Chapter XI: Alight

AN:

Hey there, Fan-fic-folks!

Another two-fer update today. This is one of two. Also, can't remember if I've said this before, but for anyone wondering - yes, I do plot this out with a google maps trip through Portland. Nice place, though the architecture is really different to here in the UK.

Thanks for reading and, as always, please review.

They ran. Through city streets now filling with the dead as they spilled from doorways and windows and shadowed alleyways, they ran. Chloe quickly noticed the destruction and chaos was forcing them back to the river. At a high point, at the top of a hill, they could see south into the city and saw the horde coming in their direction.

They'd have to head north again.

They went a circuitous route, dodging the remnants of the horde that had chased them and broken the hospital's defences, and ended up in that same safehouse near the 7-11. It was still clear, and gave them a chance to talk about the disasters that had just happened.

Juliet immediately split off, closing herself off in a side room. Rose took a deep breath and went after her, Dana trailing behind her, and the three of them closed themselves off together.

David took position near the window, two of the veterans joining him while the other one and the two remaining doctors headed into the back.

Chloe blinked at it all, and went to talk to David. "Everything clear? I was pretty sure we dodged the fuckers, but..."

He nodded gruffly. "Seems fine outside. And I didn't catch any of the infected following us." He shook his head. "But if they can track or sniff our scent, we shouldn't stay anywhere long."

Chloe nodded. "Agreed. Don't worry, dude, it'll just be a quick pitstop. Once we get Juliet back out here, we can chat about where we're gonna go next, right?"

He stared at her for a long second. "Right. I'll stay here. Keep watch. Let me know when we're ready."

"Will do, Mr Magoo."

"What?"

"Yeah, I- I dunno. I thought it'd be funny?"

He looked at her funny.

"I'm gonna go over there now."

She went to talk to the doctors in the back, who'd found a bunch of supplies they apparently liked. Chloe didn't mention all the stuff she and her people had taken. Not yet. Not until they'd had a chance to chat.

She turned to the door Juliet, Dana, and Rose had hidden themselves behind. "Well shit."

—

She gently eased open the door, and found Juliet knocking her head against a wall while Dana and Rose both spoke softly to her. She watched them for a minute before Dana noticed her. As the girl opened her mouth to speak, Chloe interrupted. "Can you give us a minute?"

Dana raised an eyebrow. The sceptical message it conveyed was obvious. Chloe rolled her eyes. "I think I get what she's going through a lot better than you two right now, don't you?" Something inside her momentarily tilted as she realised she was channelling David in her stance, and she forced herself to relax, and gave Dana an awkward smile.

Dana took a deep breath in, and agreed. The two of them filed out, leaving Chloe and Juliet alone in the room.

"Look. I'm not gonna tell you I get what you're going through because both my folks are dead. You're not a moron, you know that. I am gonna tell you that you can say what you want to me right now and I won't say shit to anyone about it."

Juliet's steady beat finally stopped. She sighed, then turned her head to look at Chloe. A moment passed, then she straightened up and turned fully toward her. "It… it sucks. I didn't even get to say goodbye. It just all happened so fast. It all went wrong so fast."

Chloe nodded. "Yeah. It's a lot. Feels all tangled and shit, right?"

Juliet actually looked surprised. "Yes, I… yes. I know it's not my fault, but I still feel guilty. Like I got them killed." She sighed again. "Does that ever go away?"

Chloe shrugged. "I'll let you know if it does."

"Oh."

There was an awkward pause, before Chloe tried to cheer Juliet up. "Your dad was awesome though. The way he jumped in to save you? Fucking badass."

"He… he was, wasn't he?" She gave a slightly teary chuckle. "Never thought he had that in him. He was always a bit… all bark, no bite?"

Chloe snorted. "Well, he found a sharp fuckin' bite. Pretty sure his thing with the sword was what saved us."

"You think so?"

"Yeah. I know it doesn't really help, not really, but it still means something, right?"

Juliet nodded. The conversation faded into quiet again, but this was a more melancholy, reflective quiet. Still awkward - these two trying to emote together likely always would be - but still.

Eventually, Chloe stood. She tapped the girl companionably on the shoulder and said, "Come on out when you're ready. We're gonna have a talk about what we plan to do next." She pushed open the door and walked out right into Dana and Rose. "Keep an eye on her, okay?"

They both agreed and skittered back into the room. Chloe went over to help keep watch, and waited.

—

They all came out of the door a few minutes after Chloe had rejoined the main room. The doctors had found gold, and were sharing out the food available. David and the Veterans had moved some of the furniture around to secure the doors and windows.

When they were all back together, they began the discussion of their next steps. "We need to get out of here before the bombs fall."

"Obviously." One of the doctors drawled. "Do you have any suggestions as to how?"

"Well, first thing is to cross the river, then we head East."

"That's insane. There are thousands of them over there. Why would you want to go to where there are more zombies?"

"Because it's the quickest way to get out of the statewide quarantine. North is the fuckin' river, so that's easy to block. South is way too far, and too complicated besides. It's our best option."

"It's suicide."

"Look. We can vote."

They did, and they lost. Chloe's group and one of the doctors the only ones to take the sensible option. Ruled by fear, the others chose to head south. As they started to split off, Chloe couldn't help herself. "If you're gonna-"

"Keep your advice to yourself, you crazy bitch. If that's what you think is a good idea, I don't wanna hear anything else."

"The fuck did you-" David cut her off, and almost bodily dragged her back. That gave the others the opportunity to get out, taking their ammo and weapons, and their half of the food stock with them.

She pushed David off her - well, he let her go. "Why didn't you-"

"You were right before, Chloe. If they're convinced it's crazy, telling them won't help. They have to see for themselves." He shrugged. "It's what worked for me."

She grumbled. "Fine. I guess we've got more important shit to think about now anyway. How are we gonna do this?"

"Well, presumbly there are bridges?" Dana chimed in.

They turned to Juliet. "Uh, yeah. Yes. There's a lot of them. The easiest to get to would probably be… Tilikum Crossing? I think? It's a bit close to the centre of the city, but I'd need to check a map for any further south."

"I guess that's our plan. You leadin' the way, Jules?"

She shrugged. "I guess I am."

—

Juliet guided them through an industrial estate, past a short, seemingly pointless railway that came to a halt before the street. The estate had been rather quiet. The street was an active warzone. To their right, a smouldering wreck of a pickup burned in the smashed and shattered corpse of a block building. They could see the infected fighting inside.

They quickened their pace.

They continued on through a residential area and a small park, battling through infected the whole way. But eventually, they closed on the bridges. Juliet lead them on a sharp right, revealing- "They're gone? They're fucking gone?"

All that was left of Tilikum Crossing and the Ross Island Bridge was a smoldering structure and cables leading into the river. They'd been bombed already - probably an effort to stem the tide, or just control the flow of infected to certain areas. "We've gotta keep going. Are there any-"

"Uh, um! Marquam! I think. It's the one with the decommissioned submarine museum!" And boy did that strike Chloe's interest. "We'll have to walk closer into the city, but it's the next one along." That was it. They ran.

—

"Shit!" Chloe pointed ahead, past the large glass structure of the Life Sciences Building. "Horde!"

A few hundred zombies were slowly loitering around the corner they needed to turn. There was no route around. And they'd seen the destruction done by the bombing of the bridge - the path by the water was buried in debris and the dead.

They may have been able to make it through, but David reacted immediately with a plan. "Into the building!"

They hurried into the building through the frame of a smashed window. They entered into the husk of a coffeeshop, tables and cups everywhere. There was a door in the back, leading into a service corridor. They hurried along it, conscious as hell of their steps echoing loudly in the silence.

At the end of the hall, a set of double doors. Locked. David didn't pause, rushing up and kicking the damn things in.

The next areas were public corridors, or at least parts the main employees frequented. Offices and labs lined the now-carpeted hallways as they navigated through to the other side. Then they came to another set of double doors, propped open by a half-eaten body. Rose gently opened the door as Chloe and David dragged the body out into the corridor.

The other side was a large atrium. It was oddly chaotic, stairs going across at unusual angles and support pillars honestly all over the place. Some architect had had a lot of fun with this building. All the stairs leading up to the next floors were broken and destroyed.

To their right, the destruction of the rear of the building was evident. Some sort of suspended interior part of the building had collapsed into the supports, blocking off almost the entire side. To the left, they could see the horde. They howled, throwing themselves against the windows and battering them bloody with hunger.

That was fine.

What was worse were the answering howls, coming from all around them inside the building. The atrium had a deep resonance, pulling the howls together into an unearthly choir and making the origins impossible to pinpoint. That uncertainty drove them forward with a new speed, crossing the atrium and slipping into the next room, a cafeteria.

Seeing the blood seeping out from below the swinging door and the flies buzzing over the dividing counter, they did not enter the kitchen. Instead, they kept forward, only to find the creature standing there. It now had two claws, longer and more developed than the meaty rhino-horned limb it had had before.

It started forward. They could hear the smashing of glass behind - the atrium was no longer an option. They split left, dashing for a staircase up. As they passed it, the door to the second floor burst open and a trio of infected stumbled out, so they kept going. The fourth floor seemed clear, so they ran in and tried to hide.

They could hear the monster striding about downstairs.

"What the hell is that thing?"

"The Tyrant."

They turned to the doctor that had joined them, who looked like they regretted saying anything. "It's their contingency plan. It's going to kill me."

"Who's 'they'?" David asked, voice taking on an edge.

"I don't know." At their looks, the doctor shook their head. "I swear I don't. I was asked to consult on some things, and I'm very good so they asked me to do more, and then more, and-" They shook their head again. "You remember my colleague? The one who insisted the virus was man-made? Well, they were right. But it was supposed to be a medical treatment. If administered quickly enough on a patient with, say, a stroke, it could restore the cells and keep them alive until functionality could be restored. Think of it! Something that could go in every first aid kit the key to dealing with almost every severe brain injury imaginable!"

At everyone's horrified look, they sighed, the passion fading from them. "It was never supposed to be this."

"Good intentions don't mean shit, dude." Chloe growled, waved her hands wide as if to gesture to all of the destruction and death around and before them. "All of this shit is partly on you."

"And I will have to live with that for the rest of my life." The doctor said, voice calm and serious, "But please. You cannot leave me to that thing."

Chloe stared at him for a long moment. David hmmed. "That'd be a court-martial offence, back in the army."

Dana just looked at him. "Nobody deserves to die to that monster."

Juliet didn't say a word. But they all looked at each other quietly. Dana's eyes were imploring, David and Rose curious. For a moment, it looked like David would make the call, but instead he nodded to Chloe.

She groaned, thought for a moment.

"Fine, fine!" She barked. "Keep the fuck up and we'll keep moving."

"God, thank you! Thank you!" The doctor threw their arms around her.

She shoved them off. "Fuck off! You're an asshole, we're just too nice to give you what you fucking deserve." She turned away from him and looked forward. "We're almost there. Lets keep moving."

—

They broke out of the building, and snuck along the waterfront. Ahead, the bridge was still intact, though littered with corpses and cars. About halfway along, there was a wall - David pointed it out to the group. "That's a checkpoint. Bridge is a good chokepoint to control the flow of movement. For people, anyway."

His pessimism was proven right. They weaved their way through the chaos of the bridge, clambering over the blockades and killing the infected stuck in the mess until they reached it, a squat installation surrounded by turrets and sandbags - and various military vehicles, some of which also had turrets installed on them. The blood over all of it told enough of the story of what had happened to the soldiers posted here.

There was a new howl, far deeper and far louder than the unusual infected caterwauling. They all turned to see what they knew would be there. The Tyrant. It stood back at the start of the bridge, and began its march forward, shoving aside or just walking through the obstacles they'd struggled to bypass.

The creature really was a biological tank.

"Move!" David's voice commanded.

"No!" Chloe yelled back. "Get on the turrets, we can finally kill it!"

"We don't even know if they're load-"

One of the turrets suddenly burst into motion, Dana gritting her teeth as she leaned into the thing. The rounds blew chunks out of the monster, and that was enough to put the rest into motion. David and Chloe split, moving to two other turrets, adding their fire to Dana's.

But it wasn't enough. The creature, seeing the danger, broke into a lumbering run. It was no sprinter, but it charged like a rhino, building momentum more and more until it crashed into the checkpoint, sending sandbags and concrete dust everywhere - and knocking David and Chloe flying. As it cleared, they realised that Dana was the only one with a still-working turret. She loaded it again and took fire again.

David and Chloe both split off, running for what cover they could find. Chloe went for one of the few tents still standing, hoping one of them was an armoury or something. David raised his rifle that he'd somehow been able to hold onto.

As Chloe searched through boxes and lockers, she swore loud and long. Nothing. Whatever had been here had been mostly looted. They'd been lucky with the turrets - presumably they were too heavy to properly carry.

Then she heard the scream. The Tyrant was ignoring the chunks being torn out of its flesh as it held up the doctor by the face. There was some uncomfortable squelching sounds beneath the gunfire, and then the creature's fist closed.

Chloe didn't really look too closely at the body when it dropped. She knew what she'd see.

The creature turned to them.

Suddenly, the roar of machinery echoed through them all and they turned to see one of the military cars - some sort of truck technically, though Chloe wasn't sure what it was called - light up and reveal Juliet in the driver's seat. The Tyrant turned to face her just in time for the truck to ram into it at full speed, knocking it into the river below. Juliet dived out of the cab before it left, and stayed on her hands and knees on the ground, breathing deeply for a few long moments before the screams of the dead started up again and they caught sight of the swarm gathering onto the bridge. The now clear and unobstructed bridge.

"We have to move!"

They gathered themselves together quickly - they'd gotten well-practised at it by now - and hurried along to the east coast.

Chloe had enough presence of mind to crack a joke. "Maybe we should steal the submarine. No zombies underwater, right?"

"Do you know how to drive one?" David asked, "Because I don't."

"Couldn't we work it out? How hard could it be?"

"Very."