Beyond the Walls

Breadcrumbs

At the end of the binoculars, is a large and ruinous colosseum. Removing the binoculars, a pair of light brown eyes twitched at the bright sunlight.

“Are we going there?” Coming to Gabrielle’s side is Adam.

Putting on sunglasses, Gabrielle answered “Yes. The smell of blood is thicker there.”

“It never changes. You are and your hound’s nose. No wonder you are still called K9.” Adam said with a mocking smile.

Gabrielle stares for a moment and steps away from the edge of the roof. “It never changes. You and your bastard’s attitude.”

Adam laughed and followed Gabrielle. “Can you not talk like Alexa? You are picking bad habits.”

Going down the crisp rust stairs, each step is carefully made or else they will have a quick trip to the first floor in a matter of seconds.

“Why did you come? I am pretty sure, a retired military officer like you, doesn't need my money…”

“Hmmm… I want to relocate to more inner walls.”

“I see…” She let it go because there are no signs of him, willing to tell the whole reason.

*Creak creak *crash

Several steps broke down, separating Gabrielle and Adam.

“Hooo! That was close!” Adam laughed as his leg hung on the hole.

“I’m going first. I don’t wish to die with you.” Indifferent, she proceeded to go down more.

“So cold hearted…” Adam said as he dust himself off and backed away to get momentum. He starts running down. The creaking and shaking of unstable footing starts. He ran through the walls to pass the hole of fallen stairs created.

As he landed smoothly, at the end of the floor stairs, Gabrielle glared at him.

Now even without anyone moving the stairs are shaking dangerously.

“Shit.”

“Yes! I agree.” Adam nodded his head.

“RUN!” He shouted.

*Thud thud thud thud

*CRASH CRASH CRASH

Skipping lots of steps, Gabrielle kept running without looking back.

“Gab! Leave me some steps!! Will ya!” Adam yells as the steps begin to crumble at Gabrielle’s leaving Adam with limited steps.

Gabrielle didn’t respond and just kept going down.

“Ah! Is that how you want to play huh?!!!” Adam had haughtily utters. He launched himself, kicked the wall and jumped down to the next level, overtaking Gabrielle.

“You bastard!!” Gabrielle grit her teeth as Adam laughs his way down.

Outside the four storey building, two cars are waiting outside.

“What is going on?” Xian panics and stays close to Alexa who is standing in guard at the surrounding and Apollo who is looking at the entrance.

“Don’t worry about that. I can hear that man’s laugh even from here… I am guessing the structure is falling…” Alexa said after a brief look.

“They are nearing. Let’s go.” Alexa jumped out and opened the driver side of the car and started the engine. Apollo did the same. Xian hurried to the passenger seat and locked the doors.

*Huff huff

Seconds later, covered in white power and dust, Adam and Gabrielle came out unharmed.

“That was fun.” Dusting himself, Adam laughs and proceeds to the car, disregarding Gabrielle’s glare.

“Tsk. You are right to divorce that man…” She clicked her tongue, opened the car’s door and complained to Alexa.

“I know right. So where now?”

Dusting off the remains of white powder, She pointed in a direction. “Did you sniff it out?”

She frowned but answered. “Yes, something like that.”

“No wonder you are still called K9.”

A sense of chilling déjà vu washed Gabrielle.

It only took less than thirty minutes before they arrived at the destination. From a closer look, the colosseum looked even larger. Though it was crumbling on some parts and veins are wrapping and overgrown weeds are everywhere.

*Thud

“It’s been a long time since the last time I was here.” Alexa said as she closed the jeep’s door.

“Hey, Ex-Sergeant. Do you remember this place?” Adam approaches, putting his hands on his waist and looks up scanning the place.

“How can I forget? It was tough cleaning this place up.”

Before the apocalypse, Alexa is from a family of soldiers, that’s why, when it started, they were able to get into the walls and served as the first generation of militaries of the wall. At the age of 17. She is already a soldier of the wall and became the first official Renaissance Captain. They are in charge of cleaning up the undeads outside and bringing in survivors.

“It was the first joint mission of the special force and renaissance...” There was a brief hint of longing but it was erased immediately.

“Should I just stay inside until you clear the place?” Xian asked, visibly rejecting the idea of going inside.

It seems like after the night of the attack, Mr Detective is more afraid now. Which is better than being stupid and dumb against the scares of the apocalypse.

“We are all going outside though. You sure you could hold the fort until we come back.” Alexa said.

Xian without second thoughts walked with them.

“Thought so too.”

Entering from the entrance, since it's still early morning, they walk normally, without need to pull out their weapons.

“You sure, nothing is here?” Xian said.

“Who knows.” Alexa answered which made the detective’s skin crawl.

Gabrielle suddenly raised her hand which made everyone halt and touch their weapons. She waved her hands and immediately the three people from the back understood it and stepped back cautiously.

Xian was grabbed by Adam and threw him behind him as the group raised their gun with a equipped silencer.

*Shiiiiiii… Thud….. Shiiiii

It was a crawling sound coming out from one of the rooms.

*Thud

A wrinkly blacked bone and skin arm came out as it grabbed the floor and dragged it’s body out.

It was the body of an old man, if the white and wrinkly skin were to be taken into consideration.

Gabrielle wrinkled her nose as the foul smell of decaying body hurt her nose. She covered her nose with her arm as she watched the undead crawl more.

“Ah! I hate seeing things like that.” Alexa grimaces as it is revealed that only half of the undead’s body remains and as it goes, his dark colored organs are left for a trail.

“Uwarghh” It growled after hearing Alexa. It turned to her. It’s eyes are no longer red in colour. It turned a little lighter in colour due to partial blindness.

*TAK

Alexa skewered the undead’s head before it’s filthy hands touched her.

“Found the other part.” Adam said as he was peeking in the room the undead went out.

Uninterested, Gabrielle took a few more steps away, away from the nauseating smell.

It was natural for very old undead to become brittle and their bodies to fall apart after rotting for too many years.

“I guess we missed this one from 10 years ago.” Adam said as he jumped over the body.

“12 years ago.” Alexa corrected.

Adam looked at Alexa but she did not look back at him.

“Huh? Where is Apollo?” Xian asked.

“That dude is really creepy. He disappears and reappears like a ghost.” Alexa commented.

“Nevermind him, Let’s go. He will reappear.” Though frowning Gabrielle brushed it off.

Gabrielle leading, followed by Xian and Alexa then at the back is Adam.

“Why is it that you are all relaxed, shouldn’t you at least be more vigilant or something, just like in the movies, when cops are raiding someplace?”

Alexa smirks. “Because we are elites.”

“That could be your last words.” Gabrielle retorted and Adam laughed.

“Man, it’s not like we are not vigilant. You can just think of it like this, this is our everyday life. Those people in the movies are people who don’t live in danger 24/7. We are not relax but we can’t afford to be tense all day.”

Passing through one of the halls with multiple big closed doors.

Xian and Alexa stopped.

“What is it?” Adam asked.

“It’s odd. The coliseum is in bad shape outside but are those doors really that sturdy? That even twenty years have passed, there is no damage in it?”

Those doors certainly look old and worn out but it doesn’t look like it belongs to an apocalypse world. It is sturdy standing despite everything else is crumbling.

“It wasn’t like that before… It has been reinforced.”

Now that Alexa added, Adam remember throwing bomb then close the doors, as a result the door was blown to pieces but here it is standing tall again.

“Are you sure, this is the section you remember? There are a whole lot of other sections with the same looking door.

Though Gabrielle is convinced at the oddity she still wants to make sure to get the facts and correct information straight.

“Look here.” Xian called as he crouched on the dusty floor.

“...You see this? These are recent marks, I’ve checked others and the same marks can be found…”

There’s like a small rainbow line on the floor, but not really visible if one won’t look closely.

“...Dust hasn't really gathered inside the lines, that means this door was recently opened.”

Alexa and Adam hurried in different directions and observed the same pattern.

“It's the same here.”

“Here too…”

They all look at the closed doors.

It means all these doors were opened just recently.