Luke's Diary: An Unlucky Man In A Zombie Apocalypse. Entries 757 to 956

Entry 901: Saturday 16th March 2019

Entry 901
Saturday 16th March 2019

We're still in the underground bunker, and I'm really starting to think Kyle might have had something to do with the infected being broken out of the community centre.

None of us are very happy, a lot of us are scared and depressed, and some of us are trying to just make the best of things. I was surprised to find that I had an OK night's sleep. Obviously, I've got stuff on my mind but the bed isn't as uncomfortable as it looks. The GRID soldiers have been their usual, silent, moody selves but they've been going round us all one-by-one, handing out water and basic food rations.

Blade made another announcement today. "Ladies and gentleman," he announced, as his voice echoed across the bunker, "This is Commander Jon Blade, head of safety and security for The Global Response to International Disaster. I thought I'd give you all an update. My team and I have sadly still not found the infected man, but we are searching all populated and unpopulated areas of the island. I am very sorry to say that this unfortunately means you are all going to have to endure another night underground." A loud collective moan emanated from all of the residents, clearly unhappy at the thought of spending another night in the bunker. "I know you won't be happy about this," continued Blade, "But it is for your own safety. The good news is that ALL islanders have been accounted for and that we just need to find the lone infected man. The bad news means that searching for one infected when he could be anywhere on the island may take us longer than we expected. Sit tight and I'll keep you posted." "Great," said Trudy, rolling her eyes, "Another night stuck under here in this sh*t hole with all these sweaty b*stards." "Hang on," said Ash, "What he's just said doesn't make any sense." "What are you on about?" said Naomi. "He said ALL islanders have been accounted for," said Ash, "Should he have said, all islanders excluding the infected man. It sounded like he was saying the infected man wasn't from the island." Roz, Mike, Naomi, Cyn and I exchanged slightly awkward and guilty looks. "Are you saying that there's a chance this infected man might not be from the island?" said Richard. "Well that's what it sounded like," said Ash. "Oh, Ash shut up," said Naomi, "It didn't sound like that at all. God, you make everything sound like such a conspiracy. Why do you have to have such a suspicious mind?" Thankfully Naomi's comment distracted Ash and we moved away from that conversation and started talking about something else.

I had a bit of a chat with Roz and she told me that I needed to make more an effort with Kyle. I told her that I didn't think these were the ideal circumstances to be making up. "What are you talking about?" she exclaimed, "These are the perfect circumstances. You're here in one place and neither of you can go anywhere. Captive audience. Luke, you need to make up with him. I know he gives off this moody exterior, but you and him not talking is bothering him. He just hides it well." "Extremely well by the look of it," I said. "Luke, he's been walking around with a long face, moping around being moody," said Roz. "You've just described his usual every day behaviour," I said. "He's been going out for long walks on his own," said Roz, "He went for a walk the other night and he was at the park just hanging out on his own on the swings for hours." "The park?" I said, frowning with curiosity. "Yeah," said Roz. "The park near the community centre?" I asked. "Yeah," said Roz. "He was there on his own?" I asked. "Yeah," said Roz, frowning with confusion, "Why are you asking?" "What night was this?" I asked. "Not last night, but the night before," said Roz, "Luke what's with all the questions." "Don't you get it?" I asked Roz, "He was on his own for hours right next to the community centre. That night someone broke into the community centre and released the infected." "You're not saying it was Kyle, are you?" asked Roz. I told Roz what Kyle said to me yesterday and how my suspicions were first aroused then.

I grabbed hold of Roz's arm and dragged her over to Sci-Fi Cyn's bed where she, Naomi and Mike were sat. "It was Kyle," I quietly said. "Hang on, Luke," said Roz, "We don't know that." I explained how Kyle's behaviour yesterday made me feel suspicious and how I was now even more suspicious after Roz told me that he spent hours on his own in the park next to the community centre. "Luke, that doesn't make any sense," said Naomi, "Why would Kyle want to break into the community centre and release the infected." "To make me look like a pr*t," I said. "Luke, you look like a pr*t most of the time anyway," said Roz, "You don't need Kyle's help for that. Anyway, if that was true why hasn't, he said anything and told us that he knows about the infected we had locked away?" "Because he's toying with me," I said, "That's why he said what he said yesterday. He's trying to wind me up. We need to ask him where the infected is." "No. Wait. Hold on," said Naomi, "Luke, you don't know Kyle did anything. You've got nothing to go on. It's obvious it's Natasha who did this. I thought we all agreed on that." "If Natasha did this, then why have Jon and his soldiers not found the infected at Natasha's house?" asked Sci-Fi Cyn. "Cyn's got a point," I said, "After yesterday Blade will have gone to Natasha's and gone through her place with a fine-tooth comb. The infected is still missing." "Maybe Natasha has hidden him somewhere," said Naomi, "Or maybe Blade and his soldiers didn't look hard enough. I'm telling you; this has got Natasha's name all over it." "OK," I said, "If Natasha did take the infected, don't you think she'd tell that to Blade by now?" "Why would she tell Blade?" asked Naomi. "We've all spent a night underground," I said, "Natasha will be in one of the other bunkers. There's no point in her hiding an infected if she can't use him to prove something or to brag about getting one over Blade." "Luke, if she tells Blade where she's hiding the infected, she probably thinks Blade will kill it and she doesn't want that," said Naomi, "The longer we're all underground, the longer the infected man stays alive and that's what Natasha wants." "I don't think she wants thousands of civilians kept underground to keep one infected safe," I said. "I wouldn't be too sure about that," said Naomi, "That woman is off her head." "Sorry, but I think Kyle had something to do with this," I said. "No," snapped Roz, "Kyle had nothing to do with this. I know." "What do you mean, you know?" I asked. "I mean, I know Kyle," said Roz, "This just isn't the sort of thing he'd do." "Look," said Sci-Fi Cyn with a tone of authority, "The best thing we can do is to hang tight. They'll find the infected and then maybe we'll find out what happened, but right now all we're doing is guessing. Maybe it was Kyle. Maybe it was Natasha. Maybe it was someone else. Jon will get to the bottom of it eventually but what is guaranteed is that we will need to get our stories straight. We all knew about that infected. We're involved. We're going to have to face the consequences of agreeing to an infected being brought here from the mainland to show everyone how dangerous they are so we can win this election." "It was my idea," said Naomi, "I pushed for it. I'll take responsibility." "The person who needs to take responsibility is the one who released the infected," said Roz. "We have our part to play," said Sci-Fi Cyn. "Roz, just talk to Kyle," I said. "And say what?" exclaimed Roz, "Did you break into the community centre and release the secret infected we had chained up in the disabled toilet?" "Just try to be discreet," I said, "Ask him what he was doing when he was at the park all on his own. See what you can find out." Roz wasn't happy but she reluctantly agreed.

Later on, I could see Roz talking to Kyle and I noticed how Kyle was looking angry and defensive. Roz managed to calm him down but after a while he ended up storming off. I dashed over to Roz and asked her what she'd found out. "What happened?" I quietly asked, "You didn't actually mention the infected, did you?" "No, of course I didn't," snapped Roz, "I'm not stupid. I asked him if he went anywhere near the community centre when he was at the park and he said he didn't." "And you believe him?" I said. "Yes," said Roz. "Oh, come on, Roz," I said, "He's hiding something. Why did he walk off?" "Because he's a teenager who doesn't like being bombarded with questions," said Roz, "Sorry, Luke, but I think I know him better than you. I can tell when he's lying. I'm telling you, Luke; he had nothing to do with breaking into the community centre and releasing the infected."

I'm not sure if Kyle is telling the truth. Part of me thinks Roz would believe anything he says but IF Kyle didn't break into the community centre and release the infected, and IF Natasha didn't break into the community centre and release the infected, then who did? And how long are we all going to be stuck down here for?