Dead Flowers (Mad World) • Tank Dempsey

4

A couple years into the apocalypse the Dempsey's managed to survive this long. In the beginning Tank taught his wife how to shoot a gun in a shooting range he made himself with targets that are glass beer bottles. He would cover her ears while she's about to shoot, he didn't need them as he's already used to the loud popping noises and the ringing in his ears.

Inside the cabin the couple migrated out of the basement into the living room. All the windows are boarded and the doors are tightly locked. Dempsey made a fire in the fireplace and it kept them nice and warm.

Love sat down on her husbands lap and he held his strong arms around her hips and held her close resting his head in her neck. He still couldn't stop thinking about who hurt her. It pained him that he couldn't figure it out, the past is in the past anyways. She doesn't remember it so why should he suffer it?

Their cuddles are silent while they watched the fire dance in the fireplace. Love wondered what their life could've been if this happened, obviously they would've had at least one baby and big dogs by now but life had to ruin it for them.

• • •

Dempsey skinned rabbit hide with his silver Bowie Knife while the couple walked around the woods a cold December morning. They were warm in jackets but not warm enough. But they had to eat something. They couldn't go another week starving again.

Holding one of Dempsey's pistols in hand Love stayed by her husbands side, she actually knew how to use a gun at this point. She let her hair down to warm her hair up a little and she kept her cap on her head. Holding the rabbit by its ears Dempsey smiled looking at his wife. "Look at this beauty"

"You haven't called me a beauty in years, Thomas." Love says squatting down next to him looking at the bleeding rabbit. "Great I'm starving, let's cook him." Out in the far distance they could hear moans and groans following with gunshots from shotguns. "Dempsey.."

"Stay behind me, Darlin'" Dempsey says picking up His shotgun from the ground where he placed it. Love stayed behind her protector, she held her finger on her trigger ready to fire at what they're about to face. Because obviously they were not alone.

They walked up the hill closer to the commotion with caution, then from behind them they heard more moans and groans. They turned around and decaying corpse's ran up to them trying to grab Love's hair. Instead Love raises her leg and kicks the zombie away and she watched as it rolled all the way down to the bottom. It seemed the gunfire the strangers were making are attracting unwanted attention.

They started their walk again back up the hill with more caution this time. Love stayed watching behind him just in case the same corpse wanted to come for them. Once they got up to the top they could hear voices of two males. "DIE SATANS MINIONS!"

"THAT IS THE LAST OF THEM!"

Dempsey looked back at his wife and places his hand on her head and pushed her down, as if to tell her to stay hidden. Love squats and held her pistol down though she wasn't about to put it away. Dempsey's not a dumb man he will know how to handle this. When they got closer to the top they seen two males are fighting for their lives around a dead campfire.

One of them is obviously a samurai by his attire and his weapon of choice. They watched in awe of this man slicing zombies heads off with his katana. While the other man looked friendly enough, wearing heavy armored chest plate and goggles over his head. Dempsey's best guess is he is Russian.

Dempsey cocked his shot gun while he walked up to the two men with no fear, Love thought he is so stupid for doing this but he's the man here. Love stayed close behind again with her finger ready on the trigger.