I woke to the smell of bacon in my nose. I sat on the cold, hard wooden floor, feeling my back ache in distress. I scratched my head as if lice had invaded my personal space. I looked over at Taylor, whose eyes were dried with tears. Her body was quivering in the coldness of the room. I stood up, walked over to her, and kissed her cheek.
"I'm sorry about hurting you..." I whispered, walking down the stairs into the living room where the 15-year-old boy was watching a movie. It was weird to feel like I was at home. Able to sleep without any troubles whatsoever.
"Hey, Axel." The boy said.
"Good morning," I said, slightly smiling at the bacon bowl on the table.
"Hey, how did you sleep?" Jack asked, sitting at the table.
"It was alright. The bed was comfortable." I lied, sitting down.
"So, what's the plan for today, Dad?" Finnik asked.
"I don't know what today holds... All I know is that we are safe behind these walls." Jack said, taking a piece of bacon out of the bowl. Becky came out with a plate full of pancakes and syrup.
"Here you guys are. Breakfast is served." Becky said, sitting down also. It was Terrence, Jack, Becky, Finnik, and I around the table, all eating away. I felt terrible about leaving Taylor upstairs, but I figured that she needed the sleep. I took two pancakes and doused them with syrup.
"Okay, we need to make a plan for today... What's our tactic?" Terrence asked, folding his hands on the table.
"Look, we don't need to have a plan... We only have a few weapons. Let's do as they say, earn their trust, and then we can strike." Jack said, taking a bite of bacon.
"Do we need to strike? I mean, we could try to trust them..." I said, looking back at all the confused faces in the group.
"You know... Axel is right... We should try and trust these people..." Becky said, looking around the group.
"We will give these people today. That's it." Jack said, rubbing his beard. Just then, there was a knock on the door. Simultaneously, we all looked toward the door, then back at Jack. He put his finger to his lips, signaling us to be quiet. He stood up slowly, making his way to the door. When he reached the door, he opened it slightly to reveal a young man with brown spiked hair and a large rifle.
"Hi, I'm looking for people in the new houses who want to take the course to have a gun." The man said. He wore a leather jacket and a Pittsburg Steelers hat with jeans and boots.
"Why can't we just have our weapons back?" Becky asked, coming to the door.
"We have had incidents in the past that we will be avoiding from now on. So, to have a gun, which I assume they confiscated from you when you went into your meetings, you must take the course." The man explained. I looked out the doorway at the man, his eager eyes ready for anyone who dared come out the door.
"I'll do it," I said, walking to the door.
"What experience do you have with a gun?" The man snickered.
"I have used guns since I was a kid. I know a lot about guns." I said, looking him sternly in the eyes. He rolled his eyes at my experience, waving his hand and starting down the road.
"Let's go, whoever wants to go." He said. Jack and I were the only ones that wanted to go. We went to the other houses, picking up Michael and Caleb. The man took us to the front gate, where we came in, turning to a man in a military outfit.
"Hey, we are going out to take the course. Could I get the keys to a truck?" He asked the man. The man pulled a pair of keys out of his pocket, handing them to him.
"Thanks, come on." He said to us, leading us through the now open gate. We followed him into the yard and over to an open-topped yellow jeep. He hopped into the driver's seat, putting the keys into the ignition. Jack jumped into the passenger seat, leaving two seats and the back open. Caleb took the back, going Michael and me to sit in the back seats.
"So, what does this course consist of?" Jack asked, putting his seatbelt on.
"You will see." The man said.
"What's your name?" Caleb asked.
"David." He said, driving off down a trail on the side of the road. He drove us deeper into the woods until we could no longer see the encampment or the highway.
"Where are we going, David?" I asked.
"Well. You see, we are going to a spot where some of my group members are waiting for us. We will take the course, which is about an hour long, and then we will return home, where you will pick up your weapons." David explained, turning onto another trail. We rode in silence for about ten minutes until we reached a break in the woods, where he parked the jeep on the side of the road. A tipped-over semi-truck blocked the road on the right, and four broken-down pickups blocked the road on the other side, leaving a large hill in front of us and a jeep to our backs. Four men sat against the tipped semi-truck. They all wore pistols on their sides.
"What's this?" Jack asked as we all hopped out of the truck.
"This is the course," David said, climbing out of the jeep. He walked over to the men, telling them something quietly so we couldn't hear them.
"What do you think they are talkin' bout?" Caleb asked.
"Who knows? I don't necessarily like this guy..." Jack said, walking into the road.
"Alright, first things first, let's get situated; this is Derrick," David said, pointing to a man with a large cut on his face. "Keaton," he pointed to a man with a red bandana on his head and large blue eyes. "Philip," he said, pointing to a muscular man with a baseball bat. "And finally, we have Tyson." He pointed to a more petite man with glasses.
"What's up guys, alright? So, to carry a weapon, you all have to be willing to fight. So, to ensure your loyalty to us, we will have you fight each other. One on one." Derrick said, snickering to himself.
"You what?" Jack asked.
"The rules are quite simple. You fight till one of you goes down for good." Derrick said as they all climbed on top of the crooked truck.
"What if we don't want to fight?" Michael asked, stepping forward. Derrick looked at David, laughing. David turned to Michael, looking him directly in the eyes. He pulled his rifle from his back and aimed directly at Michael. He pulled the trigger, sending Michael to the ground. Blood splattered from his leg onto my jeans.
"Ahh! What the hell?!?" Michael screamed in agony.
"That's what's going to happen if you don't fight. Except it's going to be in the head!" Derrick said, laughing his head off. The shot echoed for a good minute. I watched as Jack got down on the ground to help him up.
"Are you insane!" Jack said, standing to his feet and looking up at David.
"No, just going through the course," David said. I could tell Jack was very angry. I knew I wouldn't want to fight Jack because he would most likely kick my ass.
"This is wrong! And you know it!" Jack screamed.
"Don't worry, no one will find out. Michael is going to face Axel!" Derrick said, pulling a cigarette and a lighter from his shirt pocket. I looked over at Michael, who was attempting to stand to his feet.
I'm going to make it out alive...
YOU ARE READING
End Days- A Zombie apocalypse novel- Finished-Featured story (Book-1)
Horror***WATTPAD FEATURED**** #141 in horror Axel Carter is a 32-year-old factory manager who is married to Sarah Carter. He is a responsible person who can keep his cool in tough situations. However, he is forced to lead a group of inexperienced people...
