~*Listen and Learn *~
"Geez, this place is a dump." Ian wrinkled his nose as he looked around.
The building was damp, cluttered with junk, and stunk to high heaven. Many of the old boards were rotted through in the ceiling, making the roof very unstable. Most of the blankets lying on the ground were wet and a few had mold growing on them. The stench of rotting flesh clung to the air in the decaying building from all of the infected people that had once lived there. The four just watched as the two kicked things aside, moved boxes, tossed clothes around, trying to find something.
"What are you guys doing?" Tala asked as he watched them sift through all the junk on the ground.
"If those people lasted this long they must've had supplies that we can salvage. Food, medical equipment, not to mention weapons. When you guys are ready to pull your thumbs out of your asses, feel free to help." Tonya snapped as she continued her search.
"So this doesn't bother you? Stealing from dead people?" Bryan asked sarcastically as he watched her throw a box aside.
"You can call it stealing if you want. We call it survival. In here you do what you can to make through the day. So if stealing from dead people help out those that rely on me, then yes I'll steal from every last person here. You could drop dead now and I'd still take your stuff to help out my group." She shrugged as she stood up.
"Bingo! Found the stash!" Ian called from the other side of the room as he tore off a piece of the walling to reveal bags of food, medical supplies, and weapons.
"Take the food and medical stuff first. We can always come back for the weapons." Tonya crossed the room as she picked up a pack from the ground and began loading stuff into it.
"Tonya, there you are." A man said as he ran into the building, holding a small computer in his hands with a gun strapped to his waist.
"What's up Kenny?" She looked up at him as Ian continued to fill up a second pack.
"I completed my search of the area. The loud crash we heard earlier was from a helicopter that got shot down. It was sweeping the city until those morons opened fire on it. Went down on the other side of the wall." Kenny reported as he scratched his head.
"Wait, you mean we're stuck here?" Bryan hollered as he grabbed Kenny by his collar.
"Drop him now or I'll drop you where you stand." Tonya commanded as she held her gun to Bryan's head. The older guy gradually put Kenny back on the ground and Tonya withdrew her gun. "Whether you like it or not you're stuck here with us now. Which means you listen and learn or you'll end up dead. Got it?" She looked at the other three, daring them to challenge her.
"Well since you boys are sticking around for a bit, you can help out." Ian chuckled as he threw a pack at the soldiers.
"Who's best with a gun?" Tonya asked.
"Kai and me." Tala spoke up as Tonya nodded.
"Good, one of the others can carry that pack. Kenny you get the other one. It's getting late and we need to get back before it gets dark." Tonya said as she looked towards the setting sun. "Come on boys let's get moving."
"Damn Kai, she puts you to shame." Tala whispered as Kai just shoved him and followed her out.
The small group walked in silence as they kept their senses on high alert. You never knew when something would sneak up on you. Tonya led them through the city, sticking to the main streets that way they could see from all around and pick a good vantage point before the enemy swarmed them. The shooters stayed up front, while Kenny and Spencer stayed behind them with weapons of their own just in case.
"Wait, do you hear that?" Bryan asked as he stopped and looked around. The others just kept walking, unaware that he'd stopped.
"Hear what?" Spencer asked, stopping beside his friend. Kenny stood with them wondering what was going on.
"It sounds like…crying." Bryan said after awhile. "Coming from over there." He turned to his left to an old hat store that was cast in shadows.
"Did you say crying?" Kenny asked, an edge to his voice.
"I'm gonna check it out." Bryan clicked on his flashlight as he headed for the building.
"No! Don't go near it!" Kenny hissed as he tried to block his path. He was slightly smaller than the older guy, but that didn't discourage him.
"What if it's a survivor? Unlike you we don't leave people up for the slaughter." Bryan shoved the smaller man out of the way as he made his way to the entrance of the building.
"Tonya! Ian!" Kenny hollered back as Spencer wondered why he was freaking out so much.
Inside the building, Bryan slowly snuck around in case one of the zombies was waiting for him inside. He could hear the crying growing louder as he moved further back inside the building. He turned the corner and lowered his flashlight as he found the source of the noise. A woman, curled into a ball, sitting in the corner. She barely had anything covering her as she sat there crying. Bryan kept his light down, not wanting to spoke her as he slowly crept towards her.
"Ma'am, it's ok. I'm here to help you. Here, let's get you out of this corner." Bryan said softly as he held his hand out to her.
The woman slowly turned, her crying ceased. Her eyes flashed an unnatural yellow color as she looked up at him before screeching at the top of her lungs and attacking. She easily tackled Bryan to the ground as she began to swipe at him with her extremely long and razor sharp nails. They easily tore through his jacket and ripped up his flesh as he struggled to knock her off. Despite her how frail she looked, she was strong and weighed a lot.
"Shit!" Tonya hollered as she saw the woman already on top of him.
She didn't waste time as she fired at the woman three times, hitting her dead on. The woman looked up from Bryan to Tonya who was shining a light at her to gain her attention. It worked. The woman quickly charged across the room and knocked Tonya down. The brunette was prepared as she fell, using the momentum to fling the woman off of her. Tonya pulled herself up into a crouch as she reached for one of her knives and flung it at the woman, striking her in the temple. It temporarily dazed her, which was all Tonya needed. She quickly crossed the room and drove the knife further into the woman's head as she screamed and clawed at Tonya. When the woman finally stopped fighting, Tonya pulled the knife out of her head, wiping the blood off on the woman.
"What the fuck was that?" Bryan hollered as he scooted away from the lifeless body, even though he was nowhere near it.
"A Witch. Next time Kenny tells you something listen." Tonya hissed as she glared at Bryan. The other had entered by that point and Spencer rushed over to help Bryan.
"She didn't bite you did she?" Kenny asked as he looked over Tonya.
"No I'm fine. Hey dumbass, were you bit?" Tonya called as she looked at Bryan.
"I don't see any bite marks. Why?" Kai asked as he looked from his injured friend to the less beaten lady.
"I'll explain later. From now on don't stray from us. Next time I won't save your ass." Tonya turned on her heel as she exited the building to wait for the others.
"What's her deal?" Tala asked as he folded his arms. Ian scoffed at them as Spencer slowly helped Bryan up.
"She's the reason we're all alive now, why we've avoided them for so long. You all may think we're cruel because we're able to shoot and kill these things without feeling any remorse. But that's how life is out here. You fight for survival and do whatever it takes to keep on living. Tonya found that out a long time ago. You may think all your military training may give you the upper hand. But I would sooner follow her into a war than any of you." Ian snapped, defending his leader.
Ian left the four inside with their thoughts. His words echoed in their heads. They wondered just how horrible things had been during the height of the virus. When things had first turned chaotic in the city. What they must've seen to shift their view of things so drastically. Even in the other two cities, they hadn't seen anything like what was going on here. Ian had them pegged dead on. Their training hadn't prepared them for what they were facing. To live with hope so close, just beyond the walls, and not be able to reach it. To have to fight on a daily basis, not knowing that if you step outside that it could be your last step. To wonder if you're going to die of starvation, being slaughtered by one of the zombies, or worse still….turning into one of them.
"Kenny I'm fine." The four heard Tonya say as she gently pushed his arm away.
"But you're bleeding." Kenny pointed to her arm where a gash slowly had blood dripping down her arm.
"It's not that deep. I'll be fine. We need to get this back to the others first. They need it more than I do." Tonya smiled as Kenny reluctantly dropped it.
"Look who finally decided to join us." Ian sneered as he adjusted the gun on his back.
"Sorry, we didn't know any better. We'll listen to you more carefully next time." Kai promised as the rest of his team nodded.
"Let's get moving. We're losing sunlight and it won't be long before others come here due to our blood. Last thing we need it to be caught out here in the middle of the night."
