Fear the Roaming Dead

Aviana (chapter 21)

The community of Aviana was thriving. The whole little place felt like a whole new environment of people and lifestyle. The houses were very clean. They all were at least two stories tall and had balconies. The houses were either brick or some kind of limestone. The shingles on the houses reminded the new group of Hispanic houses. The trees were blossoming and growing beautiful colors. Red, pink, white, and yellow petals danced in the wind.

The residents of Aviana were very kind. Most of them.

Yang stepped up onto the porch of the building. It had two pillars on the side and windows parallel to the pillars. A door was at the end of the porch. The words 'clinic' were written in plain view. She walked towards the door and opened it up wide. She stepped back and allowed the injured Dex to walk with Tinley towards an unoccupied bed.

Yang pointed to a blue bed in a corner. Tinley and Aaron helped Dex limp over to the soft mattress and set him down on it. His back muscles were tense and Dex was shaking mildly. Yang looked over at the counter and a brown, almost red-headed, woman was standing by the counter looking at the new people.

"Phon, can you get some medicine? This young man over here is injured." Yang asked pointing at the woman. Phon nodded and turned around. She reached up to the cabinet and took out some antibiotics and painkillers. Phon tossed the medicine over the counter and Yang caught them in her hands.

"Nice catch!" Someone shouted from the other side of the room. The voice reminded Tinley of the varsity football team back in high school. Tinley looked to her right to see someone wearing a baseball cap on backwards. His brown hair was wavy and curled out of his hat. He wore a sports jersey and torn jeans. His white shoes were stained with dirt. He looked at Tinley and clicked his tongue. "Hello, and you are?" he asked with a smirky look on his face. Tinley looked at Dex who was shaking more in jealousy than pain. "Not interested." she said rubbing Dex's stomach.

"Sorry about him. Theo was just leaving!" Yang yelled. Theo looked at Yang and scoffed. He hopped off the table he was on and walked over to Tinley. He held his hand out. "I'm Theodore James, but my friends call me Theo. You want to call me daddy?" Theo asked laughing. Dex sat upright and glared at Theo. "Um, we're kind of a thing." he said sternly. Theo looked at Dex then at Tinley. "Oh, shite. I forgot I'm married." Theo said showing his wedding ring. Yang slapped her face in anger. "If Katelyn found out she'd cut your-" "No she wouldn't. That's her favorite part about me." Theo chuckled obnoxiously. He backed up and pointed at the new people. "Well, enjoy your stay! You won't be here permanently, right?" he asked.

"Depends," Tinley said crossing her arms. "Dex still needs to recover and we need a place to stay while we rebuild our community." "That's his name? Dex?" Theo asked trying not to laugh. Aaron and Sam crossed their arms and grumbled. "Dexter Luxford," Dex growled from across the room. "You got an issue with it?" "No, no. No issue. It's just," Theo looked at his hand. "It rhymes with ex. How many of those you got?" Theo asked laughing. Phon chucked a pill bottle at him. "Get out of where, you whore!" she yelled. Theo scrambled out of the clinic and sprinted down the road.

"We apologize about him," Phon said washing some utensils in a sink. "He's a mess. Even though he got married he still acts like a man whore." "You guys have working water?" Aaron asked walking over to her. Yang and Phon nodded. "We do." Dex smiled in accomplishment. "Aight. We got it good. Thanks, Yang." he said loudly. "No problem. Our community can house one hundred and twenty five comfortably. We only have seventy three. You're welcome to stay as long as you like." she said boldly.

"What about guns?" Tinley asked. Phon looked at her with suspicion. "What about them?" she asked. Tinley looked at Phon then flashed her pistol at her. "Do we keep them in an armory or at our house?" Yang pointed across the street. "There is an armory. You need to keep the big guns like assault rifles and shotguns in there. You may keep one side arm each." Yang said preparing anesthetic.

She walked over to Dex. "Lay on your back. I need to give you some shots so you won't feel pain." Yang said. Dex mumbled and covered his head. "I hate shots." he said. Yang quickly jammed the needle in and injected the morphine. She took it out and set the needle on a wash cloth. "Hang on tight. The medicine will kick in shortly."

Yang turned around and crossed her arms. "So, how'd you guys end up here? I didn't get the full story." she said with curiosity. Aaron spoke up. "We had a friend. His name is Wally. He went a little bit psycho. I don't know why, he just did. He apparently kept meeting with another community and now he has full control of them. He's taken over other communities and he tried to subtly take over ours until we confronted him about it. He captured us and took us back to his place. It was the Maine Industrial Factory by the coast," Aaron shifted a little bit and took a deep breath. "He has a cruel way of punishing people if they act up. I know rapists are evil but what he did exceeds that. We escaped and he retaliated with a well thought out plan. We didn't know someone so psychotic could be so smart. He lured roamers to our community in large masses. They broke down the walls and we escaped. I guess they thought we died because they weren't out there when we drove away. It's good to have him off our scent." Aaron said.

Yang nodded and smiled. "Wow, you guys have been through a lot." she said. Dex yelled from the pillow he was making out with. "Yes, we have!" he shrieked. Yang yelled back at him. "Is the medicine working!?" she yelled. "Yes!" Dex yelled punching his back. He didn't flinch. "Don't do that! I get it! I'll stitch your back up and you'll be on your way to your new house."

Yang took the needle and passed the stitching thread through it. She slid the needle through Dex's skin and wrapped the open gashes closed. She tied the thread off and cut it with a wire clipper. She set the things down and patted him on the back. "Put a shirt back on and you guys can go. Don't pick at the stitches and try not to move too much." Yang said handing him a new shirt. "Your old one was trashed." she said.

Dex bear crawled off the bed. He slid on his stomach off the side and landed on his knees. He leaned on the bed and pushed off with his arms. He balanced and walked well. He stood up straight and let out a big sigh. "Thank you, Yang." Dex said holding his sides. Tinley linked her arms with him and looked towards the door. Sam waved at Yang. "Thank you," she shook Yang's hand. "Seriously. This is a life saving decision." "You're welcome. Phon has good judgement. When she saw you guys she knew you guys were good people." Yang made eye contact with Aaron and kind of blushed. Aaron looked away and spoke up. "So, where are we sleeping at?" he asked. "House address 428." she replied. Aaron shook his head awkwardly. "Thanks." "Yup." Yang said quietly.

Tinley and Dex barely made it halfway out the door before Theo appeared from behind a pillar he was leaning on. He shot a smirky look at Dex. He looked at him up and down, head to toe with a glare. "I see your feeling better." he said cocky. Dex nodded. "I am. Now screw off. We need to get to our house." Dex said with annoyance. Theo stepped in front of him.

"You just got here? Don't you think we need a good introduction? I mean, we got off on the wrong foot anyways. Ya know, right, mate? I was just having a good time. It's not your girl is fine or anything. Or thick." Theo said shooting a glance at Tinley's thigh. Dex scoffed. "F*cktard!" he yelled unlinking arms with Tinley. He drew back and clocked Theo under the jaw and he went stone cold. He flopped backward and landed on the porch. He was knocked out cold. Aaron gasped and Yang and Phon ran outside.

Yang looked at Dex, then at Theo. She gave a small chuckle. She looked back up at Dex.

"Thank you. You earned your stay." she laughed. "If you need me, call me." Dex said with a serious tone. He looked back at Theo and scoffed.