Well, here are the parts from a Long Cold Night that I promised everyone

Well, here are the parts from a Long Cold Night that I promised everyone. This took lots of motivation to actually start dissecting the part for this. 40+ pages are a little much. Anyway, continuing with the story.

The trio turned around.

Standing next to a door was what looked like a man. However, like the first, he had disheveled hair, peeling gray skin, and blood-red eyes. There was also a woman next to him.

"God, what is that smell?" Joshua asked himself quietly.

Scott had ducked partially behind a doorway, sticking his head, shoulders, and rifle, into view. The rifle was at his shoulder, pointing at the couple. Eric had his M16A2 on three round burst. It had been grafted for fully automatic fire, as had Scott's weapon, but he liked the burst better.

The rifle was aimed for the man's head. The man was about ten meters away, close enough for Eric to pick a fly off the man's head, and also far, far too close for comfort.

"Freeze! Put your hands up! Do it!" Eric shouted.

Joshua had his radio out. "Attention all squads, this is Squad L, we have located two suspects in the top floor office hallways."

Joshua let the button go on his tactical radio, and only got static.

Eric and Scott had been yelling at the two for over a minute. The two people still didn't respond. Eric and Scott became increasingly jumpy. "Raise your hands by the count of three, or I WILL open fire," Scott said.

The hands came outstretched, and the two suddenly walked towards the Squad.

"Stop moving!" However, as soon as he said this, he pulled the trigger. Three rounds entered the man's head at point-blank range, dropping him like a sack of bricks. Eric, less than a second later, put half a dozen hollow points into the woman's chest.

"Shit!" They walked over to the corpses they had just gunned down. The people looked like skeletons, with decaying flesh. They could see bone and dried, cracked skin.

"What the hell is that," Scott murmured. This was not a question. What they had just shot was not human at all.

The two looked around in the hallway. There were no other threats, but they all could hear movement in the next isle. "Let's go see what else is wrong here," Joshua said, already running as a bloodcurdling scream ripped through the whole floor.

He sprinted down the hallway, making a sharp right at the end of it...and stopping dead in his tracks.

Joshua simply could not believe what he was seeing. There was no way to describe it, except...

...except that guy is getting eaten by a cat.

A man lay on the floor about fifteen feet away, face down, with a typical cat standing on his back, eating from a cavernous red hole. The cat seemed to be taking his time, also, picking at bones, and savoring meat.

Oh. My. God.

The cat turned around. A sudden chill went up Eric, Scott, and Josh's spines. The cat had bulging eyes, red where the white should be, and yellow where black should have been. The face was covered with blood, and the teeth had quadrupled in size, looking ten times as sharp.

The cat moved blurringly fast. In a single second, it jumped from the corpse to the shocked trio.

What saved Scott's life was the fact that he raised his M16 to shoot the little freak off the man. The cat opened his mouth wide, exposing two more layers of teeth inside the mouth. Two jagged tongues were in the mouth that had opened wide enough to swallow a basketball. The cat's mouth wrapped around the barrel of the rifle. With out stopping or slowing down, the cat ripped the gun from Scott's hands, narrowly missing his head.

The other two men were too shocked and startled to do anything. As the trio looked on, the cat landed gracefully, rifle still in mouth. They looked on as the cat bit the rifle in half with seemingly no effort at all, and proceeded to eat it.

Eric snapped out of his trance. He raised his rifle and let loose a hail of bullets, turning the cat into a smear on the wall.

For a moment, no one spoke, and then Scott made the most obvious statement in the world...

"Something's very very wrong here."

Now all that Scott had left was his small Beretta. The three stood in silence and finally to break the silence Eric spoke up,

"Why do we always get the shitty shifts?"

It was a poor attempt at humor, they all knew it. The silence in the hallway was unnerving. This time Scott seemed to say what was on everyone's mind,

"A fucking cat. A fucking cat," he repeated.
"I know man, this shit is freaking me out too," added Joshua.
"Come on. We've got work to do," said Eric.

The three turned around and headed back down the hallway from where they had came. They got back to the door leading to the staircase and Joshua turned on his radio.

*Bzzt* "Attention. Suspects have been... immobilized; now proceeding to the next floor. Status report."

*Bzzt* "We read ya. So far we haven't encountered anything. It seems like the whole damn place has been evacuated. We'll follow after we've checked the remaining area. Over."

Joshua opened the wooden door and stepped back into the stairway. Followed by Eric and Scott, he led the way down. Their boots clanged on the metal steps and no one spoke. Each member was trying to rationalize this situation, when each knew there could be no rational answer.

Joshua opened the next-door and jutted his head outward, quickly giving everything the once over. This was one single corridor that lead down to numerous rooms. The corridor had an eerie feeling, not a single stain covering its blue painted walls.

"It's just too damn quiet here," said Eric.

Scott nodded and followed Joshua out the door. The corridor was very compact, barely being able to have two people side by side. They came to the first door and Eric and Scott got on either side as Joshua stood in front of it. In one motion he whipped open the door to reveal an empty office. The three sighed just as a door down the hallway came crashing open, catching the three off guard. The thing had what looked like a fish head, but a large body with two claws on each hand. The thing gave out a loud shriek and charged. Joshua did the only thing he could; he let loose with his SPAS, hoping the thing would die.

The thing seemed not to feel the blasts as it advanced towards the three people. Scott fired his Beretta 92FS pistol, the dull pop of the 9mm lost among the rattle of the Colt rifle and the roar of the Franchi shotgun.

The rifle clicked empty. A brief second later, the shotgun followed suit. The Beretta did also.

Rather than reload, the trio ran. Something like that didn't even feel 9 shells from a shotgun, 12 bullets from a rifle, and 15 9mm hollow points was probably a force not to be reckoned with.

They ran down the hallway and made a left, their heavy breathing lost in the pounding of the creature, though it could have easily been the pounding of their hearts.

They made a right, heading down another hallway in the labyrinthian building. At the end of the hall, there was a walking-dead-man. Scott nearly ran into it.

"Oh, God!" He raised his Beretta and pointed it at the thing...the zombie's head with intent to kill. He pulled the trigger, but a muted clack told him that that was not possible. He fumbled for the clip. He ejected the empty magazine and pulled out his other one...his last one...and slammed it in. He raised his gun...

...only to have a massive chunk of flesh ripped out of his hand. He screamed in pain, firing no less than ten shots into the zombie. It sailed backwards, landing in a puddle.

He then realized that the Fish-Head-Thing had not chased them. That was good considering that...

OH, GOD! MY FUCKING HAND! FUCK! Scott clutched his hand and howled in pain. At that point, he hoped the zombie didn't have any diseases he could have caught from being bitten...

Joshua and Eric looked around and then back to Scott. Joshua looked at his hand and cringed.
"You going to be all right?" Joshua asked.

Scott absently nodded, and gave an impatient wave with his good hands, "No problems. Just need to bandage it, that's all."

Joshua stared at him, then at the body of the zombie that bit him, "If that thing has a disease, there's a good chance you might have it now," he said calmly.

"No shit Sherlock!" yelled Scott as he got to his feet. He took out his clip and counted the bullets left, "Damn, I'm as good as out of this little excursion," he said.

"You're right. Okay," Joshua began with a long sigh, "Go up to the roof and radio for evac. Eric and I will stay here," Joshua calmly told him again.

Eric shifted uncomfortably, "We're all gonna die anyway," he mumbled to himself.

Joshua just shot him a glare in return. Scott got to his feet and made a good-bye gesture with his hand as he quickly ran to the stairway. He flung open the door and slammed it behind him.

Climbing up the metal stairs Scott suddenly felt tired. "No, I've got to keep going... but... so... tired. NO! I can't fall asleep here," he said to himself as he pushed himself to his feet.

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Joshua and Eric continued on their way around. "We need to find some ammo quick."" said Eric.

"Thank you for pointing out the obvious Mr. Science," was Josh's sarcastic reply.

"Hey, just trying to keep the silence away," he replied.

"Yeah, I know. Come on, let's go."

*Bzzt* "This is Jefferson. We've cleared out the rest of level L5. Now proceeding down to your location." came over the radio.

Joshua grabbed his, *Bzzt* "Be advised, there is a large creature in the main entrance hall on L4, it's one nasty son'bitch. Discretion is advised."

*Bzzt* "We copy. Over and out."

Joshua looked at Eric who kept his focus ahead of them. The two were now walking down the west corridor, toward the autopsy labs. For the most part it was quiet, that is, until they reached the labs.

Joshua walked up to the first double door and kicked it open. Expecting to see something nasty he jumped back with his gun raised. Slowly he realized it was nothing.

"On to the next one," he remarked.

"Why are we doing this? Shouldn't we get the hell out of here?" asked Eric.

"We're doing this because it's our JOB. Plus, I'm stuck in two months worth of bills for my apartment," Joshua said shrugging.

"We should go check on Scott," said Eric.

"I guess you're right. Okay, let's go," said Joshua. And with that, they left for the roof.

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Finally Scott had made it to the roof of the building. He sat down next to the roof's wall and closed his eyes. Slowly he picked up his radio.

*Bzzt* "This is unit #398 of the L Squad. I'm in need of immediate evac. Over." he said.

After what seemed like forever the reply came.

*Bzzt* "Proceeding with evac. Remain in your current position."

Something bothered Scott. "How would they know I came back up to the roof? I guess I'm just being paranoid," he said to himself.

Now he could hear the chopper's blades engine, and the chopper came into view. Scott slowly got up when he wished he hadn't. Out of nowhere a rocket came flying and connected with the helicopter. Scott dove back down and covered his head as the chopper crashed on the roof, burning wildly.

"Who shot the fuckin' rocket?! More importantly, who'd have a fuckin' rocket launcher?!" he said.

He got up and walked over to the destroyed wreck. He figured he might as well try to salvage something. Being careful not to get burned he reached into the chest in the back of the helicopter to reveal an H&K MP5-N. He yanked it out and grabbed as many clips as he could carry, which was approximately eight.

"The pilot must have something on him..." he thought as he looked around the wreck. That's when he noticed a few feet lying from the copter was what looked like a Desert Eagle magnum. He picked it up and pulled the slide back, chambering the bullet.

"I've got to tell the guys about this." As soon as he said that, the two others appeared on the roof, looking at him and then at the carnage.

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The gigantic monster stumbled down the street, heaving the huge rocket launcher it had on its' shoulders. In response to its handiwork it uttered a low growl.

"STAARRRRRSSSSS"

Scott took the MP-5N and pulled the bolt back with his injured right hand. It was okay that his right had gotten injured, as he was the only one of them who was left-handed.

Still...damn this HURTS.

He took the Desert Eagle and looked both weapons over. The Heckler & Koch machine gun had not been hurt by the collision, but the Israeli Military Industries magnum sure looked scratched up. Scott knew he shouldn't fire an unsafe weapon, but it was okay...

He aimed at the cement railing of the roof. He fired, and with a thunderous crack, a hole half an inch wide was blown out. Good, the weapon's safe. He holstered the Desert Eagle, shoving his near-empty Beretta into the back of his belt. It was against policy to take weapons like this, but these were not normal circumstances.

The helicopter also contained an M16 that was bent in a 90-degree angle, but the ninety rounds for it weren't. Eric happily took the three clips out.

Joshua found eighteen flechette shells for his shotgun. He stuffed them in pockets, happy to have more than standard buckshot.

"Hey, we really hit the jackpot, huh?" It was Scott's feeble attempt at a joke, and one that got him glares.

Joshua pulled out his radio. "Attention all teams, attention all teams..."

What he got back was a burst of static, noise, and a few words. "...can't...why...shit ...won't die! Need...ckup...ease...if...ou can...OD, NO!"

There was a sudden thump over the other end of the radio, and then there was just static. Joshua usually was not frightened easily, but his hands trembled as he put the radio away. "Oh, man..." Was all he said.

"Uh..." Scott mumbled. "We should get out of this building. And, um, now, if possible."

Without a word, the three men jogged back towards the door. Joshua spoke into the radio as they ran. "Damn it, all squads, attention all squads, we are immediately evacuating! I repeat, immediately evacuating!" All he got was static.

"Let's take the elevator. Then, we can get to the first floor and get the hell out! After that, we..." Scott was cut off as a sharp scream rocketed through the hallways.

"No! Get away from me!" A moment later, "You son of a bitch! I'll KILL YOU!" It sounded like a girl's scream and a boy's voice.

The three ran in the direction that the scream came from. They increased their pace as they heard a series of what were unmistakably gunshots. Then, the screaming was silent, as were the shots.

The trio arrived at an inconspicuous office door that they'd stood by when the Cat-Thing attacked. They did not follow standard protocol for a three-man breach, where they took positions on each side of the door and had Josh blow the hinges off the door. Eric threw a massive kick at it, and it gave. Inside, they found the most horrible scene they had ever seen.

A little boy was crying over a dead girl that was probably no more than eight years old. Her neck had been torn open and nearly eaten. That alone wanted to make the three vomit. There were three dead zombies in the room and an empty Glock 17 pistol next to the boy. Spent casings littered the room.

The boy turned around, and it was obvious that he really was crying. "I can't believe it...I just...they came at her so fast...I tried to stop them, but they were just on her like that, and oh my God!" He burst into tears again.

Jesus... Eric walked over to the crying boy. "There, there. There's nothing you could have done. You did your best, and look, you killed all of the things!"

The boy glared at him. "My damned best wasn't good enough to save her."

Eric couldn't find anything else to say. Except... "What's your name, little boy?"

"Tom...Tom Kinson."

"How old are you, Tom?"

"Ten and a half."

"And why are you in a building like this?

"Me and my sister went with my dad to work today, even though the TV said to stay indoors. We just went to help him with some paperwork, some filing. Then, we heard there was an accident in the building and to stay inside the offices. My dad went to go see what was wrong, and that was the last we saw of him. I remembered that he had a gun and some ammo in the bottom of a drawer; so I got it, and just as I did, some of those...things burst in and attacked my sister. I tried to shoot them all, but I was too late..."

"Hey, look at me. You did the best you could, all right? Nothing can bring your sister back, and that's the cold truth, Tom. But if she were alive, don't you think she'd want to get you out of the..."

Bmp bmp bmp bmp bmp bmp bmp bmp bmp. There were shots in the hall from the MP-5N. Scott stuck his head in. "Can we please save this for later?"

"Wait, alright?" Eric turned to Tom. "Come on, Tom. Let's go. We have to."

Tom was so distraught that he only bothered to pick up the Glock as he was pulled from the room. He knew that he was the only one left, and he had to survive.

"Hey, kid, you know how to use that thing?" Joshua gestured to the Glock.

Tom ejected the empty, and then put a fresh clip in. He chambered a round, then said, "Yes."

"Okay. We are going down the stairs. Do you know..." Joshua was cut off.

"Why don't you just take the elevator? I think they still work..." Tom piped up.

"Yeah, good idea. Where are those?" Scott asked.

"Around that corner," Tom pointed. The four ran in the direction he pointed in, and sighed with relief. There was a group of six elevators. They were rather nice looking, which was not too bad with them...they generally were the best reinforced.

One of the elevators was open, a broken cable dangling, exposing a black elevator shaft that not even the sparks could light. Another elevator had a massive gash in the door. Other than that, the elevators seemed to work fine.

The four pressed a button, and an elevator door opened. This revealed another cat eating a zombie. The four hastily shut the door.

The next elevator was empty, but the floor was gone.

The third had no less than six zombies inside it. Joshua fired two flechette rounds and closed the doors.

The final was empty. They got inside, happily. "We're out of here!" Eric screamed with joy as they got on.

Beep.

"Huh?" Tom was confused as he looked at the elevator panel.

"What?"

"The weight limit sign is going off. But this elevator has a 2500 lb limit." Tom didn't know what was wrong.

"Probably just a short circuit." Joshua dismissed the thought as he pressed the "G" button. The elevator began its decent.

Scott was very tired and sore. His eyes itched like hell and he had a migraine. That was why he didn't notice the dripping at first. Then, he noticed that there was red liquid...blood dripping down from the top of the elevator shaft.

"Um...guys?" Scott raised his gun.

Suddenly, a meter-long scaly spike came straight through the roof. It was four inches wide, so when it pulled back and Scott looked up, he could see the assailant. A chill ran through his soul as he recognized it. It was the Fish-Head-Thing, standing atop the elevator, rearing for another thrust.

The other three people saw it too. They raised their weapons and simultaneously fired, all knowing that it would take more firepower than they had to stop that thing...

Well, there is part 3 of this story. I'm guessing it's easy to see the change in styles. Just Another Shadow and myself have like I said, different styles in how we write. Anyway, see ya' next chapter.