Every inch of ground we've ever stomped upon was already bathed in the blood of good people. Survivors who only wanted to live, dying at the hand of the few evil.
These people that are with me, they're my people now. Good ones. And if I have to kill every single evil man out there, including my brother, I will. 

Chapter Seven
The Purifiers

My eyes glided around the empty hallway, waiting for my "partner" to meet me. All I've brought were my huntsman knife and my trusty pistol, neither of them ever failing me when I tried. 
A nervousness was weighing down on me, because I knew Wildcat was going to ask about my connection to the name Fong. I don't think I even want the last name, anymore. 

"Come on. Brian offered to let us use the car." Wildcat suddenly walked out of the office, carrying a couple duffel bags, which he tossed one to me. 
"How far we going this time?" I asked, following him to the staircase. If Brian were allowing us use of the only car we have, the town must be an hour away. 

Wildcat seemed to have something on his mind, so he didn't answer right away. It was the first time I was seeing him show any determination, and it was... weird. He huffed, taking the steps one at a time. "There was a whole 'nother group of survivors we were allied with... kind of. They were wiped out late last night, so we are going to go far away. We don't have the manpower or bullets to take them out." He explained. That can't be good. 
"Was it the, uh, group of people we're preparing to fight?" My stomach turned uncomfortable, the images of my older brother flashing in the back of my mind.

"... We think so. Oh, they call themselves Purifiers." He eventually answered, giving as little insight as he could. Or as much as he knew. 
We continued descending down the stairs in a slightly uncomfortable silence, the weight of the threat also taking it's place on my shoulders. The drive I used to have was a flickering candle at this point, only because of Adam's mention. 

Eventually, we were both jumping inside the BMW, ready for our long adventure. He didn't tell me where this town we were going to clean out was yet. 
"Now, Vanoss." Wildcat turned the key into the ignition, the engine roaring to life. I turned my head to face him, my chest tightening up slightly. 
"What was that, yesterday? Didn't exactly help my opinion of you any." He finally asked, pulling out of the large garage and onto the main street. 

My eyes drifted back to the street as my head shook slightly. "Is there a reason I need to?" I asked, using anything I could to avoid answering. 
Wildcat's face looked unforgiving and angered, though he kept his cool. As much as he could. 
"You seemed enticed by the name Fong. Whoever that is, they'd cleared out my friends. If you tell me, I won't stab you in the neck." He answered, eyes dead on the road. It was hard to gulp down the lump in my throat, just his voice made me scared to death. And that wasn't often. 

After a minute of silence, a sigh broke my lips. "You really want to know." 
Wildcat nodded, not looking any less emotional. I shook my head. 

"My real name is Evan... Evan Fong. Adam, my brother, was corrupted several years ago, killed several people. Tried to gank me, as well. That was the first time I ever heard of him being part of the Purifiers, or whoever they are. It shouldn't surprise me." I came clean, Wildcat being the first person to ever know any of this. Hell, not even David knew my last name. 

Once more, I turned my head to face Wildcat, who was staring in disbelief. All his anger subsided, it seemed. 
"I'm... sorry, Evan. For bringing that up." He apologized, taking me by surprise. He didn't seem the kind to easily say sorry, or be sympathetic, for that matter. 

"It's, uh, fine. But, believe me, I'd drop my brother without hesitation." 

We were silent once more for a couple minutes, Wildcat deep in thought. I was trying to stop the endless loop of memories wanting to pull me from focus. 

"Adam Fong! You put down that gun!" A woman ran out from the brush, soaked and terrified. "You're not going to kill your brother!" Mrs. Fong frantically tried to keep him from pulling the trigger on the seventeen year old standing before him, arms wide open. 
Adam chuckled darkly, still trained unto Evan. "And you think you can stop me, mom?" His trigger finger was getting antsy, already wanting to see a hole in his brother's forehead. 

Evan kept his hands up in surrender, staring down the barrel of the gun. There wasn't a way he was getting out of this, that much was true. But the sudden intrusion of his mother made him more sad to be killed. 
Mrs. Fong took a single step, and Adam turned on his heel quickly, now aiming between his mother's eyes. "Don't you dare move, woman."

Seeing this as a chance, Evan flipped out his huntsman knife and pounced onto his brother, even though Adam was a thousand times bigger than him it seemed. Though his gut was on repeat, saying he shouldn't, Evan drove the knife into his brother's left shoulder, his dominant arm. 
"I'm sorry, Adam." He pulled out the bloody knife, running to his mother who was frozen in fear. 

"Let's go find dad." Evan glanced once more at Adam, a bloody mess on the soaked grass. 

"Evan," He huffed, an angered glint in his eye, filled with only revenge and loathing. "When I find you, your blood will be splattered everywhere." Adam glared, holding his shoulder with his right hand. "You remember that, Evan Fong."

And I did. All these years later, that threat haunted me along with the other thousand things that were pulling at my heartstrings. Adam was someone to be feared, even before he healed from my stab wound. While mom, dad and I traveled, he was always on our heels, gathering followers. It seemed after mom died is when his cause was getting bigger. And one of the items on his bucket list was still uncrossed, which was me, stopping him from killing my group.

Wildcat huffed, bringing me out of my trance. He glanced over, sincerity in his eyes. "Tyler Wilde. That's my name." He commented. I nodded, seeing the connection between his last name and his alias 'Wildcat'. Seems it wasn't only for his personality.
"We're going to get out of this alive, you understand. Though we may have a mutual dislike, you're still... one of us." 
A soft smile pulled at my lips at him saying 'mutual dislike.' He didn't say hate. The little things are what's keeping my sanity together. 

The morning grew into afternoon, dark clouds swirled above our heads. Darker, and even thicker than yesterday's storm. 
Wildcat and I hopped out of the car and onto the bloody pavement, which was to be expected of course. We made our way deeper into town, knives at the ready for anything waiting to pop up and try to rip us apart. Walkers and people alike. 

"-And the bloody thing thought he could take us on!" A voice exclaimed, a heavy chuckle echoing out after. Immediately, Tyler and I ran into whatever cover we could have found. 
We both peaked out from the side of the building we were leaning against, trying to count the cunt. 

We were outnumbered by a long shot, seven or eight men and two women stood in the middle of the street, large guns on their back and on the ground. 
"Purifiers, maybe?" I whispered as low as I possibly could after the two of us slid back, crouching to the ground. Tyler nodded, the same unforgiving look on his face. "There's no way we can take them out, the two of us," He whispered as low as me, the group of people laughs bouncing and echoing out of the street. 

I raised my eyebrows. "But?" 
Tyler smirked. "A distraction. One of us gets their attention, have some of them follow. The other, drop the couple standing by and take their guns." He planned, drawing into the dirt in front of us. "How good a shot are you?"
"Good enough." I answered, the cool metal of the pistol still grasped in my right hand. There was no way in hell I would've even considered this plan if I was with Lui or David. 

"Alright. I'll create a distraction. As soon as the ones who leave are out of sight, quickly drop the other ones. Stay in hiding." Tyler explained, standing up once more. My left hand went to support my right after chambering a bullet. He ran around the other side, taking to the alleys.

Slowly, I peaked around the corner, seemingly none of them noticing us talking or moving. 
That's when my eyes drifted to the several cans of beer on the ground and in their hands, and I couldn't help but grin. They were drunk. 

"Hey, cocksuckers!" Tyler's voice echoed down the street. The ten Purifiers immediately grabbed the pistols from their holsters, almost all of them wobbling quite a bit. "Itchin' for a fight?" He continued yelling. As we planned, seven of them ran after Tyler, as best they could. The three others, who seemed a bit more sober, aimed their larger guns around. 

After one deep, silent breath, my sights were on the other man's head after I switched between the three, getting the feel of where their heads were. Tyler was still yelling and running around, gunshots piercing the wind. 

My finger pulled the trigger on the man's head, dropping him immediately. Before the two women could see where I was hiding, I ducked back into cover. Two more, Evan. You've got this.
I peaked around once more, and the two were aiming around in the direction perpendicular to mine, their eyes wide. 

Once more, my sights were aimed on the brunettes head, the one who was close to seeing me. 
A gunshot from my own gun echoed, and she dropped dead. 
The redhead managed to catch sight of me, though she was alone. "Come out, now!" Her voice echoed down the street, rivaling Tyler's endless refrains. 

I rolled forwards into the cover of thick, green bushes that surrounded the building I was hiding by, now not able to get a look at her. She shot around the bushes, some of the bullets zooming past my ears. If she kept shooting, I could pinpoint her exact location and try to get a blind shot. 
with that new information, I poked my pistol through the brush, and shot several times in hopes at least one of the bullets punctured her.

The shots stopped from her end, and I poked my head up. She was holding her torso, where a large blood stain already was. 
I jumped to my feet, keeping my eyes on the woman. Before she could bleed out entirely, her bloody hand grasped a walkie talkie from the dead man's hip. 

"Adam. We're attacked at Carson. The one who killed me looks a lot like your brother." She smiled, her teeth red with blood, which I can only guess was internal breathing. 
Finally, she dropped, light fading from her eyes. 

Quickly, I stuffed the several guns into my duffel bag and grabbed one for myself, which was an M4A4. 

Tyler's voice still echoed throughout the streets, meaning he was alive and possibly, uninjured. 

"Evan." A familiar voice spoke through the walkie talkie, which I assumed was still live on their  working network. He still sounded the same after all these years. "This time, I'll be the one who captures you."

Chills were sent flying down my spine, a sharp intake of breath racking my torso. Somehow, this sent greater fear through me, more than all those years ago. 

"I'll cross that bridge when we come to it." I mumbled, despite this. Tyler possibly needed my help, and I had more to offer. 


"Wildcat!" My voice bounced off the brick walls of the buildings, breaking the silence that I just noticed washed over the city. 
There was no answer. Not even a laugh or a slur of words, not his voice echoing 'cocksucker'.

"Goddamnit, Tyler." I mumbled, running down the street, kicking over a can in the process. He was running the alleys, maybe he got to hide from the seven that ran after. With a sharp, challenging venom in voice, I shouted. "Alright, you damn Purifiers! Come and get me, Evan Fong!" 

There was no answer, but one person walked out from where me and Tyler were hiding before. The one who first alerted us of their presence here. My sights were trained on him as he walked out, a smug smile on his face. 

"What'd you do with Wildcat?" I hissed, my finger aching to pull the trigger on him here and now. The man only smiled, shrugging his shoulders. "Oh, we captured him. Wild, isn't he?" 
My jaw clenched as I continued following him. 

"See, Adam asked us to capture your friends, where they will be dealt with at our compound." He explained, finally stopping. Absentmindedly, I ran up to him, the barrel of my gun pushed up against his chest. "You fucking tell me right now. Where is Wildcat being taken?!" I demanded. 

"You're going to die anyways. I suppose you could find you brother before he finds you." He shrugged again, like everything was okay. "Wildcat, that his name? He's being taken to the abandoned military base in the Springs."

I emptied half of the mag into his chest, blood splattering onto my face and chest. 

"Thanks for letting me wipe you all out."