[NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, USA]

[DECEMBER 27, 2010]

[BLACKLIGHT INFECTION STATUS - MANHATTAN: 12%, INCREASING]

"Stay vigilant, men. Those things can hide almost anywhere in this shithole," a National Guard commander ordered as he stood in the cupola of a National Guard M1117 Guardian APC, which was slowly traversing the snow-covered 5th Avenue as the lead vehicle of a convoy of APCs and trucks. Ever since the sudden outbreak of another virus similar to the previous one in 2008 in the same location, the city was thrown into chaos as the virus ravaged and mutated anyone around Pennsylvania Station. The infected had already started to move towards Lower Manhattan, with the National Guard setting up roadblocks and quarantine zones in an attempt to prevent the spread. So far, it had been seemingly successful.

"Man, this is like, the third time this damn city's been hit with a virus and shit! This is getting ridiculous!" a Guardsman whined as he walked past a pileup of cars that had been there long since the initial panic.

"I know, right?" another Guardsman replied. "Whole city should be disinfected like hell once we get rid of this outbreak."

The convoy was tasked with a search and rescue operation around the upper half of Midtown Manhattan. The soldiers were to find any civilians who were waiting for evacuation to the safe zone at Central Park. An NYPD helicopter was assisting the operation by announcing via loudspeaker for any civilians to meet up with the convoy.

The convoy passed Trump Tower and eventually approached the vicinity of the St. Thomas Church. Aside from the usual crashed or wrecked vehicles, there were three, wrecked, unmarked black vans parked directly in front of the entrance. Some of the Guardsmen noticed that the church doors, unlike most of the buildings they passed, were unbarricaded and had large trails of dried blood on the snow leading out of it.

"Jeez...what the hell happened here?" a Guardsman commented as he looked at the trails. Another peeked into a van, its rear doors torn open forcefully, and saw six empty weapon crates.

"The hell?" he thought as he moved on to the next van, which had its insides covered in dried blood.

"Shiiiiiit...hey Mosely, you see this?" he off-handedly said to another National Guardsman, who walked over.

"Weapon boxes...? Why all this in front of the church?"

"Beats me, Mose."

"Hey, wanna check out inside? Seems like something happened in there."

"You sure 'bout that? Looks to me like the clergy's long abandoned it."

"You never know if there might be them zombies in there. Best if we clean it out so anyone else we find won't be hurt."

"Well...if that's the case then let's go."

The two approached the lead APC.

"Hey, Captain!" Mosely said loudly. Their CO, who was surveying the distant street with a pair of binoculars, put them down and turned to the two.

"Oh, good timing. You and Kazmarek. Go with Beasley and St. Clair. We're gonna establish an outpost in the church."

"Ha?" the two replied in surprise.

"I'm not repeating myself, now get in there and make sure the damn place is safe," the Guard Captain demanded. The two turned back to the church.

"Well, looks like we're going in there either way eh, Kaz?"

Kazmarek and Mosely were joined by the aforementioned soldiers as they neared the entrance to the church.

"Hey, guys," St. Clair said as he held up a hand and waved. "Thank God I'm wearing a mask so I don't have to smell this shit."

"No need to say it again. Damn these infected are brutal," Beasley said as he inspected his M16's magazine and loaded it back into the rifle. "You guys wanna take upper floor or the ground floor?"

"Rock, paper, scissors?" Mosely said. The other two chuckled in response.

"Okay, r, p and s then," St. Clair spoke.

Mosely and St. Clair muttered "Rock, paper, scissors" as they shook their fists and made the symbol of whatever object they chose. Mosely got a rock, while St. Clair got a paper.

"Dibs on the second floor," St. Clair said as he walked in.

Mosely and Kazmarek followed Beasley as they walked into the darkened church. The group split, with Beasley and St. Clair going up some stairs as the other two walked towards the altar. The two noticed that the disheveled pews and the interior were decorated as if there had been a wedding that had taken place a few days back. However, the entirety of the place had lots and lots of dried blood on the white cloth and decorations. The altar was no exception.

"Ooh boy. I wonder if the guests managed to escape?" Kazmarek said after giving a long resigned whistle.

"With this amount of blood scattered everywhere? I'm not so sure..." Mosely said as he looked at the altar. He made the Sign of the Cross.

Kazmarek went over to the side of the pews on the right as Mosely walked slowly towards the altar. The church interior was completely silent, compared to the slight ambience of outside. Then the silence was broken by Beasley speaking through the radio.

"Hey, how's it going down there?" he asked.

"We haven't seen anything. How 'bout you guys?" Mosely replied.

"Nothin' either. We're heading up the third floor."

"Gotcha, Mosely out."

Mosely continued walking towards the altar as he looked around at the pews. He noticed that some of the pews looked like they had been riddled with bullets.

"Huh..." he thought as he inspected the bullet holes.

Meanwhile, Kazmarek inspected a statue of a saint. He stopped and walked in the same direction as Mosely until he stepped on something. The Guardsman looked down to see what looked like the barrel of a rifle. Kazmarek knelt down to pick it up, and found out that it was a broken-off barrel of an M4A1.

"Kaz!" he heard Mosely shout. The Guardsman placed the broken gun barrel on a pew and looked at his comrade.

"What's up, Mose?"

"I found someone!"

Kazmarek rushed over to the front as Mosely radioed to the other two.

"Hey, guys! We've found someone here!"

"Really?" St' Clair replied. "You two need help down there?"

"No, I think we got this. Keep an eye out for anyone else, will ya?"

"Got it. Be careful with 'em."

Kazmarek slowed down as he saw Mosely kneeling beside a blonde-haired woman in a heavily tattered and blood-stained wedding dress who was lying face-down on the ground. Aside from the dress, she had white, lace, elbow-length gloves.

"Holy shit. I think we just found the bride!" Kazmarek commented as he kneeled down next to her.

"Have you checked her vitals?"

"I couldn't tell if she has a pulse, but she looks like she's breathing..." Mosely said.

"Help me turn her over. We gotta check if she's bleeding!" Kazmarek said as he took hold of her arm. Mosely did the same with the left side of her abdomen. The two turned her over.

"What the hell!?" Mosely exclaimed as the two immediately stood up and backed off. The woman had several gaping openings on her chest, abdomen and legs. Her insides were reddish-black with some parts glowing a bright yellow orange, which also seemed to be slightly squirming around.

"Holy shit!" Kazmarek shouted as he pulled out his radio. "Cap-"

Suddenly, a black and yellow orange tendril emerged from the woman's body and rapidly extended towards Kazmarek, who dropped his radio and rifle as the tendril pierced his leg and started wrapping itself around it.

"FUUUUUCK! MOSE! HEEEEELP!" he screamed as his fellow Guardsman panickingly opened fire at the tendril, the bullets ripping through but not severing it. Realizing that, he instead aimed at the woman's body, only for another tendril to shoot out and impale Mosely through the heart before lifting his body into the air.

"AHHHHHHHH!" Kazmarek screamed as he was pulled towards the body, the biomass from the tendrils rapidly consuming him and Mosely's fresh corpse. Soon after the two were completely absorbed, the woman's body repaired itself, her gashes covering themselves up with new skin. The "woman's" eyes shot open, with her coughing and hyperventilating soon after. She slowly and agonizingly propped herself onto her side, got on her knees and struggled to prop herself up on a pew.

"Mosely! Kazmarek! Answer me!" the Guard Captain shouted into the fallen walkie-talkie. The woman noticed her dress was slipping, so she pulled it up to cover her chest as she limped towards the blurry white light in her vision. She heard footsteps going down the stairs close by, with two silhouettes standing in front of her after. More silhouettes arrived, blocking some of the light.

"Ma'am! Are you alright?" a voice said as a silhouette approached her. She then collapsed.

Beasley kneeled next to her as five other Guardsmen spread out into the church, looking for any infected.

"Fuck! Some of those things must've taken the two!" a Guardsman said as he trained his M16 at the windows. Beasley lifted up the woman bridal-style and exited the church with St. Clair and another Guardsman escorting him.

"Ma'am! Ma'am! Don't worry, you're safe now," he assured the half-conscious woman. Beasley carried her to an M393 truck that was repurposed into a medical vehicle and gently laid her down on a stretcher attached to the truck's back bench.

"Shit, man. Wasn't expecting infected to be this close to Central Park now," St. Clair said as he climbed onto the back of the truck and sat opposite Beasley.

"At least we saved twenty people now..." he said as he covered the woman with a blanket provided by the medic out of modesty. It was then that he got a good look at her face.

"Whaaa-?" Beasley said as he backed away in astonishment.

"Hey, what's wrong?" St. Clair asked.

"I can't believe it...it's her!" Beasley said as he pointed at the woman.

"Who?" St. Clair said as he squinted in confusion.

"You remember that whole fiasco back in '97?"

"Yeah. What does that have to do with her?"

"That's the same chick who defeated that monster, Bill! That's Aya Brea!"