How angry can you get?

Nani glanced from her first guest to her slightly newer guest. He spoke words of warning, and she cocked her head to the side, not quite sure what he meant; Then a terrible noise could be heard: more infected. Their screams of agony and hunger could be heard quite clearly, and the young woman quickly ran and hopped through the hole in the wall, crouching and taking her gun out once more. This group was obviously much larger than the last, possibly even double the amount. "Shhh, come here, hide until we can get an idea of how many there are," she said quietly to her comrades.

The smell of pork n beans was heavy in the air, even as the food sat abandoned for the time being. Nani's stomach growled, almost as if to remind her the food was there. As if she needed reminding! She took in a deep breath and pushed aside her thoughts of hunger. If she made it out of this alive, she vowed to splurge a little, possibly by opening a can of pineapple. Numerous infected came hobbling in, making un-godly noises and out-numbering the previous group by... well, a lot. "Holy mother of fuck," Nani whispered. Panic began to set in. "What are we going to do?"
 
nani rushed in the buildinf... At that poont the zombies couldnt be seen .. I slowly strolled in behind her. I went next to her and lut my hand on her shoulder.. " you bad my back now its my turn to have yours.. " I was kind of feelingtired .. Ient to mg bag and pulled out 5 red items .. Shit I thought they must hafe fell out.. I giver her one .
. "watch" I pull the pin and toss it "get down " ..
Ithin 6seconds it explodes .. Not an big boom
explosion but a silent explosion where spikes
were projected outward at a 45degree angle most of tbe zombies were hit if not killed by a head shot .. knocked down by force of thhe blast .. iI didnt want to seem like a show off so iI faked like iI threw my arm and went to sit down
 
The improvised explosive device, or IED, is a nasty little aspect of modern conflict. This I can testify to, having spent two years of my life living in fear of them every time I hopped in a vehicle that was leaving base-camp. They're as many and varied as the people who put them to use, from converted artillery shells to these improvised technical marvels rigged up to mobile phones and all manner of other crazy shit. They're small, concealable, adaptable and extremely dangerous, both as a conventional explosive and as a form of psychological warfare.

But, like the fragmentation grenade, they're an anti-personnel device.

And this, friends, is where you start running into problems. Because we're not fighting people anymore. We're fighting things.

Cripple one of those gribbly motherfuckers and he'll just keep coming after you. His buddies won't stop to get him to safety, he has no government that will have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars nursing him back to health. An IED wounds, maims and terrifies. But that's not enough against foes like these: you can't just damage them.

You've got to destroy them.

So my new-found friend's cheeky little explosive goes off, and the mob he's just hucked the thing at goes down. He's already off to find himself a seat like the job's a good-un. That's some confidence right there, I note, as I slowly begin to back towards the door.
“Might be jumping the gun there a little bit, hoss,” I say quietly, slinging my rifle over my shoulder and drawing the Beretta from its hip-holster.

As if on cue they begin to rise, like something out of a goddamn horror movie. Spikes and shrapnel have perforated their bodies, inflicting vicious wounds, but there's a lot of body-mass between the floor and a person's head. Of the mob that has suddenly appeared, maybe thirteen are still walking.

And then I begin to hear the rest from outside.

zombehs_zpsa514eb93.jpg

Poking my head out the door and staring down into the valley below, I feel my stomach begin to tie itself in knots. Even small explosives make a sound, and to these things it's a fucking dinner-bell. The whole area is beginning to flood with them, hundreds upon hundreds of rotting heads with vacant eyes fixed upon this little mountain house. The setting sun silhouettes the ones on the horizon. Too many to count. Too many to fight. That leaves me with the option to escape or die, with or without these two survivors.

Spinning back around, I fix my eyes on the woman who was just a minute ago offering me food.
“Grab everything you need as fast as you can and get ready to run.” I snap my gaze over to the man sitting at the couch. “You as well, friend. If we're not gone within a minute, we're not leaving this place alive. Your call, but I'm getting the fuck outta here.”

If these fine folks of the apocalypse want to come with, they're welcome to.

But I'm sure as shit not dying for them. I have places I need to be.
 
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"Hey, man, thanks, thought we were gonna di-" Nani was cut off by a sound she'd only ever heard in re-occurring nightmares. Her eyes went wide and she could feel her heart beat in every inch of her body. The strange man's invitation to, as he called it, 'get the fuck out of here' was more tempting than the fate she knew she'd suffer if she stayed put and attempted to fight these things off. The moaning of hundreds of infected could be heard, and the closer it came, the more panic seeped into her bones. She bolted upright and grabbed her pack that was filled with everything she owned in the world, which wasn't a lot. "Come on, man," she whispered to DJ, trying not to make any noise.

A pained expression spread across her face as her gaze landed on the bowl she'd filled just a little while ago. Her stomach growled and she walked toward it, picking it up. After fishing around in her pack for a moment, she pulled out what appeared to be a very, very old piece of aluminum foil. It was obviously past it's expiration date, but in the world Nani lived in, you used things until they were no longer use-able. She covered the bowl with the piece of foil, which luckily fit pretty well despite a few holes in the top. "I'm coming with you," she said quietly to the man, walking over to the the hole in the wall at the other end of the building. It was downhill, for sure, but if they wanted to live they had no other choice.

"Hope you brought your climbing shoes," she muttered, jumping through the hole and beginning to make her way, a little too quickly for how dark it now was, down the hill.
 
"I guess we have to leave. " I slowly got up and dumped the contents of my small bags into my big bag and pulled a shot gun out of it . I head out following nani. looking back periodically to see if we were being fallowed.. " as soon as I fucking got comfortable I have to leave cause someone wanted to use a loud as sniper. " I speak out of frustration I don't really have any hard feelings it was just anger slipping.. . what would they think if I spazzed out. would they push me away say I cant travel with them.. I didn't speak any more I just held my gun and bag and moved silently down the hill
 
If there is one rule they drill into you above all others in sniper school, as they throw you through the muck and push you to the limits of human physicality and demand shooting just short of perfect to pass through, it's that you never take a shot from the same position twice.

I went ahead and broke that carnal rule, and here I am paying for it.

“Don't have any other shoes to forget,” I respond with a grin to the girl's quip as we move out of the door. Behind us, the guy with the predisposition towards knives and things that go boom produces a shotgun and grumbles about my shooting drawing the crowd here. My grin doesn't lessen as I turn to face him. “Says the guy slinging about explosives like it's the Fourth of fucking July. Seriously, man, what part of the army did you serve in? Colonel Kurtz's lost battalion?”

The horde draws closer as we exit stage left, a shambling, growling mass of arms and teeth honed in right upon us. Not an ideal situation, but at least we're only having to deal with the slow ones. Thank fuck nothing faster has turned its attention this way... though that could change very quickly if we don't get clear ASAP.

Discovering two survivors in the wilds has put something of a dent in my original plan. Inclined as I am to help them out, I've also got to look out for my own ass. I also have absolutely no idea what sort of people I have following me right now. They seem like decent enough folks, or at least as 'decent' as it's possible to be when one lives in the end times, but that's an opinion based on all of five minutes exposure. For all I know, these guys could be fucking whackjobs.

Or they could be bitten.

Fuck me, I really hope they're not bitten. I've had to shoot enough bite victims to last several lifetimes, and I don't need more desperate eyes staring back at me in my sleep.

Stick with them for now, then. See what they're like, how capable they are and how likely they are to try and murder me in my sleep for a can of beans. If they seem like solid citizens of Apocalyptia, I'll stick with them. If they rub me the wrong way, I can always vanish. It's getting towards night, now, and a sniper is extremely good at becoming unseen when he wishes to be.

Kinda goes with the job, really.

“Stick close and move fast,” I say to the pair behind me as I take off up towards the wall I was shooting from, “We can lose them in the dark. They might have numbers on their side, but good trackers they ain't.”
 
The dark street, nothing but a shit dirt road to drive through this mountainous country *pain in the ass these tires might not last* I thought. My friend and I had come to America on Holiday keen to live it up away from dreary old England then The Outbreak happened. At first I couldn't believe what was going on but after 5 years any sense of disbelief had long since faded, it was real...fucking real. Never had any experience in survival *other than Left 4 Dead* but this was nothing like that a world of constant danger without the glory or scoreboard *dead or not dead*, kinda of a permanent solution to my distain for the vast majority of people that have plagued my existence with their boring, inane lives. My first few months were the hardest, adjusting to the constant hiding and foraging like a common pack rat but then 'we' came across a group of survivors, a tough bunch of pricks form New Orleans there were six of them all decked and with a look that said 'Dont fuck with us!', a standard hold-up that left the bitter taste of my own blood stuck in my mouth for days and without any supplies, after that 'we' vowed nobody would get one up on 'us' again. It took a while but eventually we ran into our "friends" from New Orleans and this time things went differently like six body bags worth of differently.

*Back to the present though* nearly twenty miles on this dirt road had me pulling my second driving shift and still no sight of civilization, the truck had served 'us' well but it was soon gonna be time to trade it in for whatever the next poor soul that crossed our path was driving. Nothing but the dim glow of the one fading headlight lit the way *I cannot wait to see a proper road, this is ridiculous*....

Then something flickered in my vision, was I that tired or was that a horde and was that something ahead of them, quite a bit ahead far enough to hustle them and still make it out with my dashing good looks unscathed. "Hey, wake up" I said as I leaned back over my seat to the sleeping slacker in the back " get ready, shit is finally turning our way".

He murmured something inaudible still half asleep but as I sped up he got the message and jolted upright, shuffling around. I was upon them in a matter of seconds and now could see all three of them *kitted out, sweet* this was gonna be too easy.
"Wait" my partner said, I looked back.
"Shut up", I turned to the group who now looked on with hope in there eyes "Unload all your stuff into the back" I ordered as I raised my uzi up through the open window and smiled.
 
*As I let the grape juices trickle down my throat, I opened my eyes and followed the sun-kissed hand feeding me grapes, attached to a long slender arm belonging to what could only be described as my ideal woman. As the searing heat bore down against my skin I lent forward to kiss the...* "Hey, wake up" As the clutch of reality pulled me away from my dream like state I murmured in a hush tone before being abruptly awakened by the feeling of a rapid speed increase. Despite being bewildered and slightly delirious I clutched the hilt of my sheathed katana, the slight shimmer of metal glistening where the sheath and sword part ways and lay low in the back of the truck.
It didn't take me long to figure out the situation after hearing a phrase I had become all too familiar with whilst with "him" *he thinks to himself briefly about the concept of real* "Unload all your stuff into the back" A normal person would stop to check their morale compass and realise that in a world with a mere flicker burning the embers of hope on the premise that one would try to collect even a glimmer of the elusive feeling. *I reveal myself from the back of the truck in a crouched position."He really isn't someone you want to mess with and I really don't like using my blade on living flesh, lets make this snappy I have a craving for fruit."
 
We're up and past the wall I took cover behind, over the ridge and down onto a narrow dirt path. Behind us the growing din of the gathering horde marching to dinner-bell gunshots continues after us, a slow but incessant advance that won't stop until they eat their fill (ie. us) or lose track of us. And of these two options, the second seems far more appealing to me.

So onwards we push, down the road. This wasn't the route I took when approaching the mountain house, but that route is currently filled with more infected persons than I care to go toe-to-toe with, so this road will have to do. My new travelling acquaintances seem to be keeping pace fine. That's one tick in the box, at least. Still no confirmation on whether they're crazy or not, but hopefully all things will become clear in time.

Things are going pretty well, disregarding the encroaching horde of infected monstrosities hungering for our flesh.

And then I hear an engine approaching.

In the charming land of Post-Apocalyptia, the vast majority of people you encounter aren't exactly what one might call friendly. Quite the opposite, in fact. The vast majority of people are far more likely to rape, kill, maim and/or steal from you than they are to help you out or let you go on your merry way. If you have stuff they probably want it, be it the weapons you're carrying to the food you're saving and down to the very clothes on your back. Sometimes you might get lucky and run across the friendly ones. But generally speaking, it's better to err on the side of caution.

And I am a cautious motherfucker. It's how I'm still breathing.

Experience kicks in, and within seconds I'm off the road and vanished into the treeline surrounding it. Heavy grey overcoat a nice, neutral tone, helping to blend into the gloom of my surroundings. I keep my stance low, a roadie-run through trees to get to a suitable firing position. Nearby I spot one; heavy-set rock with space to set up bipod, enough trees in the way to provide extra camouflage and cover, but a decent enough view of the road for me to provide support for my new friends should they need it.

I'm snapping out the bipod and zeroing in the scope just as the car pulls up in front of the pair of them, headlights beaming down upon them.

It's a rust-bucket, some piece of shit sedan I'm amazed is still even in one piece, nevermind running. From my vantage I can make out two targets. First target is at the wheel, leaning out the window and demanding my two cohorts turn over their goods. The accent strikes me as odd; foreigners, British, by the sounds of it. Brandishing a firearm: Uzi, Israeli-made submachine. 9mm, originally designed as a support weapon for APC teams; the thing sprays like a motherfucker, no good for accurate shooting. Crouched at the back of the vehicle is the second figure. The good cop, apparently, clutching a sheathed sword by the looks of it.

Option A is to just walk away from this. I don't owe those two anything; hell, I've already helped them out more than enough today, and so far the only thanks I've received from one of them is complaints about my shooting.

Option B is to help them out again. Either put down our two highway robbers or drive them off. And call me a big softie, but I'm inclined to go with B. I'd like to think that someone would do the same for me if I were in a tight spot.

Peering through the scope, I send my first shot through the passenger seat window and into the driver's chair, close enough to where the guy with the UZI's sitting to make him nice and uncomfortable. I snap the bolt back to chamber the next round.
“That's your first and only warning, friends,” my voice filters out from the treeline and down towards the car, “cute as that little ghetto-blaster you're packing is, I'm willing to bet that I can kill both you and your buddy at the back quicker than you can even figure out where I am. So stay the fuck where you are.”

Zero in scope, target shooter first, then swing to fire upon target with sword. Range roughly fifty yards; no need to worry about drop or wind at this range. And the added bonus of not having to sight in for a headshot. “Get back in that little vehicle of yours and move on. You ain't got time to play bandit; in about three minutes this whole road is gonna be swarming with very hungry dead people.”

And who says I don't have a way with others? The sights are levelled right on the driver's chest, and my finger rests on the trigger guard.

How this plays out is really up to him and his friend.
 
(if you read my post it said the grenade thing was quiet... it was just spikes being propelled outwards .. not making noise.. think of a spring goin out in all directions... )
I ignored him .. and followed close .. infront of the far with an uzi pointed at me I look ..."you got to be kidding my.. After all iv been through in the last hour. I don't need some prick ass wholes fuckin with my sleep time.. so do as my friend says and drive away. " as I spoke those words I slid my hand to my pocket.. I could hit the guy in the face with a knife holding the uzi and shoot the other .. one.. but ill give them a second. I look to nani then back to the guys.
 
As they were finally on their way to whatever destination the strange man, now leader, had in mind, a car pulled up and stopped. The people inside were the farthest thing from friendly, and Nani found herself, and her friends, being threatened. After the day from hell that they'd all had, her patience snapped. "Okay, listen up, motherfuckers. There is a horde of infected up there who are most likely about to come heading down this hill towards us any second. Hundreds, even. I made myself some fucking pork and fucking beans over an hour ago and I still haven't gotten the chance to eat it. I'd really like to do that before I'm killed in one way or another, because I am hungry as balls," she said, glaring at the two men, no hint of fear in her face whatsoever. "So, either you can drive away and pretend like this unfortunate situation never occurred, or," She set her bowl on the ground and reached into her large pack and pulled out an assault rifle, "You can eat some ammo for your last meal. What's it gonna be?"

As the words spilled from her mouth, her temper slowly deflated and she found herself feeling much better. This was before she realized that her companions had all ready threatened the bandits. Three times the threat, these two men would have to be very dense to not heed their warnings. "Well? What the fuck is it going to be?" She asked once more, staring into the face of the man closest to her.
 
*My head sinks into my shoulders with a deep, long sigh. I take my hand away from the hilt and my katana slides back to full sheath* How many times have i felt this feeling as of late. A three way mix of embarrassment, exasperation and fear. I have told "him" countless times to approach anything in this world with extreme caution. *My temporal artery bulges as i clench my jaw and turn to the front of the truck* "You woke me up for this !?" Short lived as ever, my anger evaporated. If I have learnt one thing over the last 5 years its that the first thing to go wasn't the people, it was reason. despite that "he" is probably the reason I am still alive to date so I guess its up to me to sort this out because i love nothing more than trying to negotiate with two VERY angry people and a mysterious third person who it seems could not only find the needle in a haystack from 200 yards but split it in two with a bullet. "Do not say another word" *Turns back to the Bee's who's hive we just kicked* "I think what he meant to say was how do we get back to the main roads from here?" *laughing nervously and scratching the back of my head*
 
*What are the chances they would have a fucking sniper with them this did not figure into my plan* "Well played" I exclaim through gritted teeth. The two on the ground would go down easy enough no need to aim just squeeze and if they survive I can let the looming meat sacks finish them off, but this third guy vanished from view so quick I had no time to react and now it would seem he's got his eyes trained right where I would prefer it wasn't. *This car has enough juice to make a clean getaway leave them that with horde, maybe* "Well looks like your pretty well covered" I joke still searching for some sign of their friend, no luck.*. Meanwhile 'he' is trying to save my ass from the situation my over confidence has got 'us' into, time to decide, drive off to fight another day or use this to my advantage....easy choice.
"Listen your not getting out of here especially with your friend prone somewhere up that hill", I point up the hill to where the horde has started approaching about half way down the hill.
"So get in, we could use some company"

*I will get there supplies somehow even if I gotta play House first*
 
Nani perked a brow at the sudden invitation to get in their vehicle. She began to wonder how stupid these people thought she and her companions were. She cautiously glanced back at Mr. Sniper, making an attempt to silently communicate that she wasn't comfortable with this turn of events and most certainly didn't want to go anywhere with these people. In the years since the apocalypse, Nani had developed a dependable gut-feeling that only came on when she knew some degree of bullshit was occurring, and boy her stomach hurt. Maybe that was just the hunger, though, she stared longingly at the bowl on the ground. Snap the fuck out of it, all you think about is food. Get ahold of yourself, the young woman thought, snapping back to reality and waiting for her companion to respond to these two charming people.
 
"your up against two very well trained miliar ops.. both who have done solo missions coming out with only scratches on the leg. thanks for the invite to your car but we are fine we dont think too kindly to threats"if by any chance they do try itll be over just as fast as it started.. .. i step to nanii and slowly back up with my arm arund her the gun pointed at the vehicle Specifically the front tire .. once at the edge of the road i point "main road 10 minuets that way" i look up seeing the horde starting down the hill .. about 3 min out

if it wasnt for my dad forcing me to the army and then me ending up in the cia. i probably would have shot on sight and possibly kiled or been killed .. i couldnt feel emotional not now .. there were two very dangerous situations at the time first saftey of the group .. "we can move once they drive away and the sniper comes over " he whispers to nani
 
Of course I should have known that my efforts to bring the water from boiling point back to a simmer were in vain, how can you stop water from boiling without removing the fire? How can you remove the fire when it is a deviant with an Uzi and enough balls to win the Euro Millions. Having watched the equivalent of death threat table hockey with my life on the line, I put my hand flat down on the puck.
"I don't know about everyone else here but I am feeling very much alive right now, I for one would like to be able to say the same thing in three minutes. Correct me if I am wrong but each bullet you waste on us is one less you can use on a slightly larger threat than this battle of egos. Time is ticking and although it isn't pork and beans, my preference goes to soup and bread over the ever appealing offer of lead for dinner tonight."
*Turns towards the front of the truck once again*
"I think maybe we have outstayed our welcome, shall we ?"
 
I watch the pair with silent determination...it pays off I see the girl glance back and follow her gaze, *THERE YOU ARE*. Now with my added intel I relax a little adjusting my wing mirror to his location. I do my best to obscure his line of sight, my car still in first slowly pulls to a more desirable angle where he will have to move for a clean shot. " Don't worry you two we're not going anywhere, now listen", "You may not trust us but we aren't dumb enough to try something against obvious professionals" I purposefully aim these words to the gents dismissing the girl *a complete non threat*. I look back to my friend, he is hesitant to start a shoot up guess i'm out of luck here, well when all else fails you gotta show a little faith. I throw my Uzi onto the backseat and open the passenger side door "Seriously its now or never, you got a few miles ahead of you and your not gonna make it in one piece, especially looking as tired as you do".

*Every second we spend here is costing gas and i'm not about to leave here without anything to show for it*. I sit waiting for their reply one way or another, eyes focused on the two in front and the third just visible as a shapeless mass hidden behind a rock just up the hill, *any sudden movement could mean guns blazing but at least we all would go out with a bang*.
 
Every second we delay, that horde is getting closer. And more will be coming, from all directions.

This sort of shit is what they coined the term ‘rock and a hard place for’.

On one side, we have a vast crowd of shambling creatures that once upon a time were people, out to kill us and eat us (if we’re very, very lucky it’ll be in that order, anyway). Our proverbial ‘rock’. On the other, we have two would-be bandits in a car, offering us a ride out of here. Whilst they do indeed have the means to put several miles between us all and the horde, they’re still just as likely to kill us and dump our bodies on the side of the road as they are to help us. The proverbial ‘hard place’.

Cursing under my breath, I rise up from the rock and sling the rifle over my shoulder. My sidearm is immediately out and levelled at the car as I move over carefully to the edge of the treeline, making sure to keep a tree or two between myself and the car.
“Okay, so we’ve all established that we’re big and scary and that we have guns. If it’s all the same with you guys, though, I’d rather save my ammo for the infected.” My handgun slowly lowers to my side as I point with my free hand to the duo in the car. “You two, Super Bandit Bros? Tempting as your offer is, the fact that you just tried to fucking rob us doesn’t exactly suggest trustworthiness. So here’s the deal. You get our asses out of here, and I share some of my supplies with you. Nothing that I need, but stuff you’ll want.”

The first of the infected are beginning to make it onto the dirt path; I can hear their steps approaching from behind us all. “You want to be greedy and take all my shit? You’re gonna have to bleed for it. Your call, friends.”
 
Despite being a step down from a death threat, I cant help but feel anxious at the hostility remaining between us after that last comment. Just as my hope was fleeting, a beacon of light in the form of our mysterious third adversary spoke from the treeline. I cant believe it but he is actually someone who seems willing to reason. I cant let this chance get away and we are fighting against the clock, although I doubt they have considered me a threat thus far the gesture alone could save us precious time.
*He throws his katana onto the floor in front of the cute couple*
"Consider this a gesture of my good faith, you can give that back to me once we make it out alive."
*He looks apprehensively awaiting a response*
 
*Well now he has gone and done it, just as I take a step away from the situation to better our odds he goes and gives away the game, no choice now, that deal is as good as i'm gonna get. If anything it at least buys us some much needed trust, even if it is a tried and tested way to have them drop their guard*. I browse the expressions on their faces the little kid with the shotgun still seems cautious and why shouldn't he be, but now is not the time to start being picky, the horde grows ever closer now we are in serious risk if we don't get out of here. "You've got a deal Ace, but let's talk about logistics later, right now its in everyone's best interest to get the fuck out of here." I swing the car around shifting into second as my equivalent 'Luigi' drops the back of the truck and offers them a hand in...