Extinction

Here we go again

I have to say, Edward (the old man) did seem like a natural with the knives. Maybe even more than Rishabh. The girls were given one knife each, for an emergency. Most probably they have no idea how to use it, but what do you know? I am mostly wrong.

The alley looks pretty clear to me. I take a look at Rishabh who has a typical emotionless face, the one he always has when going out of the safe house. Then I nod at Mandeep. There are weak chances of bonies seeing us land in the alley, but there is a chance. And we’re not willing to take that risk. So Mandeep lights up the alley entrance. This is our window. The smoke from fire will prevent the bonies from seeing us and even if they do, the fire will bar their entrance. We drop into the alley and make way for Sawai Jaisingh Highway. Rishabh leads, staying low like the marines you see in movies. He’s sweating like a pig. I know why he is nervous. For starters, he is the only fighter left in the group. Mandeep and Himanshu are the nearest thing you can get to an expert in their fields, now that 70% of the world is infected. But there is a difference in shooting arrows and throwing a Molotov from a sniper’s nest and fighting in the battleground. Here, you have to keep your eyes open because an enemy can come from any direction, and to be honest, arrows aren’t fast enough for a closed place like this, so I gave Yash’s katana (sword) to Himanshu. Although I’m pretty sure that he dosen’t know how to use it. Another reason for Rishabh to be nervous was that Ajmer was a long way from Jaipur and even if we reach there, all of us won’t make it.

Following Rishabh are Hope and Edward. Edward is amazingly fast and agile for his age and figure. He looks like an old man looking for his glasses in desperation. And Hope seems to be the exact opposite of her name, hopeless. Those empty eyes tell that they have witnessed some pretty terrible things that a girl of her age must never see. But on the other hand, we all have seen them. And I don’t think she deserves therapy or special treatment for that. Screw it, I’m just jealous of her for being more emotionless than me.

Following them is the most useless person in the caravan, your narrator. I know that my friends will never leave me behind, I trust them. But I can’t trust me. What if I try to be a hero again and tell them to go while I cover them? You know that being a hero has never given me anything but trouble. And I sure as hell don’t want to die. But there is this strange attraction in doing the right thing and risking my life so that others can live. It gives me a purpose to push myself. I have beaten up goons all my life, but this is worth living and dying for. That’s what’s keeping me away from depression and suicide or worse, becoming a living dead.

A snarl breaks my trail of thoughts. A small one steps forward from a dark corner. He looks like Michael Jackson beaten to death. Before I can examine any more features of his body, Rishabh delivers a drop kick to his chin. I love his dropkicks. Once he had delivered one with such force that his pointed shoe went right through the chin into the brain of an old man.

The kid falls flat on his back. After a second, a kick crushes his head and spreads his brains all over the road, the iconic finisher which was always good to watch. I turned around to see if Mandeep and Himanshu saw it and was met my Emily’s smiling face. I must admit, most people like it when someone cares about them or likes them, but I absolutely hate it. Maybe it’s because the only thing I have got all my life is pure hatred and I only know how to hate. Loving and being loved is something new and honestly, right now I’m struggling to live another day and not quite in the mood for something new. Besides, hate has worked out pretty fine for me. So I ignore her and simply look over her to my friends walking like kids in a scary house.

“Take it easy and keep your eyes open.” I whisper to them.   

They nod and try to smile but teardrops roll instead. Now I seriously doubt our chances of survival with these chickens. Emily looks offended and is staring at the ground. I make no effort to apologize or comfort her because I don’t simply care. How can you expect sympathy from a man who knows nothing but hate. Well, I don’t expect her to understand.

We are on the highway now. I can see some distant figures silhouetted against the night sky. Four or maybe five. We can easily take them. We walk with a slow pace, taking cover behind the burnt cars. My heart thumps louder and louder. In my best days, I could kill all five of them alone. But this isn’t my best day, so I pass it to Rishabh. He looks determined now and maybe has a plan. He signals to stop and turns to face us.

“There may be more of them hidden behind the truck. We can’t risk walking into a trap. We need to lure them to us.” He whispers in the voice of an oracle.

“How will we do that?” Himanshu squeals, in a pitch higher than recommended for a scenario like this. A distant snarl means someone has taken notice.

“Shut the f**k up! Do you want do get us all killed?” I whisper in an irritated tone.

“One more word out of your damned mouth and you will wish you were never born.” I say as I see him moving his lips again, most likely to apologize.

“They’re coming.” Rishabh panics after taking a sneak peek, “About twelve of them, 100 meters out.”

“I can take them if they are close enough. When they are about twenty steps from me, Rishabh and Edward will flank them from behind. Himanshu will be behind me and get as many as he can before they reach me. In the worst case scenario, people with supplies will strap the bags against their chest as cover and come to our aid. Remember, this is for the worst case. Come only if I call for help. Okay, let’s move.” I pass the orders and stand up to dash at the middle of the road.

“What about me?” Mandeep asks, thinking he was forgotten.

“Stay here and protect them, supplies are more important.” I say, almost standing in the middle of the highway with my khukhree in one hand and the Chinese dagger in another.

The leader of bonies is a sturdy male, about seven feet in length, half burnt face and an eye dangling from its socket (most likely burnt). His dark skin tone worked as a camouflage in the night sky. He was followed by some deformed individuals who didn’t look threatening at all. They were thin and slow paced, most of them missing body parts. The leader lands a jab on a fellow bonie who tries to get ahead of him, breaking his jaw. Others get the message and slow the pace. Not crazy after all, huh? Scared little shits.

An arrow passes swiftly by me, almost startling me, and is blocked by the leader’s chest. He looks at his chest, and opens his mouth to smile, letting out a stinking trail of blood. The arrow must have hit the ribs.

“Aim for the head, you i***t!” I look over my shoulder to see the pale face of my companion. s**t! This is going to be a tough night.

Luckily, the second arrow finds its spot and passes through the open socket to the brain, letting the dangling eye fall on the road. The body topples, taking down two others with it. After seeing the leader fall, the others feel no danger in increasing their speed. After a brief pause, now we are looking at eleven dead bodies running straight towards a cripple and a noob. I signal my companion to take out his sword. He does it after taking out another one of the dead.

Funny thing about bonies is that they never check their surroundings. So when Rishabh and Edward flanked them from behind, they were just sitting ducks. And by the time they reached us, only five were left. A small one pounced at my neck, but things went sideways for him. I thundered my blade with all my might and as a result, his head was separated in two equal parts. Another one encountered a knock-out punch and collided head on with his partner. They were both then executed by a single blow of Himanshu’s katana. I wasn’t quite sure if he had the guts to use that thing, but it turns out he did. The episode helped me witness the handsome slashing and cutting of heads by Edward. He finished the last one by sticking a dagger in his skull and decapitating him by the other.

“I’m a little rusty.” He finally announced.

“You think?” I said both in sarcasm and in awe.

“No time for small talk, focus.” Rishabh said in a sense of authority. Look who’s talking, the same guy who sat weeping when the school was ravaged and I was almost eaten alive. But of course I didn’t say this. At least now he had regained himself again.

“Right, let’s go.” I said, taking another dose of painkillers.

I look at Himanshu, who stands in a corner, stupefied by fear. I reach over to him and pat his back.

“Let’s go buddy. You did well today. If it wasn’t for you, that monster would have torn me apart, and for that, I thank you. Hey, look at me. We need you now more than ever, get a hold of yourself.” At this, he nods and walks with me to catch up with the rest.

When I turn around, I see Emily nodding at me with that damned smile for helping Himanshu. Whatever, I didn’t do it to show you my goodness. I only did it because I felt like doing it and also because we need him. You cannot have your best marksman whining about when you need him. That’s bad for survival. I was about to ask what her problem was but Rishabh’s voice stopped me.

“Stop fooling around. Look, there’s a truck.” He pointed at a truck.