Tristan Harlow:
I pull out one of my pistols and aim at the infected as they cross the bridge. My finger is on the trigger, and I'm about to fire, but stop. Rebecca is in the way, she's blocking the shot.
"Dammit!"
Running to the right, now at a better angle, I aim at the first infected again. Closing one eye, I fire.
Hitting and piercing the infected's leg, it leans over and drops off the bridge, plunging into the water below and making a huge splash. Two more infected reach the bridge, and I shoot them. They groan as they drop into the water.
"Rebecca! Hurry up! All this noise, it's only going to draw more attention!"
"I'm hurrying," Rebecca yells back.
Rebecca:
Running across the tiny sliver of leftover road, I eye the infected as they try to reach Bailey. Still hanging on, crying for help, I start running even more, throwing one leg in front of the other. However, one foot bumps into the other.
"Ahh! Son of a--"
Falling and hitting the bridge, I nearly roll off, but catch myself. While pushing myself up, I look over the ledge. The water, now a dark red, is littered with rusted cars that have fallen off. If I don't want to join them, I need to move slowly, but still be quick. Back on my feet, I move toward Bailey, slowly but steadily.
"Hey, hey, hey. Don't worry. Don't worry, kid. I'm here. I'm here. Come on! Come on!"
Grabbing and pulling Bailey up onto the bridge, she clings onto me, her hands wrapping around my body. Still crying, Bailey throws her face into my shoulder.
"Rebecca! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I never--I never knew I was afraid of height."
"It's okay. It's okay. You're safe now."
Patting her back and rubbing her hair, I pull her back and look at her.
"Listen, Bailey. We can't stay here. We need to get out of here. Now!"
I look behind Bailey and see more and more infected reaching the end of the bridge. Very soon, the whole bridge, or what is left, will be filled with them.
"Okay, okay, okay! Come on, kid. Take my hand."
I offer Bailey my hand. Bailey swallows a lump in her throat before taking it. Pulling Bailey to her feet, I start leading her away.
"Just follow me, and don't look behind."
Bailey nods, and together, we slide our feet against the tiny silver of the bridge. I look back at the infected on the other side. By now, there is a huge crowd of them, every single one groaning and swinging its hands. They keep trying to cross the bridge, but thankfully, they keep bumping into each other and falling below.
We reach Tristan, who puts his gun away, despite the steam shooting out of his ears. He nudges his head, and the three of us run. Running non-stop, going and going, past more rusted cars and over a rotting wooden bridge, we only stop when we reach a pair of metal doors. Panting, Tristan looks over them.
"What the hell?" Is this the entrance?"
"Yeah. It should be, but the doors should be glass, not metal."
Also panting, Bailey pushes herself up from her knees.
"Rebecca. If what you said is true, then the military must have changed the doors. Or reinforced them."
"Damnit."
Tristan grabs and pulls the handle, but the doors still shut.
"They're locked, and they looked too heavy to break down. At least, not without drawing too much attention."
I look back at the bridge where the infected horde still is. Without Tristain shooting them, a few make it across and start wandering.
"They're looking for us. Shit."
Turning back, I push Tristan and Bailey down. While crouching down, Tristan tries the door handles again.
"Yeah. It's locked. There's no way we can get through. Rebecca, is there another way in?"
"Maybe."
I start looking around. From a distance, the museum didn't look too bad, but now that we're up close, I can see how bad everything is.
Before, the museum had bridges connecting the two houses and the dock. Now, though, while the dock is still standing, there is only one bridge left. Honestly, I can't tell if the soldiers, chimeras, or the weather destroyed the other bridges. Either way, it looked like the only other entrance into the main house is from the dock below, through the shorter house, and across the bridge.
I turn back and wave my arm.
"Follow me, but be careful. The woods look rotten to hell."
Careful to stay out of the sight of the infected, I lead Tristan and Bailey down the ladder to the dock. Surprisingly, it's somehow still strong enough to support our combined weight. We crawl along the water before taking the stairs to the shorter house.
"Fuck!"
When Tristan places his foot on one of the wooden steps, it breaks, and he falls. His foot goes through the stairs, and the pieces of wood fall onto the dock, making a loud thudding sound.
We all slam our hands over our mouths. I look at the infected. The sound seems to have drawn a little attention. Some raise their heads, but quickly lower them.
"You okay?" Bailey asks.
She offers Tristan her hand, but he slaps it away.
"I'm fine."
Pulling his leg up, we carefully and quietly walk up the stairs. Once in the shorter house, seeing as it is empty, we make our way across the bridge to the main house.
Tristain is the first to reach another set of similar metal doors. Grabbing and pulling the handle, it swings open.
"It's open. Rebecca. Get out your knife. Just in case."
I nod and reach into my pack. Pulling out my kitchen knife, Tristan pulls out his lighter and enters the museum.
Finding ourselves in another cold, dark hallway, Tristan's lighter gives us a little light. As we walk around, I keep listening for something, but oddly, nothing.
"I don't hear anything. Do you?"
No. Still, that doesn't mean this place is clear. Keep your guard up. Both of you."
"Hey, what is this?"
Swinging his lighter around, we see Bailey in front of one of the museum's displays. She picks up a small white box wrapped in rope.
"It's something for people to throw into the water," I answer.
"What? Why would you throw this into the water?"
"What?" Tristan asks. "You never heard of the Boston Tea Party?"
"The Boston Tea Party?"
"Wait, you seriously never heard of the Boston Tea Party? What the hell? That's basic history."
"Yeah, well. I wasn't taught history in the bunker. I was taught how to survive."
"I wasn't aware being scared of heights is a part of survival."
Sensing a fight brewing, I shoot out my hands and stop the two.
"Not the time. Just, no! Come on. Let's get back to scouting."
Drifter and Bailey eye each other for a minute before stopping. While Drifter leads the way, Bailey puts the display down.
Making our way through the dark hallways, having to take a few more turns, we finally make our way to what looks like the building's stockroom. Finding a switch on the wall, Drifter flips it. Surprisingly, after a few flickers, a light comes on.
With the light on, we see a bunch of tipped-over or destroyed crates. There are empty gun racks lined up on the walls.
"Oh darn," Bailey says. "It looks like the soldiers took everything and left."
"Son of a bitch."
Sighing, I look around. Besides the empty crates and racks, I also see some tables and chairs. Most are knocked over, but a few face an old-fashioned blackboard. Kicking the blackboard, it slams into the wall before falling flat onto the floor.
"Will you please be quiet?" Tristan asks as he drops to a knee to check inside a crate. "There are still infected outside."
"What are you doing?" I ask. "I doubt there's anything left. It's just like Fenway Park. That, and this place, are stripped of anything useful."
"That doesn't mean we shouldn't check," Tristan replies, checking another crate. "Oh, and by the way, I did find some candies at Fenway Park."
"You did?" Bailey asks.
"Not for you. Anyway, as I said, it doesn't mean we can't check. Besides, from the looks of it, we're staying here for the night."
Walking up to a boarded-up window, he peeks through the cracks in the scrap metal.
"The sun is setting. We spent the whole day trying to get in here."
"And it was all for nothing. A waste of a day."
"Maybe not. I'll keep checking these boxes for anything useful. If you want, take the package on a museum tour. Teach her a few things."
I shrug and offer Bailey my hand.
"Come on. Let's go and explore a little bit of history. Might as well since we're staying here for the night."