The Fox, the Hound and the Virus

The Help

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Chapter Fifteen

The Help

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Every step Zoe took felt like one step closer to danger. She had never felt so unsafe before in her life which was completely ridiculous given she had spent many days and nights running or hiding from flesh eating zombies. This was different though. There were enormous, thick barbed wire covered electric fences and people with guns. So many people and so many guns...

They all stared at her as the little group passed. She was walking so close to Trudy, she kept bumping into the woman. Zoe couldn't help it. She felt if she walked further away, someone would dart forward and grab her. She was heavily regretting ever agreeing to come here. She should have just left Rob and the others on her own four feet to find her brother. At the time, the idea of having back-up to take on the infected sounded great. Now she wasn't so sure she wasn't about to meet a worse fate.

'It's going to be okay. Just let Rob do the talking,' Trudy said in a low voice.

'And try not to fly off the handle,' Josh added. Zoe nodded woodenly. Several of the uniformed soldiers paused in their duties to stare at the newcomer. Their expressions ranged from shock, to mistrust and suspicion. The feeling was mutual. It wasn't long before the little group reached another fence guarded by many impressive looking people and even more guns. Rob and his team walked confidently. They were approached by several other people in uniform. Without protest, Creed, Trudy, Josh, Peter, and Rob handed over their weapons. They each pulled out silver chains that hung around their necks. Zoe watched dumbfounded as the silent officer scanned each silver chain with a handheld device. The man looked expectantly at Zoe.

'She's an asylum seeker. She does not have an identifier,' Rob said simply. The officer's expression remained politely blank. He couldn't have looked more stereotypically military if he tried right down to the buzz cut and sharp cut jaw.

'Step over here miss. We need to scan you and take your temperature.'

'Scan me?' Zoe said nervously.

'It's standard procedure. Just like the ones at the airport,' Trudy said quietly. Zoe swallowed and followed the officer to a large metal frame. She stood inside it. She held her breath, waiting for something to happen. A green light swept over her. Her palms were sweaty. Jesus, this was literally everything she had nightmares about. The officer brought over a plastic looking temperature gun. He took her temperature and gave a small nod.

'You will be required to undertake a medical examination and answer some questions.'

'Right now? We don't have time for this!' Zoe hissed.

'It may take some time for us to debrief and explain the situation Zoe. We will all need to have a medical examination before we can go any further,' Rob explained.

'I could just stay here,' Zoe said hopefully.

Josh snorted. 'That's a terrible idea, lass. We aren't leaving you on ya own.'

'You said I would be safe here,' she snapped.

Rob sighed. 'Yes, Zoe, no one is going to hurt you, but you don't know these people and they don't know you.'

Zoe stood there festering for a minute. Whilst the idea of going deeper into this facility felt like a terrible idea, standing outside with a bunch of muscles with big shiny guns didn't feel any better. Trudy gave her a small encouraging smile.

'Alright, fine,' Zoe said finally.

'You know the protocols. She needs to be tested first,' the officer said formally.