Knox Event - The Collapse - Chapters 2 & 3

[TheMitcher]

Chapter 2

 

        In a dark, deathly quiet corner of a bedroom of a house somewhere in Muldraugh, the silhouette of what appears to be a man clutching his wife in mourning. The moonlight beaming through the boards in the window reveal the woman's leg to be broken, mangled even. It was wrapped in a hastily applied splint and bandages. However, something seemed terribly off. Instead of the scene being filled with either the sobs of anguish or a speech; it was filled with the sound of flesh rending, tearing and the sound of soft snarls and growls. Intermittent chewing echoed in the room between tears.

         It's storming heavily outside for the first time since this started, and a flash of lightning pierces the umbral sky, and light breaks into the room; Revealing a man with a Bald spot in the back of his head devouring the still bleeding, twitching corpse of his wife. There was a broken bottle of wine and lamp nearby, which signals there may have been a struggle.

        Shortly after Ross managed to come to his senses, police sirens were heard in the distance, and a man stepped out to begin heading to the door.

        "They're right this way." Kate said, instructing the officer to the door. He stepped in and gave a rather warm smile.

        "Hey, I'm Officer Anderson." He said, "I was told there was a situation?"

        "Yeah, this guy, he-he came up. Thought he was having a hangover so I asked if he had a good time last night and offered him some lemonade. Though admittedly, I poked a little fun at the situation." Russel said as he began to explain.

        "You made fun of him?" Officer Anderson asked.

        "More the fact he seemed like he had a helluva night." Ross replied "What happened afterward?" The officer then asked.

        "He just kept coming, and something about it didn't sit well with me. He didn't say anything, didn't listen when I told him to stay back..." He said, then began staring off, "I held him back and he kept moving his head like he was tryina bite me. So I put a punch right to his jaw, broke it and knocked him down. But he just got back up and tried again. After a gut punch, I realized that he didn't care and pushed him away for something that *would* stop him."

        "Hold on, you say you broke his JAW and he was still biting?"

        "He was still biting, yeah..." Ross said with a nod, "I kicked him off and rushed for the first thing I could find, which was a hammer in that toolbox, but he grabbed me from behind. We... We tumbled over the couch and he kept tryina bite. I overpowered him and... And I hit him..." I said, "Three times... Didn't flinch the first two, but stopped moving completely by the third."

        "Did he have any identification?"

        "Yeah, checked his wallet, it's next to him." Ross said, pointing to Jack's ID, "Name was Jack Smith... Had his social security card on him too."

        "Alright, we'll get some guys in to clean up and look further into this. Was anyone else present?" Officer Anderson asked.

        "Just the kids, Link saw part of the struggle, but I had him go in and keep his sister calm. Afterward, had 'em barricade the door." Ross replied, "Kate came up after the fact and left to get you guys cause I was still in shock."

        "Alright, mind if I asked them about it?" Anderson asked.

        "That's up to their parents." Ross replied.

        "I don't mind." Kate said, shaking her head, "I don't either." Her husband added. After the affirmations, Officer Anderson made his way in to question the kids about the situation. After determining that it was indeed, self-defense, the officer called up some people to clean the scene and log further evidence before they left.

July 7, 1993

        The next Day, Millie began to develop one hell of a fever. She barely had the strength to move, and when she did it hurt. John was called over to check on her. He gave her some aspirin to help break the fever along with a variety of cold packs on areas that generated a lot of warmth.

        "This has been becoming a lot more common." John said.

        "How bad is it?" Kate asked, worried about the wellbeing of her daughter.

        "It seems to be a terrible flu, so make sure she gets plenty of rest, keep her cool and fed. Her body's gotta do the rest."

        "Mommy, granny came to visit!" Millie said, looking at a vacant seat in the corner. Kate's eyes widened as she began to tear up, falling into Russel's arms. John seemed more puzzled than anything, looking over to the vacant chair.

        "Um... Doc?" Russel said, placing his hand on John's shoulder, "Kate's mom passed away a few years ago, and mine hasn't been around since I was a kid." He whispered.

        "I fear her fever is making her delusional." John said, "For now, I'll give her a little something to help her sleep." He added, reaching into his bag to get a bottle of sleep aid in which he gave Millie a dose, "Go ahead and get some rest. I'll be back tomorrow to check up on ya." He added, packing his things and making his way off.

        "What do you say, sweetie?" Kate asked as she knelt next to Millie.

        "Thank you, Doctor Franklin." Millie said softly. The doctor gave a warm smile before making his way off.

        Alas, Millie's health tanked later that evening. Her breathing became intense and when she coughed, she began coughing up blood. Her mother sprinted off to get John and bring him back while Russel and Ross sat with Millie. Lincoln was in the living room, worried out of his mind.

        "I came as soon as I could, lemme take a look." John said as he entered and approached Millie. He took his stethoscope out and began listening to her heart, which was racing. Her breathing was raspy, and she seemed a little distended.

        "Alright, we'll have to get her up to the clinic. She's suffering from internal bleeding."

        "Oh my God..." Kate whimpered as she sank against the door to a fetal curl.

        "She's... She's not breathing." Ross said. Kate froze, John rushed back over to begin performing CPR in a desperate effort to resuscitate the girl. Minutes passed with no success, and Millie was declared dead.

        But then slowly, she let out a soft gasp for air, and Kate came rushing over.

        "My baby! She's okay!" She cried out as she reached to embrace Millie who then sat up and bit her mother on the shoulder.

        Kate cried out in agony as Ross and Russel struggled to break her free from Millie's surprisingly strong grasp. Kate and Russel hit the ground with a thud after being ripped away, and Ross held Millie down to the best of his abilities.

        "STOP MANHANDLING HER!!!" Kate cried out.

        "SHE'S STILL BITING, WHAT DO I DO???" Ross asked, "THIS IS JUST LIKE THAT GUY!!!"

        Kate buried her face into Russel's shoulder and began to weep.

        "I-I've never seen anything like this..." John testified, "Hold her down, I'll give her a sedative." He added, sticking the needle in Millie's arm, trying to hold it still as he injected the liquid in the syringe. He looked on in shock and horror as it did absolutely nothing, "She's as cold as the grave." He said, befuddled.

        "DON'T HURT HER!!!" Kate yelled out, noticing Ross throwing Millie back down after she managed to pull up his hoodie sleeve for leverage.

        "DOC? I DONT THINK THIS IS MILLIE ANYMORE!" Ross hollered over the commotion.

        "LET ME SEE HER!!!" Kate called out, shoving her brother-in-law off of Millie and tried to hold her again. Only to cry out as she was bitten in the neck, blood spraying across the room.

        "KATE!!!!!" Ross cried out as his wife's lifeless body hit the floor. Ross knew what he had to do at this point, and tears welled in his eyes as the realization hit him.

       "Russel... I'm sorry." He said, taking his knife out and plunging into Millie's back as she feasted on her mother's corpse. But there was no reaction save for Millie standing up and making her way to Ross.

       Luckily, he had sense enough to pull the knife out, half expecting Millie to slump over dead. However, she simply stood and turned. He looked in shock and horror as Millie approached, even with a knife wound to the heart. He snapped himself out of it before planting a hand on the top of her head before shoving the knife into the soft part of her jaw and into her brain. She ceased moving after that and fell to the floor. The whole room in shock as to what they had just witnessed.

        Ross was reading through his journal, having updated about how Millie and Kate's behavior were just like that first man he killed. He had written Millie's symptoms as best he knew, and details explaining that both her and Kate seemingly came back to life before attempting to eat those who were still alive. These disturbing correlations didn't strike him as coincidental.

        "First a guy comes by tryina eat Ross, then Millie dies and comes back, eats Kate, Kate tries to eat me..." Russel droned on as he paced back and forth nervously. He supported his weight against a nearby wall and collapsed to his knees, crying as the scene played through time and time again in his head, "Then the news is acting like nothing is going on! We're dying here and they're acting like it's business as usual!"

        "We'll have to take matters into our own hands then." Ross said, looking to his brother.

        "H-How?" Russel asked.

        "First, we need to board up. We can figure out our next move while we work." Ross replied, making his way to the tool closet, "If we can take it apart and put it on a wall, do it." Ross said as he began handing tools to his brother before getting to work himself.

        "I'd help, but I don't think my ticker can take much more. Today was... Too much." John said, gently patting his chest where his heart was.

        "No, you take it easy. If something goes south, you're our doctor. Russ and I have it handled." Ross said. Shortly after, Lincoln came out, wiping his eyes after finally managing to compose himself.

        "You guys want help?" He asked, noticing Russ and Ross boarding the windows and doors.

        "Yeah actually. Can you hammer this in for me?" Russel asked, holding a piece of his bookshelf over a window. Lincoln came over and began helping.

        "So first things first, we'll need to make sure our supplies are in order." Ross said, "Food, water, things like that. We need to make sure we can weather this, at least til we know our next plan."

        "I'll go to the store once we're done." Russel said.

        "If you do, be REALLY careful. If it's this bad across town, it'll be a bigger bloodbath than Black Friday." Ross warned.

        "I'll bring something with me for protection." Russel said, "You have to go for the head, right?"

         Ross looked over, puzzled as to what he meant.

        "You said they didn't feel any punches you threw, and Millie didn't flinch when you put the knife in her... But the headshot stopped them in their tracks."

        Ross thought for a moment and his eyes widened, realizing the pattern in which they died, "Y-yeah... Go for the head. But if you can, try to avoid it altogether. We don't need you being a hero and orphaning Link."

        Shortly after, the screams of a voice familiar to Russel was heard outside. His eyes widened as he looked out the window to see Franklin cornered by a man who had just bitten him.

        "STAY BACK!!!!" He cried out, "SOMEBODY HELP MEEE!!!"

        Russel was the first to action, grabbing the hammer he had and heading out the door with an urgent pace. Ross knew what his brother was trying to do, and knew he couldn't stop Russel. So he decided to go along, pulling his knife in and studying the staggering man closely.

        "Russ, I've got hand to hand training, I'll distract him - You take the time to get Frankie inside!" Ross said, whistling out as he drew closer to the walker slowly.

        It continued to follow Franklin, slowly shuffling toward him. It kind of angered Ross that it didn't think to look, and tried again before resorting to plan B.

        "Hey DIPSHIT!" Ross then shouted. The man looked up, huffing as he made his way slowly to Ross.

        "That's right, come to papa." Ross said, shuffling back to give Russel as much distance as possible before taking the shot. He reached out and grabbed the man by the throat, stabbing him in his temple and pulling the knife out with some struggle.

        "Damn knife caught on the bone... Fuck." Ross said with a sigh.

        "At least ya didn't break it." Russel said with a chuckle, helping Franklin up and putting his arm over his shoulder, "C'mon. We're gonna take good care of ya bud."

        They rushed Franklin inside and sat him on the floor next to one of the bookshelves. John went over and began trending to Franklin's bite and various other injuries.

        John checked on Franklin throughout the night, staying with him in the living room. The next morning, Franklin had come to develop a fever. John did his best to help manage it, giving him some ibuprofen to help with the fever. It wasn't bad as Millie's yet. So he silently hoped for Franklin to pull through. However the infection that was starting to show in his arm made his mind dwell on otherwise. He gave some antibiotics, hoping that would do the trick.

July 8, 1993

        "Know anything about the guy who attacked you last night?" Ross asked, having managed to get the first good night's rest since this all started.

        "N-No, I was making my way up to the store and he started approaching me. He fell over and bit my leg. I managed to kick him off and limp as far as you guys before my legs gave out." Franklin explained, trying to remember the rapid events from the day prior.

        "We think it's related to this flu that's going around." Ross stated, "Don't really know much other than that..."

        "You know more than me, then..." Franklin said, sitting up a little to get a better view of Ross, "Am I gonna turn into that thing?"

        "No, I don't think so. We just gotta make sure that infection goes away and you should be back on your feet."

        "Thank God..." Franklin said, "I think I caught it though... Fever, aches..."

        "Just make sure you keep resting, we'll figure something out." Ross said, reassuring his brothers friend. Russel came in from his shift of guard duty and sat down on the couch.

        "I've been thinking... The school isn't far from here. Looks like it was abandoned on the wake of this." Russel said.

        "You think it'd be a good safehouse?" Ross asked. Russel replied with a snap of his fingers followed by a grin, "Read my mind." He said before going deeper into thought.

        "Definitely needs some boarding up, but plenty of space to put things like beds, medical equipment and the like. If the layout's good, could be pretty defensible too. If our other friends survived this, we could probably make something of a home there together."

        "That... Actually makes a lot of sense. Alright then, I'll get set up and check it out." Ross said, making his way to the toolbox to get a hammer and then to the kitchen to fill a bottle of water.

       "Here. So you can take anything useful while you're there." Lincoln said, handing Ross his and Millie's backpacks, "I have the feeling they're not gonna be helpful for school a while."

        "Lincoln, you're a damn genius." Ross said, taking the backpacks and emptying the contents, taking his notebook, some pens, a pencil, and an eraser.

        "What're the pens for?" Russel asked, noticing the pens returning to the pack.

        "In case I learn something to pass around or I need to make a map." Ross said, pocketing the pens and putting Millie's backpack in Lincoln's much bigger one along with the bottle of water and a few snacks in case he got hungry in the road.

        "If I run into any complications, I'll fall back here and try to devise a plan. Sign countersign is 5." Ross said as he packed his supplies.

        "What's sign countersign?" Franklin asked.

        "Long story short, we use it to tell whose friendly in a hotzone." Ross explained, "Think of it like reverse math. You're given the answer, you have to make the solution. I give three knocks, someone trying get inside gives two. And you do *NOT* tell this to anyone. Not unless I say so, okay?"

        Franklin thought for a moment as his mind went over what Ross said, "Okay." He said with a nod.

        He dipped low to cushion his footsteps, cautiously keeping his head on a swivel as he crept down the street. He heard some snarling in the distance and dipped behind a car, crawling underneath to take advantage of the safety and identify where the sound was coming from.

        He saw the feet of a staggering woman shambling off in the direction of the neighbouring house before peering into the window. Ross studied quietly, shallowing his breath to minimize his noise footprint. For some reason, watching this dead looking woman undisturbed fascinated him. However it didn't stay that way for long. She turned her head to the door and slowly began shuffling to it before trying the doorknob to find it was locked. Ross' eyed widened and he felt a deep fear clutching his chest. Especially as she grew frustrated and began trying to bang on the door. Ross decided to take advantage of the sound and crawl back out from under the car after checking to see that the coast was clear.

        Ross made his way to the end of the schoolyard fence, peering through the brush and trees to see a pair of people hunched over, the sound of them gnawing on flesh of a fresh kill littered the air. Ross' terror only worsened as he noticed a number more shambling over to join the feast. His stomach began to churn and he vomited on the spot. The living corpses turned to see Ross doubled over, desperately trying to get himself to stop. He blew some of the filth from his nose and wiped himself clean. It was only after he had managed to compose himself that he noticed about four dead ones approaching him.

        "Oh shit." He gasped, looking around for any sort of advantage he could press. He began backing away, noticing they seemed to favor trying to directly charge him as opposed to fanning out. He tripped over himself, falling on his back and only just managing to catch himself before he hit his head. He looked up to see a fence and rolled over, starting in a bear crawl until he was able to get back to his feet before leaping on to catch the top, pulling himself over.

 

Chapter 3

        Ross hit the ground and tumbled, still on the ground for a moment as he tried to catch his breath, the vomit still caught in his sinuses causing him a deal of trouble in that regard. He blew his nose clean again and looked back to notice his pursuers were still hot on his trail, now coming around the corner as if trying to form a line. Ross looked behind him to notice he had some way to move before he was completely cornered, and decided to take his chances with the line.

        He stood up and readied a stance, giving a mighty cleave to one of the corpses. It jolted as the hammer plunged into its skull and it fell to the ground with a thud. A couple of the others tripped over, one using the inertia of the fall to propel itself further, grabbing Ross by the shoe. He let out a yelp in surprise as he fell backwards, jutting his elbows back to keep his head from hitting the ground before kicking free of the corpse's grasp and quickly getting back onto his feet.

        Afterward, Ross stomped on the head of the corpse as it decided crawling was more worth the effort and had closed in sooner than the one getting back up. He turned his attention to that one, hopping back as it tried to reach out and grab him, instead grabbing it by the wrist and pulling sharply, twisting his body to move out of the way and causing the corpse to land face first in the dirt. He put a knee to the corpses back and gave one final blow before turning to the final one. He pushed it back, knocking it to the ground before finishing it off. He stood back up, panting heavily and covered in blood; But without a scratch.

        He continued his way to notice the remaining corpses were no longer feasting, but their meal had become one of them. They began shambling off at the sound of some screaming in the distance in the other way. Ross stood to jump in and help, but then realized; He has no idea how many are going that way. He still doesn't feel like he understands the threat well enough and he just had a close call with four. He bowed his head in defeat, knowing there was nothing he could do.

        After managing to talk himself back into focusing on his objective, Ross continued toward the school to find that the front doors were locked. He peered over at the windows, curious to know if they could be opened, but unfortunately further inspection showed they had no hinges. He gave a sigh of frustration, shaking his head as he looked around for another plan. The last thing he wanted to do was drum up noise. He then thought about the recess yard. The back door may be locked, but it's a lot more defensible if he needed to break a window.

        He quickly and quietly made his way back toward the fence line, noticing it was a little shorter at the areas it met the school with another corpse sitting on the wall nearby. It wasn't moving, so Ross slowly advanced, watching the corpse closely to identify how he died. Getting within arms reach, the corpse began to breathe, startling Ross and causing him to jump back some before swinging his hammer into the skull without hesitation. He hopped the fence, and made his way to the door on his right.

        He peeked through the window on the door, seeing a woman standing next to the hot tables filled with breakfasts from the day before. He tried the knob to see it was unlocked, opening the door and creeping his way in.

        He studied the woman, noting her movements fit that of the walking corpses he's been encountering and began to advance. If this was going to be the base his brother wanted, he would have to clear it. As he drew near, the woman turned, blood going down her face. Ross quickly dispatched her and began moving to the hallway door.

       He opened the door and looked around, seeing a door off to his right, and the winding halls down the left. The area seemed clear, so he moved over to the door to check it. He opened it and peered inside the kitchen, seeing a man banging his head on the door to the cafeteria. He had an arm missing, as if it had been chewed off. Ross checked his rear and quietly made his way in, slowly closing the door behind him before advancing on the corpse.

        Once he got in close enough, he shoulder checked the man to knock him off balance, and then he put his knee on the back, dealing the final blow. He looked around and noticed that everything still seemed to be operational, and made his way to the hot tables, finding some bowls and plates. He then began loading food from the hot tables, plating as much as he could as quickly as he could and putting it in the fridge to keep it fresh until he or someone could get to it. He left the kitchen and began to search the classrooms. There were two doors to his left, following a trail of lockers along the same wall.

        He poked his head into the window on the first door, seeing nothing inside. He looked behind him and down the other hall that led into the library. There was a single person standing in the dimly lit hallway. They seemed to notice Ross, shuffling a few steps. Ross readied himself to dispatch it there and then, but then it began to pick up pace. Ross' eyes widened as the person began to lunge at him with a rapid pace, and he dove back behind the wall to his right just as the corpse cleared the corner. Luckily, he didn't expect it to just run face first into the wall. By the time it cleared the corner, he was ready.

        Ross raised his leg and gave a firm push kick, sending the corpse just as it came into the light and quickly made his way over to finish it off before it could get back up. Afterward, he fell back to the kitchen for safety and a moment to process what he just saw, taking notes in his journal about it as well as the group eating the corpse from earlier. As he wrote that, however he retched, looking around to notice a trash can and racing over to it before simply dry heaving. He panted and reached into his backpack, taking his bottle of water and taking a few drinks in the hope to settle his stomach.

        Ross regained his composure after a few minutes, and in the time he drank his water, he tried to focus on a page of variants he encountered, trying to think of quick and easy names to give them; Walkers and Sprinters. After putting everything away, Ross made his way out to the hallway the sprinter came at him earlier. To his left, there were more lockers with two more doors between them. In front, he had the library and another hall bending right. And to his immediate right, two bathrooms. He listened, trying to see if he heard anything in the bathrooms. There was the sound of what sounded like labored snoring in the women's bathroom, and Ross readied his weapon before pushing the door open.

        The dim light from the hall showed the silhouette of a man who was on the ground, his right leg mangled and bandaged poorly. He had turned at this point, trying desperately to crawl to Ross. He jumped back, noticing that it was using its good leg to propel itself as it crawled, making it much harder to strike. He took advantage of the fact that the corpse was on the pull side of the door and began devising a plan to dispatch quickly.

        His eyes wandered down the hall where the light came from, noting that it split off two ways. He then stood up and took his water bottle out, pushing the door open and quickly sliding the water bottle between it and the frame as a stopper. This would enable the corpse to grab and open the door himself; or get himself jammed in the process. Ross then quickly darted down the hall before turning right, spinning to face behind him to notice the corpse was still on the pursuit. He waited for it to clear the corner before jumping onto it, planting a foot to its back before striking the good leg with his hammer several times on the knee joint, ensuring it was completely shattered before jogging back to his safe spot in front of the kitchen.

        The crawling corpse managed to slowly turn itself around and begin closing in on Ross, who knelt for better leverage and dealt the killing blow. After the battle, Ross took a moment to recollect how far he had come in clearing, going back down the hall directly Infront of him. The doors on his left held empty classrooms, but the recess yard held about five walkers scattered about the field. He made a mental note and continued back to the intersection, turning left to finish his search. In the second door to his left, there were about three walkers distracted by something they saw out the window earlier.

        Ross took the advantage he had and made his way into the library  directly ahead of him after checking the last two corridors of the hall to see that they were clear. Once he was among the towering bookshelves still rife with books, he began creeping his way through the shadows, cautiously peeking between them to find no walkers. He went back into the hall and went down the first corridor to his left, seeing two doors on the right wall, and one in front of him. He checked the first door, finding the teachers lounge with a corpse standing in the corner, staring off into space.

        Ross took a breath to steady his nerves and closed in, pinning the corpse against the corner and finishing it off before turning back to face the door at the sound of a door banging on the hall. He slowly made his way forward, scanning the hall in the direction the noise was coming from. He watched the door to his right rattle, with a deep snarling coming from the room behind. Ross poked his head into the window of the nurse's office, seeing not a corpse, but a woman sitting inside curled in a fetal position on the floor next to the cabinet. 

        He held a finger to his mouth as if to shush her, and she nodded in response. Ross then turned to the remaining threat in the immediate area. He placed himself against the rattling door and braced himself, waiting for an opportunity to push all of his weight into the door to force the walker inside away.

        The walker inside sailed a little, falling against the sink with the sound of a brutal crunching sound before she fell to the ground. With more snarling, the dead woman began to now crawl to Ross, her legs no longer functional from the ambush. He struck twice in her head, finishing her off. Afterward, he made his way to the nurse's office, trying the door to see that it was locked.

        "Could ya unlock it for me, please?" He asked in a shushed tone. The woman inside managed to get herself up to her feet.

        "W-were you bit?" The woman asked.

        "No, why?" Ross asked.

        "One bite and you turn..." The woman said in disbelief that Ross wasn't aware, "Happened to ma and pa... Happened to Rose..." She added, trying to give him as much of her knowledge as quickly as she could, "Only people turn though. They ate the cat, bit the dog. Dog didn't turn, but she died."

        "Oh my God, you've been through absolute hell... I'm so sorry." Ross said with a saddened gasp, "But uh... Could you let me in?"

        The woman looked up to Ross, thinking over his request before standing up to let him in.

        "Y-you killed her... Didn't you?" The woman asked, noticing the aftermath as the struggle played out in her head.

        "You knew her?" Ross asked, nodding back to the bathroom he killed the last walker in.

        "Y-yeah..." The woman said after a pause. Tears welled in her eyes and she began to weep softly, falling back down to a seated position against the counters.

        "God... I'm sorry to hear that." Ross said, remembering he was the one who dealt the killing blow, "For what it's worth..."

        "Hey, what's your name? I'm Ross." He introduced.

        "Cornflower." The woman replied, wiping tears off of her cheeks.

        "Well, I've gotta say. That's a pretty name." Ross said, giving a warm smile, "Who was she?" He then asked, pointing out the door towards the bathroom.

        "My sister, Rose." Cornflower said.

        "What brought you and Rose here?" Ross asked.

        "The house we were renting while we were in town was overrun and we thought this would be a better place to camp. But there's so many of those... THINGS!" She said.

        "Well, I've got good news and bad news for you." Ross said, "Good news; I've thinned some of them out. My brother and I figured it'd be a good spot too. So maybe we could join up."

        "What's the bad news?" Cornflower asked.

        "I've gotta come up with a plan to clear out the rest of the place, and I might need your help."

        "W-wait, you're FIGHTING them???" She asked in disbelief.

        "Yeah. Been taking notes on everything I've learned about 'em here. We need a camp, school can provide but it's obviously infested." Ross explained, taking his notebook out of his backpack to show Cornflower. She began flipping through, surprised at the detail.

        "Crawlers are a variant of corpse that often aren't a threat. However I've noticed they can be quite sporadic if a single leg is functional. I also suspect that their low singular threat is also their greatest strength in numbers of walker variants, which may let them blend in." Cornflower read, "There's so much detail here!"

        "Never rush into a fight. You gotta understand your enemy to stand the best chance of survival." Ross said, "Learned that the hard way in the Army."

        "W-well, let me read this a little more and I'll consider how I can help." Cornflower said.

        "Alright, here. Could you add what you told me about the bites?" Ross asked, clicking his pen and handing it to Cornflower who turned to a vacant spot and began writing all the details she knew.

        Meanwhile, Ross took the moment to take a drink of water, topping his bottle in the sink. He also took time to search for any medicine that was left over.

        "There's three dead ones in the classroom by the library, and I counted about five in the recess yard." Ross said, "Hadn't checked the parking lot or the corridor that way." He added, pointing toward the hall he had yet to clear.

        "The class across the hall is the only one we didn't get to check. That's where the sprinter came at us and we had to run."

        "Alright, I'll make sure it's cleared out before I go scout the parking lot." Ross said, "Afterward, I'll come back here and come up with a plan to clear the rest out."