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Series: Broken World
Prompt: Zombies
Synopsis: Isaac doesn't understand his new partner.
“I really hate this part of the job,” Mattie growled as she reloaded her rifle.
“Seven down. I thought you liked shooting things,” said Isaac. A leathery face turned the corner. Isaac fired his own rifle. Two shots. One went wide; the other went right between the eyes. Behind him, Mattie’s rifle snapped three times. Something wet smacked the ground and let out a bone-chilling moan. It ended when Mattie got in another shot. They quickly reloaded.
“Zombies,” she said, “are boring.”
“Only you, Matt.” Zombies were plenty interesting for Isaac. They wouldn’t stop trying to kill you until you or the zombie was dead. Anything less than shattering the magic source in their skulls wouldn’t drop them. They always seemed to come in hordes. That was enough to keep a sane man on his toes.
“We are sitting on our asses—“ she shot another one in the torso, swore, didn’t miss the second time, “waiting for them to attack us. I can think of better ways to spend my afternoon.”
Two more came in from Isaac’s side. He fired twice. This time he didn’t miss either. “Mattie, keep your head in the game. How many more do we have left?”
“Ten more by recon’s estimates. Maybe they’ll make us play hide-and-seek.” She sounded hopeful about that idea. Isaac shuddered. Recon’s info was usually good, but someone still had to check every nook and cranny just in case there was a monster that hadn’t come running towards the gunshots. At least whoever had raised the zombies was long gone by now.
“Why is it always zombies, anyhow?” Mattie asked. “They’re slow, weak, can’t follow orders, don’t last long. Not exactly the best guard dogs.”
“Maybe sorcerers watch too many old movies.”
There was a brief pause of blessed silence before Mattie responded, “What?”
“Before the Rifts there were a lot of stories about zombies,” Isaac explained. “My brother showed me one, years ago. Back then they thought zombies were a big deal.” A long, gurgling moan drifted down the hallway on Isaac’s side. He readied his rifle. “If you got bit, or scratched, or got any of its blood on you, you were infected. They could tear people limb from limb even after being dead for months.” The zombie came staggering around the corner. Isaac blew its brains out.
“Why would there be stories about zombies from Before?” Mattie asked.
“Hell if I know.”
“And how could they be in—“ she let off another couple of shots. The zombie went down with a nasty squish. “What do you mean, infected?”
Isaac took a moment to reload while he tried to remember the old movie. “They turn you into one. Like elves.”
Mattie made a noise of disgust. “But zombies aren’t--.”
Isaac interrupted her with a laugh. “Matt, can we save the rants about metaphysics for after work?"
She made a sharp grunt of assent. "You're buying the first round."
Prompt: Zombies
Synopsis: Isaac doesn't understand his new partner.
“I really hate this part of the job,” Mattie growled as she reloaded her rifle.
“Seven down. I thought you liked shooting things,” said Isaac. A leathery face turned the corner. Isaac fired his own rifle. Two shots. One went wide; the other went right between the eyes. Behind him, Mattie’s rifle snapped three times. Something wet smacked the ground and let out a bone-chilling moan. It ended when Mattie got in another shot. They quickly reloaded.
“Zombies,” she said, “are boring.”
“Only you, Matt.” Zombies were plenty interesting for Isaac. They wouldn’t stop trying to kill you until you or the zombie was dead. Anything less than shattering the magic source in their skulls wouldn’t drop them. They always seemed to come in hordes. That was enough to keep a sane man on his toes.
“We are sitting on our asses—“ she shot another one in the torso, swore, didn’t miss the second time, “waiting for them to attack us. I can think of better ways to spend my afternoon.”
Two more came in from Isaac’s side. He fired twice. This time he didn’t miss either. “Mattie, keep your head in the game. How many more do we have left?”
“Ten more by recon’s estimates. Maybe they’ll make us play hide-and-seek.” She sounded hopeful about that idea. Isaac shuddered. Recon’s info was usually good, but someone still had to check every nook and cranny just in case there was a monster that hadn’t come running towards the gunshots. At least whoever had raised the zombies was long gone by now.
“Why is it always zombies, anyhow?” Mattie asked. “They’re slow, weak, can’t follow orders, don’t last long. Not exactly the best guard dogs.”
“Maybe sorcerers watch too many old movies.”
There was a brief pause of blessed silence before Mattie responded, “What?”
“Before the Rifts there were a lot of stories about zombies,” Isaac explained. “My brother showed me one, years ago. Back then they thought zombies were a big deal.” A long, gurgling moan drifted down the hallway on Isaac’s side. He readied his rifle. “If you got bit, or scratched, or got any of its blood on you, you were infected. They could tear people limb from limb even after being dead for months.” The zombie came staggering around the corner. Isaac blew its brains out.
“Why would there be stories about zombies from Before?” Mattie asked.
“Hell if I know.”
“And how could they be in—“ she let off another couple of shots. The zombie went down with a nasty squish. “What do you mean, infected?”
Isaac took a moment to reload while he tried to remember the old movie. “They turn you into one. Like elves.”
Mattie made a noise of disgust. “But zombies aren’t--.”
Isaac interrupted her with a laugh. “Matt, can we save the rants about metaphysics for after work?"
She made a sharp grunt of assent. "You're buying the first round."
