Patience was something Dash did not have a lot of. Even when she was a kid, before everything went to shit, she was a ticking time-bomb of energy. It wasn’t that she wanted to run around, she needed to or else she felt constricted and upset. She needed to feel the air pushing against her body, blowing her hair out behind her and making her feel alive.
‘If the fucking apocalypse didn’t happen, I probably would have joined a track team or something.’ she thought to herself as she walked up a flight of steps to the roof.
She still had about fifteen minutes before she needed to be there, but she had nothing else to do so she figured she’d just wait. The compound wasn’t the tallest building she’d ever saw, standing at fifteen stories high. About two of those were solely for storage purposes. Beds, bags, clothing, and various other appliances and utilities. It seemed like a lot, but considering they had nine floors full of survivors that were always hungry, thirsty, or sick, it wasn’t the most reliable supply. That’s where runners like Dash came in though. They were sent out almost every day, usually alone but groups were assembled for bigger jobs. The two supply floors were situated above the nine floors full of civilians.
Aside from the two floors of supplies and the nine full of people, there was one floor used for offices, like the medical room she previously occupied. There was a small medical hub on the fifth floor, where people could go for checkups and mostly anything else, but the main medical office was used for emergencies. It goes without saying that Dash and the other runners saw that room a lot, since they were always being pushed out into the heart of danger. They were bound to get pretty roughed up. Usually the only time anyone else was taken to the main medical room was when they hurt themselves doing something really stupid, like breaking a leg trying to do something they saw a runner do.
Above this twelfth floor, though, was where Dash spent most of her time. Everything from floor thirteen to twenty was empty and in ruin. Walls had been stripped bare almost immediately after the compound had been established as a safe zone. They used every available resource they had to make weapons and tools for survival. She could respect that though, plus it gave her a place where she could be alone with her thought and do whatever she wanted. Kind of like how a kid always wants to have their own room.
Dash paused at that idea. She thought back to her room back when she was younger. Posters of various sports and famous athletes were scattered across her walls. Her bed was almost always a mess, and the cleanest thing in the room was her bike. The only thing she loved more than running was riding her bike, and she always claimed she would own a motorcycle one day. The closest she ever came was vaulting over a ruined one while running from a horde.
She shook her head to escape her nostalgia and continued with the task at hand. Putting a gloved hand forward, Dash pushed the red door that was situated at the top of the stairs open and walked through it.
“The town always looks so much different from up here.” she said to herself as she gazed at the skyline before her.
Her eyes scanned the neighboring buildings, most of which were small houses and shops. From up here, she couldn’t tell that windows were broken and doors were smashed in. It almost looked like the town was peaceful, and everyone was just away on vacation. But then she’d see the lone walker, slowly shuffling down the street as it instinctively searched for its next meal. It was a grim reminder that things have changed and might not ever go back to the way they were before.
Dash felt her ears perk slightly as she heard the door behind her being pushed open. She turned and saw the person she was waiting on, Doc Horse, walking up to her with a bag in one hand and some papers in the other.
“About time you showed up doc, I’ve been bored outta my mind for the last half hour!” she said with an annoyed scowl on her face.
The Doctor paid her no mind though, walked right up to the edge of the roof and peered out at the skyline before him. Slowly, and with a heavy sigh, he handed the papers he was holding to Dash. She grabbed the papers and looked to him for some sort of direction or information, but he just blankly stared forward.
Dash looked at the papers in her hand, they were handwritten reports from a runner she didn’t know, A.J was their name apparently. Sounded like a name some meat-headed dude would have. Probably stood for Ajax, or Francis.She skimmed through the words, reading and writing was another set of things she wasn’t very fond of. She usually gave her reports orally, as did most runners, but what made this report important?
That was when she saw it, the name that triggered the worst in her. The Institute.
“What is this?” she quickly asked Doctor Horse.
He shook his head before speaking. “Just read it first.”
Dash followed the order and started reading the report from the beginning once again, carefully this time. It stated that, upon a regular scouting run, AJ saw a civilian who seemed a bit suspicious. They stopped and watched the civilian for a moment, and saw them pull out a weapon and attack a zombie.
The report goes on to say that the civilian dismembered the zombie and placed its severed arm into their bag before taking off. AJ followed the person at a distance, unsure of what was happening, before reaching the edge of the town where the forest was. They radioed in their position, just in case, and then continued their chase. It’s stated that the tracks were pretty easy to follow, the civilian must not have been aware they were being followed and didn’t exercise much caution.
The forest had been dense, AJ said that they could hear the sounds of zombies moving all around, and sounds that they weren’t familiar with as well. Soon enough, the tracks led to a bunker. The door had been locked but AJ didn’t risk trying to break in for one reason, which was, in their own words, “It was labeled as ‘Institute 3987-B’, I know what that means and I ain’t going in alone.”
Dash felt a pain in her chest as she looked up from the paper and out to the sunset. Her mind was filled with images from her past. Needles, straps, tables, cages, and the fire. The fire was the most prominent memory she had right now.
“I thought it was gone, what is this?” she asked, anger and worry clear in her voice.
“I should have known, they must have other labs scattered around. I always suspected as much, but I was never sure.” Doctor Horse said, gripping at the bag in his hand.
“I’m going.” Dash said, fist clenched tightly.
“I know.” the Doctor said as he turned to her and held the bag up. “I want you to take this with you instead of your normal pack. It’s already full of bandages and other essentials, but it can hold anything else you might need. There’s also something in there for you.”
Dash took the bag and opened it up. Sure enough, there were bandages, gauze, alcohol and some type of ointment in a tube. She reached in and searched around until her hand hit something hard and cold. She grasped it and pulled it out of the bag.
“A gun?” she asked as she eyed the pistol in her hand. “Guns attract them.”
“I know that.” he said “But we both know that you’ll need some type of advantage down there, and this is perfect for that. Whether you use it or not is entirely up to you.”
Dash nodded. “Thanks Doc.”
Doctor Horse nodded. “AJ will be waiting by the gate to escort you to the forest and show you the entrance.”
Dash put her arms through the straps of the bag and adjusted it so it rested comfortably on her back.
“I got it. Wish me luck Doc.” she said before she turned and began walking to the door that would lead her downstairs.
“Best of luck Dash. And...I’m sorry.” Doctor Horse said as he watched her walk away, before turning and looking at the setting sun once more.
Dash stopped in her tracks for a moment. “Yea, me too.”