Hey journal, Harlow here again. We aren't currently getting shot at or have any zoms nibbling at us, so I figured I'd continue on with the story. Let's see, I left off with the boys running into Gavin and the group he had with him. Gavin had that key card on him. That was the beginning of the core group of this community. The main circle I guess you could call it.
The next few days were spent just trying to gather food and supplies to live. They secured the police station well enough from the zoms, but they didn't have much in the way of weapons. So going outside was dangerous as hell. It wasn't just the zoms anymore either. Gavin and Matt's groups were among the earlier flights into the island. In the following days, they saw many more planes and choppers come in, military and civilian. Some landed, some crashed. Gun fire could be heard in all directions. After the story Gavin told about arriving, they didn't trust the military, and good thing! They weren't just shooting zoms back in those early days.
Ever since the raiders started coming, we've had to get better at vetting those we allow into the camp. We've turned plenty of folks away. It's never a pretty thing to do, but its better the leaders turn them away at the gate, than the enforcers having to chase down spies we let in by accident. The damage control that follows is an absolute mess. Theres too much to risk anymore. I'm confident we weed out the bad seeds well enough now, but back when our numbers were fewer, and we just needed helping bodies, we made some mistakes with who we allowed in.
Everyone wanted the supplies we found in that underground bunker. Oh yea, they found it alright. They eventually found that Tav dude, and he helped them get in. He proved to be pretty valuable, if not a bit eccentric. They also found some other folks. Some savory, some not so much. I suppose that's a good place to pick back up at…
"Stand watch while I pry this door," Gavin said to Matt, forcing the flat end of a crowbar into the door jamb of a fuel station. Matt held a machete at the ready and swiveled his head in all directions. "You're good, pop it." he said.
Gavin forced the locked and both men cringed at the loud noise made by the bolt busting through the frame, and they hurried inside. The place was pretty picked over. All the cooler doors were shattered and a several food wrappers and empty beverage bottles littered the floor. The shelves were nearly empty, and nothing of value was visible behind the clerk's counter. There were a few items in the home goods and auto parts aisle that no one else thought to be too pertinent, and Matt stuffed them into his backpack. A lighter, tooth paste, duct tape, and a spark plug were all added to his collection of goodies.
They both tip toed around the aisles maintaining a watch on the front door they had just busted in, until Matt rounded one end cap and was immediately met with a military rifle aimed inches from his face.
"Easy mate," Matt said, raising his hands in surrender. "We're just looking for food, same as you probably."
Gavin heard Matt speak, and immediately came around the opposite end of the aisle, raising his hunting rifle at the back of the man's head. The man kneeled at the ground with a bag full of scavenged loot in front of him. He wore military fatigues, a field vest loaded with ammo, and held a Russian style rifle with a large magazine aimed at his new friend's chest. He was severely outgunned.
"Drop it mate, unless you want a new eye-socket," Gavin said in his thick Scottish accent. The cost of firing his incredibly loud rifle would be detrimental, and would alert everyone in the area, living or dead, but he'd drop this man if he had to.
The stranger's ears perked at the voice behind him, and instead of becoming more tense he relaxed a bit. "Gavin," The stranger said. "Is that you?" Lowering the barrel of his gun to the floor, he turned slowly, and the two met eyes.
"Holy shit, mate!" Gavin said louder than he intended, and Matt's arms lowered slowly sensing the tension quickly dissipating.
"Matt, this is the bloke from the plane I was telling you about. This is Tav." Gavin said.
Matt let out a sigh of relief, and all guns were lowered. The three men stood, and introductions were made.
"Where'd you get all that gear, mate? You've go some serious hardware there." Gavin said.
"I saw a military chopper go down, tracked it by the smoke trail from impact." Tav replied. "There are military convoys all over the island, most are abandoned, or the soldiers turned."
"Ah, good on ya lad. Anybody else with ya?" Gavin said.
"Nah, I'm alone. Better that way. Fewer mouths to feed and knives in the back to watch for." Tav replied.
Gavin and Matt caught their new ally up to speed on what they been up to, and where they're holed up at. It wasn't until Gavin showed Tav the key card he found that his eyes truly lit up with interest.
"Bloody hell, you found one!" Tav said.
"Damn well I did." Gavin said. "Just gotta figure out where to stick this thing."
Tav cast his gaze to the floor and appeared to be contemplating something for a moment.
"Wherever it is, It'll probably have the heaviest concentration of military presence nearby. I got an idea of where that could be. I know where your group is located. I'll scope it out and let ya know if I find something." Tav gestured toward the radio clinging to Matt's backpack strap.
"You found one of those too I see. What frequency you guys on?" He asked.
"We're on 125.2." Matt answered.
"You sure you don't want to come back with us? We could really help each other out." Gavin asked, one last attempt to bring Tav into the group.
"Nah mate. I'm not really one for crowds," Tav said. "But I'll be in touch. Keep that radio handy."
With that, Tav gave the men a farewell nod, and climbed up a ladder they hadn't noticed was there before and disappeared out onto the roof of the fuel station.
"Strange fellow." Matt said.
"Yea, he's a bit of an oddball, but he knows a shit ton about this island." Gavin replied.
"Hopefully we hear from him again soon."
"Hey Gav." called Tav's voice from up the ladder. "Take this. I got a couple extra from a convoy I came across. That bolt action rifle won't do you much good against a pack of zombies. And not everyone you come across will be friendly either. It’s not just zombies the soldiers are shooting at. Keep your eyes peeled for trouble."
Tav handed down a rifle just like the one he aimed at Matt a few minutes ago, and Gavin took it into his hands. He also handed down a semi-automatic hand gun with a polymer grip, and two extra magazines for each fire arm. Then he was finally gone. Matt and Gavin were astonished at their new ally's resourcefulness. They were both sure he'd prove to be a great asset, despite his solitary demeanor.
As the pair made their way back to the police station, they each bore a bit more confidence and morale, as they now carried more food and drinks, as well as firepower thanks to their new ally. Gavin walked cradling his AK like a young boy would a new shiny toy and wore a cheesy grin to match. Matt continued on cautiously with his pistol snug in his waist band, prybar rested over one shoulder.
Rounding one corner, there came the sound of metal clanging against the ground from a narrow alley and Matt and Gavin halted in their tracks. Immediately, Matt leapt behind cover and peeked out from around the building's corner, Gavin aimed his AK directly down the alley from a kneeling position. They listened for a couple heart beats for the sound to reveal its source, and it did so through the whistling of a tune.
"Zombies don't whistle." Whispered Gavin. The two stepped silently down the alley way toward the source. The tune whistled was from the opening music to the Andy Griffith show, and as the pair moved closer, a large plump man stood digging into a dumpster, completely unaware of his surroundings, tossing away unwanted garbage next to two large backpacks stuffed with God knows what.
"You got a death wish mate?" Gavin said to the stranger.
"Ahh!" he yelled and leapt nearly out of his skin. The stranger turned to face the voice, "Do you have to sneak up on a guy like that? You bout gave me a heart attack." The response came in a drawn out midwestern American accent.
"Bro, you're making enough noise to attract every zom within a mile radius." Matt replied.
"A couple of British fellers, huh?" Said the stranger. Matt and Gavin exchanged a look and rolled their eyes.
"Names Ted." said the man offering a slight wave and a smile.
Introductions were made, and while this man didn't carry himself with the same stealth and degree of dangerous ability as their previous new friend, Ted claimed to be an engineer from the states skilled with explosives and other manners of contraptions. So at least he had some use to him.
"Where you been hiding out at Ted?" Matt asked.
"Oh I've been just kinda wondering around, collecting whatever I could find to eat and other stuff to make use of." Ted replied.
Matt met Gavin's eyes with a gaze hinting of a question, and Gavin returned something of a combined nod and shrug.
"Some of us are holed up nearby, we're fortifying a safehouse and could use more abled hands. You want to come meet our group?" Matt said.
"Sure!" Ted replied too loudly with a childlike grin. "Where we off to?"
"First off keep your voice down or you'll get us all killed." Gavin said. "Now follow us, and keep your eyes peeled.
The pair became three and set off down the sidewalk once more toward the police station.
Once they arrived, Mystica let them in, and the group immediately noticed a new face.
"Everybody, this is Ted. Ted, everybody." Gavin gave the brief introduction, and no one noticed how long Ted's eyes lingered on Fiona, as if in effort to commit her form to memory.
"Ted here is an engineer." Matt offered to the group. This information made the fact that this strange man was standing inside their safe house make a little more sense.
The group went back to their tasks after the brief meet and greet with the newcomer, and it turned out that Ted had several useful items in his hoard of goodies. None of which included any guns. He had a couple flashlights, some matches, a fist sized baggy of marijuana, some other hand tools, and some clothing. He also had a couple boxes of nails which the group used to pound boards over the windows.
That evening Gavin and Fiona sat on the roof of the police station which stood two stories tall where they could see out some distance in the dying light of dusk. They observed quietly the stillness of the region which bore hints of the recent chaos that had occurred in the previous couple of days. Smoke rose from unseen fires behind tree lines, and sporadic gunfire could be heard from indistinguishable distances.
"What the hell have we gotten into?" Fiona asked to no one in particular.
"It's a shit show out here for sure, but we'll keep safe. I promise ya." Gavin replied.
Fiona shot him a pandering smirk. "Oh, are you going to play my hero? My white knight and all that?" She batted her eyes mockingly at him. Gavin's chivalry faded into a stupor and he stuttered in reply.
"I'm only teasing you, idiot." Fiona responded with a chuckle, and Gavin sighed in relief.
Fiona's demeanor went stoic once more as she scanned out over the horizon. "I lost track of my sister when we landed. We were separated." She turned to Gavin casting a look at him that lacked any of her previous humor. "Help me find her," she paused, "please Gavin."
"Hell, I didn't know you had a sister." Gavin responded. "Yea, of course I will."
Fiona returned her gaze outward, wearing a look of worry, and her eyes grew misty. Gavin moved to place a comforting hand on her shoulder, and the two spent the rest of the evening in silence, taking in the view until the light had died completely.
The following few days passed quickly with everyone from the group busying themselves with fortifying the police station, setting up barricades, digging traps for zombies, and gathering food and useful items from surrounding buildings. Their little safe haven buzzed with activity like a beehive, with everyone doing their fair share of work. Everyone except Ted, that is. He mostly stood around pretending to supervise the others while snacking and smoking pot from a pipe he made from some pieces of plumbing. On several occasions he tried to offer a hit to Fiona which she sternly refused.
Ted pursued Fiona like a middle school boy with a crush, oblivious to the otherwise obvious bond that had been forming between her and Gavin. On several occasions Gavin bore silent warning gazes through the man until he yielded. Mystica proved to be a natural at constructing traps and fortifications, attaching wire and police barriers to the fencing near the building’s entrances. Matt set up a workshop in one of the offices of the police station where he constructed pieces of bite protective armor from pieces of tires and extra clothing including some bullet proof vests he'd found in the station's armory which was unfortunately otherwise void of weapons. He did however wrap barbed wire around his baseball bat and made other melee weapons for anyone else in the group who ventured out scavenging.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
The group worked each day on improving their conditions and survivability until one morning the radio on Matt's belt squawked to life.
"Hello, you there?" came the familiar voice of Tav. "Matt, Gavin, you guys read me?"
Gavin entered the workshop, ears perked with excitement at hearing the radio from the other room.
"Yea, we read ya, mate. Go ahead." Matt replied into the receiver’s mic.
"ive got some intel for ya boys," Tav said. “How soon can you meet me?”
Matt, Gavin, and Ted began prepping immediately to set out to the spot Tav had designated. Ted begrudged leaving the security of the safe house and hadn’t yet been clued in on the information about the security card and underground military bunker. He was adamant about staying behind with the women and Dan, but Gavin insisted they’d need an extra pair of hands for what they’d planned.
The meeting spot took them away from the city and down the railroad tracks a ways. They carried only weapons, both melee and ranged, food and water, and first aid supplies in their otherwise empty packs.
“How much further is this place?” Ted complained.
“Not much further, Ted. Keep up.” Matt replied. Gavin just looked at him with hard, disapproving eyes.
“Will you at least tell me what we’re doing?” Ted asked.
“You’re on a need-to-know basis buddy boy,” Gavin answered. “And you don’t need to know yet.”
“What’s your problem Gavin?” Ted asked with a bit of bite in his voice.
Gavin stopped walking immediately and turned to face Ted. He put a finger against Ted’s chest.
“You wanna know what my problem is mate?” Gavin spat. “You’re my problem. You don’t pull your weight, you laze around stoned all day, you ogle Fiona like a steak. Oh yea, I see the way you stare at her when you think no ones looking.”
“Get your finger outta my face asshole!” Ted responded with more confidence that he actually felt.
“You know what? I think we should leave you out here. We’d all be better off.” Gavin said matter of factly.
Matt stepped between the two and pushed them away from one another. “We’re not doing this here. Stay alert morons, there are damn zombies out here trying to eat us in case you’ve forgotten. Look alive, we’re close.” Matt gestured toward the intersection a little way in the distance where a road crossed the tracks at a gate house. “The quarry is just down that road a bit.”
Gavin and Ted’s eyes met for several heart beats, until Matt urged Ted ahead. As Ted continued on, Matt whispered to Gavin, “What the hell was that?”
“You heard me, Matt.” He replied, “I don’t trust this guy anymore. He’s a lazy creep.”
“Well at least for now, we need this lazy creep. Keep your head, mate.”
Matt’s radio crackled as he pressed the button to enable the mic. “Tav, we’re at the gate house.”
“Roger that, we’ll watch for ya.”
“We?” asked Gavin.
“There was a stipulation regarding the whereabouts of the bunker door.” Matt said reluctantly.
“Ah, hell. Here we go.” Gavin said.
Moments later, Matt, Gavin, and Ted were approaching a small shed outside of a large corrugated building where a conveyor belt rode up at an angle to a chute high up on the face of the structure and terminated at the ground near a pile of stone and rubble. This was the quarry. They were to meet Tav inside the shed. The four men reacquainted and began discussing their situation. It turns out, that another group of survivors who Tav had met, knew the whereabout of the bunker entrance. After some back and forth interrogation, Tav relayed the significance of the entrance, and the group saw the opportunity to profit from the information they held.
“They’re decent people, you guys.” Tav said. “They’ve helped me out and vise versa. They don’t know what’s down there, but they know it’s important. They want in.”
“Hell, none of us know what’s down there.” Matt said.
“Wait, down where?” Ted asked. With that, Matt finally clued him in on the plan. Ted was immediately against going into the bunker.
“No way! I’m not going into some dark underground base. Who knows what could be waiting for us down there?” Ted exclaimed. “Exactly! We don’t know. It could be anything.” Matt said.
“It’s probably full of military gear” Tav offered.
“You either go with us, or you’re out. And I mean for good. You’re on your own.” Gavin said to Ted.
“I’ll take you to Akihiro’s group.”
“Akihiro? What is he, a ninja?” Ted asked. No one answered him.
Tav knocked on the door to the tune of “shave and a haircut,” and the door opened. The group of four found themselves standing inside the room with four other faces meeting their eyes. Three men, and one woman. They introduced themselves as Isaac, who wore a hat with cat ears on it, and spoke on a heavy Mandarin accent, Luda, a young fit guy with dark rich medium length hair, Amber, a pretty petit brunette, and Akihiro, a tall muscular man with a stern set of eyes and an otherwise gentlemanly demeanor.
“Here they are, these are the guys I told you about.” Tav indicated to Matt’s group while addressing Akihiro, who bowed slightly toward Matt and said, with a somewhat surprisingly English accent, “Pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
After some discussion between the eight individuals, they’d reached an agreement. Akihiro’s group would lead them to the location of the door, where Matt’s group held the keycard that would gain them entry, where the two groups would split the findings within. With the agreement met, and all present apart from Ted, eager to discover what lay beneath them in this underground bunker, the group wasted no time. They set out in the direction Akihiro indicated.
They hugged a tree line that carved its way through a vast field where they could see for some distance in all directions. The landscape was void of zombies and other human life, so they continued with a measure of security which allowed them to chat idly in hushed voices amongst themselves. Matt and Gavin discussed pre-apocalyptic life with Akihiro, who was in fact not a ninja despite Ted’s racially motivated comment, was skilled in various disciplines of martial arts. Isaac was a supremely friendly fellow who wore a smile as if it were painted on. His English wasn’t great, but he could be understood well enough. Luda and Amber were mostly quiet but did confirm that they were from the US. The only members of the group who had known each other prior to making the journey to the island were Akihiro and Amber, who were a couple.
“It’s just up here.” Akihiro indicated, as they approached a paved road and an encircling fence topped with barbed wire. “Isaac and I found it while tracking some deer through the fields. There’s an opening in the fence.”
The group passed one by one through the broken and removed segment of chain link, and entered into a wooded area which was eerily silent. There were no birds nor other signs of typical wildlife. Each snapped twig sounded like a gunshot in the silence, and they proceeded cautiously until they emerged from the woods into a small clearing. Amidst the center of the clearing, a hill stood sentry like, with a large steel door at it’s face, and a road led from its entrance and away, forested on each side.
“Well, this is it.” Akihiro indicated. The group examined the door set into the hill, and sure enough, there at one side was a card reader. Above the door, a caged red bulb hung along side an electronic horn. There was no way to know what would happen once the card was swiped, but the horn and bulb were a concerning sight.
“Only one way to find out what’s down there.” Gavin said, presenting the card he pulled from his pocket. He held the card up to eye level, scanned the group who stood in a half circle around the door, and asked, “Everyone ready?” The group exchanged glances and nods, and with that, Gavin swiped the card.
Nothing happened right away, and Gavin thought maybe he’d swiped in the wrong direction. He flipped the card and made to swipe it again. It was at that moment, the horn and red bulb sprang to life in a deafening alarm. The horn blasted a long intermittent cry, shattering the silence, and the red light twirled and flashed in rhythm.
Panic struck every individual simultaneously, and all eyes were on the surrounding forest. A loud clank followed, and the door began to creep open outwardly on a single wheel in a quarter circle track with painstakingly slow speed. A guttural cry escaped from somewhere in the trees and everyone’s blood froze. More cries echoed the first, and several shambling forms stumbled out of the woods into view.
“Shit, shit shit!” Gavin yelled.
“Everybody get ready!” Matt called.
Akihiro moved Amber behind him and raised his rifle toward the oncoming figures.
Ted turned to bang on the door in effort to make it open quicker.
“Don’t shoot until they’re closer, you’ll waste ammo!” Izaac yelled over the alarm.
The zombies locked their eyes onto the fresh meat standing before the large flashing light and ran toward them with salivating mouths and more grotesque cries of hunger. There must have been more than three dozen dead, approaching at various speeds and from all directions, toward the group. Once they were about thirty paces from the door, Luda fired his military AK into the fray. The others with firearms followed his lead.
Bullets hailed into the hoard as the siren wailed on, the survivors fanned out in a half circle. Amber fired with a pistol from beside Akihiro in short bursts, trying to conserve ammo. Isaac pumped his shotgun and fired repeatedly at the zombies coming from his flank. Ted still pounded on the door, yelling profanity at its crawling speed.
The zombies were staggered by the bullets, but only about one if four fell to the ground. They were sponges to the groups ammunition, soaking up everything thrown at them.
“I gotta change mags!” Gavin yelled, and Luda moved in to take his spot. The hoard crept closer with each second. They were gaining ground against the survivors.
In horror, Amber glanced at the door to see that it was only open about a foot, and had stopped moving.
“The door is jammed!” she yelled out.
Isaac’s shotgun clicked empty. “I’m out!” he yelled.
“Get the door!” Akihiro replied.
He stowed his gun and ran to inspect the wheel track. “Something’s lodge in the track!”
Tav was firing well placed head shots from a kneeling position with his semi auto M4, but was low on ammo. Gavin’s AK clicked empty, and he pulled a fire axe from his back. “Come and get it you ugly bastards!” he yelled.
The breach of Matt’s pistol slid open indicating a dry magazine.
The nearest zombie came within reach of Luda, just as it raised it’s gnarled hands toward him, the head of the thing snapped back and it fell to the ground. “I’m out!” called Tav.
Everyone was down to melee weapons as Ted began to cry and wet his pants. Isaac pounded at a metallic object jamming the wheel of the door with a crowbar. Everyone swung their weapons at the nearest zombies, trying to keep them from arms reach, but doing little real damage. A mechanical whining erupted from the door’s frame as it jolted back into movement.
“I got it!” yelled Isaac. Gavin saw from his peripheral vision, the metal item dislodged and jumped from the track. It was a small piece of pipe plumbing with an elbow fitted to one end, darkened from the flame of a lighter.
“Get inside!” Akihiro yelled, and the group began to funnel into the barely shoulder width gap of the doorway. Ted went in first, followed by Izaac who grabbed Amber’s wrist pulling her inside.
“Go! I’ll hold em off!” Gavin cried, swinging his axe.
Tav and Matt ran inside, and both immediately began searching frantically for the door controls.
Matt found a doorway to a small room with a long panel of buttons separated by a plate glass window from the bunker entrance. A large red button with an exclamation on it stood out in the center of the panel, and he pounded it with a fist. The door stopped moving.
Gavin slid into the opening of the bunker’s doorway and pulled Akihiro from the back of his shirt while he was still swinging his machete surgically at the neck of a zombie directly in front of him. Gavin thrust the head of his axe at all the limbs reaching to get in through the small opening.
“Close this damn thing!” He yelled over his shoulder.
Matt took a chance and punched the red button again, and the door began creeping slowly closed.
The door heaved into place with clank and the alarm went silent. Red emergency lights flicked on along the entry way of the bunker, but they could find no other means of illuminating the space inside. Flashlights were pulled from packs and switched on. As most of the group were getting their bearings, a meaty thump rang out, echoing off the metal walls, and Ted fell to the ground.
“You’re finished! You hear me?” Gavin shouted down at the pathetic figure on the ground at his feet. “No matter what happens here, you’re on your own!”
“Gavin!” Matt yelled from behind him.
“Don’t you ‘Gavin’ me! He’s lucky I don’t have any ammo left. I’d shoot him where he—”
“Gavin look!” Came Matt’s voice again.
Turning to the rest of the group, Gavin saw in the illumination of several flashlights, stacks upon stacks of military crates, gun racks, lockers, and various gear running along one wall of the room. The racks were mostly empty, but there were a handful of rifles of varying models, military vests, gloves and other equipment, some scattered about, and some still stacked neatly inside the open lockers. Whatever happened here, happened in a hurry.
Further down the hall, another door stood, and a control room with a long glass window stretched down the entrance across the locker area. This was the room where Matt found the door control.
“If this is just the entrance, imagine what else is in here.” Izaac said, his signature smile back in its place.
As the group of survivors stood marveling at their findings and what may lie beyond, the distinct clicking of a round being chambered into rifle echoed near the entrance of the bunker. Everyone turned to find its source.
“That’s right, you’re gonna listen to me now!” Ted cried out at the group. He quietly pulled one of the guns from the rack and now had it aimed at the other seven survivors. “I’m taking this bunker and everything in it for myself!” “Ted, listen mate.” Matt started.
“No, you listen to me! Nobody move.” Ted backed his way toward the control room slowly, his gun swaying back and forth across the other survivors pinning them in place. Once he reached the control room he ran inside and shut the door. In the dim red emergency light, he found the control panel, the large red button in the center, and a microphone extending beside it. Ted punched the red button, and the bunker door began opening again, accompanied by the deafening alarm.
He hit the button next to the microphone and spoke into it. “Looks like now YOU’RE finished, Gavin.” He said gravely. “I’ll let Fiona know you went out like a real trooper.” As the door slid open inch by inch, the zombies waiting outside began growling and snarling in hunger once more. Once the door was opened enough to reach inside, their limbs began desperately clawing toward the survivors.
“They’re coming!” Gavin yelled out.
Everyone began swinging and hacking at anything trying to make its way into the opening. Akihiro grabbed Amber by the arm and pulled her into his chest. He kissed her hard one time, and shoved her back toward the corner of the room and away from the door.
“You know, I bet Fiona is gonna be really distraught over losing you guys. She’ll probably need someone to be there to –” Ted’s words were cut off as he began screaming in pain. “Ahh! Get off of me!” The thing that had been dragging itself across the floor of the control room since Matt ran in and pressed the button had finally made its way to a meal. It was only a torso, but it had teeth and a desire for flesh, and that was enough to spell Ted’s doom.
Ted’s screams were still coming through the speaker on the intercom, as the door was opening wider. Akihiro, Gavin, and Luda were swinging at the limbs in the bunker’s main doorway, Tav had a rifle sighted on the zombies but couldn’t take a shot without risking the others standing in front of them.
The zombie torso was crawling up Ted’s leg now as he sat at the control panel in the room’s only chair. Despite his attempts he couldn’t kick it off. He screamed in helpless agony as it chewed greedily into the meat of his belly he fired his rifle wildly, bullets pinging off walls and panels, but none hitting the zombie devouring him.
Once Gavin realized Ted was being attacked in the control room, he yelled for Akihiro to hold off the zombies at the door. He raced over and grabbed a rifle off the rack and slammed against the door of the control room. Is swung open on its hinges from the weight of a single hit. He aimed the rifle at the zombie’s forehead and pulled the trigger. It snapped back with a reverberating pop. The sound of the gun firing inside the small space was deafening.
Gavin kicked the gun out of Ted’s grip and it clattered to the ground next to the unmoving torso. He rushed to the control panel and hit the button once to stop it from opening. He hit it again to close it. Ted sat in the chair, holding his hands over the vicious mortal wounds in his stomach. “Go to hell Ted.” Gavin said, with the barrel of his gun aimed at the man’s head. It was a mercy as much as it was judgment when he pulled the trigger.
Matt found a hand grenade in one of the military crates and rushed toward the closing door with it in his hands.
“Everybody get back!” Matt yelled. He pulled the pin on the grenade and tossed it underhand through the doorway. Everyone scattered from the door, and the explosion of the grenade could be heard just as the door sealed shut once again. All sound of movement outside the door ceased after the blast.
The group once again composed themselves, pulling each other up from the floor. Akihiro held Amber tight to his chest. Isaac stood to his feet and asked, “Everybody okay?” It was nods all around.
“Lets see what other goodies are hiding down here.” Akihiro said. The group of survivors once again aimed their flashlights down the corridor, and further into the bunker.
“And nobody else touch that damn door control, so help me God!” Gavin said.
That was the groups first trip into the bunker. It was loaded full of supplies as you might have expected. It was a cornucopia of weapons, food, water, generators, fuel, shelter, military Humvees, you name it, we had it. The only problem was that the alarm caught the attention of everyone in the area, and the secret location of the bunker wasn’t such a secret anymore. We didn’t know how many raiders there’d be out there wanting to take our findings for themselves. All that gear made us magnets for attack.
Still, there were plenty of decent folk who just came looking for shelter and a place to survive. The problem was you couldn’t tell them apart. That’s about the time yours truly came into the picture. So many people came in fact that we outgrew the police station. We began to break off into factions, and form bases across the island. The police station was always a target for raiders though. Everyone knew we’d gotten into the bunker and that the police station was our headquarters.
Luckily the group found some old castle ruins outside of town and were able to fortify it. But I’m getting ahead of myself again. Next time I’ll tell you about the time we were besieged by raiders for days on end, and how our leaders were able to outsmart them. Matt really was a genius when it came to strategy and tactic.
Well, anyway I suppose that’s enough for now. I wrote a little more than I intended to. Until next time, Harlow out.