Chapter 28: Our New Neighbours and Three Dead Bodies

Zarek remained outside the apartment door, listening.

Someone was inside. He had heard at least two voices, along with the scrape of furniture against the floor. He couldn’t make out what they were saying, but they sounded alive and reasonably calm.

That was enough information for now.

He stepped away from the door and gestured for Elsa and Ayesha to follow.

Ayesha glanced back. "We’re leaving them alone?"

"Do you want to knock and introduce yourself?"

She gave him an irritated look. "That’s not what I meant."

"Then don’t ask stupid questions."

Before she could respond, Zarek continued down the corridor.

Elsa followed without saying anything. She was too exhausted to get involved in another argument, and the thought of entering an occupied room wasn’t particularly appealing anyway.

They checked several more doors.

Some were locked, while others opened into empty apartments. One contained overturned chairs and a shattered television. Another had been stripped of almost everything useful, leaving only a mattress and a few scattered clothes.

Finding a suitable place was proving more troublesome than Zarek had expected.

He didn’t need anything luxurious. A working lock, enough space for three people, and a door that wouldn’t fall apart if someone kicked it were reasonable requirements.

Preferably, the previous occupants would be absent.

Dead people weren’t an immediate problem, but depending on how they had died, they could indicate a much bigger one.

He stopped outside another apartment.

The door stood slightly open. He pushed it with the tip of his sword.

Nothing moved inside.

He waited a moment before entering.

The living room was dim, lit by pale daylight filtering through dusty windows. A sofa sat against one wall, and a wooden table stood near the kitchen entrance.

Someone had left a jacket draped over a chair, while an unopened packet of biscuits lay beside a half-empty bottle of water.

The place looked as though its occupants had stepped out for a moment and simply forgotten to return.

Zarek checked the living room before moving into the kitchen. He inspected the bathroom, opened the nearest bedroom, and looked behind the door.

Empty.

The second bedroom was farther down the short hallway.

He noticed the stain before he reached it.

Dark streaks marked the floor near the doorway.

Zarek stopped, then pushed the door open.

Three bodies lay inside.

The smallest body was almost completely hidden beneath the blanket. One of the adults had a hand stretched toward the bed, fingers curled against the floor.

Elsa stopped behind Zarek. "Are they...?"

"Dead," he said.

For a moment, nobody behind him spoke.

Blood had dried across the floor and stained the bedsheets. The room was stuffy, and the smell grew worse as they approached.

Elsa stumbled backward.

"Oh, God..."

She covered her mouth, her eyes fixed on the bodies. Her injured arm pressed against her stomach as if she had suddenly forgotten it was hurt.

Ayesha stood frozen behind her.

She had seen Harun die. She had watched Zarek cut down Vance without hesitation. Death was no longer something she could pretend existed only in distant streets and abandoned buildings.

But these people had died in a bedroom.

There were clothes folded on a chair. A pair of slippers sat beside the bed. Someone had even left a book open on the bedside table.

Small, ordinary things.

They made the scene worse.

"Let’s go," Elsa whispered. "We should find somewhere else."

Zarek didn’t move immediately.

He examined the room from the doorway, paying attention to the broken furniture and the blood near the entrance. He couldn’t tell what had happened here, and he wasn’t interested in guessing.

There was no obvious sign of movement.

That didn’t mean the apartment was safe. The bodies alone weren’t enough to prove it was dangerous, either.

"What happened to them?" Elsa asked.

"How should I know?"

She looked at him. "Can’t you at least—"

"At least what? Make up a story?"

Elsa shut her mouth. Zarek stepped back into the hallway, giving the bedroom one last look before turning away.

"We’re not sleeping in that room. Problem solved."

"You’re still going to stay here?" Ayesha asked.

"Why wouldn’t I?"

She stared at him as though he had missed something painfully obvious.

"Because there are dead people in here!"

"And they’re doing a wonderful job of staying dead."

Ayesha’s grip tightened around her empty rifle.

For a moment, she looked ready to argue. Then her gaze drifted toward the bedroom again, and whatever she had intended to say died in her throat.

Zarek couldn’t understand what they expected him to do.

The smell was unpleasant, but the apartment had a solid entrance, intact windows, and enough space for all three of them. More importantly, it offered a chance to rest without remaining exposed in the streets.

He checked the remaining rooms once more, paying particular attention to the windows and any place large enough to conceal something. He found nothing moving.

That wasn’t a guarantee of safety. It was enough to make the apartment worth using for now.

"Look," he said, "we can waste the next hour searching for another apartment, or we can use this one and get some rest. There’s no guarantee the next place will be any better."

Elsa looked down the corridor. She knew he was right. That didn’t make the decision easier.

"What if whatever killed them is still here?"

"Then we’ll deal with it if it shows up."

"And if it’s something we can’t deal with?"

Zarek shrugged. "Then we die somewhere else instead."

She stared at him.

"You’re unbelievable."

Zarek returned to the living room and began checking the furniture. The sofa was dusty but usable. The kitchen had a few utensils, though he found nothing worth taking.

The windows opened onto the street, giving them a view of the surrounding buildings without exposing the apartment to the ground below.

He tested the entrance lock twice. It worked.

There was also a heavy wooden cabinet near the wall. With some effort, it could be pushed in front of the door if they needed additional protection.

Not perfect, but good enough for a temporary shelter.

"Elsa, check the kitchen for anything useful. Ayesha, look through the other rooms. Don’t touch anything in that bedroom."

Both women hesitated.

Zarek glanced at them.

"What now?"

"Nothing," Elsa muttered.

She went into the kitchen, keeping her eyes away from the hallway. Ayesha glanced toward the bedroom one last time, then followed Elsa into the kitchen.

She didn’t argue again. There was no point pretending Zarek would change his mind because she disliked his decision.

Zarek dragged the cabinet closer to the entrance. The furniture scraped across the floor, filling the apartment with an unpleasant noise, but he didn’t care. If someone outside heard them, they would hear them.

Once the cabinet was in place, he checked the door again.

The cabinet wouldn’t stop someone determined to get inside, but it would make opening the door harder and give them a warning. He checked the windows once more before finally sitting down.

Finally.

His legs ached from climbing the tower, and the constant movement was beginning to wear on him. The strength enhancement had helped, but it hadn’t turned him into someone who never needed rest.

He leaned back and let out a breath.

A few minutes later, Elsa returned with a handful of supplies.

"There’s some bottled water, a few cans, and some kitchen towels," she said. "Nothing else useful."

"Keep the food together. We’ll check it properly later."

She nodded and placed everything on the table.

Ayesha came out of the hallway. "The bathroom works. There’s no running water, though. The living room is fine, but I’m not sleeping beside those bodies."

"Good."

"That’s all you have to say?"

Zarek looked up at her.

"Would you prefer a speech?"

She rolled her eyes and sat in a chair across from him, leaving a considerable amount of space between them.

Elsa settled at the opposite end of the sofa. Her eyes kept drifting toward the hallway, and every time she remembered what lay behind that door, her shoulders tightened.

Zarek noticed this.

"You can sleep in the other bedroom if you want."

Elsa looked at him in surprise.

"What?"

"I said you can sleep in the other bedroom. Unless you’d rather stay here and stare at the wall all night."

She hesitated before answering. "I’m not going in there."

"Then don’t."

That was the end of the conversation as far as he was concerned.

She would get over it eventually. Or she wouldn’t. Either way, they had a roof over their heads.

He looked toward the entrance. Beyond it lay a quiet corridor, several unexplored apartments, and at least two people living somewhere nearby.

He hadn’t forgotten the voices behind the earlier door. The people inside might have heard them moving around, and sooner or later, someone could come to investigate.

He wouldn’t mind meeting them. Survivors who had managed to hold a position inside the building might have useful supplies or information. Of course, they might also decide that three newcomers were a threat.

Either way, he would deal with them when they showed up.

A soft sound came from outside.

Footsteps.

Elsa immediately sat upright. Ayesha’s hand moved toward her empty rifle before she remembered there was nothing to fire.

The footsteps passed their door.

Neither woman relaxed until the sound faded.

Zarek, on the other hand, smiled.

They had finally obtained a room, and it looked as though the building came with a few potential complications.

Well, at least he wouldn’t be bored.

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

"All right. We’ve got a room."

He glanced toward the entrance.

"Now let’s see how to deal with our fellow neighbours."