{Author's Note}
{Another Chapter! Since I got such a tremendous amout of feedback from the last chapter, I worked really hard to get another one written today. Also, I wanna know what perspective you like the best! Comment or message me, I'm genuinely curious. Enjoy!}
Ashley:
The next morning, I felt a sense of adventure from last night. I actually desired to experience the adventures of a scouter. I saw Jack and Maria chatting, before Jack pulled out his radio and talked into it. Once he put it down, I sheepishly approached him. “Excuse me, Jack?” I asked quietly. “Yes ma’am?” He looked at me with a foreign smile. “Could I undergo a scouting mission? I want to serve a purpose here.” I asked. Jack looked shocked, but pleasantly surprised. “Sure. At your own risk of course, but yes, that would be great. In fact, follow me.” Jack led me upstairs briskly, then into the fenced backyard. “Here, I got a compound bow ‘ere. I don’t want an amateur like you wasting bullets, so this bow ought to provide for you well. Give it a shot,” He offered, handing me the quiver and bow, as well as gestured to the large target. I fumbled with pulling a sleek arrow from the quiver, and fit into the bow. I took aim, and released it, placing it near the target’s center. Jack shrugged his shoulders. “Mm, not too bad with the aim, a little slow with loading, but I bet you’ll be fine.” He smiled, roughly patting my shoulder. “I’ll call a quick patrol to attention. Then you guys will be on your way.” He disappeared into the house and returned with Mitch, Ryan, a guard from last night, and an unfamiliar male. “What are you doing?” Mitch asked me, perplexed. “Pulling my own weight around here.” I replied sassily. “That’s right, Ashley here is gonna join you. Now head on out.” Jack ushered us out in an almost hurried manner.
Once we were outside, and ready to scout, the unfamiliar man pulled out a small notecard. “Right then, Red Hawk made us a little list. It says we need to find some food, maybe some water bottles, obviously collect any weapons or ammo…” His eyes quickly scanned the card, as he trailed off. “Yeah, just the regular. “Alright, Hayden, Ryan and I will go explore that other neighborhood we found yesterday. Mitch n’ Ashley, scout out around the far houses of this neighborhood. Understand?” The unknown man asked. Nobody asked anything, so we set off. We walked a little ways until I was confident the other group would no longer be able to hear us. I opened my mouth to speak, but Mitch spoke first. “Hey Ash, how are you holding up?” He asked. It sounded like his old self, not the emotionless shell he had been acting like. “I’m…managing.” I replied, unwilling to admit it almost felt good to be of adventuring. “And you?” I responded politely. “Stressed, but I’m sure we all are right now. It can’t get too much worse though can it?” He half smiled. “No, don’t jinx it!” I giggled, trying to lighten the mood. We continued to walk down the eerily empty road before finding a well locked household. “I doubt this place has been raided yet.” I said gesturing to it. “Yeah, looks like a pretty good bet. “Let’s check it out.” Mitch agreed. We stealthily crept forward, and searched the perimeter for any way to get in without smashing a window. Shockingly enough, I found a key hidden under a flowerpot in the backyard. I opened the backdoor, and the empty eeriness engulfed me. “Should we split up, or stay together?” I asked. Mitch shrugged his shoulders. “I dunno. I doubt their are any zombies in here, but if you want to be accompanied everywhere, I understand.” Mitch offered. As much as I would have preferred to stay near him, it would be more efficient to separate, and I wanted to show off my scouting skills in broad daylight, rather than under the darkness of last night’s shenanigans. The house only had two floors, so I took the main floor while Mitch explored the upstairs. There were, of course, the kitchen knives, but nothing out of the regular for weapons. The refrigerator’s food was mostly spoiled, except for a couple plastic water bottles. The pantry also had an abundance of crackers, crisps, and other little snacks. It was something to eat, so I doubted that Jack would turn it down. I also found some kitchen towels, and stacked them with my other stolen goods. They could make for a bandage if needed. Mitch joined me at the back door, and we prepared to leave when I gunshot rang from outside.
Sydney:
“You can’t leave me now!” Pete roared, outraged. “I let you strangers hide in my house, draining me of my supplies, mooching off of me, and then, now when I need you, you’re off! Once those beastly creatures come crawling to my door, you’re gone!” He failed his arms fiercely. We had packed what little things we had, and were ready to leave to Pete’s Auntie’s ranch. Pete hadn’t taken it lightly. Indeed, he saw it as a sign of abandonment. “Pete, we’re not leaving you because of the zombie! You can come to the stables if you really, really want, but at the point, we’re going our own way.” Mark growled at Pete, lowering his eyes. “I saved your lives!” Pete rampaged on, ignoring Mark’s words. “Sydney would have died days ago if it wasn’t for me!” I felt my throat tighten at this thought. It might have been a true statement, and it terrified me to realize how precious and delicate life was. “Pete, please! Calm down.” I tried to rest my hand on his shoulder, but he pulled away in his fit of rage. “Why should I?” He snarled. “Because you’re not listening! We’re offering you to accompany you to the Ranch but you’re acting so blind right now!” I raised my voice in frustration. Pete looked at me, and the raging flames of his eyes began to die a bit. He took a deep breath, and sighed. “Okay. Okay… I’ll come with you.” He accepted. I threw a glance at Mark and Dan. Such catastrophic events could bring people to insanity. “How far away is it?” Dan asked him, once he had calmed down a bit more. “Like I told you earlier, not far. It’s only about thirty minutes by car.” Pete muttered. “Well, that’s a hell of a long walk.” Mark exclaimed. “Well… My Dad had a truck. He put it in the barn before he died. So, technically I do have a car we could use.” Pete offered shyly. “Dad said I wan’t allowed to mess with it though.” He murmured to himself. “I doubt he would care in our case.” I reassured him. His eyes brightened a bit, and he led us out to the proper barn. There was one incredibly haunting feature of the barn. In the far back, there was a slender noose hanging from the barn loft. Pete caught me starring at it. “That’s where Dad died. After he tied Mom to it.” He explained, shockingly emotionless. I nodded, trying not to let the terror show itself. We all got in the car, but this time, I took the driver’s seat. “Ugh, we’re gonna crash again if we let the girl drive.” Pete snorted, from the backseat. I ignored this comment, and let it slide, for the sake of his past. The The keys were on the seat, ready to go. The truck started up easily, and we were on our way to the Ranch. “Pete, if we stayed with you, and traveled by car rather than horseback, our odds of surviving would increase, like 200%.” I explained. “Would that be okay?” I tried to make it sound casual, but Pete wasn’t as stupid as he appeared. He saw that the tables had turned to his advantage with the car under his name. “I’ll think about it.” He replied slyly. I turned my attention to driving, because the last thing we needed was another accident. However, I was beginning to feel a hint of mistrust towards Pete.
Sonja:
“Going once.. going twice…” The auctioneer bellowed. “I’ll offer ten bullets fer her.” A rusted voice responded. I had braced myself for the knife to the chest, but it never came. Suddenly a lone individual came smoothly down the stairs. He was armed with a Desert Eagle in one hand, and a belt full of sharp knives around his waist. “I’ll offer this blade for her!” The newcomer yelled, pulling out a dullish machete. “Going once…going twice…going thrice… Sold to the Desert Eagle!” The auctioneer, jerked my arm, peeling me off the wall, and throwing me off toward him. He caught me, and set me on my feet. Something about the soft curves of his face suggested he was not like the others. The auctioneer moved on to Tucker. “Going once…” He began. I decided to risk my life, by begging my new owner. “Please, please don’t let that guy be killed. He’s my best friend.” I begged, tears welling in my eyes. “Going thrice..” He pulled out his knife, ready to kill Tucker. “One pocket knife!” My new owner shouted, holding up his offer. “Sold to Desert Eagle Again!” The auctioneer yelled again, shoving Tucker towards us. I embraced him tightly when he arrived. The auctioneer continued onto Tom. He was auctioned off by another bandit. Then, he moved onto Jordan. After the second call, he was auctioned off for a bad gun. Then, he moved onto Aurey. She looked so small and weak, her small frame outlined against the concrete wall. “Going once..” Aurey’s eyes were filled to the brink with terror, but also a glimmer of acceptance. “Going twice..” Suddenly, Jordan piped up. “This is so wrong! You can’t do this!” He yelled out. The auctioneer rolled his eyes, pointing his gun at Jordan’s head. “If you weren’t a fresh auction, I’d put a bullet up your nose.” He snarled. At that moment, a handful of zombies came tumbling down the stairwell. A volley of bullets erupted, but out of the corner of my eye, I could see Aurey run to Jordan. The zombies continued to cascade down the stairs, and began to overwhelm the auction. My buyer grabbed my hand, and I grabbedTucker’s hand, and we were led away from the staircase. Zombies had gotten close enough to attack some of the buyers, and the infection began to ripple through the crowd. Finally, the stream of zombies ended, and we were guided up to the staircase. One of the beasts grabbed my foot, and tried to pull me into the pit of confusion and death, but my owner swiftly aimed his gun at it, and with an easy pull of the trigger, I was freed. We reached the upstairs of the house and were led outside. Some of the bandits that had hosted the auction were syphoning gas from the buyers’s cars. Our owner shot the man syphoning gas from a black SUV. “Get in, hurry!” He commanded, but not in a cruel way. We obeyed, and piled into the car. Our new owner started the car, but at that moment, some of the bandits and slaves that had escaped were pouring out of the house. Among them, was Tom. “Wait! Sir, we can’t leave Tom!” I begged, pointing to him. He nodded quickly. I opened the door, and yelled for him. Quickly, he spotted us, and made a beeline for the car. Within moments, we were all safely in the SUV, and leaving the chaotic scene. Once we had all caught our breath, our owner smiled kindly at us. “Hello. I’m James.”