[Note: Hello~ I decided to start my own story as I felt that the library section is kinda cold. I put both ZP and L4D elements into this, hoping that it turns out to be entertaining!! ]

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Survivor:
Joshua/Scott (Mutated Villain)
Albert
Rebecca
Edric
Vivian

Other (Allies/Villains):
Allan (A)
Shane (A)
Dr. Sandvik (V)
Dr. Berreguard (V)

Status: Green - Alive , Red - Deceased
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Prologue

Time: 2 Weeks After Infection
Place: Unknown

It was a lonely night, where the sky was decorated with isolated moon, shinny stars and some black clouds. Accompanied by the nature's melody - crickets' chirps and ravens' crows, one might think that it was a beautiful sight of scenery. But, they were wrong, as the nature itself... had started changing without being realized properly. Trees, grasses and flowers slowly wilted away and the soil began to corrupt. The fresh air was now filled with the sense of damned - DEATH. Moaning and groaning of the zeds were heard insight, signified that civilization had collapsed. Poor folks, they couldn't escape out of the town to somewhere safer to shield themselves from the unknown virus outbreak.

Five survivors braved themselves across the abandoned street. One of them was wounded and unfortunately unconscious while bleeding. They found a heavily barricaded bar shop and decided to break into it. After all of them got in, the door was sealed again with two large cabinets nearby. Carefully, a man in military outfits put the injured survivor flat on the counter. He decided to search the rooms for supplies especially bandages. A teenage boy was still shivering by the corner of the bar and was noticed by another man beside him.

"Boy, you okay?" he asked. Joshua, under his blue cap, shook his head gloomily with some tears rolling out from his eyes. He seemed could not accept the truth of what had just recently hit him. Now, he was stuck with some strangers in order to struggle for living. A young lady about his age hugged him and tried to comfort him. Joshua smiled merrily to her and made himself closer to the sealed window to look up into the starry sky. The view was serene, but why did it turn out to be nasty? Thinking back of those days, Joshua moaned quietly to himself.

Chapter 1: The Beginning

Time: Day Of Infection; 20:35 p.m.
Place: College Campus Hostel in Everett

Like usual, Joshua was sitting by his desk, doing his mountain-sized assignments. They need to be handed in by Friday this week as he still had 2 days left. He wished that he finished them on time or else he would gonna undergo his lecturer's mad speech again. How stressful!!

It was Joshua's 20th birthday and no one did realize this important date. Only piles of books and papers accompanied him, followed by the night breeze. He yawned while rubbing his lazy eyes. He couldn't stand of the books' stench anymore and decided to lye on the bed to catch a breathe. When he was about to shut his eyes, his handphone rang. The ringtone of "The Day After Tomorrow" was played as it was his favourite song. He answered the call and was overjoyed when he heard a familiar voice.

"Happy Birthday, son."
"Thanks, dad! How's life over there?"
"As pink as health. You miss home, huh?"
"Yea, college life sucks."
"Relax, you'd get used to it in the future. You struggle hard at first and would obtain glory in the end. Remember, you're not a kid anymore, but a grown-up teenage."
"(sigh) I know. Oh, talk to you later, I'm busy here."
"Good luck then. Bye!"

Joshua hung the phone-call and felt that he was energized again. A warm and short chat from his dad indeed had a power to pump him up. Then, there was a knock on the door. In front stood Allan, his friend.

"You're done? That is fast."
"Half-done. By the way, why are you here?"
"Oh, c'mon? Don't tell me that you've forgotten about our stage performance on Saturday?!"
"Oh shit!! My bad, I'll be ready in a minute."

Joshua shut the door and immediately changed his clothes. Before exiting, he found that his hair was messy through a mirror as if he hadn't combed for centuries! He looked at the blue cap sitting on the shelf above the mirror. It was his farewell gift from his mum before departing for Everett. "This should do the trick." he thought and wore it on. He rejoined Allan outside and hurried off to the music room at Block 4A3.

***

Chapter 2: The Worse To Come

After practicing for 2 hours, Joshua and Allan sat down on the platform panting tiredly. Jenny whined that she had itchy skin as she believed she had been bitten by the mosquitoes. The three decided to head back to their respective room, but was too tired to do so.

"How about listening to music?" suggested Ben as he turned on the radio. The audio was blurry at first until the song of "Season In The Sun" was heard. However, it was cut off and a lady's voice was heard instead.

"Good evening, listeners. Sorry for interrupting the moments you have. This is Rebbaca from TV8 News Channel and I would like to report an urgent news from the government which our station had just received earlier.

Everett City has been hit by an unknown virus after Guinea City. The origin is a mystery as no one knows where it is spread from. Our scientists and high-level doctors are still busy analysising this source. As far as the information gathered, over 18,000 people are under quarantine as they're noted 'Positive' to this disease. 56,950 people are found dead after being infected in a day or two. We also realized that this unknown disease has recorded the highest rank of death compared to the others.

Therefore, the government has urged the public to stop any on-going activities to cope with this situation. Wash your hand frequently after doing anything. Wear a face mask if possible and stay away from anyone who is believed to be sick. Also, do not share things among yourself as prevention is better than cure. The public could know the symptoms of this disease by continuous vomiting, bitter coughing, serious sole throat, red rashes over the skin and heavy flu.

That's all for now. Thank you for listening. Be sure to stay tune to our TV8 Channel for more information on this outbreak. Sorry for the inconvenient by the way and have a nice day."

There was a silence in the music room after the news was heard. "Wait a second... Jenny, I thought you just said that you had itchy skin?" asked Joshua while staring at Jenny who a distance from him. But, there was no replies from her. She seemed to be stoned and did not move a single muscle. Feeling strange, Ben walked towards her and poked her in the head. Nothing happened, but not for long... Jenny suddenly stood up and bit Ben in the neck. Red blood oozed out from it, alarming Joshua and Allan in their wake.

"JENNY, what's the fuckin' wrong with your mind?! Aaahhhhhhh~" shouted Ben loudly and painfully. But, Jenny didn't let go and continued sinking her teeth into the bloodstream. Allan quickly shoved Jenny with the microphone stand while Joshua pulled Ben away from her. However, his puffing of air had disappeared. Joshua was panicked after checking his pulse several times - NONE.

"Ah, shit. We got to do something, Allan!"
"Report to the principal immediately!"
"Seriously?! He thought we're talking rubbish!"
"What else could we do then? Let the madness continue?!"
"Fine, let's--"

There was a strong grip on his hand. Joshua tried to pull it, but failed. Soon, he knew why as his eyes stared at dead Ben in disbelief. He was alive again although his neck was still bleeding away. How could anyone survive when one was in this serious condition? Dead Ben pulled his hand towards his mouth and intended to start chewing the flesh meat.

"What the heck?! OFF!!!" yelled Joshua while karate-kicking violently to its stomach. Shortly after that, Allan grabbed him and decided to exit the music room. However, another surprise was awaiting for them by the door.

Chapter 3: Bloody Frenzy

Allan yelped when staring at the door being crowded by more of their fellows. They were their recognized people - lecturers, classmates, cleaners and the security guards. All of them looked pale with some purplish blood oozing out from their eyes. Joshua felt disgusted when looking at them.

"More?! What the hell just happened?"
"The report earlier... It must be connected to this."
"C'mon, a disease that drives people crazy to fight among themselves? How cool is that?!"
"Yea, they're... something else. Back to stage, Josh. We have to get out of here... by FORCE."

Both of them ran back to the platform and grabbed themselves a defensive weapon each - a guitar and a microphone stand. They got rid of Ben and Jenny first, then the incoming crowd. Blood splattered everywhere including their own clothes. They fought mercifully till the crowd was slowly diminishing. Then, both of them fled from the room and ran along the hallway.

"To that storeroom. We hide there temporarily." said Allan. He shut the door once Joshua entered and darkness set in. Nothing could be seen until Joshua activated his handphone light. They found that the storeroom was dusty and filled with useless junks. A box contained flashlights lied beside Allan and he decided to equip it.

Suddenly, a sound caught their attention - A soft moaning. With the flashlight switched on, an unmistakable figure of a lady was formed before them. Her hair was white and she was dressed in the college uniform, but was ragged. Joshua decided to approach her to calm her, but was halted by Allan. He completely ignored him and went forwards.

"Hey, don't worry. You're okay now." comforted Joshua while still shinning his torchlight on her. However, the lady glared at him with her red glowing eyes while groaning bitterly. Allan frosted when he noticed her odd-looking fingers when the flashlight was pointed downwards.

"Josh, stay away from her! I think she is--"
[Lady screamed at the top of her voice]
"Holy shit! What's wrong with her?!"
"Do you just piss her?"

The mad lady stood up angrily and intended to swing her sharp claws at Joshua. Quickly, Allan pushed Joshua away from her. But before he could dodge, his head was flung off while his body collapsed to the ground. This bloody scene was seen by Joshua right before his eyes, giving him a fright and shouted fearfully. Disturbed by the sound, the lady gasped at what she had done to her victim and covered her head with her sharp claws. She headed for the door and clawed open it with her fist, then fleeing herself from the 'awkward' scene. Her terrified wailing still could be heard clearly from distance.

In tears, Joshua crouched down to his knees and stared at Allan's decapitated head. "Forgive me, lord. I've killed my friend due to my slightest mistake. I should have listened to him earlier. How regretful I'm now, ya' know?!" he sobbed.

From behind, another figure appeared, but Joshua didn't notice its presence. The hooded figure led out a scream and pounced on him. Joshua screamed in pain while watching it clawing his belly. Its clothes was soon soaked with his blood apart from dirt and mud. Just then, something struck its head, instantly killed it. Joshua tried to open his eyes to see who did it, but he had led to darkness instead. Footsteps could be heard by him and a voice shouted, "Guys, there was a wounded survivor here. Hurry up before it's too late."

[Hey, thx 2 whoever rates this. I don't notice it duh... ]

Chapter 4: Freezing Point

Joshua woke up from his unconsciousness. Around him was an air-conditioned room with barricaded windows. An elderly in white suits walked into the ward to check on his condition. He also placed a plate of salad on his laps for him to eat. Joshua immediately got up and questioned him for the current location, including his identity, just in case he got kidnapped...

"I'm Professor Sandvik, the one who in charge of the Mercy hospital. Now hold still, young'un. Your wounds aren't stable yet."
"Leave me alone! I don't care what bullshits hit me."
"Kid, please. Listen to the professor."

Both Joshua and Professor Sandvik looked towards the direction of the door. There stood a man dressed in white military outfits mounting an AK-47. The professor immediately greeted him and described about Joshua's condition. The man nodded and patted on his shoulder, thanking him in return to take good care of the kid. He also slightly apologized, but the professor disclaimed him and stating that the hospital had insufficient doctors and nurses. Later, the professor excused himself and left the ward for other important tasks to do.

Joshua sat quietly on the bed and chewed the salad while staring him. When the man took a seat by him, he looked away and pulled his cap downwards to hide his nerves. The man introduced himself as Albert who was a volunteered rescue unit under WhiteFlame. His job was to scout any remaining survivors trapped within the city rather than assaulting the dead. Then, he questioned the boy for his name in return.

"Name's Joshua. Thanks for rescuing me, but I... DON'T appreciate it."
"Hmmm~ Still can't accept the reality of ya' buddy's death?"

Joshua stunned. He recalled the gruesome scene which he had witnessed few days ago. The scene of Allan being decapitated by a mad lady for saving him from becoming her victim. Joshua also remembered her sharp shriek she made before launching her attack. Her pairs of lonely eyes had covered her true form as a devil. He had been tricked by her innocent looks, resulting in his sympathy and kindness towards her.

"Yea, he is killed due to my ignorance."
"I hope you won't mind. Your buddy's body had been decomposed in the chemical lab to prevent reanimation."
"I understand. He already hinted me that the disease can turn people into zombies. I thought they only appear in stories?!"
"'Zed', ya' mean? The virus doesn't connect to Green Flu at all after reading those reports yesterday. It is... something else."

Suddenly, there was a thunderous wave coming through his walkie talkie. Albert picked it up from his hip and answered the call. "This is Albert. Any reports to pass?"

"Report, sir. Our Scout B5 found a trapped teenage girl within an abandoned apartment in coordination of X34, Y41 by the pawn shop nearby. However, that area was surrounded by zeds and we might be overwhelmed. Could you summon more units here to assist??"

"Transmission received. Over!"
"Can I go too, sir?"
"No, it's too dangerous for--"
"Please, atleast let me help you in return for rescuing me?"

Albert stared at Joshua in surprise. Minutes later, he said that he didn't appreciate his help. Now he was 180 degree changed. How crazy was that? Was his mind overheated? Albert thought for awhile and decided to take him along to the location described after reporting the issue to his commander.

Chapter 5: Optimum Point

Inside the rescue van, 10 soldiers looked among themselves, then fixed their sight on the little boy. The man aged around 50 said to him, "Kid, what you're facing now is truth, NOT video game. You might as well stay with the survivors at the hospital." However, Joshua ignored him and glanced at Albert who was seemed busy rummaging the army bags.

"Here you go, Josh. A rookie should learn how to use pistols first before handling with guns." The dual pistols of M1911 pistols were handed to Joshua. He looked at them in excitement as he never see them before even though his father was a police. But, his dad ever mentioned that he or she required to have license before be able to afford one. "During this phase, does license still count necessary? I hope not, dad. Please forgive me..." he thought.

Upon reaching their destination, everyone got down from the van. The street was filled with abandoned vehicles and streetlights had stopped functioning. CEDA announcements and notices were everywhere on the walls. The air itself also damned as the rotting corpses were everywhere. Even ravens joined the fun by feasting on the dead. Ewwww~

"So, where are members of Scout B5? I don't see anyone here..." grumbled Joshua. He surveyed the scene around him till he stepped on a corpse's hand accidentally. This alarmed him and quickly forced his foot away from it. However, he didn't realize the sudden move of the corpse. It got up from its knees and was about to bite Joshua's neck, but was shot down by one of the soldiers with a Sniper Rifle.

"Hey, watch out. The corpses were alive!" he yelled. Immediately, the corpses around them arose from their death after hearing the fusses about and prepared to launch their attacks. "Hit 'em hard so they won't reanimate!" shouted Albert. Suddenly, a long, slim object warped around him, limiting his movement.

"What the hell just-- Tongue?!" Albert tried to scream for help, but he was choked and being dragged away by force. Joshua took notice of this sneak attack and ran after him. Later, he noticed something standing behind a rusted silver car. It was a figure with a bloated face covered with large tumor. It clawed Albert from behind while entangling him. His face turned as red as a tomato and he was struggling like a suffocating fish. Without wasting time, Joshua quickly fired 8 shots at it.

PUFF~ The creature exploded and emitted a cloud of green smoke around Albert. He coughed and rejoined Joshua at the ambushed spot. Open-fire took place, but the horde kept coming in great numbers.

"There are too many of them, sir! Go with the boy to locate the trapped girl. We'll hold the lines as tight as we can."
"Very well. But, I promise I'll be right back for ya'! Let's go, Josh."

*** ***

Walking into the abandoned apartment being described, cobwebs, mice and cockroaches greeted them. An infected stray dog barked fiercely at them and Albert had to silence it with a pump of his shotgun. Walking up the stairs, Joshua was disgusted by the dead bodies lying along the corridor. He prayed secretly that they didn't reanimate before their objective was done. Upon reaching the top floor, an unmistakable sound of someone crying was heard. Joshua frosted when he saw a familiar figure in front of him and hid behind Albert.

"What happened, boy?"
"That's... That's the lady who had killed my buddy at the college!"

The lady was still sobbing without knowing the presence of the two. She proceeded with her claws covering her face. Fresh blood were still dripping from them as well as her ragged clothes were soaked red in color who believed to be belonged to Allan. They saw each other again, but Joshua couldn't do anything as it was a SUICIDE to rush up to her.

"Please give me the permission to end her madness on your buddy."
"Don't act bullshit. You're a goner within seconds if you disturbed her."
"Trust me, I know what to do."

Albert reloaded his Auto-Shotgun and tiptoed behind the lady. Joshua followed him from behind. His heart was pumping greatly as he feared that the world would be turning if Albert ended up like Allan. He wouldn't want that situation to happen again as too much guilty had been spilt on his account. He didn't want a stranger to die just because of dealing with his personal business. Or else, he would moan till eternity like her.

Suddenly, Joshua tripped on a flower pot, causing it to crack noisily. Albert stared at Joshua in surprise and told him to keep quiet while staying focus. However, the lady had taken note of this. She paused and turned her head backwards, noticing two living beings behind her. She started to growl loudly with both arms wide in the air with her glowing eyes being fixed on them.

"Oh shit, we're her... bloody feast." stressed Joshua in horror while shivering.

Chapter 6: Boiling Point

"I guess we've no choices." said Albert and fired his Auto-Shotgun at the lady. This angered her even more, forcing her to run towards them at the top speed while screaming mercilessly. "Run, man, run!!" yelled Joshua frighteningly and headed for the stairs. However, the dead had arisen from their death, forcing Joshua to clear the path for emergency use.

When reloading his pistols, Joshua noticed a box written "Jumbo Flares" lying on one of the dead bodies. He picked it up and found that it was filled with many colorful firecrackers. Ermm, a celebration before pandemic happened? How cool was that?! Just then, Albert ran pass him and yelled, "What ya' doing?! Run and shoot at the bitch!!"

"I hope this helps." mumbled Joshua. He lighted up the box with the lighter and tossed it backwards. The firecrackers within immediately exploded and created tiny sparks on the ground with thunderous noises. When the mad lady appeared and walked pass it, her clothes caught fire and began to spread wildly. She yelped and paced around like a drunk woman, swinging her arms constantly. With her final shriek, she collapsed into the pool of flares. Once the firecrackers were heard no more, Albert walked towards the burning body to check on her death. Then, he turned to Joshua and said, "Nice job, now back to work."

So, both of them went back upstair to check each room for the girl. Finally, they saw her hiding in a wardrobe in Room 522. The girl was nervous at first upon seeing them, fearing that they might be infected as well. After Joshua's comfort, she came out from it with a blanket wrapping around her neck.

"Never fear, we're here to help you. What's your name?"
"I'm Rebecca."
"No time to chat, guys. Let's go! The units can't hold much longer down there."

*** ***

Three of them exited the apartment and headed back to the rescue van. Albert found that it was too late when the corpses of his fellows were torn apart. Some with broken legs, broken arms, missing heads and even dug out intestines. He moaned for them in his heart as his promise was broken. Rebecca crouched by him and comforted him not to be sadden by the situation easily. "Emotion is the key to control yourself." she advised.

From nowhere, Joshua could hear someone burping and gagging. He was sure that it was neither from Rebecca nor Albert, not to mention he himself. Why would people do these during the sorrowful event like this? Filled with curiosity, Joshua looked around and saw something "poking" out from the van behind. Then, a figure revealed itself with an extremely bloated belly. Its head was massively bloated too. Overalls, its physical appearance made Joshua chuckled.

The creature stared at Joshua while burping even louder. "Yea, yea, I'll deal with you now." Joshua laughed and shot its stomach, causing it to detonate. However, the explosion stumbled him backwards and covered himself with green, sticky liquid. "Ugh~ What is this green stuff on me?!" grumbled Joshua. Later, sounds of footsteps could be heard nearby. Feeling odd, Albert peeked from the corner of the van and saw a large number of zeds rushing towards their direction.

"The goo... attracts hordes? Shit..." yelled Albert. "Get on the van. We're outta here!" Joshua led Rebecca to the back while Albert immediately started the engine and sped off. The hordes were still chasing after them from behind. Joshua found an Uzi lying on the seat beside him and spammed it on the incoming zeds through the window.

"Allow me to tame them." said Rebecca. She reached for her pocket and tossed a package towards them. Red liquid showered them when the package was torn by one of the zeds. Weirdly, they paused and started attacking each other for their new sources. Joshua stared at the crazy zeds surprisely and asked Rebecca for the content.

"Ketchup sauce, love it?" she replied with a smile on her face.

Chapter 7: Truth Under Bandages

Back at the Mercy Hospital, Joshua went straight to the washroom for a short bathe. Albert brought Rebecca to the quarantine room for medical check-up. She was given new set of clothes to wear after that. Albert also reported to him about everything he encountered, especially the loss of armies.

"My sympathy on those brutal incidents. But, I'm appreciated with your job of rescuing this girl. She is free from the virus."
"Glad that it isn't fatal. All thanks to Joshua."

Then, Albert whispered something to Professor Sandvik. He nodded and entered the office with him, leaving Rebecca in the lobby alone. Later, Joshua joined her and had a mini chit-chat. During the chat, Rebecca noticed Joshua's bandaged wounds.

"You're wounded? Do take care of yourself!"
"Bah, I know. Staying silent in a hospital is boring sometimes. Oh by the way, how you ended up in the wardrobe?"

There was a silence. Fear struck Rebecca when remembered what just hit her recently. She drank a glass of water from the table to calm herself down before she could start speaking again. "Well, it's all started when I came back from tuition. Everything was fine until a strange visitor came to our house. I didn't know it was a 'he' or 'she' as I'm studying in my bedroom with fast food beside me. Then, I heard my mum screaming, followed by glass shattering and dad's wile. I felt terrified and dialed the police with my handphone. However, I cut it off when there was a knock on the door. I quickly switched off the lights and hid inside the wardrobe, praying for the robber to begone."

Just then, Albert walked out from the office and pulled Joshua by the arm. He insisted to check on his wound which made Joshua confused on the situation. Slowly, Albert removed the bandage from him to uncover the wounds. When he examined clearly, there was an unmistakable bitten mark on his left shoulder.

"Damn, Joshua. You're... INFECTED?!" shouted Albert in disbelief.

Both Rebecca and Joshua froze after hearing what Albert blurted out from his mouth. So as the workers around them. "Joshua is a carrier? No way!!" thought Rebecca and backed away from Joshua in distances. Joshua himself strongly objected Albert's statement. A quarrel took place shortly after that.

Luckily, Professor Sandvik rushed out from his office to end the quarrel. He also comforted Albert from become insaner. "General Albert, I haven't finish my sentence, YET! Not all bitten victims will turn immediately. It's just the matters of time and status-immunity to determine whether one is infected. Also, do not raise a panic on him or her as the virus will spread twice faster than usual."

"You should tell me earlier, especially 'The Hunter' species. Yea, he was BITTEN by it before I could shoot it down. Didn't you take note of it when he is here on the first day?! It is the most infectious creature among the others, ya' know?!" roared Albert back. "Prepare the shot for Joshua now. I don't want to see him changing right in front of my eyes!"

Feeling frustrated, Joshua shut his ears so that he couldn't hear their quarrel further. He wished what he heard was false! Being bitten alive as human was a miracle so far without any negative signs popping out on him - No revenge, no turning and no blood thirst. He shivered in fear that he might lose himself forever. Suddenly, his mind went blank and there was a change in his thinking. He was on the floor minutes later, crouching steadily to launch his attack on his foul, Albert.

Chapter 8: Unstable

Rebecca shortly noticed his sudden behavior and quickly alerted the men to be wary on him. Both Albert and the professor stared at pre-infected Joshua in astonishment. They managed to dodge his incoming attack.

Again, Albert stressed to the professor to hurry up and do what he had said. Professor Sandvik sighed deeply and ran for the medicine room. During which, Joshua tried to pounce on him, however, was pinned by Albert onto the ground. He struggled violently till the grips were loosen. Albert was pushed backwards.

"Joshua, I'm sorry for alarming ya', but you got to control yourself from being fully infected!" shouted Albert. But, Joshua only replied him with a bitter growl, not knowing what language he was talking about. He launched his second attack on Albert again. This time, he scratched his neck with his fingernails.

Professor Sandvik returned with the shot in his right hand. Trilled by the scene, he shoved Joshua with his fist. Joshua did the back-roll and crouched on the floor again, howling at him. Albert tried to get up, but the pain was limiting him to move about. He could only watch the unarmed professor being slaughtered to death.

BONG~!! Joshua was hit hard by the head from behind with a fire extinguisher by Rebecca. He collapsed by her feet, giving the professor the chance to inject the shot into his bloodstream. Albert prayed and moaned quietly for Joshua before the nightmare struck.

*** ***

Glancing at Joshua lying on bed, three of them felt pity of him. Of course, the most 'shaken' person was Albert who showed manly tears in his eyes. The professor washed the wound on his neck with purified water and attached a big plaster on it.

"I'm sorry to tell ya, general. The shot does hold off the virus, but NOT behaviors, which means he MIGHT do something strange than normal people do."
"It's okay, as long as he is unharmed."
"Poor Joshua, he can't escape his fate."

Suddenly, a nurse rushed into the ward from behind without knocking on the door. Her face showed fright from the looks. "Professor, the chemical lab is under attack!!" she shouted panickedly. "Something has killed our workers in there, including the properties. They're broken into pieces."

Professor Sandvik was shocked and asked her to lead the way. Albert decided to follow too. Before closing the door, he ordered Rebecca to stay there with Joshua and let them know if he was awaken. He also advised her that if Joshua proved hostile towards her, she mustn't be afraid to tackle him. Rebecca nodded and warned him to be cautious on that 'something'.

Chapter 9: Dangerous

Upon arriving the scene, several soldiers were already there. They drew their guns towards a big-sized monstrosity. Its muscle on its arms and upper body were abnormal compared to its lower body. It grunted like a gorilla, beating its chest repeatedly to signify itself as indestructible although many bullets had been shot onto it.

"Holy shit, what is that thing?!"
"I'm not sure. There aren't any reports on this creature. It must be another undiscovered infected behind this pandemic."

The monster couldn't withstand the rapid fires for long and howled loudly. It rushed forwards, punching tables, chairs, propane tanks and metal cupboards in front of it towards the soldiers. Unfortunately, some of the bullets shot through the incoming propane tanks, creating several large explosions till the acids in flasks nearby were burst into living flames upon contacting with air. Most of the soldiers were burnt to death while some fled like timid mice.

"Shit, I have to alert the rest especially Rebecca. Professor, you signal the troops immediately." said Albert, hurrying down the stairs.

*** ***

"I wonder what happened out there? So noisy..." thought Rebecca. She got up from her seat after setting the magazine aside and took a peek from the door. She saw the doctors and nurses were rushing from the stairs above and gathered at the lobby. Some were crying while some were shivering badly. Many soldiers and firemen were rushing upstair with their equipped gears. "No time to lose. We must protect our only barricaded base!" one of them shouted.

Shaking her head, Rebecca closed the door. When she noticed the bed was empty, she felt panicked as something wasn't right. She tried to stay calm until she saw someone standing behind her and quickly aimed the Magnum at his head. "Stay away from me!" said Rebecca nervously as she was scared that she might get pounced. However, Joshua gently pushed away the pistol and stated that it was really he himself. His voice was slightly harsh due to his frenzied cries earlier.

"Rebecca, we must get outta here, NOW."
"Why? Anything wrong?"

Suddenly, there was an earthquake. The ceiling started to collapse and Rebecca managed to evade the chunks. Fire began to spread from above too! Joshua grabbed her quickly and said, "Hop on, I'll 'drive' you to safety. Just don't let go of your hands, ok?" Feeling confused, Rebecca got on his back and closed her eyes. Moments later, there was a swift against the wind.

Chapter 10: Safety First

Albert stunned when he saw the ward where both Rebecca and Joshua were in had turned into ruins. It was too late to turn back as they're crushed to death inside. While moaning deeply, someone hugged him from behind. He realized it was Rebecca immediately after noticing the scar on her arm. He was surprised and asked on the knowing. Joshua appeared beside her, smiling gayly at him.

"Missing my original looks?"
"Yea, er, nope. You still look infected to me. (laugh) Thanks God, both of ya' are okay. I thought I can't make it."
"Whatever. (sigh) Where is the professor dude?"

Just then, Professor Sandvik appeared by the stairs, limping. When Albert advanced for him, the professor shouted, "Don't come! Stay where you are." Their confusion was answered when the burning monster appeared behind him, punching him from the stairs and landed violently in a pool of blood within the glass panels. Rebecca screamed panickedly when she witnessed the scene. The ground started to shake again when it went berserk, creating cracks on the walls and floors. When noticing them on sight, it made a dash for them.

"Damn, the troops aren't alerted. Flee for the door as the situation has become worse!" yelled Albert. Rebecca ran beside him and dared not to look back, especially the bloody body. Before fleeing, Joshua fired his pistols at the chandeliers above. Two out from six crushed on the creature, rendering it to stuck within the limited space while roaring painfully on the fire burning its skin. Later, he lunged himself for the door in time before it was blocked by the burning chunks.

Outside, infected nurses and doctors welcomed them. Their eyes glued to the moving objects before them. "God damn, they've turned." grumbled Albert as he prepared his AK-47. He shot them in the bellies, resulting easy deaths in a glance. Rebecca groaned and looked across the abandoned street of the dead land. She asked the boys for the further plan of survival.

"Easy, we wait till we rot like these jerks."
"Any other choices better than... THAT?!"

"I know somewhere safe, strangers." greeted a man leaning against the tree with Chrome Shotgun by his lap. Albert wanted his identity to be named and asked about his whereabouts. The man stood by the collapsed hospital and introduced himself as Edric. "It's not safe to talk here. Let's head to my safehouse." he advised.

"I guess we're following, guys. It's the only chance."
"Yea, that's my decision too. If he proved hostility, I'll take care of him. Don't worry too much like Josh."
"Hey, stop mocking me!"

Chapter 11: Dejected

After an-hour walk while engaging the idling zeds, they finally reached the safehouse by the street junctions. When noticing white objects hanging from the door, Rebecca stated to Edric, "You know, garlic only works on vampires, not zeds." Edric smiled at her and excused himself for hanging unnecessary decorations. She chuckled.

A male figurine appeared from the storeroom and questioned Edric about the strangers. Both of them talked in foreign language which three of them couldn't understand. After that, Edric said, "Oh sorry, we aren't the native here. This is Shane. Both of us came in Everett for legal gun exchange with other hunters. However, we're shocked that the city had changed alot. Now, we hunted down these pests as part-time hobby instead of heading back. Well, we came across--"

"Damn, it seems the zombie pandemic isn't enough for ya' guys. Stop scaring the kids further!"
"Why? I've the RIGHT to scare anyone. (laugh)"

Hearing what Edric had said, Joshua felt downhearted and lunged himself on him. Surprised, Shane quickly pointed his Uzi at his direction, but was quickly shoved away by Albert. Luckily, Rebecca managed to back him away from causing troubles. Joshua shortly recovered from his blank mind and gasped at what he had done. "Professor Sandriv is right. His behavior doesn't been erased." whispered Rebecca to Albert.

Feeling shocked, Edric picked himself up slowly and said, "Boy, you remind me of Ronald. He was bitten and become pre-infected. Although he was injected by many shots to control the virus, but not until few days ago, he was strangely fully-transformed and killed our allies. Shane and I dispatched him successfully and buried the bodies at the graveyard nearby. Of course, we're the only survivors." Shane glared at him and told him not to mention it anymore as he was disturbed by the black incident these days. Edric apologized when knowing that Ronald was his closest friends than the others.

Fully-transformed? Joshua dazed at Edric's phrase and thought back of the scene where he went frenzied. "I thought the shot already controlled the virus within me? That's means my nightmare will... continue again?! I rather die than living in the condition like THIS!!" cried Joshua and ran for the exit. Albert was stunned by the scene and called for his name. However, he had disappeared without trace even though his moaning could be heard from distance.

With anger overtook him, Albert returned into the safehouse and grabbed Edric by the neck. He pinned him by the counter while blaming him for frightening Joshua and blurted out his secret as well. Edric was speechless after knowing the truth. Beside him, Shane mocked him for blurting the 'CURSE' out, but Edric ignored him. "As your punishment, you MUST find him UNHARMED. If he was dead, you know how the story ends, especially YOU!" emphasized Albert angrily while drawing the pistol to Edric's forehead.

Rebecca went forwards, trying to calm down the chaos, but nothing happened. She felt herself being threatened and yelled at the men. "Instead of bullshitting around, can't you guys get your asses up and settle the problem as soon as possible?! The more time delayed, the more dangers he got into!" Her voice echoed around the room, loud enough for the men to hear her.

Chapter 12: Street Madness

After reloading their weapons, four of them exited the safehouse. Rebecca asked Albert on how to locate Joshua when knowing from him about his quick disappearance. Albert thought back carefully about the direction of the sound source traveled from and stated that it came from the south.

"100% guarantee? Don't make the trip disrupted."
"Just because you're scared? Hmph~"

Rebecca sighed when thinking that there would be a quarrel again. She couldn't understand why people didn't know what the meaning of 'peace' was. Noticing her change in mood, Shane broke off their chat and hurried the group ahead.

They made themselves to the street center, discovering more crushed vehicles everywhere. A transporter smashed into a hawker stall which explained some squashed bodies underneath it. The driver itself also bleeding seriously by the head with its eyes wide open. Two trucks filled with dead bodies trilled the scene as the smell was odorous. Abandoned police cars and fire trucks were lying around too. "How terrible..." thought Rebecca, trying to control her phobia of the scene.

Hearing some noises nearby, Albert warned the group to be wary. Strangely, everything went quiet again until they're showered by green slime suddenly. Shane felt disgusted by the goo for dirtying its clothes. Spying a boomer insight, he shot it, causing the creature to detonate. The explosion caused the cars nearby to trigger their alarms.

"Shit, brave yourself. The hordes are coming!" yelled Albert as he heard footsteps nearby. Zeds showed themselves in different sizes and heights. Their corrupted face roared in excitement when noticing living beings ahead as they were bored for days already. Finally, they could 'play' with their preys! Woohoo~

However, they didn't notice a smoker appeared on top of the building's roof. With its wile, it wrapped its victim, Shane with its tongue. "NNOOOOOOO~" yelped Shane as he was pulled away. Edric tried to save him, but was surrounded by zeds punching and clawing him. He managed to bash over the one which intended to bite his skin.

Rebecca couldn't believe this was her first encounter on how serious the situation was. It wasn't like the RPG games which she used to play when surrounded by enemies. Spamming an AoE ability would settle the problem, but this was totally different! This time was REAL, not IMAGINARY.

"Fire in the hole!" Albert's voice awoke her as she watched him tossing a pipebomb towards the opposite direction. The beeping sound distracted their focus on them and chased after the unique object. Later, the explosion occurred, sending their broken body parts across the air.

Quickly, three of them rushed to rescue Shane who was half-hanged by the building. Some zeds were busy attacking him from below and didn't notice the ambushers from behind. They were shot to death. Edric quickly assaulted the smoker standing on top of the roof. It exploded and released Shane from the tongue's strangle. Wounded by the legs, he got up by supporting himself by the wall, gasping for air. Suddenly, a sound of the bell ringing was heard by them.

"It comes from the church. Can it be... Joshua signalling for helps?"
"The only church in this area is... Savior Church! I go there with my Bible every Sunday for God's blessing."
"Lead the way, Rebecca. We'll take cover."

Chapter 13: Pure Within Darkness

The bells had stopped ringing by the time when the group reached there. The church was painted white and pale yellow. It featured a square-plan bell tower occupied by a small presbytery. Nevertheless, many pews were blocked in places and the windows were broken down. Bald trees with bare twigs grew in rows by the church. They looked like the haunted trees during Halloween when seen from afar. Located by them was a massive, deserted graveyard where the deceased lied.

"Okay, since when Savior Church becomes the home of the dead?" asked Rebecca surprisely when she noticed the cemetery. Soon, she knew the reason behind this changes. There was a torn notice stuck by the wall beside her, revealing that it was once a safe zone. Its status of been overrun was still a mystery to four of them.

Shane shivered as he stated that the night was the hour of the dead roaming the earth. However, Edric advised both Albert and Rebecca to ignore him as he was superstitious to nature. Rebecca understood Shane's feeling, but they must push on to find missing Joshua. "Shane, why don't you chant so that they won't pop out from their graves? You know, the scared key to calm the dead?" she suggested while cuddling around his hips. Shane agreed and followed what she had said.

*** ***

Pushing open the door, it creaked and they proceeded into the hallway. The wooden seats for worshippers to sit were lying around scatterly. A big marble statue of Jesus welcomed them by the pole up ahead. Underneath it was a space for chancel with an antique piano nearby. Everywhere was stained with blood which might be belonged to the fallen survivors. Immediately, the group started the search until the half-opened bell tower's door was lastly secured.

A wounded man was found inside. His stomach had burst open with blood continued to ooze out from the cuts. Quickly, Shane went forwards to support him to sit upright and asked about his wellness. However, it was too late. The man gasped his last breath of air and lied unconscious by his arms. "May you rest in peace..." moaned Shane deep within his heart sole and placed him back on the ground.

"Another day, another death..."
"Oh really? I thought you guys are--"

Albert's sentence hung there when he saw a bitten mark on his neck. He quickly warned Shane to stay away from the corpse as it might reanimate. Edric shot its head to make sure a quick and clean death without starting a fight. Feeling sorry about the body without shelter, Rebecca decided to find something to cover it up. While looking around, she saw a pair of black objects lying by a hollow pole where the rope was used to trigger the bells high above.

"Isn't this Joshua's pistols? What are they doing here?" asked Rebecca confusedly. Albert stared at them in horror as he had the bad feelings about this situation. Could it be Joshua have fully-turned? What was this man doing here at the first place? Who was the one ringing the bells? He never want to know unless he asked infected Joshua by HIMSELF.

Chapter 14: Reunion??

"I know how you feel, Albert, but I afraid... Joshua has turned against humanity." said Rebecca when she noticed his blank view. Edric felt guilty to himself about the loss and immediately apologized to him. Nevertheless, Albert shook his head and said, "It's too late to turn back now, so I couldn't blame ya'. Let just hunt for him to end his suffering... forever."

Before the group was about to exit, they heard someone moaning. Everyone was keen as they thought it was another survivor nearby, except Albert who knew the truth. He alerted the three to be careful. However, Edric had found the crying survivor in the storeroom beside the corpse. Her sobbing had stopped and started groaning at him.

"What's wrong with this lady? She should be happy that she is saved."
"Edric, kill ya' light and back off. That crying bitch--"

His warning was never delivered as the white lady had gone frenzied. Edric was shocked and quickly made a run while firing his Combat Shotgun at her. Shane, who was standing by the door, was pushed aside, causing him unable to balance himself and fell into the thin-layered floor.

"Shane!"
"Run and shoot her!"

*** ***

Within the darkness below, Shane picked himself up and found himself in another room. He switched on his flashlight and was spooked when he saw piles of skeletons underneath his feet. A figure appeared from nowhere, growling at him. Curious, Shane shone towards its direction, just to discover it had a familiar face. It was Joshua! His shirt was slightly torn, uncovering his muscles with few cuts on them. His blue cap was soaked with blood. However, his face showed no friendly signs. What had upset or angered him?

"Miss me, traitor?" greeted Joshua with an evil grin. He pounced on Shane, limiting his movements. Shane decided to shoot in the head, but his Combat Rifle was swept away from his reach. Minutes later, a shriek of pain and horror echoed around the hallway of the damned. When Joshua was enjoying playing with his prey, he was shot by the back. He paused and looked upwards, noticing Rebecca aiming her Bolt Pistol at him.

"Back off from Shane, stupid jerks!" she shouted and fired few shots towards him. However, he had lunged off quickly, ending up the bullets missed their target. She jumped down to assist Shane while pointing her pistol at Joshua. Later, Albert popped his head into the hole to check on their conditions. Joshua gasped at his friends and declared with a panic looks on his face, "Wait, what? It's you guys?! You aren't those raiders!"

Chapter 15: Madness Vs Madness

"Raider? What is that?"
"(Ignore) There ya' are, dude. Yar' hostility ends here right here right now!!"
"Damn, do I look fully-infected to you guys?!"

Rebecca yelled at Albert and claimed that Joshua hadn't turn yet. She also moaned for wounded Shane in her laps. Seeing her being panicked too much, Shane tried to calm her. Joshua was still stunned from afar when he heard the wounded man talked. People under this critical condition should be a goner by now, but NO! Was he given the second chance to live or see the chaotic world once again? Or... maybe Hell didn't want to accept innocent people? It was indeed miracle, unlike the unlucky man up there. Totally different!!

"It's okay... Blame me... for not... being careful..."
"Sorry 'bout that. Let me... help you up?"

Joshua carried Shane on his back and leaped for the surface. Next, he fetched Rebecca. Asking for Edric, Albert stated that he was chased by the crying white lady into the darkness outside. His fate was unknown as he lured her away from Albert when she was about to slash him. Now, Albert regretted for being cold towards him at the beginning when he knew his effort of what he had done. "Let's go, folks. Edric needs us NOW!" he cried.

"Going anywhere, folks?" roared a man in buttoned shirt standing by the door. His right hand held a Hi-Power and he was secured by his lads. Same height as him, they wielded Revolvers on each hand. Behind them were their gangs around 50 of them, surrounded the bell-tower to trap the four inside. Rebecca trembled by Shane after noticing those tattooed-guys staring at them with fierce-looking eyes.

"Sorry, ya' all. I've pulled you guys into my mess." grumbled Joshua. He couldn't believe they immediately estimated his current location without leaving a trace behind. How come?

"Hand over the shots. Those don't belong to you."
"(Whisper) What 'shots' is he talking about?"
"(Speechless) ... ..."

"Outta' my way! The bitch is on my ass!" yelled Edric while squeezing through the crowd. Once again, Albert blamed him for the bad timing to reunite. Joshua and Rebecca stared at him in disbelief when he knocked down the three men onto the floor. Shane grunted when peeking at his buddy's spooked face.

"(Panic) What you guys doing here? RUN!!"
"How dare you push me? Don't you--"

Suddenly, someone screamed loudly from behind. Everyone stared the blood being splattered everywhere with the heads decapitated one by one. The gang felt terrified and started firing at the dark figure. Her shriek of pain chilled the situation, increasing her pressure on frenzy-killing. When the scene turned more chaotic, Joshua quickly signaled the group to back down the hole. However, Shane decided to stone himself from moving instead of burdening Joshua to carry him again.

"Witch?! Retreat!" However, he was slashed by the chest, causing it to pour large amount of blood. His bodyguards tried to escape, but soon noticed by her sharp eyes and got dispatched too. The white lady paused and gasped at the bloody corpses around her. She cried louder to release her tension and fled from the bell-tower. Then, everything went quiet again. Only the swift of the wind was heard.

Chapter 16: How Our Story Begins

"Man, look at the corpses." stated Rebecca when she emerged from the hole. She headed for Shane to check whether he was fine. Edric felt relieved when noticing the mad lady had gone. Albert praised him and thanked him for saving his life.

"Joshua, you haven't tell us about the shots, raiders and ringing of bells. Mind to--"
"Leave that for later, okay? We better find somewhere safe to heal Shane! Please?"

This was the first time Rebecca saw his woeful eyes with tears dripping out from them. She excused herself for being rude and went outside. Albert comforted Joshua so that he wouldn't blame himself further. Then, he carried Shane by his back and joined Rebecca. Edric accompanied Joshua as he wished to know more about him. Both of them had a mini chit-chat after that.

Walking across the abandoned street, they found a heavily barricaded bar shop and decided to break into it. After that, the door was sealed again with two large cabinets nearby. Carefully, Albert put Shane flat on the counter. He decided to search the rooms for supplies especially bandages. Joshua was still shivering by the corner and was noticed by Edric beside him.

"Boy, you okay?" he asked. Joshua shook his head gloomily with some tears rolling out from his eyes. He still seemed could not accept the truth of what had just recently hit him. Rebecca hugged him and tried to comfort him. Joshua smiled merrily to her and made himself closer to the sealed window to look up into the starry sky.

And, this is how our story began...

Time: Present; 2nd Week of Infection (Day 12)
Place: Abandoned Bar Shop (Safehouse)

Joshua awoke from his dreaming and let out a scream. He looked behind and noticed Rebecca with a pair of clippers filled with blood by the tips. She told Joshua to stay calm as she tried to remove the bullet on his back. She also apologized for the gunshot earlier while begging him to forgive her. Joshua sighed Finally, it was removed and Rebecca tossed it into the dustbin beside her.

Later, Albert returned to the counter with some bandages. He stunned when he realized Shane had stoned like a log. Edric shook his head slowly by his side when he noticed Albert's presence. Shortly, Albert knew what he actually meant. Shane had left the world. Edric moaned with tears over his face. Joshua cried beside him also, but he said, "I don't blame you, Joshua. Just let it go, will ya'?"

"Don't call me 'Joshua' anymore. Too much sins have been spilt on myself."
"Excuse me, Jo... Scott. (Smile) Hold still while I replace your bandage."
"(Quietly) Thanks, nice name."

"You two deal with the body immediately when I look around if the zeds are treats for us. Rebecca, you pack the supplies I found into the backpacks. We're off sooner or later." ordered Albert while reloading his AK-47. He disappeared behind the door of the bar shop. After bandaging Vernon, Rebecca also entered the storeroom to start packing, leaving them in the bar.

Edric was still hugging his fallen buddy on his hands. With Scott's comfort, he decided to dump the corpse away. They searched around the bar for a big blanket to warp it up instead of becoming the food of the zeds out there. Later, Edric noticed a sudden move on the corpse. He turned around and saw Shane sitting upright, coughing. He proceeded to check on him, however, his pairs of yellow eyes were glaring at him.

"Fools, shoot him before he bites!" yelled Scott, staring at Edric being too close to reanimated Shane.

Chapter 17: Discovery

BANG~ Dead Shane's head was blast into several pieces. Its body collapsed back onto the counter. Amazed, the two turned over their shoulder and saw Rebecca with her Bolt Pistol. She shook her head and shouted angrily at them, "Pay attention to your surroundings. One slight mistake will pay your future debt... forever." Edric sighed desperately and excused himself for a minute to be alone.

"Come in here, Scott. We leave him alone awhile. Oh, I want to show you something." said Rebecca and went back into the storeroom. Scott entered the small room and. Dust particles were everywhere, twitching his nose to sneeze, but he managed to hold himself. From the corner, he saw Rebecca lifting out an object from a pile of luggage junks. It was a Suede Jacket. She suggested him to change as his ripped T-shirt wasn't a treat anymore.

Scott did what she said. He wiped his bloody hands with the old shirt before tossing it into the junks. It landed onto a black luggage. CRAG~ The ceramic floor under it suddenly cracked, causing it to fall into the hole. Rebecca and Scott stared at each other and looked down below. It revealed a long ladder leading into the darkness.

Outside, Edric noticed Albert's presence from the door. Albert facepalmed and groaned loudly, ""I afraid we can't go out now. There are too many of them on the street." Scott rushed out from the storeroom and asked the two to come in. He quickly showed the hole to them, surprising their eyes of view.

"Interesting, just a right timing to explore underground to hide from those pests."
"(Gulp) I hope your idea is trustful. I have a bad feeling 'bout this."

Climbing downwards one by one, sounds were heard more clearly from the ground underneath them -- Water dripping and bubbling. "What the hell is there a sewer under a building? Gross~" groaned Rebecca with disgust.

Chapter 18: The Sewer

"How huge the sewer is!" amazed Scott when looking around the scene. The sewer itself was wide-open, having many small passages off of it. Yellowish water was flowing slowly and lapping gently by the platform by them.

"I hope this isn't sanitary. Ugh~"
"Just keep your eyes on the platform, so you won't end up in the shit puddles. Follow me!"

They braved themselves forwards while cautious about their surroundings in case of sneak attacks. The lights above them were flashing while some of them were broken down. Walking deeper into the sewer, Rebecca noticed the wall by her right written with "May G-Virus DEVOUR us all!" by the metal planks. This message looked like being left by someone who had made this far, OR some other reason... With curiosity, she paused and continued to read on. Her mood changed when popping her eyes on the gruesome graffiti.

"Damn you, Dr. Sandvik."
"You doom us all, you son of moron."
"I can't believe Sandvik has fucked us!"
"A liar of G-Virus behind the true mask!"
"You're a hell for a man, bitch."
"Forgive me, Lord. I'm turning!"

"G-Virus? What is that?"
"(Shocked) What's with Dr. Sandvik, Albert?"
"Only God knows, young'un. Don't ask me either."

Edric decided to take a rest after the walks since the past few hours. In his homeland, he wouldn't hold much longer than the short route to hunt for animals. All of a sudden, he gasped, causing the three to think that he had an exclamation mark in his head. When Albert asked him why, Edric pointed towards the direction where a blurry image of something gigantic standing in the middle of the flowing water. Scott gasped too when he saw the real identity under the flashing lights.

"Holy shit! That's the... motherf--"
"(Whisper) Shhh~ As long as we keep quiet, that bastard wouldn't notice our presences."

After whispering through the ears about the path changes, Albert proceeded forwards silently and tiptoed into the left tunnel which was just a mile away. Then, he signaled the three to do the same like him. Scott gulped deeply and tiptoed towards Albert, followed by Edric and Rebecca. The creature was still unaware about their footsteps nearby.

Suddenly, a mouse came out from nowhere and started to nibble on Rebecca's shoe ties. It really spooked her and let out a scream. Hearing the noise from its back, the massive creature turned itself and discovered the fuss about. Four living beings stared at it in horror when they saw it rushing towards them, grunting heavily without showing any signs of merciless.

"Screw you, Rebecca! Fancy of screaming just a little punk?!" yelled Scott panickedly while drawing his pistols to fire at the rushing creature. However, just to find out that the bullets weren't its treat as if nothing being acted on it.

Chapter 19: Devil Within

"Ah, hell? Bulletproof?"
"Never let it touches your ass! Those muscles MIGHT finish you off in one blow."

During the run, Albert engaged large number of zombified sewer workers. Some of them mysteriously dropped spanners and kerosene lanterns. Rebecca picked up one of them and taunted, "Take this, bitch!" After that, she hauled it towards the monstrosity. It exploded upon impact and produced a ball of flames on its skin. The burning creature had lighted up with living flames, giving clear vision to the surroundings.

This was when Edric saw another ladder fixed by the wall at the far end. He instructed the others to climb it as the exit was too small for it to pass through. Rebecca and Scott climbed up first while Albert and Edric fired their respective weapons at the monstrosity, trying to slow it down. Then, Albert tapped on Edric's shoulder to order him to climb. Reaching on the surface and looked below, the monster seemed to punch the ground with fist and grabbed a solid object in its bare hands.

"Shut the door immediately!" yelled Albert. Edric quickly double-sealed the door and they could hear rock rumbling against it. This continued until it was gradually faded and no noises was heard. Did the monster just die OR leave in peace? They didn't want to know. There was no turn-backs into that darkness out there.

"Some sort of laboratory in here. Why is it built under ground?"
"Say what, dude? I hate unanswerable questions."
"(Annoyed) Okay, simple this time. Where are Scott and Rebecca?"

"Someone called these kids?" A manly voice boomed the scene. The two were surprised when they saw Rebecca had been tied with long, thick rope. She stood restlessly beside a tall man in white coat. "Help me..." That's her final word before she was collapsed onto the ground unconsciously.

Edric was about to rush forwards for her, but the man pulled out a modified High-Power Magnum with green steam wrapping around it and pointed towards his head. Of course, he was disgusted by the weird gun which forced him to aim him back with Combat Shotgun. Filled with anger, Albert demanded an explanation from him. The man facepalmed and replied, "I'm so sad when people don't know my name. I'm Dr. Berreguard."

"What have you done to the kids, fools?!"
"Ask him instead, well ya'? Keke~"

Scott walked into the room from beside. White steams surrounded him as if he had just taken a bath. His face looked quite pale till the green veins under the skin could be seen clearly. He hugged Dr. Berreguard and smiled at him. The professor stroked his hair in return.

Edric questioned him what happened, but there was no answers from him. Only his pairs of lonely, cold eyes were staring at them with desperation and hatred. Soon, both Albert and Edric knew the reason of his behavior when his eye lens' color suddenly changed into glowing red and bloody tears also dripped out from them.

Chapter 20: Dr. Berreguard

"Scott? Damn..."
"You mean Joshua? Your head ain't right."
"Ahh, Joshua. I get the correct boy!"

Dr. Berreguard exposed the hidden truth of this teenage boy to them. A few days ago when Joshua was pissed off by Edric's explanation about the virus and his infected friend, he himself noticed the boy sobbing by the collapsed cafe. According to Dr. Berreguard, he was gathering ingredients for his new experiment during that time. When he noticed the raiders lurking nearby, he noticed the shots which they carried, were essential for his experiment. He befriended Joshua slyly to use him for stealing the shots while not trying to reveal his real identity as an old man full of sicknesses.

Both of them followed them back into the base and waited for an opportunity. When everything was calm, Joshua sneaked in and retrieved all of them. However, he was noticed by one of the raiders who was using the toilet. Joshua quickly passed them to Dr. Berreguard and made a run. The professor had no chances of thanking him and quickly fled in the opposite direction before the raiders noticed him too.

"What kind of shots you mean?"
"Stimpacks, I need them to mix with my secret ingredient."
"What is it?!"

The professor continued on and mentioned about the first private experiment carried out in Guinea City with other mates on G-Virus. However, the government had sent agents to track them down for raising sensitive and chaotic disturbance. Some were caught while only Dr. Sandvik and he himself escaped successfully. The victims who used as forced subjects were sent to the nearest hospital for treatment, but just to find that their behaviors had changed. Months later, G-Virus began to spread unknowingly which amazed both of them through a broadcast news. It turned out to be success after all the hard works!

"That's explains the graffiti of blaming Dr. Sandvik. Nevertheless, the public don't know you."
"Turning citizens into immature creatures is your interest so far? Hmph~"

"Well, I guess you have known too much from me. Why don't you guys... have fun with my experimental subjects?" challenged Dr. Berreguard. With a snap of his fingertip, 3 creatures appeared behind his shadow and uncovered their appearances. One was short and crippled from its back. Another was tall with a goiter growing on its neck, making its mouth denatured in shape and the third one was a tall creature with a massive right arm and a tiny left arm.

"Excuse me with Joshua. Tata~" With a flash grenade being tossed by his feet, a mega spark was generated by the compound, stunning the retinas of the two's eyes. Once regained visions, they found that both Dr. Berreguard and Scott had disappeared into thin air. What standing in front of them were undead with deadly visual looks. Moment later, Rebecca woke up from her unconsciousness and was shocked with Edric hugging her. With a shriek, she slashed his face with her fingernails, alarming him to back off to Albert and yelped for the slight wounds. She stood up while glaring angrily at Edric and Albert.

"The situation is bad-ass, isn't it? Even Rebecca turned against us apart from Scott!"
"(Sneer) Shit shit shit... No matter how, don't shoot the poor girl. Focus on Berreguard's subjects!"

Chapter 21: Easy OR Hard

The creature with goiter spitted a green projectile towards Albert which he made himself immediately dodged. It turned into a puddle which corroded the metal table behind him into rust. The flasks on the table were shattered into pieces, leaking the contents in them. However, both of them couldn't conclude what the liquid was and decided to stay away from it.

"Acid? Imagine on the skin!" said Albert panickedly. He tried to fire his Ak-47 at it, but he found out that its magazines had been used up. The creature was about to spit another round when Edric tossed a Bunsen burner into its mouth, causing the object to be swallowed unintentionally. Few seconds later, the creature's skin burst into flame which instantly shriveled it into tiny bits.

The little creature giggled angrily upon seeing its dying mate. It leaped into the air and landed on his head. His eyes were covered and Albert felt himself being steered around. Edric tried to break up both of them from behind although the big arm was chasing him. He didn't dare to fire in case of mis-shot. He chose to shove the creature with the gun-butt, forcing it to drop off. However, it seemed big arm didn't approve cooperation and charged towards them in the bullet speed.

Luckily, Edric pushed himself into Albert. Both fell onto the floor and witnessed the scene of big arm knocking into the little creature. It was sent crushing onto the wall and was instantly squashed into rotten meat with the organs pouring out. Noticing the creature's arm was stuck in the wall, Edric fired his shotgun into its back to silence it. They sighed in relieved and fixed their targets on Rebecca, who was treating them like invisible wind and continued to walk around.

"Epic fail! They're killing themselves."
"I found some untouched stimpacks here."
"You sure they're PURE? If yes, I'm up to it."

With Albert's agreement, Edric went forwards and teased her about her stupid looks. Rebecca was upraged and started to chase after him. "Come to papa, bitch." taunted Edric while grabbing a chair. He bashed her in the head when in close range before reaching him. The hit stunned her which gave Albert the chance to quickly inject a stimpack into her bloodstream. Rebecca stopped and held her head, groaning painfully. Soon, she collapsed onto the ground as she couldn't hold the pain further.

*** ***

"Edric?" Rebecca hugged Edric tightly when she noticed his figure. Edric tried to calm her down while asking Albert about the next plan. However, he was ignored when Albert knelt down and asked her about the event earlier. Rebecca stated that she didn't know as there was a sudden blackout. She was hit hard in the head and could heard Scott's scream after that before she passed out.

Back to Edric's question, Albert replied, "Oh, sorry. We should seek for Dr. Berreguard and Jo... Scott now if we knew how to get out from here instead of... the sewer?" Rebecca and Edric nodded. Three of them set out to search rooms by rooms. Nevertheless, most of the doors were sealed by security system.

"We're not trapping in here forever, aren't we?!" said Rebecca frighteningly when she reunited with the two men. Albert and Edric groaned deeply with her too.

Moment later, a sound of someone moaning was heard insight. Of course, this gave them a signal. A DANGEROUS, DEADLY ONE...

Chapter 22: Scientist's Child

"A witch?" yelped Rebecca timidly and looked around for the sign of it. Both Edric and Albert listened carefully of the sound source travelling from. They entered the room filled with copies of data on aliens and UFOs. How mad on someone working on this field section! There was no such things living on Earth, right? Maybe it was just a jazzy work for him or her to prove the world that they really existed?

"Here we are. When I count to thee, ya'all know what to do."

Rebecca and Edric nodded.

"1... 2... 3!!"

The cupboard was flung open and everyone drew their guns into it. The figure gasped at the tall living beings in front of her. She screamed frighteningly and ran out from the cupboard, pushing the three away. Through Rebecca's eyes, she noticed a small kid in primary school dress. She finally caught up with her and comforted her fear. She also apologized about the incident earlier which made the girl felt relieved.

"Name's Vivian. I'm here to find my dad who works as a scientist. (Fear) But... when I came here, I saw someone in white coat was stabbing my dad with a knife. Then, it injected something into his body which... turned him into a monster!"
"That bitch again! Fuck it, man..."
"Harsh, mind your language. She's only like... ten."

When Rebecca turned her head and asked Vivian about the creature, she hesitantly described a creature with massive body size. After hearing, Edric whispered to Albert, stating that The Tank in the sewer might be her mutated dad. Therefore, they decided to keep it as a secret from the girl's knowing. Edric even mumbled about the burden of having a kid with them as they didn't know how to leave this place.

The little girl seemed to overhear their conversation and said, "I know how to exit here. However, I lost the card key when the man noticed my presence. It is pink in color with white code bar." Everyone stared amazingly at her. Finally, God had arranged a meeting for us to get outta here! Three of them agreed to look for the missing item. They searched high and low over the lab. In success, Edric found the pink key card by the broom racks.

"Oh God. Let's hurry up to keep tracks on Scott and Dr. Berreguard!" said Rebecca. She scanned the key card on the security machine. A 'Beep' was heard, signifying the code was accepted. It unlocked the door by opening it systematically. However, Albert's smile was lowered when he saw a figure of someone standing by the door. Vivian felt scared and hid behind Rebecca.

"I'm impressed ya'all pass this game." giggled Scott with wild looks while pointing his compound bow with incinerated arrow towards them.

Chapter 23: Dissimulate

"Watch where yar pointing that arrow!"
"(Ignore) So, this must be the girl my master is talking about."
"Stay away from her!"

Vivian squeaked like a mouse after hearing what Scott had said. Rebecca fired her Bolt Pistol at his stomach, but there was no impacts. It flew pass his belly without leaving any marks.

"You think you can destroy me, fouls?" taunted Scott as he released the arrow. The four immediately dodged the incoming sharp object. Luckily, it diminished into thin air before hitting on the wall, or else there was a fire took place. Rebecca backed off Vivian into another room to ensure her safety while Edric and Albert distracted frenzied Scott.

"Back off, I'm here for that girl ONLY!" His scream circled the room.

Albert noticed many propane tanks nearby and kicked one of them towards Scott. Then, he blast it off with his Magnum. The explosion had denatured his left arm, causing him to drop his bow. His right leg was blown off as well as damaging his facial appearance. However, these parts regenerated themselves quickly and it's brand new of himself again! (As if nothing had happened from the beginning...)

"This isn't the real Scott! It's... something else." said Albert after witnessing its incredible regeneration.

"I already said that I'm immortal!" stressed fake Scott while stretching its arm for the bow. When fake Scott was about to fire another arrow, there was a spark of flare being shone on it. It groaned for pain as its skin started to evaporate. This continued until sand particles with purplish blood appeared on the floor where fake Scott stood. Everyone was confused on the situation, except Vivian who seemed to know the actual facts.

*** ***

Four of them exited the room and found themselves in a hallway of doors greeting them. But, they were unresponsive when the pink card key was scanned through the security systems one by one by Rebecca. On the 13th door, the door opened strangely which revealed as an experimental lab.

Several freezers contained frozen subjects lined up by the wall. The freezers were stacked up block by block for three feet high. Vivian was pleased with the secret room of his father had hidden her from. She always wondered what occupied these room behind the door, but his dad told her nothing. She went near the console panels where the motherboards were located with a large screen.

"Vivian, what you're doing there?"
"(Manly Voice) Prepare to die, fools!"

Fake Vivian pushed the yellow button which eventually deactivated the freezers. Frozen subjects became alive and stepped out from the freezers respectively. The door was sealed through another push on the red button by her. Grad, they're completely surrounded by hundreds of unknown species!

The mechanical voice of the machine was played repeatedly, "...WARNING, THE EXPERIMENTAL SUBJECTS ARE FREED!..."

"Vivian?!" boomed Albert surprisely. Nevertheless, it wasn't the little girl anymore. Her body slowly faded away which revealed a skinless infected with sand particles wrapping around its body from showing its inner organs.

[I might be busy a.t.m, sorry about tat... ]

Chapter 24: The Sacrifice

"What is that thing?!"
"We have no time for this!"
"Run for the exit!"

However, they never reach as the door was secured with thick layers of sand particles, narrowing their escape chance. The sand creature known as The Shifter chuckled and taunted at three of them to fight like men. With limited amount of ammos, it was completely impossible to dispatch all awaken subjects one by one at the time. There must be another way to deal with these pests...

Albert thought back of the incident earlier where fake Scott vanished within seconds after a spark took place. Rebecca could read his mind and asked, "Hey sir, are there any light sources here?" Albert looked around for the power panels to brighten up the place as it was dark. Edric pointed towards the electric meter on the 2nd floor. Albert thanked him for the spot and ordered the group to move up. But, Edric shook his head and said that he would take care of the subjects down here.

"Are you outta your mind?!"
"Go, Rebecca. Stay with Albert and be yourself. Don't panic if anything happened. Find Scott and rescue him from that bitch's control. That's an official instruction from Mr. Edric, the headhunter!"
"I don't know what's wrong with you. But, let's move out, gal!"

Albert pulled Rebecca's hand and rushed for the stairs. Pistols were their only defensive weapons. Edric backed the creature with his fury shotgun shots. When he noticed the magazines were running low, he decided to switch plan B.

"Time to use this baby." said Edric as he picked out a grenade from his pocket. He removed the ring and tossed it towards The Shifter. However, one of the subjects absorbed the flying object into its stomach and clung itself to Edric. Explosion occurred, causing nearby subjects to be killed together. The Shifter was stumbled by the detonation which ruined its body and quickly regenerated from its wounds.

Rebecca witnessed the whole scene from above. Tears dripped from her eyes which made her moaned softly. She recalled what his final will was -- "Don't panic if anything happened". "Let's rock with disco! Follow my dance-floor steps." taunted Rebecca as she turned on the power. The lights shone upon the subjects. All of them evaporated greatly till no signs was left behind. The one which was the most panicked was The Shifter. "Your sin will pay!" It roared as its skin slowly dissolved away by the ray of lights.

When Albert went down, he found that the sand particles with purplish blood was the same evidence left behind from fake Scott. "The Shifter. Stay close to me as it's hard to judge on the same characteristics morphed by this creature." he said to Rebecca.

Both of them exited the experimental lab door with gloomy mood. Before the door shut, Rebecca still had a chance to glance at the separated remains of their hero -- Edric (although his head was mysteriously missing).

Chapter 25: Next, Next, Next?

On the other hand, Dr. Berreguard watched his foes' every move through the CCTV captures. He slammed his fists on the table when knowing that his plan of executing the survivors had failed. Although the part where a man sacrificing himself impressed him, it only put the short smile on the professor's face. He tried to calm his anger with a slurp of coffee from the white mug next to him. "Time for another... dangerous plan!" he thought evilly.

Vivian walked into the room, calling out for her master's name. Dr. Berreguard grinned as G-Virus which been injected into her worked perfectly, even though Dr. Sandvik ever warned him that the virus might kill a small kid or infant instantly. He forgot that late professor's words and decided to continue spreading his masterpiece across the globe. However, he had yet to know any devastating ways to do so. Unless he ordered Joshua to help him on plannings, but that boy wanted to seek quietness for the meanwhile.

"Uncle, you needn't worry about Joshua. He is sleeping now." said Vivian enthusiastically. Suddenly, Scott dropped from the ceiling, panicking Vivian in her wake and hugged the professor. Since when he woke up? Was he hanging from the ceiling all the time? Little Vivian glared at Scott while few tears dripped out from her eyes.

"Someone called me just now?"
"Josh, learn to respect your siblings."
"Oh, Jesus. Only fleas would obey that order."

Dr. Berreguard admired his wild reply and grinned. He noticed his changes of appearance -- His eye lens turned blue-reddish which almost resembled purple color; His bare, pale skin was heavily disfigured by many boils and scratches; His nails (or claws) had grown in length and thickness; Parts of his outfit had been ripped away; His cap was flipped upwards in the angle of 30 degree, revealing some scars on his forehead. He thought that Joshua must have the hard time to accept himself as an infected, so he wanted some quiet moments.

Scott could read his mind and said hollowly, "Think whatever ya' like, doc." He was about to exit the room, but was halted by the professor. He wished to discuss about the outspread of G-Virus, but he replied, "Why don't ya' just use missile tanks to explode at the atmosphere of the Earth, like most movies did? That's the easiest way, bitch." Dr. Berreguard was speechless, but he accepted his idea.

"Doc, I need a privacy with those survivors, alone. Atleast... my sudden presence to them would buy you some times to locate any substations which contains these materials ya' need." said Scott. He disappeared behind the window after that.

"Uncle, he has telepathy ability?"
"I suppose? It's easier for me to communicate with him in long distances. Now excuse me, I'm busy."

Dr. Berreguard walked into his private space, leaving Vivian in the CCTV controller room. Secretly, Vivian pressed the contact button which linked to where the two survivors were located -- Chronicle Study Laboratory. "I better reach them before that... Joshua does!" thought Vivian panickedly.

Chapter 26: Danger Awaits

Dr. Sandvik's Report III
New Species: The Hunter
Other name(s): Leaper; Lunger
Type: Special
First saw in: Everett Mercy Hospital, Room 5A2
Date/Time: 12th Jan ; 20:48 p.m

Description:
- An agile infected with incredible strength and agility
- Can be identified by its soft growl
- Upon sighting a survivor, it will release its amplified scream and lungs itself on the victim
- Can it be belly (clawing) or neck (choking) as its targeted point
- Remains passive like a ninja when standing
- Can hang itself on ceilings

Symptoms before mutation:
- Emits soft growls between words when talking
- Can jump in unbelievable distance or height
- Prefers crawling than walking
- A massive growth in nails although being cut
- Blind / Bleeding eyeballs (rarely happens)

Signed by: SANDVIK. DUKESTAR

After reading the dead man's report, Rebecca sighed as she was worried about Scott. Noticing the date of event took place, she knew that it was just the day before he was sent in according to Albert. Could it be... Scott was the second victim witnessed by the professor? She didn't want to know. Albert noticed her mood and decided to calm her as much as he could. Suddenly, there was 'beep' on the large screen by them. Both of them looked up and saw Vivian's face. She was amazed to see them again although they were in the different places.

"Vivian?! You're okay!"
"I'm fine. So are you guys!"
"Where're you now, Vivian?"
"(Softly) Shhh~ I'm under his... capture!"
(Silence)
"Can you escape?"
"I can't. I've... G-virus inside me. I might turn sooner or later. I don't wanda hurt ya'all!"
"(Monologue) Damn, Dr. Berreguard!"
"Oh, Joshua is after you guys! Be ready."
"Scott? How can--"
"(Ignore) One last message, that professor has planned to curse the world with G-Virus outbreak through.. missile tanks."
"Seriously?! To the atmosphere?"
"(Sob) Sorry guys, I'll meet you in the future if time allowed. Goodbye~"

The screen went blank with flashy screen. Albert was stunned as another person would turn against them. He felt furious of the mad professor's plan of destroying the peaceful world. Trillions of innocent citizens across the globe would be affected by the problematic virus in the flash moments. The condition in Guinea and Everett were critical already, not to mention the blast would occur in few days time. This had reminded him of the movie "2012", but in the form of biological disasters (not natural disasters).

"There must be a way to stop Dr. Berreguard!" shouted Rebecca in fear. She wouldn't want to turn into a disgusting zed or else her efforts of surviving this far would have grounded to waste product. Albert reloaded his AK-47 with new magazines he found from the storage room. When he noticed Rebecca mounted with fallen Edric's Combat Shotgun, he said calmly, "There's no cryings over spilt milk, gal. Let it happened or not, that's our decision of taking actions NOW instead of becoming sitting ducks!"

Rebecca stopped shivering and replied him with an 'okay'. This was when she noticed a laser sight's dot was being aimed at Albert's head. "Duck!" she yelled and pulled Albert downwards. The arrow missed him and hit onto the wall.

"Hawk-eyed, huh?" claimed Scott by the doorway.

Chapter 27: Not Too Shocked

"Scott, you're..."
"Don't worry, hun. His infectious status will be perished... with a shot of stimpack."
"Why let's see about that!"

The fight began. Albert tried to fire his Ak-47, but due to Scott's agile movement, it was completely impossible for him to determine his actual position. A massive back-stab was done by Scott, sending blood showering everywhere. Scott also pinned him to the floor violently while clawing his prey's belly. Albert managed to grab his infected hand and said hesitantly, "Still... haven't... learnt... your lesson?"

"Listen, old man. I love my destiny now and there's no way for you to judge me OR stop me. Despite my looks are corroded by my master's creation, I... don't mind. If anyone DARE to stand in our way, punishment is given. Of course, you're the second victim I'm gonna dealt with!" taunted Scott. He swept Albert's fists away and continued to do his business without compassion.

"Second victim? Is he referring to... Shane?" thought Rebecca while watching the scene as she didn't know what to do. She feared that another person might die in front of her. However, that negative reflection was killed when she thought back of what Edric had said. "...Don't panic if anything happened..."

Just then, Rebecca noticed something had been sealed within one of the glass panels behind her. Curious, she shattered it and peered inside. A silver case consisting of a large object was shown before her eyes which almost made them popped out -- A Plasma Gun branded Barewalle DCS95.

Scott had drawn his attention to the noise and proceeded for her, leaving Albert in pain behind. "Don't come!" yelled Rebecca in tears as she hit the trigger. A ball of blue plasma-electrical sphere was concentrated by the grand silencer before it went... "BZZZAAAPPPP" towards Scott in lightning speed. Scott couldn't lunged himself away in time and was shocked by the plasma voltage. He fell to the ground like a statue minutes later after the shock was slowly diminishing.

"He comes from the left hallway, isn't he? That means Dr. Berreguard is near. Go for him NOW!"
"I'm not leaving you behind... like Edric, fools! Get your ass up, mister!"

Albert was shocked at what Rebecca had said to him. After he was positioned against the wall, Rebecca reached for her pocket and took out the bandage. She warped it around his wound and tore it with her teeth when it was done. She also secured it with her orange handkerchief in case it dropped off. Then, Rebecca supported Albert back to his feet and proceeded into the hallway steps by steps.

Chapter 28: The Chase

"Vivian?" cried out Albert when he noticed her in the hallway. However, Vivian didn't notice their presences and ran to the opposite direction, screaming for help. Moment later, a horde of zeds appeared by the edge corner and followed Vivian's trace. Albert and Rebecca spammed their guns at them in order to clear the path to reach Vivian.

Nevertheless, her scream was heard from distance with each tone getting louder and louder. Immediately, Albert and Rebecca proceeded themselves to the north where she had taken to escape. Coming into a big space where an large airplane stood. Beside it were several nuclear missiles which would be shipped into the cargo by three Tanks. They also saw Vivian being tied with chains. Dr. Berreguard saw them spying him and greeted them, "It's nice to see you two survive this far. However, you two are late. In one-hour time before midnight, the world will be doomed by my G-Virus. Won't it be nice when the living meet the dead?"

"Your life will end RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW, bitch!"
"Stop this 'bullshit project' AT ONCE, idiot!"

The professor tried to contact Scott through telepathy, but there was no responses from the infected kid. He guessed that he had been dispatched by the two successfully. Rebecca tried to fire the plasma gun, but it won't function. Dr. Berreguard laughed evilly and stated that he had activated the electromagnetism device to shut down global's ongoing activities. All electronics were disabled from usage and turned fatal at this moment, including vehicles. However, he didn't need to worry about his airplane's condition as the materials used were immune to this device.

"Now excuse me, I'm leaving now. How about a play with my trusted workers?" That's his final words before the door was shut with Vivian beside him. The two stared at the three Tanks in front of them and signaled each other NOT to fight, but ran for the cargo door. However before the two could carry out their plan, few explosive arrows were fired from nowhere, bombing the Tanks and killing them instantly. A familiar voice called out, "Run for the airplane. We must stop the boss!" The two were surprised that Scott was still alive although he was harmed by plasma ray. But, they quickly obeyed his instruction, no matter what circumstances.

Rebecca made it first and quickly helped Albert up. The airplane had taken off from the rail, but Scott managed to hang himself by the half-open cargo door. He pushed himself upwards safely while panting tiredly after the running. Finally, the cargo door was shut and darkness drew in.

Chapter 29: Freeing Vivian

"So, how do you reborn?"
"Remember the plasma gun you used to shot... shock me? The plasma has purged the G-Virus within me."
"Which means you're yourself now? Welcome back!"

Rebecca hugged Scott while sobbing softly. Of course, Scott took quick notice of her and stroked her hair gently to comfort her. He didn't know that she was really worried of his safety and condition. Right now he was here, how could she bear to hold longer? Or was it...? Scott tried to push Rebecca's head a little while slowly lowering down his head, reaching for something. Rebecca thought she was dreaming when she saw this. When both of them were about to kiss, they were distracted by a flashlight being shone straight at their faces.

"Excuse me? Don't do that right in front of me!" excused Albert with disgust. Rebecca blushed when she noticed where she was touching -- Scott's abs. She got up, apologized to him nervously and walked away as fast as she could. This awkward scene made Scott groaned desperately as his golden opportunity had gone to waste. Immediately, he thought of another topic to change the atmosphere, "So, er, what are we gonna do now, sir?"

"Time for sneak attack! We must end his life once n' for all. That bitch isn't going anywhere 'cause he is nowhere to escape!"
"(Gulp) With guns?"
"Are ya' a moron? Of course, dude! (Cough) Don't let love blind ya'."

Scott stomped off the cargo and found himself in a big hallway. Rebecca was seen popping one of her ears against a metal door. He asked her what was behind it and Rebecca replied, "I could hear Vivian crying. She must be locked here!" However, she groaned when looking at Scott. He was not infected anymore, or else he could just claw open the metal door to release Vivian. Then, she noticed his compound bow which reminded her of explosive arrows.

Rebecca requested him to fire one of his arrows. However, Scott replied her, "You nuts? The explosion do burst open the door, but it will also KILL the kid in there!" Rebecca felt stressful and tried to think another best way to free Vivian unharmed. Then, Albert came with a huge chainsaw and sliced the metal door into two. Scott broke down the door and found a girl sobbing at the corner. Nevertheless, she looked afraid of his presence.

"Don't hurt me... Don't hurt me!!"
"Never fear, he is at our side now. I promise!"
"Vivian, hold still so I can inject you."

Vivian did what Albert had said. She squeaked when the needle was shot into her arm, but was relieved when knowing that it was a cure to eliminate G-Virus within her.

Chapter 30: When Madness Strikes

Vivian followed the three back into the big hallway. She had never been inside a huge airplane before, especially on specially-designed one like this. Then, her view was focused on Scott. His lonely pairs of eyes scared her. "There must be a way to reach the control room. But, which way leads there?" grumbled Albert from the front.

Then, Dr. Berreguard's was played through the speakers, "GREETINGS, FOLKS ESPECIALLY YOU, JOSHUA. DON'T THINK YOUR FATE HAS ENDED! THE G-VIRUS INJECTED INSIDE YOU ISN'T THE USUAL G-VIRUS. IT'S THE SECOND STAGE OF MODIFICATION AFTER THE FIRST ONE, SO THE RESULT SHALL BE CRITICAL. DON'T WORRY, I'M WITH YOU... TILL THE END!"

After hearing the shocking announcement, Scott suffered heart-attack. His heart beat was getting faster than usual and started to sweat mysteriously. "Shit, this... can't be happening!" mumbled Scott.

"ENJOY THE RIDE WITH MY FELLOWS TOO!" The professor's laughter lied dead after that. Soon, the metal gates around them suddenly activated respectively. Millions of zeds crept out from them and proceeded to the survivors.

"Zeds are loaded in plane too?! Yucks~"
"Maybe he has expected us. He's lying!"
"Jo, you alright?"

However, Scott couldn't reply her. He was still trying to tolerate with the pain. All of the sudden, there was an outburst of black slime flowing out from his chest. It formed into a protective barrier around his torso. His skin had turned pale grayish in color. His teeth had deformed into gigantic fangs which glowed under the visible lights. Many tentacles spawned around him after the mutation completed. From afar, one may think that he was hovering in mid-air. Vivian, who was near him, shrieked in horror and ran away in time before she was griped by one of them.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO~" shouted Rebecca while staring at the newly mutated Scott. She couldn't believe Scott had turned against them again! How she wished that she could tame him again with the plasma gun, but its power was shut down due to the electromagnetism. She only could stand there, sobbing in tears while staring at him. She doubled her fear when she was puked by The Boomers. Uh oh, she was now the target of millions of zeds in front of her!

"Open fire!" yelled Albert. He fired his Ak-47 straight at the zeds, alarming them from their wakes. The situation turned more chaotic when he threw a bottle of green liquid which he found from the lab earlier. Every zed started to attack among themselves as if they were enemies. The Boomers couldn't stand the 'hitz' and detonated themselves, splashing the bile to the other zeds nearby. However, they stopped when mutated Scott mind-controlled them to attack their rightful targets.

"Damn, I should have brought more!"
"Forget it, just run like hell!!"

But before they could run, a tentacle had griped Albert. He was pulled towards mutated Scott with no mercy looks. His sharp fangs were ready to slice Albert into several pieces! Wasting no time, Rebecca paused to fetch the compound bows and loaded it with two explosive arrows. With a quick aim at his head, she fired. They traveled straight and detonated, resulting the tentacles to release Albert. Rebecca thought mutated Scott was finished, but she was wrong. Behind the heavy dust, mutated Scott was seen in good condition.

"The barrier. Crack it to leave Joshua defenseless!" blurted Vivian suddenly from behind.