II - A Way Out

-Six Days Later-

"You all know what you're fighting for…" stated Lori.

She drove in Vanzilla with Becky, Dana, Jason, Benny, Luna, Lynn, Sam, and a few other militia fighters. George, Sergei, Chunk, and the other drivers followed Lori along the road to a Canadian town.

"...you want to defend your home…"

The Canadian town was transformed into a military base according to the note that Lori carried.

"...we all want to live in peace, but that cannot be done without doing this first…"

Vanzilla stopped in the middle of the road, creating confusion among the others. Lori looked ahead into the road and grabbed her Python.

"...we're continuing the war against General Black and his rogue forces…"

Lori stepped out of her van with the other drivers following her lead. She walked ahead and raised her revolver.

"...and we're going to end them. Then, we spend the rest of our lives as peaceful as this world can get."

George looked ahead at the swarm of roamers in the road. The militia raised their firearms and were ready to attack the roamers preventing them from going to their destination. Lori looked back at the crates of ammunition she had stored in the van, before turning back to the moving swarm.

"We got the bullets," she said. "Kill the roamers."

After Lori shot a bullet from her revolver, a rain of bullets smacked against the pavement in the road. The bushes, shrubs, and branches in the woods surrounding the woods moved and flashed with muzzle fire.

The militia scattered around, firing their weapons at the woods. Lori ducked behind the driver's seat and watched the swarm of roamers stagger closer to the group.

As Lori raised her revolver to shoot at the woods ahead of her, bullets struck the side mirrors of the van, causing her to stumble to the ground.

"Get inside your vehicles!" exclaimed Lori. "We're surrounded!"

The group went inside their vehicles, all making U-turns. The roamers continued following the vehicles, though they after a minute, they were gone from sight.

Sergeant Hoover watched from behind a tree and reloaded his gun. He nodded and placed a stick of gum in his mouth.

"Good shit, boys," he said, now chewing the gum.

The vehicles returned to Houlton and entered through the makeshift gates that the group created in the east side of the military-zone. Bobby stood up from his lawn chair and jogged to Vanzilla.

"That was very fast," said Bobby. "How'd it go?"

"Terrible," replied Lori. "The rogues have the roads locked tight. Their siege. They already started."

"So it was a trap," said Bobby. "Who did we lose this time?"

"No one got hurt," said Lori. "They… weren't shooting at us. They were shooting near us. They… drove us away, literally."

"This isn't a good idea," said George. "The note. It's leading us to a trap."

"No, they're doing some kind of blockade," said Lori. "It's everywhere in every road."

"It's a trap!" exclaimed George. "They're expecting us at Woodstock!"

"No, they're expecting us at the roads! They won't go through the trouble of reporting this to the bases!"

"I agree, since they expect us to go to the roads they won't bother to report it," said Jason.

Becky approached Lori, Jason, and George.

"Can I see Leni really quickly?"

"Yeah, sure. George, Jason, and I are trying to come up with a plan."

Becky nodded and ran off to the town. George crossed his arms and shook his head as he looked at the road that led to Canada. It was a death trap in his mind.

Jason had a gut feeling that someone was trying to help them but didn't have the slightest clue on who it could be, he started thinking about the future events to come to figure out who it is.

In the cemetery behind the church, Leni stood above her parent's graves. Preston wrapped his arms around her shoulders and allowed her head to rest near his chest.

"You think we'll ever see them again any of are love ones?" asked Leni.

"In a different world, we will," reassured Preston. "In a world without suffering."

The snap of a twig caused Preston to turn around. His eyes caught Jace.

"My bad. Didn't mean to interrupt," he said, clearing his throat. "I just come here a lot. Well, you already know that…"

"Come in," said Leni.

Jace rubbed his arms and walked near them.

"Ya know, I may not have got the chance to known them but I think they were really nice people and great parents. Must've been… Luna and Sam cared a lot about them. Lori and Bobby too. Anyways, sorry for your loss. I'm just gonna… go…."

"They were my parents, losing them hurt a lot and I nearly lost a friend of mine, you know Dana," said Leni. "Come here. I want to share some memories that I shared with her and them. Like that time when we went to homecoming together. Dana looked so pretty with her purple dress and white heels--matching heels by the way. Dad drove us all home after that saying how amazing we all looked. Or, like, that time when Lori threw a party at our house and Dana was bored at first, but ended up having the time of her life! Mom and Dad were not happy that we didn't have a party without their supervision. Oh, there was this one time where me and my siblings painted the house and mom and dad weren't happy about it. We painted the house back and Lily dipped her hand in paint and placed it on the side of the house. And we all did the same and mom and dad loved it."

Leni stroked her hair and closed her eyes.

"You know, when I first entered high school, I felt so lost. There were times when Lori was just not around to help me out– but her friend was. She was so nice and friendly. She introduced me to Becky, Chaz, Tad, and more awesome people. And you know…"

Leni let out more tears.

"...she was the only one who told me I shouldn't kill the spiders. She was always there for me the thought that we almost lost her terrifies me the thought that we almost lost her terrifies me. I don't want anyone else I care about to die."

Nearby footsteps made Jace and Preston turn their heads around. Becky approached Leni and hugged her.

"Thanks for being here for me, guys," said Leni. "Becky and I wanna be alone for a few minutes."

"Sure thing," said Preston. "Come on, Jace. Let's go."

Jace and Preston walked out of the cemetery. They both stepped in front of the church, leaving Becky and Leni gone from sight. Jace kept his hands in his pockets and kicked a pebble softly.

"It's a nice thing that you do," said Jace. "You're always there for–"

"You don't think I see what you're trying to do?" remarked Preston. "You need to stay away from Leni."

"What are you talking about?" gasped Jace.

"C'mon, don't try to act dumb! You're tryna take advantage of Leni! She's vulnerable and emotional!"

"Hey. You need to back off," said Jace.

Preston noticed how close he was to Jace. He went a few steps back and loosened his hands.

"Don't act all clingy," Jace added. "You're the one taking advantage. I'm only trying to comfort a sister of my friend!"

"Keep telling yourself that, greaser."

"You're not gonna do anything, Boy Scout. I don't wanna hear you spew more bullshit about me and I certainly don't want you bothering her."

"You don't have a chance with her," said Preston.

Jace shook his head and walked away before sticking the finger at him. Preston rubbed his hands and sat down in front of the church. Then, he saw Becky walk out of the cemetery, nodding at him, letting him know that Leni was available to receive more comfort.

The north gates opened and the militia traveled in the road by foot. After a few minutes, Lori turned to her right and walked into the woods while holding a compass. The rest of the group followed her into the woods, walking through the bushes and shrubs.

Lynn carried an M1 Garand that she found in Black's office in the military barracks. She still carried her arrows in her back quiver and tied her red bow to the side of her quiver. She continued treading through the woods until she spotted movement ahead of her.

Lori raised her fists in the air and clenched it, signaling the group to stop. Hana kept on walking, though with her katana out this time. Becky tried to walk ahead but Lori stopped her.

"It's her risk," said Lori.

A rogue used her gun to move a bush out of the way and spotted the group. However, Hana stabbed her through the chest and released her sword, leaving her to drop on the ground with a painful moan. As the group walked ahead, Hana stabbed the rogue in the head before moved inside the bushes.

More movement was seen, prompting the group to stay where they were. Hana, however, went ahead and disappeared into the thick shrubs and wide trees. Lori heard a slice then a couple gunshots before hearing a body drop.

"Dammit, Hana…" muttered Lori.

She heard another slice, causing her to move inside to the thick bushes. What she saw surprised her. What she saw was Hana standing above two rogue soldiers, one covered in bullet holes and the other with an open throat. Then, she stabbed them in the head, preventing them from reanimating into roamers.

The group walked through the woods until they spotted a road that led south to Woodstock. They made another turn and walked to the lightly guarded base. Luna and Sam got into position in a small cliff that gave a glimpse of the interior look of Woodstock.

"Good luck, Lori," said Luna.

Lori stayed hidden in the woods and walked alongside it until she found a large tanker truck that her militia were able to hide behind. Lori sighed and took a sip of water from her canteen before looking at the cliff and waving her arms.

"That's the signal," said Sam. "Top tower first. Then move to lower windows."

Luna scoped into her rifle. The base ran along through three roads and consisted of buildings that acted as the quarters of the soldiers. Their vehicles were parked wherever in the road, with rogues walking around the town, performing their duties. Some of them were outside the fences they placed down, shooting the roamers in the town.

A large bullet passed through the sky and smacked against the window of a clock tower. The first rogue was killed with Luna zooming into the top window of another building. She pulled the trigger and killed another rogue.

"What the shit was that?" exclaimed a rogue soldier.

The rogues raised their weapons at the small cliff. It was now time for Lori and the militia to jump out from the truck and shoot the exposed rogues. Lori pulled back a grenade and tossed it into the left side of the base, ripping apart a small area of the fence. She then tossed another grenade into the base, creating a large explosion by setting off he napalm barrels.

Many of the rogues outside were burned alive, screaming in agonizing pain as the militia invaded the base. Some of the militia members shot at the burning rogues, until Lori shook her head.

"Don't waste the bullets on them!" exclaimed Lori. "Let 'em burn."

Half of the militia ran off to the right side of the base, led by George, and shot at the soldiers in the surrounding areas. Lori led the rest to the left side of the base, running to the shattered fences.

Some of the rogues peeked through the windows and shot at the group behind cover. Some of the fighters were shot, though their armor protected them.

Lynn aimed her rifle at one of the rogues in the windows and shot it. The powerful M1 Garand took out the rogue in one shot, before taking out another and another. Luna and Sam maintained the pressure by shooting at the rogues hiding behind cover. The passing militia fighters finished them off by shooting them in their non-armored areas.

"I counted twenty," said Sam.

"I also counted twenty," said Luna. "Where are the other nine?"

George ran to the southern part of the base. He found some rogue soldiers running to the base with their weapons. Some of them were leaping from cover to cover. He grabbed his walkie-talkie and pressed the talk button.

"I see six of 'em outside the gates!" said George.

George, Jason, Vonda, and Lynn shot at the rogues. Since they were hiding behind cover, they were unable to get hit. The rogues were in no better position, though, as they needed to cross an empty road to get to the base. Suddenly, a rogue tossed a canister into the air, which turned out to be a flashbang.

The large flash of light and deafening boom stunned some of the members, allowing the rogues to leap out from their cover and run to the sides of the base. However, George happened to cover his eyes on time, and aimed his pistol at the rogues. Like George, Jason had covered his eyes in time. He aimed his MCX at the rogues and proceed mowing them down one by one.

Vonda rubbed her eyes as she found George shooting the rogues. She lifted her small pistol and tried to aim it precisely at the rogues before being shot in the back, multiple times.

"Vee!" yelled George. "Who the fuck did–!"

He turned around and saw a rogue aim a rifle at George. Then, Becky jumped out from behind her cover and shot the rogue in the leg. The rogue landed his fist on the ground and turned around before being shot multiple times in the chest. Dana Lowered her Glock standing next to Becky after she unloaded her magazine on the rouge.

Lynn shot the last rogue outside of the base before turning around. She quickly turned Vonda over and found her pale with her eyes closed.

"Don't you fucking die on me!" she exclaimed as she checked her pulse. "Don't, please!"

Becky and Dana ran to the barely breathing rogue as he tried to drag himself away. He coughed before being flipped over by Becky's boots.

"Please, I have a family…" groaned the rogue.

"Yeah, so did all those innocent people you and your buddies killed," hissed Dana. "You're family will be better off without you."

Dana and Becky look at each other and nodded. Dana ran over to Vonda's side to check on her leaving Becky with the rogue.

Becky knelt down and grabbed the barrel of her Glock. She grabbed the rogue's vest and began beating the rogue's face with the grip of her gun. She slammed it against his nose, his eyes, his lips, his jaws, his cheeks, his forehead, over and over. Eventually, a few cracks were heard, and Becky decided to stand up with spots of blood in her face. She looked up at Vonda, tearing up for the girl.

"She's still alive," said Lynn. "She's got a wound in her back. The vest caught the other bullets though. But we need to save her now!"

George pointed to the building that they haven't infiltrated yet and motioned the group to head inside.

"We have to find the medic!" he exclaimed.

"Careful, dudes," said Luna. "There's gotta be two more tossers in this base, probably wanking it off in some corner of a room."

"Let's just get this over with and find a medic for Vonda," said Jason.

Lori and George's militia joined forces as they entered the large building that acted as the main barracks. Some of the fighters remained outside, alert and ready to defend themselves against the other two rogues.

Lynn carried Vonda as George kicked down the doors in the building. He aimed his shotgun inside each room before entering another floor. With each passing minute, blood gushed out of Vonda's wound.

"You ready?" whispered one of the rogues.

"Sure am," said the other rogue. "Just stay back, Bree."

The medic held his chest while the rogues aimed their weapons at the door. One of the rogues set up a claymore mine and moved away from it, carrying the trigger. Both rogues watched the door as they heard the doors downstairs being kicked open.

"Is the mine necessary?" asked Donovan.

"It's gonna keep you fucking alive," replied one of the rogues, their eyes locked on the door.

Donovan nodded as he pulled out his M9. He quickly aimed it at the rogue to his right and pulled the trigger twice. He then turned to the roamer in the left and pulled the trigger twice then twice again until he dropped to the ground. He moved closer to the rogues and noticed the one on the right was still alive. He aimed his gun at the rogue again and shot him until he no longer moved.

The group quickly moved upstairs, eventually finding themselves in front of the door where the medic hid. Lori aimed her revolver at the door as she placed her hands on the wooden surface.

The medic ducked and carefully pulled the mine off the floor and opened with the window to the building with his elbow. He then wrapped it with the wire and detonator and tossed it as far as he could, the mine landing at the top of a tree.

The door creaked and opened slightly, catching Donovan's attention.

"You can come in!" he reassured. "I ain't gonna hurt y'all."

The door slammed open with George, Chunk, Sergei, Kotaro, and Ted storming the room. Their weapons were aimed around the room with Lori coming inside, her revolver pointed at the direction of the sound. Donovan then saw Lynn carrying Vonda inside the room.

"That looks bad," said Donovan. "Place her on the bed over there."

Lynn saw the bed and took a step towards it before Lori stretched her palms out.

"Wait," she said. "You're the one who dropped this note?"

Lori handed Donovan the note with the map of the military base.

"You're keeping me alive," he said. "I think you already know. But if you need confirmation, then yes, I was the one who placed that in the wardrobe thing. I'm Donovan Bree."

"You're a medic, right?" said Lori. "Patch her up."

"Sure thing. Did you take out everyone?"

Lori looked around the room as Donovan walked to the bed, standing over Vonda. Hana stepped over the dead rogues and grabbed their dog tags, stuffing them inside her pockets.

"Yeah, all but those two," replied Lori. "We need answers. Now. Like, why'd you plant the note?"

"Because Black can't get what he wants. His goals are gonna get everyone killed, me included. Plus, I've seen what he's done to these people. I've seen what he's done to you. And I know what he's gonna do. He's not gonna stop."

"He doesn't stop for anything," said Lori. "When he wants something, he's going to try his hardest to get it, even if it means– no– ESPECIALLY, using violence to get it."

"And you know what he wants?" asked Donovan.

"He wants David. And he wants Vonda."

"He wants the entire town," said Donovan. "He made you an offer. If you fulfill that offer, he's gonna get what he wants. And what he wants is subjects so he could finish his experiments. Agonizing experiments worse than anything I've ever seen."

"That's why we'll fight him off," said George.

"That's not enough," quivered Donovan. "He's got you surrounded. Two weeks from now, he's gonna use all of his soldiers to capture the town. It doesn't matter if you fulfill that offer by then. Cause he's gonna get what he wants."

"What do you think we should do?" asked Lori.

"You're gonna attack as many military bases as you can. Then, you'll leave Houlton and you never come back."

"That's not gonna happen. Houlton is our new home. Nobody's taking home away from us."

"Listen, Lori Loud!" said Donovan as he dug a thin plier into Vonda's wound. "General Black is serving under the K.H.A.N. If he doesn't have any results for them, he'll have no authority. And if he has no authority, he won't be able to go after you guys anymore."

Donovan held up the pliers, tossing the bullet scraps into a tray before patching the wound with a towel. He then wrapped up the wound with a bandage.

"You'll be able to live peacefully somewhere else. Take this."

Donovan handed Lori a couple maps before washing his hands with a bucket of water and a bar of soap.

"The rogues aren't going to stay at their bases. For a few days, they'll heavily arm their bases. But then, at exactly a week, the rogues are going to push to the closer bases. They'll be most vulnerable at these areas."

Donovan looked at the bloodbath outside of the window.

"I have to report this if I wanna save my own ass. Now, go! The outpost rogues will be here any minute!"

Lori nodded. George carried Vonda and walked with the other militia fighters out of the building. After a few minutes, the group regrouped with Luna and Sam, leaving the area. They stayed hidden in the woods as the rogues drove to the town. Donovan took off his hat and wiped the sweat off his head.

Back in Houlton, Haley, Buck, and Pike were moving around an underground sewer system, tackling through the intense stench that lingered in the dark tunnels. Haley beamed her flashlight around while carrying a string, finding solid sewage plastered on the walls. She also spotted a rat crawling around the flat surface by the water.

"So… this is where you two hid?" groaned Haley. "In a tunnel where my shit happens to go? That's not at all degrading."

"We've done worse in boot camp," said Buck. "It's a maze down here. Took me a day to find my way back outside."

Haley shrieked as she shined her light at the still sewage ahead of her. A roamer wearing a janitor jumpsuit raised its arm and tried to stand up in the water. Buck chuckled.

"Relax, it can't get ya."

"Wait, do you hear that?" whimpered Haley.

"Other than this monster? Nah, you're hearing things."

"No, wait," said Pike. "As a matter of fact, I do hear something. Behind us!"

Buck and Pike raised their guns behind them. They saw a beam of light travel through the tunnel before finding the identity of the one who carried the flashlight.

"What are you guys doing here?" asked Lori.

"Need to see something for myself," groaned Haley.

"Is that something the roamer over there," said Jason.

Lori saw the roamer in the sewage that Jason pointed to. She took out her knife and waded to the roamer before stabbing it. Lori then turned to the guards.

"I need to ask you guys something," she said. "Who does Black serve?"

"The K.H.A.N.," replied Buck.

"But who? There's gotta be someone up there."

"There's a guy, Ivanovich, who was in charge of us. Though, I'm not sure if he's in a higher position than Black."

"What about Krissen?" asked Lori.

"We're afraid we don't know who that is," said Pike. "We told you already. We worked under duress. They weren't going to tell us much."

"Hmm. I suppose. One more thing. How many more of you are there?"

Pike moved his hands slowly to his gun holster. Unbeknownst to him Jason saw this and slowly moved his hand to his gun holsters, getting ready to shoot Pike. Then, Buck answered her question.

"Many more. And they all don't deserve to die. In fact, most of the rogues got families somewhere. I got a family somewhere, though I don't know where they are."

Lori nodded before following the string that led back to the manhole with Jason close behind her as he gave Pike a side eye glare which he didn't notice. Pike dusted off his pants and closed his eyes, letting out a deep sigh.