dinner bell. My hunch was confirmed before I was even down from the crow’s nest when three more explosions came one on top of the other. They were closer.
Whoever this was, they were bringing any zombie for miles down on us. I thought back to when we had to evacuate Serenity Base. There had been a firefight, and the people who had wiped out that location reportedly used zombies as shock troops. I didn’t recall any explosions, but I was running scared at the time. Also, we got out just ahead of the attack. There were plenty of big booms and gunfire. Maybe I just had not been paying attention.
When I reached the bottom of the ladder, Melissa was wai ting. I didn’t have enough time to put up any sort of emotional expression filter. She saw it plain on my face.
“It’s that bad?” she whispered.
I looked over her shoulder at Thalia who was sitting in front of the fireplace with her Border collie, Buster. She was teaching the eager pup to hide her eyes to the delight of Misty who, on one of those rare occasions, did not notice that I was in the room. Anytime I came within visual range, that girl would clam up tighter than Fort Knox.
Watching from a few feet away were the two children that DeAngelo Cribbs and his wife had taken as their own: Rabia and Levent. These two had become our responsibility when a group of Muslim survivors arrived. A few had been bitten. For some reason, they thought it would be better to go out into the woods and die than take care of the ones who were still healthy. Yet, somebody in that group made the decision to leave the two children with us.
It’s been a crazy few months.
“I think so,” I finally answered Melissa. “And some of you will be leaving for the emergency fall back location in a little while.”
I could tell that Melissa wanted to say something in the form of a protest. But her hands went to her swelling belly where our child was growing and she kept her arguments—whatever they might have been—to herself.
“Everybody listen up!” Jon called as he came inside. “It looks like we have a serious band of raiders heading our way. I do not expect any sort of parlay with these folks. From all indications, these people don’t seem to be the talking type. Now, we are not just going to abandon what we have here. However, we will be sending some of you to the emergency shelter.”
“Steve, Nickie, DeAngelo, Fiona and Doug, you will be staying here,” Jesus stepped forward and read from a scrap of paper.
It seemed that Jon was assuming his role of our military leader. Thank God. I might be able to make some decisions, but this was so far outside of my element, I would not know where to begin.
“Jake will lead the rest to our fallback location,” Jesus co ntinued.
“Perhaps Steve should change places with Brad,” Dr. Zahn offered. “As our appointed leader, I believe it would be best if he were to evacuate with the rest of us.”
“I understand your point, Doc,” Jon said with a curt nod. “However, he is a better shot and we need our best for this.”
“So is it my understanding that you intend on engaging th ese people?” Dr. Zahn was not finished. “From what I’ve heard and the very little that I’ve seen, it is a possibility that this is the same group that wiped out Serenity Base. No disrespect to you, sergeant, but Serenity had better firepower and equally competent soldiers.”
“And if we were going to stand our ground, you would be absolutely correct,” Jon agreed. “However, that is not my plan.”
I could tell that Dr. Zahn wanted to continue this little debate, but she was also smart enough to know how precious time was at this very moment. She shot me a look that I couldn’t decipher and went to her little closet/office, presumably to grab essentials.
Melissa and Thalia clung to me for a moment. I did my best to say all those things that you have no power to actually fulfill. Things like “I’ll be fine” and “I will see you
Whoever this was, they were bringing any zombie for miles down on us. I thought back to when we had to evacuate Serenity Base. There had been a firefight, and the people who had wiped out that location reportedly used zombies as shock troops. I didn’t recall any explosions, but I was running scared at the time. Also, we got out just ahead of the attack. There were plenty of big booms and gunfire. Maybe I just had not been paying attention.
When I reached the bottom of the ladder, Melissa was wai ting. I didn’t have enough time to put up any sort of emotional expression filter. She saw it plain on my face.
“It’s that bad?” she whispered.
I looked over her shoulder at Thalia who was sitting in front of the fireplace with her Border collie, Buster. She was teaching the eager pup to hide her eyes to the delight of Misty who, on one of those rare occasions, did not notice that I was in the room. Anytime I came within visual range, that girl would clam up tighter than Fort Knox.
Watching from a few feet away were the two children that DeAngelo Cribbs and his wife had taken as their own: Rabia and Levent. These two had become our responsibility when a group of Muslim survivors arrived. A few had been bitten. For some reason, they thought it would be better to go out into the woods and die than take care of the ones who were still healthy. Yet, somebody in that group made the decision to leave the two children with us.
It’s been a crazy few months.
“I think so,” I finally answered Melissa. “And some of you will be leaving for the emergency fall back location in a little while.”
I could tell that Melissa wanted to say something in the form of a protest. But her hands went to her swelling belly where our child was growing and she kept her arguments—whatever they might have been—to herself.
“Everybody listen up!” Jon called as he came inside. “It looks like we have a serious band of raiders heading our way. I do not expect any sort of parlay with these folks. From all indications, these people don’t seem to be the talking type. Now, we are not just going to abandon what we have here. However, we will be sending some of you to the emergency shelter.”
“Steve, Nickie, DeAngelo, Fiona and Doug, you will be staying here,” Jesus stepped forward and read from a scrap of paper.
It seemed that Jon was assuming his role of our military leader. Thank God. I might be able to make some decisions, but this was so far outside of my element, I would not know where to begin.
“Jake will lead the rest to our fallback location,” Jesus co ntinued.
“Perhaps Steve should change places with Brad,” Dr. Zahn offered. “As our appointed leader, I believe it would be best if he were to evacuate with the rest of us.”
“I understand your point, Doc,” Jon said with a curt nod. “However, he is a better shot and we need our best for this.”
“So is it my understanding that you intend on engaging th ese people?” Dr. Zahn was not finished. “From what I’ve heard and the very little that I’ve seen, it is a possibility that this is the same group that wiped out Serenity Base. No disrespect to you, sergeant, but Serenity had better firepower and equally competent soldiers.”
“And if we were going to stand our ground, you would be absolutely correct,” Jon agreed. “However, that is not my plan.”
I could tell that Dr. Zahn wanted to continue this little debate, but she was also smart enough to know how precious time was at this very moment. She shot me a look that I couldn’t decipher and went to her little closet/office, presumably to grab essentials.
Melissa and Thalia clung to me for a moment. I did my best to say all those things that you have no power to actually fulfill. Things like “I’ll be fine” and “I will see you
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