AJ's Story Continued

Scouting

The dew filled grass is crushed beneath the foot of my trainer as I slowly make my way through a thinning in the forest. It's been around three hours since we left the cabin and set out to find this place which is supposed to be worth scavenging. And we have found nothing. We kept walking, taking short breaks every now and then, be even so this mission is still a tiresome one. We walk in a tight formation, with Armon and Earl leading the way, me just a few metres behind them, with my gun ready to shoot at anything that could possibly serve as a threat and Ruby and Marco keep up the rear of our group as we continue deeper into unknown territory. The walk is mostly silent with the odd mutter of Earl and Armon communacating with each other and some woodland creatures, like squirrels and badgers running recklessly through the underbrush. I can hear every footfall I make and the sounds of the late autumn leaves crackling and crumbling beneath my feet. The silence gets too much, Ruby must agree because she calls me from behind "Hey AJ, you doing okay".
I think a second before answer "Do you think Violet is still mad at me for my decision". I can't seem to shake the look Violet gave me when I voted for the group checking out this place which could have supplies. "I dunno kiddo" Ruby says calmly as she pats me on the back "But I think she'll be equally mad at me for deciding to come along to keep you and Kai save" She continues. Our small group continues to walk on through the woodland before Armon calls us all to a stop with "Hold up crew". We all gather round him and wait to see what he's got to say. He turns around and looks at us all before saying "Earl says that we're getting close, so every stay on their guard". We all look around at each other and nod. Now moving a little slower and more cautiously, we continue on. With in a few minutes Armon raises his hand, signalling us to stop and stay quite. "Okay I think I see the place we're looking for" He states in a quiet voice. I slowly walk up next to him a peek my head out from between the trees and into a opening. I can see a steel like walls and some chained fencing.

I continue to observe the building and discover new parts like a small parking lot and a narrow gravel road, when something new comes into view. A walker. Its then when I realise the sudden sound of groans and moans coming from the direction of the factory like building. Just then I see a dozen or so walkers stumble from around on of the buildings corners. "Walkers!" Kai yelps, showing that I'm not the only one to has noticed the dead heads stumbling our way. "Get down" I hiss as a drop down to the floor using the trees and bushes for coverage. Ruby quickly crouches down beside me and Armon and Earl slowly lay down onto the woodland floor. Kai remains in the veiw of the walkers, stunned. 'He's gonna get spotted' I think to myself. Without thinking I stand and charge at him, knocking both me and Kai down to the ground. "Ouch-" He wines, but I cut him off by covering his mouth with my hand, to prevent him from talking.

I peek my head over the tops of the hedges to see a pair of walkers stumbling in our direction. 'Crap' I think to myself as I quickly duck back behind the greenery before anymore monsters notice me. I turn and signal for everyone to stay quiet and still. As I try to get my ragged breathing under control I pray that the walkers will lose interest. A minute or so later I bottle up the courage to check on the walkers positions again, but I crawl further round the to left of us so if the walkers do see me the others will still be able to get away unnoticed. Slowly but surely I position my head so my eyes are just able to see over the thick leaves of the underbrush. The coast looks clear but just to be certain that there's no monsters hiding out if site I pick up a rock and throw it so it clashes against the steel walls, which draws any nearby walkers back over to the building.

"Good plan, distracting" A voice states from behind me. The sudden noise scares me and I fall over onto my back. I glance upwards and see Kai is crouched down beside me. "You okay AJ?" he asks. "I'm fine, just don't sneak up on me" I state bluntly as I get back onto my feet and sneak back over the the rest of the group with Kai close on my tail, making sure not to make any sudden noise which could draw the walkers.

When returning back to our small group, Ruby asks "See anyway in". Not wanting to risk making too much noise and drawing the walkers back over to us, I gesture for out group to fall back so we can talk in safety. Once our group has regroup back in the safety of a few trees I start to describe what I saw. "It's definitely a building, could be a factory" I state "Big metal and brick walls, some barbed wired fencing, parking lot" I list off all the thinks I saw. Earl begins to growl and murmur something in Armon's ear before slowly trotting through some bushes. Armon turns back to the group "Earls going to check the perimeter and try to find the safest way in". The group all nod in agreement before all goes silent while we wait for the furry creature to return.

The next few several minutes are both terrifying and agonising as we all stay crouched among the underbrush awaiting for Earl to return. The groans of walkers begin to grow louder as the seconds continue to tick by. I am just about to suggested that we fall back behind some more bushes, furthering us from the building and the herd of walkers that's definingly growing in numbers, when Earl comes barrelling through the bushes in front of us. He marches over to Armon and murmurs something in his ear, covering half his face in his saliva. As Armon uses his jacket to wipe off some of the unwanted liquid from his face, he turns to the rest of the group "Well from what Earls told me, AJ is right, it's a factory" He pauses and allows everyone to claps and compliment me on my first estimate, before he continues "There's some garage doors on the west side of the factory, as well as a half smashed up window on the buildings south side, they seem to be the only ways of entry without drawing too much notice". The group goes silent as we all take in the information we have just been given. Through every small bit of information we get on this place, I can see them all piecing together to make a plan. "We probably should start heading back while we still have daylight in our side" Ruby states, breaking the silences as she slowly backs away from the group and disappears behind some hedges. We all follow close behind her as we begin to long and treacherous journey back to our cabin home.

Authors notes
Hey yall, sorry it took so long for me to finish this part recently I was lacking the inspiration to write and I originally did have it done a few days ago but I wasn't proud of it as of poor grammar and it was just very plain. Hope you enjoy and let me know what you think and remember to vote!