Day 2: Raw Meat

With the master key in hand, Jason and Nikolai had to dress appropriately for the rainy weather, plus they armed themselves with a good amount of weapons with which they could deal with the dead on their way. They descended from the rooftop of Grand Mont Plaza and made their way up to the second floor, managing to take down a few static dead who didn't realize what hit them.

—The spiked bats are phenomenal —Nikolai had fun doing damage.

—I bet they are... —Jason ignored the fact that Kalinic liked killing so much. Jason opted to use his bunch of keys to open the gates leading to Dark Horse Plaza.

—Apparently the survivors wasted no time and killed as many as they could. I wonder how we're going to clean up all this shit?

—Maybe it's simpler to kill them all and then dispose of the bodies. If you notice, there are less of those zombies because Megan closed the gates at the main entrance, I guess a lot of them were entering from the city to the mall through it... —Jason intuited. It was better for him to walk among piles of corpses with their heads blown off than with those bodies wandering around.

—Maybe we'll send a team to take out the rest of the stores, it'll take days to clear Grand Mont... and if we want to take the mall....

—Relax, Jason. There will be time. With the power cuts we'll have more time to build and make this a better place.

The duo arrived at Dark Horse Plaza, a place where there was a great contrast because there they had to be careful of the dead who, despite being disoriented, were still a great majority.

—When we take Grand Mont Plaza we are going to extend to Dark Horse... you'll see.

—Did you just make an allegory of us now taking the place of the zombies? That was... poetic.

—Huh? No! I was talking about our future plans.

Nikolai laughed rather uncomfortably.

—Now, let's go to that butcher shop —Kalinic took Jason's bunch of keys and looked for the key that indicated the opening of the Dark Horse Plaza gates to the park.

When they got outside they noticed that the zombies were standing still, not moving and staying still. They were making strange noises, some growling more than others.

—They seemed to be calm... this is new.

—We should use the rain as a distraction. Come on, Jason. We need to get in the van.

Nikolai took the driver's seat while Jason sat in the passenger seat. Nikolai realized that the noise of the engine didn't matter to the dead people as it went quite unnoticed by them.

—Maybe the rain is confusing their senses? If they have any senses at all —Jason looked out the windows as the zombies ignored them.

—The rain definitely does "something" to them. They probably decompose faster if they're in contact with water for an extended time.

Nikolai continued driving and, he didn't mind at all running over the dead that wouldn't get out of his way. There were attitudes that Jason didn't like about Nikolai... apparently you could never perfectly know someone other than yourself. Jason found it relaxing to hear the raindrops hitting the windshield, plus it reminded him of those rides he had as a young man on his way to college with Ashley.

They got off right in front of the butcher shop, a place where there were a few zombies around who, not knowing how to open the door, could not enter the place. Nikolai took care of them as he decapitated them by pulling out a sword and slicing off their heads like fruit.

—It's fun, Jason. You should try it.

—No, thanks.

Jason preferred to watch Nikolai amuse himself... he didn't want him to mistake him for a zombie and mistakenly kill him. Somehow watching him smile while getting blood all over himself was... scary. Did he really know that man as well as he thought he did?

—Are you done yet? —Asked Jason who was uncomfortable.

—I've cleared the way for you. What's so important about a few of these idiots? Come on, let's get into this dump.

By the time Jason turned the doorknob and opened the door a foul stench filled their nostrils, they soon knew why the butcher shop stank. What they saw before their eyes was a complete massacre, as they could see men hanging from meat hooks, missing limbs. The floors of the place were bathed in blood, it was not surprising because the corpses were dismembered and placed on the various tables where they proceeded to skin the meat.

The machinery used to cut pork was used to cut human flesh, plus there were different tubs containing organs separated by type, from hearts to livers.

—This is new —Nikolai cleared his throat as he had a strange feeling in it. Jason on the other hand vomited.

—OH, NO, NO, NO, NO!

—You know what genuinely terrifies me, Jason? That it looks fresh... The flies seem to be on the corpses that have been around the longest... also... Do you notice how some bodies are still fresh while others have already started to have larvae all over them?

—That's...

Jason could hear voices outside. He peeked through one of the windows of the butcher shop when he saw how a couple of guys were inspecting the van and, bringing with them a body.

—Oh, shit... Here they come! Here they come, Nikolai!

—Fuck! Come here!

Jason and Nikolai hid under one of the tables. From their place they could see how the men were carrying a guy who was begging them to leave him alone, but they didn't pay any attention. They placed him on a table where there was also another corpse, but this one lacked arms and a head.

—I like it when they scream, but I also like to fill their insides, dead or alive —One of the butchers licked the neck of the young man who begged them to let him go.

—Remember, he must feel everything. The meat has a better taste when they suffer.

Another of the men approached a guy who was sitting in a chair and, had barbed wire around his neck. The butcher mercilessly took a knife and began to remove part of the skin from his arm, while the man screamed in pain.

The piece of meat was placed on a scale with more pieces and then deposited in a pot.

—Making a deal with the Black Card Plaza hit men was a blast! We've already had twenty bastards on our hands. It's such a bummer that they got killed.

—We'll go for more. I really wish we could have played nice and "rescued" the pair that were over the cafeteria yesterday. I saw them escape from the pharmacy, some medicine wouldn't hurt.

—Well, since we have a new car, we could run them over and bring them here. My greatest fantasy is to bang a necro, although without a doubt my greatest experience was when I fucked some asshole and my dick came out with maggots. Apparently flies know where to put themselves.

The butcher started to pull down the young man's pants and, had to hit him to make him stand still.

—Stop it, please!

However, he did not stop. Another of the butchers was enjoying the action.

—We must do something, Niko! —Jason whispered.

—Shut up! They might... listen...

The first butcher grabbed a pair of tweezers. The other butcher grabbed the young newcomer by the arms to restrain him. Jason and Nikolai watched as the guy's eye was gouged out even though he was screaming at the top of his lungs. The shock was so great that all he could do was hyperventilate as he convulsed.

The butcher who had his eye in the clamps licked it.

—Now I'll stick it through that hole.

Before he could do anything, before he could do something after unzipping his pants, Nikolai emerged from his hiding place with gun in hand. His prized shotgun was watched by the butchers who, still laughing amongst themselves, looked him kinda curious.

Jason remained in his hiding place because he wanted the butchers to be unaware of his presence so he could act from the shadows.

—Look, Allen! A new dump for our collection —The butcher with the tongs commented happily.

—I know, Hutch. I like the muscular and well-built ones, I wonder how long he can hold out before we make him bleed like the dirty pig he is. Do you think we're afraid of you, you little bitch?

Nikolai didn't answer. The butchers were approaching him with guns in hand, for they knew that if they shot one, the other would at least have a chance.

—I want to see what sounds you make when we put it in. See all this stuff hanging on me? It'll be yours if you behave yourself... yes... I want to see you swallow it all and gargle with your saliva and my cu-

Before he could say anything else, Jason swung his baseball bat at Allen's head, causing him to writhe on the floor in pain. Hutch tried to shoot Jason, but Nikolai shot him in the leg just in time, rendering him immobile.

—Because of the situation I'm feeling merciful, Jason. Why don't you see among the bodies who's alive? I'm officially in on this cheap joke about saving survivors, because what happened to Cindy and the girls wasn't enough for me.

—On my way! Let me help you... —Jason approached the man with the barbed wires around his neck. He was naked and had blood dripping from his body as the butchers pulled the wires too hard, at least on his arms.

—Kill me...the pain is...please, just kill me.....

—We won't let you die! Not now. We have excellent doctors in our group, please... hold on...

—They raped my son in front of me... these pigs made him scream until his body couldn't take it... and then they started doing it again EVEN AFTER HE DIED! He was just-, you BASTARDS! HE WAS MY YOU MOTHERFUCKER!!! —The man in the chair burst into tears in Jason's lap because he didn't have the strength to go on. —MY SON! MY BOY!

—I'm sorry about your son, but we can't stay here any longer! I'll check for more survivors! —Jason searched the tables and also the hooks, finding people with more than three missing limbs and, on the other hand, people unrecognizable because they lacked any particular sign that would make them identifiable, such as a head.

In his search he found two more, a man who was missing his left arm and who had a tourniquet in order to prevent him from bleeding to death, but at the cost of being tortured as he had multiple knife wounds on his body, and another subject who was gagged and, put in a sexual position because his legs were raised, held by ropes and his entrance was exposed.

—I'll take the survivors to the van, Nikolai! We must go!

—I have other plans. Go ahead, Jason... I'm sure they can wait a few moments, and you should call Megan or someone to help them move the wounded, I'm sure they'll come. In the meantime...

Nikolai's facial expression changed completely.

Jason could only be afraid.