The Midnight Riders

by LumpyChunks

One year on and the world is a very different place.The Midnight Riders, forming of Coach, Nick, Ellis and Rochelle are fighting a war against the infected and opposing Clans while Bill, Francis, Louis and Zoey team up to try and rescue them.

6. A Family Matter

The Midnight Riders

Chapter Four – A Family Matter

Life is a journey that is full of surprises. One year ago, the entire country was hit by a surprise infection that destroyed everything in its path. Those who survived had grown wary of surprises as in this new world they were often unpleasant. A surprise attack from the horde or an unexpected setback during travel often had undesirable consequences, which would no doubt prove fatal. Although she had just re-entered the world of the infected, young Zoey was no different to the other survivors and hated surprises. As she stood near the apex of the apartment building in the middle of New York City she realised that while life held many surprises, upon looking at her mother she knew that death had some as well.

'Mom?' Zoey spoke in total disbelief after moments of unsure silence. The eyes of Cassandra, her mother, lit up magically.

'I can't believe it,' she whispered softly. Bill, Francis and Louis were stood aside, watching the events transpire. Louis stepped forward to interject but Francis grabbed his arm, holding him back. Shooting Francis a glaring look, Louis tried to break free from his restraint to stand by Zoey. Francis, however just held him there, shaking his head at him. 'I had no idea that you were still alive. If I had known I would have been out there looking for you, I swear it.'

'Yeah?' Zoey asked. She was gathering her thoughts and finally decided what would be the appropriate emotion to display. 'Well I doubt that!' The emotion was anger. The others took a surprised step back.

'Ah, Zoey?' Louis spoke up, voicing the group's collective confusion.

'Keep out of this,' Zoey snapped back with a ferocity that he had never seen before. Even Bill was intimidated, of course he did not show it.

'Sweetie,' Cassandra stepped forward. 'I know things didn't go well between us before...'

'Things didn't go well?' Zoey repeated. 'What an understatement! You told me that I was adopted, pummelled me with layers and layers of pressure to fulfil your dreams and then when I mess up you didn't want to have anything to do with me!' The cry of a Hunter interrupted the conversation. Zoey looked back and saw the infected leap at her from the bottom of the stairs. As it was in midair, she aimed her gun and shot it dead, the corpse landing beside her. She glanced back to Cassandra and the whole building began shaking. 'We're here for business not pleasure so why don't we all do inside before the rest of those... Burrowers come back up and get us?' She did not give her a chance to reply and Zoey walked past her mother and through the metal door, leaving everyone standing awkwardly outside. To break the silence, Bill cleared his throat and spoke up, clapping his hands together.

'Come on; into the safe room, people!'

The apartment where Cassandra and her Clan had been waiting out the apocalypse in was an elaborate one. Considering the circumstances it was immaculately well maintained an exquisitely decorated. It seemed to fit with Cassandra's tastes of upper class, expensive furnishings. Through a corridor they all emerged in the main area with a glass dining table and chairs in one corner, a flat screen television above a fireplace surrounded by comfortable sofas in another corner and a metal staircase leading up to a higher area of more places to sit. Several people were looking down as they saw the newcomers enter their safe house, one of them making a lot of noise.

'You could at least let me explain,' Cassandra begged Zoey who was not willing to cooperate.

'What is there to explain?' Zoey shrugged, glancing vaguely around the apartment. 'I know what you're going to say! You're going to apologise for the way you acted and you see this zombie apocalypse as a second chance, a fresh start with our relationship as you now know what really matters to you. Is that right? Am I close?'

'Well actually you hit the nail on the head,' Cassandra admitted. Zoey chuckled sarcastically.

'God,' she muttered, 'I can see right through you.'

'Zoey,' Cassandra stepped forward. 'I made some bad choices in the past, I realise that. I know that my priorities were not what they should have been but for Christ's sakes, I've changed! Does any of that really matter now?'

'You bet it does,' Zoey hissed. 'If you think you can walk back into my life just like that then you're sadly mistaken.'

'Actually,' Francis spoke up, 'you're the one who came to her.' Zoey shot him a venomous glare as he spoke. 'So you... walked back into her life... Man, I hate family squabbles!'

'This isn't a squabble,' Zoey corrected him.

'The hell it isn't!' Cassandra cried. 'If you honestly think that I'm not going to try and do everything that I can for you now that you're here then you're the one who is mistaken.'

'Alright,' Zoey held up her hands as if she were surrendering. 'You want to help me? Then come back with us.'

'You came all this way just for me?' Cassandra questioned. 'Why?'

'Oliver Rooney sent us,' Bill told her.

'Oliver?' Cassandra gasped.

'Yeah, Oliver,' Zoey nodded. 'You know? The tall guy. Bit of a snob. Lives in a massive house. Oh yeah, and he's your husband!'

'Yeah why did you marry this guy?' Louis asked. 'I mean, Rooney isn't your maiden name is it?'

'Oh please,' Cassandra waved her hand at him. 'My surname is the same as yours, Zoey. My "marriage" to Oliver is purely a... business thing. Besides I'm old enough to be his...'

'Grandmother?' Zoey remarked flippantly. Cassandra frowned at her.

'How long is this pissed off childish act going to go on for? You know, just a ballpark figure because it's really going to get real old, real fast.'

'Oh, just like you then?'

'That is it young lady,' Cassandra pointed her finger at her. 'I know we may not exactly be on the best of terms but God damn it I am your mother and you will treat me with respect!'

'I'll treat you with as much respect as a woman who adopts a child and then shuns her out of her life deserves,' Zoey growled. 'Now we're going to rest here for a bit and then we're going to take you back to North Carolina and then we'll hand you over to your husband and then we will never see you ever again! You got that?'

'Oh we're not going anywhere,' Cassandra told her. Zoey's frowned deepened. 'We're not going anywhere until you and I have a chance to talk like civilized adults.'

'Well it looks like we'll be staying here a while!' Zoey shouted, extending her arms wide.

'For Christ's sakes, Zoey! Let's leave the brutality outside! We have a chance here that very few people ever get.'

'Looks like I'm going to be wasting it then,' Zoey responded, turning away and walking up the stairs. She left the room in entire silence. Cassandra sighed and bowed her head while Bill just stood where he was awkwardly. He glanced over to Louis and Francis for a distraction.

'Wow,' Louis muttered, breaking the ice.

'I know,' Francis nodded.

'I'm sorry that you all had to witness that,' Cassandra rubbed the back of her neck.

'Oh it's not that,' Louis held up his hands reassuringly. 'No, it's just that I had so many questions in my head about how Zoey got the way that she was today and... well; now they've all just been answered.' Bill and Francis glared at Louis in unison.

...

The key slid perfectly into the ignition. As Ellis twisted it, the powerful roar of the Midnight Riders tour bus filled the air, the sound of the engine bringing a sense of joy, accomplishment and hope to the eight people inside. Coach was sat next to Ellis who was manoeuvring the bus around so that he could drive out. To the back, were Rochelle and Nick who were stood in the kitchen area, looking readily out of the window. Drake, Teek, Norah and Danielle were at the rear seating area, gazing through the rear window, excitedly. The Midnight Riders tour bus was completely rebuilt with a brand new, slick black outer paintwork. The words "the Midnight Riders" were written on each side of the bus in cursive text. It looked immaculately perfect to the eight who were riding in it. As Coach gave Ellis the order to roll out, he happily shifted the gear and pulled the bus out of the garage. Putting his foot down, Ellis drove the tour bus away from the garage, through the Haven and out toward the future. However, unbeknownst to any of the people inside the bus; they were being closely watched.

Somebody watched as they left the Haven. Someone noticed when they pulled over for a rest stop. Somebody was aware when they pulled in and out of another Haven. There was no way that Coach or any of the others could tell that they were being watched, however. The person following them was not pursuing them in a distant vehicle, they were watching through the powerful camera of an orbital satellite that was closely monitoring every single move that they made.

Unaware that of their situation, the Midnight Riders carried on as they would normally do. While Norah was up front with Ellis, Rochelle and Drake were stood in the middle of the large aisle, facing each other.

'Now the key is defence,' Rochelle told him. 'Only attack when their defence is weak.' Drake lunged toward her to throw a punch but Rochelle blocked it with ease, twisting his wrist as she did so causing his body to arch sideways. Rochelle was able to spin him around and put him in a chokehold. 'The other key is to use their attacks to your advantage.' She released him and Drake stepped away.

'Damn,' he muttered. 'Next time I'm attacked I think I'll just give you a call.' Rochelle grinned and nodded at him in response. Drake went off to his room. Nick stepped away from the others who were sat in the back seats and joined Rochelle in the aisle by the kitchen.

'You want some too?' she joked.

'Maybe later,' Nick shrugged. He gestured for Rochelle to move with him over to the kitchen. He began making noise by tapping plates and cutlery together; giving off the impression he was placing them away in their proper places. It was a cover to prevent anyone from hearing their conversation. 'What are we going to do?'

'About what?' Rochelle asked. Nick sighed slightly irritably.

'About global warming,' he muttered sarcastically. 'About our kiss you fool, what do you think I'm talking about?'

'Well we're soon going to talk about calling me a fool,' Rochelle commented.

'Look this is serious,' Nick insisted. 'Right now we have Ellis over there thinking that you and he are in a relationship when you and I are...'

'Are what?' Rochelle interrupted him, anticipating that he would not be able to finish the sentence. 'That you and I are together?'

'Are we?'

'Why wouldn't we be?' Rochelle shrugged before turning her tone to one of hushed seriousness. 'Of course we're not you idiot! It was one kiss, just one. It's not like we had sex or anything.'

'True,' Nick acknowledged. 'But you said that you wanted things to go back to the way they were before.'

'That was our first ever kiss!' Rochelle hissed. 'The way we were before was light flirting mixed in with longing glances of lust and desire. We never did anything about it; we never had the chance!'

'So you're not going to break up with Ellis?' Nick asked. Rochelle's face fell. She spoke in pauses, her voice becoming slighter louder to emphasise her point.

'I am not... dating... Ellis!'

'What's that, love?' Ellis called from the front after hearing Rochelle's louder voice mention his name. Rochelle turned and smiled at him.

'Oh nothing,' she said haphazardly, thinking of something inventive to say. 'I was just telling Nick how I'm not... waiting on you...' Nick frowned at her and Ellis looked confused. 'You know,' Rochelle attempted to explain herself. 'I'm not going to be one of those girls who waits on their partner on hand and foot.'

'Don't worry,' Ellis grinned. 'I'm gonna treat you like a prudy princess.' Rochelle forced herself to smile and spoke through gritted teeth.

'Oh good...' She spun around, once again facing Nick who was eyeing her with an amused look on his face. 'You can wipe that smirk off right now.'

'Look we're in the clear now,' he told her. 'You killed the real murderer of that guy we found and we're heading far away from that place. There's no point in keeping up with this charade anymore.'

'There is,' Rochelle insisted. 'If I break it off with Ellis now then everyone will get suspicious of me again and I can't have that. They've only just started to warm up to me again and who the hell uses the word "charade"?'

'I do,' Nick pointed out the obvious. 'What word would you use?'

'Sham,' Rochelle answered as soon as he asked the question.

'Look,' Nick stepped close to her. 'You're acting like a high school girl right now. I'm finally putting it out in the open; we should be together. Why are you fighting this?'

'Because you're not the only one who felt handed over back in New Orleans,' Rochelle told him. Nick's face was one of visible confusion.

'What are you talking about?' he asked.

'You gave up on the idea of there being an us with such great ease even though you could see how hard it was for me to do the things that I did.' Rochelle suppressed welling emotion and Nick sighed, speaking softly to her.

'I'm sorry that you feel betrayed,' he told her.

'Well I guess that's a nasty side effect of betrayal,' she muttered in response. Nick touched Rochelle's hand tenderly but she pulled it away. 'Not now,' she told him. 'Let's talk about this later, in private. Okay?' Nick hesitantly nodded and Rochelle walked away from him, going into her room. Nick stood in the kitchen, watching Ellis as he drove. The novelty of having the bus fixed had long since gone. It had been replaced by the suddenly awkward love triangle of Ellis, Rochelle and Nick. Sighing, Nick rubbed his face with his hands. It was going to be one long ride.

...

Miguel Doyle was sat gazing at the display in the Tactics Room, a look of severe annoyance on his face.

'You mean to tell me,' he spoke to Bill on through the radio, 'that not only you violated my orders about interfering too much with any survivors you may encounter but now you've run into Zoey's mother and are having a massive family dispute because of this?'

'This is hardly controllable,' Bill attempted to explain his way out of the situation but was failing miserably.

'If you followed the guidelines then none of this would have ever happened,' Miguel cried. 'You tell me now; is it still unavoidable?'

'With all due respect,' Bill spoke sternly, 'those rules and guidelines you people at the Bioterrorism Counter Force need to be revised! They're hardly applicable when we need to work with others to accomplish our mission.'

'And with all due respect to you,' Miguel's voice was one equally unyielding, 'you're not nearly informed enough to make decisions like that.'

'By "with all due respect" you really mean "kiss my ass"?' Bill asked.

'I meant it the same way you did,' Miguel responded.

'Kiss my ass,' Bill muttered, re-establishing the conversation to the original topic. 'Look we'll try and fix things on this end. You just be ready to give us some support. We've just met some new zombies that look like a right pack of little bastards.'

'I'll stay close by,' Miguel muttered. 'Just hurry back to Rooney to make this deal. We've lost enough time due to these setbacks. Don't forget you're all here for a reason.'

'Whatever,' Bill disconnected the call, leaving Miguel alone. He let his head fall onto the table in frustration. As he lay here, the display began flashing a message. Miguel wearily looked up and saw a banner informing him that a foreign satellite signal had been picked up. Curious, he tapped the banner to analyse the information. He discovered that someone was communicating to someone on the ground using a satellite radio, one much like the one he was using to talk to Bill and the others. He located the source of the communications which was a location in the north of Central America. Miguel attempted to hijack the link so that he could determine who was communicating on it. However, instead of picking up audio he found an image. He displayed it on the table and saw in front of him the bird eye image of the Midnight Riders tour bus. The image, foreign to Miguel, was a live video feed being broadcast somewhere out of the country. Miguel kept the video up, flicking it to the top left of the display. He then began working on tracing where the image was being sent to.

In the meantime away from the HMS Jaeger and in Cassandra Rooney's apartment, Zoey was sat in the upper mezzanine area with her fist resting against her chin. Her sleeves were stretched over her hand. She was looking out of the arched window that offered a view of the road outside. It was the same familiar view of all over New York; abandoned vehicles. The sound of footsteps alerted her to Louis' presence. He was suddenly at the top of the stairs, moving toward her.

'I won't ask if you're okay,' he took a seat next to her, sitting with his legs apart and hands together, facing Zoey and the window. 'I can't imagine what you must be going through right now; I mean seeing your mother after all this time, especially how you two parted ways. It must be difficult.'

'Well it isn't,' Zoey mumbled. There was a silence.

'I guess I can't argue with you on that,' Louis sighed. 'I mean I never knew my parents so I guess anything I say to act as support wouldn't really be worth it.' Zoey glanced away from the window to look at Louis.

'You never told me you were an orphan,' she said softly.

'Technically I still am,' Louis chuckled. 'But yeah... I grew up in foster care centres watching all the other kids get adopted and waiting forever for my turn only for it to never come... I guess you could call me one of those children that just got lost in the system.' Zoey looked away, staring at the ground as she listened to Louis. 'On the very day that I was legally old enough I left to make something of myself. I got a job, went to college then got a better job. I guess I did it because I had a really good life before all this happened.' Zoey remained silent and Louis leant forward, closer to her. 'I guess what I'm saying is; I got on just fine without my parents. Sure it was hard at first, knowing that I didn't have a mom or dad who would always love and support me but I got through it, just like you got through it.'

'I didn't get through it though,' Zoey looked to him with teary eyes. 'I mean for Christ's sake, when they kicked me out of their life I was a wreck. I was self harming, I ran away to a different state... I got mixed up with the wrong people and needed to be bailed out. My entire life I've always had people helping me. I can't take care of myself, Louis, I'm just not able to and after I was abandoned I think I proved that.' She paused to wipe the tears from her eyes, taking a breath. 'I can't ever forgive her for what she's done. I just can't.'

'If you can't then there's nothing that anyone can say that'll change your mind,' Louis sighed, getting to his feet. 'I'm sorry to bother you, I know it must sound ridiculous having me talk to you having a second chance with your mom. I never even had the first chance so I don't know how hard it is for you.' Zoey glanced at Louis and he went down the stairs. Tears fell from her eyes and she rested her head on the cool glass window.

On the lower level Louis walked past Cassandra who was pacing nervously, talking to some of her people. He went down a corridor to be alone, exchanging acknowledging nods between Bill and Francis, who were talking quietly together.

'Didn't Oliver say that the loyalties of the people around Cassandra were waning?' Bill asked Francis.

'Yeah!' he agreed. 'And they were starting to distrust her, too.' Ignoring Francis' comment by rolling his eyes, Bill took a breath and whispered softly to him.

'If she is alright then why the hell would he make up a lie like that? He has Madison; he could have just ordered us to grab the woman and we'd still have gone with no explanation. Something's not right here.'

'Maybe he wanted to reunite Zoey and her mom?' Francis suggested.

'Oh come on,' Bill protested. 'He has no idea who we are. There's no way that he knew that the two were related.'

'It's a pretty big coincidence though,' Francis pointed out. 'I mean what are the odds that Zoey would run into her mother purely by chance?'

'You've got a point,' Bill acknowledged, continuing to think.

'There's something;' Francis had a thought of his own. 'How come Zoey's mom isn't infected? Zoey's immune and all but if she was adopted then that means that she's got different blood to her so she shouldn't be immune and should be a zombie right now.'

'You've got a point there, too,' Bill nodded to him.

'And also...' he continued to say, 'Why did Oliver send us as soon as he met us? You've seen all the guys he has for security. Surely he could have sent a team or an army of them to get this woman if she's that God damn important. Why send just us four into a place that's supposedly very dangerous? Aside from those burrowing freaks, this place doesn't seem too bad.'

'I see what you mean,' Bill agreed completely with Francis' statements, something that he found rather surprising. Francis put his hand to his head, shaking it slightly. He moved to go sit down in one of the lounge areas.

'Man, I hate thinking,' he muttered to himself. Bill however stood there silently thinking about the points that Francis had brought up. Everything seemed a little too coincidental. While he wanted to believe that everything was just random luck, the cynic in him told him that nothing was what it appeared to be. His suspicions were confirmed when his vision burred and he passed out due to someone hitting him forcefully in the back of the head. Bill was dragged down the hall followed by Francis while Zoey sat on the mezzanine, lost in her thoughts. Cassandra watched as Bill and Francis were dragged away, rubbing her hands together. She glanced up the stairs with a sinister look on her face.

Meanwhile back in New Bern, Oliver Rooney was sat in his office overlooking the compound below. There came a sudden burst of static from his lower desk drawer. He promptly opened it and retrieved a radio.

'Is that you, wife?' he spoke into the receiver.

'Affirmative,' Cassandra answered. 'I've isolated all of them and ordered my men to wait outside the apartment until I've had a chance to catch up with my daughter. I really do appreciate you doing all this for me.'

'What can I say?' Oliver said in response, looking at something lying on his desk. 'I think I may have profited from this as well.' He picked up the Madison's radio headset, grinning. In her hospital bed, Madison awoke and looked to the side to see Malcolm. When she saw that he was not there, she tried to sit up but stopped when she saw two heavily armed men stood guard at the foot of her bed. Pretending to sleep, Madison watched them through squinted eyes. Elsewhere in the compound, Malcolm was tied to a wooden chair in the middle of a dark cellar. He was breathing heavily looking around and seeing nothing as the only light came from a lamp just above his head.

'Hello?' he called out. 'You have to let me out of here!' There was no response from the darkness. He began to start shouting. 'Hello!'

...

The day turned into night very quickly and Coach had ordered Ellis to stop at the smallest Haven they had ever stopped at. It was a group of campfires dotted strategically around a field, forming a weak perimeter. Feeling uneasy as they were vulnerable to a horde attack, he asked for volunteers to keep a lookout while everyone else slept. Rochelle had a lot on her mind so she was happy to oblige. She was lying down on the roof of the bus, looking up at the stars. They were so bright in the sky, brighter than she had ever seen before. Little did she know that as she looked at the sky, the sky looked back at her. Her image was displayed on Miguel's table. Suddenly, a burst of communication went down to a radio receiver. Having prepared for this to happen, Miguel was able to trace the transmission. There was someone in communication with the person who was operating the satellite just two hundred meters away from Rochelle. Miguel had taken a keen interest in her ever since he saw her lying on the roof of the bus as he scanned her face and attempted to identify it through records of missing persons. Instead of finding nothing he came across several files but could not access them as when he attempted to do so, he was blocked by a large "classified" banner. There was a strong sensation deep in Miguel's gut that told him that something bad was going to happen to the young woman he was watching over.

Rochelle stretched her arms out, yawning. She moved to the side of the roof and jumped off the bus, landing gently on the ground. The smell of burning wood from the campfires in the distance was relaxing. Rochelle went over to one of these campfires and knelt down next to it, hovering her hands over the flame. As the warmth went through her fingertips and up her arms, she heard someone approaching from behind. Rochelle turned on the spot and saw Norah join her.

'You scared me,' Rochelle admitted, chuckling. Norah smiled at her as she stepped close by the fire.

'Sorry,' she said as she sat down. Miguel saw Norah's face and thought it looked familiar. He scanned it into the computer as he watched the two speak. He wished that he could hear what they were saying. He saw on the map that the person who was communicating with the satellite was heading straight for the two. Norah's face was then identified by the computers and Miguel's eyes widened as he discovered the identity of Norah Hanham, the person that Bill and the others had been sent into America to find. 'It's a lovely night,' Norah said, making conversation. 'I can't sleep so you can go rest if you want and I'll keep a lookout.' Rochelle shrugged and accepted Norah's offer, turning to go back to the bus. She walked away, leaving Norah on her own as someone approached quickly in the darkness.

Rochelle stopped at the door, turning around as she thought she heard something. Seeing nothing but Norah sat upright by the fire, she shrugged and said goodnight to her. As she did she saw Norah suddenly slump to the ground. Frowning with curiosity, Rochelle called out her name.

'Norah? Norah you okay?' Rochelle took a step away from the bus back toward the campfire. 'Norah?' As Norah lay on the ground, a small dart sticking out of her neck was obscured from Rochelle's view. Knowing that something was wrong, Rochelle became defensive. At that moment she heard the faintest popping sound. She ducked down instantly as a dart similar to Norah's shot over her head. She then turned in the direction of the noise, now convinced that there was someone out there. Rochelle pulled out her handgun. 'Who is there?' she cried. 'Show yourself or I'm gonna start shooting!'

From Miguel's viewpoint, he saw a dark figure hastily creeping up behind Rochelle. The man behind her was as silent as a ghost and Rochelle was not aware of him until it was too late. Ghost grabbed her from behind, wrapping his arms around Rochelle's neck in a sleeper hold. Kicking the weapon out of her hand, the two struggled. Rochelle was able to push herself back but her attacker's grip would not loosen. She pushed the two of them back even further, toward the fire. With one final push she made him set foot in the campfire, his leg catching ablaze. The man let go of Rochelle as he stumbled back to put out the flames.

Rochelle took the gun and aimed it at the man as he stood opposite her after putting out his torched leg.

'Who the hell are you?' she cried. The man before her was a heavily muscled one. He wore a dark ski mask accompanied by a dark army jacket and combat trousers. In the dark light, Rochelle could see his ice blue eyes through his mask. With the sound of a smirk, the man pulled his mask off revealing a young face that was polluted with scars. He had short hair as black as the night and looked at Rochelle with a sneering grin. He reached to a pocket behind him and pulled out a very sharp, very shiny combat knife and pointed it to Rochelle as he spoke to her.

'I wouldn't have thought you'd have forgotten me that quickly,' said the man's familiar English voice. Rochelle lowered her weapon and grinned, letting out a faint gasp of delighted surprise.

'Ghost?' she said. 'My God, man! How are you doing? I thought you were dead.'

'Really?' Ghost frowned at her before pulling his mask back on and lowering the knife. 'What made you think that?'

'Virgil,' she explained. 'When he was supposed to be extracting me he said that everyone from the Guard had died.'

'Oh no,' Ghost responded with a quick shake of his head. He began spinning the knife in his fingers. 'No we're all still alive.'

'Great,' Rochelle smiled. She looked down to Norah and knelt next to her, pulling the dart from her neck. She held it up to Ghost. 'Is this your doing?'

'I wanted to get you on your own.'

'So you could pretend to strangle me?'

'Who said I was pretending?' Rochelle could not be sure whether he was being facetious or not. She chose to take what he said as a joke.

'How did you find me?' she asked, trying to wake Norah. 'What did you use on her?' Ghost took a step toward Rochelle, his fingers still fiddling with the knife. Rochelle glanced up and saw that he was heavily armed. Even though it would make sense to be well armed in the current climate it still made her feel uneasy. Rochelle stood up, separating Ghost from Norah. She was a lot shorter than he was so she looked up at him. 'Why are you here?'

'To get you.' Rochelle frowned.

'To get me or to see me?'

'To get you,' Ghost repeated. There was a brief moment of silence.

Ghost put the knife away with such speed that he was reaching with his free hand for Rochelle before she noticed that it was gone. She was able to knock his hand away from her and stepped away as he tried to grab her once more. Rochelle ducked under his arm and pushed him away, jumping back to maintain some distance.

'Playtime's over, Ghost,' Rochelle told him. 'Stop this now.'

'Who said I was playing?' Even though he had his mask on, Rochelle could tell that he was smiling. Ghost lunged toward Rochelle who tried to aim her pistol at him but found that it was knocked from her hand. Grabbing her from behind again, Ghost attempted to put her back in a sleeper hold but was hindered when Rochelle used her elbow to punch him in the face. Not bothering to look for the gun, Rochelle pivoted on the spot while kicking her leg out, knocking Ghost back. She then ran for him, jumping into the air and kicking him twice, sending him off balance and to the ground. Rochelle landed on top of him and punched him in the face. Ghost grabbed Rochelle by the neck and then threw her off him. She crashed into the side of the bus. The sound of the bang caused Nick to wake up.

Rochelle saw Ghost marching toward her as she shook away the pain. He was right opposite her and put his hand into a fist, throwing a strong punch. Rochelle grabbed his fist with both of her hands and blocked the blow, stomping on his foot and pushing him away from the bus. She then kicked him in the back. Becoming aggravated, Ghost pulled out one of his handguns, a large HK USP and swung it in her direction. Rochelle pushed the gun away from her, causing it to accidentally fire into the air. The already awake Nick bolted out of bed as he heard the gunshot while the others woke up upon hearing the bang.

Still holding the gun in the air, Ghost struggled to get it away from Rochelle who would not let go of his wrist. With his free hand he was able to lift her off her feet but this gave Rochelle the chance to kick him straight into the groin. He winced and let go of her and the gun, causing Rochelle to land on her rear on the ground. Doing some kicking of his own, Ghost pushed Rochelle onto her side and kicked her in the stomach, making her drop the pistol with a breathless gasp. He went to kick her again but Rochelle was able to block it by grabbing his foot and pulling it so that he fell to the ground. He rolled around and took the pistol, standing up. Rochelle took a breath and jumped up by kicking her legs forward, the force launching her whole body off the ground. Landing on her feet, she threw a punch that was deflected and a kick that was caught. Ghost pulled her close to him and wrapped his arm around her.

'What the fuck is going on?' Nick cried, stepping out of the bus. Ghost turned and fired three shots from his gun. Each bullet tore through Nick's body, making him twitch with each shot. One bullet went through his arm and the other two shot straight through his chest. Nick immediately coughed up a mouthful of blood and fell to the ground.

'Nick!' Rochelle cried with an absolute screech. She broke away from Ghost and went toward him but was stopped when Ghost hit her over the back of the head with his gun. Rochelle fell unconscious to the ground. Ghost made a radio call as he stood by Rochelle.

'Requesting immediate evac, over.' There came another noise from the bus and Ellis emerged from the stairs. He saw Nick twitching on the ground and looked up at Ghost in time to see him raise his weapon. With Ellis in his sights, Ghost pulled the trigger.

The bullet would have hit him if Norah hadn't grabbed Ghost, damaging his aim. Ellis called for help while Ghost and Norah struggled together. He quickly got the upper hand and made Norah face him, pulling her close to his face.

'I don't like hitting women,' he hissed at her. 'So don't make me do it or I'll get really mad.' He pushed Norah over toward Nick. At that moment, the rest of the Midnight Riders stepped outside, each were heavily armed. Ghost put his gun away and pulled out his knife as he lifted Rochelle up, putting the knife to her neck. Everyone stood facing Ghost. 'You all look very jittery so I'd lower those guns in case you accidentally pull the trigger and either hit Rochelle or me. If I die then this knife will more than likely slice out her throat on its own. She'd be dead before I would be.'

Danielle looked down and saw Nick on the ground. She ordered Drake to help her get him inside.

'Who the hell are you?' Coach cried. 'Why have you come here?'

'I've got what I came for,' Ghost said casually. 'You all can now go back to your quaint little lives.'

'I ain't lettin' you take Rochelle!' Ellis spat.

'Unfortunately you don't really have any choice,' Ghost told him. 'If we stay here she dies, something that I won't let happen. She will live if she comes with me, although it looks like that is something you won't let happen... not willingly anyway.'

'If you think we're going to just let you walk away from here then you're wrong,' Norah told him viciously.

'Who said anything about walking?' Ghost spoke rhetorically. In the distance the sound of rotary blades could be heard. A helicopter was approaching. It flew over the campsite and hovered directly above Ghost. It dropped a rope that Ghost grabbed securely, still holding onto both Rochelle and the knife. Without saying another word, Ghost was pulled up by the helicopter. As he was still holding onto Rochelle, there was nothing that any of them could do to stop it.

'Inside!' Coach ordered.

Ellis switched the ignition and put the bus into gear. Driving over one of the campfires, he chased after the helicopter that had started flying away.

'Don't lose him,' Coach ordered.

'We can't keep up with him this!' Norah pointed out.

'I need a hand here!' Danielle cried. She and Drake had placed Nick on the table at the back. Opening his shirt she saw the bullet wounds. 'The one in the arm went through but the two in his chest must still be in there,' she muttered. Looking at Drake, she barked orders. 'Get me some disinfectant and my tools.' Drake turned and saw Teek stood behind him already holding what Danielle had asked for. Drake took them hastily from him and put them next to Nick. As Danielle began to prepare to pull the remaining bullets out, Drake disinfected Nick's arm wound. Nick let out a cry as the disinfectant burnt his skin. On the other side, Danielle positioned herself over Nick's upper chest wound. Ellis drove over a bump and she suppressed frustration. 'Kid, tell me when we're about to hit a bump! I don't want to slice Nick up anymore than he already is.'

'That's comforting,' Nick muttered.

'Teek,' Danielle cried. 'Come over here and occupy him.'

'But I don't...' Teek protest was interrupted by Danielle roaring at him.

'Now!' Teek brushed past Drake and sat next to Nick. The helicopter was slowly getting away from the bus but Ellis continued to put his foot down.

'Hey Nick...' Teek said awkwardly, glancing around for inspiration. Danielle was about to try and pull one of Nick's bullets out while Drake was preparing to stitch Nick's arm wound closed. 'Wow we've been through a lot haven't we? Especially after that whole junkyard thing.'

'I did it for her,' Nick muttered wearily. 'I got shot for her...'

'Yes you did,' Teek acknowledged.

'Is she okay?' Nick asked. Drake shot Teek a warning look.

'Of course she is,' Teek nodded. 'You helped her a lot.'

'Can I see her?' Nick tired to sit up but Danielle held him down.

'Not yet,' Teek replied. 'We need to get you fixed up, don't we?' Danielle began pulling out the bullet, making Nick scream loudly. Teek did his best to soothe him. 'It's alright,' he told him. 'Just calm down. Quiet down...' Drake shot him another warning look. Teek continued being gentle with him but Nick continued screaming in pain as Danielle struggled with removing the bullet.

'Oh God just shut up!' Drake yelled at Nick. 'What the hell are you doing, crying over a little gunshot like this? You've been through a lot worse than this so stop man up.' Drake continued to close Nick's wound. Nick was calming down somewhat. 'Weren't you like a conman or something before, anyway? Did you cry about your problems then? I don't think so. You were tough as nails, weren't you? I bet back then you were tougher than a few tiny pieces of metal. I bet you laughed in the face of danger.'

'I really didn't,' Nick muttered.

'Well start doing it now,' Drake ordered. 'Teek and I are the babies of this group and I'll be damned if I'm gonna let you take that away from us. You're the tough guy; you're the only one who can be the tough guy. Teek and I are too young, Coach is too fat and Ellis is a skinny weed.' Coach and Ellis chose to forget what Drake had just said about them. 'You're the tough guy, Nick. You always have been so start acting like it.' Drake let out a laugh, looking to Teek. 'I think all the time he spent hanging around with Ellis' girlfriend has made him sappy.'

'I'm not sappy,' Nick protested.

'Of course you're sappy!' Drake said. 'You're a sappy romantic; that's why you ran out to get yourself shot. You were trying to impress Rochelle weren't you?'

'I wasn't,' Nick shook his head quickly.

'Methinks he protests too much,' Teek held him still.

'Hey, Ellis,' Drake called out. 'How do you feel that all of this was Nick's plan to win over Rochelle?'

'Nick if you try and take Rochelle I'll shoot y'all myself,' Ellis joked.

'I'm not...' Nick muttered. He was becoming quite disoriented.

'Stay with us,' Teek tapped his face. 'We're not finished making fun of you.'

'You're just trying to keep me awake...'

'So we can talk about where you went wrong with Rochelle,' Teek told him, looking up to Drake. 'Where do you think he went wrong?'

'It was defiantly the whole getting shot thing,' Drake told him. 'I mean it's all when and good when a guy tries to do something noble to get your attention it makes sense in principle but I dunno... There's just something wrong with your methods of seduction, Nick.'

'Maybe it's the blood?' Teek suggested.

'Could be,' Drake nodded. 'If I guy wanted to impress me I'd want the levels of blood to be kept at a strict minimum.' Teek shot a sudden look up at Drake as he continued to stitch Nick. 'Maybe just get her some flowers next time,' Drake continued. 'Or a Witch's claw. I hear those are quite expensive nowadays.'

Danielle stepped away from Nick. She had retrieved both bullets from Nick's body and along with Drake had disinfected the wounds and sealed them up without Nick being aware of most of it due to the distractions. As Nick's condition began to stabilize, she and Drake moved him into his room to let him rest. After the makeshift operating table was cleaned, everyone was stood to the front near Ellis as he continued driving. The helicopter had long since disappeared into the night but Ellis still drove forward searching for it.

'You guys were just kiddin' when you were sayin' that Nick was interested in Ro, right?' he asked.

'Of course,' Drake waved his hand at him. 'It worked didn't it? Kept his mind off the pain.'

'Yeah,' Ellis nodded. 'I just didn't want to be datin' Nick's girl.'

'Where do you think she is?' Norah wondered aloud.

'Helicopters are never seen anymore,' Coach said. 'We won't be the only ones who have seen it. We'll ask around the next Haven we get to and follow what people were saying. We'll find Rochelle and bring her back.'

The Midnight Riders drove ahead into the darkness. Meanwhile the satellite image over the bus had been disconnected along with the radio communication so Miguel was unable to trace where Rochelle had gone to. However using his own satellite he was able to follow the helicopter on his own and had its position marked on the map. He was certain that they were chasing after the helicopter and knew that it was only a matter of time before they located it. This meant that he knew where Norah Hanham and the others would be very soon and if he could get Bill and the others there quick enough, he could have them rescued and sent home, bringing the mission to a successful end. Miguel could almost taste the triumph in his mouth. He tried contacting Bill to tell him of the news but could not get through to him. He tried to get through to Malcolm but was worried to see that he was also unavailable. Miguel's optimism had been replaced by an uneasy worry.

Miguel attempted to contact Zoey but she had thrown her headset off in upset. She was still sat on her own and sighed when she saw Cassandra stepping up to join her.

'I've given you time to calm down,' she said to her. 'I've sent everyone outside so that we could have a nice chat on our own.' This was true as the entire area was deserted. 'Zoey, talk to me. Tell me what is wrong. Why can't you just be happy that we've been reunited and agree to start over?'

'I've been doing some thinking,' Zoey sighed. 'I guess the reasons why I'm so against the idea of reuniting is because I just don't want what happened to happen again.'

'It won't, sweetie,' Cassandra held Zoey's hand. 'I promise.' Zoey pulled her hand away from her mother's grasp.

'It'll take me some time,' Zoey told her.

'Of course,' Cassandra held her hand up. 'Take all the time you need. I'm just happy that someday we can be a family again.' Zoey smiled weakly.

'I guess it was my fear that was keeping me from trusting you,' Zoey said, 'but I guess you've proved that you're pretty trustworthy.'

Elsewhere, Bill woke up to find himself tied to a chair along with Francis. They were on the rooftop of the building accompanied by an armed guard. Francis was still unconscious as Bill coyly looked around. There was no sign of Louis. Back inside the apartment, Louis stepped out of a side room he had gone into to be alone. He quietly moved around, confused to see that there was no one around. He heard Zoey and Cassandra talking. Suddenly his headset came to life.

'Louis, for the love of God, come in!'

'Miguel?' Louis responded. 'What's the matter?'

'Thank God,' Miguel sighed. 'Why is no one answering me?'

'What do you mean?'

'Bill and Francis are stood together on the rooftop ignoring my messages,' he explained. 'Why is everyone else standing outside the apartment? It's only you, Rochelle and one other person in there.'

'Something's wrong,' Louis looked up at the mezzanine. He moved to the stairs and silently crept up. At the top he let his presence become known to Cassandra. 'Where are the others?' Cassandra jumped around in shock, looking at Louis who was stood there.

'How did you...' she started before stopping herself.

'Mom?' Zoey asked, confused. Cassandra turned to her, a grim look on her face.

'Zoey, you'll thank me for this later.' Cassandra pulled out a gun and turned to face Louis.

'Mom, no!' Zoey screamed.

Bill heard the gunshot on the roof as did the person keeping an eye on him. The man looked worried and moved toward the door but Bill managed to trip him up. The man fell to the floor and Bill was able to free himself from the ropes as he got up. The man lunged for him but Bill was able to overpower him and push him away. Bill accidentally knocked him over the side of the building and he fell to the ground.

The man fell past the mezzanine window as Zoey stood there grappling with her mother. She was trying to get the gun out of her hand. Cassandra had missed Louis due to Zoey's interference. The safe room door opened and people ran inside. They saw Louis at the foot of the stairs and began shooting at him. Louis, Zoey and Cassandra were forced to take cover. As the man Bill had killed crashed onto the ground, one of the Burrowers examined the corpse and looked up at where it had come from. The infected then jumped through the building's outer wall followed by many more. The entire building began to shake as the Burrowers tore it apart from the inside. Bill woke and freed Francis and then stumbled to the ground as he felt the building move. Zoey looked to the window as she was hiding from the gunshots. She could see the building next door slowly getting closer. She could also see several items of furniture sliding to one side.

The apartment building's foundations were destroyed by the Burrowers and it was tilting to the left. With a loud crash it began to fall to the ground. Zoey screamed as everyone slid toward the window. Bill and Francis began to fall down the rooftop. The building they were in crashed into the side of the neighbouring structure coming to a halt as the top of it stood there leaning against it.

...

Madison reached over to the machine that was monitoring her heart rate and quickly pushed a button causing a loud beep to ring, signalling that she was dying. The two men moved to each side of Madison's bed, unsure of what to do. Madison kicked her feet into the air and split them, knocking aside both men in unison. She then got up, grabbed the one closest to the door and threw him at the other guard. The two fell to the ground and Madison knocked them both out by kicking them in face. Her clothes and equipment were hung up in an open locker in the room so Madison changed before getting ready to move. She knew something bad was going on as she stole the weapon of one of the guards. She then spoke into the radio.

'This is Madison, come in.' Miguel jumped with fright as he heard her voice.

'Madison are you okay?' he answered her call hastily.

'I'm fine,' Madison told him. 'My injuries weren't as bad as the leader here made them out to be... where are the others?'

'Malcolm is located a few floors below you,' Miguel told her, flicking through displays on his table. 'Everyone else is in New York.'

'New York?' Madison repeated. 'What the hell are they doing there?'

'They're in a spot of trouble right now,' Miguel told her. 'But, look, I've found out where Norah Hanham and the others are.'

'How the hell did you do that?' Madison asked.

'Long story but suffice it to say we don't have a lot of time. Get Malcolm, get out of there and head west. Do you understand? I'll give you further instructions when you're free.'

'Roger,' Madison nodded. 'I'll grab Malcolm now.'

Madison stepped out of her room, peering through the gap in the door as she opened it. With no one around, she made her way down the corridor sticking close to the walls. Her footsteps made no noise as she carefully stalked the corridors. Coming to a corner, Madison slowly peeked around it. She saw in the distance access to a stairwell. She also saw the numerous people who were going about their business, heading from room to room and patrolling the corridors. Madison stopped looking around the corner and tilted her head up, thinking about what she should do. It was right then Madison noticed that the whole area was comfortably cool. She saw the reason as a metallic ventilation shaft cover rattled gently up above. Madison grinned as she thought of her new plan.

Up inside the ventilation system, Madison crawled slowly in the direction of the stairwell. Meanwhile, a nurse stepped into the room where she had been recovering to bring her some food. He dropped the tray on the ground as he saw the unconscious bodies of Madison's guards lying beside the bed. Madison exited the ventilation system right in the stairwell and began making her way down. Miguel had sent her mission computer a computer rendered 3D image of the area she was in. According to the diagram she was getting close to Malcolm. As she arrived on the floor he was on, alarms began to wail throughout the complex. Inside his office, Oliver Rooney got to his feet as he was told of Madison's escape. He emerged in the reception area of the mansion and began barking orders at people.

'Lock everything down!' he cried. 'She is not getting out of here!'

Malcolm's prison was illuminated by a flashing red light. There were two people in there with him, discussing what they should do. Upon hearing instructions over their radios, they remained where they were. If Madison had escaped this would be the first place she would go to. They were certainly right. Madison kicked open the door and threw in a flash bang grenade. Malcolm closed his eyes as the flash blinded the two guards. Madison casually walked inside and hit the two over the head, knocking them out.

'You alright?' she asked Malcolm as she untied him.

'What?' Malcolm cried, his ears ringing.

'Never mind,' Madison sighed, pointing him over to a table so he could gather his equipment that had been left there. Several heavily armed personnel ran down the corridor just outside of Malcolm's prison. They stormed the room but only found the two unconscious guards. Madison and Malcolm were already gone.

'Damn it!' Oliver spat as he heard the news. 'Leaving two of my men unconscious is rapidly becoming that woman's calling card... Just make sure that they are found and hurry!'

Madison and Malcolm were now outside the hospital building. The high perimeter walls prevented them from simply hopping over the fence. The only way out was the front entrance. There were several light road vehicles that looked like golf buggies roaming around the grounds, searching for them. Madison and Malcolm shared a knowing glance.

One golf buggy turned a corner and as it drove ahead, Malcolm jumped through it, taking out the driver. Madison hopped into the front seat as Malcolm knocked out the original occupant before rejoining her. Madison put her foot to the ground and the buggy shot forward. Inside the tiny vehicle they seemed to blend in with the rest of Rooney's staff. This was until they made it to the front of the mansion where several people were waiting for them. Oliver was outside and he saw them driving toward the main gates and let out a loud cry, ordering them to be stopped. Malcolm threw his own flash bang grenade at the crowd and when it went off they dispersed rather rapidly. As Madison drove toward the gate it was painfully obvious that it would not open for them. The buggy did not have enough power to drive through the gates and there was not enough time to open them as more armed men had appeared behind them and started shooting. Malcolm reached into his bag and retrieved an explosive pipe bomb. He activated it and threw it as hard as he could to the front. The beeping bomb flew through the air and bounced off the centre of the gate and as it fell it exploded, blasting the gates open. Madison drove through the gateway and Oliver ordered his people to go after them. However the beeping of the pipe bomb had generated some unwanted attention. The wail of the infected was heard and hundreds of them ran through the gate having come from nowhere, flooding Oliver's compound. Oliver ran back inside and ordered everyone to fight.

The horde began to tear apart Oliver's miniature city as Madison and Malcolm drove away, heading west. Sighing, Madison held up her hand. Malcolm slapped it with his own and they went drove out of New Bern.

...

Bill stood up on the rooftop of the neighbouring building along with Francis.

'It ain't every day you see something like that,' Francis commented. As he spoke, the structure began to crumble somewhat. Soon it would all fall to the ground. Inside, Zoey, Louis and Cassandra were pressed against the wall next to the window. The gunfire had stopped as most of the shooters had either fallen through other windows or had been taken out by furniture. Zoey could feel the building crumbling around her.

'We gotta move now!'

Zoey positioned herself by the window and saw a clear shot to jump over to the other building. The glass was already broken on the other side so all she had to do was jump. Glancing over to Louis she spoke nervously.

'See you there,' she muttered, leaping forward. She landed in the other building without any hassle. Louis and Cassandra looked at each other.

'Don't even think about it,' he told her. 'You're next.' Louis pushed Cassandra to the window and she jumped to the other side. The entire building began to shake violently and Louis nearly fell out. Holding onto the wall he heard Zoey shout at him, calling him to jump. As he did, the entire top of the building crumbled away and fell to the ground. Landing safely, Louis had enough time to turn around as he saw the building crash to the ground thanks to the Burrowers. As the dust settled, everyone met on the rooftop.

'Well that was some crazy shit,' Francis said. 'Man, I hate skyscrapers.'

'You don't seem too upset after losing your entire Clan or whatever they're called,' Bill told Cassandra.

'It pales in comparison to finding my daughter alive again,' she responded.

'Oh save it,' Zoey spat. 'You tried to kill Louis! You knocked out Bill and Francis and put them on the rooftop. What the hell is wrong with you?'

'Zoey,' Cassandra stepped close to her. 'This country has changed and there are powerful forces working here that are so strong you cannot possibly comprehend.'

'Ah,' Francis spoke up, 'we just saw some of them zombies take out an entire building. I think we can comprehend it.' Cassandra stepped away from Zoey and addressed all of them.

'Oliver Rooney is one of the most powerful men in America right now,' she told them. 'He has a compound in North Carolina where hundreds of people live and work for him. My partnership with him was for self-preservation. I hate the man, he gives me the creeps.'

'You'll forgive us if we don't believe a word that you say, you lying bitch,' Bill told her. Ignoring him, Cassandra continued.

'Oliver sent me here to try and set up a sanctuary. I wanted to be as far away from him as possible so I gladly accepted. I was happy here away from him for many months but then he started saying that he wanted me back and that he'd send people after me if I didn't return. That's why you're all here doing his dirty work. I had Bill, Francis and I thought Louis taken away so that I could get you on your own, Zoey. I needed to make a clean break; a fresh start and I wanted to do it with you. I wanted to run away from Oliver and I couldn't do that with all of you.'

'Well we're not going to be in the country for very long,' Zoey told her. Bill widened his eyes and made gestures to her telling her to be quiet. Zoey did not listen. 'We escaped, all of us did about a year ago. We came back to find our friends and bring them home to safety.'

'Really?' Cassandra asked. 'That's incredible!'

'We'll take you home with us,' Zoey told her. 'However you've got to do exactly what we say and we'll have no more of this kidnapping and trying to kill us business.'

'Of course, sweetie,' Cassandra smiled, moving to embrace her. Zoey refused.

'I'm not quite there, yet,' she told her. Zoey saw Bill's look of annoyance. 'Bill she's my mother! I can't just leave her.'

'Fine,' Bill muttered. 'I'll let Miguel know about the situation.' Bill began speaking into the radio as Cassandra turned to Zoey.

'I know that I have let you down,' she said to her daughter. 'Both in the past and recently. But I will do what I can to make things go back to the way they once were. I promise I'll never let you down again.'

'We'll see,' Zoey sighed.

'So what do we do now?' Louis asked, joining the conversation with Francis. 'If we're taking mommy dearest with us then we can't go back to Oliver.'

'We have to though,' Francis insisted. 'Madison and that other dude are there.'

'Oh yeah,' Zoey put her hand to her chin. 'We need to find a way to break them out of Oliver's "care".' She looked to Cassandra. 'I don't know what your chances would be if we did hand you over.'

'I'll go over to him,' she responded. 'I'll do anything to prove to you that I'm with you.'

'Lady you tried to kill me,' Louis pointed out. 'It's going to take more than that to get you in our good books.'

'Hey guys,' Bill interrupted their conversation. 'Something's happened.'

Bill told everyone what Miguel had told him about what had happened while they were away. He told them of how Madison and Malcolm were imprisoned by Oliver and how they had escaped, inadvertently sending a horde of infected into his complex, most likely destroying everything. He also told them how Miguel had located the Midnight Riders and where they would be going, the same place that they were now headed for. Using the same method of jumping across fire escapes that they had used before, the five began heading out of New York City and forward toward what they had actually come for.

The journey that Bill and the others were on was full of surprises. Zoey would never have thought that she would be reunited with her mother and that she would be fighting the infected with them. As for the Midnight Riders, Nick would never have thought that he would ever get shot and Teek never considered the possibility that he could be interested in Drake. Coach was shocked that one of his own had been torn away from him with such devastating ease.

America was full of surprises after the infected had taken over. Inside Oliver Rooney's compound it was clear that most of these surprises were deadly. Buildings were on fire, corpses littered the ground and infected were everywhere. There was one extra surprise deep down below all of the death and destruction. Climbing out and above some rubble, Oliver Rooney stood tall and defiant. Armed with a heavy shotgun he blasted away all of the infected that were around him. Staggering away from his dead Clan, he made a special promise to himself. He vowed that he would track Madison Robinson down and give her a nasty surprise of his own. As he looked out at the dark night, he stood tall.

Oliver cocked his weapon.

...

...

Thank you once again for reading. An update is coming soon so make sure you keep an eye out for it and don't forget to keep me updated on what you think of things so far. Every comment is truly appreciated. =]

The character "Ghost" was created by "A little help here".