Standing on top of the wall brought a completely new kind of feeling. The vast stretch of cleared out ground in front full of signs of char and bombardment, brought both a sense of loss and relief. It was proof that mankind had struggled against this disaster that befell them.
At a distance a string of blue smoke shot up into the sky and exploded like fireworks. "Signal Blue." An officer at the side commented with a slight smile. "A team is returning. Sound the bell for the health team to be summoned. The returning members need to the examined and quarantined."
"Yes Sir." A youth took the order and was about to rush off when the sky lit up again. This time compared to the hope and joy that the colour blue brought was despair and fear instead. Bright Red filled the sky one after the other as if they were scared that the message wouldn't be send across. The firmament looked like a sea of flames had engulfed it, burning up along with it their peace of mind.
"Signal RED" Some one shouted next to Ash's ear bringing him back to earth from the splendour of the sight. "Its signal red. Oh no. Oh no." the young man next to him was panicking. Even though they had been manning the wall for a while now, it was the first time they had to deal with an approaching horde. Although they were on top of the safety of the wall, the great responsibility of protecting the whole camp fell on their shoulders and made them feel suffocated.
"Everyone remain calm!" An officer shouted at the new recruits with a frown which made the nervous recruits pucker up. Although it wasn't an ideal situation, the man still had experience dealing with large number of zombies from the time they first erected the walls. It had been a bloody massacre back then and the ground had been littered with corpses. It took several weeks to clean up after that. After all no one wants to see a mountain of dead bodies every time they walk outside. Not to mention that until several months ago, they might have been their family, friends or acquaintances. Although now people mourned shorter than usual, it didn't mean that they were completely immune to the pain of parting. Maybe in 10 or 20 years the survivors won't blink when shooting down a zombie that was once a living person just like them. After all that was the environment they lived in. They would have to either toughen up and abandon useless emotions or become prey to the changing times.
"Everyone get ready!" the officer shouted fiercely bringing back everyone attention. " You have already been trained as much as possible. And you have first hand experience fighting outside the walls. This is no different from those times. It will just take a little longer and use up more cartilages. That's all. So stop running around scared and focus. Everyone is depending on us to hold down the fort."
Ash gulped hard as he looked into the distance. He hadn't wanted to be on the sniper unit at all. But he was completely useless on raids. Except for his ability as a healing machine, his team members just saw him as a burden. The last time they went out on a raid, almost cost his life as he hardly had any life preserving means. Not only that, he dragged down three other members with him. All because of his healing ability, Rhys had placed more value on his life than the others. It was his orders that no matter what, Ash had to be the last one to die if they got into a dangerous situation. It was all well and good if he managed to heal up the people who risked their lives to save him. They would grudgingly accept that his life was worth more than theirs. But if someone died in the midst of saving him or he was unable to safe someone who risked their lives for him, then the grudge they held in their hearts would amplify 10 fold. And they would 'secretly' seek him out to vent their frustrations. Him getting beaten up was hardly a secret. People just had no sympathy for him and they all turned a blind eye to the violence. After all, with his recuperative abilities he would be as good as new after a while.
Two out of the three that tried to save him died in that tragedy that day. It was no surprise that he gathered more hate upon himself than usual. They started arguing and fighting that Ash was more of a burden than a help. Some said to just toss him out and move on without him. Some proposed to never take him out on missions after this time. Some more vicious people even suggested that they just hand him over to the lab and collect a good reward. Ash remembered feeling guilty and scared. He also recalled the disgust filled eyes with which Rhys looked at him as he walked away after saving him yet again.
The conclusion to their argument was that Rhys tossed him to train. Close combat, camouflage, shooting. He was asked to perfect all of them within 2 months. Only after he was able to protect himself would he be taken out on raids again. Not that he wanted to go raiding. No it was that he will be dragged out regardless. Having an extra life saving precaution when going outside the gates was everyone's hope. If that life saving thing can also protect itself then it was double perfect. So Ash had no say in the matter. That is why he was kept away from the domestic chores and forced to participate in combat training. He was needed out there. But not as the weakling he was. Thus after a month and half of tedious physical and mental training, Ash was appointed into the sniper unit to guard the wall.
The team kept going out on missions even without him during . Not having a guaranteed life saving panacea with them just meant that they had to be extra careful of getting injured. The first time they went without him, they lost nearly half of their members. They had been so used to fighting recklessly because of his presence that they had forgotten that Ash wasn't among them this time. From then on they were much more careful but their efficiency dropped drastically because of that.
Rhys didn't give him any special treatment. He took it upon himself to check on his progress every time he returned from a raid. Now that Ash thought about it, it was about time for the team that had set out several weeks ago to return. It seemed to have been a rescue mission if he recalled correctly. Most of the main fighters of their small group including Kyle were out on this mission. It was considered a relatively save task so there was nothing to worry. Ash would have to face those scrutinising eyes of that man again soon.
Rhys really scared him to death. But he respected Rhys. Even though he wasn't treated the best, he was still kept well fed and alive until now. Ash was aware of the trouble he was causing everyone so he didn't really have the right to complain. Although he was fairly certain that Rhys hated him, he knew that the man wasn't biased against him because of that. He even constantly tried to help him by improving Ash's survival skills, although the methods were a bit harsh they were still effective. Not to mention the countless times he had saved Ash's life. Maybe he did it just because of the value he held as an all cure, immediately effective miracle medicine. Ash's feeling towards Rhys were so complicated that he was certain that he would even carry them on to his next life.
"Here they come!!!" The boy next to him shouted in a trembling voice bringing everyone's attention to the cloud of dust that was rising in the horizon. At first they were just tiny dots in the distance. No one could make out how many there were or what the situation was. As minutes ticked by the small dots grew in size to form silhouettes of people chasing at full throttle after three armoured vehicles. There were hundreds of them. As far as the eye could see was filled with dashing dots. Once they got a clear idea of the situation, it didn't seem too bad. The vehicles were obviously faster than the zombies. All they had to do was close off the gates as soon as the vehicles get through the gates. And then they could take the zombies down within the safety of the wall.
At least that's what everyone thought. Who would have thought that the zombies close at their tail would start to throw one another at the vehicles. Suddenly there was a rain of zombies. Several of them fell on top of the armoured vehicle at the back and blocked the drivers view of the road. The car started swaying from side to side trying to shake of the zombies blocking the windshield, only to suddenly loose control and drive off track to hit against a tree and crash to a halt. Everyone who saw this sight were dumbfounded. Never before had they seen such a situation happen in their lives. It was like the zombies were strategizing. This was a very scary thought.
Gun shots started ringing in the air as the survivors of the crash stumbled out of the unmovable vehicle and started shooting and running. "Support them!" The officer shouted at the sharpshooters lining the wall. Without waiting for further instructions Ash joined the others in shooting down the chasing zombies giving the escaping members some breathing room. Ash was holding the latest XGuard0112. It had an amazingly far reaching scope. As he observed the situation through the lens, he realised that those who were in trouble were people he knew. His scope flicked from James to Noah to Kyle. All three of them were among the runners along with two others he didn't know. Suddenly someone jumped out from the vehicle in the front as the others in the car were unwilling to stop the car to help the others. Before even looking to confirm, Ash had a guess on who it was. And he was right as he spotted Rhys turning around to fire at the zombie horde that was closely chasing after Kyle and the others.
He had to help. Ash concentrated as hard as he could and started shooting down the zombies. After the intense training the past month, although he wasn't a pro, he was still able to hit more zombies accurately. Using the XGuard0112 must certainly have also played a role. Not only that but the training Rhys personally gave him was etched into his mind. Although the man was scary, there was no denying that he was an excellent teacher. His guidance helped him do better than his peers during the training. That should be proof enough of his skills.
Suddenly Ash spotted a zombie jump towards Kyle aiming for his neck. It happened so suddenly that neither Kyle nor Rhys or anyone around them were prepared for the situation. Although Ash was surprised, he had been keeping a close eye out for the people he was familiar with as such he reacted fast. The situation was a bit risky as the zombie head was just centimetres away from Kyle's. If he misfired, he would do more harm than good. So he had to be extremely precise and accurate. But Just as he was pulling the trigger, he felt something heavy bump into him from behind. He lost his balance as he heard the shot being fired. Ash stumbled a little before he fearfully looked down at the situation. He saw Kyle's body hit the floor in the distance and soon he was swarmed by the rushing zombies. He heard a heart wrenching cry of fear and pain. And then Rhys rushed towards the horde without hesitation. Everyone else also turned around to help.
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Meanwhile Ash was frozen in place. His face paled with fear. He was certain that he was the reason for what happened to Kyle. Now all he could hope for was that the man was still alive. 'Maybe the shot hit his leg or arm or the stomach. There is no way it would have hit something vital right?' Ash's knees started to tremble and he lost his grip on the rifle that he was holding.
He was so scared into blanking out with self blame that he even forgot to continue providing assistance to the raid team. His inactivity was so obvious that the surrounding people had to keep urging him to pick back his rifle.
In his dazed state he observed a completely blackened faced Rhys rush into horde of zombies and after a while run back out carrying another person on his back. From his thunderous expression on his face, Ash realised that the situation was bad. His heart beat with dread. His first instinct was to hide. If Kyle was seriously injured, then Ash was certain that his little life was in danger. Like anyone with high survival instinct, rush rushed off from the prying crowd and hid in a secluded area. This was no permanent solution. He was aware that it was just a matter of time before he would be found and dragged back. Several people had seen his unnatural behaviour before. It won't be long before the placed one and one together and realised that he was the culprit.
He was right, as soon after a woman with scarlet hair and blue eyes rushed to his hiding spot with a deep frown on her face. Her sudden appearance startled Ash so much that he thought his soul was about to fly away. "It was you wasn't it?" The girl asked in a very serious tone as she looked him up and down with a hint of distain.
"No! It was an accident!" Ash reflexively went on the defensive only to realise a moment later that he had given himself away. The girl might have just been guessing. He looked up at her from the spot he was squatting at trying to redeem himself only to realise that he was familiar with this girl who was smirking at him as if she had won the lottery. He couldn't recall her name as she was just an insignificant figure to him but if he wasn't wrong then she was usually among the people who always hung around Rhys trying to get his attention. As far as Ash knew all of them were unsuccessful. But this woman was extra persistent in her antics. That's also why she suck in his mind compared to the others.
Although he wanted to ask mercy from her a moment ago, Ash immediately realised that it was futile. This was the girl's chance to get ahead of the others in trying to conquer Rhys. She would never give up such an opportunity. As he thought, not wanting to waste anymore time she grabbed him harshly around his arm and dragged him off to meet his doom.
When he was finally shoved in front of a murderous Rhys, Ash had no more confidence to utter a single word. The man's eyes were bloodshot and his face was twisted into a snarl. Without hesitation he dragged him up by the collar and slammed his fist into his face. The pain Ash felt was unbearable. Both his face and his chest hurt terribly. His mind blanked out, as the ringing in his ear intensified with every additional assault on him. Just as Ash thought he was going to die. Someone dragged him up and pushed him behind protective broad shoulders. 'Jule!' Ash thought grateful from under swollen eyes. Immediately an argument broke out. Ash was unclear on the contents but he remembered that there was a lot of shouting and cursing involved.
Later he was dragged in front of Kyle's body which was carefully placed on top of soft blankets inside his tent. His wife, Isabell had been in there a moment ago cursing Ash to death. Her grief was so great that she tried to stab Ash before trying to take her own life. Jule had stopped her in the nick of time and taken her away to calm her down a bit. In the silence that followed Rhys demanded yet again for the hundredth time that Ash bring Kyle back. He then threatened that if he was unsuccessful then he would be buried along with his brother. Ash glanced at the still warm corpse of Kyle with a bullet hole in between his temple and shuttered. There was no way he could save someone who has already lost his last breath of life. Not only that, his brain was damaged by the bullet. How was he supposed to revive a dead person. Unable to do anything Ash just sad before a stiffening corpse in silence shedding tears. He was the culprit. Kyle had always been good to him and now he had died under his hands. The guilt was eating at his chest. His heart felt a pang of pain. He couldn't imagine how much Rhys must be suffering at this moment. The man was sitting at the opposite end glaring daggers at him. 'No matter how much to glare at me. I can't help you.' Ash whispered in his head as the tears intensified. He was a murderer. It seemed like Rhys was already aware that he was helpless in this situation. His face contorted with heart wrenching pain. In the silence of the room with one corpse and two people, Ash witnessed Rhys shed silent tears for the first time in his life.
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Ash shook his head to clear the sudden dizziness that attacked him. His palms started to sweat for some unknown reason. The images that suddenly sprang to his mind were so vivid that he felt like he had actually experienced all that just a moment ago. Subconsciously he raised his hand to touch is face and sighed in relief when he found that it wasn't swollen like a pig's head. Of the images that he saw the one that had a lasting impression him was of Rhys crying. Ash didn't know why the sight of that usually brave and stern man in tears brought a stuffy feeling in his heart. Right as he was about to dwell deeper on what those feeling were when he was startled by a shout.
"BLUE signal" A soldier shouted out in excitement. Ash snapped his head up to look at the sky and sure enough a blue flower of sparks was blooming there. An ominous feeling instantly filled him. It couldn't be that it was happening so quickly. 'Cure you. Why can't you give me a weeks heads up rather than popping up a minute before disaster strikes?' Ash's hands that were holding the XGuard0112 started to uncontrollably. "Please let it just be my imagination." He whispered like a prayer to himself.
"A team is returning. Sound the bell for the health team to be summoned. The returning members need to the examined and quarantined." The Soldier instructed with a smile on his face. returning raiders were always a good sign. It usually followed a period of good life as they were very likely to bring something back on their trip.
Ash's heart fell. Those were the exact words that he remembered being spoken and yes it was the same officer as well. Now soon enough red smoke will...
"Yes Sir." Before the youth who accepted the orders could rush off to inform the medical team the sky lit up again. Just like in that fragmented memory it was bright red. And not just one but the red smoke signal was continuously shot one after the other. There was no longer denying it. It was about to happen. Kyle's team had returned. And he was about to kill the man.
While everyone was panicking, Ash tried to sort out the memories inorder to find a way to avoid the disaster. One he could provide support from a completely different spot than he was standing at. That should shift the trajectory of the coming events a bit. Just as he was about to act on it, the officer to shouted out before noticed his movements and thought that he was running away scared. It was the biggest taboo in a soldiers career to abandon duty due to selfish interest. Instantly he was reprimanded and watched like a hawk. he wasn't even allowed to step one toe out of line. Plan one fell into the dumps before he could even attempt it.
The second option was that he focused on clearing out an area several meters away from Kyle's position. This should put him out of harms way. Problem was, Ash wasn't certain if he would be able to keep at it since his sense to help out his team might spring up in the midst of battle. Everything was uncertain in a battle, maybe if he focused away form the group fate might come to bite at them in another way. Yes, fate had that bad habit of torturing him in that way. It was like a sadistic lover who liked to dangle a piece of hope in front of the person watching its prey struggling to change their fate and once they are an inch away from accomplishing it, it would just crush that piece of hope more viciously than before. So, although Ash would try his best to stay clear of Kyle's path it was still and an uncertain factor.
He had now double the experience with handling a gun. Not only so, the timid personality he saw in his visions was not so extreme anymore. He as certain that he would be able to keep a cool head in dangerous situations. After all he had already had a brush in with death before. So, he didn't fear it as much as he did prior to the betrayal. Thus the last option he had was to avoid the bump that caused this problem in the first place. If no one had accidently bumped into him, then the trajectory of the bullet would not have misfired from the zombie he was aiming at to Kyle. He had to be vigilant enough to avoid it altogether. Kyle's death was not something he wanted to see. As soon as he thought this far, a sudden determination filled him. One to change the previous fate that was forced upon him in another life. He clenched the rifle in his hands tighter and the trembling stopped.
"Look out there, they are approaching." The recruit next to him shouted with a trembling voice. He had wide eyes and a fear struck expression similar to most of the new members that were manning the wall. Most of them had never dealt with a horde of zombies before. As such it was understandable why they were nervous. Ash followed his line of sight and spotted the three armoured vehicles that were approaching from the distance followed by countless, half rotten corpses. He narrowed his eyes in worry. He was unclear why the zombies in his vision showed cognition. They had cooperated with one another to take down the armoured vehicle closest to them. Just as the thought left him, he saw the situation unfold in front of him. As in those memories, the zombies started throwing one another at the vehicle that was just a few meters in front of them. Being unfeeling corpses, they didn't feel pain or exhaustion or the weight of another body in their arms. This made their actions more efficient.
Sounds of shock and disbelief sounded all around him. Everyone was just as baffled as him from the situation unfolding before them. Zombies having thought process was something that was unacceptable. These people killed zombies left and right but could keep a clear consciousness and not call themselves murderers because of the zombies' lack of intelligence. No one wanted to think what this new discovery implied. They had all left behind or killed off their loved ones knowing that there was no other alternative. What were they supposed to do now?
In the midst of their worry, the car at the back was swarmed by zombies. There was three on the roof and two in front of the windshield. The car started swaying dangerously from left to right and then finally the driver lost control of vehicle and it heavily crashed into the tree on the side-lines. The car wouldn't start back up even after several tries. So, the raiders had no choice but to fight their way out of the damaged vehicle and start making their way on foot. This was the time they were most exposed to danger and needed external help.
Seeing the wavering group of people lined up on the wall, the officer shouted, "Clear your heads. You are all soldiers right now. Everyone's lives rest on our shoulders. Everything else can be left for the higher ups to made a decision on. Right now our only duty is to assist and protect!"
"Yes!" Everyone shouted in agreement as if his shout had woken them back up and cleared them of their muddle-headedness. They all readied their weapons, aimed and started shooting as soon as the zombies entered within their range.