Part 1.3: Armored

The attempts at conversation died down and we were left in our thoughts, walking through the forest quietly. Following Abraham.

We crept along through the woods to an opening, where there was a small cabin. From the sound of it, it was teeming with the Undead.

Abraham crouched low and was the first to reach the clearing in the woods. He motioned for us to follow. We did, and we grouped together right where the clearing started.

"Let's move," Abraham growled.

Graham and I did as we were ordered. As we got closer to the house, I could make out more of it's features.

The house was three small rooms big, and looked like it had an attic. There was an outhouse to the left of it, right next to where the woods started. A porch wrapped all the way around the house, railing attached. A break in the railing led to the doorway, which looked to be locked.

The sound of the Grunts filled the air, but there was something else as well. It sounded distinctly different from the gurgle of the Grunts. More like an angry sound. We crouched low and walked up the porch. The front door was barricaded shut by a chunk of wood.

"Anyone got a sledgehammer?" Abraham asked, clearly annoyed at the hold up.

I shook my head, and glanced at Graham. He looked at his hands, then back up to Abraham. Shook his head.

Abraham sighed, but clearly he'd experienced something like this before. "Looks like we're doin' this the hard way," he grunted.

He walked over to a window, picked up his rifle and smashed the butt of it through the glass. I watched as he cleared the entire pane, and stepped through the hole where the glass once was. I followed, with Graham close behind.

Immediately when I stepped foot in the empty cabin, I heard a bellow. My head jerked up and I saw something big running toward us. It reached Abraham and knocked him over.

Pulling out my blade, I ran around to the back of the thing and stabbed it. It bellowed again and turned around and smashed a gnarled arm into my face. I flung into a wall, bleeding. I lay there for a minute but looked up to see Graham stabbing the beast again. It screamed and swung at him but he ducked in time to dodge it. It swung with the other arm and connected with his cheekbone. Graham crumpled, dazed.

The thing towered over him and wound up to strike him again. Abraham was already to his feet, knife ready. He pulled it back for extra power and smashed it into the thing's back again. It fell forward with the momentum into Graham, who yelped in surprise but moved out of the way just in time for it to miss him.

I pulled out my bandages and patched myself up. "What the hell was that thing??" I asked. My adrenaline was still pumping so I didn't feel the extent of my injuries just yet.

"We call them Armored," Abraham replied calmly.

I took a look at it. It looked like there was a human somewhere underneath everything. But the only part I could really see was what looked to be growths protruding from the body. The growths were hard and surrounded every part of the body with the exception of a few open spots here and there. Which is where we stabbed.

After I finished bandaging myself up, I walked over to Abraham who seemed focused on something. He had his map out along with a pencil and was crossing out a large portion of the map. "I found a clue," he said matter-of-factly.