(Prominis 21, 58 / 3:09AM)

(Luke) All she needs is rest…

(Fred) Those damn zompires …

Luke and Fred evaluated the damage done to one of the girls, who was none other than Gemma. Setting her down on the grass, her breathing was raspy and slow, with rashes spreading all across her body, as her body started to heat up from the pain.

(Luke) This isn’t from a zompire … was there a trap where gas hit her?

(Luna) Nope. We saw some nasty-looking zompires that looked yellowish, so me and Gemma decided to cut them up.

(Fred) Luna managed to not get hurt, but Gemma … got scratched by one of them …

Luna was next to Luke as he took in the information, his body shaking as he didn’t want to believe that what Fred was saying was true…

(Luke) So uh … did Gemma—

(Fred) Did you use mustard gas, Luke?

Fred looked intently at Luke, his eyes serious and unwavering. Luke looked down, as he breathed in and out slowly.

(Luke) I… had no other choice.

(Fred) What…

(Luke) We were being chased by that zompire horde, so I decided to use the gas to try to take them out … but I never expected them to just take the pain and continue fighting.

Fred then walked over towards Luke, his face slightly looking up at Luke’s as Fred’s eyes started to water…

(Fred) You knew how dangerous that bomb was … and yet.

(Luke) I’m so sorry…

Fred then grabbed Luke by his collar, his hands shaking uncontrollably as he didn’t want those words to ring true. His eyes remained serious yet tears were starting to form as his eyes wanted to let those waterworks out…

(Fred) You … how could you—

Luna then put her right hand firmly yet gently on Fred’s left hand, looking at Fred with a cold yet gentle face.

(Luna) He had no other choice, Fred.

(Fred) But … but he—

(Luna) He did what he could to survive. If he didn’t use the mustard gas then both him and Loraine would’ve been dead. Sometimes, the price of one can be far better than the price of two—

Fred countered Luna’s hand with his other hand, looking at Luna with furious eyes, as his hands started to uncontrollably shake.

(Fred) If … you fought those yellowish zompires, right? What would you do if those zompires scratched you instead of—

Luna then grabbed Fred’s collar, her eyes glaring.

(Luna) I’m alive, aren’t I?! Why can’t you just accept that what’s done is done? Gemma isn’t going to die! Hope is already trying to get her better dumbass!

Fred rapidly turned his head towards where Hope was, his eyes in shock as he saw Hope treating Gemma with care. Hope had on her left hand an inhaler, and she pressed it against Gemma’s raspy mouth, hoping that Gemma took the chance to get some air out of it.

Luna then put Fred back down on the ground, his face still tattered with tears in his eyes. Looking towards Gemma, who was being well rested and cared for, he slowly walked towards her, with her face gently resting amongst the yellow grass.

Putting his hand onto Gemma’s cheek, he felt the warmness of her head, the blood still inside of her fighting the toxic gas that got inside her veins.

Fred then stood up, looking towards Luke with a sincere yet sorrowful face.

(Fred) I’ll call for help.

Pulling out a black box from his right pocket, Luke instantly noticed what Fred was carrying, his hands shaking slightly by the exterior of the invention.

(Luke) Is that the flashlight signal we made in our first year of training?

(Fred) Yeah, I never got to use it, but maybe, just maybe …

Fred then looked for a place where the device wasn’t going to be underneath anything, putting it several feet away from Gemma as she was underneath a tree. Punching in some numbers and buttons, the device started to light up as it was about to …

(Fred) Maybe it could lead us to the others … so that way we all could—

Shoot a bright white beam towards the night sky.

(Fred) Be together…

As a bright beam shined the entire north side of the city, its intensity and brightness managed to shine the old and molded reflections of glass in the downtown district. Old puddles, glass shards, metals, and things that reflect were creating a light show of mirrors and shows.

Which caught the attention of another group near the center…

In return, another message was brought forth signaling the night sky as well.

(Luke) Hey, I see a red smoke signal coming from near the center…

(Fred) That’s gotta be the others!

(Luna) It’s pretty far away…

(Luke) There’s no time.

Luke then put the unconscious Cameron back on his back, followed by Fred putting Gemma on his back too. Before they went, Luke noticed that Luna was cleaning a sword that was filled with black tar and yellowish dust, with a white rag.

(Luke) You used a sword to take out those zompires, didn’t you?

(Luna) Someone has to.

(Luke) But what if they managed to bite you—

(Luna) Stop worrying about me, you idiot! I’ll handle myself! Just focus on defending Cameron and yourself!

Luna’s eyes twitching with her cheeks blushing red. Once the group was about to head off, Fred had one more question as he was staring at Cameron’s sleeping face.

(Fred) Forgot to mention, but what happened to Ryan? Is he with the others?

Luke and Loraine stopped in their tracks, trying not to look saddened or disheartened. Not looking at Fred, Luke pointed towards the red lingering smoke signal.

(Luke) Once we reach the third stage or take a break, I’ll tell you everything…

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(Prominis 19, 56 / 11:43AM)

(Stan) Hey Fred, you good?

(Fred) pants … yeah, just … pants … head on without me …

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

After their first brutal training course, Fred lay on the short grass field, the grass sinking into Fred’s body as he closed his eyes.

Stan knew that Fred just wanted some time to rest alone, so he signaled Diego and Gary to come with him, dragging both of them so that they would leave Fred alone.

(Gary) Why does he get to be alone?

(Diego) Yeah! I’m probably more tired than him!

(Stan) You guys are wimps, just let him rest, he's weaker than you guys combined…

As the friend group headed off to lunch, everybody else kept up the pace, leaving Fred with his grass.

(Fred’s thoughts) I just wish Luke wasn’t in the infirmary … then again, Jack was also taken to the infirmary too…

But there was one girl who looked at him, her green eyes gazing at the 12-year-old silver-haired boy. Since he was the same age as her, she looked towards one of her newest friends whom she met.

(???) Hey Hope, save me a spot okay?

(Hope) Why? Did something catch your eye?

(???) … s-sort of…

Flustered, the black-haired girl walked in the grassy field, her eyes remaining solely on Fred. As her way to get his attention, she blocked the sun’s rays on his face, her face overshadowing as she looked at him with a smile.

(Fred’s thoughts) Who is she?

Fred saw the dark-haired, green-eyed girl, her skin slightly tan as she had funny-shaped ears. Her nose was normal, followed by her eyelids, and her hair was messy as it was all over the place. She wore a black T-shirt and blue pants, followed by brown boots.

Fred started to sweat from the corners of his eyes, as he tidied his shirt and fixed his hair. Finding his shyness adorable, the girl giggled, her hand covering her mouth as she found his face amusing.

(???) Why are you blushing … giggles … your name’s Fred right?

(Fred) Yeah … uhm … sorry… w-w-what’s yours?

(???) giggles … The name’s Gemma.

Gemma then stuck her hand towards Fred, her hands smooth and carefree as her face lit up with a bright smile.

(Gemma) Wanna walk me to lunch?

Fred’s cheeks flustered bright red, as he took Gemma’s hand with his. His palms were drenched with sweat, and Gemma looked down to hear a slight noise coming from their hands.

(Gemma) Are you this nervous around women?

(Fred) W-W-W-What?

Gemma then started to giggle loudly, covering her mouth again and closing her eyes. Fred’s face was stiff and pale, his eyes avoiding any eye contact with Gemma’s.

(Gemma) Relax, I’m not going to bite …

She then dragged Fred to where the lunchroom was, her face as bright as the afternoon sun, the two teenagers running in the field on the hot day.

______________________________________________________________________________

(Prominis 21, 58 / 3:40AM)

(Miles) Shit, we shook the hornet's nest with this one!

(Stan) Just keep shooting!

A major defense holdout was ensuing right at the gate of the military complex, the gate to enter the third stage.

A rain of bullets rained amongst the incoming horde of zompires that were trying to get the six other candidates waiting for the others. Their guns and weapons are loading, reloading, shooting, and repeating the action over and over again as they hold out.

(Stan) Gary! Diego! How many bullets do we have left?

(Gary) We’re down to our last munitions!

(Diego) Should’ve looted more of that damn gun store we saw in the first stage!

Miles wielded a little handgun, a gun that he wasn’t well off with, his aim on hitting the zompires awful, as he could only hit them from up close.

(Miles’s thoughts) I wish that I had a shotgun with me…

Stan wielded an AR-18, a weapon perfect for him as he managed to hit a couple of lucky shots.

(Stan’s thoughts) This gun is perfect, but …

Stan noticed that he had only one to two cartridges left, his face twisting with anger.

(Stan’s thoughts) Why does this gun have rare fucking ammunition?!

Gary and Diego wielded AutoMags, weapons that are perfect for their ideal tastes.

(Gary) Pass me more ammunition!

(Diego) Here! When are the rest of them coming anyway?

(Stan) Just hold them off!

The rain of gunshots ricocheted across the street and blocks, the sounds deafening around them.

(Miles) Sean! Sean! How’s the left defense going with you and Jack?

(Sean) Do you want me to answer that right now? I’m down to my last cartridge!

Sean wielded an M42 semi-auto sniper rifle, a weapon that Sean sucked at.

(Sean’s thoughts) I wish this weapon was more automatic, it just shoots one at a time!

(Jack) Hey Sean! Wanna trade weapons?!

(Sean) Hell no! Your shotgun is probably out of ammo!

(Jack) Just give me the fucking—wait … are those?

Jack noticed far from the distance, six to seven other figures running towards them. Focusing his eyes more closely, ignoring all the gunshots, rain of bullets, and the agonizing screams of zompires, he figured out what those figures running towards them were…

(Jack) It’s them! It’s the rest of everybody!

(Stan’s thoughts) No way…

(Stan) Give them covering fire!

In an instant, all six boys decided to rain down whatever was left of their ammo, the bullets managing to shoot down a majority of the zompires that were trying to get them.

Luke and the others saw the others fending off the zompires with the grit of their teeth. In an instant, Luna sprinted towards the zompires, not caring if the rain of bullets would hit her.

In her ballad of dance, she used her right-handed sword to slash her way to the group, her sword sharp enough to cut through the zompire’s skin and her arm strong enough to push through its heart. And if a zompire gots jumpy, she grabbed a hold of the zompire’s skull by gripping it with her left hand.

(Luna) Bring it!

In an almost perfect precision of movement, Luna began maliciously slashing the zompires one by one, her feet almost gliding through the pavement as she continued her ballad of giving out death.

(Stan’s thoughts) What the hell is she thinking? Is she slashing them up knowing that we might make an accident and shoot her?

In an instant, Stan and the others' weapons and guns stopped working, their cartridges and ammo no more as they had no means to defend themselves. Stan looked towards Miles, giving each other a nod as they encouraged the other four to follow them.

(Miles) Get the door open!

(Gary) What about the others?!

(Miles) They’ll catch up!

(Sean) Shit, we still have some zompires on us!

(Jack) I thought Luna had the zompire audience!

A couple of zompires managed to sprint their way towards the boys, who were prying the door with all their strength. Miles, who was the strongest one there, patted Stan on the back before he found a wooden baseball bat lying near the rubble. His face was gentle and relaxed.

(Miles’s thoughts) Reminds me of the glory days…

Miles then sprinted towards the zompires, his mood turning from the drop of a hat. Seeing the first zompire, he swung the bat with all his strength at the zompire, his muscles contracting and expanding as the bat hit the zompire with unbelievable force.

Knocking out the zompire, he then made his way toward the other zompire, using the same godly strength as he used the same as the one he hit. But once he hit the zompire with the bat, the wooden bat broke in half, its wood leaving off a sharp wooden stake meant for—

(Mile’s thoughts) Perfect!

Miles then stabbed the second zompire making him break the bat, the broken wood stabbing the zompire’s heart, causing it to glitch out as it melted. Focusing his entire attention, his eyes averted to the other zompire that soon got up from the hit, and he then took out the steak from the second zompire and stabbed the first one, his eyes unwavering as he reached for the heart yet again.

With both zompires dead, Miles looked over to the second group that was getting close.

(Miles’s thoughts) Please make it!

Fortunately, Luna finished her deathly ballad that eliminated all of the zompires that were giving Miles and the others a hard time, but there was a slight problem…

(Luke’s thoughts) Come on! Push forward!

Fred was staggering behind, his stamina soon dwindling as the gate to the final stage was closed.

(Stan) Hurry Fred!

The more Fred ran, the more motion can be felt along his back—

(Gemma) cough cough … Fred?

Fred noticed that Gemma woke up from her resting nap, but his eyes remained focused on the gate, hoping to safely get himself and her into the third stage.

(Fred) Don’t worry Gemma … I’ll promise you I’ll get you to the other side…

Luna made it to the gate first, followed by Hope behind her. The two girls watch as Luke and Fred make a mad dash to the gate, with another batch of zompires running towards them.

(Luna) Luke!

(Hope) Please hurry!

Luke was outpacing Fred in terms of stamina, his body slowly yet surely reaching the gate that would grant them the chance to become elite—

Fred then tripped and fell…

(Stan) FRED!!

Barely having any strength to run more, Fred was at his limits in terms of strength, his arms groggy as his legs couldn’t take the extra weight anymore. Luke noticed that Fred and Gemma might be the horde’s dinner, so Luke…

(Luke’s thoughts) Fred’s going to make it! Fred’s going to make it! Fred’s going to make—

(Stan’s thoughts) DAMN IT ALL!!

Not only Luke, but Stan also was hellbent on saving Fred, their mind clouding with dangerous what-ifs. Giving Cameron to Miles, Luke and Stan made a mad dash towards Fred, hoping to get both Fred and Gemma as soon as possible.

(Luna’s thoughts) My sword is already really dull… shit!

Checking her sword, her weapon was on the verge of breaking, its metal already brittle and chipping away. As Luke and Stan were halfway to getting Fred—

(Gemma) Thank you for taking care of me…

(Fred) What—

Gemma then pushed herself off of Fred’s back.

(Fred) GEMMA!!

As she pushed herself with enough force to go back a few feet away, it also pushed Fred a couple of feet forward, giving Stan and Luke a lucky shot of getting to the gate…

(Fred) Get the hell off of me!

Stan carried Fred, ignoring all the hard kicks and punches that Fred was causing. Luke wanted to get Gemma too but …

(Luke) Oh no…

Gemma then looked at the distraught Fred, as her last thoughts of the man she wanted to be with were her last…

Fred then looked back one last time until he saw himself in her eyes, her bright green eyes sparkling with an unbridled future that was never to come.

Her body was slowly eaten as the sharp fangs of dozens and upon dozens of zompires slowly ate the dinner that they happily waited for. Her vocals cried out in agony, with her body shaking in pain as the zompires ate every part of her with joy. Her legs spazzed out, her arms trying to block the horde yet those were eaten too. Upon her last breaths, she shrieked until the zompires chewed them out.

Everyone looked back with horror, not wanting to see the full display of the cruelty that was subjected upon Gemma, except for Fred, who remained silent as the girl he wanted to be with slowly and cruelly screamed her way to the afterlife…

Silently but rushingly, Luke and everybody closed the door behind them, leaving them to the last stage of The Array…