"WE ARE THE 99 percent!" the mob roars at the walls of the settlement against the backdrop of animalistic snarling coming from their fellows who had already gone feral. Militiamen hurriedly man the ramparts with weapons at the ready while King Edward, Archie and Marco cram themselves into a watchtower to survey the approaching pack.

"That's a lot of them." Archie mutters as he wipes off the sheen of sweat forming on his forehead. If the mob decided to stampede, they could plow through the walls of the settlement by weight of numbers alone. And loose crowds of infected were emerging from the shadows, merging with the raucous mass. Floodlights mounted on the wall illuminate the sinister force drawing inexorably closer.

"Marco!" Edward shouts, his voice shrill from the stress and the pseudo court manners forgotten, "Can we take them?"

"We've got walls and guns." Marco grunts as he examines the situation, "We can break the Herd if they try to charge the wall."

"Some of the Infected are carrying guns as well." Archie dourly points out, gesturing at a lanky man dressed in a National Guard's tattered uniform, brandishing his rifle with savage relish.

"Our walls are thick and high." Marco grins at Archie, "I told you to lash multiple tree trunks together when building the wall for a reason. Nothing the herd is packing can penetrate it. We can sit pretty and pick them off. No problemo."

As Marco boasts about the settlement's defenses, the vanguard of the Herd, the feral Infected release a warlike growl, punctuated by pained coofing, and begin scurrying across the flat plain like pack hunters, heading straight for the settlement. Edward raises a plastic horn molded into the shape of an animal's horn and blows hard into it. A low sonorous sound echoes throughout the settlement and passes over the approaching Herd, who hoot taunts in response.

At Edward's signal, the militiamen at the wall raise their weapons and begin opening fire at the tidal wave of incoming Infected. A chorus of pops breaks out across the length of the wall and Infected begin to fall. There's a desultory volley of return fire from the Herd, but the Militia weather it without issue from behind the ramparts.

"What's with that horn?" Archie eyeballs the odd toy in Edward's hands.

"This?" Edward grins as he waves the horn about smugly, "Its a .. a ... Marco what the hell is this thing again?"

"Uh, something, something biblical?" Marco scratches his head in consternation, "Can't remember offhand boss. But it was used in one of the big battles if I remember correct."

"Big battle." Archie repeats flatly, a bad feeling creeping over the bad feeling he already had.

"God's chosen sounded this horn before the big battle." Edward nods triumphantly, "And nothing could stand against them. Damn, it was a really famous battle too."

"Some pro wrestler had it as his finishing move." Marco fills in helpfully.

"Jericho." Archie frowns.

"That's the one!" Edward snaps his fingers in confirmation, "Thought it would be a good omen to invoke some of the biblical stuff when we go to war. Can't go wrong with God's blessing, amirite?"

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"Damn straight." Marco thumps a fist over his chest in affirmation.

"Right you are my King." Archie assents, not bothering to correct either Edward or Marco. Those two idiots are free to believe whatever they want. As long as they keep the Herd out of the settlement, it didn't matter anyway.

As the trio banter, more Infected are sent sprawling into the dirt thanks to the withering gunfire provided by Edward's "knights". A low cheer breaks out among the townspeople observing the fight from the sidelines. Like a tide that had crashed against a concrete wall, the wave of Infected break apart and scatter back towards the main body of the motley army besieging the settlement. Curses mingled with coofing drifts from the enemy side, but is quickly drowned out by a loud hurrah shouted from the ramparts.

"Look at them run!" Edward grins in triumph, "My knights are once again victorious. Nicely done Knight Commander."

"No problem boss." Marco beams at the battlefield spanning outwards below the three, heaps of dying infected scattered all over the place. But that expression quickly changes the moment he notices how the dying Infected are spending their final moments.

"Fuck." Archie exclaims as the thrashing bodies below them tear at the bullet wounds all over their bodies, sending blood spraying all over the ground. One wounded Infected, a hulking man that could once have been a body builder rips his entire gut open, letting his organs spill out in an obscene display. The Infected squirm about like maggots, smearing their blood and viscera all over the place as the soil hungrily consumes the offerings.

"What in the world are those nutcases doing?" Edward gasps in disgust at the sight of the Infected willingly violating themselves.

"The Herd is doing what it has always done." Archie grimly states, "Spreading the virus." As Archie speaks, he senses a sour, heavy presence sinking into the land around the settlement, driving its claws deep into the earth. Voracious and insatiable.

"I'll lead a group to burn the corpses the moment its safe." Marco reassures, licking his lips nervously. Edward nods wordlessly, as the Herd begins their retreat, cackling and hooting as they go.

"Yeah!" Marco booms at the top of his voice, "Run you cowards! Not used to people who can fight back?"

"They're not leaving." Edward snarls as the mob begins to spread itself out, forming multiple clusters which start surrounding the settlement from every direction. The militia take a few potshots at the roaming Infected, but at this range, their guns prove of little use.

"They want to siege us." Marco snorts, "Fat chance of that working though. We've plenty of supplies stockpiled at the market, don't we Archie?"

"Sure we do Marco." Archie smiles agreeably, "You've got this under control pal." But deep in his heart, Archie screams in panic. The Herd did not need to break through the settlement's paling. They just needed the virus to begin spreading through the militia. And once enough of the settlement's defenders had fallen ill ...

Everyone would die.