Zombie Parade

20: Tensions

Annabeth POV

Things became very tense in the weeks to come. There were a lot of raids happening. Sometimes, we sent multiple small groups into the city of New York. The goal was to stock up on supplies and food for a little while. That way, we can shift the guards to work on the perimeter. 

We've been having a lot more breaches lately. A few zombies here and there would break through the traps and get into the museum's perimeter. 

Of course, we always keep the museum locked. Plus, the guards on call would take care of the stray zombies. However, we need to fortify the traps again. Leo has a systemic plan to improve the perimeter traps, but we need materials to do so. 

That's why more people were going on raids. 

Right now, all the guards were congregated in the northern hallway. This is the guards' headquarters, so Chiron scheduled a meeting here. Currently, Chiron was sitting in his wheelchair on an elevated podium. Luke, Thalia, and I were standing next to him. 

"All right, everyone, I know you all are tired. Every group has come back from their raids. I hope you appreciated being able to pick your groups," Chiron announced. 

Everyone murmured in agreement even though not everyone agreed. 

"The good news is that no one has to go on a planned raid for (at least) three weeks. This is fantastic news," Luke continued. 

That made me smile. Raids are dangerous because we're going into a zombified world. It's scary to leave the relatively safe confines of the museum. Plus, everyone has made friends or has family here. It's frightening to leave them. 

My gaze wandered to Percy. He was standing near the left of the group. Every time he has to go on a raid, he worries about Stella. The fact that he's so scared to leave the baby demonstrates how much he loves her. 

A small smile was playing on Percy's lips as he looked at me. 

Why was he smiling at me? I have no idea. 

"Anyway, you all are aware that the perimeter is being breached daily. It's not a big deal, but we do need to fortify our camp," Chiron started. "Leo and I have worked out a schedule to make new traps and fix the old traps. Essentially, we want to fortify our perimeter so that zombies can't cross over anymore." 

Silence followed while everyone shifted uncomfortably. "I know tensions are rising because of the breaches. It's not easy to keep secrets in our camp," Thalia murmured. 

"However, we want to make the camp safer," I finished for her. 

Thalia tends to stray off-topic. There are a lot of things she doesn't like about camp. She doesn't like always being surrounded by people. Thalia is a wild spirit, so she likes to be independent. That's hard to do when you're constantly surrounded by others. 

After Chiron picked people for perimeter shifts, the meeting ended. 

Yes, tensions are rising. The notion of the perimeter being breached by zombies every day is a very scary thought. It'll be devasting if the zombies manage to breach the perimeter traps and the museum walls. That would be the end of this camp. 

Of course, we have several backup plans, but we don't want to lose lives. If zombies breakthrough, then lives will definitely be lost. 

"Nice speech from the leaders of the camp," someone whispered. 

A shallow breath wafted against my ears. Goosebumps spread over my arms as I turned around quickly. Percy smirked while steadying my body. I turned around so fast I almost punched him, but he was prepared for it.