Chapter 35: Infected

"I came here with no harm, I wish a place to stay." He shouted, looking at the camera. He sounded desperate and sincere, but I did not trust him. He could be a spy, a trap, or a bait.

"Let's see this man." I said, motioning to the others to follow me. We quickly went to the entrance of the mansion, where we had built an extra barricade with car wheels. Expanding our territory and protecting the new farm which is in front of the mansion.

After that there was a gate made of logs, which we had locked and secured. We climbed over the gate and pointed our guns at the man, who looked scared and nervous.

"Who are you, and tell me where you come from!" I shouted, aiming my rifle at his head. I wanted to know his identity and his intentions, and I was not going to let him in until I was satisfied with his answers.

The man introduced himself "I'm Christopher, and I come alone, I've been overrun by zombies. I escaped alone, and ran into the mountains, hoping to find a safe place to stay."

"How did you found this place?" I shouted again

"I happened to stumbled upon your mansion by chance, and saw the sign. That's why I decided to take the risk and ask for your help."

I did not believe him. I he's lying, or hiding something. Judging from his body language, the way he speaks, and move.

I decided to test him, and see if he had any companions. I fired a shot near his face, missing him by a hair. He flinched but still determined, but insisted he was alone.

"I told you! I'm alone!" He shouted angrily

I fired another shot, this time closer to his ear. He fliched again. "Stop it! I told tou already! I'm alone!" He begged but I did not listen. I gave him a countdown, and threatened to kill him if he did not tell the truth.

"Five!"

"Four!"

"Three!"

"Two!"

"Stop!" A female voice shouted from behind a tree. A girl emerged, holding her hands up. She looked like in her 30s and scared, and she had a backpack on her shoulders. She pleaded Stop!" the woman shouted, "Please don't kill him"

I looked at her, and saw that she was not alone. Behind her, there were one more people. A boy, who looked about the same age as Andy. He also had his hands up, and looked terrified.

"Souta, they have a baby." Amy whispered in my ear. She was standing next to me. She was a caring and compassionate person, who had a soft spot for children and old people.

I look at the woman and she have a baby on her chest, carrying it with clothes.

I felt a pang of sympathy, but I did not lower my guard I can't take the risk just because they have a baby. I signaled to the others to retrain them, Andy and Jenny opened the gate while Andy and Steff tied their hands. Tying their hands Amy said, "You can hold the baby" and smiled "thank you" the woman said.

They searched them, and took away their weapons and belongings. They found a baseball bat, a knife, a pistol, and some ammo. They also found some food, water, clothes, and tools. They did not have much, but they had enough to survive.

We let them in, but only after we made them strip to their underwear. We had to check them for any bites or scratches, which could mean they were infected by the zombie virus. We did not want to risk bringing any danger into our home.

Amy and Steff checked the girl and the woman, while I checked Christopher and the boy.

We explained to them that "We need to do this, for our protection" I explained, They nodded, and said "I understand, even I would be worried if someone is infected near us" he said. They seemed cooperative, and did not resist.

He said "were grateful that you had spared us I hope that you could trust us, we only want a place to stay, and that's all"

I smiled, and said, "maybe you were telling the truth. That you were just innocent people, who had been through a lot, and needed a place to stay. We could help you, and you could help us."

But then, as I was checking the boy, I saw something that made me change my mind. Something that made me curse and back away. Something that made me realize that we had made a mistake.

He had a bite mark on his right foot. A fresh and bloody bite mark, that looked like it had been made by a zombie.

"Shit!" I exclaimed, pointing my gun at him. "How long have you been bitten?" I asked him, in a hurry.

He looked at me, and then at Christopher. He seemed scared and guilty, and he hesitated to answer. "Just, a few minutes before I met them." He said, in a low voice.

"Since when did you get here?" I asked Christopher, who looked shocked and confused.

"Around two hours." He said, shaking his head. "I swear, I didn't know he was bitten. He didn't tell me. He hid it from me."

I did not know if he was lying or not, but it did not matter. The boy was infected, and he could turn into a zombie at any moment. We had to act fast, and do something about it.

We had two options. We could kill him, and end his suffering. Or we could try to save him, and hope for a miracle.

I chose the second option. I was not a cold-blooded killer, and I did not want to kill a kid. I wanted to give him a chance, even if it was a slim one. Also, this would be really valuable to know if we could stop an infection before it could spread.

"Andy, call Amy and Steff." I said to Andy, who was next to me. He had helped me check the newcomers, and he had seen the bite mark. He looked pale and scared, but he nodded and ran to get the others.

"Hold him down." I said to Christopher, who was still holding the boy. I took out my katana, which I had strapped to my waist. It was a sharp and sturdy sword, I had used it to kill many zombies. I cleaned it with alcohol, and prepared to use it for something else.