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Aberrant: Dead Rising - [origin] Ryder Walks West [Complete]


Zeke Ryder

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Zeke had had enough, and had come within inches of putting the scavenger leader through the engine block of his truck to prove it. You don't hold people hostage to hunger and fear of zak to fuel your petty ego, no matter how smart you are. Brody was smart, no doubt about it, but he was an egomaniacal asshat who like to play power games.

To Zeke's surprise there were no reprisals after the falling out. Just as well, Brody was a cunning son of a bitch and Zeke was sure his gang had by now figured out a way to take him out at a distance, so he couldn't get in close and arrange for dirt naps. Zeke shook his head; it always happened that, after dealing with an asshat, Gerald wanted to come out and run things, and Zeke would be damned if he let himself fall back into bad old habits. This trip was as much an escape for him as it was finding a new home.

He had heard rumors from Brody's gang (who were planning on targeting it) and some other travelers about Fox's Enclave. The rumors were that some of the people were "talented", and that it was one of the biggest and most successful Enclaves in the area. Even if there was no one else like him there after all, it sounded like a good place to rest up. He'd had it out here in the frontier, with everyone as desperate and crazy as a shithouse rat, and wanted to hang around people who might remember what it was like to be a human being.

It was on the border of Texas and Oklahoma, and it was rumored to be friendly, within reason. Zeke was in the mood for reason. He had some new talents that he doubted would ever get out of use. Odds are, they had to do some scavenge runs themselves, and Zeke was sure he'd be good for that.

Problem was, zak (his pet name for the zombies) was popping up in the oddest places. And at least one of them just outside of Lawton, Oklahoma had evolved enough to give Zeke the fight of his life. Zeke was not prepared for a zak whose internal organs were weaponry, nor had he been especially prepared for one that fought on after its head had been cut off, after its organs had reattached and made it mobile and ornery. That had been some Sam Raimi horror-movie shit right there! Good thing that last bit of fuel had been nearby, and Zeke had kept his wits about him. And that motherfucker had STANK when it burned up.

So, here was Zeke, healed up (thanks to his gifts), but hungry and with torn clothing, and still a hike from the Fox Enclave. Funny, actual torn clothing was just no longer as cool to him as it was when he'd been a punk-ass kid.

Still, it was sooner than it was yesterday, and he'd gotten some decent meat from a couple of feral cats he'd caught and cooked. Little fuckers were savage as shit, any truce they'd had with humanity long forgotten, and some of them were willing to pounce a lone human in packs. Zeke could swear that they'd gotten bigger and scarier in the time that the world had gone to shit.

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God damn, but Oklahoma's...flat.

Ryder had been grateful for finding that Lost Bridge Village. They had been friendly enough, and had got him set on the right path. He'd heard rumors there about "supers" in this Fox's Enclave. Luckily, he hadn't needed to do anything "super" in town, as a few had muttered some impolite things about the idea of supers in general.

Hell, they want to think we're legends or something what crawled out of the funnybooks, so be it. The sooner I figure out what I am, the sooner I can set them straight.

And in the distance, he saw a dirt path. He'd seen enough of them in the trailer park growing up, so he spotted it quick enough. And where there's a dirt path, there might be humans, or the remains of a settlement he could scavenge if he had to.

He was one long and tiring mile on that path, when some stern-looking gentlemen dressed as hunters with some dangerous-looking implements stepped out in front of him and called out to him.

Instinctively, Zeke waved his arms and shouted back. Best way to let them know you aren't a zak is answer back. Maybe he was lucky, and these guys were just a zombie patrol, maybe with walkie-talkies.

Now all he had to do was convince them that he was a good guy, and everything would be okay. Assuming they weren't out to rob him of everything he had. And after three days travel with no sleep, he wasn't sure he was up for fun and games.

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"Hold up there," the first man called when he was still well out of melee - but well within the range of the shotgun he held. "Let's start with your name, friend."

Despite the use of the word 'friend', none of the six men were smiling. The one speaking was tall and dark-haired with an expression that said he'd seen it all and was no longer easily surprised. The other men were various scruffy, dirty guys who were largely indistinguishable. However, it was the woman with them who was the center of attention. She was a tall and shapely brunette, with a toned body that suggested she’d continued to eat well after Z-day. She had an amused expression as she watched him; her eyes roved over him and she pursed her lips a little in what was probably a positive assessment of his physique. She didn’t make any move to help him, though.

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Ryder appreciated the looks of the brunette, but there's be time to get to know her later. Right now, those guns and frowns were a top priority.

Good news: In his experience, if they were going to rob you and/or kill you, they didn't bother to ask your name. "My name is Zeke. I came from Lost Bridge way, and they had good things to say about Fox's Enclave. I'm assuming I'm nearby, and I'm assuming that this is still a place that will welcome strangers who can and will pull their weight."

In the meantime, he was sizing up these guys, and some of them could be good for a laugh or two once they got past the whole stranger-danger thing. Brunette hottie was looking the most friendly, but...dammit, that could wait.

"Did I hear right?"

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"Sure, we welcome friendly people," the man said, and some of tension left the group. Guns stopped being pointed more or less at him and started to be pointed less at him. "So long as you follow the rules and are willing to sit in quarantine, we’ll let you in.”

“Quarantine?” Zeke inquired.

“We have all new visitors go through a twenty-four hour quarantine. We’ve heard that some people are purposefully infecting Enclaves; this is a precaution to make sure you aren’t sick,” the man explained. “Are you willing to do all this?”

“Don’t worry , I’ve been through quarantine,” the woman said. “So long as no one lights the building on fire, you’ll be fine.” She smirked as the men glared at her.

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Zeke was stunned. Deliberately infecting Enclaves? The fuck was that shit all about?

From the pits in his mind, Gerry spoke up. "Fuck them. That sounds cool. Find a sick animal, drag it through the compound, scare the shit out of these paranoid pricks. Why they gotta assume I'm the asshole, when it's obvious they're the assholes? Just another bullshit hoop to jump through 'cause they can make you do it."Ah, spite, that's what it was all about. Well, fuck you Gerald.

"As long as it's under a roof, you got a deal. Sad to hear about deliberate infections; that's some sick shit right there. I just want to unwind."

"By the way, question for ya. The rumors that you guys have some supers up there: Any truth to that?"

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The man nodded about the roof, indicating that he'd be under shelter. But the last question made him chuckle. "Oh, yeah, we have supers," he said. "We have enough to make this one of the safest places in the world, probably. If you're interested in settling here, we're a bit short of free women, but there's rumors we'll be rescuing some soon. So we're going to have the perfect place."

"Captain Morgan Fox is a super," another man said, "and so's his girl. Then there's Dan, good with cars-"

"My grandfather," the woman said, smiling still.

"Dr. Myf... freaky Walker, Jasmine, James-" Someone spit loudly at the mention of James. The speaker continued without pausing. "Priest is one, but he's a scavenger, so he's in and out often. Bond could be one - he hangs out with them all the time. And then there's Violet."

There was a moment of silence as all the mens' eyes glazed over. The woman rolled her eyes and broke the moment by saying, "Hi, I'm Min. I'm sure everyone else will give their names once they're done drooling. Where are you from, Zeke?"

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"Well hey, Min. I'm from Arkansas-way, From a little town called Cripple Creek, so damn small the trailer park was the only thing that kept it going." He smiled, a smile that sent out an invitation to get together sometime soon.

He paused, and then said, "So your grandpaw's a super, huh? Well, that's gotta be nice. And there's a whole bunch of them? Well, if you folk's'll keep me after my probation, you'll have another one. That's how I got to live as long as I did playing drifter."

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"Really? A super?" Min asked, looking him up and down. "Goodness, but you are coming out of the woodwork nowadays. Were you bit too?"

"What do you do?" another man asked, having wiped his chin and adjusted his crotch.

"Ignore him, my question is more interesting," Min ordered, a glint of flirt in her eyes.

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Ryder had to smile, if only a bit, at Min. "Well, ma'am, as a matter of fact, I was. It was a nasty fight, scavenge gone wrong, and I thought I was food. Then, next thing I know, I could fight faster and stronger than the zom's on me, and I won."

"And that's what I do: hit quick and hard, and heal up real good afterward. It's what I been doing around Arkansas and Oklahoma all this time. I am looking forward to some R&R." He gave Min a direct look at that last, with a bad-boy smirk attached.

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"Well, Fox's is the place for that," Min said. "No one tries to kill you, Willie makes a mean rotgut, and they have hot showers, if you don't mind being a bit of an exhibitionist around your own gender."

"You should just follow this dirt road to the gates," one of the men said. He looked really irritated as he glanced from Zeke to Min and back. "We have a patrol to get back to."

"See ya around," Min said breezily as the group started to move off, following a circuitous route.

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Ryder kept his eyes on Min...'s assets for a few moments, then started hiking at a good clip up the dirt path.

Hot showers. A bed, maybe. Some hot food, maybe some drink. A place to scrape the zak off his boots. Maybe he could even wash his clothes, before they ganged up and curbstomped him for being such a filthy bastard.

Zeke had no idea how something that sounded so much like a MASH unit from the TV days could sound so close to heaven. Must be part of wanting to be around people. Well, he would make damn sure to earn his keep. Get him in good, maybe get him laid good. Maybe keep the zak off his mind for awhile. Right now, that was as good as it got.

He got up to the chain link fence running.

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It had been a quiet 24 hours, and the caretakers hadn't been all that friendly. Not hostile, just not communicative. He thought he'd made the one guy smile, but the rest just served food and water, and left him alone.

That's okay, because the cot, no matter how Wal-Mart it was, made up for it. Super-dude or not, sleeping on the ground on his old sleeping bag was putting nasty kinks in his back. It felt good just to lie back and feel almost weightless. Now, all he had to do is be patient, and he was willing to wait someplace where zak wasn't a problem.

It was just a quick rest of his eyes..."Hey, new guy! Your time's up if you're still alive!"

Awesome. Time to hunt up a shower, maybe find some friendly natives.

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Friendly natives were in short supply. Oh, the women all looked at him and smiled when he did, but the men were less-than-thrilled at his handsome appearance. Those who had claimed women hovered especially close to them when Zeke was around, and he left a spate of jealous arguments in his wake.

Still, he did find a few kind souls. Someone pointed him at the cafeteria and showed him where the HQ was. As he went into the cafeteria, eager for some food, he was stopped by a bearded man with a friendly smile. "Hello, stranger, welcome to the refuge," he said, offering a hand. "I'm Gerald Hoffany."

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Zeke extended his hand. "Zeke Ryder."

"Hey man, where do the scavengers and grunts line up? I got talents in that area, and I want to make myself useful. I was heading to the HQ when I smelled some good shit cooking, and it's been awhile."

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Gerald nodded. "The food here isn't bad, but my wife is a much better cook. We're the church here, you can find our camper next to the church tent in Tent City. If you want some home-cookin' instead of this mass-produced factory line." He smiled jovially. "We would welcome any visitors to our fire, at any time.

"You'll find the scavengers by the black big rig by the gates; the crew is run by a man named Priest. If you wish to work for the compound, there is Ger. I'm afraid I don't know his last name. You can also speak with Julia White-elk. She's Captain Fox's... assistant. You'll find her at the HQ."

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Zeke smiled. "So, I've got a guy named Gerald who's a priest, a guy named Priest who's the head scavenger, a guy named Ger who heads up the compound. This is gonna get damn confusing real quick...Oh, sorry reverend." One of these days, Zeke swore to himself, he was going to learn to watch his mouth. "Julia White-Elk I'll remember, I hope."

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"Oh, you won't forget her," Gerald replied, nodding. "She's a formidible woman, scarred from her fights with zombies and strikingly beautiful despite those marks. Look for the Indian woman working the 'beautiful savage' look. That'll be her."

"Yeah, but she ain't nothin' compared to Violet," another man said, butting into the conversation. "That bitch has it all." Gerald frowned and the man said, "Stuff if, pastor - if God wants me to be a good man, he can start answering a few prayers around here."

"This time is a test to our faith... but you don't want to hear that," Gerald said, looking sad. "Mr. Ryder, it was a pleasure. Come look me up if you'd like that home-cookin'."

As he walked away, the other man said, "You ain't a religious nut, are you, new man?"

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"Well, I wasn't, until I damn near died in a zombie dogpile and got a vision of sorts. This same vision's been keepin' me out there trying to keep people from getting dead for the last couple of months now. But I don't get too serious about it, because no one wants to hear that shit."

Zeke said the preceding just loud enough that Reverend Gerald heard it, and then pointedly walked away from the other guy to get some grub. Gerry Muntz would have joined in the mocking, which is why Zeke did the exact opposite. No matter what the issue, it always seemed the right thing to do.

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