Mᴜᴛᴀɴᴛ Aᴘᴏᴄᴀʟʏᴘsᴇ 6: Tʜᴇ Vᴀʟʟᴇʏ

22 || 𝐈𝐍𝐕𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐆𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍

Kharoma is pulling a wagon for Anzen, hauling supplies from Palace. As she walked on, she could hear her friends giggling on the wagon as they spoke to her. Celeste, Raven, and Honey are cracking jokes to make the ride back to Anzen and little quicker. It's working.

"Okay, okay," Honey smiled with a small laugh. "What do you call a horse that lives next door?"

The girls and Kharoma thought for a moment but they did not catch on. "Uh...what is it?" Raven asked Honey.

"A neigh-bor!" She laughed, the others laughing with her.

Kharoma thought that was a good joke but she needed to pull one even more amusing. "What do racehorses eat?"

Honey tried to think of the answer. "Kibbles?"

"Fast food!" Kharoma snorted.

Again, the groups laugh some more...forgetting their noise of joy is attracting nearby monsters hiding in the brush. Kharoma's ears caught the sounds of faint growls getting closer and she immediately stopped the wagon, her ears pinning back in fear. "Oh, no..."

"What is it, Khar?" Celeste asked her.

"Dead." Is all she said, snorting nervously until a Walker steps out in front of the street. The horse heard the blades screaming from their holsters and watched the girls leap from the wagon to go after one Walker. Of course, when there is one, there are more. "Celeste, watch out!

Celeste turned around to face the edge of the road and watched a Stalker jump from hiding. It pressed all of its weight against her living body and pinned her against the ground. She groaned loudly, using her forearms to push her chest.

Honey cried out, running to her friend's aid and slashing the Stalker's skull with a machete. The blood poured onto Celeste's neck, disguising her scent with a revolting stench. "Ah, sh*t!" She said with disgust in her voice.

Raven turned around to see two more infected beings on their way to have a go at the living. She charged for the first Walker and gave a knife to its temple. Next, Celeste got up from the ground and gave the next infected human a gunshot in between the eyes.

"Guys, help!" Kharoma frantically reared, still attached to the wagon. Three Walkers dressed in worn clothing, vomit and blood stains, and rotting flesh put their hands on her. They roared and reached for her black mane and face, attempting to get a bite.

Honey and Celeste ran up to a Walker and Raven fired a bullet at the third one's cranium. The bodies drop to the ground and the three two-legged friends look at their four-legged friend, Kharoma. There are no scratches or bite marks on her, thankfully.

"You good?" Honey asked Kharoma.

She snorted roughly. "Yeah, yeah..." She says. "Just spooked."

Celeste looked over Kharoma's dark and silky coat and cleared the horse of injuries. "Let's get outta here... before more show up.

****

Anzen

The day is getting older and one of Anzen's greatest survivors had just broken the record of sitting on top of the school's roof for more than four hours. It's amazing how someone so sad could isolate themself somewhere so they won't be bothered. But Osa felt like she had a valid reason.

She sits alone on the school's rooftop-- one of her favorite places to be when she needed space. Osa got a ripple of chills running up her back once she heard someone coming up the ladder. She instantly wiped her tears away and looked over her shoulder to see who it was. "Aw, man..." Osa whispered.

"Babe?" Donnie says, coming up behind her. "Are you okay? Vincent said I needed to--"

"I'm fine." She said, taking his hands into hers. "I'm okay, Donnie."