Walking Bodies

by Durman, Jason

  "Unless you can magically summon an assault rifle, then I say we're pretty fucked if we get caught." I patted around my pockets, a smile gracing my lips as I felt the slick metal of a pistol before it disappeared. "Two handguns low on ammo vs an army of rapid fire, you do the math." I sighed, also checking for the knife I kept tucked away.

  My ears peaked and I could hear the faint sound of voices and metal clanging from down below. I paid no attention to it, deeming it as just another group of buddies taking a stroll. I shivered; I could really use some sun rays right now, but it was still concealed behind the clouds, a large greyish white circle where it should have been.

  Aaron grumbled, his expression shifting to something other than anger or plain blankness for once: boredom, or annoyed, or maybe irritated. Even without anything covering his face, it was difficult telling what he was thinking. While some people may be an open book, Aaron was like a picture: Seemed frozen to one expression and rarely showed emotion, aside from the occasional smirk or so.

  Rolling my eyes, I took the second gun from out the back of my jeans, placing it with the other in my front pocket. The vest strapped around my front budged out a little, but if I hunched a certain way it would only seemed as if I had put on weight. A smiled spread across my face and I chuckled. "Great, now me and the guys can be beer belly buddies…"

  Steve, Doug, and even Aiden always had a slightly pudgy middle section. I remember the times where Steve could of passed it off as a result of old age, but we picked on Aiden every now and then about it. He would shrug us off, saying that it was actually just massive abs hidden underneath his biker vest. But everyone would laugh and we'd make fun of his goatee instead.

  I wonder what they're doing now.

  Sitting on the floor, I finally took a look around. The buildings looked all the same, and the only two things I found worthy of noting was the radio tower down the street and the huge library off in the distance. Judging by the amount of people surrounded around it, I guess that the library was the equivalent of Paradise's town hall.

  "So," I began, had forgotten about the rifle incident. I'm sure it was somewhere in that ally, too far to head back for it now. "Where to now, buddy?" I inquired, leaned on one hand and using the other to massage my jaw. The voices and loud noises below had grown louder. There was many people shouting all at once, overlapping each other enough where I couldn't pinpoint on what all the commotion was about. It sounded like an overcrowded auction.

  An unclear sound emitted from his throat. I shrugged. "Tower it is then-" A sneeze interrupted me, and I shuddered again. The cold was beginning to seep through the jacket and I crossed my arms over myself in a futile attempt to keep heat in. My teeth started to chatter, and dim throb in my tongue spiked to its full limit again. I moaned in annoyance.

  Aaron shifted, leaning towards me and sniffing in my direction. I raised a brow. "I don't stink, do I?" I tried to grin, but my tongue refused to work with the rest of my mouth. Using my hands, I stuck out my tongue gripping it with my fingers. There was a tiny prickle of blood flowing and it dripping from my mouth to the ground, a droplet splattering on the roof.

  "See what you made me do?" I mumbled, keeping my mouth open. My words came out jumbled and mixed together, but Aaron didn't seem to mind. The red fluid trickled down my chin and I licked around my mouth in reflex, sighing when I realized that the small amount of blood had smeared. Congrats on turning into a clown, Sara.

  For a measly tongue bite, it bled buckets.

  I heard a soft snicker. Alarmed, I turned to Aaron, but he was still has plain faced as he was before. Only, he seemed to be distracted, eyes glazed a bit. I was about to give a snarky comment on how drunk he looked before he leaned forward, a clawed hand grasping the sides of my face.

  His own tongue dragged roughly across my mouth, which I had enough sense to close it in time. It left a wet, slick trail on my skin and my clown stained smile was wiped away. He licked the last of the blood away, and it was a long, awkward moment before I regained my sense of reality, and reacted how any girl would of in a situation like this: A hurricane of limbs and curses.

  My foot found its way to his chest and I kicked him back. He lept backwards, but hardly stumbled. Rolling over on my side, I spat out any fluid in my mouth and wiped furiously with my sleeve. No matter how hard I rubbed, the feeling of his tongue lingered and I began to feel a little sick in the stomach.

  My face was clean, but I would of rather it been caked in mud and Spitter bile then had to use Aaron's salvia as a face wipe. "You little shit," I coughed, "Is this your twisted idea of revenge? That was fucking disgusting!" I yelled, my voice amplifying intensely. It didn't need to worry about that, since the streets below was now equivalent to a parade.

  Rolling back over, I debated on whether or not it was a good idea to sling another kick at him. The need deepened when I caught a small movement, the corner of his mouth tSirened upwards. I glared hard at his smug face, my hand held defensively over my mouth. The pain that flowed in my tongue seemed very insignificant all of a sudden.

  "Fuck you, Aaron" I uttered, but my insult was drowned in the sounds coming from below. "You do anything like that again, and I swear I'll shoot you" I threatened, scooting away from the Leaper. While he didn't carry a smirk, it was clear that he was amused by my reaction, which only angered me more.

  I continued to back away from the special infected until I reached the edge, coming to a halt before I launched myself off the end. I gasped, watching the happy people below as they moved amongst each other.

  It really did look like a parade; all it needed now was a beaming sun glaring into their backs. The once empty streets were now booming with people of all kinds, but most of them wore things that became useless and worthless once the outbreak had begun. Jewelry, handbags, some women were even wearing heels. Ladies wore pearl necklaces and earrings to match, while men walked around in suits and ties.

  The people we had seen when we first entered weren't dressed like this. Those people wore clean, regular casual clothing. So that means whoever these people were, they were Paradise's 'elites', which simply was a different way to put 'rich' and 'privileged'.

  But it wasn't the fancy attire of the humans I was interested in, it was what-or really who- they were dragging behind them.

  A Trapper followed a man as he walked with what I assumed was his wife. A black leash led from the man's hand to the Trapper's neck, where it attached to a color wrapped around his throat. The tumors that usually covered half of a Trapper's face and ear were cut off, a bloody bandage wrapped around the spot where it should have been.

  I gasped, horrified. Everything they had said what apparently true, and from what I could see, it was much worse. Doug had put it lightly.

  The Trapper wore ragged clothes, no shoes, and looked just absolutely miserable. Bloody gashes that covered his ankles and knees hinted that he might have been dragged all over the place. Trappers are normally skinny, but this one looked like a gust of wind would have snapped him in half. He was extremely underfed.

  The man and his wife stopped, and pointed at something. I grit my teeth, disgusted. A man waved around a cane, trying to grab the couple's attention. After they waved him off and sauntered away, the man still attempted to sell.

  The'merchandise' was sobbing; down on her knees and limbs tied together. The chains around her wrist looked too tight, cutting into her pasty grey skin. It was the same with her feet. The Siren appeared to have been bathed, since I didn't see any blood or filth caught in her white, stringy hair.

  Many stopped and watched the wailing woman weep, some even smiled. I couldn't hear what the cane wielding man was yelling to the crowd, but whatever it was I assumed it had something to do with the paper tag that had been tied around her right foot.

  They weren't the only ones. Up and down the street people were bringing out special infected, either chained or tied up. Some were missing tumors, some limbs, and some wearing strange
outfits, chosen by their owners no doubt. Everyone was picking a spot on the side of the road, set their merchandise in place and chanted.

  A crowd had begun to form near the cane wielding man and his Siren, laughing and pointing. Among them, I heard the bidding price rise higher and higher.

  I would of kept staring if the sun hadn't of revealed itself behind the clouds and shined directly in my face. Dispite it now being late in the date, it was still shining strong. I covered my eyes, turning when I heard shuffling behind me. Aaron had strapped his mask back on, trying his best to avoid from looking directly into the sunlight.

  I grabbed my own mask and strapped it on. Giving one last glance to the black market, I stood up. "Alright, let's get moving." I walked to the edge of the building. About the foot below was another roof, and the distance wasn't that far. The logic in my head told me I was an idiot, but my gut was telling me I was too angry to care.

  With a running start, I leaped. Landing on the roof safely, I turned to see if Aaron would follow. He wasn't even there anymore, and was already two roofs away, waiting. I rolled my eyes. "Don't show off, I'm not used to this." He smugly hunched on his hind legs, making an impatient noise.

  The tower wasn't but a few buildings away anyway. From where I was, I could see a ladder lined up the side of the tower. All I needed was to reach that ladder and make my way up. The tower stood above everything else in town, and if I was able to reach the top, I could make a decent layout of the town. Not sure what we'll do after that, but I'll figure it out.

  Taking a deep breath, I leaped again. This time I landed with a skid, almost losing my footing. My arms flailed around and I was able to prevent myself from making any sort of distress noise. Once I had regained my balance, I refused to acknowledge Aaron snickering a distance away.

  He was always one step ahead, and I soon gave up on trying keeping up. Every time I even came close, he was in the air, doing some fancy parkour trick that would probably kill me if I even attempted at it. At one point he flipped in the air, landing on his hands and springing back up on his feet. At this, I groaned. Yeah, I'm not the most graceful being on the planet, that's for sure. But that did not mean he had to rub it in my face.

  When we finally reached the tower, I was crouching, gasping for breath with both hands on my knees. I coughed, my lungs clouding. My mask slipped off and I held it while I breathed the non-constricted air. Once I was sure my lungs were satisfied, I strapped it back on, not liking how every time I did so it would press harshly at my cheeks.

  I carefully leaned outwards, reaching for the ladder. I had barely grasped the metal bar before the solid ground left my feet and I was left dangling from an extremely high height. Aaron crouched nearby, waiting patiently for me to ascend. Well, it was high to me. To him, four stories were probably four inches.

  Making sure I had each bar solidly in my hands before moving up, I slowly rose. It wasn't till I reached the top did I let out he breath I didn't realize I was holding it. I launched myself up, curling my knees up to my chest and resting on the balcony wall. I'm fine, it's not like one little slip would have cost me my life or anything.

  Aaron scaled up the railing as I took the ladder, moving at the same rate as I was. I glanced at him, or really his gasmask, as he crouched beside me. "You would have caught me if I fell, right?" I asked, half joking, half serious. The Leaper hesitated before shrugging. That seemed to be the only gesture he knew.

  Crossing my arms, I sighed. "Good to know you've got my back" I spat sarcastically, standing up to my full height. Without thinking, I looked over the edge of the balcony and my stomach did backflips. And what was even worse, what that from this height I could clearly see that the black market stretched much further than just one street. The streets were so crowded with people that I couldn't make out the grey of the concrete. I noted the lack of officers, not sure whether it was because they didn't know about it, or they just ignored it.

  There was a wooden door on the side of the wall, and I grasped the knob without hesitation, more focused on getting inside then knowing on what in it. I flung it open, and the survivor in me came to life and guided my hands to my pockets, bringing both guns up. Luckily for us, it was empty.

  The floor was green carpeted, and a single chair sat upturned in the corner. On one side of the room was a massive window, the other was a large table bolted to the wall, covered with buttons and sSirenes. Under each button was a piece of paper stuck to the surface, labeling what it was. I wasn't able to understand it anyway, I never worked in music.

  The one thing that stood out was the electric glow of each button, telling me that the radio station had power.

  Aaron strutted inside and I shut the door behind us. It was bigger on the inside than it showed on the outside. He had taken his mask off, and I couldn't pin point where he tossed it off too. The room was dark, and the light blue glow of the buttons was casting a blue tint across the room, overlapping the light that entered through the window.

  Aaron looked tired, more exhausted than I was. He didn't seem angry anymore, but he definitely wasn't that hyper ball of energy he was a few days ago. If anything, I'd say he resorting back to the statue like, cautious behavior, similar when to we had first met. I thought back when I had forced him to reveal his face, how furious he was. Maybe that severed whatever 'friendship' we had developed and he only stayed because he was either too involved or needed food. Did he ever regret following me out of the woods?

  There was a loud crash and Aaron leapt back, hissing at the now flashing lights that came from the table. I grinned. Maybe I was wrong. "Serves you right. You can't just poke everything you see and expect nothing to happen." I moved to pat him on the back, a simple comfort. He hissed had my intruding hand and the pat turned into a slap on the shoulder. "Stop making that noise." I complained. "It's annoying."

  He ignored me, approaching the lights and prodded them again, pressing them in a random pattern. I rolled my eyes. "If set an alarm off or something, I'll shoot you." My words went unnoticed. "I mean it." I repeated, but his attention was still latched onto the lights and colors. He was nothing more than a toddler. A superhuman, always hungry, reckless, sun light hating toddler.

  Something bumped the back of my heel and I spun around. Behind the door, a little open crate with objects placed disorganized sat, and I leaned down, shuffling through the items. You never know what you could find.

  I pulled out something dark blue, rotating it in my hands and smiled. "Hey, Aaron" I held the cap up, and he glared at it with interest. "Look what I found."

  With some hesitation, he crawled over to me, flinching away when I made to place it on his head. "It'll shield you're eyes." I commented, and he stopped mid-escape. "You won't have to wear the mask anymore, besides, I'm not sure If we'll even need them much longer." I didn't mention the fact that I had no idea what he had done with his anyway.

  If we stayed on top of rooftops, there was no need for any disguise. With that thought, I remembered my own and unstrapped it, tossing it in the crate as to prove my point. The Leaper watched as it landed among the other misc. items and turned back to face me. Now that I could clearly see him, his eyebrow was arched, questioning. He looked incredibly human.

  "Here" I held the hat out, and he slowly raised his clawed fingers to take it. He placed it upon his head, and once again, his eyes were hidden from me. I chuckled, flicking it upward. He growled, immediately moving it back down again. It shadowed his eyes and the only difference from the hood now was that I could see his hair.

  "Maybe giving you that wasn't such a good idea" I mused out loud, and he snarled playfully, poking a claw at my jacket. I shrugged it off, and tossed on the chair in the corner. Moaning, I stretched my back and began to pop my fingers. I had forgotten how heavy that thing was.

  Aaron had returned to his shenanigans with the sound bored again, and I shook my head. If he got electrocuted, I was not going to take responsibility. Dragging around a fried Lea
per was not in my plans and I wasn't adding it to the list anytime soon.

  He pressed something and a little screen lit up, making itself known in the blue room. I raised my brow at the small screen, and stepped closer when words began to appear. The words were white against the black background, and easy to read, but the list kept scrolling and it was too fast to remember what the last sentence had said before the next one appeared.

  Stepping closer, I realized with interest that it was a list of names. Not song names like you would think, but names. With the names, a small box glided beside them, containing paragraphs that moved too fast for me to read. There was a little sSiren next to the screen, turned to the fullest. Out of curiosity, I pulled down.

  The words halted. With them no longer gliding on the screen, I could clearly read the writings. I squinted, adjusting my eyes to the screen. It's been a very long time since I've seen anything remotely electric.

  (Deceased)Shanice Wagman - Illegal smuggling operations, illegal exposure to infection, theft.

  (Deceased)Markus Fisher/Isaac Fisher – Father and son pair, illegal exposure to infection, illegal weapon development and use.

  (Unknown)Philippe Thevenin – Murder, illegal weapon development and use, treason. Several accounts of violence against citizens. Mentally unstable.

  (Deceased)Nia Yukino – Illegal smuggling operations, illegal use of medications.

  (Unknown)Mika Higgins –Mentally unstable. Infected bait, escaped.

  (Custody) Doug/Olive Jones – Married pair. Illegal explosive development and use, trespassing, theft, treason.

  Rereading the sentence to make sure my mind hadn't been playing tricks; I let out a gust of relief. They were alive. Held hostage, but alive. Knowing Doug, he wouldn't be the one to go down without a fight anyway. I disregarded the rest of the list, refreshing my memory.