273 Death flags
“That was refreshing!” Nadia shouted as soon as she entered the room that served as the bedroom for the leaders of the group of survivors.
She already wore her usual clothes currently marked with several wet stains. Her long hair fell down her shoulder, straightened by the added weight of moisture she couldn’t get rid of without a hair dryer.
‘I never thought about it, but there is quite a lot of convenient stuff we should look for,’ Mathew thought as he glanced at the girl.
Leila followed Nadia into the room, but rather than stepping inside, she simply stood at the doors with her arms crossed at her chest.
“Are you ready?” Nadia asked, moving right in front of Mathew as if she wanted to flex her freshness on him.
“Yes, I am,” Mathew replied impassively. He shook his head and slapped his cheeks to clear his mind before standing up and picking up the only piece of clothing that he considered redundant indoors.
‘How is this place still warm despite how it’s half-open now is a mystery I won’t be able to understand,’ he thought, following after the girls that didn’t waste their time dawdling into the room.
Their small group of three then left the bedroom and walked down the corridor, ignoring the awful smell coming from the few classrooms that the survivior workers have yet to properly clean up.
‘If it stays like this for much longer, we will be risking a massive disease outbreak,’ Mathew took notice, making a mental note to bring this topic up before leaving for the expedition.
Yet, as annoying as it was to walk through the cloud of the repulsive odor of rotting and decomposing flesh, it was the only thing worthy of note within the school.’s corridor. It was only when they arrived at the bottom floor of the school was the rallying point for the expedition was that some more stimuli appeared to force Mathew’s mind back on its track.
“What are you doing here, guys?” the young man asked as soon as his small group of three joined a bigger group of six already awaiting their arrival.
“Huh?” Carol shrugged, not expecting the first thing she would hear on the dawn of this new day to be a scold. “What else can we be here for?” she asked, leaning her head over her shoulder. “We are going with you!”
“No, you are not,” Mathew denied the girl’s request as soon as he realized she was serious about the idea. “The same applies to you as well,” he then added, throwing a glance toward the only two other hunters he could be bothered to remember.
One of them was the only one to volunteer for the group while the other one was the arrogant guy that ended up challenging Carol to the bet a day before.
‘Oh right, I still have yet to fix that problem,’ Mathew thought, gritting his teeth as he realized just how many things were still weighing his shoulders down.
“What?” Carol twisted her expression into an ugly grimace. “How else are we going to dec… how else are we going to grow stronger?” she protested, quickly changing her narration when she noticed the fluctuations in Mathew’s expression.
“And what will happen to this place if all its able defenders leave for an expedition only for a horde to appear while we are away?” Mathew pointed out the flaw in the girl’s thinking.
“Then why is he coming along?!” Carol’s voice burst out right as he raised her arm and pointed it at Norbert’s chest.
“Huh?” the poor policeman only shook when he was showered with hostility coming from his adopted sister.
“He is coming because he is the only real scout we have,” Mathew explained without even a moment of hesitation.
He then took a step forward and raised his eyes on Beatrice, one of the few other members of the survivor group that graced them with her presence despite not appearing on the expedition’s rooster.
“Don’t worry,” the woman smiled, raising her hands in a defensive gesture. “I have no plans of joining you out there,” she stated with a smile that believed the innate cowardice behind her words. “Not yet, that is,” she then quickly added once she noticed the hostile stares from the hunters of the group.
“You are too important to leave this place and too weak to defend yourself,” Mathew stated out loud, throwing an angry stare at the hunters by the side. “It’s only natural for you to remain here, where your organizational talents could be put to a greater use,” he pointed out.
In reality, there was no need for Mathew to spell everything out loud like that. It wasn’t as if Beatrice wasn’t aware of her own position and situation.
No. Mathew’s words weren’t directed at Beatrice. They were directed at the hunters who took her words for cowardice rather than for insight.
“Well then, I think we can conclude this silly topic,” Mathew then said, taking a look around the area to ensure no one else had any silly ideas brewing in their heads. “And just in case you are missing the point, if I hear about you guys leaving the barrier even for a second, I will throw you out on the streets.”
Mathew’s statement was drastic… But drastic measures were necessary to keep people in line at times.
“Okay, okay,” Beatrice said as she raised her arms, this time in an attempt to calm the situation down. Then, she snapped her fingers, causing Mathew’s junior to come up to the group with two backpacks heavily hanging down his shoulders.
“Here, your supplies,” Mathew’s junior said, passing over the backpacks. “Just like Beatrice ordered,” he then added, turning his eyes and looking at the woman with admiration.
“Just like you…” Mathew raised his eyes at his wannabe wife. “Since when were you awake?” he then asked in half-voice, taken aback by the realization.
Yet, rather than raising in pride, Beatrice only smiled gently.
“Officers always wake up before the soldiers,” she pointed out before turning her small smile into an open grin. “Now, get lost before I start to regret agreeing with your idea!”
“I will see you soon,” Norbert then said, picking up one of the backpacks as if it was the most natural thing for him to do. And then, he simply walked out and towards the massive hole in the side of the building.
‘Walking away without looking back even once…’ Mathew thought, following the former police officer with his eyes.
Then, the young man released an exasperated sigh.
‘It was cool, I admit,’ he thought, shaking his head before picking up the pace and properly following his scout to the destroyed southern quadrant of the school’s compound. He then released a heavy sigh.
‘But would it really hurt you that much not to set up death flags for yourself?’