Wildfire - A Fanfiction

Chapter Twelve

When they reached the town at the top of the hill, Georgia couldn't help but shudder as she felt invisible eyes on her. She stared at the broken glass windows of the burnt houses and storefronts, praying not to find anything staring back. She started when Kami reached for her hand, a small comfort in such eerie new surroundings.

"How do you know there aren't any zombies still inside these buildings?" Georgia asked. They trailed behind Marc, staying in the middle of the street as if going too close to either side would cause a pack of zombies to appear.

He didn't look back. "We used to do regular sweeps of town. There's nothing stuck inside that wouldn't have been roasted alive in those fires. We only worry about new zombies that wander into town, and they usually tend to come from the east for some reason. Most of the sentries are concentrated on the other side of town."

"So nobody checks this side of town at all anymore?" said Alex. Georgia noted that he was trailing furthest behind as if he was trying to keep a comfortable distance from Kami.

"Maybe once a day or two now. Less than we used to at first."

Marc led them down a few short streets until a tall chainlink fence sat ahead of them.

Georgia kept her voice low. "Anything in particular you think we should know before we go in there?"

He waved to a sentry sitting in a flimsy guard tower. "Nothing you don't already know. But if you do want to leave, I'll be there to help you out."

The gate was open when they walked up to it.

"Who are these?" The sentry demanded. He had climbed down from the tower to greet them. He seemed to be just a teenager with a faint shadow on his lip.

Marc didn't brush him off. "They ran into me when I was out hunting on the other side of the river. They plan to stay a short while before moving on."

The sentry turned slightly so the sun glinted off his half sheathed belt knife. "You didn't bring anything back from hunting. No food, but three extra mouths. Matthieu won't like this."

"I think you mean three extra sets of hands. Obviously they will be working for their keep as long as they stay. And it's not their fault I didn't catch anything. I was already on my way home when I saw them on the road."

The sentry grunted, moving to scurry back up the ladder to his watchtower. Marc rolled his eyes and beckoned them to follow him into the stronghold.

"You lie really easily," Georgia noted.

"It's not difficult with these idiots," Marc said under his breath. "Most have no hope of holding any type of intelligent conversation anyway."

They walked past what looked like a barn-raising in the middle of town, which was not quite as odd as seeing several farm animals lassoed at a gas station. Other people were rushing around with baskets of laundry or vegetables, hard at work.

"This doesn't seem so bad," Kami commented.

Marc led them to the largest building in the middle of the stronghold. "We better hurry, dinner is soon and we want to keep up appearances." He held open the door.

"Is this a high school?" Georgia went inside and gaped at the dark hallways. She could make out some bright school banners hanging over doorways.

Kami followed, then Alex. Marc closed the door behind him. "Now it's our dormitory and mess hall." He led them into another hallway.

"Why is it dark? Don't schools usually have generators?" Alex asked.

"It's a poor use of resources to keep the generators running all the time. We have them on for a few hours in the evening, but otherwise, we make do fine." He stopped at the doorway of a former classroom. "It's strange, I thought I was leaving this place for good this morning." He shook his head. "Anyway, there's some beds for you two if you want to drop your bags. I remember an empty bed at my dorm a few classrooms over for Alex. The mess hall is around the corner. Can't miss it." He suddenly walked away, Alex following close behind.