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throat, another in the side of his head, and his brains had slid out of the exit wound. Makeshift plastic armor covered his arms and legs, protection against zombie bites. I felt no sympathy for him or the rest of his crew. They could have come to us openly, and they would have been on an evac bird in the morning.
    Upstairs, Doc stood over Hernandez, blood up to his elbows. As I got to there, Bri t knelt and put a shirt over the kids’ sightless eyes. Jones stood over Collaton, who had duct tape securing his ankles and wrists, and a piece of tape over his mouth.
    “We gotta move. That gunfire is going to bring every Z in town down on us, and there a bunch of Reavers camped outside the front door. Pack up everything and be ready to go in five minutes.”
    Brit stood up. “What about Hernandez body?”
    “Leave him, nothing we can do about it. Take his dog tag, and mark his position in the GPS. Mortuary Affairs can recover his remains when we take back this shitty town.”  Doc nodded and broke the chain holding the ID tags, putting one in his pocket and placing the other in Hernandez’s mouth, then closing it gently.
    Jonesy nodded down at Colloton. “What about this piece of crap?”
    I looked down at him. “You know the penalty for sleeping on guard.” Collaton’s eyes grew wide, and he started shaking his head violently back and forth, trying to speak behind the tape.

Chapter 13
    Jonesy recited the relevant section of the new Universal Code of Military Justice. “Failure to maintain vigilance while on patrol or guard, resulting in the death or serious injury to any fellow service member, is to be punished by death.”
    It was a harsh rule, but we had been taught some hard lessons fighting the undead. They never slept. Ever. Letting your guard down could destroy a team, a company, even a whole battalion. One single zombie getting into a perimeter had the potential to infect everyone around.
    Brit spoke up. “I’ll do it” she said and pulled out her knife. I held up my hand.
    “No, this is my job. I’m the team leader. You guys go pack up. Jonesy, bring him into the bedroom.”
    Jonesy stood him up, and half carried, half dragged Collaton into the room, sitting him down in a chair. Then he turned and looked at me.
    “I can do this, Nick. You don’t need this on your conscience.”
    “No, you can’t, Jonesy. You’re a civilian. Send Doc in here to witness. Go on, get packed, we have to move.” He nodded and walked past me. Doc came in right after him, and switched on. I turned and faced the camera and started talking.
    “Sergeant First Class Nicholas Agostine, Sergeant First Class Robert Hamilton, Private Jason Collaton, all assigned to Irregular Scout Team One, Joint Special Operations Command (Z), , detailed to support Task Force Liberty.
    Fact, on the night of January 15 th , 20--, Private Collaton was found to be asleep at his guard post, resulting in the death of Private First Class Joseph Hernandez and the compromising of the teams’ position.”
    Doc turned the camera to himself. “I do hereby confirm this fact, having also witnesses Private Collaton’s dereliction of duty.” He then turned the camera back to me.
    “Under revised UCMJ Article 113, Misbehavior of a Sentinel or Lookout, and Article 92, Dereliction of Duty, as Commander of IST One, as witnessed by my Second in Command, SFC Hamilton. I find Private Collaton guilty and sentence him to death or banishment. Due to the tactical situation, sentence to be carried out immediately.” 
    I reached down and pulled the tape off Collaton’s mouth. He immediately started cursing me. I put it back on.
    “Listen, and listen quick, I don’t have time. I’m going to give you a chance to tell me your last words, and pray if you want. Hernandez, who was a better man than you, is dead because of you, and for all I know, the rest of us will be dead soon too. You have a choice. I can leave you here to take your chances with the undead, or I can