How the hell did I get myself into this mess? A few months ago I was the leader of my gang...okay well of my three member gang...fine, one member and one psycho bitch that wanted to kill us, but that's not the point.
Now I'm lying on the wooden floor of a cabin suspended 50ft in the air having just survived some crazy satanic ritual where I got a crazy symbol nailed into my arm. I'm having a bad day and I blame everyone else in my group for this...why was I the one chosen to sneak into Rufus' room and spy on him? I'm not particularly cunning or sly, Jiko is. I'm not particularly smart, Mel is and I'm not particularly...that's enough of that.
Thinking back months ago I thought things were going well, relatively speaking. The world had begun to go to shit with the zombie apocalypse and all but at least I had a plan. If you remember I was with two other girls after Friendship Heights fell to ruin thanks partially to the United States Military coming in and torching the place to the ground.
Vankelia was a sweet, quiet and quite adorable (blush) Liberian-American girl before the outbreak happened. Although she remained adorable a vicious side of her appeared. I'm sure her survival skills set in but she became a fighter and a good teammate even when we led our coup against Elizabeth and her crazy ways.
The other girl with us, Ashleigh, was a small blonde girl who didn't seem to draw attention to herself much. I know she came from a rich family but even that was hushed by her personable and humble nature. But after we successfully left Elizabeth behind, Ashleigh went bat shit crazy. When I say bat shit, she tried to kill us!
After I subdued her (I guess Vankelia can get some credit for it) we found out that Ashleigh knew of a hideout, a safe house, a base outside by Arlington where we could find safety and protection. I'm not sure why she had to kill us for it but we tied her up, hitched her onto a small little wagon and planned on heading out there.
At least that was the plan. A few rogue herds of zombies littered the streets down Wisconsin Avenue towards downtown DC and we had to take an alternate route. Ending up by American University the first night we heard gun shots and flashes from IEDs, I think that's what they're called -- I did see "The Hurt Locker" after all.
"I think there are people at AU." Vankelia said as we hid in the now decrepit Japanese Ambassador's home. It would hold for the night since the edifice was made from white washed stone but boarding up the entire house was nearly impossible and we only had enough to hole ourselves up in a tiny room...not big enough for a long haul.
"Should we try and go there?" I asked, remembering that we still had Ashleigh to worry about. We had her tied to a chair on the other side of the room.
"Fucking let me go. Seriously. I can help you." She said struggling to loosen her bind. Vankelia got up and slapped her across the face hard. So hard, in fact, I winced and felt bad for Ashleigh.
"You listen here, bitch. You shut up or I'll feed you to the zombies. I have no use for you. I really don't. I have no heart left and would not feel an ounce of sadness if I watched your body be ripped apart."
"Wow Vankelia, that's enough!" I said surprising myself as to where I had found my voice to say something to her. "Let's just tie her mouth and she'll stay put." I pulled her aside, far away from Ashleigh's earshot.
"Maybe once we get to AU, we can find someone to help us get the info out of her."
"Torture?" Vankelia asked. My eyes grew wide at the suggestion...but I shook my head.
"No...I...I don't know. But we'll see who's there and if they're even willing to help us."
Morning came and we headed off to the main campus. With only a few zombies pocking the street, it was easy picking and gave me some much needed warm up when I hacked their heads off.
American University was a sight to behold. Each of the entrances to the main quad had been blocked off with barriers, chain link fences and barbed wire. We saw a guard tower shoddily made from old wooden boards and a person standing atop keeping guard.
"Help us!" I yelled up. The man looked down, his gun pointing out on us.
"We have no room." The man said. I looked past him into the open quad behind. It was green and spacious and definitely not crowded.
"What do you mean? I don't see anyone in there." I said. From behind me I could hear Ashleigh trying to speak from behind the cloth we used to gag her mouth. "Keep quiet." I told her. "Please sir, we've been on the run for weeks...we just want some rest and security."
"I said no!" The guard yelled. Again Ashleigh struggled to say something.
"What is it!" I said removing her mouth gag.
"Let me speak to him!" She insisted. Not sure where this was going, I looked at Vankelia. She motioned her head to let her up but she kept a knife pointed at Ashleigh's back.
"So rude." She said over her shoulder before looking back at the man. "Jonathan?" Ashleigh asked. The man removed his helmet revealing his baby face. He couldn't have been more than a year older than us. "Jonathan Masters?"
"How do you know my name?" The boy asked.
"Your dad works with my father. I'm Dr. Canton's daughter, Ashleigh. We used to have play dates when we were younger."
"Oh my God! Hey Ashleigh! I didn't recognize you there." He said.
"Can you please let us in?"
"I wish I could but I'm not allowed to. Those are my orders."
Ashleigh gave Jonathan a cheeky grin and immediately turned around. "Fucking asshole." She said under her breath which caught me off guard. "We're getting in one way or another." She said sounding sure. Vankelia gave her a look but Ashleigh reassured her worries. "Just trust me okay? I'm tired of running around too. I'd like to get in. I'm sure they're unable to guard the entire perimeter. We just have to scout the area and find the weak spot. Got it?" We all nodded and began to look.
After nearly walking the entire perimeter of the campus, we found a spot by the seminary behind the school that was unguarded and hidden from view from the guard posts on either end. "This is where we sneak in." Ashleigh said. "Ready to climb?"
I looked up the fence and noticed the barbed wire at the top. I gulped the fear that settled in my throat.
"Stop being such a wuss." She said giving me a look. "I'll go first since you're being such a baby." She began to climb. Vankelia followed her immediately. They were both already near the top before I mustered the courage to follow. After several minutes I had jumped down on the other side with only a few cuts and scratches.
"Thank God we made it." I said as the three of us looked up at the fence we had just climbed.
"Huh, funny running into you here, isn't it?" A voice from behind us said. We all craned our necks slowly to reveal the owner of the voice.
"Wow...it is..."
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