Rael raised his hand, signaling the rest of the group to stay quiet. He spoke in a calm and confident tone, "We're survivors looking for safety. Who are you?"
The voice behind the door hesitated for a moment before responding, "I'm Rick, one of the guards who managed to hold this place. We've been barricaded in here for some time. Are you here to help or just looking for shelter?"
Robert stepped forward, speaking on behalf of the group, "We're not here to cause trouble. We're survivors like you, and we've come seeking refuge. We can offer our assistance in exchange for safety."
The door creaked open just a crack, revealing a pair of wary eyes. Rick studied the group carefully, his gaze lingering on Rael, who seemed to exude an air of power.
After a tense moment, Rick nodded and opened the door wider, allowing the group to enter the medical center. Inside, they found a makeshift safe haven. Beds were pushed against barricaded windows, and a small group of survivors huddled together, their faces reflecting a mixture of fear and relief.
Rick introduced them to the others, explaining how they had managed to fend off the zombies outside and establish a secure area within the prison. The survivors had scrounged for supplies and medical equipment, doing their best to stay alive.
As the group settled in, Rael's enhanced senses detected something unusual.
One of the survivors was acting very strange, this prompted Rael to approach him, before he kicked the man to the ground.
Rick and the others were startled, "What are you doing?!"
They suddenly took their weapons in hand, even if it was a gun or a knife, before surrounding Rael.
Even Robert and his previous group were surprised to see Rael acting like that.
"He has some bites on his arm, and his eyes were a tinge of red for a moment. This could be because the zombies may have infected him, and now he could turn into one of them at any moment."
As Rael said this, the others looked warily at him before looking at Matthew, the man who was previously kicked by Rael.
They indeed saw some bite marks on his hand that were quickly covered.
Even Robert and his previous group were surprised to see Rael acting like that.
The tension in the room escalated as everyone's attention shifted to Matthew. His face turned ashen, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. He tried to speak, but his voice quivered with fear.
Rick, the guard who had welcomed them, took a step closer to Rael. "Are you sure, Rael? We can't take any chances here, what if he's innocent and you're just trying to turn us against him? I'm sorry, but as the leader of my group, I need to take this into consideration."
Rael nodded, still keeping a watchful eye on Matthew. "I've heard of this before, it's like in games or movies, but this is reality. It starts with the bites, and then the symptoms worsen rapidly. We can't risk having a potential threat in our midst."
Matthew's breathing grew heavier as the group discussed his fate. He knew what being infected meant. The transformation into a zombie was slow, painful, and irreversible, he also knew that Rael was probably right, but he wanted to live.
Robert, who had vouched for the group, stepped forward. "We can't just leave him here to turn. That would be inhumane. We need to find a way to help him or at least make his end as painless as possible."
Evan, who had been silent until now, spoke up, "We should isolate him from the group for safety, but we can't abandon him. If there's even a slim chance of finding a cure or slowing down the infection, we have to try."
Said Evan before turning to Rael and winking at him.
Rick nodded in agreement. "I have access to some medical supplies. We can do what we can to help him and keep him quarantined. It's the least we can do."
Relieved that their decision wasn't a death sentence for Matthew, the group carefully moved him to an isolated area within the medical center. Rick tended to his wounds while they discussed their next steps.
Rael remained vigilant, not only about Matthew but also about the zombies outside. For a reason, the gunshots that were very loud before were suddenly slowing down.
It was as if a lot of guards died, or they remained without ammo.
'I should see if there's someone worthy of grooming here.'
The only reason for Rael to waste his time with these people besides the meat shield thing, was that he could possibly find someone talented enough to help him in the future.
For now, only Jacob and Sofia caught his eye, the others were kind of useless for him, Evan included.
Unfortunately, Rael already figured out that Jacob and Sofia won't be following him without Evan's presence, only if he threatened them.
There was a person though, who was pretty interesting, she was the doctor assigned to the prison, Maria.
Her long, black hair was resembling Rael's, and she was currently dressed with a black blouse and a pair of jeans that showed her curves, this meant that she was clearly close to leaving her shift.
But, well, disaster happened…
Still, how she looked or what she wanted didn't interest Rael, all he wanted to find out was if her medical knowledge was real.
After all, he couldn't bet all his money on being invincible. He needed to have someone capable of treating his wounds if something happened to him in the future.
That was also the reason he chatted with Maria for a while, but the others seeing this only thought that Rael wanted to score the hot doctor while taking advantage of the Apocalypse.
Around two hours passed since Rael's group and Rick's group allied themselves. They managed to block every entrance and secure the medical center, for now.
What honestly pissed Rael off was that no one said anything about going outside and checking the area.
And so, the young and restless man proposed, "I want to go outside a bit and check the situation. I don't know if any of you observed, but the gunshots from before are now nowhere to be heard."
As Rael said this, some people quickly backed away in fear, afraid that Rael may force them to go with him.
They also remembered how he kicked Matthew without any hesitation.
"Rael, are you sure about this? It's dangerous outside right now. If you go, I'm afraid you may not come back."
Rick showed his stance by asking this, the man clearly didn't want to go out and get attacked by those zombies.
Rael shook his head before saying, "I wasn't asking any of you. I simply said I'll go. If I don't come back, you can proceed with the previous plan."
The previous plan they talked about was leaving the prison. Since they couldn't see any hope of surviving between these walls, maybe they would have a better chance outside.
"I.. I want to go with you." Maria suddenly spoke, everyone was stunned after hearing what she said.
"Maria, are you crazy?!"
"It's dangerous outside right now!"
A few people quickly rebuked her rashness of going outside the medical center with Rael.
"Right now? Do you really think it would be fine to go outside after a few days, or weeks? Let me tell you, you're definitely wrong. If we don't take advantage of this moment to get stronger, we're as good as dead."
"As for you, it's your business if you want to come with me or not."
Saying so, Rael turned his back to the group and proceeded to leave.
Hesitating for a few seconds, Maria followed him in the end.