Nate's Cabin: Lee and the others close in on the seemingly abandoned cabin, hoping to find Becca and Bonnie.
Shel spotted the cabin peeking out from the trees and ran towards it. At first, the small search team had mistaken her running as a threat, and huddled in a circle to fend off the invisible attacker.
"Shel!" Stephanie cried out, watching her friend barrel towards the cabin. Stephanie dropped her guard and followed after her, waving on the others. Omid hurried along, leaving Carley and Lee standing hesitantly behind. Carley threw her arm out in front of Lee cautiously, narrowing her eyes.
"I don't like this." She said hurriedly, looking around the brush for any signs of danger. Lee nodded, though he thought that danger was obvious when dealing with madmen.
"Whoever that man is, he's not showing his face, which means he's either out or leading us into a trap."
"Didn't they say he had a truck?"
Lee nodded, turning around to face a single walker disappearing into the farthest stretch of the forest. It had been so silent since the motel, and the former professor had only just begun to take notice.
"Come on, we won't be any better off just standing out in the open."
Carley instinctively grasped the mans much larger hand, leading him towards the cabin. Although she thought his hand was incredibly soft, Carley jerked away from the mans grasp upon realizing their contact. Lee subconsciously blushed, but kept his alert mannerisms in the face of danger.
"My bad." Carley stuttered, continuing to close in on the cabin.
Upon reaching the moldy, wooden door, Shel took a deep breath and kicked the door in.
"Shel, wait." Stephanie hissed. Shel ignored her and entered the cabin. She immediately drew her knife and backed against the nearest wall. The cabin was empty except for a single metal bedframe that caught the faintest shimmer of starlight. As she scanned the living area meticulously, Stephanie stepped in as well and called out.
"Becca? It's Steph and Shel. Are you in here?"
Shel pushed off of the wall and moved to the adjacent door. Placing her hand cautiously on the doorknob, the woman noticed trails of grey water from under the frame.
He put her in the bathroom. I hope she's okay.
"Becca, are you in there?" Shel murmured, her voice quivering with anxiety. Her mind counted the seconds while waiting for a response, but there was nothing.
"The truck's gone. He's not here." Omid exhaled, stomping into the cabin after jogging across the yard. Stephanie cocked her head back and raised a finger to her lips, shushing the younger man with an icy glare. He raised his hands in surrender and moved to her side, eyeing Shel's shaky hand on the doorknob.
As Shel turned the handle, she quickly gained momentum. Swinging the door open, Shel charged in with her knife raised.
"Is she in there?" Omid asked, once again getting shushed by Stephanie. There was a long silence, and then a sudden flutter of noise as Shel began to sob.
"Shel?" Stephanie asked, moving quickly to the doorway. Upon reaching the bathroom interior, Stephanie's nose was immediately swarmed with the smell of decay. Scattered across the closeted bathroom was the remnants of an unknown body. Blood and greyed flesh coated the rotting tile, creating an image straight out of the raven-haired woman's nightmares.
"Oh, fuck." Stephanie cursed, covering her mouth with one hand while pulling Shel up from a squatting position with the other. Shel was resistant at first, but buckled and let Stephanie remove her from the carnage.
Omid stepped around the two girls to view the bathroom and coughed involuntarily as the smell hit his nostrils.
"Fuck! That is rotten."
"Shel, hey calm down. It's not Becca, okay? It's probably just a walker that t got fucked with by the creep."
"He's a fucking psycho, Stephanie!" Shel cried out, seemingly oblivious to the others' attempt to be stealthy.
Omid shushed the girl quietly, turning around to watch Carley and Lee slip past the doorway around the house. Lee pointed off to the backyard, getting a nod from Omid.
"Come on." Omid commanded, waving on Stephanie as she cradled a weeping Shel. "They're going around back. There's nobody in here, so she could still be out there."
There was no response, as both girls were lost in their overwhelming grief. Omid winced, closed his eyes, and left the two girls to their silence. Following Lee and Carley around back, the trees parted once more to reveal an overgrown "backyard". A broken slot of fencing outlined what used to be a luscious garden. Though weeds overpowered what little flora was left to be seen, there was still a serene beauty about the space. Stepping over patched of browned grass, Omid closed in on his two teammates, staring distractingly at their backsides as they stood still.
"Guys, what's going on?" He asked, picking up on their silence. "Did you find anything? Don't tell me that guy is-" He stopped, standing agape at Lee's side as his eyes scanned a row of five makeshift graves. They were all hastily covered with fresh soil, and in front of the three survivors, the most recent grave had a pale, limp hand peeking out.
"Oh shit..."
Hey guys, sorry for the SUPER short chapter. I recently got hit with a really bad illness that got me during a heat stroke (not Corona thank god). I've been bedridden for a week and so consumed with college work that I could only write a little bit.
That being said, in no way have I given up on Lee and the others, and I will continue to write no longer how awkward it fits into my schedule! In order to pace myself, the next three chapters will only be about 1000 words long. Once I get back to being in better health ill be able to go back to pumping out weekly chapters! Thank you for your patience! 3