Days are Gone (Under Massive Editing - Republishing Chapters)

Chapter 5 - New Beginning

I can hear the sound of dirt as we walk toward the muddy soil. It's been at least ten minutes since we left the town, and now we're in the middle of the woods.

"Any idea who's waiting for us at the river?" Miya asks while poking Zack's shoulder.

"The wolf lady, I guess," he replied.

Miya told me everything about their camp, and it feels really weird that she shares this information with someone she barely knows.

They have walls surrounding their camp, and they guard the area for twenty-four hours. They're also growing crops and raising some farm animals to sustain the food supply.

It was quite an amazing feat to achieve.

She even told me their numbers. I remember her saying around fifty-two? I'm not paying too much attention, so I may be wrong. The only thing on my mind is to find Belle, but I don't know where to start.

"Cyra, you there?" Miya asked. I came back to reality and saw both of them staring at me.

"S-sorry, I'm just a little sleepy."

"Well, once we get back, you can get plenty of sleep at my place."

"Our... place." Zack butted in.

"Wait, you two are living under the same roof?"

"Technically, yes. But no," she replied, which made me raise my left eyebrow in confusion.

Suddenly, a gunshot echoed through the area. We all hid behind the trees and waited.

Great, I have not eaten breakfast, and this is what welcomes us.

I grabbed my 9mm pistol, peeked to my right, but I didn't see anyone.

"Hunters?" Miya asked.

"Impossible. They've never reached this area before." Zack replied.

Hunters — never heard of that group before.

I can hear more gunshots in the distance, and I can't tell if it's people shooting at each other, or people killing the infected.

"What's the plan?" I glanced at Miya and saw her carrying a twig.

She looked at me and swung it like a sword. "I forgot my gun and knife back at the camp, so protect me."

How could you forget that? Is this how a mentor should act?

"Ignore her." Zack said, brushing his hand on his face in embarrassment.

Gunshots continued, and we all just sat there waiting for something to happen.

This is bad. Infected are going to swarm the area. You don't want those freaks lurking around these woods.

"We better do something," I said.

"You're right, let's go check what's going on. Cyra, follow my lead." Zack invited.

"No, we stay here." Miya interrupts as he pulls Zack's shirt. "Both of you don't have a mask, remember? You don't want them seeing your faces."

"I'll borrow your mask then. That works, right?"

"I've watched you all this time, Zack, and you're not... an excellent shot. So give me your gun, and I'll check it myself." she argued.

Zack’s eyes widened. He fixed his posture and took a deep breath.

"First, that hurts. Second, they assigned me to be by your side at all times. So if you go, I'll go." he insisted.