Us Against the Apocalypse

17 - Deserted

'What... happened here?'

The walk home had been relatively normal and undisturbed; Harley and Arlo had been thrilled to be going back while Bluebell kept rambling on about how guilty she felt. Her complaints had fallen on deaf ears as Leo had still been insisting that nothing was wrong.

Now, the strenuous journey was over, but arriving home had brought with it a new challenge. Much to the horror of the entire group, the abandoned swimming pool was seemingly just that - abandoned.

The teenagers which had been inhabiting it hours before had vanished, and Leo was terrified that something had gone wrong. While it seemed as though they'd disappeared without a trace, there were a few signs of a struggle, and Harley's first suggestion had been zombies.

Even so, the whole area was Quarantined, and no large group of zombies would be there unless the government collapsed. And even if it did, there wouldn't be an influx of zombies right away, it'd take time.

That's why the whole idea didn't fully add up.

'What could've got a bunch of teenagers to just up and leave?' Leo muttered, half to himself, eyes alight with fear. 'Maybe they decided to like.. migrate... or something?'

'They're not geese, smartass.' Arlo was rubbing his hands together, hoping to keep himself warm.

'They can't have gone far,' Harley decided resolutely, clenching his fists. 'We can find them, right? If we run as fast as we can! We can split up and send someone in every direction!'

Leo shook his head hastily. 'If there's something dangerous hanging around, it's probably best if we're together,' he protested, edging his way towards the pool. 'We've ruled out zombies, and there's no way they left on their own, so what could've happened?'

'It's only been a few hours,' Bluebell added uncertainly. They were the first words she'd spoken since they first arrived; the shock had started to fade and she felt alright talking again. 'Not much could've happened in that time, right?'

'If it was zombies there'd be blood,' Arlo figured, raising his eyebrows and stretching his limbs one by one. 'There's no need to freak out, Leo. They're your best friends so there's gotta be some kind of explanation.'

'Maybe they left behind a note!' Harley suggested optimistically, rooting around in his pockets. 'Or maybe the government kicked them out! There's all sorts of possibilities.'

'I've got an idea of what happened.' Leo was investigating the floor of the courtyard which was stained by spots of blood that had gone unnoticed before. 'I'm guessing a rogue zombie got in. You know even just one can wipe out a dozen grown men unless tranquillisers are used, and there's nothing around here some teenagers could've defended themselves with.'

'So, a single zombie meant they had to evacuate?' Bluebell repeated doubtfully. She and Arlo had encountered a zombie before and it'd seemed to be all bark and no bite.

'It depends, but some of them can be really dangerous. Some people could've got bitten, too, which would've made the whole thing more urgent. I think they've run away and split up.' Leo smashed his fists against the wall. 'I should've been here to protect them, I could've sorted something out!'

'It's not your fault,' Harley assured him, wandering over. 'Quit punching the wall before you hurt yourself. We have to focus on finding everyone and making sure that rogue zombie isn't hanging around.'

'Maybe they were planning on coming back?' Bluebell suggested, searching her brain for any plausible ideas. 'Harley, you should leave a note using paper from your diary. Arrange somewhere for us to meet up with them.'