Thanks for the update and Happy New Year

short...

sweet...

AWESOME...

# Chapter 24 - Marlboro Reds.

I ran upstairs to make sure if they got in the stock room I could stop them. These were the kind of guys who would not only tear the place apart to discover our hiding spot, but might be smart enough to figure out we had our own little refuge on their own. I had patched the stockroom door up awhile back to lock with two 4x4" cuts of wood similar to one you'd expect to see in medieval times. Sarah let me know they were definitely on to us as one of the guys had found the Tahoe and the fresh tracks to and from it. The lot had blown back over mostly, but my tracks made my recent activity obvious. I pulled the shelving back over the entrance and told the rest of them shoot to kill and keep back from the door. One flashbang or grenade and it could be a train wreck. They were already in the store as I had made the decision to keep the doors unlocked. Same reasoning as leaving your car unlocked in the ghetto. If someone wants something bad enough, you'll only bother yourself losing a window. We had left the lesser desired stuff in the store, but enough of it to keep passers by from trying to dig through the place for more. It seemed to be working as planned with these guys too.

The men seemed to be taking only limited supplies. It only took about a half hour of loading up before they got curious, despite my best plans. They attempted to open the stock room door but obviously it didn't budge. I could hear the men talking about how people were likely hiding out here, and then one of the men knocked.

Man: "Anyone in there? We're not looking to hurt anyone and don't want to run off with anyone's supplies with out an OK."

After a few minutes I decided they were going to get in if they wanted anyways.

Me: "Yeah. You can have what you took. Where are you from?"

Man: "Colorado. We're heading to Kansas City and went on a scout run for our camp a few miles south of here. What's your name?"

Me: "Doug".

Man: "I'm Skyler. I want to warn you Doug. If you see any other men in military camo or from FEMA, you run buddy."

Me: "No offense there Skyler, but I'm a bit lost when a man in military camo tells me to watch out for anyone else dressed like him. Care to elaborate?"

Skyler: "We were ordered to protect the FEMA camp out in Boulder. After only a week or so we realized it was a death camp. Women were forced to slave labor. Men who refused to join the lead of President Williams were forced to do the same. Elderly and obese people weren't given any choice at all."

He stopped talking for a moment and I could hear honest sadness in his voice.

Skyler: "The camp was about 800 strong in military presence alone. About 50 of us fought to help the people. We got a couple hundred out, but only 20 of our group survived. We retreated to regroup and by the time we returned everyone was dead. They killed all of them."

Me: "Skyler, I know it's a lot to ask, but if you send your boys outside I'd like to talk. I'll even pay you for your time with some supplies that may be a bit better."

I could hear the men talking amongst themselves. Skyler was clearly the leader of the group as the other men seemed incredibly concerned at my offer. After a few minutes he agreed. I opened the door and he seemed a bit scared as soon as he realized I was pointing a pistol at him.

Me: "Don't take offense, it's just a precaution. Go ahead and have a seat."

Skyler: "You got any beer?"

He cracked a laugh but I didn't have one handy.

Me: "We're fresh out, sorry."

Skyler: "So there are others here?"

Me: "No. I just do runs for the small group of people I'm traveling with that are about 20 miles out at an old farm house. This damn snow pinned me down pretty good as you can see though."

Skyler: "Yeah I know what you mean. We stole those snowmobiles from the fuckers in Boulder. Luckily we still have sone form of GPS going so we can scout the roads to be safe. We're moving slow, but we had no choice."

Me: "So what the hell is going on? Did you say there's a new president?"

Skyler: "President Lawrence Williams. Grade A fucking scum bag. Obama disappeared. Rumor had it he was hiding out at NORAD but we met up with those guys and they said he went off the radar. He had a pretty solid escape plan set up to get to the west coast, and apparently he did. Never to be heard from again. This Williams guy was one of his advisors and claims he was trusted to carry out the duties of Obama's will. Fucked up shit either way."

Me: "Where's the help? Is there a cure? What's going on with the other countries?"

Skyler: "The world went to shit. Rumor has it Australia is still holding out, but Europe went under. Russia, China, Africa, they all fell to the virus. Williams is the "help". That's if you consider thievery, rape, murder, and all around genocide to fit that description. There's rumors of an alternate virus that cures it, but I don't buy it. With the way the virus has mutated I think we all might be fucked."

Me: "What's it like out there?"

Skyler looked at the ground and let out a laugh that could easily be mistaken for a cry.

Skyler: "Humanity is dying. We thought the cold would catch up to them, but the zombies are evolving. Their hair is falling out, and their skin is turning pale since their blood rushes to the muscles. Some are even calling them vampires now becuause the only time they start to look human again is after they eat flesh. I don't know what the fuck they are, but they're really starting to scare the shit out of me."

A man came over his radio and asked if everything was alright. Skyler just responded by saying "Yeah, we're still good".

Me: "Why are you guys heading to KC?"

Skyler: "They have a good hold on the infected and they're FEMA free. We have to get back to camp ASAP though. We're heading out at 0800 tomorrow. If you don't have a way back to your friends we can give you a lift."

Me: "No, I'm stuck for a bit but will manage just fine. If you guys need to refuel those snow mobiles go right ahead. I got what I need for regular gas, but this place is fresh out of diesel though."

Skyler: "I'll take you up on that offer. Remember what I said about the green coats. They'll use one bullet just to steal two from you. Best of luck to you buddy."

Me: "You as well. I'm going to lock this door behind you so give me a few minutes to turn on the pumps."

He looked around blatantly scanning the supplies in the stock room. Luckily it looked like it was just picked dry since most everything was moved downstairs, but I did realize I slipped by offering the gas. By turning on the pumps I gave away the fact I have electricity.

I only turned on one pump and came out of the stock room to observe stealthly. I made this choice for a reason and it was justified as one of the men walked over and tried one of the diesel pumps. At this point I started to worry as they clearly weren't taking my word for it. All seven men stood around the pump talking for a bit and pointing at various points above the building. Shit, the exhaust from the generator must be pretty obvious. Just as I completed that thought Skyler did a chamber check on his M4 and started walking towards the building.

I hid next to the door with my M&P in hand. As soon as he opened the door I had my hand around his neck and my pistol to his head.

Skyler: "I get the feeling you're holding out on us. I just wanted a carton of Marlboro Reds for the road, friend."

Me: "We're fresh out. I sold my last pack to a customer just yesterday."

I felt a bullet strike me right in my right forearm. My firing hand dropped leaving just enough time for Skyler to push a knife into my ribs. I hunched over as the stockroom door flew open to reveal Jack and Tiffany coming out locked and loaded. Unfortunately I also saw the man who had came around the back of the building raise his gun and tell them to drop theirs. Another man followed his lead running up with his rifle drawn on them, and the remaining four men came in through the front. Fuck!

Skyler ordered Jack to go back in the stockroom and turn all of the pumps on. He hesitated, but I told him to do it as I knew everyone else was ready for war on the other side. If they came busting out now they'd get cut down almost immediately and even if I went out they would have an advantage defending from downstairs. Skyler kicked me square in the ribs right where his blade had pierced me.

Skyler: "Why what a perdicament you have here Doug. You're not being honest with me."

He walked to Tiff and ran his hands through her hair as I coughed up a mouth full of blood on the floor.

Skyler: "Boys, let's have some fun."

One man kept a gun on me, and the other kept his rifle on the stockroom door. Skyler set his rifle down about halfway through the store and two of the others followed suit and set theirs next to his, with the other two participating slinging their rifles behind their backs. Idiots.

My heart pumped faster and harder than I knew it was capable of. My eyes quickly focused on what I was looking at yet I could see out of my peripheral vision just as good as I could see in front of me. My wounds hurt no longer and the adrenaline was becoming hard to control. As soon as they started dragging Tiff off to a diner table I lost it. I had to act.

I jumped at the guy holding a gun on me and grabbed the muzzle of his M16. I forced it in the direction of the man holding his gun on the stockroom door and pulled it towards me. I yelled "Trigger control bitch" as I jerked the gun towards me. His natural reaction was to pull back tighter, sending a three round burst into the guy covering the door. I swung as hard as I could with my right hand at the guy's jaw. I felt his jaw bone collapse on my hand and his head spun the other direction as I followed through, sending him to the floor. I didn't have time to verify, but knew somehow that he was dead.

The guys that had Tiff were on to me and the two who had slung their rifles were fumbling to get them in firing position. As I covered the distance to them one of the unarmed men and Skyler gave me a look of absolute terror. I grinned in return.

I grabbed the first man going for his rifle and threw him into Skyler and the man closest to him. The second man was bringing his rifle to his shoulder when I grabbed it and ripped it from his arms. He reached for a knife in his belt but didn't have time to draw it before I sent the front sight base of his M16 through his skull, using the group's last form of gun powder propelled defense as a club.

The fifth man swung and connected a chair right in the side of my head. My vision jerked for a split second before I grabbed him by the throat and gave a quick and calculated squeeze which instantly collapsed his wind pipe. He instantly dropped to his knees and started gasping for air. The man's lungs would never know the feeling of absorbing oxygen again.

POW, POW, POW! I heard three single gun shots ring out. Skyler and the remaining man both dropped in front of me. I was so pissed off I debated beating the shit out of their corpses for a moment. As soon as I comprehended it, the adrenaline was gone. I turned to see the entire group. Farmer was complaining about me being a psycho and blocking their shots when they all suddenly froze. They had the same look of terror that Skyler and his men did and Jack snapped his rifle up to zero in on my face.

Me: "What are you doing?"

Jack: "You're....."

Tiff jumped in front of me and yelled "No!!!!!". I was confused to the max. Tiff not only just spoke, but why is Jack pointing a gun at me?

Farmer: "Are you still human son?"

Sarah: "Jack, it's okay. We need to talk. All of us."

Sarah pulled me over to the sunglasses rack which had mirrors around the top of it. I felt the same panic they did when I looked at my own reflection to see the same blood red eyes, pale skin, and over pronounced facial veins of the infected.

Oh hell yes!!!

Apologies for the delay and any loss of quality. Bewteen the kids, work, the hunt for magazines, writing out to political figures, and trying to keep a steady flow of non biased gun control facts flowing on facebook I'm just coming up short with time and attention to detail lately.

If you have been reading my story and enjoying it I'm sorry to say that I would like to ask you for a form of compensation. Please respectfully reach out to the political figures in your area and let them know you think gun control is a knee jerk reaction which voids our rights but doesn't solve our problems. From your mayor to your representative, let them know. Remember to keep your cool, as losing your composure is our fastest path to failure.

Thanks everyone!

OH MY !!!!!!!!










Sweet....

Great chapter.

Now it's a party

Good stuff.

Just another quick one. I wanted to go into more detail but I'm still lacking time lately.

# Chapter 25 - Fallout.

After my freak out the group wanted to talk amongst themselves. I agreed but regretted it as I could hear some of their elevated conversation as I smoked out front. I sat on the bench right next to the front door and hung my head in my hands. There was an obvious argument going on and Jack seemed to be the initiator. They spoke about the danger I presented to the group and what to do about it. Tiff eventually came out and sat next to me with a sad look on her face as the others borderline argued on the level of risk I presented.

The signs of infection had left my face, but unfortunately they were now burned into the people I considered my friends' memories. The pain from my wounds were completely gone, or maybe it was just outweighed by the pain from losing the trust of the only family I had. Unfortunately it was obvious they were having a hard time getting over it. Jack was done. No compromises, he no longer trusted me and mentioned his unwillingness to remain part of the group if I'm around.

Eventually Sarah came out with it and told them everything. To my surprise, Farmer knew a lot more than I was aware of. I know him and Sarah had been buddied up before I met them, but he helped explain it to Jack in a way that amazed me. I guess it was necessary as Jack wasn't the most intelligent guy around. Unfortunately they all agreed that the virus may not be as stable in my body as it is in Sarah's, and that they were going to ask me to sleep upstairs in the store. Fucking fuck. This woman infected me, and is now exhiling me?

Sarah came out with her head hung down and asked Tiff to go back inside. Tiff just gave her the stink eye in return, and I had to ask Tiff to give us a moment before she got up. Sarah was quiet for a few minutes before sitting down as far away from me on the bench as she could.

Sarah: "How are you feeling Doug?"

Me: "Like garbage."

Sarah: "Are your wounds healing?"

I pulled my sleeve up and showed her the gunshot to my arm which was already scabbing over. I didn't bother showing her the stab wound as I already knew it was sealed off too.

Me: "Faster than they ever have before. You already knew the answer to that question though."

Sarah: "No I didn't, and that's the problem. Doug, your body isn't accepting AE68 like it should. I've been...."

I cut her off.

Me: "Well Sarah, how many times have you been shot? How about stabbed? Are you the one who takes the first bite of the shit sandwich like me? Did your lab testing account for the fucking zombie apocalypse?"

Sarah: "Doug, this isn't you speaking right now, it's the virus."

I was so pissed off at her I was turning red. Regardless of what she said this wasn't the virus, and I was actually surprised at how calm I had remained so far.

Sarah: "Doug, you started to turn into one of them today. AE68 shouldn't even be capable of that, and you lost control. The way you killed those men wasn't human. I'm sorry, but we need you to stay upstairs for awhile."

Me: "I never lost control and I'd never hurt any of you."

Sarah: "I believe you, but do this so they will too."

Me: "Fine, but I'm going to need blankets and ammo."

Sarah: "Okay."

She reached over and grabbed my hand. As she held on to it I looked her in the eyes and got a chill. Something was off. The woman who loved me was looking at me with a fake smile and was obviously concealing something. We stood up to go inside and confront the group with my agreement to be confined until this passed over.

As we walked in my paranoia continued. Fuck, maybe the virus was taking over, but something was different with this scene now. Something was missing. My heart dropped with a subconscious feeling that I needed to flee.

Sarah: "Doug has agreed to sleep upstairs tonight. I'm going to go get him some pillows and a blanket."

Jack: "I'll get these bodies dragged out if Tiffany will mop up the blood."

Me: "Their blood is frozen."

Jack just looked at me like I was a fucking psycho, but his attempt at seeming like a nice guy was too fake. Their blood was already frozen aside from that right next to their bodies, and the water we had left in the mop was frozen anyways as well. Fucking idiot. My annoyance of him was sidetracked by me realizing I could smell the frozen earthly scented blood clearly.

Jack: "Oh, well let me drag them out back for you anyways."

I heard the store heat kick on while Sarah was downstairs and was glad for that. Tonight I was definitely locking the doors. Between the infected and the possibility of these guy's buddies coming to look for them, I didn't want to be caught sleeping. While Jack was dragging the first guy out I searched them and salvaged some extra mags. I took one of the guy's M4 and tossed it to Tiff. She had done good with the MP5 thus far, so now she needed to graduate to something a bit more effective. This example was three round burst instead of full auto, so I had to give her a quick explanation. I figure it will hopefully keep her from doing the spray and pray thing and keep up the marksmanship she already displayed. I finished up searching the other guys but my paranoia about something missing wouldn't go away. I realized there was an empty pouch in Skyler's belt and it hit me. The fucking radios were gone. I concealed my confusion and kept searching.

I stood up only to realize Farmer was watching me the whole time. Fuck, am I losing it? I trusted these people with my life but now I had a gut feeling that made me feel like I was being thrown to the wolves.

Farmer: "You feeling alright kid?"

Me: "Yeah, I think I'm going to step out for a smoke though. Care to join?"

Farmer declined to which I was happy as I had asked in jest. I stood there just long enough to see Sarah come out from the stockroom and made my move. I ran over to the snowmobiles as fast as I could. They all had storage compartments. On the third one I found what I was looking for. It was a handheld radio with a massive antenna. I ran back over to the front of the store and quickly disassembled the antenna and stuffed all of it inside my coat. I pulled out a cigarette and broke it off about half way. I lit it up and put my lighter back in my pocket. Not 30 seconds later I caught Sarah looking out the window to see what I was doing. I took a pull of my half cigarette and turned to look at her. She just smiled and turned and walked back out of view in the store.

I walked back in and went over to the diner area. I took my coat off and placed it sloppily under on of the booth tables. I pulled the next table over out of the way and pushed two of the booth seats together so I had a makeshift bed. I did so in an area that I would show on the cameras if I got up, but they wouldn't be able to see me otherwise. Fuck, I feel like I'm going psycho though. Was my paranoia the fruit of my own thoughts, or was this the virus? Well, I only had one way to find out.

Tiff wanted to stay upstairs with me. I actually wanted that as she was the only one that knew how to operate the security cameras in any form of detail. I also wanted the back up for whatever aspect of this so called life tried to ass fuck me next. After awhile I grabbed my coat and threw it into the booth and laid down. After awhile they all said their goodnights and headed back downstairs. About an hour and a half later I got the radio out and took a scan of the channels. There was nothing there and I felt like I needed some tin foil after scanning channels one by one for hours on end. I was just about to give up when I got a hit at about 3:17 AM. I could hear the distinct sound of an engine running in the background up until 3:25. It was then I heard the voice of a man.

Man: "Project Alpha Zero Four, confirm line security, over."

The response was four distinguished taps. Tap, tap, tap, tap.

Man: "Roger. Reschedule protocol initiated. Results required on next transmission, over."

After that there were two more taps and the line went back dead.

My mind ran wild. Was it the remaining people from Skyler's group? Shit, did this come from with in the building? That would explain the radios disappearing, but what the fuck was going on? More importantly, who the fuck was doing it. I knew Tiff was awake and listening and I didn't want her to do anything to give me away.

Me: "Tiff, don't sit up or do anything for awhile. Stay quiet about what you heard and I need a favor. If anyone asks you how to rewind the camera feed from last night, I need you to accidentally delete it. If you can do that, just give a bump to the booth with your leg."

She bumped it. If my conspiracy theory was correct, who ever took the radio was the same one tapping. If they were that smart, they'd be watching the security cameras too. My mind was running wild and I decided I'd smoke a cigatette before I went to bed. My eyes started to get heavy so I put out my cigarette in a mostly empty pop bottle. It was time to see if I could even possibly go to sleep. I worried as I had the strange feeling that someone was watching me. Like a predator stalking their prey. Fuck, I'm losing it.

nice

Damn... Keep it coming

yeah buddy.

I am loving this story.

I have been lurking around here for a while and reading all the stories.  This is definitely in my top 3, keep up the good work.

Thanks for all the kind words guys.

Awesome story, really liking it. Read through it in a day. cant wait for more.

This is getting to the point I check the site every few hours for updates

Awesome Story!

# Chapter 26 - Interception

I woke the next morning to Tiff shaking my leg to get my attention. I could hear Jack and Sarah talking back over in the store about disposing of the snowmobiles. Tiff shook my leg again and pointed to part of the radio's antenna which was hanging out of my bunched up jacket. I quickly got up and made my way to a booth a few tables down and lifted the booth's seat up and slid the radio and it's associated gear under it. I got back to the booth I had slept in just in time to force a stretch and yawn out to keep up the appearance I had literally just gotten up.

Sarah: "Good morning. How are your injuries?"

Me: "Completely healed now."

Sarah: "Can I take a look?"

Me: "No need, there's no sign of them at all."

I showed her my arm briefly just to prove I was being honest. At this point I wasn't sure what the fuck was going on and didn't want to get in any compromised situations.

Sarah: "Well good. Farmer is cooking up breakfast and I figured you two might be hungry."

Me: "Yeah. I could really go for a shower too."

Sarah: "Jack is going to move the snowmobiles out back. The snow has melted enough the roads are visible again and leaving them out there might be a bit risky if those people's friends come looking for them."

Me: "Agreed."

Sarah, Tiff, and myself headed through the stock room and downstairs. I could smell spam and grits before the door was even opened. My paranoia was still pretty high and even though I didn't know who I could trust I was happy to see both Farmer and Sarah pick randomly from the food laid out. I still can't rule out the possibility of me going mad, but last night left me cautious to say the very least. I grubbed down what seemed to be a couple pounds of food. Hooray for Tobasco as otherwise I hated grits with a passion.

I finished up eating and decided it was time to shower. Before heading back I whispered to Tiff to keep on her toes and keep her eyes open. As soon as I got into the room Sarah and I had slept in before, her scent was absolutely overwhelming. I stood for just a moment to take a deep breath when the scent got even stronger and I knew she was behind me.

Sarah: "I know things haven't gone as planned, but I want you to know how much I still care about you. You have to understand though as your body is doing things that shouldn't be possible even with AE68."

Me: "I'm not worried about me. I'm worried about if the same thing is happening to the people infected with AE72. We haven't seen the infected for awhile and Skyler said they were changing."

Sarah: "Well I don't think we need to worry about that at the moment. I think our biggest concern is a case of cabin fever."

She stepped towards me with a look on her face like she wanted to kiss me. I didn't feel any hostility towards her, yet I couldn't help but step away.

Me: "I, umm, do I have any clean clothes around?"

Sarah: "They're all right where you left them. Where they belong."

Me: "Well don't take it offensively but I need to get cleaned up. I haven't had a shower in days."

She blinked her eyes longer than normal and licked her lips.

Sarah: "Okay."


I had the shower water so hot it could almost light a cigarette. The steam was so thick I couldn't see my hands in front of my face and my skin tingling so much surely meant it was scolding. The dried blood from around my wounds washed away and I pushed on the areas I was injured in attempt to draw out pain. The pain of being human that I now lacked and could never get back. Anger filled my heart and I wanted to lash out and punch a hole through the cheap tiles in the shower but I restrained myself from doing so. Even as upset and and confused as I was a hot shower felt damn good. Not to mention my teeth felt like they were growing barnacles and I hate having stink breath. I put on my boxers and a fresh v-cut t-shirt and headed back to the bedroom only to find Sarah sitting on the bed in nothing but her oversized ACU jacket.

Sarah: "What do you say Ripley?"

I didn't even think. I walked over to the bed and pushed her down to her back. The sex was quite a bit more fierce than usual but she enjoyed it more without a doubt. I bit her on her neck and thrusted and grinded as hard as I could and she screamed for more. After only about 10 minutes it was over. I stood up as she remained laying on the bed in a state of bliss that almost disgusted me.

Sarah: "Oh god I missed that."

I grabbed her panties from the bed and wiped myself off with them before tossing them on the floor.

Me: "God isn't responsible for that, you are."

I walked back to the bathroom and grabbed the towel I had just used to dry off and wiped the blood from my back where she had scratched me. The scratches had healed before the blood produced from them had even fully dried. By the time I had gotten back Sarah was mostly dressed and obviously thrown off by my behavior. I got dressed the rest of the way and the fresh pair of socks I had on my feet gave me a better feeling than that of sleeping with Sarah. Maybe I was being petty for her agreeing to lock me out the previous night, but I still didn't know if I could trust her. Part of me was thinking the only reason she did this was for the thrill of the risk too. The way she was sitting on the bed coupled with the lacking eye contact made her regret obvious too.

I came out of the bedroom with out saying another word to Sarah only to find Jack and Farmer standing in the living room all geared up. For a split second I worried.

Farmer: "Hey boss, we're going hunting. You want to tag along?"

Jack instantly gave him a look making it clear he wasn't okay with his offer.

Me: "No thanks, guys. Someone needs to stay back and make sure the girls are safe. Are you okay to be going out there in your condition so soon Farmer?"

Farmer: "Oh we're just hunting rabbits, I'll be fine. If I tag me a ten point I'll be sure to come get your dumbass to drag it back for me though."

Me: "As long as you're cooking him up, I'd be glad to."

Farmer turned and headed up the stairs. Jack paused for a moment holding his rifle grip and stared at me like I was an oblivious idiot. He turned and made his way up just in time for Tiff to come downstairs. Tiff immediately glanced over at the entertainment system and I shook my head no as I had rethought what I told her to do last night. I didn't want anyone to be suspicious as I needed to know who's voice was going to air on that radio tonight.

After a few hours of lounging around playing some zombies on the kid's Xbox, Farmer and Jack returned with four rabbits. Farmer went to cooking and I decided to help and avoid the oddness of a pissed off Sarah and a scared shitless Jack. After some hard labor and the absorbance of some dirty looks, we sat down to feast on our rabbit stew. As soon as we were done with dinner Farmer wanted to watch some 70's comedy none of us had ever heard of. A black cloud of hate and distrust floated above the living room area as we all sat around miserable. I think the only people who laughed the entire time was Tiff and Farmer.

It was getting late and it was time to set the trap. I mentioned it being about that time, and a few fake yawns later I said it was time for me to go to bed. As much as I'd like to fuck Sarah senseless again I was glad to know I had pissed her off to the point she still wanted me upstairs. I tried my best to look pissed off about being forced out again and it was evident everyone had bought it.

I got into my previous sleeping configuration. It was 12:48 AM and I only had about two and a half hours. As soon as I heard the stockroom door lock I moved as quick as I could to grab the radio. I dodged a bullet as the movie credits were still rolling when we came up. Any other night someone might have been watching the cameras and I may have been screwed. Not tonight though. I just hoped Tiff could keep her cool. She didn't talk, but the emotions on her face usually said more than any words did.

Me: "Tiff, keep your cool no matter what you hear. Stay laying down as I'm sure those cameras will be watching if I'm right about all this."


The time finally drew near and again I heard the distortion of the line come through on the same frequency.

Man: "Project Alpha Zero Four, confirm line security, over".

I about jumped up and went downstairs with murderous intent. I couldn't believe it and the knife through my heart burned with a fire that I would feel for years.

Farmer: "Sierra Seven Rehabilitation Team present, line verification assured, over."

Man: "Stand by for connection routing, over."

The line went wild with static for a few moments and a different man came on.

Man 2: "Well Mr. Shelton, what do you have for me?"

Farmer: "Subject zero four is still showing no signs of infection from AE68. AE67 is proving quite stable."

Man 2: "Where is she?"

Farmer: "She's observing to make sure our carrier is stationary."

Man 2: "What problems have arisen from the carrier?"

Farmer: "Instability of the virus has caused increased rage in the carrier when presented with stressful situations. The carrier even showed signs of advanced AE72 infection when presented with physical and mental opposition."

Man 2: "Is the carrier compromised?"

There was a long pause before the man asked the same question again.

Farmer: "Yes."

Man 2: "Can the carrier be remedied on your end?"

Farmer: "No. The carrier has developed at a rate we have never seen before. Even test subject 04 hasn't shown near the progression. AE67 does appear to be the threshold."

Man: "Roger that. When is the best time for an intercept team to deploy?"

Farmer: "Give us 24 hours. Our location is secure and we have obtained another carrier. Six eight carrier can be found upstairs in the diner at this time tomorrow night. Beware that he also has a subject in his presence with him, a female of 19 years of age that is equally armed."

Man 2: "What is the safest point of entry?"

Farmer: "The west entrance to the rear. Try to be clean and quiet as we don't need our new carrier compromised. Rendezvous for infection will have to be scheduled at a later date."

Man 2: "Roger that. Good work Shelton. Sarah was worried you had gotten too close to the carrier. You're doing all the right things, and remember the end justifies the means."

Farmer: "Thank you sir. We'll make it back to base with the results you want no matter what the cost. I know Sarah misses you."

Man 2: "Tell her I love her and keep her safe for me. She's the only daughter I have soldier."

Farmer: "Roger that sir. Over and out."


Tiff kicked the booth repeatedly. I didn't know how to respond. I didn't know what to do. For the first time in quite some time, I had absolutely nothing.

Damn...

Well, you know what you do when you find a rat in the barn?  You kill it.. Great update.  Keep them coming.

Wow! Did not expect that! Great cliff hanger! NEED MOAR!!!

Wow, this is getting really intense... Need another update soon!

# Chapter 27 - Bug out.

I was still laying in the booth wondering what the fuck to do. If I waited until tomorrow I might be able to kill them. I felt too heartbroken for that though. How much bullshit was I fed? Was it all just a ploy, or was there at least some genuine emotion? I was so pissed off, yet so heartbroken I could almost cry. I wanted to hurt them. I could stay and fight it out, but I don't want Tiff putting her life on the line for me. Instead, I decided to rob them blind and trap them.

I used my Busse to wedge between the door openings to the stockroom and lift upwards, forcing the 4x4 plank of wood out of it's resting place. I was hoping they didn't hear it, and all of my time spent down there I never once heard anything from upstairs. The slide out shelf was quickly surrounded by pallets of windshield wiper fluid and sandbags. I managed to muscle a partially filled 55 gallon barrel on top of the shelf and Tiff and I quickly filled it with fluids to add more weight. These fuckers were trapped good for now.

I ran out back and pulled the Tahoe up. Tiff and I loaded up all of the guns, ammo, and food we could get. Unfortunately most of the good stuff was located downstairs. As I dug around the stockroom I noticed a red light over by the desk. Hazaaahh! The fucking gas pumps were still powered. I forgot to turn them off so I switched all of them on instead of just the one the guys on the snowmobiles used. I didn't want to kill them, but I was definitely going to fuck their day up.

Tiff and I continued loading the Tahoe as fast as we could. Sarah and Farmer had some belongings which were still present. They were tossed as soon as I saw them. I forgot how well stocked with freeze proof food and ammo the Tahoe was in case the group had to bug out. I would be leaving with only about half my clothes, but at least they were clean. Just estimating I'm going to guess we had about 5,000 rounds of 5.56, 500 of .45 ACP, 600 of 9mm, and a very sweet surprise of 300 of 7.62x51 as the M110 Farmer had previously used was still in the trailer. For primary rifles we were down to my shorty, Tiff's M4, and two older M16's from the stockroom. Truth be told I only grabbed them for spare parts. I had my M79, an M1897 shotgun, a Benelli entry short barreled shotgun, two AK47's, two M&P 45's, the suppressed Sig, an M9A1, and almost walked off forgetting a Glock 17 I had stashed in the diner. Ammo supplies for those I didn't give a shit enough to count, I just knew we had enough. I regretted having to leave the MPSD the most, as it was far and away the quietest weapon we had.

My biggest fear was that we were leaving with only 40 bottles of water. All of the good beverages were stocked downstairs and the 40 we had we were lucky for as Farmer, or Shelton, whatever the back stabbers name is had brought them up for us last night. I would definitely be keeping the bottles for future possible refills. I didn't know much about purifying water but with all the snow this time of season I wasn't expecting it to be a major issue. The five cans of lighter fluid I grabbed from the shelves should come in handy too if we need to create a fire to boil liquids.

Gas would become an issue with no doubt. The truck stop had some fuel stabilizer which may or may not help, and after clearing out all of Farmer and Sarah's shit, I had enough room to fit a 55 gallon barrel in the back of the trailer. I hoped Farmer would miss his fuel siphon pump, asshole. We had packed up some various things and I looted Jack's truck out front of the tools that were left in it. It was now 5:30 AM and I knew we only had a little bit more time before one of them would wake up. Not that they could do much but I wanted to make sure they didn't turn the pumps off before I left. We pulled around front and I topped off the Tahoe and filled the barrel up about three fourths of the way. It was going to be a pain in the ass filling the truck 5 gallons at a time from the plastic jug from the old farmhouse, but it was better than nothing.

Tiff clipped the lines on every camera she could get too. A shotgun blast took out the outdoor cameras we couldn't reach. I used my Zero Tolerance 0350 I stole from Skyler to slash the tires on the vehicles out back I knew were functional. I then went to each gas pump and started running them, mixing up the different fuel types before leaving the nozzles on the concrete running full blast. As we pulled off I debated dropping a match, but decided against it. The lake of hundreds upon hundreds of gallons of fuel was already at risk to go anyways, and if not it would be too late for them to stop the loss of their fuel reserves.

As we drove off I couldn't help but say aloud "See you in hell assholes". I threw on a song by the Black Keys and tried to contain my emotions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJEx2tOYhHk&feature=youtube_gdata_player

GREAT CHAPTER

Excellent

he mad

Great chapter. Love the story.

Need more

more please

Sorry gang, been a bit busy and I'm moving to Texas so I've been knee deep in researching it. I'm starting the next chapter tonight.




Speaking of which, sorry to hear that BS passed. Check your IM's.

Good story I'm enjoying it.

# Chapter 28 - Destination unknown.

We had been driving for hours on end. Tiff was snoring her ass off in the passenger seat. I guess it was good because it kept me awake, but if that girl is a mute, I'm the fuckin' Easter bunny. We were heading south east and I wanted to get as far away as possible. I was still on alert and only now was it obvious how much the virus impacted me outside of being injured. Maybe my vision was just bad before but I felt like I could see further than I ever could before. I even caught a plane in the air so far off in the distance I couldn't even begin to judge how far away it was. I couldn't tell what kind of plane it was, but it was big. If I didn't know any better based on the fact there isn't anything else around, I'd say it was heading to Omaha too. Poor fools. Deep down I felt worse for myself though. We had been traveling for hours and that plane was the only sign of life, infected or not. I still couldn't believe that the past 48 hours had actually happened. Fuck I missed my old life, even if it was one most wouldn't want. I missed my shitty old apartment. I miss my shitty dead end job. I miss all of my friends. I hadn't felt it in years, but I missed the hell out of my parents right now too.

I stepped into the gas pedal a little further to try and clear my mind. Thinking about how things used to be had me on the verge of tears. Flashbacks to my childhood at the playground and on Christmas were really beating the living shit out of me. That unconditional love was something I would likely never know again. Hell, the closest thing I've found is the mute teenager in the passenger seat who had grown to be like a little sister to me. I really wish she talkes though, but I suspect ahe felt worse about life than I. What a fucking world we created for ourselves.....

We had passed into the Kansas border an hour and a half back and the road signs said we were coming up on a town known as Stockton. At this point I didn't have the heart to go through. I didn't want to have to fight or kill anyone. Maybe I would go nuts and turn into an infected. Either way, I was sick of killing people. I steered the Tahoe off to a south bound highway. I had no fucking clue where it went but truthfully, I didn't give a shit. I just wanted to go live in a cabin in the woods somewhere and forget everything and everyone.

As I drove along drowning myself in self pity, I saw a minivan up the road a ways. It was laying on it's side in the shoulder, having obviously been rolled over. There were two infected women beating on the shattered windshield that was still holding it's integrity thanks to the safety film. I woke Tiff up as I rolled to a stop and she instantly press checked her gun. She started to open her door and I told her to stay back in case I needed cover. Smart girl though.

I was about 50 yards away watching them through my ACOG. They hadn't noticed me and both looked to be early or mid 20's. I felt like a perv for a minute thinking both of them had fuckable bodies minus the obvious infection. Their faces on the other hand were disgusting. One was blonde and the other brunette, but the blonde was chewing on her own lips, or should I say what little was left of them. The brunette's face was unabused aside from blood dripping from her ear, but her leg was clearly broken and she stood on one leg. Every few seconds she would step down on it and in turn it would give out and she would almost fall over. Something was in that van they wanted though, and if my guess was right it was a healthy human being.

I got their attention with a whistle. I went cheesy and did the same whistle from the Kill Bill movies. I suck at whistling but it got their attention none the less. The lipless chick turned around and growled at me. It was odd as it wasn't an eat your face growl, but more like a get the hell away growl that you'd see an alpha male lion exhibit telling the rest of his pride to wait for his scraps. The brunette on the other hand came right at me. She limped to about 10 yards away before my pistol lobbed a 230 grain .45 caliber slug right in her nose. When the blonde realized what happened, I was caught off guard when she walked down the road a little bit and sat down on her ass. What the fuck? I holstered my M&P and lifted my ACOG bewteen my eye and her head. A "thunk" emerged from the end of my suppressor and I could hear every "ting" of the ejected shell casing bouncing on the concrete. She was sitting Indian style and even from a distance the sound of her lifeless face hitting the concrete disgusted me as she fell straight forward. With that flexibility she must have been a gymnast, but now any humanity she once contained inside her had evacuated through the chunk of skull missing from the back of her head. I was disgusted beyond belief, but morbid enough to wonder if the mess would have been contained a little better if she had her hair pulled up.

I walked over to the van and I could hear a man crying. With the windshield cracked I couldn't make anything out so I asked if he was okay. He just replied with "Leave me alone!" and continued to sob. I waved Tiff down as I needed to get on top of the rolled van to open one of the doors since the back was literally packed with supplies and also mangled from the accident. I got up but waited for her to get out and cover me before I let my ass hang out and set my rifle down. Tiff was in place so I opened the side sliding door to the van. It was a pudgy late 20's man with curly blonde hair and he looked like the epitome of someone who wasn't cut out for this.

Me: "Are you okay?"

Him: "They're dead aren't they?"

Me: "Yes. Are you bit?"

Him: "No."

The conversation stopped as he broke into an all out crying fit. I guess I hadn't considered I just likely killed people he cared about. He had that nasty dried saliva thing going in the corners of his mouth and combined with the snot and tears, he was a wreck.

Me: "Come on man, let's get you out of here."

We got him out of the van and he covered his eyes to keep from seeing their corpses. I asked him if he had anything he needed out of the van but he just shook his head no. As we walked towards the Tahoe he ran straight for the ditch and proceeded to throw up. He was dry heaving so bad I thought he just might puke his asshole up.

Man: "Do you have any water?"

Me: "Yeah, Tiff can you grab him a bottle?"

Tiff brought the bottle and he chugged about half of it in a split second. He sat there shivering for a few moments and finally I convinced him to get in the truck. He got in the back and we drove off keeping true to our path southbound.

Me: "My name's Doug. What's yours?"

Man: "I'm Martin."

Me: "Well where were you heading Martin?"

Martin: "Anywhere. We were just trying to get away from all of the sick people, but before I even knew it they were sick too. Candace was driving, and I was sleeping in the passenger seat and I woke up the van rolling over. Stephanie and I pulled Candace out, but when she woke up she went crazy and bit Steph. I....."

The man broke in to tears again and I figured the time for talking wasn't now. I was kind of glad as his breath stunk so bad I lit a cigarette just to have an excuse to crack the window.  Martin sat against the door and hung his head in his hands.

We drove for quite some time in silence. Martin would continually start crying but seemed to be calming down while doing it. I was getting hungry so Tiff handed me some beef jerky. I smashed a bag of it and slammed a tomato juice like it was my job. I was lighting up a cigarette with it loosely hanging out of my mouth when Martin started yelling.

Martin: "Pull over! Pull over now please!"

Me: "Okay, give me just a second man."

Martin: "PULL THE FUCKING CAR OVER NOW!!!"

Tiff did a press check on her handgun quietly as she looked at me out of the corner of her eyes. The man jumped out before we even stopped completely. Tiff holstered her gun as we got out and rounded to the back of the trailer where the man was. He didn't appear to be infected, but his crying rage was still disheartening none the less.

Martin: "My leg's asleep."

I quickly reconsidered my thoughts on him being infected.

Me: "You okay Martin?"

Martin: "Did you fuck her before you killed her?"

He started to tense his muscles up and Tiff looked at me for an answer. I made it clear when I snapped the retention lanyard off my pistol quietly.

Me: "What do you mean?"

Martin: "Fuck. Fucking fuck. Did..... FUCK!"

He let out a frustrated groan and I went for my handgun. Before I could get the drop on him he had latched on to Tiff's arm. I fucked up and hesitated, losing my chance at a clear shot as he pulled her to the ground. By the time I pulled him off by his neck he had rained down two heavy fists to Tiff's face. As I was trying to toss him backwards I lost my balance and fell with him. My pistol fell out of it's holster from the force of the fall and dropped to the concrete out of my reach. We rolled around on the ground and I was trying my best to keep from getting an adrenaline rush. The last thing I needed was to lose control with Tiff laying unconscious and I couldn't risk it if Sarah was right. I finally ended on top with his right hand pinned under my left knee. I was hitting him so hard and so repeatedly my arm even started to tire, but he just wouldn't stop. I lost my cool for a moment and laid into his chin pretty significantly. It wasn't as hard as I could, but I highly doubt I had ever thrown a punch with even half as much force before the infection. He was out cold now. I drew my Busse from it's sheath and drove it so hard into his temple that I felt the blade hit the concrete. I went to pull it back out but it was stuck. Instead of the knife sliding out with a little force, all it did was manipulate the movement of Martin's lifeless head. "Fuck it, Tiff is more important right now" I thought. Besides, I was kind of disgusted as his left eye seemed to roll around when his head moved. I grabbed my pistol off the road and headed Tiff's direction.

Tiff was still knocked out and wasn't responsive. I pulled her eye lids open and used my pistol light to induce dialation. Both of her pupils dialated, but one was definitely slower. At the very least she had a pretty bad concussion. I picked her up and carried her to the passenger seat so we could get the hell out of the area. As I closed her door and turned to head to the other side of the vehicle, I saw movement on the horizon behind us. I nearly shit when I realized it was a convoy of military hummers and possibly a few large trucks or semis. All I could think was an Apache shooting at us would be about the only thing that could make this worse. Could this be Sarah and Farmer hunting me down? Is it Skyler's friends? Is it just coincidence? I didn't give a shit either way. My gut was telling me I needed to go. Now.

I jumped in the Tahoe and mashed the loud pedal. The rear wheels chirped and with in seconds I was traveling faster than the convoy. I doubted that they saw me, but they would see Martin's corpse. "Fuck" I said aloud as I realized I had left my Team Gemini protruding from the corpse formerly known as Martin. What a bitch, I loved that knife and now it was too late to go back. I came to a junction and decided to head east. Yet again I found myself heading to nowhere with a shit sandwich following me. You'd think I'd get used to this by now.......

Nice blade.  I have the same thing in a different color.

This story is progressing very well, me likey.

Keep it going

great read

I bet he's going to reconsider giving aid to random strangers!

Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile

Damn, Doug is really in the shitter lately. Keep em coming.

# Chapter 29 - Traces of her.

Tiff woke up about 15 minutes after Martin practically beat her face in. Her right eye was swollen completely shut and she had a goose egg on her forehead. She winced with pain when she woke but when I asked her if she was okay she shook her head yes. I was worried about her having a severe head injury but felt significantly better when she shook her head yes when I asked if she remembered the van. I pulled the Tahoe off the road to refuel but I also wanted to grab Tiff some snow from a drift in the ditch to put on her face. I had fucked up and it was my fault.

Me: "Tiff, I'm sorry. This shouldn't have happened and I was being sloppy. I guarantee it won't happen again."

She responded by giving me the finger and as I started to feel like shit she cracked her now essentially patented smartass smirk. Heh, tough bitch.

I grabbed a ziploc bag from the trailer and filled it with some ice and snow. Tiff welcomed it along with the codeine from Sarah's medical kit. Take that bitch. I hope she needed this stuff. At the same time I wondered if they were still stuck or not.

Refueling took much longer than I anticipated. Siphoning the gas from the barrel to the 5 gallon jug took a bit of time, but dumbass old me didn't find a funnel so I had to siphon it into the Tahoe from the jug too. As I stood there holding up the 5 gallon jug for the third time I started feeling tired. I guess I hadn't slept in almost 48 hours, but it was like my body had turned a light switch. I didn't want Tiff driving in her condition as she could barely see though. Not that I'd let her drive anyways but I needed some damn sleep. We had passed a few farmhouses right off the road, but something tells me people were going to be looking for me and that wouldn't bee good enough. With the snow melting it made all of the dirt and gravel mixed roads out here into a pastey mud and an instant tell of recent activity. I needed to keep to dry concrete until I could get a few turns to avoid being found.

I had contined south east and finally felt comfortable in trying to find somewhere to rest. I followed a barely two lane winding road and saw a good candidate. It wasn't a huge house but it was secluded and looked empty. There were no cars, but based on the windows not being busted out, I figured it was possible someone still lived there. One of the things that made it so appealing was the massive stack of firewood on the side of the house. I didn't see any smoke coming out from the fireplace but figured I should still approach as a possible guest.

Tiff waited in the Tahoe while I headed to the door. I kept my rifle slung at my front, but in a way that was as least offensive appearing as possible. As I approached the door I could hear someone moving inside. As my knuckles got about two inches away I could hear the distinct sound of a shotgun being chambered. I paused for a second but knocked anyways. An older sounding man responded with out opening the door.

Man: "What can I do for ya'?"

Me: "Well, I know I'm a stranger but I have an injured teenage girl with me and was looking for a place to rest."

Man: "Well that's unfortunate, but why should I trust you? How do I know you don't have a case of that crazy sickness going around?"

Me: "Well, if those crazies start driving cars and talking I'll be real worried for our future then. I promise you we mean no harm. I know promises don't mean much, but my word is all I have left and I don't intend on compromising that."

The door opened and a small man with a full head of white hair and glasses in his 70's stood there with a shotgun longer than he was.

Man: My name's Larry Wise. Where's the girl?"

Me: "My name is Doug Ripley. Thank you very much sir, and let me go get her from the car."

He still had the shotgun pointed at me so I slowly unhooked my rifle and set it on his porch. I walked towards the Tahoe and he slowly lowered his muzzle. Tiff was awake but still out of it. When her feet made contact with the ground she instantly started falling to her left. I knew the feeling and imagined she had the spins from the head injury which meant it might be a bit worse than I had thought. I decided to say fuck it and swept her off her feet to carry her. I couldn't help but feel sorry for her as she grabbed on to my neck and planted her face in my shoulder. As I walked back to the door I noticed my rifle was gone, but the man was standing there with the door open waving his hand as to tell me to hurry inside.

The house smelled overwhelmingly of cinnamon rolls. It made the acids in my stomach instantly send a growl so loud I know the man heard it. I noticed instantly that the place was pretty cold though. All that firewood out there and none of it was burning. In fact, he only had about two logs inside. He directed me to a couch in his living room to the left and I set Tiff down.

Larry: "My goodness, what happened to the child?"

Me: "A bad encounter with one of the infected. I know she has a concussion at the very least, but I'm worried about her orbital bone and her eye."

Larry pulled a pen light out of his pocket and checked her eyes. Tiff winced in pain as he lightly pulled her swollen eye open but she endured like a champ.

Larry: "Well I'm no x-ray machine and don't know much about anything that doesn't say moo, but we need some ice to get the swelling down. What's your name missy?"

Me: "She's a mute. Her name is Tiff though."

Larry: "I'm sorry son, I forgot in all the commotion, what was your name again?"

Me: "Doug. Doug Ripley."

Larry: "Doug, that's it! Well Doug, there are some plastic grocery bags under the sink in my kitchen. Grab a few of those and layer them up, then run out back and grab some snow to put in them."

Me: "On it."

Larry: "Oh, and Doug, your rifle is next to the umbrella rack right over there by the front door. Don't go outside with out it."

I found the bags and headed out back. There was a large snow drift against the side of the house. The home overlooked a pasture and there were cattle practically in the back yard. Further out there was a wooded area and I couldn't help but notice sporadic dead cows between the woods and Larry's house. Either he has lions roaming here, or there's infected near.

I ran back inside and handed Tiff the ice. She placed it to her eye and a tear ran down her cheek. I couldn't help but feel terrible as this was my fault. I should have shot that asshole in the face at the first sign. Better yet, had we just left when he got out, Tiff would be fine and I'd still have my fucking knife. Fuck I miss that knife.

Larry: "So are there any new updates out there?"

Me: "The government has gone corrupt. Supposedly they're close to a cure. The President has abandoned us. People are going crazy, infected or not. You know, same old America."

Larry: "So no then. They said on the radio last night that Kansas City was a free zone. They've had to fight off the infected and the military, but there's a couple hundred thousand people there."

Me: "What? I check the radio almost hourly and haven't heard anything but static."

Larry walked across the room and opened a cabinet. In it he had a battery powered boombox with an antenna long enough to almost hit the ceiling. He flipped it on as I walked over and nothing but static was playing.

Larry: "My lord. I hope they're okay. They've been broadcasting daily. Even when it's not live they have a recording playing 24 hours a day."

Me: "Well, I guess I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up. Do you have a bathroom Larry?"

Larry: "First door on the right upstairs. There's a bucket so you'll have to throw it out the window when you're done."

Me: "Oh, I can just go outside then."

Larry: "Doug, you don't want to spend more than a couple minutes out there. Those crazy people have taken a liking to my cattle but they like people even more."

Me: "Well maybe I can thin a few out then."


As I walked through the kitchen I heard the radio come back in to tune and true to his word, there were voices! It was the first radio broadcast I had heard since the crazy preacher. As I ran back into the room to hear, the signal faded back out and went to static.

Larry: "I don't understand. They've been clear as day before this. I wonder if they're moving out of the city now. This radio wasn't made in China either."

Me: "Well if it comes back on while I'm out let me know what they said."

I walked back to the kitchen and got to the backdoor when I heard the signal come back on. Again I turned back around to hear, and again the signal went to shit when I got back in the room. Something was up, and Larry looked at me untrustingly as he knew it too.

Larry: "Son, where did you come from?"

Me: "Omaha. I've had a few run ins with the military and I think I might need your help."

We went through all of the things I had on me. Larry would walk towards the radio while I stood in the kitchen about 30 feet away. I was down to my boxers and a t-shirt freezing my ass off and nothing else had triggered it. Practically naked I walked towards the radio and with out fail, it fuzzed out. I ran the possibilities through my head and it made sense. I hadn't heard an FM or AM broadcast since Hahnsburg, back when they infected me. But how come the military radios worked? Those guys that attacked the truck stop may have been fakes but their equipment was the real deal.

It had to be a jammer. It was also possibly a tracking device. It sounded like a good investment for a living breathing science project and made sense. It also possibly explained the convoy coming straight at us. Fuck. If they were actually tracking me then, are they tracking me now?

I inatantly started squeezing my own butt cheeks, looking for signs of anything over my shoulder. I hadn't thought it through though as I looked over to see Tiff laughing her ass off at me. I didn't care. I checked my back as best as I could, my legs, and my arms, and then it dawned on me. Aside from the scar on the side of my head from being shot, I only had one other scar from all this bullshit . A scar that I knew about before I even knew I was infected. The same one Sarah had ran her finger over multiple times, the same one on my ribs where they had relieved my lung.

I gave the area of the scar a hard push in between my ribs. Instantly I could feel something attached to the underside of my rib. It was decent sized too. Now how the fuck do I get it out?

Me: "Larry, how good are you with a knife?"

Larry: "I cut the best t-bone in Kansas, but that's something entirely different."

Me: "Well I need you to do this for me before it's too late."

Larry shook his head yes. I took my shirt off and handed him my Zero Tolerance 0350. As soon as he got ready to make the cut his hands were shaking so bad I started to sweat. The look on Tiff's face quickly convinced me I might be better off doing this myself. Before I could even mention it Larry set the knife down.

Larry: "I'm really sorry kid, but I don't have the hands for this anymore."

Me: "It's okay Larry. Don't sweat it."

I picked up the knife and ran my thumb across it to test the sharpness. I had been shot, stabbed, and beaten, yet cutting myself open was an idea that made me queezy. Fuck it.

Here goes nothing!

Sneaky bastards.

Awesome update.  This story rocks!

This story is awesome! I hope he gets revenge.

keep it coming

Argh! I like the twists man. It's like you are channeling M. Night Shyamalan only you don't suck!

:) NICE

Sick

great story!