Two Page Shorts, Nick Venom [short books to read TXT] 📗

ways, reliving something in Allison’s heart. She didn’t notice that jealousy had seeped itself into her heart and swayed her emotions to an extreme. She hadn’t realized her true feelings. Jealousy seeped into her heart without her knowing.

 

 

Hello All!

 

Niko: The New King will be undergoing a new change. Instead of the flash-fiction episodes it had, it’ll turn into a short-story series. Every episode will be 3,000 words or more, so expect an increase in the story over the next few installments.

Weakest Pawn is a soft reboot of the original story with a few deviants from the source material. This installment remasters the first episode with the second installment remastering the original second and third episode into one. From there, there’ll be no more remasters going forward. Instead, it’ll be new material written.

The second installment will be released on a future volume of Two Page Shorts. The release date of the installment will be announced on Jayhawk Alert, an information-based service similar to Nintendo Direct or the Disney Investor’s Day event, which focuses on Jayhawk Studio properties.

Thank you for taking the time to read this rant and expect more news about this franchise on Jayhawk Alert. Until next time, I bid you all a good day

The Zombie Infection II: Heaven & Hell

Emma welcomed them into the community, beckoning them in. The guards in charge of the main entrance closed it off as soon as they entered the still-standing supermarket. 

More guards arrived to “welcome” them, stripping them of their weapons and patting them down. With the safety of the supermarket ensured, they allowed Aaron, Gwen, and the Child to venture deeper into the building with Emma leading the way. They passed by makeshift bunk beds, empty aisles, and random trash piles. The entire building resembled a homeless camp, scattered garbage, and trash that they used as tents and other temporary houses.

Aaron stared at the people he passed by - children, teenagers, adults, seniors. They were all sharing friendly conversations, but he could tell fear was inching its way to the surface. Mothers put on smiles to soothe their children, teens tried to stay strong while staying in their rebellious phases, adults tried to remain sane, and seniors were at the brink of death. The community was nothing but a few strewn-together tents and barricades. Nothing about it resembled a true survivor community.

Emma led them to the back room of the supermarket, a large size room that held racks of supplies that were no longer there. Everything and anything slightly useful had been taken, leaving only crumbs behind.

Seven chairs sat in the middle of the room. They were positioned towards the door, facing whoever arrived.

The chairs were surrounded by fading white surroundings. The walls had been painted white years ago, but the color was now fading to a dirty grey. The corners began gathering dust, enough to cover the floor in a thick layer. 

Six people sat in the chairs, the seventh one being left open. The people stared at Emma and Aaron, only glancing at Gwen and the Child.

Emma glanced over her shoulder, motioning for them to stop walking. Aaron nodded, stopping in his tracks. Gwen bumped into him, apologizing. She held the Child in her arms tightly.

Emma approached the seventh chair, sitting down. She now faced Aaron, crossing her legs. She smiled at Aaron with an expression that shouted, this will be fun. “This is Aaron, one of my oldest friends.”

“What are his talents?” A snarky tall man in a suit asked, adjusting his glasses to balance on his pointed nose. His messy grayish-white hair went in all directions. 

“Aaron,” Emma said, motioning for him to talk.

“I’m a hunter,” Aaron muttered.

“A hunter?” An elderly man with fading gray hair and scattered bald spots asked. “Government or individual?”

“Government,” Aaron responded. The others stared at the elderly man and Aaron, tilting their heads. Nobody understood the question aside from the man and Aaron. 

“How are your marksman skills?”

“I can hit targets two hundred yards away,” Aaron told him.

“How much ammunition do you have?” A blonde woman asked. She looked to be middle-aged with wrinkles scattered over her face. She wore a pair of dark blue jeans and a white tee-shirt with a black blazer on top of it. She, in all degrees, resembled a businesswoman.

“A little less than two thirty-round drums.” He responded.

The elderly man turned towards the others and whispered to them. One of them---the man wearing a suit---whispered with a disgusted face as their conversation continued. Aaron looked around the empty and bland room as he waited for their next question. Gwen and the Child stood next to the wall with a sheepish look. Emma glanced over at Aaron a few times while arguing with one of the people sitting in the chairs. That argument ended as quickly as it was started; Emma smiled at Aaron proudly as if she had won a war in a matter of minutes.

After two minutes of discussion, the elderly man turned towards Aaron and stood up. “What is your intention here? Will you be staying for a night before leaving or do you intend on staying here?”

Aaron looked over at Gwen and the Child before looking up at the elderly man. “I intend to stay here,” he declared. I don’t think that I should stay here, but I need to ensure Gwen and Child’s future. As long as they can live fulfilling and safe lives here, I’ll be here. I still have a mission to complete, Aaron thought. I don’t want to be like Greg, God bless his soul. If we keep moving and I die, what would happen to them? Greg was lucky I had arrived or they would’ve died or worse… bandits could’ve found her.

“Are you familiar with the city?” The Suit Man asked. Aaron nodded his head. “Then you’ll join the scavenger group. Scavenging will pay for their expenses.” He said, pointing at the girls. 

Aaron glanced at Gwen before turning his attention back to Suit-Man. “I’ll do it. I’ll join the scavenging team.” 

The Suit-Man looked happy to hear Aaron say that, muttering something. “It seems like the cards have fallen in place.” Nobody heard what he muttered. “You’re free to go.” He said, this one being heard.

Aaron turned his back, allowing the Suit-Man to glare at him without consequences. However, the glare was noticed by Gwen, who squinted her eyes at him, almost saying, why are you glaring at him for?

He looked away.

***

After the conversation, Emma introduced Aaron to the Council, a mix of the founders of Heaven & Hell and outsiders that joined late. The founders established their base as the supermarket and took in people they label as ‘outsiders’ - eventually allowing them to join the Council. The community then began to flourish into a sturdy headquarters that intended to expand their reach until their food storage started depleting to the point that many starved to death. 

To counteract starvations, a farm was established at an abandoned warehouse a couple of blocks away from the supermarket. This didn’t solve their problem as zombie attacks whittled down the inhabitants of the warehouse, which they nicknamed Devil’s Den. Aside from the farm, the scavenger team was doubled to scavenge the buildings at a faster rate. This scavenging team is being led by the Suit Man, whose real name is Jerek, who is in control of all efforts concerning the team.  

Jerek acted as the leader of the Council, even declaring himself as it, but wasn’t given the position---that didn’t exist---due to the elderly man, Houston, wanting to keep it as a democracy. He didn’t want to slowly build the community into having only one leader who ruled with an iron fist. The other members of the Council agreed with Houston, especially, the blonde woman---Naoki---and Emma. Furious but smart, Jerek remained silent as he slowly waited for his opportunity. Unfortunately for Aron, Jerek decided that his opportunity intertwined with him.

***

Emma led Aaron and the others to their makeshift bunk bed on the corner of the supermarket. “It’s not the best, but it’s better than the streets,” Emma told him.

“I don’t agree,” muttered Gwen as she chose the higher bunk bed. The Child followed after her, walking up the steps with Gwen’s help. 

Emma looked at Child, her eyes and mouth smiling. “How old is she?”

“3?” 

“What’s her name?” Emma asked. Aaron’s ears perked up as they waited for Gwen’s response.

“You can call her ‘Child’. I don’t need to tell you her real name.” She retorted as she got onto her bed, cradling Child in her arms. Emma’s smile turned into a frown as Gwen ignored her. She turned around to look at Aaron who shrugged his shoulders at her.

“I can’t help you,” he said as he laid down on the lower bunk. 

“Apparently,” She looked up at the ceiling of the supermarket before motioning for him to follow after her. Aaron nodded and got out of his bunk, following Emma to the escalator that led to the closed-off second floor. A guard stood at the top of the escalator, dressed in his strange image of professionalism---cargo shorts and a tee-shirt---and armed with an AK-47.

“The area is closed off,” The guard declared. 

“I have Council access.” She told the guard. The guard nodded and allowed them to pass. They stepped onto the second floor of the supermarket, an unfinished mess. He looked around the second floor and noticed the disarray that the floor was in. Scaffolding and tools were scattered all over the floor. 

“The second floor was being constructed before the apocalypse began. Unfortunately for us, they weren’t able to finish construction, leaving everything except the outline and foundation to build.” Emma told him, taking him away from the escalator towards the edge.

“How long will it take to finish the entire floor?” Aaron asked as he looked at the outline of each room. The second floor didn’t have a roof, but the outside walls of the floor were completed except for the windowless cutouts. All they needed to do was finish the outline that the construction workers started on. 

“A year or two,” Emma told him while turning around to face him. Unfortunately, we don’t have the supplies necessary to complete it.” 

“What do you need to finish it?” 

“Wood, nails, super glue, everything to build an entire floor of a supermarket.” She remarked.

“Hmm,” Aaron muttered as he looked out at the scenery. Emma turned away from him, standing up. 

“Follow me,” She whispered. Aaron nodded and stood up, following after her.

“Where are you taking me?” He asked, looking around the empty frame of the second floor. “I don’t see any hidden places anywhere.”

Emma turned around and laid a finger against her lips, shushing him. “Just follow me.” She turned around and led him to a closet, standing out of place on the wall-less floor. She reached out and grabbed the closet’s handle, opening the doors. Inside the closet were multiple items: stuffed plushies, dolls, action figures, Rubix cubes, and a singular bloody bullet. Aaron’s eyes snapped from item to item, inspecting them

“What is this?” He asked, staring at the bullet intensely. He vaguely recognized the objects.

“This…” She started as she motioned towards the objects. “... is our past.”

“Our past?” Aaron whispered. “How did you find this stuff?”

Emma grinned and put her hands behind her back, leaning forward.