In The End: A Zombie Apocalypse

~~ The Group ~~

I didn't need Olivia to finish her sentence. I know what she was going to say.

We never thought it would be infested by people.

I look around to see where the source of the voice is coming from. Finally, my eyes land on a figure on the roof of Costco. I notice its holding something. A gun? Yup, and its a big gun.

"Drop any and all yer weapons and step back!" The voice has a British accent. Olivia drops our newly acquired gun and her knife. I'm reluctant to put down my knife, but I know I've got no choice. Its me and my knife verses him and his big gun. What am I gonna do, throw it at him?

"Now!" The man yells. I pull out my knife and place it on the ground. Olivia and I then take a step back, farther away from or weapons, our protection.

"Cecilia! Go collect their things and start questioning."

Down at the entrance, the doors get pushed open and a girl comes out. She turns to us and begins to approach. As she gets closer, I can see more details. She looks to be about seventeen, with dark, chestnut hair, and a messenger bag slung across her shoulder. When she's a couple feet away from us, she stops. There's a pistol in her hand.

"I'm gonna grab your stuff now. And don't even think about doing anything stupid, or Barkley up there'll follow through with what he said earlier."
She crouches down and puts our stuff into her bag.

She comes back up and looks at us.
"Alright. So now that we've got that out of the way, I'd like to welcome you to Costco. Firstly, let me introduce myself. The names Cecilia. And you two are?"

I glance towards her gun, wondering why she still needs it. She's got a sniper at her back and olivia and I are unarmed. But I can tell she's smart, so I keep quiet about it.

"Hello, I'm Olivia Griffin, and this is Lukas Clark. We've come to find shelter and our friends. They're a group of kids about our age, came yesterday?"

"Is one of them named Deliliah? Evan, Venus?"

"Yes, those are them!" Olivia says.

"They're right inside. Came yesterday, told us about two more coming. Guess you guys are it. Come on, I'll show you around." She turns and we follow. When we approach the gate, she motions us to stop. She walks up to a woman and they begin to talk, once in a while gesturing towards us.

Eventually she waves us over and we enter the building.

Instantly I'm taken back.

The the building looked like a well oiled machine, with every single person contributing to the efficiency. In the right corner just to the side of us looked to be the kitchen area. People were sitting and eating as others cooked various food over controlled fires. I briefly look around before Cecilia begins to walk ahead.

"This right here is what we call the dining widget. You can come here in the morning and afternoon. Please be aware that we are trying to conserve the food we have, so no seconds." Some people glance at us, but most remain focused on their food.

"And don't think you two will stay here for free. You need to earn your keep. Everyone has a job, even your friends."

Cecilia continues to an area filled with dangerous weapons. Two men stand guard. "This is the defense widget. Never come here unless your going outside to do your job. People here are very... Protective."

That sounds a little suspicious, but again, I keep quiet. A man who seems to be in his twenties walks up to Cecilia and begins to say things under his breath. He doesn't seem to notice us.

He continues walking after they're done talking, almost running into me.
"Oh, h'llo newcomers." He shakes our hands and continues walking past us.
"Bye newcomers! Can't be late!" He yells over his shoulder.

"That's Scout. Remember the guy on the roof? Yeah, Scout's his son."

I look back at the man with a bounce in his step and a smile on his face. How can this guy be related to that man on the roof?

Cecilia takes us through the rest of Costco, showing us the different sections. The build widget, where they build and construct new tools, the training widget, where people learn to shoot and defend themselves, the council widget, where nine selected people, the council, go to debate about issues, the containment widget, where they contain the sick and dying, isolated from the rest of the group.

Finally, Cecilia brings us to what they call the sleep widget. Several shelves that would usually hold crates of food have been restocked with sleeping bags, mattresses, and blankets. Not a single soul is sleeping, yet Cecilia insists we rest. "You guys are going to have a long day tomorrow. Sleep while you can."

She brings us over to the third shelf and points to the top. "Two sleeping bags up there have your names on them. Everyone is assigned a number. Olivia, your bed number is 249. And Lukas-"

She moves her pointed hand over slightly. "Your bunk number is 250. Sleep well guys." And with that, our tour guide is gone.

Olivia and I climb the makeshift ladder to the top of the shelf. We find our sleeping bags and slide in. When I close my eyes, it feels like, for a moment, all my troubles are gone and I'm back in my bed. My bed. It seems like such a crazy thought. But as long as I'm safe, as long as olivia is safe, I know I can rest easy.

"Hey, Lukas?" Olivia asks.

"Yeah?" I respond, not opening my eyes.

"This may not be what we thought it would be, but we've got a pretty good deal here, don't you think?" She breathes in and out and I can hear her turn in her bed. "I guess we should probably sleep now. Night."

I can feel myself drifting to sleep, but I don't have the energy to fight it, So I let it take me away into the darkness.

OMG! I HIT 1K READS! This is so amazing! I want to thank everyone who took the time to read my book and I'm so glad that people are enjoying it! This is such an amazing milestone and I'm so thankful for all the support❤

~matt

QOTC:

what are your OTP(s)?