Consequence

Chapter Twenty Four

Though it took a while to find their way in. Eventually Ada and Tommy found themselves stuck in the darkness with only their flashlights to light the way. It seemed the plan to wait until nightfall had worked. The horde had eventually moved on in search of easier prey. Chasing off after wildlife that had also come out at night to hunt for its next meal.

To say the abandoned quarantine zone was rather unsettling at night was an understatement. With no streetlights along the roads or storefronts lit up with their open signs hung in the windows, it was like walking through a ghost town. Though with all the bodies of both the long deceased and put down infected littering the floor; it appeared to be an accurate likeness. The shadows seemed to move of their own accord, against the moonlight that hung clearly in the sky. The roads no longer looked like roads anymore, overgrown with an abundance of trees and vines twisting themselves around every building and sprouting from the cracks of the tarmac to the point; the surrounding area looked more jungle than town. Rain water and burst water pipes had run through streets working its way through the decaying structures; leaving nature to craft her own ponds and rivers, bringing with it a long dead old world that was now evolving into something new. The sound of the rushing water did nothing to calm the nerves, and Ada and Tommy were very much still on edge.

They kept close, both very aware of the fact that neither had any bullets left to defend themselves with; instead taking with them more blunt objects of wood and a lead pipe found in a scramble as they'd made their way inside. It was better than nothing in their opinion.

They moved on, never uttering a word to the other until they came to an abandoned check-in point. Finding bodies of burned infected scattered by the front an old rusted gate. The bodies had long gone cold but as the two shared a look, they both knew it had to be the work of Ellie and Dina.

They've been here. The thought crossed both their minds as they continued on further into the town. It brought with it a sense of relief for Ada. That heaviness in her stomach dissipating even just a little bit, knowing that the girls had made it past the horde and hopefully somewhere safe for the night. She fell back into a steady pace beside Tommy as they walked, hands gripped on both their weapons ready at an instant to strike at any moment. Boots scrapped against the hardened ground, kicking the gravel of loose concrete and crunching dry grass that poked through, in its struggle hide the ugliness of old forgotten roads.

Breaths echoed in the air that seemed to thicken with tension. Waiting for a screech, a cry or a gut wrenching roar of the infected... But it never came. Silence was all that greeted them. Endless and foreboding. Ada moved to follow her brother in law as he darted down an alleyway, both instinctively keeping their backs against the wall as they moved. And then they heard it.

A cough. A single cough.

It stopped them both dead. The anticipation of the silence being shattered had caught them cold. They glanced at one another, Tommy raising his finger to his lips and Ada nodding in understanding as he gestured forward. They made their move, squatting slightly and keeping low as they rushed forward towards the sound.

The man, around forty years of age, heavy set build and balding slightly, stood with his back to them smoking a cigarette. The two crept up behind, and before Ada could stop herself, stumbled against a shard of glass, smashed from an old car window. The man swiftly turned on his heel at the sound, eyes wide at seeing the two.

"Oh fuck!" He hissed with hatred in his glare. His hands fumbling for the shotgun strapped to his back, as he moved to aim it at Ada, but Tommy was quicker. Swinging the lead pipe down upon the man's skull with a sickening crack as he fell to the ground. With failing strength the man pulled a blade from his belt; slashing it at Tommy's middle, the younger Miller quickly sidestepped the attempt as he swung the pipe down over his head over and over. His breath heavy and ragged as he grunted and hissed with every ounce of strength he had in him. The man's head beaten and crushed, until all that remained was a bloody mess, the splatter marking Tommy's face as the adrenaline drained from his body in an instant. Letting the bloodied pipe slip from his fingers as he took a step back, he gasped a breath as his chest heaved and burned.