Nation 27

CH 18: To Stay Indefinitely

[6 October 2021, Wednesday…]

[From a window of a vacant bedroom on the second floor of the facility…]

[8 am]

Despite the clear blue sky, an underlining rumbling broke the peace of the day.

“Hah…” Jared sighed as he rubbed off the sweat on his forehead with his rolled-up sleeve and gazed at the source of all the rumbling that came from below. 

Countless zombies were shuffling and staggering across the grounds within the surrounding area of the facility. Regardless of there being no humans in sight to hunt down, the zombies have continued to linger just outside the premises- bumping ever so often against the fence.

“They never wear out, huh?” Jared sighed again.

‘Despite checking on the facility’s electrical control panels and circuits, there’s no way of activating the electric fence… If the zombies continue to bump against the fence, it’ll only be a matter of time before they come through. When that happens, we’ll be goners… The fence is the only form of barrier- if you can really consider it as such- that keeps the zombies at bay…’

Jared inhaled deeply before quietly unlatching the lock on the window and opening it. The zombies that were relatively close to the window reacted within seconds. One moment they were bumping aimlessly against each other and the fence, and the next moment, they were inhaling so audibly that it was creepy.

It was not long before the zombies zeroed in on Jared’s general direction. Upon spotting him, they began bumping more incessantly against the fence that was just below the window where Jared was. Despite there being a distance of a few feet and two entire floors that kept Jared safe, Jared could not help but gasp softly. 

As if the zombies were hound dogs, more zombies began to pile up at the fence. Without wasting another second, Jared immediately closed the window and relatched it. 

Then as if losing interest, the zombies stopped groaning and bumping at the fence excessively. Mindless bumping against each other, a few of the zombies even began to disperse.

‘The way they sniffed the air before acting so erratically… They act like hound dogs…’ Jared swallowed his saliva and lifted his collar over his nose and inhaled, ‘I don’t think I smell, right? Plus, I did have a bath about an hour ago with cheap, industrial soap. There’s no fragrance that they would be able to pick up. Not to mention that I’m on the second floor, which puts quite a distance between the zombies and me…’

Jared inhaled deeply to calm down the rapid beating of his heart. Once he was calm enough, he moved close to the window and peered at the zombies that shuffled aimlessly on the ground below. This time, there was no sign of aggression.

‘Could it be that they’re sensitive to scent?’ Jared waved at the zombies below, ‘They don’t seem to be able to see past this slightly tinted window…’ 

“If they only have a sharp sense of smell and not of sight, does that mean that they’re blind when it’s dark?” Jared wondered out loud.

“Yes.”

Jared jumped in surprise and nearly fell when he tripped over his own feet. Turning around, Jared saw his friend standing at the door of the room.

“L-Louis!”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” Louis apologized although there was a twinkle of mischief in his eyes.

“...Why do I get the feeling that you don’t actually mean what you said?” Jared asked with an eyebrow raised as he stared at Louis with suspicion.

“Well,” Louis chuckled as he entered the room, “I don’t know what to say~”

Jared just sighed and rolled his eyes.

“Look, I know that we had already cleared the entire second floor just a couple of days ago, but that doesn’t mean that you can have your back turned with the door wide open like this. What if a zombie we’ve missed during our search had waltzed in when you were alone just now?” 

“Yeah, you’re right…”

“...Just remember to be always alert, okay? Hm… Right, about your question earlier, the zombies are much more sensitive to scent. Their sense of sight is rather dulled while their hearing is about the same as us,” Louis clarified.

“Oh… How did you-”

“Harold…”

“I’m sorry, but who’s that?” Jared asked though he had a feeling that it was someone he knew.

“Harold was that infected orderly who attacked us on the sixth floor about two weeks ago.”

“Oh? Ah…” Jared rubbed the back of his neck.

‘Huh… I think something like that did happen but… why don’t I seem to remember if I was directly involved in the matter?’ 

Louis watched Jared wordlessly before clearing his throat, “Anyway… turns out that Samantha’s insistence on taking care of that orderly brought some usefulness to us.”

“How so?”

“Well, it wasn’t long before Samantha realized that Harold had already turned into a full-fledged zombie. There was no hope for him and his condition was worsening or rather, extremely aggravated whenever a human was around. When that happened, she turned to me- the person who wanted to get rid of him- to deal with the matter… But then a thought came to me. Since we had a zombie all tied, why not try to ‘understand’ what we’re dealing with?”

Jared felt a slight chill at the way Louis emphasized the word ‘understand’ but said nothing of it.

“Anyway, to cut the story short, the zombies are able to pick the scent of humans. Well, to be honest, it’s a confirmed fact when it comes to a choice between a human, a rat, and a bird. I haven’t been able to test out the theory with anything else but I’m sure that the zombies are only responsive to us- more so if it is our blood. So, we would need to fully cover ourselves in something pungent to mask our scent and move when it’s dark in order to remain undetected by the zombies… Well, assuming that none of us has any wounds…”

“So, does that mean we can actually leave the facility safely?”

“Yes, and only if we’re lucky enough…” Louis trailed off and pointed towards the window, “However, it may prove to be reckless to arbitrarily go out there without any knowledge of how many zombies there could be wandering within the dense forest. There’s only one road from this facility that stretches for miles and miles. You won’t be able to make it to the town under the cover of the night. When it turns to day, you’ll be easily spotted and there won’t be any safe cover for you… There are only two vehicles I’ve seen on this premises, but they are located outside of the fence.”

“So, to go out there is to have a death wish…”

“Yes…”

Jared sighed.

‘So, I may not be able to see Mom nor check out that gaming center… Does that mean that I should just stay in this facility indefinitely?’

Louis placed a reassuring hand on Jared’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry. I’ll keep you safe here.”

However, having to stay at the facility only made Jared feel more like a prisoner.

*

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[Clara]

[Recretional area, 3rd floor--]

Clara hummed softly as she tended to the plants. Despite being a tedious task, it has never failed to bring her peace of mind.

“Hah… Hah…” 

The air swished over a brisk movement. 

“If only the peace would last…” Clara muttered under her breath.

Abrupt footsteps of someone running across the tiled floor were heard before a rather heavy thud.

“…HAH!”

“Brother! Must you really practice your moves right side to me?!” Clara asked angrily.

Adam chuckled which only angered Clara further.

“Well, I needed a wide space to practice my kicks and… I wanted to keep an eye on you…”

Clara rolled her eyes.

“Adam, I’m already sixteen. I’m old enough and am more than capable of being safe. Besides, what can possibly happen when I’m tending to the plants? Do you not trust me?”

Adam leaned close and whispered.

“...It’s not you that I don’t trust…”

Clara huffed in annoyance.

“They’re good people and have allowed us to stay here comfortably. Why are you so pessimistic?”

“Clara, this is a time when even good people would turn into devils. You mustn’t trust anyone- not even me. Being kind is to give up living… Also, have you forgotten that two of these people are actually-”

“Don’t you dare say it!” Clara hissed and looked around to ensure that there wasn’t anyone else to hear them, “That’s very rude! You’ve seen how they act, and listened to their stories... It’s all a misunderstanding…”

“You can never be su-” but Adam stopped mid-sentence.

His attention seemed to be drawn toward something outside the window.

Noticing the change in Adam’s demeanor, Clara followed his gaze and looked out of the window. Shortly after, Clara gasped and tugged at his brother’s shirt.

“Adam, that person isn’t a zombie, right? We need to tell the others!”

“No, we can’t help that person. That’s no-”

“How can you be so heartless?! What if I was that person out there? Will you insist on not helping as well?!” Clara demanded and Adam gritted his teeth.

“That… No… Clara, listen to me. You can’t save e-”

“No! There must be a way, right? We need to tell-”

“Need to tell what?” a voice asked and the siblings immediately turned towards the entrance of the recreational area.

It was Louis and Jared.