Dead ahead: Salvation

Marauders

The bus stood at a standstill in front of the human-made roadblock. It consisted of motorbikes and was guarded by a group of what could be assumed to be bandits. At the head of it all stood Maria. She smiled brightly at the confused look of Bill. She giggled before raising a megaphone to her face. "Ahem! Attention survivors! You will drop your supplies and weapons at our feet or you will be killed! Nobody leaves our territory alive!" Markus quickly rushed up to the front to stand next to Bill. "Bill, what's the plan?" He looked at Markus. "We may have to take em' down, I'm not sure how you or the others may feel about killing another person." Markus thought for a moment. Though he never wanted to take the life of another person, these people are dangerous. Plus, they were green from infection.

If it meant life or death, he's ready.

"Let me go out," Markus spoke, glaring at the bandits in the road. "You sure kid? They got quite the manpower.." Markus nodded. Sam quickly stood and grabbed his shoulder. "Mark! Come on, you can't!" Markus looked back at her. "I can. And I'll get help if I need it." He spoke flatly. Sam backed off and looked concerned. "Okay.." She spoke quietly, sounding defeated. "Well, here. Take this." Bill threw Markus an energy drink. Markus quickly downed it before running out of the door.

"Oh ho ho! Markus! It's you!" Maria spoke over the megaphone. "I'm so happy to see you! It's just like last night! Except I get all of your supplies this time!" She cackled. "How did you know we were gonna be here?" Markus yelled at her. "Simple, I had one of my guys observe you and your pal from afar! So we prepared this fancy little barricade to rob you! So I suggest you get your friends out here with their weapons and supplies before we kill you all!" She said all of this with a smile and an upbeat playful tone. Markus growled before gripping his bat and walking forward. "Oh? Is little Marky gonna try and hurt us? Kehehehehahahaha! Get him, boys!" Maria laughed hysterically into the megaphone.

One of the guys from last night walked towards Markus, wearing a black T-shirt and a black cap. He wielded a machete and wore dog tags around his neck. "Come on mate! I'll gut ya like a fish!" He ran towards Markus, who readied his bat. The man swung downwards, which Markus blocked with his metal bat. He kicked the man in the stomach, knocking him back. The man then attempted another overhead swing, which Markus quickly dodged before swinging his bat into the side of the man's knee. He gasped and groaned in pain, before attempting the stab Mark in the stomach. Markus narrowly dodged it, leaving a tear on the side of his shirt. He quickly pushed the guy backward, stumbling him, before bringing his bat overhead and slamming it down onto his head. The hit connected fully and the man fell over, dead. Markus breathed heavily, horrified that he had just killed another human being.

"Ooooo la la! That was a marvelous show! You really cracked his skull! Now do it again!" Maria sent out 2 men with machetes, and a guy wearing bulletproof attire and wielding a club filled with nails. "Shit..." Markus spoke under his breath.

Inside the bus, Bill observed the scene. "Oi! Someone come up here! Mark needs help!" Sam was about to stand when she felt a hand on her shoulder. "No need, I'll go." Sam looked up at the woman who spoke, she wore a black cap, a gray tank top, and urban camo pants. She had a Tec-9 strapped to her chest and had long braided blonde hair. "I've killed people before. Nobody else should have to go through it." Sam nodded and sat down. "Sonya, by the way." She spoke before exiting the bus.

Markus stepped back as the 3 men approached him. He couldn't win in a three vs one, and he knew that. Suddenly, the bus doors opened, and a woman in military attire walked out. She readied a gun that was strapped to her chest. The men grunted before attempting to rush Markus before the gun was ready, but the woman had already started firing. One of the guys with the machetes was pierced with bullets, getting hit by at least 6. He slumped down onto the ground quickly. The other machete guy swung at Markus, who dodged and pushed him to the ground. He was then riddled with bullets as well, killing him. The last guy had bullet-protective armor on, so Markus took him on. He swung, which Markus blocked with his bat before smacking him with the handle of the bat. Markus then pushed the bat into him, dropping it grabbing one of the machetes from the dead guys. He thrusted it into the bulletproof guy's chest, causing him to keel over. Mark quickly retrieved his bat afterward.

"Awe come on! No fair! You guys are so mean! They didn't even have guns! Well, if we're gonna play that way, then eat it!" Maria barked into her megaphone. A guy wearing a biker's helmet and jacket walked out, equipped with an AK-47. "Markus, right? Get down! Now!" The woman yelled at Markus. He quickly dove behind some nearby military crates and she did the same. The guy then started firing, bullets flying by us. The woman began blind firing at him, but the shots didn't connect. The biker quickly reloaded and fired more shots.

Inside the bus, Bill was getting tired of this. "You know what, screw this." He spoke before grabbing the M60 on the seat behind him. "Time to end this." He then stood on his seat, peering his head out of the hatch on top of the bus. "Eat this, bastard!" Bill yelled before firing the LMG. The biker tried to run but was hit in the leg, causing him to fall. He was then torn to shreds by the gunfire. Maria sent a guy with a shotgun out, but he was also mowed down by Bill's gun. Once it was out of ammo, he returned inside the bus. Maria growled over the megaphone before a man in a dark coat with dark gray hair tapped her shoulder. "What!?" She barked at him. He pointed to something behind the bus, and Maria's eyes became wide.

All the noise had attracted a horde. They were quite far but raged like a stampede across the desert landscape. "Shit! Start getting out of here!" Maria yelled to her bandits. They began getting on motorcycles and driving away. "This isn't over you bastards!" She yelled at the bus before getting on her bike and driving off. Markus quickly noticed the horde fast approaching and alerted Sonya to it. "Let's go!" She yelled to Markus. The two ran to the bus, and Bill began driving. "That was close," Sonya remarked, looking at the out-of-breath Markus. "Yeah...sure was..." He spoke, panting. "Sonya, that's my name." She spoke before walking to the back of the bus.

Markus slowly walked to Sam's seat, where he was hugged tightly upon arrival. "Mark! Are you alright?" She spoke. "Yeah, just tired." "Markus, that girl, she sounded like she knew you," Bill spoke up. Markus nodded. "She robbed me and Jeremiah when we went out for a supply run, she didn't take much so I didn't mention it." Bill nodded. "Markus, that was amazing out there," Rowan spoke, moving up near him. "Thanks, but it didn't feel amazing..." He looked at the blood on his hands and bat, before cursing to himself. "I know, it never gets easier. I once had to protect Terra from a guy, so I shot him. Made me feel guilty for the longest time. And even if you never live that guilt down, you gotta accept that it was the right thing to do." Markus looked at the floor. Rowan was right, those guys had to die for the bus crew to be safe. They tried to kill him too, so what choice did he have? Markus felt Sam's arm drape around his shoulders, as the 2 sat in silence during the bus ride.

As Maria and her gangsters drove away from the horde, they stopped upon seeing a large shadow near a broken-down construction site. "You two, stay here. The rest of you, head to camp back in Lamos, we'll check this out." The rest of the bandits rode off while Maria and 2 others stayed. "Go check it out, we'll cover you," Maria spoke, grabbing an assault rifle that was strapped to her motorbike. The thug nodded before grabbing his machete and walking over to the figure. The other bandit aimed his AK-47 at the figure. When the machete-wielding bandit got close to the figure, a growl was heard. The bandit pointed his weapon toward the figure, slowly backing up. Then, a loud creak was heard. The bandit turned to run, but the unthinkable happened.

A large crane hook came down onto the bandit, crushing his legs and lower half. He screamed in pain, dying shortly after. "W-What the fuck is that!?" The other bandit yelled. Another creak was heard, and a large zombie strapped to a crane was in the sunlight. The hook was tied around it, but it was barely connected to the crane itself. "Shit, let's get out of here," Maria spoke. The two bandits then drove off, leaving the abomination and the corpse of the bandit in the dust.