"Go," Williams ordered.
Bunny shook her head. "No, this is your ride, Colonel."
"I don't think so. You need to get your people out of here. We'll hold the line," he argued.
"The other Blackhawks evacuated a lot of civilians to Midway," she told him. "They're going to need you if they're going to get out of the city."
Williams balked. "Goddamn it, just do as I say!”
"Sorry, sir," Bunny replied with a smile as she grabbed the harness attached to the cable and hooked it to him. "I'm a troublemaker, remember?"
She gave the crew a thumbs-up and got one back as they prepared to reel in the Colonel. "Get to Midway!" he yelled back, grabbing the cable, seeing there was no way out.
"If we aren't there, leave without us!" Bunny yelled back.
"Now what?" Tanner asked as he and the others fought the ever-encroaching dead.
Bunny rolled the garage door up behind them. "Everybody inside. It's time we were leaving."
Bunny slammed the garage door shut as the dead closed in, sliding the locking bar home to buy them a little extra time. It only took moments before the sound of the Shamblers pounding against the metal started, sending everyone in the room back a step.
Bunny took a minute to catch her breath, knowing it would take the dead a bit to get inside. They had little time to waste, and a lot of them to pass through if they were going to get out of this alive. Standing still for a moment, though, listening to the sound of the rain on the roof, the full impact of what was happening outside sank in, not just for her, but everyone.
"Fuck me," York muttered quietly.
"We are so dead," Angel agreed.
Bunny shook her head. "Not yet, we aren't. First, though, is everyone okay? No one’s bitten or anything, right?"
All of them shook their heads and Bunny nodded. "Good, okay, but if you lie to me, know this. I will fucking kill you. Now, let's go."
Each of them stared at her in shock as she walked past, soaking wet from the rain, stained with blood, and headed into Mill's office. They knew the reality of their situation, but Bunny had driven home the severity of anything less than total honesty with brutal force. Silently, they followed her.
In the back garage, Bunny started pulling the tarp off the Beast, motioning Tanner towards the other prototype. "Get it uncovered. You’re driving that one.”
"Aw, man," he muttered. "Why do I get the baby?"
“Shut up and get moving," Bunny barked. "York, you and Lucy take Gorman and ride with Tanner. The rest of you are with me."
They all nodded and moved to their respective vehicles, climbing in without argument. She hadn't asked for it, and didn't want it, but if she was going to be forced to lead these people out, the last thing Bunny wanted was any argument. They could do as she said, or stay behind, and while part of her screamed that she didn't have the right, the part of her that always got her through hardship just kept moving.
"Tanner, you get on my bumper and stay there, understand?" she yelled.
The Private nodded and they fired up the engines, the heavy rumble filling the small garage. Bunny looked at the small pink rabbit hanging from the display then back, through Mill's office, at the rear of her Camaro. She hated leaving it to rot, but there was no other choice now. It was time to let go of anything that couldn't be saved.
She tapped the rabbit, making it spin on its chain, and silently begged it to truly be a good luck charm. She needed it now, more than ever.
Dropping the big vehicle into gear, she gave the engine some gas, and rammed the garage door splitting through it with the plow and plunging them all back into the nightmare outside. Though the rain was beginning to let up, the fires burned wildly, and everywhere she looked, the dead rose up.
Bunny focused on the task at hand, not thinking about all those who’d died today, or wondering how many were still alive. Instead, she heaved on the wheel, turning the massive armored machine around and headed through the sea of dead for the gate.
The plow cleared the path for her, cutting through them like a scythe, and she found she had little trouble making her way across the field. The giants were south of her, but turning towards the sound of the engines. She could only hope they weren't very fast, though she knew if she was going to reach Midway, she'd probably have to cut past them as she turned that way.
Tanner was doing as she’d said, running the other Humvee so close if she tapped the brakes, they were both going to get whiplash. She set her eyes ahead, and floored the pedal, plowing through the dead with reckless abandon, no time left for anything else. She put her complete faith in the Beast to be every inch the unstoppable war machine Mills had made it out to be.
Spotting the gate ahead, she saw the massive vehicle used to block it had been thrown clear and lay burning yards away. The gate itself was closed, the heavy chains used to secure it holding tight against the press of the dead straining to get in. It was their one sure way out, though, and Bunny wasn’t looking for other options.
Powering the Humvee ahead, she struck the gate, tearing through it and the dead beyond. The Beast bounced heavily, rolling across the bodies in the road, and for a heartbeat, as she looked out the window, she saw him standing there. Pete
