Day 6 6:04 AM

I was running down the stream with the unclean following right behind me. I was out of breath, ragged, and exhausted. I was running for hours, why was I running? Could I just fight? With that many? Is it better than running now? Just give up. Give in. Just stop. Give up.

Someone was whispering behind me. Where's Bennie? "Richard."

I turned around to see the unclean's wide open mouth ready to bite off my face.

"Richie!" Bennie shouted at me. I gasped for air. I was sweating profusely. I sat down on the bunk bed and covered my face with my hands. "Not here," Bennie told me. "Let's get some fresh air. The others are still asleep. Probably from too much exhaustion." Bennie added. "Okay," I replied.

I followed him outside the bunk room and closed the door slowly. Not wanting to wake up the others. "Nightmares?" Bennie asked while walking towards the metal balcony of the 2nd floor. "Yeah. Being chased by them. Fuckers won't leave me alone even in my sleep." I said exasperated. "Any break-ins?" I asked. "Not that I'm aware of," Bennie replied.

"Liking your new outfit?" I asked looking at the equipment he was wearing from the unclean we snagged it from. It was like a lifetime ago. "Not really. It's so fucking different in the movies. Hell, even soldiers make it look easy. But this weighs a ton." Bennie said while tapping the plate carrier he was wearing. "But it makes you feel a lot safer if anything else," he added.

"I think it's normal," Bennie stated. "About what? About all of this? Us? Being robbed of our normal lives? I always thought apocalypse scenarios would be a good thing but this? This ain't it." I barked back.

He chuckled. "Mo, the part where nightmares get you. It means your brain finally feels a bit safe to have dreams again. You were the one who always thought about how different would it be if an extinction-level event happened," he said jokingly.

"Yeah, I'm sorry, I just wanted to vent. God, I miss the internet. No phone. No wi-fi. Not even good food. Hell! Not even a good bath or a new pair of clothes!." I vented my grievances to my best friend. Bennie laughed. "It beats being dead," he replied. "I suppose," I replied.

"I know we are in deep shit but these are the cards we were dealt with. I need you brother, I need you to watch my back." Bennie said while looking at me. "Don't I always?" I replied as I laughed back at him.

"Somehow I want to survive. Beat this shit and say it directly to it's face. "I survived the apocalypse". Would that be cool?" Bennie said stoically. "Yeah. Like Bond Wick? Beat all odds even if it means dying?" I said chuckling. "Yeah. You killed my cat! I'll kill you with a paintbrush!" Bennie said while mimicking a stabbing motion with a paintbrush. We both chuckled a fit for a while. We needed a break from all of this insanity.

"So what now?" Bennie asked. "We need to secure the perimeter," I said as I went over the makeshift barricade.

A few moments later, we got outside of the building. It was really on the small side of a power plant just enough to power a small village about 15-20 MW. We just tapped it off the grid but we were thankful that management didn't even bother to check this place. We went around the back of the building. "We can use these wooden palettes for a temporary barricade," I said to Bennie. " We have 3 entrances from the fence. So I think we need at least 18 of them?" Bennie explained. "Yeah. If we erect the palettes it should be enough. 3 lengthwise and 2 crosswise?" I clarified.

"Yeah, that should be enough for a barricade. At least to make sure no unclean would come uninvited if we are not looking. What to tie them together though?" Bennie muttered. We went back inside the storage room to see if there was anything we could use. We were checking the shelves for something. I found a cable wheel. Not strong enough but it should hold them. "Hey, Benni.."

"So this is where you guys were?"

"AHHHHH!"

"Fucking shit!" Bennie exclaimed.

"The hell you screaming like a little girl for huh Richie! I thought you were a shrieker or something." Bennie exclaimed while heaving. "Sorry. I'm so sorry!" Abigail apologized profusely. "Lady! You're gonna be the death of me one day." I exclaimed. She nearly fucking killed me twice now already. "I thought you boys left us when I woke up," Abigail said with a bit of relief.

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"And go where? It was luck we found this place." I said. "Did you close the door when you went out of the room?" Bennie asked Abigail. I can see it on his face. Bennie wants to cozy up to Abigail. Hey, I'm all for it. But I just warned him a few days ago to not get used by women all the time. Fucking bull has a heart of a purring cat. I smirked.

"Yes," Abigail replied. "So this place was the source of the missing resources and lost equipment we weren't able to find huh? No wonder the numbers always didn't add up." Abigail said with a clear conclusion. Like a puzzle that was just solved.

Bennie and I were looking at each other. Pretending we didn't hear. " The management was wondering why the forklifts and container vans were in the inventory but never saw where all of these spare parts, tools, and supplies were supposed to be," Abigail said exasperatedly. "Ma'am, I have no idea what you're talking about," I said. "Are we gonna get fired?" Bennie asked a bit apprehensively.

"Bro, she was just.." I said to Bennie but Abigail cut us off. "So you're the reason for all the missing items on the inventory list!" Abigail said pointing accusingly. "Oh," Bennie said while looking at me like a deer caught with headlights. I just look at him eyes full of exasperation. " I can't believe you fell for that. She didn't know you monkey." I explained. "Fuck." Bennie cursed and just lay still there for a while. Abigail chuckled. "I was just kidding! It was a joke! I'm a bit glad it's still here though." Abigail said. Yeah, no shit. All secretaries are shrewd. "So what now? Are we gonna get in trouble?" I said knowing all of this doesn't matter anyway.

"No. We all went out of jobs the moment this pandemic spread." Abigail said with a bit of exasperation. "Thank you for saving me that night and for the past few days," Abigail whispered to us while turning her back. She turned a bit and looked back at me. "I'm sorry about the wounded leg too." she apologized sincerely. When she went a few steps away she turned around. "I'm gonna try to see what we have in the pantry and make some breakfast if there is any," she said with a bit of appreciation for what we did and went away.

Bennie and I stood still. Flabbergasted. "At least she knows how to say sorry," I said. "Never talked to a woman who sincerely apologized before," Bennie added. What an angel. but still a fucking bitch sometimes when I think about it. We went back to scavenging.

"What's next on the list after we are done here?" Bennie asked while carrying some tools. "I wanted to check to see if we can turn this place back on. This place is a bit far from the powerhouse and hidden well enough that the unclean wouldn't swarm on this place. But I don't want to necessarily leave it on. It's dangerous without a properly secured perimeter inside and out." I explained while walking towards the fence. "This situation ain't gonna end in this summer Bennie. We won't survive the winter without power and a constant journey. I hate to see Amy shiver and die because of cold." I commented.

"Yeah. Kids didn't deserve this kind of shit. Where did you think that helicopter was coming from yesterday?" Bennie said sadly while preparing the wooden palettes across the fence. "I don't know, but IF we knew, would they just let us in or lead us to a quarantine zone? That is just a melting pot of a shitstorm waiting to happen." I explain.

"Yeah, I can't imagine those quarantine zones being completely safe," Bennie added.

~~~~~~~~~

"Good to go?" Buck said to the team. "We follow the stream upward. That should give us direct access to the facility. "If the entrance is blocked we will find another way in," Buck explained the plan.

A bunch of rogers and affirmatives rang out from the group. "Me on point, Switch at my back, Cupcake and Beans in the middle. Goose rear duty." Buck said while taking point. "Just don't shoot us in the back." Switch added. The rangers nodded. "Don't worry Switch, I got them." Goose added.

"Let's move. Daylight's burning." Buck said hurriedly.