Days Of Dust

Chapter 19

Two days after the group had arrived, Yuri had slipped back into his normal routine of border patrol with Trey, who had been on edge the ever since Jack and his people had arrived.

"Don't you wonder if they were being chased by something?" Trey asked, as they walked along the wooden walkway that spanned the entire length of the walled town.

"Yes, Trey, sometimes I do, but sometimes you have to trust that the other kids know who the real enemy is and see the sense to work together with one another, you know what I mean?"

Trey paused a moment before nodding, "Yeah, I can see what you mean, but I also know from my time at other settlements that you shouldn't trust everyone you meet because sometimes people can be selfish and forget about helping other."

Yuri looked at his friend, Trey wouldn't meet his gaze and thought he saw a tear sliding down his cheek, "Man, I know what you mean-"

Trey cut him off, "No Yuri, you have no idea what I mean. My group before this was made of six people, we were out scavenging one night and a guy called Kane had the shotgun, he was supposed to be watching our backs, but I guess he saw something he liked and got distracted. When he turned around he saw me and the others fighting a hoard of infected, but we were hopelessly outnumbered. He just turned and left us to die, I watched my girlfriend be ripped to shreds and eaten. I watched a five-year-old kid be mutilated because someone who I thought I could trust let me down, he let the group down."

Trey sat down on edge of the walkway, Yuri joined him and put an arm around his friend. "So that explains why Katey and you..."

Trey shrugged Yuri's arm off, "Katey and I aren't together because I-I'm scared that something like that might happen again. Do you want to know what I did after that night?"

Yuri nodded, "I went back to camp where I found Kane packing supplies and you know what I did? I-I cut off his legs...... then I tore his arms off. And you want to know the worst part?"

Yuri wasn't sure he wanted Trey to continue but nodded anyway, "I laughed the whole time it happened, I enjoyed the fact that this kid was sobbing and in agonising pain, I enjoyed every minute of it."

Yuri glanced at his friend who was crying in shame. "Man, forget about the past, you're different now, in a good way. I don't want to lose my best soldier and friend thinking that he has something to prove, cause man, we've all done bad things and I've learnt that sometimes you gotta hide the past and live in the present, ya know what I mean?"

Trey was about to answer when a piercing shriek sounded from outside the walls. Instantly Trey and Yuri snapped into survival mode.

"What was that?" Yuri asked.

Trey raised his binoculars, "Infected," he replied. His voice wavered slightly, "and there's lots of them, sound the alarm."

The alarm was a bell that teams had taken from the church; it was rung three times in emergencies. Yuri looked back over to where the infected were making their way towards the town. There were four main packs, and to Yuri's horror, it looked as if each group was heading towards a gate.

Trey must have been thinking the same thing. "There's no way we can fight these guys if we're all spread out like that, is there?"

Yuri scratched his head and looked around the town; all of the soldiers were gearing up, "I don't know, tell the engineers to rig up as many nail bombs as they can, actually get them to rig up anything explosive then get your archers in position."

Trey nodded and turned to leave but Yuri called him, "Trey? Take this, I got a feeling you might need it."

Trey looked puzzled as Yuri took his backpack off; but his eyes glinted with excitement as Yuri handed him the collapsible Druganov sniper rifle.