473

As the survivors break from the caravan for the bottom of the hill, the infected packs combine at the edge of the highway into one horde. Their moans turn to growls, and more decayed bodies rush ahead and weave through the vehicles and wreckage. Under the blaze of the morning sun in the clear Colorado sky, the chemical smell of burnt grease mixes with the stench of rot. The hill rises to the west, so steep you can't see the top, and the dense clumps of spruce and pine stand maze-like.

Benji and Nathan are first up the fifty-yard slope, maneuvering through the low branches and clearing a path for the others. Rachel, Gina, and Jaime fire down at the undead ahead of the mob, giving time for the rest of the survivors to start up the incline. Since the field team killed off most of their zombies, the combined horde poses less of a challenge than it could have.

"Let's go, Ma!" Reilly shouts over the clamor of the infected. He holds her under one arm and leads her with careful steps up the rise. The woman's face shows her struggle, and she digs her cane into the loose dirt as her feet shuffle along the cleared path.

"I'm trying, Reilly," she says in a shaky voice.

Parker and Kelly maneuver up the incline, while Brody and Madison rush ahead through a thicker part of the forested hill.

"Where are you two going?" Nathan yells to the twins as he rips a branch down from a tree.

"Scouting the top of the hill," Brody says. "There could be zombies up there."

The horde flows through the caravan like river water around stones. They ignore the vehicles and focus on the sight and scent and sounds of the living, drawn by an unseen force to bite and infect. Their faces bear the marks of decay, and those in front show teeth as they bark in primal madness, while those behind follow in a languid parade of death. They move towards your group with no thoughts of their own but pulled by the gathering until it's their turn for a taste of flesh.

The crack, pop, and boom of gunfire rips through the forest in sonic waves, and the bodies of the first few undead fall to the dirt and tumble down the incline, dragging those behind them. At the base of the hill, Bailey, Lopez, Church, and Woody fight back the zombies making the incline.

As the zombie horde swarms the bottom of the hill, you consider the possible actions you can take. You could join the team defending the hill, helping to kill off the horde and giving time for the non-fighters of the group to climb the hill. Or you can rally them to fight, inspiring and actively leading them in order to increase their morale. You could help clear a path to the top, which would allow the others to reach it faster.

You gaze across the hill at Reilly and Nora. While he helps her up the hill, your group loses a capable fighter. The faster she makes it up the hill, the sooner Reilly can help deal with the horde. Or you can head up to the top of the hill by yourself. It's safer at the top, or at least that's the current theory.