Chapter I-End of our lives
"Yeah, yeah mom, I understand"
Lincoln was just nodding and agreeing to his mom's and dad's words, impatient for them to finally leave. They were leaving to visit an elderly cousin in a nearby town which he didn't bother to remember. But the best part was that only Lily was going with them while the rest of the siblings were staying and having nearly the entire weekend for them. It was just too good to be true.
"So, with that out of the way, let's go Rita. Lincoln, you're now the man in the house until we return, okay? Take care of your sisters, don't allow something to happen to them."
Or maybe they should take care of me, he joked to himself. With sisters like Lynn and Luna, he was mostly the one who was offered protection. But he understood his father's words and he would not allow his excitement over the weekend to be the reason why he would neglect his duties as a brother.
"All right, dad, don't worry. We won't leave the house until you've returned but we'll have fun at home too. We'll find a way."
Not counting Clyde's presence, he preferred staying at home and reading comics or playing video games (unless he was helping them.)
Lynn Sr. patted Lincoln on the head, Rita kissed him and hugged him, while Lincoln kissed Lily in the forehead and she happily laughed. However she was feeling quite sad that she won't see her siblings until tomorrow as she loved them deeply. The rest of the sisters had already paid their goodbyes and then returned to their hobbies while Lincoln stayed in person to see them off.
With that done, the three of them departed in the vanzilla with Rita and Lily waving at Lincoln while Lynn Sr honked at him. Lincoln returned the wave.
"Well, let the best weekend ever begin," Lincoln smiled, overjoyed with happiness.
But first he was going to check on his sisters to be completely sure that they didn't need him and that he was free to do his own activities. First he stumbled upon Lana playing in the mud by the tree with her frog. She was laughing as usual while she was covered in dirt from head to toe. For the past several days, the weather was mostly sunny but the small pool of water and mud still hadn't dried to Lana's relief.
"Hey bro, wanna join me? I could use a partner for some mud wrestling," she cheerfully exclaimed while rolling in the dirt.
"Thanks for the offer Lana, but I have some business to do. If I have the time later, I'll gladly come."
"Oki doki bro," she grinned, showing her two missing front teeth.
Since it wasn't nothing serious, I don't need to help her, Lincoln thought. Maybe I'll join her later. He thought he had seen something resembling a smokescreen in the distance but he brushed it off as imagination. He was just so excited that he stopped thinking about most things.
Then he continued to the front door but when he heard a basketball hitting the ground behind the house, he immediately entered the house not even bothering to look back. Lynn was practising outside and there was no way that he could escape her if she decided to train with her in whatever sport she wanted to. Not unless he wanted to get beat up.
He then quickly went through the house while paying attention to what his sisters have been doing. Lisa was writing down science stuff which he couldn't understand for her experiments and eating chocolate, Lola was having a tea party with her dolls, Lucy was reading her poems while thinking about ideas for new ones, Luan was writing new jokes and laughing at them while talking to herself, much to the annoyance of Luna who was composing some new songs for her to play. Lori and Leni watched TV but Lori was mostly keeping her head on her phone texting her boyfriend Bobby while Leni looked as she didn't quite understand what was going on on the show she watched. Lincoln silently giggled to that.
At last, he entered his room, stripped to his underwear and jumped on his bed, grabbing his comic and starting to read. Even though October recently started, it was still fairly warm and he could read in undies without using the blanket. He let a sigh of relief.
However, only five minutes passed and as he was about to start reading the next issue of Ace Savvy, he heard a loud knocking on his door, three times exactly. Only one sister could knock this loud.
"Hey Lame-o, you in there?", Lynn asked, with an excited voice.
Cold sweat suddenly engushed Lincoln. This could not end well for him. But then he remembered that she was playing with a basketball which means that he could survive this with minor injuries. He felt a little happier now.
"Yes, I am! But wait a minute until I-", he didn't even manage to finish the sentence and Lynn bursted in, startling him. He slightly flinched, dropping his comic to the ground. With an angered look on his face and a slight blush, he stood up to confront her.
"Did I say that you could come in? Everyone has the right for privacy except Lincoln as usual." He sighed, his angered face turning to a dissapointed one as he started to dress up.
"Oh come on, stop dramatising. You've seen me in my underwear and bra multiple times and you don't see me whining, do you?", she proclaimed slightly annoyed.
Typical Lynn, he started thinking, as he was finishing putting his shirt on. That wasn't a problem when they were younger but now their bodies are maturing and privacy should be a more serious issue now. Not for Lynn it seems. He sighed in defeat.
"Either way, you probably need a punch-, I mean a sparring partner for your techniques, right? I am just free now so I can help you," he said with a slight hint of sarcasm planted into the words.
Lynn giggled. "You must read my mind. But no, no sparring today, I know how much you like to spar with me, but we're just gonna play some ball. More precisely, I want to improve my dribbling," she replied with an equal amount of sarcasm.
Lynn was the most masculine and tomboyish sister, rivaled only by Lana, but when she acted more girly or carefree outside of her competitive attittude, Lincoln couldn't help but think that she was the cutest girl he knew at moments like this. Of course, he was never gonna say this to anyone to prevent a potential Third World War.
Lincoln just nodded and pointed at the hall, giving her a sign to go. She lightly punched him in the shoulder, and challenged him to outrace her to the yard as she stormed outside. He knew that was an impossible mission, so he just groaned, closed his door and walked off to the backyard.
"Umm, no offense but how can you dribble on the grass? Wouldn't it be much easier to do it on more solid ground?" He was genuinely curious.
"For a wimp like you, of course. But since I have to hit harder, it's better for the arm muscles and also to improve my pacing," she playfully teased him and winked.
He just shrugged as he didn't have the nerves to fight her mentally now. He had to focus on the physical part now.
Some time had passed, the clouds had slowly started to cover the sun now but it couldn't have been later than 2AM, Lincoln thought. He was trying his best to take the ball from Lynn but she was just on an another level. Maybe if he had any interest in sports he could at least close the gap a little, but as it was, his older sister was just more talented and much more hardworking than him. But that didn't bother him. In fact, he felt proud that she was so good, so he could boast her successes as his big sister's work to his friends and he was her main sidekick so to say.
However, after some bored glances at the street, Lincoln noticed something unusual. There was a man, who was slowly walking towards their direction. He shrugged it off as just some random guy and continued to try and take the ball from his big sister. But, a few more glances, and the man was slowly entering their yard. Now Lincoln looked much longer at him and what he saw terrified him.
The man wasn't walking normally, it seemed like he was limping, dragging one foot over the other. His face was in a horrible condition, his skin was brownish-yellow in color, bones could be seen throughout his arms and chest, skin tissues were hanging from his face and torso as his shirt was half open. His eyes were also unusually bright yellow and the smell from his body was disgusting, making Lincoln nearly vomit on the grass. But perhaps his weirdest characteristic was that he wasn't speaking. Or at least nothing in English. He was growling like monsters from some low-budget B movies from the 80's. Lincoln tried his best to stay composed.
"Catch, Linc!", Lynn yelled as she threw the ball at Lincoln who made some distance from her to take a better look at the mysterious man. However, the ball just bounced off of him as he didn't even flinch and landed near him.
She was both shocked and surprised at this as normally he would complain about her being too rough on him. With an annoyed voice, she asked him to drop the tough guy act and return the ball. Again, nothing. Not even a slight movement of his body. She was now getting worried what was wrong with him but she still didn't notice the limping man as she was staring at Lincoln with a caring look. She walked next to him and put her right hand on his left shoulder.
"Hey bro, everything okay?", she asked him in an unusually (for her), soft voice. Something was way off here.
"Lynn, go into the house quickly and bring your bat here. Go.", Lincoln ordered her in a calm and serious tone.
She started to complain but Lincoln just asked her to do it with a "pretty please" at the end. She nodded and ran into the house.
Then, he also noticed that Lana was sitting in the mud on the other side not knowing what was happening here. He yelled at her to get into the house and to tell Lori to call the police and the ambulance. She opened her mouth to object but when she saw the man, she got scared and quickly ran into the house, to fulfill Lincoln's order.
Lincoln was now just meters away from the man as he dragged himself slowly to Lincoln. What was he trying to do? The man looked seriously sick or hurt, being covered in blood over nearly his entire body. He deduced to try and talk to him.
"Mister, are you okay? You look like you are really in pain. I already asked my sisters to call some help, but can I do anything else for you until they arrive?", he politely asked.
But, as he was about to open his mouth again to speak, the man dropped over him, both falling on the ground.
"What is wrong with you, get off of me! I'm trying to help you!", Lincoln said angrily. However, to his shock, he opened his mouth and growled loudly at Lincoln, scaring him immensely. Lincoln was now getting pale from fear, his heart rate going higher than usual. He could feel his entire body trembling in terror under the man's weight, struggling to breath. The man tried to bite him and Lincoln barely held him off with his hands to the man's chest. But, the man was bigger and older and he easily overpowered Lincoln, leaving him helpless.
A large smack startled Lincoln, and he felt the man's weight was completely gone over him and he started to breath more easily.
"Nobody attacks my little brother, especially not in my presence. Whether they are old or young, male or female, they're gonna taste my fists, or in this case, my bat", she smirked.
She helped Lincoln up as he was genuinely thankful for her assistance. Sure, she was roughousing them often and sometimes being aggressive, but deep down she harbored an enormous amount of love and respect for her family, especially for the siblings she was closer to than the others like Lincoln and Luna. Lincoln gave her a quick hug and she returned it with a smile.
"What's wrong with this freak anyway? Why did he attack you?!", she frowned.
"I don't think he's a freak honestly, he looks like he needs medical help", Lincoln admitted in a somewhat sad tone.
That was the thing Lynn admired most on Lincoln but didn't she reveal it to anyone. His kindness, softness and naiveness was nearly unrivaled as he was concerned about the well-being of the man who attacked him seconds before.
"I dunno anything about medical help, but I can provide him with some bone-crushing services, heh" she silently laughed.
But, at their horror, the man started to rise up and growl even louder than before, causing them to jump back in fear.
"Uh, Lynn? Why is he recovering so fast? And he's even angrier than before. Maybe we should have just waited for the police to arrive and take care of it,"
"I-I-I don't know Lincoln," she gulped and struggled to say the words. She hadn't felt fear in a long time, and now the fear was growing inside her.
The man started to walk towards them slightly faster than before, stunning them. But, he heard a loud sound in their house and shifted his focus towards them. Horrified, Lincoln signaled to Lynn that they had to stop him from entering the house by attracting his attention. Lynn yelled for help in the neighbourhood, hoping someone would hear them and to get the man away from the house. But mysteriously, nobody seemed to hear her. Not even Mr. Grouse who would normally now be annoyed by this noise from the Loud House. Everything was just so quiet. Too quiet.
Lincoln didn't think twice as he quickly grabbed the nearby basketball and threw it at the man with all his might. It hit him in the left knee and the man dropped on the ground in an instant, stunning both brother and sister. Lincoln wasn't now thinking about him being sick or getting him some help. The only thing on his mind now was to protect his sisters as he promised to his father, Lynn Sr. Plus, this man was looking like he was trying to hurt them, especially considering the aggressiveness he showed to Lincoln moments earlier. That was it. He was going to stop him by force if needed.
He raised his hand to take the bat from Lynn but she was already standing by the man's side. And then she raised the bat above her head and hit the man with a wide downward swing. When the hit connected, it made Lincoln twitch, especially the loud sound. As he took a step forward, Lynn hit the man again. And again.
The last hit made Lincoln cringe so hard, he gulped as he felt sweat falling down his face. His head was now busted open and his skull was cracked. That's a skull, right, Lincoln thought to himself. The sheer thought of seeing one in real life, sent shivers down his spine and through his entire body.
"Lynn, that's-that's enough! His freaking skull is open for God's sake!"
Lynn stopped the instant she heard Lincoln yelling. In front of her, was a man lying down, with his skull open and blood dripping from his wounds. Did she really do it? Even though she was just a 13-year old girl, her strength and stamina were much higher than an average girl her age. After just 4 hits, she cracked an adult man's skull open. Maybe it wasn't her strength but her excellent technique that was responsible for what happened. Either way, she started shaking as she dropped down to her knees, her bat hitting the ground. Lincoln rushed to her side and helped her up.
"You okay sis?", Lincoln asked in a soft, concerned voice, holding her hands.
"Y-Y-Yeah, I think so", she whispered, lying to him. She could feel herself blushing as he was holding her hands and speaking in such a sweet voice. She definitely needed some emotional support at a moment like this.
"Look, you shouldn't have done this. This was my duty, my promise to dad. I'm supposed to protect you all, not the other way around. You must feel horrible at the moment." He tightened his grip on her hands, pulling her closer to him. Their eyes met as they were roughly the same height, with Lincoln being slightly taller.
Both Lincoln and Lynn saw fear in each other's eyes. Until now, they weren't showing it on the outside as the adrenaline was keeping them calm. But now, the fact that this man might be dead, chilled them to the core.
As Lynn opened her mouth to speak, the man started to growl. With their eyes wide open, they looked to the ground, not believing what was happening.
The man started to flinch, despite having a busted head. He sounded even angrier than before, looking at them with burning eyes, full of hatred and malice.
That was the moment they finally realised. This thing wasn't human. Maybe he was human before as he looked like a man but now, he was something else. No human could recover from a cracked skull in mere moments and then start moving like nothing happened. Was he even supposed to be alive at this point, the siblings asked themselves.
But one thing made Lynn happy. She wasn't a murderer like she feared after she delivered the final hit. But that was unimportant now. What mattered at the moment, was that the... creature was furious now and started to get up.
Lincoln swiftly grabbed the bloodied bat from the ground and hit the creature in the left knee, the one he hit with the ball, making him fall again. He roughly grabbed Lynn by her hand, snapping her out of her trance and entered the house, slamming the door shut.
Their sudden entrance scared the remaining sisters who where gathered in the living room. Soon they started swarming them with questions and encircling them to assure themselves if they were okay.
"Brother and sister unit, is everything under control?", Lisa asked in her distinctive lisp.
"I heard some loud sounds outside and it made me spill my tea over all of my dolls, crashing the party!", Lola angrily proclaimed.
"Bro, what was that all about? Is that guy crazy? What happened to my mud pool?", Lana was seemingly more curious about the dirt she had played in, than what was really happening now.
"I usually don't show emotions, but this one time, I'm interested in your well-being.", said Lucy in her usual quiet and bleak tone.
"Are you guys really okay? You look really bat. Haha, get it?" Said Luan, again with her puns. She pointed at the bat that Lincoln was holding and started to chuckle. Everyone groaned except Lincoln and Lynn, who were lost in their thoughts. Lori gave Luan a slight chop on the head, causing her to flinch in pain and rub the spot that was under attack.
"Dudes, you both look paler than milk. Did someone hurt you? Just say who it was and I'll settle that", she angrily said in a mock British accent while knuckling her fists.
"Oh my God, you two are like in a really bad shape. Do you need something?", Leni asked in a mix of her usual cheery voice and a dose of concern.
Lori just looked at Lincoln and Lynn with a sad expression. Something was very wrong here.
"Everyone calm down, please. We had a problem but hopefully we'll solve it as soon as possible. Lynn, sit on the couch. Luna and Luan, help her." They both nodded and gently held her hands and escorted her to the family couch.
This was a very rare sight in the Loud family. The toughest kid, Lynn, was being comforted by the other sisters. The very sight of that, made the rest of the siblings sad. Lynn had the same confused look on her face ever since she hit that thing in the head.
Lincoln now turned to Lori: "Did you do what I asked? It's a matter of life and death now." Lincoln tried to sound as calm as possible but his voice was beginning to crack and his emotions were starting to show on the surface. Everyone noticed and felt discomfort at this.
"I did but no one answered. I called them literally 20 times in a row but I got no answer whatsoever." Lori said in a frustrating voice. She then grabbed Lincoln's arm tightly and with a serious face turned towards him. All of their eyes were now on Lincoln. He felt intimidated by their glares.
"What the heck happened to you and Lynn out there? Lana said that there was a strange man outside who was walking towards you. You know that mom and dad strictly forbade us to talk to strangers for our safety. And what did you two do?!" Lori yelled at him with angry face.
Lincoln was again sweating heavily, struggling to find the ideal words to reply to his eldest sister who held his arm tight.
"I uh, I was playing with Lynn some ball and then this guy came. He looked terrible so I thought that we should help him. But then he started to attack me and I and Lynn had to fight him to prevent him from threatening the rest of you. There was no time to think."
"So you just decided to play the superhero like from your stupid comic books and endanger your life and your sister's?! I'm dissapointed in you twerp."
He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He was trying his best to protect them, even his older sisters, and this is how got repaid? By being accused?
He angrily freed himself from Lori's grip and took a step back, startling his sisters except Lynn who was still blankly staring in the still working but mute TV.
"Don't blame me like that, it's unfair. I promised dad that I'll take care of you, even the elder ones. It would be cowardly of me to just retreat." Lincoln tried to calm himself down and spoke in a rational tone.
After hearing this, the sisters started to feel guilty. Especially Lori. Even though he was just a kid, he was trying his best to be a good brother to his sisters.
"And that's the reason why you're the best bro ever dude" Luna exclaimed, laughing.
"Aww Linky, that's so cute. You are just so adorable, I can't" Leni squealed and gave him a light kiss on his forehead. He could feel himself blushing from their kind words.
"Listen Linc, I-" but Lori was cut off by someone sobbing which soon turned into loud crying. It was Lola, she was sitting on the floor, her back leaned against the wall, her hands were covering her face on her raised knees.
Everyone turned and sadly sighed. But Lana was more annoyed than sad because she thought that Lola was having another one of her hysterical attacks or that she was just being a spoiled little brat as usual.
Lincoln's heart broke in two when he saw Lola bawling her eyes out. The worst thing that could happen to him in this world was the sight of seeing his sisters crying. It made him feel depressed and empty inside, especially if he could do nothing to help them. But now, he could help her. One of the things he knew best was how to comfort his dear sisters.
He sat beside her and pulled her closer to him, putting his arm over her back. She pulled her face out of her hands and looked at him with her big, wet eyes.
"What happened to my little princess? Why are you crying? You know that it hurts me to see any of you crying, especially the younger ones" he spoke in a very soft voice, nearly whispering.
"I-I just got overwhelmed by emotions. The thought of you and Lynn getting hurt, I just can't take it out of my head. But seeing that you are okay, makes me feel much better. Will you promise me that you won't get hurt?"
Lincoln was now barely able to contain his rapidly beating heart from jumping out of its place as he was getting overwhelmed by this sheer amount of cuteness. Even the other sisters were "awwing" in the background, feeling happy that Lincoln was their brother. Sure, Lola was perhaps the most spoiled sister and the one to resort to violence the quickest after Lynn but she was also one of the more vulnerable, as she was just a six-year-old girl.
"Don't ever doubt, Lola. We are all gonna be fine and I'll always protect you no matter what. Remember that." Lincoln hugged her tightly while wiping the tears away from her face.
"Uh guys, you might wanna see this" Leni suddenly said as she turned up the volume on the TV. The Channel for fashion shows and other fabulous stuff which was Leni's favorite was running loud now.
"Leni, please now's not the time for your fash-" Lori sounded irritated but was cut off short by the sudden change of programme. The title "BREAKING NEWS" was all over the screen. Lynn finally came to her senses, Lincoln and Lola got up and leaned on the family sofa. Everyone turned their attention to the TV and watched without breathing.
"We are sorry for interrupting your favorite TV programme but we have some urgent news you need to know. All of the main roads that lead in and out Royal Woods have been blocked both by police forces and a traffic jam. There are many stories on what's truly causing this ruckus however one stands out, still unofficial but the most plausible, is that there is a mysterious disease or infection which causes the infected to become increasingly aggressive and even attack other people. Here we have some short tips we got from the police to help you through this crisis.
-Do not under any circumstance leave the safety of your house or any other object you're correctly inhabiting. If you're somewhere outside then enter the closest safe object you can and wait for help there.
-Avoid contact with the infected.
-Barricade your house if possible or at least keep a low profile as sound is known to attract the infected.
-The last but also the most important, be careful who you trust. In this state of distress, there will undoubtedly be individuals who will try to take advantage of the whole complicated situaiton, or commit various crimes and atrocities as the police can only provide a limited amount of help as they are struggling to prevent the spread of infection along with the FEMA teams which have recently arrived to help the officials here.
Thanks for hearing us out and stay on guard. We'll provide you with the latest updates as soon as possible.
The programme then changed to Leni's show but she didn't seem to notice.
All of the siblings were staring at the TV with their mouths wide open. This was something they have never experienced before, the sheer amount of dread that surrounded them after hearing this terrible news, was too pressuring for their young minds. They were still kids after all.
"L-Lori can you call mom and dad to ask them if they're all right? Just to be sure, of course, no panicking" Lincoln tried to stay calm but was failing.
"They went through the Northern Highway, the one that was barricaded heavily by the police. Did they even pass through or are they still waiting there?" Lynn asked, surprising everyone. She finally started to speak normally.
"I see three possible solutions here:
1-They passed the Highway without issue and have arrived at our cousin's house.
2-They are still jammed in there, trying to get out of Royal Woods.
3-They are jammed but are trying to return home, because it's safer for all of us to be together because of this specific situation" Lisa adjusted her glasses as she calmly explained them.
"I get that dude, but isn't it weird that none of them bothered to give one of us a call or to text us about their situation? What do you think?" Luna made a good point, with a worried look and crossing her arms.
"Lincoln, you lock the door while I call mom to see how they're doing. The rest of you don't go anywhere until we've heard from our parents" Lori commanded them in a reassuring voice.
This managed to calm them down, especially Lola who managed to dry hear tears with her hands. Lana put a hand on her shoulder, feeling sorry for what she said before.
Leni suddenly screamed, startling everyone. She was breathing heavily, as she pointed at the steps with a horrified expression. Lynn's bat, that was covered in that man's blood, was lying just in front of the lowest step.
"Darn it, I forgot to hide the bat or wash the blood from it" Lincoln thought to himself, dissapointed that his sisters had to see this.
As Lola and Lana started to scream, Lincoln took a step forward from the front door.
"Hey guys, why don't we ju-" he was cut off by the window behind their TV breaking and spilling all the little sharp bits of the shattered glass all around the TV.
To their horror, someone broke it with their bare hands and was now slowly entering the room through the broken window.
Oh no, no way, Lincoln gasped. He completely forgot about the man outside. He still managed to get up even after he hit him in the knee. Wait a second, he thought. Lincoln was finally starting to make connections with the events on the News. That man was probably suffering from the same disease the reporters were talking about on TV, that would explain his aggressiveness, durability and the tendency to bite Lincoln. But where was he all this time? Several minutes had passed since he and Lynn entered the house. What took him so long?
That's right, Lincoln snapped. They are attracted to sound more than anything. When they were quiet, he didn't notice them so maybe he started to walk away from the house. But when they turned the sound on the TV, and especially when Leni screamed, that must have renewed his attention to them and that's why he crashed into their house. The TV was kinda needed to grab their attention but the bloodied bat and Leni's scream was most likely the deciding factor. Damn it, he sighed, it was his fault that this thing was entering their house by force.
As the infected man was trying to clumsily enter the house through the window, all of the sisters started to shake now in sheer terror. Even the emotionless Lucy or the eldest Lori couldn't contain their fear.
"That guy is like, totes covered in blood. I think he may be sick" Leni proclaimed.
"Really now? I would have never guessed" Lynn said in an irritated voice.
"Stop it, both of you! Everyone let's retreat upstairs and-and-" Lori couldn't finish her sentence, she was on the brink of breaking down.
"Bro get back here! That man looks like trouble!" Luna yelled at Lincoln.
Lincoln just froze in his place. The man finally entered the house and slowly stood up amid the broken glass like it was nothing to him. He didn't even flinch. He started growling at them causing the sisters to scream and ran back to the kitchen. They now started to cry, feeling helpless. Each sister hugged her respective roommate except Lisa who found herself between her two eldest sisters.
"What are you all doing?! Get upstairs and lock yourselves in your rooms! Now!" Lincoln came back to his senses and angrily yelled at his sisters behind his back.
They couldn't hear him. They were too preoccupied with being scared and comforting each other that his words fell on deaf ears.
"Even you Lynn?! Damn it! Guess I have to take things into my own hands!" he growled, grabbing Lynn's bat and taking a stance against the man who was slowly approaching him. He had to at least try and fight him since his sisters were just a few feet behind him and he had to keep his father's promise. Truth is, he was possibly even more scared than his sisters but he swallowed his fear and tried to appear tough in front of them and this freak.
The man started walking towards him and Lincoln braced himself.
"I ain't scared of yo-" his boast was suddenly cut off by a loud knocking on the door.
"Police here! You called for us, sorry for the long wait, we were preoccupied" said a deep voice behind the door.
The sisters didn't seem to notice but Lincoln was relieved. He forgot that they even called them, but they arrived just in time.
"Please, just come in, we need your help!" Lincoln's voice cracked at the end.
The door immediately opened and the police officer walked in. He was fairly tall, with a bulky build, short brown hair, brown eyes, he wore the standard police uniform and looked like he was in his late twenties. He was pretty plain looking except for a scar that ran across his nose, which was only recognizable if looked upon close.
"Freeze! Now!" the officer furiously yelled at the infected man, pointing his gun at him. Lincoln flinched and instantly dropped the bat, as he was startled by his voice.
"Kid, step back. I'll handle this"
Lincoln just nodded and took a few steps back. His sisters also snapped because of the officer's voice and slowly started to move towards Lincoln, still in fear.
"You have been infected, I know that. I've seen this with my own eyes, there is no cure for this. Except..."
The infected man growled at him and started swinging his hands, but the officer pulled the trigger, shooting him in the head, killing him instantly. His brain was splattered behind him as he dropped motionless on the floor.
The siblings screamed and dropped to their knees, covering their ears. They were trembling with fear over the sound of the bullet and the blood that was all around the head of the corpse.
"Shit, I should have warned them beforehand. This wasn't a sight for kids to see. Damn it now" the officer angrily thought to himself.
He put his gun back in its cover and checked the corpse. He didn't move at all, he was finally down for good.
Then he turned around and saw the siblings with terrified looks on their faces, slowly walking towards them. He lowered his head to Lincoln's eye level, putting his big hands on his shoulders, making Lincoln appear tiny compared to him. Lincoln winced, removing his hands from his ears and looking at the officer with fear still written in his eyes.
"Are you okay son? Don't be scared, you and your sisters are safe now. I'm very sorry you had to see this, it's my fault. Now you have to listen to me closely and do as I say, okay?" the officer said in a calm tone, lowering his deep, adult voice to make the kids feel safer.
"I'm RWPD Officer Johnny Strickland but just call me Johnny. We have several hours until night falls and we need to put that time to good use, to make sure we survive until tomorrow. I'm talking too much again. I'll let you kids calm down first and then we'll have a serious talk."