Suddenly, Shelby comes running from around the corner of the building. She heard the gunshot and the scream and thought someone was hurt. She was still outside when she heard it, so that's how she could come so quick. Shelby runs over to her sister. She pulls the corpse off of her and pulls out the machete. She is both confused and angry after seeing her sister out her like this. A part of her already knows why she's outside. Shelby walks over and helps Sydney up. She is clearly in pain, but she can still stand.
“Are you okay?” Shelby asks.
“I’m fine.”
Sydney is upset now. She knows there is no way that her sister is going to let her leave. She had no choice but to shoot the infected, but now she can’t help her cousin. Shelby is about to scold Sydney about being out in the night, but she suddenly hears something coming from behind her. Both turn to look into the woods. Dozens of figures move closer toward the building. They both realize what they are looking at. A group of infected that are heading their way, most likely because they heard the gunshot. Shelby puts one hand around her sister and helps her walk. They both go through the back door of the building.
Sydney and Shelby enter the storage room from the back entrance. Shelby helps Sydney lean on a counter to get some rest. Linda and Matteo walk into the room. Linda looks worried and angry. She is quick to assume that Sydney is doing something stupid. She has no trust in any of them.
Shelby looks down to see if Sydney’s wound has opened up from her moving around. It looks fine. Linda steps forward, ready to confront them.
“What the hell was that?”
Sydney, still angry from what just happened, responds, “Do you ever shut up?”
Linda looks agitated, “What the hell are you doing? Why do you have my gun?!”
“Shut the fuck up, Lady! If you wanted your gun, maybe you should have kept it on you!” Sydney shouts.
Shelby looks at her sister in shock. She doesn't understand why she is so mad and hostile. She doesn't like Linda’s interrogation either, but she knows now is not the time for conflict.
“Everyone just be quiet and calm down. There's infected outside. If they hear us now, they won't leave.” Shelby explains.
Linda looks infuriated. She doesn't want to look weak after being disrespected by Sydney, but she doesn't want to raise her voice either. Linda gives in to her weakness and decides to go. She grabs her sons’ hand and walks out of the storage room. Shelby turns to look at her sister now. She is still angry at her, but now she is just baffled.
“What is wrong with you?!”
“Nothing… I’m perfect.” Sydney says.
Shelby hears the emotion in her sister's voice. She still doesn't understand why she is acting this way.
“What were you doing, Sydney? You almost died! Why would you go outside?”
“I was leaving…”
Shelby looks confused, “Why?”
“I was going to go find Matthew. I don’t want to just sit here and do nothing!” Sydney explains.
“You’re not doing nothing. You’re resting. You need to rest, Sydney! You’re hurt, and you’re gonna be off your feet for a few days. You can’t go out there like this!”
“You don’t get it, okay! I need to help him… If anything were to happen to him…” Sydney becomes emotional, and her eyes fill with tears, “I don't know what I would do…”
“Nothing is going to happen to him. He’s going to be fine.”
“How do you know?”
Shelby hesitates for a moment, “He found us once… he’ll do it again. I know he’ll be back. He’ll find a way. Michael will too.”
Suddenly, the sound of infected banging on the back door to the building can be heard. They can’t get inside, as the door opens from the inside. The banging is loud, but they both know nothing will happen as long as they stay quiet.
“Just let me go. Let me help him! I know where to go!” Sydney begs.
“No… you can’t. He wouldn't want you to. He would want you to stay here and be safe. That's what he would want. Imagine if I let you go, but you never came back, and he did. What do you think he would go through? He wouldn't forgive himself for that.”
Sydney looks down at the ground. She thinks about what her sister just told her. She slowly begins to cry at the thought of one of them dying. She couldn’t imagine it before, but now she is. Shelby watches her sister cry. She is struggling right now, but she knows Sydney is strong. Shelby walks up to her sister and hugs her. Sydney hugs her back and cries into her shoulder. Sydney needs someone to be there for her, so Shelby decides to be the person.
“He’s going to be okay… I promise.”
Sydney’s crying slowly ends, but the two continue to hug. All they hear now is the sound of the infected outside. After some time, the sound of that also ends. They know that they are safe again.
Chapter 11
Mercy
His eyes slowly open to the sound of a loud engine, and the bumpiness of the car ride. Matthew looks up and sees the men who knocked him out sitting around him in the back of a Military truck. Matthew looks at them, confused and scared. They seem calm and normal. One of the men notices Matthew looking at him, but he doesn't react in any unusual way. Matthew looks down and sees that his hands are tied. He tries to subtly break free, but he has no luck. The tie is strong, and Matthew will surely not be able to break free. Matthew looks around, and then looks out the back of the truck. They are moving fast. Matthew looks up at the sky and sees that it is night, but the horizon is bright. It must be closer to morning now. That means that he had been unconscious for some time since it was still day out when Matthew crashed the car. He looks at the men in the truck and observes their appearance. They are all armed with fully automatic assault rifles and are dressed in military gear. Matthew is confused by this, as he has no idea why someone in this world would dress like that. The possibility of these men being a part of the army crosses Matthews mind, and it would make sense to a certain degree. The men look the part, and they are all inside of a military truck. Matthew questions whether these men are hostile. They shot at him, but they never killed him. The last time this happened, it didn't end well for the people who captured Matthew, but these men seem more serious and stronger. Matthew wants to speak, but he knows it's better if he just keeps his mouth shut.
Matthew begins to think about Sydney. The last time he saw her, she was knocked out cold. He wonders if she is all right, but the more disturbing image quickly crosses his mind. If the men found her, and she was alive, then they would have most likely taken her captive as well. Matthew begins to wonder if she is still alive. If she’s gone, Matthew will have to live with that guilt forever, and deal with the pain. Just before they crashed into the tree, Matthew had been telling Sydney that they need to do anything for each other, and make sure they keep each other safe, but just like that, everything fell apart. There is still a grain of hope in Matthew though. He doesn't want to jump to conclusions, and he knows that if she is alive, that she will find her way back to the group. He knows that she has the strength and the will to do so. Matthew wonders if the group will come looking for him. Even if they wanted to, there would be no way of finding out where he is, or where these men are taking him.
Matthew looks back at the men and finally decides to speak up.
“What’s going on? Where are you bringing me?” Matthew asks.
None of the men acknowledge Matthews questions, but after a moment, the man sitting across from him looks up at Matthew.
“You’re going to a checkpoint for assessment.”
Matthew hears this and instantly becomes confused and curious. He has no idea what the man is talking about. This statement only further pushes the notion that these men are part of the army or government.
“Are you the army?” Matthew asks.
“We were. Now we’re something new.”
Matthew looks at the man for a moment. He is trying to think about what that means. Maybe they are the former army a
nd are now reformed by the government in this new world. Matthew never considered that there was any authority or law left in this wasteland of death, but now he’s seems to be sitting right in front of it. Matthew looks at the man, ready to ask more questions, but he suddenly notices that the speed of the moving truck slows down. Matthew looks out the back and sees that they are slowing down. All the men look at each other for a moment, confused as to why the truck isn't moving. The one man closest to the front bangs on the window to the driver’s cabin.
“Why we slowing down?”
“I don't know! Where out of gas for some reason.”
After a while, the truck comes to a complete stop. The men in the truck seem visibly agitated. The one across from Matthew stands up and opens the mini door that leads to the back, outside of the truck. As soon as it opens, he grabs Matthew by the arm and pulls him up. Matthew understands what he is doing. He wants him to get out first. Matthew jumps out of the back of the truck and looks off into the darkness of the night. The thought of trying to run crosses his mind, but he quickly remembers how that went the last time he was in a situation like this. He has no idea where he is, and he has no idea where he would have to go to get back to the group. Matthew decides its best to play along for now, and possibly try and escape when the opportunity is there.
The rest of the men come out of the back of the truck one by one. Some of them surround Matthew, making sure that he doesn't try anything stupid. Matthew looks around and counts the amount of armed men that are here. There are roughly 10 or so. Matthew looks at the front of the truck and sees a man climb out from the driver door. He looks angry. He walks over to the side of the truck and looks down at the gas tank. He quickly notices a bullet hole in it. That is most likely how the truck ran out of gas so quickly. Matthew remembers that he had shot at the truck and accidentally hit that tank. Matthew looks a little worried now. He wonders if the men will punish him for ruining the truck. One of the men grabs Matthew by the arm and walks with him to the front of the truck. The truck driver looks at Matthew. He is not pleased.
“You did this… why the hell should we give you a chance?”
Matthew looks at the truck driver with fear in his eyes. He is scared for his life now. Matthew has no idea what these men are capable of. The truck driver looks over Matthews shoulder and looks at his men. They are all waiting patiently for his next command. Matthew quickly realizes that the truck driver is the group’s leader. The leader looks at his men, disappointed.
“Alright boys, I guess we’re walking.”
The leader turns around and continues walking on the road. Matthew follows him, as well as the 10 other armed men in the group. Matthew wonders if these men are a threat to him or not. They only shot at the car he was driving, but he wonders if they were trying to kill him. Matthew is still cautious however and does not trust these men no matter what. The large group continues to walk down the road towards the checkpoint that the man referred to. Matthew is on his A-game, ready to act when he has the best opportunity.
A few hours pass by, and the sun has risen. Matthew is tired of walking and can feel his stomach grumbling. The cold wind is brushing up against his exposed arms and neck. He wonders why he never wore a jacket. He never anticipated this kind of weather, but that is the least of his worries. The large group continues to walk. They reach a tall hill in the road. They continue to walk and go up the hill, and eventually begin to climb. The exhaustion from walking this whole time is not making the climb any easier. Matthew looks at the men and sees that they are struggling as well. The group finally reaches the top of the hill, and just down the road is a tall gate to the checkpoint. Matthew is surprised to see it. Inside looks like a military set up with tents and barracks. Matthew wonders if these men are serious about what they told him. The small check point is surrounded by a fence, and on the outside of the fence are some infected trying to get in. The fences are strong and keep the infected out. Just on the other side of the fence near the gate is a large propane tank. Matthew continues to observe the base as they get closer. Just next to the gate is a mini watchtower. On top is a sniper. He is aiming a rifle right at Matthew. He can clearly see that he is tied and completely surrounded by soldiers, but he points his sniper at him anyways. Suddenly, Matthew begins to feel water hitting his head. Matthew looks up and quickly feels rain falling onto his body. It’s been a long time since he felt rain. Matthew opens his mouth and tries to catch the water in his mouth. The rain hitting his body feels refreshing. The rest of the group continues to walk. Finally, they reach the front gate of the base. The sniper lowers his rifle once seeing his fellow soldiers. Suddenly, the gates to the base open slowly, and Matthew can see inside. There are trucks driving inside, and what seems to be other civilians. Matthew is in disbelief. He never imagined a group this large even existing in a world like this. Matthew quickly becomes optimistic about what's to come next. The group proceeds and enters the base.
*****
Michael stares into Moxxie’ s eyes as she stands at gunpoint. He can see tears running down her cheeks. Michael feels like crying himself, but knows he needs to stay strong. Michael looks around at the filthy men surrounding him with guns. Michael knows fighting them is no use, so his only chance is to talk and reason with them.
“We don't want any trouble. We’re just trying to find our friend.” Michael says.
“Interesting. We’ve been looking for a truck just like this with our friends in it too. Just a couple of days ago some assholes with big guns came along and took our boys.”
“I guess we have a common interest. Maybe we can help each other.” Michael suggests.
“Maybe we could. My name is Zak.”
Michael looks at Zak and sees how filthy he is. He looks like the charismatic leader of this small rodeo. He has blonde hair and seems like he’s in his mid-20’s. Michael looks down and quickly notices a tattoo on his left wrist. It looks like what seems to be two diamonds with lines on the end of each. Michael doesn't think much of it, but quickly notices that all these guys have the same tattoo on their left wrist. Michael is curious but doesn't want to say anything.
“So? What the fuck is your names?” Zak asks.
“I’m Michael. She’s Moxxie.”
“Moxxie? I like that name… It’s a beautiful name.”
Michael looks at Moxxie and sees how uncomfortable she is. Michael looks back at Zak.
“What about the rest of you guys? What are your names?” Michael asks.
Zak looks at his friends, “This is Tony, that’s Jonathan, Henry, and my boy over there is Lucas.”
Michael looks at these men. Tony is an older guy, probably closer to 40. He has a slightly wrinkled face, with grey hairs coming in. Jonathan and Henry seem young, maybe around his age or a little older. They look as filthy as Zak, but a little inexperienced with their weapons. Michael looks over to Lucas, who is the man who has Moxxie at gunpoint. He is probably 5o pounds overweight, and probably in his 40’s as well. He has some large sweat stains on his tight t-shirt. Michael feels grossed out just by looking at him, and he can’t imagine of Moxxie feels. Michael looks at the men. They don't look happy, but they don’t look angry either. This is clearly not the first time they have held up complete strangers before. Michael looks back down at their wrists.
“What’s the tattoo for?” Michael asks.
Zak lowers his gun, “It’s our marking. We come from far away. Just a little north of Ottawa. Our group is much larger than anything you’ve probably ever seen before.”
“So why are all the way out here?” Michael asks.
“Our boss sends out search parties to recruit new… ‘members’. If you guys can show that your willing, we may consider letting you come back with us… after we rescue our boys, of course.” Zak explains.
Michael looks at Moxxie for a moment. She still looks terrified. Michael doesn't like these guys already, so he’s definitely not going to join them, but maybe if the whole group was together, that ma
y be a better idea.
“We call ourselves ‘The Legion’.” Zak says.
“Alright. So, we gonna go find our friends or what?”
Zak chuckles, “Okay, no need to be pushy. Lower your guns fellas.”
The rest of the group lowers the guns. Lucas backs up and steps away from Moxxie. Moxxie walks closer to Michael. She wants to hug him, but she doesn't know how these guys might react to that. She decides to do nothing. If Michael didn't reason with these men, who knows what may have happened to Moxxie. Michael looks back at Zak.
Zak smiles, “We have a car in the woods. We can take it to their camp.”
“You know where they are?” Michael asks.
“Yup. But now that we have two extra firearms, we can start our attack.”
Zak turns and walks back into the woods off road. Michael thinks about what he just said. Michael never considered that the men who took Matthew have a camp, but they do. Now Michael must follow these strangers and ‘attack’ the camp. Michael doesn't know what that means. He looks at Moxxie and nods his head. She knows that they should follow these guys to rescue Matthew. Moxxie walks ahead and Michael follows the Legion. He remembers the last time he had followed a stranger into the woods, but this time he has a drive. Michael needs to rescue his cousin. He decides to follow Moxxie. Michael enters the woods, and suddenly, it begins to rain. Michael is surprised by this. It has been a long time since he felt rain.
The group walks in the woods for what seem like minutes, but eventually Zak stops by a large bush, or what seems to be a large bush. Zak and the others grab onto it and pull leaves off to reveal a hidden car underneath all the branches. Michael is surprised. He had never thought about hiding a vehicle. Zak opens the driver door to the long minivan and smiles. Michael looks at Zak. He had underestimated him and realizes that he is smarter than he originally thought.
Mankind Page 16