Zombie Story: Threads of a Tire p2

The one and only.

=He shakes Garth's hand=

So, what brings yall from Arizona all the way out here?

"I wanted to go someplace that didn't have crappy ass weather. I like rain and clouds. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside."

I laugh.

=He laughs as well=

Yeah, i hear Vietnam is nice this time of year.

I chuckle.

"What brings you out of New England or wherever you were from?"

Oh, you know. Piss-poor weather, economy down the tubes, unemployment rates...

=He pauses=

Oh, and the idea of a place where everyone doesn't look like walking piles of Guacamole trying to make you into a human happy meal.

=He pauses again=

You know, now that i think about it, that may have been one of the more prevalent issues.

=He tries to remain serious, but ends up laughing instead=

I laugh as well.

Holy Hell! Xazhi! Was not expecting to run into you man. Nice to finally meet you in the flesh!
=I held out my hand again=

I kinda derped. I had thought of going east, but instead, I decided on going west, go around the west coast of ireland, and around the northern tip, then down to Dublin. Not that I said any of this. I had thought settling down someplace would be good for my nerves, but no, after The Arizona Event everything changed. Life changed. I changed. When you do the things that I've done, when you survive the way I survived, you change. Whether or not you're a better human being, doesn't matter. Back then, it was survival of the fittest, I proved to be one of the fittest. Darwin had that right on. In Arizona, I became a killer. I gave in to my darkness, my desire. I let my inner barbarian take over. Even after The Arizona Event I had done things, terrible things, awesome things, heroic things. I had changed significantly since my friends last saw me.

As I drove down this road in Ireland, I thought back to my time with Yuliya: I missed her very much.

=He shook Alex' hand again=

Ah, come on. I aint exactly the king of England over here.

=He chuckes=

"Well, how often do you meet an old friend in an apocalypse?"

Yeah, but you're among the first friendly people I've seen in five years. That means you get treated like royalty. Well, except for the part where I bow down and all.

:really?:

=He laughs=

Well, I'd prefer if you'd just treat me like you would have before the world went to hell.

"I am. This is how I treat most people I meet for the first time."

"Oh don't worry. I'll make sure to treat you the same way I always did: with fairness, and an ounce of courtesy.Anyway, how have you guys been doing, these past five years of Hell?"

Oh, the usual. Killin Zombies, scavenging for food and water, making sure we are left alone by bastard raiders. But, through it all, there is one thing i have wanted more than anything.

=His tone becomes serious. He looks out to the horizon=

Somewhere out there...

Is the last good bag of Doritos.

=He looks back to them=

Know what I'm sayin?

When the Hell did you become Tallahassee?

I laugh at Xazhi's joke.

"I've been living in a shack for about 6 months, caring for and treating several different rifles and blades. Generally, making a living. Oh, that reminds me. Keep driving, Nic, just try not to hit any bumps too hard."

I climb out of the cart onto the side and make my way to where I can reach the trunks. I open the one that has the rifles in it and start looking for the P90.

=Xazhi chuckles and goes along with the joke=

'Not just any bag of doritos. The last bag of doritos that anybody will enjoy, ever.'

=He goes into his bag and pulls out the rolled up bag of potato chips and eats a few. He offers the bag to Alex=

Want some?

=I held up my hand, open palm forward=
Nah, I'm good.

I found the P90, and closed the trunk. I almost fell in the process, but, when it comes to friends, I'd do anything. I handed it to Alex.

"Happy whatevertodayis, Alex."

Holy Hell! A P90? It must be Christmas.
=I took the weapon, and inspected it. Clear magazine, and it was full too. Downside was that it had no full-auto function, just a single burst shot. That was fine though. Ammo was scarce enough=

I moved back to my seat and sat down.

"It's the civilian version, so you only get single shots, but, hey, a P90 is a P90. Found it on one of my last few trips scavenging. Merry Apocalypse."

I smiled, half-heartedly, I didn't approve of guns. Too many times had I seen them misused, too many times have I seen the harm they can do. I've been studying basic medicine, since it all started. I've had to take out one too many bullets from people i've met, or knew. I've been captured and told to save people from gunshot wounds a few times as well. No one likes a gunshot wound, but everybody like a gun to shoot. I kept driving, drifting out of the way of bumps or bodies in the road, careful not to knock Garth off, once he was back in his seat, I purposefully ran over a dead zombie.

=Xazhi almost fell off the back of the cart when they hit the Zombie=

Hey man, i'm eatin back here!

=He laughed=

In the zombie apocalypse, nothing says sanity like junk food.

"Hell yeah. Junk food for the win!"

Speaking of which, in a desperate situation, do not.
I repeat, do NOT.
Try to cook Zombie Flesh.

=He rolls up the bag again and puts it back in his bag=

A lesson hard learned for me.

"I thought that was common sense."

You callin me stupid?

=He puts on his best Forrest Gump voice=

Cause stupid is as stupid does.

=He laughs again=

I chuckle when he says that.

"No, I just thought that anyone who thought 'Hey, Imma cook up this rotting corpse that walks around and eats me.' might have something wrong going for them."

Hey, i thought it would be a little funny if one of us ate a Zombie for once. As far as anything wrong with me, it's that train of conversation that led to X No Delta's permabann, if you care to remember.

=He grins crookedly=

I will say no more, lest you decide to delete my account.

=He chuckles=

I chuckle.

"You were banned because you were making Quill uncomfortable. But let's let that be in the past. Let's enjoy living right now."

"As long as you never repeat it." I said coldly. I believe in the sanctity of the dead, so anyone who violates it is an enemy of mine.

=To Garth=

Yea. Lets enjoy the countrysides painted with the scattered bodies of the undead. Such a peacefull sight.

=He chuckles. After the comment from Nic, he turns to him=

Dude, you know i was trolling you, right?

=He laughs again=

If i wasnt, ill be damned if i ever went anywhere without Zombies.

"Well, you know, assuming none of them come after us, we can always put them in place."

I tap my F2000.

"Hey, I meant to ask you all, what kind of camo scheme do you think I should do? Like what theme? Black white and blue? Grey white blue? Red white blue? What?"

I dunno. I would just go with straight up black/red.

=He took the White X armband out of his bag, and put it around his neck so that it covered his ears, neck, nose, and lower face (so that only his eyes were visible). He then pulled it down so that it was hanging around his neck in a way that it could be drawn up into that position easily. The cold was starting to aggravate him=

"Eh...maybe. Black red has been done to death. I'd prefer three colors, makes it more unique."

My thing is usually black-red-white. Solun flag colors. They are also great for disguising yourself from things that wouldnt notice if you jumped out screaming 'LOOK AT ME! IM A TARGET!'.

=He laughs=

I chuckled lightly at his joke. I drifted off into checking my F2000 again and again. Looking through the sight, checking my grenade rounds, etc.

I followed the road east, as Garth and Xazhi talked, we passed by an old farm. On the left, and the right, which, to me, signified the leaving of Lispatric proper. I sighed, the farmland was behind us, or at least most of it was. Now there were trees in the distance, that meant zombies could hide. Hiding as best they can any way. It's not like a zombie tries to hide, but crawlers can sneak up on you in the woods if your not careful. So can a myriad of other 'types' of zombie. I hate zombies, they are the dead who are no longer sanctified by rite. So I thought it my right, as given unto me by the Lord, to smite zombies wherever I went. Faith is what keeps a man sane. When a man loses Faith, he loses himself. The mind is fragile, without a belief in something greater than oneself, selfishness will corrupt the mind and become weak. However, "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds", so one must be careful in what he chooses to believe in.

"Ne te quaesiveris extra." I said, not realizing I said it aloud.

Latin is one of my many favorite subjects. Speaking in latin is one of those things I like to practice, keeps the mind sharp, and the tongue sharper.

"Invenire te, nisi ut pereant amplius."

I continued his phrase, adding onto it myself.

"To find you, but that no more be lost?" I said quizzically. "Your latin seems to be broken. You might want to practice more often before you speak it so." I said. immediately after I thought of how insulting that may have been interpreted, but said nothing. I tend to say things before I think about the weight that the words carry, and then I study how the person reacts. It's a psychology thing.

"Fuck. I was trying to say 'To find yourself, lest you be lost further.' Sonofabitch, I thought I had it nailed."

"yeah, did you ever continue latin after high school?"

"I tried. I got maybe one more year in at ASU before the Zombies hit. Then it all went to shit."

=I listened in silence, inspecting my new gun. Truth be told, I didn't feel like there was much I could say. I mean Hell, five years! What do you say to your friends when it's been that long? I felt....like an alien, an outsider to them. But then again, that's how I've always felt: like an outsider. Hmm, would explain lack of girlfriends.....eh, the world was coming to an end, and I was thinking about my social life?=

"ah, they sort of redo 'Latin I' when you enter at ASU. I remember reading the curriculum."

"Yea, so...oh, and I lost my books in Texas, and mt iPod doesn't have a charge anymore. Hasn't had one in months. Only reason I never got rid of it is because who would take it?"

I simply nodded, look off into the distance, where I would eventually turn left.

=Looking around at the trees, Xazhi spoke softly=

So, Nic. Where are we headed?

"West." I said. For that was all I knew, I hate the sedentary lifestyle.