Eye For An Eye

The jeep jumped a speed bump and flew several feet through the air before slamming back onto the pavement, fishtailing and continuing its stampede in the direction The ICU. Jude gripped the roll cage tightly, and squinting to focus his vision, he could see the large abandoned hospital, illuminated in the darkness by several large searchlights. Stella growled with anticipation, since she hadn’t seen much action back at The Compound and was hungry for a chase.

“Mac? What’s the plan here?” Judah called over the engine.

Mac didn’t answer, only held his hand up to silence the boy and pulled into a darkened alleyway. When the vehicle was off, he turned to the squad, which consisted of Judah, Stella, Lucy, Neville and another Guerilla named Zak. They all waited in silence for Mac to lay out the plans.

“Okay… Here’s what I’m thinking” He whispered finally.

The plan seemed simple enough. Mac and Neville would make their way around to the back of The ICU and begin planting C4 charges on weak spots. The others would head to the front to cause a distraction in the form of a firefight. It wasn’t as safe as Jude may have wanted it to be, but there really wasn’t many options. When the gang split up, Mac and Neville took the car, leaving the others on foot. Lucy came up with the brilliant idea to keep their distance and fight with Jude’s rifle. A nearby building would provide the cover. The sign had been gone a long time, but looked to be some kind of rehabilitation center.

Jude set up at window from the second floor with Lucy while Zak hiked out a few hundred feet away on ground level so he could fire blindly and confuse The Crazies. Mac pulled into a shaded area and the explosives team made their way towards the hospital. When they heard the first shot shatter the night air around them, the moved quickly for the rear entrance. Jude’s bullet splinter a knee cap, sending The Follower to the cold, cement ground.

“God damn! They’re here, Cable!” One of the raiders cried out over his shoulder.

He fired in the direction of the shooters assumed location. The other followed suit, except for Cable who watched quietly. By this time, Zak decided to begin his distraction spray. When attention fleeted, the raiders fired in opposite directions. Jude took a breath and laid waste to the crowd in the parking lot. When the shots finally stopped, they watched whoever had survived hurry into the building.

“We did it!” Jude cried, wiping sweat from his brow.

His celebrating was cut short however when Lucy pointed off into the distance. Jude peered through his scope again, and could see Cable holding Zak closely by his throat. In his hand, he held Zak’s walkie-talkie. He looked around for a moment and pressed gently on the talk button.

“You stop all that shooting now, or I’ll fucking end this piece of shit” Cable mumbled coldly.

Jude reached for the radio, trying to plan the next move. Zak was as good as dead if he struck the wrong nerve with the strange man.

“Okay” Jude spoke into the walkie.

 Cable smiled and again pressed the button.

“Why don’t yall come on down here” He instructed.

He didn’t have as many followers left, but he was still dealing the cards. Lucy’s face was shrouded with concern, and Jude could already tell she wasn’t going to be able to keep her cool down there.

“Listen… I’m gonna go talk to this guy. You wait here with Stella” He said, standing up and clipping the radio to his belt.

She argued with him at first, but eventually complied and took Stella by the collar. Jude began his walk to the meeting, the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach growing more severe. When Cable could see him, he called out and tossed the radio over his shoulder.

“Hell of a shot, kid” He laughed, looking around at his dead soldiers.  “That’s close enough!” He yelled when he felt Jude was a bit too close for comfort.

“Let him go” Jude demanded, brandishing his weapon.

Cable chuckled loudly.

“Let him go? You drop that fuckin gat and we’ll talk!” Cable shouted.

Jude didn’t like how things were turning out, but he hoped Mac and Neville would finish up soon. He placed his rifle of the ground and backed away.

“Smart move” Cable said, and then emptied a round from a concealed pistol into the back of Zak’s head, killing him instantly. Jude jerked, hoping he could save the unfortunate man, but Cable waved his barrel at him, stopping him in his tracks.

“Nope! Don’t move!” He cried, taking two steps forward.

“You fucking lunatic!” Jude screamed.

Cable laughed again and took a few more steps.

“What’s your name, boy?” He questioned.

At first, Judah didn’t answer but after several threats with the pistol, he softly muttered his name.

“Judah, eh? You ain’t with Paragon, are ya?” Cable prodded, and even though Jude remained silent, his expression answered the question. “Then where you from, boy? What’s your story?” He continued, conducting the conversations with his gun.

“I’m not telling you shit!” He shouted, fixing his feet in the dirt below him.

“Oh my! Someone wants to fight? You don’t even know who you’re dukin it out with yet, kiddo…” Cable said, tossing his gun off into a pile of rubble.

This man was absolutely insane, there was no question about that, but maybe this had been the break Jude needed. If he could stall him long enough for Mac to blow the charges, then this whole mess would be over before it even left the ground. Jude grinned and humored him.

“I guess you’re right… Who are you then?” He asked, readying himself in case the hooded man tried to attack.

“My name is Cable. Ain’t got a last name, ain’t no need for one. I’m old enough to know right from wrong, but I’ve hit that age where I’ve stopped caring. I was head of my family round these parts until a couple of hours ago when you and your boys back at The Compound cut em down… How you feel about that, taking away a man’s family?” Cable asked quietly.

“Actually, I lost my family when I was younger… Killed by The Forge” Jude fired harshly.

This stopped Cable in his tracks. He stared at the boy, his face still hidden away.

“The Forge, huh? Where bouts did you live?” He questioned.

Jude watched the man slow his advance. Something was clearly bothering him.

“Indian River… Colony was called Westgate” Jude said quietly.

Cable froze, his breathing dying down to a soft wheeze. For a moment, he stood in silence, then chuckled a little.

“Thought we killed everyone” He mumbled to himself.

Jude’s heart sank in his chest. Standing before him was one of the people responsible for his parents death.

“Where were you hiding out?” He asked Jude, only to wave the question away seconds later. “Doesn’t matter now… You’re here and they’re not” He mumbled bluntly.

Jude could feel his fist clenching tightly.

“You know, that night is special to me. I was second in command under Martine, and she had sent me to wipe that whole colony off the map… Those fucking savages. That was the night I got these scars…” Cable explained, removing his hood.

Underneath was disfigured flesh that’d covered a bald head. His left eye was completely white, and half of his mouth had been fused shut.

“Some jackass standing at the main gate hit us with a Molotov. Burned me pretty badly, as you can see…” He muttered through his deformed mouth. “When I found that coward, he was lying on the ground with a bullet in his lung. He was choking up blood, but I could understand what he was trying to say… At first I thought he was calling me a son of a bitch… But now I know… He was worried about his son…” Cable whispered with a smile.

The tears in Jude’s eyes ran down the side of his face and trickled into the pool of blood that had formed from the runoff Zak’s wound had produced.

“Are you okay, Junior? Did I strike a nerve?” He said, slowly reaching for his razor.

Jude, who was still trying to come to terms with what was happening, didn’t notice his advance. However, just before Cable could harm him, a fur-covered mass lunged out of the darkness, striking him in the ribs and knocking him to the ground. Jude was slapped by the moment, and his eyes followed Cable to the struggle. Stella tore violently at Cable skin, ripping off large chunks and tossing them aside like tattered bits of cloth. Jude watched in amazement, wondering what to do. Should he pull her off and finish Cable himself? Was that even possible with the amount of blood loss he had already suffered? Before a decision could be made though, Jude heard Mac’s voice call out over Stella’s growling.

“Jude! Get the fuck back! Its gonna go off!” He cried from behind.

Jude turned and could see Mac, Lucy and Neville waiting in the jeep. Without thinking, he whistled for Stella to follow and bolted. Over his shoulder, he heard Cable cry out, but the blast stifled his threats. As Mac waved him on, he thought about home – About Westgate and his parents. The explosion sent him flying forward, slamming his head into the jeep. For the second time today, Judah slipped into unconsciousness. This time however, he didn’t dream of his old life. His mind stayed completely blank. He imagined that’s what it felt like to be dead, and for a moment, he wished he was.