The Soldiers

Zane woke up to the shrieks and howls of the Pales, they were close. Possibly near the entrance to the highway to the city. He held his breath as they got closer. Then an ear deafening shriek was heard outside of the tank. He put his hands over his ears and gasped. They must have followed the scent of blood from his wound!

They were in a frenzy right outside screaming, shrieking and howling. He could hear claws scraping the tank, leaving gashes in the armor. He couldn't tell what time it was but it must have been midnight. He assumed that the adult Pales had gone for a hunt, found nothing and resided elsewhere from their nest.

That was the only explanation as they were not present when he killed the pups. Now they were in a frenzy having found their pups slaughtered. This went on for hours leaving him exhausted by morning. Zane decided he would spend the day in the tank sleeping tomorrow, as he would be too tired to get far enough away.

By morning they left and he pulled out his can opener out of his bag and a can of peaches. He ate the peaches from the can and treated his wound with disinfectant and gauze and went back to sleep. He awoke to more screeching, shrieks and howling. This lasted an hour and they did not come near the tank, so he slept more.

Zane awoke and listened. No shrieks, no howling. He pulled the torch out of his pocket and looked around. There is an assault rifle and some spent shells with magazines on the tank floor. He ignored the rifle, it's too big and clunky to take with him. He looks around more and spots some MREs, luck is on his side. He grabbed them and inserted them into his bag. He looks at the thermal blanket and cries inside. He wouldn't be able to take it because it's too big for his bag.

He has limited space for his inventory. I know if I take the thermal blanket I wouldn't have enough room for supplies. Then I open the hatch and the sunlight beams through and shines on my face. Looking around I noticed the gashes in the armor that I could hear being made last night as the sun was reflecting off the dusty tank. As I exited the tank I bought a water bottle out and took a sip and made my way back towards the city, hoping to find more supplies.

It took him an entire hour to reach Costco where he looted his supplies. Zane walked past it faster this time, he wasn't going to risk another run-in with the pack of Pales. Especially the adult Pales who were the pup's kin. He shook his head to clear his thoughts.

Zane couldn't walk slower than a march's pace. He had to move fast. In the distance Zane could hear vehicles which he didn't hear yesterday. This meant there were still people in this city. He has to be careful, he is hesitant to meet new people as the apocalypse has changed everyone into cold blooded killers and stricken with the instinct to survive.

Zane's cuts on his right hand stings as he walks the deserted streets, I'll have to be careful it doesn't get infected, he thought to himself. He comes across a gas station. "This is as good as any," he said out loud to himself, there is enough sunlight inside to not need his torch.

He walks in and looks around, it's pretty barren but there are some supplies. He finds some potato chips. He shoves them in his bag, then wanders over to the refrigerators and finds some energy drinks and expired milk as well as a bottle with some ginger ale. He takes these too, minus the milk.

He has had good enough luck so far in this desolate, barren city that he might as well hit another store that he can see across the street. Hurrying across the road he enters the second store. It's a bust, completely empty.

He shakes his head, exits the store and keeps moving. It's about noon at this point the sun is directly above him and he is just getting started procuring resources. The bag is about half full with enough room for more items.

It's a military grade bag that he "found" and if need be he can fill his trench coat pockets. He starts to walk again, soon enough in about an hour he comes across a grocery store again. A chill running down his spine, he shivers remembering Costco and how that was an unpleasant experience. He came close to dying there.

He got his torch out and shined it brightly around the few aisles near the entrance. There were bones scattered around so he froze and listened silently for breathing. There was nothing he could hear right now. Must have been an old den, he thought, stepped around the bones carefully and entered the grocery store. First thing he noticed was the stench, the smell of rotting meat.

Zane gagged covering his mouth and moved further inside, the closer he got to the aisles, the stronger the smell became. He noticed this store still had a lot of items on the shelves which made him more cautious. He pulled his sidearm with his right hand and dagger with his left hand holding the torch in his mouth.

Adult Pales were more dangerous than pup Pales. Turning the corner of the aisle he was shaky, what he saw made him breathe a sigh of relief as he quickly turned. There were at least 10-15 dead Pales all torn up and strewn around!

Some aisles had been knocked over midway and flattened. This must have been a Pale against Pale conflict. Pales start to decompose very quickly within a matter of 5-10 hours nobody knows why but within a matter of 3 days they are just bones.

This must have been what the adult Pales were up to when I killed the pups. I figure they must have fed on the dead Pales and rested here after the fight. He put my weapons away and took the torch from his mouth and put it back in hand again.

Looking around Zane noticed some cans, Chicken noodle, vegetable soup, and minestrone soup. He gathered about 7 and stashed them in his bag. Feeling good about the haul he can leave the city. Hastily he made my retreat out of the store and ventured towards the highway as it would go through the streets and get him out.

Zane follows the streets from the way he came through back to the highway, it's not long till he leaves the city and is back on the road. Feeling a little more at ease he has a happier attitude and gets a few miles before dark starts to come.

Zane is far enough from the city to not worry about the creatures behind him. That made him feel a little more at ease. Up ahead he sees a farmhouse and decides to spend the night there. walking over to the farmhouse, it looks deserted and some windows are cracked or shattered.

The whole place was in shambles, weeds and overgrowth was everywhere on the outside. He tried the door handle, it was unlocked. Zane opens the door and steps inside, a musky smell hitting his nostrils, a kind of smell he is used to. Inside was a living room with furniture scattered about and a tv, a dining room with a table and four chairs and a kitchen with a stove, a counter, cupboards and a refrigerator.

A bathroom was also on the first floor. He relieved himself in the bathroom and found some unused, untouched toilet paper and stashed four rolls in his bag. The house was two stories tall so he shut the front door and headed upstairs.

He knew it was better to be on high ground than low ground where your scent could be picked up. Upstairs there were 3 rooms and a bathroom. He found a room not so musky and went inside. He was exhausted so he shut the door and got on the floor to sleep.

Zane wakes from a peaceful sleep; no shrieking, howling or screaming. He opens his bag, grabs his can opener from its pouch and selects a can at random. Minestrone. He opens it and drains the can's contents into his stomach. He felt no need to drink water since the can was soup. He checked the first cupboard on the ground floor in the kitchen to find it empty, the second empty and the third had tomato soup.

Zane took it and put it in his bag that was now noticeably getting heavier. He looks outside and sees rainy clouds. Fuck,he thought. Then looking around he noticed a closet he didn't see on the way in. Zane opens it and sees a dusty umbrella. My luck is too good, he chuckles to myself. He exited the house with an umbrella in hand and began his trek down the highway. Ten minutes later it started to rain, so the umbrella went up.

Looking up at the sky Zane guessed it's around noon at this point. He starts whistling a small tune while walking in the rain. For a few hours he walked content with life and came across a small town that the highway passed through. As he walked through the town, something felt off, an odd feeling of being watched… Zane stops, drops his umbrella and started to reach for his sidearm slowly:

"Whoa buddy don't do that!" a voice calls out.

All of a sudden from three different angles military men came out from corners in groups of two, pointing rifles at Zane. They stood six meters away from him.

"That's it, take it easy, we aren't gonna harm you." One of the men in front of him said. He stood about 5'9, brown eyes with a fit face slender but toned. He looked about 30, he had a helmet on, a radio on his bulletproof vest, with camo pants and combat boots, the rest were all dressed the same but his insignia was sergeant.

"How do I know that?" Zane asked, feeling unease. It's not often someone gets the drop on him but these were professionals.

"We just wanna ask some questions and maybe have you do us a favor." He said.

"What kind of favor?" Zane asked, feeling suspicious.

"Well first we are gonna ask some questions and then take you back to base with us." The man said.

Zane sighed. "Fine, not like I got a choice, do I?" He said defeated. He got the feeling they wanted to process and add him to their personnel as that was a common occurrence when coming across a traveler. Safety in numbers I guess, Zane thought to himself.

"First we are gonna disarm you." The man stated. "Richards, disarm him." He ordered.

A man behind Zane moved forward and jabbed his rifle into Zane's back, he then reached with his other arm and retrieved the pistol from his holster and passed it to the guy next to him then he took the dagger and the katana. His arm had the insignia of corporal.

"This is a military issued combat blade!" He exclaimed, "Where'd you get this?"

He seemed angry so Zane answered him slowly and sternly, "From a dead soldier on my travels."

The Sergeant seemed alright with that answer and asked another question:

"Have you got any friends we should know about?" He demanded.

"No." Zane answered

"You sure?" He asked cautiously.

"Yes." Zane answered cautiously.

"How have you survived this long on your own?" He inquired.

"By being smart and learning from the mistakes of others." Zane had watched too many people get torn apart by Pales to make stupid mistakes.

"Alright, how long have you been on your own?" He questioned.

"About 8 years." Zane responded.

The first man in front him whistled and exclaimed, "Damn, that's a long ass time!"

"Yea." Zane replied solemnly.

"Can we trust you with your weapons?" He asked.

"I won't pull any shit." Zane answered honestly.

"Alright Richards, give him his weapons back." He ordered

Richards was aghast and lipped back, "Sir, we don't know if we can trust him, what if-"

"Never mind that Richards, give him his weapons!" He commanded Richards.

"Yes, sir…" the man presumably Richards said defeated.

The soldier to Zane's left handed him his sidearm and Zane holstered it. Richards handed him his blades and Zane sheathed them.

"Alright we are taking you to our HQ now so follow us." The first soldier said. "By the way my name is Daniels, sergeant Daniels."

"My name is Zane." Zane replied back.They led him down the block and around the corner, to see two Humvees parked. Daniels led Zane into the backseat of Daniels' Humvee with one soldier on each side as Richards and two others got in the other one.

"We are in for a long trip, possibly an hour so settle in." The guy to Zane's left announced. He settled into the backseat and decided to take a nap so he closed his eyes and started to take a nap.