//------------------------------// // Chapter 21: Confusion and Clarity // Story: A New World, a New Terror // by TroWolf15 //------------------------------// I was breathing heavily, just looking around me. Bodies all around, blood flowing through the streets like a flood. It was a sight for the ages, a sight that would scar anyone who saw this. I guess I’m just desensitized from violence and death, cause I saw nothing too gruesome about this. Off in the distance, I heard something, a noise… It was a car, heading straight towards me, coming from the direction the house was. It’s Beans’ car. The car stops at the intersection and the riders get out: Beans, Rainbow, Pancho and AJ. I couldn’t muster a word; I just let the scene do the talking for me. “Matt, what, what the hell is this?” Beans asked me, in total disbelief in what I’ve done. I didn’t respond. “Did you really do all this? Did you really kill all these zombies?” I simply nodded. “Sweet Celestia…” Rainbow said out loud, taken off guard at what was in front of her. “I hear ya sister, I can’t believe mah eyes” AJ said, looking at the dead bodies littering the street. I simply fell to the ground, up against my car. Music still blasting like crazy. “As much as I love this music, we gotta quiet this down buddy” Pancho said as he turned off my music, then turning to me, all eyes on me. “Sorry. I’m sorry to all of you. It’s just… Fluttershy, and that damn bastard, and these fucking zombies and and and..” I couldn’t handle it anymore. This whole world, this stress, losing my friends, those I care about. What if we don’t make it? What if we all die some horrible way in a week? Then what the fuck was all this for? Why the fu- SLAP AJ gave me a good slap, and I needed it too. It got me to shut up and concentrate for a bit. “Yah need to listen here, pardner.” AJ tried to calm me down a bit. “It’s ok. We’re all sad bout Fluttershy, but we can’t give up now! We have to keep surviving, for her. She’d want that.” “She would want that huh? For us all to be ok, to survive. To be happy….” I tapered off into thought. “Matt, listen,” I felt a hand on my shoulder, it was Beans. “I know this has to be hard. You want to protect us all from harm, especially the girls. No one tries harder than you do, and we all can see it. You don’t need to run from us, scared we will turn on you. If it wasn’t for you I think a lot more of us would be dead.” “I’M NOT SCARED!” I snapped back at Beans, he was wrong. “It isn’t that, I’m not scared. I’m angry. Pissed. I know I could’ve done something to save her. I wasn’t thinking quick enough, I didn’t react like I should’ve. And Fluttershy paid the consequences for that.” I started crying, finally. After all this, I finally let it all out. A waterfall of tears fell down my cheeks, falling off onto the pavement, mixing with the blood already there. “Matt, I saw how you were. You tried your best! There was nothing we could do.” RD said throwing in her two cents. “But Dash, I COULD HAVE done something. He was the type to shoot at us first if we made an advance, not her. I could have made an attempt at him, given myself to save her. It would have worked. He wasn’t disciplined like that.” I countered her comfort, choking on tears. “But then we would have lost you! Our leader! What about then? Then you’re putting us all in danger!” RD refuted. “Ha, you got guys like Beans and Pancho and Mig and Shadow helping you. You coulda made it without me.” I tried telling them. “Matt there’s no way in hell I can fill your shoes. I’m too much of a drunk” Pancho chuckled. “Yeah same here. The only reason we aren’t too bad is cause YOU keep us in check.” Beans backed up Pancho. “Plus Mig’s out of commission right now and Shadow is too in love with App- Er I mean Shadow is just too young to handle it now.” AJ gave Beans a look, to which he ignored completely. I couldn’t help but chuckle at that. “What’s so funny, huh pardner?” AJ interrogated me. “Ah it’s nothing, don’t worry about it.” I covered for Beans. “You guys just give me too much credit” I said with a half-smile, tears still running down my face. “No,” Rainbow jumped in, getting down to my level, “we don’t give you enough.” She followed that statement with a peck on the cheek, and rubbing my tears away. My face felt red hot with that little kiss. It caught me way the hell off guard, more off guard than if a hundred zombies came walking up. Shit, could I choose the zombies instead? I have no idea how to deal with this feeling, not since my late girlfriend. “Uh, thanks, Rainbow.” I said as I put my hand where she kissed me. A hard blush ran to my cheeks, and I could feel it. We just stared at each other, giving each other soft smiles at the same time. Something was there, I know it, there has to be. It’s been so long since this feeling but I recognize it, I know what this is: love. “Uh, Rainbow, mind givin’ the fella a lil’ room?” AJ tried to snap us two out of our little trance. “Oh, uh, yeah, hehe. I guess I can do that.” Rainbow blushed and scratched the back of her neck as she backed off a bit, still looking at me. “Thanks for the support guys, really.” I said as I slowly got back up. “I think we should head back. How is everyone else?” “A mess.” Beans quickly responds. “Hm. What of… her… body?” I ask, realizing as much as I’d rather hide from this topic, it needs to be dealt with just a bit more. “Still in the room.” Beans again responds, authoritatively. “Well we need bury her; give her a proper funeral and resting place. I assume the other guys’ bodies are still there?” I ask Beans. He simply nods. “Ok, for those guys we need to dig a ditch and burn them. Or…” We did need a way to scare others away, or at least alert those coming in there are people living here, and we aren’t to be trifled with. “Why don’t we hang a couple at the front gates of the street? There, we can scare those thinging of raiding the place away. Or at the very least make them think twice. Intimidation. And a decent lure for some zombies and clear the area out a little more. Every zombie kill counts, right?” I proposed to the small group in front of me. “Eh, I’m not so sure about that plan Matt. It may cause unwanted attention. Don’t you think people may want to test us seeing that? That we might have something worth protecting? Like food, water and guns?” Pancho says, playing devil’s advocate. “Good point. Why don’t we just bring this up to the group as a whole in an official meeting, sound fair?” I try to appease him, hoping we can do this. I like this idea, it could work well. “Yeah, sure; we can talk about it more then. Let’s just get back home ok?” he smiles at me, placing his hand on my shoulder. “Yeah, let’s go home.” I smile and pick up my gun and get in my car. Rainbow decides to join me and Pancho and AJ go with Beans. I turn my iPod and put on better music. (A/N: TAKES YOU OFF PAGE. BEWAAARREE!!) Rainbow and I just exchange smiles, and drive off. “AAAAAAAAAAAAHHH” Rainbow screams bloody murder as a zombie is trying to get her from the back seat in the car. “HOW IN THE BLOOD SOAKED PROTESTANT HELL DID YOU MANAGE TO GET IN!?” I grunt as I let go of the wheel and get my knife. I stab it before it gets a chance to get its hands on her. Thank God. “You ok Dash?” I ask, checking her really quick to make sure of no marks. “Yeah, yeah, I think so.” She pauses to get a grip of herself. “Thanks Matt.” She smiles at me, and gives me yet another peck on the cheek. Again, caught off guard. I put my hand up to my cheek again, and just smile at her. "Of course, Dash. Anytime" A big grin escapes me, and she giggles. "What?" I ask confused. "Oh nothing! You're just funny when you're blushing like that!" Rainbow continued to giggle. "Ah hush! It's just my natural look is all" I lied, "Nothin to do with you!" I try to defend myself. "Doesn't seem like it!" She continued to give me a hard time. I just shook my head, laughed, and drove towards the sunset.