"Alright boy…this the last one!"

Aten reminded the boy. The duo were close to assembling the pile. Sweat and dirt stains all on their clothes.

"We're doing good for the time being,..." Aten reassured as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.

The boy nodded. He wasn't used to this but he trusted that Aten knew best.

Aten looked at the corpses of the intruders. He sighed "...Time to lay them to rest, no need for them to be roadkill 'round here".

The sky turned from warmth to cold, with cerulean blue tints now dominating the airspace. Leaves rustled, yet the wind was nearly silent. The pile of bodies lay firm, all filled with wounds and a hint of rotten flesh. If you blinked, you might swear one of the bodies was twitching.

After gathering the walkie talkies from the intruders, Aten grabbed the fuel. Dusk was already here; it was the perfect time to douse the bodies. It wasn't completely dark yet, but if they didn't hurry, the freaks would take advantage. Aten didn't want to deal with those problems, especially with the faint sound of breathing nearby.

As he was about to complete the process, the boy snapped his fingers. SNAP. Aten halted. "Huh?…." He looked towards the boy, perplexed. "Something caught your eye?"

The boy pointed at the bodies. It appeared that they all had similar tattoos engraved on their arms. He lifted his chin up, concerned.

"Oh!…it looks like they were a part of a gang" Aten assessed quietly, making sure no one was there. The boy nodded in agreement.

"Regardless, it seems fishy to me. This was clearly more than just a bumrush." Aten noticed the sky was about to darken. "Shit….Boy, pass me the match. Let's wrap this up befo–."

THUP. A hand from the intruder's pile touched Aten's boot. The duo froze at the sign of movement.

"F-f-f-f–...f-f-f-f..." The reanimated corpse stuttered. "..f-f-f-f….f-fuc..fuck you-u!"

The intruder's head was shaking and attempting to tilt. His remaining eye was fluttering, staring at the soul of Aten. Rasply breathing and foaming at the mouth, the sentences were incoherent, like a malfunctioned animatronic. The bullet ingrained in his left eye, now part of the lens.

"Oh hell nah.." Aten grabbed his knife and neutralized the threat.

CROA. "..."The intruder's head was stabbed. Cranium tilted to the right. The stuttering and flailing stopped. His hand slowly fell from the boot to the soil, lifeless and laid back to rest.

The duo was caught off guard. Breathing loudly, Aten had blood on his hands. The boy fell back on the ground, wide eyed and startled. The match was still in his hand.

SHKT. Aten knifed the head again. "...To hell with all that!"

Lord have mercy. He thought. Could this day get any more hectic? First, the Boy. Then, the intruders. And now, it turns out this bumrush was calculated?! How the fuck can it get more crazier than this?

Aten sighed in relief. He noticed the Boy starting to gain composure. Dusting off the grass from his clothes. The Boy looked up at the now, cobalt blue sky. It's getting darker and colder. The boy pondered.

"Kid,...a learning lesson for ya..." The boy shifted his head to the elder "...Always make sure something that's dead, stays dead." Aten advised, his tone firm but tinged with weariness of the day's events. "With the way this world is, you can't take any chances."

The boy bowed his head in understanding. Feet together and arms flat at his sides. He resembled a rookie taking orders from his sergeant. The gravity of the situation was not lost on him.

Aten nodded, appreciating the Boy's quick adaptation. "Aight, bring the match so we can light these guys up!" he urged, glancing at the darkening sky.

The air was still, an eerie silence settling over the scene as the Boy hurried to comply.

The crib was a bit untidy. However, the bloodstains from earlier had been cleansed. The broken glass table was now replaced by a wooden, pristine table. The planks were nailed to the barricades of the window. Everything was back to your regular, scheduled program. Well almost.

In the dining room, the duo were seated at the table. Aten was busy investigating the walkie talkies. The boy had his arms on the table, eating some leftover food from earlier. He glanced at Aten toying with the device's inputs. The boy grabbed one and followed suit. He was fascinated by the walkie talkies design and flipped it upside down. Shifting his eyes, this was completely alien to him.

The old man looked over at the Boy's new fascination. He smirked. "...You having fun over there?"

The boy smiled warmly. He nodded in response. Pointing at the walkie talkie, he wiggled the device. Showing his newfound appreciation as if it was a christmas gift.

Aten laughed lightly. "I guess it's a yes…" He glanced back at the device. "...Damn, I haven't used these things in years." Aten titled the walkie talkie left to right.

"Back in my day, we used these things to communicate info with each other." He put it down and went to the next one. "...Mostly codes to explain what needed to be done." Aten glanced at the Boy. "So that enemies…wouldn't know what we were referring to."

The Boy raised his eyebrow. He was not used to those terms. Codes? That's what it's called? The boy pondered as he saw Aten interact with the device.

"...Wait a minute.. What's that?" Aten questioned, as he picked up the third walkie talkie.

On its side, it had a green dot. There were more inputs and controls than the other ones. It was noticeably a bit wider. Aten proceeded to touch the controls to find its mechanism.

"Interesting, this one seems to have more channels." The boy shifted his head towards Aten. "...They're like secret pathways. Helps those stay connected without any interference; only if they're within the same channel." Aten explained

The boy nodded. He pointed up and down at the controls.

"...That's how you either play with it, whether it's switchin' channels, upping the sound, or changing the frequency" Aten demonstrated as he interacted with the knobs.

WOP-WHP.The walkie made a synchronized, screeching sound. WYNG-SHK. Too loud, the Boy covered his ears. It was not a pleasant sound.

"Oh my bad!" Aten apologized while lowering the sound. "I guess I pumped up the volume too much."

The boy shaked his head. Arms and elbows on, a light vibration came from the table.

Aten glanced at the Boy, then back at the walkie. "Speaking of frequency: if we lower it, then we might be able to interfere" Aten beckoned the Boy with a gesture. "...Come here! Imma show you."

The boy got off from his seat and sat next to him. Curious to see how they can find out more clues on the intruders.

"These guys might've been reckless…but it seems they were calculated." Aten attested. "They knew what I had. Where I lived. They even scoped my place out…."

The boy raised his posture. Head tilted. His arms were crossed.

"...And it was all from a seer?" Aten questioned. He scratched the back of his head. "...I don't know about you kid,...but this…this is some ancient shit." He laughed.

The boy lightly smiled. Leave it to the old man to bring some light in dark times.

"Anyways ... .let's see here.." The old man shifted the knob. The walkie talkie sound was morphed as the grainy static remained.

Each change was the same. He kept rotating the input. Looking for a semblance of sound.

"Hmph…" The old man was stumped. The boy tapped him on the shoulder. He twirled his fingers.

Aten nodded at the gesture. "Oh!...I guess turning back would do. Let me use the indicator too."

With implements needed, Aten rotated the knob backwards. Suddenly, the static cleared. The voices, although fragmented, emerged.

"...the fuck you mean…" The voice angrily. "...they're not back yet!"

Aten's eyes widened. He turned the volume up slightly, signaling the Boy to stay quiet.

Another voice chimes. "I don't know…. I've been trying to page J.P. and them…." the voice confessed.

"...Vernell won't be happy…need results…not excuses"

The Boy's eyes were glued to the walkie talkie. His curiosity piqued.

"...I knew those dumbasses weren't gonna get shit done…"

"...And yet you still trusted their word – the fuck,..Chazz.."

Then, a clear, confident voice came through, dripping with finesse and authority. "...What's this shit I'm hearing!..."

A few seconds of silence commenced .It was hard to decipher but you could tell the former voices hesitated to page.

"...Vernell….J.P. and his squad haven't come back yet…"

"So….you mean to tell me that we wasted all that time ... .trying to jack a old ass hoarder?!" The confident voice roared.

"...Vernell….it's not what you think…" the voice reasoned.

The confident voice interjected, "Listen up, mothafuckas. I got eyes on the back as I do the front. I ain't pleased on what I'm seeing. Ya'll out here dilly dallying with J.P.'s slow ass when ya'll know you got a job to finish!"

The house creaked from the wind. Coming back more audible than before. This guy sure has a way with words, Aten thought.

"Fuck a seer. I expect results, not excuses"

Aten's grip tightened on the walkie talkie. The Boy leaned in closer, feeling the gravity of the words.

"...Meeting at….. Hemingway….the usual spot….rally everybody"

Aten thought, Vernell….this guy seems like trouble. Better keep an ear out for him.