Dead in Their Tracks

Chapter 4 – Grand Metro Finale

Same disclaimer, blah blah blah.

The survivors are almost home free. The metro station is so close, they can almost taste it. All they have to do now is get on the only train left in the metro anywhere.

The survivors eat whatever food they have left in Yuki's knapsack, and begin refilling their ammo.

Gilbert starts to talk about his original journeys on this very metro station. "You know, I miss the old times. I really do. Once, I was on a train and I decided to play a prank on the train conductor. I glued his seat just so he couldn't get up. It was funny, seeing the way he would struggle and spat trying to get out. I also heard he needed to go to the bathroom, and I started to feel bad for the guy, so I…"

Hank interrupted. "We don't have time for this, Gilbert."

"Okay," He replied.

Yuki, having heard some of his story, begins to reflect the first time she got on the train…

The year is 2154. A young girl and her mother are walking into the Grand Laine Metro Station. Her mother has a brown hime-cut of medium length. She appears to be in her twenties, and is wearing casual clothing.

"Come on, Yuki! We're going to be late for that concert you want to go to!" a female voice said.

"Coming, mama!" Yuki said. She was at least five years old, and already, she had wanted to go to a concert. The concert she had wanted to go to was going to be at the top of a building, and the band was called "The Demons of a Thousand Genres". As their name suggested, they did 80s rock, drum and bass, j-pop; you name it. They remain as one of the best bands to date, right next to "The Heavenly Eclipse" and "Exaggerated Minds".

In fact, this was a very special occasion, because all three bands were going to meet up and play together, in an epic performance that fans of all three bands will come to see. "The Twilight Elves", however, because of their low sales and how much people hated their music, had also decided to battle against the three "offenders" in the ultimate battle of the bands that everyone will remember forever.

When they got on the train, they relaxed and waited. But not all was to be well. Someone who had darker skin and…strange eyes and was wearing a trench coat and fedora walked towards them…and just stood there, staring at Yuki…

"Uh, can I help you, sir?" said Yuki's mother. No response, except for a flat grunt of sorts.

"What was that, sir?" The person doesn't answer her question, but suddenly grabbed at Yuki, as if she was the biggest diamond in the world. Yuki's mother quickly grabber her up, but Yuki, scared out of her wits, jumps out of her mother's arms and runs away. The man quickly turns and runs at her, but her mother stops him before he can keep in pursuit.

"What are you trying to do to her, you freak?!" she said, pulling on his clothes. Incidentally, the hat and coat come off, revealing that this man is not as normal as he seems. His skin is bleach pale, and his eyes are glowing an eerie orange yellow. His teeth are sharper than that of any other person. Yuki's mother gasps at the sight of how altered this man looks...

"What in the…" she says, but barely has time to react as the man tries to bite her. She quickly brings out a pistol and turns the "Never-Fail Safety" on the gun off and switches it to the "Whoa, Mama!" mode. The gun is fired at the man several times before he finally drops dead. More people are starting to double over as if they were in pain…then the realization that they were in danger quickly set in to her. She was quick to grab her daughter up and make a run for it to the front of the train. The subway train driver was also sick, and had turned too. The subway train itself had now sped up to an amazing speed, and they would be mere minutes from crashing. Killing the train driver, and with everybody on the train infected, they jumped out of the train, Yuki's mom holding on to her pride and joy as she dove out of the train. It kept screaming down the track until it exploded with amazing force. Flaming zombie parts fell down from the sky as she ran from the scene. It had begun. And she would be the first of many survivors to stop this dangerous phenomenon…

The flashback fades away, and Yuki stumbles backwards, though Gilbert keeps her steady. "What happened?" Gilbert says as she regains composure.

Yuki says "I…don't know. I could've sworn I saw my mother carrying me away from a speeding train as it exploded…it was a flashback…I think."

Gilbert replies in a more slightly shocked tone. "Seriously? Your mother nearly got herself killed for your life and you both survived getting attacked by the infected?! Whoa!"

Yuki replies. "It's a long story, trust me…"

After having gotten the rest of the food eaten, the group heals up and moves out.

More infected stand in their way, but with the group's weapons still intact, the infected don't stand much of a chance. They keep moving up more stairs, until finally, there was light seeping through at the end of the subway.

"We're almost out of here!!!" yelled Hank as they approached the subway exit with much haste. Soon, they emerge from the exit, and they are greeted with warm fresh air. The sun has completely disappeared, and the full moon is now rising from the horizon, casting an eerie glow over Laine City, now devastated and full of flames. Grand Laine Metro stands tall and mighty, looming over the survivors a few feet from the subway exit. It looks reminiscent of Grand Central Station; likewise the Grand Brandonopolis Metro Station was the same way, except a tad bit more fancy.

They walk inside. Like the rest of the subway before this, it is absolutely deserted and really dark. There is only one train that is intact. That's the train they've been looking for, and at long last, they finally have found it. Now all they had to do was to get it running and get the hell out of there!

"Oh man! There it is! We've made it!" Gilbert yells in utter excitement.

They get inside it, and power it up. The engine revs up, and the lights flip on. Suddenly, an explosion is heard, and the engines die. "What?! NO! That can't have happened!!" The power meter beside the wheel goes from "full" to "empty" in a heartbeat.

Gilbert, in a rage, screams "WHYYYYYYYYYYYY?!?" and breaks down sobbing on the train controls.

Hank looks in anger. "So…this is how it ends, huh? Sticking around in a train that won't start? Because…well…"

"Who's out there?! Speak now, or I'll come out there and shoot on sight!" a voice said. It was coming from inside the control booth. The window was clouded and dirty, so they couldn't see who was behind it.

Gilbert retaliates. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Don't shoot! We're just trying to get out of here! What in Cypress Hill are you thinking, shooting us?!"

"Wait…you guys are survivors?" the voice replies.

"Please, don't shoot them, honey… They're just trying to get the train out there stated." says a softer female voice.

"Yes, but the last group we encountered weren't immune and turned right as they took down the first Tank that came after them." says the other voice. "Anyways, you guys are immune…right? And are you combat effective?"

Gilbert replies once again. "Well, yeah, and yeah. Though it hasn't been any bed of roses, I can tell you that. We've been fighting zombies throughout the whole damn city, and I'm covered in blood and guts! We're as immune as we come!"

Silence for a minute, and the window is being cleaned by someone inside. Eventually, they can clearly see through the entire window. A white stickman wearing a combat army helmet, brown shorts, and a bandolier is seen just inside the booth. His eye color is brown. Next to him stands a beautiful girl. Her eyes are Technicolor with all sorts of eye shines and stars inside them. Her rainbow colored hair looks fluffy soft, and looks reminiscent of a cloud. Her…frontal assets are pretty large. She is wearing weird clothes under her pinkish-purple hoodie. She wears a white cross pendant, and just underneath it, a business tie. She looks weird, and she may be extremely powerful (she's powerful enough to destroy an entire planet), but she's as sweet and caring as they come. Playing video games in the background is a strange sight; a purple humanoid cat with ominous looking yellow eyes. He looks much immersed in his gaming experience, but he stops to come and look at the survivors just outside their safe house. Further still is a weird-looking scientist type wearing a big lab coat. Underneath the lab coat is a blue shirt with a huge black X in the middle of it. He is also wearing goggles, and his huge neckline is concealing his mouth the same way the goggles are concealing his eyes. He also wears a weird hat with what looks to be sideways pointing cat ears pointing out the sides. He stops mixing chemicals to also see these new survivors through the window.

Hank breaks a minute of silence afterwards. "Whoa…crazy bunch of survivors I'm looking at here. Who are you guys?"

The stick man answers Hank. "I'm the creator of this world you now find yourself in. This is my take on reality…this was the utopia of everyone's dreams. Those who discovered it could live in the city alongside my own creations. But now…the whole city has become defunct. EVERYWHERE you look…everyone you see…are either real-world immigrants, or creations of my doing…now underneath the thumb and influence of this…infection. The U.S. Military has somehow gotten down here to take precautions…but what am I, rambling on and about my world and everything? I am Brandon Allen Cash, creator of Video Game World, and founder of Brandonopolis…in pre-spirit. This over here is my lovely wife, Akiyoko Belldandy Chachamaru. Over here is my best friend, Robert McAllister, or Bob, as he's commonly known as. And over here is my best scientist/medic in the entire universe, Xavier Calhoun Nottingham, affectionately called 'The Brain' by me. But anyhow, we know what you've come for. You've come to get the train, haven't you?"

Yuki replies to Brandon. "How did you know we were coming for the train?"

Brandon answers her question. "I started to pick up life readings and looked through the security camera to see who could've been coming here. So to speak, we've been watching your progress."

Fredrick speaks up. "But why were you so hostile towards us when you heard us?"

Brandon gives off a smile. "Well, Manson. It's been a while since your sendoff. The reason why, is that several weeks back, I encountered some young survivors wanting to take the train out of here. One of them died fighting. One got smoked by a Tank. Another keeled over getting knocked about by all six damn special infected. The last one…I executed…point blank with my own shotgun. Poor fella must've gotten bitten during the fight…or prior to it. He began to turn into a freaking tank…but he was resisting. He asked me to kill him, but before his execution, he gave me a portrait of his family…to tell his wife and kids he loved them if they ever got here. Several weeks later and there hasn't been any word on them, or any appearance. Before that, an entire team of survivors turned into full blown special infected. One became a Hunter, one a Smoker, one a Charger, and the last one…we were far too busy with the other three that the last one transformed into…something we've never seen before…a completely different infected."

Gilbert talks again. "What did it look like exactly?"

Brandon replies to Gilbert. "I'm not sure. We only caught a few glimpses of him as we hauled ass out of the metro station. But he was ugly…a big freaking brute that was once a man. Boy, did he reek something rotten as sin. He also had the abilities of all the other specials, from the Smoker's constrictive tongue to the Boomer's bile-throwing abilities, and he was just about as strong as any Tank, if not, a helluva lot stronger. Once, that mother managed to pick up an entire semi and threw it at us. It almost killed everybody, but thankfully, we all saw it too and just barely had enough time to duck before it clobbered us with the whole truck, trailer attachment and all."

"Damn. Strong infected." Gilbert replies.

"I can't help…but agree with that notion. It was roughly the size of a Tank, except a bit bigger. A couple of times he incapacitated me and Aki, but with Bob and Xavier's help and distractions, we managed to survive its onslaught…but the damage wasn't pretty. Now that thing is probably lurking around in the station somewhere, but you probably won't need to worry about him until the generator is kick-started." Brandon says.

"Wait, you mean these trains run off of freaking electricity?!" Hank outcries.

"Well, there wasn't any way to get power to the trains automatically after the infection hit, so I had to use a generator to charge up all of them, even the ones in the maintenance room you crossed earlier. Now that that thing is busto, and all the other trains have been junked, I have a back-up generator off to the side of this booth here connected to the only train left in this metro. Once that thing starts up, it'll make a racket. Not only will it power up the train, but it will light up the entire station. This whole place is essentially a disaster area just waiting to happen as soon as people flip it on. You'd better be ready before cranking that baby up, otherwise things will end in only death." says Brandon.

Gilbert nods. "All right, everyone! Let's prepare for the worst that is to come!" Everyone begins to set up and refill their ammo. They also set up a perimeter with fuel cans and propane tanks. A minigun has been mounted up and is pointing in virtually any direction possible. After an hour and a half, they are pretty much prepped for the biggest fight of their lives.

"Okay, we're ready." said Yuki.

"All right. I'll monitor the progress of the charge from here. Gil, start it up." Brandon says in confirmation.

Gilbert nods. "You got it." He walks over to the back-up generator and begins to start it up. As soon as the key is turned one last time, the generator sputters to life. The train begins to start up, and the entire station turns on. That's when they heard the scream…and now they knew they were in for it.

/!\ The train is charging up. Defend yourselves from the horde until it finishes powering up!

[Incoming Attack!]

Gilbert and the rest of the group are pumped and primed for action. "They're coming… YOU GUYS READY?!" he yells in excitement.

Hundreds of infected flood through the front entrance, and the fight for survival was on! The group fired as fast as they possibly could, delivering blow by blow from their melee weapons whenever some infected got too close for comfort. Gilbert fired several shots from his SPAS-12 shotgun, killing at least twenty-three infected in the crowd. Hank blasted his pistols into the crowd and dropped a good thirty-nine infected, then he switched to his auto-shotgun, killing as many as thirty with an entire clip. Yuki sniped as many as she could with her magazines she was filled to the brim with. Each time she emptied an entire two magazines, she had killed at least forty infected. Fredrick used up a lot of ammo in his M-16, but he managed to pick off a lot of infected, having killed at least fifty-seven infected near the end of the first wave.

Soon, Hank used his pipe bomb to get rid of the rest of the common infected. As the bomb was ticking away, a Boomer and Smoker arrived to make life difficult. The Smoker, being retarded, stood right next to Yuki as he attempted to constrict Hank, who disposed of it with a single blow from her crowbar. The Boomer was a bit smarter, running around the survivors and making himself as hard of a target to his as possible. They managed to kill him by leading their shots ahead of his running, proving that, once again, the survivor is smarter than the average infected.

"Okay, guys. The train is filled up to 25% energy! It'll take a few more minutes to get the full loadout we need!" says Brandon through the booth.

Within the short timespan of killing the special infected that attempted to catch the heroes off guard, all too familiar roaring began sounding throughout the station.

[A Tank is approaching!]

The ground shakes, and they hear the roaring coming from the southeastern point of the metro. Sure enough, the Tank is coming through the side entrance in an attempt to catch them off guard. He opens up by throwing another slab of concrete at the survivors, but this time, they're coordinated enough to take care of this thing. They begin firing at the Tank, continuously making it shout in pain as it ran towards them. The Tank manages to hit Fredrick with one good blow from his fist and sends him flying across the metro. He lands on the ground hard, but recovers just as quickly. The Tank follows up with another concrete slab, but this time, aims at Yuki, completely unaware, since she is concerned about Fredrick.

"Yuki, watch your ass, girl!" Hank yells in order to get her attention. She looks and sees the Tank winding up and throwing the slab her way. Thankfully, she gets out of the way in time, pulling Fredrick along with her as she dives to her left. He gets him up, and fires at the Tank as she gets back to her perch. Fredrick continues unloading a full magazine as the Tank chases Yuki. Gilbert finishes it off with a headshot, and the Tank falls to the floor with a thud. They've defeated another Tank, but they weren't done just yet. It wouldn't be their last one, either…

"All right. It's halfway there! A few more minutes holding off those infected should ensure victory!" says Brandon.

A second scream signals another horde approaching. Suddenly, all of the power goes out, and the survivors are stuck in darkness, as the horde enters the pitch-black station.

"Power's out! I'm gonna restart the generator! Cover me!" Hank yells.

Gilbert loudly replies. "Gotcha! PIPE BOMB IN THE HOLE!!" Gilbert throws his second pipe bomb he saved earlier. The infected chase it until it finally explodes, sending zombie guts everywhere. Gilbert grabs another one, just in case he needs to get the horde off of them again.

Hank is currently getting the generator working again. "COME ON ALREADY, YOU WORTHLESS PLIE OF…" Following that statement, he kicks it out of anger, finishing the process, and yelps in pain. The entire station flickers back on again, and the train continues charging up.

"All right! The power's on again, and now the train is continuing the charge! Good job, Hank!" yells Brandon.

"Yeah, thanks! Whatever…ow…" says Hank.

Soon after killing more infected, Brandon announces the near completion of the charge.

"Great job, guys! The charge is as 75%! Just hold out a little bit longer…you'll be out of here in no time!"

Another roar is heard, and other Tank arrives. This one drops through the ceiling, and punches Gilbert halfway across the station lobby as he lands. This one actually surprises the group, and makes them stumble backwards. They quickly regain composure and begin shooting the Tank. Gilbert gets back up, and does the same. This Tank, however, doesn't last nearly as long as the first one did, and soon, it falls quickly.

"We are almost done! The power is now 80% and rising!" Brandon yells through booth.

Gilbert whoops it up. "OH YEAH!!! We are kicking some ass now, people! We're gonna be free men soon, you hear me?!"

That was a fatal thing to think. Their trip wasn't over yet. At that moment, they hear insane sounding growling, the type of growling that'll give you the chills up your spine. The air started to really stink like rotten meat and…a thousand cadavers… Loud thudding footsteps…no…the thudding of fists hitting the pavement with a lot of force were heard from a distance.

Gilbert was worried sick. "Brandon…what was that…?"

Even Brandon looked shocked, as if he'd seen a ghost. Something was up.

Brandon answered. "It's here…"

Suddenly, something jumped on top of the huge Atlas-esque statue, and roared with vigor and fearsome power. It looks gut-wrenchingly disgusting. Lots of pulsating flesh and muscles are making up most of the monster's composite appearance. Spines are poking through many parts: out his back, out his shoulders, out his elbows…even his gigantic claws were spines. Its face was messed up beyond belief. Part of its face was missing, its lower jaw was gone, and it was a mangled twisted mess. Its eyes glow an ominous glow-in-the-dark yellow. It stands at least 15 feet tall and 9 heads wide. Its upper torso is extremely meaty and filled with pus, and really bulky, while his lower torso is much smaller, and its legs are partially meaty, but mostly bone shows through. It wears only blue denim jeans, and they are in tatters, but are otherwise still intact.

Yuki's eyes begin to tear up in panic, and her pupils grow smaller, as she stares at this new thing in fear and complete shock. "W-what…is…THAT?!"

Brandon screams. "That's what that one guy transformed into when we encountered him!!! Whatever you do, DON'T QUIT SHOOTING!!!"

They were surprised at what they saw. What they were looking at was once a man…now under the heaviest strain of infection seen thus far. This wasn't going to be easy to brave.

Now they were faced with…The UberTank.

[CAMPAIGN BOSS: The UberTank]

Defend the booth and kill the UberTank!

The UberTank opens by throwing a car from the outside at them, using telekinesis. They are quick to duck and roll, but the UberTank has just begun his fight.

He rushes at the group, charging at them in similar manner of a Charger. He manages to catch Yuki in his path and proceeds to smash her into the ground. However, the three quickly fore a lot of shots at it and he drops her shortly after a few bursts from all their guns.

The UberTank then fires a tongue in retaliation at Fredrick, who is successfully constricted, but the tongue is cut by Gilbert's machete with a quick throw. Gilbert goes to grab it, but as he runs after it, the UberTank pukes bile towards him and attracts a horde. The UberTank immediately jumps off into the rafters and crashes through the ceiling to the outside. The horde screams and descends upon Gilbert. Everyone else quickly defends Gilbert as he uses his machete to clean up any infected that got past their small phalanx formation. A sixty strong horde falls victim to the group once again, but that's when the UberTank comes crashing down the rafters again, this time hauling an entire train (all the other cars attached too!) over his head.

"Look OUT!!!" yells Gilbert, as the UberTank throws the train. It hits all but one survivor; Gilbert being the only one standing. The UberTank charges at him again…but this time, Gilbert is ready. He blasts the UberTank with a single round from his SPAS-12 and grabs Hank's lead pipe. He smashes it into its head and knocks it out cold long enough to get his teammates back up on their feet. After he brings Yuki back up, the UberTank gets back up, and immediately spits Spitter goo at them. They quickly jump out of the way in retaliation and continue the assault. The hulking husk of flesh leaps at the group Hunter style, and pins Hank, but all three shove it off of him and keep firing. Then it leaps onto Gilbert like a Jockey and steers him away from the group. With a three way melee attack effort by Yuki, Fredrick, and Hank, they knock him down, and he finally falls to the ground, presumably dead.

The lights go out again, and come back on just as quickly. The corpse of the beast is gone…but then a huge explosion is heard and the lights go out for real. All that's left is the fluorescent glow from the booth window and the moonlight shining through the doors and hole. The UberTank jumps out from the darkness and continues its assault on the survivors.

Brandon isn't happy that the back-up generator has been destroyed thanks to the UberTank, which is way smarter than it looks. "Damn it! He's smashed the generator flat! I've only got one final option, but it'll take a much longer time. I'm activating the manual charge override. It's the only way. The power is at 80% still, so it'll be another twenty before the train is filled to its fullest. Keep him busy while the manual charge finishes the job!"

/!\ The back-up generator has been destroyed. Keep the UberTank busy until the charge finishes!

The UberTank, after taking a bit more punishment, now rushes back into the darkness. The group looks around for any movement. They see the hulking mass rush towards them at a startlingly fast pace, but everyone save for Hank (who was slow to react) dives out of the way. Hank ends up being knocked off of his feet and knocked backwards. The UberTank raises his fists over his head to crush Hank…

"Well…I've lived my life as a criminal…but I'll die a hero…" Hank saying what could be his last words. Suddenly, a propane tank is thrown towards the monster, and a sniper bullet destroys it, making it explode, and knocking the UberTank forward and past Hank. Thanks to careful planning on the rest of the group's part, Hank's life has been saved, thanks to a propane tank and a young, but skilled, sniper.

"85 percent there, guys. Just a bit longer!" Brandon says from the booth.

The UberTank begins to throw various objects around the metro station in a rage. He begins combining his powers in desperation to kill the group, like Boomer Acid or constricting his victim and the charging at them, dealing damage. Despite its best efforts, he still gets beaten down by the survivors, and soon he's bruised and bleeding all over the place.

Brandon announces again as the lights flicker back on. "90 percent and counting! There's only a minute of charge time left, so you are now free to kill him!"

They pour on as much damage as they can as the UberTank throws as much strength as he can.

"95 percent! Only thirty seconds to go! Hang in there!" Brandon yells.

The UberTank picks up the destroyed back-up generator and throws it at the group, whose response is to jump out of the way as is careens towards them.

"15 seconds!"

The UberTank, now aware of the near-completion of the train's charging duties, jumps onto the train and begins punching it continuously in a last effort to prevent the group from ever leaving Laine City.

"Guys, it's trying to destroy the train! Kill it quickly before it trashes your only way out of here!!" Brandon yells at the group.

The group doesn't hesitate a second. They shoot the UberTank as much as they can.

"Five! Four! Three!! Two!! ONE!!!" Brandon counts down.

The UberTank finally roars in agony, and stumbles backward in disorientation…and expires, falling off the edge of the train, and landing head first.

"It's done! The train is completely charged! Let's get the hell out of here!" Brandon yells, grabbing his own weapons and running toward his safe room door. The whole safe room door explodes open, with Brandon and his friends flooding out the safe house and making break for the train.

Hank questions this. "What are they doing? Are they trying to leave without us?!"

Gilbert thinks otherwise. "They've helped us charge the train the rest of the way, so who cares! Get on!"

/!\ The train has charged up all the way! Board the train immediately!

The horde immediately comes in and begins to attack as they board the train. A Smoker drags Yuki out of the train, but Gilbert grabs her sniper rifle and headshots the Smoker from a distance. He carries her into the train afterwards.

"Everyone's here, Brandon! Let's move it on out of here!!!" yells Xavier.

The train starts up, and starts to move down the track, slowly at first, but it begins to quickly pick up speed as it runs over more Common Infected coming in through the tunnel, and soon, it is running at full speed. They've made it out of Laine City…but this may be the beginning of their troubles.

"Train has been switched to autopilot." says a synthesized voice over the intercom.

Brandon walks toward the last car, and greets the new survivors, with Akiyoko following him.

[Extra Chapter: Train Defense Finale]

"It's good to finally meet survivors who are immune. But it's been hell. We've been waiting for twenty years to get out of there. Each group of survivors we've seen…mutilated, smashed, constricted, pounced, pummeled…there are many other words I can use to describe the tortures I've seen befall the unfortunate survivors that have tried to get out alive, but failed. Now they have escaped…to a better place." Brandon remorsefully said.

Akiyoko steps forward and speaks. "It has not been a soothing swan song. I miss the good old days, when I used to be able to go outside and smell my flowers at our mansion, and do things with our children, like take them out to concerts and everything…but then the infection came and claimed many lives. Ever since, I haven't enjoyed my time here on Video Game World…but I believe things will get better soon" she says.

Gilbert replies. "I know what you mean. I had great buddies at my college once. Best friend you could ever ask for. They were always there for me when I got myself into a fix. They always were people who loved to have fun…all the time. We'd do many great things. Not only did we behave in school, but we had fun outside of that. We played multiplayer games, we competed in many events…hell, and we went to anime conventions. Tokyothon is the best convention I ever went to. My girlfriend…before she got done in by…I think it was a Hunter…she got me into the wild world of anime and manga. Sometimes, I enjoy the manga version of a show more than the anime version, and sometimes it's the reverse. Like this one book about a ten-year old teacher. Man, now THAT'S a great one."

Brandon replies soon after him. "I know. There's a battle against a magic vampire that I wanted to fight, just for the hell of it there, but thanks to the inevitable infection, that's been put on hold."

Their conversation is cut short, though, as an enormous roar is heard echoing somewhere behind them. The train has left the tunnel sometime ago, and they have now entered an empty field, with the moonlight conveying a creepy look on an otherwise peaceful scene, though how you can call a moonlit field with Common Infected teeming about a peaceful scene is just asking for a double take (and a possible armor piercing slap).

"What in Mary Francis was that?" says Gilbert.

They go out onto the platform in the back of the caboose and scan the area. They soon see a dark mass running toward them, using his hands as support. He looks like a pulsating, formless mish-mash of flesh…it's…

"THE UBERTANK!!!" yells Brandon.

Yes, the UberTank had returned for one more go-round with the survivors, and this time, it wasn't going to mess around. Now it was twice the size it was before, now the height of a two-story house and the width of a high-rise building (plus its arms). Now it was barreling down the tracks towards the train in an unstoppable rage. Common Infected have joined in the chase, hoping to get a piece of the action but the UberTank sweeps all of them aside, making it pretty clear that this fight is a grudge match. Its eyes glowed red with fury, further driving the nail down that this vendetta isn't completely over with. It didn't care whether these infected were killed by the survivors or he himself; all he wanted to do now was to prevent the survivors from escaping.

Brandon's face goes from shock to displeasure. "Tch… Right, that's it then. If this thing wants to continue the war, then so be it. I have an idea though. This train is equipped with thrusters. If I can get the thrusters warmed up…all of them…then we can roast this guy until he can't stand anymore. You'll have to give me time by stalling that thing again. I know it's much to ask, but if you want to live, you are going to have to stay with me. Hold him off, and I'll get those thrusters running!!"

"Got it!" Yuki says, and they begin to get to work on the big guy once more.

The UberTank throws boulders and absolutely everything but the kitchen sink at them in one last effort to kill them, but they end is dismay, now that the shields are up, and the survivors are nigh impossible to hit, let alone kill. Still, he doesn't give up, as he keeps trying to throw as much as he can find, and attempts to punch the train.

"The thrusters are a quarter started up! Keep him off of us for a few more minutes!" Brandon yells over the intercom.

The shields go down after withstanding enough abuse. In response to this, he picks up a massive boulder and throws it at the caboose car.

Hank yells "MOVE!" as the entire boulder sails through the night sky. The group quickly hauls ass out of there as the boulder strikes the caboose car, crushing it with unbelievable force. The entire train now pulls into a small tunnel. They think its over, but the wall to their right comes crashing down, and the UberTank emerges, having put his feet into two other vehicular tanks. Now he not only has extreme strength, but faster speed, now being able to close the distance between him and the train.

With the UberTank's new ability in closing distance, he begins smashing cars on the incredibly long train. The group's reaction is to run away as the cars crumple at the mercy of this beast's gargantuan strength.

"That thing's gonna smash this entire train into the ground! The thrusters are still firing up, but at least they're halfway there. DO NOT let him get to the conductor's car! If you do, it'll be game over!" Brandon blares over the intercom.

The UberTank doesn't hesitate to keep throwing objects at the train, even throwing infected at the group. But the group is persistent in shooting down the makeshift projectiles as they fly towards them. The tunnel is beginning to get smaller and more cramped as they go, but they still continue shooting, hoping to kill him while he is in the tunnel. Eventually, the UberTank just can't follow any farther into the tunnel, as it becomes as small as it can possibly get without the train scraping against the walls. It backs off for a minute to recuperate while the train rushes out of the tunnel.

The UberTank then quickly jumps out into the night and lands near the train, continuing the pursuit.

"The thrusters are now three-fourths fired up for zombie roasting! Give me a few minutes longer and I can end this!" Brandon once again announces over the intercom.

The UberTank won't let this fly. He once again tears up train cars and advances as the group turns tail and retreats farther up the train. By the time they make it to their next stopping point, he has destroyed thirty-six train cars in his rage, and the group is almost halfway to the conductor's car.

"Guys, I'm reading thirty-six car destructions total. By any means necessary, prevent him from getting any farther, like I said earlier! He'll smoke us if he gets that far!" Brandon says. Akiyoko seems to have completely vanished from the group since the first train car's destruction.

With cars running out, they make do with pumping as much lead as they can into the beast. The UberTank raises his fists, one at a time, to bring them down on top of the survivors, but is thwarted by being shot in his fists before he can do anything. He continues his routine of throw and punch, and smashing some cars, and soon they end up stopping him, but he gets back up and won't stop. Soon, Brandon finally makes the announcement that will determine the fate of the survivors…

"The thrusters have been fired up! It won't be effective enough if were moving, though, so we are going to have to make a full stop in order for the flames to be effective…but I AM detecting weak points inside his body. If you can somehow get those weak spots exposed, his armor will begin to disintegrate, and then we can flash him some good old fashioned fire! I'm stopping the train right now!" Sure enough, the train comes to a stop, slowing down at first, but then making a stop completely. The UberTank finally catches back up with them, and begins the last round of the battle. He delays his punches and other attacks, and due to this, consequently, they have enough time to shoot them before he has a chance to hit them. They continue firing until they hear Akiyoko's voice calling out to them.

"Get him to open his mouth! I've got something that'll choke him up really good!" Akiyoko yells to the survivors.

They throw everything at him, but nothing happens. However, Hank happens to have a spare Molotov on him and throws it at him. The UberTank roars furiously at Hank, opening his mouth extremely wide.

A huge round of grenade launcher ammo is shot into the monster's mouth, and it begins to choke on the round before he inevitably swallows it. It detonates in his stomach, destroying parts of his armor and inflating several patches of pus-filled sacks. The weak points have been revealed, and now they would try and stop him here.

"Now! Hit him with everything you've got!!!" Akiyoko yells from above them. She has given them an advantage over the UberTank, and now all they have to do is to delay him to get the thrusters ignited.

"You heard her! Give it all your ammo!" Gilbert yells, and the entire team lets loose on the weak spots, switching to other areas to stop any oncoming attacks.

Each spot grows and begins to turn red until finally they explode into a mess of mangled, deflated flesh. Eventually, after enough shots, the whole monster finally falls…but is it over?

"Good job, guys! I'm starting ignition!!! The brakes are on so the train doesn't move until that thing is nothing but smoldering ashes!" Brandon yells over the intercom.

"Ignition in T-minus 10 seconds." says a synthesized female voice over the intercom.

"Nine…"

"Eight…"

The UberTank is still.

"Seven…"

"Six…"

"Five…"

The UberTank twitches a bit.

"Four…"

"Three…"

The UberTank begins to stand back up…

"Two…"

"One…"

"Ignition!"

But it's too late for this monster. The thrusters ignite and the whole monster begins to light up. It screams like all hell as it melts, eventually the roaring in agony turning into gargling, as the monster's body parts fall off and explode. Eventually, nothing is left of the once mighty UberTank.

"He's dead! I'm releasing the brakes and sending us on our way!!!" Brandon yells from the front of the train. The brakes are released and the train quickly speeds up. With that, they are on their way to their freedom from this infernal infection.

Little to their knowing this is only the beginning of the madness they will endure.

THE SURIVORS HAVE ESCAPED!

[Certain things may not be entirely accurate.]

Total Infected Kills

Gilbert – 500

Hank – 650

Yuki – 462

Fredrick – 700

Special Infected Kills

Boomers – 2

Smokers – 3

Chargers – 3

Hunters – 4

Jockeys – 2

Spitters – 2

Disturbed the Witch the Most

Fredrick – CROWNED the Witch

Incapacitations

Yuki – 1

Gilbert- 1

Fredrick - 2

Hank – 2

No Deaths!

Many zombies were harmed in the making of this fan fiction.

Well, it took a while to finish this last chapter, but that officially closes Dead in Their Tracks. It's time for Campaign 1.5 (Death or Derailment) up next. Stay tuned.