The Open Para.

As the days increased, it seemed like the undead were becoming less of a threat, and the real trouble is the other living survivors. In some towns it was easy to maneuver around the walkers, or even taking them out with stealth; it was the concept of getting shot at any given moment that was making such simple tasks much harder now. With the right mind and the right skill, anyone with a scope can become a well aimed sniper, giving the person down in the town a very sticky disadvantage. So far, Janek has yet to come across such a situation, but is always watching the tree line if there is one; of course he doesn’t worry about it  when he’s deep inside the town, because then it’s the up-close and personal bandits that get you then. The ones that hide and just wait, probably have a small shelter at some local store that’s being held up by three other men with the same shitty agenda. Ignorance runs thick through everyone’s veins and when people know there’s no limits on that ruthless attitude, they’ll give in, and become the very being that they were meant to be. Janek was thinking about all of this as he hid in the treeline outside of the town, reading over the map of the area he was in. The past week he’s been hitting smaller towns for the hope of more supplies; it’s the least expected places to loot. With a red marker, he circled the towns and areas he’ll go to next. He knew a prison was near by, but that idea seemed too risky. One man going towards a gated-fort was not exactly an ideal plan. 

Folding the map the way it’s suppose to be, he shoved it back into his pocket, and got up from crouching to proceed into the town. From the road, he already spotted about four ghouls that walked around almost aimlessly; it was almost pathetic to see them roam. Like many times before, he took out his bowie knife, and drove it into the ear-canal of the closest walker, before yanking it out and wiping the blade on his pant leg. They’re easy to get rid of, which is the weak link when it comes to surviving. It gets too easy, and you forget how quick and how smart the enemy can really be; sometimes you forget how quiet they are. For dead, mindless humans they can be pretty stealthy themselves sometimes. They won’t make a noise until it’s too late and you’re on the floor screaming in fear, but also that sense of loss. You lost the game, and for a moment you wish that you were smarter, and thought two steps ahead; in a way, that’s Janek’s greatest fear… failure.

The first store he checks is the pharmacy, but it was so emptied out that he didn’t need to look all that close to the details, because there were no details to look at. It was picked clean and almost too clean for his tastes. With caution, he enters the outside world once more, going down the street a bit, and crossing the black top to the other side, to enter a local market. Upon entering he saw two undead, but they were actually dead this time. The fresh, sticky blood and the head-wounds were an obvious give away: Someone else has been here, or is currently still there. It was foolish to even bring guns into this, as it would attract every walker around, but Janek put away his knife, and pulled up the Ruger Mini-14 he had gotten back in Macon, from some bandit that so dumbly tried robbing him. Quietly, he loaded the gun, and went further into the store.