I nod softly, trying not to shiver. "Uh- I'm Emma- just Emma, nothing special." I mutter, watching them closely.
Nate nods, chuckling softly. "Well, just Emma nothing special, is there something we can help you with? Can we get you to the closest outpost, or help you get somewhere?" he questions a bit teasingly. Jackson nudges Nate with a look of bewilderment on his face. Making sure my hands are always visible as not to spook them, I glance between the two before speaking.
"Yeah actually... I need to find someone. Considering you guys are a part of the military you might know who I'm talking about." I say as Nate and Jackson exchange glances.
"I need to find Corporal Zach Hayes- uh, last I heard he was in Oregon, but that was a few weeks ago so I'm not sure if he's still here."
Jackson looks even more skeptical than he did a few seconds ago, if possible, and his forearm flexes as he grips his weapon a bit harder. "A few weeks ago? That's like four years apocalypse time." He says suspiciously. A look suddenly crosses his face and he looks to Nate for a split second.
"How the hell do you even know who Zach is?" He asks, the barrel of his gun tipping upward slightly. I might have spooked these guys.
Putting my hands up slightly in defense I speak. "It's kind of a long story-" I say softly, getting interrupted by Jackson before I can finish. "We've got time." He says sternly. I nod tightly, fighting the urge to turn around and haul ass back out into the rain.
"When the apocalypse first started I survived with my best friend and her dad, her dad being one of the leading scientists at one of the biggest corporations in the U.S. developed some kind of antidote to the virus." I say, taking a breath.
Nate looks confused. "And where is he?" He interrupts.964Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxggOkGyzxa
Letting my hands fall to my sides I continue speaking. "He and Freya both died recently in New York, leaving me with the antidote." I say.
Jackson looks at me with knitted eyebrows, the muscles in his neck flexing slightly as he speaks. "And what does this so-called 'antidote' look like-" Nate interrupts him. "You came all the way over here from New York?" he exclaims, I pull my hand back and pull my bag off my shoulder, unzipping it and pulling out my flashlight. “Yeah, Albany, New York to be exact.” I say, twisting off the bottom of the flashlight.
I get a confused look from Nate as I disassemble my flashlight, but before he can speak a rolled up piece of cloth falls into my hand. “What the hell are you doi-” Jackson starts to say, but I quickly cut him off. “Just hold on."
I mutter, grabbing a corner of the cloth and pulling, it unravels and a small vial falls into my hand.
Readjusting it in my palm slightly, I show them the small vial full of bluish-grey liquid. Jackson reaches for it and I quickly retract my hand, gripping it tightly. “Absolutely not.” I mutter, glaring up at him.964Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEd8pUKWtv4
964Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ24oA9BuoAn
Jackson rolls his eyes. “How am I supposed to know if this is for real or not?” He asks. I scoff, slightly astonished he would think people would lie about something as serious as this. “Why would I even lie about something like this? How would I know who Zach is?” 964Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDZMS9W25rx
Before Jackson can respond Nate cuts in. “We’ll take you there,” he says. Jackson quickly looks at him with a confused look on his face. “Dude what the fuck?” he asks.
Nate sighs and glances at me as I’m putting the vial back in its safe place. “Could you give us a second?” contrary to the look on his face, he asks rather politely. 964Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm3lHvRaPts
“Oh yeah of course.” I mutter, nodding as I step past them down the hall. I can hear them softly muttering to each other as I glance into classroom windows. My search is interrupted quickly when a loud bang comes from the door beside me.
Suddenly Jackson and Nate are by my side, Nates gun trained on the door as he stands in front of me partially. “Dead or alive?” Nate mutters under his breath to Jackson who stood a half step behind me. “If I knew I’d tell you.” Jackson responds softly, his eyes not leaving the door.
I cringe a bit at their approach. “People usually know how to open doors... so it's most likely infected, and shooting is only going to attract more, we should kill it quietly.” I say pulling my machete out of its sheath, gripping the handle tightly, I speak. “Is it ok if you open the door and Jackson stays behind me just in case?” I ask Nate quietly.
He nods without looking at me, stepping towards the door, the infected still slamming on it continuously. His hand rests on the knob for a second, I can see the hesitation as he prepares himself.
The door suddenly flies open and with long strides, two infected come towards me at once. It seems as if everything’s in slow motion, Jacksons grip on his weapon gets tighter, I'm assuming he's expecting me to not be able to kill the infected.964Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiglzMlKzdd
I swing quickly as the first one gets closer, the blade going through the bone, and it’s head tumbling to the ground. I see Nate out of the corner of my eye stabbing the still alive head with his knife.964Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHtmkxcGdsj
964Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ94Ka6PBTsa
The second infected is a bit slower and gives me time to recollect myself. Going for the second one, I decide to take a different approach to save the life of my poor machete.
I let it get close and then take a quick step behind it and, before it can react, I kick the back of its knees. As it falls forward I stab my blade in the back of it's head. 964Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLAgXzXpMs1
It stops moving immediately and time slowly starts to go back to normal as my heart stops racing.964Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmKv466KNpG
964Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvVSAMkrdxg
Chuckling softly, I wipe the blood off my machete, my body warm from the fear. Though I'd never tell either of them that I'm scared of a few infected. In reality it only takes a few and you’re done for.
“Alright not bad, I was expecting... worse?” Jacksons mutters, letting his weapon down. Nate lets the door classroom door close and nods in agreement.964Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJK4rNebUP0
964Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOKBpG2wi2t
I scoff, slipping my machete back in it’s sheath.964Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmEODO9tDh7
“I made it here from New York, by myself... a few infected isn't an issue” I say, my eyebrows furrowed slightly.964Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRUWxvQkOMI
Nate shrugs. “You sure you didn't make it this far by sheer dumb luck?” He says teasingly, his eyes scanning over the dead bodies. Before I can retort he speaks again.
“Anyways. We’ve agreed to take you to Zach, the only issue being that Zach is in fact, in Oregon.” Nate states, one of his hands in the air making a mental map of where we needed to go.
I suddenly feel a surge of guilt as I realize what they’ve agreed to help me with.964Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkvW2sxp4dT
“Oh- are you guys sure? I-” I stop myself mid sentence, brushing my wet hair behind my ear.
“It’s a while away and I don’t want to be the reason you guys get killed.” I say finishing my sentence.964Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ93qI1Urrm9
Jackson scoffs dryly, rolling his eyes again. “Don’t start with that bullshit red, you’d die before getting there- do you even own a gun?” He asks, raising an eyebrow,964Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWlJS9C77gJ
I press my lips together, annoyed at his bitterness and the horrible nickname. “Yeah actually, I do.” I say crossing my arms. Looking skeptical he brushes his hair back out of his eyes. “Do you know how to use it?” he asks, his teasing tone making me want to slap him.964Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSJkS6XGoO9
964Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvUMDGC4eMY
Shaking my head no he laughs again.964Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc47qHBqlSs
“Yeah, you’re coming with us.” he mutters, picking up his bag and pulling it over his shoulder. I roll my eyes and mutter under my breath.964Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOtdMSPy8SA
“Whatever.” Nate steps into the room the boys had come out of earlier, his hand ushering us to follow, so we do.964Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkGxETkezaL
964Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUkW4IHHwJe
“Help me with this, Jackson.” He says simply, standing in front of a desk with a map sprawled across it. Jackson does without another word.
I take a moment to glance around the room, it looks like they have been here for a night or two, their sleeping bags sat side by side in one corner of the room behind the teachers desk. The room is pretty dark, only lit up by the little natural light coming from the mostly boarded up windows and a small battery powered lantern that was on the desk Nate and Jackson were standing in front of.
I turn my attention back to Nate. “Oh uh, do you have a vehicle or are we walking in the rain?” I ask.
Nate sighs softly, but before he can speak Jackson interrupts, turning to face me.
“Oh you need a car huh? Can’t handle a little bit of rain?” He asks. I look at him, my still soaking wet hair sadly framing my face. I looked like a wet sewer rat and I was most definitely not in the mood for this, so I kept my mouth shut in hopes that Jackson would do the same. Thankfully he doesn't say anything else and looks back to the map on the desk.964Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiGgYFCqSeV
964Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTZ49RU908y
Nate sighs and pats Jacksons shoulder once, hard, giving him a stern look before turning to face me. “Well, we got a slew of bikes to choose from in the hallway for now, until we can find a working vehicle, but we should hunker down here until the weather isn't so shitty." He states964Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcDECuskFEZ
I nod in response. "Sounds good, I need to change clothes anyways." I say.
and then Add to home screen.