Dead Breaker Vol. 1

CH1: It's Hard to Close Them

I see the same thing in my mind...over and over again. It doesn't matter if I'm awake or not....That horrifying moment in my life. Those same words...The voices...The expressions...I can see it all.

"Hey! Evan, you care about us like family right?"

"You idiot-No! Why would I care about someone who isn't my blood as family? The only family I have is my sister now." I lowered my head thinking about my last words until-

"Come on silly, you don't mean that! Noelle, me, and your sister Marie are like your true family. It doesn't matter if we are blood related or not." My words didn't matter as he jumped on my back and my face flared by his embarrassing words.

"Will you quit it and get off!" I tried not to raise my voice. I was growing annoyed.

"He's right, Evan. These two are your family just as much as I am to you."

"Yeah! I love you, Evan!" She pulled on my clothes for comfort as Marie rubbed my head. I sighed, consumed by the love fest.

"Haaaah!...Fine, you guys can be persistent sometimes."

I didn't want to admit to them, but I was glad that they didn't stop. I still see the faces of the only three people I kept close. Their precious smiles not changed by this new corrupted world we lived in. But I knew that would change soon.

True darkness!

A horror no twelve year old should ever see. The gruesome sight of Revenants gnawing into children without a second thought; creatures from myths more terrifying than any Revenant attacking the traveling militia! But the worst was finding my loved ones murdered, picked off one by one by those undead bastards.

"Evan, run! You need to run-!" But before he could finish warning me, he had been struck in the back by the hand of a creature not identifiable as a Revenant. "Please! For us! Go!!"

Tears ran down his face as he continued to lose blood. Every limb in my body began to shake. Every hurtful emotion in my mind came rushing in at once.

"Ryder...?" My voice cracked. Could this be real? Is he really going to die? "Ryder!!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, running for my life not knowing where to go. Guilt and regret surged through my body as I continued to run as fast as I could, not knowing if I was still being chased or not. At that time my mind came to a decision and I wasn't going to stop until I dropped dead. I'm going to kill every damn Revenant that ever existed.

* *

September 29th, 2036

Four years have passed since that day. I stand here on the outskirt walls of Denver, Colorado with my eyes closed. I could still remember that night. A night so inhumane, I sometimes lacked the energy to eat. It haunts me like a ghost. The only thing that kept me sane was staring at the sky. Even this Godforsaken world could still shed a beautiful night sky. Although gazing into the moon kept me at peace, I was unaware that my hand had been tightening around my rifle as if it was reacting as muscle memory from past angered emotions.

BOOM!

The shock echoed in the air. Despite my back being turned, I knew the cause.

"Dammit all! Of all days to deal with this crap!"

"I know! Why would a Juggernaut appear now?!"

Two soldiers from the human resistance were heading for the wall. Of course, I did the opposite.

"Private Evan Wolf, what are you doing?! You can't attack a Juggernaut when they're charging!"

He wasn't wrong. Juggernauts were said to be one of the most dangerous and powerful classes of the infected Revenants. They had hulking proportions than any other class. The most obvious trait was their extreme hypertrophy, or abnormally increased muscle mass. Even with their enormous bulky build, their speed and agility far surpassed that of a normal human being. Even so, the class of this creature didn't matter to me. In my eyes, they were all the same.

"Ha! What do I care if this monster is rushing at me?" I said with an air of confidence. "In the end, this beast is going down by my gun!"

I pulled out my FN P90 rifle, a compact weapon fit for my needs. Many police and Army Special Force units originally used this close-ranged offensive weapon before the fall of humanity. It used newly developed 5.7mm x 28 ammo with high penetration power. The plastic magazine held a hefty 50 rounds, making it an easy-to-handle weapon with excellent penetrative power and low recoil.

"I love nothing but to kill these undead bastards. If I can't handle this weak ass, then what are my chances against the Clan of Apep?!" I yelled at the two soldiers and went on the attack.

As I dash towards the Juggernaut, I subconsciously grabbed my burgundy scarf with my left hand.

Marie...guys...give me strength!

Mid thought, I quickly pulled out my rifle with my right arm and stopped in my tracks to unload multiple shots. Throughout my rapid fire, each and every bullet landed in the creature's skin until-

"Eeeeraaaahhh!"

The beast groaned. The huge body slammed to the ground as I landed a bullet in its head, a lethal strike against Revenants.

"He's not authorized to carry a firearm!"

"Dammit that fool did it again! He just doesn't know when to stop disobeying orders!"

It was time for me to finish the creature. I pulled out my signature tantō, a Japanese short blade out of my back pocket. With each step, I raised my blade, ready to deal the finishing blow. The Juggernaut groaned in pain, trying to regain movement. Without any hesitation in my soul, I struck the creature's head with my swift motion. The dark reddish blood spurted out of its head and with a final groan, the Juggernaut stopped moving. Standing there expressionless, I wiped the blood off my tantō and sheathed it, returning it to my back pocket. In the end, I was outraged. I wouldn't have had to face the mutated bastards if it wasn't for that day. The dark day that happened four years ago, the day I suffered the loss of them - The Overdrive of Gilgamesh.