Dead or Alive

Chapter 14

As we traversed down the long and winding labyrinth of tunnels, nobody said a word. The only sounds that could be heard were our own footsteps and our own heartbeats. I look over to Scarlett to see her still shaken up. She was tense, with her shoulders raised up ever so slightly. I could tell that she wanted to get out of these damp tunnels as soon as possible. I looked at the walls of the tunnels and saw that the walls were damp, and drops of water were falling from the ceiling. A water droplet landed on the tip of my nose, and I quickly wiped it off. Still, no one spoke. We were walking for what felt like hours when we reached a dead-end. 

"Did you lead us down the wrong path, Alan?" I asked, confused.

"No, this is the right place," Alan said.

Alan grabbed part of the wall and pulled, revealing that the wall was actually a rather large tapestry. Behind it, was a metal ladder leading upward. We all climbed up and we emerged in a park. Alan moved a rock which was covering the opening of the tunnels, back over the opening.

"Where are we, Alan?" Scarlett asked.

"We are a few miles South of the camp," He answered curtly.

Scarlett rolled her eyes and turned to me.

"What are we going to do, Amala?" She asked.

"I-I'm not sure, to be honest with you. I haven't thought about what we would do if this happened," I answered.

"I know what we should do! We should leave this fucker here while the rest of us goes somewhere else!" Aaron said, pointing to Alan.

"We can't leave him here! He'll die!" I said, whipping around to face Aaron.

"So what? Don't forget the fact that he had his people kidnap us!" He yelled.

"For once, I'm siding with Amala. We can't just leave someone here to die. He lost everything back there!" Lyndsey said.

"Fine. I hope you know what you're doing," Aaron said, giving up the argument.

"Our first priority should be gathering supplies. We have no food, no water, and no ammo. We should get those taken care of first, before worrying about anything else," Cody said.

"Alan, do you know of any other buildings nearby that might have some stuff that we need?" I asked.

He nodded, "There is a residential district not too far from here. If we can get there, then we can raid the houses."

"Alright! Lead the way, Alan!" I exclaimed.

Alan began leading us to the residential district that he was talking about. For the most part, everyone was silent yet again. Even the twins hardly said a word. As we walked down the dimly lit streets, crickets chirped in the tall grass beside us. Lurker bodies littered the street. The only light available was the light from the moon. Our footsteps seemed deafening in the still, quiet air. It was quiet, almost too quiet. Suddenly, two figures came running out of the tall bushes and into the center of the road. The figures turned around and faced where they came from. Then, a small group of Lurkers came limping out from the bushes, towards the two figures. I ran up with my machete in hand and sliced the head off the first Lurker. As the body fell to the ground, I turned my attention to the other Lurkers that were stumbling closer. I killed all of the others and turned to the two figures. I could tell by their silhouettes that they were both girls.

"Who are you?" I asked the two figures.

"My name is Hailey, and this is my cousin Levy," One of the figures said.

"Why can't we see your faces?" Aaron said, walking next to me.

"It protects us from getting identified by the people who run a camp that's a couple of miles North of here," Levy said.

"Well, that camp has been overrun by a Lurker herd. The leader of that camp is here, but he isn't going to hurt you," I said, glancing over at Alan.

Hailey and Levy turned to each other and took off the black cloth that covered their entire face, except for their eyes. Both of them have blue eyes, but that's where the majority of the similarities end. Hailey's face is a bit more narrow, whereas Levy's face is slightly less of an oval. My eyes landed on Levy first, then Hailey. Hailey is shorter than I am, while Levy is a couple of inches taller than me. 

"So where are you people heading?" Levy asked.

"We are going to the residential district to try and get some supplies since we've lost everything," I answered.

"Good luck with that. That community got surrounded by a rather large wall that's very difficult to get through. There isn't even a way to get out from the inside. No one goes in, and no one goes out," Hailey explained.

"That can't be! I was there when this whole thing started!" Alan said.

"Well, it has. If you don't believe us, we would be more than happy to show you," Hailey said, earning herself a stern look from her cousin.

"Hailey, we don't know these people. Plus, one of them is the head of the camp that was trying to kill us! How do we know that they are telling the truth about that camp being destroyed?" Levy whispered harshly to her cousin.

"Listen, you don't have to show us if you don't want to. We are going there either way. So if you want to go and check to see if we are lying about the camp, then go ahead! If we were lying, then you know where we'll be! Come on guys, let's go," I said. 

We began walking further down the road until we heard two pairs of footsteps running after us. Suddenly Levy and Hailey appeared by our side, walking with us. Aaron walked up beside me and began whispering.

"Are you sure that we can trust Alan?" He asked.

"He isn't that big of a threat, Aaron. He has lost everyone and everything he had back at the camp," I explained.

"But what about when we get supplies and ammo? How will we know that he won't turn on us?" He asked again.

"Aaron, we outnumber him. If you feel that uncomfortable, then we can all keep an eye on him to make sure that he doesn't do anything suspicious if you want," I offered.

Aaron nodded, "That would help a bit. Thanks, Amala."

"No problem."

*A/N: Hey guys! I'm so sorry for the lack of updates, but I have had some things that were taking up most of my attention. I will try to update as often as possible to make up for the recent lack of updates! I hope you all have enjoyed this chapter! If you have any ideas or suggestions, feel free to comment or send me a private message! I hope you all have a good rest of your day!*