Zone 273
Next challenge in this zone: Collectibles
“What does that mean?” I ask again. Collectibles? This was less helpful than not knowing!
“What did it say?” asked Ren, before he copied me and said out loud, “Which zone is this?” I didn’t hear anything, but by the way his eyes scanned quickly I could tell he was reading his pop up. A small frown appeared on his face.
“Ah,” he said. “That’s weird.”
“We should go check the other zones,” I tell Ren, watching the kids as they played. “I don’t know if it’ll make any more sense than this one, but I don’t want to get stuck not knowing what’s coming.”
“I agree,” Ren says, “But what about the kids? I don’t want to haul them back and forth without knowing which area is safer. But I also don’t want to keep sending you by yourself.”
“That’s the safest option,” I argue. “And the fastest.”
“Is it though?” Ren asks. “If you get hurt, there’s no one to help you. If something happens to us, you wouldn’t know until it’s too late.”
He has a point, but with six kids to take care of and only two of us, there wasn’t a good solution.
Stolen story; please report.
“What if we split up, three and three?” Ren suggests. “I take some and we explore the zone past this one, while you go back to see what zone the daycare is going to be. We’ll cover more ground and we’ll meet back here to decide.”
I bite my lip, unsure. I don’t want to put them in any danger, but he’s right; it would be faster for us to explore different areas.
“Okay,” I finally concede, more in the name of time than anything. “I’ll take Theo, Cassidy, and Benny.”
“Ravi, Greyson, and Kena will go with me, then,” Ren agrees. “We’ll meet back here at the grocery store?”
“Yes. Try to be fast, meet back here with fifteen minutes remaining,” I anxiously look at my phone, which says I have only twenty six minutes and ten seconds left.
“Why do we need to be fast?” Ravi stopped by us, listening in as we discuss.
“It’s the next part of the game!” Ren tells him. “And guess what? This time, you’re on my team! Let’s go get Greyson and Kena.”
I round up Cassidy and Benny, who are playing in a container of water, before finding Theo trying to sneak off to the back area of the store.
“Theo!” I shout to him, and he jumps guiltily before scampering over to me.
“We have a job to do,” I tell them. “We have to find which area will be safest for the next part of the game.” I take Ren’s cue and continue to lean into the ‘game’ aspect. “The four of us will go check the daycare, while Ren and the others will go check the other way.”
“What if the zombies come back?” Cassidy whimpers fearfully.
“I think it's going to be a new challenge, and they aren’t starting yet. But that’s why we have to be fast, so we can meet back here.”
“Like a race?” Theo prances, his feet splashing the tiny bit of water.
“Yes,” I say, but add on, “But it’s a teamwork race. All of us have to be together to win.”
I let Ren have the rope, instead using my sweater to tie one end to Theo’s wrist, like a cloth leash. The other two I’m not worried about running off; Cassidy has been holding either mine or Ren’s hand this whole time. And Benny…I glanced at his vacant eyes. Even with Ren’s skill, he was shaken and scared. I couldn’t blame him after what he went through.
“Alright, let’s hustle, kids. Cassidy, do you think you can run?” I ask, lifting Benny into my arms. It’s a little awkward to balance the weight of him and the backpack, but I manage. Cassidy gives me a small nod.
“Theo, got your running feet ready? You need to stay with us, alright?” I tell the young boy, who’s bouncing on his heels.
“Yeah, yeah, let’s just go!” I roll my eyes but concede and start jogging, our small group splitting off and heading back to where we had started.