Chapter 2: Unexpected Baggage

Second chapter of The World Ended Silently. Still coming from Dallas' POV. Enjoy!

Chapter 2: Unexpected Baggage

            The following morning Dallas and Dodge got up early so they could search the uptown area of Colorado Springs and make it back to their camp before the sun set. After putting his hoodie back on, Dallas and Dodge began their trek to Colorado Springs’ once bustling uptown area. They passed several of the ruins they saw the day before, bringing back the memories of the dead manager in the store. Dallas cringed at the thought of his eyeless head, barely holding what was left of his jaw to his face.

            The duo made a few stops along the way to uptown, seeing if there was anything to be found in the abandoned buildings. They found little to nothing amongst the rubble that they could take. However, at one nameless store Dallas found a few guitar tablature books

            ‘Good, I’ve been needing to learn some new songs to raise people’s spirits’ he thought. Not even caring about the fun he’d have learning the songs, but more so about the joy it would bring to others. He had a selfless personality in that light; caring about others wants and needs before his.

            Though they found little they could carry, the duo did find a few things the scavengers could take. Many of the objects would be useful to the small settlement. Out of all of the discoveries, Dallas found something especially interesting that Grant would enjoy having at the Fortress.

            Hidden in the back of what appeared to be a now empty gun store, Dodge sent out a series of short barks, signaling he found something he thought of worth. Once Dallas got to the back of the store he saw a tarp covering a semi-large object. It was about the size of a big motorcycle, but did not look like one in the slightest. When Dallas pulled back the tarp, he found a flak gun. It was smaller than most military sized artillery batteries, so it was more than likely used for the mountains around the city to cause avalanches if the need ever arose. It was most likely in the store to be repaired, but it didn’t look like it was heavily damaged or worn. The gun could still be of use if Kirk, the Fortress’ mechanic, could fix it and make it fit for duty.

            Dallas and Dodge searched around more, finding several cartons of ammo too big for them to take back, including ammo for the flak gun. After taking a couple of rounds for his pistol, Dallas left the shop marking the location on the city map that was given to him by Grant. He then looked up at the sun, seeing that it was almost noon. They would have to be quick if they were gonna get to uptown and then back to their hideout before sunset.

            The duo doubled their speed, quickly reaching uptown with the sun barely moving from its previous position. Once they arrived, they quickly explored a handful of the buildings around the area. They were surprised to discover that most of the buildings were left unpicked, showing how few people made it to uptown. A few luxuries were found that Dallas could take back with him and give to the other survivors. He found a toy store and chose a toy for each child at the Fortress, he even found a tennis ball for Dodge. Dallas also located a brewery and took a few bottles of wine, scotch and whiskey.

            ‘A little treat for everyone else’ Dallas thought, not having tasted a smooth shot of whiskey in the past few months.

            As he passed from store to store, Dallas and Dodge came across other areas that the scavengers could come and take a look at. Amongst some of the items that he noted were motorcycles, barrels of gas and oil, boxes of food and rations, and, best of all, winter clothing that would be needed in the next few months.

            ‘Good! I was worrying about freezing my a*s of this year.’

            Even though many of the buildings had surplus supplies in them, the area was still as destroyed as downtown. Several of the multi-story buildings had crumbled, leaving only piles of brick. Parks and community centers were ruined, covered by vines and overgrown grass. Sidewalks, roads, all destroyed. The few buildings that Dallas and Dodge could get in and out of without any trouble proved to be worth the effort they put in to getting to uptown.

            Dallas looked up at the sky, noticing the sun was getting slightly closer to the horizon. He decided to visit one more area of uptown, choosing a square that looked promising. The team made a quick jog over to the square, seeing a mound of rubble blocking their path. They easily traversed the blockade and came to see something very surprising.

            Military vehicles, tanks, military grade weaponry, all of this dotted the square along with excess gas on military trucks and several boxes of rations. This area looked like an outpost being used by the armed forces to contain the infected, but they had obviously failed. Not a living soul in sight. Dallas and Dodge had hit the jack pot. Dallas quickly jotted the area down on his map as a priority, listing only a few of the valuable resources they could scavenge here. As soon as Dallas and Dodge reached the other side of the blockade, they heard something climb up on top of it.

            He heard a whistle, followed by a grungy voice saying, “Well look what we have here boys.”

            “Enough military stuff to start an empire” answered a Mexican accented voice.

            Dallas wheeled around to see three men, all armed with M16s and looking like they didn’t want to share this place with anyone. As soon as Dodge heard something he quickly snuck out of sight, luckily being unseen by the trio of men.

            “See I told ya dat followin’ this ‘ere youngin’ was a good ider,” this time a twang-like voice made a comment, coming from a scrawny white man.

            “You were right Steve” said, who Dallas thought was, the leader. “We’ll make quick work of this here squirt and take what we can get.”

            Once this was said Dallas saw Dodge getting ready to position himself behind the man named Steve. All Dallas needed to do was buy a little time and they could easily have them begging for their lives. If the trio was lucky.

            “Wait!” yelled Dallas.

            The men looked up, about to shoot him. But Dallas quickly continued.

            “Listen, I came from the military base around here.”

            This seemed to peak the leader’s interest.

            “You mean the Air Force base?”

            “Yes.”

            “Why should that matter to us?”

            “Because I can get you supplies that would make this dwarf in comparison.”

            The Mexican man chimed in, “Boss I don’t like this, I mean he could be tricking us. Maybe we shou-“

            The man was met with a swift punch to the nose, no doubt breaking it. The red-neck, Steve, immediately looked at the man his leader just hit, trying to help him up.

            “I make the calls here! And I say let the kid speak!” he barked at his two underlings. “Now continue, squirt. You were saying something about supplies…?”

            And as the man wheeled around he saw an arrow pointed right at his face.

            “Yes. I was saying how these supplies are mine” Dallas answered confidently.

            All the boss could do was laugh. “You think you can take us all on? Us three? With a bow? Do you see these guns?!?”

            The leader pointed his gun at Dallas, unaware of Dodge’s presence as he quickly attacked Steve, tearing his neck open and leaving him to bleed out. All he could do was grasp his throat as all of his life blood slowly surged out of him, knowing death was close. The leader turned, ready to fire his gun, but Dallas quickly shot an arrow in the back of his knee, forcing him to the ground. After kicking the gun out of his range, Dallas turned to be met with another gun barrel pointed directly at him, but this time the shooter was the man with the broken nose.

            “Guess you’re s**t out of luck eh? Essay?” mocked the Mexican man.

            Seeing his master being threatened, Dodge bit hard on the Mexican man’s calf causing him to scream harshly. Dallas quickly brought his knife to the man’s heart, ending his life along with his brief pain. The now-attackers walked over to the leader, who was still holding his knee.

            Dallas put an arrow in his face and mocked, “Who’s the squirt now?”

            With that, he let the arrow fly. Making quick work of the man who was threatening him only a few moments earlier.

            “Well, now that was an exciting adventure. Wouldn’t you agree Dodge?”

            Dodge gave a quick bark and was given a treat for the great work he did. “What would I do without you, you mangy mutt?”

            A happy bark followed this joking insult. Dallas looked up at the sky and saw the sun dangerously approaching the horizon. The two realized it was time to leave. They found what they were looking for, now they needed to rest for tomorrow. Dallas give a quick click of his tongue and a sharp whistle, the signal for leaving an area quickly to Dodge.

            Dallas and Dodge hurried over the rubble and double timed it back to the hideout. As they approached their camp, Dallas heard a shrill scream of terror. It was obvious it was a little kid’s scream which made Dallas, as well as Dodge, freeze in their steps. They contemplated for a second if they should follow the scream and help the person it came from. The team knew the risks, but making Dallas choose, Dodge dashed towards the scream.

            “Wait! Dodge!” Dallas called after him.

            But it was no use, he was already charging towards the sound of trouble, like a trusty steed of a knight running to aid the fair maiden.

            “Fine! But if we both die, I’m going to kill you!”

            Dallas quickly chased after Dodge, eventually coming to a clearing covered in shadows. Dodge was whimpering behind some rubble when Dallas found him, and there was only one thing that made Dodge do that. When he looked out over the square, he saw a woman trying to fend off some creature while simultaneously protecting a little boy behind her. The creature that was attacking them he knew all too well.

            It was the same size as a human, as it should be since that’s what it once was. Its gray skin covered its enter body, and the bone coming out of his elbows and at the ends of his hind legs made him look all the more bestial. Its hairless body and animal like legs made it even deadlier, allowing the creature to be able to hunt down any human with ease. The lurkers were the creatures that caused the apocalypse to occur, and they almost hunted the human population to extinction. Even if you got away from an attacking lurker, the poison would already be inside of your veins and you would soon join their ranks. So even if it didn’t kill you, you would just add to their already massive population. They only had one true weakness to exploit. They could not handle UV rays making it impossible for them to traverse in the daylight. Only being able to hunt at night, though, makes them even more dangerous, allowing them to blend into the darkness with ease. It was the ultimate predator, and its main quarry: humans.

            Dallas knew what would happen if he didn’t act fast. So he commanded Dodge to stay near the rubble where he couldn’t be seen. Then, he went up closer to the scene, having his bow at the ready and knocking an arrow on its string. The lurker was having fun toying with its food, so it was in no rush to finish the job, making it that much easier for Dallas. He quickly went behind a pile of rubble located directly in front of the building where the creature had the pair cornered. The sun was getting dangerously low, more lurkers would be out soon. Dallas had to make quick work of the monster before more of his brethren joined in the hunt.

            Quickly, he drew the arrow back and with a shot that even the Greek god Apollo would be proud of, hit the lurker right where the spinal cord and head met. It wasn’t over, yet. The surprised and enraged beast whirled around to where Dallas was just seconds ago. He quickly went over to some coverage just to the left of his previous spot, right before the creature could see him. As it wandered over towards the pile of rubble, Dallas shot another arrow with a broader head, tearing the muscle and sinew that held its arm and shoulder together, going straight through it and making the arm useless. With this shot, the beast let out a scream of enraged pain. This time when he turned around, he saw what hit him.

            Dallas was climbing up towards the ruins of a building to get a better view of the clearing. Once he turned around, he saw the lurker storming towards him with supernatural speed that every member of their species possessed. The crafty scout quickly knocked one final arrow into his bow, one that was dipped in a deadly amount of hydrochloric acid. Either way, this small conflict would end soon. Just as the lurker was beginning to climb towards Dallas’ position, the arrow was let loose. It found its mark, lodging itself within the black eye of the raging beast. He let out a howl so loud and painful that Dallas went deaf for a few seconds after the lurker fell. This time it was truly dead, the acid eating away at the skull and brain. Even after one minute the acid had done its work, turning the monsters once fearful head into a pile of blood, brain matter and liquefied skeletal remains.

            Dodge barked in delight to see that his master had won the battle. This brought Dallas back into reality, and he looked at the sun, barely showing any of itself. He quickly ran over to the pair, both were shivering and shocked by the lurker they almost fell prey to.

            “Hey! Are you there?!?” asked Dallas as he waved his hand in front of them.

            The young woman quickly snapped back into reality and stared at Dallas. She had straight, dark blonde hair coming down to her neck. Her eyes, which Dallas was staring into, were colored green like the grasslands of the Midwest. Her skin was lightly tanned and her face was slightly sullen, showing the small lack of nutrition that most survivors outside of the Fortress were suffering. She was dressed in a jean jacket with a black t-shirt and wore jeans with a pair of brown combat boots.

            Dallas quickly broke the small reverie he was in, “Listen we need to go now! Follow me, I know a place where we’ll be safe for the night!”

            The young woman broke out of her thoughts as well, nodding her head and jumping to her feet. She quickly picked up the young boy who was still in slight shock from seeing, what Dallas assumed, was his first lurker. They quickly ran to the basement hidden in the store. By the time they reached the store, Dodge’s ears kept shooting up at the screeches and rustling coming from the buildings, the sun was completely down. Before the lurker packs could come out of their hiding spots from the light, the group was able to make it safely to the basement.

            “We need to stop making those close calls, eh?” he jokingly said to Dodge.

            He agreed with a quiet bark and heavy breathes.

            “Are we safe from the monsters?” piped a terrified voice.

            It was the young boy who was no more than 11 that spoke. He had shaggy brown hair, white, near pale, skin and a small body, small even for his age. He was wearing a pair of jeans and sneakers, and had a hoodie with sleeves on it covering his body almost completely. His face looked so innocent, like he was thrown into the apocalypse at the perfect age to still hold on to some of it. But the most interesting aspect of his being were his eyes. One, the right eye, was blue, the other eye was green. It was something that was barely seen, even in the civilizations that dotted the earth in the past.

            “Are we safe?”

            The terrified look on his face made Dallas answer almost immediately.

            “Yes, down here we’re perfectly safe” Dallas said sounding confident of the shelter they were hiding in.

            His terrified look became a little less so, prompting even a little bit of a smile showing he was glad to be out of harm’s way. Dallas set his pack down over by the dry spot where he and Dodge slept. He began to take off his gear, padded gloves, arm guards, elbow pads, knee pads and shin guards, all protecting the light, black clothing he wore underneath. Then, he turned his attention to the visitors he had found.

            “So, since you’re at least staying the night here, I might as well know your names.” He ventured.

            Dodge barked in agreement.

            “Well”, the woman began to answer “I’m Delilah and this is my brother-“

            “I’m Kael!” The young boy chimed in excitingly. “The way you defeated that monster was really cool, mister!”

            Dallas gave a hearty laugh to this statement. “Well, I try my best. I couldn’t just leave a damsel in distress and her guardsman behind.”

            Kael beamed when he heard Dallas call him her sister’s guardsman. While Delilah smiled and blushed slightly at being called a damsel in distress.

            She laughed slightly, “Um, so what is your name?”

            “My name is Dallas. And this canine of my mine is Dodge!”

            Dodge barked at the sound of his name. Jumping over towards the small conversation. Kael went off to play with him while Delilah and Dallas continued the talk they were having.

            “Thank you… You know? For saving us” Delilah was the first to speak

            “Of course! Dodge would never forgive me if I didn’t.”

            The two laughed at the small joke. The most they had in the past few months.

            “So, I have to ask: what are you doing in the Springs?”

            He looked at her for a few seconds, trying to judge if he could trust her. He eventually came to the decision that he could.

            “Well, I’m actually a scout. Looking around the city to find anything of use for a little town I come from”

            At this she immediately had shock on her face, “You-you’re from a town?”

            He nodded, “Yes, it’s called the Fortress, named after the center of the town, which is my friend’s fortress of a mansion.”

            Delilah looked down, and began to think.

            “Listen, is it… Is it possible that my brother and I… Could return with you to your camp?”

            Dallas wasn't surprised by the question. “Possibly. Our leader, Grant, would have to decide if you could help us or not.”

            “Well, I can farm and scavenge, that’s how we've been living this past year.”

            “Then I’m sure you could, we always need people to help create a consistent supply of food.”

            Her face looked up at him with glee, happy to learn that they had a chance to join Dallas’ settlement. Even though it was just a chance.

            “Really? That'd be great! I can’t thank you enough!”

            Without thinking, she gave Dallas a hug. He reluctantly hugged her back and they stayed that way for a short time. When they realized where they were, they both broke apart quickly, red covering both of the cheeks.

            “You-you’re welcome. But you’ll have to stay here for at least three more days, I need to finish scouting the city.”

            She nodded her head, “Okay. If you need any help…”

            “No, that’s fine. You and you’re brother have been through a lot. I’ll let you guys rest for the next few days while Dodge and I finish scouting out and mapping the area.”

            Delilah looked at him with a smile, happy that her and her brother would be able to take a couple days to rest. After the past few weeks of running, they needed it.

            Around this time, Kael finished playing with Dodge and saw the coloring books sticking out of Dallas’ pack. He went over quickly to pick out one to color. When he reached to pull one out the beg fell over with Dallas’ locket rolling out. Kael opened the locket and saw what was held inside. He ran over to Dallas and Delilah holding the locket open.

            “Hey Dallas” he turned to Kael’s voice, “who’s this picture of?”

            Dallas looked at what Kael had in his possession. Once he saw it, his eyes widened and he quickly snatched it out of the little boy’s hands. This made the little boy recoil and hide behind his sister, who in turn held onto him.

            Once he saw the dismay on the siblings’ face, Dallas regretted what he did.

            “Listen”, Dallas began “this… it’s important to me and so is the picture. It’s… I’m sorry… I need to go to bed and get some rest. There’s some jerky and dried fruit I’ll get for you to eat.”

            He got the food and gave it to the pair. They were happy with the food they received, but still looked at the scout a little oddly. Dallas went over to the spot where he slept, followed quickly by Dodge. The brother and sister went to work at eating, and soon they found a dry spot in the basement and tried to sleep as well. At this point, Dallas was still awake.

            He looked at the locket that was still in his hands, opening and closing it, seeing and losing the girl again and again. This time he couldn’t help it, and Dallas immediately went back to the moment when he received the precious trinket.

            “I got you something”, the blonde said with happiness and pride.

            “You didn’t have to get me anything”, Dallas replied as he began to open the gift. “I told you all I needed for my birthday was you.”

            “I know…” she blushed at his comment. “So that’s all I gave you.”

            She finished her sentence as Dallas finished opening his gift. It was a small, red box. He opened it, revealing a golden locket with a matching chain. The locket was already open, revealing a picture of what was unmistakably the girl he loved.

            “This is…” he paused for a moment, “This is perfect. Thank you, it means so much.”

            “I’m glad to hear that. Now I’ll be with you wherever you go… But there’s just one promise I want you to make before you put it on.”

            She slowly took the locket out of the confused man’s hand and began to put it on around his neck.

            She continued, “You have to promise, when you’re done with college, when you’re moving on with your life, you’ll never forget me and come find me as soon as you can. And when you come to find me, I’ll be waiting.”

            Dallas smiled and nodded, looking at the locket that was fastened around his neck. “I will. You know I will… And it’s because… I…” he grabbed her hand, looked into her deep blue eyes and finished, “I love you.”

            He had felt it for a while, but never said it to her, not knowing if she returned his feelings. The girl smiled and began to cry tears of joy.

            “Oh, Dallas. I love you, too.”

            The blonde girl quickly closed the gap between them, holding her love’s face tenderly. Dallas then reached up to hold her as well, kissing her, enjoying this moment that he would never forget.

            And he still hadn’t forgotten that moment. He blocked it out almost every night so no amount of sadness would enter his body. Dallas knew he would find her, he never broke his promises.

            “I miss you… When I can, I will find you…” a single tear rolled down his cheek to the concrete floor of the basement. “I know I will find you… Lyra…”

            Letting himself say her name and enter his dreams, he fell into a deep sleep. It was one of the happier, but also sadder, sleeps he had had in a long time.

Author's Note

Okay I know this is a long chapter, but it is worth the read! I will make chapters relatively shorter or try to. Looking for any and all critique! Thanks!