"Doesn't seem like it's letting up." Reports an officer who moved away from the window.

Rocky cast an exasperated glance at the man for his commentary. It's not a storm, although one can say this horrific situation has them all looking rather weather-beaten. Clothes disheveled, hair in a wind assaulted tussle, dirt and smells from various hiding places. Rocky in particular could smell the dumpster on himself and he hated it.

"Excuse me," he said to the forecasting cop. "Where's the bathroom?"

The officer looked sympathetically at Rocky, who smelled like he'd sullied his pants after having an unusual meal.

Noticing the look, the ninja explained in defense. "I hid in a dumpster." Frank must be getting the screw-face too, as he likely smelled just as much.

"Right through there and around the left corner." He pointed to some double-doors.

Rocky left the room. The bathroom had been easy to locate, and he was quickly brushing a wet paper towel down over his clothes and skin. The water was on, so the sounds around him were a bit distorted by the echo of liquid rushing from the faucet into the drain bouncing off the walls. He heard what sounded like a "pop", or perhaps it had been a knock? It was a low singular sound so he paid it no attention. It was probably the sniper on the roof.

"Rocky," Tum Tum continued what he was going to say once his brother calmed his nerves from the jump-scare his sudden appearance caused. "I need to clean up too, the cops said they could get us something to eat. Isn't that nice of them?" He reached under the stream of water his brother was using, washing himself of the blood that spattered on him.

"Yeah, really nice." It didn't sound like he agreed, although he thought it. He just wasn't as concerned with eating as his brother.

A frown on his face, Tum Tum nudged Rocky then said. "You remember how when we were younger, mom and dad finally agreed to let us watch ourselves,"

Wondering what his brother was driving at, Rocky nodded.

"And, even though we thought it was cool" he washed the blood from his face silently then continued speaking. "we all wondered when they were gonna come home already?"

"Yeah."

"I've never wondered that so hard in my life than right now."

Rocky wrapped an arm around his little brother giving him a comforting hug. "It's gonna be ok, Tum. We're safe in the police station." Releasing him, he added. "They're not gonna let those things get us."

"I hope you're right." He wiped his hands down his shirt. "Rocky, don't tell Colt I said that..."

"I won't."

"Thanks."

"Want me to wait for you?" He asked seeing that Tum Tum wasn't near finished with removing the blood from himself.

"Naah. I'll be along soon."

Rocky nodded, however, he remained close by in the hall. Using his phone he texted their father; Dad, if you get this, we're at the station. We're fine. Did you find mom, is she ok? Answer when you safely can. The bathroom door opening startled him, and he was joined by his brother as they walked back into the main area.

Tum Tum gasped and hurried over to the large desk where three white bags sat atop. "Sandwiches! Sweet!" They were more than sandwiches, he noted as he pulled out a long Italian sub. He can smell how delicious it is through the paper.

Rocky noticed the guilty look on the face of the cop who'd bought them. He wondered what that was about? Selecting a honey turkey with Swiss and onions, he didn't realize how hungry he was until taking a bite. He practically went all Tum Tum on the thing, barely tasting it. It drains a lot of energy being as pent-up as they all are. Even the officers seemed grateful to have a moment normalcy just eating.

In a whisper to his partner, the cop who bought the food said. "It was a disaster out there. I actually stole these right out of the supermarket. No one was there, and anyone who was was one of them."

"I think in this case stealing is forgivable." He eased the guilty conscience.

Rocky glanced at the clock when he set down his food to take a sip of water. How can it only be noon? He felt like they've been suffering well into the evening. By his discomfort meter, it should be pressing 9 pm.

Colt hated to be the one to break up the tender moment of calm, but he had to know. "Do you guys have enough bullets to last through this?"

"I don't think anyone does, kid." Replied a dark haired cop with a mole under her eye. "Wish I knew what was going on? How did this happen?"

The brothers exchanged glances. Rocky was about to reply when his phone buzzed. Checking the message his expression burst into joy. "Dad says he has mom!"

Colt and Tum Tum crowd beside their brother to look at his phone. A sign of life from their parents.

"She's not hurt." Rocky continued reading. "Are we alright?" He texted back quickly. "They're stuck in a crowded area in the city." He read after his message went through. He clicked on the video sent to him.

Everyone, even the officers, watched over his shoulders at the horror going on deeper in the city. Dozens and dozens of zombies running, screaming, crowding, and killing anyone within reach. They watched a quick glance of a woman gnashing her teeth against the window of the car their parents are in before the video ended. It wasn't meant to scare them, just to let them all know the city is especially dangerous in that sector.

'Even with the cure... How can we get it to everyone?' wondered Rocky. 'So many people have turned, just like I had... They don't have a chance to get the cure because someone might kill them before their insides begin to rot. This... this can't be real..'

"Aaaahhh!"

Everyone's attention whipped towards the double-doors to the hall. Who was that!? Each officer traded their meal for metal as they stalked, gun poised to fire, towards the closed off hall. The Douglas brothers watched with curiosity between little open peeks offered between the mobile force in blue. Rocky and Tum Tum were just back there, could someone have gotten in that quickly? And from where, the place is secured. Right? Everyone in the room jumped when the doors burst open and a cop staggered forward holding his neck. It was oozing blood beneath his hand.

"Help! He was in the bathroom stall," He coughed blood right before collapsing to the floor.

"Help him." The sergeant ordered.

"Hhhaaa!" The offender in the exposed hall gave a dry moan before livening up at the sight of fresh meat.

The cops cried out taking shots at the man before he dropped dead to the floor. His blood pooled all over the carpet as he twitched and wriggled in place before lying still.

"Alverado! Alverado!" The officer shook his partner. "Dammit!" He closed the man's eyes.

"Rocky?" Colt said. A "tell him" warning in his tone.

"I know." Rocky stepped forward. "Sir, I don't know if my dad told you, but you have to shoot him in the head."

"Excuse me?" How dare the child instruct him to do something to violate his partner's corpse.

"He's gonna turn into one of those things unless you kill a cure... he's already gone."

"No."

"Braxton, come on. This is Sam Douglas's kid.. They've been in that hell house, remember?" The sergeant agreed. "He knows what he's talking about."

"But.. There is a cure, you said so yourself." Officer Braxton looked at his partner with agony. "Can't we hide him? Tie him up somewhere.. and maybe we can get a cure for him?"

"It's possible." Rocky shrugged. He always feels skittish telling adults what to do. He was taught they were in-charge, they have all the answers. Despite knowing that isn't necessarily true, he still feels they should be given the right of way to authority. "I was cured."

"When? Who has it?"

"Umbrella. A company that makes pharmaceuticals." Not wanting to be presumptuous, he couldn't still his words. "They're behind this whole outbreak."

"Umbrella? They've been making products for years, they're one of the top selling companies." The sergeant professed. Surely the kid is wrong on that account. She scratched the back of her head. "Why would they do something like this?"

The officer lying dead on the floor began to twitch his fingers. The room watched wide-eyed as he moved more and more in need to get up.

"Alverado? Can you understand me?" Braxton asked. Maybe his partner hadn't died but instead passed out.

Alas, he had turned. Alverado set his gaze upon the speaker and with fingers bent like talons he lunged at him! Everyone present yelped and cried out, pulling on both men to separate them. Colt used the kitchen knife and plunged it up under the soft space in back infected officer's head. The man was officially dead.

"You little son of a bitch!" Braxton swung at Colt with full force, but it was blocked easily thanks to his ninja training. And as a counter, he hit the man just so to knock him out. He needed a rest. As hyped up as he was, he certainly wasn't going to get it while conscious. "Sorry." He said absently to the other members of the force.

Sergeant Meehan nodded. She understood. It had to be done. "Get Braxton to a bench," her voice saddened and softened when she ordered. "And put Alverado outside." Following her finger the force dropped their eyes to pay silent respects to the dead, who had to be pushed out the window to prevent others from getting inside.

"I'll get officer Pennington." Said a female officer, referring to the deceased cop in the hall. She waved to two others to help her drag him to and out of the window with the other.

The brothers watched the police force in a respectful silence. It was humbling to see something such as the that. It seemed like a discarding of a life rather than an unfortunate circumstantial decision. They each thought that the fallen officers could easily be one of them. Colt felt a little worried, not just for his brothers but for Frank as well. The kid was such a pain, but he put on a cool act right up until the situation hit him. He was then such a little guy. And Colt treated him.. well, he treated him like he would Tum Tum. Not that he abuses his little brother sincerely, but that he thought he could take it. Except, Frank isn't Tum Tum, he wasn't trained to be afraid with strength. He's just a kid with a tough front.

'I sure hope he's alright.' Thought the ninja.

The windows were slammed when the scent of fresh blood hit the pallet of the monsters. They swarmed to see if the kill was still worth a bite and some did partake, others paid more attention to the sound of the slamming window, beating upon it with their sticky, red stained hands. Their mouths moving as if asking, in dead language, to be let in. The video Sam Douglas senior sent his son played through everyone's thoughts. This is really happening. The city is truly under attack by cannibals!

And the biggest creator of fear is.. Can it be stopped before everyone in the city is lost?

0 0 0

Sam: Jerry, the kids texted me, they're at the precinct. Are you ok?

Jerry: I was just about to tell you that I couldn't find them at the school. I'm out of ammo, but doing alright. You find Jessica?

Sam: A little worse for wear, but she's physically alright. No bites.

Jerry: Sam.. The school is a graveyard.. mostly the kids are all gone. The buses too. I'm thinking they were loaded in and are getting escorted home by the officers sent here earlier.

Sam: Let's hope so. There isn't much that can be done, but at least they'll be at home together.

Jerry: Yeah... I saw a report earlier, did you see it? About a state lockdown?

Sam: No. I'll bring up the video. I'm currently trapped in the car, surrounded by the infected. I wanna push through but..

Jerry: Yeah. The cure could save them.

Sam: Exactly. It helped Samuel, so killing them now is manslaughter.

Jerry: Sam, you do what you gotta do for your family. But stay safe. I'm gonna circle the area to look for stragglers. I'll contact you again later.

Sam: You stay safe as well. Bye.

Sam looked at his wife, the fear in her eyes as she's trying not to look at the living dead is increasing his need to be a hit-and-run driver. But as he told Jerry, if they can be saved, why kill them if not absolutely necessary?

'Let me try this..' Sam slowly put his foot down on the pedal. The car leaned forward then slowly parted the crowd away from it, although some were knocked down and run over, more were simply shoved aside by the strength of the moving metal.

Jessica suddenly began to weep out loud, though it was not out of joy. Sam glanced at her, seeing grief over her face, then looking to where her gaze was held he saw why. Their neighbor, one of her best friends was attacking a stranger and currently tearing into his arm like she was in an eating contest and only had to get down the one limb. He leaned his wife against him to shield her as they continued past. What's done is done. And judging by the bleeding hole in Lindell's side, there was no going back to her former state.

The station was a fifteen minute drive, but he decided to go for seven minutes. Reuniting with their children will lighten his wife's mood. Then he and the rest of the team can call for backup. Those agents that helped out at the mansion might know what to do. In the meantime, it was good that as many people enter in lockdown as there can be. It was a good way to keep those uninfected safe until the cure can be dealt out those spreading the disease. Once they're cured it's a race against time to then save them of their injuries at the hospitals. And it's going to be tough to find anyone to treat them if the medical staff are dead or fear being infected because they don't believe the cure is fast-acting. The patient's blood could still transmit the virus to them.

'We can at least calm them of that. It only spreads through a bite or if the blood is ingested.' That much Sam knows for sure, or so bragged the man who'd abducted and imprisoned him at the underground laboratory in the forest mansion. But how were they going to administer the cure to this many people? He does not know.

But, if luck is on their side, this will virus will stay confined in Los Angeles city or even only in state. Because if Umbrella infects everyone... The world as they know it is doomed.

In the state of Virginia, men and women are suiting up for combat. They've been watching the news. It was eye-opening to say the least. How had the outbreak in the mansion get into the city. It was supposed to remain as an isolated incident. The remains of the lab explosion and the house were thoroughly searched, there was nothing left behind but a few carcasses from the test subjects. The victims were so badly burned it was hard to tell the people from the animals.

But, someone must have found something of use and got it back to their boss. If that's the case this could be so much worse than it currently is. There might not be enough manpower to go around to contain the situation. However, they do have a plan. They just need to get to L.A. in time to execute it.

"Neo Bravo, let's move out!"

X x X

Commentary: Thanks for reading!