When Darkness Falls

The Plan

They walked across a makeshift draw bridge just inside the exterior metal gate. There was about a 15 foot gap between the exterior gate and an interior gate across the bridge that attached to the peer. Underneath was nothing but water, and when the drawbridge was up, there was no other way across. Eve wondered why they built the settlement the way they did, but if it could keep out the Fallen, she wasn't going to question it.

The exterior gate closed behind them, and once they were across the bridge, the chains attached to the outside of it began pulling it back towards the Pier, lifting it into the air. The interior gate remained closed and a guard met them with a strange device in his hand that looked like a thick pen.

"Left arm, all of you." He told them, and they complied, sticking their left arm out in front of them.

The guard started with Ian, sticking the strange device on his arm, then it turned red and beeped loudly.

"Infected." The guard announced.

Then he moved onto Michael, the device beeping loudly again.

"Infected." The guard said again.

Then he moved onto Adam, the device beeping loudly once more.

"Definitely Hybrids." The guard told David, eyeing the three men cautiously.

Then the guard got to Eve. He stuck the device to her arm and she felt a pin prick from it on her skin. She winced in pain, then the device glowed green on the top.

"Not infected." The guard said slowly, eyeing her suspiciously.

Eve heard Adam let out a long breath and she glanced at him. He looked relieved and she gave him a small smile.

"Alright, Ricky. Let us in." David said absently, looking annoyed.

The guard hesitated, then motioned to another guard at the top of the interior wall and a second later the gate opened. The group stepped inside and Eve nearly stumbled at the sight. Navy Pier was a mass of densely compacted structures that went up about three stories and looked to be built on top of the original Pier design. Some parts of the structure were open with nothing but a railing on the outside, and some looked like makeshift homes. It was a little rundown town, but it seemed to be a nice place for anyone to live in the apocalypse. The outside of the Pier had thick metal walls like the ones by the bridge and they went up about as high, obscuring the view of the water except in two places near the middle on each side.

Eve was stunned by the sheer number of people there. It was too many for her to count and they all bustled about, turning to look at them cautiously before hurrying out of the way. David lead them to a large building, which looked like it belonged to the original Pier, that had two cylindrical tops on either side of the roof. They entered and Eve looked straight up at the glass roof in awe. Sunlight shone through and illuminated the large building full of people. David lead them to one of the rooms towards the left of the building and they all followed him quietly. He opened the door for them and ushered them all inside hurried in quickly. It appeared to be David's home and he laid down a large throw before he motioned for them to sit on the large leather couch in the middle of the room. Once they did, David sat across from them in a wooden chair, eyeing them all up and down.

"I'm assuming your trip here was not uneventful." David said, looking at Eve and Adam's bloodied clothes specifically.

"Not exactly." Adam said.

"This isn't my blood though. It's his. It helps mask my scent so Hunters don't find me." Eve explained, pointing at Adam.

David looked surprised, but nodded. "I see. I guess that would make sense. A Hunter?"