Part Twenty Eight

Eden: Paradise Lost

Part Twenty Eight

Elsewhere, Zero Company Stronghold

Lyndsey marvel's as flood lights bathe the area with light amiat the darkness as the Zero Company Stronghold was a converted stretch of ten miles bordering the rim of the northern part of fool's landing which had been clear opposite of where the attacks had occurred. Giant walls formed a horseshoe around the Stronghold as two tanks moved to each side of the bases opening, as the convoy rolled in heavy as dozens of tents, shacks, and buildings rested all along the area as Mary got out and looked at the groups sizable forces.

Mary: Welcome to Zero Company.

The group marvels as they come together as a few soldiers bring Hockmeyer and the other two towards her.

Soldier: What shall we do with them?

Mary: Throw them in the brig.

The three are pushed and moved in a single file as Miles spots three people coming towards them from a nearby hangar.

Miles: Son of a bitch

Lance smiles at them as Terry wears his broken expression still as Makayla and Brianna hug. Lance shakes their hands as he looks about.

Lance: Glad to see you were picked up, we ourselves got lucky that we ran into a smaller convoy combing for survivors out our way.

Mary: How'd they fair?

Lance: You're looking at it.

Amber: Hey where's ..what's her name? And the computer guy?

Terry: They didn't make it.

Brianna: Mandy...

Lance: Kris?

The group watch as the last of the convoy vehicles move inside as the tanks close up along with the main entrance doors as the gunships begin to appear and land on helipads as nearby, DJ and a intimidating looking black male come over to Lance and crew.

DJ: Ladies, gentlemen, this is my second in command, Anthony Stephens.

Lance: We've met. Man saved my ass.

Kris, Nick, Rebecca and Shane come out of the gunship as Cayce powers it down, the Four spotting the others as they rush over and finally reunite all together as Kris and Lance hug as Shane looks emotionally as he sees Terry and he hugs in to comfort as Nick and Rebecca are just happy to be with their friends and comrades again. DJ lets them have their moment as he watches them keenly.

Lance: I'm glad to see you're well, comrade.

Kris: You're fucking one to talk.

DJ: I need a debrief, lots happened and I need all the Intel I can. So we'll put you up in some quarters and meet in fifteen.

Kris: Sounds good, thank you.

DJ nods and heads off with Anthony and some grunts.

The group split up as they're led into a building with cots and dividers set up as Terry goes and unloads his bag, as he takes his gun belt off and sets it over the post at the tail of the cot as Terry sits down and stares blankly as Amber noticed him and goes and sits beside him. She touches his knee as she smiles but doesn't get one back.

Amber: It's probably dumb to ask but ..how are you holding up?

Terry: Max was my best friend. I've known him for 20 years. He's gone. My parents. They were the greatest people I ever knew. They're gone. The love of my life...I had proposed to her six weeks before the outbreak...lost her first. Now most of the crew I ran with...they're all gone, besides Dustin and Lance. The last person I tried to be intimate with...share some kind of connection...had to put her down too. So let me ask you, if you were me, how would you feel?

Amber nods and goes quiet as she just takes his hand and squeezed it as Terry silently begins to sob.

Elsewhere

Dj, Anthony, Kris, Lance, Mary and Shane sit in a war room inside of a building a few meters from the groups new quarters as DJ was standing and rubbing his head as he had a TV monitor showing the activity around Eden.

DJ: We're losing this war. A war we cannot win. Our first convoy, we scooped up three hundred people. The second, maybe ninety. This last one...well, it was you and yours. And that's it. I've lost 4 dozen good men so far, and are relying on a mostly makeshift civilian militia as of right now. The zombies have become less frequent around the area, but we know that can always change.

Lance: They have intelligent ones now, smart enough and capable of being able to herd horde's and direct them.

Shane: I've seen it first hand. These Blood Type 0 zombies get a hold of some brains and instantly they can control all in their path. Speech enhances, tactics come into play, the hunger intensifies.

Kris: But they can be killed?

Anthony: Blowing them into gory bits, hardly an easy kill.

DJ: But a kill, nonetheless.

Mary: Look, in nine hours general weavers company should be here, all we've got to do is hold out until then.

DJ: That won't be as easy as we think.

Kris: Why's that?

Anthony: Cayce picked up in an infrared photo flying over Prime Central.

DJ brings up the image as the group watch as thousands upon thousands of red dots are formed together into a giant red splotch.

Lance: (In Russian) Fucking Christ.

Kris: What on God's earth is that?

DJ: Zombies. Every zombie within EDEN

Anthony: and growing exponentially. That's from an hour ago.

Mary: Why would they be forming like that?

Shane: Because someone is gathering them...we've got a type 0 alpha on our hands don't we.

DJ: Looks like. And if your information is correct, it's got abilities to control this horde and make them do what it wants. And if it comes here, we might not make it to dawn.

The group look each other over as the picture of the red blotch suddenly turns into thousands of moaning undead as far as the eye could see, as they walked and ran side by side, rotting corpse to rotting corpse as the mindless shuffle and moan in unison as Kolton lead the way, screeching loudly as it's wail carries for miles and draws in the straggling corpses from all about as the Mega Horde marches through the barren streets.

DJ sits down as Lance stood and paced.

Lance: So what now?

DJ: Pray they don't come this way, bout all I've got right now.

Kris: And if they do, then what?

DJ: We'll fight to the death.

Anthony: It's about all we can do. There is no where to go. Every path is condensed with the dead from all over the state. And we've only got a few gunships so getting everyone out is impossible, we'd be leaving too many behind with nowhere to go until the General's company gets here and directs us to any fall backs. We're stuck.

Lance: Lovely.

Kris: What do we do about Finch and the two terrorists he has with him?

DJ: We're going to interrogate them. Zero company style. Usually yields results.

Mary: I doubt they'll talk...

DJ: we both know at least one will.

DJ smiles at her as Anthony heads out, DJ standing as he follows him out of the room as Mary shakes as Shane eyes them and then turns to Kris.

Shane: I don't trust them, not one fucking bit.

Lance: Me either, but what can we do?

Kris: I don't see what...

Mary: I'm sorry...

The three look at her as she holds her arm, her head hung low.

Mary: I'm sorry I brought you y'all here.

Kris: why? What's wrong, Mary?

Mary: They're right, Kris. We can't trust them. We can never trust them, never.

Kris: What do you know? why would you hail them then?!

Mary: I thought about hailing them... but I didn't. I don't know how they found us, but they did.

Shane: Who are these people, Mary?

Mary: they're monsters. They staged a coup about a year ago, but everyone kept it quiet when it didn't go to plan. President Geer made a deal. Still don't know for sure what that was. I think the president was afraid of their arsenal, and their numbers...and their ruthlessness. the president figured it'd be easier to just let them control their own little piece of paradise. These men are traitors, looters, rapists, murderers, just all around sadistic assholes.

DJ and Anthony come into the brig as Finch sits near Hockmeyer who was standing with his arms folded as his wounds were bandaged as Adam sits alone, lost in thought as DJ nods to a Soldier as the Soldier opens the cell as DJ and Anthony step in.

Kris: And you were part of this outfit?

Mary: I was the only female high ranking member. It had its perks at first and I didn't mind their methods. in the end it all became too much, what we were doing. I had to leave, and I swore to secrecy so that they would let me go. I doubt we'll be so lucky if they catch onto us.

Shane: How'd they find us, Mary?

Mary: Going out that far, there had to have been a distress beacon on someone and it wasn't me. I thought I saw the company mark...but I tried to talk myself out of it until they found us...it was on...

DJ stares Hockmeyer down as Hockmeyer smiles.

Hockmeyer: Took you long enough to get to me.

DJ: Shut up. What the hell were you doing out there?!

Finch: Umm, do we know you?

Hockmeyer: Mr. Finch, this is DJ Barnes, the man you got in contact with for my services.

Anthony uncuffs Hockmeyer, then Finch and then Adam as Hockmeyer pulls a small blinking device from his boot.

Hockmeyer: In the bit of time before they caught me again I was able to trip it and hide it in the boot. You guys sure took your sweet ass time though.

DJ: It would've been easier to find you hadn't someone knocked out the goddamn power!

Hockmeyer: The failsafe protocols I had you install should've protected all the equipment here at camp...

DJ: It did, from being fried you dumbass. It didn't keep them being powered off until the central hub was restored, we had to use up most of our backup generators to keep shit from being overrun.

Hockmeyer: Eagle, I thought...

DJ punches Hockmeyer in the stabbed shoulder as he screams and goes to his knees as DJ then kicks him twice in the chest.

DJ: To think I let you take initiative on this, Hockmeyer. You disappointed me.

Anthony: You should've picked me.

DJ: A mistake I won't make twice.

Finch: Can someone talk to me please...

DJ: Ah, let's. Care to explain the gas'd up private jet we found in our emergency wing?

Finch: Umm..no?

DJ: You guys weren't planning to leave without us were you? That went against the desk if you were. Punishable by death, as far as I'm concerned.

Adam: Sir...

Anthony: Keep your goddamn civilian mouth shut.

DJ: Who the hell is he by the way, Hockmeyer?

Hockmeyer: The funding, sir.

DJ: Ah. Your money was greatly appreciated.

Adam doesn't say a word as DJ looks them over.

DJ: so, that jet, it can hold at least what? eight people as it's currently stocked?

Hockmeyer: Yeah, about.

DJ: Good. Well you can count me and Anthony onboard. Correct?

Hockmeyer: Yes, sir.

DJ: Okay good. We've got a few guys watching the area, just in case.

Finch: Don't trust us?

DJ: Never.

Hockmeyer: We good to leave then?

DJ: No, we'll get blown out the sky by our own men. No, we wait till that horde shows, get most of our men wiped out trying to keep them at bay, and once they overrun the base we'll be halfway to the hangar and gone before they get even close to that area.

Finch: What about General weavers battalion? That's 300,000 strong that'll be here around dawn!

Hockmeyer: He's got a point.

DJ: If it comes to that, we'll fend off the base till they arrive, assimilate into the generals forces and as they begin their sweep of the city we'll simply slip out.

Anthony: Problem with that, sir is the ones who brought them here.

DJ: What about them?

Anthony: Can we trust them to stay in line? Or should we just deal with them now?

Finch: Kill em! Kill them and do it now! They are direct followers of General Weaver's, they exist only to cause problems!

Hockmeyer: They're smart. Could be a substantial threat. And I wouldn't mind getting back at them for my arm and leg...

DJ: We'll deal accordingly, but we're not doing anything brash, these aren't civilians we can just butcher and toss around, we'll play it smart.

Finch: ask what are you going to do with us?

DJ: You're part of my company now. Welcome to Zero Squad, gentlemen.

DJ and Anthony walk out as the three are left with a silence and an open cell.

DJ: Bring the Widowmaker to my quarters.

Anthony: You sure about that?

DJ: It's been too long, Anthony.

Anthony: What about the group we just brought in?

DJ: Keep eyes and ears on them at all times, be careful with/when you take the civilian women. Don't need to draw too much attention.

Anthony: And what about...the games?

DJ: Hmm...take one of the men from the group, just be sure to do it discreetly.

Anthony: I will. Thank you, boss.

DJ: Bring, Mary. Then go have fun.

Anthony smiles and heads off as DJ whistles and walks towards his quarters.

End of Part Twenty Eight.