Back Another Round - BO4 Zombies Afterstory

⚔Painful Homecoming

Ben's POV

I was still a bit shaken after what Henry had done. I could see my family glaring daggers at the other crews, and sighed. Seemed everyone was a bit rough around the edges. Hard to blame them, especially what was left of my family.

We drove until we reached the town Henry, Aaron and I used to live in, before this hell started. It was... similar to how we remembered it. Some buildings were badly damaged, a few had been destroyed, lawns were overgrown from five years without a cut, bodies lay everywhere... it was a disgusting sight.

Richtofen said we were heading to the base they'd been using before discovering the Compound, and I was surprised to find we were on the street my house was on. I got Richtofen - who was driving the truck myself and a few others were in - to stop by a white, two-story house, and slowly got out, SMR in hand. Ari and the others followed, confused.

"Herr Yzerman," Richtofen said, "vhy have jou stopped us? Ve're nearly zhere." I looked at the house before us, sighing and trying not to cry as I walked up to the white fencepost gate, saying shakily "This was my home..."

Henry and Aaron looked at one another. They knew I hadn't been here since before the outbreak, and had a feeling they knew what I wanted from it. "Ben, are you sure?" Henry asked me. I nodded and started walking up the path to the porch. "I have to know," I replied simply. My old friends followed, and as I stepped up to the door I saw that the house was almost intact - no signs of forced entry or exit, at least on the front. I dug through my pockets, glad I never got rid of my key, and pulled it out. 

The keyhole was a little bit rusty, but it turned and opened. It was a good sign that the door was locked - it meant that either my mother hadn't left the house when the apocalypse started, or she had left before it happened. Maybe she was still alive!

As I opened the door though... this hope faded. The lobby was a mess, the walls scratched and objects strewn everywhere. Classic signs of a zombie rampage. "God..." I said, not finishing the sentence. I started slowly making my way through the house, into the living room. Everything was again a mess. That was when I heard moaning from the garage. Making my way to the door, I unlocked it and turned the handle. Before I could pull it however, the door burst open, sending me flying back. From the garage burst a clearly zombified woman - my mother.

Before I or my friends had time to react however, she had pounced. I barely had time to bring my arm over my neck before her jaws clamped down, and we all heard a metallic screech and the crackling of bone. Her jaws firmly latched onto my arm, I snarled and brought my right up, smashing the forearm itself down on her head several times. The rotted skull gave out, and after a few bashes I was able to free myself, pulling up my right leg and pushing out with it to throw the corpse of my mother off me.

Panting a bit, I rolled over and stood to a kneeling position, looking up and seeing Henry and Aaron almost in tears as they backed away. "Uh, guys, what's wrong?" I asked, puzzled. Henry pointed at my left arm, which had been bit. It took a few seconds for it to click, but when it did I laughed. "What's so funny about you being bit?!" Aaron screamed. I slowly stood and pulled up my sleeves, making them gasp.

"Remember these?" i asked, chuckling. On each forearm was a rounded sheet of metal - vambraces that I had made in high school. They had been tough enough to withstand a blow from an industrial-grade hammer despite low-quality construction material, and now they had saved my life - as they had many times before. I pointed to numerous sets of teeth marks on the metal. "Yeah, these have come in serious handy over the last few years. Saved my life on more than one occasion."

I look around at the rest of the house, sighing as I looked at the corpse of my mother. "Rest in peace, mom. God knows you didn't deserve this..." I said, trying not to cry. Aaron and Henry put their hands on my shoulders, and after a few minutes we left for the base.