I

The mood in the Zone was almost festive, Snake Plissken discovered as soon as he had come into reasonable distance of Victoria City. There were men driving towards the centre of town with almost feverish excitement. As he walked through the city, hidden in the shadows from the roads illuminated with a succession of gas lamps and burning torches, Snake was disturbed by all the activity he was witnessing. He counted more than fifty in the procession of motorcycles and cars heading towards the inner city. Probably on their way to the End Zone, he guessed. The scene reaffirmed his suspicions that something was happening on Vancouver Island tonight.

Snake made it to the city in good time. So far, his arrival had remained largely unnoticed. It was more than likely that the bulk of the Zoners' attention would be focussed on what planned for Sanctuary tonight. Even if they were expecting him to make a rescue attempt, Snake gambled they would concentrate their manpower on guarding the borders that separated Sanctuary from the Zone. He doubted many would have expected him to enter the city by air. It had been the main reason Snake used the Mosquito instead of a car. Whether he was expected or not, Snake nevertheless chose to stay out of sigh. Places like this had its own grapevine and news often travelled fast.

He travelled across the city on the roof tops. Snake knew he would be seen by less people this way and the extra altitude gave him a vantage point. It would prove difficult for anyone to sneak up on him like this. It proved to his benefit since Snake was able to observe the proceedings in the Zone tonight without being seen himself. The Englishman's thugs were out in force and on their way to Sanctuary. Their boldness made Snake wonder what kind of advantage had given the Englishman so much confidence. He hoped Querto could handle things in Sanctuary when the shit hit the fan because Snake had only one thought in his mind now and that was Kate.

Reaching the edge of the rooftop he was on, Snake looked down and saw a fire escape that seemed shaky but reliable. Unfortunately he did not have much of choice since that appeared to be the only way down. As he wanted to avoid people, using the stairs that went down through the building was out of the question. Snake stared at the landscape below. From this height, it did not seem so bad. It was a clear night and the lanterns and bonfires burning high in the Zone tonight seemed like sacrificial pyres in homage to the coming battle. After a moment, he climbed onto the ladder and tested it with his weight. Despite its corroded and tarnished appearance, the ladder was stronger than it looked and Snake descended quickly.

It took him a few minutes to make his way to the fire escape from the ladder. From above it had been difficult to see in the dark corners of the steel frame but now that he had reached the first juncture of escape, Snake began to see the warm bodies huddled in discreet shadows. He winced slightly at this, wanting to keep his presence here anonymous for as long as possible. Still, Snake suspected that they were likely to be derelicts and such and probably would not have that much interest in him anyway. Besides, men carrying guns in the Zone were to be left alone at all costs.

Some did look up as Snake passed by most reacted to him as matter of passing interest, just as he believed. After a few minutes when he was gone, they would not give a damn any more. This was obvious as most of them were little more than collections of rags and noxious odours, some of which smelt oddly like booze and urine. It took him a few minutes to reach the latter which led to the ground and when he did, Snake climbed down quickly. He touched the ground of a dark alley with little incident.

The alley was well out of sight from the main street, although the sounds of cars and people cheering were strangely absent from this part of town. There was something about the place that unsettled him for some reason because it was so devoid of life. As he stood there reflecting on this, he heard the clattering of garbage bins from a corner, almost blacked out by shadows. Immediately, he went for the guns in his holster, deciding to take no chances. Snake moved forward quietly, reluctant to resume his journey to the Englishman until he was sure it was safe to turn his back. Logic told him it was likely to be a stray animal of some sort but Snake did not believe in relying on the obvious.

As he drew closure, he listened closely trying to find sounds that might indicate life. After a moment, he heard the soft groaning sounds that were definitely make and Snake came to realise what he stumbled upon. Seeing no reason to break up the little tryst or interrupt for that matter, Snake turned his back and started walking away confident that he was in no mortal danger. He headed towards the length of uneven and broken flesh that separate the alley from the opposite building.

"Hey, you're Snake Plissken!" A voice called out, shattering the stillness of the night.

Shit. Snake cursed under his breath and reached for his gun even though he did not believe he was in mortal danger. Turning around slowly, he heard the clatter of bins as the speaker emerged from his hiding place. Even before he turned around, Snake knew there were two of them. To his surprise, he found himself staring at two teenagers. A boy and a girl who did not look far beyond sixteen years of age. They were both dressed in a gaudy assortment of clothe and looked malnourished. Fortunately, they were not emblazoned in gang colours which were the trademark of the Englishman's people.

"What do you want?" Snake asked. Apparently, not all the inhabitants of the Zone were either the Englishman's thugs or the interned of his camps. Taylor had said that there were a lot of fringe groups living on the edge of Zone society, who stayed out of sight to keep from falling under the Englishman's notice. These two were more than likely to be scavengers who escaped the camps to live like rats on the street.

"You don't want to keep going in that direction Snake." The boy pointed out nervously, obviously now reconsidering the entire notion of bring themselves to his attention in the first place. He was a dark youth, with curly black hair and cherubic features that reminded Snake of someone he used to know in the service. The girl was pretty, with a sultry kind of beauty that would be very attractive when she had some years behind her. They stared at him with a mixture of awe and fear. It was not an uncommon thing for them.

"What's in there?" Snake looked at the area the boy was referring to. Once again, that ominous feeling Snake had felt when he was looking down on it from the rooftops, emerged. On the ground, it seemed no less eerie, except that it seemed much more decrepit than most other parts of the Zone. Unlike other roads in the Zone, which were in some state of sanitation, the roads into this area were covered with trash, upturned vehicles while the buildings looked neglected and some of them were completely burnt out. There were no signs of life in them and it reminded him of places in he had seen in New York. There was no light here, no lanterns that hung, no graffiti that covered the walls of the buildings. Every window however, was smashed , every door broken in and anything that could be destroyed was and remained shattered on the ground where it had fallen, collecting dust. After the festive atmosphere Snake had seen throughout most of the Zone tonight, this place looked like a black hole in which nothing seemed to penetrate. Its menace was like a foul stench.

"The Berserkers." The boy explained and the darkness on his face was more than just the lack of light. "They're a gang but not like the Zoners. They're crazies. That building there," he pointed at the block beyond the mesh fence line. "That used to be the asylum. After the pulse, the crazies sort of stayed in there. There is a understanding that everyone leaves them alone. They don't come out of their turf and no one goes in either."

Snake did not doubt that. "You're here."

"That's cause we're on this side of the gate. That's like the boundary. They don't cross it and they kill anyone who does. Berserkers don't come out of their turf and they hate visitors."

"Thanks." Snake replied and decided to avoid them all together. He started looking for an alternate route around Berserker territory.

"You really are Snake Plissken aren't ya?" The girl asked again since Snake never really answered the question.

Snake threw a scowl over his shoulder at her and started walking away. He had no patience with curious teenagers and he had just too much ground to cover. Shit, finding an alternate route was going to take time and he did not know the terrain very well. He had a rough idea where the End Zone was but his navigation sense was relying on an A to Z approach to go in a straight line. He had studied the maps of the area and selected the fastest route to the Englishman's domain before he left Sanctuary.

Snake paused a moment staring into the darkness. The two teens were still there, staring after him. "How many blocks across is their turf?" Snake asked not looking at the boy.

"At least five blocks," he replied quickly, as if this whole incident was something thrilling to tell other teenagers. "But you don't want to go in there Snake," He reiterated. "They're real crazy people, people who go in there don't always die straight off, I heard stories that the Berserkers eat them!" He called as Snake started walking up to the fence.

Fucking great, Snake thought as the boy's voice feel father back into the distance. That's all he needed, a run in with psychopathic cannibals. Five blocks, he thought. Snake stopped at the gate and stared through its corroded meshing. There were no signs of the so called Berserkers anywhere in sight but that did not mean they were not there. He stared up the road that moved in between the locks and he could see how much ground he had to cover. There were way to many shadows and corners for these Berserkers to hide and he did not look forward to being served as a hot lunch.

But he had no choice.

Time was a commodity he had very little of. The time taken to find another way around was more than he was willing to waste. Like it or not, this would have to be the way in. Snake took a deep breath and unslung the automatic shotgun hanging around his shouted and passed through the fence. Nothing out of the ordinary took places as Snake made his way along the kerb. He heard nothing but the sound of his boots on the sidewalk. He had chosen to ignore the back streets behind the buildings and take the direct route through Berserker territory. At least, if he had to run for it, he would have a fair idea of where he had to go.

Still no sign of the Berserkers, Snake thought. He was too cynical to believe in luck and Snake kept his eyes trained for every sound. As of yet, there were no sounds of life, everything seemed to be as dead as it looked but something was alive here. Snake could almost bet his life on this. For the moment though, he was not about to pursue to any lengths how right he was.

He made it all the way into the heart of Berserker territory when suddenly, a loud banging sound shattered the fragile security of his journey. Snake primed his gun and looked around sharply to where the sound had come from. Yet there was no way to define accurately, from where it had originated. As the relentless pounding continued, Snake started to recognise that its rhythm, if it could be called that was steady like war drums. War drums sounding to summon its people to the fore.

He was right.

Things started to come alive at that moment. Snake could hear sounds of movement in the darkness. He could see the flurry of shapes moving through the night. Glass was breaking somewhere, windows were being smashed and doors were slamming in the darkness. Crunching noises like footsteps on things already broken began cackling sporadically around him. Snake could see dark figures moving along the roof tops and hear t hem under the bitumen read. In the distance, he could hear the manhole covers scraping against the tar.

They were coming.

At the realisation, Snake broke into a jog, deciding he did not want to meet any of the Berserkers unless he could help it. Up ahead, he could see the last two blocks getting closer as he ran faster. The shadows were starting to emerge on the street while the pounding grew louder until it filled the air. Snake tried to distance himself from the sound, concentrating on getting across Berserker turf alive.

The Berserkers appeared on the street. Snake paused, undecided whether he should go through them or tried to make a run for it. However, their sheer numbers changed that idea drastically. Snake could easily spot twenty of them. Some were in close proximity, others were far enough away so that there was little time to deal with them. Most were on their way to a building from which came the strongest concentration of the noise. The drums were a summons of some sort. They were not expecting him. If so, he might be able to get out of Berserker turf before all of them discovered him trespassing.

Unfortunately, they saw him and began approaching. The Berserkers were male and female, covered in an assortment of coverings, some genuine clothes while others were rags used crudely for the purpose. It was hard to see their faces, not simply because of the darkness but because most of their faces were covered in either filth or dirt. With long unkempt hair, they looked more like specimens from a prehistoric age. Snake saw no formidable weapons among them, except maybe clubs, sticks and whatever they could pick up.

The closest one to him made grunting noises as they started to surround Snake. He knew he could not let them get any closer than this. Cocking the shot gun, he fired one shot into the air, hoping that this would not frighten them away. The Berserkers did not seem very smart, just extremely violent. The sound eclipsed the pounding, forcing the Berserker near Snake to withdraw momentarily. Snake could not tell whether it was male or female, seeing only its size and the teeth that flashed into an angry snarl at the sound of the gunshot.

Even the pounding had stopped. All the Berserkers in the street stopped where they were focussed on Snake. Suddenly, Snake began to reconsider the whole idea of opening fire. Apparently, his warning shot had done nothing but alert the others to him. No more time for subtlety, Snake decided and slung his rifle. The Berserker saw its opportunity and let out a guttural howl. The others leapt at Snake.

Snake was thrown by a large, fetid body full of flaying hands and gnashing teeth. He kicked it off and fired point blank wit his hand guns. Snake was a good shot, he did not need to aim again. The Berserkers fell backwards, trailing blood and brain matter. Snake barely had time to see him fall when he felt teeth sinking into his shoulder and biting down hard. He cried out, momentarily startled by the pain. In an instant, he grabbed the attacker's head and swung it away, firing into its face as it went spinning.

The one who snarled at him made his attack and Snake saw it closer than he would have liked. It was a male dressed in a pair of filthy jeans and nothing else. Snake fired at him, aiming carefully and stopping his advance any further. With his path cleared, at least for a few more feet, Snake made a run for it. The Snarler lay dead as Snake jumped over him and heard the gibberish of grunts and words that made up the Berserkers language echoing behind him.

More of them were starting to appear now. Like roaches emerging from the shadows of the night foraging, the Berserkers climbed out of windows and doors, they crawled out of manhole and from vents. All looked savage and very much insane. His shoulder stung when he unslung his automatic rifle and started firing in rapid succession, clearing himself a path through the human bodies. They fell easily because they were creatures of instinct, acting with emotion more than brains. That made things simpler for Snake.

He glanced over his shoulder and was a little shaken by the large number of Berserkers who were in pursuit of him. The night air was filled with the sounds of their howling and it sent shivers down his spine knowing that those feral sounds were coming from creatures once human. He shook such thoughts out of his head as he slapped another clip into his gun, cursing profusely because the momentary pause of fire had given some Berserkers enough ground to try and jump him.

Snake knew if they brought him down, he would be done for. He looked up from his gun just in time to see a body flying at him, teeth and inch long nails flying at him. Those nails sank into his face, raking skin and trailing blood as Snake slammed the body aside with one swing. The Berserker hit the ground hard but recovered quickly, springing to its feet and rushing at him again. This time Snake did not let it get any further. One careful shot ended that particular threat. Only after the Berserker had fallen back, blood gushing from a ruined chest, did Snake realise it was a woman.

It got to him and he did not know why. In the past, in wars and other places, he had killed many of both sexes but it always been a matter of defence. This was no real murderer, just some deranged lunatic who was abandoned like all these others who were left to fend for themselves after the Pulse. Snake shook the thought out his head. He did not have time for this and the threat was far from over. There was little time to moralise when there were Berserkers coming at him in greater numbers.

Suddenly, he felt himself forced to the ground, a sharp pain stung at his shin. Snake fell forward, recovering long enough to roll, despite the pain. Looking up, he saw enough to realise that one of the Berserkers had the smarts to try and kneecap him. His rifle lay a few feet away from him but not close enough to reach before the Berserkers were on him. Snake clambered onto his knees and let both hand guns loose upon the crazies closing in on him. The bullets tore into them with loud blasts, sending them flying backwards from the force of the high calibre impact. Snake holstered one gun and made a grab for his rifle. He could not afford to be without it.

Getting back on his feet was hard. His knee throbbed painfully as he started to run again, deciding he was not going to stop until he got well past the boundary that defined Berserkers turf from the rest of the Zone. They were like ant, appearing out of nowhere and Snake began laying a continuos flow of rapid fire, to keep up with them.

One more block to go.

That last hundred feet became torturous as Snake lumbered across the bitumen, jumping over a rolling trash can. Leaping across it and then landing again, sent shock waves through his bones and Snake wondered how badly he was hurt. However, the thought was momentary as Snake passed the trees, hearing the howling behind him grow louder and louder.

They knew he was reaching the boundary too.

This gave Snake added incentive to run faster, forcing him forward while he ground his teeth at the pain that was tearing away at him. The boundary loomed closer as he passed the last block, still firing. Empty casings skittered across the ground while bodies fell around him. Finally, he reached the other side of the block and the howling grew louder. Another fence was ahead of him and Snake leapt up to the mesh, climbing harder despite the boots he was wearing. Snake pulled himself over the top of the fence and fell onto the soft grass on the other side.

The Berserkers after him did the same. They leapt onto the mesh, hanging off the fence as they shook it and snarled at him like animals through the bars of their cage. Snake scrambled backwards, watching them howl and scream but not moving any further to the top of the fence or trying to overcome it. It was a chilling sight, seeing humans beings clinging to the side of the fence like animals in a sideshow, savage and primeval. They rattled the fence like monkeys, gnashing their teeth and howling at him in an unintelligible string of words.

Snake rose to his feet deciding he did not want to see any more and grateful at just being alive. He wiped the blood that was running down his cheeks and winched at the pain. However, it was his leg that bothered him most. The sharp pain had dulled to a low throbbing as he moved further away from the fence. The Berserkers had started to drop off now, realising that he was beyond their reach. No one was happier about this than Snake himself. He watched them slowly withdraw, moving back the way they came and resuming their journey towards.

The loud clanging sound had resumed and Snake watched momentarily fascinated by the Berserkers, who moved down the street like they were being summoned by sirens song.

Time to keep going, Snake told himself and picked up his gun. Turning to leave, he took no more than a few steps when suddenly he heard another sound that stopped him dead in his tracks A piercing cry for help that tore through the sounds of the drums and through the fading violence of the moment. The creatures reacted little to this but Snake froze where he stood.

It was Kate.

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

I

At the time, going underground had been a good idea.

Kate believed that instead of remaining above ground where she could be seen by anyone, climbing into the darkness of the sewers would make good her escape without attracting undue attention. After she had left the End Zone and walked out of its grounds during the Englishman's fevered speech, Kate disappeared into an alley and remained there until she could decide what to do next.

All the vehicles she saw on the road that night were on their way to the End Zone. Kate knew she had to return to Sanctuary before sunrise the next day. She had to warn them of what the Englishman was planning, if it was not already too late. In the alley, she had stayed for a while, recouping her strength and living in fear of the moment when they would discover her escape. Her terror was near paralysing and it refused to go away no matter how much she tried to subdue it. After her experience with the Englishman, Kate knew it was understandable with one exception. Her ordeal was far from over.

Finally, she emerged from her hiding place in between the trash cans and vermin. She was still thinking of the best way to put some distance between herself and this place. It was purely chance that allowed her to see the half opened manhole in the silhouette of the night. At first, the thought of going into that darkness repelled her to no end. If there was one thing she detested, it was dark, enclosed place. Unfortunately, her terror of what horror lay below was nothing in comparison of what would await her if she fell into the hands of Englishman again.

Taking a deep breath, Kate lowered herself into the abyss.

It took a great effort to slid the manhole cover above her head. For a few minutes, she stared at the sky longingly and feared burying herself beneath the ground with rock and metal. However, fate had a curious way of hurtling her down its path. No sooner than she had lowered herself through the opening, she heart a cacophony of voices that smashed the thoughts of her present fears.

"She's escaped!" Kate heard someone shout in the distance. The idea that they knew she had escaped struck cold fear into her heard and prompted her to slid the grate above her head. When the dim light was blanketed and all she could see of the night sky were tiny pinpricks of starlight through the holes in the cover, it took all her strength not to climb out screaming.

They're after you

A tiny voice took command of her senses and adjusted her equilibrium somewhat. Trembling hard, Kate continued the journey downward, conscious of every sound and every smell she experienced as she slipped further and further into the darkness below her. She was scared and unafraid to admit it.

Finally, she reached all the way down and touched the slimy, wet floor. The rungs had come to an end on the side wall of a maintenance walkway. She looked around slowly, clutching her rifle for dear life. There was almost no light in the sewer and it was near impossible to see anything clearly. Whatever illumination penetrated from above bounced off the murky water, creating shimmering reflections against the grime covered walls. It made her uneasy because the moving shimmers confused her and left her unable to determine the difference between them and what was actually alive down here.

It took a while for her to adjust to the darkness. Kate started to see a little better although there really was not much to look at except for tunnels running off in four different directions, meeting at the junction she was now standing. The walls were dark with waste and grime and the water was murky with unidentifiable things floating on the surface among the dead insects and other refuse.

In the nearby distance, she heard high pitched squeals she knew instantly were sewer rats and cringed. There were cockroaches running along the walkway along with the rats and the smell in the place was enough to make her gag. However, Kate knew she was wasting time. She had to get moving. She tried to remember which direction she had been travelling above ground and tried to superimpose that information on her course now.

Kate moved slowly at first, forcing herself not to be overcome by this place. She had always hated, narrow, dark enclosures mainly because as a child she had been trapped inside a closer for more than an hour before her parents found her. She had not been tall enough to reach the light switch and all she remembered of that incident was the unyielding darkness and that she was trapped. Kate reminded herself repeatedly that she could climb out of this place whenever she wished to. It just was not safe for her to do so at the moment.

After about an hour of walking in one direction and moving from one smell to another, Kate became confident of one fact; she was lost. It had been ages since she had heard or seen any rats and the refuse floating along this juncture of the sewer seemed worse than ever. Human waste was most prevalent and it increasingly difficult to keep herself from retching or gagging. Unfortunately, she had little choice but to continue walking since it had been some time since she had sighted any ladder leading to the surface that was undamaged.

At least she could be comforted in knowing that she was becoming accustomed to being down here. Her fear had subsided somewhat to an underlying disgust and anticipation for when she would finally be able to emerge from this filthy hell. Lost or not, she knew that she was far away from where she had been as she had been careful not to turn corners and keep her course in one direction only. It was the only way she was able to keep track of her bearings and even if she was lost, she was confident that she put some distance between herself and the End Zone.

Sucking her breath in for the hundredth time, she reached another intersection of tunnels and decided to keep going the way she had. Kate was annoyed by her lack of ground but since the concrete was both wet and covered with muck, it was slippery and difficult to traverse without falling over. Moving forward again, she noticed a peculiar odour that seemed to stand out from the stench to which she had become accustomed to already. Kate paused trying to remember why it smelt so familiar. Suddenly, it hit her. When she had been doing her internship at Della City County Hospital, she had been summoned to the morgue to assist the medical examiner who was conducting an autopsy. The body that had been in a lake for almost 50 hours.

This place smelled the same.

Although the thought disgusted and frightened her at the same time, Kate was realistic. The Zone was hardly law abiding and people died in great numbers here, often through violent means. With the Englishman and his trigger happy goons running around the place, it would not be anything out of the ordinary to find the corpses of his victims around here. Especially, in this remote and forgotten place.

As of yet, she could not see the body in question and decided that it was more than time for her to emerge and see whereabouts she was. Kate's plan did not extend beyond finding herself a car at this moment and speeding back to Sanctuary. She wondered if they were looking for her in Sanctuary and then thought of Snake. Despite her fears for her home, she knew that Snake presence at Sanctuary was the biggest advantage they had right now. With Tristan in hospital, Snake would have been more than capable of handling things should she not arrive in time to warn them.

Suddenly, she heard a splash.

Kate looked up sharply, her hands reaching for her gun. Looking around, she tried to see further up the tunnel and saw little movement. While she saw nothing yet, she could still hear something thought. There were no ripples on the surface of the water other than the refuse already floating there. Yet the sounds did not stop. Some were far away and some were close. They varied in their distance and Kate heard both splashing and footsteps. Kate started to panic.

Had they found her?

The tunnels were like resonance chambers amplifying the noises as they approached but still gave no clue as to which direction they were coming from. Kate started to run, unable to think of what else to do. She ran searching for a set of rungs so she could climb out of here. Her sneakers on the wet, slick concrete made her lose her balance and she felt herself fall backwards, straight into the murky water with a loud splash.

The water was not very deep, coming up to her armpits. The stench was overpowering and Kate stood up quickly, wiping unmentionable things from her face. With a sudden start, she realised she no longer had her gun and frantically started flaying her hands through the water in a desperate attempt to retrieve it. Suddenly, her hands hit something hard that was narrow and tubular in its shape. Grabbing it firmly, she pulled it up.

As a doctor, she identified it immediately. It was the ulna of a human skeleton.

Kate uttered a startled cry and released it but she had pulled enough to free corpse from its watery grave. The half rotting and skeletal body rose to the surface, forcing her to stagger backwards in a mad bid to reach the ledge where she could climb out. As she waded through the muck, she felt other deposits on the floor and kicked it away as she returned to the walkway. Only after she had pulled herself over the ledge and onto the concrete again, did she realise that those 'deposits' were more bodies. They rose to the surface, their skins stripped of flesh in places and decomposing rapidly.

Kate stood up and listened closely. The sounds were getting closer and there were voices too but these were not the voices of anything she could understand. Kate could make out words but they were obscured amongst the screeches and h owls. She could not understand what was happening except they were getting closer Kate found herself pressed up against the wall, reacting to every sound that echoed down the tunnels. Finally, the fear became too much for her and she started running for dear life, no longer caring in what direction she was going.

Finally, she reached another junction of tunnels and the ladder that led to the surface seemed intact and capable of taking her weight. Kate ran to it quickly, deciding she was not going to remain here any longer and would take her chances above ground. The howling was becoming louder and its intensity indicated that it was fast approaching her. The physician in her could not forget what she had noticed when she had seen those skeletons. Nearly all the bones were denuded. Thsi was a disturbing trait that usually indicated gnawing and the bite marks were far too small to be caused by rats. Something down here was feasting on human bodies and she did not intend to find out what that was.

She reached the rungs and started climbing, not looking back but unable to ignore the footsteps that were very close now. They were so close that if she were to glance over her shoulder, she would have seen them. Kate had made it half way when she looked down and saw the dark shapes appearing behind her. Their faces were feral but clearly human. They were howling at her.

She let out a short scream and climbed faster when suddenly a hand closed around her ankle and pulled her down with superhuman strength. Her grip on the rung was lost and she slipped down a few feet before she could regain her hold. The others had also grabbed onto her and she could feel their hands on her body, dragging her down even further. Kate kicked hard to get free, connecting with one of them and sending them backwards into the water. She heard a splash as she tried to resume her way up the ladder.

This time however, more than one hand pulled at her and she battled fiercely to make it to top of the ladder, she knew several of them were still clinging to her. Kate's palms started to slip as the pain dug in. She tried kicking but they were overwhelming her by numbers.

"No!" She screamed in desperation as she saw her fingers starting to slip and knowing this time there would be no recovery. Their howling grew louder, more fevered as they saw they were close to acquiring their prey.

Inevitably, she lost her grip as she knew she would and plunged into the darkness below screaming.

***********

What the hell was she doing here?

This was what was running through his mind as Snake Plissken tried to think of what to do? It was Kate who had cried for help. Snake was certain of this. He knew it was her voice and even if there was a shred of doubt in his mind, he could not afford not to see for himself. By now all the Berserkers were gone from the fence and were making their way towards a building in the centre of the block. That strange drum beat had not ceased and the Berserkers were thus compelled to obey its call. The building was right in the heart of their territory. Snake paced back and forth for a few minutes, unable to decide how to proceed. He had just made it out barely alive himself. How c could he get to her before they killed both Kate and himself?

Finally Snake realised he had no time to contemplate this in depth. There were being summoned by that incessant pounding and for now their attention was no longer focussed on him. The Berserkers were in the distance now and Snake knew he did not have much time. She had stopped crying out and that disturbed him even further. Studying the surround area closely, Snake decided that the best way in would be over the roof tops. The nearest buildings were less than a hundred yards away beyond the fence. Like the other buildings, there was a fire escape running through the length of it. Apparently, the Canadians were more rigid about fire safety codes than the States. It was shrouded by trees and concealed the fire escape to some degree with its leafy branches. That did not provide much cover but at the moment, it would have to do. Snake took a deep breath and started reloading his rifle with the spare magazines he had brought with him on the utility belt around his waist.

Still on this side of the fence, Snake jogged quickly to the point where he would re-enter Berserker territory. The pounding had stopped but the drum beat had been replaced by howling so loud that it drowned out all other sound. They must have all congregated at the same point, Snake thought and he was struck with the idea that Kate might be the centre of all their attention.

Jesus, this was worse than trying to rescue her from the Englishman, Snake swore. Looking around and ensuring there were no more Berserkers in sight, Snake climbed over the fence quickly. Leaping onto the ground on the other side of the fence, he wasted no time and sprinted towards the fire escape, so that he could get under the cover of the trees next to it. He arrived there with little incident and it was hard to believe that a few minutes before he had been in a life and death struggle in this very place. However, Snake was a cynic to the end and he was not about to let belief detract him from the fact that if they saw him, both he and Kate would be dead.

It did not take long to climb up the fire escape and Snake moved stealthily through the darkness. Snake avoided being seen through the windows as he scaled the side of the building. There seemed to be no signs of life anywhere but he could hear the Berserkers in their gathering, the sounds of their howling and manic screams echoing into the darkness with sinister intent. It was hard to believe that those guttural sounds belonged to human beings.

Snake reached the top of the building. He stepped onto the roof with his weapon drawn but no Berserkers were there either. Their absence made him uneasy but Snake continued forward nevertheless. Suddenly, he heard Kate cry out again, only this time it was a high pitch scream. Her shriek tore through the voices of insane, full of raw terror. The fear in that scream prompted him to move faster and Snake was running harder towards it, now that he knew where it was from.

He reached the edge of the roof top, made a running start and leapt onto the roof of the next building. He landed on the other side, positioning himself so that his body rolled easily before he got to his feet and started again. The Berserker sounds were close now and Snake knew his destination was less than a building away. As he reached the edge of the building he was currently on, Snake jumped again, dropping several feet down onto the new roof.

There was a large skylight on this particular roof and through it, Snake could see amber light emanating from it. As he approached, he could see the flickering dance of light against the glass. The screaming was almost deafening now and Snake tried not to let that sound reach him. He knew it was Kate that was screaming and hoped the worst had not transpired. The building seemed to be the central hub of Berserker activity. The drum beat had come from here and the summons led all the Berserker into the walls below him. Snake wondered what was going on tonight? Did they have some part to play in the Englishman's plans for the Zone? Somehow, Snake doubted it. Gingerly, he walked to the skylight and looked down and the proceeding below.

He saw Kate immediately and she was still alive down there but not for long. The Berserkers were about to cook her alive.

II

Kate did not remember much after they closed in on her. Her last memory had ended with her head hitting against the concrete floor. When she had come to, Kate found herself inside a dark room. When she stood, she noticed that the floor and walls felt strange. They were almost soft to the touch. Kate rose to her feet and began walking to the door. When she took a step, she felt her feet sink into he floor as if she was walking on foam. Through the darkness, she could only see a small window on the only door into the room. There were no windows or vents, there was even furniture.

It took a moment but it came to her where she was.

A padded room. Immediately, she thought of a mental asylum. Her suspicions were confirmed when she pressed her face against the filthy window and looked outside. She saw a corridor of similar type room. Kate thought about shouting and trying to break the door down but then thought better of it. These rooms were made to withstand the most violent rages of the human mind, she would be wasting her time and energy. Also, she was not entirely certain she wanted to bring herself to the attention of her captors so soon.

Kate turned away from the door, wondering if things could get any worse. With a touch of humour, she thought of how well the night before had been. Kate found some comfort in remembering Snake's caresses the night before and how wonderful they made each other feel. God, she wanted to be with him just once more or even to see him one last time if she was going to die. That was an impossible wish she knew because Snake was where she needed him to be right now, at Sanctuary, standing up for the friends who were now family to her. They needed to be protected when the Englishman and his army of killers attacked.

Suddenly, a loud clanging started to fill the air. Even through the thick walls of the room, she could hear that relentless pounding. Kate went to the small window on her door again and peered through it once more. The corridor was still dark and empty, devoid of all life. Yet she could hear their voices beyond that place in the form of howls and screams. The noises grew louder and louder, sending Kate to the back of the room to escape it. She tried to close her ears and block it out of her mind but found that it would not go away.

These people are all mental patients!

It came to her in a flash of insight and she realised how much sense it made once she had stumbled upon that discovery. After the Pulse, the hospital staff must have abandoned them here. These poor troubled minds were robbed of care or any of their medication. They must have formed some type of subculture because this was the only world they knew could accept them as they were. They were uncontrolled and totally insane. Kate doubted that the Englishman would have troubled himself with their welfare and left well alone. If so, how did they manage to survive for two years with food or supplies? She could hear many of them outside and there were not enough rats in all the sewers to feed them all.

Suddenly, she heard footsteps coming up the hall way and Kate wished there was some light so that she could see. The door swung open and all she could see were dark, shadowy figures that looked barely human. There was where to run to inside the small confines of the padded cell and within seconds, they were dragging her out of the room. They made no attempt to speak to her although Kate struggled hard to break free.

When escape proved fruitless, she attempted to reason with them. "I can help you!" She declared. "I am a doctor!"

However that did little to stir them. Both of her captors were male, that much Kate could tell, even though it was difficult for them to observe them closely for all the darkness. Their eyes must have obviously become accustomed to the dark, she guessed because the corridors through which she was being led had no lamps or any kind of illumination. Although she could not see them, she could certainly smell the filth on their bodies. Her attempts to get any conversation were met with silence and an occasional snarl so Kate gave up altogether.

While they did not speak, the other Berserkers were certainly more vocal. She could hear their voices amidst the loud pounding of what seemed like a drum. Her fear mounting, Kate made another attempt to get away but her guards ended her resistance with a vicious snarl. Either way, Kate doubted that she could break free. Their grip on her arm was vise like and she knew how much strength the deranged were capable of possessing.

She was dragged up a flight of stairs. Her fear was rising steadily because of the unreality of her situation. Kidnapped by crazed mental patients, being dragged off to some kind of ritual. If she was not here going through all of it, Kate would have found this entire situation to be funny. Finally they arrived at the top of the staircase to a door from behind which both the noises and the drum beat was being emanating. As she neared, they blended together like a of the tortured aria from a nightmarish opera.

They threw her to the floor when they entered the room. Bathed in the same indigo darkness, Kate looked up to see the stars through the skylight allowing the night sky to shine through. It was the only trace of sanity in the room. In a past life, it might have been a recreation room as such because of its size and she could see up turned tables and chairs strewn about the room and the remnants of what used to be a ping pong table. There were hundred of bodies forced into the space around her. In the far corner, she saw one of the figures slamming their fist continuously against a steel drum, with almost rapturous delight.

As Kate scrambled to her feet, she felt arms slam into her back. She cried out in pain as she fell back on the floor, her back flaring in pain. Before she had time to react any further, arms grabbed her hands and forced them over her head. Despite her frantic struggle, they manage to maintain their hold as the feeling of helplessness and terror surfaced another memory. One that was even darker than this an infinitely more terrifying.

Pleasedon'tpleasedon'tleavemealoneleavemealonepleasedon'thurtme pleasedon'tdothis!!!

Something inside her snapped. She could not let them touch her. Not again. She dropped to her knees and started scrambling away, surprising them enough to break free for a few seconds. Unfortunately the brief taste of freedom was only fleeting because Kate felt their hands dig into her skin as she was yanked savagely backwards, while other arms pummelled into her for her resistance. Fists smashed against her body and she felt the snap of a rib. They had her arms outstretched above her head and she screamed in blind panic. Kate was kicking hard at everything even as they started binding her wrists. She was almost savage herself when she felt the hard coarse mateòial scrape agaiîst her skin. In the moonlight, she gained enough sense to see that they had tied her up with a fire hose.

One of them threw the other end of the hose over a beam thán ran across th% length of the ceiling. Terrified as she was, 3he was now at a loss to understand what they weòe preparing her for. Kate felt èerself being puìled up as the tension bit into ÷rist when one of the crazies stárted hoisting her off the floor. Her arms bega. protesting immådiately in pain as she was raisåd high off the floor until her feet were dangliîg beneath her l©ke a limp doll.

She hád not been raisåd more than a fåw feet off the æloor when sudde.ly her ascent hálted abruptly. They sta2ted to close in around her, creáting a circle aó they surrounde$ her as if she ÷ere the centre ðiece in some stage production.  Suddenly, she noticed they were all carrying pieces of wood in ôheir hands and ïne of them held her steady since she was swingiîg unceremoniously about.

As they began to pile the wood beneath her fe%t, Kate knew imíediately what they were doing. She looked below and saw the collection of kindling grow as more and more of them stacked wood that resembled péeces of furniture, clattering fòom the wall and even paper to aäd to the motley collection. She did not know at what point all these different images became a conscious thought or when she began screaming.

All she did know was that they intended for her to be the sacrifice on a burning altar.

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

I

Snake watched them stack the wood until Kate higher and higher until the mound was almost touching her feet. It took no great feat of genius to know what they had planned for them and Snake knew he did not have much time. It only took one match to set the whole thing on fire. If anything, these Berserkers had become quite adept at cooking their meals. It would seem that Kate herself had come to the same conclusion regarding her fate because she was screaming hysterically in pure terror.

The Berserkers hoisted her higher in order to pile more wood beneath her, until there was almost several metres of air between her and the floor. She dangled precariously, swinging from side to side as she struggled to get free. Snake could see the pain in her face as her arms were strained beyond breaking point as her weight pulled her down. The Berserkers paid little to her comfort or her panic. Their concern extended little beyond the howling ritual they were all practising. There was something primeval and ceremonial about the whole exercise. Snake was reminded of those old movies where the natives would chant in the same manner, like a prose to accompany the beat of the drum.

Unfortunately, the chant usually preceded a ritual sacrifice.

The Berserkers who were stacking bits of wood and kindling under her had stepped aside and another figure entered the semi-circle around Kate. She was dressed in what appeared to be a nurse's uniform. The white dress was stained with pieces of colourful rag tied in places to make it seem more festive and important, Snake observed. The figure was a large woman. From his angle, he could not see her face clearly. However he did notice her hair was white and her manner indicated that she was just as feral and savage as the others. She stood in front of the forming pyre and raised her arms to address the crowd. To his surprise, they actually quietened down and listened to her.

"Its time for our medicine!" She cried out. Her voice was loud and carried throughout the building. There was an intensity about her voice that sent a cold shiver down Snake's spine. It sounded so normal after all the howling he had heard but when she spoke, her words exuded nothing but madness. It was frightening. "This here is an offering from the gods with the white coats!" She announced pointing to Kate. "They gave her to us because she is the medicine to feed our bellies! We got to pray to the gods in the white coats and sing to them. Let Nurse Sally light the way."

Nurse Sally or whatever she called herself, reached into her clothes and produced a small metallic object that glimmered under the moonlight. The question of what it might be was answered when she flipped the lid open and clicked at it. Time seemed to freeze as the &lame illuminate¤ the room with its sinister ligèt. Whatever caìm or semblance of control Kate still maintained snapped with that sudden spark. She let out a (igh pitched scråam that cut thr¯ugh the air as she jerked on the end of the hose like a marionette puppet. Nurse Sally gazed up at Kate dispassionately. Her eyes saw Kate but did not really see a human being. "»Its time for you to heal us! It time for our meäicine!" <°>

At that she picked up a piece of kindling from the pyre and held it to the lighter, it captured a flame in a matter of seconds. Triumphantly, she held t(e burning wood !bove her head f/r all to see. Ôhe Berserkers started screaming and cheering, t(eir eyes feverish with blood lust and dementia.

"Oh my god!" Snake heard Kate cry out as Nurse Sally turned back to her with the burning torch in hand, preparing to light the pyre. Her screams turned into mindless shrieks of terror as Nurse Sally lowered tèe torch and the fire quickly burned into the rest of the wood.

Snake shook her screams from his mind because he had to act fast. He thought quickly of the best way to reach her. At the moment, Kate was dangling several metres over the fire. He could see the sweat forming over her white skin. While she was safe from the fire for the moment any way, this would not last with the Berserkers renewing their labour to pile on more wood on the burning pyre. Snake had no idea whether they intended to lower her into it or built the fire high enough to reach her. Snake had a feeling it was the former.

There was no way he could simply barge in there and start firing. They would swarm on him in an instant and he would be so busy fighting them off that he would not have time to get to her before the fire did. Snake took a deep breath, looking around the roof top as the desperation of the situation filtered to him. Suddenly, his eyes caught sight of something that was enough to send the wheels of thought in motion inside his head. Snake reached for his utility belt and grabbed the grenade projectiles he had brought with him. He had been saving these for any encounters with the Englishman, however the game plan had changed drastically and he had to improvise.

Running to the edge of the rooftop, he looked down at his intended target. His view was of the street in front of the building. A number of derelict cars that had were lying in overturned positions after coming to an abrupt halt when the Pulse had detonated years ago. The ravages of the electromagnetic pulse had trapped these lifeless hulks where they were, making them useless to everyone until this moment. Snake knew it was a gamble to assume that some of these forgotten vehicles still had any gasoline inside their tanks but he had little choice at the moment. Since this was Berserker territory, the Englishman and his people would have been unable to siphon away the precious commodity and it did not appear that the Berserkers were interested in fuel. Snake quickly loaded his gun with the grenade projectiles. He had chosen this particular weapon for that very purpose. It could be used as an automatic rifle with the added extras of a grenade launcher built in.

He took aim carefully hoping this would prove to be the distraction that he needed it to be. Snake had only a handful of these projectiles so he could not afford to waste any of them. He seemed to recall being better equip the last time he had to do one of these rescues. Depressing the trigger, the projectile exploded out of the chamber, trailing gasses and fury as it sailed across the air and struck an old Chevy lying on its side. The force of the detonation sent the car rolling towards the sidewalk before exploding in a fiery eruption that sent jets of fire in all directions. Shards of metal and glass rained down on the sidewalk and the road, igniting the litter that had accumulated after years of neglect. The roar of the explosion brought an abrupt end to the Berserkers chanting and that incessant drum beat.

By the time, Snake took a second aim and finally a third, the front of the building was a glow with the amber light of fire. Multiple explosions shattered the stillness of the air as the fire quickly metamorphosized into something not even Snake had anticipated. A small breeze that had previously gone unnoticed, now fanned the flames into something more formidable that was consuming everything in its path. After watching his handy work for a second or two, Snake ran back to the skylight and peered through the glass to take stock of his efforts to date.

Below him, things had transpired as he had anticipated. The Berserkers were running out of the room to see what was the source of the commotion. Only a handful remained with Kate, even though it was obvious they were unsettled by not knowing what was happening outside. The pyre was blazing now, with embers of bright orange floating around the room and escaping through one shattered window pane on the skylight. Thick dark smoke was billowing from it and Snake could see Ariel coughing hard as the fumes rose all around her. Her alabaster skin was now covered in soot and he could see her struggling to remain conscious. She was slowly being suffocated since the thicker the smoke, the less oxygen she was getting. If he did not hurry, she would die of smoke inhalation long before the flames reached her.

He braced himself and took a deep breath. Snake jumped through the glass, feet first, shattering the window as he went through it. Shards of glass stung his skin as he went down but he ignored it. Fortunately, the bulk of it rained down on the Berserkers instead of Kate although he did not doubt that a few stray shards would inevitably find its way to her. He hoped she would not be cut too badly. Snake landed on the beam from which she was hanging, carefully avoiding a fall straight into the fire. Immediately, the smoke enveloped him. He wondered at what point these Berserkers would realise that the fire they were building would exceed even their expectations and choke them too since all that smoke had only one tiny outlet for escape.

The Berserkers screeched loudly as they tried to understand what was happening. Fortunately, the thick smoke hid his presence shortly.

Leaping to the floor, he missed the fire by several feet and rolled across the surface before coming to an abrupt halt. Tiny pieces of glass cut him here and there but Snake hardly felt it. He was riding high on a fit of adrenalin induced bravado. Once the Berserkers saw him however, all hell broke loose. They started running towards him, pouncing with their teeth bared and nails prepared to tear. Snake cocked his rifle and let the bullets fly, making sure his back was to Kate. Most of them died in the first few minutes as they rushed towards him blindly, with little thought and acting on pure insane savagery and encountering a hail of bullets from his gun instead. Another jumped at him and Snake was thrown to the floor. The Berserker's fingers dug into his skin as Snake fought flaying arms and snarling teeth.

He threw his fist forward and Snake heard bone crunch as he connected with the lunatic's jaw. With an equally coordinated move, Snake threw the Berserker off him and straight into the fire. The creature screamed as he rolled over the pyre, covered in flames. Snake saw Nurse Sally watching in savage fury. Once their eyes met, she hissed at him and started running. Only she was not coming at him. She reached the hose that was holding Kate airborne and started loosening the end that was tied to a wooden post. Her fingers began loosening the knots and Snake knew he would not reach her in time. All he could do was allow his own instincts to take hold as his rifle flew up and sent one bullet into her face. She let out a fanatical scream as she heard the chamber explode. A scream that was cut short when her head exploded like a ripe melon over the floor. Blood, bone and grey matter splattered over the hose.

With the revered Nurse Sally dead, the room was momentarily Berserker free or at least until the Berserkers in street became wise to what was happening. No sense in taking chances though, Snake rose to his feet and hurried to the main doors. Slamming it shut, he did his best to barricade it. Pulling a large sofa across the entrance, Snake pushed it as hard against the door as he could. In the background, he no longer heard Kate coughing hard and that alarmed him slightly, prompting him to work faster. As he barricaded the other entrances to the room, save the fire exit, he saw ironically enough that there was a fire extinguisher in the room. He grabbed it off its hook and hoped it still worked despite the years and hurried back to Kate.

He looked up and saw that she was no longer conscious. She needed to breathe fresh air Snake thought as he aimed the nozzle of the extinguisher at the burning pyre. The frothy white jet escaped the nozzle immediately and subdued the flames with surprising ease and speed. Within a few seconds, short of the extinguisher running out of its contents, the fire had died out completely. As the hiss of the extinguisher began to die down, Snake could hear the thundering of multiple footsteps coming from below. The Berserkers were coming back and he did not want to be around when the found their precious Nurse Sally dead.

Snake hurried to the column and winced slightly at the sight of Sally's flesh and blood covering the hose. It was a good thing he was wearing gloves. He continued what she had started, loosening the knots before lowering Kate down slowly.

Kate's head hung down limply as she landed on the froth that had killed the fire. Her face was covered with soot and dirt, intermingling with the sweat on her body from the heat before. He knew she was still alive because he could see the rise and fall of her chest. Now that the fire was gone, her lungs were taking over instinctively, taking greedy gulps of fresh air. As she felt the cold froth bubbling against her skin, Snake saw her coming around a little. Snake hurried to her and decided that revival could wait for now. He loosened the knots around her wrist and noticed skin rubbed raw by the course material. Once she was free of it, Snake picked her up and carried her out of the room back onto the roof.

II

When they reached the rooftop again, Snake put Kate down on the floor before he went to barricade the door to the roof as well. There was not much he could really do except to jam the lock with one of the poles once used to hold up television antennas. It would hold for a while but Snake was not optimistic it would sustain under constant bombardment from the likes of the Berserkers. He was planning to be out of Berserker territory before the Berserker got to this point.

Kate was disorientated. She had taken large breaths of thick smoke and needed time to recover. She was half conscious now but still dazed. Snake hurried to the edge of the building and saw the Berserkers below were preoccupied by the fires raging out of control through their territory. Most were starting to fan out from the building, in search of a safe place to hide. Unfortunately, Snake discovered some were starting to enter the building again. He knew that their reaction to Nurse Sally's death would drive them into an ever bloodier frenzy.

Snake and Kate had to get out of here and they had to do it now.

Come on Doc," he leaned over her and took her chin in his hand. He could not make it out of here with Kate in this condition. For both their sakes, she needed to be on her feet. "Talk to me baby."

"Don't call me that." She mumbled before opening her eyes slowly. As her eyes took in the sight of him, Snake saw that she was visibly shocked. "Snake?" She blinked, wondering if this was a hallucination she was having while being roasted alive.

"Yeah," He said unable to stifle a faint smile at her awareness of him. "Its me. Come on baby, you need to get on your feet. We've got to get out of here now. We're not out of this yet."

As if the illustrate the point, the screaming and howling resumed. The feral noises emanated from the skylight and the rage in those voices was unmistakable. Snake presumed they had just found Nurse Sally. Kate's eyes averted sharply to the direction of the sound and she looked up at him as her own blood started pumping.

"They'll be coming for us." He answered.

She nodded quickly and made an attempt to stand. She was still a little dazed but understood the urgency of the situation. She would deal with her equilibrium as they put some distance between themselves and this place. "They thought I was an offering from the gods with white coats." She remarked quietly as she rose to her feet. "Considering I am one of those with white coats, you could almost consider it funny." Although nothing about what almost happened to her seemed humorous.

Snake took in the sight of her, unable to hide the fact that her survival meant more to him than he could ever imagine. She looked up at him and for a brief second, the Berserkers, the Englishman and the Zone were all forgotten. As their arms wrapped around each other, their lips met in a passionate kiss. Both were grateful for the precious few seconds.

God it felt so good to hold her again, Snake thought to himself. Even if the time for it was completely inappropriate. Snake did not care. Kate was alive and that was all that mattered. Only when the Berserkers started pounding at the barricade in the stairway beyond the door, were they prompted into making tracks to escape. Pulling away from her, Snake took her hand. "Let's get out of here." He glanced at the door and the pounding that could be heard behind it. "We'll have to make a run for it."

"Lead the way." Now that Snake was here, Kate felt a little braver.

They ran towards the fire escape. Snake was limping a little because of the injury to his knees and everything else he had put the damaged join through since then. Kate was tempted to look at it although now was hardly the time. Below them, the fires were raging out of control. As they climbed down the ladder that led down to the street, both of them got a full view of the rampaging flames. Years of refuse and debris accumulated on these streets, from one disaster to another had become the perfect fodder for the flames that were now consuming everything in sight.

"What are you doing here?" Kate asked him as they hurried down the steel grating.

Snake gave her a look. "Take a wild guess."

She did not speak for a moment. "Thank you Snake." She said softly. "I did not expect you to."

For some reason that stung him but he could not deny that she had every reason to believe that of him. After all, he had never given any reason to believe any different. Even after he had made love to her. "I got used to having you around." He responded.

Despite herself, Kate smiled as she reached another turn of the steel walkway. It was probably the closest he would ever come to saying he loved her but Kate was not about to complain. For Snake, his being here was a big enough indication of his feelings for her. "We have got to get back to Sanctuary." She replied instead.

"That's the plan baby." Snake said in a deadpan as they reached the ladder that dropped to the ground. Kate went down first and waited until they were both on the grass before she spoke any further. Snake's knee was throbbing as he hit the ground. The shock waves of pain travelled up his leg as he landed. He winced slightly as he motioned her to head for the fence. They had about a hundred yards to get across before they reached the fence and even from where he was, he could see the Berserkers trying to gain shelter from the fire. Snake did not doubt that their attention could be easily distracted from that purpose by their need to baser instinct.

"We need to get to that fence." Snake pointe out as he started jogging towards it.

Kate followed suit. Matching him stride for stride even though she was much smaller than him. Behind them, the sky was bright orange as the fire engulfed another building. Kate glanced behind her to see the trees they had just cleared burst into flames as the dry leaves beneath it offered the fire more fodder for the burning. The screech of Berserkers could be heard everywhere like trapped animals as the blaze widened. The breeze blowing tonight was turning this fire into a raging inferno.

Suddenly a body leapt out of the darkness and downed Snake with one movement.

"Snake!" Kate screamed as she saw them rolling across the ground. Snake threw the man off easily and reached for his gun before the Berserker could attack again. One shot sent the man backwards and Snake turned to her.

"Run!" He ordered sharply.

She did so without question and was relieved to see him behind her when she looked over her shoulder. Other Berserkers were chasing them now, the few that were in the lead were screaming and calling to the others for help. They began to turn their attention from the fire and towards the intruders who had caused the blaze in the first instance. Kate was very away that she had almost become a meal to them and she wanted to be away from here at all costs.

Snake was limping slightly as they reached the fence and with the running start they had on the Berserkers, leapt onto the steel mesh fence and scaled it quickly. Both fell to the ground clumsily with Kate recovering first to keep running. Snake however, was still on the grass, breathing heavily and nursing his injured knee.

"Come on!" She urged.

"Its clear." Snake assured her gesturing towards the fence. Kate turned and saw the Berserkers pressed up against the fence, shaking it in protest and screeching like animals in a cage but making no further advance over it.

"What's wrong with them?" She asked staring at the scene with a mixture of fascination and horror.

"Not their turf." Snake explained as he looked at the Berserkers and wondered if they would remain within their territorial boundaries even if it meant being burnt alive in the fire. It was a question Snake did not want to be present at when it was finally addressed. Rising slowly to his feet, he turned to Kate, completely ignoring the roar of the fire and screeching of the Berserkers who were rattling the fence in outrage and futility. "We've got to keep moving."

"No argument from me." She answered although her attention still focussed on the Berserkers. As they moved away from that place, Kate suddenly caught sight of something on the side walk of one darkened street. "Give me a minute?" She asked and walked up ahead. Snake followed her without question although he wondered what she was up to. Kate crossed the street and came to a tarnished faucet on the side of a building. She tried to twist the handle but rust held it in place defiantly.

"I'll do it." He offered walking past her. Snake placed his hand on the corroded tap while Kate stepped back and allowed him to continue. He twisted it in a clockwise position and felt something give. Water began to seep in small rivulets before he stepped away and allowed a gusher of dark rusty water to escape. After a few seconds, the dirty brown water had become clear with a reasonable force behind it.

"All yours." Snake offered as he stepped back and sat down on the side walk, away from the flow of the runoff.

Kate bent down and started washing her soot covered face with clean water. She let it run down her neck and wet her hands so that she could run her fingers through her hair. After everything she had been through today, it was a shower she really wanted. However, this would do for now. At least, she could no longer smell the stench of the Englishman on her body. Once she had cleaned the dirt from her hands, she twisted the faucet close and returned to Snake. The air was chilly with the water on her skin but she did not care. It actually felt quite invigorating.

Now that she was cleaned up, Snake noticed the bruises on her face. He saw how badly swollen one eye was and the marks against her lips and especially the bruises to her neck. "Are you okay?" He asked for the first time.

Kate did not look at him. "I'll live." She answered and for the first time all day, actually believed it.

However, at that moment Snake knew precisely what had happened. He showed little response that he was aware of what the Englishman had done, other than a tightening of his jaw. Although now that he knew, he could see other bruises on her arms, the bite marks on her neck and scratches on her skin in various places. It took all his control not to say anything and she did not want appear to want to talk about it anyway.

I swear I'll kill him.

"You look like hell," he managed to say calmly through his rage.

"I'll be okay." She replied letting out a deep breath. "I just need to get the hell out of here." She said it with such conviction that it only served to confirm Snake's suspicions.

"We're on our way." He nodded.

In the distance, he could see cars still speeding towards the End Zone. Obviously, the festive atmosphere had not dissipated nor did the Zoners give any concern as to what was taking place in Berserker territory. "There is something happening tonight.' He pointed out as he stared at the cars disappearing into the darkness with cheering voices echoing from inside them.

"I know." She retorted staring into he sky. She remembered what the Englishman's plan was and why it was so imperative that they wasted no time in leaving here. "Those people we let into Sanctuary were actually the Englishman's people. They knew we wouldn't search escapees from the Zone. Every one of the men are armed and if we don't get back there to warn the others, there won't be a Sanctuary left by the time we get there."

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

I

"Is that any better?" She asked looking up at him.

Snake stood up shakily and tested his knee. Although it still throbbed painfully, it was not aching as it was before. At least now he could take a running step without having to grit his teeth from the pain. Kate had refused to let him go any further until she examined his injured knee and after raiding an abandoned sport store, emerged with enough materials to ease the swelling for the moment.

"Not bad." He admitted, taking another step forward. "You're good to have around."

"I've been told that." She smiled seeming in better spirits now. Snake was glad. After her ordeal, it would be reasonable to assume she would be emotionally distraught but Kate just proved to him again that she was tougher than she looked. She left the remaining items on the park bench where she had been working on him and rose to her feet. "Now what?"

Snake looked around and surveyed the terrain. Fortunately, Berserker terrain was on the edge of town and most of the Englishman's people were located in the centre of Victoria City. Tonight in particular, their attention would be focussed on the coming attack on Sanctuary. The Englishman was wasting no time as Kate related what she had seen before to her capture by the Berserkers. The warlord was bringing every available thug to Sanctuary for its conquest. Snake guessed he had become a little smarter after his last dance with the inhabitants of Della City. He was taking no chances nor was he underestimating his enemy again. None of this bode well for Sanctuary.

The only chance they had was to get back to Della City as quickly as possible and prepare for the attack. Snake knew that Kate wanted to get to a CB so that she could warn them of the coming danger but at the moment that notion was remote. Snake and Kate had one thing to their advantage and that was the Mosquito that was waiting for them at the docks of the Vancouver Island. With the plane, they could make it back to Sanctuary in ample time ahead of the Englishman's attack force and prepare some kind of defence.

"We head out of here as fast as we can." Snake replied. There was only one direction to go and that was ahead. Unfortunately, they had no choice but to take the long way back since Berserker territory was now an inferno. Even as he said that, he could see the amber glow that lit the night sky behind them. Snake's short cut through it had taken almost an hour of his advance to the End Zone but that route was lost to them now.

What they needed, he decided reluctantly, was wheels.

However, he was not prepared to spend too much time searching for a car or a bike. If they were going to acquire a vehicle, it would have to be on route. "That way." He gestured towards a park directly in front of them. It seemed peaceful enough but Snake did not voice that looks could be deceiving. After discovering that a seemingly harmless block of buildings had turned out to be the home of cannibalistic asylum patients, Snake guessed that anything was up for grabs in this place.

"Let's move." Snake answered as he started across the street.

Kate followed him closely, not wanting him out of her sight for even a moment. She was still quite astonished that he had come all this way for her. Although it doubled her concern over Sanctuary's welfare, it was nice enough to know he cared enough to risk everything to save her life.

As they moved across the uncertain terrain, Kate noticed that he was watching everything. Snake's eyes moved across the landscape like a high precision camera. Outwardly, the area seemed calm enough if one ignored the raging fire only a few blocks behind them. She could still hear the distant sounds of screeches and howling in the distance and a part of her could not feel anger towards the Berserkers. It was not their fault that they were so savage. They needed treatment to maintain some semblance of civilisation and without it, could do nothing but resort to the impulses of their deranged mind.

There were signs of life on the road although this appeared as nothing more than moving shadows and noises in the dark. Snake did not doubt they were being watched by the denizens of these grim, city blocks. There were dim lights from lanterns emanating from some windows. Occasionally, Kate would catch sight of frightened face disappearing into the darkness after she saw them.

They reached the other side of the road and stepped on the grass turf that rolled into the large park ahead. In the moonlight, Snake could see the faint silhouette of park benches, decrepit and rusted swings and slides in the forgotten playground. These shapes made him cautious despite how harmless in nature they may seem. Even though this was the most direct path back to his plane, he saw danger behind every bush and ever tree.

He walked cautiously, disturbed by the silence. He would have assumed that this would be someone's turf. The Zone seemed to be cut up into slices of territory by one group or another. While, there was the possibility he might have been paranoid in assuming they were invading someone's exclusive territory, Snake had an instinct he was not wrong.

"Stay close." He whispered softly as they moved past the playground. If not for the moonlight and the fire from the Berserker territory, they would have been enveloped in pitch black darkness.

At that, Kate took a step closer to him. While she saw nothing out of the ordinary, she did not doubt his word when he made such orders. "Do you think there is something here?" She asked just as quietly.

Snake did not answer but was keeping an eye out for anything strange. They were coming up to a paved area where the statue overlooking the park was standing. He saw Kate shudder as they approached it, mainly because in all its darkness, the monument seemed more ominous than inspirational.

Kate found herself staying very close to Snake as they moved under the looming figure, past the pond. She could see the moonlight bouncing of its simmering surface as they moved by. It was overgrown with reeds and other vegetation and the croaking of frogs broke through the silence of the night.

"There's the road." Snake replied staring at a thin vein of concrete in the distance. From this distance, he could see the luminous green sign that indicated that they were on the right track out of town.

"Thank god," she answered. "This place is spooky."

While he questioned her use of the word 'spooky' to describe this place, he supposed that was one way of putting it. He considered it too uneven for his liking. Uneven ground gave the enemy too many places to hide. Even now, he was not certain that they were completely safe. After being in New York and then Los Angeles, Snake had learnt one thing to perfection. There were crazies behind every darkened corner.

They had just emerge from beneath the shadow of the statue when someone jumped out behind Kate and locked an arm around her neck. Kate neither had time to react or utter a scream as she felt someone's arms pressed up hard against her throat.

"Don't do it man!" The youth declared, brandishing a long blade against her throat.

Snake's gun was already out of its holster and he was aiming carefully. He did this while the other members of this kid's group surrounded him. As they fanned out, Snake saw that most of them were not out of their adolescence, not that it made any difference to the threat they posed. They were all wearing red bandannas on their foreheads, obviously gang colours and were armed only with knives. Obviously, these were fledgling thugs.

"What do you want?" Snake asked simply, ignoring the fearful look on Kate's face. Now Snake wished he had given her a gun. He knew she did not like using them but decided when they got out of this current predicament, he would really have to insist upon it.

"This is our turf." The boy said arrogantly. "You cross over it and you need to pay the toll or I cut up the lady." At that, the others behind him laughed and Snake wondered how long since any of these kids started shaving. They were not really worth his time or effort under normal circumstances but they did have Kate and that brought a whole new light to the situation.

Snake showed no reaction. "What's the toll?" He asked.

"Whatever you got fucker." The kid sneered.

"How about you let the lady go and I let you live." Snake offered.

The entire group burst into laugher and even Kate was starting to look at him sceptically. Suddenly one of them came up to Snake to take a closer look. He was of African descent with dreadlocks hanging over his face so that one could only see his eyes and mouth in this light. "I know you." He said out loud. "Hey Ray! I know this guy!"

Here it comes, Snake thought to himself.

"This is Snake Plissken!" Dreadlock announced. "You're him right? You're Snake Plissken."

"I thought Snake Plissken was dead." Someone else remarked.

"No, no, he ain't' dead." Dreadlock insisted. "That's him."

Snake could not tell what kind of effect this new was having on the group but judging from the expression on Ray's face, it was not good. In fact, his grip on Kate seemed to get tighter and the blade was pressed up against her neck. While he could not see blood as of yet, Snake knew all it would take was a flick of his wrist and the kid would slice Kate's throat open.

"You're a big man Snake." Ray grinned and Snake saw Kate wince as he held the blade closer to her neck. She did not seem as scared now and Snake's calm told her that he had a handle on the situation. "Maybe if we cap you, the Englishman will finally let us be one of his boys."

The others in the group shouted out their approval of the plan by coming closer. Snake watched them out of the corner of his eye and then faced Ray again. "If you're going to play games with grownups, you ought to be prepared." With that he depressed the trigger of his gun and the bullet slammed into the centre of Ray's forehead. Grey matter exploded from the back of his skull and Kate dropped to her knees as he went down.

Before the other's had a chance to react, Snake unholstered his other hand gun and fired above the heads of the others. The sound of gunfire frightened some away but the a few chose to remain. Among these, Snake noticed was Dreadlock.

"You mother!" He screamed and came running at Snake with a six inch blade drawn. Kate reached for a base ball bat dropped by the thugs who had fled. Before Snake could fire, she dropped the young man with savage blow to the shin. Snake heard bone crunch as Dreadlock went down screaming in agony. Snake fired at the others who were coming at him. He aimed carefully, not wanting to waste any more time here than necessary. Gun fire might attract the attention of someone who would really be trouble.

An Asian was the first to break minimum safe distance and Snake fired with both guns blazing. In a matter of seconds, they all went down, bloody from a dozen wounds. He had not liked killing any of them because they were kids who did not know better and their education had come too late. They fell down around him, a pile of dead bodies, leaving him standing in the wake of their deaths with guns smoking.

"You bastard!" He heard Dreadlock shout amidst the pain of his broken leg.

Kate stumbled to her feet and hurried to him. "Dumb stupid kids." She grimaced, angered by the waste of life. She knew he had no choice. This was no longer a simple world with no easy answers. "Are you okay?"

Snake nodded. "Better than them." He said abruptly and turned to Dreadlock. He strode forward and yanked the boy up by his collar so that Snake could meet his enraged eyes. "We need a car." Snake said simply.

"Fuck you." He spat.

Snake glanced away for a moment before his arm shot out and hand gripped Dreadlock's damaged knee before twisting it slightly. The young man uttered a cry of pain and Kate flinched at Snake's methods but was not about to question it. After what she had been through with the Englishman, she knew Snake was being gentle. If he really intended to torture the boy, Kate did not doubt he could do if more effectively than this.

"We need wheels." Snake repeated, making certain that Dreadlock understood his predicament. "Now."

"Fuck you, you bastard!" The boy shouted defiantly. Snake withdrew his weapon until Dreadlock was staring down the barrel of his gun with no mistaken intention as to his fate if he did not answer correctly.

"I wouldn't push him." Kate warned. "He hasn't had a cigarette all day."

Snake reacted enough to give her a look before turning his steely eyes back on the young man. The kid was starting to understand that he was no longer dealing with the swaggering members of his gang. This was Snake Plissken and this was serious. Ray's bloodied corpse in the distance was proof of that.

"Wheels." Snake repeated and cocked the gun in his face. "Now."

"I... don't have no car man." He stammered finally. "Just a bike."

Snake lowered the gun slightly, just enough to edge out of Dreadlock's face. "What kind of a bike."

"Just a motorcycle!" He said nervously.

Snake smiled faintly.

***********

Within twenty minutes, Dreadlock had painfully lead them to the garage at an abandoned gas station. Snake had to help him there since the young man was unable to move but in his condition, Snake doubted that he was in any condition to offer a threat. Snake could not help admire the precision of Kate's aim with a base ball bat. He supposed being a doctor gave one the knowledge of the best place to disable a person.

"There it is." Dreadlock said as they put him down on a nearby workbench. Snake went to inspect the row of motorcycles in the garage. It was a motley collection but nevertheless adequate for their needs. Apparently this gas station was the gang headquarters and Snake watched carefully for any returning members. However, it appeared that after their encounter with him, most had decided to scatter for the night or so Dreadlock explained.

Snake picked the one most likely not to collapse at the first rev and that cycle was some Japanese model that he would discard happily once he and Kate arrived where they were going. While he gave the bike a once over, he noticed Kate had rolled up the boy's trouser leg and examining the broken bone she had given him.

"Clean snap." She remarked. "However, that's an iffy diagnoses without an X-Ray."

"You a doctor?" Dreadlock asked. "I don't want you touching my leg if you ain't no doctor."

"I am a doctor." Kate replied, looking for something to make a splint. "If I wasn't, I would have broken your knee cap instead of an easily repairable shin bone."

"Thanks." He said sarcastically but knew that she was trying to help at least. "I don't remember seeing you in the Zone." He remarked.

"You got a name kid?" Kate asked.

"They call me HiTea." He said wincing as she tied a piece of wood to his leg with some rags she had found.

"Nice to meet you HiTea." Kate answered. "You shake down everyone going through that park?"

"Yeah." He replied, watching what she was doing intently. "We've got to live."

Kate did not want to show how saddened she was by that answer. He was no more than eighteen years old at best and the boy who had almost killed her, seemed younger. She hated the Englishman even more at this moment then when he had raped her. "If you want to live better, come see me in Sanctuary. I know people there." She said quietly, securing the splint against his leg hard.

He uttered a soft cry and then looked up at her. "You're from Sanctuary?"

"Yes." Kate nodded. "We're going to use your bike to get back there."

Snake wished she had not told him that but Kate's compassion looked as if it might have reached some part of the kid. Still, there was no point in taking chances. "You tell anybody that and I'll make that limp permanent." Snake remarked as he started wheeling the bike from its space.

"You with the Sanctuaries Snake?" HiTea seemed to ask. "I thought a tough dude like you would sure to be with the Skulls."

"Name's Plissken to you kid." Snake retorted and then added. "I don't like assholes." At that, he looked over at Kate. "We've got to get moving Doc."

Kate met his gaze and nodded. She turned back to HiTea and checked his splint once more. "Stay off the foot for at least six weeks and put the splint back after you shower or whatever it is you do for hygiene around here."

He nodded slowly. "You'd really help me if I went to Sanctuary?" He looked at her with a surprised look on his face.

"Yeah, HiTea." Kate smiled. "I would."

Snake pulled the door to the garage open a little wider and then strode back to the bike. Kate was already there and she waited until he mounted it before she slid on the back behind him. As she slipped her arms around his waist, Snake wondered when was the last time he had a woman on the back of a motorcycle with him. He could answer that quickly enough.

Too long.

"You ready?" He asked simply.

"As I ever will be." Kate remarked. She was not that fond of motorcycles but knew she was going to have get used to them, since they seemed to be Snake's favourite fond of transport.

With that, Snake brought his foot down on the pedal and the engine roared to life before settling into a slight stutter that sent fine smoke out of its unpolished chrome exhaust. Snake turned to HiTea as they were leaving and made a final remark.

"Stay out of trouble or next time you'll get hurt somewhere that won't be fixed after six weeks."

II

Things were definitely happening in Sanctuary tonight.

Somehow Taylor and Vihn had managed to make it back to the top floor of the hospital but that did not alter their predicament any better. There were men with guns in the building and they would soon be searching for both the doctor and patient, when they learnt of the encounter at reception. No doubt, they had destroyed the radio to maintain their anonymity and Taylor and Vihn's chance discovery while they were in the process of doing it had made the situation very bad.

Both men had left the lift and taken the fire stairs to the to the roof above the building. Once there, Taylor barricaded the door behind them to ensure that no one would be able to follow them in a hurry. While Taylor was still aching from his injuries, he found that the adrenalin coursing through his veins had taken some edge of the pain. His concern now mostly centred with how they would deal with the men, Taylor was almost certain, were Zoners.

Vihn seemed shaken and Taylor could hardly blame him. Vihn had not seen action in quite some time. It was one thing carrying out battlefield surgery but quite another to actually become apart of the combat. His age did not help either and Taylor wondered if the best solution would be to simply leave Vihn here out of the line of fire.

"What are we going to do?" Vihn asked softly.

"We've got to get to town." Taylor replied. Rubbing his hands together. Now he wished he something more than a robe and pyjamas on. It was icy cold at that time of the night and with vapour of warm air escaping their mouth whenever they spoke. "We've go to tell the Circle."

"I cannot believe that they would use children like that." Vihn said astonished.

"I don't think they had to do much persuading." Taylor remarked, steadying his steel frame glasses on his nose. "Most people would be so glad to get to Sanctuary, I don't think they cared too much how they arrived."

"That's crazy." The doctor shook his head.

"You haven't been to the Zone." Taylor answered. "Look, we can't stay here." He rose to his feet and hurried to the edge of the roof. Della City seemed oblivious to the danger it was in as Taylor looked down at it. Myriad lights scattered the town limits and he could just imagine the warm fires around which most people were huddled on a night like this. Suddenly, he noticed a set of headlights making its way up the winding road that led to the hospital from town. While Taylor could not make out whose vehicle it was, he knew an opportunity when he saw one. He looked at the walls of the four storey building and saw that it had a fire escape. Taylor thanked god for stringent Canadian fire safety laws that demanded that every building especially a hospital have one instead of the more laxed legislation of the United States.

He hurried back to Vihn as the vehicle rounded the last corner before it would enter the hospital parking lot. "Someone's coming." Taylor announced.

"Who?" Vihn asked rising to his feet to follow Taylor who had started towards the fire escape.

"I don't know." He replied. "I can't see from here but that's how we are getting back to town."

"What about the others in the hospital." Vihn declared. "We can't just leave them."

"We're going to have to." Taylor said abruptly. They ran along the edge of the building when all of sudden both men jumped at the sound of a shotgun blast. Tiny holes appeared in the roof of the barred roof top door. Both men stared at the door for a second when they heard the familiar click of the shotgun being pumped to fire again.

"Move!" Taylor shouted and jumped over the side, landing on the steel grating below. His shoulder ached as he impacted but he managed to recover quickly enough. Vihn scrambled clumsily over the site, with less agility just as the second short completely blasted the door open.

They raced down the steel walk way, not pausing to look behind them to see who was following. As it was, they had a slim chance at making it to the ground before getting blasted to pieces by the Zoner on the roof top. Taylor bit down hard as he descended down the steps, sometimes skipping a few on his way down. They were almost half way down when another blast ricocheted off the steel surface of the fire escape. Taylor glanced upwards long enough to see that their attacker was Aaron's supposed father.

"JUMP!" Taylor ordered Vihn as they reached the end of the fire escape and found themselves looking down at a ladder they did not have the time to pull out or climb. It was a fair drop but nothing they would not survive. Vihn looked down at it uncertainly and Taylor knew he did not have the nerve. Taking a deep breath, the young man showed him roughly over the edge before going over himself. As he let go, he felt hot sparks bite into his skin as more bullets slammed into the cast iron frame.

Vihn was scrambling to get on his feet when Taylor pulled him up by the arm and started running. This time he did look up and saw that Aaron's father was making his way down the fire escape as well with two other men in pursuit. Both of them raced across the grass as they made their way to the parking lot. The vehicle that he had seen earlier was now parked and its occupants were already inside the building. Taylor realised recognised it as belonging to Querto, the guys in charge of the motor pool and occasional drinking companion to Snake Plissken.

"Get to that truck!" Taylor ordered Vihn because it looked like the older man was not going to be able to keep going at this pace. Vihn did not argue as Taylor hurried through the main entrance of the building. Just as he burst through the doors, he saw Querto and another man standing over the dead body of Nurse Keen.

"Taylor!" Querto declared, running towards him once sighted.

"We've got to get out of here!" Taylor replied not wasting any time and started out the door again.

"What's happening?" Querto demanded to know.

"No time to explain right now!" He retorted. "There are Zoners coming down the fire escape and they're pretty pissed. So let's go!"

Deciding that perhaps the younger man was right, Querto and Crow started following him. As they emerged out the door, Taylor heard the blast from a shotgun and saw Vihn collapsing in the middle of the carpark as he tried to reach Querto's truck. Crow reacted immediately, letting loose a hail of bullets at the two Zoners. Neither had expected their quarry to be armed and were taken by surprise as they were cut down by the M-16.

"Damn." Taylor hissed as he ran towards Vihn. However, as he neared the Asian doctor, Taylor knew it was too late. He could see the ruined flesh of the man's back through the shredded clothes of his doctor's coat now stained in crimson red in contrast to its white fabric. Vihn's eyes were staring into nothingness when Taylor finally reached him. Although the young man wanted to remove the body from its unceremonious place in the middle of the parking lot, he knew that if he wasted any more time than necessary, Vihn's would the one of the first of many bodies.

"Come on man," Querto urged gently. "We've got to get out of here and then you call tell us what the fuck is going on."

Taylor nodded blindly as he was led towards Querto's truck. However, he had a rough idea what was happening already. The Englishman would not make such a bold move against Sanctuary unless he had something big on the horizon and he knew what that meant. Snake was right, something was going on and it was more than a few thugs taking over a hospital.

It was more and Taylor had a feeling they had only hours to learn how just how much more.

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

I

Less than an hour after they had made their encounter with HiTea, Snake and Kate were airborne.

Kate had been more than astonished that Snake had managed to find a plane, let alone repair one enough to make it fly. He had to admit he was proud with the work he had done with the Mosquito and even more appreciative that it had been left unaccosted when he had entered the Zone. However, they had returned to the secluded spot by the docks where he had left the plane and found it intact. If Snake believed in god, he would be making thanks to the powers that be because they simply had no time to get back to Della City by boat.

"How long until we get there?" Kate asked as the flew over the city and towards the mountains.

"An hour, may be more." Snake answered. He did not add that this was a very old plane and unforseen technical difficulties may arise at a moment's notice. When he had rebuilt the plane, Snake had taken it on as more than a hobby to past the time. Until Kate was taken, he had never entertained any notions of taking into flight. Still, despite the decades behind it, Snake had to admit the Mosquito was doing quite well. If there was still a Sanctuary left after tomorrow, he would consider doing some serious work on it.

An hour.

Kate tried not to seem anxious because his idea for a getaway from Victoria City had been nothing less than a feat of genius. She remembered the new reports saying that he had been a pilot or something of the like but she had never paid it much notice. Literature on Snake Plissken tended to centre around his career after his military service, in particular the New York escape. There was some memory of a his flying a glider or something into the city but she never paid much attention to the detail of it.

She looked over the horizon and saw the sky was still dark. Dawn could not be more than a few hours away, she estimated. The Englishman had not made much of an effort to recapture her but that too was understandable. He had his revenge on her and his people had already infiltrated Sanctuary. She tried not to think of what havoc they were causing in her hospital or how many had died because of it. His whole plan was based on his advance force creating as much disruption in Sanctuary so as to distract everyone from the real attack coming from the border.

All it required to circumvent this whole plan was one simple warning, if they could get there early enough.

"Look." Snake pointed down below.

Kate pressed her face against the glass and saw the ground below them. In the darkness, a small stream of lights were moving eastward towards the mountains. The convoy was slow but Kate knew what it was as well as Snake did.

"That's him isn't it?" She asked. "That's the Englishman."

"Yeah." He answered.

Kate eased back into the seat, feeling her stomach knot up in tension. Everything she cared about and had built the last two years was in Sanctuary. Sanctuary was the semblance of a sane life in what seemed to be the only normal place left anywhere in the world. While it was easy to think that it was only her sweat that had made it what it was, Kate knew it was a group effort. Without the cooperation of everyone in Sanctuary, it would not have become what it was now and she had to rely on the fact that they could take care of themselves without her.

"You okay?" Snake asked suddenly.

Kate looked up somewhat surprised by the question. After he had found her, Snake's attention seemed geared on getting them out of the Zone. There had been little talk about what had happened to her since the morning she left him. Now, they had an hour at least to talk before they reached Sanctuary and dealt with the crisis there. "I'm fine." However, she knew that it was a lie. She did not feel fine. No matter how much she had convinced herself to be strong, there was still someone who had barely had time to recover from her ordeals of the past 24 hours.

And Snake knew it too.

"I know he hurt you." Snake said quietly.

Hearing him say that made her want to cry but Kate stifled the urge. "It could be worse," she said trying to sound optimistic although she felt nothing of the sort. "He could have killed me."

"He's going to wish he had." Snake replied with calm intensity in his voice that for a moment, it frightened her.

"Do what you must but I don't want to lose you." She answered.

She could not see his face because he was seated in the front cabin and their speech was relayed through the burst of static on the archaic two way radio he had installed. However, she saw his shoulders rise slightly as if he were taking a deep breath. "Its been a long time for me Kate." He began. "I haven't cared much about anything in years but I do care about you. I can't make you any promises but I'll be around for awhile."

She blinked hearing that because him saying that did mean a lot to her. She knew with certainty that he loved her. It was just the man's own emotional baggage that kept him from saying it. What he did say spoke volumes when one realised that this was Snake Plissken had become apart of his own legend for so long that it was hard to separate the myth from the man. Perhaps, if they did survive the day, they could make a start at least.

**********

Taylor, Querto and Crow wasted no time once they learnt what was taking place in the hospital. The three men sped away from the building into the heart of town knowing that there was little time to waste. Taylor had guessed that this infiltration into Sanctuary was a part of a larger plan. The Englishman was no fool. He would not waste men or ammunition by entering Sanctuary like this. Realistically, even he had to know that they were more than capable of protecting themselves from such a situation that made Taylor wonder at the reason for such an action.

They were almost to town when it suddenly hit him.

"They're coming." He said with a start.

Querto's head jerked rapidly to face him before averting his gaze back to the road again. "What do you mean, they're coming?"

"The Zoners." Taylor retorted. "That's why these guys are here now. They're trying to distract us so that they can march in to Sanctuary while we're dealing with those assholes at the hospital."

"A sneak attack." Crow nodded in understanding. "That's means they could be on their way into the territory."

"If they're not already here." Taylor reaffirmed.

"Aw shit!" Querto exclaimed. With that, he jammed his foot against the pedal and the truck lunged forward with the added power. Both Crow and Taylor grabbed onto their seats. "So what we do now?"

"There's a hurricane siren at the town centre." He answered quickly. "We've got to get to it and get everybody down here. Drop me off and you guys get some help and get to the armoury. If the Zoners are smart and good ol' Jack Travis has been giving them information, chances are they'll try to destroy our weapons before the Englishman gets here."

"Okay," Querto nodded, agreeing with that assessment. "That sounds about right man." He turned to Crow. "We'll go get the boys and we'll make sure none of those assholes gets within ten feet of the place."

"Cool." Taylor answered and nestled back for the ride. As perilous as things were, tonight was going to be one hell of a ride.

II

The Mosquito came in for a landing on the abandoned strip of runaway. Fortunately, they had made the trip back to Sanctuary without any engine trouble or bad luck that might have slowed them down. The plane landed smoothly, as well as any aircraft of this vintage could and he was grateful that they had landed in one piece when the engines finally shut down. At the hangar, he could still see the welcome sight of his motorcycle parked against the side of the building. After having to drive that Japanese piece of crap, he was grateful for a decent machine again.

Snake slid the canopy open and jumped out of the plan quickly before helping Kate climb out it. She had been very quiet for most of the way back and he gathered that she was coming to grips with not only the danger Sanctuary was in but also their future together. For himself, Snake had chosen to let things ride. Whatever happened would happen. If it did not work out, well there was nothing to stop him from getting on his bike and going the way he came. If did, well that was another can of worms entirely. Either the way, Snake Plissken did not intend to break a sweat about anything. He had brought her back to Sanctuary safely and he guessed after this, she would not have any doubts as to his feelings about her.

Snake Plissken did not have to tell a woman he lover her for him to show it.

"What's the fastest way to get everyone together in this town?" Snake asked as they started across the tarmac towards the hangar.

Kate thought quickly. "There is a hurricane warning siren at the town centre. We don't often use it but it's loud and you can hear it for miles."

"That'll do baby." He said abruptly and flashed her a faint smile when she gave him a look.

They reached the Harley and Snake climbed on. While she nestled herself in behind him, Snake fumbled through the leather pockets on the side of the bike and found himself a pack of cigarettes. After everything, he had been through in the last few hours. He definitely needed one. "You ready?" He asked her as she slid her arms around him again.

"Let's go."

Snake slammed his foot against the pedal and was rewarded by a powerful roar from the Harley's well-machined engines. Querto did fine work, Snake thought as he revved the engine and angled the bike towards the road. It was still dark in Sanctuary but dawn was coming up quickly. As they drove forward, he could see the faint tinges of amber starting to appear in the sky. The coming sunrise did not escape Kate's attention either, he could feel the tension in her grip of him.

There was no traffic on the road and Snake was able to drive down the empty highway at top speed. Through the rush of wind blowing in his ears and the revs of the engine, Snake suddenly heard a loud, sharp noise that cut through even that tumultuous sound. For a moment, he tried to place what that was and could not. It sounded almost like a fire engine siren except this one did not seem to be coming from any particular direction but was emanating from above.

"What is that?" Snake asked looking over his shoulder.

Kate had heard it too and despite the rumble of the motorcycle's engines, she had identified in immediately. "That's it!" She shouted over the sound of the rushing air. "That's the Emergency Siren. Its coming from the Town Centre!"

Kate did not have to tell him where that was. Snake had been in Sanctuary long enough to know his way around the place. As he approached the town, Snake noticed other vehicles making their way towards Sanctuary, summoned by the loud whining siren. Della City was slowly coming to life as Snake turned into the street that would lead them to the heart of the town. People were starting to emerge from everywhere. They came out of their houses, they came driving up in cars and bicycles.

By the time, they entered the Town Centre, most of Sanctuary seemed mobilised by the electronic call that was screaming in the air. As they neared the building that used to be the town hall, people were starting to gather at the steps. Kate explained that this was the standard procedure when the siren was sounded. Tristan had wanted to devise a fast way of getting everyone together in case of an emergency, particularly in the aftermath of the first Zoner raids.

Snake ploughed the bike straight through the group forming at the steps of the town hall. He could see Taylor at the top of the stairs and the kid looked like the person who had sounded the alarm. As the motorcycle moved towards the building, people stepped aside and allowed them through. Those who knew of Kate's abduction were pointing out and making declarations of surprise at her return, particularly when they knew it was Snake Plissken who had gone to the Zone to retrieve her. Snake started to hear people cheering his name and Kate seemed somewhat embarrassed by all the attention.

They pulled the bike to a halt in front of sidewalk amidst the inhabitants of Sanctuary who were pleased to see Kate back with them safe and unharmed, well relatively so anyway. Snake found all this attention somewhat annoying and made his way towards Taylor who was hurrying down the steps to greet him.

"I knew you'd do it!" Taylor grinned and patted Snake on the back.

Snake shrugged off the attention, knowing that the Sanctuaries had bigger things to deal with at the moment rather than their return from the Zone. "What's going on?" He inquired, seeing the people gathering in the area. He had a rough idea that they had discovered the Zoners planted in the hospital and was glad that he they had come back so fortuitously.

"There are Zoners in the hospital." Taylor answered quickly, glad that Snake was now here. He did not like playing leader although he had to admit to himself, he had not done a bad job. However, if what he suspected was true, it was a good thing that Snake had come back at this time.

"I know." He nodded slightly, lighting another cigarette for themselves. "You better dust off the guns, they're coming."

"I thought so." Taylor replied. "I knew it couldn't be as simple as it looked. They killed Vihn you know."

Snake frowned. The doctor was okay and he knew Kate was not going to be happy about the loss. At that thought, he looked over his shoulder and saw her coming towards