Robin is about to meet up with some undead in this crazy story, Join Robin and the gang from Robinverse as they survive a Zombie Apocalypse!

Robin woke up in a lab somewhere, on a hospital bed with equipment hooked up to her, it was to quiet but the power was still on it seemed.

“Wh...a...aaa...” she moaned as she tried to sit up, and began clawing at the equipment to get it out of her body as quickly as possible, tearing and rending the tubes and needles, heedless of the extreme pain the process was causing her. The lights in the building flickering off and on, but there seems to be nobody coming to her room to stop her or check up on her.

“What the... Where am I? This isn’t Alpine Springs’ Hospital,” she moaned softly, collapsing to her knees as she slid off the bed, trying vainly to cover her naked form, only to realize something was very, very different. “W-what the... I have a... And my breasts are... What the hell is going on?” she questioned as she lightly poked at the 32Cs that now rested upon her chest, where the last thing she remembered, they were a scant B at best.

She slowly crawled across the floor, her limbs somewhat weak from her apparent sedation. She managed to get to her feet at the door to the room, cautiously testing the knob before throwing it open and nearly sending herself spiraling to the floor in the process. “Hello?!”

Nobody answered her as she called out, the hallways where empty, abandoned, except the doors were chained. Robin slowly, almost methodically stumbled down the hallway placing one foot in front of the other to keep from falling again, propping herself against the wall until, a full twenty feet from where she began, she pushed off, stabilizing herself and walking a little more normally.

“Got to find some clothes,” she groaned softly, shivering as she looked around at her surroundings, searching for some clues as to how she got where she was. “Anybody!” she shouted again. “Hello?!”

Again as she called out there was no answer except echos throughout the building. The power continued to flicker on and off; it seemed the Hospital or lab was on generators. Robin shook her head slowly as she searched for a way out, and more importantly, something to wear. She pushed on every door she could find, looking inside until finally, she found an oversized lab coat that she quickly threw around herself, holding it closed.

“There has to be somebody here,” she murmured, hearing the familiar Windows loading tone. “That last power surge must have forced a system reboot,” she said, a little startled, wondering in the back of her mind how she knew that a she sat down at the terminal to try and access something of use.

The New Haven Pharmaceutical login screen popped up as Robin sat down at the terminal“New Haven Pharmaceutical? What the hell? Was there a problem with my hormones? Did I like, have a freak-out or something?” She sighed, rubbing her temple with one hand while one-handed typing with the other, ‘G-U-E-S-T’.

“Limited access granted,” a soft, young-sounding female voice replied. “Welcome: Guest.”

“I can’t believe that actually worked,” she replied, rolling her eyes. “Now let’s try and figure out where the hell I am, or where everybody else is.” She began searching through the limited-access files, mostly consisting of harmless drug trials on lab rats for things like weight loss, improved cardiovascular health experiments, and other useless data. She shouted in frustration, slapping the side of the computer monitor. “This is useless!”

“Please do not abuse NHP property, user: Guest,” the childlike female voice responded softly.

“Bite me,” Robin grumbled in answer and sighed as she stood to leave. “Maybe there was a gas leak or something that scared everybody out. I’m sure they’ll be back soon. Wish I could remember how I got here...” She paused as she realized the doors leading outside where close by, turning and racing toward them.

“The doors are chained. Why are the doors chained?!” she shouted, slamming her fist angrily against the cold, matte steel. Normally that would have hurt her, but the pain didn’t bother her as it should have.

She turned her hand over slowly, staring at it. “What the... I can’t even break a board without feeling it for five minutes afterwards.” She pulled her hand back as though about to shatter an oak board, driving it into the door. The doors budged, but the chain didn’t. She did leave a nice, fist-sized dent in the metal. She shook her hand, cringing slightly. “Okay, I frigging well felt that,” she groaned lightly, spinning on her heel and driving her foot into the same general area.

“Come. On. You. Stupid. Door!” she chanted, kicking it with each word until finally, the chain snapped, and the door flew off its hinges, landing a foot or two away in a hail of glass. She quietly stepped through the newly opened doorway and surveyed her surroundings.

Right across the street and three stores down stood a pawn shop. All the cars along the street seemed either completely destroyed or burned out. Paper and trash littered the road as well but with no signs of life anywhere.

Robin stared, dumbfounded and silent as she surveyed the area before her. “W-what happened here?!” she gasped, staggering away from the building. She padded carefully across the street, weaving between cars to what appeared to be a clothing shop, judging by the naked mannequins lying askew in the shattered shop window. She tried to avoid the broken glass from the door as she stepped through, holding the lab coat tightly around her.

“Hello? Is someone here? I-I need some help! Hello?!”

The shop had been ransacked more than once by the look of it. Clothing lay torn or shredded, and questionable red stains dotted the floor in more than one location. She cautiously moved toward the back of the store. By some miracle, a pair of slim black jeans lay tossed aside, but untouched and unstained. Further scavenging revealed a white sleeveless “muscle” shirt. It was more exposure than she ever wanted for her breasts, but it would have to do until she could find something more suitable.

She was still barefoot though, and with all the broken glass, that presented a serious problem. She pushed aside a fallen shelf blocking an open doorway, making her way through to the back where she managed to find a pair of white men’s running shoes. They were a couple of sizes too big for her dainty feet, but again, they would have to do.

As she emerged, a shuffling sound drew her attention. “Hello?” she called again. “I’m sorry, but I just woke up naked in that building across the way.”

Silence followed, then a low, almost animal growl. All she could see at first was the silhouette, which at least initially appeared human, but its foot was twisted at a strange angle. It had long, frazzled hair, and wore what appeared to be the remnants of a tattered dress. It groaned as it approached closer still.

“Look, you’re obviously having a bad day. Let me take a look at that foot for you and then I’ll get out of your way, okay?”

The creature lunged at her, snapping and biting. Instinctively, Robin used the creature’s momentum, relying on her martial arts training to fling it to the ground. She hadn’t counted on the amount of force she applied though. The creature groaned as its head bounced off the hard floor, snapping right off its shoulders and flying across the room. She shrieked, sprinting out of the shop.

“What’s going on here?!” she demanded, as if someone would just appear instantly and answer her. “This is a nightmare. I have got to be dreaming!” she moaned, deeply disturbed by what just happened. “Please dear God, let there be somebody alive around here!” she begged, and turned, racing past the pawn shop.

As Robin ran past the pawn shop she noticed the glass windows were intact, and the door was shut unlike the clothing store she had just fled. She stopped short and turned back, hurrying to the door and attempting to push her way inside. The door held fast, and she wasn’t about to try and break the lock, instead pounding on the door.

“Someone! Please! Is there anybody there?” she begged, nearly in tears. “Someone please!” She slowly lowered her gaze to the little peel-off stickers that read ‘PULL’, and blushed, jerking the door open and sprinting inside. The inside of the pawn shop seemed intact, all the merchandise still in place, but nobody here, no signs of struggle either.

Robin practically scurried away from the door, staring back at it as though she expected the building itself to attack her. She breathed heavily, squealing as if someone had shot her as her backside bumped a display case. She spun frantically around, glaring at it. “God, pull yourself together. There’s got to be a rational explanation for all this. Um, hello?” she called hesitantly. “Is there any normal person left here?”

Robin cautiously approached the main display case counter, ignoring the cash register, and instead eyeing the small array of displayed firearms. She shook her head softly. “Only as a last resort,” she assured herself, turning her attention now to the door behind the counter. It seemed to lead to a back room, so she hopped over the counter, pushing it open.

In the back room were two young girls wrapped in blankets cowering in the corners as a radio on the counter played a warning message to stay inside and lock all doors and windows. Robin’s better judgment told her to stay where she was. She called out from her position at the door. “Hey, are you human? Because I swear to God I can’t handle another monster right now.”

Both girls started to cry. “Oh my God; you’re human too?!” two voices announced in unison as Beth and Em both stood up to see who had entered the store. Robin nodded, smiling at the two girls.

“Yes, I’m human. What’s going on out there? I just woke up in some weird NHP lab or something, and everyone was gone. I had to break the door down because some jerk chained me in.”

“Everyone ism” Em started, “Dead,” Beth finished as they both cried.

“Dead,” Robin echoed softly, stumbling backwards. She pressed her back against the wall and sank to the ground, staring in disbelief. “Oh God. No. Nikki, Ally, Jenn, Margie... They can’t all be gone?”

“Nikki and Sarah went to go find a running vehicle, and Ally and Jenn are safe too we think. We saw them about twenty minutes before you showed up.” Both girls moved over to Robin to hug her.

“Really?! You’re sure?!” she asked, hopeful, wrapping her arms around the pair. “How did this happen?”

“Yeah, And Kelly and LeAnn were taken by NHP guys but they are hopefully safe too. We aren’t sure how this all happened. We were out shopping with Sarah and Katelyn when someone attacked us, and we ran into here. Shortly after Nikki showed up,” both girls told Robin.

“Um, one other thing. Those... those are humans out there right?”

“No, the broadcast says they’re undead or something like that. I think they called them living dead or Infected or something like that.” Both girls sobbed.

A sigh of relief escaped Robin’s lips as she smiled and hugged the two girls. “Then I don’t have to feel so guilty then.” She gave the pair a wry smile, adding, “One of those … things attacked me a minute ago, before I ran in here, and I kind of knocked its head across a room.”

“Ewww! But at least it didn’t bite you. One of those things bit this one girl and she turned into one of them. It was bad. But Nikki and Sarah should be back soon. We’re supposed to go find Katelyn once they show up. We all kinda got separated in the chaos.” Em and Beth both told Robin.

Robin exhaled softly as she stood, wrapping an arm around each girl’s neck to hold them close for a moment. “Listen, girls, Sarah, Nikki and I used to be Girl Scouts. We know a lot about first-aid and basic survival. You’re going to be okay. We’re going to get through this together. Right now, I need your help though. We need to be ready for Nikki and Sarah’s return because we might have to leave in a hurry.”

Robin smiled reassuringly even as she reached over and shut off the radio. “And that’s not helping,” she smirked. “Something tells me NHP screwed up. I don’t want to even know why the hell they had me in that lab though,” she shivered. “One problem at a time though. Em, I need you to search around here for anything we can use - batteries, first aid kits, even a box of twinkies would be useful. Beth, help me find some ammunition for those guns out front. I’ve never fired a gun in my life, but if us getting bitten is the alternative, then I’m willing to learn fast.”

Both girls nodded quickly. Em rushed about the room scavenging for anything that might be useful and began throwing it into a discarded briefcase, meanwhile Robin grabbed what looked like a heavy metal suitcase from off a nearby shelf and lay it down on the counter. When she opened it, her eyes widened slightly.

Inside she found rows upon rows of empty box-sized depressions. “Oh, wow. I think it’s an ammunition case. This is perfect. Okay, Beth, try and fill this up. I’m going to see if there are any more powerful weapons around here.”

“Okay, but be careful! This place has a back door that’s been boarded up tight.”

Robin nodded, taking down a 9mm handgun from the display. She grabbed a clip from underneath the display case that looked like it would fit, sliding it into place and handing it to the girl. “Don’t use this unless you have to, and for God’s sakes don’t shoot Nikki.” She smiled softly. “We’ll get through this.”

She turned, stepping through the office area into the back room. As she expected, the back door had been boarded up heavily. She wondered in the back of her mind if it was a precaution, or if something had already tried to come through that way as she searched through crates and boxes. Antique clocks, some old paintings, and one extremely ugly lamp awaited her, but the further back she dug, the less useless junk she found.

At first she found a couple of basic handguns, but upon closer inspection, the crate just seemed too big to simply be holding a couple of street-legal 9mm’s. Underneath all the packing material, she found a false floor in the crate, and pulling it out, revealed a number of submachine guns, locked and loaded. “Oh my God,” she murmured as she retrieved the weapons. “These are going with us.”

Beth yelled back to Robin, “I think Nikki and Sarah are back! A big armored police truck just pulled up to the front and backed against the window!”

“I’ll be right there. Send Nikki back here! I’m going to need some help, I think!” Robin called back. Laying the SMGs aside carefully, she pulled out the crate to get to the next one in hopes of finding a nice rifle or two to supplement their firepower. “Better safe than... whatever those things are out there,” she sighed, prying off the lid.

As Nicole sprinted around the corner, clearly still in shock at the news that Robin was not only alive, but here, Robin stood up, holding up a bandoleer loaded down with grenades. She grinned at her. “Hey cutie,” she teased.

Nicole’s jaw dropped, and she raced closer, throwing her arms around Robin, tears streaming down her face as she choked out, “Hey, that’s my line.” Robin giggled, hugging her tightly and kissing her.

“God damn, Vampire, are you a sight. What the hell happened? The last thing I remember was saying goodnight to you, and then everything went black.”

“Yeah, these guys in suits came out to your house and took you. I went out looking for you all day, and then things just started getting wacky,” Nikki replied. “I’m so glad you’re safe though Robin; I really am.”

“I had to turn off that stupid radio. It was just making the girls nervous. But check out what I found,” she added, motioning to the open crate. “Looks like the owner was one of those survivalist nut jobs we always used to laugh about. There’s some canned food here too.”

“Great. Sarah found a well armored FBI van , and we got food and weapons. We can do this now.” Nikki grinned.

“Let’s move everything to the front before we start loading up. I want to be able to protect everyone when we make our move. Thank God Jen made us watch those old survival horror movies,” she added with a mild laugh.

“We learned a few things about these things, One, they tend to be attracted to loud noise. Two, these things are slow. They don’t move very fast at all, unlike some of those zombies in those movies,” Nikki explained.

“Oh, fair warning? I’m a heck of a lot stronger than I used to be, apparently. I knocked a door off its hinges and shattered a solid steel chain to get here.”

“Really? I’m just glad dad made me take and learn Special Ops combat. It’s come in handy out there.” Nikki grinned.

Robin reached into the crate, pulling out a heavy assault rifle and passed it to Nikki. “Then you’re in charge of this thing. I’m afraid I’ll hurt myself. I’ve never freaking fired a gun in my lfie.”

Nikki whistled as she grabbed the gun, checked the safety, sighted it and grinned, “Does this make me look too butch?”

Robin started laughing. “Hey, no fair. This is like, a zombie apocalypse out there. No making me laugh!”

“Breaks the tension, dunnit?” Nikki asked. “But anyway, this thing oughta rip through those Walkers like a hot knife through butter. All we need now’s a nice sniper rifle.”

“I’ve got my Kenpo to fall back on if they get too close, but I don’t want to give them that chance. We need to move quickly. Oh, and I’ll keep an eye out for a sniper rifle while we’re loading up,” Robin added as she picked up a couple of guns, stepping out of the room to put them in front with the other weapons. “Do we have a direct route out of the city?”

“We hear that there is a Red Cross and Military camp back in Alpine Springs.” Nikki nodded as she helped Robin move the weapons, “But as far as getting out of New Haven, that’s why we grabbed the van. It’s built like a tank with solid steel-reinforced armor. Most of the cars in our path’ll be burnt out husks from what we can tell. They’ll get knocked right out of our way if we can pick up enough speed.”

“Maybe we can meet up with other survivors at the base. They’re going to need all the help they can get. I don’t know what the hell NHP wanted with me, or what they did to me while I was out, but I’m not letting them get away with this. Nikki, honey, there’s something you need to know.”

Robin pulled Nikki off to the side, raising her shirt for just a second before quickly dropping it again. “You aren’t the only one with ‘big guns’ now.” She blushed. “They did something to me in there, and I’m going to find out what it is, if it’s dangerous to me or to you and the others or not.”

“We’ll help you anyway possible Robin, I promise you that” Nikki hugged Robin tightly and kissed her on the lips softly.

Robin nodded as she wrapped her arms around Nikki’s waist, resting her chin gently on her shoulder for just a second. “We’re in this together - for now, but if I find out I’m a danger to you, then I’ll do what I have to do to protect you. But hopefully it won’t come to that.” She glanced over at Sarah and the others. “There’s more food in the back. Let’s finish getting it out here, then Nikki will stand guard while we load it up. Any word from Kate or Jen yet?”

“We Katelynr on the Ham radio about 20 minutes ago, and she’s been in touch with Jenn. Katelyn’s in an abandoned police station, and Jenn and Ally are holding up in Nikki’s place. They have it fortified pretty good. It’s a nasty mess out in Alpine Springs,” Sarah responded.

“Damn,” Robin cursed softly. “Then our first priority is to link up with them. We’ll grab Katelyn on our way out of town, and we can meet up with the Red Cross if we can, and maybe coordinate some kind of counter-offensive, or at least try and rescue more survivors.” She paused, eyeing a set of bowie knives, complete with belt hilts and matching belt, grabbing them from the display case. She quickly cinched the belt into place.

“I might not know guns, but I know hand-to-hand combat well enough,” she added, then grabbed a load of gear, moving for the door. “Nikki, you’re on point. Let’s load up as fast as we can.”

Nikki kept her rifle trained on one side of the street, while Robin stayed outside, helping load up the vehicle whilst the others passed things off to her, just in case. Once everything was loaded, she motioned for everyone to hop in, while she took the front passenger seat, grabbing the nearby auto-shotgun. “So this is why they call it riding shotgun,” she smirked. Nikki rolled her eyes, hopping into the driver’s seat.

“Hang on folks. Shit’s gonna get rough before it gets better!” she announced, stepping on the gas. As if on cue, a teetering creature dressed in what was apparently once a business suit hobbled into the middle of the road. Nicole slammed on the gas pedal, splattering the creature all over the highway.

“Ha! Ten points!” she cheered. Sarah groaned.

“You’re enjoying this way too much.”

“Yeah,” Nicole smiled. “It’s a defense reflex. It’s laugh or cry, and I choose laugh.”

Robin smiled meekly as she took Nikki’s hand. “We’re going to get through this, I promise. We need to get to Alpine Springs, and help contain the Walkers before it spreads any further. I don’t know what they did to me, but I do know that I can take a hell of a beating, so I’m going to be working with whoever’s in charge. I won’t blame the rest of you at all if you want to stay somewhere safe, but I have to fight. I have to know why I was singled out.”

Sarah leaned forward, placing her hand on Robin’s shoulder. “I know it’s not the same thing, but I studied archery a lot at girl scout camp, every chance I got. One thing I know is how to aim. I’ll fight with you.”

Nikki nodded. “And you already know I won’t let you risk your ass out there alone. I’m with you too.”

Em and Beth looked at each other, nodded in unison, and answered “Us too!”

Robin smiled. “We might not be able to save Alpine Springs, but we’ll save as many people as we possibly can.”

Several overturned police barricades lay around the police station. More than one squadcar lay overturned, one parked halfway up a lamp post, and a small group of Walkers abused the front door of the police station in a vain attempt to get inside.

“Please tell me that’s a friendly motor I hear out there?” Katelyn’s voice crackled to life over the van’s police-band radio.

“Hey Katelyn, how’s the weather?” Nikki shot back.

“Fuck you too Nikki,” Katelyn growled. “I got the door barricaded but I don’t know how much longer I can last in here. They’re inside, and I’m running low on bullets.”

“You’re not anywhere near the front door are you?” Sarah asked.

“Hell no. I’m holed up on the second floor breakroom.”

“Good,” she shot back, flinging a grenade right into the middle of the zombies. Seconds later, zombie bits and splinters of door rained down on the area.

“Shit!” Katelyn squealed. “What the hell was that?!”

“Your girlfriend,” Nikki answered. “Hold on Katelyn. We’re coming to get you.”

Sarah smiled innocently. “I never said I was subtle.”

Surprisingly, only a trail of fractured bodies awaited Robin and Sarah. Nikki called from the door. “What’s going on in there? It’s too quiet!”

“They’re all dead!” Sarah shouted back.

The pair slowly made their way upstairs, calling Katelyn’s name as they stepped over body after broken body, most of which were the zombie-like creatures, some dressed in police uniforms.

Finally, a familiar “In here!” rang out, and the sounds of heavy furniture being moved away from a nearby door followed. Katelyn flung the door open, her shirt absolutely soaked in blood. She leapt into Sarah’s arms, crying softly. “God it was awful.”

“What happened?” Sarah asked, confused.

“There were twelve of us Sarah,” she answered. “One by one they got us.” She paused, glancing over her shoulder at the broken body of a female police officer with a bullet hole in her forehead, slumped against the far wall. “She tried to hold out as long as she could, but she...”

“Shh, it’s okay,” Sarah whispered. “C’mon. Let’s get you out of here.”

Katelyn nodded. “Are they all gone?”

Robin hugged Katelyn and Sarah both. “Yeah, they’re all gone. But Sarah’s grenade’s going to draw more of them if we don’t move out now.”

Sarah smiled sheepishly. “Yeah, um... Did not think that one through.”

As the van rode closer to Alpine Springs, comm chatter over the police band radio increased. Eventually Jane Garrett’s familiar voice shouted over the speakers, “REPEAT, This is Jane Garrett. We have an officer down at the corner of Birch and trapped civilians. If anybody can hear me, please, we need some backup!”

“Oh my God,” Sarah gasped. “That’s Mom’s restaurant!”

Nikki nodded to Robin. “Answer that. We’ll swing by on the way to meet up with Jenn and Ally.”

“Jane this is Robin Smith. We’re en route to your location, weapons hot. Repeat, weapons hot. Get those people somewhere safe because we’re about to break down your front door, come back.”

Nikki stared at her. “Where in the hell did you learn to talk like that?”

Robin just laughed to herself. “Hey, Jenn’s not the only one addicted to bad movies.”

“Robin this is Jane. Civilians are holed up in the kitchen of the restaurant here. Hostiles are piling in through the front and I’m running out of ammo.”

“Well, we’ve got an early Christmas present for you then. We raided a weapon cache in New Haven and we’ve commandeered an FBI van. ETA two minutes.”

“Ten-four. We’ll hold out as long as we can.”

As they rolled into Alpine Springs, it became quickly apparent that the town had fared no better. Destroyed cars and even some buildings in flames littered the cityscape. Shadows lurked in the alleyways, shifting as if watching the police van, drawn to the heavy engine, but only a handful bothered to show themselves, even fewer, most already in the street at the time, approached or got in the way, meeting an expected fate.

It wasn’t until they reached Meg’s restaurant that they realized how dire the situation was. A large handful of Walkers had converged around the glass doors, attempting to force their way through the turnstile revolving door, where one’s head had become lodged, giving the survivors inside a temporary reprieve. Robin flung a grenade out the window of the van as they drove past. “Jane, there’s a present at the door for the walkers. Keep your heads down for flying glass, count to ten, then get ready to run like hell!”

“Affirmative, Robin! Am I glad to see you!”

“Jane, is Meg Cameron with you?” Robin asked.

“I’m sorry Robin,” Jane came back, after the grenade sprayed the intersection with monster goop. “She gave her life trying to protect her people.”

Sarah frowned sadly, but nodded. “That’s my Mom. She died like she lived. These fuckers are gonna pay for this.”

Beth and Em both asked, “How about Peter, our dad was he in there?”

“Jane,” Robin called over the radio, “Is there a man named Peter there?”

“One second, girls. I’m trying to-”

“I’m Peter,” the girls’ father’s voice called over the noise and confusion close enough to be picked up by Jane’s radio.

That’s him!” Robin called back even as she threw the door open, slamming it right into some poor, hapless Walker’s face.

“Yes that was him!” both twins ecstatically yelled.

Robin smiled, grabbing her shotgun as she bailed out of the vehicle, racing for the entrance. Immediately on seeing Jane, she threw the shotgun to the officer. Jane threw it back to her. “Oh, I don’t think so. I’m driving,” she winked. “Are there any more survivors that you know of?” she asked, even as the few survivors, including a waiter and waitress, two cooks, a former customer, and a very frazzled Peter hurried to the police van.

Robin nodded quickly. “We’ve got Jennifer and Allison holed up at Nikki’s old place, but there’s no way we’ll be able to take them with these civilians with us. It’s too dangerous. We’ll have to take them somewhere safe then go back for the others.”

“There is no more safe zone Robin. The Red Cross checkpoint was overwhelmed just before you rolled into town. We’ll just have to risk it and take them with us,” Jane replied somberly.

“I was afraid you’d say that. Okay, new plan. Jen and Ally have the Morgans’ estate fortified. They’re waiting for us there. We’ve got enough guns to last us a while, and enough food for maybe a couple of weeks just in the van. Let’s head to Nikki’s, and we can regroup there.”

Just as they all get in the van, the Ham radio sparked to life, “Anyone alive receiving this?” Allison called, “Come in I repeat, anyone alive receiving this?”

Robin grabbed the transceiver, sliding into the front passenger seat as Nikki moved over for Jane. “Ally, this is Robin. We’re coming your way. Tell me you’ve got some good news waiting for us.”

“Jenn and I got a bit of both for you Robin. The Morgan house is secure, but is Nikki with you?” Allison sounded concerned.

“She’s right here beside me. What’s wrong?”

“They got her parents Robin. Tore Bob to shreds. He didn’t have a chance, and Jenn had to put a bullet in Nikki’s mom’s head.”

“Fuck,” Robin cursed softly. She immediately grabbed Sarah by the arm, pulling her out of her seat, handing her the shotgun, and trading places with her almost in the same motion before pulling Nikki into a hug. “I am so sorry. I swear I’m going to make whoever’s responsible pay.”

“I’m going to live through this shit Robin, that is what my mom and dad would want, and in the end, the fucker who started this will die.” Nikki responded in a tone that resonated with hatred and anger.

“I won’t stop until it’s over. I swear here and now. We’ll make them pay for this.” She glanced back over the huddled masses, then back at Jane, nodding. “Let’s get out of here. That explosion probably got us some unwanted attention.”

As if on cue, a small army of walkers appeared from the side streets and alleys, groaning with anticipation as they staggered closer. “Hang on everyone!” Jane shouted, planting her foot on the gas, and mowing down six of the monsters in the process.

Nikki looked back at all the newcomers, “Any of you bit?” she looked concerned.

Jane looked down at her torn shirt sleeve, pulling it up. “One of them clawed me, but I don’t think it broke the skin.”

“We aren’t sure if being clawed turns you, but I noticed that if you’re bitten or get their spit or even their vomit on you, you ‘re at risk of turning into one of them,” Sarah told Jane.

Jane nodded slowly. “Do me a favor. If I start to turn, don’t give me a chance. I don’t want to die like...” she paused as the van rolled over one of the fallen walkers. “Like that - like one of them.”

Robin looked over at Jane, “I promise you that you won't die like one of those things out there, you helped me once. It would just me be returning a favor ok?” She tried to smile..

“Hopefully it won’t come to that, but I appreciate it. Meanwhile,” she paused again, turning a sharp curve entirely too fast, but somehow managing to keep control of the bulky vehicle, “I’ll do what I can. We’re going to have to set up a new safe zone at the Morgan Estate. Hopefully you folks have some kind of backup generators when the power inevitably dies, right?”

Nikki nodded. “We also have a bunker in the basement with a lot of supplies like food and water, guns and ammo. I think it would be in our best interest to keep power usage down. These things hear noises pretty damn good.”

“Agreed. That also means we need to keep gunfire to a minimum. The fewer we have to deal with when it comes time to move out again, the better.”

The ham radio squawked again. “Hey guys the roadway’s clear near the house. When you get here we’ll open the gate. Also we’ve got some new arrivals they just showed up, It might make you happy Robin.”

“We’re bringing a truckload of guns,” Sarah answered. “We hit a pawn shop where Robin found us. Who’s the new arrival?”

“Hang on a second; we’ve got some strays. Jenn’s going to lure them away with a grenade down the street.” Allison answered. As they approached the Morgan house a large explosion came from the block over.

“Jesus,” Jane flinched. “Ask if she needs us to pick her up.”

“Hey Ally, does Jenn need an evac or is she good?”

“No she was on the roof. She used Nikki’s dad’s grenade launcher from the bunker.”

Robin slowly turned to stare at Nikki. “Is there something you need to tell me?” she teased, trying to get Nikki to smile.

Nikki laughed, “Hey dad was ex military. Who knows what's in that house. I bet there is a nuclear bomb under there or something.”

“That’d definitely take care of the walker problem,” Jane mused under her breath. “But we’d need to make sure there are no survivors caught in the blast if it came to that. Assuming you were serious of course,” she added, rolling past the gates, up to the house, and right into the waiting garage.

“Who knows what’s under there. I’m not joking,” Nikki answered with a serious smile..

Jennifer waved to everyone from the roof as they drove past. “Hey guys! Allison is inside, and I’ll be right down!”

Robin leapt out first, looking around quickly before nodding over her shoulder. “It’s clear. I don’t hear or smell anything.”

As everyone exited the van the garage door closed. Robin motioned toward the door for the others to go on ahead. “Everyone grab whatever you can, and I’ll bring in the rest,” she instructed in a detached tone, trying not to think about what might have happened to her mother or her stepdad.

Allison stepped out to the garage and handed Robin a nice cup of coffee. “The house is on solar right now, so we should be fine for a bit,” she added, reaching into the van to help pull out some supplies.

Robin took the cup with one hand, grabbing an armload of police issue rifles with the other. How she was able to balance that many guns in one arm when just a few days ago she definitely wasn’t even half that strong seemed a bit of a mystery. “Thanks Ally. I’m still struggling to accept that this is really happening. I mean, I just woke up an hour ago in some weird lab.”

“We all are Robin. This is a goddamn nightmare - something right out of one of Jennifer’s horror movies,” Allison answered, bringing in a duffel bag full of food.

Robin laughed just a little bit as she followed Allison. “That’s what I keep telling myself. That this is a nightmare and that we’ll wake up any minute now and find out we just watched one too many of Jenn’s movies.”

“Robin?” Linda called out from the Morgan’s kitchen as she was cooking food for all the new people.

“Mom, thank God!” Robin yelled, nearly dropping the weapons, which she quickly unloaded on the nearest available body - poor Beth - racing through to the kitchen, and throwing her arms around her mother. “I thought I’d never see you again!”

Sarah looked around at everyone, “Hey, where’s Katelyn?” she looked a bit concerned because Katelyn wasn’t in the mass of people that were starting to form in the Morgan stronghold.

“Over here,” Katelyn answered as she emerged from a side room. “I’m gonna hook up with some people from WAR, to go looking through some houses for stuff we can use, and look for my parents. Want to come?”

“I’m not letting you out of my sight,” Sarah answered, holding up her shotgun. “Count me in.”

“WAR?” Robin asked, glancing over at Jennifer. “Oh, those spec ops people right?”

Jennifer smiled “Yeah Weapons And Reconnaissance. They showed up before Linda and your Step-Dad.”

“Ash is here too? That’s great!”

Jennifer nodded, “He's upstairs taking a shower really fast: said something about washing off some blood.”

Robin and Nikki exchanged a nervous glance. Robin nodded. “I’ll go. Stay with the others Nikki.”

Peter stopped Robin and took her shotgun, “I'll go up. I don’t want you to have to do this Robin.”

“We don’t even know if he’s infected though. Just... Just be careful. If he IS infected, we can’t lose you too,” she relented.

“I’ll do what I can. You saved my girls so I owe you one. Just keep them safe, and lets hope Ash isn’t infected.” Peter started up the stairs.

“We brought what we could scavenge from that pawn shop I told you about,” Robin tried to change the subject, turning to Allison. “How are you holding up?”

“Well it’s not been easy, but I have a score chart now.” Allison giggled a little. “Headshot’s two extra points.”

“Does style count? Because my first one, I kinda accidentally bounced her head off the floor and sent it rocketing across a room,” Robin admitted almost sheepishly.

“That counts as five points!” Jenn called from the kitchen coming out with a hot cup of coffee of her own.

“Nikki scored a tenner plastering one all over the front of the police van too. Nice and juicy,” she half-grunted, half-laughed.

Upstairs yelling could be heard and the sound of the shotgun going off. Without really thinking, Robin grabbed the closest available weapon, her newly liberated bowie knives, racing right past the gathered, skipping two to three stairs at a time as she sprinted up and performed a backflip off the landing to propel herself up the rest of the way. She landed at the top of the stairs and glanced around quickly before racing into the master bedroom.

Laying on the ground near the bed Peter gripped the shotgun, covered in gore. Part of his face was bitten off, and Ash’s body lay on top of him. “Sorry Robin,” he grunted softly. “I tried to get him before he could get me. Tell the girls I love them.”, Peter pulled the shotgun to his head and pulled the trigger a second time before Robin could react.

Robin exhaled softly and sheathed her knives. She slowly approached, using the tip of her shoe to roll Ash’s body off, and knelt, taking the shotgun. Somehow, the grisly scene that should have been enough to make her completely lose it didn’t even faze her. She used the bed sheet to clean the gun as thoroughly as she could manage, before slowly turning to walk back out of the room. She pulled the door shut behind her, making her way back downstairs.

As she reached the bottom of the stairs, she passed the shotgun off to Nikki. “Where are Em and Beth? I need to talk to them.”

“I think they are down in the bunker bringing up the rest of the weapons and ammo.” Nikki frowned.

“Everyone,” Robin turned to the gathered. “Try and use the guest bathrooms if you can. Stay out of the master bedroom. It’s...” She paused, shaking her head. “Just don’t go in.” She turned to walk away from the stairs, bracing herself against the wall while she waited for the twins to return.

The two girls came up the bunker stairs, carrying all sorts of military grade weapons including Anti Tank rockets and other nifty toys. “Hey Robin what's up?” both girls asked her.

Robin bit her lip, approaching the girls. “I need to talk to you two alone for a minute. Let Jane and the others handle that stuff.” Without waiting for the two, she turned and walked away, entering the familiar sitting room where she and Nikki had whiled away so many romantic nights together. She stopped at the old stone fireplace, staring angrily at it, and trying hard to resist the urge to plant her fist through it.

“What’s wrong? Where’s Dad?” the pair asked in unison. Robin turned to pull them into a hug.

“Girls, I’m so, so sorry. I should have stopped him. I shouldn’t have let him go up there. My step-dad was bitten. And your dad insisted he be the one to go up and check on him.”

“Oh no!” they gasped, starting to sob. Robin held them close.

“He said to tell you that he loves you. I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have let him go. I should have done it myself.”

“It’s not your fault Robin,” both girls said between sobs, “ We swear that we will do everything we can do survive and help you stop whoever is behind this.”

“Someone’s going to suffer. He won’t have died in vain, I promise you,” she whispered softly, kissing each girl’s cheek. “Neither will my step-dad.”

Everyone started to gather in the living room demanding answers for Jane, “Ok ok one at a time please?” Jane addressed everyone. “Now, I don’t have any more answers than you all do. You’ve all heard the NHP broadcasts. What I can tell you is that you’re safe here for now.”

“Before anybody asks,” Robin spoke next, “That was my step-dad up there. And he was bitten. If you’re exposed to them either by a bite or their saliva or vomit, you’re probably in trouble, otherwise you’re fine, so nobody panic, okay? We ARE going to get out of this. We have enough food and supplies to survive awhile while we regroup, and believe me, we’ve got enough weapons and ammo to start World War III, so there’s no danger of those things getting in here.”

Robin turned to Jane and smiled faintly. “They’re all yours. I’m going to go dig through Nikki’s closet for something less butch to wear.” Robin squeezed Nikki’s hand as she passed, quietly trudging upstairs. She still had a distant look in her eyes, and Nikki frowned, following her.

“What is it?” she finally asked as the pair entered Nikki’s bedroom. Robin turned back to her, pulling her into a hug and burying her face in Nikki’s shoulder. “I just watched my step-dad murder those girls’ father, and then he turned the gun on himself, and it didn’t even bother me. What the fuck is wrong with that picture?”

“Did you see what was going on outside those gates out there Robin? It’s shitty out there right now. It’s us against the walking dead. Fuck I would have probably done the same thing sweetie. There is nothing wrong with you at all.” Nikki leaned in and kissed Robin on the lips.

Robin sighed softly, squeezing her close. “I hope you’re right. But the way I moved when the adrenaline took over. Not even Jen can move like that on her best day. Those freaks did something to me. I haven’t told anyone else, but it’s like my whole body is different, and not just the reproductive organs,” she blushed deeply. “Physically I’m a lot stronger, and I don’t register pain like I should.”

“You’ll always be my Robin. We will get through this shit together ok?” Nikki smiled.

“Just promise me if I start to change, you’ll be the one to pull the trigger, okay? Promise me.”

“I will try Robin. It might be hard, but I will do my best. You have to do the same for me ok?”

She nodded, kissing Nikki softly. “I promise. I’ll fight this as much as I have to, but I won’t leave you.”

“So let’s get you dressed in something a bit more girlie and comfortable, and get you down stairs and fed. You look hungry.”

“Starving,” she answered softly. “Feels like I haven’t eaten in a month, and my... they,” she nodded downward to indicate her breasts, “are itchy. The bastards couldn’t have even bothered to leave me some clothes. I had to steal this crap from a store across from the NHP building.” She paused to smile at Nikki. “Thanks for giving me some hope. We’re not going to let anybody else die.”

“Hey that’s what girlfriends are for right? We can’t guarantee everyone’s life, but I sure the hell plan on trying to save as many as I can.” Nikki smiled.

Robin nodded as she squeezed Nikki’s hand, turning to walk with her into the huge walk in closet. “I don’t even know if you have anything that’ll fit me, but it’s gotta be better than this stuff. I feel like these pants are going to slide right off my butt, and I’m kinda not wearing underwear.”

“I think the only things that might fit you in my closet are my dresses Robin. Your breasts are a little bit bigger then mine. I might have some skirts that might fit you too.” Nikki sighed.

“That’s unfortunate,” Robin answered, frowning. “It’s kind of hard to fight in a dress. A skirt, maybe. I wish Margie was here. I could use a good seamstress,” she sighed. “I know it sounds vain, but maybe we can take the van out and find something while we look for survivors. We need to try and get gas for it anyway.”

“Yeah, we can take one of Dad’s small solar generators and hook it up to a pump or something, I think I know the perfect skirt and top for you by the way.” Nikki grinned as she dug through her clothes pulling out a nice Gothic mini skirt and an oversized Heedless Despair shirt.

Robin laughed. “Well it’s better than this mess. By the way, what size shoe are you?” she asked, flopping her foot about and causing the oversized shoe to fly right off her foot. “It’s a miracle I didn’t twist my ankle earlier.”

“I think we’re about the same shoe size. You wore a pair of my shoes home the other day on accident. Not that I minded.” Nikki giggled.

Robin smiled sheepishly. “Sorry about that. That’s good news at least, though,” she added, kicking the other shoe off and unceremoniously stripping, not that it took much effort to lose the too-big denim jeans, and she nearly tore the flimsy muscle shirt as she pulled it off. She studied herself in the mirror, examining the places where probes had been earlier that same day, yet now seemed completely healed over. “What... the hell?”

“What's wrong?” Nikki came over looking concerned. She began checking her out where she was touching and prodding her skin.

“When I woke up, there were these … probes embedded in my skin. They left huge sores on my chest, stomach and legs, but they’re gone now.” She turned to Nikki with a terrified expression. “I-I don’t think I’m human anymore.”

“You don’t seem alien or one of them Walkers to me Robin; you’ll be ok. But I’ll keep a loving eye on you just incase ok?” Nikki kisses Robin to calm her down.

Robin laughed weakly as she hugged Nikki. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe I should just focus on what we can do something about, then deal with the rest later.” She smiled and quietly took the clothing Nikki found for her, tugging the t-shirt into place before pulling the skirt up her legs. Lastly she grabbed her knife-belt, slinging it over her shoulder. “Once those WAR guys get back we can sit down with them and Jane, and try and figure out a plan.”

“Sounds like a plan” Nikki grinned and started to leave her room to head out to the others, “I could really use a strong drink after this. I know I’m ‘too young’ for one, but god damn after what we just went through I sure could use one.”

Robin rolled her eyes as she grabbed Nikki’s old hiking boots and a pair of socks from a nearby drawer, pulling up a pair of her underwear, just a little too small, up under the skirt before moving to catch up with her. “I don’t think we have to worry about things like drinking laws anymore, at least for awhile. And when this is all over, I won’t tell if you won’t. Pour me the strongest thing you can find.”

Nikki snickered under her breath. “You might want to rethink that. I happen to know Dad kept a bottle of his special reserve corn moonshine in among some of that stuff Em and Beth brought up from the bunker. It’ll take the stink off a hog’s back, and probably the skin too.”

Robin laughed. “Perfect.” She followed Nikki down the stairs, splitting off from her at the base, where she disappeared into the living room, sitting down to pull on the boots she’d borrowed.

“Niiiice outfit,” Jennifer teased as she sat down beside her. “How are you holding up?”

Robin shrugged softly. “Trying to cope. I keep hoping I’ll wake up any minute now, but until then I’m going to keep fighting these things. Any word from the WAR people yet?”

“They should be back soon with Katelyn and Sarah, and some more survivors. They stopped off at McDonalds.”

“Very funny,” Robin answered, shaking her head.

“No, I’m serious. Someone hot-wired the transceiver to call for help. Hopefully they’ll get there in time, and bring me back some fries too.”

“Did you at least order me a couple of big macs? I’m freaking starving.” Robin shot Jennifer a smile.

“I placed a rather large order, if it was possible,” Jenn giggled softly, “Your mom’s doing a good job making a lot of food for everyone though.”

“I guess it’s her way of coping. Mine seems to be turn into freaking ninja girl.” Robin half-smiled, leaning into her friend. “Nikki says I’ll be okay though, and I believe her. I have to. She’d beat me up if I didn’t,” she giggled.

“She loves you; we all love you Robin in different ways. This stuff out there is crap, but at least we prepared for it by watching all those zombie movies huh?” Jenn smiled

One of the other people that were there before Robin and her team showed up approached Jenn, “Hey, um there are some more walkers by the gate. Think you should go up and get them off us again?”

Robin sat up. “Go ahead. Nikki’s pouring me a stiff drink, and I don’t think booze and guns mix very well.” She grinned, giving Jenn’s side a light goose before standing. “But let me know if you need any help getting that big gun loaded,” she teased, stepping back into the foyer area.

“More of those damn things. We’re not even safe here,” she sighed softly.

Nikki smiled as she approached, holding out a wine glass full of a questionable substance, while guarding her own carefully. “This is going to burn like hell, but if it doesn’t knock you on your ass nothing will.” She waited for Robin to take the offered glass, raising a toast. “To Ash, Peter, and my parents. We’ll avenge every single one of them.”

“Cheers,” Robin sighed, turning up the glass.

To Be Continued...?