Gory Glory // l.t au

4 - Louis

Louis

I awoke from the sound of growling outside the tent. My eyes sprung open and only then did I realize my arms were around Leila. She must have turned around in her sleep, because she was facing me, her head against my bare chest. Without time to dwell on it, I shook her gently.

“Leila...” I whispered.

She stirred a little but didn't respond. The sun shone through the thin material of the tent and I could see the dark silhouette of a lumbering, trudging shape. A person.

A dead person.

“Leila!” I muttered a little louder, but still keeping my voice down. I drunk up every word that escaped Leila's lips, knowing they'd be useful in the future. She had said Breather's base their attacks on sound.

“What?” she murmured, her voice raspy.

“I think there's a Breather outside”.

At that, Leila's eyes opened and when she noticed how close she was to me, she scooted away and sat up. She grabbed the revolver beside her and slowly unzipped the tent, peeking out. She got up off of her knees and crept out. I could see her shadow dancing against the luminescent rays streaking through the tent, radiating my skin.

I saw her shadow hold the gun up and shoot. The Breather fell to the ground. A moment later, she stuck her head into the tent.

“Right, that's it. Come out here,” she ordered me, although her voice remained soft.

“What for?”

“Come out here,” she repeated.

I obediently got up and stumbled out of the tent, slipping my striped shirt over my torso. She went over to the side of the river and picked up a few empty soda cans. She stacked them up in a pile on top of a large rock. She handed me her revolver.

“You need to learn how to shoot,” she stated. I nodded. “Do you know how to at all? You ever shot a gun?”

I hesitated. “No,” I admitted, a little embarrassed.

“Never?” she asked, not hiding the surprise in her tone.

“Never,” I confirmed.

“Well, it's difficulty is underestimated. Amateurs think it's aim and shoot, simple as. But it's not. Of course practise makes perfect, remember that. Now, try to hit the can on the top without my help. I want to see if you're a natural”.

I lifted the gun and held it with both hands, my arms outstretched. I squinted my eyes and tilted my head to one side, trying to concentrate on the highest stacked can. My finger pressed down on the trigger and the impact of the gun made me step back. The bullet missed the can by a good few inches, hitting the tree behind.

“Hmm...not bad for the first time shooting a gun. Although you're too wooden. Loosen up a bit. Try again”. I lifted the gun up again, extending my arms. “Wait, wait, wait. See, this is where you're going wrong”. She stood behind me and brought her arms forward, her hands cupping over mine. “Your posture's all stiff. Relax your shoulders. That's it. Bend your elbows a little”. She pulled my elbows back a tiny bit, bending my arms. “Good, now stand firmly on the ground, but don't tense the muscles in your legs”. I followed her instructions. “There. Now pretend the can is a Breather's head. Concentrate and aim”.

I could feel her arms either side of my waist and her warm palms covering the back of my hands. As I tilted my head to the left, I could feel her hair tickling against my neck. I was about to pull the trigger when her finger caught mine and stopped it. “Hang on. You're not focused. I can sense it”.

I tried to ignore the hot breath I felt against my ear and put my full concentration into aiming for the can. Her grip on my hands weakened, and I took that as my cue to fire.

I pulled the trigger back – this time prepared for the impact. It hit the can precisely and it flew off the stack, landing with a metallic hollow clatter to the floor.

“Very good,” Leila admired, “I'm impressed”.

“Well I have a great teacher,” I smiled, turning my head to face her.

She smirked, “I know”.

We practised for a little longer, my confidence and accuracy intensifying with each can I hit. Like Leila had correctly said earlier, practise makes perfect.

“Hmm, you're getting bloody good, Stripes. I'm proud,” she grinned playfully. It surprised me how white her teeth had remained even through an apocalypse. It also surprised me that of all the places, that was where my mind was wandering to...

“Although, if I'm going to be honest, it does get harder when it's a Breather. Remember, they're not people. Well, not any more. They're dead. They can't feel – emotionally or physically. The only parts of them that are still functioning are their legs, teeth and lungs. They walk, eat and breathe. Hence the nickname Breathers. Show no remorse. It will weaken you up and the moment you start acting like a little pussy, you're next on their menu. Understand?” I nodded, once again taken aback by her sheer bluntness. “Understand?!” she asked again, more firmly this time.

“I understand”.

Her hard expression softened and she let a satisfied smile surface onto her face. “Good”.

***

Leila and I sat together by the river in a comfortable silence. Leila was sharpening a knife whilst I was cleaning one of her many guns for her. We were there for what felt like half an hour, until I felt my stomach growl. “Leila?”

“Mm hmm?” she mumbled, still not removing her gaze from her knife.

“I-um...I'm hungry”.

“Oh are you now?” she questioned. Only then did she stop sharpening her weapons to look at me.

“Yeah,” I answered awkwardly.

“And what do you want me to do about that, hmm?” Although she said it rather rudely, I detected a playful tone to it as if she was teasing me.

“I don't know. How do you actually get food around here?”

“Sneak into the city, get some supplies. Store up for a while. I normally have more or less enough, but looks like there's two mouths to feed now”.

I couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt churn in my stomach. I wasn't useful for much – I couldn't aim a gun anywhere near as accurately as Leila could, and as ashamed as I was about it, I had to admit I was a little bit of a wimp. But could you blame me? I'm sure the majority of people would be a little frightened if the Undead were taking over the world. Leila seemed unfazed by the entire ordeal, which never failed to terrify me slightly.

“You comin' or what?” I was snapped out of my daze by Leila sitting in her Jeep, her leg up and foot pressed on the dashboard.

“Oh. Err...yeah,” I stuttered, heading to the Jeep and clambering in. I waited for her to start the engine, but instead she stopped and turned to face me.
“You sure you're okay with this? I gotta warn you, the place is pretty packed with Breathers. If we go, there's a more-than-slim chance we're not gonna make it back”.

I returned her gaze for a moment, watching the concern in her piercing blue eyes. She was genuinely concerned about me. There wasn't much to live for any more. And if I was going to die, I would want nothing more than to be beside Leila doing so. I gave a single nod, a determined smirk plastered on my face.

“Let's do this”.