Summer sucks. decided Matt. Though he felth that way for quite a while, this was the first time he gave any serious thought to the matter. Other than the fact that it was too damn hot and muggy, even in Massachusets, but no one needed a guy to cut their fireword, which sucked for Matt. Everyday it was harder and harder to justify carrying this damn axe around, despite Karl's teachings. 

Karl was big, strong, wise (or insane depending on your point of view), but none of that stopped him from dying in his sleep. After that, Matt buried the old man as best as he could, took his big axe and headed eastward. He used to get some work chopping firewood for the local settlements he ran into along the way, but in summer, who needed firewood?

Now Matt was wandering in upstate Massachusets, in the general direction of Boston, starving and feeling worn. He wanted to find a place to sleep, but nightfall was atleast 6 hours away. Before pondering what he should do next, he heard a noise coming from the bush's just off the dirt road he was on. Though he held his axe, he instinctivly reached for the handgun in his belt.

Matt thought maybe he was getting paranoid. He almost decided to let it go, but when he saw the glint of a steel knife shine in the sun, he knew his instincts had been correct. "Look, buddy, you're not fooling anyone." he said, pulling his Glock out of his holster. "Come out with your hand's up, and I'll let you go. If you keep hiding, If I have to come get you I'm gonna ki-"

Matt almost didn't hear them, but the unmistakable sound of Clickers kept rising and rising. He dropped his attention from whoever was in the bushes and started scanning his surroundings. Off in the distance, he saw the a few shambling forms in the distance. What the hell? How did they sneak up on me? Matt thought. Without thinking, he pointed his gun and squeezed off a round at the nearest Clicker. Not only did he miss, but the sound of the shot got the attention of the infected creatures. Feeling terrified, (and a bit embarrassed for his lack of self control), he turned back to the guy in the bushes. "Sorry! Run!" he said before hauling ass in the opposite direction.

He ran as fast as he could, as far away from the clickers as possible. He knew he would either have to try and lose them or kill him, because Clickers never get tired of chasing their targets. Before he could make his choice, one of them wandered into his path. Before Matt skidded to a halt, the creature lunged at Matt, arms reaching for him. Before the monster could get it's hands around him, Matt placed his gun under it's chin and pulled the trigger. The bullet broke through the creature's fleshy skull and came out of the top of it's skull. As the monster fell back, Matt dropped his pistol on the ground and took his axe in both hands. The creature, though severely injured, tried again to grab at him. With all the strength he could muster, Matt Schafer buried the smile of his axe blade into the creatures chest. The force of the impact sent the Clicker colliding into the ground onto it's back. Matt, quickly wrenching his axe free, gave the clicker a blow to it's neck, finally killing it. 

Matt turned around, axe raised, and saw no Clicker's chasing him, and heard none of their distinctive clicking. I hope they found something better to chase. Still on edge, he almost jumped when he heard a quiet sigh, almost like a whimper, from behind. He was expecting another fight, but instead found someone crouched underneath a ruined piece of wall. By the sound's they were making, they were in very serious pain. Matt picked up his pistol and carefully walked towards the run down shelter.

When he arrived, he saw a woman, half naked and clearly injured. Matt holstered his pistol and placed his axe back into it's loop. "I'm not here to hurt you. Do you need help? Or pants, maybe?"