Post by zombieheartagun on Dec 28, 2012 20:22:27 GMT -5
The sun was bright as it was warm, the gentle rays warming not only his body with their touch but the world itself. The breeze that lazily rolled across the area was cool enough to make it refreshing on such a day. The smell of roasting chicking would surround him with its tasty aroma. Turning to his left the source of the mouth watering scent comes into view, a simple black grill, fueled by charcoal. Behind it stood Barry, his goofy grin plastered on his face as always. Making his way over to the taller man he doesn't even get to speak before a frank is being handed to him. Taking the hot dog in his hands he takes a big bite.
"What a beautiful day...hope that game is good today." He would of course be talking about the Tigers, the two men were avid fans of them.
<font color=white>"Hey, look who finally decided to show up."[/font color] Barry would make a directing motion with his head, Leeroy would turn to the left curious as to whom Barry could be talking about. All that would lay before him would be the rolling green hills of the park. Confused Leeroy would turn back to look at Barry. His vision would become flooded with dead flesh, by a face distorted by death. Barry was gone, in his stead was a dead version, lunging at Leeroy would its bloodied gaping mouth.
"AAAAHHHH!" He would jolt awake, sweat covering his brow, his breaths coming in speedy bursts. "It was just a dream. Just a dream." Resting his head back against the seats head rest he would look out the windows of the humvee. Ghosts of the past haunting his dreams. Why now? He didn't know if Barry had died or not, he hadn't seen him for over a year before the world went all zombieland. After Leeroy had been discharged he stopped by less and less. He didn't blame him though, Barry was a busy man, Majors have a lot of responsibilites. It was hard to find time to visit people, even their own brothers. Last Leeroy had heard Barry had been recalled from Iraq, was being posted to DC for some cushy job. Mom was always so proud of him.
Leeroy found it weird that he had been dreaming about his brother, it was the first time in a long time that his family had made an appearance in his dreams or thoughts for that matter. When they did it was normally thoughts of mom and dad, of the time they all spent together after he had been in the force for a while. When he was growing up he barely saw them but after he had joined the Marines it was like they finally made time for Barry and him. That had bugged him for years but now he found it was a trivial thing to have worried about, he would gladly accept that fate if it meant they would come back. Dreams only come true in childrens stories and this was the farthest thing from it. This was a waking nightmare, this was hell on earth. Sighing he would reach into the cooler that sat on the floor of the passanger side, pulling out a pack of ho-ho's, two hot rod pepperettes and a small pack of beef jerky. The breakfast of champions. Eating the jerked and salted meat first he would continue to look around the area before he would check his watch. Hrmming to himself he couldn't believe that he had managed to sleep for a full 8 hours. He couldn't remember the last time he got that much sleep, it felt kinda good.
Once the meat is gone he moves on to the ho-hos muching them quickly, grabbing a bottle of water. The temperature outside had made it chilled but not overly cold, but it was better than nothing. With his meal in his gut he would grab Sweetness and step out of the Humvee. After the sleep he needed to stretch his legs, he also wanted to check on his goods in the trailer so it was killing two birds with one stone.
Opening up the trailer he sees that all the items he procured are still safe and sound. Closing it up again he would move towards his the drivers side door to the humvee. Reaching it he would press his back against the bulging door stretching out his legs. He would glance around at his surroundings as he did, Sweetness held firmly between both hands. The Walmart parking lot that he had parked in was empty, something he never would have seen when the world was still its normal self. Minutes would pass by and his stretching would evolve from merely standing still. He would bend his knees slowly, grab his ankles and pull his legs upwards, one at a time of course. He even would run in place for a bit, everything to get his legs not to cramp. He would love to do a full work out but doing so in such an open place would be rather stupid. To much of a risk for him to want to take, especially with the threat that those men presented looming over his head. While he was certain he had not been followed, he knew that the men he had killed were merely a recon team. More would follow. They would be pissed that he had killed their men to boot. There isn't much around these parts and with the proper equipment the frequency that this New haven place broadcasts on could be picked up. To many variables to be accounted for, he had to act fast. Stepping back into his humvee he would transform and roll out. Well minus the transform part.
Back on the road again he would turn on the his iPod, hitting play and letting that randomizer do its thing. The song that it would picked would kick in strong with an instantly recognizeable intro. His hands would start thumping against the steering wheel in time with the song. For the first minute and twenty-eight seconds he is silent, not singing along like he normally does. He is content to rock out to the music, however the song overtakes him and he lets it belt out.
"Today's Tom Sawyer, he gets high on you and the space he invades. He gets by on you." There is a pause in his voice as the lyrics finish and the bridge to the song starts. When the bass kicks back in he is singing "Do's" along to it, even going as far as to mock play the bass but that isn't nearly as awesome as his air drumming is when it gets to the famous drum roll. While he keeps his hands on the wheel, at least partially, for those brief few minutes he is Neil fucking Peart and the steering column is his drum set. Finishing up his drum rolls Geddy Lee would start singing again and he would keep drumming along his head bobbing up and down in time now. Gone is the memory of the weird dream he had awoke to. Gone is the sense of pending doom that he had been feeling in relation to the men he found at Dover. There was only the music, he had traded one rush for another.
With Tom Sawyer fading out he would wait for the next song to come on, another one that he recognizes within the first four notes. "Leaves are falling all around, It's time I was on my way. Thanks to you, I'm much obliged for such a pleasant stay. But now it's time for me to go. The autumn moon lights my way. For now I smell the rain, and with it pain, and it's headed my way. Sometimes I grow so tired, but I know I've got one thing I got to do..." At least he had good music to listen to.
Several hours later in the town of Milford....
"Dashing through the snow in a one horse open sleigh. Over the fields we go, laughing all the way." POP POP POP POP. His laughter would be overshadowed by Sweetness as she joins the song. Fourty feet in front of him the zombie would eat bullets, the drift of his gun working in his favour. While technically the third shot would be enough to put the zombie down he had to keep the festive feeling alive, if he only shot thrice then it wouldn't fit the song and Christmas would be ruined. As jets of steam poured from his mouth into the cold night he would continue his slow advance forward towards the apartment complex. It was a decent looking one, a rare commodity to find in Milford it seemed. With a population under 10,000 it was no surprise to him, most small towns didn't have alot of apartment buildings and those that they did have were typically old. The zombie he had just put down was the first one he had seen since his run in at the base and in a way he was kinda glad to see it. When things got quiet he tended to be real paranoid about shit, he had good reason to be, but that was a story for another time.
The front entrance was a glass door that required a person to be buzzed in in order to open it. Sweetness would make short work of it as he squeezes of two more rounds. Were it any other person or any other gun the window would have been smashed in via a forceful strike of the rifles butt against him. Not him, not with her. He wouldn't dare subject his baby to such an action just as any normal person wouldn't subject their spouse to abuse. While Sweetness may be an inanimate object she was his companion, his best friend. Where everyone else has failed or left him she has always been at his side. She has saved his life more than any person on the face of this planet. He owed her. She was his everything.
Stepping through the shattered door he begins his floor by floor sweep. The first floor consisted of 5 apartments, oddly enough numbered 1 through 5, who would have guessed? Reaching the first door he would reach out and turn the handle, a surprise look covering his face as the knob turns and the door opens. Returning his left hand to Sweetness he would push his way in, sweeping from left to right and back again. The apartment was dark, a perfect time to try out the new attachment. His left hand would reach up to click on his flashlight, the beam stretching across the apartment to the opposite wall. Moving further into the small apartment he could continue his search the light drifting from side to side, scanning over things along with his eyes. In the corner there would be a christmas tree, packages left underneath. He would continue the search of the apartment making sure it was empty.
With all the rooms checked he would begin his looting. First was the bathroom, specifically the medicine cabinet for any medical supplies. All he manages to find is a half empty box of band-aids and a nearly full bottle of advil which are placed within his ILBE. Next he would move to the kitchen, his search for food tha was not salted meat would turn up two packs of Mr. Noodles. Everything else had expired and was merely rotting away. Like the bandaids he would place the packs of Mr. Noodles into one of the side pouches to his bag. Last but certainly not least he would move towards the tree, pulling the presents out from below it. Putting them in a pile near the closest chair he would set about to opening them. Not much turns up in the packages, clothes for women and children, some toys and that's about it. While it felt nice to be opening up presents he felt a little ripped off. Christmas certainly had taken a down turn the last few years.
Exitting the apartment he would move on to number 2, checking the door only to find it was locked. Taking two steps back he promply places his foot to the door, bending it inwards but not opening it completely. Reloading he strikes the door again, his foot causing it to fly wide open. From inside he would hear a groan followed by a moan, Sweetness rising up to get ready to meet the enemy. He would take a step back from the door and simply wait. While many people would attempt to breach the appartment he was certainly not one of them. Combat was all about control. Control of ones self, control of the enemy, control of the pace and control of the location. While he waited his bayonet would be retrieved from his hip and promptly added to Sweetness. It would take the zombie nearly to minutes to reach the door, its slow shuffling form making its appearance as it lunges forward with an increased speed. It didn't make a lick of difference, Leeroy was to far for the zombie to be able to rush him before he could squeeze a shot off. Even if his first shot had missed, which it didn't, he would merely resort to jamming his blade into the fucking face of the damn zombie. The first shot is all it takes, the zombie dropping in the doorway.
He would place another round in the zombies skull before he would step over the thing. He probably didn't need to but he wasn't certain how Ghost Zombies were created so he was taking that extra step just to make sure. He would have stabbed the thing but then he would have to deal with getting the stench of zombie off his blade and that was a bitch. Entering the apartment he starts the entire process over again, searching the apartment high and low to make sure that zombie didn't have any friends.
The medicine cabinet of this apartment would offer a fair greater supply of goods. Finding a half bottle of Tylenol, a fresh bottle of Peroxide, a fresh tube of polysporine, a half box of band-aids, a box of sheet gauze and two unopened packs of rolled gauze. All the items get put into the side pouches, filling one up before moving on to the next. Leaving the bathroom he would make his way to the kitchen as he starts to rummage through the cupboards. What he finds is quite the gold mine at least in comparison to the crap he has been eating as of late. Twenty cans of campbells soup, 10 cans of Chef Boyardee, 10 cans of beans and 4 boxes of Mac and Cheese. Placing his ILBE on the counter he would begin to put his newly found food in the main compartment. His hands would drop the cans they held on the counter and reach for Sweetness as he hears a noise comming from the hall. For minutes he would wait but nothing would happen. No zombie would appear, he wouldn't hear any more noise, nothing. Keeping Sweetness raised, stretching her across his chest towards the door with his right hand he would use his left to continue the job he had started. Once all the food was in it he would close it up using just his one hand, his eyes darting from the door to in front of him and back again. Moving towards the busted door he would stick to his training, moving to one side of the door looking across and out before shifting to the other side and doing the same thing but on the opposite corner. Once both would be checked he would slowly creep back into the hall his head on a fucking swivel.
Back in the hall he franticly looks about for the source of the noise that he had heard. Turning up empty he keeps moving towards apartment number three. His hand is about to grasp the silver door knob when another sound comes to life, this time to his right, back towards the first two apartments. Sweetness held high he pans from side to side, waiting for the source to reveal itself. He had cleared both of those places, he was certain he had. Was this the work of a Ghost Zombie? He would barely get to finish that thought when motion at the door to apartment 1 draws his attention. The thing was moving fast, staying low to the ground as it charged at him. With his heart picking up pace he starts to aim down at it, his brain taking several seconds to process the creature. It was a cat. Just a cat. Letting out a laugh as the gray and white kitty moves towards him he bends down as the cat stops in front of him before rubbing it's body against his leg, meowling as it does so. Petting the cat causes loud purrs to escape it's tiny body.
"Awwww....what a cute kitty. Aren't you kitty? Oh yes you are, you're such a " His setence stops dead in its track as the foul stench of rotting flesh assaults him. Spinning around on his heels he brings sweetness to bear down on whatever it is the may be behind him. The cat skips backwards meowing a few times as Leeroy makes his sudden turn a bout. Despite what his nostrils say, nothing is behind him. There is no zombie lumbering towards him, not a god damn thing. The cat would start rubbing against his legs once again as it weaved between his legs. For several moments Leeroy stays still but eventually he returns to petting the stray.
"You must be one hell of a trooper if you've managed to survive this long and I understand that you might be feeling vulnerable but it won't work between us. I'm black...you're a cat, and I don't want either one of us to get hurt. You understand right?" The cat would look up at him and answer him with a mewl and a purr. Smirking Leeroy would raise back up, checking the door in front of him, once again finding that it is locked. A swift kick opens it as well as scares the cat but only for a bit. Apartments 3, 4 and 5 yield nothing of use, and yet the cat keeps following him, staying back a little but whenever Leeroy stops it is back to its purring self again. It even follows him as he makes his way upstairs. While he wants to shoo the cat away he can't seem to bring himself to do it. He understands what the poor thing is going through. He knows all to well what it is like to be alone in a world fighting for survival. Reaching apartment 6 he finds the door is unlocked, opening it as he normally does. Checking his angles like he is trained to do. It's all by the book, he can't do it any other way. Normally he would be announcing his presence but after the run in down stairs he figures he will play it safe. If there is someone alive in here, they'd probably have their door locked and would react to him kicking it in. Apartment number six does not yeild much, one lone can of tuna which he gladly opens and leaves for his furry friend. The cat descends on the fresh food within seconds. Running a hand down its back as it feeds he leaves the apartment and starts heading towards lucky number seven.
Finding number 7 locked he proceeds to kick the door open as is his thing. His new friend leaving apartment six and heading towards him seconds after his boot connects with wood and the innards of the apartment enter his field of vision. The cat would make it half way towards Leeroy when it would stop, arch its back and begin hissing. The change in attitude gets a reaction out of our hero as he steps away from the door, back down the hall towards apartment number 6. The cat would keep hissing and growling in the direction of the newly opened apartment as both he and Sweetness would be ready for war. Two almost three minutes slip by, his stalwart friend still growling at the door. When the first zombie shambles out of the door way Sweetness is quick to react, dumping to shots into the meatbag before it goes down. The loud bangs cause the cat to skitter back. Zombies number two and three meet similiar fates even though they move faster than the large bloated figure that made its appearance first. He could easily have put his baby into Full Auto and unleashed bursts at them but why bother? He knew that you had to take your time, to look the devil in the eye before you pulled the trigger. Why throw bullets away like candy? The fancy new Aimpoint CompM4 that he had outfitted his girl with was certainly making things easier that was for sure.
With the zombies dead and the loud noises a thing of the past his furry friend would move back over to him, mewling and purring as it had been. Bending down Leeroy would pet the cat for several times. "What a smart kitty, yes you are, yes you are. You're so smart." The cat had sensed the zombies before he had, it was like an early warning system. Maybe having it tag along with him while he was in here wouldn't be that bad of a thing. Hell he could use a friend as much as the cat could. It would benefit both of them greatly, and at least he would have someone to talk to, someone that could show affection. Someone that would remain loyal and that was a hard thing to find these days. Stepping into apartment seven his search turns up nothing as does the search of apartments 8, 9 and 10. What little food they had was long since rotten. Only one more floor to go. Returning to the stairs he would hold the door to the stairwell open as the cat would slip in, stopping to look up at him as if waiting to see which way Leeroy went. When Leeroy starts heading up the stairs the cat follows him, racing ahead this time. Was that a good sign?
The top floor and all five apartments are devoid of zombies and nearly devoid of all useful goods as well. Out of all of them he manages to find three cans of tuna and five cans of soup. There is no medicine to find there, the gifts don't seem to be under the trees, the apartments almost look like they have been picked clean already which is weird to him considering the fact that the first two floors had zombies and supplies. Had it been done by the remenants of the building before they turned into the walking dead? Questions would flood his mind and he had no answers to sate them with. It didn't matter in the long run. With the last floor cleared both he and the cat would begin the trip downstairs, winding down the steps as they aim for the bottom. Reaching the first floor he would move towards the front door, stopping several feet in front of it. The cat would resume its curling around his legs, purring loudly as it does, as it had the entire time. Reaching down with his left hand he would scoop the cat up, pressing it against his chest as it begins to lick his face. Once secured he would carry it over the glass and outside the creature snuggling and licking his cheek with gusto. Leeroy would carry it all the way to his humvee, Sweetness held in his right hand at the ready just in case. Opening the door he would lean in and place the cat on the passangers seat as he took off the ILBE from his back and entered the cab as well. Reaching into his cooler he would remove a pepperette from it with one hand as his other hand retrieved the bayonette at his hip. Cutting small chunks off the meatstick he would place it on the seat his furry companion eating it up.
"Hrmmm...what am I going to call you." His verbal pondering would help him in his process or so he thought. He would remain quiet for several minutes afterwards while he and the cat shared their meal together. Even after the pepperette was long gone and the cat had moved over to curl up on his lap he would he would remain silent as he pondered what to call it. His hand would lightly drift across the cats head as he tried to come up with something suiting, something that had meaning to him.
Almost an hour slips by before the name finally comes to him. Like lightning in a bottle it lights up his brain. The cat had looked after him, had saved his bacon from the zombies, there was only one name that he felt would do the creature justice.
"You're a good kitty aren't you.....Barry."
Turning the Humvees engine over he would pull away from the apartment building, heading back on the road again. It wouldn't be to long until he reached Seaford and the so called New Haven compound. He wouldn't bother moving Barry from his lap, he rather enjoyed the company, enjoyed being close to another living creature. While he had Raquel and her daughter in his vehicle mere days ago they weren't close. It wasn't the same as the physical connection that he and the cat shared. Did that make him fucked in the head? Perhaps? But if it is fucked to desire a closeness to someone or something after years spent by yourself then he was double fucked. Right now the only two things that he held any compassion for was his new found friend and Sweetness. A cat and a gun. "You might be losing it Leeroy." He would speak to himself, his voice causing Barrys left ear to twitch slightly but the cat wouldn't alter its curled up status.
Three more hours to go. He wondered how his meeting would go this time.
"What a beautiful day...hope that game is good today." He would of course be talking about the Tigers, the two men were avid fans of them.
<font color=white>"Hey, look who finally decided to show up."[/font color] Barry would make a directing motion with his head, Leeroy would turn to the left curious as to whom Barry could be talking about. All that would lay before him would be the rolling green hills of the park. Confused Leeroy would turn back to look at Barry. His vision would become flooded with dead flesh, by a face distorted by death. Barry was gone, in his stead was a dead version, lunging at Leeroy would its bloodied gaping mouth.
"AAAAHHHH!" He would jolt awake, sweat covering his brow, his breaths coming in speedy bursts. "It was just a dream. Just a dream." Resting his head back against the seats head rest he would look out the windows of the humvee. Ghosts of the past haunting his dreams. Why now? He didn't know if Barry had died or not, he hadn't seen him for over a year before the world went all zombieland. After Leeroy had been discharged he stopped by less and less. He didn't blame him though, Barry was a busy man, Majors have a lot of responsibilites. It was hard to find time to visit people, even their own brothers. Last Leeroy had heard Barry had been recalled from Iraq, was being posted to DC for some cushy job. Mom was always so proud of him.
Leeroy found it weird that he had been dreaming about his brother, it was the first time in a long time that his family had made an appearance in his dreams or thoughts for that matter. When they did it was normally thoughts of mom and dad, of the time they all spent together after he had been in the force for a while. When he was growing up he barely saw them but after he had joined the Marines it was like they finally made time for Barry and him. That had bugged him for years but now he found it was a trivial thing to have worried about, he would gladly accept that fate if it meant they would come back. Dreams only come true in childrens stories and this was the farthest thing from it. This was a waking nightmare, this was hell on earth. Sighing he would reach into the cooler that sat on the floor of the passanger side, pulling out a pack of ho-ho's, two hot rod pepperettes and a small pack of beef jerky. The breakfast of champions. Eating the jerked and salted meat first he would continue to look around the area before he would check his watch. Hrmming to himself he couldn't believe that he had managed to sleep for a full 8 hours. He couldn't remember the last time he got that much sleep, it felt kinda good.
Once the meat is gone he moves on to the ho-hos muching them quickly, grabbing a bottle of water. The temperature outside had made it chilled but not overly cold, but it was better than nothing. With his meal in his gut he would grab Sweetness and step out of the Humvee. After the sleep he needed to stretch his legs, he also wanted to check on his goods in the trailer so it was killing two birds with one stone.
Opening up the trailer he sees that all the items he procured are still safe and sound. Closing it up again he would move towards his the drivers side door to the humvee. Reaching it he would press his back against the bulging door stretching out his legs. He would glance around at his surroundings as he did, Sweetness held firmly between both hands. The Walmart parking lot that he had parked in was empty, something he never would have seen when the world was still its normal self. Minutes would pass by and his stretching would evolve from merely standing still. He would bend his knees slowly, grab his ankles and pull his legs upwards, one at a time of course. He even would run in place for a bit, everything to get his legs not to cramp. He would love to do a full work out but doing so in such an open place would be rather stupid. To much of a risk for him to want to take, especially with the threat that those men presented looming over his head. While he was certain he had not been followed, he knew that the men he had killed were merely a recon team. More would follow. They would be pissed that he had killed their men to boot. There isn't much around these parts and with the proper equipment the frequency that this New haven place broadcasts on could be picked up. To many variables to be accounted for, he had to act fast. Stepping back into his humvee he would transform and roll out. Well minus the transform part.
Back on the road again he would turn on the his iPod, hitting play and letting that randomizer do its thing. The song that it would picked would kick in strong with an instantly recognizeable intro. His hands would start thumping against the steering wheel in time with the song. For the first minute and twenty-eight seconds he is silent, not singing along like he normally does. He is content to rock out to the music, however the song overtakes him and he lets it belt out.
"Today's Tom Sawyer, he gets high on you and the space he invades. He gets by on you." There is a pause in his voice as the lyrics finish and the bridge to the song starts. When the bass kicks back in he is singing "Do's" along to it, even going as far as to mock play the bass but that isn't nearly as awesome as his air drumming is when it gets to the famous drum roll. While he keeps his hands on the wheel, at least partially, for those brief few minutes he is Neil fucking Peart and the steering column is his drum set. Finishing up his drum rolls Geddy Lee would start singing again and he would keep drumming along his head bobbing up and down in time now. Gone is the memory of the weird dream he had awoke to. Gone is the sense of pending doom that he had been feeling in relation to the men he found at Dover. There was only the music, he had traded one rush for another.
With Tom Sawyer fading out he would wait for the next song to come on, another one that he recognizes within the first four notes. "Leaves are falling all around, It's time I was on my way. Thanks to you, I'm much obliged for such a pleasant stay. But now it's time for me to go. The autumn moon lights my way. For now I smell the rain, and with it pain, and it's headed my way. Sometimes I grow so tired, but I know I've got one thing I got to do..." At least he had good music to listen to.
Several hours later in the town of Milford....
"Dashing through the snow in a one horse open sleigh. Over the fields we go, laughing all the way." POP POP POP POP. His laughter would be overshadowed by Sweetness as she joins the song. Fourty feet in front of him the zombie would eat bullets, the drift of his gun working in his favour. While technically the third shot would be enough to put the zombie down he had to keep the festive feeling alive, if he only shot thrice then it wouldn't fit the song and Christmas would be ruined. As jets of steam poured from his mouth into the cold night he would continue his slow advance forward towards the apartment complex. It was a decent looking one, a rare commodity to find in Milford it seemed. With a population under 10,000 it was no surprise to him, most small towns didn't have alot of apartment buildings and those that they did have were typically old. The zombie he had just put down was the first one he had seen since his run in at the base and in a way he was kinda glad to see it. When things got quiet he tended to be real paranoid about shit, he had good reason to be, but that was a story for another time.
The front entrance was a glass door that required a person to be buzzed in in order to open it. Sweetness would make short work of it as he squeezes of two more rounds. Were it any other person or any other gun the window would have been smashed in via a forceful strike of the rifles butt against him. Not him, not with her. He wouldn't dare subject his baby to such an action just as any normal person wouldn't subject their spouse to abuse. While Sweetness may be an inanimate object she was his companion, his best friend. Where everyone else has failed or left him she has always been at his side. She has saved his life more than any person on the face of this planet. He owed her. She was his everything.
Stepping through the shattered door he begins his floor by floor sweep. The first floor consisted of 5 apartments, oddly enough numbered 1 through 5, who would have guessed? Reaching the first door he would reach out and turn the handle, a surprise look covering his face as the knob turns and the door opens. Returning his left hand to Sweetness he would push his way in, sweeping from left to right and back again. The apartment was dark, a perfect time to try out the new attachment. His left hand would reach up to click on his flashlight, the beam stretching across the apartment to the opposite wall. Moving further into the small apartment he could continue his search the light drifting from side to side, scanning over things along with his eyes. In the corner there would be a christmas tree, packages left underneath. He would continue the search of the apartment making sure it was empty.
With all the rooms checked he would begin his looting. First was the bathroom, specifically the medicine cabinet for any medical supplies. All he manages to find is a half empty box of band-aids and a nearly full bottle of advil which are placed within his ILBE. Next he would move to the kitchen, his search for food tha was not salted meat would turn up two packs of Mr. Noodles. Everything else had expired and was merely rotting away. Like the bandaids he would place the packs of Mr. Noodles into one of the side pouches to his bag. Last but certainly not least he would move towards the tree, pulling the presents out from below it. Putting them in a pile near the closest chair he would set about to opening them. Not much turns up in the packages, clothes for women and children, some toys and that's about it. While it felt nice to be opening up presents he felt a little ripped off. Christmas certainly had taken a down turn the last few years.
Exitting the apartment he would move on to number 2, checking the door only to find it was locked. Taking two steps back he promply places his foot to the door, bending it inwards but not opening it completely. Reloading he strikes the door again, his foot causing it to fly wide open. From inside he would hear a groan followed by a moan, Sweetness rising up to get ready to meet the enemy. He would take a step back from the door and simply wait. While many people would attempt to breach the appartment he was certainly not one of them. Combat was all about control. Control of ones self, control of the enemy, control of the pace and control of the location. While he waited his bayonet would be retrieved from his hip and promptly added to Sweetness. It would take the zombie nearly to minutes to reach the door, its slow shuffling form making its appearance as it lunges forward with an increased speed. It didn't make a lick of difference, Leeroy was to far for the zombie to be able to rush him before he could squeeze a shot off. Even if his first shot had missed, which it didn't, he would merely resort to jamming his blade into the fucking face of the damn zombie. The first shot is all it takes, the zombie dropping in the doorway.
He would place another round in the zombies skull before he would step over the thing. He probably didn't need to but he wasn't certain how Ghost Zombies were created so he was taking that extra step just to make sure. He would have stabbed the thing but then he would have to deal with getting the stench of zombie off his blade and that was a bitch. Entering the apartment he starts the entire process over again, searching the apartment high and low to make sure that zombie didn't have any friends.
The medicine cabinet of this apartment would offer a fair greater supply of goods. Finding a half bottle of Tylenol, a fresh bottle of Peroxide, a fresh tube of polysporine, a half box of band-aids, a box of sheet gauze and two unopened packs of rolled gauze. All the items get put into the side pouches, filling one up before moving on to the next. Leaving the bathroom he would make his way to the kitchen as he starts to rummage through the cupboards. What he finds is quite the gold mine at least in comparison to the crap he has been eating as of late. Twenty cans of campbells soup, 10 cans of Chef Boyardee, 10 cans of beans and 4 boxes of Mac and Cheese. Placing his ILBE on the counter he would begin to put his newly found food in the main compartment. His hands would drop the cans they held on the counter and reach for Sweetness as he hears a noise comming from the hall. For minutes he would wait but nothing would happen. No zombie would appear, he wouldn't hear any more noise, nothing. Keeping Sweetness raised, stretching her across his chest towards the door with his right hand he would use his left to continue the job he had started. Once all the food was in it he would close it up using just his one hand, his eyes darting from the door to in front of him and back again. Moving towards the busted door he would stick to his training, moving to one side of the door looking across and out before shifting to the other side and doing the same thing but on the opposite corner. Once both would be checked he would slowly creep back into the hall his head on a fucking swivel.
Back in the hall he franticly looks about for the source of the noise that he had heard. Turning up empty he keeps moving towards apartment number three. His hand is about to grasp the silver door knob when another sound comes to life, this time to his right, back towards the first two apartments. Sweetness held high he pans from side to side, waiting for the source to reveal itself. He had cleared both of those places, he was certain he had. Was this the work of a Ghost Zombie? He would barely get to finish that thought when motion at the door to apartment 1 draws his attention. The thing was moving fast, staying low to the ground as it charged at him. With his heart picking up pace he starts to aim down at it, his brain taking several seconds to process the creature. It was a cat. Just a cat. Letting out a laugh as the gray and white kitty moves towards him he bends down as the cat stops in front of him before rubbing it's body against his leg, meowling as it does so. Petting the cat causes loud purrs to escape it's tiny body.
"Awwww....what a cute kitty. Aren't you kitty? Oh yes you are, you're such a " His setence stops dead in its track as the foul stench of rotting flesh assaults him. Spinning around on his heels he brings sweetness to bear down on whatever it is the may be behind him. The cat skips backwards meowing a few times as Leeroy makes his sudden turn a bout. Despite what his nostrils say, nothing is behind him. There is no zombie lumbering towards him, not a god damn thing. The cat would start rubbing against his legs once again as it weaved between his legs. For several moments Leeroy stays still but eventually he returns to petting the stray.
"You must be one hell of a trooper if you've managed to survive this long and I understand that you might be feeling vulnerable but it won't work between us. I'm black...you're a cat, and I don't want either one of us to get hurt. You understand right?" The cat would look up at him and answer him with a mewl and a purr. Smirking Leeroy would raise back up, checking the door in front of him, once again finding that it is locked. A swift kick opens it as well as scares the cat but only for a bit. Apartments 3, 4 and 5 yield nothing of use, and yet the cat keeps following him, staying back a little but whenever Leeroy stops it is back to its purring self again. It even follows him as he makes his way upstairs. While he wants to shoo the cat away he can't seem to bring himself to do it. He understands what the poor thing is going through. He knows all to well what it is like to be alone in a world fighting for survival. Reaching apartment 6 he finds the door is unlocked, opening it as he normally does. Checking his angles like he is trained to do. It's all by the book, he can't do it any other way. Normally he would be announcing his presence but after the run in down stairs he figures he will play it safe. If there is someone alive in here, they'd probably have their door locked and would react to him kicking it in. Apartment number six does not yeild much, one lone can of tuna which he gladly opens and leaves for his furry friend. The cat descends on the fresh food within seconds. Running a hand down its back as it feeds he leaves the apartment and starts heading towards lucky number seven.
Finding number 7 locked he proceeds to kick the door open as is his thing. His new friend leaving apartment six and heading towards him seconds after his boot connects with wood and the innards of the apartment enter his field of vision. The cat would make it half way towards Leeroy when it would stop, arch its back and begin hissing. The change in attitude gets a reaction out of our hero as he steps away from the door, back down the hall towards apartment number 6. The cat would keep hissing and growling in the direction of the newly opened apartment as both he and Sweetness would be ready for war. Two almost three minutes slip by, his stalwart friend still growling at the door. When the first zombie shambles out of the door way Sweetness is quick to react, dumping to shots into the meatbag before it goes down. The loud bangs cause the cat to skitter back. Zombies number two and three meet similiar fates even though they move faster than the large bloated figure that made its appearance first. He could easily have put his baby into Full Auto and unleashed bursts at them but why bother? He knew that you had to take your time, to look the devil in the eye before you pulled the trigger. Why throw bullets away like candy? The fancy new Aimpoint CompM4 that he had outfitted his girl with was certainly making things easier that was for sure.
With the zombies dead and the loud noises a thing of the past his furry friend would move back over to him, mewling and purring as it had been. Bending down Leeroy would pet the cat for several times. "What a smart kitty, yes you are, yes you are. You're so smart." The cat had sensed the zombies before he had, it was like an early warning system. Maybe having it tag along with him while he was in here wouldn't be that bad of a thing. Hell he could use a friend as much as the cat could. It would benefit both of them greatly, and at least he would have someone to talk to, someone that could show affection. Someone that would remain loyal and that was a hard thing to find these days. Stepping into apartment seven his search turns up nothing as does the search of apartments 8, 9 and 10. What little food they had was long since rotten. Only one more floor to go. Returning to the stairs he would hold the door to the stairwell open as the cat would slip in, stopping to look up at him as if waiting to see which way Leeroy went. When Leeroy starts heading up the stairs the cat follows him, racing ahead this time. Was that a good sign?
The top floor and all five apartments are devoid of zombies and nearly devoid of all useful goods as well. Out of all of them he manages to find three cans of tuna and five cans of soup. There is no medicine to find there, the gifts don't seem to be under the trees, the apartments almost look like they have been picked clean already which is weird to him considering the fact that the first two floors had zombies and supplies. Had it been done by the remenants of the building before they turned into the walking dead? Questions would flood his mind and he had no answers to sate them with. It didn't matter in the long run. With the last floor cleared both he and the cat would begin the trip downstairs, winding down the steps as they aim for the bottom. Reaching the first floor he would move towards the front door, stopping several feet in front of it. The cat would resume its curling around his legs, purring loudly as it does, as it had the entire time. Reaching down with his left hand he would scoop the cat up, pressing it against his chest as it begins to lick his face. Once secured he would carry it over the glass and outside the creature snuggling and licking his cheek with gusto. Leeroy would carry it all the way to his humvee, Sweetness held in his right hand at the ready just in case. Opening the door he would lean in and place the cat on the passangers seat as he took off the ILBE from his back and entered the cab as well. Reaching into his cooler he would remove a pepperette from it with one hand as his other hand retrieved the bayonette at his hip. Cutting small chunks off the meatstick he would place it on the seat his furry companion eating it up.
"Hrmmm...what am I going to call you." His verbal pondering would help him in his process or so he thought. He would remain quiet for several minutes afterwards while he and the cat shared their meal together. Even after the pepperette was long gone and the cat had moved over to curl up on his lap he would he would remain silent as he pondered what to call it. His hand would lightly drift across the cats head as he tried to come up with something suiting, something that had meaning to him.
Almost an hour slips by before the name finally comes to him. Like lightning in a bottle it lights up his brain. The cat had looked after him, had saved his bacon from the zombies, there was only one name that he felt would do the creature justice.
"You're a good kitty aren't you.....Barry."
Turning the Humvees engine over he would pull away from the apartment building, heading back on the road again. It wouldn't be to long until he reached Seaford and the so called New Haven compound. He wouldn't bother moving Barry from his lap, he rather enjoyed the company, enjoyed being close to another living creature. While he had Raquel and her daughter in his vehicle mere days ago they weren't close. It wasn't the same as the physical connection that he and the cat shared. Did that make him fucked in the head? Perhaps? But if it is fucked to desire a closeness to someone or something after years spent by yourself then he was double fucked. Right now the only two things that he held any compassion for was his new found friend and Sweetness. A cat and a gun. "You might be losing it Leeroy." He would speak to himself, his voice causing Barrys left ear to twitch slightly but the cat wouldn't alter its curled up status.
Three more hours to go. He wondered how his meeting would go this time.
