Chapter Eleven : Conflict

Ava stood frozen to the spot unwilling to move, behind her the service station building may as well have been on the moon. The two armed men who had just kicked the crap out of Samuel called and beckoned to her but she was unable to move caught in the grip of fear. Sam's breathing was more of a heave as he lay face down on the concrete near the pumps, he had paid a heavy price for going to her aid. An aggressive man in his twenties was waving a military style assault rife at Ava, causing her to flinch every time the barrel pointed directly at her. The other man was older maybe in his forties but it was clear the younger man was in control here. The older man content to stand in the background sniggering. The lack of response was infuriating her captor as he stood in front of the vehicle they had pulled up in. He raised the stock of the gun to his shoulder pointing it directly at her face as she started to whimper, her face scrunching as her mouth contorted, tears streaming out blurring her vision. Flinching at the sound of a gunshot, she barely registered her attackers demise as his head exploded backward in a spray of red coating his partner with a mist. The other mans face went from a snigger to a look of shock as his partner dropped. It happened within a couple of seconds but it seemed like forever as the crying girl collapsed onto her knees as his partners body fell. His brain tried to iron out the inconsistencies with what he thought would happen and what his eyes were seeing. The next shot caught the older man in the chest opening his back and painting the ground behind him. He fell back the shock on his face continuing into death. On the building top Ethan breathed heavy, waiting for something else to happen. Nothing did, the two men lay dead as Ava stumbled over to Sam crying uncontrollably.

It was a good fifteen minutes before he managed to pull himself together enough to climb down. He had just killed two people, the thought made him sick and as he made his way over to Ava the sight of the bodies made him retch and fall to his knees shaking. Samuel was sitting up now, his face bruised and scratched from being hit and thrown to the ground. Ava came to Ethan's aid, helping him to stand in an embrace that turned into a hug. He shook uncontrollably, the outpouring of emotion making him cry as well. They worked together to help Sam up and into the backseat of the car. He was in a lot of pain, it hurt to breath and he was sure his ribs would be broken. Ava was concerned that they might have a punctured lung. Still they couldn't leave, the car was almost empty, they still had to get the fuel that they came for. The fish tank pump they had connected to the generator seemed to be doing the job however messy and slow it was. It had been Sam's plan to use the pump to pump the fuel out through the inspection point and it had been working well up until they were interrupted. It was just lucky that Ethan had been on the roof scouting with the scope, when their attackers had rolled up, had he been with them they might have all been killed or worse. He sat still shaking as the pump extracted the fuel from the underground storage into jerry cans, he had wanted to get as much fuel as possible but now he just wanted enough to fill the car so they could leave.

"Can you get their guns?" Samuel called out to him as he was filling the car using a funnel.

The thought to collect their weapons hadn't even occurred to him, truthfully he didn't even want to look in their direction again.

"I'll do it." Ava cut in seeing Ethan's face sink as the very thought turned his stomach.

She returned with the assault rife and a pistol as well as a knife and some tools from the ute they had been driving. Chucking everything into the boot they sped away leaving the corpses for other dead to consume.

It was a shock to the system and it was with fried nerves that they returned to the shop. It was like a surreal dream that Ethan kept expecting to wake up from at any minute. Ava was quiet, tending to Sam without complaint, Ethan suspected the brush with the violent men had left her scarred. Samuel on the other hand took his emotions out in the form of anger. He made it clear about how he felt towards the dead men, it sucked the humor out of him and turned him bitter to the point that even Ava didn't want to talk about it anymore. Staying inside they descended into a dark place, the weather changing as the warm season faded and the cold nights came creeping in. One good thing happened that warmed Ethan and gave him the boost he needed, Ava came to his bed, climbing under his blankets and wrapping her arms around him in a warm embrace. He nestled his head against her warm body and slept the best sleep he had in his life. The feelings that she evoked in him gave him a high that had been missing lately and made him think again of the future and after a month of hibernating, wallowing in pity, it was time to make plans again. In the time they spent hidden away, there had been a change in the dead that roamed in the street. The walking corpses became less common giving way to a darker more mobile creature. They moved with intelligence, around the buildings, climbing fences and stalking prey. Ethan had watched one break a window to climb into a house, looking vaguely human as it climbed through the window, it's dark skin silhouetting it's form against the white painted house.

In the end, it was as much the need for human contact, that was to drive them from their cocoon of safety as it was their dwindling supplies. Samuel's ribs had almost healed, hurting only when he exerted himself beyond his capabilities. Once again they left the relative safety and comfort of their dwelling, this time they made a beeline for the hospital. Going by their internet list of survivor groups, this one seemed most likely to have the things they needed. If they were going to set up anywhere by themselves they would need medical supplies and a working knowledge of a power system. The hospital was the only place they knew for sure with a backup system. Ethan wasn't excited about meeting other people again, still having uneasy dreams about the two men who's lives he had ended. They were hoping to find that the people in the hospital would be friendlier. Their hopes were looking thin as they pulled into the lot, parking amongst other smashed vehicles. It looked as though there had been a battle sometime in recent history, blood stains covering the ground. Scraps of bodies, left overs from being feasted upon littered the surrounds. As they got out Ethan stood in something that resembled intestines but were black and rotted. It made him want to puke as the smell of death invaded his senses, the feeling to just get back in the car and leave was a struggle to overcome. He looked at Ava who gave him a look that was both understanding and also encouraging. The front of the hospital was cluttered with hospital beds, chairs were thrown in a heap making a haphazard barricade. As they walked closer to the entrance it was clear that the power was on, between the upturned beds was a lit hallway leading to a reception desk. Ethan paused when he seen the entrance, it was clear that this building had seen its fair share of violence, the walls of the corridor were sprayed with blood and the floor layered in drag lines.

"Looks friendly." Sam joked with a smile.

"Do we still want to do this?" Ava questioned them both sensing their hesitation.

"We have to do something." Ethan said quietly

"Whoever is here knows about power." Sam added as they looked at each other in conformation.

"You should stay with the car." Ethan said looking at Ava who gave him a look that showed she didn't approve. "In case we get into trouble." He added

"I can handle myself as well as both of you." She argued but Ethan cut her short.

"In case we need you."

"I would rather come with you." She insisted and Ethan didn't argue further.

As the three of them entered the hallway cautiously with guns drawn they were slow to realized it was not unoccupied. Resting across the counter was a large rifle camouflaged amongst the rubbish and boxes that were piled around it, behind it sat an old man. They were almost half way to the counter before Ethan realized that the man was there, he stopped in his tracks studying the mans withered face. Ethan had to call out stop as the others kept walking ahead of him, they turned to look at him but his eyes were glued to the rifle. He wanted to raise his gun but he knew how easy it was for the man to end his life, instead he crouched slowly laying the glock at his feet. Ava was the first to realize what was going on, putting her gun down as well. Sam stood with his gun pointed at the ground not willing to drop his weapon but acutely aware of the tension it was causing.

"What do you want?" The wrinkled man called out now that his position was given away, not taking his eye from the scope.

"We got the address off the Internet." Ava was quick to reply.

"Damn doctor." Ethan heard the man mutter. "We don't take people in anymore." He called out. "Besides you look fit enough to me."

"We were hoping to get some supplies before we head out to the country." Ethan called nervously.

The old man gave a huff before a silence that continued on for what felt like forever. At fist Ethan thought the old man was considering it but after a time he began to think the man was simply waiting for them to leave. Just when he started considering making a retreat, a radio crackled and the man announced their arrival into it. The reply came back fast saying to hold until someone called Stephen could arrive.

"Just wait there!" The man ordered unnecessarily.

After what felt like twenty minutes but was probably only five, another man glanced around the corner before disappearing again.

"Who are you?" He called around the corner.

"I'm Ava, this is Ethan and Samuel." She spoke back before Ethan could say anything.

"How did you get here and why?" This man seemed to want to know more about them, Ethan hoped that it meant he was considering letting them inside, although at this stage he would have been happy just to leave.

"We seen the post on the Internet so we drove here." Ava it seemed was doing the talking for all of them.

"Where did you get the guns?"

"From the northern district police station."

"Well holster them and make your way down here slowly." The man finished.

With that they went down introducing themselves properly. The man with the rife was an elderly man named Gerald, he had come in for a checkup on his heart after the quarantine, luckily for him his heart much like the rest if him was in excellent shape. When people started dying he had become a permanent resident of the hospital, helping where he could, lately, it was as a lookout. The doctor was a middle aged asian man who introduced himself as Dr Chorn and left it at that. He was friendly but quite formal about it as he beckoned them to follow him. They left Gerald at his post, traveling through corridors to a nurses station. The surrounding cubical style compartments had been turned into make shift rooms, more makeshift stalls than rooms. The hospital feel was gone, replaced with a homely feeling as people sat talking and sharing stories or food, playing cards and board games to pass the time. From what they could see there was maybe thirty people, many of them old or sickly looking. To both sides were forking corridors leading to stacked piles of beds blocking the way through. There didn't seem to be much in the way of guards except for Gerald or a real sign of any structure to the setup. The clinical lighting was softened by the less than clinical setting that the hospital had degenerated into. Many people had replaced the plastic curtains with blankets or decorated the walls with pictures of various sorts. People sat gawking, making Ethan think that they didn't see many new comers, some drawing their curtains trying to maintain some privacy as strangers trudged in. The doctor slumped into a chair inside the u shaped nurses station before swiveling to face them.

"So what is it exactly that you want here?" He questioned.

"We were hoping to stock up with first aid kits and maybe some antibiotics and painkillers." Ava spoke first.

"And we want to know about the power too." Ethan chimed in, his response getting raised eyebrows from the doctor.

"Power you say?" He echoed back. "I'm not sure how much help we can offer you there. The medical supplies shouldn't be too much of a problem though." He shifted in his seat before he spoke again.

"So do you mind me asking, how have you survived by yourselves for so long?" Dr Chorn asked looking them over one at a time. Ethan got the feeling that he was testing them or looking for signs that they might be lying. It peaked his curiosity but at the same time caused an uneasy feeling to fill him inside.

"We have been hiding out in a shop." Was his quick reply, simple and too the point with enough explanatory power to satisfy the doctors curiosity.

"Have you had any encounters with the Morlock yet?" The doctors question confused them and he must have been able to tell, as he continued on explaining.

"The zombies that are thriving, getting faster and smarter, we have nicknamed them the Morlock." Looking at each of them he continued. "It's from H G Wells, the time machine. Well anyway it's the name for the other species of humans that evolve in his story."

"Ive seen them." Ethan piped up when he had finished his explanation. "The dark shy creatures with all the muscles."

"They don't just have the muscles, they have the smarts too." The doctor explained tapping his head. "I don't know how you have been getting by but I'm not sure it's such a good idea to be taking off by yourselves anytime soon." His words sent a chill down Ethan's spine, as if this man would hold them captive, the very thought scared him more than ever, the doctor didn't seem too menacing however. As he sat forward to offer them something to eat, Gunshots erupted stopping his offer short as behind them in the corridor Gerald made a noise that sickened Ethan and conjured his imagination. The station became a mass of scrambling people as anyone who could stand, rushed to wherever they thought would give them the best vantage. Guns that had been hidden away came out as everyone prepared for whatever it was that had made Gerald gurgle and then squelch. The trio all pulled their glocks, backing to take cover behind the counter of the nurses station, waiting for whatever was coming next.