675. Chapter 675

After Undead Again

Episode 4.22

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: Yes, I'm unCastled again. Rating: K Time: See above.

"Castle!" Beckett screamed. "Shoot her. Shoot her, dammit!"

Castle aimed Beckett's back up Glock at the girl. He heard Beckett fire two rounds behind him. "Are you sure?" He yelled.

"Yes! Now!"

Castle squeezed the trigger and saw the round impact just above the girl's right eye. She collapsed. He felt Beckett grab his arm and drag him past the corpse. He looked down as they passed by her. She's wearing a school uniform. Some private school, and she's only a couple of years younger than Alexis.

"How many rounds do you have left?" Beckett asked as they moved into a shop doorway to check ahead of them." "I have five rounds left and one more clip." Beckett waited for a few seconds for Castle to reply. "Castle? You started with ten rounds in the clip. How many have you fired?"

Castle tried to think. "One just now and one, no two, when your car got wrecked. So I have…seven?"

"Are you okay?" She asked in a softer voice.

"I never killed anyone before."

"You still haven't, babe. According to the radio, they're dead, and some kind of parasitic microbe is allowing them to move around. You didn't do a thing, Rick. Not a thing."

"It seems like I did." He watched as something shambled along and entered an apartment building across the way. "I never want to watch another zombie movie again."

She smiled at him quickly. "I'll remember that and hold you to it." She stuck her head out of the alcove they were in. "Come on. It's less than a block to the loft."

When they ran across the street, they saw a group shambling along down the block, but headed away from them. They ducked into the lobby of Castle's building. He headed for the elevator.

Kate stopped him. "No. We'll use the stairs. If there's a bunch of them standing outside the elevator door when it opens, they could overwhelm us before we can drop them."

They moved slowly up the staircase, Beckett in the lead. When they got to Castle's floor, she had him pull the door open quickly. She checked the hallway. "Clear, and it looks like your door is closed."

They sprinted down the hall. Castle knocked loudly on the door. "Alexis? Martha? Are you in there? Are you okay? It's me and Kate. We're okay." He had just gotten his keys out when the door opened. Alexis was there armed with a meat clever. Martha was behind her with their biggest carving knife.

"Dad!" Alexis threw her arms around her father and held him as tightly as she could. Martha hugged Kate. "I'm so glad you two are okay. What on Earth is happening out there?"

Beckett shook her head. "I don't really know. Something biological is all they've said over the police radio. Parasitic microbes." Beckett headed for the office. "I have a .40 caliber Smith and Wesson in the safe and more 9mm ammo." While she was in the office, Castle went into his bedroom. When he came out, he had a Glock 17 in a shoulder holster, several extra clips and several cardboard boxes of ammunition.

"Castle, where did you get that? You don't have a permit to carry a weapon." Kate asked.

"I got it from the bedroom." Castle said, trying to avoid answering her.

"And?" Kate would let him avoid answering her.

"I learned to shoot when I started writing Derrick Storm. It was research. I shot at a gun range in New Jersey that a friend of mine owns. He let me keep the gun there in a safe. I didn't want to be carrying it in New York. I didn't shoot that often, but when I started following you around, I thought I'd better practice more, but I still kept the gun in New Jersey. After you got shot, I got scared. I knew I couldn't carry a gun around you, you'd notice it. But I keep the gun at home now."

Beckett stared at him. "Maybe some cop should put a little pressure on some people to get you a concealed carry permit."

"Really?" Castle said, smiling.

"Assuming we get through this. Load all the clips you have, and give me back my back up." Both Kate and Rick loaded their clips as fast as they could. When they were done, Beckett turned to Martha. "Do you think you can shoot someone?"

"If they're threatening my family, I damn well can."

"Do you know how to shoot?" Kate was unsure about this. Perhaps Alexis would be a better choice.

"Katherine, I played a bank robber once on TV, and biker chick in this film. The armorers on the set were very knowledgeable and taught me a lot. I can manage."

Kate took a few minutes to go over the sidearm with Martha. She noticed that Alexis paid attention as well.

"We should call into the precinct as well." Rick said. "They have no idea what's happened to us. Who has a phone? I lost mine when the some crazy driver hit us and wrecked Beckett's car and hers was broken."

Alexis handed Kate her phone.

"Alexis?" Espo asked, picking up on the first ring.

"It's me, Espo. We're at Castle's loft. We're all okay, Alexis and Martha are here with us but I lost my ride. How are things there?

"We're pretty much forted up here. There are a lot of zombies around here for some reason. The police and military have closed off all routes out of the city. They're waiting for more police, National Guard and troops from Fort Drum, then they're going to clear the city."

"Sweetie, is that you?" Kate heard over the phone.

"Hi, Lanie. We're at Castle's loft. Alexis and Martha are here. How are you?"

"Much better now that I know you're okay."

"Can you tell us anything about this plague, or whatever?"

"The people who have it are definitely dead. It isn't contagious. The microbes don't multiply and they die when their host dies. Or dies again. Whatever."

"Do you know what caused it?"

"No idea, sweetie. Ground zero appears to have been at JFK, so it was probably brought in on a flight to New York, but it could have been from anyplace in the world. You stay safe, sweetie and all the Castles, too."

Espo came back on. "You should probably stay where you are. You can't do anything here."

They hadn't been settled for more than five minutes when they heard Martha swear. "'Richard, somebody just rammed the building with his car. He's getting out and…Oh, God. They're all over him. Oh, no. The car is on fire and it's spreading to the building."

They all rushed over to look out the window. "The building is concrete and structural steel, it won't burn, will it, Richard?"

"There's plenty of flammables inside that will burn. We'd better leave." Kate looked for confirmation to Rick, who nodded. "Alexis, I have my back up Glock still. Do you want it?"

The redhead nodded slowly. "I don't want it, but I'll take it."

Rick pulled the door open and Beckett checked the hallway. "Clear. We'll take the stairs to the garage and make a run for the precinct."

As they passed the doorway of the only neighbor on the floor, Rick pounded on the door. "Mrs. Moretti? It's Rick Castle. The building is on fire. You have to leave." He tried the door, but it was locked.

"I think she went to see her daughter, Dad."

They got down to the underground garage. There, Castle quickly pulled open the door. This time there were two men on the other side. They began shuffling towards Beckett. She shot each one in the head. They moved to the car, drawing the attention of a half a dozen zombies. Only two moved towards them.

"Dad! It's Mrs. Moretti." Alexis had her weapon aimed at the woman's head, but didn't fire.

"Alexis!" Beckett yelled. "Shoot."

Alexis waited another few seconds, then shot the neighbor in the knees. Mrs. Moretti collapsed.

Once in the car, Castle drove with Beckett as shotgun and the two redheads in the back. He opened the electronic gate and drove out onto the street. Only one zombie was visible and he was a block away.

"Alexis, call Espo at the precinct and let him know we're coming in. I don't want us to get shot."

Espo assured them that he'd be by the front of the precinct with all the people he could muster, waiting for them.

"Look out ahead." Beckett said. A bus was blocking most of the street.

Castle slowed down and looked at the bus. "I can get past it easy."

"You're sure?"

He smiled at Kate. "No problem."

But, as he slowly edged around the bus, a zombie jumped on the hood of the car and began pounding on the windshield. Kate lowered her window, leaned out and shot the man. He fell off, but another zombie grabbed Kate's gun arm and began pulling her. Kate pulled back as hard as she could, but he was stronger. Then he stopped pulling her out, and tried to get in the car. Kate heard the roar of a pistol right by her ear, followed by the sound of Alexis being sick.

"Thanks." She said over her shoulder, but the young woman made no reply.

In two blocks they were at the precinct and found Esposito and Ryan with a dozen heavily armed cops by the front door.

Captain Gates smiled as they walked into the precinct. "Mr. Castle, I don't say this often, but today I'm glad to see you."

He laughed. "Thanks. And it's good to see all of you."

Later, they went on the roof and watched as military aircraft flew over the city. On the Hudson River they could see Navy, Coast Guard and police vessels.

"It should all be over in a couple of days, bro."

And it was.

Or was it?