Zombie Story: Threads of a Tire p2

=The explosion turned to be a clumsy fish that ran into a sea mine=

DISMISS!

=I head for the airfield=

=I fell to the ground. A gnashing sound filled my ears as I felt a weight upon my body. I face upwards, staring into the face of death. I punch it a few times to have it let me go. Once I was free I stood, grabbed my knife and chucked it into the skull of the walker. I sigh as the adrenaline began to rush. I walk to the walker and pull the knife clean out. I flick it to splatter the blood on the wall. I sheathed it and continued my way out=

=Yes, I should have been talking with the new guy, but here's a fun fact: I, never really learned about what made a good conversation starter. Hell, on that note, I never learned how to start a conversation. Then again, never too late to try=

So, Garth, Nic, Just to be clear: Instead of staying with all the other, living people behind that wall, we're just, going out into this hostile world to what? Drive around, shoot dead things, and hope we wake up alive?

I chuckle and look over at Alex.

"I guess. I tried living in a settlement. I met some good people, but it just seemed like we were sticking to our old ways. And you know me, never one for tradition."

True, but in this case, tradition can keep us alive longer.

=I gazed out at the passing scenery=

It's just, I was walking for so long Garth. I had hoped that I could actually have more than a simple day to rest, you know?

"Complicated life is what got us into this. We kept making bombs meant for massive death, targeted death, non-lethal combat. Advanced medicine, advanced technology, advanced culture. We lost touch with our own ways. Our own immune systems, the natural medicines and building techniques. Basic culture that doesn't need television to keep us entertained, air conditioning to stay comfortable, bug spray to stay asleep. Zombies are...I don't know, I guess nature's way of saying 'Fuck you, go back to normal.'"

I shrugged and kept an eye out for any Zeds.

=I step out onto the sidewalk in front of the complex. I let out a breath and look around. I begin my trek to the store to hopefully find something. That's how it has gotten. Living life on the 'hope' of finding something to make it through the day. People have their religions for that, but I.... I just can't see it.... I've always been this way. Ever since it happened=

Yeah, but when has humanity ever been normal? We've been the worst of tyrants and monsters, as well as the best of heroes and champions of good. We're happy and sad, corrupt and pure. Selfish and generous, we are a riddle that I feel has no answer, for the answer is what each individual decides it is.

=I shook my head=
Sorry, I guess I'm over-thinking that one.

"Ha!" I scoffed, "Normal."

I chuckled.

"Way over-thinking it. What I am trying to say is, we became way too complex to stop a simple enemy. A Zombie 'reproduces' by infecting another person, right? All humanity needed to do is simply block off those who might be infected. But we were convinced we could find a cure, find a way to stop this, reverse it even. So we didn't wall them off, not until it was too late. We became too complex to stop a simple enemy."

I pause for a moment.

"See what I mean?"

Now who's over-thinking it? And when has a virus ever been simple or easy? History has shown us time and again that viruses, no matter how hard we try, are as difficult to kill as political rumors. And damn all those conspiracy theories about medical companies.

"The virus has an easy way to counter. Stay away from anyone who has a chance to be infected. The virus has no other way of continuing. That can't look at you and infect you, they can't cough on you and infect you. Only through a physical bite or scratch can they infect you. If humanity had been smart, it would've easily avoided this whole thing."

Yeah, but this is humanity we're talking about here Garth. When have we, as a race, ever been rational and smart? Individually sure, we can be the smartest, most rational beings on the planet. As a whole though......

"Yea, that's what I mean. This is nature's way of saying 'Hey, humanity. Get the fuck better.'"

=I shrugged=

We are what we are Garth. We can change who we are, individually. But as for the race? The race as a whole will never change. We've had what, thousands, tens of thousands as a collective race to change? We're not changing.

=I looked back out at the scenery=

Maybe this isn't a wake up call, so much as pest control.

"I think it's a wake up call. Doesn't mean it isn't pest control, but that's what I think. Humanity needs to remember it's roots, it's own abilities, and stop trying to be so artificial. Stop being so arrogant. That's how I view this whole thing. That, and a way to stretch out my legs"

I chuckle.

=keeps quite and wonders if they'd have any other problems=

"I disagree with both of you." To me, they were wrong on a few accounts.

I look at Nic.

"On which parts?"

Look, either way, what does any of this really matter? Why this all happened, who's fault it is....... We're living in this world now, this hell. And all that matters, as far as I can see, is making it to the next day, alive. Maybe not at all costs, but damn close to it. So if you guys don't mind, shall we end this conversation before it gets taken too far?

"I agree, all humans should be working together to fix this. But, humanity will never change. That's the reason we're having this conversation, if we'd stopped making better ways to kill each other then maybe this wouldn't have happened."

"Well, I'm going to throw in my two-cents before we end it: Garth, when you said that "We kept making bombs meant for massive death, targeted death, non-lethal combat. Advanced medicine, advanced technology, advanced culture. We lost touch with" blah blah blah, All of that is not a result of an "Advanced Culture" or society or what-have-you. We as a race never lost touch with anything. Culture has very little to nothing to do with technology. And how the fuck can someone lose touch with their own immune system? That doesn't even make sense. And People still use natural medicines today, just because you've never seen it doesn't mean it doesn't happen. And building techniques? That doesn't have anything to do with what you were talking about. And Alex, your not over-thinking it. You're being philosophical. And Garth, I'm not done yet, when you said
"The virus has an easy counter. Stay away from anyone who has a chance to be infected. The virus has no other way of continuing. That can't look at you and infect you, they can't cough on you and infect you. Only through a physical bite or scratch can they infect you. If humanity had been smart, it would've easily avoided this whole thing." That isn't true, From what I've seen the virus is transferred by fluid-fluid transfer. and anybody has a chance at being infected, so "Humanity" cannot simply quarantine everybody, that would be fucked up. And this whole zombie thing, happened randomly, it's not like "Humanity" had time to prepare or analyze this "outbreak". Besides, this virus is by no means natural, it's far from it, this virus was engineered, otherwise it would have been present it parts of the world. And Alex, why would this be pest control? as a technicality, every living thing can be a pest, the virus, from what we know, only affects humans. Why wouldn't it affect other animals? other mammals? why doesn't it affect Monkeys? or Chimpanzees? Why doesn't it affect Gorillas? They are closely related to humans on the genetic level, so why aren't they being infected? This virus had to have been engineered towards the human genome. That's the only viable answer. And also, humanity as a whole has changed. If humanity never changed we would be speaking and acting just like humans in zero A.D. history is a testament to humans changing over time. and Lt. we are having this conversation because Alex started the topic not eight or so minutes ago."

"I meant it on a less literal level. If humanity wasn't constantly at war and making new and more efficient ways to kill, the outbreak may never have happened, meaning we wouldn't be in the middle of this great fuck up."

I pause.

"Take a look at the Atom Bombs used on Nagasaki and Hiroshima in WW2, they're nothing compared to what countries had access to today. Humans kept trying to make their weapons better, trying to get them to create as much death as possible. If we weren't constantly at war with ourselves, this virus would never have had any reason to be created."

I sigh.

"The irony of a soldier complaining about death..."

=I sigh as I walk down the street. I see the occaisonal walker, butdo not fire on them=

It's best to just conserve my arrows

=I walk across the street into a small grocery store=
=I look up to the sign, barely even legible over the years that had passed=

=I walk in and ready myself for any raiders that may have entered in. I crouch down and begin a slow walk=
=My breathing slows as I move=

=I jump slightly when a box hits the ground. I turn to face it and give a sigh of relief=

I couldn't help but laugh at Nic's analysis.

"Nic, I meant those as examples. We lost touch with our immune system in the sense that we need booster sand medication to fight off an illness, instead of fighting through it ourselves and being that much more protected against it. We built our buildings to be large, towering, unlikely to fall. We built them to scare off danger, and to save space, but that's not the point. We used fear to fight our battles, not ourselves. I'll get to that later. As for what you said about the Zeds, yes, it is fluid to fluid, but when have you seen a Zed spit? Fling blood? They have to be right up next to you to infect. Which is part of the reason why we couldn't stop the spreading until it was too late. We wouldn't put up walls until the last moment, we wouldn't cut off the gangrenous limb, so to speak, until it was almost to our torso."

Garth wrote:

I couldn't help but laugh at Nic's analysis.

"Nic, I meant those as examples. We lost touch with our immune system in the sense that we need booster sand medication to fight off an illness, instead of fighting through it ourselves and being that much more protected against it. We built our buildings to be large, towering, unlikely to fall. We built them to scare off danger, and to save space, but that's not the point. We used fear to fight our battles, not ourselves. I'll get to that later. As for what you said about the Zeds, yes, it is fluid to fluid, but when have you seen a Zed spit? Fling blood? They have to be right up next to you to infect. Which is part of the reason why we couldn't stop the spreading until it was too late. We wouldn't put up walls until the last moment, we wouldn't cut off the gangrenous limb, so to speak, until it was almost to our torso."

I stopped the cart. "Do you have any idea what you just said? You just made the most inhumane statement I've heard from you in a long time. Humans are not "Appendages" to be cut off, humans are humans. And you're making far too many generalizations, taking small areas of humanity and applying them to humanity as a whole. That doesn't makes sense. And we don't need boosters or medication to fight off illness, we use them to help our body's fight off illness and viruses ththat have adapted to counter the dendrital immune cells, the B-Cells, the Killer T cells et cetera. that's not losing touch with our immune system, that's becoming aware of it's limitations and understanding it."

I paused and took a breath. "Haven't you wondered why I never open my mouth when I'm slicing and dicing zombies? Blood can be a conduit for infection, or eating infected meat. Among other things."

I took off all sense of humor out of my voice and face.

"To the immune system bit, I know. But doing that doesn't help our immune system get stronger. Not as far as I can tell. Maybe it does, I don't know, but from what I can see, it doesn't do anything to help us grow stronger. As for the comment I made, no shit it wasn't a humane statement. This isn't a humane world anymore. The Zeds are no longer human, anyone who is infected, is no longer human. You can still treat them as such, but at some point, you will have to kill them."

=I slumped back into my seat=

End of the world, human race all but dead and zombies running amok........and here we are, still arguing over things from the past.

=I turned my head, slightly=

Can we just let the past die already? I mean Jesus, the whole human race, carried the past on it's sleeve like a badge of honor, or a mark of shame. The old world is dead, long dead, and we're still arguing about it. Can we please, just once, for the sake of entertaining the thought of a new beginning, look to the fucking future, and leave the past where it is?

"Yeah, No use living in the past. We're fucked, we could all be dead in an hour so there's really no reason to argue about shit we can't change..."

I take my black SAS beret out my bag and touch the cap badge.

"Sure, It's nice to reminisce every now and again, but that can usually wait till there isn't a chance for a zombie to come at you and rip out your throat, or a raider sniper to blow your brains out."

I look away from Nic to the others.


"There's always a Zombie or a Raider abot to kill you. There is no safe place, only safer. But yes, let's just let it die. If I remember correctly, a lot of my beliefs make you guys uncomfortable."

Quietly, "Maybe because some of them are based off of ignorance." I start up the cart and begin driving again, the irish scenery rolling by.

=I settled back into my seat=

Alright, now that we got that out of the way......... Garth, was meaning to ask: How the hell did you end up here in the UK? And hell, same goes for you Nick.

"Took a boat from New York. Took me a long ass time to get there, but I did, and then came here. Been living here ever since."

=I hear a moan from behind me. A walker scratching at the door=
=I spin, keeping myself low behind the aisles=

=I approach behind it and slip my knife out, I jam it into the back of the walker's neck and then quickly twist the head to break the neck=

Stay dead

=My hand goes for the door as the body drops=

I sigh, "You'll find out soon enough."

=I can hear gnashing sounds coming from behind the door. I ready my knife and turn the knob. It creaks ever so slightly as I open it. I peek in, a walker above a persons body. A feast being had. I open the door fully and duck behind it. The walker moves up from the person and exits the room to investigate. I pop from behind it and break it's neck. As it drops I move into the room. I take my crossbow and load it. I fire one shot into the corpse to make sure it was dead=

=I see in the corpses hand a Colt .45 handgun. I take it and open the chamber. Finding it loaded with four shots. I roll the chamber back and look around my surroundings. A room fwith a scarce amount of preserved food stuffs. I look down onto the floor to find a couple of locked boxes.=

Hmm..

"Besides, remember all those years ago? Said I was going to move to the UK? I meant it. I love it here. Even with Zeds."

"Ireland isn't really part of the UK. There's a lot of hate between the Irish and the English."

I nod.

"True. What I meant was this group of island, whatever term you would use for it."

=Oddly enough, it took me a while to figure out how to respond to Nick's response. I know, I'm an idiot=
You'll find out soon enough?

=I just shook my head, and went back to staring out, vacantly=

"We'll be approaching a camp soon. I'm not going to stop until we get there. So if there are Zombies in front of us, feel free to take them out."

=Steps on the gas, going 15mph=

=At Nick's words, I got my guns out again, and just looked back out at the horizon=

Nick, just answer me this: Does how you got here, have anything to do with what happened back home?

I nod to Nic and hold the riot shield ready.

Felix wrote:

Geoffrey had fixed his engines, and now was sailing (barely) to Ireland. Going at a whoppin' knot, he wasn't going anywhere very fast. He thinks out loud ″What am I gonna do?″ He was only planning for a week, not about two weeks.......

=I was starving after a couple of days of dreadful slowness, I was begging for death when I looked at my gun.=
"Am I willing to do it?"
=I stare at the gun as I barely fight the current towards Ireland=

"..."

=I said nothing. There was nothing I could say.=

=says nothing and wonders when they'll arrive at the camp=

=His silence was probably all the answer I needed=
Dammit Nick, the least you can do, is answer me, and not leave me guessing.

=I continuously stared at the gun, It was a hand designed to look like roses circled around it, semi-automatic, clip of ten bullets M191=
=It had just been made by my father for me, my sixteenth birthday. Sad it also ends my life but its far better then starving=
=I move with the ship, moved by the waves, which moved the gun and some bits of trash. I look
=I stand up the sun beating down on me, I use my hand as a sun viser as I look over to the rocky sea ahead if me.=
Better get this over with
=I reach down, grab the gun and put it to my head. I sigh snd closed my eyes, but stopped......I heard a bird, something to eat.=
Alright! No Dying Yet! Just Gotta Find It First
=I look to the sky and to the rocks incase it landed=

=moves a pair of blades to be easier to reach if needed=

Yes! There It Is! Now.....
The bird was on a high rock, resting. Prefect time to get it.....
=I pull up my gun, aim and fire thrice, getting it on the third shot.=
It falls into the water with a splash.
=I speed up the yacht towards it=
Survival of the fittest, right?