IV - Last Stand
"This is Kotaro. Can anyone come in?"
Luna grabbed her walkie-talkie.
"I'm here. This is Luna… and Sam."
"Luna and Sam. We all evacuated. Heading to Washington D.C."
"Yeah, I can see that."
"Meet us at the rallying point."
Luna sniffled. She looked at the sewers by the air-traffic control tower. The water poured inside. Lynn was gone from sight. The roamers began to scatter about, as if they weren't just chasing their victim. Luan was gone from sight.
"I'm sorry, what was that?" sniffled Luna.
"The rallying point. You know the road behind you? We'll meet you there."
"Thank you."
Luna leaned against a tree and began tearing up as she looked ahead. Sam placed her arms around her shoulders. Then, Luna turned around.
"Leni?" she gasped. "Lincoln!"
Leni ran to the infirmary, remaining hidden in the tall grass and abandoned vehicles. She had to resort to crouch walking, her own flats getting muddy. A few bullets passed by her— both friendly and enemy— even though they were not intended for her.
She turned around and found Black and Lead behind a battered Humvee. Lead shot his rifle multiple times. He was shooting at the fighters who were still large in numbers. Headshot after headshots. Leni saw her friend Kathy in the fight, before being killed a second later by Lead. Mr. Coleman led David and Becky away from the barracks before he himself was shot by Lead as well.
She gulped and continued sneaking past the top-tier rogues. She moved her hair out of the way, sighing as she knew she should've kept her hair tie on.
Leni looked at the infirmary up ahead. She smiled as she continued to crouch-walk closer to the building. Suddenly, a streak of lightning in the sky revealed an artillery shell rocketing down somewhere in the war-zone. And after a few seconds, the entire community knew.
The artillery shell hit the already collapsed roof of the infirmary building. The shell exploded the entire top floor of the building, burning clothes that Leni herself was working on. She took a deep breath and continued on.
Suddenly, a roamer growled at her from inside a Humvee, causing her to yelp. Lead turned around and nudged Black.
"What is it?" asked Black.
"A Loud over there. She's heading to the infirmary."
"A Loud?" asked Black, turning his head around. "That's Leni Loud. Let's go."
David dragged Mr. Coleman behind a friendly vehicle.
"You alright?" he asked.
David removed Mr. Coleman's shades. His eyes stared blankly ahead at the sky.
"Fuck. Becky, come 'ere."
Becky reloaded her Glock. David sighed and looked at her in the eyes.
"I need you to drive the RV outta here. George and some of the kids are in there."
"No," she replied. "I'm staying here. I have important business to take care of."
David looked at the rogues across the runway.
"Who is it?"
"Captain Motherfucker over there. No doubt he was the one who pushed Black to doing this kinda shit. He's like another Black… just more aggressive."
"You're not leaving then?"
Becky shook his head.
"And you can't convince me to leave," she said.
David sighed. He then patted Becky in the back and gave her a nod.
"Good luck. May we see each other again."
Becky nodded. David looked to his left and right before running to his RV. He found George, Vonda, Lana, Lily, and a few other people inside.
"That's it?" asked David.
"Plenty people left in buses," said George. "Many more are MIA. And some are… KIA."
"Damn shame."
David sat on the driver's seat and started the engine. The wheels struggled to move along the mud.
"C'mon, c'mon..."
The RV then moved forward and away from the barracks.
Becky nudged Lori in the back. Lori gasped out of fear before sighing a breath of relief.
"We got this," said Becky. "Go after Black. End him."
Lori nodded. She went inside a Humvee and started it. The fighters behind it moved to another vehicle for cover as she drove away.
The rogues tried to shoot the armored vehicle but Becky and the rest of the fighters had her back. Becky grabbed a rifle in the ground and shot it at the rogues. More bodies were dropped.
However, the rogues equipped their shields and began advancing towards them. Becky knew it was up to her to lead the fighters.
"We can spread out now!" said Becky. "We're not defending any prison buses now! So surround these bastards!"
Becky and the other fighters spread out from where they were. They used the vehicles as cover and as a way to move around. The rogues continued pushing on.
Leni entered the infirmary. The lights were all out, prompting her to grab a flashlight. She turned it on and shined it around the entrance hall, finding the floor being flooded by the heavy rain. The couch floated at the end of the hall. The plant was washed away. The medicine was drenched in the flooding water.
She climbed up the stairs, covering her mouth as dust and smoke lingered around in the air. When she reached the top floor, she found boulders of concrete rubble lying in the middle of the room. The corners of the room were covered in bricks and the bedrooms of Carol and Haley were completely trapped in debris. Rain poured from the roof, soaking the burnt clothes and fabrics that floated around.
Her feet splashed against the water, moving around as Leni searched for a hair pin. She picked up a can of orange dye. She sighed as she tossed it out the roof, knowing she could never use it again to make any clothes for Lincoln.
She continued to walk towards the sewing machines. Small scraps of them still floated in the water as the rest disintegrated into smoke and ash. The desks that held them was split in half and flipped upside down.
Leni knelt down and opened up one of the drawers. She found strings, needles, and even a tiny, metal cup. A thimble.
She continued to dig around the drawer but found nothing. She looked in all the drawers but couldn't find anything that resembled a hair pin. Her lips began to quiver.
"No, please. I have to save that man…"
She then lifted her right foot and found a hair pin, floating around in the water. Her eyes opened and a smile formed in her face. She quickly crouched and grabbed it, leaving the infirmary soon after.
Becky and the rest of the fighters continued spraying their bullets at the rogues. Then, they saw the RV moving away from the firefight. The rogues tried to shoot it, but at a cost. Their distracted firing gave Becky an opportunity to aim for their heads and kill them. Three shots, three rogues down.
Lead tackled Black out of the RV's way as it zoomed past them. Lead went into a prone position and fired his gun at it.
"No, don't waste the ammo," said Black.
Suddenly, many shots went off, all from an AK-47.
Lead turned around and was shot in the head by one of the bullets shot by Lori as she drove the Humvee past them. Black gasped and ducked for cover that was just not around.
Lori braked the vehicle and came out from it, pulling out her revolver.
Black ran up to her as she raised her revolver. He quickly smacked her arm, causing her to fire into the muddy ground. He tackled Lori against the Humvee and reached for her revolver. She then tossed it away and punched Black.
Black groaned as he felt one of the bruises on his face opening up. Pus and blood flowed out of it. He felt absolutely drained. However, he just had enough anger in him to keep him fueled.
As Black tried to raise his hands, Lori pressed her right forearm against his neck and pushed his head onto the ground. She placed her knees on top of his arms, preventing Black from moving them. He gagged as Lori pressed her forearms with all her might.
"What happened, Black?" hissed Lori. "Can't even land one hit?"
Black's red face seethed and his eye made a mean glare at the girl. He quickly lifted his knees and kneed Lori in the back.
Lori groaned as she reached for her back. She was then shoved off by Black, who took out his Desert Eagle.
He aimed at Lori before she smacked it away with her rifle.
Lori aimed the rifle at a frozen Black. Next thing she knew, he ran towards her, pulling his fists back. She lifted the butt of the rifle and tried to hit Black. And she did. But he took the hit and hit her back with his pistol.
Lori groaned as she felt blood flowing out of a cut in her forehead. Her brain felt like it was banging against her skull. She then saw Black kneeling on top of her vest. She screamed before the general wrapped his hands around her throat.
"I'm unkillable!" yelled Black. "I have what it takes to live in this world! You may be strong, but I am stronger!"
Lori pushed her thumbs against Black's eyehole, causing him to scream in excruciating pain as blood pumped out. He released her and quickly stood up as he covered his bleeding eye hole.
"That's for my parents!" yelled Lori.
Black took out his Bowie knife and swung it around as Lori attempted to dodge it. And dodge it she did. He was sloppy in his swinging, causing Lori to predict where he would try to cut her from.
He had enough. Black tossed the knife at her, striking her in the chest. She yelled and fell on one knee as she coughed. He walked towards her and then placed a strong blow on her face with a kick.
She fell to the ground. Dazed and feeling hot, she looked at the knife stuck to her vest. She removed the knife from her vest, with only the tip of it covered in fresh blood. Looking at Black's prepared stance, she knew he would take back the knife.
She tossed the knife away from where they stood. Black watched the knife disappear into the heavy rain, knowing that he wouldn't see it again. He spit into the ground and punched Lori.
He punched and punched and punched. Even when she tried getting up, the punches made her fall back to the ground, her back splashing on the red water. He continued to punch her. But she was now blocking it with her arms.
Then, Black grabbed her arms and opened it, placing a strong blow on her left eye, creating a large cut in her eyebrows. He stood up and began kicking and kicking.
Lori struggled to survive once again. The lightning roared more intensely. The wind picked up and Black's beret flew off his head.
"No mercy this time," said Black.
Black stood Lori up, went behind her, and wrapped his arms around her neck. Then, he placed one of his palms against her right temple.
Lori's hair was drenched and covered in mud, soot, and blood. Her temples and lips were bleeding, with cuts on her eyebrows and forehead. A large bruise appeared on her left eye, leaving her unable to open it. Her right cheeks were swollen and bruised. She placed her bleeding knuckles on Black's arm as she struggled to scream. Her ring finger was especially cut up, though the ring with the diamond remained unharmed itself. It was real diamond after all.
"It's a shame, Lori. You were going to beat this world. But you wanted to fight back against something that couldn't be defeated. But hey… at least you survived for two years. That's longer than 99 percent of the world's population."
Lori knew it. Black was going to snap her neck in a couple seconds. She counted down.
Three.
Two.
One.
Lori gasped as Black released his grip on her neck. She looked ahead and saw why.
A frightened Leni holding a hair pin stood a couple feet away from Lori and Black. Her feet were glued to the ground and her eyes were unable to close.
"Leni, run!" cried out Lori, but her voice came out so faint, the rain was able to mask her voice.
Leni understood either way. She turned away and sprinted for the armory. Black raised his Desert Eagle and shot her right leg. The bone immediately cracked open and tore through her skin as chunks of her skin exploded out of her right calf. She let out an excruciating scream as she fell to the ground, dropping her hair pin.
"No, please don't," said Lori, her voice breaking. "Let her go. Kill me instead. Please!"
"In due time," said Black as he continued marching towards a bleeding Leni.
He raised his Desert Eagle, the barrel pointed at the back of her creamy hair. Lori called out to her beautiful sister.
"Leni, look at me! It hurts, I know!"
Leni's tears ran out her eyes as she struggled to keep eye contact with Lori.
"Leni, just keep looking! I love–!"
Black pulled the trigger.
The thunder flashed across the town of Houlton.
The black skies continued to darken the world.
The sound of gunshots raged on.
And there was no more hope that the community would stand.
Luna stared from the distance. She covered her mouth as her eyes watered. Her heart ached even harder as she saw her sister's body drop to the flooding ground. She lowered her head onto the ground and sobbed as Sam tried her best to comfort her. But Sam herself was in tears too.
The spray of young and innocent blood stuck to the barrel of General Quentin Black's Desert Eagle. Smoke puffed out of it as he lowered it. He stared at the young girl who was her daughter's exact age.
"Too weak for this world," said Black.
Lori crawled to her sister's body. She couldn't believe it. She looked at her and moved the bangs away from her beautiful face. It was unreal. It felt too hard to grasp. No way such an innocent soul has fallen victim to an evil corruption.
Black hovered over Lori, allowing her to grieve her sister.
"You'll soon join her," he said.
He lifted his gun and pointed it at the weeping Lori. That is, until a few bullets struck Black in his chest. One bullet after another and then another.
Black tried to gain balance and fell forward on his knees. Lincoln went forward with Lori's revolver in his hands.
"Bulletproof vest comes a long way," coughed Black. "Didn't you know to aim for the head? That's how you kill the dead."
Lincoln pressed the trigger. However, he finally learnt how fast five bullets could run out.
Black knelt down to the ground and picked up David's M9. He chuckled as he lifted it. The rain continued to pour. And splashing noises got louder.
"Guess what. You're part of the dead too."
Black aimed both pistols at Lori and Lincoln who were now next to each other. The Desert Eagle in his left hand pointed at Lori. The Beretta M9 in his right hand pointed at Lincoln. He moved his fingers towards the trigger, ready to pull it in a second. And the splashing noises got louder and closer.
Then as fast as lightning took to light up the sky and shake the earth with it's thundering noise, Luan lifted her katana high in the air and swung it down, slicing General Quentin Black's arms off.
Lori and Lincoln both gasped as the general's limbs fell to the ground. Black flinched and screamed as his eyes shot open, seeing his missing limbs. His screams faded as he was shocked by what he was seeing.
Luan walked around the general, until she was face-to-face with him. He fell to his knees, unable to scream or whisper. His wide-open eyes looked up. Luan was looking straight into his eyes.
"Now you're unarmed… dick."
Black looked at Luan as blood continued squirting out of the sliced veins from his ripped upper limbs. He clenched his teeth before letting out a pained gasp.
The pain was excruciatingly painful. Every second that passed, blood flowed out from his sliced arteries, sliced veins, cut tissues, torn muscles. And he was conscious to feel it all.
Then, he collapsed to the ground, his face sideways in the water as his bleeding eye hole looked out into the destruction that it caused.
The General finally fell.
Luan turned towards Lori and Lincoln with tears in her eyes. She shook her head and lowered it as she knelt by Leni. She lowered her head and gave Leni a kiss in her hair, before walking over to an emotionally distraught Lori.
The raindrops hid Lincoln's tears as he tried to catch his breath. He got a good look at Leni, which only brought about more pain inside him. He then turned around and tried to cry harder, but he just felt too emotionally drained. Instead, he walked over to Lori and helped Luan stand her up.
Lori could not look at Lincoln and Luan in the eyes. Her eyes were entirely focused on her sister's body in the ground. By now, Leni's drenched hair was covering her face. The watery mud absorbed the blood that was flowing out of her right leg and her head.
Luan placed Lori's arm around her shoulder as she walked her over to Vanzilla, which stood next to the infirmary building. Somehow, it has survived the battle.
Bodies were lying in the ground, and some arisen to come back as a fresh new roamer. Then, they were quickly shot by the rogues and the Houlton fighters.
"We suffered too many losses," said Jade. "I think now would be a good time to retreat."
"I think we can push," said Moss. "There doesn't seem to be a lot of them left."
"What about the roamers?"
"Just watch your back and you'll be fine. You're wearing some hardass armor. Their teeth can't get ya."
Jade nodded reluctantly. A second later, a katana drove through her chest as she choked out a breath of air. Moss gasped as Jade groaned in pain. Then, Hana pulled the katana out of her chest and kicked Moss as he tried raising his rifle.
Jade fell to her knees and watched Moss regaining his balance. Moss then turned around and shoved the roamers away from himself, raising his rifle to shoot them dead. Suddenly, the katana rapidly sliced through her neck, decapitating her. Her head dropped down as a few roamers knelt down to her body, tearing off the flesh from it.
The roamers passed by a bloody Hana. The guts she wore masked her human scent and allowed her to sneak away into the swarm of roamers. With her was her loyal companion, Kimi, who wore a white rag with roamer guts that covered her body, but not her head.
Becky looked around. She was panting out of exhaustion as she tried to look for her fellow fighters. But they were nowhere to be found. And those she found were dead on the ground.
The remaining rogues marched slowly towards her before a few roamers lunged behind them. They yelled as the roamers overpowered them. Their soaked armor couldn't protect them.
Moss continued to spray his assault rifle at the swarm of roamers. He went into a crouching position and dropped his rifle, substituting it for a pistol. Down and down dropped the bodies.
After clearing the roamers out, Moss found himself held at gunpoint by Becky. He slowly raised his hands, still holding his pistol.
"Look," said Moss. "If I knew a place where you could live—"
Becky kicked Moss's pistol out of his hands. She then lowered her pistol and grabbed her machete hanging from her belt. Moss turned around to reach for his pistol before Becky swung down her machete down his head. She continued swinging it down him, cutting his head into pieces of sliced flesh. Hana approached the girl and stared worriedly.
Becky stopped and was panting heavily as water dripped down from her red hair and from her blood-stained face. She then looked into the distance, where she saw a sight that broke her heart. Hana turned around and saw Bobby carrying Leni in his arms. Her young and beautiful face seemed to be at rest, a face ruined by the gash in her forehead.
Becky walked closer to Bobby and placed her hands on Leni's head. Her eyes watered and her heart stung. She then walked towards the body with the rogue uniform on it. She kicked it over and saw mud all over his face— but she could still recognize him.
Black was gasping for help. His face was pale and his eyes bloodshot. Veins were visible on his forehead. He was fighting for his life.
Becky cocked her gun and aimed it Black as Hana and Bobby watched her. She watched Black gasping in pain. Every breath he took was painful. Every second he was losing tons of blood. Any second he would die now.
Becky lowered her weapon and watched as pained tears flowed out of Black's eyes. She then walked away, leaving Black to suffer alone.
Hana turned away and looked at the barracks. She walked towards it as Bobby and Becky followed her.
A couple rogues snuck away from the firefight, regrouping with the artillerymen in the woods. They smiled as they realized they survived the storm.
That was before they were gunned down by a rain of bullets. Six men dropped to the ground.
Hoover took out his pistol and looked around. He moved the wet hair out of his face and searched where the gunshot came from. He looked around, but could only heard the wind pushing the trees around. But one tree was pushed too much.
He looked up and was met with a falling Benny who landed on his feet and pushed his sword up through Hoover's stomach. Then, Benny shot a couple bullets from an M4 carbine in his left hand. They all hit Hoover in his chest– all except one, which hit his throat, dropping him to the ground.
Benny pulled out the ninjato sword from Hoover's stomach and placed it back into his sheath. He then quickly ran back to Houlton with the M4 carbine at hand, wondering what the situation was. And seconds later, he found out.
No one was left alive. No one he could see, except Bobby, Becky, and Hana.
Jett raised his head as he heard splashing footsteps near the emergency exit.
"Hell of a fight out there, amirite? Oh, it's you three. And… aw shit. Blondie's dead. Did she get the hair pin at least?"
They all walked past Jett. Bobby stood by the steel door with the latches, away from the roamer in the corner, holding Leni in his arms. Becky loosened the ropes for the roamer in the corner, standing behind it. Hana stepped in front of the rope, removing the tape from the roamer's mouth.
"Remember, Reiji. Aishiteru."
Hana placed her hands on the roamer's cheek as she stared into the roamer's golden eyes. Then, she stood by it, wondering if the guts still worked. The roamer continued to growl at Jett. It still worked.
Hana nodded. Becky lifted her machete as Jett gulped.
"Wait. What the hell are you doing?"
Becky swung down the machete. The rope was slashed and the roamer limped towards the rogue prisoner.
"Hey! No! Wait, I'm supposed to be–!"
The roamer chomped on his face. He screamed and dropped the scalpel from his hand. Becky watched as Bobby left the laboratory unable to bear the sound of Jett screaming. She followed him slowly, watching the roamer tear the rogue's face apart until his screams died out. Hana grabbed the rope and allowed Reiji to continue consuming his meal.
The last thunder rumbled across the sky, though the rain continued to pour into the cemetery. Bobby shoveled out a hole while Becky and Hana waited outside.
"So what did you mean?" asked Luan from a less savage time.
Bobby placed the body– covered by a white cloth– inside the grave.
"What did I mean for what?" asked Lori.
Bobby shoveled the dirt back into the grave.
"The beautiful flowers. What did you mean?"
Bobby patted the dirt into the grave.
"Oh, that. Leni, you can go inside. I gotta tell Luan something quick."
He grabbed a wooden cross from inside the church that was premade in the case that more people passed away.
"Luan. Ever wonder why the best people die?"
He placed the wooden cross before the fresh pile of dirt.
"Why?"
Bobby dropped a bouquet of white lilacs on the dirt.
"If you're in a garden, which flowers do you pick?"
Bobby, Becky, and Hana walked away from the cemetery– where the graves of Dana, Tabby, Wavehead, James, Jenny, Mr. and Mrs. Pringrey, and many more were located– as rain continued to pour on them.
"The most beautiful ones. Oh yeah, I did hear of that one. Is it true, though?"
"You tell me, Luan. You tell me. Now, go. I gotta look for parking."
Lori stared out the passenger window of Vanzilla. Two years ago, she looked at her two sisters greet their friends with a carefree attitude. Now, she looked at the passing trees and falling raindrops, pouring down like they did in the shower door. She looked at the side mirror and saw the town of Houlton for the last time. Her blue eyes watered as she looked away, never to look back at what remained in the destruction after the final siege ever again.
.
.
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End Credit Song
Goodbye - Ramsey
REMEMBER THOSE WHO STILL REMAIN:
Lori Loud
Luna Loud
Luan Loud
Lincoln Loud
Lana Loud
Lisa Loud
Lily Loud
Clyde McBride
Bobby Santiago
David Jones
George Cane
Vonda Crowley
Becky
Benny
Preston Salas
Jeffrey Salas
Sam Sharp
Carol Pingrey
REMEMBER THOSE WHO WERE GAINED:
Dr. Steven White, Haley Jennings, Kotaro, and Ted (Chapter 14)
Hana Konda and Jace Taylor (Chapter 15)
Reggie Harrison (Chapter 17)
REMEMBER THOSE WHOSE FATE IS UNKNOWN:
Lynn Loud
Ronnie Anne Santiago
Haley Jennings
REMEMBER THOSE WHO WERE LOST:
Mr. and Mrs. Pingrey (Chapter 14)
Richard Bolts, Sandy Jones, Lynn Loud Sr., and Rita Loud (Chapter 15)
Wesley "Wavehead" Hill, Tabby, and James (Chapter 16)
Dana, Jenny, and Mr. Harrison (Chapter 17)
Buck (Chapter 18)
Medic Donovan Bree (Chapter 19)
Sergei, Rusty Spokes, Mr. Ruddy Spokes, Mr. Coleman, Kathy, and Leni Loud (Chapter 20)
And many others...
END OF ARC 2.