Zombie Story: Threads of a Tire p2

=while I slept, I had a nightmare. Truth be told, it wasn't anything special. Just the usual, people being torn limb from limb, and me having to gun down zombified children. Yeah, that actually happened. This wasn't a video-game, where child zombies were missing for some reason-- this was the real world, and it had kids in it. Living ones, dead ones, and not so dead ones. I don't enjoy putting them down, but I always think of it, as a small mercy. But again, this was still a bad dream=

I slept like a log. Well, until she came back into my dreams. It was always the same. She would look at me, pleading, desperate, and then she would slowly turn. I couldn't do anything. She would simply walk forward arms up to grab me. I feel a weight in my hand and I look down to see a rifle. I raise it and put her beautiful face in the sights and I slowly squeeze the trigger. I close my eyes before it goes off, but it always ends before it actually happens. I bolted upright and looked around, sweating.

=Xazhi had awoken about an hour before, and had gone outside to see what he could find to eat. There was almost nothing there that was worth taking. He went back inside, and went into his bag. He sat in a chair in the livingroom, chewing on three red raspberries wraped in a mint leaf, waiting for the others to wake up=

=He had walked through a gate, which had quickly dropped=
=Sounds of the undead fill the area=
=He looks around, seeing cages being opened=

Marshal-Welcome prisoner.

=The voice came from a higher position on a wall=

Marshal-Fight to live. You are under our power now.

=He looks around, seeing nothing that he could use=

I'm being used for entertainment.

=He runs forward toward a walker=
=He takes the neck and snaps it=

Bring me the strength

I was looking out at the ocean. I had gotten up at 4am and left the house behind. I was now sitting on a small beach, sand beneath my feet. It was cold, and so was the water. I had just bathed so I was sitting in the sand, air drying.

"As I look at the sky,
I see something and surmise
that today we will see no sunrise
for the day is gray and dark

It may be spring,
but there is no such thing
for today it is as cold as winter
snow will fall, ice will form, many a-thing shall splinter."

I looked up at the dark sky, I figured it would start snowing in about six, maybe seven, hours from now. Or less. Mother nature has a funny way about messing with those who like to predict the weather. The air was crisp and it nipped at my wet skin. So I rolled in the sand and sand bathed. Sand bathing can be complicated, if you've never done it before, but I have, in Arizona. Sand bathing takes a while to get used to, if you have been brought up doing it. The sand was cold when I rubbed it against be skin, roughly scrubbing away the dirt that had accumulated through the previous day and night. When I was done I felt raw. So of course, I went back into the cold ocean for a swim to wash the sand off. I had stripped off a curtain in the house to use as a makeshift towel.

When I was done bathing I, of course, dressed myself. With the same clothes that I had worn yesterday, only I washed and press-dried. It was a long process. Now I sat on the beach alone, in the grayness of the morn, thinking.

=He moves left to avoid being grasped by a walker=
=It stumbles onto the ground=

=He takes on a combat stance=

Alright.
This is breaking a rule. Never go after one with close combat.

=He shrugs=

Never was much for rules

=He waits for one to get close before punching it with an open palm into the chest. It staggers back and he delivers a kick=

Might be a bit rusty.

Things to note: 1, bandits are approaching the house we stayed at, 2, Zombies are now attacking the safe zone in force (300+), 3, The house is surrounded by 'bandits' so there are several things that can happen. #of bandits unknown

I sat there, staring out unto the ocean, allowing myself to be consumed by it's natural beauty. So much so that I didn't notice the feeling of danger I had. That is, of course, until I heard the crunching of sand beneath heavy feet. I simply waited until the sound drew closer before I made my move. I pushed myself forward with my legs, diving into a roll turning my body to face the approacher. I faced a bandit, someone who chose to live a life of debauchery and crime against his fellow man. Not that it truly mattered, he approached with a weapon in hand, so I was prepared to kill him. My sudden movement caught him off guard, but as I assessed the situation he understood that this would no longer be a silent affair.

He was equipped with a knife, a dagger to be precise. I had nothing but my fists, and what God gave me. I slowly backed toward the ocean and he steadily followed. I picked up sand in one hand and cold sand-mud in the other, I was prepared to survive. He leapt forward and I leapt back, as I did so I threw the loose sand in his face, when he lifted his arm to shield himself from it, I prepared to throw the the sand-mud. He wasn't prepared for that. I hit him in the face and blinded him, temporarily. As he was blinded I ran toward him and tackled him, bringing us to the ground with a audible 'thump'.

The man was maybe ten, fifteen years older than me. We struggled in the sand, he struggled blindly, knowing that if he stopped I would kill him easily. We struggled in the sand for sometime, we eventually rolled into the ocean, where I drowned him. The fight was short when we entered the shallow water of the ocean. I kneed him in the stomach a few times as we struggled, splashing about, I got him on his belly and kept his head under for three minutes, then I took his dagger and severed his spine. I didn't leave his lifeless corpse in the ocean, I dragged him to an earthy patch and buried him. His grave wasn't deep, but it was good enough to keep animals and other things from eating his body. I set the knife next to some rocks that I used to mark his grave.

I sat over his grave and prayed for his soul. I knelt there for nearly twenty minutes before I decided to slowly make my way back to the home we had taken refuge in for the night, I was wary of danger.

=I woke up at some point, and it was light outside. I got up off the floor, and picked up my crossbow, checking to see that the arrow was there, and thankfully, it was. A yawn escaped me, but it wasn't a loud one. I had learned the consequences of a loud yawn quite a while ago, and was not eager for a refresher course=

=Xazhi came into Alex's room with his hand on his Katana, walking quickly but crouched down to remain quiet and unseen. He spoke soft, yet quick=

Alex! You awake in here?

I woke up again, and stretched. I had forgotten when I fell asleep again I didn't care what I smelled like or looked like, I mean, when you're in the apocalypse, you shouldn't. Anyway, I got up and checked my rifle. Gods know what they put into the F2000, but it had stayed almost entirely dust free the entire night. I wiped off the scope and the outer casing with my shirt and went over to a window. I could barely hear Alex and Xazhi talking, and I didn't pay any attention. It wasn't right to eavesdrop. I saw a few people walking around, correction: taking cover. I could tell from the way they moved that they had no intention of backing down.

"Ah....hell..."

I checked the ammo in my rifle and the grenade round still loaded. I moved towards the others.

"Anyone know how many there are?"

=He looks toward Garth=

Easily 20. I havent looked in the back yet.

There was a man eyeing the house, I could see others circling around and taking position. They must've seen the golf cart and figured some loner had come to sleep at the house. They didn't know what they were in for. The one who was closest to me, was still standing, and he was the furthest away from the others. I snuck up behind him and stood up, slowly, not a sound was heard. He too had a dagger, I slipped it out of it's makeshift sheath and put my other hand over his mouth. As he reacted to my touch I move the blade in my hand to his throat. I stabbed it into his throat, through the side, severing the jugular vein as well as voice box. Needless to say, he was speechless at my performance.

I slowly let his lifeless corpse to the ground and severed the head from the body. I then proceeded to punt the head toward the house. Punting heads. It was a pastime novelty. Trust me, I would know.

=He moves quickly from one walker to the next. Delivering hailstorms of punches and kicks=
=A few had grappled him and brought him to the ground=
=He noticed that the one on him had a knife on it=

=He punched it with an open palm, taking the knife and slicing the head=
=He knocks the corpse off and gets up=
=The moaning had cut down. The laughter from the humans increasing=

This is not entertainment. This is just madness

=He stands his ground and waits for the next=

Cmon.

"Crap. What's the plan?"

I looked out again, not being able to pinpoint their numbers. "I can aggro the hell out of them, if you want."

=He thinks for a moment=

I think if we can grab their attention with something, and get them all in one spot, we can either cut em all down, or slip away. It doesent look like any of them have guns.



(Goin to bed. Can we wait till tomarrow to do this? I have something i really want to do)

Well, I have some alcohol and rags in my bag. We could molotov them. That, or make one hell of a distraction.
=I had my crossbow ready to go. Hell, maybe I could wrap a rag around a few of the arrowheads, and light them on fire=

=to himself=

there's only one area i can't hit from here they're bound to realize that and go there

I had been captured by Caesars Legion a few times. Once they put me in an arena, said "Fight or die" and threw another poor sod in with me. It was not a pretty fight. I'm not going into details, and needless to say I won, but I had killed a man that didn't need to die. This was not the case. These bandits or what-have-you were foolish hooligans. Moreover, they had no idea someone like me was here. I survived in the deserts of Arizona with Caesars legion at my back, harassing me, capturing me, and trying to kill me. Once they even sent assassins after me. Load of help that was, got some new clothes, some water, some weapons, some poison, and other trinkets and things from them. That was lucky for me at the time because I had been running out of clean water. But now, now I was killing bandits, or whatever, and not those of the Legion. The bandits now had to deal with someone who had been inadvertently trained by the Legion, to fight, to survive, to assassinate. That's all this was really, an assassination training session.

As I got closer to the house, I could see more and more of these hooligans. More people to kill. I figured I could kill quite a few furtively, without any others finding out. Like a snake in the sand, unless you look right at it, you'll never know it's coming. I got up behind another of the encroachers and silenced him. The blade severed the spine between the Axis and Atlas. I guess my knowledge of the human body was good for saving and killing. I continued my assassination streak.

=He nods to Alex=

Better yet, if you can light one of them on fire, that would probably be better. So, are we going to slither out, or fuck their shit up?

Got it.

=I opened my bag, and pulled out a few bottles of alcohol. I also grabbed some rags, or made rags out of old shirts. I wrapped a few of my arrows in the rags, and carefully poured some of the alcohol over them=

Okay, just say when. I mean, I still need to light these things, but well, you get the idea.

=He nods to Alex, then turns to Garth. He stands=

You ready?

I switched my F2000 to single shot and patted the side.

"Ready. I also have a grenade round loaded, if I see a cluster, their dead mist."

=He smiles=

Just try not to hit me.

=He pushes his sword out of its sheath about a half inch with his thumb=

I smile.

"I'll try to remember that."

I ran up to one of the ill-wishers and sort of tackled them. I grabbed one around the quads and lifted him up as I plowed into the second. I knocked the second man down, and the one I picked up was dropped on his face. I then proceeded to stomp in one of their faces, to the point of caving in the skull. Then I started a fist fight with the second.

=while they talked, I pulled the lighter from my bag. It was half empty, but there was enough for a few flames. I lit one of the arrows, and readied myself=

=Xazhi crouches under the open window, with his left hand on his sword, and his right on the windowcill=

Alright, Alex. Ready when you are. Once you've fired, give me a second to get out the window.

=I nodded my affirmative, and peeked out the window. There was a target moving slowly towards the house, and I aimed my crossbow, and fired. A flaming arrow hit home, right in the guy's neck. He went down screaming=

=Just as soon as he saw the arrow fly, Xazhi pulled himself up, and jumped out the window and into the open. He drew his sword and ran at his first target. He lifted the sword up quickly and cut deep into the young man's stomach. He withdrew the blade and let his victim drp to his knees. He again lifted the sword and let it fall on his neck, severing his head. Xazhi stood looking at the rest of the bandits. There were less than he expected. He saw way in the back, Nic taking out bandits silently. This made him laugh=

Ke'sk Kisu'lkw jiko'teket wjit ki'l aq wjit ni'n...

=heads inside and leans out his window and aims his sniper and loads a single inceindiary round and fires at a group of bandits and see's it take out 2 and switches to the ak and fires in short bursts dropping another bandit=


this is going to be interesting

=I stayed up in the window, firing another arrow. Another man went down, this time the shot hitting him in the eye. Hey, five years with this thing, and my aim was good=

=Xazhi ran into the bulk of the bandits. He swung his sword again, dropping two of them in a spray of blood. As he slashed his way though them, he yelled taunts at the top of his lungs=

YEAH! WHAT NOW, BITCH!!! EAT SHIT!!!

=He swings the blade again, and hits one of them with the back side (the dull side) and knocks them out. Without noticing, he continues on his bloody way=

question should we be sorry for them i mean this seems like a slaughter

=a bandit closes and fires several round impacting the windo and zeru grabs a blade and hurls it into the man's forehead=

Hey, it's the law of the jungle now. Survival of the fittest.
=I fired another arrow=

Besides, these guys would have killed us, and taken all our stuff.

=At the other window, Garth fired his weapon=

Yeah I know it sucks man. But do you want to die?

=Xazhi draws his blade out of the stomach of the last bandit. The body falls to the ground, and he takes his sword and wipes the blood off with a rag before putting it back in its sheath. He looks around for a moment and sees no-one. He tunrs back towards the house and waves for Alex and Garth=

=heads outside and sees the guy with the blade in his forehead getting up and he puts a bullet through his heart and retrives the blade and puts it in a pouch=

poor bastards

The guy I was brawling with clearly never learned how to fight fist to fist. Or how to fight for survival. His punches were weak, I rolled with them, taking minimal pain. I kicked him in the balls and snapped his neck. Amateur survivalists. I severed there spines as well. I, again, scoped out the surrounding area. I saw some guys heading toward the cart, and I sprinted toward them.

My machetes were leaning up against tires, as was customary, since I had gone to bathe. The guys were bandits, but they weren't good ones. I ran, as quietly as possible, and stabbed the closest guy in the back of the head, killing him instantly. The second guy was warned of my approach by the shock of his previously living companion. He made the mistake of going to my machetes. I threw the knife at him as hard as I could and it hit him. With the handle, in the back. It would bruise quickly, considering the Newtons of force and the area affected.

I then turned my attention to my machetes. I equipped them, and prepared for bloodshed.

Let's go.
=I got up, and Garth followed me. We headed out of the house, towards Xazhi=

=Xazhi took his blood-saoked hands and drew tears under his eyes. He stood for a moment, saying a silent prayer. He turned back to Alex and Garth. He holds up his hands, showing the blood=

Messy messy.

=He wipes them off on a rag=

So. What now?

I was a bit disgusted at the "tears" on his face, but I didn't say anything. I also did my best to hide it off of my face.

"I dunno. Keep moving, I guess."

I kneel down to one of the bodies and begin to say a prayer.

"While you did not choose this path, it was mine that you should walk it. While it was a selfish act, and I do apologize, it was one I felt was needed. May the gods see that you chose only your best choice at the time, and grant you peace. May the gods look upon my actions and judge them fairly, and without reservations, as they should to to you."

=I said nothing, just walked away. Sure, I could have said something, maybe that I felt bad for killing those guys. Hell, we were an endangered species, we shouldn't be killing each-other. But, at the end of the day, they were trying to kill me and my friends. I felt pity for them, that they died. But I did not really feel regret=

=Xazhi stands there, totally poker-faced, licking the blood off his face that he didnt smear there himself. After Garth finishes his little speech, he speaks=

Right then. So all we need now is...

=He turns to look out away from the house=

Nic...?

=He crosses his arms=

I saw him during the fight for a moment. He must have went another direction...

"If I know anything about Nic, it's that he does what he wants, and doesn't let anything stop him. He'll turn up."

I stand up and face Xazhi.

"We should get everything together if we are to leave soon."

While the others were talking, I was cutting out the heart of one of the men I had just killed. It was a long story, the reason why I was cutting out his heart. I then severed the head, and punted it into the air. I then put the heart into a sealed bag, and packed it in the back of the cart. Which had remained untouched, other than the blood on it now, we would have to clean it later. Now, we had to move east. That much I knew.

I left the bodies piled up near the Cart. I went back out to the ocean to bathe, again.

=He nods=

I agree. Like i said earlier, though. I do have supplies on the Comet, enough to crew it for at least a month.

I nod.

"The only problen there is it would take a long time to get there, load up, and get back. It would be faster to simply keep going and take what we need as we go. I did for a year and a half, with a little bit afterwards. We'll be fine."