章節 8: Infected

Tristan Harlow:

Fenway Park is a massive stadium, a combination of old-fashioned brick walls with rusted, green beams. As Rebecca, the package, and I make our way toward the entrance, I can't help but notice all the abandoned military vehicles and knocked-over fences everywhere.

"You said this was a shelter before," the package asks, examining a run-down, rusted military truck. The wheels are flat and decay, the windows are all broken and shattered, and the tarp that covers the back is ripped and torn.

"Yeah," Rebecca replies. "The first few years when the chimera invasion started, the military told us to gather here. We grabbed whatever we could and carried it here."

Stepping over a metal fence, we reach the entrance and walk past some booths. Careful not to make too much noise as we walk through a maze of long, dark, empty hallways, Rebecca and my lighter being our only guide, we eventually reach the seating area, and beyond that, the field.

The baseball field is covered in tents, of all different sizes and colors. While most of the tents still seem secured to the ground, a few of them are turned over and torn, revealing only leftover trash and stain-covered pillows and blankets.

As the three of us make our way down toward the field, I look up and notice a massive tarp covering the entire field.

"Is that for the air," I ask, pointing at the tarp.

"Yeah," Rebecca replies, "It helped for a while, but eventually, we all had to move into the bunkers."

"What was it like," the package asks, "Living here?"

"What do you think," I answer, crossing my arms when we reach the bottom of the stairs. "Same as living in the bunker."

"Yeah but, you know," the package starts, "At least you had clean air for a while."

Shaking my head at the thought of "clean air", I look toward the tents.

"You thinking there could be something useful down there," Rebecca asks.

"Yeah. Might as well check. We are spending the night here."

"Come on, kid."

The first to leap over the railing and onto the field, my 20-year-old boots crushing the grass as I land, I start to head off.

"I'll check this end for supplies," I say, pointing toward the outfield. "You and her can start as home base. We'll meet back up at the pitcher's mount."

"Thanks, Babe Ruth," Rebecca replies, waving back.

Starting at the very end of the field, I start to open the tents one after another, checking for anything useful.

"Nothing," I say, opening a tent's flap and then closing it. "Nothing. Trash. Wrappers. Empty bags. Hey."

I see a few candy bars hidden inside a tent and reach to grab them. They're broken but still sealed in their wrappers. Quickly putting them into my pack, I begin to check the other tents. As I make my way around, I stop immediately when I think I hear something. Jumping into a tent, I slam myself onto the ground and stay as flat as possible.

"What was that?"

Reaching for one of my pistols, I carefully and quietly move the flap aside to see. It's not my imagination. There are some sort of faint sounds nearby. It sounds like chewing, but more gurgle.

Swiping my gun left and right, making sure the coast is clear, I slowly climb out of the tent. Stepping as quietly as I can, I follow the chewing sound. The sound coming from another dark hallway, I peek around to see what it is.

Rebecca:

"Do you think there's anything useful still left here," Bailey asks, checking a few tents ahead of me.

"Maybe," I reply, swinging open a tent's flap and finding nothing. "When we had to move again, we just grabbed whatever we could. Whatever we couldn't, we had to leave behind."

"Did you have to leave anything important behind?"

"Uhh, no. Not really. I usually travel light. Before the invasion, and after."

"If you don't mind me asking, what were you? You know, before the invasion."

"Actually, I do mind you asking me."

"Oh, sorry."

"Don't be. I just, rather not be in the past anymore. No point really."

"It's just, this is the only world I have ever known, and back in the bunker, I would hear the rebels' stories of what life was like before. Before the chimeras came. Before every day became nothing more than a fight for food and water."

"Yeah," I reply, still checking the tents for any resources. "Sure."

"Stories about blue sky and sunlight," the package goes on. "About not having to wear a mask all the time or having a gun with you."

"Okay kid," I say, turning to face her. "I got it. You're curious about what life was like before. Let me save you some time. It was a hell of a lot better than it is now. Now do me a favor and shut the hell up. And hurry up, Drifter is probably waiting for us and I rather not keep him waiting too long."

About to grab another tent's flap, I stop when I hear a bunch of gunshots not too far in the distance. The gunshots are then followed by snarling.

"Oh no," I say, pulling my rifle off from the side of my pack.

Bailey seeing me do this does the same and pulls out the pea shooter I handed her earlier.

Tristan:

"Son of a," I say when I peek around the corner.

At the very entrance of the dark hallway, barely any light hitting it, is an infected. Its charcoal skin blends in with the darkness, it goes right back to eating what looks like a rat

The infected lunging at me, I waste no time and fire my pistol. The sound of gunfire echoes throughout the entire stadium, the infected falls to the floor only a few feet from me. As it falls, I look at it better.

"Son of a," I whisper, blood flooding from it toward me.

Its skin is blacker than charcoal, its yellow teeth stained red from the half-eaten rat still grip in its hand, and whatever clothes it still had on were nothing more than just pieces of rags, covered with more red stains.

Seeing the infected's blood about to reach me, I take a step back. Walking around the dead infected, I get down on my knee and start to loot it, going through what is left of the pockets. As I search, I hear some noise coming from the dark hallway.

"Fuck," I cry, searching around the final pocket and finding nothing. Just as more infected burst out from the darkness, their yellow teeth shining like the sun, I get up and run as fast as I can.

The hoard chasing after me, I turn around to fire off some shots. My shots only slow the hoard down at all. I stop only for a second to think which way is out.

"This place is a damn maze," I say, looking left and right. I look and look but both ways look the exact same. "Which way to home base? Which way to the home base!"

Hearing the hoard as they snarl and get closer, I pick right and start to run again. The hoard following me, I see only more pathways and no exit. With no time to stop, I choose the left pathway.

Running down the left pathway, something charges out from a tent and knocks me to the ground. A body in a tarp, I pull it off and reveal an infected woman. The infected pinning me to the ground, her hand slamming my hand with the pistol onto the ground, I have to use my other hand to keep her from biting me.

As I struggle to keep her off of me, I see out of the corner of my eyes all the infected from the hallway. Stopping only when they reached the same split I did, they see me immediately and all charge toward me, their yellow teeth drooling.