Adam Carver
The wood smoke blew up from the camp he'd made just a half a mile from the edge of town. The smell of it was one of the few comforts that Ethan had ever taken from life and it was probably why he'd adapted so well to the new way of living that the world had apparently been thrust into. He'd always been good at retreating into his own mind in order to keep sane. It was easy for him to build up those walls around his heart and thoughts that kept the noisy and stupid world at bay. At times he thought it made him more beast than man, something less than human, much like this new disease had turned most of the world. He looked across the fire now to his only friend, his 5 year old "brother" Duke. The dog lay curled up in a ball, his ears twitching like radar even though he was still half asleep. The two of them had developed a good routine here lately and it seemed like it was serving to keep them distracted from the darker things that might be going on inside the city. The burned out buildings and scent of rotting meat had kept them from venturing too far into the concrete jungle, not they would probably ever head inside anyway. No Ethan had taken to raiding the local hardware stores for lumber, nails, tools, and various lighting equipment to fortify his home in the woods. Since it had become a more permanent shelter he'd taken to stocking it with things that would help him survive the harsher times of the year and to make it more comfortable. He'd moved leather furniture inside, looted a queen sized bed mattress for the bedroom and even found a diamond encrusted dog bowl for Duke. The thought of it brought a smile to Ethan's face, the idea that world had equaled out in some kind of sick sense of justice, that those who had too much money didn't have enough sense to survive and now those with sense could pick clean the husks of the former predators of the world. He wondered what manner of treasures the two would find today? Ethan stood up and finished his coffee, a mixture of recycled grounds and llama milk and then kicked the fire out. Lunch time was over. He whistled sharply and Duke rose from the ground, shaking himself off from the dust and the two began to make their way down Broad Street. As they made their way down the road the most amazing sight caught Ethan's eye, a man bolt out from an alley and into a store. Another person? A strange pang of loneliness struck Ethan in the heart and he found himself following the path the man had taken.
He was about half way to the door when he saw the reason the man had been running. Bodies that were clearly dead had begun to rise up and start walking toward him. They were still moving. They were still ******** moving!? Ethan reeled back in a moment of stunned disbelief, Duke's fur shot up on end and he released a savage growl. In an instant the first of the undead had crossed the street and reached out for him, its cold hand brushing at his arm. There was a solemn strength in that gesture that snapped Ethan into a fury of motion. His large BK-7 knife flew from its sheath at his leg and the heavy blade chopped into the thing's neck. Blood oozed where it should have sprayed from the wound but the weight of the blow caused the creature to fall to one knee and Ethan back pedaled into the shop with his dog hot on his heels. The pair crashed into the room and saw the two humans staring at each other, a woman with machete now in the mix.
"Wha- the ******** are those?" He said, his voice not having this much of a work out in two months.
Taiyou-Amaya
Andrew C Price
((Edit))
