Aftermath [in work]

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Brook kicked the wooden door, breaking off the hinges and unlocking it. He pushed it open, and saw the empty house. The house was barely built before everything happened, but someone made their way into it and barricaded it. If they were still there, they would of heard Brook by now. After awaking a few hours after being left by Nova, Brook made his way to the suburbs immediately. That's when he saw the house, it looked unharmed but worn out.

Brook tip-toed into the living room. A rifle laid on the ground oddly, but Brook picked it up and checked the magazine. It was full, and ready for Brook to use. He grinned like a small child, and loaded up the magazine. The house was totally silent, too silent for Brook. He began searching around the house for something. In the kitchen he foud a few cans of beans. In the bathroom was a wrench, to which Brook slid in a back pocket. He then went upstairs and began searching in the bedroom, when he heard the footsteps marching from down the stairs.

Brook quickly noticed it, and then readied his rifle. He took a deep breath, and exited out of the room. He slowly walked down the hallway, still hearing the heavy footsteps getting louder and louder. "Pa'? I'm scared. . ." A young female voice shivered from the stairs. Brook freezed in his tracks, and then slowly backed up to the bedroom door. "Mary, it's ok. Just stay behind me." A deep male voice reassured.

Brook hopped back in the bedroom, and squeezed in under the bed. He gave low deep breaths, and kept his ears open. The footsteps grew closer, then Brook saw a pair of black boots pass by. Then a pair of dirty vans. Brook held his breath as they passed by, and only exhaled after a door opened and closed. Brook quickly slipped out of the bed, and looked at the window. That definitely wasn't a good idea. He turned back to the door, and began to speed walk out of the room. He hurriedly tip-toed towards the stairs, looking over his shoulder every few seconds.

A door opened, and Brook immediately spun around with his rifle pulled out. On instinct he pulled the trigger at the first figure he saw. The ring of fire bursted into Brook's ear, and his arms shook with each fire. Then, there was a scream. A horrid scream. A girl's scream of pain.

When Brook released the trigger, his eyes were as wide as the sky. A small thin body laid on the floor, shaking. "P-Pa'. . ." She managed to speak, before giving out. Standing infront of her was a tall man with black boots on. He was wearing a black coat with a hat on. He had a great white beard, and a fragile old face. "Mary!" He cried out, looking at her now dead body. Then, he looked up at Brook with eyes of grief. "You son of a bitch!" He roared, pulling out a pistol at Brook.

"Listen, i'm sorry! I-I didn't-" The shot of the pistol interrupted Brook. He kneeled down, the bullet going over his head. He looked into the rifle's sights at the old man, and yanked on the trigger for a few mere seconds. About five bullets exited, and struck the old man in his chest. He shook from the pain, and slowly slid down the wall, leaving a trail of blood. "Y-you are Satan." The old man shivered, looking up at Brook. Brook stood up, and approached the old man. Brook was shaking badly inside, but he managed to steady himself outside. He kneeled infront of the old man, and took the pistol out of his hands.

"Why u-us?" He asked, coughing blood on his coat. Brook sighed and looked down. After a moment he said, "Think of it this way. . .your death helped someone lived. The girl here didn't deserve to die. . .well neither did you." Brook looked at the room the old man sat by. It was the bathroom. Brook stood up and looked around the bathroom for bandages, to which he found inside a mirror cabinet. He threw it at the old man and said, "Second chance, old man. Want to get revenge? Well. . .come and find me." Brook walked down the hall, not looking back at the man.

Brook left the house nearly empty-handed. He was scared for his life after what had happened inside the house. He almost didn't notice the crowd of people standing outside the house. When he looked up, he saw them all. There weren't that many, about three dozens, but they had faces of concern and shock. Brook's jaw almost dropped, but he kept his cool. This wasn't the first time something similar happened. "I killed the girl, and your old man is still in there. I. . .well I don't want much from you. None of you. I want to leave, now. We all have to survive now, I did my part, so continue on yours."

They all stood there breathless. They had lost a member of their group. A member they possibly liked, a member with a soul and life. Brook pushed his way through the crowd. They all stared at him with hatred, but they couldn't kill him. They weren't like him.

After walking down a street or two, he broke out into a sprint. He was sweating in the gallons from fear and anxiety. This wasn't his first time killing, but this time it felt different. They didn't deserve it this time. Brook kept running, until he made a sharp turn on a street and saw some Zodiacs huddled around a red car. They had their own weaponry.

The Zodiacal standard rifle was rather short and blunt. It was about five feet in height, the barrel opening up like a mouth of darkness. While the rifle had no clip, it's blasters recharge over time. The colors of the rifle were blue with a fire red at the barrel, an odd design for such a deadly rifle. The Zodiacs called it the "Blaster."

Brook hid behind a pile of rubble that an apartment had dragged out to the street, almost blocking it all. The Zodiacs were in their human disguises, and they kicked the car's tires. "Alright. You heard Mother Brain, we keep an eye for these 'automobiles.' Humans use them as a method of quick transportation." One said, hopping onto the roof of the car. "Yeah, yeah," another growled, "we should really worry about those big automobiles driving around. Asteroids can be useful sometimes."

Asteroids were the name of a suprising big group that supported the Zodiacs. They free-willingly entered into their camps only to eat out information. Most survivor groups kept their eyes peeled for these people, for they could get everyone killed. Ironically, Zodiacs will kill Red Giants after they had ratted out. Still however, they support Zodiacs.

Brook looked down at himself, and checked the bullets in his rifle again. Less than half, and that was his only magazine. While the pistol was merely missing one bullet, a single shot of a pistol couldn't take down the Zodiacs. Besides, Brook wouldn't even know where to shoot at. Zodiacs had weak spots, but only those who have fought them before know of it.

"Should we release the Hounds?" One of them asked. The one on the car stomped his foot and barked, "No! We don't need no mutt to do our job. We haven't heard from the squad one-twenty-seven, last they were checking the metros. That's where we will check next, let's go." It jumped off the car, and they all walked off. Brook sighed in relief, and began to climb over the rubble. There was a small food shop near where the Zodiacs at, Brook would go in and search for food.

Brook entered the shop, and began searching. He rummaged through cabinets and even trash cans, but found just a load of bread and some apples. Healthy yes, but not something Brook was used to. When he left, he was already munching on the bread. Then, he heard a cry of pain up the street. He looked up the street, and saw three Parasites picking at a young man. Brook sighed, and finished up his bread. He pulled out his pistol, and ran towards the man. Another person didn't have to die because of Brook today. When he was close, he raised the pistol and put a bulletproof into each Parasites' head. When they fell to the floor and their body was crunching and shifting shapes, the young man jumped back and avoided the small blast.

"Yo' man, thanks!" He said with a small smile. Brook nodded and asked, "Where did you come from?" The kid scratched his head and pointed at a clothing shop. "Why the hell is getting new clothes so important at this time around?" Brook asked. The kid shook his head and explained, "It's for my boss, yo'." Brook looked at him and echoed after him. "Yeah, my boss. We're a big group back home, man. We get called bandits but ya' know, you gotta do what cha' gotta do."

Brook nodded in interest. The kid smiled and asked, "You want to join us, 'ey dog?" Brook nodded and said, "Stop calling me dog, that bothers me."

". . .'Eh. We could really use someone like you, dog-I mean man."

"Yeah, I know. So where is this place at?"

"I'll lead you to it. It's pretty big space."

"Thanks. I need a place anyway."