Hunting a Dream

Becca climbed the ladder to the roof of the apartment building. Ray sat at the edge kicking his feet back and forth as he normally did when he was either happy or his mind was preoccupied with something. "Head lost in the clouds as usual?"

"Hey Becca." He said without turning around.

"Do you always go here when you are bored; the group does need some leadership."

"And you're doing a great job, why would I want to mess with that?"

She sat down and punched him in the shoulder; he grinned and returned the favor lightly so he didn't knock her off the building. She smiled, it had been so long and they had actually been making a good run of it. She enjoyed how care-free everyone could be while maintaining the usual work-force. Having the Outcasts watching out for them really made people feel safe; knowing that we had Special Infected to match those out there gave people a sense of calm. She swayed back and forth kicking her feet in sync with Ray's, "So what are you doing up here?"

"Enjoying the view…I come up here every morning before the sun rises to watch it come up. Even if the Infected are all over, for some reason they still see me as one of them…or they just don't notice me at all."

"That's nice…what about the Puppeteers…have you seen any movement from them lately?"

"Not really…which is odd, they are never this quiet. I expected to hear something by now at least. I mean…the Tank population has been reducing. I did a sweep of the city yesterday and only saw seven left…there are still quite a few Special Infected around, but we've only seen five real Outsider candidates."

"Oh really," she said as she rested her head on his shoulder, "Tell me about them."

She had obviously made him uncomfortable because he shifted uneasily. "Well, um, there's a Boomer we found who's capable of independent thought and seems to have no interest in eating humans. We actually saw him get slashed by a regular infected and not explode. Instead, he broke the things hand. He's still bloated looking, but Newton thinks the bile in his belly bonded with the regenerating muscle structure making it almost like rubber. Since the bile is almost adhesive and is a means of scent tagging we think it coats his muscles and acts like a shock absorber when he's attacked. However there is a downside."

"He reeks?"

"Yep…he sweats more than a normal human and it tends to stink…bad…the Infected however seem as repelled as humans. While Boomer bile attracts Infected he serves as a natural repellant."

"So if we got him in out compound…"

"Infected would stop coming by…but he'd need an air freshener at all times."

She laughed, "I think we can scrounge up some extra deodorant, but we can't use too much or his scent won't work."

"True…the we found a Charger whose mutation has progressed past the one arm. The muscle mass has spread out, and now he looks like a body builder. He's not as bad as Tanks, but he can smash through whole buildings without too much damage being taken. Then there's another Jockey like Newton, except his mutation varies. Instead of being lanky and almost like an orangutan like Newton, he's more compact like a dwarf…not in a bad way he's just retained the small form of a Jockey. Then there's a Spitter we found who still spits the vomit, but it's in a stream…almost like a dragon." He said as he held up the necklace he always wore. "Her body's mutated to where her skin has become hard and leathery, but she's actually more human looking than any of the others…with exception given to myself. Finally we found another Smoker, but he isn't anything like Sarge. He is without the tongue mutation. He also doesn't have the muscle mutation like Sarge. He's faster than any other Smoker we've seen and when he gets spooked he'll breathe smoke to shroud himself and allow him to escape."

"That sounds cool, almost like a ninja."

"Yeah I guess…I set out Sarge and April to recruit them and bring them to the compound."

"Sounds good, we're finally getting a real family together."

He smiled at the word, "Speaking of which, did you find any new survivors?"

"We found three actually…there were seven, but your Maverick got to them first…"

He sunk his head, "We'll have to kill him…it's too dangerous to let him live."

"Well we're still not strong enough to lead a full on assault on them…we've been preparing explosives like Sergeant Matthis taught us. The old guy really knows his stuff."

"Well we can't sit around forever…I don't want to fight Myra…but I fear I'll have to."

She rubbed his back, "No one's going to make you do something you don't want to do."

"It's not about what I want though…it's about the safety of the group."

"Yeah…do you want to head back?"

"Yeah…"

We arrived back, and I saw the new additions to our group. A sheriff from the next county over, a young waitress, and an old pharmacist. The minute I walked in, the sheriff pulled a gun on me. I disarmed him and pistol-whipped him in the gut. Lately I had learned how much effort to put into things so I could control my strength. He doubled over coughing as the pharmacist pointed at me and her voice was quite shrill, "You expect us to trust these freaks!"

At the word freak, Blaire started to hiccup, sniffle, and tear up. The pastor offered her a small lollipop, we'd found a bag of them at a hospital when we went to scavenge supplies. She sucked on it and it calmed her down, and soon she was back to smiling and giggling. Sarge had already returned with his quarry. The Charger was leaned up against a wall casually observing, the Spitter and Jockey were talking with Newton as he checked their vitals and shined a light in their eyes. Pastor Tim and Sergeant Matthis glared angrily at the pharmacist, and Coach Wilson walked up, "We function as a team here, if you don't like it you can try your luck back outside. I haven't seen your skills yet and I can honestly say that these 'freaks' as you put it are my All-Stars. And that Hunter you tried to jump…that's Ray…he's our MVP."

They turned to me and I removed my hood so they could see my face. I'm guessing they were surprised that I looked so much like them, because the waitress approached me and checked my face. "You…you're him…you're Ray!"

Now it was my turn to be confused, "Um…excuse me, do I know you?"

"It's me…Tammy…Seth talked about you all the time and showed me pictures, but…here you are."

I was stunned; I grabbed her shoulders and shook her, "Seth! You know where Seth is; tell me!"

She winced in pain and I removed my hands, "Seth was with us, he was one of those that…didn't make it."

"No…"

Becca placed her hand on my shoulder, "Ray…"

"No! Not Seth! He was strong, he was tough, he…he couldn't be beaten by this!"

Just then there was a loud banging on our door, "Let me in guys hurry!"

"Seth!"

I ran over and threw open the door and he stumbled inside, I slammed it shut and locked it, "Seth, it's really you!"

The waitress looked overjoyed, but Seth turned and looked at me with a look of shock, "Raymond?"

"Seth…it's me…I remembered you!"

"No…"

"Seth?"

"You are not my brother Raymond…my little brother…he was smart…smarter than me…he wouldn't have become an infected monster like you!"

I stood there shocked, and I could feel the tears streaming down my face. Becca stormed up to my brother before I could stop her and slapped him, tears running down her face almost as hard as mine. He looked up in shock, "How dare you…how dare you you son of a bitch! Ever since Ray remembered who he was three months ago he has been searching non-stop for you and others who he could save! He became infected, but he overcame it and retained his humanity! He saved my life and helped us find sanctuary here! He gathered these people and kept us safe so we could build a life here…and you wish to deny him that just because you're too selfish to accept your brother as he is now, because you cling to some delusion of an innocent little boy? You are a bastard, and I would appreciate it if you got the HELL out!"

We all stood there shocked at the turn of events, and Seth just lowered his head. "Tammy…you can stay if you want…it's obvious I'm not wanted."

This time I stood up, "No…you need to stay…you will be safe here…so what if I'm not some ignorant kid who worked at a convenience store and blew off responsibility. Dad taught us one thing above all else. When you've made up your mind…"

"Be sure to follow through…that is you isn't it Raymond?"

"Last time I checked I still paint…so yeah."

He laughed a little, "World's gone to shit and little brother still likes to draw bluebirds…yeah, that's definitely you…you stupid optimist."

I smiled, "Dumb jock."

"Yeah, well this dumb jock will still kick your ass."

"Well...you could try…but it won't be a fair fight."

He nodded solemnly and looked around, "So do you care to introduce me?"

I gave him the grand tour and showed him around the compound as well as introducing him to people. We ended the tour and I asked the question that had been burning in my mind, "How did you survive…the others said they saw you die?"

"Saw me dragged off…not die…some freak with black eyes wanted to use me…said I would make a great Infected."

I grimaced, "So how did you escape?"

"I guess the groups shouts drew some of your friends, because next thing I know there's Smoker smoke everywhere and a Hunter busts my locks. She pointed at the door and I ran. I made it out and a weird Boomer was fending off some infected. I kept running until I saw the CEDA building. My group had been planning on coming here to get some answers…I guess we just got lucky that y'all were here."

"Yeah…I guess so…but if you're here then April should be too…something's not right!"

I ran to the roof and saw what I was afraid of, Maverick stood there with his other leaders, Swan and Spike. Myra and Chuck stood with them and April and the others were shackled and kneeling in front of them. "Hello there Outcasts," Maverick called, "we have some friends of yours I believe."