The minigun was loaded and secured next to Casey along with the strange woman they rescued. She wore what Hank could generalize as a cosplay costume, but looking closer, her gear didn't resemble the handmade quality you would expect of a fantasy fan but was of genuine quality and craftsmanship. Her skin was flawless, the almost porcelain quality that models strive to achieve. That along with her oddly shaped ears made her resemble a fantasy elf. Checking it resulted in it not being the result of even the most advanced makeup and prosthetics.

This made everyone suspicious.

With everything that had happened, Hank decided they had to keep the woman in cuffs. She might not like it to find herself waking up restrained, even panic, but Hank had to make sure that she is no threat.

Hank made sure to retrieve the bodies of Hoss and Rob, their bodies wrapped in sheets, and left them on the restaurant's still cold and running freezers. The engineers claimed between bouts of consciousness that the generators are made sure to have two days’ worth of fuel when running at maximum capacity. They promised that they would come back for them by then.

The sun was starting to set as the cars left the parking lot. They were last in a long convoy of ten cars looking to leave as soon as they could. Hank couldn't stop them, nor would he even want to. He had gathered everyone earlier to tell them the situation as he saw it. He left the sugarcoating for the politicians and advised that they stay in place as the hotel is as secure as it could be as long as the electricity lasts. Two days minimum should be enough time for the government to start mobilizing and send help to reach the people in the hotel. The people bore a look of unease as he presented his option, but they didn't look to trust him much. Hank didn't believe what he was saying either, but he had to say it.

Steel grates descended as they exited and the building locked itself down. Doing nothing else would have put their effort they have put into clearing the building null if something else came in.

Yesterday, going outside would be considered to be a harmless affair, but with everything that had happened during the day, everyone could see that it could be the most dangerous thing they could do as of the moment. But they couldn't stay, they needed to get Casey and the other wounded engineers to a working hospital.

His health deteriorated while the team spent their time clearing the hotel, but he was right. In Hank's opinion, he would have done the same thing, disregarding his health for the potential lives saved.

The convoy of vehicles emerging from the hotel quickly thinned as they peeled off and made their way to their destination. Cars littered the road, abandoned with broken windshields, and opened doors. Blood trails painted the asphalt with no bodies in sight. Shadows and figures ran between cover as they made their way to the nearest hospital, but no soul came running for help nor tried to attack them.

Hank looked out the cracked glass of the bearcat and could only shake his head at the carnage. What could have brought such devastation? How many people are still alive? Questions ran through his head as he gazed upon what had been a bustling stretch of businesses now turned into a deserted scene out from a post-apocalyptic movie.

Hank and watched Dan through the rearview mirror. He had been trying multiple times to contact his family, and he could see the frustration building up from his team medic. He knew Dan wanted to run back home to see his family, but he was being tied up to taking care of people he barely even knew.

"How's it going back there?" Hank asked.

"Casey needs a doctor. This one needs a bed and a change of clothes." Dan replied.

"I guess I didn’t make the question clear. You holding up alright?" Hank asked again.

"No," Dan replied, biting his lip as he shook his head. "Fuck no. I just kept thinking if Terri and… Fuck."

"Look, we'll get to go to your family when we drop these two at the hospital. We'll go to your house and find them there. They will be right as rain and just be waiting for you." Hank said, trying to calm him. Dan kept silent, staring out the rear door and his legs shaking. Hank's gaze panned over to Doug, who was as busy looking around the city as much as he is watching the road.

“How about you Doug? You got a family nearby we have to check out?" He asked.

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"No. They're in Texas, so I shouldn't be worried that much. If there is a list on one of the best places to be when all this shit is going down, Texas would be one on top. How about you, boss?"

Hank looked out the window. "I'm not too worried. My folks had been gone for a bit."

"I'm sorry."

"Nah. It's fine. It's not like they died suddenly or something. They just got old, I guess."

"Any other family?"

"I have a brother.” He shrugged. “Don't know where he is at the moment but I'm sure that he'll be fine. I know him enough that he knows how to get out of trouble, even though how many times it finds him."

"He a badass then?"

Hank chuckled, "More like a dumbass. But yeah, you could say that."

Hank's thoughts then went to the woman they had on the back. To find her in one of the cocoons was strange, along with her still being alive. Her vitals are still weak and slow but was getting stronger by the hour. Under Dan's examination, she was alright. The sheathed daggers on her waist clued in that she might be part of the group that took out the other spiders, which was why they had to be careful. But where are the rest of his group? Did they just leave her to die? Or maybe they thought her dead, only for them to find her still alive?

Hank shook his head. The questions served only to clutter his mind. They should be answered in time when the woman wakes up.

They turned the corner to have a view of the hospital. Lights were turned off, and no one seemed to be around. The parking lot was barely filled, which was the opposite of what it should be given the current emergency. It wasn't a good sign as they stopped the car by the parking entrance while the armored SUV carrying Stone, Riley, and the two wounded engineers went ahead to park in front of the entrance.

Doug let the engines idle for a bit as Doug shifted the car to reverse. Just in case something dangerous would pop up.

"See anything? Hank asked through the radio.

"Were listening." Came the reply. Stone and Riley were at the other truck. "We got people inside." The radio chattered. "We got screaming."

"Fuck." Hank pressed on the receiver. "Go in."

Doug cranked up the Bearcat and came streaming into the parking lot beside the SUV, its brake squealing as it jerked to a stop.

Everyone lurched from the sudden deceleration. Hank was the first out of the vehicle, followed by Doug. Dan stayed in the car to take care of the patients and serving as their getaway driver just in case. They approached the hospital with rifles raised and arrived at the entrance just as Stone and Riley were clearing the front doors. Finding it clear, they went in.

"Help me!" A woman's shrill scream echoed along the hall. It was ahead of them a few ways and they followed it, covering each sector of approach and stepping over and around fresh corpses.

Hank heard someone retch. It was Doug. He didn't have time to give the rookie some pep talk, not in the middle of a corpse ridden hallway.

"Sorry," Doug replied.

"Get your head off your ass man," Stone grumbled.

Despite trying to move closer to the source of the screams, they didn't seem to be getting closer. They followed it anyway, past hallways and nurse stations. The screams led them further into the building complex. They finally caught up to it, arriving at a dark cafeteria.

Pushing the doors with the barrel of his rifle, Hank could see the open space littered with tables and benches. Unfinished food still littered the tables along with drinks.

Up ahead, Hank could see a pale figure in the middle, right in front of the bar. It was a woman with long black hair flowing down her shoulders. Her back faced them. She was naked, sitting on the floor hunched and leaning to the side. A crying moan echoed around the walls coming from her.

They approached, panning their lights over everything and clearing the cafeteria as much as they could in the growing darkness and could smell something rotten as they came close, along with a wet dog smell.

"You okay, Ma'am?" Hank asked.

The figure responded. She turned around and stood on all fours. It was not a woman. Hank could see a misshapen face of a man with matted hair flowing down the side, jaggedly sharp teeth shown in a snarl. Its shoulders reached about three feet in height as it faced them in a crouch and pounced.

It was fast, but not fast enough for the half-second for Hank to raise his rifle and fire. Two suppressed shots echoed around the cafeteria, bullets impacting flesh and cavitating and tearing everything in its path. Hank crouched and dodged to the side, just as the already dead creature sailed over his head and impacted the tiled floor in a heap.

Hank pointed the rifle at it. It wasn't moving, but he had to make sure as he sent another round to the side of its head.

"What the fuck was that?" Doug asked.

Hank didn't answer as he didn't know either. He continued panning his light over the creature to have a better look but was interrupted by multiple screaming coming all around them.

They looked around. Scores of nails scratching against the linoleum floors sounded all around, causing everyone to train their rifles at the doors.

"Let's get out of there!" Riley shouted.

"Go go go! Back to the trucks." Hank yelled, covering their now rear.

Riley led the way back, but following the screams had led them deep into the hospital facility. They pushed through the double doors to find a pack of dog-like figures blocking their path, growling.

Riley sent fire downrange, downing two of the dog figures and scattering the rest. They pushed through. Nails scratched against the hospital floor ahead of them, forcing them to pause to be followed by gunshots sounding on the other side of the building.

Hank pulled an evacuation map off the wall and looked through the floors. The gunfire continued, overlapping short pops of pistols clued him that it was not alone, the fire pausing only for what he could think as them reloading only for them to resume at a more desperate place.

"That way!" Hank shouted. "Stone, start popping off rounds. We need to let them know where we are here." He said as they didn't have suppressors.

Stone followed, sending around in the ceiling and the shot echoing far into the building. They followed it, downing multiple creatures on the way as the firing continued and was getting closer.

Hank rounded a corner and found a group of men fighting against a pack in a hallway junction. They were fending off a group of large dogs using a combination of makeshift shields and weapons. A shield wall held half a dozen of the human faced monsters at bay, behind them was a pair of men armed with pistols and firing at point-blank range. If they saw Hank's group round the corner, they didn't show it as they continued battling the creatures in close combat.

Hank ran ahead as one of the shield bearers stumbled, his leg caught between one of the mongrel's jaws. He lined up his shot and fired, followed quickly by Stone and Dan. They took out the four of the mongrels in the first volley while the rest scattered, running down the halls whimpering and trailing blood.

"Thanks for the save." One of the men said. He had a medical tray tied up on his forearm with a length of cloth. On his other was a bloody fireaxe, dripping with fresh gore.

"You have a doctor?" Hank asked.