Survivors: W4R

Small Bandit Camp South of

            I look up at the hill Luke is on, and wipe sweat from my face. Not because it’s hot, but because I’m scared. I have no clue why, I’ve dealt with bandits before, but it seems different today. Luke insisted on being our over watch as we go into the camp, maybe because he’s scared, maybe because he’s smart. It’s hard to tell these days. “Hey, Rian, we have some movement on the south side, possibly a walker. Want me to check it out?” Luke says over the radio. I think for a moment. If there are walkers here, we might be able to use them as a distraction. They will be focused on them while we slip in and kill this guy. “Uh, no. I’ll send Jess to check it out,” I reply, at the same time nodding at Jess. “Wha- how come I have to be on walker duty?!” she protests quietly. I roll my eyes and point in the direction of the walker, giving what I hope is a commanding glare. She sighs and stomps off, soon going into a crouching position as she goes and disappearing into the night. We wait for about five minutes until Jess calls over the radio, “Guys, it’s much more than just one walker, there are at least twenty. And get this… they’re in a CAGE! These guys aren’t bandits, they’re herders.”

                I nearly drop the radio. “W-what?” I ask, my hands shaking. I look up at the camp. “Herders! H-E-R-D-E-R-S! They are lunatics!” Jess whisper/yells through the device. I sigh and curse under my breath. “Ugh, let ‘em loose. Steer them towards the camp to distract the guys. We’ll go in from the back and take them out,” I say. Eren looks at me, then nods quickly. Alice zips up her jacket, despite how hot it is, and I hear Luke ready his gun through the radio. The rest stayed at Elder’s. I hear yelling and gunshots, so I know Jess did it. I wait a minute, then start walking towards the site. The others follow. A guy turns around from the walkers, and fires at me. I flinch as the bullet digs into my wooden arm, then raise my right arm and shoot him between his eyebrows. I feel a stab of guilt, then remember they’re just as bad as the Hunters. I shake my head and shoot two more before reaching the main tent. The guard in the front of the tent is about to fire at me, until his head erupts in blood and he falls to the ground. “Thanks Luke,” I say before walking in. The leader sits on the ground, holding what looks a lot like a grenade. “Hello there, nice to meet you,” he says, oddly calm. The pin rests beside him. The only thing keeping that thing from going off is the handle. “You know, that was smart, what you did. Send in our herds to distract us while you come in to kill me,” he says. I feel bile in my throat. This man makes me sick.

                I stay silent, holding my gun up as steadily as I can, which isn’t that steady. “Rian, be ready to run. I have a shot through the tent,” Luke says through the radio. The leader wasn’t paying attention, so I run. I hear the tent rip and hear him crumple to the ground. I am not seven feet away when the grenade goes off. I am thrown another six feet, and land hard on a truck, breaking the windshield. Just as fast as it started, it ended, and everything went silent. There was only the sound of crying from our side. Eren runs up to me and helps me up off of the truck. I can’t help but let loose a groan from the sudden movement. But that’s all there is. A groan and a quick, buzzing pain. Nowhere near as bad as the cabin. Tears fog my vision, but I quickly blink them out and cough. “We gotta get out of here before more walkers come,” I say sternly. I walk ahead, wiping the remaining tears from my eyes with the back of my hand. Elder’s Landing, the site of our biggest recruitment.