Andar Muerto (Kasim, Angeleanna, and Phia)

[brennalarosa]

Phia twitched. She didn't want to even consider that this was merely a side-effect of a holy festival. If it were, it would happen everywhere and it didn't. Then again, brujería didn't raise the dead. That was more likely in the Caribbean or in West Africa. It wasn't convenient enough, which made it too convenient to her mind.

However, Phia held her tongue. She wasn't a local. Better to put in her two cents later, when she wouldn't sound like she was calling these men liars.

[Sister Angeleanna]

With a grateful smile, the nun accepted the sweating bottle of water and held it gingerly away from her clothing as it dripped. She wiped it before breaking the seal with a deft twist and raised it halfway before dropping it back down to her waist as Juan coughed and cleared his throat, tucking the red handkerchief back into his pocket. It seemed an almost nervous tick, but the man was quick to recover and even had the grace to decline the raised bottle of water Angel offered.

“At this point, I’m not excluding anything agent Chionesu.” The officer pulled a seat out, offering it towards Anna Sophia to sit and gestured to Kasim to do the same while he glanced briefly at the nun whose attention was transfixed on a open folder with a picture of a small alter covered in vibrant marigolds, skulls made of something she couldn’t make out and two Catrina figurines. Beside it, an elder woman sat with a severe look that plainly said, she was not interested in having her picture taken.

“Sister?”

“Hmm?” Angel turned. “Oh, thank you.” She accepted the other seat Ramirez offered and watched the man walk around to the other side of the table, sidestepping a man who was gathering files bent over a cabinet. The atmosphere had the air of organized chaos, everyone was everywhere but each person had their agenda and assignment and somewhere in the middle they met in speculation and facts.

“Maria,” Juan addressed a nearby woman, the cringe slightly as he addressed by her proper title. “Officer Vazquez, can you see what’s taking Fe-” The door banged open and Felix came in backwards totting a dolly with three boxes stacked atop it. He wheeled it over to the table and dropped it with a bang before resting an arm on the handles and glared at Ramirez.

“{Done?}”

“{Go, before I kick your ass out of this station.}” Juan replied in a cool voice and watched the young man leave and resisted the urge to rub his forehead. “If you haven’t already received it, I have a basic report of everything and here are the last few months of public disturbances. I can have my men go through this if you prefer.” The officer distributed a folder to each agent.

[Kasim Chionesu]

Kasim took another sip from his bottle of water before sliding a finger down the collar of his shirt and tugging on it gently, just enough to loosen it. He didn't know if it was the Mexico heat or the contrasting coolness of the water, but he was feeling a bit smothered. Maybe it was the close quarters of the police station, but who cared?

“At this point, I’m not excluding anything agent Chionesu.”

The FBI agent nodded and listened at the exchange with the nun, and then the Spanish exchange between Felix and the officer. Kasim accepted his folder with a quiet "Thank you," and sat down on the edge of his offered seat. "I think we can handle--" He began, but a sharp cry silenced him.

"Madre de Dios!" There was another cry, and then the sound of breaking glass. Kasim stood, his chair falling behind him, and looked into the main office. A window had broken, and through that window reached a pair of decaying arms. From the floor beneath the window, the macabre corpse of a child pulled itself up, its arms reaching for the man behind the nearest desk. The window to Juan's office suddenly broke as well, and the blinds were pulled from the outside. Kasim reached for his holster as he saw a wave of corpses underneath the window. "Here we go again." He said to no one. He drew his Glock. Hopefully this would end better than the incident at the Humvee.

[brennalarosa]

Mother of God indeed. Phia yelped and grabbed her cane. "{St. Michael, Commander of the Armies of God, send me a flame against the Destruction of Mankind. Burn away the evil forces that have torn this soul from its rightful rest. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, Amen.}"

A plume of brilliant flame sprouted from the tip of her cane and paused, as though awaiting instructions. She didn't move at first, realizing that this was...

"Oh, my god," she breathed, "how sick do you have to be to drag kids into this?"

[Sister Angeleanna]

Just as the nun had settled down in the chair, chaos erupted and she was backed into by a young woman who nearly toppled her over in the process. A hand went to her shoulder, squeezed and the nun looked up into the pinched face of the officer as she reached for her sidearm. Angel realized instantly the woman meant to protect her and the nun reached up to touch the officer’s hand, now digging into her shoulder. It seemed to bring the officer back into focus and the grip loosened, but there would be bruises the next day. Her stomach lurched, unlike so many she could never grow out of the sudden rush of adrenaline and the building rush to protect.

Sister Angel rose steadily, the bible placed lovingly on the table and the case beside her feet was already on the table and open. From the window of the room a rotting head appeared in the sea of arms. Swollen and grey, one good eye swiveled wildly about while the other remained glassy and eerily transfixed on the three agents. The head then vanished and was replaced by three others, their heavy groans and sighs following as they each tried to climb through the window over one other. Gunfire rang out, coming from all directions and Angel drew several steps back to her teammates, eyes momentarily riveted to the fantastical flame beheld by the woman. The prayer that befell it only added to the power and she found herself praying in hushed whispers. In one hand, she gripped the handle of her sword, laying the blade flat against the folds of her habit.

It was a strange weapon amidst the guns and even stranger to see a holy woman so comfortable in holding it. But just as fast as it had appeared, the blade was slipped into its sheath attached to the bureau’s belt. “Heavenly Father.” It was a call of both strength and woe and the nun glanced briefly at Kasim, meeting his eyes and knew they couldn’t stay in this room or risk being trapped. She quickly looked around for something to block the window that had been broken in and took in the desk, table and file cabinets.

Through the office door, the child managed to drag itself into the open. A fresh wound of old flesh and black blood dripped from his shoulder. Behind him, a woman in a dull green dress rose up and rolled her head back, the smell of soil and death clung to her as she grasped at a fleeing officer and spotted the open door that lead to the agents. Ramirez had shoved the door open at the first scream and now stood rooted to the spot, one hand still gripping the doorknob at the sudden madness that had enveloped the station.

"how sick do you have to be to drag kids into this?"

“Keep strong, sister,” Angel raised her voice to Anna Sophia and took a deep breath. The desk would have to do.

[Kasim Chionesu]

Kasim raised his Glock, both hands on the grip and his finger hovering over the trigger guard, not the trigger. If his finger was on the trigger with no intention to fire or uncertainty, someone would get hurt. That was the first lesson he learned. "This is your safety." The instructor had said, flexing his forefinger. "There is no safety but this." Now in the station with the mix of not only living corpses but living people, it would be easier for an accident to happen and the wrong person get shot.

"Phia, sister, cover that window!" Kasim ordered, motioning to the window with a nod of his head. The blinds had been ripped from their fixture and now the undead were trying to scramble in. He turned his attention to the main office.

The child and the woman that had made their way in were advancing, and Ramirez seemed to be frozen in time. Kasim's finger moved to the trigger as he got a clear shot over Ramirez's shoulder at the woman. He squeezed the trigger and the bang astounded even him. The bullet found its way to the upper left side of the woman's forehead and she went down as her rotting skull and brains fell to the floor.

"Ramirez!" Kasim called as the child lurched closer. The child...It was so macabre, so unnatural, so evil. Children were supposed to be innocent, not agents of evil. And the look in the child's eye sockets...it was anything but kind as it eyed the officer. Kasim lowered his handgun and went to Ramirez, grabbing him by the shoulder and pulling him into the room. The child screamed, enrage, and ran for Kasim. He had his gun. could he shoot the child, dead or not?

He retreated into the room and slammed the door just as the impact of the child was felt on it. He turned, his back to the door as it rattled. "Do you have roof access?" He asked Ramirez, or anyone who knew. If so, they could hole up there, maybe get a heli evacuation and he could try and get Chert and the others...Oh the others.

"Chert! Talus! Hostiles are assaulting the police station, I repeated, hostiles are assaulting the police station! Be on your guard, we're going to try and evac to the roof!" The door rattled as Kasim spoke into the radio. He hefted his weight against the door but felt he was fighting a losing battle. "Do you have roof access somewhere near?" Kasim demanded once more, turning to Ramirez.

[brennalarosa]

"Phia, sister, cover that window!" Kasim ordered, motioning to the window with a nod of his head. The blinds had been ripped from their fixture and now the undead were trying to scramble in.

Phia was glad to be directed away from the child, turning instead to taller and less uncanny corpses crawling through the window. "Okay, puddin', let's put you back to sleep," she muttered, forcing the ball of fire to launch forward. It hit with a damp, meaty thump of clothes trying to catch fire. The corpse was fresher than the others, but it was singed, at least. Using the residual power from the prayer, Phia vaulted a table and brought an eldritch glowing red cane down on the head of an attacker. The already decaying skull crumpled and the body fell inert to the floor.

She turned and swung the stick at a much older, almost skeletal zombie. The tip caught in the ribcage and there was a moment of terror, before she twisted free and slammed the head of the can into its spine, shattering the whole frame with a sound like dice being rolled. But now, the burnt one was coming back for her, swinging stiff arms for her head and neck. She fell backwards, thankful for her inborn clumsiness for once. Phia stabbed upwards for the throat with her cane tip and was rewarded with the sound of ripping skin and muscle. The smell was unbearable. She didn't dare try to breathe. Unfortunately, her stumble left her prone and it was all she could do to scramble for her old cover.

[Sister Angeleanna]

"Chert! Talus! Hostiles are assaulting the police station,

The radio squawked back with Chert’s voice. “Understood Chiapet, we’re on route and ETA in five. Stay alive till then.”

"Do you have roof access somewhere near?"

“Yes,” it came out in a sharp yell and Ramirez was moving. Holstering his weapon, he kicked aside a box of folders and ignored it as it tipped over, spilling the contents. Towards the other end of the room there was a small broom closet that had been emptied of cleaning supplies to make room for extra storage for a file cabinet. Yanking the door open he hit the switch and the single light bulb flickered on, revealing a false ceiling. “Agent Chionesu here! It opens into a small attic but you can get to the roof from here!”

Sister Angel pursued Phia, raising a hand at the sudden light of her cane’s magic that sent the table tumbling up. Her habit’s veil jerked back on her, making her stumble back a step and whirled around to see a young deceased man clutching it fiercely in a clawed hand. He was missing half his face but what had begun to decompose was matted in dirt, creating a effective mask against the gore. The peculiar smell of rotting flesh and fresh earth surrounded her in a haze and she caught the hand on her veil, the skeletal digits giving easily under her strong grip. “Forgive me brother,” she whispered and shoved the man back forcefully. The contact broken, she reached for her weapon at her side.

A officer raised her handgun and fired off a several shot into the man’s chest and head before the nun could draw her sword. By the time the body hit the floor, Angel had already turned back to Anna Sophia to see another walking deceased lumbering after her. With one hand on the hilt, she drew it sharply and with one quick striding step, she bent and swung the blade up catching the back of the burning zombie’s neck, lobbing the head cleanly. The body crumbled and the nun shied away from the violence, curling her head and her brow furrowed. She didn’t have much time to mourn before a second and third body managed to make their way through the broken window. One lurched after the sister and the other crawled across the floor on its arms, the torso strangely missing legs. The creature aimed its swollen gaze to the now eye level agent Cisneros and grasped wildly with skeletal hands.

[Kasim Chionesu]

“Understood Chiapet, we’re on route and ETA in five. Stay alive till then.”

“Agent Chionesu here! It opens into a small attic but you can get to the roof from here!”

The door at Kasim's back was now being scraped at and rattling wildly. It seemed that not only the zombie child was the only one trying to get in. Gunshots rang through the air, the smell of putrefaction filled the man's nostrils, and the sudden adrenaline rush was dizzying. Kasim looked up as a decaying body that would have never been able to move in life grasped for Phia's legs. Kasim raised his Glock.

BLAM!

Dust, dried blood, and what had been left of the corpse's brain exploded into the air with one shot from Kasim's Glock. In a calmer situation, he would reload to have a full clip at his disposal. Now was not the time.

"Everyone to the roof, NOW." Kasim commanded. "I will cover you! Get to the roof, as soon as you're up there, I'll follow! I'll need you to cover me then, but now GET TO THE ROOF." While this was not angry or panicked yelling, Kasim was firm. He already had one of the Bureau's agents die, who knew how many made it in the main office, and the only way he would lose another agent or local was over his dead body.

[brennalarosa]

"Everyone to the roof, NOW." Kasim commanded. "I will cover you! Get to the roof, as soon as you're up there, I'll follow! I'll need you to cover me then, but now GET TO THE ROOF."

Phia scrambled towards the door, but couldn't bring herself to leave Kasim. C'mon, man, back towards the door! You can keep firing, but don't stay here! she thought. She grabbed a chair and flung it at a nearby corpse, knocking it to bony, slimy bits. She kept backing away, flinging whatever came to hand at all comers.

One managed to evade her projectiles and got in close enough to grab and attempt to bite her shoulder. She didn't check to see if it broke skin. She kicked as hard as she could and grabbed a shard of glass, driving it into the dead woman's skull. Phia broke free, snapping the arms off and finally reaching the door.

"I better see you at the top!" She shouted behind her, headed straight for the roof.

[Sister Angeleanna]

Ramirez hopped atop the small metal file cabinet, crouching on it he managed to knock the false ceiling up. Dust and cobwebs rained down on him but he gave it little thought and shouted something in Spanish and a flashlight was passed to him. Pulling his hand gun from its holster, he flicked the torch and stood slowly with both light and gun ready. He peered over the lip of the ceiling and could see nothing until he raised the flashlight. One quick turn lit up the attic, revealing several old boxes, a few rats and a million spiders. That was good enough for him. Tossing the flashlight through, he holstered his gun and pulled himself up and over to reappear in the ring of darkness. He lowered a hand down for the next person already climbing up.

The corpse that lunged at the nun was blocked by a quick step back and the silver blade was raised to rest the flat edge against a palm, creating a simple barrier. Sister Angel held the weight of the attacker and pushed back with ease sending the body stumbling back. She felt a yank at her waist and a hand went to her side, but she already knew her rosary was gone. Tangled in the rotting man’s hands, the creature lofted the line of beads in an awkward swing as one of it’s shoulders was dislocated and almost reverently brought them to his face, coating the cross in thick sludge that was once blood as he dragged it across his mouth.

Along side Juan, a second male officer had remained and together they were able to reach down and pick their brethren up and through the opening. “{Follow the planks to the far wall},” Ramirez was repeating as each person filled past him. “{Climb the metal stairs to the roof. You’ll be safe.}” When Phia reached them, Juan repeated the exact instructions in rushed English and held his hand out for her to grasp.

"I will cover you! Get to the roof, as soon as you're up there, I'll follow! I'll need you to cover me then, but now GET TO THE ROOF."

Breaking her gaze from the zombie that was lovingly stroking the rosary, Sister Angeleanna sought for the familiar figure of Kasim and spotted him across the room. She knew she wouldn’t be able to leave the man and his voice commanded and she felt herself backing up. She twisted into a nearby corpse that seemed intent on using her as snack and snapped yellowed teeth in her face. From the left, a body bulldozed into the attacker and the nun took a deep breath, stilling the fiery blaze that burned within, begging her to take up her weapon of God. It was the previous corpse that had taken her rosary and it clumsily twisted atop the other, dropping the holy relic in the process. Sister Angel was quick to retrieve it and follow in the direction Kasim had directed and Phia had gone.

Outside the police station, reinforcement had been called in and officers that had been patrolling and sent out on various assignments were returning. Though there weren’t many bodies, they had congregated to the open doors and windows of the station. Down the road, several black vans roared closer.

[Kasim Chionesu]

"I better see you at the top!"

In normal instances, Kasim would have smiled appreciatively at Phia. Now was not the time. "You can count on it!" He replied, the door at his back throbbing as though it was a swelling boil. He watched as the others filed to the room and, hopefully, safety. The door trembled at his back and he reached for a chair. It would be feeble support, but he just needed to make it to the filing room.

Swiftly, Kasim wedged the chair's back underneath the doorknob, tilting it so the legs would brace any force from the door. He observed that there were no more moving corpses within the room and holstered his Glock. he breathed in deeply and with a count of three, he took his weight off the door and ran for the room just as the nun's robes vanished into the dark square above. The chair scraped against the floor and the doorknob bulged from its place. Kasim pulled himself atop the filing cabinet just as there was a splintering sound.

Kasim did not look behind him as the door caved in behind him and the undead child, accompanied by several other walking corpses burst through the door and tripped over the carnage of wood and chair. Kasim accepted Ramirez's hand and as he went up, he kicked the side of the filing cabinet beneath him with all his strength. It tipped over and Kasim safely pulled himself into the attic. Perspiration dotted his face, and the amount of adrenaline in his veins made him almost shaky. There was not time for that now, nor to dwell on what he and the others had just escaped. He looked to his companions and nodded once. "Roof." He said and then he pulled himself to his feet.