Highschool of the Dead: Fanfiction Darkpenn

The AMerican adventures part 8

Part 8: Sanctuary

The group was heading north, heading back towards Columbia. Aside from Ren and his mother, they had not encountered any survivors. The towns they had surveyed were inhabited only by zombies and wild dogs.

They were travelling along a road littered with abandoned cars and human remains. They came to a building which seemed to be in fairly good shape. Rather oddly, there was an old-style wooden wagon outside it. There was a sign over the door. "Historical Museum," Sam read.

They went in, and found themselves in a room with a range of items in glass-topped cabinets. In one of them was a sword. Sam looked at a sign on the cabinet. "This sabre belonged to Colonel William Stockton, who brought his family to this area following the Civil War, after serving as a Cavalry Officer on the Union side. Outside this building is a replica of the wagon that he and his family used on the journey," he read.

"That is a really cool sword," said Dean, looking in the cabinet.

"Well, you said you wanted one," said Rise. "So I guess it's yours. You know, my grandfather, a man who knows a lot about swords, once told me that some swords are meant to find certain people. Maybe this one has been waiting for you."

"Then it's been waiting a long time," said Dean.

"They are patient," said Lian.

Dean smiled. "Maybe you're right," he said. "Uh, let me see, is there a catch on the lid or something - "

Ren lifted his axe and smashed the glass top. He took the sword and its sheath out and handed them to Dean.

"I guess that works too," said Dean. He inspected the weapon. The blade was slightly curved, and was delicately engraved.

"It is not sharp," said Lian. "I can fix that."

Jill and Sachiko came in from the adjoining room, which had been a little restaurant. They were carrying several red-and-silver cans.

"This is drink, I think," said Jill. "There's boxes of them in the other room. Bottles of water, too."

Sam took one of the cans and, after taking a few moments working out how to open it, took a swig. He sputtered. "Fuck, that's awful," he said. He took another swig. And then another.

"I thought you said it was awful," said Jill.

"Well, it is," said Sam, as he finished the can. "There's more of them, you say?"

Hotaru, who had been checking the outside area, came in. "Something you should see," she said. She led them outside, and pointed to a sign. It was not one of the usual road signs, but one that had obviously been painted by hand. It was weather-beaten and rusted, but still legible. There was an arrow pointing west.

"Stockton County Sanctuary, one mile," read Dean.

"What does that word 'sanctuary' mean?" said Lian.

"Hmm," said Dean. "I remember my dad using it. He said that in the early days of the Collapse the government tried to set up zombie-free areas. They were called sanctuaries. He didn't know if that idea worked."

"Something similar was tried in Japan," said Sachiko. "Not successful."

"We should check it out, anyway," said Rise. "We'll rest here for a while, gather whatever supplies we can, and then see if there is anything to find."

They were standing on the top of a hill, looking into a valley. A quarter-mile away, in the middle of a valley, was a cluster of houses and buildings, surrounded by a high concrete wall. And on the outer side of the wall were zombies. Maybe a hundred or more. Some were standing still, some were slowly walking around the perimeter. Every now and then, one of them would push against the wall, as if testing it.