Heroes Collide

The path chosen: BASE!

Every inch of the desert was starting to look the same to William as he continued trudging along. He had to be careful and keep a few feet behind the two undead companions. He could feel his body weaken under the rays of the sun. Showing weakness would only hurt him, though. Veronica seemed as dumb as a rock, but Greg was not. And while that particular rock wasn't very smart, he was still one of the undead creatures.

He could hear the two ahead of him talking about how they hoped he'd go down.

"Soon he'll be crawling along the sand... No defenses or strength to put up a fight. It would definitely be one of the most complicated ways to get lunch." Veronica grumbled. "I just don't think I want to wait that long."

"Still, it's one of the smartest things you've said all day." Greg threw William a look over her shoulder. "Only about thirty miles left."

William nodded, "Want me to keep up the pace?"

Greg stretched. "Up to you. We can stop if you feel tired."

Veronica wiggled his fingers. "Yeah. We can definitely stop." He turned around completely. *Please stop... It'll be so much easier."

William chuckled. "Awww! What's wrong? Is the flesh-eating monster tired?"

Veronica turned around and pouted. "B*tch."

Greg chuckled, "You do seem to be faltering a bit, Veronica..."

"My bones are decomposing!" He crossed his arms and glared at William as his leg dragged in the sand. "What's his excuse?"

William stopped walking and feigned stretching. The man had a high tolerance to pain, but right now, his bones felt like if they were bent in any way, they would snap. "What do you mean? I'm walking better than I did at my daughter's wedding."

Greg nodded. "Mhmm. Of course." The man could tell that she wasn't buying his act. She turned to start walking again. "Unlike Veronica, I have the ability to be patient."

Veronica let out an angry groan. "I am right here, guys!"

William ignored him and turned his attention to Greg. She must really mean it. Everything she'd said so far was so cordial, almost friendly. But she knew it was only a matter of time before something went wrong. "Your momma teach you that?"

"No. Living with Veronica did." Greg chuckled. "But it is a useful quality to have."

William sighed, "Yeah. You know what else is a good quality to have?"

Greg turned and raised her eyebrow.

William gestured off to the side towards what looked like a small cave. "Knowing your limits."

Veronica turned to William. "Y-Yeah. I am getting a bit tired."

Greg crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. "Okay."

William nodded when he heard a loud bang. He fell to the floor and covered his head. "Get down!" He yelled at Veronica and Greg.

The two of them just stood there, they exchanged glances. "Ummm..."

Greg chuckled, "Maybe you're weaker than I thought?" Suddenly her arm fell off, and Veronica screamed.

"AHHHHHH!"

Greg looked down at her smoking stub. "Oh... I'm being shot at."

William looked up and around, his eyes scanning the horizon. He cursed as his eyes settled on two figures coming from behind the cave.

"Well, well, well..." He heard one of them shout as they came closer."

"The raiders!" Veronica fell to the ground near him. "We're toast!"

William kept his head down. "Elena..."

Greg got down on the ground with them.

"We can see you, Hayes! You're coming with us one way or another." Elena shouted as she got closer. "You can bring your new pets."

Veronica whimpered and grabbed William's arm. "Well, at least we can put you out of your misery! That'll teach them."

Greg smacked him with her loose arm. "Not the time, Veronica."

William glared out over the sand. "No... Wait..."

The two zombies looked up at him, both a little confused.

William looked Veronica dead in the eyes. "Do it."

Before he was even finished talking, he felt Veronica's decomposing teeth dig into his arm. As a reflex to the pain, he smacked the zombie away. But the damage had already been done. He could feel his body slowly start to shut down. He let out a groan as he stood up.

Greg narrowed her eyes. "What are you doing?"

William chuckled. "Giving them what they want." He winced as he felt pain in his arm, but he didn't hold it close to him as he trudged towards them.

Elena had a grin on her face when he came into focus. "Well... Glad to see you've decided to turn yourself-- " She gagged when she saw the bite mark on his arm and raised her weapon. "Holy sh*t! What the hell did you do?!"

William grinned. "What's wrong, Elena? Afraid of a little blood?"

The other figure, he recognized as Alli Sheppard. She looked a little nervous, but her gun was trained on him. "What should we do?"

Elena grumbled, "We can't kill him. Immanuel wants him alive."

William chuckled, "You gonna bring me in? I got the virus. It's only a matter of hours before it takes me down. You think Manny-boy wants to risk his own safety?"

Alli got closer, "Yes. You're dangerous."

"Little Alli thinks she's all grown up?" William studied his former acquaintance. There was something different about the German Shepherd. Her fur was a lot shorter and her form was a bit more built. His eyebrow raised. "Never mind about that."

Elena glared at him, causing him to wink back at her. Her eyebrows furrowed. "Yeah. We're about done here." She raises her gun and prepares to fire.

William prepares to jump out of the way when another gunshot pierces the air and he feels a bullet tear through his left leg. He let out a grunt and fell to the ground. "SH*T!" His leg was gushing blood out into the sand, as his shooter a roll of duct tape at his face..

"Rub some dirt in it." Alli glared at him as she turned and turned to go to their ride.

He turned his glare to Elena, who was chuckling to herself. "Oh. Nice to see you think this is funny."

She came up behind him and grabbed him by the shoulders, "Settle down old man, I am sure she is putting down some nice towels in the trunk. You will not be getting blood in my car; I just cleaned it." She started dragging him through the sand to their car.

Blaze didn't struggle, "Just get on with it, already." He sighed, a little annoyed. But he was sure he was going to be fine. Yes, maybe letting himself succumb to an undead epidemic might not have been the smartest decision he had ever made. But this changed a lot for him. He knew how Manny worked... He'd be alright... He'd... be alright.