You decide leaving wouldn't be a good idea. Sure, he's been gone a while, but you trust him enough to believe he'll come back. Just as you think it, the door burst open. In comes both Quinn and Lawrence, breathing hard and a little roughed up, but alive.

"It's getting heavy out there," Quinn says.

"Were you caught in a mob?" you ask.

"Mob hell," Lawrence says, "we were caught in a shit storm."

"A group of no-goods were hanging up a victim as bait. We had a shoot out, then had to fight our way out of the horde that came because of the gunshots."

"I heard them, but I didn't think you were that far away." You look around. "Where's the person? You saved them right?"

Lawrence scoffs angrily. He's staring out the window, making sure they weren't followed or noticed by anyone or anything. Quinn spares him an apologetic look before turning to you.

"We lost her. She got bit."

"I could've-"

"You couldn't have, Lawrence. Jones was a goner. Cutting her arm off would only have made her bleed out and die faster."

"Whatever. Here's your stupid radio." Lawrence pulls a hand radio out of his back pocket and tosses it to Quinn.

A radio? Your brows draw together. They could have called for backup any time...

"You've had this the whole time?" you ask accusingly.

"No. We don't all carry one, only certain members of each squad. Jones had this one," Quinn says, and the sad look softens his features again.

They actually knew her, you realize. She must have been from another squad. You wander how many squads there were and how many were sent here. Were they sent anywhere else or was your town the only outbreak? You don't press the questions though, because Quinn is already trying to speak into the radio.

"Alpha team calling Beta and Gamma teams, come in," he says.

"Go ahead Alpha, Beta copies. Over."

"Is Gamma out there as well? Over."

"We lost contact with them at approximately 0-819. Over."

"Delta team has fallen. It looks like it's just us and you. Beta, what is your position? Over."

"We're in a mall. Over," the voice says.

Throughout this whole conversation, you've been barely paying attention. The radio crackle is so hard to hear, and you figure Quinn will explain anything you need to know, but when you distinctly hear the word mall, your heart leaps. "Did he say they're at the mall?"

"Affirmative-ah, I mean, yes," Quinn says.

You ask Quinn to relay your parents names to the voice on the other end. Quinn asks if they're present. For a moment there's silence. You're almost ready to jump up and down or bang your head on the wall with the frustration of the building anticipation. Finally the speaker cracks.

"Affirmative. Over!"

You're so excited, you can't contain yourself. Quinn hands you the handle and you speak into it. "Mom, dad! Is it really you?"

Your mom's voice says, "Honey? Oh God, we've been so worried!"and she says your real name as she's trying to make sure it's you.

You apologize to Quinn and Lawrence. "I didn't know I could trust you."

They seem fine with that explanation.

"Yeah. I'm okay, mom, I'm fine. They didn't get me," you tell her.

You're so happy you laugh out loud. "I'm with these guys, Alpha team. I'm safe. I'll see you soon! I love you!"

At least you hope you'll see her soon. Quinn takes the radio back and smiles at you. You smile back, happy that your family is safe with Beta team for now. Who knows, they may have more members to keep a larger group safe there.

"Beta, bring your civilians and meet us at rendezvous. We're going to have to initiate plan C. Over."

"What's plan C?" you ask.

"We're gonna blow these f%^*ers up," Lawrence answers with a look of satisfaction, as if he'd been gunning for this plan from the very beginning.

-----

Lawrence twists some dials and makes some other contacts and they make plans for bombing the undead in the city. He and Quinn take a moment to have some water and gather their energy for what you were all about to do. In the meantime, they fill you in. This clearly isn't going to be a cakewalk. By the time you've got everything memorized, the undead have quadrupled outside, or so it seems. The raspy groans and bumps against the building let you know they've caught on to humans being inside. Their sense of smell is keen, even if their brains aren't.

That's fine. You want them to smell you and come. Quinn is busy throwing together a mixture of items as fast as Lawrence can find the ingredients laying around. They're making some kind of bomb. Quinn nods to you and you nod back. It's time for your part.

"Hey, you smelly creeps!" you shout loud as you can and bang on the wall. You walk and bang screaming, "Come get me!"

You hit the window. It clatters, and they go even more crazy. Glass bursts and a few rotted hands reach through. Hissing and growling grows louder than ever.

"Come on, is that the best you can do?" you scream, and you pound on the door now.

"The backs clear," Lawrence says.

"Let's go," Quinn says.

You twist the doorknob so that the door opens and the only thing holding it is the weak chain lock. Legs and arms with muscle and bone showing in places slip through. One undead even sticks his nose and mouth through and chomps at you. You don't stay to watch. Time is ticking. You take off after Quinn and Lawrence, running as fast as you can.

A few undead stragglers are outside, but Lawrence quickly slashes them with his swords and they fall. Some of them you all just pass because they're slow and you don't have time to fight them. Just as you get to where Quinn says you should be, an explosion goes off at the house you left. The bomb he made was stronger than you expected. Wood flies everywhere and the house begins to burn. Some of the living corpses nearby catch fire and stumble around until they fall. More undead are going toward the noise and the warmth. You laugh.

"Good job!" you say.

"No time to admire," Quinn says, though he has a wide smile. "We have to make it to the rendezvous point."

Lawrence is already further down the sidewalk, slicing up some undead. You both join him, fighting your way through the undead. Everything shuts off as you bash and stab the undead. The only thing you can think is, "I get to see my family." But to get to them, you've got to go through these. You lose yourself in the slaying. So much so, that by the time you can think a coherent thought again, Lawrence is shaking you, shouting your name.

"We're here," he says. You look around and the undead are in piles on the ground. More people have joined and are standing around. Bloody, tired, and alive. You see your mom and she drops a blade that looks as if it came from a lawn mower. You collide with her in a hug and then your father joins, almost knocking you both over. You sister manages to squeeze in.

When you finally break away, you see about fifty watery eyes watching you. One woman, a chubby woman with a kind face, breaks out of the group and comes forward. "She never gave up hope, you know," she says staring fondly at your mother and you, clearly glad that you found each other. Your mother must've made quick friends with this woman, you think.

"Me, either," you say.

"Reunion's over," a tall middle aged man says. He has scars on his face and one eye looks completely white. His voice is the voice you heard on the radio. "We got incoming."

"We have a minute and sixteen seconds," Lawrence says.

"Behind the wall!" Quinn shouts. "Now!" His voice booms and the crowd jumps into action.

The leader of Beta team opens a door in a newly constructed wall. It goes as far as you can see and blocks off the city. You can't tell what it's made of, but it looks thin. It must be made out of something strong, you guess. You follow everyone else through the door. There are vehicles waiting outside. They look like busses, but are thick like tanks. There are four and you pile in with your family, Quinn, and Lawrence. As your driver drives away, you see planes coming through. Bombs drop from their bellies and the ground shakes as they hit the earth.

Relief, and sorrow flood you. Your town is gone, and maybe some humans died as well. But the undead are extracted. The virus won't spread. Millions of people are now safe.

"Hey kid," Lawrence says, drawing your attention.

"What?" you ask.

He gives you a grin and a wink. "Thanks for helping us save the world."

To helps spread the word of Guts and also to show everyone what a bad ass zombie apocalypse survivor you all are, feel free to post: I REACHED THE ULTIMATE ENDING IN GUTS! on your bio or wherever. You can even use this photo if you'd like: