Zombie Story: Threads of a Tire p2

=I crouched down over the closest body. Yeah yeah, who robs a corpse? Well, spend five years walking through hell, and let's see if you can stay on the moral high ground. Don't get me wrong, I was still the same, lovable guy. However, I wanted to survive, and if that meant taking the things a dead man didn't need, then God forgive me, but I was taking his stuff. I'd still do my best to be respectful about it=

=waits for the others to get ready to leave=

=He stands, out of breath. Corpses of the dead surrounding him=
=One final walker. He begins to lose concentration from the endless ordeal=
=The need for sleep begins to overcome him=
=He raises his hand up, the knife covered in the blood of the undead=

=The walker runs towards him, arms outward. Gnashing the red stained teeth=
=He flicks his wrist, throwing the knife as the walker nears=
=As the knife makes contact, the walker lets out a 'cry' as it falls. He falls as well=

Marshal-Clean this place up! Get our new guy into his room. Tell him to meet me when he wakes up.

=He hears footsteps, sidestepping over the walkers=
=He feels his body being lifted up by a couple of people=
=His feet begin to drag. He doesn't want to fight. He wants sleep=

=He had been brought to a small room=
=A cot had been set up, his crossbow and quivers lay against a wall=
=The true base portion had been set inside of the near building=
=An apartment complex that had once played as a center of people, laughing, crying, happy, sad. Now it is a home to the survivors that he had been caught with=

=He had dreamt that night. Dreamt of a time long ago. A time where he had dreaded getting up in the morning for school. Compared to now. He is grateful to just wake up. A girl from his past breaches his dream. The missed opportunities to tell her the way he had felt=

=His eyes open, normally a heavy sleeper. Now, every noise that breaks the silence awakens him in a fury=
=This sound had come from the door. A knock. Once. Twice. Maybe even three times, he couldnt tell. He didnt care=

Just do as they ask, you'll gain your freedom

=He stands from the cot and walks to the door=
=He opens it. Greeted with a soft face. Brown eyes=

Amber-Marshal wants to see you.

=A soft voice, yet powerful=
=Her hair black as a night in this hellish world=
=She looked of his age=
=He nods and they head off in silence=

I look at Alex.

"What are you doing?"

=I stopped rifling through the dead man's stuff for a moment=
Looking for anything useful. I know, I know: raiding the dead, is a sick, disrespectful, heinous action. Well Garth, I'm sorry, but this world is not exactly the kind, that will shower the respectful with good luck. Don't get me wrong, I hate doing this myself. But if they have any food, or any other type of weapon.......might as well pick it up.

=I paused for a moment, and then decided=
What if we burn the bodies? Give these guys some real peace. I mean, I'd hate for my corpse to lay around for one of those things to eat.

=They continue the walk. Marshal's room is on the top floor of the building. Mostly destroyed. The people had repaired it using other things=

Amber(quietly)-My name's Amber..

Dakotah-Dakotah.

=She nods=

Amber-Sorry about...capturing you...

Dakotah-It's fine. When do you think I will be released.

Amber-Never...unless you break out...

Dakotah-Hmm

Amber-We're not so bad..Marshal thinks that we need more people that know how to fight.

Dakotah-How many people are in this group.

Amber-Ten, excluding you.

"I was going to give you respect for that. Most don't do this. This is not a world for the old religions and beliefs. Not anymore. Any I agree, we should burn the bodies."

=Xazhi remained silent as he looked out into the woods. He went back to the cart and removed his coat, revealing the dark brown clothing of animal skin underneath it. He layed it across the back seat where he sat. He also placed his rifle down on top of it. He then removed his bag, and placed it on top of the rifle. He opened it up, and removed a small book of matches, an abalone shell, and a few dried grey leaves. He closed the bag and went back to where he was standing. He sat down on a rock with his legs crossed, lit the leaves with a match, and dropped them into the shell. The resulting smoke was grey and had a thick scent to it. He held the shell in his lap, letting the smoke surround him as he quietly sang to himself=

Kloqoejk kesasultijik ne'piti'kw.
Waisisji'jk weli maliamujik.
Ansale'wit jikeiwaji Mi'kma'ji'jk.
Ke'sk Kisu'lkw jiko'teket
Wjit ki'l aq wjit ni'n...

=I went back to looking through the bodies, but I didn't find much. Once that was done, I dragged the bodies together into a pile=
Anyone got some flammable material? I mean, I could dose them in alcohol, but I think we'd need wood or rags.

"Closest I have is grenades. Those won't do what we want."

=After the smoldering leaves burn themselves out, Xazhi pours the ash onto the ground and goes back over to the cart. He puts the shell back in the bag. He takes his sword and leaves it next to his rifle, and makes sure his bowie knife is still on his leg=

Anyone wanna try the basement?

=A fist slams down on the table in Marshal's room=

Corey-How can we take in another.

Marshal-He shows promise.

Corey-In what.

Marshal-In helping us live.

Corey-You know. We would need to split the rations even further.

=Marshal raises his hand up, a pistol in his hand, his finger pulls the trigger=
=Blood splatters the wall behind=

Marshal-No. We don't.

=The other people in the room gasp=

Marshal-Get him out of here.

=Two people gather the body and head out with it=

Save the grenades. We'll work with what we can. Let's just hope these don't like barbecue.
=With that, I got out one of my bottles of alcohol, and I was disappointed to find that it was one of the good bottles. Anyway, I dosed the bodies, and took out a match. I lit the bodies, and watched as flames rose around the bodies, licking the corpses, burning whatever they touched. Black smoke rose, and I turned to walk away. It wasn't just the sight I wanted to avoid. I didn't want to know what humans smelled like when they burned=

Nah, I'm good. You check out the basement if you want, but I'll keep watch out here.

=He nods=

Right then. I'm going to go down and see what i can find.

=He goes back into the house, and down the stairs into the basement=

=They heard the shot=
=Seeing the men with the corpse down the hallway=
=Her eyes widen=

Dakotah-You're not all that bad.

=He looks at her=

Dakotah-He may be.

=She looks at him and shakes her head=

Amber-It's the last room on the right.

=She turns around and begins to walk away=
=He quickly places a hand on her shoulder=

Dakotah-I'll ask him why.

Amber-Thanks..

=They part ways, he passes the rooms and makes it to the last one on the right=
=He knocks=

I called after Xazhi.

"Want a riot shield? I could come with."

Marshal-Come in.

=He pushes the door open=
=Shutting it behind him=
=Seeing the blood splatter=

=He turns to face him=

Dakotah-Why.

Marshal-What?

Dakotah-Why did you kill that man.

Marshal-Corey? He was an imbecile.

Dakotah-That does not justify your actions.

Marshal-He needed to be taught his place. Now onto why you are here.

Dakotah-You called me here. After knocking me out and forcing me to fight.

=He didnt hear the call, and continued into the dark basement. He turned on his flashlight, and began looking around. Nothing but dust and the obvious scent of creepy. There wasnt anything else of interest. A few stacks of old books, a half-destroyed fishing boat, and a flat tire. He sighed and went back up the stairs and into the sunlight=

Nothin down there.

I mumble to myself.

"Guess you didn't need the shield..."

Louder, so the others can hear, I said: "So, we all ready to go?"

Yeah. just a minute.

=Xazhi went back over to the cart and retrieved his coat and rifle. He put his bag back on, and went into the house. He walked into the living room and hung the coat on a hanger next to a chair, and he placed the loaded rifle in the chair. He came back out=

Alright, I'm good.

Sure. Let's keep moving.
=I gathered my things, and headed to Nick's cart=

So, just to clarify: where are we going? I mean, I wouldn't have minded staying back with those people, in that community. Where do we go, when the world is hell?

Marshal-Yes, and after viewing your performance. We want you to be with us.

Dakotah-And if I decline.

Marshal-Why would you? It's a rather large world filled with those things.

Dakotah-I know. I've been through it. Alone. For years.

Marshal-Of course, Of course.

Dakotah-So tell me. Why should I stay.

=A shot rings out outside. A scream=

Bailey-Undead at the front gate!

Dakotah-Your shot attracted them Marshal. Was it worth it.

Marshal-Shut it and help us.

I cast my vote for Lispatrick. Can't hurt, right?

"When you're going through hell, keep on moving."

I walked into the house and grabbed the riot shield and knife. I hooked the shield around my back and walked back to the cart. I put the knife back in it's trunk, and put my F2000 on my seat.

"Sometimes, songs are more philosophical than you would think."

=He goes out of the room quickly=
=Remembering where his room was he entered. Grabbing the crossbow and quivers=

=He runs out. Nearly bumping into Amber=

Dakotah-Sorry, Amber.

Amber-It's okay. Let's get down there. Follow me.

=Her weapon of choice was a compound bow=
=Strapped to her back=

=They run out down the stairs. An outcropping was made into the wall as a sort of vantage point=
=They can see the large groups out in the front=
=Some forming in the back=

=She begins shooting and he joins in=

Negm maja'sit ta'n gi'l eliet, oqoti.

=He thinks for a moment about something he saw in the basement=

Just a moment. I've decided i do want something from the basement.

=He goes back into the house and down the stairs=

=heads to the moped and sits on it waiting=

=He goes back into the corner of the basement, and finds what he was looking for. It was a long spear-weapon, about 5.5 feet from tip to end. It was a sturdy wooden weapon, wrapped in hide and tied with a hard stone head. Something definitely good enough to take down a cow with. He stopped for a moment to think about who might have made it, or why they left it in such a place. He brushed off the thought, and went back outside=

Alright then. So, where are we off to?

After my ritual ocean and then sand bathing, to get all the gore off as well as the smell of body odor and perspiration, began to stretch out my muscles. I learned in the Legion that if you don't stretch your muscles after serious combat you ache terribly. I sat in the sand, naked, and stretched out my muscles. Moving from lower body to upper, as smoothly as possible. I could feel my muscles stretch, the muscle fibers being pulled, the myofibrils being primed. I took a deep breath, and continued, slowly, feeling the pain, and ignoring it. Willpower. A warrior is defined by his ability to overcome weakness with willpower. Strength is a small factor and does not always define ones ability in combat.

After about twenty minutes of stretching I stood up and examined myself. All of my muscles were clearly defined, I could point out my triceps without flexing, same with my biceps and the grouping called the quadriceps. My anterior and posterior deltoids were a little sore, lifting things irregularly will do that. My Pectoralis major twitched. Must be the calcium in the system. I checked my self for any physical harm, I had small bruises, no cuts, or lacerations. I sighed, I looked down, and began to examine the rest of my body, my abdominal muscles stuck out, they too, were well defined, most would call it a 'six pack'. That term is strange to me. I understand why it is used, but I still find it strange. My legs were clearly defined as well, my Rectus femoris was visible, as was my vastus medialis, and it's lateral partner the vastus lateralis. If I were in a gym, I could probably dead-lift two hundred and fifty plus pounds.

I began to feel my leg, starting with the tensor fasciae latae and the illopsoas, moving to the adductor longus and downward. I did this down to my gastronemius and the soleus. I did this for both legs. Then I worked, or tried to, on the anterior of my legs, which is difficult. I continued to do this, without fear of being seen, or caring if seen. I've been naked in the desert before, the irish cold didn't bother me. My gluteus maximus was also well defined, or rather, well muscled. Saying you have a well defined ass just doesn't sound right.

I dressed myself, in my boots and my pants, I didn't put on a shirt, or the rain gear. It was going to snow anyway, and when it did, the cart would be useless. These carts are not meant for ice. I bundled up my clothes and my machetes and headed back to the house.

Marshal-One shot, two shots, three shots, four. CMON USE ONE SHOT TO KILL EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THEM!

=He can hear the yelling, quickly becoming annoyed=

It would be better if you stayed quiet

=He aims and fires an arrow=
=A walker falls=

=He looks to his right to see Amber firing shot after shot. Some hitting the mark, some missing=
=He offers her some arrows and she takes them gratefully=

=The ten humans continue to fend off the hordes of undead=

"England is closer. We might have enough supplies to get there if we leave from the eastern coast."

=Xazhi stands there, singing sarcastically in jibberish=

Hmm hmm hmmm Azure Comet hmm hmm hmmm doo doo dooo tons of supplies doo doo doo...

"Xazhi, we know. But do you know how much of a trip it is to get from here to Canada? It takes a long ass time, even with motors."

Oh, what retard wants to go to Canada? That place is more filled with Zombies than a tin of Sardines. I'm with you, England is a much better option.

=He chuckles a bit=

Bailey-Undead breaking through the defences!

Marshal-Continue fighting!

I look at Alex.

"So, England work?"

Sure. Hey, how much you want to bet that even as zombies, those Royal Palace guards will still not move a muscle?
=I walked with them, waiting for a response=

"That would be a godsend. Stationary zombies."

I laughed.

=walks over=

now that would be a sight

=He laughs=

You know what i want to do when we get there?

=He looks at them=

I want to Leonidas-kick a zombie off of Big Ben.

I laugh again and mimic the voice from the movie.

"This...is...Britain!"

I'm ready when you guys are. Speaking of...

=He looks around=

What the hell happened to Nic?

=The horde begins to dissipate=
=Unfortunately, so does their ammunition=

=He fires one final arrow=
=The walker drops=

=Walkers had pushed through into the apartment complex=

Marshal-Meet me in the center!

=Amber and He stand up. They head down further to the center where the others were gathering=

Marshal-Everyone here?

Collin-Bailey and Chloe. They didnt make it.

=Another voice enters in=

Yuren-Chris is dead as well.

Marshal-Well. Great fucking news.

=He stays silent=
=Marshal points to the destroyed areas=

Marshal-Lets get working on repairing this shit.

Hell if I know.
=I cupped my hands over my mouth, and shouted out=

NIC!!!!!!! WHERE ARE YOU!!!!!!!!!!
I swear to God, if he pull's that Batman shit..........

I looked around.

"I have no idea. Should we go look?"

=The group of now seven begin to repair the walls=

I have to leave, but do I wish to.

=He sighs=

Time will tell

Fine. I just hope he hasn't gotten himself eaten.
=I walked with them trying to find Nick. I kept shouting his name every few seconds, and damn the consequences=