The Objective
You and some friends have stayed safe at the coastal apartment for some time. However, when the epidemic disinters it's way to you, you find that nowhere is safe anymore. Do you have what it takes to get through the map and escape Hell?

The Story (For Interest and Map Knowledge. Be Warned, it's 7700 Words and 13 Pages)

Prologue:
I should consider myself lucky at this point. How am I still here? Why am I still here? These questions ring in my head when I think of the events of the past day. I just survived Hell. Pure Hell. It’s unbelievable. Don’t get me wrong though, I’m starting to think that it would have been better if I had died. I wouldn’t have all this stress pulling on my heart. The epidemic. My friends. My dead friends . . . it all sits on my head. I told everyone that we would be fine. I never thought that this . . . thing would be so much. In the past day, I’ve seen two friends pass right before my eyes, and in no way I would have ever wanted to imagine. Right now, I’m in the estate. The threat is gone for now. Now, you’re probably confused. What am I talking about? How did this happen? When did this happen? The only way to answer that is to start from the beginning.
September 24th, 2017:
This was the day when the Devil brought Hell to the earth. I’m sure it was like that already though. This was the day that World War 3 started. I could care less about that however. There was more than just war. Much more. North Korea had just nuked Camp Casey, a U.S. army base in South Korea. This ignited the war, and was the prologue to the epidemic that would come. Camp Casey was destroyed, and nearby areas were affected by the radiation. The war is still ongoing to this day. The day right now is February 14th, 2019. No news has been heard on the war progression. I don’t even know if they realize what they did. North Korea continued to nuke U.S. bases in South Korea. Millions of individuals found their way back to the right hand of God. Millions more had been exposed to radiation. But something was different. This radiation didn’t kill people, it controlled them. It’s a strange process to get your head around, but I think I’ve found an explanation . . .
The Explanation:
Nuclear radiation enters the body from anywhere. The molecules slowly begin to take over your system. Your white blood cells don’t identify the radiation as a threat though. The molecules multiply inside you, taking over your brain and nervous system, mainly by infecting blood. The radiation molecules mix with normal body molecules like oxygen, carbon dioxide, and blood. The radiation molecules, as I’ve concluded, are alive! The reason this is so dangerous though is because your body still wants pure blood, apart from the radiation-infected blood. Your body only craves this new sensation for blood, like some sort of abomination. This infection takes over you. Fast. Your body turns a sick-green color. You become uncontrollably aggressive, uncontrollably hungry, and uncontrollably strong. Your body completely ignores pain, it needs blood. Pure. Human. Blood. Sometimes though, on rare occasions, the molecules will also rule over your skin, like a coat of paint, turning an odious, black color. Your muscles become stiff and strong, yet remain flexibility. You have an increased pain tolerance, extra strength, and a hell of an intimidating appearance. I encountered only one, and I hope it’s the only one I ever see in my life again.
July 17th, 2018:
This was the day when the epidemic became widespread. The radiation-infection overtook people by the thousands, and then millions. People were being infected every day. People panicked, and scattered for safety. People rebelled against military forces, often killing small groups of military police in the city established to maintain order. People took the weapons and found their own safety. People united with others to stay safe. You weren’t going to survive this alone. No matter who you were. Sometimes though, military officers would be persuaded by civilians to unite and save themselves, sometimes gathering groups of people to stay in a common area, usually a small estate that can maintain the sufficient needs of the people. Groups varied, usually being small groups of around 10 to 20 people, or large groups of above 100, the largest I know being a 500-person group united with military officers, armed with a surplus of weaponry. People slept next to their weapons at night, because they were so scared of this epidemic.
October 7th, 2018:
This was the day when the epidemic was spreading closer to the area of my dwelling. I was occupied in the inland areas of California, around Granada Hills. There was just word of the spread of the epidemic near the Colorado area. This epidemic was coming, without a show of mercy. I knew I wasn’t going to be safe for long. I had to get a force of people going. Now. I knew the people I was bringing, the people who had been with me through thick and thin. Every time. God bless my family, but there’s only one reason I didn’t bring them. Their faith. My family was already saved, even if this epidemic reached them. Now, more than ever, evangelizing would be most important. I wanted to bring the ones who would become closer with God out of this.
September 24th, 2018:
This was when I got my force gathered. In all, there were 12 of us. Let’s start from the beginning. I had traveled all over the Los Angeles Count to find these people. They were important to me, and I wanted to get through this with them. I found them all. In total, I had 7 friends that I had gathered to unify. Together, we traveled to a coastal area, where there was a small estate, which was quite elegant and unique. The estate was used as a base for temporary U.S. soldier settlements. This was no less than perfect for our means. There was a dock that led to a large walkway, which in turn led us to the bridge that led to the apartment. The bridge was electricity-driven, meaning that it could be activated or deactivated. Sounds complex, but it’s rather simple. The road by the base brought us to a blockade. This blockade was rather simple, but guarded by a few soldiers. I couldn’t believe whose faces I identified on these soldiers. I’ll return to the matter momentarily. We approached the blockade, and requested to be held at the base. At first, the guard men declined, telling us that we had no means of being here. I was a bit behind my group though; they reasoned, I watched. I went to see the commotion, and the guards’ eyes caught mine. Instantly, their hearts loosened. I hadn’t said a word, yet I had convinced these guys to let us stay here for safety. Inside the estate, only two soldiers occupied any rooms, and yet another droll case struck me like lightning, I knew these individuals as well. How’s that for irony? These soldiers were all a small recruitment, stationed to guard military supplies within the estate. More supplies came in through a rather secretive rock tunnel down the coastline, near a church that also served as a cemetery. Two lone graves were stationed in front of the church, only by requested burial. A large cross overlooked the church, and a small, circular shop stood next to the church, on the right. A large wall surrounded the area, but mixed with the nearby mountainside, formed a delicate “modern-nature” mix wall. In front of the rock tunnel was a blockade, more complex than the other. However, this whole area, though being small, seemed cut from the state, and was completely abandoned, minus us and the officers currently with us. I asked the officers why this area was abandoned. It’s quite a story as far as words go. Before October 7th, this place thrived with business, and the first, simple blockade, and the large wall, did not exist. The word of the widespread epidemic caused panic, and the military cut this place off from the rest of civilization. It’s pretty amazing how fast people can build a wall though. Hundreds of soldiers and officers gathered together, and built this wall, and formed the simple blockade. Minus the soldiers we’re with, they all went to fight the war. Rock Tunnel brought in supplies from the city. Simple helicopters and sometimes larger ships came and dropped off cargo. Rock Tunnel was covered in the front with a wall that no one could scale. It could, however, be deactivated. One person had to be on both ends of the wall via two buttons, to deactivate the wall. The wall had the inability to cover the whole entrance, due to the foundations of the rock. This estate held supplies, and sheltered soldiers temporarily. Soldiers in the U.S. army alternated between roles as city tamers and country heroes. They were held here. This estate was one of many that held temporary “tamers”, who unfortunately had the role of controlling a violent city, as well as defending the supplies The recruitment often alternated. Two went into the city and two stayed in the estate to defend supplies. Here, we stayed, until that fatal day, February 14th, 2019. The day of love one would expect. Not today.
The Group:
Our group consisted of 11 people who were all my friends. I’d known them for quite a while, years upon years, and these were the guys who got me through life. 7 of these guys were friends I had picked up during the L.A. County drive, 4 of them were the military officers guarding and residing in this apartment-like coastal estate. They too, were friends. Let’s first introduce myself. I’m Riky. Usually, you’d expect a name like that to have a “c” in it. Not me. And I was fine with that. I was one of two evangelizers here on this journey. The other one I’ll introduce momentarily. I was considered the leader here. No one disagreed on that concept. I made sure the ammunition was split as equally as possibly. Everyone had an assault rifle, and a backup pistol, and the ammo was split as adequately as possible. Extra weapons were either stored in the back of the estate, by the bathrooms, or held in the rooms, on a first come, first serve basis. Some people got shotguns and marksman rifles, other’s got pistols, or more assault rifles; one group had enough luck to grab the grenade launcher first. I didn’t care who stayed in the rooms, as long as it was 2 people in each room, excluding one room which stored four people. The other evangelizer was one of my closest friends and spiritual sister since 8th grade year, around 8 years ago. Man, doesn’t time just pass fast . . . Her name was Mari, with an “I” and not a “y”, pronounced “mar-ee”, not “mary”. She was the last person I wanted to see in this mess, but I have to admit, she’s gotten through this much better than I would have thought, maybe because she’s not as scared as some of us here, mainly because she was a Christian, and well as myself, and we knew we were saved no matter what happened. Suffering though, we were all still subject to. This girl was amazing, and I’d loved her since the year we met, 2011. So much happened in that year that shaped the foundation of my life. Her coming into my life was one of those things. I was defending her with my life, and nothing less. Mari and I were comforters and leaders. We told everyone that repenting would be a sure way out of this Hell. No one opposed our preaching. I’m glad. The strength of the group was found in another friend, my best friend, one named Chris. This guy I had known since the 7th grade, around 9 years. He was the one I could go to for anything. He was always the big guy walking around, and he was very fit too. Now though, he was huge. Chris was ripped, but still as trustworthy and helpful as he was since the day I met him. We had each other’s backs. We were determined to get out of this alive. Gus was the best friend of Chris and myself. We were always a little groupie, throughout middle school, and high school. I’d known Gus for 10 years now, since 6th grade, and he had my respect. Gus was a joker though, but he knew when to get serious. Right now, was one of those times. Pagorn was another joker, but knew when he had to be austere. I’d known him since the 6th grade, and he was one of those I had converted since we arrived at the estate. Good thing. Pagorn had his way with weapons . He was a professional marksman. Give him a gun, and he’s guaranteed to last until his ammo is depleted. He makes every shot count. He was definitely apt for this situation. We needed someone who was a good marksman. Our ammo was in good quantity, but every shot had to hit something, otherwise it was a waste. I loved this guy in a brotherly way, but throughout the years, we had been up and down in our friendship. It was because of Mari. He was always the one guy closer to her than me. Naturally, we just split, but never abandoned each other. If Mari hadn’t come into our lives, we would be best friends. To this day, I still don’t understand why we were broken apart. Fate. Most likely. If I weren’t a Christian, my selfishness probably would have made me hate this guy. That would have been extremely foolish though. No, we were sticking together, until the end. Fran also had her way with weapons. Maybe not the greatest marksman, we she just plain knew how to kill. Effectively. Fran I had known since the 4th grade, much longer than anyone else here. She was trustworthy, helpful, and even a little bit of a joker, but she knew what to do. We had never been the closest of friends, but we were always there for each other, for 12 years. She was fearless too, she knew the circumstance, but she would be willing to die for all of us. She was also another person who was evangelized. That didn’t stop her though from kicking some ass though. Cam was probably the biggest joker of us all, at least that’s how I’d known him since the 8th grade, 8 years ago. His main ability was speed. This guy could probably outrun a car if he tried. This epidemic wasn’t going to reach him, metaphorically speaking. He was ready to fight these bastards. Lori was Mari’s best friend, I’ve heard since 4th grade, probably 12 years ago. Honestly, throughout the years, we hadn’t ever been the greatest of friends, but we still cared for each other, I think she was here due to Mari though. Doesn’t matter. I wanted to get everyone out of this destruction. I’d known her since the 7th grade, 9 years ago, and I still trusted her anyways. We had gotten close enough to trust each other and care about each other. She’s honestly the last person to handle this though. She’s terrified. Paranoid. Oh God, please help her! Bernie was another person trapped in with Satan’s demons. This guy was pretty fearless, and he could make every shot count. He helped me make decisions about what to do. He helped me coordinate our group. He was like my assistant, but he had an essential leadership element to him. Ironic though. He was a bigger joker than Cam, but still equally trustworthy, and as great a friend. We had met in the 8th grade, 8 years prior to this situation we were now met with. Gaby was someone who shouldn’t have been here at all. She was someone who came clean with Christ out of this. I have to admit, I’m overjoyed to have evangelized everyone, with Mari’s help. Gaby was scared of this, not completely, but she feared the future, but I was going to make sure she got out of this, God help me. She could use a weapon, but she wasn’t a marksman at all, unfortunately, but she could use about any other weapon, and well enough to matter. I was going to protect her, she needed it. Gaby I had known the least time out of the people in the group. I had met her in the 9th grade, around 7 years ago. I trusted her, she was an excellent friend. Kristian was the only one here of African-American descent, but the times of discrimination had long passed, at least here at the estate it did. He was a great friend, since the 6th grade, 10 years ago. I miss the old times, but almost everything changes at some point . . . Kristian was pretty scared, but he could handle this situation well, even through fear. He made the shots count, and he was determined to survive this odious nightmare. Matt is the last one here, he’s almost fearless, as it appears. On the inside, it looks like he just might break, but he had nerve, and he could make use of any weapon. Matt I had known since the 7th grade, and we had each other’s backs. We had seen each other rarely for the four years of high school via he went to a different school than me and the rest of the group, but the rest of my group knew him as well as me. I trusted this guy, and would always talk with him, often for long periods of time, about life. Those talks stopped though, but I still cared for this guy. Everyone in this group trusted God. The seven people I had picked up around the L.A. County were Mari, Pagorn, Lori, Gus, Gaby, Bernie, and Kristian. The four soldiers at the estate were Chris, Fran, Matt, and Cam. We all had trust in God, we all got to know each other, we all cared for each other, and we were all determined to escape this fiasco. God bless me to this day, please, I need it. This was our group; none of us were going to try to get through this alone. If we weren’t unified, we were dead, for sure.
Note: Chris and Fran were the two soldiers who were in the estate when my group had arrived. Matt and Cam were the ones on guard. I’m guessing they had been out to war for a while, because they didn’t recognize any of us, until I came along. Everyone in the group, excluding Gaby, had gone to the same middle school in Granada Hills. We all became reacquainted with each other, and Gaby was warmly introduced. Only Bernie and I had known Gaby prior to now.
February 14th, 2019:
This was the Devil’s version of D-Day, except it was his demons, against the world. I still question if this is truly the Tribulation, but these events are not even closely related to the Armageddon I had imagined. Our group was currently split into the five rooms of the estate. Two people were split into four rooms, and four people were split into one. We had established that guys or girls could sleep together in a larger bed. No mixing, we didn’t need a baby at this point. Guys and girls could only be split into the same room if there were two separate beds. Better still, there were windows at each dorm, so there was no privacy for sex anyways. Every room had adequate supplies. Two weapons per room, a crate filled with supplies, a first aid kit, and a table with some chairs. There was a storage room above the main room that could fit four people. The storage room had two bathrooms, three supply crates, and some extra weapons, along with another first aid kit. We were going to need everything here to break through Satan’s clutches. The estate had two floors, in a rather strange manner. There was a large open area in the middle of the estate. Here, our group met, and lit a fire in the middle using classic camping methods that I still have not learned about. Still though, we had an elegant fire burning in the middle of the large estate, in an area open to sky. A courtyard. We all sat by this and talked, discussing plans to survive, or just talking about life itself and this abomination we faced. I never thought we could all have such a closer bond. Gus, Chris, Bernie, and Kristian all slept in the storage. Gaby felt uncomfortable sleeping around anyone except me; she knew I was a good guy, so we slept in one of the dorms with two beds. Matt and Cam accompanied another dorm with one large bed. Mari and Lori slept in one of the dorms with one bed, and Fran and Pagorn accompanied another dorm with two separate beds. My trust for these guys was not pseudo. No babies. Thank God. I knew I could trust these individuals. They were all unique in their own way, each with abilities that could mean life or death for the group. I honestly think that this whole group is more than suitable to get through this. Together. On February 13th, we all met in the courtyard of the estate, and lit a fire, and discussed the epidemic. We knew it was inevitable approaching. We had to be prepared. This place wouldn’t be safe for long. Our predictions were nothing less than correct. The fire we lit burned through the night, illuminating the area of the estate, it was an amazing sight. The night though, was grave and sordid. Darkness overtook the land. The sea was pitch-black, giving an appearance like that of asphalt. Quite symbolically, the only thing visible was the large cross that stood by the church. Only by His grace, we just might make it out of this alive. At dawn the sun slowly found its way over the horizon. The night was broken by the appearance of light. Everything was visible, but it was still dark. This was when the cry of the beast finally reached us. Our safety net was broken. The people asleep and the people awake were split around 50/50. I was awake, along with Chris, Matt, Fran, Mari, and Cam. The rest slept, and if it hadn’t been for us, we would all be dead. I was standing by the fire, along with Chris and Mari. No words were spoken. Matt, Cam, and Fran were in the storage room, checking ammo and weapons. That was when it happened. They came. Our worried had just multiplied in the blink of an eye. All at once, four of these monsters jumped down from the tops of the estate. Two jumped down onto a balcony, in front of the storage rooms. The other two jumped straight towards me and, Chris, and Mari. “Heads up!” Chris called. He was the first to witness the heresies that he was faced with. I grabbed Mari, almost instantaneously, and ran for a room close by. I was a fairly good marksman; I had my way with weapons. “It’s here” was all I could tell Mari. She was paralyzed, she had no idea what was going on. I grabbed the shotgun, and tossed Mari the marksman rifle. She couldn’t use it yet though, she was full of fear. She froze. The monster was running for the entrance to our dorm. I made a swift movement for the door. The barrel of my shotgun met the beast, face-first. I destroyed that bastard before he had a chance to even see Mari. Not. Over. My. Dead. Body. Mari spectated the other beast go after Chris. He ran into another room, but this fiend was much faster than the one I faced. The fiend dived onto Chris. They wrestled in the other dorm, opposite to me and Mari. Bad Move. The two figures disappeared behind the wall, the beast on top of Chris. A moment passed, and I heard a shot. Then there was blood. In the dorm, I saw blood blast from the hidden side to the visible side. Chris emerged victorious. But this was only the start. Mari and I saw the sight, she was now more fearful than ever. She cried out to me. “I can’t do this! Please! Don’t put me through this! I can’t stand to see this! Riky!” She fell into my arms, she needed comfort. I promised her I would protect her. I mean it with all my heart. Chris came out and ran for the dorm that I was in. “Out. Now. We have a matter at hand now”. At the storage room, Fran, Matt, and Cam heard the bastards coming. Fran grabbed a marksman rifle. Cam ran for the lone pistol. Matt ran for the sniper rifle, but was cut short. From the door behind him, one of the abominations grabbed him from the back, and held him tightly. It was ready to kill him. It had Matt from the back, and held him from the throat with one arm. The other arm was getting ready to pierce him. Simultaneously, the other zombie came running in the other door. The storage room was setup to be symmetrical. One door was on each side. Matt was on one side, Fran on the other, and Cam in the middle by the lone pistol. Cam and Fran instantly found an idea. Fran held the marksman rifle, and signaled for Cam to get down. At the same time, Cam grabbed the lone pistol. Simultaneously, Cam fell to the floor and shot the beast behind Fran, and Fran shot the beast holding Matt. There was blood shed. Everywhere. The fiends fell to the floor, and everything was clear. For the moment. Everyone was awakened. This was a new war. I took Mari to one of the dorms. I handed her an assault rifle, and another pistol. I ran for the grenade launcher, and a marksman rifle. It would be my best bet. Everyone else scattered for weapons. I asked everyone if they were ready. I knew they were, but they all had the notion that they weren’t. Everyone had weapons according to their abilities. I made sure all the ammo was equipped to someone. We all united in the courtyard, and went towards the beach. Everyone had a bag, used to hold things like notebooks, pens, food, and a little bit of extra ammunition. The time was 5:28am, February 14th, 2019. The bridge was inactive, but would be activated soon by a pre-set timer which activated the bridge. It would be activated at 5:30 am. We had to holdout by the bridge for two minutes. I examined the faces of all my friends. I couldn’t stand looking at the faces of Gaby, Mari, and Lori. It was devastating, they couldn’t handle this, and they were going to break soon. I felt horrible, but I knew I couldn’t blame myself for any of this. I tried to tell them that we were going to stick together and get out of this. It helped them, but I could see excruciating fear in all of their eyes. Then, without notice, two more beasts sprang up from the sea behind us, scaling the walls. I couldn’t believe this. This infection turned humans into something supernatural. If I wasn’t so scared, I would go so far to say they even looked graceful. But these guys were the work of the Devil himself. They are the opposite of grace. Only Pagorn noticed these guys jump the walls. He displayed the ability of his marksman rifle, and took them out in two shots, only needing one shot for each of them. He saved the group. I owed him my life. At this moment, I really thought that we could all make it out of this alive. With our abilities together, we would be unstoppable. At least that’s what I hoped . . . I asked Chris if he had a radio. We needed some form of help. I asked if he knew someone that could deliver some form of help. He did. He knew a man by the man of General Marshall. He could definitely have something delivered to us. That’s what Chris told us. He called the General, and requested supplies at their coastal base. “I do have one ship currently in route to another base near Compton. Your only choice for supplies is to have me re-route the ship and drop off the cargo at Rock Tunnel. Would you like me to do that?” “Yes! Sir, that would be of excellent benefit for me and my recruitment.” “Your one of my best soldiers, Lieutenant; consider it done. Your cargo should be dropped off in a few minutes. The ship is close to your position already. Your tank should arrive shortly. Good luck soldier, Marshall out.” Everyone’s jaws dropped, even Chris’s. “A tank! I can’t believe it!” I cried out. This situation just turned inside out, we all believed we would be saved now, but that belief would soon be proved apocryphal. Chris couldn’t mention us, or he would surely be punished. It would be treason to hold anyone but soldiers at this estate. Luckily, we weren’t staying much longer. But that didn’t matter. The bridge was now deployed, and we found two ATV’s that could quickly get us to Rock Tunnel. The travel to Rock Tunnel isn’t long though, so no one grabbed the ATV’s. It would be better if we were on foot and alarmed. We all traveled the long walkway to the dock. The platforms that made up the walkway appeared luxurious. The design was very intricate. We all stayed close, and had a pair of eyes in every direction. Another beast sprung up out of the water onto the walkway in front of us. It gunned towards our direction, running directly for the group. He was easily shot down by Cam. He lifted his pistol and shot the beast in the head. That threat was temporary, and now diminished. We approached the dock, and then walked down to the shore. The complex blockade in front of Rock Tunnel was visible now, and that was our next destination. We were in a dead zone now though. These beasts sprang up from the water, and the top of the church, they all rushed us. These guys were relentless, and large in numbers. We found an abandoned sniper rifle in front a rock by the blockade. It was accompanied by a lone grenade. Pagorn grabbed these, we knew he was best. We pushed up against the blockade to find that the Rock Tunnel wall was active, and we had no way over it. We needed a plan . . . There was an assault rifle located inside one of the cover structures of the blockade. Gaby grabbed it; I didn’t expect that. I saw that she was becoming hardened by this experience. I couldn’t tell if that was a good or bad thing at this point. At this point, our ammo was running lower, so we had to make use of every little thing at this point. We held out in front of the blockade with everything we had. The monsters came from the church, from the water, even from the top of the mountain next to us. We were aware of every spot, ready to gun down these guys. Pagorn showed excellent marksmanship. He got a kill with every shot of that sniper he had. He continually got headshots with his marksman rifle as well. Everyone else aimed and sprayed. These guys weren’t leaving until one of us was dead. Right now, we had a plan. I told 6 of the members to grab something to get us over this wall. The other 6: make sure it happens. I defended. The strongest of us went to grab something to get us over the wall. The other 6, which included me and Pagorn, defended the blockade. Soon, the strong 6 found a rock that they could use to get over the wall. They grabbed it and laid it on the wall. The beasts seemed to be coming faster and faster. These minutes seemed like centuries. We all held out a little longer at the blockade. Above me, a beast came from the mountain, jumping down towards Gaby. I grabbed her with one hand, pushed her to the side (while still holding her), fell to the ground, aimed up and unloaded a few shots into the savage’s head. His body was now falling towards me and Gaby, and I jumped to avoid being crushed. Gaby and I were shocked. This was inconceivable. I had just saved Gaby’s life. Suddenly, fear once again engulfed Gaby, but she could handle it now. One by one, we all went over the wall via the rock. Cam went first, then me, then Mari, then Lori, then Gaby, then Gus, then Fran, then Bernie, then Kristian, then Chris, then Matt. The next few seconds were some that I would never forget, no matter how badly I wanted to . . . as Matt scattered over the wall, one of those . . . bastards came from the church, and caught him coming over the wall. The fiend lunged supernaturally, and grabbed Matt’s back while he was finishing his venture over the wall. They both flew into the air, flying above the group, and landing in the center of the tunnel. The zombie was on top of Matt now, and drew his hand to strike Matt. The group was shocked to see the abnormal agility of these heresies. The two were too far for the group the shoot effectively. They ran to try to remove the beast from Matt. It was too late. The zombie brought up his hand, and with extraordinary hand speed, he used his hand to strike Matt through the stomach. He was pierced. My whole group was there to see the whole event. Front row seats. There were cries. Lori saw the event with most clarity. When that beast killed Matt, she felt it. She broke down on the floor in tears. Chris gestured to the group, telling them to seize fire. Chris grabbed the beast, and smashed his against the rock wall. When I say smash, I mean smash. I heard that savage’s bones break and tear. That whole side of the rock wall was engraved in the beast’s blood. Matt lay on the floor, deceased. Lori, Mari, and even Fran, all went to the body of Matt. Fran’s steel nerves had just turned to mush. They all shed tears over the body, and I couldn’t help but to release a tear either. Everyone else could keep themselves from crying, but they all had witnessed the monstrosity devour Matt. It was a wound in all of our hearts. I hope that God received Matt, he was a good person. I miss him, as well as the rest of my group . . . We all advanced past the body to find that Rock Tunnel led to a dead end. We all wondered if this was where the cargo would be dropped off. Everyone was losing hope, and fast. Mari stayed back at the body for a while, and I went to her. “He was my friend. I loved him very much. This day has been too much on me. Just a little while ago, none of this existed. We were all still alive. We were all safe. And then . . . all these things were just . . . gone.” “I know this is a lot on your heart Mari. You have to believe that Matt has it better than us. He doesn’t have to go through this anymore. He’s free.” This was more than enough to tell her. We embraced, and she held me for what seemed like an endless amount of time. I loved her so much, and I felt bad knowing that she’s going through complete Hell. God bless us. I told her to come with the rest of us and wait for the cargo. I promised her things will get better, and that all she has to do is keep her faith. The next thing that happened was something I always wanted; she kissed me on the cheek. I gave a small smile, and silently praised God. I walked to the group with Mari behind me. I looked back though to a sight that was almost fatal. A beast had rushed over the wall and was gaining right behind Mari. “Duck!” I yelled to her. Instantly, she fell to the ground, and I killed this beast without firing a shot. I took my marksman rifle, and struck the beast with such force that I completely overtook his speed with my force, and he fell to the ground. I took my gun, and shoved it straight into the head of the beast of the floor. The action was similar to a beheading, except I smashed the face of the beast and didn’t completely remove it. For damn sure he was dead though. Mari was paralyzed again, but quickly came back to reality, and thanked me. I had saved her. Thank you God. I met with the rest of the group. “What the hell do we do now?! It’s a dead end!” cried Kristian. “We wait, the cargo will arrive shortly” Chris replied. This was the last holdout. Chris stood at the end of Rock Tunnel. It opened up to an open area, surrounded on all sides by rocks. A dead end indeed. Chris stood in the open area, while the others and I stood back under the tunnel, hidden to the open area. Chris had to make sure we were undiscovered, or we would have more to worry about. In about 30 seconds we saw a ship arrive, carrying a heavy battle tank. This was the key to our escape. Chris stood under the ship and waited for the tank to be dropped. He stood back to avoid being splattered. The scorpion was dropped. This tank was a work of art. We were going to survive this; we had more hope than ever before. But then, a new threat arrived. From the rocks above us, a black monster dropped behind Chris, completely ignoring us, and heading for Chris. This savage was something new. His skin, his figure, his appearance; it was all different. He walked slowly towards Chris. Chris sensed him and turned around to strike him. The strike was incredible. I heard bones crack, and saw blood shed. But the figure stayed upright! The beast struck equally. He raised his arm and swung at Chris at a rather inverted fashion. The strike was worse than the one Chris had dealt. Chris fell to the floor, and tried to raise his gun. The heresy struck it out of his hand, drew his foot, and smashed it through Chris’s chest. Killing him. In the same two minutes, my whole group had just witnessed two deaths, slowly eating away at our hearts. The group cried out, and unloaded everything they had on the beast. Shots to the head, chest, and everywhere else. It didn’t seem to do anything. Explosives, bullets, grenades; the savage absorbed all of it. At the force of the whole group, the beast finally fell to the ground in death. The ship flew away, leaving the tank in the open area. I took the tank, telling everyone to make sure I stay alive. The final holdout initiated. With the assistance of the tank, holding out was easy, but tricky. The undead rushed us from the inside of the tunnel, as well as the top of the tunnel. Eventually, the danger dimmed down. The beasts stopped coming. All was clear again. But they would be back. We had to leave. Everyone was fueled with hatred and rage for these monsters. After the holdout was finished, I exited the tank, and requested for the group to meet up. We all went to the body of Chris. It was him who saved us. The appearance of his corpse was horrendous, but after so much blood shed, it didn’t matter. We all paid our dues to this man, for he was a hero. He paved the way for us to escape. May God be with him now. The whole group stood at the corpse, and I motioned for Mari to come talk with me. “Are you okay Mari?” “No. Obviously not. I’d rather be dead, I’m sure all of us would. If I could have, I would have saved Matt and Chris. I know you were close to Chris. I’m sorry brother” “I know you are. I know how hard it will be to get through this. Just pray. God will be with you. Chris and Matt have it better than us.” I grabbed her hand. “I promise I will get you through this. I will defend you with my life. I love you, and so does God and the rest of the group.” I hugged her again and held her with everything I had. I went to the group. “Is everyone okay?” “I wish none of this would have happened” said Gus. He hadn’t said much, but Chris was his best friend too. He was devastated, and I put a hand on his shoulder. “God will be with you, I promise”. I spoke again, “We have many things to worry about now.” I grabbed Chris’s radio. “The beasts, our sanity . . . I can’t tell you how relieved we will be to get out of this, but for now, just pray for well-being. We will make it out of this. I just want to note though. Those black zombies like the one that killed Chris, there are not a lot of them, but they are dangerous. They are our biggest threat. Stay on the lookout guys.” “What will we do now?” asked Gaby. “I don’t know. We need help though. Soon, I will use Chris’s radio to contact the General. I’m going to convince him to help us. We need all the help we can get. For now, I want six of you to stay by the tank, and six of us to go back to the estate and get some rest. We will alternate. People will defend the estate, people will sleep, and people will stay here to accompany the tank. Then, we will blast through this wall, and leave this place. It won’t be safe forever. Nowhere is saf