Meanwhile

June 24, 2075

0955 CDT

Near Winner Tower, South Dakota

Rachel Cooper's Point of View

“Oh shit!” Captain Duy cries in horror as their car crashes.

Gasp!

“What happened?! Report?! God fucking damn it!” Lieutenant Grey shouts into Howard’s communicator as the connection slowly cuts off.

“Hey, I’m sure they’re ok, k?” I say.

“It sounded like they just died in a horrific car crash,” Howard says in a snarky tone.

I am fed up!

“Well, who asked you, Howard?!” I ask.

“I’m just being realistic, R. Cooper,” Howard states with a shrug.

“No, you’re bein’ a real jerk! You shouldn’t always assume the worst!” I say.

“You shouldn’t always assume the best, either,” Howard says. “Life isn’t always happy and positive. It’s funny how you can’t see how much trouble we’re in, despite having the best vision in the squad. We are literally crawling on all fours against glass and concrete. Below us is certain death, the way we came from is flooded with zombies by now, and the only thing ahead of us is more death!”

Popping bubblegum never ceases to relieve my stress so I will continue to do it.

“Your pessimistic juices are affectin’ the rest of us!” I say.

“You say it’s pessimistic juices, but I say it’s reality. Maybe I should keep releasing my pessimistic juices because some people can’t see how bad things are. God, your optimistic crap reminds me of the Captain. You both think everything will be alright for us when you should always assume the worst,” Howard impolitely nags.

“You’ll never get chicks with that kind of negative attitude!” I say.

“Irrelevant,” Howard denies in haste.

“BOTH OF YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP!” Sonya roars like a tigress. “Look, I get it,” Lieutenant Grey quickly calms down. “We’re all stressed out, and the day isn’t even close to being over. Being on top of this bridge isn’t helping things either, especially after hearing the connection with Duy and the others get cut off. But arguing back and forth about how bad shit is or isn’t won’t help anything. I’m worried about them too, but we have to take care of ourselves first before we can help them. So just shut your mouths and keep moving forward. Understand?!”

*

Ruby Redheart’s Point of View

“Do you guys always argue this much, Ruby?” Zachary asks in wonder.

“Only on the good days,” I say.

Ugh! The Captain and the others are in trouble, and we’re sitting here crawling like babies! Sigh. At least Zachary is keeping me company. He’s near my three while Maurice and Michelle are several meters to my twelve. We’re like halfway to the other end of the bridge, I think? Spreading apart from each other is smart. The last thing we need to deal with is the glass breaking. Moving across one by one became impossible when dozens of undead paparazzi decided to ambush us.

“The irritating one calling the others irritating is hilarious to me,” Michelle snickers like a little kid.

“We don’t have room for another comedian, Ms. Vixen! And we just met, so don’t act like you know me, k?” I say.

“Relax, cardinal. I’m just trying to ease up the tension. I like you guys and no offense, but it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that you’re the annoying one in the group,” Michelle flaps her gums.

“What she means is that your personality makes you sparkle the most, Rubes,” Zachary defends me.

Rubes must be my nickname! Wait a second. Nicknames are my thing! Ah, I guess my amazing amazingness is spreading faster than I realized.

“Yeah, that’s totally what she means,” Maurice snickers in sarcasm.

“Hey, think what you want, but Squad Zeus would be boring without me. Just call it Squad Drew at that point, but this bad mofo right here keeps things exciting and unpredictable,” I say.

I’m so awesome, but these guys just don’t know it yet.

“I believe it. I got to experience the wrath of Ruby Redheart firsthand,” Zachary says with a soft smile, slowly shifting into a gloomy one. “My own squad was interesting like yours and kept me happy before they…”

“Maurice!!!” Michelle screams in horror.

He fucking fell through the glass?! Fuck! We-we can’t save him! He’s reaching out, but we can’t do a damn thi-

“Michelle!” Maurice bellows in agony as his body hits the floor.

Shit! He landed right in the middle of the undead!

“Guys, h-help! I can’t… feel… my legs! Please! I don’t want to die!!!” Maurice begs in tears.

“Hang on, we’re coming!” Zachary shouts back.

Zachary put a rope anchor on the concrete?! Wait. He’s not actually gonna-

“I’m going down there to save him!” Zachary says.

“Agh! Fuck! Fuck! NO!” Maurice shrieks in sheer torment.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

It’s too late…

“Shit. I’m coming!” Zachary foolishly rushes into action.

“Zachary, stop! We can’t save him,” Michelle hopelessly pleads.

He’s already halfway down the rope!

“Screw you! I refuse to lose anybody else in this fucking world! I can’t watch my friend get eaten in front of me!” He shouts back as he touches down, prepared to open fire.

“That idiot! I can’t leave him behind, Ruby. He’s the only one I have left,” she cries in a mixture of emotions as she quickly follows.

I have to help them!

“Ruby! Don’t even think about it,” stupid Sonya says as she slowly approaches. “We can’t save them. Maurice’s death was an unfortunate accident, but the others made the rash choice of going down there. All we have to do is stay up here until we reach the tower,” she selfishly explains in her shallow calm, yet stern tone.

Of course, she says that. She’s willing to let others die and justifies it by saying she’s protecting us. She did it to get us inside the parking garage, and now she’s doing it again!

“Screw you, Sonya!” I say. “We have to at least try because they’re our allies! I can’t just watch people die when I could’ve done something about it! Not again. I’m, I’m not like you! I have a heart, and I don’t care if you hate me, but I have to try.”

Ignore her and go down the rope!

Fuck. I’m going to get in so much trouble for defying a superior’s orders, but it’s worth it because she’s making the wrong call.

“She doesn’t fucking get it. She just does what she wants whenever she wants,” Sonya rants aloud in frustration. “Rachel, Drew, take a position on the other end of the bridge. Drew, you find a way in and Rachel, you cover us from above, and then throw down a rope for us so we can get back up!” She says.

“We?” Billy Boy asks in confusion.

“Be careful, ya’ll!” Rachel pleads from above.

*

Ok, I might be in way over my head. The sound of automatic gunfire fills the air, Sonya and Billy are halfway down the rope from my six, and Michelle and Zachary are fighting for their lives at my twelve! Wait! Z-Zachary is getting a little too close to the zombies. Way too close!

“Zachary, get down!” I say as I shoot at the zombies that are close to him.

Keep fucking shooting! Don’t let them hurt him! Oh m-maybe coming down here was a stupid idea. E-especially since Maurice’s shrieks of pain have stopped. I don’t think, I don’t know why this is happening. He must’ve passed out from the pain, died of blood loss, his vocal cords torn out, tongue ripped, or… all of the above.

“No, not again!” Zachary helplessly yells as the blockade of zombies prevents him from reaching Maurice.

“Zachary, it’s too late! Step back before they get you too!” Michelle urges as she continues to fire.

Wait, what’s going on? Everything is slowing down. Everything has been muffled, and my chest feels so tight. Oh no! Not again! Everything’s turning gray again! Maurice can’t be dead. We were just talking to each other a few minutes ago! There’s no way he’s dead! But… we had no chance of saving him. His last moments were filled with unimaginable pain, and the only thing his friends could do was watch. I wonder if his last thoughts were filled with betrayal or peace?

I can’t do this shit! The New World is so fucking scary!

Wait. Something is slowly creeping by my left eye. Is that… a gun barrel?

What a loud ass gunshot! My fucking left ear hurts!

“What the hell are you doing?! Get up and get your shit together now, Ruby Redheart!” Sonya’s ringing voice orders.

I-I zoned out. She killed an ugly that was coming at me from my two! Umm, the gunfire is becoming less frequent, so that means that we’re about to be fucked!

Shit! A zombie at my twelve! Where’s my fucking gun? Sonya?! She doesn’t see it because she’s covering my nine!

“Ruby! Duck!” Billy Boy shouts from my six, followed by him stabbing a zombie. “Lieutenant?!” He pleads for help.

Oh god! There’s a shitload of dry blood dripping a mere few inches away from my face. I can’t stop myself from looking up.

Ugh! Don’t fucking vomit. Billy’s machete is wrenched deep into the disgusting guts of the zombie! He fucking missed, but Sonya just sent the fucker’s head flying!

Billy impaled it with a stab to the cranium to prevent a rapid mutation, while Michelle and Zachary were retreating!

“Is Ruby ok?! She’s not-” Zachary quickly asks in co-

“She’s fine. She just had another panic attack,” Sonya interrupts as she kneels to make eye contact with me.

“Th-They just devoured him,” I say. “They fucking ate him alive, like he was fucking dinner! They treated him like an all-you-can-eat buffet! People are shitty, but what these fucking monsters do it’s, it’s terrible!”

Ow. Sonya just slapped me.

“OWWW! The fuck, Sonya?!” I say.

“Ruby, you need to get your shit together. Fight now and cry later. All of us will need to hold them off for as long as possible until Rachel and Drew can set up the rope. That means we need the explosive, loud-mouthed, and energetic Ruby Redheart to use her creativity, so we don’t become their next meal,” explains in a mean and empathic tone.

She’s right! I, I need to get my shit together! My friends are risking their lives for me, so it’s only right if I protect them. No more feeling sorry for myself. My left ear is still fucked, but Sonya’s speech gave me a fiery idea. These fuckers have been stinking up the joint for far too long, and they need to get their asses kicked for killing Maurice! Stand up Ruby Redheart, because it’s time to rock.

“Listen up, minions! We’re gonna run out of ammo at this rate, but I have a plan!” I say.

Thank god there aren’t any zombies behind us. Now I’m no architect, so I hope this plan works.

“I’m excited and concerned at the same time,” Michelle says as she carefully kills a few zombies with her machete.

“That makes two of us. Ruby is very imaginative, though, so I have faith in her,” Sonya explains as she slices and dices.

“I’m gonna blow up half of this bridge and send those undead idiots into a fiery pit of death!” I say.

At least that’s what I expect to happen. If I do too much, then the entire bridge will collapse, and we’ll all be fucked. If I do too little, then nothing significant will happen to the bridge, and we’ll all be fucked!

“You have your explosives?” Billy foolishly asks as he continues to fight.

“Scoff! Do I have my explosives?” I say. “Are you doubting the amazing Ruby Redheart? Billy Boy, I always have explosives on me.”

“Huh?” Zachary asks in concern.

“Don’t even trip, bae,” I say to Zachary. “They’re safely locked, kinda. Living wild keeps the blood flowing, and you have got to see my ultimate masterpiece one day. It’s called-”

“Ruby. Less talking, more doing. Just tell us what to do and where to go,” Sonya intrudes.

“I don’t need much, I just need you guys to cover me while I plant bombs on the left side of the bridge, the middle, and the right,” I say.

Poor Maurice. Sigh. Fight now, cry later.

“We got your back,” Sonya reassures.

*

I’ve made it to the left side with no problem. We gotta hurry the fuck up, though! Michelle is defending the middle, and Billy is protecting the right side. My bodyguard, Sonya, and my bodyguard intern, Zachary, are doing an excellent job of defending me.

Oh, how I do adore my plastic babies, and they’re small and light enough for me to carry and smuggle anywhere.

Ew, a head just rolled past me! There’s maggots on it!

Sonya stepped on it and made it lose its mind! That-a-girl!

“Less daydreaming, more working, Ruby!” Sonya reminds me.

Sigh. Goodbye, 605.

“He’s armed!” I say.

Now for the middle one.

“What? You can do it that easily?” Silly Sonya asks in surprise.

“You guys are always doubting my skills and underestimating me,” I say.

“How do I arm it?” Sonya asks in haste.

“Here!” I say. “Take off the safety lock, flip the switch, put your thumb on the green button, and voila, it’s armed! Oh, my bad!”

Whoops. I guess my mind is moving too fast right now.

“Ruby!” Sonya yells in understandable anger.

“It’s ok, it’s ok!” I say. “It won’t go off. Just don’t violently drop it, or it’ll go kaboom! Actually, it’ll be more like KABOOOM!”

“I’ll go to the middle, and you two go to the right! Be careful!” Sonya quickly announces.

“I can’t believe you always carry explosives on you,” Zachary absurdly comments as we rush to Billy.

“I can’t believe you don’t!” I say.

“Do you sleep with them?” he asks concerned.

“Every night,” I say.

“Ha. You’re a lot of things Rubes, but boring isn’t one of them,” he compliments with a light smile.

He’s hurting a lot more than I am. I honestly can’t wait to get to know him more after this. But right now, it’s time for us to kick ass and break this glass!

Dislocated Jaw is armed! I just have to slide him into that small gap of the crowded zombies!

“Billy, fall back!” I say.

With a quick thumbs up to Sonya and Michelle, aaaaand there’s the confirmation.

“This is for Maurice,” I say before blowing up the bridge.