DISCLAIMER: READ CHAPTER 1.
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CHAPTER 6 - NEW HORRORS IN A WHOLE NEW LEVEL
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After the three boys had gotten food and water for Sophia and she was happy and content with her tummy full, they had packed up the leftovers that were still on the abandoned stores, more canned goods, food, supplies, medicine and lots more.
Then the motorbike that Daryl rode before was pulled in and lifted into the back bed of the truck along with the supplies. It wasn't hard to lift the motorcycle even with two men and one teenage boy.
After they had finished, they all went inside with Merle as the driver again and beside him is his brother Daryl while seated at the back are Colt and Sophia.
Merle drove back into the road as Daryl gave them directions to where Sophia's mother and the group were back at the Greene family farm.
They didn't talk much as Sophia decided to take a nap on Colt's lap after she had eaten and drank water. And Colt just stayed silent as he's not much of a talker, as well as Merle which is surprising for his brother Daryl since he knew that his older brother has always been quite a talker.
Daryl figured that ever since these unknown people of Colt's had rescued Merle, something must've changed him that got Merle to not talk about it much as if like he's loyal to them and not divulge anything about who the people that saved him were like or where was the safe place he had been in since he was missing.
When they get back to the farm, Daryl decided to talk to Merle when they're alone as he wanted to know everything about it and why Merle hasn't tried to look for him when he got better, judging by looking at his nice-looking and fixed prosthetic hand that looked recent since he had gotten it.
That was when Daryl didn't know that there were new dangers in the zombie apocalypse.
And those new things came happening right there and then.
There were sudden loud noises almost echoing throughout the whole area they're driving through.
Very loud roars that sounded really inhuman.
Daryl turned his head swiftly to the side in the direction where he heard them as if surprised and startled hearing this kind of new unfamiliar noises.
And when he heard them, he could almost feel cold shivers crawling up his spine, like the way he usually felt upon sensing Walkers, but this seemed worse than that.
Then he noticed that Merle and Colt both tensed and seemed to recognize those roaring sounds, and they looked instantly alert and vigilant, gazing in the same direction where he's looking at where they heard the sounds.
Colt almost turned his head so fast to look at Merle urgently as he snapped sharply. "Put the pedal to the medal, Merle!"
"No need to tell me twice, boy!" Merle said as he pressed down on the gas, speeding up the truck to go faster as if they needed to drive away faster and keep a distance far away from the eerie roaring sounds.
Sophia was stirring upon hearing the noises as well, but fortunately for the three boys in the fast-speeding truck, the little girl is a heavy sleeper as her breathing softened when she went back to quiet and dreamy slumber.
Merle just kept on pressing on the gas pedal, speeding the truck and ignored Daryl asking him on what's going on and so Daryl turned back to Colt to ask him.
Colt just answered, "Ask me later once we're far away from what we just heard. Trust me on this."
"Don't worry about it, little brother," Merle said as he pressed hard on the gas. "We'll tell you all about it once I get ourselves out of here and…"
But then they noticed that the truck is slowing down on its own and there were cranking and sputtering noises from the truck's front-engine.
"Aw hell no! Come on man!" Merle cursed, hitting his metal fist against the wheel as if trying to get the truck running again.
Colt closed his eyes tight and he grumbled aloud for Merle and the two others to hear him. "You just had to jinx it, didn't you?"
Merle glared back at him as the truck sputtered to a slow stop. "How the hell was I supposed to know that the engine was gonna get messed up on the drive? You were the last person who checked on the truck before we left!"
"And if I remember correctly, by the time we had left-you were the one I caught messing with it and giving me the lame excuse that you were doing some double-checking maintenance or something!" he retorted back in a sharp snap.
"I was! And I didn't mess anything with it! Honest!" Merle protested.
Colt just sighed as he didn't believe him and gently moved Sophia's head off of his lap as he grabbed for his crossbow and moved to get out.
"Stay inside and stay quiet. I'll check and fix on the engine," he ordered them, despite that he's younger than the older adults.
Daryl looked like he wanted to go along with the boy since he knows and can do mechanics as well but Merle stopped him and got him to stay inside as Colt went out, quietly shutting the door and went around to go in the front and open up the lid to look at the engine.
They can hear Colt muttering a bit softly and some tinkering as Colt had ready tools from his pockets just in case of a situation like this as the boy went to fix whatever problem was on the truck's engine. It didn't take long as they hear Colt stop and then was about to let down the lid when he suddenly froze upon seeing something from above the top of the truck.
Daryl was confused about why he froze like that but Merle knew better as he tensed at his seat and slowly turned his head to glance back.
Then he almost cursed out loud, surprising his brother and when Colt lost grip of holding the lid, it slammed down noisily and shut over the engine, the truck was suddenly jostled from above and side to side as three inhuman monstrous zombies reacted at the noise.
From Colt's point of view, it seemed that the three Runners were scarred and slashed by something somehow at their eyes, rendering them blind but these mutated zombies are relying on their acute sharp hearing or smell when they had come upon sensing living prey.
When two of the mutated zombies are at each side of the truck, trying to hear or smell their prey with scarred blind red eyes, Daryl took a close look at the new dangers and he almost cursed out loud at seeing these new kinds of zombie monstrosities, but Merle quickly reacted and clamped one of his hands over his mouth to keep him quiet.
Daryl glanced at him incredulously and Merle just gestured him to shut up and not make any sound, even a little one. Daryl understood and nodded to his brother and slowly Merle removed his hand away and turned to check on Sophia.
Much to the two men's dismay, Sophia had woken up from the jostling but Daryl reacted quicker with movement. When she opened her eyes and then took first look at the looming new monsters with their snarling inhuman faces by their windows and she was about to scream but Daryl shut her up quickly with his hand suddenly over her mouth.
Her teary eyes looked at Daryl and he and Merle gestured her to stay quiet and she nodded shakily under Daryl's hand, when Daryl removes it, she instantly clutched at Daryl's arm as if seeking him for comfort while the little girl tried to hold back her fearful cries.
Merle looked at Colt and gave him a meaningful pointed look and Colt understood as he readied his crossbow. Daryl turned and then saw this but then he got confused when he watched what Colt is doing.
"What the hell is he doing?!" Daryl demanded in a low hiss and Merle hushed him again sharply before any of the Runners surrounding the truck might hear him.
Colt slowly and carefully set and notched one arrow onto his bow and then aimed, but he's pointing his weapon in the wrong direction, to the trees in the forest at the right side and then shoots.
After the arrow hit one of the trees inside the shadowy forest, a shrill sound of a whistle was blowing and all the Runners reacted when they heard it.
They roared and then went off in sprinting leaps as they dashed off towards the whistling sound, jostling the truck again, and Daryl watched stunned as the mutated zombies left.
Colt quickly ran back to the truck once he sees the Runners are out of sight into the forest and he just slammed the door at the back when he got in and whispered urgently at the driver.
"Go! Go-go-go!" he almost yelled in his whispers.
Merle didn't need to be told twice as he put the pedal to the medal and the fixed truck instantly revved in a hurry to drive through the road in a smoky blur to leave the area.
After they're a little far in a distance away from those new undead creatures, Daryl turned his head back at Colt and demanded vehemently. "What the hell were those things?!"
Colt panted as he comforted Sophia who had let go of Daryl's arm and turned to hug him tightly by the side, crying softly in fright.
"Those…were the Runners," he replied as if he was running a long marathon.
Daryl blinked confused. "Runners?"
Colt explained, "Runners are a new kind of zombies that emerged in this hellish zombie apocalypse. All I can tell you is that they're the mutated type, but they still got the same weakness as the Walkers-which is you gotta hit or kill them right at their brains through the heads. But the one thing that they're the most dangerous of all zombies-it's that they run faster, leap, jump, sprint and climb more than normal humans. That and they all got sharp senses almost like wild dogs or wolves, especially with their acute hearing."
Merle continued as he drove fast. "They're also really hunting predators-similar like a pack of rabid wolves. Dealing with one Runner is worse, but dealing with a bunch of them…then it's better to stay real still and quiet when you're facing them, even if it's a few, or you better hope that you can outrun them faster than you could ever do it before, little brother."
"Jesus mother-fuckin' Christ!" Daryl said in a shocked horrified low curse.
"Language." Colt scolded lightly as he continued comforting Sophia who seemed to be calming down from her fright.
Merle nodded grimly. "Yep. They're a new kind of zombie breed that emerged in this freakin' hellfire kind of apocalypse. Don't know exactly when they started coming up-but they're the type we need to watch out more than the Walkers now, little bro."
Daryl shook his head and looked to be looking hard somewhere on the horizon.
"We need to get back to the farm and get the group and the others out of there!" Daryl said determinedly when he seemed to realize that even though the Runners were distracted from the noise, then it won't be long until they're hunting for them and catch up.
Merle nodded, "Way ahead of you man, just give me the directions and we'll skedaddle out of here before those Runners come trailing after us."
Colt looked like that he was thinking deeply over something when he noticed or caught sight of something that he suddenly yelled.
"STOP THE CAR!"
Instantly with that sudden shout, Merle braked the truck in a screeching stop and he was about to turn and bark at Colt incredulously on what's the sudden hold-up when Colt just burst out and ran to whatever direction he seemed to be going.
"Damn it! Stay here, Daryl!" Merle sharply ordered as he followed and chased after Colt, without giving his brother much to protest as Daryl and Sophia were left behind at the truck, and watched Merle leave to go after the suddenly running teenager.
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Colt didn't stop running as he ignored Merle's yells from behind as he burst and pushed through branches of trees, bushes, and leaves to get to whatever place he needed to go to until he gets there.
He finally made it and went to a slow stop and gazed with wide eyes on what he had noticed before and was staring a bit stunned horrified at the sight he's seeing.
Merle had caught up to the young Colt and almost panted tiredly from the running despite that he's a fit man and was almost scowling fiercely at his back while Colt was looking over the small hill they're standing on.
"Damn it, boy! What the hell was that all about!?" he demanded, almost marching towards him to give him a piece of his mind.
But the teenage boy didn't answer as he just pointed to what he's seeing and Merle turned to look at what he's pointing and staring at and his eyes widened as well when he saw it too.
By another road in another path opposite from the other side from where they were driving through, there was a massive herd of Walkers ambling and shuffling slowly to whatever senseless direction they're heading.
They seemed to be going down a path that's leading farther away for them which is fortunate, but to both Colt and Merle, they know something terrifying and horrible upon seeing that Walker herd.
Colt looked at Merle with a very grim look on his face.
"Where there is a Walker herd…" Colt said in a knowing tone of voice.
"...there's gonna' be a Runner pack right behind them!" Merle finished, frowning intensely.
They exchanged looks for a silent moment before they run dashing back to the truck to warn Daryl that they're going to have an unexpected and unsavory company that's about to approach ominously to the farm they're about to be heading.
And that when they get back to the farm, they must not delay anything and leave sooner than later because of the coming dangers that will storm into the group's supposed 'safe place'.
Before the zombie Runners find out about the nearby living prey and then hunts after them.
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AUTHOR'S NOTES:
Another new chapter finished! Hope you like it!
Remember-the zombies I had portrayed and imagined as the 'Runners' are the mutated fast zombies from the movie 'I Am Legend' starring Will Smith.
I love that kind of intense zombie movie! Those kinds of zombies are almost better than the kinds of rotting ones in their slow or fast movements.
Getting the chills and shivers now? Stay tuned and follow on what happens next in the next new chapters!
There will be many more soon, I promise!
PLEASE REVIEW OR COMMENT!
ENJOY READERS!
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