The Midnight Riders
Chapter Six – One Year Ago
Something happened one year ago. Away from the infected wasteland that was the United States of America and nestled comfortably back in civilization, something happened that would change the world once again. The witnesses to this event were numerous and the heated discussions and debates that would happen in its wake were infinite. In the months that would follow; children would read about it in school while their parents would be told about it in the newspapers. Politicians would use the issue as a way to get themselves noticed while talk show hosts would devote entire episodes to it. When the director of CEDA released the same virus that devastated America throughout the city of London one year ago he set into motion events that he could never have anticipated. When he kidnapped Louis one year ago he never imagined that it would cause the bond he shared with Bill, Francis and Zoey to strengthen in ways that were truly admirable. As his disease took the life of Admiral Richard Jaeger one year ago he could not comprehend that his death would drive people who did not know each other to team up to battle the nightmare that he had created. While the Director had crafted his plan with immaculate precision and did not overlook one single detail he failed to see the gravity of his actions. His lack of foresight was fortunate to those who vowed to rebuild after he was gone. Despite his absence, the Director's actions made an impact on many people's lives one year ago. One of these people was Miguel Doyle.
As lieutenant commander Miguel Doyle sat in the Tactics Room of the HMS Jaeger he watched the two small icons that represented Madison and Malcolm slowly move across the map that was broadcast on the touch screen table display. He was gazing at the display with his resting in his hand while his free hand tapped the side of the monitor. He stared longingly at Madison's icon and sat forward to lean over and tap it. As he did so a window open up displaying a substantial amount of information regarding Madison's various statistics, mission reports and slightly more invasively; her personal life. Miguel flicked through the information until he found exactly what he was looking for. He tapped a section of the window entitled "The Waterloo Station Incident", expanding it to reveal the details of Madison's involvement of the quarantine situation in the City of London. Miguel did not have to read this to know about her involvement for two reasons. Firstly he had read it numerous times before but the second and arguably more important reason was because he had been there. Miguel Doyle had first encountered Madison Robinson on the other side of the quarantine fence on the outskirts of London. From the moment he had first laid eyes on her he had felt something very strong surge of affection in his heart.
One year ago Miguel Doyle was under the employ of the newly formed Bioterrorism Counter Force. He lived in a small village several miles away from London and travelled in by train every day to work. While it was mostly paperwork Miguel was a part of a select group of people who were authorised to carry firearms whenever he went out into the field to investigate something. He worked closely with the woman who had recruited him, Anna Shepherd, who was also the second in command of the BCF. Miguel thought it was her who was calling him at one hour past midnight since she was the one who was in charge of the office. He was surprised when he answered his telephone to hear the deep masculine voice of the director of the BCF talking to him. His tone was firm and professional as he spoke to Miguel while remaining completely unapologetic for waking him up at such an hour. Miguel had met his boss' boss once when he first joined the BCF. He was a tall, intense man who was very passionate about his work. In the single encounter Miguel had with him he got the strong impression that he was a man who was haunted by some dark demons and that the BCF was his way of getting rid of them. Miguel listened to him speak on the phone and took note of his orders while nodding frequently despite the fact that he could not be seen, something which was probably beneficial as Miguel was stood wearing nothing but his underwear. The conversation ended as his boss asked him if he understood his orders. Miguel did understand; get equipped and meet him outside the quarantine fence as soon as possible to be briefed for a mission. Miguel hung up the phone after he told his boss that he would arrive shortly and proceeded to get ready. Miguel hopped into his rarely used car as soon as he donned his slim fitting combat fatigues and armed himself with his FAMAS assault rifle and two USP pistols along with bountiful quantities of ammunition and gadgets. He arrived at the quarantine fence in just under half an hour. Miguel stepped out of his quiet car into a world of havoc and mayhem. The armed forces were keeping people at bay, preventing them from approaching the large metallic quarantine fence. Having parked near a congregation of news vans, Miguel made his way down what would have been a crowded motorway toward the quarantine fence, flashing his identification badge as his progress was impeded by several individuals who refused to let him pass. He finally reached his destination and saw his boss, a tall man with blonde hair who was stood by an idle helicopter holding a stack of folders. Miguel approached the man with a pace that was similar to marching. His attempts at appearing confident and professional were clearly ineffective. Miguel stopped in front of his boss and saluted him.
'Lieutenant Miguel Doyle reporting for duty, sir!' he said with his hand held up to his head. His boss looked at him and sighed, rolling his eyes. He spoke with a grating tone of voice.
'Damn it, Miguel, I know who you are!' cried Edward Deacon. 'And put your arm down!'
In the world before Edward Deacon was Secretary of Homeland Security Norah Hanham's most trusted colleague and friend. In the three months since he had escaped from America, Edward had become a powerful political figure after establishing the BCF. His face was worn after coming under a great deal of stress for the past three months. Edward worked very hard but he never believed that he worked hard enough. As he looked at the sight before him he believed this even more. London was a nightmare. Even from this distance the flickering light from the roaring fires that were dotted all over the city could be seen dancing up the sides of buildings. Thick smog had raised high above the city, the lower parts of it glowing a faint orange. Searchlights from swarms of military and civilian helicopters cut through the air, lighting up the lower ground.
'This whole thing's a mess...' Edward growled as he surveyed the scene before him.
'Just give the order,' Miguel spoke enthusiastically. Edward turned around to face him.
'I don't like you, Doyle.' Miguel was taken aback by his candidness. 'You always act like you've got something to prove.'
'Well to be honest, sir, I think that I have,' Miguel replied. 'Ever since you hired me the only jobs I've been assigned to are the meaningless ones; paperwork and the like. I feel like you don't trust me abilities.'
'You're right, Doyle, I don't,' Edward spoke with equal straightforwardness. 'However I'm stuck in a rut right now so you and Robinson are my only hope.'
'Robinson?' Miguel repeated.
'Madison Robinson,' Edward elaborated. 'She's a new hire. She should be arriving here in any moment.'
'Excellent,' Miguel muttered, walking to the side. He felt uneasy about working with someone, let alone someone he did not even know. He did not relish the idea of competing against this Madison Robinson. Even though that they were on the same team he needed to outshine her as this was his chance to show Edward that he was a capable agent. Miguel was dreading meeting her.
'Hey, I'm here,' a female voice called out from behind. 'What do you need?' Miguel turned around to see Madison Robinson for the first time.
She was tall and slender. Her brown hair was tied back in a long ponytail that ran down to her lower back. She was wearing a tight tank top that complimented the upper part of her figure flatteringly well. Her dark camouflage combat trousers had numerous pockets that contained various gadgets and devices. Two formidable looking pistols were tucked behind her trousers while a combat knife was neatly placed in a pouch that hung on the front of her trousers. It took Miguel a single moment and one look to become instantly attracted to her. Madison glanced over to him.
'Hey,' she nodded, ignoring the fact that he was staring at her breasts. Madison looked from Miguel over to Edward who was looking irritably at Miguel.
'For God's sake; stop checking her out and let's get to work!' He stood in between the two, with Miguel blushing considerably as he began to talk. 'Our agency has suffered considerable blows over the course of this evening,' he explained. 'So far the only agents we have confirmed to still be active are you two, the new boy Graham and Anna Shepherd.'
'Where is Shepherd?' Madison asked, glancing over through the fence. 'Don't tell me...'
'Why would I tell you what you can guess?' Edward shrugged. 'Her current position is underneath the CEDA building.'
'So you want us to get her out?' Miguel theorised.
'Yes,' Edward nodded. 'But that's not all.' He handed Madison and Miguel some of the folders with each receiving four each. One of the documents contained information about war veteran Bill while the others detailed the relevant aspects of his close friends, Francis, Louis and Zoey. Madison skimmed through the documents while Miguel scanned all the way through them with care.
'Who are they?' Madison asked.
'They're very important,' Edward told her. 'You two are going to pick them up as well as Shepherd.'
'Do we have a location for these guys?' Miguel asked. 'It'll be hard to track them in that nightmare.'
'Hard, but not impossible.' Edward had a glimmer in his eye. 'Graham's flying overhead, tracking them by chopper. He's not been able to land as of yet but... what the hell is that noise?'
A piercing roaring sound could suddenly be heard over the hum of the distant helicopters and the local din. A bright light in the sky was stabbing through the darkness leaving a faint trail in its wake. It flew over them and went high above the City of London. Edward narrowed his eyes as he watched the glowing light shoot over his head and toward the centre of the city. It looked as though it was half a mile above the ground.
'Is that a missile?' Madison voiced what was on everyone's minds. It was. As the missile was high above the direct centre of London it suddenly exploded. A large blue flash was followed by a rather powerful shockwave. The shockwave descended onto London and as it went through the buildings and streets, lights were extinguished and sirens silenced. Every electronic device was nullified and on the streets, Bill and the others looked up to see the helicopter that held their comrade Graham suddenly lose all life. The engine conked out as the city was plunged into darkness and it began to fall to the ground. Bill ushered everyone into a nearby looted store as the helicopter fell toward them. It crashed onto the ground, rotors shattering with the force of the impact. The massive lump of metal rocketed toward Bill who jumped out of the way just before he was flattened. It ploughed through several common infected before crashing into an overturned bus and bursting into flames. Bill and the others emerged from the looted shop and approached the wreckage.
Back out on the other side of the quarantine fence, all electrical devices short-circuited with a blast from the shockwave. Edward stumbled slightly while Miguel and Madison remained upright.
'Son of a bitch,' Edward spat. 'What the hell are they up to now?'
'It's a general order, sir,' a solider standing behind the trio informed them. They turned around to face him. He was tall and very muscular. 'The Prime Minister doesn't want any potential infected or carriers to escape.'
'Well no one does,' Edward cried, wailing with disbelief at the stupidity of what had just happened. 'But frying all of our electrical devices will only make things worse!'
'With all due respect, sir, the Prime Minister knows what he is doing.'
'Like hell he does,' Edward muttered. 'He hasn't been knee high in zombie parts.'
'With respect,' the soldier repeated, 'I believe that you are too emotionally invested in this situation to think things through clearly. The Prime Minister has ordered me to relieve you of your duty.'
'Oh I can't believe this is happening,' Madison muttered, shaking her head at the soldier. Edward stepped close to the solider, their faces inches apart. Miguel got the impression that something was about to happen but instead Edward merely sighed and turned around.
'I guess we have no choice but to resign ourselves over to the government in this case,' he told them.
'You're joking?' Madison asked in total disbelief.
'Of course I fucking am!' Edward cried, pivoting on the spot and punching the soldier in the face, knocking him to the ground unconscious. He held his fist for a moment, his teeth gritted in pain.
'You alright?' Miguel asked him.
'Of course,' Edward wiped a single tear from his eye. 'Now let's get to work. The damn Brits have made things more difficult for us.'
As Edward led Miguel and Madison down the congregation of vehicles outside of the quarantine zone away from the fence, Francis and Louis were trying to pull open one of the helicopter doors to look inside for survivors. Bill and Zoey were keeping the infected at bay but the crash had caused quite the racket. A Smoker found an opening through the crowd of infected and launched its tongue at Francis who was pulling on the door. When it pulled him away it pulled the door off with it.
'Thanks Francis,' Louis said, fully aware that he was being dragged off.
'Someone shoot that bastard or I swear to God I'll...' Francis' shouting was cut off by Zoey shooting the Smoker dead. 'Thanks,' Francis told her as she lifted him up. Glancing back to the helicopter, Zoey looked concerned as Louis ventured inside the wreckage to look for her former lover. 'Look out!' Francis cried. Zoey was not paying attention to the fight and so she did not notice the two common infected getting close to her. She snapped her head back to see them and jumped back, stumbling to the ground. As she fell she fired two shots from the double pistols and hit the infected in the face.
'A little help here!' Bill requested as he was becoming overrun with the beasts. Francis told Bill to duck as he fired his shotgun over his head. 'That's alright, Francis; I don't need my hearing. Not really.' As he was crouched to the ground, Bill used his assault rifle to cut through the infected by shooting their legs, making them stumble. Louis poked his head from the wreckage and called out to someone.
'He's still alive!' he cried, referring to Graham. As Zoey got to her feet she breathed a sigh of relief. As Francis went the help him she quickly realised that her sense of relief was premature as she spotted a Charger in the distance. It was on fire and it was storming toward them.
'Oh Jesus...' she muttered.
Louis stepped out of the wreckage while Francis helped Graham out by gently pushing him from the inside. Louis took his arm to support him. Bill and Zoey merged into the same position, standing close to attract the Charger's attention.
'Fella's we gotta get out of here right now!' Bill cried.
'We know, Bill,' Louis told him.
'It's just one of them things with the huge arm is coming right for us.'
'We know, Bill,' Francis told him, sounding uneasy as he helped Graham from the helicopter.
'I mean it's about to plough right into us!' Bill yelled.
'For shit's sake, we know Bill!' Zoey screamed, jumping onto him to push him out of the way of the Charger. It missed them by inches and crashed straight into the helicopter. Francis and Louis had managed to pull Graham out of the way just before they crossed paths with the infected. As the Charger broke through the metal of the helicopter its flaming body ignited the leaking gasoline pool that was under it. All of the survivors were knocked off their feet as the helicopter exploded sending shrapnel and debris everywhere.
The sound of explosions and screams were reaching the quarantine fence and the safe area beyond. Edward, Miguel and Madison were walking away from the perimeter. In a distance there was a sea of vehicles where the lights were still flashing, obviously out of reach from the ill advised EMP device.
'That one,' Edward pointed to a large, bulky news van. 'Who's a good driver?'
'I am,' Miguel answered.
'Madison it is, then,' Edward ordered. 'I want someone who can crash into things to knock them out of the way without hesitating.'
'Oh I can do that,' Madison nodded. The three approached the news van and Madison hopped into the driver's seat. When the two news crew began to protest, Edward held his hands up.
'I'm commandeering this vehicle under article... uh, three-seven of the... Oh I can't be bothered to invent laws. Just claim it on insurance.' Edward hopped into the front passenger's seat and Madison began to drive away. She got about ten yards before coming to an abrupt halt as she saw Miguel chasing after them. She waited for him to hop in the back with all of the equipment before driving off again.
'Thanks for waiting,' Miguel said sarcastically. 'I was trying to come in through the back doors.'
'And here's me thinking I was the only one who swung that way,' Edward commented, pointing to the quarantine fence up ahead. 'See the fence?'
'I see the fence,' Madison nodded.
'I don't want to see the fence,' Edward told her.
'Are we going to ram there fence?' Miguel asked. There was a sudden crash.
'What fence?' Madison shrugged as the three broke through the perimeter and entered the quarantine zone toward the city.
Miles ahead of them at the helicopter crash site all of the infected had been knocked back due to the explosion. Bill and Zoey were lying unconscious on the ground. Graham was out cold but Francis and Louis were in considerably better shape as they had managed to get further away from the explosion. They pulled Graham back into one of the side shops out of danger as they went back for Bill and Zoey. With everyone safely tucked away, Francis and Louis exchanged nervous glances.
'What do we do now?' was the question Louis dreaded to ask.
'No idea,' was the answer Francis dreaded giving. 'We're outnumbered; three to two. We can't carry all of these guys out of here.'
'Well what do you suggest?' Louis hissed. 'We leave one of them behind?' Graham's injuries appeared to be incredibly severe. Even if he was rescued there would be no guarantee that he would survive. Bill and Zoey's wounds did not appear to be fatal. They did not have any broken bones or acute bleeding. They just appeared to be out cold. 'We can't stay here for too long. We're short on ammo; we have to keep moving.'
'We can't really defend ourselves while lugging these guys around,' Francis pointed out. 'We'd be overrun in seconds.'
'Maybe one of us could go out for supplies and come back?' Louis suggested.
'Maybe that person would get torn to shreds on their own,' Francis told him. Louis sighed and sat back.
'So either we ran and die or wait and die?' he summarised.
'That's pretty much the size of it,' Francis nodded, attempting to sound light hearted.
'Damn,' Louis chuckled. It was an ironic laugh. 'I finally get Zoey and now we're all about to die.'
'That's what your whole relationship was built on, man,' Francis told him before his tone shifted to one of sarcasm. 'You don't get dates more romantic than zombies eating your face off after a Boomer's just puked all over you.'
'It's not like that!' Louis protested. 'I mean, yeah, we broke up after we were rescued but that was because we both didn't know what we wanted.'
'It was because you and her just don't get along,' Francis told him, glancing around to see if there were any infected nearby. Satisfied that they were not he turned back to Louis so that he could elaborate. 'When people are forced together in situations like these it's only natural to start developing feelings toward each other. Hell; I'd probably be after Bill given enough time. You can't have serious relationships based on extreme circumstances. You can't base your relationship on fighting zombies.'
'That's not we'd base it on!' Louis protested once more. 'We have a lot in common.'
'Zombies,' Francis said.
'No!' Louis insisted. 'We... share common interests.'
'Staying alive?'
'No!' Louis paused. 'Well... yes, okay but not like that. We like the same things.'
'Guns?'
'Yes but things non-zombie related like...'
'Sex?'
'Well we've not had sex yet...'
'You've not had sex?' Francis exclaimed. Louis gave him a dire look that told him to be quiet, not in case one of the infected heard him but in case Zoey did somehow in her unconscious state. 'Shit, man,' Francis let out a quiet laugh, shaking his head. 'You're not even basing it on sex?'
'We've got a healthy relationship,' Louis told him, his tone growing weary with the conversation. 'We talk a lot and we've found out that our friends are similar.'
'Me and Bill,' Francis commented.
'Our other friends!' Louis spat. 'It just shows that we're similar types of people and that we'll get on well when we get to know each other.'
'Aha!' Francis cried. 'You don't know each other!'
'Yeah...' Louis nodded. 'So what? Isn't that what relationships are about? Getting to know each other?'
'What I mean is that we've had three months of normal life before all this Director shit happened and you didn't get to know her more in that time?'
'Well no,' Louis answered truthfully. 'We kept our distance I guess. I mean she was with Graham and all that...' He looked up to Francis. 'Rebound thing.'
'Oh of course,' Francis nodded, humouring him. Louis sighed and ran his hands over his head.
'Look all I know is that I've always wanted to be with Zoey pretty much since the first time I saw her. No matter what anyone says; I'm going to do what I can to make sure we have a future together and right now that means keeping ourselves alive and away from these fucking zombies!' Francis smiled at Louis.
'Okay,' he said with a grin. 'There maybe hope for you crazy kids yet.'
'Thanks,' Louis smiled at him.
'Who knows?' Francis stretched his arms out. 'Maybe love at first sight isn't just a myth.'
Just as Francis finished speaking, a short distance away Miguel was gazing longingly at Madison. He was so indescribably attracted to her; everything about her was perfect to him. Despite the precariousness of the situation, Miguel wanted nothing more than to have Madison join him in the back of the news van so that they could use the cameras to film some exposing footage of their own. Edward cocked his gun loudly, snapping Miguel out of his inappropriate thoughts.
'Here's the plan;' Edward announced. 'You two will be dropped off at the CEDA building and locate Anna while I go to the last known position Graham's chopper was. Questions?' There were none. 'Excellent. Turn left here, Madison. Now it may take a while for me to locate the others, even longer if you hadn't turned right, Madison, so if you can; try and find your own way out. Anna is in the basement of the building in the Director's former command centre. From there you should be able to access the underground. You can use that to get out of the city. I'll drive out with the others.'
A Hunter was crawling around on the ground outside of a large glass building. It was making a faint growling sound as it searched for its latest victim. A bright light caught its attention and the Hunter turned around to investigate and see what was causing it. As it did, the wheel of the news van went straight into its skull, shattering it into pieces. Madison stopped the van, leaving it parked on top of the infected's corpse. Madison and Miguel disembarked from the vehicle and Edward got into the driver's seat.
'Good luck,' he wished them before driving away, the wheels squelching over the Hunter's corpse. Suddenly the van stopped as it had no room to drive so Edward reversed it over the Hunter's body to get onto another road.
'Let's make like a Hunter and pounce,' Madison told Miguel, running up the stairs to the CEDA building.
Inside the main reception area was a great dark mess. Corpses of those who were infected and not infected littered the floors along with a great glass chandelier that was shattered on the ground. Turning on their flashlights due to the lack of illumination; Miguel and Madison made their way around the reception desk toward the stairwell. The door had been torn off, giving Miguel a slightly uneasy feeling as he stepped through it.
'Don't chicken out on me now, Doyle,' Madison told him. Her tone was ambiguous. It was either one of subtle encouragement or one of mockery. Miguel swallowed and pressed on, choosing to believe that she was being encouraging. As they reached the bottom floor the two stepped out into the darkest corridor. The blackness was almost impenetrable acting as a barrier that could not be passed unless a door was opened. This door came in the form of the slender beam of light that stretched just a little in front of the two. Madison and Miguel made their way slowly down the dark corridor. With their visibility almost nonexistent, the two went back to back with Miguel watching the front and Madison watching the rear. Miguel was sweating nervously.
'You know it's funny,' he muttered, his voice shaky. 'When I was a kid I was always petrified of the dark.' Madison rolled her eyes as he told his story. 'My mother was blind and this is what I imagined what it was like. I was afraid that being in darkness meant I had lost my eyesight.'
'Things looking good up there?' Madison asked him.
'Yeah,' Miguel swallowed. 'I'm over it now; I know being in the darkness doesn't mean I'm going blind.'
'Thank God,' Madison muttered.
'It's strange isn't it?' Miguel asked rhetorically. 'Most children are afraid of monsters in the dark but I was afraid of going blind.'
'Not to frighten you now,' Madison spoke cautiously, 'but there are monsters in this darkness.' Her comment made Miguel go silent. The quiet was intense. The lack of noise, the inescapable solitude drilled into his ears with greater force than a jackhammer. The silence had a sound of its own, a very faint deep humming noise that was comparable to the sound of an airplane engine from far away only far more low and rumbling. It instilled a grave sense of dread that seeped down into Miguel's very core. Although she did not show it, Madison felt the exact same. The terrifying darkness and obstinate silence were almost enough to prevent the two from pressing on. Despite their fear and dread they pushed on toward their goal, determined to not let the fear get the better of them.
It was then something made them stop.
Miguel and Madison's legs both froze as they heard it. It was a shuffling noise; the faintest sound either of them had heard. It was not louder than the silence and yet the two heard it. It was coming from everywhere or so it felt. Madison gasped and looked around with the flashlight, the narrow beam showing the same empty path wherever she looked. The shuffling was similar to the sound of a barefoot person with a limp who was trying to run over smooth tile. Miguel and Madison were shaken by this noise. They were frightened.
'What the hell is that?' Madison finally gave into curiosity.
'I don't know...' Miguel muttered in response. His shaky voice was gone. He was now firm, in control.
'What do we do?' Madison asked him, her whispering voice breaking.
'Take my hand,' Miguel told her. She instantly grabbed him, holding on tight. 'Let's go.'
They did not sprint and they did not run. Miguel used his free hand to extend the flashlight in front of him as he and Madison calmly continued walking. Madison's flashlight went from side to side of the corridor, desperate to not miss what was coming. The two went further and further into the blackness while the scratching sound did not get closer nor did it get farther away. It was following them. Madison was breathing heavily so Miguel told her to take controlled breaths to calm herself down. As she did this, Miguel noticed up ahead there was an entranceway where there should have been a solid wall. As he went toward it, Madison gasped and tightened her grip on his hand. Miguel turned around and saw what she was looking at.
In the distance just out of range of the torchlight were a set of glowing eyes. They were hovering in the blackness. They disappeared for a moment before coming back as what was watching them blinked. Madison's hand was trembling. What was following them could have easily been one of the common infected and could be handled with ease. If that was the case then why had it not charged at them yet? What was it? It was too tall to be a Hunter but it was too short to be a Smoker. It was making a sound that no infected ever made. It was silent. The silence was incredible. It was just out of reach in the periphery of the light. Judging by its behaviour Miguel decided it was a new type of infected; a beast created by the altered viral strain that had besieged London. At a later date he would refer to it as the Stalker. For now the Stalker just watched them. Its eyes floating there made the two feel like the darkness itself was watching them. Miguel pulled on Madison's arm, forcing her to come with him. As they moved the scratching sounds started again.
Heading inside the passageway, Miguel and Madison walked at a brisker pace. The Stalker was still following them and the scratching turned into metallic grinding as they stepped onto a catwalk. The two hastily descended a set of stairs that went underneath a subway tunnel and then ascended a set of parallel steps. At the top was a metallic doorway that Miguel and Madison stopped in front of. The Stalker stopped as well, still just out of sight. Miguel tapped his gun on the metal door.
The sudden sound made the Stalker let out a cry. The noise it made was shrill and sent an icy shiver straight to the bone. It sounded similar to a Hyena, only it was a long loud and deep roar. Madison dropped her flashlight and it started to fall down the stairs.
'This is Miguel Doyle and Madison Robinson,' Miguel said to the door. 'We're agents of the Bioterrorism Counter Force sent her by Edward Deacon.' The flashlight fell to the bottom of the stairs and rolled out of sight, obscured by the dip in the ceiling. 'You need to let us in right now!' The flashlight rolled behind the Stalker, making it cry some more. Its shadow was cast upon the stairs. Madison saw a jumbled mess of sticklike limbs, all of them moving. Either it was horribly mutated or there were more of them.
'You have to let us in now!' Madison screamed. The Stalker let out another cry and the two heard it coming after them. It was moving quicker than they could have imagined. It would be on them before they had a chance to turn around. The door suddenly opened up and the two were pulled inside by one of two armed men. One man stepped outside to try and keep the infected at bay. His colleague screamed at him to not do it. As Miguel turned around he heard a sickening tearing sound. He looked to the doorway and saw the man who had just pulled him and Madison inside dripping with blood. His head then fell from his shoulders and the rest of his body began to fall apart before his very eyes. Madison screamed in complete terror as the door was shut by the other solider who secured it tight. Madison crawled away on the floor, screaming at what she saw. She buried her hands in her arms and began to weep. Miguel went down to her to embrace her and comfort her.
As Miguel held Madison he looked around the room. It was a mess. In one corner was a pool of blood with a trail leading to a body covered in a sheet. There was one armed man who walked over to a large set of tables and computer terminals. Sat by one of these was a woman, a tired looking woman. Miguel recognised Anna Shepherd even in the dark light. She nodded at him, acknowledging his presence. He nodded back before holding Madison tighter. The first part of the mission was complete; now all he had to do was get out of there.
Miguel got to his feet to give Madison some space. He walked over to Anna who was sat looking glumly.
'Oh Doyle,' she said with a dull, defeated tone. 'I wish you hadn't come.'
'Believe me so do I,' Miguel told her. 'I mean I was already clearing off the stuff from your desk so I could poach it but that damn Edward Deacon believes in that silly thing about leaving no one behind.' Anna looked surprised.
'Eddy's here?'
'He is,' Miguel nodded. 'He's taking care of something else right now; that's why he's sent me and Robinson to get you out of here.'
'I'm crippled,' Anna told him. 'I can't walk. I can't do anything much now since the government launched the EMP.'
'Why the hell did they do that?' Miguel shrugged.
'To condemn us all to death,' Anna told him. 'It really is that simple. We've just been sat here now waiting for those zombies to come and get us.'
'Well we won't let that happen,' Miguel looked over to Madison. 'Right, Madison?'
'It just tore him apart!' she cried.
'We'll come back to you,' Miguel turned away. 'But anyway there's the subway access around here isn't there? We can use the tunnels to escape.'
'The tunnels are infested; there's no way we can get out that way.'
'We could if we used a train,' Miguel winked at her. Anna looked at him intrigued. 'These trains must have backup power supplies or something. If Madison and I go out and reactivate one of them we can swing back here, pick you two up and get the hell out of here.'
'Sounds like a feasible plan,' Anna nodded.
'It's more than feasible,' Miguel told her. 'It's my first mission. I'm not going to let anything go wrong.'
'Son of a motherfucking bitch whore!' Edward Deacon cursed as he crashed the van into an overturned one. His vehicle was now sporting a bountiful quantity of scrapes, bumps and dents. There was also a severe crack down the windscreen. 'You can fly a helicopter but you can't drive a God damn van!' As Edward continued to curse at himself a Boomer waddled up to the driver's door. He looked over and saw that it was about to spray bile everywhere. 'Not now,' Edward pushed the door open, knocking the Boomer away. He then put the van into gear and drove off, flattening the Boomer and sending bile squirting everywhere. This attracted the horde, which ran head first into the moving van. After several satisfying counts of vehicular assault, Edward turned the corner and drove down the road that Graham had crashed down.
The sound of a moving vehicle was quickly heard by Francis and Louis. The two stood up and hurried out of their hideaway, stepping out onto the street. They saw Edward's van driving down the road toward them and they started waving their arms at him. Edward, thinking they were infected, began speeding up.
'Oh shit,' Francis muttered. He pulled Louis out of the way as Edward narrowly missed them, coming to an abrupt stop by the wreckage of the helicopter. Edward stepped out of the van and made his way over to the two. It took Francis a moment to recognise who he was but as soon as he did his face cracked a large smile and he stood up. 'Eddy!'
'It's good to see you again,' Edward and Francis shared a brief embrace with a lot of back patting. As they stepped away, Francis chuckled.
'I'm going to forgive you for nearly running us over,' he spoke jokingly. 'But it's not cool to try and run us down just because Louis is black.'
'A little help here?' Louis called out. He was still lying on the ground as the force of Francis' push had dazed him.
'Nah you're alright,' Francis waved at him before going back to Edward. 'So are you here to save us?'
'Actually, I am,' Edward smiled. 'I'm probably going to get fired when we get out of here as I've broken God knows how many rules but hey; a promise is a promise. Where's the others?'
'Inside,' Francis tilted his head over to the store. 'Bill, Zoey and that Graham dude; all present and accounted for.'
'But Graham's really injured,' Louis finally got to his feet. 'So we should probably get going.'
'Agreed,' Edward nodded. 'The sooner we get out of here then the sooner I can set you up with this hot young lady I've been working with, Francis.'
The young lady in question, Madison Robinson, was suddenly covered in blood as she decapitated one of the common infected by shooting it in the head at point blank range. She and Miguel were in the underground tunnels making their way toward the first train that they could find. There were copious amounts of common infected in the tunnels so the likelihood of running into a Stalker was slim. Madison was more confident now that she was able to see the enemy she had to fight. As she and Miguel killed their way through the tunnels, she started feeling better after what had happened.
'Thanks by the way,' she told Miguel after shooting dead two more common infected.
'What for?' Miguel asked, kicking back one infected of his own and shooting it dead on the ground.
'Just for being so supportive back there,' Madison beat away some infected and shot at them. 'It was really nice of you.'
'What can I say? We're teammates.' Miguel saw a Hunter leap through the air but shot it dead before it got close to him. He kicked the corpse as if it were a football into an oncoming barrage of common infected, effectively dispersing them. 'You'd have done the same for me.'
'I'm not sure I would have,' Madison answered candidly as she was knocked back by the swipe of a common infected. As more came from behind it she slapped the infected across the face so hard it stumbled and turned around. She then grabbed it by its neck, placing it into a chokehold and used her free hand to fire as she held onto her infected shield. 'I guess I can be pretty single minded at times.'
'You're not used to working as part of a team before?' Miguel asked while taking a distant pot-shot at a Smoker, killing it before it had a chance to act.
'I'm not really a team player,' Madison admitted as she mowed down the infected. When they were all dead she snapped the neck of the one that she was holding onto. 'I guess I feel like people get in my way.'
'I'm all about team unity,' Miguel told her. 'I can see myself working with you a fair bit in the future. I'm sure you'll change your mind.'
'Well let's see,' Madison smiled, looking up. A large dark object was blocking their way. 'I think we found our train.' Miguel smiled as he saw it.
'I think we have.'
The two boarded the train and accessed the backup power supply. They coasted toward the entrance to the Director's secret base where they went in to help Anna and her bodyguard.
'The train's here,' Madison announced perkily as she and Miguel re-entered the room. 'Hop on!'
'Is that a joke?' asked the crippled Anna. Moments later, everyone was onboard the train and they were soon riding out of the City of London. Elsewhere, Edward was driving the survivors out of the city the same way he had come in. As soldiers finished rebuilding the quarantine fence that he had just smashed down, Edward drove right through it once more. Bill, Francis, Louis and Zoey were completely safe. Graham was taken to hospital where the doctors announced he would make a full recovery. Bill and Zoey regained consciousness and went to be examined by doctors to make sure they were alright along with Francis and Louis. As Edward stood by his stolen news van with his arms folded a smile formed on his face. He had done well.
After all of the excitement had calmed down, Edward was arrested for violating the quarantine. He would soon be released where he would, along with Anna, Miguel and Madison, prepare for the first mission back to America. While all of the politics played out, the four survivors were treated for their injuries.
It had been a few days since the escape and Zoey stepped inside a doctor's office for her check-up, standard procedure for everyone who had been exposed to the virus. Once a week they had to undergo a set of blood tests, urine tests and various prodding tests just to make sure that they had not turned into a Tank or some other infected. The office was remarkably quiet, something Zoey did not mind as she knew she would not have to wait too long. As she stepped into the waiting room she looked over and saw a familiar face; Graham's. He was in a wheelchair, severely bandaged. The two shared a gaze and just existed for a moment in silence. Zoey sighed and stepped over toward him.
'Hey,' she said weakly. 'How are you doing?' Graham's head was bandaged. His two arms were in thick casts, one of his legs was outstretched in its own cast while the other was heavily bruised. He had not shaven for days and was breathing rather labouredly.
'Great,' Graham lied. He coughed for a moment. 'You?'
'Oh you know...' Zoey brushed the hair from her face. There was another awkward silence. 'Okay I'm just going to have to come out and say it,' Zoey knelt down next to him. 'We're both too involved in this zombie world now to avoid seeing each other. I know that it probably wasn't the best time to dump you and then go for Louis during the crisis in London...'
'It did lack your trademark sense of tact,' Graham commented. Zoey took a breath.
'All I'm saying is that I didn't intentionally go out to try and hurt you. I like you, Graham, but with Louis things are just... hard to explain.'
'You don't need to explain,' Graham attempted to wave his arm but couldn't. Zoey wanted to talk some more but at that moment the doctor came out of her office.
'With just the two of you here I'm guessing that you're the patient I need to see,' she said to Zoey. Zoey glanced back at Graham who nodded at her, telling her to go. Zoey pushed her lips together with discomfort before following the doctor to her office that was just near the waiting room. There was a window in the door and Zoey could still see Graham in the waiting room through it. 'So I have your test results,' the doctor told Zoey. 'Everything's fine as we expected. Now we just need to prepare for further tests.'
'How long do I have I keep doing this for?' Zoey sighed. 'I think I know by now that I'm immune. I mean I have survived two outbreaks.'
'I wasn't talking about the infection in particular,' the doctor told her. She put the paper documents away and looked as though she was about to break some news to Zoey. She was. 'Your urinalysis came back with no signs of infection however there was something we picked up on.'
'What was that?' Zoey asked nervously.
'Well we double-checked just to be sure,' the doctor told her, 'and then we checked those results again and we can say with complete certainty that...' The time between the doctor's words felt infinite.
'You're pregnant.'
Zoey's first instinct was to glance out of the window. She saw Graham sat outside and felt an enormous sense of dread.
'Oh,' Zoey said softly. 'Oh... God.'
Away from Zoey's problems, Miguel and Madison continued to work together on several missions. Over the many months they were together, the HMS Jaeger was constructed. The two were called into Edward's office one day and were told of the mission; to rescue Norah Hanham from America while the HMS Jaeger went on its maiden voyage. Both hastily accepted with Miguel being promoted to lieutenant commander under the recommendation of Madison. Miguel relished in the thought of spending all this time together with Madison. She was truly a remarkable woman, one who he would love to spend as much time with as possible. Bill, Francis, Louis and Zoey were recruited to accompany them on their mission and pretty soon everyone was on their way toward the United States of America.
Miguel was jarred awake from his reminiscent thoughts as the elbow he was using to support himself on the table in the tactics room slipped and he smashed his face onto the display. Letting out a groan of slight pain he sat up. He was no longer daydreaming about the events that had happened one year ago he was back in the present. Bill and the others were heading toward the location of the Midnight Riders with Madison and Malcolm having a considerable head start. As he scanned through the information on the table display Miguel felt suddenly inadequate. What he was doing now was nothing in comparison to what he had done before. Madison was on the front lines and he felt like he should be there with her. Standing up, Miguel decided that he would make this happen. He put an announcement out over the submarine and within a few moments a bespectacled woman with thick red hair entered the Tactics Room looking very nervous. Her name was Kathryn and Miguel smiled at her.
'No need to look so worried,' he assured her. 'If anything I'm about to make your day.'
...
With Zoey's mother, Cassandra, in tow, Bill, Francis, Louis and Zoey stepped onto the dock that they had stopped at when they had arrived in New York City. Their plan was to use the boat that they had travelled in from New Bern to get as close as they could to the Midnight Riders. Of course there was still the problem of the vehicle's owner who was stood by the boat waiting for them. The man did not know yet of the destruction of his boss' commune.
'You took your time,' the man grumbled.
'Yeah,' Bill nodded while stepping up to him. 'About that...' Bill lunged forward and stuck the man in the head. His target stumbled across the ground before standing up and straightening his clothes.
'That's not how you do it, Bill,' Francis told him. 'This is how you do it!' Francis tried to knock the man out but his attacks were hastily defended and he ended up on the ground. Louis stepped back, choosing to keep out of the brawl.
'Do you guys want some help?' Zoey offered.
'We're fine!' Bill and Francis exclaimed in unison. The man they were trying to beat stood defiantly.
'What the hell is your problem?' he cried. 'If you don't cut this out then I'll... oh my God...'
Just off the docks the water was parting. The massive HMS Jaeger was surfacing from the depths of ocean. The man took a step back, recoiling in shock. Zoey used this as an opportunity to bash him in the back of the head with her gun, knocking him out. As he fell to the ground, the submarine continued to rise. When it finished surfacing, the front section of it opened up and a small raft was released. On top of the raft was a military vehicle; a blue camouflage jeep with three seats in the front, three in the back and a place for someone to stand and use the mounted gun that was located on the centre of the roof. The jeep floated over to the dock and stopped as it nudged against the side. As the nose of the submarine began to close, someone climbed up from the raft and stood in front of everyone. He was dressed in similar fatigues as the rest of them with two double pistols an assault rifle and a bountiful supply of ammunition and gadgets. The man smiled at them.
'Hey guys,' said Miguel Doyle. 'Are we ready to get this party started?'
...
