Dead Man Walking: Living By Day, Dead By Night - Chapter 38

Earning One’s Keep
Zane did not sleep long… Something was changing with his body, no doubt as a result of his skill Dead Man Walking. The man needed half as many hours as a normal man to sleep and feel fully refreshed. Though he got back to the sanctuary he had built for himself before the sun had risen, it was shortly after dawn that he had awoken.

Feeling a particular urge for a smoke, Zane reached into his initial pack of cigarettes, which he was starting to run low on, and commented on how lucky he was to come across a local drugstore that remain unsacked.

“And here I thought I would have to go cold turkey… Now I have several cartons, that should last me a while…”

Zane said this as he unlatched the three steel bars that prevented a forced entry from the rooftop, and entered a space that was potentially hazardous, with only his sidearm and combat knife to keep him safe. The moment after Zane closed the door behind him and walked toward the ledge to smoke his cigarette in peace, he noticed a presence that he had grown accustomed to.

The Stalker was sitting behind the doorway with its legs crossed and its head hanging low. Almost as if it were waiting for Zane’s arrival. By now, Zane had grown accustomed to this high level undead, and its tendencies to follow him around, and thus he looked over at the creature with a calm expression on his face while exhaling a puff of smoke from his lungs.

After doing this, Zane brazenly spoke to the creature, almost as if he were speaking to himself.

“You know… I have been observing you as much as you have been spying on me these past few days, and there is one conclusion I have come to. You are far more intelligent than you make yourself out to be. I would not even doubt if you could speak English, and are simply refusing to do so to hide your true capabilities from me…”

Contrary to what Zane was expecting, as he took another drag on his cigarette, the undead creature did not speak to him. Instead, it rose to its feet and vanished into thin air. However, in the very next second, it appeared directly in front of Zane. Where it began to sniff him, almost as if it were a dog of some kind.

Perhaps Zane was mistaken about how intelligent this creature was, but regardless, it continued to sniff him, while Zane sat there smoking a cigarette as if this was just a normal part of his day. And once the Stalker had finished its observations, it backed off from Zane. Staring at him with a curious expression on its decaying face.

It was clear that the creature could not tell whether Zane was a member of the living or dead. After all, his behavior and ability to talk were unusual, at least from the perspective of an undead. But there was something else in its eyes, a deep sense of fear and reverence. Almost as if it were treating him as it is superior.

Zane thought for sure he was mistaking this expression until the creature ran off. Disappearing entirely from his sight. Leaving no trace that it had ever even been on the rooftop of the second building. Zane did not know why, but he was beginning to suspect that the creature may have misunderstood something about him.

Though he had no idea what kind of effect this misunderstanding might have on his future endeavors, Zane decided not to dwell on it. After all, he now had an m4 carbine, one that he had a standard load out of 210 rounds for. Or well, more like 205, after spending five rounds on that foolish father.

With this new and powerful weapon, Zane felt as if he could confidently take care of the abomination that Keith had turned into. After all, while the stalker was cunning and intelligent in ways he did not yet fully understand, Keith’s strength was something to be feared. And the sooner that fat son of a bitch was resting six feet under the dirt, the better it was for him and the other survivors in his group.

But more importantly, after scavenging some much needed supplies that would last him and his group several more days. Zane now needed to turn his attention towards grinding his levels once more. And because of this, he wanted to see if Keith gave him something unique. Or if he was just the same as any other undead.

Thus, after finishing his cigarette and stamping it out on the rooftop. Zane walked towards the rooftop entrance, where he took one last look behind him, to ensure that the Stalker was truly gone, before shutting and barricading the door behind him.

Now it was time to go hunt an abomination… But Zane could not do this alone. Instead, he would need to bring Elena and Olivia with him. After all, they were awakened individuals like himself, and thus they could help him defeat this undead monstrosity of unknown power.

As for everyone else in Zane’s group of survivors, it was time for them to earn their keep. They could either deal some damage to the abomination or act as adequate meat shields. Either way, Zane was no longer going to be giving out free meals going forward.

Once Zane had descended from the rooftop staircase, he found Elena and Olivia looking at his new equipment within his room. There was a deep sense of anxiety in their eyes, as Elena quickly interrogated Zane about where he had gotten such equipment.

“Zane… You didn’t go out last night, did you? Please tell me you didn’t do anything so reckless!”

Yet Zane did not answer this question, instead he picked up the plate carrier which he had left in his temporary quarters and strapped it to his body before slinging the m4 carbine to his chest. After doing this, Zane reached towards the ruck that laid nearby and pulled out the handgun he had scavenged from the man he had killed.

The grip of the handgun was coated in blood. But what Zane was more concerned about was the fact that it was not even remotely compatible with the handgun he had scavenged from the police officer on the first day of this apocalypse.

N0ot only did the handgun he had taken not use the same magazines as the one he gained from the school’s only police officer, but it also used a different type of ammunition. 45 ACP, to be exact, in comparison to Zane’s 9mm Parabellum. Also, sometimes referred to as 9mm Luger.

It was because of this that Zane scowled when he held the 1911 in his hands before giving it to Elena, where he made sure she knew how to properly handle it before fully gifting it to the girl.

“I found this… Don’t ask where or how…. It’s yours now if you can handle it… You do know how to properly use a firearm, right?”

Elena scoffed when she heard this, before reprimanding Zane for his remarks.

“Of course I do! Probably better than you! You know better than anyone that my father didn’t raise me to be a damsel in distress! You have any spare magazines?”

Zane silently pointed towards the military ruck before ensuring that a round was chambered in his rifle. After which he flipped the safety on, while he walked towards the door expressing his plans for the three of them.

“It’s time to go hunting… Elena, Olivia, you’re with me… As for everyone else in this camp, it’s time they earn their keep.”

Zane received no argument from Elena or Olivia. As they followed after him, helping the man wake up everyone else in their camp, so that they could be conscripted into their undead slaying activities.