Chapter 1 - Black Flare

Greetings and  Welcome,

I would also like to say, that English is not my first language. No, this is not an excuse, merely a friendly bit of information.

Tenses, Grammar and a few extra things might not make a whole lot of sense, but I'm working on it and hope to better myself.

Lastly, thank you so much for stopping by and taking the time to read.

Sincerely,

Stars

***

Emergency Broadcast,

This is an Emergency Broadcast issued by the Government of Naqura.

An unidentified virus is rapidly spreading across Major Cities. First report of contact was reported in a grocery store in the City of Mayshire. Official of Naqura requests that the Citizens of Naqura remains indoors until all infected person/s have been quarantined.

A silhouette is reflected in the television screen, it remains motionless, the only sound that accompanies this lone caster is heavy breathing. A sound startles the silhouette, causing it to move away from the doorway and press firmly against the wall. The heavy breathing has silenced, but if you listened carefully, you would have heard the frantic pounding of someone's heart.

A few rays of sunshine reflect of a steel bat. It was covered in dried blood and dirt. Knuckle white hands grasp the handle in a battle-ready pose. Brown hair tied back into a tight bun frames a sever looking face. Pale green eyes stare unwavering at the door, breathing steady. Army issued vest and pants cover the figure from head to toe, only the black steel toed, heavy-duty boots, with purple lases looks out of place.

The woman is lean and muscled. No longer soft and kind, years of battle having taken its toll. Her grip on the bat decreases, as her ears tell her the truth. Having been in this situation before, she has learned to discern dead steps from live ones, and the ones she was hearing was that of the living.

She relinquishes her stance as the shadow of a man comes into focus. The shadow quickly disappears, as a man steps into view. He too was tall and lean and well-muscled, matching the woman's attire in every way. His piercing blue eyes are sharp and focused, his hair a ratted mess of brown and gold. His eyes travel over the woman's exposed skin, looking for any cuts, scratches or bite marks. He smiles when his search turns up nothing, but sun kissed skin.

"What's up Milo?"

He says in a heavy Scottish accent. Milo looks the man over as well, her eyes softening. She motions to the television, the message still flashing.

"I can remember when I first heard that broadcast. I was scared but didn't really think to much of it. Man, we even joked..." Milo says stopping mid-sentence as she recalls those memories.

"Yeah, you and me both. Shit sure went south fast after that." He says pulling her from her dark thoughts.

"Your sector clear Jed?" Milo queries. He rolls his eyes, but nods yes. Milo gives a curt nod.

"Mine too. We need to sweep and scavenge in one go today." Milo says a frown marring her face. 

"Something feels, off." She says. 

Jed looks at her a frown marring his face too. He's known Milo for a very long time, respects her as a fighter and leader, and it's because of this trust that he's come to learn that Milo rarely says anything if she doesn't mean it.

"What do you mean? You hear something?" Jed asks scanning the area with renewed vigor.

"I don't know. Bastien didn't say anything, but I could tell he was worried." She looks out the window. 

"It's too quiet." She finally answers. 

Milo bites her bottom lip, her hand clenching and un-clenching the bat handle. She was feeling restless, a tingle was vibrating through her body, but she couldn't pin point why. Jed looks over to her, his blue eyes taking in her ridged stance and twitchyness. These days those tell-tale tics weren't a good sign.

He scratches his head, flakes of dandruff falling from his nest of hair. Milo wriggles her nose at the smell. The smell was an occupational hazard now, the worse you smelled the better you were hidden from being sniffed out. Didn't make it any easier on her senses though. She was about to tell Jed to go and search for food, when both freeze. The sound of nails scrapping against the floor, making both jump. Milo is the first to relax as a black and white German Shepard rounds the corner.

The animal wags his tail. Milo smiles at the canine. The virus has affected more than just the humans, evident by the dog's size. A normal Shepard would probably just reach up to your hip, but this one when seated looked you in the eyes. She walks up to the beast and fondly scratches his head. It licks her hand and patiently waits for his command.

"Hey Buck, your sector clear?" Milo asks. The dog thumps his tail twice. Milo nods. 

"His sector is clear too." She says to Jed. He just shakes his head, still surprised that Milo had managed to teach it.

"I'll never get over how you trained him." Jed says looking Buck over. "I mean it's so big and bulky, yet, you managed to teach it how to be light on his feet. How to listen for Rotters, man, he even understands hand signs." Jed says in amazement.

A loud thump pulls them from the peaceful moment. Milo is up and against the wall, her bat up and ready. Jed moves up against the left side of the wall, his weapon up and ready. Buck has turned his body around, facing the way the sound had come. He looks over to Milo. She lifts two fingers in the air and points to the stairs. She motions for Buck to go up and finishes the command with a single finger to her lips. After that she holds her fist in the air closed, telling Buck to not engage in battle. Buck dips his head twice, telling Milo he understood the commands. Buck moves forward on silent paws, his body vibrating with tension.

Milo looks over to Jed, and motions for him to follow up behind her and to remain silent. Jed nods and moves into position behind Milo. As one the climb the stairs. At the top Milo drops to one knee and quickly looks around the corner. Nothing was waiting. She stands up and moves around the corner, Jed close, but not hampering her movements. A whine echoes down to them from the room at the end of the hall. Buck found something.

Milo looks over her shoulder, Jed nodding yes. They move down the hallway, fast, but silent. At the doorway, Milo drops down to a kneeling position, with Jed covering the top. Like a well-choreographed dance do they enter the room.

"Sweet mother of fuck." Milo whispers. Jed doesn't say anything, his eyes wide with fear and confusion.

Buck whines with his tail between his legs. It was a bedroom, like any other and judging from the posters rotting against the walls, it used to be a teens room. The shock and fear weren't from the posters, no, it had to do with the rest of the decorations. Blood, guts, limbs and an assortment of other bodily fluids littered the room in ordered chaos. Blood covered the walls in blotches, while intestines hung against the windows like macabre Christmas lights. Milo stands from her kneel and quickly turns to Jed.

"Jed, JED." Milo shouts. Jed looks down, his mouth opening and closing. Milo is covered in sweat, her eyes bright with fear.

"We need to get the fuck out of here. Do you still have the flare gun?" She asks. 

Jed doesn't answer his eyes returning to the scene. Milo grabs his chin and forces his eyes to meet hers. 

"Do you still have the flare gun?" She asks, her words slow and concise. Jed nods yes.

"Wh-what the hell is this Milo?" Jed finally asks. 

Milo looks at him, closes her eyes and answers him.

"We have a Hoarder." She answers. 

She watches as Jed's face pales at her words. 

"We need to get out and warn the others, okay." She says. 

Jed nods again and quickly turns and leaves. Milo motions for Buck to follow and together they move. They race down the stairs as quietly as possible.

They reach the front door, pull it open and step outside. Jed pulls the flare gun from his utility belt, loads a flare and fires it into the sky. Black smoke plumes in the air, the sound of the gun echoing into the silence.

"Take out your gun, shits about to get real nasty." Milo orders.

Both Jed and Milo fish out their ranged weapons. Milo and her flamethrower and Jed and his semi-automatic home improved nine mil. They nod to each other and leap from the porch steps.