Deadman Crawling [m×m]

TWENTY-EIGHT

They make it to a police station right after walking by a giant sign smeared with blood reading, Welcome to New Providence. 

The building is eerily silent, no trace of life, no sign of even a struggle.  Not in the station, not in the town. 

Jace frowns.

He spots a single cruiser in the parking lot, the driver's door wide open.  Curiously he walks closer and peers in.  The tugging of his shirt makes him look at Eloy.  He looks at his lover with a deeper frown, he warned them to stay back, not wanting anyone (especially his lover and child) to get hurt.  Eloy only fixes him with a determined stare and Jace reluctantly relents, intertwining their fingers together as they edge closer.

There's nothing.

Quietly, they hole up in the station, weapons passed around to secure the location.  Each yelling out a quick clear! when nothing is found, no human, no infected.

They breathe breaths of relief before Jace and Sean barricade the doors with desks and chairs lodged under the loose knobs.

Once they're safe they set up camp.

The children are huddled for warmth, Ella and James cuddling close to their mother.

Eloy digs in the kitchenette finding more instant noodles and frozen foods long gone bad.  He covers his mouth when he looks through the freezer, swallowing back the nausea before closing it.

He returns with a coffee pot filled with their bottle water, a light and their next meals.

Alexis helps bring the water to a boil before filling up their noodle cups.

They all quietly eat when Jace begins, "The cruiser's tank is filled, I think we can drive it."

"Wouldn't that risk noise though?  It'd attract unwanted attention, right?" Sean asks softly.

"It's not worth the risk," Jace agrees as he thinks about it, "There's no place we know for sure is safe, so there's no point in exposing ourselves. Smart thinking, Sean."

The teen nods tucking into his food to stop the grumbling of his stomach.

"There's a radio," Eloy points out, the machine looking old.

"Hmm, it uses signals and can be battery powered instead of electric."

"Aren't the towers down?"  Alexis asks.

"Not necessarily," Jace grins, "our current location is shit, but there could be survivors, others like us looking for shelter.  Hell, there could already be a safe haven set up and we just don't know."

"So you want to search for survivors?  Despite what happened the last time we found anyone," she frowns, "no offense Sean, you're a good kid."

"None taken," Sean nods.

"It's our only choice," Eloy whispers, his hand on his belly, "we wont be able to run forever."

"We need to at least keep moving for now and find a place we can stay, a place where we won't have to worry about safety or food," Jace agrees.

They all nod solemnly.

A tiny, "mommy," draws Alexis's attention to her baby girl.

She gathers the kids to her and holds them as they fall asleep, their hunger sated for now.

"Alright, let's survive."