LEFT 4 DEAD
Motown Blues
"We Hope For Better Things; not dying is just one"
Detroit, Michigan: 3 weeks after first infection.
It seems that as each day passes, another city falls. It started in the north east, and then went down south, but it was inevitable that this hell would come west. Detroit has had its fair share of problems in the past and survived, but how can any place survive the end of the world.
In what was once a lively residential area, there is now only death and suffering. Abandoned cars litter the street, and there are corpses as far as the eye can see. There is no more life here, except for one shambling soulless creature. He is aimless, murmuring incoherent ramblings as he holds his head in agony, but a loud roaring sound grabs his attention. The ghoul turns howling in rage, and is instantly splattered between a car and a speeding humvee.
"Goddamn! You got brains all over the windshield," Yelled Corporal Jimenez as he picked the radio mic. "This is 3-alpha; sector 29 is now red, returning to Evac-center, over."
An Evacuation Center has been set up in the university, packed with civilians anxious to escape. In the makeshift control center, a uniformed woman responds to the message. "This is Assistant Chief Wallace, make it snappy, Evac-center is closing shop, last helicopters will be leaving in 10, over and out." Wallace pats the young army radio operator on the back, and climbs the ladder to the roof of the command trailer. She examines the area, noticing the tension amongst the civilians. CEDA has set up a medical tent to examine people; those cleared are loaded into the waiting Sea Stallion and Chinook helicopters. Those determined to be infected are hauled off by soldiers, kicking in screaming into an unseen quarantine room.
"Kate, you alright?" asked an FBI agent, as he placed his hand on the chief's shoulder
"Sam… yeah, I'll live… for now. What's up, any good news?"
"Afraid not, I've lost contact with what was left of the Bureau. Last I heard my A.D. put one between his eyes, and my partner's gone missing "
"Jesus, that's terrible!"
"It's not so bad; at least I have you to boss me around"
Kate smiles, but notices a commotion growing at the medical tent
"Speaking of which, I need you to find that CEDA guy, what's his face… Lanka! And see what's going on down there."
Agent Keller quickly heads to the tent, as a squad of soldiers ready their weapons to attack possible infected. As he enters, he finds that indeed some rescued survivors have changed before they could be screened. Sam notices an infected man attempting to kill Lanka, and quickly saves him.
"Doc! What the hell is this shit! Where are the rest of your CEDA guys?"
"They've gone! The bastards have abandoned me...us. There's nothing I can do, I can't screen anymore people. We need those choppers out of here, and infection free, now!"
As the two leave the tent, Sam nods at the squad leader; half the soldiers surround the tent, while the rest rush in, killing the infected, and any civilians that try to leave. It's too late for them now.
Sam notices that Corporal Jimenez has finally arrived with company; he sees Kate motioning for them to join her.
"Agent Keller, Nice of you to join us, I'm Colonel Marks, United States Marine Corps."
"Nice to meet you Colonel, glad to see you made it out in one piece. I hear you have news?"
"Yes I do" Said the Colonel quite sternly, "I've been ordered by my superiors to initiate the immediate relocation of all military and law enforcment personnel in this area."
"Pardon me sir" Kate interrupts in a concerned manner, "Do you mean to tell me that the federal government is abandoning the city?"
"No Ms. Wallace, not the city, the entire state".
Kate scoffs at the colonel's statement as she crosses her arms in anger. "It's not my decision, and we have no choice; we are way behind the red line now, which keeps moving west on a daily basis. I hate to be the bearer of bad news; but we're set to lose the entire continent by the end of next week if we don't reinforce security in non-infection areas."
Before anyone can say anything else, alarms begin to go off. "Perimeter breach!" yells a soldier through the radio. Almost immediately, the machine guns start opening fire on a speeding tanker truck, but it is too late. The truck slams into the brick perimeter wall at full speed, exploding into a large fire ball; in a panic, a Blackhawk meant for the command staff attempts to lift off, but the shock wave sends the chopper into the ground of the courtyard blowing metal shrapnel in all directions. Everyone has been knocked off their feet; it is quiet for a moment, as the colonel attempts to sit up grunting. He has been wounded by the explosions, and is bleeding profusely from his side.
Those in the tent break out, a mix of infected and those just trying to escape; the military begins firing indiscriminately into the mob. Kate stumbles onto her feet as fast as she can, yelling into the radio, "Get those goddamn choppers in the air now! No one else can get on; we can't risk spreading the infection!" The remaining helicopters immediately lift off, taking those lucky enough to get on to an unknown location.
Corporal Jimenez puts pressure on the Colonel's wound, but it is too late. The dying officer grabs the young marines arm, "Listen to me son, it's all over now. We can't stop it; we're going to lose the continent by the end of the month no matter what we do. But we're trying to save as many non-infected… I'm talking about an exodus; save yourself, and save as many as you can." The colonel coughs up blood before finally fading away.
We got to get the hell out of here!" yells Dr. Lanka
"You're damn right," Sam said as he put his hand Jimenez's shoulder, "Come on Marine, we got to go.
Almost out of nowhere, a horde rushes into the courtyard through the broken wall, killing everyone in their path. "Jake, let's go, we're getting the hell out of here" Kate yelled down to the radio operator. As the four jumped from the top of the trailer, Jake runs out the door, only to be pounced and mauled by a hunter. Kate tries to go back for him, but is pulled back by Sam as a tank crashes into the courtyard. Soldiers begin opening fire, but are pummeled into bloody pulps.
There's a safe room nearby!" Kate informs the running group "It's in the boiler room; we can make it if we hurry." The four run into a nearby campus building, with the tank not far behind. Inside the building, more soldiers attempt to kill the tank, but are crushed into the walls by the creature's large fists. The group makes it into the safe room, but they realize that not even the heavy metal doors could last against this tank. Sam quickly notices a soldier packing a flame thrower being killed by a hunter. Sam quickly disposes of the hunter with a night stick to its face, picking up the trigger as the tank turns the corner. He lights up the tank, as it swings aimlessly in pain crashing into a wall. Cpl. Jimenez pops the pin off a grenade, handing it to Kate who jams it onto a propane tank, and throws it at the flaming behemoth. They all slam the metal doors shut as a blast rocks the hall outside the safe room; fleshy chunks are heard landing about.
I don't mean to be the pain in the ass of the group here" Said Dr. Lanka as he adjusts his glasses, "but what the Bloody hell do we do now?"
Agent Keller looks at the other two, noticing their thousand yard stares. "We goddamn get the hell out of here alive is what we do." Kate looks up at Sam, enjoying the sound of his optimism has she was beginning to lose hers. "If we head to the police station, there should still be some gassed up trucks left behind. We should use those to get out of the city" she said.
"Where would we go?" asked Jimenez
"West," said Sam, "We'll head west, and maybe find a ride that will fly us out of here, and god willing, won't crash.
The group arm themselves with the scattered weaponry, and packs some medical supplies, as they prepare to head back out. The city is dead now; the country not far behind it, there is no time to spare.