After thoroughly examining himself Evan was fairly certain he didn't get any of the infected blood on him. Still, he thought it would be best to wash up as soon as he had the chance. Although others gave him a cursory glance over for any signs of bites, their attention was drawn away once Lucas had made his proclaimation. There was a nervous silence in the room, punctuated by the rattling of the lock in the door and the protesting groans of their unwanted visitor.
Evan felt nervous and worried as he tried to keep himself prepared to move. Lucas paced only a few feet in front of the glass door as if he was unconcerned, occasionally turning to inspect the human figure on the other side. Evan would never get that close, even if he knew it was safe, without being meticulously prepared for anything. But Lucas could be a little careless like that.
The other spectators in the lobby had backed away from the doorway as the zombie approached. Jorge and Simon were now near the stairs, and Victor stood beside a curly haired blond girl Evan didn't yet know. Unfortunate that so many people in here were strangers to him, but when he would spend time with Lucas out of class, it was rarely in this dorm's common area.
After about a minute, Victor spoke, holding a length of sturdy pipe in his left hand. "Well, I'm not waiting. If anyone wants to come, then you better come quick." He pivoted and proceeded through the hallway past the curly haired girl towards the common room.
"What?" Evan asked, reluctantly pulling himself away from the room to follow. "You're not actually thinking of leaving, are you?" He nodded politely to the blond girl as he passed by her, noticing that some of the longer hair had been braided into a serviceable ponytail. Everyone else remained behind to observe the injured zombie.
"It's not safe if the zombies are starting to come this way. Especially if someone infected is being allowed to stay inside." Victor plainly said as he deftly recovered and held a resident keycard to the reader beside the door. A slight beep and the quiet click of the mechanism triggered a moment later. "If you want to stay here and find out, be my guest."
"Are you crazy? This place is already locked up. We have power and water, and people on the outside already know we're in here." Evan cajoled Victor as he cracked open the door. As he did so, the voices earlier faded became clearer, speaking to one another with nerves or feigned casual disinterest. "Plus they're going to send in the military to take care of this problem, too." Evan opted to ignore the point about Robert. As far as Evan was concerned, that was far from certain.
"What if the hundreds or thousands already there head this way from across the river? Think that shoddy glass door will keep them all out?" Victor shook his head and went inside. "No way am I sticking around here to find out."
"Then we can hide on the roof. Helicopters would be able to see us, and it would still be safer than wandering around outside."
Victor ignored Evan entirely, instead addressing the people in the common room with a deep, firm voice. "Attention everyone. The zombie right outside can't run anymore so I'm leaving now. Anyone who wants to leave with me, grab your stuff. I want to get out of here before any more of them run out this way." A few people were already hastily rising and retrieving items they had left around the room.
"Where do you plan on going?" A short white girl skeptically intoned. She wore blue jeans and a black t-shirt. She had a tire iron placed before her on the table close to her right hand as she rose from her seat. Her body was fairly well toned and her brown hair was trimmed short.
"There are a lot of bicycles locked up on bike racks around here, so first we'll head out there." Victor motioned to the park blocks with a sweep of his arm. "Then, since the zombies are up in the Rose Quarter, we'll go south as far as we can go, probably on the freeway. We'll move as quick as we can and find another place to hide out if we need to rest. And we don't stop until we're completely out of danger."
"Wait!" Evan held up his hands in an effort to stop the recruitment. "We don't even know for sure what places are safe. Are you going to really risk your lives on the assumption that there aren't any more zombies in the direction you're choosing to go?"
"Don't be ridiculous. We know they're not everywhere and the only one we've seen so far came from the north. The only thing we know for sure is that there are a ton more of them in downtown Portland than anywhere else nearby. Hell, in a few hours, there's going to be another one in this building."
There was less than a minute of murmuring conversation as the people in the common room spoke in idle conversation. Before long, six people coalesced near Victor and began to file out of the door. That left a dozen or so opting to stay behind. Unfortunately, Evan noted that the short brunette was among the people who opted to take the risk.
As they departed into the hallway to enact their foolish plan, Evan followed them, trying to convince someone not to go. He told them that the CDC recommended everyone stay put while the situation was examined. Failing that, the news that the military and disaster response teams would be here soon. Evan could not understand why people would have such a careless attitude.
The departing group approached the side door where George had let Evan out not too long ago. As they left the common room and turned right to head to the back exit, George lowered the book he had been reading and stared at them in surprise. He stammered as they approached. "G-g-going outside?"
"We're leaving. You want to go with us?" Victor nodded as he spoke.
"That's a real bad idea." George said, tucking the book under one arm as he took the key from his belt. "But if you're sure."
Leaning up close against the door window, George checked all around for signs of movement. After several seconds, he nervously unlocked the door, and let the group depart. After the last one filed out, George peered outside and then gave Evan a questioning look. He shook his head, and in reply, George quickly closed the door and locked it firmly.
Evan frowned, sighed and remained in the hallway for a while with George. The same act that had saved three people might have been the catalyst for the departure of those seven. If something went wrong, they might soon attempt a return to this door. Evan waited, watching.
