Still alive here! I've had an immensely busy schedule and I'm awfully sorry about keeping y'all waiting. But you are all so very much patient and polite, and for that, I'm incredibly grateful! There's no telling when I will post the bext chapter, but it could range anywhere from next week to next month. Sorry!

Anyways this chapter really drew the energy out of me. It's the third extended chapter, a lot longer than my usual chapters (which span around 15k words, cut up in 4 parts within one chapter, if you guys were curious).

-Day 5-

"Click, clack, click, clack, boom. Hey, got your knight."

The nine-year-old girl with a bob cut with bangs groaned at her father. He chuckled, shifted his hat upwards, and awaited his own turn.

"Didn't see that," said the girl. "But I bet… you didn't… see this!"

"You… you got my pawn. That's it? That was your surprise?" the father chuckled.

"Hey, that pawn could've been a queen! You know, the most important piece of the game– hey, my castle!"

"It's a rook. And I captured it while you paid attention to the overrated queen."

"Wow. Wow, you're too good with a bishop."

"Both bishops are the most important pieces of the game."

"What's so good about a dumb bishop anyways? A queen could go at any direction! Bishops only travel in X's!"

The father chuckled.

"You mean diagonal? Haha! Let me tell you something about bishops. Wonder why I keep checkmating you?"

"Because my king sucks? Seriously, my king doesn't ever capture one of your pieces!"

"Let me tell you a secret about the bishops. Well, for one– they're extremely dangerous if someone smart knows how to use them."

The door to the apartment opened. A brunette woman, around her 30s, walked in and placed her keys inside her bag. She walked up to the father and kissed him.

"Honey, she's waiting outside. She's going to the kitchen. We're walking with her."

The father nodded. He grabbed his wallet and looked back at his daughter.

"I'll be back soon. Keep the door unlocked. And don't cheat! Trust me, I'll know."

The girl scoffed and giggled as she looked at her own shorts.

The man, wearing a gray shirt and slim jeans with white sneakers, walked outside the apartment building. He took off his hat, revealing his scruffy short brown hair, and he looked at his watch.

"Sorry, we were a little late," said the woman.

"Yeah, I really apologize," said the man. "Nice to see you again, Beatrice."

Beatrice had slick black hair that rolled down to the bottom of her spine. Her white dress lowered down to her knees, revealing two lines of clear skin and black slip-ons. She wore a pearl necklace and a gold bracelet.

"Likewise, Calvin. Don't worry about it. You too, Teresa. Just as long as you two are still up to restaurant idea. Let's walk, shall we?"

The sunny and clear sky had multiple patrol helicopters hovering above the safe-zones in New York City, all set up by the U.S. military. Calvin, Teresa, and Beatrice walked along the streets of the Bronx Safe-Zone, a large area protected from the dead that infested the torn city.

Army soldiers and Marines, along with National Guards, were posted at certain positions and were strict about the rules, but were generally friendly to the people inside the Bronx Safe-Zone. Navy sailors were always hanging around any of the boroughs except the Bronx. Occasionally, one or two sailors would patrol around the Bronx, but they're mostly posted around the rivers and harbors.

Messages on the streets from the military showed where to find the kitchens, hospitals, police, and other services. And alarms were posted at the corners of every street, but they're only used to inform the civilians of curfew and possible roamer attacks.

"This is just madness and hysteria! It will all blow over soon," said Beatrice. "Things will get back to normal, maybe a little tense, but it will all go back to normal."

"I don't know," said Calvin. "Those infected ones are hard to take down. If it all goes back to normal, it'll be months from now. Maybe even years."

"So you're turning down the offer?"

"Don't be silly. No one said anything about turning down the offer," said Teresa. "Maybe this could be an advantage! Look, a lot of business are down, leaving a lot of space for us and cheaper rent!"

"Exactly. I like that kind of thinking!"

Calvin looked up at the sky. The helicopters continued patrolling the skies. But they were flying at an abnormal way. Like they were chasing something. A few more helicopters followed them.

"I'm going to head back to the apartment," said Calvin. "Something seems a little off."

"Honey, wait!" exclaimed Teresa. "Ugh, sorry, Beatrice, can we talk about this later?"

"Sure, the kitchen is over here! I will just meet up with you two later!"

Calvin ran back to his apartment and blew deep breaths. He walked across the living room.

"You're back!" chuckled the girl. "I didn't move any pieces! Promise!"

"I'll play in a minute, Sierra, I just need to contact a buddy."

Calvin turned on his CB radio and spoke into it while looking out his window.

"Guillermo, still out there?"

Calvin peered through the window. He looked at the ruined roads that lied outside of the safe-zone. There was nothing out there in upper Bronx and Mount Vernon. And the helicopters flew away from the area.

"Sup, Calvin. Yeah, still out the safe-zone. Ain't no army dudes or dead ones on my ass. It's fucking hot as hell though."

"Guillermo, please, language. My little girl's here."

"Oh, my bad. Need a status update? Still haven't found any new guns. Just switchblades and other knives. This street ain't worth– crap."

"Well, actually, I was going to tell you something else," said Calvin, turning around. "Helicopters are heading towards Manhattan. Any particular reason why? Any talk in the radios?"

Teresa came inside the apartment building and crossed her arms. Calvin held his finger up and looked at the tall skyscrapers.

"Well, actually yeah," said Guillermo. "The Army dudes were talking about an incoming unknown bogey in the air."

Calvin turned back around and looked out the windows.

"They say it could be from a different military zone like in Boston. It's probably nothing. Shit like this happens in other–"

White light flashed across the sky and snapped the city like a camera.

Calvin turned around and saw a bright fireball miles away. The helicopters ripped apart and the buildings were collapsing. His mouth was agape and his eyes were frozen at the sight of the fireball. He then quickly flailed his arms before tossing himself to the ground.

"Down, now!" yelled Calvin.

The blast wave tore through the skyscrapers, shattering windows, breaking apart brick walls, flinging vehicles. Nearby soldiers and civilians in the open were burnt to a crisp while others were melted into pieces. The blast wave shattered bone and flung people into piles of falling debris.

The fireball darkened and smoke billowed into a giant mushroom. The blast wave continued its destructive path, turning everything in its path to rubble. Then, the apartment building was hit, and the structure began to collapse.

Then, as the mushroom cloud continued rising into the air, the city was sprinkled with fallout. The sun was no more, fresh air was no more, the city was no more. Everything was turning to dust. Anyone who survived would witness the hell that was summoned upon them.

Chapter 23: Dust Zone

I - Desolation

-Day 11-

Tim shined his flashlight through the tunnel. Maria was right behind him as they walked through the tracks. Then, they saw the platform and climbed up onto it before going up the stairs.

Sunlight shined on the survivors as they found themselves in the suburbs of Detroit.

"You know how to get to the hospital from here?" asked Tim.

"Yes," said Maria. "Follow me."

The descending sun shined on a hospital building situated in downtown Royal Woods, where there were a few roamers staggering around.

Tim and Maria used the parked cars as cover as they slowly made their way towards the hospital.

"That's the one?" asked Tim.

"Yes."

"Stay here."

A roamer growled before hearing footsteps. However, before it could turn around, it received a stab to the skull. Then, the other roamers nearby were quickly dispatched of.

Tim turned around and waved at Maria.

"Let's go," he said.

The two ran to the parking lot, where there were a few cars. But before the survivors entered, Tim pulled out a pistol.

"This place is going to be very dangerous," said Tim. "The sick patients all probably turned. So this is what we're going to do. We're going to get in there, get the medicine, then get the hell out. We don't need to grab anything that isn't necessary at the moment, got it?"

"Got it."

"Alright. Keep close to me."

Maria held Carlitos tightly as she followed Tim inside the hospital through the emergency room. However, to their surprise, they didn't find roamers nor corpses.

Tim held his gun up as he stared ahead at a young woman and young man.

"Wait!" she gasped. "We're not one of 'em."

"Who the hell are you?"

"I'm... Fiona. This is Miguel."

Tim looked at the patient in the bed, who seemed to be unconscious.

"Who's that?" asked Tim.

"That's... my mom," said Miguel.

Tim lowered his pistol. However, as soon as he heard footsteps he raised it again, now aiming at the new set of faces he saw.

"Hey, what's going on- oh, Jesus," gasped an older man.

Maria stepped forward and lowered Tim's arms.

"Oh, forgive us," said Maria. "We are a little rattled from what happened out there. A lot... happened. We did not know there were going to be people here."

"Well, we really gotta get that parking lot locked up," said the man. "Who are you two?"

"My name is Maria. This is Tim. And I am trying to get some medicine for my nephew here, Carlitos."

"My name's Oscar. Hell of a way to introduce yourselves."

"We're sorry about that," said Tim.

"Don't be. I just have to let you know, we have a lot more people upstairs."

Tim nodded. Maria then turned over to the patient.

"What happened to her?" asked Maria.

"I don't know," said Miguel. "One minute she was up. The next she fell down. I think she had a heart attack or something."

"She wasn't bit?" asked Tim.

"Oh, god no."

Maria looked around.

"You guys don't have a doctor to treat her?" she asked.

"Unfortunately, we don't. When we came here... all the doctors were gone and the patients were... you know."

Maria sighed as she walked over to the patient.

Miguel was clasping his hands together as Fiona comforted him.

Maria placed her fingers on the patient's neck, but felt no pulse. She then listened to her breathing. There was none.

"How long has she been like this?" asked Maria.

"Like two hours," said Miguel. "I came here because I thought someone would know what to do..."

Maria handed Carlitos over to Tim before getting on top of the patient to do chest compressions.

After a few minutes, Maria took a deep breath and sighed. She looked over to Miguel and shook her head.

"I'm sorry," said Maria. "I think she's been gone for a while now."

Maria grabbed Carlitos back, as Miguel began crying into his hands.

Fiona lay her head against Miguel's shoulders and rubbed his back.

Oscar sighed as he looked down.

"We have to put her down," said Tim.

The survivors looked at him.

"What?" whispered Miguel.

"Your mother's going to turn," said Tim. "Unless we destroy her brain."

"But... she wasn't bit."

"It doesn't matter. She's going to turn regardless, just like anyone else who dies."

"How... do you even know that?"

"Trust me," said Maria. "We have seen it happen."

Miguel shook his head and stood up.

"I'm not going to let you guys touch her," said Miguel. "That's my mom we're talking about!"

The patient suddenly started breathing and blinked their eyes. However, the eyes were glowing yellow.

"Watch out!" exclaimed Tim.

Tim shoved Miguel out of the way and stabbed the patient with his pocket knife, just as moments before it tried to grab Miguel.

"Oh my god!" gasped Fiona.

Oscar grabbed his pistol, panting as he was about to shoot the patient.

Tim pulled out his knife, allowing the patient to fall back down to the bed. He sighed and looked at them.

"Don't let any of the other patients go unsupervised," he said. "Now, come on. Let's get that medicine."

-Present Day-

A small white car drove down the road by the Hudson River. The sun was still high, and the numbers in a thermometer would have surely risen. The car parked next to a park, then the driver and the passengers stepped out.

"This is the right place?" asked Kotaro.

"Yeah. Brings back memories," said Sam. "Not the good kinds."

"See the docks over there?" pointed out Luna. "That's where it happened."

Kotaro looked at his peaceful surroundings. It was difficult for him to grasp how such a beautiful place could be tarnished by terrible memories.

"We stopped here for only one reason," said Luna. "And it's not to visit the docks or the Piranha headquarters."

Luna walked through the park, passing through a field of flora. Sam and Kotaro followed her to a shaded area under a large tree with a couple ravens' nests. There, a tombstone with nothing in it but a carved name stood in the grass.

"I wish I could've given Leni and Lynn a proper burial," said Luna, her voice very low.

"You know how upset your father was over this?" said Kotaro. "He was cursing the world. He wanted to know what he did to deserve this."

Luna lowered her head and closed her eyes.

"But you know how he got better? He reminded himself that he still has family. He still had nine living children."

Kotaro moved ahead and stared down at the grave.

"I know how painful these six losses are. It's half of your family. But the other half are still alive… waiting for you."

Luna rubbed her eyes as she knelt down.

"I always found her creepy– more like spooky– but I still loved her. I'd do anything just so my heart could skip a beat when Lucy does one of her jumpscares. Now, all the jumpscares I get are from these bloody roamers…"

Luna cleared her throat.

"How'd you do it, Sam...?" Luna said, as her voice began to quiver. "Losing Lola... then Lucy… it was already hard enough knowing that they're gone for good. But this… this is the third instance I've failed to protect my family…! Please... tell me, h-how did you get over from losing... y'know?"

Sam gently closed her eyelids shut, while Kotaro widened his as he began to scratch his head.

"Sam, you've lost a sibling?" he asked tentatively.

A tense, foreboding silence filled the air, before Sam could find it in herself to answer him.

"Yeah..." she sighed, as a single tear began to run down the side of her cheek. "My baby brother, Simon... After both our parents had given lives protecting us, Simon became my responsibility from then on. Simon, he… he didn't seem too bothered at first. I thought, 'it's because he's too young to understand'."

Sam opened her grieving eyes.

"Then late one night, I heard him crying in his sleep. When I woke him up, he was trembling, very, very badly. He said he missed Mom and Dad, that... that it was his fault they died. All I could do was hold him tight, and tell him over and over again that he wasn't to blame. That night, I made a vow; to do everything I possibly could to keep Simon safe; no matter what. Soon, we reached Detroit... the Safe Zone was roughly a few blocks away... there were roamers everywhere. I was half-dead from exhaustion and a twisted ankle; I wasn't gonna make it. I told Simon to leave me and go. But he said no... such fierce determination behind those baby blue eyes of his."

Sam wiped the tear from her cheek.

"He carried me to safety first; from there, I watched as my courageous little brother heroically take down as many roamers he could. Not once did he give up; even as he grew weary, he chose instead to lead as many roamers away from me into a nearby alleyway. All I could do was helplessly call out to him with what little strength I had left. The next thing I knew, I woke up in an infirmary. A group of soldiers– rogues, I mean– had found me while on patrol, and killed all the roamers in the area before taking me back to the safezone. I was told there were no survivors where they found me... I was close to falling into an deep, endless depression, had it not been for you, Lunes."

Sam then faced Luna.

"Remember Lincoln after... what happened with Lucy? I can tell her death still haunts him. But in a way, I've also come to realize that he's gotten stronger over the years. So have I. I've accepted that Simon gave his life to save mine, and at the very least, I owe him that much to make sure that his sacrifice was not in vain. I can't change the past. But I can choose my future. You're my future, Luna, and I'll do anything to make sure it stays that way. I'll always be there for you, just as you were there for me."

"...when was the last time you thought of him?" asked Luna.

"It's been years since then, but I still cry whenever I think of Simon, how much I miss him. I guess... I guess I never really did move on, huh...?"

"But that's not on you, Sam! You were badly injured; You didn't have a choice! I did! I chose to pull the trigger, and Lynn paid the price! I killed Lynn, my own family! And I could do nothing but cry after seeing that bastard put a round through Leni's head...! I'm a bloody fucking disgrace, Sam...!"

Luna's tears dripped down her cheeks. Kotaro cleared his throat.

"Believe me when I say this. You're not a disgrace. That song you sang a few days ago... your father and I could have never matched the raw emotions that you delivered with your musical talent. You don't just make your father proud. You make me proud too."

Sam placed her fingers on Luna's cheeks and wiped her tears off. Luna grabbed her hands and lied her own head on her face before slowly rising up.

They turned around where they found a piece of paper stuck to a tree by the grave. Luna gasped as she approached the paper, noticing that it was an arrow that held it in place. A red arrow.

Luna removed the arrow from the tree and read the note.

So, time for a new home. Houlton was not it. But still gotta make life worth living, amirite? Thanks for watching my back, Duchess of Darkness. Miss you tons.

Luna gasped. Sam and Koto smiled as Luna began running back to the car.

"How is this possible?" exclaimed Luna, barely able to hold her tears. "She's– we gotta find her! Drive, Kotaro, drive!"

Kotaro nodded as he and Sam hopped inside the car. They drove away from the park, Luna holding the note and the arrow. It's been years since she saw her younger sister write, but it was her handwriting that she could recognize.

"Wherever she is…" said Sam, "hopefully she's alright."

The high sun shone through the broken right window in Vanzilla. The blood from the athletic's girl hand glittered in her palm.

"Oh my god, Lynn!" exclaimed Lori after turning back. "You didn't tell me you were shot?"

"That's 'cause I didn't get shot," said Lynn as she tossed the glass from the window out of the van. "I scratched my hands on the glass in the seats."

Lori sighed. She looked further back into the road and then turned facing forward again. She looked to her left and saw the old Piranha warehouse that they attacked years ago.

"I think we lost them," said Lori.

"Think we can hole up in the warehouse over there?" asked Luan.

"No, never," muttered Lori. "That's where the people that killed Lucy used to sleep. We're getting the hell out of this place, and we're never coming back."

Lori kept her ankle boot on the gas pedal and her hands on the steering wheel. They were going to spend the coming night somewhere but not anywhere in Hudson.

The sun began to descend, though still high in the air, lighting up the disaster that happened in Bus 3. The bus was empty in the bus, except the roaming corpse of Mrs. Coleman and the dead corpse of her victim. The roaming corpse roamed no longer when Carol fired a bullet into her head and the victim didn't turn into one after going through the same fate.

With the heat radiating throughout the air, no tools for digging, and a limited source of bottled water, the idea of burying the two bodies was quickly thrown out. And no one wanted to leave the bodies out in the open for fear that more mosquitoes would carry the disease, and also because it felt disrespectful for the people they knew– so Carol brought up another idea.

Lisa gave Carol a large can of gel fuel that she batched up herself in the event that Lisa wasn't around and a campfire was in dire need. She called it Vulcan's Gel.

"Just don't get too close to it," warned Lisa. "Here's a birthday candle. Just light it up and eject it into the corpses."

The bodies were dragged to the side of the road away from the trees and bushes. Carol held the unlit candle before lighting it with her former lover's lighter. Suddenly, Zoey sobbed as Dr. White carried her out of the bus. He tried her best to calm her down, but only her mother was able to settle her down.

Zoey whimpered as Carol held her in her arms. She handed Dr. White the lighter and held up the candle before humming softly. As Dr. White lit the candle, Carol began to sing the lullaby Hush Little Baby to her daughter.

"Hush little baby, don't say a word,

Mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird."

Carol stared at the candle as she moved closer to the corpses. Zoey sniffled as her glossy eyes looked at the wavering flame.

"And if that mockingbird won't sing,

Mama's gonna buy you a diamond ring."

Carol tossed the candle onto the corpses covered by the Vulcan's Gel. The fire slowly spread throughout the corpses.

"And if that diamond ring turns to brass,

Mama's gonna buy you a looking glass."

Carol stared at the flames as she continued singing softly. She then turned around as Zoey stopped crying.

"And if that looking glass gets broke,

Mama's gonna buy you a billy goat."

She walked away as the flame grew higher and brighter. The bus survivors watched as Carol walked back to the buses, her soothing song putting her baby to sleep. Dr. White then walked back to his bus as the fire continued to burn the corpses away. The buses then drove away from the flames, preventing the disease from spreading.

But it might've been useless to do so as more survivors were falling ill.

Jace groaned as he hovered his hand over his head. He touched and groaned as he flipped his hand and rubbed down his face.

"You too, huh?" said Preston.

"Yeah. Didn't think it woulda' happened to me. It's only the beginning of it, right?"

"Oh yeah. It's gonna get worse. But it's good to remain hopeful."

"Oh trust me," said Jace. "Knowing that I'm going to see Luna, Sam… Leni in Washington… that's enough hope to carry me on."

"So we agree, right?"

"What's that?" asked Jace.

"We agree that we let Leni choose one of us, right? We don't go dumb over her?"

"Oh right. Yeah, I agree. You know what, Preston? You're a good man. Glad we're in this together."

Preston smiled and looked outside. The buses moved across the highway, showing the homes that collapsed during the initial days of the outbreak. A huge roadblock ahead forced the buses to take an exit, but another roadblock led the buses to take a road off-track road. The guardrails were bent open in this particular spot, allowing the buses to rock back and forth slightly as it passed through the bumpy dirt road into a suburban road.

Carol walked over to her bag with a sleeping Zoey in her arms. She signaled Lisa to grab it. Lisa walked over to the bag and opened it, finding a few bottles of quinine.

"You think you can replicate it?" whispered Carol.

"I can attempt to replicate it," said Lisa. "Dr. White? Shall we test some of it on our batches of the NIRT cure in development?"

"We don't have enough NIRT cures to replicate enough quinine– that's if we could– and finding the base, red blood cell enzymes, muscle cell enzymes–"

"It's alright, guys," said Carol. "Just see if you two can do anything special with the quinine."

"Quinine is not the only anti-malarial drug out there," said Lisa.

"I know. Just thought it would be easier for you two. Easier to replicate, right?"

The buses then stopped where they were. Carol walked up to the driver.

"Dr. Feinstein? What's going on?" she asked.

"Damn thing ran outta gas," he groaned.

"Nonsense!" exclaimed Lana. "Every baby's got a few more miles in 'em. You just gotta know what to do with the engines and whatnot. Mind if I work on it?"

"Go ahead," said Carol. "In the meantime, we have to look for more fuel. There's plenty of cars around here… but that's not a good thing."

"More cars… more roamers," said Clyde.

"Exactly. So I want you guys to stay inside while–"

Carol's walkie-talkie crackled.

"Carol?" spoke George. "You're not going to believe what we just saw. Did you guys move or are you all still in the same location?"

"We moved. We had a situation. I don't really know exactly where we are, but I did see a sign saying we were in Mount Vernon. We took a dirt road off a roadblock and now we're somewhere in White Plains Road."

"That's where we are as well," said George. "We took a dirt road as well, so we're about to see each other in a couple minutes."

"So… what was it that you two found?" asked Carol.

The buses and the RV stood below a train track. David was eating his canned peaches as he and George explained what they saw.

"This is what Boomer must've been talking about," said George. "He called it the Dust Zone. Now, we know why."

"I still can't believe it," said Carol. "A whole city… just destroyed like that?"

"Lynn told me about it once," said Clyde. "She said it wasn't like anything she've seen before. Like George said. Rubble and debris everywhere, way less buildings standing."

"Had to be a nuclear bomb of some sort," said David. "It's the only weapon I can think of that can cause that much damage."

"But who would nuke New York City? And why?" asked Carol with a growing pain in her voice.

"Seems like the military would've done it," said David. "Couldn't be General Black or any of the rogue military. Doesn't fit their style. Must've been up to the U.S. government to nuke the city… possibly to prevent the spread of the infection. Obviously, it failed."

"Millions of lives died for nothing?" muttered Carol. "We have to find out more."

"Only one way to do that," smiled David. "You know what to do, Carol. After all, you are in charge."

Carol nodded.

"David and George. I need you and a couple others to further inspect the area. Pick some capable survivors. Find what you can. Come back."

David and George nodded. They gathered their group of survivors and before they walked away, they gave Carol a verbal message.

"If you have to move," said David, "try staying along the train tracks. We're in The Bronx, by the way."

Carol nodded as she waved goodbye to David. Baby Zoey was still fast asleep.