"Wake up, you guys!" Someone called from the doorway. Pounding footsteps announced their exit.
I groaned and rolled over, wincing in the sunlight.
"Danny?" I nudged her gently. She turned her face out of the pillow and blinked blearily at me, a light smile on her lips.
"Morning." She murmured.
"Morning." I leaned over and gave her a light peck on the lips. She tasted like sweat and vomit.
We trudged down the stairs, where everyone else was full of energy.
We ate our breakfast and organized our supplies. Thankfully, there had been a cache of ammo here, for we had been gradually running out. I was pleased to find ammo for my sniper and spent a few minutes counting out the bullets.
"How do you use that?" Jen asked as we readied to leave.
"Hm? This?" I pulled up my rifle. She nodded. "Here." I helped her to handle it, explaining how she couldn't put her eye right against the scope or she would lose it on the kick.
"Wow, look how far I can see.." She murmured, angling it through the bars and searching for a zombie in the wasteland. "This is cool!" She squeezed the trigger and yelped as the rifle rebounded against her.
"Careful." I took it bad from her and she rubbed her rapidly bruising eye. "I warned you."
"Sorry." She smiled sheepishly. Joey gave her a quick once over and shrugged.
"He did warn you." He nodded.
We headed out back to the small road which would lead out into the highway again.
We came upon a giant slope, covered in slick ice.
"Alright, guys." I began. "Let's all be careful now, we don't need any-"
"WHOO!" Joey threw himself down the hill, penguin-style, sliding neatly to the bottom. Jen followed quickly behind on her rear, tumbling into him.
"Well, I guess that's one way.." I muttered, dropping down and sliding forward myself. Harry and Danny quickly followed.
As I struggled back to my feet on the icy ground, it began to get even more difficult as the world started to shake.
My heart thudded, hollow in my ears, and a grin spread over my face.
The other were trying to get their balance as well, looking terribly confused. Danielle was the only one ready, her gun raised, knees slightly bent to keep upright. Normally I would have looked further into that, but I was too busy trying to find the pink, steroid-abusing gorilla.
It bashed through the trees suddenly, jawless mouth hanging open as it screamed at us.
"The fuck-?" Joey was cut off as it hurled a chuck of ice at us, bellowing.
It smashed between us, Danny and I going one way, Jen, Joey and Harry going the other.
"Shoot and run! Shoot and run!" I called to them as I scrambled back to my feet, shooting bullet after bullet into the tough hide. Danny was right along with me.
It bellowed angrily and came after us.
Then a smash and the roar of flames.
The Tank's back caught flame as someone behind us threw a Molotov. I wasn't sure how in the hell they had gotten it, or even kept it unfrozen, but I was sure they had to of been keeping it to their heart like a goddamn teddy bear.
It screamed and turned on them, charging.
Danny and I chased it, firing, the smell of burning flesh making my mind spin.
"Shoot it! SHOOT IT!" I heard faintly, for I was trying to regain my balance after falling again. I distantly heard the death cry of the beast, then silence.
Someone was helping me up. Danielle.
"Are you ok?" I asked blearily, bringing her close.
"I'm fine." She fought to get out of my arms. "Where are the other, Bod? Did you see the others?" She asked impatiently.
"N-No." I gazed around. I saw smoke in the distance and pointed to it. "Tank." I announced softly.
"Right. Come on." She encouraged, taking my hand and pulling me towards the column of smoking tank-burger.
We found them surrounding the body, panting and cut up, but not too injured.
Harry was tending to a large cut on Jen's forehead, and they all looked to us for answers.
"Tank." I explained again with a general point of the finger. "Bad." I emphasized.
"That thing… is huge…" Joey panted, finally losing the amusing smile.
"Yup." I nodded. Jen, trying to peer through Harry's busy hands, had her pencil and book out, trying to sketch.
"What's it doing up here?" Joey continued to ask.
"I don't know." Danielle answered, even though the question was probably directed at me. She seemed to notice and her cheeks flushed with colour. She looked pale, I realized, noticing this sharp contrast. "I mean, er… you said it stayed down south. We've never seen one up here." She sighed. "Let's hope there aren't anymore." She helped Joey to his feet and Harry brought up Jen, who was shaking, but was otherwise unhurt with her cut bandaged.
As we walked, I was on red alert again. I had gotten lazy, a false sense of comfort the freezing snow brought clouding my judgement.
Now I was ready for a wheezing cough, a screaming cry, a loud belch, a maniacal giggle..
The grip on my rifle tightened.
Fucking Jockeys. Hate those bastards. Always laughing.
"Hey look, a car!" Joey yelped as we walked, spotting the red Volvo in the distance, running for it.
"Joey, no-!" The words weren't out of our mouth fast enough. He had already grabbed the handle of the car, and a loud beeping started.
"Ah!" Joey stumbled back in surprise. We all paused, and heard it.
The roar of the horde.
I pushed forward and tried to open the door, but it didn't budge.
As a black flood of zombies started to swarm out of the trees, I smashed the window with the butt of my rifle and crawled in, glass cutting my stomach as I reached the wires and pulled them out.
I could hear gun fire erupt behind me and I started to wriggle, trying to escape the awkward position that was me, bottom-up.
I could feel hand grab my feet and heaved me out.
I yelped and scrambled to my feet, thinking it was a zombie, but it was only Harry, hoisting me to my feet and then going back to firing at the horde.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Joey called over the shouts of the horde and the sound of our guns.
"Bomb coming!" I heard Danny call. I prepared for the flash of red from a pipe bomb, but instead heard the smash of glass and a toxic, familiar scent filled my head as zombies rushed for the green plume it created.
"Shoot, shoot!" I encouraged as the twins and Harry stood and watched in shock. They quickly began to shoot again, zombie falling everywhere as they struggled to find the source of the smell.
When the zombies finally stopped and we were able to catch our breath, I gradually began to realize something.
I grabbed Danny by the shirt and gave her a little shake. Her eyes widened and she winced as I hissed at her.
"Where the hell did you get that? Who /are/ you?" I snarled. She closed her eyes and tried to ignore me.
"I… found it… in a CEDA outpost.." She explained weakly. I studied her face, though it was hard to see through the bruises and dried blood. Something made me release her, not want to make her so uncomfortable.
Instead, I brought her into a hug. She relaxed, her fingers twisting in my shirt.
"Is everyone alright?" I wondered as Danny removed my shirt to bandage some of my cuts.
"Yeah, I'm good." Harry nodded. "A Tank and a horde… let's just find a goddamn safe house and go to bed." He grumbled irritably.
"Good call." Joey grunted, rubbing his sore arm. "What was that stuff you threw Danny?" He wondered.
"Um… I don't know. Something called Boomer bile." She shrugged, turning to me.
"A Boomer… if a Boomer throws up on you, all the zombies are attracted to you, and no one else." I explained shortly, accepting my shirt back from Danny as my chest froze.
"Scary." Jen shuddered.
"Well… at least we have a car." Joey gestured to the Volvo sheepishly.
"Outta gas." I explained.
"Oh." We were quiet as Joey fumed with embarrassment.
"Well, no use standing-" Danny was about to encourage us onward, but a racking cough forced her to hunch over until she spat out some blood and wiped her mouth.
"You ok, Danny?" Harry wondered.
"Yeah, fine… I hate the cold." She admitted, patting her chest. I giggled. "But really, let's go." She immediately reached for my hand.
I should have refused. What was the use if she was just going to get sicker?
But I didn't. I relished the feeling of her fingers in mine.
To our surprise, there was a man in the safe house we reached. He was alive, too.
He was mourning the loss of his two comrades, who had fallen ill and attacked him.
He explained by showing us the bite wound on his wrist.
Before anyone could do anything, I raised my rifle and put a bullet through his head.
Silence echoed the ring of my shot as the man's body fell to the ground.
"Why…. Why…." Jen could hardly get her words out through her tears. "Why?" She gasped.
"He got bit." I explained, confused. "I was killing a zombie."
"You killed a man." She told me, grasping the body by the shoulders and bringing it outside with the other two.
"You saw him." I growled as she locked the door. "You saw- he was pale, his eyes were turning colour. He was changing." I sighed. "I'm sorry I had to kill him, but… I /had/ to." Jen said nothing, though I could tell she was angry, she knew I was right.
"Alright, you lot, off to bed." Danny encouraged. The safe house was another small house, a bit bigger than the last. The twins irritably did as told, undignified at being spoken to like children.
Danny, apparently shaken from the encounter with the Tank and horde, wanted to stay downstairs and take a watch, just in case.
"Come on, Danny." I encouraged, sitting on the couch with her after Harry had gone to bed. "Nothing's gonna get in here."
"You don't know that." She murmured, curled up, staring in to the fireplace. I sat next to her and stroked her face, peppering kisses along her jawline. She fell into me gently, nibbling and sucking softly on my neck.
Eventually our lips met and we moved smoothly with one another, the cleft in her chin fitting my thumb perfectly, her hands shaping my head.
When my tongue ran along her lower lip, I was rewarded with a soft moan from her throat and her hand resting on my groin.
But then I started thinking again.
No, no no.
The truth was, I had shot that guy not out of mercy or fear- but because I wanted to see if I could do it. I wanted to see if I could shoot someone like that. And I could.
But sleeping with Danielle would not make this any easier.
And yet we still ended up naked on the couch, the adventure ending in only a few, blissful minutes.
"Bod…" Danny whispered as she rested on my chest after forcing our dirty, blood-caked clothes back on. The good thing about the snow, however, was that it kept things relatively fresh.
"Yes?" I murmured, dread slowly sinking back into me as I hugged her tightly.
"I…" Please don't say that. Dear god, don't say that. "I, uh…" There was quiet. "Good night." She murmured, settling back in and promptly falling asleep. I sighed with relief and closed my own eyes.