Tough times make tough men.
Here it was, end of the line. I had only one chance. The gods are not taking any pity on me, it seemed. There wasn't going to be any handouts, or help from a random twist of fate. It was only me, and them. And I am going to make damn sure that it's only me.
6 HOURS BEFORE
How do you possibly begin to understand a world ending apocalypse? Well, the first key to understanding it is realizing you can't. Our minds simply aren't equipped to process the amount of destruction that happens. The way that people interpret an apocalypse is by thinking of their loved ones, did they make it out? Did they die a horrible death? Then, they think of their job. Did their co-workers survive? Did that annoying supervisor make it out in time? The only way our minds process such large topics is to break them down until they are a tiny fraction of what they are.
An apocalypse of this nature is more or less, a great reset. It reverts us back to our most base impulses in order to be able to survive. Some may argue this was needed, that the way the world was heading was just a capitalist nightmare, and that we would be out of touch with what made us human. Some would say that an apocalypse of this size is God's way of punishing us for our sins. Some would say that none of us deserve this. Some would say that all of us deserve this. At the end of the day, none of it matters when a dead man walking takes a nice big chunk of your neck. There was no time for philosophy anymore. No time to ponder the universe. Not for people like me. I know what I am. A simple tool of destruction. Maybe that destruction would lead to creation. Maybe it would lead to more destruction. As long as I got what I wanted, none of it would really matter.
I made it out of Atlanta, but not before raiding a gas station for protein and energy bars, and more water bottles than I can count. And a military backpack, too. More space. Woo. There were dozens of survivors spread out across the highway, waiting for a military response or something of the like. Military meant background checks. I couldn't get caught again. I made it out once. I'm not trusting my luck to carry me through a second try.
I continued following the roads out of Atlanta, and I decided to stay off the roads. The forest was safer. Roads were too open. And in a few hours, people are going to start turning on each other. They'll fight over resources, over who gets which bed, over the pettiest things, and they'll start murdering each other. And whoever comes out on top will begin murdering more people, taking their supplies, until another person kills him. Humans and their behaviors are predictable. It'd do me good to stay away from people for the first few days.
It seemed to be around 12 AM, and I cursed my stupidity for not bringing a watch. I'll need to scavenge for any sort of watch, I need my sleeping schedules to be perfect here.
A branch snapped behind me, and I turned my head. A dead man came at me, swinging it's arms wildly, trying to grab me. I pulled out the knife on my person. These things only died if you hit the brain. I learned that quickly. There was no time to ponder why. There was only time to act. And so, act I did. I stabbed it in the head, and pulled the knife out quickly as I kicked the creature away. At least it was getting easier to handle.
"Stop right where you are!" Someone shouted at me, and I did so. "Turn around and throw all your weapons to me." I turned around and saw 3 people, and I began reaching for-"SLOWLY.". Slowing my pace, I grabbed the rifle, and I shot the man in the head, as I jumped out of the incoming bullets and hid behind a tree. As they were pre-occupied shooting at what they presumed to be my location, I went around a nearby bush, behind cover where they couldn't see me, and I shot one of the men in the head, and the other in the leg. 2 dead. One injured.
He screaming, loudly. I went over and picked up the nearby gun he dropped, and put it in my bag. "I'm going to ask you some questions. If, at any point, I don't like the way they sound, I'm going to go over right over there, and I'm going to get one of those creatures to eat you to death. And I'll shoot you in the other foot, too. Do you understand what I'm saying?" He nodded, clearly in too much pain to answer. "Why did you attack me?" I asked, pointing the gun at his leg. "We... we didn't attack you, we just... just wanted your.. guns." He said, barely able to spit out the words. "Do you have a group with you?" He nodded again. "How many people?" I ordered. He just started laughing. "Answer me." I ordered again. "You... you're so fucked man, the boss is gonna get here... and... hehehe, he's gonna kill you." He said. I shot his other leg. "Wrong answer.". I ignored his screaming and pleading, and I looted his friends. It was a giant stroke of luck that the creatures hadn't come here yet. But that was going to change.
Score. I found a military knife, much heavier and sharper than my current one, and I dropped my original knife, and holstered it. The other guy had a suppressor, my day just keeps getting better. I heard snarling behind me, and I knew I had to get out. Aside from those things, his group most likely heard the shots, and his screaming must've alerted the whole forest. I needed to get out of here, and I needed to get the drop on whoever was coming for him.
Running away while holding my rifle, I heard the man's screams reach an end as the creatures ate him alive. I continued forward, ready for whatever was coming my way.
Tough times make tough men
They were getting ready for it. I was so close to cutting my rope. I couldn't afford to mess this up. I needed to pick up the pace.
3 HOURS BEFORE
What made you who you are? Everyone has an answer to this question. A defining event which changed you and your personality completely, for better or for worse. It could have been the death of a loved one. It could have been a near death experience. It could have been a break up or something of the like. Everyone has their reasons. The movies make military service seem like a thing where you protect your country, where you're trained into becoming a better man or woman, a better person. None of it is true. None of it. Military service is breaking a person down to 0, and rebuilding you as something unafraid of death or it's consequences. If you can disregard all personal safety in order to make sure the other person loses, then the military has taught you all it can. Once you let go of all moral compasses you once had, you are changed. You are not the same person. You never will be. You're back home, and the shortcuts open up. Ways to make more money, ways to live better lives. It all piles up.
I couldn't even tell how long it had been since my last interaction, but I would assume it had been a good 2 hours. There were several tracks, all human, and I was getting closer.
Much closer than I expected, it seemed, because I heard several branches snapping in-front of me. I got behind a tree and peeked out slightly. 7 people. I had to bide my time. Being reckless would mean my death. Next to me, I heard a creature approaching one of the men. As he pointed the gun at it's head, ready to fire, someone stopped him, mentioning something about not attracting them. He pulled out his knife and stabbed the creature in the head.
I got out of cover and I fired at the mans head, as it exploded in a gory mess. I shot another guy in what seemed to be the heart or the lungs, and he dropped to the ground. "Hold up! Where's Arnold and Ryan?" The man asked. "They were just here, maybe they went off, saw a squirrel or something?" "I gave specific orders, specific orders to not-" I interrupted him and his buddy as I shot them in the head. I'd moved much closer to them, and they definitely noticed me by now, so I ducked behind a tree as they did so too. 3 people left. The other 2 were in-front, behind cover, I peeked slightly out of cover and he took a shot at me, barely missing. I went around the tree and I shot at him, killing him instantly as the shot connected with his head. Jesus. This was almost too easy-
I spoke too soon, it seemed, before I was tackled and almost stabbed in the arm by this guy, thankfully only scratching me. He tried holding me down but I threw him off of me, and I took my pistol out of its holster as I shot him in the head as he lunged at me. Any and all thoughts were cut short as I saw a leg behind me fling itself at my head, knocking me out instantly.
NOW
My rope was finally cut off, and I was free to move my hand, finally. A man walked up to where I was sitting, and pointed a magnum at me. "You killed half of my group. Half of it. Men with families, kids, mouths to feed, and you took them away from their loved ones. I hope Satan saves you a cozy-" I rolled forward, away from the tree as he fired the magnum, the sound almost blinding me. I pulled out the pistol on the mans holster and shot him in the chest 3 times, knocking him on the ground. I rolled away from the incoming bullets of the group, and ducked in the bushes, as they stopped firing and began looking for me. I needed a gun. A woman neared my hiding spot, and I saw a knife in her boot. As soon as she got close enough, I pulled out her knife, and leapt up to cover her mouth and stab her in the head. She died instantly, dropping her SMG. They must have heard the scuffle because they all turned and looked in my direction, from what I could see. I grabbed the woman's SMG, and I went around behind their backs, as quietly as I could.
Not sparing a second, I aimed the SMG at them and fired, not stopping until the clip had emptied. They all dropped to the ground, and I could hear faint groaning emanating from one of them. I walked up to the man on the ground, and knocked the gun out of his hand. "Please...please, just.. just kill me... please." He begged desperately. I picked up his knife, and went to loot the bodies.
Some cans of beans, rounds for my pistol and rifle, and another suppressor, which I put on my pistol this time. That was about it.
Tough times make tough men.
The hardships you face define you. And this has defined me, and my place in the world. I would survive, no matter what. No matter who I had to kill, maim, stab and destroy, I would come out on top.
Dear Reader,
Hey! It's me! Again! I'm really proud of how this chapter came out, And I hope it shed some light on our character. If you're wondering what the name of our character is, then don't worry! I'll try to slide it in some way next chapter! Once again, any and all suggestions and criticism is appreciated, and if you think I could've done better in a specific part, then please, tell me. I'm literally begging.
Anyways, that's all. As always, thank you for reading, and I look forward to speaking with you again next chapter.
Sincerely,
Scarface
(Quick song recommendation, Is It True by Tame Impala. It gives me Jimmy Mcgill vibes, and I love it.)