"New places help us look at life differently."
~~~~~~~~~~~~
We walk for awhile until we reach a building with stone walls and stone roof. Didn't look too bad for the world we live in now but, hey, it's something.
Celestia starts to growl in my arms. (And yes I carried her all the way here, which was like, a 5 mile walk.)
"Celestia? What's wrong girl?" She struggles in my arms, signaling she want's down. I set her down carefully. She sniffs the air and Recoils back into my legs. "What is it?"
"There's a lot of smells here. There's a lot of people here I should say. So that's probably what she smells." The stranger said and started walking towards the big building.
I reach down to pick up Celestia, but she starts to follow him. (But limps on the way.)
~~~~~~~
When we reach the main entrance (Which we had to go through layers of gates to get through.)
The stranger hits a button on the side of a door, then a keypad shows up. He presses the keys in a certain order and the door opens. We walk inside and see two guards blocking the rest of the way in.
"Who is this?" They both point to me.
"She's a survivor, not bitten, not infected, she needs some supplies." He says and the guards look at each other and nod and they let us in.
"Hold up!" One of the guards say and I look back to see what was wrong, and they got Celestia.
"Hey! Let her go! She's with me!" I say but they don't release her. "Hello?! Did you not hear me?! She's my dog! Unhand her!"
"It's bleeding, we need to take it in for an inspection!" One of the guards say as he rings into a walkie-talkie.
Celestia whines.
"No! You can't take her from me! She's mine!" I try to get her but the stranger grabs my shoulder and turns me towards him.
"She has an opened wound. It's protocol for them to check to see if she has any infections." He turns around and continues walking.
I turn back towards them and tie her to a lead. Celestia looks to me with that sad puppy look on her face.
"Don't worry girl, I wont be far. I'll be right her when you're done..." I say and her face brightens up a little and the doors shut.
"Are you coming or not?" I look behind me and see the guy standing there.
I wont lie, he does look intimidating.
Maybe scary a bit.
I just shake the thought off and continue to follow him.
"Why don't they do the same thing for humans?" I ask as we walk.
"What do you mean?" He says without making eye contact.
"Do that protocol for humans? Aren't humans more open than dogs to get this infection?"
"Heh, don't worry, they probably made a call in for you already. So when we get to the main area, the doctors will probably be waiting for you. And.. What makes you think that Humans can get infections faster than dogs?" He finally looks at me.
"Well~ I've seen many zombie movies... And... It seems humans get the virus faster than animals... So I was just wondering..." I say.
"Haha! Those are movies sweetheart. They aren't all true. This is real." Then the real reality of this finally hits me. We are in a apocalypse! A zombie run world! And...
Oh no..
My parents!
That's why I came out here!
To help them!
And Katelyn! Oh no...
The stranger must've seen my face because he was looking at me strangely.
"What's wrong?" He asked.
"M-My parents! T-There're still out there! I need to go find them!" I turn around and try to run to the entrance but he grabs me.
"Woah, woah, woah! Hate to break it to ya, but... They're probably gone... It's been too long..." He slowly releases my wrist.
"N-No! They're still alive! I know it! They are strong! They can survive anything...!" I pause.
"That's what they taught me..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The doctors did eventually find me, and they took me in to do some tests.
It wasn't that bad, except they had to inject needles into me. Which hurt...
A lot.
But I managed.
After that was done and I passed I walked out and just looked around.
This place was big, which I could understand because it had to hold, what? Couple hundred, thousand people?
I walked around and observed the place.
In the middle of it all there was a huge window in the ceiling, and a averaged sized tree standing in the middle.
Well they gotta get their oxygen from somewhere...
And around this area were hallways that lead every which way. There were some food stations and food courts where people could sit and relax. There were bathrooms and play areas for the little kids. Which is nice, it gives the kids a break on worrying about the world they are living in.
I walked around a little more and realized the layout of this place.
This was the mall that I would always go shopping at with my friends.
How did I not realize this sooner?!
I walk around for what feels like hours and come across a sign that says: "Dorms"
Hmm I didn't know this was associated with a college too. (Sarcasm). I follow the arrows on the sign and eventually come across a booth.
"Hello ma'm. Do you need help with anything?" A lady says from inside the booth.
I think to myself.
Hmm. if I'm going to stay here, I'm going to need a room.. But I'm not a hundred percent I'm actually staying here or not. I'll have to check with the stranger...
And I also have to figure out his name...
Heh, add that to my to-do list.
~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hey." I whip around to see who the voice was coming from.
And I see the stranger.
"Umm... Hi?"
"I just got news that they finished inspection with your dog, she's waiting for you in the laboratory."
"Really?! Take me to her!" I say and I jump out of my seat. And he takes me to Celestia.
*
"Celestia!!" I say as I see her running around the corner. I bend down to meet her as she crashes into my arms and attacks my face with kisses.
"Oh~ I missed you so much! Mama will never leave you again, I promise!" She continues to attack my face and whine at the same time, while I look over to see the stranger looking at me.
I push Celestia off me a bit, but still licks my hand as I do so.
"Soo~ I never got you're name..." I start to pet Celestia's head.
He looks down for a bit. Then looks back up.
"Why don't you tell me yours first? Besides... I'm the one who saved you." He smirks, then winks at me.
I roll my eyes, "Is this going to be the excuse you use all the time on me?"
He nods, still keeping that smirk.
I sigh, and think for a moment. "I don't know... Will you tell me yours if I tell you mine? Or will I have to keep referring to you as 'The Stranger' in my head?"
I looks up at me and smirks. "So you think about me often in your head?" He starts to laugh
I face-palm as I just realized what I said.
"No, I didn't mean it like that! Ugh! I meant.... Rrg... It's Aphmau!"
He stops laughing and tilts his head. "Aphmau?"
"Yes..." I look down at Celestia who is currently nuzzling in my lap.
"Hmm, that's different.."
"Are you going to tell me yours?" I ask.
"Hmph... I don't know. I think I like 'The Stranger' more!"
I growl. "Hey! That's not fair! I'm going to need to know your actual name if I'm going to stay here for the rest of my life!"
"Who said you were stayin'?" He said in a dark tone.
I gulp.
I guess I shouldn't just assume things here.
Everything was silent, except for the quiet sounds of people talking in the main area, outside the room.
"Aaron."
"Huh?"
"Name's Aaron." He says, it seems like he just forgot what happened.
"Well, nice to met you,"
"Aaron."