CANNIBALS

[5 days later]

After gathering enough resources, we decided to leave for our next destination. The journey ahead is going to be difficult, well, when was anything easy in this world anyway?

I've sent a scout team, led by Ange, early ahead to check out the condition of the road and all. Since we were going to stop at the Shield camp near Lebanon, it was necessary to check out the situation there before jumping in blindly. According to her reports, there are apparently a couple of people living there. They are living near the entrance hall since the main gate inside the camp was locked. But the thing is upon further surveillance the scout team found out that they seem to worship some kind of self-made pillars and their behavior isn't like that of normal people.

They are a cult.

However, the good news is that there were only eight of them.

So, eight cultists worshipping pillars? Sounds ridiculous, but well, Ange confirmed it herself, so it must be true. Well, we'll take them out if they try to stop us from getting those weapons from the camp. I'd rather not deal with crazies, but well, it looks like I have to. After an uninterrupted drive for four hours or so, we finally reached the temporary camp our scout team secured.

"Check the cars. Although it was a four-hour drive, just check them just in case," I looked toward Ange, "Ange take position, you will guide us. Tyger and I will go to the camp. If things get heated, just shoot them down," I ordered as I reloaded my handgun, "There are only eight of them. So, it shouldn't be a problem. The rest, you guys secure the surroundings."

Jenny pulled my hand, "I wanna go too. Why do you always leave me behind?"

Ah! This sister of mine is too clingy.

"It's dangerous," I smiled as I placed my hand on her shoulder, "I need you guys to protect the car. There might be some survivors hiding in the building nearby. Or there could be zombies around here. So, you are in charge of this place, or maybe you don't want to take on such a big responsibility, in that case, you can come with us too."

"I'm in charge?" Jenny muttered as she let go of me, "Alright! I'll do it."

I nodded at her, "Good. The rest of you, stay vigilant."

"You heard the boss," Jace jumped down from the hood of the car, and walked toward me, "I'll take my boys and sniff around. Who knows, we might find some fuel and supplies."

"Yeah, you do that," I gave a nod.

Mom walked up to me, "Be careful of those cultists. You know how dangerous they are. Just because they are only eight doesn't mean they are weak."

I nodded again, "I got it."

She nodded back and stepped aside.

Tyger walked up to me, "Let's go, the sooner we finish this the better."

"Yeah," I replied, then looked at Ange who was already in position. She gave a smiling thumbs up.

The ruins of the town ahead loomed like silent sentinels, remnants of a once-thriving community now reduced to rubble and decay. I adjusted my grip on the handgun, my senses alert for any sign of movement. Tyger walked beside me, her eyes scanning the surrounding area for potential threats. The air was still and heavy, the only sound was the soft crunch of our footsteps on the gravel. We moved slowly and cautiously, not wanting to alert the cultists or the nearby zombies.

Broken buildings, rusted cars, and scattered debris littered the streets. The silence was oppressive, the atmosphere thick with tension. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up and a sense of foreboding settled in my stomach. We were being watched. I can tell that. I glanced at Tyger, she gave me a subtle nod indicating she felt the same way.

"Guys, stop. Get into the building on your right. Two crawlers ahead," Ange's voice came through the earpiece. "We scouted the place. There weren't any crawlers around here. Fuck! They must have come from the nearby forest."

I immediately took cover in the nearby building. Tyger followed closely behind me. I peeked through the window, and there they were, two crawlers, mindlessly walking around like lost puppies. They are thin and skinny. Their legs were shaking as if they were ready to give out at any moment. I can see the bone structure under their skin. Wait! Their flesh is missing! Weird...

"What now? Should we kill them or what?" Tyger asked. "It seems that they haven't eaten anything for months. We can take them down in one go."

"Don't. Ange, look around. Are there any more zombies around?" I asked while keeping an eye on those two crawlers.

"No. Weird. As far as I know, crawlers hunt in groups. So why the heck are there only two of them? Something smells fishy, Karl. Be careful," Ange warned me.

"Got it," I replied and turned to Tyger.

"So?" She raised her gun.

"Save the bullets," I took out my bow and arrow from inventory, "I'll take care of them. But something is bothering me. Crawlers hunt in groups, so why the hell are there only two of them? Where are the rest of them?"

"You think this is a trap?" Tyger frowned as she looked around.

I nodded, "Yeah. We need to be careful."

"Alright," Tyger got ready.

I shot those two half-dead crawlers dead with arrows. Two arrows, two kills. Perfect headshots. After checking the street, we proceeded. Those two were the only zombies around, so the road ahead was clear. We have almost reached the campsite.

"Get behind that car on the right. Men ahead," Ange warned us through the earpiece as usual.

We immediately took cover behind that rusted old car. Then from behind the car, I peeked through the windowless windows of the rundown house. At a distance, on the side of the street, there were five men. They were sitting around a campfire with grillers, enjoying themselves. I don't know why, but they were wearing brand new expensive-looking clothes, rings, chains and watches.

What the fuck are they doing?! Wearing such things in this era of the dead! I took another peek and didn't find any weapons around them. They must be carrying some handguns and melee weapons hidden in their clothes. On the ground, lay, six bottles of alcohol and a couple of beer bottles.

Well, that's cultists for you. Fuckers do all types of stupid and dangerous shits.

"Are they having a barbeque party?!" Tyger whispered as the cultists continued chatting around the fire while grilling the meat.

"What the fuck," I cursed under my breath.

"What?"

"Look at the meat they are grilling," I turned toward her.

"Fucking hell!" Tyger was also surprised to see the scene before us.

Those cultists were grilling zombie meat. And from what I can tell, that is definitely crawler's meat. Don't tell me, these fuckers captured the entire hoard and have been eating them?! Just what the fuck is wrong with these assholes?!

Those two crawlers we encountered earlier... These lunatics must have let them out to attract more of their kind. Now, I see why the heck their meat was missing from their legs. Eeew! Sick fuckers!

I clenched my jaw, steadying my breath as I signaled Tyger to stay low. The cultists were preoccupied with their "barbeque," not noticing our presence. The opportunity was there, we had the element of surprise. With the right timing, we can easily kill them all before they realize what is happening.

"We need to take them out quietly," I whispered. "We can't risk alerting the others."

Tyger nodded, her eyes sharp and focused, "I'll circle around and take out the one closest to the alley. You cover me."

I pulled my bow and took aim, the arrow tip glinting in the sunlight. A light breeze tickled my cheek, the world seemed to stand still as time itself slowed. A calmness washed over my mind, a deadly concentration settling deep within my core.

Tyger slipped out, moving silently like a seasoned predator. I readied an arrow, keeping my gaze fixed on the cultists. Their laughter and chatter filled the air, oblivious to the danger lurking nearby. It was sickening.

Tyger slowly and carefully sneaked up behind the nearest man, the cultist too focused on grilling his crawler meat to notice her. She took out her knife and skillfully slit the poor bastard's throat. Before the other four men could do anything, three arrows pierced their heads simultaneously, and a final arrow buried itself deep into the fifth man's skull.

The four cultists dropped dead into a pool of their own blood.

I got out of the hiding place and walked toward the camp. Tyger was already looking inside the building, in front of the camp. I turned my attention toward the small building. There were heaps of bones and cages. Three caged crawlers and two naked girls. One looks dead, poor girl, these cult fuckers cut off her arms, and well... Shit! They ate her upper parts. But the other girl was still alive, but she looked skinny and malnourished. She looks like a blond teen and somewhat familiar.

I kept walking toward her. The sound of the creaky door startled her, she raised her head and her tearful blue eyes met mine.

"Help!" She stretched her hand toward me.

"JENNIFER LAWRENCE!!"

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