Quietly, I explored Chestnut Academy.
As I passed classrooms, I noticed that most of them had curtains drawn over their windows, meaning they were occupied.
Somehow, Burner had managed to keep tens of people under control. I figured feeding them must have been difficult until I realised the southern building had its own cafeteria.
It must have been stockpiled with enough food to last them a while, assuming that they had a system to distribute the food correctly.
On the bottom floor, I found a heavily barricaded door that would lead to the field between the southern and northern buildings.
It had wooden planks nailed across it, and a crowbow stuck between its handles for extra security.
Curiously, I took a step towards it.
"Augh. Gaghh."
The noises were faint and seemed to be coming from a distance, but I could hear them.
Zombies. A lot of them.
I tried to find a window that would give me sight of what was going on, but all of them were barricaded.
It wasn't hard to guess though. Zombies must have infested the field, stopping them from being able to reach the northern building.
Burner and his 'Crew' had been held up I'm the Southern building since the beginning, with no plans of escaping.
As I walked through the dimly lit corridors, I wondered something to myself.
Just how long will we be able to last like this?
For the time being, I brushed the thought to the side and found a room to claim as my own.
Unlike my brother, I chose the bottom floor.
For some reason, it felt like the better choice for
It seemed that Burner must have cleared out the zombies inside of the southern building because I found no signs of them.
I wasn't tired, but it was important for me to try and sleep, otherwise I'd end up tired midday.
And so, I laid myself down on a desk and let sleep take me.
———
That night, I dreamt of terrible things.
I saw glimpses of a future plagued with millions of zombies. What we knew of our country, Aelora had been wiped away and turned to ruins and ashes.
Zombies walked every city as though they had claimed the world as their own.
No humans were in sight. Only the living dead.
I awoke from my sleep, startled and sweating, only hoping that I was not some sort of prophet. Otherwise, my visions would come true.
I decided not to dwell on the dream. After all, there were more important matters to focus on.
It was sunrise, and I had woken up to the sounds of commotion.
———
I had slept in my military outfit, so needed to waste no time getting changed.
The commotion was coming from nearby and only grew louder. I wondered to myself then whether zombies had somehow broken inside.
I cursed the fact that I was unarmed.
I should have asked Burner for a gun!
Hurriedly, I made my way outside my room and rushed towards the sounds of commotion.
They led me to the cafeteria on the bottom floor. A large, white room with many chairs and tables ordered in long rows. At the far end of the room was a counter where the dinner lady would have served meals, and behind that was a storage room.
In the storage room, I saw roughly twenty people gathered, all arguing with one another. They carried a depressing anger to them, which made sense under the circumstances.
In the crowd, I spotted Jake, the man with the bandana from yesterday with a gun in his hand.
"I didn't take anything, I swear! I don't even eat much."
"He's a liar. Look at his belly! The fat fuck probably ate it all already."
A round man, wearing a checkered shirt and greasy jeans was arguing with another lanky man in a suit. After being insulted, the fat man shoved the suited man, sending him stumbling backwards.
Others nearby didn't help de-escalate the situation. Some tried to join in with the fight, whilst others wanted to break it up.
It was only when Jake threatened to start shooting, that people started to calm down, though only slightly.
I saw no sign of Burner. He needed to get there before things went any further.
Before someone got hurt.
I stepped forward, starting to make my way towards them. I was a newcomer, but I was also Burner's brother.
Perhaps I can do something to—
"Don't bother."
A feminine voice stopped me in my tracks.
I turned my head to the corner of the room and saw a young girl sitting there, away from everybody else.
She sat with her back leaned against the wall. She wore an uncaring expression on her face.
She looked like she was roughly fifteen years old. She wore a white dress, black slip-on shoes, and a neat black bow tie around her neck.
Her hair was cut short to her neck, and bright blonde like my own. Her eyes were green and carried sadness behind them.
She wasn't even looking at me as she spoke.
"Don't bother with what?" I asked, confused.
"With trying to help them. Or anybody. We are all doomed anyways."
She spoke as you would expect a young teenager to. With attitude, and snark.
She was the type that I found annoying, however, I couldn't help but find her interesting.
Not in a weird way. After all, she was probably two or three years younger than me, but rather, her behaviour.
She was the only one in the room who sat away from the conflict, not caring to get involved.
Gradually, I made my way over to her, ignoring the arguing for the time being.
"That's no way to talk. Things might seem bleak... but there's still hope."
"Pfft."
She didn't seem to agree.
Now standing close to where she sat, I got a better look at her. There was definitely sadness in her face.
"I'm not talking about the zombies." She retorted. "I'm talking about this place. Chestnut Academy."
What?
"How? My brothers created a safe settlement amidst the chaos. What more could we want?"
"Safe. Hmph. It wasn't safe for my brother."
The words made me go silent for a moment.
So that's why she seems so sad. She's suffered loss.
However, as sad as it was, Burner can't save everybody.
That's the problem with leadership. Everybody throws their problems at you.
"Look, I'm sure he tried his best. Burner is a good leader. He will try his best to do what he can for us all."
In truth, I didn't know anything. I just arrived now and knew nothing about exactly how my brother had even established himself as a leader. All I guessed was that he used his weaponry and charm.
But the girl's face slightly twitched into a smile. Not one of joy, but rather one that suggested she was talking to an ignorant child, even though she was a child herself.
"You don't understand what I'm saying." She said, resting her chin on her palm.
"Then tell me."
The blonde-haired girl looked up at me, staring into my eyes deeply. It was as though she was weighing me up. Testing if I was worthy for god knows what.
Then, she finally spoke.
"The zombies didn't kill my brother. It was Burner. He's a murderer."
My heart sank into my chest.