Stage One: Hope in Darkness

Infected (Lara)

 The thick tread of boots reverberate against the metal and concrete walls that box us in. Gait smooth as I move towards Ryan and the ripper. Ryan is panting from the exertion of beating on the ripper. Who is still laughing, enjoying the pain. Ryan's chest rises and falls in a rapid rhythm. His mouth gaping open as if he is drowning in the air. He needs to stop, this will get us nowhere not with a ripper. Minds long broken beyond repair. They do not think like us, like rational people. Normal people spend their lives avoiding pain, fearing it. Not them, they welcome the pain. Any pain, towards them or anything else. Physical or emotional, they do not phase their sick and twisted minds.

I paused in my trek towards them, twisting off and unzipping the bag on my back. The smallest pocket on the front of the bag is where I keep it. I will get a new one from one of the undead on the ground. This one was passing its expiration date. A small baggy is pulled out of my backpack. Inside it contains a finger. The finger of a walker, one of the living dead. It was disgusting to carry around, but it times like this it came in handy. I always kept one with me.

I waved the bag back and forth as I skipped the rest of the way to the ripper. Light hitting the bag with a shine. The flash caught his attention, he now watched me approach. Confusion wrinkled his brow and pulled at his lips. Ryan stepped up and away from the ripper. He had seen me use this tactic before. A secret smile passes between us.

"Hello pretty girl. You want to play with me too?" I held back shivers, seriously it was like he practiced that creepy clown voice of his. No way anyone could sound like that naturally. Kneeling in front of him I swung the bag around, playing with the finger. Forcing a calm and slightly twisted smile on my face,

"In a way," I said and held up the bag containing the finger, "Do you know what this is?"

He smiled, wide enough that his bloodied and yellowing teeth came into view.

"I thought so, just making sure.....because I want some answers and you are going to give them to me." I gave a nonchalant shrug, as if I couldn't care less. It was best if you thought of rippers in a similar way that you did walkers. You could not get hung up on killing them, it would tear you apart. Walkers were not human, neither were rippers. It was as simple as that.

"Why would I do that?" He giggled like a school girl checking out a cute boy. All pretense left me, like an expert poker player I made my face go blank. Then slowly, building the tension, I narrowed my eyes. Lowering them to look right in his, my stare made him shiver. I was getting to him, intimidating him. Good. I could see it in his eyes, a small sliver of fear, of doubt.

"Because a bite from a walker is so venomous it goes straight to the heart. Can kill you within minutes.....After it paralyzed you of course." I give that careless shrug again. Standing up and starting to circle him. A predator watching my prey. He was mine now. He was in my sights and there was no escape.

"But a scratch......" I smiled down at him, letting a harsh light fill my eyes, "oh it goes right to your nervous system.....makes your whole body feel like it is on fire.... like you are being skinned alive, stripped of flesh. Then the most curious thing happens, the venom weakens the bone. All the thrashing from the burning pain.....the force of it shatters the weakened bones." during my little, false, speech I had taken the finger out of the bag. Thank god I was wearing gloves, cause it was absolutely rank with the stench of decay. I did not want to have that smell cling to my fingers.

I ran the edge of the nail lightly over his skin, still circling him. He started to flinch, to wiggle and struggle trying to get away from the finger. Rippers really were idiots. Anyone who had ever seen a walker scratch knew that the story I had just spun was crap. Oh walker scratches could get nasty, they would not turn you like a bite but if not cared for it got infected. Walkers were rotting flesh after all. Filled with all kinds of diseases and bacteria. Stopping in front of him I flash him that smile again as I crouch down to his level. Fear lined every part of his face.