0800 Hours

It was an early morning – as it always was. It was not my turn to check the perimeter but I liked to start early enough. I had been up for four hours when a message from Sgt. Lewis “Gov” Prater. He was known as Gov to most of the people. It didn’t matter if you were a civilian or what was left of the military. I was one such part of the remnants of this place after the infestation started and we began losing everyone and everything by the hundreds. I had seen more bloodshed and monsters than I had ever cared to in the past two years but still I stayed. I had a sister who helped out in the mess tent. There wasn’t enough space for an actual Mess Hall so she set up there.

Her name was Maggie Stewart. We shared the same last name though she was older and had a mother of her own. It shouldn’t have been an easy relationship between us but I was so happy that it had been. With all of our parents gone it was nice to be able to pop in and say hello to someone I knew and liked well enough. She had a long nose and dark hair with green streaks woven in the under layers where it melded in with the other strands but also made it more apparent. She had her mother’s eyes. Pat had been a nice woman when I had known her. When she was still here. She had made dealing with my dad a bit easier. It was safe to say that I didn’t completely enjoy his company after dad left mom like that. However, strangely enough Mom was never bitter about it and she had come to accept Pat and Maggie as if they weren’t the other pieces that my dad left behind. He had left them too and I suppose that was what made us stick together as long as we did.

Maggie peeked her head out of the tent when she saw me hurrying by up towards the building where most of the meetings took place. It was the same place most of us got our orders. It was just a simple building with fans lining most of the halls to cool the rooms off. I stopped a brief moment and gave her a squeeze. She was rounder than most of the women around here but it didn’t make me love her any less. This was Maggie and she was family. She showed me her tiny smile before ushering me off to do “business type things”, I heard her shout, and “You’re coming up in the world Stephy. Don’t deny it.”

I laughed at her before upping the pace and rushing up the four steps that would take me inside. I slowed my stride a bit as the warm air hit me, my heartbeat was elevated and I hoped it didn’t make me look like I was rushing as I went on inside the open door at the end of the corridor where there was an iron plate bolted on it that said, Control Room/ Sgt. Prater. The sergeant’s name had been tacked on with thinly sliced pieces of iron and metal. There had been some resident construction workers who had been beneficial to the upkeep of certain parts of the city now.

I, however didn’t think that qualified as beneficial. They could have just taped something to the door. What a waste of perfectly decent resources. I didn’t tell anyone this of course, word got around fast around this town. Especially this area.

As I entered the room I was greeted by the sight of three men. One was sitting behind the desk with a thermos of what I supposed was probably coffee or some kind of soup made from the vegetation surrounding the area that was deemed safe. A quick whiff of the aroma had me sold on the idea that it was probably coffee. The coffee was ground nicely enough that the scent was pleasant enough though I wasn’t a fan of the beverage myself. I preferred OJ in the morning or tea. Something to keep me calm and at ease. These times weren’t always as forgiving as I was just about to find out.

“Stewart. Have a seat.” One of the other men in the room said. He was my superior on the level that I was a medic and he was an operating surgeon who knew plenty more than I did. I got most of my orders from him. He went by Ryse Winters and his skin was as pale as you expected one to have with a last name like that. Names had nothing to do with people though and thankfully Doctor Winters wasn’t the type to be cool to the touch. He was a kind man with a vicious love for making others better. Whether that meant using a scalpel or just a dose of medicine – it didn’t matter. He was brilliant at his job and that was what counted the most. It was safe to say that I admired the man and he had me tucked under his wing ever since I enlisted four years ago. That didn’t mean I followed him like a lost puppy but I did follow his words and made it through into my own way of thinking.

This is why I became puzzled as I sat down and waited for one of them to begin talking. It didn’t take long for the Sergeant to begin. “Listen son, you’ve been situated in this town long enough to hear some things about what happens around here and maybe to have not heard some things. I am banking on the latter for this wouldn’t work if you had known about what we are enlisting you to do. We need someone who is fresh and it would be a great help if you agreed to help us out on this one.”

“What exactly do you need me to do?” I asked. I was confused and intrigued at the same time. Each of them wore guarded expressions apart from the doctor. The doctor looked frightened and that made me worry more as I listened to them give me very strict instructions. I was going out to the uncharted territory to a house that slipped into the woods. This would be a dangerous task, they had already told me this but I was only realizing it once they had me in the Jeep.

I was only grateful that they had given me ammunition to use just in case I encountered problems, which I did about five meters out. Three flesh eating skeletons came around the bend hissing and moaning as I drove on. I took two of them out with my gun and the other I ran over a few times. It probably should worry me that I started laughing once I took off over the now crushed corpse of a once living. That might have made me a little morbid but I felt liberated here and I almost forgot about the danger that awaited me beyond the trees. Almost.

It took me three minutes and fifteen seconds to slow my pace down an inch and pretend that this wasn’t all equally terrifying as it was now. I pretended that I was just on a drive to clear my head for a while and when I got to the darkest portion of the forest there was a small clearing and there the house was waiting for me. I bought the Jeep to a full stop and let out a sigh. The documents I had been given were sitting on the seat next to me. I looked back up at the house – it was a dark blue with grey shingles on the rooftop. It had to be manually painted piece by piece. It wasn’t very large by the looks of it but I knew that there was something about it that would change things. I didn’t know why but I felt it in my bones and I couldn’t let that go nor could I let it stop me from my mission. I was sent for a purpose and the girls – The Wicked Ones as the Serg had called them were it.

I slipped out of the car, holstered my gun just in case though I hoped I wouldn’t have to use it. I wasn’t the kind of guy who enjoyed hurting people even if it was for their own good. I just wasn’t that kind of person but I did believe in the safety of the human race and that I suppose was all that mattered here. That was one of the reasons why I had been brought here though I knew I wasn’t told everything and I had nearly braved a look inside the envelope that was stamped with a confidentiality marker on it several times. I didn’t in the end and that’s why my curiosity had been upped as I walked up the set of six steps – some of them were lower than they should have been but I disregarded that as I rose my fist to knock at the door.

Only, I didn’t have to. I found myself face to face with a woman who wore black sunglasses on her face and a slight smile on her face. “Who are you?” She asked and I gulped. I opened my mouth to speak when I heard another voice call from inside. “They’re coming.” Before I could do anything else I was pulled inside and I was frozen almost completely. A hand guiding me carefully to the sofa where I sat a few meters away from another woman. She was trembling and gritting her teeth as if in pain.

“Are you okay?” I muttered more concerned for her than my own safety at this point. She ignored me and I just watched her hoping for some sort of reaction.

She didn’t say anything for a few moments but when she did I grew wary for what was to come. “Yes, you just came at a very bad time or you were supposed to be here. Only time will tell.” Her voice was like dry silk. Soft but dead at the same time.

I found myself turning to the sister or who I assumed was her sister only to see she had withdrawn her glasses and I was staring at the most vibrant green eyes I had ever seen. I didn’t think anyone’s eyes could get that color before. Her head tilted at an angle and she frowned. I soon realized she wasn’t looking at me. She was focused on the woman sitting next to me. Her head was in her hand and she had reached out for my arm and she was squeezing. I’m surprised I hadn’t felt it. It might have been the warmth that I felt emitting from her hand. I placed my own around hers hoping that it would comfort her from the pain she was in.

I didn’t say anything though.

“We have to move.” The green eyed one muttered before dashing out of the room in search of something. The one remaining only repeated herself, “You came at a bad time. I can only hope you will make it out of this alive. I’ll try to help.” Then she was on her feet and moved around. I didn’t know if I should follow or run out of here but it didn’t seem to matter what I did for there was the sound of shattering glass as the window caved in and the glass hit the ground

Next Chapter: Alive or Dead