Apocalyptic- predicting or presaging imminent disaster and total or universal destruction.

Chapter 1

July 25th 2018

"Lanie, what's the big emergency?" Kate says impatiently as she and Castle walk through the morgue doors.

"I don't know you tell me! Why don't you have a look for yourself." Lanie stands with her hand on her hip and gestures to the body laying on the table behind her.

Kate and Castle step toward the table and quizzically look back at Lanie.

"Lanie why is the body strapped down?" Castle asks.

"Take a closer look and you'll see why." She replies sarcastically.

They all turn and look at the body. It lays on the table, it doesn't move or do anything. Getting impatient Kate opens her mouth to snap at Lanie but the words die in her mouth as the corpse's chest expands and then deflates. Castle squeals and jumps away from the table.

"Did that dead body just… take a breath?" He nearly screams.

"Yes, Castle, the body did just take a breath. It has no brain activity and it doesn't react to any stimulants but every five minutes it, breathes. I've sat down here for an hour just staring at it. I checked again for a pulse and it has one! It's heart beats once every time it breathes. It should be dead, I mean it has wounds all over it from the animal attack, but it's not. Lanie stares at Kate after she finishes her explanation waiting for orders. Castle stands behind Kate quietly flipping out. When he can no longer hold in his excitement and horror his voice pierces the air making both women jump.

"It's a Zombie! Oh my god it's a Zombie!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Their victim lived in Jersey. Beckett, Castle, Ryan, and Esposito all arrived at the apartment and gathered around the front of the cars.

"Okay, we don't know what's going to be in there so we watch our backs and keep quiet." Beckett turns to look at Castle pleading that he can see the fear in her eyes. "Please stay in the car Castle."

He nods and turns to walk back to the car. He pauses and quickly turns around, he grabs Beckett by the waist and pulls her into his embrace. He kisses her hard and then he pulls away. "Be careful, I love you." He looks into her eyes and then lets her go.

"I love you too." With that, she turns to the boys and with a nod they all head towards the house.

They approach the front door, each hand at the ready for anything. Ryan knocks on the door and announces their presence. They wait for a response, when nothing happens he repeats the action. When there is no answer from inside the house they draw their weapons and Esposito kicks in the door. Their formation is flawless as they enter the house. They sweep the entrance, a stairway to the second floor is in front of Beckett. To the left, a large dining table with a forgotten meal is in front of Esposito. On the right Ryan sees the living room, a brown worn out coach sits in front of a flat screen tv with a coffee table in the middle. A matching rocking chair on the left and an end table on the right. Toys are scattered about mixed with pieces of trash and books knocked off of the shelves along the back wall.

On each side of the stairs, there is a door. Ryan enters the right door and Beckett enters the left. Esposito goes through the dining room to enter the kitchen where he meets Beckett. They both turn, on high alert, when a figure walks through the third doorway into the kitchen. They release a combined sigh when they realize it's Ryan.

"The laundry room and a restroom are in there. The dryer door was open and there were still clothes in it. It seems like whatever happened, happened suddenly. I mean the food on the table, the clothes, and the mess in the living room. Let's head up the stairs now."

They head out the door Beckett had come through. Each one notes the door on the side of the staircase. Beckett looks over her shoulder and whispers. "We'll go down there after we check upstairs. I don't think we need to be that separated right now."

They walk up the stairs, a doorway sits directly in front of them and two doors are down each hallway on both sides of them. Beckett opens the first door to discover it is a bathroom. They head down the hall on the right and approach the left door. They open it to find a bedroom that looks like the master bedroom. They clear the room then move on. The door on the right reveals another bedroom that looks like a guest bedroom, they quickly clear this room and then move onto the other hall. The first door looks like it belongs to a young boy. They clear the room and move on.

The last door they open is a nursery. The toys inside and the clothes strewn on the changing table look to belong to a toddler girl. Beckett approaches the closet when she hears rustling coming from inside. She turns to look at the boys with wide eyes. She prays to God that the rusting is due to an animal or anything but what is going through her mind. She throws the door open her gun poised on whatever is inside. She quickly drops the weapon to her side when she sees the inhabitants of the closet. There in a pile of clothes pulled off the hangers sit a boy, who looks to be about five, shielding a small girl from view.

Beckett gets on her knees and quietly approaches the boy. "Hi, my name is Kate. I'm a police officer, I'm here to help. Can you tell me your name?"

The boy eyes her suspiciously, he must see something trusting in her eyes because he whispers to Kate, "I'm Alex, I'm five almost six and this is Sarah, she's two. She's my little sister." He moves to the side and puts his left arm around the little girl who sits with wide eyes and a pacifier in her mouth.

"Do you know where your parents are?" Kate asks gently.

"No, after we had dinner last night mommy brought us in here to play. One of mommy's rules is to never open the doors she closes. She closed the door and hasn't been back." He points to the nursery door over Kate's right shoulder and for the first time sees Ryan and Esposito. His eyes go wide and he grips the little girl a little closer to his chest. Kate looks over her shoulder and then back and the boy.

"They are the good guys too. They are my best friends too, so you don't have to worry about them." Alex relaxes and releases his hold on his sister.

"We heard loud noises last night so we slept in here. Then we heard more loud noises so we hid, but it was just you." He finishes his sentence with a giggle and the beautiful noise bring a warmth into Kate's chest and a smile to her face. The sorrow slowly seeps in when she looks into the boys smiling eyes. He's exactly what she imagine her baby boy would have been like.

"Well, Alex would you like to pack up a bag and come with me." She holds out her hand and he gladly takes it. She stands as he does, she watches him turn to his sister and when he sees her playing with one of the toys he turns back to her and smiles. Kate walks over to the boys so she can introduce them. "This is detectives Ryan and Esposito, but you can just call him Espo. Would it be okay if Ryan took you to pack a bag so we can leave?"

Alex looks at Ryan and nods his head. Once they are gone she asks Esposito to go downstairs and put a chair in front of the basement door to block it until they are done and to tell Castle what they are doing. He nods and walks out, Kate turns to the little girl.

She decides to leave the girl to herself while she packs what she can without disturbing her. Kate finds a bag in the top of the closet and walks over to the changing table. She pulls the blanket and stuffed elephant out of the crib and tosses it into the bag. Then she packs the diapers, lotion, baby powder, and wipes from the changing table drawers. Finally, she walks back to the closet and takes the remaining hanging clothes off the hangers and tosses them into the bag.

With that done she looks down at the girl, Sarah. Sarah stares back up at her and then she extends her arms above her head and says, "Up". A little surprised Kate bends down and picks the girl up.

The girl surprises her further by wrapping her small arms around Kate's neck and snuggles her face into her neck. Smelling the girl, she decides to change her diaper and clothes now before they leave. She takes the bag off the table and lays the girl down. Quickly she grabs something out of the closet floor and a diaper and wipes from the bag and changes the girl. Esposito walks back in as she picks the girl off of the table.

"That is a giant bag. Do you need me to throw more clothes into it?" He asks sarcastically as he eyes the bag.

"Sure, why not." She says with a smile. He grumbles and walks over to the closet, grabs a pile and tosses it in the bag. She walks out as Ryan and Alex exit his room. They as well have a giant bag behind them fool of clothes and toys. Kate gestures to the boy with her head and Ryan picks up the boy. Esposito grabs both bags and they all start to exit the house.

As they reach the entrance Castle rushes in and slams the door closed. Both children startle in the adults' arms but remain silent.

"Their outside," Castle says breathlessly.

"Who?" Esposito asks.

"Them, you know. Them!" Getting his meaning tension in the room escalates. Kate looks at Alex.

"Alex, this is Rick. He's my husband, do you know what that means?" He nods and responds, "He's another good guy, one you love."

"Yes, exactly. Would it be ok if he held you?" Alex nods and Ryan transfers the boy into Castle's arms.

"Okay Castle and I will stay here. You two go downstairs and clear the basement." They nod, and then disappear into the stairwell. Rick and Kate wait with the children. Getting a feeling Kate looks at Castle and quickly says, "Cover his ears."

Alex covers his ears with his own hands and then puts his head on Castle's shoulder. Castle puts his hand over Alex's and holds his head trying to muffle any sounds as much as possible. Kate coaxes Sarah into the same position just in time. Rapid sounds of gunfire fill the air. Alex stiffens in Castle's arms and Sarah jumps. Kate and Rick wait for the waterworks but to their surprise, it never comes.

Wow, these kids are good. The thought goes through their mind as they look at each other.

Ryan and Esposito rush up the stairs. Ryan grabs the bags and Esposito walks towards the door.

"We have to go. Now!" he says. "I'll cover you all as you get to the car. Ryan will drive you and I'll follow." He pulls open the door and screams at them, "Go!"

They rush out of the door, running down the walk to the cars. They keep their eyes on the cars as gunshot after gunshot goes off. They jump in the back of Beckett's cruiser Ryan throws the bags in the passenger side and rushes to the driver door.

He rounds the car to see one of them rushing towards him. He draws his gun and fires. It drops at his feet and for a moment he just stares at it.

"Get in the car!" Esposito's scream breaks him out of his shock and he jumps in the car, starts it, and then guns it. The tires screech as they search for traction when they do the car jerks and shoots into the street. They hear Esposito do the same. Over the radio, they hear his voice.

"There was a group of them in that basement. I don't know how that happened but I knew the gunshots would bring more." Castle grabs the microphone out of Ryan's hand and speaks into it urgently.

"Call Lanie and get her to get all the medical supplies she can from the morgue or wherever. Tell her to get Marcus to pack clothes and then get to the loft." He puts the mic down then addresses Ryan. Call Jenny and tell her to get all the food from your apartment. Tell her to get Grace to pack your clothes or whatever but focus on the food. She can share with Alexis."

Then he turns to Kate. "Call Alexis and tell her to get the stairs to the basement locked down and secure the basement, she knows how. I'll call Mother to get the apartments ready, and then I'll call your father."

By the time each call was made they had crossed the bridge and were on their way to Castle's loft. There was no traffic which was eerie enough by itself, but there wasn't even anyone on the sidewalks. Just then a service announcement warning blared from the radio.

"Attention, this is a public service announcement. Everyone is required to be inside at all times. There has been an outbreak that threatens national security. Please remain indoors at all times."

Once the announcement ended the news came on.

"Outbreaks have now been reported in New York, Colorado, Missouri, North Dakota, Nevada, California, Texas, Louisiana, and Washington. There have even been reports of outbreaks overseas. It seems that it came from the passengers on a 747 aircraft. Victims have been studied and they don't show signs directly after being infected. They will slowly decay until they no longer have a pulse and then they rise up." The newsman pauses. "People stay indoors, stay aware of those around you, watch for the signs. If this isn't taken care of soon we could be looking at a global catastrophe."