A/N : In this episode, it will take many parts because I wanted to focus on building plots and characters. Also, in the new season, I wanted to change it a little because I can't proceed writing the present part before finishing the past so I will turned off the italic formatting to make it easier to read. On this last (probably) note, I will focused on many scheduled episodes before I went (who knows when and where) so I hope I can see you my readers and subscribers in the next episode.
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On the dark path, the group gathered together stealthily walked on the ground after being freed from the secret lab. I gripped the knife hard in my hand, shaking a bit as I heard the moaning around us.
About one kilometer, I could see the harbour from here. The basement of the building was tightly shut and seemed to lead different way than the original route.
The reality of our situation hit us again. We were still in danger unless we got out of town because of not just them but also looters, who were responsible for making us took a rather sharp turn into this situation.
I forced myself to relax as Andrew looked out of the corner they were in and beckoned Tyler forward. My little brother skills in arrow has been rather amazing as he took a breath and readying another arrow and pointed at several undead in the street that Andrew wanted him to take down quietly.
The basement itself was, like the others, a complete disaster. Cars were abandoned, some even wrecked and inside lied a corpse. At the entrance, some sort of makeshift barricade was broken by what looks like a sturdy car.
"Let's go."
I was surprised at the barricade being broken when they tried to escape but I was forced back to the task at hand and took a deep breath.
Swish!
An arrow went out and hit the zombie directly in the head. It was so silent but it didn't deter the original plan and I killed one on the left while Andrew took the one on the right.
Linda noticed two undead coming closer and rushed past us. She eyed her next target without fail and seconds later it was down instantly.
"Let's get moving." Linda told our group in a small voice. "Tyler, don't waste another arrow. Andrew, never forget to use the gun if you had to because you can't waste your strength on swinging those baseball bat."
Both of then nodded and Linda began to take charge leading the group, walking pass me who was busy retrieving Tyler's arrows from the corpses.
We were slowly making our way outside and as we almost there, we could see hundreds of corpses lying around with a bullet wounds brutally pierced their body.
Walking pass the horrific scene and going down to a street where Linda had to pause her step. She tried to assess our current location and determined our next goal. I could see the docks from afar and Linda said to prepare as we were gonna be on the way to the docks. Better to avoid the road which probably blocked by looters than having to deal with them.
While she did this, our party stared intently at the undead wandering aimlessly and stumbling on the bloody road and other corpses lying around. We were hiding our presence and pressing against the building whilst lifting our weapon respectively.
Linda nodded to herself and gestured for them to follow him. Tyler was right behind her, his bow ready to be used when needed while I was behind him. Andrew at the back making sure no harm would come to our group from behind.
We came to an intersection and quietly making sure to watch our step and any signs of danger besides undead. In a matter of half an hour, we finally came up to an elevated road which we could assume was the last road to a docks that we were looking at earlier.
"Let's go." We had to climb over an iron fence that was there to prevent cars and still standing when the other place was a mess.
We followed the road and found what we were looking for. The docks were a complete mess, boats half sunken lay in the water abandoned. The walkways made of wood was somewhat clear of undead but still smell of dead corpses in a same condition like the one in the basement. Probably from the director and the workers that escaped from here but that was hardly any consolation since no boats were left for us that we needed to check the whole place to find one large enough to fit us in.
"There should be a boat that still works somewhere," Linda mumbled to herself before continued.
"Ok," Linda spoke up, looking around the group, "Don't stray too far and stay alert."
"Where to next?" Andrew asked.
"We're currently on the main ground and I think we should go search the boat together since it would be dangerous to split up. Who knows what will happen if there's indeed dangerous situation."
"Really?" Andrew said curtly. None of us said 'no' so hearing that from him did made her itch for an answer. Still, he leaned against the concrete stand and set his bat aside.
"What?"
"Nothing." She raised her eyes slightly.
"Do you want to say something?"
Andrew ignored her and keep walking to scout the perimeter, making sure we were safe. He took the time to look around and signaled us to move but Linda stubbornly stand still at her spot without moving.
"If you mind with my choices, tell me so that I know what's wrong."
"..." Linda noticed how he had been so reluctant, trying to push her button.
"I see. You're a coward. Duly noted."
"W-what?!" Andrew cried, looking at her with a heated glare. "I'm not! I-I just thought..."
"Ah, I see. You thought we should split up to make it quick."
"Wha-?"
Tyler and I, who were standing side by side watched them begin to argue with interest. In a way it was comforting to see, since it meant they're getting closer than before. Though it did get a bit tiresome after a while, knowing our situation.
"Linda, he's just trying to be considerate of you, right?" Tyler finally spoke up after the two had been arguing for a minute. He looked to Andrew, hoping the boy would accept what he said.
"Sure, whatever." Andrew grumbled.
"See that?! Which part of that was considerate?"
"W-well..." Tyler looked hopeless and I couldn't help but let out a sigh.
"Alright, cut it out. We don't have enough time to relax, it's already noon and we needed to find a boat." I held my knife and took the charge of the group which was already worsened by their state of low supply and energy because of the looters.
I was worried about us but surprisingly the two went along with what I said and followed me behind. I didn't really mind them to fight once in a while and it was even apparent that there was a little tension between Andrew and Linda as far as I noticed, thankfully it didn't hinder our movement and they glared at each other without shouting again.
I walked along the docks, trying to find any boats in a good condition but no matter how much I looked, there wasn't anything that looked even remotely operational. I knew no one in our group had the knowledge to fix them and later on, I gave up and ran down to one end of the dock where the rest of our group was resting.
"How is it?"
"I couldn't find any boats that worked."
I was sitting down on a bench with them looking absolutely exhausted, my knife sheathed on my waist that was to be expected since my wrist was a little hurt from forcefully swinging it to kill the undead.
"What are we gonna do next?"
Andrew gave a bottle of water to each of us and drank the last bottle. He was sitting down, looking rather exhausted while he had a bat wrapped around his back and kept the gun in his pocket.
Tyler was next to me and his arms rested on the railings as he looked out across the ocean, I could recall how peaceful the look on his face. It made sense since the sound of the ocean was making even me feel relaxed without the undead around to bother us.
Linda started getting restless after awhile and she was nervously pacing around, eyes darting all around the place as if she were afraid of an attack from looters instead of undead.
"Haa... this is the first time I was annoyed at my helplessness."
Andrew was mad at her but he had to concede that she was right, it felt awful as he shook himself out of his thoughts since in the world they lived in now, it would inevitably needed cooperation with each other. He couldn't help but miss his parents a little bit and looked down at his shoes, a gift from his parents on his birthday.
Linda put her hands on his shoulder and said, "We will be back here after this is over, don't worry."
"..."
"I wanted to meet my parents too but our circumstances are not something easily brushed aside."
"I know." Andrew muttered. "But still, I miss them."
"Let's find them together. At least once we got to a safe place without looters and undead around, we will have a home to return to."
Andrew blinked. Tyler and I blinked before looking back and forth between the two of them, hearing Linda said that really comforting.
Linda, realizing what she said, turned red and looked away,
"Let's go. There has to be more boats elsewhere and we need to get fishing poles too, that will be essential to our survival."
"Alright." I let out a soft sigh and I heard a stomach growling next to me. With a blush, Tyler averted his eyes away from the group because he had been holding back his hunger and his stomach seemed to betray his thought of not saying anything until the group found a safe place.
I realized how hungry Tyler was and looked towards the unexplored street lining the docks and I could see various shops lining the street. One of them appeared to be a fishing goods store and in a good condition, at least for now.
"Why don't we check over there? I'm sure there's something we can use or if we're lucky some snacks would do."
The dog barked loudly and looked like he was agreeing with me. A good dog, always following us obediently and never did something to endanger us, almost like he was intelligent. Or maybe I was just imagining things.
"See? He agreed with me." Linda stood dumbfounded and sighed loudly.
"Fine. But after that let's find a boat."
The path was clear and soon enough we reached the entrance of the shop. One of us went in and checked whether it was safe, creeping through the empty store.
"There's no one here," Andrew said happily.
The shop was not destroyed like in the city, almost like it was abandoned. Although probably true because of the situation all around the city and maybe entire country, it wasn't surprising.
Along the wall, there was a lot of fishing poles still present, though some of it was broken and worthless. Andrew grabbed one, looking happy because it still usable.
"It appears that our luck hasn't run out."
"We'll see..." Linda said quietly.
Andrew looked clueless and clicked his tongue.
"Hey, don't fight." I warned them, picking a fishing pole and looking at it carefully. I was still wandering around the shop and behind the counter, I noticed something.
"Hey, what is this?" I kneeled down and found a stash full of lost and found items. A candy, lighters and keys.
"Do you think this is...?" I walked over to them and Linda grabbed the keys out of my grasp as she examined them. It looked different than a typical car keys and it really got me to feel some sort of hope in the small and unknown items.
"I think, it might be boat keys."
I watched her seriously looking at the item as she thinks back on the keyhole on a boat.
"Really?" She simply nodded at my question.
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