IV - Hunters Become The Hunted
The explosion rocked the parking garage. The chains and fences rattled, the knives clacked with each other, and the prisoners shook. Lincoln lowered his pistol as he regained his balance, holding on to the fences. Ronnie Anne looked around, a puzzled expression forming on her face.
"What the hell was that?" shouted Guillermo.
"Hell if I know," said Calvin. "Let's go outside, everyone! Jeremy, stay! Tie the girl up and watch the prisoners!"
Calvin and the rest of the cannibals in the room grabbed their weapons and left the area, closing the metallic door while leaving Jeremy inside the room with a hammer in one hand and Ronnie Anne's arm on the other. They walked away from the dark section and made a right turn, looking towards the light from the entrance. Two cannibals with G36s standing outside the traffic gate raised their arms and groaned in awe and shock as they saw smoke puffing from the destroyed entrance of the hospital.
"Cal!" exclaimed one of the cannibals. "You'll never believe what just happened! Look at this sh-!"
Two bullets tore through the skulls of the guards and dropped them to the ground. A flashbang was then tossed into the parking garage, forcing most of the cannibals to take cover on the left and right walls. A few of the unlucky cannibals were too slow and the blinding light stunned them. Hana ran inside, slicing through a cannibal's chest. David entered and aimed his gun at the other two cannibals and fired his double M9s at them. He then placed them back in their holsters and grabbed his M16A4, aiming at the corner of the left wall. Vonda entered, aiming a Glock 22 at the corner of the right wall, near the metallic door.
"Let's get out through the other side," whispered Beatrice.
Calvin nodded. He, along with some of the other cannibals moved further into another dark section of the parking garage, though there was no metallic door to be seen. The cannibals by the metallic door continued to hide from cover as David, Hana, and Vonda crept closer.
"Throw another one," said David.
The survivors backed up as Hana took off the pin of a flashbang grenade. She tossed it towards the back wall and turned, covering her ears. The grenade exploded and blinded the cannibals hiding by the metallic doors. Vonda moved towards the left wall while David walked towards the right wall. The cannibals began aiming wildy, one shot in the neck by a fellow cannibal. David ducked and quickly fired his bursts of gunfire at the cannibals, killing all three who hid by the metallic door. Vonda aimed her Glock at the dark parking spaces before backing up.
"Some of them got away," said Vonda.
"Yeah," said David, approaching the steel door. "Get ready. We don't know what's awaiting us on the other side."
The cannibals outside were firing their weapons at the approaching Cadillac One. Many of them were firing from inside the hospital by the windows, from the roof of the hospital, or the roof of nearby buildings. Some cannibals were running towards the Circle Park, aiming towards the moving black car. Most of their shots failed to hit the car, but the ones that did failed to penetrate it. Only cracks and dents would be formed on the car.
One of the windows rolled down and a smoke grenade was tossed out of the vehicle. Then another one was tossed out as the car delved deeper into the Center Park. Some of the cannibals fled from the approaching car, while one of the cannibals who was in prone position saw the car coming extremely fast.
The wheels crushed the cannibal's bones and turned before braking. Carol came out from the other side of the gunfire, protected by the car's cover. She was also protected from the heavy body armor that protected her chest, arms, legs, back, neck. The prototype bulletproof helmet and mask shielded her head. Very little part of her body was exposed. Its appearance was chunkier than riot armor. She then took out one more smoke grenade and tossed them near an embassy building where she faced intense pressure from enemy gunfire. The bullets slowly disappeared as the smoke began to puff around the X-Zone.
Carol then took out a Daewoo K12 light machine gun, aiming at the nearby cannibals in the park. She began to fire the machine gun in burst increments, causing the cannibals to scream in panic as they ran away. Her legs marched along the grass as her machine gun continued to fire bullets ahead of her. She then stomped on corpses and blood puddles as she continued to march around the Circle Park. The parking garage, an embassy building, and the hospital were her main targets. It's where the gunshots were coming from.
She aimed at the iron sights of the K12 and fired at the windows of the two-story embassy building, shattering them. Pieces of flesh were ripped apart from inside the building, as the wounded cannibals screamed in agony. Some of the cannibals tried to drag themselves out of the buildings, but Carol moved the gunfire towards them, finishing them off.
"Holy hell, what's going on out there?" exclaimed Jeremy.
The gunfire continued to clap against the air, though it was muffled from inside the cells. Jeremy looked towards the steel door as he heard approaching gunshots. He was sweating as his wide eyes stared at the door.
Ronnie Anne jumped from the utility cart to the ground, grabbing a knife and jabbing it on Jeremy's knee, making him scream.
"You bitch!" yelled Jeremy.
Jeremy raised his hammer. Lincoln quickly stood up and placed the barrel of his M1911 against a hole in the fence, firing it. The bullet struck Jeremy's shoulder. Lincoln fired the gun again. The bullet struck Jeremy's jaw. The hammer dropped before Jeremy's body did. Ronnie Anne panted before running towards the 'ROOSTER' cell. She turned the lock on the gate and opened it, freeing everyone inside. Lincoln picked up Clyde and then stood right before Ronnie Anne.
"Ronnie… I-"
Ronnie Anne hugged him, as Lincoln continued to hold his pistol. He hugged her back with one arm as the other prisoners began to unlock the other cells. Lana reached down and quickly grabbed Jeremy's hammer. The group members all began to walk towards each other until the squeaking noise of the steel door opening forced them to duck or run towards the support beams. Lincoln aimed his pistol at the door, finding David raising his gun up.
Lincoln and David looked at each other before they both lowered their guns. Vonda ran towards George and hugged him. Hana turned around and raised her katana as she continued to hear the gunshots roar across the Circle Park.
"What is that noise?" asked Becky.
"It's Carol," said Vonda.
Lori raised her eyebrows as confusion set in. But before she could say anything, Vonda handed her a G36. David tossed an M9 at George, who quickly caught it mid-air.
"What do you mean it's her?" gasped Becky. "Just her?"
"Yeah, doing shit on her own," said David, looking around. "She wasn't even supposed to be here, but here she is now, doing Lord knows what. Where's the armory around here?"
"It has to be somewhere in this parking garage," said Lori.
"Let's go, then," said Lincoln. "Everyone, follow us! Grab a weapon whenever you can!"
David began to lead everyone out of the slaughterhouse section of the garage and through the steel door. Hana turned on the switch for the parking garage and lit up the dark sections. Lincoln and Lori were in the back of the fleeing prisoners, though before they left the room, they looked back, finding Sheila on her knees, holding her mother's corpse.
"Hey, take this," said Lincoln, holding out his M1911. "Leave. Protect yourself."
Sheila whimpered and did not glance at Lincoln. He placed the gun down and slid it over to the girl.
"Lincoln!" exclaimed Lori. "What are you doing?"
"What were you doing?" cried out Sheila. "You shouldn't have driven us away from our home! It was you who took out the Service! But you shouldn't have thrown the rest of us out too!"
"You had an option," said Lori.
"You never gave us an option!"
"I thought…"
"Just go!" cried Sheila. "Leave!"
Lori and Lincoln left the room, closing the steel door and leaving it unlocked. They followed the rest of the group, passing by the entrance.
As Carol marched back to the Cadillac One, she was struck by a few bullets, though they were all either deflected or caught by the armor that she wore. A bullet even struck her helmet a few times, though it was too sturdy for the bullet to break through. The advanced technology helped keep Carol alive as she placed her K12 back into the Cadillac One. She then grabbed a giant backpack of fuel and took out a flamethrower in her hand. She attached a few grenades to her belt and took out a closed can of Vulcan's Gel and placed it below her back.
The entire ground was covered in smoke, though Carol was easily able to see the buildings. She walked over towards the hospital and pressed the trigger on her flamethrower. The breath of the flamethrower spit into the building, engulfing everything inside the shattered windows. She turned around and marched towards the embassy building, tossing even more flame towards the cannibals inside. Some of them jumped out of the buildings as their bodies burned in flames.
Some of the cannibals approached from the streets and alleyways near the buildings, and Carol quickly shot her flamethrower at them, hearing the sound of the fire mixed with cries of agony. Her unrelenting eyes stared at the burning bodies before the flamethrower stopped spitting its breath. She removed the flamethrower and dropped it to the ground, grabbing the can of Vulcan's Gel.
Jace and Kotaro continued sniping some of the roamers that approached the Circle Park from inside the hotel building. Jace then aimed his sniper rifle at some of the cannibals, firing at their direction and forcing them behind cover. Kotaro then aimed his rifle at any exposed part of the cannibals and pressed the trigger, hitting them. One of the cannibals had her back exposed, and Kotaro was able to shoot it, ripping her spine apart.
"This Carol is crazy, what the hell!" exclaimed Jace.
"I see three people on the rooftop of that building," said Kotaro. "They're coming out, but I can't get a good shot on them."
Kotaro lifted his Remington 700 and walked towards the stairs.
"I'm going to get a better angle on them," he said. "I'll try the roof. You got your walkie, right?"
"Yeah," said Jace nervously. "What do I do, man?"
"Same thing what you're doing. Keep the cannibals away from the parking garage and from Carol! Shoot them. Your training is paying off. I trust you."
Carol opened the can of Vulcan's Gel and pulled off the pin of the grenades she had. She quickly rubbed the grenade against the gel and tossed it at the hospital building, causing another huge fireball to explode, this time in the upper floor of the hospital. A huge chunk of the roof began to collapse and brought down one side of the hospital down with it. Burning bricks and flesh crushed against each other as black smoke began to replace the gray smoke around the buildings. Carol tossed another grenade at the embassy building, then another, causing the entire building to collapse within itself.
She pulled out her LCR-22 revolver and walked around the hospital. She found a man with torn legs trying to drag himself away from the burning hospital. Her revolver went off as the bullet struck the man. A woman tried to pull herself away from debris as pieces of burning rubble began to fall on her. Carol walked past as her as the rubble toppled on top of the woman, crushing her. An older man limped as he aimed his pistol at Carol. She quickly lifted her revolver and shot the older man in the chest, dropping him. She grabbed his pistol, and shot him in the head with it. The magazine was then emptied, so she quickly tossed the pistol into the burning hospital.
Many of the prisoners escaped from the parking garage with weapons in their hands, killing off some of the cannibals in the floors above the parking garage. Lori came out the garage with her AK-47, her Python, and her hatchet. The rest of the group got their own weapons back, as they looked around.
Jace moved his scope around. He spotted two cannibals wearing scarves entering the X-Zone with grenades in their hands. One of them glanced at the parking garage and was ready to pull the pin off the grenade. Then, Jace aimed at him and fired his sniper rifle. The bullet struck his chest and caused him to drop the grenade, the pin still on.
The other cannibal screamed and looked around, causing Jace to duck. His eyes however, remained on the scope and caught the cannibal dragging the wounded one next to the collapsed embassy building. He placed him upwards against the wall and took off the wounded cannibal's scarf, revealing a male with acne and no wrinkles. Blood seeped out of his mouth and over his lips. The wounded cannibal closed his eyes and groaned as he pressed against the wound. He reached his hand out, though it began to lower and lower itself down into the ground. His eyes remained close and blood continued to seep out of his mouth and chest.
"No...," panted Jace, as he walked away from his MSR-10, mounted on the window. "Oh… oh god, no…!"
Jace back up into a wall and slid down, grabbing his knees as he began to hyperventilate and groan in regret. He struggled to hold in his vomit.
"Nice job, Jace!" said Kotaro, through the walkie-talkie.
Stuttering and unable to respond, Jace looked ahead with a panicked expression. His hands and his body were violently shaking.
"Jace? You there, man? Jace! JACE!"
The mesh fences collapsed as roamers entered the Circle Park area, consuming some nearby corpses. Some of the roamers passed by the corpses. Then, the runners came.
Lori and the others raised their weapons and fired at the running roamers approaching them. The laser sights on their weapons aimed at their moving heads followed by bullets striking them. The prisoners spread out and started meleeing the roamers while some of the cannibals used the roamers as a chance to escape.
Hana and Becky circled around the parking garage, looking for Calvin and other cannibals. As both girls reached the corner of the garage, a runner leapt from hiding and lunged towards Becky, though a bullet struck its skull, launching it towards the wall. Becky turned to her right and saw a masked and armored survivor coming out of the smoke, approaching them with a revolver in hand. Hana raised her katana as Becky raised her Glock.
"Wait," said a muffled voice inside the armor. "Becky, Hana…"
Carol took off her mask and revealed her dusty face and soft eyes.
"It's me," she said.
"Carol…" gasped Becky, lowering her pistol. "You did all this?"
"We have to get outta here," said Carol. "Follow me."
Carol led Becky and Hana towards the Cadillac One, shooting the roamers that lurked near it. She opened the door for the girls before entering the driver's seat. Both Hana and Becky entered the back passenger seats, before Carol drove them away from the Circle Park.
Jace continued panicking.
"Jace! Jace, please… if you're there, then please listen to me. Listen to my voice. Listen…"
Jace looked at the walkie-talkie.
"The group needs us. We're doing them and the world a favor by getting rid of the cannibals. You see the ones on the parking garage?"
Jace's chest rose up and down as he continued staring at the walkie-talkie.
"We have to kill them. If not then… wait."
Jace awaited a response from the walkie-talkie.
"Shit, I think they found-"
A gunshot clapped against the air and through the walkie-talkie as he heard groaning, before it cut off.
Jace quickly caught his breath and frantically turned on his walkie-talkie.
"Kotaro? Kotaro!"
Jace ran up to his MSR-10 and moved his scope towards the cannibals in the roof. He yelled as he fired a shot at one of them, striking him in the guts. He then moved his scope at another cannibal and moved back the bolt handle, loading up another bullet. He then fired it and hit the other cannibal in the chest. He loaded another cartridge into the barrel and aimed at another cannibal. He pressed the trigger and out came the brains of the cannibal. The magazine was emptied as all the cannibals in the roof were gone. He quickly grabbed his sniper rifle and ran upstairs to the roof, finding Kotaro lying on the ground with a bleeding wound in his right leg.
"The bullet's still in there," groaned Kotaro.
"I gotta get you back home!" gasped Jace.
Jace grabbed Kotaro's arm and lifted him up as Kotaro used his other hand to grab his rifle and use it as a cane.
"Maybe Carol can drive-"
Jace looked at the Cadillac One drive off down the road, headed for the White House in the distance. He sighed and walked towards the stairwells.
"Never mind," he said.
They walked down the steps, with Kotaro groaning in pain.
The roamers continued to lurk around the smoke, some of the prisoners screaming as the roamers bit them. George fired his shotgun at the nearby roamers while Vonda fired her arrows. The smoke slowly cleared up, making it easier to see the roamers further away. Some of the bodies began rising from the ground, though Lori's group quickly dropped them with their melee weapons.
David came back with Sam.
"Calvin's nowhere to be found," said Sam.
"We need to leave," warned David. "This place is about to be overfilled real quick.'
Lori nodded. She looked around and found Lincoln running back to the parking garage.
"Lincoln!" she called out.
A few roamers followed Lincoln, though Lori quickly raised her revolver and shot them. She then ran towards the parking garage, fighting off the roamers with Bobby and Ronnie Anne.
The steel door opened and Lincoln entered the slaughter room, holding a knife in his hand. He saw Sheila on her knees, cradling her mother's corpse. She was still in the same position as before, though this time, Sheila had the M1911 in her hands.
"We gotta go!" said Lincoln. "In a few minutes, the roamers will take over this place!"
"Just go," said Sheila.
Her mother's face twitched as it slowly blinked. With each blink, small doses of golden fluid began to cover the eye, until it was completely covered. The golden eyes then turned towards Sheila as the mouth began to rasp.
Lincoln walked towards the corpse while holding out his knife. Sheila aimed the M1911 at him and glared at him in anger.
"Stay back," she growled.
Lori looked through the steel door and opened it slightly, cocking her Python. Sheila pointed her gun towards Lori.
"You!" she yelled. "You took everything from me!"
"Sheila!" exclaimed Lincoln.
"I never wanted to see you ever again! But here you are! You and your friends shoulda' died instead of my mom! It's all your fault!"
"She's turning!" shouted Lincoln.
Sheila looked back at her zombified mother and cradled its hair and face as its jaws began to move up and down. Lincoln took a deep breath as he moved away. Lori held her hands on her revolver. Lincoln looked at the pistol and began to regret giving the pistol to the girl.
"I know it looks like her but whatever you see in your mother is gone!" said Lincoln.
"I told you to stay back!" yelled Sheila.
"I know, but I need you to know that she's going to-"
Sheila turned her pistol towards her mother and fired the pistol. The blood splattered on her face and onto the barrel of the pistol. She turned towards Lincoln with a dejected face, eyes red with tears.
"I wanted to do it for you," said Lincoln. "I'm sorry you had to go through that."
Sheila continued to look at Lincoln, tears falling from her eyes. She then looked back at her mother and gasped, her chest feeling heavy along with a dull pain. She gasped as her throat felt sharp.
Bobby, and Ronnie Anne arrived by the steel door and looked inside. They remained still, however, as they watched Lincoln approach Sheila. Then, they grabbed their guns as Sheila pointed her gun at Lincoln.
"I'm not telling you again," whimpered Sheila. "Stay back."
"I'm a friend, okay?" said Lincoln. "You don't have to go through this alone. You can come back home with my group. We can help you. But please, you have to stop looking at me as the enemy."
Sheila lowered her pistol and grabbed it with both her hands as she looked at the blood in the barrel. Lincoln placed his knife back into its sheath.
"Come with us," begged Lincoln. "Please."
"There's no point… but thanks a lot."
Lincoln watched as Sheila turned the gun upside down, the barrel pointed at her. She closed her eyes, opened her mouth, and leaned downwards, stuffing the gun in the roof of her mouth.
"Wait! NO!" screamed Lincoln.
A gunshot went off.
Lincoln gasped loudly, tears coming off his eyes. Ronnie Anne and Bobby held each other while Lori felt a wave of remorse filling her body. Lincoln walked over to Sheila's body, grabbing his pistol before walking away, his eyes still wide open with shock. Lori wrapped her arms around him, comforting him as they closed the steel door.
Lincoln wiped his tears away as the group awaited outside the parking garage. He joined them as they all headed out of the destroyed X-Zone capital.
In the distance, outside the gates, Calvin crouched behind a car, looking at the escaping group with his binoculars. Hidden and scattered around the alleyways near him were Guillermo, Beatrice, Nora, Moose, Timothy, Raphael, Neville, and some other cannibals.
"They made it out," said Calvin.
"Wanna follow 'em?" asked Guillermo. "See where they're holed up in?"
"They're headed towards Service territory," said Beatrice. "It's too risky."
"Pfft. I say we follow 'em and find out where they live," giggled Nora. "I'm curious."
"Or we could just attack them now and get one of 'em," said Moose.
"One person is enough to feed all of us," said Raphael, who had a giant burn mark on his right cheek.
"Yeah," said Timothy, his gruffy voice sounding as tough as his chainsaw. "I say we set up an ambush."
"Right. We won't have to touch Service territory that way," said Neville.
"Alright," said Calvin. "Let's get one person. In and out."
The group members all walked on the road, tired yet relieved. Lincoln placed his hands on his pockets and looked at the passing buildings, remaining quiet throughout the walk. Luna and Jace helped Kotaro walk behind the group with a shirt wrapped around his gunshot wound.
Lori then stopped. She turned around and motioned her siblings to come closer. Lori, Lincoln, Luna, Luan, Lynn, and Lana all came together and hugged. Then, Bobby, Ronnie Anne, and Clyde joined. Then, Benny and Sam. Then, Kotaro, Jace, and Preston. Then, David, George, and Vonda. They all released each other and continued on their way to the White House.
Ronnie Anne walked up to Lincoln and nudged him. He looked at her and found her raising a small bag in the air.
"I know it doesn't mean much…" she said, "...but I look forward to eating fresh candy with you. I mean, if you have the energy and all."
"Yeah," said Lincoln. "I have the energy to make a taffy or two. With Lisa's assistance, though."
Silence quickly returned as the group members continued to walk along the road. Kotaro cleared his throat.
"Anyone gonna ask where Carol, Becky, and Hana are?" he commented.
"Carol must've given them a ride home," said Vonda. "But you saw what she did, right? It was fucking crazy."
"I know," chuckled Kotaro.
The rest of the group remained quiet.
"Must've been scary in there, right?" asked Kotaro.
"It was nothing like Baltimore," said Luna. "There are just some things I'll never unsee about this place."
"They almost slaughtered us all," said Sam. "Becky and I were gonna be the first ones…"
"Then Lori and me," said Ronnie Anne.
"We definitely owe Carol," said David. "She saved all of our lives."
"And she's gonna save mine's," said Kotaro.
"We still have to prepare for the next battle," said Lori. "I don't know when it'll happen, but it will. There were cannibals that escaped. The leader, Calvin, being one of them. And they got even more cannibals out there. More X-Tribe people."
"You'll be ready for them," said Kotaro. "You'll all be. Trust me. Lori- your leadership will guide us all through the hardships and traumatizing events that we'll face. Lincoln- your plans will carry the group towards a victory over these cannibals. Luan- you're the medicine that we need when things get too serious and grim. A little laughter never hurt. Lynn- your strength will inspire everyone to take on even the toughest of enemies. Lana- your resourcefulness is just what the group needs to stay together and use things that work and are useful. You are the best tool in our disposal. And Luna- you are the music that we need in our life to tell us that everything's gonna be all right."
The Loud siblings smiled.
"Thank you," said Lori.
Kotaro smiled. He then looked over at Jace.
"Mind walking a bit ahead?" he asked. "I want to talk to Luna alone for a little."
Jace continued holding Kotaro's shoulder as his eyes looked down. A few seconds passed by before Kotaro said something again.
"Uh, Jace?"
"H-Huh?"
"I asked if you can walk ahead for a moment. I just wanted to have a quick chat with Luna."
"Oh… uh, yeah. Sure thing," said Jace.
"You alright, dude?" asked Luna.
"No, yeah, I'm okay. Just… just a lil' distracted. That's all."
Jace released Kotaro's arm.
"Later, man. See ya, moonrock."
Jace walked away. Kotaro grabbed his Remington 700 rifle and used it as a cane once more while Luna helped him on his feet.
"I know it's a little obvious, but you know you're my favorite, right?" said Kotaro.
"I always had a feeling," smiled Luna. "I regret not spending enough time with you before the world went to shit. My band and your band coulda' did something together. Your keyboard and my pops' cowbell together. Imagine that!"
Kotaro chuckled.
"Yeah, that would've been awesome," he said.
"Maybe we can start a new band," said Luna. "We don't gotta worry about the roamers hearing us now. The White House's basically soundproof."
Kotaro's smile slowly faded.
"It could be you, Sam, me-" continued Luna.
"Luna."
"Maybe Carol, 'cause she can sing!"
"Luna."
"Yeah?"
Kotaro sighed.
"I actually wanted to talk to you about Sam. I just want to make sure that you know you're valued by everyone else, not just your siblings. There are other people that love you like family."
"I know," said Luna. "I'm grateful for that."
"You'll have to be if you lose her."
"What?"
"Every second of your life, are you prepared to lose Sam?"
"Dude…"
"Will you be mentally ready for her loss? Because it will happen. Could happen tomorrow. Maybe years from now. Maybe today. Will you be prepared to handle it?"
Luna swallowed hard.
"Dude, you just ruined our vibe. I'm tryna' stay optimistic here, especially with what just happened."
"I just want to make sure you don't go off the deep end when you lose her. I want to look out for you."
"I don't want to think about my girlfriend dying, alright? I want to value every second I have with her, not be afraid. I… dude. That wasn't cool. Now, I can't stop thinking about what was gonna happen to her back there."
"Luna, I-"
"They were gonna rip her guts open, Kotaro. They were gonna tie her up and slit her throat. Then, they woulda' ripped her head off with a chainsaw. They woulda' done that if it weren't for Lori. Now, I can't stop thinking about it."
"I'm sorry, Luna."
Luna shrugged.
"It's cool," she said. "You don't have to look out for me, though. I'm not your daughter. I'm an adult woman. I can take care of myself."
Kotaro nodded somberly. Luna felt a slight pain in her chest after saying that. But she didn't know what to say. Not until a few seconds later.
Suddenly, a green canister was thrown into the ground from the roof of a building. It popped and then smoke began to come out.
"What the hell?" exclaimed Lori.
She looked upwards and Neville, who quickly ducked as Lori fired her rifle at the rooftop. The bullets hit concrete as the smoke began to cloud her vision. She lowered her rifle and grabbed Bobby's hand.
More canisters popped and more smoke began to fill the road. The group members began to run ahead and scatter. Lincoln and Ronnie Anne followed Lori and Bobby. Lynn grabbed Clyde's arms and moved him behind a car as she pulled out her pistol. George and Vonda ran into an alleyway where they found a roamer leaning against a fence. Vonda grabbed an arrow and stabbed the roamer through the eye before removing it and placing it back into her quiver. They leapt over the fence and made it across to the other side of the fence. Some of the other group members followed them.
Luna and Kotaro looked around as a few roamers began to close in. Luna smacked them with the butt of her rifle and fired close-range at their heads. Kotaro struggled to stand as Luna fought off the roamers.
"Let's get you outta here!" exclaimed Luna.
Kotaro limped ahead as he held on to Luna's then began to hit the cars near them. They ducked as bullets flew past them. He then released himself from her shoulders and dropped down. Luna gasped and ran back to him.
"No! Just go!" groaned Kotaro.
"You're crazy if you think I'm leaving you!"
"You're crazy if you think I'm gonna let you die with me! Just go! Throw off their trail! I'm gonna stall these sumbitches!"
"No!"
As Luna tried to reach in, a bullet flew between her and Kotaro. She flinched back and tried to grab him again. Then, another bullet flew across them, this one grazing her left arm. She yelled as Kotaro remained on the ground, his rifle on his hand.
"Go!" yelled Kotaro. "I'll meet you back home!"
Luna grabbed her arm and ran away, going right and away from the direction of the White House. Kotaro aimed his rifle at a nearby roamer, firing it, though it only struck its chest. The roamer growled and dropped down, though Kotaro used his rifle to push away the roamer's chest. Its jaws chomped up and down as Kotaro groaned. The roamer then placed its hands on Kotaro's clothing.
Then, a bullet struck the roamer's skull. Calvin came from behind, holding an MP5K. The smoke began to clear out, revealing the rest of the cannibals surrounding him.
"Should we follow the others?" asked Guillermo.
"Nah," said Calvin. "One is good enough."
Calvin smacked Kotaro with the MP5K and knocked him out cold.
Lori panted as she closed the gates to the White House, leaving it unlocked. They ran across the North Lawn, with David aiming down his scope as he walked backwards. Carol, Becky, and Hana walked down the stairwells.
"Oh, thank goodness you guys made it out," said Becky.
"We did- then we got ambushed!" said Lori. "I need this whole area scoped out! Check for any stalkers out there!"
"Relax, no one is following you," said Carol. "I checked with the binoculars."
Lori lowered her rifle. She looked at her hair then at her dusty face. She nodded.
"I-I like your haircut."
"I might've taken inspiration from my friend," said Carol.
Lori cleared her throat and smiled slightly.
"All that damage. The fire, the bullet holes, everything- that was you?" asked Lori.
Carol nodded. Lori walked over to her and hugged her.
"Thank you," she whispered.
"Wait, where's Luna and Kotaro?" asked Lincoln.
"Luna is coming," said Hana. "I cannot see Kotaro."
Luna panted as she ran across the North Lawn, dropping her M110 to the overgrown grass. She stopped before the group members, her face red with sweat.
"We have to go back for him!" panted Luna.
"Who, Kotaro?" asked David.
"Yes! They took him!"
"No, we have to stay here," said Lori. "We just walked out of a trap. We can't walk back into one."
"What? You just can't leave him there!"
"Luna," said Sam. "They got him. We got ambushed. If we go back there now, we'll be captured again. They got numbers. They got dirty tactics."
"But-!"
"I know. I know," said Sam. "We lost."
Luna hugged Sam.
"No, no, no!" sniffled Luna. "NO!"
Sam began to cry along with Luna as the group members began to hold each other. They slowly walked inside the White House, gone from sight.
The sun began to set. The leaves of the trees in the Glover-Archbold Park fell and blew against the wind. The embers moved through the air near the campfire as darkness set in. The sound of boiling water bubbled through the air.
"I'm going to ask you one last time," said Calvin. "And I really mean it. One. Last. Time. Where is your home?"
Kotaro lay the back of his head against the thin tree, where his arms were handcuffed around in. He remained silent.
"Go to hell," said Kotaro.
Calvin reached into his pocket and took out his butcher knife, brandishing it in front of Kotaro.
"I'm not the one going there first," hissed Calvin.
He stuck his butcher knife into Kotaro's shoulder, causing him to scream. He then took out his meat cleaver and looked straight into Kotaro's eyes.
"We're going to find it eventually," said Calvin. "And when we do… well– let's just say things won't be looking too pretty for your friends back home."
Kotaro spat in Calvin's face.
"I told you already… go burn in hell!"
"Fuck!" groaned Guillermo. "I'm getting hungry. He's not gonna say shit!"
"Fine," said Calvin, keeping his stare. "I got people to feed."
Calvin wiped the spit away from his face. He raised his meat cleaver and chopped down at Kotaro's wounded leg, causing him to yell. He chopped down and down at his knee, eventually amputating the lower limb. Kotaro screamed at the top of his lungs.
"We don't want lead poisoning, now, do we?" chuckled Calvin.
Beatrice grabbed a rag and rubbing alcohol as she approached Kotaro.
"No, no," said Calvin. "Let him bleed out. We won't need him alive. But there are things I want to tell him before he…"
Calvin grabbed the lower leg and removed the shoes and socks. He began to skin the leg, removing the hair off of it.
"You know what I'm going to do to Lori when I find her?" said Calvin. "I'm going to tie her up and chop her up into tiny pieces. And I'd do it slow."
Guillermo grabbed Kotaro's leg and placed it in a stick before placing it above the campfire. He then handed Calvin a shish kabob.
"This belongs to a man that Lori apparently knew. We killed him back in Baltimore. You probably don't know him. But damn, he tastes good."
Kotaro panted. Calvin smacked his lips.
"We're going to eat you. All of you. Then, we'll eat all your friends in front of Lori. And we'll have to do that because it'll be a long, cold winter."
Calvin tossed the stick away and grabbed his meat cleaver. He looked at Kotaro.
"Gotta do anything to survive, amiright?"
Kotaro clenched his teeth before letting out an agonized gasp. Sweat poured down his face as his eyes squinted in pain.
"We'll amputate Lori's toes, then her foot, then her legs, then her fingers, then her hands, then her arms. We'll do it slowly... every time. And then, we put her out of her misery. Not fun, right?"
Kotaro's eyes fluttered as his head began to drop down.
"Just wanted someone to hear me out. Thanks for listening. Hopefully, you'll be more delicious than the last guy we ate."
Calvin lifted Kotaro's pale face.
"Though I doubt it," said Calvin. "But then again… can't complain. You will be helping us get through the night… and my mother said to never be picky with my food."
Calvin placed Kotaro's head against the tree and swung his cleaver against his neck, causing blood to squirt out. Kotaro choked back blood as the blade of the cleaver continued to chop against his throat, until his tongue stuck out, and his eyes motionless.
The fire continued to burn as the cannibals each took a bite of Kotaro's cooked leg. Complete darkness now set in the city.
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End Credit Song
Stay Alive - José González
Terrifying. More to come soon.