"So? Will you come with us?" Carter asked me with that same smile to his face. Christ, his whole demeanor is so overwhelmingly happy and kind. Even after crushing his hand. What a weirdo.

He had just finished catching me up to speed about everything he told Tyrone. The short version was that he has a great camp set up by the water a few hours walk from here. If we left right now and made no stops or detours we could get there before dark. Also, it was him and his group that took the majority of supplies from this shit hole since he was stationed here previously.

Personally, I don't trust the creepy bastard. Way too much of a goody two-shoes for my liking. But then again, I was wrong about Tyrone and them. Perhaps I should be a little more trusting.

When I spoke to the others, they seemed on board for joining up with them. Even Bill thought it was a good idea. Only exception was Alice who would follow me to Hell and back. Maybe we should give it a shot? But wait a second...

"Oh no! I forgot about Killgore!" I smacked my forehead with my palm, producing a gunshot-like boom. How could I forget about that wonderful being? Fucking idiot! 

"Who?" Carter looked at me with full blown confusion and even tilted his head slightly. Poor man doesn't know about greatness.

"My amazing and incredible dog. Just about the most beautiful little killing machine in the world! I completely forgot about her at home. She hasn't even eaten all day." I shook my head and sighed.

"How about this? You guys all follow after him and we'll catch up tomorrow. Hey, bud, can you draw us a map or something?" After saying that to Carter, he pulled out some paper and a pen and started doodling. Just then, Tyrone butted in.

"You said we? Who's going with you?" The others were just as curious. Are they dumb?

"Alice of course. Kind of a stupid question." After taking Carter's finished childish masterpiece, I walked over to Alice who happily took my outstretched left hand and locked her fingers with mine. Seriously. It's like a kid drew this.

'Not like I could do any better.' My mood suddenly dropped by a few levels. I already have music lined up, so maybe I should take up drawing as well. Always did appreciate art, whether it be musical or physical.

"Wait a second. Are you sure about going with just you two? And with only one weapon at that?" Carter said with concern. Strange. I thought Lily would've been the one to raise a fuss. Maybe the sis-con volcano is learning.

"Don't worry. Zach here will fill you in on why I'm such an amazing badass!" I stepped close to Zach and slapped his shoulder with my right hand. A smile found it's way to my lips after seeing his pain filled face.

"Won't you buddy?" He grinned through his agony and saluted me.

"Of course boss! I'll do my best!" Like the benevolent master I was, I let him off with only a single slap. Truly, I was a Saint never seen before.

I waved my hand to the rest while we made our way from whence we came.

"See you guys tomorrow! Don't worry Lily! I won't let anything happen to her!" Before we left, I heard her shout in a sing song voice.

"If you do I'll chop your nuts off and shove em down your throat~!" Yikes. I turned my head to sweet Alice.

"Your sister has a disturbing amount of fascination with slicing my manly parts off." She giggled a little and leaned in closer.

"That's just her showing affection. Like a cat!" As she hissed at me with her new teeth showing, her free hand came up and curled slightly with her nails at their full unnatural length. 

"But you really should do your best to protect me, O' Valiant Knight! Or you'll end up like Thomas." 

"Who?" She grinned viciously at me and chuckled like a hyena.

"He tried messing with me in high-school. When I told Lily about it, she put a mask on and jumped him in an alleyway. And after pistol whipping him in the back of the head..." Her finger pointed at my groin.

"She then stomped on his balls with her steel toed boots. Left him there in a puddle of his own vomit, blood, and tears. By the time an ambulance arrived, he was barely alive. Doctors said his dick would never work again and if it did, would have been a miracle from God Himself." Jesus fucking Christ! What an amazing woman!

"And your sister never got caught?" She shook her head at me.

"Nope. Since she was a cop herself, she knew what the police would look for and hid all traces of evidence. Luckily enough, just two months later, the end of the world happened. It also wasn't the first time she committed a crime and got away with it."

I should definitely be nicer to that fiery demon from now on it seems.

"Then I'll make sure to protect my precious Ice Princess." I made a gesture of kneeling and kissing her hand like the badass knight I was. As I got up, we both laughed as we made our way down the street back home.

----------------------------------‐-------------------------------------------------

Everyone watched the large bear and his young girlfriend walk away hand in hand. When they learned of the age difference between the two of them, many became enraged. Only a few accepted it right off the bat like Carter. In his book, as long as they loved each other it was fine by him. He didn't see it as his place to judge how others lived their lives.

"What a.... strange man indeed." Carter said a little hesitantly. His hand still throbbed in pain from Jason's handshake.

'Geez. Hope everything still works correctly.' He had a worried look on his face as he clenched his hand and opened it.

"You have no idea." Tyrone said with a chuckle. 

"Alright boys and girls! Let's move quick and head back home!" At Carter's orders, his team all split up into groups of five and began grabbing any valuables they could find.

Unlike Jason who only checked for food and ammo, Carter's team grabbed anything of use. Even if it was trashed and broken. After twenty five minutes had passed, everyone returned free of harm and had bags full of goodies.

"That's everything Carter. I don't think we should come back here any more. There's hardly any left." One person said. Carter nodded his head in agreement.

"You're right. Let's get going." With that, they walked towards the opposite direction of Jason and Alice and went through a broken down gate. 

Unlike how Tyrone and his group got to the high-school, Carter's team went through the alleyways as opposed to the main street. Which in hindsight, seemed much better. Then, they noticed something.

"He's like Alice..." Lily said with a shocked look. The man she was referring too was named Carlos who like Alice, could walk among the infected unseen. He was invaluable for scouting the way ahead and massively decreasing the amount of battles needed.

"Oh! That girl's a Walker too?" Carter said happily. He was ecstatic to learn of that. 

'If she joins, we'll have another one to help us out. What a joyous day!'

"A Walker? What's that?" Tyrones questioned him.

"It's what Crazy Seven calls the people that can walk among the infected. Do you know about him?" After seeing their nods, he continued. 

"In addition to Carlos, we have another one. Though, despite us saying it's a bad idea, she likes to be outside the wall most days. A shame they're so rare." Carter sighed and shaked his head at the end. He soon asked a question himself.

"What about your man Jason? Is he one as well?" At that, the group became strange.

"Not... exactly." Seeing how it was left to him, Zach decided to be the one to explain. Before he could start though, Carter asked him something.

"So what was that slap about? It seemed like it hurt you bad. Is there some kind of beef between you two?" Many others were wondering the same. But Zach shook his head and laughed.

"It's nothing like that! I know it's all fun and games at the end of the day. I'm fine with it honestly. Let me talk a little about him." He cleared his throat and got ready to talk.

"I guess I should start at the beginning. One night, one of those Night Hunters broke into Jason's room." Zach thought it was a good idea to start from that point. Before he could continue the story though, he was interrupted by a random man.

"A what now?" 

"The creatures that come out at night. You know, the real scary ones?" Once he answered, a few people went 'Good name' and 'We should use that'.

"Anyway, he tried fighting against it. Even though he was real strong, he was no match for it. Then-" Zach went on and on about what happened that night. From Jason getting bit, to the Night Hunters running from the sun, the black veins, and even his new cannibalistic nature. He even mentioned Jason's strange dream with the cocoon.

Everyone was both awed and horrified by what they were hearing. Suddenly, they really didn't want him to join their group.

"By the way. That Killgore he was talking about is this massive infected dog. He took her in even before the bite of '87." He looked around to see if anyone got the reference, but was disappointed. As for everyone else, the last part drew a whole lot of confusion.

"Huh? Bite of '87?" Carter asked confused. Luckily, Bill swooped in to help.

"Just his nerd shit. Ignore it. We all do." Zach suddenly became down like an abused animal. He even started walking a little slower.

"Are you sure Jason's... let's say... healthy enough to be around other people?" Carter tried his best to be delicate about it. The group looked at each other and weren't sure what to say.

"Probably? It'll be fine. I think." Tyrone said hesitantly. Which didn't boost the confidence of the surrounding people at all. 

"That's reassuring." But Carter took it at face value and sighed in relief.

After a few minutes of walking in silence, Carlos came running back. Carter adopted a serious look and questioned him.

"What's wrong?" Carlos caught his breath before answering.

"The street ahead is jam packed with infected and they're moving away down this way. If we stay here, they'll be sure to see us. We gotta move." Originally, they were going to take the road and walk the rest of the way to the base.

But it seems they'll have to hide out in one of the buildings until it passed. As for the Docks? Carter wasn't worried about it's safety that much. They had dealt with deadlier threats then that horde.

"Alright. Let's go inside here and wait them out. Once gone, we'll keep going." He quietly opened the slightly rusty door and took lead into the factory next to them.

Entering inside, he aimed the flashlight attached to his gun into all corners. When the others entered, they did the same with their own.

"Careful not to fire-" Before he could finish, a roaring infected came out from the shadows and almost tackled him to the floor. Fortunately, an arrow whizzed past his head and struck the infected in the forehead. It's body fell and face planted on the ground. 

Carter nodded to the woman who saved him and kept moving foward. Behind them bringing up the rear and watching their backs were Tyrone and the others.

The inside of the factory was beyond dark, with only some occasional bouts of light from flashlights. It terrified them, but the strength in numbers reduced their fear tenfold. Except for Zach. 

'I can never get used to this.' He wished the apocalypse would suddenly end so he could go back to playing games and watching anime.

His head constantly snapped from one place to the next, even though he couldn't really see anything. He gripped his assault rifle tighter, which seemed to give him enough courage to keep up with the group. Occasionally he could hear the sounds of battle from up ahead, which only heightened his fear. 

Then, he noticed something. Maybe it was his brain playing tricks on him, but he could have sworn he saw movement up above on the ceiling.

"Is there... something up there?" His voice stopped everyone. A few people looked back at him and saw him staring up. Once they followed and shined their lights, they were shocked. There was... a small child up there. For a brief instant, time seemed to pause. 

However, calling it a child was a mistake. Although it looked like a baby, it was far too monstrous to label it as such. It's tiny form must have been no larger than 2ft across. The face and body was this horrid combination between a human and some other kind of creature, almost like it was the offspring of both of them.

The baby's humanish hands were dug into the ceiling to hold it there. But that wasn't the only thing helping it. Across it's back were these strangely shaped umbilical cords that were pointed at the end like a knife. Four could be counted in total, with two stuck in the metal roof and the other two waving around menacingly.

When the light shined into it's eyes, it opened its mouth and showed these horrifyingly sharp and large teeth. The baby roared out this ghastly wail and suddenly jumped towards someone. The sheer speed of this monster gave the shocked person no time to dodge. Within a split second, the baby latched its cords and claws into it's victim. His head and heart were all punctured, killing him near instantly. 

Just as someone was about to fire, Carter slapped his gun down and whispered out. 

"Don't fire! If we do the horde outside will swarm in and kill us all!" His voice echoed throughout the building, reaching everyone. Including the baby.

It snapped it's head towards Carter, scaring him slightly. It unlatched from it's victim and jumped towards him. He was able to dodge just in the nick of time, but his neck stung a little. Putting his hand to the wound, he noted it was bleeding. Fortunately, it wasn't that deep of a cut.

"Archers! Shoot at it!" They did as they were told and all fired, but missed. It was far too agile for them too hit.

During a hit and run, it used a cord to rip out an archer's eye and slice open most of his head. He fell to the ground screaming bloody murder. The baby then used that same cord to shove the eye into it's own mouth, eating it like it was a snack. It cackled loudly as it killed another person using it's tongue. It's new weapon shot out too quick and gave the unfortunate victim no time to yell out or dodge.

Suddenly, after a few more deaths, a knife came flying through the air. Although it didn't hurt the thing, it got close enough to piss it off. Looking at Bill, it lunged at him with unpredictable patterns. It would jump up on the ceiling and crawl on top of it, before suddenly dropping down onto a crate. Sometimes it would even stick it's tongue into the ceiling and use it as a swing.

With sweat running down his head, Bill waited with his heart burning with passion.

"Little closer. That's it." He whispered so low only two people could hear it. Out of nowhere, Lily yelled out.

"NOW!" She had a faster reaction time than Bill and could see it before him.

Just an inch before the baby's claw reached Bill's eye, a baseball bat with dried blood came from down below and struck the monster in the stomach. It was Tyrone hiding in the darkness. As for Bill, he saw death flash before his eyes. Yet he smiled like the happiest man in the world.

'Just like in the war! Amazing!' Unlike most other's who hated combat, Bill loved it. He loved the rush of it. Knowing he could die at any moment. To him... it was better than sex. Adrenaline was a hell of a drug.

The baby screamed in pain as it flew threw the air. By the way it went flying, it must of only weighed a few pounds at most. It landed next to the same archer woman that saved Carter and didn't move again.

"Is it dead?" She asked with a horrified voice and face while stepping back a little. Suddenly, it's eyes sprung opened.

"Get away from it!" Carter yelled out. But it was too late.

The monster baby jumped up and used the last of it's strength to take a giant chunk out of her leg. By the time someone close pulled the thing off and beat it to death, the woman was lying on the ground screaming in pain. Carter came up to her and kneeled right next to her. He looked at her with pity and sadness.

"I'm sorry Beth. But... you know what has to happen." From his voice, the surrounding people could tell how hurt he was. 

Beth breathed heavily and shook her head frantically like a maniac.

"N-No no no! I'm fine! See?! I'm not turning into one of them! Please! D-Don't kill me! I don't want to die!" She began crying a waterfall of tears at the thought of dying, which touched the hearts of everyone there. No one wanted to die, so they could sympathize.

Bill had lost his smile and Lily felt terrible. That could have been her. Never to see Alice again. Both Tyrone and Zach turned their heads to look away. But everyone they looked, there was blood and death everywhere. They weren't alone, as a few others did the same.

"I am... so sorry." Carter apologized once more and took out his knife. 

In a split second, he thrusted it into the side of her head and killed her instantly. With a sigh, he stood up and looked at the carnage. By the looks of it, around six people had died to this thing. Plus another three from random infected who ambushed them during the chaos. He sighed once more and gave out his orders.

"Let's find something to put their bodies on. You five, watch the entrances. The four of you, come with me and we'll clear the rest of this place." Everyone got to moving. Within a few minutes, someone had found a few carts to carry their bodies.

It was around ten minutes later when everyone started walking again. There was some people crying over the deaths of their friends or a lover.

The rest of the trip wasn't too eventful aside from them hiding from a couple special infected. However, something the group noticed was that the closer they became to the Docks the less infected there were. When they asked Carter this question, he shrugged his shoulders. Though, his voice was a little down.

"We don't know. But we are thankful to God for it everyday. If not because of how little they came here, we would have never been able to build the wall so quickly. We got lucky is all. Although we do get an occasional horde now and again, they're never too big to wipe us out." Suddenly, he pointed ahead.

"Look! We're almost there! Feast your eyes on that beauty." The group was starstruck at the massive wall of containers. 

With the occupied watchtowers housing snipers, dozens of UV lights, and high walls filled with barbed wire, it seemed like an unbreakable fortress that could weather any storm. At the front of the wall, they could see the same massive horde of infected all lying dead. Instead of bring them through there, Carter decided to take the side entrance. There, the group could see one container sticking out from the rest. Literally.

The people in the watchtower noticed Carter's reduced team and signaled the ones down below to open the gates so to speak.

Within a minute the group was let in and before they could even enjoy the sights, they were sent to a medical trailer. 

"Sorry about this. But we have to make sure you guys aren't infected first." Carter spoke apologetically while walking with them. He had ordered the rest of his team to bring the deceased to the church. They would be cremated there after people said their goodbyes. 

"No problem man. We get it." Everyone nodded at Tyrone's words.

Once inside the trailer, the group was introduced to a man in a lab coat.

"Hell happened to you?" He asked Carter who still had the cut on his neck.

"Run-in with a new infected. We... lost some people." Carter sighed before motioning towards the group.

"But anyway, these people here are in desperate need of a test."

"Well? What are you waiting for then? Line up one at a time." The man rudely said while pulling a strange syringe out of a cabinet.

"Excuse him. His name is Francis and he's not exactly the friendliess person. He means well though!"

Francis simply sighed and chose not to speak to Carter. He knew how it would end. Instead, he grabbed Zach's arms roughly and shoved the needle in deep.

"Ow!" Francis looked at him with a scowl.

"Quit your bitching you baby. And hold still." Zach did as he was told and held still. The group witnessed as a button on the side of the needle beeped green.

"Am I... okay?" Zach was worried something was wrong.

"Plenty of problems with you, but not infected. Next." Francis slapped him away and motioned for the next person after he cleaned the syringe

"What is that thing anyway." Once far enough from the rude doctor man, Zach asked Carter about the device used on them in a low voice. He didn't want to anger Francis.

"It's something developed by the government to detect if the virus inside a person is active or not by extracting the blood. Green is safe while Red is bad. But there's a third color which is Blue."

"What's that do?" Tyrone asked while rubbing his arm.

'Why did he do it so hard?' He complained inside his own mind as he glared at Francis.

"It means that person doesn't have the virus in them. But as far as I know, it hasn't happened to anybody yet."

After everyone was finished and kicked out by Francis, Carter showed them around with a new bandage around his neck. He brought them to the gardens growing crops, to the barracks where soldiers were training civilians, the wood and metal houses under construction, and the church where people were currently mourning.

Finally, they went to the warehouses where contraptions were being made by mechanics and engineers. There were even two tanks and other vehicles being worked on.

"Woah! How does it work?!" Zach marveled at the large weapon sitting in his hand. The person he was talking to chuckled.

"That there is what I call the Brain Blasting Nail Gun. Or BBNG for short. You put this pack on your back first and then lock these two tubes around your wrists. When you pull this trigger, it shoots out a high-powered giant nail at fast speeds. Wanna learn how to make it?" Noticing his keen interest in it, the dirty and sweaty woman asked him. Zach soon bowed to her like a Japanese teenager asking his crush out.

"Please teach me master!" The lady laughed and patted him on the back with her greasy hand, staining his shirt. Though, he saw it as a badge of honor.

"Come on, let me teach you the basics first. And call me Sensei." Zach looked at her star-struck.

'I think I'm in love already!' 

"Yes Sensei!" He saluted her with a silly grin and followed after her. 

'He's a little cute. Maybe it won't be so bad having him around.' She chuckled at that thought.

As Zach got along with a new friend, the others kept walking around. Until they reached the docks by the water. 

"Edward!" Carter enthusiastically yelled out while waving. He was surprised to see him here.

Once he stepped closer, he whispered into his ear about the events involving the baby. Edward's face dropped slightly and he sighed while pinching his nose between his fingers. His sister rubbed his back to comfort him.

'Never ending bullshit.' Edward was fed up with watching his people die like cannon fodder. But they needed more supplies. Especially since the storm was approaching.

Carter then stepped back and nodded his head towards the jaw dropping beauty at his side.

"Miss Emily." He turned back to Edward.

"These people here want to sign up with us." The two siblings both turned towards the newcomers.

"Hi there folks. Welcome to the Docks. I'm Edward and I run things around here. This here is my sister Emily." He shook the hands of everyone.

"Pleasure to meet you, I'm Tyrone." He said after shaking his hand. Suddenly, Edward did something he never would've expected.

"Been hard for you out there huh?" He said with a sympathetic voice. Tyrone and the rest were shocked.

"How did you know that?" He sighed.

"Body language is all. Not exactly complicated. I can see a loss weighs on you. Did you lose someone recently?"

"Yes... yes we did." Edward patted his shoulder and gripped it hard.

"I know the feeling. Trust me." His voice went low and dark before springing to life again.

"Well, I hope I can cheer you up. You're welcome here as long as you pitch in. Meals three times a day and a shower once a week." The group's ears twitched.

"Did you say... shower?" Lily said with hope in her heart. She had forgotten what it felt like to be actually clean for once and not smell like trash. The rags and water she was currently using barely helped at all.

Edward, Carter, and Emily laughed at that. They could relate.

"Yes miss. Showers once a week. Hope you don't mind being seen naked by others. Don't you worry though, men and women have separate baths. And we take the peeping quite seriously. Do so and you get kicked out you hear?" Most of the residents agreed with that rule and found it fair. Especially the couples.

They all talked a little more before the topic of Jason got brought up.

"Are you positive this man is sane enough to be around others?" Edward's whole vibe changed and became deadly serious. He was like an entirely different person.

'If he can join us, that kind of power would be invaluable!' He was excited but fearful at the same time. 

"He might be a little strange, but otherwise he's fine." Lily vouched for Jason and answered with a firm tone. 

'Least I can do after what I said.' Truth be told, she was still feeling some guilt and regret over what went down with the Mimic.

"I'll take your word for it then. I certainly look forward to meeting him." Just as they were about to talk about division of labor, Bill raised a good question while looking out into the water.

"I've been wondering this for a while now. You got all these boats and yet you don't use them to cross the river?" Edward chuckled a little and turned to Carter.

"Let's show em huh?" Carter smiled and ran off to find something, which made the group confused.

"While he does that, let me talk about the cargo ship. I know you're all curious about that big thing. First off, it's busted. Not completely, but it's gonna take a whole lot to fix it up. We were thinking of using it as an escape method if this place falls. Also, it's currently used as housing for some people." He went on and on about random things until Carter returned. But the group only became more confused when he came back with meat in his hand.

"This is why we don't try." Carter said while walking to the edge of the dock. He then chucked the meat as hard as he could and sent it flying.

When it landed in the water, everyone waited for something to happen. Suddenly, a massive 7ft long fish jumped out of the water with the meat in it's mouth. From here, the stunned group could see the sharp and lethal teeth in it's mouth. They could even see a little bit of armor around the face. Definitely wasn't a normal fish anymore.

"That right there. Shred you into pieces within ten seconds flat. And that's just one of a few thousand sitting in there. Luckily they can't come on land." Suddenly, Carter's head dropped low as he sighed lightly.

"Unfortunately, before we knew about them, we tried to make it across the water. But we... lost some good people." Edward off to the side had a thousand yard stare as he gazed into the water where the fish disappeared. He snapped out of it and put a smile on his face.

"Let's get you folks situated huh? Find some jobs for you to do. What are you best at?" For the next hour, they all discussed what their jobs would be and where they would be housed. 

In the end, Bill asked to be put into action. He would mainly be in the teams that left to find supplies or occasionally man the watchtowers. Of course, he did have to show his age didn't hold him back in the slightest. To put it shortly, they were impressed. Especially the soldiers. They were excited to have a war hero from before their time with them.

Zach would be working alongside Meira and learn her ways. His current job would be as her assistant, but as he gains experience he would eventually become his own master.

Tyrone surprisingly asked to be a gardener, seeing how he used to be one before the apocalypse and had a knack for it.

As for Lily, she naturally chose to join the WatchDogs. They were basically the police that made sure no crimes were committed and investigated any that were. It was was a necessary force, seeing how there were over a thousand people living there. Also, they were the ones who were usually in the towers keeping an eye out from both inside the walls and outside them.

Just as night arrived and the Night Hunters awakened, a bell suddenly rung and echoed throughout the whole base. Almost everyone exited their homes and tents and made their way towards the middle, to a small metal platform. On top of that platform was a massive antenna, satellite, and a home-made radio. 

"That... doesn't look very impressive." Lily commented when seeing the radio. Like Tyrone, Zach, and Bill, she simply followed the crowd.

"Haha! I know right? Don't worry though. It works way better than you think." From out of nowhere, Carter spawned behind her and spooked her with his voice.

'Creepy bastard.' She thought to herself. It seemed like he was everywhere at once. She even saw him appear from around a corner and help a child in need. But that corner led to nowhere, so what was he doing there?

After a few minutes of waiting, a man walked up on the platform and fiddled with the dials.

"Who's that?" Lily asked.

"Gaweł, the man who made it. Weird name I know. Said he was polish. I think he said it means rooster or something like that?" Suddenly, a clear voice came from the radio. 

"-for the wait folks! I know it's late and you want to sleep, so I'll try and be brief my lovelies." The group recognized that voice as Crazy Seven. At first they were a little confused on who it was because of how clear it was when compared to Bill's radio.

"Only a little better. Doesn't have any charm to it." The old man muttered under his breath. Tyrone chuckled and patted his back.

"There's two main things I want to get into tonight. One of them being Alphas and the other being the animal special infected. First and foremost, the Alphas. From what little we know, these monsters are the best of the best. Strongest infected there are. You can kinda see them as the superior counterpart to every other special infected. Sorry to say that if you meet one, you're donezo kiddo.

For example, there was an Alpha Bruiser that recently attacked and destroyed Fort Barnard not three hours ago. Most weapons were useless against it and only tanks were able to deal a lick of damage. Many were killed before the order to retreat was given, including a few thousand civilians. Fortunately, they seem to be extremely rare. Like, one out of a hundred million kind of rare."

The new information horrified everyone listening. Just when they thought it couldn't get any worse...

"Next up is the animal special infected. Gotta be real careful with these ones. Dangerous bastards they are. On average, we see more death and destruction with them than the regular special infected. I mean if you think about it, it makes sense. Animals are usually stronger than us physically and the virus amplifies that trait. Though, be careful not to get outsmarted by them. Trust me. They are way more cunning then you think." Bad news after bad news made everyone's night that much worse. The roars from the Night Hunters didn't help at all, despite knowing they were safe in the wall with the lights on.

Michael, who was listening to the same broadcast, sat there while playing with his newest invention. He had made it with the support of his little helper elves. Though, they like to call themselves dwarves.

It was an unassuming little thing, but it was in fact a deadly weapon. He took some inspiration from an ancient torture device called the Pear of Anguish which was found recently.

It's size was only a few inches long and could easily fit inside one's hand. To use it, the person carrying it must apply physical contact and press the button at the top. Once pushed, it rips the victim's flesh open and latches itself there. Then, it shoves a little bomb inside and traps it there.

After two seconds the bomb creates a mini explosion and destroys the opponent's insides with shrapnel. It was designed to not blow back into the user's face. Due to testing, it was ready for distribution and mass production. Michael had already sent the plans for building it to his other bases.

"So that's what they were. Alphas huh? Troubling news." A few of his other bases had reported territories of extremely overpowered infected that were seemingly invincible. Suddenly, his eyes widened as he thought of something.

"Was it an Alpha that commanded the infected to destroy the refugee camps? Definitely a possibility." Whenever he though about the downfall of the camps, a shiver went down his spine. The level of intelligence that creature possessed might be similar to his own. And that... would be frightening.

A sudden knock on the door almost made him drop the newly named Flesh Render. With a deep breath, he calmed his anger and called out emotionlessly.

"Yes?" A bubbly and familiar voice answered him.

"It's Yori sir! May I come in?" He sighed and told her to enter.

Her battered and bruised form entered his vision as she limped inside with no shoes on. Or socks for that matter. Michael raised an eyebrow at her at her choice of clothes. Pajamas?

"What do you need?" 

"I can't fall asleep. Can I... sleep with you?" She whined like a puppy as she made her desire known.

Michale sighed once more, but decided to indulge her.

"Alright. Wait until the broadcast is over." He leaned back into his chair once more and closed his eyes. Suddenly, they opened when he felt his buckle come undone. Looking down, he could see the minx under his desk fiddling with his pants.

"Really?" Yori looked up at him all innocent like.

"What? Should I stop?" Despite saying that, she kept going and pulled his jeans down along with his underwear. 

With a sultry look, she grabbed his ten inch cock and gently laid it across her face. With a few deep sniffs, she sighed deeply in content.

"Fine then." Michael said with no change in his face or voice. Honestly, he admired her boldness. Though, he did gasp slightly when began kissing and licking his cock gently. 

As he kept listening to Crazy Seven, he placed a hand on her head and stroked it gently. He smiled slightly as she purred like a cat and began swallowing his cock. Though, it's size was a bit much for her.

'Maybe she isn't so bad.'

"I know I know. Bad news all around huh? Not to worry my little kitty cats! For I shall bless you with good news! Although the military lost Fort Barnard, they were able to launch a successful operation on the infected town of Martin Cunther King. It was to test the development of a brand new weapon that works surprisingly well against the infected. Stay tuned for further updates on that.

Next up for blessed news, is the camp surrounding The White House. Thanks to the efforts of our brave soldiers, they have somehow managed to clear a decent chunk of Washington D.C.! In a thirty mile radius around The White House is a safe haven free of any infected! It is reported that there are tens of thousands of refugees living under the military's love and care! Let's pray for them!

Alright boys and girls, it's time once more. Have no fear! For tomorrow we will be back to our regularly scheduled programming. Today was a fluke as one of our producers unfortunately took his life. Although it hurts us, we respect his decision despite the holes he left in our hearts. Have good dreams everyone and don't let the bed bugs bite!" Seeing how his voice no longer came through, everyone started dispersing.

Lily stretched as she made her way back to her tent. She looked up into the darkening sky and prayed for her sister's safety.

"I miss Alice. I wonder how she's doing? Is she safe? Does she miss me?" She then chuckled a little.

"I'm even missing that dumb beast. I must be ill."

Thinking about Jason and her fun interactions with him brought a smile to her face. She had a feeling she would sleep well tonight. Very well indeed.

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President Jones sighed and turned off the radio. Although others like General Larry disliked Crazy Seven, he personally liked the man. He looked out the window of his room and into the brightly lit camp just outside The White House. A smile graced his lips when thinking of the people his brave soldiers saved today. But then, his mood soured.

So many of those soldiers were sent to their deaths in order to combat the infected. Even with their new prototype weapon, it was a struggle. There were times when he thought they might have bitten of more than they could chew. Especially against... the Alphas.

'Monsters...' A shiver went down his spine when remembering them. When seeing their dominance. He had a feeling their terrifying forms will haunt his dreams for a few nights.

Two. Only two of them wiped out over a three dozen tanks, twenty helicopters, and 1003 men and women. There's even been reports of more throughout the city. Low estimates put their numbers at around another six more. Minimum.

Jones laid down next to his wife and wrapped his arms around her waist. He was scared.

Scared he would be the last president of the United States and this would be his legacy, as the one who failed to protect his people.

Scared that this was humanity's extinction event.

Scared he would have to watch his wife and children die and turn into mindless beasts.

But he couldn't show it. If he cracked now... everyone else would follow. 

'I must... stay strong.'