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Survivors Chapter 1: A Strange Combination

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Survivors by kuranszo
"Oh, Science! Leave me here, if you must, just don't taunt me!" Marlton yelled from down in the bunker. He'd already been sitting there for about two days, and was not enjoying the tinned food, repeatedly complaining about how disgusting it was where he was sitting. Muffled voices came from outside the door, and Marlton could not help but hope maybe the owner of the voice would get him out. The voices faded away, and he continued moaning about bacteria and building his device.

Suddenly, a bang came from up top, and light flooded into the bunker.
"Hello? I heard yer from up here, ya okay? Listen, I know a path into the nearest town so ya can stock up with resources if ya need, and I could kinda use a helpin' hand," called a feminine voice.
Marlton immediately stood and, sure enough, a figure was standing at the top of the ladder holding the door open. Pocketing his device, he frantically climbed the small ladder and gulped at the fresh air, only to choke on dust and ash. Marlton surveyed his surroundings, and saw that the place had already been nuked. Looking down, he noticed three dismembered bodies, hardly recognisable, but he had to check anyways. Pulling out a glove from his pocket and putting it on, he shifted some of the ash, and sure enough, there were the three identification cards that belonged to the scientists who always bullied him and had locked him in that dreadful bunker.
"Hey, I'm sorry for ya loss, but if ya wish to come, ya better hurry. They probably already know we're here."
Realising how rude he was not to introduce himself and to thank the mysterious voice, he stood and turned around, and was amazed to find a beautiful woman, appearing to be in her twenties. She had long brown hair pulled up into a ponytail underneath a baseball cap. She would have almost looked fragile, if it wasn't for the way she was dressed. She was wearing a shirt that was buttoned low with the bottom tied up at her chest, ripped-up jeans covering what appeared to be military boots, and on her hands, leather gloves.
"Uh-H-Hi." Marlton shook his head in an attempt to get rid of his haziness, and cleared his throat. "Yes, hello. My name's Marlton, Marlton Johnson. Thank you so much for getting me out of there, I thought I'd never see the light of day aga-"
"Duck!" The woman grabbed Marlton's arm, pulled him beside her, pulled out a pistol and shot a dark figure. "Woah. Careful now, ya may have been safe from them zombies in yer bunker, but yer'll need a weapon to survive out here." She pulled out another pistol, identical to her own, and handed it to Marlton. "The name's Abigail, by the way. Abigail Briarton. My friends call me Misty, and I suppose ya can too." She smiled, and held out her hand. Marlton shook it, and got distracted by her face. He now noticed it was covered in freckles. Due to his being distracted, he also hadn't taken much notice to either the shooting or the gun.
A long, loud siren in the background pulled him back into reality. He quickly dropped his hand by his side. "We better start heading to town then, long exposure to the radiation here could kill."
Off Misty ran through the remains of Nuketown, Marlton following close behind. They stopped at a sign that appeared to have once been a map, and Misty stood studying the remains, trying to figure out where the exit was.
"Excuse me, uh, Misty, but you said the town, right? I live near there, and I work here. The exit is this way." Marlton pointed down the street. Misty nodded, and now with her in toe and him in front, they ran as far as they could towards the town.
They soon passed the signs warning of radiation when they ran out of breath and stopped to rest.
"I have never ran so far in my life," said Marlton, catching his breath.
"Ya don't look much like the runnin' type." They sat for a few minutes catching their breath. Eventually, Misty stood up and offered Marlton her hand. He gladly accepted, and she pulled him up. They began walking. "Say, back there, ya said 'work'. Don't you mean 'worked'?"
Marlton laughed. "No no, it's meant to look like that. As one of the engineers, I help construct various objects that are needed. And since I'm also a scientist, I study the effects of the nuclear radiation from the explosion on the environment and such. But I suppose something went wrong, and the bomb fell early. Maybe that does make me unemployed." Slowly his facial expression lowered at the thought of losing his job.
"Marlton, how long have ya been in that bunker?"
"Uh, I do not know exactly, but I'd say around 2 days. Why?"
Misty sighed. "'Cause ya missed the end of the world."
And on Misty went explaining what she knew, and what she heard, about what happened exactly two days ago as they continued walking towards the town.
***
"I don't think I can do it, Misty! H-How can I tell if it's one of them?!" exclaimed Marlton.
He could barely begin to understand the fact that his once nerdy fantasy of an apocalypse was now true.
"If they're moanin' and have bright blue eyes, then it's a zombie!" yelled Misty.
"But how should I tell the difference between their eyes and normal blue eyes?!"
"Because it looks all fake and creepy!"
"You mean ethereal?"
"Just kill it!"
Marlton hesitated. He raised the pistol, shut his eyes, and shot the entire magazine. When he opened his eyes, he saw that it was lying dead on the floor, it's eyes now a matte white, the light no longer glowing.
Misty came running over after killing her zombie and patted him on the back.
"See? Wasn't that hard, eh?" She smiled. Marlton was captivated by it.
He was brought back to reality at the sound of a distant horn. "Right. We're going to need better weapons than these M1911s. Although these are very good pistols, they won't last very long, and neither would we against a big horde."
Misty nodded in agreement. "Say, I think I saw a bus depot nearby. Come on." On they ran, and sure enough, there they found a bus depot. The front door was shut, so Misty climbed in through a window and unlocked the front door.
Marlton looked around for any kind of scrap he could scavenge and possibly use for something, while Misty looked around for any kind of weapons.
"Hey, check this out." Misty walked over to Marlton, who appeared to be building something, and offered him an M14, keeping the Olympia she also found for herself.
"Oh, thanks. I'm just about done... There." He stood back to admire his work.
"Uh, what is it?"
"It's a turbine. Should be able to supply us with portable power, providing the battery doesn't run out." Marlton took the M14 off Misty and picked up the turbine. A loud horn similar to the one they heard before rang through again, except louder and closer.
"What kind of monster makes that kinda sound?" asked Misty, cautiously staring at the door.
"I think that's a horn, more specifically a bus horn."
"Who could ride a bus in a time like this?"
"I have no idea. Could just be the automated system. Perhaps one of the technically elaborate driving droids survived?"
"The whatity-what-what?"
"You know, TEDDs? The robots who control the buses?"
They were interrupted by a massive horde of zombies breaking in through the windows behind them.
"Oh, crap. Run!" yelled Misty. As fast as they could, they ran out of the depot.
"Where could we go? There's nowhere else!" exclaimed Marlton.
"Just keep shootin' and hope for the best!"
They were about to get swarmed when a bus came around the corner. It stopped right behind them. The door opened, and a figure offered out his hand.
"Get in!" it yelled. Misty and Marlton jumped on, and the bus drove off. Marlton sat down on one of the seats and muttered something about claustrophobia, while Misty stayed standing, staring at not one, but two strangers.
"Hey, I've seen ya before." She pointed at the old man. He had dark skin, and was wearing old, tattered clothes. "Yer that homeless guy." She smiled and offered out her hand. "Name's Abigail Brairton, my friends call me Misty."
The homeless man just stared at her, as if to try to remember something he doesn't remember that he needed remembering.
"His name's Russman, at least that's all he says. My name's Sam. Samuel J. Stuhlinger. I used to be a reporter," said the man who offered out his hand.
Misty lowered her hand, and turned to look at Sam, who most certianly looked like he had been a reporter. He wore khaki shorts, a dark t-shirt with a vest over the top, and a camerabag around his waist. "Can't the old man speak for himself? And, God, have ya ever taken a bath? Ya reek." She sat down next to Marlton and held her nose in disgust.
"Well, you're not the most flattering person in the world, either, Misty. Hey, Nerd-guy, what's your name?" Sam studied Marlton. He was definitely a stereotypical nerd, with his glasses, tie, dress shoes, ironed trousers and white shirt. He even had a pocket protector.
"M-Marlton Johnson." Marlton pulled up his legs and huddled in a ball, in an attempt to prevent his claustrophobia from getting worse.
"Well, then, Darlington," Russman said, walking up to the front of the bus.
"Um, I said Marlton, I believe perhaps your old age has affected your hearing."
"Russman knows. I just doesn't like how you think you're so smart. Now stop interrupting. Stu and I were heading through into the town, and noticed you out there. Thought you'd need the help."
"Funnily enough we were heading that way too," Misty put in. "Also, there are rumours that it's best to travel in groups of four, no more, no less. Ya never know, perhaps this was fate or somethin'."
"I don't understand," said Marlton, looking up. "Surely there should be zombies following us. We're making enough sound."
"What tower? I see no tower," cut in Sam.
"I never mentioned a tower."
"Don't mind him, he sometimes picks up weird things from what I'm saying. Or it could just be because you are using words that no one understands," replied Russman.
"Proving my mental superiority."
"Not at all, just proving that you think you're so much better then us, but you aren't. I bet you never even kissed a girl."
"Kissing is incredibly unhygienic, do you know how many germs are inside your mouth? And the fact that you then not only transfer them into their mouth, but also gain some of their germs? Imagine how many diseases you could get! So why should I have kissed a girl?"
"Guys, stop arguing. We just need to get this bus to the town, and hope that no zombies find us. And Marlton did have a point."
And as if by coincidence, a loud moaning sound came from behind the bus. They all walked to the back window, and sure enough, there were several zombies, slowly growing in number, chasing after the bus.
"Well. Way to jinx us, Darlington," muttered Russman.
"There are some B23Rs here if you need a weapon," informed Stu.
"Well then, we better get started."
They each raised their weapons, and began firing at the incoming horde, awaiting the bus to reach the next stop.
A little fanfic series I'm writing.
I think its going well. :3
C2: kuranszo.deviantart.com/art/Su…
© 2013 - 2024 kuranszo
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IAemTehShun's avatar
Marlton is by far the best character with fighting.