Chapter 5: Journeys in the Dark

(Yoko)

The pounding had subsided since they'd gone underground, she found. It was still there, but it was…muffled was the best way to put it. Quieter, but not the same as quiet. Still, Yoko could function, and for the moment, that was enough for her.

They were making their way through the subway tunnels, following Officer Ryman, and the whiny guy named Jim. Yoko hadn't much cared for him at first, but she'd found him to be pretty friendly the more she talked to him, and if he could get them all to safety, she knew she was going to feel guilty about having judged him.

That said, she wasn't particularly happy about the route they were taking. Underground, her head wasn't pounding, but she didn't feel any safer. There was something…watching them. And it wasn't doing it just for the fun of it.

Alyssa was keeping close to her, still clutching the handgun the police had given her. David was sticking around as well, walking off to the side, the big rifle he'd looted from a dying soldier held diagonally at his chest, the barrel aimed at the ground. He handled the weapon like someone who'd had practice.

Alyssa kept glaring back at him. Yoko hadn't figured out why she'd taken an instant dislike to the man, but she had. Had Yoko been anyone else, she would've said something about it. But Yoko was Yoko, hated conflict, and was willing to let things go.

Their little ragtag group was strung out along the railroad tracks, plodding along in the darkness. They'd left the station about fifteen minutes ago, by Yoko's best estimation, but she didn't know how long it'd be until they reached the next one.

Jim and Officer Ryman were up front. Yoko could hear them quietly talking to each other, although she couldn't make out what was actually being said. A little ways back were George and Cindy, neither one talking, except when Cindy inevitably tripped over something unseen and he had to help her along. Yoko, Alyssa, and David were behind them. A little ways behind them, and bringing up the group's rear, were Mark, Dustin, and Karl. Karl leaned heavily on Dustin's shoulder, and Mark had volunteered to stay with them.

"No way anybody's getting' left behind" he'd said when Dustin asked why.

Yoko could see something looming up ahead, in the darkness. Slowly its shape resolved itself: a train, sitting dark and deserted on the tracks.

"What the hell?" David muttered, quickening his pace to get a better look.

Jim and Kevin were stopped, talking back and forth. Kevin pointed to the car, but Jim shook his head, pointing down the tunnel. "I don't know where it came from. This isn't anywhere near my station. I don't even know where we are at this point."

"What do you suggest we do, then?" Kevin asked. "Just keep wandering around down here blindly? That won't work, and you know it."

"We have a better chance down here than up there!" Jim shouted back. He was shaking, and Yoko could tell he was tired of being bullied. "You saw what happened just like me! Fuckin' zombies, fuckin' commandoes! No way am I goin' back up there. If you want to, you go on your own. Count me out."

"Okay, fine. We can't go back up on the streets…in this area. But we can't get rescued down here either. Sooner or later, we'll have to go above ground. The question is, where do we do that?"

"That's easy" said Cindy. "The Arklay Lookout. The police said there was an extraction point there."

"But that's on the other side of town!" Jim exclaimed, shaking his head.

"Besides, even if we got there, there's no reason to believe the RPD will still be holding that position" Alyssa pointed out. "They could've been pushed back…assuming they were there in the first place."

"Fine" said Kevin, turning to face her. "What do you suggest we do?"

"Aren't there trains that go out of the city?" Alyssa asked Jim.

He nodded. "Well, yeah. But there's no reason to believe they'll be running. Hell, look at this one. There's no power. None of the trains are going anywhere."

"Maybe not" Alyssa agreed. "But the tracks wills till be there, right? All we have to do is follow them out of town."

Jim opened his mouth to protest, shut it, opened it again, then nodded slowly. "Yeah…yeah, I can see that working."

Alyssa turned to the others, a confident smile on her face. "So, what are we waiting for? Let's go."

(CHASE)

Things had quieted down. The soldiers had eventually pulled up stakes and left, piling back into their big APCs and heading down the street. Chase didn't know where they were going, and frankly he didn't care. He had bigger problems to worry about.

For the moment, they were safe inside the office building. But only for the moment, because of a nasty little present the soldiers had left behind before they pulled out.

A few zombies had stumbled their way over to the firefight, blindly driven by their need to feed and intrigued by the sounds of fighting. They hadn't been much of an issue for those inside the building, and the soldiers outside had shot several of them down, more out of frustrated boredom than anything else.

Then one of them had had a truly devilish idea, the kind Chase was sure Satan gave extra pats on the back for whenever such an inventor found his way into hell.

It had taken two of the strange pheromone flares to trigger the massive surge of undead that eventually overran the RPD building. The soldiers set up at least four in the middle of the street, then packed up and beat a hasty retreat as zombies began to converge on the area from all sides.

For the moment, they were simply pounding on the walls, their over-wide eyes scanning for any opening, but so far they hadn't found one. Still, Chase wasn't willing to wait around. After all, sometimes even the stupid got lucky. They needed to get out, and get out soon.

It all comes down to the kids Chase thought, probably for the hundredth time. Things would've been simpler without them. Without them, it would've been possible to shoot their way out, making a mad run down the streets. But there was no way that'd work if they had to drag the almost twenty pre-teens with them. He needed to come up with something else.

There were only a handful of police left: himself, Karen, Rebecca, and Rita. There was also Billy the supposed former marine (Chase didn't know much about the man, but Mat and Rebecca had both vouched for him, and that was good enough), plus the girl named Maddie, Loretta, and the kids. It didn't take a genius tactician to realize this was a combat ineffective unit. Worse, they couldn't stay put. It was only a matter of time before the zombies managed to pry their way inside the unbarricaded office, and when they did, an already complicated situation would get a lot worse.

Billy was fiddling with the RPD, sighting down it at a wall, then practicing removing the magazine. They'd shoved the dead machinegunner out the door, where the zombies began to try and pry his armor away, somehow knowing there was meat inside and apparently getting frustrated when they couldn't get to it. It seemed crass to Chase to use the dead man as bait, but after all, it was his buddies' fault the zombies had shown up in the first place, so he doubted the big dead man would've been able to make his case hold up in the first place. Still, it seemed almost like they were crossing a line…

Rebecca had said as much to Billy while he and Chase had been manhandling the dead man out the door. Billy had heaved, the big, broad-shouldered soldier rolling over the curb and into the gutter, where the zombies began to make their way forward. Turning around, the muscular ex-soldier had rubbed his hands against each other, then shrugged. "Only two kinds of people out here right now. There's the quick. And there's the undead." He checked the magazine in his Colt, then shoved it back into place. "Guess which one I plan to be?"

Now, having satisfied himself with knowing the machinegun's basic controls, Billy set it down on a low coffee table, then dropped into an almost equally low chair, unhooked the magazine, and began to count the bullets. There was a certain…nervous quality to his movements. Chase had seen it during his days with the Army; Billy was doing this not from any real necessity (because, honestly, the applications of the cumbersome Russian machinegun in their current situation were almost nonexistent); he was just trying to find something for his hands to do, hoping they'd still the trimmers in his fingers, as well as probably trying to get his mind off something terrible that had happened.

And that was when it occurred to Chase. There was someone missing from their group.

It occurred to Rebecca about the same time. Chase saw it happen: her already pale face going even whiter. "Billy?" she said, her voice suddenly quiet and taut. "Where's Mat?"

Billy didn't look at her, though his eyes drifted away from the magazine he held in both hands, now shaking even more noticeably. His eyes focused on a spot on the rug in the next room, where the dead machinegunner's brains had leaked from his skull. "He's…he…he stayed behind" he managed finally.

"Jesus" muttered Chase, running his hands through his short hair. Mat, you dumb kid.

"What do you mean?" Rebecca asked, denial plainly in her voice. "Why would he do that?

"He said that…thing was after him. I guess after the three of us, since it tried to come after me" Billy shook his head, apparently still in disbelief. "So, Mat made sure it had to pick one of us. He…lit a fire. Then he told me to run."

"And…you did, didn't you?" Rebecca asked, taking a step toward him.

Billy stood up, setting the magazine down. "I…I had to. There wasn't anything more I could do for him."

"You left him" Rebecca said, a hard note entering her voice. Without warning, she balled up a fist and swung at Billy. Not suspecting the blow, he only barely sidestepped, her knuckles clipping his head.

"You left him!" Rebecca shouted, preparing for another swing, but Karen intervened, looping her arms through the younger woman's own, locking them back behind her. Rebecca grunted and struggled, her face livid. "You left him to die!" She turned her head slightly, trying to get a look at Karen. "Let me go!"

"Not until you calm down, officer" the older woman said sharply. "Or so help me, I'll have you brought up on charges when this is all over!"

Billy was shaking his head. "He-he told me to go. I didn't have a choice." His eyes locked with Chase's for a minute, as if seeking his approval. "I did what I had to do" he repeated. "What I had to do."

Chase shook his head. Mat had been…well, like a somewhat obnoxiously eager little puppy, always trying to please. He'd always thought the kid was a little young to be made sergeant, even if he did have a knack for chemicals (for someone who'd never seen the inside of a college classroom, Mat Dawson was a damned artist when it came to explosives). Still, he'd come back a lot older when he and the STARS had returned from the forest back in July. He wasn't quite the same, wasn't the good natured guy he'd once been. Chase had seen that during the siege of the RPD building: Mat didn't seem to see things the way he once had. He'd definitely aged during his ordeal in the forest, and some part of Chase wanted to ask just what the younger man had experienced. Now he realized he'd probably never know.

And Mat had been pretty close to Rebecca. He didn't know exactly what that was all about, although he'd seen them kiss at least once, albeit somewhat awkwardly. He suspected both of them were just confusing adrenaline for…another kind of hormone. Still, Mat had undoubtedly been trying to save her and the others when he lured that monster away.

Chase had grown up Methodist, but drinking and the US Army Rangers had gotten in the way, slowly driving all Scripture from his head. Still, he remembered a line about there being no greater love than a man who'd lay down his life for his friends. And Mat Dawson had almost certainly died to save them.

Rebecca stopped struggling, and true to her word, Karen let her go. Breathing heavily, Rebecca sank to her knees, head bent down for a moment to try and catch her breath.

"I'm sorry" Chase managed, after an awkward pause. "For…for what it's worth, I liked him, and I'm sorry he's gone."

"You don't know for sure he's dead" Billy said, after a moment.

Chase sent him a death glare. This poor girl's upset enough. Don't play games with her head by giving her false hope.

Rebecca looked up, her eyes focusing on him. "But…you saw-"

"I saw Mat fighting that thing. That's it. He could've gotten away" Billy replied, taking a knee beside her. "Besides, we both thought he died once before, and he didn't. That guy's a fighter. And he's going to come back. Just wait."

Rebecca nodded slowly. "Thanks, Billy. I needed that. And I'm sorry." She looked at the others, clearly very embarrassed. "I'm sorry."

Karen shrugged. "It happens. Not a big deal." She turned to Chase. "Well, sir, any ideas on how to get us out of this wonderful mess we're all in?"

Chase nodded. "Yeah. I know how we're getting out of here."

"How's that?" Rita asked, stepping in from the next room with Loretta, Maddie apparently having elected to keep an eye on the kids for a minute.

"Up" Chase replied, pointing his index finger at the ceiling. In response to their confused stares, he clarified. "The roof. We'll use the roofs."

(KEVIN)

The going got tough pretty quickly. It wasn't that they encountered any infected (or any other monsters, like the big one they'd been ambushed by about an hour ago on the street). Instead, it just kept getting darker and darker. They had to slow down significantly for fear of tripping over the tracks, and had to keep in constant verbal contact to make sure everyone was still present. If anything, that last bit ensured Kevin learned and remembered everybody's name.

There was an uncomfortable feeling down in the underground, like they were being followed. There was definitely…something in the tunnels with them, and it was all the more frustrating that they couldn't see it. Like they were being played.

Kevin heard something rasping on the walls, a heavy body being dragged across the ground, gravel shifting, subtle, dry clicking in the distance. Whatever was in the subway with them, it wasn't human.

No one said anything about the noises, but Kevin knew they all heard them. Everyone's voices, even his own, grew tense and stiff, as everyone walked on eggshells.

Then they were walking on something else. Kevin felt his foot bump something soft on the ground, at the same time he heard one of the women (Yoko, he suspected) stumble and let out a gasp of surprise.

"What the hell?" demanded Mark when he almost fell, apparently angry that something had gotten in his way.

"Hang on a second" came David's raspy voice. A second later, there was a click, a flash of fire, and suddenly the area immediately around him was illuminated in a faint reddish glow, which flickered in the lighter's glare.

"Shit!" exclaimed Kevin, taking a step back. Gasps and startled exclamations from the others indicated everyone's general displeasure when it became apparent the tunnel they stood in was strewn with dead bodies.

"Who…who are they?" George asked. Cindy had pulled into herself, huddling behind him.

Mark knelt down beside one man, touching a patch sewn onto his uniform. "These guys are Airborne Rangers" he said, running his thumb over the embroidered parachute. "What the hell were they doing down here?"

"They must've been deployed into the city when things started going bad" Kevin said, stooping down beside another man and unclipping his radio. "That means there may be more soldiers inside, which means we might not have to go as far to get rescued." He slung his G36, then looked over at Mark and David. "We need to check these bodies. I know it's distasteful, but at this point, we need whatever they're carrying more than they do. See if you can find a map or something. No offense," he added, looking over at Jim, "but your memory's not the most reliable means of direction we could have, especially as dark as it is."

Jim shrugged. "Nah, I get you. In fact, I'm gonna get me a gun myself." He still had the Beretta Kevin had given him back at the RPD building, but he didn't blame the other man for wanting to get his hands on a weapon that had more reach.

Their search of the dead Rangers turned up little of any value: a few fragmentation grenades (not worth much, given zombies kept coming until their brains were destroyed), a few M16s (most of which had apparently been crushed beyond use, though their magazines were good), a few Beretta M9s (allowing Kevin to make sure everyone had at least one gun), and various personal effects. This last bit was the most disturbing, since it was a reminder of the dead men's humanity, something Kevin knew he could do without.

He managed to keep his mind off that, by focusing on recharging his G36 magazine. It shared bullets, if not feed devices, with the M16, but he managed to get a couple magazines' worth of loose rounds, too, which he tucked into his tactical vest's pocket.

"What do you think happened to these guys?" Dustin asked, voicing the question everyone else was trying to avoid.

"Blunt force trauma" David replied, flicking his lighter closed and dropping them out of its wavery yellow glow and into darkness. "It's like these guys ran into a steamroller."

"Jesus" muttered Jim. "What's big enough to do this?"

"I don't know" said Kevin, readying the G36. "All the same, I have no desire to find out." He turned to where he thought the others were. "C'mon, let's get a move on."

They went on their way in still more silence, aside from their scheduled check-ins. Occasionally George would inquire about Karl, to which either he, Karl, or Mark would respond with short, gruff answers that often answered the question and no more. Kevin didn't think it was terseness on the part of the rear guard, so much as them just being nervous about being in the back.

They'd been walking about fifteen minutes since encountering the dead soldiers, when Kevin felt wind rush past him, following closely behind the startled cries of everyone in the back.

"What the hell?" he demanded, before David flicked out his lighter and revealed the…thing standing in front of them.

It was a flea. That much was obvious. However, this particular flea was enormous, at least five feet long and three feet tall. Kevin didn't wait around and try to figure out what its intentions were. The monster bug was a humongous parasite, had come bouncing out of the darkness at them, and was almost certainly not interested in prolonging their lives.

Without hesitation he brought the G36 to his shoulder and fired a burst, his 5.56mm bullets tearing the thing apart, knocking the monster bug onto its side, puncturing the big inflatable sack that made up most of its body and spilling what was almost certainly stolen human blood onto the ground as it writhed in agony.

"What was that?" Jim demanded, his eyes wide with fear, but Kevin could hear more things moving around in the darkness behind them.

"No time!" he shouted, glancing over his shoulder. "C'mon everyone, let's go!"

They ran in the darkness, somehow miraculously avoiding breaking anything in the midnight blackness of the subway tunnel. At last, they saw a ring of light up ahead, what looked almost like the result of some unknown explosion. The subway tunnel branched off here. The one straight ahead looked altogether normal, although the path to the right didn't look intended; the wall had clearly collapsed, like something big had pushed its way through, and on the other side Kevin could see unnaturally sterile walls, the kind he'd expect to see in a hospital, not a subway tunnel. Above they could see the hellish glow of Raccoon City, still burning in the early morning.

"Daylight…" began Yoko, before cutting off in a scream as something truly horrifying scuttled into view: five more of the flea monsters, two even bigger than the one Kevin had killed, and all watching them eagerly.

"Don't stop!" Kevin shouted, firing a burst into one, ripping its body open with the small, high velocity projectiles. The giant parasite went down, another, smaller flea lunging out of the shadows and sucking the pool of blood surrounding the dying bug like a hideous vacuum, only to be speared in turn by a long, thin grey projectile and dragged back into the darkness with a high pitched squeal.

"Oh hell, now what?" David muttered, squinting down his FAL's sights.

"We don't have time for this!" George shouted. "Officer, we can't stay and fight…whatever this thing is. It's just too big."

"That thing is between us and our way out!" David shouted back. "What do you suggest we do, ask politely for it to move?"
A loud screeching noise from behind cut short what might otherwise have been a lively debate.

"Aw, shit" Mark growled from the back.

"Fuck, I know that sound" Jim moaned. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck."

Kevin was about to ask what he was talking about, but the light that suddenly flooded the tunnel was answer enough. "Train!" he shouted. "Everyone, get off the tracks!"

Subway trains didn't generally have horns or whistles, though Kevin could see the train's engineer at his position up front, swearing animatedly and wildly gesturing at them to get off the track. Kevin was only too happy to oblige, hurrying to the right, where the tracks ended.

He heard the sound of gears groaning as the engineer tried to apply the train's brakes, but it was simply going too fast, and couldn't be stopped. Kevin ran as far as he could, but eventually realized it wouldn't make any difference, and turned to watch.

Karl, Mark, and Dustin barely cleared the tracks before the subway hurtled past. Kevin could see the cars, people crammed into them as tightly as possible, most looking either concerned or just uncomfortable, though several cars at various increments clearly contained zombies, their hungry, unnaturally grey faces pressed against the windows, which were smeared with gore and saliva, or marred by bloody handprints.

All this flashed before Kevin in an instant, because he heard another sound, one that was far worse: the shriek of the monster in the darkness.

The train's headlamp shown on it for just a moment, and Kevin had to admit George was right: there was no way they could've killed this thing, not without it taking a bunch of them with it.

It was huge, a monster flea at least fifteen feet tall and twice as long, supported on thin, spindly spider legs, its flat body suspended high above the ground, while the "smaller" fleas darted, bounced, and rolled at its feet. Behind it he saw more, even smaller creatures, emerging from some sort of nest, and realized this thing must've been their mother, their hideous, monstrous, mutant queen, and the subway tunnels were probably soon going to be full of her spawn.

Then the train slammed into the giant flea, its momentum knocking the bug off its feet, but derailing the train in the process. Kevin heard a series of sickening crunches and pops, as the fleas, the cars, and the people inside were crushed in the resulting accident.

"Oh, God" he whispered, riveted to the awful spectacle.

"C'mon, officer!" Alyssa shouted, hurrying past him, Yoko in tow. One of the subway cars spun, slamming into the wall, causing cracks to spider web up it, the concrete shattering and buckling, as the next car slammed into the one ahead of it, flattening an opportunistic flea between them with a dull splat, chunks of the chamber they stood in collapsing, neatly sealing the tunnel to them.

Kevin took a step back, then another, dazed by what he'd just seen. He tripped over something he didn't see and landed flat on his ass, still staring at the cave in about two dozen feet away.

George stepped forward, putting a hand on his shoulder. "What now, Officer?" he asked. When Kevin didn't answer, he shook him a little. "Officer?"

At last, after a few more seconds of staring at the catastrophe, Kevin rose and turned to the others. "Looks like we don't have much choice" he said. He looked ahead, down the long, wide staircase made of the same white material as the walls and ceiling, looking eerily what so many cartoons had conditioned him to think heaven looked like. "Let's see what's down that way" he said, taking his first step.

(KAREN)

"Are you sure about this?" the man named Billy asked, looking down nervously at the street below, and the zombies congregating there.

Chase sent him a look telling him just how stupid he thought that question was. "No, I'm just up here because I think it's not safe and I hope we all die."

"Just asking, buddy" Billy replied, shaking his head a little.

They'd found the ladder in one of the building's supply closets. Fortunately, fully extended, it stretched perfectly across the alleyway between them and the next building, making a practical, if not ideal, bridge between the two.

"Well, if you're nervous, you can always let the others go across first" Karen suggested, slinging her UMP over her shoulder.

He made a face. "No thanks" he said, crouching down and preparing to step onto the narrow ladder after Chase. It wobbled a little under his weight, but remained firm. The two former soldiers made their way across, then leapt down onto the building at the other end of the alley.

Chase turned and waved. "The roof's secured. It'd be a good idea to start moving the kids over here now."

The girl named Maddie turned to the motley assortment of children. "C'mon, guys. Just follow me."

Nervously, the children began to follow her across the gap. Loretta followed behind, her shotgun clutched tightly to her chest.

That left Karen, Rita, and Rebecca still on the roof of the first building.

Rebecca looked over the side, then shook her head. "I'm not sure I like this" she muttered, shaking her head.

"Well, I doubt you'll like it any more the longer you stand here staring at it" Karen said irritably. She just didn't have patience for immaturity, and if Rebecca's little outburst earlier was any indication, she appeared to be full of it. In case her first statement hadn't made things obvious, Karen added, "Get a move on."

"Alright, alright" Rebecca snapped back, muttering to herself as she made her way across. After sending Karen a censorious glance, Rita followed.

Karen waited until Rebecca and Rita (the R's, as she was starting to think of them) were halfway across, before starting her own journey. She was usually tasked with perimeter security, anyway, so she was used to being in the back.

Still, Karen had learned during the first few hours of this nightmare, that despite the fact that they were still in Raccoon City, things weren't at all the way they used to be.

Suddenly, Maddie screamed. Karen's eyes jerked toward her, but the girl was staring at a fixed point up in the air.

"Incoming!" Billy yelled, pointing at the sky. Karen looked up to see a black cloud descending on them.

"Oh no" Rebecca said quietly, as they got a good look at the flock of birds descending on them. She half drew her custom Beretta, Rita doing the same with her Hi Power. Karen brought the UMP up to her shoulder, clicking it to semi automatic as the crows, pigeons, and various other birds dove at them.

"Go, go, go!" Chase was shouting, firing his own handgun at the attacking birds. A few dropped, but most kept coming.

Rebecca stopped firing and scuttled along the ladder. A moment later, Rita started to follow, but she didn't watch where she was going, and her foot caught on a rung, pitching her forward.

"Jump!" Chase shouted, waving to Rebecca. She leapt, plowing into Billy and knocking him onto the roof, just as the ladder twisted underneath Karen's boots.

"No!" Chase shouted, diving forward, grabbing for the end nearest him, but even as he stabilized that side, the other end slipped off, dropping down into the alley…and taking Karen and Rita with it.

Karen had seen the original King Kong when she was little. The stop motion monsters had terrified her, however laughable they might've been now. Still, the most disturbing scene for her had been when Kong tipped the tree-bridge over about midway through the movie, spilling the hapless crew of the SS Venture into a monster filled pit.

That memory surged to the forefront of Karen's mind as she and Rita dropped over the side of the flipping ladder, the ground rushing up to meet. Ashamed though she might've been to admit it, Karen screamed all the way down.

Then she slammed down, hard, on the roof of a car parked in the alley, its windows exploding out in a shower of glass as the top caved in. Karen ground, her back a solid sore, lying there, staring up dazedly at the early morning sky above.

She heard rapid gunfire to her left, and looked over to see Rita frantically shooting a zombie in the face as it crawled toward her, the short woman's eyes wide. It looked to Karen like she'd landed on the thing, probably not the most enjoyable experience in the world.

Karen groaned and slid out of the metal nest her impact had turned the roof of the car into, her boots hitting the street with a sound of crunching glass. Up above them, there was still sporadic gunfire as the others dispatched the last of the crows. While it was good that menace was being dealt with, the excess noise was serving as a giant dinner bell for the zombies on the street, who began to shuffle forward, arms blindly outstretched, their glazed, sightless sharks' eyes staring fixedly ahead as they felt their way forward.

Karen turned, bringing the UMP to her shoulder, firing a round…and missing wildly, still a little dazed from the fall. Rita spun around and fired her Browning at the zombies, dropping one zombie with three shots, the range a little beyond what the average cop was trained for with a handgun.

Karen squeezed her eyes closed for a minute, trying to reset her brain's equilibrium, before sighting in again and squeezing the trigger. The zombie she'd aimed for's head snapped up, a bullet embedded right between his eyes, a look of slack jawed stupidity on his face as he fell backward. Karen shifted her aim, firing again, dropping another zombie with two shots.

A door a few feet away from Rita swung open, Chase standing in the opening. "Come on!" he shouted, waving frantically.

"Go, I'll cover you!" Karen shouted, jerking her head at Rita for a moment. The other woman nodded, holstering her Browning and staggering over to the doorway.

Karen waited until Rita was inside before she stopped shooting, spinning around and taking a step…then falling flat on her face as her leg gave out underneath her, red hot pain shooting up its length. She gritted her teeth, feeling the color leech from her face, her eyes shut tightly in agony. She heard the zombie shuffling ever closer.

Agony shot through Karen's body as she took a knee, propping her elbow on the leg not currently in active rebellion, putting four rounds into the chest of the closest zombie, enough punishment to put him down but not take him out. She shifted her fire and did the same to another infected, bullets stitching up the old woman's torso, the .45 tearing through her brown leather jacket and making little puffs of dried blood with each impact.

Then someone grabbed her shoulder. Karen started to butt stroke that someone in the head with her UMP, but saw that it was Chase, and decided she was willing to let him carry her to safety. "About time" she growled as he hauled her to her feet. Billy and Rebecca had taken up positions at the doorway, firing their handguns into the crowd of zombies milling toward them.

"Well, I thought it was time for you to have some fun" Chase replied, good natured as he usually was when talking to her. He was about the only officer she'd never managed to piss off with her brusque demeanor, and while she'd never quite figured out why, she suspected it was because, secretly, Chase found her highly amusing.

"Billy, I think it might be time to wrap this party up" Chase said to the former marine, who nodded.

"Fair enough" he said, flicking the safety on his strange Colt, before stuffing it into his waistband and unslinging the M79. "Here that, boys?" he shouted at the zombies, bringing the 40mm grenade launcher to his shoulder. "Party's over!"

There was a whump! as he fired the grenade, which arced forward, before coming down into the midst of the zombies. Billy could've aimed a little better; the grenade detonated just below head level, meaning shrapnel tore through the zombies' chest and lower bodies, but killed them only by coincidence. Still, it was spectacular, and Karen was willing to let things slide at that.