=== THE FALL OF IRISH CATRELL ===

Place: Menlo City
Time: 12:34 AM
Date: August 21st, 2029

The snow at the Military checkpoint was trampled into a frozen gray slush. Dozens of survivors huddled together in a shivering line, but none of them were shaking quite like Irish Catrell, a survivor who would fail from being inside a dark alleyway, just moments before, she had been frantically swinging a heavy rusted pipe, smashing it down into a feral TW-30 infected until it stopped moving. She had collapsed against the brick wall, clutching her side as dark crimson leaked through her fingers.

Irish: It hurts.. It hurts so damn much!

*Catching her breath in the dark, she had forced herself to move.*

Irish: It’s.. it’s ok, just keep calm…

*Grunting in pain, she had staggered out of the alley toward the blinding white searchlights of the MGF checkpoint. She blindly pushed her way into the crowded queue, cutting directly in front of the shivering refugees.*

Survivor 4: Woah, hey, you just cut in line!
Survivor 5: Hey man, just move up!

*Survivor 4 turns back, annoyed, as other background chatter and anxious whispers ripple through the crowd. Irish desperately tries to pull her worn coat tight around her chest, trying to hide the dark, blooming scratch. Every breath feels like inhaling shards of glass. Black, thread-like veins are already creeping slowly up the pale skin of her neck, pulsing with a horrific heat.*

Irish’s Mind: Don’t breathe. Don’t look up. Just let them pass… God, my head is spinning. Why is it so hot? It’s freezing out here, so why am I sweating? Just stay still until they’re gone.

*A heavy shadow steps into her blurred vision. The beam of a tactical flashlight snaps onto her face.*

Ofc. Marcus Avenz: Ma’am. Eyes up, hood down, and drop the pipe.

*With trembling hands, Irish pulls her hood back. Her face is deathly pale, her green eyes glassy and welling with tears as she drops her weapon.*

Irish’s Mind: This can’t be happening… not now… not when I’m right at the gates…

*Officer Marcus Avenz steps closer, flashing the light directly into her eyes to check for any infected symptoms. He finishes with the flashlight and moves onto a chem light and uses it.*

*Irish lets out a quiet, raspy cough, but no one in the panicked, crowded line suspects what it means.*

Ofc. Marcus Avenz: Ok ma’am, you’re gonna follow this light with your eyes only.

*(Irish nods weakly, trying her best to do as she’s told. She whispered softly, her voice cracking from the cold and the fever.)*

Irish Catrell: Please… please just let me inside. I’m so cold. I just… I just need a place to sit down.

*(Marcus catches the sudden dilation and the black veins pulsing under her skin. He immediately drops the light, reaching for his gear.)*

Ofc. Marcus Avenz: Step back, ma’am! You’re symptomatic! Step out of the line immediately!

Irish Catrell: No, please! I can fight it. I’m resisting it… look at me, I’m still me! Just let me in, there’s a cure right? Please, you have to have something for it inside! Don’t leave me out here!

Pvt. Carson Lensy: *Noticing* Back away from the wire!

(Irish chokes. Suddenly, a violent spasm racks her entire body. She falls to her knees in the slush, clutching her head as a guttural, burning heat explodes in her brain. The humanity in her eyes flickered. The TW-30 virus slammed through her nervous system, overriding her consciousness.)

*Getting up*

In Irish’s mind: Stop… please, stop moving!

Irish: I just wanted to go ho—

*She lets out a horrific, high-pitched shriek that shatters her soft demeanor. With feral, unnatural speed, she lunges off her knees, throwing her weight directly over the razor wire and tackling Officer Marcus Avenz into the dirt. Her fingernails claw frantically at his heavy visor, her jaw snapping blindly at his throat armor.*

Ofc. Marcus Avenz: Get her off me! She’s turned! Shoot her!

Pvt. Carson Lensy steps forward, bringing his service rifle to his shoulder with zero hesitation and the only words in his head, “Step, aim, fire.”

Crack. Crack. Crack.

The three deafening shots echo across the silent checkpoint. The bullets tear through Irish’s chest and head, cutting her feral attack short. Her body instantly goes limp, collapsing face-first into the freezing crimson snow.

Pvt. Carson Lensy: Clear…

*Holding his rifle on target for a final beat, breath fogging heavily in the winter air, before slowly lowering the barrel. Carson turns his head toward a nearby RSU hazmat unit*

Pvt. Carson Lensy: You, get ’em outta here.

Dr. Jackson Lowell: Affirmative, sir.

*Stepping forward, gesturing to a recovery crew to drag the body out of the checkpoint lane.*

Ofc. Marcus Avenz: (Catching his breath, pushing himself off the ground and leaning heavily against a concrete barrier) Hey, Martinez… take my shift…

Dpt. Henry Martinez: Alright.

*Steps up to replace Avenz at the front of the line, planting his shield firmly.*

Survivor 1 (In line): Oh shit…
Survivor 2 (In line): Did they really just…?

Ofc. Luis Barnelow: *Muttering quietly, eyes locked on the blood in the snow* See that shit, Vasquez?

Ofc. Avery Vasquez: *Checking a survivor* Luis… shut the fuck up. Im tryna do my job before I die and I don’t need distractions from people like you.

Ofc. Luis Barnelow: Ok Avery.. ok.

Cpl. Amelia Waters: *walking past* Shut the fuck up you two.

*Sgt. James Docs walks up to Carson’s position, checking the perimeter and offering a grim nod to the private.*

Sgt. James Docs: Good job, private…

Pvt. Carson Lensy: Yeah… Yeah.

*Racking his weapon and putting it on safe, staring blankly down at his boots.*

Lt. Sam Anderson: Good shit, mate.

*She grabs the checkpoint microphone to her headset, her loud, authoritative voice booming over the speaker to the horrified crowd.*

Lt. Sam Anderson: Next group, move up!

editors note: It looks like this because sticknodes kept messing it up and i did not want to do that manually so i just asked google and google gave me the whole thing in text code [or smth like send ur message as a file or smth] so yeah i think thats all i gotta say. Edit: Actually its not how i want it because they changed the writing a bit so IF i do have TIME i will paste mine and fix it manually