The Wall Six
Councilman
Troy Hudson walked into Head Council Grimes’ office without knocking since the
situation was so urgent. He noticed that Judith Grimes sat with her father
speaking in low tones when he interrupted.
“Council
Grimes, I have some distressing news to inform you of. It’s rather important.”
He tried to be cordial.
“Can’t
it wait, I’m talking with my daughter.” Rick spoke softly.
“I’m
afraid not, there’s another ongoing attack in the south eastern providence;
Columbus Square. At this time the NCD have been unable to retake control and
has fallen back to containment until reinforcements can arrive.” Troy spoke
urgently.
“I’ll
come back tomorrow morning, dad, you have….business.” Judith could barely hide
the resentment in her voice. She never liked Councilman Hudson. He’s a little
older than she but with a harsh ambition that Judith classified as ladder
climber. He’s the kind of person that would sell his soul for fame and fortune.
Judith
stood and kissed her father on the cheek a bit dishearten that no one seems to
see him the way she did. He’s been through so much since the start of the
infection that the deep lines etched on his face betrayed his real age of only
63. He lost his friends, his wife; a mother Judith never knew.
She left the two to talk and
leaned against the closed office door thinking she had to contact Carl and tell
him about another attack in the city. It was already past curfew and even being
the Head Council’s daughter wouldn’t protect her completely if she’s caught out
on the streets. But she had to get to Carl and the Dead Heads right away.
On the other side of the
city another citizen was dodging the screeners out past curfew as well. Hank
and Marla walked the nearly empty streets of New Charleston in search for
Hank’s daughter Jen.
“Where the hell would she
go? We don’t know anyone here yet?” Hank said in a harsh whisper.
“There
are plenty of children Jen’s age here alone. They lost their parents or group
before arriving which is why we’re checking the group homes in the area. Teens
tend to hang around outside them.” Marla explained. “There are two big homes in
Columbus Square.”
Hank was
beside himself with worry. For a second he thought facing down hordes of undead
outside the Wall would be preferable than losing Jen in this densely populated
city of survivors. Why didn’t they just stay in the settlements?
The pair
turned a corner onto a narrow, sparsely lit street in Columbus Square. Unlike
the streets they passed where a few people mingled outside, this square was
completely empty and still.
“Wait.
This…..this doesn’t seem right.” Marla stopped in her tracks. The city is
usually still alive after curfew with sounds of residents inside their homes
but it was dead silent. A loud crash sounded in the direction they had come.
Behind them a door burst opened and the dead piled out of a two story brownstone.
“Walkers!”
Hank yelled and gripped Marla’s wrist, the two began to run further into the
square.
“Walkers?
What the hell are so many walkers doing in the city?” Marla couldn’t believe
it. The walker attack days prior was unbelievable but now she counted at least
a dozen Zeeks making their way up the street. This is impossible.
“Come
on, we gotta get off the street!” Hank was stunned. He didn’t think after a few
days of living in the only human city left on the East coast that he’d be
running from a horde or walkers and his daughter would be missing. His heart
ached knowing she was alone in a city starting to fill with the dead.
The pair
rounded a corner and was greeted with a horrifying sight. There, in the square’s
park was a resting herd of walkers. There were too many to count and many of
the wounds were fresh. Fresh bites and scratches which leads one to believe
these were the now infected residents of Columbus Square.
“My God!
Where the hell is the NCD?” Marla asked in a panicked whisper.
“Looks
like we’re on our own. Where is that group home?” Hank spoke low; still a few
mingling walkers closer to them started to react and soon the whole herd will
be down their throats.
“We can’t
keep looking….”Hank cut Marla off with the fire in his eyes.
“I am
going to find my daughter, now where is the home?” Hank spoke a little louder
than he intended. Marla knew not to argue and pointed to a four story building on
the other side of the park. The pair started off for the home keeping low and
quiet.
Just
leaving the inner Wall, Judith exited the transport on the first stop. She
would walk the rest of the way taking back alleys through the providences in
case she was being followed. She could at least get a look at the damage from
the latest sham attack as her route would take her through Columbus Square.
The
inside of the group home was quiet and dark as if the residents either fled or
turned. Hank told Marla to stay quiet as he went meticulously from room to
room, clearing them. After so many years living on their own, the skill to
avoid walkers came second nature. The first floor was free of dangers and Hank
moved on to the second while Marla stay in the main living room to sound an
alarm should walkers get in from the street. So far, they remained quiet as to
not draw any attention.
Marla walked into the big
kitchen to see bowls of food still steaming on a set dining table. They were
just about to eat when this happened. But why isn’t the NCD here? Why is there
no containment and more importantly, why is there no help?
Hank
came down after checking all the floors and he had a small jean jacket in his
hand.
“Jen was
wearing this….there’s blood on it.” Hank’s voice cracked. He can’t believe his
little girl is gone. She’s strong, a survivor; he wasn’t writing her off yet.
“I’m
sure she made it out. From the little I’ve seen of her I can see she’s stubborn
and that’s a good thing.” Marla smiled a little hoping Jen was okay. The sound
of glass breaking caught their attention as walkers tried to get in the front
door. The back door was there in the kitchen and Marla grabbed the knob to open
it when Hank caught her hand.
“Wait!”
There beyond the glass were several gray faces pressed against it. The door
began to bow under the stress. “We’re surrounded.”
“How do
we get out?” Marla felt the panic in the pit of her stomach threatening to make
her lose her dinner.
“We go
up.” Hank ran to the staircase stopping at the bottom, he motioned for Marla to
go ahead of his just as the front door burst open and a flood of walkers
streamed through the opening. “Go, go, go!” Hank yelled.
Not
stopping, they ran past the second and third floors to the fourth. The stairs
will slow the walkers down as they attempt to navigate them but only for a few
moments.
“Where?
Where do we go? My God, we’re trapped here.” Marla held her elbows, she didn’t
want to die like this.
“Here.”
Hank reached up and pulled a cord hanging from the ceiling. An attic space
above the fourth floor opened up with a ladder sliding down. The moans were
getting closer as Marla gripped the steps and hurried up. Hank was right behind
her and slammed the ladder closed just was the walkers reached the fourth floor
landing.
The
attic was dim and smelled of mildew. They still needed to find a way out of the
attic unable to live there indefinitely. Hank heard the sound of shuffling feet
from a dark corner.
“Shit.”
He whispered. How could a walker get up here? He had to take care of it and
grabbed the nearest blunt object, the base of a lamp with its cord dangling as
Hank held it like a bat. He lifted it high above his head.
“Stop!
It’s not a walker.” Marla yelled just as Hank was about to swing. There in the
corner was a group of children ranging in age from about 8 to maybe 16, five
children in total. “It’s kids.” Marla spoke softly. The children huddled in the
corner with scared wide eyes.
Judith
walked the narrow streets of Columbus Square unsure as to where everyone was. The
square was quiet and almost empty. This was odd with a district further away
from the inner Wall. There should be groups of people at the local bar, a few
milling around trading goods and services, but there was no one. She also didn’t
see any sign of attack or the NCD. Perhaps Councilman Hudson got the report
wrong. Judith continued to walk further into the square her steps echoing in
the empty street unaware of the looming horde of undead just beyond the park.
To Continue….
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