3 Years Later

Whether you fly solo or in a group.

Whether you strive for human survival or to rule the wasteland as your own.

All humanity left has one goal in common.

To get rid of the vermin called the undead.

It doesn't matter if you're a Z-baby or a elder. It doesn't matter if you do your best to help everyone you walk by or you aim to get rid of them. It doesn't even matter if you are left in a shoe box of a shelter or in one of those raised cities. Be it through plain ol' hack and slash or through fire. By mowing them down with cars or tricking them into ditches.

Everyone has this inherent need to decrease the numbers of the dead in hopes to become the more dominant species again.

Thus leads me here.

Grunting as the sounds of skulls crushing filled the once serene nature of this abandoned mall. The feeling of blackened blood rushing down the handle of my bat as I tugged it free from bits of cranium.

Stumbling back, I found myself looking at the assigned partner. Watching the way her body danced and soared leaving nothing but a trail of gore in her wake. Bits of white flowing behind her as her ponytail whipped to and fro.

It was, in short, mesmerizing.

To see how efficient of a killer she was.

"Graaa..."

My body switched, quickly taking a step forward and swinging towards the direction of the voice. Barely catching a glimpse of the face caving in before it flew to the side. My teeth gritted as I turned my attention to my surroundings.

We were situated on the other side of the mall, far from where my old base was. Towards the two-floor department store but still a ways off. It was here where the barricade they've set up was. A concoction of ripped up counters, shelves, chairs, and numerous other store items. As of now, only a small portion of it was pushed open to allow a steady stream of Zs in.

Already, multiple bodies were thrown and pushed to the side. Mangled in some form or another. Black blood stains wrecked havoc on the floor and walls around leading me to believe that this was a hot spot for gore.

"Left!"

"Huh?"

My eyes widened as a hand clutched itself onto my shoulder. A shriek welling in my throat as I struggled to formulate some sort of way to bring myself out of this. Yet as the sounds of groaning neared my ears, I felt helplessness hang on me. Fingers bruising and pulling as pain exploded from that area. Gnawed nails and finger tips began to find it's way through my leather jacket and towards my skin.

Then the pain left. The pressure gone. The hand gone. The groans lasted for a split second before it was cut short by gurgling. The sound of a heavy object hitting the ground brought me back to my senses just in time to feel someone throw me to the side.

My eyes catching Abby slamming the barricade back close and cleaning up the rest of the Zs still on this side. Growls leaving her far to fast for me to make sense of what she was saying.

The bits that I did managed to get was enough to make me gulp.

'Coward' 'useless' 'broken' 'dumbass'

With a final SLASH a fresh spray of blood covered the walls and, effectively, splattered the front of my mask. Silence befell as my panting finally reached my ears. Overriding my pounding heart. She didn't say anything to me. No, she didn't blow up or growl or threaten to abandon me outside.

I wished she did.

There she stood. Silent and deadly. Her ice eyes barely seen through the tinted glass of the gas mask yet I can still feel the hatred from it. I wasn't so sure if it was because my lack of ability right now or if it was for something else. Maybe back when I knew her? I couldn't tell.

"Of course you couldn't do this." She muttered yet a part of me felt like it was towards herself rather than me.

"I'm sorry." I said, hoping it would consolidate the situation but it did the opposite.

"ha, 'I'm sorry'? What good would words do," she swayed a bit as a fit of chuckles left her, "What would've happened if I didn't decapitate that Z huh? What if I just let that mother f.u.c.ker drag you down? What if I left you here to die and just went back to say there was an accident? What if I just let you get what your deserved?"

Her laugh grew louder.

"What good would words do then huh?!"

I just stared at her. Watch a mad woman laugh herself to chokes. Someone seemingly unhinged giving herself entertainment in imagining how easy it would've been to let my demise come. To let a person who she had a bad history with to die. It felt like I was dangling on a string in which any wrong move would cause this woman to snap and end me herself.

Yet that didn't happen.

The laughs ended. The giggles ended. The sad chuckles finally left before silence befell us again.

"I hate people like you," she said-no whispered as she kept her gaze fixed to the barricade, "Waltzing in here thinking that words could make up for what you've done..."

She just pointed her machete towards the way we came from. A silent order to leave her alone.

Without so much but a grunt, she slipped behind the barricade. Leaving me to overhear the sound of flesh colliding with metal as she must've released her frustration on the unsuspecting Zs there. No point in apologizing at this point.

With a sigh, I found myself shakily standing up. My mouth and throat dry as my hands patted the area where the Z grabbed me. Bits of punctured leather protruded upwards from the holes it's mangled nails and exposed finger bones caused. Subconsciously, I placed my own fingers through them and held my breath. Prodding around to see if there was any stabs or cuts.

I let out a sigh upon realizing that there was none. No blood, no butchered skin.

"Now what..." I found myself whispering. Whipping back and fro to figure out a sense of direction or purpose. Having been kicked out of my assigned one. Should I attempt to say sorry to Abby? Go back to 'base'? Or wander?

With a gulp, I took in a shaky breath and took off.