Fear the Roaming Dead

Blurred Vision (chapter 10)

"Open the gate!" Dex yelled leaning out of the car. He leaned back into the vehicle and rolled up the windows of it. Moments later, Aaron yanked the rope downward and the gate swung open widely. Dex sighed a breath of relief and pushed the pedal, slowly moving the vehicle into the parking area of Norridge.

Dex pulled the lever and put the vehicle into park. Dex unlocked the doors and all three of them remained standing. Aaron closed the gate and turned around. He waved at them. "Guys! Go to the medical trailer! Now!" Aaron shouted. Dex, Tinley, and Cam sprinted towards the shiny rectangular prism, moving their arms side to side. Dex sheathed his knife at his side and followed them.

Cam bursted the door open and looked around. Her eyes opened widely and Dex and Tinley both stood motionlessly. The room got quiet and the crickets chirped outside and the locust buzzed. Veronica was laying down in the hospital bed with a large bandage over her right eye. Some red liquid oozed from it, and she was breathing shallowly. A liquid bag was resting on a stand with water and some other medical fluids. Antibiotics were being pumped into the fluid bags. Veronica was motionless.

Aaron walked in behind them and looked around. "Where's-" "What happened to her?" Tinley asked. Aaron shook his head and sighed. "When you guys drove out, the gate got jammed and a roamer made it's way in and pinned down Veronica. It clawed out her eye before I got to it. I know what you're thinking. Isn't she infected?" Aaron pointed to the blood bag. "I waste no time. Within two minutes I got medication into her bloodstream and put her under. Still, I'm not sure if it's enough to cure her. We just have to hope for the best." Aaron looked around the room once more. "Where is-" "So you think she'll be okay?" Dex asked. "Yes! She will. Where the heck did-" Aaron was interrupted once again. "You're sure you got her on medication as soon as the was scratched?" Cam asked looking at Dex.

Aaron's face flushed red. "Yes!" she shouted. "Where's Wally!?"

Everyone looked at Dex who crossed his arms. Aaron slumped down. "Is he dead?" he asked. "I dunno, probably. He asked to get out and walk the rest of the way." Dex shoved his hands into his pockets. Aaron nodded. "You let him do that?" Dex leaned into Aaron. "To be fair, he found a bag of explosives, and Wally isn't the best at handling dangerous situations, so I let him out for our sake." Tinley pointed at Dex and nodded. "Exactly."

"Wha-?" Veronica said softly. Everyone jolted and looked at her. Veronica was laying down, looking at Aaron with her one ball. She saw everyone else in the room and smiled. She sat up slowly and looked around the room. She lifted her hand up to her bandage, but Aaron pushed it back down. "No, no. Rest. You need it. Don't touch the bandage either." "Where am I?" she asked. "The med trailer." Cam said. "I blacked out. Why is there a bandage on my eye?" Veronica asked.

Aaron sighed. He looked at the three standing around him and he sighed. "A roamer got you. It clawed your eye out and almost ate you." Veronica started to panic. "Am I infect!?" she yelled. Aaron pushed her back down and tucked her in. "Hey! Shh! Shh! We don't think so. You'd be running a fever if you had, and you aren't." Veronica smiled and looked up at Aaron. "How?" "I put medication in you as soon as you were scratched. No harm, no foul." Aaron smirked.

Veronica looked over at Tinley. "You taking night shift?" she asked. Tinley nodded. "Can I take your position for the night?" Veronica asked. "No." Dex said looking at her. "You need rest. For a while. You need these medications and IV's in you." Aaron shook his head and headed towards the door. "We'll check your eye tomorrow morning. Get some rest." Aaron walked out of the door. Cam and Dex followed.

"Make sure you watch the area closely! We don't need another incident." Veronica said closing her eyes. She yawned. "Turn off the lamp." Veronica said turning over. Tinley nodded and pulled the lamp string. The lamp clicked off and she walked out.

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Tinley bobbed her head up and down. She leaned against the wall's railing with a knife in her hand. She looked over at the cut marks over on the railing, her knife was sharper now. Tinley rubbed her face and looked down at her wrists. The scars wrists. Some old scars and some freshly oozing from the blade. She sighed and stuck the knife downward and into a log. She wiped the fresh blood away with her sleeve and exhaled loudly.

Tinley could only think about two things. One; Veronica and if she'd be okay. Would the roamer bite infect her bloodstream and wreak havoc on the colony if she reanimated in the middle of the night? Would she be okay, but lose depth perception and be useless in the outbreak? Tinley knew how strong she is.

Number two; if Wally was okay. She knows Wally is a little kid at heart, smart, and compassionate, but she fears Wally is too good and wouldn't hurt anyone if-

WHOOSH!

Tinley ducked below and yanked the knife from the log. She sat against the log barricades and heard more gunfire around the gate. Wood chips exploded off the sides as bullets rammed into the walls. Tinley gasped and took deep breaths. The gunfire would continue for around twenty seconds, then stop for ten, then resume for another twenty seconds. Tinley got light headed and dizzy. She tried crawling towards the ladder but her arms wobbled and shook. She leaned forward and crashed. Her eyes closed and she passed out from lack of sleep, fear, and a bullet ramming into her calf.

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Dex walked out of the mansion with a plate full of three pancakes. Maple syrup, and some biscuits on the side. He looked over at the trees swaying in the breeze. He looked over at Aaron and Veronica who were sitting on the front porch reading books. Her eye was still covered in dry blood, but she was running no fever, no symptoms of any sickness. The day was great. Dex noticed Cam bringing some bandages over towards Aaron and Veronica.

"Dex," Aaron spoke from behind him. "Get Tinley from the watch stand. We're gonna eat some pancakes like a family." Aaron laughed. Dex smiled nodded. "I was about to bring her some pancakes." Dex speed walked over to the post, and noticed Tinley slumped over and asleep. He slowed down a little to observe the scene a little more. She obviously wasn't dead, but she was breathing heavily. "Tinley!" Dex yelled setting the pancake plate down on a barrel beside him.

Dex ran over to the ladder and climbed up it. His arms and legs were so synchronized it wasn't even funny. She stuttered with his arms as he made it to the top. She had a cloth wrapped around her ankle. She awoke with a jolt, here sleeves rolled up a little. Dex noticed the scars, but didn't mention them. She groaned and looked down at her calf. "What happened!?" Dex yelled. "Some a**holes shot at me last night! A volley of gunfire! I made it out alive! But I passed out, not sure why they didn't storm in or anything." Tinley moved a little.

"Dex?" said someone behind them. Dex turned around and looked off the stand.

It was Wally.