Days Of Dust

Chapter 23

Butch was livid. "What do you mean we aren't going back? Rick you're my friend and all that and I'll follow you anywhere but the mall is our home. We built that place, and I know there aren't many experienced fighters left there. Look at all the horrors we've seen around here, do you want to unleash that on the kids? For all we know they could be dead by now, but your fine with that, aren't you? You took all your favourites and left the rest to rot. What about Kyle, Rick?"

Rick spun around and punched Butch.

He looked at Rick, his anger replaced by sadness.

"It's not that I don't want to go back there, Butch. But out here, we're doing something, helping more people. We are actually making a difference in the world. I don't want to be remembered as Rick, the guy who lived and died in the mall. I want to be Rick, the guy that got this city off its knees. I'm not sure about you, but I don't want the world to be like this forever. I want it to be a place where people can sleep safely at night, where people can eat a little bit more than their ration and not be punished for it." Rick's voice quivered with emotion, "And don't talk about Kyle with me, he and I had a discussion when I left. I told him we weren't coming back."

Butch knew he couldn't win the argument so he went back to doing what he was good at, looking out for infected and bashing their brains in. Rick could be so selfish sometimes, Butch knew all he wanted to do was help other people but that meant leaving the kids he'd grown up with. Butch wasn't sure he wanted to be around Rick anymore. Their friendship had vanished since leaving the mall, all this leader business really got to Rick's head. Butch knew he didn't really fit in here. The others always left the messy work to him because they knew he'd do it. Butch did do the messy stuff, and loved doing it. He had this ruthless streak, at the town Butch felt so alive when he was going on a killing frenzy. Rick had trouble getting Butch to stop. He knew since then that the others had always looked at him out of the corner of their eyes, their weariness of him was one of the signs that he knew he had to leave.

Harvey's lip quivered nervously as the Reaper thug walked back towards him with someone who looked important. The thug was dressed in a Reaper jacket and denim jeans, but the second person was dressed different to all the others. He had a patchwork jacket with armour made out of scrap metal. It looked fearsome but Harvey wondered if he had ever fought anyone. Harvey assumed that this new guy was the leader, he had an air of authority over the overs.

"Well, well, well, your a little small to be playing spy kid around here, aren't you?"

Harvey didn't reply, his mom had once told him that if you didn't respond to a bully, they'd leave you alone.

The leader slapped Harvey's face, "You will answer when I talk to you."

Harvey spat on the guy's shoes. "Make me."

The leader laughed. "Very poor choice of words buddy." He turned to his two friends, "Tie him up. I want him crying for his mom by the morning."

Harvey's eyes widened. "You can't hurt me, I'm just a kid." The Reaper turned to him, "Aren't we all..." he laughed. Harvey struggled as the two brutes tied him to a chair.