Sorry about not updating lately… I kinda went on a Harvest Moon binge… it was fun. I'm still recovering.
Uhm so if you ignored my update (I would have, too, it's okay) then you might not know that I made a quiz… for the two previous books. So if you want to know what character you are then well, the quiz is for you. I'll put a link in here some quiz/5258193/What-Zombie-Candy-Character-are-you-Book-One/where… maybe. quiz/5263259/Which-Zombie-Candy-Character-are-you-Book-Two/
I scale the side of a tall government building in hopes that I could see Kleff or signs of him from the top. As I begin to climb, I hear a monstrous growling below me. A group of six or seven zombies gather below me, piling over each other to reach me. And if you don't think that's terrifying, the light to the break room has turned on only a few blocks away.
I climb faster, arms aching, wishing I had been able to find an elevator rather than this rusty old ladder. But then there is Kleff and Italy and there's no way I'm giving up now.
I pull through, grinding my teeth until I reach the top, bellying over the edge and rolling over onto the rooftop. Once I catch my breath, I look up at the sky and realize how clear it is. The stars danced in the blue, nearly black sky, making it seem breathtakingly beautiful.
"Stunning, isn't it?"
I whip my head around and see a pile of raggy clothes leaning up against the brick wall that lined the edge of the roof. It's feet moved from side to side like a little kid. But it wasn't a little kid.
"Who are you?" I demand, although the yawn halfway through doesn't make me seem very intimidating.
"Finnegan Cross." He says removing the strange hat from over his face. "And may I have the pleasure of knowing your name, Mushki?"
"Mushki… is that Russian?" I ask, confused already.
He shrugs. "Hell if I know."
"Germany." I answer.
"What about Germany?" He asks. I sigh impatiently.
"That's my name."
"That's difficult." He nods his head slowly. "Say Mushki, mind if I call you Nos?"
"I thought you were calling me Mushki." I stare at him blankly in failing efforts to keep up.
"I can't call you both?"
"One's enough."
"That's fair," He nods again. "But I'm not going to appease you so easily. Not when we've only just met." He stands up and the pile of rags become a less than distinct figure. "You look cold. Are you cold? Want a jacket." He doesn't really ask so much as makes an observation. He literally peels a jacket off of his shoulder and hands it to me. I take it, only a little creeped out and pull it over my head. He's now more or less a person and is visible. He pulls his hat over his ears again and I can see now that he's just wearing a lot of clothing.
"It's to keep warm during the night. I'll shed when morning comes." He chuckles and takes off another jacket, putting it into his backpack. The jacket he handed me was basically the same style as his, just different colors and patterns. It's different from anything I have seen before.
"What is this…?" I ask slowly observing it. Nothing we had in Zone 7 was this colorful and unique.
"It's a drug rug. Found them when I visited Mexico, perfect for the desert." He says with a faint smile.
"Mexico?"
"You're pretty ignorant aren't you, Mushki?" He asks as he follows me onto a neighboring rooftop. "But damn nimble."
"No, I was wondering how on earth you would have such capabilities to visit a place like Mexico." I say, walking along a wooden plank.
He stops behind me. I turn to face him but he's staring at something in the distance. I follow his gaze to see a light illuminating a few blocks away.
"What is that?" he mutters under his breath. I sneak over to the next building, leaping and landing. I turn and watch Finn lands with a loud thud. I hold a hand out to pull him up.
"Thanks." He says. We creep along the building until we're close enough to see the source of the light.
"Fire." I whisper mostly to myself.
"Wonder what's the cause of it." Finn tilts his head and squints at the fire.
"Come on." I say nudging him with my elbow. He nods and follows me. I search the ground for something to climb down on when I see a dumpster. I crawl over the ledge and hang by my fingers until my feet are dangling just above it. I plop down making as little sound as possible and skip onto the dirt. I help Finn get down so Justin and Miksam won't hear us.
We scurry over, and suddenly we're blinded and there's a loud BOOM!
I fall backwards and Finn lands on me, knocking the breath out of me.
"Get off... fat ass..." I breath. He apologizes and stands up.
"What the hell?" I hiss. As he helps me up.
"At least we know the source of the fire." Finn shrugs and winces from the pain. A sickly groan comes from beside us. I turn my head and see an ash covered face. I gasp and rush over to it.
"Kleff!" I say with both excitement and worry. He opens his eyes and smiles slightly. His face covered in both blood and soot and a dazed look in his eyes.
"Hey." He says in a scratchy voice.
"Are you okay?" I ask trying to brush his hair out of his wounds.
"Yeah... I can't feel my legs, though." He says. I bow my head slightly as the pattering of footsteps gets closer. It's Justin and Miksam for sure, and they're going to be pissed.
"Germany! We told you to-" Miksem stops mid sentence. I turn and see Justin and him staring at Kleff. "What happened?"
"I don't know," I say and turn to Kleff, "What did you do?" But Kleff's eyes are shut and he doesn't respond. I panic and put my ear to his chest.
ba bump… ba bump… ba bump…
I sigh heavily with relief and look to Justin and Miksam. "I told you we should have kept looking for him."
Justin scratches the back of his head, "Yeah, I guess you're right."
I notice Finn standing a few feet behind Justin and Miksam, the two obviously unaware of his presence. Miksam follows my gaze and jumps when he sees Finn's outlandish appearance. Finn waves his hand slightly.
"Let's get Kleff back to base." Justin suggests, grabbing him by the shoulders.
"Careful." I say. As Miksam goes for his legs, leaving me to trail behind as I put the life of my brother in two almost strangers.
I'm surprised when Finn follows us, when I ask, he says he has nothing better to do and maybe he could be of some help. When the sun breaks over the horizon, spilling it's many bright hues over the empty city, Finn finally sheds the many layers of jackets, putting some in his backpack but leaving some trailing behind us.
"What are you doing?" I ask, referring to the strand of clothing that follows us.
"I have a feeling I won't be coming back to the desert." He says. I knit my eyebrows together in a look of confusion but he doesn't seem to notice.
Justin and Miksam don't look at all phased by Kleff's weight, and continue to walk in front of us, leading us back outside the wall.
When we do finally emerge from Zone 9, the sunlight almost blinds us. It's less than a ten minute hike to reach their base, but I'm immediately concerned when Justin and Miksam stop in the middle of nowhere.
"Please tell me you're not lost." I beg.
"Well… uhm…" Justin shares a look with Miksam although I can't tell what it is. "I don't know how to put this but…"
"We're lost." Miksam says quite blatantly.
"I wouldn't say lost so much as to… misplaced." Justin nods as if that's any better. Miksam sighs and shoots him a glare.
"We're going to have to walk all the way back to the Zone 9 to get our bearings again." Justin says.
"Do you know where Zone 9 is from here?" Miksam asks.
"Yeah, it's just over there." Justin points to a large sand dune. He stops, lowering his hand slightly. "Or maybe it was…"
"Justin?"Miksam looks up at him.
"Yeah?"
"You're a pussy."
"Oh, okay." Justin says before reaching down to the ground and brushing some sand.
"What're you doing?" I ask.
Miksam and Justin both grin at us while Justin uncovers a panel and lifts it.
"You didn't really think I was lost did you?" Justin asks.
"Justin has an incredible, natural sense of direction. It's almost impossible for him to get lost." Miksam says, slinging Kleff over his back. "I'll go down first."
As Miksam goes down, I continue to stare at Justin with the most unimpressed look in history, my head tilted slightly. He ignores it and goes down.
Finn turns to me, "You're kind of gullible aren't you Nos?"
"Shut up, big foot." I say as I follow them down the hole, Finn behind me.
Thank you all for reading. See ya soon!3
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