Bloodshed (Book One in the Apocalypse Trilogy)

Chapter 23: Aftermath

Location: the Bunker

Williams

The drive back to the Bunker was quiet, and seemed to be longer than the five minutes it was. Whether it was because they’d all come close to dying that day, or it was because of the loss they all felt, he didn’t know. It was strange that he didn’t feel the same emotions. Maybe it was because he hadn’t had the chance to know any of them.

Nobody spoke, not even the medics working on the injured. The worst of them was a man who had been badly burned in the tank explosion. Surprisingly, nobody had been bitten or eaten. There was no purpose of the attack at all, seemingly random. He would have believed it was a random attack were it not for the sheer number of zombies attacking them.

Their return to the Bunker was tearful, as families and friends learned that their loved ones were dead. A funeral would be held in the next few days, people said.

He reunited with Jake, who expressed his relief at his survival.

*****

“As you probably know, I’m taking over here now,” said Paul. They were in the training centre, where nobody had turned up for the last two days, ever since the attack. Maybe they were too scared of being involved in the next attack if there ever was one.

“Yeah, I was there when you announced it. But what does that have to do with me?” said Williams.

“Something you might not know is that I need a second in command. With Sarah gone, I have nobody with military experience. Although, if Sarah were here she’d be in charge.”

“Me? I thought I did training-“

“You still continue with that, but you also take my place if I die or leave, and you assign newcomers their jobs. Standard stuff.”

“Standard?” he repeated sceptically.

“Ok, yeah, it’s different. You’ll adjust. If you take the job.”

“I’ll have to think about it, OK?  I have my son to worry about.”

“I need an answer, Lyon. And quickly. Get back to me this afternoon.”

“Got it.” Williams left, while pondering the offer he’d been given.

His footsteps echoed through the near-empty hallways of the Bunker as he walked, not entirely sure where he was going. People walked past him, looking afraid. Unlike him, they worried about a second attack.

He came to a group of people praying. It seemed odd that people still believed in a higher power, after all they’d been through. If he had, he would have long ago given up on his faith.

But for some reason, the sight of people believing they would be saved from this world by a higher power made him feel hopeful, an emotion he had not felt for a long time.

 It gave him hope that, despite the bloodshed they had all endured, there was a chance that there could be a happy future.