J. Knoll - Zoe, Undead

"Excuse me," she offered, clasping her hands together as he looked to her. "Where is Sergeant Morris?"

He stared blankly at her for long seconds, then he looked away and shook his head. "He ordered us back, Princess. He and about six others are on their own at the power plant."

"What?" she breathed.

Another soldier turned to them and reported, "We got jumped as soon as we got into the power plant. They got inside of our perimeter and were all over us before we knew what was going on."

Still another slammed his pack down and grumbled, "I've never seen moaners move like that before."

"Mad-dogs?" Zachary demanded. "Is my Dad still out there?"

The first solider nodded, just staring down at his pack, and he found himself unable to speak.

"We have to go get them!" Zoe insisted. She looked around her, seeing that none of the soldiers or volunteers were even looking her way. "Come on!" she cried. "We can't just leave them there! We have to go get them! It will be dark and we can't just leave them!"

"They're going to try and get the power back on," a soldier behind her informed. "We just need to regroup and we'll try and get them in the morning."

She wheeled around and shouted, "It will be too late then! We have to go and get them now!" She turned and tugged on the Stryker driver's arm. "Come on! We need to go help them!"

He still would not look at her, and bowed his head. "We lost four people out there already. There are just too many of them and too many places for them to come out of. We can't afford to lose anyone else." He shook his head, then turned toward the stairs. "You just need to face the inevitable, Princess. Do it now and it'll be easier later."

"I won't!" she screamed. Looking around her, she saw a few of the men looking away, and her lips slid away from her teeth as she spat, "He wouldn't leave any of you out there all alone."

Zoe yanked the door to her room open and stormed inside, right to her night stand. Her belt and vest were still on the bed and she picked up the belt first, pulling it on, then she clipped the pouches into place.

Zachary entered the room behind her as she forced her arms into the vest and began to fasten it at the front. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm going to go help them," she insisted. "I'm going to go. The zombies don't bother me so I can get them bullets and go help."

"That mad-dog was sure bothering you," Zachary pointed out. "It sounds like they have more of them at the power plant."

"I don't care!" she cried. Looking to her teddy bear, she raised her chin slightly, then she pulled the drawer of her nightstand open and withdrew her revolver, finally turning to him as she shoved it into the holster. "I'm going. I'm not going to just let him die out there."

Zachary just stared back at her for long seconds, then he nodded and informed, "I'll need to get my shotgun, then we'll need a ride. I think the power plant is a few miles from here and it's too far to walk."

She was taken aback and did not know what to say, finally managing, "You… You're coming with me?"

With a shrug, he confirmed, "My dad's out there, too, and I can't just let you go alone. You could get hurt or killed." He looked away from her and added in a low voice, "And I kind of like you."

Zoe turned her eyes down, again not knowing what to say, but she finally managed, "Even though you know I'm a zombie?"

"I don't know," he mumbled. "I still think you're only part zombie. I just think… You're a cool girl and I have fun with you and I shouldn't let you go get the other guys alone."

"Thanks," she offered softly.

"Um, so," he stammered, "should we, uh… Should we try to find something to drive to the power plant?"

"I guess," she confirmed, still glancing around at the floor. "I don't know how to drive."

"I can drive," he assured. "Do you think they'll let us take one of those armored cars they have?"

She finally looked up at him and replied, "I don't know. I think we would have to ask Colonel Halstead first. I think he has the keys to them."

"You what?" Colonel Halstead shouted as he stood behind his desk.

Standing in the doorway, Zoe and Zachary exchanged nervous looks, and Zoe looked back to the Colonel and answered, "Um, we want to borrow a Stryker so that we can go get Sergeant Morris and the other guys from the power plant."

"Princess," he started as patiently as he could as he planted his hands on the desk and leaned onto it, "We just got our asses kicked out there. I have ten people who didn't come back and I don't mean to see that number get bigger!"

"But the zombies won't bother me!" she whined loudly, feeling herself starting to cry. "We can at least take them bullets and stuff! Please, Colonel Halstead, let us go and get them!"

"Yeah," Zachary barked. "What happened to you army guys not leaving anyone behind?"

"I'm a Marine!" the Colonel shouted back. He glared at the boy for long seconds, then he bowed his head, raising a hand to rub his eyes as he grumbled something they could not hear. "We don't leave anyone behind," he mumbled. "This is a different kind of war. We can't afford to lose any more than we have." He shook his head. "Damn it!" Reaching for his radio, he raised it to his mouth and called, "Captain Langley."

There was a pause, then someone came on and informed, "K I A, last mission, Sir."

He growled a sigh, then he said into the radio, "Get on the P.A. and get everyone to the rally area right now." As he clipped his radio back onto his belt, he raised his chin as he looked to the two again and ordered, "Get to the rally area. I'll be there in a few minutes."

Back to the rally area.

There were many more people there, civilians and soldiers and a buzzing of discussions hung in the air. Weapons were lined up along the front desk again and Zachary wandered over to them, looking them over like a boy in a toy store. Zoe followed and loudly cleared her throat when he reached for one.

"You have to ask first!" she hissed.

He vented a breath through his nose, glanced at her, then shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Hey," a familiar voice summoned.

They turned, seeing that Stryker driver right behind them.

The driver looked to Zachary and extended his hand. "Corporal Lance Baker."

Shaking his hand, Zachary replied, "Zachary Knox."

Baker looked to Zoe, and he nodded. "A lot of us got pretty freaked out about what happened. We got used to kicking ass out there, and then…" He looked away and folded his hands behind him. "It's a terrible way to die. I could have gone the rest of my life without seeing that, now I'll never forget."

"Listen up!" Colonel Halstead yelled from the center of the rally area. He scanned the room, waiting for everyone to train their attention on him before he spoke again. Folding his hands behind him, he raised his chin and finally said, "We have some people out there and we still have not restored power to this part of the city. I don't give a damn how anyone feels about what happened out there this morning, I need to know who has the balls to go back. I want volunteers and volunteers only for this assault. I'm leading the mission myself and we're taillights down the driveway in twenty minutes. We are going into harm's way, boys and girls, and I intend to kick ass and forget names. We're taking the power plant back, restoring power, getting our people out and wiping out every moaner in our way. If you mean to go with us then I'll see you out front at the vehicles in fifteen minutes."

All watched in silence as he turned smartly and strode toward the hallway that would take him into the heart of the hospital, and silence remained for a moment after.