"Alright," said Carrie. "This is Middleton." Reuben, Jaimie, Carrie, and Ben had been driving for five hours, and now they had reached their temporary destination.
"The entrance to the airfield is on Helford Street, your next left," said Ben. Reuben turned, then entered the long driveway up to the Main Building. As he drove, Jaimie peered out the windows. There were some trees on the sides of the road, but all seemed deserted.
"I don't see any of the dead people."
"What do you mean, dead people?" asked Reuben. "We have to worry about the walking guys."
"The walkers are the dead people. They're undead. Like zombies," said Jaimie. Carrie raised one eyebrow and looked away. Ben turned to look at Jaimie.
"Look kid. Zombies aren't real. They're fairytale creatures. These things are real. They aren't dead. This is a disease, I know it. Dead people don't come back to life," he said.
"Hey, you never know," said Jaimie. She resumed looking out the window. Ben scoffed.
Reuben pulled into the parking lot, turned the car around, and parked it facing the exit. Then he popped the trunk, got out of the car, and walked back there to begin rummaging around. His three companions followed.
"Dad, what are you looking for?" Reuben didn't answer, but he did reach his hand way into the shadowy back of the trunk, and pull out a crowbar. He turned his back, and began walking towards the building.
"We have to see if anyone is inside. Hopefully we can get a pilot," he said.
"And what if we can't?" asked Carrie.
"We improvise," Reuben said with a smirk. They reached the door, and paused. Then Ben slowly reached forward, and put his hand on the door handle. He pulled.
"Fuck," he said. The door was locked. "Can I see that thing?" he said to Reuben, gesturing towards the crowbar. Reuben handed it to him, and Ben put the curved end inside the crack of the door, and applied pressure to the straight end of the crowbar. With little effort, the door burst open, and Ben and the crowbar fell in a heap on the stoop. Carrie suppressed a laugh, and Jaimie giggled. Reuben, however, reached down, grabbed the crowbar, and stage whispered to Ben.
"Let's try and avoid falling over as much as possible." At this, Jaimie giggled a bit more. They all walked inside the building.
The inside of the small airfield administrative building was like the lobby of an office building, except it was only one story. There was a brochure stand against the wall, and a help desk in one wall. Reuben looked around, and rested his eyes on a clock. It was 8:18 AM.
"I don't think there's anyone in here," said Ben. "Should we call?"
"No," said Carrie. "If the baddies are in here, we don't want to call attention to ourselves." Reuben and Jaimie nodded.
"So, let's look around," said Jaimie.
Jamie stepped in a bit, and Reuben and Ben and Carrie followed. Reuben hefted the crowbar. It was pitch dark within the building.
"Lights?" whispered Carrie. Suddenly a flashlight sparked to life in Ben's hands.
"Always carry one," he said through the side of his mouth. He flashed it to the back of the relatively large room. Nothing but a backpack propped against the wall, and grey-blue wallpaper.
"What the fuck's that?" said Ben, loudly. He flashed the light at a corner. Two luminous eyes glared at them. An unearthly squeal emanated from those eyes.
"Shit…" breathed Carrie. "Just a cat."
"Who leaves a cat in an airport office?" asked Jaimie. "No one's here."
"Let's go," said Reuben. The others gave noises of agreement. They walked out to the parking lot, got in the car, and pulled away.