Keep Following On

Part 7

Their feet dragged through the dirt, and Morgan groaned, "My feet hurt!" Leaning all her body weight onto her friend Tommy. He ambled, carrying some of the bags with his large arms. He blew a few stands of his long black hair away from his face, shifting his small ponytail from side to side. Morgan's head barely met his shoulder as she grabbed his forearm, her body practically hanging onto him like a monkey. He stood at six feet tall, while Morgan was barely 5'6".

Tommy sighed and pushed Morgan off of him. "Emily," he called out to the older woman a few feet ahead, "Are we almost there? That's the fifth time Morgs has complained about her feet." He mumbled bitterly.

She turned to face him, her gray ponytail swaying with the movement. "Can't you see it?" She gestured to the giant wall a few miles away. It stood out compared to the large field surrounding it. The brick had rotted, and you could see the hospital from within, greenery crawling up the walls.

"Wait," he jogged up to her, leaving Morgan in the dust, "You're serious? That's it?" He squinted, trying to see it better through the hot sun.

"It looks like a crap show," Morgan muttered, picking up her pace to catch up. She reached for the water bottle in Tommy's bag, but he stopped her, pushing her away by her head. "Hey!" She called out and tackled him, jumping onto his back and knocking him off balance.

Tommy yelped, trying to grab at her and failing miserably. Emily sighed, taking out her water and her gun. She pointed the gun in the air and shot it. The pair stopped immediately, getting off of each other and facing Emily. She handed Morgan the water, putting her gun back in her bag. "We need to keep moving if you don't want the Roamers I just woke up to find us." Both Morgan and Tommy nodded. Finishing her drink, she handed the bottle back to Emily.

"Are you sure they can make a vaccine?" Morgan asked, changing the subject as Emily began walking again. She was very unsure about the possibility, especially since she was born in the apocalypse, now 16 years old.

"If they can't make a vaccine, they can make a safer way for us to live using your immunity," Emily stated, taking Morgan's forearm and gesturing to the old bite mark.

Tommy walked up to the two of them, placing his hand on Morgan's head and messing up her brown thick fuzzy hair. Morgan glared at him, but he simply grinned, "I know you want to help people," He tilted his head, and Morgan's glare softened, "We'll make sure you get that chance."

Morgan gave a small smile, repositioning her heavy backpack and shaking the pain out of her feet, "Alright," She grinned, "Let's go meet those doctors."

As they made it to the gate, Morgan sighed happily, wiping sweat from her forehead, "Ahh.. finally," She turned her head to look at the sky. Orange clouds painted the mountains, the sun peeking through the peaks, "And the sun is barely starting to set."

Tommy placed his hand on her back, pushing her forward, "Alright, we get it, Miss "Happy-to-be-here." We need to keep moving. I'm starving." He grinned, jogging up to Emily again.

They continued their walk, moving past the broken-down doors. Inside were rows of apartment buildings, old and rotting. Most of them had lost their roofs and walls, the smell of death strong in the air.

The group only made it a few steps into the abandoned town before they heard a gun click. Emily stopped in her footsteps, reaching into her bag for her weapon.

"Don't make any more moves!" A voice from above called out. Their voice was deep and cold, but you could hear the shakiness from their fear. "Show me your hands. Now!"

Morgan and Tommy quickly followed the person's orders, while Emily did not. She was slow to move her hands away from her bag, her eyes moving around to spot who was above her. A thump was heard before them, and a strange man walked out from the shadows, his gun raised and pointed toward Emily.

"Look, we don't want any trouble," Tommy promised. He stared into the man's dark brown eyes, "We're just looking for some doctors or a hospital. Do you know where that is?" Emily turned her head, glaring at Tommy.

The man stared at him in confusion. He slightly lowered his gun, his stance very tense. "Wait..." He shook his head in amusement, "You want to meet those assholes?" Tommy clenched his eyebrows, looking at Emily, who wouldn't look back at him, and Morgan, who seemed to have the same confused face.

"Um..." Morgan started, "Yeah. Do you know them?" She took a small step forward, her hands moving to shoulder height with her palms facing forward. The man tensed again, raising his gun slightly, to which Morgan raised her hands up once more.

"Doesn't matter," He said, stepping closer and glaring at Emily, "What matters is that you turn back. They don't want you. Leave." He spoke clearly and raised his gun to point it at Tommy, hating the long stare from the tall man. Morgan shoved Tommy with her hip, signaling him to stop staring.

Looking down and calming the angry man, Tommy spoke up, "No can do," He paused as the man's face wrinkled in anger, "We came all this way. We're so hopeful to-"

"Hopeful about what?" The man cut in.
"U- uhm..." Tommy looked to Emily, who shook her head slowly. "We can't say."

"Uh-huh." The man responded sarcastically. "If you're looking for a "cure" or whatever, you're not gonna find one here." He lowered his gun again, placing a hand on his hip.

Tommy's eyes widened, and he looked at Morgan. She couldn't believe what she had heard, "Wait, you know?" She asked, and the man tilted his head slightly. "You know I'm immune?" She clarified, her voice going up a few notches.

His eyes widened, and fear glossed over his eyes. He ran up to Morgan, grabbed her arm, and pushed her behind him. Tommy went to stop him but jumped back as the man pointed his gun at him, his finger moving to the trigger. "You're not taking her." He muttered, ready to shoot the man in front of him.

Morgan jumped up, pushing the gun away, a bullet landing in the dirt instead of Tommy's face. "Don't shoot him!" She shouted, "What are you talking about? Taking me? I'm going willingly."

"You don't know what fucked up things they do in that place." He stared at her. His eyes showed actual terror, and she almost wanted to believe him. "It's for your own safety that you don't go."

She shook her head in disbelief, "Why would I listen to someone who just pointed a gun at my friends? Why would I trust someone I don't know?" She clenched her fists and backed up beside Tommy, who placed his arm in front of her.

The man sighed and stared into the dirt below him, "My name is Vian," He started, looking up to Morgan, "I live here to guide passersby away from this place because everyone who goes into that building dies." Vian clenched his fists, walking up to the pair, and Emily kept her distance, moving for her gun slowly.

Morgan's eyes widened, and she looked at Emily, who shook her head slightly to say, "no, he's wrong." Tommy stood up straight, tensing his muscles and moving in front of Morgan to get Vian's attention.

"We didn't come all this way just to back out," He claimed, and Vian huffed in annoyance. "But I don't want to risk Morgan's life. So, show us what happens here. Do you have proof?"

Vian's eyes widened, surprised the tall man would be so trusting. He thought for a second, then said, "Not at the moment," and Emily scoffed, "But, many groups come through here. I bet one will come through later today. I'll show you then."

"We're not following you anywhere." Emily cut in, knowing he wanted them to come with him.

"I don't trust people either," He glared, "But it's either you follow me, or I shoot you. Your decision." He shrugged, raising his gun to show them he wasn't bluffing.

"Alright," Tommy yelped, putting his hands in front of him to tell Vian to stop, "We'll follow you. No gunshots. Not from you. Not from us. Okay?"

Vian glared, then nodded and put his gun back over his shoulder. "Alright," he started walking, mentioning the others to follow, "Quick. Before guards figure out where that gunshot came from."