Chapter Seven

We finished the morning meeting and the other people left asides from Foland, and Bell. She still looked distraught as she fiddled with her fingers. I remember Eugene telling me the library was unlocked and that we could take books as we pleased as long as we kept them in good condition. I look at Bell who stares off into the distance.

"Hey Bell, do you want to go to the library with me?"

She nods slightly and I catch a glance of Foland looking at us from behind his book before we leave. We get there and look around when I hear a shuffling sound. I grab Bell's shoulders and put my finger to my mouth.

"What is it?" She mouths.

Then there's a scratching sound. I take my switch blade out of my pants pocket. I get ready to get anyone that could be around the corner. There's someone there and I point my blade to their neck.

"Whoa!"

I look to see that it's Eugene on the other end of my blade. I put it away sighing and rubbing my temple.

"What are you creeping around for?"

"I wasn't creeping around, I only just got here."

"Then why-"

The sound happens again and I whisper," Do you have a weapon?"

He shakes his head, I look over his shoulder and the cost is clear.

"Then it's time for plan B," I run out of the room and hear something fall. I look back to see Eugene struggling to carry Bell and run at the same time. When we get back to the front of the lounge I hear Zane's voice from the hall.

"What happened to you all?"

"There's something in the library," Bell says in a small panic.

"Let's check it out," Zane says.

"Actually," Eugene says," Bell pulled something in her foot so I was going to take her to see Seb."

"Then it looks like it's just the two of us Rivi. You have a weapon?"

"Of course," I say and show him my pocket knife.

"Then let's go."

Most people would assume, from watching movies, that the best way to kill a zombie like monster would be to shoot them, but it simply doesn't work. The bullets won't kill them, they only slow them down. The most effective way to kill the zombies is to crush their skull with blunt force, or to behead them completely. It's nearly impossible to kill them from a safe distance, so we chose strong, long range melee weapons to kill them with. Zane carries a metal pipe in his hand. We walk back into the room to the same spot but there's no sound. Zane gives me a look like I just brought him on a goose chase.

"You're sure you heard something."

"Yes, we all heard it, it was-"

There's a loud cracking sound and Zane's once calm demeanor changes as fast as a race horse. He puts his left arm out keeping me behind him and his right grips his weapon. His face serious, he checks every corner until we get to the corridor where the sound is coming from but there's nothing. I feel something on my foot and look down to see that a rat just ran over my foot. I panic and scream as I jump on Zane. He holds me just in time so I don't fall.

"What was it?" He says worried.

"It touched meeee Zaaaaanee!"

"What was it?" He asks, panicked.

"It was a rat!"

"A rat? You're really hiding from a little old rat."

"Zane, you remember when you asked me what my greatest fear was?"

"Yes, but what does that have to do with this!"

"I. HATE. Rats."

He sighs and places me on a chair. He picks up a jar, and then proceeds to try and catch the rat. He gets it and starts walking out.

"What are you going to do with it."

"I'm going to put it outside."

I scurry behind him and we reach the main entrance. Zane walks it outside and lets it go away from the building. We walk back to the lounge and Eugene stands when he sees us.

"Did you find the source ?" He asks curiously.

"We found the culprit alright," Zane replies.

"What was it?" Bell asks.

"It was a rat."

They all looked disappointed, what were they expecting everyone was already here in the lounge.

"Oh looks like you back just in time," Leo says to us," it's dinner time."

I wake up and feel the cold air in the room, this is probably the coldest it's been in a long time. I feel like I didn't sleep at all, even though I had slept all night. I walked to the showers hoping that the water would help. I sit in front of the mirror in the shower room. My face looked so pale this morning especially next to the gray towel. I brush my hair out, I almost never wear it down since it tangled so easily, but today felt like a good day to have it down. I got dressed and left for the lounge room, when I got there I noticed I'm almost running late. I sat down trying not to bring notice to my presence, even if my lateness was questioned it's obvious where I was construing my hair is still wet.

"Today everyone we will be going out to get food, I have already picked groups. Also as some of you know already, but we also have another new person in the group. Kaia was found outside the other day, she's badly hurt so we'll be taking care of her before we make any concrete decisions on whether she stays or not."

Foland continues to talk and I notice that Sebastian wasn't here, but before I can figure out where he could be I'm dragged off with Leo and Jane to go look for food outside.

Leo leads us through the streets. Jane walks behind me to look out for anyone. We walk by the tallest building in the city and I look up.

"Jane." I whisper at her.

She turns and looks at me pulling her mask down with one finger," What?" She mouths.

"What's this building?"

"It used to be some drug manufacturing place, I don't really know."

"Have we checked it out yet?"

"I don't think so," she jogs up to Leo.

They talk for a moment in low voices, so I can't really make out what they're saying. They come back together probably, so we can all talk.

"You want to check that building?" Leo whispers.

"We haven't checked it yet right, and it looks particularly untouched. I mean there could be a whole thing of food in there that we wouldn't have even known about."

"Fine, but we need to be careful. The building is quite big. I don't want any of us to get lost."

"I wouldn't like that either if you consider I have no clue where we even are."

We walk up the stairs, by the time we're all the way to the door we all have our masks off, since it's next to impossible to breath in them when you do more than a light jog or casually walk for that reason. We walked into the foyer, the ceilings were chapel like in height, but the design was quite modern.

"Wow." I say out loud.

"Don't get too comfortable because we're inside. We don't know what could be lurking around the corners." Leo states.

"Yes sir," I answer jokingly.

I walked next to Leo as we walked down one of the halls. He checked the doors on the left and I did the ones on the right.

"Clear," he says at his last door.

I try to open the last one on my side, but it's stuck on something or locked because I can't get it open.

"Are you clear Riv?"

"I don't know, the door won't open."

"Here."

Leo gently eases me away from the door with his arm. He tries the handle first, then he tries his shoulder. The door opens only a little but it's still stuck, when he backs up it closes again. He exhales then kicks the door hard. It was open and I grabbed the handle to make sure it wouldn't close from the force coming off from the kick.

"Good job," Jane says.

Leo nods at her, I look around the room and don't see anything out of the ordinary.

"Looks clear..."

"Alright let's look for what we came for," Leo says.

We split up and checked the area for anything useful, none of us were worried since we had already checked the area. However I was uncomfortable with the idea that I was the only one without a solid weapon. I walk into the first room and look around. I didn't see anything useful, while looking around my finger scraps a loose nail.

"Owww," I instinctively put it in my mouth.

I look down at the nail to see that it was attached to a loose floorboard. I was just complaining about not having a weapon. I grab it with both hands wiggling it out I pull and it pops out I fall back right on my butt.

"Also ow."

I rub the spot I fell on before standing back up. I give it a couple test swings feeling the weight of it. This will work I guess. I walk checking out the rooms until I get to the jammed room at the end of the hall. I walk looking around then I smell something awful and cough. Then I hear a sound like a cat trying to get rid of a hairball. I turn and see an infected on the floor hunched over, its whole body pulsate and glows. I clasp my hands over my mouth and nose. I could have sworn that it wasn't there before. I hold my weapon next to me and slowly walk towards it. The closer I get the more it moves. I step closer and I stand on a squeaky board. Curse cheap builders. It stood up and I was amazed that it was almost 7ft tall. The light in its body flashed wildly. With it standing now I could see it's chest, it looked like someone was trying to blow a bubble in it. I swing and hit it in the chest, the skin pops and the creature shrieks. It's chest was full of a clear liquid that had a rancid smell, and a glossy fat like shine. I gag when it hits the floor and the head does the same but it's full of veins. I walk out the room to find the others.

I find Jane, she looks up at me when I get to the door," What is it you look pale."

"I-" I gag again and put my hand over my mouth.

"Oh please don't get sick," she says.

"In the far room," I say, swallowing and taking a deep breath.

She walks over and piers inside," Eww," she walks back to me," lets go get Leo."

She leads me to Leo who is searching at the other end of the hall.

"Leo," Jane says," There's something you need to see."

He raises his brow," What is it?"

"I don't know."

He follow us to the room and even he's surprised about the creature.

"Do you think it's and infected?" I ask.

"I would assume it is," Leo says," but I think it might be a mutation."

"Are they all going to look like that?" Jane asks," If so I think we're going to have to protect the gate more."

"Why do you think we should?" I ask.

"Have you seen yourself, that substance all over the floor is disintegrating it!"

I look down at my jacket and see the burn holes in it.

"Is it still burning?" I turn running my fingers over it.

"Ya," Leo says," Here you can have my jacket," He offers it to me, but I shake my head no.

"That's ok I'll be fine," I take off the jacket and throw it off onto the floor .

My teeshirt isn't really fit for this wether, but I'm not going to complain, I'm not going to die if I'm a little cold for an hour or two.

"I think we need to go back and tell the others," Jane says.

"But we don't have any food to bring back," I say.

She looks at me," If anything, you need to go back to get some new clothes, you're going to freeze out here."

"She's right you know, we still need food and you need something warm to wear," Leo agrees.

"I'm fine, I'll be ok for today."

They look at each other," fine, but if you get sick it's not our falt," Jane says leaving the room.

"Let's go," Leo says letting me go out the door first.

We spend the next three hours out looking for food, we get a good amount before heading back to bace. While we run along, we don't usually sprint or anything more than a light run, we come across something else. Down one of our back ally paths there are vines all over the side of the building. Leo stops us to look at it.

"What's wrong with it?" Jane whispers.

"I was out last week," he explains," We came the same way and there was nothing like this there."

We follow behind him as we round the corner to a storage building, the garage-like door on the building was badly dented and locked shut. The vines had still managed to get out threw little holes in the door. Leo forces the small door open at the other side. He stands there frozen looking in, I walk over Jane just behind me. The whole room was taken over by some creature, it reminded me of the mutant we have seen at the other building. The chest was inflated and covered in vines; it had a soft light glowing. Large vines, about a foot wide, hung and covered the whole room all growing out of the creacher in the center. A goo dripped from the ceiling, the score was some kind of cocoon made of foliage.

"What is that?" June asks.

"I don't know."

There's a long tendrel that reacheched out towards the door,"What is it doing?" I ask.

It curves and puffs a purple smoke, I cover my mouth and nose backing away. Leo try's to shut the door in his panic backing up as well. June stands there and the door slams into her.

"June! Are you ok?"

"I'm great, come friends the mother will help us."

"Huh? Leo what is she saying."

He backs up frightened.

"Don't be scared friend, the mother will save us," she steps into the room.

"No! June don't go in there!"

She smiles and continues, Leo tries to grab her arm but she is already to far in. She walks up to the figure in the center.

"Mother," she says leaning her head against the chest of the creature.

"Yes my child," the raspy voice fills the room," I will save you."

A tendrel shoots out from the ceiling and impales her, blood shoots all around the room. Her body is pulled to the ceiling and quickly engulfed in one of the cocoons. I look away, grabbing on to the wall behind me, shook fills me and my legs start shaking.

"Riviann!"

Leo runs over and grabs me keeping me from collapsing, I start to feel light headed.

"You're freezing," Leo says wrapping me in his jacket," I told you that this would happen."

I couldn't think as my eyes closed and my mind went black.