Both Varryance and Mercy walked to the nursery for the aid that was suggested by SAM. Mercy commented:

  "You honestly look like you took inspiration from the stranger, the leather-jacket gasmask guy?"

  "Yeah, well, I based this gear on the number of video games I saw my son play and movies. More explosives, the better, I guess." Varryance said, joking as he walked with Mercy, the sound of his mortar clinging together was horrifying, reminding him of the Facility. Mercy's expression turned sour when she heard Varryance had a son.

  "You had a son? What was his name?" Mercy asked, her voice softening.

  "Seth, and my daughter Sarah... two little idiots, honestly. Seth loved games about this kind of thing. And now look at it. It happened..."

  "Ironic, isn't it?" Mercy said, as they entered the nursery. Felicia's big smile greeted them.

  "The two heroes, sup cutie!" Felicia said to Mercy, giving a nod to Varryance as she smiled.

  "We need aid. We're going to solve the horde problem now that we have a pro with us. And probably SAM with us... I think we'll put an end to it." Mercy explained, and Felicia nodded, going off to gather supplies, leaving them alone for a moment.

  "Lesbian?" Varryance asked Mercy, a knowing look in his eyes.

  "How'd you know?!" Mercy said, surprised. Varryance smiled as Felicia returned.

  "Alright, so we have some first aid kits, some bandages... If you get bitten, take this tourniquet and cut off the limb."

  "What if we get bitten in the neck?" Varryance asked with worry when Felicia explained the dismemberment instructions.

  "Won't happen, now leave! I've got so many patients to deal with..." Felicia said quickly, as Mercy hugged her goodbye. Varryance led Mercy towards the exit. As they closed the nursery door, a patient screamed at Felicia, "FOOD WOMAN!" The two of them laughed after shutting the door.

  They walked side by side, Varryance glancing around the village, spotting two kids playing in front of a hut, smiling. They reached the exit where two trucks awaited, and SAM stood by them, four soldiers behind her, eyeing SAM with interest.

  "There you are! Figured I could follow you two on this errand, probably end it this time. And I brought this... just... in... case!" SAM said, pulling out a Nuclear Infantry Gun. Varryance whispered, "Yes..." to himself. Mercy smirked, hearing him.

  "Alright, let's go!" SAM said, slapping the truck in front. The soldiers climbed into the trucks at the front, and Mercy climbed in with Varryance and SAM into the truck behind. The soldiers yelled "HOORAH!" as they sped off at max speed through the desert, with SAM driving. She passed the truck in front with ease.

  Varryance and Mercy bounced in the back, holding onto the roll-cage outside the truck as they rode.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  "I saw you guys focused on German-made weapons, smart idea! I saw you, SAM, and the other two soldiers picking the same as me!" Varryance shouted so he could be heard over the roar of the engines.

  "What's so special about German-made? What did they do?" Mercy asked, looking curious.

  "During the Third World War, and even a little before, Germany became one of the strongest countries, developing laser weapons, BPNG's, AEGIS Units, even the AR's!" Varryance explained.

  They fell silent for a moment, and Mercy didn't quite understand the terms. Varryance explained further:

  "AEGIS Units, or Assault Effective Guarding Intelligence Systems, are armor pieces that make the wearer almost invincible. No one knew how to disable them, and it seemed they were designed to stay that way. There are a few around the US, and some wander around on their own, possibly."

  He continued:

  "BPNG stands for Big Plasma Nuclear Gun, a nuclear infantry weapon used ONLY by the Germans to take down highly armored targets."

  "Wait, you said the AEGIS armor moves on its own? So... a soulless suit walking down the desert?" SAM asked, surprised by the revelation.

  "Well, the Germans first made them as robots—like you, SAM—a prototype. Then they focused on them as armor pieces. Mk 1 and Mk 2 kind of deal!" Varryance explained, raising his voice so SAM could hear him over the engine noise.

  Mercy looked around, realizing they had arrived at some sort of barren area, with rocks jutting out from the ground like mountains, forming a maze. It reminded Varryance of the place he was in during his escape from the IARO Facility.

  "Here we are. The Barrens, we call it. This is where the zombies usually form up and attack our village. We didn't see the horde on the way, so they must be forming up here. Let's move!" SAM ordered, as Varryance and Mercy hopped off the truck, with the soldiers in front parking beside each other near a rocky wall.

  "Funny how this place is called 'The Barrens' while the whole world is barren, basically." Varryance remarked, but one of the soldiers interrupted him.

  "They've been coming from here every time. Let's find out why, and finish it. The amount of hordes we've fought is insane." The soldier was leading the way, and the others followed closely behind.

  "Here," the soldier said, handing out radios. "Brought radios, but we haven't fixed the frequency, so don't expect them to work perfectly. Search around, and let us know where you are for the POA." He handed Mercy, Varryance, and SAM each a radio. The other three soldiers already had theirs. The soldiers set off after handing out the radios, and Mercy thought about going with SAM.

  "Be careful, okay? Don't do anything stupid...again" Mercy said as SAM patted Varryance's shoulder, taking off with the others.

  Varryance decided to go alone, the solitude something he craved. The ambiance around him was enough to drive anyone insane. The wind howled, sand hitting his legs, and the sun blazed brightly, making everything feel oppressive.

  As Varryance walked, he looked around, his mind wandering. The area seemed eerily familiar, almost like the same barren place he had been in when he escaped from the IARO Facility. After walking west from the trucks for about half an hour, in the middle of silence and gusts of wind, he suddenly heard grunting and moaning from nearby. He focused, trying to locate the sound.

  Soon, he found a pit surrounded by the rocky barrens. The pit was filled with zombies, some of them staggering aimlessly, and in the middle of the pit, there was a hole leading underground. That explained where the hordes had been coming from.

  A crackling sound broke through the wind to SAM—radio chatter from Varryance.

  "W-st, fr- tr-ks..." The transmission was garbled, but it was enough for SAM to understand.

  "Varryance found something, let's go!" Mercy said, hearing the transmission clearly. SAM led the way back to the trucks, using her robotic instincts to navigate through the barren terrain. The soldiers had already found the pit on the other side and saw Varryance standing across from them.

  "Holy shit..." one of the soldiers muttered, staring at the nuclear crater, which had become a Gutter cultist base. It was completely overrun by zombies.