Remnant Saga S1: by Nick Venom (fiction book recommendations .TXT) 📖

Lutz dropped to the ground as soon as he heard the order. The man he had kept hostage was lit to pieces in his place. However, the attention soon shifted towards him. Fortunately for him, he got up quickly and sprinted towards bushes lining the property, diving to the ground. 

The bushes gave him slight cover from the gunfire, but he had to constantly move forward and there were several gaps where he could easily be seen.

Damn, what am I going to do? There’s… Too many damn bullets! He thought to himself as he scurried away from the gunfire, eventually bumping into a corner of the property. He then jumped up, sprinting towards the mansion’s wall and planting himself flat against it. He waited for the sound of footsteps before inching away from them. He raised the rifle, looking down the scope. I can’t kill them all at close range. I’m such an idiot. My dad wouldn’t have done this. He would’ve taken his time and quietly rid of the guards before approaching the leaders. It’s stupid to enter and think that people like them, gangsters and bandits, would fight one-on-one. I’m such an idiot. He repeated the last line several times before the first guard turned the corner.

Lutz pressed the trigger, killing the man with a headshot, before chambering the second round. He didn’t linger long enough to see the carnage, afraid of seeing the damage he was creating. He glanced behind him and heard the sounds of footsteps approaching him from that direction. In seconds, he would be overwhelmed and killed. They would kill him as soon as they could.

Lutz balled up his right hand into a fist, silently cursing himself, before crouching down. He listened for the closest footstep, turning towards it and waiting for the person to appear. Once they did, he pressed the trigger but didn’t wait long enough to see the carnage he created. He chambered the next round and turned around to face the next close threat; he repeated this tactic until he heard the dead man’s click. He had another magazine on him, but the footsteps were faster than he could reload and chamber new rounds. Instead, he turned around, sprinting towards the backdoor. He tried the doorknob but found it locked. He then tried to throw his weight at the door and hoped it caved in, but he wasn’t as strong as he believed. He was well-built, thanks to the physical training Bedford put him through, but the door was stronger than him, enforced by an outline of iron.

“All at once, don’t let him escape!” The woman shouted at the guards, motivating them to charge forward; they had hesitated to move any further since they expected Lutz to be aiming at them as soon as they turned the corner.

Lutz, meanwhile, silently cursed himself more. I am a big idiot. I never should’ve charged in. Why did I do this? Am I really going to lose my life… for my neighbor’s children? I’m not doing this for my family, so why did I do this? No… I shouldn’t think like this. Remember my dad’s words. ‘To be the “Man of the House”, you need to be respectful, strong, kind, intelligent, and honest. The House Five, as I call them. They’re important for any and every boy and man to learn before they try to fill the title. Never forget about the House Five… I implore you.’ His father’s words had remained in his head ever since his death, a testament to the type of person his father was - a living personification of the House Five. 

Lutz, now feeling more motivated, took several steps back, glancing at both corners as the roar of footsteps were nearing him, before charging forward. He threw all of his weight at the door, cracking it but not breaking it down. It remained in place, barely budging. It refused to let him in, no matter how hard he tried.

“Well, I guess I’m down one option.” Lutz turned to face the incoming footsteps. He switched to the crossbow, aiming down sights. He felt slight pain from his bullet wounds, but the pain was bearable. However, his new wounds, caused by the man appearing from the other corner behind him, were less bearable. He crumpled to the ground instantly, trying to twist around to face the incoming man. Unfortunately, the man reached him before he could turn around. He ripped the crossbow off him, discarding it a few steps away, before grabbing at Lutz and turning him around. He pressed his wounds against the dirt, causing pain to circulate throughout his body.

“God!” Lutz shouted through his teeth as the pain slowly shifted from bearable to not. He tried to fight back against the person on top of him, but he was defeated by the muscular gangster. 

“Sit down, kid. Be grateful that I didn’t shoot you in the head.” The man spat. He tried tying Lutz’s arms behind his back, but Lutz fought back, doing enough to prevent the man from completing his action. “Stop kid! Stop before I-” He was interrupted by gunfire and shouting. It was all coming from the front of the mansion with the woman intervening quickly.

“Kill them all! Shoot them!” She shouted, her voice becoming more and more distant from Lutz. After several seconds of her shouting, her voice disappeared but the gunfire continued. It roared louder and louder while the shouting increased. Most of it was unintelligent shouting, but a few words could be heard… then repeated. 

“Dead people… Run… They don’t die… Help!” The man on top of Lutz stopped trying to bind his arms, looking up as the shouting and gunfire neared him. He glanced at Lutz, spitting on him before standing up. He grabbed Lutz by the arms, holding them with one hand. 

“Get up, kid.” He said, rising to his feet. He helped Lutz up, making him walk in front of him with the barrel of his pistol against his back. “Don’t try to escape or I'll pump up with lead.” He threatened as they moved towards the sounds. They quickly reached the corner, turning it to find a massacre awaiting them. Bodies of dead gangsters were twisting and jerking unhuman-like and blood was spurting out of many. The skin was slowly losing its pigment and the eyes were flushing with blood, covering the sclera. 

“What the hell!” The man exclaimed, releasing Lutz. “Damn, you got a lucky break, kid.” He threw him forward towards the zombies before turning tail and sprinting away from the massacre. He attempted to jump the fence but couldn’t do it. Instead, as his backup plan, he ran through the other side of the yard but was swiftly ambushed by the undead.

Meanwhile, Lutz turned around and sprinted towards his crossbow. He picked it up, glancing at the man as he failed to jump the fence and had sprinted towards the other side of the house, before beginning to throw his weight at the door in a frenzy. He heard the shouts and screams of the man, shaking his head. He’s dead. Those… Those things killed him. Damn you door, let me in! He shouted internally. He continued to jump at the door, but it wouldn’t budge. It laughed at him at every hit, mocking him as the undead---who were finishing up with the remainder of the NCT gangsters and bandits left outside---heard the sounds of the door’s laughter. They charged forward, headed towards the door.

Lutz heard the sprinting of the undead, turning towards it. He looked down the sights of the crossbow, firing off a bolt as an undead turned the corner, killing it instantly. The undead’s leftover momentum carried it further, slamming into the ground several feet from the corner of the mansion and even tripping over the corpses of the people Lutz had killed - which he tried his best to avoid looking at.

“Damn you, monsters!” Lutz spat, holstering the crossbow and taking out a bolt to use as a knife. He waited for the next undead to appear, which came faster than expected. It sprinted towards him but stopped short. It looked around, not noticing Lutz in front of him. He furrowed his brows, thinking to himself. Can it not see me? Why? Does it… Does it work on sounds? What the hell? 

He heard the sounds of the door unlocking behind him. He turned to face the door, seeing Emerald, Teo, and another man behind it. “You guys okay?” He asked them. 

“Behind you!” The man shouted, pointing at the undead. It had heard the door laughing and now sprinted towards it. Lutz, who was standing in front of it, was tackled to the ground. The undead snapped at him, its teeth nearly biting into him. Fortunately for him, the man who was accompanying Emerald and Teo grabbed the undead by its neck and threw it off Lutz. Now separated from him, he brandished a pistol and fired relentlessly into the undead, - killing it instantly. 

The man then helped Lutz to his feet, who thanked him. “No worries, it’s my fault you’re here anywhere.” He glanced at both sides of the backyard and noticed more undead appearing. “Go, take this. Since you already know them, take them with you.” He whispered to Lutz, handing him keys to the back gate. He noticed the undead who appeared in the backyard straining their ears at his words.

“Who are you?” Lutz whispered.

“Jordan. Now, go. I have to go search for my sister.” Jordan told him. Lutz thanked him again before motioning for Emerald and Teo to follow him. They hurried towards the back gate, opening it as silently as they could before disappearing down the alleyway.

As they left, Jordan slammed the door shut, pulling the attention away from Lutz and the others and onto the door. He headed inside on a search for his sister, who he wasn’t sure was still alive. However, he hoped. My sister’s strong… She’ll be alright. I’ll make sure she is… on my parents’ grave.

Lutz led the siblings down the alleyway, noticing that the neighborhoods were mostly empty. The undead had been attracted to the mansion because of the gunfire, being pulled away from other neighborhoods. 

With their path open, Lutz hurried home with the siblings in tow. They ran as quickly as they could and took as many breaks as they could afford, which weren’t many, arriving home rather quickly. They went down Lutz’s neighborhood, arriving at his house and finding the door wide open. Lutz’s eyes widened. He was witnessing the same event twice and he knew what it meant. Somebody had been kidnapped… or worse.

He sprinted into the house instantly, running upstairs to his mother’s bedroom. Emerald, meanwhile, closed the door and barricaded it before looking around for any other signs of entry or struggles.

Lutz, on the other hand, ignored any signs of anything as he raced to his mother’s room. He found the door to her bedroom opened, slowing his pace to a brisk walk. He looked into the room, scared at what he was going to find. Inside the room was his mother on the floor in great pain and his sister nowhere to be seen. 

“Mom!” He shouted as he approached her, helping her to the bed. She was conscious, tears soaking her shirt.

“He took her.” She said through her sobs. 

“Who?” Lutz demanded. “Who took Sila? The same man?”

His mother shook her head. “A-Another man… h-h-he said he was with the government.” She told him.