The only thing Alexandra Masterson would clearly remember about that very first day a week later would be the way it began; with a gorgeous sunrise. It began on August 8^th 2015. Fifteen-year-old Alexandra, Alex to her friends, had gone on a three week hunting trip at the Dharma Hunting Lodge in Northern Texas with her father and her three older brothers. It was a yearly tradition for the five of them and Alex had been very excited to go.

She had grown up as the only girl in an all-male household. Her mother had died giving birth to her and her father had never remarried. 'Better to go it alone' he would say. Alex didn't believe him. He needed someone... and Alex needed a mother. That's not to say she had not benefited from growing up with four guys. She'd developed a love for hunting, shooting, archery, and oddly enough, fencing.

Alex could out-shoot all of her brothers, much to their outrage. She intended to enter shooting competitions at some point in the future, when she felt she was ready. She had a fine collection of weapons, although not as large as any of her brothers. She had brought a number of her firearms up to the lodge. There was a small range at the lodge and Alex fully intended to stay on form.

Alex woke very early on the morning of August 8th. She rolled out of bed and pushed open the window. Streams of gorgeous morning sunlight poured into the darkened room. The sun glistened gently off of the waters of the lake outside her window where a pair of early risers drifted in a small boat, their fishing poles held idly in their hands.

The scene before her was so beautiful that she went to her suitcase and retrieved her camera. Apart from her more active hobbies, Alex was a budding photographer. She loved taking pictures. She would often snap shots of anything and everything. She spent many an afternoon in a park near her home, taking pictures of plants, people, whatever she fancied.

She returned to the window and started snapping pictures. She had already taken a several dozen shots when she remembered she was supposed to be at the range. She placed the camera on her bed and sat down at her dresser. She looked into the mirror and surveyed her appearance.

Her father said she looked just like her mom, and from the few pictures she had of the woman, it seemed to be true. They had similar dark brown hair that fell to their elbows and piercing crystal blue eyes. While Alex's lips were fuller than her mother's, they both had a natural pout to them that was rather cute.

Alex tugged a brush hastily through her bedraggled hair, arranging her loose curls into some semblance of a hairstyle and stood up from the bench. She wasn't all that into makeup. That’s not to say she had some sort of natural beauty that eliminated the need for makeup, she didn't, but much more that she just didn’t care that much. She didn’t have time to worry about it. She didn't put much stock in beauty. She could spend her mornings with makeup and powders and lipsticks and heaven only knew what else. She could make herself beautiful if she wanted to, but what would it get her besides attention that she didn't want? Skills, knowledge, wisdom, and intellect were much more important to her. She knew it was possible to have both, but if she was going to be forced to pick one, her choice was clear. 

She stood and dug in her closet for something more suitable to wear in public than the silk nightgown she wore to bed. She selected her favorite pair of low-rise jeans and tugged them on. She also pulled a white tank top over her head and finished up with a thin black jacket that she left unzipped. She grabbed her range bag by the shoulder strap and headed out of the small cabin she shared with her dad and brothers and set off across the grounds toward the range.

She arrived at the range before anyone else did. She picked a lane at the far end of the range to distance herself from any new arrivals and started setting up. She dropped her range bag and retrieved her pride and joy, a Remington 700 SPS bolt action rifle chambered in .308 Winchester. Alex lowered the rifle's collapsible bipod and placed the weapon on the station. She secured the Leupold scope to the top of the receiver and tossed two boxes of ammo up on the table beside the gun.

She sat down in the chair and shouldered the rifle, aiming down range at a paper target 400 yards away. She brushed her hair out of her eyes and peered down the scope. She reached up and made a minute adjustment to the zero on the scope, compensating for the mild wind that decided to upset her plans to shoot. Once she was satisfied with her adjustments, she pulled the bolt back and dropped a single cartridge into the breach. She pushed the bolt forward, driving the round home. She flicked off the safety and looked down the scope once again.

She steadied her aim and let out a long breath. 'Easy,' she thought. 'Steady. Control your breathing and heart rate. Stay calm, focus, and press the trigger.' She pulled the trigger and the rifle recoiled into her shoulder. The round hit the target high and right of the bullseye.  

"Damn..." Alex grumbled as she dropped in another round and dialed in her aim once again. "Focus, Aly. Focus." She fired again and the round struck the paper a quarter of an inch to the right of the bullseye.     

“Nice shot,” said a male voice from behind her. Alex jumped, almost falling backwards out of her seat. She glanced over her shoulder and found a very handsome guy, roughly a few years older than her, smiling serenely at her.

“You really shouldn’t sneak up on a girl when she’s handling her weapon,” Alex snapped, pulling back the bolt to ensure the rifle was safe. She swung herself out of her chair and turned to face the new arrival. He was tall, well-built, and quite handsome. He had smooth, blonde hair and bright green eyes that raked up her body.

“That sounded oddly sexual,” he said pointedly, still grinning at her. “You should watch your wording.” He held out his hand. “I’m rich.”

“Congratulations,” said Alex, rolling her eyes. He grinned even more.

“No, no, I mean my name is Rich,” he said smoothly. “What’s yours?”

“Alexandra,” said Alex.

“Nice to meet you, Alexandra,” said Rich, still in that same smooth voice. “And I guess we’re all pretty rich if we’re staying at this place. Membership here doesn’t come cheap… and neither does that scope. That’s a Leupold Mark 6, is it not?”

“Uh… yeah,” said Alex, glancing at her rifle. “Yeah, it is.”

“That’s nice. That’s good glass you’ve got,” said Rich. “It’s totally worth the three grand to get one. Mind if I take a shot?”

“Sure,” said Alex indifferently. “Just don’t shoot yourself in the foot.”

“Don’t worry about that, sweetheart,” said Rich, sitting down in the chair and taking up the rifle. Alex rolled her eyes again as Rich aimed down the scope. He pulled the trigger and sent the .308 round spinning downrange. The bullet hit the dirt in front of the target, spraying sand into the air. Alex giggled.

“Nice shot,” she said, the laughter evident in her melodic voice. “A couple of inches lower and it would have been your foot.”

“Hold on, hold on,” he said briskly, placing a fresh round in the chamber. He fired again; striking the paper this time, but still well outside Alex’s shot.

“Not bad,” said Alex, and she genuinely meant it. “That’s a four hundred yard shot, after all. Do you do much shooting?”

“Not target shooting,” said Rich, standing up and walking back over to her. “Most of my shooting is while hunting… deer, mostly.”

“Get anything good this year?” Alex asked conversationally as she sat back down in the chair. She dug the rifle’s detachable ten round magazine out of her bag and clicked it into the receiver. She leaned forward, sighting the rifle once more.

“Nothing spectacular, no,” said Rich. “Just a…” Alex fired, cycled the bolt and fired again, and again, and again. Six times she fired, drowning out the rest of Rich's sentence. She leaned back, smiling. All six rounds had struck the paper within a three inch circle.

"Damn, you really know how to hurt a guy," said Rich, looking quite deflated. Alex put the last four rounds in the magazine into the target and cleared her rifle.

"Well, while you're out partying on the weekends, I'm here at the range dialing in my accuracy," said Alex, gesturing at the target downrange. "If you need help bagging a good buck, I'm your girl. Also, if you need to kill someone from really far away, I can help you out there too." She grinned. "That last part was a joke, by the way."

"Right," said Rich. He seemed oddly flustered. Alex removed the scope from her rifle and began packing up. She noticed Rich was still standing there, watching her. She found him rather strange. At first glance, he was a pompous ass and a self-indulgent ladies' man. After seeing him fail spectacularly with the rifle and falter after she shot so well, Alex wasn't sure what to make of him. She finished packing and looked up at Rich as she secured the range bag's strap over her shoulder.

"So..." she said uncertainly. He hadn't spoken in quite some time and she was beginning to feel a little uncomfortable. It was then that she noticed the way he was looking at her; hungrily. His eyes were filled with a strange, distant desire. In one way it scared her, in another she felt exhilarated. Alex had never been the most popular and sought after girl at school, something she was immensely glad about. Guys looked at her, certainly, but very few had ever looked at her like this… with something she could only describe as extreme lust.

“Um… well, I’m going to head back to my cabin,” said Alex, tugging her bag more securely on her shoulder. Rich seemed to snap out of his trance at that moment and shook his head vigorously.

“Okay,” he said quickly. “Uh… are you coming to the party tonight?” Alex shook her head, unaware of any parties. “Oh, well you’ve got to. It’s down by the lake at the pavilion at 7:30. A bunch of us are getting together and having some fun before we all head home next week. I think you’d enjoy it.”

“Um… okay,” said Alex, not feeling completely comfortable at the idea. She wasn’t unaccustomed to parties, but that didn’t mean she particularly enjoyed them. “I guess I’ll be there.”

“Awesome,” said Rich. “I’ll see you tonight then.” He turned and strode away. Alex watched him go, not entirely sure how to feel about him. In the end, she supposed it didn’t really matter. They would all be leaving the lodge for home the following week and she would likely never see Rich again after that. How she felt about it didn’t matter all that much.

Pushing Rich out of her mind, she set off across the grounds back toward her cabin. Other families were beginning to wake and move about the campgrounds as well by this point and a few of them waved and said hello as she passed. As she approached her own cabin, marked with a large number 8 on the door, she found her oldest and easily her favorite brother, Sawyer, skinning a deer at a table beneath a nearby tree.

“Hey,” she called out to him, walking over to him. Sawyer looked up at her, brushing his shoulder-length blonde hair out of his grey eyes. While Alex looked like their mother, Sawyer and her other two brothers had clearly taken after their father. They were all tall, lean, and muscular with blonde hair and grey eyes. Alex often felt like a tiny little mouse around her towering family.  

“Up before the chickens again, eh Lil' Bit?” Sawyer asked her. Alex smiled, leaning over her brother’s shoulder to examine his work. Sawyer had always had cute nicknames for her, nearly all of them in reference to her barely five foot height. Her friends and the rest of her family would call her Alex or Aly or something similar, but never Sawyer. He'd use Tiny, or Squirt, or Shortie, or Munchkin. It was never to make fun of her, it was how he showed affection and Sawyer had a great deal of affection for his sister. They had always been quite close, even when Alex had been very young.

"Yeah, I went to the range for a while," said Alex, holding up her range bag. "I took the 700 out."

"You and that rifle," said Sawyer, smirking. "I swear, if the British ever come for their back taxes you'll be a great help fighting them off. How'd you do?"

"Not bad," Alex replied. "For..."

"A girl?" Sawyer teased, earning a playful swat on the head from his sister.

"You know I've always just been one of the guys," Alex snapped.

"You find me a guy with boobs like that and I'll give you a million dollars," said Sawyer, laughing loudly.

"Uncle Larry," Alex deadpanned, arching her eyebrows.

"So, do you take checks or would you prefer cash?" asked Sawyer, shaking his head.

"I'll take cash," said Alex. "I'm gonna head inside. Where's dad?"

"He took Brandon and Lee fishing," said Sawyer, referencing their other two brothers. "I stayed behind to get this deer ready because... well, you and I both know that if we're depending on their fishing skills to feed us, we'll starve." 

"Okay, well let me get washed up and I'll help you," Alex volunteered. "But don't save any for me. I won't be here for dinner tonight. I'm going to this party down at the pavilion. You should come too. Brandon and Lee as well if they want to."

"I remember a time when I was the one organizing parties," said Sawyer grumpily. "Who's going?"

"Just some people, I don't know," said Alex, shrugging. "This guy I met at the range invited me."

"Wait, what guy?" asked Sawyer. "What's his name? How old is he? What are his intentions with my sister?"

"Rich, I don't know, and lots of sex," said Alex with a smirk. "He's kind of douche, but I'm not going for him. I'm not a party girl, but... well, it might be fun to spread my wings a bit."

"Just... be careful," Sawyer remarked, giving her a look that starkly reminded her of their father. "I really can't stand the thought of my sister having sex with random guys and I don't..."

"Contrary to what you and Dad seem to think," she said, pointing at herself. "Not a slut."

"Fine, you can go," said Sawyer. "But I do think I'll drop in too. It might be fun."

"Watching me all night is fun?" asked Alex. "Fine, do whatever you want. Personally, I recommend you mingle a bit. Make some friends, maybe get a girlfriend or something. It'll be good for you." Alex turned away before Sawyer could come up with a witty retort and went inside the cabin. She crossed the kitchen and dropped her bag off on the table as her father and brothers came in through the back door.

"Morning, Lex," said the youngest of the Masterson brothers, Brandon, as he deposited his fishing gear by the door.

"My noble fishermen," said Alex in a voice that greatly resembled the tone a pre-teen girl would use when meeting Justin Bieber. "Did my boys catch anything?"

"No," Lee, the middle brother, grumbled irritably as he searched the refrigerator for a soda. "Not a damn thing."

"It's not about catching fish," said their father, Jack. He set his pole down and stroked his chin where the beginnings of a beard were growing in. "It's about father-son bonding time."

"Interestingly, the whole idea around fishing is, crazily, catching fish," Lee commented. "If you're not catching fish, you're just sitting on a boat and staring at the water."

"Couldn't we bond over video games and pizza?" Brandon asked hopefully. "Or you could take us up to the precinct and watch you interrogate a prisoner."

"I don't do the interrogating, I'm a sheriff," said Jack. "And no, I'm not taking you back to the precinct. Not after last time. It still smells like urine in my office."

"That was not our fault," said Lee quickly. "That canteen of pee was already spilt when we went in there."

"Right..." said Jack, shaking his head wearily.

"So, did any of you hear those noises last night?" Brandon asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah, it sounded like fireworks to me," said Lee. "It went on for a while, but it must have been really far away. I couldn't see any fireworks."

"It could have been gunshots," Alex suggested, having also heard the series of bangs, pops, and cracks that had resounded across the campground the night before.

"Well if it was gunshots then World War 3 must have started while we were away," said Brandon. "It went on for a while."

"Anything could have happened since we've been gone," said Jack. "We've been gone three weeks with no TV, internet, or cell reception. North Korea could have invaded and we wouldn't know it."

"Tell me about it," said Brandon wearily. "I hate being cut off from the Internet. Do you realize everything I'm missing out on right now? The world is passing me by and I have no idea what's happening. I haven't checked Facebook since we left. Do you know how many status updates I'm going to have to read when we get back?"

"You know, back in my day..." Jack began. All three of his children groaned miserably, which blessedly put an end to their dad's story before it began. The rest of the day passed quickly. Alex and her family relaxed around the cabin, went swimming in the lake, and had lunch on the deck out back.

Late that evening, Alex left the cabin with Sawyer, Brandon and Lee after being thoroughly questioned by her father about the plans for the party. Sawyer promised to keep an eye on her and after some convincing Jack relented.

Music was already blaring when Alex and Sawyer arrived at the large, square pavilion near the lakefront. Several dozen teens had gathered beneath it, dancing and having what looked like a good time. Alex spotted Rich an instant before he saw her. He was talking with a couple of other guys when he noticed her approaching. Sawyer had vanished into the crowd to find a drink, but Alex knew he wouldn't be far and that he would be watching. Brandon and Lee had both already attracted the attention of a group of giggling girls and knew she likely wouldn't see them again any time soon.

"Hey there, Alex," said Rich brightly, strolling over to her. "How are you?"

"Fine," said Alex, shrugging. "Nice party."

"It is, isn't it?" he asked, smiling. "It's a good turnout, I have to say. So... who was they guy you were walking with?"

"Sawyer? He's my brother," said Alex. "Tonight he's my bodyguard. Keep your hands to yourself, he might bite them off otherwise."

"Well, I happen to be a fan of my hands, so I guess I won't do any touching when he's around," said Rich.

"So you plan on doing some touching when he's not around?" Alex asked, surprised by her own reaction. She hadn't expected to say anything like that at all. She wasn't at all planning on flirting, especially not with Rich, but here she was doing just that.

"It depends... do you want me to?" Rich asked slyly.

"Not particularly," said Alex coyly. "I barely know you, after all. In fact, all I know is that you're a terrible shot with a rifle."

"Well, why don't we spend some time getting to know each other?" Rich offered.

"Okay..." said Alex, allowing herself to be guided over to a table where they sat down. Rich got her a drink and they spent the evening talking. They talked about anything and everything, learning all about one another. All the while, Alex knew Sawyer was loitering somewhere nearby, but she found she didn't care all that much. Rich was nice once she got to know him better. He was downright sweet, in fact.

It was well after dark when Rich suggested they go for a walk around the lake. Alex agreed and soon they were walking along the lighted path that circled the lake. It was a warm night and the sky was crystal clear. A billion stars shone brightly in the sky above them, each one reflected in the smooth surface of the lake.

They stopped and sat down on a bench beneath a tree at the edge of the lake. The night was quiet, given how far removed from the party they were. Rich casually slipped his arm around Alex's shoulders, causing her to look up at him in surprise.

"You're pretty smooth, you know that?" Alex said with a smirk. "A bit too smooth, actually."

"There's nothing wrong with being smooth," said Rich, leaning forward and kissing her for an instant. "But something tells me you don't mind a bit of roughness now and then." He kissed her again, his hands sliding gently down her back. Before long, they slipped beneath the hem of her shirt and she froze. She tried to pull away from him, but his grip on her waist was suddenly very strong. His mouth ravaged hers, forcing her backwards against the hard wood of the bench.

She struggled, trying to push him away but he was so much stronger than she was. Terror and anger coursing through her, she bit his lip the first moment she got. He yelped in pain and jerked backwards, giving her the distance she needed. She slapped him across the face with all the strength she could muster.

"What the hell?" Alex demanded, standing to her feet. Rich stood as well, fury burning in his eyes. He seized her again and dragged her to the ground. Alex screamed, kicking and punching with all of her might. Without warning, a foot swung in out of nowhere and struck Rich in the side of his head. He went tumbling across the grass. Sawyer rushed after him with an enraged growl, leaping onto Rich as he tried to run. Sawyer grabbed him and he fell. He landed heavily on the bench and there was a sickening crack. He fell to the ground, his neck bent at an awkward angle.

"Oh, my God," Alex whispered, staring at Rich with her mouth hanging open.

"What's going on?" Brandon's voice came ringing from behind them as Sawyer knelt beside Rich and checked his pulse. Alex turned to see Brandon and Lee approaching, looking horrified.

"Shit, what happened?" Lee asked, joining Sawyer on the ground. "Oh fuck, he's dead... Sawyer, did you...?"

"He attacked Alex," said Sawyer, standing and beginning to pace. "I tried to stop him, but he fell and he... he... oh, shit..."

"It's not your fault," said Alex quickly. "I saw what happened. We... we'll just tell the truth. You'll be fine, don't..." But a low growl from Rich drew her attention and she paused. Rich sat up slowly, his neck still bent strangely to one side. He had a blank gaze in his eyes and he seemed momentarily confused. He lunged forward with surprising quickness and sunk his teeth into Lee's neck, ripping flesh away. Blood poured from the wound as Rich tore at Lee, who's eyes rolled back into his head as Rich dragged him to the ground.

Alex could only describe what happened next as complete chaos. Brandon drew a handgun from the holster at his waist while Sawyer seized a stick from the ground and rushed toward Rich. Sawyer collided with Rich, knocking him away from Lee. They sprawled on the ground a few feet away. Sawyer scrambled to his feet and backed away, turning quickly to check on Lee. Brandon had already hurried over, but it was quite clear that Lee was already dead.

"What the fuck?" Brandon kept repeating, staring between Rich and Lee. Rich stood up again, turning and moving toward Sawyer. Lee's blood covered his mouth as he drew closer, hissing and snarling. Brandon raised his gun and fired. He emptied the magazine into Rich's chest, but he kept coming. The bullets didn't even seem to phase him. Sawyer and Brandon backed away, moving toward Alex who had watched the scene unfold in disbelief.

Behind her brothers, Lee sat up. He had the same blank stare that Rich had, but Alex didn't care. She started to move toward him, but Sawyer seized her and pulled her back.

"No... we've got to help him, he's..." Alex began, but Sawyer would have none of it. He scooped her into his arms and ran, Brandon at his heels. They ran across the campgrounds with the sounds of Rich and Lee's growling growing fainter behind them.

It couldn't be real, Alex tried to convince herself. It was all a bad dream and at any moment she would wake up and everything would be okay. Her brother would still be alive. None of this would have happened. A week later when Alex thought back on that night, she would know that none of it had been a dream. It was a nightmare that she would never be able to wake from.

2: What Is Dead May Never Die

It never happened. It couldn't have happened. It was all a dream. It wasn't real. She was safe in her bed and at any moment she would wake up and everything would be all right again. Alex kept repeating that mantra in her head as she lay limply in Sawyer's arms. He ran alongside Brandon, racing for the safety of their cabin.

The dead are coming back to life and ripping people's throats out, Alex thought. A cabin won't protect us from that.

Sawyer and Brandon rushed up to Cabin 8 and charged through the front door. Brandon immediately locked the door and went around shuttering the windows. Sawyer deposited Alex on the sofa as their father came downstairs, no doubt drawn by all the commotion they were making.

"Kids?" he said irritably, crossing his arms over his chest. "What's all this about? It's late, I..." But then his brain finally registered the scene before him and he froze. His daughter sat on the couch, trembling from head to toe. Sawyer was dirty, bruised, and sweating while Brandon was covered in blood. "What happened? Alex... What happened? Where's Lee?"

Sawyer explained everything that had happened. Alex listened, but only vaguely. She was in a daze, lost and scared out of her mind. It couldn't be real... but then she heard the screaming. An earsplitting scream, definitely female, cut through the night air and stabbed deeply into Alex's chest. Other cries and shouts soon joined the first and Alex knew only too well what these people were experiencing.

Fearfully, she looked up at her father. His grief from learning of his son's death was etched into his face, but she could see in his eyes that he wasn't going to allow himself to process that at the moment. He was a police officer and his training was quickly kicking in. He reached for his rifle, a bolt action Remington 700 very similar to Alex's own except the stock was made from a finely polished wood. 

"We've got to find out what's going on," he said firmly.

"We can't go out there," Brandon exclaimed. "People are eating people out there. We need to hunker down here and..."

"And what?" Sawyer asked crossly. "Wait for the army to show up? We don't even know what's happening. I think our best bet would be to try and get to the ranger station up across the campground. Maybe someone there will know what's going on."

"We don't know how many of those things are out there," said Brandon. "If every time one of them kills someone... Jesus, the whole camp could be looking to eat us by this point." Suddenly the crack of a rifle cut through the air. People started screaming from several directions around the cabin and the sound of people running could be heard.

Sawyer turned off the lights, causing Alex to squeal with fear. Brandon sat down behind her and squeezed her hand as Sawyer and Jack peered carefully out of the windows. They sat in silence for several minutes, listening to the screams and repeated gunshots. Without warning, something collided with the door at incredible speed.

"Help! Help! Let me in!" Alex didn't recognize the voice of the girl pleading with them to open the door, but it was clear she was quite young. Perhaps close to Alex's age, or maybe a little younger. She was beating on the door, screaming for help.

"Open the door," Alex insisted, looking around at her family in desperation. "Let her in. She needs help. We can't just..." But then she heard it; a terrifying growl that she would never be able to forget. Something heavy struck the door and the girl's screams turned from horror to cries of agony... and then slowly stopped altogether to be replaced instead by the sick, gruesome sounds of something eating. Alex clapped her hands to her ears and refused to think about it.

"This is so fucked up..." Brandon whispered. "Are you sure you want to go to the ranger station?"

"We can't stay here," said Sawyer.

"The hell we can't," Brandon exclaimed. "Sawyer, that could've been us... that could've been Alex that's having her guts ripped out on our porch. If we go out there, we're dead."

"He shot them..." Alex said quietly, drawing all of their attention. "He... he shot them but they just kept coming." She glanced at her father's rifle. "If we go out there... if we... if we can't kill them..." And then the tears came, despite how hard she fought to stop them. Rich, Lee, the dead coming back to life, the girl on the porch and God only knew who else out there... it was all too much. Jack gestured for Sawyer to keep watch and pulled his daughter into a protective embrace.

"It'll be okay, sweetheart," he reassured her. "We'll be fine. I'll keep you safe." She nodded, not at all reassured but she didn't want to appear any weaker than she already did. She wanted to be brave, to be one of the guys like she had always considered herself, but ever since Rich had attacked her, had tried to force himself on her, she realized she was nothing more than a frightened little girl.

"Okay," said Jack, releasing Alex but keeping an arm securely around her shoulders. "You make a good point, Brandon, but we can't stay here. If these... things... get in here, we'll have no way out. We're going to try for the ranger station. Sawyer, you said they weren't particularly fast on their feet, right?"

"It didn't seem like it," said Sawyer. "When we ran away, they followed us but they were pretty slow. I don't think they can run... or at least they didn't then."

"Right, so if they can't run and we can, we can get away from them," said Jack. "We'll arm up and sneak out the back. If one of them sees us, we'll run for the ranger station. If we stick together and watch each other's backs, we'll make it."

They split up, each going to their rooms and collecting what little they could take with them. Alex ripped open her backpack and shoved a change of clothes, several boxes of .308 and .45 ammunition inside. She loaded her rifle and quickly grabbed one of her pistols; an XDM .45 with a five and a quarter inch barrel. She had gotten it for use in shooting competitions, but in this situation she though the longer barrel would give her better accuracy compared to her smaller, more easily carried options.

Alex tucked the pistol into a holster and strapped it to her waist. She pulled on her pack and slung the rifle over her shoulder. She moved on autopilot, her mind completely unable to comprehend what was happening. Her father had given her instructions and she was simply following them. She couldn’t think, no, she wasn’t going to let herself think. If she tried, if she thought about it she knew she would break down again and she couldn’t do that. She didn’t have time. Her family was depending on her to at least hold it together until they could get to safety.

Alex emerged from her room within a few minutes, tugging her loose mane of hair into a ponytail. Her brothers were assembling their gear on the kitchen table while her father examined a map of the campground while sitting on the couch.

“Give Dad the AK,” said Brandon, nodding toward an older model Kalashnikov rifle lying on the table. “He loves that damn thing.”

“Right,” Sawyer agreed, placing several spare magazines for the AK-47 on the table beside the rifle. “You and I will take both of the AR-15s and if we can carry them it wouldn’t be a bad idea to bring the 870’s either.” He nodded toward a pair of pump action shotguns. Brandon picked one of them up and checked its weight.

“We should be able to manage it without slowing us down,” he said thoughtfully. “If we run out of ammo in the AR’s, we might need them.”

“If we run out of ammo for the ARs, we’ll need a hell of a lot more than a couple of shotguns,” said Sawyer in dry tones. He looked up at Alex, who had been lingering uncertainly in the doorway. “All packed up, Squirt?”

“Yeah…. Yeah, I… I’m good,” said Alex quietly.

“Then we should get moving,” said Jack, standing from the couch and tucking the map into his back pocket. He slipped his massive Smith and Wesson 500 revolver into its holster and joined his children in the kitchen to collect the rifle Brandon and Sawyer had readied for him. He checked the chamber to ensure it was loaded and looked around at them all.

“Remember,” he said firmly. “Stay together, stay alert, and watch each other’s backs. I’ll go first. Alex, I want you right behind me. Sawyer, you glue yourself to your sister. Brandon, you’re bringing up the rear. Make sure no one follows us.” Everyone nodded. Alex wished she hadn’t. It made her feel like throwing up.

Jack led the way to the front door. He paused for a moment to listen. Outside, the world had gone quiet. The screaming and the growling had ceased and the gunfire had fallen silent. Slowly and with great care, Jack eased open the door and peeked outside. He waited a full minute before opening the door wide enough for them to exit.

“Alex, close your eyes,” he said to his daughter, but as they started forward cautiously, Alex found she couldn’t help but look. The girl that had been pleading with them for help lay on the small concrete porch, or at least what was left of her. She had been ripped apart, her stomach torn open and her intestines, half eaten, had spilled out on the ground around her. The walls and door of the cabin where splattered with her blood, but the worst part for Alex had to be the look of terror in the girl’s green eyes. Alex realized with a jolt of horror that she must have still been alive when those things started eating her.

Tearing her eyes away from the remains of the girl, Alex took in the landscape around them. The ranger station, a squat dark green building, sat atop a small hill a hundred yards directly ahead of them. All the lights around the station had been turned off, making it was impossible to tell if anyone was inside the darkened building. Between them and the station were dozens of cabins just like their own, and what had only an hour earlier been a pleasant, peaceful campground now looked as though a war had been fought there.

Bodies like the girl’s lay scattered everywhere and the sickening sounds of ripping flesh and ravenous eating could be heard from every direction. Overturned barbeque grills and other camping gear littered the path through the cabins, where the dying embers of campfires illuminated a handful of figures. They wandered haphazardly through the destroyed campground, moving aimlessly, slowly, as though they weren’t quite sure how to walk properly. Alex watched them, filled with indescribable terror, knowing that she would soon be walking through that nightmare.

Jack pressed his finger to his lips and slowly started across the campground. They moved from cabin to cabin, staying as quiet as they could. Most of the monsters were ripping through the entrails of the other campers and didn’t seem interested in the small group moving silently toward the ranger station.

They made it more than halfway to the ranger station with relative ease. The feasting creatures paid them no attention and there was enough cover by way of cabins, trees, and other plant life to shield them from the wandering monsters. It wasn’t until they reached the road that lead from the ranger station’s parking lot to the winding road down the mountain that they ran into trouble. One of the staggering things stumbled out of the bushes and Alex got her first good look at one of them. It had once been a man, but it was a man no longer. Half of its face had been gnawed away and its left arm was broken, the bone protruding through the flesh. It lunged toward Jack hissing and growling, its eyes wide and its tongue lolling out of its mouth. Alex let out a startled cry as Jack fell backwards into his daughter, knocking her to the ground. Brandon and Sawyer rushed in to help their father, but before they could get to him three more of the creatures turned upon hearing Alex’s shout and approached, snarling, their teeth bared and their dead eyes searching.

Jack, struggling to hold the beast back by gripping its neck as firmly as he could, wrenched his knife free and plunged it into the dead man’s chest. The corpse snarled and spit in rage, but the stab did nothing to slow it down.

Brandon and Sawyer opened fire on the approaching creatures, but for all the good it did they might have been tossing cotton balls at them. Alex sat on the ground where she had fallen, frozen in fear, watching the scene unfold around her. She knew she had to do something. Her brothers were surrounded and her father’s strength wouldn’t last forever, but what could she do? She drew her pistol, knowing full well that bullets had no effect on them but it was the only option she had. Perhaps she could distract it long enough for her father to get the upper hand.

She steadied her aim and fired. Her first round went wide, a clean miss. Her second caught the corpse in the shoulder and it turned to look at her, snarling with rage. Alex fired again, this time the .45 caliber bullet struck the hissing monster in the left side of its head. It slumped over immediately and moved no more. Thick black liquid oozed from the wound as Jack shoved the body off of him and reached for his gun. He took aim at the corpses advancing on his sons and fired. Like Alex, he aimed for their heads and all three of them fell to the ground.

“How did you…?” Brandon asked, staring at the bodies.

“No time,” Jack exclaimed, pointing over Brandon’s shoulder. Alex looked and felt her heart drop into her stomach. She hadn’t given a second thought to how much noise they had been making, but all of their gunshots had echoed loudly across the campground. Dozens of the corpses were shambling toward them, stumbling over each other in their haste to reach them.

“Run…” Alex whispered, more to herself than her family. “Run!” She screamed, turning and bolting for the ranger station. Her father and brothers raced after her, up the road and across the parking lot to the ranger station. Someone inside must have seen them coming because just as Alex reached the door it swung open and she darted inside. The others charged in right behind her and the door slammed closed.

Alex fell to the floor, her strength all but sapped. She looked up, however, when a light clicked on. The ranger station was quite small, but it was filled with roughly a dozen people, all of them looking as scared and confused as she felt. A grizzled looking man with a graying beard who was dressed in a park ranger uniform and carrying a hunting rifle turned away from the door he had just closed, his face grim.

“Any of you bit?” He demanded of them, glaring at each of them in turn. “Answer me, damn it! Are you bit?”

“No,” Jack said quickly. “No, we’re… we’re fine.”

“Good,” he said gruffly. “I can’t have any of you turning on me in here.”

“Sir, if I can ask, what’s going on?” Jack asked of the park ranger.

“Hell if I know,” said the ranger. “In a matter of minutes chaos broke out and people started eating people. I don’t know much more than that. I’ve tried to call down to the local sheriff’s department, but the phones are dead… they’ve been out for a couple of days. We figured it there was a line down and it would be fixed, but with all this I’m concerned it may be something else entirely. Right now I’ve got a few of my boys out searching for any other survivors. Once they get back, we’re going to load up and get the hell off of this mountain and find help.”

“Well I happen to be a Dallas County sheriff,” said Jack. “If I can help in any way, I’d be happy to.”

“I could use another pair of hands,” said the ranger. “These your boys? They look pretty sturdy, I could use them too. I need lookouts in case more of these bastards show up. I’ll also need some help making sure our bus is ready to roll out of here when the time comes.”

“We’ll help however we can,” said Jack, extending his hand to the ranger. “The name’s Jack, by the way.”

“Frank,” said the ranger, shaking Jack’s hand. “I appreciate the help. Glad you and your family came our way.”

“We’re just glad you let us in,” Jack replied.

“Just doing my job, son,” said Frank. “If I could just find a way to kill these damnable things, I’d be able to do a better job, but…”

“We might be able to help you there,” said Jack. “Knives and guns don’t do much, but… well, we shot a few of them in the head and that seemed to put them down. We didn’t stick around to make sure they were really dead, but it seemed to work.”

“Son, that might be the best news I’ve heard all year,” said Frank. “I’ll radio my boys and let them know.” He looked around at all the others and nodded reassuringly. “Don’t worry folks; we’re going to get all of you safely off of this mountain.”

Alex stayed where she was on the floor, sitting quietly and catching her breath. Sawyer came over and sat down beside her. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, but he didn’t say anything. There was nothing he could say. They were trapped in this ranger station, but they had a plan to escape and they weren’t alone anymore. That was a start, if nothing else. Alex squeezed her brother’s hand and he smiled reassuringly at her. Moments later, Frank came over and asked Sawyer to go with him to secure the bus. Alex watched him go, terrified that she might never see him smile ever again.

 

 

3: Escape from Which Mountain?

Alex sat on the floor for a while after Sawyer was lead away by Frank and then sent out to secure the bus they would take off of the mountain. All around her the other survivors watched on in silence, each of them just as scared and confused as she was. Most of them were people around her father's age except for two terrified girls huddled in the corner. The older girl appeared to be about Alex's own age while the younger she guessed was eleven or twelve. Their matching blonde hair and wide green eyes told Alex they were sisters. Alex slowly hauled herself up from the floor and wandered over to them, giving them a small wave as she approached. She realized as their eyes raked over her just how the last hour must have affected her appearance. She was hot, sweaty, and covered in dirt from rolling around on the ground. Her hair was filthy and disheveled and stuck to her back. A great start to a first impression.

"Hey," she said uncertainly, sitting down on the floor next to the girls.

"Hi," said the older girl, wrapping her arm more securely around her sister.

“I’m Alex… well, Alexandra I suppose, but no one calls me that,” said Alex, not at all sure why she thought she needed to explain that.

“Lily,” said the older girl. “This is my sister, Laine. She’s twelve.”   

“Hi,” said Alex, given Laine a thin smile. Laine merely huddled behind her sister, peering nervously over Lily’s shoulder.

“She thinks you’re one of them,” Lily explained quietly. “Laine, it’s okay. She’s not going to hurt you. You don’t have to hide.” Laine didn’t seem to believe her at all and remained behind the safety of her sister. Lily shook her head.

“She watched our parents be ripped apart and eaten,” said Lily. Her tone was emotionless and that, perhaps, made Alex just as scared as Laine was. How could Lily seem so unfazed? She, Alex, was on the verge of a mental breakdown. She couldn’t let herself think about what was happening. She couldn’t let herself process it. If she did, she was sure she would curl up in a corner and cry until the monsters came.

“What’s going on out there, anyway?” Lily asked, perhaps hoping Alex had answers that she did not. “I heard your dad talking to Frank before. You seem to know how to kill them. Do you know what’s causing this?”

“No, I… I have no idea,” said Alex. She considered for a moment explaining how it had begun, but the image of Rich’s snarling face and her brother’s… no, she couldn’t bring herself to say anything. “We just figured out how to kill them by accident. We’re not even sure if it really kills them, but it was the only thing we tried that made them stop.”

“Good,” said Lily, and Alex could clearly hear the vengeful tone blossom in her voice. “That’s good.” Alex was about to respond, to tell her if she was thinking about going outside and seeking revenge for her parents that she wouldn’t survive, but her father’s voice rang out and she paused.

“Alex,” Jack said, waving her over to where he sat at a small table examining a map of the campground with Frank . Alex stood and went to them, realizing suddenly just how exhausted she was. "Are you okay, sweetheart?" He asked as she sank into a chair. That, Alex thought, was quite a question to ask. Physically? Yes, she was okay. Mentally? Emotionally? No. No, she wasn't okay at all. In context however, Alex assumed her father meant physically.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said quickly. "I just want this bus ready to go so we can get off this mountain and find help."

"That's the plan, little lady," said Frank, nodding his agreement. He held up a small radio. "Just heard from one of my boys. Your brother just met up with him and they're working to get the bus ready to roll out."

"A vehicle that size is going to make a hell of a lot of noise," Jack pointed out, tapping the bus's location on the map. That's a quarter mile drive to get here and then we've got to load up almost two dozen people. Those things seem to be attracted to noise, I'm not sure we'll be able to hold them off long enough if they swarm us."

"That's why I think it'll be a better idea if we leg it down to the bus once it's ready to go," said Frank. "We'll load up right there and make tracks off this mountain." Alex wasn't sure it was her place to speak up, but something had been weighing on her mind and she wanted to see what others thought.

"Um... Dad?" She said uncertainly. "I want to get off this mountain too, but I've been thinking. What if this isn't... whatever this is... isn't isolated here on the mountain? What if this is everywhere? What if we leave and... and its even worse down there?"

"That's a risk we have to take," Frank said pointedly. "We can't stay up here, surrounded, no resources, no phones. We can't hold out in here forever."

"Frank's right," said Jack, placing a reassuring hand on his daughter's shoulder. "We can't stay on this mountain. There are dozens of those things out there, maybe more. If they surround the ranger station, we'll be trapped with no way out and no way to call for help."

"At least down there we might be able to find help," said Frank. "Last group of campers showed up three weeks ago and everything was fine then. The whole damn world couldn't have fallen to crap in three weeks time." Alex was not remotely comforted by Frank and her father's words, but nonetheless she held back her concerns. It would do no good to voice them. She knew they were right. They had to get off of the mountain. Whatever horrors lay beneath them, they could be no worse than those that staggered through the darkness outside.

Alex stood up and slowly walked the length of the ranger station, her eyes on her brother Brandon. He knelt at a window near the door, watching vigilantly. He gripped his rifle tightly in his hands and chewed his lower lip absently. Alex chose not to bother him and instead placed her Remington 700 rifle onto a table next to a window. She sat down beside it and set about reloading her Springfield .45 from the ammo boxes she had stashed in her pack. Once she was finished she eased open a couple of slats in the blind covering the window. She lay on her stomach across the table and sighted in her rifle.

It was too dark to see much and she was further hindered by the limited view offered to her through the blind, but even so she could see dozens of the creatures wandering aimlessly out in the parking lot. She didn't know how many were out there, but she was confident they didn't have enough ammunition to kill them all. She wasn't even sure how she felt, truly, about killing them. She didn't know what was happening. They were people, after all... or at least they had been. Were they still people? Were they still alive? Could they be cured? Was it even a disease?

It didn't matter. All that mattered, all that could matter, was her family. Those people, those things, whatever they were they were trying to kill her and her family. She felt no remorse in killing them. Not if they were trying to kill her. In other situations she was certain that revelation would frighten her to no end, but right then and there it did not at all. She had enough to be afraid of.

"I've got a can for that," said Frank, sitting down at the table Alex lay on and nodded toward her rifle. "Not sure it'll help, but a .308 makes a big bang. A suppressor couldn't hurt."

"If you're offering, I'll take it," said Alex quietly, glancing at Frank. "Right now, I'll take any help I can get."

"I'll grab it for you," said Frank. He sighed heavily. "Your dad told me how you saved his life out there. That was pretty brave, girl."

"I was scared out of my mind," said Alex, looking back down her scope. "I sure didn't feel very brave."

"Well, that's the thing about bravery," Frank said wisely. "If you aren't scared, it isn't bravery. It's damnable stupidity. You don't worry your little head about bein' afraid, Lexi. You got three good men lookin' out for you, and I get the feelin' you can probably take care of yourself even if you don't think you can." He sighed again and stood to his feet. "I'll go get that suppressor."

"Um... 'Lexi'?" Alex asked as Frank walked away.

"What? You don't have a nickname?" Frank wondered.

"Alex is my nickname," she told him. He smirked. "I like Lexi better. Reminds me of a girl I used to know." He strode off without another word. Alex wasn't sure whether to be flattered or disturbed by Frank's words. She made no mention of what he had said when he returned with the suppressor. He seemed to want to say something, but was interrupted by a burst of static from his radio.

"Frank, it's Lucas," a whispered voice said from the speaker. Frank unclipped his radio from his belt.

"Lucas, how's it goin' with that bus?"

"We're almost done. We've cleared out most of the debris blocking her in and she's fueled up. Bryan and Silas just got back. They didn't find any other survivors, so it looks like we're it. If you wanna start moving people this way, I think we'll be set to go by the time you get here."

"We'll be on our way in just a few," Frank replied. He cleared his throat and turned to the rest of the group. "Alright people, our ride outta here is almost ready. We need to start getting ready to head out there."

"Frank, I recommend moving in small groups," Jack suggested. "Three or four people at a time. A group this size will attract attention."

"We don't have time to take people over like that," said Frank incredulously. "Those things could swarm the station any moment. We've got to get down to that bus as quickly as possible."

"Quick won't matter if we're all dead," Jack countered. "Trust me, Frank. Slipping a group this large across that much open ground isn't going to work. I know we need to leave, but we've got to be smart about this. If they start to swarm us, we don't have the guns to hold them off. We need to sneak across in groups. It's the safest way."

"We go together," Frank insisted. "This is my campground and these people are my responsibility. I'm not splitting us up and taking all that extra time. This is the plan, Jack."

"On your head be it," said Jack wearily. He strode over to Alex, who was still keeping watch through the window. "Alex, start packing up," Jack told her. "We're about to get moving. Listen, when we're out there I want you to stay close to me, okay? Stay right with me. Brandon will be right behind you."

"Yeah, okay," said Alex, trying and failing to keep the fear out of her voice. "Dad... I don't want to go back out there." Jack cupped his daughter's cheek and gave her a thin smile.

"Sweetheart, I don't either," he said softly. "But we have to. Like I said before, we can't stay here."

"I know," said Alex weakly. "I know, I just... I'm scared. Frank, he... he said being afraid was good, but..."

"Well, some fear is good," said Jack, nodding. "It keeps us from doing really stupid things. When I'm working a stop and I'm approaching a car... yeah, I'm scared. I've done it a hundred times, but I still get just as scared as I did the first time. Each time could be the stop when the driver's got a gun and wants to kill a cop. You never know and that fear keeps me alert. But don't let your fear consume you, Alex. You have to learn to control it."

"And how do I do that?" Alex wondered. Jack smiled and placed his hand comfortingly on his daughter's back.

"You know, they say the best way to overcome your fear is to face it head on," he said lightly. He inclined his head toward the door, causing Alex to roll her eyes.

"Great pep talk, Dad," she said weakly. She slid off the table and slung her rifle over her shoulder. "Okay... head on. Face it head on. I can do this."

"That's my girl," Jack said proudly. He patted her shoulder and went over to talk to Brandon. All around her, the others were preparing to set out for the bus. Alex noticed a young couple had approached Lily and Laine and were helping them tighten the straps of their backpacks. She was glad the girls had someone willing to look after them. She hardly knew them, but they seemed to be the only other kids that had survived thus far and she hoped they would be safe.

Alex paced the length of the ranger station while she waited, trying her best to control her fear. Outside, she could hear the steadily increasing sounds of the dead moving closer and closer. Her father was right. If they didn't leave the station soon, they were all going to die. Whether they would make it to the bus, however, was still up in the air. They had a long way to go and an army of cannibalistic beasts stood in their path. When Frank finally announced that they were heading out, Alex realized she was perhaps more scared than ever before.

She sandwiched herself between her father and her brother and together the group set out across the campground. The sun was just beginning to crest the horizon, causing the faintest of blood red glows across the mountain. A heavy, early morning fog had descended on the mountain, making visibility practically zero. They moved in silence, descending down to the road and then slowly along it up toward the small maintenance building where the bus was kept. The hisses and growls of the dead rose up all around them, sending a chill down Alex's spine. Her horror was amplified by the lack of visibility. She knew the monsters were there, lurking in the mist but she couldn't see them. She couldn't help but wonder if they could see her.

 Despite the danger, they reached the service road that led up to the bus without incident. Then all hell broke loose. Two staggering corpses lunged at them from behind an RV. A woman screamed at the top of her lungs and the moaning grew suddenly louder. Suddenly, corpses were everywhere; groaning and gnashing their teeth. Dead eyes stared out of the shadows as the swarm descended on the group. Gunfire lit up the night, cutting down the walking corpses but the sound only drew more. Several people turned and ran, but most were cornered by the dead and torn apart.

Alex held her weapon aimlessly at her side, staring in horror at the carnage around her. That same old mantra repeating over and over in her head: it wasn't real. It never happened. It was all a dream. It wasn't real. Instead, the world around her dissolved into a slow motion blur. Her heart was pounding in her chest and she found she couldn't move. Brandon appeared in front of her, screaming her name but it was as though her ears had forgotten how to hear. She saw his mouth moving, but could hear no sound. He was gesturing, pointing violently but Alex couldn't understand what he wanted from her.   

He seized her hand and dragged her up the road after her father. The rest of the group charged after them, those with guns firing at the groaning horde pursuing them. As they reached the maintenance shed, a massive echoing boom reverberated through the air around them. The subsonic roar shook Alex suddenly, violently, back to reality. She stood at the edge of a fenced enclosure. Directly ahead sat their escape route; a dull green bus. A tumbledown shack lurked in semidarkness behind the bus and a very large bright red fuel tank was visible behind the side of the bus.

Sawyer cycled the bolt on a Barrett M99 rifle up on top of the old green bus and fired again. The chest of a beast on the verge of lunging at Alex exploded and she screamed in fear and disgust as dark blood splattered all over her.

"Get in!" Frank shouted, ushering the group toward the bus's open door. Alex followed Brandon through the door and into seats halfway along the bus. Jack waited outside with Frank while the repeated booms of Sawyer's .50 caliber rifle hurt Alex's ears. It was then that she saw Lily and Laine rushing hand in hand toward the bus with a number of the creatures close on their heels. Her heart leapt and then almost immediately plunged into to stomach. Laine's little foot caught on one of the fallen bodies. Alex couldn't tell if it was a survivor or one of the dead, but it didn't matter. She tumbled to the ground, dragging her sister with her. Lily scrambled to her feet and turned around to help her sister. Before she could take a step, three of the dead had fallen upon the girl. Alex closed her eyes and looked away, but nothing could stop Laine's agonized screams from cutting through her like a knife.

Sawyer leapt down from the top of the bus, firing his sidearm at the dead as they staggered toward Lily, who seemed frozen to the spot just staring at her little sister. Alex couldn't look, couldn't see that little girl being torn apart. She just couldn't. She felt instantly sick and it took all the strength she had not to vomit then and there. Sawyer grabbed Lily and dragged her to the bus. He tossed her inside and climbed in after her. Jack helped him up and closed the door. Frank sat down in the driver's seat and fired up the engine.

"Everybody sit the fuck down!" He shouted. He didn't wait to ensure everyone had, in fact, sat down. Instead, he gunned the engine and the bus lurched forward. Frank drove down the service road, driving over the dead without a hint of remorse in his eyes. He turned onto the main road and within minutes they were passing through the gates of the Dharma Lodge. Welcome to our mountain paradise, the welcoming sign had said. When they had arrived, Alex had believed it. Now, the mountain was nothing but hell.

The slowly drove down the mountain, the occupants of the bus riding in silence as the sun rose to shine brightly above them. Alex looked around at her companions, only fifteen of whom had survived the trek from ranger station. Jack sat alone on the seat ahead of herself and Brandon. Sawyer sat on the opposite side of the bus with Lily, who was staring straight ahead as though lost so deeply in her own thoughts she might never escape them. Alex herself was doing her best not to think. She couldn't think about what had happened. If she did, she would panic again just as she had on the journey to the bus. She had no idea how to control her fear and facing it head on had certainly not helped.

And now they were driving down from the mountain and into the real world and they had no idea what was waiting for them. Perhaps the horrors of the past day had been limited just to the mountain, but there was no way to be sure. They wouldn't know until they could get a cell signal and make a call. Just as Alex reached into her pocket for her phone, however, a loud droning emitted from the bus's radio and an electronic voice began to speak. The signal was weak, but everyone on the bus heard each word as clear as the sky outside.

"The following message is being transmitted at the request of: The United States government. On July 27th Civil Authorities issued a Civil Danger Warning for: The United States of America beginning at 5:23am EST and continuing until further notice. Attacks by walking corpses have been reported in multiple states across the country. They include: Alabama, California, Florida, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Texas, and Virginia. At 4:46am reports from these states indicated an outbreak of a highly contagious virus.

"Symptoms of this virus include extreme exhaustion, high fever, and eventual death. Reports have also indicated some of those infected have acted out in an extremely violent manner. Citizens are advised to avoid anyone with these symptoms. At this time, a nationwide quarantine has been put into effect. The Department of Homeland Security is advising all citizens remain in their homes until the situation has been dealt with. Please stay tuned for further details as they become available. This message will repeat every ten minutes." 

4: What Lies Beneath

"...of Homeland Security is advising all citizens remain in their homes until the situation has been dealt with. Please stay tuned for further details as they become available. This message will repeat every ten minutes." It had been ten minutes since the first message had come through and no one had dared breathe a single word. Alex sat stunned in her seat, a single section of the message repeating endlessly through her head. Alabama, California, Florida, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Texas, Virginia. The whole damn country for all she knew had fallen to the dead. Maybe the entire world was gone by this point. The outbreak seemed to have begun over a week ago. If it moved as quickly as it had on the mountain, everything might already be gone.

So, where could they go? If the entire country had fallen into chaos, where could they go? The plan had been Dallas, the closest major city to the Dharma Lodge. Surely whatever had happened, a city like Dallas would be safe. The message had called that line of thought into question. Dallas might not be as safe as they thought.

"We're coming up on twenty miles out from the mountain and I still can't get a cell signal," Alex heard her dad telling Frank. "What's in the area around here? We need to get our bearings and make a plan."

"We need some answers, Jack," said Frank pointedly. "Ain't much point in doing anything else. First course of action needs to be figuring out what the hell happened."

"Agreed, but how are we supposed to do that without a cell signal?" Jack wondered. "If those things from the mountain are down here too... they could be anywhere... everywhere. We can't just drive around aimlessly hoping to run into someone who can help."

"Might be our only option if we can't make a call," said Frank. "Might be we could track down a landline somewhere nearby. There's a gas station a couple miles up the road. Even if no one's there, there'll be a phone."

"Let's start there, then," said Jack. "I'll make sure we..." He broke off as a burst of steam erupted from beneath the bus's hood and the engine hissed furiously.

"Well... titty sprinkles," Frank grumbled as he eased the bus to a stop. "That's not good."

"Can you fix it?" Jack asked, earning a glare from Frank.

"Gotta figure out what the hell's wrong first," Frank snapped. He jerked his head toward a young, dark haired man sitting in the second row of seats. "C'mon, Lucas. Give me a hand."

"Sawyer, Brandon, you two with me," said Jack. "We're going to keep watch around the bus. You know how to kill those things now, so if you see one don't hesitate to put it down." Sawyer and Brandon both grabbed their rifles and headed outside. Jack turned to Alex, his eyes narrowed slightly.

"Alex, I hate to ask this but we could use another pair of eyes. If we boost you up onto the roof of the bus, you can get us a good view of the area with your rifle."

"I can do it," Alex volunteered, doing her best to keep her voice calm and even. She didn't want to, but it was the one thing she could do to help.

"Good girl," said Jack, holding out his hand to help his daughter to her feet. She slung her rifle over her shoulder and followed her father outside. Brandon and Sawyer were already walking a perimeter around the bus, rifles at the ready. Frank and Lucas had busied themselves beneath the bus's hood, trying to determine the cause of the breakdown. Quickly and quietly, Jack boosted Alex up onto the roof of the bus. She walked to the front and lay down, steadying her rifle on its bipod and taking a quick look around. The bus had broken down at the edge of a wide open valley that spread out for miles before them. The sun was only just beginning to rise, blazing brightly across the valley. Alex raised her rifle and peered down the scope, subconsciously pulling back the bolt and chambering a round as she did so.

The road ahead curved off to the left a mile or so ahead and then curved again right before it reached a small town. She surveyed the town for quite a while, but she saw no signs of life. The storefronts she could see were dark and some of the windows were broken. There were cars parked in strange places, many of them with their doors left wide open as though their owners had abandoned them in a hurry. Finding nothing in the town, she shifted her rifle and followed the road off to the right. A half mile outside of town she found what she thought must be an old church. It was an old building built out of stone and had a rather impressive stone wall around the grounds.

The closer Alex looked, however, the stranger the church became. There were tarps over the stained glass windows and barbed wire had been wrapped around the wrought-iron posts along the top of the wall. It was then that she saw what was clearly a guard tower built just inside the church's gate. She was just investigating the tower when she caught sight of a glint at the top of the tower and instantly lowered her rifle and placed the cover over the lens of her scope.

"Dad," she called quietly, drawing her father's attention.

"Did you see something?" Jack asked. Alex nodded.

"There's a church a couple of miles up the road," she told him. "There's a wall and a guard tower. There's at least one person there and they've got a rifle. I saw the sun reflecting off of their scope. I covered mine, but I don't know if he saw me or not."

"We're not exactly camouflaged out here," Jack observed. "If there's anyone out there looking, they'll probably have seen us. We should..."

"Well, shit on a shingle," Frank grumbled from the front of the bus. Alex grinned slightly in spite of everything. She imagined that if she spent much more time with Frank, she would learn all sorts of swear words she hadn't heard before.

"Keep your voice down," Jack admonished Frank as he joined him at the front of the bus. "We don't want to attract any more of those damn things. Did you figure out what the problem is?"

"Yes, we did," said Frank, holding up the radiator hose. It was clearly quite old and had split completely in half. "Without this, we're not going anywhere. We don't have a spare and I don't think a roll of duct tape will help fix this one."

"We could check the town," Alex suggested quietly. "I... there's a lot of cars there. Maybe we can scrounge up a replacement?"

"That's a good idea, Lexi," said Frank thoughtfully. "But honestly, I don't want to be wandering through a strange town without a better idea of what's going on."

"Agreed," said Jack. He turned to look in the direction of the church Alex had pointed out. "Alex, get back in that scope. Do you see anybody else at that church?"

Alex returned to her rifle and sighted the scope back on the church. She looked at the watchtower first, this time getting a better view of the man sitting in a fold up chair at the top of the tower holding a rifle. She held the sight on him for a moment and she noticed he was aiming right back at her. Then, surprisingly, he waved.

"Um... Dad?" She called. "The guy with the rifle is waving at us."

"Does he look friendly?" Brandon asked curiously. Alex rolled her eyes.

"He's aiming a rifle at me, so no, not so much," Alex replied. "How the hell am I supposed to know?"

"Okay, settle down," said Jack. He chewed his lower lip thoughtfully. "Okay, we need answers. I think we go to the church and see if maybe whoever is there can tell us what's been happening. After that, we can worry about fixing the bus."

Alex fully expected Frank to argue, but he held his tongue. Soon enough, the survivors from Dharma Lodge were walking in a loose group down the road toward the church. Jack and Frank led the group while Sawyer and Brandon covered the flanks, keeping watch. Alex followed along near the rear, side by side with Lily.

As far as Alex knew, Lily hadn't uttered a word since they had left the lodge. It seemed that she was still very much in shock and Alex couldn't blame her. Still, back at the lodge she had seemed so unfazed by it all. Alex still refused to think about what was happening. The things she had seen, the loved ones she'd lost... No, she couldn't think about it. At least not until they found safety. Just keep moving, on and on to the next thing in their path. It was the only thing that kept her going.

"Um... hey, Lily?" Alex said, hoping to draw the blonde girl out of the deep reverie she seemed to have fallen into. "I... um... I..."

"Don't," Lily said hotly, her green eyes flashing dangerously. "I'm warning you right now. Don't."

"I was just..."

"I know what the fuck you were doing and I don't want you to," Lily snapped. "Leave me alone, Alex. We aren't friends, so don't act like we are." She wrapped her arms around herself and walked faster, leaving Alex behind.

Alex spent the rest of the walk to the church wondering what she'd done wrong. Perhaps it hadn't been her, perhaps Lily was simply too distraught over the loss of her sister and no one would have been able to console her then. Still, Alex couldn't help but wonder if she could have approached the situation differently. Not that Lily had given her much of a chance, of course.

Alex didn't have much time to ponder how she could best help Lily as the church's wrought iron gate swung open as they approached, and three people carrying rifles stepped forward. The first was an elderly man with dark skin and deep brown eyes.
His graying hair was thin and wiry and he looked frail quite frail. His grip on his rifle, however, was strong. To his left was a woman that could only be his daughter, for she looked just like him. She clutched a hunting rifle in her hands and she watched the new arrivals with narrowed, suspicious eyes. To the woman's left stood a young Hispanic man, staring glumly at them with an almost bored expression on his face.

"Stop right there," the elderly man growled, raising his rifle as the group came to a halt. "If you folks know what's good for you you'll turn around and walk your asses back the way you came."

"Whoa there," Frank said quickly, stepping forward with his hands outstretched. "We just need a little help. We only just managed to escape the Dharma Lodge up on the mountain. People started eating other people last night and we were hoping..."

"Wait," said the woman suddenly, her eyes widening slightly. "You... you came from the mountain? You don't know, do you?"

"All we know is that people started eating people," said Jack plainly. "It started last night and in a matter of minutes the entire campground was overrun. We picked up that radio signal that said..."

"That fucking thing," the old man grumbled. "That's about all you'll hear on the radio these days. They sound so confident too… fat lot of good it did them. Doesn't matter, my initial point stands. Turn around and walk your asses back to your bus. Now."

"Dad, they need help," said the woman, confirming Alex's earlier belief that she was the elderly man's daughter. "Shouldn't we...?"

"Not after last time," the old man snapped. "We can't, we... Nia, they killed your mother."

"I know, Dad, but that was them not these people," the woman called Nia said gently. "We can't turn away the whole world just because of one experience. We need to help them... and who knows? Maybe they can help us. We need it." Nia's father sighed heavily and shook his head.

"The things you make me do, Nia," he grumbled. "Hell, fine. Bring them inside, but this is on your head. And I'm warning all of you right now; try anything, blink in a way I don't like, and I'll put a bullet through your skull." The old man turned and walked away without another word. Nia sighed heavily and shook her head.

“Well, c’mon in,” she told them. “I’m sure if you’ve been up on the mountain all this time you have a lot of questions.”

“Really just one,” said Sawyer. “What happened?”

"It started about a week and a half ago," Nia told them, shaking her head wearily. "Where exactly this thing comes from, I couldn't tell you. All the news ever said was that it was happening everywhere. Russia, the UK, Mexico, Australia… It's global, that much we know for sure. It spread more rapidly than any other disease in history."

"That sounds about right," said Frank. "The campground was overrun in minutes."

"I'm sure it was," said Nia dryly. "As far as we know, very little is known about this virus or pathogen or whatever the hell it is. The CDC was looking into a cure, but by the time we lost communications nothing had come of it. All we know for sure is that the damn thing is airborne and it’s everywhere. If you’ve seen one of the dead, you’ve been exposed. It seems to have anywhere from a six to twenty-four hour incubation period. Luckily, and I use that word loosely, roughly ninety-eight percent of the population is immune from the airborne pathogen. Those that aren’t get exposed, get sick, and then die. Then you come back… only you’re not you anymore.”

“There was a guy on the mountain,” said Alex in a quiet voice, nervous speaking in front of the entire group. “He… he didn’t get sick, he just died… from other causes.” Her eyes flickered nervously toward Sawyer. “He still turned into one of them.”

“Right,” said Nia, nodding. “Not everyone responds the same way to the virus. Some people don’t show many symptoms until the very end, but if he turned he’d been exposed. If you die after contracting the pathogen, whether from the disease or anything else, you still come back. Then there’s the bite. If one of the dead bites you, you can contract the disease even if you’re otherwise immune.”

“So… so there’s a good chance that all of us are immune then?” Jack asked, indicating their group.

“Probably, yeah,” said Nia. “If the outbreak reached the mountain last night, then you’d almost certainly be showing some signs of infection.”

“Lovely,” said Frank. “So, what are we supposed to do? The whole world’s gone to shit and we’re just supposed to… what? Start over?”

“No,” said Nia, her voice suddenly tight. “You’re just supposed to survive. That’s what we’re trying to do here. This old church has been abandoned for years, but it has strong walls. They’ll keep the dead out… and give us a fighting chance against anything else.”

“Anything else?” Brandon asked nervously.

“Like your friend there said, the world’s gone to shit,” Nia responded. “Not everyone responds the same way. Some people decide that this, this chaos, this is where they thrive. Bandits, raiders, pirates, people that just like killing… When it first happened, the people that survived from the town over there all met up here. There were fifty at first. A week ago we agreed to help a passing group by letting them stay inside for the night. By the next morning, more than half of us were dead.”

“They attacked you?” Jack asked.

“They did,” Nia confirmed. “They wanted to take this place from us. We fought them off, but we lost a lot of good people. My mother was one of them. You won’t find a lot of love for outsiders here. I don’t know what your plans are, but you can stay here until you decide. We have plenty of room for your group.”

Nia led the last fifteen survivors from the Dharma Lodge through the gates of the church. Alex paused, glancing back to watch as two armed men closed the gates behind them. Despite the mostly friendly welcome, Alex found she had never felt more trapped. They were putting their lives into the hands of complete strangers. The dead terrified her, sure, but if what Nia had told them was true then perhaps it was the living that were more dangerous than the dead. She shivered involuntarily as the wrought iron gates slammed closed.

~~~~~~

The Chinook helicopter shook as it dropped low out of the clouds to drift along the Hudson River. Another half dozen helicopters flew alongside it, their doors sliding open as soldiers swung machine guns into position. Combat Engineer Chandler Wyatt paid little attention to all the motion. His emerald eyes were drawn down to the ground below where he knew they would soon be landing and to the mission he and his team had to complete. He was so focused he barely noticed Colonel Malcolm Baird, a tall and imposing man with close cropped graying hair, stepped into the passenger compartment filled with soldiers.

"Alright, people," he called loudly over the steady roar of the helicopter's rotors. "You all know our mission. We are here to secure Manhattan by any means necessary. The US military has orders to nuke the city if we cannot maintain order. The dead will no doubt already be swarming throughout the city. We're going to take it back block by block. We'll be setting down in Battery Park at the far southern end of the island. Our first priority is to secure the park perimeter and set up a base of operations. After that, our job is to start moving inland; going building by building and clearing them of the dead. I want to have walls up along Liberty Street by the end of the week. That'll secure us a good portion of Lower Manhattan to build from.

"During this op, our combat engineers will be working on cementing manhole covers, sewer outlets, subway station entrances, basement access... anything and everything that leads to New York's underground. I don't want to have to deal with corpses popping up beneath our feet. They'll also be dealing with the bridges and tunnels. The first priority is the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel. It's right on our front porch and I'd like it sealed immediately. After that, we'll be taking down the Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges. Once those have been imploded into the river, we'll be sealing the Holland Tunnel. I'm going to be keeping the Brooklyn Bridge intact as I want access to the mainland, so we'll have to keep a twenty-four hour security checkpoint there to keep the city secure. After that, we'll keep moving inland until we secure the entire island. I know it’s a big ask, but that's why the Special Catastrophe Assistance Response Division was created. We exist because no one else can do what we're going to do. We're going to take back Manhattan from the dead. We're two minutes from touchdown. Get tactical. We're going in."

Chandler knew that was traditional Colonel Baird. He was absolutely no nonsense. He laid out his plans concisely and that was that. He didn't do rousing speeches; he just told it like it was. Retaking Manhattan was a big ask, there was no doubt about it. They would have to secure twenty-three square miles of landmass that held a population of over a one point six million people... potentially one point six million walking corpses. The number didn't include tourists or those that commuted into the city for work or school. The actual number of people on the island below them could be much higher. There were thousands of buildings and countless places where the dead could lurk. It wasn't a big ask. It was impossible. The city was gone and there would be no saving it, and yet still they would try. It's what they had trained for.

On the opposite side of the helicopter, Sergeant Marcus Walker cleared his throat and gestured to Colonel Baird. Sergeant Walker was the commander of SCAR Division's lead recon team and would be on the front lines of all operations from the moment they touched down. Just looking at him, there was nothing particularly outstanding about his appearance. Walker was an African American man in his early thirties who stood at an average height with an athletic build. Much like Chandler, he was a pretty average guy. But Walker was a natural born leader. He could inspire people, make them want to fight. They would need people like him if they were ever going to retake the city.

"Colonel," Walker called out as Baird stepped closer. "Sir, what kind of support can we expect from local law enforcement?"

"The city went dark two days ago," said Baird. "We haven't heard a peep since then so we have no idea if there's even anyone left alive down there. As such, we're going in under the assumption that the island is dead. If we encounter survivors, we'll reevaluate our position. Otherwise, we operate as if the entire city is hostile."

"Understood," Walker replied. He leaned to his left to speak with Lucy Peña, a young and rather short Hispanic woman with delicate features. She served as Walker's command and control contact while the team was in the field, guiding and directing the team. She had a soft, sweet, melodic voice that Chandler found quite calming when she spoke over the radio. He liked Lucy very much. She was much too sweet to be in a place like this, but then Chandler supposed that the whole world was all the same so where was she to go?

Chandler watched Lucy tapping on a tablet, gesturing animatedly to Walker. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but he imagined she was briefing him on his team's first objective once they landed. He imagined he knew what she was saying as well. It was likely the same things she had told him the previous day. Lucy had all but planned the entire operation to retake Manhattan; Operation: Saving Grace she had called it. She had said that despite her best planning, so many things could go wrong. They had no idea what they were dropping into.

He didn't have much longer to wonder as moments later the helicopter dropped in low over the river and touched down in Battery Park. The ramps lowered from the back of the helicopters and the first wave of troops rushed outside, weapons raised and ready. Chandler charged out after them, silently praying to any god that would listen to protect them. He wasn’t religious, but in his opinion it didn’t hurt to stack the deck.