Leonard Testarossa was not the type of man to leave things to chance. With the fall of Amalgam and Mithril, and the effects of the radiation from the palladium reactors on the inoculated, he knew that his best chance at surviving was to join up with his sister and her companions. Kaname Chidori was a survivor, and she was a Whispered, which put her on even ground with him, that she was also very attractive did not go over looked. Sousuke Sagara was a survivor. Kurz Weber and Melissa Mao were also useful and had the trust of his sister. Kyoko Tokiwa and Shinji Kazama were unproven but if they had survived this far they were definitely resourceful and competent. The others from Fujimi High School were straightforward but each had their own secrets. They would need to be investigated.

"Tea?" Leonard held out a cup of the hot brew to the auburn haired girl. Rei Miyamoto stood out like a sore thumb. Though the girl's mother was alive, there were concerns about the fact that she had been inoculated with the tainted vaccine. While Rei hoped for the best, it was clear that she was on the brink of breaking down.

Rei simply stared blankly out the window at the apartments across the parking lot.

"Tea?" he repeated, this time placing his free hand on her shoulder.

"Sure," she replied unflinchingly.

Crouching beside her, he could tell that Rei was physically tired, but her mind was in such turmoil that she could not sleep. Pressing the warm mug into her hand, he made sure that she felt his hand on hers. To her credit she did not pull away. 'She's thinking about Takashi and Kaname.' "You'll need to stay warm," he said as he draped his jacket over her shoulders.

"Mmm." It was all that she could muster up, not even bothering to pull the jacket together to ward off the chill of the early spring.

"They're probably fucking right now." That brought about a reaction as she nearly dropped the cup. "Takashi's distraught, and Kaname knows that for a few minutes she can make him feel better and maybe even forget about the harsh reality that we currently live in."

He expected her to slap him, maybe even punch him, but Rei simply leaned against him. "Would it really make him happy?"

"No, just make him forget it momentarily." His mind ran through different scenarios. "They've obviously bonded – probably over the fact that they had to lead everyone here. Kaname does not strike me as someone who shares that intimate side of herself so lightly. Tessa and the Mithril crew know that she was targeted as a Whispered, and she can share that side with them, but she kept it a secret from her classmates and friends. Common bonds, trust, and hard surviving life and death situation – I've seen it happen often on the battlefield."

She nodded, accepting his logical assessment.

"Of course they are more likely just crying on each other's shoulders, though they probably will fuck because neither one really knows what to do to cheer the other up other than by having sex," he added. "No, I'm not going to fuck you – at least not right now. Not because you're on watch, but because I do not want to take advantage of you."

She let out a weak chuckle as she sat back so that she pinned his jacket against the wall.

Even in the darkness he could see her tears. "Why do you care? Weren't you the one who picked his best friend to be your boyfriend?"

"It's complicated," she replied a she dabbed at the tears in her eyes.

"If I did fuck you right now you'd only be repeating the mistake you made with Hisashi – picking the guy that was there for you when you were emotionally vulnerable." Wait, what the hell was he saying?

"I didn't, you know, with Hisashi," she rebutted.

"You didn't have to," really, he didn't want to know, but he couldn't help but be a bit curious, "but something happened between the two of you that reinforced the bond that the two of you had."

"Isn't that what we're doing now?"

"No," he replied honestly. "I'm not here because you need someone right now. I am here to give you a hot mug of tea and to make sure you make it through your shift on watch."

She chuckled a bit before drinking from her hot mug. "Thanks."

They sat together in silence as she finished her tea. He did not expect Gauron's men to stage another attack, not with two M9's guarding the group. No, Gauron's men were cowards. They would wait for an opportunity or perhaps stage an ambush though the latter was harder to accomplish when Sagara and the others were in a fortified position.

Unlike Sagara who had prepared for the worst, Gauron's men had limited supplies and equipment, and had to expend some of their resources fleeing and hiding from Amalgam, as well as helping mask their true objectives. The twins had been a ploy to divert his attention and pursuit, and the Hong Kong incident had been Plan B for killing Sagara. No one had realized that the group had also pulled off Plan C because they had seemed so committed to the other diversionary plans. To his knowledge Gauron's men had not been able to secure any of the Amalgam Arm Slaves. They had obviously obtained firearms, the 50 caliber guns being the most notable of them, and some explosives, but what else?

"There's movement along the street," Shinji's voice cut in over the walkie-talkie.

The attack by Gauron's subordinates had managed to make a mess of the fifth floor but did not leave any structural damage. What it did do was attract the attention of the infected as the sound of the gunfire and explosions had attracted several hundred of the ravenous infected to the apartment buildings. The first line of barricades had fallen during the attack, leaving the garage and lobby open, but the survivors had managed to circumvent that issue by taking out the stairs so that the infected could not reach them. While the infected were able to climb stairs, they did not appear to be able to climb the ladders of the fire escape.

"Copy that," Kohta added. The military otaku was closest to Shinji though he was a floor up from Shinji as the apartment on the fifth floor was occupied.

"What do you see?" Rei finally asked as she scanned the ground below with her binoculars. Even with the binoculars she couldn't see anything clearly due to the darkness. It did not help that she was stationed on the opposite end of the building.

"It's hard to make out, but I see four, no, five people at the southern intersection." That they did not have firearms was not needed to be stated as the sound of gunfire would not have gone unnoticed. "Looks like they just realized how many infected are here." Shinji was actually the best person to do the play-by-play. "They're headed west."

Leonard could hear the silence in the apartment building. Despite the fact that Sagara refused to allow the others to rummage through the empty apartments, Leonard knew that most of the tenants were not likely to return to their apartments. As former military many worked as either private security or with the police department and had likely been dispatched to deal with the "riots" that had broken out over the unveiling of the new 3rd generation Armslaves, thus it was unlikely that any of the tenants would return.

"Sagara, what are you doing?!" It was Tessa's voice over the com this time.

Straining his ears, Leonard could hear glass breaking in the distance, then it was Saya on the com, "Where the fuck did he get a rope ladder?"

"Why is Takagi with you Shinji?" Kurz demanded.

"I've been helping Shinji on watch in his corner of the building," the pinkette replied sharply.

"Is everyone on or did Sagara just leave his walkie behind?" Mao remarked.

"Sagara says he recognizes one of the girls," Saeko answered. "He said she's one of the tenants. Shinji, Kohta, can you two give the survivors some help?"

"Locked and loaded!"

"Fine by me," Shinji added.

"I should go." He had not anticipated more survivors joining them. He'd need to assess them and see how they affected the group's dynamic.

The walkie talkies and the batteries that Sagara and his group had salvaged from the sporting goods store were useful as they allowed the group to communicate despite being in different areas of the apartment building. There were enough that they could each have two each if need be, but it had been decided that only those on watch needed to keep one on hand.

The long north-south hallway was barren save for bits of charred debris from the fight earlier. Two doors at the south end of the hallway were open – one to the apartment that Shinji was in and the other was the stairwell. Sagara was either operating out of the western apartment or he had gone down stairs to get closer to street level. What he had failed to consider was the use of the Arm Slaves.

The sound of muffled gunfire reached his ears. He did not bother to take up the handguns that he'd been issued, instead taking up Shinji's second sniping rifle. Rather than aiding in the clearing out of the zombies the silver-haired boy scanned the neighboring buildings for any possible threats before turning his attention to the survivors on the street. "Use the binoculars to make sure there aren't any enemies in those buildings."

Saya's response was lost in the gunfire though she was smart enough to know that he had a point. With much of the city powerless, the flashes of gunfire were bound to attract attention.

Five survivors fought for every inch of ground on the street below. Someone, probably Sagara, had shot off several flares to illuminate the darkness, giving the shooters and the survivors a better chance at dealing with the animated corpses.

The largest was a muscular youth who wielded an aluminum baseball bat with the ease and grace of a natural hitter. His size combined with the bat gave him considerable range, making it easier for him to clear a path for the group. Next was a rather scrawny boy with a riot shield and police baton who appeared to be near the point of exhaustion, a striking contrast to the larger boy.

The other three were girls, each using what appeared to be makeshift weapons – a broken broom/mop handle, a segment of heavy chain and a trash lid for a shield, and police batons respectively. The blows that the girls landed knocked aside the infected, clearing a path for the group as they moved towards the rope ladder.

The ladder itself was a knotted section of rope that had been carefully thrown so that it was dangling along the side of a dead street light. A duffle bag had been tied to the end of the rope, giving Sagara something heavy to throw to act as a weight.

Shinji appeared to be taking out the infected on the west while Kohta was dealing with the ones on the east. Given their placement, it made sense that they didn't bother with the ones to the south as it was more important that the survivors could outrun the infected once their path was cleared.

The first one to reach the rope ladder was the scrawny boy. With the riot shield in hand he barreled through the horde of infected, knocking a few over as he sought to clear the area around the ladder. The first to reach the bag was the chain-welding girl. Unzipping it she extracted a pair of guns. Quickly and efficiently she began to clear the area so that other survivors could begin climbing the rope. The skill that she displayed suggested that she had some military training as even military brats weren't always accustomed to using firearms much less doing so with equal proficiency in both hands at the same time.

The smallest of the girls was the first to grab the rope even as she stabbed one of the infected in the head and kicked it back to entangle the others that were right behind it. Nimbly she reached the top of the street light in the blink of an eye. The girl with the duel police batons was next and she too climbed near the top as quickly as the first girl.

Tugging on the rope, the first girl began to climb over towards the apartment balcony as Sagara began to add some more suppressive fire to make for the absence of the two skilled girls. The tiny girl deftly closed the five meter gap between the street light and the apartment with ease, proving that the rope had been secured sufficiently for them to cross. The second girl quickly followed.

The smaller of the boys was next, though the taller boy had to lift the other boy up so that he had no choice but to climb. He was far less coordinated than the girls in reaching the top as the taller boy used his bat to clear the area while the remaining girl reloaded. Guns loaded, she nodded for him to go as she remained behind to slow the remaining horde.

That the last girl seemed to have some relationship with Sagara could be a problem as her proficiency with weapons was far above what even the mercenaries displayed. Who was she and how did he not know about her? The other girls were considerable fighters while the boys were unremarkable.

Leonard watched as the girl quickly stuffed the guns into the duffle bag before climbing up the rope ladder. The other end of the rope led to the balcony two floors directly below the one he, Shinji, and Saya were on. He wanted to rush into the hallway where the others would be waiting for the new arrivals, but something in his gut told him to keep his position. "Stay down," he ordered.

An eerie silence filled the night as all gunfire ceased while the final new arrival rushed to reach the safety of the apartment building. How many more of Gauron's soldiers were out there? Were they setting up another attack or were they just waiting for another opportunity?

He could feel the muscles in his shoulder tightening as he waited for the larger boy to reach the balcony. Leonard continued to scan the buildings that were in sight of the balcony until the last new arrival had safely reached the apartment building. "Move upstairs," he said as he handed Shinji his spare rifle. It would be a slight but necessary shift in case any of Gauron's men had been secretly observing their rescue of the new arrivals.

In the hallway the rest of their group sans those on watch had gathered, eagerly awaiting the new survivors. Sagara was the first to emerge from the darkness that was the stairwell, followed by the chain-welding girl and the shorter boy. Behind was the tiny girl who had been the first to climb up the ladder, then the baton girl, and finally the towering wall of muscle.

"This is Motoko Gettou," Sagara said as he indicated the first girl. "She lives in 504." Leonard glanced at the apartment doors. Sagara was in 505 which meant that her room was opposite of the empty room south of his. "These are her schoolmates –Teruharu Kosukegawa, Ginga Kosukegawa, and Izuro Hino. The last is Ichiro Komaba – they encountered him after the outbreak."

"Kannami?" Hideou said, astonished at Leonard's appearance amongst this group.

Leonard suppressed a smirk, "Kosukegawa, I see that you're doing well."

"What are you doing here?" Gettou asked.

"My name isn't actually Kannami," the silver haired boy stated, "it was just an alias I used to protect my true identity."

Gettou shrugged, "That actually makes sense – why else would you have contacts with mercenaries to fight against me?"

"How do you know each other?" Tessa asked.

"I established an alias for myself here, 'Kannami Ito'," Leonard explained. "This is my only friend and his girlfriend, who lives here. She lives here because her mother worked for Amalgam – well, her family brokers information to Mithril and Amalgam.

"This is Captain Tessa Testarossa – my younger sister, her subordinates Second Lieutenant Melissa Mao, Sergeant Kurz Weber, and Sergeant Sousuke Sagara. These are Sagara's schoolmates Kaname Chidori, Kyoko Tokiwa, and Shinji Kazama. The others are survivors from Fujimi High School – Takashi Komuro, Rei Miyamoto, her mother Kiriko Miyamoto, Saeko Busujima, Saya Takagi, and Kohta Hirano."

To his credit Hideo accepted everything without hesitation, his faith in his best friend was that strong.

"My mother worked for you?" Gettou finally asked.

Leonard nodded. Though she had merged her different personalities, she did not display the strengths openly. "That's a long story."

"How do you know her mother was an information broker?" Tessa asked.

"Because Kalinin was one of my men – a double agent that Gauron and the others in Amalgam did not know of," he replied.

"I always knew there was more to you," Hideo stated, "but I trust you to do what's right for us."

The silver haired boy smiled at his one true friend, "Then you will trust my faith in my sister and her comrades. Tessa, Kaname, and Takashi are the leaders of this little group."

It was no surprise that the former para-military agents gave little thought to the consumption of the military rations, limiting themselves to a single MRE a day while also suggesting to those not used to rations which to eat. Still, the civilians were unused to the foreign food and relied heavily on the last of the candy, food, and drinks that they had brought with them.

They had offered Motoko and the other new arrivals the opportunity to stay behind, but Hideo was insistent on staying with his childhood friend, even though he was finding it difficult to come to terms with the fact that much of what he knew had been a lie. The other survivors save for Komaba wished to stay with Hideo. Only Komaba's desire to return to his family in the far north prompted him to join up with the group.

Aside from preparing to leave and training, the group had so much information to digest as they learned to live and work together. The few residents in the building were not willing to leave despite the fact that the building had already been assaulted once before. As Sagara and Leonard had explained, each of them had been former military though they did not have any actual ties to either Amalgam or Mithril.

The residents did agree to help train the civilians, though they were not willing to trade away their own food stores, not for the 22 caliber weapons.

"Our first priority will be to secure more food," Kaname stated. "Melissa will lead Scout Team 2 in scavenging for food while Takashi leads Scout Team 1 will escort Mobile Base. We'll rendezvous here" she pointed on the map "it's a military factory that produces parts for arm slaves and tanks. This area is industrial, so there should be fewer looters and rioters around. SC2 will proceed to the shopping center here once they've dealt with any possible pursuers. There are also shopping centers here and here."

"We have enough food to last two weeks," Tessa chimed in. "SC2's secondary objective will be to secure medical supplies. There are medical and dental clinics near the warehouse district as well as several car and motorcycle dealerships. With the EMP having taken out most electronics and vehicles we might be able to get spare parts for our MTV, Tomcars, and Zeros so that we can maintain our vehicles as we head out of the city. Our goal is to secure sufficient food stores and equipment before we leave the city."

"You still think that we should go?" he voiced his objection. He still didn't like to think of Them as zombies or undead though he knew the truth of the situation. Due to the smaller size of the round, the 22's packed less of a punch than the 9mm and unless the target was within five meters. The smaller caliber rifles were still effective, but again, only if the shooter was accurate. "It's been two days since this facility was attacked."

Tessa nodded, "The longer we stay here the more danger we put the others. We have no idea how many of Gauron's men are still around, but I'm sure that they will come after us soon."

The three turned their attention to the map, "Shinji spotted four armed survivors moved into this building and Kohta spotted another group into this one," Tessa stated. "While we cannot confirm that they are Gauron's men, the likelihood is very high given how heavily armed they are. I expect they are trying to set pin us in. Since the groups moved in they've placed several vehicles in the road here and here to prevent us from getting to the larger street here. As you can see this is the closest street that can handle the MTV is over here. The MTVs can go down these streets if they're clear, but any obstructions will hinder our mobility. They'll expecting us to take the road with the M9s and the MTV. Leonard is working on programming the M9s for a remote controlled attack with one of the scout teams as the other scout team and the ECS equipped MTV take this parallel street here. We'll head north until the road intersects the larger street and then continue north and west. There are two supermarkets here and here as well as several other stores for them to scavenge for supplies. Once they're done they will proceed to rendezvous point 1 here."

"But the trucks will need to run the palladium generators," Takashi pointed out.

The silver haired girl shook her head, "Only Mobile Base uses a generator but only when it's running the ECS. The MTVs run on diesel so we'll need to find fuel for them. We will only need to run the generators when the M9s are in use or when we need to charge the battery packs for the Zeros. Kiriko has volunteered to ride a Zero for SC2. SC1 will have three two Zeros and a Tomcar along with a spare Zero, batteries, and extra ammo. SC2 will have the other MTV along with three zeros, extra batteries, a charging station, ammo, and Kurz's M9. Mobile Base will have the MTV with ECS and Sagara's M9. The M9s are only to be deployed against Gauron's forces, not against civilian forces. The M9s can 130 hours but we'll want to conserve their energy as they are the source of power for the Zeros, ECS, and the generator.

"The Zeros can go two hours if we're riding them gently, but I expect we'll need to stop every hour to change the batteries. The Scout Teams only have enough batteries to go four hours of hard riding before they'll need to bunker down in the MTVs. It should only take us three hours to reach rendezvous 2, four hours to rendezvous 1, with an hour to secure the premise of each.

"Once we reach the rendezvous we can look to secure other vehicles. There are only a few of us who can drive the MTV's, and given their size we can't take them down the side streets easily."

It was a straightforward plan given their options. The main road was likely watched if not barricaded and the side streets were not meant to be traversed by large trucks. Even the larger roads with the abandoned cars would be difficult to navigate for the truck without the arm slaves to clear the path for it. Time favored Gauron's men.

"We leave tonight." Kaname's grim ascent was all that Takashi needed as he too reluctantly agreed to Tessa's proposal.

The group had endured two long, dark nights since Motoko Gettou and her fellow survivors had arrived. Though the apartment complex had not been attacked gunshots had echoed in the darkness and when the dawn's light illuminated the streets more and more of Them shambled around the building, providing the survivors with plenty of opportunity to practice with the 22 caliber rifles. Only head shots were effective against Them, though the 22s were only effective under 80 meters. The only drawback to firing the rifles so much was that the gunfire, even with the so called silencers, drew more and more of Them to the building.

Fortunately some of the other residents had also stockpiled their own weapons and had been willing to trade for firearms. Now the group had several yari as well as three bows with a full quiver for each. Saeko, Ginga, and Izuru were each capable archers, and the twang of the bows were much quieter and did not attract attention as the firearms did.

Two days were not just spent training, they were also spent preparing for the eventual exodus. Smoking flares were prepared, body armor was adjusted to fit the civilian survivors, and two of the arm slaves had been altered to allow for remote control.

His neck was stiff, full of a growing tension that he attributed to his new position as one of the co-leaders of the growing group. The others save for the team leaders and the snipers were already resting in preparation for the evening.

As leader of SC1 he felt responsible for his squad. Komaba was soundly asleep, his things already packed into the MTV that he'd be driving. Kosukegawa and Motoko were with Izuru and Ginga going over their equipment. Kiriko was inspecting her Zero and making adjustments. Shinji was going over his customized sniper rifle and checking the gun mount atop the Tomcar.

He checked his own equipment before going to sleep in the makeshift garage on the second floor. The balcony of the vacant apartment faced the barricaded parking lot and the MTV's were parked right in front of it. Makeshift ramps could be lowered to the MTVs allowing the group to quickly access them.

Most of them slept in tight military sleeping bags scattered along the floor. Before he even realized it Kaname was nudging him awake as he leaned against the wall. Shadows had filled the apartment, replacing the sleeping bags.

"Here," Kaname held up a steaming mug of coffee. "This should help wake you up."

The bitterness of the black brew could not be drowned out by any amount of sugar or cream but it did wake him up. He only managed a half cup before he had to hand it back to Kaname. He was surprised when she quickly finished the mug. "How long have you known Sagara and the others?"

"Enough to know that this is still crap." Her face was scrunched up as she absorbed the bitterness of the drink. "Sagara and Melissa can take this stuff straight, Kurz likes it with two lumps of sugar, and Tessa likes it with milk. I prefer tea but this will keep you awake for hours."

Pulling out a rag she dried the mug before twisting it onto the canister. "We should get going, the operation is about to start."

As the long shadows filled the streets Komaba began to lob flash grenades. The loud explosions would draw the attention of the infected once they went off. They would also set the others in motion as a handful of residents would begin pushing cars out of the barricade. As a former pitcher on his high school baseball team Komaba had impressive distance on his throws. Once the infected began to gather near the first explosion, he began to lob the smoke flares. Ginga added to this by shooting flares strapped to arrows. In less than a minute the streets were full of orange smoke.

For the briefest of moments the smoke seemed to part as the cloaked arm slaves moved into the smoke to move the dumpsters enough for Scout Team 2 to zip into the smoke. The light hum of their engines was soon lost in the orange haze.

"SC2 is clear," Mao stated as she led her team towards the highway.

Scanning his squad, he made sure that they were all in place. With a wave of his hand Takashi signaled to his team. Taking in a deep breath, he led them into the smoke. He could only see a few meters around him, just enough to see his team as they sped through the haze. Clearing the smoke, he allowed himself to take a breath. As the MTV emerged from the smoke, Shinji began throwing more smoke grenades, filling the streets with more smoke.

"We've reached the supermarket." Mao's grim tone cut in over the headsets. "There's nothing but rioters here. We're going to circle south to avoid them."

In his mind he envisioned the map of the area. The shopping center was only a few blocks over from the apartments and the number of restaurants and stores were bound to attract looters. Had Tessa considered that when she had come up with their escape plans?

Distant gunfire erupted behind them.

"We're under fire," Leonard stated calmly. "Rioters."

"Hold your fire." It was Tessa. "If you can avoid the rioters and looters, then check the other stores."

"Roger." It was no surprise that the former unit leader had been put in charge of the other team. Even though she was not leading her old team, the others in her unit followed her orders unquestioningly.

As the designate scavenging team it helped that there were two amongst their number who were familiar with the layout of the area. They knew the locations of the stores, restaurants, and streets much better than the others. Even if they were separated from the others they could easily navigate the streets and find the larger group. They were also the ones who could pick out where the most likely ambushes would be should the enemies attempt to attack them.

"Abandoned vehicle on the road," Takashi called out.

"Turn east," Kaname's voice directed.

Leading his team east, he turned at the next intersection hoping to lead them back north, "Another car blocking the road north."

"South is blocked," Kiriko added

"SC1 – keep heading north," Tessa's voice was firm and resolute. "SC2, continue to rendezvous."

"We're taking fire," Melissa stated, "two shooters on the building to our 8, three to our 12."

"Another to our six and one more at our 2," Sagara added.

Distant shots rang out as SC2 returned fire.

"Our six is clear," Leonard announced. "Engaging shooter at our 8."

A series of explosions filled the air.

"Cars on the road," Takashi said as he spotted more vehicles in the road to the north. He expected Tessa to tell them to head east.

"We're being corralled," Kaname stated. "The path west is blocked, we can't turn back."

"Clear the area! The entire block is coming down!" The urgency in the second lieutenant's voice barely registered over the rumble of falling steel and concrete.

'They're trying to separate us,' he realized.

"Go north!" Kaname shouted. "We need to clear their barricade!"

"The entire neighborhood is in flames, it must be the natural gas lines!" surmised Tessa. "SC2, proceed to rendezvous two. SC1 you are to clear the streets so that we can proceed with the plan!"

"I got this!" Shinji proclaimed as he took aim with the RPG. A well placed shot sent the offending vehicle tumbling to the side, leaving enough room for the MTV to move through the street unencumbered.

Though effective, the blast attracted more of Them. Motoko was a whirlwind of action as she took her makeshift spear and cleared her half of the street of Them, allowing Takashi and Kiriko to handle the rest of the street.

"I know Rei's handy with a spear, but she's got nothing on her," the former delinquent said appreciatively. "And spears aren't even her preferred weapon."

Takashi nodded as he revved his bike and took the lead. Even with thousands of rounds for each of them, they knew that conserving ammo was important. They were trading time for the ability to not attract more undue attention.

"Use the M9s to clear a path!" Melissa ordered her squad.

Dead street lights and trees lined the vacant street. The raging fires near the shopping district could be seen as billowing black smoke reflected the light from the flames. Long shadows filled the street as the sun began to set on the horizon. Yet there was just enough light for Takashi to see the outline of the long containers that blocked the road.

"The road is blocked," he heard himself say.

"Head into the park," Kaname suggested. "We'll have to go into the park anyways. Once you're in the park you can turn on your lights."

He motioned for his squad to circle back towards the entrance to the park that they'd passed.

"What are those?" Kiriko asked as she eyed the containers.

"Someone's set up a barricade of sorts," Shinji stated as he grabbed a set of night vision goggles. "Those are storage containers, the kind they put on the back of cargo trucks."

"What are they doing here?" Motoko asked.

"It's a trap," Takashi stated as he readied his rifle. "Check your ammo and have your extra clips ready. Shinji, do you have any flares or smoke?"

Taking off his goggles with one hand, the smaller boy pulled out a flare gun with the other.

Takashi was glad that he didn't have to throw a flare as he didn't have Komaba's arm, but the flare gun allowed him to get the flare much closer to the containers. "Light it up."

With a nod, Shinji launched the flare, illuminating the twilight with a crimson light. The hiss of the flare drew the attention of Them.

"That's what was in the containers," Takashi said as he surveyed the park. "The park is full of Them but the road is blocked."

"No," Motoko said as she pulled out her assault rifle. "I'll draw Them away. You're the squad leader; you need to lead the rest of the squad across the river. I'll catch up."

Before he could voice any objection, she was racing down the walking path. The gentle hum of the electric engine barely drew the attention of Them away from the still airborn flare, but the discharge from the rifle did the trick.

The thickly packed horde of Them shambled after Motoko who emptied an entire clip and then a round from the grenade launcher before feeling the need to move further away. She maintained a rough distance of 50 meters between herself and Them.

He estimated over three hundred of Them, though Motoko made every shot count. Only the grenade rounds did not take Them out, though it shredded the legs of those closest to where it went off, leaving several of Them to crawl rather than shamble after Hino.

With Them distracted, he signaled the rest of his squad to slip past Them as they sped through the park.

"They may be near-sighted but they can still see light," observed Kiriko. "See how some of them turn towards our lights?"

"Traveling at night might not be the best idea," he ceded. "We're going to need to find somewhere to hole up instead of driving through the night."

"Follow the red light north," an unknown woman's voice directed them.

"Who is this?" Takashi demanded.

"Wraith?" Kaname's seemed to be startled and but also relieved.

A crimson flare illuminated the far end of the park. "I can lead you to my safe house," the mysterious woman stated.

Scanning the park, he barely made out the forms of several dozen of Them as they shambled through the park. "What about SC2?"

"When they are in range I'll lead them to another safe house," Wraith stated.

"Motoko, circle back to the MTV," Tessa ordered. "We'll catch up to SC1."

"Roger."

It still surprised him how easily some of them seemed to have made the transition into the military trained survivalists who didn't panic regardless of the situation. Only a few of them had thought of handling a gun, much less military grade rifles and grenade launchers and now they all knew how to strip and clean their equipment.

Hino and Ginga had both grown up on some isolated island in the Pacific where they had faced many hardships. Neither was a traditionally trained martial artist, but both were fearsome and fearless fighters.

Komaba had seemed to adapt quickly as well though the former pitcher and farm hand had also gone through much in his young life. Kosukegawa had perhaps the hardest time adapting, but he too seemed to have gone through much lately. His world had been turned up-side-down by the revelation that his best friend had been part of a paramilitary group that had helped bring about the end of the world. It was about as confusing as knowing that one's girlfriend had been targeted by both of those paramilitary groups and had actually been hijacked by one twice.

"Don't turn on your lights," Takashi ordered the others. "We have enough light from the flares to spot Them. Shinji."

"Yeah," the scrawny boy replied quickly as he took up his custom weapon, "I'll cover you guys."

Shinji's shots created occasional bursts of light in the darkness, catching the attention of the closest of Them. That his shots were true spoke of his skill with the gun as the Tomcar cleared a path through the horde infected.

"Go!" the pitcher shouted even as he slowed his vehicle.

Beside him Kosukegawa took up his rifle. With the light of the flare aiding him he began to assist the sniper in clearing out the park.

"Empty!"

Komaba handed the sniper a fresh clip. While he was hopeless with a gun except at point blank, he was quick to hand over the needed magazine to both shooters.

A third flare illuminated the northwest intersection. "That way!" Takashi said as he led Kiriko. They slowed down to clear out the street – she with her spear, he with a bat. Their actions were drowned out by the automatic gunfire behind them. "Clear!"

"You guys aren't half bad," Wraith proclaimed. Unlike before, her voice did not come in over the com-system.

Turning around, he tried to find her, only to have Shinji point her out for the group. Adorned in a dark long coat that hid her figure and armed with a rifle she seemed to blend in with the shadows.

"Move over," she ordered the sniper as she moved to join him in the back of the Tomcar. Strapping herself in, she quickly set her rifle aside as she took up the mounted gun. "I'll direct us to my safe house."

A/N

I'll leave things here for now.

Dreamingfox