IV - Where The Dead Are Born

Meanwhile, back in Houlton, George was training many civilians in shooting. The militia was disbanded now that more than half the town's population were equipped with guns. Clyde remained a bad shot, since he was very new to guns. Rusty tried shooting with him, but Mr. Spokes wouldn't allow it, emphasizing spending more time together as father and son.

Luna looked unto the civilians in the runway, thinking about the people she was training. Bobby then walked up to her.

"Hey, Luna? Can you help me with something?"

"Sure thing," smiled Luna.

A lantern lit up the cabin in the Irish Settlement, a mile from Houlton. Bobby walked around, looking for the bedroom.

"Here it is," he said. "When I gave Lori that promise ring, it fit. Think these rings will fit too?"

Luna's face radiated with glee as she stared at the shiny engagement rings and wedding rings. She nodded her head and punched Bobby in the shoulder lightly.

"After a long month away from you, she'll be dying to see you, dude. Man, if you propose to her, you'll make her so damn happy– I'm already excited thinking about it!"

"I wish it was under different circumstances," said Bobby. "She might think this is silly."

"Nah, dude. She loves you. I know it seems a little weird considering the world we live in, but trust me… she would love to be with you forever."

"I might have to skip out on the wedding though, right?"

"She's gonna want a wedding too, brah."

Bobby let out a laugh. Luna held out her fist. Bobby smiled and bumped it.

Back in the lab, Lisa continued to observe the white mouse that she injected a solution into. A tiny mark on its back showed a sign that it was infected by a roamer's saliva. It was oozing strange liquids, but the mouse seemed to be fine. At least it was until a couple minutes later.

The mouse had slow movements and refused to eat. It scratched itself and laid low in its cage. Then, the mouse stopped moving. It died.

"AHH!" yelled Jett. "Turn it off! Turn the music off!"

Lisa sighed as Dr. White walked over to the rogue. The doctor removed his earbuds and his blindfold. He grabbed a cup of water and fed it to the rogue.

"How could you not enjoy west coast rap?" sighed Lisa.

"Look, I respect Tupac and all, but he's in my fucking brain! Just let me go. I don't want to be like… those rats."

"These are mice," said Lisa. "And you really believe I'll let you go? I may be a kid, but I am not stupid."

"How was the experiment, Lisa?" asked Dr. White.

"Better than I hypothesized!" answered Lisa. "When I infected the mice, they all succumbed to the necrosis flu in a matter of minutes. Then, I added an inhibitor to Jerry, the mouse that just died. His enzymes were disabled, thus preventing the infection from consuming his skin properly. But his body fought and fought… and he died two hours later from what appears to be asphyxiation."

"By blocking the enzymes, you were able to stop the infection…"

"...but I also paralyzed him in the process."

"This is not going to stop the brain from shifting into roamer mode," said Dr. White. "The infection is still present in our body."

"I realize that. I just have to figure out a way to get the lymphocytes to act upon the infection in time before the subject becomes permanently paralyzed. Once I can figure that out, the next step would be to remove the inhibitors and inject new enzymes back into the body."

"You're– you're gonna do all that to me?" asked Jett. "Can't you find someone else to test? Please, I don't wanna be your lab rat."

"I made the choice already," said Dr. White. "It's what you get for watching mankind commit some of the worsts crimes unimaginable… and being on their side."

"You were once on our side," said Jett. "Don't forget that!"

Dr. White placed the earbuds and the blindfold back on the rogue.

"Do you know anything about his sons?" asked Lisa. "He mentioned–"

"He's lying," said Dr. White. "Don't need lie-detecting glasses to figure that out."

Footsteps moved around the woods, amplified by the snapping of twigs and the rustling of leaves. The girls hid behind the trees, trying their hardest to not make a sound. They were so close to Spednic Lake too. So close.

"It's that bitch with the katana and her friends!" exclaimed one of the rogues. "Sick fucks, just leaving his body all fucked up like that!"

"Watch your head," said one of the older rogues. "They were clearly armed. You don't want to be caught off-guard."

Becky looked at the magazine in her gun. It was out. She looked at Luan, who covered her mouth as she panted hard. Lynn grabbed her bow and looked at Hana. Hana looked at a couple roamers at the distance and nodded.

Hana nudged the girls and pointed at the roamers in the distance. She then made a signal with her fingers. They all knew what she wanted. Use the roamers to separate the rogues then pick them off one by one.

Hana snuck towards the roamers and walked around, gathering a swarm of them. Becky and Luan snuck away from the roamers and far away from the rogues. Lynn walked closer to the rogues, but away from the roamers.

Hana led the roamers closer and closer to the rogues and quickly ran away from them, creating loud footsteps and catching the rogues' attentions.

"Over there!" exclaimed one of the rogues. "I heard someone!"

One of the privates moved forward and was met with a roamer who grabbed him by the shoulders. The rogue yelled as the roamer sunk its teeth down his neck. The other rogues quickly shot the roamer and aimed their guns at the other roamers that approached them.

Suddenly, an arrow flew across the air and went through the helmet of a corporal that stood next to the older rogue.

"Shit!" exclaimed the older rogue. "Move, move, move!"

The rogues ran away from the roamers who knelt down to devour the rogue with the arrow in his head. Lynn hid behind a tree and found a rogue by himself. She ran after him and tackled him to the ground. Before he took out his sidearm, she grabbed her arrow from her quiver and lifted his head up. Then, she swung the arrow down his neck and ripped it out. The rogue gasped as he choked on his blood, and Lynn stood up, held the red arrow in her hands, and left him to be consumed by a roamer.

Another rogue ran to where Becky and Luan hid. Becky grabbed his legs and stabbed it with her knife, knocking him to the ground. She quickly crawled to him and stabbed him through his eye, preventing him from becoming a roamer right away. She grabbed pistol mags from his vest and reloaded her sidearm.

She found another rogue coming her way, and before he could lift his gun, Becky fired a couple shots onto him. She picked up the armor of the rogue she stabbed and placed it on before running away with Luan.

The older rogue looked around, running without his guns. He was then stopped by Hana, who pointed the edge of her blade onto his face. He sighed and went down on his knee.

"Please let me go. I promise I won't tell anyone about this. I just want to go back home and enjoy some tennis with my–"

Hana swung her sword and decapitated the older rogue. She knelt down and looked around his neck for a dog tag. But he didn't have one. Lynn, Becky, and Luan met up with Hana.

"What's wrong?" asked Luan. "What are you looking for?"

"Tags," answered Hana.

She reached into his pockets and took out his dog tags. But something fell out. It was a picture of the older rogue and a teenage girl, both in running outfits. She held a piece of paper that stated, "Winners of the 2015 Father-and-Daughter 5K Run."

The girls all held their breaths as Hana gulped. She stood up and dropped the paper, before heading forward to Spednic Lake. Hana lowered her head while Luan formed a small tear in her eye. She rubbed her eye and continued onwards to Spednic Lake.

The sun began to set down when the girls found a giant tower with a couple rogues guarding it. They snuck across a small bridge and found a mesh fence with barbed wire on top. They hid in the cover of the trees and bushes– nature hides them the best.

They saw rogues marching across the base and other rogues training and exercising. Captain Moss was testing his squad's coordination. Sergeant Brick and Hoover were bringing food to a couple wounded rogues. Lieutenant Lead walked around with General Black to his tent. Then, suddenly, he came out from his tent with a wounded Coal by his side.

Hana felt her heart drop. She thought she killed him. He should've bled out. How did he not?

Then a truck approached his tent. Sage and Jade came out of the truck, dragging a familiar face. The girls watched in horror as they saw Donovan flailing around.

"Oh no…" gasped Becky. "We failed. They got him…."

Black swaggered his way to the Humvee and stopped before Donovan. The surrounding rogues watched as Black began to speak.

"Donovan, Donovan, Donovan. I can't express how angry I am with you. So angry, that screaming until you die won't do."

"Then, don't scream," said Donovan. "Whatever you think I did, I didn't do it!"

Black tossed the note at the medic.

"Then, what the fuck is that?"

Donovan looked at the note and quickly looked back at the general.

"Sir, that was a mistake. This is all a misunderstanding. Please! Can't you give me a chance to explain?"

"I knew there was a traitor among us," said Black. "I just didn't think it was you. And now you want to lie to me? I hate liars."

"I'm sorry," whimpered Donovan.

Black raised his Desert Eagle and shot the plate of the medic's skull off. The rogues were all a little bit surprised, even Lead. They were close, and Black didn't even hesitate to execute him.

"I'm not sorry. You weren't my brother. You were just one man."

Luan began tearing up. Her memories were attacking her again. The image of Lynn Sr. appeared on the dead medic's face again.

"Please calm down," said Lynn. "Come on, he was just another rogue."

Luan tried catching a breath of air as her heart began to pound against her chest.

"She remembering," said Hana. "That night. When your mother and father…"

"Oh, damn…" whispered Lynn. "I know it hurts, Luan. It's okay. It's alright, I'm here."

Lynn held Luan's head against her chest as she released her tears quietly. Becky looked towards the base somberly before realizing that Captain Moss spotted them.

"Oh fuck!" exclaimed Becky. "That guy, Moss! He found us! We have to go!"

Luan picked herself up and was tugged by Lynn. The girls ran away from the base as Captain Moss yelled after them.

"They're here!" yelled Moss.

"Capture them," said Black. "We just got ourselves insurance!"

Captain Moss and his rogues ran towards their vehicles and headed out the base. The girls ran across the bridge as the rogues fired onto the ground. They ran into the woods, rendering the rogue guards useless. It was up to Moss to hunt them down.

The sunset marked the end of the day for the subway people in Augusta. Lori looked into the metro maps in the wall of the room.

"What are you thinking about?" asked David.

"Home," said Lori. "All this talk about Houlton, D.C., and Miami… I didn't have much time to think about Royal Woods."

"Well, a park in there was burned to hell. Much of the town is infested with roamers. There aren't many supplies in the town. It's easy to see why you didn't think much of it."

"But it was my home. For seventeen years, I lived there. Even though it has its problems… I wonder how it would be if I return. Will it feel like home? Or is it just another place that was lost to the dead?"

Lori turned towards David.

"There is a place out there called the Wasteland. I told you about it. Did you know that for months, I've been trying to look for it?"

"I didn't know that."

"I've been thinking that maybe… just maybe… it could have a clue about the location of the K.H.A.N. Maybe that's why I don't wanna go home yet. Houlton is so close– it must be close to the K.H.A.N. Remember what Gerald Brooker said in the tape? Don't go to New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Maine… because of the K.H.A.N. We've been to New Brunswick, and we are sure as hell in Maine. What about Prince Edward and Nova Scotia?"

David nodded.

"All this time…" said Lori. "I've been focusing on one man. I held repressed memories about an encounter with a woman. Everyday, the memories come to me. The woman– her name was Krissen. Doesn't that sound familiar?"

"That's the leader of the K.H.A.N."

"Yeah, exactly. Ever since that medic started working with us, I've been remembering more about her. I have a bigger mission, David. We have to make this cure happen. Then we have to find out more about the K.H.A.N. and stop them from subjecting our people to experimentation. And the first step to doing that is stopping Black."

David clapped softly.

"Wow. Just… wow."

"What?" Lori chuckled nervously.

"When I first met you, I thought you were just a fragile teenage girl with insecurities. I saw your big family and I thought… you had too much to lose. But looking back at it… you can handle it. In truth, I thought I had very little to lose… then I realized. I only had a little left to lose… and when I lost it… I lost it all. I lost everything and everyone."

"You didn't lose me," said Lori,

"And you didn't lose me either," said David. "Pack up your bags. We're going back to Houlton."

Lori gasped.

"Really? We're going right now."

David laughed softly and nodded. Lori grabbed her bag and began preparing to head back home.

After a few minutes, they passed by Waylon's office. Lori knocked on his door.

Waylon opened the door and nodded.

"It's you. What is it?" he asked.

"I convinced him. We're going back home."

"You convinced him to leave this town? Congratulations! I did not think you had it in you! Good luck on your fight. And remember, you are always welcomed here."

Lori nodded. He walked back with David.

"We're finally going home," sighed Lori.

The darkness set upon the woods near the hornet's nest. Hearts pounded, faces sweated, bodies shivered. Luan sniffled as the flashlights moved around the black woods.

"They're not far," said Moss. "They can't run that fast."

Mice scurried around the field, while nocturnal birds flapped their wings away from the rogues. The wind was still, and the air remained frozen in time.

Hana crawled into the ground, realizing that the dog tags were all clacking against each other. She quickly stood up and remained still as the rogues pointed the flashlight to where she was.

Lynn moved past a rogue while holding her arrow. But then she realized that it only took one alerted rogue to put the girls in jeopardy.

The girls snuck their way to the road where they found a couple rogues by Pike and his truck.

"What do we do?" whispered Becky.

"You're gonna use your pistol to kill those two rogues in the sides," said Lynn. "I'll get the one in the middle. After that, we run like hell to the other side."

Becky nodded. Lynn pulled back the arrow on her bow and released it, striking the rogue in the middle. Becky shot the rogue on the left twice and the rogue in the right three times.

Hana and Luan ran ahead with Lynn and Becky behind them. The rogues behind them heard the noise of the suppressed gunshots and headed for the road.

"Shit!" exclaimed Lynn. "I can't see! It's too dark!"

"Just hide! Hide!" whispered Becky.

Moss and the other rogues approached the girls. They moved their flashlights more quickly and they scouted the area more intensely. Lynn closed her eyes and took a deep yet quiet exhale. She looked at the girls.

"I got you into this mess and I'm getting you out of it," she whispered. "Run."

Lynn snuck past the rogues before sprinting away, causing a lot of noise. Some rogues chased after Lynn. Some rogues.

Becky, Hana, and Luan ran in the direction of the RV, catching the attention of the rest of the rogues, including Moss. They fired their guns at the girls, purposely missing them.

The barks flew out of the tree. Dirt and leaves were tossed a few inches into the air. Shrubs violently shook as the bullets tore through them.

Hana unsheathed her sword and ran away from Becky and Luan. Half of the rogues chased after Hana, while the other half continued running after Becky and Luan.

Lynn panted heavily while hiding behind a tree. The rogues approached from the left and right, while she nervously held an arrow. With each footsteps, her breaths grew heavier. Then, she popped out from the tree and swung her arrow to the rogue on her left. But the rogue grabbed her arm, pulled the arrow out of her hand, and shoved her against the tree. Another rogue came and smacked the butt of his gun on her jaw, knocking her unconscious.

That was one down, three to go.

Hana leaped up to a nearby tree. She grabbed a sturdy branch and lifted her foot on it. She tried bring her other leg to the branch but a rogue shot her hanging leg. Her grip loosened on the branch and she slipped down the tree before falling on her back. The rogues surrounded her, and before she tried unsheathing her katana, she was whacked in the head with a gun.

"We got the Japanese girl," said Jade, the rogue who shot her. "Status?"

"We're chasing the redhead and a Loud!" yelled Moss.

The flashlights caught the trail that both girls left behind. Moss and the other rogues were catching up to the noise and panic that the girls created. Then, the girls came across the roamers that popped from a tree.

Luan shrieked as a roamer lunged towards her, dropping her to the ground. She struggled to kick the roamer away as it began to grab her leather jacket. She pushed against its head causing the roamer to sink its nails into her skin. Or at least it tried to.

The rogues shot the roamer that were once their friend. Luan looked up and lifted her arms before checking her jacket.

No holes, tears, rips.

She sighed, though her voice trembled. Sage lifted her up and held her at gunpoint as they walked back to the base.

Becky rocked her arms back and forth, her feet front and back. She panted and gasped for help– a certain kind of help that hid a voice of despair underneath– though there was no one around to hear but the dead and the rogues who chased her to what felt like the end of time, but was in reality only the passing of a couple minutes. The roamers were gunned down by the rogues who were able to find them through the help of their flashlights, and did not pose a threat to Becky– who was more worried about the armed men behind her. Even with their armor, the rogues were catching up to the redheaded girl, but her stamina– powered by intense fear and adrenaline– outlasted almost all of the rogues. All of the rogues except Moss.

Moss was determined to catch Becky. She smacked a couple branches. He dodged under them and shot a couple bullets at her with a pistol. She moved out of the way, though her vest did catch one sharp bullet. In return, she fired her own pistol, but Moss was too armored to take down with a couple 9mm bullets.

Becky finally reached the RV before Moss was able to catch up to her. The door remained open so she leaped inside the vehicle. Moss crouched and lifted his assault rifle, pulling the trigger as Becky drove away with the door open. The bullets tore through the side of the vehicle as Becky closed the door. The RV turned and drove away in the road, but was followed by a Humvee.

Moss went inside the Humvee and gave the driver orders to go faster. Becky continued driving the RV away from the Humvee until she spotted the three-way intersection. But before she was able to drive straight ahead, a couple armored vehicles blocked the intersection. She continued to accelerate the speed of her RV, prompting the rogues in the vehicles to mount into their gunner seats.

They fired the machine gun. However, Becky pulled her steering wheel counterclockwise and drove out of the road into the woods. She crossed into a sparse section before entering the road that led back to another town. The bullets followed the RV, though Becky picked up her speed and moved in a zigzag, dodging more bullets.

The rogue driver following the RV tried to enter the woods but crashed into a tree. Moss flung forward and hit the dashboard. Groaning, he exited the vehicle and stared into the distance of the road, wiping the blood away from his nose.

The RV escaped into the night horizon. And it headed for Medway instead of Houlton.

The sun rose over the hills in the distance. The birds chirped and the insects buzzed. Jace's lizards ate a fly in the corner of his bunk bed. Water dripped from the IV bag to the floor as Haley slept. The light entered to the prisons, causing George to blink his eyes as he awoke. Sergei yawned and stretched as he was ready to switch his shift to Kotaro.

But then he saw an RV from the distance.

"They're back," said Sergei.

"Who's back?" asked Kotaro.

"Becky, Hana, Luan, and Lynn. Wait, nyet! That's not their RV. It's… wow. I haven't seen that metal box in a year."

The RV drove through the burnt town. David was surprised at the sight, even more so after finding a roamer wandering in the street he resided in. He kept on driving, making a turn towards the gates outside the infirmary.

Sergei opened the gates and allowed the RV to come inside. After finding a place to park, David exited his vehicle, revealing his thin-bearded face. He kept his shades and his beanie hat on. Lori exited the RV too, walking alongside David.

"Oh, David, long time no see!" said Sergei. "What's with ragged face? Haha! You're not the only one."

"It's good to see you too, Sergei," smiled David. "The town is smaller. Yet it looks… bigger."

"We're very close as a community," said Lori. "Everyone in this town has been preparing to fight against Black and his army."

"Speaking of…" said David, "...we have to start preparing."

"If Lisa's been correctly keeping track– which I know she has– then tomorrow will be July 1st. And I know Black's gonna plan something. He loves his dates."

Lori walked towards the barracks before finding Bobby walking with Luna. He quickly hid something behind his back as he stood nervously.

"Bobby Boo-Boo Bear!" exclaimed Lori, as she ran to Bobby, hugging him.

"Babe! It's been a really long time!" said Bobby before turning towards David. "Nice to have you back! Sorry for taking your moment away."

"This is what I wanted to see," replied David. "Happiness."

Lori kissed Bobby before walking towards Luna and giving her a hug.

"Where should I head first?" asked Lori. "The lab, the infirmary, or our room?"

"Nowhere, dude!" said Luna. "Everyone's asleep. Just take a walk with the B!"

Lori smiled and nodded. Luna motioned David to follow her as the couple walked away.

Bobby led Lori to the former center of town. The park was safe enough for Bobby to enact his plan. They walked in the soft grass. And through the warm air. And by a flew flowers that survived the napalm bombing.

Bobby stopped by the bank of the pond that stood in the middle of the park. Lori stood next to him in the slope, staring at the gleaming reflection that made the pond so beautiful and so romantic.

"This is so nice, Bobby," sighed Lori. "After a month of working my ass off… I really needed this with the man I love."

"I made you happy didn't I?" said Bobby.

Lori wrapped her arms around Bobby's shoulders. She nodded and kissed him, and again and again, becoming more passionate with each touch. Bobby took out the box from his back pocket and released his shoulders from Lori's grip. He walked backwards before stumbling and dropping his box to the ground. The box rolled down the slope.

"No!" exclaimed Bobby.

Bobby leaped to the ground and grabbed the tiny box before it touched the pond.

"Bobby? What's wrong?"

He sighed and shook his head while placing his left knee on the ground.

"Nothing, babe. I was just going to ask you something."

Bobby opened the tiny box and Lori squealed in ecstasy.

"Will you make me the happiest man in the world?"

Lori was speechless. All she could do is nod. Bobby smiled as he stood up, wrapping his arms around her.

Luna and David watched from a small distance away. They both smiled, with Luna unable to hide her glee. Lori raised her leg as she kissed Bobby. After they shared a loving kiss, Bobby removed the ring from the box and placed it in Lori's ring finger. She continued to squeal, though more softly this time around. It was the happiest moment in the calm before the storm.

Luan gasped as water was dumped on her face. Lynn shook her head, tossing water droplets everywhere with her hair. Hana coughed out water from her mouth, gasping for air. The rogues lied Hana on the table, wrapped her face with a towel, and dumped water on her face again.

Then, the girls were dragged out of the tent and were face to face with Black. He snickered before standing in front of his army.

"Soldiers! We will march into the town of Houlton and continue to lay siege until Lori surrenders! That's the plan at least! But plans always go sideways! So, this is what we're going to do. We will use Hana Konda! Lynn Loud! And Luan Loud! We will use them to force Lori to surrender herself, David Jones, and Vonda Crowley! That will be the last chance! And if they refuse…!"

Black looked at Luan, Lynn, and Hana before facing the rogues again.

"...we will destroy the entire town! And we will slaughter everyone and everything! You shoot to kill! And you will kill everyone!

The rogues began cheering. Luan looked around. The army wasn't as large as she thought. But their strength– their firepower made their size truly massive. The equipment they brought. Tanks, artillery, rockets. They were ready to end everyone in Houlton.

Luan trembled as the rogues cheered louder and louder.

Tomorrow… the storm would come.

One tremendous storm.

End Credit Song

Where the Lonely Ones Roam - Digital Daggers