Night three
Mission log, April 21st, part II
I may have to reevaluate my opinion on these scientists that run this place. After meeting up with my squad, we found out that STRIPES squad was escorting a 'VIP' to unlock and restore power to the labs. I assumed that the head scientist simply ordered an engineer out to do it, but later on it turned out that he in fact had actually left his office to do it himself.
As STRIPES, by far the fastest and quite possibly one of the most skilled teams, had already left with the VIP, the remaining squads were left with the secondary mission.
It seems that while many of us were defending the radio transmitter, there were a few other squads out there collecting blood and various... other samples... from the zombies. The scientists had used these to manufacture an anti-virus, which seems to cure the infected. These scientists had been working through the night and today on further developing the cure, but apparently hit a roadblock. They enlisted engineers to create a special blaster which will analyze the infected in more detail... but had to leave in a hurry, and it was dropped in the commotion.
Three of squads went after the blaster itself, while my squad was to provide support and covering fire.
It was apparently deserted and oddly quiet on the way there, and when as the blaster was acquired we certainly did get some new information on the zombies. They're learning. A horde of at least 60 zeds had completely surrounded them, cutting off any escape. Under our squad leader's excellent command, we were able to evac two squads, and retreated into the forest yet again. We still do not know what happened to the last squad...
Miraculously, we managed to lose the zombies in the forest. We weaved between the trees, under branches and over logs, until there was no longer any sign of the edge or the sky. We could still hear them, rustling around and trying to track us. The squad leader pulled us back behind a hill in a clearing, quickly called for the group to drop prone, and we waited for twenty minutes, completely motionless, watching every side. When he was satisfied that we had lost them, we resumed moving.
We paused for a moment when the communications officer received word that STRIPES had been nearly wiped out, and the VIP was nowhere to be found, more than likely a zombie by now. Our morale crushed, the only option we had was to press on.
From then on out, our formation was single file, through thorn bushes nearly as thick as your forearm. Our squad leader himself held up the biggest branches until the very last one in formation had passed by, not even flinching at the pain. Once we were through the thorns, we encountered yet another swamp. Wading through slowly so as not to make any sound, we made it across... to find yet more thorn bushes.
We spent an hour and a half in that forest when finally we saw light shining through the trees up ahead. We stayed low, scouted the are and, satisfied that all was clear, began our trek back to base. There was a stream in our way of waist deep water. The captain and his lieutenants went ahead and managed to construct a makeshift bridge for the rest of the squad.
After another half hour our feet touched asphalt and we could see our base off in the distance... with nearly every entrance surrounded by zombies, and it looked hopeless once again... until we saw a flash of light off to our left. There was one entrance, set back deep into the wall in an easily defensible position. The signal came from there, where a small group had been able to hold off the zombies long enough for there to be a temporary lull in the siege. We sprinted, ignoring the fact that we were all riddled with thorns, covered in mud, and nearly exhausted.
We were the reinforcements they needed, and our survival and... marginal success with the blaster... was the boost they all needed to be able to finally push the zeds back away from base.
Things were quiet, so only a few guards were posted at each gate as we went in to share the information we had learned with the remaining survivors. And what we heard became a light at the end of the tunnel - the VIP was alive! After discovering that STRIPES had failed, another squad grabbed several doses of anti-virus and went out searching. They managed not only to save the VIP, but went on to complete the mission and restore access to every lab. We all went back to our posts at the gates to cover their retreat back to base.
Finally, at the end of the night, the VIP and his remaining squad were safely inside, and we had taught those zombies a lesson: this is our house.