Science Fiction Smackdown II Entry (Zombie-Fun-Excitement-Spectacular!!!!)

Chapter 1: A Hotel

David made sure his feet were firmly planted on the branch, then leaned out around the tree trunk, trying to get the whole of the hotel, and the lawn in front of it, into his view. It was difficult - the constant light mist of rain had made the tree branch slick under his feet. David pushed the thought of falling out of his mind and wrapped his arms around the trunk, knowing that his clothing - a fleece pullover and a t-shirt - would be soaked through in minutes. It was worth it, though. If this place played out the way he hoped, they'd have a chance at surviving, maybe even a good chance. It wasn't exactly what David had hoped to find, when he had led the girls into the national park, but it was the best thing he'd seen thus far. Besides, it was a warm day, for April, and it was still hours before dark. As long as it took them no more than a couple of hours to find somewhere dry, with a good, stout door and a proper lock, David could afford to get a little wet.

Laid out before him was an expanse of golf green, followed by a swath of decorative lawn, a paved parking area, and a huge hotel complex. The lawn had once been well-manicured – after all, it was in the middle of a golf course - but it had gone untended for months, probably through most of the winter. There was new, green growth starting, but there were large areas that were still dead and brown. The green areas seemed to have attracted a half-dozen sheep, no doubt escaped from some neighbouring farm over the long months since their owners had died, or changed. David wondered if it was difficult to kill a sheep.

The hotel itself seemed to be in reasonably good condition. In places it stood three storeys tall, red brick walls punctuated by strips of windows, the red roof liberally sprinkled with sky lights. There were no burned-out sections, no gaping holes in the roof, and only a few panes of broken glass. The car park was full of vehicles. It looked for all the world like the staff and guests had all decided to play an enormous game of hide-and-seek and were waiting with bated breath, for someone to find them.

David smiled to himself. A place like that would have kitchens that might contain still-edible food, neat rows of jars stacked in some back room. It probably had a pro shop that might contain clean, dry clothes. And best of all, a sprawling complex like that would most likely have an emergency generator. Depending on how much fuel was left, there was a possibility of at least one evening with electric light. Maybe there was an electric oven, and they could have roast mutton. David indulged for a moment in the fantasy that the hotel obtained its water from a private well, or had cisterns to store water in case of emergency. If either of those were the case, then there could be a hot bath, and the chance to wash clothing in a proper machine. The girls would like that. No, it wasn't the military base he had been hoping to find, but for now, at least, it would do. It would more than do.

As if attuned to David's thoughts, a curious voice called up from below.

“Well?”

David looked down at the girl. Chloe was thirteen, as was her friend, Amy. They had been classmates before the epidemic, and had attached themselves to David shortly after Christmas, when the world had finally decided to shudder itself into pieces. To David’s mind, they were two halves of the same girl – same height, same lithe, childish build, same bored expression whenever he spoke to them. If it weren’t for the fact that Chloe’s hair was dark and Amy’s fair, David doubted he could have told them apart, even after spending several months with them. He was only seven years their senior, but the gap between them seemed infinite.

“I'm looking, give me a moment!” he called down.

Besides the sheep, the greening lawn was empty, save for a single, humanoid figure. At first, David couldn’t say if he was watching a man or a woman – or indeed, if the creature standing before him was even a person, still. It was only when the figure began to walk that a sudden flush of warmth bloomed in David’s chest. The figure wasn’t shuffling along in the way that recent months had taught David to fear. Each step was crisp, the foot lifting high enough to swing clear of the grass, the movement determined and purposeful. It was not one of the broken dolls that haunted David's nightmares. It was a proper person, an older, bearded man, utterly harmless-looking. David almost felt like laughing, and he sighed, leaning against the tree trunk in relief.