Days of Decay

Chapter Twenty Eight

Max estimated it would take them about three hours to reach the dock on foot. The idea of walking for that amount of time assaulted Asha with thoughts of all the things that could go wrong between then and getting there. There was so much time left to chance, so much time where anything could happen, and not for the better. But they had no choice, and according to their leader, the road that led to Harbour was a desolate one. In other words, there was little to no chance of finding another car to use.

With an air of acceptance, the group simply walked with one destination in mind, a new home.

They had taken about five minutes to rustle through their bags and produce suitable disguises for their journey; all sticking with their signature styles of post-apocalyptic fashion, branding themselves without knowing it.

Asha wore her trusty cape coat paired with skinny jeans, Doc Martens, a maroon handkerchief covering her lower face and a pair of thick sunglasses. It felt slightly odd to be back in her stealth outfit. Her mind had settled into a less paranoid frame of mind, what with her emotions being spilled and her brain finding comfort in a sort of love. But being back in her fighting clothes, she slipped straight back into the 'all-out war' mind-set she disliked so much.

Kill or be killed.

She kept herself near the front of their hurriedly moving posse, along with Max who walked with a long stride. They had trekked for just twenty minutes, keeping on the very side of the road in case unwanted company came along, but Asha was already getting tired, hot and bothered. The sun was blaring on them, unusual for November. So much so that when she looked ahead, the horizon on the road danced and blurred in the heat.

"This must be the final test," she said to Max, her voice muffled by her handkerchief.

"Somethin' like that," he replied, his own voice distorted by his nerve bending ballistics mask. "But we're getting' there. Noah, the leader of Harbour, will hardly be able to contain himself, I'm sure."

"Is he who you spoke to?" Asha asked, her mind conjuring up an idea of Noah.

She thought it ironic that his name was that of the biblical man who harboured those in a freak, worldwide collapse. She also found it comforting in a strange way. The image of a tall man with broad shoulders, and a knowledgeable, weathered face came to her mind.

"Yeah. He would not stop talkin' about you. He's a scientist, the main guy working on the cure, so you can imagine how exci-" Max began but he stopped sharply and lifted his arm to her chest, causing Asha to look quickly to him.

The freckled girl followed his eye-line. Her stare widened. Right ahead of them, a person had run out into the road from the trees. He wasn't facing them which meant that he somehow hadn't seen the gang of frighteningly dressed people coming up behind him. He was also not wearing any camouflage which meant he was immune. He seemed to be concentrating on something just in front of him, he had a catapult in his hands and he was pulling it back. Asha looked quickly to the road ahead and noticed a huge rat scurrying away from the man.

The man let the catapult go and something small and hard flew through the air with a whistle before smacking the rat into submission. The man grabbed the air with one hand in celebration and started to run towards his catch when Max began his walk once again.

The rest of the group followed cautiously as Max led them up onto the road. The shuffling and movement of them caused the man to finally turn around and notice the company he was in. He looked like he was Korean, tall and lanky with limbs far too long for him, his oversized coat drowned him and his scruffy beard made him look much older than he probably was (perhaps late twenties). What was more noticeable about him was the look of utter terror on his face. That was when Asha realized who they looked like.