"We're going to look for survivors then vacate the premise. I'll brief you on the way." Once everyone was ready, Han and Debbie were at the head of the group, leading them to the cafeteria. They backtracked through the building and attempted to get the lobby. Unfortunately, they had to stop on the second floor because there were too many zombies to fight through to get there. "Why are there so many zombies? We already cleared this way when we got here," he said.

"It's like all the zombies are attracted to this building," said Debbie.

"It's the sounds. This building is probably the only one where the fire alarm is active, and zombies are attracted to sounds," said Raphael.

"How do you know that?" asked Amy.

"Saw it in an anime. You watched it, remember?"

"Oh yeah, that anime…"

Han and Debbie looked for another way and decided to head to the cafeteria via the tunnel that connected the two buildings. Resistance was minimal, since most of the zombies had made their way outside to the center courtyard. The group, however, continued to maintain a firm sense of caution as they moved through the buildings.

"At least it's dry in here," said Haruhi as they entered the cafeteria.

Since Building A was the only building that had the fire alarm active, the other sprinkler systems weren't triggered in the other buildings. The adults spread out and secured the area, guns at the ready. The top floor of the cafeteria was clear, so they headed to the staircase leading to the ground floor. There were a few roaming zombies, the cooks and staff from the kitchen, but it wasn't a problem for Han and Carolyn. They skillfully picked them off one by one from the staircase, using only their handguns.

"Clear?" asked Han, slipping a fresh clip into his gun. Carolyn scanned the room then gave him a nod. They proceeded on and motioned for the others to follow once it was safe. "You all better grab something to eat while you can, but don't stuff yourselves too full that you can't run anymore. I have a feeling it's going to be awhile until we find food again. Try and find a bag to pack some non-perishable food items and water if you can, but don't take too long. We can't stay here."

Everyone sighed with relief and went through the buffet lines, grabbing a quick bite to eat. The food was relatively fresh, since lunch was next for the seniors. They all sat down at a table together and enjoyed a relative moment of normalcy amidst the anarchy. Capps tended to Darr's wounds and fixed up his bandages while the instructors discussed their next move. Susan and Haruhi finished their meals quickly and went into the kitchen to search for supplies.

"Find anything yet?" asked Haruhi, skimming through the shelves for anything useful.

"Not yet," said Susan. She searched around and came across various pieces of cutlery. A particular knife, a cleaver, caught her eye as it hung from a metallic holder on the wall. "This could prove useful." She liberated it from the wall and took the leather sheath that went along with it. She attached the leather piece to her belt and sheathed the cleaver in it. After finding a couple bags, and filling it with food and water bottles, they made their way back out and rejoined the group.

"Looks like you found some supplies. Is it too heavy? Because you're going to be the ones carrying them for now," said Han.

"We'll manage. These items are vital and will come in handy later. What about Amy?" said Susan.

"Don't worry, Susan. As her boyfriend, I should be the one to help her," said Raphael.

"So considerate of you…" said Amy, getting up from her seat.

Raphael and the others gathered their weapons and followed Han and Debbie to the next building, taking a similar tunnel that connected the buildings together. Again, resistance was minimal as they made their way down the halls and to the ground floor. When they arrived at the lobby, they stopped and looked out the window.

"This is it. Across the courtyard is Building B and our ticket out of here. Unfortunately, we're going to have to go out there and cross the courtyard to get there. The distance is relatively short, so it beats backtracking through all the buildings. Besides, all the zombies are concentrated around Building A's entrance," said Han.

"But, sir, what about Building E?" asked Susan.

"What about it, Stevens?"

"There could be survivors there."

Han looked at her then turned to Debbie. "Lieutenant, take Stevens, Okane, and Comet to Building E. Quickly check for survivors then report back here. We'll hold our position and plan our run to Building B."

Debbie nodded and led the way to Building E. "Let's get going, guys." Raphael asked Steven to watch Amy for him while he went with the others to the next building. They carefully walked down the tunnel and went through the final hallway to the aquatic center. "I doubt there's anyone here, but I guess it's for the best that we check anyway," said Debbie. When they arrived, they found the entire pool area void of people, dead or alive. "Looks like it's clear. We should head back now."

"What about the second floor?" asked Raphael.

Debbie rolled her eyes and headed for the staircase. "Fine...but if we get ambushed by a horde of zombies, it's your fault." They made their way up the steps and found themselves at the end of a hallway. They cautiously made their way down line of classrooms, checking all the rooms for any signs of life. "There's nothing here. Let's regroup and get out of here." As they were about to turn around and head back, one of the classroom's doors opened. Debbie drew her pistol while the others readied their melee weapons.

Once the person stepped out of the room, she was startled by the group and their weapons. "Whoa, what's with the weapons, guys?"

"Yumi?" said Raphael, Susan, and Haruhi.

"What's up?" she said, yawning. "Um, excuse me. I just woke up from my nap."

"Nap? What are you doing here? Don't you know what's going on?" asked Debbie, holstering her gun.

"I always come here to take a nap during lunch, and I got out early from class for some odd reason, so I came here. I tell ya, I really needed that nap. So what's with the weapons? Is that a paper cutter?" said Yumi.

Raphael and the others looked at each with disbelief then turned to Yumi. "We'll explain later, but we need to get out of here, now," said Debbie.

"Um, okay. Lead the way, ma'am." They hurried back down the steps and made their way back to the hallway. They were almost to the other building, but a group of zombies were blocking their path.

Once Yumi caught sight of them, she stopped in her tracks and shrieked with fright. "Holy…what the h*** are those? Are those…zombies!?"

"You have no idea. Susan, stay here and watch Yumi. We'll take care of this," said Debbie, drawing her pistol. She nodded and stayed back while the other three attacked the zombies.

They swiftly made quick work of them, but when there was only one zombie left, Raphael told the others to leave it to him. "Wait! Is that? Oh, boy. Leave this one to me guys." Debbie and Haruhi looked at each other and stood down. Raphael walked towards the zombie with a smile on his face. "Well well well, what have we here? The big, bad Sudoku. That's who. Who'd've thunk that you'd become one of the undead in the first day of the outbreak?"

"What's he doing?" asked Yumi.

"I think…he's finally getting his revenge on him," said Susan.

Raphael made sure to keep his distance as he continued to mock his undead rival. "Although I'm just bursting with curiosity of how you got turned, I don't have the time to listen to your story. Now I know we're all buddy-buddy after that incident, but as much as I'd hate to do this, it must be done." He then outstretched his hand towards Haruhi. "Haruhi, if you'd please."

She looked at him with a confused look. "What? Do you want something?" Raphael looked at her weapon and made it obvious that he was doing so. "My weapon? Is that it?" He nodded. "Um, all right. Here."

Raphael took the paper cutter and readied to strike, taking a baseball stance. "Sorry, bro." He swung with all his might and bashed Sudoku in the head, knocking him across the hall. "Homerun…" He walked back to the group and handed back her weapon. "Thanks."

"You're welcome, slugger," said Haruhi.

"That was very…morbid," said Debbie, taking point with her pistol at the ready as they continued back to Han and the others. All the way back, Yumi had a blank look on her face, still shocked that there was a zombie outbreak happening and she didn't even know it. Once rendezvoused with the others, they had a renewed sense of hope as their friend made their way over to them.

"Is that? Dr. Sawbones! I can't believe, you of all people, made it this far," said Amy, coughing from all the excitement.

"Nice to see you too, Amy. You won't believe how I survived this long though," said Yumi. Before they left, she told everyone where she had been during the zombie outbreak.

After her little story, Han briefed everyone again about their run to the other building. "Is everyone ready? Remember, don't fight unless you really have to. We don't need to go attracting attention unnecessarily."

Everyone nodded and readied their weapons if they had one. He looked out the window and slowly opened the door, making sure not to make any sounds. Once the door was fully open, he motioned for everyone to move outside. Carolyn led the way with Han picking up the rear once they were outside. They gathered on the porch outside the building and looked around the courtyard, disgusted by all the zombies and bodies that littered the ground. Once they decided on the best route across, they began walking through the zombie infested area. Everything was going smoothly until they heard the sound of a cellphone ringing, prompting them to all freeze. They frantically looked around and found the source of the noise coming from a cellphone somewhere on the corpse of a dead military officer. Before they knew it, the horde of zombies was coming their way, hungry for flesh.

"Run! Get to the door!" said Carolyn as she and the other instructors laid down suppressing fire with their handguns. The prodigies and the remaining security guards sprinted for the door and entered the building followed by the three instructors. Once inside, and the door closed, they made sure the area was zombie-free before they stopped for a breather.

"That was a close one," said Yumi, panting from the sudden sprint to safety.

"Who was that anyway?" asked Raphael.

"That…was Colonel Noland of Research and Development. I guess he and his son didn't make it out before the outbreak struck here," said Susan.

"If his phone was ringing, does that means our cellphone service is up?" asked Yumi.

"Not likely. The lines are reserved for emergency personnel only," said Debbie.

"And high-ranking military officers," said Carolyn, walking back to the door to look at the phone through the window. "Colonel Noland must be among the few officers who can use their phones during these sorts of crisis situations. If we can get that phone, we can call for help."

"And how do you plan on getting that phone, Carolyn?" asked Han.

"Simple. I'll ran out and grab it. These zombies aren't very fast, so I can easily maneuver around them."

"And you're probably wanting Debbie and I to provide covering fire, right?"

"Couldn't hurt," she said with a wink.

Han took a moment to think it over. "You have thirty seconds." Carolyn smirked while Debbie rolled her eyes. "Prodigies, stay here and watch our backs. Capps, if by some chance we don't return, you're in charge. We'll just be right outside."

He and Debbie went outside and took up firing positions while Carolyn prepared for the run. Once she gave the signal, she sprinted for the phone while the others covered her. She refrained from shooting for the first few moments, but as she got closer to the phone, the zombie density increased. She fired a few shots to clear the zombies directly on top of the phone while Han and Debbie took out the ones near her. She slid and swiftly patted down the corpse in search for the phone. She found it inside his jacket pocket and took it, sprinting back to the others. Han and Debbie alternated reloading their pistols, and continued to cover her until she made it back to them safe and sound. Once she was inside, the other two instructors followed closely behind and secured the door.

"It seems like you still have some moves on ya, Carolyn," said Han, reaching for another pistol magazine.

"A Crimzon Rose never loses her touch, especially one of my caliber. At least you can still shoot. I would've thought you'd grow rusty since becoming a teacher."

"I'll take that as a compliment," he said with a smile, sliding the magazine home.

"Glad you made it back it one piece, ma'am," said Debbie.

"Well I had help. Thanks," said Carolyn. She took the phone, but stopped before she dialed a number. "Who should I call?"

"Call General Diez. If there's anyone who can arrange for an evac, it's him," said Han.

"I don't know his number."

They stood for a moment, stumped until Raphael spoke up. "I know his number."

Han and Carolyn looked at him with skepticism. "You know the General's number?" asked Carolyn.

"Yeah. He and I are close since he and my dad are good friends. He gave me his number to use in case of extreme emergencies. I think this qualifies." Carolyn shrugged and handed him the phone to dial in the number. Once he did, he handed it back to her to call for help.

The phone rang three times before someone answered, but to her surprise, it wasn't Rodrigo on the other end. "This is Agent Sands of Blackwatch. Code in."

Carolyn was confused and tried to ask for help anyway. "This is Captain Carolyn Ren, Army Crimson Roses, from Centre Ridge Academy. I am stranded on the campus with eleven other survivors, including Captain Hanzo Takahashi, Army Delta Force, and 1st Lieutenant Deborah Airre, Air Force Para-rescue. We need evac, ASAP."

There was a slight moment of silence before the agent replied. "I'm sorry. We are in control of all communications coming in and out of this area. This is a restricted line reserved for Blackwatch personnel only. I cannot offer assistance until the proper passcode has been given. Records show that the number you are using belongs to Colonel Noland. Put him on the line."

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Agent Sands. Colonel Noland is dead. We found his phone on his corpse."

"Then I'm afraid I can't help you. Good luck." He hung up before Carolyn could insist she speak to his superior. She tried calling again, but the line remained dead. "F***! He blocked the number."

"Who blocked the number? Who is this 'Agent Sands'?" asked Han.

"He said he was part of 'Blackwatch' and that all communications going in and out from this area were under their control," said Carolyn, tossing the phone on the ground.

"I've never heard of them," said Han.

"Me neither," said Carolyn.

"So what do we do now, ma'am?" asked Steven.

"We continue with our plan. We make our way to the garage and evac from there," said Han.

"Before we continue, we're going to need more ammo. I'm on my last mag," said Debbie.

"I guess I could use more ammo as well," said Han, patting his jacket for more mags.

"Isn't there an armory in this building?" asked Carolyn.

"On the second floor. There's enough ammunition and weapons there to arm all of us to the teeth," said Han.

"Then let's get going. The faster we get the ammo, the faster we can get out of here," said Debbie. Han took the lead and made his way to the stairs with the group. On the way there, the instructors nearly exhausted all their ammunition just trying to get up to the second floor.

"Clear left," said Carolyn.

"Clear right, said Han. "Wait, did you hear that?"

"Gunshots. Lots of high-caliber gunshots. Seventy meters, down that hall," said Carolyn.

The group hurried to assist the other survivors and found themselves approaching the firing ranges. Han had Debbie and the others wait a few feet back, just in case the gun-toting survivors weren't as friendly as he had hoped. He motioned for Carolyn to back him up as he approached the source of the gunfire.

When he came to the room the range was in, he decided to try words first before he poked any of his appendages into the doorway. "This is Capt. Hanzo Takahashi. Any survivors in there?"

"Yeah. This is Capt. Jonathan Dica. I'm hold up here with eight prodigies. It's good to hear from ya, Han."

"We're coming in. Tell your prodigies to hold their fire." After a few seconds, Jonathan gave the all clear and they entered the room. Once it was safe, Han motioned for the others to follow him in.

"It's good to see so many of you made it," said Han, giving Jonathan a handshake.

"Likewise. How many are with you?"

"Twelve of us, including me." The others from Han's group entered the room and joined the conversation.

"Good to see you're still alive," said Raphael as he helped Amy into the room.

"Me too. How are you doing? Hey, is Amy okay?" asked Jonathan.

"She's been bitten, but don't worry. She's fine for now."

Jonathan gave her a guarded look, but smiled with relief. "Well, at least you're still alive."

As they were talking, another familiar face reared her head, carrying a sniper rifle proudly in her hands. "Look who showed up?"

"Jesse! You're alive!" said Yumi, running over to her.

"What's up, Jess?" asked Haruhi, engaging in their secret handshake.

"Nothin' much. Just killing me some zombies," said Jesse with a content smile on her face.

The prodigies conversed with each other while Susan and Haruhi passed out food and water bottles. Capps took out her medical supplies and treated any injuries the prodigies from Jonathan's group had.

The instructors talked amongst themselves off to the side, away from them. "What's your ammo situation?" asked Han.

"We've got several .308 sniper mags for Jesse's rifle and a few 9mm pistol mags left for my sidearm, but that's it. We've used up most of it making our last stand in here."

"Last stand?" asked Carolyn.

"During the initial outbreak, it was pure chaos. I rounded up as many people as I could and headed here. There were around twenty of us then," said Jonathan.

"At least you were able to save some of them. Anyway, we can't stay here. We were on our way to the armory when we came across you and your group. We plan on heading to the garage on the first floor, which hopefully has a working vehicle we could use to escape," said Han.

"After that, we plan on regrouping with survivors at Huntington, assuming that there are any," said Carolyn.

"It sounds like a plan. The armory is just down the hall. I would've gone myself, but I didn't want to endanger any of the prodigies," said Jonathan.

"Well the coast is clear now, so we can make it there without a problem," said Debbie.

Once the prodigies had rested and eaten a snack, Han and Jonathan took point while Carolyn and Debbie picked up the rear. They had no trouble reaching the armory, and when they arrived, Han input the code which unlocked the sturdy security door. Upon entering, he quickly dispatched the zombified guard behind the security counter and input the code to gain access to the ammunition and weapon storage room.

"All right, prodigies. Before we let you loose, I want to make sure you understand that you are about to use live ammunition. If you need help, please, ask one of the adults for help. Do not try anything you are uncomfortable with," said Han. After his brief safety talk, he let everyone choose their guns and ammunitions.

The armory had plenty of weapons to choose from. Most of the prodigies were freshmen and had not handled real guns before. The instructors gave them a brief lesson in firearm handling and issued them a handgun to use. Raphael and the other upper-classmen were already comfortable with using guns and chose bigger caliber ones. Raphael and most of his friends stuck with the standard assault rifle to use, using several handguns as backup weapons, piling on as much ammunition as they could onto their person. Jesse continued to use her sniper rifle and brought along a pistol as well.

"I never thought I'd get a chance to use one of these while at the academy," said Raphael, loading a fresh magazine into his rifle.

"Don't look so excited, Raph. This isn't a game," said Amy. She was too weak to handle an assault rifle, so she chose a small sub-machinegun to use instead. Before she could pick it up, she went over to Carolyn whom made Berner remove her cuffs. Once they were off, she rubbed her wrists and retrieved her weapon.

"I wasn't insinuating anything. I just like this particular rifle, that's all." She gave him a cautious look, then turned away, coughing heavily.

Once they all were armed and stocked with ammunition, they made their way down to the first floor towards the vehicle garage. When they came across zombies, the first-time gun users hesitated to use their weapons and relied on the others for help. Raphael and the others had no problem at all and opened fired on the zombies any chance they got. They engaged the enemy professionally and aimed for their head, firing in short, controlled bursts to conserve ammunition.

"I think this is the garage," said Han, moving up to a large, steel door. He slowly opened it and entered, triggering the automatic lights. The room became illuminated and revealed a large, wide area, filled with hydraulic lifts and other mechanical tools used on cars and land vehicles. They all hurried into the room and looked for a vehicle to bring them to safety. To the group's relief, Jonathan spotted a promising looking vehicle at the other end of the room.

As they made their way over to the vehicle, Jonathan inspected it. "What we have here, ladies and gentlemen, is a Mark-IV V20 APC. This armored vehicle comes standard with a 20mm Gatling gun, remotely operated from the inside, of course, enough armor plating to deflect most types of small arms fire, and enough room to comfortably seat eight people, not including the driver and gunner."

Carolyn, Han, and Debbie looked at him, surprised, yet impressed with his knowledge of the vehicle. "How in the world do you know all that? You're air jockey, not a ground pounder," said Carolyn.

"I took an armored vehicle driving course my senior year. It was a filler class," said Jonathan.

"An armored vehicle driving course? Does that mean you can drive this thing?" asked Han.

"Well, I got an A in the class," said Jonathan with a smile.

Carolyn and Han exchanged impressed looks. "All right. You know what to do, Captain," said Carolyn.

"Roger that." He looked for the vehicle's access panel and lowered the back hatch to get inside. He made his way to the driver's seat and started up the engine.

As he was getting the APC ready to leave, Han inspected the personnel hold with dissatisfaction. "We're not all going to fit in here, Carolyn."

"I know. Either we risk riding on the roof or we have to make two runs."

"What do you want to do?" asked Han.

"There's not enough room on the top for the rest of us, so it looks like we're going to have to make two runs," she said, heading into the APC to tell Jonathan. After telling him of the plan, she went back out to help the others onto the vehicle. The seven prodigies from Jonathan's group, not including Jesse, piled in first since most of them were freshmen and wounded. Darr was also loaded into the APC since he had a broken leg. As they were loading in, Carolyn told Capps to get on as well.

"But ma'am, I can still fight. Let some of the other prodigies go instead of me," said Capps.

"Darr and the others need your medical expertise, so you need to go with them. Don't worry, my prodigies are more than capable of handling themselves," said Carolyn.

Capps looked at her prodigies, then to her. "Thank you, ma'am." Carolyn nodded as Capps went into the APC along with the others.

"C'mon, Carolyn, on you go," said Han as he finished securing everyone into their seats.

"Me? No, you should go. You're already inside," said Carolyn.

"I insist," he said, stepping off the APC.

He attempted to grab her hand, but she withdrew it before he could grasp it. "Please, you should go. They're going to need a strong leader once Jonathan drops you off, wherever it may be."

He saw in her eyes that she wasn't going to change her mind. "All right, Carolyn. Just make sure you stay alive until Jonathan returns, all of you."

"Don't worry about me. I've got Debbie to back me up, and Raphael and the others are the best prodigies I know." Han smiled and sat down in his seat, closing the back door to the vehicle.

"Um, can someone get the door? I don't feel like testing this APC's durability by running down the door. There should be a pad with the door's controls on the left side," said Jonathan through the vehicle's loudspeaker. Debbie walked over and located the buttons, waiting for a command to open the door.

"Are you ready, Jonathan!?" said Carolyn as loud as she could.

"Ready when you are," said Jonathan.

She looked to her prodigies, prompting them to ready their weapons. Once they were ready, she gave Debbie the go ahead. Debbie pressed the button which opened the garage door for Jonathan's APC. Once there was enough space, he hit the gas, driving the APC out of the garage and onto the street. Debbie hit the button to close the door once he was gone, but the door's mechanical motor malfunctioned, creating a screeching, metallic sound.

"Debbie, close the door!" said Carolyn as she spotted zombies on the street start walking towards them.

"It's not responding! The door's jammed."

As the zombies grew nearer, Debbie backed away from the door and grabbed her rifle, popping off a few shots at the closest zombie. Carolyn ordered everyone into a firing line and opened fire, dropping the zombies in front of them. Unfortunately, all the gunfire did was attract more zombies with the noise. With the garage door stuck open, Raphael and the others started to feel the pressure as the horde got closer and closer.

"Ma'am! We can't hold this position!" said Debbie, emptying an entire clip into the wall of zombies.

"Right. Fall back! Back into the hallway!" said Carolyn. They all turned tail and hurried back into the building, shutting the door. Carolyn figured that staying inside the building wasn't the best of choices, so they headed for the roof. From there, they were able keep an eye out for Jonathan when he returned while keeping well out of reach from the zombie horde below.

"All right, everyone. We'll wait up here until Jonathan returns," said Carolyn, opening the door to the roof. '…if he ever does.' The group followed her up the stairs and exited onto the roof.

"What is that? Wait, it's a transport! There's a ship over there!" said Jesse, pointing across the rooftop.

"It looks like an Albatross. One of the newer models," said Raphael as he helped Amy along. "See, honey? We're going to make it after all." She grumbled in response, limping along with him and the others.

As they approached the dropship, two figures exited the personnel hold to greet them. "Hello there! Do any of you know how to fly this thing!?"

"That voice seems familiar, doesn't it?" asked Raphael.

"Yeah, because it's Kyle!" said Jesse.

"Guys? It's Jesse, and the others! They're all alive!" said Kari. She and Kyle hurried over to the group to see how they were doing.

"Kyle, Kari!? What are you guys doing up here?" asked Yumi.

"Kari and I always come up here, to you know…practice anatomy," said Kyle with a sly look on his face. Kari nudged him in the arm, red in the face from the embarrassment.

"Why are you guys wet?" asked Kari.

"The sprinklers went off in Building A. It was a mess all throughout the place," said Haruhi.

"Did I hear that you always come up here?" Kari and Kyle froze as they saw Carolyn come into view in front of them. "Coming up here unsupervised is against the rules, and you know how I feel about prodigies breaking the rules, but…given the circumstances, I'll let it slide." Kari and Kyle loosened up, giving a slight chuckle.

Their chatter was suddenly silenced when Amy started coughing fiercely, profusely spilling blood from her mouth. She fell to the ground and started having painful spasms.

"Amy! Hang in there! We're almost out of here," said Raphael as he knelt down next to her, caressing her in his arms.

"What's the matter with Amy?" asked Kari with a shocked look on her face.

"She was bitten," said Susan, stepping back from the scene.

Carolyn had everyone stand back and drew her sidearm, aiming it at Amy's head. "She's turning. Stand back, Raphael."

"She's not turning! She's going to make it!" sad Raphael, holding her close to him.

"Move, Raphael, or I'm going to take the shot right now, and believe me, I'm a pretty good shot," said Carolyn.

Once her coughing subsided, Amy spoke as Raphael was sobbing over her. "Raph, don't let her…shoot…me."

"Don't worry, baby. I'm not going to let her do it."

"If you don't move in five seconds, I'm going to fire." She started slowly counting down as Raphael clung to Amy. He suddenly froze with grief as she whispered something into his ear.

"…three…two…one."

She was about to pull the trigger until Raphael shouted at the top of his lungs. "STOP!" She stopped her finger and didn't fire, lowering her weapon. Laying Amy gently on the ground, he stood up and walked towards Carolyn. "I'll do it. I'll shoot her." Everyone around them was stricken with dismay and grief. Carolyn thought she didn't quite hear him correctly and stood dumbstruck by his suggestion. "I need to be the one to do it," he said. She looked at him for a moment then holstered her pistol, understanding perfectly the position he was in. "Thank you, ma'am," said Raphael, drawing his own sidearm. He walked back over to Amy and aimed his gun.

Amy had crawled away from the ship and was sitting with her back against a wall. "I'm sorry it had to be this way, Raph, but I don't want to turn into one of them."

"I understand," said Raphael. They stared at each other in silence, spending the remainder of their time together in peace.

A sharp pain arose in her chest, causing her to writhe in pain as she grabbed at her heart. "Argh! Do it! Kill me now!"

Raphael hesitated with the pistol and kept it aimed at her head. As the tears flowed down his cheeks, he was only able to mutter three words as a final goodbye. "I love you."