Fear the Roaming Dead

Jenna (chapter 26)

"Is today the day?" Dex asked sitting on the porch. Yang walked by alongside Aaron. Yang looked at Dex and shook her head. "No, not today," she said. "Ken and Theo are still going over a battle strategy and counting ammunition. We'll be ready in the next couple of days." Yang said starting to walk again. Aaron blushed when he looked at Yang. Aaron glanced over to Dex and politely nodded. "Don't worry, dude. It'll be fine. I'm sure Wally has a plan too but we'll strike before him." Yang and Aaron continued walking down the sidewalk. Their hands touched a couple times.

Dex sighed and sipped his coffee. His back still felt sore and he didn't want to move very much. He rubbed his forehead and tried to ignore the pain of his back.

===============

Tinley stood at the North Entrance of Aviana. She stood on a platform, watching the road leading to the gate. She had two cans of chicken breast, a water bottle, and a radio sitting on the stand next to her. Tinley found a ping pong paddle and a golf ball while rummaging through her house's attic. She rolled the golf ball back and forth and hit it a couple times with the paddle. Tinley wiped the sweat off her forehead and looked back up at the road.

She could only see wandering roamers. Some walked in a dazed trace. Some walked quickly and rushed to wherever they were going, almost like they had a place to get to. Roamers came in all shapes in sizes.

Tinley noticed a fat roamer. A dead obese man wearing slacks and a tie. His face was nearing its full decomposition rate. Dried blood clinging to his lip and his hands and face severely damaged from moving. Another roamer with long dark brown hair. It had blood leaking from it's forehead and it walked really drunkenly. It stumbled over itself and it was coming straight for the wall of Aviana. Tinley took the glock out of her back pocket and readied it.

Then, the female roamer she saw dropped to it's knees. She heard a cry from it. Not a dark and disturbing moan that a dead one would make, but a high pitched cry for help kind of sound. Tinley gasped and leaned over the wall. She squinted her eyes and saw that the roamer wasn't a real roamer. A young woman sat on her knees in cried into her hands. She looked up when she heard the gate open.

Tinley rushed over and looked down at the crying woman. She didn't see any weapons on her and she noticed that her face had bruises all over it. Blood was fresh and dripping down the side of her head. The woman jolted upward and stared up at Tinley. The woman quickly grabbed a hold of Tinley's legs. "Ma'am! Please! Take me with you! I lost my kids and husband! I need to come back with you!" she cried into her pant leg. Tinley stepped back a little bit. "Grab my hand. We'll take you into the clinic." Tinley said reaching down. The woman clutched her hand and wobbled upright. Tinley walked the woman past the shot corpses and walked her into the walls of Aviana.

"Tinley, who's this?" asked Jacob. Tinley looked down on the old teenager and sighed. "Why aren't you at school?" Tinley asked with the woman clinging onto her hand. Jacob pointed his thumb behind him and shrugged. "I don't know if you realize this but school ended about nine months ago." "I mean the learning club you guys have here. Don't you have one of those?" Tinley asked. Jacob chuckled. "No, we do not. Don't bring it up to Yang though. She's kind of a buzzkill." he said walking away. "Don't talk about your leader like that!" Tinley yelled. Jacob turned around and stuck his tongue out at Tinley. He kept walking.

==========

"Do you remember your name?" Phon asked the woman. She had bandages wrapped around her head and pillows stacked underneath her. She looked to be in a trance but then nodded her head slowly. "Y-yes." she said quietly. Phon stayed over the bed. The woman closed her eyes tightly and breathed heavily. "Can I have it?" Phon asked.