Tales of Rimworld

The Last Guardian Against the Undead

The sound of tearing flesh resonated in her head. Rae barely had time to realize what just happened as her mind was focused on one thing, and one thing only: the child. Even though she was tired, beaten and starving, she had to save the baby. Despite her foggy mind, she persisted; despite her aching bruises and bleed cuts, she pressed forward; despite her churning stomach, she remained focused. She couldn't allow herself to think about anything else.

It was only yesterday that her leader, Stepper, died fighting off an imperial raid that didn't appreciated that Stepper welcomed an imperial deserter. The man was as strong as a bull, yet his heart was bigger. Through his will to survive the zombie apocalypse, he welcomed and protected the lone travelers, only judging them by their actions in the present, rather than their past. He had been the anchor of the small colony, which made his untimely demise a world shattering loss for the colonists. The very next day, his wife Kristy was the one to hold the funerals, she almost finished her emotionally charged speech that a zombie horde appeared in the horizon and to make matters worse, the fallen raiders from the other day came back as powerful zombies still wearing the heavy plate armor that they once proudly don.

There was no time to waste and yet the next leader to be, Newt, was barely standing on his legs because he was weakened by an infected wound from yesterday's fight. He was young and inexperienced in combat, but he still fought to defend his home and his newfound family. Stepping in his deceased friend's shoes, Newt wanted to be as strong and a kind. And so, while his body was battling against the deadly infection, he couldn't help but feel hopeless by his current inability to fight for his colony..

With a lingering look at her husband's grave, Kristy decided to handle it by grabbing the arbalest looted from the imperials and she courageously went to take out the horde. She was fast and agile, which was a bitter reminder of how she wasn't fast enough to save Stepper before his demise. For a time, it worked well as she would run around the horde, picking them one by one while always being on the move. If they couldn't reach her, they couldn't bite her. 

But despite the number of foes diminishing, her heartache didn't fade, her grief became heavier than the arbalest she was carrying. Eventually, the weight of her sorrow was too much to bear, and she snapped into a berserk state, letting out wails of sorrow and her bottled up rage against the injustice that had befallen her husband and herself. With tears in her eyes, she charged the zombies with a knife and a mind clouded by despair. She fought hard but her uncoordinated swings weren't enough to keep the monsters at bay. Amidst her horrified scream while she was getting eaten, she regretfully left behind her orphaned child Estep.

The haunting screams of his friend were unbearably, but Newt was helpless in this situation. And while he was gritting his teeth, Newt soon succumbed from the infection and crumbled, only to come back as a zombie while still wearing heavy plate armor; his former friends horrified at his sight.

Devastated by the fight of her best friend and confident, Rae could only flee, but she thought: what about the crying child? She had witnessed all of her friends dying by the hands of the zombie, but leaving behind a baby would make her a worse monster. Thinking fast,she dashed in the bedroom, grabbed him in her arm and came face to face with a zombie behind the door. It wasn't her fist time with close encounter, and with ingrained reflexes, she barely managed to avoid it and ran behind a corner that a group blocked her path.

Without much options, Rae fought them off, the air filled with her clashing sword and her heavy breathing. The situation felt hopeless after such a long struggle, but she didn't despair. Suddenly, her world crumbled once more when one of them managed to sink its teeth in her exposed arm. She painfully stifled a yelp as to not attract more attention on her, but her mind was racing, internally screaming in agony from the injury. Limping and bleeding out, she got out of the camp through the east gate but the monsters were stubborn.

After slaying them with her remaining strength, she fled to the borders, only to collapse before the edge. Sprawled on the ground, she warmly watch Estep sleeping soundly despite the chaos that just happened. Summoning her last bits of strength, she gently caressed the baby's cheek, smiling at what could have happened if she had confessed her feelings to Newt. He was the only one who knew about her past from an abusing boyfriend, he was the one who had mended her scars amidst the apocalypse. And just as she closed her eyes, imagining an alternate future where there were no zombie, Rae imagined herself in the city streets, waving at Newt and running towards him for a tight embrace.

As regrets filled her heart, her only saving grace was a mysterious man in black who took them to the outside world. They both knew that her infection was well underway and that she would soon become a monster. Despite the danger, the stranger carried her on his back, walking towards the nearest friendly settlement.

With her sweat covered forehead and her shallow breath, she only could think of this one question : What will happen to the child left with a complete stranger?

She would never know the answer as her eyes closed for the last time.