HERE LIES: NO ONE [05]
VOTING HAS FINISHED FOR THIS CHAPTER!
Last weeks vote:
>Which group do you like better, Raf's or Scout Troop 157? Raf's 71% Scouts 29%
>Do you think Zito is infected? Yes 100% No 0%
>If you were surviving the Apocalypse in the woods, which item would you have at your side at all times?
First-aid Kit 24% Hatchet 42% Fire-starter 8% Tent and Sleeping Bag 3% Bag of Food 23%
>Which group do you like better, Raf's or Scout Troop 157? Raf's 71% Scouts 29%
>Do you think Zito is infected? Yes 100% No 0%
>If you were surviving the Apocalypse in the woods, which item would you have at your side at all times?
First-aid Kit 24% Hatchet 42% Fire-starter 8% Tent and Sleeping Bag 3% Bag of Food 23%
Chapter Five: Others
-“I’ve been a vegetarian all my life.”-
-Last words from a famous celebrity before being bitten
The naked corpse sagged against a tree; tossed there without thought or care. Another body piled on top of it, then another. There had to be at least eighty lifeless zeeks, their collective weight crushing the ones on the bottom. Each one had irreparable damage to its head as if the art of killing the already-dead had been mastered.
Raf pointed to a spot where the mound was starting to slide downwards onto the street. “Fix that up.” he commanded, his voice muffled under all the protective gear he wore.
Four forms, unidentifiable beneath their firefighter uniforms moved to the marked spot and readjusted the zeeks. There was a rumble and Raf spun around. Cody and Paul trudged around the corner of the street, huffing and pulling an old handcart. The large ancient wagon had been found in the back of a cluttered garage cleared just last week. Stacked across the frame and hanging over the sides were six more zeeks. Blood slowly ran out of one’s eye and stretched to the road, forming a red trail Raf was sure led all the way back to whichever part of the neighborhood his two friends had just emptied out.
The scene reminded him of an old comedy movie. Monty Python and the Holy Grail. A man had been dragging along a cart strewn with corpses very much like the one they were using now. Bring out yer dead! He’d yell to the plague-infested village as he collected the bodies. One large man brought the collector someone still moving.
"Dead" Man: I'm not dead!
Collector: 'Ere, he says he's not dead.
Large Man: Yes he is.
"Dead" Man: I'm not.
Collector: He isn't.
Large Man: Well, he will be soon, he's very ill.
"Dead" Man: I'm getting better.
Raf turned to the pile his group of survivors had formed, finding dozens of glazed, still faces rooted on him. I’m not dead yet. He shuddered and walked to the two approaching cart-pullers as he pulled off his mask. Instantly the smell of rot and decay grew ten-fold and he fought the urge to gag.
Paul pointed to Raf’s belt where the axe he’d received from the cop hung. “Matches nicely with the clothes.”
Raf shrugged his shoulders, ignoring the tease, and stuck his chin out to Cody. “Did you have any trouble?”
The twin grinned and spit on the ground. Blood covered his shirt and lay smeared across one cheek from chin to ear. Paul, his long shaggy hair looking nearly painted in blood, appeared no cleaner. Cody stretched out his arms. “No, but we did have a lot of fun. Check out the zeek Paul found.”
Raf looked into the wagon at the mentioned dead corpse and took a step back, frowning. The zeek was partially fused with another corpse. So fused in fact, that the second corpse didn’t even have an upper half. The torso and legs meshed into the other zeek’s side like some bulbous mutation, swollen and covered in large brown pustules. That wasn’t the only abnormality. The primary zeek’s neck was almost gone; the head seeming to almost grow directly from the collarbone.
“It’s huge too.” Cody added. “Hard to tell when it’s laying down. Found him in someone’s cellar, head scraping against the ceiling. Maybe nine feet tall. Twice as wide as a regular person. Terrifying to kill—took a few shots to the head before it dropped. Paul nearly pooped his pants.”
“What would cause this?” Raf whispered.
“Maybe the guy was really ugly before he died? Who knows?” Cody drawled.
Paul and Raf looked at each other with worry. The twin pulled out his bowie knife, spun it, and plunged the blade into the body. There was a wet snick! as he pulled the weapon back out. “Juicy.” he commented.
“You’re demented.” Paul groaned.
Cody grinned at them and winked. “You know it, my beauties.”
Raf put his mask on and organized the others to move the wagon zeeks to the large pile formed on the stretch of rural parkland. Scattered across the blackened, charred grass were three other mounds of burnt bones and ash. Weeks of cleaning out the neighborhood. Alex and Jessica—the confident girl from the bus—slid down the heap and stood on either side of Raf, gazing at their work.
Raf nudged Alex with his elbow. “Beats driving a bus?”
The skinny teen chuckled. “Hell no.”
Raf motioned for two teens to being pouring kerosene on the zeeks. The suit-clad figures stepped forward with large silver canisters.
“Wow, you really got everyone obeying your orders, oh gracious master.” Jessica mentioned sarcastically from Raf’s right. Raf looked to the girl and felt his body shiver. Even through the mask, he could see her steely gaze observing the pile of corpses. A small smile played on her lips and she crossed her arms. This was a girl that could deal some damage. He’d seen her give a beautiful smile then turn and plunge a machete right through a shambling zeek. He knew her comment hadn’t been out of anger. It was just part of an ongoing argument between them. She thought the group was too reliant on him. He thought they were fine. She’d tell him he shouldn’t be forced to micromanage everything. He’d argued saying he was fine. She’d tell him he said the word ‘fine’ too many times. He’d reply with ‘fine’.
When the two teens with the kerosene stepped off the pile, Cody approached them. The twin tapped one on the chest.
“Park, gimme your lighter.”
The guy scoffed and shoved past Cody. “Get your own damn lighter.”
Cody turned and grabbed at the guy’s firesuit. “Gimme your lighter. We have to burn the pile.”
Park, the black-haired boy Cody had gotten into a fist-fight with the first day they’d made it into the neighborhood, spun and shoved the twin.
Raf sighed. “Park, just do what he says.”
The boy turned to Raf and pointed his finger. “I respect you man, but not your blood-hound over here. He can get his own fire.”
“You light it then.” Paul said, jumping in to try and stop the incoming fight. The good-natured shaggy-haired teen put a hand on Cody’s shoulder and steered him away from Park. Cody walked off and stood next to his identical brother, who shook with mirth.
Park approached the pile and pulled a golden lighter from his pocket. He started a flame and it quickly swallowed up the mound. The group of teens stepped back as heat slammed into them. The rotten smell worsened and there were collective groans as people put their arms over their faces. The firefighter masks did little to hide the scent. Raf did some calculations in his head. That now made two-hundred-and-fourteen zeeks they’d killed.
It had been an impossible battle. Every time they went into a home and emptied it of the dead, they’d turn and see another zeek walking into town. So they adapted. Clear out a house of undead monsters, raid all useful items, board up all the entrances, move on. The method was successful. Cody and Paul had gone far to find those last six and Raf knew that soon, maybe they’d finally have a chance to feel safe.
Raf saw Cameron, Cody’s twin, tense up. The boy turned and pulled off his mask. There was a perplexed look to his face and he cocked his head. “Can you hear that?” he asked out. The rest of the group perked up. Cameron was right, there was a strange rumble in the distance.
“Sounds like something is coming this way…” Jessica muttered.
Raf’s eyes widened. Everyone else came to the same conclusion he did. Around him, weapons came out. Guns, knives, machetes, and even a baseball bat. Raf put one hand on his fireaxe and clenched his jaw.
“A parade of ‘em?” Park asked out, his deep voice sounding worried.
“Nah, not zeeks.” Alex shook his head. “This sounds different. Like… vehicles.”
“Maybe it’s the military! We’re saved!” someone shouted.
“Or it’s someone here to kill us and steal our stuff.” Cody growled. He made eye contact with Raf.
Raf nodded and the twin grabbed his brother’s submachine gun. He tossed the gun to Raf and removed the safety from his own. Raf and Cody walked to opposite ends of the street and crouched behind trees. They did so just in time. Three moving vans spun around the bend on the road, coming face-to-face with the firefighter-suit-wearing teens. The three vehicles pulled up and came to a stop.
Raf, peeking around the trunk of a fir, feeling his heart pound furiously. Definitely not military. His group; were they in danger?
There was a moment of stillness and everyone held in their breaths. The sun glared against the car windows, hiding definition to the drivers. The back doors to all three moving vans opened.
“Don’t shoot!” a voice yelled out. It was a cautious, yet gentle tone.
Forms began jumping out of the vans. Adults! Regular looking adults! Raf almost stepped around the tree. Almost. Something else came out of the vans. Something larger and bulky. The last three forms were unlike anything Raf had ever seen before. Well, he had seen something similar once—stuck underneath a burning tank like some form of melted metal bird.
What looked like three matte-black robots jumped onto the road. Three people wearing incredibly intimidating Avent Riot suits. The futuristic-looking armor covered the figures from head to toe, protecting the wearers from every angle. None of the suits looked exactly the same.
One boasted two red vertical stripes painted down the chest and what looked like a singular horn on the front of the helm. Another had a green ‘X’ across its front and antlers growing from the sides of the Avent’s head as if it was some Pagan God. The third held Raf’s attention the longest. Boasting a white starburst across its front, it walked forward with two horizontal demon horns protruding from its helmet. It was beautiful. Possibly the most beautiful thing Raf had ever seen in his life. He couldn’t tear his gaze away from the piece of machinery. It was more than just a mech suit. It was its own separate entity.
There was a pneumatic hiss and the helms began to come apart, retracting into themselves in an assembly of metal components, revealing the users beneath. The red Avent held a dark-skinned woman with a tired look on her face. She wiped at her eyes with a covered hand and gave a sigh of relief. The man inside the green Avent walked up to her and patted her shoulder sympathetically. The demonic white Avent took a step towards Raf’s group and the teens flinched, their guns wavering. The bearded man inside the suit laughed and flipped them off.
“Bunch o’ kids pissin’ themselves here. How the hell’d they kill so many zeeks?”
The kind-looking man in the green Avent stepped in front of the brutish man and shook his head disapprovingly.
“Shut up Chase. These kids look like they’ve been through the grinder.” The man smiled widely at the teens. “I’m Winston. You can holster your weapons. We’re not here to hurt you.”
A few people in Raf’s group lowered their guns. From behind the tree he hid, Raf could see Cody crouching beneath a trailer. The twin kept his gun trained on the spokesperson from the adult group.
“Look, we’re tired, hungry, and hurt. We want outta these suits and want a place to sleep without a zeek chewing on our buttcheeks.” the brutish man in the white Avent complained. He was the one called Chase.
Wilson sighed and gave Chase a frustrated glance. “What this dipwad of a younger brother means is it looks like you’ve set up base nearby. Can we rest there?”
Jessica stepped forward, the steely look in her eyes showing no fear towards the group of adults.
“How’d you find us?”
“You can see the smoke from miles away.” Wilson answered, pointing to the flaming pile of zeeks.
Jessica looked flustered. “Well—”
Wilson chuckled. “We’re not gonna hurt you girl. We just came back from more than two months of wandering this God-forsaken valley, trying to find a way out of it. Every exit is either blocked or infested with the dead. Best choice is to bunker down somewhere in the middle like you’re doing. All we need is a little help. Do you have any food?”
Raf watched as Cody crawled out from underneath the trailer and moved forward, gun up at the ready. Chase spotted him and spun in his white suit, a blade ejecting out from the Avent’s right arm. Cody stood stock-still, gun aimed at the man’s head. Chase gave a smile.
“Hey Wilson, check ‘im out. He’s a tough-looking one.”
The adults all focused on Cody.
“One shot.” the twin was saying. “One shot and that suit won’t mean anything. I’ll get to you before you get to me. You planning on robbing and killing us?”
Chase laughed and slapped his side. “I like ‘im! He’s gonna survive for sure!”
“No.” Wilson said with his hands up. “Nobody’s robbing anybody. We’re all friends here. You the leader of this little group?”
Raf saw Cody’s eyes twitch for a spit second in his direction, then back to Chase. “Yeah, I’m leader here.”
Wilson frowned and turned to follow Cody’s gaze. He’d caught the little gesture. Raf sighed and stepped out from behind the tree. The adults all turned to face him, surprise on their face. Raf lowered his gun.
“Cody, drop it. I think we’re okay. For now.”
The twin gave Raf a long hard look before lowering his gun. Raf focused on Wilson.
“Any word from anyone else. Anywhere?”
Wilson looked at Raf’s group and licked his lips. “You guys are the first people we’ve seen.”
Raf motioned for his group to stand down. He sighed and shouldered his gun. “Follow me. I’ll get you situated.”
Wilson grinned and his shoulders seemed to relax. “Thank you. Really, thank you.”
The dark-skinned woman walked up to Raf, her red suit stomping on the asphalt. She stuck out her hand. Hanging from it were three silver whistles. “Take ‘em.”
Raf frowned but grabbed the items. “Why?” he asked.
She scoffed. “They’re dog whistles. Too high-pitched for us to hear. The zeeks though, the go nuts at the sound. Come a’swarming right to you like a flood of hunger. Useful if you use it tactically.”
Raf looked at the whistles in a new perspective. “How’d you figure this out?”
The woman grimaced. “Wilson used to have a dog.”
Raf watched as lights came on in the opposing house, brightening up the night. He could hear the clunky generator running electricity from across the street. There was a whoop of laughter and a glass shattered.
“Those idiots are making a racket.” Cody said from behind him. Raf turned and drew the curtains closed. He walked into the kitchen where Cody stood, holding a crank-up lantern. Since moving in to their home over two months ago, the teens had all taken great pains to not make any noise or draw attention to themselves. Everything was hand-powered, food cooked in a fireplace, and showers taken cold from the water reserve connected to all the houses in the rich neighborhood.
“They’re relaxing. All they’ve done is run.” Raf argued. “They’re finally getting a break.”
Cody gave a sarcastic look as there was a shout and cheer from one of the adults. “Paul took one of the teens over to their place. Some kid named Jordan. Apparently the guy wants to learn how to start a generator. You know, just in case. I wanna head there myself. To monitor them.”
Raf nodded. “I’ll go with you.”
He followed the twin out of the house, wondering how the guy was so hard-headed. Would Cody have actually shot at the adults if Raf hadn’t stepped in?
They crossed the street and entered the large home that once housed a wealthy family. Adults moved about through the rooms, drinking, lounging, and smoking. Raf noticed the look on their faces. Exhaustion. Relief. They were like balloons releasing pressure. Cody grabbed at a passerby, asking where Paul and Jordan were. The man mentioned towards the garage. Cody and Raf moved on.
Inside the garage, they found the teens huddled over a large dusty generator, Wilson and Chase both explaining the mechanisms behind the machine. Raf’s eyes instantly turned to the three Avent suits resting empty against one wall. His gaze lingered on the white suit that belonged to Chase.
“Capital building.”
Raf turned and found Wilson standing next to him. “They were at the Capital building. Maybe three hundred dead soldiers and zeeks splattered all around the place. Those were the only suits still left still intact.”
He pointed to the red suit, the green, and then the white in turn.
“The Rhino, the Elk, and the Bull. That’s what we call them at least.”
“Have you killed any zeeks with them?” Raf asked, noticing the awe in his own voice.
“Only Chase. He killed one. Said it was like cutting butter with a hot knife. He picked up the zeek and split him in half easier than you could to a piece of bread. You should have seen it. Impressive. Apart from that time, we’ve been lucky enough to stay one step ahead of the parades.”
Raf walked up to the Bull, putting his hand on the white starburst and feeling the cool of the metal.
“I wish I had one of these. Would make it ten times easier to go out without worry and search for the Quarantine Zone.”
Wilson stiffened and his face grew stony. “Raf right? Look kid… I have to tell you something. It’s uh, its best if I tell you outside.”
Foreboding emanated from the man and Raf could sense worry creep into his own stomach. Cody and Paul noticed and turned away from the generator. As Wilson led Raf out of the garage, the two other teens followed, leaving Jordan and Chase behind.
Wilson took Raf out to the front lawn and stopped, looking up to the stars. Paul and Cody approached, silent and waiting.
“About the Quarantine Zone…” Wilson looked down to Raf with pain in his eyes. “We’re it.”
It was like someone had pressed the pause button. Raf felt his emotions freeze. His breath, his heart, and even his thoughts as well. Wilson licked his lips.
“We’re all that’s left.”
Paul collapsed to his knees. Cody sagged against him, his face a mask of anguish and anger. Raf tried to open his mouth, but couldn’t. Family… friends… all gone. Everyone from his life before the school football field—dead. The families of all the teens in his group—dead. His parents!
“How?” Cody croaked out.
“A parade. All it took was one bite. You know how fast it spreads. It was over so quickly… The people with me, my brother… we were the only ones to make it out of there. They had it at a prison. Thought it was going to be safe.”
There could still be survivors.” Paul whispered.
Wilson shook his head, tears in his eyes. “We went back. Looked from the edge of a clearing. The only movement came from shambling corpses, wandering in and out of destroyed doorways. There’s no one left.”
He started to back away from them, rubbing his hair. His face looked agonized. “Before the Q.Z. was infested we heard of another place. There’s a large group holding out in the airport. They have pilots and everything. But it’s over the mountains and out of the valley. We tried to get to them, but there’s too many zeeks, even with the suits. We’re stuck here.”
Wilson walked back up the porch steps and opened the door. “I’m so sorry. We’re all orphans now.”
He left. Paul turned his face away, tears in his eyes. Cody clenched his fists and looked to Raf.
“What do we do?”
Raf thought about his group. Their morale and how far they’d come. Their families. All dead. His family. Surviving with the knowledge that their families were dead… their only motivation to keep going was the hope of being rescued or finding the Quarantine Zone. But they were all dead.
“What do we do Raf?”
He turned and faced his two friends.
“We can’t tell them. For the sake of keeping the group together. We can’t do it.”
“When they find out, they’ll hate you for it.” Paul whispered.
Raf nodded, a pained look coming over his face. “They can’t know—yet. We have to be strong. Just a little longer.”
-Last words from a famous celebrity before being bitten
The naked corpse sagged against a tree; tossed there without thought or care. Another body piled on top of it, then another. There had to be at least eighty lifeless zeeks, their collective weight crushing the ones on the bottom. Each one had irreparable damage to its head as if the art of killing the already-dead had been mastered.
Raf pointed to a spot where the mound was starting to slide downwards onto the street. “Fix that up.” he commanded, his voice muffled under all the protective gear he wore.
Four forms, unidentifiable beneath their firefighter uniforms moved to the marked spot and readjusted the zeeks. There was a rumble and Raf spun around. Cody and Paul trudged around the corner of the street, huffing and pulling an old handcart. The large ancient wagon had been found in the back of a cluttered garage cleared just last week. Stacked across the frame and hanging over the sides were six more zeeks. Blood slowly ran out of one’s eye and stretched to the road, forming a red trail Raf was sure led all the way back to whichever part of the neighborhood his two friends had just emptied out.
The scene reminded him of an old comedy movie. Monty Python and the Holy Grail. A man had been dragging along a cart strewn with corpses very much like the one they were using now. Bring out yer dead! He’d yell to the plague-infested village as he collected the bodies. One large man brought the collector someone still moving.
"Dead" Man: I'm not dead!
Collector: 'Ere, he says he's not dead.
Large Man: Yes he is.
"Dead" Man: I'm not.
Collector: He isn't.
Large Man: Well, he will be soon, he's very ill.
"Dead" Man: I'm getting better.
Raf turned to the pile his group of survivors had formed, finding dozens of glazed, still faces rooted on him. I’m not dead yet. He shuddered and walked to the two approaching cart-pullers as he pulled off his mask. Instantly the smell of rot and decay grew ten-fold and he fought the urge to gag.
Paul pointed to Raf’s belt where the axe he’d received from the cop hung. “Matches nicely with the clothes.”
Raf shrugged his shoulders, ignoring the tease, and stuck his chin out to Cody. “Did you have any trouble?”
The twin grinned and spit on the ground. Blood covered his shirt and lay smeared across one cheek from chin to ear. Paul, his long shaggy hair looking nearly painted in blood, appeared no cleaner. Cody stretched out his arms. “No, but we did have a lot of fun. Check out the zeek Paul found.”
Raf looked into the wagon at the mentioned dead corpse and took a step back, frowning. The zeek was partially fused with another corpse. So fused in fact, that the second corpse didn’t even have an upper half. The torso and legs meshed into the other zeek’s side like some bulbous mutation, swollen and covered in large brown pustules. That wasn’t the only abnormality. The primary zeek’s neck was almost gone; the head seeming to almost grow directly from the collarbone.
“It’s huge too.” Cody added. “Hard to tell when it’s laying down. Found him in someone’s cellar, head scraping against the ceiling. Maybe nine feet tall. Twice as wide as a regular person. Terrifying to kill—took a few shots to the head before it dropped. Paul nearly pooped his pants.”
“What would cause this?” Raf whispered.
“Maybe the guy was really ugly before he died? Who knows?” Cody drawled.
Paul and Raf looked at each other with worry. The twin pulled out his bowie knife, spun it, and plunged the blade into the body. There was a wet snick! as he pulled the weapon back out. “Juicy.” he commented.
“You’re demented.” Paul groaned.
Cody grinned at them and winked. “You know it, my beauties.”
Raf put his mask on and organized the others to move the wagon zeeks to the large pile formed on the stretch of rural parkland. Scattered across the blackened, charred grass were three other mounds of burnt bones and ash. Weeks of cleaning out the neighborhood. Alex and Jessica—the confident girl from the bus—slid down the heap and stood on either side of Raf, gazing at their work.
Raf nudged Alex with his elbow. “Beats driving a bus?”
The skinny teen chuckled. “Hell no.”
Raf motioned for two teens to being pouring kerosene on the zeeks. The suit-clad figures stepped forward with large silver canisters.
“Wow, you really got everyone obeying your orders, oh gracious master.” Jessica mentioned sarcastically from Raf’s right. Raf looked to the girl and felt his body shiver. Even through the mask, he could see her steely gaze observing the pile of corpses. A small smile played on her lips and she crossed her arms. This was a girl that could deal some damage. He’d seen her give a beautiful smile then turn and plunge a machete right through a shambling zeek. He knew her comment hadn’t been out of anger. It was just part of an ongoing argument between them. She thought the group was too reliant on him. He thought they were fine. She’d tell him he shouldn’t be forced to micromanage everything. He’d argued saying he was fine. She’d tell him he said the word ‘fine’ too many times. He’d reply with ‘fine’.
When the two teens with the kerosene stepped off the pile, Cody approached them. The twin tapped one on the chest.
“Park, gimme your lighter.”
The guy scoffed and shoved past Cody. “Get your own damn lighter.”
Cody turned and grabbed at the guy’s firesuit. “Gimme your lighter. We have to burn the pile.”
Park, the black-haired boy Cody had gotten into a fist-fight with the first day they’d made it into the neighborhood, spun and shoved the twin.
Raf sighed. “Park, just do what he says.”
The boy turned to Raf and pointed his finger. “I respect you man, but not your blood-hound over here. He can get his own fire.”
“You light it then.” Paul said, jumping in to try and stop the incoming fight. The good-natured shaggy-haired teen put a hand on Cody’s shoulder and steered him away from Park. Cody walked off and stood next to his identical brother, who shook with mirth.
Park approached the pile and pulled a golden lighter from his pocket. He started a flame and it quickly swallowed up the mound. The group of teens stepped back as heat slammed into them. The rotten smell worsened and there were collective groans as people put their arms over their faces. The firefighter masks did little to hide the scent. Raf did some calculations in his head. That now made two-hundred-and-fourteen zeeks they’d killed.
It had been an impossible battle. Every time they went into a home and emptied it of the dead, they’d turn and see another zeek walking into town. So they adapted. Clear out a house of undead monsters, raid all useful items, board up all the entrances, move on. The method was successful. Cody and Paul had gone far to find those last six and Raf knew that soon, maybe they’d finally have a chance to feel safe.
Raf saw Cameron, Cody’s twin, tense up. The boy turned and pulled off his mask. There was a perplexed look to his face and he cocked his head. “Can you hear that?” he asked out. The rest of the group perked up. Cameron was right, there was a strange rumble in the distance.
“Sounds like something is coming this way…” Jessica muttered.
Raf’s eyes widened. Everyone else came to the same conclusion he did. Around him, weapons came out. Guns, knives, machetes, and even a baseball bat. Raf put one hand on his fireaxe and clenched his jaw.
“A parade of ‘em?” Park asked out, his deep voice sounding worried.
“Nah, not zeeks.” Alex shook his head. “This sounds different. Like… vehicles.”
“Maybe it’s the military! We’re saved!” someone shouted.
“Or it’s someone here to kill us and steal our stuff.” Cody growled. He made eye contact with Raf.
Raf nodded and the twin grabbed his brother’s submachine gun. He tossed the gun to Raf and removed the safety from his own. Raf and Cody walked to opposite ends of the street and crouched behind trees. They did so just in time. Three moving vans spun around the bend on the road, coming face-to-face with the firefighter-suit-wearing teens. The three vehicles pulled up and came to a stop.
Raf, peeking around the trunk of a fir, feeling his heart pound furiously. Definitely not military. His group; were they in danger?
There was a moment of stillness and everyone held in their breaths. The sun glared against the car windows, hiding definition to the drivers. The back doors to all three moving vans opened.
“Don’t shoot!” a voice yelled out. It was a cautious, yet gentle tone.
Forms began jumping out of the vans. Adults! Regular looking adults! Raf almost stepped around the tree. Almost. Something else came out of the vans. Something larger and bulky. The last three forms were unlike anything Raf had ever seen before. Well, he had seen something similar once—stuck underneath a burning tank like some form of melted metal bird.
What looked like three matte-black robots jumped onto the road. Three people wearing incredibly intimidating Avent Riot suits. The futuristic-looking armor covered the figures from head to toe, protecting the wearers from every angle. None of the suits looked exactly the same.
One boasted two red vertical stripes painted down the chest and what looked like a singular horn on the front of the helm. Another had a green ‘X’ across its front and antlers growing from the sides of the Avent’s head as if it was some Pagan God. The third held Raf’s attention the longest. Boasting a white starburst across its front, it walked forward with two horizontal demon horns protruding from its helmet. It was beautiful. Possibly the most beautiful thing Raf had ever seen in his life. He couldn’t tear his gaze away from the piece of machinery. It was more than just a mech suit. It was its own separate entity.
There was a pneumatic hiss and the helms began to come apart, retracting into themselves in an assembly of metal components, revealing the users beneath. The red Avent held a dark-skinned woman with a tired look on her face. She wiped at her eyes with a covered hand and gave a sigh of relief. The man inside the green Avent walked up to her and patted her shoulder sympathetically. The demonic white Avent took a step towards Raf’s group and the teens flinched, their guns wavering. The bearded man inside the suit laughed and flipped them off.
“Bunch o’ kids pissin’ themselves here. How the hell’d they kill so many zeeks?”
The kind-looking man in the green Avent stepped in front of the brutish man and shook his head disapprovingly.
“Shut up Chase. These kids look like they’ve been through the grinder.” The man smiled widely at the teens. “I’m Winston. You can holster your weapons. We’re not here to hurt you.”
A few people in Raf’s group lowered their guns. From behind the tree he hid, Raf could see Cody crouching beneath a trailer. The twin kept his gun trained on the spokesperson from the adult group.
“Look, we’re tired, hungry, and hurt. We want outta these suits and want a place to sleep without a zeek chewing on our buttcheeks.” the brutish man in the white Avent complained. He was the one called Chase.
Wilson sighed and gave Chase a frustrated glance. “What this dipwad of a younger brother means is it looks like you’ve set up base nearby. Can we rest there?”
Jessica stepped forward, the steely look in her eyes showing no fear towards the group of adults.
“How’d you find us?”
“You can see the smoke from miles away.” Wilson answered, pointing to the flaming pile of zeeks.
Jessica looked flustered. “Well—”
Wilson chuckled. “We’re not gonna hurt you girl. We just came back from more than two months of wandering this God-forsaken valley, trying to find a way out of it. Every exit is either blocked or infested with the dead. Best choice is to bunker down somewhere in the middle like you’re doing. All we need is a little help. Do you have any food?”
Raf watched as Cody crawled out from underneath the trailer and moved forward, gun up at the ready. Chase spotted him and spun in his white suit, a blade ejecting out from the Avent’s right arm. Cody stood stock-still, gun aimed at the man’s head. Chase gave a smile.
“Hey Wilson, check ‘im out. He’s a tough-looking one.”
The adults all focused on Cody.
“One shot.” the twin was saying. “One shot and that suit won’t mean anything. I’ll get to you before you get to me. You planning on robbing and killing us?”
Chase laughed and slapped his side. “I like ‘im! He’s gonna survive for sure!”
“No.” Wilson said with his hands up. “Nobody’s robbing anybody. We’re all friends here. You the leader of this little group?”
Raf saw Cody’s eyes twitch for a spit second in his direction, then back to Chase. “Yeah, I’m leader here.”
Wilson frowned and turned to follow Cody’s gaze. He’d caught the little gesture. Raf sighed and stepped out from behind the tree. The adults all turned to face him, surprise on their face. Raf lowered his gun.
“Cody, drop it. I think we’re okay. For now.”
The twin gave Raf a long hard look before lowering his gun. Raf focused on Wilson.
“Any word from anyone else. Anywhere?”
Wilson looked at Raf’s group and licked his lips. “You guys are the first people we’ve seen.”
Raf motioned for his group to stand down. He sighed and shouldered his gun. “Follow me. I’ll get you situated.”
Wilson grinned and his shoulders seemed to relax. “Thank you. Really, thank you.”
The dark-skinned woman walked up to Raf, her red suit stomping on the asphalt. She stuck out her hand. Hanging from it were three silver whistles. “Take ‘em.”
Raf frowned but grabbed the items. “Why?” he asked.
She scoffed. “They’re dog whistles. Too high-pitched for us to hear. The zeeks though, the go nuts at the sound. Come a’swarming right to you like a flood of hunger. Useful if you use it tactically.”
Raf looked at the whistles in a new perspective. “How’d you figure this out?”
The woman grimaced. “Wilson used to have a dog.”
Raf watched as lights came on in the opposing house, brightening up the night. He could hear the clunky generator running electricity from across the street. There was a whoop of laughter and a glass shattered.
“Those idiots are making a racket.” Cody said from behind him. Raf turned and drew the curtains closed. He walked into the kitchen where Cody stood, holding a crank-up lantern. Since moving in to their home over two months ago, the teens had all taken great pains to not make any noise or draw attention to themselves. Everything was hand-powered, food cooked in a fireplace, and showers taken cold from the water reserve connected to all the houses in the rich neighborhood.
“They’re relaxing. All they’ve done is run.” Raf argued. “They’re finally getting a break.”
Cody gave a sarcastic look as there was a shout and cheer from one of the adults. “Paul took one of the teens over to their place. Some kid named Jordan. Apparently the guy wants to learn how to start a generator. You know, just in case. I wanna head there myself. To monitor them.”
Raf nodded. “I’ll go with you.”
He followed the twin out of the house, wondering how the guy was so hard-headed. Would Cody have actually shot at the adults if Raf hadn’t stepped in?
They crossed the street and entered the large home that once housed a wealthy family. Adults moved about through the rooms, drinking, lounging, and smoking. Raf noticed the look on their faces. Exhaustion. Relief. They were like balloons releasing pressure. Cody grabbed at a passerby, asking where Paul and Jordan were. The man mentioned towards the garage. Cody and Raf moved on.
Inside the garage, they found the teens huddled over a large dusty generator, Wilson and Chase both explaining the mechanisms behind the machine. Raf’s eyes instantly turned to the three Avent suits resting empty against one wall. His gaze lingered on the white suit that belonged to Chase.
“Capital building.”
Raf turned and found Wilson standing next to him. “They were at the Capital building. Maybe three hundred dead soldiers and zeeks splattered all around the place. Those were the only suits still left still intact.”
He pointed to the red suit, the green, and then the white in turn.
“The Rhino, the Elk, and the Bull. That’s what we call them at least.”
“Have you killed any zeeks with them?” Raf asked, noticing the awe in his own voice.
“Only Chase. He killed one. Said it was like cutting butter with a hot knife. He picked up the zeek and split him in half easier than you could to a piece of bread. You should have seen it. Impressive. Apart from that time, we’ve been lucky enough to stay one step ahead of the parades.”
Raf walked up to the Bull, putting his hand on the white starburst and feeling the cool of the metal.
“I wish I had one of these. Would make it ten times easier to go out without worry and search for the Quarantine Zone.”
Wilson stiffened and his face grew stony. “Raf right? Look kid… I have to tell you something. It’s uh, its best if I tell you outside.”
Foreboding emanated from the man and Raf could sense worry creep into his own stomach. Cody and Paul noticed and turned away from the generator. As Wilson led Raf out of the garage, the two other teens followed, leaving Jordan and Chase behind.
Wilson took Raf out to the front lawn and stopped, looking up to the stars. Paul and Cody approached, silent and waiting.
“About the Quarantine Zone…” Wilson looked down to Raf with pain in his eyes. “We’re it.”
It was like someone had pressed the pause button. Raf felt his emotions freeze. His breath, his heart, and even his thoughts as well. Wilson licked his lips.
“We’re all that’s left.”
Paul collapsed to his knees. Cody sagged against him, his face a mask of anguish and anger. Raf tried to open his mouth, but couldn’t. Family… friends… all gone. Everyone from his life before the school football field—dead. The families of all the teens in his group—dead. His parents!
“How?” Cody croaked out.
“A parade. All it took was one bite. You know how fast it spreads. It was over so quickly… The people with me, my brother… we were the only ones to make it out of there. They had it at a prison. Thought it was going to be safe.”
There could still be survivors.” Paul whispered.
Wilson shook his head, tears in his eyes. “We went back. Looked from the edge of a clearing. The only movement came from shambling corpses, wandering in and out of destroyed doorways. There’s no one left.”
He started to back away from them, rubbing his hair. His face looked agonized. “Before the Q.Z. was infested we heard of another place. There’s a large group holding out in the airport. They have pilots and everything. But it’s over the mountains and out of the valley. We tried to get to them, but there’s too many zeeks, even with the suits. We’re stuck here.”
Wilson walked back up the porch steps and opened the door. “I’m so sorry. We’re all orphans now.”
He left. Paul turned his face away, tears in his eyes. Cody clenched his fists and looked to Raf.
“What do we do?”
Raf thought about his group. Their morale and how far they’d come. Their families. All dead. His family. Surviving with the knowledge that their families were dead… their only motivation to keep going was the hope of being rescued or finding the Quarantine Zone. But they were all dead.
“What do we do Raf?”
He turned and faced his two friends.
“We can’t tell them. For the sake of keeping the group together. We can’t do it.”
“When they find out, they’ll hate you for it.” Paul whispered.
Raf nodded, a pained look coming over his face. “They can’t know—yet. We have to be strong. Just a little longer.”
