Ludvig pressed the tape player and yanked the tape out of it

"Hey! That's a rare recording of the Doors live!"

"I am sick and tires of listening to same song over and over!" Ludvig put the tape in a corner, still angry at it, but listening to Patrick's warning.

"Listen, there's only so much time we can spend listening to the same songs. There's a friggen apocalypse going on out there. There's no radio stations that still function, mate. It's not like a zombie knows how to use a microphone."

Annoyed, Ludvig switched the radio to FM mode and started to mess with the radio frequency .

The sound ranged from static to static to more static.

"Told ya. It's kind of sad how the whole country has broken down. Not even the radio is safe from.."

The radio started playing the exact same Doors song that Ludvig had gotten so sick of.

Silently Patrick checked the tape player. It was empty.

Patrick started to laugh as he hit the brakes. Ludvig grumbled and crossed his arms.

"WHATS GOING ON!" Dell screamed through the walkie-talkie, as he pulled up next to Patrick. It was so loud that Patrick could hear it twice.

"A radio broadcast." Patrick signaled at Dell to approach them. Dell, highly annoyed, stepped out of his truck and grumbled as he walked over to the front of Patrick's truck. "Seems to be live." Ludvig adjusted the signal to prove that it was in fact live.

"Well I'll be darned. I haven't heard a radio signal like since the world went to hell. Hold on, I'll see if I can put something together to trace it." Dell walked back to his truck , subconsciously whisteling the aforementioned Doors song. Günther followed behind. He may be a doctor, but he still had some interest and knowledge of engineering.

After some stretching to get his bloodflow going again, Patrick noticed that the song had faded out. Now, he could hear a female voice.

"This is Radio Rome, still live from Port Augusta. Yes, we're not dead, and as far as I know, we, or rather I, am the only radio host still on the air. This is DJ Strailya and we're going to go listen to the one, the only true king, Elvis of course. This one's for you, king."

The radio started playing one of Elvis' classic songs, but Patrick's ears had tuned out already. He snatched the map from his glove compartment.

"Port augusta….damn, that's where we came from. GUYS!" Patrick raised his voice.

"Right now, we're somewhere in-between Orroroo and Peterborough. We'll have to turn around, and take the B56 back to Port Augusta. Another day of travelling, wasted."

Patrick pointed out his plan on the map. "Does anyone have any objections?" To his annoyance, Dell and Günther were still busy working on their new combined invention, and thus, only Ludvig had been listening to his plan.

"Is good plan. We get radio girl, then go to your home."

Those last few words really hit Patrick in the face. He wasn't on some mission, or some mercenary work, he was heading home to save his parents. He should not have wasted a day on a beach and now he wanted to waste another day saving someone he didn't know while his parents could be needing him more than she ever did.

The professional within Patrick reclaimed control. First of all, his parents could be dead, while this girl is certainly alive. Leaving her behind would be a waste of life. Secondly, his parents lived quite isolated from the rest of Australia (like a lot of farmers in desolate areas) so the chance of them having succumbed to the infection would be small. This girl, however, was in the middle of a large city, probably holed up in her radio station, with limited supplies. The argument ended quickly, and Patrick decided to immediately continue with his rescue operation."

Strailya sung along to the last few notes of the song. "Oh, that's a wonderful one, yeah. "

There was a short silence

"The music stops me from being so alone, I guess. Listen to me, im broadcasting, yet no one is listening. Like, 2 days ago I thought I heard vehicles passing by. But, nope, there was nothing. It's kind of getting creepy how I'm hearing things that aren't there. Maybe I'm starting to lose it. Ah well, at least I got some more music coming up, just for you, imaginary listener!"

Ludvig suddenly had this determined look in his eyes. It was a kind of….heroism that Patrick had only spotted in his eyes when he was trying to rescue his Medic from a tough situation.

"We go and get her, and we move now!" Ludvig stepped back into the van. "Get in!"

"Agreed. Doc! Dell! Postpone your invention, we're heading back to Port Augusta!" With a large yank at the steering wheel and pushing the pedal through the floor Patrick turned the camper van around and started the journey back to Port Augusta

Later that night, around a campfire 3 miles away from the furthest outskirts of Port Augusta…

"All right, so everyone knows the plan. She said that she herd vehicles 2 days ago, which was when we made our way through the town. This puts her in roughly the area close to the highway that runs right through Port Augusta, as it is the path we took when driving through it. The map of Australia that Patrick was pointing at was too small to really make out much of the town, outside of its general shape and the location of the three roads that crossed.

"So, here's what we did that day, we headed down the A87, crossed through the town of Port Augusta, right across the Spencer gulf and then followed the A1 to that beach. "

He tapped on the approximate location of their one day beach retreat.

"Here's the plan. We go in loudly and stupid. Blasting our guns, with a rocket launcher or two. After doing that for a few minutes we split up, checking nearby buildings while blasting our horns. She reacts to us, and we pick her up and get her out. If needed, we take some of her supplies/electronics if the situation will alow us . Then, we drive until nightfall, as we usually do, heading east, towards my parents."

Patrick checked his plan for his second time, and then said 5 legendary words that none of them would ever forget.

"No, wait, that's bullshit."

Günther was the only person around the campfire that was sincerely shocked by those words. The sudden concern for Patrick's mental health triggered a flashback from the time when he tried to be the team's psychologist.

"Sit down, und tell me everyzing" The BLU medic pointed at the couch opposite to him.

"So two knuckleheads are like chasin' me, and I am dodging everything they try, until the point where I just got mad. So I turned around, forced that Solly to eat his shovel and made the…"

"RAUS!" The scout scurried out, annoyed.

"NEXT!"

"hhmphm hpmph heh"

"Pyro,I do not understand you. Only ze engineer does. Good day."

"I was so close to getting that Engineer, and then there he was…standing, looking me right in the eye. He saw through my disguise, and immediately stormed at me." The BLU spy shivered, shaking while in a fetal position.

The medic smiled as he had finally found a person with proper mental issues. "Do not vorry, I vill help you get rid of your fear. Zat vill be 20 dollars per treatment."

"20 dollars?" The spy looked up in utter disgust. "You suck!"

"Und zere zey are, all calling for me, Medic! Medic! Medic! But ven I am under attack zey run away rather zen try und save me. Ungratefull arslöcher, if you ask me." The RED medic lay down on the couch, crossing his arms.

"Ja, ich weiß." The BLU medic nodded slowly, smiling. "Ich weiß,wie sich das anfühlt"

"What do you mean?" Dell uttered in confusion

"My plan, its utter bullshit. It's dependent upon making a massive noise, and hoping that that radio girl picks up on it, and gives us her location via her broadcast. Meanwhile we'd be covered in zombies, and they would really clog down our rescue and eventual escape." Patrick tossed another tree branch on the fire. "It's worthless." He leaned back, running his hand through his hair in frustration.

Günther knew Patrick, and he never, ever second guessed his own plan. His pride was one of his biggest weaknesses (outside of the fact that he couldn't handle anyone getting in close range and shooting at him). This sudden, monumental change in behavior was quite worrying to Günther. Was it based upon learning from earlier mistakes, or upon the immense stress from being in a zombie apocalypse?

…but, how could this be more stressful then being in a constant..

"Doc? You got any better ideas?"

"Heh, uh, let me think." The worries about Patrick were subdued by the forming of a plan.

"We need to rethink everything, this time together." Dell added in a thinly veiled insult towards Patrick's leadership.

"You didn't exactly seem to do any leading outside of the fixing cars department." Patrick spat back

"You lead us in and out of terrible situations from which we barely make it out

"First, that's called improvisation. Being surrounded by zombies is not a great way to think out a plan properly. Secondly, I have to adapt the plan when a bunch of zombies show up. Thirdly, zombies, and fourthly, you're great on thinking, but not too great on leading."

Dell rose to his feet. "It's funny how you say that, yet you never seemed to lead in the middle of the war. You'd rather stick in the back, hoping you'd get a shot."

"And what about you? Cowering behind your huge toys, running away when they explode. You don't even know to handle yourself in battle."

"Do you know how hard it is to maintain 100 pounds of steel, bullets, and explosives that is the prime focus of a Soldier and Demoman?"

"Sure I do" Patrick replied, sarcastically. "Howdy pardner. This is how ay make mah sentrees." Dell growed at the mocking accent that Patrick had put up.

"This is eh wranch, I wheck with it." Patrick swung his kukri around wildly to mock the way in which Dell repaired his sentries.

"It's called percussive maintenance, and even the way I swing my wrench is more complicated than anything you ever came up with."

"SHATUP!" In one deep, manly growl Ludvig forced both men into a resentful silence.

"We fight later, when we do not have some one to save. Now, Plan. What plan can we make?"

Ludvig pointed at Point Augusta on the map. "How do we find radio girl?"

"Why don't you ask hardha…" Ludvig's stare made Patrick shut up.

"Ze issue here is, ve do not know vere she is. Ze sun has fallen hours ago, und ve simply have no vay of finding out. Zis next morning, ve find ze highest place nearby, und ve make up a plan zen. Does any vone have anyzing better?"

Medic nodded at the three of them.

"Put ze clock early, ve need to be on a lookout shortly after ze sunrise!"