"Zombie!" I sobbed, letting my voice slash through the air long after we'd left the room. My screams seemed to reach nowhere though, the deafening alarm silencing all opposing sounds.

"Zombie," I cried softer, weaker.

We'd been walking for a while; We'd been turning corners and passing doors for what seemed like ages. All I had gathered was that we were far from Barracks 10 and the hospital room.

"Shut up, girl. He can't hear you anymore. Your prince isn't coming to save you."

The officer's grip on my arm tightened and I grimaced.

"He's going to come," I said.

He'd made the promise to Nugget that he'd come back, and he did. He'd do the same for me, I was sure of it.

"Didn't you hear that shot? He's dead. What's wrong with humans and false hope? We killed your boyfriend Just like we're going to destroy every last one of you pathetic humans. There's no stopping us."

Silent tears rushed down my cheeks as I formulated some kind of response.

Was Zombie dead? He couldn't be. I wouldn't let myself think that way. Pretending would give me hope.  But destroying the rest of the human race? Well there really wasn't much I could hope for; that part was inevitable. If they'd already been able to manipulate us into turning against our own people, they could undoubtedly do anything.

The officer moved faster, yanking my arm to bring me up to speed. I stumbled, crashing into the cold floor. My leg screamed, not for the first time that day.

I bit my lip, trying to prevent the tears that were filling my eyes from pouring out.

The officer grumbled and yanked me up forcefully.

"You humans are so weak," he said, muttering the words as if they were a virus.

Once I was back on my feet, he moved his hand to under my arm so he could support me better. I guess they still had the intent not to kill me. They must have some reason as to why they'd take me and kill Zombie.

Zombie.

No matter what I thought, it somehow seemed to make its way back to him. And the more I thought of him, the harder it was to pretend that everything was ok- that he was alive.

I needed to tell him. I needed to tell him how I felt about him- about how he made me feel when he wound his arms around me or when he'd give me one of those perfect smiles of his.

Thinking about all the things I hadn't said to him made my throat tighten and new, fresh tears cascaded down my cheeks.

The tears of regret were joined with tears of longing and tears of sorrow.

I prayed that he was ok and that I'd have the chance to fix the things I broke with him. I also prayed for Nugget, that someone would find and save him, for the squad, and for all the kids in the base that had no clue what prison they were truly in.

The officer pulled me around a corner, his grip not ceasing. We skidded to a stop.

There, before us, stood a blue eyed, blonde haired guy wearing a red flannel and hiking boots.

The officer's hand shot to the gun attached to his hip. In one quick movement, the guy in the flannel lashed his hand out, knocking the gun to the floor. He kicked the officer back, sending him sailing to the floor with a forceful thrust of his foot.

I stared in awe before swaying, suddenly off balance now that my support was lying on the floor.

The guy in the flannel proceeded to punch the officer, knocking him out cold. He stuck his hands out just in time to catch me before I fell.

"I got you," he said, pulling me to my feet.

"I need to find Zombie," I blurted out. I closed my eyes immediately after, taking a sharp breath in. I didn't even know this guy; how would he know who the hell Zombie was?

"You're talking about Ben Parish, right?" he said.

I opened my eyes, letting them widen in surprise.

So he had seen Zombie? Even if he had, how had he connected the two names, Zombie and Ben Parish, together?

"I ran into him a little while back. He was with Cassie," Evan said. He shook his head quickly after. "Not that you'd know who Cassie is."

"Wait," I said. "Cassie Sullivan?"

The odds of the two of us talking about the same Cassie were slim to none, but it made sense if this guy knew who Ben was.

The flannel guy nodded. "That's her," he said.

I opened my mouth to spill out all the questions I had but the guy shook his head slightly.

"We have to go," he said. "This place is going to blow."

"The Others are blowing up the base?" I asked.

The guy shook his head, scooping me up into his arms. "No, I am."

With that, we, well he, ran through the halls, just as the sound of the alarm was joined by the booming of the base being blown to hell.

Different than if I were running, he seemed to accelerate with every extra foot we gained, and he seemed to be unrelenting. It was as if he wasn't human, but instead some impenetrable machine.

Bits of the floor and walls behind us started exploding, and the sounds washed through my ears, filling them with ringing.

I pressed my palms against my ears, squeezing my eyes shut.

I didn't want to see if we'd make it or not.

The sound of the guy's feet pounding against the floor echoed and his arms tightened around me as yet another boom split the air.

The ceiling behind us disappeared as pieces of concrete scattered and lefts streaks of dusts in their wake.

I didn't have to have my eyes open to know that the world around me was literally being destroyed.

I could hear the falling debris and the caving of floors. I could hear the rumble right before another part of the base was blown sky high. I could hear the sounds of planes taking off.

Planes.

My eyes shot open just as we made it outside.

There, up in the sky, were about a half a dozen planes. They were followed by a single helicopter.

We sprinted away from the now decimated army base, having to take a new route every time something lodged itself in our path.

Amidst the chaos, I turned my head to look back at the destruction we'd left behind us. Fire, rubble, and ash...Wright Patterson was no more. 

~*~*~*~

Nugget POV

"Where's Canary?" I asked.

I clung to Bear with one hand and to Cassie with the other.

The army jeep we were in flew across the gravel road, bumping every so often. Leafless trees lined our path, and the sky above us was starting to darken.

The army base was behind us, the fire and smoke could only be seen now if you squinted enough.

During all the running and Cassie and Zombie saving me, I hadn't realized Canary was nowhere to be found. But now that all of us: Ringer, Dumbo, Poundcake, Teacup, Zombie, Cassie, and I were in the car, I noticed that she wasn't with us.

Come to think of it, I didn't see Oompa either.

"Yeah, where is Canary, Zombie?" Ringer asked, looking back at Zombie through the rearview mirror.

Zombie ran a hand through his hair and balled his other into a fist.

I glanced over at him curiously. He seemed upset.

"I don't know," he said.

My breath got stuck in my throat.

"W-what?" I asked, tears filling the brims of my eyes.

He didn't know where Canary was? Was Canary in trouble? I couldn't go without her. When Cassie hadn't been there, Canary was. She was like my other sister- my best friend.

"She got taken away by one of the officers," He said slowly, as if he was still trying to process what happened. "They attacked me, I escaped. But not in time to see where they took her."

Zombie leaned forward, resting his forehead in the palms of his hands.

Tears started flowing down my cheeks and Cassie pulled me closer to her. "It's alright, Sammy. Everything's going to be ok."

I felt myself nodding against the rough material of her army uniform. I had Cassie back. She had come back to me.

I instinctively reached up to grasp the gold locket hanging around my neck.

And so would Canary.

<><><>

Tada! The final chapter of Perish Part 1!

How'd you like it? Predictions? Desires? Hopes? What do you think Part 2 is going to hold?

It'll be a little while until I have the first chapter of Part 2 up! I'll probably be able to get it posted either over Thanksgiving break or right after it! However, I was thinking about having a Part 1 Q&A chapter before I start on Part 2. I'd give you all a chance to ask questions about the writing process, certain motives behind writing particular scenes, etc. (maybe I'll even share bits of deleted scenes and hints to exciting things to come in part 2 :) 

So if you think that'd be something you'd be interested in, COMMENT any questions on THIS chapter!!

I love you all and can't wait to see each and every one of you for part two!