Days Of Dust

Chapter 17

Yuri rounded the corner and went straight into combat mode when he spotted two infected closing in on him.

These guys are way more alert than usual, he thought, things are definitely changing.

It wasn't just the sudden arrival of these new doglike infected, the normal infected had been trying attack more and started getting into packs. Like the ones the group of kids with the bus fought. He hadn't told anyone what he and Leon had seen that day, a massive group of kids, extremely skilled at fighting. They had fought the infected like a proper army rather than a group of teenage kids, they were also very thorough with their looting, and they didn't break anything they didn't need to but had taken anything of use, which had made life hell for Michael who had needed all the medical supplies he could get his hands on after they finally secured the urban area they now called home. If those guys ever came back here I just hope that Michael can sort out some sort of deal to keep them around for a while to clean out the streets. A groan shook Yuri from his thoughts and he took out the remaining infected with a blow to the back of the neck.

"Over here!" Trey yelled.

He was meandering through a small maze of chain-link fences, there was a metal door waiting at the end. Just as he reached the door, Katy cried out. Yuri spun around and saw Katy struggling to through off an old man who must have sneaked up on her while they were concentrated on the door. Yuri sprinted back to her and knocked the old man onto the hot asphalt, then with a strong swing of his mace, he decapitated the diseased man. There was a splatter of brains hitting the ground then an eerie silence. The group walked to the door and stepped into a tool shed. They opened the tool shed door and found a little boy playing on the ground with a couple of action figure. Yuri knelt beside him.

"Have you seen Michael?" he asked in a gentle voice.

The boy looked at him for a moment, "Yes I saw him a little bit ago."

Yuri smiled at the him, "Would you be able to take us to him please?"

The boy shook his head and gestured towards the house, "He's just inside."

Yuri stood up "Thanks little man." He ruffled the boy's hair and the group went inside  the small house.

Yuri knocked on the door repeatedly until it was finally answered by a tired looking Michael. "Hey guys, how was the scavenging?" His voice sounded weak and his breathing was long, as if he'd just run a marathon. "It was terrible," he said, "The infected have changed, or developed or something, and they're so hard to kill. And there were heaps of them, as if we sent a flare up and they just came running." Yuri paused and looked at Michael. He nodded, "I know what they're like. The whole time you guys were gone we were repeatedly attacked. The first group was easy, mostly just walkers, but after another hour, a second group came, mainly full of those doglike ones. Our snipers took them out after a while, but the third group was the worst. There was over fifty of them, they marched down the main street of the restricted zone, then they split up into four groups and moved to each gate. It was as if they were being commanded by a general or something." He paused to catch his breath, "We fought them off but I lost two good kids today, and many more would've died if I hadn't decided to let the girls fight." As he finished, Yuri put a hand on Michael's shoulder, "You're a great leader, man, I'm sure we all agree that no one can do the job better than you." Michael looked at him. "Thanks Yuri, you're a good guy. If something ever happens to me, you're gonna be the guy in charge." Yuri frowned, "Man, nothing is going to happen to you, don't speak like that. You're not going to die, not on my watch." Michael got up, "Alright man, if you say so. You've got the afternoon off, and then we can send a group to get the supplies out of the truck." Yuri was about to protest but Michael raised his hand to silence him, "You deserve the day off, Yuri, without you, some of us wouldn't be able to eat this week." Yuri nodded, and turned to leave, "Oh and Yuri?" Yuri turned around, Michael's girlfriend Charlene was by his side, "Do yourself a favour and get a girlfriend. You need to stop being so serious and actually enjoy life a bit." He laughed and kissed Charlene on the cheek. Yuri nodded but didn't say anything, he knew that if he wanted to continue being the general of their army, then he had to make sure that no one else got in his life. Having partners gave you a weakness, and for Yuri, weakness wasn't an option. He continued the long walk to the expensive house at the end of a cul-de-sac, the dilapidated road cracked and burning hot under his feet. He opened the heavy oak door, where an expensive longue was waiting for him; he flopped onto it and kicked his shoes off, then pressed power on the TV remote. He was having a joke with himself, as this is what he used to do every afternoon after he arrived home from school.