Chapter 9 = The Woman… Earth #8189, South-West Connecticut, January 1st 2013…
Aiden and his companions push on through the day, barely resting or taking any breaks. They have decided it is best to reach the black-site as quickly as possible due to their low ammo reserves. As the sun sets, they finally breach into the residential suburbs of Greenwich from the southwest. The group maintains a tight formation through the darkness of the night, sticking to the shadowy paths to avoid detection by any potential crazies lying in wait to attack.
Sarah Brickston:
"So, where exactly is this black-site?"
The Narrator:
Sarah asks as the group sneaks northeast up Hamilton Avenue.
Ash Zorrin:
"According to its file, it is hidden beneath one of the Zorrin-Industries Estates, codenamed Valentina Mansion."
The Narrator:
Ash replies, quickly checking his phone to make sure they are still proceeding in the right direction.
Sarah Brickston:
"Okay, but where's that?"
Ash Zorrin:
"Valentina Mansion is located on Cheshire Island. So… according to these directions, we need to continue northeast towards Norwalk, for about five hours… given our average on-foot speed. From there, we need to proceed a short way southeast to the coast and cross the water to Cheshire Island, which should take us about an hour. Once we reach Cheshire Island, we have about a twenty-minute hike into the heart of the island to reach the mansion."
Sarah Brickston:
"So we're looking at nearly another six and a half hours of travel… fuuuuuuuuuuck… I'm too hungry for this shit," [whiney tone]
The Narrator:
Sarah whines as she hopelessly begins rummaging around in her pockets for anything to eat.
Sarah Brickston:
"Wait … YAY! VICTORY FOR ME!"
The Narrator:
Sarah exclaims with a triumphant grin as she suddenly finds one last protein bar tucked away deep in the pocket of her hoodie; Banana Chocolate… her favorite.
Terra:
"I hate to say it, but I'm really hungry too, guys. It's been nearly eight hours since we last ate,"
The Narrator:
Terra chimes in as her stomach offers a very audible rumble of agreement.
Sarah eagerly breaks her protein bar in half and hands one of the halves to Terra. Terra graciously takes the offered snack as she jostles the younger girl's hair playfully.
Aiden:
"Alright guys, we'll try and find a place to acquire some food."
The Narrator:
Aiden proclaims to the group as he turns his attention to Ash.
Aiden:
"Well, you obviously know this area better than us. Where should we look for food?"
Ash Zorrin:
"Yeah, Working smartphone helps," [ amused tone]
Terra:
"Okay, then where to?"
Ash Zorrin:
"There's this really nice Horton Remsey restaurant not far from here on Greenwich Avenue. Big Brother took me there once to celebrate my birthday. It was really nice. We can see if it is clear of any of the infected. If it is, maybe we can raid their pantry or something,"
The Narrator:
Ash responds, as his stomach also begins to growl.
Jay Brickston:
"Sounds like a plan to me. My stomach has been roaring for the past two hours,"
Ven:
"Hope they have something other than meat left to eat, the apocalypse is no excuse to sacrifice one's morals."
The Narrator:
Ven chimes in while scanning the group's flanks, weapon at the ready.
Tristan:
"Fuck food right now. I am more interested in a nice cold beer,"
The Narrator:
The group rounds the corner and proceeds carefully and quietly up Old Field Point Road. The night is cold and stagnant as they journey onward.
They eventually close in on the corner to Railroad Avenue when suddenly the sounds of heavy commotion and many running feet erupt from a nearby corner pharmacy. The group turns to face the oncoming horde pouring out of the building toward them. Ven unloads his last mag from his AK on the approaching infected, dropping four of them mid-charge as Tristan opens fire with the last six shots of his combat shotgun, killing another eight infected approaching from the group's left flank. As the last three infected close in on the group from the group's right flank, Terra springs into action, leaping in front of a screaming Sarah.
Sarah protects herself by creating a spiked ice barrier in front of herself as Terra smashes the infected charging Sarah with a full-force home-run strike to the side of the head, spraying the ground with blood and brain matter. Jay fires off four shots from his desert eagles and downs the last two of the infected.
Sarah Brickston:
"MY HERO!"
The Narrator:
Sarah shouts, kissing Terra full on the lips as she pulls her into a full-body embrace.
Jay pulls his sister back off Terra angrily as the older girl blushes. Terra swings around her bat for a moment like a real champ with a big-ass grin spread across her face. Sarah laughs at Jay's frustrated expression as Terra blows the younger girl a kiss, causing Sarah to blush. Jay gives his little sis a stern glare of 'Don't you turn dyke on me now…' [ have this part read by JAY BRICKSTON ]
Tristan:
"Fuck! I'm out of shells!"
The Narrator:
Tristan growls, slinging his shotgun over his shoulder.
Ven:
"I'm empty as well!"
The Narrator:
Sighs Ven, holstering his AK and equipping his trusty combat knife from his backpack.
Sarah Brickston:
"One of the infected dropped this. It could be useful,"
The Narrator:
Chimes in Sarah as she hands a green First-Aid Spray canister to Ven, who nods and places it in his backpack with a grateful smile. Sarah smirks back, her eyes shining with a strange gleam.
The group presses up Railroad Avenue until they finally reach the corner where Railroad Avenue meets Greenwich Avenue. From the corner, Ash points to a fancy-looking building located a few intersections down Greenwich. Over the next ten minutes or so, the group slowly closes in on the restaurant, but when they cannot see or hear anything to indicate the presence of anyone other than them, they proceed inside. The front door is locked, but Terra easily breaks it down with her superhuman strength.
Aiden:
"Alright, let's search this place thoroughly but quietly, and above all, let's be careful,"
The Narrator:
Aiden orders as the rest of the group nods in agreement. Everyone fans out and searches the restaurant, being careful not to stray too far from each other or draw any unwanted attention…
Suddenly, the sound of a powerful engine shatters the silence of the night somewhere up the street. Ash and Aiden rush out the front of the restaurant to check on the source of the noise, spotting a police cruiser screaming down the street like a bat out of hell towards a large building with a stone-wall perimeter a few more blocks up Greenwich Avenue. Then comes the sound of metal colliding with metal as the police cruiser smashes through the metal gate of the building's perimeter wall. The rest of the group files out of the restaurant, closing in on the two boys to see what all the ruckus is about.
Ash Zorrin:
"According to the map, that large building is the Greenwich Police Station. Whoever was in that cruiser might need help. Even if they don't, a police station might provide us with some much-needed ammo to tide us over till we reach the mansion,"
The Narrator:
Proclaims Ash to the group, checking the map on his Z-Phone. Aiden steps forward to address the group.
Aiden:
"It is risky, but it also might be worth it. Let's vote, but vote quickly. All in favor of proceeding to the Police Station?"
The Narrator:
Ash, Ven, Sarah, Terra and Aiden raise their hand
Aiden:
"All opposed?"
The Narrator:
Jay and Tristan raise their hands.
Aiden:
"Then it's decided. Let's move out,"
The Narrator:
The group takes off at high speed towards the Police Station. As they get closer, they see what appears to be a badly injured woman with short blonde hair in a Spec-Tac Body-Armor and torn denim jeans. The woman starts making her way towards the front doors of the building when the windows of the floor above her shatter open. Shards of glass rain down on her as about a dozen infected leap down at her from the second floor of the building.
The woman opens fire on them, dropping four of the infected, but she is tackled to the ground by one of them as she tries to reload. As the group closes in on the woman, Aiden runs up and kicks the infected off of the woman and unloads four shots, killing it. Ash fires six shots from his 9MM Pistol, dropping two more of the infected as they attempt to pounce on his new boyfriend. The woman reloads her Beretta 93R Handgun, killing the last of the attacking infected.
Detective Lizzie Cullin:
"Thanks, kid,"
The Narrator:
The woman groans as Aiden helps her to her feet.
Aiden:
"You're bleeding bad,"
The Narrator:
Aiden replies, noticing a large bleeding gash across the right side of the woman's torso.
It looks as if the woman had used duct tape to hold the wound closed as much as possible.
Detective Lizzie Cullin:
"Yeah, no shit. I guess they don't make duct tape the way they used to," [Joking tone]
Narrator:
The woman jokes, leaning against her police cruiser.
Ash Zorrin:
"Are you a cop?"
Detective Lizzie Cullin:
"That's what my file says,"
Narrator:
The woman chuckles as she limps and stumbles her way up to the front door of the police station.
Ven:
"Hey, wait a second,"
Narrator:
Ven jogs over to her, pulling the First Aid Spray from his backpack.
Ven:
"I'm going to need you to hold still, okay?"
Narrator:
The woman looks at the First Aid Spray and nods, lifting up the right side of her body armour so the young man can get a better look at her wound. Ven covers the whole length of the gash with the contents of the First-Aid Spray as evenly as possible. The woman grits her teeth as the stinging sensation of the spray takes hold. After a few moments, the stinging fades and she relaxes before turning and proceeding to the front door of the police station. Upon reaching the door, she pulls a strange device out of her pocket and attaches it to the door.
Detective Lizzie Cullin:
"You might want to cover your ears."
Narrator:
The woman turns and proceeds back to the police-cruiser, gesturing for everyone to take cover next to her as the thick heavy doors to the police-station are pulverized by a large explosion.
The shockwave from the explosion sets off the car alarms of all the parked nearby police cars.
Detective Lizzie Cullin:
"So what brings you kids here? School field trip? Because if so, I hate to tell you, but police stations are boring as hell," [ musing playful tone ]
Jay Brickston:
"Well, actually, we were looking for food nearby when we heard your car smashing the gate, and we became worried you might be in need of assistance."
Narrator:
Jay slides up closer to her with a look that makes Aiden wonder if he is trying to hit on her or scare her.
Sarah laughs at the look on her older brother's face. It looks like a cross between Blue Steel and acute constipation.
Detective Lizzie Cullin:
"How sweet," [ deeply sarcastic and amused ]
Narrator:
The woman bursts out laughing at Jay's facial expression, causing him to fall back with embarrassment.
Ash Zorrin:
"Actually, ma'am, we also came in search of ammo. We have a long journey ahead of us, but our ammo reserves are really low. We thought a police station might have something,"
Detective Lizzie Cullin:
"Makes sense. Wait..."
Narrator:
The woman gestures for silence as a dull, low rumbling begins to build as if coming closer.
Everything seems to stop and go silent for a moment. Then, out of nowhere, the ground of the parking lot erupts, sending debris and dust outward in all directions. From out of the dust cloud, a massive, towering brute of an infected comes surging towards them. The giant infected growls and snarls viciously as he swipes down hard towards the woman. The woman shoves Jay to the ground before leaping out of the way of the incoming attack. The giant infected's fist comes down hard on the roof of the police cruiser, smashing it. The woman scurries to her feet as the giant turns to her and follows up with a powerful front kick, striking her square in the chest and sending her flying backwards into a nearby parked police car.
The giant rushes her, but the woman reaches out her hand towards the monstrous infected, her face strains with intense focus as the advancing brute suddenly stops mid-charge, writhing in agony. The brute's painful cries intensify as fire bursts from its flesh, quickly spreading across its body. The woman advances on the creature, arm still outstretched towards the screaming, burning monster. The closer the woman draws towards the flaming brute, the more intense the fire becomes until at last the fire flares up in a massive plume of flame, and the creature writhes no more as its body is reduced to smoldering ash. The woman collapses unconscious next to its hulking charred corpse.