Alright People... We're Going In

"Week 3, day 7. Viper and I got to talking last night. In the midst of the conversation we just didn't feel like sleeping when it came time to switch the night watch. We spoke of what life was like before the plague. Her with her school in Victoria, B.C., and her passion for free lance modeling and writing. She had a couple projects on the go that she hadn't completed yet. It's a shame really. She could write such in-depth poems that could make you cry or smile with her words. We talked about her family. She was pretty much forced into this mess the same way I was. Her family was caught off guard trying to help some people who were bleeding profusely. Those hurt people ended up dying on the way to the hospital and infecting her parents and her brother. He was a real fighter though, the brother. He fought until his last breath. Found a way to keep himself and Viper alive until they got to a safe house, and then the bites finally killed him.
We were still keeping a watch for Zombies that might come and find us easy prey. But as midnight came and went, Viper leaned her head back and rested it on my shoulder to just gaze up at the stars for a moment. I could tell she was reliving something in her mind that was still tender. The only thing I could do was squeeze her hand lightly to let her know she wasn't alone. A light squeeze back was the only acknowledgment she gave, but I could feel her relax against my back.
As the sun rose and the surviving wildlife woke up with it, it brought back memories of my own of how the simple pleasures in life before the plague were so unrecognized or unappreciated. And while I checked the book of battle logs I realized that today was August the 29th...
'Well Reaper... Happy birthday,' I muttered to myself.
Viper turned around to face me. 'Did you say something Reaper?'
Looking at her with a little smile on my face, I just shook my head and said it was about time to start the day. With that the two of us slowly got up, stretched out the cramps and aches in our muscles and went around to wake the others. When I bent down to wake Eagle, he just looked at me while rubbing the sleep from his eyes. 'You were supposed to wake me for my shift, jerk face,' he said with a grin.
'I thought you could use the rest, old timer,' I joked back. Reaching down to offer him a hand up, we both rose to the new morning.
After we had all eaten our rations for the morning and gotten our gear all packed up and ready, Watcher spoke up and asked, 'So what's the plan, Cap'n?' I had spoken of the basic plan to Viper as well that night, and she just looked up at me and smiled her encouragement. It would be one of most dangerous things we'd done as a team yet.
'Well Ladies and Gents... We know what's out here. Zombies, Zombies, and more Zombies.' There was a slight chuckle at that. 'What we don't know is what's back home. It's been four days since HQ went down, and I think it's about time we figured out what happened. Remember... There were precaution bunkers at the facility. Hopefully some people managed to get into those. Last time we were there, I'd overheard that there's enough supplies and weaponry in the bunkers to last 100 people at least 2 weeks without rationing. If the worst has happened and there's no one alive... We can still resupply and secure the area for a fall back fortress of our own if it's not completely infected.'
And as I finished, some eyes looked troubled. Eagle and Phoenix especially. We had family at that base... I understood what was going through their mind. Either we'd find their corpses, we'd find them in the bunker... or they would come find us. 'Listen now troops,' I spoke gently but in a definitive tone. 'If there's a chance that there are survivors, it's our duty as humans to help them out.' With that Sphinx stood up, leaned on his war hammer and gave a nod of assent.
'He's right... If there's something we can do...' Eagle started.
Phoenix finished the statement for him, 'Then we should do it!' Reaching over, they clasped each others hands and said to each other, 'Hoorah!'And with a triumphant atmosphere the rest of us joined in the cheer and pumped our fists to the heavens.
So with our gear on our backs, and smiles on our faces, we made our way back to base. Ignoring the last words of the commander to not return, we marched forward. As we made our way through the forest and back on to the main roads of the city, I sent a broadcast out from our radios, trying to reach any survivors at Head Quarters and let them know that we were coming. We didn't get any responses back... But we weren't really expecting any either.
Letting Viper and Sphinx lead the way, the rest of us took general positions covering our backs and the buildings to the side to make sure we weren't walking into a trap. It wasn't a pleasant site. Once tall, clean, and proud, the buildings we passed had been sorely mistreated in the past two months. Windows broken, doorways boarded up, bullet holes and blood splatters... These buildings seemed to take on the attributes of the ghastly undead that had taken over our world.
Eventually we started sloping upwards and the tombstone-like buildings were left behind us. As we came along a sign that read: 'Army Property. No Trespassing,' I signaled to the team to stop, and Eagle took point with Viper. He raised his sniper rifle and peered through the scope. Signaling that all was clear, we sat down for a rest.
Eating our midday rations, checking our gear and making sure our weapons were armed and loaded. We prepped for the deadliest mission we'd undertaken yet."

Excerpt from the battle log of Steven A. Carpenter. Code Named: Reaper.