ZERO (Complete)

Chapter Eighteen

Dane and Allie made their way around the abandoned park, exploring the grounds and trying to imagine how it must have looked in its former glory. The once brightly coloured signage and rides where sun-baked and faded, surviving a world war and suffering nearly one hundred years of neglect. Tall weeds grew up the sides of the old buildings and broke through the crumbling pavement as rust and erosion had taken over the weathered metal. Some buildings were completely demolished and unfit to enter while others were still pristine as if they had been built recently.

"You know, this is my first time being at a theme park," Dane said.

"Mine too," Allie replied.

"Too bad it's in the state it's in. I would have liked to see what all the hype was about. Looked like it could be a fun time."

"Are there even any theme parks still in operation?" Allie asked.

"I don't know... I doubt it. It feels more like one of those things they had in the olden days before the internet and virtual reality."

"I never understood why this place was called Unity World when their mascot was called Bonky. Why not call it Bonky's World, or the call their mascot the Unity Bear or something."

"It was named after what's his face — that billionaire dude who created our currency."

"Look there's Bonky," Dane said standing next to the giant rusted and smashed head that was half buried in mud. They took a moment of silence as if they were mourning the death of an actual living person.

"He's seen better days," Allie said.

"Yeah, this whole place has. At some point this place was filled with little sugar-induced kids on tethers, pulling their oversized parents like untrained dogs. Think of all the fun memories families created here."

"Now all those people are dead," Allie said. "Every last one of them."

"Dang, Allie, that's dark," Dane turned to her with a furrowed brow.

"What? It's true."

The two continued to explore the park and look for anything they could use for survival. There wasn't much as it was previously occupied by others. Anything that would be of value was likely scavenged long ago.

"The good news is that these guys were living here for some time and it doesn't seem as though anyone ever came out here. We can likely enjoy similar privacy," Allie said.

"It doesn't look like they had any transportation though. Or maybe they do have transportation, and somebody is out with it. For all we know, they could have several more members of their squad coming back at any moment."

"Doubtful. I don't see any tire impressions," Allie said.

"Maybe the rain washed them away, or they park far away and walk."

"Why would they do that?"

"I don't know," Dane said, struggling to come up with a viable explanation.

"To your point, we shouldn't let our guards down and get too comfortable or complacent. Speaking from a fighter's perspective, that's when mistakes happen."

"I agree."

There was one last building they had yet to explore. It didn't look the same as the other buildings. It appeared to be more of an administrative office not meant for the public. It was in fairly decent shape as well, which was promising. The walls were still standing and intact, and the roof had yet to collapse. As usual, they approached with caution, unsure what they might find.