Dead Weight/Issue 28

This is the twenty-eighth issue of Dead Weight. It is entitled *Arising Fire*. It is the tenth issue in Arc 2 of Dead Weight. Issue 28 was released October 10th, 2018.

## Story

“Heel, boy.” Scarlette demanded. Pig stopped and immediately stood alert. Scarlette held her gun close to her body and pushed against a tree as the voices of unknown men startle her. Three men come into her line of sight, luckily not catching the sight of the dog as they walk past. The growling of the dead coming closer worries Scarlette, who continues to stay still.

“That one.” One of the men demand, pointing in the direction of a young girl with a large bite mark out of her neck, stumbling forwards with a fierce, bloodthirsty growl. Another man steps forward, taking hold of the dead girl with a tight grip and securing her on the ground. The third man approaches, using rope to tie the girls wrists behind her back as the darker skinned man deals with the incoming dead. “Good.” He adds.

The men pull the dead up, “Is this--”

“It’s good.” He tells them. The two men exchange glances at each other before nodding firmly. The three then leave, Scarlette sighs in relief. She looks down at her gun. Still gripping at the gun tightly, she aims the weapon at one of the men and watches them leave. Her finger on the trigger, she threatens to squeeze down until they disappear from sight.

“You weren’t going to shoot them.” The blonde woman remarks, having snuck up behind her. Scarlette lowers her gun and curses, Pig growls at the figure for a second before realizing who it was.

“No, I wasn’t.” Scarlette tells her, looking over at her with a almost begging look, as though she was a child that didn’t want to get into trouble. The blonde nods, turning and indicating with a finger for Scarlette to follow. “Katie,” She adds, causing the woman to stop and turn back briefly. Scarlette passes the gun over.

“Thank you.” Katie turns again, slipping the gun away and continuing her walk through the forest. “With me! We’ve got visitors!” Scarlette raises her eyebrow curiously, following behind.

“Visitors? Do they know?” She asks.

“God no, not yet. I like to keep it on the downlow to see how they react to the community. I saw two of them at the club last night and the rest… Well, they’re very shy,” She laughs, “I’m going to talk to them today, see what they’re about.”

“That’s a good idea.” Scarlette says, briefly looking down to make sure Pig was by her side. They push out of the forest and come across a gravel path, which leads into the distance towards a large gate.

“And your dog…?”

“Cassie still hasn’t made any progress, predictable but what can you do? He’ll probably be gone by tonight. I’ll bury his body somewhere along the walls.”

“You’re burying the dog?”

“Yeah, is that alright?”

Katie hesitates. “It’s alright. I didn’t think you’d be so attached, you have Pig.”

Scarlette merely shrugs.

Bri was the first to awaken, lying with Sally close in front of her. Their naked bodies touching under the warmth of the blanket. It was quiet, nothing but the sound of soft breathing. Bri adjusted her position, lying her face into the crook of Sally’s neck. Her movement didn’t disturb the sleeping figure besides her and she lay blissfully and calmly in her new surroundings.

Disrupted by a knock at the door. Bri forced herself to pull away from Sally and get up from the bed, pulling her clothes back over herself. The knocking continues. She opens the door only slightly, pulling back when she sees Abreham but continuing to hold the door barely open.

“Oh, hi,” He waves, “We are meeting with Katie later today, the woman who runs this place. Do you want to come? We’d really like you there.”

“No.” Bri shook her head, going to close the door abruptly but stopping. “It’s not my place.” She adds. Abreham nods.

“If you see the other girl,” He stutters, “Sally! Sally, can you tell her to come?”

“Okay.” Abreham leaves, not wanting to feel the weird tension any longer. Bri shuts over the door and looks back at Sally, deciding to only stand and stare at the girl for as long as she slept.

——

Grace stood over Robbie as he lay in a heap on the floor, a bottle tipped over besides him and a pile of vomit in the corner. she clenched her teeth together tightly as she tried to hold back the anger she felt inside her. She couldn’t.

“Wake up!” She ferociously yelled, kicking his side angrily, “Wake the fuck up!” She crouched down and shook him, using the palm of her hands to shake at his back. She grabbed his arm and rolled him over. His eyes fluttered, but he barely stirred.

Grace stood, picking up the bottle and putting it on the dresser. “Robbie!?” She exclaimed. Robbie mumbled, covering his eyes with his hand, it becoming an effort to even move. “You need to get up.” She told him.

“Yeah.” He grumbled, rolling to his side and coughing. Grace just watched, trying to keep her serious tone. “Aw— Fuck!” He yelled, punching the floor with a weakened thump as a pain shot through his stomach. She got on her knees, taking ahold of his arm again but this time gently.

“Get up, come on.” Her tone shifted from stern to soft in a matter of seconds. He pushed himself up, but only fell back down again. She held onto his tightly, managing to pull him up and sit him on the bed.

“Robbie,” She began, wiping at his mouth slightly with her thumb. “I know that you’re going through right now, and I’m so sorry…” She trailed off, looking down at her lap. Robbie hiccuped, woozily standing up from the bed but only falling back down again. “Hey.”

“You don’t know,” Robbie says, leaning his head against Grace’s shoulder. “You’ll never know.” Grace covered her mouth, sharply inhaling as she fought back tears.

“Maybe. You have to stop this, we’re meeting people later, you have to be on your best behaviour,.” She explained, changing the subject. Robbie wiped his face, staring off at the wall. “If you’re not, we might not be able to stay.”

“Who gives a damn.” Robbie states, throwing Grace off guard. He pushed himself away from her and instead leans his head against the wall. “Anywhere we go there’s nothing but torture.”

Grace stands, gulping, crossing her arms. “Maybe you’re right,” She tells him, he looks over at her, hoping she agreed with his pessimistic attitude. “But this time, we can make it work.” She tells him, earning a scoff from Robbie. “Think about it. If you don’t get your act together, you won’t be able to be so reckless and safe at the same time. Your friends will be forced to live on the streets. Is that that you want?” She sternly explains, “Grow up.” She abruptly leaves. Robbie slumps on the bed, throwing a pillow in anger.

Melissa inspected Tanya’s head, running her finger over a growing bruise. Tanya smiles.

“You could be a doctor.” She comments. Melissa shakes her head.

“Hmm. Maybe.” Melissa shrugs.

“It would make sense. You’re a good person and every doctor is a good person.”

“What about you?”
“What about me?”
“You’re a good person.”
“Supposibly.”
“Why would you say that?”

Tanya just shakes her head, pulling away from Melissa, who repeats her question.

“I just don’t want to do anything, ever.” Tanya tells her. Melissa sits down next to Tanya and wraps her arm around her, which she gladly accepts.

“Can I ask you a personal question?” Melissa asks quietly.
“Sure.”
“Are you over Nancy?”
A silence.
“I was,” Tanya admits. “But after that car crash… I feel like I’ve gone back to square one.”
Melissa nods. “It’s okay.”
“No,” Tanya pulls away from her again, “It’s not…”
“Nancy would want you to move on and despite this world feel some love for something, or someone, else.”
“She isn’t even cold yet, Melissa! God. Not everyone can move on as fast as you can.” She snaps, leaving Melissa in a silence. “I’m sorry.” She finally adds.
“It’s okay.” Melissa repeats. Tanya is the one this time to give a hug, hugging her friend tightly.

Molly jumps as someone knocks on the door, she sits in the sitting area with her legs curled under her and a book sitting in her lap. She was only on page one and didn’t seem to be reading. Just sitting. Abreham smiles and entered.

“Hey you.” He says softly, moving across the room with a slight limp and sitting down opposite her. She watches him the whole time with wide eyes, clutching the book like it was about to fall to its death. “How are you feeling?”

She looks down at the book briefly, turning a page with her thumb and index finger and looking down at the small printed words. She looks back at him, her lips pressed together in a tight line.

“We’re going to talk to a new lady later, too see if she’ll let us stay here. Do you like it here?” He asks her. She nods. “Do you want to come with us to talk to her? She’d really like meet you.” Molly nods again. Abraham smiles at her.

He leans over, looking at the book in her lap. “What are you reading?” He asks. She swallows, closing the book and revealing the cover. The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald “Ah, that’s a great one. You’ll love it.”

“Uh-Hu.” Molly agrees. Abraham smiles at her as she opens the book again and starts reading the first page.

“Alright. I’ll come get you later, okay?” He stands, looking around and seeing the bookcase in the corner of the room, missing a book. He walks over and browses the books, pulling one out. “Might as well read something while I’m here.” He shrugs.

It’s a cold day but Sabrina walks through the forest with only a vest top and knee-length shorts. Dressed all in black, She treks through the grass alone, only a knife on her person. She takes down a dead, her forearms covered in blood now as she continues.

Cutting her arm on a nettle as she moves through a thick, overgrown area, she slaps at her ankle as she feels something bite at her. There’s nothing here. I’m sick of the forest she thinks to herself.

Ignoring most of her thoughts, she continues looking for Mark. As much as he scared her, she needed closure. She needed to bring him home, make sure he was okay, get him help or end his suffering. Whatever came first.

The town hall. That’s what they renovated the church building into soon after Drewryville had become established. At the front of the building, a desk sat to the side of two large chairs, which resembled thrones. Flake, Abraham, Carlos, Melissa, Grace and Molly stood at the church doors, looking down at the women at the other side of the church.

Katie sat looking at Abreham before her gaze shifted to the child by his side.

“What are your names, firstly?” Katie requested. Flake spoke, answering her question. Katie nodded, turning to the brunette standing to the side by the desk. The brunette began writing.

“My name is Katie Saxon, I am the leader of Drewryville and this,” She turned to the woman sitting to her side. “This is my wife, Lexy. We welcome you to Drewryville with open arms, as always. What is ours is now yours if you chose to stay. How has your stay been?”

“It’s been great,” Abreham speaks. “Thank you.”

Katie smiles triumphantly. “Of course,” she continues, “If you want to stay you’ll have to contribute to our society.”

Abreham nods.
“We will do that, we want to help in anyway possible.” Grace says.
“We were told you needed help.” Abreham adds.

“That will be explained in due time, don’t worry.” Katie tells the group. Flake and Grace exchange glances. “This place is safe, we have a good system running. We wouldn’t want to ruin that.”

“What now?” Carlos asks.

“Do you have any questions?”

Abreham hesitates. “Do you have any other children?” He asks. Katie nods. There are no further questions asked by the group.

“You may leave now, my dear love Lexy is happy to give a tour if you would like one. We have so much too see here at Drewryville.”

Robbie wanders the camp aimlessly. Several buildings surrounding him, he rests briefly on a bench. Noticing in front of him a vet’s office, he stays seated for a bit before making his way inside. The front office and waiting room is dark but there’s a dimly lit lantern hanging by a arrow which points towards an empty doorway, the door removed seemingly long ago. Walking down, his footsteps alert the woman inside. “Hello!?” She asks as the stranger comes around the corner.

The woman stands by a metallic table, lying there is a dog that breathes lightly in its sleep. A syringe lies to the side, empty.

“I don’t know if you should be in here. We’re ending this boy’s suffering.”

“What happened?” Robbie asks, looking down at the dog’s face. His eyes trail to the collar lying in the empty dish on the counter.

“He was found by Scarlette, out in the wilderness. Poor thing. Got scratched a few days back. We’ve been trying to save him but I don’t think he has any time left.” The woman explains, watching Robbie walk towards the collar. “I’m Cassie, by the way.” She introduces herself.

“Robbie.” He replies. Picking up the collar, he reads the name. The address, the phone number. All familiar. Scrap Starn. He put the collar back down, seemingly unphased.

“Scarlette didn’t want to be here, so I guess it’s just me,” she explains further, “and you, now.” She smiles. Robbie nods, looking down at the dog as his heart rate begins to slow. Cassie strokes Scrap’s soft fur repeatedly as the dog slowly stops breathing. Robbie places his hand on Scrap’s head and scratches behind his ear. Slowly, Scrap loses his battle with the infection of the dead and fades away.

The sound of chewing draws Sabrina towards the road. A blood trail becoming more and more prominent as she approached the source. Reaching the road, she looks on at a terrifying scene that she’d never seen before. A deer, a large chunk ripped from its leg. Obvious force. It had been bitten. It stood, its once innocent face covered in the blood of a dead boy lying on the ground. Stepping towards the scene, the deer looked up at her with a horrific growl. It’s eyes dead, white and lifeless. Taking her knife, she easily killed the doe with a swing of the blade into its skull.

The deer dropped to the ground and she followed the blood trail to it’s feast. Mark lay in a pool of his own blood, guts having been ripped from him by the undead deer. Sabrina couldn’t help but almost vomit at the sight, holding back tears as she approached the body. Using her knife, she crouched down and made sure he didn’t reanimate with a swift jerk of the knife into the back of his skull. She swallowed hard, her breathing uneasy as she sat by his body, holding her knee close to her chest as she took in the sight. Forcing it to entrain into her memories.

Robbie removes his hand from Scrap’s head, instead stroking once on his belly. Cassie collected her equipment, moving away to let Robbie have his moment with the dog. Unknown to her, he had known him before.

“Scarlette wanted to bury him.” Cassie tells him, a weak attempt to start conversation. Robbie watched as Scrap suddenly stirred. He pulled his hand back as Scrap growled, awakening from his dead slumber. “What the hell?” Cassie turned and walked towards Robbie, they both watched as Scrap lurched upwards, shakily and unsure of his surroundings. Cassie jumped backwards in panic. She shreiked, running over to the cabinets and opening one, pulling out a gun.

Robbie stood back, turning towards Cassie and taking the gun. Without saying another word, he turned towards Scrap who now was standing and pulled the trigger. Shooting Scrap through the head and killing him for good. The dog fell dead once again and Cassie took a while to come down.

“This is very interesting…” she commented. Robbie put the gun down and silently left the office. Going back outside, he appeared unfazed. A little pale, he headed towards the club.

“I love what you’ve done with the place.” A woman remarked, pushing her bright ginger hair behind her ears.

“Thank you. It was only a matter of time before they choked.” The man replies, taking a drink from his glass of wine as they both looked out of a large window towards a factory which steam emitted from. In the distance, a plume of smoke from a dying fire was visible. All that was left of the nearby community.

“What’s next?” She asked, turning to him.
“Drewryville, of course.”
She nodded and turned away. He spoke again: “Although, I do have some things to do, and of course I want to make my formal appearance. So that’ll have to wait.” He told her.
“Don’t take too long, they need you.” She told him, to which he laughed. And she laughed too. Cheers. They sunk the rest of the wine together in the large modest room.

## Cast

### Main

* Drew Van Acker as Robbie Starn
* Allie Lewis as Grace Berry
* Brooke Hyland as Sabrina Berry
* Imogen Poots as Sally Middleton
* Liam Hemsworth as Flake
* Josh Pudleiner as Carlos
* Melissa Kirk as Melissa
* Andrea Boehkle as Bri
* Jackson Rathbone as Abreham

### Supporting

* Q'orianka Kilcher as Tanya
* Ariana Greenblatt as Molly
* Noah Schnapp as Mark
* Song Min-ho as Jacob
* Solána Imani Rowe as Jamie
* Eliza Taylor as Katie
* Emily Browning as Lexy
* Hannah Murray as Friday

### Guest

* Unknown as Scrap
* Unknown as Pig

## Deaths

* Mark
* Scrap