infected days.

A new problem

It hadn't been snowing long, only for about three or so hours, but it had started coming down heavily, as such the ground was pretty covered. it was also pretty cold, but most of the gang had taken cover in the helicopter getting some rest. everyone except jerry and Shelby, Jerry was supposed to be on watch and Shelby insisted he didn't stay out there alone.

the two were huddled up underneath a blanket, next to a small but warm fire, Shelby was asleep on his shoulder and jerry was comfortable, he had a good view of the camp and the woods around it.

they had set down in a large clearing in the woods a good bit away from home, where they had left their extra helicopter fuel, they would have finished the flight home but Shelby and riley were tired, so was everyone else. besides it was safe here, they had can tripwires to let them know if a walker was coming, and there was good visibility, Samantha was correct, John's bandits were too busy saving themselves to follow, but he knew they would probably come back to screw the group later. 

Jerry was staring at the burning log in the firepit when he heard it, the sound of snow being crunched under foot, he glanced up, blinking a couple of times to readjust his eyes to the darkness , but he didn't see anything. what really concerned him was what he didn't hear, there was no way a zombie had snuck past the tripwires. 

he heard it again, a quiet crunch, something, someone, was out there, trying and failing to be sneaky. jerry gently shook Shelby awake, the woman looking around confused for a moment.

a twig snapped in the woods, Jerry knew that pain, trying to be sneaky in the snow and accidentally stepping on something under the snow. Shelby definitely heard it as well. jerry reached for his gun under the blanket, eyes scanning the edge of the clearing.

it happened so fast he barely registered it, he saw something move out of the corner of his eye, and saw something metallic shine in the dim light of the fire, before he could react he heard a shot ring out from next to him, glancing over to see Shelby had drawn her sidearm, a little gun smoke still coming out of the barrel. a few seconds later he heard a thud as the people in the helicopter woke up in alarm.

Shelby and jerry got up quickly, going over to the dead body of their attacker. the man was wearing heavy duty ballistic gear, with thick leather and metal on the arms and legs, a ballistic mask covering the persons face, Shelby's shot had somehow managed to hit the person in the one weak spot in the neck, next to the person lay a fully kitted M4 assault rilfe

"who the hell-" started Shelby

Jerry knelt down next to the corpse "huh... they're armored to hell" he said "this actually looks like it would be next to impossible for the dead to get through this stuff"

"ok but who the hell is this?" asked Samantha from behind them, gun in hand.

"No idea... but they're well armed" responded Jerry

"What's that symbol?" asked Shelby, pointing to a symbol on the chest, it was a simple circle, with a far more detailed bird of some kind inside of it, wings spread

"manufacturer logo?" asked Sam

Shelby narrowed her eyes "I... it's strangely familiar- i think-" she stopped, glancing out toward the dark woods, it took jerry a second but he heard it, several more footsteps were rushing towards them from the darkness

"helicopter, go now-" ordered Sam, before the group turned to run, jerry stopped only momentarily to grab the rifle from next to the body. a few shots came out of the darkness, just barely missing the group. 

"can we take off?" asked Sam 

"the cockpit is too exposed, we could be easily shot-" responded Shelby, before letting out a quiet surprised squeak as a bullet hit next to her , leaving a new hole in the helicopter

they got around the other side of the helicopter just as the mysterious soldiers reached the edge of the clearing, taking cover behind whatever trees could hide their bulky frames. Alex and riley were already waiting for the group behind the helicopter "who invited the juggernauts?" asked Alex, handing Shelby her rifle 

"I don't know but we're out-geared, we need to consider our options" huffed Sam, out of breath from the sprint

"I agree-" started Jerry, before he noticed one of them coming up from the side, he raised his new gun and opened fire, it took a good few shots, but the attacker fell down, blood leaking out of his armor onto the snow "think fast people!"

"the way I see it, we're not wearing heavy gear, we should just run for it!" suggested Alex

"and leave the helicopter? after everything we went through to get it?" said Sam

"We can't take off, and we are outmatched, it might be our only choice Sammy" responded jerry, wincing as another bullet pinged off the helicopter

"fuck.. Fuck alright, Alex, jerry, lay down covering fire, I'll go first, Riley you're not a fighter stay behind me then you Shelby, then the guys, sound good?" Sam asked

"no, but we don't have much of a choice do we?"  responded jerry "alex i'm going to need one or two of your mags"

the soldier nodded and fished out a couple of magazines for jerry's gun, handing it to him

"alright... on three" jerry gripped the rifle tightly "one, two, three!"

jerry peeked around the edge of the helicopter, the first thing he noticed was that a few of the mystery soldiers were getting brave enough to start moving towards the helicopter, jerry did his best to discourage them, he had to admit he found it rather entertaining watching them scramble to get back to cover, they were really only there for about two or three minutes before Alex hit him on the shoulder "time to go" he said, jerry nodded and the two ran into the woods.

these mystery men didn't seem to eager to pursue them, despite the fact it would be easy due to the snow. jerry kept his eyes on the ground, following the footprints left behind by the girls. after a minute or two he felt his heart drop a little, lying in the snow was one of the attackers, dead, however a trail of blood led further off into the woods. the two continued on not wanting to dally incase they were being chased. 

after another minute or so the footprints went around a big tree, jerry started around it, before he heard a crunch, and ducked just in time to avoid the butt of Shelby's rifle swinging at his head like a club

"shit! sorry honey-" muttered Shelby, setting her rifle against the tree and pulling him into a hug. once she let him go jerry glanced at her, she was fine, Samantha on the other hand was bleeding profusely from the shoulder "you're alive..." she muttered through grit teeth

"you alright?"

"it's a through shot" she muttered, before letting out a deep breath "we need to keep moving, I just... stopped to catch my breath..." 

Jerry triggered his hidden blade, before cutting up the sleeve of the other arm of his jacket into strips, despite the cold he wasn't feeling it, probably because he had too much adrenaline "c'mere..." 

Sam hesitated for a moment before coming over, allowing him to use the makeshift bandage, she let out a sigh, clearly frustrated "you'll be fine Sam, but we should get you home, you need stitches and disinfecting"

"it was stupid, I wasn't paying attention, snuck up on me" the assassin muttered, Jerry understood her frustration, he knew Sam's biggest pet peeve was getting herself or someone else hurt, or even killed, because she wasn't focused 

"happens to the best of us Sammy" responded jerry, tightening the bandage and tying an extra knot "let's go-"

the group turned in the direction that they had just ran from when they heard the sound of the helicopter taking off, they stayed quiet for a minute as they listened to it get further away from them

"there goes my helicopter" commented Sam wistfully, before wincing at the pain in her shoulder

Jerry nodded glumly "it's a long walk home... we should get going" 

nobody argued with that.

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