Playing With Death - Part 20: The Decision

Cody sat back. How was he supposed to respond to this? A safe place for his younger siblings... or a life on the road, on the run from the un-dead demons that ruled the earth? He had been out and about long enough to know that somewhere safe and sound... being taken care of... all of it... would be the most comforting thing to hear right now.

"I understand if you all need some time to think about it." Jeremiah said.

Trev nodded. "Well... only one of us needs to think about it..."

All eyes went to Cody.

"Aw geez..." Cody said, feeling instantly uncomfortable. He stood up. "Lemme step outside a moment."

***

Cody leaned on the second story balcony. The cool air hit his face, and he smiled. The cold weather was his favorite. He had always wished he lived up north, maybe Michigan, where it was much colder than down here in Texas during Autumn and Winter. He even knew some people up there he could stay with. Maybe he and the gang would head up there eventually and see if they were okay...

He shook his head quickly. He needed to stay focused. He looked down at his hand. Shaking... again... if the walkers didn't get him, his anxiety would. Then who would watch out for the littler ones? Would it be a good idea to send the littles away?

***

Blair looked over to see Cody tromp down the stairs. She walked over before he reached the group. "Hey," she said. "You alright, Bambi?"

Cody smiled. That was his nickname she had given him a year ago, Bambi the Blondie, after they became better friends. "Yeah... I think so. Just... do you think it'd be a good idea for the little guys to go there?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe we should check it out first?"

"That's what I was thinking." He walked into the living room. "Jeremiah... I want to see the place first."

Jeremiah nodded. "I figured as much." He grabbed his backpack. "Grab a couple of your buddies and I'll show it yo you."

Cody hoped all that Jeremiah said was true. Otherwise...

Well. Cody didn't want to think about the extremes right now. He'd rather not use his machete on the living. Not yet.

Lion Heart

Hello, I am a new author, The Ranger.

I wont say much about myself except that i love sports, I am a Marvel fan, and I was asked to write here by my friend, Ryan. 

I will be writing the series, Lion Heart, and the first part will be posted on Thursday, February 18th for all who are interested. Please come check it out after the release and tell me what you think! 

Dark Legends - Part 5: Twitch

He didn't want to be here. Ever since he stepped foot in his new home, he felt like he didn't belong here. He didn't feel like he belonged anywhere.

"Hey," his younger brother said, "We'll be alright here. I'm sure you'll get used to the place." He smiled and walked inside. His name was Liu. and he was barely twelve.

Jeff nodded. "Maybe. We'll see." Jeff was fourteen.

It was just the two of them and their parents. Their father's work took them here, and they were forced to move.

A few day after they moved in, Jeff and Liu went to their new school for the first time. They enjoyed it, made some friends, and Jeff started to feel like he could make this work.

A month passed. Jeff and Liu were waiting for the school bus when they heard three skateboards zoom towards them. It was the school bullies, Kieth and Troy, led by Randy. "Hello, Jeff." Randy taunted. "I think you know what we want."

Jeff sighed. "And what would that be?"

Randy scoffed. "Cash... money... the green stuff... shall I spell it out for you more, toddlers?"

Liu faced him. "Dude, just walk away. We're not giving you any."

Randy grabbed Liu's collar. "Oh?? Is that so?" he chuckled.  "Boys?" At Randy's signal, both Kieth and Troy pulled out knives. "Cash or guts, kiddies. It's up to you."

***

Jeff awoke with a start, sitting straight up. He put a hand to his face.

He was sweating.

He stood up and shook himself off. He shouldn't be having these dreams. He had forgotten about his past, and he didn't want to start remembering it now. Not all of it. The bullies... the party... the fire... the hospital... the following night... He remembered those things, though it was a blur in his head.

Jeff had spent the night in the alley... again. Maybe he'd get a motel room in a few nights... drag a prostitute along with him... and laugh at the motel manager from a distance as they tried to figure out who gutted her. Oh that was always fun.

A chill went down his spine. He quickly looked around him. He left the alley to look around the street. "What the hell was that..." he shrugged and turned around to enter the alley again.

He froze.

A man stood at the end of the alley, staring at him. "Hiiiiiiii Jeeeffff." His hair was a bit messy, but what really distracted Jeff were the goggles he wore. Currently they hung from his neck.

Jeff was at a loss as to what to do. Here was this random guy, who knew his name, just standing there... staring at him.

"Geez, you gonna get in the alley already? I don't have all day Jefferey."

Jeff slowly walked in, his hand now on the knife hidden in his pocket.

"Oh for- don't pull that out. I don't need to deal with that s*** today." The man said, suddenly twitching quickly. "I'm just here to talk with you."

Jeff stopped walking. "What do you mean?"

The man smiled. "I mean I need a favor of you." He started to walked towards Jeff, revealing two hatchets. "You're good at what you do. Really good. So I... well... we need you to take care of someone coming into town soon."

Jeff scoffed. "Why the hell would I do anything for you? What's in it for me?"

"I'll tell you who's been doing the extra killings."

Jeff's eyes squinted. "You know who?"

"Yep, and where she is."

So it's a girl... Jeff thought a moment.

"Tic Tock, Jeff. I don't have all day. I got a drunkard a few blocks down I need to take care of."

Jeff nodded. "Okay. I'll take the job."

"Heh. Good."

"But what's your name?"

The man's neck twitched. "Toby. Or as some like to call me, Ticci Toby."

Dark Legends - Part 4: Like Clockwork

Jane sat in the dark alleyway, alone again with her thoughts... just like always. It didn't really bother her much, she just wished for a... companion. Maybe she'd find herself a hell-hound. She chuckled at that thought, as she lay against a brick building, resting.

It had been a couple days since she had killed Candace. She had hoped it would get Jeff's attention, but so far there was no word. Only that everyone blamed Jeff for the murder.

Someone walked into the alley. Jane wasn't concerned, she just continued to rest.

Then she heard the sound.

Tic... Toc... Tic... Toc...

The sound came from whoever entered the alley. From what she could tell, it was a girl, no older than fifteen or sixteen. She sat down on the opposite side of the alley, on Jane's right., and a long sigh escaped the girl's mouth. The shadows cast in the alley only allowed Jane to see the bottom half of her face. The girl was smiling.

Tic... Toc...

Jane watched her closely, trying to find out where the ticking was coming from. She almost jumped when she heard the girl speak.

"You seem... annoyed."

Jane didn't answer.

The girl chuckled. She looked straight at Jane, however, Jane still couldn't make out the top half of her face. "What's your story, hm?" The girl inquired.

"What's it to you..." Jane said darkly, almost murmuring.

"What is it to me? Oh everything. And nothing. I don't really care. I just like to get to know a person before I-" she stopped mid sentence.

"What's your issue?" Jane asked.

"You're Jane."

"How did you-"

"I can feel your awful presence. It's disgusting." She spat to her left. "The black man told me about you."

The black man. Jane knew what she was talking about. The black man who haunted people's dreams, the demon king of the forests. "Uhg, you're one of his puppets, aren't you?"

The girl only smiled wider. "Either way,.. now that we've met, I'd like to warmly tell you to stay out of my way."

Jane stood up. "Oh no. You stay out of my way, b****. I so much as see you around my victim when I'm there, I swear to god, I'll cut you open, slowly."

The girl just kept smiling. She stood too, and her face was finally revealed. Jane almost gasped at what she saw. Where the girl's left eye should be... was a clock, from what was probably a wristwatch. "I guess time will tell... won't it?" She turned her back on Jane, and started to leave. She stopped half way out, and said one last thing. "Oh... by the way... you can call me Clockwork." And with that, she exited the alley.

Jane stood there, not sure what to do with herself. Clockwork... that girl threw her off. She didn't know how to react around her.

It probably wouldn't be the last she'd see of her.

Playing With Death - Part 19: The Offer

Kimberly opened her eyes... and immediately regretted it.

"EEK!!!" She screamed, as she saw a face looking straight down at her. Somehow, Kimberly fell out of the bed. Hitting her head, she became slightly dazed, and became aware of her surroundings.

It was Jen. She had been sitting right next to her on the bed, staring down at her.

"Jen! WHY."

Jen simply jumped off the bed and sat next to her. "Rose sent me inside. I'm bored, Kimby."

Kim sighed. "Well... I'm going to get dressed. Have you had breakfast yet?"

Jen nodded quickly.

"Course you have... kay gimme a minute." She stood Jennifer up, walked her out of the room, and closed the door. "I'll be out in just a sec Jenny."

Jen smiled. "Kay kay!"

Kimberly was half tempted to just go back to bed. She didn't want to deal with Jen. and she didn't want to deal with today. She'd been dealing with this past week already, and it was wearing on her. Running around, killing dead things, looking for food and supplies... it was so exhausting. Why couldn't this all just be a dream or something? Sure, it'd be a traumatizing nightmare, but at least none of it would be real.

But it was. It was a living nightmare. And she couldn't do anything about it.

She quickly got dressed, threw her hair up in a pony tail, and grabbed her bow. She could take Jen hunting today. Maybe she could teach her how to be quiet.

She went downstairs and in to the kitchen. Blair had breakfast on the counter: waffles. "Morning, Kimberly." she said.

"Morning." Kim replied. She grabbed on of the plates set out and threw a couple waffles on. They were good enough to have just by themselves, so she just ripped off little pieces and popped them in her mouth.

"Goin' hunting today?" Blair asked.

Kim simply nodded. "Gonna take Jen with me."

"YAY!" the scream of excitement came from the living-room. Jen came bursting in, just about running into a wall. "I'm gonna go hunting!"

"Good luck." Blair said, knowingly.

"Yeah, I'll need it." Kim said sighing. She turned to Jennifer. "Alright look... today I'm going to take you hunting. But that means you have to be super duper quiet. Whispering and such. No loud noises. That means no chainsaw."

Jen cocked her head.

Kimberly rolled her eyes. "No chainsaws."

Jen still looked confused. The her eyes widened. "Oh! You mean George!"

Kim nodded, making sure she stayed patient. "Yeah, we don't bring George when we hunt."

Jen nodded. "Okay."

Kim sighed once more. "Come on."

***

The man in the field slowly walked over. Rose regretted going outside without a weapon of some sort, but she was confident she could manage this.

"Hi." she said, when he was within talking distance of her. "What's your name?"

"Jeremiah!" he said. "Yours?"

"Rose."

He was just across the street now, and that's where he stopped. "I'm not here to cause trouble."

Rose nodded. "Well that's good, if you really aren't." she heard the door open and close behind her.

"No. We cook them first, then we eat them." Kimberly was saying as she walked up next to Rose. She was addressing Jennifer. She turned. Upon doing so, she flung out her bow and notched an arrow. "Who's that, Rose?"

"His name is Jeremiah. He says he doesn't mean us any harm."

"Right..." Kim said, "But is that true?"

Rose shrugged. "Jen. Go fetch Trevor."

In moments, Trevor was outside. "Jeremiah, eh? I'll go have a chat." He said this, letting his machete swing freely.

Kimberly sat on the bench. She hoped this 'Jeremiah' would be on his merry way soon. She didn't want anyone new. She was just now getting a handle on how many there were in the group already. Before she knew it though, Trevor and Jeremiah were walking towards the house together. Oh terrific...

***

Everyone sat in the living-room, Jeremiah standing in the center. "I'm a scout. For the government. I'm out and about trying to find anyone under the age of 9 - 12 to take back to our secure facility." He looked intently at the younger audience. "We can do safe, non harming tests. Nothing is done to the children, other than taking their blood once, and they'd be very safe."

"Why the kids?" Cody asked.

"They're not infected."

A silence hit the room.

Jeremiah continued. "There are scientists who were in a concealed environment, and have not had contact with the infected. They're the ones working on a cure. Their theory is that they can find it in non-infected blood."

"Hold on. Hold on just a dang second." Jordan said, his hand up. "What do you mean? I'm not infected..." he swept his hand across the room. "No one here is infected. Do you see anyone trying to eat flesh!?"

"Oh yes you are. And so am I." Jeremiah said sternly. "The minute you die... you start to turn. The only way you don't turn is a bullet through the head."

Again, the room became silent.

"The cure... if we can find a cure... we can fix everyone up. Make everyone immune to the infection. Stop the spread. Save the world." Jeremiah smiled at himself. "So here's my offer: I take those four..." he pointed to Tyler, Rose, Jack, and Lucy, "And we take a little blood and give them a safe, secure place to stay."

Cody sat back. He had a decision to make: keep his siblings in a dangerous cruel world run by the dead... or give them a better chance to live.

Kimberly frowned. She was sure that Cody was ready to wake up from this nightmare, just as much as she did.