The Last Colony

Part 16

Mark helped Mari up to her feet. Mari accepted his help, hopping to her feet in order to rush over to Zero. Mari snatched Zero's hand, looking at it with worry as she asked him with concern. "Will you be ok? Does it hurt?" Zero winced as she pressed her fingers over his hand looking for a fracture, causing him to groan out through his teeth. "Mari... It hurts!" Mari bit her lip, easing up on his hand as she told him with watery eyes. "I'm sorry... You're bleeding..." Zero heaved a deep sigh, then wrapped his good arm around her to pull her into a one-armed hug. Mark saw blood begin to trickle down Zero's fingers from a line across the back of his hand, but Zero didn't seem concerned about it. Mari rested her head on Zero's chest and Mark quickly turned away from them. Helping Sean up onto his feet, he made sure that he was ok. Sean nodded with a soft chuckle, dusting himself off. Mark patted Sean's shoulder, telling him lightly. "We should start loading our supplies onto the truck Zero found for us. Then we should raid some of these RV's for any possible camping stuff that we might need later."

Sean nodded, telling him seriously. "If we split up, we can do both and cut our time in half." Mari stepped away from Zero to warn them quickly. "I wouldn't do that. Some of the RV's we haven't checked yet. And these Zombies get more activate as the sun goes down. If you want to split up, we should go in teams." Zero pointed to Sean and Mari, saying swiftly. "You two can start loading the truck. Keep your eyes open and if you run into trouble... Mari use the flares." Mari playfully saluted, then slunk up to Sean as she whispered playfully. "Stealth force." Mark narrowed his eyes on Zero as the thought suddenly burned into his mind. "You let Sean go hunting by himself..." Zero stiffened as a guilty look crossed his face. Mark closed the gap between them quickly to grab Zero's vest, slamming him back against the hood. Zero raised his leg to remove his hunting knife, pressing the tip to Mark's ribs in warning. Mari's shoulders dropped and she bowed her head, grumbling out. "And we're back... Guys..."

Sean rushed forward to push them apart as Zero told Mark truthfully. "I did. But I was always within range of him. I patrolled the area long before I let him go out there. I'm not stupid." Mark's grip on Zero's vest tightened, when he snapped back. "They could have moved in after your patrol! You could have been sending him into a hoard!" Zero clenched his own jaw, snapping back bitterly. "I think I have more experience with these things than you do, Lad!" Mark raised his fist and Sean snatched it to stop him. Sean wedged himself between them, pushing Zero's knife wrist away from Mark, snapping at both of them sternly. "Enough! Mark, Zero asked me if I wanted to hunt alone and I said yes! We agreed that if I wasn't back within a few minutes that he'd come find me!" Mark released Zero, grabbing Sean's shoulders instead to pull him away from Zero. Staring into Sean's eyes, Mark gruffly stated out with a panicked tone. "Why would you do that?! What if there was more of those killer bunnies out there! They could have swarmed you..."

Sean shrugged, calmly retorting with ease. "But they didn't. I'm fine and I brought back dinner. I've never hunted with a bow. It was fun." Mark's face turned stony. His fear for Sean's safety was overwhelming him. This wasn't a game and it wasn't supposed to be fun. This was life or death. Shaking his head firmly, he told Sean seriously. "You're never doing that again. You hear me, Jack?" Sean took a step back from Mark, heatedly replying. "Mark... Don't push me." Mark dropped both his hands and his attitude, watching Sean turn on his heel. Sean gently punched Mari's shoulder, grumbling out under his breath. "Mari, let's get moving. We're burning daylight." Mark closed his eyes, tilting his head back to sigh with defeat. Upon opening his eyes, he looked back to Zero who was sheathing his knife. Zero then started walking away, calling over his shoulder. "Come on. Let's get this over with. We can start with some of the RV's that I've cleared. I've seen some stuff you might want. I've already taken what Mari and I need."

Mark reluctantly followed Zero, dragging his feet. At the first RV, Zero leaned against the side of the trailer and gestured him to go on inside. Mark opened the door, peeking inside and then made his way in. He made sure to keep the door open though. Digging through a few opened bags on the bed and sofa, he listened to Zero tell him from the doorway. "You should just come out and say it. It might make you feel better." Mark tossed a bag of camping supplies out of the RV for Zero to catch and set down more quietly. Without looking at Zero, Mark continued to look for things they could use, grumbling out sourly. "Admit what? I certainly don't have feelings for YOU." Gathering up some clothes, he heard Zero say coolly. "Admit why you don't trust me." Mark threw a bag of clothes at Zero, causing him to stagger back from the impact. Zero set it down casually though, his eyes never leaving Mark's. Mark tensed himself up, growling out. "You don't want me to answer that. Trust me." Zero stormed up into the RV, causing Mark to grab Becky defensively.