(Quintiles 29, 59 / 8:15PM)

  (Fred, Gary, and Diego)

  (Gary) You sure know how to drive this thing?

  (Diego) I’ve driven helicopters and pnes before, I think I could handle it.

  (Fred) Remember the st time that you drove a motorcycle? You couldn’t walk straight for a week.

  Speeding through the empty streets, three young men rode along the gss-covered asphalt, many shops and businesses abandoned and looted as they rode past them. With most of the windows of the shops shattered, as the shards spread along the gray sidewalk, combined with the barely dimmed streetlights, it created a sense of loneliness as the men’s feet shook gently.

  The sky turned smokey and orange as the sun started to set on the decaying city, the st of the rays hitting the unreactive buildings in the city center. Noticing the ck of refugees on the streets, the three of them started to gulp as they all looked straight ahead on the street.

  Fred, the only one who turned his head to the right, kept looking at the passing asphalt as his breathing intensified.

  (Fred’s thoughts) Their army is super small compared to the invasion of Ticia, but they look like they’re using special types of liches to do the job. How did they bring in a small zompire force in the first pce?

  Fred started to scratch his head, his low-edged fingernails scraping off what little dandrum he had in his silver hair. His eyes started to sting as he continued to watch the rolling asphalt, he looked up to the sky as the air around him started to make him cough, his lungs pinching his chest.

  (Fred’s thoughts) coughs … They’re using liches that we knew, using it against us in whatever way they can … coughs coughs.

  Gary and Diego turned their heads back at Fred, noticing him closing his eyes shut as he scratched his head repeatedly, his fingernails starting to scratch away not just his dandrum, but bits of his scalp. Giving each other a weird look, Gary turned his head as he focused on the thinking Fred.

  (Fred’s thoughts) Almost as if this little invasion is connected to us … but for what—

  (Gary) Stop scratching your head too hard! You’re going to create a big bald spot on your head!

  Reaching his hand outward, Gary reached towards the end of Fred’s head and smacked it from behind, eliminating the trance stance that Fred was in. Being sucked back to reality again, Fred turned his attention towards Gary, his face crinkling up as his nostrils fred up.

  Putting both his hands onto Gary’s colr, Fred gred at him with snted eyes, his breathing turning frantic as his hands started to convulse.

  (Fred) Why did you do that?! Can’t you see that I was thinking hard about something?!

  (Gary) Let go of me, you bastard! I just prevented you from getting a bald spot and this is how you repay me!

  (Diego) Can you guys be quiet? I’m trying to navigate where the complex is—

  (Fred and Gary) Shut up!

  Diego then enclosed his mouth, putting his lips inside his mouth as he started to quiver from the shout. As his grip on the motorcycle started to loosen, Diego’s eyes began to water as he started to sniff, a small liquid escaping from his nose.

  Gary and Fred looked towards Diego, the 20-year-old man, slowly breaking down as Gary felt Diego’s back shake from the pressure of the shout. Both of them let out a sigh, Gary sharpened his eyes as he looked at the back of Diego’s head.

  (Gary) Are you crying because we told you to shut up?

  (Diego) N-No…

  (Gary) You’re lying.

  (Diego) I’m not!

  (Fred) Look, Diego, sorry for overreacting, but I was trying to think about our situation at hand, and then the next thing came to another and—

  A radio frequency was heard in Fred’s pocket, the loud and high-pitched static jabbing their ears.

  Fred, who had the radio in his backpack, put it in between his chest and Gary’s rge back, going through the amount of objects that he hoarded. Finding the radio, Fred carried it with both of his hands, using his left hand to carry the box while using the knob to turn the knob to release the static.

  (Guy on Radio) Attention men! The Union of Ordered Governments decred the presence of two main zompire groups!

  (Fred) Two main zompire groups?

  (Gary) So they’re finally acknowledging the presence of those suicide zompires from The Array…

  The three young men leaned in closer to the radio set, their ears perking up as the man behind the signal continued to speak. Diego, the driver of the motorcycle, paid the transmission no mind as his eyes and ears were glued to the external forces from within the street, focusing forward into the barely turning night.

  (Guy on Radio) The main zompires that everyone has dealt with are now called pouncers! If you see one, don’t hesitate to shoot them on sight.

  The radio transmission started to emit static again, the pitch squealing louder this time, causing all three of them to clench their eyes from the pain. Pulling the knob again, Fred turned it around in a full circle to get back to the radio transmission from the soldier, the knob on the verge of being pulled out as the metal was old and beaten up. Fortunately for Fred, the static cleared, and the knob barely holding onto the metal box still kept up to frame.

  (Guy on Radio) If you see any zompire that emits steam and has no skin on their chest and stomach, then they’re steamers, and they are dealt the same way as pouncers.

  The guy on the radio made a loud gulping sound from the transmission, leading to the men looking at one another as Diego saw many high buildings in the distance. His eyes widened, and Diego’s breathing started to fasten as he saw rising smoke and fires coming from the buildings from afar.

  (Guy on Radio) But be careful men … because, unlike pouncers, steamers will explode if shot down, and they’re known to be faster than pouncers. If you see one, under any circumstances, no matter how many pouncers there are, steamers are priority one!

  ______________________________________________________________________________

  (Quintiles 29, 59 / 8:30PM)

  (Diego) I think that’s the military base!

  (Gary) The base is only 1/4th of the complex. If you combine the international museum, and the UOG and Kepputhan government buildings, then that’s the whole complex.

  (Fred) So this thing is freaking massive then…

  In front of the gate, lies a rge four-ne bridge that connects the main city to the massive complex. With the gates broken down, the three men noticed that the bridge was a mile long, with a small river rolling in between the gap between the city and the entire district.

  With the stream flowing rapidly, as the waters were hurling around the entire complex that separated it from the rest of Lagefor, Gary looked between Fred and Diego, since he was pced in the middle of them.

  (Gary) If I recall, we’re heading into the east gate, where the museum is. On the west side of the complex is the military base, followed by the many military homes. And in the center, is where all the buildings from both the UOG and Kepputhan government.

  Driving through the rge bridge as the sun was nowhere to be seen, the smokey sky now blending into the night sky, the three young men looked forward to seeing a bit of broken-down military jeeps and trucks scattered along the four-ne bridge. Taking in the old vehicles barely rotting as the smell of gunpowder and smoke ruminated the air, their ears perked up as gunshots were heard far in the distance.

  Squinting their eyes at the barely visible front gate into the museum, Fred caught a glimpse of a battle taking pce, as many shots were seen through the smoke that clouded the fight.

  (Fred) Diego, full speed! They need our help!

  Gary put his hand onto Fred’s shoulder, his palm sticky and wet as his hand was wrinkled with the moisture of his sweat. Looking into Fred’s determined eyes, Gary’s face was drenched with his sweat, his breathing irregur.

  (Gary) Hey Fred, think about it! What can we do to help?! We don’t have blessings, and we’re probably at least the bare minimum of being a normal soldier!

  Fred turned his head towards Gary, his hand forming into a squeezing fist as his eyes sharpened at the chubby man. Putting his right hand onto his colr yet again, Fred raised his voice as a fire in his eyes caused Gary to push back, his body feeling lighter than it should be.

  (Fred) We have brains! We may not be strong, but we have brains! Those soldiers need our help, and besides …

  With the three of them halfway to the complex, Fred looked towards the front of the other main gate, the gate that leads to the main entrance to the museum. The battle now being visible despite being clouded in the mound of smoke, Fred straightened his back and neck as his legs were steady on the footpads of the bike.

  The smell of smoke clogging their nostrils, and the sounds of death burning their ears, scoured the air around them as they got closer to the battlefield.

  (Fred) The Gemma that I knew of, wouldn’t like for me to just sit this battle out. She would’ve pulled my ear or carried me against my will.

  Fred looked down at both of his hands, his palms smooth and soft as he rolled out a teardrop from his right eye. Swiping away the teardrop with his left hand, he nodded his head sideways three times before he turned his head towards the complex main entrance gate.

  (Fred) I don’t care if I die. I don’t care if I get beaten to a pulp. As long as those soldiers and the rest of our friends and comrades are still breathing, then that’s fine by me.

  ______________________________________________________________________________

  (Quintiles 29, 59 / 8:16PM)

  (Luke, Miles, Jack, and Stan)

  (Miles) Where are we going exactly?

  (Jack) All we need to do is try to listen to the comms right? If we use it, we could track down where those two maniacs are.

  Inside a rge van, four men traveling along the Lagefor highways paved the dimly lit four-ne highway. Looking around the freeway, they took in the emptiness of the four nes, as no cars or trucks were there to block their flow.

  With litter and gss all around the highway, Jack, the driver, kept his eyes peeled as he soon noticed the abundance of many suitcases around the white dotted lines of each ne, doing sharp turns left and right as he put the pedal to the metal.

  (Stan) Hey Jack! Can you not do a sharp turn for one minute?!

  (Jack) Hey, I’m doing my best out of a horrible situation!

  (Luke) Have you guys found anything yet about both Harold and Ryan?

  (Miles) Not much, just a bunch of radio transmissions from some unlucky soldiers…

  Miles, looking down at the radio box in his hand, had on bck headphones, the wire connecting to the radio box as he turned the knob left and right. Since he was in passenger, he had control over the radio, his hands trembling softly as he listened through the radio comms.

  Everyone noticed the ck of communication from Miles, a clear indication that whatever Miles was patching in through was a no-go, looking away as both Luke and Stan went back to their seats.

  Both Stan and Luke looked at each other, giving each other a sigh as they put their hands onto their foreheads, shaking their heads softly. Looking outside through the window, they couldn’t describe much as the night sky dimmed the skyline of the city.

  (Luke’s thoughts) And we still haven’t found both of them… can we catch them at this rate?

  Luke folded his arms as he started to look down onto the van floor, tapping the floor with his left heel repeatedly. Pushing his folded arms onto his chest tightly, he crouched forward as he continued to eye the crusted floor of the van, feeling the humidity around him.

  (Luke’s thoughts) Why do they want to kill us so badly? Are they brainwashed to do so? Are they doing it for revenge?

  Stan noticed Luke’s intensely focused face as he turned the other way, looking out through the window of the van as he looked upon the past setting sun. Putting his right hand on the window, he slowly took a breath in, holding in the air in his lungs as his chest expanded outwards. And slowly, he exhaled back out, the palms and tips of his fingers trickling the gss window, his eyes and face pushed down.

  (Stan’s thoughts) I came a long way, and for what? Am I going to face my problems head-on?

  (Miles) Hey, I’m getting an incoming transmission! It’s one talking about Harold and Ryan!

  (Jack) Oh shit! Take off the wire so we can listen through!

  Miles used his right hand to take off his headphones, putting them down on his p neatly. Using his left hand, he unplugged the wire that connected the radio box to the headset, while at the same time, using his right hand, turning the volume of the box to its limit.

  The static cleared up almost instantly, as both Luke and Stan got out of their thought trance, making them stand up to put their heads close to the little hole in between Miles and Jack. With all of the boys leaning close to the radio box, their faces started to coat with hot sweat, the humidity of the van increasing in temperature.

  (Woman on the Radio) We got two wackos going through the north side of the downtown district! I repeat! We have those two wackos going through the north side of the downtown district!

  Everyone turned their attention to Jack. Putting his left hand on Jack’s right shoulder, Miles focused his eyes on the right side of Jack’s head.

  (Miles) What highway are we on?

  (Jack) Sorry, but I don’t know my nes and such.

  (Miles) And you’re considered to be the best driver out of the group!

  (Jack) Driver, not navigator…

  Miles let go of Jack’s shoulder, clenching his left hand as he turned his attention away from Jack. Looking to his right onto the skyline of the city, he shook his head as he sighed, his lungs expanding outwards.

  Luke however leaned his face into the little hole in between both Jack and Miles, having his face towards Miles.

  (Luke) Hey Miles, give me the map from the passenger glove department!

  (Miles) On it!

  Miles moved the radio box onto the middle seat where both he and Jack were sitting, setting it nicely and neatly so that it wouldn’t tip over. Opening the glove compartment, Miles looked through the stacks upon stacks of papers that flooded the entire station, going through them with difficulty.

  (Mile’s thoughts) Just how disorganized is Gwen!?

  Struggling to look for the map of Lagefor, Miles started to grind his teeth together as his fingers went through the papers more rapidly. Luke, having a bead rolling down his left temple, gave Miles a confused stare, his face pushing down as his eyes started to squint.

  (Luke) Do you need help looking for it?

  (Miles) I don’t know how you can help, but can you at least try to point out if the map is located in these stupid papers?

  (Luke) Uhh Miles, the map is on the bottom of the stack of papers…

  (Miles) What?

  Turning his head towards Luke, Miles’s throat started to quiver as his breath was trapped in his throat, his throat jumping up and down. Putting both of his hands on top of his head, he dug his fingers deep into his scalp, his hand shaking violently from the sudden observation from Luke.

  Miles looked through the stacks of papers again, this time, going for the one that was located right at the bottom. Pulling out a brown rge paper from the bottom of the stack, Miles’s face darkened as his hand trembled softly.

  (Mile’s thoughts) Just fucking kill me…

  ______________________________________________________________________________

  (Miles) Here…

  Looking down as his face continued to darken, Luke pulled out his head and repced it with his right hand. Putting the map into Luke’s hand, Miles turned around to sit back down in his seat, straightening his back as he looked straight at the highway, his eyes focused on the skyline to get his mind off of things.

  With the map in his hands, Luke opened it up, seeing the detailed version of the entire yout of the city of business. His eyes sparkling, he took note of the many districts around the city.

  (Luke) From where he all originated from, we came out of the bar on the south side of the city. And the battles as of now are Benn and Hope on the south side of the downtown district, David and the others at the industrial center in the east, Luna and Gwen at the northern side of the downtown district, and Fred, Gary, and Diego defending the military complex to the west.

  Pointing to each district on the map, Luke’s finger caressed the lining of the old brown paper. Seeing that Stan was into the areas and districts of the city, Luke looked at each district, analyzing the parts of it as Jack spoke with a curious voice.

  (Jack) Just one question. Why is Lagefor considered hilly if there aren't that many hills?

  (Luke) The hills are mostly on the northern side of the city, where most of the rich and upper middle-css people live. The hills sort of curve at the ends of the west and the east side of the city, making the city look only accessible to the south.

  (Stan) Yet the international highway runs up north of the city and straight through the downtown center…

  Luke and Stan also analyzed the many highways around the city, trying to find the highway that all of them were on. Pointing to a specific one, Luke’s eyes widened as he looked up towards Stan, his face dropping a bead of sweat from his forehead.

  (Luke) I think we’re on the northern highway, the hills to the north are to the left of us, and the skyline to the right of us, so…

  (Jack) Oh shit. Then does that mean those two maniacs are close by?!

  Jack gripped the steering wheel tightly, looking around the dimly lit city as the darkness clouded their visibility to tenfold. Having his right hand on the steering wheel, he used his left hand to engage his high beams, having more visibility.

  Miles, on the other hand, looked around the skyline to his right, not seeing anything unusual from the buildings. Pcing the palm of his hand onto his right cheek, he blindly focused his eyes on the high-rising buildings, most notably the highest tower in the city, the Zirardge Tower.

  Stan on the other hand looked through the back window, curiously looking back at them as he noticed a wolf running towards them.

  (Stan’s thoughts) Huh?

  The wolf, barely visible at the beginning of the night, started to multiply into other wolves, a wolf pack already forming in the span of a few seconds. Rubbing the back of his head with his long fingernails, Stan took a step back, his eyes snted at the sight.

  He then turned his attention to the others, mostly at Luke as he was still gazing upon the brown map.

  (Stan) Hey, you guys seeing this? It looks like a pack of wolves? Are they trying to follow us for comfort? Wolves are the most domesticated pets…

  (Luke) Wait, let me see…

  Luke pressed his head towards the back window, noticing the group of wolves coming closer and closer towards the van. Squinting through the darkness, he noticed that the wolves weren’t friendly compared to all the other wolves that he met, as the wolves had their nuzzles drooling with saliva.

  (Luke) Uh no…

  (Stan) What?

  (Luke) Those aren’t normal wolves…

  (Miles, Jack, Stan) Oh shit.

  Miles looked towards the right edge mirror to his side, followed by Jack to the left edge mirror, both their faces turning pale as the wolves began to get closer to the van. Luke, continuing to eye the wolf pack, noticed that a figure wasn’t present in the pack…

  (Luke’s thoughts) But where’s Harold, where could he be—

  The door to the van suddenly opened, unleashing an extraordinary amount of air out.

  (Luke) Ah!

  (Stan) Shit! Grab on!

  Being sucked out of the van, Luke was about to fall onto the asphalt until his colr was grabbed by Stan. Hanging on by a thread, Luke put his arms onto Stan’s right arm, not letting go as Stan held onto the van’s emergency wire with his left hand.

  Seeing Stan keeping Luke an inch away from his life, Miles put his head into the little hole, his face drenching with sweat.

  (Miles) Holy shit!

  (Jack) Things can’t get any worse—

  Sounds of footsteps can be heard on top of the van, causing all four boys to gulp loudly as there was no means to run…