FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

well, it's finally done; an edited version of the first apocalypse. most of the story remains the same, only adding a few things here and there to make it flow better. for those who have already read this story as i posted it, there's not much point in re-reading it as it's about 42 pages long (unless of cource you're that much of a zombie fan) a city has been established, so no more wondering where the fuck this thing takes place...

for those who haven't read this yet, i decided to put descriptions of the four main characters. these descriptions were writtenn by their respective owners, and the only one i own is the first one. if anyone really wants to get all the info on each character, go check out the stories written by the users who own them ^.=.^

My scalesona, and the main character of this story is Blood-tail AKA (Red) he is almost an exact duplicate of me, so his personality was easy to get into writing. Red is what some would call crazy. He likes doing dangerous things, such as blowing up gas tanks, cars, zombies, and just about anything that goes boom. Although he does many things that are illegal, he normally does them in the middle of nowhere. He does do thing that are less violent, like read and listen to heavy metal occasionally. He's a loner, and doesn't normally like company since most people would call the police and have him arrested. He does like girls but since very few women are into the things he likes, he never hangs around for long. He's an excellent shot with most types of weapons, from bows to shotguns, rifles and pistols. He has some experience with a knife, and knowledge in CQB, so he can hold his ground in a fight. Red doesn't make friends fast and is often distrusting of others until he really gets to know them. He is 5ft, 9in (8ft from muzzle to tail) and weighs 150lbs. He has blood red scales, and black spines going from the back of his head to about half way down his tail. His hair is jet-black and his eyes are a very dark blue. Normally wears a black leather jacket, pair of jeans and combat boots.

(Written by Sylvr)

Fursona, goes by the name Sylvr, is the same height, but is in better shape. I am, for the most part, a typical red fox, the differences being, the typical white splotch on my abdomen and chest is mixed about 50/50 white and black, giving it a salt and pepper appearance and my ears are black, not only on the outside but inside as well, they are almost hidden by the equally black mop of hair on my head. Typically, there is a Ruger P345 .45 in my old Ram truck, so don't mess with me, motherfuckers.

(Written by Zelosh)

Ryan is well over six feet, not a bad height for tigers. His skin has the usual black stripes and white fur in various places but rather than orange the rest is a light, mellow green. His build is somewhat thick and muscular, but his muscles aren't clearly defined though they are easily seen. His tail is way longer than other tigers and allowed full functionality and control all down its length which was long enough to disguise itself as his scarf. The only other notable thing about it was the dark green tip which created a gradient that extended the entire tail going from lighter at the base all the way to the darker end.

His usual attire consists mainly of sleek black jeans with a small built in chain on the right side. As for the top half he wears a white button up shirt that is left undone showing the black T-shirt underneath. On the black shirt it says "Game Over" with "Press 'start' to continue" in subtext. There is no shoes on his feet, he hates them with a passion. Everything he enjoys wearing is considered informal to his instructors, and yet to normal people he is well dressed. After all, he doesn't have the tendency to let his pants ride low or show off as much as possible. Ryan also enjoys silver, usually in the form of accessories. Two silver band ear cuff earrings are on the northern tip of his left ear and are curved to its shape. A silver ring with an unattached band in the center and tribal patterns engraved into it is placed on one finger. It was made the way it is so that the wearer could spin the central band around the other one with one finger during moments of boredom or distraction. Finally, a silver chain hangs around his neck and over his shirt with two dog tags attached.

(Written by Adair)

Joseph Swift

Male white ocelot

Student with a part time job as a cop

5ft 9in ocelot, white fur with light grey stripes, long flowing tail with lavender eyes. Wears glasses to help read, on off days wears a long silver coat, padded on the shoulders and arms in between the fabrics with hard leather, (keeps his 2 handguns and a crow bar in) that reaches his knees and the sleeve to his wrist. Also wears a black T-shirt with a tribal cross on it, long light beige cargo pants (where he keeps some ammo for his handguns) that reach to his feet and finally finishes with a simple pair of white blue tennis shoes to complete his outfit. Sometimes wears a silver earring on his left ear because he wants and on work day he carries a bag that holds extra clothes, his MP5A4 SMG with mini scope for work, extra ammo for the smg, medicine kit and some basic tools (often really full looking)

Works at the nearest police department from his house on the weekend to earn some extra cash and hopefully lock a few bad guys away. He lives with his parents, his dad being a mechanic of vehicles of all kinds and his mom being a nurse. He had taken an interest in both of these choices in career and learned as much as he could from both parents from the age of 10. Now around 20 he is skilled in the fields of mechanics and medicine.

Joseph is a quiet and friendly person. He gets along well with anyone he meets and is rarely angered thanks to much training in patience thanks to too many of his dad's scenes. He likes to read, play video games, and write poems and stories, in truth a 'softy' so to speak. But when angered or forced to fight he can use his strength and skills to fend off or beat the crap out of most.

(warning, this story contains blood and gore in large amounts. do not read if you don't like these awesome things) ^.=.^

without futher delay, here's the story...

Morning had come like every other day in the Mountains of Utah, peaceful and relaxed. Red had broken camp as usual and had packed his gear like he did every morning. He could tell today was going to be perfect, as there wasn't a single cloud in the sky. The peaceful morning was shattered by the drone of engines, as four UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters came into view. "Damn, this must be about my firearms again, fucking laws. Why can't they just leave me alone instead of harassing me all the time?" Blood-tail had already hidden his weapons in his Harleys compartments, which had kept them hidden from the authorities, and he wasn't about to lose them now. Red figured that someone may have heard the shots he fired last night when he was hunting, and being in the mountains, he didn't think that anyone had even heard the shots last night. His train of thought changed, however, when Black Hawks continued on their course, flying over his campsite without even slowing down. Strange that military helicopters would be this far in the country. Red noted the direction the UH-60s'were going and, after consulting his map realized that the UH-60s' were heading towards Salt Lake City. It took a few more minutes to pack everything, and Red decided to find out why a bunch of military helicopters would be heading towards a city. "Hell, it might be fun and I'm a little low on gas". With these thoughts in mind, Red got on his bike and headed for the trail he had used that led back out to the main road. It took about an hour of riding to get out of the forest, riding on Y-Mountain was a nice way to wake up in the morning. It took a bit of skill to keep his Harley up on the trail, but the path had been worn by hikers and mountain bikes so it was fun. As Red finally got off the trail and came into view of the city, something didn't seem right. He could hear sirens in the distance and there were several cars in ditches. This didn't bode well with him, but he figured some political nut jobs were probably rioting. Red continued to ride for several more minutes, watching for any signs of trouble, but he didn't see anything that was enough to raise any warning lights. "Figures, another day without any action", Blood-tail couldn't help but be a little disappointed as he noticed that his Harley was getting low on fuel. He had already used his reserve tanks and figured he'd just fill up while he in the city.

Red had just pulled into a shell gas station when he heard a scream coming from a nearby 7-11. Turning towards the sound, he spotted a rather large panther chasing a young wolf (probably no older than six) into a dark alley. "Damn twisted bastards" locking his Harley, he chased after the panther. Sprinting into the alley, it took a second for his eyes to adjust to the gloom. It was your everyday standard alley (trashcans, dumpsters, random crap everywhere) but even with all the cluttered trash, it didn't take more than a second to spot the little wolf crouching in a corner, sobbing as the panther shambled towards him. Red whipped out a .44 magnum he kept in his jacket "GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM THE KID" the panther turned around, Red was appalled to see the panthers face was half gone; blood from a huge hole in the things neck covered the panther's chest. "No fucking way" the panther lunged at him, intent on killing the being that had interrupted its' meal. Red shot the thing in the knee cap, the .44 round shattering bone and sending blood everywhere, but the panther didn't even miss a beat as it started crawling toward the dragon. As the creature kept coming, red mumbled "this is bullshit" and shot the panther in the arm. Even as more of its' blood and flesh were scattered in the alley, the panther continued its' slow charge towards the being that had ruined its' meal. Red was getting tired of this crazy fucker, he had already wasted two bullets on the damn thing and it still wasn't dead. "WILL YOU FUCKING DIE" he yelled and finally shot the panther in the head. When the creature stopped moving after one shot to the head, a sense of dread began to build in the pit of his stomach. He tried to ignore the feeling as he went over to the terrified kid, the dread he was feeling was immediately replaced by pity as he gazed at the scared boy. He had always had a soft spot for those in distress, especially those younger than him. Picking the young wolf up, Red carried him out of the alley. As soon as he exited the alley, he spotted an older female wolf running towards him, guessing she was the boy's mother; Red set the kid down and waited. As the female wolf ran up to him, the reaction he got wasn't what he'd expected. Instead of thanks, all Red got was a cold stare as the mother dragged her son away, not wanting anything to do with the biker. He wasn't that surprised though, being accustomed to that kind of treatment. Aside from the fact that he had the A7X logo embroidered on his jacket, along with several other skulls, his clothes also had plenty of blood on them after his encounter with that freak. Red shrugged off the treatment and started walking back towards his bike, getting a bit of gratitude from the few furs that had seen the fight. He decided to ask a few of the witnesses in the area if they knew what had caused the panther to go insane, plus he figured he might as well wait for the cops to show, no sense leaving until he answered a few questions otherwise the dead panther in the alley might look like a hit-and-run.

After an hour or so of waiting, Red noticed that no police officers were coming to investigate the shots fired. This was one of the first things that tipped Red off to the fact that something was wrong. In any normal town, he probably would have been in jail by now unless several of the witnesses had testified on his behalf. The second reason for his discomfort came in the form of several ambulances rushing past, sirens wailing, and then suddenly crashing into a nearby building. Both ambulances looked totaled as Red and several other worried spectators ran to see if anyone survived the crash. One of the first to reach the crash, a middle aged shepherd, found a dead body hanging out of the ambulance drivers' side window. Red found the look on the drivers face to be the most disturbing, as it wasn't the face of someone who had died from pain or suffering. The face was twisted, as if the drivers last moment had been the most horrible, gruesome moment of his entire life. It was then that Red noticed the bite wounds on the driver's arms. He pulled out his .44 and started to walk closer to the shepherd to get him away from the body when the ambulance shook slightly. The noise got the attention of both the crowd and Red for a second, which was all it took. The previously dead driver of the ambulance suddenly grabbed the shepherd and bit deep into his shoulder, causing him to howl in pain. After that, all bits of sanity left in the small crowd went to hell as several of the other passengers that had been in the ambulance began to crawl out slowly. Red couldn't get a clear shot at the corpses because of all the panicked furs running around screaming, so he decided to try and rally the few that weren't panicked and get them to safety. This was easier said than done, however, as most of the sane furs were either getting trampled or eaten by the dead. After several minutes trying to get a few survivors away from the ambulance, Red decided that he was going to need more than the .44 magnum he had in his hand. Being careful not to get trampled or bitten by a corpse, Red made his way back to his Harley to load up on supplies. After reaching his bike, he quickly unloaded and assembled both his 12 gauge and his AR-15, along with every bullet and shell he had. Red had played enough RE games when he was younger to know what these things were, and he wasn't about to become another mindless zombie.

Just as he finished getting his weapons assembled, one of the zombies spotted him. Red noted that the zombie that began shambling towards him was the one that had been in drivers' side of the ambulance. "Probably not a good idea to open fire right now with all these undead around, might be a good time to leave this party" Red thought as he started his bike. Unfortunately, (Harleys being one of the loudest motorcycles on the road), this got the attention of several of the other zombies in the hoard, who promptly turned towards blood-tail, looking for another meal. "Oh shit, this can't be good" Red quickly got on his bike and rode off in the opposite direction. "Things go from bad to worse and the shit hits the fan" these thoughts and others were circulating though his mind when his Harley began to sputter. Red remembered that he never did get to fill up his bike with all that had happened and that it had been running on empty for a few miles. "I hate to do this" he said aloud as he slowed down and got off his Harley. A few fires had started in the city and had begun to spread. It wouldn't be long before half the city was ablaze at the rate things were burning. Blood-tail hoped this would burn most of the zombies in the streets, but at the same time he knew if he didn't find a safe place to hole up, he wouldn't be able to make it to the barbeque. He didn't want to leave his Harley, but it was much too heavy to push to the next gas station and he needed all the spare time he had. He propped his bike against a building, said goodbye to his vehicle and walked away. Red wasn't long in searching for a good place to barricade himself in and wait out the storm, within an hour he saw a place that looked relatively safe. Unfortunately it was about a mile away, and he could see a few zombies in the distance. Blood-tail decided that if he was going to survive this apocalypse, he was going to have to reach that building. Red hadn't noticed any survivors, which wasn't good, as it meant no more distractions for him to use. Attaching a silencer he kept in his jacket to his AR, he headed in the direction of possibly the only safe haven in this part of the city. He had only walked for about five minutes when he had another stroke of bad luck. As Red was walking past an alley, one of the undead rose from behind a trash can and started walking towards him. "Not good, if I shoot him, I risk getting swarmed" thoughts of being eaten alive were enough to still his trigger finger. So instead of shooting the zombie, he unsheathed his machete and lunged at the corpse, decapitating it in one swift swing. Blood spattered on his jacket as the body fell to the ground, dead? "That went well, but I hate it when they make a mess" Red re-sheathed his machete and continued on his course. It wasn't long after his first encounter that he also found some survivors holed up in an abandoned diner. It seemed that they had been dealing with the zombie hoard rather well, as bodies littered the diners parking lot. Red started walking into the open, but thought better of it since the remaining survivors would probably shoot him on sight. He decided instead to simply alert them to his presence before stepping out into the open. This however, was a bad idea, for as soon as Red started calling to the survivors, he managed to get the attention of several undead. "Fuck, these ones seem different" aside from being larger and faster than the previous zombie blood-tail had encountered these three also looked hungrier than the others. Red whipped his AR up and shot the zombie in the lead five times in the head, but it still kept coming. "Shit, shit, shit" he muttered as he turned around and ran out of the alley. Several bullets whizzed by his head as he ran towards the diner, but when the other survivors saw what was chasing blood-tail, they immediately changed their targets. The first few shots didn't seem to faze these new zombies, but after taking about fifty rounds each, they began to slow. Red reached the diner out of breath, and promptly had a pistol shoved in his face. The husky with the gun, Red guessed was nervous, and he didn't want to give him a reason to pull the trigger on the desert eagle. "Have you been bitten?" The husky asked in a steady but cautious tone. "Not yet, and I certainly don't plan on it happening anytime soon" Red answered. The husky, along with several other survivors, didn't seem to believe Red and told him to take off his jacket, after searching him for bite marks but not finding any, decided that this newcomer was safe. Blood-tail quickly began relating his short encounter with the first few zombies, and answered any questions that he was asked. However, the relative peace and quiet was broken as one of the sentries yelled "more freaks on the way" Red asked if he could stay and help, and his request was answered with a quick but thankful nod. "Finally, some target practice" Red grabbed his AR, made sure he had a full clip, and took an empty spot at one of the windows.

The first of the zombies were the slow kind, and few in number, those went down in the first round of shots. However, more began to flood from the alleys like rats running from the storm. Red took aim at one of the zombies in the second wave, and slowly squeezed the trigger. He had loaded all his clips with hollow points, and the result was the zombies head exploding when the 5.56 NATO round hit a fraction of a second later. He quickly took aim at another undead and fired, getting the same satisfying result. The other survivors were firing weapons of all different makes and models, and almost every fur in the building had a weapon. Blood-tail figured that they had most likely found a sporting goods store, since all the other weapons looked brand new. Things seemed to be going well, until one of the types of zombies that had chased Red out of the alley came into view. Blood-tail immediately emptied the fresh clip into this new threat, but just like before, the zombie hardly flinched. Red started looking for a bigger weapon and immediately spotted an unused .50 caliber magnum revolver in a nearby box. "Hello beautiful, this is just what the doctor ordered" Red picked up the magnum, and checked to see if it was loaded. Sure enough, it had five rounds; one of the other survivors, a young fox probably in his late twenties, noticed Red checking the revolver and said "I wouldn't use that if I was you, the thing kicks like a mule". Red ignored the foxes comment and went back to the window and resumed his previous position. It didn't take long for him to find (what he decided to call hunters) the larger zombie. The hunter seemed to be in a battle rage and was mowing down the other zombies to get to its next meal. Blood-tail steadied the revolver, took aim, and fired. To say the .50 cal kicked would've been an understatement, as it nearly knocked Red's lights out when it slammed into his skull. After getting the gun back into position for another shot, he noticed that the hunter was still standing. "Fuck, even a .50 didn't stop it" Red thought until he looked closer and noticed that the hunter's entire head was gone. "I think I'm in love" Red said despite the pain in his arms and head.

Finally, after several more minutes of shooting, the second wave of zombies were all lying dead in the parking lot. A cheer rose up among the survivors, and the husky came over to thank blood-tail for his help. "That was some fine shooting, never did properly introduce myself, the names Joe, Joe Higgins, sergeant in the USMC". "What's a sergeant doing this far in hell, without any reinforcements"? Red asked. Higgins went over how he had been separated from his convoy and what had happened afterwards up till he found the diner and decided to hole up and hope reinforcements showed up. Red expressed his thoughts when Higgins finished "We might have held off the zombies up till now, but we're almost out of ammunition, I suggest that we leave to find a safer place to bunker down". Blood-tail related that he had seen a building about half a mile away that would make a good shelter, to which Higgins replied that many in the diner were either too old or too young to make that journey. "Then I suggest that I take no more than three others with me to get help" blood-tail said. "Very well" Higgins stood up and related Reds' plan to the others and asked for volunteers. Most of the furs seemed to cower when Higgins looked at them, and Red figured some of them were probably still in shock. Five seconds later, one fur, a tiger probably in his mid thirties stepped forward and then another. The other volunteer was a wolf, who was probably no more than twenty. He came forward with a mixed look of dread and pride on his face. The tiger introduced himself as Mark Bishop, while the young wolf just said his name was Henry. Red introduced himself to both of them, and after getting to know each other a little better, they went to get the weapons they would be using on this mission. Red decided to keep the .50 cal, and to his utter joy, he found another box of shells for it. He reloaded the clips he had used in the zombie massacre and got a few extra shells for his shotgun along with a .357 magnum. Red decided to leave his .44 magnum with Higgins since he had the .50 cal. Mark grabbed another shotgun and a .22 caliber rifle, along with a .38 S&W pistol. Henry found two .22 caliber Ruger pistols, which he promptly put into a gun belt that was at the bottom of the bin. After loading up, the three walked out of the diner with a promise to return as soon as they found help. "Well" Red thought aloud, "this is it; we get though these undead freaks, get help, and avoid getting eaten". Mark chuckled, "easier said than done"

Chapter two- Murphy's Law

5:02 p.m. eastern time

Blood-tail sprinted into an alley, panting from the exertion of running for an extended period of time. "I really need to start getting in better shape" he thought to himself. Red glanced over his shoulder, and sure enough, the hunter was still just a few yards behind him. He vaulted over a gate, the hunter practically on his heels, and yelled "now". The hunter had just reached the gate when the homemade pipe bombs blood-tail had made exploded, sending shrapnel tearing into the zombie's body and killing it instantly. "That went well" Red said as Mark and Henry climbed down from the single story building where they had been waiting for blood-tail's signal. "Good job on those pipe bombs, they worked perfectly" Mark said as he walked up to Red. Henry looked like he was going to lose his lunch as he surveyed the damage done to the hunter. "We should get out of here, it won't take long for more of these fuckers to come looking for food" Red muttered. Both mark and Henry agreed in unison, so the group continued towards their goal. It had only been an hour since they had left the diner, and things just didn't seem to be going in their favor. First they had run into a small group of the slow zombies, which had been easily gunned down, but the side effect was the noise had attracted one of the hunters. Although it hadn't found them immediately, the hunter had been blocking the only relatively safe way to their destination.

Red thought of Murphy's Law, and how anything that could go wrong would go wrong. "It seemed that Murphy wasn't that far off", red thought as they walked out of the alley. They had just exited the alley when another group of zombies spotted them. This group consisted entirely of the slow, stupid zombies, but there were at least fifty in the group. "I say we kill these bastards" Henry pulled out his Rugers and began firing into the hoard. "No! It would be a waste of ammo and time" Red said as he told Henry to stop firing. Mark said the same and Henry reluctantly stopped shooting. The three ran past the hoard and continued moving towards one of their few chances of survival.

6:30 p.m.

The building in the distance had seemed much closer to blood-tail when he had seen it the first time, but as they continued moving, it only seemed to get farther away. "I thought you said that this place was only a mile away" Henry exclaimed. "Let's just keep moving" Red replied with a bit of annoyance laced with his statement. It was beginning to get dark, and traveling at night was out of the question, so they started looking for a good place to hole up for the night. It didn't take long for them to find a good place to spend the night, ironic that it was a comfort inn. "Mark, Henry, cover my six and keep your eyes and ears open" Red said as he slowly opened the main door. The hallway was dark and narrow, so Red decided that his shotgun would be of more use than his AR. Red began creeping slowly down the long corridor, checking to see if any of the rooms were unlocked. "This place wouldn't be so bad if the power was on" Henry mumbled. Red found the basement door at the end of the hall. Readying his weapon, he pushed on the door, which creaked open slowly, making more noise than Red cared for. The room beyond was pitch black, and even Mark couldn't see anything past the light that the open door let in. "any one got a match or lighter" Red asked, to which mark handed him a small LED flashlight. "This will work" Red said as he clicked on the light, illuminating a small portion of the darkness. The basement looked like it had been used as a shelter from the apocalypse, but any resent occupants had apparently vacated the premises. Mark voiced his worry, but they needed to make sure that this building wasn't infested before they settled in for the night. Red attached the flashlight to his shotgun and began descending the stairs into the darkness. "Mark, Henry, stay here and make sure nothing follows me, I'm going to see if I can find the fuse box". "Shouldn't one of us come with you"? Henry asked. "No, Murphy's Law, (friendly fire-isn't), I don't want more than one blind gun in the dark" saying this, Red continued his decent into the basement.

The sounds that greeted his ears were like what used to be used in old horror movies, and the only illumination in the room came from the small LED light attached to his shotgun which didn't help much as it was small. Red started searching for a fuse box or whatever powered the inn, and it didn't take long to find the buildings power box. He removed the boxes cover and flipped the main power switch, and immediately "All" of the lights in the building came on. (Zombies aren't the smartest things in the world, but in a city with very little to no power, one building's lights suddenly coming on has the effect of attracting attention). As Red turned around, he noticed something that he hadn't seen before in the darkness. Apparently the previous residents of this basement hadn't left after all. "At least seven to one, I hate being outnumbered" Red thought as he shot the closest zombie in the face with his 12-gauge. He then heard several shots from upstairs, and guessed that his companions were having the same problems. The second, third and fourth zombies all came to the same fate as the first, and for a second he thought that this wouldn't be a problem. Just when Blood-tail was feeling the rush that he loved, his luck changed in an instant as his gun jammed. "Aw fuck, not good" he said as he tried the trigger again. When his shotgun wouldn't fire, he instead reversed the gun and used it as a club to bash another of the zombie's skulls in. The impact of wood to bone fueled Red's blood-rage, the melee combat pushing all his buttons as brains and bits of wood flew across the room. After the creature was down he hit it again for good measure. Red dropped the mangled shotgun and quickly unsheathed his machete, swiftly decapitating the next corpse in range. The last was about to lunge for Blood-tail when its' head exploded. Mark was standing at the bottom of the stairs, his 12-gauge smoking. "Thanks, is Henry ok"? Red asked, Mark nodded and headed back up the stairs, leaving Red for the moment.

Red sighed and started walking towards the stairs when another zombie rose from behind a stack of boxes and grabbed Red from behind. The sudden attack caught him completely off guard, giving the zombie enough time to get a good grip on its' next meal. "Fuck you if you think I'm lunch, you freak" Red yelled at the zombie clinging to his neck. Blood-tail was having a hard time keeping this corpse from biting him, and he knew he was on his own when the shots upstairs continued in a more rapid succession. The day had had its' toll on Red, and as he struggled with the zombie on his back, it started to catch up with him. As his strength began to give way and he felt exhaustion gripping him, the zombie began fighting harder as it sensed its' meal weakening. Red made a last ditch effort and managed to flip the creature over his head, but in the process the zombie got a grip on blood-tails' arm and bit him. Red knew immediately that he had been bitten, but luckily his leather jacket was thick enough to prevent the zombie's teeth from breaking his scales and spreading the infection. It still hurt like an SOB, and he had to clench his teeth to keep the pain in the back of his mind and keep from crying out. His machete was lying on the floor in his reach, and it didn't take much effort to retrieve it and plunge the blade into the zombie's head. Red stood and slowly recovered his wits, checking to make sure the bite hadn't broken his scales. When he was satisfied that he wasn't going to become infected he retrieved his weapon and headed for the stairs. As he was climbing, the sounds of gunfire continued and he increased his pace. He examined his shotgun on the way up to see if using it as a club had had any serious negative side effects. To his dismay, he found that the stock had been cracked, which wouldn't have been a problem but the trigger had also been broken off. "I hate this town" he said as he threw the now useless weapon on the floor. He still had his AR and the .50 caliber magnum he had gotten at the diner, so he loaded the AR up and ran up the last few stairs.

7:45 p.m.

As Red bounded out of the basement, the carnage that greeted him was an unwelcome sight. Bodies and bullet casings were scattered throughout the halls, and there was blood everywhere. He started running towards the fading sound of gunfire. Judging by the shots, Red guessed that both Henry and mark were still alive, at least for the moment. Blood-tail kept running towards the exit, but in his haste he tripped over one of the bodies and landed hard on his face. The fall knocked the wind out of him, and got the attention of one the bodies on the floor. "Can't ever tell when these things are dead" Red muttered as he kicked the zombie in the head, cracking its' skull and leaving his boot print in what was left of the corpses head. "Something to remember me by" Red gave an all American solute to the zombie before he left the building.

7:40 p.m.

Mark and Henry had been running and gunning since blood-tail had turned on the lights, but they were running low on ammo and energy. Both of them only had about twenty rounds left, and they had only fired when they had a guaranteed kill shot. They had been working their way towards a fire escape in a nearby apartment building, but it had been an uphill battle the entire way. Henry fired several more shots at the advancing zombies as he continued running for the fire escape. Mark emptied his last shell into the nearest undead and threw his gun away, following Henry towards their last hope for survival.

7:50 p.m.

Things were suddenly very quiet, which wasn't good, as it meant his companions were either out of ammo or dead. Red couldn't decide which would be worse as he headed in the direction that the last shots had been fired from. It wasn't had to find the direction mark and Henry had gone, as all he had to do was follow the bodies and shell casings while checking to make sure that none of those bodies belonged to his companions.

8 p.m.

Mark grabbed the top rung and pulled himself over the ledge of the roof, turning around he grabbed Henry by the wrists and pulled him up the last few rungs. They were both panting from the climb and the haste at which they made it, but at least they were safe for now. "You okay, Henry" mark asked, his answer didn't take long in coming as Henry replied "I'm fine, but I'm worried about one as old as yourself". Mark grinned, he hadn't heard a joke from anyone since this hell on earth had started, and it was good to get a little humor. Still chuckling to himself, mark looked around their new haven for threats, but finding none, he returned to the edge of the three story building to survey the ground below. Off in the distance they could see the inn that had nearly gotten them killed, and they were both surprised at the number of zombies they had killed. The remainder of the zombies had gathered below, moaning and growling for their lost meal, and a few were even trying to climb up the side of the building with minimal success. Observing the undead climb and fall back to the ground lightened the mood between the two, and after a few minutes of watching AFV (zombie addition) they had almost forgotten that the apocalypse had come to their town. The humor didn't last long as several hunters came to investigate whatever had so many of their weaker brothers trying to scale a building. Both Henry and mark ducked out of sight the second they saw the hunters approaching. "Think they saw us"? Henry asked. Mark shook his head, "not yet".

8:12 p.m.

It had taken longer than expected for Blood-tail to walk around all the bodies as some of them were still alive (?). A quick swing of his machete was all that was needed, and he made sure that any corpses in his path were true corpses. Red went around the next corner, and nearly dropped his machete when he saw the largest group of zombies he had seen since this apocalypse had started. He quickly moved back around the corner, hoping that none of the creatures had seen him. Taking a chance, he peeked around the corner to size up the hoard. "I am so fucked" he thought as he counted the zombies. There were at least a hundred, but the worst part came when he noticed that there were five hunters in the group. Then he noticed that most of the zombies were either looking up at a nearby building, or trying to climb said building. This stuck him as odd until he noticed a head poke into view, recognizing it as Henry; Red breathed a sigh of relief. "At least I know Henry is still alive, but he won't be for long if I don't get those hunters away from them.

8:17 p.m.

"Mark, I think I can see blood-tail" Henry whispered. Mark looked over the edge, and quickly spotted Red squatting behind an old dumpster about 150ft away. "At least we know he's alive" mark whispered back. Henry looked over the ledge again; "wait, he's standing up, what the hell is he doing". This statement caused mark to look back over the wall, and he was almost spotted by one of the hunters below. "That is one crazy motherfucker down there" mark hissed as he sat back down. "What do you mean?" Henry asked. Mark looked Henry in the eye "he's going to try to lure those hunters away and give us a chance to get away; I just hope he can get save himself when he's done".

Chapter 3: Trust no one.

8:40 p.m. eastern time

This was the second time today that Blood-tail had been running for his life; scratch that, third time today. Red thought about mark and Henry, and hoped that he had managed to lure all the hunters and other zombies away from their hiding spot. Thinking back, he decided that maybe shooting at a group of five hunters and about a hundred other zombies hadn't been a good idea. One box of spare cartridges left for his magnum, and four twenty round magazines remaining for his AR was all the ammo he had left. The only other weapon he had was his machete, which wouldn't do much against five hunters. "Well, if I go, I take some of these fuckers with me" he thought as he bounded over a car on its side. Getting to another car, Red spun-around and shot the gas tank of the other car, causing it to explode in a ball of flame. The closest hunter was incinerated by the blast; its screams of rage audible above the explosion, but the other four ignored their comrade and kept coming. Red turned and continued running, hoping to put some real distance between him and his pursuers. He had been running for about twenty minutes, and the only reason he was still alive was the fact that he was more agile than the hunters. They were stronger and faster on an open stretch of ground, but blood-tail had kept to the narrow winding alleys of the city, and thus he had managed to stay a few meters ahead of them. Looking ahead, Red spotted a gate blocking his path about a hundred feet away, the only object in the alley was an old dumpster "lets' see if this works" Red thought to himself. He continued towards the gate at full speed, increasing his pace he bounded up onto the dumpster and leapt over the fence, swiveling in mid-air 180 degrees and firing at the hunter in the lead. The bullet didn't hit the hunter in the head like Red had wanted, but instead impacted with its' shoulder, spinning the creature around and causing it to trip. He landed hard but quickly regained his balance and kept on running. "Three left, just three more" he hissed. The strain of all the running he had been doing was really starting to slow him down, while the hunters seemed inexhaustible and had managed to keep the same pace the entire time they had been chasing blood-tail. Just when it seemed things couldn't get any worse, they did. Red rounded another corner and almost ran face first into a brick wall, "ironic that they call them dead ends" Red muttered as he turned around to find that the hunters had blocked his escape route. "Two shots left, three adversaries, not good" he thought as he raised his weapon. The hunters charged in unison, hungry and pissed off that they had had to work so hard for one meal. Red shot one of the hunters in the head, sending it back to the hell it had come from. The second hunter got much closer and lunged, only to end up biting the barrel of the .50 caliber magnum as Red pulled the trigger, the .50 cal round tearing through the creature's skull like a hot knife through butter and splattering the surrounding walls with blood. The last round fired from the one weapon that actually killed the hunters quickly, Red pulled out his machete and prepared for the end. The final hunter, sensing that it would finally get its' meal, hit red with all its' strength. The impact sent blood-tail flying several feet, his flying days ended as he slammed into a brick wall. The wind knocked out of him, Red struggled to get up, but the exertion he had been putting on his body throughout the day, along with the hit he had taken were just too much for him to handle. His vision started to blur as the hunter walked up to him, he managed two last words before losing conciseness "fuck you".

***

8:20 p.m.

Mark and Henry were still trying to keep out of sight when Blood-tail came out of cover and fired several shots at the zombies. It actually took a few seconds for the zombies to figure out where the shots were coming from, but as soon as they spotted fresh meat that was in reach, all of them moved as one. Henry peeked out from their hiding place, where he observed that all but one of the zombies had chased after Red. Several more shots rang out, and looking up once more, even this last undead shambled away. "Mark, they're gone" Mark poked his head over the side to see for himself, and once he was satisfied that none of the zombies had remained, began climbing down the ladder. When they reached the last rung and were on the ground again, Marks' first question was "Henry, do you have any rounds bullets left"? Henry looked at his ammo belt, "just one fifteen round clip" he replied. "Not good" Mark said as he began walking in the direction that the other zombies had gone.

8:33 p.m.

It hadn't been hard to follow Blood-tail's trail, not with all the shots he had fired. The only problem that had occurred was brought on by having to sneak past the slower zombies that had been outdistanced by the hunters. Mark was in the lead and jumped in surprise when they saw the explosion in the distance. "We're definitely on the right track" Henry said as he broke into a run. Mark recovered his wits and followed suit, sprinting in the direction of the explosion. Both of them spotted the hunters running into an alley, and ran to catch up. Just as they got to the alleys' entrance, another shot rang out, causing them to increase their pace. It wasn't long before they found one of the hunters that had chased Blood-tail lying on the ground bleeding. "Think it's incapacitated?" Henry asked. Mark shook his head, "don't know, but I suggest we find another way around" Henry spotted another fire escape ladder and pointed to it. They crept away, being careful not to make any noise and alert the hunter to their presence.

***

8:48 p.m. About 650yds away...

A lone figure sat positioned on top of a five story building, a .50 caliber M107 Barrett sniper rifle pressed against his shoulder. The lone sniper sighted down his scope, steadying his rifle as he positioned his scopes' crosshairs on his intended target.....

***

8:49 p.m.

Mark was beginning to doubt whether Blood-tail was still alive. They had both heard two more shots, and then nothing but silence greeted their ears. Henry rounded another corner in the seemingly endless maze of turns, and almost tripped over the body of a dead hunter. Mark grabbed Henry by the shoulder and yanked him back around the corner, silencing him with a paw. Looking back around the corner, Mark took in the scene at a glance. Red's body was slumped against a wall, blood oozed from several deep gashes on Red's chest, his jacket was torn to shreds "There's nothing we can do" Mark whispered. Henry gazed at Mark, a look of shock in his eyes, "we can't just leave Red, he might still be alive" Mark's response was quick and calculated "there's no chance that we could help him even if we wanted to, at least not with one fifteen round clip of .22 caliber rounds left". Henry looked at Mark, then around the corner, then at his Ruger. "I don't care" he said before running out of safety and shooting the hunter in the back. The zombie turned around, looking more pissed off than a neutered dog surrounded by bitches in heat, and immediately charged the thing that had disturbed its' meal. Henry emptied his remaining clip into the hunter, who didn't slow or even seem to care that it was being shot. Henry braced himself for the impact, but it never came. When he opened his eyes, the hunter was just two feet from him, but it wasn't moving. The creature started to go limp, and then it just dropped like a rock, almost landing on Henry. Both Mark and Henry were wondering what had happened, until they noticed that the hunters head was gone. "What just happened?" Mark asked, his voice a mix of astonishment and wonder. Henry shook his head, "no idea, unless these things have explosives in their heads your guess is as good as mine". Remembering what they were here for, Mark ran over to Blood-tail to check his vitals. "He's still alive, but he won't be for long if we don't stop these claw wounds on his chest from bleeding". This time Henry was the one to show caution, "are you sure that's a good idea?" Mark looked back at him, "you're the one who risked your life to save him, and now you want to let him die"? "It's not that" Henry answered, "I meant that he could become one of those creatures, I'm just not sure if sticking around him would be a good idea". "We take him with us, as long as he's still alive, we won't abandon him" Mark snapped. After several minutes, they managed to patch Red up with the pieces of his jacket that the hunter had shredded, and after getting the wounds covered, the bleeding stopped almost completely. "Mark might think it's safe to hang around someone who could be infected, but I still don't like this" Henry thought as they sat on either side of Blood-tail, waiting for him to wake up.

***

Dreamland

Red couldn't think! He didn't know where he was or what he was doing in this strange place. The last thing he remembered was a sharp pain and then......... nothing. Looking around, he surveyed his surroundings, trying to determine his location. His head was pounding, and for some reason wherever he was located was completely blank... "This is weird" he thought as he tried to stand. His thoughts cleared as he rose up, but the pain in his head only got worse. "Fuck, what the hell is going on? Where am I?" Red finally spotted something in the distance; it looked like another dragon. "Finally, maybe now I can get some answers" he breathed a sigh of relief as he began running towards the lone figure. Walking up behind the figure, Red called to him, but the lone dragon just stood with his back turned. "Hey, I'm talking to you!" he said as he walked up behind the dragon. Still getting no response from the seemingly oblivious dragon, Red grabbed the lone figure's shoulder and spun him around. Red stumbled back several paces when he saw the face of the other dragon. "Holy fucking shit!" he almost yelled this as he realized the face was his own, but at the same time it wasn't. The other him had blood spattered on its' chest, and its' face wasn't all there; looking almost like someone had taken a dull knife and tried to perform surgery. The eyes were the worst, lifeless and expressionless, but with a deeper look of hunger burning in them. "This can't be real" Red whispered to himself, backing away in horror. The deranged thing that looked like him began slowly walking towards him, and Red started to turn to run, but he couldn't move his legs. He finally regained his composure and stood to face this abomination, he wouldn't be a servant to his fears. "Bring it, you piece of shit" he yelled his war-cry. Finding that he could move his legs again, he charged the creature, yelling out every insult he could think of. Although this other him was the same size, hitting it at full speed was like hitting a brick wall and Red fell over, holding his shoulder in pain. "How? What are you"? He hissed through clenched teeth. The thing merely answered by lunging towards Red and biting his neck. Red screamed in pain as he felt the teeth of the creature sink into his neck, tearing his flesh, darkness quickly enveloped him as he slipped into the abyss.

4:20 a.m.

Blood-tail woke up screaming and promptly had a paw clamped over his muzzle. Henry woke up immediately, pulling his gun out and pointing it at Blood-tail's head. "Put that pistol away" Mark hissed. "I've still got one shot left, and if he's infected, it's going in his brain" Henry whispered. Red didn't know where he was at first, but he quickly recognized Henry and Mark, which calmed him slightly, but the gun Henry was holding to his head didn't help. "What's going on?" Red tried to ask, although his voice was muffled. "See, I told you he's not infected" Mark said as he took his paw away from Red's face. "I still don't like this, look at how pale he is" Henry said as he lowered his gun slightly. Mark began to answer Red's question, but was silenced him with a hand. "I probably don't want to know" Red said as he stood up shakily. "Let's get moving before more zombies show up"

***

4:20 a.m. about seventy miles away...

"Mr. Den, I'm getting scattered reports and distress calls over the helicopter's radio. I would suggest that we return to the airport and deter away from our present course". Ryan Den looked at the helicopter pilot, turning on the headphone's internal radio. Ryan frowned as he listened to the reports coming in, and after listening for another minute, turned the radio off. "Keep on your present course" Ryan said. The pilot looked nervous as he replied "sir, we don't know what happened in that city, besides, the proper authorities have most likely already been mobilized". Ryan looked back at the pilot; "continue on our present course".

Chapter 4:

The apocalypse, day two 5:46 a.m. Eastern Time

The city below looked like the depths of Hades from the passenger seat of the twin-star AS355 helicopter. All Ryan could see from his seat was smoke and burning buildings. The military had tried to turn the twin engine civilian helicopter around, but Ryan had identified himself and was grudgingly admitted past the quarantine zone. He was amazed that something as small as a viral infection (assuming the military had told him the truth) could cause this much damage to such a large city. Ryan had also been informed that the remaining residents of the city would have to be exterminated due to the chance of the infection spreading to other areas. He had been appalled when he was told this, and had immediately started making arrangements with his pharmaceutical company to come up with an anti-virus. Unfortunately this would require a sample, and with time being of the essence he had ordered his pilot to take the chopper down. The pilot, Bernard, was a retired paratrooper and had been nervous since they had received the distress calls over two hours ago, and being told to land in what might be a warzone in a matter of hours didn't help his demeanor. Ryan didn't like landing in a burning city any more than Bernard did, but he needed to get that sample.

***

5:55 a.m.

Sylvr gathered up his equipment, his ammo supplies were beginning to run low. He had been taking well placed shots at any undead he could hit, saving more than one survivor being attacked by zombies. Sylvr was relatively standard in appearance for a fox. At 5'9, he wasn't the tallest fur on the block, but he could hold his own in a fight. The only distinguishing features he had was his coloration, instead of his chest and abdomen being completely white, he had a few black splotches in those areas. He had grown up on a farm a few miles outside the city, and just as karma would have it, he came into the city the day of the apocalypse. His first encounter with the zombies had been almost laughable. When one of the zombies started messing with his truck, he had watched it for about a minute without being noticed. When the zombie started trying to get into his vehicle by running head-first into the passenger side door, Sylvr started laughing his ass off. Unfortunately, this got had gotten the creature's attention, and the next thing Sylvr knew, he was fighting for his life against a snarling fur. After killing the crazed fur, Sylvr had grabbed the Barrett sniper rifle he kept in his truck and headed for high ground. At first it had been fun shooting at the zombies infesting the streets, but it soon became work trying to keep as many of the creatures off of the living as possible. As he was getting up, the door that he had used to get up to his sniper perch slammed open. Behind door#1 was one pissed off hunter and five other zombies. "Karma, if you're listening, I hate you" Sylvr muttered as he raised his Barrett.

***

6:00 a.m.

Henry was still worried that Blood-tail would turn, but after nearly two hours of walking and hiding from the zombies with no real signs of danger from him, he was beginning to doubt that Red was actually infected. Mark had already decided that Red couldn't be infected, or he would've already mauled both of them. Mark had taken Red's AR, as it was the only weapon besides the .50 caliber magnum that Red carried that had ammo left.

***

Despite the fact that his companions had calmed down around him, Red knew that he only had a short time before the virus took over. He didn't want to tell mark or Henry this, as he wasn't ready to get shot in the head by a friend and was hoping that he might find a cure before it was too late. He thought about the nightmare he had had, and then about the survivors at the diner he had promised to rescue. "Wow, this really sucks, I wonder what it's like to be one of those mindless freaks" he thought as they continued heading towards their destination. His thoughts were cut short once again by the sound of a helicopter. "Shit, isn't this how yesterday started" he mumbled as he began searching for the chopper. It didn't take long to pinpoint the chopper's location, and it took Red even less time to realize that it was a civilian helicopter. He yelled to his companions, pointing out the helicopters location and indicating that he was going to go check it out. Mark nodded and went to get Henry, who had begun a search of a nearby McDonalds, hoping that he might find something to eat. "What's a civilian chopper doing in a zombie infested city?" Red thought as he started running towards the helicopter. The drone of the helicopter drew more than Blood-tail, however. As Red looked around him, he saw several nearby zombies stop whatever they were doing and start shambling towards the landing helicopter. Something flew by Blood-tail's head, causing him to trip. As he looked up, to his horror he saw the chopper being swarmed by multiple winged creatures. "Great, as if hunters weren't bad enough, now these fuckers can fly" Red mumbled as he pulled out his magnum and continued running towards the helicopter. Whoever was piloting the chopper was damn good, because even with all the extra unbalanced weight of the zombies on his craft, he still managed to keep it steady. Red thought that the helicopter might land safely, but one of the flying zombies managed to break the cockpit's glass, and the chopper immediately plummeted to the ground as the pilot lost control. He increased his pace to a run, hoping that the crash that was about to occur wouldn't kill everyone onboard the chopper. Red almost ran headfirst into another fur coming out of an alley at a fast sprint. Both blood-tail and this fur had their guns pointed at the other in less than a second. Red sized this new fur up, the white male ocelot was about the same height as he was. The ocelot had a good stance, which told Red that this wasn't just some normal civilian. His clothes were torn in several places and small amounts of dried blood dotted his trench coat. Neither of the two seemed willing to lower their weapons, both not wanting to take a chance that the other might be an enemy. The ocelot was the first to speak, "nice magnum". Red was about to answer when the sound of the helicopter crashing reached his ears. He decided to take his chances and took off at a run, leaving the other fur standing and wondering what the fuck just happened.

***

6:23 a.m.

Ryan knew that even a pilot as skilled as Bernard couldn't hold the twin-star up for much longer. He had pulled out a TDI Kriss super V that he kept under the rear passenger seat for emergencies and started firing at the creatures on the helicopter windows. The .45 caliber bullets punched clean though the creatures on the windows, but Ryan only managed to kill a few before Bernard lost control. The twin-star plummeted like a rock, but luckily they were only about thirty feet off the ground. Even at such a low altitude, when the helicopter came in contact with the pavement, the impact almost knocked Ryan unconscious. His vision blurred as he struggled to get his safety belt off after the crash, knowing that he was dead if he didn't get away from the vehicle fast. Bernard was trying to keep one of the creatures away from his face, but the thing was strong. Ryan aimed and shot the creature off of Bernard, giving him the chance to get out of the pilots seat and out of the chopper. After Bernard got out, he quickly helped Ryan open his door, which had been slightly jammed, but their combined effort was enough to open it. Ryan was still a bit groggy as Bernard pulled him away from the helicopter, but he was alert enough to notice a lone figure running towards him. Bernard, ever the loyal bodyguard and friend, took point, pulling out a desert eagle and getting ready for the worst. As the figure got closer, Ryan saw that he was a dragon, and he hoped that he could get some info on what was happening in the city. Bernard however, was wary of this new dragon, and he showed his lack of trust by pointing his desert eagle at the stranger, who upon seeing that he now had a gun pointed at him, stopped in his tracks.

***

Red, upon seeing that two furs had survived the crash, had increased his pace even more, but upon getting within fifty feet of the survivors, he spotted a gun aimed at his chest and stopped cold. One of the survivors, a large wolf who, because of his stance and posture, Red assumed he had a military background. The other, a tiger, at least Red thought it was a tiger (he had never seen a green tiger before) was even taller than the wolf with the gun. Red guessed that the tiger was at least 6'5, and most likely a civilian but he couldn't be sure. All the more aware of the gun pointed at his chest, Red holstered his magnum and hoped that the wolf wouldn't shoot. He normally would never lower his weapon when threatened, but he didn't want to get into a firefight with another survivor.

***

Bernard, upon seeing the dragon lower his magnum, waited another few seconds and then put his desert eagle away. Ryan started the conversation, firing off questions and getting answers as fast as he asked a question. Unfortunately he didn't have time to ask all the questions on his mind as he saw several other furs shambling towards them. The dragon, who called himself Blood-tail, pulled his magnum out with a speed that made Ryan blink. The action caused Bernard to go for his weapon, thinking that Blood-tail was going to try to shoot them, but instead of aiming the gun at them, Blood-tail started firing at the furs that were heading towards them. "what the hell are you doing" Ryan and Bernard yelled this at the same time, both of them wondering why Blood-tail was shooting at civilians until they looked closer at the "civilians" all of which looked diseased, appearing as if they had rabies. Bernard hoped that he was doing the right thing as he started firing at the gathering hoard of furs, and after another moment of hesitation, Ryan followed suit with his SMG.

***

6:35 a.m.

Red knew that he didn't have enough ammo to deal with all these zombies, so after blowing the head of another zombie that was getting a little too close, he yelled to the Ryan and Bernard to follow him. The ocelot he had almost run into earlier had started walking towards them, taking a few well placed shots at any zombies that got too close. "Good, one more survivor that can handle a gun" Red thought as he continued running. Red hadn't seen mark or Henry since he had left to check out the chopper, and he was starting to worry that they may have gotten into trouble. Even if they had gotten into the meat grinder, there was nothing he could do at the moment, so he continued running in the opposite direction of the hoard that had gathered. Ryan and Bernard were following close behind, taking the occasional pot-shot at any zombies in their path. Red decided to head for the McDonalds that Mark had mentioned, hoping that his companions had made it to safety. The ocelot caught up to Red and fell in with the small group, deciding that it would be safer in a group than alone. "Lovely day for a morning run, don't you think" despite the graveness of the situation, Red couldn't help but chuckle at the ocelot's comment as he shot another zombie. The group finally reached the McDonalds and almost busted down the door in their haste to get in. it took a few seconds to barricade the door, and once that was done everyone sat down to rest, sighing in relief. Red noticed that all the windows were boarded up, and his hopes flared that he might find a few more survivors. He started searching the building, but didn't find anyone at first. Red was drawn by a noise coming from the bathroom and promptly went to check it out. Opening the door slowly, he found Henry huddled in a corner, sobbing quietly. Red dropped his magnum and went over to Henry, knowing what he was going to hear. Red still asked the question, even though he knew the answer, "where's Mark". Henry broke down completely; everything he had seen in the past two days was too much for him to hold in as he began sobbing uncontrollably. "Dead, he saved my life" Henry managed to say between sobs. Red had never had a brother, and it might have been the apocalypse, but he had felt a brotherly bond with Henry as soon as he had seen him at the diner. Seeing Henry like this started to pull at the few weak emotional strings Red had exposed, and he was about to lose his composure when Bernard yelled for him. He almost ignored the call until several gunshots sounded followed by the sound of splintering wood. "Stay here" Red said softly as he stood up and walked out of the bathroom. He was almost glad to head back to the action, as he didn't like the emotional stuff. He thought about everything that had happened in the last two days and how likely it was that they'd all be dead before nightfall. Not the most reassuring thoughts, but they allowed him to regain the uncaring detachment he preferred to use in public. Getting back into the main room, things were worse than he could have possibly imagined. The McDonalds was completely surrounded by zombies, and not just the dumb ones, there were at least fifteen hunters in the group (at least those were all he could see though the viewpoints in the windows).

Bernard was arguing with the ocelot in a corner, and Ryan was standing by one of the boarded windows looking though a small hole. Red walked up to him, "what are our chances of surviving this" he asked rhetorically. Ryan answered after looking though the window once more "I'd say with the weapons we have...we've got less of a chance than a snowball in hell". "I was afraid of that" Red said as he looked out one of the windows again. The noise suddenly stopped as the drone of engines was heard, and everyone in the room started looking out the windows, trying to find out where the noise was coming from. Bernard was the first to spot the Blackhawk helicopters "looks like the Calvary's here" Bernard yelled. The tension that had been in the room faded almost immediately upon hearing this, and everyone in the room was overjoyed when they heard the sound of the helicopter's machine guns mowing down the zombies outside. "Now that's what I call firepower" Bernard shouted as he watched the zombies getting shot, a few heads exploding from the rounds tearing into them. Red went to go get Henry and tell him the good news. He found Henry still in the same corner he had been in, but calmed down slightly and rocking back and forth. Red was still worried about the young wolf, but they could discuss what had happened once they were safe. "Come on, help just arrived" Henry looked up, and Red could tell he was in shock. He helped Henry up and led him out towards the main room where everyone was watching the show. As the last of the zombies fell to the combined assault of the five Blackhawks, Bernard unbarred the door and walked outside, followed by everyone else. "I never did get your name" Red said casually to the ocelot walking beside him. "I'm Joseph, Joseph swift" the ocelot replied, smiling. "Well, Joseph, it was a pleasure killing zombies with you on this fine day" Red said as they walked out of the building, getting a stifled laugh from Swift. Things looked good, Red thought as they continued towards the helicopters which were now landing. The mood was shattered by one of the soldiers, and then another pointing their rifles at the group. Red looked down at his chest, noticing several bright green dots aimed at his heart. "Shit" Red muttered as noticed that everyone in his group had rifles with laser sights aimed at them. Bernard noticed too, and continued forward "what the hell is going on, lower your weapons or I'll do it. We're not infec..." his words were cut short as one of the soldiers fired, startling everyone in the group. Red thought that the soldier had just fired warning shots, until Bernard clutched his chest and toppled to the ground. No one moved after that, all of them were too shocked to even blink. Red spotted someone getting out of one of the Blackhawks, his blood boiled when he recognized Joe Higgins. "You bastard, what the fuck is wrong with you" Red spat as Higgins walked up to him. "Now, now, not everyone can survive this little infestation, besides; we don't need any of these other survivors to tell the world what's transpired in this city". "What about the survivors back at the diner?" Red asked. "They were an expectable loss" Higgins sneered. "Fuck you" this was said by both Red and Swift. Higgins looked at Swift, "I don't recall asking you" he said as he pulled out a Glock 9mm pistol and shot swift in the leg. "You fucking bastard" Red screamed as he charged Higgins. Blood-tail felt one bullet hit him, then another, but all he wanted was revenge. He took three more rounds to the chest before going down. As darkness enveloped him, the only thing that went though his mind was "I failed them all"

***

7:10 a.m.

Sylvr watched the scene though his scope, taking in everything. The Blackhawks had been an unexpected welcome, until they had started firing on the group of survivors that had walked out of the McDonalds. He continued watching as the marines loaded up the two bodies and herded the rest of the survivors into the waiting Blackhawks. The group of helicopters quickly took off and headed towards the city limits, but instead of flying out of the city, they landed in a park about a mile away. Sylvr noticed that the area that the Blackhawks had flown to was clear of smoke and the glow of fires, and he was surprised that he hadn't noticed this area sooner. Packing up his rifle again, he headed for the nearest exit. "This is going to be a long day" he thought.

Chapter five: out of the oven and into the frying pan

Time unknown, day unknown.

Ryan awoke with a splitting headache. The last thing he remembered was getting on the military transport helicopter, feeling a prick in his arm, and then losing consciousness. He had no idea where he was, but he figured that he was probably out of the city. The room he was in looked almost like a hospital recovery room, white walls, beds and chairs, the whole entourage. Looking around, Ryan spotted those who had still been alive when they were captured; Joseph and Henry were lying on separate bunks, both were still out cold. Ryan didn't see Blood-tail anywhere in the room, and he knew he would likely never see him alive again. He had seen Red take at least five or more bullets to the chest, and the chances that he was still alive were slim to nothing. Ryan approached Joseph's bunk, hoping that he was okay after being shot in the leg. Although he didn't know Joseph Swift very well, it was in Ryan's' nature to help those in need. "At least those bastards patched him up a bit" Ryan breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the bandages on Swift's leg. He went to go check Henry for injuries, and finding none decided to search the room for an exit. As he examined every nook and cranny in the room, his thoughts turned to what the military (assuming those who had captured them were even military and not just a bunch of mercenaries) could gain by holding them hostage. Maybe they just wanted control of Ryan's pharmaceutical company "no, who ever these guys are, they're well paid and wouldn't go after something like that" Ryan's thoughts continued to drift farther and farther. He finally found an air vent hidden behind a sofa, but it was much too small for him to crawl though. He would just have to wait and hope that Swift or Henry would be able to squeeze into the vent and escape.

***

Third day of the apocalypse, 2:23 a.m. Eastern time.

Sylvr had been dodging the main groups of zombies all day and part of the night. He didn't know why he was heading towards the base in the first place as it would probably get him killed. But, he wanted answers and he hated the unknown. Most of the zombies he had encountered hadn't given him any trouble, just an inconvenience, but the flying ones had been a bitch to hit with a bolt action. Other than that, things had gone fine; he wasn't even disturbed when he stopped to take a short nap. The bright side of everything was that he was almost to the base, but once there he knew it wouldn't be easy getting in. his ammo supplies where dangerously low, so a full frontal assault was out of the question. Sylvr decided to set up camp a few hundred yards outside the base and hope that something would come up that would allow him to sneak inside undetected.

***

Swift awoke with a groan, almost glad that he had been drugged. It wasn't the first time he had been shot, as he worked with the local police department, but it had been awhile since his last encounter with a bullet. He quickly surveyed his surroundings and spotted the green tiger sitting in a corner, apparently asleep. He hadn't caught the tiger's name, but then again, he hadn't really had the time to learn any of the names of the group of survivors he had found. One of the others that he had been with was also in the room, although the young wolf next to him seemed to be in shock and would probably remain that way for a few hours. Swift decided to get any information he could and went to wake the tiger. His conversation with Ryan was short, but swift learned everything he needed to know, along with the names of the other survivors. He was just about to ask Ryan about his pharmaceutical company when the door to their "prison" opened and two guards with SMGs walked in. The guards were in full body armor, wearing so much crap that swift couldn't even tell what species they were. "we've got orders to put you all in another more secure room, please follow us if you don't want to be shot" the taller of the two guards said this with a chuckle, "he'd probably enjoy putting another bullet in me" Swift thought as he signaled Ryan to get Henry. The guards led the trio down several stairways and blank halls, with no way to tell what time it was, this seemed to take an eternity. Judging by the time they had walked and the distance they covered over the next hour or so, Swift guessed that they had covered at least a mile. He guessed that they were at probably two-hundred plus feet underground as the path they had been walking was sloped at about a twenty-five degree angle. Neither of the guards said anything as they led their prisoners down into the depths of the base. Henry was finally starting to come out of shock, but his current location didn't help. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of walking, the group reached a set of reinforced doors. Swift felt his blood boil as the doors opened, letting in just enough light to illuminate a figure seated in the room.

***

Ryan recognized the wolf that had shot Swift and was most likely the cause of Bernard's death. He kept his cool as the guards ushered the trio into the small room even though the only thing he wanted to do was rip the bastard's arms out of their sockets and beat him to death with them. He had reasons to cooperate besides the obvious, namely getting answers. "Welcome gentlemen, so nice of you to join me" Higgins's words might have been friendly, but his tone was far from welcoming. Ryan locked eyes with the man who had been the cause of his friends' death, looking for a sign of weakness, remorse, or anything he could use to his advantage. He found nothing to his advantage as Higgins met his piercing gaze. The staring contest was called short by a question from Henry, who had remained silent since their capture. "Why" the single word was used sincerely without malice, one word that encompassed so many questions about what had happened in the city. Higgins held his gaze with Ryan for a second longer before turning his back to the group. "Power, that's why, and what better way to acquire power then to create an army of super soldiers". Ryan, Swift, and Henry all looked at Higgins with confused expressions; not understanding what had just been said. "What does that have to do with what's happened in this city" again, this question was asked by Henry. "What has happened to this city was a direct result of a new drug we've developed, one designed to create the ultimate fighting machine. A new breed of soldier that would be able to take more damage, fight longer and harder, and be capable of healing instantly". This last part was said with pride, and it sent chills down Ryan's spine as he realized what was being attempted. Higgins continued "unfortunately, this drug is not without its side effects. We've only had a few minor successes throughout ten years of testing, and most of those subjects that were a success later died from unknown causes or committed suicide. To this day, we only have two partially successful subjects that have retained their sanity, and even they are quickly slipping into a mindless abyss. So, we decided to gather new subjects, unfortunately, not many are willing to volunteer for such an experiment and we had to take a, what some might call drastic, turn in the research. Ryan was about to respond when one of the guards radios buzzed to life. The guard answered the call, sounding annoyed, but his demeanor changed as he listened. Ryan heard gunshots over the microphone, along with screaming and orders being shouted. Higgins headed for the door, motioning the guards to stay with the prisoners. Once he was gone, Ryan took the first opportunity to take down the nearest guard while he was distracted, Swift following his lead and tackled the other guard before he could raise his weapon.

***

3:40 a.m.

Sylvr had finally been granted a break in this shit storm, coming in the form of a large group of at least twenty hunters. From his vantage point, he had thrown rocks and anything else he could find in the hunter's path. It had been easier than expected, as all he'd had to do was throw debris a few meters ahead of the hunters, ultimately luring them right towards the base. The plan had been farfetched, but it had worked. As expected, once the hunters spotted the base, they had gone into a killing frenzy, creating chaos though out the complex. To help the pandemonium, Sylvr had fired several rounds at a cluster of fuel tanks, the resulting explosion shook the entire base, but more importantly it cleared out a bunker full of soldiers who were trying to make a stand. After taking a few more well placed shots at a couple of high ranking officers, he climbed down from his sniping perch and sprinted though the shadows towards the base. Luckily, none of the panicked soldiers spotted the running form in the shadows as they fought for their lives. He reached one of the smaller buildings in the complex, almost getting spotted by a uniformed wolf exiting the building. Recognition dawned as he realized who he was looking at. It was the same wolf who had captured the group of survivors he had come looking for. Sylvr stepped out of the shadows; the other fur looked startled, especially upon seeing the Ruger P345 pointed at his chest. "Who the hell are you?" "I could ask the same about you" Sylvr replied. "Fine, since you hold the cards, for now, I guess it's only polite to introduce myself. My name is Joe Higgins, commander of this fine outpost, not like it matters whether or not you know my name". Sylvr cocked his head at this last part, almost missing the subtle motion of the wolf's paw as it reached into a back pocket. He took no chances and emptied his clip into the wolf. Even if Higgins was wearing Kevlar, it wouldn't matter against the .45 caliber rounds he had just put into it. "Don't worry Higgins, I'm sure no one will miss the OIC" Sylvr muttered to the corpse as he dragged the body behind the building. Stopping for a minute to conceal the body, he reloaded his handgun and headed back towards the front door. Checking to make sure no one saw anything, he dashed inside the building. It didn't take long to find an elevator; Sylvr almost blew a gasket when he saw all the buttons. "Holy shit, how deep does this thing go" there were over thirty floors labeled on the panel, and several of them were locked. "This...could take awhile" Sylvr thought as her randomly punched one of the buttons.

***

The fight had been over before it started. Ryan had manhandled one of the guards into shooting himself in the chest, while Swift had kneed the other in the groin several times before snapping the guard's neck. They had confiscated the two UMPs that the guards had, and were now searching for an exit. Henry had finally recovered from his condition and had taken a sidearm from Higgins's desk. Ryan knew what the kid was going though, as he was no stranger to lose and the pain it brought. Still, discussing what had happened, along with the crying and hugging would have to wait.

***

Swift couldn't help but feel like they were going to hit a shitstorm. He could feel it in his gut, a cold sense of dread that filled every pore of his body. He just couldn't figure it out, nothing had happened yet, and no one had spotted them, so why was he on edge? He decided to put his worried thoughts out of his mind for now and concentrate on escaping this underground complex. Spotting what looked like a door a few meters ahead, he signaled Ryan and Henry to cover the sides. Once they were in position, he eased the door open a crack, SMG held at the ready. After a few tense seconds of expecting hundreds of rounds to rip though his body, Swift opened the door the rest of the way. Ryan walked up, "whoever designed this place must have been a roadrunner fan" he muttered as he examined the blank wall behind the door. Swift couldn't figure it out, what kind of idiot would put a door on a blank wall? His musings were interrupted by a faint beeping sound, his heart jumping into his throat as he thought up countless possibilities of what kind of trap they had triggered. Ryan heard the beeping too, and grabbed Henry by the arm, pulling him away from the door. Henry flicked a few light switches as they jogged away from the door, darkening the room. Rushing back to a defensible position, they all aimed at the doorway, "better safe than sorry" Swift thought as he continued to stare down the passage.

***

3:48 a.m.

Sylvr was almost starting to miss elevator music. He'd been descending rapidly for several minutes, and figured he must be at least two hundred plus feet below ground. Still, it felt nice to rest for a few minutes without having to worry about getting mauled by zombies. The elevator chimed and the doors slid open, immediately his calm demeanor disappeared as he surveyed the room beyond. It was dark, but there was still enough light to see down the empty hall. Something wasn't right; he felt eyes on him but couldn't see anyone. Sylvr spotted the glint of metal down the corridor, his thoughts racing as he calculated his chances of surviving a firefight in his current position. Instead of shooting, he decided to take a necessary risk, setting down his rifle, he stood ramrod still, waiting and hoping that his hunch was correct. It didn't take long for him to spot movement, and then a shape moved out from behind a group of boxes. He recognized one of the survivors; the green tiger he'd seen was even bigger than he first thought, standing at least a foot taller than him. The tiger walked up to him, offering his hand in what would most likely be an alliance, both participants knew that if neither of them had fired a shot, it meant they were on the same side. The tiger introduced himself as Ryan Den, waving down the hall, another figure appeared, one of the other survivors Sylvr had spotted, a young wolf. Sylvr told them his name, and with the pleasantries over, talk of escape routes began. Sylvr noticed another figure step out of the shadows once a conversation had started, "good, at least they were competent enough not to send all their firepower out into the open at once" he thought to himself while he listened to Ryan's explanation of what had happened since their capture. An explosion rocked the underground complex, interrupting the conversation. Sylvr yelled to be heard above the noise "I THINK WE SHOULD SERIOUSLY CONSIDER GETTING THE FUCK OUT OF HERE". The other member of the group that had been concealed came running up, nearly out of breath. "We need to get out of here" Swift said in a rush. "Yea, we know, this whole place could come crashing down on our heads any second" Sylvr snapped. "that's not our only problem, I went' back down a few of these hallways while you two were chatting, several hunters broke though the militaries defenses and are currently heading in our direction. I have no clue how they got down here, but at the moment, I really don't care" Swift replied hastily. "Shit" Ryan muttered, "Sylvr, do you have any spare weapons?" "Just one" Sylvr replied as he pulled out the 9mm Glock he had confiscated from Higgins. "Thanks" Ryan replied as he took the weapon. Swift walked up, looking at the gun "how come I don't get one" he asked. "Only got one, sorry" "what about that P345?" Sylvr looked at his Ruger, then back at swift, then to his Ruger again. "Fine, you can *borrow* it for now, but I want it back as soon as we get another weapon". Swift looked like a kid in a candy store as he was handed the gun. Heading back to the elevator, everyone piled in. it was a tight fit, as the elevator was probably only designed for two to three occupants. As the elevator doors closed, Ryan started fidgeting. "Something wrong?" Sylvr asked. "No, I've just had some bad experience with elevators" Ryan replied. Sylvr was about to press the button for the top floor when the elevator started descending. "I thought we were going up" Henry said. "Someone must have called the elevator" Swift muttered. Sylvr looked up and found just what he needed to see, an emergency hatch. The hatch was locked, but one .50 caliber later, the elevators occupants were climbing out to relative safety. The elevator finally stopped just as Henry climbed out of the hatch, Ryan quickly shut the hatch behind him. All they could do now was shut up and hope that no one noticed the blown out lock. Judging by the voices, there were two furs in the elevator, both males.

***

Ryan strained to hear above the noise of the elevator, he could just make out a few words. "How did subject 208 do on his tests?" "Very well, I think we may have found the perfect subject for PROJECT REAPER" "we'll begin the next stage of testing in about an hour" "do you think Higgins and his men can hold out?" "Doesn't matter, were five hundred feet below ground, not even a nuclear warhead could punch though all the steal and lead lining in this place". Ryan couldn't tell who had said what, but as the elevator came to a grinding halt and the occupants stepped out, he knew he had to stop whatever was going on in this complex. He might still be able to acquire a sample of the virus, giving his pharmaceutical company a chance at concocting an anti-virus. Ryan whispered to Sylvr "take Henry and Swift to safety, I've got something I need to do". Sylvr nodded, but Swift didn't care for this plan of action. "No way you're going alone, I'm coming too" Swift said. Ryan thought about this for a second before nodding. Stepping out into the empty hall, Ryan turned around and watched the doors on the elevator slide shut. Swift stepped up beside Ryan, "let's get some payback and give these bastards hell". He knew how Swift felt, and he was just as anxious to make those who had killed his friends and so many others pay with their blood.

***

4:30 a.m.

Lights flickered on, a lone scientist stepping into a room the size of a football field. The room was lined with tanks, all occupied by a single comatose form. The scientists' radio buzzed with static as he checked the status of several of the tanks.

*bring in test subject #208 and begin stage two evaluations*

Chapter six: Kill Or Be Killed

5:00 a.m. third day of the apocalypse

"Things were finally going in the right direction" Ivan thought to himself. Ivan was a bear of a scientist (literally, being a grizzly) everyone that worked around him knew what he expected and only one had ever questioned his authority. Being the leader and founder of "Project Reaper" had had its ups and downs, but today, things were going perfectly. Well, almost perfectly. The top half of the base had been breached, but luckily the lower levels were still secure. "All in all, this was going to be a good day" Ivan smiled to himself. Stepping over to the observation deck, he surveyed the room below. It was a rather small testing room, much smaller than he was used to, but it served its purpose. "ah, just in time" he mumbled as subject 55 was wheeled in. so far, subject 55 had been the most promising out of all the other specimens collected in the city. 55 was the strongest, most aggressive specimen that Higgins and his teams had brought in, and 55 had even managed to kill eight well trained heavily armed marines before they could get it contained. Another tank was wheeled in shortly after tank 55. Subject 208 was the most recent specimen added to his collection, and according to his assistants, was also the most promising. According to Ivan's head researcher, 208 had passed all bio tests with flying colors, and while 55s mind was slightly degraded by the virus, 208s remained in perfect condition. Most of the tests on 208 thus far had been bio tests, but that was about to change. Ivan was looking forward to observing 208 in action. Both tanks were set on opposite sides of the room, several other scientists gathering around Ivan to observe the test. The liquid nitrogen that was used to keep the specimens inactive was slowly drained and the short thawing process began. Five minutes later, Ivan was watching in amusement and anticipation as 55 and 208 struggled out of the bonds that held them.

***

Red's eyes fluttered open. "What happened" was the only thing he could think of. His head was pounding with the worst migraine he had ever had, and his scales felt like ice. He took in his surroundings as soon as his vision cleared, trying to place his location along with how he got wherever he was. The room he was currently in looked like...thinking about it, he decided it didn't look like any room he had ever been in. it was just a huge white room, no decorations, no ornaments, nothing but white walls. Trying to move, he realized that he was strapped down and couldn't move his arms or legs, even his tail was secured. Looking down, he saw what bound him, two solid steel straps (possibly titanium) on each limb. "Great, now what" he muttered. His surprise was clear when he tugged at the restraints and they snapped like corroded pieces of sheet metal. "Weird" Red thought as he stepped out of the tank, eying the broken pieces of metal. It took a second for him to spot another tank on the far side of the room, but he couldn't quite tell exactly how far it was with nothing to use as a reference. He started walking towards the other tank, his thoughts turning towards his last moments of consciousness. He had failed everyone, no matter how hard he tried, he had still failed. His dismal thoughts were interrupted by a booming voice that seemed to come from nowhere, but at the same time, it came from everywhere.

{We are going to play a little game of sorts. Subject 208, you'll notice that there is another tank in this room with you. That tank contains subject 55, our leading specimen and at the moment, also the deadliest one. The rules of this test, or game, are simple, all you have to do is survive... oh, and don't forget, have fun} this last part made Red cringe. "Great, more things that want to kill me. This day just keeps getting better and better". Red noticed that the other tank was open, the evaporating liquid nitrogen giving the tank a foreboding appearance. "Aw shit" Red mumbled under his breath as the occupant of the tank stepped out. It appeared to be a Doberman, except for the fact that it was ripped beyond belief. The thing was huge, bulging with enough muscle to make the hulk shit himself.

***

Ivan watched the scene unfold, eagerly awaiting the outcome of this test. 55 stood for a moment longer before charging 208. The speed of the attack was blindingly fast, if Ivan had blinked, he would have missed it. 208 was flying though the air before he knew what hit him. 55 didn't stop; he charged again and slammed 208 a second time before he even hit the ground. Ivan frowned; he had hoped that this subject would do better than the previous ones.

***

"Fuck that hurt" red Gasped though clenched teeth as he recovered from the blow "that thing is fast". The Doberman was just a few yards away, but once it saw its prey getting up it charged again. Red didn't have more than a second to react, but react he did. Sidestepping the next blow, he tackled the creature, throwing every bit of strength he had into his attack. He almost couldn't believe it when he pushed the Doberman back several yards and choke slammed the thing into the ground. The white tiles around the impact site shattering from the force of the body being slammed into them. Red blinked, not believing that he'd just done what he did, his hesitation gave his opponent time to recover. One second Red was contemplating how he had just choke slammed something that must weigh at least four-hundred pounds of pure muscle, and the next moment he was being held two feet off the ground, struggling against a stranglehold. His instincts told him to fight the Doberman's grip, but he pushed those natural reactions back and instead did something he knew would work. Grabbing the Dobermans head, Red inserted his thumbs into his assailant's eye sockets, pushing them as far as they would go. The Doberman's reaction was exactly what he was hoping for. The creature promptly dropped him, howling in pain and clutching at what was left of its eyes.

***

Ivan watched the scene unfold in the testing room. 208 was definitely resourceful, attacking one of the few weaknesses that 55 had. 208 didn't hesitate taking advantage of his opponent's inactivity, and promptly charged 55. The virus in 208 still hadn't fully developed, so the attack was slower than 55s, but it was still hard to follow. Ivan heard bones snap (courtesy of the hundreds of microphones planted in the testing center) as 208 slammed into 55s legs. The impact was probably strong enough to bend reinforced steel, something that Ivan planned on testing later. With his opponent on the ground, apparently out of commission, 208 was about to deliver the final blow, but he stopped with his fist raised above 55s head. 208 just sat where he was, fist raised but not moving, as if he was searching for something. One of the technicians yelled "finish him" into a nearby mic. In answer, 208 stood up and stepped away from the body. "Great, the last thing this project needs is a subject with a conscious" Ivan thought. Another idea formed, something that he hoped would work. "Bring in subject 1" Ivan motioned to his second in command to make it fast. Subject 1 was the first of two infected that Higgins and his teams had captured. Ivan hadn't spent that much time with 1 until recently, mostly because this particular subject seemed useless at first, gaining no noticeable enhancements from the virus. However, all assessments of 1 had been based on looking for the wrong thing. Several lab techs had placed 1 with another group of infected. After about an hour, 1 had started releasing a strange gas, the other infected in the room promptly going into fits of rage. The strangest part of it hadn't been the other infected and their increased aggression, but rather instead of killing each other, they had all formed a parameter around 1, as if protecting it. Further research was quickly done, and several of Ivan's top geneticists discovered that the gas 1 released actually induced an odd form of mind control. Even stranger was the fact that the gas only worked on other infected. After two days of constant research, Ivan and several handpicked scientists had been able to crack the genetic code in the gas and modify it to suit their needs, effectively enabling them to control any infected that inhaled the gas. He didn't know if his plan would work, but he had never gotten anywhere in life without trying new things. Grinning as 1s tank was wheeled into the testing room; Ivan knew that his plan would work.

***

Red didn't know why he had spared the Doberman's life, as it probably would have been kinder to put the creature out of its misery. All he could think of as he stood above the mutated fur was that it could've been him lying on the ground. He watched as another tank was carted in, a few thoughts of escape flashing though his mind. Preparing for the worst thing imaginable that could possibly step out of the tank, Red almost shit himself with laughter when a scrawny little zombie, probably no more than four feet tall, stepped out of the tank. Sure, the thing was ugly, but the creature's looks only made it more hilarious. "Is this the best you bastards can do" Red yelled once he caught his breath. Still laughing, he approached the midget zombie, trying to think of the funniest way he could kill the thing. "Let's see, should I punt you across the room, or just crush you like a grape" Red couldn't help but talk to the thing. It was just so funny watching it stand there, and the idea of finally being able to kill a zombie without any kind of fight was almost too good. Unfortunately, he realized his mistake too late as the midget began venting a gas out of its skin. He started to back away, but it was too late. He had already inhaled a fair amount of the noxious fumes trying to catch his breath. He started to feel a migraine almost immediately, a throbbing sensation quickly developing near his temples.

***

Ivan watched the scene unfold below, a grin of satisfaction growing as he observed 208. His grin grew even larger when he watched 208 step over to 55, ending his life by slamming his fist though 55s skull. The tech running the show seemed to be having too much fun, so Ivan decided to take control and see what 208 could really do. He was about to order several of the other test subjects brought in when a security officer ran up, out of breath. "Sir, we have a breach in security, two of the survivors Higgins captured with 208 are down in the storage rooms. Should I send a team to eliminate them?" "No, I have a much better idea" Ivan replied calmly.

***

5:38 a.m.

Swift pulled Ryan into the shadows, hoping that the security patrol hadn't spotted them. Things weren't going well; surveillance cameras dotted almost every room and guards constantly patrolled the halls. It was all Swift could do to avoid being spotted; even with his experience, avoiding detection wasn't easy. Their one stroke of luck had been finding a storage room full of equipment. Ryan had found a PDA with a detailed schematic of the entire underground complex, including camera positions. Needless to say, this had helped immensely, and it was probably the only reason they were still alive. Swift had been leading them towards a room marked simply as *TS Storage* on the PDA. Ryan had said he had a feeling about that particular room, Swift just wanted to blow the place up and get the fuck out. They'd have to find another way around, as the hallway they were going though was heavily guarded. Backtracking, Ryan spotted another door that, according to the schematic of this level, led right to their destination.

***

Ryan was getting more nervous with each step he took. The path they had taken, so far at least, had been completely devoid of guards or cameras. Swift looked even more on edge, gripping his pistol like it was the Holy Grail. Ryan had almost as tight a grip on his pistol, but the thing that really showed how nervous he felt was his tail, it kept wrapping around his legs and getting in the way. Reaching another door, Ryan searched for any security devises before going though. The door was rather small, Ryan's height not helping matters as he slipped though, Swift had a much easier time and nimbly jumped though, pistol held tight and at the ready while he surveyed the next room. Once though, they both realized their mistake. As the door sealed shut behind them, the lights cut off, smothering them in darkness.

***

4:38 a.m.

"Damn this thing's slow" Sylvr thought as the elevator continued it ascent. Several marines had slowed them down by calling the elevator. It had been fun though, seeing the looks on the startled soldier's faces when the doors parted. Sylvr had shot most of them, muttering "occupied" right before he pulled the trigger on his Berrett, sending them to an early grave. One of the soldiers had actually pissed himself upon seeing the weapon leveled at his head; this however saved his life as Sylvr started laughing so hard he couldn't even pull the trigger. Other than those few distractions, nothing else had hindered their progress. Finally, the elevator came to a halt at the ground floor; Sylvr raised his rifle just to be safe. He sighed in relief as the doors slid open; the small room was the same as when he'd first entered. Stepping outside, his breath caught in his throat. The base was completely totaled; all but one of the buildings was nothing but a smoking pile of rubble. Henry walked up to Sylvr, "what now" he asked in a dead tone. Sylvr didn't know what they were going to do next; he hadn't expected the entire base to be destroyed. He decided the best course of action would be to find a ride out of the city, he only hoped that everything in the base hadn't been destroyed.

***

5:47 a.m.

After what seemed like an eternity in darkness, the only light coming from the PDAs glowing screen, Ryan had found another door. Several pulls later and they were out of the darkness. Ryan breathed a sigh of relief as he stepped into the light; he hated the dark with a passion and was more than glad to get out. Swift stepped out right after Ryan, apparently just as glad to be out of the darkness. The next area wasn't much to look at, just a long narrow hallway. Something seemed out of place, Ryan couldn't place it, but he knew something was wrong. He felt eyes staring at him, but he didn't see anyone, or anything.

***

4:45 a.m.

The ruins of the base were infested with the undead, mostly just the slow stupid zombies looking for an easy meal. Most of the hunters had already gone after getting their fill, but a few still remained. Keeping to the shadows, it wasn't hard to avoid the masses of zombies, most of which were busy munching on the few bodies left. Spotting the one thing he had been looking for, Sylvr sprinted for a small garage, Henry following hard on his heels. Only one of the slower zombies spotted them, and Sylvr didn't really care. Reaching the garage, he eased the door open; "I think I've died and gone to heaven... karma, I love you" Sylvr practically pranced up to the single HUMVEE parked in the garage. "Aren't you the pretty one" he said lovingly as he patted the hummer. Popping the hood, he stared at the massive V8 diesel engine, "this just keeps getting better and better". Henry was looking in the cab, "keys are in the ignition" he muttered. "What" Sylvr didn't even hear, practically drooling over the engine. Closing the hood, he looked up, his joy skyrocketing to a new level when he spotted the MK-19 grenade launcher mounted on the HUMVEE. The only problem now was figuring out whether he wanted to drive, or shoot...

***

5:49 a.m.

Ryan froze, not believing what he was seeing. He kept trying to find a logical reason to what he was staring at, but his mind could find nothing. Swift was just as shocked when Blood-tail stepped out of a shadowed alcove. "Hey...Ryan, do you see what I see?" Swift mumbled absently. "I think so, but... it's not possible" Ryan replied. The stunned silence lasted for another second before Ryan noticed Red's eyes. There wasn't an ounce of expression in them, not even a flicker of recognition, or anything else for that matter.

***

Swift spotted the bottomless pit in Red's eyes right after Ryan did, his expression going from surprised to aw shit in less than a second. He had seen the exact same look in each and every zombie he had observed. His reaction was a second too slow however, as Red lunged at Ryan, the speed of the attack caught them both off guard.

***

Ryan was too shocked to move, resist, or do anything else. The attack was so fast that he didn't even have time to blink before he was slammed against a wall. He finally recovered from his initial surprise and immediately started struggling against the grip Red had around his neck. Swift didn't hesitate raising his P345 and emptying the clip into Red's back. This got him released, but Red immediately turned his attention towards the distraction and went for Swift. Even after the first attack, Swift still wasn't ready for the speed that Red gained from the virus. He barely had enough time get into a defensive position before the next series of blows came, one right after the other. Ryan recovered upon seeing his friend getting pounded into the ground and made a desperate move. Grabbing Red around the waist, he managed to lift him off the ground, giving Swift a chance to recover. Again however, he underestimated the abilities that the virus gave to those infected. Red merely grabbed Ryan's' shoulders and threw him on the ground, the impact knocking the wind out of him. He watched as Blood-tail prepared to deliver the final blow, accepting that this was the end, Ryan closed his eyes.

***

Ivan held all the cards, the two interlopers were no match for 208. He watched the entire scene unfold, enjoying every pained expression the two intruders made. He signaled 208 to finish the fight, watching in satisfaction as the command was immediately followed. 208 had the green tiger on the ground before the fool even knew what happened, preparing to make the killing strike.

***

The end never came. Ryan held his eyes shut for another second before slowly opening them. Blood-tail was standing above him, Red's claws just an inch away from his face. He spotted something in his friend's eyes that hadn't been there before; a look of pain, sorrow, and... a plea for help.

***

He had to fight it; he wouldn't let it control him. The pain in his head intensified tenfold as he tried to resist the urge to kill. *kill them* these words kept repeating in his head, over and over again.

***

4:52 a.m.

A single zombie stepped though the door, searching for another meal. Sylvr knew at least one would come, so he had Henry stand on the HUMVEEs hood, acting as bait. Sure enough, the dumb piece of shit didn't even notice Sylvr crouching behind the door. He made his move, sprinting out of cover and putting the undead in a headlock. The zombie struggled as Sylvr dragged it over to the HUMVEEs open door. "Don't worry, we're just going to take a little off the top" he said quietly to the thrashing moaning corpse. Pushing the creatures head down, Sylvr slammed the HUMVEEs' door shut as hard as he could, spraying blood everywhere. "Never did like olive drab" he chuckled as blood spattered the vehicle. He quickly removed the now "completely" dead corpse from the driver's side door, tossing the body to the ground.

***

5:55 a.m.

Swift was baffled as to what was happing. One second he was getting the shit beaten out of him, the next he was watching in horror as Red almost bashed Ryan's skull in, and now he was watched as the dragon stumbled around the hall clutching his head. His first thought was that the virus was doing something else to him, but he crossed that idea out once it became apparent that no mutations were occurring. Stepping up to Ryan, he voiced his question "WTF is going on?" Ryan just shook his head "not sure, I think he might be trying to fight the virus".

***

The pain was starting to fade. Whoever was trying to control him was apparently losing that control as time passed. The voice in his head was getting fainter with each passing second, taking more and more of the pain with it. After several more agonizing minutes, he finally managed to dispel the voice completely.

***

Ivan slammed his fists into the computer monitor, rage seething though him. How could 208 break his control? There hadn't been any problems with 55, and those tests had gone on much longer with no problems whatsoever. "Take all your guards and kill those intruders" Ivan practically screamed this order at the head of security. The captain bristled at the rage behind Ivan's voice, almost running as he went to carry out the command.

***

Ryan walked up to Red, concern showing plainly on his face. "You okay?" he asked. Red just shook his head "are you and Swift okay?" the question surprised Ryan, but he understood why it was asked. "We're fine" he answered quickly. Red looked at both of them, guilt showing on his face as he looked down at his claws. "I... I can't say how sorry I am for what I did, for what I almost did". Swift clapped Red on the shoulder "don't worry about it... now, can we just get out of this shithole before we get caught?"

***

5:00 a.m.

Sylvr had to make the hardest decision of his life... "To drive or not to drive". Looking between the steering wheel and the MK-19 automatic grenade launcher, he finally decided to drive, mostly because he couldn't run things over with the grenade launcher. Getting behind the wheel of the HUMVEE felt as natural as sex to him. Turning the key in the ignition, he took in the wonderful sound of the custom V8 engine, glad to finally be behind the wheel again. Henry climbed into the passenger seat, still looking rather hollow, but seeming to lighten up as he felt the rumble of the engine. Sylvr put the HUMVEE into drive and slammed on the gas "let's have some fun"

Chapter seven: Pit of Death.

Six a.m. third day of the apocalypse

This was just too good to be true. Ryan had found a weapon locker right of the main hall. The small room was filled with firearms; everything from rifles to SMGs, shotguns and even an M61 Vulcan were sitting in this goldmine. Red ran into the room followed by Swift and Ryan, abandoning all stealth upon seeing the huge stash of guns. "Come to papa" Red mumbled as he rummaged through a crate and pulled out an AA-12 automatic shotgun. Ryan grabbed an H&K MP7, slapping in a 20-round clip while swift stared longingly at the M61 in the corner. Ryan was going through another box "check out this old thing" he said jokingly as he pulled out another weapon. Red looked over to see what his friend had found and his eyes immediately lit up. Running over to Ryan, Red snatched the mini-14 out of his grasp while grabbing several clips out of the crate "dibs". Ryan just looked at Red, confused as to why someone with an AA-12 would want something that looked that old. Shrugging, he went back to stocking up on ammo, taking a glance at Swift, who was still staring at the Vulcan. Swift couldn't take his eyes of the six barrels of awesomeness. He wanted to take the thing so badly, but he had already tried to lift it and he found it much too heavy. Red stepped over to his side, looking from Swift to the Vulcan "are you going get stocked up or sit here drooling over this thing?" Swift looked dejected as he turned around and headed for an open crate. Red sighed, grabbed Swift's shoulder and handed him his AA-12 "hold this" Red said as he grabbed the 248lb gun, shouldering it as if it only weighed 50lbs. "lucky infected bastard" Swift mumbled as Red took back his shotgun. "Hey hey, it's not all fun, constant voices in your head telling you to kill everything around you, the rage, this thing has its ups and downs" Red said with a chuckle but a note of seriousness laced the joke. Grabbing a nearby belt of 20mm ammo, he loaded the Vulcan and emptied a few hundred rounds into a blank wall just to make sure the gun worked. Satisfied, he wrapped the belt Rambo style and loaded a 32 round drum into his shotgun. Swift, happy that they were at least bringing the Vulcan, went to get some toys. Even with all the gear in the room he settled with his preferred weapons; two H&K MP5s. locked and loaded, the group stepped out of the room ready for almost anything.

***

Ivan sat in front of a bank of monitors, watching as the security captain moved his men into position, using a classic pincer movement. Hands laced, he couldn't help but feel a bit of pride seep to the surface as he watched another monitor. 208 was still with the two intruders, who had found one of the many weapon lockers inside the compound. Ivan knew the captain wouldn't be able to take down 208 with the weapons he had, but he didn't really care how things turned out. Ivan hadn't sent the guards to kill or even capture 208; he had sent them as a test, even though the guards thought otherwise.

***

The guards had come out of nowhere. No alarms had been triggered, and according to Ryan no one had spotted them. Apparently Ryan was wrong. The first five unlucky guards had run into the middle of the hall, assault rifles up and ready, but obviously none of them had expected to meet a pissed off dragon with an AA-12 and a Vulcan. That first small group had been cut in half from the auto shotgun, and from that time forth any further guards had been just a little more cautious. They had kept a good pace; Red only hoped that they could keep that speed. Running past an intersection, Ryan and Swift both got several kills on a few guards trying to set an ambush. They continued their desperate sprint for several minutes before Ryan skidded to a halt and reversed his course. "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?" Red yelled, Ryan didn't even slow down as he hollered back "I've got to get something". Red started to follow Ryan, but Swift turned down another hall and disappeared into another room marked *generator warning high voltage*. Red stood in the hallway, trying to decide which one to follow when a bullet whistled by his head. It took less than a second to spot the flash of steel around a corner and even less time for Red to raise his shotgun and empty the fifteen remaining rounds into the wall. As plaster and brick dust exploded around the impact sites, a satisfying cry of shock and pain emanated as the last rounds tore into the wall. A lone M-16 clattered to the floor and was quickly followed by a stream of blood. Red ejected the empty drum and started to insert another drum when another guard sprinted around a corner, assault rifle on full auto. He felt several rounds rip through his shoulder and right arm, sending lances of pain through him. As the guard emptied his weapon's clip, he continued his charge, deftly pulling a six inch combat knife from his belt. Yelling, the guard lunged the last few feet and made a quick swipe across Red's chest, leaving a foot long gash. He ignored the searing pain from the blade and went for the knife, but missed it by millimeters. The guard, most likely the leader of the security force, was in a blood frenzy after having his men cut down. He made another swipe with the blade, but the guard was giving in to his rage, which made the attack easy to counter and Red had the battle in his favor in less than a second. Twisting the guard's arm, he dislocated his attacker's shoulder which was more than enough to make him drop the knife. Never the type to let up, Red followed the counter by slamming the guards face into the wall; he repeated that action three times, leaving a large blood stain marking the point of impact. Ripping off the facemask reveled what Red guessed was a wolverine, although he couldn't be certain because all that was left was a bloody mess. Thoughts of mercy crossed his mind as he stared at the broken, battered guard, but they were quickly silenced when he received a knee to the groin. "Cheap... mother fucker" Red grunted as he doubled over in pain. The wolverine made a few weak punches, but the further attacks only increased the rage Red was feeling at being sucker punched. The wolverine pulled out his sidearm weakly, hoping to end the fight. "Now I'm pissed" Red yelled as he used his tail to knock the gun away. Grabbing the guard by the throat, he slammed him against the wall and was rewarded with several satisfying cracks as he felt the wolverine go limp. Throwing the lifeless body to the floor, Red chuckled "to coin an old phrase... PWNED" picking up his shotgun and Vulcan, he noticed three other guards standing in shock at seeing their leader killed. Red just grinned evilly as he turned the Vulcan towards the frightened soldiers. Laughing harder as they turned tail and bolted, he fired a few rounds at their heels just for good measure. As the adrenaline subsided, the pain returned with a vengeance. Falling to his knees, Red knew he was a goner if he didn't get some type of medical attention. Suddenly, the pain began to subside and he was shocked to see that the bullet and knife wounds were rapidly healing. Swift came sprinting down the hall, firing several shots behind him. "dude, you look like shit, what the hell happe" swift stopped in midsentence as he watched the gashes and holes healing, astonishment showing clearly as he did a double take just to make sure he wasn't seeing things. Grinning, Red returned the stare "courtesy of the virus" "Very funny... now that that's out of the way, we should consider vacating this place relatively soon" Swift's look broke the humor; Red was immediately on his feet. "Please tell me you didn't fuck with anything" Swift looked at Red with his best innocent expression "who? Me? Why would I rig this place to blow in the next twenty minutes?" "Don't you think that could have waited" Red asked sarcastically, Swift just shrugged "no time like the present".

***

6:33 a.m.

Ryan stepped out of the genetics lab, quite pleased with the outcome of his little hunt. Cradled under his left arm was a small inconspicuous plastic container. The lab had been completely empty, so he had had absolutely no problems finding a sample of the virus and swiping a few files. He wanted to study the virus's genetic code himself, but that could wait, for now he just concentrated on keeping the small box safe. The contents of the box provided the only reasonable solution to stopping the infection besides annihilating the entire city. He was, to say the least, startled when Swift came around a corner and almost ran into him. Not even stopping to talk, Swift just kept on running, only slowing down for a second to yell "RUN!" Ryan took the signal at face value and sprinted after Swift, trying to be as careful as possible with his precious cargo. Ryan quickly caught up to Swift "where's Red?" in answer, Swift pointed over his shoulder. Looking back, he spotted Red backpedaling down the same corner Swift had dashed around, his Vulcan spitting out a constant stream of fire. Stopping, Ryan turned back to help, but when Red saw that he had stopped running, he yelled "GO!" as loud as he could and immediately went back to firing at whatever was around the bend.

***

Red sighed in relief as he watched Ryan and Swift disappear around another corner. He knew he would have to make a break for the exit soon. Aside from the fact that, according to Swift, the base was going to blow in the next fifteen minutes or so, he was also on his last belt of ammo for the M61. Another undead poked its head out and was immediately greeted by a hail of bullets. Although he couldn't deny the fact that this was fun (shooting zombie after zombie with a Vulcan) the fact that he was on a deadline, literally, ruined the whole experience. "This is bullshit" Red thought as three more of the strange zombies charged his position. They were quickly decapitated by the 20mm rounds, but as the last of the three zombies fell, the Vulcan ran dry. Red figured that the other test subjects had been released, as none of the zombies he had killed so far had looked like the standard undead. Most of them resembled smaller versions of hunters, but they moved with a precision and intelligence that he hadn't seen before. All of the other zombies had run right into his gun fire, but these ones had actually waited until he had to reload before charging. Luckily the Vulcan wasn't the only weapon he carried; when one ran dry he merely switched to another one. Just like before, when the Vulcan needed a reload, the zombies charged. Red dropped the Vulcan and whipped out his AA-12, unloading the 32 round drum, shredding the wave of charging zombies and painting the halls with blood and gore. His shotgun clicked empty as the last of the group went down, Red did an about-face and sprinted in the direction he hoped led to the exit, several more of the zombies chasing after him. "Do these little fucks ever give up" Red thought to himself as he rounded another bend in the twisting maze of halls, the zombies only a few yards behind.

***

6:35 a.m.

Swift called the elevator, hoping it still worked. The last few shots had stopped a few seconds ago, Ryan seemed a little pissed about leaving Red, but the container he was carrying seemed like the one thing that had allowed him to leave. As the doors slid open, Swift sighed in relief and stepped into the lift. Ryan stood in the hall for another minute before stepping into the elevator and pressing the button for the first floor. As the doors began to close, swift spotted Blood-tail as he skidded around the corner, ten plus zombies hot on his heels. Bracing his shoulder against the door, he leveled one of his MP5s and fired several controlled bursts into the crowd of zombies. He managed to drop two of the creatures with headshots, but the rest kept coming. The doors started to slide shut again. Ryan braced himself against the door and contributed the firepower of his MP7, dropping another zombie.

***

Red made a desperate lunge for the elevator, still firing a few shots over his shoulder. He flew through the doors a little faster than planned and slammed into rear of the elevator, denting the steel. His head was still ringing when one of zombies came flying through the still open door, landing on top of him. The doors slid shut before more of the freaks could get in; Red pushed the zombie off and kicked it in the face. The kick, other than slamming it against the wall, didn't seem to faze the zombie as it immediately lunged again. Pulling out the combat knife he had taken, Red let the zombie impale itself on the six inch blade. As soon as the creature hit the blade, he grabbed the thing by the throat and dragged the knife downwards, dissecting the little fucker like a frog in science class. Throwing the corpse to the floor, he wiped the blood off the knife and replaced it back into its sheathe. As the elevator continued its slow accent, Swift kept glancing at the PDA to check the time. Red finally noticed the small box Ryan was clutching, curiosity stirring as he noticed the beakers and USB flash drives stored in the transparent container. He was about to ask what was in those beakers when the doors parted, opening on the ground floor. The group walked out of the elevator quickly, all of them glad to be out of the claustrophobic space and out in the open again. The smoke was an instant slap in the face, reminding all of them that they weren't out of danger yet. Swift pointed to their right, "we've got company" Red looked in the direction Swift was pointing and spotted a military HUMVEE. At first he thought that a few guards had survived, but then he noticed who was driving, along with what the vehicle was doing and started cracking up.

***

6:44 a.m.

Sylvr was having the time of his life. Ever since he'd revved up the engine and drove through the garage door all of his troubles had faded. He laughed manically as another zombie's existence was ended by the hummers grill, quickly going back to doing doughnuts once the body flew off the hood. Henry was in the back seat, sleeping. Sylvr knew the kid was tired, but to sleep through something like this? Looking for more zombies, he spotted Ryan and Swift walking towards the hummer. He was jolted back to his driving as a hunter got chewed by the tires, causing the vehicle to lurch. Slamming on the brakes, he just started laughing as the hummer stopped "if only I'd gotten one of these sooner" he thought. Switching back to first gear, he pulled up next to his companions and leaned out the window "need a lift?" Swift looked at him skeptically "with the way you drive I might be safer walking" Sylvr looked at Swift "I'm hurt, I'll have you know that I went to a certified driving school that encouraged running over the undead" Swift grinned and hopped into the HUMVEE "good enough for me" Ryan got in the back with Henry, glad for the chance to finally sit down. Sylvr turned in his seat and looked at Ryan "find what you were looking for?" in answer, Ryan pointed at the box and nodded. "Guess what else we found" Swift chuckled, Sylvr turned, a questioning look forming on his muzzle as Swift pointed past him. Turning, he was shocked to see the dragon that Ryan had called Blood-tail, as he had seen this very same dragon take several rounds and drop to the ground. His mind raced as he calculated his next decision, in a split second he grabbed Swift's MP7 and leveled it at the dragon's head. Blood-tail didn't even flinch; he just stared down the barrel and smiled. "I saw you get shot, multiple times, there's no way you could have survived those rounds unless....." "Unless I was a zombie" the dragon finished "not quite. Now, would you be so kind as to lower that gun before I do it for you" Sylvr didn't like threats, but he didn't see any reason not to lower his weapon. Swift and Ryan seemed fine with Blood-tail, so he wasn't too reluctant in handing Swift his gun back. Blood-tail jumped into the back seat between Ryan and Henry, getting as close as possible to the turret. As soon as he was settled, he pointed at his wrist, Swift pulled out a PDA and looked at the screen for a second "shit, Sylvr, we seriously need to get out of here, NOW" Sylvr didn't have a clue what had passed between Blood-tail and Swift, but he took the advice and slammed the accelerator to the floor.

***

Ivan watched the hummer speed away on a security monitor, rage seething through him. He hadn't wanted to lose 208, merely make a few field tests. As he thought about the hell he was going to get for this mistake, one of the technicians approached him, looking rather distraught. "Sir, we're getting some odd power fluctuations from the generators" this little bit of information didn't help ease the mood he was in, but he decided it would be better to check things out for himself. The entire underground half of the base was powered by a total of ten gasoline generators; pipes ran throughout the complex, drawing fuel from several sources. Ivan considered fossil fuels to be obsolete, but he had never been able to convince those higher in the chain of command to switch the base to electric. The tech gave him the camera number and went back to his station. Ivan switched his monitor to the number and immediately the picture changed to the generator room. Panning the camera, he didn't notice anything out of the ordinary at first. Spotting two blinking lights, he zoomed the camera in, his blood going cold as he recognized the small white objects. Clicking the power on the monitor, Ivan sat in his chair, tenting his fingers "well played 208... well played"

***

"One question, what's the rush?" Sylvr had his answer quickly, but not in the form he had expected, as several tremors shook the hummer. "Holy shit" he muttered as he looked in the rearview mirror. The area that they had been in a few seconds before was turning into a huge crater. The whole complex was quickly caving in as Sylvr continued looking in the mirror, one of the few remaining buildings disappeared in a cloud of dust as the ground around it gave away. Dust started to spill out of elevator room, but it was quickly replaced by a ball of fire. Jets of fire began shooting out of the ground wherever a building disappeared. Ryan was watching the show, wide eyed, Red and Swift however seemed to be enjoying the fireworks display, cheering whenever something went boom. Sylvr couldn't take it anymore and yelled above the noise "what the hell did you do in that base?" Swift turned and answered "I rigged the generators with a little C4, although I have to admit I hadn't expected the whole base to go up like that" "well, that answers my question" Sylvr muttered "C4 isn't that powerful though, which means you must've hit a major gas main, Nice work slick". It took less than a minute before the base was completely reduced to a smoking pile of rubble, the only sign that it was ever there was in the form of a huge crater. Slowing down, Sylvr looked back towards the base and then at his passengers. He was amazed to see that Henry still hadn't woken up, he was also a little worried about this but decided it wasn't important.

***

7 a.m.

They had only been driving for a few minutes, but the excitement from the base going up in flames had quickly worn off, plus the fact that it had started to rain didn't help. The silence was getting on his nerves, no one wanted to talk, just sleep. Unfortunately he was the only one besides Sylvr that couldn't sleep. Rummaging through a few compartments in hopes of finding something to do, he was ecstatic to find several CDs in buried under a bunch of old playboy magazines. Tossing the playboys out the window, he began sifting through each of the CDs, "let's see... Avenged, Disturbed, Edguy, Sonata, ah, here we go" leaning forward, Red slipped Sonic Firestorm into the CD player, cranked the volume up, and hit shuffle. As the music started playing, he leaned back and quickly fell asleep to the beginning riffs of Prepare for War.

***

8:30 a.m.

Red awoke, sweating profusely. It took him a minute to remember where he was and orient himself. Sylvr had apparently driven them a few miles out of the city. Looking around the hummers' interior, he noticed everyone else was fast asleep. Red finally noticed that his music had stopped and promptly started looking for a replacement when he his ears picked an all too familiar sound. His senses went on high alert, adjusting to the drizzle of rain on the roof. Grabbing his mini-14, he jumped out of the hummer and listened more closely, hoping he was wrong.

Chapter eight: Death by Degrees

8:31 a.m. third day of the apocalypse.

The beat of rotors was like thunder in the peaceful morning air, the only other sound being the steady thrum of rain. As Red sprinted back to the hummer, the noise intensified, urging him to speed up. He had walked about two hundred yards away from the hummer, and now he regretted it. As he bounded the last few yards to the hummer, he looked over his shoulder, spotting several groups of navigation lights in the distance. Turning back towards the hummer, he nearly ripped the door off of its hinges in his rush. Ryan and Henry were already awake, albeit a bit groggy. Sylvr and Swift were still fast asleep, how they could sleep through the noise caused by the helicopters, Red couldn't figure out. Pushing Sylvr out of the driver's seat, Red grabbed the steering wheel and started the hummer. Oddly enough, the noise of the helicopters and being pushed into the passenger seat didn't wake Sylvr up, but as soon as Red started the hummer, Sylvr was up and trying to figure out what was going on. Sylvr looked at Red, annoyed "what the hell, first you wake me from a warm beach with a hot vixen, all the beers I could drink and nothing to worry about. Then you try to drive my baby, you'd better have a good reason for..." Sylvr trailed off when he heard the helicopters. "Good enough reason for ya" Red mumbled as he gunned the hummer's V8. He was about to slam the accelerator when Ryan held up a paw "cut the engine" both Sylvr and Red turned in their seats and looked at Ryan like he was crazy "you're joking, right?" "No, I'm not. Now cut the engine!" Red reluctantly turned the key, the V8 immediately going quite. Henry started to say something, but Ryan silenced him with a paw, motioning for silence all around as he listened. Ryan finally leaned back in his seat and smiled "I don't think we've got anything to worry about" he said smugly. The looks Ryan got prompted him to say more "let me explain. We don't have anything to worry about because those are Sikorsky 76 helicopters. They're the main mode of transportation for my company". Red looked skeptical "are you sure? We can't afford to take any chances" Ryan nodded "I'm sure, I might as well have been born in one of those things for all the time I spent around them. Aside from that, I sent an SOS before my chopper crashed, so I've kind of been waiting for this". This bit of news was comforting, but it didn't entirely relieve the tension. As the Sikorsky helicopters finally came into view, Red had to resist the urge to jump in the turret and blow them out of the sky. He gazed over at Sylvr, who was apparently having the same problem, as he kept glancing at the grenade launcher. As soon as the Sikorskies landed, armed guards started piling out. Ryan saw the tension and offered a few encouraging words, but they did little to snuff the desire to open fire on the uniformed soldiers. As the last of the choppers landed, Ryan stepped out of the hummer. While Ryan talked with what appeared to be the leader of the convoy, Red fiddled with his AA-12, examining the last drum of ammo he had. Grinning as he removed one of the shotgun shells "I can't believe I didn't use this earlier" Sylvr looked at him "use what?" in answer, Red held up the shell and opened the casing. Inside was what looked almost like a miniature torpedo, "say hello to the Frag-12 HE round" Red whispered. Henry immediately backed up upon seeing the device; Sylvr chuckled at the young wolf's reaction. Red's maniacal thoughts were interrupted as Ryan opened the passenger door "good news, we can finally get the hell out of here"

***

Seven miles outside the city 3:45 p.m.

Blood-tail had finally gotten that piece of shit jumpsuit off that he'd been wearing since the underground lab. He hadn't been able to find any clothes that he liked, so he'd just settled for a spare urban camo uniform. He'd gone to a mess hall with Sylvr, Henry, and swift. The food had tasted like crap, bet Sylvr had found a bottle of Tabasco, so the meal hadn't been all bad. The temporary base that had been set up was decent; soldiers patrolled the perimeter constantly on the lookout for any zombies that had escaped the quarantine zone that had been set up around the city. After they had all eaten, Swift had been admitted to the medical center for some much needed treatment, while Henry and Sylvr had gone to find a good place to get some sleep. Red couldn't sleep though; he had too many things on his mind. Things like what was going to happen next? What was he going to do about the virus coursing through his veins? And most importantly, what was going to happen to the city? All these questions were the reason he was searching for Ryan, hoping to get at least a few of them answered.

***

4:12 p.m.

Ryan was starting to get a bit pissed off when Blood-tail walked into the command tent. He was glad for the chance to get away from the colonel he'd been chatting with for the past hour. Red walked up to him and fired his first question "I don't mean to sound selfish or inpatient, but what about me?" it took Ryan a second to process the question "Don't worry about the virus, a team of the best scientists at Redline pharmaceuticals are already working on a cure" this last reply helped ease Red's mind, but he still wanted a few more answers. "What about the rest of the city?" instead of answering the question immediately, Ryan waved one of the soldiers over. "This is Bill Murphy, he's going to be leading several squads of soldiers into the city to look for other survivors until the vaccine is ready. Murphy walked over to join the conversation, although he looked a bit nervous as he offered Red his paw. Murphy was a rather large leopard, standing at a little over 6ft. Ryan continued "Once the cure to the virus is completed, it'll be sprayed over the entire city, hopefully stopping any further infections. Any zombies in the vicinity of the gas will most likely cease to function once they come in contact with the gas, at least that's what we're hoping will happen" "hoping?" Sylvr asked. The group turned to see Sylvr striding into the room, looking well rested despite the past few days "At the moment, neither I nor anyone else that I've talked to can come up with an exact theory as to what will happen once the zombies come into contact with the gas. My team needs more time to study the virus before we can be sure as to the exact effects the gas will have" "I still say we bomb the whole damn city and be done with it" Murphy mumbled. Ryan sighed "there may still be survivors, bombing the city is out of the question" Red took the stand "Ryan, you said something about sending a team to look for survivors, I want in" upon hearing this, Murphy blew a fuse "LIKE FUCK YOU'RE ACCOMPANYING MY TEAM! I'LL HAVE ENOUGH SHIT TO WORRY ABOUT WITHOUT HAVING TO WATCH MY FUCKING BACK THE WHOLE TIME TO MAKE SURE THE GUY BEHIND ME ISN'T TRYING TO KILL MY TROOPS!" this seemed to push Red more than the zombies, he didn't even say a word as he punched Murphy in the jaw, knocking him on his ass. Red stormed out of the tent, flipping Murphy off as he walked out. Ryan was a bit stunned at the sudden attack, but Sylvr acted like he knew it was coming "you so deserved that" Sylvr chuckled as he strolled out of the tent. Murphy was almost as stunned as Ryan; he just sat there on the ground rubbing his jaw.

***

5 a.m. fourth day of the apocalypse

Red awoke to the sound of a bugle playing Reveille. "You've got to be fucking kidding" mumbling ways he'd get revenge on the bugle boy as he jumped out of his bunk and rubbed the sleep from his weary eyes, he slipped on a pair of pants and went to find a latrine. Fifteen minutes later he was in a tree watching the sun rise over the mountains, trying to enjoy the moment of peace as much as possible. Even with the beautiful scene in front of him, he still couldn't fully relax and enjoy the sunrise. The fact that he was infected with a mutating virus might be forgettable, but the voices in his head and the desire to kill couldn't be shoved into a dark corner and forgotten as easily. He kept hearing whispers, seeming to come from everywhere and at the same time they came from nowhere. Those voices were starting to piss him off though, at first it had just been mildly annoying, but after a few hours of hearing a lot of bullshit he was definitely getting tired of it. Jumping out of the tree, Red made his way back to the barracks, intent on shutting up those voices once and for all. Heading into the locker room, he started rummaging through his stuff until he found what he was looking for. Pulling out an MP3, he scrolled through the list of albums until he found A7X. The constant whispers in his head didn't last for more than a second as Chapter Four started playing at full blast. "That's better" walking out of the locker, Red headed for the mess hall.

***

5:43 a.m.

Sylvr watched as Blood-tail strolled into the mess hall, picked up a tray and headed for the serving line. He waved to Red once he had gotten his breakfast, calling him over to an empty table in a corner. Red promptly sat down and pulled out a bottle of Tabasco. They ate in silence, neither of them enjoying the food or the atmosphere. Sylvr looked up to see Ryan heading towards their table, looking like he hadn't slept in a week. Ryan sat down and sighed "well, I had to butt heads with a few high ranking officers, but I managed to get you both on the search and rescue team. I still can't figure out why either of you would want to go, but if you've still got it in your mind to go back to hell, the positions and weapons are ready and waiting"

***

6:30 a.m.

Red slipped on the last of his gear and grabbed his mini-14. He didn't care for the MTV body armor and immediately tossed it back into the box. Sylvr was suiting up next to him, both of them had been a bit surprised that Ryan had been able to pull the strings required to get them on the team. Surprised as he was, Red was still glad to be going, if for nothing else he was hoping to find out what had happened to the survivors at the diner. Sylvr just seemed like he wanted to kill a few more zombies before the infection was stopped completely. Grabbing one last item out of his locker, Red headed for the CH-47 Chinook helicopter that was waiting to ferry the rescue squad into the city. Murphy was standing by the CH-47, taking account of each soldier that got on and checking each of the soldier's weapons. Red walked up to the chopper but was ignored; Murphy checked Sylvr's berrett and M-16 before ushering him in. Red got a few cold glances as he stepped into the cargo bay, he almost felt like listening to those voices in his head as he sat down in a corner. Sylvr was busy talking to Murphy about the mission, so he decided to make the best of the flight ahead and slipped on his MP3.

7:15 a.m.

Red awoke to the sound of the pilot over the intercom; he hadn't even noticed that he'd fallen asleep. He felt the helicopter descending; the pilot was talking steadily over the intercom. A few of the soldiers wore huge grins, they had all been briefed about the zombies and most of them figured a little target practice on a bunch of mindless freaks would be fun. The atmosphere was shattered as the CH-47 lurched; throwing anything that wasn't tied down across the cargo hold. The pilot's voice went from calm and confident to downright afraid as a steady stream of curses flowed over the intercom. Warning lights blared as the helicopter lurched again, but this time the pilot lost control and the craft's descent increased exponentially. The blades hit a building and all hell broke loose as the chopper began spiraling towards the streets below. Time seemed to slow as Red braced for the impact, every second was pure chaos as some of the soldiers yelled orders while others screamed in panic. The impact took much too long to come, the suspense making it all the worse as the CH-47 hit the ground; metal screeched and soldiers screamed as the craft skidded across the pavement.

***

7:18 a.m.

Ryan listened to the pilot's distress calls over the short wave radio, Henry and swift stood beside him. The screams in the background were easy to hear, everyone in the room was quite as they listened to the panicked call. As fast as the screaming had started, it ended and an eerie silence filled the room. Henry ran out of the command tent, swift just stood in place, not believing what he'd just heard.

***

7:34 a.m.

Red's eyes fluttered open, his ears were ringing and he didn't have his mini-14 anymore. He was lying on the pavement; burning wreckage surrounded him as he struggled to stand. He noticed four out of the twenty soldiers were still alive; two of them were trying to stand while the other two were still trying to recover enough strength to move. A jolt of pain ran through him as he stood up, looking down, he noticed a piece of shrapnel imbedded in his leg. Taking a deep breath, Red grabbed the piece of metal and yanked it out, sending another wave of pain through his leg. He clenched his teeth and tossed the piece of metal away, watching as the square inch hole in his leg began to heal. Looking around at the carnage caused by the crash, he spotted Sylvr half buried under debris. Running over to him, Red started removing the twisted metal that was keeping Sylvr immobilized, all the while Red knew that he was on a tight schedule; it wouldn't be long before the zombies started showing up to investigate the crash site. Lifting the last of the debris of off Sylvr, Red was glad to find that his friend was still breathing and that the only concern was a large gash on Sylvr's head. Ripping off a piece of his tattered uniform, he managed to stop the bleeding enough that it wouldn't be a problem. Sylvr's eyes opened as Red lifted him out of the debris and started carrying him away from the rising flames. One of the other soldiers had gotten to his feet and was now helping his other comrades. Red supported Sylvr until he could walk on his own before walking back to the wreckage to help the other soldiers that were still alive. He was almost disappointed to see that one of the living soldiers was Murphy, while Murphy seemed just as disappointed that Blood-tail was still in the land of the living. The tension was interrupted as one of the soldiers fired his M-16 at an approaching zombie, the gunshots seeming to echo for miles. Maybe it was just all the shit that had happened, or maybe he was just nervous, but Red had no desire to find out if those shots had attracted anymore zombies. Unfortunately, he still got the answer as a blood curdling roar sounded a few hundred yards away. Red was moving before the noise had died down, gathering up any scattered weapons he could find and passing them out. He only managed to find three extra clips, combine that with the four serviceable M-16s, one M-17, and two Sig Sauer P250 pistols didn't leave the group with much firepower. Murphy grabbed one of the M-16s out of his grasp and started firing at another zombie as it shambled towards the crash site. Murphy emptied the entire clip into the zombie's body, when the creature didn't drop he went for another clip. Red snatched the M-16 out of Murphy's hands and grabbed his uniform, lifting him a foot off the ground. Red was getting pissed off "listen up, you dumb piece of shit, if we, and by we I mean you, want to get out of this shithole alive you'd better try real damn hard not to be a dumb fuck" Murphy squirmed in the vice grip, sneering at Blood-tail as he continued "haven't you ever seen Night of the Living Dead? You have to shoot them in the fucking head" to demonstrate this, Red pointed one of the Sigs at a nearby zombie and pulled the trigger. The bullet impacted with the creature's skull, sending out a spray of blood as the FMJ round passed clean through the skull. The zombie immediately toppled over, Red blew the smoke from the pistols barrel and dropped Murphy.

***

Sylvr watched the show unfolding, chuckling as Red picked Murphy up and showed him how to shoot and where to shoot. As Red dropped Murphy and started walking away, Murphy pulled out a Beretta 950 and aimed at Red's back. Sylvr tried to warn Red, but it was too late. Murphy emptied eight rounds into Red's back; his body slumped to the ground before the last round left the chamber. Sylvr started to stand but immediately sat back down when the Beretta was aimed at his head. The other soldiers gathered up the remaining weapons and started firing at the few zombies that were starting to congregate around the crash site. Murphy didn't seem to care about the zombies as he walked up to Blood-tail's corpse, kicking it and yelling "who's the dumb fuck now bitch"

***

Murphy was enjoying this. As he kicked the body again, he couldn't help but feel powerful. He had just killed one of the infected bastards single handedly, and he laughed as he kicked the corpse again. He didn't care about the zombies closing in; he just wanted revenge on the dragon that had caused him so much grief with his superiors. He'd have time to deal with that high and mighty tiger later, for now, he kicked at the corpse again. When his foot was grabbed he almost passed out "no, no, no, you're dead, I shot you" Murphy raised his gun and aimed for the dragon's head, but the pressure on his leg increased twentyfold and he dropped the weapon, crying out in pain as he felt the bone crack. Blood-tail stood up, snapping Murphy's leg like a twig. He screamed as the dragon grabbed his neck and lifted him into the air. This time, however, it wasn't just annoyance that shone in the dragon's eyes. Murphy gazed deeply into those glowing red orbs, increasing his struggles as he continued to look into those merciless eyes. The pressure on his neck started to increase; he knew the end would come soon as his vision began to dim around the edges. Suddenly the grip loosened enough for him to take in a deep breath, for a second Murphy thought that he was going to be spared. His hope turned instantly to pain as Blood-tail tore into his right shoulder with his fangs, completely ripping out Murphy's arm. He screamed, the nerves taking a second to signal his brain what had just happened, but once they did the pain flooded in wave after bloody wave. The dragon wasn't done however, as the full realization of what had just happened hit Murphy, he was again shocked when the dragon drove one of his claws through his chest. His vision blurred, blood pooled around the dragon's feet as the last of Murphy's life drained onto the ground.

***

Sylvr watched in horror as Red mercilessly mauled Murphy, the amount of blood on the ground was staggering. Even after Murphy went limp, Red didn't stop tearing at the body, ripping it limb from limb with his fangs. One of the soldiers finally heard the noise and turned around, nearly dropping his weapon when his gaze fell upon the grisly sight. The soldier yelled to his comrades and opened fire, most of the shots went wild, missing by several feet, but several of the bullets found their mark. This accomplished only one thing... getting the blood crazed dragon's attention. As Red turned, the soldier fumbled with another clip, he didn't have enough time to reload however as Red was on him in less than a second. The soldier tried to scream as Red bit into his neck, but any sounds that might have escaped his mouth were silenced as his head was torn off. The other two soldiers turned to see their comrade's body tossed thirty feet away as Red crouched in a pool of blood. They both opened fire, but their target was out of their line of sight before either of them squeezed the trigger. The soldier on the left was impaled from behind before he knew what hit him, the shock of seeing a set of claws sticking out of his chest kept him quite as blood poured out of his mouth and he slumped over. The last soldier saw what had befallen his comrade and turned to run. He didn't get far as Red pounced on him, easily pinning the helpless soldier to the ground. This last victim had a much swifter death as his skull was crushed by the dragon's powerful jaws. Sylvr was stunned by the amount of shear carnage that he had just witnessed, but his moment of indecisiveness was broken when Red turned his attention on Sylvr and started walking towards him. "Oh shit, not good" he thought about going for one of the M-16s on the ground, but he knew it wouldn't do any good. Deciding his best course of action would be flight, Sylvr turned to run only to spot two hunters cutting off his escape route. Slumping down on a wall, he sarcastically considered his options "lets see, surrounded... the question is, do I want get mauled by random zombies or do I want to get mauled my former friend turned zombie... decisions, decisions, I hate these difficult life choices" pulling out a Glock pistol he had gotten out of a locker, Sylvr put the gun to his head and pulled the trigger.

***

7:50 a.m.

Ryan had been auguring with the base commander ever since the distress calls had come over the radio. He wanted to send another team to rescue the first team, but the stubborn old mutt refused every request, saying repeatedly that there was no chance that the team was still alive. Ryan had tried every trick in the book, most of which he would never have done under any other circumstances. Bribery, threats, anything he could think of he had tried, but it seemed like nothing could sway the general in his decision. He finally stormed out of the command tent, another plan quickly forming on his mind.

(Meanwhile)

The gun clicked but nothing happened, Sylvr slowly opened his eyes to locate the problem "figures the damn thing jams" he mumbled while trying to find where the problem had originated. "Fuck it" tossing down the Glock, Sylvr made a mad dash for the M-17; the hunters quickly altered their course and charged after him. He made it to the M-17, slightly out of breath. Rolling, he grabbed the gun and aimed at the lead hunters head, firing in controlled bursts. One of the rounds pierced the hunter's eye and went into its brain, killing it instantly. Sylvr readjusted his aim on the other hunter and fired off the last few rounds. The last bullets merely ricocheted off the hunter's thick skull, pissing it off to no end. Looking around, he spotted another clip and went for it, slamming it home and cycling another fresh round into weapon. The hunter was just a few yards away as Sylvr whipped around and fired point blank into the creature's face. The hunter didn't slow as it hit Sylvr at full speed, sending him flying twenty feet into a car. His body dented the vehicles door, the alarms going off, which merely added to the pain in his head. The hunter came at him again, slamming into him and further fucking the vehicles paint job. Sylvr felt a rib or two crack with that last blow, clutching his side in pain as his breathing grew ragged, he watched as the hunter backed up to survey its' meal. "So, this... is it. I always figured it'd be driving off... a cliff... that killed me" smiling one last time, Sylvr waited for the end. As blood spattered his face, he winced, knowing that he'd be dead shortly. Something was wrong though, he opened his eyes, trying to figure out what it was when he noticed that the blood wasn't his. Looking up, he saw the hunter looming over him. It took him a second to spot two sets of claws sticking out of the hunter's stomach. As the hunter was ripped apart, Sylvr didn't know whether to run or stick around and watch the show. On one hand, if he ran his chances of survival were slim against the hoards of zombies roaming the streets. On the other hand, he didn't know how long he'd survive against Red if his friend hadn't gained full control over the virus, assuming his friend had even gained control and wasn't just removing an obstacle. He decided to take his chances with the stupid zombies, knowing that he'd have a much better chance against a bunch of retards than against Blood-tail. Turning, he headed for a Days Inn a few hundred feet away, grabbing an M-16 out of a pile of what was left of one of the soldiers. The gun was covered in blood, Sylvr checked the action as he ran, hoping the thing wouldn't blow up in his face when fired. Satisfied, he increased his pace towards the Inn. He hit the Inn door hard and stumbled back "shit, locked" aiming the M-16 at the door handle; he started to pull the trigger when a familiar sound greeted his ears. Turning, Sylvr spotted a single Sikorsky.

***

8 a.m.

Ryan stared down at the crash site, bile rising in his throat as he observed the carnage below. Bodies were scattered on the ground like confetti, several of those bodies were being gnawed on by zombies. He searched the ground for any sign of life, hoping that someone had survived the crash, although his hopes diminished with each passing second. The pilot spoke over the intercom and pointed "sir, I think I see someone" Ryan looked in the direction the pilot was pointing. There was a lone figure on the roof of a Days Inn, waving to get the attention of the pilot. As the helicopter got closer, Ryan recognized Sylvr despite the amount of blood matting his fur and what was left of his uniform. "Land on that Inn" as Ryan said this he hoped that whatever had caused the CH-47 to crash was gone or this would be the worst rescue mission ever. One of the P.M.Cs that Ryan's company had hired started firing at one of the zombies on the ground, getting pissed when he kept missing. "What the hell are you firing at?" Ryan yelled, the soldier pointed his weapon down and started firing again "little fucker keeps dodging my shots, damn thing's fast" Ryan followed the direction of the soldiers shots and was horrified when he finally spotted what the P.M.C was shooting at. As the chopper landed, Ryan jumped out and ran to the edge of the building, praying that his eyes were playing tricks on him. Sylvr limped up to Ryan's side; Ryan immediately asked the question that was burning on his mind "please tell me that's not who I think it is" Sylvr looked at Ryan grimly "I hate to say it, but it is" "shit... I hope he's not completely gone yet" turning, Ryan sprinted back to the helicopter and came back a minute later with a couple of syringes, a small plastic case, and a rifle. "You're not going to shoot him? I know his mind is fucked, but..." "Just watch" Ryan mumbled back as the raised the rifle to his shoulder and aimed down the scope. A small tranquilizer dart flew from the barrel of the DAN-INJECT CO ² Injection Rifle Model JM Special, finding its mark a split second later. Sylvr watched as Red clutched at his throat, a few seconds later he began stumbling and finally dropped. "What's in those things" Sylvr asked, Ryan grinned "about two milligrams of M99, let's get down there and get his body so I can administer a prototype anti-virus before he wakes up". Ryan signaled two of the soldiers to follow him, leaving the other two to guard the helicopter. Sylvr grabbed a spare semi-auto 12gauge on the way down, sticking close to Ryan as they entered the building. The power was out throughout the entire Inn "figures" one of the soldiers mumbled as he switched on a flashlight.

The group descended in silence, searching any opened rooms for survivors, but mostly just to make sure there weren't any zombies lying in wait. One of the P.M.Cs (an old night black fox with a scare across his left eye) motioned Ryan into an open door "check this one out and tell me you think we should really be in this place" Ryan approached the soldier and gazed into the room. He was immediately repulsed by what he saw; the suite might have been nice at one point, but now the entire room screamed death. Bodies littered the area, blood and gore practically painted the walls. Then he focused on the bodies; all of them were mutilated beyond recognition, most of them missing two or more limbs and only a few still had their heads attached. Sylvr stepped up beside Ryan, "don't you think we should consider moving... holy shit, what the fuck happened in there?" The other P.M.C (a coyote in his early thirties) made a quick hand gesture, commanding silence "quite, there's something else in this building besides us" everyone was set on high alert as these words were spoken, the bodies in the next room were a testament to what the consequences were for failing to spot a shift in the shadows. They started moving again, this time at a much slower pace as each checked the shadows. Almost every room they passed had at least one dismembered body, and by the time they got down to the ground floor, even the combat experienced black fox looked like he was ready to hurl. Ryan couldn't figure it out, all the other zombies they'd encountered had killed their victims for food, but none of the bodies they'd passed had had any noticeable bite marks of any kind. He was getting more and more nervous with each passing second, each sound he heard set off another warning light. They were almost to the exit when the coyote again signaled for silence. As everyone listened closely, a new sound greeted their ears, one that none of them wanted to hear. Despite being alert and expecting an attack from the shadows, Ryan jumped when a vent cover clattered to the ground. Sylvr fired at the area reflexively; the two P.M.Cs were both scanning every shifting shadow in the room when the zombie attacked. The thing hit the coyote first, leaping out of the shadows like a phantom. The thing latched onto the coyote's neck and Ryan got his first look at what had most likely killed all the furs in the inn. The zombie was less than a meter long and ugly as sin, but its size didn't stop it from severing the coyote's head from his shoulders with its razor sharp claws. Ryan, Sylvr, and the other P.M.C all fired at the creature, but the thing was fast as it leaped back into the shadows and disappeared. The coyote's lifeless body stood for a moment longer before collapsing into a bloody heap. "FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT" the fox screamed, "WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE BEFORE THAT THING COMES BACK" Ryan yelled as he ran for the exit, followed closely by Sylvr. He stopped upon seeing that the P.M.C wasn't following them "you coming?" Sylvr yelled back, the black fox looked up; tears in his eyes "go find your friend... I've got a score to settle" Ryan grabbed Sylvr's shoulder and pulled him towards the exit "we can't just leave him, you saw what that thing did to the other guy, he won't last a second alone" Sylvr protested, Ryan looked back again "we can't stay here either, besides, it's his choice and we're down here for a reason" Sylvr relented and followed Ryan through the exit. As they burst through the door back into the light, Ryan sighed in relief "good, he's still down" running over to Blood-tail's body, Ryan pulled out the plastic container he'd brought from the helicopter and slipped out a syringe. Sylvr blasted the head off a zombie that got too close while Ryan injected the anti-virus, slipping the needle back into the box when he was done. "NOW WHAT?" Sylvr yelled as he shot another zombie in the face, blasting the things head into a bloody pulp. "Now we all get out of here" Ryan said as he got Red's comatose body into a fireman's carry and starting walking back towards the inn. "Do we have to go back in there?" Sylvr moaned, "Do we really have a choice? Bringing the chopper down here is too dangerous and there's no way I could climb up the side of a building with a body". "Fine" Sylvr mumbled as he slowly eased the inn door open with his shotgun.

The other P.M.C was nowhere to be seen, even the coyote's body was gone, the only sign left that it was ever there was a large pool of blood. "Shit... hey, Ryan, how fast can you run?" "Hopefully fast enough" Ryan whispered as he headed for the stairs at a sprint, Sylvr covering their retreat. They had just gotten to the second floor when all hell broke loose. Ryan screamed in pain as he felt something pierce his shoulder, dropping Red's body as he fell to the ground. He clawed at the area and ripped the hissing creature off his back, immediately throwing it against a wall. Sylvr's shotgun blasted another of the creatures to the abyss as Ryan picked Red's body back up and continued running. By the time they made it to the third floor, Ryan was starting to feel dizzy from the loss of blood, his pace slowed considerably as he ran. Another of the creatures popped out of a vent, blocking their escape route. Ryan kicked at the zombie, but it easily dodged the attack. Leaping towards Ryan, it sliced through his body armor, causing another wave of pain as the razor sharp claws cut into his flesh. Sylvr ran up to him and used the butt of his shotgun like a golf club, slamming it into the creature as hard as he could. The thing went flying across the room, screeching like a banshee before splattering on the wall. Ryan staggered to his feet, or tried to; his legs didn't respond as he tried to stand, his vision was starting to go dark as he saw another of the creatures land in front of him. Ryan started to back away as the zombie moved towards him, baring a set of fangs dripping with blood as it advanced on its pray. He searched for a weapon, anything that he could use to defend himself against the approaching zombie. The creature crawled over Blood-tail's prone form, not even giving it a second glance as it continued towards Ryan. It finally leaped; Ryan instinctively raised his arms to ward off the attack, knowing that it wouldn't make a difference either way.

***

Sylvr turned just in time to see one of the miniature zombies make a lunge for Ryan's face. His heart skipped a beat as he tried to bring his shotgun up in time. To his surprise, the zombie stopped in mid-leap and was suddenly yanked back, hissing as it was slammed into the ground. He spotted a clawed hand gripping the creature's leg as it hit the ground again. Red was lying on his stomach, head turned towards the zombie as it clawed at his arm, trying to escape the death grip. Sylvr finally recovered from his initial shock and fired at the creature head, Red pulled back his hand just before the trigger was squeezed as the zombie's body was shredded. Red gazed at Sylvr, a large grin forming on his muzzle as his eyes slowly closed. The other P.M.Cs that had stayed to guard the helicopter finally showed up "WHAT THE HELL TOOK YA SO DAMN LONG" Sylvr yelled, "sorry sir, some of those fuckers have wings, we couldn't leave the chopper until they were dead" Sylvr sighed "fine, just help me get these two back to the chopper before more of those little fucks show up" the two P.M.Cs shouldered Ryan and Red, despite the size difference the one carrying Ryan didn't seem to have a problem with the weight. The pilot already had the Sikorsky's blades spinning; a few bodies dotted the roof. The P.M.Cs loaded the bodies into the waiting helicopter "where's Joe and Sam?" the one carrying Ryan asked. Sylvr looked grim as he sat in the spacious cabin and answered "dead". As the helicopter lifted into the air, Sylvr gazed out the open door, searching the skies for any more of the winged zombies. He finally settled down as the rotor's steady beat lulled him into a much needed sleep.

***

Epilogue

Two weeks later

Ryan watched as the coffin was lowered into the ground, tears streaming down his face as Taps began playing. The apocalypse had been stopped, but at what cost? So many had died in this event, killed by either zombies or the organization that had created them. The National Guard had deployed the anti-virus as soon as it was ready. It had worked even better than expected, not only destroying the virus, but also reversing the effects it had. Any furs who hadn't been killed when they were infected had quickly recovered their minds and now a steady stream of furs was flowing into the camp for aid. Survivors weren't the only thing flowing in though; volunteers were also coming to offer their help in cleaning up the destroyed city. Despite the success, Ryan still mourned for those who had died; the wounds on his chest were a testament to how brutal the zombies could be. Both Henry and swift had gone back into the city yesterday to look for their parents, taking a squad of soldiers just to be safe. They kept in constant radio contact just to be safe, but neither of them had been successful thus far. Sylvr had stayed, driving those that were declared "uncontaminated" to a designated shelter. Ryan gazed back at the coffin, thinking of the body that occupied it. Bernard had been a friend for years, acting like a second father most of the time. His thoughts were interrupted as Red walked up and sat down solemnly. He waited until Taps finished and the coffin was lowered before speaking "sorry it took so long to get over here, damn doctors are trying to kill me with all those needles" Ryan grinned for the first time in a week "at least they don't want to use you as a weapon" "true true, but after this I think I'll stay far away from any doctors" Red winced as he said this. "So what will you do now" Red asked, "I have to stick around here for awhile and help keep the recovery moving at a decent pace. Once that's done, I'll probably start doing a little private research on the virus, just to try and figure out how it works. After that, I don't really know what I'll do besides try to go back to my normal, non zombie infested life" Ryan looked rather tired as he said this. "Any luck finding the ones who caused all this shit" Ryan shook his head "no, and I doubt there will be. The base is still being excavated, but so far, every computer in it has been wiped, most likely by a failsafe as I doubt anyone had the time to accomplish something like that before the place collapsed"

***

Red gazed at the setting sun, knowing that he hadn't seen the last of the organization.