Dells watched in horror as his deputy’s life bleed out of the bullet wound through his skull. For a long moment he stared at his ally, his friend, but then the shooting drew him out of his daze.

Henry and Freddy were taking fire. He could only hope they fared better than he and Cale. Grabbing a rifle he tossed in over his shoulder, while letting a shotgun fill his hands. He was about to leave his ride when he saw the first zombies appearing on the other side of the post office parking lot. “Hell, that’s all I need. Snipers and zombies. Snipers, zombies, and death.”

(An Hour Earlier)

Ned Conway sat on a rock situated on the top of a hill overlooking San Miguel. He and his brothers had been hitting isolated desert towns since the beginning of the zombie apocalypse.

Raiding such towns had a lot of upsides. First off, low populations meant less biters to deal with. Also the folks in the boonies tended to stock up on non-perishable food and firearms more than the average person living in the city. Sure they had run into some well armed people holding out, but they usually just let them be and moved on. They weren’t angels by any means and he and his brothers had taken liberties with far more than stores of food.

Sometimes Ned marveled over how quickly the façade of civilization had slipped away from him and his brothers. Temple in particular had developed a mean streak that would have landed in in jail at best during normal times. Out here, it was a survival mechanism. Jonny, who was often called Man-Mountain, due to his side, had a softer spot for the ladies and would beg his brothers to allow him to take one along with them. Temple would have none of it and after he slit the throat of a woman before his older brother’s eyes, Jonny had stopped asking.

But they had never found a town where so many people had survived. It had seemed like too many to take on, but then Temple saw some of the women down there and he wanted them. The town also had working vehicles, guns and probably food. It seemed like a place too good to pass up, but the brothers had muddled over how they could take over the town.

When screams and gunfire had broken out, they had almost made their move, but then the sheriff had returned.

They were about to go for it, when they saw a small horde traveling down I-87. Ned and his brothers had made sure they were lured into the town. They didn’t need everyone alive, just a few women would do. Have a little fun, get a little gear, and then move on. Perhaps they might stay this time, but that never seemed to happen.

Ned and Jonny would often want to linger, but Temple could never stay in one place to long. Despite being the oldest brother, Ned had a hard time controlling Temple and he worried over his dark nature on sleepless nights. In the end it proved easier to let his brother have his way.

The brothers readied their rifles. “Once those rotters hit the edge of town, we start shooting at anything with a pulse,” Ned said.

“Except for that girl we saw killing some zombies down there. She looks like a fighter and fighters last longer. I want her.”

Neither brother said anything and Jonny looked as the desert rocks beneath his feet. “Fine,” Ned said to fill the vacuum. “It’s those sheriffs that worry me anyway. Once they are down, I think we can handle a few girls.”

Temple laughed. “And handle them is just what I’m going to do.” He laughed again and this time his brothers joined in. In a few hours the town would be theirs to take their time with and do whatever they liked. For them, the apocalypse was a good thing. Overall their lives had never been better and it sure beat working at Jiffy Lobe, like he had for three years.

As the sheriff’s big Suburban sped toward the rotters, Ned took aim and fired.

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Check each next weekend for another episode in Dells fight to save his town from the Eternal Aftermath

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You can explore more of the Eternal Aftermath here!

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