The Apocalypse

25

"Where are we gonna find all these long-lost medical things?" Dylan said, opening the paper list that spanned two pages.
"I know a lab. It's abandoned, and there shouldn't be many walkers," Maurits replied, recalling a discovery he made just after the apocalypse broke out.
Sophie was deep in sleep, her head resting on Maeve's shoulder, while Maeve remained engrossed in her book.
"It's a two-day journey. In between, we'll pass through cities; the non-medical things we can find there," Maurits explained, and the boys nodded in agreement.
.
The towns had been quiet, with little uproar. They encountered few walkers or other humans. The group now stood in front of a large building.
"It's very white," Dylan pointed out.
"It's a hospital and lab; of course, it's gonna be white," Maeve replied, almost in a duh tone, making Sophie laugh.
"With that dumb comment, you made the sweetest of us sassy! Think about that," Sophie teased before taking the lead.
Entering the old building, the scent of a hospital lingered, casting an eerie feeling over Maeve.
"Let's go this way!" Derek suggested, his flashlight illuminating a dark hallway that seemed endless.
"No! You have to go the other way!" Maeve contradicted.
Maurits looked down at her in confusion, wondering how she knew.
"Why?" Dylan asked.
"Medical supplies are in the hospital wing; that's the other way!" she replied, pointing in the right direction.
"How do you know?" Maurits questioned, puzzled by Maeve's knowledge. She looked up at him, her own face reflecting confusion. She shook her head.
"I don't know," she answered honestly.
"Have you been here before?" Sophie asked kindly, noticing Maeve's introspective demeanor. Maeve glanced away, her feet moving over the white tile floor, triggering a flashback of her younger self wearing pink ballet shoes on these exact floors. The familiarity of the setting sparked memories that she hadn't expected.
""I-I," she breathed in, and Maurits squeezed her hand as a reminder to take a deep breath and calm down. The group waited patiently for her response; they hadn't a tight schedule.
"Don't know," she whispered ever so softly.
"That's alright, darling. We shall just go," Maurits decided with a final nod. Everyone agreed, and they began to walk again, exploring room after room. A heavy headache settled over Maeve, and each step brought her a little closer to Maurits. Not only did he notice her fatigue, but the others also observed that she wasn't
herself.
"Do you remember anything?" Maurits asked silently, ensuring others wouldn't hear. He knew Maeve would be uncomfortable if everyone started looking at her again.
"I have been here before," she answered ever so softly.
"I know you have, darling. Everything will be fine," he reassured her, kissing her forehead. "I am here; nothing will harm you." Their quiet conversation was interrupted by a sudden crash, followed by banging. The group stood rigid.
"Walkers?" Sophie questioned the group, but Derek shook his head. "They would trip and make themselves known," he answered. Another crash made Maeve jump, and she pushed herself into Maurits's chest.
"Get what we need; we are leaving," Maurits quickly said, grabbing the last items from the list in the operating room. Tension hung in the air as the group hurriedly collected the supplies, the unexpected noises amplifying the urgency to retreat from the unsettling place.
"Help!" someone shouted, the voice sounding hoarse as if they had been shouting for weeks on end. Dylan and Derek exchanged glances before looking at Maurits.
"Ten minutes, we will try to find the person. If we don't find them, we leave!" Maurits decided.
The group began searching every room as quickly as possible, with Maeve proving more flexible than the rest. She was the first to find the stairs leading down.
"I-I," she called, and everyone immediately gathered around her. The shouts were coming from downstairs.
"I'll go first," Dylan volunteered, as he had the best flashlight. The group walked down the stone stairs, which gave a cold and angst-inducing feeling, only to end up in a still very lit white room. Seven cells lined the room, each containing a walker, either dead or still very much alive. Maurits walked past each one, ending at the last cell where the shouting persisted.
"You're alive?" Maurits asked the man suddenly.
"You left me here!" he growled, almost not comprehending what he had said. Maeve looked puzzled while hiding behind Maurits, gripping onto his shirt. This place was something that had frightened her when Chumson brought her here. It was always on the Mondays when many were in schooo and the didn't see her being taken to the hospital.
"I did not! You wanted to stay because you were fucking the governors daughter. You were too dumb to realize she was using you!" Maurits sneered back in anger. Suddenly, the man noticed Maeve.
"Maeve," he almost breathed out in disgust. Maeve's breath hitched; she remembered him as an evil man, even Misses Chumson was afraid of him. He was powerful at the time.
"So, the serum worked on you," he growled. "How is your brother?" he asked tauntingly, as if he knew he was dead.
"Catherine, Misses Chumson, they are all dead, right? A herd!" He stated finally, as Maeve tried to keep her tears at bay.
"It worked on me too for a month. I sent the herd," he answered with a wicked smile. "I killed them all, that was the plan for the serum, to make someone in power of the herds" he sneered. Suddenly, a gunshot echoed, a bullet hole settling between his eyes. Maurits had killed him.
His eyes still moved, and Maurits knew this. "You're nothing anymore, you have no power, brother," he replied in disdain before firing another shot. Maeve stumbled back as her breath grew heavy. The weight of the past and the darkness that lurked in this place pressed upon her, leaving an indelible mark on her memory.
""I want to go right now," she cried out, completely in distress, and Maurits nodded. Without a second thought, he picked her up. Even though it might be dangerous, he couldn't defend himself, but he trusted that the others would help him. With quick steps, they left the hospital and began to run towards the car. An instinct urged them to run, and they were right; before they knew it, walkers from all over began to converge on the group.
"What the fuck? Why are they all coming?" Sophie shouted, shooting four before slamming the car door shut. Derek was behind the wheel, while Maurits still held Maeve.
"Do you remember Maeve screaming when her—" She tightened her hold, reminded of her brother's death. "You know, the herd attacked because she was in pain. Herds belong to each other; they form some sort of bond. I guess he belonged to that herd we killed—something of their herd. We must pay for that. I think that's what all this is. And I think this sickness was released by a human and not by Mother Nature." Maurits explanation hung in the air, heightening the urgency and gravity of their situation.
"As a weapon for war."