System Of The Undead

Chapter 213: Threats And Secrets

Back at the community, Rachel and Mathias were granted safe passage across the wall but they were being watched within an earshot.

She noticed that Mathias looked nervous and she wondered if he had any malicious intent aimed towards her.

She knew that she could defend herself but it wasn’t lost to her the biological advantage that Mathias had. He was a man and she was a woman.

"Are you alright? You look nervous..." Rachel brought it up to his attention and Mathias immediately adjusted his body language so he could give off a more confident persona.

"It was that obvious, huh?" Mathias responded with a weak laugh but she noticed that he was trembling for some reason.

She wanted to keep quiet and focus on the job at hand as they had already located the herbs that he wished to retrieve but she couldn’t overlook it.

It wasn’t who she was, not anymore and she sighed at the conundrum she found herself in.

"Are you okay?" Rachel asked, putting a hand on his shoulder but Mathias panicked the moment he felt her touch.

"T-They are watching..." Mathias muttered to her and Rachel was confused because there was no law saying that she couldn’t touch him or would it be so strange that she would?

Rachel turned around and noticed that the people watching them took note of this action.

"Huh?" She thought to herself because there was something that Mathias wasn’t telling her.

"Rachel, there is something you need to know..." Mathias muttered.

"I’m listening, Mathias, what is it?" Rachel asked, leaning in closer in case he was worried about others eavesdropping.

"It is about the fire... I don’t thin-!" Mathias was interrupted by an arm around the shoulder.

This inadvertently pushed Rachel’s arm aside, Rachel wanted to bark but she knew that this would cause more problems.

"What are you two talking about? Didn’t you say you wanted to get some herbs?" The man said; he was a slender, tall man with a goth vibe surrounding him.

He had black makeup and piercings all over his face, his black hair was full and curly.

Despite his demeanour, he had a very gently looking face but this wasn’t the time to be admiring his aesthetic.

This was one of the new people that Mariam had recruited and Rachel only now noticed that they were becoming bolder.

Mathias’ mouth clamped shut the moment this man came into view telling Rachel that this wasn’t their first encounter.

"Or does little Mathias want to be a bad boy?" The man mocked him and Rachel could tell that Mathias was scared of him.

"W- What are you talking about? We were just talking about if the herbs were the right ones," Mathias stuttered in the beginning but he regained his composure and managed to convince this man.

The man’s eyes lingered on Rachel, focusing primarily on her breasts as the top of her cleavage was exposed.

Rachel knew what he was thinking without him even saying a word but this man didn’t care enough to hide his thoughts.

"You’re the chick fucking that Jason guy, right?" He said outright, the audacity to even say this to her face told Rachel that these people had more power than they should.

He reached to grab her breasts but before it could go any further, someone intervened and grabbed his wrist.

"That’s enough, Corey," A younger man informed him and unlike Corey, he had a rough appearance despite his somewhat chubby figure.

There was a scar right under his eye, a few inches higher and there wouldn’t be an eye to see with.

"Fucking hell Mick, it is just like you to ruin my fun!" Corey barked as he freed himself from his hold.

The fact that Corey was about to assault Rachel right there and then showed that he was a man that shouldn’t be in this community yet he was.

"I apologize for Corey but you two shouldn’t loiter around, we have reports of a nearby herd," Mick explained the situation calmly, the goatee around his mouth complemented his gruff exterior.

Corey hissed and walked right past Rachel, brushing her aside but not before whispering something to her.

"Let’s see how you fare when it is just us two," Corey said but Rachel wasn’t phased by this.

This had to be an empty threat because there was no way he would do something so stupid and there wouldn’t be any repercussions.

She had Allison and Bella as well, and seeing them fight first-hand made her realize that there was no way this weird-looking clown could hope to match them.

She didn’t give him any reaction but she knew she would be seeing him around.

"Hurry up and get back to the community," Mick said but he didn’t leave their location.

Leaving no room for them to continue the conversation that they were having.

-

Clementine met Anderson but had no idea who he was so he sounded like every normal person to her.

"Say Anderson, what is up with this place?" Clementine questioned.

"I’m still trying to figure it out myself, they found me and my team and brought us here. They offered us treatment and that was it, we started living here." Anderson said.

"That doesn’t sound very smart," Clementine said.

"I thought so too but they haven’t asked anything of us yet," Anderson said.

This didn’t go over their head but there was nothing to be suspicious of because the military was created for their safety but they also knew that this logic didn’t apply anymore.

The bells rang and everyone kept quiet the moment it did, the door sprung open and multiple women pushed trolleys filled with non-perishable food and they began to distribute them.

Clementine noticed the change in atmosphere because the people’s carefree attitude changed.

This wasn’t the body language of people that have been saved but rather, conquered.

"This feeling..." Samantha thought to herself as she knew it too well, it was the feeling of fear.

She could sense it in the atmosphere but she didn’t share this same fear.

"Cle-! Shauna, something is wrong here," Samantha muttered to her, almost calling her by her original name.

"I know but we can’t do anything yet," Clementine responded.

Anderson said he was rescued alongside his team so why was he alone?

"Anderson, where is your team?" Clementine questioned him.

Anderson didn’t give a response and instead, found something to excuse himself with.

He retired to his designated space, Clementine didn’t know if this was a sensitive subject but it gave her the answer she needed.

It soon reached their turn to be given food but the lady stopped the moment she reached them.

"What’s your number?" She asked but Clementine raised a brow.

"I’m afraid we weren’t given one..." Clementine responded and the woman sighed the moment she heard this.

"You cannot eat without a number, rookie..." The woman already knew who was responsible for this mix-up, it was the man she had flirted with at the gate that was meant to give her number.

He often did this so the women would have no choice but to find him again.

"Shoot, I’m new so I don’t know how this place works. Is there anywhere I can get a number? My sister and I are very hungry," Clementine said, adding another lie to her initial one.

The lady thought about what to do as she couldn’t punish them for something that wasn’t their fault.

"Here.." She handed them both a tag but the tags looked a lot older than the ones others had.

"Use these for now, I will get you new tags in the morning," The lady responded.

She was friendly and Clementine appreciated that she went out of her way for them as well.

The lady handed them their food and Samantha couldn’t even remember the last time she had proper food.

She didn’t waste time opening it and dug in, using her hands to devour the contents within.

This act supported Clementine’s claim of them being hungry.

"Poor thing," The woman muttered under her breath as she moved on to the next person.

Clementine heaved a sigh of relief, that was quick thinking from Samantha.

"Good acting there, Samantha..." Clementine muttered to the blonde lady.

"Acting?" Samantha thought to herself, confused as to what Clementine was talking about because this was no act, she was hungry as shit.

Clementine looked at Anderson, like she thought, he was alone and something told her he was hiding something from them but that was to be expected.

They had only just met, she had to find a way to gain his trust or she might never have the chance to.

"It looks like I will be staying here a bit longer, wait for me... Sam," Clementine thought to herself as she too proceeded to eat but at a much slower pace than Samantha but she noticed that the men in uniform had their hands on their guns.

"Hmmm, something is fishy about this place,"