Maizen: Return of the Zombies

Chapter 4

The next morning, JJ checked Mikey's injuries. Thankfully, he wasn't bitten, but he was still hurt.

"I'm not sure I can carry you for twenty minutes... are you able to walk on your own now?" JJ asked.

"I think so," Mikey said, and tried sitting up. He instantly fell back down when he put weight on his injuried wrist. "Is it broken?"

"Maybe..." JJ countered. "Once we get to The East Village, we could have a doctor look at it."

"But JJ, aren't you a doctor?" Mikey asked. JJ was surprised he still remembered all that time ago when he became a doctor specifically to preform surgery on Mikey. He had no idea, but JJ had gotten fired after having that job for not even two weeks.

"...I'm a little rusty with my knowledge." JJ answered, dodging the topic. He'd learned the hard way that staring at equipment for a couple minutes and reading lots of books didn't instantly make him cut out for a full-time job as a doctor, and he had nearly been arrested for doing unauthorized surgery on a patient. Thankfully, he did it correctly and Mikey got better, but still.

"But surely you know how to do something as simple as fix a broken wrist?" Mikey pressed.

"I'd rather leave it to the professionals." JJ said with finality. With some guidance, Mikey was able to get on his feet. Despite the main injury, his other scars had ceased with their aching and allowed him to walk. They began their journey, which hopefully wouldn't take too long. It took twenty minutes to walk there, but anything could happen during that time frame.

A couple minutes in, JJ noticed some sheep grazing.

"We can use their wool to make beds, and use them as food." JJ thought, and got out his sword. He would do this himself; Mikey's good hand was the one that was broken, so he wouldn't be able to use any weapons for a while.

As JJ started stabbing the sheep, Mikey was initially disturbed at the sight, but kept quiet knowing that they could he used for food and wool. Afterwards, there wasn't much more walking before they were there.

"Wow, look at all that security." JJ commented, staying hidden in the trees with Mikey. Because if they took even one step in the way of the thoroughly placed dispensers around the base, they would get blown to pieces.

Yes, base. Not only did the village have walls around it, but it also had a roof, and it was all made out of iron blocks. On top of that, the security measures all around the sides of the base were extraordinary compared to the ones JJ made. Dispensers lined all around the bottom of the structure, and JJ was certain they contained something better than average arrows. It had a moat filled with lava, and lasers surrounded the ground within it in case any zombies somehow got past it.

And, there were real people guarding with sniper rifles on the roof. These guys were really prepared. Even with how unimaginable powerful these zombies were, JJ had a feeling this village had a chance at fending them off if they ever found their base.

But then, he remembered that time that he had built a security house with similar measures in defense of zombies. JJ didn't know why there were so many zombies that night, but he and Mikey had lost of them, and had to retreat using his special last resort. His base had been just as secure as that one, except this one was larger and made with iron.

Maybe this village was destined to burn too.

Suddenly, JJ noticed a small gap where dispensers weren't placed. If he and Mikey could make it there without getting hurt, they could alert the guards of their presence, and they would be let inside. Then, they could reunite with JJ's crew.

This was a great idea! JJ instantly told Mikey about his plan, and they prepared to speed past the dispensers. But suddenly, a creeper started walking out into the open.

In that moment, the dispensers all focused their arrows on the mob, and JJ and Mikey took their chance to run. Once there, JJ noticed the arrows were ones of poison. The creeper died almost instantly, but thankfully, the duo were already at their destination by then.

"Hey, hey! Down here!" JJ started yelling. Mikey noticed and joined in, and it took a stupid amount of time for them to finally get noticed. But once they did, the guard disappeared from his station up on the roof.

"Is he coming to let us in?" JJ wondered. The entrance was an impossible jump's length away, so they would defintely need some assistance.

Just as he predicted, the doors opened a minute later. Using some blocks, the guard made a path for them to cross over the lava.

"Thanks!" JJ said once he and Mikey made it across. But instead of carrying the mood, he just stared at them skeptically.

"Hold on a second." He said. "Who are you, and why are you here? We're not usually too fond of strangers."

"I can tell." JJ thought, thinking of all the security around the base. All this had been there even before the zombie takeover; back when the only people that would come near were friendly visitors or strangers with the intent to sell goods or trade.

"Oh, uh- I'm JJ, and this is Mikey." He said briefly. Mikey said hello, but he didn't get a response.

"Follow me." The guard said dryly, and led them away.

"Well, he isn't too bright, huh?" JJ commented as they walked. Mikey nodded in agreement.

"Yeah. Maybe he needs a cookie!"

"Be quiet. You're not allowed to talk until you've been approved by our commander." The guard warned, not even bothering to look back. "Or, in other words, no plotting anything."

"Plotting?" Mikey accidentally blurted out. The guard gave him "that look," and it made him go quiet. They continued on.

"I should have seen this coming." JJ reflected as they traveled. He noticed on the way that all of the houses of the village were made of iron just like the original structure, and all the doors were made of iron too, but buttons next to them. Yeah, these guys were extra cautious. Actually, they were more of a community than anything. "Village" is a lesser term. "Of course people with this security this high-end would be wary of outsiders. But, then again, what harm could we do?"

Then, JJ remembered he still has his sword with him, and it suddenly made sense.

Soon, JJ and Mikey were ushered into a room. Two other guards were stationed around the entrance, which automatically closed behind them. Then, the guard that led them here started adressing a women typing away on a computer, along with lots of screens surrounded her.

"Commander, we caught some outsiders mingling around our base." The guard reported.

"Caught?" JJ thought, started to get throughly annoyed with the guard. "We had to yell for you because your dumbass took nearly a full minute to hear us! And, we came willingly!"

"Outsiders?" The commander repeated. She didn't look up from her computer, but she stopped typing and started thinking. Finally, she came to a conclusion.

"Throw them in the jail, and we'll interrogate them later."

"Wait, what?" JJ exclaimed in disbelief. In seconds, the guards were advancing on them. They went straight for Mikey first, and he yelped as he was forcibly brought into custody.

"Hey, stop that!" JJ scolded, resisiting the urge to bring out his sword. He knew he wouldn't win, on top of the fact that that would make him look more suspicious.

Next thing JJ knew, the guards had grabbed him too, and were taking him away along with Mikey.

"You can't do this! We mean no harm!" JJ tried to yell, but the guards didn't listen. Then, he and Mikey were brought into an elevator that led underground. It turned out to be some sort of dungeon, and JJ and Mikey were thrown into one cell and it was instantly closed behind them.

Now, it was official. They were prisoners in a place where they thought they would be safe. And from what JJ gathered from his short time here, they wouldn't be too merciful when the time for interrogation came.