeared black gunk all over it, and Charlie started barking uncontrollably. But the squad car into reverse, backed up, put it into drive and ran over the undead before peeling out of the parking lot. Chapter 15 Semper Fidelis

We started heading towards the local. airport which was a former United States Air Force base. After the Cold War it was decommissioned and turned into a local airport for private flights and the occasional military training site. With the highway blocked and the city streets all but impossible, we stuck to the outskirts of the city. Charlie fell back asleep on the front seat. I felt a small pinch of jealousy, wishing I could sleep.

After driving for a while, I saw red taillights in a ditch. I stopped to look and saw an armored Brinks truck in the ditch. His back doors were open And there were empty shotgun shells everywhere The guards were nowhere in sight It was tempting just to grab a bag and drive off And I got into my car and continued to drive I did try the AM FM radio

And got nothing but static from an end of the dial to the other It wasn't even an emergency broadcast With the airport only a few miles ahead of us I could hear the jet engines As a very large military cargo plane flew at the top of us heading towards the airport But damn, we're saved. Charlie led out a celebratory bark.

The road leading towards the main gate was full of abandoned cars and trucks, with just a sprinkling of the undead roaming around. A little quick turnaround and headed towards a side gate that led to the fire roads that surrounded the airport. The gate was locked, and I didn't have a key. I nosed the push bumper agents at the gate put my foot to the floor. The squad car's engine roared as the wheels skis. squealed in protest, but the lock broke that I was in. Fire roads are old dirt roads used by the fire department to reach aircrafts that have crashed

inside the large airport. The road twisted and turned through tall trees in a low spot. The car almost got stuck, but I was able to make it through. With the high beams and take-down light on, everything was cast into long shadows as we drove through the woods. The sound of another large aircraft coming into land was causing me to get more excited. I unconsciously pushed harder down on the gas pedal. He emerged from the woods and into a marshy swamp. The fire road was slightly elevated above the marsh, but not by much. Charlie had out of bark and I looked around.

About a mile away was the runway. Bright white worklights were set up as several dark green vehicles wheeled out of the back of a grey cargo plane. I was looking at our salvation. The only thing separating us was a second chain-link fence topped with razor wire and a mile of wet marshland. I turned to Charlie and said, This road should lead us to the airport fire station,

and from there we just... I was interrupted with a loud, warning bark. I looked back onto the road to see a green airport fire truck sitting in the road. I locked up my brakes, but on the dirt road I slid into the back of it. White filled my vision as the airbags deployed. I could hear muffled barking like someone stuffed cotton in my ears. I felt myself being pushed. I looked at my right to see Charlie jumping on my shoulder trying to wake me up.

Got out of the car and looked around. Fire truck was just sitting silently in the road like a hulking sleeping giant. I saw fire hoses leading away from the truck. I turned on my flashlight and noticed a small two-engine plane that had crashed into the marsh. Fire hoses reached towards it like long fingers. No firefighters were in sight. Just then I heard splashing. from all around and the moaning of the undead.

I ran back to the squad car and started cutting away the now deflated airbags with my knife. I tried to put the car into reverse, but the shifter was stuck. I tried putting it into drive, and it wouldn't move. I ran to the fire truck, jumped into the cab, and saw the keys were in the ignition. The truck wouldn't turn over, though.

The battery was long dead. Dash back to the squad car as the moans got louder. Charlie was barking and pouring at the window to get out. I opened the driver door, and Charlie ran across the central console and activated all the emergency lights. Between the flashes of red and blue light, I could make out dark shadows shambling towards us. There was no time to turn them off, but I just grabbed the backpack out of the trunk. Charlie and I took off into the marsh just as hundreds of feet could be heard on the gravel road. I started running as fast as I could.

The mud and water made it slow going. It was like trying to run through syrup. A few times I looked over to see Charlie actually swimming as his short corgi legs couldn't reach the muddy ground. The zombies were moving just as slow as us in the marsh. We had the distance on them, but for how long no one would know. Saw a small mound of land in the moonlight and put my head down, determined to get the hell out of there.

I made it to the small dry spot and heard a bark of panic coming from back inside the muddy swamp. I dropped the backpack and waded back into the marsh. Sean my flashlight around and yelled Charlie, Charlie, where are you, boy? I heard him bark several times in reply. I found him stuck in the mud up to his neck, only his face nose and ears were visible.

He had a look of panic on his face, and the zombies were only a few feet away. It's a slow motion shuffle towards this helpless dog. Shot the two closest undead and made it to Charlie, shining my flashlight down at him and then further back to see thousands and thousands, and thousands of the living dead. They must have been drawn here by all the commotion of the airport.

Now they got through the out-of-fence is a mystery that will probably never be solved. Shot another zombie was on my left. Put the flashlight into my mouth and started to dig. As I dug out the mud with my hands, the mud would fill right back in before I could grab Charlie's harness. I dug and dug, Charlie would let out a warning bark, indicating that something was close. I'd stopped to look and shoot the closest undead,

heading towards us. Well, I lost track of time. A horde of five zombies made it to us. I shot all five and the slide on the sig locked back indicating it was out of ammo. I looked down at Charlie whose face was covered in mud. His big brown eyes were glistening in the light of my flashlight. Yeah, I'm sorry, boy, I'm out of ammo. Pulled and pulled with all my might, but the mud held him fast. Charlie let out a oh how. I looked down and he gave me a gentle lick on my hand. His face said it all. It's okay Alex. I know I'm stuck but you can go. I'll stay here like a good dog. Oh tears ran down my face so fiercely that they were blurring my vision. Charlie just looked up at me and booped his nose under my hand, indicating he wanted just one last noodle pet before I left. I scratched his forehead and

told him, you're a good boy. I know we've got to only known each other for a few hours, but I love you, Charlie. I bought out my duty pistol that I only had two bullets left and started to bring it up to his head. And I had an idea and stopped. I looked at Charlie and said, Hey, buddy, I have one last idea. Either it's going to work or we're going to see a very explosive event.

I jam my pistol into the mud directly under Charlie, with the barrel facing down. I pulled the trigger. Mud flew everywhere as the expanding gases exiting behind the bullet blew a nice-sized hole in the mud. I grabbed Charlie's harness and with one big pull of the suction of the mud released its hold on the corgi. I held Charlie one-handed. It was tucked under my armpit like a football that I was running for a touchdown. He made it to the small section of land. Set Charlie down and he shook mud everywhere.

I grabbed my backpack and opened it up. Put Charlie inside, so only his head was sticking out and ran the west of the way to the fence. Once I got to the fence, I realized I had no way to get into the airport itself. Luckily, the fence sat on a raised dirt mound and was above the marsh. Small miracles, thought to myself. I could hear the wush of rotor blades as the biggest helicopter I'd ever seen flew overhead. It was grey with the words United States Marines in black lettering on the tail. A black pipe stuck out of the side of the chopper, and started to spit.

flames at a hellish rate. Someone inside the helicopter was shooting a heavy machine gun out of the side. The noise of the machine gun was barely audible over the sound of this flying monster. The chopper landed and about 50 Marines came flooding out the back. I shone my flashlight at them and jumped up and down, but didn't have any luck getting their attention. The distance from the wrong way to the fence was still a long way away. Chopper took off, its machine gun still chattering away.

Charlie was squirming around in the backpack as the chopper flew over us once again, went into a hover near the squad car for a few seconds before heading off somewhere else. No, no, come back, I yelled. Just then the backpack felt a lot lighter, and Charlie jumped down with the flare gun in between his teeth. You're a genius, do you know that? I said excitedly to Charlie while petting his butt. I was rewarded with his leg involuntarily thumping on the ground.

I loaded and fired one flare into the air popped open its red glow illuminating the area fired a second one into the air and had just reloaded it when Charlie began to bark with the flare illuminating the area I saw that all the zombies had made their way to us one just reached the air of the dirt berm

a levered the flare gun and fired hitting the zombie in the eye flare went in and ignited the zombie started to bars and twitch as the flare slowly burned its way into his brain. I reloaded the flare gun with its last round and fired, hitting the closest zombie in the throat. Pulled out my service weapon with the last round I shot and killed the undead.

I holstered my weapon, got down on one knee, pulled out my wallet and took out a picture of Erica and wrote on the back, I love you with all my heart, Alex. I showed Charlie the picture. He studied it very closely as if he was memorizing her face. Now listen up. If I don't make it out of here, I need you to look for her, okay? Make sure she gets this note.

He let out a single bark in confirmation, as I tucked the note into one of the pockets on his harness. I bought out my collapsible metal baton, also known as an ASP baton. With one swig, I snapped the baton open and rested the end on my shoulder like it was a baseball bat. I look down at Charlie, who was crouched down, ready to pounce in a tap. As the horde approached, I turned to Charlie and said,

Well, you and me against the world now, buddy. Let's make it count. I twisted at the waist and swung with all the force I could muster. My first swing made contact with the zombie, hitting it in the head and knocking it down. I got a second zombie on the back swing. Well, they teach you to never aim for the head with the ASP baton since it can result in a deadly blow.

Swinging it that high was a little awkward since I'd never done it before. I missed my third swing. The zombie got too close to me, and I was knocked over. Blur of mud and fur flew over me, slamming into the undead and knocking it off the burn. Fell down into the swamp, taking two of its friends down in the tumble. I got back on my feet,

I was about to swing again when the zombie's head simply disappeared. That's when the shouting started. Sir, get down. Get down. Turned to see a soldier in full kit running towards me. A rifle was on her shoulder. her and she was firing while running. Went flat on my stomach as the closest zombies fell down like God had flicked their switch off. Just then the machine gunfire started up as trace around flew a few feet over my head.

A voice called out. How are we doing today, sir? Looked over on the other side of the fence line, a female in camouflage, low crawling up to the fence line. Oh, I'm good. Just enjoying my mud back. Who are you guys? I asked.

I'm Sergeant Adams with a third Marine expeditionary force. I looked her right in the eyes and yelled. It's about fucking time you guys got here. Who are you? Sergeant Adams asked. Deputy Alex, Bear Creek County Sheriff Department, badge number 55. I shouted over the sound of machine guns and rifle fire. She looked back at me with a gobsmacked expression on her face.

She turned to look behind her and yelled, Hey, Mardinus, look. It's Rick Grime. There was a loud bang from somewhere further back, followed by intense white light floating in the sky. The marshal army turned from night to day in a second as someone fired off an illumination round into the air. The bright white flare hung in the air. Someone who I assumed was Martinez glanced over the top of his rifle's optic and looked at me. Holy shit, it is Rick Grimes.

Hey, Corporal Sanchez, looks like you owe me five bucks. Corporal Sanchez looked at me, shook his head and yelled. Whatever, my goodness, you got lucky with that one. Before getting back onto his belt-fed machine gun, he let loose with a long burst. The sound of a large turbo diesel engine rumbling towards us, drowned out any more of the conversation. Pulling up a few yards short from where the Marines were in place, shooting the undead was a huge green, eight-wheeled vehicle,

with what looked like a small cannon mounted in the middle of it. on top said a person with a very large helmet talking into a microphone what the hell is that thing asked sergeant adams who for the time being was my guardian angel shooting any undead that got close to me LAV 25 she pointed to the top of it and continued 25mm bushmaster cannon is going to create a lot of zombie pudding she paused for a second and then said

oh yeah you might want to cover your the rest of her sentence was lost when the 25 millimeter cannon opened up, spitting out a four and a half-ounce projectile every half a second. The LAV was doing a six-round burst. I looked over at the marsh in absolute disbelief. With the illumination rounds being fired into the air at a constant rate, the area was visible and showed thousands upon tens of thousands of the undead. I watched as one of the LAV-25mmel-rounds slammed into seven zombies in a row,

snapping them all in half before hitting the marshy water and erupting into a geeseer. Looked around to see a little corgy nose sticking out of the backpack. The loud sounds and explosions were scaring, Charlie. I yelled, How am I getting through this fence? Sergeant Adams yelled back. What?

Cupped her ear in the universal sign of I can't hear you. I shook the fence, pointed to myself, and put my finger through the opening in the chain-link fence, while mouthing, how am I getting in there? Just then, the cannon went silent and the top of the turret opened up. The person popped up and got onto the mounted machine gun and started to fire while yelling. The bushmaster is badly jammed. It's out of commission. The undead were closing in despite the best efforts from the Marines.

Sergeant Adams turned to me and said, We're going to cut the fence. She unsung her backpack, got out a small bolt cutter and started snipping away at the fence. The whoosh of helicopter blades was growing louder, and Sergeant Adams grinned as she was getting the last of the fence cut for me to crawl through. Geez, two zero's here to save us. A grey helicopter that looked like a modern version of a Hugh helicopter from Vietnam swooped in and went into a hover just above us. I heard a sound that could only be described as Lucifer's chainsaw as the minigun attached to the side of the helicopter started to open up with a hellish sound. zombies fell like wheat under a sigh

which my backpack threw first and then crawled through with a small cut in the fence Sergeant Adams then shouted Marines we're leaving both ran towards the LAV-25 that was stenciled on the side near the front in black lettering was the word Skippy along with the image of what appeared to be a beer can wearing a Captain Crunch hat the Marines and I flooded into the back of the LAV and it drove us towards the runway.

One of the Marines told me that a CH-53 was going to transport me to a designated safe area outside the city. The mammoth helicopter was sitting on the runway with its back ramp lowered, and blades spinning. I ran in, still carrying my backpack. I just got buckled in as the chopper lifted off while the ramp was closing. A person in a flight suit handed me a headset with a microphone. I put it on and could hear him talk.

Hi there, I'm crew chief Shanzer. Today's flight is about 30 minutes to an air national guard base just south of the city of Ashland. Sounds good, I replied. Hey, how many people are you rescued so far? You're the first one, buddy. How far is this thing spread? I don't know. I think it was contained just as sunburst, but I can't say for sure.

Just then Charlie poked his head out of the backpack. He barked once. The sound from inside the helicopter was so loud that it muted his bar. Charlie lifted his leg and peed on the sea next to me. Sean Zurt looked confused and asked, Hey, is that a dog? Yes, it is. This guy saved my life more times than I can count.

I replied as I gave Charlie lots of tummy rums. I was told only humans are allowed to leave the city. They don't know if it can spread to animals or not. I'm sorry, man, but I'm going to have to euthanize him. I looked up as Sean Zert was reaching for his pistol that was in a shoulder holster on his arm. I drew my pistol from the holster, lightning fast and stuck it under Shonsert's chin. Buddy, you do that and the next thing that goes through your mind will be courtesy of Smith and Wesson. So, if you're going to hold a gun on me this whole time?

What do you think will happen when we land? Shonsert asked. With my free hand, I reached under my bullet-resistant vest and bought out $10,000 in $100 bills. The golden strap was stamped with the word brinks across it. I tossed it onto his lap and said, This is for you to stay quiet, pretend you didn't see anything. Look, no hard feelings about this next part. A pistol whip Shonzer with my empty gun as hard as I could across his head, knocking him out.

I removed his pistol and thumbed every round out from his magazines and put them in my backpack. I returned his pistol and stuffed the ten grand into the front pocket of his flight suit. I looked out the window as he looked out of the window, as he put him. the sun began to peek over the horizon in the east. Charlie jumped onto my lap and fell asleep as I sat there, petting his head. Chapter 16 Epilock. I arrived at the Air National Guard Base and was immediately decontaminated with hot water

and brushed from people in hazmat suits. The base commander did let me keep Charlie since he loves dogs. I was reunited with Charlie after he got a bath and both our blood tests came back clear of any viruses. We were then put on a cargo plane and flown out. to a place called Fort Indian Town Gap. It was a National Guard base in the middle of nowhere, Pennsylvania. He spent two weeks in quarantine. I had to answer a lot of questions from a lot of people who wore a lot of stars on their chests. The only personal items I was allowed to keep

with my police badge and my service pistol. The latter was locked in the armory. Now here's what I was able to find out from all this. For the 91,1, 170 people that lived in Sunburst, Estimates were that 8 to 12,000 survived the event. Out of the city's 153 police officers, only 27 were left alive, with Detective Tallon being one of them. The highest ranking police officer to make it through all this was a lieutenant with auto theft task force, who was camping with his family during the time this all happened. He was quickly promoted to interim police chief. Only four police officers from outside agencies survived.

Myself, another deputy, one state police officer, and a K-9, not the officer, but the canine dog himself. The official statement says that the Cook-Cook Bridge collapsed due to an earthquake, although the United States Geological Survey has no seismograph recordings from that day. Four weeks after I was rescued, the last living person was located. It took another six weeks to clear the city, another three months to clean up the mess that had happened. Everyone who survived had their phone or other recording device confiscated. No known pictures or videos existed from this event.

The event that caused the undead to walk is still unknown, or at least unknown to me. It was contained inside the city of Sunburst. After I was released from quarantine, I reunited with Erica, and she instantly fell in love with Charlie. We got married shortly after. It was the perfect wedding. Erica got a job working for a small town newspaper, and I stayed with the Sheriff's Department for another three months. I ended up resigning due to psychological reasons. Omer shot a sleeping drunk who made this,

uh, sound when waking up. Since my resignation, I've gotten a job as an armored truck guard. At least nothing crazy will happen to me there, right. And so once again, we reach the end of tonight's podcast. My thanks as always to the authors of those wonderful stories and to you for taking the time to listen. Now, I'd ask one small favor of you, wherever you get your podcast wrong,

please write a few nice words and leave a five-star review as it really helps the podcast. That's it for this week, but I'll be back again, same time, same place, and I do so hope you'll join me once more. Until next time, sweet dreams and bye-bye.