System Of The Undead

Chapter 145: Trouble At The Community!

A week passed since that fateful day, and not much happened in that week for they had to recollect themselves and plan for their next move.

The wall commander was in a deep coma but he was alive, Mathias managed to stabilize his condition but there was a 50/50 chance he would pull through.

They had done their part, now it was up to him to do his even though this was easier said than done.

The people that were sent outside the walls hadn’t returned either and there was tension because if they faced an attack they would be vulnerable.

They lost their wall commander due to this strange assassination attempt and if anyone was going to take advantage of the situation, now would be the time.

The illusion of a secure community slowly unraveled as it started with small crimes like theft and otherwise, it was mostly directed at the people that were enjoying more benefits.

This was to be expected as Mariam had imposed a new rule concerning food.

They were rationing because she assumed everyone outside the wall was dead.

This was a fair assessment considering there hasn’t been any communication and they needed to think rationally.

Mariam made a tough call because she needed the food to last as long as possible as they had no way to replenish it for now.

"This isn’t looking good," The leader of the community muttered; she began to regret her decision.

"I should have never given them permission," Mariam muttered, clutching her head.

Her husband was getting better but he was still in dire condition, she couldn’t lean on him for support.

She had no one, she had to figure this out herself and Carl was the most guarded.

She knew if someone was attacking them then Carl would be a probable target.

The security that was tightened might not even do her any good because if they could get someone as cautious as that man, then no one was safe.

"Mrs Mariam, someone is here to see you," A man asked, walking into her office but Maram was in no mood to entertain any guests.

"Not now..." Mariam dismissed him but the man didn’t leave the office.

Mariam tensed up because she assumed something bad was about to happen but fortunately for her, she was wrong.

"I’m afraid there is no choice," Another voice said and in came two people.

These people were Bella and Allison, they had to let her know about how serious this situation was.

They were both from a dangerous camp so they understood these kinds of situations better than anyone else.

"What do you two want?" Mariam asked, her hand leaving under her desk, she had initially thought about grabbing the gun that was there.

"We’re here to tell you that someone is trying to take this community from you..." Allison said; she had done her research in the past few days by asking around.

"I’m in no mood for conspiracy theories, you can leave if that is all you have to say," Mariam looked exhausted but this was the toll of leadership.

"You don’t understand, we have reason to believe that your husband didn’t just fall ill..." Allison said; Bella was all but healed, and her nails were growing back too.

This statement caught Mariam’s attention, she wanted to know what they were driving at.

"That is nonsense, my husband has always had health issues even before the world fell," Mariam countered.

"I’m aware of your husband’s battle with diabetes but what is happening to him might have been induced, someone has been giving him an unnatural amount of sugar to put him into that condition," Allison said and Mariam almost chuckled at how ridiculous this sounded.

"You’re saying my husband overdosed on sugar? And someone intentionally did that nonetheless?" Mariam said but she could tell by their faces that they were serious.

"Mrs Mariam, these two events are similar. I don’t know if you have noticed but the wall commander isn’t waking up..." Bella said, joining the conversation.

"I believe he was given an unsafe amount of penicillin. We have spoken to Doctor Mathias and he has confirmed that this was an allergic reaction to penicillin," Bella said and it made sense that this coincided with the retrieval of the medicine that Jason had gotten.

"Doctor Mathias? Doctor Mathias has a history of wrong diagnoses that have cost lives, he was demoted to the role of a nurse because of those errors," Mariam looked disappointed that they took his word for it but she couldn’t blame them.

They had no idea of his past but he had a controversial history when it came to medicine.

"It is worth looking at, don’t you think?" Bella asked and Mariam knew that these women would keep pushing it if she didn’t agree.

"Fine, you have managed to convince me to look into it but I still don’t believe that this is tied to what it is you have said," Mariam said but she thought about it for a second.

It wasn’t as wild-fetched as she initially thought, she was genuinely surprised that this was making sense the more she thought about it.

She, however, had more important things to discuss because these two had shown something that the others had overlooked. No one knew that penicillin could be the cause as they were oblivious to his condition.

And in actuality, Doctor Mathias never told them that this was the cause either, they had woven a lie to get Mariam to do what they needed her to do.

This was a guess on their end and they only came to this conclusion due to Bella having tortured a woman in the past using this exact method as they proceeded to do vile things to her while she was in the coma.

She couldn’t say this, of course, not even to Allison but Allison trusted her words because Bella had no reason to lie in this situation.

"Allison, I need a favour from you," Mariam said, changing the conversation.

"What is it ma’am?’ Allison responded with a smile, she was grateful that Mariam covered for her and didn’t have her thrown out like she had every right to do so.

"I need you to be the temporary wall commander," Mariam said bluntly prompting both Allison and Bella to say in unison.

"Wait, what?"

-

Sam was feeling like himself again, he had eaten and was well rested, and he was ready to take on the task that he had promised these people.

"Anderson, is it?" Sam questioned, he was up and about, they had also given him a tour of the facility and Sam realized that these people were well prepared for this.

They had more than enough food to last them for months but how they got their hand on it was unknown.

"Yes sir, are you ready?" Anderson asked because Sam was on his feet, armed to the teeth like he was going to war.

"Are you sure you want to go alone?" Anderson asked him and Sam nodded.

"You people will just slow me down, I work better alone," Sam said and Anderson was surprised by this.

Anderson knew that Sam was strong but this was a suicide mission even for him.

There was no way one man could survive a horde, even if he was blessed by the gods themselves.

"You don’t trust me?" Sam asked the all-important question.

"I don’t but I know you will see this through because we have similar goals," Anderson said and Sam chuckled the moment he heard this.

"You’re a smart man not to trust me, I did kill one of your men..." Sam mocked.

"Two..." Anderson muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" Sam asked, pretending not to hear him.

The other person he had cut succumbed to his injuries and died.

"Nothing," Anderson said, he knew there was no point because if Sam could do what he planned to do then losing two men to his impulse was a small price to pay as they would have lost a lot more if they went out alone.

And if Sam died, then they would have justice for the fallen, it was a win-win.

Sam walked out of the bunker and Anderson wished him luck, he had given him a map just in case he didn’t know his way there.

Sam took a deep sigh and knew that Clementine would have nagged the living shit out of him if she was here with him.

Sam knew she would have found a way to scold him even in his current predicament but the chances that she would have been among the casualties was exponentially high.

Sam looked over his shoulder and saw a dried-up body, to think that it was still trying to reach for him was fascinating.

Sam smiled as he slowly equipped the axe by his side, he casually walked up to the zombie, even the growling was barely audible.

"Yes, this will do just fine," Sam said before bringing down his axe with a snapping sound following suit.