Long time no... write?

Well hello!

It's been far too long, I'm sorry that I've neglected this blog for so long!!! It's just been that I've been without a computer for so long that I haven't done anything. Well, that and I haven't done much writing in general for a while. It's been a complicated year. Anyway, I just wanted to share something that I did for fun. Let me know what you think??

It's called Target. Short story. Zombie apocalypse. The end.



With my back pressed against the cold stone wall I held my rifle tightly to my chest listening to the thuds and explosions of cement around my body from the gunfire. I kept taking deep breaths in order to calm myself; honestly, mankind had bigger problems to deal with than a turf war. In the back of my mind I knew it would only be a matter of time before the Flesh Eaters would converge on us. Unfortunately, the living were often times less intelligent than the dead.

“Maverick!” Cried a man across the small room, “Why the hell you just sitting there? Shoot!”

I rolled my eyes. “Can’t do that, Gunny” I shouted back, recoiling at a nearby burst of cement. “You can waste your bullets on the living but don’t expect me to save your ass when the Flesh Eaters are bearing down on you!”

Another burst of glass and cement flew around me. The shooting stopped suddenly, and the shouting started.

The Flesh Eaters had arrived.

Enemy gunfire was now focused on our new guests. I could hear the awful gurgling growls and cries of the living as the dead attacked.

“Time to go!” I shouted, jumping up and snatching my large black duffel from the floor. “Grab anything you can carry and get to the vehicles!”

Gunny stopped shooting, grabbed his bags and stupid baseball cap off the floor, shoved it on his head and moved across the room. Walmart and Day’s Inn scrambled to gather up the food. Daring a glance out the broken window I ducked again instantly. Flesh Eaters were everywhere, and the group that had attacked us was fighting to get away alive. Edging myself into position to see again, I noticed a young man on a raised platform taking out Flesh Eaters  with a calm and deadly precision. Blood splashed across his tanned skin, making him the image of the apocalypse we knew. I watched people pile into their dark SUVs and roar away; they had just left him there. You would have done the same thing. I gritted my teeth. I definitely shouldn’t have done what I was about to. Gunny and Walmart were shouting at me as I kicked open the side door to get to Abandoned and save him from imminent death.

“Get to the cars and come get me! Don’t just stand there, move!!” I screamed over my shoulder as I shoved a knife into the skull of a Flesh Eater.

Why I had stepped out of the safety of the bunker I had no idea. Rule number one of the apocalypse has always been every man, or woman, for themselves, and here I was breaking my own rule. With an instinctual and almost animalistic fury I cut my way through the horde to Abandoned. When he saw me coming he began to cover me. I heard the roar of the Jeep engine; one more Flesh Eater down and I had reached the platform.
“You’ve got exactly ten seconds to get that bronze hide down here before we abandon you too!” I hollered at him.

The bright orange Jeep and mint green Hundai ripped around the corner, Gunny smashing through the swarm to get to me. Abandoned clamored down as I dealt with the onslaught of Flesh Eaters. When he hit the ground a Flesh Eater caught hold of his arm. Adrenaline kicked in and I launched myself at the thing, burying my blade deep into it’s temple. It dropped to the ground with a thud; we needed to get out of there fast or we may as well have kicked the bucket right then.

Gunny screeched to a halt ten feet from us, shouting profanities as he threw the door open. Blindly, I gripped Abandoned’s arm and dragged him with me into the car. We had hardly been able to fling ourselves onto the seat before Gunny began to speed away from the bunker.

“Damn it, Maverick! You know the rules!” Gunny threw a nasty glare at Abandoned and then back at me. “Don’t risk your hide for anyone; especially not one that was just trying to kill us!”

My head had begun to throb. “Shut up, Gunny.” I growled. “Get us out of here. When we’re safe,” I shot him a teasing smile. “You can tell me again just how much you were worried about me.”

He tried to hide the flush in his cheeks by slouching into the seat and squaring his jaw. With a chuckle I turned to look at Abandoned in the backseat and my smile faded.

“Don’t get used to me acting so charitably toward you.” I said, pushing my dark hair behind my ear. “I should have just left you there to die, but I admired the fight in your eyes.” I made a quick gesture to Gunny with my head, “This here is Gunny. I’m Maverick, and in the other car we got Wal-Mart and Days Inn. Days and Inn are two different people. We don’t care what your name was, we only call each other by where we were found. Got that? You’re now going to be known as Bunker. Welcome aboard.”

He raised his eyebrows but said nothing. Ungrateful brat.

We drove for hours on the road going at speeds that would have only been legal on the Autobahn in the past. Past... it’s only been a year and a half. A line of cars sat deserted on the highway. We stopped to siphon gas for our vehicles and drove on. A dark house crept into view on the horizon, and wordlessly I directed Gunny to it.

Cautiously we rolled up, cutting the lights as we approached. Gunny stepped out of the Jeep; parked beside the house was a jet black SUV. There was no way that car could have belonged to the original owners of the rundown house. My hand closed over the barrel of my rifle as I watched Gunny approach the rickety looking building. Wal-Mart stood outside my door, gun poised to shoot. Why I wasn’t at the base of the steps with Gunny was beyond me, but I blamed it on my distrust in Bunker.

“How you feeling, Maverick?” Wal-Mart asked, his eyes never straying from Gunny’s back.

I didn’t look at him either. “I’m fine... Days Inn?” I replied.

“Days nearly had a heart-attack when she didn’t see you get in the car with Gunny.”

Gunny entered the house.

“She’s got to remember that death is a very real thing these days. Any of us could be gone tomorrow.” I was trying to stay indifferent about the group, but attachments were beginning to form.

“No shit Sherlock, you seen the wildlife these days?”

I cracked a smile.

Gunfire had Wal-Mart and I at the doorway in an instant. Shoving past him I entered the dark house, listening before I called out. There-- somewhere in the darkness-- I could hear the gurgle of a Flesh Eater; Wal-Mart heard it too and we backed into each other, holding our guns at the ready. Light caught the Flesh Eater’s eye and I shot feeling the kickback rocket through my shoulder and strike Wal-Mart’s back. Then, there was silence.

“Mav,” Gunny said gruffly from somewhere to my left, “Don’t ever shoot blind again. You almost took my arm off. Hate to lose that at a time like this.”

“So who got the Fleshy?” Wal-Mart asked, the heat of his back against mine disappeared.

“I did,” replied Gunny. “Before Maverick even shot at the thing, or rather-- at me.”

I shrugged and left the house. I had left Bunker out there with Days Inn, and I didn’t want to come to regret that decision. When I reached the yard again I found Days Inn pressed into each other against the Hundai. Sometimes I wondered if they were aware that the world had ended. Bunker remained seated in the car where I left him. My eyes darted around out of habit to check my surroundings before I pulled open the door. He didn’t flinch at the noise, just looked blankly in my direction.

Lifting my eyebrows at him I sighed, “You gonna explain why your people thought they could just move in and open fire on us?”

He shrugged but once again did not speak.

“Well?” I paused, “You gonna say something you ungrateful punk?”

Again, silence.

With an angry grunt I slammed the door shut and stepped away from the car. Wal-Mart and Gunny came out of the house and gave the all clear. Something about the area didn’t feel right to me suddenly, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. I looked around once more; this was the only house for what looked like miles.

“Gunny,” I whispered loudly, throwing a quick look at him. “Anyone in the house?”

“Just a couple of Fleshies. Won’t know if there’s anything else in there until we take a light to the place.” He replied while straightening his ball cap. “What’s Bunker’s story?” He jerked his chin toward the Jeep.

“Won’t say a word.”

A cold breeze swept through, bringing goosebumps to my skin. Winter was coming again. My hand tightened reflexively around the butt of the rifle, relaxing as the breeze subsided. The others had migrated into the house leaving Bunker and I outside. He finally exited the car, crunching through the crisp grass rather loudly. Tromping over the gravel toward the abandoned SUV, Bunker paid no attention to my admonitions of silence. He opened the door and I braced myself for the alarm; it did not come, and so I relaxed-- sort of. He rummaged through the car stepping away from it with a large blanket and what looked like a duffel bag.

“What’s that?” I asked, gesturing to the lump in his arms with my gun.

Bunker didn’t answer. I was beginning to wonder if he could hear me at all. As he wandered -- loudly-- to the house, I took my own look through the abandoned vehicle. There was very little in the car, which meant Bunker had most likely taken the only things worth pillaging, minus the car itself. Leaning into the doorway t o check beneath the seats, I noticed what looked like a box of slugs. Stretching as far as I could my fingers barely brushed against the side of the box.

“Remind me to watch you stretch more often, Maverick.”

My heart hammered against my ribcage as my body went limp for an instant before I righted myself and turned to Gunny with a dour glare.

“Were you always this charming, Gun?” My voice held a sickly-sweet sharpness to it.

A smile crept slowly over his lips. “The charm is tailored to the situation at hand. The world ended, Mav. Charm went out the window a year or so ago.’

His hands were on my hips. The around us felt charged and thick with tension. He leaned forward, his forehead touching mine; I forced myself to swallow the lump in my throat.

“God, not you too.” Wal-Mart whined, coming around the back of the SUV. “We get enough of that from Days Inn.”

Clearing my throat I stepped away from Gunny quickly, praising the heavens for allowing the flush in my cheeks to be hidden by the darkness. I climbed into the car and took the blox of slugs exiting through the door on the other side. Wal-Mart and Gunny were two steps ehind me. Entering the house one at a time, I looked around. It wasn’t much-- that I could see due to the dark-- but it was enough for now. Wal-Mart offered to take first watch. Days Inn were already asleep, curled up against each other on a couch. Bunker was leaning against a wall, the car blanket wrapped tightly around his shoulders. I couldn’t tell if he was asleep, but I didn’t care. I threw my duffel on the ground, closed my eyes, and let out a deep breath.

Gunny shook me awake some time later, again causing my heart to race, my white-knuckle grip on a blade handle tightening.

“I almost killed you, Gunny.” I breathed, blinking rapidly.

“Keepin’ you on your feet,” he yawned. “You’re on watch.”

Quietly, I stood up, picked up my gun and walked out the front door. The sky was beginning to get lighter, the barren landscape becoming more clear. No Flesh Eaters in sight. I stepped off the porch, shivering at the cold and began to make my rounds around the house. A huge orchard of trees grew behind the house. It seemed safe enough until I saw movement in the gray dawn light. I cautiously crept toward the edge of the orchard slinging the makeshift strap for my rifle over my shoulder. The shots from last night probably attracted the Flesh Eaters, and shooting now would inevitably attract more. My hand gripped the ribbed handle of the hunting knife at my waist, my breaths were shallow puffs of white in the morning air. I couldn’t hear the growls usually associate with a Flesh Eater, but then again, perhaps we only hear these noises because we are close, and they are hungry.

The snap of a twig behind me had me spinning to face the sound, knife at the ready. People-- living ones-- were approaching the house, weapons poised. I raced back toward the dwelling, pulling my gun off my back. The kickback from the shot shocked my body into action. The man at the back of the group cried out, dropping to his knee. These men... they were Bunker’s men! Pandemonium erupted in the house, and shots rang out. I took cover around the back of the house, peeking out to shoot when clear. I managed to take out two of the six before they left my target range. Dashing around the house I continued to shoot, taking out another man. Gunny was on the porch as the last man went down. He smiled at me as I saw Bunker appear behind him.

I heard the shot before my brain registered the pain. My vision became watery as tears welled up in my eyes. In a blur, Gunny rounded on Bunker, lodging his blade deep into his gut. Bunker dropped, joining the rest of his men in death. It was hard for me to hear anything outside of my own breathing; I knew Gunny was yelling as he reached me, his arms closing tightly around me. It was becoming harder to breathe now. My stomach was warm, slick with blood. Gunny had lowered us to the ground; he looked so frightened. I tried to smile, but blood filled my mouth.

“Maverick! Don’t you dare die on me.” Gunny was shouting when his voice came into focus.

I put my hand on his cheek. “Shh,” I hushed, “We all knew this  day would come, Gun. Don’t let me become one of them. Promise me that.”

He shook his head furiously. The blood pooling in my mouth seeped out of the corners; I coughed, splashing blood down my shirt. I could see Days through the window, tears shimmering in her eyes, body trembling. I offered her a crimson smile. She was so young and had so much to live for before the world ended. Inn took his place beside her, his face clouded with emotion. Wal-Mart knelt beside us; he extracted a Gloc. from his pocket and prepared to fire.

“No,” I whispered, pushing the gun away weakly. “I want Gunny to do it. Wal-Mart, make sure Days isn’t around to see this. Take care of them. Promise me...”

He put a firm work-worn hand over mine, sadness in his eyes. “I promise, Maverick.”

Gunny had tears running down his cheeks cutting through the grime. When we were alone, he embraced me tightly. Weakly I wrapped my arms around him. The cold muzzle of his .44 touched my temple.

I took one last breath.

“Goodbye, Gunny.”