Their Rebellion

My gun, now the .22 from this mornings walk, lie perfectly still in my lap, glistening under the rare light of the sun from under the trees. A new town had snagged our eyes, forcing us to apprehensively make our way over. It was quiet, but being quiet was one of the first rules in order to survive anymore. The new town held all the ornaments that the last one did; abandoned cars, tents and homes.

Decaying bodies, each with their own head wound, lined the side walks and side streets, waiting to be picked back up and buried. There was a clog of cold fear that jammed into my chest, where every breath I took or let go felt as though it were my last. From the long, heart wrenching scan we had made so far, not a single infected caught our eyes. This place was like a ghost town with a mysterious story behind it.

As we walked in between the sand coloured tents, we came across a tank sitting lopsided on our right hand side. All at once we each cupped a hand over our mouth and nose, groaning quietly about the stench that filled our nostrils. It was only a matter of time before the smell hit us, but every time always seemed like a first to me. Even the thick, crusted blood staining the windows, walls and streets never grew old.

I could hear the continuous squish of wet mud beneath the horses hooves, which instantly threw a blanket of nausea over me. It was not water that gripped their feet, but the streams of blood that once belonged to innocent people. Abby's eyes unwillingly searched the new place, as did ours, in search of anythinng that could help us move along. Supplies would be running short and we would rather have too much than be low.

I heard a quick gasp and turned, finding Abby's head turned roughly to our left hand side. I followed her, slowly, trying to find what she thought was a new eyesore. I tugged lightly on Murphy's shirt and said, "We should hurry."

"Aye."He tugged loosely on the reigns, pulling Thatcher away from the scene.

Three large pick up trucks lined the road to our left, bodies piled dangerously high on top. There was no room left in the beds belonging to the vehicles, as limbs dangled out or sat low to the ground, waiting patiently for the person never to come and reunite them with its once permanent owner.

"Be quick. In and out."maire's eyes narrowed, as she didn't know what to think of the situation either.

I never asked her what she had seen. If Maire had ever gone to war and come back with haunting stories in the back of her mind. This could be similar to what she's seen before, or something completely new and unreal. The horses came to a slow halt and I looked to Murphy, wondering why we had stopped in the middle of town.

"Ya comfortable ridin' without me?"Murphy set the reigns down, lifted his leg over Thatcher's head and looked over at me.

"Why?"I felt my heart begin to pick up.

"Maire and I are searchin' fer supplies."He said softly.

"Murph, you can't just go with this woman and think -"I began.

"S'alright, Adrienne."He cupped my chin in his hands and smiled warmly."I'll be alright. Yer followin' close behind anyway."

"Murphy,"I whispered softly.

Maire jumped down from Raza, her thick heeled boots slumping into the road. Paul positioned himself better on Raza and took the reigns in hand.

"Adrienne,"Murphy said."It's fer safety. If anythin' happens, ya get goin', with or without me."

"You know I won't do that."I glared.

"So stubborn."He laughed.

"Trip'er if you have to."I smirked.

Murphy pointed a finger in my direction and said, "Now that's jus' unprofessional."

Murphy leaned forward, gently taking me by the lips and pulled away all too soon. He ran a smooth thumb against my cheek before throwing himself from Thatcher. I clutched the reigns tightly within my left hand, my gun bound firmly in my right. Murphy snaked his silencers from their holsters, which were planted loosely against his chest. I nudged my heel softly into Thatcher's side, begging him to stay close on their tail.

I turned to Connor, who only gave me a comforting nod, as if telling me we would be fine. The scattered tents were searched quickly, only allowing them to scavenge small supplies. Small hand guns, few bullets and rare amounts of food and water were roughly shoved into each saddle bag as we continued on. A lone Humvee sat broken on our right, which forced all three horses to sway and whine.

The front windshield was broken in, small amounts of blood and flesh stuck to the broken pieces. A man sat in the front seat, his head dipped low and uniform torn and stained from the chest down. I pet Thatcher's head softly, assuring him we were fine, until three soft clangs erupted from the side of the car. We all stopped in our tracks. Maire and Murphy cocked back their guns, trying to hide the click under their hands.

I held my .22 firmly within my hand, feeling my nerves grow cold and numb with the intense grip. Maire and Murphy stalked forward, their feet silent against the wet ground. Connor, Paul and I readied our weapons in case any individual turned out to be a crowd. My heart beat soundly against my ribs, begging to give our position away. The group rose their weapons as they drew near, hoping the clangs were nothing but an animal lost in the wrong place.

My breath froze, my trigger finger trembling, as three Marines emerged from the back of the truck, weapons drawn. The one on the left was nearly my height, copper brown hair buzzed down to his scalp. His eyes were a shocking green and freckles danced across his plump cheeks. The man in the middle was just a few inches taller than Connor and Murphy, his shoulder broad and his stance dominant.

His brown hair was cut the same as the man on the left and his eyes were a pool of golden brown. The farthest man, the one on the right, was the twiins' height, his blonde hair just a few inches longer than the other two. His eyes were a similar shade of the twins', but much more natural. We stood steady as Maire boomed, "We're not infected!"

"Neither are we."The young man in the middle was American.

His voice was velvety, but demanding as he ordered the other two to lower their weapons. I kept my hand tight on my own, the barrel aimed close enough to hit any one of them, if they managed to try anything at all.

"Lower your weapons."He peered over at the blonde man who held his arms out, unwilling to let go."Lee, I said lower your god damn weapon."

"Better do what he says, Lee."Murphy ordered.

"There's a child fer Christs sake."The one on the left glowered.

"Why are ya with civillians?"Lee growled."Orders were to kill'm all."

"Me orders were a lil' different."Maire spat.

The stubborn man shoved his gun in Maire's direction and a loud bang caught us off guard. The man dropped, his body falling on top of his own limbs as he tumbled downward. Maire bent over, collected his gun and easily put hers away. Her eyes darted up as she asked, "Anyone else?"

The two men shook their heads, not wanting to end their lives over their own desire to be uncooperative.

"Where are the other Marines?"Maire questioned.

"They left. Abandoned post."The American said.

"Pussies."Maire sneered.

"The name's Erin, m'am."The American spoke."This here is Mark."

"Maire,"She said."and group."

"Murphy."He stuck out his hand, offering them a welcoming shake.

"We better get going, though, if you don't mind me saying."Erin stated."That shot prolly attracted more attention than we wanted."

"You're welcome to come with us."Paul said coolly."We could use more muscle in the group."

The offer was quickly taken as the new additions packed their things. Murphy and Maire found a few more supplies to add to the group as we waited for Erin and Mark's return. Connor backed Ei up slightly to get out of the way. It was when Ei began to whinnie that forced all heads to turn. Connor, who's one arm wrapped tightly around Abby, tried to calm the panicked horse as he lifted onto his hind legs.

"Connor!"I pulled Thatcher toward them and took aim.

A single infected man clawed up at Ei's behind, trying to find a decent area to clutch with his dirty fingers. I couldn't get a clear shot unless I wanted to skim, or pierce, Ei while doing so. I let out a shaky breath as Ei fell back onto all fours and moved forward. The man made his way in between two abandoned cars, clawing anxiously at the fresh meat in front of him.

"Stay still!"I watched as Ei bucked forward, kicking his toned legs back and into the man.

The left hoof broke through the front of the man's skull, destroying all that was once caged on the inside. It caved in, sending the discoloured insides along the road. Ei's right hoof hooked under his arm, pushing him roughly back and onto one of the cars. The red Volvo began to flash, forcing its once helpful alarm to begin blaring.

"Let's go!"Maire climbed onto Raza, ordering Paul to force him along.

I turned back to Murphy and shouted, "Murph, come on!"

He ran forward as I shoved out my hand, ordering him to take it. His fingers laced into my own as I yanked upward, helping him take the leap onto Thatcher's back. Maire turned toward the Marines and shouted, "Keep up!"

"Heyah!"I threw my boot into Thatcher's side, forcing him into a sprint.

Ei and Raza weren't far behind as we started back the way we had come, hoping it wasn't too late to escape this new town. The blood and mud mixture kicked up at us as we galloped through, seeking our exit a few yards away. Thatcher stopped suddenly, however, throwing his front legs up into the air with a hearty cry. I fell back into Murphy, who reached out and grabbed the reigns as well.

"Go, Thatcher!"he shouted.

Ei and Raza came to a quick stop, once sensing the infected making their way in around us. We were too late, unless we could find a way through the growing crowd. Erin and Mark rose their weapons, but Maire shot out a hand and yelled, "No! Don't waste the bullets!"

I looked back at Murphy and cried, "We're fucked!"