Five months after the global outbreak, it was a quiet day as the birds chirped in the wilderness of Illinois with abandoned cars on both sides of the road, some of them burned-out husks of their former selves as the silence gave off an eerie vibe while a newspaper detailing the collapse of the federal government and major cities in all fifty states being bombed by the military rested on the road while a road sign showing directions to different towns were graffitied with a message that said 'All dead, may God help us all' before the distant sounds of engines got closer and louder.
Pretty soon, a customized Harley Davidson roared past the sign with the driver as Nick while his eyes were hard and he was followed by my 1977 blue ford F150 pickup that was armored up with an M2 Browning machine gun in the back that was manned by Mike, then the last vehicle that was behind the first two was Finn's van that was also armored as we drove down the abandoned road before coming to a stop next to a cemetery.
I got out of my truck and removed the M4 rifle from the gun rack before I started scanning the area as Nick got off his drifter bike with Mike also getting out of the truck as Finn left his van and they rejoined us with their own firearms while I looked around with a cold expression.
"We lost him, so keep your heads on a swivel," I ordered as I kept a lookout for any signs of our bounty before I picked out the sound of someone gurgling weakly and flicked the safety off on my rifle as Nick spotted something out of my line of sight and his eyes widened.
"Martin, over there," Nick told me as he hurried over to something, then I looked and saw that who he spotted was Rebecca Jones but she looked severely beaten as she was resting against a statue and I quickly went over to her with Mike and Finn right behind me as we met up with Nick while Rebecca coughed up blood.
"Jesus, she's still alive," Finn muttered as I knelt down to check on Rebecca.
"Rebecca, can you hear me? Did rippers do this to you?" I questioned as I stared at her with an empty look behind my shades before Rebecca weakly reached over to grab my arm.
"Jacob...did this," Rebecca wheezed out before she fell onto her side as she died right in front of me with her hand letting go of my arm and I stood up after that.
"Fucking Jacob," Nick muttered darkly before a familiar motorcycle passed us at a high rate of speed, prompting us to rush over to our vehicles as Nick got on his drifter bike while the rest of us entered our vehicles.
We chased after Jacob while he was trying to get away, all of us avoiding any cars that were in the way while the trees flew past us in a blur as Jacob was up ahead until he suddenly started shooting back at us while Nick swerved to avoid getting shot.
"Oh fuck!" Nick yelped on the radio as I reached for it to contact him.
"Watch it, he's armed," I warned urgently while bullets struck the armored plating on my windshield.
"No shit, he can't have much ammo!" Nick shot back while Jacob threw Molotoves at us, forcing Nick and the rest of us to move out of the way so our vehicles didn't get set on fire.
"Goddamnit, and he's got Molotovs so watch it!" Finn notified us as we kept chasing after Jacob, going off-road once and avoiding any trees around us before we got back onto the road and Mike looked more than pissed at this point.
"Screw this, I have an idea," Mike told me irritably as he pulled out his sig saur and reached for a latch on the armored plating on his window so he could open it, then he aimed out at Jacob before shooting at him until a bullet struck his engine and Jacob swerved while Mike grinned victoriously.
"You like that, motherfucker?!" Mike shouted before he holstered his gun and I looked at him.
"You hit him," I said while Mike let out a sigh.
"Yeah, I did," Mike stated before I saw that Jacob pulled over and got off his bike until he ran into the forest as I reached for my radio.
"Hold up, he stopped his bike and is running into the forest," I said to the others until we pulled over to where Jacob abandoned his bike.
Suddenly, rapid gunfire broke out from the forest before multiple rounds struck my truck and Finn's van as Mike quickly got out, and I scrambled after him as we exited the truck while I saw Nick using his own drifter bike as cover before Mike and I used the engine block as cover while Finn left his van from the passenger side and took cover as I checked my rifle and got ready.
"Cover me," I told the others and they nodded before rising up out of cover to shoot back, multiple gunshots ringing out while bullets and shotgun pellets struck the trees ahead of us.
I got out of cover and moved quickly as the others quit firing to ensure they didn't hit me before I ran into the forest with the others right behind me, then we eventually came to a stop and looked around with our weapons up before I slung my rifle and kneeled down to check the ground for any trail Jacob left behind until I found one and pointed in a direction.
"He went that way," I told the others until we continued moving after that.
"Where the hell is he going? There isn't shit around out here but a bunch of freaks," Nick wondered in confusion as we ducked under a fallen tree trunk and kept walking with our guns ready.
"Maybe I was wrong about him making a deal with Copeland," Finn said while I looked around.
"No, Jacob's been fencing shit to Copeland for two months so you could say it finally caught up to him," I chimed in while we arrived at a clearing and I held up a fist to have everyone stop moving before I kneeled down to study the ground until I discovered where Jacob went and stood up to gesture to a path that was on our right.
"Wait, he went down that path so move out," I ordered as we went down the path Jacob went and Mike looked at me.
"When the hell did you learn how to do that anyway?" Mike asked and I made eye-contact with him for a brief second before focusing on tracking Jacob.
"My human uncle was a marine who served in Vietnam and he learned how to track the enemy, so he taught me that just in case," I answered shortly as we arrived at an abandoned camp until Jacob popped up from out of nowhere and shot at Nick.
Nick shouted in pain from the bullet grazing his arm and we all quickly took cover while Jacob fired his AK47 with a war cry, me and the others reacting by firing back as bullets flew everywhere and struck other parts of the camp as Jacob ran out of ammo for his AK and dropped it until he pulled out his Glock and kept firing.
I signaled to the others that I was flanking and they laid out a suppressive fire as I moved around to where Jacob was shooting until his Glock went empty and I moved out of cover, shooting Jacob once in the stomach and he screamed in agony as he dropped the sidearm and bolted while holding his bloody abdomen as the rest of us fired at him until he was gone and the others met up with me.
"Nice shot, got the bastard right in the gut," Mike complimented, making me send a nod of acknowledgment to him as I walked over to Nick to check on his arm.
"You okay, little brother?" I asked before Nick nodded while grimacing in pain and clutching his arm with one hand as he held his beretta with his other.
"Yeah, just a graze since that son of a bitch can't aim worth a damn," Nick reassured before I began scowling and we continued walking.
"If I'm right, then that piece of shit must be heading down towards the falls," Mike told us as I looked over the edge of a cliff and saw a horde of freakers down below that consisted of predators, humans, and prey while they were growling and stumbling forward, but I did not doubt that they heard the gunshots and could smell Jacob's blood so we needed to hurry unless we wanted to get torn to pieces.
"He's losing a lot of blood so he won't get far, now come on," Finn suggested as we kept moving and hopped over the railing, following the blood trail until we found Jacob struggling to get away from us before he collapsed to his hands and knees as we aimed at him.
"Search him," I told Mike, who walked over to pat Jacob down as the man groaned in agony before Mike nodded at us to show that our bounty was unarmed before we walked over and I chuckled mirthlessly.
"Talk about a shitty way to die, bleeding out after getting shot in the stomach and the thing is that it'll take hours for you to die while you feel the most agonizing pain imaginable, but I suppose you'd know all about that, am I right?" I commented as I knelt down in front of Jacob and Finn looked pissed.
"She was still breathing when we found her, you piece of shit," Finn growled as he glared at Jacob, who looked at him with a pained smile.
"I wasn't going to waste a bullet, not on her," Jacob taunted and Nick looked enraged at that as he went to bash him across the face with the butt of his gun, but I held up a hand to stop him.
"Easy, little brother, we still want him breathing," I placated calmly and turned my attention to Jacob before interrogating, "Now, where's the stash, Jacob?"
"Why should I tell you?" Jacob questioned and I sighed.
"Well, if you tell us, then I can promise you that we'll make it quick and it doesn't look like you'd be suffering for too long because, if you haven't noticed, you have a bit of a problem since that horde can smell your blood from all the way down there.
So, what do you suppose that would feel like, huh? Torn apart, eaten alive?" I wondered nonchalantly as Jacob's eyes widened in horror and Nick leaned down next to him with an unsympathetic look.
"I guess he'll find out pretty soon," Nick stated coldly and Jacob glared at him.
"Fuck you," Jacob retorted weakly until I stood up.
"Goodbye, Jacob," I said as we started walking away from him.
"No, wait," Jacob called out with panic in his voice, prompting us to stop and turn around as Jacob held up a hand with a terrified look.
"Yes?" I asked and Jacob sighed before he gestured at one of his pockets.
"It's here, just don't leave me like this," Jacob pleaded as he took out a piece of paper and handed it over to me, then I looked through it to see that it was like a hand-drawn treasure map before I scowled.
"Where?" I demanded and Jacob whimpered.
"In the old cemetery," Jacob clarified and I folded up the map before smiling darkly at Jacob.
"Have fun, Jacob," I said as we went to leave.
"Wait, don't let those things kill me, please!" Jacob begged and I slung my rifle before turning around, pulling out my Glock and aiming right at his head as he nodded.
"Do it, don't leave me out here for the freaks...do it, do it! You goddamn liar, do it!" Jacob shouted desperately, then I made my decision and shot him in the face with an empty look in my eyes as the body fell onto the ground before I holstered my Glock and unslung my rifle as Finn went to get Jacob's trucker hat that was covered in blood.
"Tuck's going to need something for the bounty," Finn told me as he handed me the hat and I pocketed it before we started walking back to our vehicles.
"Hey, you did the right thing because it wouldn't be right leaving anyone out here for the freaks to get, not even a piece of shit like Jacob," Mike told me as it started raining, only I didn't respond as we arrived back at the campsite and Nick let out a slight groan.
"Hold up, I want to search this camp and see if I can find something to fix up this gash," Nick said as he gestured at the graze on his arm, then I nodded.
"Alright, you see if you can find something to disinfect and bandage that arm while the rest of us keep a lookout," I agreed stoically, then Nick started searching the campsite while the rest of us kept watching the surrounding area just in case until Nick found a bottle of alcohol and a cloth that looked clean before he used the alcohol to disinfect his cut and tied the cloth around it like a makeshift bandage as I walked over.
"You good, now?" I asked and Nick nodded.
"Yeah, won't be losing the arm anytime soon thankfully," Nick replied as we started heading back to our vehicles and I looked at Finn.
"I thought we were going hunting tonight and bring some bounties in for Tucker," I pointed out before Finn sighed.
"Well, not if it's pissing down rain," Finn stated until I shook my head.
"No, we need the camp creds if we want to stock up on supplies," I said logically while Mike made a face at that until he groaned slightly.
"Good point, but we don't want to be out here for too long because the freaks mostly come out at night," Mike pointed out as we were soaked from the rain and headed back to the road, then we walked over to our vehicles before Finn looked at us.
"I'm going to see if there's anything we can salvage off of Jacob's bike," Finn told us as he went to Jacob's bike and Nick went to his drifter bike, only he paused when he looked at it closely and threw his arms up in frustration.
"Oh, son of a bitch," Nick snapped irritably and I walked over to him.
"What?" I questioned and Nick gestured at his bike's fuel pump, which was leaking from a bullet hole as Finn came over to see what was going on.
"Fucking Jacob shot out my fuel pump, so you wouldn't happen to have gotten anything off of his bike, right?" Nick asked Finn, who shook his head.
"Nah, it's done so let's get back to our safe house for tonight and go out tomorrow for parts to fix your bike," Finn said as Nick, Mike, and I was carefully lifting the drifter bike and loading it up into the back of Finn's van before I looked up at a billboard that showed directions of an auto repair shop and an idea came to me.
"Actually, there's an auto repair shop not too far from here so why don't we head there and look for the part we need while we're still out here?" I offered and the others looked at me uncertainly.
"I don't know, this seems risky," Mike pointed out and I nodded.
"Yeah, but we were going out hunting for bounties anyway, so we might as well get this over with," I commented as I got into my truck with Mike and Nick while Finn got in his van and we drove away while I turned on the wipers.
"Hey, what did Jacob give you?" Nick asked and I frowned.
"Some kind of map so once we get your bike fixed up, let's head to the cemetery to take a look around for the stash," I suggested and the others nodded.
"Yeah, sounds good," Nick replied as I kept driving.
"So tomorrow, we get the drugs, take them to Tucker, collect on Jacob's bounty, and head north," Mike told us before I scoffed.
"And you think shit's any different up north?" I asked skeptically.
"Doesn't matter, I think it'd do us good to get the hell away from here," Mike stated, then I went silent for a while as I focused on driving and scowled when I saw a blockade of wrecked cars up ahead before I came to a stop and Finn pulled up right behind us.
"Hey, why are we stopping?" Finn asked through the radio and I grabbed it to respond.
"We got an obstruction up ahead so let's get out and move one of those cars out of the way," I instructed as I got out into the rain with Nick and Mike while Finn left his van to regroup with us.
"Careful, I saw a setup like this a couple of days ago where a bunch of rippers blocked the road with an old truck," Nick warned as Mike got up the back of the truck and aimed around with the browning while Nick, Finn, and I walked over to a humvee that looked intact.
I grabbed the side while Nick and Finn took the front before we started pushing the truck out of the way until I heard Mike yelping and quickly looked to see him being yanked off of the back of my pickup by two men before I was grabbed from behind and dragged away from Nick and Finn while they were attacked by more marauders and I struggled with the one who was grappling me from behind.
I elbowed the person in the gut and it loosened his grip before I slammed the back of my head into his face to make him let me go as he stumbled back before I took out my combat knife and spun around to slash the man's throat, causing him to spurt up blood while he clutched his neck and fell as Mike quickly disarmed a marauder with a bat and cracked his head with a nasty hit while killing the other with another well-placed swing.
As for Nick and Finn, they killed their attackers with a little effort before they breathed heavily as they looked at me and Mike, making us nod as we headed over to them and continued to push the humvee until it was out of the way while I saw a decayed body in the driver seat, causing me to shake my head as we went back to our vehicles and drove away from the gruesome scene before we came across what used to be a national guard checkpoint with FEMA and NERO logos on some buildings while a few cars and military humvees were left there as I reached for my radio.
"Heads up, we're coming up on the abandoned military checkpoint so we're almost there," I informed Finn while also looking at Nick and Mike as we passed the empty security booth and drove through the checkpoint before entering the dark tunnel that was up ahead as I turned on my headlights and Finn did the same with his van as I could see the tunnel piled up with wrecked and abandoned cars before I stopped the truck and Finn pulled up behind us.
"So, how do you want to do this?" Nick asked me while I studied the pile of cars that were in front of us and I narrowed my eyes.
"I'll walk point so stay behind me," I instructed as I got out of the truck with Nick and Mike looking at me like I'm crazy while I grabbed my rifle, but they didn't say anything as I turned on the flashlight attached to my rifle.
"Looks like that checkpoint had them backed up pretty good," Mike commented on my radio while Finn scoffed as I moved forward with the others trailing behind me slowly.
"Yeah, a shit load of good that did them during the first few weeks of chaos, and I'd rather take a bullet to the brain than wind up like this...shit, look at all these dumbasses so what the fuck were they thinking? 'Hey, Mr. fed, can we sit here and wait 'till the goddamn horde comes through and just kills us all?'," Finn grumbled irritably and I couldn't help but agree with that.
"Bad way to go out, trapped in a shithole like this," I agreed as we kept moving, me aiming around and keeping my eyes and ears open while we passed cars until I picked up a familiar disgusting smell, and my nose wrinkled as I aimed at a Freaker nest that was on our left.
"You guys see that?" I asked the others and looked back to see Nick and Mike tense up while they were in my truck.
"Yeah...a nest so I don't envy you since god knows how bad it smells, so we should go before they wake up or notice that we're here," Mike suggested uneasily, then I walked over to Finn's van and gently knocked on the window before he rolled it down.
"Finn, how many molotovs do you still have in the back?" I asked and Finn stared at me with a grimace.
"Martin, let's hit it on the way back so leave it," Finn told me, only I headed to the back of the van and looked inside before taking the only Molotov that was still inside.
"Leave it my ass," I stated darkly as I walked past the driver-side door as Finn huffed.
"Son of a bitch, you're hoping someone's home," Finn said irritably as I walked over near the nest and slung my rifle before I took out a lighter, lighting up the cloth jammed into the bottle and throwing it at the nest until it hit the entrance and started burning as snarling echoed from the inside of the nest.
"Sounds like you got your wish," Finn remarked dryly as I unslung my rifle and aimed at the burning nest.
Suddenly, three swarmers consisting of a human and cougar came bolting out of the burning nest before they saw me and roared before they charged at me as I fired at them, hitting both in the torsos and they fell to the ground dead as I stormed over and started bludgeoning the human's head with the stock of my rifle while I held a look of frightening rage.
"Motherfucker!" I snarled while ignoring the others yelling at me until someone grabbed my arm, and I went to hit whoever it was until I saw that it was Nick while he backed up with his hands in a gesture of surrender.
"Easy Marty, it's dead and you're going to break your rifle," Nick placated as I breathed heavily with an unhinged look before I calmed down and my expression turned hollow.
"Yeah, sure," I said impassively as I walked away from him and scanned the area for more contacts as Nick followed me and stood next to me.
"You're going up there again, aren't you?" Nick questioned before I looked at him.
"I don't know what you mean," I evaded since I knew what he was talking about before Nick frowned.
"You know what I mean, the goddamn refugee camp and you only act like this whenever you're thinking about going up there," Nick pressed and I looked away with a scowl.
"Act like what?" I questioned before Nick sighed.
"Look, you can't keep doing this to yourself because it's not your fault that they're all dead," Nick told me sympathetically, only that was the wrong thing to say as I looked right at him with an icy expression.
"Drop it," I said coldly until Nick scowled.
"Hey, you think it doesn't affect me too? They were my nephews and our parents so if you had gone on the FEMA helicopter with Trevor instead of Luke, then the only thing that would've changed is that you'd be the one who's dead and Luke would've had to live without a father and brother," Nick retorted defensively, causing me to storm right up to him with a nasty glare as I got right into his face.
"I'm not going to tell you again, drop it," I warned menacingly as we glared at each other, then Nick walked back to the truck with his arms thrown up in frustration before he got back into the vehicle and we continued moving.
I kept my eyes open as I listened for the smallest of sounds that seemed off as the air was thick with tension until a car alarm went off in front of us as more swarmers charged at us and I shot them expertly before I hurried over to the car and used my knife to pop open the hood before I shut off the alarm as I sighed in relief, then we kept moving until I scowled at the sight of cars blocking the way and I reached for my radio.
"Hey, we won't be able to get our vehicles through there so I'm going to look for another way around and try to clear up that mess," I told the others until Mike left the truck and walked up to me with an MP5.
"I'll come along since you might need backup just in case it all goes to hell," Mike offered before I nodded and spotted a service tunnel on our left and signaled for him to stay on my six.
We headed through the entrance of the service tunnel and went down it as I held up my fist when I spotted a blood trail that led to a door on our left, then we moved more cautiously as we went to pass it and before I could react, a human swarmer burst out of the room and lunged at me as I instinctively raised my rifle like a shield before the infected grabbed it and we struggled while the Freaker snapped its teeth at my face with vicious snarls as I saw Mike trying to get a good aim and not succeeding.
Thinking fast, I kneed the swarmer in the gut and it hunched over before I kicked its knee to knock it down until I stomped it in the face more than once to kill it, then I breathed heavily as my heart raced and I calmed down before looking at Mike.
"Hey, I couldn't get a good aim on it so sorry about that," Mike told me sheepishly and I shook my head.
"It's fine, now move out," I ordered quietly as I peered into the room where the swarmer came out of and saw a few makeshift bandages around before I took them and handed a couple off to Mike until we kept moving through the service tunnel.
We arrived at the end of the service tunnel and found a truck blocking the way out, then Mike and I slung our guns and pushed the truck until it was out of the way and clearing a path for Nick and Finn just before the truck bumped into a car that was behind it and the car alarm went off with a nearby group of swarmers getting alerted by it as Mike and I swore loudly.
"Martin, Michael, what the hell did you two do?!" Nick shouted at us on the radio as Mike and I started shooting at the swarmers.
"We didn't plan on this, goddammit!" Mike shouted irritably as the swarmers consisting of a few foxes, wolves, and humans were shot dead thanks to our quick reaction before I hurried over to the car that was wailing away so that I could shut off the alarm before more Freakers showed up.
We continued moving while Mike and I checked the abandoned cars for supplies and found some ammo in two police cars that had decayed bodies in them before I saw the end of the tunnel with the sunlight shining in until I spotted another nest on our right and held up a fist to stop everyone.
"Hold up, another nest," I informed Mike and the others while the timberwolf gagged slightly from the horrific smell of shit and piss coming from the nest.
"Yeah...I can definitely smell it and I'm never getting used to that, even after five months of encountering them," Mike choked out while he covered his nose with one hand, and I walked back to Finn as he looked at me.
"Hey, how many molotovs do you have left?" I asked and Finn frowned.
"You just used the last one," Finn replied and I scowled at that before I sighed.
"Do you have any materials to make more?" I questioned before Finn nodded.
"Actually, I do have a bottle of alcohol and a rag in the back of the van so help yourself," Finn told me, and I went to check the back of the van to find what I was looking for until I found what I needed and closed one of the back doors.
I opened the bottle and stuffed half of the rag inside before I walked over to where Mike was waiting and used my lighter on the rag, then I tossed the Molotov at the nest and it was set on fire until the swarmers inside began snarling as they ran out and charged at me and my brother-in-law while we shot them dead until we headed back to my truck and got in with me taking the driver's seat before we drove out of the tunnel after that.
Not long after, we kept driving to the auto repair shop as I was lost in thought about what Mike told me earlier about us leaving the state to go north before I made a face at that and turned to look at Mike, who met my gaze with an expression of confusion as I regained focus on the road.
"Hey, I've been thinking about what you said, about leaving the state and heading north," I spoke up and Mike sighed.
"Just saying, you need to get away from here to clear your head, you know?" Mike pointed out logically while I couldn't find a way to argue with that.
"Okay, we'll fix Nick's bike, turn in the bounties tomorrow, and get the hell out of here," I agreed reluctantly while Nick smiled at that.
"Good to hear," Nick chimed in as I kept driving until I saw a motel a short distance away and pulled over to the side of the road with Finn also stopping as he contacted me on my radio.
"Well, you wanted a freakshow," Finn said as we watched the swarmers and newts that were wandering around outside of the motel, only a couple of swarmers were feasting on one while it screamed in agony and I frowned as Nick and Mike looked at me.
"Jesus...the place is full of them," Mike muttered uneasily while Nick nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, we're going to need more ammo so what are you thinking, Martin? And I already know it's a bad idea," Nick asked me while I looked thoughtful until I made a decision and got out of the truck.
"Okay, you and the others drive through the gas station and get them to follow while I sneak in and get the part we need for your bike after I kill a few of the bastards," I instructed and Finn scoffed on the radio.
"I swear to god, you've got a fucking death wish," Finn commented as I took my rifle off of the gun rack and flicked the safety off while I closed the driver-side door.
After that, the others sped down to the motel and drove through it while blaring the horns more than once as they drove away, causing most of the swarmers to chase after them while a few stragglers were left behind as I carefully headed to the gas station and saw a bunch of newts crawling around while growling as I grimaced since I hated those things.
"Goddamn newts...go on, get out of here you little shits," I told the small Freakers, who squealed and snarled at me as they fled up to the roof and stared down at me with no intelligence in their eyes.
I tried not to think about the newts that used to be kids as I headed around the back and quickly knelt down as I saw a lone swarmer eating something I would rather not know about, then I slung my rifle and took out my knife before I snuck up to the swarmer and grabbed it until I killed it with a stab to the head until I continued on down to where the garage was at.
I kept moving and took out another swarmer that was in my way before I saw that I was approaching a motel room, having the bright idea to check it for supplies as I carefully climbed through a broken window and searched the motel room until I found materials to create more molotovs and located a bandage.
I found another broken window and climbed outside before I kept moving and noticed a few nests that were in different parts of the building, filing that away for later as I headed to the gas station that was ahead of me and killed another swarmer by snapping its neck before I arrived at the back of the garage while making sure I wasn't spotted by a few swarmers.
"Martin, did you find the part yet?" Nick asked on the radio and I reached for it to respond.
"Not yet, I still need to find a way to get inside the garage so there's got to be a fuel pump inside," I replied quietly.
"Well, hurry up because we just drove past a ripper sigil and that means they're up here somewhere," Nick warned and I scowled since rippers were a cult consisting of insane survivors that would carve markings onto their bodies while ambushing and torturing other people on the road.
I started moving a little urgently since we didn't want to be here now that it has been discovered that rippers had set up an outpost somewhere nearby and I went over to a car before popping open the trunk with my knife, just before a newt lunged out at my face and I grabbed it while trying to stab it as I stumbled around and the newt grabbed my hand holding the knife to prevent it from getting killed, but I managed to overpower it by throwing the newt to the ground and stabbed it four times in the face until I wiped the blood off and holstered the knife before resting my hands on my knees and letting out small panicked breaths.
"Son of a bitch!" I gasped out as I managed to calm down, unslinging my rifle and heading over to the back door and discovered that it was locked but I couldn't take the risk of kicking it open since it would alert the swarmers that were nearby.
I looked around and spotted a toolshed that was next to the building that would help me get onto the roof before I walked over as I slung my rifle and climbed up onto the roof, then the three newts that were up here charged at me before I took out my knife and killed them expertly and saw a hole in the roof that would get me inside as I walked over to it and climbed down until I dropped inside the gas station.
A newt tried to attack me but I dodged and sent a swift kick into its side as it was knocked down before I finished it with a stomp to the head, then I turned my flashlight on since it was dark and searched what was left in the store for a fuel pump, but I didn't find anything and went into the garage as I looked around.
'There's got to be a fuel pump in here somewhere,' I thought as I searched the garage and located an unfinished motorcycle that had what I was looking for as I carefully removed the fuel pump and pocketed it.
"Finally," I muttered and reached for my radio.
"Guys, I found the part and will be regrouping out on the highway," I notified the others just before Mike suddenly contacted me on my radio.
"Martin, we got rippers ambushing us!" Mike shouted in alarm before gunfire rang out on the radio and it cut off after that.
Hearing that made me hurry to the front door and I burst out of the store before running up the hill with my rifle out as I heard the sound of gunshots up ahead as well as Finn screaming in pain until I moved around an overturned cargo trailer and saw Nick and Mike taking cover while two rippers were shooting at them whenever they tried to aim as three were holding Finn down and burning his right arm with a blowtorch as I took cover next to my truck.
I signaled to Nick and Mike that I was going to flank the rippers before they nodded and kept distracting the cult members as I snuck around and wound up behind the rippers before I popped out of cover and shot them until the insane survivors fell onto the ground dead before Nick, Mike, and I hurried over to Finn.
"Jesus Christ," Nick gasped as we saw that Finn's arm was suffering from third-degree burns and I helped the fennec fox up.
"Fuck...it's like the bastards were waiting for us," Finn groaned as he stumbled over to his van and got into the passenger seat while Mike took the steering wheel, then Nick and I got into my truck and we drove away just as a horde showed up and chased after us, but we got away as Nick looked at me.
"Martin, what the hell are we going to do?" Nick asked with a look of panic on his face.
"We need to get back to the safehouse, now," I replied urgently as I sped down the road with Finn's van right behind us, hoping that we could make it back in time.
A/N Hey guys, I want to apologize for keeping you waiting for so long but I'm back and now things have gone from bad to worse for Martin and the others with Finn winding up severely injured, so let's hope the poor guy makes it.
As you can already see, I'm going to have the story follow the main events of Days Gone and Martin had lost not only his two sons, but his adopted parents as well so he's in a very dark place while he's become cold and ruthless from five months of survival ever since civilization collapsed so expect a lot of brutality from him, and I'm going to change Iron Mike's name to Joe since Martin's brother-in-law is named Mike and it would make things much easier.
Well, let me know what you think and stay tuned.