Loud House: Infection of the Dead

by MrPotassiumK

Zombie Apocalypse: A plague has run rampant around the globe, infecting people and turning them into "roamers." In the wake of the apocalypse, the Louds must go through great lengths to ensure their survival, even if it may mean losing their humanity in the process. Who will survive in the end? (Not a crossover, just largely inspired by The Walking Dead)

2. Exodus

Here comes the next chapter of the story. Just in time for Halloween. Make sure you have some candy with you because here comes another LONG chapter. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the chapter. If you enjoyed, leave a review! If you didn't, then leave a thought to why you didn't. Constructive criticism is always welcome!

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An owl flew towards the ground in an open field, looking for rabbits. A rabbit came out from his hole, hopping through the grass and leaves in the ground. The owl flew to the rabbit and caught it. The wind began to pick up and suddenly got very strong, which led the owl to fly away, still carrying the rabbit in its beak. A Chinook arrived and slowly landed on the field, blowing all the leaves away. The loading ramp opened and out came twenty parents, but none of them were Lynn Loud Sr. or Rita Loud. The soldiers that accompanied them grabbed them by a chain, which were locked on their hands. They were being watched by someone off in the far distance through the night vision scope of an M110 sniper rifle. Hiding inside a treehouse in the backyard of a house, covered by trees, a 45-year old Marine veteran was scouting the park for one specific person. Unfortunately for him, he did not arrive yet. He opened up a can of peaches and started eating it, when suddenly, he heard explosions about five miles away. He continued to eat his can of peaches, and he cracked his neck, as he heard more helicopters arrive.

Chapter 2: Exodus

I - Not So Safe Shelter

Confusion arose in the bunker. What were the explosions that they felt outside? Each person inside the bunker did not know what happened outside in the safe-zone except the Louds, the Santiagos, and Clyde.

"Holy shit," whispered Luna as she looked for Sam in the now bright bunker.

She came up to her and hugged her, letting tears out of her eyes. Word spread around quickly in the bunker that parents were slaughtered and the city was bombed by the very same military that protected them in the safe-zone. Many people looked very concerned and wanted to escape the bunker to check the wreckage outside. Lori cried into Bobby's chest, letting all of her mascara run down his shirt, but he did not care. He just held Lori close to him and closed his eyes as Ronnie Anne watched them both with droopy eyes.

"Luan! Luan. Tell me what I just heard is not true. Were our parents really-really-really killed…?" Benny asked with wide eyes.

Luan couldn't let a word out. She let out a whimper and then immediately starting sobbing. Benny hugged her and started tearing up. He wiped his tears and looked up into the ceiling, with tears still running on his face.

Lola and Lana cried in Lincoln's stomach as he wheezed and teared up. He sniffled and saw his friends crying in the distance, with the exception of Rusty. He had to stay strong for his little brother and he didn't think all the adults were slaughtered. Clyde was shocked and was not too sure if his parents were among those slaughtered, since he did not see them in the building. Lynn teared up and was comforted by Francisco. Lucy sighed as one tear fell from her face. Darcy walked towards Lisa, carrying her stuffed giraffe.

"Lisa? Why is everyone sad? What happened?" Darcy asked.

"Oh, uh, nothing. Just go to sleep," responded Lisa.

Darcy lied on the floor and fell to a light slumber. Lisa looked down and sighed. She did not know how to explain what occurred to her parents without traumatizing Darcy. However, Darcy was not the only confused person. Leni and Lily, looking around, were wondering why everyone was such in a gloomy mood. Lisa, with her eyes closed, pulled on Lori's clothes and pointed at Darcy. Lori and Bobby walked towards her and lied down next to her, making sure she got a good rest. Everyone else eventually fell asleep, with the exception of Rusty and Rocky, who were looking for a place to escape.

Day 11 started as a cloudy morning, and Rusty and Rocky found a secret key by an icebox that they previously haven't seen. They grabbed the key and inserted it into the bunker door. It indeed made a click, but Rusty left it closed. He waited until everyone woke up. He saw Lincoln waking up and ran to him.

"Hey Lincoln! I unlocked the bunker exit. We can all get out of here! But we gotta wait until everyone is up," Rusty whispered.

"Why wait?" Lincoln whispered back. He then shouted, "EVERYONE! WAKE UP! WAKE UP!"

This woke everyone up and made them upset. Some people threw whatever items they could find in the bunker at Lincoln.

"Hey! Stop! I woke up you guys up because I have something important to tell you guys! The exit for the bunker is now unlocked. Now we need a plan before we all go out-" Lincoln was then interrupted by multiple people rushing to get out of the bunker.

A teenager and one of Lori's classmates, Joey, opened the door and dashed out of the bunker with many others. This forced Lincoln and about fifty others to exit the bunker as well. Lori, Bobby, Leni, Lily, Luna, Sam, Tabby, Lincoln, Clyde, Ronnie Anne, Zach, Rusty, Rocky, Liam, Luan, Benny, Lynn, Francisco, Lucy, Lana, Lola, Lisa, and Darcy all banded together.

They left the bunker and saw many walking corpses in the streets. They quickly glanced at Building A, which beared the mark of napalm in some areas, but not as badly burnt to a crisp as the other buildings.

Joey screamed as the rotters surrounded him and devoured him. Lori grabbed Darcy and covered her eyes. Lola looked away and Benny ran to General Black's station. Luan quickly followed him, realizing that she separated herself from the group. Bobby saw an opening and told everyone to follow him. Everyone ran as fast as they could to Building A, and they all closed the door after they were inside.

"Wait, I only count 21 people. Where is Luan and Benny?" Lori asked in a frightened voice.

Suddenly, they heard rapid and loud knockings on the door. Bobby opened the door and let the two knockers inside quickly before the zombies came in.

"Benny! What are we doing here? We should be with the group!" Luan yelled as she looked around the station.

"I ran here for a reason. Here take this. This will come in handy," said Benny as he handed her an AK-47.

"What?" yelped Luan. "I don't know how to use this!"

Benny grabbed the katana and its scabbard left by General Black in the corner of the room and his German Luger.

"Don't worry. I don't expect you to use it. Just follow my lead."

He opened the basement door and looked around. Luan followed him downstairs and closed her nose. Covering her nose did not help as she threw up when she saw two familiar yet grotesque corpses. Benny realized who these people were and left the room. Luan went upstairs and wiped her mouth.

"I'm going to bust open this door in three seconds. Ready?" asked Benny.

"No! I'm not ready! Benny, do you know what you're doing?" quivered Luan.

"Yes. Hey, Luan. Do you trust me?"

Luan looked at his eyes and nodded her head. Benny counted down to zero from the count of three. Benny opened the door and began slicing the head of the rotters.

"Stay behind me! Not too close though!" Benny yelled as he was decapitating the rotters left and right.

Luan walked slowly towards Benny, but not too closely, and she realized he was slicing his way into Building A. In the ground lied the corpses of four kids that she saw in the bunker. A rotter grabbed her shoulder and she yelped. Benny turned around quickly, pushed the zombie away, and sliced his forehead off. He grabbed Luan's hand and ran to the entrance of Building A.

"Chaz? Carol?! Where is Luan and Benny?" Lori asked.

"I don't know. I think-," answered Carol before being interrupted by Lori.

"I was asking Chaz. Chaz, did you see my sister Luan and her friend?" Lori asked.

"Is Luan the funny one with the braces?" Chaz asked.

Lori nodded.

"Oh, I saw him and her friend run into General Black's station. I have no idea what they are doing in there, though," answered Chaz.

"Neither do I," replied Lori with growing anger on her face.

After a couple seconds, the group heard another knocking. Bobby went to open the door and was met with many corpses on the floors. Then he saw Luan rushing inside the building while holding the AK-47, haven't fired it once. Benny walked inside with a bloody katana and drenched curly hair. He had traces of zombie blood in his face, wiping it off with his sleeves. He closed the door.

"Clyde, your p-p-parents-" stuttered Luan before being interrupted by Lynn.

"We need to go to the cafeteria now. Who knows how many rotters are lurking there?" Lynn said.

Benny headed first and sliced all the living corpses that haunted the cafeteria. However, he ran back and handed Bobby his katana. Luan handed Lori the AK-47. Benny started sobbing on Luan's chest. She looked at the cafeteria and saw one particular zombie. It was Benny's father, whose neck had dried blood all over it. His eyes were golden and his skin was pale.

Luan teared up as Bobby walked solemnly towards the zombie. He held the katana high up in the air, and sliced the zombie's head in half. The zombie dropped to the floor, and Bobby grabbed a table cloth and covered the corpse. He walked back to Benny and offered him his katana back. Benny denied the katana.

The group walked to the cafeteria and were looking at every single corpse that was on the floor. However, none of them were their parents.

"We should look for some food now. Food is very important," sighed Lincoln.

The group found a giant stash of food in the kitchen. It ranged from cans of peaches to cans of meatloaf and other grubs. They grabbed the cans and ate to their heart's desire, with the exception of Luan and Benny.

"You should eat something. It's not good to walk around with an empty stomach," said Lincoln with his mouth full while wiping it with a napkin.

"I'm not hungry," replied Luan, looking down on the white kitchen floor tiles.

"You know, if you're thinking about what happened to Clyde's dads, please don't tell him. It's better if he thinks they weren't brutally murdered and kept in a basement. Maybe it's better for him to think that his parents were captured instead," Lincoln whispered.

Luan looked at him with a shocked expression. Her eyes were wide and her pupils shrunk looking dead at Lincoln.

"How'd you know that? Did-did you go to the basement when you and Lynn and Lana went to the station?" Luan asked.

"Yes."

"Did Lana go downstairs too?"

"Yes."

Luan closed her eyes and begin to think deeply. Was she going to make it to the end? If she couldn't stomach the cruelties of the new world, how can she survive in it? When will her time run out? With this thought, she let out a tear and kept her eyes closed.

"We can't stay here forever," said Lori. "The doors won't hold for longer than a day, with the amount of rotters outside. What do you guys propose we do?"

"We could escape this building through the fire escape," proposed Lincoln.

"Isn't the roof literally bombed to bits?" Lori questioned.

"Yeah. The thing is, we don't have to go to the roof. We could just enter in the room in the first floor, and escape through there. It would lead to the back of the building into an alleyway," said Lincoln while the group huddled up.

"I like this plan. Continue," said Lori.

"The alleyway leads to the street parallel to the street by Building D. However, if you go the opposite way, there is a short fence. On the other side of the fence is another alleyway that I'm sure leads to another street in Detroit. And if I'm not mistaken, that street leads to Vanzilla, and we can get out of this city!" Lincoln said.

The group cheered softly and the people not related to Lincoln complimented his intelligent thinking.

"Wait, wait, wait. What's a Vanzilla?" Sam asked.

"It's the sick van that my dad owned. The only person who can drive it now is Lori," answered Luna.

Lily giggled while clapping her hands and the group regained their spirits. Benny sighed, and got up. He felt he had a job to do. He felt he needed to protect everyone in the group.

"Alright Bobby. You can give me my katana back. I'll protect you guys," said Benny.

"Oh sure man! I'm sure you're pretty badass with this sword!" Bobby said.

"Oh trust me, he is. Without him and his katana, there would be no point in trying to escape. Hahaha! I saw the perfect opportunity for a joke and decided to take a stab at it! Hahaha! Alright, I should cut it out. HAHAHA! I'm on fire right now!" Luan laughed, which instead of annoying the group, it made them laugh and feel better.

"Bollocks! I completely forgot! We got weapons in Vanzilla, remember?" Luna yelled softly.

Lori smiled and said, "That's it. We're going to leave this building at this instant. But that doesn't mean we're going to leave this city. We are going to come back and take back what's ours the best we can. And we can take more! Who's with me?!"

The group cheered and forgot that they were in an apocalypse. Even Carol, who Lori resented, was clapping and was proud of her for taking on a leadership role.

"Who can shoot a gun in here? And I'm not just talking about pulling a trigger," Lori asked.

Benny and Bobby raised his hand.

"Boo-Boo Bear, I already know you can shoot a gun. I'm asking someone else!" Lori whispered, feeling embarrassed now.

Bobby chuckled nervously and was handed the German Luger P08 by Benny. And sure enough, it had ammo.

"It's okay. I already have a weapon," Benny said smiling slightly.

"I only had a little practice with guns when I was younger, but I got the basics in my head. Remember Bobby, save your ammo. Don't spray it!" Lori said while cocking the AK-47.

"Alright babe. Now what do we do?" Bobby asked.

"We head to the first floor," replied Lori. "Benny. You're going to slash any rotters that come towards us. Bobby, watch out for all us too and back up Benny when necessary. Lincoln, you are coming with me to lead all of us out of the building. Everyone else, stay close."

She sighed happily, as she was content with being bossy. The group also loved her bossiness as it was now essential for survival. They all followed her upstairs. Lori let Benny upstairs first to kill any rotters that were waiting for them. Benny only saw one rotter who lacked his legs and looked burnt.

"Crawler..." muttered Benny.

He pointed his katana downwards and thrusted it into the rotter's head. Lori and Lincoln went ahead and stood outside a room.

"Lynn, knock down this door," ordered Lori.

Lynn kicked really hard near the door knob. The door fell down and the group scrambled inside the room. The floor was white and had pieces of debris in the floor. There were mattresses and bags on the floor. Francisco and Lynn checked inside the bags. Lynn found blankets, clothings, and toys, but nothing the group could use. Francisco found some books in a medium-sized black backpack. He dumped it out and out came Enemy of the State, Sleeping Beauties, The Art of War, and The Graveyard Book. Francisco decides to take the backpack and use it as his own to carry supplies.

Lincoln opened up the window that led to the fire escape. The wind was scorching, and the sun was starting to beat on the city. Lincoln and Lori hopped into the fire escape first. Benny and Bobby came after, and then the rest of the group followed.

"Here's the fence!" Lincoln says while he points at a chain link fence about 3 feet high.

Benny watched the group as they each jumped over the fence. Lori grabbed Darcy, while Lana and Lola hopped on Bobby's back while he climbed over the fence. Benny sliced three stragglers that were moving into the alleyway. He then strapped on the scabbard into his back and slid his katana inside the scabbard. He jumped across the fence and caught up with the rest of the group. They saw only two zombies in the street that led to the mandatory parking zone.

"I got this," said Benny as he unsheathed his katana and killed the zombies. "Believe it or not, I'm actually better with a ninjato sword."

The group smiled and Luan stared at him with a rapidly beating heart. They quickly dashed to the parking zone and found many cars.

"Oh crap. My car is right here, but I left my keys in my room," said Chaz.

"Just another reason to return to the buildings," said Lori as she opened the van, with the keys that Lynn Sr. has given to her days before to grab his emergency funny tie.

Lori gave Luna her crowbar, the baseball bat to Lynn, the black shovel to Lucy, the sledgehammer to Lincoln, the heavy wrench to Lana, the small pickaxe to Ronnie Anne, and the pry bar to Luan. She grabbed one of the three golf clubs and gave one to Lola.

"You need to carry a weapon. And I've seen you use one of my golf clubs before, Lola!" Lori scolded.

Lori grabbed the second iron club, and handed it to Clyde, whispering, "Don't be afraid."

Lori, knowing she didn't need the golf club right now, gave her golf club to Francisco.

She handed what was Lynn Sr.'s ice pick to Sam. She handed one of the McBride's hammer to Rusty. Lori handed the other hammer to Liam who showed it off to Tabby. Lori grabbed Bobby's red axe and handed it to Chaz. She also grabbed a flashlight.

"Hey, what about me?" Leni asked.

"You're going to hold Lily. And you're actually going to stay here inside Vanzilla, with the AC on," said Lori.

"W-What about me?" Carol chuckled nervously.

"You? I don't even know why you're still here with us. You can leave the city now," growled Lori.

Carol frowned and looked down. She closed her eyes and started walking away.

"Lori, she just lost her parents like all of us," said Lincoln. "Please don't do that to her."

"Yeah, that's kind of harsh, babe," Bobby told Lori.

"Well, I don't want her around flirting with you and making us both feel uncomfortable," said Lori. She also has no use for the group. She can't contribute! She's literally dead weight!"

Lincoln ran to Carol and stopped her in her tracks.

"Lori. If she wants to make any advances towards me, I will shut her out," said Bobby. "I love you too much to let her destroy our relationship. But you can't punish her like this for something that she did a long time ago."

Lori was surprised that Bobby called her by her name. She wanted to say something else. She wanted to talk about how Carol humiliated her multiple times in front of her friends. She wanted to tell him that it was Carol who ruined her third golf tournament. She wanted to tell him that it was Carol who made up a rumor a few months ago, saying that Lori was cheating on Bobby, almost causing them to break up. However, all this seemed small given the situation they were in.

"Fine," said Lori as she reluctantly walked towards Carol.

Bobby grabbed her arm. Lori looked back with a frown on her face.

"You know I love you right?" Bobby said.

Lori smiled and called out to Carol.

"Fine, my wonderful boyfriend and my wonderful brother convinced me to bring you back. But you are going to listen to everything I say, and no messing around with my boyfriend! Got it?"

Carol nodded her head and wiped her tears as she walked back with the group. The sun rose higher and the air became hotter.

"First thing, first. Leni, you're going to stay inside the van with Lily. I'll turn on the AC for you guys. And remember Leni, no touching anything! Carol, Lisa, Tabby, Zach, Rocky, and Rusty. You guys are staying here inside the van. We will be back in an hour or less," said Lori.

Leni, holding Lily, entered the van. Lisa was holding Darcy's hand and they both entered Vanzilla. Rusty opened the door for Rusty and they both entered. Finally, Carol stepped inside the van, and closed the van. Through the windows, she watched as the group grabbed their weapons and headed back into the city.

"Okay. What are we going to do, exactly?" Lucy asked.

"First, we are going back to Building B to retrieve Chaz's car keys," stated Lori. "Next, we are going to each buildings starting with Building B to get our belongings back. Only the useful things that we need. Then, we move on to the warehouses that Mom and Dad talked about. We grab whatever we might find useful and we come back to Vanzilla."

The group dashed to the entrance of the city. They noticed the destroyed and melted gates. They saw debris from the buildings that were lying near the entrance. Lincoln looked back at Vanzilla. The wide, but empty street reflected the sunlight and shone on the van. It was the symbol of hope for the group.

II - Dead City

"This way, guys," said Lori, pointing at Building B.

Lynn, Francisco, and Benny stepped ahead. Lynn swung her wooden bat on the face of a zombie, crushing its face and brain. Francisco swung the iron golf club at another zombie, smashing his brains too. Benny swung the katana and sliced another rotter's head. Chaz, in the back of the group, swung his axe on the rotter that was sneaking up to the group. Benny opened the door and let the whole group in.

"That was easier than milking a cow," sighed Liam with relief.

"Yeah, that was surprisingly not difficult," said Ronnie Anne.

"Alright, Chaz, Bobby, Liam, and I will go upstairs to get our supplies," said Lori. "The rest of you, stay here. Liam, you said you shared a room with Rusty and Zach's family right?"

"Sure did!" Liam responded.

"Alright, I want you to lead Bobby to your room. You will take whatever you think you and your friends need to survive back in Royal Woods. Bobby will help you out with carrying the supplies."

"Alright, ma'am!" Liam replied.

"Bobby, after you guys are done grabbing his stuff, you guys are going to come back here with the rest of the group. Chaz and I will look for his keys and return to the ground floor too. Got it?" Lori whispered.

"Yes, ma'am," snickered Bobby.

Lori smiled and walked towards Sam.

"Sam, can I borrow your ice pick for a little? I'm not going to carry this gun upstairs. It's a little heavy, and I need to move fast."

"Sure thing, Lori," said Sam, handing over her ice pick while grabbing the AK-47.

Lori's grabbed the ice pick and returned with Chaz, Liam, and Bobby. All four of them headed up the stairs. She turned on the flashlight, and the four of them saw how ashy the stairs looked like. The group looked around the ground floor and found the cafeteria. Some of the members entered the bathrooms.

"My room is on this floor," said Liam.

Bobby gave Lori a quick peck on the lips and ran inside the office room in the 5th floor with Liam. Lori and Chaz ran a little further upstairs and stopped at the 7th floor.

"Here… is… my… room," said Chaz, panting and sweating immensely.

"Alright, Chaz, where are your keys?" Lori asked, sweating a little.

"Just… give… me…. a moment," panted Chaz.

Meanwhile, Liam grabbed two backpacks, one which belonged to him and the other which belonged to Rusty. Rocky and Zach's backpacks were too small to carry enough supplies for the group. Liam handed Rusty's backpack to Bobby. He then started grabbing a couple of things for the group, such as Rusty's acne cream, combs for the guys, blankets, and more. Bobby put as much of the supplies as he could fit in his bag.

"I think that will be all. Let's book it," said Liam.

Chaz finally regained his stamina and started looking for his keys. Lori looked for supplies that the group needed, but she found nothing. Chaz then grabbed one of his jeans that lied on the floor and checked both pockets. He grabbed the keys that were hiding in the left pocket.

"Alright, let's go!" Lori said.

They headed down the stairs with the flashlight on, and met up with Bobby and Liam, who had their backpacks stuffed with supplies and personal belongings. They went downstairs and met up with the group.

"All right, let's go! Here you go Sam," Lori said, handing back the ice pick to her, and grabbing her gun.

"Wait, Lynn is using the ladies' room!" exclaimed Francisco.

"How long has she been there?" Lori asked.

"Umm, about-, oh there she is!" replied Francisco before noticing Lynn coming out of the bathroom.

"Sorry, guys. Did I take too long?" Lynn asked bashfully. "No running water..."

"Not at all. Let's go now," said Lori.

The group dashed out of Building B, and headed for Building C, with Luna killing one zombie. They noticed the gigantic hole in the top of the building, and many shattered windows. They entered inside the building, and found the cafeteria to be completely destroyed. There were many lamps and covers for the fluorescent lights in the floor. The red tables were flipped upside down, some sideways with bullet holes in them. There were many bloody corpses on the floor, all of them shot through the head.

Darcy and Lola shrieked, and clung onto Lori's leg. The corpses that were not on the floor, but instead, walking, were the undead, and were slowly walking towards the group. Ronnie Anne and Lincoln stepped up, one with a small pickaxe, and the other with a sledgehammer.

"Don't forget about me, guys!" said Clyde as he stepped up.

Clyde held his golf club so the club faced upwards. He swung it at a zombie. He hit the zombie in the top of its head and smashed its skull. The zombie, slightly stunned, was struck again. This time, its brain poured out of its shattered skull.

Ronnie Anne struck another rotter, thrusting her pickaxe into its skull, and removing it violently, as the rotter fell to the floor.

Lincoln swung his sledgehammer, knocking a rotter down to the floor. He swung it again, this time to the floor, and smashed its head, causing the blood to squirt everywhere. Liam joined and swung his hammer on a crawler on the floor. Clyde swings his golf club again, this time hitting a rotter crawling due to missing legs.

"Alright guys, Bobby and I are going to take Darcy upstairs. You guys stay down here again," said Lori.

"Grrr. I'm getting bored of staying in the ground floor," grumbled Lucy. "Oh, how nice it sounds to go back home and return to my secret hiding spot."

"It does, doesn't it? Well, not in a secret hiding spot. But we all do want to come back home. I feel your pain too Lucy."

Lori kneeled down and laid her gun down. She looked at Darcy in the eyes and spoke in a soft voice.

"Do you remember where your room is?" Lori asked Darcy.

"Umm. Yeah. It's very close," Darcy said looking up and pointing at the ceiling.

"Okay, Darcy. You can hold my hands as we go upstairs."

"Okay..." Darcy said shyly.

Darcy held Lori's right hand and walked with her upstairs. Lori grabbed her gun and lifted the strap as she put it on, and moved the gun to the left side of her body. She also grabbed the flashlight and held it with her left hand. Bobby walked behind them, holding his Luger. They walked up one flight of stairs when Darcy suddenly tugged on Lori's cargo shorts.

"This is your room?" Lori asked.

"Yeah," replied Darcy.

"Why don't we come inside? While we're in there, can you grab some of your favorite things? We're going back home, but you can't take all of your belongings."

"Okay. Am I going back home to my mommy and daddy?"

Lori and Bobby looked at each other worriedly.

"Nah, not yet, because they are somewhere far away," answered Bobby. "But for now, my girlfriend, Lori, and I will take care of you like your mommy and daddy did."

"They are somewhere far away from this bad place, aren't they? Away from all these scary monsters?"

"Yes, exactly! For now, Lori and I will protect you and make sure those monsters don't get you."

"Okay!" Darcy said, smiling.

She grabbed her stuffed giraffe, Rafo, and her backpack which had a giant cookie inside. Beside the cookie was a rubber cup and extra clothes. Lori looked around the office. She saw a poster of Mick Swagger and a guitar sitting by a wall. Lori knew she also stumbled upon Chunk's room. She looked inside each desk and each pair of clothes. She then lifted up a small mattress and found a pair of car keys. She grabbed it and noticed that Darcy finished packing up her belongings.

"That was… fast. Is there anything else you want to take?" Lori asked Darcy.

Darcy shook her head.

"Are you sure?" Bobby asked.

Darcy nodded her head.

"Okay, then let's go downstairs!" Lori said, smiling.

Bobby and Lori held Darcy's hands as she skipped down the stairs, her purple backpack moving up and down. The three of them met up with the group.

"That was fast!" Lynn said.

"Yeah, we can head to Building D now," said Lori, still holding Darcy's hand.

Benny pushed on the door handle and opened the door for the group to exit. Francisco and Lynn moved ahead of the group and swung their weapons at the rotters rapidly. They cleared a lot of space for the group by killing seven rotters, four killed by Lynn. However, more rotters were coming, including a zombie Joey. The group quickly dashed inside the building and locked the door. A couple rotters were smashing on the door.

"Uh oh," said Lola. "We definitely have a problem."

"Yes, we do," sighed Lori. "We'll worry about it in a minute. For now, we need to get Francisco's belongings, Tabby's belongings, and… Carol's belongings."

"Uh oh. We have a muddier problem," said Lana. "There are about a dozen rotters in this place."

Lana ran up to one, jumped and bludgeoned a rotter in the skull with her heavy wrench. She ran back as the rotters started piling up. Benny moved ahead with his katana, along with Francisco, Lynn, Luna, Sam, Chaz, and Lucy.

"We got this," said Luna.

Luna swung her crowbar at a rotter just as Sam stabbed a rotter in the skull with her ice pick. Lynn whacked two rotters in the head, and Francisco swung his golf club on a rotter that was creeping up to him. Lucy thrusted her shovel on a rotter without hesitation, and did not flinch at the sight of the rotter falling down, flesh splattering everywhere. Chaz swung his axe on a rotter, and chopped off the head of another. Benny thrusted his katana on the stomach of two rotters that were lined up, like a shish kabob. He quickly removed the katana from their stomach and sliced their heads off. He then thrusted his sword on their brains when he saw that they were still moving.

"That is so gross! I don't even know why I'm here!" Lola exclaimed, moving her face away from the rotters being killed.

"Well you gotta learn how to survive in this world, Lola. I believe in your fierceness. Actually, I literally depend on that to help you survive," said Lori.

Lola looked at her and then at Lana. Lana was nodding her head. Lola sighed and smashed an already dead rotter lying on the floor with her golf club. The blood splattered to her dress, and she frowned angrily.

"All right listen everyone!" exclaimed Lori. "Lynn, Francisco, and Benny will go to Francisco's room to retrieve anything he needs! Liam, Lincoln, and I will find Tabby's room and retrieve her belongings. The rest of you will stay here. If any of the rotters enter, kill them and do not hesitate to run upstairs. Understand, everyone? We will be back soon."

The group shouted agreements and words of obedience. Lori turned on the flashlight and went up the stairs. Lynn, Lincoln, Francisco, Liam, and Benny followed her. Benny put the katana back into his scabbard, and prepared to move up the stairs.

"My room is in the sixth floor," said Francisco.

"Tabby told me her room was in the seventh floor," Liam said.

"What about Carol?" Lincoln asked as they were moving upstairs.

"What about her?" Lori asked.

"Aren't we going to get her stuff? Come on, Lori!"

Lori sighed.

"Yes, we're going to get her stuff. What floor is her room?"

"The 17th floor, right below the rooftop."

"Of course. Anything that involves her has to give me HELL!"

Francisco grabbed Lynn's shoulder and smiled at her. Lynn and Francisco came to a stop and dashed inside the room. Benny removed the katana from his scabbard.

"Be careful, guys, just wait for us in your room until we come back from Carol's and Tabby's room," Lori said.

Benny nodded and entered the room, standing guard for any rotter, while Lynn and Francisco look for his belongings.

Lori, Lincoln, and Liam moved up one floor and entered the room. Liam grabbed Tabby's belongings, some which included CDs and a portable CD player. He stuffed them in a backpack and put it on.

"Boy, am I glad that I left my backpack down in the ground floor with the group," said Liam as they left the room.

Lori, Lincoln, and Liam moved down to the sixth floor and entered Francisco's room.

"Liam, you're going to stay with Lynn, Francisco, and Benny while we come back. My sister and I will go to Carol's room," said Lincoln.

"Alright, lad and lassie! Have fun!" Liam replied.

Lori and Lincoln began their climb upstairs. Lori shone the flashlight upstairs and found that some pieces of the stairway are missing. They reached the tenth floor when they were stopped by missing stairs.

"Well, Lincoln. There are two flights of stairs that are missing. And there is a hole in this side of the building," said Lori.

Lincoln looked out of the hole and saw warehouses five blocks from where they were.

"We cannot retrieve Carol's belongings if we can't climb these stairs. Let's leave, Linc."

"Wait! Not so fast, Lori. Don't forget about the fire escape."

"Ugh. Fine."

Lori walked into the office in the tenth floor with her fists clenched. She opened a window. Lincoln stepped inside the room and saw many shattered objects. The wall was ready to break. He walked towards the window and climbed onto the fire escape. Lori turned off her flashlight and put it on her right pocket. They climbed 6 flights of stairs in the fire escape and finally arrived at the top.

"UGH. Lincoln! The window won't budge. And we can't enter through the roof because it is missing! Even the flight of stairs that lead to the roof are missing!"

"Alright, go down the stairs. Not too far, but not too close either. I'm going to swing my sledgehammer on the window and break it."

"Sure. You can try, but I don't think these windows are going to break like that."

Lincoln swung the sledgehammer upwards at the window, and did not shatter it. In fact, he only scratched it.

"Ha! See, I told you Lincoln!"

Lincoln swung it again, but this time more to the center, and he shattered the entire window. Lori's mouth dropped, but she quickly shook her head and just ignored the fact that she was wrong about Lincoln's strength. They both climbed inside the room and saw the destruction inside the room. It was not noticeable from the outside, since there were curtains, but now that they were inside, they saw what happened to the room. There were bullet holes everywhere in the room, and two corpses. Upon closer inspection, Lori noticed that they were not Carol's parents. While Lori was distracted, Lincoln swung his sledgehammer on the rotters killing them both, which snapped Lori out of her daze.

"Lori? Is there something wrong? Oh God, don't tell me I just killed Carol's parents," shuddered Lincoln.

"No, no. They weren't her parents. It's just a random man and random woman. Or were they so random?" Lori asked herself.

She noticed a cassette tape, named 'PARTNER (4/21/90)' lying on the floor. She looked around the room and found a small cassette player, the size of her hand.

"Lori? What is that?" Lincoln asked.

"It's a cassette player. I think this can give us an idea of why the soldiers… massacred the adults," explained Lori.

Lori inserted the cassette tape into the recorder and played it. A voice was heard.

"Hello, this is Tim Crowley here, with my best buddy here, Gerald Brooker," said the voice in the recorder.

"Hey, dudes. You're gonna love his facts and conspiracy theories. This guy is smart," said Brooker.

"Ha, thanks dude. And no I'm not going to do that yet. I'm just going to introduce you man."

"Me? What do you mean?"

"This tape is just for me. This is actually not going to be heard by anyone else."

"Oh nice! Well just in case you need a reminder, future you, 20-year old you knew you were going to crack that Enigma Code."

"Yeah. I already cracked it."

"Dude, really?"

"Yeah."

Laughter was heard through the tape.

"Oh my God. I'm two years older than you and I still can't crack it."

"We're getting off topic here. Anyways, you got a taste of my buddy here. It will be nice reminder. Also, lay off the fatty foods, dude."

"You're really giving your future-self advice?"

"I'm talking to you, Jerry. Bill ain't built like that, so I know it's not the damn genes."

More laughter erupted before the tape ended. Lori looked around the room and searched for another tape. She found a backpack that had about a dozen tapes in it. She grabbed one of the tapes which was named 'The Truth about the Safe-Zone (5/29/16)'. It started with Brooker introducing himself and talking about the safe-zone. Lori realized that this is the taped version of the video they saw yesterday.

"Lori, we can't listen to it all right now. Later, when we are with the group. Right now, we have a job to do," said Lincoln.

"You're right. But one thing is bothering me. These people were not associated with this Tim Crowley guy. They were killed because they lived in the same room as him?"

"I guess so. It would explain the bloodbath in this place," responded Lincoln.

Lori looked down in shame as she realized how close to death Carol was. Luckily, she was already downstairs, when these people were killed, Lori thought to herself.

"Where is Tim Crowley then? How does he even look like…" Lori asked before noticing a photo in the backpack.

It was a photo of a Filipino man with natural male bangs. He was wearing a green polo shirt and gray jeans. He was carrying a small girl, about three years old, in his back. The little girl had red-orange hair, and was smiling. In the background, there was a castle that Lori has seen so many times in the internet, but has not seen in real life. It was the Cinderella Castle of the famous Disney World in Florida. There were many people walking by and the sky was perfectly clear. On the back of the photo, it said, 'VACATION WITH VONDA' with bright blue letters. She then read the date imprinted in the left side of the photo. It was very faint, but she was able to make it out: 10/14/06.

"Look Lincoln. This photo was taken ten years ago. What do you think happened to… I'm assuming this is his daughter… Vonda? She's Lynn's age right now. She should've been noticeable in the bunker with her bright red-orange hair," whispered Lori.

"I don't know. She probably didn't come. She might've been Tim's niece. It's best not to think about it. We gotta go down now."

"No, what if she can help us figure out everything that Tim has been saying? What if she knows why the soldiers killed all the adults? And to think about it, how come we haven't seen all of the parents? What if they're still alive and the soldiers took them somewhere? We gotta hear the tapes!"

"Lori! Calm down. Take a deep breath. I told you, you can hear them when we're back in Vanzilla. For now we gotta get Carol's stuff and then return to the group to go to our building. Understand?"

Lori nodded her head and placed the photo back into the backpack. She carried the surprisingly light backpack and searched around the room. She grabbed some of Carol's clothes and stuffed it into Tim's backpack, which she now has taken ownership of. Lincoln grabbed Carol's cobalt blue backpack and found a polaroid camera inside and a hairbrush. He grabbed her blankets and stuffed them inside the backpack.

"I think we're done here. We can return to the group and head to Building A," said Lincoln.

"Alright. You head outside first. I'll follow."

Lori wore Tim's backpack and carried her AK, following Lincoln as he climbed out the window. As she climbed out the window, she saw smoke. This time however, the smoke was not coming from faraway cities and towns, but rather nearby. She began to climb down the fire escape down to the tenth floor. After arriving at the tenth floor, Lincoln and Lori entered the room and exited it quickly, for they only had a half hour left before the people left behind in Vanzilla start to worry.

"Sorry, we're a little late. We ran into some… strange obstacles," apologized Lori to Liam, Benny, Lynn, and Francisco.

"It's alright lassie. As long as you guys are back, there's nothing to worry about," replied Liam.

"Let's regroup with the rest of the group!" Lori said.

After a couple minutes, the group started worrying. They wondered what was taking the group so long. They were unaware that Lori and Lincoln took an additional ten flights of stairs to retrieve the items of the girl that Lori despises.

"Uhhhh, dudes?" uttered Luna. "What do you think we should do? They haven't been back in like 10 minutes."

"We stay put. Don't worry guys. I trust Lori and her leadership. When she says she will be back, she will be back. We don't do anything yet. We trust her first," responded Bobby.

"What if they don't come back in the next few minutes?" Luna asked.

"Then… I guess we go upstairs and look for them. You know what, why wait? You're right. I'm worried sick about them!" Bobby answered.

"Guys! I think the door is about to give out!" Chaz yelled.

The door collapsed, and Chaz threw his axe at the rotter that knocked down the door. The axe missed and hit the wall. One rotter, two rotters, four rotters, and more flooded inside the building. Luna and Sam came to the group's defense and started smashing zombie brains. However, there were a lot more zombies flooding in, too much for Luna and Sam to handle. Chaz dashed to the stairwell as well as Lola and Lana. Bobby ran to Luna and Sam and grabbed their shoulders, telling them to follow him. Ronnie Anne and Clyde ran with Bobby along with Darcy too. Luan ran to Lucy who was fighting off the rotters with her shovel by the corner of the building, next to a dying fern.

"Lucy! Lucy! Stop! We gotta get out! Lucy! Can you hear me?!"

Luan shrieked when two zombies closed in on her, attempting to grab her. She grabbed Lucy's hand and attempted to escape through the stairwell. However, she realized that they were trapped, and Lucy had a few dozen zombies to fight off in order to clear an entrance for them. Luan cried for help and grabbed a nearby table. She flipped the table sideways facing the small herd of rotters. Lucy thrusted her shovel as quickly as she can, picking off the rotters that were getting too close. This proved to be too much for Lucy to handle, and the rotters began to climb over the table. For the first time ever, Lucy was frightened, not by the rotters, but instead for Luan. Suddenly, they saw Benny slice his way to the corner. Benny grabbed Luan's hand, who grabbed Lucy's hand and they ran very quickly to the stairs and upwards.

"Are you okay? Did they scratch you, bite you, anything?" Benny asked Luan and Lucy quickly.

"No, we're fine," sighed Lucy, not out of despair, but out of relief.

Luan was still catching her breath. She was sweating intensely, which showed as her protruding hairs were drooping downwards.

"Luan! Did anything happen to you? Please tell me you didn't get bit," exclaimed Benny.

"I… didn't… get… bit," panted Luan. "I'm just… catching my breath… whoo!"

Benny sighed in relief. He looked down the stairs and saw the rotters filling up the floor. He signaled both girls to enter the room in the first floor. There they saw the rest of the group.

"We gotta escape through the fire escape again? I don't want to walk around the city again!" Lola complained.

"No, Lola! That was only for Building A! This one leads us to an alleyway pointing towards the alleyway we escaped through earlier!" Lincoln said.

"Alright, let's drop by Building A and quickly grab our last belongings! Then, we loot the warehouses. Finally, we escape this city and head back to Royal Woods!" Lori yelled, boosting the group's morale.

Lincoln and Lori headed to the fire escape first, while the rest of the group followed. They quickly made their way downstairs while the rotters were still inside the building. Each of them jumped down to the alleyway and ran very quickly to the entrance of Building A. The streets were clear, so it was very easy for the group to make their way inside.

After, the last group members made their way inside, Benny locked the doors and walked straight to the stairways, ignoring the remains of the bloody massacre that happened the day earlier.

"Benny, slow down!" Lori ordered.

Benny stopped at the stairways and put his katana back into his scabbard. He sat down in one of the stairs and held his head with his hands.

"Alright, everyone is going upstairs. Francisco, you go with Sam to her room. Chaz and Liam, you are going with Benny to his room to help him grab his stuff. The rest of us are going upstairs to the 14th floor. Sam, what floor is your room at?" Lori asked.

"The seventh floor," replied Sam.

"Benny, what floor is your room at?" Lori asked.

"The second floor," replied Benny with his eyes closed.

"Alright, those who are going with Sam and Benny are going to stay in their rooms until we come back downstairs to retrieve you guys. Remember, there is only one flashlight to go around."

Benny stood up and climbed up the stairs. The group lifted their foot and stepped on every single step. Chaz, Liam, and Benny stopped after climbing two flights of stairs. They quickly dashed inside the room.

"Alright, I want you guys to grab my father's backpack and put the blankets in there," said Benny as he grabbed some of his clothing and stuffed them in his backpack.

"Yes sir!" Liam and Chaz said in unison.

"Oh crap! My soda!" Benny said while picking up a Fizz soda can.

Opening the soda can, fizz splashed everywhere in his shirt and started dripping to the floor. Benny took a sip and set the soda down.

"Dudes. Can you look away? I gotta put on a new shirt," said Benny sheeply.

Meanwhile, the group arrived at the seventh floor where Francisco and Sam stopped. They ran inside the room, only to not find a room at all. Francisco and Sam flinched at the sight, stumbling as they realized they almost fell to their death.

"Oh no dudes! M-m-my stuff!" Sam cried out.

The group looked inside the room only to see outside the building. The room only had a few meters of flooring left at the entrance of the room. The ceiling was missing and the floor was missing as well. Debris from the eighth floor lied on the fifth floor where it actually had a floor. The fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth floor were directly hit by the napalm the night before.

"Woah. Did you lose anything important?" Luna asked.

"No, it's okay, I really didn't have anything important with me besides my guitar. All my belongings are still in Royal Woods," sighed Sam.

The breeze blew softly on Sam's face as she stared at the city intensely. The rotters were wandering around in the city. However, she got a closer look at the neighboring buildings. There were a lot of rotters walking out of the buildings. She sighed and went back with the group. They continued their climb upstairs to the 14th floor.

"Huh. That was fast," said Lynn breathing quickly.

The others were sweating intensely. Heat was trapped in the stairwell, draining their energy. They entered the room, and noticed that the windows were shattered.

"Grab your stuff and wait until everyone is done! Sam, Francisco, and Darcy. You guys can just relax and cool down," ordered Lori.

Everyone were packing up their clothes, blankets, and towels. Each one took something special with them too.

"Ace Savvy comics to pass the time," said Lincoln.

"Don't forget about the comics featuring One-Eyed Jack!" Clyde added.

"Ugh. You guys are nerds," said Ronnie Anne as she stuffed her favorite sweater inside her backpack.

"I know right? Honestly, Lincoln and Clyde, I don't see how you guys read those things," said Lynn as she stuffed a jock strap inside her backpack.

"Hey, don't be so mean on the bros. I'm sure reading comics is fun!" Bobby said while putting a blue hat inside his backpack.

"If it is so fun, then why don't you try reading some comics?" Lori giggled, as she stuffed her phone on her backpack and a hairbrush in Leni's backpack.

"I might! Doesn't Chaz read Ace Savvy? And I remember, Becky and Joey did too!"

"Comics make me hurl!" Lola said as she put a tiara in her small backpack.

"Mmm. Hurl," said Lana as she stuffed her lucky booger inside her bag.

"Why not read poetry instead? My poems specifically," suggested Lucy, showing off her poetry book before she slid it carefully inside her backpack.

"Comics are bad, but poems are verse! Hahaha! Get it? I'm joking Lucy," laughed Luan while putting notebook filled with jokes inside her backpack.

"I agree with Bobby. I mean, come on! Comics can't be that terrible," said Luna, carrying her acoustic guitar and Lisa's backpack.

"Thank you, Luna. I think we're all done," said Lincoln.

"Indeed we are. It's time to head to the warehouses," said Lori, peeking outside the window to find a military vehicle, then taking out Carol's camera. "Wait. Just one more thing."

Lori placed the viewfinder of Carol's Polaroid Land Camera 1000 close to her eye and pointed the camera at the faraway distance, covering most of the city. She snapped a picture of the city and grabbed the photo. She stuffed it on her pocket quickly and stuffed the camera in Carol's backpack.

"Sam, can you carry this?" Lori asked, holding Carol's backpack.

"Sure thing," replied Sam, grabbing Carol's backpack.

"And Francisco, can you do me a favor and carry Leni's backpack?" Lori asked.

"Yeah," replied Francisco, grabbing Leni's backpack. "Kinda light..."

"So is no one going to ask where Lori got that camera?" Lana blurted out.

"Or why she took a random picture at a random time?" Lola added.

"I've seen that camera somewhere before," said Bobby.

"Oh you did? Tell me more about it in the van," said Lori.

The group started walking downstairs. Lori turned on the flashlight and pointed at the ceiling. The flashlight was very strong, so even though Lori was not pointing it ahead, the light was strong enough to light the way. They walked downstairs quickly, trying to escape the heat.

"There you guys are. We're heading to the warehouses now?" Chaz asked.

"Yes. I have a plan. But let's leave the stairwells first. I'm literally dying here," said Lori.

"Hmm, are they back yet?" Leni asked.

"No. They said they shouldn't take more than an hour, and it's only been 52 minutes and 9 seconds. I suggest being patient," responded Lisa.

"Being patient? Are we going to the doctor's?" Leni asked.

"What?" Carol asked with a confused look.

"Don't ask. Just don't," Lisa told Carol.

"Wow, Benny what a nice shirt. I thought you wore nothing else other than button shirts," giggled Luan.

Benny smiled and looked once again at his gray t-shirt with white stripes on the shoulder-level part of his shirt.

"Eh, I spilled some soda on the other shirt," said Benny. "Kinda had to wear this."

"Okay, so here is the plan. Bobby, Darcy, Ronnie Anne, and I are going on one of the military vehicles. A properly working one. The rest are going to follow Benny's lead to the warehouse, grab whatever you think is necessary, and stuff it in the vehicle. Whenever you guys are done, you will once again, follow Benny's lead back to Vanzilla, where we will meet you guys. Got it?" Lori stated.

"Yes, ma'am!" everyone replied.

III - Escape from Detroit

Lori grabbed Darcy's hand while Benny and Lynn jumped in front of the group. Benny opened the door and sliced the rotters that waited for them. Lynn smashed all the crawling rotters clawing their way inside the building with three ferocious swings. The streets were filled up with crawlers, so Lori and Darcy zoomed past the buildings. They headed north of General Black's station, passing by all the shelters and the entrance. There was a chain link fence, prohibiting Lori and Darcy from passing.

"Ronnie Anne, I need you here!" yelled Lori.

"Coming! Come on Bobby, let's go!"

Bobby and Ronnie Anne dashed ahead of the group and arrived at the chain link fence.

"What is it?" asked Ronnie Anne.

"I need your pickaxe," said Lori.

Ronnie Anne handed Lori her pickaxe. Darcy ran to Bobby and away from Lori. Lori faced the lock holding the chain link fence together and swung the pickaxe with great force. The lock snapped and fell to the ground near Lori's bloody flats. She handed Ronnie Anne her pickaxe back. Lori pushed the right chain link fence further to the right. Bobby moved ahead and pushed the left chain link fence to make space for the group to enter. The group entered the northern street and looked around quickly. They saw remains of buildings that were burnt to the ground and potholes from the heat and impact of the napalm bombs themselves.

"There!" Lori yelled to the group as she spotted warehouses ahead of her, about five blocks away.

"Let's go, guys!" Benny yelled, taking charge now.

The group ran off to the warehouses with the exception of Ronnie Anne, Bobby, Darcy, and Lori. The four of them walked to a military Humvee, capable of carrying boxes of supplies. However, it was empty.

"Bobby? Ronnie Anne?" called out Lori. "Can you guys kill any rotter that comes our way? I need to find the keys to this thing."

"Humvees don't have keys, Lori," informed Ronnie Anne. "They use switches. Search for the switch."

"Oh okay, thanks!" Lori laughed bashfully.

Ronnie Anne lifted her pickaxe and Bobby held his pistol tight. He aimed at an incoming rotter and shot at it. He missed and he shot again, this time hitting it in the head.

"Found it! Come here, Darcy," Lori said as she grabbed the little girl and placed her in the backseat.

Ronnie Anne ran around the vehicle and sat in the passenger seat. Bobby went inside the backseat portion of the Humvee and closed the door. He held Darcy tight. Lori turned on the switch.

"What's the orange light for?" asked Lori.

"Nothing," replied Ronnie Anne. "You just gotta wait until it goes away. After it goes away you crank the engine by pulling the lever to your right. Then, you gotta put this thing on drive by releasing the handbrake. Then, drive!"

"Really? That sounds kinda complicated. Where did you learn all that anyways?" asked Lori.

"I wanted to join the military when I was younger. I read some books and did my research. But being a chef sounds more interesting."

The orange light disappeared. Lori cranked the lever and released the handbrake on the vehicle. She pressed on the gas pedal and started driving. Lori laughed softly.

"Looks like your research came in handy, Ronnie Anne!" said Lori.

Lori drove away from the rotters that were closing in on the Humvee and slowly moved up the street. The group were already searching through boxes of supplies when Lori and the others arrived at the warehouse.

"Can someone update me on what you guys found?" exclaimed Lori.

"We found mattresses, bottles, dining utensils, chairs, lamps, blankets, socks, clothing, shoes, tools, toys, and baby cribs," said Benny.

"Alright, let's search the next warehouse!" said Lori.

The group moved to the warehouse on the right. Bobby opened the warehouse door and what sat there surprised the group. There were a couple remaining crates of guns, grenades, batteries, walkie-talkies, ammunition, army clothing, medical packs, and three bulletproof vests.

"Alright, grab as many crates as you can and store them inside the Humvee!" ordered Lori.

The group worked quickly to store the crates inside the back trunk of the Humvee. Wooden crates after wooden crates, the trunk became full and the group could not find any more crates inside the warehouse. Lori moved to the driver's seat and Ronnie Anne moved to the passenger seat.

"Lola and Lana!" called Lori. "You can come with us. I'm sure you guys don't want to run back to Vanzilla."

Lola and Lana hopped in the backseat with Darcy and Bobby. They smiled at each other and wiped their sweat with their clothes. Lori rolled down her window.

"Benny! Here is a walkie-talkie, just in case of an emergency. I'm going to drop off the kids at Vanzilla and store our supplies in one of our vehicles. Watch yours and the group's back."

"Will do. See you in a minute, Lori," said Benny.

Lori drove off, and Benny was once again in charge of Chaz, Luna, Sam, Luan, Francisco, Lynn, Lincoln, Clyde, Liam, and Lucy. Lori maneuvered her way through the narrow circular street around General Black's station. She got closer to the entrance and made a sharp right turn.

"Ok, where are they?" Tabby asked.

"I don't know, but they are five minutes late," said Lisa.

"Being late to the doctor's is not so fun you know! I'm feeling anxious already!" said Leni.

"We're not going to the doctor's, Leni," replied Lisa.

"Oh, look! Duck! Hide! There's a military vehicle coming!" shouted Carol.

Carol grabbed Leni, who was holding Lily, and hid her behind Vanzilla, along with Lisa, Tabby, Rusty, Rocky, and Zach. The Humvee came closer to the parking lot and drove along 8-Mile Road. Suddenly, the Humvee came to a stop.

"Why did they stop? Do they know we're here?" whispered Zach.

"I don't know! Hopefully not!" whispered Tabby.

"Oh no! Where is everybody?" Lori asked.

"That voice sounds kinda like Lori," whispered Carol.

"Bobby, where did they go?" said Lori in a panicked tone.

Carol took a peek and found Lori standing inches away from Vanzilla. She sighed and got up from her hiding spot.

"AH! What the hell, Carol! Why'd you do that?" angrily yelled Lori.

"Well, we– we saw a– y-y-your car, I mean– I mean truck. And we thought that-that-that..." stuttered Carol.

"You thought what, Carol?!"

"Hey, go easy on her!" said Tabby. "We thought that you were one of the soldiers who remained in the city. We hid because, well, we didn't wanna get killed."

"Oh. Well, moving on. I need help storing some crates. I brought Chunk's car keys."

"Who's Chunk?," gulped Carol.

"You can drive, right?" asked Lori.

Carol nodded.

"Of course you can. You're driving Chunk's car, and we're putting all of our supplies inside his car."

Meanwhile, Benny and the others walked quickly south of the road, although they were really heading north in a global perspective. They encountered a dozen rotters and put them down quickly. Looking around the street again, Sam noticed something. She noticed that the doors of the buildings she looked at earlier were broken. She started breathing heavily and look around. As they walked closer to the shelters, she noticed an enormous herd of zombies.

"Run!" shouted Sam.

The group saw the herd of zombies and stopped dead on their tracks. They quickly snapped out of their stupor and dashed to the chain link fence.

"Guys! Head to the street by Building B and Building C! Go! Go! Go!" yelled Benny as he took out his walkie talkie.

Another herd of rotters arrived from the street parallel to Building B and C. The herd were closing in on the group. All of them, except for Chaz, were fighting off the rotters. Luan looked at her yellow pry bar and decided to kill her first rotter. She shuddered as the blood splattered into her arms. The necessity of killing the rotter overcame her urges to vomit.

"So, why his car? I mean, is it going to fit?" Carol asked while putting the crates inside Chunk's Toyota Highlander.

"Of course it's going to fit. It is a pretty big car," replied Lori.

"Heh. What about the passengers?"

"Oh, did you literally think you were driving with other people? No, you have an important job. You are carrying all of our supplies. Nothing is forgiven, and this is the consequences of your actions, just in case you wanted to know."

"Help! Lori! We need some serious backup! We are trapped by a giant herd! Please help!" Benny screamed in the walkie-talkie.

Lori ran quickly to the Humvee.

"Carol, take care of the others. Bobby! Ronnie Anne! Lola! Lana! Get over here now!" Lori shouted.

They quickly went inside the vehicle, retaining their seats. Lori turned on the switch, which showed the orange light. She looked at Ronnie Anne who looked back with a panicked expression.

"Ugh. To hell with the orange light," said Lori as she started driving the vehicle.

She made a sharp left turn and found the enormous herd. She also found the group struggling to fight off the herd. There were new faces though. It was the others who escaped from the bunker, who decided to take shelter in neighboring buildings. Now that the herd was broken free, those buildings were not safe anymore.

"Here comes Lori! Huddle together!" yelled Benny.

Only those who belonged in Benny's group listened as the other kids and teenager attempted to escape. One kid was grabbed by the leg and was chomped there, a bite mark exposed to the smoky air. He fell and was bit by another rotter in his left arm. Soon, ten rotters closed in on the boy and devoured him. Another kid was grabbed by her hair by a rotter. Another rotter came and sunk its teeth on her neck. She struggled to scream and instead of yelling in agony, she was choking on her blood. A teenager, around Luna's age, and with blonde hair, was bit in the arm by a rotter, who shoved the biter away from her. She covered her right arm, and continued running.

"Take cover!" Lori yelled as she drove into the street.

Benny's group hid behind General Black's station. Bobby climbed onto the mounted gun and started firing on the rotters. Lori ran over the rotters and circled around the station.

"Run to Vanzilla! Go now!" Lori shouted at the group.

Benny's group quickly fought their way closer to the entrance. Benny sliced all the rotters that stood in his way. Lynn bludgeoned the head of any rotter in front of her. Francisco swung Lori's club to the rotters standing in his direction. Lucy slammed her shovel on the rotters trying to grab her skin. Lori drove the Humvee closer to the entrance and got out of the car. Lola and Lana killed any rotter that got close to the Humvee. Bobby continued firing at the rotters that were a little bit far away from the group.

Lori took a deep breath, cocked her AK-47, quickly aimed at the rotters and shot at them. Many of the hundreds of rotters were killed. The group ran past Lori as she continued firing at the rotters. She ran out of ammo quickly, and headed back to the Humvee. Lola and Lana entered the vehicle, along with Liam and Clyde, who were very exhausted. Lori let the group run ahead of the Humvee, and towards the parking zone. Bobby kept firing at the rotters and killed dozens of them. Once the group arrived at 8-Mile Street– the street that represented the border of the safe-zone– Lori drove towards them.

Bobby got a peek of the thousands of rotters that were tearing apart the fences and gates in the distance. He climbed back inside the vehicle and wiped off his sweat with his shirt.

"Oh my God. There are thousands of them. We gotta leave. Now!" Bobby said, breathing heavily.

Lori and the passengers inside the Humvee arrived at the parking zone at the same time as the group did. Lori quickly put the remaining crates inside of Carol's vehicle.

"Chaz, start your car now! Take Tabby, Rusty, Rocky, and Liam, with you!" Lori ordered.

"Yes, Lori!" Chaz said.

Tabby went to the passenger seat, while the boys went in the backseat. Chaz started his car and nodded to Lori. Lori started Vanzilla. She looked at the mirror and quickly made sure that they were all there. She drove as soon as she saw that Leni, Lily, Luna, Sam, Benny, Luan, Lynn, Francisco, Clyde, Zach, Ronnie Anne, Lucy, Lola, Lana, Bobby, Darcy, and Lincoln, who was riding shotgun, were all accounted for. She drove along the road and made a sharp right turn away from the herd that were getting closer and closer to the border. Chaz followed behind Vanzilla, and Carol followed behind Chaz's car. Lori drove through the vulnerable gate that had sealed the fate of many people.

"Finally. We finally escaped that hell-hole," thought Lori.

Everyone inside the van sighed heavily in relief, even Lily. They looked back at the city of Detroit, and only saw hopelessness.

"Lincoln, can you pull out one of the cassette tapes? Start with the oldest one, and play it on the cassette player," asked Lori.

Bobby looked at the bloody streets that led to Detroit and found many corpses littered around. Some of the rotters roamed around the area, unable to escape the maze of metal cars. Bobby placed his head back inside, finding familiar faces that destroyed him inside. He couldn't say anything yet, though.

Lori braked slowly on the van, and opened up her window. Chaz stopped his car next to her's.

"What's wrong?" asked Chaz.

"Nothing. Just take this walkie-talkie, and keep it on. I got something important that you want to hear," said Lori as she handed the walkie-talkie to Tabby.

Lori closed the driver's side window and drove ahead. Lincoln played the cassette recorder and held the walkie talkie. The cassette tape was labeled 'I (2/03/88)'

"Hello, guys. I'm Tim Crowley and I'm 18 years old. I'm entering the University of Michigan College of Engineering. You know, gotta stay close to home right? Speaking of which, I didn't live in Ann Arbor my whole life. I was born and raised in Detroit, and a lotta stuff happened there. My dad, who I barely knew anything about, was killed there. My mom had a hard time raising me alone since there was not a lot of money to go around in the family. I grew up researching about the government and news, and I became very interested in conspiracy theories. This inspired me to chase an honest career, engineering. To go further into detail…"

The tape went on for five more minutes, with Tim revealing a lot of details of his life. By the end of the tape, everyone in the van fell asleep, except Lori, Bobby, and Luan. Darcy was napping on Bobby's ribcage. Lynn and Francisco were snoring on each other's shoulders. Lincoln's face lied on the car window. Ronnie Anne was also sleeping on Bobby's ribcage, but on the opposite side of where Darcy slept. Clyde and Zach slept well, with their head lying on the headrest of their seat. Leni and Lily were sucking their thumbs while asleep. Sam snored, while Luna slept on her lap. Lana and Lola's heads were together and they napped like cats after a long day of licking themselves. Lisa slept peacefully, next to Darcy, and next to her was Lucy, who Lori wasn't even sure was sleeping. Luan looked at Benny, who had his eyes closed, and sighed heavily. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him in the right cheek. Benny opened his eyes slowly and looked at Luan, her face starting to blush.

"What was that for?" Benny whispered, smiling softly.

"It… it was for saving my life. You know, a little thank-you," whispered back Luan.

"No problem," whispered Benny.

Benny brought Luan's head close to his chest and fell back to sleep. Luan's heart was beating very rapidly and she closed her eyes, falling asleep. Lori looked at them through the mirror and smiled. Bobby looked at the mirror and found himself shaking.

IV - Our People

Inside Chaz's car, Tabby slept on the car window. Rusty, Rocky, and Liam slept on each other's shoulders. Lori kept driving with her hands gripped on the steering wheel, maneuvering the van slowly so it would not hit the cars on the way. Her maneuvering went on for an hour, even taking many turns away from her hometown before finally arriving in Royal Woods. She headed to Franklin Avenue, where there were a few stragglers wandering around.

Lori parked the van on the driveway of her home and exited it with Bobby. Chaz parked outside of Mr. Grouse's house and Carol parked behind him. Lori grabbed her AK-47 and held the strap around her shoulder and walked towards the stragglers. Knowing that she had no ammo, she carried the gun anyways since it made her feel safer. She took out her golf club, which she swiped from Francisco a few hours earlier without his acknowledgement and swung it on a rotter's head. Bobby took out his pistol and watched as Lori swung on the rotters. Suddenly, Bobby heard the blades of a helcopter tearing through the sky, alarmed and nervous. Lori held her rifle and aimed it at the sky, trying to figure where the noise was coming from. Lori pointed at the direction of Ketcham Park.

"Bobby, did you hear where that came from?" whispered Lori.

"Yeah. What's a helicopter doing there? You don't think it belongs to… General Black?" whispered back Bobby.

"Drop your weapons and put your hands up in the air!" yelled a deep male voice.

Bobby and Lori turned around. Chaz got out of his car.

"What the– ow!" Chaz yelled as he got pinned down.

A 38-year old woman with blonde hair tied back in a ponytail held Chaz's face down in the ground. She wore a light brown safari vest over her white tank top, gray cargo pants, and black combat boots. She was about Rita's height and was fit enough to snap Chaz's arms in less than two seconds. Her visor hat matched the color of her vest and gave her blue eyes some shade.

"What's going on?" Carol whispered to herself.

She got out of the car and saw a man pointing a gun at Lori and Bobby. Another man pinned her down to Chunk's SVU, lifted her left arm, and made her yelp in fright and pain. The 42-year old man that kept Carol's head on the window had short textured blond hair. He wore a gray safari vest over his brown buttoned t-shirt. He wore green camouflage cargo pants and a green belt to hold it. Below his pants were brown combat boots. He was a little taller than Lynn Sr., and was as fit as the woman.

"What did I say? Drop your weapons… and put your hands up in the air!" yelled the 45-year old man, pointing his Beretta M9 pistol at the young couple.

The man was as tall as Lynn Sr. and had short army-cut styled black hair. He wore a navy blue t-shirt which wrapped around his muscles, gray cargo pants, and black combat boots, which wrapped around the lowest part of his pants. He also wore a small black watch on his left wrist and dog tags around his neck. His face was somewhat starting to wrinkle and there was a small horizontal scar on the left side of his forehead.

Lori swiveled her eyes at Bobby in fear, set her assault rifle down in the ground, and raised her hands up. Bobby placed his pistol in the ground, gulped a large lump of nervous fluids, and placed his hand up.

"Hope you don't mind me asking where you got these weapons," said the man, staring at Lori and Bobby's panicked expression. "Well, are you going to tell me or what?"

"We– we got them from the city," said Lori.

"Where from the city?"

"A military station."

Lisa woke up and stretched, squinting before putting on her glasses. She took a glimpse of the activity going on outside the van. She immediately opened up her eyes from the deep slumber and tapped on Benny's shoulder. Benny yawned and arose from his nap.

"What is it, Lisa?" Benny whispered.

"Look outside!" whispered back Lisa.

"Ohh… shit."

Benny grabbed his katana and slowly opened the door. However, it was not as quiet as he expected and his heart began to race. He crouched and snuck into the the back of the van, where he sees the man holding Lori and Bobby at gunpoint, meters away. He quickly dashed towards the man, ready to slice his hands when, suddenly, the man takes out another M9 with his left hand and points it at Benny. Benny stops in his track.

"Drop it. Now," said the man.

Benny dropped his katana and scowled at the man. The others were awoken by the noise outside, now that a door was open. They all realized what was going on and stared at the man, each survivor holding their breath. Then, they noticed Benny held at gunpoint as well as Lori and Bobby.

"No! Benny!" whispered Luan.

"What do you want from us?" asked Benny.

"I'm gonna ask you guys a serious question. Where did you really get those weapons?"

"We told you, a military station!" replied Lori.

The man looked at the kids in Vanzilla and lowered his gun. He put the guns back inside his gun holsters.

"Are you guys familiar with the name, Quentin Black?" asked the man.

"Quentin Black? As in General Black? The murderous psychopath? That General Black?" Lori asked back.

The man looked at the woman and the other man and nodded at them. The woman released her grip on Chaz and helped lift him up. The taller man released his grip on Carol's arm. Carol fixed her hair and took a deep breath.

"I'm terribly sorry, kids, but you know, better safe than sorry," said the man. "We don't mean any harm. And yes, I'm talking about the one and only General Black. We thought that you might be connected to him, as I saw those weapons you had."

"Can we get our weapons back?" asked Benny.

"Sure, go ahead. I can be sure that you guys won't kill us right? It was a mistake, and I figure you kids can do no damage."

Benny picked up his katana, Lori picked up her AK-47, and Bobby picked up his Luger.

"Who's in charge of this group?" asked the man.

Benny and Bobby looked at Lori, as she walked closer to the man. The woman and the other man walked slowly to the man in charge.

"So it's you. What's your name?" asked the man.

"Lori. Lori Loud. This guy here is my boyfriend, Bobby Santiago, and that guy is my sister's friend, Benny."

"I'm David. David Jones. Not Davy Jones, the ghost pirate."

"I'm Missy Bolts. Nice to meet you. This is my husband," said the blonde woman.

"I'm Richard Bolts. Pleased to meet you, Lori," said the blond man walking to Lori for a handshake.

Lori shook his hand slowly and suspiciously looked at the three of them. She looked at her group and nodded. The group slowly came out of the van. Upon seeing this, Tabby, Rusty, Rocky, and Liam came out of Chaz's car.

"How did you guys know about General Black?" asked Lori.

"That's what we were going to ask you. Questions later. First thing first, you gotta go back to your shelter," replied David.

"Where are you guys heading?" Lori asked.

"We're going inside that house," said David, pointing at a familiar house.

"That belongs to my neighbor, Mr. Grouse."

"Well, I don't know who that is, but it was empty when we went inside. There were bullet holes and dried blood everywhere, though."

Lori looked at Lana in worry. Lana looked at her and started tearing up.

"What about any pets?" asked Lori.

"I saw many dead reptiles. However, there was a dog named Charles, and I've been taking care of it, before a dead one scared it away," replied David.

Lana wiped her tears, looked in the ground, and closed her eyes. Lola rubbed her shoulder slowly and comforted her.

"What about a cat?"

"Didn't see one. Why does this matter? What matters most is that we need to hide quickly, before they come. And if I'm not mistaken, you just said this house belonged to your neighbor?"

"Yes. Who are we hiding from?"

"Where do you live? Is it that messy house? You did park your van in that particular driveway."

"Yes, that house is where I live. Who are we hiding from again?"

"Let's go inside and I'll answer all your questions. I promise you, what happened earlier was a mistake. We really don't mean any harm."

Lori took out her keys and opened the door. The group entered with their supplies and weapons. David, Richard, and Missy walked inside the house and looked around.

"Alright, guys, you can put all the supplies in the kitchen," said Lori. "Stay in the kitchen. I want to ask them all sorts of questions. And no horsing around!"

David looked at the children follow Lori's orders without hesitation. Bobby grinned.

"She gets it from her mother," said Bobby.

David, Richard, and Missy sat in the couch. Lori closed the door and stood in front of the trio.

"Wait, first, can you introduce everyone?" asked Missy.

"Sure thing. This is my brother, Lincoln. These one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine girls are my sisters. The light blonde with the sunglasses is Leni."

Leni smiled and waved nervously.

"The one in purple is Luna."

She threw up the sign of the horns with her hands and grinned.

"The one with the braces and ponytail is Luan."

Unable to raise her hands, she simply decided to smile softly.

"The other one with the ponytail is Lynn."

She had her arms crossed and she winked.

"The one in all black is Lucy."

She kept her blank expression.

"The one twin with the overalls is Lana and the other look-a-like with the pink dress is Lola."

Both girls held each other's hand, while using their free hands to wave.

"The one with the glasses is Lisa."

Lisa shifted her glasses and crossed her arms.

"My baby sister which Leni is holding is Lily."

"As for the others… some of which are my brother's friends. The one with the glasses is Clyde. The boy with the orange bowl haircut is Liam. The other redhead is Rusty and his little brother Rocky. The girl with the purple streak on her hair that looks like Luna is Tabby. The girl wearing the purple sweater around her waist is my boyfriend's sister, Ronnie Anne."

Lori wrapped her arms around Leni's shoulder.

"Our friend is right there with the hat going backwards– Chaz. The girl with the blue streak on her hair is Luna's friend, Sam. This little cutie pie, is Darcy. And other guy with the backwards hat is Lynn's friend Francisco."

"And I'm Carol Pingrey. I know them."

"I wouldn't trust her around your husband, Missy," whispered Lori.

"Okay, what questions do you have for us?" asked David.

"Who are we hiding from? How do you know Quentin Black? What do you know about him? Why did you confront us like that?" asked Lori, bombarding David with questions.

"Okay, okay. Slowly. We're hiding from General Black's soldiers. I wouldn't even call them soldiers since they broke the very mission they were supposed to serve. Anyone in the military heard about Black. He's seen as a goddamn hero by many! I know a lot about him. He's a psychopathic, evil mistake of a man. He will kill anyone who stands in his way."

"Like Tim Crowley and his friend, Gerald Brooker."

"Yes, that crazy conspiracy theorist– who now that I think about– is not such a nuthead after all. He died?"

"Yeah, we went to his room and found blood everywhere. I think he was killed along with his buddy. General Black called them "terrorists". They were just trying to get the truth out. And they got killed for it. Along with all the adults that were in the safe-zone with us."

"In Detroit? Yes, that was a big mistake. There was a plan leaked by Tim Crowley about bombs ready to drop in Detroit. He tried to free all of you, the best he could. However, you're wrong about one thing. He did not kill all the adults there," said David, emphasizing the last part.

"He didn't?" asked Lori.

"No. Now I confronted you guys like that because I saw you guys holding General Black's prized weapons and I got shook up. Thought you were with him. Better safe-," answered David, before being interrupted by Lori.

"Where did the other adults go? Did he take them somewhere far away? China? New York? Moscow?" asked Lori frantically.

"They're a few blocks away. In Ketcham Park."

Lori was dumbstruck.

"What? Really? That's where General Black took them? A few miles away from the safe-zone? Not very bright, is he?"

"We shouldn't underestimate his intelligence. Everything he does is for a reason. If he moved them in there, there's gotta be a reason. Doesn't matter though. By tomorrow, his soldiers will bury him in the ground, whatever soldiers remain, after I give him what he deserves. I had the chance yesterday, but I fu– screwed up."

"No, you didn't, David. You couldn't help that all those parents were there. You couldn't risk them getting caught in the crossfire," said Richard.

"Well… you're right. I couldn't just kill General Black. I have to kill his men too."

"Wait, you're going after him alone? Don't you want me to help?" Lori asked.

"Babe? Are you sure you want to help him? Seems really dangerous," worriedly said Bobby.

"Alone? Ha!" exclaimed David. "Nah. I got more people willing to help me. There are the citizens of Royal Woods, Huntington Oaks, Hazeltucky, Detroit, all willing to help me out. Not a lot of us, but enough to take down the soldiers. And I already have a plan."

"What's the plan?"

David brushed off Bobby's question.

"Hope you guys had a good rest. Because we're hitting them before the crack of dawn. If not, you might want to get your rest. Meet me by the treehouse in the block behind your house at about 5:30, just in case you do want to help. Do you guys have any weapons?"

"Yes, we brought lots of assault rifles, submachine guns, shotguns, handguns, and more," said Benny.

"Well, that's good because my small militia is kinda short on guns. Alright, guys. Get some sleep. You're gonna need it," said David as he packed up and headed for the door.

"Wait! One last thing. What if we decide not to fight?" asked Lori.

"Well, that would be a shame. We kinda need the numbers," said David as Richard and Missy left the house, closing the door.

"Alright, who wants to go?" Lori asked.

No one stepped up or raised their hands. No one spoke up or said anything. The room was quiet.

"Come on, guys!" exclaimed Lori. "The one chance we can save our parents! Think about the sacrifices they made for us! We won't make the same sacrifices for them? We gotta fight for our parents' freedom!"

"Alright, if you're fighting them, then I'm coming too," said Bobby.

"Bobby! No!" Ronnie Anne gasped.

"It's okay! What if our parents were there? How would you feel then? I need to do this."

"I'm coming too," said Benny.

"Benny…" whispered Luan.

"It's alright. I'll be alright. I gotta avenge my father. Can't let those scumbags get away with it."

"Okay. The rest of you will stay here. Get some sleep, anyways. It's been a VERY long day. Bobby, Ronnie Anne, and Chaz will sleep in my room. Sam and Benny are sleeping in Luna and Luan's room. Francisco, Rusty, and Rocky are sleeping in Lucy and Lynn's room. Clyde, Liam, Tabby, and Zach are sleeping my parents' room. Darcy will sleep in Lisa and Lily's room. Carol, you're sleeping in Lola and Lana's room. More in Lana's side since there is more space there. Got it?"

Carol scratched her head and nodded. The group went to their respective rooms and slept. It was still very sunny outside, but they were beyond exhausted. No amount of sunlight was going to wake them up. Not that there was any sunlight after a couple hours. The moonlight shone through the windows and the house was very quiet.

Suddenly, the alarms rang, showing that it was 5:25 AM.

The entire house woke up, three ready to go to war, and the others saying their goodbyes.

"Please, come back Lori," said Leni. "I need you here. It's okay if you can't rescue Mom and Dad."

"I will. I will bring back Mom and Dad," said Lori.

"Benny, please be safe, and I wish you the very best luck," said Luan.

"I'll be safe. Don't worry, Luan," said Benny before kissing her in the lips.

"Don't die. Make sure you come back, Bobby," muttered Ronnie Anne.

"Don't worry, I will come back. That's a promise. I love you," said Bobby.

"I love you too, bro."

Benny, Lori, and Bobby went outside with the group waving at them. They headed to Chunk's SVU and grabbed the three bulletproof vests that they found in the warehouses. Each of them placed the vests on, with only Benny's vest fitting a little too large for him. Lori grabbed extra ammo for her AK-47. Bobby grabbed an M4 Carbine from the crate of guns and checked the safety switch. He kept it off and headed with Lori to the treehouse. Benny grabbed an M16A4 and followed Lori and Bobby. They walked around the block and crossed a road to get to the treehouse.

"There you are, guys!" exclaimed Missy. "Is it only the three of you?"

"Yeah," said Lori. "The others do not have the experience or the maturity for it."

"That's a shame," said David. "But it does not matter. Even the three of you can make a big contribution."

He was standing around a campfire, hidden from anyone outside of the backyard. Around him were about thirty people.

"Flippy? Mr. Yates? Beatrix? Bumper Jr.? You guys are going to help? Where are the others?" Lori asked.

"Yes. I can't just stand by and let the soldiers get away with murdering my wife, and two of my children," angrily said Mr. Yates.

"What do you mean? How did that happen? I didn't see you in the safe-zone," asked Lori.

"We were moments away from entering the safe-zone until they shot at us. My wife. Belle. Beau. They didn't make it. A couple other families didn't make it either."

"Which is why we're going to invade the park and take back our loved ones," said David. "I got recent information. Under any circumstances, the soldiers, no, the rogues will try their hardest to keep the adults alive. They are important for something. Something I don't know about. But that helps us. Here's the plan…"

David climbed up in the treehouse. He looked through the scope of his sniper and scouted around the park. He saw the rogues coming out of their tents and saw the man of the hour. He walked through the field to a large cabin. There were many torches around in the field. He turned on his walkie-talkie and spoke through it.

"I see Thunderbolt Ross."

"Who?" asked Lori as she walked behind a lot of trees with Bobby, Benny, the Yates, Flippy, and ten other people.

"You know. The general from the Incredible Hulk? You know, cause he looks like General Black, minus the stache? Whatever. I see General Black."

"Alright, my group and I are in position," said Richard.

"So is ours," said Lori.

"I'm taking care of the guys by you, Lori," said David.

He shot his silenced sniper rifle at two rogues standing in the other sides of the trees. One was shot in the head and the other in the chest.

"Move!" whispered Lori. The group moved closer to the field and hid behind the cabin.

"Alright. Three… two… one…," whispered David.

He pulled the trigger, with the scope aiming at General Black's head. General Black turned his head and looked at the trees. The bullet flew through the wind, and hit its target. The bullet blew out his left eye and he quickly collapsed to the ground.

"Shit! General! We're under attack!" yelled Lt. Lead, as he carried him away quickly.

"Ahh, fuck…" whispered General Black.

"Did he live? Fuck me!" yelled David.

He was being shot at. The rogues were shooting at the treehouse. They were missing by a lot of yards, but some managed to hit the treehouse. David climbed down quickly and ran to the park.

"Now!" yelled David through the walkie-talkie.

Richard pulled the pin of a grenade and tossed it at the group of rogue soldiers. They quickly moved, and some were killed by the shrapnel. Mr. Yates moved out of the cabin and shot at the soldiers. Suddenly, both Lori's and Richard's group started shooting at the rogues. A rogue was shot in the head. Another is shot in the chest. One is shot multiple times in his throat, chest, and arms.

"Do not let General Black and his rogues escape!" yelled David into the walkie-talkie before dropping it.

Lori shot at a barrel, which created a large explosion, lighting up the field. Fire was spreading. Some rogues opened up the cabin and moved the adults. In the crowd, Lori saw Rita and Lynn Sr. They looked dirty and hungry.

"Mom! Dad! Where are the rogues taking them, David?" Lori whispered. "David?"

A group of rogues ran to the trees and shot at Lori's group. Flippy was shot in the chest, before being stabbed in the back by a soldier.

"Retreat!" yelled Lori.

Lori's group retreated in a very disorganized manner. Many of them struggled to find the exit of the park. Richard's group were running to the rogues trying to move General Black to a helicopter. Richard shot his M4 Carbine at the rogues, killing one of them. The rogues shot back, to which Richard ducked and took cover behind the trees. His group were rapidly being killed off. Missy and he had to retreat. The rogues took the adults in the helicopters. Some rogues were left behind to kill off the dissenters.

"I'm not retreating! I'm taking revenge! I will do any-" yelled Mr. Yates, until he was shot in the head by a rogue.

"DAD!" yelled Bumper Jr.

Another rogue came and sliced his throat from behind. Beatrix watched with horror, and was shot in the chest by the same rogue that killed her father. Lori looked back and shot at the rogue that stabbed Bumper Jr. The other rogue shot at her and hit Benny. Fortunately for him, he was shot in the chest, to which his vest protected him. Lori aimed her AK-47 at the rogue, and shot him in the head, killing him instantly.

"Are you okay?" Lori asked.

"Ouch, ouch. Yeah. Owww… Lori. Do NOT tell Luan about this. She will freak!" Benny groaned.

David ran inside the park and found the helicopters flying away. The fire was spreading, and the rogues started rising from the dead.

"No! No! Nooooo!" yelled David as he stared at the Chinook carrying General Black away.

"These fuckers are dead. I left some of our men behind to take care of them," said Lt. Lead.

"Good… they deserve to burn for this… even if they're any survivors left… they will never find their parents again…not where we are going..." whispered General Black before going unconscious, as he bled from his left eye.

David fell to the ground. He was alone in the park, with everyone else retreating from the park. He looked at a small map in the floor. It was circled at a spot in Maine and had bright red letters reading: HOULTON.