An unknown sound seemed to come from below, causing a rumbling which spread through the building.
''Stand your ground!'' Solem said to his fellow soldiers.
The zombies staggered towards them, falling over barstools as they did not pay attention to anything but their targets and future victims.
''What the frell is going on?!'' Aeryn said.
''Stand your ground!'' Solem repeated.
Their green eyes lit up brightly, even when bathing in bright light as they were now.
''Kayra, what are you doing?'' Mairic said, looking at his fellow soldier standing amongst the zombies.
As one of them.
''Kayra!'' Mairic cried, reaching out towards her.
''Don't touch her!'' Solem said, pulling him away.
Yellow tentacles emerged from her mouth, reaching for Mairic in a deadly attempt to infect him.
Green slime was smudged all over Kayra's broken helmet.
''I'm giving you one last chance!'' Solem said.
Aeryn looked at how the zombies succesfully managed to surround them completely, blocking out almost every possible way of escape.
''Stop now and we will not shoot! I repeat, we will not shoot and you will live!''
The soldiers did as Solem ordered. They stood their ground.
But slowly they were forced back. One step at a time.
With their fingers at their triggers.
And fear gripping their hearts.
''This is your final warning!'' Solem cried, but the zombies would not listen to his words.
They kept on coming, and they kept on forcing them back.
Until their backs were against the walls.
The Doctor stood in the centre of the circle of soldiers, standing frozen like a statue, gazing upon the zombies with a fearful rage in his heart.
''All right!'' Solem said. ''Everyone! FIRE!''
The soldiers opened fire at the zombies.
But the shots backfired!
Something invisible blocked the path of the pulse-fire and reflected it back upon the Peacekeeper Squad, hitting two of the Peacekeepers in the process.
But they kept on firing, not knowing what else to do.
Not realizing that struggling would only quicken their defeat.
''What do we do?'' Mairic cried.
But Solem was left speechless, staring at Kayra, standing amongst the zombies with yellow tentacles and green eyes.
Something he never dreamed of happening. Not even in his nightmares.
The zombies grabbed two more soldiers and embraced them with their slimy tentacles, adding two more to their unbeatable army.
''What do we do, Solem!'' Mairic cried. ''Solem! Give us an order! What do we do?!''
Solem said nothing.
''We run.'' the Doctor suddenly said.
They turned around to see the Doctor standing in a doorway, which lead to a staircase.
''What are you waiting for!'' the Doctor cried. ''Go!''
Aeryn grabbed a soldier's shoulder and pushed him towards the Doctor, who helped the Peacekeeper climb the staircase.
Aeryn followed, fighting her way out of the bar and on to the staircase, where the Doctor stretched out his warm hands to help her.
''Mairic! Go! Go!'' Solem cried, fighting off the zombies all by himself now as the remaining soldiers were all surrounded and defeated.
Solem pushed Mairic into the Doctor's arms, before Mairic climbed the stairs to the second floor.
Aeryn watched from behind the Doctor.
Mairic tried to convince her to run upstairs, but she wouldn't budge.
''Get out of there, Doctor!'' Aeryn cried.
''No!'' Mairic said. ''Save Solem! Get him out of there!''
''If he stays any longer the zombies will get him too!'' Aeryn said.
''If he won't than I will!'' Mairic said.
''No!'' the Doctor cried. ''Stay there!''
The green eyes surrounded the Doctor, still stretching out his hand to Solem, who was fighting off the zombies with the back of his rifle.
''Solem!'' the Doctor cried. ''Take my hand!''
''No Doctor!'' Solem said. ''Leave without me! Go! Save yourself!''
''This isn't the time for heroics, Solem! Don't be foolish and take my hand!''
''Just go!''
''Solem!''
It was the possessed Kayra who grabbed the Doctor's left hand all of a sudden, taking him by surprise.
Aeryn grabbed the Doctor's right hand to keep him from being grabbed by the zombies.
''Solem!'' the Doctor still yelled as he managed to break free of the zombie's grip.
''There's nothing we can do Doctor!'' Aeryn said. ''Now come on!''
They climbed the staircase, which lead to the last remaining soldier, standing beside a red, wooden and scratched, old door.
It was locked, but Aeryn swiftly kicked it open to reveal a large storage-room full of long and tall cabinets and boxes, all stacked and filled with bottles of booze and wine, all covered with dust and spider-webs.
Aeryn lead the way inside the storage-room, but just as they thought they were safe they heard sounds coming from the hallway they had just left.
The zombies were following them up the stairs.
''Close the door! Close the door!'' the Doctor yelled.
''I can't!'' Mairic said, looking down on the broken lock.
The Doctor forced him aside, put on his glasses yet again and revealed a strange tool which he took out of the inner pocket of his suit.
The tool lit up brightly blue as it hummed a strange sound and fixed the lock and door within mere seconds.
''That should do the trick!'' the Doctor said, locking the door.
''That won't stop them from coming in!'' Aeryn yelled.
''Oh, it will!'' the Doctor said. ''Trust me.''
They all breathed heavily and awaited in anxiety as the zombies climbed the staircase and approached the door.
They could hear their voices behind the door.
The zombies tried to open it, pushed, clawed, scratched and tried everything their empty minds could possible imagine, but none of them was able to break the Doctor's lock.
Proudly, the Doctor put his tool back into its place.
He looked around the storage-room and loosened his tie.
''Now that was quite an adventure back there.'' he said.
Mairic did not appreciate his comment.
None of them heard the mysterious laughter coming from the basement, gaining in strength as the creature's power grew...
''This place seems secure.'' Aeryn said, coming back from her round as she checked the storage-room for exits, weak points or any strategical advantages.
But would anything work against those green eyed things when guns won't be able to defeat them?
''Psychic barriers.'' the Doctor said. ''That's why you can't hit them with your weaponry. Psychic shielding which deflects physical attacks...''
''Impossible.'' Mairic said.
''Not impossible...'' the Doctor said. ''Just unheard of, that's all.''
He had taken off his coat and placed it on a shelf in one of the cabinets.
He had clearly wiped away the dust and spider-webs off the shelf before doing so, of course.
His blue, striped suit was almost contrasting this dark, dusty storage-room, where the only thing which penetrated the darkness was the cold moonlight which entered through the small windows.
''Psychic barriers...'' the Doctor muttered to himself. ''How the hell can they do that? Something must've generated that field. To protect them from any harm and guide them to victory.''
''You're saying that something else is controlling this...from the outside?'' Mairic asked.
''That's exactly what I'm saying.'' the Doctor said, pacing about the place again.
He seemed to like doing that.
His bolging eyes looked slightly bigger with his glasses on.
''Something. Somewhere.'' the Doctor went on. ''These zombies aren't smart enough to generate a psychic shield around them. Look at them! They barely were able to stand! Let alone walk! Let alone generate a nearly impossible shield which could deflect pulse-weapons! And by the way, how ironic is it that you people, you soldiers, carry something like an arsenal around with you...all day...everywhere...and right when you needed them...they're useless...''
The Doctor smiled all of a sudden, looking so bright and arrogant as he looked at Mairic, Aeryn and the soldier sitting in the corner.
Aeryn said nothing.
''You weren't much help either, Doctor.'' Mairic said.
''I got you out of there remember?'' the Doctor said.
''What's your name?'' Aeryn asked the soldier, sitting quietly in the corner.
He had still left on his helmet and gear, unlike Mairic who had stripped himself off his heavy armour to walk around more comfortably.
''What?'' the boy said, looking up at Aeryn.
''Your name...'' Aeryn repeated, removing the helmet off of the soldier's head.
''Baelen.'' the soldier said.
''How old are you, Baelen?'' Aeryn asked the runaway teenager.
''Old enough.'' he replied swiftly and almost angrily.
''That's what I thought.''
''I need to know what I'm fighting here...'' the Doctor said, carrying on the discussion, appearing not to hear the soft conversation between Aeryn and the boy.
But Aeryn saw his kind gaze lingering on her for just a moment when she looked at him through the corners of her eyes.
She only blinked and did not return his gaze.
''Zombies...and psychic barriers...'' the Doctor began summarizing.
''Don't be frightened.'' Aeryn said.
''I'm not frightened.'' the boy said.
''And green eyes...'' Mairic added.
''Green eyes...'' the Doctor repeated. ''Green eyes...''
''And tentacles!'' Mairic said.
''Tentacles!'' the Doctor said, his mind was racing to find the answer.
But the puzzle was incomplete, lacking the pieces which the Doctor needed to find the solution.
The solution to get out of this mess.
''Are we going to get out of here?'' Baelen asked Aeryn.
''Yes.'' she answered.
''Alive?'' Baelen asked.
For a moment Aeryn hesitated.
BANG!
Someone was banging at the door.
The Doctor's locked door.
''Let me in!'' a voice cried. ''Let me in!''
''Solem?'' Mairic said.
The Doctor's eyes narrowed slightly, but his face remained emotionless, hiding dark thoughts and anger as he gazed upon the door in terror.
