Stage One: Hope in Darkness

What's This Button Do? (Annabelle)

Through my scope I saw it all. Lara setting up an ambush. The guards flooding the streets and converging on their location. Then the magic happened. I couldn't stop the smile that tugged at my lips as the guards willing and eagerly fell into her trap. They entered the kill box she had created with sure steps.

A crackling of sound behind me catches my attention. Sounds like orders coming over a radio. Surely they wouldn't be so arrogant as to put those ear pieces in right? Hmmm. I leave my rifle and move closer to the console. Brightly lit buttons glare back at me, well here it goes. I start smashing them. Horrible screeches of sound echo over the static. I rush back over to see if what I hoped would happen did. A huff and scraping laugh leaves me. Through my scope I can just make it out. Guards holding onto their ears left and right.

I don't have an unlimited amount of ammo so I try to use it sparingly. I only shoot to save one of ours, those who find themselves at the end of a gun with no chance to fire back. Some of the guards try to drag their injured to safety, but they are mowed down as well. It is a hail of gunfire and splashes of crimson. A storm of bullets that so far shows no sign of stopping. The guards are yelling out.

Streets away I watch as they call in their greatest weapons. The walkers. I keep an eye on Lara. She seems to be fairing pretty well down there. She looks like a true leader. Even as the walkers arrive she doesn't even flinch. Though killing them proves to be harder than the soldiers. Walkers need a headshot to go down and humans just need to be pumped full of lead. The lack of training for the prisoners is making itself known.

It is starting to look bad down there. I fire endlessly, headshots are a specialty of mine but I am going to run out of ammo before they are all dead. That I know for sure. It seems the master had been storing up on walkers for a while now. Probably for this exact reason. He would rather abandon and destroy this place than let anyone else get their hands on it. If he can't have it then no one can.

A quick check, three boxes of ammo left. So sixty shots, best make them count. I can see panic in the movements of our people. A fear of walkers had become instilled into the very fibers of our beings. It had to be for our survival. That fear kept us safe. Right now though it was working to our detriment. Shots go wide as panic sets in. Shit. A deep breath. I can't afford to panic too. They need my steady hands.

In...

Out...

In...

Out..

I squeeze the trigger. Another walker falls.

I catch movement in the edges of my vision. A Large truck comes barreling down the streets. Mounted guns. Shit, shit, shit! I swing my gun, training it on the speeding vehicle. Black hair and a wild smile. I breathe a sigh of relief. Never thought I would be happy to see that psycho.

I recognize the driver too. One of Lara's friends we let out. Sam, she said his name was. They show no signs of slowing as they smash into the horde of zombies. Blood sprays, painting the whole scene in a muddy, rusty red. Good going there psycho.

Lara climbs into the truck next to the psycho and they start speeding through the streets. Headed right in my direction. Well looks like my ride is on its way. They shatter, splinter and disintegrate everything that gets in their way.

All this killing really shouldn't make me this happy but I couldn't help it. The place that had haunted my every thought for years was being torn down. Right before my eyes I got to watch with the best seat in the house as my nightmares were purged. The place that I had been running from was finally going to be gone. No more running, no more hiding. This place wasn't just going to be destroyed but made into something new. Something full of hope and prosperity instead of fear and pain. The world is finally starting to make sense. I watch the freed slaves, firing shots into unsuspecting walkers, rippers and guards. I can't help for much longer.

I stop firing into the crowd when my rifle ammo is nearly out. One magazine left, ten rounds for do or die. I sling the rifle across my back. Moving back over to Hannibal. His harness is ripped apart. What was once my normal sized furry friend is now a massive pile of fur and claws. It seems that the serum he inhaled has changed his genetic make up. It caused him to grow exponentially larger. This was going to be interesting.

I was weird but I was suddenly starving, and I had a little time on my hands before the other got here. Pulling out all the food from my bag I put some aside for my boy along with his bowl and fill it with water. As I start to dig into the tough jerky I see his little nose twitch. Even in his sleep he can smell that stuff. I pick up one of the pieces of jerky from his share. Gently I place it in his mouth. His mouth starts to move, chewing the food. His eyes open and I breathe a sigh of relief. I don't know what I would have done without you, my very good boy. He crawls to his bowl and downs the water and the rest of the jerky within a few moments. Guess I'll have to figure something out now that he was so big. It was gonna be pretty hard to keep up with his dietary needs.

I down a protein bar. Hannibal was awake now, that meant we could get the hell out of here now. No need for me to stick around here. I sign at him, motioning to the blood on the floor. 'Track' He starts sniffing around the drying pool of blood. Once he has the scent he moves off to a door on one side of the room. Time to end this. Once and for all.