Beyond the Walls

Prisoners

*Ting ting ting

[Attention Players!…]

Lucas' eyes perked open at the first word of the announcement. Adjusting to his surroundings, he found himself on a hard bed placed on the side of the small room with a sink and toilet built inside. A room without a window and one entry way in and out. The door is made with steel bars.

This place exists even inside the walls.

Prison.

[Attention Players!]

Lucas looked around but there was no hologram anywhere near him and when he was about to get out of the bed an undead side profile came to his view. He immediately curled his body to the corner, trying to hide himself away from it’s sight.

*Creak

The undead accidentally hit the cell door and the steel bar door moved slightly and made a sound.

[Attention Players!]

With the announcement still repeating, the undead turned its head at the sound.

[Attention Players! Welcome to Game 3: Test of Strength…]

[Rule: Kill as many undeads as you can for two days. Only the top 10 players with the highest kill points, will proceed to the next round...]

[Attention Players! Welcome to Game 3…] The announcement repeated it’s announcements.

Lucas, who carefully looked at the entrance and spotted nothing attentively and vigilantly, advanced towards the door, in just two steps, he already heard it, the growling sounds.

[...Only top 10 players with…]

A silhouette of incoming undead was spotted and Lucas jumped to one side, praying he wouldn't be spotted if he cornered himself at the darkest corner of the room. With his back against the cemented wall beside the sole entrance to his room.

“Grrr.” The undead stopped at Lucas’ open cell and proceeded to enter inside.

The cells are slightly open and easy for anyone or anything to push through inside.

“Uwargh.” The small growling sound continues to approach. The shadow of the undead is growing bigger as it draws closer.

The undead’s dented shoulders and melted other side came face to face with Lucas.

As Lucas positioned himself for a push, the announcement played again making the undead turn around to the sound of the woman’s mechanical voice.

Lucas was able to exhale after. He waited for several minutes before moving to his spot. He unhurried to open the steel bar door in case it would fall out because of rust.

There was nothing useful inside the cell so Lucas came out without a single thing on him. Every game was reset for their items. If they want weapons they will have to find for themselves.

Fortunately for Lucas who is currently weaponless, the hallway was not congested with undead. There are some undead walking really close in the opposite directions, their back on Lucas. The rest are reaching out their hands to the installed speakers.

Stealthily he walked to the edge of the incomplete railinged halls. There he found the remains of the railings either hanging down or on the ground floor, all tattered up.

There were a total of three story prison buildings and Lucas is located on the third floor.

The reason why a light is coming through Lucas’ cell was because the ceiling of the buildings had a hole in it.

Lucas was too focused on observing the layout that he didn’t see the undead approaching him and opening its mouth to him.

“UWARGH!” It growled and Lucas held it’s head to stop it from making more sound, but it was too late the nearby undeads spotted him.

*THUD!

The undead trying to bite Lucas dropped from the third floor to the ground after being kicked to the sides.

“Come on!” A man gestured to hurry. Lucas immediately followed from behind as the man cleared away and they got into one of the nearby cells.

The man closed the cell and pulled the cloth wrapped in the bars before tying the ends of its body to the toilet bowl.

Three undead slam their body against the bars growling.

“Do you have to do this? They will not be able to open it.” Lucas said while watching the man secure the cloth ropes.

“Do you know why I saved you?” The man stood equal to Lucas.

This man in front of Lucas is one of Liam’s subordinates but unlike those men that openly bully and act all mighty, this person was silent but he followed Liam unconditionally. “It’s because I thought you were smart.”

“...” The door can be opened outwardly from the other side, which the undead are incapable of doing.

“You really don’t know?” The man asked.

*Ting

[Top Scorer: 10 Points]

“It’s not even five minutes yet!” The man sounded complaining at the announcement but didn’t look like he really was bothered.

He took a seat in the bed while Lucas remained standing. “What is that I don’t know?”

With three undead blocking the only way out, the man sighed and answered.

“The punishment…I think this is where it happened.”

Lucas retraced his memory and looked around the room. “That place is larger… but the walls are the same… Ah!”

The reason for securing the cell is not these undeads but for…

“AHHHHHHHHH! HELP MEEEE!!” A piercing and terrible scream and sobbing echoed in the prison walls.

*Thud thud thud

It’s running steps are getting closer and closer, the undeads at the bar turn their head at it and begin to welcome it.

There was a slight gap that made Lucas and a woman in tears make eye contact as she fend off the undead. She safely got away and dashed away.

It was one of the women that was last to enter the rest area.

*Thud thud thud

Another incoming running step is coming and when it passes Lucas and the man’s cell, they only have a split second to see what it is.

It is running low like it had a very bad spine injury, it is also growling aggressively as it free it’s way by slapping away the undead.

One undead had hit it’s back to the cell door but soon it crawled where the woman and that thing direction’s.

*Thud thud thud

There it was again. The sound of running footsteps.

*Huff huff

The woman appeared grabbing the bars and tried opening it. Unlike earlier she is now all bloody, what just happened in a few seconds? She has this crazy look on her face. She is forcing to open the door by shaking it violently. When she spots the white cloth she tries to pull that instead with all her strength.

*Creak creak

The ends of the cloth start to weed out the toilet bowl.

“Ah! This crazy woman!” The man exclaimed and pulled back the cloth, Lucas did the same.

Against two men, the woman knew she would not win so she changed tactics. Instead of pulling it, she reached for the knotted part of the cloth and began to untie it.

While untying it, a smile and small laugh came out of her. She untied one knot and looked at them with an even wider smile.

“Keep pulling, I will knock out some sense---- hmmp.”

Lucas pulled back the man and blocked his mouth. “Shh..”

The woman untied another knot and when she looked at them she tilted her head at them.

“Grrr…” A low growling sound sounded and the woman slowly looked to her side.

Something jumped heavily to the woman.

*CRACK

The cell door was forcely opened, ripping the cloth holding it close.

“ARGHHHHHHHHHHH!” The woman screamed at the top of her lungs as her arms broke after being trapped to the cell walls after being pounced on.

Lucas and the man immediately put their back against the wall and cramped themselves on the spaces beside the open door to avoid being spotted.

“WAHHH! I am sorry! I am sorry! Mother! Waaah!” The wailing and screaming is still ongoing. Lucas is in view of the woman. Her bones in the arms coming out of her skin as her chest is being eaten by the monster on top of her.

Him and the woman met eyes again. “H--Help me…” She said weakly as she raised her arm, with her forearm dangling down and bent on the wrong.

*Bite

The monster bite of the remaining flesh connecting the woman’s broken arm. As her arm torn, the munching sound ongoing, the woman coughed blood continuously as she drew her last breath. She died with her eyes open.

When the monster stopped eating for a second, Lucas immediately turned his head out of the way. The monster had turned in his direction but it didn’t spot Lucas and so it returned to eating.

This is what the clothes were for. These monsters are newly turned undead. They are capable of opening doors, at most and with that strength. Even if there are two of them, their success is slim. Especially since they are both weaponless.

*Crash

A piece of bowl had fallen.

Lucas and the man looked at it widely and immediately turned to the entrance’s direction. They saw blood paints entering first the cell as the newly turned undead steps forwards.

*Thud

The newly turned dead entered the small cell and when it turned to its right side it found nothing.

Lucas is not there.

But when it turned its head to slightly below, Lucas was looking at it with glare as Lucas pulled the cloth it was stepping on and for assurance he kicked it’s legs.

The undead was tripped. Lucas didn’t waste any time and wrapped the cloth in the undead’s head. He grabbed it’s covered head and started bashing it repeatedly.

*BANG BANG BANG

It took a few more pounding when Lucas’ companion made him stop, the sound had attracted many undeads.

“Stop it! Let’s go!”

Lucas is heavily breathing as it never tore his eyes away from the now unmoving undead.

“Let’s go!” The man repeated.

Lucas clicked his tongue and stood up to follow the man out of the cell.

On the hallway, the number of undead seems to be doubled, with it, they were left no choice but to once again, enter another cell, not so far.

Without any sheets now, they just let the cell door open easily, but for now it was not a problem since at least ten undeads have gathered in front of their door.

“You think you killed it?” The man asked Lucas who is watching the undeads and their arms trying to reach them.

“I don’t think so.” He answered.

“Yeah, I think so too.” When the man agreed, Lucas turned to look at him.

“Have you been an Outlander before?” Lucas asked. He already had this feeling earlier.

“Not really, but I am from another Wall Area.”

“Wall Area? You are an immigrant? Why did you leave your walls?”

Wall Area is equivalent to a country in a post apocalypse world. The Wall Areas have great distance from each other so travelling from one wall area to another successfully is close to a miracle. It might take you months or years in the apocalypse world, since their locations are not disclosed.

“... I’ll tell you next time.” The man replied and laid his back to the cold bed, while Lucas continued to sit on the floor and not pry anymore.

As an outlander, there is no harder topic than retelling their stories beyond the walls.

Beyond the walls before or now are still hell to live at. Lucas can’t help but blankly look at hungry undeads watching and groaning for his meat.

‘I want to go home.’ He thought.