SurvivorZ: Grave Harbor

94

CHARLIE

The arrival of the ghouls threw Castle's forces into a state of panic and chaos that persisted for hours. Mystic emptied the armory and planted armed civilians along the walls, regardless of whether or not they could shoot straight. Charlie figured only a few of them might be capable of picking off the marauders below. Their real purpose was to remain vigilant and raise the alarm should the invaders try anything.

The cold rain freezing everyone to the masonry had an unexpected benefit. It helped to keep out the ghouls pacing around the foot of Castle's walls. He didn't know if they were capable of climbing the high stonework surrounding Fort Independence or not, but they definitely weren't scaling them while they were encased in a sheet of ice.

Charlie glanced down from his frozen perch at the mob collected outside the fort's main doors. The ghouls continued to throw themselves at the barricade, as they've done relentlessly for the past few hours. Their misshapen bodies remained no match against the pile of wood and metal reinforcing the entrance.

The crack of a gunshot from the western wall echoed across the open interior of the fort. Charlie listened for a repeat, but none came. People taking potshots at the attacking horde grew more commonplace as the effects of cold temperatures and exhaustion began to set in. He could only hope this person's bullet was true, dispatching another deformed raider to the limbo awaiting them after death.

Many of the growling horrors hanging around the entrance ran off to investigate the noise. Others took their place to resume their assault on the obstructed doors. The ghouls were an eclectic assortment of bloodied, misshapen figures, clad in everything from torn rags to black suits. The only thing they shared in common was their manic compulsion to breach the walls and rip apart the garden of living flesh protected within.

Charlie shivered and blamed his goose pimples on the cold.

Footsteps approached him from behind. He turned to find Paige Treadwell staring at him hesitantly.

"Charlie..." she uttered.

"Hey, Paige. What's up?"

"I... uh...." She rubbed the back of her neck, looking more awkward than ever. "I need you to come with me. It's important."

Charlie's nerves sat on edge. "Is something wrong?"

"No," she insisted. "It's... Would you come with me, please? It'll be easier to show you."

Without waiting for a response, she started off for the ladder to the inner courtyard. Charlie followed apprehensively, trying not to read too much into her nervousness.

She led him into the connecting hallways on the eastern side of the fort. They encountered nobody along the way. Most everyone was preoccupied with guard duty, presumably.

She brought him to one of the empty bunk rooms on that side of the fort. Seven people perked up, fell silent, and stared him down as he followed Paige inside.

Charlie studied their anxious faces, recognizing a few of them from their time in Harvard. The only calm-looking one in the bunch, Carl Graves eyed him like a hawk while puffing on a cigarette in the corner of the room. The DiMarcos, Tommy and Erica, sat on separate bunks far apart from one another. Eve Cutler and Mike Edwards rose to their feet as he entered. Across the room, he spotted that Stan guy, the one who met them at the roadblock days ago. He had been conferring in a low voice to a plump figure standing with him. Their voices drifted off into silence with Charlie's appearance.

"What's this all about?" Charlie inquired.

"Sorry to drag you into this," Paige said. "I would've approached Danielle, except we're on the outs right now and this is too important."