Day Two
Author's Note: I'd just like to say that I'm sorry for the long delay, but lately I've had a case a writer's block that would stop a bullet train. With college and everything else in my life I don't have that much free time for writing.
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Morning couldn't come soon enough. Nobody was capable of sleeping very well at all. Falling asleep was hard, and being able to stay asleep was even more troublesome. The only one who managed to get s decent night's rest was Shinigami, still leaning against the door, wearing his ammo belts, and clutching his shotgun, holding it close to him.
Jake yawned and stretched out, sitting up on the bed. He looked around, seeing that he was still in the ugly looking room, and Shinigami, still sleeping against the door. "How's that guy do it, especially with those shells," he asked himself, "oh well might as well wake him up. Hey Shinigami, morning!"
Shinigami grunted, continuing to snore, paying absolutely no never mind to Jake.
"This could be tough," he said to himself, "hey Shinigami, get your lazy ass up or else!" Shinigami awoke with a start and trained his shotgun on Jake's head, nearly squeezing the trigger and blowing his brains out.
"God damnit man, don't say that! Do you have any idea how close you came to having your fuckin' head blown off! That's the exact same thing my dad yelled when I was asleep," Shinigami yelled and stood up.
"Sorry about that, you didn't wake up the first time," Jake told him, "how could you sleep, leaning against that door, and with those belts of ammo on," he asked.
"I use to sleep with my back against a radiator, if you can get use to that, you can sleep anywhere," Shinigami told him and stretched.
"Do I even wanna know," Jake asked.
"No," Shinigami replied calmly, after a moment of searching, he pulled out a small package and a metal lighter.
"I never knew you smoked, when'd you pick up that bad habit," Jake asked.
Shinigami simply ignored him as he took one of the cigarettes and proceeded to light it, before taking a drag from it.
"Don't you know that's bad for you," Jake asked, receiving a puff of smoke in his face.
"Dry up, chances are I'm gonna wind up dead before this whole event is over, it's not like it'll make any difference," Shinigami replied, before taking another drag from his cigarette.
"That's crazy," Jake told him.
"So are you. Now fuck off and go wake everybody up," Shinigami ordered.
"Me, why me," Jake asked.
"Because if you don't I'll neuter you, without anesthetic," Shinigami replied and drew a black survival knife from a sheath on his belt, holding it less than an inch from Jake's manhood.
"You wouldn't," Jake replied, sounding nervous.
"I would, or maybe I'll heat my knife first. Then maybe the blade will cauterize the wound, that way you won't bleed to death," Shinigami told him, looking as serious as the day was long.
"I think I'll go wake the others up," Jake replied and quickly decided to exit the room, colliding with the door in the process, "hey who locked the door!"
"I did, remember? Now move it before I get violent," Shinigami ordered.
"Bastard," Jake muttered as he unlocked the door.
"Asshole," Shinigami replied.
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The small group of survivors had gathered together, and were having a makeshift breakfast, consisting of poptarts, slimjims, doughnuts, granola bars, and for Shinigami, nothing but coffee.
"So, does anybody have any brilliant idea on what we're going to do today," Salley asked as she scarfed down a doughnut.
"I think the first thing we need to do is see how wide this zombie problem goes. If it's just Concordia or if it's state wide," Jake suggested.
"If not further. We very well could be the last humans in all of America," Shinigami replied as he leaned against the wall and drank his coffee.
"Oh, and you've got a better plan," Jake asked.
"Cut the bullshit, fearless leader. You know very well that we all want to make sure our families are safe, and you're no different," Shinigami told him.
"I have to agree with Dr. Death over there. I wanna make sure my dad's not one of those things," Sam added.
"And my grandma's in town, she'd be easy picking for those walking dead out there," Sally added.
"Hmm, you do have a point," Jake stated.
"Other than the ones on their heads," Shinigami stated and downed the rest of his coffee, "so it's settled. First we'll make sure our families are safe, and then we'll rendezvous at the Super Wal-Mart in, let's say four hours."
"Why Wal-Mart, and why four hours," Jake asked.
"Four hours should give us enough time to check our homes. And there are some things we forgot to pick up last night. Things that we could use to fight off the zombie hordes," Shinigami explained.
"I hate it when you're right," Jake stated.
"And I hate you no matter what," Shinigami replied.
"Do you think my parents might be okay," Ami asked quietly.
"I don't think so. You said your parents were attacked and you ran, so it's a good possibility that they're zombies as well," Shinigami told her.
"A-are you sure," Ami asked.
"Regrettably, yes, I'm very sure of it," Shinigami replied.
"Have some compassion you bastard, don't get her anymore upset than she already is," Sally yelled and stood up to face him.
"Look, like isn't peaches and cream, and there's no use sugar coating anything. The fact of the matter is they're dead," Shinigami yelled.
"Mommy, daddy," Ami managed to say before she began to cry hard.
"Nice going, now see what you've done," Sam yelled and swung for his head.
Shinigami ducked, grabbed Sam from behind and put him in an effective half nelson.
"Now look, everybody's going to grow up sooner or later, and now's a good a time as any! You can't be weak or else you'll wind up as a side of ground round for those things," Shinigami explained.
Jake angrily stood up and threw Shinigami against one of the walls, staring him in the eyes.
"Why are you such a bastard," he said through grit teeth.
"My father, he forced me to become what I am today! Have you ever been molested and abused by somebody ten times stronger than you? Do you know what it's like to try and fight back, and all the time he's laughing at how weak you are! I had to become what I am today I had no choice! If I didn't become tough I never would've survived," Shinigami explained.
Jake slowly backed away from him, letting him away from the wall.
"I'm sorry man, I didn't know," Jake apologized.
"Save the apologies for somebody who would care. There are only two things for me to do here. Find my mother, and eliminate as many of those walking corpses as possible," Shinigami told him and grabbed his two shotguns.
"Okay, Salley, you take Ami with you, Shinigami, you're coming with Sam and myself," Jake stated.
"No," Shinigami replied.
"What," Jake asked.
"I said no. I'm going by myself, I don't' want to be trapped with you two idiots," Shinigami told him.
"If you think we're letting you take one of the vans---"
"I don't need one of your vans. When you three were picking up wood for the barricades, I found a jeep out back. There's gas in it and I'll take that to get home," he explained.
"Whatever, just go. Wherever you go you bring death with you," Sam told him.
"It'll be a pleasure to get away from you. All I need is my share of the ammo, a couple machetes, and then I'm going," Shinigami replied and walked over to the pile of supplies on the floor.
"Sam, grab one of those crowbars, we should get those boards off the front door so we can get out of here," Jake ordered.
"Right boss," Sam replied in a mock Chico dialect.
"Hold it," Salley ordered.
"What," Jake asked.
"Check the windows first, see if we've got a mob out there," she replied.
"Leave it to a woman to use common sense," Shinigami muttered.
"It's actually a good idea," Sam replied.
"Well then go check it out," Jake ordered.
Sam nodded and charged dashed out of the room, heading for one that would have a window that overlooked the parking lot and front doors.
"W-what do we do if they are surrounding the front," Ami asked as she started to calm down.
"Shoot our way through, what else. If we had oil of laundry detergent we could throw Molotov cocktails and burn them all," Shinigami replied as he made sure that he grabbed the correct ammo.
"Why not just throw the beer," Salley asked.
"Too thin, it'll burn up too quick. The oil thickens it, giving it more burning power so it's even hotter," Shinigami explained.
"And how the hell would you know that," Jake asked.
"I studied pyrotechnics," he replied.
"Guys, we've got visitors," Sam stated as he charged back into the room.
"How many zombies are out there," Shinigami asked.
"A group of fifteen, that's all I can see," Sam replied.
"Shouldn't be too hard to deal with. Whichever of you has a free hand, get me a pressurized spray can of something, deodorant, hairspray, whatever you can find," Shinigami ordered and took his shotgun, heading for the room Sam came from.
"What good is that gonna do," Jake asked.
"Just do it damnit," Shinigami ordered.
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The small crowd of the undead moaned as they pounded against the front doors, trying to get into the hotel. The barricaded doors held strong, but eventually even they would give in.
Shinigami sighed as he watched the scene below. It was truly one of the more pitiful sights that he had ever seen.
"Of all the God damned cities in the world, why did it have to happen here," he muttered as he waited for one of the others to bring the cans as he asked for, "what's taking them so long?"
"Allright, I found...one can of hairspray, and one can of spray on deodorant. What are we gonna do with them," Sam asked as he charged into the room.
"Shake 'em up real good, then throw one down," Shinigami explained.
Even though it sounded crazy, Sam proceeded to shake both cans vigorously, the sound of the metal ball and the contents inside mixing violently, until the sounds were extremely muffled.
"That's as much as I can do it," Sam told him.
"It'll do," Shinigami said as he took the hairspray can and threw it down at the crowd, "now for the catalyst."
Shinigami aimed his shotgun for where the can had hit and fired. When the buckshot hit the can it exploded like a bomb, throwing torn aluminum in every direction and causing a massive fireball, engulfing all of the zombies.
"Groovy," Sam stated in surprise.
"Now, you and Jake get down there and open the door, and make sure you watch out for the ball bearings," Shinigami ordered.
"Right boss," Sam replied and ran out of the room.
"Why couldn't he have been Faker," Shinigami said to himself and shook his head in disgust.
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"That crazy fool actually used the cans as bombs to set them on fire," Jake asked as he and Sam carefully raced down the stairs, avoiding the ball bearings, to get to the front doors.
"Yeah, that crazy bastard is actually intelligent," Sam replied.
As the two reached the downstairs, it was quite easy to notice Shinigami's handiwork. There were ball bearings all over the floor, making it almost impossible to get anywhere without slipping.
"Isn't that overkill," Sam asked.
"Probably, but I'm not gonna tell him that," Jake replied as he tried to sweep the bearings away with his foot to clear a path.
Once enough of the ball bearings were cleared away, the two managed to shove the heavy front desk away from the doors, letting them pry the boards off of the doors.
"Oh God what's that smell," Sam yelled.
"Yeah I smell it too, ugh, that must be what death smells like," Jake replied and pulled his shirt up to cover his nose.
"Burnt death! Ew, the other ones never smelt like this! They must've been dead longer," Sam stated as he tried to avoid getting sickened by the smell.
"Imagine if the scent rises, Shingami must be sickened to death by that!"
Despite the smell the two continued to pull the boards off the doors. Once the boards were removed, the locks were undone and the chains were removed, letting them open the doors.
The smell outside was so vile they were literally thrown back by it, making them slip on the ball bearings.
Sam struggled to get back up, but was forced to crawl on the ground over to a potted plant and throw up in it. Jake gagged violently, but managed to keep his breakfast down.
"God that stinks," Jake yelled as he managed to get back to his feet.
"Very nauseating," Sam stated as he finally managed to stand up and wipe his mouth.
"Hey, look out there! All fifteen of them, charred wrecks," Jake stated and pointed outside.
"That bastard. That crazy sick bastard, he took them all out by himself," Sam yelled.
"You're making a big deal of nothing. Fifteen corpses aren't really that big of a deal."
The two turned and saw Shinigami, coming down the stairs with a large toolbox and a pair of spare machetes under his arm, with his strapped to his belt, his basic shotgun in the leg holster, and the secondary strapped on his back.
"I wish you'd quit that," Jake stated.
"Quit what?"
"Acting like you've got everything under control. Because believe me pal, I know you're scared shitless," Jake told him.
"Me, scared? Don't be crazy, I'm too angry to be scared. One thing that I've always feared would happen, did happen. And now it's up to me to clean up the mess," Shinigami explained.
"Mr. Mightier than thou," Sam whispered.
"Fuck off. Get the girls and go wherever the hell you're going," he ordered.
"Wait a minute, I just thought of something. What if the jeep doesn't have any keys," Sam asked.
"You think something like no keys is going to stop me? You don't know me very well, I was elected "King of Detention" and "Juvenile Hall Veteran" for nothing," he said with an odd smirk before turning to leave.
"That guy creeps the hell outta me," Jake whispered.
"Me too," Sam replied.
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Shinigami glanced around carefully, making sure there were no zombies in the vicinity. So far everything was safe. He made his way around to the back of the hotel, carrying his supplies in one hand and under one arm, keeping his other hand free in case of an emergency.
"I guess those fifteen were the only ones here," he said to himself as he walked around back, "never say something like that in a situation like this."
A large group of zombies had gathered around back, groaning and moaning as they staggered closer to the building, their flooded green eyes not blinking as the drew ever closer.
"Shit, and they're cutting off my way to the jeep, now what," he asked himself, before smiling wickedly, "I never could resist a good fight."
Reaching to his side, Shinigami drew his machete, advancing toward the horde of zombies, easily sidestepping them as he made his way to the jeep, dropping his supplies in the back seat.
"And now, the fun can begin," he said with the evilest of laughs.
Shinigami drew the two machetes, grinning evilly as he charged, swinging wildly with the skill of a master. One zombie after another fell to the ground as its head was either severed, or one of the blades found its way into their target's skull.
One after another after another after another fell, until Shinigami was the last one standing, panting and sweaty from exerting himself. Although machetes were easier to use than an axe, overtime it they could exhaust you just as well.
"Hard to believe, I never knew taking out thirty zombies with just two machetes would be so challenging," Shinigami said to himself.
He wiped his forehead and went back to the jeep, ready to head home. But after an examination he found that there weren't any keys to be found.
"Crap. Oh well, my skills were getting rusty anyway," he said to himself and ripped off the underside of the dashboard, exposing the wires. He tore several wires away and began to strip the coating off of them, exposing the bare copper, allowing him to splice them together, until he heard the sound of the engine roar.
"Ha, wonderful. Home, here I come, mom I hope you're safe, I'm coming," he said to himself started to maneuver the jeep out of the back lot, "might as well see what manure's being shoveled today," he said as he turned on the radio.
"We repeat, the infestation in Concordia, that was thought to be citizens infected with some new and dangerous strain of virus, has turned out to be the undead. That's right, all reports indicate that the infected citizens are the dead who have somehow returned the life," the reporter stated.
"That's a shocking development," Shinigami said to himself.
"It may seem impossible to believe but it's true, the dead have somehow returned to life and are now roaming the small town of Concordia. This news has been discovered only a few short hours ago. When doctors attempted to examine the infected citizens who were dead they discovered that they had been dead for much longer. What doctors can't determine is how the dead were brought back to life, they're trying to determine this now as we speak," the reporter continued.
"The army, that's how, they created this gas, and they brought these dead guys back," Shinigami muttered.
"If anyone out there is listening to this broadcast, if you encounter any of the dead, avoid them at all cost, a single bite will kill a healthy person within two hours. If you're trapped and have no way to get out, the dead can be stopped by a severe blow to the head, or being shot through the head. We repeat, any trauma to the brain will stop the dead and put them back to re---"
"At least they're telling the truth now instead of trying to cover it up," Shinigami said as he turned off the radio.
He pressed down on the accelerator, avoiding the wrecked cars as he went on his way.
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Across town more than a hundred zombies wandered around, staggering, looking for food. Many of them banged on the doors and windows of the empty buildings, hoping to find something to eat. They were starving and they wanted food, now!
Overturned cars were being shoved out of the way as the dead fought to get to wherever they could find a meal. Nothing in the area was safe from them, and nothing would be.
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"Damn, this place is a war zone, Salley stated as she looked around as she drove through the streets.
Everywhere she looked were fires, overturned cars, broken windows in the buildings, and dead bodies along the street.
"Do you think we'll be safe," Ami asked nervously.
"We should, we've got plenty of ammo. Plus, I know karate," Salley replied.
"That's good to know," Ami replied as she clutched her rifle closer to her.
"You don't have to worry, my home's only a few blocks away, we'll be safe there," Salley told her as she turned the corner.
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"Damn, a roadblock. How'd they manage to overturn three cars like that," Sam asked.
"I don't know, I guess we'll just have to find a way around it," Jake replied.
"Uh, I think we got trouble, look out the rear mirror," Sam stated and pointed out the back.
Jake turned around in his seat and saw what Sam was referring to. A large group of zombies had found easily surrounded the escape route and was growing closer by the second.
"Those guys look faster than the others," Sam said in fear.
"Rigor mortis probably hasn't affected them, it probably wore off and their joints aren't frozen," Jake said as he reached for his shotgun.
"Wha' do we do?"
"What else ya jackass? Kill 'em," Jake replied and exited the driver seat, opening fire.
"When in Rome. Tallyho," Sam yelled and grabbed his axe.
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Across town, Shinigami wasn't doing any better. His jeep was surrounded by zombies, making it impossible to drive through them. He stood on the hood of the jeep, getting as high as he could to avoid them, but every time he shot one, another seemed to take its place.
"What I wouldn't give right now for an M-16. Or one of the many different machine guns that's belt fed ammo," he said to himself before shooting another zombie dead.
As he aimed to shoot another, he realized that he had run out of ammo, and needed to reload his shotgun, leaving himself vulnerable. One of the many zombies growled as it grabbed his ankle, trying to bite into his calf, but only received a crushed forehead from his other shoe.
"That does it, when I get home I'm getting my boots for some serious ass kicking," he roared and replaced his shotgun, drawing his two foot long machetes once again, "time for the whole sale slaughter. The Grim Reaper comes to reap a new harvest of the dead."
Shinigami crouched and leapt off the hood, performing a corkscrew maneuver and coming down outside of the circle. With a wave of rage he swung and spun, cutting right through the horde. Heads, hands, fingers, even entire upper bodies fell as he let loose one slice after another.
As the last zombie approached, Shinigami could see that it was very decayed, at least two months old and very decayed. He sneered, and swung both machetes wildly, before finally stopping. The zombie stood with a blank look on its face, not moving an inch. Until its fingers fell off, followed by the hands, arms, and the rest of the body, collapsing in a giant heap of old flesh and bones.
"Finally, now to get home," he said to himself and sat back down in the jeep again.
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Salley put on the breaks hard, stopping in front of a zombie army roaming the streets. And from the look of it, there were a lot of them, each coming for the van now.
"What're we gonna do now," Ami asked in pure terror.
Salley remained silent for a long while, considering her options on how to handle the situation. She then smiled evilly, almost as bad as Shinigami.
"We plow right through them! Buckle up Ami, this is gonna be bumpy!"
Salley threw the van into four wheel drive, slamming her foot down on the accelerator and charging forward, tearing through the dead, flattening them and tearing them apart.
"Piece of cake. Now, onward and homeward," Salley cheered as she turn another corner and continued on.
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"Damn, those things were tough," Sam breathed as he leaned against the van, resting the axe head on the street asphalt.
"Yeah, I hope they're not mutating or something. If they get like those "Return of the Living Dead" zombies we're in for some real trouble," Jake replied as he reloaded his shotgun, "I wish I got a pump action like Shinigami did, this double barreled thing is only so useful."
"Yeah. Well, no use staying around here anymore, let's get going, our parents aren't going to get found themselves," Sam stated as he moved back into the passenger side, dragging his axe with him.
"The next time we run into a batch of them, I'm gonna run over them," Jake said as he threw the van into reverse, backing over the recently once again deceased corpses.
"Do you think everybody else is having as much trouble as we are," Sam asked.
"Who knows," Jake replied as he turned and went down another street, angered that every direct route was blocked.
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"Fuck it! Another one, how many overturned cars am I going to encounter before I get home," Shinigami cursed angrily, "downtown is the worst mess I've ever seen. Signs broken, cars overturned, bodies everywhere, and roadblocks keeping me from getting home. Everywhere I look, life sucks worse than ever before!"
A string of noncoherent profanities came from him as he threw the jeep into reverse and started to back up. But before he could leave, something leapt onto the hood of the car. It was a dog, a Doberman. A bleeding, snarling Doberman, with a hole through its chest and its face clawed off, exposing its red stained teeth.
"Zombie dogs, I should've known, the next vile monster I encounter will most likely be the Licker," he said as he drew his shotgun.
The zombie dog barked and charged, fast. It snarled and bared its teeth even more as it leapt, ready to tear into Shinigami's flesh, but only receiving a load of buckshot, tearing its head off.
"They just had to be fast, and I just had to be the guy who they come after," he said as he stopped the jeep, "am I ever going to get home? Do I have to kill every dead thing to get back home, is that how it is? If so, then so be it! Any of you worm bags wanna piece of me! Well come and get it, here I am!"
No sooner did he speak, did he notice that another group of the living dead, both humans and dogs surrounded him.
"Spectacular, just fuckin' spectacular."
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The green van slowly pulled up to the driveway of a one story house, the siding consisting of white painted wood and a good shingling job on the roof. The garage was in desperate need of a good paint job, and the grass looked poor because of the recent drought in the state.
"Home sweet home," Ami said as he put the van into park and unlocked her door, "Ami, you stay here, I'll go check out the house and see if anybody's in there."
"Okay, be careful," Ami told her as she checked the lock on her door.
Salley opened the door and stepped out, carefully looking around. Nothing for at least a block, and with the zombie's walking speed, it would be at least fifteen minutes until she had to worry about them. She dashed over to the door and turned the knob, meeting with resistance. It was locked.
"Figures," she said as she drew a key from her pocket and inserted it.
She tried again, but couldn't get the door open at all; it was being blocked by something. Seeing no other alternative, she gave a mighty kick, forcing the door open enough to let her slip in.
The first thing she noticed when she stepped in was a strange smell, like month old sweat socks. She pulled her shirt up to cover her nose and carefully walked through the house.
"They've gotta be here somewhere. Mom! Dad! Are you here," she called out, not getting any answer, and that couldn't be good, the house wasn't big enough for them not to hear her, unless they were in the basement.
She went to the door that lead to the basement, listening for anything. She heard shuffling down below, which meant somebody had to be down there. She tried to push the door open, but the door was stuck, and that was bad. The outside lock was undone, and with no lock on the inside, the door must've been barricaded. And without a chainsaw, she wouldn't be getting down there without a real struggle.
"Damnit, just perfect, and dad doesn't have a chainsaw, and neither do the neighbors. Maybe I can use to crowbar in the garage," she said and turned, coming face to face with a frightening zombie.
She was pushed against the door, using her gun to keep it away from her. Whoever this thing use to be, it was still tough, very tough. As she fought back Salley could see something familiar about this zombie. Her eyes widened in horror as she suddenly knew who she was fighting. It was none other than her own father!
"Dad, oh no, they got to you too," she said, ready to cry.
But instead she fought back harder now, knowing that it was too later for him now. But as tough as he was, her father was tougher. She threw a devastating kick to his knee, shattering the bone, allowing her to push him back enough to level the carbine with his head.
"Sorry dad, but there's no other choice," she stated and pulled the trigger, dropping her father, but ten feet behind him was another person Salley knew, her mother, her right arm chewed off at the elbow.
Through teary eyes, she fired another shot, stopping her mother as well. She fell to her knees and began to cry; realizing that she was alone now. But then a scream brought her back to reality, she charged outside, seeing what caused Ami to scream.
"Oh God," she exclaimed in pure terror.
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"You know, we are the biggest idiots in this town," Sam stated.
"Hey," Jake shouted.
"I'm serious here! Our parents both have cellphones, why don't we just call them and see if they're okay," Sam asked.
"I tried that already, nobody would answer. We've gotta do it the hard way and look," Jake told him.
"Shit, nothing good ever happens around here," Sam cursed.
"I know, life just seems to get worse, never better," Jake replied.
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After a long, long time of fighting, Shinigami finally reached his home. A two story farmhouse with vinyl siding, gray sandy shingles, a large picture window on the front of the house and circular window on the second story, and like everywhere else, bad grass from lack of rain.
"Home sweet home," he said as he stepped out of his jeep.
He dug around in the toolboxes and reloaded the empty spaces in his ammo belts before approaching the house. He could see that the front window was boarded up from the inside, indicating that an attack had happened here. And further proof, dead bodies littering the lawn, each of them having their head almost completely blown off.
"Mom's been busy."
Shinigami walked over to the house and opened the screen door, but found that he couldn't get the wooden door, it was locked tight, and most likely boarded up as well.
"Should've known."
Using the metal tab on the screen door he used it to hold it open. He pulled his leg back into a high kicking position and let his foot fly near the doorknob, not making it budge an inch.
"I should've guessed so. Maybe the windows aren't boarded up."
Shinigami walked around the right side of the house and saw that the windows weren't boarded up. It made sense since they were higher than all the other windows; not many zombies would be able to jump through them without a ladder to climb up.
He smirked as he drew his shotgun and fired two shots into the first window, completely taking it out. Once that was done, he calmly walked to the edge of the yard, turned, and charged back, leaping through the opening and doing a midair summersault, landing in the living room.
"Step one complete. Time for step two, locate mom."
Shinigami stepped through the house, looking around carefully, keeping his machete drawn and ready for anything. He carefully moved to the closet of the dining room and opened it, leaping back just in case. He flicked on the lights and carefully looked in, seeing that the closet was empty. He then moved to the kitchen, and moved to the refrigerator and looked around inside, grabbing a can of Dr. Pepper and chugging it down.
"That's better," he said and discarded the empty can, "now, back to business."
Shinigami pushed the back room's door open and looked around, finding it empty as well. He then moved through the small hall that lead from the kitchen, over to the basement door, which was locked from the outside, meaning nobody was down there.
He then turned around and faced the bathroom door. As he reached forward to pull the handle, the door burst open, throwing his back against the basement door.
Sparks and the clang of clashing metal flew as Shinigami brought his machete up, stopping the other from hitting his face. His attacker wasn't quite as tall as he was, only about 5' 6", but they still possessed a good amount of strength. Whoever his attacker was they were taking good care not to expose any part of their body. The person's eyes were hidden by welding goggles and their face was masked with thick black material. A leather trench coat and leather gloves covered the upper body, while the lower body was covered in black boots and the lower half of the coat helped protect the person's legs.
Shinigami pushed back with his machete, forcing his attacker back, allowing him to draw his shotgun from his leg holster, making the person raise their hands and drop the weapon.
"Now, tell me who the fuck you are before I splatter you all over the damned wall," Shinigami growled.
"Watch your mouth young man," the person stated in a voice that sounded very familiar.
The person reached and undid the black cloth, letting their long dark hair fall, followed by the welding goggles, revealing a Japanese woman with purple eyes that matched Shinigami's perfectly.
"Mom! It's so good to see you," he stated as he dropped his weapons and hugged the woman tightly.
"I'm glad to see you too, I was worried about you when those things started to attack," the woman said as she hugged him back.
"You see, I told you I should've stayed home. I knew something bad would've happened if I went with those stupid people on their camping trip," Shinigami told her, "but enough talk, on to business."
"Business? What business," she asked.
"I came to make sure you were safe. And once I get some necessary equipment I'm going out and destroying every zombie I encounter."
"Son you can't do that, it's too dangerous," she stated.
"I have to, I may be the only one who can do anything about it. Half of the town was infected with some kind of zombifying gas, and that rainstorm from last night caused it to seep into the ground and resurrect the corpses that were buried. Those three kids I was stuck with, a kid we found, and myself are the only ones out there that can handle them," Shinigami explained.
"I still can't let you go out there, it's too dangerous, you could get killed. You could wind up as one of those things," she replied.
"Dangerous? I've fought my way through over fifty zombies to get to you to make sure you were safe. I've killed thirty of them with just machetes, I can handle them. And if necessary, I'll take them all out by myself!"
"...You've always been that way, I never could talk sense into you when you thought you had to do something right," she told him.
"Never have, never will," he laughed, before turning serious, "get some supplies, you're coming with me."
"Where are we going?"
"I'll tell you when we get there. You get some necessities, I'm gonna change and get some more weapons," he told her as he picked up his machete and shotgun, "could you explain why you attacked me like that?"
"I wanted to make sure you weren't an intruder trying to raid the place. Thank God it's you," she replied.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"I don't like the idea, you and four other teenagers fighting a nightmare like this," Shinigami's mother stated from the other side of the closed door that lead to his room.
"I don't like it either, but as far as I know we're the only ones who can save this shitty town. I'm sure as hell not gonna wait for the God damned military to come in and clean up this mess, they'll make it worse than it already is," he shouted through the door.
"I think I know what you mean. The army doing something right is an oxymoron. But what chance do you and four others stand," she asked.
"A very good chance! My small group has handled enough zombies to fill a small cemetery," he stated.
"You're kidding."
"I ain't lying. Believe it or not, zombies aren't as tough as they look in the movies. At least not the ones I've handled yet. Except for the dogs."
"What dogs?"
"Dobermans, I encountered fifteen of them as I came back here. They're fast, like in "Resident Evil". The people are slow and weak, the dogs are fast, and I want a missile launcher for the inevitable meeting with Tyrant," he told her and unlocked the door, stepping out.
As the door swung open, Shinigami modeled his new attire. Black army style boots with metal clamps holding the leggings shut and steel plates covering the toes. His sawed off shotgun was now placed in a much higher quality leg holster. He now wore black jeans that were somewhat baggy and had extra pockets, suggesting that he had packed them with extra supplies. He wore a black T-shirt with a dingy white skull on front, a dark gray padded vest with zippered pockets, and a black bandana tied around his head, holding his long black hair back.
He now wore a large black belt around his waist with his machete and survival knife strapped securely, and his two ammo belts crisscrossed across his chest. He made sure his hands were protected with black leather gloves and what appeared to be custom made brass knuckles. Each knuckle now consisted of a two-inch long spike, each looking capable of shattering a cinder block with a single blow.
"If you've got your stuff let's go, it could get dangerous real quick if we hang around for too long," he told her.
"Wait, there's something I think you should have before we go," she stated and walked to her room, directly to the right.
As she dug through her closet, Shinigami stepped in, wondering what she could possibly be looking for. What could she be looking for that was so important? That question was soon answered as she came back out, holding a sheathed sword. As soon as Shinigami saw the hilt he knew what type of sword it was.
"I was going to give it to you as a present for your next birthday, but I think you need it now. After all, one who calls himself the Grim Reaper should have a trademarked weapon," she said as she handed him the sword.
Shinigami removed the sword from its sheathe, looking over the blade work. It was absolutely beautiful. And there was no question about it; the blade was so sharp it could easily cut through anything that dared to get in his way.
"It's absolutely beautiful. This will definitely come in handy if I run out of ammo," he told her and replaced the sheathe.
"I bet it will. I used every last shell last night. I've been reduced to using a machete and crowbar in defense," she told him.
"That won't be a problem for much longer, last night we took every last weapon Super Wal-Mart had to offer. We'll get you an automatic rifle. Now let's go, I don't like being inside when there's a fight going on outside," he told her and took her hand.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Shinigami climbed out of the window first, making sure enough glass was cleared away from the bottom so he wouldn't cut his legs, and neither would his mother. As soon as he got to the ground, he helped her climb out as well.
"Come on, the jeep's just ahead," he told her.
They started to take off, but quickly stopped. An army of the dead blocked the entire front yard and advancing quickly.
"Here we go again," she stated.
"No, these are different, these guys are a little faster than all the others I've handled, something definitely isn't good here," he told her and drew his new sword, "you get to the jeep, I'll keep them busy," he said and charged forward.
Several zombies were beheaded with a single swing with the sword, leading Shinigami to believe that it would be easy to mow his way through in no time at all.
As Shinigami kept the horde busy, his mother worked her way to the jeep. But as she was about to get in, she was dragged down onto the ground, being held down by a rotting corpse. She screamed as he fought back, trying to force her way free, but the zombie was just too strong.
"Help," she screamed.
"Mom! I'm coming," he shouted as he sliced through another zombie to get through, but he was quickly dragged backward into the horde and surrounding him, cutting him off from all possible escape.
"Lousy fuckers," she cursed angrily.
As she held back the zombie with one arm, she felt around with the other, reaching for her fallen crowbar. But just as her fingers brushed against the claw area, the zombie overpowered her, sinking its teeth right into the side of her neck where it met with her shoulder. She screamed in pain as a huge hunk of her flesh was torn away, her blood spraying from the wound like a fountain.
An angered roar was heard as the zombie was pulled back, and cut in half right down the middle by Shinigami's sword. He cursed wildly as his adrenaline flowed through his veins, clouding his thought, driving his rage to an all time high.
He charged forward, cutting through one zombie after another, reducing them to mere piles of old meat and bones and puddles of blood. The few that had managed to get too close for him to use the sword, were dealt with by the spiked knuckles and metal toed boots.
Eventually there wasn't a zombie left moving. Shinigami breathed heavily as he was still full of rage, but forced it to subside, there was nothing left to kill. He then remembered his mother. He set his sword down and went over to her side, helping her up. She was already pale from the loss of blood; most of it soaked into her attire.
"Come on mom, you're gonna be okay, I know it. I'm gonna find somebody and get you to the hospital," he told her.
"No, no it's too late for me, you know that," she protested.
"Bullshit, it's never too late, there's gotta be something we can do," he told her in a state of panic.
"You know as well as I do. The first rule of being attacked by a zombie: Once you're bitten, you must die or else you'll be turned into one," she told him.
"Rules were meant to be broken. You and I are gonna get through this," he told her.
"No I already know I'm not. Please, kill me so I won't have to suffer. I don't want to come back as one of these things. If I do I might find you and attack you. I don't want that to happen I don't want to change. I'm begging you kill me now while you still can!"
"I can't!"
"Fine then! If you can't do it then I will," she shouted and shoved him back.
As Shinigami tripped over one of the bodies he was forced back. But as he got back up he noticed that his mother now held his shotgun. She held it to her chin, tears rolling down her cheeks.
"Goodbye son, I love you," she told him quietly.
"Mom no," he screamed.
But it was too late, the trigger was pulled, the bang sounded, and that was it. Shinigami couldn't believe his eyes; he had just seen his mother, the only one he had left in his life kill herself.
Shinigami dropped to his knees, not able to utter a word. He hunched over, placing his hands on the ground as, for the first time in years, he started to cry.
"Mom, why," he sobbed, "you were the only one I had left in my life, and now you're gone. I'm all alone."
Angrily, he pounded the ground with both fists, turned to the cloudy sky, and screamed at the top of his lungs.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"The Baptist Church? Are you sure about this," Sam asked as he and Jake exited the mini van and approached the building, "what makes you think they'd be here?"
"Look at it. It's a sound place to hide. Thick walls, the doors can be barricaded from the inside, and the windows are hard to get to from the outside, only a basketball player zombie could reach them. Now come on, it's as good a chance as any that we'll find them there," Jake explained.
"I sure hope you're right. I don't wanna be opening a hot box of zombies that'll stampede us and pick our bones clean," Sam said as he hoisted his axe.
"Down Paul Bunyan," Jake said as he knocked on the two large doors, "anybody alive in there? If so open the door, now," he ordered.
"Hey that's no way to talk to them. Stand aside and let Mr. Suave handle it," Sam told him.
"I'm already handling it, why should I step aside for myself," Jake asked.
"Shove off asshole, I'll show you how it really goes," Sam told him as he approached the door, "if anybody is in there, speak up now before we come charging in and blast everything that moves! You got to the count of five! One, two, three, four..."
Before Sam could finish counting the two could hear a commotion going on inside, followed b the sound of something heavy being moved away from the door. As he set down his axe, the doors were opened just enough to let them in.
"Thank the Lord you two are of the living," the Father stated.
The two looked around and saw the church packed to capacity with people, a lot of them wounded.
"You were right, a lot of people are here. Father what happened to these people," Sam asked.
"They were viciously attacked by those demons out there. So far we haven't been found here," the priest stated.
"I'm not so sure about that. Those things are zombies, and the only reason they haven't attacked yet is because they haven't detected the scent of your flesh, or they've given up on trying to get in here," Jake told him.
"You're wrong son, these are demons sent by the Lord to punish us for our sins against him," the priest retorted.
"You're wrong padre," Sam interjected, "these are zombies with no purpose other than to feed. This isn't God's handy work. This was caused by yesterdays chemical spill downtown on the highway. Speaking of which how did you avoid being infected?"
"The Lord protected his faithful followers from the plague, and he will continue to protect us in this time of crisis," the priest protested.
"Now look, there's no time to argue! We have to get out of here before we're attacked by a huge army of the dead and we can't protect ourselves! You're either coming with us willingly or you're getting dragged out," Sam yelled.
"Sam, down! We can't take all these people with us, we'd need a semi and trailer to do it," Jake explained.
"Really," Sam asked dumbfounded, "wait here, I'll find one."
"Are you nuts, you could get killed out there, and even if you don't, you don't know enough to drive a big rig, you're going on a suicide mission," Jake told him.
"I've gotta do something, I'm not going to sit around here and wait to die or be rescued. This is something I have to do," he replied.
"Well as your friend I can't let you do that, you're gonna have to go through me," Jake said as he stood in front of the door.
"Suit yourself, but you had the chance. Hiyah!"
Jake's eyes went wide, before they crossed and he fell to his knees in pain, emitting a high squeal.
"Take care of him until I get back padre," Sam told him as he stepped over his friend.
"God be with you, son," the priest told him.
"Thanks, I'll need it," Sam said as he stepped outside of the door, it being barricaded seconds later.
As the two of the people helped the temporarily crippled Jake into a pew to sit and recover. But seconds later, a horrifying scream was heard, followed by the sound of pure carnage and something heavy and metal hitting the concrete of the outside.
Everybody inside dared not move, listening to hear what happened next. A loud thud was heard against the door, cracking the barricading beam. If it was just as hard three or four more times it would be all over, the doors would be forced open, and whatever was out there would be able to get in.
"That's not good. That wood is yellow pine, even stronger than mahogany. Whatever's out there is even stronger than the dead. God must be furious with us," the priest stated.
"God isn't doing this," Jake squeaked as he attempted to stand back up, "that thing, whatever it is, probably isn't anything we've ever seen before."
The doors were continually slammed into, the beam barricading the doors cracking more each time. It wouldn't be long now until it was broken in half, and whatever was outside would get inside.
Jake fought against the excruciating pain in his groin and moved over to the door, trying to push against them in an attempt to hold them shut.
"Get some chains or something! We can wrap them around the door handles," he ordered as his voice dropped somewhat.
One of the people in the pews brought a crowbar over and managed to shove it through the handles to keep the doors from being forced open.
Whatever was outside was now wailing evilly as it slammed itself against the doors. Jake knew he was strong, but he also knew he couldn't keep the doors shut if both the beam and bar were broken.
But then, surprising everyone, a long metal spike penetrated the door, it had to be at least two feet long, covered in something that appeared to be blood. The creature wailed in pain this time and the spike was viciously ripped out, followed by the sound of a body hitting the ground, and a fight breaking out.
"Padre, what's going on out there," Jake asked.
The priest ran over to the door and peered out through the golfball sized hole, not believing his eyes at what he saw.
"Somebody dressed in black is fighting with a demon with shackles. And his language is most foul," the priest stated.
"Lemme see," Jake said as he looked through the hole now, "well I'll be damned! He's still alive," he stated.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Shinigami stayed in his kneeling position for a long time, but he eventually forced himself back to his feet. He knew that crying wouldn't bring his mother back, and he knew it was no use and just a waste of energy. He wiped his eyes and took back the shotgun in his mother's hand, and replaced it in the holster. He then walked back over and picked up his sword. As he looked over the bloody blade, his expression hardened and he slid it back into its sheathe.
"Mother, I'm sorry I couldn't save you. But I will avenge you, I swear it. I won't rest until every last zombie has been destroyed, I promise you that," he said.
He went back to the jeep, got in the driver's seat, threw it into drive, made a U-turn, and headed back down the street, determined to bring an end to this nightmare.
"Not a one will stand, everything will be killed, again! This I swear! I lost my mother, but I won't let anybody else in this town suffer her the same fate," he muttered to himself as he pushed harder on the accelerator.
He had driven by lots of houses in second and had reached downtown. He would've continued driving, but something caught his eyes. Something vile was trying to break into the Baptist Church.
The creature was a menacing six feet tall, but because it was hunched over it looked shorter. It skin was an infected shade of green, and its bones stuck out of one leg, like the flesh had been ripped away entirely. It had large powerful hands with sharp claws, and talons on its feet. All the way down its back were long spikes, giving it protection against backbiters. Its head was small, and impossible to get a good look at, and the wail it emitted was horrible. Broken shackles covered the ankles and wrists, making it looks as though it was an escaped prisoner.
At the foot of the stairs was a dead body, blood covering the entire area and an arm ripped off. Cast aside was a large axe that he easily recognized as the one that belonged to Sam.
"Welcome, to Raccoon City. Population, 3000 zombies and growing," he said as he got out of the jeep ad drew his shotgun.
He aimed for the head, but found it impossible to completely lock onto it due to the size, and he knew it wasn't going to be easy. He looked around for any kind of a weapon and found something. A large prybar, six feet in length a very thick. Perfect.
He picked up the prybar and charged. As he got closer, the stench became horrible, gagging strength to weaker people, but he had smelt much worse in his time.
He marched up the stairs and with a mighty thrust, he impaled the creature through the back, penetrating what would be considered the left lung, and going through the doors of the church.
"Time to die fucker," he yelled and pulled back enough for the prybar to leave the door, allowing his to flip the creature, sending it down and through the metal railing.
Now that it was away from the door, Shinigami saw its horrid face. Blood red eyes and fangs to match, a long tongue coming from its mouth, and a vile green blood oozing from the injury site.
As Shinigami leapt down to the ground, the creature looked at him with its crimson eyes and howled, swinging for his head. Shinigami ducked and kicked it where its chin would be, forcing it back, disorientating it enough for him to get behind it and rip out the prybar.
The monster turned and swiped again, meeting with the cold steel instead, which met its face in a swiping motion. As the creature stumbled back even more, Shinigami rammed it, piercing the middle of its chest, and running until the prybar was lodge in a telephone poll.
The monster wailed as it tried to pull itself free, but found that it couldn't. As it heard the cocking of a shotgun it looked up, meeting with two guns aimed right for its head.
"I came, I saw, I conquered, I blew your fuckin' head off."
With that, Shinigami fired both guns from a distance, causing the creature's head to explode, gore flying everywhere, killing it. As he turned, he saw the doors being opened and who appeared to be Jake, stepping out.
"Shinigami you asshole, somehow I knew you'd still be alive," he grunted, "that a friend of yours?"
"Like hell, but that over there is...was yours," Shinigami said as he pointed his shotgun in the direction of Sam's body.
"Oh God, that thing killed him," Jake stated.
"No duh," Shinigami began, but stopped when he saw the body moving, "guess he wasn't attacked in the head. You wanna finish him off or should I?"
"No, I've gotta do this myself, he was my friend," Jake told him as he raised his shotgun.
As the dead Sam rose to his feet, he groaned in zombie fashion and moved to his axe, picking it up with his remaining hand. He then turned to face his best friend Jake, receiving a load of buckshot in his head, dropping him for good this time.
"You did what you had to do," Shinigami said as he put his gloved hand on his shoulder, "anybody else in there alive?"
"Yeah, a lot of people," Jake told him.
"Well drag 'em outta there, I can't set foot in there," Shinigami said as he lit another cigarette.
"Why not?"
"I'll burst into flames if I set foot in there," he explained.
"Was that a joke," Jake asked.
"..."
"I see," Jake replied slowly and moved back into the church.
"Dipshit," Shinigami cursed as he threw away his used cigarette.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Eventually Jake managed to drag the priest out of the church, followed by the others who were currently inhabiting it.
"Damn, okay priest gimme the lowdown, what kind of injuries are these people suffering from? Were any of them bitten by those things," Shinigami asked.
"First explain who you are," the priest ordered.
"The Angel of Death that descended on this city, to reap of harvest of the walking dead. Most people call me Shinigami, now answer the question, I have no respect for a man of the cloth," he explained.
"I see, now what was the question," the priest asked, now familiar with whom he was dealing with.
"Never mind I'll get the answer myself. Everybody listen up! Whoever was bitten by one of those walking dead, step forward and to the left," he ordered.
Several people stepped forward and to the left like they had been ordered to do.
"What a pitiful bunch. Okay, have any of you seen the George Romero movies," Shinigami asked, receiving a few nods, "good, then you'll understand why I'm going to do what I'm about to."
Shinigami raised his shotgun, not bothering to aim and fired. The scatter range of the buckshot tore through the three, killing them instantly. Unfortunately he also received an uppercut, sending him back.
"What are you doing! Killing innocent people with no excuse! You're going to hell boy," the priest stated.
"Give 'em a few minutes and you'll se why padre," Shinigami told him and cocked his shotgun, expelling the spent shell.
Before anyone could voice another complaint, the three freshly killed people were groaning and slowly getting back to their feet, their eyes now flooded with a fluorescent green liquid.
"You see? Once bitten there is no hope of surviving, it's just a matter of time before you turn into one of them, see," another shot was fired, forcing the three back, but not killing them, "the only way to kill them is to kill them is hit them right in the head! Like this!"
This time the three were dropped dead for good, the buckshot ripping through their heads.
"This is no wrath of God that we've been dealing with, this is a virus that spread throughout the lower half of this hick town and infected everybody it touched. Somehow, it got into the sky, caused it to rain, which saturated the cemeteries and caused the dead to rise, and now we're being overrun by them. We have to find whoever's left alive, and get the hell out of here while we still can," Shinigami explained.
"What makes you think that this problem is just an isolated incident? It could be happening all over," one of the people in the crowd stated.
"I've already thought of that. I know that we may be risking our lives by going out of the city, but if we don't we'll die anyway. The supply trucks have stopped rolling in; they've stopped delivering food, water, everything. Within weeks we'll die if we don't leave this town and find a populated area. If we don't go, we're doomed however you look at it," Shinigami explained, "and once we run out of food, what do we do then? Do we become cannibals and kill each other so we can survive? We'll be no better than the walking dead! We have to go now!"
"I hate to admit it but he's right," Jake stated.
"Oh shut up and remove your lips from my ass," Shinigami stated.
"So what's the plan now," Jake asked as he quickly changed the subject.
"Get the girls get the hell outta town and kill whatever gets in our way," Shinigami explained.
"That could take a while, how do we transport all these people," he asked.
"I don't know. I suppose we can get a bus or two. If we cram everybody together we might be able to pull it off. Can you drive one," Shinigami asked.
"I drove a pickup once, what about you?"
"I stole a bus when I was fifteen," he replied.
"Excuse me, I can drive a bus," one of the crowd members exclaimed.
"Well why didn't ya say so in the first place? Step out here jerky. Jake, take bus boy and fine a bus that still works and get back here," Shinigami ordered.
"I'm not in any mood to argue with you, I'll kick your insubordinate ass when we get back," Jake stated as he and the bus driver headed for the mini van.
"I'm holding you to that promise, you forget and I'll crack your nuts," he exclaimed.
"Oh this has truly been quite a day," the priest stated and took out a flask from his robe and took a large sip of the contents, "would you care for a drink, my son?"
"I don't believe in drinking, I have to be sharp, I can't let my mind get clouded by booze. Cigarettes are another story; they don't affect my thinking capabilities or my response time, not anymore," Shinigami explained.
"Tell me my son, what kind of vicious demon is that which you fought," the priest asked and gestured to the telephone pole.
"Beats the hell outta me, that's the first thing of its kind I ever saw," Shinigami stated.
"Shinigami!"
Shinigami turned and saw a young girl charging up to him, he easily recognized her as Ami.
"Ami what's going on, how'd you get here," Shinigami asked.
"Salley and I were attacked by something mean, it killed her, but I got away, I came here," she explained as she gasped for breath.
"Sally? She's dead? What attacked here," he asked in surprise.
"I don't know, it was big, and green, and muscled, and---"
"Wait a minute, something doesn't seem right. Salley lives a long way off from here right? So how did you get here, without a weapon, and on foot, without a single scratch on you," Shinigami asked.
Salley looked shocked, slightly backing away in surprise.
"Ami? Ami. Ami! Answer me now! What really happened," Shinigami demanded to know.
Ami's bottom lip quivered in terror as Shinigami slowly advanced. She backed up but suddenly stopped. Her eyes rolled back in her head as a blue liquid flooded them. She drew her lips back, revealing sharp teeth. She hissed and leapt right at Shinigami's throat.
Shinigami barely had enough time to react. He latched onto Ami's arms and held her back, making sure she couldn't reach over and bite his arms.
"Somebody get a hold of her," he shouted.
Nobody came to his aid however, they all charged back into the church in terror, except to the priest.
"She's been possessed," he stated.
"No way father, she's a monster," Shinigami stated as he finally managed to throw Ami off of him and against the jeep.
Ami stood back up and grunted. She cackled viciously as her flooded blue eyes set back on Shinigami. Her fingernails grew into claws and her skin started to split, exposing large blue muscles underneath.
"We is in deep shit," Shinigami stated.
Ami cracked her neck and charged again, wanting to rip a piece out of Shinigami. But unfortunately for her she didn't get the chance, with a quick move Shinigami grasped her arm and twisted it behind her back, pulling his right fist back and sending a devastating punch to the back of her head, impaling her skull on the spikes.
"That's over," he stated.
But Shinigami was wrong. Ami didn't drop; she threw him back and turned to face him, still laughing evilly.
"How's that even possible, I cracked her skull and hit her brain, she should be dead by now," he stated.
Ami sneered and charged again, swinging a clawed hand for Shinigami's neck. He brought up his forearm and blocked the hand from reaching his head and swung, punching Ami in the gut as hard as he could. Ami barely flinched, instead she delivered a punch to Shinigami's gut, knocking all the wind out of him and dropping him to the ground.
As Ami approached she cracked her knuckles, ready to deliver the final blow. She shoved the priest aside and reached for Shinigami's chest. But just as she pulled back a loud gunshot sounded and she dropped lifelessly to the ground.
Shinigami held his gut as he coughed violently, causing one to think that he might puke. But he didn't. He got up to his knees and then to his feet. He turned to look where the rouge bullet might've come from, and the expression on his face turned to one of pure hatred.
"Aw fuck. Just when I think this situation can't get any worse, somebody just has to call these guys in," he said to himself.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Three of our heroes are now dead, strange monsters have now attacked, and now an unknown force has entered the scene. Who are they? Are they the army, the national guard, or a secret government branch of the service? And what was the creature that Shinigami executed at the church? To find out, you'll have to read chapter 3.
Author's Note: I'd just like to say that I'm sorry for the long delay, but lately I've had a case a writer's block that would stop a bullet train. With college and everything else in my life I don't have that much free time for writing.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Morning couldn't come soon enough. Nobody was capable of sleeping very well at all. Falling asleep was hard, and being able to stay asleep was even more troublesome. The only one who managed to get s decent night's rest was Shinigami, still leaning against the door, wearing his ammo belts, and clutching his shotgun, holding it close to him.
Jake yawned and stretched out, sitting up on the bed. He looked around, seeing that he was still in the ugly looking room, and Shinigami, still sleeping against the door. "How's that guy do it, especially with those shells," he asked himself, "oh well might as well wake him up. Hey Shinigami, morning!"
Shinigami grunted, continuing to snore, paying absolutely no never mind to Jake.
"This could be tough," he said to himself, "hey Shinigami, get your lazy ass up or else!" Shinigami awoke with a start and trained his shotgun on Jake's head, nearly squeezing the trigger and blowing his brains out.
"God damnit man, don't say that! Do you have any idea how close you came to having your fuckin' head blown off! That's the exact same thing my dad yelled when I was asleep," Shinigami yelled and stood up.
"Sorry about that, you didn't wake up the first time," Jake told him, "how could you sleep, leaning against that door, and with those belts of ammo on," he asked.
"I use to sleep with my back against a radiator, if you can get use to that, you can sleep anywhere," Shinigami told him and stretched.
"Do I even wanna know," Jake asked.
"No," Shinigami replied calmly, after a moment of searching, he pulled out a small package and a metal lighter.
"I never knew you smoked, when'd you pick up that bad habit," Jake asked.
Shinigami simply ignored him as he took one of the cigarettes and proceeded to light it, before taking a drag from it.
"Don't you know that's bad for you," Jake asked, receiving a puff of smoke in his face.
"Dry up, chances are I'm gonna wind up dead before this whole event is over, it's not like it'll make any difference," Shinigami replied, before taking another drag from his cigarette.
"That's crazy," Jake told him.
"So are you. Now fuck off and go wake everybody up," Shinigami ordered.
"Me, why me," Jake asked.
"Because if you don't I'll neuter you, without anesthetic," Shinigami replied and drew a black survival knife from a sheath on his belt, holding it less than an inch from Jake's manhood.
"You wouldn't," Jake replied, sounding nervous.
"I would, or maybe I'll heat my knife first. Then maybe the blade will cauterize the wound, that way you won't bleed to death," Shinigami told him, looking as serious as the day was long.
"I think I'll go wake the others up," Jake replied and quickly decided to exit the room, colliding with the door in the process, "hey who locked the door!"
"I did, remember? Now move it before I get violent," Shinigami ordered.
"Bastard," Jake muttered as he unlocked the door.
"Asshole," Shinigami replied.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The small group of survivors had gathered together, and were having a makeshift breakfast, consisting of poptarts, slimjims, doughnuts, granola bars, and for Shinigami, nothing but coffee.
"So, does anybody have any brilliant idea on what we're going to do today," Salley asked as she scarfed down a doughnut.
"I think the first thing we need to do is see how wide this zombie problem goes. If it's just Concordia or if it's state wide," Jake suggested.
"If not further. We very well could be the last humans in all of America," Shinigami replied as he leaned against the wall and drank his coffee.
"Oh, and you've got a better plan," Jake asked.
"Cut the bullshit, fearless leader. You know very well that we all want to make sure our families are safe, and you're no different," Shinigami told him.
"I have to agree with Dr. Death over there. I wanna make sure my dad's not one of those things," Sam added.
"And my grandma's in town, she'd be easy picking for those walking dead out there," Sally added.
"Hmm, you do have a point," Jake stated.
"Other than the ones on their heads," Shinigami stated and downed the rest of his coffee, "so it's settled. First we'll make sure our families are safe, and then we'll rendezvous at the Super Wal-Mart in, let's say four hours."
"Why Wal-Mart, and why four hours," Jake asked.
"Four hours should give us enough time to check our homes. And there are some things we forgot to pick up last night. Things that we could use to fight off the zombie hordes," Shinigami explained.
"I hate it when you're right," Jake stated.
"And I hate you no matter what," Shinigami replied.
"Do you think my parents might be okay," Ami asked quietly.
"I don't think so. You said your parents were attacked and you ran, so it's a good possibility that they're zombies as well," Shinigami told her.
"A-are you sure," Ami asked.
"Regrettably, yes, I'm very sure of it," Shinigami replied.
"Have some compassion you bastard, don't get her anymore upset than she already is," Sally yelled and stood up to face him.
"Look, like isn't peaches and cream, and there's no use sugar coating anything. The fact of the matter is they're dead," Shinigami yelled.
"Mommy, daddy," Ami managed to say before she began to cry hard.
"Nice going, now see what you've done," Sam yelled and swung for his head.
Shinigami ducked, grabbed Sam from behind and put him in an effective half nelson.
"Now look, everybody's going to grow up sooner or later, and now's a good a time as any! You can't be weak or else you'll wind up as a side of ground round for those things," Shinigami explained.
Jake angrily stood up and threw Shinigami against one of the walls, staring him in the eyes.
"Why are you such a bastard," he said through grit teeth.
"My father, he forced me to become what I am today! Have you ever been molested and abused by somebody ten times stronger than you? Do you know what it's like to try and fight back, and all the time he's laughing at how weak you are! I had to become what I am today I had no choice! If I didn't become tough I never would've survived," Shinigami explained.
Jake slowly backed away from him, letting him away from the wall.
"I'm sorry man, I didn't know," Jake apologized.
"Save the apologies for somebody who would care. There are only two things for me to do here. Find my mother, and eliminate as many of those walking corpses as possible," Shinigami told him and grabbed his two shotguns.
"Okay, Salley, you take Ami with you, Shinigami, you're coming with Sam and myself," Jake stated.
"No," Shinigami replied.
"What," Jake asked.
"I said no. I'm going by myself, I don't' want to be trapped with you two idiots," Shinigami told him.
"If you think we're letting you take one of the vans---"
"I don't need one of your vans. When you three were picking up wood for the barricades, I found a jeep out back. There's gas in it and I'll take that to get home," he explained.
"Whatever, just go. Wherever you go you bring death with you," Sam told him.
"It'll be a pleasure to get away from you. All I need is my share of the ammo, a couple machetes, and then I'm going," Shinigami replied and walked over to the pile of supplies on the floor.
"Sam, grab one of those crowbars, we should get those boards off the front door so we can get out of here," Jake ordered.
"Right boss," Sam replied in a mock Chico dialect.
"Hold it," Salley ordered.
"What," Jake asked.
"Check the windows first, see if we've got a mob out there," she replied.
"Leave it to a woman to use common sense," Shinigami muttered.
"It's actually a good idea," Sam replied.
"Well then go check it out," Jake ordered.
Sam nodded and charged dashed out of the room, heading for one that would have a window that overlooked the parking lot and front doors.
"W-what do we do if they are surrounding the front," Ami asked as she started to calm down.
"Shoot our way through, what else. If we had oil of laundry detergent we could throw Molotov cocktails and burn them all," Shinigami replied as he made sure that he grabbed the correct ammo.
"Why not just throw the beer," Salley asked.
"Too thin, it'll burn up too quick. The oil thickens it, giving it more burning power so it's even hotter," Shinigami explained.
"And how the hell would you know that," Jake asked.
"I studied pyrotechnics," he replied.
"Guys, we've got visitors," Sam stated as he charged back into the room.
"How many zombies are out there," Shinigami asked.
"A group of fifteen, that's all I can see," Sam replied.
"Shouldn't be too hard to deal with. Whichever of you has a free hand, get me a pressurized spray can of something, deodorant, hairspray, whatever you can find," Shinigami ordered and took his shotgun, heading for the room Sam came from.
"What good is that gonna do," Jake asked.
"Just do it damnit," Shinigami ordered.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The small crowd of the undead moaned as they pounded against the front doors, trying to get into the hotel. The barricaded doors held strong, but eventually even they would give in.
Shinigami sighed as he watched the scene below. It was truly one of the more pitiful sights that he had ever seen.
"Of all the God damned cities in the world, why did it have to happen here," he muttered as he waited for one of the others to bring the cans as he asked for, "what's taking them so long?"
"Allright, I found...one can of hairspray, and one can of spray on deodorant. What are we gonna do with them," Sam asked as he charged into the room.
"Shake 'em up real good, then throw one down," Shinigami explained.
Even though it sounded crazy, Sam proceeded to shake both cans vigorously, the sound of the metal ball and the contents inside mixing violently, until the sounds were extremely muffled.
"That's as much as I can do it," Sam told him.
"It'll do," Shinigami said as he took the hairspray can and threw it down at the crowd, "now for the catalyst."
Shinigami aimed his shotgun for where the can had hit and fired. When the buckshot hit the can it exploded like a bomb, throwing torn aluminum in every direction and causing a massive fireball, engulfing all of the zombies.
"Groovy," Sam stated in surprise.
"Now, you and Jake get down there and open the door, and make sure you watch out for the ball bearings," Shinigami ordered.
"Right boss," Sam replied and ran out of the room.
"Why couldn't he have been Faker," Shinigami said to himself and shook his head in disgust.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"That crazy fool actually used the cans as bombs to set them on fire," Jake asked as he and Sam carefully raced down the stairs, avoiding the ball bearings, to get to the front doors.
"Yeah, that crazy bastard is actually intelligent," Sam replied.
As the two reached the downstairs, it was quite easy to notice Shinigami's handiwork. There were ball bearings all over the floor, making it almost impossible to get anywhere without slipping.
"Isn't that overkill," Sam asked.
"Probably, but I'm not gonna tell him that," Jake replied as he tried to sweep the bearings away with his foot to clear a path.
Once enough of the ball bearings were cleared away, the two managed to shove the heavy front desk away from the doors, letting them pry the boards off of the doors.
"Oh God what's that smell," Sam yelled.
"Yeah I smell it too, ugh, that must be what death smells like," Jake replied and pulled his shirt up to cover his nose.
"Burnt death! Ew, the other ones never smelt like this! They must've been dead longer," Sam stated as he tried to avoid getting sickened by the smell.
"Imagine if the scent rises, Shingami must be sickened to death by that!"
Despite the smell the two continued to pull the boards off the doors. Once the boards were removed, the locks were undone and the chains were removed, letting them open the doors.
The smell outside was so vile they were literally thrown back by it, making them slip on the ball bearings.
Sam struggled to get back up, but was forced to crawl on the ground over to a potted plant and throw up in it. Jake gagged violently, but managed to keep his breakfast down.
"God that stinks," Jake yelled as he managed to get back to his feet.
"Very nauseating," Sam stated as he finally managed to stand up and wipe his mouth.
"Hey, look out there! All fifteen of them, charred wrecks," Jake stated and pointed outside.
"That bastard. That crazy sick bastard, he took them all out by himself," Sam yelled.
"You're making a big deal of nothing. Fifteen corpses aren't really that big of a deal."
The two turned and saw Shinigami, coming down the stairs with a large toolbox and a pair of spare machetes under his arm, with his strapped to his belt, his basic shotgun in the leg holster, and the secondary strapped on his back.
"I wish you'd quit that," Jake stated.
"Quit what?"
"Acting like you've got everything under control. Because believe me pal, I know you're scared shitless," Jake told him.
"Me, scared? Don't be crazy, I'm too angry to be scared. One thing that I've always feared would happen, did happen. And now it's up to me to clean up the mess," Shinigami explained.
"Mr. Mightier than thou," Sam whispered.
"Fuck off. Get the girls and go wherever the hell you're going," he ordered.
"Wait a minute, I just thought of something. What if the jeep doesn't have any keys," Sam asked.
"You think something like no keys is going to stop me? You don't know me very well, I was elected "King of Detention" and "Juvenile Hall Veteran" for nothing," he said with an odd smirk before turning to leave.
"That guy creeps the hell outta me," Jake whispered.
"Me too," Sam replied.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Shinigami glanced around carefully, making sure there were no zombies in the vicinity. So far everything was safe. He made his way around to the back of the hotel, carrying his supplies in one hand and under one arm, keeping his other hand free in case of an emergency.
"I guess those fifteen were the only ones here," he said to himself as he walked around back, "never say something like that in a situation like this."
A large group of zombies had gathered around back, groaning and moaning as they staggered closer to the building, their flooded green eyes not blinking as the drew ever closer.
"Shit, and they're cutting off my way to the jeep, now what," he asked himself, before smiling wickedly, "I never could resist a good fight."
Reaching to his side, Shinigami drew his machete, advancing toward the horde of zombies, easily sidestepping them as he made his way to the jeep, dropping his supplies in the back seat.
"And now, the fun can begin," he said with the evilest of laughs.
Shinigami drew the two machetes, grinning evilly as he charged, swinging wildly with the skill of a master. One zombie after another fell to the ground as its head was either severed, or one of the blades found its way into their target's skull.
One after another after another after another fell, until Shinigami was the last one standing, panting and sweaty from exerting himself. Although machetes were easier to use than an axe, overtime it they could exhaust you just as well.
"Hard to believe, I never knew taking out thirty zombies with just two machetes would be so challenging," Shinigami said to himself.
He wiped his forehead and went back to the jeep, ready to head home. But after an examination he found that there weren't any keys to be found.
"Crap. Oh well, my skills were getting rusty anyway," he said to himself and ripped off the underside of the dashboard, exposing the wires. He tore several wires away and began to strip the coating off of them, exposing the bare copper, allowing him to splice them together, until he heard the sound of the engine roar.
"Ha, wonderful. Home, here I come, mom I hope you're safe, I'm coming," he said to himself started to maneuver the jeep out of the back lot, "might as well see what manure's being shoveled today," he said as he turned on the radio.
"We repeat, the infestation in Concordia, that was thought to be citizens infected with some new and dangerous strain of virus, has turned out to be the undead. That's right, all reports indicate that the infected citizens are the dead who have somehow returned the life," the reporter stated.
"That's a shocking development," Shinigami said to himself.
"It may seem impossible to believe but it's true, the dead have somehow returned to life and are now roaming the small town of Concordia. This news has been discovered only a few short hours ago. When doctors attempted to examine the infected citizens who were dead they discovered that they had been dead for much longer. What doctors can't determine is how the dead were brought back to life, they're trying to determine this now as we speak," the reporter continued.
"The army, that's how, they created this gas, and they brought these dead guys back," Shinigami muttered.
"If anyone out there is listening to this broadcast, if you encounter any of the dead, avoid them at all cost, a single bite will kill a healthy person within two hours. If you're trapped and have no way to get out, the dead can be stopped by a severe blow to the head, or being shot through the head. We repeat, any trauma to the brain will stop the dead and put them back to re---"
"At least they're telling the truth now instead of trying to cover it up," Shinigami said as he turned off the radio.
He pressed down on the accelerator, avoiding the wrecked cars as he went on his way.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Across town more than a hundred zombies wandered around, staggering, looking for food. Many of them banged on the doors and windows of the empty buildings, hoping to find something to eat. They were starving and they wanted food, now!
Overturned cars were being shoved out of the way as the dead fought to get to wherever they could find a meal. Nothing in the area was safe from them, and nothing would be.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"Damn, this place is a war zone, Salley stated as she looked around as she drove through the streets.
Everywhere she looked were fires, overturned cars, broken windows in the buildings, and dead bodies along the street.
"Do you think we'll be safe," Ami asked nervously.
"We should, we've got plenty of ammo. Plus, I know karate," Salley replied.
"That's good to know," Ami replied as she clutched her rifle closer to her.
"You don't have to worry, my home's only a few blocks away, we'll be safe there," Salley told her as she turned the corner.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"Damn, a roadblock. How'd they manage to overturn three cars like that," Sam asked.
"I don't know, I guess we'll just have to find a way around it," Jake replied.
"Uh, I think we got trouble, look out the rear mirror," Sam stated and pointed out the back.
Jake turned around in his seat and saw what Sam was referring to. A large group of zombies had found easily surrounded the escape route and was growing closer by the second.
"Those guys look faster than the others," Sam said in fear.
"Rigor mortis probably hasn't affected them, it probably wore off and their joints aren't frozen," Jake said as he reached for his shotgun.
"Wha' do we do?"
"What else ya jackass? Kill 'em," Jake replied and exited the driver seat, opening fire.
"When in Rome. Tallyho," Sam yelled and grabbed his axe.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Across town, Shinigami wasn't doing any better. His jeep was surrounded by zombies, making it impossible to drive through them. He stood on the hood of the jeep, getting as high as he could to avoid them, but every time he shot one, another seemed to take its place.
"What I wouldn't give right now for an M-16. Or one of the many different machine guns that's belt fed ammo," he said to himself before shooting another zombie dead.
As he aimed to shoot another, he realized that he had run out of ammo, and needed to reload his shotgun, leaving himself vulnerable. One of the many zombies growled as it grabbed his ankle, trying to bite into his calf, but only received a crushed forehead from his other shoe.
"That does it, when I get home I'm getting my boots for some serious ass kicking," he roared and replaced his shotgun, drawing his two foot long machetes once again, "time for the whole sale slaughter. The Grim Reaper comes to reap a new harvest of the dead."
Shinigami crouched and leapt off the hood, performing a corkscrew maneuver and coming down outside of the circle. With a wave of rage he swung and spun, cutting right through the horde. Heads, hands, fingers, even entire upper bodies fell as he let loose one slice after another.
As the last zombie approached, Shinigami could see that it was very decayed, at least two months old and very decayed. He sneered, and swung both machetes wildly, before finally stopping. The zombie stood with a blank look on its face, not moving an inch. Until its fingers fell off, followed by the hands, arms, and the rest of the body, collapsing in a giant heap of old flesh and bones.
"Finally, now to get home," he said to himself and sat back down in the jeep again.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Salley put on the breaks hard, stopping in front of a zombie army roaming the streets. And from the look of it, there were a lot of them, each coming for the van now.
"What're we gonna do now," Ami asked in pure terror.
Salley remained silent for a long while, considering her options on how to handle the situation. She then smiled evilly, almost as bad as Shinigami.
"We plow right through them! Buckle up Ami, this is gonna be bumpy!"
Salley threw the van into four wheel drive, slamming her foot down on the accelerator and charging forward, tearing through the dead, flattening them and tearing them apart.
"Piece of cake. Now, onward and homeward," Salley cheered as she turn another corner and continued on.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"Damn, those things were tough," Sam breathed as he leaned against the van, resting the axe head on the street asphalt.
"Yeah, I hope they're not mutating or something. If they get like those "Return of the Living Dead" zombies we're in for some real trouble," Jake replied as he reloaded his shotgun, "I wish I got a pump action like Shinigami did, this double barreled thing is only so useful."
"Yeah. Well, no use staying around here anymore, let's get going, our parents aren't going to get found themselves," Sam stated as he moved back into the passenger side, dragging his axe with him.
"The next time we run into a batch of them, I'm gonna run over them," Jake said as he threw the van into reverse, backing over the recently once again deceased corpses.
"Do you think everybody else is having as much trouble as we are," Sam asked.
"Who knows," Jake replied as he turned and went down another street, angered that every direct route was blocked.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"Fuck it! Another one, how many overturned cars am I going to encounter before I get home," Shinigami cursed angrily, "downtown is the worst mess I've ever seen. Signs broken, cars overturned, bodies everywhere, and roadblocks keeping me from getting home. Everywhere I look, life sucks worse than ever before!"
A string of noncoherent profanities came from him as he threw the jeep into reverse and started to back up. But before he could leave, something leapt onto the hood of the car. It was a dog, a Doberman. A bleeding, snarling Doberman, with a hole through its chest and its face clawed off, exposing its red stained teeth.
"Zombie dogs, I should've known, the next vile monster I encounter will most likely be the Licker," he said as he drew his shotgun.
The zombie dog barked and charged, fast. It snarled and bared its teeth even more as it leapt, ready to tear into Shinigami's flesh, but only receiving a load of buckshot, tearing its head off.
"They just had to be fast, and I just had to be the guy who they come after," he said as he stopped the jeep, "am I ever going to get home? Do I have to kill every dead thing to get back home, is that how it is? If so, then so be it! Any of you worm bags wanna piece of me! Well come and get it, here I am!"
No sooner did he speak, did he notice that another group of the living dead, both humans and dogs surrounded him.
"Spectacular, just fuckin' spectacular."
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The green van slowly pulled up to the driveway of a one story house, the siding consisting of white painted wood and a good shingling job on the roof. The garage was in desperate need of a good paint job, and the grass looked poor because of the recent drought in the state.
"Home sweet home," Ami said as he put the van into park and unlocked her door, "Ami, you stay here, I'll go check out the house and see if anybody's in there."
"Okay, be careful," Ami told her as she checked the lock on her door.
Salley opened the door and stepped out, carefully looking around. Nothing for at least a block, and with the zombie's walking speed, it would be at least fifteen minutes until she had to worry about them. She dashed over to the door and turned the knob, meeting with resistance. It was locked.
"Figures," she said as she drew a key from her pocket and inserted it.
She tried again, but couldn't get the door open at all; it was being blocked by something. Seeing no other alternative, she gave a mighty kick, forcing the door open enough to let her slip in.
The first thing she noticed when she stepped in was a strange smell, like month old sweat socks. She pulled her shirt up to cover her nose and carefully walked through the house.
"They've gotta be here somewhere. Mom! Dad! Are you here," she called out, not getting any answer, and that couldn't be good, the house wasn't big enough for them not to hear her, unless they were in the basement.
She went to the door that lead to the basement, listening for anything. She heard shuffling down below, which meant somebody had to be down there. She tried to push the door open, but the door was stuck, and that was bad. The outside lock was undone, and with no lock on the inside, the door must've been barricaded. And without a chainsaw, she wouldn't be getting down there without a real struggle.
"Damnit, just perfect, and dad doesn't have a chainsaw, and neither do the neighbors. Maybe I can use to crowbar in the garage," she said and turned, coming face to face with a frightening zombie.
She was pushed against the door, using her gun to keep it away from her. Whoever this thing use to be, it was still tough, very tough. As she fought back Salley could see something familiar about this zombie. Her eyes widened in horror as she suddenly knew who she was fighting. It was none other than her own father!
"Dad, oh no, they got to you too," she said, ready to cry.
But instead she fought back harder now, knowing that it was too later for him now. But as tough as he was, her father was tougher. She threw a devastating kick to his knee, shattering the bone, allowing her to push him back enough to level the carbine with his head.
"Sorry dad, but there's no other choice," she stated and pulled the trigger, dropping her father, but ten feet behind him was another person Salley knew, her mother, her right arm chewed off at the elbow.
Through teary eyes, she fired another shot, stopping her mother as well. She fell to her knees and began to cry; realizing that she was alone now. But then a scream brought her back to reality, she charged outside, seeing what caused Ami to scream.
"Oh God," she exclaimed in pure terror.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"You know, we are the biggest idiots in this town," Sam stated.
"Hey," Jake shouted.
"I'm serious here! Our parents both have cellphones, why don't we just call them and see if they're okay," Sam asked.
"I tried that already, nobody would answer. We've gotta do it the hard way and look," Jake told him.
"Shit, nothing good ever happens around here," Sam cursed.
"I know, life just seems to get worse, never better," Jake replied.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
After a long, long time of fighting, Shinigami finally reached his home. A two story farmhouse with vinyl siding, gray sandy shingles, a large picture window on the front of the house and circular window on the second story, and like everywhere else, bad grass from lack of rain.
"Home sweet home," he said as he stepped out of his jeep.
He dug around in the toolboxes and reloaded the empty spaces in his ammo belts before approaching the house. He could see that the front window was boarded up from the inside, indicating that an attack had happened here. And further proof, dead bodies littering the lawn, each of them having their head almost completely blown off.
"Mom's been busy."
Shinigami walked over to the house and opened the screen door, but found that he couldn't get the wooden door, it was locked tight, and most likely boarded up as well.
"Should've known."
Using the metal tab on the screen door he used it to hold it open. He pulled his leg back into a high kicking position and let his foot fly near the doorknob, not making it budge an inch.
"I should've guessed so. Maybe the windows aren't boarded up."
Shinigami walked around the right side of the house and saw that the windows weren't boarded up. It made sense since they were higher than all the other windows; not many zombies would be able to jump through them without a ladder to climb up.
He smirked as he drew his shotgun and fired two shots into the first window, completely taking it out. Once that was done, he calmly walked to the edge of the yard, turned, and charged back, leaping through the opening and doing a midair summersault, landing in the living room.
"Step one complete. Time for step two, locate mom."
Shinigami stepped through the house, looking around carefully, keeping his machete drawn and ready for anything. He carefully moved to the closet of the dining room and opened it, leaping back just in case. He flicked on the lights and carefully looked in, seeing that the closet was empty. He then moved to the kitchen, and moved to the refrigerator and looked around inside, grabbing a can of Dr. Pepper and chugging it down.
"That's better," he said and discarded the empty can, "now, back to business."
Shinigami pushed the back room's door open and looked around, finding it empty as well. He then moved through the small hall that lead from the kitchen, over to the basement door, which was locked from the outside, meaning nobody was down there.
He then turned around and faced the bathroom door. As he reached forward to pull the handle, the door burst open, throwing his back against the basement door.
Sparks and the clang of clashing metal flew as Shinigami brought his machete up, stopping the other from hitting his face. His attacker wasn't quite as tall as he was, only about 5' 6", but they still possessed a good amount of strength. Whoever his attacker was they were taking good care not to expose any part of their body. The person's eyes were hidden by welding goggles and their face was masked with thick black material. A leather trench coat and leather gloves covered the upper body, while the lower body was covered in black boots and the lower half of the coat helped protect the person's legs.
Shinigami pushed back with his machete, forcing his attacker back, allowing him to draw his shotgun from his leg holster, making the person raise their hands and drop the weapon.
"Now, tell me who the fuck you are before I splatter you all over the damned wall," Shinigami growled.
"Watch your mouth young man," the person stated in a voice that sounded very familiar.
The person reached and undid the black cloth, letting their long dark hair fall, followed by the welding goggles, revealing a Japanese woman with purple eyes that matched Shinigami's perfectly.
"Mom! It's so good to see you," he stated as he dropped his weapons and hugged the woman tightly.
"I'm glad to see you too, I was worried about you when those things started to attack," the woman said as she hugged him back.
"You see, I told you I should've stayed home. I knew something bad would've happened if I went with those stupid people on their camping trip," Shinigami told her, "but enough talk, on to business."
"Business? What business," she asked.
"I came to make sure you were safe. And once I get some necessary equipment I'm going out and destroying every zombie I encounter."
"Son you can't do that, it's too dangerous," she stated.
"I have to, I may be the only one who can do anything about it. Half of the town was infected with some kind of zombifying gas, and that rainstorm from last night caused it to seep into the ground and resurrect the corpses that were buried. Those three kids I was stuck with, a kid we found, and myself are the only ones out there that can handle them," Shinigami explained.
"I still can't let you go out there, it's too dangerous, you could get killed. You could wind up as one of those things," she replied.
"Dangerous? I've fought my way through over fifty zombies to get to you to make sure you were safe. I've killed thirty of them with just machetes, I can handle them. And if necessary, I'll take them all out by myself!"
"...You've always been that way, I never could talk sense into you when you thought you had to do something right," she told him.
"Never have, never will," he laughed, before turning serious, "get some supplies, you're coming with me."
"Where are we going?"
"I'll tell you when we get there. You get some necessities, I'm gonna change and get some more weapons," he told her as he picked up his machete and shotgun, "could you explain why you attacked me like that?"
"I wanted to make sure you weren't an intruder trying to raid the place. Thank God it's you," she replied.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"I don't like the idea, you and four other teenagers fighting a nightmare like this," Shinigami's mother stated from the other side of the closed door that lead to his room.
"I don't like it either, but as far as I know we're the only ones who can save this shitty town. I'm sure as hell not gonna wait for the God damned military to come in and clean up this mess, they'll make it worse than it already is," he shouted through the door.
"I think I know what you mean. The army doing something right is an oxymoron. But what chance do you and four others stand," she asked.
"A very good chance! My small group has handled enough zombies to fill a small cemetery," he stated.
"You're kidding."
"I ain't lying. Believe it or not, zombies aren't as tough as they look in the movies. At least not the ones I've handled yet. Except for the dogs."
"What dogs?"
"Dobermans, I encountered fifteen of them as I came back here. They're fast, like in "Resident Evil". The people are slow and weak, the dogs are fast, and I want a missile launcher for the inevitable meeting with Tyrant," he told her and unlocked the door, stepping out.
As the door swung open, Shinigami modeled his new attire. Black army style boots with metal clamps holding the leggings shut and steel plates covering the toes. His sawed off shotgun was now placed in a much higher quality leg holster. He now wore black jeans that were somewhat baggy and had extra pockets, suggesting that he had packed them with extra supplies. He wore a black T-shirt with a dingy white skull on front, a dark gray padded vest with zippered pockets, and a black bandana tied around his head, holding his long black hair back.
He now wore a large black belt around his waist with his machete and survival knife strapped securely, and his two ammo belts crisscrossed across his chest. He made sure his hands were protected with black leather gloves and what appeared to be custom made brass knuckles. Each knuckle now consisted of a two-inch long spike, each looking capable of shattering a cinder block with a single blow.
"If you've got your stuff let's go, it could get dangerous real quick if we hang around for too long," he told her.
"Wait, there's something I think you should have before we go," she stated and walked to her room, directly to the right.
As she dug through her closet, Shinigami stepped in, wondering what she could possibly be looking for. What could she be looking for that was so important? That question was soon answered as she came back out, holding a sheathed sword. As soon as Shinigami saw the hilt he knew what type of sword it was.
"I was going to give it to you as a present for your next birthday, but I think you need it now. After all, one who calls himself the Grim Reaper should have a trademarked weapon," she said as she handed him the sword.
Shinigami removed the sword from its sheathe, looking over the blade work. It was absolutely beautiful. And there was no question about it; the blade was so sharp it could easily cut through anything that dared to get in his way.
"It's absolutely beautiful. This will definitely come in handy if I run out of ammo," he told her and replaced the sheathe.
"I bet it will. I used every last shell last night. I've been reduced to using a machete and crowbar in defense," she told him.
"That won't be a problem for much longer, last night we took every last weapon Super Wal-Mart had to offer. We'll get you an automatic rifle. Now let's go, I don't like being inside when there's a fight going on outside," he told her and took her hand.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Shinigami climbed out of the window first, making sure enough glass was cleared away from the bottom so he wouldn't cut his legs, and neither would his mother. As soon as he got to the ground, he helped her climb out as well.
"Come on, the jeep's just ahead," he told her.
They started to take off, but quickly stopped. An army of the dead blocked the entire front yard and advancing quickly.
"Here we go again," she stated.
"No, these are different, these guys are a little faster than all the others I've handled, something definitely isn't good here," he told her and drew his new sword, "you get to the jeep, I'll keep them busy," he said and charged forward.
Several zombies were beheaded with a single swing with the sword, leading Shinigami to believe that it would be easy to mow his way through in no time at all.
As Shinigami kept the horde busy, his mother worked her way to the jeep. But as she was about to get in, she was dragged down onto the ground, being held down by a rotting corpse. She screamed as he fought back, trying to force her way free, but the zombie was just too strong.
"Help," she screamed.
"Mom! I'm coming," he shouted as he sliced through another zombie to get through, but he was quickly dragged backward into the horde and surrounding him, cutting him off from all possible escape.
"Lousy fuckers," she cursed angrily.
As she held back the zombie with one arm, she felt around with the other, reaching for her fallen crowbar. But just as her fingers brushed against the claw area, the zombie overpowered her, sinking its teeth right into the side of her neck where it met with her shoulder. She screamed in pain as a huge hunk of her flesh was torn away, her blood spraying from the wound like a fountain.
An angered roar was heard as the zombie was pulled back, and cut in half right down the middle by Shinigami's sword. He cursed wildly as his adrenaline flowed through his veins, clouding his thought, driving his rage to an all time high.
He charged forward, cutting through one zombie after another, reducing them to mere piles of old meat and bones and puddles of blood. The few that had managed to get too close for him to use the sword, were dealt with by the spiked knuckles and metal toed boots.
Eventually there wasn't a zombie left moving. Shinigami breathed heavily as he was still full of rage, but forced it to subside, there was nothing left to kill. He then remembered his mother. He set his sword down and went over to her side, helping her up. She was already pale from the loss of blood; most of it soaked into her attire.
"Come on mom, you're gonna be okay, I know it. I'm gonna find somebody and get you to the hospital," he told her.
"No, no it's too late for me, you know that," she protested.
"Bullshit, it's never too late, there's gotta be something we can do," he told her in a state of panic.
"You know as well as I do. The first rule of being attacked by a zombie: Once you're bitten, you must die or else you'll be turned into one," she told him.
"Rules were meant to be broken. You and I are gonna get through this," he told her.
"No I already know I'm not. Please, kill me so I won't have to suffer. I don't want to come back as one of these things. If I do I might find you and attack you. I don't want that to happen I don't want to change. I'm begging you kill me now while you still can!"
"I can't!"
"Fine then! If you can't do it then I will," she shouted and shoved him back.
As Shinigami tripped over one of the bodies he was forced back. But as he got back up he noticed that his mother now held his shotgun. She held it to her chin, tears rolling down her cheeks.
"Goodbye son, I love you," she told him quietly.
"Mom no," he screamed.
But it was too late, the trigger was pulled, the bang sounded, and that was it. Shinigami couldn't believe his eyes; he had just seen his mother, the only one he had left in his life kill herself.
Shinigami dropped to his knees, not able to utter a word. He hunched over, placing his hands on the ground as, for the first time in years, he started to cry.
"Mom, why," he sobbed, "you were the only one I had left in my life, and now you're gone. I'm all alone."
Angrily, he pounded the ground with both fists, turned to the cloudy sky, and screamed at the top of his lungs.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"The Baptist Church? Are you sure about this," Sam asked as he and Jake exited the mini van and approached the building, "what makes you think they'd be here?"
"Look at it. It's a sound place to hide. Thick walls, the doors can be barricaded from the inside, and the windows are hard to get to from the outside, only a basketball player zombie could reach them. Now come on, it's as good a chance as any that we'll find them there," Jake explained.
"I sure hope you're right. I don't wanna be opening a hot box of zombies that'll stampede us and pick our bones clean," Sam said as he hoisted his axe.
"Down Paul Bunyan," Jake said as he knocked on the two large doors, "anybody alive in there? If so open the door, now," he ordered.
"Hey that's no way to talk to them. Stand aside and let Mr. Suave handle it," Sam told him.
"I'm already handling it, why should I step aside for myself," Jake asked.
"Shove off asshole, I'll show you how it really goes," Sam told him as he approached the door, "if anybody is in there, speak up now before we come charging in and blast everything that moves! You got to the count of five! One, two, three, four..."
Before Sam could finish counting the two could hear a commotion going on inside, followed b the sound of something heavy being moved away from the door. As he set down his axe, the doors were opened just enough to let them in.
"Thank the Lord you two are of the living," the Father stated.
The two looked around and saw the church packed to capacity with people, a lot of them wounded.
"You were right, a lot of people are here. Father what happened to these people," Sam asked.
"They were viciously attacked by those demons out there. So far we haven't been found here," the priest stated.
"I'm not so sure about that. Those things are zombies, and the only reason they haven't attacked yet is because they haven't detected the scent of your flesh, or they've given up on trying to get in here," Jake told him.
"You're wrong son, these are demons sent by the Lord to punish us for our sins against him," the priest retorted.
"You're wrong padre," Sam interjected, "these are zombies with no purpose other than to feed. This isn't God's handy work. This was caused by yesterdays chemical spill downtown on the highway. Speaking of which how did you avoid being infected?"
"The Lord protected his faithful followers from the plague, and he will continue to protect us in this time of crisis," the priest protested.
"Now look, there's no time to argue! We have to get out of here before we're attacked by a huge army of the dead and we can't protect ourselves! You're either coming with us willingly or you're getting dragged out," Sam yelled.
"Sam, down! We can't take all these people with us, we'd need a semi and trailer to do it," Jake explained.
"Really," Sam asked dumbfounded, "wait here, I'll find one."
"Are you nuts, you could get killed out there, and even if you don't, you don't know enough to drive a big rig, you're going on a suicide mission," Jake told him.
"I've gotta do something, I'm not going to sit around here and wait to die or be rescued. This is something I have to do," he replied.
"Well as your friend I can't let you do that, you're gonna have to go through me," Jake said as he stood in front of the door.
"Suit yourself, but you had the chance. Hiyah!"
Jake's eyes went wide, before they crossed and he fell to his knees in pain, emitting a high squeal.
"Take care of him until I get back padre," Sam told him as he stepped over his friend.
"God be with you, son," the priest told him.
"Thanks, I'll need it," Sam said as he stepped outside of the door, it being barricaded seconds later.
As the two of the people helped the temporarily crippled Jake into a pew to sit and recover. But seconds later, a horrifying scream was heard, followed by the sound of pure carnage and something heavy and metal hitting the concrete of the outside.
Everybody inside dared not move, listening to hear what happened next. A loud thud was heard against the door, cracking the barricading beam. If it was just as hard three or four more times it would be all over, the doors would be forced open, and whatever was out there would be able to get in.
"That's not good. That wood is yellow pine, even stronger than mahogany. Whatever's out there is even stronger than the dead. God must be furious with us," the priest stated.
"God isn't doing this," Jake squeaked as he attempted to stand back up, "that thing, whatever it is, probably isn't anything we've ever seen before."
The doors were continually slammed into, the beam barricading the doors cracking more each time. It wouldn't be long now until it was broken in half, and whatever was outside would get inside.
Jake fought against the excruciating pain in his groin and moved over to the door, trying to push against them in an attempt to hold them shut.
"Get some chains or something! We can wrap them around the door handles," he ordered as his voice dropped somewhat.
One of the people in the pews brought a crowbar over and managed to shove it through the handles to keep the doors from being forced open.
Whatever was outside was now wailing evilly as it slammed itself against the doors. Jake knew he was strong, but he also knew he couldn't keep the doors shut if both the beam and bar were broken.
But then, surprising everyone, a long metal spike penetrated the door, it had to be at least two feet long, covered in something that appeared to be blood. The creature wailed in pain this time and the spike was viciously ripped out, followed by the sound of a body hitting the ground, and a fight breaking out.
"Padre, what's going on out there," Jake asked.
The priest ran over to the door and peered out through the golfball sized hole, not believing his eyes at what he saw.
"Somebody dressed in black is fighting with a demon with shackles. And his language is most foul," the priest stated.
"Lemme see," Jake said as he looked through the hole now, "well I'll be damned! He's still alive," he stated.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Shinigami stayed in his kneeling position for a long time, but he eventually forced himself back to his feet. He knew that crying wouldn't bring his mother back, and he knew it was no use and just a waste of energy. He wiped his eyes and took back the shotgun in his mother's hand, and replaced it in the holster. He then walked back over and picked up his sword. As he looked over the bloody blade, his expression hardened and he slid it back into its sheathe.
"Mother, I'm sorry I couldn't save you. But I will avenge you, I swear it. I won't rest until every last zombie has been destroyed, I promise you that," he said.
He went back to the jeep, got in the driver's seat, threw it into drive, made a U-turn, and headed back down the street, determined to bring an end to this nightmare.
"Not a one will stand, everything will be killed, again! This I swear! I lost my mother, but I won't let anybody else in this town suffer her the same fate," he muttered to himself as he pushed harder on the accelerator.
He had driven by lots of houses in second and had reached downtown. He would've continued driving, but something caught his eyes. Something vile was trying to break into the Baptist Church.
The creature was a menacing six feet tall, but because it was hunched over it looked shorter. It skin was an infected shade of green, and its bones stuck out of one leg, like the flesh had been ripped away entirely. It had large powerful hands with sharp claws, and talons on its feet. All the way down its back were long spikes, giving it protection against backbiters. Its head was small, and impossible to get a good look at, and the wail it emitted was horrible. Broken shackles covered the ankles and wrists, making it looks as though it was an escaped prisoner.
At the foot of the stairs was a dead body, blood covering the entire area and an arm ripped off. Cast aside was a large axe that he easily recognized as the one that belonged to Sam.
"Welcome, to Raccoon City. Population, 3000 zombies and growing," he said as he got out of the jeep ad drew his shotgun.
He aimed for the head, but found it impossible to completely lock onto it due to the size, and he knew it wasn't going to be easy. He looked around for any kind of a weapon and found something. A large prybar, six feet in length a very thick. Perfect.
He picked up the prybar and charged. As he got closer, the stench became horrible, gagging strength to weaker people, but he had smelt much worse in his time.
He marched up the stairs and with a mighty thrust, he impaled the creature through the back, penetrating what would be considered the left lung, and going through the doors of the church.
"Time to die fucker," he yelled and pulled back enough for the prybar to leave the door, allowing his to flip the creature, sending it down and through the metal railing.
Now that it was away from the door, Shinigami saw its horrid face. Blood red eyes and fangs to match, a long tongue coming from its mouth, and a vile green blood oozing from the injury site.
As Shinigami leapt down to the ground, the creature looked at him with its crimson eyes and howled, swinging for his head. Shinigami ducked and kicked it where its chin would be, forcing it back, disorientating it enough for him to get behind it and rip out the prybar.
The monster turned and swiped again, meeting with the cold steel instead, which met its face in a swiping motion. As the creature stumbled back even more, Shinigami rammed it, piercing the middle of its chest, and running until the prybar was lodge in a telephone poll.
The monster wailed as it tried to pull itself free, but found that it couldn't. As it heard the cocking of a shotgun it looked up, meeting with two guns aimed right for its head.
"I came, I saw, I conquered, I blew your fuckin' head off."
With that, Shinigami fired both guns from a distance, causing the creature's head to explode, gore flying everywhere, killing it. As he turned, he saw the doors being opened and who appeared to be Jake, stepping out.
"Shinigami you asshole, somehow I knew you'd still be alive," he grunted, "that a friend of yours?"
"Like hell, but that over there is...was yours," Shinigami said as he pointed his shotgun in the direction of Sam's body.
"Oh God, that thing killed him," Jake stated.
"No duh," Shinigami began, but stopped when he saw the body moving, "guess he wasn't attacked in the head. You wanna finish him off or should I?"
"No, I've gotta do this myself, he was my friend," Jake told him as he raised his shotgun.
As the dead Sam rose to his feet, he groaned in zombie fashion and moved to his axe, picking it up with his remaining hand. He then turned to face his best friend Jake, receiving a load of buckshot in his head, dropping him for good this time.
"You did what you had to do," Shinigami said as he put his gloved hand on his shoulder, "anybody else in there alive?"
"Yeah, a lot of people," Jake told him.
"Well drag 'em outta there, I can't set foot in there," Shinigami said as he lit another cigarette.
"Why not?"
"I'll burst into flames if I set foot in there," he explained.
"Was that a joke," Jake asked.
"..."
"I see," Jake replied slowly and moved back into the church.
"Dipshit," Shinigami cursed as he threw away his used cigarette.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Eventually Jake managed to drag the priest out of the church, followed by the others who were currently inhabiting it.
"Damn, okay priest gimme the lowdown, what kind of injuries are these people suffering from? Were any of them bitten by those things," Shinigami asked.
"First explain who you are," the priest ordered.
"The Angel of Death that descended on this city, to reap of harvest of the walking dead. Most people call me Shinigami, now answer the question, I have no respect for a man of the cloth," he explained.
"I see, now what was the question," the priest asked, now familiar with whom he was dealing with.
"Never mind I'll get the answer myself. Everybody listen up! Whoever was bitten by one of those walking dead, step forward and to the left," he ordered.
Several people stepped forward and to the left like they had been ordered to do.
"What a pitiful bunch. Okay, have any of you seen the George Romero movies," Shinigami asked, receiving a few nods, "good, then you'll understand why I'm going to do what I'm about to."
Shinigami raised his shotgun, not bothering to aim and fired. The scatter range of the buckshot tore through the three, killing them instantly. Unfortunately he also received an uppercut, sending him back.
"What are you doing! Killing innocent people with no excuse! You're going to hell boy," the priest stated.
"Give 'em a few minutes and you'll se why padre," Shinigami told him and cocked his shotgun, expelling the spent shell.
Before anyone could voice another complaint, the three freshly killed people were groaning and slowly getting back to their feet, their eyes now flooded with a fluorescent green liquid.
"You see? Once bitten there is no hope of surviving, it's just a matter of time before you turn into one of them, see," another shot was fired, forcing the three back, but not killing them, "the only way to kill them is to kill them is hit them right in the head! Like this!"
This time the three were dropped dead for good, the buckshot ripping through their heads.
"This is no wrath of God that we've been dealing with, this is a virus that spread throughout the lower half of this hick town and infected everybody it touched. Somehow, it got into the sky, caused it to rain, which saturated the cemeteries and caused the dead to rise, and now we're being overrun by them. We have to find whoever's left alive, and get the hell out of here while we still can," Shinigami explained.
"What makes you think that this problem is just an isolated incident? It could be happening all over," one of the people in the crowd stated.
"I've already thought of that. I know that we may be risking our lives by going out of the city, but if we don't we'll die anyway. The supply trucks have stopped rolling in; they've stopped delivering food, water, everything. Within weeks we'll die if we don't leave this town and find a populated area. If we don't go, we're doomed however you look at it," Shinigami explained, "and once we run out of food, what do we do then? Do we become cannibals and kill each other so we can survive? We'll be no better than the walking dead! We have to go now!"
"I hate to admit it but he's right," Jake stated.
"Oh shut up and remove your lips from my ass," Shinigami stated.
"So what's the plan now," Jake asked as he quickly changed the subject.
"Get the girls get the hell outta town and kill whatever gets in our way," Shinigami explained.
"That could take a while, how do we transport all these people," he asked.
"I don't know. I suppose we can get a bus or two. If we cram everybody together we might be able to pull it off. Can you drive one," Shinigami asked.
"I drove a pickup once, what about you?"
"I stole a bus when I was fifteen," he replied.
"Excuse me, I can drive a bus," one of the crowd members exclaimed.
"Well why didn't ya say so in the first place? Step out here jerky. Jake, take bus boy and fine a bus that still works and get back here," Shinigami ordered.
"I'm not in any mood to argue with you, I'll kick your insubordinate ass when we get back," Jake stated as he and the bus driver headed for the mini van.
"I'm holding you to that promise, you forget and I'll crack your nuts," he exclaimed.
"Oh this has truly been quite a day," the priest stated and took out a flask from his robe and took a large sip of the contents, "would you care for a drink, my son?"
"I don't believe in drinking, I have to be sharp, I can't let my mind get clouded by booze. Cigarettes are another story; they don't affect my thinking capabilities or my response time, not anymore," Shinigami explained.
"Tell me my son, what kind of vicious demon is that which you fought," the priest asked and gestured to the telephone pole.
"Beats the hell outta me, that's the first thing of its kind I ever saw," Shinigami stated.
"Shinigami!"
Shinigami turned and saw a young girl charging up to him, he easily recognized her as Ami.
"Ami what's going on, how'd you get here," Shinigami asked.
"Salley and I were attacked by something mean, it killed her, but I got away, I came here," she explained as she gasped for breath.
"Sally? She's dead? What attacked here," he asked in surprise.
"I don't know, it was big, and green, and muscled, and---"
"Wait a minute, something doesn't seem right. Salley lives a long way off from here right? So how did you get here, without a weapon, and on foot, without a single scratch on you," Shinigami asked.
Salley looked shocked, slightly backing away in surprise.
"Ami? Ami. Ami! Answer me now! What really happened," Shinigami demanded to know.
Ami's bottom lip quivered in terror as Shinigami slowly advanced. She backed up but suddenly stopped. Her eyes rolled back in her head as a blue liquid flooded them. She drew her lips back, revealing sharp teeth. She hissed and leapt right at Shinigami's throat.
Shinigami barely had enough time to react. He latched onto Ami's arms and held her back, making sure she couldn't reach over and bite his arms.
"Somebody get a hold of her," he shouted.
Nobody came to his aid however, they all charged back into the church in terror, except to the priest.
"She's been possessed," he stated.
"No way father, she's a monster," Shinigami stated as he finally managed to throw Ami off of him and against the jeep.
Ami stood back up and grunted. She cackled viciously as her flooded blue eyes set back on Shinigami. Her fingernails grew into claws and her skin started to split, exposing large blue muscles underneath.
"We is in deep shit," Shinigami stated.
Ami cracked her neck and charged again, wanting to rip a piece out of Shinigami. But unfortunately for her she didn't get the chance, with a quick move Shinigami grasped her arm and twisted it behind her back, pulling his right fist back and sending a devastating punch to the back of her head, impaling her skull on the spikes.
"That's over," he stated.
But Shinigami was wrong. Ami didn't drop; she threw him back and turned to face him, still laughing evilly.
"How's that even possible, I cracked her skull and hit her brain, she should be dead by now," he stated.
Ami sneered and charged again, swinging a clawed hand for Shinigami's neck. He brought up his forearm and blocked the hand from reaching his head and swung, punching Ami in the gut as hard as he could. Ami barely flinched, instead she delivered a punch to Shinigami's gut, knocking all the wind out of him and dropping him to the ground.
As Ami approached she cracked her knuckles, ready to deliver the final blow. She shoved the priest aside and reached for Shinigami's chest. But just as she pulled back a loud gunshot sounded and she dropped lifelessly to the ground.
Shinigami held his gut as he coughed violently, causing one to think that he might puke. But he didn't. He got up to his knees and then to his feet. He turned to look where the rouge bullet might've come from, and the expression on his face turned to one of pure hatred.
"Aw fuck. Just when I think this situation can't get any worse, somebody just has to call these guys in," he said to himself.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Three of our heroes are now dead, strange monsters have now attacked, and now an unknown force has entered the scene. Who are they? Are they the army, the national guard, or a secret government branch of the service? And what was the creature that Shinigami executed at the church? To find out, you'll have to read chapter 3.