The Third Breed

New and improved Max

“Max, I’ll take your place, Lance wants to see you,” Ariel’s head was already at the side of the crate as he was trying to climb up.

The kid was now wearing a new set of clean clothes and was also carrying a new set of arrows.

Max just nods at Ariel before jumping down, he falls gracefully like a cat not even causing a thump.

Lance was still busy putting some containers back in place when Max came in. He was already done restocking and was just fixing up the things.

“Hey,” he greets the man with a smile.

Max just nods and then starts looking around at the containers. Lance takes a good look at the man.

The hooded cape seems to have been made from some kind of animal skin, the pants and shirt both had patches and dirt were all over it. While the shoes were almost worn out.

With a quick nod he goes to a crate that he remembered had extra uniforms, he takes another glance at the still busy Max to check the size he needed and decided to just get the largest ones out.

“Why don’t you try these on and see which one fits,” he gives him two sets of uniform, vest, shoes and a pair of socks and gloves.

Max just nods and takes the change of clothes, there wasn’t even a moments notice when he took of his cape, then the shirt which had a very large hole on the back, before pulling down the ragged pants. It was as if the man was in a hurry to change.

And as Lance had expected, Max looked like a sculpture of an ancient warrior, cuts were well shown on each part of his body even his butt cheeks were roundly shaped. Making him feel a bit uncomfortable specially upon seeing the huge bulge that was being hidden by a mud colored loincloth.

“Uhm, Max,” He says as he looks away.

“Hmmm,” Max just looks up, forehead creased.

“You better change those too.” Lance points at the cloth the man was wearing and then gives him a new pair of underwear too, feeling awkward that he forgot about it.

Max takes the packet of white undergarments, frowning upon seeing the drawing of how to wear it. “Okay.” He says then proceeds to untie the dirty cloth.

“I’ll just wait outside while you change, call me if you need anything else” He states before immediately walking out.

Max stops for a second to nod at him. Lance just ended up scratching his head because of the embarrassing moment.

Lance waited outside and after a few minutes he checks on him again. It seems the man was having a hard time buckling his belt but did not bother to call him.

“Need help?” Lance peeks his head inside as the mans large back was facing him.

Max turns and nods, then looks at the belt. “How do you put this on?”

Lance just chuckles seeing he was only able to put on the pants, he walks to him and starts fastening, tightening and unbuckling the mans belt.

“That’s quite a lot of scars you have there,” he says noticing the numerous large marks on the mans chest and abdomen. Wondering what could have caused such wounds.

Max just lets out a grunt since he was still trying to get the hang of taking off and buckling the belt again. Lance just stayed with him so he could show how to wear the other extra clothing.

After a few more tries they were done, Max still kept the scarf and cape even though he gave him a new face mask.

“You guys finally done?” Ariel greets, when the two of them came out.

“Yeah.” He says moving aside to show Max.

“Whoa! You look much better Max,” Ariel says.

Max looked cleaner and more fearsome with the new set of stuff that they gave. He now had two katanas on each of his sides, tactical knives on the arms and legs, plus some tools on his vest.

“Max this is yours, we put a lot of marshmallows there,” Ariel presents the large back pack that they prepared for him.

Max nods upon taking the bag, they could see a smile form on their companions eyes.

After closing and making sure that the supply crate is secured they start moving again. They proceeded the rest of the mountains until the sun was finally setting.

“We better find a place to set up camp,” Lance tells his companion. Seeing as it was going to be dark soon. He looks at his map checking for a good and safe spot.

“We could go there,” Max says pointing at a certain part of the mountain covered in trees.

Lance looks at Ariel who just nods in agreement.

“Okay, lead the way Max,” he says and the man starts walking in front of them.

They reached a steep rock formation hidden within the trees. It was not that high but enough to keep them safe from any straggler. Max was already climbing it when they decide to follow. When they got to the top, the land was grassy and leveled.

“This is perfect Max,” Lance compliments as they began setting up their sleeping bags and cooking utensils.

Ariel cooked sausages, spiced rice and chicken soup and was more talkative than before, it came in a surprise when Max was actually making conversation now. So, they all had a very peaceful and enjoyable evening.

The sun wasn’t even up when Lance was awoken by a sudden movement, he gets up to see Max crouch on the cliff.

“Whats wrong Max?” He asks still wiping his eyes.

“We’re going there right?” Max points to the next mountain.

He takes out his map and checks their coordinates. “Yes, that’s were the camp is.”

“Then, we better get ready.” Max says.

“Alright.” He wakes Ariel, who was sleeping beside him and after having a light breakfast of bread and bacon they begun their descend down the mountain.

The sun was just rising and wasn’t even visible yet when they began walking again. Halfway down the mountain, they are put to a stop when Max suddenly raised his hands.

“What?” Ariel looks around, the trees and bushes here were a bit more dense plus it was eerily quiet.

Max points to a tree, covered in thick vines that had large leaves just a few meters away from them.

“s**t, is that!” Ariel’s mouth open wide in horror upon seeing the thing.

It took Lance a while before noticing it, a rush of chill crawled down his spine at the sight of the corpse that was standing just behind the tree, as if it was waiting in ambush.

“Stray.” Max says glaring at the zombie.

“Ariel,” Lance points at the creature then at the bow the man was holding.

Since it was just one zombie this was the safest and fastest way of taking it down. Ariel nods and starts to prepare his weapon.

“No,” Max says after holding on to the bow.

“Huh?” Ariel just frowned, confused why he was stopped.

Max points at Ariel’s katana and looks at the young man straight in the eye.

Ariel turned pale as he swallows hard, realizing what the man wanted. “But .”

Lance notices the sheer terror of his friend. “Max, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he taps the mans shoulder.

Max just looks at him, straight faced and lips curling.

“I’ll do it,” Ariel suddenly cuts him off. Eyes was now filled with determination as he looked at Max straight in the eye.

Lance knew that his friend didn’t want to disappoint their new companion and wanted to show what he was capable of.

Max eyes lit up, he then taps Ariel’s shoulder before backing away and squatting in the nearby grass. “Look, focus, aim and stab.” He enacts the motion that he wants Ariel to do.

They both watch in amazement at the fluidity of Max’s movement whenever he stretch and retracted his arms. It was like they were looking at a snake striking.

“Okay,” Ariel nods then does the same thing, only slower and a bit shaky.

“Again,” Max fixes Ariel’s arm and then went behind him to show how to properly move it.

They do this a few more times, while Lance watched the zombie and made sure that there weren’t any others around. After several tries Ariel finally succeeds in doing the proper motion.

“Good,” Max nods with content. Then again he points to the creature.

“Okay, I can do this.” Ariel says to himself, then looks at Max and Lance.

After nodding at each other, Ariel proceeded to move slowly towards were the rotting flesh monster was. Lance felt uneasy at first especially when Max signaled him to stay, but he calmed a bit when he saw Max immediately follow his friend, staying a few meters behind. So, he just kept watch of the surrounding area.

The bony creature gave out a low growl, rotting eyes looking upward, a dark green goo was dripping out of its wide open mouth while it swayed in place.

Lance couldn’t help but keep an eye on the two men were getting closer to the creature. His heart was pounding in anticipation and dread.

Ariel was crouched just a few steps away from it, keeping himself well hidden within the bushes. Taking a deep breath he dashes forward straight into the monster. Two hands holding tight on the katana, his eyes focus unto its face, calculating the height and distance needed before striking.

The zombie immediately reacts, opening its mouth wider, then bending for an attack, but before it could even take another step the blade instantly penetrates it head, stopping it before it could even make a sound.

Ariel froze as the creature stood still, Max was already beside him, kicking the monster aside. Ariel couldn’t help his grin upon watching his prey fall to the ground.

“Good,” Max taps the young mans shoulder with satisfaction.

Ariel jumps, striking his hand up in the air. “Yes, I did it!”

Lance let out a sigh of relief, he then runs to his comrades who were now practicing the stabbing action.

“Lance, did you see that! I took it down with one try,” Ariel proudly states pointing at the fallen creature.

“Congratulations, that was a very nice strike.” Lance happily says as he softly clapped.

Max eyes was also showing a cheerful look, probably entertained while watching their friend do a somewhat victory dance.

“Now, I won’t have to worry when I run out of arrows,” Ariel states, wiping away the stain of the blade on his pants.

Max then turns to him. “Now you.”

Lance pointed to himself, brows furrowing as he sees the man nodding. “Me? But there’s .”

Before he could even say another word Max was already pointing at a clearing a few meters below them. He and Ariel both gape at the sight of several more zombies in different directions.

“There’s more of them,” Ariel says, dumbfounded at the motionless horrors.

“Get that one,” Max again stretches his finger at the one just a few feet away from them. “You, stay close to me,” he orders Ariel.

“Okay.” Ariel seemed to be more confident now and unfazed by the number of the zombies.

Lance just takes in a deep breath before proceeding to his target. Looking at the numbers in front of them now, he was sure it will not be that hard for them, specially since they now had Max.

“s**t,” Lance curses at the dried twig on his foot.

The sound gave him away, so now the creature was already unto him, it’s wobbly motion did not hinder its speed. It let out a loud screech that echoed which got the attention of the others. Now, all five of the stragglers were running straight for him.

He just hears Max’s chuckle behind him.