Beyond the Walls

Last Sense

In a few hours the sunset is due to set. The strong sunlight is leaving slowly.

“What do you mean we are running out of time, man? There is no time limit here.” Elijah laughed a little but a little nervous.

“What is it now?” Brandy crumpled his face and glared at Lucas.

It is true that there is no time limit but that doesn’t mean that they have all the time.

“If the number of undeads doubles again by tonight, it will be harder for us to sneak in and out undetected...” Lucas explained, he already said earlier that the number has already doubled over.

“...chances that they will break through this room also increases. Slight noise can attract one undead and it keeps making noise by the door; others will come. . . on top of that, I don’t think . . . Penelope will make it by tonight… that is if she doesn't get a vaccine.” Lucas voiced out all his concerns.

He can tell Penelope’s worsening condition after all it was his sister's symptoms. Though others choose to stay silent, only Unica shakes her head but wears a terrible expression.

“Shouldn’t we kill her now?” She looked for affirmation at the crowd.

Lucas watches the floor as he witnesses all over again how strong human’s self-preservation is. It was the ugly nature of every human. Just the other day, Unica and Penelope are like inseparable sisters sticking to each other and now she is instigating to kill Penelope. Even Brandy that has been with Penelope during the first round looks at her like disgusting trash.

Nostalgic it is. This is how humanity's thousand years of civilization fell apart in a matter of weeks, 20 years ago.

“Penelope is still human. Are you really going to kill a person?” Hiraya stands firm in her belief to spare Penelope up to her last breath.

Lucas looked at Hiraya, she is truly a righteous person but something felt conflicted inside him.

“Ah! He killed one!” The girl exclaimed fakely as she watched something from the glass window.

When they learned to see what it was, it turned out that one of the players from the other side killed an undead wearing a uniform with a TV logo. A reporter. They watch it carefully and soon the group who is in charge of frisking the body. A card was taken out from the inner shirt of the undead. It was an ID type hanging by its neck and attached to a lanyard.

Soon the one who discovered it called over the rest and retreated back to their room.

It didn’t take long but two players had snuck out again and went down to the entrance nearest their spot.

Minutes had passed and Lucas saw four players from the other group sneak into the same entrance.

“That doesn’t look good.” Elijah said, biting his nails as he watched as he steps closer to the girl’s side.

“Move it.” She hissed.

“Geez. okay.”

Soon the four players returned to view and went back to their room. Following them is one of the two guys that sneaked in first.

“Huh? Where is the other one? Did they kill him?” Elijah asked as he squinted his eyes.

“The pass is good for one.” The girl said with a snide smirk.

And just like how Lucas had said, they spotted quite a large number of undead that fit the description. Players, coaches, referees, and so on.

“We can assume that others already figure it out too.” Aaron said.

“Those four will be stealing the card, supposedly.” The girl taps her baseball bat on the mirror as she says it.

It dawned on them that if they collected the key card other groups would be aiming at them.

“What should we do?”

There are still at least two-three hours before the sunset. Other teams had begun their move. Some players lead the undead to the other side to make their side clear.

“HEY!” Elijah shouted as a player already led twice hordes of undead to their side.

“Are we just going to watch them do this?” Elijah turned to look at his group. Lucas is busy watching others come in out of the field.

They figured it out. That was clear. They are targeting specific undead but it wasn’t easy to separate it from the horde. There are already several players who become food.

“Hey man! Please tell me you have a plan! Because that guy is leading the third batch of undead here.” Elijah tore Lucas’ concentration as he tugs his sleeves.

A guy outside is leading undeads and smirking at them.

“Wow, I am getting pissed off. Don’t stop me, I’ll teach him a lesson.” Elijah rolled his sleeves up and acted like a big guy, puffing his chest up.

“Eiiik—”

“I have a suggestion. We move tonight.” Lucas said as he pulled Elijah’s hood to stop him from going outside.

“You always have the craziest idea.” Aaron commented

“Why tonight? It is hard to move at night.” Hiraya said and Unica agreed enthusiastically against the idea.

Lucas looked at their faces. As a person who lived outside the walls for years, this is his advantage. The knowledge which wasn’t taught inside the walls. He seriously contemplated before opening his mouth.

“The moment a human dies, all their senses die with them, their sense of touch, taste, smell and sight except for their sense of hearing, it lingers a little longer than other senses. That’s why when humans die and become undead only a partial of their sight was restored but maintained full hearing capabilities. “ Lucas explained.

Aaron agreed and added. “If we, the humans, will have a hard time seeing in the dark, the undead can be treated as blind. Does that sound right?”

Lucas nodded.

“We move tonight but what is our plan then?” Hiraya asked.

Not one had said anything and just waited for Lucas to speak. Lucas looks outside and the sunset is nearing.

‘Can we pull it off?’

After the sun has set, players are busy running in the field and returning to their room. Lucas’ group was not seen outside.

Their door opens later hours after dark.

It was Aaron who first went out followed by Elijah. They tested Lucas theory and stood openly for undead to see, but none went for them. Elijah grabbed his chest and exhaled in relief.

“That s**t, almost made me pee my pants.--Ah! Ofcourse, I am just joking.” He said, seeing the girl’s eyes are on him, totally unimpressed.

Wanting to correct his previous statement he tried approaching the girl but Aaron nodded his head to go outside again.

“Man, can’t even give me 10 seconds.” He complained but he understood, he stealthily ran low to the opposite side. He avoided several close calls for undead but thanks to the dark surrounding he was safe from the attacks.

He reached the nearest room from there and looked inside, since it was dark it took time for him to see who was looking for them. When their eyes met, Elijah smiled. It was the guy that repeatedly led hordes of undead to their side.

Elijah looks around one last time and brings out an item and waves it for the guy inside the room to see. He put the item to his mouth and blew it.

*PRRRRRRT

He sounded fairly loud, just enough for the nearby undead to hear it and not the entire stadium.

The undead were attracted to it and started marching towards that direction.

*PRRRRRRT * Prrrt *Prrrrt *Prrrrt

He blew the whistle as if he was humming.

Big rounded eyes looked at him. He stuck his tongue out before he ran to the row where there is undead and hid underneath the chairs and crawled underneath it. Away from the undead’s sight.

Light to his feet, Elijah unnoticeably changed the section of seats and came back to their group’s section, unharmed. Most of the undeads were led to where Elijah wanted them.

Upon returning he met his group mates outside the room, Aaron leading in front, followed by Lucas and Hiraya supporting Penelope then the girl with a baseball bat.

Elijah proudly smiles at the girl and scratches his nose.

‘What is he doing?’ Lucas wondered.

Brandy and Unica are in the last row.

They successfully sneaked out of the audience hall and went down to the entrance way to the field. With a gate separating the field and entrance path, Unica and Penelope stay within the shade where they can’t be seen while the rest take a deep breath before opening the gate slowly.

“Wish me luck?” Elijah whispered to the girl. The girl frowned down. He is a bit smaller in height compared to her.

“Goodluck, If you die early, this party will die shortly. Get your s**t together. ” Instead of the girl, Aaron was the one who answered.

“Ah! Yes, sir!”

“Pipe it down!”

Lucas was dumbfounded. Beside him is a small giggle. “Elijah sure makes everything lighter.”

There it is again, Hiraya’s calming smile, that Lucas can’t tear his eyes away.

*Creak

The door opens.

Lucas pinched himself and Elijah jogged lightly and separated himself from the group.

“Goodluck” Hiraya whispered as she closed the gate behind them.

The group inside the field nod to each other and move into two groups. Aaron and Brandy are together while Lucas and the girl stick to each other.

They try their best to not get caught with the moonlight light and just stay where darker shadows are.

A brief flashing light caught the undead to one side. Elijah ran low and jumped behind a bench where he blended with the shade. He calmed himself as the undead passed him.

Meanwhile, tracking behind the moving undeads are Aaron and Brandy. Aaron quickly waves his hammer heavily. It burst open it’s skull.

Brandy caught the body with disgusted looks before laying it quietly to the ground.

Aaron did it again at an undead that is about to turn in their direction. The blood got into their clothes and skin.

Soon the third undead they killed is finally a target.

Brandy got their first key card. Shakily he put it around his neck.

After Aaron turned his back on him, he looked back at the entrance gate where they entered earlier.

‘I can run for it.’ He thought.

He slowly rose up from squatting to the floor when a blood hand grabbed his shoulder. He looks up slowly and sees Aaron's murderous face.

“I will kill you (if you try to betray us) ” He whispered but the next words automatically formed in Brandy’s mind. At least that’s what his gaze is conveying.

Brandy swallowed a saliva and nodded obediently. As soon as Aaron turned his back on him again, Brandy raised his hand and in an act of pushing Aaron to the undead.