The Land of The Dead

Safety

This place looks... perfect. Maybe too perfect... nah I've seen too many shows. But this place really looks as good as life was before the outbreak.

"Welcome to Camp Grayling! Perhaps the last safe haven on Earth!" Said a speaker on a pole, outside the camp. " Tell us your names, into the microphone. If you do not we will assume you are one of them and be killed." That sounded pleasant.

" I am Brad Nelson and we are the Nelsons." We waited a few seconds for a response. Just then, the doors flew open and a man stood there, beckoning us to come inside. There we met a group of people welcoming us in with hand shakes and many "Welcomes". Here i saw a bunch of girls, there parents and a few young boys and girls. " This is the key to your house, here in our little community." Said the man. Well they sure are friendly... I didnt know what to do other than get there and get settled in.

After all the congratulating and meeting eachother, we went to our new house and settled in. "So... are you going to ask for your own home now...?" I said, frowning. I knew I would see them around but in the last couple days I had welcomed them into the family.

Linea and Ranae talked it over and i saw them laugh a few times. "I guess we'll just... stay, of course!" She said. "We have come this far, why leave you now?" I laughed, relieved to hear that. Over the last three days Linea had become my best friend and Ranae and Chris barely ever left each other's side.

"Well then I have something to tell you..." I said, trying to keep a straight face. "I call this bed!" I shouted and jumped onto the king size bed. Linea laughed and played along, "Then I'm sleeping here!" And took the other bed in the room.

"I'm going to find your brother." Said Ranae. "You keep each other safe, alright?" She said, walking out the door. Linea looked over at me, "Let's go check out the rest of the base!" She said, bouncing on her bed. "I'll race you down to the center flag pole!" She says.

I don't know about anyone else but I don't like to lose. "You're on!" I said sprinting down the hall. This was the first time I'd had fun in for a while.

Later that night, everyone met around a huge camp fire. That same man that met us at the front gate stood up and spoke to everyone. " Today we gained ten new arrivals." He said motioning for us to stand. "If they need any help, you will help them, after all we all need to survive right? Which takes me to my next notification to them, the laws that kept civilization running smooth before this are to be obeyed here too. Understood?" He asked. "Yes, we understand." Said my dad. "Well then, everybody have fun!" Everybody cheered and started talking and laughing and having fun. Me, I couldn't wait for a hot shower and a night in that soft, bouncy bed.

The next morning I awoke to the sun shining down on my face. "I could get used to this." I murmured to myself. "I know." I glanced over, surprised. I had forgotten that I had a roommate. She laughed at my surprise, stating, "You jumped! Hahaha!" After she got done laughing hysterically, she handed me a plate of doughnuts. "I figured you would be hungry. I couldn't be sure though, after you ate my dust yesterday!" She started laughing again at the fact that she won the race. I just continued shoving food in my mouth.

After I got done, Linea insisted we search the base for something to do, and dragged me out the door by my hand. When we got down into the town, I was surprised to see kids running around and playing as if nothing was wrong. Maybe they didn't know. When i looked around, I saw a wall on every side, every ten feet was a soldier with a silenced rifle. "This place is amazing..." Said Linea, staring at the wall. "I hope we never have to leave." She said, with a slight frown. I looked over at John, who began playing with the rest of the kids. "If we do," I said, "I promise nothing will happen to any of us." She looked at me and smiled again. "Let's find the rest of our family." She said, grabbing my hand again, and pulled me toward the "hotel".

Once there, we found the rest of our group standing out in the yard. "I've been thinking..." I said, getting their attention. "What if something goes wrong? What's our escape plan?" Everyone thought of ways we could get out safely. There were many "what if" and "maybe"s but no one could think of somewhere to go. "What about this tree?" Said Chris, pointing at a large tree down the road. "It's easily climbable and high enough that we could remain unseen." Everyone started nodding in agreement. "The younger kids will need help, but there are enough of us that it should not be a problem." I said.

After we made sure everyone knew what to do, we were free to just go have fun. The fun was lasted about a week but was cut short, by a scream that pierced the air like a bullet. After that came many more screams, and a man bolted past us screaming to run. I sprinted to the tree where everyone was already dead silent, hiding in the branches. "Is everyone here? Anyone hurt?" I whispered up the tree. "Everyone is fine, a few cuts from climbing, but nothing serious." Said Linea from just above me. "Did anyone see what happened?" She asked us. After a few seconds, Kenzie told us what she saw. "Well a whole horde of them was just wandering out there and after one got shot it just got the attention of more. There were so many that the soldiers got overrun." We all thought about what we had just been told. Then I realized... the base was silent. I could see people dead in the streets but the horde must have chased the people that ran. "We need to get out of here," I said. "Before they all come back." I said pointing at the bodies. "We all need to meet at the party store, up the road." I said. And we all started climbing down the tree. We finally had gotten down safely when I heard shuffling behind me. "Run!" I shouted, running down and out of the front gate.

After I felt safe, I turned to see if it was behind me still. When I turned I saw Ranae, Chris and Linea. "Slow down." They said, breathing heavily. "What do we do now? Where are the rest?" I asked between breaths. "I'm sure they are fine." Said Linea, who didn't look sure. "Well..." I said. "Let's get to that Dam Party Store." And we started to walk down the open road.