No. Better to take his life than go down that path.

He was going to miss his brother Rick. After his wife and children had been killed he had devoted himself to his brother's family. His nieces, Mary & Tiffany, were the world to him. Every thing he did he did for them. He had only known Matt, Susan and the Young family a short time but he was going to miss them as well. He was even going to miss Jenkins; he and that black-hearted bastard had been partners since the beginning. He had really been looking forward to relaxing and fishing at Rainbow Lake, But he would finally be with his wife and children. He found strength in their memory, giving him the resolve to do what he knew he must do.

There came a knock on the door followed by a muffled voice. "Mr. Black? This is the Park City Militia. If you are in there please open the door."

Ron ignored them. Instead he walked across the room to the bedside table and grabbed his .357-magnum. It was loaded and he said a silent prayer before he put the barrel of the gun in his mouth. He heard the door break open followed by shouts for him to stop. Ron could only smile at the absurdity of the request. Stop? Not likely. He closed his eyes as he squeezed the trigger...

Chapter 30.

Sunday, June 24, 2001 Park City, UT 3:45 PM.

The Captain had been good to his word.

Someone had come in and taken them out of cuffs. A faceless Lt. told them they could pick-up their personal belongings at the main entrance to the hospital. The four of them proceeded to the main entrance and were in the process of getting their things when the Captain came out of the elevator and approached them.

"What do you want now?" Jenkins asked.

"The rest of your friends have been taken into custody save for one."

"Who?" Matt asked.

"He was identified as Ron Black by his brother."

"Identified?" Mac said. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"It appears Mr. Black was also infected with the plague and elected to take his own life rather than be taken into custody. I can't say that I blame him."

None of them said a word.

"Fuck him." Jenkins finally snarled bitterly. "Better him than me." Matt was about to say something but he saw that Jenkins had looked away, his face fighting to quell the emotions that churned within.

"Were any of the others infected?" Mac asked.

"Outwardly it didn't appear so. But they will be here any minute and the blood tests will confirm it."

Jenkins finished tucking his things away, holstered his pistol and exited the room without another word.

Matt understood how he felt. He had only known Ron a few days but he had grown close to him. It had been Ron who had befriended him when they'd first reached the U. Ron who had gotten Zack a room in the Ft. Douglas hospital. And now he was dead.

"When can we see them?" Mac asked the Captain.

"They should be cleared in about an hour."

"We'll wait for them." Susan said.

"I'm going to go find Jenkins." Mac said. "He and Ron dealt with the tariff officials. For all we know they have everything registered in their names. With Ron dead he may be able to steal everything right out from under us."

"I don't think Ron would have done that." Matt said, surprised at Mac's paranoia.

"Jenkins would." Mac replied. "You don't know that son of a bitch like I do...Ruthless. Ron was the only link binding him to us. Rick is Ron's brother...not Jenkins partner."

"I think you're being a little paranoid." Matt said. "Jenkins said he wanted to relax for awhile. He's looking forward to Rainbow Lake as much as any of us."

"Suit yourself." Mac said. "But I'm going to go find him anyway. I'll meet up with everybody at the hotel." He grabbed the last of his things off the counter and headed for the exit.

"If you want to wait here in the lobby I will send someone for you once they have been cleared." The Captain said.

"That'll do." Matt said. He and Susan found themselves a seat in a quiet corner of the lobby. For a while they sat there, hand in hand, each lost in their own thoughts.

"Do you think we'll make it?" Susan asked solemnly.

"Yes." Matt answered almost at once. "I do believe we are going to make it. We are so close I can taste it."

"What if they don't find Zack and he leads the zombies to the lake?"

"I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get to it." They were silent for a long time then.

"I love you." Matt said. When Susan didn't answer he squeezed her hand and looked her in the eye. "I know it sounds crazy. Hell it is crazy. But with everything that's happened... Your dad, Zack, Ron. It's like a nightmare that I can't wake up from. Being with you has been the only good thing, the only right thing that has happened. I don't mean to put any kind of burden on you but with things the way they are? Who knows what tomorrow may bring. So I just wanted to tell you how I felt. Just in case..." Matt knew there was no turning back from the things he was saying but he no longer cared.

"Let's get married." Susan said. Matt gave her a jaw-dropping stare but she held up a hand to silence him and continued. "You are right. Who knows what tomorrow may bring? We may all be dead by this time tomorrow. It's good to plan for the future but we can't forget to live right now. And I know that I love you right now. And whatever tomorrow brings I want you to be there. I saw a Pastor when we first came down stairs. Let's go find him and have him marry us right now." She said.

"Yes." Matt said. "Let's do it."

They looked into each other's eyes for several long moments then embraced in a passionate kiss before setting off to find the Pastor...

Chapter 31.

Sunday, June 24, 2001 Uintah, National Forest, UT 4:14 PM.

Zack lay on his back, convulsing, his eyes were rolled up white. Blood and brain matter covered his face and chest. The three dark robed creatures stood in a circle around him, watching.

"Do you think he is strong enough to survive?" one of them said. Its voice was a series of hissing snarls, as savage as its language was alien.

"I chose him well." Answered another. "Strong and healthy in life even as he lay on the brink of death. I could smell the genetic compatibility in him. The conditions couldn't have been better for implantation."

"But look how his body rejects the embryo." Said the third.

"His willpower is impressive. I had to mentally command him to eat. Even then he resisted. But fresh brains will give the embryo enough strength to dominate him. Complete the bonding."

"What does he know of the human city to the southwest?"

"It is called Park City. It is well defended, but we have enough minions to take them."

Each of the three hissed at the thought of all the fresh human brains inside the city, waiting to be had. The psychic backlash of their thoughts filled the thousands of zombies in the forest and within seconds the forest was echoing with the hungry moans of the zombie army.

"Contact the mothership," Said the leader of the trio, the one who implanted Zack. "Inform the Overlord of our progress." One of the other creatures hissed in submission and walked up the entrance ramp into the ship.

"Your supplicant appears to be stabilizing." Both creatures stared down at Zack's body...

For the longest time there had been only pain. An engulfing, all encompassing pain that filled him to the center of his being then out again. His entire universe had been the pain. And then it was gone.

Zack slowly opened his eyes, squinting at the bright sunlight and cringing at the sensory input that flooded his mind and body. His senses were in the hyper tuned state again, only this time much sharper and focused than before. His sight, hearing, smell and taste had all been blended into one and combined with a psychic awareness that made him aware of everything about him; The two Krylok standing a few feet from him, the assault shuttle, the third Krylok aboard the ship, the twelve Sentinels in the perimeter around them and the four thousand drones spread throughout the forest in a one mile radius.

He sat up slowly, looking at the pair of robed Krylok standing over him. He could see their cloaked faces much clearer now, and discern subtle differences in their reptilian features. And their scents were much different; the nearer one smelled much more familiar. That ones psychic aura was also much stronger than the other two, signaling him as the Master.

"The embryo has taken," said the Master. Its alien language was no longer a series of guttural hisses to Zack, but smooth and fluent. "My hybrid lives." Zack could sense something of pride coming from the leader. "The first successful hybrid we've achieved with the human species."

"There was more mutation than we had hoped for."

"This is but the first. We shall refine the process until hybridization is perfect."

Zack sat there silently and listened to them talk. Any trace of shock or horror had been burned from his psyche when the embryo had bonded with him. He looked down at himself. His skin had changed from healthy, tanned flesh to smooth, hairless, mottled greenish black and covered with a fine layer of slime. His genitalia had retracted up into his abdomen, leaving a hardened lump of flesh in their place. His fingers were long and dexterous; the nails had blackened and elongated over an inch to form wicked claws. There were other, internal changes that Zack was instinctively aware of. His saliva glands could now secrete toxic venom that he could inject into the blood stream of his prey to paralyze them so that he may feed more easily. The poison could also be collected in his mouth and spit as a defensive mechanism. It would burn the skin and blind the eyes of most terrestrial creatures. The joints of his body had been given an inhuman flexibility, allowing his body to twist and contort into positions that would make the best circus contortionist weep with envy.

Zack stood and stretched with the sinuous strength of a snake. With a burst of energy he leapt twenty feet to the nearest tree, catching the branch and swinging himself up into a kneeling position with the easy of a monkey. His feet felt confined within his shoes and with two quick slashes of one clawed hand both shoes fell from his feet to the forest floor below. His toes had elongated and the toenails curved into black claws and what looked like a thick, black, curved spur one inch in length had sprouted from the back of each heel. It had the flexibility of a finger and automatically hooked deep into the tree bark.

"You have been reborn a superior life form." The Master replied. "The human body is weak and frail; fit only as stock for food, Sentinels and drones." At the mention of food Zack looked at the Master sharply, his own eyes now burning red.

"Yes. Humans are your food. You feed upon the brain and leave the rest for the drones. If you do not feed you will die." Even now Zack felt a gnawing hunger at the core of his being, demanding to be sated. The feeding proboscis slid out of its fleshy sheath beneath his tongue and protruded an inch from his mouth. Black as rotten flesh, it was equipped with a bone hard tip just like the Krylok's tongue. Zack leapt from the tree to land perfectly in front of the Master. He looked down at the black robed Krylok... His creator.

"Why...me?" Zack spoke English. Despite an ability to understand the Krylok tongue he didn't have the proper anatomy to speak it.

"You had the proper genetic profile to be compatible with the embryo."

Zack tried to remember when the small creature had crept into his room in Summittown two days ago but there was only fleeting memories, seen through a black fog. A tall, dark haired man named Matt, who had been Zack's friend. A pretty, blond haired girl named Susan. A boy, Zack couldn't remember his name, and some soldiers...beyond that, there was nothing.

"I can't remember." Zack said. Even his voice had changed: deep and throaty, almost a snarl.

"You have no need of the old memories." The Master said. "They are nothing but human frailties that have been discarded so that you may fulfill your purpose."

"What is my purpose?" Zack asked defiantly. Zack had only one desire in his mind. The desire too feed. To find a warm human, crack open their skull and suck out they're warm brains.

"To serve your master..." The Master said fiercely. His eyes grew hotter and Zack felt a psychic wave of pain shoot through his entire body. He collapsed to the ground, writhing in pain.

"He still has much willpower." The other Krylok said.

"It will be broken. Once the bonding is complete independent willpower is a hindrance." As the two Krylok watched Zack convulse in pain the third alien creature exited the black craft.

"The Overlord is pleased. His orders are to commence with the invasion of the human city."

"Excellent." The Master hissed. He bent over Zack and rolled him onto his back. He gripped his chin in his small, clawed hand and looked him in the eyes, which still burned with defiance.

"Never challenge me again supplicant, or you shall become my food." The Master dug his claws deep into Zack's flesh before letting him go. "There was a place in your mind, not far from here, called Rainbow Lake. Your former companions are headed there. Go and await them. When they arrive, feed."

The Master turned away and walked up the ramp into the spacecraft, followed by the other two Krylok. Zack could sense the superzombies and the thousands of zombies in the forest begin to disperse and make their way to Park City. Zack climbed to his feet and watched them go, the words of the Leader echoing through his mind.

Rainbow Lake... Feed... Rainbow Lake... Feed...

Zack couldn't remember how he knew where Rainbow Lake was, and he didn't care. All he cared about was food...

Chapter 32.

Sunday, June 24, 2001 Park City, UT 5:31 PM.

"I now pronounce you man and wife."

Upon hearing the words Susan let out a yelp of delight, threw her arms around her new husband and kissed him passionately.

"Congratulations." The Pastor said then walked away, muttering under his breath about the foolishness of youth.

"Do you feel as faint as I do?" Matt asked when they finally broke the kiss.

"Faint?" Susan said. "Hell NO I don't feel faint. I feel alive." She kissed Matt quickly again and broke away from him, turning to face the small crowd of hospital patrons who had gathered to bear witness to the ceremony. "DO ALL OF YOU HEAR ME? I SAID I FEEL ALIVE!" Susan screamed at the top of her lungs. This got cheers of agreement from the crowd. She turned back and embraced Matt once again. "I feel so alive." The crowd dissipated as the two newlyweds held one another and gazed into each others eyes.

"Susan? Matt?" They turned to see David and Sharon approaching. Susan ran over to embrace them both tightly. "I'm so glad you're both OK."

"Ron got scratched by a superzombie out on the raid." David said. "That's how he got infected."

"Zack was infected as well." Matt said.

Matt quickly told David and Sharon everything that had happened with the military.

"And then the Captain told us they were taking all of you into custody to be checked."

"How is Rick doing?" Susan asked.

"I haven't seen him since they arrested us." They all looked at each other for several seconds.

"Do you want to tell them or should I?" Susan said.

"Tell us what?" Sharon asked. Her eyes were clearer than they'd been since Frank had died. Her whole demeanor seemed much calmer, as if she were finally starting to come to terms with his death.