"This is a terrible plan," Fred muttered, one eye on the splattered remains of the zombies outside the fence as his nimble fingers stripped the wires in the Humvee's steering column. The vehicle sputtered, and coughed, but refused to kick into gear. Fred swore, leaping out of the driver's seat to fiddle with the engine. I kept watch from the passenger's side, Wolf Girl in my lap. Most of the back seat was taken up by J.D. and our new arsenal, rocket launcher included. I tried to quell the little thrill of excitement, but holy shit, we have a rocket launcher! The soldier kept his eyes on our surroundings, his mouth set in a grim frown.

                "You can get that engine going anytime, white boy," J.D. drawled, setting the rocket launcher on his shoulder. Fred gritted his teeth, gripping the hood hard enough to leave an impression of his fingers.

            "If you can do better be my guest."

            "Afraid I have to deal with these assholes."

            Fred craned his neck, swearing. Through the back window I could see them, a trio of aliens scuttling from the alley. We were out of time. I quickly shifted Wolf Girl into the seat, strapping her in, one eye on the advancing trio. Were they survivors from the group we saw before? They certainly appeared beat up enough, their suits stained and torn. One of them wore a cracked mask, he was the one which noticed us, or noticed J.D. rising from the Humvee's sun roof, aiming the launcher at them. Their weapons came up. Fred slammed down the hood, startling them and giving J.D. the moment of distraction he needed.

            The rocket fired. It was our first stroke of luck in a pisser of a day. I tracked it long enough to see two of the aliens dive out of the way before the projectile clipped the middle one, enveloping him in an explosion of fire. The blowback cracked the rear window. Fred threw himself into the driver's seat, flicking the wires together again as the engine coughed to life.

            "Ha!" He slammed a palm into the steering wheel, throwing the car in gear as the  aliens picked themselves up from the ground.

            "Tough bastards," J.D. muttered. The fire died away to reveal all three still standing. He pulled the pin from a smoke canister and lobbed it in their direction to mask our trail.

            "Hold onto your panties," Fred said, flooring the gas pedal. I braced myself, trying not to crush Wolf Girl as we shot through the streets of Rochester. There were more abandoned cars on the road here. Fred weaved through the wrecks with so many sharp turns I had to wedge myself by the dashboard to keep from flying around the cab. J.D. managed to stay upright and load a rifle. Some people have all the skill.

            "Holy--" I heard J.D.'s oath, peering through the back cracked rear windshield to see what ruffled his feathers. "This thing needs to go faster!" The aliens were closing in on us, hovering above the ground, gaining ground far faster than we were.

            "Lot of stuff in the way!" Fred retorted, glancing in the side mirrors. "Shit! Are they floating?" I punched his knee cap to get his attention.

            "Drive on the side walk, idiot, not like you have to worry about people."

            "Oh, right." He yanked on the wheel. I smashed my nose on the stick shift as the Humvee thumped over the curb. Fred winced. "Sorry."

            "Shut up, just drive." I looked at Wolf Girl, who clung to her seat belt for dear life. Her expression was pure panic. I couldn't imagine the shit storm in her mind. Why did I insist on bringing her with us? I gripped her hand, squeezing her fingers.

            "I promise we'll get you out of here alive, no matter what happens." Those soft brown eyes held my gaze as Fred maneuvered the Humvee along the sidewalk. Debris dinged the bumper, occasionally flying up over the hood to smack into the windshield. We heard each impact, none of us spoke.

            "Shit!" Fred yelped, throwing the wheel to the side hard enough to lock the brakes. The car veered into a sharp left. J.D. ducked inside to avoid being thrown off. Fred didn't wait for the car to stop moving, reaching over to unbuckle Wolf Girl. I poked my head up, groaning at the dead lock traffic of abandoned cars blocking our way. "Open the door, get her out."

            I tumbled from the Humvee, pulling Wolf Girl to the ground with me. I managed to avoid skewering both of us with the machetes strapped against my thighs. J.D. kicked the back door open, executing a graceful roll to land on his haunches with his rifle up and ready. Seriously, he was undead Rambo. I scrambled up, half dragging our human along, while J.D. scooted backward, keeping his sights trained on our pursuers.

            "Any brilliant ideas?" I turned to Fred. Who wasn't there? I spun around and caught sight of him climbing over the passenger seat. The driver's side door was pinned shut by another car. The aliens shouted something at us, coming to a stop several yards away. They lifted their weapons in our direction. Everything slowed down, just for a moment. I heard the click of J.D.'s rifle. I stared at Fred, catching his eye. There was no fear in his face, maybe a little resignation.

            "Get down," J.D. roared, pulling the trigger. The shot went through the facemask of the alien closest to us. The other two fired. I dove on top of Wolf Girl, covering her head as the air pulsed over our heads. The crunch and screech of twisting metal blotted out any other noise. The Humvee's hood rolled past us, a barely recognizable ball of twisted steel. I lifted my head, looking for Fred, hoping he somehow got clear.

                At first I thought he made it, got thrown by the blast. He lay slumped against another abandoned car. Except I could see the car through him. This wasn't like our encounter with the bear; Fred could not shrug off this wound. Their weapons punched a large ragged hole through his chest, right through his ribcage. My mind blanked. I lurched to my feet, ignoring J.D.'s yells to stay down, ripping a machete free from its holster. I took a few running steps and launched it at the bastards, javelin style. I wasn't expecting to hit one, but I wanted their attention on me. My wild throw clipped one in the shoulder, spraying an arc of purple blood. I charged them, closing the last few feet by leaping on the uninjured one.

            Engaging him unarmed proved to be a mistake. His arms were thinner than mine but he pivoted my body over his bulbous head and slammed me into the cement. I caught a glimpse of J.D. rushing to my aid, but the alien I injured wasn't down for the count. His shots were aimless but the blasts hit such a wide area, J.D. was forced to duck behind the remains of the Humvee. I couldn't see Wolf Girl. Had she been caught in the blast? The thought sent a new rush of rage through me. I kicked out, slamming my heels into two of his three legs. I wasn't sure where to target, there was no discernible joint or weak spot, but the force was sufficient enough to knock him off balance and send him tumbling next to me. I rolled on top of him, punching his face mask. I might not be as strong as Fred, but the alien's mask split with a satisfying crack. I was strong enough for this.

            Breaking his face mask made him frenzied. He seized my arms and threw me again, sending me crashing into the brick side of an apartment building. I struggled to free my other machete, remembering it was Fred's bright idea to tie them to my legs to keep from losing them. Why had I let him knot them? The fucking Eagle Scout, why couldn't he get out of the car on time? I felt the wind rush toward me and jerked to the side. The shockwave of the blast lifted me up again. I landed in an awkward tumble a few feet from Fred's still form. My machete jerked free, not that it did me any good. The alien approached me, weapon aimed at my face, well out of my range.

            He paused six feet from me, a mere six feet. He wheezed from the cracked face mask but his arm was steady. I was about to be misted, like the zombies from earlier. I glanced at Fred. We never remembered our lives.

            "What sort of abomination are you?"

            I gaped at the alien. He had me dead to rights and he wanted to chat? "I-I'm Li," I sputtered out. It was not one of my finer moments. It was impossible to tell what he thought of my brilliant statement through that ridiculous mask.

            I don't know how she got around him. One moment I was sure Wolf Girl was a pile of bloody bits, until she rose like a vengeful wraith behind the injured alien pinning down J.D., the machete I'd thrown clutched in her hands. The alien didn't notice her until the blade pierced through his back.  The absence of his weapon fire and the gurgling noise his friend made as he collapsed surprised both of us. I recovered first, closing the six foot gap by slicing him across the chest. I swung too soon, managing a shallow cut. My opponent countered by slamming his weapon across my jaw. There was no pain, but I heard a crackle in the bones of my face. The force of the hit drove me to the ground. The machete clattered across the pavement. I reached for it, his foot coming down to crush my fingers, pinning me there. I'd blown my chance to take him out, my window of survival closed. He loomed over me, his finger tensing on the trigger.

            His face burst outward.

            The gun dropped as the alien shuddered. In place of his facemask was a fist, drenched in neon purple blood. The fist pulled back, with a wet tearing sound I would never forget. The alien's body dropped, revealing Fred in his place.

            "Fred?" My voice wavered. My eyes darted from the vacant spot by the car to the gaping chest wound. He was alive? "Fred!" I rose up, but Fred wasn't looking at me, his crystalline eyes were vacant as he sank to his knees over the alien's corpse, reaching into the hole he'd made through the back of the skull. I couldn't look away, horrified, fascinated, as Fred began to feed.

***"I will survive! I will survive! Hey hey!" Hush Fred, let the people read. Don't forget to vote!***