Nation 27

CH 39: A Blur Of Motions

[Mike]

[17 November 2021, Wednesday]

The air was crisp as the late autumn leaves crunched beneath Mike’s combat boots, echoing through the dense forest. With each step, he moved cautiously, blending into the muted palette of earthly tones. The forest seemed to hold its breath in the faint early morning sunlight that was mostly blocked out by the tall trees.

In the days after escaping the zombie-invaded facility, Mike had grown accustomed to the muted and barren landscape of the forest. The blaring alarms, fire, and explosions at the facility had drawn all the zombies within the county towards it. Out here and quite a distance away from the facility, there were seemingly no zombies remaining. 

‘It would probably take a long time for those zombies to naturally wander out from the facility- assuming that they remained in one piece after those countless explosions.’

Even so, he found an unusual sense of discomfort in the current silence of the forest. The absence of the usual rustle of leaves and distant animal calls made the stillness more unnerving in the desolate norm. Not even the hatchling or chicks chirped as the soft morning sunrays streamed gently through the trees of the forest.

An inexplicable feeling of being watched sent a shiver down Mike’s spine. His instincts, finely tuned through countless encounters and training, warned him of an unseen threat. He tightened his grip on his weapon and he scanned the surrounding area with a heightened sense of alertness.

In the continued silence, doubt began to creep into his mind.

‘I couldn’t be imagining it, right? Although this is a new area within the forest, I’m certain that it’s only the five of us for miles and miles away. There haven’t been any odd instances in the last couple of days we were here… And I doubt the others would think of playing such a prank on me when I’m all armed and alert.’

The forest, once serene, now cracked with an undercurrent tension. Mike scanned the surrounding area once more but to no avail. 

‘For all I know, there could be more than one intruder and if so, I’m sure that the others would be in danger,’ Mike thought of how David and Adam were performing hand-to-hand combat whilst occasionally jeering at each other.

‘Yeah, I’m sure that they won’t be immediately on the alert… At least, not until it’s already too late… I need to return to the campsite and warn them.’

Mike sighed resignedly.

Immediately returning to the campsite would definitely show the invited intruder the way to their temporary sanctuary and go against his training. But in light of the circumstance and potential danger of carrying out the usual protocols, he saw no other choice in the matter.

Mike reluctantly started to head back towards the direction of the campsite when a familiar voice yelled, “Stop!”

Mike came to a sudden halt and unsheathed the dagger as he narrowed his eyes and scanned the canopy above, attempting to spot the owner of the voice.

“Why?” Mike shouted back.

But there was no reply. 

Instead, a branch seemed to fall from high up in the trees. For a moment, nothing happened. Then without any warning, a foot away from Mike, there was a blur of motions.

CREAK

CRACK!

BANG!!!

Just a foot away from Mike was a large trap that was made out of branches, and rocks that were bound together by tree veins. Judging from the crude structure and sheer size of the trap, it was made to trap an animal as large as a wild hog. With sharpened rocks and wood attached to the inside of the contraption, it was clearly made to kill the prey the instant it stepped into the trap. Death would be inevitable.

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[Brien]

[Back at the campsite…]

“After all of the training, why are you still this slow?” David taunted as he did light sparring with Adam.

Adam growled and charged at David once more.

“You want to dance, old man? Then let’s dance!” Adam yelled.

Clara giggled and busily scribbled into the worn-out notepad she had always carried.

Brien silently watched the scene as he sat on a fallen tree log.

‘Some things just never change,’ taking out a dagger, Brien started shaving the tip of a fairly thick branch, ‘Might as well get busy. It’s only a matter of time before our next encounter with the undead. A spear would come in handy.’

The cold autumn breeze blew gently and a few of the fallen leaves twirled in a somewhat mesmerizing dance. Everything felt peaceful.

Brien stifled a sigh.

Despite the serene beauty of nature, Brien could not help but wonder how the few of them came to be stranded in the middle of the dense forest. 

Brien glanced at Adam and then at Clara.

‘It was fortunately that we managed to get to them in time, but I can’t say the same about Louis and Jared. By the time the alarms started blaring, it was already too late. The zombies had long invaded the facility and there was no way of getting to the boys’ rooms on the different floors. All we could do was to seek an opportunity in the chaos to safely escape from the building.’

RUSTLE

Brien raised his head and scanned the surrounding area but saw nothing other than the leaves on the trees and fallen leaves on the ground that continued to sway as the breeze continued to gently whirl through the forest.

 ‘Then again… Was it all really an accident? I feel bad that the two boys may have been killed in all of that chaos but I can’t help but wonder if it was truly just an unfortunate incident… If the whole incident was caused by someone, who could it-’

“Oh my God! You’re alive?!” Clara exclaimed.

Brien raised up his head and his eyes widened in surprise.

Mike had returned much earlier than expected from his hunt but that was not the cause of anyone's surprise. 

Instead, it was the presence of the boy who walked alongside Mike. After weeks of assuming the worst, it was as if Mike had miraculously bought back a ghost. Upon seeing the intensity in the boy’s eyes, Brien felt an unnerving feeling go down his spine. It was as if he was looking at the shadow of a boy he had once come to know.

Even so, despite the boy’s somewhat changed in demeanor, disheveled appearance, and smears and cuts that covered nearly every inch of his exposed skin, there was no mistaking who the boy was.

In an almost inaudible and disbelieved tone, Brien heard himself uttering the boy’s name.

“Jared.”