The zombies are pushing the east gate of the last military base in Metropolis and the wooden makeshiftdoors are not going to hold out any longer. Soldiers took their position and get ready for battle. Theirfaces are tough but their eyes are filled with fear for what's going to happen. Two years since the deadbegan rising and this military base was built, these soldiers have battled the undead with most of themdying in action. These soldiers have seen enough carnage and gore to understand that once you face a large number of the undead, there's a strong chance of not coming back. Some of them resorted to suicide after being bitten or cornered by the zombies, while some fight to the last breath ending as food to the living dead. The soldiers were deployed to Metropolis once news of the dead coming back became nationaland since then, they have fought, died and eventually lost the battle. The whole city became a bigslaughterhouse with blood, body parts and internal organs littering every road in the city. The dead walkedand killed as hunger commands them and reduce the two thousand strong combat soldiers to a mere 50."They're gonna break down the door!"

The door cracked from the weight of the undead numbering at least a thousand. They have learned that humanshid behind the walls of this base and are determined to get in to have a taste of warm flesh and blood. Thecity does not offer them with fresh kills anymore since they've slaughtered 90 percent of the population.Now the sweet smell of living flesh drives their primal instinct to kill and feed. The zombies bang on thealready weakening door as it moves forward breaking one of three large beams of wood that the soldiers put there to prevent entry.

"Nobody fire until I say so!"

The commander James Olsen strains to keep his men from firing. If they fire now the door would surely openand the undead will stream inside. They've placed barrels of explosive powder all over the base whichthey would fire in sequence the moment the undead gets in. Firing the barrels at the correct moment woulddestroy a lot of the undead but not before help arrives from......... above.

James or "Jimmy" as he was known in his youth as a cub reporter in a great metropolitan newspaper has been sending signals specific to the ears of a great man of steel. He was always there to save Jimmy in hishours of need. Always there to lend a hand. How many times has he saved this city a foreign delegate onceasked. Only a million was Jimmy's answer. But now, for no explanation at all, he disappeared without a trace.He doesn't answer Jimmy's signal anymore and the world slowly fell to the hunger of the living dead.

But Jimmy does not lose hope. His friend could be trying to find his way home at this very moment. He couldbe trapped elsewhere and trying to find a way out. He knows he can hear his signal and true to his form he'llbreak any bond any trap so he can help his friends and end this madness once and for all. Nobody doubts thatonly he can end this. The mighty justice league has already fallen. All hope rests with him now.

"Randall!" Jimmy called out to his communications officer. "How's our rescue?"

"Just got it sir, a pair of helicopters are coming this way to lift us up. ETA 2 minutes!"

"Okay people! We've got two minutes before our asses are lifted out of this shithole! That gate isn't going tolast that long! Man your positions and remember our plan! Those barrels are there for a reason people, let'suse it!"

The gate moved a few inches more. It is truly a puzzle how the undead are managing to move the barricaded gate.Weak as it looks, it is usually strong enough to keep the decaying masses outside. But today the gate is onthe verge of breaking, another long wooden beam broke in two and the gate moved further. The excited moans of the zombies outside are now louder than ever. The banging became more intense.

"Sir they're going to get in."

"This is it people." Jimmy said loading his semi-automatic.

The third beam broke in two and the gate flew wide open. The zombies walked through the broken gate arms outstretched reaching for the nearest trooper. The soldiers backed away firing small rounds at the advancinghorde.

"Keep your distance! Keep your distance!" Jimmy shouted. The undead press forward passing the first barrel.The troopers continued to back away passing the second barrel, then the third, then the fourth. The undead pouredinside like a storm.

"Get ready to fire shooter." Jimmy ordered through his radio. The soldier in the North tower aimed at the nearestbarrel.

"Fire!"

The soldier fired his gun! The bullet hit the barrel and it exploded dismembering groups of living dead. Anotherbarrel was hit and it too exploded with such fury that it swipe groups of zombies near it. The explosions resultedin a series of barrels exploding one after the other which sends zombie body parts flying from every direction. The last explosion rocked the walls of the east gate that it collapsed on each other closing the entrance and keepingthe rest of the undead outside.

"Yeah!" shouted the soldiers on the ground.

"Don't waste time people! Start popping heads!" Jimmy cried to his men as they opened fire to those still standing. Every time a gun fires a zombie head would explode like a melon. One by one the zombies fell to theirfaces and for the first time, they got the upper hand. Soon the zombies who got inside the base are eliminatedunmercifully.

The soldiers catch their breath for a moment. Jimmy looked around himself, decaying zombie parts and brain tissueslittered the grounds. On the far end, a bodiless head of a zombie are staring at them with hungry eyes. He grabbedhis rifle, and slam its rear to its head. The head broke open shooting brain matter all over. Then he returnedto his men and looked around.

"De Joya get me a head count." Jimmy ordered the soldier standing by. The soldier counted the remaining soldiers.

"20 sir."

"20?" Jimmy looks surprised. "What happened to the rest?"

"Some of them were bitten. They committed suicide." was the answer.

"Shit." Jimmy covered his face. Then turning around he spoke to his communications officer.

"Randall, give me some good news"

Before the soldier could respond, they hear a loud bang on the collapsed gate. The east gate was collapsed butthe entrance was shut by fallen metal and wood from the nearby walls. Another bang were heard again, this timemuch louder.

"What is that thing?" Jimmy asked himself. Then they saw the debris moving forward as if somebody is pushing it.

"It's not over yet people!" Jimmy shouted to his soldiers. The debris moved forward again further collapsing the walls. A lone figure emerges from the debris, his whole body is covered in dust, marks of decay can be seen from his face and lower body. Clearly he is no longer human.

The soldiers opened fire on the zombie, the zombie walked through the hail of bullets, arms outstretched accompanied by low moans. The soldiers fired on, the bullets ripped through the zombie's skin but didn't damage the zombie enough. Surprisingly he is still coming at them. The soldiers are now low on ammunition, they backed away reloading their weapons. One soldier got near the zombie and the thing grabbed the soldier in one hand holding him up.

"This one is strong." Jimmy thinks. He dropped his semi-automatic and grabbed his magnum. He's been saving this weapon for last. He point it at the zombie's head and fires! The zombie staggers for a moment. He fires again! This time it dropped to the ground face first. The soldiers quickly pulled their companion from the zombie's grip. A soldier emptied his remaining bullets at the zombie. The body twitch at every impact.

"That's enough!" Jimmy shouted. "Save what's left of our ammo, that one is dead." Suddenly a whirring sound was heard from above. Two helicopters are hovering above them. Their rescue has arrived at last. The two helicopters hovered for a better position, unfortunately they cannot land so they dropped a line for the soldiers to climb up.

"Commander!" the communications officer called to Jimmy. "Sir, the pilot said we have to hurry! A nuclear missile is already heading this way! They're going to nuke everything here to kingdom come!"

"Then hurry up people! Get your asses up there! Move it! We don't want to be here when that nuke arrives!" The soldiers quickly grabbed the line and started climbing. One by one they hurried up to the two helicopters. The rescue team in the helicopters helped the climbers as soon as they reach the top. Jimmy waited as the rest of his men are climbing up specially the injured ones, all the while looking out for any undead that might pounce on them. When the last soldier have grabbed the line Jimmy prepares to climb. But before he could do that he heard a low moan behind him. He quickly turned around and was shocked to see the same zombie still alive and standing up.

He point his magnum again and fired at the zombie. Three shots rang out hitting the zombie on the chest and one on the head, but to no avail. The undead is still standing!

"This is impossible!" exclaimed Jimmy.

"Sir! We have to go now!"

Jimmy looked up the helicopter, his men are waving frantically for him to climb up. Then he looked at the zombie. Thezombie walked towards him again, arms outstretched. Jimmy point the magnum again at the head. Can't leave any jobunfinished he thinks. He wants to end this zombie now, and the only way to do it is to fire point blank to its head.No human or zombie could survive a shot from a magnum at point blank range.

But as the zombie is closing in, Jimmy's eyes grow wide in shock. He recognize something on the zombie's chest. The shirt is very dirty and full of bullet holes, but it shows a very familiar shield that his friend and savior has been known to wear. He struggles to recognize the zombie's face. It's partly decayed but he can still distinguish the original form, line and bone structure. And recognize him he did.

He should have known all along. The zombie's strength, its toughness, it's inability to die through hails of bullets. This is why he hasn't answered his signals anymore. His friend, his savior, the people's man of tomorrow, the world's only hope, have succumbed to death and rebirth.

"Why?" he whispered in disbelief. The zombie answered him with a moan.

"WHY??!!"

He shot the zombie to the head. The zombie fall back flat on its back. Jimmy clicked the trigger again and again but the gun is already empty. He felt his strength leaving him and he fell on his knees. The magnum fell from his hands.

"Why you?" Jimmy whispered in disbelief. "You were our only hope.. Our hope?"

"Sir! We have to go now!" one of his men from the helicopter called out to him.

Jimmy didn't move from the spot, he doesn't want to. Sudden grief for his lost friend has made him numb from what's going to happen to the city. His strength and will to live seems to have faded with the body lying on the ground.

"Sir! We have to go now! Sir!!"

He looked at his friend, the zombie lying motionless. He looked at his face and remembered what it was like before. How it looked like when he was younger. Flying above this great Metropolitan city, he remembers how he became a role model for him and other young people in his time, the feeling of having someone to protect you from the bad elements of society. The feeling... of having a 'Superman' as a friend.

Jimmy gazed one more look at him, then stood up grabbed the line and started climbing. He realized he couldn't give up the fight now. He knows the odds against them are far greater than they imagined, but he owes it to his friend, in his memory, not to give up. Even if it means his death.

"We can't wait for him to get up. The nuke is almost here." the pilot said as he turned the copter up and away. Jimmy hold on to the rope while the helicopter flew away as fast as it could. He looked back to see his friend standing again on the ground its hands outstretched reaching out for him. Jimmy whispered a goodby and struggles to climb up. His men are already pulling the ropes up and soon Jimmy is up inside the helicopter. He looked back just in time to see the nuke falling out of the sky to the center of the city. At once a mushroom cloud emerges and the city is completely atomized.

A medical officer is treating the wounds of the injured. They were halfway to their destination, an army base in the mountains. Jimmy is looking out to the great wide land below. It should've been a good view, except he could seefires still smoldering from the ruined cities down below. The world as they knew it is dead now. The human race is running out of time. The living dead's population has already outnumbered the living. They populated the major cities and the living has resorted to hiding to escape death from the undead.

"We'll be arriving soon commander" a medic said to Jimmy.

Jimmy looked at him but doesn't answer. The medic turned away to treat the other injured. Jimmy looked at his watch. The watch that never fails to call his friend. He unbuckled it and gaze at its already antique features. "Yes" he said speaking to his watch. "You never did fail to call him. Even in rebirth, you have summoned him and he came." He gazed another look at the land below. Then he threw his watch out of the helicopter, he watched it fall until he could no longer see it.

Then he gazed at the direction of Metropolis and sighed.

"I hope the nuke has given you peace my friend." Jimmy whispered. "Its tragic that there will be no peace for the living. Rest and be content. You've spent your remaining strength looking out for us. Now that you're really gone, we'll have learn to look out for ourselves now. Rest in peace my friend."

The helicopters sped past the ruins where a number of zombies have gazed their decaying faces up in the sky and emit a low moan to the passing helicopters. Jimmy look at their faces with mixed emotions and whispered the very question every human being has asked ever since the dead first rose from their graves.

"What will happen to us now?"

And the helicopters flew onward above the world that now belongs to the living dead.