Beyond the Walls

Three Days

If only the soldier controlling the drones had looked closely in his monitor, he would find an odd box with written temperature above it. He looked at the bidding board from afar as soon as someone listed a new bet. He had moved his drone away from the image in the process, when he returned to observe one last time the surroundings, the odd thing was no longer there.

“Hey, man. Move your drone. We are ordered to go back.”

“Geez you are so hot tempered, Can’t you see I am already turning?” He answered as he turned away.

*Shik

“Did you click your tongue at me?” He frowned as he heard a clicking sound.

“What are you saying?”

“Did I misheard it?” He whispered and flew away his drone.

*Thud

In the background an undead attacked from behind and died instantly as it was stabbed at the back of it’s head.

*Stab stab stab

Three more undead were killed before they could growl and attract more attention and behind each undead are living people drenched in dried blood and foul stench of decayed innards.

Alexa and Adam hid on the corners of the rooms as they checked the destroyed door and window of the room. Both sides are infested with aimless undeads. They shook their heads on Gabrielle who’s head was peeking behind the couch.

Gabrielle gave a sign language command. Pointing at her wrist she pointed to the ceiling and traced it to the west giving a quarter circle shape.

It can be transcribed as ‘Wait for the sunset.’

Kneeling on the ground, Gabrielle is hiding herself lowly as she waits for another member of her group to regain consciousness.

“Ughh.” Xian groaned as he frowned hard while his eyes were still closed.

“Ah—hmp!” She immediately covers Xian’s mouth.

Struggling to free himself, Xian tried to fight her but against her, he couldn't win.

“Shhh.” She said, trying to calm him down. It took a few more struggles before he could recognize her.

“If I am going to remove this, you have to be quiet.” She said in a very low voice.

Xian nodded.

As she removes her hand, she turns away from coughing Xian and looks over. Two of her companions gave signals that they were unnoticed.

With the sunset on going, They will only have to hold on for half an hour at minimum.

“What is happening?” Xian comes besides her, his eyes still wandering from all directions.

The door of the room is destroyed and even the glass. Passing undead are heard from his spot too.

“Are we trapped here?”

“Not for long…”Gabrielle is looking at a better view outside than Alexa so when an undead appeared and was about to step inside the room she gave a signal to Alexa.

Alexa pressed her back more on the walls and waited for it to come inside.

*Groan

Hunched back undead, his disfigured face with really long hair came in. Seeing it is moving slow, it is a Level one.

Alexa grabbed it’s head and pulled it closer to her. She is ready to strike it with a knife but it’s head has been separated easily.

The body is falling to the ground, and all of them are rounding their eyes. If that makes any sound, the undead will start gathering there again.

Xian closed his eyes and waited for the sound but nothing. Opening it again, he sees Alexa and Adam’s weird positions.

With one hand holding the severed head and the other is grabbing at the door. One of her legs is lifted up to reach the undead’s abdomen. It was an awkward position to look at. Her legs are tremblings. While she is like that, Adam is on the ground on top of the undead and his long gun stretches to the undead’s chest partially off the ground. Slowly they put it down with any noise.

Listening to the sounds outside, Gabrielle gave an okay signal. They all went to their same position.

Adam looks for an opportunity by the window and throws a coin outside.

*Cling cling cling

The rolling coin was noisy enough to get the undead’s attention. He repeats this for a couple of times and leads most of the hordes away from their room.

And as soon it was dark, they moved out of the room. With Adam and Gabrielle guarding, Alexa and Xian tried pushing the door but it wasn’t budging. They traveled through another door and another but all was blocked.

Eventually, they settled for another room with only moonlight as the light of the room.

Adam is by the window checking the status while Xian is on the ground and his back is by couch.

“Start talking. Who are they?” Alexa said as she settled on the couch.

Gabrielle, can no longer postpone it. “Who do you think it is, detective?”

“I was skeptical and in denial at first wondering why they would do something like this…”

He answered. “... It’s the government.”

Alexa frowned hard but not shocked nor questioned it.

“I believe we were being tracked also…” The detective continued. The sudden appearance of undead twice in a row is too much of a coincidence. Especially this last one, it was more of a trap to lure them in.

“What if they are still tracking us?” Alexa wondered in the room.

“I checked for the CCTVs when we got here but I found nothing but their traces. Same marks found in the building. A spot in the corners has discoloration… and checking Gabrielle’s story… we might be dealing with some kind of an event. A monitored event.” The detective said.

“Event?” They all crumpled their expression.

Gabrielle picks it up faster than two of their companions as her memories backtracked…

Finding the building full of undead, she first noticed the bars. It was deliberately installed there. The windows on lower floors are reinforced and blocked. Another deliberate move. There are tire tracks at the parking basement below that belong to big trucks. There are multiple of them. Of course she had no answer for it on the first few days, but after seeing the building it has been swept clean. A question popped out to her.

“Who the hell can have such power?” To move the undeads and clean their traces.

She opened her mouth “... I was already suspicious of it but still reported it to the higher ups but they brushed it off under the rug.”

After surrendering Victoria Dreadmon’s body to the government, she waited for the result to come up but it was dismissed as an ‘ordinary’ case as if the case of her spotting hundreds of undead has not even been considered. She stormed out of Tanya’s ,the doctor, room. She forgot her tablet in the room so when she returned she overheard some of Tanya’s words.

‘...She is too sharp to not notice. Ah. yes. yes. Please. Thank you.’ Tanya said and ended the call.

At that time, she knew it was someone from the inside walls.

“I see, that’s why you didn’t take any active military action. Why choose these two if they are affiliated to the government?” the detective asked.

“They are the least candidates, one is dismissed dishonorably for disobeying superior orders too many times to count. The other is retired special forces but without pension and support from the government. They also have the most pitiful bank account also.”

“Hey. You checked my account? Are you allowed to do that?” Alexa frowned dissatisfied.

“Will someone like that support the government? After years of their service they were left on their own?”

“It can be emptied, when you start digging, or there is some cash or underlying valuables hidden somewhere.”

“I’ve been with them for years, they are broke as hell. Also their records and house showed nothing.”

Alexa is dumbfounded. “Were you stalking me? What an actual f**k are you doing around me and my finances?”

“Wait— have you done the same to me?” The detective asked.

“What convinced you?... that it was the government” Adam asked all seriously not giving any reaction to Gabrielle's invasion of privacy.

“It was not ‘what’ but ‘who’. It was Apollo. He knows my movements and before I attempted to contact any of you, he already offered his information and knowledge in exchange for him coming with us.”

“You also got the cold vaccine from him?”

“You know the name of that vaccine, Adam. Why am I not surprised?”

“...”

Three days ago, Gabrielle was forced to use the vaccine Apollo provided.

‘...use this, when you find yourself cornered. It will drop your body temperature and temporarily make you invisible to the undead’s senses but… the side effects of it deep sleep for an average of three days.’

Gabrielle has no time to explain as they will be overrun in seconds. She grabbed Xian and put him to the corner and gave him the shot. Xian was not able to resist because it only took three seconds before he fell asleep. She pushed the sofa out of the door and soon an undead was able to make a hole out of it.

“What the f**k are you doing?!” Alexa said and killed the undead by the door.

*Crash

An arm came in.

“We have no time, Trust me.”

“Okay.” Alexa jumped to the other side of the couch.

“Take this.” Gabrielle handed her the shot and Alexa gave it to herself.

“ADAM!”

Adam retreated to the couch but still killed undead that were trying to come in.

“Go ahead. Leave mine there!”

Without second thoughts Gabrielle injected herself. It didn’t take long before her body felt stiff and cold, it was like a frostbite coming 10x faster from the spot of the injection to all over her body.

The last time she had seen the door of the room had bursted open.

‘Take the shot now, idiot.’ It was her fading thoughts from three days ago.

“Cold Vaccines… I haven’t heard of that. Was it sold to upper, inner walls?” Xian asked.

“No, it wasn’t solved by any stores. It was a vaccine issued to the military’s higher and special forces only.” Adam answered.

“Apollo is from a special force also?” He asked. As a fellow from the special force division, he felt compelled to ask that.

“I don’t know, unlike you who’s records can be seen in the system as ex special force member, his is only a ‘blacksmith’”

“He said he is looking for his family. Do you have the name?” Xian asked.

“Athena Clarkson.”