Zombie Apocalypse: Fractures

Chapter 6: Nyxen, Thalia

Thalia soon wakes up from being knocked unconscious, her eyes struggling to open so she could look around to her surroundings. She realizes that she was waking up in a bar but she was tied up. To what she was tied up to and what she could feel on her back was a rather large pole that was used to help hold up the ceiling. That's when she hears someone talk to her and was definitely not happy with her. "Good, now you can answer me about where the hell my brother is at!" She doesn't answer him as she thought that he was just trying to interrogate her for some information. "I saw you with him going into that museum with that thing and you appear with him no where in sight. So where he hell is Tanner?!" He yells in such anger that he ends up pistol whipping her in the face. Thalia grunts as the gun makes impact with her cheek hard, causing her to spit up blood already. "Nice hit kid but it still needs more work cause I've been hit harder by a hooker in Thailand." She chuckles to herself so as to not lose resolve on giving him any information about her squad mate whom is no longer alive.

He ends up hitting her again, but with his fist this time across her jaw. "Stop playing with me! I saw you go in the museum with that giant fucking thing. That zombie that was at least ten feet tall and when you left that place he wasn't with you." He gets up close and personal with her, his face a few feet away from hers. "Now I will ask you again. WHERE THE HELL IS MY BROTHER?!" he got so loud that it made her ears ring just a little bit. She ends up spitting in his face before giving her answer. "Zombie? You really think that's what these things are? A fictional being that is hungry for brains? You have quite the imagination kid." Nyxen punches her in the jaw again, only harder this time. He was getting fed up with her not giving him the answers he needed. She was purposely avoiding them for a reason he didn't know.

"Uh yeah actually, that's what the fuck is out there roaming around. They are living corpses as you're probably already aware of, they stagger when they walk, they eat flesh, and if you're bitten you turn into one of them. Ring a bell or did you not watch tv as a child. Cause that's zombie 101." He lets out a small sigh of frustration as he walks away to try and calm himself down. Thalia thinks back to one of her squad mates who had been bitten, died, then came back to life killing the other one. It all made sense now that he put it out there for her to hear. "So, why is there a zombie that is like a damn skyscraper then? Explain that." She wanted to see if he was the cause of all this and he was the threat she came here to get rid of. The maker of the chaos going on here in the city.

"That surprised me as much as it probably did you and Tanner." He turns around to face her as he spoke. His hazel eyes now coming into view as well as his dyed green, shaggy, hair and his nose pierced in the septum area. "Now please answer my question. Where is my brother?" He was asking calmly this time in hopes she'd cooperate with him and actually answer him. "Tanner is d-dead. He died because of that zombie ate him whole like he was some sort of fucking appetizer." Thalia tells him with a slight stutter and pain in her chest. She had known his brother for years in the Corps and being on the same squad enhanced the bond. She didn't like telling him this because it was just so unreal that not only was she the only living member of her squad, but they were taken by zombies and the strange infection they were spreading.

Nyxen decided to quietly untie her as he felt the pain hit his heart. He had always felt his brother was a douche bag for being so strict on him and that he was being told his gaming career was just an excuse to not be proactive in the world. Yet, he still always worried his brother wouldn't come home and to find out he'll never come home ever again because of this apocalypse hurt even more. Thalia could feel Nyxen's emotions by watching his body language. Seeing his shoulders slumped, his head hanging low, and just how he was overly quiet when he was loud and annoying just seconds ago. Thalia just walks past him, heading behind the bar and grabs two glasses to set them on the bar counter.

She pours them both a full glass of whiskey, knowing that it might help just a bit. "Here kid, this will help ease you a bit." She taps on the table to try and get his attention in hopes he'll drink with her. Nyxen silently nods to her, walking over and sitting on a bar stool. "D-Did he die in an awesome way at least?" Nyxen's hazel eyes, ones filled with such sorrow and hurt, stared down at her like they were drilling deep into her soul. Drilling in hopes to find comfort and something to hold on to. "He died doing the very thing he loved kid. Protecting the country so that you could have your life free and to keep your gaming career going. You think he was a dick and he was at times, but he loved you nonetheless kid."

She chugs her entire glass full of whiskey in one go before setting the glass back down on the table and refilling it with more whiskey. That's when she notices that he wasn't drinking any, but she wanted to leave him be. She figured he'd drink if he wanted to. "Your gear is behind that bar at the other end. You can take it and go. I just want to be alone." She nods in an understanding way as she chugs what she had in her glass, sets the glass down, and walks over to grab her gear.

Thalia shoulders her gear, holsters her pistol, and walks out of the bar with combat knife in hand. She was just going to stand guard until he felt good enough to continue. Even if she had to drag him out of there herself and bring him with her. She knew he'd be useful with his knowledge of zombies being good enough to help and probably stay alive longer than she was going about it. After a few hours of keeping watch she walks back into the bar, seeing he was grabbing his own gear. He perks up as he sees her walk back in as if he wasn't expecting her to still be around. "Come on kid. You take the lead and I'll cover your back."

This made him smile as he shoulders his gear and walks out of the bar with her behind him. "By the way, my name is Nyxen or Nyx for short. Not kid." She nods in acknowledgement as they turn to the right and continue walking down the street. Not knowing where their new journey will take them but it certainly wasn't staying here in the city.