Beyond the Walls

Evidence

Ch 23: Evidence

“Victoria Dreadmon, 26 years old. Citizen of Wall 95. Occupation: Food Vendor.” A woman in white long gown with a nametag of Tanya said to Gabrielle, showing a picture of a woman with short brown hair with almond shaped eyes.

Looking down at the dead undead lying naked down at the cold metal table. It’s face is unrecognizable since it’s head was crushed but with the help of fingerprints she was able to recognize it.

“A citizen huh? Why would she go out the wall?” Gabrielle asked herself.

“You know there are several cases where citizens go out right? She might've been one of the unfortunates” Tanya answered without much care and went to her microscope and adjusted her specimens.

“What about her bite marks? These bite marks are from old undeads, seeing the bites are not deep. It could also be concluded that it’s from several sources since it is different sizes and if it is an old undead, she could apprehend it easily--- ” Gabrielle asked. After cleaning the undead’s body, the torn flesh and bite marks are more visible.

“It might be the work of her companions who went out with her. You know, Victoria missed her vaccine schedule two weeks ago because her husband gambled all their money. Citizens sometimes go out to find something valuable to sell inside the wall. They all do that everytime. Maybe...maybe her companions tried to disguise her death. It was not hard to leave bite marks, they look ordinary wounds to me. ” Tanya said as if they went over this over again.

“That doesn’t make sense.” Gabrielle said frowningly.

“It is more plausible than there were hundreds of Level 1 undead outside the walls. It’s been twenty years, Gab. The Level 1 undeads should all be dried up. You are always taking that route, and not once before this, you smelled hundreds undead. They can’t appear overnight and disappear the next day.”

“I know what I saw Tanya. I don’t know how and why but I know what I saw. There are hundreds of them!”

Gabrielle couldn’t take it anymore and stormed out of the laboratory.

“Hey Gab!! Take a rest okay?!!! Stop stressing yourself!” Tanya shouted.

After a few seconds of waiting, Tanya adjusted her glasses and exhaled as she reached for the phone and dial.

“Hi, this is Tanya, please tell the General, I’ve done my best but Gabrielle is not buying it. She is too sharp to not notice. Ah. yes. yes. Please. Thank you.” Tanya said and ended the call.

She walks to the cadaver and slaps the body. “Why do you have to get caught by some troublesome fellow. Tsk.” She clicked her tongue.

Walking out of the research building, Gabrielle, receives salutes on the employees and she doesn’t have to pull out her identification card for the doors to be opened.

Leaving the building, she looked back once and clicked her tongue.

‘I should have made my team look at the building that night.’ She thought.

She opened the door to her car and slammed it close.

“No, there is no saying how much those doors can contain the undead.” She mumbled as she regained her composure and rationality. The reason why she didn’t inform about the building full of undead is to stop arousing the curiosity of the new soldiers. That day is an excursion for new soldiers to familiarize themselves with the road.

Most are inexperienced at that time, so if worse comes to worst, her group can be annihilated.

She put her head in her wheels and started thinking.

“Something is fishy here.” She said in a low voice.

If only she hadn’t seen the undead that night, the building would look like any other places. Even the undead corpse she saw behind the buildings were gone.

The stomach churning smell was replaced by moldy, musky and old. Her olfactory sense is telling her, the place is old and nothing out of ordinary but something is kicking behind her head.

“I know what I saw.” She chose to believe in her guts.

She opens the tablet and opens Victoria’s file. She clicked on some information and pulled the address of her house then Gabrielle, started the engine of her car and pulled out of the parking lot.

On the open tablet, an address in Wall 95 is open and together with it is the name of the husband.

Brandy Dreadmon.

****

“Please, have this.” Bowing in 90 degrees, Brandy offered his bread and water to Liam.

“OHHHHH! Initiative! Nice!” One of the bald members of Liam’s group clapped his hand before he reached for the food he looked at Liam.

“You hated me right?” Liam makes way in the center of his group towards Brandy.

“...You did what you had to do… We, we-- I, I see it now…” Brandy answered with head down.

Liam put his hands on his shoulders and tapped it. “I see, welcome to the group again Brandy.”

As he welcomes him, somebody else gets the water and food in his hands.

Soon everyone else makes way to the group hoping they will be given the same deal with Brandy.

On the opposite corner, Lucas sits in the stairs with his group behind him.

“Lucas? Can I sit beside you?” Hiraya settled for a seat beside him.

“Ah… How is your fever?” Lucas asked but was unable to look at her.

“I’m better. Thank you. What are you thinking? You are always in deep thoughts. Care to share?”

“Hmm…It’s nothing.” Lucas said hesitatingly.

Though Hiraya didn’t buy it, she carried on. “You know Lucas, I feel that there is always something different in you.”

“... I am always told that. I am weird or a freak...” Lucas confessed.

“Hahaha. Yeah, I think so too, but because of you we’ve survived multiple times. You seem to know lots of things. How do you know those things? I was just five when the apocalypse happened and my parents were ‘Wallers’ from the start so I don’t know much about the undeads but you are different. Despite always looking scared, you always know what to do. Are you perhaps an outlander before? ” Hiraya shared lightly.

Wallers, that’s what they called the people who lived inside the walls and outlanders are the people who lived outside the walls for a period of time.

Lucas nodded at her question.

“Ah…really?! I am sorry. I didn’t mean to… it’s just… when you told me that you also lived on the outer walls, I thought you… and I are the same.” Hiraya tried to explain herself.

“It’s fine. I am not someone useful… I, I can’t do anything after being a waller so I end up in outer walls.” Lucas said.

People who used to be Outlanders were often placed in a higher caste, since they are knowledgeable and live their lives as either soldiers of the walls or something related… but that is not the case for Lucas.

“I was distraught and traumatized when I became a Waller, I can’t be used as a soldier or anything else because my memories are jumbled up.” Lucas explained.

“Ah, can I ask how long you were an outlander before? You don't have to answer… if you are uncomfortable.”

Lucas contemplated, he looked sideways and exhaled.

"I am not sure. Outside the walls, we don't have a concept of dates. We only know day and night… but according to my info I, I was outside the walls for 7-8 years."

Lucas anticipated a huge "What?!!" " Seven to eight years?!!!!! NO WAY!" or even "How was the outside world?!" Because all the people who had known his past had been like that but unfortunately, he couldn't share anything after because he cannot really remember most details. There are pieces of memories he could remember but it's just pieces.

*swooosh

What happened next is totally unexpected. Hiraya pulled him to a hug and whispered. "It must've been tough. I can't imagine how the young you survive in such…. Hell. "

Lucas always felt that Hiraya is something that reminds him of someone. She is always righteous, kind and strong.

Her hug is warm just like… his mother.

After patting his back, Hiraya pushed him while gripping his shoulders.

"This… game must've been bringing you bad memories, it is alright not to remember, okay? We can figure this all out, together." Hiraya and her reassuring words.

In Lucas' eyes, his mother's face overlapped Hiraya's.

‘Ah…that’s why.’ He understood why he was drawn to her. He finally gave a genuine smile to her…

*sniff sniff

"Ah! I am sorry, I shouldn't cry… it's just that, you remind me of the kids I left in the orphanage… I can't even imagine how scared they would be if this nightmare came to life for them… you must be really scared back then…"

He dropped his smile in an instant.

'Scared?'

His dreams of horrors came back to him. The undead are chasing him and his mother. Her mother's beaten and crying face. The people are screaming, and fleeing. The thumping sounds at their car's windows and blood pools everywhere.

Like a movie, the scene backwarded when his mother appeared in the corner with a lighted candle and cake, singing happy birthday.

The candle has a figure 8 candlestick.

"Scared?" He mumbled.

"Lucas." Hiraya called.

Lucas turns to look straight at Hiraya in the eye.

"I was not scared... It was a feeling way way beyond being scared. It was an indescribable feeling… feeling that an adult like you can never understand."

A hint of dangerous glare he have in his eyes.