Dead Trigger

Chapter 6

My head was throbbing as I opened up my eyes. Just in front of me was a random stranger staring at me, holding out a cheeseburger. "Take this, you need to keep up your strength. It might taste bad, but I had to improvise with a panini maker." I noticed that the boy had a South African accent, while his skin was a rich black that glistened from sweat in the candle light.

I took the plate from his hand and say upright, leaning my back up against the couch. While taking small bites of the sandwich, that didn't taste that bad, I noticed chairs blocking doorways. "Who are you?" I asked the man, who was holding a very large sniper rifle.

"My name is Xavier Markeli. You?"

I didn't know whether I should trust this, Xavier, person. Yet I still ate the food he gave me and he did save my life from a Walker. It couldn't hurt to give my name. "Alexander Hudson, nice to meet you." I said while eating the cheeseburger. On any other day I would have finished chewing, but my stomach was growling from the scent.

"It's nice to meet you as well," Xavier responded while looking around the house. "Nice house."

When I turned to answer I noticed something very peculiar about him. Xavier looked young, too young to be in the military yet he was wearing NATO clothing. "How old are you?"

"Ah, I was waiting for you to ask that." Xavier adjusted himself in the swivel chair just beside me and loosened the strap on his rifle. "I'm seventeen." I was shocked when he responded and he must've seen it. "I was an orphan at the age of ten and joined a Spec Op group with a very close person, like a brother to me. I started going into live combat zones at the age of thirteen and have been ever since. Then..." He trailed off as his face became soft.

"Well..." I said as I wiped my hands off. "You have been missing out." I felt bad for Xavier, he didn't have a normal childhood and has been killing people for the safety of his country since his young teens. I don't know if it was because of his age or because he saved me, but I trusted him. He was the first person I've seen since this all went down, well first alive person, and I owed him.

***

Xavier shoved his face into a pillow as he did his best to stifle his laughter while tears were rolling down my face. "And he actually believed you?!" Xavier asked.

"I told him that I was related to him and he starts freaking out." We both laughed till our stomachs hurt. Then the laughter stopped as we got ourselves under control.

"Huh." Xavier mumbled.

"What I asked?" As I took a sip from the water bottle next to me.

"I think that's the first time I laughed in three years." He responded. I couldn't believe what he had just said, Xavier was truly an outcast. An outcast that threw away his childhood to fight for those who can't fight for themselves.

"So, are you gonna tell me what happened?" I asked, sneaking a glance at him.

"What?"

"You seem to know a lot more than me at least, and you seem to know a lot more than that as well." I responded.

"I was there..." He responded. I gave him a confused look. "My squad was the Charlie line, we were outside a warehouse in Yemen, and somehow the virus seemed to get to more people than expected. We held the line for two hours before we got over run, then an hour after that everything went to hell. The virus was like a wildfire in a forest. My whole squad was killed, except me. I was found in the middle of the slums unconscious before UN forces found me while clearing out a sector in the city. I was sent here to Massachusetts, four days later, the virus made its way here."

Taking everything I just heard was a bit shocking, so many questions raced through my mind but I didn't want Xavier to feel like he was being interrogated.

"It was my fault," He then said. "If I positioned my squad elsewhere we might've been able to stop the virus from spreading, or they might've been alive today." Xavier's head slumped down as he remembered his dead friends.

"That's a lot of 'might've's'." I began. "Sure you 'might've' played the situation out differently but that's not a guarantee. Stop blaming yourself for things you can't change now." Xavier gave a weak smile, but in his eyes, I could see gratitude. He needed to get everything off his chest and I was his outlet, and I did feel honored. "Now I know you don't want to really talk about it, but can you explain this virus?" I asked.

"Yeah, I think I remembered a good bit from the report." Xavier said. "Well it began about five weeks ago, first a very isolated locations, but then bigger cities. Unfortunately we did, and still don't, know where this all started. Where patient zero is. But it seems that the virus can only be transferred by being bit of scratched, and once you have been infected, the virus attacks your brain and kills you. Then your body reanimates, making them one of those Biters." Xavier took a slight pause as he seemed to gather his thoughts.

"Technically your body comes 'back to life' but that part that makes you, you. That's gone. It makes you a mindless creature where eating is your only priority. And the only way to kill one, is to destroy the brain, body shots only seem to slow them down."

Finding out all this information was truly overwhelming, but I wanted to know, I needed to know. "Is there anywhere to cure it? Or at least a vaccine? Is it all over the world?"

"No, no, and yes." Xavier answered. "The last CDC and WHO that were known to be standing were the one's in Paris. Who knows how long they'll hold out though."

The sound of cars driving by snapped us out of our conversation, turning our heads in the direction from the sound. Then the engines stopped.

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Author's Note:

These chapters will be considered 'episodes' instead of chapters, almost like a television show. So each book is then considered a 'season' and that also means there will be a mid season finale where I won't update for three to four weeks.

I hope you are all enjoying this 'season' so far and I plan to have another 'episode' out tomorrow!