I dropped the carving knife, five steak knives, pot, almost empty lighter, seven long strings, two rolls of dental floss, three soap bars, a toilet paper roll, a toothbrush still in its packaging, plastic bottle of clean water, radio with no batteries, mp3 player, a candle, a hammer, an almost empty lighter, scissors, pliers, screwdriver, X-Acto knife, sandpaper, and battery charger.
I set The Big Book of First Aid, Spetsnaz Knife Techniques, and FM 23-16 Army marksmanship manual on the couch.
I kept the cash card with $171.53, signet ring of gold and silver, long string, flashlight, steak knife, lighter about a tenth way full, crowbar, plastic bottles of clean water, a chocolate bar in its wrapper, and S&W 610. I secured the Marlin 1895 SBL in my backpack straps once more and wore the leather backpack.
I spotted the cheap wrist watch on my arm by chance and learned it wasn't working. With my inventory assessment done, I kicked back on the couch and opened up the chocolate bar. I ate it while resting my head on the books. I deserved some luxury, didn't I?
Finishing up, I tossed the wrapper at the useless stereo system. I drank half of the plastic bottle on the table. If I could, I'd sleep and laze about like usual. Unfortunately, that wasn't a sustainable livelihood. Unwillingly, I got up from my short rest and went to check on Anus.
I glanced out the window and saw the zombies lingering further down the road by a battered limousine. I unlocked the front door and slipped out of my new base. The concrete scraped on my flip flops, making some unwanted but minimal noise.
I entered the wooden house and found Randy fussing over Anus, like she hadn't been coughing up blood or fainting from her infection.
"Stay still! I need to apply the antiseptic!"
"You said that three times already."
"Stay still! I need to apply the antiseptic!"
I watched as she straight up poured a portion of the small bottle of antiseptic on his bite wound.
"Oh yeah… that's the stuff!"
Like magic, it washed away everything and revealed pristine skin, albeit with an open bite wound left. She bandaged it up and practically dropped dead on the couch.
On the ground, I spotted the contents of her first aid kit, but not the kit itself. There was a one inch by 20 feet medical tape roll, 10 aspirin pills, 50 ml of saline solution in a small plastic bottle, 5 bandages, two inch by six feet of medical gauze, and a First Aid Kit Instruction Booklet. Why the kit always disappeared when disassembling it to retrieve its contents, I never understood.
What mattered at the moment was what to do next. As if he read my mind, Anus eyed me up and licked his lips.
"I can keep you safe," he stated, oblivious to his injuries and the consequences of his previous actions. "You just have to follow me. We'll get her medicine."
I leveled my gaze with him.
"You already asked me to join you several times. Stop."
He wrinkled his nose and loaded his crossbow.
"It was worth another try. Did you have any suggestions?"
I opened my mouth but the words caught in my throat. It'd been a while since anyone asked for my advice. I hated how these simple words made this guy more favorable to me. After a short pause, my mouth moved on its own.
"You might find some medicine in the bathrooms of the houses around us. If not, you can try a doctor's office, or a hospital if you're desperate."
"Thanks. I'll keep that in mind."
He spaced out and his eyes rolled around, like he was looking for something. While he was busy, I looked Randy over. Her shallow breathing didn't give me any confidence. She'd probably be bedridden for a few days after taking antibiotics right now, though I began to doubt if it were even possible.
"Ok! I know there's a doctor's office a little south west of us. It's next to a cabin, library, and pool. If we hurry, it'll take less than an hour, I promise!"
"Go ahead," I scoffed. "I'll be clearing out the zombies here. Don't bring back a horde. I want to be safer, not dead."
Anus bobbed his head up and down.
"Don't worry!" he heartily announced. "I'm a bionic prepper. I was ready for the Cataclysm from the start!"
"Uh, you don't mean that, right? Shouldn't you make more weapons or traps at least? You don't even have a gun on you."
He gave me a wide smile. "No thank you! I don't need it! A machete and crossbow is all I need."
My face soured and I felt an oncoming headache. This crazy player wanted to challenge himself with a severe handicap. From how friendly he acted, I think he wanted to recruit me to circumvent his lacking firepower. What a self-interested bastard!
"Don't blame me when you're dying."
"Oh, no worries. I live for this!"
Anus walked out the front door and I followed him. Zombies always prioritized attacking the player, so why wouldn't I take advantage of him offering to be the meat shield?
We made it to the road when he looked over at me.
"Oh? I thought you didn't want to follow me? But aren't you following me now?"
"We can fight together without being on the same team. The zombies are the real threat."
"Sure," Anus teased. "Whatever you say."
He took aim at a zombie walking over from the road leading west. Three others also noticed us and came over. With a twang, the aluminum broadhead bolt slammed into the first zombie's chest.
Anus bent over and held his crossbow in place with his foot. The reloading process took some time, so I swept my simple knife spear at the zombie's feet. It slapped across its legs and caused it to stumble forward onto my spear.
I yanked a few times to retrieve the simple knife spear from underneath its body and then swung it hard against the zombie's head. It gave a hard and meaty thump, which intensified with every strike. As it still struggled to get up, I drove the spear into its head and snapped my weapon in half.
"God, why!"
The other zombies neared me, with four more drawn in by the fight. To buy time, I hefted the broken half of the pole and threw it at their legs. A decent thwack sounded, but only caused one to stumble.
I ran over to the windows of the wooden house and picked up another long pole. It was similarly sized to the other pole at a foot or two taller than me.
By the time I turned around, Anus loaded another aluminum broadhead bolt and fired into the closest zombie's gut. Almost overwhelmed, he dropped his crossbow and backed up. In a flash, he unsheathed his machete.
"I'll kill you!" he roared.
Throwing his weight behind his blow, he sunk the machete deep into the zombie he shot. Blood dribbled from the gash in its side, yet it relentlessly grabbed in hopes of fresh flesh.
Anus took a step back and pressed forward. The sharp metal slashed through the zombie and it collapsed.
"I'll take you all on! Your heads are mine!"
I couldn't believe how this battle junkie's warcries didn't attract these zombies before, let alone any more now, when we were out in the open.
"Goddamn it. Why does it have to be so difficult?"
I dashed over and barely missed smacking the zombie that Anus just cut into.
"Wha?"
I swung a few more times and experienced a light form of resistance. It didn't allow me to reach it from the safe distance I kept.
"I don't believe I have to get near a zombie to hit it!"
I took a step forward and hit the zombie's shoulder. Anus dodged its grab and cut up its belly. The zombie fell over, though five remained.
While four had yet to get to us, the bulky fifth moved faster. It caught the machete in its arm and hugged Anus.
"Ho ho! You can't stop me!"
Anus yanked the machete as it drew a line of blood along its arm. I thrusted my long pole and slammed it in the chest. In response, the zombie bit down and crunched half of the binoculars hanging around Anus's neck.
"You can't beat me!"
Anus pushed off of the tough zombie's chest and readied a fierce chop. Meanwhile, I thrust my long pole into the zombie's chest and caused some loose organs to slop onto the warm concrete.
After loosing an angered growl, the bulky zombie charged at Anus and clawed his right arm.
"AH! Take this!"
Giving it a good chop to the neck, the zombie slumped over.
At this point, I tried catching my breath. I felt a bit winded from the sudden action and wanted to have enough stamina to run away if needed. Survival in any encounter wasn't guaranteed.
I laid an eye on the zombie at the front. The crackling electricity from just under its skin gave an aura of danger. Its hair puffed up like dandelion seeds wanting to fly off into the sky.
"You don't want him to touch you," I told Anus.
"He'll have to catch me first!" he laughed back. "I'm getting the hang of this!"