DAY THREE OF THE OUTBREAK...

Mrs. Hecox was hidden in the shadows of the basement, frantically tampering with the radio to contact the AIS while also doing everything she could to hide her guilt. Kat held up two handguns and aimed them back at the basement door to protect the others, most of which were sitting on the floor crying at the loss of their beloved caretaker. Aaron was curled into a ball bawling his eyes out into his sleeves, his gun laying beside him on the floor.

"He saved us," Jonah croaked in disbelief. "I always knew he was a hero, but...I thought he'd live long enough to be proud of it."

"Please respond!" Mrs. Hecox shouted into the microphone. "We're trapped underneath the Hecox Home for Children near Checkpoint Z! I've got my children with me!"

"We're never getting out of here," Aaron repeated to himself fearfully as the tears continued to spill down his cheeks. "I should've helped him."

Nika was divided on whether to comfort Aaron or help Kat protect their friends by guarding the door. She focused more on what was best for everyone and stood by Kat, aiming her gun at the door. She did everything she could to hold back the tears, and the resulting stress caused her weapon to twitch in her hands.

"Excuse me," Kat said, trying to sound polite, "but you'd be able to fire better if you kept your gun still."

"Sorry, I...?" Nika said with her eyes still set on the basement door, her voice shaky. "I'm scared. None of us know what to do now that Mr. Hecox..."

Kat slowly turned her head toward Nika. "I'm very sorry," she said sympathetically. "I didn't know him very long, but he seemed like a real gent."

"He was more than a gent," Aaron croaked, tears still streaming down his face. "He was the closest I've ever had to a father."

Mrs. Hecox overheard Aaron and paused in the middle of her rant into the microphone. Those final words had shattered her heart to bits and she found herself in the same sorrowful position as her children. She covered her face with her hands and sobbed. Her cries were quieter than those of the kids since she still wanted to prove hope could still be found somewhere in this situation. Natalya ran over to her to comfort her.

"He wasn't close to a father," Jonah said softly. "He was our father. And as his family, we gotta stick together. At least until the AIS finds us and saves us."

"Do you think we'll be able to hold up this long?" Kat asked.

"All I'm going to say is probably," Jonah replied.

The sound of glass shattering filled the room following a loud explosion. Red mist sprayed in all directions beyond the window like a crimson storm. A series of horrible screeches sounded in the distance, and the children fearfully turned their heads back to see what horrors awaited them outside.

Jonah slowly trudged over to the space where the window used to be, his friends repeatedly pleaded with him not to go any further. "Jonah Franklin!" Mrs. Hecox shouted, rising from the floor. "Get away from there this instant!"

Jonah ignored their warnings and moved closer. They also silenced themselves immediately as the sounds of footsteps crashed through the level above them like a downpour. Screeching noises echoed through the walls of the building as the creatures moved in to seek their prey, smashing apart furniture and tripping over each other to find a source of food.

"They're here," Natalya whispered.

Jonah continued toward the hole until his head was directly over the street. The first thing he caught a glimpse of was a pile of mutilated corpses splayed out on the pavement in grotesque positions. It was hard to tell who the organs and limbs originally belonged to, and the only body he recognized was that of an AIS soldier. His head hung off a small strand of flesh, the only piece remaining of his neck, and his face was contorted into a pain-fueled shriek. The rest of him was buried under the pieces of other bodies.

Jonah gagged. "I think I'm gonna be sick."

"Jonah!" Natalya whispered harshly. "Get away from the window now!"

"It's all right, miss," he replied through another gag.

Everyone jumped at the sound of glass breaking in the floor above them. A Deadman crashed down in front of the hole leading to the street, and once it saw Jonah, it grabbed him by the shoulders and dragged him out of the hole.

"Fucking hell!" he screamed, flailing his arms about to shove the creature away.

Mrs. Hecox bolted from her spot in the room and pulled out a knife. She yanked Jonah out of the Deadman's arms and proceeded to stab its face repeatedly, ravaging it until its eyes were nothing but gooey chunks oozing out of its sockets. It jumped back out into the street to grasp its mutilated face, crawling on its knees away from the building.

"Th-th-thanks, Mrs. Hecox," Jonah stuttered.

"I told you to stay put, dear," she replied. Her tone wasn't angry or disappointed like Jonah would expect, but rather cautious and matter-of-factly.

Natalya suddenly slapped Jonah across the face. "Exactly! You almost got yourself killed, idiot!"

Mrs. Hecox gasped. "Natalya, that was extremely rude! Apologize to Jonah now!"

"Getting mixed feelings here," Jonah replied while rubbing his face. "Are you miffed or glad that I didn't get taken?"

"How are you suddenly back to normal?" Kat asked. "A second ago you were screaming bloody murder and stuttering."

"Jonah's lucky," Nika replied sullenly. "He's not cursed with fear like the rest of us. He recovers quite easily."

Still with the knife in hand, Mrs. Hecox stayed near the broken window and watched as the Deadman continued writhing violently on the street. Stab wounds riddled the skin on its face, and it still squirmed around blindly now that its eyes were destroyed. It scraped itself against the pavement while filling the air with horrifying screeches.

"Holy hell," she whispered.

Then the Deadman exploded. All that was left was a large pool of blood leaking towards the hole into the children's home.

The blood seemed to be aware of its movement as it slithered toward the broken window. Small particles of crimson floated off its liquid surface like bubbles and hovered above the pool. Some of the blood leaked into the cracks in the pavement, but most of the sentient fluid was on its way to the children's home.

"Get back!" Mrs. Hecox yelled into the basement.

The kids jumped from the floor and gathered behind her as she slowly moved away from the hole. She held the knife out toward the hole, and the terrified group watched as the blood seeped into the building, splattering all over the floor like a burst pipe. The concrete floor glowed a bright red as a new puddle formed from the tiny cascade.

Beware the brain-dead's bloodletting butchery...

Those words quietly resonated through the air like a whisper in the wind. Mrs. Hecox and her children froze in terror. There wasn't a single sound made outside. Just the ominous repetition of those five words.

Mrs. Hecox and her children watched through the hole onto the street as a pair of legs painfully stumbled down the street toward the pile of bodies blocking the road. The approaching creature's clothes were drenched from head to toe in blood. Just like the crimson waterfall trespassing into their household, tiny red particles floated off the Deadman's bloodstains into the air like a snowfall in reverse.  It left behind bloody footprints with every step it took, and its left arm lazily dangled off its shoulder by a small chunk of flesh.

It wasn't until they caught a glimpse of its dented helmet with the infamous red X on it that they finally realized whose presence they were in. "Bloodletter," Jonah gasped.

Beware the brain-dead's bloodletting butchery, the creature whispered again.

Another tear drifted away from Aaron's eye. His heart was pounding out of his chest, and he found himself squeezing Nika's hand with all his might.

That's when the startlingly loud sound of the radio crackling burst through the basement like the screams of a child jarring up from a nightmare. Mrs. Hecox covered her mouth to mute her horrified gasps and bolted to the radio to turn it off.

"This is the Anti-Infection Squad," a voice called. "What is your emergency?"

"My name is Agatha Hecox," Mrs. Hecox whispered in a hasty tone. "I own a children's home along the Thames. My kids and I are trapped in the basement! Our home has been overtaken by Deadmen, and it looks like the Bloodletter is right outside!"

Bloodletter slowly turned toward the children's home, his red X coming into clear view. Dry blood dotted the side of his helmet, and he shifted his arm back into his shoulder and waited for the healing process to complete. No one knew what went on behind that helmet, but he appeared to be gazing into the children's souls. All he did was stand still in the middle of the street letting his blood continue to seep into his clothes.

"Yeah, we see him," the person on the other side of the radio said. "We'll take care of it. Light 'em up, lads!"

The sounds of gunfire filled the air. All of the kids crouched to the floor to take cover as Bloodletter stood against the bullets, doing nothing to prevent them from tearing through his flesh. Red mist sprayed with every shot, but Bloodletter continued to stand his ground. Streams of blood floated out of his wounds and wrapped around his hands as he prepared to fight back.

"Quick! Before he attacks!" the same man on the radio shouted, but the kids could hear him right outside the building.

A shotgun was fired three times at Bloodletter. The third shot blasted his right arm clean off his shoulder, landing beside him on the street. He was disoriented by the loss of his limb and nearly fell to the ground, but he did what he could to regain his balance and ran, gunfire still trailing behind him.

Two APCs appeared in front of the children's home surrounded by several AIS officers, all of them firing at Bloodletter as he fled the scene. One AIS officer wearing heavier armor and a gas mask was armed with a flamethrower, spewing a line of flames in Bloodletter's direction.

"That's enough," another man ordered from behind him. He approached the flamethrower-wielding soldier and appeared into the children's view. He was a tall, black, valiant-looking man carrying an assault rifle. "Now where did that distress call come from?"

Mrs. Hecox ran back to the hole where the other kids were gathered. "We're down here!" she exclaimed, and the kids started doing the same. "Over here! We're trapped!"

The valiant soldier and his squad turned toward the children's home. He jogged over to the hole leading out into the street and crouched down to see Mrs. Hecox and her kids. But the moment was ruined by those familiar screeches.

"Deadmen!" the soldier shouted, and he and his team quickly opened fire on the house. Mrs. Hecox and her kids ducked back to the ground for the second time.

"Infiltrate this establishment!" the soldier shouted. "Exterminate every Deadman in the building! I'll take care of the civilians!"

"Yes, sir!" the AIS officers replied, and a group of seven of them charged into the building, guns blazing.

The main soldier kneeled back down in front of the hole into the basement. "My name is Zachary Shaw!" he spoke loudly over the gunfire. "I'm here to rescue you!"

"Where will you take us?" Mrs. Hecox asked.

"Somewhere far away where the Deadmen wont be able to hurt you! I promise!"