Chapter 4: Memories of Old

The three moved in silence. Mike stayed to the rear, not talking, barely making a noise at all. Anna seemed to be upset about something and she took small glances back at Mike. Every time she did this, her eyes seemed to get watery. Kyle's mind was brimming with inquisitive thoughts. He still didn't see what was wrong with Mike's actions against the zombie in the ally, but Anna did.

"I need to stop for a moment. I just need to sit down and collect myself for a moment" Anna suddenly blurted out. Afterwards, she more as fell rather then sat down on the ground in a small alcove between two buildings. She looked really shaken to Kyle, and Mike saw it too. But while Kyle went o sit next to her and try to comfort her, Mike took an unprecedented approach to the matter.

"Okay, Stay here and watch the area, Ill go and recce the area up ahead." Mike said, standing tall above the two civilians.

"Recce?" Kyle asked.

"Reconnaissance, take a look around, play I spy with my little eye." Mike replied, though his voice seemed annoyed. And with that little comment he turned to the direction they were originally traveling in and started to walk. His rifle ready in case he needed it.

"Want to tell me what's bothering you? Or about your relationship with Kyle" Kyle asked Anna, who had her arms wrapped around her knees and brought up to her face. But when she was spoken too, she raised her head to look at him.

"Mike and I first met in high school during grade 10." Anna responded, with a low voice, almost that of a whisper. "We became very good friends, and got closer as the days went by. He then asked me out. We dated for about 5 months, but we split up because I was having personal troubles that were affecting the relationship. He understood, and still stood at my side. He is so caring for his loved ones. He promised me that he would always be there for when I really needed him. We were so close during high school that we moved in together during college. After college, he decided to join the marines. He was always thinking about it, and was so excited about it. We then split ways, but maintained contact through Facebook and MSN."

"Nice history, but that doesn't tell me why you're feeling so down about him right now." Kyle said, softly so as not to provoke her. But it didn't end up like that.

"How the fuck do you know it's about him? Maybe it's the fact I heard someone get devoured alive, or from the fact that there are people eating other people. People who are supposed to be DEAD!" Anna shot back at him.

"I just thought…"

"No, you didn't think at all." Anna said angrily, just when the first drop of rain fell.

Mike walked carefully, so as to make as little noise as possible. He fixed his bayonet to his rifle, because he didn't want to attract attention from gunshots. There were few zombies around.

He wondered to himself, why did he leave Anna right now, he should be over there holding her, reassuring her. He stopped in his tracks and watched as memories flooded into his mind. Memories of high school with Anna. Memories of basic training. Memories of Iraq with Danny. Memories of only minutes ago, when he watched his one of his most trusted friends eaten in front of him. His screams of pain echoing in his head along with Anna's tears.

He dropped to his knees and let his rifle clatter to the ground. He held up his hands and pulled of his gloves. He looked at them for a long time. These were weapons, and at the same time, care givers. Tools for harming, and tools for loving. He looked at his face in the reflection of a puddle on the road caused by the falling rain. He looked at himself. And in a brief moment, he thought he saw himself with black eyes of death. He looked up at the sky, into the dark clouds that now covered the sky, the rain pattering on his face.

He brought his face down into his hands and started to release his pent up emotions in tears that seemed one with the rain.

"He's been gone for a while now." Kyle said impatiently.

"We're staying here until he gets back." Anna commanded.

"We have to take into account that he may not come back, he's been gone for a half hour now." Kyle countered, he was good at arguing, and he would win. He still didn't approve of him leaving on his own.

"Don't ever fucking say that again! I swear to fucking god!" Anna bursted out, pulling out her pistol and pressing it against Kyle's forehead. "He is coming back!" She held the firearm in place until Kyle responded.

"Okay, we wait. Just please put the gun down." Anna smiled on the inside on how weak Kyle really was on the inside. Anna lowered her weapon. Just then, Mike walked around the corner and over to the two humans.

"The way is pretty much clear, they seem to be moving in the direction we left, odd as it sounds." Mike reported.

"Cool, let's get moving then." Kyle said as he started to walk off.

"Hold up there chap, we have to stay for the night. I may be a marine, but that doesn't mean I'm tireless. And you could use some sleep too." Mike said. Everyone knew it, they were tired, and they needed to sleep. Mike kicked in the door of the building beside them and pointed at Kyle, then pointed inside. Kyle understood, but seemed reluctant to move. Mike then turned and peered at him in a way that made a chill run up Kyle's spine. Kyle then lifted his shotgun and proceeded to move inside. He searched around and found nothing while Mike entered behind him, assault rifle raised. He continued on and started to walk into the next room when a hatchet suddenly flew in front of his face and hit the wall beside him. He backed away quicker then most people thought he could.

"I'LL FUCKING KILL ALL OF YOU FUCKING ROTTING SHIT BRAINED FUCKERS!" Came a woman's voice from inside the room, and she ran out, with a slight limp in her right leg, with a big knife in her hand, she stopped and looked at the Mike and Anna with her one good eye. The dark hazel eye peering into the darkness surrounding the doorway, in which the silhouette of Mike stood. Her eye widened and she booked it into the next room. Mike ran after her yelling at her to stop when they heard the sound of shattering glass. Mike came out of the room again looking down at the ground.

"She's gone." After a long silence, he spoke up again. "We should barricade ourselves upstairs. Kyle'll pull first watch. I will take second, and Anna, you will take last."

They went upstairs and cleared the rest of the rooms for other crazies. When they barricaded the small apartment, the first thing Anna did was go to the small bedroom to sleep, Kyle took up a watching position at the window and Mike took of his gear body armor, helmet and combat shirt. He then followed Anna into the bedroom, and laid beside her on the bed. Anna rolled over and looked into his eyes, and smiled.

"I'm glad you're with me here, at the end of everything." She said as he put his arm over her shoulder and brought her close to him in a comforting embrace.

"I promised you didn't I?" Mike replied with a smile on his face. The two fell asleep together.

Kyle woke up to Anna shaking him awake and Mike putting on his gear, but leaving his body armor behind. It made sense, he wouldn't need it anymore, and he wasn't getting shot at. It would just weigh him down and make him slower. He picked up his rifle and looked at his body armor once more, at a piece of equipment he would never leave without before. Now it was just a memory of a time where what he fought for and against made sense.

"Who was she?" Mike said a louder then he expected. He was viewing the room in the light of a new day, and saw the room decorated with swords and pictures of people. He noticed the strange woman in a few of them. Piecing it all together, Mike figured it was her family. He decided to leave the room at rest and walked out the door into the daylight. He paused outside for a moment and felt the cool morning breeze on his face. He opened his eyes and found himself looking at a cloud formation that represented something vaguely familiar, but couldn't put his finger on it.

His brief moment of bliss was disturbed by a hiss like moan coming from down the street. He looked over and saw a ghoul shambling towards him, one arm outstretched. This one was wearing jeans and a high school football jacket. He seemed young too. Mike looked at him for a while, watching as he got closer and closer. His thoughts carrying off to what the teen zombie was doing before this mess started.

Anna walked out and grabbed Mikes hand with her own and pressed her face against the back of his shoulder. She then looked up at him and noticed he was staring at something beyond her.

"What'cha lookin at?" She asked. Mike then lifted his rifle and slid his hand away from Anna's, bringing it up to his rifles hand guard. Anna looked over at where he was looking and saw the undead being not 5 meters away. She jolted back in horror as Mike drove his bayonet through the things forehead, allowing the boy's body to rest the way it should.

Kyle walked out to see Mike pulling his bayonet out of the creature's skull. He looked in horror at the age of the zombie. He went back inside for a moment, leaving the Anna and Mike on the street, now alone. Anna looked at him, he was still facing away from her, but something caught her eye. For a brief second, the light seemed to make Mike look like he had an angels wings sprouting from his back. All it took was a blink of an eye and it was gone. Anna wondered if this was a good sign, just an illusion, or a bad omen.

"We should start moving now, the marina shouldn't be far now." Kyle said, walking out of the building again. Anna looked at Kyle and nodded. Mike responded only by putting his patrol sling over his shoulders and let his weapon dangle in front of him. His hands dropped to his sides and relaxed. When he did turn around, Anna could have sworn that his eyes were bluer then they normally were.