I stand at the foot of Tony's bed, watching as his chest rises and falls gently. The bloody bandages on his side, a reminder of what happened. His pale, sickly complexion a direct effect. Anger builds inside of me.

What if one of their bullets managed to hit a tire? What if they aimed at the engine? What if my reaction was a split second later? At the very least, Tony would be dead. At the most, I would be. Followed by everyone at the farmhouse most likely.

I clench my fist, thinking about Clem and Amy being killed by those bastards. My face begins to grow hot as I picture the both of them, bleeding out and begging me to save them. And yet I can do nothing.

As they reach out for me, I feel several hands grab onto me from behind, pulling me back and away from them. I struggle against the hands, attempting to break free of their grasp, but it's too late. Their grip is greater than my strength. They pull and pull, bringing me further and further away from the bleeding girls.

I struggle against the hands, even as they tear the flesh from my bones and the hair from my scalp. Even as one hooks it's finger into my mouth, I pull against it. I ignore the pain as the skin from my cheek is pulled off, revealing bloodied teeth underneath.

Slowly, I begin to gain ground. I reach forward with my right hand, finding most of the flesh peeled away, leaving a crimson coated bone with grey, dead skin. I ignore it and continue fighting to reach the girls. As one of the hands reaches out and grabs the wrist of my left hand, I yank it up to my mouth and bite into it, the taste of iron filling my mouth.

Yet the person doesn't let go. I bite into their hand harder, ripping away flesh and muscle, and tearing into the bone. I bite through the finger bones, ignoring the pain flaring up from my mouth. Eventually, the hand lets go. I collapse down beside the girls and go to put pressure on their wounds, yet both of my arms have turned grey and boney.

I look up at Amy's face, and find her staring at me with a bullet hole straight between her eyes. I try to scream, but all that comes are gargles of rage as the flesh from my neck has been sheared away, destroying my vocal chords in the process. I scramble over to Clem.

It seems to take my body forever just to listen to me as I finally reach her. I look up at her head and find that it's missing. I'm just looking at a neck, with no head above it.

As I stare at her body, I feel the hands grabbing at me once more. Yet I don't fight back. Even as they tear away my eye, even as they pull me into the dark ashy ground below. I simply allow myself to be pulled under. I've failed my one mission. I simply stare at the pair of dead bodies as my eye is slowly pulled under the ground, leaving me in the pitch black.

"KUH!"

I shoot awake, sweat sticking to my body and weighing me down like a ton of bricks. My clothes feel wet, and heavy. As if they were made of concrete. I struggle out of my bed, and nearly fall to my knees but manage to catch myself as I begin to look around.

I'm inside of the farmhouse. I just climbed off the couch. I look down at my hands as they feel the carpet beneath, finding them a healthy pink, with a few scars dotting them.

"Ahh. A nightmare."

I test out my vocal chords, and find them working. I look back to the couch, and find Clem laying her head down on the other side. Drool drips down from her mouth as she lets out a small snore.

I look over to the recliner, and see Amy lying there. The moonlight coming in from the window illuminating her with an ethereal glow.

I take a few seconds to calm my heart before standing up and walking over to her. I reach down and cup my hand on her cheek, seeing her mouth raise up slightly as she leans into my hand. I feel another feeling come up inside me and give into it instantly. I lean down and plant a kiss on her forehead. I sit there for a few seconds before back away, whispering to her,

"I love you."

I slowly pull my hand away from her before going over to Clem. I plant a kiss on her forehead as well, before telling her the same;

"I love you."

I stay for a few seconds, running my fingers through the curly mess that is Clem's hair. Eventually, I stand up and walk over to the bathroom inside. I step inside, leaving the door open to let a bit of moonlight in. I strip out of the soaked clothes from before and put them inside of my inventory. I grab a towel from under the cabinet and start wiping away the sweat from before. I look in the mirror, finally getting a good look at myself since I was put here.

My hair is slightly messy, sitting just at my shoulders for the most part. My right eyebrow is split at the edge by a scar that goes from about an inch above my eye to two below it. My body is toned, with a feminine six pack visible. My arms are also rather sculpted. I can see now that I've definitely gotten even taller than before. I easily stand at 5'10" now.

I take a deep breath as I look in the mirror before taking out a set of camo clothes and a pair of underwear. I put both on and step outside, sending one last glance at the sleeping girls before walking to the door and stepping outside.

As I step off the porch, I look up at the moon and find it high in the sky and full. It lights up the area around me enough to where I can see with no assistance over the entire field before me. Perfect.

I look over at the RV and see Morales posted at the top, keeping watch over the field through the night vision scope attached to the top of the rifle he has. Good. He won't be able to stop me. I walk over the truck Tony and I took to get back here and slowly open the door, keeping an eye on Morales as I do so. The creaking steel of the door isn't too loud thankfully as I'm able to snake my way inside of it. I take a deep breath as I plant myself down on the driver seat, damn near tasting the smell of blood coming from the passenger seat. I reach down and crank the truck up, spying Morales looking over at me. As the engine roars to life, I slam the door shut and begin to drive off. Morales just stands there on top of the RV, scratching his head as I drive past.

I drive down the dirt road leading to the house, never turning on the headlights of the truck. Even as I turn onto the highway, I leave them off. Even as I pass by a lone walker. Eventually, I come up to the spot where those fuckers ambushed us. I see several small fires lit up on the side of the road, heading further into the forest behind.

I pull over to the side of the road about a mile out, parking, and taking a deep breath. I go through my inventory for a second, putting on a full plate carrier as well as a helmet with night vision. Even if I can see pretty clearly out here, I doubt the same could be said about in the forest. I put an infrared laser on my DMR as well as a suppressor. I do the same for my handgun, as well as a backup rifle I have in my inventory. I strap a few grenades to my hip just in case and get ready to step out. This group dies tonight.

I step out of the truck and slowly close the door to avoid any unnecessary noise. I then get into the bed of the truck and set up a bipod on the roof. My heart pounds as I take aim through the scope, keeping my NODs up. I spot my first target, a man a bit further off from the group, watching the direction I came from. I guess they don't have night vision, because he would've seen me coming a long time ago.

He stands up behind a Kia soul, on some type of box or something. I watch as he takes a package of cigarettes out of his pocket, putting one of the cancer rods between his teeth. I zero my scope in on him, aiming for a clean headshot. I put my finger on the trigger and slowly begin to squeeze. He suddenly bends forwards, just before I have the chance to shoot, picking up a lighter from the look of it.

I aim once again, just as he flips up the lights and sparks it, I fire. *DSH!* In a second, the bullet tears through his head just behind his eye, releasing a splash of crimson onto the roof of the car before him. He falls back behind the car, with his cigarette flying forwards, unlit.

I do a quick scan of the rest of the guys, and find none of them having reacted to him. Likely because of a lack of lighting. The campfires are positioned in such a way that you'd normally be unable to see them coming from the other direction. I only saw them because of my great eyesight.

I take aim at the next most isolated guy, who's actually slightly illuminated from the back. He's facing down the other side of the highway, coming up just behind the bus. If he falls right, he'll be unspotted as well.

*DSH!*I take the shot, seeing the round pierce through the back of his skull. The crack of the bullet alarms the group this time, causing them to crouch down instinctively. This gives me the chance to fire another shot, hitting a guy directly in the chest. He falls back, holding the wound as blood quickly paints the light colored hoodie he wears. Another round quickly catches him under the chin, flying out the top of his skull.

As they start to run, I pick them off one by one. At one point, I catch one picking up a radio, but I quickly kill him before he has the chance to alert the others.

A few seconds later, I see no movement from the camp ahead and start to move in. I store my DMR for a bit and replace it with an AR-15. As I move up, I keep my head on a swivel, looking left and right for any sign of movement. As I approach the area, I can hear gurgling coming from behind the Kia from before. I peek around the corner, quickly catching a glimpse of the first guy I shot. He lies dead, but a little further out, I find the culprit of the noise. One of the guys I shot, I only caught in the jaw. This ripped off most of his jaw, and has led to him losing quite a bit of blood. As I make my way towards him, I see that everyone else is still and silent. I store my rifle and take out my gladius. No sense wasting a bullet, right?

I walk over to the guy, who's current trying to crawl towards a pistol lying next to one of his dead comrades. But, before I can grab onto it, I put my foot on his back and lock him in place. I speak to him as his gurgling begins to grow more erratic,

"Y'know, you guys really shoulda worked on your aim before deciding to ambush people."

Without wasting another second, I take my gladius and slash across the back of his neck, severing the spinal column, and nearly decapitating him, with just a small sliver of flesh being the only thing connecting his head now. I speak to the decapitated man,

"If you can still hear me, say hi to the goddess who sent me here."

After that, I store my gladius and rifle and take my DMR back out. I don't know if the guys in the forest heard anything, but I'd rather avoid any direct confrontation. I'd prefer not to become a bullet magnet.

I skulk into the woods, staying away from any sources of light, and moving as quietly as possible.

———————————

[Narrator POV]

Skyler stands by the fire, watching the embers fly up. His long, greasy hair sticks to the back of his neck like a shower curtain to a wet leg. He takes a puff of a hand-rolled cigarette, breathing out a cloud of death. A man comes up to him with a short haircut and a messy beard,

"It's been a long time since we heard from the highway group. Should be go ahead and check in with them?"

Skyler thinks for a second, taking another drag before nodding his head,

"Yeah, that'd be a good idea. Ever since that truck got away, I've had a bad feeling. That truck was absolutely one of the people from the farmstead. And we ain't heard back from Jeremy, neither. Go ahead and-"

*BANG!*

In the middle of his sentence, an explosion goes off beside one of the tents, its sleeping occupants now becoming works of art painted onto the ripped plastic inside. Skyler instantly hits the deck, grabbing onto his rifle laid down beside him. He yells out,

"SHIT WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!"

He looks up and sees the guy that came up to him looking out into the tree line from the direction of the explosion.

*PAK-SHIK!*

With a clapping sound, the side of his head explodes open as a bullet rips through him. The spray of crimson and pink splashes directly into Skyler's face, getting into his eyes.

*BANG!*

A second explosion occurs further to his left, in the direction the other guy was shot from. He takes his rifle and begins to spray wildly into the dark. His shots tear through some of his own men as he wipes away the blood.

*BANGBANGBANGBANG!*

A machine gun opens fire into the woods as well, but is quickly silenced as the man wielding it finds a bullet passing through his neck.

*BANG!*

A third explosion, from the left again. Skyler's heart races, feeling as though he's being circled by a predator. He holds out his rifle, his eyes still blurry but nearly clear. No sound invades his ears at all, other than groans of pain, and the occasional clap of a bullet. Wisely, he decides to play dead. He slowly lowers himself to the ground, pushing his rifle far enough away to be just within his reach. He waits, and waits for what feels like hours, but is actually mere moments. His heart pounds in his ears, nearly being deafening.

Finally, this sound is broken by the crunch of boots, walking towards him. He attempts to calm his breathing, trying to appear as still as could be. As the steps stop just mere feet before him, he springs into action.

He reaches out and grabs the rifle, quickly taking it into his hands, and aiming it directly at-

*BANG!*

The sound of a revolver firing echoes throughout the woods.

"GAAAAAAAH!"

Skyler looks down to find his trigger finger completely missing, along with a few others. In fact, the trigger on his gun is firmly lodged deep into his bloodied palm, with a small tip just barely poking out of his skin.

He holds onto his hand and yells out in pain as the boots in front of him stand, unmoved.

Skyler looks up at the figure, finding bright red hair flowing out the back of a military helmet. She flips up the pair of NODs sitting on her face and reveals a beautiful woman, with a few scars on her face. She looks down at him with cold, empty eyes which deeply unsettle him.

He suddenly reaches for his waistband with his other hand,

*BANG!* "GAAAAAAAH!"

Earning another gunshot in the wrist, ruining both hands. He keels over, holding both hands close to his body.

"Gah… Huk… Guh… Haah haah…"

Skyler slowly looks back up, seeing a figure in the distance between her legs. Behind the girl, he sees one of his men sneaking up with a combat knife drawn. He quickly looks away, to avoid giving away his friend's position. As the man comes up behind her, she slowly puts her revolver back into her waistband before saying,

"This was quite pathetic, Skyler. It really was."

Skyler jolts back as he hears Penny say his name. But, her next words would shock him just as much:

"I expected more from the Governor's men. Well, it doesn't matter anyways."

Just as the man reaches behind Penny and stands up, a bronze sword suddenly appears in her right hand as she slightly draws her revolver.

*SHIK!*

Her hand moves faster than Skyler can react to, as she flips around and stabs the sword directly into the would-be assassin's chest, cutting into his aorta. She stands there, watching as the blood drips from the wound. Watching the man suffer.

"Guuuuuuh. Graaaaaaah. Ugh…."

The man groans in pain as she stands there, before she finally decides to end him. She puts the palm of her hand underneath the handle of the sword, pushing up with all her strength. Slowly, the sword begins to tear through the soft flesh of the man. The cracking of bones fills the air as a spray of crimson comes from him, painting Penny's face and upper chest deep red. Eventually, the sword comes up and out of his neck, tearing through his artery, and releasing another spray of red.

Skyler looks at the girl, feeling immense fear as he watches his teammate fall to the ground, nearly split in two. His heart pounds as he watches her slowly turn around to face him. His breathing becomes ragged, while his hands grow cold and clammy. He wants to run, hide, or do anything other than sit here but he can't it's as if his arms and legs were sinking into cement.

As her eyes meet his, they seem to glow red from the flames of the fire. Her face, once beautiful, is now coated in a thick layer of crimson blood. The world around her seems to fade away as he stares at her. He knows that what he's staring at now is no ordinary girl. This is a fucking monster.

"M-monster…"

Skyler slowly begins to crawl backwards, not taking his eyes off the girl for even a split second. But, her voice fills his ears, cold as could be,

"I told Clem you guys would eventually run into a person you couldn't handle. That your luck would run out soon.

"Well. Better not waste a bullet."

As she steps towards him, Skyler begins to scramble backwards,

"No. No please! PLEASE! NO-GLK!"

As he retreats backwards, a knife appears in Penny's right hand where the gladius once was. She slightly draws her revolver, and throws the knife at him. It arcs through the air at an incredible speed, before firmly lodging itself in the man's neck. The handle sticks out, revealing it to be a pocket knife with a stained bone handle, and a black blade.

Skyler reaches up and holds the knife that seems to move with his attempt at breathing. He watches helplessly as the gladius appears back in the girl's hand, and closes his eyes in fear as she raises it above her head.

…

…

…

*SHINK!*

[Human Killed - 100p]

[4750p]

…

…

…

—————————————

[Two Hours Later]

Amy paces up and down the width of the Greene's driveway, feeling anxiety mounting with every second that passes by. She was woken up by Dale, who was woken up by Morales after Penny left. It had been three or four hours since she left.

The dawn just crested over the hill, illuminating the thin layer of morning mist rolling through the empty hills. Her heart skips as the sound of an engine echoes out, just barely audible. Had her senses not been at their max, she would have never caught it.

She looks out into the mist down the hill, and sees the same truck that Penny left in breaking through it. Immediate relief sets in as she sees it, which quickly gives way to horror as she sees Penny sitting in the driver seat, covered in a layer of blood. She runs over to the door and pulls it open, trying to help Penny out. She speaks frantically,

"Are you okay? Jesus fuck!"

Penny nods her head and says,

"I'm fine. None of the blood is mine."

Penny steps out of the car, seeing the group gathered around their truck. She sees Clem, Carl, and Sophia looking at her with pure terror. She looks down at her hands and sees them slightly trembling. Her breath picks up for a few seconds before she takes a deep breath and calms herself. She looks up at the group and says,

"The group on the highway won't be a problem anymore. I'm… ah… I'm gonna go wash this blood off of me."

As Penny walks off to the water tower to use the shower, Amy follows behind her. The two walk in silence, as though the other doesn't exist. As they reach the tower, Penny takes off her shoes and socks, stepping into the cool sand below. As the cool water splashes onto her face, most of the blood drips down into the sand.

Penny finds her hands shaking more and more as she finally starts to calm down. Her hands and feet start to grow cold, and a feeling of exhaustion begins to build up. As she reaches out to grab the bar of soap to scrub her face, her hand shakes so much that she can't get a good grip. She pulls her hand back and holds it close to her chest, trying to steady it.

But a hand comes out from behind her, picking up the soap for her. Another warm hand lands on her shoulder, and gently turns her to face her. Amy looks up at Penny as the water drips down her red locks, painting the dirt beneath her with blood. As the two lock eyes, Amy puts her fingers along Penny's jaw, tracing down to her chin. She runs her finger along the scars on her face before cupping Penny's cheek with her palm. She looks back into Penny's eyes and says,

"If you ever need to talk, I'm here for you."

Penny looks down at the ground as Amy begins to soap up her hands. As her fingers begin to comb through Penny's hair, Penny finds herself unable to bottle everything she's feeling anymore. Tears begin to silently fall from her face, intermingling with the water running down her face, and being washed away as though they never fell. Amy looks at Penny sadly, but feels a slight amount of relief, knowing that the girl she loves has finally allowed her in, even just slightly.

—--------------------------------------

[Penny POV]

I take my seat by the fireplace inside the house, after having dried off and changed. I bundle up with the blanket sitting on the back of the chair and let myself sink in. The warmth of the morning sun hitting my back helps to release the chill in my body from my cold shower. Trailing just behind me, Amy walks in. She reaches down, opening up the blanket and sitting down beside me. She wraps her arm around my waist and cuddles up beside me, laying her head on my shoulder. As we both bundle up, Amy speaks to me,

"I'm glad you came back safe."

I sit there with her, wrapping my arm around her shoulder. As we watch the flames dance along the firewood, I double check my new skill.

[Warlord: Causes enemies to feel intimidated by you, scaling with the disparity between skills. People are more likely to listen to what you say as an air of authority constantly surrounds you. You are more likely to see through enemy plans.]

Neat. That must be why that Skyler guy was so hesitant to run away. Surprised that guy behind me had the balls to try that. While I'm at it, I may as well go ahead and check out my status.

—----------------------------

[Status:]

[Name: Penny Miller]

[Age: 20]

[Health: Healthy]

[Stamina: Tired]

[Points: 4750p]

—

[Stats:]

[STR: 22]

[AGI: 17]

[DEX: 16]

[INT: 16]

—

[Skills:]

[Knife Fighting 3, Pistol Shooting 3, Calm Mind 1, Walker Killing 4, Shotgun Shooting 1, Rifle Shooting 2, Walker Sense 2, Shadow Fighting, Sword Fighting 3, First Aid 2, Assault Rifle Shooting 2, Dead Eye, Trap Detection 1, Warlord]

—----------------------------

I should check out Rick's stats next time I see him. Shane too. Maybe… Daryl…

Slowly, the warmth from the flames, the sun, and Amy all surround me like a swaddle, lulling me to sleep.

—————————

[Four hours later]

I slowly wake up, feeling a tug at my arm. Opening my eyes, I see Amy tugging my arm frantically,

"Penny! Wake up! Penny!"

I blink away the light sleep in my eyes and say,

"What? What?!"

Amy grabs me and says,

"A horde's coming! Dale saw a walker making its way towards the house and went to shoot it, but several more started coming out after! We gotta go, now!"

I look over at the room Tony's in, seeing the door wide open. Amy sees this and answers me,

"They already have Tony loaded up! We gotta go, now!"

I nod my head and follow her outside before asking,

"Where's Clem?!"

She motions to my truck and says,

"She's in the truck already. We need you to lead us there, okay? Let's go!"

I nod my head and look out over the hills as we leave the house. Hundreds of walkers slowly begin pushing their way through the fences of the property as though they were made of paper. Jesus christ, it's like an ocean. Even a Hershel with an infinite shotgun wouldn't be enough! Amy and I make our way to my truck, climbing up into the front seats. I take the keys I'd left in the cupholder and give them a twist, causing the engine to roar to life like a stirring giant. I see Clem in the rearview as I back up and flip around. I head off to the exit, with the caravan following behind me as we finally make our way off the Greene property, and to the prison.

------------------------------------

(AN: Alright, this is the last chapter of the volume. I'll be taking a break from writing this series and will start back up in late December.)