The briefing room slowly emptied.
Breddy remained standing beside the holographic map.
Black Eden Headquarters.
The enormous underground complex glowed red across the display.
He stared at it silently.
Commander.
The word still felt strange.
A few months ago, he had been stocking frozen food overnight.
Now he was responsible for leading people into the heart of the organization that caused the apocalypse.
Raven walked over.
"You okay?"
Breddy looked at her.
"Honestly?"
"No."
She smiled.
"Good answer."
He laughed quietly.
"I don't know if I'm ready for this."
Raven stepped closer.
"You don't have to know everything."
"You just have to know why you're doing it."
Breddy touched the inside of his tactical vest.
His fingers found Mason's name badge.
"For everyone who didn't make it."
Raven nodded.
"And for everyone still waiting for us."
---
Strike Team Alpha
Several hours later, the armory was packed.
Weapons covered the tables.
Rifles.
Shotguns.
Pistols.
Medical kits.
Flashlights.
Explosives.
Night-vision equipment.
Breddy walked down the line inspecting everything.
Tyler picked up a rifle.
"So, Commander..."
Breddy looked at him.
"Don't call me that."
Tyler grinned.
"Sorry, Commander."
Mason would have laughed at that.
The smile disappeared from Tyler's face.
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then Breddy put a hand on Tyler's shoulder.
"We're bringing everyone home."
Tyler nodded.
"Yeah."
"We are."
---
Raven walked out of the changing area wearing reinforced black tactical gear.
Her rifle was strapped across her back.
Two pistols rested at her sides.
A combat knife sat against her thigh.
Breddy looked her over.
"You ready?"
She smiled.
"I've been ready."
Then she noticed something.
"You still have Mason's badge."
Breddy nodded.
"Every mission."
Raven gently touched it.
"Then he's coming with us."
---
Ethan entered the armory carrying a folder.
He looked serious.
"I found something."
Breddy turned.
"What?"
Ethan placed several photographs on the table.
The first showed Black Eden Headquarters.
The second showed underground tunnels.
The third showed a massive containment chamber.
Then Ethan placed down the final photograph.
Breddy stared at it.
A huge creature stood inside a reinforced room.
Four muscular limbs.
Long claws.
A skull-like head.
And eyes that seemed to stare directly through the photograph.
CERBERUS.
Ethan spoke quietly.
"That's what killed the first strike team."
Tyler swallowed.
"How many soldiers?"
"Thirty."
"How many survived?"
Ethan looked at him.
"None."
The room became silent.
---
Colonel Graves entered.
"The convoy leaves at dawn."
He looked at Breddy.
"Once we're inside Black Eden Headquarters, we may not be able to communicate with the outside."
Breddy nodded.
"Then we stay together."
Graves looked toward Ethan.
"Anything else?"
Ethan hesitated.
"Yes."
He pointed to the photograph.
"Don't fight Cerberus."
Breddy frowned.
"Why?"
"Because it doesn't hunt like the other experiments."
"It studies."
"It listens."
"It learns."
"And once it learns how you fight..."
Ethan looked directly at Breddy.
"...it knows how to kill you."
---
The Night Before
Later that night, Breddy stood outside the barracks.
The stars were bright.
The base was quiet.
Raven walked up beside him.
"You nervous?"
"Yeah."
"Me too."
Breddy looked at her.
"At least we're nervous together."
She smiled.
"Exactly."
She slipped her hand into his.
For several seconds, they simply stood there.
Then Raven leaned against his shoulder.
"Tomorrow..."
"We go into the place that started all of this."
Breddy nodded.
"And we come back."
She looked up at him.
"Promise?"
He squeezed her hand.
"Promise."
---
Deep underground...
Black Eden Headquarters came alive.
Thousands of lights switched on.
Steel doors unlocked.
Armed soldiers moved through underground corridors.
Scientists prepared laboratories.
Dr. Victor Kane stood behind a massive observation window.
Beyond the glass...
Cerberus slowly opened its eyes.
Kane smiled.
"They're coming."
Cerberus slowly stood.
Its claws scraped across the floor.
Kane pressed a button.
> "Begin preparations."
The creature stared into the camera.
For several seconds...
It didn't move.
Then it smiled.
---
Back at Black Shield Headquarters...
The first rays of sunlight appeared.
Helicopters started their engines.
Armored vehicles rolled out.
Strike Team Alpha assembled.
Breddy checked his rifle.
Raven checked hers.
Ethan loaded his pistol.
Tyler tightened his gloves.
Breddy looked at everyone.
"Let's move."
The convoy began its journey toward Black Eden Headquarters.
Behind them...
The Black Shield base slowly disappeared into the distance.
Ahead...
The place that started the apocalypse waited.
And somewhere inside...
Dr. Victor Kane was waiting for them.
The armory doors opened.
Breddy walked inside with Raven, Ethan, Tyler, and the rest of Strike Team Alpha.
For the first time, everyone could see the equipment prepared specifically for their mission.
Heavy rifles.
Shotguns.
Suppressors.
Medical packs.
Night-vision goggles.
Explosives.
Portable radios.
Breaching equipment.
Breddy slowly walked past the tables.
Then he stopped.
A large black weapons case sat by itself.
A name was written across it.
BREDDY
He looked at Colonel Graves.
"What's this?"
"Your new primary weapon."
Breddy opened the case.
Inside was a heavily modified combat shotgun.
Reinforced receiver.
Extended magazine tube.
Mounted flashlight.
Red-dot sight.
The weapon looked like it had been built for someone who expected things to go very wrong.
Tyler leaned over.
"Okay..."
"That's badass."
Breddy picked it up.
The weapon felt heavy.
Solid.
He cycled the action.
CHK-CHK.
"Yeah."
"I'll take it."
Raven looked at him.
"Try not to break this one."
Breddy smirked.
"No promises."
---
Raven's Gear
Raven moved toward another table.
Her equipment had been upgraded too.
A reinforced black tactical vest.
Extra magazines.
A compact rifle.
Two pistols.
A combat knife.
A radio.
And a small medical pouch attached to her belt.
She checked every magazine carefully.
Breddy watched her.
"You sure you have enough?"
She looked at him.
"I'm going into Black Eden."
"Of course I have enough."
He laughed.
"Fair point."
She stepped closer.
"And don't forget..."
"I'm watching your back."
Breddy nodded.
"Always."
---
Ethan's Warning
Ethan stood near the briefing table, staring at the photographs of Black Eden Headquarters.
He looked uncomfortable.
Breddy noticed.
"What aren't you telling us?"
Ethan looked at him.
"There are things inside that facility..."
"...things I never saw in the other laboratories."
"What kind of things?"
Ethan hesitated.
"Experiments that were never documented."
Tyler frowned.
"How can something be undocumented?"
Ethan looked toward the dark hallway.
"Because some of them were created by Kane himself."
Raven crossed her arms.
"You're talking about Cerberus."
Ethan nodded.
"That's one of them."
Breddy stepped closer.
"How dangerous?"
Ethan looked directly into his eyes.
"Imagine something that can hunt a human being..."
"...without making a sound."
"Imagine it learning every mistake you make."
"Imagine fighting it once..."
"...and realizing it already knows how you'll fight the second time."
Nobody spoke.
Then Mason broke the silence.
"So basically..."
"We're fighting a smart zombie dog from hell."
Tyler laughed.
Ethan actually smiled.
"That's one way to describe it."
Mason nodded.
"Cool."
"I hate it already."
---
The Final Preparation
Later that evening...
Strike Team Alpha gathered outside.
Armored vehicles waited beneath the floodlights.
Helicopters were being refueled.
Soldiers checked their weapons.
Breddy stood in front of the team.
He looked at everyone.
Then at the rescued Walmart associates who had gathered nearby.
Some still wore their old Walmart vests.
Some had been given fresh clothing.
But every one of them was watching him.
Breddy spoke.
"We've all lost people."
"We've all been afraid."
"And we've all had moments where we wanted to give up."
He paused.
"But we're still here."
He touched Mason's badge inside his vest.
"We're carrying everyone we lost with us."
"We're going into Black Eden..."
"...and we're coming back."
The team nodded.
Raven stepped beside him.
"We do this together."
Ethan raised his weapon.
"Together."
Tyler smiled.
"Let's finish this."
---
One Last Night
Later that night...
Breddy couldn't sleep.
He sat outside the barracks beneath the stars.
Raven eventually found him.
She sat beside him.
"You nervous?"
"Yeah."
She smiled.
"Me too."
Breddy looked down at his hands.
"I keep thinking about Mason."
Raven took his hand.
"You don't have to forget him."
"I'm not going to."
He touched the badge inside his vest.
"He's coming with us."
Raven leaned against his shoulder.
"Then we'll make sure he gets to see the end."
Breddy smiled.
"I'd like that."
They stayed there quietly.
No alarms.
No gunfire.
Just the two of them.
Tomorrow would be different.
Tomorrow...
They would enter the place where the nightmare began.
---
Dawn
The first light of morning appeared over the mountains.
The loudspeaker came alive.
> "STRIKE TEAM ALPHA."
> "DEPLOYMENT IN FIFTEEN MINUTES."
Breddy stood.
Raven stood beside him.
Ethan checked his pistol.
Tyler grabbed his rifle.
Mason walked up carrying his gear.
"Ready?"
Breddy looked at everyone.
He nodded.
"Let's go."
The armored vehicles started their engines.
VRRRRRRMMMMM...
Breddy climbed into the lead vehicle.
Before the doors closed, he looked back at Black Shield Headquarters.
Then at the people they were leaving behind.
He touched Mason's badge one final time.
"Stay safe."
The doors slammed shut.
The convoy began moving.
Ahead...
The road disappeared into the mountains.
And somewhere beyond those mountains...
Black Eden Headquarters was waiting.