Aaron emerged from the stairwell and took a stroll around the sixth floor, walking along the rail to watch the chaos unfold down in the Commons. Debris and fire from Bloodletter's murder-suicide was striking down on the bottom floor like a meteor shower. The DZI were taking their last stand against the Deadmen, firing away their last rounds of ammo into the crowds.

Once the debris reached the Commons, however, the incoming destruction took no sides. Both DZI and Deadmen were crushed by the falling fragments of building materials. The fire raining down resulted in one of the scariest sights any of the DZI had ever seen, as Deadmen stumbled around shrieking like banshees as they slowly burned to death. Gunfire continued to sound through the air, but the shrapnel from above made it hard to pick a target.

Harry, Jade, and Kyle were watching from a small corner as destruction came crashing down on the Commons. "Do you think that was Aaron?" Kyle asked.

"What if it was Bloodletter?" Jade asked.

"I'd wager it was both," Harry said. But the three of them ran back into their corner once the DZI started firing again.

Most of the citizens of Matheson had left in the buses and only one bus remained stationary. The remaining DZI did everything they could to escort the citizens to their last chance of survival, and most of them were successful. Most.

A woman and her daughter were corned by two Deadmen on their way to the garage. The woman held her young daughter close to her as one Deadman, one ugly bastard with his entire jawbone exposed, slowly approached her. Fortunately, Kat returned to the Commons at the perfect time and quickly took out the two Deadmen with her handgun.

"Thank you, dear," the mother said.

"You and your daughter's safety is all that matters now," Kat replied. She took the mother by her arm and escorted her and her daughter toward the garage. "Head to the buses. You'll be safe in Lovecraft."

Kat held the door open as the two jogged into the garage, where they were led by several other DZI onto the remaining bus. She looked back to see Shaw bolting toward her. He quickly turned around to gun down a few Deadmen before returning his view to Kat.

"Here, Mathis," he said, raising up his hand to reveal the suitcase of evidence. Kat didn't forget it. She just placed in a location where no one could steal it.

"Sir, what are you doing?" Kat asked. "I was gonna get that after we finish off the Deadmen."

"Mathis, that's never gonna happen."

"Sir?"

"I hate to say it, but we're outnumbered. I order you to take the last bus to Lovecraft with the rest of the citizens."

Kat gasped. "Sir, please! I'm a DZI! I need to stay and fight!"

"I love your determination, Mathis, but you belong in Lovecraft. If this evidence O'Connor found is genuine, you'll be the cherry on top when it comes to convincing these people of the truth."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"I'm saying you were an associate of the lad who uncovered Schaefer's crimes against humanity. You were a close friend of O'Connor, which means you're more qualified to reveal the evidence than anyone else. So we need you alive, Mathis. The survivors of Matheson need you alive."

Kat stayed silent. Shaw had to keep looking back to take out more Deadmen, but he was patient enough to let Kat comprehend what she learned. The first thing she did was take the case out of Shaw's hand and held it beside her while her other hand spent the last few bullets in her gun on a couple of Deadmen, each one taken down with a perfect headshot.

"It was an honor working with you, Mathis," Shaw said. "And it was an even bigger honor getting to meet you back in London."

Kat didn't respond. She simply shoved her gun back into her holster and entered the door into the garage, taking one more look back at Shaw as the Deadmen closed in on him and his comrades like a tidal wave.

Ignoring the violence beyond that door, she slowly walked down the hall leading up to the final bus. Four other DZI soldiers were gathered around the bus to ensure its protection. Dozens of people of all ages were crowded inside it. One of the soldiers closest to her approached her and escorted her toward the bus.

"You the last one, Mathis?" he asked.

"I should be here at home," she replied grimly. "With my friends."

"Well, think of it this way. Your friends care about you. They don't want to see you get torn apart by the Deadmen. And once we get to Lovecraft, you can tell them of your friends' heroic acts. Even if they've died, you can keep their legacy alive."

Kat sighed as she approached the door to the bus. "I hope so."

She walked up the steps into the bus. She was shocked to see so much children crammed into this vehicle, some of which had their parents and others who would depart the tower alone. She found an empty seat and took it, and she placed the case on her lap. She felt like her heart had sunk deep into an abyss.

"Final departure!" one of the DZI shouted outside the bus. "Either get on the bus or get left behind!"

The four soldiers bolted to the door of the bus, two of them escorting a few remaining families. And once they were all in, the doors closed tight and the bus propelled forward out of the gates of the tower. Kat looked out the window to see a few unlucky citizens too late to reach the bus get ripped apart by the Deadmen as they burst through the doors, which prompted her to immediately look away. As the bus exited the gates, a wave of Deadmen poured out into the garage, but the bus was too quick for them to catch up. The citizens were safe.

Once they were dozens of feet away from Matheson, Kat decided to look at the drawings Aaron gave her. Harry, Jade, Kyle, and that one awkward collection of stick figures representing Aaron and Nika on her dates. Despite the morbid reality of each of those drawings (aside from the stick figure one), she couldn't help but smile.

"Don't worry, ladies and gents," the bus driver said. "Today was a hard day. Some of you may have never even seen the world beyond the walls of Matheson before today, and now you've learned of its dangers. But Lovecraft Babel Tower will welcome you with open arms. It's larger, luxurious, and more secure than Matheson ever would've been. You'll never have to see another day like this ever again." He returned his view to the road in front of him. "I guess we'll never find out what's the deal with those monsters."

Kat's eyes widened. She shoved the drawings back into her pocket and stood the suitcase up on her lap. "Actually, sir," she said. "I have something that may shed some light on that subject."

* * *

A few minutes ago when Kat was finally persuaded to flee the tower with the others, Aaron watched from the sixth floor as the chaos unfolded. He watched as Shaw and the remaining DZI disappeared into the horde of Deadmen. He didn't know how to react to that. On one hand, Shaw helped save him and his friends during the London Outbreak. On the other hand, he proved to be a major asshole even for a military man once he got to know him. So he shrugged off his death and continued walking.

Several other Deadmen were rummaging around the empty flats of the sixth floor looking for more prey, but Aaron just strolled down the hall like a walk in the park. He wanted to see what his old flat looked like and if the DZI cared enough to not vandalize everything in it. He took a couple more glimpses over the rails to see the Deadmen down in the Commons feeding off the uninfected corpses. He noticed that a few of them were previous citizens of Matheson and he hoped he wouldn't have to see them up close for a while. In fact, he felt like just seeing Harry, Jade, and Kyle again would hurt.

Eventually, he reached his old flat. Apartment 656. The peephole on the door was replaced with a long gash as if someone used an axe to break through it, but the door itself was left ajar. Once he nudged it open a little more, he finally saw what the DZI left behind. His couch and chest of personal belongings were shattered to smithereens, nothing but a pile of destroyed wood and fabric. Ration Cards and pound sterlings littered the floor around the destroyed chest. The mattress of his bed was messily hanging over the bed frame and the sheets were on the floor beside it.

Right at his feet lay the box labeled To Nika, and the lid was popped off to reveal the ring he would've given her. He wondered about how it would feel to slip it onto her finger, have a huge ceremony, start addressing her as Mrs. Nika O'Connor, and finally get some privacy in their own flat that the two of them would share indefinitely. Just another dream that would never come true.

He nudged it to the side and collapsed into the mattress. He didn't care about how dirty it was or the fact it wasn't even on the bed frame anymore. He pulled a pillow under his head and yanked the blanket up to his neck.

"If all of this isn't just a bad dream," he told himself as he closed his eyes, "I hope I never wake up."

And just like that, the world faded away. That would be the last time he would ever sleep.

END OF PART 4