CHAPTER 28 - Forced Decisions and Swift Rescue

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It was two days later that has gone and passed by at the first week of the new month in Z-city, and something unexpected had happened so suddenly without warning, in Eden's case.

It was another normal day after the last two days before since Eden was stalking and watching the new group of survivors from the East end of Z-city. And it seemed quiet as usual, besides the other sounds or small noises that Eden can hear from the three different zombie types, that are roaming about and lurking in the zombie-infested city, from the security radio monitors and linked alarms but fortunately, they are still in their respective marked danger zones and far away from Safe Haven in a very good way, much to the survivor woman's relief and such.

From the previous two days, Eden was very busy assessing and watching intently the new survivors, trying to determine if they are truly good and friendly kinds of people. Now, on the third day at the time finally, as she marked the date and tallied it down in the Calendar room, it looks like Eden has finished making up her mind on her final decision about it and appeared to be preparing herself to confront them face-to-face in person.

However, it also looks like Eden knows that the group might react negatively towards her if she reveals her presence, so on the night before that very day of the planned confrontation, she told her children Michael and Annie that she'll be gone for about a day or two and won't be coming back to Safe Haven during those times as she needs to meet up with the new people. They didn't like this but Eden comforted the two kids that she'll be fine and she will continue to stay in contact by the radio comm-link they both have on each end.

Also, Eden told them that she decided to leave Luna behind with them, making them a little upset and worried even more but she still reassured them that she's going to be alright and that she'll fight her way out to escape, survive alive and return home, in case things get sideways or something worse. It was about a minute or so for both Michael and Annie to be fully convinced that Eden will be fine and safe on her planned run into the survivor group and it took about five minutes, funnily so, when Eden tried to reassure and calm her dog Luna, which the mother dog was very displeased and upset upon sensing and finding out that its master is leaving without her since it stayed by her side loyal and faithful from the previous days the two of them went out together to check out the living survivors before.

Eden tried to dislodge the big female dog by shaking her left leg almost very vigorously when Luna suddenly clamped its jaws onto the pants after she dressed up and was getting herself ready with the weapons and necessary equipment on the run she's going to go and do right then and there. Eden tried to shake Luna off but the dog didn't let go of its grip on her as it whined between its clamping jaws on her pants, sounding like it was begging and pleading for her human master to stay or let it go with her.

It didn't take long as the five minutes passed by and Eden managed to get her dog off her before she firmly ordered it to stay and give a stern command to guard and look after her kids, as well as puppy Archer too. Luna finally relented and obeyed her master and it watched forlornly with small whines and worried moaning as the female canine watched Eden swiftly leave and climbed down the ladder to get to the survivor's temporary shelter and meet up with them in the nicest confrontation she needs to plan to make as she didn't want them to react negatively with 'trigger fingers, so to speak.

But when Eden got there as she parked the motorcycle in a shadowy corner, right beside the building where she used it as a watch post and sniper lookout, the woman suddenly stopped in her tracks from heading into the entrance doors of the building when she spotted an unfamiliar jeep-kind vehicle that wasn't there before, and it was parked in a hurried haphazard way, right beside the beaten-looking family-type SUV car that was found by the survivors about a day ago or so before and brought it to their shelter to replace their old one since it broke down or ran out of gas.

When Eden was about to jump to conclusions first, thinking and overreacting that this new group of survivors must have brought more of their friends or something, she suddenly heard loud noises coming from inside the shelter, and judging by the faint screams, yells, shouts, and crying sounds, whoever the new people that owns and drives the jeep--are not the friendly and nice kinds.

She ran swiftly to move her motorcycle to another shadowy hidden spot where she decided to leave it there and come back at another time later in the future when she has the spare time or so, and then she readied herself with her equipment and weaponry, pulling up her mask to cover the lower part of her face and pulling her black hood down more to shadow over her entire face, making her almost like a real shadow blending in the background and staying away in the range of sunlight.

She secured the two guns in place with them tucked on her back, hidden beneath her tight-fitted black hooded sweatshirt, a lethal sharp army knife snugly holstered and strapped against her right thigh, the folded metal-curving long-bow placed inside the quiver with the arrows strapped around her left shoulder, small pack belted around her waist, and finally, she put on the night-vision goggles onto her head, before she climbed up the rickety slightly-rusted pipe and sneaked inside the building by breaking into the air vents, that was big enough to fit a person to get inside and prowl around through there.

It was about an hour that passed on, so scarily silent, after Eden broke into the building, sneaking in like a real ninja or something, and right at that very exact time, there were suddenly shouts and yelling noises again, along with in a sudden split-second of a few bright flashing-lights and banging gun-shots sounding slightly loud from inside in rapid succession before it stopped to a dark calm and eerie silence once more in the building inside.

Then there were recognizable zombie snarls, and then the living humans screaming again before there were shouting and running sounds, before somewhere up on the slightly higher floors of the building, that's where Eden and the survivor group are now over there before a chair went breaking through and flying out of one of the windows, then the broken window is being cleared off any glass shards by all edges of the frame until a thick rope was thrown out and its end reached the ground floor.

Then there was Eden directing the survivors to climb out and down the rope gently and carefully but as fast as they can, because up in that room on the high floor they were in, there were banging and crashing sounds like they already barricaded and blocked the door but the snarling zombies are trying to break in with their inhuman strength, and from the horrifying noises, it sounds like the zombies could be either Omega-Z or the dangerous Alpha-Z types.

And right when there were about only three survivors left up there, counting Eden among them too, there was a sudden blasting explosion like she used some sort of RPG or something similar like a cannon gun, the two last survivors had just climbed down until Eden finally came down last.

They all ran to the SUV family-kind van that the group of survivors was using with Eden abandoning the rope and sprinting right into the back of the vehicle, determined to ride at the back while carrying some kind of handmade cannon-gun of sorts, and then the van was skidding, driving hurriedly into a road, just as the zombies leaped out to reveal a few Alpha-Z from the room that had the explosion noise before, and they looked to be very furious as they tried to chase after the vehicle, running on hands and feet in an inhumanly mutated animal-like predatory movement like they're being chased by a pack of wolves or pride of lions.

The SUV tried to drive down the street they were riding through as fast as it can but the small horde of Alpha-Z is catching up very fast, almost getting near to the point of reach, but the back of the SUV opened up and showed Eden in a shooting position with the modified homemade cannon-like gun she was holding before and then shot right at the chasing Alpha-Z with the most powerful cannon bullet of sorts, she had made swiftly with her bare hands back then at the survivor's shelter and it exploded grandly like a C4 bomb was set off and scattered the remains of the destroyed mutated zombies to flying pieces and a slightly big hole-like dark crater was left behind where the Alpha-Z were at.

The force of the exploding blast almost threw Eden back in her haphazard position at the back of the SUV but she quickly righted herself up before she might fall off the driving van and then reached to close the back vehicle door shut tight.

It wasn't long until the SUV slowed down its speed from its fast driving trek before once they know that nothing else is chasing after them and they're relieved that they're safe for now. Then it looks like Eden is directing them inside on where they need to go, as the van went through a few turns in some street curves and corners until they reached the destination that Eden, the group's savior is pointing out and directing them at.

They parked right next to an abandoned clothes shop when they got there. Then Eden came out first and ordered the people to stand back as she double-checked the perimeter on the outside and inside the building until she deemed it clear and then silently gestured them to get in and hurry up and they complied, even though it looked like two or three of the survivors didn't trust the woman, despite that she rescued them before.

The time passed on as it seemed Eden is caring for and settling the survivors inside their new temporary shelter, and it's now night-time as the group of people Eden saved had finished with their dinner with the small food rations they only have left on their belongings. One of them was about to offer Eden some of their shares but was shot down instantly by the two people who still distrusted her.

Eden didn't mind the negative distrust and animosity towards her, for she understood their wariness after what they went through with the hostile ones previously back then. She just stands by the corner and watches them like she posted herself as their new guardian or something and then waited until they finished with their make-shift beds and then fall asleep, with only one of the survivors deciding to stay awake and alert as night-guard.

But Eden and the night-watch person kept their distance from one another so that she would show the survivor that she's really friendly and will politely give them space until all of them trusted her truly that she's a good person. However, Eden made sure that when the night-guard turns his attention to keep watch and look out onto the outside for any other lurking dangers and threats throughout the whole night so that she'll take out her hidden stuff and quickly do them before he notices and catch her in the act when she does.

Eden swiftly took out the hidden comm from the small pack on her, called back softly to her kids back in Safe Haven, and told them swiftly that she'll be coming home soon the next day, then hid it away with eyes watching at the guard intently silent, making sure that he doesn't notice anything amiss from her. After she was satisfied and relieved that he's still focused on looking outside, Eden went to take out the hidden rolled-up journal and write on the new entry into it as fast as she can.

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JOURNAL ENTRY: DAY UNKNOWN, 10TH MONTH OCTOBER, YEAR 2XXX

Hey, it's Eden again.

Well, I can't believe I'm saying--or rather, writing this into the journal entry, but…damn, wow, shi--I mean, Scrap! Seriously, scrap literally hit the fan, and crapping went sideways and all that.

Sorry, I had to watch and be careful with my language when I voice it out loud or write it down here in this journal.

I can't take the chance of my kids Michael and Annie getting a little curious and snooping around if they somehow find my journal.

Especially the new little ones, that I somehow missed upon my stalking of the new group of survivors I just saved and rescued from the hostile enemy ones.

Yes, the new group of survivors that I had been stalking and watching for the last previous days…they had children with them, and I was very much surprised and a little shocked that I didn't see them at all the whole time I was discreetly watching them.

I need to write on this entry a little bit short and quick as I can because something unexpected happened that I didn't expect and was prepared to face when it did.

So here's how it goes and why I wrote here how the plan to reveal myself and meet with the survivors face-to-face went sideways and gone down badly.

Just as I had arrived near to the temporary shelter they were holding up, I noticed the new but unfamiliar vehicle that was parked right there outside the building, next to the new SUV van they had found in one of their runs into Z-city to replace their broken old one the days before.

I know I would have overreacted into thinking that they brought reinforcements or something and I missed them but as the rule goes, RULE #18: Don't overreact, look and think first.

And I'm glad I followed that rule in my head because the next thing I knew, I heard shouting, screams, and all that coming from inside, and they all sound bad and foreboding. So I followed the next rules as I readied myself, climbed up the old pipe attached by the side of the building, and went inside by sneaking into the big air ventilation systems that have long been empty and turned off there. And those rules are, RULE #17: Don't be a hero, but don't be a coward too, RULE #33: Always assess every situation, whether good or bad, and RULE #17: Don't hesitate, just try and do it, take action when needed.

And I'm glad I did and reacted into action upon following those survival rules because when I reached the exact spot and point to where the survivors are staying inside their temporary shelter in the building, as I used to do before on the previous days when I decided to sneak in through the air vents before and try to watch the people a little up-close and personal to know more about them, I saw--much to my sudden shock and instant anger--that some time ago, a small group of five hostile living people, all of them malicious-looking bad men and they had taken down the other group of survivors by surprise without any warning, and are holding them down helpless and vulnerable.

They separated and divided the survivors from the beaten-up men to the frightened women and children, with pairs of two guarding each of them at gunpoint with stolen military-issued AK-47 guns. And the last man was trying to pin down one of the women onto the floor that he grabbed from the group, and seemed to be trying to tear her clothes off with the sharp deadly dagger-knife he was holding and threatening her with. But the woman under the man was still strong and brave as she tried to fight against the would-be rapist, and despite her frightened sobs, teary face, and the threat of the sharp blade wielded by the leering malicious male, the female still kept on fighting.

It looked like the man was about to get angry and might decide to knock the struggling fighting woman out so that he'll rape her in front of her group, so I worked quickly into crawling and scurrying around the air vents as quiet as a little mouse literally, using very thin transparent string to stick chewing gum into the AK-47 guns the other men were holding to sabotage and tamper them so that they wouldn't shot even with safety-off.

After I had done that, I went right into the vent, right above at the female survivor still fighting against the rapist when he had tied her hands tight against her back and ripped her pants open with the knife and was trying to pull them off but her unbound legs kept kicking at him, I caught the woman's attention when her eyes looked up right into mine and I made the meaningful gestures as well as forming silent visible words at her to quickly warn her group to close all their eyes and stay down. Once the woman understood, her struggling body instantly went still and prone on the floor, and she nodded dimly, showing that she trusts me completely to rescue her and her group from these men.

Just as the evil man thought that the victim pinned under him had given up and he was gleefully reaching to unzip his pants, the woman suddenly shouts the warning to her group and they all obeyed, quickly closed their eyes or covered them, and stayed down with their heads almost bending forward to the floor, I instantly kicked the vent open when I moved my body around, and the lid broke apart and fell right on his head, almost knocking him out cold just as I threw three flash-bang grenades down from the vent and instantly exploded on impact when they fall right onto the floor.

With blinding flash bombs as they exploded and took the hostiles by surprise, I jumped down quickly before they could even react or snap out of it and slashed at the rapist first with the knife already in my hand and blood gushed and spurted out from his cut-open throat and the man fell backward, dying instantly with a gurgling sound.

Then I instantly drew one of my guns out with my other free hand and shot with perfect accuracy right at the three other men when they turned their guns straight at me and tried to shoot but they stalled and got broke when the sticky gum stuck true into stopping them from killing me. The three men dropped dead when I shot them straight at their hearts or heads.

The last bad man standing in the room, tried to flee as he threw his broken gun away and run for his pathetic life, but the beaten-up men that he was guarding against, leaped up and lunge right at him in a tackle down from behind, looking like they can still fight despite that they were beaten down almost their entire beings by the hostiles.

And just as he was trying to break free and get them off him, his efforts were in vain when I just calmly walked right up next to his head, aimed my gun, and shot him at point-blank close range straight at his head.

The good survivors were all in shock a little and there was a tense silence all around us as they stared at me, same time as I calmly stared back at them. But before introductions--or rather confrontations were about to be made, I suddenly cursed out loud when I made the mistake of shooting the hostiles dead without attaching a silencer on my gun and suddenly, I heard familiar zombie snarls and growls coming from somewhere in the building.

And I couldn't believe that I also missed it somehow--upon not knowing that there were ALPHA-Z's lurking about inside the building itself, and they sounded a little angry or something like we disturbed their beauty sleep on wherever their nest is.

I shouted at the still stunned shocked group to get moving and run now, and they followed my orders just as a raging Alpha came charging into the room, using itself as a battering ram to break down the door and barge in.

The children with them screamed and their mothers quickly carried them up just as we all ran like hell-hounds were chasing after us and we managed to make it upstairs and barricade ourselves into some sort of storage room with a window upon the higher floors of the building.

Right when we blocked the doors with the men helping me to barricade it, we nearly jumped backward when the horde of Alpha-Z's slammed themselves right at the closed door, banging and hitting to break their way in, and the children nearly screamed even louder when one of the mutated zombies broke a hole through the door with a strong punch and flailed its clawing arm about like trying to push the barricade away, but the men and I put too much heavy blockage against it.

Then I acted swiftly into grabbing one of the chairs that are in the room, threw it strongly right at the window, and had it crashing and breaking through the glass, giving a wide opening for all of us. I pulled the long thick climber's rope out of my small pack, threw it out, and then directed each of the survivors in an important order to get out and climb down the rope to safety outside the building. Such as one of the important rules that are on my survival list, RULE #5: Always know your way out, and RULE #37: Safety first, always!

Women and children are the first, and fortunately, most of the female survivors know how to climb as they carefully got each of their children--which there are only four, in fact--to be piggy-back carried and held on their backs and each climber carefully went down the rope until they reached to solid ground below.

While two men were helping the women and children get out, as well as two other men watched the heavily-barricaded door to look out for the still charging Alpha zombies that are trying to break in, I looked around, trying to find something that I can build quickly and improvise as a good weapon against these monsters, until I found the right materials I needed to make one.

And what I just gathered, build, and fixed it up…is a homemade modified cannon-like bazooka rocket-launcher rifle gun!

Thus to the rule on my list, RULE #9: Use anything as a weapon and improvise, and RULE #26: Take a chance on anything, even the impossible!

It's not much and I had to build and make it up quickly as fast as I can, and I was able to fix and make up big two cannon rocket-like bullets against the beasts, and I finished right on time, just as the two men helping the women went down the rope next, and I ordered the two last ones who were on guard against the door, to go down next and that I'll be the last to follow down.

They reluctantly followed my commands, went down, and I was confident with my skills into making this cannon-launching gun work perfectly, when I loaded the first bullet, the door was broken and crashed down by the Alpha-Z's when they barged in and try to claw and tackle their way through the heavy barricade, and I aimed precisely and shot it right at the zombie horde.

I swiftly jumped and climbed down the rope just as the bullet exploded in a fiery inferno blast and I can hear remains splattering from the blasted smoking room when I reached the bottom without a single scratch on me.

I ran very fast and got on the back of the SUV van, just as the vehicle went revving down the street to get out of there, the last few Alpha-Z that survived the blast jumped out from the room of the explosion and tried to chase after us, looking madder and raging angrier than before.

I opened the back of the van as it still drove as fast as the driver can do, and I carefully got into position, aimed the cannon gun right at them, and shot true once more and again, striking accurately right at the Alpha-Z and killing every last one of them until nothing remains except a smoking black hole crater that the second last exploding bullet left as we drive away.

The survivors were really amazed that I created and made this cannon rocket-launcher gun, which is now useless since there are no more bullets I've made up, and after looking and checking around that there are no more dangerous threats coming after us, I directed the driver in the path of a safe place where we can be safe and secure for the night, and I pointed them down the direction towards an abandoned clothing shop, with secure fences that will protect us for the time being until I decide to bring them to Safe Haven.

After the terrifying ordeal was over, when I got them settled in safely and securely inside that abandoned shop, I'm now standing guard and keeping awake and alert for the night, watching over the group of survivors who are resting and sleeping peacefully after I rescued them.

But I know that few of them still don't trust me…specifically, there are at least two to three men among their group, giving me dirty and distrusting looks like they think that I'm an enemy or something. I understand their negativity against me after they just got caught off-guard by the living hostiles before.

But I know that it won't take long for them to trust me when I stay with them for one more day and give me the opportunity to earn their trust once I show more of my good side and kindness to helping them by giving something more for them to make them believe that I'm a good guy.

That's everything, and I'm ending this entry right here and now. The other night-watch guard is about to turn his focus onto me and I can't let him look and catch me with my journal. So on the next time, it will be on the update of what happened with me next about the new survivors and writing about whether I should convince them that I'm truly a good person and make up the decision whether I should take them to Safe Haven or not.

Until then, this is Eden signing off.

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Eden quickly but quietly closed the journal and hid it away, right when the other man as the night-watch guard turned his gaze upon her and she gave a convincing poised look that she was still looking out and guarding them for the night, not showing that she's been doing something.

And it worked as the guard turned his head back to looking out and watching on his corner, and the woman held back her sigh of relief before she laid herself back to relax against the watch post on her corner and alertly look around and about outside to the darkness of the night, making sure that she doesn't miss anything else, such as possible more dangers that might be lurking in the shadows near their area.

Eden looked like she was thinking deeply over the planned confrontation she needs to deal with, and talk nicely and convincingly to the group of survivors that she was a good friendly person and not at all dangerous, and wondered how that is going to turn out when the next new day comes.

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