No freakin' clue.
Dead bodies were coming back to life and they were trying to eat us.
Okay, back to life is not the right term.

"Unlife"?

Whatever.

They were moving around and we were on the menu.

Why? I have no freakin' clue.


I was in the town of Yuma, Arizona.
I was at a Renaissance Faire.

You see, as a second job I am a magician. One half of the comedy magic duo of "Myth & Magic."
I was in Yuma with my best friend and performing partner Pat "Snipe" Reule.

It was a Saturday afternoon and Snipe and I were on stage doing our 3:45 show. Everything was running smoothly until this guy came shambling through a nearby burlap fence and then proceeded to climb up on stage.

I know what you're thinking, "Hello, walking corpse! Didn't you notice?"

Well, the truth is, at Renaissance Faires we get a lot of people who dress up ...and not always in the correct time frame or theme. We call them Playtrons. I have seen Cylons, Klingons, Wookies, Fairies and Ogres at Faire. So a Zombie, although new, was not all that surprising. So we tried to ignore it.

As "Mr. Shambles" endeavored to get on our stage, I just got louder and more animated in an effort to keep the audiences focus on the show.
It was all to no avail though because the second "It" was fully on stage, "Mr. Shambles" stretched out his arms and began to moan.

Now I have been a performer for over two decades now, so when I heard this sound come from his throat. It was a sound that was all at one time, wet, loud, guttural, and had the power to make my testicles want to crawl up into my body.
My first thought was,"That is so cool! I have to learn how to do that!"

Then "Mr Shambles" made a grab for me.
It was at this point that time stood still. In a second that seem to last hours, I noticed the dirt on him smelt like freshly dug earth.
His eyeballs weren't wet and he didn't blink.
Oh, and what I had thought were plastic worms....were maggots crawling in and out of his left ear.

It was at this point I did what any future savior of mankind would do.



...I pissed my pants.



I tried to take a step backwards. When I did, I tripped over Snipe who had come up behind me to confront what he thought was a stage crasher. We both fell to the stage as the audience watched in confusion. "Shambles" started reaching for us with his eyes rolled back, mouth open, teeth bared, his stained fingernails long and claw-like. Before "It" could reach us, I heard a sound.

...kinda like "thumping" a watermelon.

The point of a knife magically appeared exiting "Shambles" left ear as the knifes handle vibrated the right ear.

"Shambles" fell onto the stage in a heap.

The audience dispersed in a loud and chaotic manner.

Then onto the stage leapt "Trey! the Professional Showoff"

---

---

"Professional show-off" is not a derogatory term. Is is the stage name of our good buddy and present savior, Trey Cromwell.

"You guys okay?" Trey asked as he planted his boot onto "Mr. Shambles" jaw and retrieved his knife.

"I think so." I said, getting up off Snipe's chest.

Snipe rose to his feet,"I'm... oh..." he stopped in mid sentence and just stared at me, "...you pissed on me didn't you?"

"What the hell's going on?" I asked Trey.

"Zombies, There's a bunch of 'em coming from the west parking area." He said as he cleaned his blade on the 'Dead again' guys shirt.

"Where'd they come from?" Snipe asked as he held his shirt away from his body with his thumb and index finger.

Trey gave Snipe a 'How the hell should I know look', "Got me. I was on the Pond Stage when one of 'em shuffled up and took a bite out of a kid in the front row. I was doing the knife juggling part of the show. So I just let one fly. Tagged her right in the neck." Trey used his fingers to show a spot right above the breast bone.

"Good shot", Snipe said.

"I thought so. too. ...'Till the bitch pulled it out and started towards me." Trey replied.

"Holy Shit!, So what happened?" I asked.

"I threw the other two knives! I was a bit freaked, so the first one was a miss. I took a quick breath to calm down then launched the last blade. It nailed her in the left eye all the way to the handle." Trey smiled.

As we left the stage and headed toward our tents in actors camp, we froze when we heard gun fire.

Snipe started running, "That's a .38 Smith&Wesson. Kathy's over there!"

---

---

The Kathy that he spoke of, was Kathy of Kathy's Fine Celtic Jewlery.

She has been a friend of ours for many years at faire.

As we came over a small rise and looked down the row of vendors. We could see Kathy's booth in a little cul-de-sac at the end. The report of her .38 echoed across the park as we came running.

With every shot a body fell but there seemed to be about twenty or so of the 'deaders' mingling around the booths caught up and confused by the guide ropes.

Snipe flew into action. He delivered a flying kick to a six footer that sent him crashing into small group - knocking them to the ground.

Trey played Ginsu chef with his blades, slicing and dicing his way through the pack, while I grabbed a a tent pole from the ground and proceed to dispatch the stinking stumblers with not so much tact.

As we fought our way closer to Kathy's booth, we all felt ice water flow through our veins when we heard a distinctive 'click' sound as Kathy ran out of ammo.

While Kathy fumbled with a fresh magazine, a 'Deader' blocked off her escape route and started for her.

Snipe jumped over the counter onto the 'Deader's' back. Grasping the back of the head and chin of the walking nightmare and with a loud yell he RIPPED IT'S HEAD CLEAN OFF!

The way now clear, we gather up Kathy and looked for a place where we could take a breather.

As we ran, Kathy thanked us for showing up when we did.

Kathy looked at Snipe. Brownish grey goop was all over the front of his shirt.

"Sorry about your shirt." She said, with a little laugh.

"That's ok." Snipe said,"I was going to burn it anyway ...Steve pissed on it"

She looked at me. I just smiled and shrugged my shoulders.

We all kept running.

---

---

We started running back the way we had come when we heard a familiar voice yell, "Son of a bitch !"

The Voice belonged to a guy we knew as 'Robert the Hair'. He was called that because of his long straight hair that grew down past his shoulders.

Snipe immediatly turned toward the sound and headed in that direction. The rest of us followed.

Down by the pond we saw Robert's booth, 'Mystic Leather'. It was surrounder by about 15 "deaders". Robert was not alone in his booth. Inside were his two female assistants and also good friends of ours, Gypsie & Rellie.

Robert had a "deader" attached to his forearm and was pounding it with his fists.

Gypsie had taken a sword from a scabbard display and was doing more smacking than stabbing with it.

Meanwhile Rellie, who had been known to enter long bow tournaments at faires, had taken to the rafters and was slowly picking off the relentless Zombie tide with her trusty bow.

Snipe took the tent pole from me and started using it as a Bo staff. Years of martial arts training flowed through his body as he made the wooden shaft complete complex yet strangely beautiful movements. He almost appeared to be dancing as he moved forward into the fray. His progress marked by a sound like dropping melons.

Trey, Kathy, and myself followed in Snipes wake and steadily made our way closer to the booth.

I heard Kathy stop and take a deep breath. Then a loud 'BANG' went off right next to my head. The back side of the "Deader's" head that had been attached to Roberts forearm. Just turned to grey mist.

"Ow" I yelled.

"Shit" Robert said, as he checked the number of fingers on his hand.

Trey was keeping an escape route open as best he could by throwing and stabbing with his knives a fast as he could.

Rellie, realized what he was trying to accomplish, and proceeded to give him back-up with her ranged weapon.

Gypsie was in a panic and threw me the sword she had been using to keep the creatures at bay.

As the cool metal handle of the sword touched my hand. A heard a voice in my head. "Sleep, ....I'll Take care of this"

---

---

My name is Trey, I am billed at Faires as a Professional Showoff. That actually means I am what used to be known as a variety entertainer. I juggle, do a little sleight of hand, some contortions and now you can add, Save the World.

...Please hold your applause 'till the end of the show.

It had been just a typical Ren-Faire. Juggle, tell jokes, amuse the masses, kill the undead. Well, the "kill the undead" thing is kinda new, but one has to be able to go with the flow when your doing live theater.

Zombies had screwed up my show and when I went to check on my friends, Steve and Snipe of "Myth & Magic", low and behold if their show wasn't being crashed too. I helped them with their finale and then we went to visit our friend Kathy who was doing a bang-up business with undead shop-lifters.

Snipe helped Kathy "Close Shop" then it was a hop, skip, and a frolic over to some other friends to see if business was 'dead' for them too.

When we arrived at 'Mystic Leather' we found that business was 'grave'. Gypsie was fending off dead guys with a sword. Rellie was dropping 'deaders' with the moves of a female Robin Hood, and Robert, the shops owner, was showing the toughness of his leather bracers by letting a Zombie bite on it while he boxed it about the head and shoulders with his fists.

Then a weird thing happened.

(Like finding out that undead zombies don't put money in your hat isn't weird enough!)

Steve's eyes had appeared panicked during most of the preceding events. At Kathy's booth he had used a tent pole to bash some heads. The same tent pole Snipe now used as a Bo Staff to get us close to the Leather booth.

When we got near the booth Kathy shot the 'Deader' chewing on Roberts arm and Gypsie threw the sword she had been brandishing to Steve.

As Rellie helped me clear a path of escape. Steve just stood there. The knuckles on his sword hand turned white. His shoulders broadened. His eyes grew dark. Not in color but from an inner darkness.

In the next instant he was next to Snipe. Their movements, Snipe with the Staff and Steve with blade, were in perfect harmony.

"No Shit! There we were!" Steve screamed laughing in a deep voice that didn't sound quite right.

I would soon learned that my Bi-Polar buddy had snapped. A persona we would come to know as Stevil had evolved to save his sanity.

Zombies had come and stolen what should have been a fun weekend. They had stolen my friend's soul along with it.

---

---

We regrouped and once again headed for our tents and actors camp. We knew that sooner or later we would need food and supplies. Oh yes, and alcohol. I had a 15 year old bottle of Scotch in my tent and I would be damned if I was going to let some dead guy get it.

As we moved through the quickly emptying site we came upon a deserted weapons booth. Stevil handed Robert his sword back and choose a nasty looking Morning Star type mace and a short sword.

Snipe grabbed a sword and a couple of daggers.

Rellie grabbed an extra bow string, some arrows and a war hammer.

Kathy added a rapier to her arsenal.

I picked up a foil and a black leather whip.......yeah a whip. Foils are just cool, and whips, ...well they reminded me of the girl I knew back in college. Her name was Mel and the things she could.....

Suddenly, my well-on-its-way-to-"R"-rated-flash-back was interrupted by a sickening moan.

...Damn.

From behind a display of fake armour stumbled out four ex-Rennies. Two looked like they had had their throats torn out. One was missing its left arm and the fourth at no lower jaw.

We hadn't noticed that Gypsie had been stocking up on stiletto-like blades. That is until two appeared in the eye sockets of the "Deader" with no jaw.

The three remaining zombies moved toward her. Robert, Kathy, and Rellie were either too far away or had bad angles.

Snipe and Stevil moved in. Sniped dispatched one and got Gypsie to safety. Stevil Bashed one in the head and the mace just stuck there in the goo. As he tried to pull his weapon free the last "deader" closed in.

With a flick of my wrist, the black leather of the whip flashed through the air like a cobra. It wrapped around the "deaders" neck. With a mighty heave, I pulled back as hard as I could. That brought the creature in to range of Robert, Rellie, and Kathy. Who proceeded to FUBAR him.


...I told you whips were cool

---

---

When we finally made our way out to the area of actors camp, it was near empty. Being close friends, we had all camped close to each other in a shanty town sort of set up.

That is, except for Robert. He had an RV.

We all started changing into better clothes and going through our gear to pick out what would be a better End-of-Days ensemble.

Before any of us got to far Robert came out of his RV and although he always wore leather pants he was now sporting a leather shirt and vest.

"You look very Village People." Snipe said with a smile.

Robert held up his left arm showing a tooth-scarred bracer, "See that? They have human teeth and human teeth have a hard time biting through leather".

Snipe stopped putting on his shirt, "Do you have something in an extra-large? ...Maybe in an earthtone... Something to highlight my eyes?"

Robert just smiled and opened his product trailer and gestured for us to have at it.

Stevil didn't get a vest but instead wore black high boots, black jeans, black poet shirt, and his black leather top hat with the Silver Skull & Crossbones on the hat band.

Some times Crazy people can be theatrical.

Robert had us all put our supplies in to the RV while he disconnected it from the trailer.

Kathy retrieved six boxes of ammo out of her car.

Rellie pulled a stainless steel .357 revolver and two boxes of ammo from under her pillow in the 'Chateaux'.

Gypsies eyes seemed to have a silver glint as she placed what appeared to be nearly 30 stiletto blades in various hiding places of her leather outfit.

Stevil and Snipe walked with a purpose to their extended-cab minitruck. They reached into the back of the cab. Snipe pulled down one of the Jumper seats and retrieved a pistol case. Inside was a custom 1911 .38 competition pistol, four eight-round magazines, and four extra boxes of ammo.

Stevil took a pocket knife out and cut open the the backs of both bucket seats. From one seat he pulled out a double barreled sawed off shot gun. From the other seat he pullout two bandoliers filled with shells.

As they got into the RV, Robert looked at Snipe, "What's with the pistol."

Snipe shrugged "Hey, Arizona... desert... We were going to get some shooting in."

"What about that?" Robert asked, pointing to the shotgun."...the sawed-off and the bandito wear?"

"Yeah."

"Oh. Simple ...He's crazy."

As Robert started the RV, I made one last dash to my tent so I could gear up. I second later I sprinted to the RV with the Scotch safely in my arms.

Sometimes Theatrical people can be Crazy

---

---

When Stevil had gotten into the RV, a piece of colorful paper fell from his hip pocket and landed on the floor board next to Robert.

As the Bio-diesel warmed up, wafting the smells of a "Burger King at noon-time" rush throughout the area. Robert picked up the paper, which turned out to be the event program, took a deep breath, and began to read.

"What the hell are you doing!?" Rellie asked incredulously.

"When in a high stress situation. One of the best ways to stay centered is to do something normal, like shave or read the paper." Robert answered.

"Are you out of your freakin' mind!?!" Rellie cried, "We need to get moving before we get surrounded by more of those "Thriller" rejects!!"

As Robert put the RV into gear, he let the program fall to the floor, "They had my booth named wrong anyway. 'Leather.... Mystics...' ...why can't they ever get it right in the credits?!?" he said.

We all found a spot to hunker down as Robert drove down the dusty dirt drive that would get us off of the faire site. The desert wind was starting to pick up and the sun was just about to set. Lucky for us the site was near the edge of town and we wouldn't have to travel through a lot of populated areas.

"We need to find a defensible position to hole up in." Snipe said.

"How about a mall?" Stevil answered.

Everyone just stopped and stared at him......except Robert....he was driving.

Kathy moved over to Stevil, and in a sing song voice, "Do you watch movies? Did you see that one? ...Mall Bad!"

"But,.." Stevil started.

"MALL BAD!" everyone yelled in unison.

I was sitting next to him and he looked and me. I took a shot of scotch and handed him the bottle. He took a shot as I patted him on the back.

"Scotch good, Mall Bad." I whispered.

We made it out of town with only an occasional walking speed bump to slow us down. We listened to the radio as we drove out into the high desert.

Reports of mass hysteria, riots, and other violence. We heard a tell-tale moan over the speaker before the radio went dead.

We all remained quiet as we drove out into the starlit night...

---

---

We drove down the highway as the evening sky darkened. The head lights of the RV cutting through the cool night air.

Every now and then, we would spot a 'deader' shuffling across the road but out here in the open they seemed to be few and far between...

We had been on the road for about an hour when Robert started slowing down. "What's up?" I asked. "There's some movement up ahead." Robert answered back. Kathy pulled the slide back on her .38 just enough to make sure there was a round in the chamber. She checked her extra magazines and gave each a tap against her thigh so the rounds would be aligned and lower the chance of her weapon jamming.

Rellie put two speed loaders in her windbreaker pocket. Opened the the wheel of her revolver and gave it a spin double-checking there was a round in each chamber. Satisfied with what she saw, she snapped it back closed with a flip of her wrist.

Gypsie chose three stiletto blades and held them in her left hand. Fondling a fourth in her right - tossing it up and letting it make one full revolution in the air then land gracefully back in her hand. As I watched her one-handed one-blade knife juggling, I notice that the silver glow I had noticed around her eyes earlier was now also present around the fingers of her right hand.

Snipe moved to the front passenger seat. His 1911 held pointed to the floor. When he reached the seat he re-checked the daggers he had put in his boots and made sure they were easily accessible.

Stevil cracked the sawed-Off open. Then, one at a time, he took out each shell, put it next to his ear, and shook it. With a nod, he then put them right back into each barrel then snapped the weapon shut.

It was something I had seen Steve McQueen do in the 'Magnificent Seven'. So I was Curious...

"Why'd you that?" I asked.

"What?" he answered.

"The thing with the shells." I said, as I pantomimed shaking something next to my ear.

"Oh, THAT...?" he said, "...I saw Steve McQueen do it in the 'Magnificent Seven' and thought it looked cool."

...I took another shot of scotch.

From the front of the RV, I heard Snipe talking to Robert.

"It looks like a Trailer or something pulled over to the side of the road."

"I'll inch us up a bit closer" Robert said.

As we got closer we all looked out the RV's huge windshield.

About twenty yards ahead of us was a trailer. One of the tires had gone flat. We could tell that someone had been trying to fix it because we could see a jack next to the tire. Around the trailer were the dark shapes of the walking dead.

Robert cut the engine, "If we go any closer, we may get swarmed."

"Good thought,"Kathy said.

Robert hit the high beams on the RV.

When he did, "Oh, Shit!" crossed the lips of everyone inside.

There appeared to be fifty or more 'Deaders' milling about out there.

...then it got worse.

As one zombie moved away from the trailer door, the name became unmistakable:





..."Flying Skwirl".

---

---

The shine of the headlights reflected off the eyes of the 'Deaders' with a dull gray glow. The name "Flying Skwirl" now clearly visable on the back of the disabled trailer.

Flying Skwirl is the name of a booth ran by some more good friends of ours, Bill and Debbie. They had had to leave faire earily Saturday morning for some kind of business thing that had come up.

In the back of my mind I had a hope that they had gotten far enough away to avoid any of this mess. Now it appeared that some of the fears that had haunted the darker places of my mind had come true.

"We have to see if they're okay" I said.

"It will be hairy." Robert answered.

"Me, Trey and Stevil, will fight through." Snipes voice had a air of authority as he took control of the problem, "Robert, get the engine running. Kathy, Rellie, Gypsie cover our asses."

As Snipe stepped out the door he gave a little smile, "God save the Queen!!" then he stepped out into the night.

Stevil was up next, "God bless America!!" then he was gone.

I was close on his heels, "...Except Idaho, FUCK Idaho!" my friends chuckled as the tension broke and I followed my buddies into the night...


- - - -

The first thing I noticed as I stepped outside was the smell. It was wasn't the gut wrenching stench that I had expected, but more of a musty smell. Like damp mold.....and french fries. Damn bio diesel - I'll never be able to eat fries again.

Count to eight as fast as you can - that is how fast Snipe pulled the trigger of his 1911. Nine of the nearest 'deaders' collapsed and lay still on the ground.

...one of the shots must have been a "Two-fer".

By the time you could count "nine, ten, eleven...", he had re-loaded.

During the re-load, Stevil stepped forward and widened our path with two huge blasts from the 'sawed-off'. Dead heads exploded into a gray green mist.

When Stevil re-loaded, I covered. Flashing and slicing with my blades like one of those chefs at a Japanese restaraunt.

Cut, stab, flip. Cut, stab, spin. Now, if I could just master the Onion Volcano...

We kept fighting all the way past the trailer to the vehicle.

All the doors were wide open and our friends were no where to be seen. I yelled out their names in frustration, but the only response that came back was the moans of the 'Deaders'.

Snipe found a scratch pad on the drivers seat.

These words were written on it.

"White Boots"

"Vegas"

...and an address that was hard to make out in this light.

---

---

Snipe shoved the scratch pad into his pocket and started back toward the RV. In the time that it had taken us to get to the vehicle, the number of 'Deaders' around us had nearly doubled.

As we fought our way back to the RV. The girls kept the path clear. With each report from a firearm, a 'deader' dropped.

As the magazines and wheel loaders were emptied, Gypsie quickly reloaded them, all the while the silver glow about her evolving into a silver flame.

We dived into the RV door.

"GO! GO! GO!" Snipe shouted.

Robert revved the engine, "We're swamped. There's too many of them!"

The shear number of the undead was keeping us pinned down.

We all braced ourselves to fight to the end.

Then, we heard a soulful scream.

All heads turned to look at Gypsie.

Silver flames were coming from her eyes. Her hands burned bright with a white and silverish fire.

"NO!!" she yelled.

As she did we all felt a blast of power flow through us. It felt clean - like spearmint.

....That is the only way I can describe it.

Then Gypsie dropped to the floor - passed out cold.

In a one hundred foot diameter all around us, every deader dropped also. But, they were no-longer grayish green. Bright red blood oozed out of their wounds instead of the grayish puss we had seen before.

She had healed them! In so doing, the balance of life and death had returned.

Knowing a good opening when he saw one, Robert gunned the RV. Once he had some momentum, he could easily plow through the deaders that were outside of Gypsies blast range.

"Where to now?" Robert asked, when we were clear of the Zombies.

Snipe pulled the scratch paper from his pocket. In the better light he could just make out the address...

"3081 South Maryland Parkway - Las Vegas, Nevada."

---

---

The girls laid Gyspie on the bed in the back of the RV and covered her with blankets. The silver glow that had surrounded her earlier was all gone now.

"She appears to be resting well," Kathy said as she came forward to where the rest of us were, "Rellie's gonna stay with her."

"Any idea on what happened?" I asked.

No one said anything.

"Well... at least this time the weirdness was on OUR side." I said.

We kept driving through the night.

Robert let out a big yawn, "Think someone could spot me for a bit? My eyes are getting tired."

"I will." Stevil said casually, as he started toward the front.

"No!" cried Rellie.

"No!" said Robert.

"Hu-uh!" said Kathy. "Hell No!!!" said Snipe, as he pushed Stevil back down in his seat."You've totaled two cars and have nearly been killed twice in less than a year. You're my best friend but I'd rather go jogging naked with the zombies than let you drive."

Robert pulled the RV to the side of the road and let Snipe take over.

Robert moved to the front passenger seat. Kathy threw him a pillow from the back and he leaned his head over and closed his eyes,"Snipe?"

"Yeah...?" Snipe answered.

"I just realized something. Since we left Yuma, all the 'Deader's that we have passed have all been moving in the same direction - North."

As he drove, Snipe noticed the same thing. For some reason the deaders were compelled to travel North.

"Crikey!" Snipe said in his best Steve Irwin voice. " There's another beauty! Notice the swayee of 'iz steps as 'e migrates Nawth..."

Things were pretty quiet for the rest of our drive to Vegas. Every now and then, we would see a swarm by the side of the road where some unfortunate soul had stopped.

The worst was when we went by a stationwagon that had apparently broke down maybe fifteen minutes before we came up to it. The deaders had swarmed the car, pulled the family out, and torn them to bits.

There was nothing we could do.

So we just drove on.

There was nothing we could do.

If we had been just a little bit sooner.

But we weren't.

There was nothing we could do.

So we drove on...


- - - - - - - - -


We all stayed pretty quiet after that. It wasn't until we got to Las Vegas, that we started talking again as the sun began to rise.

It was strange.

There was no noise.

The city appeared to be deserted.

There was no one on the streets.

Robert pulled out a map and started giving Snipe directions so we could find the address we found on the scratch pad.

We turned on to South Maryland Parkway. As we traveled North up the street, all eyes were searching the numbers on the buildings as they descended.

Finally Snipe pulled into the parking lot of 3081 South Maryland Parkway.

Snipe cut the engine and we all just stared for a moment.

"I - don't - believe - it." Snipe said.

"No Fuckin' way!" said Rellie.

Kathy just laughed a bit.

"Let's Eat!" I said.

We had arrived at our mysterious destination.

WE...





.....were at.....





...Denny's.

---

---

We just stared at the building for a while, not knowing what to do.

"I felt us stop, what's going on?" We all turned at the sound of Gypsie's weak voice as she groggily staggered down the hall towards us.

"You're not going to believe this..." Rellie said as she helped her friend to the front of the RV.

Gypsie stared out the windshield at the bright yellow sign and the red letters, "No fucking way!" she said.

"Yup... those were my words exactly." Rellie replied.

"It's probably just a coincidence." Snipe said.

"But you gotta admit, it's kinda funny." Kathy chuckled.

"Well," Robert chimed in, "nothing is getting accomplished out here. Let's check it out."

"Yah.... Besides, I'm hungry!" I said, as my stomach growled.

We proceeded to gear up for our excursion - to Denny's...


- - - - - - - -


When we exited the RV, we all noticed the eerie quiet. Just ourselves, the sound of the wind, and a mysterious humming noise that we couldn't quite place.

There were empty cars in the parking lot, empty cars along the curbs, and empty cars in the streets. It seemed as though their drivers had just stopped, got out, and walked away.

We entered the restaurant. Inside it was quiet. There was silverware set out on all the tables. There were no half-eaten meals or half-drank glasses of tea. Just clean tables with silverware placed neatly. As if they had been prepared for a busy day that had never arrived.

We moved into the kitchen where we found everything: prep stations, fryers, ovens, a dishwasher, a walk-in fridge, and a walk-in freezer - all in perfect order.

"We should take advantage of our situation." Stevil said. "I'll make breakfast! Snipe, if you and Trey pull out some food, I'll get the heat going..."

"What about us?" Robert and the ladies asked.

"How about finding something to drink... then just rest." Stevil answered.

I went into the walk-in fridge while Snipe went into the walk-in freezer. I had just found some ham slices and some pancake batter when I heard Snipe call out.

"Hey guy's, check this out." he said.

We all came to the door of the freezer.

"What is it?" Stevil asked.

Snipe pointed to the back wall, "Put your ear against there and tell me what you hear."

We all readied our weapons as Stevil did as he was asked.

"Well...?" Snipe asked

Stevil had a strange look on his face, "Uh... 'Fernando'...? No... wait... it changed, now it's 'Dancing Queen'... Someone is listening to ABBA on the other side of this wall!"

Stevil and Snipe started moving things that were stacked against the wall. In no time they had found a numeric key pad.

"Shit." I said. "We could be here forever trying to figure out what the entry code is."

Snipe took one of his daggers out of his boot and pried the pad off the wall. In less time than it takes to say,"What the...?" he had rewired the pad. The back wall of the freezer swung open.

Behind the wall was a staircase going down. On both sides of the stairs were small red lights that gave off just enough illumination to see.

We all looked at each other.

Then, as ABBA sang 'Momma Mia' from speakers hidden somewhere far above, we started down the stairs...

---

---

Cautiously we descended the stairs. Deep into the bowels of Denny's.

Just a moment......I am trying to imagining someone reading that last sentence out loud and with a straight face.

Nope, can't do it.

But never the less, there we were. Stevil and Snipe were in the lead. Followed by Rellie and Kathy. Then Robert and Gypsie. Stevil handed me the sawed-off and I brought up the rear.

As we reemed the rectum of this recreational restraunt.....

Sorry.

Guess I'm being an ass.

Okay, okay, back to the story.....



There we were, seven friends descending downward into what may well turn out to be some undead disco.

After traveling for approximately 100 yards and another song change (yet still ABBA) we came to a large metal door. The door looked like it would be at home on a nuclear fallout shelter or bank vault.

To the left of the door was another key pad and three combination dials.

Snipe went to work on the key pad.

Stevil put his ear above the dials. Intently listening to the tumblers as he slowly moved them in a counter-clockwise direction.

Kathy walked to the door, found a door knob and pulled the huge but well balanced door open.

Rellie and Gypsie struggled hard to hold back a laugh as Kathy made a sweeping gesture with her hand.

"After you" she said with a bow.

"How the h...?" Snipe said, stunned.

Kathy just shrugged and smiled, "Guys are always forgetting to lock the door. Kinda like lifting the lid. So I just figured..."

Gypsie said, "My boys too.."

"Must be a guy thing." Rellie said playfully, "Lead on, oh wise protectors."

When we walked through the door we entered a large room that could most easily be described as "The Batcave".

There were large computer monitors set up in a fashion so as to be seen easily from a central work station.

The work station was a circular ring shaped desk with the chairs and keyboards oriented so that a person in the center of the ring could easily keep a visual on all the monitors.

We all were standing there. Looking around in amazement when a familar sound pulled our attention to a small alcove to our right.

'Fa..lllussssh...'

A door marked 'Mens' soon opened and a pale but very much living Bill Waters stepped through...

---

---

"Sorry for not meeting you upstairs." Bill said while holding his tummy. "The lasagna I had for dinner was kinda rich and it's tearing me up"

Still stunned, all eyes were on Bill as he walked over to the command station.

"Yeah, and I was in the shower." said a voice from behind us.

Surprised, we spun around to see who the voice belonged too.

The voice was closest to Kathy, she spun quickly around and drew her weapon. At the end of the spin the barrel of her pistol was less than an inch away from the forehead of a pretty blonde blue eyed woman.

"Shawny!" Kathy cried out.

"Kathy!" Shawny screamed.

They began jumping up and down, and hugging each other.

Did I mention that Shawny was in a bath robe?

Did I mention that Kathy was still in leather?


Did I mention that they were jumping and hugging?




Did I mention the bathrobe and the leather?

In the midst of a zombie apocalypse, there before me was proof that there was indeed a god.

And he liked me.


A lot.


(dramatic pause)




Aaaaaand ............time.

"Did you say shower", Kathy said.

"Shower?" said Rellie.

"Shower?" said Gypsie.

"Yeah," said Shawny. " right down here."

The four ladies - three in leather, one in a bathrobe, went down a nearby hallway.

I went over to Bill who was moving from keyboard to keyboard and keeping an eye on the monitors as the images changed at his command.

"You have quite a few monitors here." I said.

"Yes Trey, I do." Bill answered.

"That means you must have a lot of cameras."

"That goes without saying."

"You wouldn't happen to have some....?" My voice trailed off as I looked down the hall.

"NO Trey, I don't." Bill answered, cutting me short.

"Damn." Said Trey.

"Damn." Said Stevil.

"Damn!!" Said Robert.

"GAWDDAMN!" said Snipe.

Once again we heard a familiar voice. Only this time it came from a monitor.

"Hey guys, glad you could finally make it." in the center of the screen was RJ Parsons. To his sides were Dusty, Boggess, and Tommy. The background looked very similar to the room we were in now.

"Where the hell are you guys?" Snipe asked.

Boggess smiled, "We are in the Denny's Metropolitan Command Center in San Diego"

Bill took over from there, "All Denny's in major metropolitan areas have a Command Center under them. In smaller communities they have bunkers, sort of large safe houses. By the way, I took the liberty of having my people take your families to the safe houses in your respective home towns."

Snipe stood in awe, "This had to have cost a fortune. How could you afford it?"

Without skipping a beat Bill said, "Vendor Fees"

Under his breath we all heard Roberts reply... "I knew it!!"

---

---

"I'm just kidding." Bill said. " Any of you remember a game called 'Pong'?"

"Holy Crap!" Snipe said, "You invented 'Pong'?"

"No way, unless I conceived Pong as I was being conceived." Bill continued, "It was invented a year before I was born, and the man who invented it was my next door neighbor. When the time came for him to name his new game company, he named it after my dog, 'Atari'."

"But that doesn't explain the money." Stevil said.

Bill continued, "For the use of my dogs name and as a birthday present he gave me stock in his company. Which I sold when the '2600' was at the height of it's popularity. I then took those monies and invested them in the Dennys franchise of family restaurants."

Bill turned back to the monitor with the picture of 'Out of Kontrol', "Report."

Dusty started speaking, "The earlier reports of the Zombie migration in a North-Easternly direction appear to be true. They all seem to be headed in your direction. We are in mop up mode here now and the only problems we are having is with the newly deceased, and because of the population of this area they are plentiful."

"Thank you gentlemen keep up the good work." Bill said.

Bill flipped a switch on the control panel and the faces of Raelynn DeBone and Chris Morgan appeared on two different screens.

"You get that?" Bill asked.

Chris answered, "I must confirm that the animated cadavers appear to be mobilizing with your vicinity as their location of final debarkation."

"Thank you,"Bill said.

A door opened from across the room. In stepped our friends from "Flying Skwirl". They were healthy, safe, and appeared to have been working on something since they were both dressed in dirty overalls.

I ran over to them and threw my arms around them, "Your alive! We found your trailer and vehicle on the side of the road. We thought you were dead."

" Naw," Debbie said, " Bill had one of his 'Hummers' sent out for us."

It is at this point you will note that there are two people named Bill in this tale. Bill Waters of Denny's, and Bill of Flying Skwirl. If this were a tale of fantasy and not a true adventure, I would have given one of them a different name, a cool name like 'Lance' or 'Hugh Jackman', but this tale is true so there is more than one Bill.

To keep them separate though, Bill Waters will be 'Bill W' and Bill from Skwirl will be... 'Bill'.



We now return to our story... already in progress....

Bill and Debbie were talking to Bill W, " We repaired the relays that were down, you should get good reception now."

Bill W flipped a switch and one of the monitors showed an image of Earth from outer space. Below the monitor was a name plaque."Moon Over My Hammie"

"Moon over my hammie?" Stevil said with eyebrow raised.

"It is actually the name of a surveillance satellite I had launched in the Early 80's" Bill W said, " the tasty breakfast treat was just an after thought."

---

---

"Wow, that's amazing." Robert said as he watched the picture in the monitor zoom closer to our location.

"It's kinda like GOOGLE EARTH" Snipe said.

"Yes," Bill W said. "I supply 'Google', 'Rand McNalley' and 'Tom-Tom' with satellite and GPS services."

Bill and Debbie came over to the round desk.

"What kind of relay were you two talking about when you came in?" Stevil asked.

Bill answered, "It was a special surveillance and information gathering relay, dedicated to the 'Hammie' craft."

"Where did you two learn to fix that kinda stuff?" Stevil asked, "I thought you two were just Faire vendors"

Bill walked over to a nearby coffee machine, "Hun?" he said to Debbie.

She just nodded yes, so Bill got two good sized cups out of the overhead cabinet and proceeded to make them some java.

Now it wasn't some rinky-dink coffee machine either. It looked like something you would find in a Starbucks.

In fact on the side was a logo that looked a lot like......'Holy Shit! it was a Starbucks machine.

Anyway, as Bill made himself and Debbie some brew, he continued, " Most people know that Deb' and I were in the military. What most folks don't know is that we were Black Ops. In fact, Debbie and I met on a mission in San Salvador. A few years later we met Bill W for the first time in Argentina. He offered us work after the service."

"But ...the vendor thing....?" Stevil said

"Just a cover for maintenance stops at local Denny's" Debbie answered.

"Here we go..." Bill Waters said as he changed the picture on the monitor.

The picture was an areal shot of what looked like and airbase. Near some buildings that were far away from any others on the base was a spot that glowed white on the spectral scale.

"That white glow showed up yesterday. I believe that to be the root of our problem. The isolated airstrip and the base it is on is located near Las Vegas." Mr. Waters said.

"Wait a minute," Robert said, "Isolated airstrip... on a base near Vegas. That's not..."

"Yes" Bill W answered."....Area 51"

---

---

"The 'Real' Area 51?" Snipe said.

"...as real as it gets." Waters answered.

"But... these are Zombies, not Aliens." Robert chimed in.

"Yes and no," Bill said while sipping his Caramel Machiato, " The problem started when a meteor landed between here and Yuma. It was taken to area 51 for study."

Debbie continued, "We were receiving transmissions from the site as scientist began to take samples. When they did a core test, all hell broke loose."

Shawny had just entered the room with the ladies, and she picked up the story. "When they drilled into the crust of the extra-terrestrial artifact, a power surge emanated outward. My studies have shown that the wave of that surge is what has re-animated the newly deceased."

Bill Waters pointed to another monitor, "In the past 12 hours, we have also noticed something else - all the zombies are moving toward the meteor. As the move, they kill, wound, and infect more and more people thereby increasing their numbers."

We were silent for a moment as that sunk in.

....Yet the music of ABBA played on.

Bill Waters continued, " We need to get into Area 51, find the meteor, and neutralize it."

"How will we do that?" Stevil asked

"I believe you have already seen a hint of how it will be accomplished" Waters said, "We need to get Gypsie to the 'Stone' and have her heal it."

"Wait!" Gypsie said, " What happened out in the Desert was a fluke, I really had no control over that!"

Shawny spoke up, "The mental and spiritual disciplines that you have studied through the years have manifested themselves because you have a unique physiochemical make-up. It's because of that make-up, you can wield the Silver-light power. You must be charged up to project them though."

"How do I charge up?" Gypsie asked.

"You may not like this." Shawny said.

"What is it?" said Gypsie

"Some women might find it distasteful or degrading"

"WHAT is it!?!" Gypsie's voice was worried.

A sly smile crossed Shawny's lips. " Dark Chocolate and Clove Cigarettes"

Kathy and Rellie answered in mock horror, " My gawd - NOOO!"

---

---

Since we were all together again, Bill W. had Shawny show us where the kitchen was. We made ourselves a good breakfast after which we were given rooms and the guys were shown where the showers were.

As the hot water rinsed away the stress of the last day and night, muscles started to relax and the effort to hold my eyes open became nearly unbearable.

As I walked back down the hall to where my dorm style room was, I passed Stevils room. He was already fast asleep and the volume of his snoring made me glad we all had separate rooms.

The last thing I remembered was how soft and clean the pillow case felt against my cheek. Then ...darkness.

When I awoke it was around 7:30 in the evening and my stomach was growling so I headed to the kitchen to find some food.

When I arrived at the dinning hall, which, by the way, was like a school cafeteria - only nicer, I noticed four young men I had never met before. One had a striking resemblance to Stevil, just taller, thinner, and better looking. They were wearing desert fatigues and had a "Z" patch on their shoulder.

"uh... Hi guys..." I said as I walked to their table.

The tall one that looked like Stevil stood up and offered his hand.

"You must be Trey." he said, "My names Amran but you can call me 'Ding'. That there is Gordo, Rico, and Peabody"

Each of the young men nodded as they were introduced.

"So what are you doing here" I asked.

"We are a five man HK unit" Peabody said between bites of chicken fried steak.

"HK?" I asked.

"Hunter Killer", Gordo answered.

"But there is only four of you." I said.

"That's because WE are just THAT good." Rico said with a huge grin before diving back into his Mac & Cheese.

"We are a Delta 'Z' Unit," Ding continued, "code named U.N.D.E.A.D. We take orders only from Bill Watters and the President......in that order."

"Holy Crap," I said, "What does U.N.D.E.A.D. stand for."

A familiar voice from behind me answered, "Undead Neutralization Detention Eradication And Disposal" Snipe said as he entered the room.

When Snipe entered the young men at the table stood at attention.

Ding ran over and wrapped his arms around Snipe, "Uncle Snipe!" he said and lifted Snipe off the ground in a bear hug.

Snipe lifted Ding off the ground in turn. "Hey Dinger! How's it going?"

Snipe turned to the men at the table, "Gentlemen." he said.

Peabody, Gordo and Rico shouted out,"SIR...!"

"Why are the Marines first to land on a beach?" Snipe asked.

The answer came in unison, "...so we don't get our feet wet, SIR!"

"...As you were." Snipe said.

The guys began to sit back down when the ladies came into the room.

The soldiers immediatly stood back up, not at attention but the way gentlemen are supposed to do when ladies enter a room.

Kathy, Rellie, and Gypsie entered wearing not leather, but what seemed to be form fitting outfits made of Kevlar, floor length leather dusters, and .45's strapped to each leg.

"There is a god," Rico said.

"I feel the same way." I sighed.

---

---

During the meal, the rest of the crew eventually showed up.

When Stevil came in, he immediatly went to his son and gave him a big hug lifting him off the ground. The darkness in his eyes grew even harder as he kept scanning the room. It appeared that even though the young man was a hardened warrior in his own right. Stevil was going to protect him.

When Stevil got up to go to the restroom, Ding came over to the table where Snipe, Robert, and I were sitting.

"Hey, Uncle Snipe," He said, his voice concerned.

"What's up Dinger?" Snipe answered.

"Do me a favor, watch out for my Dae'. He's not quite right, right now. If my unit needs to split from your group, he may try to follow me to protect me. Then I'll be protecting him. He'll be protecting me and we'll both end up trashed." Ding said. "Besides Peabody, Gordo and Rico are the best of the best. Hardcore from Sea to Shore and besides that, we're all too incredibly good looking to die."

"I understand your burden." I said as I flipped my hair back.

"Don't worry Ding," Robert said, "We'll watch him for you."

Ding went back to his table when his Dad came back.

Bill W. entered the room. He pushed a button on a hand-held remote and a large screen on the far side of the room that everyone could see came to life.

On the screen was a map of the area. Bill W. used laser pointer to... well... point at things on the map as he talked.

"Although I have some personal armour available here, my supply of weapons is not yet up to par. Luckily, this is Vegas, and you can get just about anything you want here."

The red light of the pointer landed on a spot on the map on the other side of town.

"Here is a gun shop that rents machine guns and all types of exotic weaponry. You will need to make it there to outfit yourselves for your assault on Area 51."

Bill W. moved the pointer as he spoke, "The best route would be up The Strip. The street is wider so you would be less likely to be pinned in. About half way up the Strip and one block east is a Monorail that goes North and ends just two blocks from the gun shop."

Bill W. looked at the Delta Unit, "Peabody, you'll need to hot wire the Monorail."

Bill W. Turned to Robert, " At the gun shop are two tricked out Hummers. Each has a turret on the top and a fully functional mini-gun. You drive one and don't let Stevil near the steering wheel of the other."

"But.." Stevil started.

"NO!" everyone shouted in unison.

Even though some of the tension had been broken. Everyone felt the seriousness of what they were about to attempt.

Off to the side, Gypsie could be seen sipping a cup of coffee. A clove cigarette burning in her fingers, a slight silver glow to her eyes and the hair about her face moving to the rhythm of some unseen wind.

Rellie and Kathy checked the .45's at their sides and the extra magazines on their belts and in their pockets.

The guys from the Delta 'Z' picked up some crates that were next to the wall and brought them over to our table.

"X-mas time boys and girls." Rico said as he opened the boxes.

"For you, Mr. Hair" Gordo said to Robert as he reached in and pulled out a pair of matching UZI 9mm machine pistols, and several loaded magazines.

"And this is for you, Uncle Snipe." Ding said as uncovered a M40A3 bolt action sniper rifle."You also have a drag-bag for extra ammo and gear."

"Aaaaaand.... what do we have for the Show-off....?" Peabody said in a radio announcer voice, "How bout this SKS assault rrrrrrifle! This SKS is made in the shorter paratrooper style for ease of movement in those tight zzzzzzombie filled spaces. It comes with ten thirty-round magazines each filled with 7.62 NATO rounds. BUT THATS NOT ALL! ...No, in the off-chance that you should run out of ammo the SKS comes equipped with..... a bayonet!..."

"Uh.... thanks...?" I said.

"And for you Dae'" Ding started, " Two more bandoliers for your 'Boom Stick'. But the shells have nifty little surprises like flechettes, Dragons Breath, and other cool stuff like that."

Bill W. interupted us. "It's getting dark outside - you had better get moving. The longer we wait, the stronger the enemy grows."

We all said our 'good-byes' and 'see ya laters' to Shawny, Bill, and Debbie, and Bill W.

As we left, Bill and Debbie hooked us up with radio headsets so we could stay in contact with each other and the base.

We made our way back up through the Denny's and out to the parking lot.

We all piled into the RV and headed for the Strip. Robert was driving again with Snipe in the passenger seat. Stevil and I were in the rear with Delta and the ladies.

As the RV neared the Paris Casino, the strange hum we had heard when we had first arrived began to get louder and louder.

The doors of all the surrounding Casinos swung slowly open and Zombies started flooding the streets.

The humming we had heard had been their moans muffled by the buildings that they had stayed in to avoid the deteriorating effects of the sun.

With sun set, they were back on the move.




...and we....




........were surrounded.

---

---

The moans began to get louder and the streets began to fill.

The Deltas started for the door, but Stevil was there first. He pushed the door open and said,"Show time!"

Two fifty foot rivers of flame leapt out the end of the sawed off as the Dragons Breath shells discharged. With a flick of his thumb he broke the barrels and had two more shells loaded. A quick flick of the wrist and he was ready to fire again.

While the thirty or so deaders with flaming heads were still moving toward the RV, Stevil pulled the trigger again and the flachette rounds made the heads just disapear into flaming gray-green mist.

We headed out the door.

"High Ground, everyone." Ding shouted, as he and the rest of the Deltas moved out in a practiced and well disciplined line.

They moved in a quick, but not too fast, pace toward the Eiffel Tower. Weapons alternating left and right from Ding at point to Peabody at drag. Snipe was next, his 1911 ablaze as he chose his targets and handed out retribution.

Stevil followed next, the shot gun acting like a kind of artillery. It took out a lot of Zombies but was slow on the re-load.

I stayed next to Stevil giving him cover as he reloaded. The SKS was powerful in my hands and although nothing got close, I had the bayonet fixed - just in case.

The ladies, now that was and amazing sight. They moved like Valkeries. Their leather dusters flowing in the wind. They moved in what can only be described like a dance. In perfect rhythm - in perfect step. As one was reloading, the other two were spinning and firing. And when they fired, a deader dropped.

Robert brought up the rear. His height and long arms made the UZI's the perfect weapons for him. With one in each hand, he covered our move to the tower. Short three round bursts administered with dead-on aim, kept the zombies off our tail as we made our way through the ever-growing riot of the undead.

A voice came over the headsets.

"This is Base," Bill said. " The deaders will still be heading toward Area 51. If you can get up out of their path the crowd should soon thin out."

Dings voice came over the earpiece, "Already on it."

Robert yelled out. "Does anyone else see the irony that we are running toward a French Landmark and the French haven't won a battle since 'Iron Chef 1987'?"

(That my friends is what is known in the writting world as foreshadowing)

We all arrived at one of the legs of the Tower.

Delta Fanned out in a defensive perimeter.

"Uncle Snipe, high ground." Ding said.

Snipe just nodded and started climbing the metal frame with the dexterity of a spider monkey.

Stevil stood next to his son and loaded and blasted the shot gun as fast as he could.

I started climbing, the SKS slung over my shoulder. I could feel the lingering heat of the day eminating from the metal structure as I rose.

From high above I watched as Stevil helped the ladies get started on the climb.

Robert was next. He put the UZI's in the two shoulder holsters he was wearing and scampered up the tower leg.

With more climbing and less shooting, the zombies began to close in. The sounds of their moans loud enough to drive one insane.

The hoard crept ever closer. The Deltas reached into pouches on their belts. They pulled out what appeared to be metal rods about the size of a roll and a half of quarters. On one end of the rod was a hook. From out of the other end of the rod was a mono-filament wire.

Peabody pointed the rod toward the tower and pressed a button.

The hook shot about 30 feet up and wrapped around a cross beam. Peabody attached the rod to a D-ring on his belt, presses another button and whoosh....just like Peter Pan he was airborn.

Gordo was next.

"Okay, Dae'" Ding said, "Time to haul ass."

"Go ahead," Stevil said, "I'll cover your six 'till you're safe"

Behind Stevil, Rico gave a nod. Ding nodded back.

Rico smacked Stevil in the back of the head and he dropped like a ton of bricks.

Ding and Rico fired their wire to the same area. Ding ascended while Rico attached his D-ring to Stevils belt and pressed the button. Stevil's limp body traveled up the wire to his sons waiting arms.

Gordo had reset his 'Flyrod' and tossed it down to Rico.

The Zombies drew ever nearer to Reco. Near the front of the line were a group of large breasted zombie babes wearing huge feathery head dresses.

As Reco attached the D-ring to his belt, 'Satans Showgirls' were on top of him - burying him in a mass of silicone and feathers....

---

---

The report of Snipes rifle could be heard above the deafening moans as shot after shot took their toll on the feathery fiends that feasted on our friend.

Ding, Gordo, and Peabody's weapons also added their concussion to the chaotic cadence of calamity reigned down upon the undead.

Just as all hope was lost, Rico came flying up in a cloud of feathers and sparkling stripper dust.

He landed on a cross beam next to Gordo, who immediatly began to check him over for wounds.

Rico was about to get a clean bill of health when Gordo discovered a bite sized hole in the sleeve of Rico's left forearm.

"Shit!" Gordo said as he pulled his sidearm and pointed it at his buddy.

"Whoa! Whoa! Wait, check it out...!" Rico said, pulling back his sleeve to reveal a genuine 'Leather Mystic' arm bracer. "I found them in the RV and thought they were cool ...so I put them on."

"Kevlar, Shmevlar..." Robert shrugged with a grin, "Once again LEATHER saves the day."

Over the headsets Rellies voice could be heard, "Houston, we have a problem... look down..."

The base of the tower was completely surrounded by zombies. The mass was so large that they were crushing themselves against the tower and the surrounding buildings.

The crushed bodies were forming a ramp of undead flesh that the deaders were beginning to climb.

The Renaissance Raiders rained red hot retribution from the high metal rails as the Deltas formed up on Ding.

From small back pouches on their belts they produced two fragmentation grenades apiece.

Peabody took the mono-filament wire from his 'Flyrod' and looped it around the pin of each grenade, spacing them about 25 feet apart.

Gordo adjusted the pins so that they would pull easier.

From a leg pouch Rico assembled an M203 grenade launcher and attached it to his M16.

He did it PDQ and ASAP.

"Everyone climb as high as you can." Ding cried out.

We all scurried higher.

Rico loaded the end grenade into the launcher, took careful aim, and fired toward the base of the tower and the swarming mass of undead that were gathered there.

The grenade flew out the end of the tube with a deep 'Tooke' sound. The other grenades on the wire followed strung out like lights on a christmas strand. The end grenade nearly reached the ground when the wire ran out of slack. That caused the flying whip of explosives to wrap around the leg of the tower.

Rico pulled the wire taunt and the pins came flying out of their resting places.

In a matter of moments the deaders below were vaporized. Along with the leg of the tower.

As we climbed higher the tower began to lean. Slowly but surely - it started to fall toward the ground.

If we could make it to the top, we would land on the other side of the casino and out of harms way.

So climb we did....  Well, at least most of us...





Stevil was still unconscious.....