templar514
Jul 7th, 2016, 09:47 PM
[SPOILERS] [very minor universe spoilers] [don't really effect the plot of we're alive]
Hey there We're Alive fans if you could please read this whole intro (yes noone does that but hopefully this will explain some things)! This is a little taste of my upcoming We're Alive novel that I am working on! It is set in the We're Alive universe however some things like the location and minor events may be changed to ensure that it stays within the We're Alive universe! It will be a bi-weekly series where I will post one chapter! My story follows Will and his group of young survivors as they try to make it in ravaged and bombed Heller, Colorado! This story will be written parallel to my co-writer's story as two separate "novels" but one big story. His story is in the exact same town and follows a father in search of his daughter throughout Heller. Be sure to check it out as many events will intertwine making for a cool and hopefully unique way of storytelling! This is just a taste of the novel and includes the prologue and first chapter. My co-writer will have his account set up and story posted hopefully soon! I will update with his username and such! (PS i know the spacing is weird but it did not format right. I will fix it for future chapters) ENJOY
TWO HOURS AFTER INFECTION. HELLER, COLORADO.
Smoke*
There was a lot of smoke.
They were just kid’s hours ago.*
They were infected. They were going to kill him. He had no choice.
They were just kids.*
He pulled the trigger because he didn’t want to die.
Just.*
There was a lot of smoke.
Kids.*
He coughed his guts out. The mission turned into a shit show before it started. The soldier was only 22 and he was in hell. That is what it looked like anyways. The city looked and smelled like burning sulfur.
Fire and brimstone.*
The soldier had been knocked out. An entire bus of schoolchildren blown to bits. The soldier pulled himself off the ground using his rifle as a crutch.
This is my rifle. *
He looked at the wreckage. He had done that. Minutes ago the bus was full of children and infected. He had fired into the crowd as they scrambled for escape or scrambled for his blood.
This is my gun.*
He couldn’t tell clean from dirty. That was what they coined uninfected and infected. There were three other soldiers before the explosion. One of the soldiers had been pulled into the bus through a window. He had dropped a primed grenade. The Corporal had quickly grabbed the grenade and lobbed it through one of the windows. He had dived for cover.
The Corporal shook his head. His helmet was still on. It had saved his life. He scanned the flames and burnt corpses. He called out for anyone.
You killed them.*
There was no answer. A sound grabbed his attention behind him. It was a gurgling sound. The corporal ran to the sound quickly. It was his Commanding Officer. When he got closer however he was horrified. The half crippled body of his CO lurched out of the shadow of a small Sedan and into the light of the fire. The CO’s eyes were dark black and he was spewing blood as he crawled closer.
The Corporal cursed bringing up his rifle. A terrible pain went through his shoulder. The Corporal yelped and pulled the trigger. The bullet hit the CO in the shoulder. The CO kept coming.
The Corporal was crying. He fell on his ass still crying.
The CO kept crawling.
The Corporal brought his rifle up again propping his M4a1 on his knee. He screamed profanity at the CO and pulled the trigger.
The CO’s head snapped back.
The Corporal covered his face as blood spewed.
What the fuck is this.*
The Corporal sobbed. He sobbed for a good while before he heard the screeches of the infected.
Fear*
For the first time in his life he actually felt true fear. This killing machine. This kid was a killing machine, and he was scared. He was a kid and he was shitting himself. He wasn’t a killing machine anymore.
He quickly picked himself up and ran through the downtown district. Snow was beginning to fall around him. The entire downtown area of Heller, Colorado was lit up like a fucking Christmas tree.
Are we really losing?*
The Corporal ran from the sounds. The sounds got closer. He heard the sounds on his barely functioning radio telling everyone to pull out and contain the outskirts of the city.
We can’t win.*
The Corporal finally turned on Fifth Street and brought his rifle up. His adrenaline masked the pain now.
Empty*
Fires were burning many of the buildings. The bombs that were dropped had done their job. They didn’t leave many places for the infected to hide.
A helicopter flew overhead with its spotlight. It went right over the Corporal. He screamed. The helicopter kept going.
All around him fires continued to burn. He slumped and stared at the ground. Death wasn’t supposed to go like this. No hope for the afterlife. He was already in hell after all.
Another sound caught his attention. A small group of teens were two streets away running from something.
Just kids.*
He had to save them.
The Corporal quickly ran to the kid’s. When he got closer he noticed what they were running from.
There were four of them. They screeched to each other like animals as they tried to corral the kids into a corner.
Won’t let the kids die*
The Corporal screamed as loud as he could. He pointed down the street to his right. There had been less infected. They had a much better shot at finding the soldiers on the outskirts. The kids were still panicking but followed his instructions.
The Corporal pushed the last kid behind him and fired at the small group of infected. He killed one. The other three screeched and backed away.
Since when did they think?*
He fired a few more rounds and ran into the alleyway to his left. To his satisfaction all three infected followed him. The children ran safely to the right and into an abandoned pub. It looked safe.
It was better than nothing.
The Corporal quickly turned slightly and fired a few rounds down the alleyway to keep them guessing. He heard the sound of bullet meeting flesh.
This alley ends soon.*
The Corporal quickly turned again and was face to face with one of the infected. The middle aged man screamed and knocked the rifle from the Corporal’s hands. Training took over and the Corporal quickly unsheathed his pistol and fired point blank into the man’s face. The Corporal quickly turned as quick as he could to cover his face from the blood.
As he did this the last infected quickly jumped on his back.
The Corporal lurched the infected over his head and onto the ground. He had lost his gun.
The infected recovered quickly and lurched on the soldier again.
I wasn’t fast enough.*
The infected woman bit into his fore arm as he brought it up to cover his face. She held on like a German Shepard. He quickly unsheathed his combat knife and shoved it through her temple.
So much blood.
The head spewed blood like a science project volcano. Her grip on his fore arm loosened. The bite had not been deep but he knew what would happen next.
I knew I was fucked when this all happened.
He waited.
He felt normal.
Slow turner. I have time.*
He glanced down at his combat knife and then up at the building he was next to. It was a veterinary clinic.
I’m not a soldier or a scared kid.
The Corporal quickly burst through the front door, closing and locking it behind him. He grabbed a rag and some other chemicals.
What am I?*
He fashioned a tourniquet and grabbed his knife.
The military will think I’m dead even if I show my face after this.*
Corporal Amon Garter grabbed the knife…
I’m a survivor.*
And began cutting.
HELLER, COLORADO: 2 WEEKS AFTER BOMBING. 2 WEEKS AFTER INFECTION.
“Is it dead?"
“Of course it’s dead. You shot it.”
“Thomas, you know I’m not a great shot.”
Thomas looked over at Will after hearing that. Will shrugged.
Thomas let out a large sigh. “We need to check if there’s anything on him.”
Will was still aiming down the iron sights of his old M1a1 carbine at the corpse. He had learned that things are never as they seem in this new world. He slowly moved his way over to the bleeding corpse in the blinding white snow.
Thomas was right behind him carrying a fairly good sized combat knife. He had a holstered snub nosed .38 revolver with only two rounds. He had it literally for the worst emergency possible. Both carried large camping backpacks and were covered from head to toe in layers of clothing and patched cloth.
Will’s mid length, sandy blonde hair could be seen barely peeking out from under his beanie. He was sure there was a look of fear coming from his barely visible blue eyes. He wished he would’ve brought snow goggles. The bandana covering his mouth was barely enough to help shield his face.
From a distance it would be impossible to tell that both were only nineteen years old.
The walk to the corpse that was only five meters away seemed to be a century. Both slowly crunched in the snow trying to be as quiet as possible. The pair constantly scanned the houses of the suburban neighborhood. They were positioned in the middle of the street. That screamed ambush.
Will wasn’t sure why he hadn’t traded his leather cowboy boots for snow boots. They were a part of his past he supposed.
They finally were close enough to the corpse to see the clear exit wound through the dead man’s back. The M1a1 didn’t fire huge rounds but it got the job done. The wound was barely dripping blood still. Thomas readied his combat knife as Will nodded to him. Will kicked the corpse over still aiming his weapon at it. He instinctively backed up as the once thought dead corpse reached its hand out. The thing was still breathing, barely, but breathing. The shot had gone through the man’s stomach. Will supposed since the rounds were small, they didn’t quite hit enough to kill on the spot. It let out a low growl as blood and saliva poured out of its mouth. It had a blood crusted beard and the hair on its head had apparently been balding. Its eyes had a slight black tint to them that everyone infected with the disease seemed to have.
The poor creature did not have much time left.
Will liked to think of the man as a creature now anyways. He was infected with something. The news stations had called it a strain of rabies, but before the news stopped reporting, they had mentioned a type of fungus. That is about all Will knew on the subject. The infected were practically animals. They were ruthless and attacked just about anything that wasn’t part of their club.
Will pointed his gun at the creature before him, not sure what to do. Thomas pushed the rifle down in Will’s hand and knelt down closer to the corpse. Thomas raised up his Snow goggles and pulled down the bandana covering his mouth. He pulled back his hood as well. A scruffy beard was slowly forming. Both had facial hair but Will had always, for some reason, envied Thomas’s ability to grow it perfectly. It looked like on a generic detective in a crime drama or something.
“I’m truly sorry this happened to you Henry.” Thomas said.
“Henry? Thomas, what the hell are you talking about?” Will asked in disgust.
Thomas shrugged, “Well he has a name doesn’t he?” Thomas pointed the knife at henry. “He looks like a Henry.”
Will let out a sigh.
Thomas looked back down at the corpse in the eyes. The corpse was still trying to move. Will guessed there was so much blood loss the corpse simply couldn’t move.
Now like I was saying before I was interrupted by my solemn friend over there.” Thomas pointed at Will while saying this. “I was apologizing that this happened to you. You didn’t ask for this man, but we need your shit, and your dead anyways. So, goodnight man. Say hi to my Grandma Sally for me.”
In one swift motion Thomas brought the blade down hard into the man’s skull. He yanked out the blade.
“You done?” Will asked
“If you’re done being a spoilsport” Thomas replied
Will didn’t even acknowledge the comment, “Check him for stuff. I’ll watch our back.”
“Wait wasn’t it you that said you’re not a great shot?”
“I wouldn’t miss if I shot you from here.” Will remarked
“Ok point taken.”
Thomas pulled up two protein bars from the man’s jacket pocket. He tossed one to Will.
“Well that worked out perfectly.” Thomas said as he opened up the wrapper and put the protein bar in his mouth.
“Anything else? Will asked. He was beginning to get a little nervous. He glanced around at all of the snow covered houses in the suburban area. The fact that there was only one infected here was troubling.
“You out past curfew son?” Thomas asked as he wiped his hands on his gloved hands on his jeans and stood up.
“No but I’m pretty sure I heard a dinner bell the second I shot that guy.” Will paused, “wow you just said son, just… why.” Will said
Thomas ignored the second comment and nodded. “It is weird that we haven’t seen anyone or thing aside from this guy.” He glanced around at the houses. “There wasn’t anything on this dude. I like the plan that you had where we leave.”
Will nodded, “Thanks for the agreement. Let’s head back.” Will looked at the slowly setting sun. “It’s getting dark. Map this and we’ll start here tomorrow.”
Thomas saluted mockingly. “Yes sir captain killjoy sir!”
Will looked in the road behind the man that caught his attention. It was about twenty meters away.
“Second thought, wait a second.” Will said.
“Dude you just said we should leave, let’s go.” Thomas moved his had in a waving motion toward the road.
Will ignored him and briskly jogged closer to find that the object was a snow covered teddy bear. Will picked it up and dusted it off.
“Found something for Jessica over here!” Will called to Thomas
Thomas had finished looking through the wallet and tossed it. “Nice! God knows she needs something to play with aside from those crappy wooden toys you widdled for her.”
Will put his hands up. “Hey she’s only seven! I don’t thin-“
Will stopped immediately. In the road, one hundred yards away, a figure was watching.
The figure did not have his weapon drawn. In fact, it seemed the figure was just as shocked to see them.
“Thomas. Don’t move too fast but look.”
Thomas glanced up at the figure. “Um, what the hell?”
Will lowered his rifle and waved at the figure. “Hey! We don’t want any trouble!”
Will knew not to trust anyone out here. A small part of him still gave people the benefit of the doubt. This guy wasn’t even armed.
The figure waved back but before he could say hi he tensed up at the sight of something in the road behind Thomas and Will.
The figured pointed behind them and screamed, “Run!”
Will quickly turned around and heard the motor of an old gas guzzling truck. Will turned back around again and the figure was running away.
“What the hell are you-” Will managed to let out.
He made eye contact with Thomas. Both had the same look of fear. They knew the sound of that truck.
“Thomas, in the house, now!” Will pointed at the two story modest looking house that was closest to the pair.
“Already on it captain obvious!” Thomas was at the window first. He used his slung crowbar to break one of the windows. He dived in quickly.
Will sprinted as fast as he could as he was five meters from the window he saw the long military troop carrier pull around the corner. The truck had an extra-large bed that could carry at least twenty troops on a good day. The tarp that usually covered the troops however was gone.
As soon Will dove through the window bullets began pounding the walls of the old house. If Will counted his bullets right he still had about seven left in his clip.
“Hold your fire! Hold your fire!” a distinct voice yelled over the firing. “Trigger happy animals. You know the General said not to kill on sight!”
The men immediately stopped.
Will knew exactly who these guys were. They were military. Well they were once military before defecting for who knows what reason. Will and Thomas knew what they were for however and that’s all that mattered. They weren’t friendly. Will and Thomas had seen their fair share of people killed by these lunatics.
“Look, you guys know how this goes! Our boss isn’t messing around anymore!” the voice yelled. “Give us what you have and we promise we might not kill you!”
There was a brief pause of silence.
The voice let out a sigh. “Look I was enjoying a glass of some very expensive scotch before I got sent on this milk run so hurry your response up befor-“
Will propped the rifle over the edge of the window. He held the rifle over his head and squeezed the trigger three times.
Eight left.
Seven left.
Six left.
The soldiers ran for cover. Will nodded to Thomas. Both bolted through the house as the soldiers gained back their bearings and began to fire again. The pair quickly ran for the back of the house where a door led out into the back yard. As they both bolted through the kitchen a figure lurched from the corner and pushed Thomas against the wall.
“Will! Bitch alert!” Thomas yelped
Will quickly kicked the infected woman off of Thomas. He fired a round straight through her head with one arm holding the rifle, and the other arm holding the teddy bear.
Five left.
Thomas was gawking at the corpse that almost killed him. Will quickly kicked open the wooden door and shoved the teddy bear in Thomas’s hands. He grabbed Thomas’s shoulder and shoved him out the door.
Both bolted through the backyard. Thomas quickly ran for the hole in the fence at the back of the yard. There was a swing set and snow filled sand box that the pair had to traverse to get to the other side. Thomas had always been faster than Will and made it to the hole in the gate first. Will turned with his carbine raised to cover him. Thomas was crouching through the small hole in the gate at the front of the yard burst open.
A man in winter clothing mixed with military fatigues and a gas mask rushed into the yard. He did not immediately see the two teens and was surprised by the two sudden rounds that were fired at him.
Four left
Three left
The first shot was a clean miss but the second round caught the man in the throat. The soldier let out a gargling grunt as he grasped at the blood spewing wound quickly and was caught by another soldier behind him as he fell back. Will was about to fire at the man that caught his dying comrade as the gun jammed.
“The one time I don’t clean you, you son of a-” Will mumbled
A burst of rounds hit a few inches to the right of Will’s head. His eyes went wide. Right… inner monologue later, he thought
He quickly followed Thomas through the hole as a burst hit the fence behind him. Both Will and Thomas glanced at each other and without a word ran into the woods behind the house as fast as they could. They would not stop running until at least a mile from that spot.
When they both stopped Will glanced at Thomas, “I thought I was captain killjoy.”
“I usually would have something witty to say to that but…”, Thomas fell back in the snow, “I think I can make an exception.”
***
The walk back to their home was long and grueling. They were not able to take their usual route because of the increased marauder presence, and had to hoof it through the wood. Usually the pair would stay right at the wood line, close to the road, but after the firepower they saw on that troop carrier, they didn’t want to get blown to pieces needless to say. They carefully worked their way through the woods, checking every step. As time progressed, many of the infected froze over, and many were buried under the snow. The only issue was the infected didn’t always die from freezing over. One week ago Thomas almost was grabbed by half of a man protruding from a large frozen chunk of ice in the ground. These infected were slow but still just as deadly with the element of surprise. Will had noticed an increased amount of them as well in the past few days. He could have sworn he saw one that looked like it covered itself in snow. The only thing that gave it away was the huge pool of blood covering the ice patch and large chunks of human remains in front of it. Thomas and Will labeled these infected, campers. They were both avid gamers before everything fell.
They finally emerged from the woods to the downtown area. The downtown area of Heller, Colorado was a beacon in the middle of the wilderness that surrounded it. It was about 3x3 miles of city. It wasn’t huge but it was big enough to harbor a good amount of infected. Denver was about thirty miles to the east but there wasn’t much in between there. The biggest thing Heller had was an airport about two miles to the north of the downtown district. Will and Thomas had noted that as a possible way out of Heller, but chances were things weren’t much better anywhere else. Nothing had been heard on the radio in about two weeks from anyone.
The buildings on the outskirts were in much better shape than the buildings closer to the center of the district. Will and Thomas walked down one of the roads that led straight to their home. 4th street was crudely scraped into a sign that had been blown over. At the very beginning the military lost control quick. In fact it was amazing how fast they lost control. Will and Thomas had lived in the middle class suburban area that was connected to the downtown district. Both had seen the chaos unfold as the military dropped their bombs on the city. Buildings that Will and his mother used to shop at for their “back to school sells” reduced to nothing but rubble.
Mom…
Will shook his head and focused. It wasn’t the time to grieve yet.
About ¾ of the buildings remained intact but only about half of them were still safe to live in. Heavy snow fall was weighing down on some of the broken frames of the buildings and occasionally one could be heard collapsing.
Will and Thomas cautiously eyed all of the buildings on their left and right as they walked down the middle of the street. Both always felt that feeling that they were being watched.
They finally made it to their home. Willie’s pub stood right in front of them, completely intact. Both buildings on either side were caved in and collapsed. Thomas had remarked that it had to be good luck. The building itself was dug into the ground, almost New York style, so that the roof was really only at about Will, and Thomas’s waste.
In the beginning when they had found this place, they went to work quickly. Jack was about 21 years old and had been wielder in his past job. They had managed to use the scrap metal from the surrounding buildings to make an effective array of metal bars that covered the top of the entire pit surrounding the building. The bars were pretty stable but they were constantly improving them as time went on. Thomas pulled out a key from his jacket pocket and unlocked the hatch that led down to the stairs.
The pair descended the stairs and Thomas stopped to lock the hatch behind him. The windows had already been barred but to be extra safe, Jack had wielded more scrap into effective metal plates that covered the windows completely, blocking out the light from the inside. Smoke could be seen coming from the small chimney on the side.
“I specifically told them not to light the damn fireplace.” Thomas said, “Lights our place up like a fucking candle in a prison cell.”
Will shrugged, “c’mon man it’s probably freezing.” Will glanced over at Thomas, “you know those electric heaters only do so much.”
Thomas shook his head. “Well let’s get in there. I’m gonna at least enjoy it a bit before we dowse it.”
Thomas walked to the door and knocked a five beat tune on the wooden frame.
A two, two response was heard.
Thomas whistled and hit the door twice.
The door creaked open. A shotgun peeked through the crack right at Thomas’ face.
“Jesus Liam!” Thomas pulled the shotgun out of Malcolm’s grasp quickly. “Gun safety 101 jack ass! I’m the only one who knows the code, so point the damn gun down!”
A frail 16 year old boy with light brown hair and deep black frame glasses quickly backed up from the door. Thomas and Will both emerged inside and Will closed the door behind them quickly.
He stuttered, “I- I’m sorry Thomas! I just wanted to be careful!”
The second Thomas noticed how scared Liam looked he softened up. His stance eased up and he lowered the shotgun to a grounded Liam.
“Uh, its ok.” Thomas knelt down and pulled Liam up. “You did good champ. It’s just been an eventful day.”
Thomas dusted off Liam’s shoulders and patted him on the back.
“I’ll take your post buddy, you get some rest” Thomas said gently.
“Oh, thanks!” Liam seemed happy but was definitely confused. “Mind if I dip into the jerky rations we have?”
“Fine by me” Thomas said, “May want to ask Malcolm first. He’s the one that killed the deer for it. Use the radio behind the bar counter but be careful. He may not want to be heard.”
Malcolm was the groups designated hunter. That was the best way to describe him. He had grown up in a cabin with his family about 10 miles into the wilderness. His long auburn hair was usually under a hat or beanie with “buck hunter” on it. He wasn’t the most talkative of the group but he seemed to be really grow a friendship with Liam. Malcolm was only a year older than him but he seemed to have the big brother mentality down. He had even taken Liam out a couple of times on scouting missions. Needless to say they didn’t last long because Liam simply wasn’t made for the wilderness. Malcolm was currently on a hunting run until the next morning. He always managed to come back safe so no one questioned him.
What Liam was good at, however, was planning. His job most of the time was to check rations, plan what was needed, and many times he could estimate the best places to hit for supplies. Most of the time his predictions were spot on. He was still a viable member of the group and was still needed.
“Where are the others?” Will asked.
He was referring to the other three members of the small group. It was only about eight o’clock and most were usually up at this hour.
“Samantha, Victoria, and Jessica are all asleep in the ex-owner’s rooms.”
“Will?” A small girl’s voice was heard from down one of the hallways in the pub.
“Or she Jessica was awake the whole time.” Liam remarked.
“Hey there Jessie girl.” Will said with a smile.
Jessica ran to Will and gave him a big hug. She was very small even for her age and was practically absorbed by all the gear and clothing Will had on. She was clothed in some very old power puff girl pajamas that Malcolm had found out in the woods when hunting. That was the story anyways. Will had decided to not question it and simply washed the clothes thoroughly.
“Close your eyes and hold out your hands.” Will asked nicely
Jessica obeyed quickly and held her hands out. Will put the teddy bear in her hands.
Her first reaction was to quickly throw it down because of the snow and ice still on the fur.
Thomas was laughing his ass off at the sight.
“Oh gosh I’m so sorry!” Will quickly picked up the teddy bear.
Jessica laughed at Thomas laughing and remarked, “Its ok Will! She’s cute! What’s her name?”
“You get to name her silly! Let me put her by the fire for a bit and then you can take her back to bed.”
***
When Jessica had finally gone to bed with her teddy bear Will fell back into one of the ripped up couches that had been salvaged. They had already dowsed the fire and Will was simply sitting in the chair out of exhaustion. He had a lamp on and was just watching the light, thinking for some time. It was about 4 AM at this point and Jack seemed to always wake up early for some reason. Habits didn’t change Will had supposed. Jack had made a pot of coffee on the small stove in the kitchen. Jack sat down on the couch to the side of the dowsed fireplace. He took a sip from his cup and smiled at Will.
“Willie I know you kind of coordinate stuff around here.” He took another sip. “But what in the hell are you still doing up?”
“I just put Jessica to sleep finally.” Will scratched his chin. “She kept talking about her mother.”
Jack put his coffee on the table in the middle of the living area.
“I’m guessing that was pretty rough.”
“Ya that’s the understatement of the century.”
Jack gave him a sympathetic look, “You’re doing the best you can man. I mean she is alive because of you.”
“Jack, I killed her mother.”
“She told you to.”
“What does that change?”
Jack stood up and put his hand on Will’s shoulder. “Will, I know you feel like what you did was wrong but…” Jack squeezed his shoulder a bit. “These are much different times. The difference between right and wrong is kind of blurred now. You know what would have happened if you didn’t shoot.”
“She would have turned.”
“Exactly. You saved her from that.” Jack pointed to Jessica’s room. “And you saved her from that.”
“I guess.”
Jack eased up on Will’s shoulder. “I’m going to go check all of the defenses for the day.” He paused. “How about you sit this out and you get some rest. I’ll get Thomas to do it.”
“Jack.”
“Nope. You sit here.” Jack picked up his coffee and walked to the entrance of the pub. “God knows being awake for 32 hours isn’t going to help anything.”
Jack kicked the wooden chair that Thomas had fallen asleep on while keeping watch. Thomas was startled and fell back with a loud crash. He let out a groan.
“Time to get up and work for your safety Jackass.”
Thomas looked up and mock saluted.
“That’s more like it.”
Will smiled and laid his head back. He was asleep the second his eyes were closed.
Hey there We're Alive fans if you could please read this whole intro (yes noone does that but hopefully this will explain some things)! This is a little taste of my upcoming We're Alive novel that I am working on! It is set in the We're Alive universe however some things like the location and minor events may be changed to ensure that it stays within the We're Alive universe! It will be a bi-weekly series where I will post one chapter! My story follows Will and his group of young survivors as they try to make it in ravaged and bombed Heller, Colorado! This story will be written parallel to my co-writer's story as two separate "novels" but one big story. His story is in the exact same town and follows a father in search of his daughter throughout Heller. Be sure to check it out as many events will intertwine making for a cool and hopefully unique way of storytelling! This is just a taste of the novel and includes the prologue and first chapter. My co-writer will have his account set up and story posted hopefully soon! I will update with his username and such! (PS i know the spacing is weird but it did not format right. I will fix it for future chapters) ENJOY
TWO HOURS AFTER INFECTION. HELLER, COLORADO.
Smoke*
There was a lot of smoke.
They were just kid’s hours ago.*
They were infected. They were going to kill him. He had no choice.
They were just kids.*
He pulled the trigger because he didn’t want to die.
Just.*
There was a lot of smoke.
Kids.*
He coughed his guts out. The mission turned into a shit show before it started. The soldier was only 22 and he was in hell. That is what it looked like anyways. The city looked and smelled like burning sulfur.
Fire and brimstone.*
The soldier had been knocked out. An entire bus of schoolchildren blown to bits. The soldier pulled himself off the ground using his rifle as a crutch.
This is my rifle. *
He looked at the wreckage. He had done that. Minutes ago the bus was full of children and infected. He had fired into the crowd as they scrambled for escape or scrambled for his blood.
This is my gun.*
He couldn’t tell clean from dirty. That was what they coined uninfected and infected. There were three other soldiers before the explosion. One of the soldiers had been pulled into the bus through a window. He had dropped a primed grenade. The Corporal had quickly grabbed the grenade and lobbed it through one of the windows. He had dived for cover.
The Corporal shook his head. His helmet was still on. It had saved his life. He scanned the flames and burnt corpses. He called out for anyone.
You killed them.*
There was no answer. A sound grabbed his attention behind him. It was a gurgling sound. The corporal ran to the sound quickly. It was his Commanding Officer. When he got closer however he was horrified. The half crippled body of his CO lurched out of the shadow of a small Sedan and into the light of the fire. The CO’s eyes were dark black and he was spewing blood as he crawled closer.
The Corporal cursed bringing up his rifle. A terrible pain went through his shoulder. The Corporal yelped and pulled the trigger. The bullet hit the CO in the shoulder. The CO kept coming.
The Corporal was crying. He fell on his ass still crying.
The CO kept crawling.
The Corporal brought his rifle up again propping his M4a1 on his knee. He screamed profanity at the CO and pulled the trigger.
The CO’s head snapped back.
The Corporal covered his face as blood spewed.
What the fuck is this.*
The Corporal sobbed. He sobbed for a good while before he heard the screeches of the infected.
Fear*
For the first time in his life he actually felt true fear. This killing machine. This kid was a killing machine, and he was scared. He was a kid and he was shitting himself. He wasn’t a killing machine anymore.
He quickly picked himself up and ran through the downtown district. Snow was beginning to fall around him. The entire downtown area of Heller, Colorado was lit up like a fucking Christmas tree.
Are we really losing?*
The Corporal ran from the sounds. The sounds got closer. He heard the sounds on his barely functioning radio telling everyone to pull out and contain the outskirts of the city.
We can’t win.*
The Corporal finally turned on Fifth Street and brought his rifle up. His adrenaline masked the pain now.
Empty*
Fires were burning many of the buildings. The bombs that were dropped had done their job. They didn’t leave many places for the infected to hide.
A helicopter flew overhead with its spotlight. It went right over the Corporal. He screamed. The helicopter kept going.
All around him fires continued to burn. He slumped and stared at the ground. Death wasn’t supposed to go like this. No hope for the afterlife. He was already in hell after all.
Another sound caught his attention. A small group of teens were two streets away running from something.
Just kids.*
He had to save them.
The Corporal quickly ran to the kid’s. When he got closer he noticed what they were running from.
There were four of them. They screeched to each other like animals as they tried to corral the kids into a corner.
Won’t let the kids die*
The Corporal screamed as loud as he could. He pointed down the street to his right. There had been less infected. They had a much better shot at finding the soldiers on the outskirts. The kids were still panicking but followed his instructions.
The Corporal pushed the last kid behind him and fired at the small group of infected. He killed one. The other three screeched and backed away.
Since when did they think?*
He fired a few more rounds and ran into the alleyway to his left. To his satisfaction all three infected followed him. The children ran safely to the right and into an abandoned pub. It looked safe.
It was better than nothing.
The Corporal quickly turned slightly and fired a few rounds down the alleyway to keep them guessing. He heard the sound of bullet meeting flesh.
This alley ends soon.*
The Corporal quickly turned again and was face to face with one of the infected. The middle aged man screamed and knocked the rifle from the Corporal’s hands. Training took over and the Corporal quickly unsheathed his pistol and fired point blank into the man’s face. The Corporal quickly turned as quick as he could to cover his face from the blood.
As he did this the last infected quickly jumped on his back.
The Corporal lurched the infected over his head and onto the ground. He had lost his gun.
The infected recovered quickly and lurched on the soldier again.
I wasn’t fast enough.*
The infected woman bit into his fore arm as he brought it up to cover his face. She held on like a German Shepard. He quickly unsheathed his combat knife and shoved it through her temple.
So much blood.
The head spewed blood like a science project volcano. Her grip on his fore arm loosened. The bite had not been deep but he knew what would happen next.
I knew I was fucked when this all happened.
He waited.
He felt normal.
Slow turner. I have time.*
He glanced down at his combat knife and then up at the building he was next to. It was a veterinary clinic.
I’m not a soldier or a scared kid.
The Corporal quickly burst through the front door, closing and locking it behind him. He grabbed a rag and some other chemicals.
What am I?*
He fashioned a tourniquet and grabbed his knife.
The military will think I’m dead even if I show my face after this.*
Corporal Amon Garter grabbed the knife…
I’m a survivor.*
And began cutting.
HELLER, COLORADO: 2 WEEKS AFTER BOMBING. 2 WEEKS AFTER INFECTION.
“Is it dead?"
“Of course it’s dead. You shot it.”
“Thomas, you know I’m not a great shot.”
Thomas looked over at Will after hearing that. Will shrugged.
Thomas let out a large sigh. “We need to check if there’s anything on him.”
Will was still aiming down the iron sights of his old M1a1 carbine at the corpse. He had learned that things are never as they seem in this new world. He slowly moved his way over to the bleeding corpse in the blinding white snow.
Thomas was right behind him carrying a fairly good sized combat knife. He had a holstered snub nosed .38 revolver with only two rounds. He had it literally for the worst emergency possible. Both carried large camping backpacks and were covered from head to toe in layers of clothing and patched cloth.
Will’s mid length, sandy blonde hair could be seen barely peeking out from under his beanie. He was sure there was a look of fear coming from his barely visible blue eyes. He wished he would’ve brought snow goggles. The bandana covering his mouth was barely enough to help shield his face.
From a distance it would be impossible to tell that both were only nineteen years old.
The walk to the corpse that was only five meters away seemed to be a century. Both slowly crunched in the snow trying to be as quiet as possible. The pair constantly scanned the houses of the suburban neighborhood. They were positioned in the middle of the street. That screamed ambush.
Will wasn’t sure why he hadn’t traded his leather cowboy boots for snow boots. They were a part of his past he supposed.
They finally were close enough to the corpse to see the clear exit wound through the dead man’s back. The M1a1 didn’t fire huge rounds but it got the job done. The wound was barely dripping blood still. Thomas readied his combat knife as Will nodded to him. Will kicked the corpse over still aiming his weapon at it. He instinctively backed up as the once thought dead corpse reached its hand out. The thing was still breathing, barely, but breathing. The shot had gone through the man’s stomach. Will supposed since the rounds were small, they didn’t quite hit enough to kill on the spot. It let out a low growl as blood and saliva poured out of its mouth. It had a blood crusted beard and the hair on its head had apparently been balding. Its eyes had a slight black tint to them that everyone infected with the disease seemed to have.
The poor creature did not have much time left.
Will liked to think of the man as a creature now anyways. He was infected with something. The news stations had called it a strain of rabies, but before the news stopped reporting, they had mentioned a type of fungus. That is about all Will knew on the subject. The infected were practically animals. They were ruthless and attacked just about anything that wasn’t part of their club.
Will pointed his gun at the creature before him, not sure what to do. Thomas pushed the rifle down in Will’s hand and knelt down closer to the corpse. Thomas raised up his Snow goggles and pulled down the bandana covering his mouth. He pulled back his hood as well. A scruffy beard was slowly forming. Both had facial hair but Will had always, for some reason, envied Thomas’s ability to grow it perfectly. It looked like on a generic detective in a crime drama or something.
“I’m truly sorry this happened to you Henry.” Thomas said.
“Henry? Thomas, what the hell are you talking about?” Will asked in disgust.
Thomas shrugged, “Well he has a name doesn’t he?” Thomas pointed the knife at henry. “He looks like a Henry.”
Will let out a sigh.
Thomas looked back down at the corpse in the eyes. The corpse was still trying to move. Will guessed there was so much blood loss the corpse simply couldn’t move.
Now like I was saying before I was interrupted by my solemn friend over there.” Thomas pointed at Will while saying this. “I was apologizing that this happened to you. You didn’t ask for this man, but we need your shit, and your dead anyways. So, goodnight man. Say hi to my Grandma Sally for me.”
In one swift motion Thomas brought the blade down hard into the man’s skull. He yanked out the blade.
“You done?” Will asked
“If you’re done being a spoilsport” Thomas replied
Will didn’t even acknowledge the comment, “Check him for stuff. I’ll watch our back.”
“Wait wasn’t it you that said you’re not a great shot?”
“I wouldn’t miss if I shot you from here.” Will remarked
“Ok point taken.”
Thomas pulled up two protein bars from the man’s jacket pocket. He tossed one to Will.
“Well that worked out perfectly.” Thomas said as he opened up the wrapper and put the protein bar in his mouth.
“Anything else? Will asked. He was beginning to get a little nervous. He glanced around at all of the snow covered houses in the suburban area. The fact that there was only one infected here was troubling.
“You out past curfew son?” Thomas asked as he wiped his hands on his gloved hands on his jeans and stood up.
“No but I’m pretty sure I heard a dinner bell the second I shot that guy.” Will paused, “wow you just said son, just… why.” Will said
Thomas ignored the second comment and nodded. “It is weird that we haven’t seen anyone or thing aside from this guy.” He glanced around at the houses. “There wasn’t anything on this dude. I like the plan that you had where we leave.”
Will nodded, “Thanks for the agreement. Let’s head back.” Will looked at the slowly setting sun. “It’s getting dark. Map this and we’ll start here tomorrow.”
Thomas saluted mockingly. “Yes sir captain killjoy sir!”
Will looked in the road behind the man that caught his attention. It was about twenty meters away.
“Second thought, wait a second.” Will said.
“Dude you just said we should leave, let’s go.” Thomas moved his had in a waving motion toward the road.
Will ignored him and briskly jogged closer to find that the object was a snow covered teddy bear. Will picked it up and dusted it off.
“Found something for Jessica over here!” Will called to Thomas
Thomas had finished looking through the wallet and tossed it. “Nice! God knows she needs something to play with aside from those crappy wooden toys you widdled for her.”
Will put his hands up. “Hey she’s only seven! I don’t thin-“
Will stopped immediately. In the road, one hundred yards away, a figure was watching.
The figure did not have his weapon drawn. In fact, it seemed the figure was just as shocked to see them.
“Thomas. Don’t move too fast but look.”
Thomas glanced up at the figure. “Um, what the hell?”
Will lowered his rifle and waved at the figure. “Hey! We don’t want any trouble!”
Will knew not to trust anyone out here. A small part of him still gave people the benefit of the doubt. This guy wasn’t even armed.
The figure waved back but before he could say hi he tensed up at the sight of something in the road behind Thomas and Will.
The figured pointed behind them and screamed, “Run!”
Will quickly turned around and heard the motor of an old gas guzzling truck. Will turned back around again and the figure was running away.
“What the hell are you-” Will managed to let out.
He made eye contact with Thomas. Both had the same look of fear. They knew the sound of that truck.
“Thomas, in the house, now!” Will pointed at the two story modest looking house that was closest to the pair.
“Already on it captain obvious!” Thomas was at the window first. He used his slung crowbar to break one of the windows. He dived in quickly.
Will sprinted as fast as he could as he was five meters from the window he saw the long military troop carrier pull around the corner. The truck had an extra-large bed that could carry at least twenty troops on a good day. The tarp that usually covered the troops however was gone.
As soon Will dove through the window bullets began pounding the walls of the old house. If Will counted his bullets right he still had about seven left in his clip.
“Hold your fire! Hold your fire!” a distinct voice yelled over the firing. “Trigger happy animals. You know the General said not to kill on sight!”
The men immediately stopped.
Will knew exactly who these guys were. They were military. Well they were once military before defecting for who knows what reason. Will and Thomas knew what they were for however and that’s all that mattered. They weren’t friendly. Will and Thomas had seen their fair share of people killed by these lunatics.
“Look, you guys know how this goes! Our boss isn’t messing around anymore!” the voice yelled. “Give us what you have and we promise we might not kill you!”
There was a brief pause of silence.
The voice let out a sigh. “Look I was enjoying a glass of some very expensive scotch before I got sent on this milk run so hurry your response up befor-“
Will propped the rifle over the edge of the window. He held the rifle over his head and squeezed the trigger three times.
Eight left.
Seven left.
Six left.
The soldiers ran for cover. Will nodded to Thomas. Both bolted through the house as the soldiers gained back their bearings and began to fire again. The pair quickly ran for the back of the house where a door led out into the back yard. As they both bolted through the kitchen a figure lurched from the corner and pushed Thomas against the wall.
“Will! Bitch alert!” Thomas yelped
Will quickly kicked the infected woman off of Thomas. He fired a round straight through her head with one arm holding the rifle, and the other arm holding the teddy bear.
Five left.
Thomas was gawking at the corpse that almost killed him. Will quickly kicked open the wooden door and shoved the teddy bear in Thomas’s hands. He grabbed Thomas’s shoulder and shoved him out the door.
Both bolted through the backyard. Thomas quickly ran for the hole in the fence at the back of the yard. There was a swing set and snow filled sand box that the pair had to traverse to get to the other side. Thomas had always been faster than Will and made it to the hole in the gate first. Will turned with his carbine raised to cover him. Thomas was crouching through the small hole in the gate at the front of the yard burst open.
A man in winter clothing mixed with military fatigues and a gas mask rushed into the yard. He did not immediately see the two teens and was surprised by the two sudden rounds that were fired at him.
Four left
Three left
The first shot was a clean miss but the second round caught the man in the throat. The soldier let out a gargling grunt as he grasped at the blood spewing wound quickly and was caught by another soldier behind him as he fell back. Will was about to fire at the man that caught his dying comrade as the gun jammed.
“The one time I don’t clean you, you son of a-” Will mumbled
A burst of rounds hit a few inches to the right of Will’s head. His eyes went wide. Right… inner monologue later, he thought
He quickly followed Thomas through the hole as a burst hit the fence behind him. Both Will and Thomas glanced at each other and without a word ran into the woods behind the house as fast as they could. They would not stop running until at least a mile from that spot.
When they both stopped Will glanced at Thomas, “I thought I was captain killjoy.”
“I usually would have something witty to say to that but…”, Thomas fell back in the snow, “I think I can make an exception.”
***
The walk back to their home was long and grueling. They were not able to take their usual route because of the increased marauder presence, and had to hoof it through the wood. Usually the pair would stay right at the wood line, close to the road, but after the firepower they saw on that troop carrier, they didn’t want to get blown to pieces needless to say. They carefully worked their way through the woods, checking every step. As time progressed, many of the infected froze over, and many were buried under the snow. The only issue was the infected didn’t always die from freezing over. One week ago Thomas almost was grabbed by half of a man protruding from a large frozen chunk of ice in the ground. These infected were slow but still just as deadly with the element of surprise. Will had noticed an increased amount of them as well in the past few days. He could have sworn he saw one that looked like it covered itself in snow. The only thing that gave it away was the huge pool of blood covering the ice patch and large chunks of human remains in front of it. Thomas and Will labeled these infected, campers. They were both avid gamers before everything fell.
They finally emerged from the woods to the downtown area. The downtown area of Heller, Colorado was a beacon in the middle of the wilderness that surrounded it. It was about 3x3 miles of city. It wasn’t huge but it was big enough to harbor a good amount of infected. Denver was about thirty miles to the east but there wasn’t much in between there. The biggest thing Heller had was an airport about two miles to the north of the downtown district. Will and Thomas had noted that as a possible way out of Heller, but chances were things weren’t much better anywhere else. Nothing had been heard on the radio in about two weeks from anyone.
The buildings on the outskirts were in much better shape than the buildings closer to the center of the district. Will and Thomas walked down one of the roads that led straight to their home. 4th street was crudely scraped into a sign that had been blown over. At the very beginning the military lost control quick. In fact it was amazing how fast they lost control. Will and Thomas had lived in the middle class suburban area that was connected to the downtown district. Both had seen the chaos unfold as the military dropped their bombs on the city. Buildings that Will and his mother used to shop at for their “back to school sells” reduced to nothing but rubble.
Mom…
Will shook his head and focused. It wasn’t the time to grieve yet.
About ¾ of the buildings remained intact but only about half of them were still safe to live in. Heavy snow fall was weighing down on some of the broken frames of the buildings and occasionally one could be heard collapsing.
Will and Thomas cautiously eyed all of the buildings on their left and right as they walked down the middle of the street. Both always felt that feeling that they were being watched.
They finally made it to their home. Willie’s pub stood right in front of them, completely intact. Both buildings on either side were caved in and collapsed. Thomas had remarked that it had to be good luck. The building itself was dug into the ground, almost New York style, so that the roof was really only at about Will, and Thomas’s waste.
In the beginning when they had found this place, they went to work quickly. Jack was about 21 years old and had been wielder in his past job. They had managed to use the scrap metal from the surrounding buildings to make an effective array of metal bars that covered the top of the entire pit surrounding the building. The bars were pretty stable but they were constantly improving them as time went on. Thomas pulled out a key from his jacket pocket and unlocked the hatch that led down to the stairs.
The pair descended the stairs and Thomas stopped to lock the hatch behind him. The windows had already been barred but to be extra safe, Jack had wielded more scrap into effective metal plates that covered the windows completely, blocking out the light from the inside. Smoke could be seen coming from the small chimney on the side.
“I specifically told them not to light the damn fireplace.” Thomas said, “Lights our place up like a fucking candle in a prison cell.”
Will shrugged, “c’mon man it’s probably freezing.” Will glanced over at Thomas, “you know those electric heaters only do so much.”
Thomas shook his head. “Well let’s get in there. I’m gonna at least enjoy it a bit before we dowse it.”
Thomas walked to the door and knocked a five beat tune on the wooden frame.
A two, two response was heard.
Thomas whistled and hit the door twice.
The door creaked open. A shotgun peeked through the crack right at Thomas’ face.
“Jesus Liam!” Thomas pulled the shotgun out of Malcolm’s grasp quickly. “Gun safety 101 jack ass! I’m the only one who knows the code, so point the damn gun down!”
A frail 16 year old boy with light brown hair and deep black frame glasses quickly backed up from the door. Thomas and Will both emerged inside and Will closed the door behind them quickly.
He stuttered, “I- I’m sorry Thomas! I just wanted to be careful!”
The second Thomas noticed how scared Liam looked he softened up. His stance eased up and he lowered the shotgun to a grounded Liam.
“Uh, its ok.” Thomas knelt down and pulled Liam up. “You did good champ. It’s just been an eventful day.”
Thomas dusted off Liam’s shoulders and patted him on the back.
“I’ll take your post buddy, you get some rest” Thomas said gently.
“Oh, thanks!” Liam seemed happy but was definitely confused. “Mind if I dip into the jerky rations we have?”
“Fine by me” Thomas said, “May want to ask Malcolm first. He’s the one that killed the deer for it. Use the radio behind the bar counter but be careful. He may not want to be heard.”
Malcolm was the groups designated hunter. That was the best way to describe him. He had grown up in a cabin with his family about 10 miles into the wilderness. His long auburn hair was usually under a hat or beanie with “buck hunter” on it. He wasn’t the most talkative of the group but he seemed to be really grow a friendship with Liam. Malcolm was only a year older than him but he seemed to have the big brother mentality down. He had even taken Liam out a couple of times on scouting missions. Needless to say they didn’t last long because Liam simply wasn’t made for the wilderness. Malcolm was currently on a hunting run until the next morning. He always managed to come back safe so no one questioned him.
What Liam was good at, however, was planning. His job most of the time was to check rations, plan what was needed, and many times he could estimate the best places to hit for supplies. Most of the time his predictions were spot on. He was still a viable member of the group and was still needed.
“Where are the others?” Will asked.
He was referring to the other three members of the small group. It was only about eight o’clock and most were usually up at this hour.
“Samantha, Victoria, and Jessica are all asleep in the ex-owner’s rooms.”
“Will?” A small girl’s voice was heard from down one of the hallways in the pub.
“Or she Jessica was awake the whole time.” Liam remarked.
“Hey there Jessie girl.” Will said with a smile.
Jessica ran to Will and gave him a big hug. She was very small even for her age and was practically absorbed by all the gear and clothing Will had on. She was clothed in some very old power puff girl pajamas that Malcolm had found out in the woods when hunting. That was the story anyways. Will had decided to not question it and simply washed the clothes thoroughly.
“Close your eyes and hold out your hands.” Will asked nicely
Jessica obeyed quickly and held her hands out. Will put the teddy bear in her hands.
Her first reaction was to quickly throw it down because of the snow and ice still on the fur.
Thomas was laughing his ass off at the sight.
“Oh gosh I’m so sorry!” Will quickly picked up the teddy bear.
Jessica laughed at Thomas laughing and remarked, “Its ok Will! She’s cute! What’s her name?”
“You get to name her silly! Let me put her by the fire for a bit and then you can take her back to bed.”
***
When Jessica had finally gone to bed with her teddy bear Will fell back into one of the ripped up couches that had been salvaged. They had already dowsed the fire and Will was simply sitting in the chair out of exhaustion. He had a lamp on and was just watching the light, thinking for some time. It was about 4 AM at this point and Jack seemed to always wake up early for some reason. Habits didn’t change Will had supposed. Jack had made a pot of coffee on the small stove in the kitchen. Jack sat down on the couch to the side of the dowsed fireplace. He took a sip from his cup and smiled at Will.
“Willie I know you kind of coordinate stuff around here.” He took another sip. “But what in the hell are you still doing up?”
“I just put Jessica to sleep finally.” Will scratched his chin. “She kept talking about her mother.”
Jack put his coffee on the table in the middle of the living area.
“I’m guessing that was pretty rough.”
“Ya that’s the understatement of the century.”
Jack gave him a sympathetic look, “You’re doing the best you can man. I mean she is alive because of you.”
“Jack, I killed her mother.”
“She told you to.”
“What does that change?”
Jack stood up and put his hand on Will’s shoulder. “Will, I know you feel like what you did was wrong but…” Jack squeezed his shoulder a bit. “These are much different times. The difference between right and wrong is kind of blurred now. You know what would have happened if you didn’t shoot.”
“She would have turned.”
“Exactly. You saved her from that.” Jack pointed to Jessica’s room. “And you saved her from that.”
“I guess.”
Jack eased up on Will’s shoulder. “I’m going to go check all of the defenses for the day.” He paused. “How about you sit this out and you get some rest. I’ll get Thomas to do it.”
“Jack.”
“Nope. You sit here.” Jack picked up his coffee and walked to the entrance of the pub. “God knows being awake for 32 hours isn’t going to help anything.”
Jack kicked the wooden chair that Thomas had fallen asleep on while keeping watch. Thomas was startled and fell back with a loud crash. He let out a groan.
“Time to get up and work for your safety Jackass.”
Thomas looked up and mock saluted.
“That’s more like it.”
Will smiled and laid his head back. He was asleep the second his eyes were closed.