The confusion surrounding the "shepherd's" remarks was, to say the least, disconcerting; what could a man possibly want when he has an entire army of the undead with him?
Despite the many questions running through Carin's mind, she knew that incurring the shepherd's wrath would be a big mistake, so it was best to listen to what he had to say.
So she climbed down from the turret, while the shepherd talked with the people below.
"Are you really going to go, sis?!"
"We don't have much of a choice, you saw that yourself, the first attack was a warning, and given the number of undead outside, if they attack again we'll be cornered."
"Very well, I'm with you, let's go."
Kodji and Carin had gone downstairs and were heading towards the fence where the shepherd was standing near the large gate, when someone stopped his hand
"Elie! What's wrong? You don't look well."
Indeed, Elie was very pale; not only was she sweating profusely, but her hands and face were intensely hot. It looked as if she had a fever, but it was more than that.
"Kodji! I'm not feeling well, do you know where Michael is?!"
Luckily, he was nearby and approached her to examine her.
"Whoa! We could fry an egg on your cheek, you didn't choose your moment to get sick."
"Sorry, but it's just that I feel like I've been hearing strange sounds for a while now,"
"Since earlier?!.... Well, I'll take you far away from here already!"
He was slowly walking away before Kodji called out to Michael.
"You've understood what that is, haven't you!"
"I can't explain everything right now, but know that it's directly related to the arrival of that other nutcase who's been dragging around corpses."
After that, they didn't exchange another word, and Kodji walked towards the large gate where his sister was already waiting.
After struggling to separate the crowd for a little while, he finally reached the gate, but before approaching his sister, Yannick stopped him.
"What's wrong?! Why are you stopping me?!"
He calmly pulled him into the crowd, then leaned close to his ear to whisper something to him.
"Hey Kodji! Do you know where Elie is?"
In return, he also whispered.
"Why are you..."
He stopped him dead in his tracks
"I don't want to know anything, don't you dare let Elie and that other guy meet."
"I don't understand you, what exactly happened!"
"We'll explain everything later, for now go to her as quickly as possible and examine her body thoroughly, and check if there's a scar."
The more time passed, the more Kodji didn't understand why Yannick was giving him such instructions.
"At least take the time to explain it to me!"
"We don't have time! Hurry up!"
Given the seriousness Yannick was displaying, it had to be urgent; he moved quietly away from the crowd to go to the clinic.
After giving Carin's instructions to Kodji, he joined her; the situation seemed extremely critical.
Once at the clinic he didn't waste a single second, and rushed to Elie
"Oh! Kodji, the situation is improving outside!?"
She seemed to be doing better; it was too far away here for the music to reach anyone's ears, but she still seemed a little unwell.
"Is she feeling better? That's great then."
He took a deep breath before continuing his remarks
"Sorry Elie, but you're going to have to undress!!"
"WHAT !!?"
Even Michael was shocked by the young man's crude words; he even started laughing.
"What's gotten into you? Wasn't it enough for you once, you want to grope me again?"
"Listen, we don't have time, we need to check your body."
Michael placed his hand on his shoulder and moved closer to him.
"You can call a woman to do that!"
"Yes, you're probably right, let's do that."
He looked at Elie with a touch of embarrassment! And Elie, for her part, blushed slightly, both embarrassed and angry, crossing her arms as if to protect herself from someone with dark intentions.
"Sorry, I got carried away! It was quite urgent, so..."
She didn't answer him; Michael had gone out to find one of his assistants, leaving the two young teenagers in the same room, which didn't seem like a good idea, especially With what had just happened
Once the door closed behind him, Michael left behind a rather peculiar atmosphere.
The two teenagers didn't dare speak to each other for a while, but Kodji broke the ice.
"Sorry! I shouldn't have, and I didn't apologize the first time..."
"It's okay, I know I'm beautiful, so I'm used to it."
"Okay, don't get a big head, there are prettier girls in the camp..."
"Oh yes, like whom? I'm curious"
"Marie, for example, is more beautiful"
With a sly smile and an almost mocking look, she placed her hand over her mouth
"So she's your type of girl, you like big boobs, huh! You naughty boy!"
"You certainly won't find that at your place."
The smile vanished immediately, replaced by a great deal of resentment.
"Fuck off! It doesn't have to be big to be beautiful!!"
"Hmm! That's what someone who doesn't have much would say."
"I don't want to discuss this with you! I'm not interested in it at all."
He let out a mocking, provocative laugh.
Elie can only swallow his anger for the moment.
After exchanging a few words, the tension had greatly decreased.
"So what is the situation like outside?"
He looked out the window; nothing had changed since he'd entered the medical ward. The living dead were still there! The crowd too, which meant they were still talking. But what for? He couldn't have known.
"Always the same... Just as critical"
"I trust your sister, and you do too, don't you?"
"Of course!... I trust her even more than you trust yourself."
"Oh! Come on! You can stop, it's not nice to talk about one girl when you've already talked to another!"
"She's right! That's not right! Besides, it's very strange, especially if it's your sister."
"Marie! You're here!!"
"Oh! Hi Elie, how are you?"
"I brought her in to check on Elie's body! I thought she'd be more comfortable with someone she knows."
"I see! Thank you"
"Otherwise, Kodji! What was it you wanted to check on his body?"
"Marie, you can check if she has a scar on her body! Preferably a post-operative scar."
"Yes! No problem"
After handing out the documents, he and Michael headed towards the exit and closed the door; Elie was already undressing, and Marie was proceeding with the examination.
Outside, things had changed; the undead were moving away, which meant the shepherd was gone. The question was, what had happened there? He would probably only find out much later.
Carin and Yannick approached him, looking particularly serious.