It's a bird...It's a plane...It's an...update?
Yes, yes it is. And only one, if you all had any confusion. I had some issues with moving this chapter from AO3 to here and had to post again. But anyway...Guys, I can't say how sorry I am that it's taken so long. The end of my high school career swooped in and hit me hard enough that I wasn't able to do much of anything outside of homework and studying. But I'm officially graduated now and ready to rock!
Just so you all know, I've transferred all of this story to AO3 at this link: /works/1188882/chapters/2425497. That will be up-to-date with this one if that site is easier for you to read on. As always, thank you all for sticking with me. I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Two weeks pass by quickly and soon, Martin finds himself standing at the front gate, being handed a 12 gauge shotgun by one of the girls who works in the armory. During the months he spent alone, Martin grew a begrudging appreciation for guns. As such, he immediately recognizes the one in his hand as one of the newest Remington models - though it's merely pump action, it's still one of the best guns he could be carrying.
He does as thorough a check as he can without completely dismantling it and nods at the girl, satisfied with his weapon. From behind, Odi nudges him and Martin throws on his pack, quickly joining the gathering around Natasha.
"Our vamp escort today is Nadir." She points to the tan-skinned vampire. Martin had noticed him a few days prior speaking to Stefan while wandering through the city. Like Durai, Nadir wears the traditional clothes of his own Islamic culture but with a darker, more durable look that Martin has dubbed "vampire-proofing".
Nadir nods, looking coolly into the crowd.
"The wall damage is on the east end about a fourth of the way around and to the right of the entrance. Seven people will work on the wall, the other ten will follow me and get supplies. Nadir here will be about midway between the two groups. Odi is in charge of the wall team. He will have a flare gun and I, myself, will have another. Red flares signal danger - if one is launched, make your way immediately to the gate. Is that clear?"
The small crowd shouts the affirmative and shuffles around as Natasha lists off the people joining her in the forest, eventually giving the signal to open the gate. The volunteers are obviously determined to get done as quickly as possible; as soon as the doors open, each person immediately follows a quick pace, rushing to the east end of the wall and splitting into their groups from there.
Despite working with these people for so long, Martin is still surprised at how efficient they are - it takes almost no time at all for the ten people following Natasha to end up deep into the forest. Martin barely notices at first, but by the time he realizes just how far from the city they are, he finds himself far more leery than he was only moments before. When they finally come to a halt, the trees are all around them, blocking out any view of the city. Taking a deep breath to try to calm himself as much as possible, Martin slings his shotgun over his shoulder, readying himself to cut down trees.
"Don't overwork yourself," Natasha warns to the whole group before they split up. "Only carry what you can or else you'll be completely useless."
Martin takes the warning to heart and scouts out the best quality wood that he can find while also being relatively small. About an hour and a half later, Martin is searching for Natasha with a full pack on his back. He smiles when he reaches her, completely unsurprised to find a nearly-full pack by her feet as she works on chopping another huge tree.
"Need some help there?"
Natasha turns, wiping sweat from her brow. She eyes him warily. "You're done already?"
Martin shrugs his pack off and shows it to her. "Can't fit much more in here."
Natasha grunts and returns to her work. "Makes sense - you got a smaller pack since you got a weapon." She steps back and looks up at the tree. "If you're up to it, you can join me. I think I'm going to collect everyone here when this is done and head back, anyway. The wall team should be about half-way through their work at this point. Tomorrow we'll come back out and finish."
Martin nods and unsheathes his axe, swinging as she resets. They're working in silence punctuated only by the sharp blows of their axes when they hear it: a grunt bordering on a growl from only a few feet away. Immediately, Natasha drops her axe and pulls Martin behind an overgrown section of bushes.
She signals for him to be quiet, as if he wasn't already. She surveys the area as much as she can without moving.
"You heard that, didn't you?" she whispers, voice barely audible.
Martin nods and looks around the area ahead of them. "I think-" he cuts himself off when the creature comes into view, pushing harshly through the trees.
"Shit," Natasha whispers, watching the Reaper walk around with its nose in the air. The thing looks around the area they'd just left, circling the half-chopped tree. They're lucky they're in an area so dense with trees and foliage - it's obvious the thing didn't see them before they hid and can only barely smell them.
A rather useless reassurance, Martin thinks, as they stare at it in silence. Martin slowly removes the weapon from his shoulder. He knows it won't do much, though perhaps it will slow it down if they have to make a break for it.
They both jump when Nadir appears suddenly between them. He signals for them to be quiet with a finger pressed firmly to his lips before placing both of his hands on each of their shoulders. Carefully, he backs them up, trying to stay as silent as possible as they put some distance between the creature and themselves. If they can get far enough away, they'll be safe to sprint back to the city. Martin's hands tremble as he holds onto his weapon, moving as quickly as possible under the circumstances.
Suddenly, a harsh scream fills the air as Kenneth runs into the clearing, trailing another Reaper behind him. He runs face first into the Reaper they have their eyes on. The creature actually looks surprised, staring at Kenneth for a moment before its expression turns predatory and it pounces.
"Damn," Nadir curses. "Run. Get away and launch the flare." He jumps away from them, tackling one of the feeding Reapers.
Martin and Natasha waste no time in following his orders. They sprint in the opposite direction, Natasha pulling her flare gun free and firing it as they escape. From behind them they hear a loud roar and the distinct sound of a chase. Natasha spares a glance backwards.
"It's gaining and fast. We can't outrun this," she shouts.
Martin looks quickly at it, finding it to be only a few yards behind now. "Right," he says. He breathes out once before pursing his lips and nodding. "Keep running."
"Wait! Martin!"
He ignores her and spins around, immediately firing a shot at the creature behind them. He pumps the forearm as he continues to jog backwards, shooting the thing again. This time, it slows just the tiniest bit. He takes the chance to cock the gun once more and fire directly into the monster's face. The Reaper howls and trips.
Continuing to run backwards, Martin fires again, catching the creature on its shoulder and spraying black blood all around it. He continues to fire, continues to run. The creature gains ground, taking the chance while Martin adds more shells to start its sprint once more.
Martin only has time for one more. He shouts as he shoots, spraying a good portion of the creature's head into the distance. It's inertia keeps it coming forward, though, and it hits Martin hard, landing heavily on his right side and crushing him against the hard ground.
"Martin!" He hears Natasha shout from a few feet beyond.
"Keep going," he shouts back blindly, voice strained as he tries to breathe air back into his lungs.
Another roar from just beyond the nearest treeline catches his attention. Quickly realizing that he has no chance of getting out from under the carcass of the Reaper in time, Martin lifts the shotgun with his free hand. He sets the stock on the ground and pumps the forearm. It takes way too much effort and he knows immediately that he'll only get in one or two more shots before this newest threat is upon him.
He lifts the shotgun shakily, the weight making him unsteady. He waits until the thing is beyond the treeline and fires. He goes to cock it once more, shouting when the shotgun loses its placement and slides sideways before he can complete the action.
Without warning, the gun is grabbed from him and Natasha pumps it, points, and fires. She doesn't move from her protective position next to Martin, however, and is only able to get one more shot in before the Reaper is within clawing distance. She stumbles back, throwing up the weapon as a shield.
A loud screech is heard as a vampire darts in between them and throws the monster backwards, tackling it to the ground. Eliza screams as she viciously tears into the Reaper's chest cavity and spreads it open, launching its blood everywhere. She takes its heart in one hand and squeezes it into little more than dust. The Reaper shrieks and claws at her but it's too slow. Before it can get a single hand on her, she grips its head and wrenches it from its body, crushing it beneath her booted foot. She stomps on it multiple times, completely disintegrating it.
Natasha rushes to Martin's side, pushing the Reaper off of him and helping him up. He cringes, gripping his shoulder but nods at her when she asks him if he's alright.
"Where is its head?" Eliza pants, breathless.
"Shot most of it off," Martin says.
"The only way to kill a Reaper is by completely destroying its head and its heart. It'd be nice if we could burn the bodies too just in case but we don't have the time right now." She cuffs a hand through her brown curls. "You didn't see where it went?"
Martin shakes his head no and looks back at the Reaper. Already, its wounds are healing. It twitches.
In the distance, they hear a cry from Nadir. Eliza looks back and forth between them and the Reaper. She stares pointedly at where Martin is gripping his arm, looking worried.
"It's fine," he says. "Go help Nadir, you can deal with this thing later."
She shakes her head. "Better to kill it when it can't fight back," she explains. "I only killed that one so easily because I took it by surprise." She sighs. "It's not matter to you, now. Get back to the village and quickly."
They don't need to be told twice. Natasha grips Martin's uninjured arm and they sprint towards the town. The vampires on guard quickly check them over, ask for a few details, and let them in. Giselle glides past them, her black flowing hair and the sword glinting in her hand the only things Martin sees as she runs through the entrance.
The entire town is on high alert as they enter. Various town officials lead the straggling citizens to the large city center, pushing everyone inside. Natasha and Martin follow behind the crowd, walking into the large room to find Carolyn trying to make an announcement to the panicking people.
They lean against the back wall, idly listening as she works to calm the people enough to explain. From her pack, Natasha pulls a cigarette, placing it in between her lips. She pats her pockets and groans.
"What is it?" Martin asks, looking at her in worry.
"I hardly ever carry a light anymore. Do you have one?"
"Um." Martin carefully removes his pack from his injured arm, searching through it. "Actually I think I do. Never cleared out this thing when I got it."
"Thank God," she says, nearly ripping the lighter from him. She hands it back almost just as quickly, taking no time at all to light the cigarette. She sighs as she takes a drag, pulling the cigarette from her mouth.
"Cigarettes are almost impossible to find anymore," she explains, probably after seeing Martin's confused stare. She smirks. "Seems I wasn't the only one who couldn't give up their addiction when the apocalypse started." A pause. "Not to mention the fact the vampires don't deem them a priority when supply hunting." Her eyes close. "Means I can only light up when I really need it. Like now."
"Ah," Martin says, nodding in understanding.
Natasha glances at him again. "You thought I was just being pretentious, didn't you?"
Martin can feel his face turn red. "No. I actually don't know what I thought about it. Nothing really surprises me anymore," he says.
"Sure," she replies, but her smile indicates she's only joking. Her eyes stray back to the front of the room. "Looks like Carolyn's finally got this useless lot back under control."
Martin stares at her for a moment longer before turning back to watch Carolyn. "She really knows how to command a room," he mutters, watching as she gives a bit of background into the situation.
Natasha hums her agreement, staring intently as Carolyn continues.
"Preliminary reports show eleven Reapers in the surrounding area. So far we've confirmed that Eliza's dishwashing group have all returned safely and six of the eighteen members of the reconstruction team are back within the walls.
"Six," Natasha breathes. She raises her hand, trying to get Carolyn's attention in the quieted room. "Let's hear the names of the six," she shouts.
Martin still marvels at her ability to carry her voice the way she does; even in the large room, Carolyn is able to hear her clearly. Carolyn looks up at her in surprise and the corner of her mouth twitches. "Make that eight," she says. She snaps and Carl joins her on stage with a notepad. She reads off the names and Natasha frowns.
"So no one from the forest team but us so far," she says.
"There are currently twelve vampires in the city, luckily," Carolyn continues. "Two will remain on guard duty at the entrance. We have a lookout on the wall who will launch a yellow flare if the Reapers make it inside of the wall."
The mention of zombies within the walls throws the room into another panic and immediately people are talking, shouting, moving about.
Carolyn places her fingers in her mouth and whistles loud. "Shut up!" she shouts. When the chaos quiets to a dull murmur, she continues. "If we panic, we are dead. If you're going to wallow then you can go back home and do it alone. Anyone willing to fight can stay here and weapons will be handed out."
"Weapons won't work," one woman shouts frantically.
"The vampires have a hard enough time with them! What are we meant to do?" another man yells.
Martin watches the chaos with a growing sense of apprehension. The people are panicking, almost as much as those in his hometown did the day the first news of zombies circulated. It's pathetic, really, how easily they've forgotten the danger they're still in. He steps forward. "Weapons work," Martin yells, surprising himself.
The room quiets and looks to him.
"So we fight," he continues, still holding his arm. "Weapons work at least a little against them. I managed to get one down with only a shotgun. Even if all we can do is slow them, that's better than nothing. It's what we have to do until the vampires can help us."
That little speech seems to help. Immediately the morale is back in some of the people and a line begins to form for weapons while a few other people leave with their children. Natasha pats his back and shoots him a small smile. "Nice going, Rookie," she mutters over the sound of the crowd. He grins back at her, still surprised at himself. In the past, he was never much of a leader; yet, here, he realizes, he's more of an expert than anyone else. That fact instills in him a sense of pride - enough to boost his confidence when needed, it seems.
"Martin."
They both turn to find Dr. Breton walking determinedly towards them.
"I saw you holding your arm. What's happened?"
Natasha smirks and Martin smiles. "That Reaper landed on me. I don't think it's a big thing."
"I'll be the judge of that," she says, leading him and Natasha out of the crowded building. "Natasha, are you hurt?"
"No, just Martin."
"Alright. We'd better do this quick, I want to be ready just in case."
Martin leaves the hospital twenty minutes later with a sling and his pack of wood on his back. He sighs as he rearranges it on his shoulders, lamenting the lighter weight of the pack. The fall caused nearly half of his pack to empty, leaving his back bruised and aching in the process. He tries to stretch as he walks, eventually catching sight of Natasha. He waves at her, managing to grab her attention.
"Bad news then?" she shouts to him as she jogs over.
"Actually no. Breton said this thing," he holds up his sling-clad arm, "is just a precaution. I strained my shoulder and bruised my back and ribs but there's no permanent damage."
"Good. Good."
"Any news on survivors?"
Natasha runs a hand through her bangs and sighs. For a moment, her expression changes - she looks grey, distraught, almost sick. It's the least confident he's seen her yet and he finds himself unnerved. "We've got four confirmed dead so far," she says, looking back at the entrance. "They were brought in with Sila by Nadir."
Martin closes his eyes. "What does that mean? Is Sila dead?"
Natasha confirms with a nod of her head. "Nadir is pretty injured as well but those vamps can just sleep it off and heal themselves; he'll be fine in a couple of days."
"Did he say how many Reaper's they've killed?"
"Sounds like, including the one you shot to shit, they've taken out six of them. Of course that was even before Giselle, Stefan, and Durai got out there. If we had Douglas, they'd all be dead by now."
Martin hums. He eyes the near-full pack on her back. "With this arm, I'm useless on guard duty. I might as well do something worthwhile." He holds his free hand out. "Where should I take these?"
Natasha hesitates before pulling the pack off of her shoulder. "Craftsmen's booth. No one's there, probably, but you can just drop it - they'll know what to do with it whenever things quiet down around here."
"Got it," he says, setting off. He's grateful that he has something to do instead of standing around aimlessly like some of the people around who weren't able to get any weapons.
On his way to the booth, Carolyn stops him with a firm hand on his good arm. He turns to find her staring at him with poorly-disguised concern. "We haven't talked in awhile."
He looks around at the bustling town. "And you're choosing now?" he says with a smile.
Carolyn harrumphs and crosses her arms. "Your arm's alright, then?"
"Should be." He holds it up and waves it back and forth for good measure, wincing when he goes a bit too far.
Carolyn rolls her eyes and looks around quickly before leaning in. "I've been told some interesting news from Douglas."
"About the bond."
"Yes." She stares at him imploringly.
Martin shakes his head. "I can't believe we're talking about this now." He smiles. "He gave me the choice - it's really all ok."
"You're positive?"
"Absolutely."
She leans back and smirks. "Well, I won't say I told you so."
Martin rolls his eyes and laughs. "You just did."
Her smirk grows into a cheeky grin and she leaves him to continue on to the craftsmen's booth. As he's lifting his items over to the teenage apprentice on duty, he hears the sound of yelling from the front. At first, he's afraid of what it means, yet as he listens, he realizes that what he's hearing are cheers.
He throws a look at the wide-eyed teen behind the desk. "Would you like to go see what's happening?"
The boy nods and follows him to the large crowd at the front gates. In the center, Durai, Giselle, and Stefan are standing, covered in zombie blood, each carrying weapons. Giselle is speaking and Martin grabs the hand of the boy and pushes through to hear.
"-found three alive, one of which is injured. The rest of the reconstruction crew's supply team are dead. Sila is dead. Nadir, Tomas, and Carmen are each severely injured. Durai and I will discuss this unexpected and unprecedented Reaper attack. For now we ask that you do not panic and stick to your jobs and life as you have known it. So far, we are putting this down as mere coincidence."
She looks to Durai, seeing if he has anything to add. He briefly closes his eyes and steps forward. "We thank you for your preparedness today," he says, his monotone voice strangely soothing to the anxious crowd. "I will be discussing plans for a more organized defense effort should another attack like this happen again, though I am positive that it will not."
With that, he steps forward and immediately the crowd parts to let the three through. Behind them, more vampires continue to return alongside the few surviving humans.
Martin turns. "Lucas, was it?"
The boy nods, still staring at the entrance. Martin isn't sure whether or not they've already brought the dead in but he'd rather not have the boy watching if they haven't.
"What do you say we head back to your booth and get started on that wood?"
Lucas looks at him and nods slowly, following him. He watches the boy as they weave their way through the crowd.
The city is certainly a blessing, but observing Lucas walk shakily makes him realize just how much of an illusion it is. No matter how safe they feel inside, there are still zombies all over the world. They're not done fighting yet, not for a very long time.
He looks towards the east where he's sure Douglas has gone. He fervently hopes the group is alright.
Again, thank you all for reading. Feel free to leave me reviews or asks on my writing tumblr at .com!
