Zone Of The Dead
Chapter 1: Dead Winter
Thanks to the icy climate and the natural decay of the Biters slowing them down, Saeko and I manage to escape from that house. It's clear to me now that it is a trap set up by bandits. Seems to me like the poor guy we found outside was trying to escape or was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Saeko has taken the smaller bandit's clothes, replacing her almost scrap-like attire with a maroon leather and fleece bomber jacket, and a pair of thick black jeans that hug her legs, though she keeps her black boots with the added black shin guards. She finishes putting on her fingerless leather gloves she wore before and looks to me.
"That's much better." She says with a sigh of relief. "So, where to?" She asks, a somewhat coy tone in her voice. I raise an eyebrow.
"Ah, so we've just kinda agreed to stick together? That was fast." I chuckle. However, Saeko's expression remains serious.
"Let's face it, it's mutually beneficial to our survival. I'm injured, but I know this place like the back of my hand and can still fight to some degree." I can't exactly disagree with that. "And you, you don't seem to be doing too hot either. Your supplies are low, you're sick, and I'd be willing to bet your memory of this place isn't that great." She surmises.
"How did you-" my suspicious question is cut off. She merely smirks and turns away from me, eager to get moving.
"I looked through your gear while you were at the door. Also your face says a lot. You're sick, flu most likely." Damn. She's good. "It helps to know what a potential companion can bring to the table. You've got firepower in abundance, but right now that's all you've got."
I smile slightly. I guess I can put away being a Loner for now. "Alright then, looks like we're relying on each other for a while. I'll help you find who you're looking for, you just watch my back, 'kay?" I stretch out my hand to her and she does the same, gripping my hand firmly. We shake, in honour of our new found camaraderie.
Focusing on my own objective, I tell Saeko that since I'm sick, I need to find a pharmacy or hospital to look for medication. It'll pass with time, sure, but I need to keep my symptoms controlled. I'm lucky that my sneeze attracted an ally, otherwise things could have gotten bad real quick.
''There's a hospital across the bridge. Maybe there's some stuff in there that hasn't been looted?" Saeko suggests. That's a possibility, but following Z-day, a lot of places became impromptu fortresses and had swapped hands over the years. Now I'm sure only bandits could be in there. Might as well look though, what's the worst that could happen?
"Well, seeing as most large buildings outside of the Bastions are filled with bandits or are picking grounds for Loners, we shouldn't get our hopes up. Either that or they're just a hive for Biters." I reply. Saeko looks at me questioningly.
"I guess you've been out here a while." She says.
"Since all this started pretty much. Kept moving and never looked back. My group, well... we..." fuck, I've said too much. Good memories of my friends, the ones I'd survived with for three years, bring a smile to my face as much as they sadden me.
"I see. Whatever the case, they can leave this madness behind, and leave it to the living to survive for them." Saeko says, surprising me a great deal. "If that is your reason for going alone, then it's not too hard to see why. I'm lucky my friends have survived thus far. I fear for them every day."
"Yeah." I say with a sigh, my want for conversation quickly subsiding. We soon reach the bridge and time has seemingly frozen here. When Z-day struck, the bridges around the city were all sectioned off by the police and riot control vehicles. They were there for days, and within hours of the epidemic hitting, the police were killing protesters who were trying to get passage to the other side for themselves and others. A noble goal, sure, but naive.
The vehicles are still there, sun bleached paint, old bloody hand prints and rust make up their exteriors now. The skeletal remains of protesters and Them still litter the bridge. Saeko and I exchange a look though our thoughts and feelings on this appear different.
"I remember seeing this that day. We'd holed up in a high rise apartment that belonged to a friend of the school nurse. On the way there, we saw all of this. Saw it on the news when the killing started." She says, recounting the disturbing scenes from Z-day.
I'd seen it too. After I'd escaped the academy with my team, we were on the bridge watching everything happen. We knew it was pointless trying to get across, so we made our own way across in the following days. I remember seeing the lead protester get his brains blown out by the police chief. .357 snub to the forehead.
"I was on this bridge. Saw it all go down first hand. Just about got off of it alive. Z-day was insane. Really saw the worst of humanity that day." I say with a shake of my head. You see some crazy shit from time to time, but Z-day was just something else entirely.
As we cross the bridge, we look over the railing and see the frozen water below. Corpses are both on and under the ice. We reach a section of the bridge where the railing is missing, and bloodstains, both fresh and old, painted the concrete slabs.
"What is this?" Saeko questions. I look from the bloody slabs to her. She looks completely undisturbed. I begin to wonder what kind of things she's
seen in the past half decade.
"Looking at the blood and the corpses below, I'd say it's an execution ground." I reply grimly. I've seen this kind of thing before. The burning of Osaka. Countless people were burned to cinders by a group of bandits calling themselves 'The Light'. Bunch of crazy zealots that emerged, believing themselves to be some kind of chosen people for staying human. They were burning other people, claiming they were tainted by Them. On the bright side, they were wiped out by myself and a group of Loners who got sick of their shit.
By the end of it, most of Osaka was burned out, and 300 pyromaniacs were dead and 42 Loners were responsible for it. People ask us, "How did you do it?", and to that there's a simple answer. There are several differences between Loners and most other people. This is our calling. It's innate in certain people to survive just about anything and overcome massive odds. That's why there's so few Loners. Survival and killer instincts are our greatest strengths. I learned this about myself on day one. Out of 2 million, there's probably only about 1000 Loners.
"Bandits?" Saeko asks, though she seems as if she already knows the answer.
"Most likely. Bodies don't just appear, especially like that." I reply pointing over the edge. "Eyes peeled and ears open. I don't think we're alone out here." I hold my gun at the ready, primed to raise it and fire at whatever or whoever is out here.
Both of us are on edge. Where the bridge ends, where we stand, it acts as a choke point of sorts. There are buildings on either side of us, and there is little cover should we need it. Anyone could fire down on us from the windows either side of us.
For several long, deathly quiet minutes, we walk close together, eyes scanning every inch of the road ahead with weapons at the ready. The sense of unease I feel is good. I remind myself of this often. If you feel at ease anywhere outside, you let your guard down. Once your guard's down, you're a walking target.
"You see anything?" Saeko asks.
"If I did you'd know." I reply, my voice is tense. I can barely see 10 feet ahead because of the fog and snow. However, I like to think that whoever is out here has the same problem. It's just a matter of who's the better killer.
My body seizes up for a split second when I hear gunfire in the distance. Saeko's boots clack loudly against the frozen tarmac as she jolts to a halt.
"I think finding cover would be a good idea." Saeko suggests. I look at her, then at the direction of the shots. I nod, licking my dry lips in a nervous reflex. Those shots sounded close.
"Yeah. Yeah alright, through the alley. I'll take point." I move up to entrance of the alleyway, a wall of thick grey with zero visibility. This was not a good idea, but better than nothing.
As we had been doing, we carefully navigate the tight confines of the alley. The ground is littered with old trash, some wood and metal refuse that we both nearly trip over with it being covered by snow. Predictably, we found some decayed bodies scattered throughout the passage.
We emerge on the other side of a block of houses without encountering anything, though that still does little to set us at ease. The fog is a little clearer here, but the distance I can see is still limited to only about 20 feet.
I check once more behind me and see Saeko is still there. She's looking a little worse off than earlier. Her breathing looks laboured and her skin looks clammy.
"You alright?" I ask. She casts me a glance and looks into the fog.
"A little shaky. Seems the blood loss is getting to me." She answered.
"When did you last eat?" She looked thoughtful for a moment.
"Yesterday evening I think."
"Hmm." I grunt. Things are slowly taking a bad turn. It seems we're just getting more and more things to find. I have no food. In fact, the reason I'm out here in the first place is to get to the Tokunosu waypoint. They host food caravans and provide rest stops for travellers.
"What do you want to do? Hospital or waypoint?" I ask.
"We were on our way to the waypoint yesterday before we were attacked." she replied. "The Hospital is between the waypoint and us, so we can pass through there first."
I nod and turn from her. I rub a gloved hand through my beard before taking hold of gun, carefully wrapping my finger around the trigger. Something doesn't feel right.
I can see the hospital. It's large enough and made of enough remaining glass that I can see it's darkened innards through the wall of snow.
I quickly scan the path ahead for the undead and see none. I see several freshly killed Biters though. I walk over to one, raise my gun and crouch next to one of them. A cursory glance shows me the Biter is missing a good chunk of its head. It's rotted brain is spattered against the snow in chunky grey-black streaks.
It is a common and strongly upheld rule that one does not needlessly fire their weapons at the undead. It attracts the horde. Ammo is scarce, firearms maintenance is a skill known by few, so ammo conservation and weapon silence are very, very good practice.
So I find it odd that someone is taking potshots at the Biters. I have no time to think further as a bullet whizzes past my face, my body instinctively sends me rolling to the side. I barely notice the snow as the cold bites at me.
"Saeko! Shots up high, get inside!" I shout. She ducks down behind the rusted husk of a car clutching her sword. She looks at me as I press my back against the bricks of a small incline in the wall of the former office building that flanked the hospital.
"What about you?" She asks, reflexively ducking her head lower as a bullet glances off of the roof of the car.
I peaked around the corner of the wall and couldn't see where the bullet had come from save from above. Whoever was up there could see us, but we couldn't see them. The only building ahead of us is the hospital.
"I'll return fire. If I can figure out where we're being fired on from, I can cover you while you find a way inside." I reply as I run a routine check on my weapon. I cannot risk a jam or misfire. Not now.
"I think I remember a way in through the back." She says.
I nod and bring my rifle to rest across my chest, finger on the trigger. The silence suddenly returns. Only the low howl of the frigid wind fills the silent cityscape. I suck in a breath and peak out with the barrel of my rifle leading the way.
"I'll find a way in. Meet me in the lobby if you can. If not, then the roof stairwell. Then we can find the shooter and deal with them." I say. Saeko nods and makes a dash for a totalled truck. I make a quick estimation of the shooters spot and fire a round. My shot is met with a response as a bullet carves a path along the brick next to my head and brick dust sprays my face. I blink out whatever got in my eyes.
I have a rough idea where they are now. They're definitely on the roof, most likely at the left hand corner. Wide range of vision and an easy position to fire from.
I fire back once more and move, diving to cover behind the car Saeko had moments ago. The cracks of their weapon firing is thunderous. Whatever they're carrying, it's high calibre.
I quietly wait. I know I can't stay idle for long as Saeko needs covering fire. I peek through a small portion of the window frame of the car. The light coming through the fog and clouds is intense, more so than earlier. I look down at my wrist and check my watch. It's a little after midday.
It's going to be difficult if I keep getting blinded trying to look up. I continue with my strategy of firing in the rough direction of the shooter.
I peak out. Saeko has not moved and is looking at me. I find it odd that no shots come when I peak out. I cast a look at Saeko and signal to move up. There are three cars between us and the hospital, but I don't know where Saeko intends to enter.
She steps out crouched and almost immediately a bullet strikes the road next to her. She dives for cover and lets out a hiss of pain as she lands on her wound.
I return another single shot. I hear a loud curse from above. I must have hit him somewhere. Injury provides distraction, and so without hesitation, I run to Saeko and help her up. Together we run to the wall of the hospital.
"You alright?" I ask as I quickly checked her over, mainly focused on where her wound was.
"Yeah, yeah, just landed funny is all." She says though clenched teeth.
"You gonna be alright on your own?" She shoots me a scowl.
"Doubting me already?" She bites.
I scoff. "Don't be stupid. Is your injury going to be an obstacle?"
"No. I'll stay silent and move slow if I need to. You going through the main entrance?" She questioned. I nod.
A shot rang out and the bricks next to my head exploded into clouds of white dust. I push Saeko away and she hits the ground, riding the push. I crouch down and level my rifle in the direction of the shots.
"Go. Now." I order without looking at her. I hear her quickly move away. I assume she has gone to enter through the back.
Now things were definitely taking a bad turn. I knew there were bandits in the area, and I knew from the bodies I saw earlier that something was going on. I ran in a crouch in the opposite direction to Saeko. While I have time, I stand and sprint by the wall and around the corner. I am met with the main entrance not too far away as I can make out the shapes of the columns supporting the concrete canopy above the doors of broken glass.
More lead streaks past me and I stop briefly behind a column to catch my breath. As several more bullets ping and zip around me, glancing off of the column and impacting the wall in front of me, I look into the dark maw of the hospital. I make a dash for the entrance and the fog clears quickly inside and I see a reception desk, and dive over it, pressing myself to the floor.
I wait for several long, thudding heartbeats. I rise to one knee and raise my rifle. Looking out, I can't see whoever was shooting at me, but I know they're still there, likely heading my way. I look over my shoulder and into the dark entrance to the dingy, winding labyrinth beyond. I make a quick check of my ammunition, only taking the back half of the clip from the weapon. I have 24 of 30 rounds left. I take my torch from my bag and my E-tool from my hip, letting my rifle hang from its strap around my torso. I don't want to make noise in here if I can help it. The gunfire would have drawn unwanted attention, and I don't need any more.
Cautiously I step through the threshold of the lobby and into a darkened hallway. The remnants of Z-day are evident as old blood stains the walls, and a skeleton in a nurses uniform lies splayed out against the wall, the midriff of her uniform torn open and edged with aged blood. Each step, slow and measured, sounds like thunder in the tight corridors, and every breath sounds like rushing wind.
My torch is held in front while I keep my E-tool raised, primed to come down to split skulls. I edge close to an open doorway and keep my back pressed to the wall as I carefully crane my neck around the corner. Slowly my eyes scan the passage. It is a long corridor with many doors on each side. A wary gulp is followed by a quiet sucking of air. I am glad that in the five years that I have been doing things like this, my nerves still fire a mile-a-minute. They served as a reminder that my guard was still up. Your guard goes down, you become complacent. You become complacent, you become vulnerable. You become vulnerable, you die.
As I step into the corridor, I turn off my torch when it is facing the far end, only turning it back on to check the rooms to my immediate flanks as I make my way through. Halfway through the corridor and I have encountered nothing. That in itself is a relief.
The floor, I have noticed, is littered with papers and glass. Nail marks line some of the doors, but whether desperate humans made them in efforts to find sanctuary or ravenous undead made them is unclear. I carry on forward having not seen anything moving, alive or otherwise. I nervously lick my lips as I check the next doorway to my left. Nothing. I turn to my right and turn on the torch once more.
My body seizes up. Every muscle locks, my eyes widen, a surge of adrenaline rushes through my abdomen. It takes every ounce of self control not to yell or move too quickly. The torchlight illuminates a withered, inhuman thing. It is what's left of a woman, a nurse judging by her uniform. Her blind, milky white eyes stare through me. Her skin is as pale as the snow outside and paper thin as her blackened veins run spiderwebs across her body. Her scalp is a patchwork of bald spots and loose patches of black hair.
We stare at each other unblinking for what seems like hours. I'd never been so close to one for so long. I'd never gotten even so much as a true close look at one. My long half decade of survival had seen me kill them by the score, never once caring for how they look. But this one had completely taken me by surprise. Clearly she hadn't heard my approach, hence why she only stares as if I weren't here at all. She was once clearly human, with goals and aspirations. Perhaps a boyfriend and a family. All of them were at one point. It's so easy to forget. It won't stop me from killing them when I have to, but this line of thought crosses my mind every so often.
I don't dare risk moving too quickly. Using one of the bolts in my pockets is a bad idea. All of that noise from shuffling my fingers through the bolts will have her on me in a shot. Her position in the doorway is too awkward for me to swing at her, as I'm far more likely to hit the door frame.
I'm left with no choice but to risk actually touching her. I turn off my torch and slowly slide it into my trouser pocket. Readying my self, I feel the blood rush from my guts and into my muscles. It's the sick feeling you get before a fight. It's a good feeling once you understand it. With the torch off, the only light is the dead grey light streaming in from the broken windows in the adjacent rooms that bleeds into the corridor.
Reaching my left arm back and setting my self into a low stance, I lunge forward and push by hand against her abdomen. Her flesh is weak and it gives under the force of my push and she stumbles back into the room with me still pushing her.
Her fetid vocal cords release a choked hiss as she swings her groping arms and blindly bites at me. I shove her against the wall and quickly swing my right arm back and smash the E-tool across her face with crushing force. The old, stagnant life blood of the Biter splats against the wall and carpeted floor.
It's not enough and she remains standing. She reaches for me with searching fingers that claw at my clothes. I shove her back again and kick her weak-jointed legs out from under her. She clunkily falls with her head hitting the wall and she lies sat against it. Using gravity, I bring the bladed edge of the E-tool down on the top of her skull once. Twice. And again, and again. What remains is an obliterated mass of black pulp and grey-stained bone fragments not fit for the detritus. Some of the scalp, hair and brain clings stickily to the E-tool.
My breath is less ragged than one might expect. I hated these close encounters, but I am not terrified of them. I've seen enough of these things and what they can do to be wary, but time, exposure, and my own experience has made them less of a challenge than a living human. I had long ago calmed the primal fear that comes with fighting them, however as I have found just moments ago, that fear does return sometimes.
In my brief time of rest, my mind wanders. How long had she been here? Had she ever left? Did she kill that nurse I saw when I came in? Were the claw marks hers? Questions for the moment, but not worth answering. I would never know anyway. I need to meet up with Saeko anyway, so there's no time to waste here.
I leave the room and forget about checking the last few rooms. If there were any Biters in them, they'd have heard me killing the nurse. There's a fire door to my left at the end of the corridor with a set of stairs on the other side. I turn the torch back on and make my way up to the fifth floor.
''Akira.'' I hear Saeko say. I see her sat patiently on the staircase leading up to the door to the roof.
''You get up here okay?'' I ask.
''No trouble at all. Mostly just stayed quiet and moved slow like I said. You?'' I show her the E-tool.
''Had a little run in with one of the locals.'' I leave out the detail of her scaring the shit out of me though.
''I peaked under the door. This is definitely the roof.'' Saeko says gesturing to the door behind her. The sniper was beyond there. Once we killed him, we would need to fight our way back out. I have a feeling that the other ones shooting at us are with him. Bandits most likely.
''Alright, I'll go first. Be ready for close combat.'' I say, getting a nod in reply. Saeko forms up behind me and I place one hand on the doorknob and raise my rifle with the other. ''3,2,1, opening.'' I twist the knob and push the door open. Immediately I see the body of a gun being swung towards my face. Frantic instinct kicks in and I raise my rifle with both hands to block the blow. The two weapons smash together and my finger depresses on the trigger, involuntarily firing a shot. I recover and smack to butt of my rifle into the man's chest. Just like me, his rifle is suspended by a strap around his torso, and I make a grab for it before he does. Our hands clamber across the weapon as we struggle over it. He's a burly man, heavy and strong, and he pulls it from my grip.
Saeko is quickly with me and she shows no hesitation as she unsheathes her blade in a single graceful motion. The brilliantly polished and maintained weapon comes up as she rushes past me. He blocks the first strike with the broad side of his gun, a gash appearing in the light metal. He stumbles back closer to the raised edge of the rooftop. She swings again, this time aiming for his fingers. The horizontal swing claims its prize as his fingers fly free from the first knuckle of each digit.
The scream he lets out is piercing and beast-like. I make a grab for the gun again as I am determined to make my own use of it. Such a thing will prove invaluable in the predominantly urban skirmishes I find myself in. With my hands on the rifle, I shove him and chance a hook to his face. My gloved fist connects, knocking him back further. When he is close enough to the edge, I thrust his rifle into his face and kick him in the stomach.
His upper body topples against the raised edge of the roof, but he doesn't fall. He struggles to stand, but I release his rifle and hit him with the butt of my own again. As his head is flung back, I grab his legs, lift them and finally tip him over the edge, only just managing to grab the rifle as he fell. The strap is broken, but the rifle is mine now. The brief scream is followed by the slap of caving bone and splitting flesh on concrete.
Habitually, and out of a sense of morbid curiosity, I look over, but see nothing through the dense fog.
''No stranger to killing, are you?'' Saeko asks, but I sense that what she says is not quite a question. I regard her for a moment.
''No.'' I inspected the rifle for damage, only finding that the damage was only superficial. I was surprised to see it was an M24 sniper rifle. Standard sniper rifles of the JSDF. It is a sleek, matte black weapon that is quite pleasing to the eye. I scan the rooftop and find the spot where the sniper had been. Walking over, I found a stool, a backpack, several empty boxes of .308 rounds, and a silencer.
''Anyone coming up after us, Saeko?'' I call as I look through the bandits backpack.
''Can't hear anything coming up after us.'' she replies as she watches the stairs. I find a couple more boxes of .308 rounds, bandages, a bottle of sake, and food. Ah, something useful. I take the food out and see it's a clear Tupperware box filled with grilled mackerel and rice. Not much, but it should help her.
''Saeko, you might like this.'' I say and wave the box at her. She hurries over with a visible look of relief. She takes it, and begins eating with little in the way of grace. In her blissful distraction, I cast her a smile before bagging the other items, let my M4 hang and took the M24 in my hands. While she eats, I take a moment to rest while I can. The quiet up here isn't so bad in all honestly. The gunfire will start again and the bullets will fly, but for now, we have some hope of seeing another day.
I know there's no medicine here. Why would there be? Half a decade is a long time for a hospital to sit unguarded, and even then, most common medicines expire within two years. I can wait. We'll make it to the Tokunosu waypoint and then I can look for something. For now, Saeko is patched up, she is happily eating, and we're alive. That's enough for me right now. I'll take her to the waypoint, and leave her there. I'm sure her friends will find their way there themselves. Hell, maybe they're already there. She doesn't need me. I'm a Loner, and that's how things should be.
''I'm done now. Thank you.'' Saeko says gratefully. I give a single chuckle and turn to face her.
''Ready to go?'' she nods.
''I'm feeling better now. Still a bit sluggish, but you should be able to count on me now. I can pull my weight.'' she replies dutifully.
''Didn't say you couldn't. Let's go.''
Alright, well that took a while to update. Sorry. Anyway, I'm back into my post apocalypse/S.T.A.L.K.E.R phase again. Hopefully I should update relatively soon. Follow, fav, review, tell me what you think. BrutalAftershock, out.
