Into the Darkness: Chapter Three
#3 of Into the Darkness
I looked down at my uniform, and sighed. I took my boot off the kid, and slung my SAW on my back. I reached down and helped him up, and nodded to him. "Sorry about that. Being a soldier gets you nothing anymore these days. I've been shot at by humans just as much as walkers at this point." I said. "Its fine sir, we understand." Nathan said, and extended his hand. "Call me Nate sir." "Call me Russo. And no need for sir, I am only a year older than you." I said, and removed my mask. I saw the look of surprise on all of their faces. "Sorry to surprise." "No, its just, how old are you?" The father asked. "I am 17, and turn 18 in a few days if I remember correctly. Ha, I always joked with my squad about how we were going to party till the world stopped when I finally turned 18. I was the youngest by a few years, and they all were going to sneak me into the bars." I chuckled, and I felt a tear form up in my eye. I quickly wiped it away, and looked away quickly. The mother came over, but kept her distance. "Are you okay honey?" She asked, and then braved stepping forward and placing her hand on my shoulder. "Yea, I just miss em." I said, and shook my head. "What happened to them?" The little girl asked, and walked over to me. "Cindy, leave it be." Her father said sternly. "It's okay sir, their deaths were honorable as any." I said, and then kneeled down, and looked at Cindy directly in the eyes. "They fought with me and they, well, they didn't make it." I said as gently as I could. "Like grandma?" She asked, looking up at her mother. "Yes honey, like grandma." She said softly. She looked up at me with sympathy in her eyes, and then at her husband. He chuckled, and then looked at me. "She wants you to come with us." I looked at them, and smiled. "I can stick with you guys for a bit, but I might head off on my own soon." I said. "Are you headed to anywhere in particular?" He asked. "Yea, I am headed to the safe zone. I had transport up there, but things kinda went haywire quick, and I became separated. They'll make it fine." I said, and smiled. "I just have to get my sorry butt up there to meet them!" The mother smiled, and then said, "Well, we don't have much, but would you like to join us for dinner?" She asked. "That would be nice." I said, and smiled. "I can provide my own meal though." I said, and pulled out an MRE. "Whats that?" Cindy asked. "It is like a full meal in plastic." I said, and pulled out 4 more. I had 7, so after this I would only have two left. I handed them out to the family, who looked at the meals in wonder. "But just as a forewarning, they don't always taste the best. But its warm, and it will keep you alive." I said, "Plus sometimes they have cookies!" They all laughed, and we went back to their campsite, where I helped the father and son make a campfire. I left them my old flint and steel, because I had my other still in my pack. "Thanks! We were almost out of lighter fluid for the Zippo." The father chuckled. "That flint and steel should last you for a good month sir. More than enough time to gather supplies from either the highway or there should be a local town nearby. Might have a few supplies left if you look hard enough." I said. "We were afraid of going anywhere, with the gangs and such out and about." The father admitted sheepishly. "I can help you if you would like. Teach you how to scavenge without ever being seen, and what to do if you are spotted." I said. "That would be awesome! Can we start right now?" Nate asked eagerly. "We could do a quick supply run and be back by nightfall." I said, looking at his mother, "And we would be completely safe." I said, and patted the SAW affectionately. "I don't know..." She said, and looked at her husband nervously. "Let the boys go. I trust him. And we need to let our son go sometimes." He said, walking over to him, and placing his hands on his shoulders, looking eye to eye with him. "Son, I will let you go, but you must listen to anything he says without question. Understand?" "I will dad." He said, and gave him a hug. His dad smiled, and wiped a tear away. "Alright, go then. But give your mother a quick kiss before you go." He smiled. Nate nodded, and walked over to his mother, giving her a quick peck on the cheek, and she wrapped him up in a hug. "Be safe." She whispered. "I will be." He smiled back, and she let go, and he walked over to me, and I gestured for him to go first, and he started walking off. I nodded to both before donning my mask again and following him, nodding to his father, who wished me luck.
After an hour, we came to the edge of a small town. It was just reaching noon, which meant I had slept for quite a while before the family found me. "Hey, I have a question for you." Nate asked, as he huffed to keep up with me. I stopped, and quickly entered a house through a shattered window, and then helped him through. "Whats up?" I asked, motioning for him to sit down. "How did you join the army?" He asked. "I just talked with a recruiter, and I joined. Joined the national guard, and I have served about 4 months now." "Have you killed any of them?" He asked. "Yea, I think 3 ferals, and 7 walkers." I said, dumping canned food into my assault pack, and continuing to lok around the kitchen. "That had to feel great, killing all of them!" He grinned. I stopped what I was doing, and sighed. "Killing somebody isn't what you think." I said quietly, and resumed what I was doing. "But they are our enemy!" He said, leaning forward. "Yes and no. What enemy in the history of the world has offered a safe zone for civilias to flock to?" I asked. He sputtered for a minute, then became quiet. He was about to say something when I heard something creak right above us. I motioned for him to be quiet, and picked up my SAW, which had been slung around my neck. I walked over to the steps, and carefully looked around the corner. Nothing was there, and I slowly started up the steps of the house, and I tried to avoid the broken steps. Once I had reached the top of the steps, I saw four doors in the hallway; two on the left, on the right, and one at the end. I walked to the first door on the left, and slowly turned the handle, my weapon ready. Inside lay a room packed with boxes, and after a quick sweep, I determined the room was clear. I moved on the second foom, the only door on the right. Again, this one was clear, but it appeared to be a bedroom. I decided to check the last door on the left, and as I opened the door, I noticed blood on the floor, which led to the last door. I walked over to the last door, and braced for whatever lay behind it. I quickly opened up the door, and cleared it. The blood stopped ubruptly at the closet door. "Is everything okay?" Nate whispered, scaring me, and I whipped around and pointed my weapon at him. He yelped and ducked behind the door, and I heard the closet door flung open from behind me, and I spun back around, losing my balance and landing on the floor. I felt something heavy land on my chest, trying to pin my arms to the ground. I looked up to see a man who was covered in blood breathing ragedly above me. He had my arms almost pinned, so I shoved my body up and headbutted him in the face. He yelled in pain, and fell back. I crawled away quickly, and got back up. He stood at the other end of the room, and I saw him start to pull out a pistol, which was strapped in its case, going nowhere. My SAW out of reach, I quickly took action, dashing forward and smashing into him and sending us both out of the second story window which was right behind him. He screamed as we fell, and when we hit, I heard his back crack, and I landed heavily, my armor crashing down on top of me. I lay there for a few minutes, trying to catch my breath which had been knocked abruptly out of my body. I heard Nate go tearing down the steps, and then the door fling open as he ran out over to me. "Oh god, are you alright?" He asked, a terrified look on his face. "Yea, I'm fine. I've had worse falls." I said, and rolled onto my side, and then looked up at him. "Little help if you wouldn't mind?" I asked. He nodded, and leaned down, putting his head under my arm and lifting me up. I wobbled to my feet, but nodded to the house and I was able to walk under my own power, with Nate close behind me just in case. Once we got inside, I decided to not press our luck, and decided to grab out gear, and the food and supplies we had collected, and hit the road back. Nate ran upstairs and grabbed my SAW, thankfully keeping his finger away from the trigger. That's the last thing we needed, was any more attention.
The trip was quiet on the way back, and out of the corner of my eye I could see that Nate had a look of defeat on his face. As much as I wanted to be angry at him for his mistake which had almost gotten me killed, I could only feel sorry. "Hey, stop for a minute, would you?" I asked, sitting down. It was both time to talk to him and to rest for a bit, because my ribs were starting to hurt. "Yea, you okay?" He asked nervously. "Yea. And what happened back there, look Nate it was an accident. We both made it out just fine." I said. "I know, but you almost didn't!" He exclaimed. "Horseshoes and hand grenades bud." I chuckled, as I stood back up, and we got moving again. He just shook his head, but seemed to be in a much better mood as I joked along with him the whole way back.
When we got back to camp, the first thing I noticed was there was not a single peep from them. He ran ahead of me before I could stop him, yelling out, "Cindy! Mom! Dad! We're back!" "Nathan wait!" I whispered harshly, but it was to late. I saw the brush move as a feral moved out, stepping toward Nathan. I raised my SAW, and pulled the trigger, but I had forgotten to take the safety off. With a push of the safety, I aimed and fired, as I watched the rounds slam into the front of his chest, and he roared, seeing me as more of a threat, and he slashed at Nathan, who fell off to the side. He charged at me, and I fired another burst as I watched them hit him in the muzzle, and as he was only the size of a mini cooper, the rounds went through, and into his skull. He skidded to a stop, as I breathed hard. I quickly ran over to Nate, who was thrashing around. "Oh God. Nate you are going to be fine!" I said, as I let my SAW rest at my side as the strap held it, and I grabbed him. He had been slashed in the neck, and blood poured out of it, and some most likely into his neck . I used my gloved hand to cover it, trying to keep the blood in, but it squirted out around my hand, and I reached into my med kit for a slap bandage, which I hastily tried to put on his neck. He reached up to grab my collar, fear in his eyes. "You will be alright, just stay with me." I said, trying to calm him. I watched his eyes slowly close. I slapped him on the cheek, leaving blood on his face. "Stay awake! Stay AWAKE!" I yelled, but his eyes closed, and I watched the final breath leave his body. I held him tight to my chest, as I rocked back and forth, now sobbing.
Hopefully a good chapter? Comments are loved by the way!