The eerie night silence outside was interrupted by two common infected bickering and fighting with each other. Both swung their fists violently in an attempt to take the other out; soon they began to kick and pound at each others' faces with their aggressive gibberish-like gurgling increasing in volume the harder they brawled.
"I root for the one on the right!" Ian cried.
"Nah man, the one on the left's gonna beat his ass!" Louis exclaimed. The boys were watching them through the curtains, they were fighting from a driveway across the road from the house the group was settled down in. They've been at it for a while now. Until suddenly, the infected on the left unexpectedly shoved its opponent down, patted a joint then quickly elbow dropped on its challenger. However the losing infected didn't give up. As it was getting its face rapidly punched in with the fist's owner on top of it, the downed infected reached up and began strangling the over-powering foe. Louis and Ian watched a little surprise at the sudden turn of events, "what the hell? Never seen them do that before." Ian said.
"Neither have I. But hey! I won the!-"
Louis stopped cheering as both were startled when a Hunter very suddenly dropped from one of the roofs on both common infected. It started ripping them apart viciously; the survivors saw dark liquid spraying and splashing up into the air in thick and thin streams, before it drove a fist into one of their backs and savagely ripped the spine out. Louis quickly withdrew the curtains and both looked at one another nervously from the corners of their eyes while gritting their teeth.
"Ha," Bill snorted from his spot on the couch, reading a newspaper. "Man dressed as Jack Sparrow runs over cars with a tractor and screams 'Barbossa, your bitch ship will never be greater than mine.'"
"What?" Zoey narrowed her brow strangely, "Why?"
"Don't know, it doesn't say. He was probably on drugs." Bill flipped the page.
"Pirates of the Caribbean is an awesome series!" Louis held a finger up before turning back to Ian. "Now your name is...Ian, right?"
"Yep. Yours is Louis?"
"It is."
Amber wandered into the living room followed by Beth, who was downing a box of leftover cheez-it as they conversed, "and this here is my wonderful girlfriend Amber, just to remind you." He grinned as she chortled. He ran over to her to give her a kiss on the cheek right as Francis came stomping down the stairs.
"You're together?" Zoey stated, "aww!"
"We haven't been together long." Amber replied, "but it's been a truly wonderful relationship!"
"That's good."
Beth munched on the mouthful the same time she went to put more in the hole. "God I'm hungry," she announced, her words muffled. "Killing infected's a good way to get the exercise in and all, but after I can eat like a Goddamn man." She sat cross-legged on the living room carpet, only to hear a soft whimper from behind her. She turned to see Jordan with large, sad eyes staring where she was. Gingerly patting an empty seat between him and Keirstan, who was mindfully watching a show on the quiet television. She leapt up from the floor and crashed into the spot, startling Keirstan out of her trance to look at her as Jordan smiled while putting an arm over her shoulders.
When he saw the move, Francis suddenly felt defensive. They didn't notice he had stopped moving and locked his hard stare on him.
Beth's eyes looked like they rolled entirely into the back of her head from the savory flavor of the snack; as Keirstan watched with a furrowed brow and mouth slightly hung open. "Fool, you're gonna choke slow the hell down-Jordan!" She threw a hand out, gesturing to take the box from her. So Jordan did just that, but only does the exact same thing, shoving handfuls of cheez-it into his mouth. Keirstan sighed and turned back to the TV. Zoey, on the other hand was watching them hopefully. "Oh. Oh Lord I need some. Can I have some? I love me some cheez-it."
"Sure," Jordan handed her the box and she went to reach for it from where she sat. But he quickly pulled away with a muffled chuckle.
"Hey!"
"Stop being rude." Beth scowled when this repeated three to four more times. She went to grab the box back but accidentally slaps it hard out of his hand instead. His eyes widened as the box went flying and spilled the contents all over the floor, causing Bill and Amber to sigh and Francis pursed his lips like he was about to laugh. Breaking him out of his glowering demeanor.
"Smooth."
Keirstan closed her eyes as a devastated Zoey, now fake-sobbing picked the box up to peer in it. She reached inside for some remaining contents as Ian said something about another box in the kitchen. "So how did you guys find each other?" Ian then inquired as whatever on the TV quietly continued to play. At the question, Louis's eyes tensed up and he looked at Francis who raised an eyebrow in return.
"Well this fucker," he gestured at the biker, "thought I was an infected and chased me with a chainsaw like Leatherface through the streets."
Beth shot him an odd look as everyone reacted differently. Francis laughed through his nose "oh yeah, I remember that." He chortled like a little kid. Louis stared at him with extreme intensity as he thought back on the night. "Yeah, SO DO I."
…
The roar of a chainsaw ripped through the air followed by the sounds of panic and crazed laughter.
"You know what I hate more about these vampires? Vampires who wear TIES!"
"Dude I'm not infected you fucking psychopath!" Louis shouted back as he pumped his arms and legs, desperately trying to get away from this stranger who came from nowhere. How did this happen? First he was alone, after escaping from his workplace when the infected got in. He wandered around with only a cricket bat looking for a safe place when he heard the rumble from the dangerous weapon. Then it roared followed by an evil chuckling. In dread, Louis turned and watched as Francis lurked out from a dark alley, horror filling his soul. He had tried telling him he was immune, but it probably didn't help he was covered in blood and his panicked cries may have sounded more like them since the chainsaw was reveering loudly. So he went to defend himself, but his measly cricket bat was sliced in half.
Now he was being chased by this lunatic.
"AH!" The analyst screamed "somebody help me!"
"Quit being a pussy and face your demise like a man you diseased freak!" Francis had shouted.
Louis kept running until he staggered by a metal trash can. He halted, breathing heavily with wide eyes. Francis was still coming, so, Louis grabbed the lid.
Both weapons were raised high above their heads, but Louis was quicker. "STOP!" With all his strength, he swung the metal lid, cracking it across Francis' face. AND IT WORKED.
The biker's body snapped sideways and Louis hit him hard again with a sob. The chainsaw dropped from his hand and Louis tripped him onto his back. Francis stared up dazed as the smaller man kicked the weapon away, breathing heavily. He placed a shoe onto Francis' chest in a hunched position, holding his arms to his chest.
"I! AM! NOT! IINNFFEECCTTEEDD!" The analyst had angrily screamed his ass off. Francis blinked in the moment of silence that followed. "...What? Why didn't you say so?"
Louis stared at him in disbelief as he tried to slow his breathing. "I tried! You weren't listening!" He defended through pants as the biker got back up, dusted himself off then rubbed his cheek and head tenderly.
"Oh. Sorry," he cleared his throat. "Um...I'm-I'm Francis."
Louis stared at him with tense, narrowed eyes and then introduced himself somewhat rudely. Some awkward minutes passed before Francis broke it again. "...Well, I'm gonna go now. We've probably attracted the vampires with that commotion."
Louis blinked "wh-what? Vampires?"
"Vampires."
"They're not vampires, they're zombies."
"You think what they are, I'll think what they are. Now uh, bye."
Francis began to hurry away as Louis stared after him in bewilderment. Then he shook himself out of it and, for some ungodly reason, clumsily followed. "Wait! Hold on a second!...What am I doing?..."
…
Louis and Francis stared at one another, the analyst's eyes were half-closed in unamusement while Francis pursed his lips again in complete enjoyment. Until his face slowly faded into a hard look as he thought of what he was called.
"I hate Leatherface."
"I think most people do," Bill remarked in a smart-ass tone. Francis mouthed his words in a sarcastic, mocking away before he added, "can you believe it's a true story? That's so fucked up!"
Louis sighed then cleared his throat amid the comment. "Sometime later, we found a gun store. We broke in through a window after discovering the doors were locked; leftovers were stored away in a backroom. The lights didn't work. So as we're rummaging through what we thought was the best choices for weapons, I suddenly heard angry, tired grumbling. Next thing I know, I have a barrel pressed up against my nose." Louis looked over at the veteran, who gave him a cocky half-smirk, "at your service."
"Yeah we woke him up from his spot on the floor. Zoey was already with him, we didn't see 'em because of the dark blankets they had. Then after some talkin' n' bickerin, we all decided to stick together." Francis finished.
"My God poor Louis!" Amber chuckled with the others. To this, Louis shook his head, "it was a rough night I'll tell you that. Wait...why are ya'll laughing?!"
He didn't get an answer as they continued to laugh a bit. Making him look at each person in disbelief.
The biker then looked up the stairs, seeing Kayla resting against the staircase railing listening and watching everyone. She looked entertained by the story, yet not too thrilled about their new team members. She made her way down the steps and into the kitchen, "she doesn't look like she cares about the three of us all that much." Louis observed with concern as he and Amber watched her vanish from sight. "Eh, right now she doesn't. But, give her some time. She'll get used to you."
"I sure hope so," Francis heard the analyst reply before he followed her to the next room.
"But Francis said it'll be a little while before she warms up to us." Louis recalled, "we just have to be patient." He looked at Amber confidently as Bill shouted an 'ow' after getting smacked by something from behind them. She nodded, "just talk about things you think she's interested in. She loves animals, especially Dragons. I can't stress enough how much she loves Dragons. Also other things like urban exploring, paranormal stuff-basically anything creepy, photography…"
Francis spotted her leaning against the sink sipping on some water. "You alright there kiddo?"
She glanced at him from the corners of her eyes. "Yeah, why?"
"You just seem to have quiet down a bit since we got here."
Another sip of her drink. Next she set the cup down without looking at him with a shrug of the shoulder. "Mm."
There was a silence between them. "You know," he began softly, "I didn't like 'em very much either at first." Francis recalled as she continued to watch whatever unpleasant things were outside. "They turned out alright. You can trust them. I promise."
Kayla blinked at him and then trailed her eyes away for a second. Silently taking in what was told. Francis hated almost every person he's met. That she knew all too well. However if he could tolerate, even like these three, then maybe she could possibly give them a chance. She just hoped she wouldn't regret it.
"...Ok." She finally muttered. "And you can trust Jordan. I saw how you were looking at him."
He nodded, "alright. I'm glad to know."
"Excuse me," Bill suddenly announced, charging towards the door with his rifle in hand. "There's a Hunter outside and I need a smoke." He promptly opened it and was greeted with a strong breeze of cold air. "Phew, it's chilly." He muttered before slamming it shut behind him. The two watched him go, then glanced at each other.
...
As the night progressed, everybody subconsciously worked to strengthen the bonds that had begun to grow although the two groups had met that same day. They talked, laughed, shared some stories, and picked on one another. Amber had found a variety of angry orchard and corona in the far back of the garage and gleefully danced back inside with the packs. Her and the other five had also learned through their conversations what the four's lives had been like. Where they lived, worked and went to school and such. Bill's name was actually William Overbeck; they just went with his middle name for the hell of it. They also learned that he and Francis had known each other for a couple years before the outbreak. Bill found him caught in a cold blizzard stranded on the side of a road when his car broke down, so he gave him a ride back home. The favor returned a few months later with the biker breaking into his house trying to steal his TV. He got arrested, however, Bill had bailed him out, telling the police he was just a stupid fool.
"Ah so this is the guy. I remember that." Beth had wisecracked, taking a sip of her corona.
"I didn't know it was his house!" Francis retorted.
"Yeah. Bullshit." Bill fumed.
Then Francis had tried to steal a TV again and was going to get arrested until the epidemic did start, along with the rest of his story. He had decided to leave his bar buddies and go his own way because they were too stupid to survive with after his sniping party on the roof. Louis told the rest of his tale of what happened at his workplace, up until he met the Texas chainsaw Francis. Next Zoey bitterly explained to them what happened with her. What happened with her parents at home. It took her time to finish the story since it was still fresh in her mind, but she was able to tell it otherwise. Bill had escaped from a hospital when he was suppose to get surgery on his knee, he had armed himself up and began his trek killing the infected in search of a safe place. Until he found a shaking, crying Zoey hiding in an abandoned shed. They stuck together until Louis and Francis arrived. Together, they had also tried to get to an evacuation center but were too late. They watched the helicopters leave. In return, Keirstan told the three what happened with them. Then explained she has known the sisters since early middle school; and that her, Kayla and Beth were called the three senpais. A nickname among the trio they had for years. It was a nice time for the group to spend together, everyone freaked out upon hearing Kayla's strange ability to purr when Amber mentioned it. She hesitantly made the sound and got different reactions from each survivor at the same time. Even again by those who already knew about it. However at some points they got a little too noisy and got a reminder to quiet down.
This went on until it got pretty late, around into the very early morning hours from everyone could guess. At this point most of the team had gone to bed. Now Beth was checking out the movies stacked up next to the television.
"That. Is. An. Awesome. Movie." She stated while pointing to each one she's seen. "Especially these two!" Beth pulled out a couple of cases, one called Jurassic World and the other a 2013 remake of Evil Dead.
"Oh my God. Evil Dead. NOW." Keirstan demanded as Zoey watched Beth salute and did as told. "Is it good?"
"Is it good? IS IT GOOD?" Beth nearly screamed as Kayla shuffled in followed by Louis. "You watch horror movies and you haven't seen this one?! It's fucking awesome!"
Zoey stared intensely "I've seen the original, I'm...sorry?"
"Play it. She'll see." Keirstan grinned.
"What movie?" Kayla asked.
"Evil Dead 2013."
Her mouth and eyes flew open in excitement. "I love that one! It's one of my favorite horror movies!" She cheered while hopping over to the couch. "Oh no," Louis mumbled, "I don't do so well with horror movies."
"We're living in one now." Zoey reminded. "Yeah but...ah, alright. I guess I'll try it. Is it gory?"
"...No," Beth said, painfully hiding the lie.
"That's what the world was and always will be. A never ending horror movie." Kayla said.
Zoey nodded puckering her lips. "Good point."
They soon began watching the film. It was very intense from the start.
"I'LL RIP YOUR SOUL OUT!" Screamed the demon.
"What ALL the infected want to do to us." Louis sighed. At this, the girls burst out laughing as Kayla snickered.
Francis then came in rubbing an eye. It was obvious he couldn't sleep. He stared at the TV, trying to figure out what it was. But his groggy mind couldn't come up with what film they were playing. "Whatcha watchin'?"
Right as he asked, the movie title popped on screen with dramatic music.
"Oh! This is a good one," he sat down by Zoey, as Louis looked on nervously.
Time passed with the movie going on. It got much more scarier and gorier. "You're all gonna die tonight." The possessed sister had said in one scene.
"Probably," Keirstan replied to the line.
Louis looked like he was verge of heart failure. Towards the end of the film, Zoey jumped to her feet spluttering madly with the others eyeing her. "No, no, no, NO!" She howled when the cabin was blown up. "Oh come on!" She flipped a coffee table, startling them all. "He was so hot!" Zoey added, talking about the brother in the film. Kayla gave her a look which read 'I know!' followed by some silent fake-sobbing.
"Is that all you cared about?" Francis asked.
"I hope the actor's alright!" Zoey exclaimed, stretching an arm out to a window and completely ignoring the question.
"AUUUGGGH! It's not!-It's not DONE!" Louis screeched in misery, eyes bugging sorrowfully out of his head with a very deep gaping frown. He also looked like he was sweating. "Oh suck it up Louie this movie's beautiful.~" Francis snarked. "This...is beautiful?!" Louis sharply snapped back, as they were now on the part when the sister was hacking the demon in half with a chainsaw and screaming blood-curdling screams.
"Yes!" Francis nodded, raising his eyebrows. "We've done it multiple times already."
Everyone laughed loudly, until they were startled again when Bill's voice boomed down from upstairs. They couldn't see him, just heard him.
"QUIET DOWN!"
A moment of silence filled the room, with the survivors shifting their eyes or turning to look.
"...God?" Kayla meekly muttered.
The credits then rolled onto the screen. So Keirstan got up to take it out. "Alright, we watching another one or hitting the hay?"
At this, everyone unexpectingly started yawning and rubbing their eyes at different times. Looking more tired than they were during the film.
"Bed it is."
"Yeah. I'm gonna go ahead and have some nightmares now." Louis tiredly said, pointing a thumb behind himself. "Of demons or infected?" Zoey asked.
"Both. Infected demons."
"Did you like it?" Keirstan asked. Zoey nodded arching her eyebrows "I really liked it. But damn it why does the cute guy always die!"
"Alright, good night." Beth headed upstairs as Francis made way for the mancave.
"Good morning." Kayla mumbled.
"Huh?" Louis quirked.
"Oh, she does that. Night is her day and day is her night." Beth explained.
"Ah. A night owl."
Soon they had all went to bed; and Louis indeed had some very freakish, very bizarre dreams. He laid awake in bed eventually, staring intensely at the ceiling. Veins were visible in his eyes. "Goddamn it I can't sleep for the life of me!" He cried, which caused one of the girls to noisily laugh in pure bliss from another room. He shifted his eyes to the side in the direction and squinted them, then pulled his blankets over his head.