EPISODE 1: Dead Men Walking
READ: Okay, first off, I would want to say that after a LONG nigotiation with previous owner of this story Jackiefrost1234' she had agreed to let me take ownership of her story, even though she did not place it under adoption. So understand that she doesn't do adoption, but I had to literally BEG her to let me use her before. So, now she is my new FF buddy!
But she did have her conditions that I try to use my own ideas. And I will so this story will be MAJORALLY different. I did ask for her consent that I may use the whole brother ordeal withs Jack and OC.
So this series of 'Rise Of The Dead' will be split into episodes with no pictures! Just think of yourself watching something like The Walking Dead, but with an entirely different view... So sit back and enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own anything but OCs. Idea inspired by 'Jackiefrost1234'
When I was little, I saw everything anyone could see in the world, but hardly could hardly understand anything, no matter how the anchormen and women explained it. I had always saw the world as a place full of beauty and endless paradise, that when something had gone wrong... It would go back to normal in a few days or hours...
Hell...
Was I wrong...
In a particular street of Burgess, trash laid cluttered and cringled tainted papers were swept away by the brisk wind. Cars rested motionless in their spots in the middle of the roads, on the side, one behind another, twisted in different angles... All stayed in place, and not one had been touched for weeks... Three weeks to the exact. The hoods held all sorts of stains and were filthy of dust, dirt and even something more horrific...
Blood...
The crimson fluid that had been smeared onto a few cars had dried and faded to a color you could releate to a brownish black or maroon. No body could be found within a vehicle which only made the empty area heavy with suspense. Some of the cars had the back doors open, and from that either clothes, papers, or toys had fallen out and now laid somewhat scattered. It was a slim sight of anyone left to show their presence, but there is chance...
At the far end of the traffic of cars, two figures- both males- walked steadily and calmly down the icky roads. One was taller than the other; he was broad, yet he looked as if he had no sleep in days, he held the mature complexion of a young adult, but his navy blue eyes raged of hunger and sleep, and most of all, he looked like a person that had come from a murder scene or a bloody fight. His white T-shirt was tattered and stained with both blood and dirt, his pants were no different. The blue had faded to a darker color and now were wrinkled and baggy.
The obviously younger of the two held similar traits; he held the reflection of a teenager no older than sixteen, but he looked more pale of color such as his icy blue eyes and his dingy brown ruffled hair. He also seemed to look like he had had more rest and something in his stomach, but that did not change the fact that he was more frail and frightened to walk through the streets, even though both of the males had some sort of weapon.
The taller had a bloody metal bat and the youngest had a crowbar.
"Do you think there are any of them here, Jayden?" the smaller one asked.
The eldest- Jayden- took a steady breath as his eyes darted around in caution. Still, he shook his head, but it was slowly and full of uncertainty. "So far," his tired deep voice gruffed, "I don't see any Walkers..."
Walkers... Something (everything) made them appear as if they haf jumped from a fiction novel or movie of both questions and horror. Many times before, humanity's eyes labled them as a fantasy... zombies. But only, they were referred to as 'Walkers' because 'Zombies' sounded more... Odd... Walkers had similar (exact) traits as zombies. They were deformed, inhuman, held the gore complexion from head to toe, held their exact language of moans and shrieks, and were given the reputation of eating anything that was made of meat. They had jumped from one's nightmares and into reality to haunt innocent or crucial victims. They were now everyone's fear.
"Jack, mind keeping up?" Jayden asked.
The younger-Jack- quickly did so, murmuring a weak "Sorry, Bro," to Jayden. Jayden inly snorted and reached a free hand over Jack's head to ruffle the rough jags. "Nah, it's okay. Just stay close. Don't wanna lose ya," he said gently.
He truely did not. Jack was all Jayden had and Jayden was all Jack had. On the first few days of the infection, the breaking news came to be that a freak accident had caused a sort of virus to spread rapidly into the air of a local high-state prison, causing each inmate and guards within the area to go into a hunger for flesh. Majority had escaped and those without defense and that were within the area, which was an unlucky small village, had been either eaten or turned into a savage cannible with no mind of their own. From there, it had only grew worse. They headed to other places- from small towns to cities- and had become great in numbers that hardly anyone, even the federal force could not bring them down. It had been only several days when Jayden and Jack- two brothers born in a happy family- were told by their parents to take shelter in the basement while they went out to look for help.
Jayden, who had been prepared to head to college, obeyed even though Jack refused to allow their parents to leave the house, and the two stayed in the basement for two days straight. They at first did not know how long it would be and grew worried for their parents who had never showed. They headed upstairs, only to find that three Walkers were feeding on the corpes of what was once their parents. They were shocked and speechless... They were terrified and frozen into place. The strings of flesh from their own family connected with the teeth off these bizzar things made the rotten air smell even worse. Jayden's eyes and thoughts were just so focused on his mom's half-eaten head and his dad's opened and emptied gut, that he hardly realised Jack was being preyed on by a Walker.
It was Jack's terrified scream that brought him back to the surface. Jayden glared at the thing that was trying to devour his little brother and broke out in rage; he grabbed the fireplace poker and drove it as hard as he could to the Walker's head. It went down within an instant. But it still moved like it had felt nothing at all- like its mind could not fully process what pain was anymore. Yet Jayden did not care. As he sobbed and roared with fury and anger, he repeatedly slammed the poker into the Walker's head until it's head became part of the floor. Black blood had splattered the floor and onto Jayden's face and clothes.
He did not even notice that he had alerted the previously feasting Walkers until Jack had grabbed him by the back of his shirt and tried pulling him back, screaming (sobbing) that they needed to run. Jayden did not need to be told again and ran with his brother to the back doors and into the open.
They never turned back to their home, but they were most likely sure that whatever that was left of their parents... was gone with the rest of their life.
Now here they are; they are with no food, no shelter, no water, and clearly with no one but the one next to the other. Jack gazed to a tinted window of a mini-van. There was a blood-smeared print of a hand dragging down-wards on the dirt dusted stopped for a bit, without Jayden noticing, to view the back door that had been swung harshly open- based on the broken hinge. In the dark area he could barely view the abandoned small toys and empty to-go boxes off McDonalds that were cause of molded nuggets and fries that Jack had to resist. He hadn't eaten in two days; at least the golden taste of a chicken nugget would satisfy him... Or Jayden. Jayden haf taken more care of Jack then himself which explains his lack of sleep and his hunger.
Jack sighed. They'll have to do without for a little longer until they found some source to eat or drink off of.
Jack travled his eyes down to see that his foot was on a baby blue blanket. He picked it up to his face to observe it. The soft fabric was stick and was covered in blood...
His stomach twisted by the thought of a poor child- an infant- having to lose the many years of his or her life that were bound to come. But now because of these sick fucks, all was lost.
Jack fought the urge to cry, but then he felt the familiar touch of his brother's firm hand upon his shoulder. He looked up to see Jayden looking down on him with the same spitting image as his father's. Jayden wished Jack could have been a bit more older to witness all this. He would be more strong and brave seeing this, even though Jayden knew Jack was braver than him. Only fourteen and Jack was on the verge of putting a gun in his mouth. Jayfen remebers that after they had lost their parents in a horrible fate, he thought about taking Jack's and his own life. But how could he do such?
"I thought I told you to keep up?" Jayden asked in a soft tone. Jack sighed.
"Sorry."
Suddenly, Jayden felt a nuasiating wave of discomfort and sank to the cracked road on his hands and knees. "Jayden!" Jack gasped. Almost immediately Jayden began to puke out the bile in his stomach and had a struggle doing so. If Jack had not been by his side to keep him up, he would have fallen over and fainted. "Ugh," Jayden moaned out. Jack instantly knew that he was weak and wanting to shut down to sleep, but they could not. Not right now without shelter. Desperately, Jack's eyes started to scan for any nearby stores that would keep a walker out.
To big...
Boarded up...
To weak...
Destroyed...
There, not too far, he spotted a small antique shop. It had no windows and it seemed like a perfect place. Jack took a breath. "Okay, Jay, come on," he grunted as he helped his brother to his feet. Jayden gulped breaths of air from throwing up and staggered on his feet, using Jack as leverage to stay on them. It took a while, but they finally made it in the shop. It was abandoned, but there were small knick-knacks scattered everywhere and other junk that had fallen from their shelves.
Jack went behind the counter and laid Jayden on the floor. Even though it was hard and cold, Jayden graciously accepted it and nearly knocked out right then and there. Beads of sweat now ran down his face.
"Just stay here, Jay," Jack whispered. He was not sure if the shop was completely empty, but you always had to make precautions, "I'll be back-"
"No! You're- staying- here," Jayden retorted breathlessly. Jack quickly sushed him. The younger gave him a soft assuring look that was craddled with worry but determination. "No, I swear I'll be back, I gotta see if there are any Walkers around- and hopefully food. I promise I'll be careful; you need to rest," he exclaimed. Jayden glared at him. He was the oldest, not Jack, and he be damned if he was allowing Jack to go out alone without him... He did not want to make the same mistake he had made with his parents. But Jack was right.
He needed rest if was to continue with Jack, and they both needed food. He hesitated before releasing Jack's arm he hadn't realised he had been holding. Taking the guesture, Jack nodded. "I promise, I'll be back," he whispered, giving an affectionate kiss on his brother's head (be mature about it).
The teen then moved from sight and it wasn't long before Jayden heard the sound of the shop door opening and closing. It was then when he realised something and chuckled to himself. Jack forgot to check the shop for any Walkers.
Jack walked slowly through the darkened street once more. It had grew dark so fast which means it was only a matter of seconds before he would start seeing the worse. Walkers had a habit of coming mostly out when it was night, hell, Jack might mistake them for vampires instead. At least vampires had a mind of their own and won't rip apart someone's loved one then feat on their body like vultures-...
Jack shook his head. Right now was a time to keep a cool mind and think straight. But no matter how badly he wanted to keep calm, he could not; his hands that held tightly onto crowbar shook as much as his whole body. Fear prickled his mind as he walked through the dark streets. He never has left alone without Jayden there at his side to make sure nothing would happen to him. He felt safe and protected, but now Jack had to stand on his own for a moment to find sources. He needed to stand alone for Jayden.
But the thought of a meeting up with a Walker frightened him. What if there was too much? What if he fell and broke his leg or something during being chased by a Walker? What if the Walkers came to the shop and Jayden was beyond conciousness to defend himself? What if...
Jack groaned irritatingly and palmed his head. "Stop it, you big baby!" he whispered to himself. Stopping for a moment, he took a few deep breaths and narrowed his eyes to make himself feel strong. When he was little and afraid of a bully or anyone, Jayden always told him that if he narrowed his eyes with a look of bravery, he will be brave. To this day, Jack slightly believes it. The teen looked around as he walked down the endless road, trying to spot a store or something. Maybe he should look in one of the cars, perhaps someone had went shopping or stock their trunk before trying to evacuate. That brought his attention to the far end of the traffic. Up ahead was a moving van. Something was bound to be in that.
Briskly, he hurdled towards the white vehicle.
On the side of the moving van read: Jasper Rental Vans; We'll help you get to your dreams...
Jack could not help but snort. What dream? Death?
Cautiously, he stepped to the tail of the van and tried to find the door's grip. He frowned. Shit, the rope to open the damn thing had been snapped off; all that was left was a tiny loop of where it had used to be. Jack quickly moved up and to the driver's side. There was no one in there, not even keys. Slowly, with his crowbar risen to knock the hell out of a Walker if needed, he gripped the door handle and lifted it up. An alarm was the last thing he would need- that will only alert any nearby Walkers. The door clicked, meaning it was not locked, which only brought a spurse of joy in his eyes.
Javk swung it swiftly open and quickly reeled back incase anything would jump at him.
Nothing.
He poked his head inside and luckily could see a small door in between the driver and passenger seats. It was open, but Jack could not make out what was inside. Then, something hanging from the mirror caught his sight. It was a small yellow flashlight hanging from a black band. Jack took no hesitation to grab it and try it out, pressing the black button.
Yes! It turned on!
The teen placed it around his neck and climbed into the van and went through the dark opening. It was pitch black in the back so Jack used the flashlight to see his surrounding by using the orb of light. It crambed with boxes stacked upon boxes, which looked to be a good sign. Maybe one box had food or water. Jack started heading forward through the crowded area, observing the marked words on the boxes.
'Living Room' were found on several, but Jack relieved interest.
'Sally's room'
No Sally here...
'Kitchen'
'Dog'
'Room 1'
'Room 2'
Jack grew frustrated and felt the urge to call it quits, but just as he turned to leave, his foot came in contact with something. Jack looked down and was enlightened to see a red backpack. Quickly he crouched down to it and opened the bag.
Yes...
He nearly screamed in joy. Inside was bottles of water, chips, and several cans of food (beans, pudding, chili, and chicken noddle soup). There were no chicken nuggets, but hey, anything would satisfy him and surely Jayden. Jack closed the backpack and strapped it to his back, he had not realised how weak he really was until the bag had nearly pulled him down.
Okay now he just needed to get back.
Just as Jack got comfortable fitting the backpack on him he did not notice that a figure had appeared from behind a stack of boxes. At least nine inches near him, Jack heard a dead high groan... litteraly...
He perked up and swiftly turned around with his flashlight aimed at a terrifying face. It was a Walker- a little girlwith half of her face peeled off revealing her face muscles and eyeball. Her curls of once blond hair was drenched in blood and her white dress was stained with crimson. Her veins showed all over her body and the orbs of her eyes were gone, leaving a black pupil connected with black veins, swimming in a pool of tainted yellow. Her mouth was slightly agape revealing her blood stained, chipped yellow teeth.
Jack jolted back in horror and lifted his crowbar to swing ather... But stopped. This was a child... This poor baby was a child... WAS a child. Could he find himself to do so? Was this so inhuman?
Jack fought with himself internaly, and as he did so he found himself crying. He can't...
He can't...
HE CAN'T!
Jack was suddenly brought back into reality when the small walking corpse snatched at his arm and brought it close to her mouth. Jack yelped and immediately shoved the Walker away. She hissed in disapproval, but shrieked and threw herself at Jack again. Jack did what he could, which was reaching to the side and bringing the tower of boxes upon her frail form. Now she was down for now, Jack took a run for it; he scrambled to the front and crawled over the seats to get to the door, but his ankle was grabbed by the small hand. Jackscreamed automatically and tried to kick her off. She hissed as she attempted to get a good bite of his flesh. "Let go!" Jack screamed. He felt a hard pressure on his shoe and swung open the door before thrusting forward. The thrust caused Jack to lose his shoe, but it was not as worse as the one foot drop to the road which knocked the air out of his lungs. Trying to ignore the fact that he could hardly breathe, he scrambled to his feet and slammed the door shut before the Walker could get out.
Her face pressed against the glass anf her small hand clawed at the window as she stared at Jack in hunger. Jack watched painfully at the girl, feeling something in his stomach churn. Tears stung his eyes.
Sally...
Slowly, he walked to the door and watched her ruined face. She must have been beautiful, based on what was left of her. The fear had escaped from him and now all he could feel was sorroe and sympathy. Jack reached a hand up and placed it against the window where her hand was still clawing. A tear streamed down his face and his lip trembled. So much beauty... was devoured.
"I'm... I'm so sorry, Sally," he whispered.
He could have sworn the girl stopped for a split second by his words, but perhaps he was mistaken. With that, he sniffled and began to head back to the shop. How can such be gone? Jack realised that the more he grew, the less he understood... did he really used to think that this world was peaceful and happy? Did he honestly think everything would go back to normal in a matter of hours or seconds or days? How dilarious was he? How could anything ever go back to normal?
Jack hugged himself.
Nothing will ever be the same...
Nothing...
Jack opened the door of the shop to see that it was darker than before. He could only see the outline of the shelves. Jack sighed and pulled the flashlight out, aiming it around. "Jayden? I'm back," he called out. But there was no response. Jack grew worried and began walking towards the counter. But what he had noticed was a blood trail... leading to the counter. Jack felt a lump in his throat and his hands began to tremble. But he also found himself nearly running to what could be death or danger. "Jayden!?"
Jack swung open the counter door and looked where Jayden was laying... or where he USED to be laying...
It was empty and blood smeared the area. Jack felt his knees go weak and his very inside die. "Jayden?" he whispered, falling to his knees. Jack began to cry helplessly. He was gone... Jayden was gone and was most likely eaten...
"J-Jayden!? Jay-Jayden don't l-leave me!" he sobbed to thin air. Suddenly, Jack felt a heavy weight on his shoulders and swished around, but was too late as a Walker had shoved his back on his backpack. The force caused his crowbar to slip from his hands and slide under a large gap under the counter. Jack lost hold of the flashlight, so all he could see was a dark outline and all he could hear was the empty groans. Jack tried to push off the Walker, but he- based as the deep groans, was to strong. Jack could feel the slimy teeth brushing against his face and felt a slimy, stenchy tounge scrape across his cheek. His heart raced and his arms felt like they were about to budge.
"STOP! AH HELP!" he shrieked.
Just give up... what was left to live for?
Closing his eyes even though it was dark enough, and felt his arms easing.
Then...
"Get off him!"
SWAT! THUD!
Jack felt the Walker's weight off his body, but his attention was focused on the familiar voice and grunts between the sound of the Walker's brains being smashed out. Finally all went quiet except for breathless grunts. Jack felt hope swell inside him and quickly grabbed the small flashlight, pointing upwards. Baby blues widened by what they saw.
Jayden, alive but still restless, stood above him with a soft smile. "You forgot to check the shop- oof!"
Jayden was cut off by Jack tackling him into a strang hug. He could feel warm wetness on his T-shirt and realised Jack was crying as his cold hands clutched onto his back. "Jack? Kiddo what's wrong, I'm fine," he crooned. Jack pulled away. "No! You scared the hell out of me!" he whimpered, hitting Jayden in the chest. The eldest was not badly affected, for he was concern of Jack. "I thought you were dead," Jack finished with a sob. Jayden did not speak for a moment as he felt his stomach cringe. He did not wish to frighten his baby brother.
Jack was breaking badly, Jayden knew it. But what could he do?
Sighing, Jayden held the back of Jack's head and pulled the boy to his chest, holding him tightly and rubbing his back in comfort as the teen wept. "There, there. It's okay, it's okay Kiddo, I'm here, I'm okay... You're okay too, I promise" he murmured softly. Jack clenched his eyes shut, trying to rid thefear and listen to his older brother. But he was SO scared. It was SO dark. Jayden held back his own tears for the sake of his brother and rubbed the hairs on his head soothingly. "I won't allow anything to happen to you... I promise."
Jack finally eased down after a few more moments and sat away from the bloody corpse of the Walker. Jayden was exhausted as it is, but he still asked, "you find anything?"
Jack wished to not tell Jayden about Sally, but he di reach the backpack in front and unzipped it. Heaven was revealed to their eyes.
So yes, all I have is my brother. We walk through the streets where the undead lurks and find survival even though we find ourselves wondering... what is there to live for anymore? So born in a world of black and grey, Jayden and I hold the only color left... Or so we thought. But he, where there are dead men walking, there are bound to be hundreds more...
My name is Jackson Overland Frost, and my brother Jaydrn and I... we walk where the dead rises...
End of eps. 1
Nextime on Rise Of The Dead: We so far know that we are the only ones left in this world- Jack feels something grab onto his shoulder and yank him to his feet- The man with dark skin gazed at the two captive brothers with a straight face. "I apologize that we have gotten you attention in a such a harsh way. But we are are only here to help."- Jack hugged his knees to his chest with a sorrow filled sigh.- Jayden banged his fists against the gate in rage. "Jack!"- Four figures ran throughout the dark, damp, sinful alleys in hopes of getting away from the horde of Walkers chasing them-"... We... are the Guardians...
Continue? Reviews are most welcomed!
Love!