Nero had the binoculars at face level, the wind gentle whipped at him as he stood upon the old general appliance store, down below him a couple Walkers were making their way up the road. They were young, probably 15 at best and worst they looked like fresh walkers which was never a good sign for Nero. Not that their being young saddened him, that had been something he had to come to terms with, but because fresh walkers meant that there would be more somewhere else. If he had learned one thing over these long four years it was that walkers tended to group together, it was not common to see two alone like this unless the group itself was attacked and these two happened to escape... or the aggressors got eaten or turned. That was sort of the thing now and days, choices were slim for how one becomes a walker, it was in the end always the same story just a different name, different face. The last four years had bee rough on the ex-CIA analyst, especially the year that had just passed, things were getting harder now, food was almost a thing of the past and people... the people were now nothing more then groups of raping thugs. Nero had seen the evil in men this past year and the terrible things they could do, it wasn't his first time yet it made it no easier to watch in the end. No matter how many battles he had been in back in the Italian army, nothing could prepare you for this kind of killing.
Nero slowly raised his free hand and pulled the dieing cigarette from his mouth, just a mere butt now he let out a puff of smoke as he tossed the butt of the cigarette aside and lowered the binoculars and then placed them in his black bag. Zipping it up he put it around his shoulders and clasped it in the front securing it. Making his way to the beaten up fire escape on the side of the building Nero made his way to ground level, looking in both direction he made sure no Walkers were near him and then made his way to the street he had just been viewing. Slowly he removed the sword from its sheath, the sword zinged on the metal of the sheath as he approached the two young walkers in front of him. He would not leave them to walk around, not as much because he felt sorry they were so young, but more or less so they did not find fresh meat of others to change.
"Hey..."
Nero spoke in a half american half Italian accented voice as the walkers in front of him slowly turned to face him. They both let out a slightly gurgled noise and turned coming back down the street towards him. Nero waited silently for them to make their way to him, he held no such fear for them, not anymore, it had been far too long in the making for him to fear them now. The first one rounded him quick, the young boy outstretched his arms as if to embrace Nero, however with one zing of the sword in his hand Nero decapitated the boys head as it went rolling away into the street, the body fell to the ground, the blood leaking from the now open neck. The second walker a young girl of the same age made a grab for Nero, but with another swing of his sword he slashed off the arm that reached for him, and then in one half 360 Nero side stepped and slashed one more time, the girls head went flying off like the boys and smacked the ground rolling away. Nero slowly sheathed the sword with on last zing as he stood their for a moment, the heads had been went in the same direction and were slowly still trying to bite even though they could get nothing. Nero did not even care to kill the disemboweled heads, they were no threat anymore to him or anyone else.
Nero turned on the bodies and walked in the opposite direction, in that small moment he wondered if these two had been together with each other before they died. It seemed very likely in reality, it would explain why they were together alone but not in a group. If he had to guess he would say one of them turned, and the other one in grief could not bare to do what need to be done, and in doing got bite so they could be together forever. Maybe it was just because Nero was old that such thoughts came through his mind, he was going on fifty one in only mere months, he found himself trying to figure out useless things like this more and more now and days. Although he thought it was merely because it was the only way to keep his sanity was to justify what had happened. If he wanted to admit it or not Nero was slowly losing sight of his morals in this sick and twisted world, the longer he went on, the worse he felt in the end, the more he felt like his mind was slipping away to somewhere he knew he could not come back from. An it was in moments like this when he could see his son so clear in his mind, he remembered it all like it had only happened yesterday and it haunted him like a bad nightmare that would not go away, the one time he had failed and he wished everyday could die, but he had promised to live on whatever that meant now... a promise to his dieing son so very long ago now...
"I can't do it"
Nero put the gun aside, before him his wife lay on the ground on their three story house, her eyes were wide as she was gasping just to breath now, nearby his son was slowly watching. Nearby three dead walkers were on the floor of the house, a puddle of blood was slowly seeping towards Nero and his wife. Nero knew it was too late now for her,she had been bitten and half her neck was gone, he had tried to stop the bleeding, but even if he had he knew it was a futile effort, there was nothing he could do for her and what was worst is he knew it all too well. In the corner his son who was only sixteen was huddled and tears were streaming down his cheeks, for almost five months they had been able to hold out in their home, surviving just by looting the near by stores, they had been safe... but the sudden horde that had attacked out of nowhere changed all that now.They had barely escaped with their lives, but at a terrible cost, they had managed to make it back to the house but when they arrived three walkers had somehow found their way into the house and ambushed them. The only thing Nero remembered was a scream and then his wife was laying on the floor with blood spurting from her neck, and the hopeless feeling had set in, the feeling of death came so quickly and so hard.
Nero saw her eye's glaze over, and just like that, so quick... a part of his life was gone from him in almost an blink of an eye. Nero slowly made his way over to his son, his mind muddled and messed up now, trying to hang on to whatever sanity there was left to hang on to. Nero embraced his trembling boy in a tight hug to try and calm him down, he was a brave boy and he had done what needed to be done these past months, but he could not withstand this and Nero knew that. They sat there for a time like that, and time seemed to pass by so slow for them, however too much had passed as they both tried to find comfort in the passing, neither one of them had remembered in their grief that when bite by a walker that you would come back to life. It was the moaning that brought them back to reality, but time Nero had turned his long dead wife lunged for him, there was no time to react as Nero merely turned and was taken down to the floor the gun flying sideways.
Nero was on his back now with his hand on his wifes throat, he could have killed her then and there but in his mind all he could see was the beautiful woman he married and his arm was shaking as he was barely holding on, just fighting the urge to let it happen so it would be over. It was his sons scream that brought him back to reality, Nero regained his composure and with one strong push he drove his wife off of him and rolled sideways, grabbing his gun he turned and in one click of the trigger, his wifes head exploded in a cascade of blood, and things almost seemed to slow down to a mere fraction of a second as she fell slowly to the ground, and in that moment all Nero could see was that the love of his life was now gone. Nero cringed his eyes trying to hold back the tears, to be strong for him and his son now, slowly getting up he went over to his son and sat down beside him, he didn't know what to say but he spoke anyways.
"We will be okay son I promise you".
However Nero's son spoke shakily towards him and what he said was what truly began Nero's descent into the insanity that he had long feared would take his mind.
"Its too late for me too Dad, Im sorry... I got bite when we were attacked and was too afraid to tell you..."
Nero no longer cared to contain the tears as his son showed him the bite mark on his arm, and now Nero could see the depth of how sick his son was, blinded by the death and passing of his wife to notice.
"I can save you! There is still time to c..."
"No dad, its too late now, and besides I don't want to live here anymore, I can't do it, this would just isn't for me. I was afraid to die, but now that Im so close to it I open my arms to it. There must be a better place then this now... and moms there... and...
"Son... I can help you..."
Nero let the tears flow not caring anymore about being strong, Nero felt his sons hand grab his own, it was so weak now and he could barely grasp onto Neros hand.
"Its okay dad, you told me once that when your time comes it comes, an no one can stop death. My time is up... but Dad don't die yet... please don't die... I don't want you to die because of me..."
Nero's son was crying now as Nero didn't know what to do now, the disease was taking its course and Nero could see that now, his sons words renovated in his head as he closed his head and shook his head slowly.
"Please dad promise me you won't die for me or mom, that you will live on until you come up with us... promise me..."
"I promise son that I will live on, and I ll find whoever did this and make sure that they know justice for this.... for what they have done..."
Nero remembered his promise very well, and more often then not it kept him alive through the painful grief he held. His son had died not to long after that a couple hours perhaps and Nero had stayed by his side until he passed. After their death Nero set his old home on fire, he could not stand to shoot his son in the head, but he could not stand to see him become a walker either. An through bad or worse Nero was keeping the promise he kept to his dieing son, that was the only real reason he had for living anymore. Some might see it as sad, but in such desperate times, it was as good as anything in the end.