KODJI and Michael were standing in front of the room reserved for the council of the Survivors' Camp; Michael stepped forward first to open the small, cold iron door that separated them.Once inside, one could see a fairly large room covered with steel walls and a layer of cold, smooth concrete on the floor.In the center of the room was a large, polished rectangular wooden table, and six chairs were arranged around it.
There was a large sliding window at the back of the room leading outside and letting in a lot of light; the only thing that mitigated it was the black curtains.Who were there near each window
The interior of the room itself had a rather rudimentary decoration; the only things found there seemed to have been there long before the arrival of the survivors.
There was only one shelf half-full of very old books, a small table in the corner that served almost no purpose, and on one wall a large photo frame that covered almost the entire wall. However, it was impossible to identify the owner of the photo because their face was completely torn off, revealing the back of the frame covered in cobwebs and dust.
Of the six chairs, only two were occupied.
One of them was occupied by Denise, the old woman Kodji had met at the entrance earlier. While the second was occupied by a fairly light-skinned young man wearing a black t-shirt with the word *LIFE* printed on it in white, and cargo pants Her clothes were stained with fresh blood, and some was even visible on her short braids.
"Well, what a pleasure to see you alive, Kodji!"
Kodji didn't seem to appreciate the young man's presence, which led to some rather heated exchanges, even though they were roughly the same age.
"Keep playing with your knives, Yannick!!"
"At least I don't back down when someone needs my help, do I, sir, boss?"
Kodji was about to reply, but Michael stopped him, letting him know there were more important things to do. He then looked away and stood in a corner of the room.
While Yannick continued to check the blade in his hands, Michael sat down and sighed in exasperation.
Denise, for her part, didn't say a word, but while Michael was asking the reason for the council meeting, Someone else entered in turn
She was a young woman with long brown braids tied back and reaching her neck, slightly dark brown skin, piercing and burning eyes, very tall and very beautiful
She was wearing a long-sleeved shirt and very comfortable jeans; at her belt was a revolver on one side and a very sharp military knife on the other.
As soon as she entered, she cast a sharp, heavy glance at Kodji. It was a mixture of anger and worry; she rushed towards him and slapped him so hard that the sound echoed throughout the room for almost five seconds. And even in the corridor, those there were paralyzed with fear and terror.
Meanwhile, inside, Kodji gently stroked his cheek as if he'd been expecting something like this, which wasn't surprising coming from his sister.
"You go out without warning for two days and you come back like nothing happened!!"
As a defensive reflex, he put his arms between himself and his sister and stared at her with one eye.
"Relax Carin, I'm back alive, you know."
"You didn't even take a rifle for protection, even though you know how to shoot! Besides, what were you looking for outside, especially with Manhattan there?!"
She turned around and began to cry.
"My poor Manhattan, I hope nothing has happened to you at least."
"You're more worried about the cat than about me! Your brother! You really have a heart of stone."
"You're not allowed to talk with your mop of hair!"
As their fraternal cacophony continued, Denise cleared her throat as if to tell them to be quiet, and it had the desired effect.
Once the situation had calmed down, Michael could finally ask about the purpose of the meeting.
"Very well, what exactly did you call us in for? I have quite a bit of research to do."
Yannick also asked a question
"Hey! Where's Daniel? He's not here?!"
Carin suddenly took on a dejected expression and sat down before speaking.
"Actually, that's what I told you about."
With a Mossade-like air, Denise replied
"So, that old fogey has left us?!"
She gave a sad smile; it was faint, but you could see all the sadness, resentment, and guilt emanating from her.
Indeed, Daniel was an important member; although old, he and a whole team were in charge of reconnoitering the area and locating the positions of the biters around the camp. He was a very kind person and very close to everyone; although his face bore the marks of age and life, he remained a very kind person. Her death would inevitably be a blow to everyone's morale, especially Denise's, who knew her well before the events.
Although she knew with a bitter smile that there was more to it, everyone knew it, but she was the first to ask the fateful question.
"You didn't call us in urgently just for that, I know... We all know it, so go ahead!"
She took a deep breath to gather her courage and all her strength for what she was about to reveal; it seemed that she herself didn't believe it.
"Indeed, I didn't summon you just for that; in fact, what Daniel left us is what's important."
They were all very tense and watched him with concern. In the group, the most perplexed was Kodji; he then asked
"What kind of things did he leave us! Carin!"
"Information! Crucial and important information that cost him his life"
She placed photos taken by Daniel on the table, and quickly everyone took one or more.
"Photos?! Daniel took them, didn't he? What's she supposed to do...?"
A shiver ran down his spine, and Yannick wasn't the only one; everyone who took a picture had the same reaction. He was horrified.
"Hey! Hey! What is this? This is a joke, I hope. How is this possible?"
"Don't tell me that's what I'm thinking."
They could not hide their astonishment and their fear
The photos showed a creature; although the photo was taken hastily, a silhouette could clearly be distinguished. This thing was larger than a normal human.It could only be called that in appearance, because it could be nearly 3 meters long at a glance; what allowed them to make this distinction was due to the fact that it was devouring another biter.
It wasn't very clear in all the photos, but some showed very clearly that what this thing was devouring was no longer a human, but a biter.
In the chronology of the images, it was observed that the clearest images were only visible during the moment of the attack on the biter and the moment when it was devouring it. But when the images became blurrier, it was when he returned in their direction.
"Look, it seems like the thing had spotted them here."
"Yes, that's true, but we don't really know what happened in the meantime."
Kodji approached his sister to ask who had brought him the camera, but Carin just shook her head and called out a name.
"Franck! You can come in."
What he was about to say would completely change the course of events, without suspecting, however, that outside something far more dangerous was watching them.