The Snipers of the Apocalypse

Puppies and Kittens Part 2

"Well alrighty then," the con man started, "how about we make a deal?" He offered, grabbing a small white plate from a box sitting against the side of the van. "If I throw this plate up into the air, and you shoot it before it hits the ground, you four can take a gun and melee weapon of your choice- free of charge."

This earned a smirk from me, and I glanced at my friends- who were each sporting a smirk of their own. It felt good knowing that they had just as much, maybe even more, faith in me as I did myself.

"Deal." I stated simply, taking the one bullet for the SR-25 that Skeezy offered me, expertly loading it and adjusting the scope. The group of five counted to three, before Sketchy threw the plate high into the air. I smirked and shot it down barely a second after it left his hand, causing everyone to shield their faces from the burst of porcelain dust and chunks the plate created when it shattered into a thousand pieces from the force of my bullet.

Doc, Mack and Addy each praised me; Mack applauding my skill, Addy giving me a tight hug, and Doc grabbing my shoulders and shaking me excitedly. Winning free weapons is basically like winning the damn lottery these days. I laughed softly and looked at Sketchy and Skeezy, who each had looks of disbelief on their faces.

"Holy shit!" Skeezy laughed and looked at Sketchy when he started clapping.

"Well I'll be damned, kid." He said, patting me twice on the back. "I guess old Doc here wasn't kidding! You know what? For that shot, how about I throw some free ammo in. Only two magazines per- can't get too crazy." Sketchy offered as he and Skeezy dramatically stepped to the side. "A deals a deal. Take your pick."

My friends and I smiled before the three of them rushed towards the van. I took my time, slinging my new rifle over my shoulders and striding over to the arsenal-on-wheels. I watched as Doc grabbed a crowbar and the Smith & Wesson Sketchy taunted me with earlier.

Mack grabbed a pair of CZ 75's, handing one to Addy, before grabbing a 6-inch blade hunting knife. Addy seemed to be really into a silver, metal baseball bat that had spikes rigged to the top of it. Sketchy noticed her spinning it in her hand and grinned, leaning against the side of the van.

"Ah," he started, admiring the weapon Addy now possessed, "that's a good one right there; handmade outta old beer cans so it's lightweight. The spikes are long enough to kill the brain, but short enough to pull it back out easily. Nothing worse than your weapon getting stuck in a zombie skull. I call it, the 'Z-Whacker'. Works like a charm, if I do say so myself." Sketchy crossed his arms over his chest and nodded once, seemingly confirming to all of us that what he was saying was the truth.

Addy looked at me and I shrugged, the words I was about to speak getting interrupted by rapid footsteps and snarling coming from the brush behind us. You just can't go 5 minutes in the apocalypse without a zombie, can you?

"Z!" I warned as it ran up behind Addy. She spun the Z-Whacker once in her hand before whipping it around and slamming it down once over the zombie's head, killing it instantly.

"Aw, man! They got Red! He was our best customer." Skeezy sighed. "I wonder if his brothers made it." The sounds of a few more Z's charging for us could be heard behind the tree line. Sketchy started to pull his gun out.

"Doesn't sound like it, here they come!" Three large zombies ran out of the woods. I sniped the one farthest back, Mack shot the next. Addy whacked the last one with her new favorite toy, which only caused it to stumble and snarl at her; thick, dark red, almost black blood running down its chin. As it charged straight towards Addy, Mack quickly shot it down.

"Closing time!" Sketchy announced, heading to the driver's door as Skeezy ran to the passenger's. Sketchy threw the door open and paused to turn around and look at me. "Don't lose your aim, kid!" He shouted to me, nodding towards me once again before jumping in and slamming the door- speeding off and disappearing into a cloud of dust. I rolled my eyes and stood back, sniping a few Z's in the distance.