ZRP-2: Chapter 3, The Coming Storm

Eve looked up at James, long but with a soft gaze. She studied James' eyes.

Ev hugged James tightly. "It's ok daddy. It's ok...I forgive you. It's because of you mommy smiles more. I would do anything so mommy is happy." She didn't look up anymore. "Ane because now...now I'll have a daddy who will love me...and not...use me."

(James)
=Daddy....it was the last thing I ever expected to be called, at least by her. I wasn't going to cry, but it was hard not to. I returned the hug though=
"Thank you Eve. I promise, I will never use you. Your part of my family now. So what do you say, we kick some ass. All of us, as a family?"

Eve actually sobbed a bit.
Then she entered the Eve Zone.
"Let's go kick some ass and find bubblegum to chew, daddy."

(James)
"No it's chew bubble.....you know what? Survive this, and I'll tell you what to really say. Now let's move."

"I know silly. But we're all out of gum at the moment." She said with complete seriousness. "And I will return. I swear."

With that, Eve unslung her bow and ran.

(James)
Good luck kiddo....
=I figured it was better to stay with the group. If she was half as good as I expected her to be, she'd be back in under ten minutes=

Eve ran fast, making it easily to the warehouse within minutes. Soon enough she was doing her best Spiderman impression as she scaled the side of the decrepit building.
And soon enough, Eve "Lara Croft" Taylor was crouching, looking at the massive room below her...

--Interior, Below Eve--

=Below the girl was a mostly empty room. A factory of old, there were catwalks, stairs, plenty of elevated positions. The ground floor was littered with filth, several crates and boxes. And here and there, there were Shepherds. Most had shotguns, rifles, even assault rifles. Making a total of twenty, they stood idle, some moving as if on patrol=

Eve wanted to let loose a flurry of arrows but held herself back. Checking more, she moved onwards, and started to scale the walls again, checking through the windows carefully.

=There was a hallway behind the window, mostly scarce. There was a lone sniper, but he was more focused on the road than on the girl near his right=

Moving away, Eve carefully checked the other windows before searching for the prisoners.

=The prisoners were held further inside the building, far from Eve's view. They were for the most part, tied up and secured in old store rooms=

Satisfied with her intel, Eve tied rope to an arrow, secured it to the roof, and tied it to her own. She then fired it across the way to the adjacent two-story building. When the rope went taunt, she grabbed her metal climbing axe she thought of grabbing from the armory and jumped to zip-line down quickly.

Once she touched the roof, she cut the line, retrieved her arrow, and booked it back to the others.

(James)
=I stood by Hibiki in silence, both of us waiting for Eve to return. I hoped she was okay=

(Sam)
=While James and Hibiki had each other for support, I was on my own, anxiously waiting for Eve to return=

Eve casually walked up to the three worrying people, hands in her pockets as if she was out on a walk.
"Back."

(James)
=Smiling at the girl, I waived her inside=
"Welcome back kiddo. Any news?"

Eve nodded, then told James what she saw.
"And I zip-lined away from them. They didn't notice me. So. Uh. Either it's a trap or they are idiots. Or both."
She nodded, then went to find Sam.

(James)
"Well, I wouldn't putti past them that they set up a trap. But I just can't see it right now. Alright, we stick to the plan. Hibiki, you and the bus find a rear entrance, and find the prisoners. Cooper and I will open the front gates."

(Sam)
=I patted the girls arm=
"So, enjoy your little walk?"

Eve smiled, hugging Sam. "Yep...But I preferred our walk around the garden." she said.

Hibiki nodded. "Alright. Better take half my bus then; I need the seats to get the prisoners out quickly."

(James)
"That may be a problem. The tanks is cramped enough as it is....."
=There was a sound behind me, and I turned to see Marcus stand up=

*Marcus*
"We can walk James. We'll follow the tank, and storm in through the breach."

(James)
=Nodding at the man, I faced Hibiki again, giving her a swift kiss on the lips=
"Let's make sure we get out of this one. First round of drinks are on me when we get back."

Hibiki kissed bafk. "I'm holding you too that."

Eve stayed with Sam.

(James)
=I ran back to the tank, giving Cooper the signal to move. He floored it, and we accelerated down the street, turning the corner towards the entrance of the factory. There was a large gate up front that we crashed through, the sound echoing over the flat pavement of the parking lot out front. Then came the sound of bullets peppering the armored hull of the tank=
"Cooper, ram the wall with the rear of this thing so we can get out!"

=In answer, I heard the tires make a screeching sound as they swerved, and soon there was another crash as we rammed into the wall of the building. The ramp began to lower=

So, while Cooper did his best A-Team impression, Hibiki calmly drove the bus around back and parked.

Leaving the gunners and two door guards, she led the rest inside.


Eve pulled the string back, bow taut. She breathed.
Letting go, the arrow flew straight and true, slicing open one neck and impaling one man's eye.
She nocked another arrow and took aim.

(James)
=As the ramp came down, I was at the head of the group. Once it was all the way, I led them out of the tank, and first thing we noted was the number of bullets flying at us. Thankfully, some of the people shooting were bad shots, so the bullets didn't hit their target. That, and we had a few crates in front we were able to get behind. Once we were crouched down, Marcus tossed something, and there was a bright flash, accompanied by a loud sound. Flash bang, perfect. Springing from behind cover, I shot at my stunned targets=

(Sam)
=We followed Hibiki, those of us in the rescue group. She had led us through an entrance in the rear, probably an old fire escape. Once inside, I noted that it was oddly vacant, the interior of this hall. Then I heard the bullets, dull but there. The shepherds were being distracted alright=

Eve moved forward to lead the rescue party, stepping over the cooling corpses of her former comrades. Hibiki followed, gun lowered.
"Sam, Eve, check left. Jenkins, Mendoza, right. Everyone else hold here." She whispered.

(Sam)
"Got it Hibiki."
=Going in the direction indicated, Eve and I headed down the hall. There were a number of doors here, and we carefully checked each one=

(James)
=It wasn't quite a slaughter. We only killed maybe three of the Shepherds, and it was clear there was more than that. They began to fallback though, and we started to advance. However, two of our number went too quickly, and paid for it: the crates in their path exploded, leaving very little of them left=
"Dammit, they rigged the crates to blow. Go around!"

Eve kicked a door open, and found a few people with sacks on their heads. She drew her knife and cut their bonds.
"We're here to get you out of here." She said. "Please keep your hands in view and head for the back door. To the left twice."

=The hostages didn't say anything. They weren't capable of speech. Instead, the ones nearest Eve let out a moan of hunger, and lunged for her=

(Sam)
"Shit, walkers!"
=I aimed at the one going for Eve, blowing its head clean off. But there were too many, and now that they were aware of us, I did the only things could: I grabbed Eve by the collar of her shirt, and pulled her out the door. I moved to close it, but they were already coming=

"Just run!"

So yeah.
Eve ran like hell.
Oh, did she run.

Hibiki frowned as she heard the frantic footsteps. "Eyes up people! Check those corners!"

(James)
=We started moving around the crates, going up the stairs for the catwalk. Once at the top, we began splitting up, going by twos though there weren't enough of us to really spread that far out. There were more Shepherds, and we ended upsetting into a nasty firefight, my partner and I=
"Marcus, use another flashbang!"

=He shook his head, clearly out. Fuck. So I did the only thing I could: I kept firing. We were lucky, and managed to clear out the room. It almost seemed like the shepherds were in a steady retreat=

Hibiki saw Sam and Eve running...and hear a few brief bursts of gunfire from where Jenkins and Mendoza went...no running.
"Walkers!" Eve shouted.

Hibiki nodded. "Alright, fall back! We're too late! We gotta move out!"

(Sam)
=I didn't know if there were any hostages, really, and frankly I didn't care. Not with walkers and Shepherds in the same building. We ran like he'll back to the exit, walkers on our tail.....and then, as I looked back, I noticed that some of the, were going towards the sound of gunfire. James and the offensive group=

(James)
"Marcus, lets head back to the tank. We've given Hibiki more than enough time to get the hostages out."
=He nodded, and we started falling back. When we got to the end of the hallway though, back into the main room, I noticed two things: one, the ground floor of the factory was starting to fill with walkers, and two......Jonah was standing atop the catwalk, and he w holding something, the size of a cellphone, in his hands. Oh crap=

Eve shoved Sam forward and did an elegant backstep, drawing her Glock and blasting a walker back before running again.

Hibiki ushered everyone in, then stood by the door blasting any motherfucker who wasn't her lesbian daughters.

*Jonah*
=He must have seen something in the corner of his eye, because he turned to look at both me and Marcus=
"James! I had a feeling you'd be here. And I take it that my daughter is here as well."

(James)
"Not that you'll ever lay a hand on her Jonah."
=I started walking up the stairs, towards the catwalk and him=

"Marcus, go. This is between me and him."

*Marcus*
"James, dammit no! Come on!"
=He tried to grab me, but stopped when a walker tried to climb the stairs behind him. He spun, pistol whipping out and shot it dead in the head=

(James)
"This isn't the time to argue Marcus, go."
=The look I shot him was enough to make him back down, and he retreated for the tank. Already, the assault teams were falling back inside, leaving me alone on the catwalk with a score to settle=

*Jonah*
"You really are a fool James. As I recall, your encounters with me tend to go in my favor."
=He brandished the item in his hand, and it was revealed to be a detonator=

"But perhaps this really is for the best. One more fight before the Lord Almighty."
=Taking a step towards me, he unsheathed a knife with his free hand=

"Just so you know James.....no matter how this ends, there shall be no escape for your allies. The Pariah, shall bear down upon them, like the wrath of God."

(James)
Pariah? I had no idea who or what that was, and something told me that it was not good. But Jonah was the immediate problem, and I was waiting for this for a very long time

Eve felt it in her heart. That feeling one gets when their parent is around? Or the feeling there is a malevolent peesence?
Eve just knew. Years of her father's abuse, manipulation, and faux love had trained her to just feel when he was nearbye.
It was that reason that Eve shoved Sam into the bus.
"Father is here." She said deadpan. "And if tye past is true, James needs help."

She sprinted off, her impressige speed having her at the building, which she deftly began to scale, heading for the roof again.

Hibiki only could watch her daughter go.

(James)
=Before I had time to yell a retort, he thumbed the button on the detonator. Within seconds, there were a number of explosions throughout the building. Fire tore through the doors below us, pouring out onto the main floor. Some of the walkers caught fire, flailing about and lighting other crates on fire, or some of their own fellows. I looked back to Jonah=
"Planning to go down in flames?"

*Jonah*
=He simply laughed, tossing the detonator to the side, and twisting the knife so the blade pointed down=
"I could say the same for you."

=Then he charged, swinging the knife at me. I stepped back, the knife barely missing my throat. It was difficult to move with any grace, the SWAT gear I wore weighing me down. And I did not have the free room needed to remove it. The most I was able to do was unsheathe my own knife and dodge the next swipe. He started talking, interjecting each sentence with another swipe of the knife=
"How does it feel James? To care for my daughter? Knowing she betrayed you? That she will always betray you? You think she's your friend, but she's just biding her time. When the moment is right, she'll slit the throats of your allies."

(James)
"Shut up!"
=I sidestepped the next attack, and brought my own knife down onto his arm, the tip going straight for the flesh. Piercing through, it wound up both beneath his skin and between the bone of his arm. I tried to pull it out, do more damage but he used it as an advantage, a mad gleam in his eyes. With his left hand, he grabbed my knife arm, locking me in place as he literally tore his arm away from my blade. Blood poured from the wound, and the tear in his skin simply widened as the blade came out. His arm now free, he took advantage of the fact that I was stuck in his iron grip=

*Jonah*
"Try and dodge this."
=Then he swung the blade down at my face=

The arrows pierced Jonah's hand, knocking the knife away. Another arrow broke the arrowhead off, both weapons now tumbling into the fire.
In the skylight, hair blowing in the wind, stood Eve. The wind her accomplice, she heard the words regarding her.
"No one will take my daddy away. Not even the man who claimed he was my father." She called down, another arrows nocked and aimed. The deadly arrowpoint would follow Jonah.
The girl held the arrow at max.
She wasn't Jonah's little spy.

Eve was Sam's.
Forever.
And that is what kept the arrow forever pointed at Jonah's forehead.

(James)
=Shock at the arrow left me speechless. Jonah looked dumbfounded, as he looked from the arrow, to me. Then with a snarl, he gripped my knife hand and twisted. Crying out in pain, it had the desired effect: I loosened my grip on my knife, which he quickly grabbed. Turning the blade on me, he tried once more to bring it down at my face, this time going for my eye. I was able to get my hand up to hold the blade back, though the tip hit my right eyebrow, and as he kept pressing downward it sliced through on a downward arc. I was able to keep it a hairbreadth away from my eyeball, though it continued down through my cheek. Blood spilled from the cut, and I cried again in pain, but also anger. I w not about to die today, at the hands of this crazy monster. So, I kicked his knee, and for all his strength he was not able to keep it from buckling. He lost balance, and I was able to gain leverage when I grabbed his knife hand=
"This is for my home you son of a bitch."

=And with that, I shoved him over the railing of the catwalk. He fell, his mouth open in a wordless snarl, and landed on a crate below. He seemed to be alive at first, until the nearest walker noticed him. Like jackals, they descended on him, biting, tearing, ripping him apart as he screamed in pain, agony, and fear. I didn't pay anymore attention though, as a new sound grabbed my attention. I had not expected to hear such a sound, not after so long. But as I looked up through the ceiling glass, I saw it clear as day: a helicopter, small, more news copter than anything else. It hovered for a brief moment, before flying South. I would have gawked at it longer, but the building was coming down around me, and I needed out=

Eve was that out. With a deft shot, she ricocheted the arrow from one run and had it bring the rop to James' feet. She quickly tied it to a strong piece of the building.
"Climb up!" She shouted before turning and firing an arrow at the ground, creating a zip-line to safety.

(James)
=I would have gone for the rope, but there was another explosion from below. The fire had reached the explosives in one of the crates, and the new explosion tore the supports beneath the catwalk. With a screech of metal, the catwalk fell, and I lost my balance, falling to the ground below. The tank was still there, so I ran for it, through fire, smoke, and zombies. Seemed like a typical day really=

Eve went and zip-lined down and to safety, and began to walk towards the road, where she hoped the tank would stop for her.

She really hoped they did.

=I sat back in St. Louis, my idle time spent resting, my mind wandering here and there=

I just hope they get that bastard for me...Jonah needs to rot in hell...

=I fall into a light little nap, my body not objecting to me taking it easy for the first time in two years=

Let's just hope something screwy doesn't happen to me while I'm here...

=I let the thought go as I close my eyes, rest being the main thing on my mind=

(James)
=I wasn't about to have Cooper lower the hatch for the tank, not with explosions and walkers around us. So I climbed on top, banging twice on the top bulkhead, signaling him to move. Maybe he got the message, maybe he just wanted to get the hell outta there. Either way, the tank started moving, and we left the crumbling building behind us. Walkers were still coming out, many of them on fire now. And still I clung to the top of the tank as it raced out of the gated parking lot of the factory. I saw Eve standing at the curb two blocks away, and yelled at her=
"Eve! Come on, get on!"

Eve sprinted, then jumped for the side of the speeding tank like an idiot.
Or desperate, since a few walkers had arrived.

Eve stretched her hand out to James as she jumped.

(James)
=I saw her hand, and reached out for her. It was a good thing the tank wasn't the fastest of vehicles, as I was able to grab her hand and pull her up the side of the tank=
"Hey Eve, fancy meeting you here."

"I was in the neighborhood. Oh, the warehouse buffet closed. Something about the manager's pride heralding his fall or something." She said, then hugged James, staying close. "Don't scare me again daddy."

(James)
=To be honest, it was a little odd, getting hugged by Eve on top of a moving tank while being chased by flaming zombies and escaping an exploding building. Still, I returned the hug=
"I'll try and do better. Now let's hope your mom managed to pull back, no telling what else was in there."

(Sam)
=The whole time, I was practically jumping in my seat. Eve was gone, the building was on fire, and I had no idea what was happening to James. I walked to Hibiki, now in the driver's seat=
"We need to go, now!"

Hibiki floored it.
"Going now. Lets hope Cooper has them."

Eve closed her eyes. "He's...he's gone, right?"

(James)
=I cast one last look at the building, the roof now collapsing in fire and smoke. More explosions tore through the place, until finally all that was left was roaring flames=
"Dead, burned to ashes, and gone forever."

=We stayed on top of the tank, as it drove onward for three more blocks, coming to a stop at the place where Eve and I had discussed the plans for scouting. It seemed a good enough rally point=

Eve relaxed. Her nightmare lzooked over.

Soon enough, the warbus slowed to a stop beside the tank.
"Sam. She's with James." Hibiki said