[OMEN]

I'm with op. I didn't see that coming at all. I'm not spilling my beans to you anymore. Lol


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[That Guy]

I'm with op. I didn't see that coming at all. I'm not spilling my beans to you anymore. Lol


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It's not your fault, OMEN. This was planned in advance.

[Epic Jones]

Ah, man. I figured when they parted ways that this would be the case, but interested to see where Jennifer is. As usual, great chapter, excited for what happens next.

[the Walkin Dude]

Excellent as always TG, however, with your groups experience. I have my doubts about this statement.
“I’ll explain later. We’re not safe here, out in the open. I’m Sergeant- Oh, what does it even matter anymore? I’m Shaun. Those two are Cassy and Jake. Follow us. We’ll take you somewhere safe.” I have a funny feeling this is not going to happen.

[OMEN]

Oooooooo I just a other idea

I'm keeping this one to mah self


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[That Guy]

Oooooooo I just a other idea

I'm keeping this one to mah self


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Don't be afraid, OMEN. Just because I killed Henry after you gave me your theory on him being Calhoun, doesn't mean it was your fault. It probably won't happen twice.

(:

[That Guy]

Journey, Part 39

The three soldiers lead them down a dirt road in the forest. The sun is starting to set, barely illuminating the woods. Jonah, along with Anya, follows the group slowly in the car.

“Is it far?” Jett asks Shaun. He assumes he is the leader, seeing as he gives out the orders.

“We’re almost there. Where we’re going is well hidden; civilians shouldn’t be able to find it easily.”

“Why not?” Akira asks, his curiosity now piqued. “Where are we going, exactly?”

Shaun looks over his shoulder to Akira as he walks. “To a National Guard camp where they used to train.”

“You are National Guardsmen, then?”

Cassy scoffs at the mere suggestion. “Hell no! We’re real soldiers, not some wannabes.”

Marc jogs up to Shaun, wanting to ask him something. “Wait a sec, uhm, Shaun, right?” Shaun nods to confirm that he remembered his name correctly. “You said it’s where they used to train. Are they still even there?”

Shaun slumps his shoulders. He corrects his posture right away. “When we found it, it was overrun. We took out every single biter and took it for ourselves. We found no survivors.”

“And we did that with just the three of us!” Jake says, proud of their accomplishment. “Imagine what we could’ve done if we still had our whole squad.”

Jett realizes that everyone has last people, even these hardass soldiers. “What happened?”

Shaun is about to answer when he notices three walkers down the road. He raises a fist in the air, prompting the people to stop. “We’ve got biters. I’ve got a visual on three of them. We take them out, quietly.”

Akira steps in front of them, unsheathing his katana. “I’ve got it.”

Shaun doubts him. “You sure?”

“I’m sure. We’re not some helpless civilians that need your protection. We’re assets.” With those words, Akira runs ahead of the rest of the group. Shaun tells everyone to hold. He keeps his weapon raised to provide cover.

Akira whistles, drawing the walkers’ attention. One opens its mouth wide and growls. Akira holds his sword underneath his eye like one would aim a gun. He thrusts it into the walker’s mouth, penetrating the roof of the mouth into the brain.

Akira lets go of the katana. He kicks a female walker in the chest. She stumbles back a few steps and loses her balance, falling down on her back.

Akira puts his boot on the dead walker’s forehead and recovers his sword from its mouth. The last walker is faster than the others. It turned recently after it had its face chewed off by the other two. Akira stares straight at its brain through an open eye hole.

When it lunges for him, Akira swiftly steps aside. Holding his katana behind his head, he swings for the walker’s throat. The blade cuts through the flesh and muscle, but is stopped by the bone. Akira retracts the sword and slashes again, this time severing the spine. The head falls off of its body.

The female walker gets back on her feet. Akira kicks it down again. Making sure she won’t come back, he plunges the tip of the blade into its eye deep enough to enter the brain. He twists it right to scramble the insides.

“It’s safe now!” He informs the others, wiping the dark blood off his katana. “All that blood isn’t doing you any good, is it?”

Jake’s inner child has awakened. “Sweet.”

“Impressive, but you need to be more careful.” Shaun warns him. He’s seen plenty of people die and doesn’t want to see anyone die because they’re reckless. “One almost got you there.”

Akira sheaths his beloved katana. “I know. That’s why I cut its hands off.”

Shaun subtly rolls his eyes. No one noticed. “And to answer your question, Jett, we got separated down in Dallas. We were supposed to help people evacuate. But the chopper stopped coming. We lost track of each other in the chaos.”

The group progresses. After fifteen minutes, the fences around the National Guard camp become visible. Walkers cling to the fences. When they stumbled upon the camp, their intelligence was not high enough to tell them to just move around it. Now they spend the remainder of their time pushed up against a steel fence until something else distracts them.

Shaun takes a bundle of keys off his belt. “We gotta do this fast. I’ll unlock the gate, Jake and Cassy pull it open and the rest of you get inside ASAP.”

“I can see the jeeps from here. Why didn’t you take one of those?” Andrew asks. “Everything would go much faster that way.”

“Because we couldn’t risk the noise and flood this road with the dead.”

“Oh.” Andrew flashes back to the herd that destroyed the mall. If they had gone on foot then, none of this would have happened.

The survivors run up to the gate. Shaun unlocks the padlock holding the gate closed. Jake and Cassy pull it open on the count of three. Jonah puts the car in its highest gear and drives it inside. The rest follows. Once inside, Jake and Cassy close the gate. Shaun locks it.

A single walker flings itself at the gate. It slides its fingers between the holes of the fence. It shakes it back and forth, making a lot of noise.

Shaun reaches through the gate, pulling the walker closer by its tattered shirt. He takes out a combat knife and plunges it between the walker’s eyes. It collapses dead to the ground.

The camp is the size of a football field. Two watch towers are to the left and to the right of the gate. In the back, there are two rows, each three barracks long facing one another. Three jeeps and a truck equipped with a .50 caliber machine gun are parked next to one another in between the barracks and watch towers, facing the latter for a quick and easy getaway.

The walkers surrounding the fences are not many. They are spread out, not forming any kind of threat to the structure they are leaning against.

Shaun takes his rifle off his shoulder, holding it by the barrel. He relaxes, feeling that he can trust the newcomers. “Feel free to look around. But please don’t touch anything. Especially not the fifty cal. It’s not loaded but you don’t want to drop it on your feet. Right, Jake?”

“Right…”

“We eat when the sun sets. Come find us in the first barracks on the left. Plenty of MREs to go around.”

[OMEN]

Good read and the build up begins.


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[Operational Security]

Can we all just take a moment to appreciate the badass that is Akira. Slice and dice, baby. Slice and dice.

Next chapter, puleeze.

[the Walkin Dude]

Mr Akira ninja dude. As always excellent TG.

[TangoWhiskey]

Excellent Work TG, just read from start to finish. I enjoyed it very much.

[That Guy]

Journey, Part 40

Jonah goes to recover some of his possessions before he joins the rest for dinner. He feels safe at the camp, a sensation he hasn’t felt since the mall. As he walks up to their car, he notices that there’s still someone inside.

He opens the trunk. He leans inside. “Ain’t ya hungry?”

Anya slowly looks up from her bound hands. She looks over her shoulder at the handlebar mustache sporting redneck. “I’m okay.”

Jonah takes the crossbow that belonged to Jebediah. He takes a quick glance at the name ‘Mary’ etched into the side. He feels like he owes it to the late man to take good care of his beloved weapon. “Yeah, I ain’t buyin’ that. Ya need to eat, girl.”

“You want me to take care of myself even after what I did?”

Jonah slams the trunk shut. After he slings Mary over his shoulder he opens the door for Anya. “Don’t look too much into it, girl. I don’ want ya to slice someone’s throat when ya consider them ‘competition’. Even people on death row are bein’ fed.”

Anya steps out of the car. The moonlight illuminates her face, revealing dark bags under her eyes. The skin around her wrists is getting irritated by the rope around it. “Thank you.”

“You look like shit.” Jonah says, charming as ever. Any kind of interest Anya had in him is gone as fast as it arose.

“We’re waiting for you two.” Cassy says as she approaches the two.

“We’re comin’.” Jonah responds as he tightens his grip on the crossbow strap on his shoulder.

Cassy leans against the back of the car, crossing her hands just above her waist. “What’s the story with you?” She asks Anya.

Anya stands in place, looking at her feet. She doesn’t want to explain to every stranger they meet what she did. It has caused enough to people to shun her already.

Cassy turns her gaze from the girl to Jonah when she figures out she isn’t going to get an answer from her.

“She’s unstable.” Jonah answers.

Cassy takes off her cap and strikes her fuzzy hair back. “Yeah, so I heard. What kinda unstable is she, exactly?”

Jonah is uncomfortable talking to her due to his prejudices, but hides it well enough so she doesn’t notice. “She killed someone, that kinda unstable.”

“Shit, that tiny thing killed someone?” Anya has turned her back to the two. She’s embarrassed. “Why?” Cassy asks.

“’Cause she thought the lady stole the boyfriend she didn’t even have to begin with. That fella Jett. “

“Shiiit.” Cassy laughs a little. “That’s straight up psycho girlfriend shit, right there.”

Jonah relaxes around her, loosening his grip on the strap. She is different from the others of her race he’s met. She reminds him of himself. “Yeah, tell me ‘bout it. Enough talkin’ though. I’m hungry.”

Inside the barracks MREs have been spread out on a long table. There is one for everyone. No one gets more than one. The food supply is limited.

Marc wasn’t able to wait for the rest and has already finished his main course. Jett has been making jokes about his lack of table manners since he ripped his MRE open.

Shaun walks up to Anya after she enters. “You can’t eat with your hands tied up like that.” He says as he readies his knife to cut her hands free.

Jett wants to object, but decides not to. Anya is broken enough. She’s no threat.

Shaun sits back down after he’s cut Anya free. “Why was she tied up like an animal?”

“She killed someone.” Cassy answers as she passes behind him.

Anya turns away from the rest of the table to hide her shame. She goes to sit in a chair in the corner and opens up her MRE.

“You guys aren’t from Texas, are you?” Shaun asks while they eat.

“I am.” Jonah clarifies. “The rest of us is from Georgia.”

“You’re not from around here either.” Akira notes his lack of a Southern accent.

“That’s right. San Diego, California.”

Cassy opens her main course. “San Francisco.”

Jake stuffs his face with a piece of chicken. “And I am from Salt Lake City, in case anyone was wondering.”

“Why are you all here from different states?” Marc asks as he’s ready to begin his dessert.

“We got sent all over.” Shaun begins to explain. “The outbreak was massive, there just weren’t enough soldiers to go around. Most either died or deserted, so we had to play the hand we were dealt. We got scattered all over the country so much, it almost seemed random.”

Cassy scoffs. “And it probably was. I don’t think the brass or the government had any idea what to do so they were like: ‘send soldiers fucking everywhere!’”

Jonah admires her as she signs with her hands, portraying how frantic those in charge must have been. There’s something about this woman that he adores.

“We were actually on our way to San Diego.” Jett says after Cassy is done acting out her theory.

“Why’s that?” Shaun asks, interested as to why they were heading to his hometown.

“We intercepted a transmission.” Jett explains. “Apparently the military is organized and has established a safe zone. We figured it was worth a shot.”

Shaun is amazed at finding out that there is an actual safe zone, but not surprised. “Probably at the Naval base on Coronado. That place is easily defendable.”

“You can come with us.” Jett offers. “We could certainly use the help.”

Shaun takes a gander at both Cassy and Jake. Both are not entirely sure. “We’ll discuss it in private. It’s a lot to think about.”

Dinner wraps up. Shaun takes the bundle of keys off his belt and hangs them on a hook on the wall, next to the door. Anya observes him as he does.

“We’ll try to have an answer for you all tomorrow. The barracks across from here house bunk beds.” Shaun tries to familiarize the newcomers with the layout. “We’ll be sleeping in the one at the back. Y’all have a good night, now.”

[OMEN]

Man my mind is racing with I idears.

Great writing as always.


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[That Guy]

You're just torturing yourself, Omen. I doubt you can predict what will happen next.

[the Walkin Dude]

Great as always TG, am still worried about Anya though, think she is still unstable enough to bring them all down.

[OMEN]

Me thinks they have Jennifer


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[That Guy]

Journey, Part 41

Andrew’s eyes shoot open when he hears a door open and close. He rubs his eyes out and sits up straight. His eyes dart around in the dimly moonlight lit barracks. Everyone else is asleep. They don’t sleep as light as he does.

At the end of the room, he spots an empty bed. “Anya. “ He murmurs quietly to himself. He hops out of bed and tiptoes to the door.

He opens it in time to watch the door to the barracks where they had dinner close. As silently as he possibly can, he closes the door behind him.

The door across the camp opens up again. A small, dark figure steps outside. “Anya!” Andrew calls out in a forced whisper.

Anya begins to run for the gate. Andrew pursues her. She reaches the lock, sticking the key into the padlock and turning it, leaving the keys dangling from the padlock. She pushes the gate open a quarter and runs down the dirt road into the forest.

Andrew won’t let her. Without any regard for his own safety and the numerous walkers hiding out in the pitch-black woods, he runs after her.

Andrew can hear the undead hiss growl and moan the farther her runs. He can’t see them, but they are there. They know he is there.

He catches up to Anya and grabs her by the arm. She tries to pull it away, shouting at him to let her go. “Just let me run away!”

He takes her other arm as well. “Lower your voice! You’ll die out here!”

“I don’t care anymore!” She sobs. “Nobody wants me around, even those soldiers already hate me!”

Without letting go of Anya, Andrew looks over both shoulders. A couple of shadows gather at the gate. They lumber slowly to their position. “Come back with me. We can’t stay here for long, the walkers are onto us.”

“You go. I don’t wanna kill you, too!” Anya tries to tug her arms away again. It’s futile as Andrew’s grip is too strong for her.

“I didn’t leave you at the mall and I’m not leaving you here. Come back with me!”

“Why?”

Andrew hesitates. He looks back again. The walkers haven’t gotten far yet and are still spread out. There is still time. “Because I love you, Anya. I can’t lose you.”

Anya stares at him with big eyes. She is speechless. Someone does still care for her.

Jake sits down on a chair and rests his feet on a table. “I think it couldn’t hurt if we went with these people. They seem down to earth.”

Cassy crosses her arms. “As much as I’d love to get back to my home state, we can’t know for sure if there really is a safe zone. How many ‘safe zones’ have we passed on the way here, huh?”

Shaun is sure that they should go with them. “I think we should go. I’ve lived there my entire life, and I just know that it is safe. If they went to Coronado, all they’d have to do was blockade two roads. Or maybe they’ve moved people onto navy ships.” He folds his arms under his chest. “It’s too big a chance to let slip.”

“Two against one, Cassy. Democracy!” Jake jokes.

Cassy swivels her head and snaps her finger. “Go choke on a-“

“Cas.” Shaun looks at her like a father at his daughter. She doesn’t finish her sentence.

“Whatever.”

Shaun reassures her that either they’re all going, or none of them are. Jake rolls his eyes. Shaun can’t make hard decisions. If he were the commanding officer, he would’ve just gone. She would follow. She’d have to.

Jake gets up and takes his rifle. “You talk some sense into her, Shaun. I’m gonna keep watch.”

Jake shines a flashlight ahead of him. As he gets closer to the gate, notices something is awry. He hears walkers. A lot of them. But there were none at the gate a few hours ago. He shines a beam of light on it and he sees that the gate is unlocked.

“What the fuck?” He runs up to the lock with the intent of closing it. Much to his relief, the walkers have their backs turned to him. They’re distracted by something in the distance.

On a hunch, Jake takes a gander at what is distracting them and keeping him safe. He sees two people embracing each other down the road.

The two don’t seem to have a clue about the impending danger. Jake’s conscience won’t allow him to abandon civilians when they’re in jeopardy.

Jake shoves two walkers in front of him aside. He runs as fast as possible to avoid the rest. “Hey, hey!” He shouts at the couple. “You’re in dang-“ He shines his flashlight on them and recognizes the two young people. “Crazy girl? Andy? What the hell are you two doing out here?”

They let go of each other. “Oh- We were- “ Andrew tries to find a good excuse for being out of bounds.

Jake lets his shoulders hang. He sighs. “If you two just wanted to fuck, just take one of the empty barracks. The woods are dangerous.”

Anya nervously rubs her hands together. “Oh, we were not-“

“Come on. Two teenagers, surrounded with adults. What else were you two lovebirds doing here? Whatever. It doesn’t matter. You two left the gate open. Are you fucking nuts?”

Andrew decides that it doesn’t matter why he thinks they were there. “We’re sorry, okay? We’ll come with you.”

“You’re damn su-“ Jake drops unconscious into the dirt as he is being clocked in the back of the head with a baseball bat.

Andrew tries to draw his weapon. Another person hits him with a baseball bat in the knee. He catches himself before his face hits the ground. He looks up at a tall shadow of a man. Before he can make out what he looks like, the man punts him in the head.

Anya screams at the top of her lungs. Before she can ring any alarms from the others at the camp, a third man sneaks up on her. He covers her mouth with his hand.

The man who knocked out Jake drags his unconscious body up to the other two. “Oh, man! She’s gonna be delighted! What a catch!”

The tall man takes away Andrew’s revolver. “Waiting out here wasn’t a waste of time after all.” He takes a glance at Anya. He smirks. “Oh, we got lots of use for you.”

[OMEN]

Oh fuuuu k


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[Epic Jones]

...WHAT?! Guy, you always leave me desperately wanting more. You're incredibly talented, and this is always one of my favorite times of my day; reading this.

[the Walkin Dude]

Damn, TG, didn't see that turn coming at all. You sir are a master of suspense.

[Operational Security]

Nooo! I can't believe you ended it like that. Omg. I want moar!!! Can't wait to find out who these people are, they're bad news for sure. They have to be responsible for what happened to Henry. And you said, " she's gonna be delighted." A lady villain I am intrigued, sir, very intrigued.

[That Guy]

Journey, Part 42

Marc's stomach rumbles. He gets up out of bed and walks to the door, intent on getting breakfast. He hasn’t eaten anything since dinner.

Jett slept in the bed next to his. “You’re not even going to wait for us, huh?”

Marc waits at the door, holding the with his right hand. “You know how I get when I’m hungry.”

Jonah turns to his side. He grunts. “Would y’all shut up? I’m fuckin’ tired.”

Akira stretches his body out. He sits on the edge of the bed and begins to put his shoes on. “As much as I liked not having to sleep in the car, we have to get a move on. Let’s see if those soldiers are coming along.”

Jonah pulls the covers over his head. He grunts some more. He wants to sleep in for a change.

Marc turns the doorknob. “Well, I’m not leaving here on an empty stomach.” He opens the door. After he steps one foot outside, he freezes up. The camp is infested with walkers, who roam aimlessly in search of food.

Marc spins around and shuts the door. He keeps his back pressed against it. “There are walkers everywhere!”

Jonah throws his covers off him. He rises. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

Marc catches his breath. “Walkers. Got. Inside. The camp.” He looks around the barrack. They’re missing two people. “Where’s Andrew? And Anya?”

Akira looks over his shoulder, at where Andrew use to sleep. “He’s gone. They’re gone!”

Jett rises up from his bed. He’s enraged. “This is all that crazy bitch’s fault! It has to be!”

Akira reaches for his sheathed katana. “No time to figure out who’s fault it is. We got to find the leak, and plug it.” He draws his katana. The blade looks a little dull. He regrets not sharpening it yesterday when he had the time.

Shaun peeks out the window next to the door. “The gate’s open and I can’t see Jake anywhere up in that tower. This is bad.”

Cassy removes the safety from her rifle. It makes a satisfying click sound. “Guess we’ll just have to figure that out later.”

“How much ammo do you have? I only have one clip on back up.”

“So have I.”

Shaun devises a strategy in his head. The walkers are spread out, so unless they let them gang up on them they are not in any direct danger. Across the camp from their barrack is the armory. They need extra ammunition and the .50 Cal could be of good use.

“Alright, this is the plan: I’ll distract them while you make your way for the armory.” Shaun signals with two fingers at the armory on the other side. Cassy nods. “I’ll try to make my way to the Georgia people. We’ll need their help. After you gather ammunition, bring some to me and take up position in one of the watch towers and act as a sniper.”

Cassy looks out the window, at the towers. She is going to take the one on the right, where the walkers are thinnest. “I can do that.”

“Don’t forget a box of .50 caliber ammunition. I’ll take up position on the truck and take out as many as I can. I’ll have some of the others close the- Oh, no.”

The last part of Shaun’s plan gets blown to pieces when the Georgia survivors rush outside. As he runs, Akira slashes a walker’s head clean off.

Marc and Jett climb up the truck with the mounted machine gun. Walkers gather around it. Marc shoots two of them in the head from atop the cabin.

Jett tries to fire up the mounted gun when he remembers what Shaun said yesterday. It’s not loaded. “Damn it!”

Jonah tackles a walker against the fence, holding it off with his forearm against its throat. He thrusts a knife in its right temple. It slides with its back down the fence and topples over when its behind hits the ground.

His path to the watch tower is being blocked by three walkers. They have seen him and stumble towards him. Jett has the one in the back in his iron sights. He squeezes the trigger. The bullet pierces the skull and lodges into its brain, killing it.

Jonah takes his hunting rifle off his shoulder. He swings with the butt at a walker. He hits it with enough force to incapacitate it. He runs past the last one and climbs up the ladder.

Akira slices a walker’s hands off before it can grab him, followed by its head. A nearby groan makes him spin around swiftly, katana over his shoulder and ready to strike. He cuts halfway through the jaw before it gets stuck. He firmly holds on to the katana’s grip to keep the walker at bay while others begin to surround him.

A bullet penetrates the skull diagonally, entering through the temple and exiting through the right forehead.

The walker slumps dead to the ground. Akira unlodges the blade from the jaw and with one fell swoop, he decapitates another walker.

The barrel of Shaun’s rifle still smolders as he shifts his aim on to another undead head. Steadily squeezing the trigger, the nozzle flashes, releasing a different bullet from the magazine right between a walker’s eyes.

Cassy makes a run for the armory, knife drawn and rifle slung across her chest. One male walker missing an ear is all that stand between her and the weaponry.

She thrust the knife under its chin, but it doesn’t go deep enough to scramble the brain. The blade pushes against its spine, keeping it at bay.

She lifts up her foot and kicks in the walker’s knee. It breaks. As it lies helplessly on the ground, she plunges the knife into its eye. Blood squirts on her as she twists it.

Cassy closes the door to the armory as quickly as she opened it. As gunfire rages outside, she stuff her pockets with as many magazines as possible. The big .50 caliber bullets are kept in a metal box. She picks it up and carries it under her arm.

She runs back outside. “I got it!”

Shaun lowers his rifle at hearing her voice. She tosses him a some magazines. “Just in time.” Shaun thinks to himself. He ejects the empty magazine and reloads.

The two soldiers rush over to the truck. As they run, Shaun gives Cassy orders. “You take Akira and lock the gate! I’ll deal with the .50 Cal!”

Cassy hands the heavy ammunition over to her superior. Shaun, now carrying the .50 caliber bullets under his arm, climbs up the truck.

Akira has sheathed his sword and traded it in for Cassy’s Berretta. His first shot hits a walker in the cheek. It does nothing to deter her.

Jonah watches Cassy close the gate through the rifle scope. He watches Akira miss his second shot. He shakes his head and decides to take matters into his own hands. With one shot, he blows the walker’s head of.

Cassy wraps the chain around the gate and the fence. With the bundle of keys still sticking in the padlock, she turns and locks it. After Akira misses another shot completely, she pulls him by the shoulder. Both climb up Jonah’s watch tower.

“Everyone clear?!” He shouts.

“Affirmative!” Cassy shouts back from atop the tower.

Shaun pulls the trigger on the machine gun. Its shots thud loudly. Marc and Jett cover their ears from the loud explosions happening a few feet away from them.

Shaun’s muscles tense up from the massive kickback. Every walker he hits falls apart, limb by limb. The barrage lasts for thirty seconds. It feels like hours.

The barrel glows a bright red. Smoke rises up from it. The group looks around. Almost every walker is dead. Those that survived are nothing more but decapitated heads with half a torso.

[OMEN]

Freaking awesome seriously great writing. Don't know if I've told ya this but unread a lot. And this air is great I can envision all that you write.


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[Matt G]

Great writing. Really enjoyed it.

[That Guy]

Author's Note: Writing this chapter, particularly the end, actually made me feel uncomfortable. Me. And if you're familiar with my work, you know I don't shy away from a many horrible, horrible things I do to my characters. So imagine how horrible these contents have to be to make me feel uncomfortable writing it down. Proceed at your own discretions, ladies and gents.


Journey, Part 43

The world spins around him as Andrew regains consciousness. All he can see is a blurry, faded white. As his vision clears up, he realizes that he is looking at the inside of a tent. He tries to move his hands, but he cannot. They’re stuck behind his back.

He tries to move his legs. He can only drag them up, but not open them. His right knee stings as he moves it. He glances down at his feet. They’re tied up with braided rope.

There’s a ruckus going on outside. People are shouting and hollering. Above all the noise, he can faintly hear a single man grunting and wheezing. The commotion is interjected with sounds of a beating. Andrew is all too familiar with it after the life he’s lived.

Andrew rolls on his back. He can’t move his hands away. It’s an uncomfortable position.

“Oh, thank God you’re awake!” Anya takes him by the shoulders. She helps him sit up straight.

Andrew notices the handcuffs around her wrists. “Did they hurt you?”

“N-Not yet. But they did hurt her.” Anya looks back.

“Hurt who-“ Andrew follows Anya’s line of sight to a brunette woman sitting in the corner. “Jennifer?”

Jennifer turns her sunken eyes to him. Her hands rest trembling on her knees. “Andrew.”

Andrew stares at her pale face. “What did they do to you?”

Jennifer pulls her knees up to her face. “What they did… I don’t want you to live through that.” She buries her head in them when she flashes back to the atrocities committed against her. “You’re better off as one of the walkers!”

The tent flaps fly open. The tall man from before enters. He’s an intimidating man with a muscular built and a clean shaven head. He pulls Andrew and Anya up under their arms at the same time. He is not gentle.

Outside, he tosses them on the ground. They can’t catch themselves and fall flat on their stomach.
“Get ‘em on their knees, honey.” A woman commands the man. He does what she says and pulls them up by their collar.

The first thing the two frightened kids see is Jake, lying battered on the ground. His jaw is broken, both his eyes are black, he’s bruised and bleeding out of various wounds all over his body.

The woman giving the orders stands over them, her hands folded behind her back. Her blond hair has been tied behind her head. “Look at him. This is what happens when you resist. Remember this.”
Anya can’t bear to look at Jake’s beaten up body. The woman in charge positions herself behind her and grabs her by the neck. “I said look at him!” She shouts in her ear. With tears in her eyes, Anya looks at him.

“Good girl.” She says, patting Anya on the head. “Let me be clear here, darlings.” The blonde woman says, brushing her hand along Anya’s shoulder. She walks up to Jake. “I don’t allow the men to beat the women. If they do, my hubby will take care of them.” She wraps her arm around the tall man’s waist. “You do something I don’t like, the men take care of the men. The women take care of the women. Understand?”

The scared teenager sit motionless on their knees. Neither dares to speak.

“Do you understand?!” Her husband yells at them. No one will disrespect his wife.

“…Yes.”

His wife smiles at him and gives him a kiss. “I think we’ve made our point, baby. Would you please take out the trash?”

He pulls a pistol out of his back pocket. He aims it for Jake’s head and pulls the trigger. His body twitches momentarily as the bullet pierces his skull. It goes lifeless and limp. Blood pools around his head.

Andrew boils from the inside. “You killed Henry.” He growls.

The woman raises an eyebrow. The crowd oohs, anticipating her reaction. “Excuse me, darling?”

Andrew raises his and stares straight into her eyes. “You’re the psychos who killed Henry! Jennifer’s husband! My friend!”

The husband brashly walks up to him, prepared to give the snotty brat a lesson he will never forget. His wife stops him.

“Baby, let me handle this.” She squats down in front of Andrew, who doesn’t stop looking her defiantly in the eyes. “I’ll let that slide, because you don’t know all the rules yet, so I’ll just make this real clear for you: you don’t speak unless you’re spoken to. Got it?”

Andrew grunts in response.

The woman shrugs and stands back up. “And the answer is yes, by the way. We did kill her husband. He resisted.” She whispers something to her husband. Him and another woman approach their captives.

The husband tosses Andrew in the tent with Jennifer. Anya gets thrown into another, right next to theirs.

The crowd disperses, all busy talking about the catch of the day. Their leader promises the men who brought them in first sampling after she is done.

Anya cowers in the back of her lone tent. The tent flap opens, shining some sunlight in her face. The blond woman enters. “I’m Jess.” She says with a big smirk on her face.

“Anya.” She answers. She doesn’t look at Jess.

Jess slowly strides up to her. She exaggerates the swaying of her hips. She gently caresses Anya’s hair.

“How old are you?” Jess asks, running her eyes up and down Anya’s body.

Anya begins to sob. “Sixteen.”

Jess chuckles. She’s older than she initially thought. “Well, you know what they say: old enough to bleed, old enough to breed.” She strokes Anya’s cheek with the back of her hand.

Anya gathers the story to look at her captor. “What do you want from me?”

Jess grabs her belt with two hands and begins to unbuckle it. “Take a wild guess.”

The reality of the situation slowly sinks in. “Y-You’re married-“

“A girl’s got other needs.” She says, sliding her belt off.

Anya backs up against the end of the tent. She knows she can’t get away, but she still tries.

Jess’s smile fades. “On your knees.”

“No!”

“On. Your. Knees.” She says through her teeth.

“No!”

Jess grabs her hair and pulls her up. Anya screams as a few of her hairs are being ripped out. “On your fucking knees!”

The pain is too hard to fight. Anya gives in. She rises up to her knees. Jess does not let go of her hair. She stares at her with lust, her mouth dropping open in a wide smile. Her breathing is heavy. Her tongue slides along the top of her molars.

With one hand firmly grasping Anya’s hair, she begins to unbutton her pants with the other. “If you just play along, this’ll be over in no time."