Hahaha! Yes! It was a long range skill!

Triggered.

Ammunition does more damage and shoots further. When my ammo runs out, or my gun jams, I see a massive boost to my physical abilities. I guess it’s like a self-preservation buff to get rid of nearby enemies quickly and get far enough away to start shooting again.

Hehe, not too shabby. I do a couple rounds around the perimeter of the area, just to make sure there are no enemies, sweeping with my radar, and set the Amigos on patrol. Now that there are a multitude of people who can power the bikes, the zombies can be used for protection.

Nothing to see here. I go back to my house to see the children mostly gone, save for Lucy. She fell asleep on my chair with Scratch in her lap. I grab a small throw blanket from one of my closets and lay it over her. I also grabbed a pillow and put it beside her. I turn off the TV and make sure everything is clean before going into the garage and pedaling a little to help me think.

I now have to deal with an entire community of survivors. I am a zombie and deal with zombies. But I also have power and electricity. This means a lot to the modern people of today. If any normal person can tell that showing up on TV allows for a transformation, then they know that killing me or troubling me will probably get them on the broadcast.

Looks like I need to hunt some more.

I grab Spot’s rifle after explaining to him what I’m going to do. He said for me to bring a couple regular people so maybe one of them appears on the broadcast. Not going to lie, we need more Heroes. The Variants, which includes me, can be a little weird.

Two teenagers come with me. Maybe they’re teens, maybe they just have baby faces. One carries a shotgun while the other carries a machete. They look real proud, don’t they? Shotgun user just stands there, trying to intimidate me. He must be nervous.

The machete guy, however, wasn’t really much of a talker. He wore a sheath around his waist so he would be mostly hands free if he needed to be. He had a combat knife strapped to his ankle, but it just somehow didn’t look right. Maybe because both weapons look like they were meant to be grabbed by his left hand.

Wouldn’t be easy to grab both weapons at once. With the machete hanging on his right side and the knife on the left side of his left leg, it just seemed off.

But maybe I’m wrong.

We set off after the locations I saw on the broadcast the other day. We searched around, but didn’t find any trace of the zombies, even after traveling a good 20 minutes to get here. I checked the saved footage and noticed that the normal broadcast from earlier was actually saved into the monitor. I was too busy packing my stuff to pay attention.

There was a group of hunters that killed one of the bounties while a sneaky bastard came in and stole the other. They didn’t look like they would die, so maybe there would be nothing to worry about if I turn them.

We found the traces of the group and noticed they were actually headed to my home.

The community.

We rushed back, following the tracks, just to see a campsite not five minutes away from the battle ground. We hopped out of the van we hijacked and snuck closer.

It seems the group captured the sneak since the someone was tied to a pole in the center. They weren’t beating the person up, nor were they ridiculing them. Maybe it was a falling out? A Kill Steal meant for the leader?

I checked the radar and noticed we were still out of range. Good. I don’t want to actually fight these guys if we can help it. If we find hostility, then maybe. If not, maybe they can help us out a little.

I tell the other guys to hide as we back up to the van…which had someone at it already.

The sneak? Then who was that back there? Wait…was the sneak the actual leader? Or maybe a coup happened? Or maybe…this was a trap!

“Ha…You already figured it out, ugly. We figured you might come check out the competition. Why don’t you do us all a favor and die for me?”

Nope.

Ptoo!

“Shit! My eyes!”

Shit, he blocked with his sleeve.

PKOW!

Looks like my shotgun buddy got a little trigger happy. Bye bye, baby.

Unfortunately, the sound was loud and alerted the other members of an attack. We decided to ditch the van because who knows what might have happened to it? I look over at the sneak and saw that he was still alive. Time for some questions.

“Were you planning on attacking me...us in the first place?”

Ew, he puked blood. Isn’t it darker than normal?

“Yeah…we need power…to…live…”

Aaaaand he’s gone. He went the way of the dodo.

Yells and shouts could be heard from behind us as I dropped my two flunkies into some bushes to hide.

I notice some people get in range so I ready my weapon. In case they come right for us, I also tell the two what direction the person is coming from. That way, they can get some of these people with monitors.

How else would they know where we’re at without the radar?

Anyways, eventually, the other guy showed his face. He yelled out we were nearby before a blade sliced at his neck. Nice, knife guy.

After that, I picked up a few, and by that I mean 10, new henchmen. None of them were Heroes, but they all had killed twenty zombies each which meant they had a bounty.

I don’t know what will show up tonight, but by the time we returned, it was beginning to get bright outside. We dropped off the loot and supplies we obtained and I gave Spot his gun back. It was easy, since I didn’t even have to use it.

I guess I will take a shower. I am covered in blood and dying flesh, after all. Hmm? Why is the door closed? The light is on? Lucy is still asleep, so maybe I left the light on. I open the door and before my undead virgin eyes is a sexy MILF drying herself off with a towel. What do I do, what do I say?

“Lovely weather we’re having, huh? I guess I better just, you know, leave…”

Aaaand it’s closed. Good, no screams, no throwing things. I must say, my first time seeing a naked lady irl and I didn’t even have to pay for it. How lucky. Hehe, thanks Lucy.

BAM!

Ouch? Ooh…everything is fading to black…so this is how I die…

.

.

.

“My apologies, I didn’t mean to intrude into my own bathroom.”

I’m being interrogated. I am literally tied to a chair as I am barraged with questions from angry mothers.

“Would it help to say you are pretty?”

Slap!

No? Okay, then. Strike one. And please find some other way to hit me besides a bread board.

“Would it help to say that if I were currently alive I would make advances on you?”

Slap!

“That’s not stopping you now, is it?”

Strike two. She’s right.

“I guess that means it’s okay to make some moves on you, hehe.”

“Not if you want your decaying maggot ridden rotten sausage to mysteriously fall off.”

Whoa! Low blow! I think I need a free walk! Let me on first base!

“Help! She’s crazy! Please! Anybody! I just wanted a shower! I still stink of blood…”

“What? That’s what you wanted?”

“Uhh yeah. How was I supposed to know you were using my shower?”

“Well, umm…I figured you wouldn’t need it since…you were a zombie…”

She is adorable when she’s shy. Hehehe, time for another swing.

“You can use my house. Although, we may have to just tear down the bathroom door so we can tell if someone’s in there or not.”

Where did the frying pan come from?

Whatever, strike three, I’m out like a light.