Alternative Universe: by Nick Venom (free novel reading sites .txt) 📖

he was losing, Braiden dropped his arms and crouched to avoid the punches.

Somehow, the tactic worked and granted Braiden enough time to get around Nick and punch him in the back. Unfortunately, however, his strength was waning and Nick could tell. He turned around and began punching Braiden in the face, earning a five-punch streak before it was ruined by Alexia. She interjected herself into the fight, in a dangerous way, by stepping in the path of the sixth punch. She popped her head out of a window and noticed the fighting, rushing to stop it.

Braiden collapsed from the repeated punches, handing over the win to Nick. He won the fight.

“That’s enough!” She declared, grabbing Nick and dragging him off. Before she entered the house, she turned to the others watching in amazement and fright. “Sorry, he gets like this whenever he’s challenged. I’ll be right out to help you with your tasks.”

She left their vision, heading into the house, and leaving Braiden on the floor. The first person to approach the defeated Braiden was Nathan, who had a large smile on his face. “Wow, you really took the hits like a champ. It wasn’t enough, though.”

Braiden rose to his feet; Nathan cringed, expecting a punch to the dome. However, the arrogant teacher didn’t speak a single word. Instead, he walked away and headed towards a plot of titled farmland with tools and seeds nearby. He got to work instantly, ignoring the bruises and drops of blood on his face. The others watched as he worked tirelessly for a few minutes before Alexia reappeared with medical treatment. She noticed Braiden’s condition and fixed him up quickly before leaving him to his task.

“You’re not going to stop him? He could still be bleeding.” Nathan asked.

“Nothing we do will stop him. He took his loss like a man and submitted to my brother. Now, he was assigned to farming, so he’ll be completing that task.” Alexia explained. “His pride’s wounded, so leave him alone for the time being. He’ll recover and return to his old ways. For now, however, leave him as he is. Just make sure somebody checks up on him to see that he hadn’t collapsed out of bloodlost, fatigue, or heatstroke.” 

The others nodded, watching Braiden for a moment before being ushered away to begin their tasks. Kiya went to help with milking cows and collecting eggs, Nathan helped with repairing the south fences, and Amanda prepared herself for hunting. However, hunting wouldn’t begin until a few days after their arrival to prevent nearby survivors (Percy or his men) from easily finding them under-guarded. 

They all worked tirelessly for the entire day, resting at nightfall. While everybody ate dinner and laughed at the table, Braiden continued farming. His pride wouldn’t let him stop.

“I loss. I forced this upon myself. I lost. I forced this upon myself.” He repeated under his breath. It wasn’t until he collapsed that he rested, being taken inside by Nikki and Alexia. They laid him on a couch, giving him ample time to enjoy his sleep.

Work will continue tomorrow.

 

TBC…

Episode Ten "Parents"

“The dead broke through?” Nick asked, shooting up from the kitchen table. Alexia and Nathan were in the room, gobbling down on a few grilled cheese sandwiches, when Grant broke in. He was making his rounds around the perimeter of the ranch, discovering something horrific on the westside fences.

“No, not yet.” Grant’s voice was meek. “Almost.”

“They haven’t broken through, but there’s a way for them to do so?” Nick asked. Grant nodded his head. “Okay, then-” He looked up at Nathan and Alexia. “-let’s go greet the intruders.” He told them as she stood up, his bow by his side. He picked it up, finding his quiver next to where his bow was. He equipped it, drawing his bow to check its elasticity before releasing the string.

“Should I call the others?” Nathan asked, pointing his thumb behind him. 

Nick shook his head. “They’re all busy with their tasks. We’re all that’s needed.” He handed Nathan a knife. “Bring the rifle, but don’t use it unless you have to. If Percy and his men are roaming the streets, then gunshots will lure them to us.”

Nathan nodded, grabbing the knife. Nick motioned for the two of them to follow him towards the westside fences. The fences were built decades ago, withered by horrific conditions brought out by Chicago. The city was plagued by horrific snow conditions the winter before, bringing their problems to the countryside.

They quickly reached the fence, finding a horrific sight aside from the broken fence and rotting corpses. A dead cat laid under the broken fence, luring in the dead. A piece of bait.

Alexia pinched her nose and looked away while Nick trudged forward. He grabbed a napkin from his pocket and grabbed the cat’s head. He glanced over his shoulder at Nathan. “Go inside and grab a bag. We need to get his cat out of here before its blood attracts more dead.” He whispered, keeping his voice low to avoid being sighted by the few zombies roaming around on the other side of the fence. The cornfields that made up the land out of the ranch’s grasp were perfect spots for the dead to linger in. It was nearing summer and the stalks had grown to a considerable height, enough to conceal a few zombies inside, prepared to nibble on you once you cross their paths.

Fortunately, the fences kept them at bay. However, when the fences are broken, all hell will break loose.

Nathan returned from the house with two bags. He stacked the bags on each other as Nick grabbed the cat’s corpse and laid it in the bag. Nick grabbed the bag and went to the farthest corner away, where they burnt the trash and threw it with the pile. He took out a match and lit the bag, along with the trash. The smoke and embers were apparent, but it was a necessary risk. Blood and rotting corpses brought more dead.

Meanwhile, Nathan and Alexia worked to fix the fence as quickly and quietly as they could. Waking the dead could mean an end to the ranch as only a few zombies were noticeable, but many more could be hidden in the cornfield. 

They prepared the wood to work as a temporary fence. Pieces of wood that fit the spots, now left vacant, were hard to find. They sift through the pile of wood they had, hoping to find one that fits. “If you don’t mind me asking… where are your parents?” Nathan asked.

“Dead or gone.” Alexia bluntly responded. “Who knows.”

Nathan looked at her strangely. “Were they here before or after the apocalypse started?”

“Before. They went out grocery supplies while we looked over the ranch. However, they hadn’t returned since then. We’ve been doing our best, but…” Her voice trailed off.

“I get it, it’s the same as us. I haven’t heard or gotten anything from my parents. None of us have since the apocalypse started. It’s been… a weird time.”

Alexia looked at him. “You miss them?”

“My parents? Of course, every day. However, I can’t spend much time thinking about them anymore. With the dead rising and the Percy guy still walking freely, every moment is needed.”

Alexia nodded, silence entering their conversation. The pair worked quietly to find suitable wood, preparing nails to go along with it. The only tool that they could use, as the electricity went out, was a single hammer.

“How do we hammer in the nails? Doesn’t it make a lot of noise?” Nathan asked.

“It does.” Alexia glanced at the dead. “We leave that part for the future. I’ll hold the wood up and you hammer quickly. Do not make mistakes and hammer in each nail perfectly or else we’ll be swarmed.

Nathan nodded, waiting for Alexia to pick up the wood and hold it up for him to nail it in place. Once she brought it up, he hammered in the nails as quietly as he could---which wasn’t very quiet. It attracted the zombies, but the sounds of a drum being played took their attention off them. Nathan glanced at Alexia, who shrugged her shoulders. “It wasn’t me.

Nick ran over to them, almost out of breath. “Are you guys okay?” He asked.

“Yeah, the zombies were attracted by drumming. Was that you?” Nathan asked.

Nick nodded before helping Nathan hammer in the nails. They finished quickly, securing the fence’s stability before leaving. For now, the fence was secured.

***

Braiden woke up, finding himself covered in blankets, and swiftly returned to work. He grabbed a grilled cheese sandwich from Alexia and continued working on the small plot of farmland. He had planted corn, beans, and potatoes; good options to survive the upcoming winter. It was a distant thought, but winter would eventually be over them.

He planted these crops in small sections of his available farmland, now working on a way to expand. However, he had never successfully grown anything in his life, so he wanted to take his time. Rushing things would lead to failure and failure was something he wouldn’t accept again.

He tilted another section and planted potatoes. There was already corn, potatoes, peppers, watermelons, kales, cabbages, and more growing in the few acres of land. However, there weren’t any potatoes growing. He used this to his advantage, growing more potatoes than other crops.

With the new section completed and seeds planted, Braiden raised himself, wiping the sweat off his brow. He looked up, his straw hat blocking most of the sunlight from hitting up, at the glaring sun. It was as intense as summer heat in springtime. 

“I think it takes two or three months for these beauties to grow, so I’ll-” Braiden felt a slight tug on his shirt. He turned to face the person tugging on him, turning out to be Nick’s younger brother, Grant. “What’s up, kid?” His tone wasn’t as violent as it once was.

“I need help.” He bluntly said.

“Help with what?” Braiden asked.

“Repair the sliding door.” He pointed at the glass sliding door that was no longer in place. A few shards remained on the door’s patio. Somehow, the glass of the sliding door had been smashed into pieces. 

“Sure, kid.” He followed Grant to the sliding door where a bad attempt of covering it over with cardboard was happening. “Kid,” He crouched down and tore the cardboard off. “This won’t work. You need duct tape and not normal tape. Go fetch me some.” He ordered. Grant nodded, not speaking a word, and brought duct tape from inside. He gave it to Braiden, who went to work covering the door with the cardboard. Nothing else could be used nor would there be glass shaped like a door to replace the broken one.

“How did this happen? I don’t believe that the zombies made it this far.” Braiden asked, looking down at Grant.

Grant shook his head, glancing around, before facing Braiden. “It was… Nick.”

“Nick did this!” Braiden exclaimed.

Grant shushed Braiden, glancing around for Nick. Fortunately, he was on the opposite side and out of earshot. “He didn’t mean this. He was… angry at the time.”

“He did this out of an anger fit? Did he hurt you?” He grabbed the kid’s frail arms, looking him into his eyes. “Did he?”

The kid shook his head. “He never would. He only broke