User blog:Joeaikman/Wiki: Apocalypse - Chapter 7 - Cattle to Slaughter

It is an early morning and the group are already on the road. Jose is at their head, followed by Mendes and Rob, then Brandon, Kung, Han, and Leege, with Stan making up the rear. They are on horseback. The animals have been lent to them by Dirk, with the promise that they are all to be returned by Stan the next time he goes scavenging.

Kung: How much further?

Jose: Not far. Should be there ‘fore nightfall. What you reckon, Stan?

Stan: I agree. Couple more hours and we will be there. We should bring some stuff back, though.

Rob: You have stuff. You have six new members for your community. Won’t that make them happy enough?

Stan: Six more mouths to feed is how they’ll see it. We need to get some food. That was why me and Barry were out here in the first place.

Brandon: Don’t you have another supply runner?

Stan: Two. There’s Joel, he’s a good fella, and Sly, but he ain’t been out in months, and nobody allowed out by themselves. We should get something at least. There’s a gas station not too far from here. I’ve hit it before, but we left stuff there last time. We should go.

Han: Leege ain’t able to ride out of our way. If you want to go there then we should split up.

Stan: Fine. We will. I’ll take Mendes, Rob and Brandon to see what we can get.

Kung: If Bran is going then so am I.

Stan laughs at that, and reins in his horse, bringing into a trot into a different direction to the rest of the caravan.

Stan: Afraid not boyo. You’re a fighter, and we need you here more’n there. Leege needs protecting. Stay here and keep him safe. I’ll look after your brother.

Stan then leads Mendes, Brandon and Rob out into the open. Jose doesn’t even look as they go, but Han waves them off, and Leege watches as their horses disappear from view. Kung glares after them as they disappear.

Han: let’s hope they all get back safe and sound.

Leege: Stan is strong. He’ll keep them safe.

-

Brandon is packing his rucksack full of some cans of beans and soups. He then stops, and shoves two bottles of water in on top. He then hears a voice shout out in surprise.

Rob: Fuck! Someone!

He runs round the corner and finds Rob laid on the floor, fending off a zombie knelt over him. His gun had fallen out of his reach. Brandon tried to aim at the zombie, but couldn’t bring himself to shoot. Suddenly the zombie went lax, and the camera pans up to reveal that it was Stan that shot it. Stan stares at Brandon suspiciously, before putting his gun in the holster and offering Rob a hand.

Rob: Thanks, man. I could have-

Stan: It ain’t nothing. Just be safer next time. I may not be here to help you.

Rob nods, and the three stand awkwardly for a few seconds.

Stan: Rob… Could you go help Mendes siphon off some gas from the cars out front and get that on the horses?

Rob: Sure.

Rob scurried off, happy to be out of what was a tense environment, and Stan moved closer to Brandon.

Stan: Why didn’t you shoot it? You could have shot it, but you didn’t. Why not?

Brandon: I- I ain’t never done it before. I was scared-

Stan: Rob could have died. Seemed like a good time to get your first. I promised your brother that I would look out for you, but I can’t do that if you don’t look out for us. We're a group, boy. Remember that. We work to look after each other.

Stan walks off after that, leaving Brandon staring down at the body of the zombie that he had been too weak to shoot himself.

-

Kung, Leege and Han are riding in a line together, with Jose riding in front of them. Jose is silent, and hasn’t spoken in hours. Kung and Han are both eyeing him up suspiciously. They clearly don’t trust him. Kung then spurs on his horse and pulls level with their guide.

Kung: Hey.

Jose looks at him for a few seconds, before returning to look forwards. His response is delayed a few seconds longer.

Jose: Hey.

Kung: Why are you so quiet?

Jose: Don’t have nothing to talk about.

Kung: You could tell us more about that farm. My dad and my ma owned a farm like that before all this went down.

Jose doesn’t respond to this. Instead he just stares ahead, into the distance.

Kung: You could answer me.

Jose: You never asked me a question.

Kung: I don’t like your motherfucking attitude. I should-

Jose: What you gonna do, little man?

The two of them stare off for a few seconds. It is an intense contest, with both refusing to back down.

Han: Erm, guys… Guys! GUYS!

The two of them turn to Han, who is pointing out into the distance, where a herd of zombies is ambling aimlessly in no particular direction. They are blocking the path.

Jose: We should ride round.

Han: Is that safe.

Jose: Not one bit. Stay with me.

-

Mendes is already outside when Rob steps out of the gas station. He is siphoning off fuel into a carton, as Stan had instructed him to do. Rob avoided him, as Mendes’ silent nature scared him a bit. That, and the fact that Mendes had been one of Justin’s fiercest fighters.

Mendes: Storm coming. Mendes see.

Rob looked up at the sky, but it was blue, and there were hardly any clouds to be seen.

Rob: Looks like it’s gonna stay dry to me.

Mende: No. Look east. Storm.

Rob looked east, the way Mendes was pointing, and saw clouds of dust and dirt being thrown into the air.

Rob: What- What is that?

Mendes: The dead in frenzy. They run to us. They eat us. We go.

Mendes mounts his horse quickly, leaving the fuel behind, driving his horse off into the distance, away from the oncoming dead.

Rob: Stan! Stan!

Stan and Brandon rush out, and quickly see the same thing that Mendes saw. Stan spits on the ground and growls.

Stan: Fuck. We gotta go. Rob, you have to ride back the way we came and find the others. Warn them about what's comin’. Go now and get past that wall of the dead. Me and Brandon will draw them away from The Drawer.

Rob nods, and mounts his horse quickly, before riding off, in a different direction to Mendes. Brandon went to his horse straight away, and turned to find Stan already up on his.

Brandon: Are we really doing this?

Stan: We have no choice. We have to.

-

Jose: Ride faster! Ride!

Jose and Kung are riding as fast as they could, with Leege and Han behind them. Leege is clearly struggling, and Han is trying to support him along.

Kung: We’ve gotta go quicker!

Han: We can’t just leave him! Leege, come on! We can make this! We can do!

Jose: Hang left! Hang left!

A group of zombies come at the four of them from the right hand side. Jose and Kung easily make the dodge, but Leege has trouble turning his horse. Han tries to lean across and help him, but it causes his own horse to stumble and fall. Leege’s horse carries on going, and escapes the horde as they converge on Han, ripping him to shreds.

Han: No! No! Leege! Ahhhh! NOOOOO!

-

Brandon and Stan have abandoned their horses and are running along a ridge to a nearby forest. Stan is quicker, and Brandon is starting to fall behind. Stan shakes his head, and drops back to help him. The two then make it to the treeline.

Stan: We have to go up! We have to climb!

Brandon: What?

Stan: They can’t climb! We’ll be safe in the trees! Go!

Brandon: I- I don’t know if I can. I can’t climb. I can’t!

Stan: What?! We don’t have time for this, dude! We have to either climb or run! There is no other choice!

Brandon: Then we run!

Brandon starts to run, and Stan reluctantly starts to follow him. He soon catches up, and then slows down to keep at the same pace.

Brandon: I’m sorry, Stan! I can’t climb! That’s- That’s what I used to do with my dad- Before- Before he-

Stan: I’d love to care about this tragic life story, Brandon! We’ve got zombies on our backs, though, and I’d rather not die today! We have to climb! That’s the only way!

Brandon stops running, and nods. He’s out of breath, and there is sweat on his brow. He offers to give Stan a leg-up. Stan shakes his head.

Stan: You go first. I promised your brother that I’d keep you safe and alive. I don’t intend to break that promise. Get climbing! Go!

Brandon nods, and shuffles up the tree. When he gets high enough round, he turns and offers a hand to Stan, but then a zombie flies out of the undergrowth and tackles him. Brandon stares at the scene, and how Stan is trying to hold the zombie off, lying on the floor. The zombie has red hair, and Brandon suddenly realises that it is Zander, reanimated.

Stan: Shoot it! Get your gun out and shoot it! Shoot it, you motherfucker!

Brandon draws his gun, and points it at Zander’s head. His hands shake as he prepares to shoot. He starts to sob.

Stan: Shoot it! Just do it!

Brandon starts to shake his head, and then moves the gun slightly, closing his eyes as he pulls the trigger. The camera goes black as a bang is heard.

-

Kung is riding off by himself. The forest where Bran is can be seen in the distance. To the right is the horde of zombies. There is a load more of them around where Han was taken down, and his faint screams can still be heard. Kung urges his horse on, and then a group of zombies charge at him.

Kung: Shit!

Then a brown blur goes by, and one of the zombies loses it’s head. The blur flashes by again, and Kung can make out Mendes as he slashes his kitana through the neck of another.

Mendes: We go! We go fast!

Kung nods, and the two of them urge their horses towards the forest. Mendes slashes down zombies whenever they come close, whilst Kung shoots his pistol whenever he needs to. They make it to the forest, and Kung jumps down from his horse.

Kung: We have to find Brandon! Come on!

Mendes jumps down next, and the two of them run into the forest.

-

Jose and Leege are sharing a horse now. Leege keeps almost falling off, but Jose supports him and keeps him going. Rob gallops alongside them.

Rob: Where are they? Where are Han and Kung? Did they-

Jose: Han’s gone. That Kung bastsard just split off from us and rode off, shouting out about his brother. There ain’t nothing I could’ve done to save him. Riding after him would’ve been suicide.

Rob: Do you know where you’re going?!

Jose: Sort of! Stan was the guide, though! I don’t know where he is! I thought he was with you!

Jose pulls out his pistol and shoots a lone zombie through the skull.

Rob: He left with Brandon! They rode off as a distraction! What should we do?!

Jose: If he rode off any way but the way we’re going then he’s as good as dead! We have to concentrate on getting this invalid to the Drawer as soon as possible!

-

Brandon is still sat in the tree, looking down at Zander, who has devoured most of Stan. The flesh on Stan’s face is still there, though. Brandon is shivering, and his face is stained with tears. The gun he used to kill Stan has dropped to the floor.

Kung: Bran! Bran! Stan! Brandon where are you?!?

Brandon looks up when he hears Kung’s voice, and then Kung and Mendes burst into the clearing. Kung sees Stan’s corpse, and takes a step back, before seeing Bran in the tree. Mendes steps forward and drives his kitana through Zander’s head.

Mendes: He dead. Bullet through head. You do this?

Mendes looks up at Brandon. There was no accusatory look on his face, just a look of some interest, as if it didn’t really matter to him. Brandon nods his head tearfully, before Kung helps him down.

Brandon: The zombie- The zombie just came out of nowhere. He had him pegged down, and- And- And Stan kept telling me to shoot it. I know I did wrong. Stan- Stan’s dead because of me. I- I killed him.