Just Survive (Complete)

Chapter 47

Shane felt sick at hearing those words. He was one of the leaders; these people were his responsibility. He was responsible for making sure that no one got hurt, and that everyone stayed safe. But now it appeared that everything would change. Everything was gone, along with everyone they knew. All that remained were some dead bodies.
"Look, if we're going to get out of this city, we need to leave. Right now." Shane stated forcefully, trying to keep his emotions under control.
"Well, that's easy to say now, isn't it, Shane?" some guy interjected angrily. "Now, when we're running around the streets, not only are we surrounded, we don't even know where we are anymore! How many more people are you going to risk losing to get out of here?!"
"Who do you think you are talking to me like that? Do you have a death wish?" Shane snapped, stepping forward, his fists clenched tightly.
"Don't you think you're being a little unreasonable? Don't you realize that we didn't come this far just to die before even reaching our destination?!" the man who threatened Shane challenged.
"That's enough out of both of you." Ashley interrupted, glaring between the two men. "We can argue about who's right later. Right now, we need to figure out a solution. What do you suggest?"
"We go back out now!" someone volunteered.
"It's already too dark! If the raiders are after us, we'll stay armed and wait until tomorrow night! Maybe they'll want a bargain!" Colby reasoned, trying to support Shane.
"You can't bargain with killers like this! We shouldn't be sitting ducks here!" the same person argued.

"Maybe if we stick together we won't have any problems! We'll all get away safely. That's what we should do!" Shane said, trying to calm down.

Zach sat down tiredly, his body exhausted from the injuries.

"Shane; we have children and the injured to think about! Maybe we can send someone out to scout out where the raiders are holed up and where the zombies cluster! That way there might be survivors!" Zach exclaimed, getting everyone's attention.
"Alright...." Shane paused, taking a moment to think about it.
After a moment, he decided he couldn't let these people get hurt because of him. Not again. If that meant sending someone out to search, it was worth the risk.
"Okay, we send out two of our best fighters to search! Be back just after sunup! Any volunteers?"
Colby took a step forward confidently, raising his hand.
"Me!"
The room exploded into chatter, everyone agreeing loudly that they were willing to volunteer to help.
"Anyone else?" Shane questioned.
"Ryan. I'll take him." Colby offered.
"He's just a kid!" someone shouted, pointing a finger at Ryan angrily.
"He's part of this group. And besides, he saved my family earlier today. I'm sure it'll be a piece of cake for him!" Colby shot back.
"I'm not scared! Anyone who can fight should stay here and keep watch! And Ashley, Jenny can't lose another set of parents!" Ryan answered, his courage overpowering his young age.
"Fine. Everyone stay safe tonight," Shane ordered before turning towards the kid he saw as his son.
"Ryan; stay by Colby and listen to everything he tells you! Remember, he's a pro fighter; we need him alive. Understand?"
"Yes, sir!" Ryan answered, looking up at Shane with a firm determination in his eyes.
"Don't worry, Shane; I'll take care of him!" Colby said, checking his gun and ammo.
"And I'll take care of the rest of the family," Shane replied
. "Just focus on staying safe while we wait here."
"Roger!" Colby and Ryan agreed, nodding at each other quickly.
~*~
They headed out into the night, carefully watching for any signs of life. Every sound and every flash of movement was frightening. The air was quiet; no animal sounds were heard anywhere, which meant they must be close to the edge of town.

"Let's see if the road is clear so we can take it when we escape." Colby mused worriedly, peering into the distance.
"Yeah," Ryan said, stifling a yawn.
"Come on, we've gotta keep going," he urged him lightly.
Colby was glad that the kids seemed to be doing alright, but the strain on Shane had been apparent.

The street went straight out to an underdeveloped area; very few places for raiders or zombies to hide, but also no cover if they had to hide from danger.
The street was mostly barren, broken up by piles of random trash, and the occasional house that was still standing.
They made their way toward the main road that connected to the city center, stopping when they noticed something strange in an alleyway.

It was a large trap, baited with some rotting meat. They slowly crept closer, staring in awe at its contents. It was obvious the bait was meant for a large animal to eat, not a human.
"It looks like it's been sitting for a while," Colby whispered as he studied the decaying, half-eaten animal carcass.
"I think we'd better leave," Ryan said, wrinkling his face.
"Hold on! Something's coming!" Colby hissed, pulling Ryan into a derelict building.
A shadow passed by them, causing them both to let out gasps of surprise.
"Wow! A zombie herd!" Ryan commented, his eyes bulging in amazement.
"Shh, Ryan," Colin instructed quietly as the rotting fiends clustered around the bait, slurping the guts and ripping flesh. Suddenly, as they fought over the carcass, a heavy cage landed over one of them, sounding off a siren.
"What's going on?" Ryan asked, confused as the group of undead turned their heads and looked in the direction of the noise.
"Stay hidden! Something's up and I'm pretty sure it has to do with the Raiders!" Colby surmised.
About ten minutes later, a truck rumbled from the dense part of the city.
They could hear muffled voices arguing; two men wearing makeshift body armor got out shooting at the remaining zombies.
"All this work just for one! I tell ya, man, I hate that kind of job!" one guy grumbled.
The remaining zombies were picked off, the trapped one thrashing in its prison. One of the raiders looped a rope around its neck, pulling a cage-like box over its head. The raiders began pushing the zombie around the street, using its weight against it. The two men pulled it into a cage in the truck. The cage was locked shut, and the raiders disappeared into the city.
"One more for our homemade horde! " one man laughed, raising his fist triumphantly. "Sucks how many we have to kill, but the city's crawling with the things!"
"Boss'll be happy! Just gotta take care of the group that got away earlier, then we can all celebrate and be done with this whole thing!" Another guy cheered. "We did good tonight, we deserve it! We're the top dogs now! All those other groups we destroyed would have died anyway!"
Colby and Ryan stood behind the building, watching closely as the truck drove away, disappearing around the corner into the darkness.
"Oh god!...."
"What, Colby?" Ryan asked worriedly, concerned with his older friend's reaction.
"Those guys....they're the ones responsible for all of the attacks... Those monsters.....they're so much stronger than anything we ever imagined...We gotta get back, Ryan! Before it's too late!" Colby pleaded urgently, his voice cracking slightly with fear.
Ryan felt his stomach drop.
"You mean....?"
"The raiders are keeping zombies and using them to take out travelers! And ours is holed up and unprotected!"
"What do we do!? We have to find out where the raiders are hiding! If they find our base....there's nothing we can do!" Ryan cried, feeling his mind spinning with panic.