The creature drops me from its grasp and I collapse onto the ground, shambling away while trying to restore air to my lungs. It's staring at Carter, sizing him up with curiosity. I shift my gaze to Carter and my eyes lock onto an object in his hand. A bottle of some kind...with a rag. His other hand is holding a lighter.
The creature lets out a low growl and sinks down, about to leap over and attack Carter. Carter quickly sets the rag on fire and just as the creature is almost in the air, he chucks the bottle. It shatters in a burst of flames and the monster is engulfed in fire. Screeching and stumbling around the cabin in a panicked frenzy, the creature manages to spread some of the flames to other objects and the floor around it. I manage to climb to my feet and Carter dashes over to me.
"Now's our chance, let's go!" He shouts. I don't need to be told twice. The cabin is filling with smoke, and the fire has spread along the walls and roof. The creature turns to us and my heart skips a beat. That thing was already terrifying, with its hulking physique and all, but now that it's completely engulfed in flames the fear factor has risen to all new heights. It's vibrant red eyes stare unceasingly at us, its face writhing in excruciating contortions. The monster roars one last time before falling on the ground, motionless. Carter and I dash out of the door and sprint through the woods until we reach the road a little ways from camp and stop to catch our breath. There's smoke off in the distance of the cabin, but it doesn't look like a there's too much of a fire. No danger there.
"Are you good?" I pant. Carter nods with exhaustion and gives a small thumbs up. I rub my neck where the creature was choking me. There's some small gashes and a few are bleeding, but I don't feel any different. Must not be infectious...I hope. "What the hell are we going to tell Caesar?"
"Should we tell him anything though?" Carter shrugs," I doubt he'd believe us. They'll think we're crazy."
"But you saw what that thing could do. And...and the fast ones too. We never heard them coming until they were right on top of us. Not to mention that one of them was able to avoid a swing from me."
"Yeah that was pretty bad. Forget the quick zombies for a second. When the big one walked into the cabin, did it get colder or was it just me?"
"It definitely got colder. Out here it's still blazing, but back there the temperature dropped for sure," I shudder,"Well, I'm going to tell them about it. Maybe they know something that we don't."
"Like what?"
"I don't know," I sigh," Just trying to be a little optimistic."
"Right. Well let's hope that fire doesn't get out of control. I don't want to be responsible for torching our base."
30 minutes later, Caesar's Office, The Haven.
"Let me get this straight," Caesar blows out smoke from a cigar. "You were attacked by what was it, some super zombies and there's now a fire raging in the woods around our camp?"
"Well, the fire seems under control," Carter interjects, "But yeah that's about right."
"Hmm..." Caesar stares out the window and looks around the camp. The place is alive and bustling with all of its inhabitants. Some tending to crops, some sparring with dull bladed practice weapons, some doing chores and other tasks. The medical tent seems to be packed today. Since the training run this morning, many of the new recruits have reported injuries. Mostly just sprained ankles and sore muscles, but a couple may be infected. Thank god we managed to pick up a doctor in the early days after the outbreak happened. She's definitely in high demand these days, but the medical supplies are running low. Another drawback to having so many people in living in one place. It's been about two months since the plague killed off most of the human population, and our numbers drop every day.
The meeting ends with Caesar obviously appearing more than skeptical, but he thanks us for informing him about what happened, even if he doesn't believe it. Carter decides to go and help with some wall maintenance, and I make my way over to the medical tent. I've been spending a lot of time here over the past few weeks. Dr. Reece has been giving me a bootleg medical training course, and it's been enough to keep me occupied and active. Being bored in the apocalypse is in some cases just as bad as being infected. Having nothing to do just makes you dead weight. I'm also kind of using this as insurance in a way. If I have some knowledge of medicine, it makes me more valuable to the camp.
I pull back the flap to the tent and step in. Dr. Reece is working at a stretcher, wrapping up a man's leg in bandages, her black hair held up in a makeshift bun, with some strands sticking to her hazelnut skin due to the humidity. She's an older woman, and definitely one of the smartest and most charismatic people in the camp. The tent is rather spacious, with a few cots and stretchers scattered around near the entrance, and multiple cabinets and lockers near the end with supplies and equipment.
"Just try and stay off your leg for a day or two. These will help if the wound reopens and starts bleeding again, but that won't happen as long as you don't work yourself too hard." She stands up and takes off a pair of latex gloves with splatters of blood adorning them, and notices me.
"Well if it isn't my doc in training," she flashes a smile, "Your timing couldn't be better, I need an extra hand with some stitches."
"And....done." I breathe a sigh of relief as I trim the excess material and tighten it slightly, sealing the wound. I'm definitely getting the hang of this. The patient was one of the trainees from this morning who cut his arm on some glass while entering a house. Nothing too serious, but it still needed medical attention. He thanks us and leaves the tent. Dr. Reece sorts through the supply cabinet as I clean up my stitching tools.
"So I heard about your new project with the Hunters," she says over her shoulder," Sounds pretty impressive."
"I don't know how I feel about it yet," I admit. "It's kind of fun, you know, training people to survive and stuff. I just don't really know what Caesar wants to come from it."
"Ah I see. Well it looks like you more experienced fighters are just trying to help others become stronger. Regardless of the motive behind it, it's still a necessary thing to do in this new world."
"Sure. But don't you think there's something else they're not telling us? I feel like Caesar is wanting to use us not just to fight zombies."
Dr. Reece pauses and turns around.
"Well, it's inevitable. Scavenging and supply runs can only get us so far. We might have to resort to fighting others eventually. I pray that day never comes but..." she casts a forlorn gaze at the medical cabinets. "We're running out of everything. I probably shouldn't be telling you this Adam but unless new supplies fall out of the sky, we're going to start having problems here soon. And not just medicine, but food, and fuel too."
"How bad is it?" I ask, curious.
"The crops here at camp can't sustain fifty people throughout the winter. You can figure out the rest."
I sigh. There will be infighting and all the conflict that comes with it. The camp will tear itself apart. I have to give Caesar some respect for keeping us together this far, but our days here are numbered.
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