Haven Chapter 9

Chapter 9:

Will, Nicole, and the others drove toward the warehouse in silence after our talk, partly due to the fear of the dead following, and partly due to the concern they had for those left behind. In the Ute Steven was driving, with Brooke, Monica, and as much supplies as they could gather in the back, leaving Will, Nicole, Daphne and Andria in the people carrier.

The two cars had communicated occasionally via the radio, conferring about whether to avoid a small group of the dead or dealing with them, but apart from essential communication the lines were dead. Andria toyed with the radio, trying to find signs of anyone else alive, but all she got back was static. Daphne stared out the window the whole trip, only glancing away when I called in over the radio, everyone could tell where her mind was, with Simon. Nicole had pulled out a collection of maps we had collected, and was looking at the area surrounding the warehouse. Will was driving, his hands were once more firmly grasping the wheel, reminiscent of the beginning of this... apocalypse.

It was Nicole who finally, and gratefully broke the silence, ‘So this warehouse, what is it like?’

Will was confused, ‘What do you mean?’

‘How big was it? Was it just one big room? What kind of condition was it in?’ It was a lot of questions, and Will couldn’t answer straight away, he was still breaking out of his silent contemplation. But eventually he found his words, ‘It was big, not as big as some others I’ve seen though, and in good condition except for a few… bodies,’ as he spoke his voice became stronger, but at the last word his voice shook worse than before. But his strength returned as he shook the thought of me and the others sharing the marauders’ fate, ‘it was mostly one big room, except I think there was one, maybe two smaller offices. Why did you want to know?’

‘Tactics,’ Nicole replied, ‘we should use one of those smaller rooms to store the weapons and the generator, they’ll be safer there’

‘That’s a good idea,’ Andria chimed in from one of the back seats, ‘was it clear?’ she asked, turning back to Will

‘No,’ he answered, ‘It had all these tall storage shelve things’

‘If we can move them we might be able to separate the space even more,’ Andria suggested logically.

Nicole smiled and breathed out heavily, she knew if they drove in silence for much longer someone would begin to panic. But she realised it may have been too late as Daphne spoke up from the far end of the vehicle, ‘what is the point? Rooms, weapons, defence, what does it all matter if we’re all going to die anyway,’ Nicole could see her words affecting Will and Andria as their faces became more and more sad and melancholy. To Nicole’s dismay Daphne wasn’t finished, ‘lets face it, there is nothing we have done or will ever do that could change the fact that the world we knew is dead, and soon enough we’ll be dead along with it.’

‘You’re wrong,’ Nicole spoke firmly, and the others all turned to her, but she had nothing else to say, ‘you’re wrong,’ she spoke again quietly, her eyes focused on the road ahead.

…

            When they finally made it to the warehouse they all left the cars, and Nicole could see that Brooke and Steven had just a pleasant of a trip as she had. Will had been right about the warehouse, it was quite large, but not so large as to make her worried about the parts the others hadn’t yet explored. And apart from several nauseating blood trails it was still in good condition. The door was of some concern though, the main entrance was two thin wooden doors each with a glass window that had been smashed through, it would have to be reinforced to give any form of protection from the hordes of dead that may attack.

            Will and Steven parted the cars in a position easily accessible, and pointing away from the warehouse in case the need arises for a quick escape. Nicole and Daphne sat in the driver’s seats as the others grabbed some handguns, and Brooke the rifle, and began to search inside. Will had made the point that just because it was clear of zombies the last time they were here doesn’t mean it will still be clear and safe now. It was a good ten minutes before Will emerged from the warehouse, holstering his weapon calmly, and gestured that it was safe to enter.

The warehouse had more infrastructure than Nicole thought, there were metal covers over the electrical wires that ran throughout the main room, heaters on the walls, and even ventilation shafts that criss-crossed across the rooves and walls. ‘I wonder if Daniel will be able get those heaters working using the generator,’ Will thought aloud, ‘you know if’-

‘-if he comes back,’ Daphne interrupted him

‘-if it gets cold,’ Will finished quietly, then walked away towards the office room.

Brooke was fed up with Daphne’s attitude, and with that last comment she thought it was time to have a talk about it. ‘Daphne,’ Brooke found her alone looking through one of the boxes that still remained, ‘you have to stop’

‘Stop what?’ Daphne replied bitterly, ‘stop saying what I’m feeling? What everyone’s feeling? Why?’

‘Because if you keep talking like we’re all going to die someone actually will,’ Brooke’s words made Daphne look up sharply and Brooke could see tears in her eyes, but she knew she could stop there. ‘Because they were sad, because they had given up, or because your constant depression made them stop fighting,’ she continued relentlessly, ‘we need to stay strong here, we need to survive. Even if’- she paused to give herself down and be gentle-‘even if the others don’t come back.’ When she stopped Daphne finally broke and began to sob quietly.Her frustration gave way to pity, and Brooke gave her a hug, and Daphne clung onto her fiercely. ‘Simon is back there fighting for a way to give us a better chance at surviving,’ Brooke spoke quieter than before, ‘and even if he doesn’t come back you have to keep fighting. He wouldn’t want you to give up now.’

Brooke and Daphne stayed that way for a while, until Daphne finally pulled back and rubbed her eyes. When she looked at Brooke she could see the fire and determination had returned, and she smiled. Daphne smiled back and said softly, ‘thank you.’ It was then that Steven found them, clutching something in his hands, ‘look,’ he opened his hands revealed broken food wrappers and water bottles, ‘they weren’t here before, someone’s been here before us.’

But before either of them could react a section of the ventilation broke away from the wall, and fell straight onto Steven’s head.

Updated The Dead Prologue

 Prologue

This is a story about how the whole world changed, and I changed with it. My name is Will Sandren, and I am one the last surviving people, that I know of anyway. I’m 21 and I am, was I guess, a university student, I was going to be a teacher.If you had asked me how well my friends and I would survive in an apocalypse type situation a few weeks ago I would have said we had no chance, but now I think we had exactly what the situation required. We were nerds you see, big fans of sci-fi shows and horror movies, less big fans of physical exercise, except for a few of us. One of my best friends Todd loves zombie films and as a science geek we are constantly discussing whether it’s possible, what we would do and how it would happen. Turns out it was through a flu vaccination, or at least that’s what we think, and we’ve had a lot of time to think about it.

But those things are not important, what's important is how we survived those first few days of the end of the world as we knew it, and what happened afterward. This is my story.

I hate being sick, but wanting to work with children means I’m going to have a lot of exposure to illnesses, that’s why I usually keep up to date with my vaccinations. My sister, Sophie, does the same, she teaches swimming. But when I got an email saying the latest flu vaccination was available I just ignored it, I wasn't a teacher yet. I worked part-time at a child care centre but they were on holidays at the time so I didn’t have much worry about catching anything. So that’s why I ignored the new vacination, it wasn’t mandatory for anything and I had until the end of the holidays until I have to return to the petri dish that is my workplace. My sister however, got the vaccination. She was one of the first victims.

And that’s how I made the decision that saved my life. A decision I will either regret forever, or feel grateful for, I still haven't decided. The day after my sister got the injection she got sick, really sick, she was coughing a lot and looked really pale, she stayed in bed the whole day. I didn’t take much notice; I was just excited that I got sole control of the television for a few hours, I'm now regretting I didn't take better care of her, or at least said hello. I was chatting with my friend Nicole, you'll hear more about her later, arranging to meet up the next day when my sister came downstairs. She had coughed up blood and my dad had to take her to the hospital. At this point I was concerned, we'd had illnesses in the family before but only the more common stuff like Dad's pneumonia or Grandpa's heart problems. This seemed different. When I woke up the next day it was noon, my parents were with my sister at the hospital so I was alone in the house, it seemed unnaturally silent.

I got dressed as usual and started to walk downstairs, thinking about maybe going to the hospital today when I heard a scream from outside. We lived in a small south-east suburb of Melbourne and although one side of our house faced a busy road there wasn't really any crime or anything to scream about. I had never even heard a scream so chilling and scared before, not even on TV. I looked through the window, it was glazed so I could see much, but what I did see had me frozen in place. The woman who had screamed was now running past our house until she tripped, she wasn’t exactly wearing clothes for running, a business suit and skirt I guessed, she fell, hard. Another figure appeared, walking strangely as if he had hurt his leg, but that did nothing to hinder his speed. I wondered at what could be happening, maybe he saw her fall and ran to help her I reasoned. But his purpose I couldn't have predicted, or even considered with any rational thought, but rational thought had no part to play in what was happening.

As the limping, creature, reached the fallen woman she struggled to get up, but just as she found her footing the other figure reached her. And bent down to rip into the flesh of her calf, with its teeth.

I ducked down from the window in sudden, horrifying fear that he would see me, it was all I could do to stop myself from screaming just as the woman had. I quickly called the police, even with my hands shaking uncontrollably, but the phone simply answered: ‘All lines are currently busy.’ I almost screamed at the phone, but my sense caught me and I slapped my hand across my mouth.

I panicked, I felt like the whole world had dropped away and I was in a place completely alien to my home, nothing felt familiar or calming, all my eyes saw was what that thing had done, and what it could be doing now. Maybe it was still biting into her, maybe she had managed to get away and it was chasing her down the street. Or maybe it had left her and had come to investigate the house next to them. I scrambled up and ran downstairs, keeping low as if that would help, and grabbed a large knife, I don’t know why but I felt like any moment the man would enter my house and try and kill me too. I must have sat there,quivering, for at least an hour until I had the courage to call 000 again. I got the same unhelpful and distressing message as before and almost threw my phone across the room until I remembered Mum and Dad. And my sister.

I called Dad, for some reason I thought he might know what was going on. I had no idea of the repercussions of my actions.

He was in a store room in the hospital, he too was shaking , curled up against the wall. He hadn’t turned on the light so it was still very dark. He was barely breathing he was so afraid to make a sound. He swore quietly when his phone in his pocket went off, he cursed himself that he did not turn it off when he entered the hospital. But there was a greater danger now than disturbing some patients or doctors. He thought to turn it off but when he saw the caller ID he had to answer out of hope. ‘Hello?’ he whispered

‘Dad?’ I sobbed over the phone, I hadn’t even noticed I was crying, ‘is that you?’

‘Will! You’re alive!’ he was so relieved he forgot his situation for a moment and allowed himself to speak louder, ‘are you alright’

‘A women outside our house was attacked, I saw it happen,’ images of those events kept repeating themselves in my mind

‘Stay inside Will! Okay? Just stay inside!’ the hope and joy inside of my father had been replaced with fear. ‘What happened Dad, are you okay?’ I had never heard my father like this before

‘Will, Sarah died an hour ago,’ my father moaned

‘What?’ I was crying again, ‘how? What happened?’

‘I don’t know but a few seconds after she woke up,’ my father was speaking faster and louder as fear took control, ‘but she wasn’t the same, she didn't speak, she didn't even seem to recognise her. Your mother, oh god your mother hugged her but sh-she just bit into her neck. The blood it.... oh god’ All I could do was listen as my father went on, ‘I called for help but all I heard was screaming, I ran outside and everyone was running past me,' he just kept talking, the memories flooding his mind, 'I tried to grab one for help but another patient came up behind me and bit my arm, oh god there were so many of them’

‘Dad are you alright? Where are you?’ my horror now came second to my concern, what was happening, the truth hadn't appeared to me yet regardless of the evidence

‘I ran, oh god I left your mother there and I just ran with the others, but the people in front just closed the doors.’ my father was talking loudly now and crying, ‘We tried to open it but they locked it! They locked us in with those, those THINGS! I hid in here because people were’- his voice was cut off by a scream as the door to the store room was knocked down by two patients, both covered in blood, some their own, most was not. My father clung to his phone, his one connection to the world now rapidly disappearing before his eyes, ‘Will they're coming, don’t leave the house Will! All the people that were sick they’- but he never got to finish the sentence as the patients torn into him. All he could was scream. And all I could do is listen.

Haven Chapter 8

Chapter 8

'Todd! Todd are you there?' a voice, Wendy's voice yelled through the broken windows. The three of us inside, who were frozen in fear only moments before, ran to the window. 'Wendy! Wendy!' I yelled as I grabbed her bloody hands, 'are you alright?'
'Yes, we're fine, I just cut my hands breaking the glass'
'Well that wasn't very smart,' I laughed, the terror of moments before gone in an instant, 'why didn't you use a rock?'
'What?' Wendy stopped laughing, 'there are zombies trapping you inside a police station, and my cut hands are what your concerned about? Really?'
'She's right,' Connor chimed in, 'its good to know you're safe Wendy but we still can't get out'
'What about the generator, have you gotten it out?' she replied
'Not yet,' Daniel answered, 'its welded to the floor I-I can't get it out.' The panic and fear in his voice was obvious.

'I have an idea,' Simon called, appearing in the window, I'd forgotten he'd stayed behind with Wendy. He pushed something through, and I had to move out of the way before it knocked my out. A pile of heavy chains struck the floor making a jarring sound. Outside I heard several moans, and I realised we wouldn't be alone for much longer. 'Shit,' I cursed loudly, and then called to Simon, 'what's your plan?'
'Tie the chains to the brackets welded to the floor,' he explained quickly, I almost missed it, 'then I'll pull it out with the car'
'Are you sure thats a good idea?' Connor asked pessimistically
  'Do have a different one,' Wendy answered. I turned to Daniel, 'will it work?'
'More importantly will it break the generator in the process?' Connor interrupted as Daniel grasped for words. Daniel kept opening and closing his mouth and shaking his head, I asked again, 'Daniel, focus, think, take a deep breath,' he did so, and he stopped breathing so heavily, 'now, will this work?'
'Yes,' he replied finally, and I could tell in his eyes he was sure.

We got to work quickly, Connor dragged a work bench to barricade the door and buy as a little more time. Daniel worked hard to find the best place to attach the chains, while I called Will over the radio. 'Will, Will are you there?' I asked, the few moments of static after asking sending "worst-case-scenarios" through my head
'Yeah, Todd I'm here, its good to hear you,' He replied, his voice showing his fear, 'are you out yet?'
'No, we're still trying to get the generator out, Wendy and Simon are helping us though'
'Good, good,' his voice calmed down a little, 'and Connor, and Daniel?'
'They're fine too'
'Good, good,' I heard quieter voice, Nicole was talking to him, then Will spoke again, 'Right, right I'll ask him, Todd you still there?'
'Yes Will,' I was starting to get irritated at his flustered state, wasn't Will kind of the leader at first?
'Were do you want us to meet up,' I heard the Nicole's voice again, 'We think maybe the school, or back to the clinic?'
'No,' I replied quickly, I had already thought about this, 'head to the warehouse we raided before, there should still be some supplies there and we can still be pretty sure that its empty'
'Right, okay we'll head there then, good luck, and keep us updated'
'Will do, good luck.'

Daniel signaled me to say he was done, and I called out to Wendy that we were ready. We heard an engine start outside and soon the chain became tighter and began the strain, the metal welded to the floor began to groan and the three of us moved behind an overturned desk. The suspense was horrible, and as we were waiting the dead in the station made their way through the hallways to the barricaded door. Their hands hit the door, making us jump, the door had a small window of glazed glass so I couldn't see how many were there, but I could distinguish at least three sets on hands, leaving blood smeared along the glass.

The horrible groaning sounded of strained metal got louder and more frequent, and the force and hunger driving the dead outside increased, testing the strength of the glass. But finally there was a tremendous snap, and shards of broken metal flew across the room, making me thankful we hid. We looked up and saw that the generator was now only held to the floor by a small bit of metal, that would soon break. 'Stop!' Daniel shouted out the window to the others, and soon enough the chain became loose
'Why did you do that?' I asked, 'its still connected to the floor'
'I don't want to damage it anymore than we have to,' he answered hastily.

As he finished speaking the glass in the door shattered, and Connor backed away, covered in bits of glass. In their desperate rush to get through the opening several zombies got stuck in the gap, cutting themselves severely on he glass remaining. 'Well what else can we do?' I asked Daniel fast, 'we don't have that much time'
'One second!' Daniel exclaimed as he pushed past me and began searching through the mess of tools in his bag. Eventually he pulled out a pair of metal cutters, as he went to work I went to the door, and began using a broken piece of metal to kill the dead struggling to reach us. As they fell their bodies became slack they further inhibited the other's progress. Connor help lift the generator as Daniel began cutting the metal holding it in place 'where did you get that anyway?' Connor asked, it suddenly occurred to him they didn't have these kind of tools at the station
'We found it in one of the cars we pilfered for fuel,' Daniel explained, not looking away from his work, 'before we met you, while the others were at the hospital.'

Eventually the metal piece I was using got stuck, and I backed away, hoping what I'd done would be enough. Wendy's voice came through the window, 'what's going on? Did it work?'
'Almost there,' Daniel answered, straining, until finally with a loud snap the bit of metal holding the generator to the floor broke, and Connor almost fell backwards as the resistance suddenly disappeared. 'Okay the generator's free' I yelled to Wendy, 'but the doors blocked, there's no way we can get out'
'Me and Simon thought of that, stand back,' Wendy replied in a worrying tone. I gestured to the others, and Connor hauled the generator over as Daniel and I hid behind a table, fearing the worst. My mind raced with all the possible plans they could have to get us out. But I always knew what they were planning, I just didn't want to admit it. But eventually my fears were proven, as Connor's car, Wendy and Simon inside, came crashing through the wall, sending debris everywhere.

Haven Chapter 7

Chapter 7

'Andria, run inside and tell everyone what's happening,' I told her, not tearing my eyes away from the army of dead approaching
'But-' she started
'Go!' I yelled and she jumped, 'and tell Daniel to get the generator loaded onto the ute.' As Andria ran inside Will and Nicole came out, 'what's happening?' Will asked, Wendy pointed as Will and Nicole turned and saw what was approaching
'Why are they coming here?' Nicole wondered aloud
'The gunshots,' I answered, 'they must have been close enough to here them before'
'But a whole hoard? Why didn't we see them earlier?' Wendy asked
'They must have been in the side roads, quite a few in each one, hidden by the houses,' Will surmised, 'when they heard the sound they moved to the main road.' As he finished his thought, Connor appeared, asking the same question, but I stopped him half way through, 'Connor, I need you to take Will and Monica and get the guns and supplies together,' I needed to take charge here or all we had just agreed on would be forgotten, 'Nicole, you and Daphne get any medicine and equipment together and meet them.'

I was stopped by Wendy grabbing my arm and pulling me around, I saw Steven half way down they hill, by now there were about twenty of the dead on this side of the hill, and once they saw, smelt or, felt, what was here they broke into a sprint. But Wendy had seen Steven begin to stumbled and as I turned I saw him fall and roll several feet before stopping, clutching a bleeding ar,. Connor and Nicole stepped forward to help, but I held out my arm to stop them, 'do what I told you we'll help Steven!' Me and Wendy ran to help, but I kept looking at the others until I was sure they weren't following. It took us longer than I'd like to run uphill to reach him, by the time we'd made it Wendy had to shoot the two closest deadmen before they grabbed hold. I pulled Steven up, his arm around my neck, I could see his injury, it wasn't too deep, but it must have stung.

I thought we were going to make it until I felt something wet and sticky on my shoulder, it was the hand of a deadman, most of the skin and flesh had been ripped away, leaving a disgusting, pale red mess remaining. I twisted and pulled away, almost falling myself, and saw a face that was much like the hand, I couldn't help but wonder what had happened to leave him in this state. He came at me again, and I knew I couldn't fight him off without dropping Steven, and Wendy was fighting a deadwomen who had gotten to close. Just as I was about to drop Steven, possibly leaving him to die, I heard a deafening gunshot, and searing pain across my cheek, and saw te deadman's head explode, I turned ignoring the pain and kept running for the station, vaguely aware of Brooke on top of the roof with the rifle.

...

While I was stumbling towards temporary safety, those already inside were in a state of panic. Will and Connor were in the storeroom, Monica had driven the Ute around and shattered the window, allowing them to pass everything to her. 'We're making the wrong decision,' Connor started
'What do you mean?' Will answered, to afraid to think properly
'We shouldn't be running, we have enough people, enough resources we can fight them back,' Connor moved closer and Will saw that he was just as afraid as he was
'They're not an army, they won't run away when they think they're beaten, they will keep coming until they are all dead, or we are,' strangely Will had become calmer while arguing
'You don't think we can win?'
'Not without losing someone, and if I'm being honest this building isn't worth it, there are too many small roads near it, and it not exactly built for this'
'I was... I am a policeman,' Connor walked away again, back to packing up the guns, 'this building is supposed to meaning something, it's meant to be safe.' Will walked up and put his hand on his shoulder, 'I'm sorry, we've all lost homes.'

Finally Wendy, Steven and I made it, and blasted through the doors, Wendy moving a desk in front of it after us. Nicole was there with a wheelchair, which I put Steven in, despite his protests of being fine. 'Is everything loaded up?' I asked, looking around
'The medical stuff is,' Daphne replied, smiling strangely, I think she was just happy to be helpful.
'This is the last box on our end,' Will said as a strangely quiet Connor passed Monica the box
'Where's Daniel?' I asked looking around, but before anyone said anything, Andria ran into the room, calling my name
'Todd!' she was out of breath, 'Daniel's got a problem with the generator.'

The others went back to work as Andria, Connor and I ran towards the generator room. The sound of the dead was getting louder as they approached the station, I knew we had little time to spare. When we reached Daniel I saw him struggling with the generator, surrounded by tools. I turned to Andria, 'Andria! I need you to go back and tell the others to leave'
'What about you?' she almost screamed
'We'll try and get the generator out of here, go!'
'Wait,' she yelled quickly, and placed something in my hand, 'its a police radio, I found it just before'-
'Go Andria!' I pushed her out the door and closed it.

Connor and I tried to help Daniel with the generator, but we were of little use, the generator had metal brackets that were fused the the floor. After five minutes we heard the glass break and new the dead were inside, over the radio Will told us the had all gotten away, some dead were following them but the majority were still at the station, and he also said that Wendy and Simon were still here, outside in Connor's car. I cursed quietly, somehow I felt the three of us weren't getting out of here, and I wished Wendy and Simon hadn't stayed behind, simply to watch us die. Another five minutes passed, the sound of the dead's footsteps got louder, and then quieter again, they were inside, but they hadn't caught our scent and had slowed their walk, until they found out we were hear, then the door would do little to stop them.

I looked down at my gun, it didn't feel like a game anymore, it felt terrifyingly, horrifyingly real. I knew there was one way out of it, one way to avoid a horrific, bloody death, and an even more horrific after-life, if it could be called that.

No.

We came this far, I was going to give up now, I would prefer to die and become one of them and know that we had done all we could to survive than to give up here and now. We would survive this, I knew it in my gut, with or without the generator we were going to get out of here. There was a thin glass window at the top of one of the walls, not enough to crawl through, but maybe the tools that were ineffective on the generator could be used to widen it. I reached out to pull Daniel away and explain, but my mouth snapped closed and i jumped back as the window was smashed open, and bloody hands reached in.

Haven Chapter 6

Chapter 6

I had to walk away after Will said that, using the excuse of going to the toilet. A sympathetic glance from Nicole as I brush past her told me it didn't work. As i got further away from the others my pace quickened until by the time I burst through the front doors I was almost running. I bent over, feeling nauseous. I slid down to the ground and leant against the brick wall, I grimaced slightly at the realisation that my first act as officially leader was to run away.In the distance I could see Steven at the peak of a hill, he hadn't seen me come outside. I was happy about that, I wanted to be alone.

But I wasn't alone for long, from inside I heard the voices of Will, Nicole and Andria discussing who should be the one to talk to me. In the end Andria won and I heard the door open slowly, I turned and saw her slowly edge out. I felt annoyed, both at her intrusion into my panic attack and at how nervous she was to even talk to me. I was also worried about how useful she could be if she was scared to simply talk to someone.
Eventually she found her voice, even if it was hoarse, 'Are-are you alright?'
No, I thought, but my voice had other ideas, 'yeah, I'm just, overwhelmed, worried I guess'
'You're only feeling worried and overwhelmed now?' Andria had some humour and confusion in her voice
'I don't know Andria, until now we've always been dealing with one crisis or another. And I always felt afraid, and lost, but never over whelmed. It felt like...' I realised as I said the words that its was exactly how I had felt, 'it felt like a game.'
'A game?' Andria sounded disappointed and I worried I had said the wrong thing, but after a moment her face softened, 'I think I understand'
'Really?' I was expecting harsh judgement, I'd just convinced these people to trust me as their leader and then admitted I felt like it wasn't real
'Yeah,' she said warmly as she sat down next to me, 'its not that you didn't feel scared, or overwhelmed, it was just that...' I found the words before she did
'It was that I felt, not even consciously, that if we just made it through the next few days we would find some magical solution,' I shook my head as I realised how childish I'd been, 'or someone to tell us what to do, and everything would go back to normal.' We both sat still and silent as we dealt with our horrifying new state of mind, we were never going to get out of this.

'But you know,' Andria began speaking again, startling me out of my strangely calm silence, 'The situation you were in before, the situation everyone was in those first few days, it required that state of mind to survive.' I looked at her strangely, trying to process, well everything, it seemed recently even the smallest piece of information required strenuous thought to process. 'What do you mean?' I asked disbelievingly, 'how could that benefit things?'
'Having a sense of calm and control, when in a state of constant danger and motion,' Andria's tone seemed different, more stable and, well adult than usual, 'it would have kept you calm, and that feeling you were in a game, it would've helped you make decisions as you were using logic you've used before'
'You're right,' I realised suddenly, 'I was acting on instincts I learnt from... games and tv shows,' the fact i survived show long made me laugh, but not in a good way
'And that kept you alive,' Andria moved closer and grabbed my shoulder, 'look at you, you became our leader and you had to go outside for air. If you had to do that every time you made a decision before... you wouldn't have made it here.'

I knew she was right, back then if a decision had to be made it had to be made quickly, looking back I can't believe we were able to do it. But if those instincts left me, if now every decision to careful thought and time, what does that mean for our future? Andria seemed to read my mind, 'but now, things are different, we have resources that need to be protected, we have... infrastructure for lack of a better term. You are a leader now, not a member of a group of survivors, those instincts you were using before are useful, but they aren't what you need right now.' I looked at her for a while after she finished talking, as opposed to the deep thoughts of a moment ago all that was in my head was her words. These new worries and concerns, they weren't a sign i was the wrong person to lead them, they were a sign I was the right one.

Before this talk Andria seemed worrying, someone who might be a burden to the group, but now i realised I was wrong. She was not a warrior, I don't think I could ever see her leading a charge into battle, but she did have something few others in the group did, insight. Insight into what people think, why they do the things they do. It was that insight that help me figure out what I needed to now, somehow she reached me, even in my overwhelmed state. And it was then that I realised her worth. 'Andria,' I spoke, while I was thinking she had moved away, and was now looking at the sun starting to set, 'I think I've found a job for you'
'Group therapist?' she joked
'No,' I replied through laughter, 'our... organiser, with all these different jobs and people in charge of each section I need someone to make sure everyone knows what's going on, I can't be everywhere at once'
'You want me to be your secretary?' she wasn't too thrilled at the idea
'Yes! No!' I quickly corrected, 'I want you to be the person who make sure each group is worked together properly, I want you to be... my second-in-command'
'Are you sure about this? a few moments ago I was a blubbering mess at the sight of even one dead man'
'Thats the point! This position won't require you to interact with any dead men, just alive ones.'

Our conversation was cut short when Wendy walked out through the door. As it closed I caught a glimpse of Nicole and Will standing in the doorway, obviously eavesdropping intently on our conversation. I smiled at Wendy as she stood bathed in sunlight, I realised that just as my previous mentality made me unaware to some of the dangers of our situation, it also made me neglect what was right in front of me. I opened my mouth to say hello, but Andria spoke first, 'I'm glad my job won't force me to interact with the dead, but I don't think they'll give me a choice.' I turned confused but when I saw where she was looking I realised what she meant. Steven was running down the hill towards us, just as the first of the dead appeared at the top.

Haven Chapter 5

    Chapter 5

    Daniel and I walked back to the station, he was shaken up understandably, but otherwise unharmed. Simon and Connor stayed outside, worried that their gunshots would attract others. When we got inside Brooke, Will and Andria were sitting around a desk. 'Where did you learn to shoot like that?' I asked Brooke, feeling impressed, and jealous
    'I told you before,' she said quickly, 'my father taught me' I wasn't exactly confident in her honesty, but I didn't press the issue, skill like that is what we needed, and I didn't want to antagonise anyone. 'So he's dead then?' Andria said shakily, 'I mean, again'
   'Yes,' Will replied before me, 'you don't have to be afraid.' Andria shook her head quickly then got up and left the room before we could stop her 'is she alright?' said Steven, walking into the room, he sounded shocked 'I heard gunshots, Wendy told me what happened, she took over my watch'
    'Thats alright, we're all a little jumpy,' Brooke replied, 'someone should go see if she's alright'
'I'll go,' I said quickly, I was feeling guilty about leaving Andria alone with Kyle anyway.

    I checked a few rooms before I heard her voice coming from where Nicole had set herself up, 'It's not that I'm scared,' Andria sobbed, 'it's that I'm ashamed, you, Brooke, and Monica have made yourselves useful, you're important and strong,' she put an emphasis on the last word, 'all i had to do was face one zombie and I freak out, I was an absolute train wreck,' she calmed down a bit before she spoke again, 'I was a burden'
'No, Andria, you weren't a burden,' Nicole started, through a crack in the door I saw her put a hand on Andria's shoulder, 'look, out of all of us, your the one who has had the least experience fighting these... things. What you thought we expected you to leap to action and save the day?' Nicole and Andria both laughed at that, 'none of us are heroes, and no one expects you to be, alll we are, is part of a team'
'Yeah,' Andria stopped crying, mostly, 'but I'm not a very helpful part am I?' Nicole hugged her close
'You'll find your place.'

Andria got up and thanked Nicole, some strength returning to her voice, but as she walked out and saw me I saw some panic return, but it subsided and she nodded to me as she walked away. 'You,' Nicole said, suddenly behind me and talking in a tone that made me feel five years old, 'in here, now.' I sheepishly walked in and sat down, as soon as I did I felt a wave of exhaustion as the previous few hours events caught up with me and I held my head in my hands. I went from being chastised like a five year old to feeling like an eighty year old. 'You have to do something,' was all Nicole said as she lent against the desk
    'About what?' I asked as a genuine question, I honestly did not now what to do next
    'Everything,' Nicole's air of calm and control broke as she slid down until she was sitting on the ground, 'it's just that we've found somewhere to stay, possibly indefinitely, but for most of us when we're not keeping watch we're just sitting around.' Nicole's voice became stronger as she stopped feeling sorry for herself and started to feel confident again, 'we need to give people jobs, responsibilities, and when they're not doing those responsibilities, they need'-
'They need to learn to shoot,' Connor interrupted, neither me or Nicole noticed him come in,  and I felt a pang of annoyance at his intrusion, but he was right, so all I did was nod.

...

Nicole was the obvious choice for a medical role, Daphne volunteered to be her assistant, and Nicole begrudgingly agreed. Will was put in charge of supplies like food and petrol, with Connor helping him out with the weapons side. Brooke was put in charge of the watch and scouting schedule, with me helping out. Monica, Wendy and Steven volunteered to be scouts, people to go beyond what we explored previously on foot to search for survivors and supplies, also to warn us if a horde was nearby. Daniel and Simon were put in charge of the generator and the cars. 'What should I do,' Andria spoke quietly, and only after everyone else was silent. Everyone except Steven, who was on watch, had gathered to discuss what would happen next. It seems the topic was on everyone's minds, everyone was eager to regain some form of structure and individual purpose. Everyone had their skills, even Daphne was able to convince us that she would be a help, not a hinderance, but when Andria spoke up not one person new of a spot available, or a particular skill she possessed that would be useful. 'You can help us out,' Daniel said. finally and everyone felt relief as the awkward situation passed, except Andria, all she felt was guilt and shame.

'There's only one thing left to decide on then,' Nicole said, it sounded like she had rehearsed it in her head, 'we need a leader, someone to organise this, someone to go to with problems so we don't just start fighting amongst ourselves'
'How about you then?' Brooke suggested confidently, 'you did it before back at the clinic, you could do it here'
'No way,' Nicole through her hands up, 'back then we were just holding out until the others returned, we need someone who can actually plan ahead and decide what to do next, that's not me'
'What about Connor?' Will pitched in, though it was more of a question than a suggestion, 'he's a police officer so he's used to making decisions about people's safety'
'Well, I mean I'd accept, if you decide it's the right thing,' Connor replied, trying to find a middle ground between modest and authoritative
'But he doesn't know us,' Daphne said determinedly, 'and we don't know him'
'That's not necessarily a bad thing,' Wendy explained, 'none of us are more or less familiar to him, he'd be unbiased. And as for us not knowing him well, we all know Daniel, it'd be weird if he was our leader' Daniel looked slightly insulted, 'no offense,' Wendy added
'But isn't that why we stayed together?' Simon interrupted everyone jumping on Connor's bandwagon, which I was grateful for, 'friends, people we know can be trusted to do more to keep us safe, their less likely to sacrifice us for their own purposes'
'That was the plan,' Will said quietly, remembering the first days of this... apocalypse
'In that case I think you should do it,' Nicole nodded in my direction
'Me?' I had been expecting it but still I was unsure of how to reply, 'I guess I could do it-I mean if you want me to do it I'- I stopped as I saw everyone in the room looking at me, I hardened my resolve, 'I can do it, I can be your leader'
'I'd follow you,' Will agreed, several others nodded, Wendy, Simon, Daphne
'I think of all of us you'd be the logical choice,' Nicole added comfortingly and Andria and Brooke showed their agreement as well. Daniel didn't say anything but came and stood near Will and Nicole, only Connor remained undecided, but he became tense as soon as Simon started talking, but no that everyone had sided with me we sighed and shook his head, 'if not me, it had to have been you.' I'm not sure whether that was an agreement but I took it, and Will looked at me smiling and added finally, 'it's decided then, from now on all major decisions, plans and problems go through you,' with poked my chest playfully, 'you're our leader now.'

Haven Chapter 4

Book 2: Haven

     Chapter 4 

     There was an achingly long silence after the bite was revealed. We didn't know what to do, we'd never seen an actual infected person before, not one who had been bitten anyway. Kyle was the first to react though, pushing me away. Connor reacted next, drawing his gun and aiming it at Kyle's head.

     I backed out of the cell and Andria shut it behind me. 'What should we do?' she asked, but it was unclear who she was asking. 'Well we're not going to just shoot him,' I said, nodding my head an Connor's gun still pointing at Kyle who had retreated to the back of the cell. 'Why not?' Connor said, not taking his eyes off the prisoner, 'there's nothing else we can do for him'
     'Who don't know that for sure,' I argued, I didn't really want to see someone's brains splattered on the wall of a cell no matter who they were.

      For the first time Connor turned to look at me. For a moment he said nothing, mulling it over. 'Fine,' he said eventually, lowering his gun, just as we were about to tell the others we heard laughter from the cell. Kyle was now lying down, his back against the wall, 'you people are weak,' he said through his laughter, 'if I was back with the others I'd be dead already'
     'Don't tempt me,' I answered back, trying to sound intimidating, by the increase in laughter I don't think it worked. Connor turned to Andria as we were leaving, 'stay here and keep an eye on him, if he does anything come and get us.'

     We gathered everyone except Steven and Simon, who were watching the roads. 'So what have you found out?' Nicole asked first
     'His names Kyle,' I said, 'him and their leader, Anthony, are the only ones that survived'
     'If you call that surviving,' Connor grunted
     'What do you mean?' Will asked him
     'Kyle's been bitten,' I said quickly. There was another long silence as that sunk in. Daphne was the first to speak, 'well what are we waiting for then? shouldn't we... you know' I crossed my arms
     'No I don't,  do what Daphne?'
     'Kill him,' she said quickly, swallowing
     'Of course,' I handed her my gun, 'go ahead.' She looked at the gun for a moment, her eyes wide.      'Well?' I asked shoving the gun at her, but Nicole moved forward and took it off me, 'for christ's sake,' she looked at me, 'you done?' I looked at her annoyed at myself for losing my temper, 'sorry'
     'I'll do it,' Wendy piped up and reached her hand out for the gun, 'I'm fine with doing it'
     'That's probably healthy,' Will said sarcastically
     'Look,' she explained, 'the way I see it is he's basically one of the dead already, what's the point of prolonging the inevitable and risking our safety'
     'She has a point,' Connor said. Great now my girlfriends on the same side as him, I thought, 'but there could still be something we can do for him,' I looked at everyone, 'anything. Nicole! You're a sciency person, maybe you could some sort of test?'
     'Oh sure,' she replied, 'I'll just hop into the fully equipped bioengineering lab that I packed' I ignored her
     'Will! Was there anything from the hospital that we could use?' he shook is head, 'there's nothing we can do for him?'
     'There's one thing,' Brooke said coldly, cocking her revolver. But at that time we were interrupted by a scream, it was Andria.

     We all ran into the other room to find Andria running towards us. 'What happened?' I asked
     'He-he turned,' she sobbed, 'he kept running at the bars until,' she gasped at the memory, 'his shoulder broke and he got out so I ran'
     'Is he behind you?'
     'No, I locked the doors'
     'What about the other one?' Connor asked. But Andria didn't answer him, just looked at him in fear. We left Andria with Will and Nicole to try and calm her down while the rest of us went searching for zombie Kyle. 'Where does that door lead?' I asked Connor, he blinked while trying to remember
    'The main office area, then the entrance,' he replied. I stopped, 'he's outside?!'

     Daniel was feeling confident about the future of this place, there didn't seem to be any dead around for a while and the place was easily defensible. Also with the generator they had electricity, which would help. His thoughts and optimism were shattered however when he heard shooting from behind him. A deadman, the marauder they'd brought in was running straight toward him, with Simon shooting inaccurately behind him. He raised his gun, with Kyle running toward him he hoped he had little chance at missing him entirely. He pulled the trigger, heard a click, but no bang. The gun had jammed, Daniel had no idea what had happened or what he could do about. Suddenly all he could think about was the zombie ripping him apart. His sense returned to him and he began to run in the opposite direction, away from the zombie, away from the station.

     We came out the station to find Simon frantically trying to reload. I turned and saw Kyle, his right arm flapping uselessly as he ran, chasing after Daniel. 'Why is it he firing?' Connor asked
     'Does it matter?' I asked incredulously as I began to run after them, hoping to get a better shot.
I couldn't lose Daniel, I wouldn't, leadership struggle or no I never wanted to see another friend die. Losing Caleb was hard, but they'd just met and I wasn't physically there. To see someone I'd known since high school die right in front of me, and in such a horrific way, I couldn't even think about without it tearing at my mind. I had to catch him. But a shot rang out, louder than a handgun, and I saw dead-Kyle collapse, it's head in pieces. I span around and saw Brooke lower a rifle, and casually walk back into the station.


Author's note: my laptop's been broken so it's been difficult to write, but I've found another method now so I may be able to write more, but there are some formatting issues so i apologise for that in advance