The rapid beating of my heart pulsed out a heavy rhythm in my temples while I kept as still as I possibly could.

Thump thump. Thump thump. Thump thump. Thump thump.

It was steady, but racing like a horse realizing the pasture gate was left open. The hair-raising racket coming from the revenant definitely wasn't helping. If anything, it was spiking my pulse and setting a burning flame of pain in my side.

A screech sounded in the distance, and I nearly jumped out of my skin as the infected behind me answered with a deafening roar of its own. It snorted and wheezed before shrieking again and walking away, its footsteps crunching on the loose pebbles scattered around the LZ.

Fuck, those things were loud! At least I had no trouble hearing them, or else things wouldn't have turned out so great.

Slowly rolling Azrael's body off mine, I sat up as quickly as I dared. A sigh of relief left me after I glanced around. There were no revenants in sight, although I knew they were out there somewhere. I would just have to be quiet and do nothing to attract attention because I was in no shape to fight anything.

I bit my cheek to keep from making any noise and tottered to my feet. Heaviness settled in my limbs like a lead blanket but I tried to ignore it. There would be no giving up. I couldn't, wouldn't let this get the best of me.

Pulling my radio from my pocket, I pressed the button and held it close to my mouth. "Control this is She Wolf. Alpha Chaos is down. I'm all that's left, and I'm in need of medical assistance. The helo is down with no survivors. Requesting another team to search the wreckage and bring my boys home. Standing by."

I waited for a reply, for any sign they heard me, but nothing came through. Not even static.

"Is anyone there? This is She Wolf of Alpha Chaos. Please respond," I spoke quietly, chewing my lip as I waited for an acknowledgement.

Nothing. Absolutely nothing. No calm voice of Control operators, no greeting from Ward, and no hope of backup.

My heart sank. I've never felt this alone since the night I lost Jonathan. My squad was gone now, and no one was coming to help me. If I survived, it would be of my own doing.

Tossing the radio down, I held my side and felt the stickiness. What I needed now was a place to settle in and patch up before the sun set any more, and the partially barred up convenience store looked as good a place as any.

Getting there was not a walk in the park. After stumbling over and around bricks, bottles, parked cars, and everything else in my path, I leaned against the door frame of my destination. The musky scent of the unused building filled my nostrils and I pulled my hand from the frame to wipe my nose, leaving behind a bloody handprint.

Sliding the pistol from its holster, I leveled it and scoured the area for any indication of danger. Other than strewn goods and knocked-over shelves, it was clear. I couldn't be more thankful. A couple of revenants were my expectation but, for once, having my expectations dashed was for the best.

As the sun took its final breath before sinking below the horizon, I limped through all the bags of chips, squished candy bars, and the remnants of decor. This place looked like a good idea, but it was too open to attack. It made me an easy target, especially since I couldn't block the rest of the windows here in the lobby. Not in my condition, at least.

A grin of relief stretched across my busted lip as my searching gaze landed on a set of stairs situated behind the counter.

There was an upstairs. Perfect.

The wooden boards squeaked beneath the soles of my boots as I carefully ascended them. One of my hands pressed against my wound and the other held the pistol and steadied myself on the handrail.

I hated how dark it was in here, and how each squeak sounded so loud it could be heard cross-country. One thing was sure, if there were any revenants up here, they knew I was coming.

Hopefully it was empty. If not, then I was in all sorts of trouble. The kind I might not be able to get myself out of.

Standing at the top of the stairs, I glanced over my shoulder into the shadows of the ground floor before staring at the room spanning before me.

The silence was deafening and thick like a choking fog, settling over me and the old bedroom I found myself in. A little bit of clouded light wafted from the only window not boarded up, and I could see a couple of stars forming in the darkening sky through a gaping hole in the roof. The bed, with messed up blankets and sheets, sat in the corner in otherwise perfect condition and a few steps from it was the door to a bathroom.

Sure this place had a few openings, but it was definitely more secure than below. And there was a bed, an actual fucking bed in here I could spend the night in. This was the first time on the field I've had a bed, and nothing would stop me from settling in it later.

All I needed now to make this even more perfect was to block off the stairs from further entry.

I bit my lip against the pain and slid a dresser from against the wall to the top of the stairs. It obstructed it well enough, and I sighed in relief. Finally I could rest, and fix myself up before I passed out or worse.

With a grunted sigh, I eased down onto the bed. My weight slightly sunk the mattress in and I resisted the urge to just fall back on it and drift away to Dreamland like I would back in the QZ with—

I swallowed back a sob as all at once the gravity of the loss fell on me, crashing against my heart like a tsunami. But I couldn't cry right now. I needed to get past this, to survive.

And then what? Go back to a QZ empty of those who I spent my waking hours with?

Blowing out a slow breath, I collected myself and shoved the all-too-familiar grief and emptiness back down inside and away from my conscience where it belonged. If I was going to pull through, I couldn't let emotions govern me.

One day, I would deal with it all.

A laugh void of humor drifted from me at the thought. I would never deal with it, but it didn't stop me from telling myself I would someday.

I chewed my lip and lifted the corner of my tank top, revealing the angry red skin puckered up around a ragged and bleeding puncture. Dirt and pieces of lint speckled the area and fuck did it hurt.

Sad facts were the pain was about to double, if not triple, and more blood would flow. Hell I wasn't sure how much I lost already, but it was more than I wanted to give up.

My hands shook as I pulled the damaged medkit from my pocket. Dumping its contents on the bed beside me, I pushed the sutures and needle to the side. I would need them in a moment, but right now, I needed something to clean it the best I could. The tips of my fingers grazed the cool surface of an alcohol wipe and I picked it up, ripping off the corner and slipping the small damp square out.

Oh this was about to hurt like a motherfucker, but there was no other option. Maybe if I was quick enough it wouldn't hurt as bad. Or at least, I hoped so. I closed my eyes for a moment.

It was now or never.