Tristan Harlow:
Shaking my blood from my hand, I look at Rebecca.
"Deals like the one I've just offered you are about as rare as an apple these days," Rebecca says, letting down her fist. "Come on, drifter. You're planning to get out of here soon, right? Well, can't you use one last payday before you go? One massive payday? With all the ration cards you got coming, you can buy whatever the hell you'll need and want; foods, water, gas filters, bullets, new guns. The list goes on and on."
"A lot like this," I say, crossing my arms. "Fine! I'll go on your damn suicide mission!
A smile growing across Rebecca's face, she nudges her head and begins walking. Following behind her, she fills me in on some missing details.
"The warehouse is in Zone 10, so we'll have to go through a few checkpoints to reach it. Still got that fake ID I got you on day one?"
"Right here," I reply, pulling the ID from my pocket. "Tristan Harlow, resident of Zone 6."
"Awesome. Maybe this won't be so bad after all."
Letting out a puff of air, I shake my head.
"When shit can hit the fan," I think, "It will."
The sound of a bell echoing throughout the bunker, signaling morning, some people start waking up, their makeshift stores and stalls also opening up.
"Hey," I hear someone scream, "I was here first! Get behind me!"
"Piss off you son of a bitch," someone yells back.
"Shut up both of you," the stall owner shouts. "I have plenty of fry rats to go around. Just make sure you have something to trade."
Seeing a customer trade a pair of old boots for two fry rats, the guy starts eating his breakfast.
"Come on," another stall owner screams, walking around with his arms spread out. "Come on! I got weapons for sale! Pipe! Wooden plank! Even a few shives! Who wants one! Come on! I'll take anything!"
Making our way through the crowded marketplace, we find ourselves in front of a heavily guarded chain link fence. At least 20 feet tall, soldiers in pale-blue uniforms surround it, a few armed with pistols and a few others armed with assault rifles. Hanging above the gate is a massive sign that says Zone 7.
Walking up to the fence, a soldier with tired, dead eyes stops us.
"Passport and reason for visit, please," he says.
Pulling out our IDs, we then hand them over. Taking them, the soldier did a quick check.
"We have some business with some soldiers in Zone 9," Rebecca says, "Recruitment."
The soldier's eyes go wide, he gives us our IDs back. Turning around, he whispers and waves his hand.
"Let them through," he orders, the chain-link gate slowly opening.
"Thanks," Rebecca says, the soldiers stepping aside and letting us pass through. The gate closing, we went back to walking.
"An exhausted soldier's favorite word is recruitment," Rebecca says, laughing a little. "It means less for him to do."
"You think that will work on three more checkpoints," I ask, pushing some guy aside.
"Probably," Rebecca answers. "I made a few deals with soldiers in the past, and from what I heard from them, they don't get much rest."
"Hmm," I reply.
Finding ourselves in another marketplace, we cut through a narrow alley and reach the second checkpoint.
"Hey, hey, hey," a soldier in a similar uniform screams. Aiming his gun at us, we stop and raise our hands. "Get back! Get back! That is an order!"
Backing away, we pull out our IDs.
"No," the soldier screams. "Our gate is under construction due to a Rebel's attack. No one is allowed through."
"A Rebel's attack," I repeat, now noticing a bunch of trucks and engineers fixing a giant hole in the fence.
"Fuck," Rebecca whispers, putting away our IDs. Having to walk away, I turn back to the fence.
"So much for a stroll through the checkpoints," I say. "Don't suppose you have another way through?"
"Yeah," Rebecca answers, "But I'm not a big fan of it. Come on drifter. This way."
Bumping me in the arm, she leads me to this small, wooden, one-story house. Stepping onto the front porch, the whole house creaking as we did, Rebecca knocks on the door.
"Fuck off," a voice on the inside screams. "I ain't got nothing worth stealing!"
"I know you don't you old fuck," Rebecca screams back. "Now let us in!"
"Oh sorry about that Rebecca," the voice says, the sound of the door unlocking before it opens and reveals a tall man with a cap and an orange shirt.
"Hey," she says, shooting the guy a quick wave. "We need to access Zone 10, but the checkpoint is closed. We need to use the sewer way."
Nodding his head, he steps aside and lets the two of us in. Once in, he closes the door and motions for us to follow with a wave of his hand. Leading us to a small living room, a sofa against one wall, a stain-covered rug on the ground, and an empty t.v. stand opposite to the sofa, the man pulls up against the empty t.v. stand, revealing a hidden pathway behind it.
"Thanks," Rebecca says, reaching into her pocket and pulling out some ration cards. Taking them, he waves back and watches as we enter the pathway. Closing it back up as soon as we enter, I reach into my pack and pull out a small lighter. Barely lighting the literal hole in the wall, we have to crouch walk through it, stopping only when Rebecca points to a small hole in the ground. Climbing into it, I reluctantly follow after.
"Holy hell," I cry as my feet hit the freezing cold water. The blood in my feet turning into ice, I put my lighter away and immediately start blowing into my hands. "Rebecca, what the hell is this place?"
"This is one of the bunker's sewer lines," Rebecca replies. "It should lead to the main sewer line which connects to all the zones. Come on. Oh and be careful, because the rats here are hungry."
Rebecca:
Holding back a laugh when I see Drifter pulls out his pistol, I begin leading the way through the cramp, dark sewer line. Having to mostly feel my way around, I am glad to hear the sound of running water. Following it, Drifter and I reach the main sewer line.
Water pouring down at a rapid speed, I look at the opposite wall, a bunch of other sewer lines in it. Counting the sewer lines, I figure which one is the one for Zone 10 and bump Drifter in the head.
"That one," I say, pointing at a sewer line further up the wall. "That's the one we need to climb into."
"And that's what's in our way," Drifter says, pointing at the running water.
"It's not as deep as it seems," I say, jumping right in. Hitting the bottom, the water only going as high as my chest, I still had to struggle against the speed. Climbing up against the rushing water, I carefully walk toward the other wall. Slipping a dozen times, I finally reach the other wall and grab onto a sewer line.
"Your turn Drifter," I say, spitting out sewer water.
Tristan:
"It's not too late to turn around," I say to myself. About to turn around, I stop when I hear some rats squeaking! Jumping into the freezing, cold water, I slip on something and fall right into the freezing cold water!
Tristan:Falling on something cold, wet, and slimey, I can't see anything past the dark sewer water as it begins to carry me away! Lunging at anything I could, I manage to grab something within reach and use it to pull myself up!Coughing into my hand, I wipe my eyes before looking around. Luckily, the rushing water didn't carry me far, only about six feet from where Rebecca is."You okay drifter," she yells from all the way up there."Fine," I yell back, wiping away some more water. "Just fine! Should've just left when I had the chance."Finding some better footing, I climb my way back up and to Rebecca."You stink of dog water," Rebecca jokes when I finally reach her."Yeah fuck you too. Just get inside before I go back for a swim."Climbing into the narrow sewer line, we once again crouch walk for a while, my legs growing tired with each step until finally, Rebecca stops and points upward. Looking up, I see
Tristan: "Fuck you," I say after the same rebel that saved me from Rex pushes me into a small, black room. The rusty metal door closing and locking behind me, I look around for a little bit. "This is an empty room," I say, seeing only four stone walls and a small ass chair under a hanging light. Shaking my head, I turn around and start banging my fists against the door. "Hey," I scream, "Hey! What the hell am I doing here! Why am I even here! Let me out! Let me out now!" Switching from banging with my fists to kicking, I stomp my whole foot against the door. "Let me out," I yell over and over. "Let me out of here now!" Stomping on it for what felt like the hundredth time, it opens suddenly, and before I can do anything, someone hit me with something. Screaming and falling back, I look up to see a tall man with dirty-yellow hair and a yellow and red jacket on. Beside him are two others rebels, all three of them armed wi
Tristan: "You have to be fucking kidding me," I say, staring at the little kid. "Seriously, what the hell is wrong with you? You want us to escort some little brat to the next state over? No! Fuck that." "Hey screw you," the kid yells. "And by the way, I don't want to go with either of you two. I'm staying here with Martin." "Bailey," Martin says, turning and getting on a knee. "We talked about this. You need to go with these two. Being with me, with any Rebels, is too dangerous nowadays. The military is hunting us down. We lost two bases in the last months and far too many friends and families. That is why I have hired these two. They are the best at surviving on the outside." Bailey: I look at the two, the two "best at surviving on the outside".
Tristan: The outside is the same as I remember it. The sky is dark-red, with massive black clouds. Hiding behind the clouds is the sun, though it's hardly much more than just a pale yellow circle. Looking around, I see nothing more than miles and miles of a barren wasteland, litter with signs of what the planet used to be like. There are rusted cars everywhere, anything even remotely useful taken long ago. Fallen logs and twigs cover most of the bare dirt. The roads themselves can hardly be called roads anymore such most of them are gone, leaving giant gaps. "This is the outside," the package asks, shielding her eyes as she looks at the sky. "Where's the sun?" "It's behind the clouds of poison," I say, pulling Rebecca up and out before putting the sewer cover back.
Tristan Fenway Park is a massive stadium, a combination of old-fashioned brick walls with rusted, green beams. As Rebecca, the package, and I make our way toward the entrance, I can't help but notice all the abandoned military vehicles and knocked-over fences everywhere. "You said this was a shelter before," the package asks, examining a run-down, rusted military truck. The wheels are flat and decay, the windows are all broken and shattered, and the tarp that covered the back is ripped and torn. "Yeah," Rebecca replies. "The first few years when the chimera invasion started, the military told us to gather here. We grabbed whatever we could and carried it here." Stepping over a metal fence, we reach the entrance and walk past some booths. Careful not to make too much noise as we walk through a maze of long, dark, empty hallways, Rebecca and my lighter being our only guide, we eventually reach the seating area, and beyond that, the fiel
Tristan: "Come on," I cry, shaking my gun all over and firing. "Come on. Come on!" Shooting another bullet, this bullet hit the infected woman in the back, stunning her and giving me the opportunity I need. Pushing the infected off of me, I shoot it in the head, killing it, before facing the hoard. "Damn it!" I slam my free hand on the bottom of my pistol and start firing every bullet I have left in this pistol into the hoard. Killing a bunch of the infected and hurting a few more, I stop when I start to hear clicking sounds instead of gunfire. "Empty." Despite all the infected I killed, there are still too many to fight head-on. Tossing my gun and hitting an infected right in the head, I then turn around and start to run again. Running through the maze of tents, picking whichever direction I think is best, I finally reach what looks like the spot where I split from Rebecca and Bailey. "Home base," I tell mysel
Tristan:"Shit," I say when I hear another infected. Making out some cover in the darkness, I grab Rebecca and Bailey and pull the two toward it. The covering, apparently some trashcans, I throw the two behind it before joining them on the floor."Shh," I whisper, pointing at the dark as the infected snarl again. Thankfully, it's only one infected. Through the darkness, I can see it come close to us. Running for a bit before stopping, it drops to its knee and starts hitting the floor. Pounding the floor over and over with its fists, a rat comes out from a hole in the wall. It scurries across the floor for a bit before the infected reaches out and grabs it.Biting down and ripping out a chunk of meat, it starts to eat."Stay here," I whisper, carefully getting up. Getting up to my knees, I stay low and peek over the trashcan. The infected is facing us, but it's looking down, completely focus on the rat in its hand. Checking to make sure it
Tristan: Literally seeing a light at the end of a dark tunnel, I look behind one last time to make sure there aren't any infected to ruin the moments. The three of us emerging from the dark hallway enter what I'm guessing was the parking lot for when the military was here. There are a bunch of military vehicles, mostly jeeps and hummers, around us. What tires aren't missing are either slash or are just out of air, and all the vehicles have their hoods up, meaning the military must have stripped them of their parts before moving to the bunkers. "Holy hell," Bailey says, panting through her masks as we walk away from the dark hallway. "That was intense." "You think," I ask, resting my hands on my knees as I look around. It's pitch-black now. The sun is gone and the moon and stars are covering the night sky above. Despite how quiet everything sounds, how there isn't even the sound of the wind, I know better. "Come on," I say, str