Godead

XXIII

At the same time, Blair and Claude continued through the forest, following the sounds of gunfire back to Michelle's house. As the two arrived at the residence, they froze, looking on as a string of bodies lay strewn around outside. As they warily entered the house, Abby popped out from nowhere.

"Boo!" she exclaimed, laughing as Claude and Blair jumped.

"Abby! What... happened over here!?" Claude asked, looking on in shock at the corpses lining the ground.

"What's it look like? This little band of losers broke in, so I gutted 'em. You should have heard 'em scream as I bathed in their blood!" Abby explained with a wicked grin.

"But... did you at least try and talk to them?" Blair asked.

"Of course not! That would have given away my location. Plus, they had guns with them. They probably just wanted to kill us," Abby replied.

"...Such slaughter...!" Blair said, looking to the mass of mutilated corpses.

"...Hey! I just saved you all from those weirdos! A little gratitude would be nice!" Abby said, hands on her hips as Claude and Blair warily looked over to her.

"...Well... I guess she's right. I mean, who knows what their intentions were," Claude said.

"Are you kidding? They were human! You murdered seven people just now!" Blair said. Abby cringed, quickly stepping forward.

"Hey! I'm gettin' awfully tired of your bullsh*t, ya know that lady!? Quit actin' all high and mighty, or I might just knock that head of yours off your shoulders!" Abby said. Blair paused, silently staring her down.

"...Is that a threat?" she asked coldly.

"More like a warning. I'm callin' the shots here, and I say these maggots got what was coming to them!" Abby replied venomously. Just then, Claude stepped between the two of them.

"Alright, let's just take it easy. At least we're still in one piece. I hate to say it, Blair, but I have to agree with Abby. These people may have meant to kill us and take the house for themselves, and I think Abby did us a favor just now," Claude said.

"Ha! See? I knew my darling Claude would understand!" she said, latching onto his arm with a big smile. Blair sighed.

"Well... I guess we should bury these people, as well. This is becoming quite a habit, isn't it?" she asked grimly.

"Yes... and a morbid one at that. We can't just leave them here, though. Let's get this over with," Claude replied, the group soon busying themselves with burying the strangers out in the woods. Upon returning, they looked over some of their leftover belongings.

"...This shotgun should come in handy, as well as these pistols they were using. We were running low on ammo, too. Maybe this was a fortunate turn of events after all," Blair said.

"Yeah. Too bad Misty and Charlene are still missing. We've got a few hours before sundown. We should get back out and look for them," Claude replied. Abby rolled her eyes.

"Are you still lookin' for those fools? I'm tellin' ya, they're dead!" Abby said.

"Maybe. We can't lose hope, though. We should keep searching," Claude replied. As he and Blair returned to the forest, Abby sighed, heading back to the house moments later.

As Claude and Blair entered the woods, they looked around, Claude recalling what they'd seen awhile earlier.

"I wonder what that tent was all about? Who could have been staying out here?" Claude asked.

"I don't know, but whoever it was was well prepared. That tent was packed with rations," Blair replied.

"Maybe they're some backwoods survivalist or something," Claude said.

"Let's hope not. Those people tend not to be the sanest members of society, and if Misty and Charlene really did head into these woods, I'm concerned for their safety," Blair replied.

"Same here. And if that person with the tent is nearby, they likely would've heard us yelling Misty's name by now, not to mention that commotion back at the house," Claude said.

The two continued searching through the woods, wary of whoever else could be lurking. As they neared where the tent was located, they paused, suddenly noticing someone off in the distance. They stopped, hiding behind some trees as they peered ahead.

There, standing in the forest was a curious looking person, hair black and messy as the stranger's dark attire appeared tattered and worn.

"Is that a... zombie?" Claude asked warily.

"...I don't think so," Blair replied, noticing the person's rough clothing. As the two looked on, Claude slowly tilted his head.

"...Wait a second...," Claude said, pausing as he took a closer look. "...That's a... girl!" he said in surprise.