“Great… Now what?” William let out a grunt, staring at the big, open space in front of the truck.
From their perspective, the buildings seemed to open up in all directions, leaving room for an enormous square where many nearby streets converged and merged with each other. At its center, a statue of a woman on horseback kept watch over the city, a silent beholder of its tragic past. Her attire was of obvious religious nature. She held the reins with her right hand and a cross with her left hand.
Past the square stood a massive building, dwarfing everything around it. A seven-story high building, colored with pretty patterns of bright blue gradients, reminiscent of clouds. On its front façade, right beside an unmistakable cross symbol, there was a large sign:
[SAINT MARIE HOSPITAL]
They had finally arrived at the shelter, which was a good thing. The shambler army filling the square and surrounding the hospital, not so much. They were neither moving nor making a ruckus. They stood there. All of them facing the hospital, but with their heads pointed up towards the sky.
“Oh god… We can’t get into the hospital like this…!” said Nora, cowering on her seat.
“You don’t say… Marcus? Any ideas?”
Marcus’ face peeked into the cab from the back compartment.
“Hmm…” he squinted his eyes and scratched his chin, as if trying to make sense of the crowd of zombies in the square.
“And…?”
“Well, I can’t say I’ve ever seen them surrounding any particular building like that… One way or another, I’m afraid we can’t do much until they move out of the way. There’s just too many of them…”
‘Great… Under normal circumstances, they only move around during the night. I don’t think there’s any other shelter nearby so we can wait them out… Could we drag them away…? An alarm wouldn’t work, not against something this big… Perhaps a gunshot…? No, no, that’d be a bad idea… We could end up drawing even bigger crowds from neighboring streets into the area…’
He sighed, frustrated.
“Damn, we can’t stand here all day. We need to—”
“Step out of the truck!!” a female voice called out to them from the outside.
Out of all the things William was expecting to hear out there, other people were pretty much at the bottom of the list. Acting on reflexes, he grabbed his rifle from on top of the dashboard. He rolled down the driver’s window, and aimed the weapon at the person outside.
It was a woman of strong physique and average height, with tanned skin and long black hair held back in a ponytail. Her attire lacked color of any kind, as if she had intentionally chosen darker tones in order to not stick out.
She threatened him with a pistol. Her hands didn’t show any signs of hesitation, her eyes pierced him with fiery determination. With a quick look at the side mirror, William spotted some more people sneaking behind the truck. None of them seemed to hold firearms.
“Don’t let your guard down…! They’re surrounding us!” said William, prompting Nora to gasp and stir on her seat, turning her attention towards her own window.
“I said, get out of the vehicle! We don’t want to kill you! We just want your supplies!” said the woman outside, with a threatening tone.
“You shouldn’t be threatening someone with a weapon you have no intention to use…” replied William.
“You think I’m not capable of pulling the trigger on you?”
“Indeed, you won’t have the guts to do it. Not with that crowd nearby. Nobody is that stupid.”
“Practice what you preach.” she momentarily broke eye contact with William, stared at his rifle, then went back to clashing with him.
The air was heavy and full of tension. For what felt like an eternity, nobody moved a muscle. Judging by the silence coming from the rest of the truck, everyone else was in a similar stalemate. More people were likely to have approached the vehicle from several directions, and were now waiting for the signal to spring into action.
Drops of sweat formed on William’s face. His finger caressed the weapon’s trigger. Thinking about it, he shouldn’t have even rolled his window down. A bullet wouldn’t pierce that bulletproof glass so easily. Those people didn’t really have the means to stop that truck. But with the window down, there was a clear vulnerability. He regretted his decision to confront them.
‘Crap… I should’ve thought twice about this…’
“Wait…! I know these people…!” Marcus’ voice broke the silence from the back compartment. “Stella, is that you…!?”
“That voice… Marcus!?”
William heard the back door of the truck opening.
‘What the hell is that idiot doing!!?’
“Claire! What’s going on back there!?” he shouted.
“M-Marcus just stepped out of the truck…!” Claire’s tone was shaky. Her stuttering denoted stress. “You…! Stop, s-stay where you are!! I’ll shoot…!!” she threatened someone, most likely the men who had crept behind the vehicle, out of William’s view. “Desmond, grab a weapon, damn it!!”
“Guys, please stop!” William saw Marcus stepping into the scene through the side mirror, yelling at everyone.
The woman gave him a befuddled look, then slightly lowered her gun.
“Marcus… It really is you…! What the hell are you doing here!?”
“That’s what I would like to ask you, too. I’m pretty sure you were among the first people I entrusted with securing and occupying the hospital…”
“Yeah? Well, the folks you sent afterwards didn’t exactly help! Seriously? You send us Jacobs’ gang? What part of that sounded like a good idea to you, asshole!?”
“What? Jacobs…!? I didn’t—”
“Who’s in that truck!? Is he in there!? Is he coming to get his fill!?”
“Please, Stella…! You’ve got it all wrong…! I never sent any of his men here! I couldn’t do it to begin with, many of them were reported back as dead from routine looting trips… Unless…”
William observed the argument, without putting his rifle away.
‘Come on, Marcus, you should have known better… That bastard sure made a fool out of you.’
“You’re an idiot! We should have gotten rid of all those degenerates a long time ago!” Stella showed no intention to stop berating him. “So, you still haven’t answered me! What are you doing here? How come you’re not holed up in your subway office!?”
“The subway is gone.”
Stella looked at him for long while, without saying anything.
“…what?”
“What you just heard. There was an outbreak. The subway was overrun. We managed to escape, and the hospital was our best bet to—”
Stella grabbed Marcus by the collar of his jacket and smashed him against the truck.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
“What the fuck do you mean…!!? If this is a joke it’s not fucking funny!!”
“Do I look like I’m joking…?”
“Shit…!!! I had friends back there…!!! What happened to everyone!!?”
“…only a handful survived. They are in a safe location, we left them behind while we checked the hospital…”
It was obvious he was leaving out the most important parts of the story, most likely to avoid confusing Stella more than necessary. How typical of Marcus, hiding everything but the bare minimum. William was already getting used to it, he didn’t even find it annoying anymore.
******
“A handful!!? How can you have the guts to say that with a straight face!!? Shit…!!” Stella let go of Marcus, took several steps back, and covered her mouth with her hand, fighting to keep her tears from spilling out. “Damn it…!! Fucking damn it…!!”
Marcus didn’t make any effort to defend himself or justify his actions. After all, he was well aware that he was directly involved in many of the factors leading up to the subway outbreak.
“I can’t understand you…! It shouldn’t have happened like this…! You sent me here because you wanted us all to have a better chance at surviving! I believed you! I wanted to help these people; I’ve gotten to care about most of them as if they were family! But then you… You fuck us over by sending those… criminals…! And now you tell me you’ve lost the subway, and almost everyone is dead…!?”
“Do you think I wanted all of this to happen…?” he asked.
“I don’t know what to think…! Just… Just give me a moment… Shit…”
‘Believe it or not, I also wanted to help these people, Stella… I wanted to help everyone.’
She approached a nearby streetlight, rested her forehead against it and closed her teary eyes. She took several deep breaths.
“Um… What do we do then…?” one of Stella’s men peeked from behind the truck, looking with worry in her direction. “T-They are way better armed than we are…”
She raised her left hand and gestured him to stay put.
…
“E-Excuse me…?” a soft voice emerged from the truck’s cab. It was Nora. “I-I’m sorry for interrupting… but do you happen to know if a young girl has recently arrived at the hospital…? She’s really small; with short, black hair…”
Stella turned around and looked at Nora, who was observing the scene over William’s shoulder.
“We’ve left the hospital weeks ago. We had to leave. Those fuckers would’ve given us all kinds of trouble if we stayed. I’m afraid I can’t help you…” she replied.
“Wait… You left!?” Marcus was taken aback by that fact.
“And what did you expect!? They have everyone almost starving to death in there, while they eat their asses full! And let’s not even talk about the disappearances… They have something fishy going on. We had enough. I rallied those who weren’t scared shitless of venturing outside, and left. Many stayed behind. I still regret leaving them in there…” she gave the hospital a grieving look.
The huge building, once a symbol of healing and hope, didn’t feel so hospitable and welcoming anymore.
‘To think things would’ve ended up like this… I guess Jacobs worked behind my back to ensure he had a place to run away to in case the subway got compromised. I was so worried about keeping the boat afloat I ended up disregarding the crew, didn’t I? I disregarded the one thing that keeps the boat over the water…’
As much as he wanted to help people, the more Marcus tried, the more he realized. Helping people wasn’t easy. His memories rumbled on the back of his mind, once again making noise he didn’t need to hear.
‘I wonder… How many times have I broken that promise already…?’
There was a sound of footsteps, as someone came out of the back of the truck and got into plain view. Desmond acted shifty. He walked hunched over as if he didn’t want to be seen too much. However, his eyes were lit up with an unusual light.
“Is... Is Alice there…? A-And Eleanor…?” he asked, looking directly at Stella.
“Alice…? Eleanor…? Who are you and why do you care?”
“I’m Alice’s husband…”
“…” Stella didn’t immediately give him an answer. Instead, she analyzed him from top to bottom. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but closed it back and kept thinking for a while. “…yes, they were at the hospital. But they didn’t come with us. They should still be there…”
“Ah… I-I see…”
“I’m sorry.”
…
“Listen, how about we decide what to do somewhere else?” said William, with an impatient tone. His eyes were no longer set on Stella, but on the shambler crowd surrounding the hospital in the distance.
“…we have a place where you can stay. Let me be very clear about one thing, though: don’t expect me to easily trust you. Not anymore. I’ll be watching you.” Stella pointed at Marcus.
“I understand. It’s okay, I suppose I’ve earned that distrust.”
“Let’s get moving. Follow us, it’s a building nearby.”
While getting back into the truck, Marcus wondered about their next move. He had initially wanted to get into the hospital to access its radio equipment, but such an option might not be feasible anymore. It might be too dangerous. Considering Stella’s description of its current status, a confrontation might be unavoidable. Of course, there was still a lot to gain in terms of commodities and resources. And they were definitely better armed than a bunch of random thugs. Possible? Yes. But, should they take the risk?
‘I better think about it later… Right now, we need to focus on getting to a safe place and resting. It’s not like we can do anything until those shamblers move.’
******
Julien hadn’t slept at all that night. He couldn’t manage to sleep. He couldn’t get the message out of his head. What did it mean? Who had sent it? How did they sneak it into his personal belongings? Why go to such lengths? He felt cornered, paranoid.
Just when he thought Lilian was dead weight, something new shows up and relights the flame. It felt perfect. Too perfect to be true. He knew there was no way whoever was behind that note had any intention of lending him a helping hand. No, that chain of events felt fabricated, carefully manufactured for a very specific purpose.
‘The girl… She attracts the monsters, she attracts the Army, she seems to attract danger itself… Are they doing this to keep the heat off themselves…? I might just be a scapegoat in this entire mess… Yes, that must be it…’
He stopped in front of a particular door. It was no ordinary building. But it was the exact address specified on the note.
“Are you sure this is the place…?” asked Logan. He looked around at the street, suspicious of anyone following them or watching them. He held Lilian’s hands behind her back, although the girl didn’t seem to react to anything yet.
“Yes, it’s here. Let’s go inside…”
Julien kept his cool. His nerves were about to explode, but he couldn’t let Logan know. If he was to make a significant move, he needed to keep a significant façade up. He swung the door open, and stepped inside.
His flashlight dispelled the darkness, revealing what looked like a very ruined office. That place had been abandoned since a long time ago, probably since the very start of the pandemic. Right across from the entrance, there was another door. A big cross was painted on it with bright, fluorescent paint.
‘Like marking a treasure, huh…?’
The duo walked towards the marked door, with Logan awkwardly pushing Lilian in order to force her to move. Julien took a breath, then swung the mystery door open as well.
The room in front of them was massive. It wasn’t surprising, since that building used to be a warehouse. The ceiling was riddled with skylights, which let sun beams rain down from the heights, illuminating the whole place with warm, uniform light.
At the center of the warehouse, a big pile of objects stood out among the many rows of empty shelves. It was strange that the shelves were empty. It looked like the place had been swept clean on purpose, to make sure their attention was directed without fail towards the pile at the center.
Upon getting closer, Julien’s eyes started to open wider and wider.
Boxes, upon boxes, upon boxes. Some of them green and small. Others were colored in different shades of gray. Some were massive, more akin to chests than actual boxes. It was a massive pile of heavy-duty supply crates, like the kind you’d see the military carry around.
In a daze, Julien started checking their contents.
Canned food of all kinds and brands, military rations, cereals… Some boxes contained bottled water, energy drinks, alcohol… Others were full of medical supplies, including vast amounts of common necessities, like bandages, painkillers, disinfectants…
When he opened the big chests, his eyes basked in the shiny glory of brand-new weapons of various calibers, along with a plentiful supply of ammunition.
“Woah, woah, woah…! Are you kidding…!? Who the hell would just drop this here and leave…!?” Logan was in awe, his eyes digging through the supplies in disbelief.
Julien stumbled upon one last box. Or rather, a small briefcase. He opened it. Inside, he found a small supply of syringes.
“Wait, I know these…! Those soldiers injected the brat with a similar one the other day…!” said Logan, pointing at them.
Julien squinted his eyes. Something wasn’t right. He felt like something wasn’t making sense, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Along with the syringes, there was another small note.
[One dose every 3 days. Start tomorrow. At noon.]
…
“Mr. Logan, listen very clearly to what I’m about to say. We’ll go back to the hospital, and we’ll take care of that couple of idiots in charge. We’ll kill them. Every single one of them. It shouldn’t be too difficult to earn everyone else’s trust afterwards. Not with these resources at our disposal…”
“Hang on, hang on… Are you seriously going to go along with this!? Are you nuts!? There’s no way whoever is behind this has any good intentions!!”
“Perhaps… But I still think this might be just the chance we need.”
“This is a bad idea, man. I say we ditch this crap and get the fuck out, away from here. Hey, are you listening…?”
‘The Army can’t be behind this… They want the girl. We’re just a bunch of nobodies with a couple of guns at most. We have no way to fight back. If the Army was behind this, why would they bother helping us? They could just take what they want and leave. No, it’s someone else… And they clearly have a lot of resources. If they also want the girl, why don’t they just take her from us…? Something must be stopping them from doing so, and that’s why they need us. Even if we are just a couple of pawns in their game, we’re still necessary pawns… I need to play my cards carefully.’