We walk at a slug's pace with Monty in the mix. But honestly, I can't really complain because Ash and I walk several paces behind them. Ellis is busy talking to Becca while she holds Monty's hand and pulls him alongside her. We're far enough behind that I can't really decipher their words, but Becca looks back a few times and shoots Ash and I mischievous smiles. I can only imagine what Ellis is telling her.
"We're cutting it really close," Ash mutters into my ear. I'm about to ask if he's talking about our time getting to Ostford, but when he gestures to the sky, I know what he means: it's getting dark.
"I wonder if Ellis plans on having us stop anytime soon." I adjust my heavy backpack on my shoulders and ignore the aches in my thighs. We've been walking all day and shooting only when necessary. Being immune is nice on my part, but it doesn't really make a difference when the rest of the group isn't.
"Hey, Ellis," Ash calls out. He waits for Ellis to look back expectantly. "It's getting dark and there aren't any buildings nearby. Plan?"
Ellis halts and waits for the two of us to catch up to him. Once we do, he continues walking, though Becca and Monty now lead the way. Becca picks Monty up but doesn't slow her pace. Ellis joins Ash's side. "There should be a water tower nearby. The higher, the better."
"Wait, we're climbing?" Ash raises an eyebrow.
"We could keep a lookout and watch for any threats. I'd suggest otherwise, but buildings will be sparse from here on out. The closer we get to Ostford, the more desolate it gets."
"The boy is sick," Ash says in a low voice. "We can't take him up there."
"Yeah, I thought that too..." Ellis does his usual chin-stroking as he ponders other options. "Well if we take the next road right, we'll run into a restaurant. That might not be a bad place to stop. Whaddaya think?"
"That's probably better," I say. Ash nods in agreement.
"Cool. Hey uh, Scar...so I didn't wanna bring this up just yet, but with our time so limited and our fates uncertain, there's no better time than now." Ellis slows a little, forcing me and Ash to slow with him. It creates greater distance between us and Becca, but she doesn't seem to notice.
"You tested your immunity back there. It's true." Ellis looks between me and Becca with his voice barely above a whisper.
"Oh yeah," I say. "You saw?"
Ellis nods excitedly.
"I did too," Ash adds. "You're so stupid Scarlett. What if you hadn't been?"
"Then I would've shot the dang thing before it reached me," I answer.
"Well, I'm glad ya did," Ellis says. "Now we know what we're dealing with. Your buddy is probably immune, as well as the rest of ya seniors."
"Yeah, so what exactly does this mean?" Ash narrows his eyes and stares straight ahead where the sun begins setting. The road stretches on far and empty, surprisingly not a single car blocking our path. "Scarlett, did you tell Ellis about the Safe House?"
I nod. "He knows. But I didn't tell him about the Hazmats."
"What Hazmats?" Ellis looks at me.
"Someone went back to the Safe House after Scarlett got out," Ash explains without hesitation. Looks like he finally trusts Ellis. "My teammates and I went back too, but only to pick up survivors if there were any. I wasn't with them, but my buddy Neil told me he saw a group of people wearing hazmat suits collecting the zombies. They shot at my group and probably killed all of them. Whatever they were doing, they didn't want anyone knowing about it."
YOU ARE READING
Desolation ✔️
Action"Hope is the only thing stronger than fear." *** After a virus outbreak leaves the world in total destruction, Scarlett Evans is one of the few survivors left. Her only home was swallowed in an explosion during a war with the infected. The Safe Hous...
