II - Marauded
-Day 12-
Tim yawned as he woke up. He rubbed his eyes as he got up from one of the hospital beds.
He noticed Carlitos was asleep in a small crib next to him. He appeared healthier already.
He walked out of the room and noticed some people walking around the hallway. He then turned around to see Maria talking to some of the residents in the hospital.
"Yes, 2 tablespoons every hour," said Maria. "He should get better before it runs out."
The residents thanked Maria before Tim walked over to her.
"Good morning," said Maria.
"Hey," said Tim. "Your nephew seems to be getting better."
"Yes. He is getting better."
"That's good news. Does that mean we're leaving now?"
Maria glanced at him before walking down the hallway. Tim followed her.
"There's still some people who need my help," said Maria.
"I thought you wanted to look for your kids."
"I do. But I can't just leave these people here. A lot of them are sick. I have to help them."
"The longer we stay here, the more we risk not being able to get to our kids."
"Why's that?"
"Every day that passes, the world out there gets more dangerous. Food runs out. Water gets harder to find. People get more desperate. I get that you want to help all these people, but we have to help our kids too."
"So, what? You want me to leave these people to die?"
"I'm just saying, we don't have to stay here any longer than we have to."
"And we will not. I have been working all night treating everyone in this hospital. I want to make sure we leave as fast as possible too."
"You didn't get any sleep?"
"No, but it is okay. I never really got much sleep."
"Well, we can't have you tired if we're going out there."
"I am used to it. It is my job. I do it even when I feel tired. Just go back to the room and watch Carlitos."
Tim sighed.
"Unless... you want to leave already," said Maria. "In that case... it would be unfair for me to hold you back here."
Tim shook his head.
"I may need a doctor if I'm going on this trip," said Tim.
"I'm not a doctor. Just a nurse."
Tim smiled before walking back to the room.
Maria smiled too before entering a different room.
PRESENT DAY
The sun fell as David and George looked around the borough. Behind them were a group of capable men and women, each carrying a bag of some sort.
Bricks were unevenly stacked on top of each other in the sidewalks, below holes in buildings. Shattered glass hung around the edges of the windows. Toys were scrambled all over the place in a certain toy store. Empty cabinets remained toppled on top of each other in a certain pharmacy. Paper, plastic, metal cans, all sorts of waste tumbled across the street with a slow breeze.
The slow breeze blew against George's long, thick hair that went down to his neck. A stubble grew along his jaw. The last time he was in New York, he had a buzz cut that kept him cool in the sizzling heat. Now, the sizzling heat began to warm his hair. He only had a white shirt with rolled up sleeves to keep him cool, while his jeans protected him from the mosquitoes that plagued the buses.
David scratched his short beard as he moved his hair away from his forehead. He kept his shades on as he looked around the scene of death around him. He fixed the collar of his blue T-shirt as he reached for his pistol in the holster on his navy blue cargo pants. But his M9 was not there. He groaned and took out a knife.
Around the small group of survivors were knocked-down utility poles, and wires hanging from the buildings. A burnt skeleton lied against a wall of broken cement blocks.
"Jesus," muttered David. "Manhattan suffered worse, didn't it?"
"Look, over there," pointed George. "People took shelter there. It could give us more clues."
The group walked towards a small building with boarded windows, a sign hanging above it, stating that it was a deli market.
A golden eye was frozen in place in the shadows. Then, it twitched as light flooded through the entrance door. The possessor of the golden eye lurked away from the light and tried to stay hidden from the group entering the store by remaining in the shadow that lingered in the corners of the market.
"These boards are wobbly," said Clyde. "We gotta pull them down."
"No, wait–" gasped David.
Clyde pulled down one of the boards from the window, causing the nails to spring out for the boards that it was connected to. All the wooden boards toppled on top of each other, creating an echoing racket in the market.
The light marked the store with sunlight, and revealed a more disturbing scene left in the interior that was not easily noticeable with a flashlight. It also revealed a lurking roamer in the corner of the room. It was missing an eye, and it lacked any clothing below the torso. Just a small shirt for a small roamer.
"Sorry… it's just… I thought there weren't any roamers around," said Clyde, his voice shuddering. "Is th-that a child roamer?"
"Goddamn," said George. "It is. But it's got no pants on. And there's blood around its…"
George cleared his throat as the group began to place the pieces together. He took out his knife and approached the roamer as it stood in place. Then, the roamer raised its arm slowly, as if to attack, but by then, George already stuck his knife through its missing eye hole. He pulled it out and dropped the corpse.
"Some people make me absolutely sick," said George.
Breathing in after a heavy sigh, David raised his head and looked around the deli market. Clothing was littered across the floor with bloody stains. Empty shelves with plastic wrapping and trays were scattered around. Lumps of meat that appeared like carcasses were leftover near the freezers. And there were symbols that appeared in random places in the store. Two dark strokes that left a stain of wherever it was scribed.
"The hell is that?" huffed David. "What's with all the X's?"
"X marks the spot?" replied George, his voice remaining unchanged. "The people that were here… they were clearly not right in the head. Could be a case of invisible psychos being freed by the apocalypse."
"Or mass hysteria after a nuclear explosion," said David.
George walked around the market, inspecting the area before returning with the group.
"There isn't anything here. To find out more about the nuclear explosion, we gotta get closer to ground zero."
"Alright," said David. "Let's go. Daylight's running out."
-Day 13-
Maria was snoring as she lay on one of the hospital beds. She then gasped as she jumped awake. She was hyperventilating as she found herself drenched in sweat.
She looked at her arms and found herself uncut and free of bite marks. She sighed and turned over, seeing Tim changing Carlitos's diaper.
"You alright?" asked Tim.
"I... I had a nightmare," said Maria. "My brother was eating me alive. It was..."
"It's alright. You're alive. You're here now."
Tim tossed the dirty diaper into a trash can before dipping his hands on a small bucket of water and soap.
Maria looked down, tears flowing down her eyes.
"I know I am alright," said Maria. "But my brother is not. He is dead. And so is the rest of my family. Well... everyone but him."
Maria looked at Carlitos.
Tim handed Carlitos over to Maria.
"Your kids may still be out there," said Tim.
"And if they aren't?"
"Well... only one way to find out."
Maria wiped her eyes and nodded.
A few cars pulled up to the front of the Loud residence.
One of them was a red Honda Civic Coupe car, which Tim and Maria stepped out of.
Oscar stepped out from another car, accompanied by some of his friends.
"We'll wait out here," said Oscar.
"Alright," said Tim.
Tim slowly entered the Loud residence as Maria was right behind him. The two then looked around the empty house, seeing all the pictures on the frames missing.
They checked every room, but found nothing.
"They're not here," said Tim.
"I didn't see their van either," said Maria. "They certainly went somewhere else."
Tim nodded.
Oscar looked around before a police detective, Detective Plesko, nudged him.
"Nice place isn't it?" asked Plesko.
"Yeah," said Oscar. "It sure is."
Oscar then saw Tim and Maria walking out of the Loud residence.
"They're not in there?" asked Oscar.
"No," said Tim. "We're going to head somewhere else to look for them."
"You know, we're planning on putting up fences and walls throughout this town. We got steel plates on this construction site. We could use it for the walls. We can make this place safe. You know, we can make this place a true safezone, unlike Detroit. And we can use you two."
Tim nodded.
"When we find our kids, then we'll see about coming back," said Tim. "But no promises."
"Well, for our sake, I hope you do come back."
"Take care, Oscar."
"Don't let the biters get ya."
"I prefer the term... 'roamers'."
Oscar chuckled.
Tim and Maria walked back to their red car. Maria looked at Tim as they began to drive away.
"Off to Ann Arbor now?" asked Maria.
Tim nodded. He then turned the car as he looked at the burned park, where Maria remembered taking her kids to. Maria looked out, holding Carlitos as they both watched a few roamers wandering about.
PRESENT DAY
-Day 780-
"Great. Just what we needed," grumbled Lynn. "Another roadblock."
The cars in the intersection were totaled as surrounding cars were abandoned, leaving four more streets at a dead end. The dead traffic lights hung from a metal pole while the power lines swayed in a gentle manner against the hot air. Vanzilla was stuck once more, and as previous streets have shown in the city of Yonkers, there was no going back anywhere else.
Lori sighed.
"We're low on gas," she said. "Going back to that empty street we saw a mile back won't be an option. We have to find a way forward."
"How about this parking lot over here?" said Lincoln.
The entrance to the parking lot was narrow– just in between two large brick buildings. But upon a turn a left turn further out, the parking lot expands to a large square with a large area of grass and a sidewalk separating it from another street. This large square with abandoned vehicles wasn't visible to the group, so it was a risk that they were taking. A risk that gambled their fuel.
Lori turned the van and moved forward into the narrow entrance of the parking lot. She wiped the sweat off her forehead as she turned her steering wheel to the left. Sure enough, the large square began to reveal itself along with an empty street on the other side and a way out, but as she turned the van more, something else was revealed.
"Of course," mumbled Ronnie Anne. "Roamers."
Lori looked back at the intersection, realizing that there was going to be no way to pass through it. She quickly faced the roamers again and placed her hands on the gearshift, moving it forward completely.
"Fuck it. We can take them on," said Lori. "Grab your weapons, everyone!"
She stepped outside with her hatchet and her revolver in her holster. She left her assault rifle behind in the van, and walked ahead with the others. The metal door banged against the hinges in the building, but the group ignored it and marched on, seeing as it was secured by a metal pipe.
Lincoln held his knife point upwards and leaned forward at a roamer, shoving his knife through his skull. Ronnie Anne aimed her crossbow at a roamer and pressed the trigger, releasing the bolt and striking it through its scalp. Lynn jumped away from the falling corpse and smacked a roamer away with her bow before Luan thrusted her katana downwards, finishing off the roamer.
Instead of marching ahead, Lori remained in the back, watching her group take care of the roamers without her aid. She glared at Lynn, Ronnie Anne, Lincoln, and Luan as the roamers from the parking lot approached them.
As the roamers began to clump up into a small swarm, Lori prepared to order the group to diverge, but Lincoln was ahead of her.
"Guys, spread out!" exclaimed Lincoln, before thrusting his knife up a roamer's jaw.
Lori stayed back as Ronnie Anne and Lynn moved apart. Luan moved away from Lincoln, luring some of the roamers towards her behind some cars.
"Make some noise, Luan!" he continued to exclaim. "Now… shoot them, Ronnie and Lynn!"
Ronnie Anne and Lynn shot their arrows and bolts at the roamers who strayed out in the open of the parking lot as the other roamers limped towards the sound of a katana handle denting a car. Lincoln killed off the roamers that had their sights locked on him, hissing in pain with every slice.
"Okay, now make some noise, guys!" exclaimed Lincoln, rubbing his arms. "Luan, fight them off now!"
Lynn and Ronnie Anne hollered and shouted, attracting some of the roamers away from Luan, who sprung up from where she stood, slicing her dead attackers with a confident spirit and a blade. Luan finished off the remaining roamers.
The parking lot was now empty, leaving just the noise of the banging door. Lori smiled softly as she headed back to the van before hearing a distant rumbling.
"Did you strain yourself?" Lynn asked Lincoln. "Ah, look, your arm is bleeding. C'mon, you should be chilling in the seat, getting some rest."
"Yeah, I guess," panted Lincoln. "Lori? Are we going now?"
Lori hushed him and walked closer to Vanzilla. The engine continued to rumble in the van, but the noise was getting louder. It was coming closer and closer, and it was not coming from the van.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Go, go, go!" yelled Lori.
The noise came closer and closer until it roared throughout the parking lot entrance. A car then another pulled up in front of the parking lot entrance as the windows rolled down. A barrel slowly rolled out of the window before it fired into the group.
Lori shrieked as she jumped behind the curve of the building. Dust blew off the shot-off brick. A few of the marauders exited their cars and jogged to the parking lot. Lori quickly ran off, using Vanzilla as cover.
Lincoln jogged to the back end of the parking lot where a mesh fence prevented the group from going any further. Luan crouched behind a coupe while Ronnie Anne and Lynn hid behind a pickup truck.
"It's this damn van again," said Darius, the leader of the marauders. "We got you bastards this time! Ain't no escapin' us!"
Lori peeked from the van and fired off a few shots at the marauders. She quickly went back for cover as the attackers responded with bursts of fire. As Darius and the marauders walked along the van, she held her breath and fired a shot at the metal pipe in the banging door. The metal pipe flew off and the door slammed opened, with a couple roamers flooding out of the building. She quickly ran into them, before lowering herself and passing the roamers, this time putting an obstacle between her and the marauders.
Darius fired his UZI at the roamers, managing to hit a few them in their heads. A couple more bullets flew past Lori before she jumped over the trunk of a mid-size car and taking cover behind it.
"Persistent bitch," he muttered.
"Want me to get 'er?" asked Shawn, a bruise in his right eye.
"No, check the van. Take whatever guns and ammo you can find."
The marauders jogged to the mid-size car before being met with a couple pistol bullets. The marauders quickly took cover behind a small car as Ronnie Anne ducked behind the truck.
"Just lettin' you know, we're taking that pistol and that crossbow back!" yelled Darius. "Hide all you want! We're gonna get the big guns out soon anyways!"
The engine rumbled as a vehicle moved into the parking lot entrance.
"Look, it's here already! We were just gonna take your shit, but you killed our people! So now we kill you all."
The Humvee moved up the parking lot before pushing Vanzilla ahead.
Lincoln panted as he held his bleeding arm. His MP5 was inside the van. Lynn felt sweat drip down her face as she pulled back an arrow. She then stood up and released it, shooting at the Humvee. However, the arrow was unable to penetrate through the bulletproof window.
Darius pulled out his M1911 and shot at Lynn, though she quickly ducked down before the bullets hit her.
"I can't move any further! What do I do now?" asked Lydia.
"Keep pushing the damn van!" yelled Darius.
"I can't! The Humvee's stuck!"
"Alright, just get outta there! It's fine, we can get 'em from 'ere."
A marauder climbed onto the gunner seat and aimed it at the coupe. Behind him, was another engine that roared, though none of the marauders in the parking lot realized it. But the marauders who stayed back in the streets did. They aimed their weapons at the RV, before realizing that one of the doors was opened.
The RV slowed down and Becky popped out from the door, quickly firing an IWI ACE at the marauders. Benny then jumped out the RV as well, firing his M4A1 at the marauders that Becky missed. Hana then leaped out with body armor, holding her katana. She walked past the five bodies in the ground.
"This way!" exclaimed Becky.
With the machine gun aimed at the coupe, the marauder fired the gun, aiming at the wheels as he progressed throughout the car. Luan yelled as she crawled to the car behind the coupe.
"There's one!" yelled Darius. "Get 'er!"
The marauder moved the machine gun and aimed at the new car. He prepared to pull the trigger before two shots followed by a crack exploded the marauder's brains into the machine gun. Becky aimed down at the rest of the marauders and fired at them before taking cover behind the Humvee. Darius fired his M1911 at the Humvee before Benny shot the M1911 out of his hands. He jumped behind the car as Benny aimed his gun at his chest. He dodged the incoming fire, though his fellow marauders were not so lucky.
"Run!" Darius yelled at Shawn and Lydia. "We're outnumbered! Run! That's the rule!"
Shawn nodded before dropping Lori's AK-47. Both he and Lydia made a run for it, as Darius fired his UZI at the vehicles, covering the couple. They outside of the parking lot, the path that Lori's group would have taken with Vanzilla, using the building as cover now. Suddenly, Hana made herself known and swung her katana like a baseball bat, slashing Shawn's chest. His body flung forward as he fell backwards. Hana quickly turned the katana downwards and thrusted the tip into Shawn's skull before aiming the katana at Lydia.
Lydia ran back to the parking lot, not realizing that Darius was not covering her. This led to a burst of fire through her chest from an M4A1 before Benny and Becky moved forward. Then, Darius stood up with his UZIs pointing towards the pickup truck.
"Stop! Before you shoot, I gotta let you know that there are two girls hidin' behind the truck. Want 'em to get shot to hell? My fingers are in the trigger."
Becky and Benny panted as they continued to aim their weapons at the only marauder standing.
"Drop your guns," stated Darius.
Both Becky and Benny looked at each other before tossing their rifles to the ground.
"Kick it over 'ere," he said.
Both survivors kicked their rifles towards Darius, though friction stopped it in the middle of both opposing sides. Darius slowly walked towards the rifles before lowering himself.
"You two are very good at following rules," snickered Darius.
He looked back at the parking lot, realizing that he could still shoot up the pickup truck. Then, he started to wonder where Lori was, unaware that Becky was unholstering her sidearm. The hammer cocked, causing Darius to quickly look back before being met with a sudden flash of gunfire that splattered his brains into the pavement. His body dropped with the UZIs.
Benny took a deep breath and picked up his rifle before running past a bleeding Lydia, checking to see any surrounding marauders.
"Looks like there aren't anymore of them," said Benny as he turned around.
Becky walked forward with the Glock in her hand.
"But our people's gotta be close by," he said. "He mentioned that there were two girls behind the–"
Becky aimed her pistol at Lydia and fired a shot to her head. Benny gasped, watching as Becky continued moving forward to the parking lot.
"Guys!" yelled Becky. "We killed them all! You can come out now!"
Benny stared at Lydia's corpse before facing the parking lot. He slowly dropped his rifle as a soft smile grew on his face.
Luan stood up with a white shirt covered by smoke stains and her sweater tied around her waist. She opened up her arms with a wide smile as Benny ran up to her and hugged her, lifting her up a little.
"I can't imagine how much you went through," whispered Benny.
"Too much," whispered back Luan with tears forming around her eyes. "But you're here now!"
Luan sniffled and continued smiling as she then kissed Benny. Lori, Lincoln, Ronnie Anne, and Lynn then revealed themselves. Lynn ran up to Benny and gave him a bro hug as Lincoln gave him a thumbs up.
Lori and Becky walked up to each other and have each other an embracing hug, sharing the pain of the most recent loss of their lives. They released each other, with Lori now standing next to Ronnie Anne.
"Wait, that Humvee looks familiar," she said as she glanced at Lynn, who nodded back.
Both girls ran towards the Humvee, opening the door. They opened the glove department, and found David's M9 inside. Both girls lowered their heads in despair as they realized the loss of their beloved friend, Haley. Ronnie Anne took the M9 and placed it in her backpack, not removing her P220 from her holster.
She then heard a bark and turned towards the source. Her mouth opened softly as her eyes blinked rapidly before she placed her hands over it. And a smile grew from everyone in the group.
"Bobby!" she cried out.
Bobby opened up his arms as Kimi walked next to him, wagging her tail. Ronnie Anne placed her arms around him, smiling with her eyes closed.
"I almost died without saying goodbye to you," said Ronnie Anne in a low voice.
"I'm sorry for everything that you went through," said Bobby. "I'm just so glad you're safe."
Kimi ran ahead and leaped up to Luan, licking her face before running back to Hana. Ronnie Anne released Bobby and looked back, seeing Lori walk slowly towards the both with a somber expression. Bobby then began tearing up, as he walked up to her, giving her a reassuring hug as Lori closed her eyes.
"I can't imagine how much you have suffered these past weeks…" said Bobby, reassuring a mournful Lori. "It's okay. I'm here now. Everything's gonna be okay."
"It doesn't feel okay," said Lori, a pain with every swallow in her throat. "Did you see her? Did you see what… he did to her?"
"She's resting peacefully now," said Bobby as Becky approached them. "We made sure she had a proper burial."
"She didn't deserve it you know," said Lori. "Let's just go. We have to hole up somewhere before it gets dark."
Lori, Bobby, and Ronnie Anne walked back to Vanzilla. Luan and Benny followed them as Lynn and Lincoln prepared to return to the van.
"Who's she talkin' about?" asked Lynn.
"We'll talk about it later," said Lincoln. "Come on. Stitch my arm up in the van."
"I'll be with Hana," said Becky. "We'll follow you, Lori. Anywhere you go."
Lori nodded as she closed her door. Vanzilla and the modern RV headed out the parking lot through the sidewalk and into the road. A couple roamers strayed into the parking lot, dropped down to a couple corpses, and ripped out pieces of flesh before shoving it in their mouths.
The spotted stars were stuck in the night sky as Lynn looked out with wet eyes. The candles flickered in a table in the kitchen, away from the windows. The doors were barricaded with sofas and couches, and the curtains covered all of the windows except the one that Lynn looked out of.
Lincoln walked to Lynn and stood next to her, placing his elbows on the window stool.
"I know you probably want to be alone for a little, but if you want to talk, just know that we're all here."
"Lincoln… you know I'm not much of a talker about feelings. It just hurts. Hurts a lot."
"We're all sharing the same pain. Never feel alone, Lynn."
"At least that son of bitch got what he deserved!" hissed Lynn. "Tell me, who nicked off his limbs?"
"You found him?" asked Lincoln. "Did you–?"
"Finish him? The dead version of him? No, Santiago did. So, who finished the… alive version of him?"
Lincoln tilted his head towards Luan, who rested her head on Benny's arm. Lynn let a tear fall from her eyes.
"I'm jealous. She beat me to it," Lynn sniffled. "I would've made sure he suffered before shoving my arrow into that other eyehole of his."
Lincoln, knowing that it was not the right time to bother his sister about acting civilized, simply remained quiet, glancing at Lynn before staring at the night sky with her. Then, his eyes shifted downwards. The buildings in the distance were wrecked and only the steel structure of the remaining buildings stood. Lincoln then realized he was looking at New York. Looking at what remained of the city.