“As okay as any of us have been the past few months. Daniel's handiwork should make it more difficult, and we might blend in a little more now.” I smiled at her. “Get some more rest, Rachel. There's no point in staying awake and worrying if you don't need to.”
“Okay, but don't leave us. I don't know what we would do without you.”
“I promise I won't.”
I watched her settle back into the same place as before, using her brother for extra warmth. Her words turning over in my mind. Why would she think I'd run off and leave them on their own? I tried to think of anything I'd done that would make her think I'd abandon them. Nothing came to mind. If there was one thing I could do, it would be to make sure both were safe.
Day 34 Continued
I thought we were safe. Why could we never be safe? Whoever had been walking around and talking earlier had disappeared. Or at least the traces of them had disappeared. I was lulled by my own overconfidence we could survive this. I thought they were too far away to spot us. I didn't think they would venture this way. I don't like to admit when I'm wrong, but I was wrong. Maybe I wasn't paying enough attention to the world around me. I don't know how I could have missed it. One second it was quiet. The next I could hear as clearly as if they'd been talking to me.
“What's that?” I heard a male voice ask.
“My guess? Somewhere to sleep, if you're a child.” Someone responded.
“D'ya reckon there's anyone still in it?” A third asked.
“Not sure.” The person paused. “We've not seen anyone round here. And I can't see any signs that anyone has been around here.”
“Apart from the shelter?”
“Apart from the shelter.”
“Someone must have put it together. It seems too ordered to be an accident. Too constructed. Look, you can see...” the voice muffled. “It won't last long.”
“If you think it's new, we'll have a look.”
I froze. Stay or run. Stay or run.
I quickly shuffled towards the twins and nudged them awake. Before they could make a sound, I placed my hands across their mouths. When it looked like they understood, I slowly backed away. I pointed outside the shelter. Daniel seemed to understand me.
The heavy crunch of leaves sounded closer to our shelter. Our safety. I'd heard three voices, but it only sounded like one of them was approaching. It didn't matter how many of them had walked towards us, I couldn't think of a way we could escape without being seen. The only positive would be if they didn't want to do us any harm. I couldn't let my mind stray over thoughts of anything bad happening to Rachel or Daniel.
“Stay here. Don't come out until we've gone, or it's safe.” I whispered at them.
“Anna, no.” I heard Rachel whisper, but I ignored her.
I scooted to the woven entrance, bag secured on my shoulder and stood up.
“Hi.” I said to the surprise of the guy stood at the entrance.
“So, someone was in there.” He mumbled, half to himself. “I guess Adrian was right.”
He turned to look at me. I wanted to take a step back, the look he passed over me didn't leave me feeling warm and fuzzy.
“Adrian!” The guy in front of me shouted.
“What?”
“There's a woman here.”
“Bring her over then.”
The guy turned to me again, eyes roaming across me. “Looks like you'll be coming with us.”
I took a step forward. He grabbed my arm, tighter than necessary.
“Where are you taking me?” I asked, trying to keep my voice level.
“Don't worry, it's somewhere safe.”
I didn't believe him, but I let myself be pulled along. If I kept going forward, they wouldn't look inside and find Daniel or Rachel. If giving myself up kept them safe, it would be worth it. I focused on that as my heart thudded under my chest. At least I kept them safe.
Day 35
There hasn't been any sign of Rachel and Daniel being brought to camp. Something I'm thankful for. I don't know what they want me for. I've been left alone, but I don't like it. Why would you forcefully bring someone with you and then ignore them? Although being ignored is better than several other options. I was brought into the camp, no searches, no questions and then ignored. This must be how lingering souls feel. Endlessly tied down without understanding what's happening.
The guy who'd found me, or who I purposefully stepped in front of, deposited me in the camp then disappeared. From eavesdropping over the past few hours, I'd learnt his name was Nick. I wasn't able to learn much else, except he left camp a lot. Not that I was bothered by that. An unsettling atmosphere clouded around him. The less time I had to spend in his company, the better.
Despite my loneliness, the camp wasn't empty. Far from it. This was the most number of living people I'd seen in one place since this started. There were only adults, from what I could tell, but they had banded together. Unease still gripped me at being brought here unceremoniously, and with no say in the matter, but I felt safe. No more looking over my shoulder to see if something was coming after me. No more need to sleep for only of hours at a time. Although, I don't think that will be a habit I will be able to shake for a while now.
True, there were a lot of people here, but I wouldn't say they were surviving. The camp looked temporary. There were no buildings, and everyone else seemed more on edge than me. I couldn't confirm it, but I had a feeling these people were behind the destruction we'd seen a few days earlier. The tents were lined neatly and evenly spaced out. I was in a camp, one that was more militaristic than I'd have liked. As an outsider, I couldn't feel like I could relax.
This morning I was brought a warm bowl of what looked like gruel. I never realised that was a real thing, but the lumpy, grey substance in the bowl was all my mind could think of.
“Thanks.” I said to the woman who brought it over.
“What for?” She asked.
“The food.” I gestured. “I've not had anything warm in months.”
She raised her eyebrow. “Why?”
“I didn't want to attract anything to me. It wasn't a risk I was jumping to take on my own.” I answered defensively. I'm sure it's alright being a group this big, but for most people, I bet warm food was off the table. I thought to myself.
“You're an idiot.” She scoffed. “They aren't attracted to heat.”
“What if I didn't mean zombies?”
She rolled her eyes. “We've been tracking them. Heat isn't something they're looking for.”
“Good to know.”
She clicked her tongue at me before walking off. The information felt off. If they couldn't sense heat, how had they been finding everyone? The more I learnt or noticed about these, the more I felt like something was wrong with them. Apart from the undead thing.
That was the last contact I had with anyone today. I've been left to myself again, waiting until the light disappears. I've been thinking of making a run for it. Trying to find my way back to Rachel and Daniel. They would have made it safely out by now. There were no walls, or trenches around the camp, only a ring of torches. Enough that anyone watching would see me go. Would they know I wasn't supposed to leave? I didn't want to risk it. I'm still too much of a coward to risk my life.
Day 36
Another day, and still no movement. The tents and lean-tos may look temporary, but the camp feels permanent. I've been welcomed to get food with them, but I'm still being ignored. I want to ask someone what's happening. Find out who's in charge and demand to be let go. Why do they need stragglers and strays? I've been watching how everyone interacts, but I can't place a leader. Or maybe they don't want me to know.
Rachel and Daniel have been on my mind for the past couple of days. I feel awful for leaving them. I hope they know it was to help them. At least they had their supplies, and enough to last them a few more days. They could head out of the trees and find somewhere safe. I hoped they would be able to find the haven they'd been so keen on f
inding. They had my cricket bat to keep them safe. I'd slipped the knot from around my bag as I made my decision to save them. It might have been a stupid move for me, but they may need it more. Plus, I didn't want to seem threatening. Although, that could be why I've been dragged here.
It's not too bad, but there's something off. I can't quite place it, but it doesn't feel right with me. It could be the lack of safety, the nonchalance of the world. I don't know, but I didn't want to be here. My thoughts spiralled the more I isolated myself. How had we not stumbled across all these people before? How had it taken a small scavenging group to find us?
Day 36 Continued
I tried not to dwell. Negative thoughts would not help anyone, especially not me. Come on Anna, it doesn't matter what the reason is it's weird. No matter what the answer was, they didn't look like they were trying to create a safe space for humans to thrive. Every time I moved somewhere, I felt like a million eyes were following me. As long as I didn't go far, I couldn't see me being too much of a problem.
I'd found myself pushed up against a tree, as far away from the rest of them as I could get without suspicion. There's been more activity today than before. I've been watching it from afar, trying to understand something. It's not been much, more bustling and energy from the rest of my new campmates. I'd missed the sign.
“Here, take this.”
My train of thoughts derailed as a man I'd not seen before, thrust what looked like a spear into my hands.
“What do I need this for?”
“I'd take it if you don't want to end up dead.”
I hurriedly took the makeshift weapon. He motioned for me to follow, and I clumsily trailed behind.
“What will I need this for? Isn't it safe here?”
“We've spotted another zombie. Every able-bodied person has to help out.”
“Wait, what? You think I can help kill these things? With this?” I shuddered at the thought of being that close to one again.
“You've stayed alive this long so far. How else have you managed without killing anything? Didn't you get told what we would be doing here when you came back with Nick?”
“Firstly, by being a coward. Secondly, I didn't willingly come back, I was dragged. Literally. My arm was in a vice grip the entire way back here. I have no clue what's happening. This is the first time anyone's told me anything.”
The guy stopped walking and turned on me. I cringed back a step. “He dragged you here? That son of a—” He took a breath. “I've told him about that before, we can't be dragging anyone here expecting them to help. I'm sorry you've been brought here without your say so. But we could use your help. Everyone needs to help us all survive.”
“Can't I leave instead? It might be better if I did, I could become a liability with this thing.” I said waving around my stick. My hopes rising as I spoke.
“I wish we could, but we lost a lot of people recently and we need everyone we can get. If we can find anyone else in the next day, we might be able to spare you, but I'd appreciate it if you could stick around.”
“I don't think I'm a good replacement.”
“I'm sorry. I'll see what I can do, but it's not up to me.”
He looked almost apologetic before he turned and headed to one of the tents at the centre of the camp. I took that as the end of the conversation. It felt better to know I shouldn't have been dragged here. Not that it stopped me from being here. Now I had to figure out how to fight with a spear and hold one without stabbing myself or anyone.
I scanned for anyone practising with any weapons. No practising was happening, but more people were gathered in one corner. Were there corners in this camp? It's not like there was a perimeter wall. They grouped up in the closest thing to a corner I could see. I slunk towards the back of them. No one noticing my arrival. I couldn't help but feel like the universe was mocking me in some way. Thrust into a group to help keep everyone else safe, when I'd barely managed to keep myself safe.
It didn't look like we would be doing anything today. The group were too relaxed. I sank to the floor, pulling my rucksack between my legs and laying my stick next to me. Now was as good a time as any to get some rest. I'm sure I'd know when something had changed.
Day 37
Energy buzzed around me. Pulling me from my rest. I used the spear to push myself to my feet. Everyone else was already on theirs. I tried to see what had caused the change in feeling when I saw him. Nick. I shrank back, trying to hide my face. My gut felt uneasy about him. I didn't want to test if it was right or not.
“One of them's been spotted toward the edge of the woods. It looks to have freshly turned. We know what that means.”
People around me cheered. Nick paced in front of the group. All attention was on him, the group hanging on his every word.
“We're lucky there's only one this time. Not like the group last week. This one should be easy. Remember, stay away from its face. Don't get caught where we might have to put you down as well.”
Shock covered me as people around me laughed. As though killing someone was a joke. How were they able to go along with this so nonchalantly? I waited for him to say something else, but that was it. There was nothing left to his speech. He turned his back on us, speaking to someone by his side. I felt dazed. Unwilling to believe what I had heard. How could someone be so callous?
“Everyone.” Nick said, pointing in the direction he'd started walking.
The group I'd huddled into began to follow. As we moved, I allowed myself to fall back. I noticed again how organised everyone seemed to be. There was no jostling, no shoving. Only a steady, silent stream of movement. How many times had this been done to reach this level of order? How many people had died for it to be perfected to this level?
Blood rushed through my body, making me light-headed. I didn't know what to expect or what was happening. The only positive thing was that they wouldn't put us all in danger. It couldn't be a trap to kill us all. How was I going to make it out alive? I'd not handled myself too well before. Being a coward had always been my best plan, and it had worked. I had been fine until I tried to save someone else. Would I be in this mess if I hadn't saved Rachel and Daniel?
Our steady march was the only sound I could hear through the trees. All sounds of nature drowned out by the steady thud as each foot hit the ground in unison. What I wouldn't give to hear the gentle rustle of the fallen leaves, the sounds of animals running across the ground. Something that didn't remind me of a funeral march.
Suddenly the pace began to slow. I couldn't tell what had caused it, but I followed the people around me. I was too far back to understand what was happening at the front. My mind flittered to escape. Maybe if they were distracted, I could make a break for it. I would have, but where would I go? We slowed to a complete stop and with it my chance to run stopped as well. I felt awkward. The spear resting awkwardly against my body. Calm oozed from the people in line with me. There was no fear, only anticipation.
“First line forward.” Nick said, barely audible from where I was stood.
There was a shuffling from the front. I tried to peer over the heads of the people lined before me. I couldn't see what was happening.
“Second line.”
More shuffling and this time I could see the group move into the surrounding trees. It was smooth, clean, well-rehearsed. They knew where they needed to be, unlike me.
“Third line.”
“Fourth line.”
The number of people between me and the ones at the front slowly dwindled. Four more groups of people moved before there were no one to shield us. My stomach lurched. My legs wobbled. I gripped the spear, using it to keep me upright.
“Ninth line.”
The people around me began to move. I started to follow them, trying to keep my head down. No such luck. Nick pulled me from the line. Unease settled through me.
“Not you, newbie. You've got a different role.”
He pulled me by my arm, dragging me forwards. I strugg
led to move my legs to match his pace. He shoved me to the floor and pulled a knife from this belt. I scrambled across the floor, fear consuming me.
Nick laughed. “You're not fast enough, sweetheart.”
He lunged at me, grabbing my arm once again. I tried to pull free, but I couldn't shake his grip. Before I could register the pain, he sliced through my upper arm.
I shrieked. A dull ache spread through my arm from the point the knife had sliced its way through my skin. It was the warm sensation of blood, however, that made my stomach flip. I grabbed my arm trying, and failing, to squish the wound together. I knew it wouldn't work, but I didn't know what else to do. The pounding in my arm made its way to my head. I couldn't think straight. I felt dizzy. My vision blurred. I blinked rapidly, trying to refocus on the world around me. Once the world stopped spinning, and my breath had calmed, I looked for Nick. He'd disappeared. I tried to turn, but the sensation made me double over. That bastard.
I picked up the spear in my left hand, the weight felt clumsy, but I needed it to stay upright. I didn't know how long I'd have to defend myself, and with my current state, I wasn't sure there would be much defending. I should have known the only use I'd be was as bait. I shifted the spear. Desperately trying to give me some chance of surviving this. I could barely lift it. Not that the nausea I was feeling would help me move at all. I could only hope that the people scattered through the trees would try to keep me safe. They wouldn't watch as someone was innocently slaughtered, would they?
I wasn't waiting long on my own. I hefted the spear against my side, making sure the sharper end was facing out. It felt unwieldy but it was my only shot. If I was lucky, I might get a few hits at it. It could slow it down or distract it enough for me to find somewhere to run. I was faced with the same problem as before, where would I run to. Would the people from the camp let me run anyway? I felt trapped and angry. It was nice to know they were willing to sacrifice one person to kill one zombie.
Artefact 299: Accounts of the Zombie Apocalypse Page 7
