Hey, Mr. Potassium here. Sorry for the wait! I love keeping you guys at a cliffhanger, but not for too long! Anyway, the wait's over! Before you hop on into the story, I just wanted to tell you all that I have a poll on my profile, in case you're interested in taking it! That's all! Enjoy!

-Eleven Days Earlier-

A roamer with a knife stuck in its chest turned around, looking at a building close to the gunfire in the intersection. It growled and pushed itself against the wind, not noticing the incoming survivors.

With one swift cut, the roamer's head was tossed into the wind, blowing it away from the radio tower. Hana dipped her sword into the snow, wiping the blood off her blade.

Sploshing footsteps and heavy panting notified Hana that Luan was still behind her. Luan dropped to her knees and hacked a dry cough.

"How… do you… run so fast?" she coughed.

Hana reached her arms out and picked Luan up.

"Morning jogs," Hana replied.

Luan took off her hoodie and allowed the snow to fall on her head.

"How is it… that I'm still sweating… in this cold weather?" panted Luan.

"Keep going," said Hana. "Winnebago not too far."

"Oh crap. Why don't you just call it an RV–?"

"Hey!" shouted a voice from behind the fog of snow. "Are you girls nuts or something?"

Hana held her sword upright, prepared to take out their threat. However, Luan held her shoulder and stopped her.

"That's Becky," she said. "Don't you recognize her voice?"

Becky became more visible. Hana lowered her sword.

"You American on'nanoko all have same voices."

"What are you doing out here?" yelled Becky. "Why'd you run off on your own?"

Luan struggled to explain before Hana interrupted.

"Kimi. Cold is danger," said Hana. "She will not survive in Winnebago alone."

Becky appeared puzzled.

"Kimi's her dog," explained Luan. "And Winnebago's the RV."

Becky sighed.

"Please don't do that ever again," said Becky. "Lori would freak if I lost you girls! You know I'm responsible for you two?"

"We both nineteen of age," said Hana. "I'm adult. I take care of myself. No one tells me what to do. No one responsible for me."

"Well, I'm still responsible for you, Luan!"

"Becky, come on! We can't just leave her companion alone in an RV while we run away from a herd! She won't survive! Remember the last time that happened?"

A few roamers arrived at the intersection and found the three survivors by the radio tower. Becky looked at them before her hair was blown by the heavy wind. She moved her hair away and found more roamers in the intersection.

"How can I forget?" said Becky. "Alright, where's the RV?"

"Follow," said Hana.

A swarm of roamers looked at the incoming survivors. Some roamers raised their arms and growled at them until they were struck by a blade. A few roamers dropped to the ground with half of the faces sliced off.

A particular roamer had its eyes cut in half as the blade didn't completely slice its head off. Fluids dripped from its ripped golden eyes. The roamer then relied on its hearing to detect the survivors.

However, Luan clubbed the roamer with her crowbar. Becky was next to her, slashing the roamers away.

A roamer swung its hand at Hana, but she leaned back and sliced the other incoming hand with the blade of her sword. She then made another slice at the roamer and dropped it to the ground.

Luan looked at Hana and shook her head, doubting her own abilities. A roamer swung its hand at Luan, but Luan could only block it with her crowbar. The roamer then swung its other hand, causing Luan to block it with her arm. The roamer gripped her sweater and placed Luan in a struggle for her release.

A blade went through the roamer's head and barely reached Luan's own head. She flinched and watched Hana pull back the sword. The roamer released Luan and collapsed to the ground.

"You could've killed me!" said Luan.

"Yes, I could've," replied Hana. "But I didn't. Follow."

Luan blew out of her lips and followed Hana along with Becky. She looked back at the radio tower and saw the swarm of corpses they left behind.

The roamers were unable to follow the helicopters or any of the passing survivors as the snow became too difficult to move through. Some roamers were even buried under the snow, lurking like a rattlesnake in the desert, looking for their next prey.

Eventually, the three young women made it back to the suburban streets and ran towards the river. Hana then turned to the right and ran along the street by the river, fighting against the winds.

"This RV better be close!" said Becky.

Hana remained silent. She leaped over the power lines in the streets and hopped over a snowdrift. She continued jogging ahead, without glancing back once.

"Winnebago," said Hana as she ran faster.

"Geez, wait up!" exclaimed Luan.

Hana walked inside her RV and slid the door shut. Luan and Becky arrived to the RV and sighed in frustration.

"Hey, we were right behind you!" said Luan.

"Kimi! Anata wa anzendesu!" smiled Hana.

Hana knelt down and allowed Kimi to lick her face. The heater in the RV was still on, so the only ailment the dog suffered was loneliness.

Becky rubbed the back of her head and cleared her throat.

"We should probably go back to the group," said Becky.

Hana looked out the window.

"Herd of shinda," she murmured.

Becky and Luan joined Hana in watching the herd approach them. Hana then went on the driver's seat and turned the engine on. She turned the RV around and drove to the highway.

"We're not going back with them?" asked Becky.

"Not good idea," said Hana. "Shinda behind us. I drive away from shinda."

Becky sat on the comfy seats by the windows. Kimi looked at her and panted, eventually jumping to her lap. Luan sneezed, causing Kimi to leap off of Becky's lap.

"Bless you," said Becky.

"Thanks. God, my nose feels cold."

Luan looked at Hana, who only stared ahead at the road with both of her hands on the steering wheel. Kimi ran up to the passenger seat and stayed there, admiring her companion.

The RV left the city of Bangor with a herd behind them– all roamers unable to catch the survivors. However, their persistence, and the fact that the survivors needed shelter from the harsh blizzard, all prompted Hana to drive as far away from the city as she could.

17: Surprise

I - The Gates Have Fallen

-Present Day-

The radios chattered inside the helicopters, with voices asking for confirmation of the plan's execution. Captain Moss chuckled as he responded affirmatively along with Lieutenant Lead.

"The weak can't survive," said Moss. "They won't."

The fences rattled softly with the pebbles on the ground.

The birds flocked away.

The billows of smoke lingered in the woods outside the town.

Roamers invaded the town by the dozens. The snow in the front gates were now marked by diamond-lines from the fences as the undead beings stepped on them.

The barbed wire on top of the fences snapped and swung down, sticking onto the skin of some of the roamers.

The roamers that clawed the fences were stampeded by their rotting friends behind them, causing their bodies to become a corpse with crushed organs and cracked decayed bones.

There were many targets within their sights, increasing their appetite for live flesh. They preyed on the closests humans first.

Lori's eyes remained wide as the herd engulfed the entrance like a flood from a broken dam. She choked on what seemed to be a space of dry air as the roamers walked towards her.

"Lori!" yelled Bobby. "Watch out!"

The leader pulled out her revolver and shot one of the roamers in its skull. She turned to everyone by the front entrance.

"EVERYONE! GET INSIDE, NOW!"

She shot her gun again and took down a roamer. The roamers kept on flowing inside the town, increasing the power of the herd.

Bobby and Lori picked up Lynn and aimed for the infirmary. Benny stood behind them with the blade of his sword in a vertical position.

The two guards in armor, Buck and Pike, ran to the military zone– the giant field with the prisons, the military base, and the runway. They carried their heavy gear with their bodies as the roamers kept up to their pace.

Jenny groaned as she limped. She slipped on ice and fell on her knees. Her left knee swelled softly as she followed Buck and Pike.

"Go back, go back!" yelled George.

Some of the militia members were shooting at the roamers flooding the gates. They backed up with each kill, though they realized that they didn't carry extra ammunition with them.

One of the men was bit in the arm and then in the neck. A woman was clawed in her stomach as the herd surrounded her. Another woman was scratched from the back before being devoured.

"For fuck's sake, run!" yelled Vonda.

The militia nodded in agreement and ran away from the front gates. They ran up the streets and away from the military zone.

In the north and east gates, the roamers came out from the smoldering woods. Some of the roamers had red flesh with smoke lingering around them. Others had skin made of charcoal.

The civilians struggled to get inside their homes. An older man struggled to get his keys out before the roamers flooded his porch. He yelled as the roamers pushed him against the door.

Another older man saw the disturbing scene and quickly made his way down his front stairwell. However, the snow that he neglected to shove away caused him to lose balance.

He fell to the snow in the ground and shuddered as the roamers fell on top of him. He gagged and then struggled to scream as the roamers tore his back and spine apart.

Kathy, who happened to be in front of her home jumped down from her porch and fled the area. She ran for the infirmary, wishing to find Leni, before finding George and Vonda running in the streets.

Benny sliced off a head, then thrusted his sword into a skull. Bobby and Lori ran synchronized with each of their steps landing on the ground at the exact time. Lynn limped with her uninjured leg and kept her burned leg in the air.

The roamers knocked down mailboxes, stair rails, signs, and garden decorations. They trampled on the gardens and the dry grass. The pine cones and rocks rolled as the roamers chased after their victims.

The town center created a sort of smoke signal, attracting the nearby roamers that split up from the herd and the ones who weren't even part of the herd.

Lori and Bobby kept their eyes away from the town center. They only focused on getting Lynn medical help. However, the herd behind the fences to the right began to tear apart the support bars holding them up. Suddenly, the fences gave way to the roamers away from the front gates.

"Go! I got this!" exclaimed Benny.

"No, wait–!" yelled Lori.

Benny ran to the fences and began slicing the roamers with his sword.

"Ugh, literally? Just keep going, Bobby!"

Lori and Bobby carried Lynn away as she looked back at her friend. Benny led the roamers away from them before running away himself.

The roamers scattered at the intersections, following different civilians as they struggled to find a house to get into. Most of the civilians were too scared to unlock their doors and let their people in, causing more casualties.

Lori and Bobby panted as they caught sight of the infirmary building. Lynn felt the cold nipping away at her burnt skin, but she still held back her tears.

"We're almost there!" said Lori.

"I'm powering through," said Lynn. "But shit– it hurts worse than a torn ACL!"

Lily pranced around a flower of the same name in a porcelain vase. She then jumped to a couch and looked out the window. She stared at two of her sisters and one of their boyfriends.

"Look, Lori!" exclaimed Lily.

Leni looked outside and smiled.

"And you know who the other two are?" asked Leni.

"I'm not dumb. They Lynn and Bobby!"

"You're totes right!" said Leni before frowning. "Aww, Lynn looks hurt."

Lori and Bobby ran inside the infirmary with Lynn's arms on their shoulders. Lincoln and Lana looked out into the hallway, finding their injured sister on the couch while Lori and Bobby locked the doors.

"We need help!" exclaimed Bobby.

Buck, Pike, and Jenny went through the open fence gates that separated the military zone from the town.

"Where are we running to?" asked Jenny.

"Military base!" said Pike.

"If we can get there!" said Buck.

Buck removed his helmet. He grabbed his throat and coughed as the snow pelted him in the face. Pike and Jenny stopped and glanced over their shoulders.

"Roamers are still on our ass?" asked Buck.

Pike nodded.

"Why don't we enter Unit A?" he suggested.

"Let's go!" exclaimed Jenny. "There's nowhere else to go!"

Buck tossed his helmet at the roamers and ran with Pike and Jenny to the prisons. He spotted Luna, Sam, and Jace on top of a guard tower, where he waved at them. He then ran inside the prison, closing the metal door and locking it.

The roamers flooded into the prison area. They smashed their hands against the metal doors.

Other roamers surrounded the guard tower and clawed at the three survivors up top. Luna grabbed her stomach and stumbled back.

"Oh man, oh man!" gasped Luna. "I cocked up going up here! What do we do now?"

"Just relax, just– Luna?" said Sam worriedly.

Luna took off her helmet and vomited into the herd outside the guard tower. She retched as she watched the vomit splatter onto the face of a roamer. The roamer didn't flinch, though now it was clawing at different directions.

"Luna, look at me!" said Jace, grabbing her shoulders. "It's okay to be scared! I know it– I'm feeling what you're feeling! But don't panic!"

Luna closed her eyes and took a deep breath. He rubbed her hair and motioned Sam to come closer. She walked over to Luna and held her.

"Everything's gonna be chill," said Jace. "We're all here, right?"

Luna looked at Jace in his eyes and smiled. She then cleared his throat and shifted her eyes at his girlfriend.

Sam leaned close to her head for a kiss before realizing what she just did to a roamer below the guard tower. She moved her head and hugged her, letting her know they were alright.

"We don't have to do anything now," whispered Sam. "Just stay quiet. And the roamers will leave."

"What about the others?" asked Luna.

"We can shoot the roamers that are giving them trouble," replied Sam. "We got a few bullets and we have to make 'em count. But we'll give up our location."

Luna grabbed the bullets from her pockets and scanned them.

"So, what is it going to be?" asked Sam.

Luna looked at the roamers in Houlton. She found them wandering aimlessly, as there weren't any civilians outside their homes– at least from where she could see.

She sighed and placed her fingers over her mouth before moving away from the guardrails. The three survivors became invisible to the roamers.

Kathy followed George and Vonda to their home. However, a group of roamers in the street caused them to make a detour.

George held his shotgun and aimed it at a roamer behind him. He shot the gun and killed roamer after roamer.

"What are you doing?" asked Vonda.

"Keeping the roamers off our back!" said George.

"Are we not going to find safe shelter?"

"What safe shelter?"

"The Spokes house is over there!"

George pointed his shotgun at another roamer before Vonda grabbed his arm. Kathy followed both of them to Rusty's home, where they found him and his father.

"Wait!" yelled a man.

George turned around and found a few members of the militia. They came from a different street, though they ended up by the same house.

However, the militiamen were fighting off roamers while George, Vonda, and Kathy weren't.

"Let's go inside!" said Vonda.

"Not yet," said George, aiming his shotgun on a roamer.

The roamer pinned one of the militia members on the ground and struggled to claw through her armor. He blasted pellets on a roamer and reloaded his shotgun.

A man yelled as he shoved his hand into the jaw of a roamer.

"Dad!" yelled his son.

"Reggie, stay back!" the man said.

The roamer was struck by an arrow. Vonda ran to the man and picked him up.

"Are you alright, Mr. Harrison?" asked Vonda.

"Yeah. Where are we going?"

"Come inside!" yelled Rusty.

The militia members and the other three survivors ran inside his home. The roamers flocked to the streets and towards the house. In the street, was human blood.

"Oh gosh, what happened to Lynn?" asked Lincoln.

"I got burned by those assholes!" said Lynn. "Now, I can check that off my fucking bucket list! Burned by napalm!"

"Someone call Haley!" said Lori. "That wound is gonna get infected!"

"We can't–" said Lincoln.

Carol screamed. Lori, Bobby, and Lynn gasped as they looked into the room.

"Is that Carol?" asked Bobby.

Lincoln nodded. Haley came out from the large room and pulled down her mask.

"You can put Lynn in the bed across the room. But don't get close to Carol!"

Lori and Bobby carried Lynn into the room and saw Clyde and Ronnie Anne in the room. Lori found herself struggling with keeping her jaw closed as she looked at a sweaty Carol in her bed. Bobby let out a nervous smile before realizing the situation they were in. He then placed Lynn in a bed with three other wounded patients.

Clyde and Ronnie Anne gasped at the sight of Lynn's leg.

"What happened to you, Lynn?" asked Clyde.

Lynn panted as she found it harder to talk.

"Military dropped napalm on us," said Lori. "Who's going to treat her burn?"

"You," said Haley. "I can't take off my gloves. And I can't grab Lynn's wound and assist Carol's delivery at the same time."

"Where's Dr. White?" asked Lori.

"Dana went to the laboratory to retrieve him."

"Just her?"

Lori walked out of the room. Bobby patted Lynn's head before following Lori.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"I gotta help Dana. See the danger out there? No way she can get here by herself."

"What about Lynn? She needs you here!"

"What's going on?" asked Lincoln. "I don't hear any more helicopters."

Lori knelt down and grabbed Lincoln's shoulders.

"The herd. It arrived. And the roamers are out there. I need you to follow Haley's instructions and help Lynn out. I'll be back."

"Lori…"

"I need to do this. Don't worry about me."

"Let me come with you."

"No," said Lori. "You stay here. If I need backup, I'll take Bobby… if he's up for it."

"I'm always there for you, babe," said Bobby. "Come on, little bro. Help your sister out while we get the doc."

Lincoln hugged Lori and Bobby before waving at them. Lily watched Lori and Bobby walk to the front doors of the infirmary before turning to Leni.

"See? Brave, right?" said Leni.

"Yeah. I'm gonna be like her!" said Lily.

Bobby grabbed Lori's shoulders.

"Wait. Are you sure wanna risk your life for Dana and Dr. White without saying goodbye to… them?"

Lori sighed, knowing Bobby was right. She walked over to her sisters. She hugged Leni then picked up Lily.

"Behave while I'm gone," said Lori. "And do not go outside, no matter what, okay? I'll be back. Love you two."

"Love you too, Lori!" said Leni.

Lily looked at Leni and attempted to mimic her.

"Love you too… Lori."

Lori and Bobby exited the infirmary.