The Twisted Mass

They prepared for the upcoming task. After finding another working helicopter in the city, Leopold, two others, Calvin, and Raymond, all fully equipped, made their way to the landing room, where two helicopters now stood. Martin was waiting inside with a small group of people, dressed in his pilot's outfit.

"Hello, everyone!" he exclaimed with joy. "I'll be your pilot today."

Calvin said, "Hello, Martin," and moved on. We appreciate your positive attitude, but we need to keep our attention on the work at hand. Should we move forward?

"Uh, y-yes," stumbled Martin. "Well then, let's get to it."

As a result, they got into the helicopters. This area of the nation stood in sharp contrast to the one they had cleansed. With their mirrored glass walls shining in the light, the skyscrapers appeared taller.

Just as before, they landed a few blocks away from their destination. As Calvin had pointed out, the structure was smaller than the Sakura Central Mall, but it was dwarfed by its taller, wider neighbors. It was at least six floors high, though.

Calvin cautioned, "Don't get distracted," "Let's move into the building."

Calmly, they moved in its direction. There were almost no zombies on the streets, most of them pressed up against the gleaming walls of buildings nearby. It was a haunting and captivating sight.

With little opposition, they continued. In order to keep their presence unnoticed, they rarely had to fire their guns, but when they did, silencers dampened the shots. Finally, they arrived at the structure.

"Be careful, everyone," Calvin was warning. "The zombies in this area seem to prefer staying inside, so entering could be tricky."

They opened the big door slowly. There was no power inside, and because three of the four walls were concrete, the interior was gloomy. To break through the darkness, they turned on the spotlights that were attached to their firearms. The area displayed a maze of desks and offices set out so that employees would labor like gears in a business machine. Strangely, the undead did not disturb the quiet.

Leopold mumbled, "This is too easy…" but entered.

"Most of them were in the other buildings, so infiltrating this site seems to have been the simplest part," Raymond said.

"But don't lower your guard," Calvin then said. "They could be anywhere."

They advanced with little resistance, squeezing past tables filled with work tools—computers and blood-stained documents all across the floor.

They arrived at the location chosen for the explosive setup. Leopold and Raymond covered the possible zombie access points as the two troops assigned to it got to work. Calvin soon came up to Raymond.

He said, "Are you ready?"

"Does it really matter?" As Calvin pulled the string on his Scent Emitter and let loose mayhem again, Raymond responded.

Moans rose just as the crew completed putting the device.

Raymond remarked, "We'd better move," and he led the way to one of the two stairways in the building.

The groans became louder and more frequent as they moved forward, echoing through the almost deserted concrete building. Then the air was broken by the sound of glass breaking.

"That means they're rushing here," Calvin remarked. "Hurry!"

They ran up several levels toward the stairwell. But halfway up, zombies came down from above, obstructing their progress.

"We've got the other stairway!" Calvin yelled, putting an end to any fear. "Get onto this floor and run to the other one!"

He gave the order, and they turned into another desk-lined floor. This one, in contrast to the first, provided a direct shot to their objective. They sped on, but halfway through, the door ahead started to tremble from pressure coming from the opposite side.

"What's happening?" Leopold shouted.

"They've realized we're on this floor…" With a hint of surprise in his voice, Calvin spoke. However, the gas trail below attracts them! How did they discover us?

Zombies flooded in as the door flew open. Even worse, more surrounded them when they came out of the other stairwell.

"Calvin!" Raymond yelled. "That is no longer relevant! How do we proceed?

He stopped and pondered for a while. "A swarm is coming in from the outside, and not all of the zombies from that stairway saw us here. We have only a few minutes to use that stairway to get to the top floor. "Move!"

They had a clear plan: battle their way to victory. They were terrified of dying, and this anxiety was heightened by the terrible situation, but it also strengthened their determination. As they got half the way to the entrance, they opened fire on the approaching crowd, killing several. Their path was made more difficult by the accumulation of bodies, but they were unable to stop, even if they were hurt. Thankfully, the majority of the surviving zombies waited below the stairs, so they surged toward them.

"Move!" Calvin grabbed the opportunity and urged.

The zombies quickly realized Raymond was there and rushed up the stairs in pursuit. They pressed upward to the roof, exhausted, knowing that even a moment's pause would jeopardize their hold.

Just as the two crew members slammed the door shut, they exploded onto the rooftop and threw grenades down the steps. The sound of grenades hitting the metal steps was quickly muffled by the groans of the zombies. A little silence was followed by a detonation that gave the structure a small shake.

A metallic groan echoed overhead, but it was nothing to be alarmed about. Raymond was startled as he turned to see a huge billboard perched on the edge of the roof—one Calvin had brought up in a briefing but he had forgotten. Despite one support straining alarmingly, it held strong.

"Quick, technical squad!" Calvin let out a bark. "The other stairway is also important! No matter what, we cannot allow them to reach the roof."

Raymond took a quick look at the second staircase. They needed it protected from any crafty zombie strategies, but it was sealed and showed no symptoms of penetration.

Calvin took out the tiny communication device from their previous assignment and started dialing as the squad rushed to it.

"He should be here in under two minutes," he stated.

Across the roof came the clang of the second door being locked. All that was left were the groans of zombies within and below, stymied by the strong wall. They enjoyed an early taste of victory, certain they couldn't break through it in time.

The whir of helicopter blades soon came into view. They turned to see Martin's craft, a symbol of victory, swerve toward them between the tall towers. But that hope was quickly dashed.

There was a thunderous roar from someplace in the city. They did not know where it came from, but the sound evoked a spooky recollection. In a struggle filled with pain, Raymond remembered the beast at the base—the Crusher that almost put an end to them all. More agitated than the others, panic swept through him as he looked around them. Then they all heard another sound, a clatter of shattered glass.

They spun in the direction of the sound. Raymond was unfortunate enough to see everything clearly, but it happened too quickly for others to properly comprehend. From a higher floor of a nearby tower, a monstrous creature, unlike the Crusher but clearly unnatural, leaped for the chopper.

In midair, it grabbed the craft. The chopper swung violently as Martin lost control due to the weight. Its blades crashed into a building in a matter of seconds. The blades shattered, but the structure provided little resistance. They stared helplessly as the helicopter crashed to the ground in a blazing spiral while the creature was still clinging to it.

"What was that!" As the troops echoed his excitement, Leopold sobbed and paced wildly. "What was that!"

"Anyone at base, do you copy?" Calvin yelled into his gadget. "Do you copy?"

As he gazed at the debris, Raymond found it difficult to comprehend Martin's unexpected death. Then he noticed movement in the smoke.

"Everyone, look out!" Raymond shouted and backed away.

In a single bound, the enormous beast leaped from the ground to the roof, landing in the middle with a loud thud. It roared in rage right at Raymond, and they paused, watching in horror.