Kira Rae Smith's Story

"What a waste of good vodka" Connor said with a grim laugh as he popped his head around the side of the alley to fire of a short burst at the cannibals. The rounds peppered the back of the dinner one catching the jaw of a woman ripping it clean off. Connor couldn't help but grin to himself, this was almost too easy. Connor ran from the alley and quickly slid into cover behind one of the cannibals trucks, peaking out from behind he started firing a long burst into the diner as he saw the prisoners joining the fight the tracers from there guns joining in on the assault, in the dying light Connor watched the cannibals get cut down by there gunfire until a grenade was thrown through one of the dinner windows with a flash of light and a deafening bang.

Connor trained his rifle on the dinner ready to put a round in the chest of anyone who got up, about 15 feet from the front of the diner and after what seemed like an hour of silence Connor slung the rifle over his shoulder and picked up a cheap cigar from the pocket of one of the cannibals. "Well you shouldn't have" Connor said to the corpse as he lit it "Just the kind I like as well". Connor pulled one of his pistols out of his shoulder holster and turned around to Zach, kira and the prisoners and gave them the international " watch my ass symbol" before walking in. The bell above the door still rang despite the carnage, the counter was in 2 separate chunks on opposite side, the back wall looked like it had been out of chicken wire and the mangled corpses of about 35 cannibals littered the floor "Please..........please help me" one of them crooked from one of the corners of the diner.

Connor walked over to the woman. She was young, blond and probably pretty attractive without all the blood and dirt on her face "Help me" she crooked again. She was grasping onto her stomach where a piece of shrapnel had ripped her guts out. Connor took a long drag of the cigar before slowly exhaling into the woman's face "Honestly sweetheart" Connor said as he gently put a hand on her cheek using a thumb to wipe away a tear "you haven't got long" Connor pulled her into a little hug as he cocked his browning holding it out of the woman's sight "Probably best for you to make peace with whatever god you have" They waited in silent embrace for almost a minute before Connor put the gun to her head and pulled the trigger before she knew what had happened.

((I hate to agree with yurface66 but I think Dead Fingers is officially dead... I wish it wasn't but we've seemed to reach the end of the story. They've already been through so much, and so many have gone and passed, and it might be time to let them go their separate ways. If you guys wish to continue... hey... maybe we just need a new set of characters and a new location! But for now I think our journey with this rogue band of misfits has been ran dry and they're ready to be let go.))

A shadow passed over Kira's face. The trees were blowing in the wind and a soft warm breeze touched the grass. They were resting under a lone tree on a hill. They could see all the land stretching out before them, mountains on one side, and the ocean would be in the other. There were strangers a little ways away setting up camp for the night. She stopped trying to remember names and faces, what was the point when they would all either leave or die? She didn't think she could take it anymore. Losing people would always be hard. It would never "get easier with time". Zach's face hovered nearby. Now there was a familiar face she would always remember. It had been a year and some months since she'd parted ways with her old friends. It hurt her so deeply that she now knew she would never see any of those other familiar faces again.

Patrick, with his innocence and playful smile. Bravery.
Tallara, with her strong will and sarcastic jokes. Passionate.
Zach, with his loyalty and drive to protect his friends. Love.
There were so many. So many people she had fought beside and had almost died beside. People who'd died for her, dogs, people who she had sacrificed herself for.

A tear fell down her face. The sun was hot and warm. It was summer again. The winter had been long, and painful, everyone had bones protruding and dark circles under their eyes. The dead would never haunt them more than those dark winters had. No food. No warmth. It would last days, weeks, months. You could never escape the cold. Fire would bring danger. Danger would bring death. Sickness would follow no matter how far you ran. And now that the sun had melted all of that away it was almost like a bad dream.

Kira had hoped she'd get better. Her ribs had to be broken multiple times from healing wrong. No matter what she did or what she took the pain never would go away. And now she lay in the shade with a cool breeze blowing through the branches and the sweat wouldn't leave. She shivered from a cold that was deeper than her bones and her throat was scratchy and faint.

Her vision had become blurry these past few months. These past few weeks she'd been in and out of this sickness. Whatever it was it was only getting worse. Everyone they'd come in contact with had become fearful of her, her cries of pain were enough to draw anyone nearby, and her feverish sweating and coughing scared anyone away. They were afraid she was turning into a zombie. They didn't want to stay with her and Zach long because of fear she would die in her sleep and eat everyone.

Now they kept away from everyone else and they were only allowed to follow a group as long as one of her hands were tied up while they slept. A rope rash had burned into her right wrist but she could no longer feel the pain.

The world was growing hazy again and Kira shook her feverish head. Sweat dripped off her skin in pools. Her skin was hot to the touch but she was shivering and cold.

"Zach??" She called out but her voice was weak. How much longer did she have? She knew this wouldn't last forever and she knew she wouldn't get better. Her ribs had been broken too many times and they would never heal right. They couldn't just keep breaking them. She was sure they'd damaged her insides already and they'd caused an infection in her blood. There was no getting better. At least not without REAL medical care... and even then she wasn't sure she'd be able to really walk right anymore.

She knew it deep down... she was dying. She'd known it ever since her ribs were first broken in that death-machine. It would be fine if it had been one, but it had been many, and they had been crushed.
She knew she was dying when the winter came in and she was always sick. It made it hard for her body to heal herself.

She knew deep down now, as she lay under a tree on a blood stained sheet, the sun never seeming to reach her core that she was dying today.

"Zach!?" she called out in fear. Her vision was blurring more and now she was scared."

Death can be a royal bitch, but it can also be a blessing. There comes a point when the endless pain and suffering has to end. Disease spreads, bones break, living becomes pointless... especially with no medical care to be seen. We'd heard reports of cures and solutions... Of army hospitals and revolutionary medicines... But it was all here say and rumors. I didn't know where we were anymore. The days began to blur together, and time took is toll on our weary souls. We didn't have anything left in us.

We were alone, Kira and I. Many people had come and gone, but we stuck together. I kept telling her and myself that'd everything would be alright. We'd survive this hell hole, start a new life, maybe even start a family... No that'd never taken though. Survival was a fools errand. Kira was severely injured. Her ribs never healed properly, she probably had plenty of internal bleeding, it was a miracle she lasted this long... But she was tough.

Unfortunately her wounds scared every group we could find. She has had one foot in the grave for a while now and they all knew it. They expected the worst, thinking she would become what we've all been fighting against. I'd have to tie her up at night for their own illusions of safety, but I wouldn't ever leave her behind. We were meant to be together, and I believed we were meant to go out together.


We've been on this hill for a while now... I've been listening to the wind blow as I watched over my love... My life. I know she doesn't have much time left. Death had been knocking on our door all afternoon. Kira's laying in the grass next to me. It's finally warm again, and the harsh winter is over yet she still shivers. I know she doesn't have much time left. Faintly, she calls my name and I lay down next to her. She's worried, I can hear it in her voice. I turn towards her and gently grab her hand.
"Listen to me. I love you. It's gonna be alright."
Her hand tightens with every last ounce of strength she has. She knows I'm not taking survival. I kiss her forehead.
"I'm right here with you."