Welcome to Gaia! ::

I opened the loading dock of the mosin nagant and ran the rag covered pole through the barrel just like Barron showed me. I had just started to get the hang of cleaning the guns. I love cleaning this mosin nagant, and I actually get a chance to fire it, I thought as I pulled the rag out and shut the loading dock, to bad its because of god damn zombies. You know I always knew this day was going to come, and I am damn lucky I am friends with a gun manic like Barron. To my left lies the MP40, the three shotguns, and his Winchester rifle. On the floor was boxes upon boxes of ammo.

I look forward and see Barron in the camo he used for air soft as he drives his Silver Buggy. "Damn Barron, how fortunate you just got this damn thing fixed before all this s**t started ******** happening" I laugh as I put the gun to my side. Barron laughed and nodded his head as he switched the song that was playing on the ipod.

"No what is really fortunate is that we have like what 4 boxes of MREs." Barron called out over the song.

I laughed as I glance over the back seat and smile as I read the label on the one box, "And we got a meal 1 box! Damn Barron I love your grandpa, I hope he's alright down in Lousianna."

Barron sneered, "Ofcoures, you met him when my mom went to Amsterdam. Do you really think ******** zombies could kill a ******** crazy Nam viet like him?"

I laughed yet again, "No I guess not. So do you really think anyone is going to be at the school?" I ask as we drive through downtown Mason.

Barron became serious for a moment, "I don't know but I sure hope so."

The speeding buggy carrying me and Barron rode on ever closer to the school where we hoped othe surviors would be.

I opened the door and stepped out into the street between the high school and feild. This is where they where leaving their car to find surviors. I had the Nagant in my hands and two shotguns on my back. Barron was holding a shotgun and had the Winchester on his back. A pistol of unkown brand was on my hip and I felt weighed down by every pocket in my camo suit filled with ammo for all my guns. We must look like jack asses with all this gear but if zombies we would need every single piece of it.

Barron and my fanned out to go to the football feild first, the most probable place for zombies to be; I fanned out to the left and Barron went ot the right. I crawed in through a hole that was cut in the fencing while Barron went in through the opening by the student side of the feild. I breathed deeply as I heard movment in the vistor student bleachers. I took a deep breathe and swung around to kill some zombies...

Me and Barron stood in amazment as we say all the people gathered and with weapons and more importantly there freinds. Barron and me ran over to TJ and say Jake and Jordan standing an unconsious Drew, "What is going on here?"

Jake looked up and his jaw dropped in amazment, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"What the ******** do you think! I came here for a footballgame!" I say sacracticly as I look down and Drew and TJ, "Are they infected?"

Jake shook his head and gestured for me to follow him, I left Barron with the crowd and followed Jake, "So whats going on?"

"TJ is in a coma possibly and Drew, well he is just tired. We are all tired. Where have you been! I thought you where dead!" He said as I put down my guns.

I laughed as I looked up at him, "I was with Barron, and damn was I lucky! Who would have thought I would end up with my gun fanatic friend the day zombies attack?"

Jake looked at him in horror, "Your laughing dude? This is a serious problem! What the hell!"

"Yeah and your god is responsible for it! You dam jackass." I said walking back over to the crowd and got Barron, "So you want to stay here?"

Barron looked around and said, "shhyeah man! Look around we got people with guns, supplies, protection! man"

"We have supplies and guns for US, we have a car, we have brains, and we are sitting in an area that is going to attrach zombies and die! One infected that "neglects" to tell us and we are all ********!" I say as I walk back over to the car to grabbed a few personal affects that we left in the car.

"You have got a good point Dugan. I don't know anymore mannn what the hell!" Barron laughed.

"Well we will see how this turns out for a while. I say we leave the MREs and save em for the run if we have to." I said.

I woke up coughing in a fit of blood. My hands ached, body ached, head ached. Everything hurt all over. I turned over to let the cold red river spill from my lip and over onto the floor. The coughing didn’t stop for about another 20 minutes. I had no control and almost felt like vomiting in between. Once the calm came my breath attempted to slow down. I say attempt because it was as though my body was in an anxious shock. My heart just kept beating about 100 miles per hour. I twisted my head to the ceiling and watched weakly as the fan blades rotated conformingly. Where was I, and how did I get there? These questions swelled in my brain like popcorn in the microwave. This only made it hurt more and forced me to wince tightly with my eyes shut. I held there for a bit until the pain decayed.

The room was cold. I cold feel a chill resound along my body and tingle at the throat of my spine. My fist clenched down around the bedside I was in and with great effort, I pulled myself to a sitting position. Jordan was in the bed, her little arms laid motionless over my lap where they feel from their place against my chest. I looked over to her and assessed her face. The rings around her eyes where a deep read and I knew that meant she had been crying. I guessed it was over me. I probably had been out for a good long time. The last thing I remember was grabbing a hold of TJ’s feet and then exiting the middle school. She was probably as worried over me as I was over her that time when she ran into a poll up at Pine Hill. That day was my birthday and it is a day that will never leave me. The image of her flying into the pole and then out cold. Something I never hope to see again in any parallel way.

She looked very tiered and I did not seek to wake her. The goddess of beauty had many more hours to her dreams for any such man to shake away. That was something I wouldn’t do. I leaned over and planted a kiss to her cheek and whispered those heavily practiced words, “I love you,” right before pulling away and getting to my feet. I stumbled over a bit at first but managed as I climbed along the walls for stable support. The walls where cold too. They hurt to press my hand against. I dealt with it because I didn’t want to find out if falling over onto the ground would hurt more. Once out the door I finally recognized my position. I had just come from my room built out of an old class room inside the Mason Middle School. It was along the 400 wing, the one closest to the football field. All I had to do was follow the wall to the left down the hall and turn into the Auditorium entrance and exit that way. I got my first look out side. I expected it to be light out for some reason but my dreams where crushed to find the stars and black sky eating away at the horizon. Just along the Car barrier there where trash cans filled with trash and bodies that where being burnt as a double-on-tundra(sp). One purpose was for light and the other was to destroy the zombie vessel.

I made my way outside and moved for the foot ball field. There where many more there, gathered for whatever purpose and on a lighter note seemed to be cheerful. The food loaded into Giget and then hauled from Wal-Mart was being cooked and consumed over multiple fires made. People where all over eating away at their first cooked meal in days ad did so happily. I would too if I had a plate of some ravioli or chicken. That was my first priority, feed myself and then check the stability of the situation. Chris, Brad, Erin, Arron, and Alec where no where to be found. I guess that meant it was their shift to watch the walls. I knew I dreaded guarding at night, but when you did it with a bunch of friends, everything seemed so much better. I saw a few other familiar faces but didn’t approach any one to make any kind of small talk. Just pushed to a table of food, put it all together and then feasted.


Wow was that food good. It had been so long since I had spaghetti. The flavor missed from my mouth stung with a full sensation of love. I was in love again with food. There was no stopping me, no interrupting me from my meal. If you where smart, there would be no interruptions. Once my food was gone, and my belly happy, I got back to my feet and searched around. I wanted to know who was there and if any of my friends had made it out. To my surprise I found Tyler, Dugan’s brother. It made me so happy to see him that I almost started crying. I thought the kid was dead. Dugan must of said something about him. Without saying any words and ran to him and threw my arms around him. It was awkward for a bit, I had never hugged the kid before, but I didn’t care. He was armed to the teeth, and for that, again, I was thankful.

“Yo man, how have you been. Everything fine?”

“Dude, you know me man. I have been practically training up for this kind of thing. I would of never thought it would actually happen. Now that it is here. Crap man, I don’t know. This is nothing like a video game. Once you have really seen someone get eaten up and shot one of those things in the head, it starts to mess with you.” I say in return, as I sit my things down to finish eating along with him. People around where finishing up and would bunker down for the night. Another rough group of survivalist, age varying, where warming up their shots for late night shift. They would be watching the walls over night until about 2 when the next shifters would trade up. I exhaled deeply and looked back at Tyler.

“You seem to be a bit on the happy side. You sure everything’s fine up there in the head? I have watched people die the last few days. I’m not the same invincible Drew you used to know. This Drew just wants to live.” I add before digging back into my food. The last pieces where all worth fighting for, not a shrivel of crumbs would be left.

“Have you seen any one else you know. We are trying to limit entry here. We can’t just let any one in, but man, I don’t have the heart to turn anyone away. We have all put Chris and Brad in charge. They have to deal with the dirty work, and well, presto there’s all these people. I mean don’t get me wrong a lot of them are useful. We have some field medics now and some good cooks but any of these people could get bit and change. These barricades are only as strong as the living inside. We make everyone who comes and joins up to make an oath.” I begin to explain a lot of the ethics of how our survival team works to Tyler and his friend. There was a lot to say and I took every bit of it seriously.

“The oath is basically you stating that if you get bit that you will notify any/all of us. We will get you the help you need before it’s to late. At least that’s what we are telling people. You know just as well as I do that there is no cure, once they take you inside to the medical hall you are shot. You should chose to honor this too. If I knew I was going to die, I would rather be killed before I’m any harder to put out. We put hat huge responsibility and any one we believe can’t keep it is forced to reside somewhere else. This is not a safe heaven. This is still people surviving on earth.”

I watch as Tyler moves to his purpose. I didn’t quite know what they where talking about but there where other matters to attend to. I get up form my place in the bleachers and back to the weapons table. My guns and swords where there, waiting, calling my name out loud. I grabbed them, cocked, and then headed for the walls. To think, after all that had just happened just a few hours ago that I would still head back there. I had too, there was no choice. It was my place now and I would not let the team down. These people where all my family and I had a role to play in the theatrical muse.

Many people where headed into tents and other places that had been set up for sleeping. I nodded a greeting to each face that looked into mine. I must have been still a bit cut up from the last ruff encounter because not many smiled. As if my face controlled what they did, gosh. Regardless, my mission was headed for the walls. I could already hear Chris’s voice chatting away with Alec. The two where on top of a balcony built from wood that had been collected. The Stadium lights created some tint of light over the edge of cars but the main light source came from the fires built up all around the edges. They saw me coming and waved.

“You doin fine Drew, still look as ugly as you did a bit ago.” Alec said with a joke and forced a laugh. Chris joined in as he met my outreached hand with a shake. They helped me up and over onto the balcony and I got a good look over. There where piles of bodies scattered all about. We didn’t allow the zombies enough encouragement to get close to the walls. We just dropped them as soon as we saw them. I head a crack from a position higher then I was and heard a loud shout of joy to follow. I looked up over my shoulder and on top of the building, with a few energy drinks surrounding him, Aaron was sitting up against a wall and using the sniper rifle. I laughed at the sight of the man enjoying a few good kills. I looked over at Chris and jokingly, with a deep voice, said, “Head shot,” the same way we had heard it so many times on Halo and other video games.

“I’m fine guys, sorry about that little episode back there. I guess I exerted myself a bit to much when I should of played dead.” I said scratching the back of my head and looking at my feet. I really was sorry.

“Heck man, good thing you didn’t. Had you played dead I probably would of shot you.” Chris added and we all laughed.”

“hey look, here comes one.”

Our eyes followed Alec’s out stretched hand and to the direction he was pointing. Sure thing there was a zombie trotting along the ground with it’s evil ways ready to burst within. It didn’t see us and we liked to keep it that way.

“I got this one.” I said holding up the gun with both hands and training my eye between the three prongs ejected up just a bit from the top. I followed it until finally the cross hairs came out perfect over the zombies head. I didn’t give it any second though and pulled the triggered. I was trained to kill now. The zombie was struck across the lower jaw and then cut through it’s shoulder, it snapped back and I finished with another shot into the back of it’s head as it slowly feel to the ground in a pool of the left over blood.

“Nice.”

“Heck yes.”