The Last Plague

Chapter Seven: Tour

We started walking around the area, John talking during the tour. "So, you know where the front gate is, that's good. Now, if you will follow me," he said enthusiastically. "The first thing you may notice is our soldiers. They are positioned every ten feet and overlook outside this area with their guns. On rare occasions we will have a crisis, that's when they come together and shoot like madmen," he said, only partially laughing,

"Now you three," John continued, "Surprise me. You got here at night, you showed up without any bites, and y'all aren't crazy from stress. Also, you are the first people that have come up after the evacuation time. They must've missed you back in the suburbs. That's where you're from, right?" John asked.

A sudden pang of guilt hits my chest. They didn't miss you, you ran from them. I remembered it clearly as it replayed in my head. I didn't even hear what Nick had said in response to John. I was too busy feeling guilty. I felt a hand reach and gently shake my shoulder; I snapped out of my daze.

I looked up and saw John staring at me confused. "Did you hear my question?" he asked, his voice sounding just as confused as he looked.

"Yeah, sorry, I am from the suburbs," I answered, trying not to look into his eyes.

"Anyway, let's start this tour back up!" John practically yelled. He started walking back down the dirt road.

One of the first things I noticed was the ground. It was a strange thing to notice at first, but it felt strange. There weren't many people in sight, yet the grass on the ground looked trampled. It was brown and flat, lying dead on the ground. I didn't know why that seemed so strange to me. After that, I noticed the same pattern and wood on every house. They were all built from the same material using the same pattern, and they were all the same size.

John continued rambling on as we walked down, but most of it was self-explanatory. The homes all used the same pattern, there was a small outdoor eating area with dozens of picnic tables, a few taller and skinnier buildings likely for storing food. I didn't care for John giving me the tour, I'd be fine walking it myself. We walked down to the eating area, and then I realized how hungry I was.

"I'm assuming y'all haven't eaten in a while, so we can grab lunch here," John said, walking up to a door. He knocked and a lady walked out. "Can I get a few sandwiches out here?" he asked, not bothering to act nice. He said like a command.

He led us to the nearest picnic table as we sat down. Within a minute a woman walked out and set down four plates of steaming sandwiches. John immediately started eating without a moment of hesitation. He grabbed the food ungratefully and just shoved it down. A moment later, Nick started eating his sandwich. He ate slower and more civilized than John, but something told me John was eating that way on purpose.

"Feel free to start eating," John said between bites. "It's really good here.

I picked up my plate and took a bite. John was right, it did taste really good, and before I knew it, I was eating the sandwich as fast as John was. Bethany picked up seconds after I did and started eating. She ate slower than everyone else, but she seemed to enjoy it. Her face lit up and she smiled down at her food.

I finished my sandwich at the same time John did. Nick finished a few minutes after. Bethany had only eaten half of her's when we finished. I patted my stomach gratefully and thought about the meal. The moment we started eating, a hush fell over the table. Everyone seemed to be eating too quickly to talk.

"We should go soon, other people need to use these tables," John said, slowly standing up. "We can take your sandwich for later," he told Bethany.

Bethany stood up quietly. She gave her sandwich to Nick and he took it uncertainly. We all stood up and walked out of the picnic area. John led us out of the picnic area and into a small building. There was a man sitting in a small chair in the corner. Another man was seated next to him with his hat pulled down; he seemed to be sleeping. Across from them, a woman was laying down. She was just staring forward, completely oblivious to her surroundings. There was a small door in the back of the room. It veered off to the left of the center of the room. John walked up to it calmly and opened the door without knocking.