The House

He awoke tied to a chair. He opened his eyes, trying to adjust his vision to the dark. From the musty smell mixed with the scent of death, it wasn't good. Waking up to tied to a chair was already bad enough, but that wasn't the part that made him panic. He looked around the room, realizing that he was in the basement. When he was dragged down there, he briefly remembered how the men laughed when they let his head bang against the stairs going down. He could still feel a slight pain in the back of his head. 

Hopefully the damage wouldn't be too bad, once he got out of here. He pulled at the restraints, but it was no use. Whoever did the knots did a pretty damn good job of it. He looked around for something to use his abilities on, but there was something in the room. It was completely bare, and he knew that whoever brought him here did their homework. 

"Ted?"

He jumped, and almost cried out, he didn't meant to pull at the ropes so hard against his skin. Elliot was standing in the doorway, his face covered in blood. He was holding a hatchet, blood dripping from the weapon. He rushed over to Teddy, placing his hands on his cheeks. 

"God, are you alright? I was so worried. I found our other two friends, but one of them is injured. It's not good, and his wound refuses to heal."

"What? But that's impossible. Isn't he supposed to be unstoppable?"

Elliot started to untie him, as he continued to speak. "Perhaps my father found a way," he said with disdain. 

The ropes fell from his wrists, and Elliot got to work on his legs. Teddy stared at the faded mark on Elliot's neck. It was a hickey, one that he had made himself. They had recently started sleeping together, out of fun. But Teddy suspected that Elliot's feelings for him were becoming something more, judging by his reaction when he found him down here. 

He wouldn't be mad if they were to become serious, but as long as Elliot's father was still out there, it would be impossible to even consider his chance at happiness. Elliot stretched out a hand to pick him up from the chair, and Teddy didn't refuse, feeling a small shudder go through him when his fingers touched his hand. Elliot noticed this, and for a second, there was something in his eyes, but there was no time for that. 

Elliot knew that too, and quickly turned away, lifting up his hatchet. 

"We should get going. The others are waiting for us."

They headed back into the house, leaving the basement. Teddy covered his nose, trying not to gag from the smell in the house. It finally made sense why the basement smelled so awful. There were bodies littering the hallways, and blood was splattered on the floor and walls. 

"Was this your doing?"

Elliot shrugged. "They didn't give me a choice."

"Looks like it," Teddy replied, when he noticed the hatchet like wound on one of the heads of the bodies. Teddy thought about kicking some of the bodies, but there was no need for that. They paid the price once they were all brought here. 

Teddy followed Elliot, until they reached the entrance of the house. Mr. Jones, the youngest of the group, was sitting on the floor, his left shoulder exposed. There was a large ugly wound on his shoulder, like something with a huge mouth had bitten off a huge chunk of his flesh. Ben, the other member of the group, was on his knees by the young man, treating his wound, wrapping a fresh set of bandages around his shoulder. 

"Oh shit, that looks bad. Why isn't he healing?," Teddy asked. 

"I don't fucking know. That fucker did something to him before he captured all of us. Smart to go after the strongest of us four, huh?" Ben said with a sneer, with a hint of sarcasm. 

"It's not as bad as you think," Mr. Jones mumbled. 

Ben shook his head, but didn't argue with him. Teddy was grateful for that, at least. There had been unresolved tension between them before they were captured, but they were holding off on another argument for now. Teddy suspected it had to do with Ben's guilt for the death of Mr. Jones' daughter. Mr. Jones constantly told him that her death was never his fault, but nothing was getting through to Ben. 

He looked so exhausted, Teddy wondered when it was the last time Ben had a proper night's rest. Elliot smashed his hand against the wall, making Teddy jump again. He dropped his hand, a massive hold now in the wall, reminding Teddy of an open wound. Ben and Mr. Jones were staring at him too, looks of disbelief on their faces. It was rare to see Elliot lose it like that, he was one of the calmest people they had ever been acquainted with. 

Teddy would know that, since they had been intimate a couple of times a week, and Elliot, for being a seven-foot-tall man with hard packed muscle, preferred peaceful intimacy. And he also liked to be the 'receiver' of the relationship, something that Teddy never expected. He was perfectly alright with it, but it was definitely still a shock. 

He stood still for a couple of seconds, his hands clenched into fists. Teddy touched his shoulder, and that appeared to make Elliot snap out of it. He looked over his shoulder, a softness now in his gaze. 

"Sorry. I'm…tired. So tired."

"We're all fucking tired, man," Ben sighed. 

Mr. Jones offered Elliot a wan smile. Teddy thought Mr. Jones was too kind for his own good. How he was one of the most powerful ones among the group was crazy to think about. He had never killed a single person in his life, much less someone who deserved it. 

He was desperate to stay good his whole life and not become like them. None of them took it as an insult, if he wanted to stick to his moral code, then it was alright with them. Ben and Elliot were killers through and through, and they never hesitated to kill anyone who stood in their way. Judging from the number of bodies in the house, they were the ones responsible for the carnage. 

Teddy had barely noticed the blood on Ben's hands, it was too much blood to have come from a shoulder wound. Mr. Jones let out a small groan once Ben was done applying the bandage. He slowly started to stand up, and Ben reached out for him, in case he was to fall down again. 

"I'll be alright, guys. I need to get used to it; I guess."

"We need to figure out what the fuck is going on with you before we can leave." Ben slid a hand over his eyes, worry in his voice. 

"I don't think we have time for that, Ben. We need to leave, now, before they come back."

Ben opened his mouth to argue, but Mr. Jones raised a hand to stop him. 

"I understand your concern. I know that it's risky and stupid to ignore my wound that cannot heal for some reason, but we don't have a choice. We're on their territory, and we need to do whatever it takes for us to get back home. To get back to our loved ones."

Ben averted his eyes away from him, and Teddy could tell that he was thinking of what was waiting for him back home. Out of all of them, Ben was the easiest to read. His emotions were like an open book. Teddy knew that he was thinking of his family back home. His best friend. His brother, who had a pregnant girlfriend, who was carrying future niece or nephew. 

Mr. Jones had an odd relationship with his own best friend back home, one that was impossible to figure out if it was romantic or not. He also had two adopted girls left, because two of them had been killed by evil monsters like Elliot's father. And poor Ben was there for the last one, witnessing her get killed in front of him. 

Teddy looked up at Elliot, feeling a twinge of something he couldn't decipher in his chest. Whatever it was, he didn't want to lose him. It didn't matter that he was the son of their enemy, because he wasn't like him. Teddy reached out to hold his hand, giving it a slight squeeze. There was a glint of amusement in Elliot's eyes, and it was hard for Teddy to hold back his laughter, when he noticed the confused expression on Ben's face. 

Mr. Jones smiled in their direction, and then it quickly faded when he turned toward the front door. 

"I think we should get going."

All of the men agreed, each of them taking out their weapons, or whatever they were capable of. Ben pushed open the door, gun in hand. They walked outside, finding a city torn to shreds. The dead were walking, groaning and shambling on the streets. Elliot's father was the cause of this, and now they were going to clean up the mess he had left behind. 

They were hoping this would be the final showdown with him, ending his mad experiments for good. Ben smiled, cocking back his gun. 

"This is always the fun part."

Elliot spun around his hatchet with one hand, an effort that never took much for someone like him.

"Indeed."

Mr. Jones grabbed his shoulder, grimacing from the pain. 

"I'm probably going to stand back for this one, guys."

Teddy patted his back in a brotherly way. 

"I'll stand back and watch with you, too."

These words were enough of an invitation for Elliot and Ben, and they charged toward the dead, yelling. Teddy and Mr. Jones followed their friends, as the two men were having fun slaughtering those that were already dead. 

Hopefully this would be the last time. 

Because the smell was always awful. 

---

I got an urge to write a secret zombie story, because I have had zombies on the brain. I'm playing Resident Evil Requiem, and I think it's one of the best zombie games ever made. 

And I wanted to confirm that all of these men have supernatural powers, but I thought it would be fun to keep it very brief. 

Thank you for reading!

Emy Quinn