Extinction Event¹ ━ FTWD

CHAPTER 6: The Night The Lights Went Out On Los Angeles

EXTINCTION EVENT

chapter six: the night the lights went out on los angeles

[ season 1, episode 3; the dog ]

NIGHT 03

The momentary cheer didn't last.

Doing their best to fortify any possible entrances was a bit difficult without light, and with the added difficulty of having to remain perfectly silent while doing so.

Their first step was to bar the upstairs floors — after a quick run-through of the halls of floors four through seven to determine no one was left up there (or at least, no one alive), they grabbed some excess furniture and cleaning supplies from the janitors closet to bar the doors to the fourth floor, keeping them shut closed with mops, brooms, and waiting room chairs.

That done, they moved onto the first floor.

The heavy furniture of the dorm's study area and common room served well to fortify against the doors, but getting it there was another challenge altogether.

Meghan struggled against a particularly heavy armchair she'd spent many afternoons studying in against a dorm double (they'd decided only to barricade the doubles and triples, as they had more windows and points of entry) when she heard what sounded like a sudden exhale of breath from inside.

She paused. Was there someone still in there?

She listened at the door for a minute, pressing her ear against it and trying desperately to make out any signs of life above the din from outside.

A quiet rasp from the other side of the door sounded again, like a leaf scraping along a sidewalk, and she worked up the courage to knock softly once.

The breathing stopped. Maybe she'd scared them? she considered.

A sharp bang came from the other side as a heavy weight slammed against the door. Meghan jerked back, only to startle as she felt a hand clamp down on her shoulder.

"Someone in there?" her mother's voice asked calmly, staring ahead at the door.

Meghan took a slow inhale, trying to calm her heartbeat before she responded. "Yeah," she said as evenly as she could.

"Are they like the girl upstairs?"

The sounds of nails scrabbling against hardwood answered the question better than Meghan could. Still, the freshman nodded stiffly. "Yeah," she answered, biting her cheek again.

Katie squeezed her shoulder for a moment, tighter. Her own silent assurance that she was there before she pulled away and gestured to the armchair. "Let's push this into place. We don't want it getting out."