In Between the Beyond (#1 in the Rotten Water Series)

Chapter Five: The First Vision

Slagel's Gas 'N Snacks - March 24, 2017 - 1:34 p.m.

They pulled into a gas station, running low on fuel. Tense and Kate filled up several gas cans, after Spencer had managed to rig the machines into releasing gasoline. Spencer then started filling baskets with food and drinks, while Martin searched the shelves for helpful medicine, hoping to avoid the medical building entirely. All he found, though, was some headache medicine, cough drops, and a box of tampons. He took them anyway, sitting them in one of Spencer's baskets.

Tense and Kate joined them back inside, claiming they safely placed all the gas cans on the floorboard. The four of them carried Spencer's baskets out to the van, and sat them on the back row seats. Then, they took off again, driving quite fast. According to Kate, the medical facility was nearby. They had seen a few rotts here and there, but not nearly as many as they would have expected. That worried Martin incredibly, because for all he knew, they could be driving into the predicted herd at that very moment.

Kate came to a stop. He looked at the building through his window, unable to tell what the industry's name was since the print on the brick walls had faded. They got out of the van, examining their location. Other than the dirty brick building, the area was relatively clean, seemingly not too affected by the outbreak. Tense led the way to the front, in clear desire to hurry things along.

It was silent inside, yet strangely disturbing. The outbreak may have not disturbed too much outside of the building, but it definitely made an impact on the inside. By the looks of it, living people had been here, as well. Things were broken and shelves were empty.

"Let's try upstairs," Kate suggested.

The four of them jogged up the cement staircase, wasting no time at getting to the top. There was a locked door with silver chains securing it. Tense rammed himself into the door three times before coming to the conclusion that they'd need a better way to open it. "Kate, Spencer, you guys go downstairs and see if you can find an axe, or something similar to it. Martin and I are gonna keep trying to get through the hard way."

"It's a building of medicine, not weapons," Kate pointed out sarcastically.

Tense sighed, "just look for something, please and thank you."

Kate nodded, then followed Spencer down the stairs, leaving Martin and Tense above. They counted down from three, then rushed dramatically into the door, but still, no progress.

After several long minutes of hardship, Kate and Spencer came bolting back up the stairs, holding a machete. "This might work," Spencer smiled, handing it to Tense. "I found it on a sink next to a dead rott. Someone must have left it there." Tense examined the machete, then slammed it onto the chain with perfect aim. It took nearly thirty swings before the chain finally snapped.

"You guys should probably get back a little," Tense suggested. "There might be rotts inside." They each took a couple steps backwards. Tense had his machete at hand, then with a nerving push, he opened the door. There was no noise coming from inside, so they entered.

Spencer automatically ran to the shelf of medicine, stuffing it all into his bag, but Martin spotted something different. He noticed a very thin wire trailing from the door to a wooden crate. He cautiously opened the crate, surprised to see what was inside. "I think we should hurry the hell up," he concluded prominently. They rushed over to him in curiosity, peering down at the same thing he saw.

"Why is there a bomb in here?" Kate asked, unaware of the wire.

"To keep the dead out of their stuff, maybe?" Spencer answered unsurely.

"By having it all blown up if a rott messes with it?" Tense questioned, raising an eyebrow. "I don't think so. Besides, it's only been like a day since this all started. Some selfish asshole probably found this place before us, and-" His eyes widened instantaneously. "It's a time bomb. Eight seconds. GET OUT!" They practically teleported out of the room, jogging down the steps. Kate and Spencer were far ahead of Martin and Tense, due to Martin knocking over a flag in front of them.