Mad World

He could feel the hot licks of flames dancing around the balls of his feet. It was just hot now but soon it would escalate, first 3rd degree burns there, then the flames would grow... then before he knew it they would consume him.

He tried to move but he was bound to the stake tightly he could feel the circulation been cut off. They'd used wire so he had no hopes of the flames burning through it no it meant that would super heat and just add to the suffering. He hoped their hunters been dispatched wouldn't have to travel far and wouldn't return with his collegues but instead be taken down and his collegues arrived. If nothing else these bikers had provided him with the explanation for why he ran. He wasn't sure if it would fly but he would use it anyway if he lived for the chance to lie and explain himself.

If he cried out would that help them find him? Would he get assaulted for doing it? Right now if he didn't act he may well die anyway. Besides if they were searching for the rest of his team they wouldn't mind him drawing attention right? Here went nothing, show them for not gagging him.

"OVER HERE, **** BIKERS, FOLLOW THE FIRE!" As he said the words he began to think how stupid he was if they were close enough to hear him they would be close enough to see the light of the fires and come to investigate. He bit his tongue no need to jeopodise himself any more having realised that.

Lonny looked ahead, attentive to Vivienne as she tore into a statement in French, not having the slightest idea what was said. Hell, he only wanted to hear her accent. He could listen to her ramble on all day if she had the desire to do so. For all he knew, she was insulting him. He smiled as he continued to walk, eyes forward.

"I'm gonna be honest with you, I don't know what you're telling me, but it sounds great."

He briefly stopped.

"Maybe if we get outta this alive, you can teach me a little French. Whattya say?"

She shrugged, focusing on watching their surroundings. “If –“

An animalistic shriek cut through the quiet. Brute. Vivienne whirled, pointing the gun in what she judged was the direction of its source. The last echo died and the night was silent again. Lonny had stopped and they stood in silence, listening.

A minute or so passed.

“Should we investigate?” she asked reluctantly.

Lonny heard a beasty noise interrupt his talk with the French scientist. Perfect timing. He saw her cut her eyes one way, Lonny shifted his in a similar direction, trying to pinpoint the location of the commotion.

After a couple minutes went by, Vivienne spoke up.

“Should we investigate?”

He could detect from the sound of her voice that she didn't really wish to go that way. No problem, because there was no way in Hell Lonny would go that way either. It was his job to keep her out of harm's way, not giftwrap her and deliver her to it.

"I'm not the smartest man in the world, but my logic is to not go towards the danger. I think that's clever enough. How about we pass on checking that out for now?"

"I'm not the smartest man in the world, but my logic is to not go towards the danger. I think that's clever enough. How about we pass on checking that out for now?"

Vivienne nodded, relieved. “I agree.”

“That proves you are smarter than those in command,” she said, still bristling that they could be so reckless and risk everyone’s life for one rogue scientist.

It was enough that she was out here in the dark, but to further increase the danger and chance of dying by heading towards the screams? Not likely. Vivienne wasn’t really sure why she had suggested it. Perhaps so that in the future she could look back and feel better about herself, she thought.

They kept walking.

"Thank you," he said to Vivienne with a grin. "That really made my day."

As they kept walking, the sounds kept coming. The volume would go up and down, confusing Lonny as to where the ruckus was coming from. His eyes were all over, trying his best not to let something slip in under his radar.

"So, what do you do for fun? That is, besides walking in the dark with hungry predators stalking you."

Chris walked silently beside Dr. Knights as each team split to search for the missing scientist. They started out following a trail of footprints they believed may belong to Dr. Williams but the trail became muddled, confused and ultimately lost among footprints of the infected. Every now and then Chris would spot of one of them as they vacantly meandered past, oblivious to their presence as the pair walked quietly under cover of darkness. Whenever a new zombie would cross his field of vision, appearing bright green in the light of his night optics device, he would squeeze Corrine's hand to get her attention. He would then point at his eyes and point in the direction of the creature, when she confirmed that she saw, he would point away from it, informing her that he was slightly altering course to avoid it.

They walked in silence for a time, communicating only with hand signals and short whispers, occasionally stopping to take a knee and get an auditory feel of their surroundings, especially when they heard the brute howl. They had been walking for a good deal of time, so long that Chris was about to suggest they turn around, when suddenly, a new sound caught their attention, the yip yapping of a motorcycle engine being revved wildly. Chris gestured to a point of light zipping across the sandscape through his night vision, a headlight, moving just below the horizon, if it followed it's current course, it wouldn't come anywhere near them.

Chris remembered how back in the hallway the creature had thought to use a fallen comrade as a shield and then as a weapon, and frantically wondered just what exactly these creatures were capable of. He pulled Corrine close enough to whisper.

"The infected aren't intelligent enough to drive and maintain motorcycles... Are they?" He pulled out his radio.

"Team Emmerich and Knights to mission command. We have visual and audio contact with a motorcycle rider, operator presumably uninfected. Location, almost a click northwest of the Caiman. Orders would be appreciated. Over. "

Chris glanced back to Dr. Knights to see that she had drawn her weapon and had it fixed on something behind him. He spun around to see a slow mover had crept up on him while he'd been distracted by the motorcycle. It's face was a mangled mess of bitten and chewed flesh, in many areas the skull was exposed, his lips had been bitten off on one side of his mouth giving the monster a permanent gruesome smirk. Chris instinctively fired at it's head, dropping it instantly. The noise and muzzle flash, could be seen and heard from a great distance away, Chris realized after the fact. He looked off into the distance to check on the progress of the rider and saw that he had altered course, he was now headed straight for them...

The darkness pressed in on Corinne as she padded softly beside Sergeant Emmerich, and her breathing seemed unnaturally loud in the silence. She found herself tightening her grip on her handgun, the cold metal reassuring her that she wasn’t completely defenceless against the infected. Occasionally Emmerich would lightly squeeze her hand and point out an infected he had spotted slowly passing them. Each time Corinne’s heart seemed to stop and she held her breath until they were safely away, unharmed.

By contrast, whenever the brute’s piercing howl echoed through the night she felt her pulse speed up and her skin dampened with sweat. Her mind flashed back to the laboratory, to the brute kept locked up. She kept seeing it snarl hungrily at her, lips curling back, bloodthirsty rage in its eyes; kept feeling the shudders as it threw itself at the heavy iron bars caging it; kept remembering the overwhelming thought that it used to be human. Corinne fervently hoped they wouldn’t have to face the brute that was out there, unrestrained.

After what seemed like an age pacing through the darkness, a new sound caught their attention; the low growling of a motorcycle engine being revved. Corinne looked around for the source but it was Chris who found it, gesturing to a low headlight moving steadily some distance away.

They watched it silently for a few moments, then Emmerich whispered, “The infected aren't intelligent enough to drive and maintain motorcycles... Are they?”

“They shouldn’t be,” Corinne whispered back. All the researched showed that the further the infected progressed the more the infected’s intelligent deteriorates … it should not be an infected on the bike.

Emmerich had meanwhile pulled out his radio. “Team Emmerich and Knights to mission command. We have visual and audio contact with …”

A movement over Emmerich’s shoulder caught Corinne’s attention. A slow mover was inching closer to the Sergeant, half hidden in shadow but still clearly fixed on them. Corinne carefully drew her handgun and with trembling hands pointed it at the creature, but she hesitated when it came to pulling the trigger. Again the thought that this pitiful beast had once been human stayed her hand, but more than that; the sound of a shot would certainly draw the attention of whomever was riding the motorcycle, and they had no way of knowing if they were hostile or not.

In the end she never had to decide. Emmerich, waiting for a reply over the radio, noticed the infected and shot it himself. The creature dropped, instantly killed. Corinne lowered her gun, and glanced over her shoulder. Sure enough, the motorcycle headlight was now turning and heading in their direction.

She only hoped it was friendly.