The dilapidated barn was not much for shelter but it would have to do for Chase and Joseph, at least for the night anyway. With zombies and worse roaming all around nowhere on the ground was safe to sleep. It did not help the two men that someone or something had been trailing them the past several hours. The whole world had gone mad in a matter of weeks and ever since life became a day to day thing. There was no happy ever after waiting for anyone still alive on this planet. It was survival of the fittest and most of those died too. Chase and Joseph had only known each other for half a day and still they were like best friends, all each other had left in the world. Both men rapidly scurried up the makeshift ladder into the loft and then laboriously hauled the ladder up behind them.
On the eastern side of the barn a whistling tune broke the silence causing the men to freeze into dead stillness, listening. The tune sounded familiar, like something from some half-forgotten television show. Chase hand motioned to Joseph to peer through the spacing between the withered wooden walls of the barn to see if he could discern how many people were outside. Slowly Joseph crawled over closer to the wall while Chase kept an eye on the front door of the barn. When Joseph got into a position to where he could see what was outside he held up one finger in the air. What he saw was a single Coalition Force soldier heavy laden with supplies, strutting along and whistling like he had not a care in the world. Joseph looked over to where Chase was lying down in a prone position with his shotgun aimed at the broken front door to the barn and started to whisper something to him when a shot rang out, splintering the wood right next to his head. He instantly flopped down flat in the moldy hay and put his hands over his head.
“You two boys up there!” A rough voice called out from the yard.
Chase and Joseph said nothing they just stayed put and did not even breathe.
Then the stranger called out again “sorry about shootin’ your way, but how was I to know if you had a gun pointed at my head. I am coming up to the front of the barn with my weapons slung and my arms up in the air. Ok?”
Chase and Joseph both looked at each other and still remained silent. Chase saw the long skinny shadow of a man in the dimness of the moonlight. The closer the man drew to the door the shorter his shadow became.
“My arms are up! Don’t get nervous and shoot me boys! I’m comin’ in.” The stranger shouted out as he made himself visible in the doorway. He was true to his word, his arms were up and his weapons were holstered.
“Hold it right there Mister!” Chase shakily uttered as he jumped up from his prone position shot gun held at the ready poised to shoot.
The hardened military man did not even flinch. “You think I ain’t had a gun pointed at me before boy?”
“What do you want from us?” Joseph asked, feeling bolder now that he and Chase seemed to have the upper hand as he crawled forward to get a better look at the intruder.
The outsider laughed a deep hearty laugh and then followed it up with “well I don’t want nothing from ya’ll, the real question is what do ya’ll want from me?”
Before either Chase or Joseph could reply, a creature lurched from the darkness at the intruder and with lightning fast reflexes the stranger produced a wicked looking saw type weapon and severed the head from the beast before it could maul him. To the amusement of the two men in the loft, the military man re-sheathed his weapon just as quickly as he had produced it to slay the wolf that had attacked him. “Well or you two boys going to invite me to supper or what?” The man said as he kicked the corpse at his feet. “Don’t look tainted to me. All we need now is a fire. By the way names’ Djverios. Patrick Djverios, but my friends just call me DJ. Well they used to anyway, back when I had friends.”
Chase and Joseph quickly lowered the ladder and scurried down to the dirt floor of the barn to meet the man that had most likely just saved their lives. Both men introduced themselves to the stranger now known as Patrick Djverios. Up close the military man looked smaller, less intense than he had before when Chase and Joseph looked down on him from above. Still they both had just witnessed how vicious the man could be in the heat of the moment and both men stepped back a few feet after shaking his hand.
“Are you Special Forces or something? Joseph asked as he stepped in to help Patrick hang the wolf carcass from a hook on the wall so it could be skinned.
“Naw. I ain’t Special Forces. Not even sure if such a thing even exists anymore. To tell you the truth, I ain’t nothin’ no more. Whole unit was wiped out a month ago just south of here. I am all that survived.” Patrick uttered as he skinned the animal with ease utilizing his wicked cutting instrument.
Neither Chase nor Joseph replied to Patrick’s statement, instead they just assisted him where they could in preparing the slain animal for the spit. In all they realized he was just like them, a survivor, he was just better at it. Much better.
On the eastern side of the barn a whistling tune broke the silence causing the men to freeze into dead stillness, listening. The tune sounded familiar, like something from some half-forgotten television show. Chase hand motioned to Joseph to peer through the spacing between the withered wooden walls of the barn to see if he could discern how many people were outside. Slowly Joseph crawled over closer to the wall while Chase kept an eye on the front door of the barn. When Joseph got into a position to where he could see what was outside he held up one finger in the air. What he saw was a single Coalition Force soldier heavy laden with supplies, strutting along and whistling like he had not a care in the world. Joseph looked over to where Chase was lying down in a prone position with his shotgun aimed at the broken front door to the barn and started to whisper something to him when a shot rang out, splintering the wood right next to his head. He instantly flopped down flat in the moldy hay and put his hands over his head.
“You two boys up there!” A rough voice called out from the yard.
Chase and Joseph said nothing they just stayed put and did not even breathe.
Then the stranger called out again “sorry about shootin’ your way, but how was I to know if you had a gun pointed at my head. I am coming up to the front of the barn with my weapons slung and my arms up in the air. Ok?”
Chase and Joseph both looked at each other and still remained silent. Chase saw the long skinny shadow of a man in the dimness of the moonlight. The closer the man drew to the door the shorter his shadow became.
“My arms are up! Don’t get nervous and shoot me boys! I’m comin’ in.” The stranger shouted out as he made himself visible in the doorway. He was true to his word, his arms were up and his weapons were holstered.
“Hold it right there Mister!” Chase shakily uttered as he jumped up from his prone position shot gun held at the ready poised to shoot.
The hardened military man did not even flinch. “You think I ain’t had a gun pointed at me before boy?”
“What do you want from us?” Joseph asked, feeling bolder now that he and Chase seemed to have the upper hand as he crawled forward to get a better look at the intruder.
The outsider laughed a deep hearty laugh and then followed it up with “well I don’t want nothing from ya’ll, the real question is what do ya’ll want from me?”
Before either Chase or Joseph could reply, a creature lurched from the darkness at the intruder and with lightning fast reflexes the stranger produced a wicked looking saw type weapon and severed the head from the beast before it could maul him. To the amusement of the two men in the loft, the military man re-sheathed his weapon just as quickly as he had produced it to slay the wolf that had attacked him. “Well or you two boys going to invite me to supper or what?” The man said as he kicked the corpse at his feet. “Don’t look tainted to me. All we need now is a fire. By the way names’ Djverios. Patrick Djverios, but my friends just call me DJ. Well they used to anyway, back when I had friends.”
Chase and Joseph quickly lowered the ladder and scurried down to the dirt floor of the barn to meet the man that had most likely just saved their lives. Both men introduced themselves to the stranger now known as Patrick Djverios. Up close the military man looked smaller, less intense than he had before when Chase and Joseph looked down on him from above. Still they both had just witnessed how vicious the man could be in the heat of the moment and both men stepped back a few feet after shaking his hand.
“Are you Special Forces or something? Joseph asked as he stepped in to help Patrick hang the wolf carcass from a hook on the wall so it could be skinned.
“Naw. I ain’t Special Forces. Not even sure if such a thing even exists anymore. To tell you the truth, I ain’t nothin’ no more. Whole unit was wiped out a month ago just south of here. I am all that survived.” Patrick uttered as he skinned the animal with ease utilizing his wicked cutting instrument.
Neither Chase nor Joseph replied to Patrick’s statement, instead they just assisted him where they could in preparing the slain animal for the spit. In all they realized he was just like them, a survivor, he was just better at it. Much better.