That evening….

Times Square

6th Ave. and W47th

"That's one helluva wall." I say with a low whistle.

The further uptown you go, the closer The Wall gets to 6th Ave, overlapping it completely at W49th. Across the street lies The Dark Zone. Even in the dead of night, sporadic firefights open up. Luckily, we aren't involved tonight.

Over the last several hours, Jay and I have been working our way further north, into Rikers territory, securing Mercy supply drops for the base. So far, most of the streets have been empty, save for scavengers and wrecked cars.

"How many more drops?" Jay asks, some sluggishness in her voice.

I open the hologram minimap on my Watch.

"Three." I reply tiredly. "And they're pretty spread out. This is gonna be a long night."

"Not to mention the walk home." Jay groans.

"Not necessarily." I point out. "There is that safe house we checked into earlier."

My companion nods, relieved.

"Once we finish this, we'll head there and crash. Fuck base. My feet are killing me."

"At least you can feel yours." Jay mutters with a shiver. "I went numb six blocks ago."

I can't help but laugh at my friend's discomfort. I steal a glance at her. Despite the circumstances, the last few weeks have been a blast. Getting to work alongside my best friend again. My Sister in Arms.

"Just like old times."

Up ahead, a couple of Rioters are poking through a suitcase they found, their area and the street well lit. A third looks through the pockets of the body next to it. We would've kept walking, but…

"Hey!" One shouts. "That's some nice gear you've got, sweet cheeks!" I turn to see that he's talking to me. The Rioter in question looks like a regular guy. Baggy hoodie, flat brim snapback with a New York Yankees logo. I simply arch my eyebrow at him and would've ignored him, until his buddies joined in. One of them whistles at us cat-call style.

"Hey there, beautiful!" Jeers another. "Nice gun! How's about I show you mine?"

"One of your boyfriends over there teach you that one?" I call back with a grin, to some "ooohs" directed at the Rioter.

"She gotchu, bro."

"Damn, honey!" He says with mock hurt. "Why you gotta be like that?"

I glance at Jay with a "is this really happening?" look. She seems to share my disbelief.

"If more cops looked like you, I've would've joined with the JTF!"

"In your dreams, buddy boy!" Jay calls back.

"You two will definitely be in my dreams tonight!" The Rioter says, undeterred as we continue walking.

"Hate to see you go, love to watch you leave!"

"I would treat that body right all night long!"

"If you even knew what to do! Ha ha!"

"Fuck you, homes!"

At that, Jay and I let out our barely contained laughter. I turn around and give a "more than friendly" wave to the Rioters behind us. One of them clutches his heart as if he'd fallen in love, before being pulled along by his friends.

"Why can't all Rioters be goofy idiots like them?" Jay asks with a laugh.

Rejuvenated by the….interesting encounter, we continue north. The remaining supply drop areas are uneventful and we are about to return to the safehouse.

"Yo." Says Jay quietly. "Check it out." She points to a bulldozer that has smashed through a tall concrete wall a block before Columbus Circle. Upon further inspection, we find a dead Riker at the wheel of the dozer, it's cab riddled with bullet holes. Further behind the wall is the aftermath of a massive riot.

"I wouldn't go in there if I were you." the small voice makes the both of us jump. Turning around, I see it came from a young woman who approaches us with a noticeable limp. "That right there...is the JTFs worst defeat."

I look to Jay.

"Holy shit…" I say. "You know what this is?"

"Columbus Circle Massacre." She replies quietly.

"What remains of it, anyway." the woman says. "Tread lightly. People who go in there...come out different."

She leaves before we can ask any questions. I take the lead, stepping over the rubble left by the bulldozer. On the other side of the wall, it's like a different world. Eerily silent, like the Dark Zone with less people and no rampant virus.

Graffiti left by the Rikers coats the opposite side of the wall.

'Fuck Justice. We Want REVENGE'

'Repaying 12 years...one JTF at a time'

Continuing along, we find several JTF bodies around a set of barriers. One is leaning against a car with a traffic pylon on his head, some kind of twisted joke. Another is covered with long dried and frozen blood, with a fire axe sticking out of her chest. The police car behind them has been smashed and shot at, with the insides of the windows coated with blood.

'Dead Piggy Inside. Come Find Him!' is scrawled on the hood.

It appears to take Jay all of her will to not throw up.

This event, which was fairly recent, is one of the darkest in the JTF's short and bloody history. A massive riot led mostly by Rikers against a JTF checkpoint and supply distribution center. The Joint Task Force was mercilessly slaughtered, several of their vehicles were destroyed, and the area was subsequently abandoned by all parties involved. Even the few civilians still living there left.

*ACTIVE ECHO BEACON NEARBY* ISAC announces. Jay taps on her watch and the ECHO begins.

Several dozen orange outlines appear all around in a freeze-frame format. I approach the fire axe officer and see her attacker with the axe over his head. The officer holds out a hand in desperation. Some slightly garbled audio accompanies the scene.

"Hush little piggy, don't say a word…" The Riker, identified as Jacob "Zeke" Wiks sings maniacally. He was at Rikers Island for assaulting a police officer and several domestic violence charges.

"Step back!" the officer, Anjelah Williams of the NYPD orders. She is a veteran officer, on the force for nearly 8 years. Husband, teenage daughter and teenage son, statuses all 'Unknown'. "Put the axe down!"

"...papas gonna lay you on a cutting board."

An impact can be heard, likely Zeke taking a swing at her.

"Ahhh! No! Put it down! No!"

"And if you try to run and hide…"

Another impact, this time the axe blade burying itself in Anjela's chest. Her screaming and gargled coughing is interrupted by Zeke pulling the axe out and kicking her to the ground. He raises the axe again.

"It won't matter, 'cause you're gonna die!"

We turn off the ECHO and round the corner, and things only get worse.

"Oh….god…." I whisper.

Several JTF officers are hanging, some by their feet, others by their necks, from ropes thrown over traffic lights, street lamps, and a mobile crane at the end of the street.

'Badge=Prey' is written on the side of a truck, with a row of JTF officers sitting beneath, all with their throats cut.

"We aren't in New York anymore." I say, looking to Jay, only to see that she's no longer there. I turn around and see that she has taken to collecting badges and dog tags from the officers' bodies, starting at the axe officer. Seeing her intention, I join, looking up to see an officer hanging by her feet from the street lamp nearby. I find a car and it's key and put it in gear, pushing it closer. Climbing on top of the SUV and it's cargo, I reach out to cut the rope, but then notice something.

The officer sways slightly in the breeze, her national guard uniform lined with frost, face bloodied and bruised. When the cold air hits her, I see a small shiver, ever so slight.

"How the…?" I remove my glove and slowly place my finger on her neck.

The tell tale, albeit weak *thump* of a pulse nearly makes me fall off the car.

"Jay!" I call. "Over here!"

At the sound of my voice, the officer's eyes flutter open. Her breathing picks up and she looks as if she's going to call out for help, but she passes out again.

"What?" My partner asks, moving closer.

"You are not going to believe this but...this one is still alive."

Jay quickly scales the car up to my side. She looks over the unconscious officer in front of us.

"Upside down." She concludes. "Kept the blood in her head, on the verge of death but never quite reaching it. Last few days have been warmer than usual, too."

"Help me get her down."

With Jay holding the officer, I reach up and cut the rope. We carry her down to the ground and into the car.

"Jeez! She's heavier than she looks!" Jay grunts. I start it and turn the heat all the way up. After a few tense minutes, the officer comes to again. Panic and confusion start to take hold as she looks around.

"It's okay, Sergeant." I say, eyeing her rate insignia. "You're okay."

Seeing two friendly faces seems to calm the officer down a bit. She focuses on me, trying to speak but struggling from the shivering.

"Don't try to speak. Just know that you're safe." I remove my jacket and drape it over the young officer. We wait a few minutes while the inside of the car heats up. Up close with better lighting, I notice that one of her eyes is dark red, nearly drowning out the light brown. I remove her helmet and pull her green watch cap down tighter. The officer's shivering slowly dissipates and she tries talking again.

"Who a-a-re you?" her voice cracks.

"The Division." I say, handing her a bottle of water. She props herself up on one elbow and takes the bottle, taking a long sip.

"How long were you up there?" I ask.

The officer pauses in thought. "The r-r-riot was...on a thursday night…" She says slowly.

"It's sunday morning." Jay says from her spot in the hatch area. "One A.M."

"You were hanging upside down, by your ankles." I explain. "The blood staying in your head kept you alive."

"Is...is anyb-b-body else…?" she asks.

"We didn't...see any other survivors." I reply. The officer lays back down at this, staring at the car ceiling.

"How did I...of all people, last for three days in the cold...hanging from a fucking lamp post?" She asks no-one in particular. "Outside of the National Guard?...I'm a LIBRARIAN!"

"What's your name?" I ask, distracting her from this train of thought.

"...Kelly…" She says. "Kelly Lambert...why?

"I'm Sarah." I reply. "This is my partner Jay. Kelly you must be one tough girl to have survived all that." I gesture outside. "But unfortunately, we don't have time for celebration right now. We have to get you somewhere safe. There's a JTF safehouse not too far from here. Think you can make it?"

Kelly nods after a moment, handing my bottle back.

Performing what little first aid we can, we find that Kelly's feet are slightly frostbitten. From lack of proper circulation, she finds using her legs quite difficult and even painful. Quickly leaving the area, Jay scoops her up in a fireman's carry. I kill the car's engine and take the lead, SAW low but ready. I keep my head on a swivel, moving as fast as Jay can follow.

"You good up there?" She huffs to her passenger.

"As good as I can be." Kelly replies. "But hurry. I think someone is following us."

I turn and try to see through the darkness and quickly developing snowstorm. Unable to make out anything, I activate our proximity scan as we head through the wall. It picks up several Rikers behind us, following at a distance.

Like they're tracking us.

"Autumn's Hope, Xray 1-0." I say into the comm. "Approaching from the north, approximately one klick out with one injured officer. Break. Seems we've picked up a tail, possibly Rikers. Be ready for us, how copy?"

"Good copy, Xray." The JTF contact Winston replies. "What's the status of the injured party?"

"Exposure. Frostbite and some blunt force injuries."

"10-4. Standing by."

I let Jay take the lead, backpedaling close behind. A small group of Taliban troops pushes through the driving sand and I open up on them. They dive behind parked cars on the street of the desert town. I glance back and see Jay jogging towards the safehouse with Kelly still over her shoulders. A team of Marines files past her and opens up on the attackers and I leave them to it, following Jay. Upon reaching the safehouse, I close my eyes and shake the sand off, opening them to see it replaced with snow and the Marines with JTF officers. Jay lays Kelly down on a couch near the fireplace. The officers behind us quickly seal the door and a CERA doctor rushes over. After explaining the situation, he shoos Jay away and gets to work. I pull off my jacket and drape it over the arm of a lounge chair, slumping down into it. I glance up at Kelly, who mouths "Thank you." to us.

"Wait…" Says one of the officers. "Lambert?"

I look over to see another National Guardsman push his way over.

"Hey White." She replies. White fist bumps her and slaps her helmet.

"She lives!" He says happily. "I knew those Riker scumbags were no match for you!"

"Fought them off for three days...with her eyes closed…" I say. "Upside down!"

Kelly smiles sheepishly. "Then these Division agents swooped in and saved the day." she says, gesturing to us. Jay shrugs.

"All in a day's work."

For those who play The Division, I implore you to visit Columbus Circle (The northmost tip of Times Square). It will help showcase how much the Rikers hate authority figures, though, do so at your own risk. I don't think Sarah's quote of, "We aren't in New York anymore." quite does it justice.

Of course, I had to push reality a bit for Kelly's sake. But she'll end up being a pivotal character later on.

Also, I have my own computer now, so expect uploads to be a little more regular. "Schedule? What's that?"

Thanks everybody for the feedback on the previous chapters. I think my plan for POV changes in the future is to use bold letters for the first few words of a new character's perspective, though feel free to share other ideas. I can't seem to get big spaces between the paragraphs or the little stars to work, likely out of plain incompetence on my part.