The UNDEAD: by Nick Venom (reading strategies book .TXT) 📕

Gray shook his head. “An armored truck pulled up in front of my house. They shouted something before spraying at the biker gang.”

Scar turned around and headed to the front window, peering out of a taped-down makeshift curtain. He watched as the Leader and his men fought back against the single armored truck, but were gunned down. The Leader was shot down unceremoniously, his body leaning forward and hitting the horn of his Challenger. It emitted a loud and annoying sound that served to inform the entire gang that their leader was dead.

“They killed our leader. Don’t let them live.” One of the members shouted. The remainder of the gang moved behind cover, which was quickly destroyed by the people inside the truck. The driver moved forward; the people inside the car getting good angles to fire at. They slaughtered the gang with relative ease, filling their vehicles and members with lead. An enormous amount of it.

“Is it… done?” An unfamiliar voice asked. Scar and the others looked up at the stairs leading to the second floor. A pale-skinned girl was walking down the steps, staring at Gray. She had dark purple hair that flowed down to her chest while Gray’s hair was light brown and short. His hair stopped before it could curve downward. 

Gray nodded. “Yeah, Violet. I think it's finished.” He turned his attention to Scar, who was nearly pressed against the window with the others peering through small gaps. “Is it safe?”

Scar shrugged his shoulders. “I have… no idea. Don’t open the door, let’s wait to see if they do anything.”

“Do you have any guns?” Alvin asked Gray and Violet. “Anything?’

Gray shook his head. “If we did then I would’ve shot the Leader. There’s nothing but knives here.” 

Alvin nodded. “Then we’re out armed by the truck.”

“They spent a lot of ammunition. They could be out.” Myra chimed in.

“Let’s not waste our breaths on it.” Scar watched as four people jumped out, dressed in tactical armor. “I think they still have a lot of ammunition left. We’re screwed.”  

TBC...

“You can come out! We’ve taken care of the gang!” A man shouted, glancing in their direction. Scar closed the makeshift curtain, looking at the others.

“What do we do?” Violet whispered.

Scar shrugged his shoulders. “I’m not sure… they’re not cartoonishly evil like the Bikers, but we don’t know anything about them. They could be evil as well.”

“Scar’s right, we need to be careful of them. They could be wanting to gain our trust before betraying us.” Alvin added.

Myra shook her head. “I think we should trust them. Maybe they’ll give us a ride to the safe haven.” She looked at Scar who shook his head.

“There’s no way I’m getting in their car.” He said.

“Yeah, haven’t you ever been told to not enter strangers’ cars? That’s like… the easiest way to be kidnapped, stupid.” Gray said. Scar glared at him, making him look away sheepishly.

“Sorry about him, he’s a bit… blunt.” Violet apologized. She walked closer to Scar and the others. “I agree with her. There’s nothing here.”

“Damn, she’s right,” Alvin said. “We have barely anything. We’ll starve first before we’re killed by other survivors.” Alvin glanced away, staring at an issue of The Undead Infection. He crept closer to it, grabbing the book and skimming through it. It was the final issue of the series.

Scar glanced at Alvin before Violet and Gray. “Fine, we’ll go with them. However, keep your guard up and don’t eat or drink anything they give you. We’ll stay with them as far as the safe haven. It’s still a few hours from here anyway.”

Gray and Violet nodded. “Keep your gun on you,” Gray said, eyeing Scar’s pistol. “Hide it. If it turns out to be a trap then use whatever ammunition you have.” 

Scar nodded, searching for the safety on the pistol. He found it quickly, stuffing it into his pocket, before turning back towards the window. Two of the people that stood outside approached the front door.

“We’re not here to harm you. We’re soldiers from the army picking up whatever survivors we can find to take them to the safe haven!” One of the soldiers announced.

Safe haven? Scar thought. It was a perfect meal ticket laying in front of him. Will he jump on it before it’s taken from him was a question he wasn’t ready to answer alone.

“Let’s go,” Violet said, approaching the front door. Gray extended his hand, almost grabbing her shoulder, but stopped himself. Instead, he walked to her side, watching as she opened the door.

Scar, Myra, and Alvin followed behind them as the door opened. Gray walked in front of Violet, shielding his eyes from the sunlight. He pressed forward, moving towards the soldiers. “We’re unarmed, so don’t hurt us.” He remarked.

Don’t say that! Scar thought. His mind was on the gun hiding in his back. If they find out we’re lying, then… will they kick us out or execute us?

Nonetheless, Scar pressed onward. He followed Gray’s lead towards the soldiers. Alvin, who was in the back, stared at the machine gun pit on top of the armored truck. A soldier stared at him, his hand resting on the machine gun. 

Alvin looked away sheepishly.

Meanwhile, the others reached the first soldier. He wielded an assault rifle that resembled an M4 and wore tan camouflage that stuck out like a sore thumb in the mostly red and green surroundings.

“I am in charge of this unit, my name is Private Eli Hollocks. I was sent by the government of Safe Haven Chicago on a search-and-rescue mission. My comrades here were also sent from the same safe haven.” The redheaded muscular shoulder declared.

The teens stared at him, all trying to judge whether or not he was lying.

“Okay, before we can take you, I need to check your belongings and skin. Anybody with bites will be segregated from the others.” Eli warned. 

The teens look at each other nervously. Most of the looks were directed at Scar who held onto a pistol, something that they felt would soon become a burden. 

Eli noticed the stares, zeroing onto Scar. “Son, do you have something you shouldn’t?” He calmly asked,

Scar squirmed under his stare, giving up when Myra whispered “just give it to them” to him. He opened his bag carefully, taking out the pistol. 

“It’s loaded, but on safety.” He told Eli as he handed the pistol to him. Eli nodded, inspecting the pistol before handing it to the person next to him - a dark-skinned woman with brunette hair that peeked out from under her helmet. She had a great physique, similar to the others in the unit. They were toned, none of them chubby like some of the teens. 

“This is my second-in-command, Corporal Roxy Brant,” Eli said, pointing at the dark-skinned woman. He turned his head to the other side of him where two people stood. They both wore the same tan camouflage uniform that Eli and Roxy had on. However, the man had black hair that dipped out of his hair slightly. The woman, on the other hand, had a buzzcut that shortened her dark red hair.

“This is Private William Johnson.” He pointed at the man, now adjusting his finger towards the woman. “That is Specialist Scarlett O'Connor.” 

He pointed at the man on the machine gun, a long-faced man with blond hair that was tightly packed into his helmet. “That is Private Cameron Wilkerson.”

Eli then beckoned the teens into the truck, moving aside to let them in. “It’ll be a few-hour trip to the safe haven since we have to look for more survivors. Strap in and get comfy.” He told them.

“Why are you helping us?” Gray bluntly asked. Violet’s attention snapped to Gray’s before glancing at Eli. She opened her mouth to scold him, but Eli cut her off.

“It’s our mission and duty to protect the citizens of this country.” Eli declared. “We swore an oath.”

Gray glanced at Scar who nodded his head, almost saying do you have a better option to reach the safe haven. Let’s go along with what they’re saying.

Gray turned his attention back to Eli. “Okay, then let’s get this adventure started.” He slid into the third row of seats, right behind the back seat and two rows behind the front seats. Violet followed behind him then Alvin, Myra, and, finally, Scar. They were tightly packed into the row, which was the size of two benches.

Eli slid into the back seat, in front of the teens, closing the door. “Let’s get going.” He ordered the driver, being Roxy. She nodded, putting the car into drive. The car lunged forward before slowly relaxing, coming to a normal and calm state. It moved carefree through the streets, crossing more land in half an hour than Scar, Myra, and Alvin ever could in double the time.

Three hours later, the armored truck rolled to a stop in front of a fence. Two guards wielding assault rifles and wearing masks that covered the bottom portion of their faces stood at the side of the main gate to the safe haven. They glanced at the truck, recognizing Cameron, before manually opening the fence. 

“Got civvies?” One of the guards asked.

“Five of them,” Cameron responded from the machine gun pit before the truck rolled past them and reached the parking lot filled with similar trucks and civilian vehicles. 

Eli got out of the truck first, letting the teens out. Once they were all out, he turned around to face the safe haven, several blocks reclaimed by the remnants of the army stationed in Chicago. “Welcome to Safe Haven Chicago, one of humanity’s last safe-havens. You’re now officially safe from the undead. Cheers to your new futures.”

Publication Date: 06-03-2019

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