The door was safely locked, and the zombies seemed to know that: they were just standing outside, waiting.

What they were waiting for was anybody's guess, but it was most likely not going to be good.

Anton was beginning to feel better, but Betty was running a 102° fever. Doc S and his wife were taking care of the patients, and that left Ed and Hector plenty of time to... Sit and be quiet, mostly.

  "So boss" said Hector as he glared at Eddy from across the room, "Was this your plan: half of us get away while half of us die horribly when this place gets overrun? 'Cause I think I got an issue or two with that....."

Eddie looked back at Hector equitably: "Tell you the truth, so do I. Right there and then, it seemed like the right thing to do."

He looked around, taking in the sight of Anton's Kalashnikov and Betty's Garand: "And it's not like we are defenseless... Yeah, we are probably better in here than out there."

Approaching a bit unsteadily, Anton addressed the two cops: "Uh, listen, if you want to shoot those things, we are going to need my car-" As he took a step toward the two men, his leg gave and he almost fell.

He managed to hold onto the sofa and straighten himself, then continued: "Most of my ammo is still in the trunk. The Desert Eagle rounds I have with me, but the case with AK's ammo was too heavy, and to be honest I didn't think we'd need the Garand, so..."

He looked from Hector to Eddie and back: "I'm sorry, am I... Interrupting something?"
This message was last edited by the player at 11:37, Fri 27 Aug 2010.

"Oh nothing much," said Hector sarcastically, "just wondering what mister come-over-here-so-we-can-all-die-together has planned next. Oh and is there anything to drink in this place? If I'm about to be ripped apart by whatever the hungry dead are standing around out there waiting for I really don't want to do it sober."

Anton looked perplexedly at Hector, but it was his mother, who apparently had some excellent ears, who replied first: "Now, now, officer De Santo."

Mrs. S shook her head reproachingly: "Nobody is going to be 'ripped apart' in my house, by the dead or the living. And nobody is getting drunk, either. If you would like to have some tea, however, I would be happy to make it for you."
This message was last edited by the player at 13:08, Sun 29 Aug 2010.

"Sounds like a wonderful offer, ma'am." Eddie smiled at her. "Although, maybe an herbal tea? I think we will need to sleep tonight, get a fresh start tomorrow."

The doctor's wife smiled back at Eddie, nodded, and then looked back at Hector: "You are safe here officer DeSanto: they cannot break in, and we have food and water for a long time."

"So what, that's the plan? We just hole up in here and hope the apocalypse just forgets about us?" Hector called out in his all to frequently now sarcastic tone.

Eddie seemed to ponder the question for a moment: "I'm thinking, no. I'd say we get a good night of sleep, then, first thing next morning, we try to see what else we have that can be useful."

"Alright fine, I'll just go to bed and pretend there isn't a ravenous horde of the living dead outside. That should go reeeeeeeeeal well." Hector once again declared with dripping venom.

The arrangements for the night were not quite perfect, but the house had more than enough room to accommodate two extra people, and Hector and Eddie were put at the opposite ends of a corridor, just to be on the safe side.

Mrs. S. left Hector a nice herbal tea on the bedside cabinet, to help him sleep better. As for how effective that gesture ended up being... Let's just say, it's the thought that counts.

At first, Anton refused to leave Betty's side, but eventually his father managed to convince him to take turns in assisting her - a sleepy doctor helps nobody. Doc S. took the first shift, Mrs. S the second, and Anton the last. Betty's fever went down a bit during the night, but in the morning she was still running a temperature.

So it was that the night passed, in remarkable silence.

Or perhaps not so remarkable, since, as the first light filtered through the clouds, it turned out that there were no zombies left within line of sight.

Eddie was up early, and he enlisted Anton's help in going through the house's supplies for useful stuff. Anton's father was less than enthused, but he figured he had a better chance of being rid of his unwanted guests if he provided them some help.

By breakfast time, Eddie had put together a small cache of tools and whatnots, all stuffed in an old, but large and sturdy, camping bag.

All in all, he was feeling rather satisfied with himself...

"So why exactly do you need that stuff?" Asked Tony in a perplexed tone.

"Oh, you know, the boyscout's motto: be prepared." Eddie smiled at the young doctor.

"Uh-huh..." Tony didn't sound quite convinced. "Right. Well, I think mom is making us breakfast. Let's not make her wait."

 Hector walked into the room in his skivvies covered in sweat and if anything looking more weary then he was when he passed out last night. In other words: he looks like hell.

Anton looked at Hector appraisingly, checking for signs that his professional expertise may be required.

"Good morning." He said cautiously.

Hector glared at Anton, "Oh yes, I'm sure it's a lovely day in the neighborhood. Is there coffee?"

Anton could not contain a huge grin: "Coffee? Officer, if there is one thing this house will never, ever, ever be short on, as long as I live, is coffee! I'll be right back."

And with that, he left for the kitchen.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:09, Tue 05 Oct 2010.

"Cheer up, DeSanto... We are young, handsome, and don't forget alive. Apparently the zombies have all decided to look for less combative prey, so I think we can proceed with the original plan. Ah, thank you doctor." Eddie accepted one of the coffee mugs Anton had brought back from the kitchen and took a sip.

His eyes widened just a little, and he looked over at the young physician - but did not comment.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:50, Wed 06 Oct 2010.

Hector took a sip, which quickly became a gulp, then practically downing his whole cup o' joe, "Damn.....that's good stuff! I didn't know you Americans actually knew what good coffee was, but this.........damn. Makes you almost forget about the whole Army of Darkness thing."

Anton smiled at him and repied: "Well, you know, dad's a doctor, I'm a doctor, mom's a nurse, caffeine is sort of a core food group for my family. And it seems the zombies have left, so perhaps the outbreak is over."

"Has anyone tried the phones, the television, or maybe the radio; see if anything's back up?" said Hector with a touch of hopeful anticipation.

"Good idea... Yesterday they all seemed to be on the fritz, but maybe we'll get lucky today." Eddie walked over to the TV set and switched it on.

On the plus side, physis seemed to have reasserted itself, and the channels were back. On the minus side, most of them were showing some form of "technical difficulties" sign, with the remaining ones showing pre-recorded programming.

"Well, that's kind of a letdown... No end-of-the-world public service announcements?" Eddie turned to look at Hector: "Wanna try your
luck?"

"What do you mean, the phone or the cruiser's radio?"

"Well, I meant the TV - perhaps you can find a live channel? But yeah, radioing the others sounds like a good idea. I thing Wayne got your car, so you can probably use the radio in my car to try to contact him. Here." He fished in his pocket for the keys, and tossed them at Hector.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:44, Mon 25 Oct 2010.

 Deftly caught them and headed for the door.

As Hector opened the door, Eddie and Anton stood behind him, ready to shoot any zombies and, if needed, help Hector back inside the house.

But there were no zombies, not even the bodies from the day before.

However, the traces of their passage were perfectly recognizable: the grass in the garden had become completely black, and there was a faint sickly smell in the air.

"...The Hell?"

"Jesus," said Hector as he looked around with bewilderment, "you think they melted?"

"Decomposed, perhaps... But even with the parasite infection, that shouldn't happen overnight." Anton knelt down to examine a black patch. "It definitely stinks, but it doesn't quite stink right. Smells like... Oh shit."

He stood up quickly and backed away: "Careful, it smells like the poison that knocked out me and Betty yesterday. Don't walk on it, I don't know if your shoes will protect you."

"Oh dear, there goes my plan to roll around naked in the contaminated soil." said Hector with a laugh as he carefully made his way to the cruiser.

  In spite of Hector's apparent good humor Hector had his gun out and was furtively jerking his head back and forth, like so much scared rabbit, with every step he took as he practically crawled his way to the car. But surprisingly nothing happened. As he reached the car he breathed out a heavy sigh of relief, holstered his gun,quickly got in the front, and started the radio making a general, broadband, call, "Calling all cars, calling all cars, is there any response? Over."

Shortly, a reply arrived on Eddie's car's radio. The quality of the reception was abysmal, but the voice sounded familiar...

"Unidentified STATICthis is A-Able STATIC, reading you poorly. STATIC badge number by STATIChandset."

A-Able something-something? A-Able Five-Niner was their call sign, and that sounded sorta like Geoff, despite all the interference...

 Hmmmm, it's probably him, but just in case I better not give anything away, thought Hector.
 "If that's you partner we're all fine, the zombies appear to have vanished, but we'll meet where we discussed anyway just in case. Over and out."

  And with that Hector made it back to the garden, where it looked like Eddie and Tony were standing around looking at the dirt like they were waiting for it to get up and do something, "So....." Hector said cautiously, "I think I got through to Geoff and the rest of the gang. I think we're still heading to Fort Monroe, not sure though, there was all kinds of distortion. So you guys figure anything out back here?"

It had been a minor interference in the static that had covered most of Geoff's speech, but the high-pitched sound that came from Eddie's radio suddenly started to grow louder and louder.

Soon it could be heard clearly even outside the car, and it kept growing in volume.

Eddie looked from the car to Hector, to Anton and back to the car: "What the..."

*FORT ... MONROE*

"OK, what was that?" Asked Anton, looking at Eddie's car.

"Beats me..." Replied Eddie. "But something tells me that we should hurry up and join the others at Fort Monroe."

"Then this is where I say goodbye." Tony smiled a little sadly. "I have to take care of Betty, and my family as well."

 Hector looked very anxious as he said, "Yeah I agree, Caruso. Sounds like some kind of shit's going down at Monroe, and the rest of the gang is heading right into it. We got everything we need?"

"I think so." Nodded Eddie. "I'll get my bag and we'll be on our way. Thanks, Tony, for everything."

Anton smiled and nodded: "No problem. When this thing finally blows over and you are back, come visit, for a coffee or whatever."

The way out of the city was surprisingly clear. Part of it was luck, the rest was Hector and Eddie leaving through the same route that had already been cleared by the others. Luckily, there were plenty of shops that had not been looted, so they took a few minutes to gather useful stuff, from food to water to consumables, including a few boxes of ammunition.

On their way to the fort, Eddie tried several times to contact the others, but apparently whatever was blocking the radios was once again in full force.

They drove as fast as the road condition allowed, and they were pretty sure they were steadily gaining on the other group.

In that regard, they were correct. How close they were, however, was largely a matter of point of view...
This message was last edited by the player at 18:49, Thu 13 Jan 2011.

Hector and Eddie finally came out of a small bank of light mist, and lo and behold, there it was: the large shape of the Unicat, standing in the middle of the road.