Day-244
The moon is high, I know it's around midnight or later. I can't sleep, I know I need it but it's dangerous out here. There's people. They are all sick, I can tell. Jen shot one who was attacking us. There was something wrong with him. Jen just kept firing, but he kept coming and this happened in the middle of the day. She shot six rounds into his chest before he fell lifeless in front of us. After that we walked for a while after but we are still in the thick of them. We can't tell where they are all coming from. We must be getting close to Ashville. If these people got the same idea that would be the best bet.
I sat up, Jess laid behind me asleep. The rest of the kids were still asleep too all around us. Jen sat with the gun on her lap. She hasn't moved, she stood there watching the woods. Waiting to see is someone else was going to come out of the smoke. I hoped and prayed that we could at least make it until morning without another incident.
Jacob sat up, so did Nathan. I threw a log onto the fire. Nathan got up and moved so he was sitting closer to it. "AHHHH ha ha ha ha ha" there was a loud enticing laugh. It came from deep in the woods but it woke everyone else up. Jess sat up startled and Jen stood from where she was sitting. Nathan followed Jen as they walked toward the voice. "Ha ha ha." There was another laugh but it was somewhere else. It was someone else and it was shorter sounding. "I can hear someone running." Jen muttered as she walked across the camp. Stopping at a tree at the edge. Sam moved closer to me with Sonya in her arms. I watched as Jen shook her head really fast for a second. As if to clear her mind, "You okay?" I asked her, she shook it again. "We need to move, I'm fine." She said as she went to grab her pack. "No we should stay a few more hours," I argued. Jen looked around at everyone. They were all super tired you can see it in their eyes. Jen backed off but stood against the street she was standing by. Jess relaxed back to where she was sitting. We all sat and waited for a little longer. The laughing stopped.
When we ran out of logs for the fire we decided to move. Jacob went to go help Hannah but she shied away from him and stood on her own. I held a hand out to Jess and got the same reaction. "No, I'm okay." Jess said as she used to three to stand. I backed away. I didn't like having to keep my distance but if it's what was needed I'll do it. WE quickly put out what was left of the fire and gathered our things. I carried Newt and Sam carried Sonya. We all started to walk again.
It still was dark, we were hesitant to go up the hill but really didn't have a choice. I stayed close behind Jess because h was very stable for some reason. Jacob had Matt on his back an Nathan took the lead with Jen. IT took us longer then we wanted but we made it to the top. And now had to make our way down again.
At the base of the hill there was a field and then more woods. In the distance we could hear the town. We could hear people an mass amounts of them its very loud. We're headed in that direction. "Told ya it would be easy to find once we got out of the woods. C'mon there a road not far from here. It will Leads us right there." Jen described. I resituated Newton as we continued to walk. Other people came out onto the field. They weren't following us but they were walking in the same direction we were. Some looked at us but no one seemed to be dangerous. Jen kept her head on a swivel. Maybe they heard the same sound or had been walking towards the city just like we were. But it was a weird site to see. A human mass migration it what it reminded me of. After we crossed the field we walked down a road for a ways.
"How much further Jen." Jess asked. "We're here." She said pointing down a small hill. There it was, she called it again. I was relieved to hear those words. The kids cheered. Jess and I laughed as we joined Jen at te bottom of the small incline. Jen didn't look to happy about it. When the rest of us saw what she was looking at. 'PFC' was written in big white letters on the side of this wall that in cased a small part of a larger city. The walls were made out of whatever was big enough to stick up there. It looked like it was held together with just about anything.
Woods boards strung across car doors and random logs that held up pieces of scrap metal. "At least it walled in." Jess said. "The letters." Jacob pointed out as he started to walk towards it. "What is with the letters?" Jess asked not knowing what they meant or what they meant to Jacob and Jen. More people walked out of the woods towards the city. "They were the same letters written on the side of the berg that attacked our settlement." Hannah answered. I followed behind her. "Are we sure we want to go there then. There plenty of other buildings." Jess tried to detour us. "No, they would have cleaned them all out." Jen warned us as she walked. I couldn't help but notice the line outside the gate of that place. Everyone was coming here.
As we got closer I could see these men in green uniforms. They were plastic looking in bulky in some areas. They had these weird looking guns they I'd seen before. It was on the military channel. I didn't think they were real. Those guns are able to vaporize people. I tapped Jen shoulder and pointed to the men watching us walk by. More and more people were coming out of the woods behind us. I wondered if it had gotten that bad to the point they need security outside watching people. As we got closer there were others in hazmat suits that were walking up to people am aiming them towards the line. They were saying something but we weren't close enough for me to make it out.
As we got closer I could hear. "Men to the left…Women and children to the right. WE are checking for infected but everyone comes inside." The man said. Then he repeated himself. "Men to the left, women and children to the right. WE are checking for infected but everyone is coming inside." This made some of the people stop. If they were infected, some of them didn't want to go but most of them walked on. It was a strange sight. A lot of them were twitching, or muttering something strange. "Birds and tadpoles cover my roof at nine pm." A man said walking by us.
Sam has jumped a few times because someone screamed out randomly. We were all super uncomfortable. But Jen walked ahead of us with her knife out. It was weird but I can tell the infected looked at us but didn't want to stare. They avoided looking like they were afraid of the children walking around them. I noticed another family walking in the same direction we were. I pulled Jess close to me with Newton still in my arms. I didn't care about proximity rules at this point. Sonya had a tight grip on Sam. Jen looked up at Jacob, "You have to watch out for him. They are going to make him go with you." She told Jacob motioning towards Nathan. "I will look after him." He said as he started to walk in the direction with the rest of the men.
I followed behind Jen closely and we kept the kids between us as best we could. So not to get separated. We got closer I could hear the inside of the place. There was a lot going on. All the women walked till we started to form into a line. It was a long line but it was moving pretty fast. We didn't say anything while we waited in line we just moved with it.
By the time we got to the entrance we could see inside. It was a vibrant city in there. Not like the settlement at all. These people had made something here. I was starting to wonder how this was possible then I thought of my own settlement. It was there fault somehow. "Jen." I said. But she didn't turn around. She just kept walking her were shoulders so tensed up. "Jen do you think they have a cure?... Jen" I was trying to get her attention but she wouldn't turn to me. She just uttered something and kept walking with the line. "in my..he…Yea…I hope so." Jen said as she rubbed her eyes. I glanced up at Jess, who looked at me with her brow furrowed worried.
We got up to the door and we were next. Jen held her arm out, and a man in a hazmat suit took a needle gun out and put it to Jen's arm. He pressed it. There was a whoosh sound and then the small machine on it clicked. He held it for a moment and then it beeped red. "She's infected." The words ran over in my ear again in again. 'Infected'. Like an echo. I must have known somehow. Two men walked up to and took Jen by the arms. Right there in front of us, "Wait…Stop." I went to walk towards her but she stopped held her hand up towards me. "My head feels a little weird. Stay, be good, for Me." she told us and took a deep breath then the man holding her arm turned and walked her away from us. The man took her machete as they walked.
We hadn't been separated since the flares. Where were they taking Jen? I wasn't paying attention when the man in the hazmat suit pricked my arm. "She's clean." He said a moment later I breathed a sigh of relief but was immediately worried about Jess. I went to take a step away but I was stopped. "Babes too lady." He said, it was muffled through the mask it almost sounded menacing, I looked down an Newton started to cry when he pricked him. I was trying to keep sight of Jen. Jess was doing the same thing. We were pushed through the door after I heard "he's clean" again. I knew Newt would be ok. I kept him safe. Jess walked up by me finished by a nother in a hazmat suit on the other side than Sam was next. "She's clean." He said. I didn't look back to see who was next but I heard "she's infected." I glanced over my shoulder to see them cart of Hannah too. Went to follow the man carting Hannah off but I was stopped by two guards. "That area is restricted." One said, I watched to see Jen look back at us. I stayed for a moment before they took her inside. I was pointed off in the opposite. So I walked. I walked a distance before I turned to the strange building again. Jen and Hannah were gone. Just like that. I have to be able to see them.
Sorry it been so long since I've updated this story. Ive been either working or dealing with Family emergencys. On a good note im getting to travel again...I'll be doing a sequel to this in Maze B with the girls... Like always let me know what you think. Leave a review review review review. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.
One Luv- Ray