Forcing himself not to screw his eyes shut Edwin continued to run, head downcast as he more on instinct than anything else followed the soldiers in front of him.

"On the right! Watch that thing!"

"More coming up behind us! Duck!"

"Kill that one!"

She was dead, he was alone, alone with the two soldiers he barely knew...and death incarnate.

"Emperor! Need help here!"

Looking up Edwin's eyes widened. Both on the left and the right of the crossing they were in walls of the undead were approaching, and judging by the sounds behind him the group could only move forward... He also saw Ron slightly to the left, the soldier struggling to free his rifle from the grip of a foe, even as Edwin watched the man pushed the weapon out to keep the monster from biting him while moving it to the left, hoping the free the weapon. "Li!"

Li didn't reply, the woman grunting as she slipped on something, sending her tumbling into the sewage water, her rifle firing off a few rounds into the roof before disappearing into the water with her.

Feeling a sudden rush through his body Edwin cried out and leapt forward, the metal rod held so tightly in his hand coming out swinging.

The head of the zombie came apart by the force of the swing, the now lifeless corpse dropping to the side, almost tearing Ron with it. Cursing the soldier put a boot in its chest and ripped his weapon free, the ruby laser shots playing over the approaching beasts to their left. "Li! I want you to advance and give cover fire!"

"On it!" The woman spluttered, her movement weary as she dragged herself out of the sewage. Weary...they were all weary, shocked, afraid. Despite the recent sleep Edwin could feel the tiredness behind his eyes, how his legs and arms ached already....it was if the very air was drawing all strength from them.

Still, Li had the strength to obey, the small woman darting forward while her bayonet gutted an undead that had come too close...then she disappeared into the darkness ahead.

Tepid breath, close.

Spinning around Edwin swept his rod around, hitting a beast that was far too close in the side and tearing off some flesh that more resembled sludge then anything else, exposing a white rib. Uncaring of the injury the beast grabbed him by the shoulders, hands resembling clubs holding him in a vice as a mouth covered in pencil-shaped teeth opened to feed upon him.

So close...he could smell the rot coming from its insides, see the blue eyes mostly covered by mutated flesh look at him in a far too human hunger... Struggling he found himself unable to move anything save his legs, the kicks doing nothing but dislodging some filth from the legs off the beast, not the least affecting it as it opened its mouth in a way that should have dislodged its jaw. Was it going to swallow his head whole? Would it-

The bayonet came from nowhere, breaking the entire top ridge of teeth of the beast and spearing the top of its skull, making it stiffen.

Then two blasts of red struck it, the first burning the jaw into nothing but charcoal, the second blasting into the darkness within its mouth, briefly illuminating pulsing green veins.

Stepping back Edwin kicked out, sending the dead thing tumbling away, he tried to smile to the soldier saving him, but Ron was already looking elsewhere, after Li's voice calling out ahead of them: "There's a door here! Locked!"

"Set charges and blow it open then!" Ron growled back, a hint of panic in his voice as he and Edwin rushed forward, barely dodging the many beasts closing in on them. "Now!"

Running past Ron Edwin quickly saw what Li had referred to. It wasn't much of a door, made of steel it had no handle or visible way of being opened. A simple yellow sign had been riveted to its centre, a small stick figure on it crossed over with the text 'No entrance allowed'. Not that anyone cared about such things now...even as he looked Ron saw Li quickly move between her dropped backpack and the door, fastening grey lumps unto the door's sides.

"Please hurry!" He found himself adding while spinning around, weapon raised while he saw Ron come up next to him, the soldier firing shot after shot into the converging mass of death before them.

There's so many of them...

"I'm doing it as fast as I can!" Li growled back. "Give me five seconds more!"

"On it!" Ron shouted, two grenades already flying forward. One disappeared among the many undead, the explosion oddly dull as the sound was blocked by the solid mass of flesh between them and it. The second grenade landed ahead of the first beasts, forcing Edwin to cover his face as the explosion tore through water, flesh and stone.

There was a slight splatter of 'fresh' sewage across Edwin's frame.

Lowering his arm Edwin watched a single undead slowly drop unto its knees, then fall into the water. The others, though covered in gaping wounds that exposed rotting insides and pale bone, continued, the remains of their arms reaching out towards the humans. "Impossible...are they getting tougher!?"

"Explosives set! Step back!" Edwin gritted his teeth and forced himself to take two quick steps against the wall of undead even as Li came up to his side, her fingers already pushing down the button on a small cylinder in her hand.

The explosion sent him face forward unto the floor.

Spitting Edwin watched one of his teeth drop unto the ground along with some slimy blood, the thing slipping down into the sewage water. Growling he ignored the throbbing pain of his face while getting up, the sound of laser fire telling him the others had done the same. "Quick! Through the door!"

Practically flying through the hole where there once had been a door Edwin found himself crying out in frustration.

The room he was in was small, walls tinted green of mould and leading straight up for twenty feet before ending abruptly with a ceiling alight with dozen of lamps. The place was cluttered with scaffolding, as if someone had intended to build something there but ended the project before it had even begun.

The entirety of the opposite wall was one large door, almost ten feet high and going from corner to corner it was a massive thing of brass and steel, several dozen cogs covering it in an intricate pattern, some of them glowing with an inner glow that made Edwin queasy just looking at them. Several piece of parchment and golden seals covered it, all adorned with an overly decorated 'I' that Edwin couldn't quite place...

"Oh for the Emperor's sake!" Ron cried out, the soldier coming to a halt to Edwin's left, Li doing the same further out. "We can never blow through that thing!" The soldier blinked, despite his dark skin Edwin could actually see him paling. "Never..." For a moment it looked as if he was going to cry, then he stiffened, chin forced high. "Edwin, you have done well." The voice...different all of a sudden.

"Um...thank you." Edwin muttered, feeling cold.

Loosening his armour a little Ron almost looked casual, the underlying discipline of his disappearing. "Li...I wished we had had more time."

"It was time well spent." The woman replied, the hostility in her voice gone, making Edwin look over at her in surprise. The woman was actually smiling a little, a hint of teeth being bared. "And Edwin...I hope I wasn't too much of a bitch."

"N...no not at all." He replied, then felt something within him release its hold on him, calming him. "And...I thank you both, without you two we would never had come so far."

"Right, that's it then." Ron grinned, raising his rifle. "Now lets show these son of a bitches what we can do eh?"

"I'd like that." Li muttered even as the three spun around, weapons raised.

The beasts were almost on top of them already, crowding to get in through the door. A flurry of laser shots blew apart the first three before a fourth came trough, only to drop forward with Edwin's steel rod stuck in its skull. Putting his foot against its neck Edwin pulled the weapon free, his previous weariness gone, his fear nothing but a memory.

He only fought, for another breath, for another moment, because he could.

Two more entered, the first shielding the second from the many laser blasts meeting them, slowly sliding to its knees it was bashed aside by a third monster whose paw came flying towards Edwin. He found himself raising his weapon to block...and then flew through the air by the force of the blow.

Nothing but a grunt passed his lips as he crashed through some of the scaffolding in the corner, dark spots dancing before his eyes as something hard struck him in the head, his back one big bruise. He still held his weapon though, which he forced himself to raise as the monster came at him. Holding the rod with both hands he pushed it against the beast's throat, holding it away from him even as it struggled to reach him with what remained of its teeth.

So this was it then? Death...Edwin who just three weeks ago never had even considered himself able to die. He was really too young...a shame.

Then an explosion tore through the room.

The zombie was tossed off Edwin, the creature nothing but pieces of gore as he himself was pushed into the ground, vision swimming as all air was forced out of his lungs. His head felt as it would explode, his body...all seemed a jumble of signals, leaving his body confused and unable to move.

Had one of the soldiers set off a grenade next to him?

Everything was so quiet...had he lost his hearing?

A crunching sound dispelled that idea, many crunching sounds...and a moan.

Boom!

He heard the sound of blood splattering across concrete, then more crunching sounds.

"Area secure brother." Brother...brother...what did that mean? The voice...he didn't recognise it. Unable to move Edwin could do nothing but frown, limply waiting for what would happen. He would either die or live...he didn't care much for either option right now.

"Excellent work, brother Fichus, I want this door open." There was a pause and Edwin felt himself shudder for some reason, as if he'd just been scrutinized by an arbiter. "Apothecary, check them."

"Yes brother." Came a curt reply, then a crunching sound of ceramite against stone. "This one is female." Li? Were they talking about-

Boom!

No! Edwin groaned, his body stiffening as he vainly tried to move. It was them again, the evil incarnate! He could accept dying...but not death at the hand of such monsters! Li! Ron! Do something!

"This one...damaged but let me..." He heard an odd sound of a pneumatic hiss. "Too old, under set values too."

Boom!

Ron...

Thump, thump, thump...Edwin listened intently to the sound of someone approaching.

Then a white helmet appeared before his vision, definitively a space marine's helmet...the dark eye lenses betraying nothing as they coldly looked down at his broken body. "Hmm..." A pneumatic hiss and Edwin felt something large push into his arm, the level of pain from it surprising him, as was the feeling of something being pulled out of him.

He glared at the helmet looking down at him, the disgusting monster that was coldly seizing him up for some reason...he wished he could spit at it, but there was no water left in him to draw on.

"The body is damaged..." A massive bolter appeared behind the helmet, large muzzle aiming down at Edwin, he almost welcomed it... "But age is workable...and his values are within working parameters." The weapon disappeared, replaced by a head devoid of helmet. A square bald one, even lacking eyebrows while its brown eyes coldly looked down at Edwin as if he was nothing but an insect. "I believe he might be salvaged brother captain."

The bald marine cocked his head to the side, obviously not agreeing. "If you say so brother...we will bring him."

Coughing Edwin managed to force his mouth to move. "F...fuck you."

The marine's face twisted into a smirk. "Well what do you know? You'll be fun..." Then a massive fist came flying towards Edwin...and all went black.

The end?