So, there is a silver lining in the pile of crap that has become everyday life. Despite it all, I've managed to learn a few things. First of all, and probably the most obvious of the bunch, zombies are a thing. They may not be the walking dead of horror movies, but they're real nonetheless, mutated from normal human beings into frightening and dangerous beasts. Second, the only places that even vaguely resemble "safe" anymore are buildings with red, reinforced steel doors. Those are a crap shoot at best, but they'd served me well enough thus far, so I can't complain. Third, people-a few normal people were still running around, fending for themselves the same way I was trying to. And last, but quite possibly the most important: there is a camp somewhere near the outskirts of town.

That, I learned from a wall.

Someone else had taken the time to scrawl it across the siding of the gas station near my house. I'd found it while I was out scavenging with Mick, right about the same time I also learned that the infected did not seem to appreciate the sweltering heat of the afternoon. Many of them had been sitting motionless in whatever shade they could find, uncaring of much else around them. A few stragglers stumbled about in the sun, but that was just it-there were only a few, not an entire damn horde. The hunter I'd heard before was not forgotten. I figured it was probably lurking somewhere in the vicinity, maybe hiding from the sun until the heat died down. It, however, was shoved to the back of my mind for a little while. I had a mission, after all; I'd worry about the hunter if and when the time came to do so.

What I would do if that time came-HA. Hell if I knew. Maybe I'd get lucky and my bat would be enough to take it down.

I had hit the streets mid-afternoon, my favorite smoker trailing close behind. For this trip, I'd thought to travel light, with only two water bottles-one for each of us, both of which were stuffed into the pockets on Mick's jacket. For the first part of our walk, he had been absolutely fascinated by them, by the crinkling sound they made when he squeezed them; perhaps lending to his cooperation when I'd first approached to stow them away. Gradually, that amusement faded, replaced by the wariness I had come to expect from him. That glassy eye constantly searched the area around us, falling upon me on occasion if something of particular interest caught his attention, but for the most part, he seemed content to play bodyguard. I certainly wasn't going to complain. More power to him.

We had made our way out of the parking lot and onto the main highway leading through town. From the gas station I mentioned, it was about a mile or so north to the railroad tracks that ran parallel to my street, one over. One of the few things I hated about living in this town: even separated by another road and row of houses, the sounds of the trains passing int he night would keep me up, or wake me up at the most ridiculous hours. And I wasn't the only one; it wasn't exactly uncommon to stumble into the kitchen at 3AM and find my family seated at the table, bleary and grouchy but very much awake. By the look of things, that wouldn't be an issue anymore….not that it mattered much now.

As expected of a major road, cars were everywhere, littering both lanes, pulled off in the ditches and abandoned on the shoulders. That highway was the main route in and out of town, so naturally, it's going to be busy-or, it was. Still, it was pretty weird to see all those vehicles just left there. Some had broken windows, I noticed; a few were sporting long scratch marks or dents in the sides. It had me wondering what people had done once they realized what was happening around them. Once they figured it out was real. Had they run? Did they simply sit in their cars, hoping in vain that a pane of glass and metal would keep them safe from the monsters outside? Looking at the aftermath, it seems a combination of the two. Unfortunate for them, and they have every ounce of my sympathy and prayers, but it was damn lucky for me. Those abandoned cars would serve as cover, which is just what I needed for a venture like this.

From one to the next, I snuck down the road, past a small herd of staggering infected. One, an older man by the look of him, was clawing desperately at his clothing, groaning lowly as if the action caused him pain. Can't blame him, really. If it didn't have the potential to get me killed, I might be doing the same bloody thing to escape the heat. Alas, no such luck. Shortly after I passed that one, I chanced a quick look behind me, only to realize I was no longer being followed. Probably should have picked up on that sooner; if I can't hear Mick, Mick isn't around. The thing is, I DID hear him, just a little further away. Follow the wheeze, I told myself, and as I scanned the area, I did eventually find him meandering among the Commons and disheveled cars. A couple in the mob growled and moaned, seemingly annoyed at the shambling smoker's presence, but otherwise undisturbed, even as Mick responded in kind. His steps did hurry, though, like he was trying to keep up with me on the other side of my cover, and he did keep turning his head back towards me, almost as if he were looking to see where I was. Honestly, if I didn't know any better, I'd say he was playing a distraction, getting those infected focused on him to allow me to pass through undisturbed…..

But nah, no way. There is no way he was smart enough to do that anymore, and even if he was, there is really noreason for him to do that for me, right?

Yeah, I could tell myself that all I wanted. I did, make no mistake of that-but I know what I saw, and if he were normal, there would have been no doubt in my mind that distraction is exactly what he had been going for.

I ran around the front of a big ugly van-think Mystery Machine in purple; clearly someone had exquisite tastes-ready to book it to the next car barely twenty feet ahead of me while Mick was doing his thing. My sights were set; my adrenaline was surging through my veins, legs ready to bolt-and suddenly, my feet were no longer under me. I hit asphalthard, sprawling on the scorching pavement, the bat I'd held rolling out of my grip. A surprised, furious snarl sounded behind me, almost above. I turned my head to look over my shoulder, and from beneath the van crawled a woman. Her legs had been sticking out-I tripped over her legs, damn it, I thought she was dead-but now she clambered to her bare, bloody feet. Her matted black hair stuck to a gaping wound surrounding her remaining eye, the blood and dirt a harsh contrast to her chalky skin. Faintly, I could make out the word 'Zeppelin' on her torn shirt, and I also noticed that aforementioned eye was squinted in a snarl and glaring straight down atme.

My only hope would be to get her on the ground again before she could get her hands on me. I rolled over and kicked desperately at her ankles, her knees, and though I felt the rough connections, my efforts were in vain. In fact, they only seemed to irritate her further, perhaps even more so than my tripping over her. The infected howled and grabbed at my arms, her teeth gnashing together as she hunched to snap at my flesh. Her target seemed to be my face, because of course it was; I managed to brace a hand under her jaw, holding her at bay by the throat. But that wouldn't last, and I knew it wouldn't. Between her weight and the ferocity with which she fought against my hold, my arm shook violently with the effort. Let it be known that adrenaline can only do so much for you-

And then, blood splattered my face. Thankfully, I had shut my mouth in time, clenching my jaw as I pushed back against my assailant. The woman went limp, her mouth hanging slack; no more rage, no more hunger. My mind asked why, but I quickly found that I didn't much care. All that mattered was, it was over. At that point, I shoved her body away, working my way out from under her to climb back on my feet, where I found Mick cocking his head at me. Only then did I note his stained hand...and the fact that my attacker was missing a chunk in the back of her neck, and the bones of her spine were sticking up through the skin.

That….was gross.

Terrifying, and gross. I actually had to will away a sudden bout of nausea. Make no mistake, I had seen corpses. I had seen pieces of corpses, and that was just from an anatomy class. Now there were bodies laying all over the place, and while it's still distressing-sorry, death is distressing, I can't help it-I can handle it. I just had to calm down. Calm down and focus. Focus, focus, focus. Tearing my eyes from the scene, I leaned down to pick up my bat, shouldering it almost immediately, so not to make my rescuer nervous again. This time, he didn't seem the least bit concerned; just watched my every move with that weird fascination of his, and coughed in his usual fashion. "Thanks," I murmured softly, which earned me a forced, wet sound in response. And that was just lovely.

Three more of the lingering infected had noticed us. Me, specifically. Perhaps the woman's howling had drawn them, maybe it was just me, who knows. One ran my way, fingers bent and arms wide for its attack. Barely had he made it to the van when Mick's leathery whip of a tongue coiled around him. The smoker dragged him back, thankfully away from me, and proceeded to beat on the creature's back and head. The other two came in unison, a man and woman who could not have been much older than me before the infection struck. I ducked the woman's swipe, narrowly missing a hit from her companion as well. Mick's hollow scream echoed around us, followed by the shattering crack of a breaking rib cage, and the smoker simply dropped the dead man as carelessly as one might discard a fly. One down. I thought, and again I was dodging claws. The woman came at me again. Barely had I time to throw myself out of her way, stumbling as I felt her nails tearing across my arm. Mick already had the other wrapped up, giving him the same special treatment as the first had received; it must have been an easy catch, honestly. These two hadn't seemed to pay him much mind. Their hungry eyes had been trained upon me.

That woman was relentless. They all were. These infected would not stop unless they lost their target or dropped dead. Mick had taken care of one-two now, if he'd hurry it up already, but this one...this one was going to have to be on me. It was either her, or me….and I knew what I had to do.

As she neared again, there was a moment of hesitation while my mind prepared itself. I gripped the neck of the bat in hand, set my feet, squeezing my eyes shut tightly (not my best move, I know, but at the time, I couldn't help it), and swung with all the strength I could muster the second she was in range. It met flesh with a sickening, meaty thud, and again that feeling of nausea began to rise. The infected staggered, but did not fall-GOD, I had hoped to finish this on the first blow. One hit, a fast death, no pain, no suffering. Infected though this woman is, a monster though she is, she once was human, and as far as I'm concerned, if death is her fate, it would be humane, if I could help it. So, I opened my eyes-if I was to end her life, I could at least look at her before I did it; that could be my penance-just in time to see her trying for me again.

Aim for the head. Aim for the head. The moment she was in range again, I swung again as hard as I could, wood meeting the center of her nose. Her head snapped back, her body falling to the pavement in a heap, and it looked as if I'd finished the job. But, appearances can be deceiving, and I wanted to be sure she was no longer in pain. So I hovered over her prone form, raising the bat above my head. "I'm sorry-" I whispered in vain, and I brought my weapon down one last time. After that, I was certain she was not getting up again, and all I could do was stare at her corpse.

I...killed her. I. Killed. Yes, I know it was her or me. Yes, I know she was an infected, a zombie, but that didn't matter. It still doesn't, if I'm honest. She is dead because of me. Her face was smashed in, her neck twisted obscenely where she'd fallen-I don't know how I should have felt, all things considered. My hands were shaking so badly I thought I'd drop my bloody bad. The sickening crack of her skull still rang in my ears...but actually, that I could attribute to mick finishing off the last of the trio. In either case, it was sick and I never wanted to hear it again.

Not sure how long I stood there. It had to be a few minutes, at least, as it seemed Mick had grown impatient with my standing idle. Out of nowhere, a sticky hand wrapped around my arm and tugged hard enough to pull me off balance and break my little trance-I didn't need to look to know who it belonged to. Yet again, Mick was saving the day, reminding my dumb ass that I couldn't just stand there gawking at a dead body. We needed to vacate the area before others came along to investigate the commotion, as they surely would. My guilt could wait. My anger or the tears stinging my eyes, threatening to fall, could wait a while longer. I still have a mission, after all,

"Come on," I muttered weakly, finally tearing myself away from the scene to take my place at the head of our...not so much a pack, but yeah, sure. Let's call it that. Mick, I noticed, was staying closer to my side as he shuffled along, now watching me with intent. "We're not too far now." Ten minutes, twenty tops, unless we came across more stragglers wandering around. If nothing else, my house would offer some shelter from the sun, maybe even some real food that wasn't Rolos and cereal-even better if it hadn't spoiled….

That had me thinking. Thinking and wondering….would anyone still be there? Knowing my mother, she would have taken my siblings elsewhere, maybe to the camp I'd read about earlier in the day, but who knows. Maybe she'd thought to stay and wait for me-shit, I hope she didn't. And if she had, that she'd found a way to hole up and protect the three of them. However, they're all like me, to some degree; everything that was now required to survive was pretty much new. We didn't have to scavenge for food, we didn't have to fight off other people for basic supplies, and we most certainly did not have to deal with infected-

That thought slowed my steps and drew my attention to Mick, who looked upon me with the most confusion I'd seen in our short time together. Wondering why I almost stopped, no doubt, and I really can't blame him. If things were reversed, I'd probably do the same. I can't help it, though, as I began to wonder how things would go if my family had remained at the house. When I walked in with Mick at my side. Would Mom attack him, thinking perhaps that he had just wandered inside on my tail? No, I could thwart that, no problem. A quick run-through of everything we'd been through would see to it that she didn't touch him; I'm sure of that. What I worry about is, would he attack them, either on instinct, driven by hunger, or perhaps out of fear? That I couldn't say for sure. I'd like to think that I was growing accustomed to him, getting to know him and all that, but parts of him remain….unpredictable.

In light of that, I should be willing to leave him behind, but damn, the guy saved my hide on numerous occasions now. And hey, apocalypse or not, I'm not so much of an ass that I can just forget that. I would just have to play their meeting carefully, if it came to that at all. Until such a time, I wasn't going to worry about it. One thing at a time, I thought, quickly flashing him a smile, ending with a quiet, "Maybe we can get you something good to eat, for a change." And I gently grabbed his arm in a manner similar to that which he'd done to me, and urged him to follow at the pace we'd both abandoned.


Author's Notes:

So heyyy, guess who isn't dead! I finally got around to finishing this chapter, and am in the process of finishing the rest. I know it's been a while, and I do apologize for that, but, you know...life happened. It sucked, and now we're back on track. I couldn't forget this story, couldn't bring myself to abandon it, so now here we are. Thanks to all who have stuck with me through this unfortunately-long hiatus, and keep an eye out for the next few chapters in the near future!

And of course, as always, comments and such are greatly appreciated!

Cheers,

Asero