Damage & Decay

Chapter 21

Part two: Zombie Cards (Collect the Whole Set!)

"Everyone carries around his own monsters."

-- Richard Pryor

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Eren twisted out of the way of the sword with maybe a micron to spare. He could feel the blade slice the air; he heard the swoosh of the wind. Eren threw himself to one side and tried to roll behind the picnic table, but Armin was as nimble as an ape. He leaped to the tabletop, dropped quickly into a crouch, and as Eren came out of his roll and started to rise, Armin stopped him with the edge of his weapon across Eren's windpipe.

"You're dead."

Eren put a blunt finger against the blunt edge of the wooden practice sword and pushed it away.

"You cheated."

Armin lowered his sword. "How do you figure that?"

"I dropped my sword," Eren said. "I told you to give me a second."

"Oh, please. Like anyone out in the Ruins is going to cut you any slack."

"Zoms don't carry swords."

"That's hardly the point."

"And as far as I know, none of the other bounty hunters do either."

Armin picked up a towel and wiped sweat from his face. "Now you're lying to save face. You saw one of them use a sword when we were out in the--"

"Okay, okay, whatever. Let me catch my breath." Eren dropped his wooden sword and trudged over to the pitcher of iced tea and drank two cupfuls. "Besides," he said, turning back, "I'd rather learn how to use a gun."

"You already know how to shoot."

"Not like you." He almost said "not like Charlie," but caught himself. Last year Charlie had given a demonstration of a pistol and rifle trick shooting at the harvest fair. Armin had watched the whole thing with narrowed eyes and a wooden face. Thinking back on that, Eren wondering if Armin was anywhere near as good as Charlie with a gun. He'd had never seen his brother shoot.

Armin didn't reply. He weighed the wooden bokken  in his hand and cut a few slow-motion lines through the air.

"Will you teach me to shoot?"

"Eventually, sure," said Armin. "Though . . . you know enough now to stop one of the dead if you get into trouble. But I already told you that I prefer swords and knives. They're quieter and they--"

"Don't need to be reloaded," Eren interrupted. "Yeah, I remember. You've told e fifteen times. You also said that sometimes quiet doesn't matter."

"True, but there are a lot more times when it does." Armin hooked the tip of his sword under Eren's and flipped it up so fast that it tumbled over and over in the air. It came at Eren faster than expected, and he surprised himself by getting a hand up in time to catch it. Armin grinned. "At least your reflexes are good."

"Hooray for me."

Armin raised his sword in a formal two-hand grip and waited until Eren finished making faces and did the same. Armin moved to his right beginning a slow sideway circle, always keeping his sword ready. Eren shifted to his left, matching him.

"Quiz time," said Armin.

"Do we have to?"

"No. You can quit and go shovel body parts into the pit. I'm easy."

Eren didn't voice the word that rose to his lips.

"Define 'kenjutsu.'"

"It's Japanese for 'sword methods' or 'the way of the sword,'" Eren said in as bored a tone as he could manage. Armin darted forward a half step in a quick fake, and Eren stepped backward.