John sat down in his seat in the Humvee and removed his helmet. A bead of sweat trickled down from his brow and onto his face. He couldn’t remember when the last time was that he got some decent rest. A week ago, maybe? Two weeks? Ever since everything started he was constantly on the move, leading convoys to and from Camp Pendleton to locate and save any survivors. He hadn’t really had any time to mourn the death of his wife, Candice, who died in a car wreck just days before the outbreak. John removed his helmet and set it on the dash. He wiped the sweat from his brow and rested his head in his palms.

“How’s your boy handling all of this?” Gunny Shull spoke up from the back seat. 

John turned around. “Oh. He’s been a real trooper. He’s staying with one of Candice’s friends right now. You know, just until things settle down.”

“You really think things are going to settle down?” Gunny replied.

John shrugged, “I figure mankind has been through worse than this. Influenza, HIV, AIDS, Bubonic Plague. This is all just nature taking its course. The cycle repeats itself, and so on, and so forth.”

Gunny Shull pulled out a pack of Kool menthols and started smoking. “Yeah but the ones who died in the Bubonic Plague didn't come back to life and start eating people. I think we are on the brink of something terrible, and it’s going to get a lot worse.”

A loud beep sounded from the Blue Force Tracker and a message marked URGENT: UNCLASSIFIED popped up on the main screen. John opened the message and skimmed through it. 

[“URGENT. CAMP PENDLETON HAS BEEN OVERRUN. ALL OUT-GOING UNITS ARE ORDERED TO RETURN IMMEDIATELY. CAMP PENDLETON IS EVACUATING ALL MILITARY PERSONNEL.”]

“Fuck.” John gasped as he reached for the hand-mic. [i]“All units, this is Renegade-1 Actual, be advised Camp Pendleton is being overrun by walkers, you are to abort mission and return back to the convoy. How copy, over?!”[/i]

Gunny Shull spit out his cigarette and lunged forward in excitement. “What?! How the fuck did that happen!”

Distant machine-gun fire could be heard in the distance, and a frantic voice sounded over the radio. [i]“We are in a bad spot sir! There are Walkers everywhere! There’s so many of them, they’ve blocked off our escape. We need fire support now, sir!” [/i]

John looked at the Gunny. Their faces were both grim, and each knew what the other was thinking. 

“They’re lost, sir. We need to get back to base and find your boy.” Gunny Shull uttered coldly. 
John nodded. “Is there anyone in this vehicle who is against what we are about to do?” 

Everyone was silent.

“Roger that. Lance Corporal Sykes, turn us around we are heading back.”

The lead Humvee pulled out of line and turned around, heading back the way they came. Sustained machine-gun fire could still be heard in the distance, amidst the terrifying screams sounding from the radio. 

[i]“Where the fuck are you!? We need your help! Aaaaagggh! Get it off of me! Aaaaaaggh---“[/i]

John flipped the OFF switch, they were on their own now.