Ebrose
The helicopter was only a few meters away when the earth began to shake. Their escort stopped them, reaching her arm out to hold them from approaching the vehicle. She swept the area with her rifle as the Earth gently rocked. The ground began to fissure as the grass splintered into patches and dark soil rose up from below. Meadows looked on in horror as skeletal hands began rising from the ground. Some bare, some covered in tattered leathers and chains, but all unmistakably hostile. They were soon joined by forearms, elbows, upper arms and shoulders. Heads followed. Some were little more than fragments of jaw and spine. Others wore rusted helms of plate and chainmail caked with dirt. Dozens of them appeared from the depths. Some hissed, as if a thousand years' worth of evil were escaping from them. Others croaked with dry and rumbling clicks.
"Mother of Mercy," Ebrose prayed in horror as he recoiled in horror. Blythe wasted no time picking her targets and carefully placing shots into their skulls. The obsidian-tipped rounds given to her by the Night's Watch proved effective. The corpses fell as quickly as they rose, their remains falling into piles of dust and bone as the evil magic that gripped them was released. Others appear to explode into clouds of dust inside their ancient armors adorned with lions, roses and other imagery.
"I'm going to run out of bullets before we run out of corpses," Blythe shouted over the ringing in their ears. "We need a plan!" Meadows stood stoically. Ebrose frantically looked around for an exit. Behind them, the rear gate and employee entrance of the museum stood firmly closed and locked, but the gate itself was designed in such a way that one might slip underneath it if they were lithe enough. While not exactly young anymore, the last year of no cheeseburgers or pizza dinners had done wonders for his waistline.
"The rear gate!" Ebrose shouted. The soldier looked back and nodded.
"Start moving quickly!" she agreed, turning back to her targets and continuing to fire. Ebrose wasted no time. He looked at Meadows and nodded in encouragement. He began to run as fast as he could, his heart pounding. Blythe began following him before stopping. Meadows continued standing. Blythe took down two more corpses, the ringing of the shots making it impossible for Ebrose to cry out loud enough for Meadows to hear him. Meadows turned to Ebrose and smiled grimly before walking towards the corpses. Blythe turned and ran, abandoning him to his fate. Tears welled in his eyes as he scurried under the gate with Blythe close behind. As he reached the other side, he caught a final glimpse of his friend, boss, and noted, if eccentric, historian friend be overtaken by the swarm of dead.