The Second Brotherhood

Chapter 8

I stiffened at the man's appearance. He was tall and lean, built like a basketball player. He had dark skin and no memorable features, but emanated a sort of old-school toughness. He stood there, semi-auto carbine aimed over towards the IV drips. He couldn't see us, giving us a slight advantage. 

I motioned Hanna to be silent, and handed her an Oriental dagger I'd won in a training fight. I considered that my lucky dagger, and hoped it would do the same for her. I could tell she understood my plan, because she positioned herself so she could clearly see us both. I drew my Crusader sword, its two-foot eight-inch blade raised. I moved in the shadows, keeping hidden and alert. The blade occasionally glinted in the dim light. He turned slowly, searching the room, but was unable to see us. 

I crouched near the IV drips, waiting. The intensity of the moment was killing me. I could barely see, and fighting in the dark isn't a great option. But I had to try. He looked as if he was considering searching my location, which is why I had picked that particular spot. It was the perfect ambush spot; he'd never see my incapacitating blow coming. I stood, and delivered a punch with my bare knuckles, knocking him to the ground. He raised his carbine, clumsily trying to recover, but I swept the rifle from his hands. It skittered down towards Hanna, who grabbed it. The clacking would attract Zeds, but we could get out easily enough. He swung at me with a bowie knife, and I disarmed him again. I kneed him in the chest, sending him tumbling into a dull white painted wall, like the boulder in the first Indiana Jones movie. I lunged, sword sheathed, knife drawn. 

He was much faster than he had let on, and as I lunged, he slashed up with another knife, this one more like a meat cleaver. Unfortunately for him, I was faster. I quickly dodged aside, only allowing him to deliver a small cut on the abdomen. Blood dripped onto the floor, but I felt no pain. I attacked again, this time more ferociously. My sword replaced my dagger, and I disarmed him once again, wounding him with a shallow cut across his torso. 

I proceeded to kick him into the wall, the kick like none I'd ever thrown before. He flew back into the wall, this time leaving a minor dent. I placed my sword at his throat and said "Come with me if you want to live." He was wild-eyed and scared, but who could blame him? Then, as if on cue, the moans came. 

The Zeds were crowding the halls, like people clustering to get a book signed or something of that nature. I reached into my coat pocket and felt my Molotov Cocktail. I pulled it out and hurled it, diving for cover. The man and Hanna did the same. The Zeds didn't have the IQ points. 

There was a muffled BOOM! and Zeds dispersed, some running into our room. I lunged at the first with my blade, severing its head very quickly. Hanna fired the stolen semi-auto rifle, hitting Zed skulls with almost every shot. We killed the group that had entered the room in mere seconds. Hanna began to gather some medical supplies and stuffed them in her backpack. The dark-skinned man was still unarmed, and was helping Hanna put away the medical supplies. After they were done, I motioned for them to follow, and they did so, thankfully matching pace with me. 

We exited the hospital. "Hanna, did you get all the medical supplies you think we need?" I asked. 

"Yes." Hanna replied. 

"Then I hope you don't mind if I do this," I said as I pulled another Molotov Cocktail from my coat, grabbed the lighter from the dark-skinned man's hands, and lit the fuse. I hurled it into a second-story window, and it burst through, lighting the room in searing flame. 

I tore a roughly rectangular piece of cloth from my shirt, and coiled it tightly around the man's wrists. "Hey!" he uttered, but I punched him lightly in the back of the head. Although I knew he wouldn't escape, the cloth was a safety precaution so that I knew he knew not to mess with me or Hanna.