When The Clock Strikes Twelve

Chapter 5

Zaria snuck a glance at Jaye as they marched through the seemingly endless plains. The line had been dissolved in favor of a clump, and Jaye was right next to Zaria.

Jaye didn't seem to be affected at all by the crazy stunt she had just pulled. She had the same neutral look on her face as she seemed to have all the time. Zaria shivered at even the thought of doing what Jaye had just done. When she'd launched herself out of the window like that- Zaria shivered again.

She examined the world around them. They had been marching with seemingly no direction for so long that the warehouses had faded into a gray line on the horizon. Zaria had never walked so much in her life, the only exercise she used to get being chasing little kids around a cramped house. But she forged on, focusing on taking one step after the other.

Someone-she'd forgotten their name- in front of her shouted to the front of the group. "Hey Zander, where the hell are we going?"

Zander, who was leading the group, looked back and scowled. "Away." he grumbled, turning back around and walking onward stubbornly. Zaria heard a few grumbles, but people kept on walking. Zaria looked down at the ground, which was covered in a short grass that brushed her shins. She lost herself in the monotony of walking, watching the grass pass below her.

As Zaria walked, the ground beneath her changed. The grass turned into dirt, which became concrete. Zaria realized that they were in an old city, a place where people had used to live, but had succumbed to the elements after being abandoned. All around her, there were remnants. Buildings with moss growing up the side, rusted metal shells that used to be cars. Standing in the middle of it all was a short, squat white building, a contrast to the crumbling jungle around it.

In the distance, Zaria could make out the towering walls that meant they were close to a city. Not hers-they had left A-12 far behind-but unmistakably a city. As they approached the building, more details came into focus. It was two stories tall, with windows spaced evenly along the front of the building. Zaria wondered how it had survived this long. All other buildings were gone, had crumbled back into the Earth.

But this place- it was in near perfect condition. There were no plants eating away at the walls, no shattered windows. How could it have survived while nothing else had?

Zaria's train of thought was cut off when they finally reached the building. Zander stuck out his hand and pushed open the door, leading them into the pristine building.

~

It turned out that the building used to be an apartment complex, still standing after all this time somehow. Zander didn't know how, but he said that Laurel had discovered it and it was a backup in case they were discovered. Something about this made Zaria's spine prickle unpleasantly, but she chalked the feeling up to exhaustion from the long walk.

They explored the complex, finding that there were only 12 apartments, meaning they would have to double up. In addition to the rooms there was also a pool, though it was full of dirt and mold. Zander assigned her to room 9, with Jaye as her roommate.

"Everyone meet back in the lobby in 15 minutes time" he dismissed. "Bring all of the clothes that you find in your room and we will try to find something for everyone."

With Jaye following behind her silently, Zaria opened the door into apartment number 9. The first thing she noticed was how close together everything was. Her house back in A-12 had been composed of many tiny little rooms, while this place seemed to be composed of one large room. The kitchen transformed into a living room, which led to two bedrooms, each with their own bathrooms and a small closet.

"I'll take this room, you take the other one." Jaye proclaimed, walking past Zaria and into the bedroom on the left. Slightly miffed, Zaria went into the other bedroom and started emptying the closet. Soon, all of the clothes were on the floor in a pile. Judging by the look of the clothes and the way the room was decorated, the room had probably belonged to a teenage boy, around Zaria's age. Some of the clothes looked as if they would fit her well.