I sat in the back of the crowded van, listening to two guys banter back and forth with Chuck about his past life.
"So you were in a biker gang?" The bald one asked.
"Yeah, we were called The skeleton crew; we would skin people alive, hang them from a post, and let the dogs eat their skin in front of our next victim," Chuck said, turning onto the highway. I looked at him through the mirror, chuckling.
"Woah... You guys must have been crazy cool." The brown-haired man said.
"Nah, we weren't that cool. We were a gang that met up on the weekends for coffee at the local diner in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin." Chuck responded, laughing to Alex, who was also laughing.
"You guys are dicks." The bald man said, turning to the window with a smile.
I sat, staring out the back window, watching the long stretch of road behind us lengthen further, leaving broken-down cars and rotting limbs in the dust.
"Hey," someone said, slapping my shoulder. I turned to find a long, brown-haired, teenage-looking man with one blue eye and one yellow eye looking at me. "The name Austin, what's yours?"
"Axel," I said, looking back out the window.
"Nice, uhh... What did you do before this epidemic?" He asked.
"I was a factory owner. We built machinery." I said.
"I was a part of the military. Naval Corp."
"Doesn't help much when the military is dead."
"They aren't. Half the military is in hiding." He said.
"What do you mean?" I asked, turning towards him.
"You don't know?" He asked, his eyebrows raising.
"Know what?" I asked, feeling my anger build.
"The military is attempting to cure them. They have a large shack full of creatures, and I have contact with them—the Walkie I received at the end of my services in Maine. We are going there, that's where your father is. Your father is running the military now." Austin explained.
"How can they cure them?" I asked.
"He didn't give us much information; he asked if we knew you and Chuck did. Chuck told him everything. He said if we brought you to him, we could stay there as long as we wanted. It's safe and secure, and they have a food supply that could last an entire state for four years. It was supposed to be the president's hideaway when Isis threatened us. Your father is a brilliant man." Austin explained, pulling a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. Sticking one in his mouth, he offered me one.
"Yeah, he was so smart he left when I was young... No, I don't smoke." I said, rejecting him. He slipped the package back into his pocket and pulled the lighter, lighting the end.
"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked, puffing smoke out of the back window.
"He left before I was born. He wasn't ready to be a father, so he just left." I said, showing no emotion.
"Sorry about that, man," Austin said, turning back around. I sat, once again, by myself, staring out the window and going to my past life.
**24 years ago**
"Mom! Why can't I see him?" I asked, following my mother into the living room.
"Axel, he doesn't want to see you!" She screamed, turning around, showing her dark braided hair that hung on her left shoulder, her green eyes filled with rage.
"You don't know that!" I screamed, feeling tears begin to invade my personal space.
"I do. He wouldn't have left if he did. And I don't know where he is. He could be anywhere by now!" She said, trying not to hurt me.
"I doubt you want me either," I said, running out of the room.
** Present day.**
I sat, feeling the tears flow down my cheek.
"Axel," Sarah said, touching my shoulder. I turned to her, wiping the tears.
"Yeah?" I said, making it seem like I was alright.
"I know what you have done for me now... When we got married, you once told me that you would always be there to protect me... And you have... You have sacrificed, killed, and beaten people for me... You may not be the man I knew before this, but I know now that neither am I the same woman... And I'm sorry for making you seem less when all you were doing was trying to protect me... I love you so much..." She said, putting her hand into mine. I blankly stared at her, as my heart had already turned to stone. I no longer had the emotions of a man. I was a monster; I could pull the trigger with no hesitation. And I was ashamed of that. She stood and moved back to her seat, conversing with the two men talking with Chuck a while back. For a short time, I stared at her, then closed my eyes and fell asleep.
YOU ARE READING
End Days- A Zombie apocalypse novel- Finished-Featured story (Book-1)
Horror***WATTPAD FEATURED**** #141 in horror Axel Carter is a 32-year-old factory manager who is married to Sarah Carter. He is a responsible person who can keep his cool in tough situations. However, he is forced to lead a group of inexperienced people...
