(A/N): Chapter 2 coming up so soon? Yeah. I actually finished it the same day but I decided to see if it would be received relatively well and much to my surprise, I've already got 100 views on this baby. I'll definitely try to develop this as I go along. Stay tuned at the end of the chapter because I have a small announcement and I need your help my readers!
I hope you guys are enjoying this so far and definitely look forward to seeing more content from me in the days to come. I've returned and I'm here to stay my friends!
Let's keep the gold train a flowin' shall we?
Painful Dreams
A loud gunshot jolted Kit from his arrow carving. He rubbed the sweat from his face before frantically scrambling to the window to see who it was. Much to his surprise, it was a man holding his hands up in defense.
"I saw your sign not too far from here and one shot indicates peace right? I'm here to trade," he shouted.
Kit's eyes narrowed as he quickly put his jacket on and picked up his designated trading goods and made his way outside. He held his pistol up at the man but he made no move to retaliate.
"I have two others with me and we're running very low on water…the infected have reached the main river and it's too dangerous for us to gather it so we were hoping for some help," he explained.
Kit nodded.
"The river is yours to use if you help me to clear the infected," said Kit.
The man nodded with a smile.
"I would appreciate that very much," he replied.
Kit nodded as he asked the man to sit and wait for him to get his gear. He returned quickly with his trusty bow and his makeshift quiver, filled with freshly carved arrows that he made the day before. He had two pistols holstered in his jacket and two combat knives on the leather harness underneath the jacket.
"You've prepared yourself well," said the man.
"One can never be too prepared for this kind of thing," replied Kit.
The man then beckoned him towards the river and they set out together.
"So how long have you been here?" asked the man.
"A year and two months," replied Kit.
"You've got a good system set up here…I saw the traps that you set up and that sign to let people know you mean business but also that you're willing to talk says a lot," he said.
"I'm paranoid but not blindly so," replied Kit.
The man chuckled.
"My name is Charlie, what's yours if I may ask?" he asked.
"Kit," he replied.
Charlie nodded.
"You from the States?" he asked.
"Born and raised in Washington," he replied.
"Same here…though a few years before your time," he chuckled.
Kit smiled at the man's poke at humor. He was definitely older than he was, at the very least in his late 40s.
"We're almost to my folks," he replied.
They soon saw a small puff of smoke and a woman along with a girl sitting around the fire.
"I found the one who set everything up," said Charlie.
Kit nodded at the woman and the girl.
"Thank you so much for helping us," she said.
"I was going to clear the river today anyways…I guess some help couldn't hurt," he replied.
Kit nodded, indicating that they should get to work before the sun goes down.
"Alright, let's get a move on then everyone," said Charlie.
The girl picked up a gun and between her waist line on the left side as she followed Charlie. The woman did the same only putting it behind her. Kit trailed behind, ensuring that they weren't being followed. It wasn't long before they arrived at the main river and true to Charlie's words, infected were all around the area. Kit's eyes hovered over the Clickers and painful memories of the past began to resurface.
"I let Fred down…I'm sorry Fred if you're looking down at me right now,"
Kit's thoughts snapped back into focus once he noticed Charlie eyeing up a shot with his hunting rifle. Kit immediately grabbed the gun and lowered it.
"If we make too much noise, it won't be long before all of them are on us…let's do this quietly," he said.
Charlie nodded as Kit removed his bow from his back and placed an arrow in it.
"I'll take out the group ahead, you guys watch the rear because they're sure to come running," he instructed.
The three survivors nodded as Kit quickly set to work. Drawing in a breath and remembering his mother's words, Kit fired a clean shot into the head of a runner, instantly silencing it and causing it to slump to the ground. He smiled at his shot and readied another arrow, repeating the same success with another runner. He drew a third arrow and aimed but realized that it was a Clicker. If there was one thing Kit learned about Clickers, it was that mere wooden arrows couldn't pierce their cranium, even if fired from a composite bow like his. He quickly put his bow on his back and drew his combat knives before sneaking towards the Clicker. As soon as he was in range, he sprang into action, ferociously driving his knives into the head of the Clicker without making a grunt. The Clicker went down surprisingly quickly and barely made any noise, causing only a few infected to turn their heads toward the location but quickly going back to staring towards the water.
Kit sighed a breath of relief that he did not waste the effort as he once again drew his bow, repeating his previous actions for the next five. Much to his dismay, he was out of arrows.
"Great…guess I gotta do this the old fashioned way," he sighed.
He opened his backpack to remove a Molotov from it. Taking his lighter and setting it ablaze, Kit eyed a group of infected before throwing the explosive with all his might.
"We're gonna have a lotta company! Everyone get ready!" he shouted.
The Molotov struck the ground in front of the infected and exploded, sending red flames everywhere and setting most of them ablaze. Kit quickly drew his pistol before rejoining the survivors.
"I took out most of them…but now we're going to have to fight hard," he warned.
Charlie nodded in response.
"Keep your trigger finger ready," he said.
The women nodded as soon, the sickening sound of Clickers and the roars of Runners began to get louder. Much to the horror of the group, it was a great many of them but luckily, they approached from the other side of the river which was only crossable by a bridge. Kit beckoned them toward the bridge.
"Keep them here! They have to funnel through here to get to us so use the space to our advantage!" he shouted.
The group grunted in approval as gunshots began to ring through the air. Bodies fell like flies, the sound of bullets tearing through flesh followed suit and the screams of the Runners filled the air. Kit looked at Charlie, noticing that he was using a magnum, Kit cursed under his breath.
"You can't use guns with such low clip capacity…it's a horrible way to defend yourself," he said.
Charlie looked back and shook his head.
"It's all we have," he replied.
The swarm of infected soon began to thin and finally, the final Clicker met the ground.
"Everyone fill up on water because we're leaving out tomorrow," said Charlie.
Kit's eyes narrowed as he looked at the girl. Her eyes emitted dreadful reluctance.
"But…we just got here and it's been hard…can't we just stay here a little longer?" asked the woman.
Charlie shook his head.
"We can't stay where we're not welcome," said Charlie.
"I never said you were unwelcome," interjected Kit.
The three of them turned and looked at Kit in astonishment.
"You're welcome to stay here for as long as you need to…but you're not staying in my shelter and you'll have to deal with the dangers on your own," he warned.
The woman smiled.
"We'll try not to be too much of a bother to you," she said.
"The game here is plentiful and there are a lot of trees with fruit to eat…so unless you eat through tons in a single day, I doubt you'll really have an impact on the resources," he explained.
She smiled once more and much to his surprise, the girl ran up and hugged him.
"You're a kind man mister," she said.
Kit slowly allowed a small smile to form on his face as he put a hand on the back of the girl's head.
"My only condition is that you help me get rid of the bodies by the end of the week because they attract more infected," he requested.
"That won't be a problem," said Charlie
Kit nodded as he replaced his weapons.
"I have things to take care of so I'll return later," he said.
"How can we contact you?" asked the woman.
Kit looked at Charlie.
"He knows what to do," he replied.
Kit jolted awake from yet another nightmare.
"Why have I been having these dreams…" he muttered to himself.
He rose to his feet and looked outside.
"I can't believe that happened nearly two weeks ago…" he sighed.
He cursed under his breath.
"I can't afford to let the past come back to haunt me…I've got to stay strong," he muttered.
He looked down at the necklace that the girl gave to him and he couldn't help but feel a tear run down his face.
"I failed…I'm sorry for not being there…" he sobbed.
He placed it back down as he looked at the picture of him, Charlie and the woman he identified as Mary.
"Another group of survivors that I failed to protect…maybe I should just stop being considerate," he mumbled.
He reluctantly crushed up the picture before throwing it out the window.
"My dreams continue to haunt me…for once I feel like it wouldn't be a half bad idea to be with someone rather than alone," he thought.
His eyes drifted to the jacket hung up over his bedpost. He once again shed a tear.
"I failed you Fred…I'm so sorry…" he thought.
Mustering his willpower, Kit put his clothes on and checked his watch.
"I have to run through the first four sectors and ensure that all the traps are set…and I also have to check up on that small group camping over at Sector H…they've been quiet but who knows what they're going to do," he thought.
Donning his jacket and putting the hood over his head and the cowl over his face.
"Gabrielle got infected despite my every effort and I failed to be there to help Charlie and his group…their deaths are on my hands…I have to do better or if push comes to shove, do nothing at all,"
Alright everybody, I'm officially announcing that I am seeking a female lead character to pair with Kit. Please, lay em on me. I don't want to create a female lead because that's just too mainstream. I love writing using what my fans create so I'm throwing the ball out to you guys. I will take a few submissions and pick a winner depending on how much I like them. If I get a few I can't decide on, I'll probably do a vote where you guys determine the character chosen!
Get your submissions in everyone, I'm gonna need that female lead to continue the story.
Cheers!
~Wandering Letters