Nero was silent as he looked out upon the open landscape of the green forest, in front of him he could see the beautiful evergreens misted in a plentiful snow and the large field that was cloaked in the red beauty not much unlike the sunset on a clear night. It was very true that Nero had never noticed such things before in his younger years, in fact only ten years ago he had been on the fast track and living a life that compared to now was a life of pure luxury. Great job that payed tons of money, a nice house and a car that made the other people in his neighborhood jealous. He did not know if it was because age had finally caught up with him, or that for over a year he had lived in a seemingly hopeless situation but the land before him was a beautiful site, it was untouched by the decay that had ravaged the world, and it reminded him if nothing else that there was still beauty in the world. However much the world was cloaked with the death and the stench of the Walkers, there were still moments when you could forget the pain and the turmoil and just appreciate something instead of having to destroy it. Sitting down on a stump Nero took his pack off and set it on the ground, the once new pack was now worn and much of the black was mottled with dirt and blood. Nero could feel his body heaving from the rest, he could feel the pain already creeping in his nerves, another sign that his age had caught up with him.
Nero as a younger men worked out constantly and kept a healthy and fit body, now though even though he still did sit ups and push and even occasional pulled ups, his body felt weaker by the day. It could be the lack of food, supplies had been hard to come by day in and day out and some days he went with out. However he was no stranger to not eating even before this, the endless nights of looking at intelligence reports had deprived him of eating most times. When it came down to it this world was not for an old man anymore, when it first started perhaps he felt different, then again he never expected this to last as long as it did and it was wearing on him now. The people coming and going in his life so quickly, watching them die and be eaten, the scenes were like nightmares while he was awake, and he could not deny that he missed them. He missed human contact much more now then he did a year ago, he had not crossed another human for almost five months now not even a looter, just the constant Walkers. It was hard to say this didn't drain him even more of hope that he was not the only one left alive now. Nero pushed his sunglasses up over his head as he rubbed his eye's and then reached over opening his pack, pulling out a half eaten bag of trail mix he opened it and took out a handful and started to eat it. In reality he hated trail mix now, he had eaten so much of it over the past year he just wanted to throw this bag and the other into a fire pit and rejoice.
But that was just a desire, he knew that the only thing between starvation and actually having something to eat was the remains of his supplies in this pack, and unfortunately this was part of his food. The sudden sound of light snow crunching was what put Nero into defensive mode, almost like a second sense he pulled one of his Beretta's from its holster as he turned in his spot getting to his feet to face the noise. A short distance away a Walker was ambling towards Nero, the first he had seen since traveling into the forest surrounding Mt.Rainier. Upon closer inspection Nero could see the tattered uniform that once upon a time belonged to a Ranger who quite possibly worked in the National park. Nero slowly lowered his gun and placed it back in his holster, then was no real point in wasting a bullet here, one Walker was hardly anything to be afraid of anymore. Reaching beside his waist Nero clicked the snap that was holding his machete and removed it from the black nylon sheath, walking a couple steps Nero walked into the site of the Walker, locking onto him the ex park ranger changed direction and started coming at him in a sort of huffy jog. Nero raised the machete silently, when the Walker came within range he went forward and brought the blade down directly in the center of the top of its head. Almost instantly the Walkers glassy eyes stopped moving, removing the machete the walker fell down dead to the snowy landscape.
Nero replaced the machete in its sheath clicking the clasp over it, turning his back on the body he replaced the trail mix in his bag and zipped it closed hoisting it over his shoulders, clasping it in the front he continued walking his feet crunching in the snow. Nero had no desire to look at the body of the Walker anymore then he had too, the fact that it had once been a person did not bother him as much as the fact that he had become accustomed to killing them without even the slightest of regret. Some would agree that Walkers were curable and that by killing them you were robbing them of their chance to be human again, Nero did not believe such non-sense of course because if it was him or the Walker there would be no hesitation in the least. However he had come across people, kids and grown alike keeping their dead family members locked away like animals feeding them animals believing that one day they could be brought back. It was as good of thing to hope for as any he supposed, but the fact was that some could not accept the fact that once you become a Walker the person you were is gone, and all that is left is a creature that feels no pain, and never relents in finding fresh meat to consume for a hunger that makes so sense. Nero had witnessed one Walker that had its entire stomach blown out of its body, and that same Walker devoured an animal still even though its stomach was non existent.
Stopping the thought and the mental image before he puked, he changed his thought process quickly as this was one of the reasons why he wished he could rid himself of his photographic memory. Nero was no light weight, and he could look at some pretty gross things, but some of things he had seen this year had changed his entire perspective on just how disgusting things could be. An the worst part of it all was that once he saw something he could not forget it, it was like it was imprinted on a piece of cortex never again to be forgotten. Once upon a time this was a blessing given his high paying job depended on his ability to remember and find vital pieces of information for national security, however now it was more of a curse then anything else. It had its moments of course, being able to remember routes in cities and small towns, looking at map as remembering where to go without looking at it every couple minutes, but in terms of it being worth it in the long run he would rather do without. Letting his mind wonder some more Nero then thought about his friends whom he had no idea if they were alive or not, the same people he had meant in Georgia, Clover and Carter. Thinking back to that moment in time he could remember the things he had done in those moments and how they nearly killed each other when they first meant both him and them thinking each other looters or marauders.
But through it all they had become friends with each other, they were not perfect friends but had what some might call a mutual respect for each other, he had traveled with them for about a week or so. However he had lost contact with them after they had come in contact with a large horde of walkers and they were split up in to different directions. Nero had of course searched for them, or at least some sign of them but in the end regrettably and thankfully he found no sign at all, which meant they could still be alive out there. The plan back then had been to travel North, he had hoped that perhaps continuing with that plan he might run across them once more, but days turned to weeks and weeks to month and by then it was more or less a useless gesture to hold on to. Even if they were still alive the chances of finding them again would be impossible either way it went. Besides they probably would not recognize Nero anymore or even remember him, he was not the same man from before anymore, in the long year he had neglected his hair he now had a pepper and salt colored beard on his face and his hair had grown and now was neck length. There was not much need for upkeep anymore, for there was no reason anymore to look nice in this hellish world. He hoped that he could see his friends again, and perhaps that was the only real thing he had to hold on to anymore now, and it kept him moving Northward.
Breaking from his thoughts Nero looked ahead as he saw a brown mass in the distance which was peculiar seeming buildings were not very common things out here in the surrounding woods of Mt. Rainier. Stopping for a moment Nero reached into his jack and pulled out half of a set of binoculars from his inside pocket and put it to his eye. Adjusting it slightly he had a clear view of a brown cabin like building, it was medium sized much like a one room school house, upon further investigation he found a sign that was corroded but still read
Station 27 Section 231. Lowering the binocular piece Nero was pretty sure it must be a station used by one of the Rangers from the park, perhaps an aid station for people who traveled this far. It would make sense given the Ranger he had discovered before, perhaps given its location and vicinity it had some supplies he could scavenge, it was at least worth a look. Replacing the binocular piece in his jacket pocket Nero made his way to the Station. Upon closer inspection the Station was pretty untouched on the exception of a couple broken windows, however the front door was cracked open too which did not bode well in any case. Nero made his way to the front of the station and pulled his Beretta from its holster and took a position beside the door, reaching his hand sideways he knocked on the wood of the outside wall and waited silently.
The building remained silent so Nero knocked one more time and waited, however there was no sound of movement of noise inside, slowly turning towards the door Nero nudged it open fully with his foot as it creaked. Raising his gun he entered slowly checking his corners, the station was small, the main room was open with a large fireplace in the center and some raggy dust covered furniture surrounding it on an equally dirty throw rug. Over to the side there was a smaller door which was marked bathroom, Nero approached the door and slowly opened it to reveal a small cubicle of a room, it was empty on the exception of a broken toilet and a small sink. It appeared that it was no an aid station as much as a rest station for passing rangers which meant at best there might be a first aid kit but not much more then that. Replacing his gun in its holster Nero walked back to the door and closed it, there was a lock on the inside of it that appeared useable, perhaps he could find some fire wood near by and rest here for awhile, it was better then being out in the chill. With his plan in mind Nero exited the Ranger station an made his way around the side, there was a stack of firewood cut up in the corner. Taking some of it he cradled it in his arms, it wasn't the Luxor Resort but it was a lot better then most of the nights he spent outside.
