"I'm going whether you like it or not." Claire and Chris had been locked in a battle to the death for the last ten minutes; arguing about Claire's participation in the next mission. "I know you worry about me because I'm your sister, but I have to go. HQ's orders." She stood her ground, switching her gaze between her brother and Piers. They both sighed, forced to accept that they were going to lose this fight.

"Chris, it's useless. She's coming with us, regardless of how much we protest. She's just that hard-headed." Piers winked at her, letting her know she had his support. She beamed, glad that someone was on her side.

"You two, I swear." Chris pinched the bridge of his nose as he spoke. The ringing in his head had now morphed into and intense throbbing, keeping him from having the will to continue their dispute. "Fine. I know good and well that your capable. Welcome to the team. Well, temporarily at least." After he gave his sister a hug, he left the room in search for any medicine that would dispel his headache. Now that Claire and Piers were alone, she could plead her case, hoping he would see why she so desperately wanted to go with them.

"I have a good friend from work who went missing investigating this case. The last time I heard from her, she sent me the information and was on the verge of uncovering something big. I'm not going to delude myself into thinking that she's still alive. I'm not that naive anymore, but I do want to know what she found out." She kept strong through her speech. After years of dealing with sadness, she knew exactly how to channel it into something productive. Piers wrapped his arms around her, giving her a sense of security. She closed her eyes, thankful that he was there to lean on.

"We'll do everything in our power to help you." He kissed the top of her head, spun her around, then traced his finger over the outline of her lips before kissing them softly.

"AWWWW!" They both jumped, pushing away from each other. A group of the guys from the team stood at the doorway, swooning over the romantic scene that had played out before them.

"Guys! What the hell?!" Piers tried to play off his embarrassment as anger, yelling at his comrades as they teased him.

"We just came to get you two. We're leaving shortly, so get your gear and meet us in ten." The guys filed out, making childish jokes as they did so.

"Sorry about them. They're like little kids." He rubbed the back of his head. "By the way, what exactly are the details for our mission?"

"Why the hell does it have to be in Alabama?" The men were getting restless, having been on the road for hours and hours on end. They had five armored vehicles consisting of the most elite that Alpha team has to offer. They had been extensively testing their communication headpieces, carrying on conversations with each other.

"Because, the town we're going to is secluded. Now, if you mean why specifically Alabama, I can't tell you that. Just remember that our target is a man by the name Kirk Land. He's a scientist with a vast military background. HQ has reason to believe that he took the residents of the town and preformed some kind of experiments on them. Unfortunately, we're going in their blind, so everyone be on your guard." Chris's voice interrupted their senseless chatter.

"How much longer, Captain?" Piers couldn't take sitting down for so long.

"About five minutes. We're almost their you guys." There were cheers in response to his good news. They were still in high spirits as they arrived to their destination. They passed a sign that read 'Garden City. Population: 492' By the time they reached the center of the ghost town, the team was ready to set foot on solid ground and stretch their sore joints. As everyone took a minute to recuperate, Chris typed feverishly on his computer, looking over every last piece of information about this place as he could. He could see Claire approaching him from the side mirror on the vehicle, rolling down the window with one hand while he used the other to continue typing.

"Come on, Chris. Take a moment to relax and stop overworking yourself." She pouted at him, sticking her lower lip out slightly.

"Better be careful. Your face might stick that way." He smiled, closing his computer and getting out of the car. As he stood face to face with her, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt, thinking about how he had neglected her due to his busy schedule. He patted her head, remembering the days when they were all each other had in this world. "When we get back, let's do something together, just the two of us." Claire seemed taken aback at first, but nodded her head in agreement.

"That sounds great! I was thinking just the other day about how much I missed my hothead of a brother." She punched him in the arm playfully. After sharing their bonding moment, Chris rejoined his team to plan out their man hunt. As he divided his men into individual groups, he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. Apperently, Claire saw it too, because she stared hauling ass towards that direction.

"Claire, where are you going?" Chris yelled after her as she ran farther away from him.

"I saw a girl go this way!" Her words were barley audible as she bolted into a nearby alley. As he went to follow his sister, a familiar low groaning noise stopped him dead in his tracks. He knew he didn't have a lot of time to react, ordering his men to get off the streets fast. He knew that at any moment, the undead would come filing out and over take them. They found a building to take refuge in just as the first of the zombies made an appearance. As the last person entered, they bolted the door shut, making sure everyone was there before they planned their next move.

"Is everyone accounted for?" Piers looked around, panicking when he noticed that someone was missing.

"Captain, Claire's still out there!"