They call me the Devil. Can’t say I blame them…. ...CHAPTER 1 Six, ten, twenty-five…Damn. I readjusted my binoculars to get a better focus on the crowd of shamblers in the valley below. The size of the group had nearly tripled since I checked in the other day, which meant this could be a horde. But where was the Lich? I scanned the area slowly, but didn’t notice any telling signs. Whether or not that was cause for concern wasn’t something I was willing to wait and find out. I tossed my binoculars back in my belt pouch and walked back to my car, Big Bertha. She was a 1965 Cutlass Supreme that I picked up shortly after the war. The ol’ gal was as big as a house and drove like a tank. Everything a guy like me needed. I went to open the door when I heard a familiar sound. That long, lazy groan I’d sadly gotten used to. I turned towards the sound and spotted four shamblers about forty yards out. They had spotted me, and were weaving a stumbling path in my general direction. I turned calmly and walked back to the edge of the cliff. I leaned over the edge and took one last look at the crowd below. They hadn’t yet heard the groaning call of the shamblers up here, which was a relief. I went back to Big Bertha and popped the trunk. I spared one last glance at the shamblers gunning me down. They had made it a whopping twenty yards. “Not bad,” I mumbled under my breath. I turned back to the trunk. Big Bertha had a nice big tush, in which I kept 4 jerry cans of fuel, a trunk filled with an assortment of ammunition, and guns. Lots of guns. Hmmmm let’s see… They were getting close, so I decided to grab my Glock 37. I leaned out again to see the shamblers just nearing the front of Big Bertha. “Not bad at all,” I admired. I fished through the ammo box for the right size magazine. I found one and checked it to ensure it was loaded. I slid it into the Glock and cocked it. Then I fished around a bit more until I found a proper suppressor. By now the first shambler was almost upon me. I screwed the suppressor on quickly, and just as the dimwitted corpse raised its arms to grab me I calmly lifted the gun to its face and pulled the trigger. As its body fell to the ground, I paced over to the other three shamblers and took them out in the same fashion. I walked back over to the trunk and disassembled the Glock, putting all the parts back in their proper place. When I was done I slammed the trunk shut and moved up to the driver’s side door. I spared one last gaze out at the open wilderness, drawing in a deep breath of the warm, dusty air. The world just wasn’t the same anymore, but I liked the quiet sometimes. I hopped behind the wheel and fired her up. Bertha wasn’t sounding too good these days, and my next destination was wherever there was a decent mechanic. Hopefully there’d be one in the next town. I fought Bertha into first gear with an ear splitting grind and sped off down the highway.
CHAPTER 2 Welcome to peaceful. …Peaceful? What a joke. As I sputtered down the main road of the town of Peaceful, it was becoming very clear that Big Bertha wasn’t going to take me much farther. All in all Peaceful didn’t look too bad. It was very suburban, and being here almost made it seem like the war had never happened. The setting sun cast a shade of warm rustic tones across the old buildings, which made them look both inviting and eerie. But what disturbed me most were all the people walking around. The streets were packed with the hustle and bustle of daily life. Very unusual. But apparently not as unusual as me. Must’ve been Bertha. For as far as I could see I was the only car on the road, and people were stopping to stare as I crawled on down Main Street. I kept on crawling until Bertha suddenly let out one final CRACK. Sounded just like gunfire. Then she promptly died right in the center of the road. I hopped out of Bertha and pushed the hood open. I stared at the engine for a moment like I knew anything. I’ve never known much about cars. Damn… “Excuse me, sir!” I looked over to my right. A big fat man in a tuxedo and top hat was walking towards me from across the road. He had bright red cheeks that shone out from under a large mustache curled up at the ends. An odd look, but then again we were living in a time where odd looks were the norm. “Hello, there!” he said, waving his big arm. “Sir! Hello!” He finally made it over and was standing next to me. He had a big dopey smile on his face. This man was way too jolly. I stared at him silently until his face took on a look of discomfort that I guessed was on par with how he felt. “Uhmmrrrmm,” he started. “W-welcome to Peaceful!” He beamed, putting back on his overeager smile. He stared at me expectantly. “Thanks,” I replied shortly. I turned back to Bertha and started tinkering around with the engine, pretending like I knew what the hell I was doing. This guy was making me uncomfortable. “That’s a fine automobile you’ve got there!” He leaned in over my shoulder. I backed up suddenly, almost knocking him with my shoulder. He jumped back with a sharp twitch. “Not anymore,” I said plainly. I scanned the area, taking in the faces of the townsfolk who had stopped to stare. “Engine’s blown,” I continued. “Well, allow me to introduce myself then!” The fat man exclaimed. He hopped back and gave a quick bow, then extended his hand. “Sir Gordon Berkeley, at your service.” “Harper,” I replied. “Ah! Very nice to meet you, Mr. Harper!” he looked at his unshaken hand, wondering what to do with it. After a moment he gave up and let it hang simply at his side. “Might I inquire as to what brings you here to Peaceful? I’m afraid we don’t get too many visitors in our little village.” “I was actually hoping I could find a mechanic…” I started. “Well, excellent!” Gordon interrupted me. I don’t like being interrupted. “It just so happens a member of our fine community specializes in the repair of automobiles!” I couldn’t decide if this revelation was great luck, or just more trouble. I didn’t care a whole lot for this Gordon Berkeley guy, either way. I figured I’d better just get Bertha fixed up, do my job, and then clear out. “You mind giving me a hand then?” I asked, pointing to Bertha. He looked at the car for a second as if he didn’t know what I was asking, and then he suddenly jumped up. “Oh, no!” He said. “The night is almost upon us! We’ll have to go indoors until the morning!” He began to look around nervously. I immediately followed suit, and noticed that the townsfolk were indeed beginning to clear the streets. “You have a curfew?” I asked. “Indeed!” Gordon said proudly. “Peaceful has been free of zombie-related fatalities for nearly a year, now! Thanks to our special night watch!” I said nothing. He seemed so proud of this accomplishment I decided it would be better to not tell him that that was the case for most settlements these days. The truth was the zombie scare really died down shortly after the war. But without a central government or much in the way of communications, it didn’t surprise me that the fine folk of Peaceful weren’t all that aware. The only real threat now were hordes, which didn’t pop up too often. Still, it’d be interesting to see how this night watch of theirs manages to hold up. “Night watch, huh?” I speculated. Gordon perked up even more. “Oh, yes! They’re very brave!” He said. “I’m sure,” I mumbled sarcastically under my breath. “What’s that?” Gordon asked, pricking his ear. “Nothing.” “Ah! Well…” Gordon tapped his broken watch. “It’s about time we head indoors. I can provide lodging for you tonight, if you wish. Then we can look for more suitable arrangements in the morning.” “If it’s all the same, I’ll stay with my car tonight,” I replied. “Here? Outside!?” Gordon clearly couldn’t wrap his head around this notion. “I’ll be fine,” I stated. Then I pointed off towards the sun just as it slipped completely under the horizon. “You’d better get going. It’ll be dark soon.”
It's good. I like the play on words with your descriptions, and the plot is getting interesting at the moment. I shall wait for more parts.
This is a good read! You've managed to leave things open for all sorts of reader intereptations, which not many writers can do. I look forward to seeing more! :]
