Kingdom Come: The Ashes of Paradise

by J. H. Fee

Chapter 9 is up! Rebecca and Carlos decide to take something with them when they leave Insbruk...but at what cost? ...read and review!

6. The Fall of Philadelphia

Kingdom Come – The Ashes of Paradise

Chapter 5

Note – Exclusively Philadelphia chapter. Need to get these folks caught up, timeline wise.

"Ring around the rosey,

Pocket full of poesies...

Ashes...ashes...

We all fall down."

- Children's Rhyme

July 19th, 3:00 PM

Jodie gripped her handgun tighter, the cold metal pressed against the side of her face as she tried to relax. She was leaning against a wall painted in an ancient and fading green color just outside of the jail cells in the basement of the police station, listening to the sounds of footsteps fading away as Barbara continued on, the older woman not realizing Jodie had stopped.

Finally, the footsteps ceased and she heard the scrape of rubber on the cement floor. "Hey, you alright?" The crisp, controlled voice of the red-head drifted back to Jodie, and she forced herself to nod.

They had come down here to see if any of the prisoners were unaffected by...whatever it was that was happening. The chief was waiting outside to meet a squad car that had called in shortly after Mark and Jason had gone to the garage, and the two girls had decided they needed to accomplish something too. So, off they went.

Barbara took several steps back, peering at Jodie carefully. The woman was much calmer now, which might have had something to do with the large shotgun she had strapped to her shoulder and clenched in her hands. "You sure?"

Jodie closed her eyes and forced the gun down to her waist, taking a deep breath. Then she nodded again. "Yeah. I just...needed a minute." She smiled, opening her eyes to focus on the other woman as carefully and steadily as she could.

"Alright. Come on, we need to hurry." Barbara half-waved the shotgun down the hallway, then started walking again. Jodie took another long breath, pushed herself off the wall and followed.

The two had not encountered as many zombies as they had expected. In fact, they had only needed to shoot three between the squad office and the cell hallway, and then a last one just inside. Barbara said it was the officer who was supposed to be watching the gate, but his face and clothing had been so badly torn that Jodie couldn't figure out how the women knew. Not that it mattered.

They were about to enter the cells. Barbara said there were twenty seven people being held down here, everything from three people being held overnight for processing to a murder suspect being held for county until the end of the week.

But as Barbara slid her key-card through the lock and the door slid open, the hallway was silent. Dead Silent; Jodie frowned at the words as they popped into her head.

Neither spoke as they stepped into the room. Before them stretched twenty identical gate-frame doors, ten on each side, and all were closed but the last on the left.

"Aren't they all supposed to be closed?" Jodie whispered to Barbara and the other woman nodded, hefting her shotgun.

"Yeah, but something could have shorted out. There were a lot of shots being fire, all over the building." She stepped forward then, gun out, and peered into the first of the cells. Jodie was a step behind, back to the other as she checked the cell opposite.

Two men each were standing inside, staring blankly at the walls and swaying back and forth. They made no motion to acknowledge the two armed women, and when Jodie started to reach forward to shake the gate and make them, Barbara grabbed her arm.

"They're dead. Don't bother." Jodie frowned, staring at the men for another moment. "Look at their eyes. That's what gives it away." Barbara pointed, and Jodie saw then that all four of the prisoners in those cells had white, cataract-covered eyes.

"They shouldn't be standing up, then." Jodie muttered, flicking the safety on her pistol off and on. "Should we shoot them?"

"No...they can't get out. Come on." Barbara gave her a little tug, and they moved on to the next set of cells. All were either empty, or had a shambling, dead figure inside. It was disheartening, to say the least.

When they reached the open cell, they found two of the carriers, both had been shot and were lying twitching on the floor. Barbara moved over warily to inspect them, and Jodie couldn't help but look away, staring into the cell opposite.

It took her a moment to realize there were people in the cell, huddled in the corner. "Barbara, someone's still alive here." She called back to the other woman as she stepped up to the jail cell and tapped her gun against the bars. "Hey, you alright?"

The huddled form shifted and split, and revealed two people, kids really. Both stared at her, wide eyed, and the man pulled a gun from his coat and pointed it at her. "Go away!"

"Hey, watch it! We're here to help." Barbara had come up next to her, and the older woman almost growled at the man. Jodie took a long step backwards and brought her gun up to point at him.

"No you aren't. That cop wanted to help and he's dead and go away!" He waved the gun threateningly and Barbara smirked, brandishing her shotgun.

"Put that down, kid. You can't stay in there, you'll starve." As Barbara spoke, Jodie watched the girl. She looked almost exactly like the boy, and Jodie realized they must have been twins. Brown hair, brown eyes, twin masks of fear. Definitely twins, and not more than thirteen. She frowned suddenly and stepped forward.

"How did you get down here? You aren't criminals." She had gotten arrested before, and they didn't bring Juvenile's down here.

The boy jerked his gun towards her for a moment, then let it drop to his lap. "We...we were here with mom reporting her car stolen and everybody went crazy. Mom...she...she told us to run and we ended up down here and the cop guy put us in here...he said it would be safe and...but...all the other cells...the people were..." He trailed off suddenly. "Zombies aren't supposed to be real..."

"Calm down, okay?" Jodie tried to smile, but it felt as fake as she sounded. "We're okay, like you. We've been getting rid of the...zombies...and you really need to come out of there, alright? You'll be safer with us." She glanced towards Barbara, who nodded after a moment.

"No!" The boy tried to scurry back farther, his sister clinging to his arm. "The cop was...he was fine, like us. But...but he got sick! He felt himself...he...he gave me the gun and then he...ran away and left us! You'll get sick too! We...we have to stay in here."

Jodie was about to answer when Barbara grabbed her arm and dragged her down the hall. "Look. I can go open the cell, and we could just drag them out of there. We don't have time for this."

"You want to risk getting shot?" Jodie frowned. The kid was probably a horrible shot, but she wasn't willing to walk in there and try him. "They're fine in there for now. Those bars will keep anything out, so don't worry about it."

Barbara started to shake her head, but stopped and closed her eyes. "Fine."

Jodie smiled as she pushed past the woman, back towards the cell.

July 19th, 4:30 PM

When the two bands of explorers returned, Mark and Jason from the garage, Jodie and Barbara from the cells, they found the chief laying out a bunch of sandwiches on one of the desks. He had raided the small cafeteria and brought back everything he could that wouldn't spoil outside of the fridge.

As Mark described the creature that had attacked them in the garage, Barbara made two extra sandwiches and disappeared back to the cells.

"I'm not sure we should let those kids stay down there," Jason commented, watching Jodie walk off. "I mean, I know they're scared but we can't be running down there to check on them all the time. And it'll be harder to get them out of there when we leave than it will be now."

"Yeah, but how do we get them out? The kid has a gun, and if he's as scared as you say, he'll use it," Mark finished off a sandwich and leaned back in his seat.

"We could scare them out with another gun," Barbara volunteered. She was holding her shotgun in her lap, running her hand along the barrel.

"Yeah, but then they'll be scared of us too. We don't need that," the chief shook his head. "I'll go down and get them once we-"

He trailed off when the room was filled with teeth-jarring crackling, and they all turned to stare at the large radio tucked into the far wall.

"...thi....car 9....anyon....is..." Mark was up and running before the sound faded, leaping over a desk to grab at the microphone.

"We're here! This is philly PD, station 4. Who'se there?" He shouted into the microphone, wincing at the feedback this caused. He froze, listening, staring at the speaker, but heard only static. "Shit."

"Barbara," the others had followed Mark, and the chief now nodded to the dispatch controller, who pushed Mark out of the way and plucked the microphone from his hands.

She turned several dials on the panel, tapped the microphone against the edge and brought it to her face. "Car 9, this is dispatch. Do you copy?"

The four of them held their collective breath, and for several seconds there was nothing but the faint crackle of the speakers. Then: "...-iggen piece of- ... -ello? Dispatch? Barbara, is that you?"

Barbara couldn't help but grin. "Yeah, it's me...it's good to hear your voice, Mickey. Hold on a moment." She leaned back and handed the microphone to the Chief.

Jason and Mark were grinning as well, watching as the Chief took the microphone from Barbara. Their boss was not smiling, and he almost frowned as he started talking.

"Mickey, this is Chief Mersel. What's your situation?"

"Chief?" Even through the radio, they could tell Mickey was surprised. Understandable, considering how rarely the chief answered calls in. "I'm over at the Natural History museum, with Joey. We got chased in here by that mob of...whatever the hell they are. Zombies? We got lucky though, the curator closed the doors and the garage, so only a few of them got inside. I would've called in sooner, but we were busy getting rid of them."

There was a pause, and the sounds of voices in the background could be heard before Mickey returned. "Look, we need help. The damn things are swarming outside, filling the square...somethin' in drawing them here. We can't get out, and they can't get in but...there's over a hundred of us here. We're going to run out of food fast."

The Chief sighed, holding the microphone against his chest. He had expected something like that, something horrible. "Look, Mickey...to be honest, it's a mess here. I've got two officers and myself left alive, plus Barbara and a couple of survivors. I don't see how we can get you out of there right now. How long can you hold out?"

"Jesus. Only two? But...what happened?"

"We aren't sure, but it's bad. Look, we need to know how long you can wait."

There was a long pause before Mickey responded. "Not sure, Chief. Maybe till nightfall. But the doors here aren't reinforced or anything, so those zombies are going to get in eventually." The man sounded worried.

The chief leaned against the desk behind him, staring at the ceiling, and Jason came up next to him. "Let me talk to him." With a shrug, the taller man handed over the microphone.

Jason closed his eyes for a minute before he started speaking. "Hey Mickey, it's Jason. Look, I've got an idea."

"Jason? Is Mark alive too, then?"

"Yeah, we're...fine. Listen, move everyone upstairs," Jason pictured the museum. He hadn't been there in years. "See if you can trash the stairs. Make it so nothing can get up, alright? These things are stupid, they won't be able to get up there."

"Alright, we'll try. But I don't know how long that'll take. If you can get us out of here..."

Jason nodded at the radio. "We will. It just might take a little while." He paused. "Oh! And watch out for something with...well, a giant arm. It looked like a monster. I don't know, exactly...it could probably get upstairs, though."

"Watch out for a monster with a giant arm? If you say so," Jason could tell Mickey didn't believe him, but didn't try to convince him. He wouldn't have believed it either, if he hadn't seen it.

"Just trust me. Look, we'll get back to you when we figure something out," Jason handed the microphone to Barbara, who moved back to the radio panel with it. Then he turned to the Chief and Mark.

"Alright...so what are we gonna do?"

Meanwhile, down in the cells, Jodie was attempting to coax the twins out of their hiding place with a pair of sandwiches.

"Come on. It's safer upstairs, and you can eat something. And you can get away from those things." She waved a hand to indicate the shuffling corpses in the other cells. "You can't like being near them."

The twins were watching her carefully, and she had a moment to really look at them. Brown hair, the boy's short and the girl's long, pale skin, the same basic facial structure...but what really caught her were their eyes. Large, brown, and so full of fear and worry they almost made her cry. She had to get them out of the cell.

"But what if you get sick?" The girl asked softly, her hands in her lap.

Jodie let out a sigh and shook her head. "Look...I don't know what causes this, but...if it were going to happen to me, it probably would've already, right? Hell, most of the city..." She trailed off. Damn it, she couldn't tell them that... "I mean, the people that are going to...change...already did."

Her brother frowned, but the girl just looked over at the cell next to them. Her eyes were distant, her lips moving soundlessly. Suddenly, she nodded and pushed to her feet. "I'm hungry. And...and I don't want to stay in here anymore."

"Melissa," her brother stood as well, but only to try to pull her back down. "We're safe in here! We can't leave."

"We have to, Derrick. We'll starve in here. And...I don't think Mom is going to come for us, not if she hasn't already. These may be...be the only people left!" She was shouting by the end, and Jodie saw that her eyes were filled with tears. "I don't want to stay in here!"

The boy, Derrick, took a step backwards and frowned, eyes shifting from his sister to Jodie and back, searching their faces before the gun fell from his fingers and he nodded. "I don't really want to either."

Jodie smiled at this, nodding. "Good. I'll be right back, I need to go unlock the cells. And...Derrick, was it? Pick up your gun." Her smile faded a little. "You'll need it."

July 19th, 5:00 PM

"What about the SWAT vans?"

As Jodie and the two kids emerged from the cells, Jason, Mark, the Chief and Barbara were seated in a square near the radio, discussing options. Jason had dragged a chalkboard from the briefing room and he wrote 'SWAT VANS" on the board as Mark suggested it. Half a dozen options had already been written and crossed out.

"Wouldn't work," the chief shook his head. "A swarm of those zombies could tip one over, and then you'll be dead." He stopped as Jodie ushered the two children to a desk nearby and dragged seats over for them. "I see you got them out."

"Yeah," Jodie smiled, handing each child a sandwich. "This is Derrick, and that's Melissa. They decided hunger wasn't much fun."

"Well hello then," Mark grinned at the two kids, and Jason resisted the urge to laugh. Mark, unsurprisingly, was amazing with children. "I'm Mark, the stiff at the board is Jason, the fat man is Chief Mersel and the pretty redheaded lady is Barbara. Welcome to our little party."

Both kids mumbled 'hellos' around their sandwiches, with got a small laugh from Barbara, everyone else just smiling. More survivors, that they didn't have to find a way to rescue, was something of a relief.

"So what's going on?" Jodie asked as she sat down on the edge of a desk, crossing her legs.

"We've got a bunch of survivors at the Natural History Museum. We're trying to figure out how to get them out of there." Barbara said. "But we can't find a way that doesn't get us all killed. Apparently the place is surrounded by zombies."

Jodie raised an eyebrow, shifting her gaze to stare at the board. "What about a helicopter?"

"We thought of that," Jason shook his head. "I can fly one, but the police chopper is small. We can only fit six or seven people in it, at best. It would take a long time to haul those people out."

"And even if we get them out, where are we going to put them?" the chief sighed. "If Mickey is right, and the zombies are clustering there because of all the survivors, they're going to follow us when we move." He glanced around. "I love this building, but it isn't really secure."

"What about-" Derrick spoke up suddenly, but he trailed off when everyone turned to stare at him. "Uh...never mind."

"No, Derrick, what is it?" Jodie leaned forward to peer past Melissa at the boy.

"Well, my dad works as a custodian at the Navel Yard in South Philly, and they have a lot of helicopters," he shifted in his seat.

"I thought they closed that place down," Barbara frowned.

"They did, but Dad said they...mothballed...a bunch of things; ships and helicopters at least. And they still have a cleaning staff there." Melissa spoke up then, smiling nervously.

"It could work," Mark nodded, writing it on the board. "And since the place is closed, there probably weren't many people there. Hell, they might even still be alive."

"But how do we get there?" Jodie asked, prompting a grin from Mark.

"Well, the helicopter can hold us easily enough. We could fly over, and if it looks like we can get down there and get what we need without getting hurt, we'll land. If not, we fly back here and find another way." He stood up, then paused and peered over at the Chief. "Er...if you think it'll work, Chief."

Chief Mersel laughed at that, shrugging. "I think you're doing a better job figuring this stuff out than I am, Mark. If we can make it work, it's a go. But we all go, and we take all our stuff." The large man glanced over at the kids for a moment, then back. "This place isn't safe enough for anyone to be by themselves."

"But someone has to watch the radio, Chief." Barbara tapped the edge of the radio panel.

"We'll use the ones on the helicopter," the Chief stood, and everyone but the two children did as well, watching him.

He stared around at all their faces before clapping his hands together. "Well, come on people. Get to it."

"Sir!" Jason and Mark said as one, grinning, as the Jodie and Barbara nodded. The four of them scattered, leaving the chief standing there with the two children. The big man turned to them.

"You were here with your mom, right?" They nodded slowly. "Well, I'm not going to lie...I do not know if she is still alive. But...we can look for her while they get ready, alright?"

The twins looked at each other for a long time before they stood and nodded.

July 19th, 6:30 PM

With a grunt, Mark tossed the last duffel bag of ammunition and weapons into the helicopter and sat down on the edge, staring out at the city. Several of the towering sky scrapers were on fire, their shapes glistening in the evening light. He could hear the groans of the zombies out in the streets, and the occasional distant sound of survivors, a motor or a gunshot.

"Scary, isn't it?" Jason said, coming out of the roof access door with two large bags that contained everything canned from the cafeteria.

"Extremely," Mark nodded, pursing his lips. "I still hear signs of life, though. There are people out there."

"I know," Jason set the two bags inside and turned to sit down beside his partner. "But we can't help them, Mark. If we go out there, we'll die. And then we won't be able to help everyone at the museum."

"If we even can," Mark signed. "What if the kid is wrong?"

"Then we'll think of something else," Jason reached out and gave the man a pat on the back "Don't give up now, man. You're supposed to be the positive one, remember?"

Mark laughed, shaking his head. "Yeah, I know. It's just ... hard."

"I know. But we can't dwell on it. There are still things we have to do," Jason turned to stare out at the city as well.

They sat there in silence, watching the city they had signed on to protect burn. Mark pushed to his feet finally and smiled. "Come on. Let's go get the others."

Downstairs, Jodie and Barbara were perched on a pair of desks, waiting. Barbara had been trying to contact the museum, but no one was answering the radio.

"If they moved to the second floor, it makes sense that they can't get to their car," Jodie said, eliciting a nod from the other woman.

They were sitting in the same places, talking quietly when the chief entered, followed by the twin teens.

Jodie glanced up and watched them, unsure how to react. "How'd it go?"

"We didn't find any trace of her," Chief Mersel shook his head, setting his handgun down on a desk. The twins moved across the room and Melissa climbed up to sit next to Jodie and Derrick settling into a chair next to them.

"She could still be alive," Melissa said quickly, a hopeful smile on her face. "She could've gotten out of the building."

"Maybe she did," Jodie smiled, trying to sound hopeful. It was unlikely, but anything was possible. "We couldn't get through to the museum, but I figure they're up on the second floor."

The chief nodded and started to respond when Mark appeared in the doorway. "Alright people, this flight's takin' off now, so make sure you've got everything and head for the roof. We'll meet you up there." He waved and vanished back into the door.

The five left in the room moved to gather up their things.

July 19th, 7:15 PM

The helicopter was uncomfortably cramped, but they all managed to squeeze in. The twins were seated on top of the ammunition bags, which definitely made everyone even more nervous, but nothing had exploded from a misplaced foot.

Mark flew, and everyone else stared out the windows at the city. It was a wreck, car accidents and burning buildings, bodies littering the streets, and worse yet the bodies that were walking around the streets.

"That car is moving!" Melissa suddenly shouted, and everyone twisted around to see. Down in the street a battered looking old chevy was driving down the street, turning around the wrecked cars and slamming into the zombies.

"There must be people in there..." Jodie murmured.

"Yeah. Maybe I can get their attention," Mark pressed forward and the helicopter lowered towards the ground, dipping down in front of the car. Everyone waved, and the car seemed to slow for a moment.

"I think they waved back," Barbara said. "It looked like there were a couple people in there, but I couldn't really tell."

"Well, I hope they can follow us. I have to pull up," Mark brought the vehicle back up, and Jodie twisted around in her seat to watch. As the helicopter went around a building, the car shifted to follow.

"They're following us. I hope they can get through..." Jodie glanced at the others, then returned her gaze to the car.

It took them ten minutes longer than expected to get to the Navel Yard because Mark had to drop the helicopter down twice more when it seemed like they had lost the cars attention. But, finally, they were over the ships and buildings that made up the once-occupied yard. Half a dozen large ships, including an aircraft carrier, were floating in the water off the edge, and as Mark peered down he didn't see any signs of zombies.

"It looks empty. Where should I land?"

"Over there, on that ship," the chief pointed to the aircraft carrier and Mark guided the helicopter towards it.

"The car just pulled in," Jodie called out, half-rising in her seat. "I'll go down to get them."

"Not alone, you won't. I'll come with you. Barbara too. Jason, take Mark and the twins and see if you can round up some transportation for us."

"Sure Chief," the man nodded, jolting forward as the helicopter touched down on the deck of the carrier. Everyone piled out and armed themselves. They stayed together, moving cautiously across the giant ship.

Between Barbara and Jason they managed to lower the electronic gangplank, and as they reached the bottom and fanned out the car that had been following them pulled up nearby.

"Jason, Mark, go now. Find us those helicopters." The chief muttered to his officers, and they nodded, heading off towards the hangers with the twins in tow.

The chief lifted his pistol, pointing it at the car, and Barbara did the same with her shotgun. Jodie frowned at them both, stepping forward, her own gun resting against her hip. "You can come out, it's alright."

The car shifted and the doors opened, the occupants spilling out onto the pavement. A blonde woman in her mid-forties and two teenage boys climbed out, the two boys aiming handguns at the chief as the woman reached in and pulled out a baby, holding it against her shoulder.

"Don't shoot!" The woman called, stepping past the teens. "Please."

The chief stared at her for a long moment before he lowered his gun. Barbara did the same, and a moment later the two teenagers as well. "I'm Chief Mersel, Philly PD. Who are you?"

"Missy Gray," the woman brightened at the mention of the police. "These are my kids." She nodded to the three children.

"Are you alone?"

"No, my husband and his brother are in the back seat. They're both badly hurt." She shook her head, adjusting the baby in her arms.

The chief eyed them for a minute, then looked at Jodie and Barbara. Both women shrugged, so he turned back. "Come on then, we'll get them onto the ship."

It took Jason and Mark to push the door to the hanger open, the twins watching carefully. They were almost positive this was where the helicopters were kept.

The evening light spilled into the hanger, revealing the shadowy forms of three large helicopters. Mark let out a woop, moving towards them. "Thank god. We can use these to get those people out, easy."

"Well, we can use one of them, anyway." Jason followed, glancing behind to make sure the twins did as well. "You're the only one of us that can fly, remember?"

"Yeah, I guess. I could probably show you, then we could take-"Mark stopped dead, bringing his gun up and peering around. "Did you hear that?"

"What? No, I didn't hear anything," Jason frowned, bringing his own gun up as well. The twins darted over, standing nearby. Derrick still had his handgun, but the girl was unarmed.

"I'm sure I heard something. A footstep, maybe. It was definitely there." Mark turned a slow circle, gun held out.

"You did. You heard me." A deep voice echoed out of the shadows near the door, and they all spun around to see a large man with a rifle pointed at them. "Freeze."

He was at least 6'5, with coal-colored skin and dressed in a janitor's uniform. "Who are you?"

"We're with the Philadelphia Police," Mark and Jason leveled their guns at the man. "Put down your weapon."

"The police?" The man paused and a smile slipped onto his face. "Does that mean somebody's finally sent help? Been stuck here for hours." He lowered his gun.

Mark sighed. "No, not exactly. We need to take these helicopters. There are a lot of people trapped downtown."

"Damn it," the man sighed, peering out the door for a moment. Suddenly he seemed to remember something and looked back. "None of you have been bitten, right?"

"What? No...we haven't," Jason frowned. "Why?"

The man didn't answer, just stared at them for a long moment. "Come on. I'll take you to the others." The man twisted around and headed farther into the recesses of the building.

Jason and Mark glanced at each other, then started after him. The twins followed.

July 19th, 8:00 PM

The large man lead them through several more hangers to a large flight of stars guarded by two more men in janitor's clothing. Both were carrying shotguns, which they leveled at those approaching.

"It's me. And they're clean." The man called out and the others lowered their guns, nodding.

"Hey Rich, where'd you pick them up?" One of the men asked as Mark and Jason followed 'Rich' up the stairs.

"Found them in hanger C, I'll tell you about it later." He didn't pause, and they headed up the stairs and into the second floor of a large office building.

Rich lead them through a room where fifteen or so people were cleaning weapons and packing boxes with food, into a small office. Inside, three men were seated around a desk, talking quietly. The oldest, at least fifty, was dressed in a navel officers uniform, and seated next to him was another officer, much younger. The third man was dressed like the other janitors.

Rich shifted his gun onto his shoulder, "Sir, I found some people snooping around one of the hangers and-"

"Dad!" Jason and Mark found themselves shoved out of the way as the twins barreled into the room and dove towards the seated janitor.

"What in the...kids?" The man caught them, his chair tipping backwards until it bumped into the wall. "What are you doing here? It isn't safe..."

Jason stared at the man, and now he could see the resemblance. Well, the kids had said their father worked here...it made sense.

"We, we were at the police station while mom was reporting the car stolen and everything...everything went wrong." Melissa spoke into her father shoulder.

People were recovering from their surprise, and the older man in the uniform turned to Jason and Mark, frowning. "Philadelphia PD, right? And the police station fell to those...zombies? Is the entire city like this?"

They nodded solemnly and the man let out a curse. "Damn it, then what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be out fixing it?"

"We can't. Half the city is on fire," Jason shook his head. "We know where some survivors are waiting, and we came here to get helicopters so we could get them out."

"Survivors? Are you sure they are? Have they been bitten?" The younger officer asked suddenly, leaning forward in his seat.

"I...don't know. Why does that matter?" Jason stared at the officer.

"Because that's how it works! We figured it out a couple hours ago. If you're bitten, you change. You turn into a zombie. It takes a few hours, but it happens. Even if it is a little bite..." The man trailed off and sighed. "So, have they been?"

So that was how it worked...Jason ran the idea through his head for a moment. It was just like those awful slasher movies. "I don't know if they've been bitten, but we have to try and get them. We found some other survivors as we were flying here, too. They followed us in a car. And..." Jason trailed off and glanced at Mark, who was staring back at him in horror.

"If any of the people in that car were bitten...the chief doesn't know what'll happen!" Mark said quietly, shock in his voice. "We have to go back and warn him."

Jason nodded, turning to the two officers, "We need..."

"Go!" The older officer waved his hands quickly. "Go warn your friends. Where did you land?"

"On the aircraft carrier in the harbor," Jason called back as he twisted around and ran from the room, followed by Mark and the large man, Rich.

"We'll follow after you then, Hurry!" Both officers pushed to their feet and followed them out of the room.

Off to the side, the twins and their father sat talking softly.

Rick lead Mark and Jason back through the navel yard, the large man surprisingly agile as he slipped between crates and obstacles without even slowing down. They went back through the hangers and out onto the open square in the center of the complex. The aircraft carrier was across from them, and the car which had followed was still parked by the gangplank. Jodie was seated on the hood, a shotgun in her lap, and she waved when they appeared.

"Jodie!" Mark slid to a stop next to the car, panting for breath. "Where's the chief? Was anyone in that car hurt?" Rick and Jason came up behind him, guns held at the ready.

"What?" She stared at them for a moment. "The chief is up on the ship, and two of the people in the car were hurt pretty badly. They're all up on the top of the ship now. Who is that?" She pointed at Rick, but the three men were already running up onto the ship. Jodie frowned and climbed off the car, jogging after.

Jason reached the top first, and found the Chief and Barbara pulling bags off of the helicopter. On Against the edge of the ship the people from the car had taken up residence, the two teenagers watching the baby while the woman took care of the two injured men.

"Chief!" He called out, racing towards the helicopter. He slid to a stop, his voice dropping to a whisper. "Chief, you alright?"

"What? I'm fine, Jason. What's going on?" Rick and Mark caught up, Jodie following after. "Who is that person?"

"What? That's Rick. We found a bunch of survivors here. But that doesn't matter," Jason pursed his lips. "They know how it spreads! If the zombies bite you or kill you, then you turn into one! Which means..." He trailed off, shifting to look over at the small family.

The Chief frowned, eyes closing as he considered this. "Damn it," he muttered, rubbing his hands together. Eyes opened and looked pointedly at Rick. "You people are sure of this?" Rick just nodded in response.

Chief Mersel reached into the helicopter and picked up his gun. "It means we need to tell those people they can't stay here. At least, not with their injured family members." He took a deep breath. "I'll tell them."

The others nodded, stepping aside so the Chief could pass, then falling into step behind him. As they came up to the small family, Jason and Rick stepped to the side, their guns pointed at the two injured men.

"Ma'am," the Chief tipped his head to her politely. "We have a problem. I have just been informed of how the...zombies...are created. I have reason to believe your husband and brother have been infected. Have any of the rest of you been bitten?"

The uninjured members of the family were staring at him, and they slowly shook their heads. Both injured men appeared to be unconsciously. The mother, Missy, shook her head. "They aren't sick, though. Just hurt. They got hurt helping us, they can't be..."

"None-the-less, Mrs. Gray, I'm going to have to ask you to move them down to the docks. You may treat their injuries down there just as easily as up here. I can not afford to take any chances." The Chief shook his head.

Rick stepped forward suddenly. "It doesn't take long to happen, only a couple of hours. If they are still...alive...by midnight, they probably aren't going to change."

"You can't really mean..." The woman stared at the Chief, and he met her gaze evenly. "I...fine. We'll go down there. But you'll see, they'll be fine, and you'll have to let us back on here." She stood, taking the baby from her son, and the two teenagers carried the injured men back down the gangplank and into their car.

Rick turned to the others then, nodding. "You did the right thing. I'll stay with them until," he stopped speaking and took a breath. "Until they need me, I suppose." He followed the family down the ramp, leaving the group from the police department standing alone on top of the ship.

"Well, that was horrible." Barbara said softly, moving to the edge of the ship and staring down at the ground.

"We had to do it. If we're going to bring people back here, we can't risk the zombies being on board. Any luck with the helicopters?" The Chief started back towards their own helicopter.

"Well, we found them. The skeleton crew that maintains the docks seems to have survived, they might help us. They said they were going to follow us here." Jason followed after him, resting his shotgun on his shoulder. "If some of them can fly, we can probably do the whole thing in one trip."

"Alright, we'll do that. Barbara, see if you can raise Mickey again, tell him what is going on, and-"He stopped as Jodie shoved away from the edge of the ship and came running back to them.

"Guys, there's like, twenty people coming towards the ship," She slid to a stop, putting out a hand to brace herself against the side of the helicopter. "A bunch of them are carrying boxes."

"Boxes?" Mark echoed, glancing towards the edge of the ship. "I wonder," he murmured, walking back to where Jodie had been standing, leaning against the metal railing as he peered down at the dock. The others followed curiously.

Coming out of the helicopter hanger was a slow procession of people, lead by the two Navel officers, the twins and their father. The other people that Jason and Mark had seen filling boxes were following them, some carrying those self-safe boxes, others armed, watching warily.

Rick saluted as they went by, the entire convoy passing by the car and up the gangplank. The two men Mark and Jason has passed when they went up the stairs into the former headquarters took up positions at the bottom of the plank, speaking quietly to Rick.

The chief moved away from the railing, heading over to the gangplank, the others following him. He nodded to the old officer when he climbed on board, and the old man smiled.

"Chief Mersel, it's been some time. Glad to see you're still alive." He offered out a hand to shake and the chief smiled in return, shaking it.

"Captain Kershill, I didn't know there would be an officer of your rank posted here." The chief drew his hand back, moving aside as the men and women carrying the boxes climbed up and past the captain, moving over to set them down nearby. "Are you moving in?"

"We started encountering the zombies last night, and by this morning we were trapped on the base. The ships seem to be the safest place, with only the one entrance, so we were planning to move here anyway. You're arrival simply pushed up our timetable." The twins and their father had remained at the bottom of the gangplank, and they came up now, the two young teenagers smiling broadly. "And these two insisted we come and help you."

The Chief nodded, glancing out at the helicopter hanger. "Well, if you are willing, we'd be greatful. I have two officers trapped in the natural history museum with about a hundred civilians. We can't get to them through the streets, so we're going to need the helicopters. And if any of your men know how to fly them..."

"We have three pilots, and they are already getting the helicopters ready," Captain Kershill grinned. "Think half an hour would be soon enough?"

The Chief looked stunned, then fixed an eye on the twins, who just smiled. "We told him what you wanted to do, Chief." Melissa smiled shyly. "I hope that was alright."

"It was perfect, Melissa. Just perfect." He turned back to the Captain. "Half an hour sounds just right, Captain. And we can figure out the rest of the details while we wait, yes?"

The captain nodded and clapped his hands together. "Yes, we can."

July 19th, 9:00 PM

It was decided that the aircraft carrier would be used as a base, so that if the zombies did decide to attack the navel yard in force, the gangplank could be withdrawn and they would be effectively protected. Several small groups were sent out to gather food and see if they could find any other survivors, as well as hopefully to find some sort of help.

Meanwhile, the four large transport helicopters had been ready, and Mark and Jason were seated on a box, watching quietly as the large machines were wheeled out of their hangers.

"You sure you can fly one of those?" Jason asked as he cleaned his pistol, the parts spread out around him in the box.

"No, not really," Mark shook his head. "I looked inside, and they're mostly like our helicopter. More buttons, though." He picked up the spring from Jason's gun, toying with it until the other officer grabbed it from him. "I'm almost positive I can do it, though."

Jason slipped the spring back into his weapon, eyeing the other man. "Maybe I'll fly with one of the Navy pilots," he grinned as he said it, a teasing lit to his voice.

"Oh take a risk, it'll be fun. I'll do tricks."

"Oh joy," Jason just shook his head as he finished reassembling his weapon and checked the sight. "How many bullets you got left, anyway?"

"On me? A couple of clips and a shotgun belt; I left my bag on the ship though. And the Chief won't let me take the grenade launcher."

Jason laughed, picking up his shotgun then and checking it over. "That is probably for the best, you know. We won't need one, and lord knows you shouldn't be allowed to carry one."

"Hey! I'll have you know I'm a pillar of self control."

"A weak, broken pillar with no base."

"Be that as it may, I'm still a pillar."

"Right, anyway, I think I need to find a few more shotgun shells and-"Jason stopped talking as one of the pilots came jogging over.

"Everything is ready to go, sir," the man saluted, and Jason did so in return, after a moment. He wasn't sure exactly how the Chief had convinced these men to consider police officers their superiors, but he wasn't complaining.

"Alright, we'll be over there in a couple minutes," Jason stood up as the pilot headed back to the hanger. "Come on Mark."

Mark, his eyes suddenly hard and serious, nodded and followed.

Twenty minutes later the four choppers were in the air. Mark, Jason and the Jodie, who had insisted on coming along, were in one, the Chief was in a second with two men from the Navel yard, and each of the other helicopters held three of the people from the Navy Base.

The city was strangely quiet as they passed overhead. In the hour and a half they had been at the base, many of the fires had gone out, and any survivors that might have been wandering around seemed to have gone to ground.

The zombies, for the most part, were listless. The ones they passed were standing still, or shuffling slowly back and forth down the street. "Without anyone to attack, they don't seem to do much." Jodie commented, shaking her head. "I wonder why."

"They can't be that smart, Jodie. Probably like a plant or something, only reacting when something comes near them." Jason shifted in the co-pilots seat to peer back at the girl. "All the ones in the buildings are doing the same thing." He pointed out the window at a skyscraper they were passing. Through the large plate-glass windows, zombies could be seen standing in one spot, swaying slowly back and forth.

As the helicopter passed near one of the windows, all the zombies in the room seemed to shift suddenly, whirling around and charging the window. As Jodie and Jason watched, the former people slammed into the window, and their collective weight shattered the glass. Like lemmings, they charged out into the open air and whirled end over end towards the ground.

Jodie looked away, closing her eyes. "I just don't understand any of this."

"I don't think we can," With a shake of his head, Jason twisted back to Mark. "Hey, how're you holding up?"

"Fine, man; just fine. We'll be there in a couple minutes," the police pilot had taken to the helicopter quite easily, although he had been uncharacteristically silent.

With a nod, Jason settled back into his seat, staring out the windows. Moments later the helicopters flew out over the center square of the city, with the museum situated on the far side.

"Holy..." Mark leaned forward a bit, distracted from his flying as he stared down at the street. The square was jammed from end to end with the monsters, arms waving, bodies shifting. Jason heard a gasp from behind him as Jodie peered out the window as well. "There have to be at least ten thousand people down there." Mark whispered as he returned his gaze to flying.

Jason pushed himself out of his seat, moving back towards Jodie, who was plastered to the window, staring down at the crowd. "Maybe you shouldn't look down there." He said as he passed.

"I can't help it. Look at them all. I probably knew some of them, went to school with some of them..." She trailed off, fingers flexing against the glass.

"Then you really shouldn't look down there. You'll just get upset and we can't afford to have anyon-"He trailed off as Jodie half-stood in her seat, shouting.

"Look! There are people on top of that statue!" She tapped the glass. Jason wondered why the girl kept being the one to spot survivors, but then shook it off and moved to the window behind her to look.

Two people were seated on the shoulders of one of the statues scattered around the square. They were waving their arms desperately as the helicopters passed overhead.

"Mark!" Jason pushed away from the window.

"I see them. Get a rope and I'll hover above them." Mark called back, pulling up his radio and calling to the other helicopters, telling them to go ahead.

Jason nodded, heading into the back of the vehicle and digging around for the rope ladder. He yanked it out and stumbled a step, almost falling into Jodie, who had come up behind him.

"I can help," the teenager said, reaching out to catch his shoulders and keep him from falling. Jason stared at her for a moment.

"Alright, if you insist; there should be a pair of belts attached to the floor. Find them, and put one on." He dragged the rope ladder over to the large sliding down, attaching it to the hooks on the floor. Jodie came up and handed him the end of the second belt, which he snapped around his waist. Both belts were attached to the floor with heavy-duty wire, in case one of them fell out while the door was open.

"When I tell you, pull that lever there and the door will slide open." Jason pointed to a large iron lever against the edge of the sliding door and Jodie nodded, moving over to it. "And make sure you don't fall out!"

"I wasn't planning on it," Jodie grinned, her face a mask of nervous confusion.

"Jason! We're over them." Mark shouted back, and Jason gripped the ladder tighter, nodding to Jodie. She yanked backwards on the lever, almost falling, and the door swung open, the room was filled with wind, and Jason felt like he was going to be ripped from the floor and sucked out the window. He closed his eyes and checked his balance before stepping forward and tossing the ladder out into the evening air.

The low, deep moan that echoed from the crowd was audible even over the whirring of the helicopter blades, but Jason tried to ignore it, keeping his gaze on the two people who were now trying to stand. The ladder unrolled completely, hanging five or so feet above their heads.

"Mark! Take her down another couple of feet!" Jason shouted over the wind, unsure if his partner had heard him. After a moment the helicopter dropped down the rest of the way and the ladder swung into reach of the two people.

Now that they were closer, he could tell it was a young man and woman sitting on the statue. As the ladder swung to them the man reached out and grabbed it, steadying it, and then moving back so the woman could start to climb up.

Once she was several rungs up, the man started up as well, and the ladder swung out away from the statue, into the crowd. Jason frowned and Jodie instinctively reached forward. The ladder was swinging two or three feet above the swarming mass of undead, their festering arms grasping desperately for it.

"Up! Take her up!" Jason shouted desperately, leaning down to grab the edge of the ladder and haul on it. Jodie did the same at the other side, but ended up grabbing onto Jason as the helicopter rose suddenly and she was nearly pitched out.

The ladder swung up and away from the crowd, but not before one of the creatures had hooked an arm through it. As the two people climbed desperately, the zombie hung there like a grotesque puppet, legs treading uselessly through the air.

"Get a knife!" He pushed Jodie farther back into the helicopter, towards the supplies they had brought. "And tell Mark what's going on!" He leaned out the side to try and steady the ladder as the girl nodded and ran towards the cockpit.

The people were halfway up, climbing as best they could. Jason tried to imagine being stuck in there, swinging free from a ladder a hundred feet above a crowd of undead people that wanted to eat you. It was not a pleasant thought.

Jodie appeared next to him. "Mark says he can get rid of the zombie, but you have to get the people up here first." She was holding a heavy-duty combat knife in her left hand.

"If he can't, we'll have to cut the ladder. Put the knife over there and make a space, I'm going to yank them in when they're close enough." Jason waved her away, leaning out again. The woman was five or so feet below him, looking up, her blue eyes filled with terror. Blonde hair whipping in the wind, pale skin, she'd have been beautiful in a different situation. Jason waved at her. "Come on! Just a little more!" She nodded at him and reached up another rung.

The man behind her was climbing faster, and seemed frustrated at her progress, staring up at the helicopter. Jason was afraid he was going to try to go around her, which would have probably sent them both tumbling to the ground. Jason couldn't really blame him though, not with the creature hanging beneath them.

A few moments later, two more rungs up, and Jason reached out to grab the woman by the arm. She stared up at him, surprised, and he found she was lighter than she looked, so he reached out to grab her other, hauling her up bodily and forcing her past him to roll into the far wall with a grunt of surprise.

The man practically ran up the ladder then, grabbing at Jason and the edge of the door and yanking himself inside, sliding to a stop in the center of the helicopter.

"Jodie was beside him again, pulling him away from the door. "Mark says to brace yourself, he's going to try something." Jason nodded, climbing to his feet and moving towards the window curiously, grabbing onto a chair as the helicopter banked left.

He shifted as Jodie pulled the two people away from the door and pushed them into seats, just in time since the bank would have probably dumped them right back out again. The helicopter shot over the crowd, the zombie swinging along behind like a kite. Jason shifted and unhooked the safety belt, pulling himself past the people and into the cockpit, dropping down into the co-pilot's seat again.

"What are you going to do?" He asked, eyes wide. The buildings were flying past as the helicopter turned.

"Just watch," Mark grinned broadly enough to make Jason nervous, and the helicopter smoothed out, heading straight for the building next to the museum. Jason could make out the other three helicopters, two hovering above the building and another slowly setting down on the roof. He thought he could make out the Chief preparing to climb out, and there were definitely people there.

But Mark headed on for the building next to it, and Jason frowned...then sighed. As the helicopter flew over the building, the ladder did not. The zombie was smacked into the side, against the stone, and Jason would have sworn he heard the sick slap of skin and bone. As the ladder flapped free a moment later, it was devoid of corpse.

"Well, that was reckless." Jason commented, and Mark just laughed.

July 19th, 10:00 PM

Chief Mersel stood in the middle of the museum roof, directing the people that had come swarming out of the building onto the helicopters. He stopped several who seemed to be injured, asking them to move over to the side, using his authority to avoid answering questions. It wasn't a tactic he was fond of, but he couldn't help it.

Two men had met them when they landed, telling them that seventy-nine people were trapped on the second floor of the museum. They had blocked access to the floor, but weren't sure how long it would be till the creatures found another way up.

Mersel had told them to start bringing people up and filling the elevators. And had asked them to get Officer Mickey Hannigan, but so far the man had not emerged from downstairs.

The second helicopter was filled and took off into the air, turning around and starting back towards the base. The Chief watched as Mark swung his helicopter through the air and brought it down, Jason leaping out before the vehicle had even touched down.

"What the hell took you so long?" Mersel asked as Jason jogged over, followed by Jodie. The two men who had met the Chief began filing the next group of uninjured people into the helicopter.

"We found a pair of survivors sitting on top of that giant statue in the middle of the square," Jason pointed out over the roof of the museum. "Don't know how they got up there, but we swung around to pick them up.

"Were they bitten?" The Chief asked, his gaze drifting to where they had been telling the people who had to go.

"No, both of them are clean. It's a good thing, too. I don't think we could have shoved them out of the helicopter, you know?" Jodie smiled weakly, her gaze following the Chief's. "Damn...must be at least twenty people. Are they all bitten?"

Mersel nodded, his face stony. "And I don't know what to tell them. I was thinking of putting them all in the fourth helicopter, but I can't ask any of our pilots to fly it."

"So, see if any of them can. Or ask for a volunteer." Jason shrugged. "We can't just leave them. I'm gonna help Mark." The officer spun around and ran back to the helicopter. Jodie stared at the Chief for a few seconds, then reached out and patted him on the shoulder. "You'll figure something out," she offered him a little smile, then blinked. "Uh, Sir."

Mersel actually laughed, shrugging her hand away. "Go help the others." He smiled in return, turning away from her and pulling out his pistol. Damn it, where the hell was Mickey? The large man started towards the doors, which had been closed for the last several minutes. No one else had emerged from the museum, which Mersel wasn't sure how to interpret.

He reached out and yanked the door open, pointing his gun inside. Nothing, no people, not even any noise, just an empty stairwell and-

Wait.

The air seemed to prickle around him and he heard a teeth-wrenching shriek from below, followed by the dull thump of gunshots. Someone shouted, then more firing. Mersel frowned and moved down the stairs two at a time, shoving the heavy fire door at the bottom open and stepping out onto the third floor balcony.

And into chaos.

Mickey and three other men were standing ten feet away, herding a group of six survivors towards the stairs. Before them stood six giant mutated frog-men, One of them threw back it's head and let out another of the shrieks, and the four men stepped backwards.

"Get out of there!" The Chief shouted, bringing up his handgun and firing over their shoulders. As he watched one of the frog-things leapt forward, its arm swinging downwards like a scythe, leaping over the defenders heads and into the crowd of survivors, killing two instantly and injuring a third.

Mersel brought up his gun and figured into the creature, and it stumbled backwards but stayed standing, green-red blood oozing out of its chest. "RUN!" He shouted, and the three uninjured people made a break for the stairs, flying past him. The fourth tried to crawl towards Mersel, but the frog-thing stepped forward and stabbed it's claw through the man's back. He died without a sound. The Chief's next shot caught the creature in the eye and it collapsed backwards, twitching.

Mickey and the other three armed men were fighting off the rest of the frog-men, but as Mersel glanced over he saw one of them leap forward, decapitating the closest man. "Mickey, Run!" Mersel shouted, and the officer took three steps backwards, firing still, then twisted to run. A creature ran towards him but the Chief took a moment to aim, hitting it in the knee and sending it stumbling. The other two men were beginning to follow, but the Frog things seemed to realize they were losing their prey and the four remaining leapt as one, two each crashing into the men.

Mersel winced as they went down, firing another shot or two ineffectually into the frenzy, then turned and followed Mickey up the stairs, slamming the fire door behind him.

As they burst out onto the roof, the Chief let out a relieved sigh, slamming the second door behind him. Those things were big, but two fire doors would probably slow them down.

Most of the survivors seemed to have been moved out, except for the injured ones. Jodie and Jason were standing near their helicopter, talking to one of the men who had met the Chief when he arrived. Mickey was ahead of him, still running. He took several steps forward and turned around.

"Chief, I'm sorry. I didn't...we never saw them coming and..." The left side of the mans shirt and arm were soaked in blood, and the surprise Mersel felt at seeing it must have shown on his face, because Mickey glanced down at his shirt and frowned. "One of them caught me by surprised, slashed me up good. Didn't even feel it till...just now." Mickey actually sounded confused, staring at his injury. "It doesn't even hurt that much."

"You're in shock, Mickey, go sit down." Damn it, did one of those monsters turn you into a zombie, or just a bite? Had the Navy guys encountered one of them?

Mickey nodded, stumbling a few steps and suddenly collapsing. "Bloody hell," Mersel muttered, running over, Jason and Jodie coming from the other direction.

They all crouched down, Jason propping the injured officer up, but the man was already unconscious. "What happened?"

"Big...frog things, with claws and they could jump. One of them got Mickey in the side or the arm...I'm not sure." Mersel tried to examine his officers injury, but couldn't tell where shredded shirt ended and shredded skin began.

"Well, Mark's ready to take off. Should we move him with us? There's room for him." Jason glanced back towards the helicopter, as though checking, then back to the Chief.

"Yes, take him with you. I'll go with the injury helicopter," Officer and woman both broke into objections, but he silenced them with a glare. "Go! And call the other pilot. If he doesn't want to fly it, have him land before you leave and I'll fly it. I can get the stupid thing back to the ship."

Jason stared at the Chief for a long time, then nodded slowly. "Fine, sir. But be careful."

Mersel just nodded, stepping back. Jason and Jodie carried Mickey to the helicopter, loading him in and climbing after. A few moments later, the helicopter took off, leaving room for the fourth to land, and Mersel left out a relieved sigh.

He wouldn't have to fly after all. Thank god.

July 20th, 12:15 AM

Jodie, Mark, Jason and Barbara were seated on the deck of the aircraft carrier, staring out at the harbor. They had unloaded the last of the people from the third helicopter, including Mickey. The injured officer had been carried to the far end of ship and was being treated...and was under guard. Incase he changed, as Rick had put it.

The woman and her three children from earlier were back on board the ship, looking pale and avoiding everyone who tried to speak to them. They had been back on board when the helicopters had returned, and no one would say exactly what had happened. Even Rick had just shaken his head and walked away.

"They should be back by now," Barbara said, peering up at the sky. She'd run over to meet them when they'd returned, looking quite worried. She had only stayed behind because the Chief had insisted someone from the station be on the ship at all times.

"Well, some of those people were pretty injured. Maybe the pilot is taking it slow." Jason said, but didn't really even believe himself. Something had definitely gone wrong.

"Maybe," Barbara didn't sound convinced, and she pushed to her feet and walked over to the railing, leaning her elbows on the metal as she stared out into the city.

They all sat in silence, none willing to voice what they all were thinking, until the young Navel Officer came running out of the command area of the ship towards them, waving his arms.

"Guys! Come quickly, Chief Mersel is on the radio!" Barbara took off almost instantly, running towards the building. The others stood and followed.

"What did he say?" Jason asked the officer as they followed him.

"They're having problems. Some of the people with them...changed. It wasn't pretty, but Mersel and the pilot managed to lock themselves in the cockpit of the aircraft, and they are trying to figure out what to do."

When they arrived in the radio room, Barbara had already pushed the Navy man out of his seat and was messing with the radio. "Chief? Can you hear me?"

"Barbara? Look, we're not sure where to go from here. We're hovering over the entrance to the base now, and the pilot says we can hover for another hour or so. But everyone else is dead, or...walking dead. If you have any suggestions..."

Everyone stared at the radio, eyes wide.

When the Captain walked in five minutes later, they were standing around throwing suggestions at each other.

"What if he lands in the navy yard, we all surround the helicopter, and when the zombies come out we mow them down?" Mark suggested, pulling out his handgun as he did it.

"Too risky," the captain said, and everyone turned to stare at him. "You need to find an answer that doesn't bring those things into my base."

"Well, if you have any suggestions..." Jason offered, waving around. "We'd be happy to hear them."

The Captain just shook his head, "I'd almost be willing to suggest, if they have a shotgun, that they fly out over the bay and open the door. The zombies will rush them, but the gun could hold them back, yes?"

Jodie frowned, "and you thought our idea was risky? They'll get killed!"

"Maybe, but otherwise they'll get killed anyway, right?" No one could argue with that. "So, we tell them to fly out over the bay and then try to clear themselves a path to the door. Then they leap out into the bay, and..."

"Wait, wait," Jason glanced over at Jodie and Mark. "We have them fly out into the bay, but they don't need to shoot anything."

"What?" There was a general murmur of confusion.

"Do you remember, when we flew past that office building? The zombies seemed to...sense us. And they threw themselves out the window trying to get to us. So if he flies the helicopter over the bay and near the edge of the ship, and we all stand there at the side..."

"Then, when the door opens, the zombies will throw themselves into the water trying to get us!" Mark grinned. "Of course!"

The captain looked skeptical. "They can't get close enough that the zombies could possibly fall onto the ship."

"They won't. We were a good twenty feet from them earlier and they still reacted to us. But we'll have to put a lot of people near the edge, so they'll lose interest in the Chief." Jason stood and turned to Barbara. "Tell the Chief! We'll be topside."

The redhead nodded, twisting back to the radio as Jason ran from the room, followed by Jodie and Mark. The Captain watched them go, looking surprised, then followed after them slowly.

As they ran to the deck, the three grabbed every person they could find and dragged them along, from Navy cleaning crew personel to the survivors of the museum. They all piled up onto the deck and were herded to the sea-side edge of the ship and told to 'stand still.' Jason, Mark and Jodie stood against the railing, waiting.

Minutes later they helicopter flew overhead, flying past and out into the bay, twisting around in a long arc. "Anyone know how many people the Chief had with him?" Jason asked, glancing around at the others.

"Twenty three, I think." Jodie said, pressing in closer to the officer as she made room for Barbara and the Captain, who had pushed their way through the crowd.

"So, we need to wait for twenty three corpses to dive into the sea," Mark deadpanned. The others just stared at him and laughed.

"Yeah, something like that." Barbara said through her laugher, but she fell silent and reached up to press the portable radio headphones closer to her ear.

"The Chief says he's ready," the helicopter swung in and around, coming up next to the ship, sideways and about twenty feet away. "They're going to open the door."

"Everyone! Make noise, talk, do whatever. Just be obvious!" The captain shouted to the crowd, and everyone started stamping their feet, talking loudly, and even singing.

As they watched, the helicopter door creaked and slid open, revealing a blood-spattered interior and the shadowy figures of several shambling zombies. The people became louder, shouting curses at the creatures and reassurances to the pilot. News of what they were doing traveled through the crowd, and more and more people shifted to taunting the zombies as if they were dogs.

At first, nothing happened, and while the crowd was growing louder the four survivors from the police station fell silent and stared, unblinking, into the helicopter.

"Come on," Barbara whispered, her knuckles white as she gripped the railing. Jodie reached out and placed her hand on the older woman's, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"It'll work. Just watch," Barbara nodded, trying to smile. As if lured by some magic in the girls words, the first zombie stumbled through the door of the helicopter, arms outstretched, face twisted in a grotesque mask, and tumbled down towards the water, arms cartwheeling wildly.

"Yes!" A shout went up from the crowd, but it was quieter, perhaps some of the people had known the man who had fallen. Barbara couldn't think about that, not while the Chief might still have a chance.

"Come on! Come this way you stupid...things!" She shouted, and Jodie joined in then, Jason and Mark a moment behind. Two more zombies stumbled out, fighting with each other for a chance to die first. And as if a dam had broken, they flooded out. Barbara tried to count, watching the bodies tumble into the sea.

"Twenty, twenty-one...twenty-two," she heard Mark whispering next to her. "Come on, one more..."

"I think that was Twenty-three, actually." Jason said, frowning. "I'm pretty sure I counted twenty-three."

"Well, give it another couple of minutes." Mark responded, shaking his head. "It was twenty-two."

So, they waited. The interior of the helicopter seemed empty, and for several minutes everyone stared, willing something to happen.

"...Chief, do you hear anything?" Barbara spoke suddenly into the portable radio, and then closed her eyes as she listened. "He says he doesn't hear anything, but that doesn't really mean anything." She sighed. "I think we should let them land."

Jason and Mark said nothing, looking over at the Captain. He met their gaze levely. "Fine, they can land. But it is on your head if something happens."

"Thank you!" Barbara grinned and started forcing her way through the crowd, talking into the radio. Jodie and the others following after. "Chief, you're free to land." She twisted around as she listened. "They are going to set down in the middle of the ground away from the ship, over there." She pointed over their heads, towards the gangplank.

"Well, let's go meet him, then." Jason smiled, giving her a little push, and they headed towards the gangplank, down to the ground.