When the City Dies | Dangerous Fellows

~1~

Max Costello could almost hear their own heartbeat as they crept through the halls of the abandoned high school, their backpack slung over their shoulders. After debating the idea in their head for hours, they had decided to leave the rest of the survivors and strike out on their own. Although they hated the idea of being alone, this place no longer felt safe, especially because of what had happened in town earlier that day when they went looking for food and medicine. They had no choice but to leave their friends behind.

If I could survive on my own for months, I can do it again, Max reassured themselves.

It had been three months since Max had taken shelter with a group of other survivors in an old high school, and even longer since the undead had taken over the city. Nobody knew where the virus had come from, but one thing was for certain: everything had changed. Max hadn't heard from their mother at all since the outbreak, and they had been surviving on their own until five boys their age named Lawrence, Ethan, Eugene, Harry, and Zion had rescued them from a bunch of zombies and brought them back to their hideout. And although Max was relieved to have company, this place was no longer safe for them. They needed to leave.

After everyone had gone to bed, Max left a note that they slipped under Harry's door before bundling up and stealing some food and supplies from the storage room. All they had to do now was sneak off of the school property without running into those on nightwatch. They could do this.

Max had become close with most of the other teens in the survival group, but there were a couple of kids, Scarlett Hornby and Jay Nunez, who clearly hadn't wanted them around. And, perhaps too coincidentally, both of them had died recently, and Scarlett's death had been the most shocking. But it wasn't just the kids who had seemed annoyed by Max's very presence: their best friend and ex girlfriend, Judy McAllister, had gone missing not too long into their stay. But while it was assumed she had run away, Max had found her favorite hairpin in a box in the basement.

"This all seems to relate to you," Sue Xing had warned Max a few days before. That very night, she had disappeared.

It had been hard to hear, especially after being blamed for Judy's disappearance. But Max wasn't the type to ignore warnings: they wanted to leave before they put themselves - and the others - in more danger. And they certainly weren't comfortable around Lawrence anymore, even though they struggled to admit it to themselves. They hated the thought that the deaths and disappearances had a chance of being their fault.

Slowly, Max began to make their way down the flight of stairs to the first floor, being careful with every step. They momentarily wished that their Converse were more padded so they wouldn't make as much sound, but hopefully, their steps went unheard. Time seemed to move slowly, and the silence was defeaning.

At last, Max made it to the bottom floor of the school. They prayed that they wouldn't be caught red-handed by those on nightwatch, as they didn't want to face one of their friends, especially Harry, Ethan, or Eugene. Although their mind had been made up, they much preferred not to argue on why they shouldn't stay with people they had become close to over the several weeks they had stayed here. They couldn't think about how everyone would react to their disappearance.

Of course, it wasn't like Max had no idea of where to go. During the search for food a couple of days prior, they had encountered another survivor who had been a friend of a madman Lawrence had killed. He told them about a place called the Safe Zone, a safe haven for survivors of the zombie virus guarded by the military. He even handed the friends a spare map detailing directions towards it. At the group meeting that evening, however, Lawrence stated that they shouldn't go to the Safe Zone yet, claiming that they couldn't risk their lives for an 'unreliable rumor.' While Max could see where he was coming from, they disagreed, as did many of the others. But Lawrence was the leader: what he said went.