The Zombie Infection: Originals S1 by Nick Venom (spiritual books to read txt) 📕

She nodded, taking a few steps forward before Nick stopped her. “Reiterate this to Eric as soon as you can. Keep your guard up and never look away. Also, don’t underestimate these bandits, we don’t know what tricks they have up their sleeves. Always be careful. This is not just for Eric, but you as well, Ashley.” 

Ashley nodded, blushing a little, before heading downstairs. She met up with Eric, informing him of the bandits that Nick believed he saw. Eric nodded his head in acknowledgment, grabbing the pistol tightly. He crept towards the back door where they thought the bandits would attempt to barge through since the men from earlier had broken the doorknob off and made the door a lot weaker than the front door. 

Ashley, meanwhile, guarded the stronger front door, waiting for the sounds of footsteps. She held her pistol, waiting for the first bullet to be fired. 

Eric, on the other hand, was dreading the initial gunfire. He shook nervously, staring at the back door. It had been taped shut, but the tape wouldn’t last if somebody threw their weight at the door. He drew a deep breath in and out in an attempt to calm himself down while keeping his eyes on the door, watching for any sounds of life aside from the frantic sounds of the Infected, who had grown crazy during the night. The large horde that arrived after the disappearance of the bandits had eaten their fill and left quickly, moving as a group rather than as individuals - which the teens found strange. With the neighborhood almost completely devoid of zombies, it was a perfect time for the men from earlier to strike. 

And strike they did.

Twenty minutes after Nick first spotted them, they attacked the back door. The time difference between being spotted and attacking was a plan devised by Captain Benjamin Howler, the leader from earlier. He stationed his men in the neighbor’s house, drawing out the moments in hopes that Nick and the other’s morale would drop before the attack. 

Once he concluded that their morale would be low, Benjamin ordered his men to assault the back door with the knowledge that it would be weaker. However, his knowledge wasn’t accurate as the only person reported to be inside the building was Ashley and neither of the male teens. 

The several men under Benjamin, no more than ten men, were armed with melee weapons while Benjamin himself stayed in the neighbor’s house, watching the chaos unfold. The men pushed forward, throwing their weight at the back door. Eric cringed at the sounds of the door giving in under the siege of sorts. The crude defenses were being rendered ineffective quickly.

Ashley and Nick, who heard the sounds, rushed to help Eric. Ashley was closer, dashing to his side. She pointed her pistol at the back door as it was being done in while Eric struggled to raise his arm.

Nick, who didn’t go downstairs, led himself to a window over the backdoor that was semi-barricaded. He peered down the window, not able to see much amidst the darkness and the barricades that stood in his way. He quickly decided to shed the barricades and unlock the window, opening it carefully and taking the screen off, before pointing his rifle down at the man’s head. It would be several easy kills, almost all headshots if he pressed the trigger. However, he hesitated. He managed to shoot at the Infected, but he was fueled by his parents’ death. Humans, on the other hand, were still living beings, no matter how disgusting or repulsive they were. He couldn’t bring himself to shoot; his mind ordered his body to shoot but his body refused the order. He was engaged in a civil war within his body.

Meanwhile, Ashley waited for the first man to pop his eye into the house before shooting. Once a foolish man peeked inside, she held the trigger, killing the man who looked inside while peppering the men behind him. Eric looked horrified at the blood splattered and the corpse. The man’s body was outside, but his head barely managed to inch itself into the house, laying on the leg of a chair uncomfortably, his eyes wide open and blood drooling down his head. It was a terrifying sight for Eric who couldn’t speak anymore, now stuck in place watching as Ashley took over his role, defending the back door.

By this time, Nick wasn’t sure if it was Ashley and Eric who were shooting or the men. Afraid that it was the men shooting, instead of his friends, he pressed the trigger. The men directly under the rifle’s vision were shot dead in a matter of seconds and nearby ones were struck - some killed instantly while others were simply wounded. Nick, who was struggling to correct the rifle’s recoil, shot through the near majority of the men with ease. It was a gun, after all. 

He released the trigger, watching the massacre under him end. All but one of the men were killed on the spot. The last man, who was shot in the foot, fell to the ground. Nick pressed the trigger to end the man’s life, but he heard the dead man’s click - the sound of the magazine being empty. 

By this time, downstairs, Ashley had stopped shooting after Nick began roaring with his rifle. Now, she was a few feet from the door with an empty pistol. She heard the sounds of the man outside the door begging for his life. It wasn’t either of the men from earlier that broke the door, but a slightly younger person. She glanced at Eric, who was frozen stiff. He couldn’t help her make the decision to save the man or kill him out of pity and mercy.

Nick, meanwhile, sluggishly went down the steps, his feet taking his time. The kickback from the gun bruised his shoulder and his hands shook from the grizzly sight outside. As he rode the stairs down, he saw Ashley open the door as much as she could, grabbing the man and bringing him inside. She threw him to the ground harder than she’d imagined. The man laid his back on the floor, staring up at the ceiling; he had one similarity to Eric in one degree - he was frozen stiff.

Nick helped Ashley tie the man up to prevent him from regaining his body and attacking them. Once finished, the pair looked at each other, stealing a small glance at Eric. “We’ll keep him for now, but I could expect that his buddies will be here soon.”

Ashley nodded in agreement. “We need to fortify what we can before they get here.”

“Agreed, I’ll start bringing down furniture from upstairs.” Nick headed to the stairwell but stopped short. “Don’t look at the backyard, no matter what.”

Ashley nodded, even though she had caught a glance at the gruesome sight outside when she helped the man inside. However, the one glance was already too much for her. 

She quickly got to work, keeping an eye on the man while rebuilding their defenses.

Meanwhile, Eric was slowly melting from his frozen position. As he did, he thought to himself. I couldn’t. I hoped and prayed I could… God deceived me.

TBC…

“How did he get captured, weren’t you supposed to be looking over your men, Captain Howler?” A man dressed in several layers of cloaks over one another asked. He stood on a crude throne that had been created in less than a day, many flaws being apparent like cracks in the wooden frame and the weak durability of the chair that served as the foundation. 

Howler cringed under the man. He kneeled in front of him, not able to raise his head. “I’m sorry, boss.”

“Not boss.” The man grinned. “King. Got it?”

Howler nodded his head. “Yes, my King. I apologize for my failure.”

The King nodded his head nonchalantly before rising from his throne. “How many people were in there and what kind of weapons did they have?”

“I’m not sure, but I believe it’s at least two people with an assault rifle and a pistol. I can’t say if there’s anybody else inside.”

The King nodded, turning to one of the men standing by the throne by a few feet. “Captain Wishbone, what do you think?”

“Your Majesty?” Wishbone, an awkwardly tall man, asked. “It would be better for your community if we establish good relations with them. There’s a chance that they could have more supplies inside the house than we could ever believe, but it’ll be wasted if we fight them.”

“How is it possible for them to have boxes of ammunition, it’s illegal? We got ours from the police station, but-” Howler was interrupted by a fierce glare from the King. 

“Shut it, Howler.” He turned his attention to Wishbone. “You’re right, let’s establish a positive relationship with them. We could slowly drain their resources while they don’t notice, maybe even take it all at once.”

Wishbone nodded. “At the very least, we could see how many people are inside the house. It can’t only be two people, there must be children and the elderly that they’re protecting. It doesn’t make sense for them to fight that viciously to wipe out seven of our men for a random house.”

The King nodded, soaking in the information Wishbone was giving him. Wishbone doubled as a captain and as his personal advisor. “We’ll go with your plan, send one of the privates as a messenger.”

Wishbone grinned. “Just in case they attack us, then we only lose a private? Good idea, your Majesty!”

The King nodded, smirking. He turned to Howler, who was slowly putting dots together. The picture it displayed wasn’t flattering.

“As your punishment, you’re being demoted to private. Is that clear, Private Howler?” The King chuckled, irritating Howler but he calmed himself before he said anything. Speaking against the King of the community of the Lost City Gang would get you killed.

Instead, he nodded his head with great defeat. The King snickered at his defeated appearance, waving him off.

Once he was far out of earshot, the King turned to Wishbone. “How are the other captains?”

“Most haven’t reported, but the ones that have, have stated that it’s been mostly successful. They’ve been moving survivors to our base and their food supplies as well.”

The King nodded. “Good… Really Good.” He sat down on his open throne, exposed for everybody within the fenced-in mansion to see. “Your idea of separating people into army ranks is brilliant. I can’t believe they easily accepted all of these changes so easily, what idiots.” He whispered, making sure nobody could hear him. 

Wishbone nodded his head, smirking. “As you say, Your Majesty. As long as I work under you, you’ll become the ruler of Lost City then the world.”

The King nodded, staring off into the land of the mansion, which was nearly half a block worth of area for him to grow his forces - which he did by raiding every neighborhood he could to keep his people happy and avoid a riot. He also strengthened his small army by promising several rewards for going up the ranks like longer showers and a little bit of