The Midnight Riders

Chapter Five – Finding the Lost

Over time certain things that were once important to someone can become lost and forgotten; be they a cherished childhood toy, a former lover or an old job. As Rochelle was quickly finding out; you can try to forget things and people that were once important to you but that does not mean that they will forget about you. As Rochelle woke up the first thing she became aware of was how she was restrained. She was lying flat on a metal table with her arms down at her sides. She was able to look down and saw thick, tight leather straps around her body. She could feel that the table had small holes in it as she was able to poke one of her fingers through one. She could not see much as a bright light was right above her face and when she looked away she could still see the glare clouding her vision. Aside from her own breathing, the sound of the light's electrical buzz was the only noise Rochelle could hear. She took long, deliberate breaths to calm herself. This did not work when something clicked underneath her and the table tilted upward, making Rochelle gasp breathlessly. Now upright, Rochelle could see the rest of the dark room. There was nothing around except for a door at the back. It was open. Before Rochelle could examine it any longer, Ghost walked into her field of view. He still had his ski mask pulled over his head.

'Ashamed to show your face?' Rochelle spat at him. Ghost looked at the saliva that had landed on his arm and then looked back up at her.

'Yes,' he answered bluntly. 'But not because of what I did to you.' He turned and walked over toward the door. Rochelle began shouting after him.

'If anything happens to Nick I swear to God I'll kill you!' Ghost stopped just short of the doorway and turned his head.

'Rochelle, I think you have bigger problems to worry about.' His smug English accent had a sinister tone to it that made Rochelle feel sick to the depths of her stomach. Ghost left the room and closed the door behind him. As Rochelle lay there, she could feel the unpleasant sensation of the restraints being the only thing holding her up. Her body wanted to fall to the floor but the straps would not allow it and they began hurting her skin. Rochelle sighed and looked around for a sign of inspiration. The light suddenly went out, leaving her in perfect darkness. Rochelle exhaled again.

'Oh great,' she murmured to herself.

...

Several hours had gone by and the Midnight Riders were desperately searching for their lost companion. Coach ordered Ellis to stop at each Haven they drove by and made everyone ask around to see if anyone had seen or heard the helicopter fly by. The sight of a helicopter was a rare thing during the current climate so people took notice as they saw it. Following the directions, Ellis drove everyone closer and closer to Rochelle. Nick was confined to his bed after Danielle stressed to him and Coach that his stitches could easily break if he were to over exert himself. Nick did not have much energy to fight her recommendation as he did not have much energy at all. He had lost a lot of blood before Danielle and Drake had managed to remove the bullets and close the wounds. As the sun rose and set in the sky, the Midnight Riders were becoming very weary due to being on the go for the entire day. Coach wanted to stop and take a break but he simply could not do it. He wanted to get Rochelle back as soon as possible.

Night had fallen with still no luck in locating Rochelle or the helicopter. After Ellis nearly fell asleep at the wheel he was forced to allow everyone to have some rest. Parking in a small sized Haven located on the outskirts of a forest, the Midnight Riders rested for the evening. Coach, however, was unable to. As he closed his eyes his thoughts drifted not to Rochelle but to his ex-fiancé, Ruth. He remembered how he had felt when he thought he had lost her and how elated he was when he discovered that she was still alive. He remembered how he felt when he discovered that CEDA were after him, Nick, Ellis, Rochelle and Norah and how the only way to protect her would be to leave her behind on the cruise ship heading toward civilization whereas he would go back toward the infected nightmare of America. He remembered the feeling of sickness in his stomach, the overpowering pressure that weighted in his chest and the devastating urge to stop himself from doing the right thing and doing what he wanted. Ruth was no doubt happy now, safe with their healthy baby. It had been a year and the urge to see them both had not died down. Coach knew that he would probably never see Ruth ever again but that did not stop him from imagining.

Coach imagined himself stepping through the front door of their large house and saying the three words he had longed to say.

'Honey, I'm home!' He stepped into the front room and saw the whole place littered with toys; rattles, stuffed animals and colouring books to name a few. He made his way into the kitchen where he saw Ruth stood at the counter, peeling and slicing carrots. She looked over and saw him stood in the doorway and smiled. She was as beautiful as she had ever been; her hair still long and golden blonde, her eyes bright and cheerful and her smile still made him melt inside.

'Hey,' she spoke, eating a strip of carrot. 'You're home early.'

'Why should I spend my time coaching some punk high school kids when I can be at home with my own?'

'Easy, now,' Ruth chuckled. 'Our kid is barley one year old, plus we only have the one.'

'For now,' Coach whispered in her ear, making her chuckle. Ruth handed him a bowl of carrot sticks that she had just prepared.

'Want to give them to her?' she offered. Coach nodded and took the bowl and went through to the dining area on the other side of the counter. There he saw his beautiful baby girl sat in her high chair playing with her stuffed cat. When Coach stepped in front of her she let out a delighted cry, throwing the cat away as he knelt down in front of her. She had beautiful light caramel skin and dark hair with eyes just like her mother's. Coach placed the carrot sticks on the side and lifted her out of the chair, giving her a warm embrace.

'How's my sweet baby girl?' he whispered gently. Ruth smiled as she watched the two. 'Did you miss your daddy?' Coach held her in front of him for a moment and let out a cry as he saw his child's face had turned into that of Rochelle's. Ruth let out a scream as suddenly there were numerous infected outside, banging hard on the glass in an attempt to break through. Coach looked back at Rochelle whose face was one of sternness. As the infected broke through the glass, Coach opened his eyes and found himself back in the tour bus away from Ruth and back to reality. He sighed and got out of bed.

He went for a walk outside. The Haven was a small one as it was quite close to the woods, a place where the infected could easily ambush those nearby. As he walked through what was essentially a small camping area, Coach took in a deep breath to try and clear his thoughts before sighing dejectedly.

'Something on your mind, friend?' was the abrupt question of a man standing guard by the perimeter of the Haven. He had an assault rifle and an air horn at hand, ready to sound the alarm if there was an infected attack. He was tall with dark hair, pale skin and worn military camouflage. Judging by the way he held his weapon, Coach suspected that he was never in the service.

'Yeah,' Coach muttered before suddenly shaking his head. 'I mean no; nothing's wrong.'

'I didn't ask you if something were wrong I asked you if something was on your mind,' the man said to him, smiling. Coach looked him up and down. 'Wanna talk?'

'Yeah,' Coach breathed sarcastically. 'I don't think I'll go sharing my problems with a complete stranger.'

'Why not? I mean; strangers are the only people you can trust if you think about it. They've just met you so they've nothing to gain from hearing your problems other than offering genuine advice or opinions to help you out.' Coach let out a laugh.

'Okay,' he shrugged. 'Why not? The name's Coach.'

'Frazer,' said the man, shaking Coach's hand. 'What can I do you for?' Coach looked at Frazer for a moment, wondering what to say.

'Have you seen a helicopter go by here recently?' Coach asked.

'A helicopter?' Frazer repeated. 'How come?'

'A friend of mine was on it,' Coach responded.

'Lucky friend.'

'Not really,' Coach sighed. 'She was kidnapped by someone who nearly killed another member of my Clan.'

'Oh,' Frazer paused. 'I see.'

'I just want to get her back,' Coach sighed, rubbing his face with his hands.

'Is she special to you?' Frazer gave Coach a sly glance. Coach shook his head.

'Not like that,' he answered truthfully. 'But she is special, I'll give her that.' Frazer let out a single laugh.

'The special girls are the ones everyone wants,' he mused. 'Although I didn't think someone would ever kidnap one in a helicopter, especially during these times.'

'Did you see the chopper or not?' Coach asked. His tone had the faintest hint of annoyance.

'I did,' Frazer told him. Coach's eyes lit up with a mixture of surprise and excitement.

'You did?' he asked.

'Sure,' Frazer confirmed. 'We're always getting choppers around here.'

'You're joking!' Coach spat.

'Not at all,' Frazer insisted. 'They land not too far from here. There's like this not so secret base just on the other side of the woods.'

'This is amazing news,' Coach was suddenly very energetic. He was pacing on the ground, not sure of what to do with himself. 'I have to go, thank you so much!'

'I wouldn't go there if I were you,' Frazer called out, stopping Coach as he made his way back toward the door of the bus. He turned around, an inquisitive look on his face.

'Why?'

'You don't think people have come from all over after they've heard that aircraft are around here?' Frazer asked rhetorically. 'I've seen loads of people pass through here heading over toward that place, each of them looking to get out of the country or to make their lives a little easier.'

'What's the problem?' Coach shrugged.

'They never come back,' Frazer leant forward menacingly. There was a brief pause between the two before he continued to speak. 'The place the choppers all go to; I call it the Devil's Fortress. Everyone knows it is there and it is only when people start looking for it that bad things happen to them. Don't go stirring up trouble just for one girl, Coach.'

'Rochelle is special,' Coach told Frazer. 'I thought we've been over this?' An odd look fell over Frazer's face. 'Look,' Coach ignored it, 'I'm going to go and check out your Devil Fortress. I'll catch you later.' As Coach went back into the bus, Frazer looked to the ground, his mind deep in thought.

'Yes,' he muttered. 'You will...'

Coach stepped through the door of the bus and made a lot of cheerful noise. He knocked on the rooms that everyone was sleeping in and ushered them away from their beds. Weary and grumpy, everyone except for Nick who could not move yet gathered around the table. Coach stood in front of them.

'I don't know why you're so happy,' Norah muttered, rubbing the tiredness from her eyes. 'But whatever the reason you'd better share it with us so we can decide whether or not to kill you or go back to bed.'

'Someone's catty before her morning coffee,' Drake muttered jokingly. Norah shot him a disapproving glance.

'Well I don't think you'll be going to bed or killing me,' Coach clapped his hands together and raised his fingers to his face, grinning. 'I know where Rochelle is.'

It did not take long after Coach made this statement before the Midnight Riders hit the road again with renewed purpose. Driving away from the modest Haven, Coach guided Ellis through the thick forest. They drove along a narrow path for two hours; occasionally encountering some infected that needed to be handled. The appearance of a Tank was not enough to dampen their determination to find Rochelle. As day began to break, the Midnight Riders emerged from the forest into a relatively open area. It was then when the bus came to a stop. Being the first to step outside, Coach took a few paces away from the bus in the direction of the rising sun. What he saw filled him both with hope and fear.

Just in front of him was a steep drop that went down a considerable distance. The ground below appeared to be shimmering but that was not the case. It appeared to be moving due to the great number of common infected that were trapped in the chasm. Some were fighting each other while others were standing around doing very little. The steep drop went around in a circle forming a dry moat. In the centre of the chasm was a raised mound of earth that went up to the same height as the rest of the surrounding land. Located on top was a large building about four stories high with several helicopters placed around the front and on the roof. The Midnight Riders were within spitting distance of the Devil Fortress.

'So,' Ellis commented as he and the others stepped outside. 'It looks like we're here.'

'Looks like it,' Coach muttered quietly. Drake and Teek glanced at each other before Drake looked over the edge of the cliff, whistling in slight awe.

'We ain't getting in that way.'

'We ain't getting in at all by the looks of it,' Danielle sighed.

'Don't talk like that,' Coach scorned her. 'We're here now and we're not leaving until we get Rochelle out of there.' There were a few moments of silence as everyone thought about what to do. Ellis glanced around at everyone and decided to voice what was on their minds.

'I ain't got a darn clue.'

...

Through the darkness, Rochelle heard the sound of something flicking. There was a faint buzz before the large lamps in the ceiling came to life, filling the room with bright light. Rochelle squinted through the brightness, disoriented as her eyes slowly became used to the light. As she adjusted she saw something step through the doorway in front of her. There were three blurred figures. They each appeared to be male but Rochelle could not make out any distinct facial features through the haze of the lights. The three men walked around Rochelle, stepping behind her where she could not see. As her eyes finally adjusted, she felt her table suddenly tilt backward and she found herself facing the blinding light on the ceiling. The three figures began bending over Rochelle, their faces silhouetted behind the bright light. They appeared to be adjusting her restraints, checking her vital signs and preparing something in the background. Rochelle felt something damp dab against her arm. Moving her head as much as she could, she could see one of the silhouettes holding a small syringe. As he pushed the plunger slightly, sending some of the substance that was inside through the air, he lowered the needle down to where he had sterilized her arm. Rochelle immediately began to struggle but it was in vain as she felt the needle pierce her skin and what was inside it enter her bloodstream.

As the unknown substance spread through Rochelle's body, she stopped her struggling. Her restraints were too tight and her will was too weak. Rochelle suppressed her desire to continue lashing out as she wanted to conserve her strength. Taking deep breaths, she lay there blinded and disoriented while trying to calm down. As her pulse started to relax and her breathing became less laboured, Rochelle closed her eyes, allowing herself to rest.

'Wake up,' said a familiar voice. Rochelle opened her eyes to see who it was. Although the people around her were still blurry, she could tell that none of them were Ghost. The voice speaking to her was one of clear, unshakable authority. As the deep voice spoke again, Rochelle immediately recognised it. It was the voice of her former leader, the man who gave her orders back when she was a part of Shadow Guard; a man known as Walter Fudge. 'I won't have you dozing off on my time.'

'I'll have you know I wasn't asleep,' Rochelle retorted. 'These restraints make it hard to get comfortable.'

'I think I'd be forgiven for making sure you don't try and run off again,' Walter got his face close to hers, speaking with a false pompousness to his tone. 'What with you abandoning us for your criminal boyfriend.'

'He's not my boyfriend,' Rochelle muttered. Walter made an audible smirk.

'Of course he isn't...'

'Why did you send Vinnie to pick me up?' Rochelle asked. 'I mean surely you've got better things to be worrying about? I mean if you've got helicopters you could get the hell out of here couldn't you?'

'We can't leave the country,' Walter explained. 'It would appear that the nations of the world wish to keep everyone who was stuck in the infection zone right where they belong, including those who have devoted their lives to serving their governments.' Walter took a breath, sighing with a clear tone of bitterness. He was very angry about this issue. 'If someone tries to fly out of the country then they are shot down. If they attempt to sail then they are sunk. Rochelle, the only thing I have left are the memories of my old life and the resentment that I have been holding onto because of you.'

'Oh please!' Rochelle exclaimed. 'Talk about clutching at straws!'

'I beg your pardon?'

'Come off it, Fudgy! I chose Nick over you and the Guard, get over it. You can't blame your downfall on me, can you?'

'Actually I can,' Walter corrected her. 'When you completely disregarded your directive you left the evidence against the Director of CEDA and the only pure sample of the virus that anyone had been able to obtain get lost. Without the evidence, the Director was free to get away with his crimes of releasing the virus in the States and without the sample we were unable to create a vaccine that would have prevented the outbreak in Europe.'

'There was an outbreak in Europe?' Rochelle asked. Walter sighed.

'Yes; in London. While it was contained, thousands lost their lives and London is now quarantined. It could have been prevented if you had followed through with your mission rather than just throwing it all away.'

'So that's why you've brought me here?' Rochelle hypothesised. 'You want to teach me a lesson for turning my back on you?'

'That's pretty much the size of it,' Walter acknowledged. Rochelle sighed, shaking her head.

'I thought you were better than that.'

'Oh no!' Walter proclaimed. 'I'm not letting you use your mind games on me.' He glanced to one of the men he was with. 'Give her another shot.'

'But sir,' the man protested, 'if we overload her the results could be...'

'I don't care! Just do as I say, God damn it!' The man obliged and prepared another syringe.

'What are you injecting me with?' Rochelle asked Walter as he went to step away. 'Is it too optimistic to think its medicine?' Walter shot her a sly look.

'It is something that will make you extra special,' he told her, grinning. Walter walked out of the room as Rochelle was injected for the second time. A sudden insecure feeling washed over her as she felt the needle pierce her skin. Rochelle was now certain that Walter Fudge did not want to kill her, a fact that terrified her.

...

Ellis had moved the tour bus away from the edge of the chasm and hid it in between the trees. Coach had called a meeting that everyone, even Nick, found themselves attending. The Midnight Riders were discussing how they could get to the Devil Fortress. Drake had suggested they try to jump the vast distance in the bus. Ellis suggested they find a helicopter of their own to fly across. Teek suggested they pretend to be infected so that they could walk through the crowd below unnoticed. Needless to say, the ideas were becoming progressively worse and time was running increasingly short.

'We have pipe bombs,' Nick pointed out. 'Maybe we could climb down, use the beeping bombs to lure the zombies away and then run while their backs are turned.'

'No way,' Norah shook her head. 'With the amount of zombies down there, we'd need an infinite supply of bombs and we only have five. Those are hardly enough to get us through.'

'The guys running this fortress are obviously tooled up,' Teek commented. 'I've been around this area before when I was a Messenger and I heard stories of the guys creating that large chasm using explosives. If they can afford to blow a hole around their base that size then I don't think five pipe bombs are going to get us in.'

'And if we somehow got ourselves access to a helicopter or something,' Danielle added, 'I guess they'd be all over us before we even land.'

'We could sneak onto one of the choppers?' Drake suggested. 'When they take off and fly over the trees we could climb to the top and just grab on.' His suggestion was met with silence.

'Look this isn't getting us anywhere,' Coach leant forward on the table. 'We can't go through the canyon because of the zombies and we can't fly over because they'll either shoot us down or detain us when we touch down.'

'We could use them pipe bombs then?' Ellis suggested.

'People aren't attracted to pipe bombs like the zombies,' Nick told him.

'Well I kinda like the noise...' Ellis muttered.

'Come to think of it,' Norah had a sudden thought, 'if we were expecting trouble for when we landed we could use a pipe bomb to lure the zombies out, taking care of the people who would come out to detain us.'

'That'd be a good plan,' Coach nodded, 'but them bitches can't climb so it'd only be the flying ones that'd come up...' Coach's speech trailed away slightly. He had a sudden thought of his own. He looked to Nick. 'When your dad exposed himself to the virus sample he turned into one of them flying things didn't he?'

'Yes he did,' Nick told him. 'Why?'

'Well during that time he was strong enough to pick you up, wasn't he?'

'Where are you going with this?'

'I reckon we could use the carrot on the stick method.'

'God damn it, Coach,' Danielle cried suddenly. 'Stop speaking in riddles and tell us what's on your mind!' Coach gave her a sly look.

'If you're riding a horse and you want to motivate and control it, you dangle a carrot on a stick in front of it. If we could somehow get grabbed by one of the Soarers then we could use the beeping of the pipe bomb to direct it where to fly, like toward the Devil Fortress.'

'Sweet Jesus,' Nick chuckled. 'You can't be serious.'

'It's as good a plan as any,' Drake pointed out.

'It sure is...' Norah attempted to think of the appropriate word. 'Inventive.'

'You betcha,' Ellis grinned. 'I'm up for that.'

'Good,' Coach looked at him. 'You're the only one who can fly a helicopter so we'll be using one of theirs to get back to this side.'

'Wait just a second!' Nick exclaimed. 'You can't start choosing the party who will be going there! We've not agreed whether this is a good plan or not!'

'Nick,' Coach looked at him with intense seriousness in his eyes. 'We have such little time to think about this. If you have a better idea I'd gladly take it but seeing as how your last suggestion was use five pipe bombs as the sole weapon in the army of zombies I'm going to bet that that won't happen anytime soon.' Nick fell silent. 'Me and Ellis will go,' Coach announced. 'Norah, Drake and Teek will also come since we have five pipe bombs. Nick is still injured and will have to stay here while Danielle takes care of him.'

'Thanks for the good jobs,' Danielle muttered.

'We need to prepare to meet heavy resistance,' Coach told his team. 'Get prepared for a bloodbath. We're not letting anyone stand between us and Rochelle.'

Everyone nodded at Coach when he finished speaking and they all stood up to prepare for the dangerous task ahead. Nick remained seated as he was still unable to move much on his own. He had a look of quiet displeasure on his face. As he sulked, Coach, Norah, Ellis, Drake and Teek each armed themselves with heavy weapons and plentiful amounts of ammunition. Ellis modified the pipe bombs so their possession so that they would not explode after the beeping was activated. As each of them took the modified explosive, they stepped outside and moved toward the chasm leaving Nick and Danielle behind to secure the bus. Coach stood at the edge of the chasm and extended his arm, holding the pipe bomb. He looked to everyone else and nodded. They each in unison activated the beeping.

Down below the horde of infected began screeching as they heard the noise from high above. The common infected attempted to climb the earth but were unable to get very far before they fell down. Hunters tried leaping up at the Midnight Riders but found themselves falling flat rather quickly. The Soarers flew high above the crowd and went straight up toward Coach and the others. Coach narrowed his eyes as he saw a large group of Soarers approaching him quickly.

Coach and the others allowed themselves to be grabbed by the Soarers and taken off into the air. As each of them were taken away, they made sure to keep one of their heavy weapons free. Using the beeping pipe bombs, the Midnight Riders held out their arm in the direction that they wanted the infected to fly, over toward the Devil Fortress. As the infected turned around and flew toward the beeping, the survivors were taken away from the safe ground and held perilously over the deep chasm. Norah closed her eyes, feeling sick as she looked down. Ellis held onto his cap, enjoying the view. Despite the precariousness of the situation, he let out a loud cheerful cry as he and the others flew majestically over toward the other side. Ellis felt uplifted as he got closer to his destination. Norah felt slightly queasy, hoping for it to be over soon. Drake and Teek were slightly nervous but chuckling with delight; they really did feel like they were flying. Coach felt nothing but a sense of determination. As his Soarer flew over the ground on the other side, the Soarer suddenly lurched and released Coach, letting out a cry of pain. Danielle back near the bus had shot the infected with a sniper rifle. She did the same thing to the others as they reached safety and when they landed they hastily deactivated their pipe bombs and kicked the Soarers over the edge of the chasm. They had made it and were standing on the ground in front of the fortress, hidden in between the numerous helicopters that were parked there.

'We don't have a lot of time,' Coach spoke with a hushed voice. He looked to Ellis and Teek. 'You two need to sabotage all of these helicopters; make sure that they can't chase after us when we make our escape. Norah, Drake and I will get Rochelle back and we'll meet up on the roof where we'll take that helicopter to safety. Any questions?'

'Let's just do this!' Ellis exclaimed enthusiastically. Coach nodded and they all split up. Ellis and Teek each ran to take on a helicopter each. There were six outside in total and Ellis hoped it would not take too long to sabotage them all. Coach, Norah and Drake quietly ran around the side of the building, ducking beneath windows and turning a corner at the far end, searching for a back door. They found one as they reached the rear of the building. It was a set of warehouse type shutter doors that were fully open. Coach peered around the corner and saw a large amount of weapons, ammunition and supplies stacked up neatly along the walls and forming modest stacks along the main floor. There were a few people inside, tending to the supplies. One of them was walking in Coach's direction, making him lean back out of sight.

'I'm just going for a smoke,' the man told his co-workers. Stepping out and walking right by Coach and the others without even noticing them, he stood by the chasm drop and lit a cigarette. Before he had a chance to take a single puff, Drake kicked the man in the back of the knee making him stumble. He put his arm around his neck and held his pistol to his head. Dropping the cigarette, the man gasped. 'Who are you?' he spoke with a voice full of fear. Drake dragged him away from the doors.

'I'm the kid who has just pulled one over on you,' Drake told him, speaking as menacingly as he could. Norah chuckled silently as she heard Drake speak like that. 'I'm going to ask you a couple of questions,' Drake continued as he stopped pulling the warehouse worker away from the doors. 'If I think you're lying then I'm going to do this.' Drake pushed the man over the edge of chasm making him cry out in fear. He dangled there, his feet resting on the side of the drop and Drake's hand held tight on his collar, preventing him from falling to his death. Holding him there tightly, Drake put the gun to his back. 'I think you people have a friend of ours; a black girl called Rochelle.'

'Yes!' the man cried. 'Yes we do! She's on the fourth floor, in the interrogation room.' Drake sighed and pulled the man back. He sounded almost disappointed.

'You gave it all up too easily,' he told him. 'I couldn't even have any fun with you... oh well.' Drake struck the man in the back of the head and dragged him away from the edge. Coach and Norah exchanged nervous looks with each other after watching him.

Meanwhile, Ellis informed Teek that he had found an efficient way of ruining the helicopters.

'Puncturing the gas tank is all well and good but if you cut these wires here then the rotors won't be able to spin properly and they'll never even turn on. We can be done with all of them in about five minutes.'

'Good,' Teek acknowledged. 'I feel really exposed out here.'

'Don't worry,' Ellis said reassuringly. 'Danielle's got our back.' Danielle had Ellis in the sights of her sniper scope. She was scanning the area, looking for any signs of trouble. She should have been looking behind her as a Smoker emerged from the trees and wrapped its tongue around her, dragging her away and into the trees. Danielle let out a call for help and Nick, who was sat inside the bus, heard it. He stood up quickly, wincing in pain as he did so. He took his assault rifle and went outside. He saw the Smoker dragging Danielle toward it and unleashed a hail of bullets that disposed of it rapidly. As Nick went to help her up, a Hunter leapt from the trees and pounced onto him. Nick fired a few shots blindly as he fell to the ground, the shots being heard by Ellis who looked into the distance worriedly. Knowing that there was nothing that he could do, Ellis continued to work on the helicopters.

Danielle got to her feet, kicked the Hunter off Nick and shot it at point blank range with her sniper rifle. As it lay dead, she stumbled a bit and used the sniper rifle to keep herself standing. Looking down she saw that the stitching on Nick's earlier gunshot wounds had ripped and he was bleeding profusely. Danielle put her hand on her stomach, breathing heavily. One of Nick's stay bullets had hit her, a fact she realised when she looked at the blood on her hand. Nick was unconscious and would surely bleed to death if his stitches were not re-applied. With laboured breathing, Danielle pulled Nick back into the bus.

Inside the warehouse, Coach and the others were silently sneaking through the stacks. They had not been spotted by anyone as they slipped inside and were now making their way toward a large set of double swing doors. They were close to the doors but a man was stood nearby making it impossible for them to head through the doors without being spotted.

'What should we do?' Norah whispered to Coach.

'I got an idea,' Drake told them, taking a box of handgun bullets from the nearby shelf. 'This is a little trick I learnt from those many hours of playing Splinter Cell.' He threw the box into the air, over the man and toward the shelves behind him. The box landed on the ground with the bullets flying out of it, making a lot of noise as they did so. The man turned around to investigate the sound as the three slipped through the double doors and into the main building.

'We're inside,' Coach told them.

'Thanks, Lambert,' Drake commented slyly. Norah gave him a confused look.

'Let's not hang around,' Coach ordered. 'Let's get to that interrogation room.'

Inside the interrogation room, Rochelle was still lying on the table. Her forehead was damp with sweat. Despite her profuse perspiration she was shivering considerably.

'God damn it, Fudge,' she muttered. 'What have you done to me?' The two guards surrounding her were exchanging worried looks.

'Is she supposed to be reacting like this?' one of them asked.

'Of course she isn't,' the other responded. 'It's because he made me overdose her.'

'Well if she dies he'll hardly accept the blame himself, will he?'

'What should we do?'

'Walter Fudge!' Rochelle yelled out. 'You bastard! What were you packing in that needle?' Rochelle began to laugh uncontrollably. 'What is Fudge packing?'

'She's delirious, that's one of the final stages!'

'Let's give her some of the inhibitor; it might give us some time to fix her.'

'Good idea.'

Rochelle began convulsing on the table.

'Shit,' one of the guards yelled. 'Support her head, I'll give her the injection.' The first guard ran to Rochelle and held her head still as the rest of her body convulsed violently. The other prepared a syringe.

'Hurry up!' he cried. The guard made his way to Rochelle and dabbed her neck with the cotton wool.

As the needle got close to her neck, Rochelle's head broke out the guard's grip and she bashed the guard's arm, sending the needle upward. It lodged into his eye and the man began screaming in pain. Rochelle was able to use her teeth to take one of the pens that the guard had in his front breast pocket and as his comrade went to help him, she pushed the pen into the lock of one of her restraints and it popped open. As the guard with the syringe in his bloody eye fell to the ground, Rochelle freed herself in time for the remaining sentry to look around at her and see her foot kick him in the face.

Rochelle collected her thoughts and ran to the table that held the syringes and medicines that she had been injected with. The empty pots informed her that she has been injected with "V Sample 03" and "V-I-V Sample 01". Rochelle forced herself not to think about what the letters stood for and went to leave, taking the pistols that the guards had with her. She left the interrogation room but came to a halt on the other side of the door. Four armed guards were stood two feet away from her, aiming powerful assault rifles at her. In the background were several laboratory workers and Walter, who was looking particularly smug.

'I knew I should not have misjudged you,' he told her.

'Oh yeah?' Rochelle snapped back. 'Well you're hardly Judge Fudge are you?'

'Absurd television references aside,' Walter spoke with a tone of irritancy, 'I genuinely believed that you would do the right thing and atone for your betrayal.'

'What can I tell you?' Rochelle shrugged. 'I guess I'm just a massive bitch.' Pivoting on the spot, Rochelle kicked away some of the guards surrounding her. She lifted one of her handguns and shot dead one armed man while twisting her body and shooting another one. Jumping forward, she fired both guns at the same time, killing the remaining two men before moving over to Walter. As the laboratory personnel fled, Rochelle smacked Walter with the gun as he tried to get away from her. She kicked her leg up high, pinning his neck against the wall. Standing in that position, Rochelle tilted her body to aim one of the pistols at him. Walter gasped for as Rochelle's force on him was too strong. She stepped away from him, allowing him to breathe. 'What the hell have you injected me with?' Walter had a fit of coughing before he told her.

Continuing in their attempts at being clandestine, Coach and the others suffered an unwelcome shock when a loud alarm sound began ringing through the corridors and dark red flashing lights started bouncing from the walls.

'Oh come on!' Coach exclaimed. 'Who saw us?' Norah looked around and saw a group of heavily armed men turn a corner and spot them.

'They did,' she said, inviting the others to run as they chased after them. The Midnight Riders ducked through a doorway to avoid a flurry of bullets and found themselves face to face with a group of armed men in a small eating area.

'Oh please!' Drake cried. 'Who puts a cafeteria on the fourth floor anyway?'

Outside, numerous soldiers were marching toward the helicopters.

'Spread out and search the area!' yelled the commander who was smoking a cigar. As they each attempted to climb inside the vehicles and turn on the engine, they soon discovered the sabotage.

'Sir,' one of the soldiers called out. 'This chopper's been sabotaged.'

'Mine has as well,' said another solider.

'Me too!'

The commander saw the damage and his mouth fell open, the cigarette falling to the ground. He was beside the single helicopter that had its fuel tanks punctured and the lit stub ignited the ground, sending flames everywhere.

Inside the cafeteria, Coach began firing his shotgun blindly in any direction, causing the soldiers to disperse. As the ones who had been chasing them previously entered the room, Drake fired a few shots at them, causing them to take cover back outside. The three forced everyone to take cover and moved to the other end of the cafeteria where they entered the kitchen. The soldiers all got up after they had left and began chasing after them now having the time to take out their weapons. Running through the kitchen, the trio ran past hot stoves, steaming pots and a walk in freezer. Norah stopped for a moment, seeing that the freezer held trays of ice. She pulled it out and threw them across the floor before continuing to run forward. As their pursuers attempted to run through that section of the hallway they all slipped on the ice that was scattered all over the ground, falling from their feet. With these extra few moments, Coach and the others made it through the kitchen and came across an elevator. With nowhere else to go, they ran inside and pushed the single button on the control panel. The elevator began heading downward.

'Down?' Drake questioned, panting slightly. 'Why down?'

'It's better than back,' Norah told him. When the compartment stopped moving and the doors opened, the three were surprised to see that they were back in the warehouse on the first floor.

'God damn it!' Drake spat. 'This would have been good if we needed to escape!'

'Not to worry,' Coach shot the control panel inside the elevator. 'We can just stretch our legs some more.' The three left the elevator and the doors closed. As it started to head back up to the soldiers who had called it, the Midnight Riders had decided to do away with subtlety. By the double flap doors was the same man as before who was carrying about as usual, despite the state of alert. The three simply brushed past him.

'Hey!' he called out. 'Who are you? You need to stop right there.' Coach turned around, walking backward as he spoke to the man, holding his shotgun proudly.

'Come stop us,' he dared him. The warehouse worker did nothing as Coach and the others re-entered the building.

Rochelle heard the alarms blaring as Walter coughed, massaging his neck.

'You're running out of time, Fudgy,' she taunted him. 'What the hell did you inject me with?'

'I gave you something that would help you make amends,' Walter told her. Rochelle, curious, lowered one of the guns but kept the other pointed right at his head.

'Amends for betraying you?' Rochelle hypothesised.

'That's right,' Walter nodded. 'I gave you a mixture of a vaccine and an inhibitor.'

'What the hell for?'

'To work with the sample of the virus that I injected into your blood,' Walter told her. Rochelle's aim faltered.

'What?' she spoke with a put on cockiness that masked her sudden worry. 'When you sent me to Savannah I had already taken viral suppressors.'

'Yes, which means you were never naturally immune to infection,' Walter noted. 'We have not been able to acquire a pure sample of the virus like we had done before so we improvised with an impure sample from some of the special infected types. You were injected with it, meaning that you would soon turn into one of the infected.' Rochelle felt a surge of anger wash over her. Her hands trembling, she was doing everything that she could to not pull the trigger of the gun. She forced herself to lower it and look away. Walter stepped away from the wall, relaxing somewhat.

'How long do I have?' Rochelle asked.

'Well that's the thing,' Walter spoke with an unusual tone, one of hope. 'If everything has been done correctly you shouldn't die.'

'Come again?' Rochelle looked at him, confused.

'That is why we gave you the viral suppressors and vaccines,' Walter explained. 'We want to create an immunisation for this infection. Scientists worldwide have been able to identify the certain genetic markers and all of that mumbo jumbo that makes some people naturally immune but they were still no closer to making a cure or vaccine. Since you were never naturally immune, I thought a good plan would be to create a hot zone in your body, a mixture of the potent virus and the vaccination. In short, you are infected with the virus but you will not become one of those beasts outside because the inhibitors and vaccinations will keep you safe. When your body accepts the virus over time, we will be able to use your blood to create a vaccine and maybe even a cure for those who are already infected.' Rochelle took a step back, thinking. Unsure of what to say she began asking questions.

'Why me?' Rochelle asked.

'I felt you deserved a chance to redeem yourself,' Walter told her.

'Yeah but come on,' she exclaimed. 'Taking all that time to find me, kidnapping me, holding me prisoner... it would have been so much easier to just use one of your own guys as a test subject.'

'You used to be one of my people,' Walter pointed out. 'And there are complications that I did not want to risk with anyone else.'

'What do you mean?' Rochelle frowned.

'The virus is inside your body,' Walter explained. 'There is a good chance that you could pass it on to other people unintentionally.'

'I'm contagious?' Rochelle questioned him.

'The virus can only pass from you to someone else if you exchange DNA.'

'I beg your pardon?' Rochelle's mouth fell open.

'Say if you were to bite someone or even scratch them; they could get the virus,' Walter explained. 'Intimacy could also do it as could a casual touch or even a kiss. The virus is changing inside your body so while you'll be safe from it, if you were to pass it onto someone else, even if they were immune, they would most likely get it.'

'How long will I be like this?' Rochelle asked him, her voice breaking.

'Until you die,' was Walter's response. Rochelle took a step toward him and he recoiled instantly, backing up against the wall. Breathing heavily, Rochelle thought about the implications of what Walter had just said. She could never touch anyone again. If she did then she would infect them with the virus that had destroyed the world. Her thoughts fell on Nick. She did not know if he was alive or not but a part of her suddenly wished that she would never see him again. A tear fell down Rochelle's cheek and Walter looked at her sympathetically. 'Think of it this way,' he told her. 'You'll be saving the world.' Rochelle lunged forward and grabbed him by the neck.

'I don't want to save the fucking world,' she hissed at him before pulling him close to her and biting him in the shoulder. Walter let out a cry as her teeth sunk into his skin. Opening her mouth, Rochelle allowed him to fall to the floor, spitting out a mouthful of blood. 'You should go see a doctor,' she told the quivering man. 'You don't know what diseases some people are carrying.' Rochelle walked past him and left the room, leaving Walter lying there with a look of fright on his face.

As Rochelle stepped out into the corridor, wiping the blood from her mouth, she looked down it and saw Coach, Norah and Drake running for her. Looking relieved to see her, they came to a stop in front of her.

'Rochelle!' Coach exclaimed, opening his arms to embrace her. Rochelle stepped away to avoid him touching her.

'It's really nice to see you guys but there are going to be people all over this place looking for us,' she covered her actions with the best explanation she could think of. 'We need to get out of here.'

'We have an escape on the rooftop,' Norah told her. The four broke out in a run and headed for the stairs.

On the rooftop; Ellis and Teek were under heavy fire from a group of soldiers who were shooting at them from the roof access doorway. Ellis had already started the engine of the helicopter and he and Teek were shooting back at their agitators.

'I'm running out of ammo!' Teek yelled at Ellis.

'I have run out of ammo!' Ellis cried back. Looking around, they saw the soldiers preparing to leave their cover and head for them. 'What do we do?' Teek shrugged. Ellis looked up and snapped his fingers. He pulled out his pipe bomb. 'How good is your aim?' he asked Teek.

As the soldiers kicked open the door to storm the rooftop, Ellis rolled the pipe bomb toward them. As it came to a halt right by the first solider, Teek took a shot at it and it exploded, ripping apart the entire roof access area. Down the stairs, Coach and Norah exchanged looks.

'I guess the others are ready for us,' said Norah.

Everyone emerged on the rooftop, joining Ellis and Teek who were excited to see them. Ellis ran to embrace Rochelle but she declined, telling him that they had plenty of time to hug later. With everyone safely inside the helicopter, Ellis lifted off from the rooftop and flew away from the building. Flying over the flaming helicopters below at the front, the Midnight Riders felt confident that they would not be followed anytime soon. Landing back on the other side of the chasm, Ellis deactivated the helicopter engines and joined everyone as the stepped out of it.

'How did you guys find me?' Rochelle asked, keeping a respectable distance between her and others.

'We looked,' Ellis told her. Rochelle smiled at him and noticed the adoring way he was looking at her. 'We were not gonna stop until we found you.'

'From the looks of it we shouldn't have bothered,' Norah shrugged. 'How did you manage to break out?'

'Oh you know me,' Rochelle sighed attempting to sound casual. 'I'm sneaky.'

'Nothing sneaky about the way we left,' Drake commented.

'Either way I appreciate you coming to get me,' Rochelle said genuinely. 'I couldn't fly a helicopter out of there.' She looked to Coach. 'How is Nick doing?'

'He's good,' Coach told her. 'Danielle and Drake fixed him up while we were searching for you.'

'Thank God,' Rochelle sighed. She was grateful that he was alive but a part of her was dreading seeing him. Since they had shared a kiss all she wanted to do was be with him but now that was impossible. Ellis eyed Rochelle suspiciously as she looked overly relieved at Nick's news.

'Let's get out of here,' Norah suggested. 'I'm sure Nick and Danielle will be happy to see that you're safe.'

Moving away from the helicopter, everyone made their way through the woods to where the bus was parked. Ellis attempted to hold Rochelle's hand as he still believed that they were in a relationship but Rochelle continually rejected him. Arriving just outside of the bus, Rochelle went to go inside but stopped as Coach held out his arm, acting as a barrier. Rochelle wondered why he was stopping everyone from moving and quickly saw the reason, letting out a gasp. The door to the tour bus was wide open. A large trail of blood was going up the stairs and through the bus. Coach took his shotgun and slowly stepped toward the doorway. Everyone else became suddenly alert. Lifting one foot up, Coach stepped onto the first step. Taking another step up, Coach jumped into the bus in a quick flash. The trail of blood went over to the back of the bus where a figure was lying on the back table.

Norah was the next one into the bus. She and Coach stepped tentatively toward the rear of the bus. The blood trail led to the person sprawled over the table. It was dark so none of them could make out who it was. The blood became thicker as they got closer to the back. Rochelle and Ellis joined them inside the bus. Rochelle asked Ellis softly where the others were. Ellis gestured to the back table where the lifeless figure lay. Stepping back with fear, Rochelle allowed Ellis to pass by her, taking out a small flashlight. He stepped next to Coach and turned it on. The figure lying on the table was illuminated and Rochelle let out a cry as she saw who it was.

Nick was lying on the table, his eyes closed and head tilted to the side. He was covered in blood. Coach pushed past Ellis while Rochelle stumbled back in shock, falling into the driving seat. Norah shook her head in disbelief. Coach put his hands on Nick and gave him a shake.

'Nick!' he cried. 'Nick!' Ellis dropped the flashlight, turning away. Coach overcome with emotion rested his head on Nick's chest as tears fell down his face. As he stood there weeping, Coach felt a breeze on his face. He lifted his head up and saw Nick's chest moving up and down very gently as he breathed. Checking his pulse, Coach let out a cry of happiness, calling out to the others. 'He's just unconscious!' Rochelle looked up from her chair and let out an exhausted sigh. Ellis ran up to Nick to see if he was alright for himself. Norah stood there, looking around.

'Where did all this blood come from then?' she muttered to herself. Ellis saw Nick's chest was bare, with his shirt removed. The stitches on his gunshots had been reapplied. Norah saw that the door leading to hers and Danielle's room was slightly ajar. Pushing it open she let out a scream, making everyone turn around to investigate. Inside the room, Danielle was lying on her bed. Her eyes were wide open. Her skin was pale and discoloured. Blood was everywhere. A single gunshot wound was visible in her stomach. Norah knelt down next to Danielle, checking her pulse. As the others gathered to investigate, Norah looked up at them with teary eyes.

'She's dead.'

...

Night had fallen. The quiet silence was almost unbearable. Out in the open by the chasm, a neat straight grave had been dug. Four small portable lanterns had been placed at each corner of the grave, lighting up the area. Tiny insects danced around the lamps; innocent observers to the events that were taking place. Everyone was dressed as formally as they could. Long before when everyone had first met each other, they had all agreed to dress nicely should someone be taken away from the group. It had taken a while for everyone to find the perfect, respectful outfit over the past year. Coach had found a black suit that fitted him perfectly. Norah had a perfect long black dress that puffed out at the end. Ellis had found a slim fitting suit that lacked a tie, so he wore it with an open collar. It was identical to the one Nick would wear. Drake's formal attire was also slim fitting, but he only wore the dark trousers and white shirt, giving the jacket to Teek who had no formal clothes with him. It was a bit too small for him but Teek wore it anyway out of respect. Rochelle also lacked any formal clothes, but Norah suggested she wear Danielle's formal clothes of a feminine suit with a skirt as it would be what Danielle would have wanted. Everyone was dressed in their clothes and stood around the grave. Nick was sat up in a deckchair as he still could not move much. He was sat at the foot of the grave while Coach and Norah were at the head of it. Drake and Teek stood one side while Ellis and Rochelle were at the other. Danielle had already been lowered into the ground, covered in a soft, purple blanket. They all stood over her in silence. The silence was unbearable. It had to be broken but no one wanted to be the first to speak. Coach swallowed hard and took a breath.

'I think we all should say a few words,' his throat was dry and his voice weak. Clearing his throat he looked down at Danielle and closed his eyes. He thought back to how Danielle became one of the Midnight Riders. It was shortly before Rochelle left to join Thomas Galt's people. They were at a Haven that had just suffered a brutal horde attack. Corpses lay on the ground and stray infected were still wandering the area. Coach, Norah, Nick, Ellis, Rochelle and Drake were doing what they could to help as many people as possible. Coach was performing CPR on a young woman who had been choked by a Smoker. With each chest compression and with every breath he gave her he felt his task was becoming increasingly futile. He had been trying for five minutes to revive her. Knowing his task was fruitless; Coach continued the task as the woman's young daughter was sat behind him, weeping uncontrollably. He must have been seven years old at the most. Coach had a sick feeling in his stomach. The girl was seven and she was not only living in this horrible new world but now she'd be living in it without her mother who had died horrifically in front of her. Coach sighed, straightening himself up and looking around to the girl.

'I'm sorry, sweetheart,' he told her. The girl let out a wail of sorrow, Coach knelt there, not sure of what to say or do.

That is when he met Danielle. She was running through the chaos when she saw Coach. Heading over to him she looked down at him.

'What the problem?' she asked, looking up to the crying girl. Her hair was a mess, her face was filthy and her clothes were tattered. She had no weapons, only a first aid box. Coach swallowed and looked down at the girl's mother.

'She was strangled by one of the zombies,' Coach informed her. 'She's dead.' The girl continued to cry. Danielle licked her lips, putting the box on the ground and opening it.

'There may be a chance,' she voiced her thoughts aloud.

'I've done CPR,' Coach informed her. 'There's nothing else anyone can do...'

'If she gets a shock to her system then she might come back,' Danielle said. 'I'm out of adrenalin... damn it!' She looked up and around. One of the market stalls nearby caught her eye. Jumping to her feet, Danielle ran past Coach and into the destroyed stall. She was muttering to herself as she searched for something. 'Come on, come on, come on... yes!' She retrieved two tiny vials of white substances and ran back to Coach. Kneeling down beside the woman she opened one of the vials and put some of the substance into a syringe. She then put some of the other powder into the syringe and mixed the two together.

'What's that?' Coach asked.

'Heroin and cocaine,' Danielle told him.

'What the hell?' Coach gasped.

'The only way this woman is going to wake up is if we administer a massive shock to her system,' Danielle explained. 'I'd rather use a defibrillator but I'm fresh out so this will have to do.' Danielle took the young woman's arm and removed the needle guard from the syringe. As she put the needle on top of a vain, Coach spoke up.

'Are you sure this is going to work?' he asked her. Danielle looked up at him.

'It's better than doing nothing, isn't it?' Danielle put the needle through her skin and pushed down on the plunger. She then removed the syringe, replaced the guard and then tossed it aside. She put her hands on the woman's chest and behind her head. 'Can you give me a hand here?' she asked. Coach obliged and held onto the woman tight. She suddenly began to convulse. The two held her down tight preventing her from hurting herself. The woman started to cough heavily and rolled onto her side. 'Sweetie,' Danielle spoke to her soothingly. 'I need you to lie down on the ground for me, okay?' The woman's daughter ran up to her. 'You need to rest here for a while, okay? You need to let the effects of the drugs wear off.'

Danielle stood up and took her first aid box, moving away from them. Coach glanced down at the girl and her mother and patted her on the head.

'Take care of your mom, okay?' he told her. Coach stood up and ran after Danielle. 'Hey!' he called out after her. Danielle stopped and turned around, facing Coach. 'How did you know where to get drugs?'

'The drug stalls are all the same,' Danielle told him. 'The people I was with before visited them frequently...' Her voice trailed away.

'You lost them in the fight?' Coach asked her. Danielle sighed and nodded, pushing her lips together. She was clearly holding back how upset she was.

'I need to keep working,' she told Coach. 'I can grieve later.' As she said these words her lips trembled. Closing her eyes, tears fell down her cheeks and she dropped the first aid box. Danielle held her hands to her face as she stood there quietly weeping. Coach approached her and put his arms around her in a gentle embrace. Danielle accepted his hug and cried gently in his arms for a few minutes.

As Danielle composed herself after several moments she and Coach sat down. After introducing themselves to each other, Coach asked Danielle about herself.

'You were awesome back there,' he complimented her.

'I'm a doctor,' Danielle told him before stopping and re-evaluating what she said. 'I was a doctor. I like to help as many people as possible.'

'I can see that,' Coach nodded. 'You were really good.'

'Thanks,' Danielle smiled weakly. 'Are you a Clan leader or something?'

'I wouldn't say that,' Coach told her. 'It's just me and five others. We're just helping each other survive.'

'That's nice,' Danielle smiled.

'Want to join us?' Coach's offer was so sudden it made Danielle sit back in shock.

'What?' she asked.

'We need to take care of each other,' Coach told her. 'You care about people, I can see that. That's what I look for when looking for people to join us.' Danielle blushed.

'I don't know,' she sighed.

'I don't want you to be out here on your own,' Coach told her. 'Can you survive on your own?'

'I...' Danielle stopped speaking. 'I don't know...'

'Come meet my friends,' Coach offered her. 'If you don't like us then you don't have to stay.' Danielle sighed and nodded.

'Why are you being so nice?' she asked him.

'We all have to stick together,' he told her.

Those words stuck in Coach's mind as he looked down into Danielle's grave. He began speaking.

'Danielle was an important member of our team. She was a skilled doctor, a good tactical planner...' he paused, holding back emotion. '...and a really good friend. She was kind, caring and would do anything for someone in need. When I first met her she tried her hardest to save the life of someone that she didn't even know because that was the kind of person she was. That's the kind of person we've lost and we'll never be able to replace her.' He sighed and looked down at her. 'When we first met I told her that we all need to stick together. She's dead because the world keeps trying to tear us apart.' He looked up at everyone. 'We can't let this happen again. We will not let her death be in vain. We will take this as a lesson. We will never let this happen again; we won't lose anyone else to the world full of corrupt people and evil zombies. The void left in her absence will serve as a reminder of how important togetherness is and what we need to do to stay together.' He let out a breath. 'You shouldn't have gone, Danielle. We will miss you.' Coach swallowed and stepped back away from the grave, lowering his head. Norah was the next to speak up.

'I was the closest with Danielle,' she told everyone. 'She was my best friend and...' She let out a faint whimper. 'I don't know what I'm going to do without her.' She began sobbing and Coach took her hand supportively.

'Anyone else want to say anything?' Coach opened up the floor. Rochelle spoke up.

'If it wasn't for me Danielle would probably still be alive,' she said. 'I know that I've brought a lot of tension to the group and have betrayed you before...' she took a calming breath. 'Even though you all have every right to hate me, Danielle was always nice to me. She understood me and wanted to get along with me.' She let out a faint sob. 'It's my fault that she's dead and I regret that I can't pay back her kindness toward me.' Drake decided to speak next.

'Danielle treated me like a son,' he told everyone. 'She took care of me and made me feel useful with everyone.' He sighed. 'When I first joined you guys I felt like I wasn't really adding anything to you. When she joined she started to teach me things like first aid and stuff... She made me feel useful and I'll always be grateful for it.' Drake held back some emotion. Teek rested his hand on his shoulder and affectionately squeezed it. Teek declined to say anything as he had not known Danielle for very long. Everyone glanced over to Nick who was the only one who was yet to say anything. He sighed, licking his lips.

'I don't know what to say,' he said. 'A stay bullet of mine killed her... So it's really my fault that she's dead.' Everyone was silent. 'I was taken down by a Hunter and must have accidentally shot her... My stitches ripped and I was bleeding to death... Danielle could have saved herself most likely and she chose to save my life over her own.' He sighed. 'I guess what I'm saying is that I'm the one who killed her and I'm also the one who she saved.' Norah gave Nick an unusual look. 'I guess that sums her up right there. She thought of others over herself. She's the reason I'm still alive.'

Nick tried to say something else but found that the words could not come out. Everyone remained silent. Without saying another word, Coach and Ellis began layering earth over Danielle's body. When it was done, Drake and Teek flattened out the ground while Norah placed a wooden cross with Danielle's name at the head of the grave. Everyone stepped away from it and had a moment of quiet reflection. Drake and Teek were the first to leave the grave. Coach and Ellis were the next two to go, leaving Norah, Rochelle and Nick. Norah turned away after a while and went back toward the bus. As Nick sat there in his chair, Rochelle put her hand on his shoulder. Nick closed his eyes, and moved his hand to rest on hers. Rochelle pulled it away before their skin touched, feeling horrible for doing it.

'It's not your fault,' she told him, her voice croaking with held back grief.

'It is,' Nick spoke with a tone of definite finality. Rochelle wanted to say something to change his mind but could not. She wanted to hug him but she could not. She wanted to kiss him but she could not. Tears fell from her eyes and patted him on the back.

'I'll leave you alone for a while,' she told him. Rochelle left Nick alone by the grave sat in the lights of the tour bus. He stared at the wooden headstone for what felt like hours. He felt angry, he felt sad and he felt responsible.

Most of all, he felt absolutely useless.

...

...

Chapter Six is coming up sooner than chapter five did. I hope it was worth the wait, let me know what you think! Stay tuned for the next installment. The survivors still have a lot more to lose...

Andy