The End Won't Phase Me - Shadows At Dusk
#3 of The End Won't Faze Me
The End Won't Phase Me - Shadows At Dusk
Darkness would soon be upon me, and that meant two things that I had to do. Either find a suitable shelter or find a different area with a lower chance of it being populated with infected individuals. I looked down the road I was on and saw that it soon led out of town and along the shoreline. I knew that would probably be a safer bet than scrambling up a spot somewhere here, so I set out along the road jogging, just to make sure I'd be out far enough by total night.
With the city behind me and nothing but a long, dark path in front, I let out a sigh of relief. I could actually relax a little bit. Any possible threat I'd be able to either see or hear far before it endangered me. Oddly enough, I began to enjoy the times where nothing was around me, alive or dead. It gives you a little bit of time to just calm down, remember that you're still alive, and settle any nerves that are on edge.
But even while trying to relax a bit, my survival instincts had me scanning my surrounding. Something seemed off in the distance, near the shoreline. I could've sworn something was there. I drew my pistol and cautiously moved close enough to where I could make out what it was.
Some sort of feline, a tiger most likely, just a few feet from the shoreline. Immediately I assumed it was infected but delayed firing. Next to her was a broken chunk of what could've been a boat. I decided to take logic over instinct and holstered my pistol, moving closer to it. I rolled over the limp body and found two things. First, it was a female and second, it was cold and wet to the touch. I felt no pulse, heard no breaths, but still felt like she wasn't dead.
I ran my hand along her neck and up to her mouth, finding that it was still slightly warm. Instantly I moved into action, knowing I had little time to save her. Thirty compressions, two breaths; thirty compressions, two breaths.
Then, finally, a signal; a sign she was alive. Just a small sputter that led to a cough, then a gasp for air. What came next, however, surprised the shit out of me. Her fist slammed into my jaw, knocking me back in shock. I leapt up and held my hands up, just in case she tried to attack me again, which she did.
From the ground she lunged at me, lashing out with a flurry of kicks, slashes, and punches, all of which I just narrowly parried. She screamed and yelled, continuing her assault as it became more and more reckless. She finally made a mistake when she punched with both arms, crossing them. I grabbed her wrists and swept to her back, twisting her arms above her head, not enough to hurt terribly, but enough to restrain her.
"Calm down, just calm down. I'm not trying to hurt you. I just saved your life, so stop attacking me, ok?" I asked, speaking softly. She struggled for a moment before relaxing, nodding her head. I gently let go of her arms and stepped back, lowering my hands but still ready in case she started up again. "So, your name is?"
"Vanessa..." She said after a moment.
"I'm Drelixx, nice to meet you." More silence, she just stared into me with empty eyes. "So, umm, where are you from?" I said, not really knowing what to do. She pointed to the ocean behind me, and in the distance was an island with smoke rising from it, hardly visible in the night. "Well, what happened? How did you even get over here? All I see is just a chunk of what could be a boat." Not a word came from her lips; the harsh sound of silence only made me evermore curious about her. Then, her expression softened and tears began forming in her eyes. She wrapped her arms around my chest and began crying into my shoulder.
"I, umm..." I was caught off guard on the sudden change in emotions as she strengthened her grip around my chest. Slowly I put my arms around her, slowly rubbing her back. I looked down at her, saw how much she was hurting, and knew I had to do something. Besides, some companionship might be a nice change to the normal lack of contact.
When I looked up I saw something charging at us, and knew it was definitely infected. If the way it was running didn't tip me off, the fact one of its arms were gnawed off. I drew my gun, aimed with one arm and the other I tried to cover her ears to the best I could, and took it down in one shot, the limp decayed flesh sliding to a stop less than ten feet away. She jumped at the sound an turned to see what I'd done, but once she laid eyes on the dead infected she began shaking vigorously.
"Vanessa, what's wro-" She dove towards the body, screaming and shouting as her claws sunk into its soft flesh and started tearing it apart. A solid line of profanity and incomprehensible yelling bellowed from her chest as she continued beating the dead corpse, mutilating it even more. I ran up and wrapped my arms under hers, pulling her away as she gave it a final kick and one last yell as tears of pain and rage flowed from her eyes again.
"Bastards! I'll kill every last fucking one of you, I fucking swear on my god damn grave I will!" She screamed, her voice faltering as she began crying once more. She dropped to her knees, unable to stand anymore and hung her head low.
"Vanessa, are you... Ok?" I dropped to a knee next to her, eager to know what caused her to be like this, but at the same time knowing that I shouldn't ask her right now.
The momentary silence was broken as a shark burst from beneath the surface of the water, sailing towards us. I turned as tried to pull out my gun, but realized there wasn't enough time, the shark was too close. Then, just as I thought I was done for, something sailed by my head, the deafening sound making my ears ring. I closed my eyes and grabbed my head, trying to dull the spike of pain that resonated in my skull. I soon opened my eyes to find the shark on the ground, five feet away from us, a huge carking hole in its head. I ran over to it, staring at the lack of decayed flesh in disbelief.
"Holy hell, do you see this? It-it's larger than both my fists!" I shouted in disbelief, holding my hands up to it. I looked for where it could've come from before my eyes rested on a small mountain not too far in the distance, some sort of figure fading into the dark from the peak. I looked back at Vanessa, who was still on the ground crying. I walked over and picked her up, cradling her in my arms.
"I can walk, you know." She said, looking up at me.
"No, I insist. It's no problem really; you look exhausted anyways."
"Humph," She murmured, burying her face in my chest. "Stupid dragon..." I smirked as I continued on down the road, hoping to find some sort of materials for a fire. It's risky to have one, but I was getting cold and it had been a long time since I'd had a hot meal.
After a fifteen more minutes of carrying her, I found a few downed trees off the side of the road. I gently set her down; she was sleeping. I collected the wood I needed and stacked it in a pit I had quickly dug. I reached into my bag and pulled out my lighter. On the second attempt the flame caught, burning the kindling until the larger branches began to spew flames of their own.
I took out the last chunk of meat I had and skewered it on a stick. I looked at Vanessa, who was just waking from her nap.
"Are you hungry? I'm sorry I don't have much food, but it'll quell a stomach for a while at least." I asked while she stretched her arms back and yawned.
"Sure, that'll be f-" She stopped mid sentence, her ear twitching. She heard footsteps behind us and so did I. Spinning around I drew my pistol.
"Watch yourself, I'd hate to blow your brains out!" I shouted, seeing a dark figure nearing us. Vanessa scrambled behind me, still curious to what it was. Looking at the fire screwed up my vision in low light so I couldn't make out specifically what it was.
"Well, that has to be the worst way someone's thanked me for saving their life."
The figure said, stepping forwards. He was close enough now to get a good look at his features. He was a wolf, fur dark as night, a cloth wrapped across his head, covering his eyes. His face had multiple scars, and over his shoulder he was holding a huge, what I could only explain as, prototype rail gun. It was almost a food wide, just about as tall, and long. A solid six feet long, with fusion coils along it's length.
"Wait, that was you with the shark?"
"Yes, that was me."
"The hole in that sharks head was huge!"
"Understandable, especially when your bullets are carkin huge." He said, pulling out a hunk of metal from his bag.
"Jesus, that's one damn big bullet! It's larger than my fist!"
"Yep, I grab what scrap I can find and melt it down so I don't run out of ammo."
"You're blind." Vanessa said bluntly.
"Yes, yes I am. Thanks for noticing." He said without skipping a beat.
"Wait, so that cloth... You can't see through it?"
"I wouldn't know, I'm blind."
"It's not to keep wind and dirt out of your face?"
"Nope, I'm blind."
"Then how the hell can you..."
"It will be easier if I start from the beginning. When I was seven my father killed my mother right in front of me with a knife, then came after me." He lifted the cloth to reveal two large scars over his eyes. "Needless to say I was the only one to survive that night. What I could no longer see I began to sense. I can feel the energy in everything, living or inanimate. It is my vision where my eyes fail to see."
Everyone was silent for a moment; the only sound was the crackling of fire.
"Don't be feeling sorry for me, I don't need the sympathy. Trust me."
"Ok, I've got one last question. What the hell is that beast you have over your shoulder?"
"Ah," He said, lifting his rifle. "This baby? I made her myself."
"No!" I said in disbelief.
"Yes. Oh, and by the way, your meat is burning."
"Wha-?" I turned my attention to the now slightly charred hunk of meat. I pulled it off the fire as Vanessa giggled a little. "How did he?" I murmured in a low voice.
"Some things, my friend, are better left unquestioned." He said with a smirk.