ch 9 Peoples militia

The blonde boy and the redheaded girl that made him run around the globe sat in an airplane. They were just returning from one of their missions. He looked at the intriour of their "ride". It was a rather old cargo-propeller-airplane. But its cargo had been delivered a long time ago so that there were only the two, a bench and his molerat. His friend kim, an athletic young teenage-girl with long red hair was sleeping with her head on his lap. He himself was a blond teen with small freckles in his face. Both were clad in black shirts and brown baggy-pants. Also Kim had a small backpack with several funny and usefull gadgets. He didn't have a such. In fact, he dind't have many things she had. For example a perfect body, popularity and many friends. But therefore he had his pet rufus, a small naked molerat that could speak. Rufus was always there for him, just as he always was there for his beloved pet. He looked at his sleeping friend. "She is so marvelous. But everyone thinks we would be a couple. Don't they understand that we are only friends? I mean, I would like to be more than a friend for her but she wouldn't want that."

She looked so sweet lying there. So innocent and nice. And amingly beatiful. Everytime he looked at her he had to fight the strong urge to tell her. To tell her everything. Beside that important thing was something else that he wanted to know from her: "Why does she want me to be her friend? I don't have anything these sport-jocks like this josh mankey don't have. And they have even more. On the other hand... would they be willing to risk their lives for her like I do? No they wouldn't. And would they always play the distraction-part? No they wouldn't. Their egos could not take that. But mine can. Badly. But I could do it so much easier if everyone else would acknowledge my doings more." Playing the distraction so that she could fight and act freely was a bad task. No one said thank you. No one said that infact they (both) and not just her saved the world. He always was depressed when he thought that no one gave him credit. Except her. Everytime he thought of all these bad things he only needed to remind himself that he did this for her. And that he was rewarded with the best friend one could wish for. He knew he would be lost without her. Everytime she helped him with homework, protected him from bullies or was just there he felt safe. As long as she was around he was happy. He hoped so much that she would finally realise that all the football-jocks were nothing for her. And that she was hurting him with always crushing at one guy and saying : "Oh he's the one!" only to come back and cry at his shoulder everytime. Why can't she see that the guy that is always there for can be a boyfriend too? And even the best she could want. No one understood her the way he did. And was understanding not the basement for a such relationship? Well if it is, like he believes, none other than himself understood her.

The entire plane shook shortly because of an airhole. She almost fell down but he caught her at the tigh with one hand and the other was attempting to hold her at the chest. But he managed to stop his rogue-gone hand. "No I'm a gentleman." he thought and put his hand back at the leaning bar when he caught himself looking at her chest. Just when she was bending a bit. Quickly he looked away, beeing red on his face "Whoooow no dude that's wrong." His eyes started to wander again but he looked away just in time. "Think of something else... something else... Christmas! That's it! I still have to buy a christmas present for her!" So he carefully slipped away underneath her body and heard slight moans of displeasure. "She liked that... hmmm" his thoughts were drifting away to other things:" I bet she would like it too if I'd massage her neck... and then her- WHOW dude not again!" He shook his head rather violently to get the thoughts away from his mind which produced a smile on the man's face who stood behind him.

"Bad thoughts when looking at a sleeping girl? My my the youth these days..." The man said in an obviously amused voice.

"Oh errrrrm..." Ron was caught in surprise. "I errm ."

"No need to explain kiddo I've been young once too."

"Okay.. she's just my friend you know?"

"But you want her to be more than that."

Ron just blushed and looked to the ground.

"Haha i knew it!" The elder co-pilot laughed:

"Im just so frightened i could break what we have already..."

"Just be carefull and it will work. And break what? She couldn't stand beeing without you for just two days!"

"How you wanna know?"

"I found my wife the same way and boy: the best couples are those that have a friendship like yours. But nothing will happen if you don-"

Ron interrupted him: "But she's always after goodlooking sport-boys!"

"And to who do you think does she come back everytime?"

Ron didn't know anything to respond. Instead he thought. "Should I really try it?"

Like having read his toughts the man said:" Boy if you fail she'll be angry for two days and then come back to you. If she runs away at all."

"But... "

"No but young man. As we say in the troop: Who dares wins!"

"Who dares wins..."

"Exact and heres your chute."

"How-"

"No one would move away from such a moment without a reason."

"Oh..." He took the chute on and double-checked if all the straps were adjusted right. He jumped into out of the plane after telling the man to keep her informed that he's shopping. The man had only replied with a slyish smile and said. "Go for it youngster! You will do it!"

Ron was confused to see that the town underneath had a few big yellow lights. "Fires..." Also he saw small red flashes and yellow lances of light that cut through the darkness in a way he didn't know.

As he was about fifty feet above ground he saw that he was not going in a tree or other place where he could wrap himself up like a UPS-package. Normally that always happened when he paradropped out of a plane. He saw someone pointing at him and yelling something he couldn't understand. Mostly because of the loud noises that came when some of these lances sped through the night. He dropped to the ground and put the chute off his body. As soon as he looked up he saw somone reaching towards him with his left arm. His Right arm held a... "Gun! He's got a gun. Oh he's a policeofficer. No prob then." The officer grabbed his arm rather violently and pulled him towards a door. He wanted to resist but the man was way to strong. So he came along in his typical, slightly goofy walk. As soon as they were through the door it was smashed close. The officer shouted at him "KID if I had been a runner you'd be dead now!"

"What do you talk about?" He made a scowl.

"Doesn't matter take this-" He put ronald a rifle in the hand.

"Wha-"

"SHUT UP! hold it this way:" He aimed at an imaginated foe with his machinepistol. "Then pull the trigger. Always aim at the head! If you fail to take one down with two shots minimum you're TOAST."

"But-"

"JOHNSON show the kid how to shoot!"

Another man in swat-clothes came into view. "Hey kid im your teacher now. Imagine I would be one of them." He started to walk towards Ron while moaning and strangely shuffling.

"I'm confused-" He was thrown down by the man when he grabbed rons shoulder's and threw himself at him, putting both down.

"DEAD! That's what you are now DEAD!" He shouted. Remember: A zombie will bit your brains out and not tell you to stand up again!" He helped Ron back to his feet.

"You mean zombies like the "zombie mayhem slaughterhouse 3: return of the brainless" zombies?

The man thought for a second while crossing his arms and looking at the ceiling. "Yeah but they hunt us and not us them. And you WON'T be able to just press reset or load from the last savepoint! And there is no "life-bar" if one of them hits you with an axe or so you're DONE FOR! This is not a game. One hit kills." Then he muttered not quiet enough for ron to not hear it: "Better hope that you're don

"No need to shout but is this really happening? I mean..."

"Sure kiddo just watch. We are even in luck that we made it to build a defensive perimeter around the twons core, using barricades and buildings as outposts. We are under siege but we hold out rather fine until now. The hospital, shool and most of the city-area are under our control. But that doesn't mean that youre able to walk around alone and without a gun. They are focused at our defense-line so that means that they won't wander the whole town and run to other cities. Or they are just not as active as they are during the day." Ron had listened to all that while walking up stairs with the cop. Now he stood before a window that had an iron-plate neated against it. The man opened a small hatch for Ron to look.

The street was covered in muddy snow. A few man-like shapes were lying on the ground scattered wildly. Nothing moved and nothing was out of the ordinary. "There's nothing important. Are that dead people lying on the streets there?" He put his arm out to point out of the window but was stopped by a hand of steel clutched around his arm. "Never put you head, arm or something else out of a window."

"Why?" The man only pointed towards a corner of the room. Ron followed the "order" and saw a man sitting on a bar-chair infornt of a bar. "Nothing specia-" the man lifted his right arm, which had been covered by his body before and it was nothing else than a stump of the upper arm that was covered by white bandages. The bandages were bloodred and soaked at the end of the stump. "Oh..."

"Yeah sad isn't it? That's the chief. Well it is my task to show you how to shoot properly. Follow me."

Ron obeyed and walked absentminded after the swat-officer. "By the way my name is james. And you are?"

"Ron stoppable."

"Aha well I guess you'll be called kiddo by everyone since our chief called you that way. Anyway welcome to the pack."

Ron shook the outstretched hand and asked: "Pack?"

"Yeah strange name isn't it? Well but it fits. Chief said some youngster had told him that name back in upperton."

"Back in upperton? What do you mean by that?"

"Well, that epidemic or whatever it is started in upperton. No one was prepaired. So the whole town got butchered in half a day. Well and the chief lead some group of SWAT who had done some practice outta town. As they drove back into the city they noticed that something was different. Well they were the only ones still alive 'cept a very few cops and some civics. As they reached the policestation they got rescued by some of the survivors form some really nasty creatures. Well and they all tried to escape town. And... well... some of them are still alive and kicking as you can see. We managed to get here before the hordes of evil and could convince some of the other people at the MPD, Middleton Police Department that is, to join us in barricading at least small parts of the city. We thought that our messenger had made it through but appearently he didn't make it."

"Messenger?"

"Yeah some young dude. He was better off alone. Said he could cope with ithe stress alone. Said he could sneak trough 'em. He could. At that moment it was just better to let him do his own thing. Anyway let's start shootin!" James said with a certain glee in his voice.

On the other end of the town two people tried to get to the second police-department of middleton. Middleton basicly had two because Lowerton had three and that had still not been enough. But spare building-space was rare so they had build it as a mobile reserve for lowerton inside middleton. Especially usefull during the everyyear Super-bowl rampages.