Shattered (Complete!)

Chapter 7

"It's okay, you can come out." I heard Alicia mutter.

"Are they all gone?" Yorik asked from somewhere behind me.

"Yes. They went far away. I just saw them limping towards the other side of the road." She said.

I pushed the door and came out of the abandoned car at a gas station.

This was our second zombie sighting today. The first one was at an ice cream parlor where there were two of them who we managed to kill easily. They're pretty slow from humans.

"Okay, so, what do we do now?" Asked Sam, who got out of the car's backseat along with Yorik. "Shall we camp in tonight?"

"We can, actually." Yorik replied, staring at the sky.

It was a bright sunny afternoon. Almost half past twelve. Ig was getting difficult to walk farther with little stock of water, though we had been grabbing water bottles from the diners earlier.

"Let's just find a safe diner and camp in." Alicia said, looking exhausted.

"Guys, why don't we just drive this car instead of walking?" I insisted.

This was the only car we had spotted while walking down this shortcut. People didn't seem to use this road much before the apocalypse.

"I think that's a good idea." Yorik smiled at me. "I can drive well."

And the decision was made. I checked for petroleum and the tank was almost full. Yorik said that it'll last for a day or two.

Yorik sat on the driver's seat while I sat beside him on the passenger seat. Alicia and Sam took the backseats.

It was a black sedan which looked pretty well maintained. I found a wallet on the dashboard.

There were a few currencies and a visiting card.

T. S. Julian
Counselling Psychologist
88/A, Harrison Road, Peter Wood.

"Look at this." I handed the card to Yorik who had already hit the gas pedal.

"Poor fellow. Must've turned into one of those." He frowned and pulled out of the gas station.

"Can I see it for a minute?" Sam snatched the card from me from behind.

"Mr. Julian? Oh no." She stared at the card worriedly. "He used to stay a few houses down my grandma's. A good old chap he was. As a kid, I used to play with his grandson, Miller."

"You knew this psychologist guy?" I asked, staring outside the window as we passed swamps and grasslands.

"Yes. Since childhood. They were good family friends. I hope his family is not dead."

It took another hour to reach Harrison Road. It was a wide highway in the countryside.

I could see a few farmhouses and ranches scattered around on both the sides of the highway which seemed to be lifeless.

"Which house?" Yorik drove slowly, staring at the houses and squinting his eyes due to the sunlight.

"I'll tell you." She said, staring wide eyed outside, and looking carefully at every house. "Drive a little farther."

As we reached a bend, I spotted a hoarding of a local milk company. Right there, on the hoarding, something was written in bold black letters.

"Yorik, slow down." I ordered, trying to read the letters.

JULIAN COTTAGE. REFUGEE AREA
THE HOUSE TO THE LEFT NUMBERED 46.

"What on earth?" Sam gasped. "Mr. Julian has started a refugee camp right in his cottage, eh?"

"Actually-" Yorik started to tell about the call.

"Which one is your grandma's place?" I asked to change the topic and Yorik gave me a dark look.

I'll probably tell them about the call later. We need to find out if it's safe.

"It's right there." Suddenly, she said happily. "That one with blue curtains."

We all stared at the small one storied cottage at a distance. It's windows were draped with light blue curtains. It crouched low into the grassy land, as though it were trying to hide, but the misshapen slate roof was too large to go unnoticed.

"Let's just park it here." Yorik said as he pulled in at the side of the grassland, behind an ancient Oak tree.

"Are you sure about this?" Alicia asked Sam as we got out of the car and stepped on to the grassland.

"Yes, how can I not recognise the house in which I've spent most of my childhood days?" She sounded pretty offended.

"Not that." Alicia said calmly, "The fact that this place is safe. I was asking about that."

"Yes, of course, it will be. I can't see another of those zombies here." She stated, walking towards the main door.

"Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?" I heard Alicia calling out just as I started walking.

"Yeah, sure." I turned back and saw her, standing near the car and frowning at me.

Yorik and Sam were almost near the doorway of the cottage.

"What is it?" I asked as she came forward near me.

"Well, I heard you talking on phone last night." She muttered. "Do you mind giving me an explanation?"

Crap! She has heard it all. Play it cool, Rachel.

"Oh, you did?" I tried to sound as surprising as possible.

"Of course I did. I was awake for a few minutes as I thought I heard someone talking. Then I heard you." She rolled her eyes. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Hey, that call was from a girl named Theo who said that she's calling from a place where she has got everything. And she said it's right here at Harrison Road." I explained. "I didn't say it to you two because I know Sam's character very well. She'll straightway go to that place without second thoughts, just to be safe. We still don't know what's waiting for us."

"And that's why you cut across Yorik when he tried to say about the call, didn't you?" She scowled.

"Yes. And that Julian cottage is the refugee camp. It's crystal clear now." I replied.

"What are you two talking about?" Yorik shouted. "Come here."

I found him and Sam waiting patiently for us in front of the door.

The door was framed with what looked like a plank of wood around the outside edges and one across the middle for strength, it had the clawed, slightly bubbly look of wood that's starting to rot at the joints. The bottom half looked like a flimsy piece of plywood had been nailed in place and painted.

"One, two, three!" Sam whispered and knocked.

What do you think will happen next? Who's in the house?
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Your feedbacks are appreciated! :)