The Safe Zone (The Dead Zone Book Two)

Chapter 3

After Bryson's little stunt, their borrowed car was completely junked. Blood and gore covered it from top to bottom, and several large dents were now embedded in the metal body. Not to mention the whole windshield was M.I.A, causing them to have to pick up on foot.

Now that they were getting closer and closer to Fort Sierra, doubt was beginning to creep in. What if they were wrong about this? What if it was not, in fact, now named Lemuria? This could either turn out really good... or really bad. Pessimism was the price they paid to stay alive in a world with no rules. You always had to think of the what if factor.

They'd learned quickly enough that nothing ever came easy. Every possible scenario that could go wrong flashed through each of their minds.

"You guys... Fort Sierra is just outside of this next town we're about to pass through." The base was only half a mile from town, just on the outskirts. Paige had never seen a military base in her life, but from what Bryson had told her about them, they were surrounded by fences. He'd even said they had residential houses on them where families would stay.

"Maybe it's time we stop and make a game plan." She says, worrying her bottom lip with her teeth, a nervous habit she'd formed as of late.

"I think we should look around town first, see if there's anyone still hanging around." Zach says, earning surprised glances from everyone.

"Why's that?"

"If there's anyone left, maybe they can tell us what's going on at the base."

"And what if there's nothing but roamers?" Bryson asks.

"I have a feeling there's some people left behind." Zach points to the sky, somewhere off in the distance. "There's smoke. It's gotta be coming from town." A dark pillar rose into the sky.

"You're right. Just keep your eyes peeled as we're passing through. If we see someone and they're willing to talk, great. If not, we need to scope out Fort Sierra." As usual, Bryson had the last word as they advanced toward town, guns out.

The town was quiet as they entered, the pillar of smoke much more visible now as it rose up in the sky, dark tendrils disappearing in the clouds.

"I wonder what's burning?" Evie asks.

"Do you think we should check it out?" Zach asks, turning to Bryson. "We have to pass by to get to the base."

They slowed as they rounded the corner, seeing several roamers limping down the street. They all had their backs turned to the group, not seeming to notice the newcomers as they shuffled away. "Umm.. that was weird." They followed behind, careful not to make a sound to alert them to their presence. Smoke was now beginning to permeate the air, the smell much stronger than it had been before. They were getting closer to the flames.

Up ahead, a three story building was ablaze, the sound of crackling wood and shattering glass greeting them. "Woah!" Zach and Evie exclaimed at the same time, unable to do anything but stare in awe. The handful of roamers they'd been following were attracted to the flames, as they shuffled up to the burning building, disappearing into the smoke.

"It's a zombie magnet." Bryson laughs, not believing what he was seeing. "Is it really that easy to get rid of them? They're stupid enough to walk right into a burning building?"

Paige was taken aback at the simplicity of it. She only hoped that whoever had started the fire knew how to control it. She would hate to see it spread, engulfing the whole town. The sight tickled a memory at the back of her mind. Back in Bridgeport, when she and Bryson had raided the hospital to get medical supplies for Zach's gunshot wound, they'd encountered something similar in a way. The whole hospital had been cleared out using fire, only whoever had done it had been more precise, not needing to light up the whole building. They'd burnt only the zombies.

"I guess so. Who would have thought." They moved on as a few more roamers appeared down the street, heading toward the commotion.

"Let's go scope out this base."

The road to Fort Sierra was deserted, and more than a little creepy. Several dead roamer carcasses lined the street, their smell nauseating. Paige covered her nose with her hand, turning to Bryson to make a comment, when she froze upon seeing the look on his face. Pure unbridled fear colored his features, his mouth dropping open in shock.

"Paige, don't move."

"What? Why? Is there a bug on me?"

Zach and Evie froze in place, sharing the same look as Bryson, chilling her to the bone. Zach motioned to her chest, drawing her attention there. At first, what she was seeing didn't make any sense as a small red dot was trained on her. It wasn't until similar bright red dots appeared on each of her friends that she finally realized what was happening.Someone was aiming guns at them right now.

Her eyes scanned the trees on the side of the road and up ahead, but she had no clue where the snipers were.

"Put your hands up!" Bryson hisses, and they all comply, each person looking as shocked and nervous as the rest. Whoever had their sights trained on them hadn't killed them yet; that was a good sign, right? One thing had been confirmed, though. There were definitely people at the base. Whether they were good or bad people was about to be quickly determined.

The sound of an approaching vehicle set them all on edge as a camo jeep sped toward them, sliding to a halt only feet away. From a speaker mounted to the top, whoever sat inside began barking instructions.

"Get on the ground! You have ten seconds before we shoot!"

All four of them dropped like flies, hearts racing.

"Put your hands on the back of your heads away from your weapons!"

They did so, a begrudging look on Bryson's face. He didn't like the feeling at being at someone else's mercy. Defenseless. They heard the doors open as several people jumped out of the jeep, approaching and stripping them of their weapons. After they'd each been patted down, the man, (whose face she couldn't see as her face was pressed into the ground), spoke from right in front of them.

"Get up, and don't try anything stupid." The man seemed older than them, maybe in his late twenties-early thirties as he stared them down, as if appraising each of them. His dark hair was shaved short, almost bald. He had a strong jawline and lifeless blue eyes, and muscular build.

He let out a surprised laugh as they slowly stood, some light animating his eyes.

"Bryson? Is that you?"