Group Story Write - "3 Days After"

[Lurch]

Inez heard the exchange between Pat and the stranger not long after she started monitoring the radio. When she heard it she jumped out of the truck and ran over to Larry, "Larry we're out of time. They're maybe five minutes out, ten tops!"

Larry looked up from where he'd just finished building his second trap. He looked down at the cords that were to fire the rifles that set off the mines and quickly glanced around for cover. Seeing nothing he called to Inez, "Bring me two empty buckets, quick!"

Then he picked up one of the buckets and carried it carefully, if clumsily, across the parade field to a new location. When he set it down the concrete flowed slightly in the bucket but didn't spill over the top.

As Inez reached him he was inserting a primer into the rifle and cocking it's hammer. When he finished he measured out about 15 feet of the cord and tied to the end around the bail on one of the buckets. Then he took the other bucket and did the same at the mine nearest the truck. Inez didn't say anything but he could tell that she was curious. He looked over at her, "Ever tried to keep your hat on next to a chopper?"

Inez smiled and nodded without saying anything. Soon they were back at the front gate. Seeing Bill paying out one of the cannon trigger cords into the office building.

"Bill, when that thing goes off it's going to turn the front of this building into swiss cheese. You need to find someplace better to set it off from." She said warningly.

Bill looked up as he was passing through the door, "I'm not going to be in the building. This is going right out the back window. From the back window you can see all the way down the road. There's a porch back there that's got a dropoff on the other side of it. I checked and I can almost see over the sill. If I stand on a chair I should be able to see fine."

Larry looked at his friend, "We're out of time buddy. We've only got a couple of minutes before they get here. Get your chair and get ready."

Bill stopped talking and started paying out line faster.

Inez's added comment got a grin from him, "Don't forget there's two cannons. If someone sets the second one off, as you look up to see how you did, it'll plain ruin your whole day."

When she looked over at the second gun she noticed that its cord ran around the corner of the concrete block outhouse. Looking around the corner she nodded and turned to Larry, "We're going to need the others. Do you know where the semi is?"

Larry nodded, "Pretty much. From what Bill said it's just a couple hundred yards that way," he said and indicated a direction almost directly opposite from the parade field.

"Go get everybody. Get Hue Liu behind the wheel of the K-5 and park her in the trees, behind that barracks building there. Then put Jenn in the pickup and have her parked behind that one over there. I want them waiting with the engines running in case we've got to run for it. When you get back I'll tell everyone where I want them. Now go, quickly!"

Larry didn't say anything, he just hopped in the truck and raced off. Right after he left Bill came back out of the office, "What's the plans Boss?" He said with a nervous grin.

"If you'll stand guard out here for a minute I'm gonna go in and pee."

When Inez came back out a couple of minutes later, setteling her equipment back in place Bill grinned and asked her, "Nervous bladder?"


"Bite me. I learned a long time ago that, in a combat situation, more people pee in their pants than you would expect. They don't even realize they're doing it. It's just reflexive or something."

Bill looked at her about half a second, "Stand guard for a minute?"

Inez smiled and nodded as he trotted off.

Larry returned with the others as Bill was just emerging from the outhouse. When he pulled up and everyone jumped out of the pickup Inez started giving assignments. She made sure that everyone had their weapons and plenty of ammunition. Then she sent Hue Liu and Jenn off to their hiding places, with instructions to stay put until someone came for them. As Jenn was just about to drive off Inez had Larry and Bill get a couple more muzzle loaders, and extra powder, out of the pickup.

When Jenn was gone she had them put the stuff into the ladies room so that they could reload if they had to.

Bill looked at her, "You really think we'll have enough time to reload?"

Inez shook her head, "Not really, but there's a little voice in my head that says to keep some of it here. Little voices can keep you alive. The trick is to hear it over your subconscious that's screaming at you to run away."

Looking around at everybody, "Somebody's gonna die here before long. Let's do unto others, what do ya' say? Then we can get back to the simple things in life like, oh I dunno, maybe trying to not get eaten by zombies."

The last statement brought forth a burst of nervous laughter and broke the tension. With that she sent Bill and Ruth to the back of the office building and Jacob and Larry around the back of the outhouse. As they started to walk off Ruth stopped her, "Inez, where are you going to be?"

Inez looked up from where she was double checking her pistols in her holsters, "I'm going to be standing out by the guard shack. I want to intercept Pat as he comes in and make sure he doesn't drive over by the parade field. Then I'm going to run after him a little ways so that I'm out of the line of fire." Then she looked up and spoke to the others departing backs, "By the way, if ya'll blow me up, I'm soooo going to kick your ass!"

About two minutes later, as she nervously watched the sky, the road, and the world in general, She saw what looked like Pat's Jeep coming down the road. It looked like Pat's Jeep, but with a bad case of leaprosy. As he pulled up at the guard shack she could see that someone had added some armor onto it. Then she saw the black truck come around the bend in the road 1/4 mile behind the Jeep.

When Pat pulled up to the guard shack and rolled down his window Inez told him, quickly, where to go, to stay with the kids in the Jeep, and under no circumstances to go near the parade field. Pat nodded tiredly and pulled out.

After Pat had pulled out the others saw Inez grab the trash can from next to the guard shack and laboriously move it into the middle of the road. Then she briefly reached down into the can with her arm, stood up, and took off running after Pat.

When the big SUV pulled within fifty yards of the guard house it stopped and a half dozen men jumped out. They all hit the ground with their weapons ready. Then, when nothing happened, one man got up and slowly walked up to the trash can. When he got there he saw that it was just an empty trash can and kicked it out of the way. With a wave of his arm the others all got up and started advancing, slightly spread out, behind the truck.

Bill was standing on his chair, barely peeking over the edge of the window. When he saw the truck starting through the guard shack he quickly stepped off of his chair, knelt down where Ruth was sitting against the wall, and yanked hard on the cord.

Inez had stopped after she had run around the corner of the first barracks. She was kneeling there with her rifle at the ready when Bill's cannon went off. The first thing she noticed, because she was watching the SUV, was the windshield implode, and glass explode out the back of the truck. Then the truck slowly rolled on towards the building. The second thing she saw was that the front of the building had a massive hole blown through it, directly behind the cannon.

When the cannon fired some of the gravel that was packed in around the rebar spread out like a large shotgun, killed the two men closest to the truck, and severly wounded one other. The rest opened fire at anything that might offer cover for their attackers. For ten seconds the only sound was of them firing. Inez rolled back around the corner and started moving to the other end of the barracks, hoping to get clear shots at their backs. Bill grabbed Ruth and started pulling her along as he crawled out from behind the building, to their right.

Larry and Jacob, who were hiding around behind the outhouse were the closest to the blast. The sound and blast wave that washed off the front of the building stunned them for a few seconds. When he got some of his wits back Larry yanked on the cord for his cannon, and got....nothing. He shot a quick glance at Jacob in disbelief and peeked around the corner towards the front gate. He quickly pulled his head back as a burst of gunfire knocked chips off the concrete blocks above his head, and yanked the cord again. Again nothing.

"Shitshitshit, FUCK!" Larry yelled, picked up his rifle, and said to Jacob, "Welcome to the infantry kid. Follow me."

Inez finally reached the other end of the barracks and saw one man dragging what appeared to be a wounded man off the far side of the road. She quickly sighted in on the uninjured man and shot him in the legs. When he hit the ground he briefly raised up, reflexively reaching for the injury, and she fired off several more rounds. When she hit him in the head he jerked and dropped like a puppet with its strings cut. Then she proceeded to shoot the original injured man and the two bodies that were lying motionless in the road. When she was satisfied that they were all dead she ran back to her original position, at the other end of the building.

Inez reached the other end of the building and could see where Larry and Jacob were crouched behind the outhouse. The motion starteled Jacob and he actually fired off a shot in her direction before reallizing who she was. Luckily it went several feet to her left and over her head. When the shot came at her Inez had dropped back around the corner. After a few seconds she peeked around the corner and saw Jacob, sheepishly waving at her, and Larry watching her.

Inez used her fingers to ask how many bad guys there were and saw Larry say something to Jacob. Jacob laid his rifle down and held up six fingers. Inez pointed at her chest, made a shooting gesture, and held up four fingers. Larry again said something to Jacob and he folded down all but two of his fingers. By this Inez knew that they had two bad guys left, so she made a hand gesture, pointing around with two fingers, before opening her hand palm up to ask where they were?

When Jacob figured out what she meant he relayed it to Larry. Inez didn't need Jacob to relay Larry's answer to the question. His shrug was answer enough.

"Shit!"

[Lurch]

Inez sat back on her heals, with her back to the wall. She quickly ran through the options. If she were the attacker what would she do? Her analysis didn't take long. The only options that the enemy had was to go left, right, forward, or back and back lead through the kill zone they'd just escaped. Analysis made, she signalled Larry to stay put and ran back to the back of the barracks to try and get a shot at their backs. When she turned the first corner she slowed down and brought her weapon up. Everything looked like it had when she'd left a couple of minutes before. She carefully walked the width of the building, weapon tracking everywhere her eyes did. When she got to the corner she knelt down and risked a quick glance around the corner. After she pulled her head back she paused to consider what she'd seen. The SUV had idled forward and died against the steel pipe barrier that surrounded the cannon that had killed its occupants, before dying. Of the two remaining enemy operatives there was no sign.

Taking another quick glance around the corner almost got her killed as bullets tore up the wall in front of her face. Pulling back with a curse she put her hand to her face and pulled out a small splinter that had penetrated her cheek, an inch below her eye. When she looked at the splinter she saw that, it wasn't as big as she'd feared, hadn't penetrated all that far, and wasn't the two by four it felt like when it hit her.
"Well dumbass," she said to herself, "you're getting sloppy to look out from the same place twice in a row, that soon apart. I guess that answers the question of where they went though."

Inez got up and ran around the building to the corner where she could see Larry and Jacob. When she got there she signalled to Jacob where they'd gone and saw him lean over to tell Larry. Larry nodded his understanding and said something to Jacob, who turned around and started watching behind them. Inez knelt down low and peeked around the building. She could see part of the front wall of the office and the truck. The rest of her view was blocked by the outhouse. Reaching a decision she stood up, backed up a few feet, and took off running.

Larry turned his head a little and muttered to Jacob, "See anything?"

"Nothing. What are they going to do?"

"Damned if I know. I wish Inez was close enough to talk to. At least she's had experience with this shit."

At the mention of Inez, Jacob glanced over his shoulder at the corner of the barracks where he'd last seen her. "Looks like you're going to get your wish."

Larry looked up just in time to see the last few feet of Inez's sprint. When she came to a stop leaned her back against the wall, breathing heavily. "I'm getting to old for this shit. I mean crap! This was great fun in the seventies, but I'm gonna be 70 next month, what in the hell am I doing? I should be bouncing great grandkids on my knee. Not getting shot at."

Larry told her, teasingly, "You know you're loving this."

"Bite me," she paused for a second before continuing, "they could have blown my little ass off at their leisure during my pathetic excuse for a sprint."

"Why didn't they?"

"They must not have seen me, which doesn't make sense, unless they're not at the front window any more."

Larry looked at her, "What now?"

"Well, if it was me, I'd get the hell out of Dodge. That building's a death trap if they stay in it. They have to know that, and since they're not in front then they're leaving from the back or the far side."

Just as she finished talking they heard gunfire and screaming from the the back of the building.

Inez was just fast enough to trip Jacob as he started to make a suicidal dash towards the screaming. Then she grabbed his arm, "NO! Go over there where I was earlier and cover the front door and this side. Larry and I'll go."

"But ...!"

"But hell, keep them from shooting us in the back. That's your job. Go!"

When he started running to his assigned position Inez and Larry started moving towards the back corner. When they got there Inez reached into her shoulder bag and pulled out her compact. "If I'd have thought of this earlier I wouldn't have come so damn close to getting my head blown off."

With that she angled the mirror and used it to peek around the corner. What she saw was Ruth laying on the ground with Bill on top of her. Ruth had managed to get her pistol out and was firing towards the other end of the building.

Inez snapped the compact closed and dropped it into her dump pouch. Then she turned to Larry, "Ruth and Bill are down. I didn't see him move and she's shooting. I'm assuming he's hit."

"We've got to help them. What do you want to do?"

She peeked around the corner, "We've got people down and it's going to be dark soon. We can't wait."

Larry looked at her, "How about a diversion?"

"What do you have in mind?"

"I'm going to go fire the other cannon."

Inez looked at him, "Why didn't you fire it before?"

"I tried, twice, but it didn't go off. But I think I can make it work now."

"We seriously don't have time to dick around, son."

"Trust me." And with that he turned and ran back to the front of the building. Inez saw him slow and disappear around the corner. It wasn't more than ten seconds later that he appeared back around the corner, cord in hand.

Inez crouched and backed away from the building. Then she brought her rifle to her shoulder and nodded. With her peripheral vision she saw Larry yank on the cord, and heard the roar of the cannon firing. At the sound of the cannon she stepped out where she could see the back of the building. Bill and Ruth hadn't moved, there was a body on the ground behind the building, and smoke was coming from inside. When she got to where her friends were laying she stopped and calmly shot the body in the head. That accomplished she trained her rifle towards the back door and slowly moved to where she could see in the window.

Larry came around the corner in time to see her make sure of the body. Then his attention was all on Bill and Ruth. When he looked down he could see that the back of Bill's shirt was soaked in blood and he didn't appear to be breathing. He carefully turned his friends head where he could see his face he knew that he was already gone. His eyes were open and staring off into infinity. Larry close his eyes for a second, then he heard Ruth sobbing softly.

With a soft, "Sorry Buddy," Larry rolled his friend off of Ruth and started checking her.

As Larry was checking Ruth Inez returned. When she reached them Larry spoke without looking up, "Bill's dead and Ruth's hit. It doesn't look too bad though, there's a hole in her upper back and I think the bullet's just below the surface. I think the bullet passed through Bill before it hit her."

Inez reached into her bag and pulled out an old style battle dressing. She quickly opened it and pressed it to the wound. Then she used the tails of the bandage to tie it into place.

When she was finished she looked at Larry, "We need to move. We're seriously outclassed and we've been incredibly lucky so far."

"Ruth needs help."

"Not here. We've got to assume that they called for reinforcements. We need to be gone before they get here." With that she stepped around the corner and waved Jacob over. When he got there she sent him after the others.

When everyone arrived she spoke to the group, "Folks, we can't stay here. We've got to go into town and find the doctors office. The doctor's probably long gone but we can use his stuff. Everybody load up. Larry takes the Blazer, I've got the pickup, and Pat's got the Jeep."

Jacob asked her, "What about the big truck?"

Inez shook her head, "Bill was the only spare driver we had that knew how to drive it. We leave it and come back for it if we can. Anything else?" When she saw that there were no more questions she told them to load up.

A little while later they were cruising slowly down Main street. Pat saw the pickup turn at a directional sign indicating a hospital. As he followed the pickup down the side street Bubba started yelling from the back seat, "People! I see people!"

Pat's head jerked around, looking for a threat. Finally he saw what Bubba was so excited about. A couple hundred yards down another street was the local high schools football field. It appeared to have a tall chain link fence around it, and the parking lot seemed to be completely full of zombies. Pat could see people waving their arms above their heads at the top of the bleachers before the jeeps motion carried him out of sight of the school.

"Well, I guess that explains why there weren't many zombies on Main street."

Bubba stuck his head up between the seats, "We're gonna save them right?"

"Not until we get everybody patched up we're not. Now sit back. We'll talk to Inez about it in a few minutes."

"Yeah, Inez will know," Bubba said from the back seat, "she's smart!"

"Oh bite me." Pat grumbled beneath his voice.

[doc66]

Good posts.

[Lurch]

Thanks, they ended up longer than I'd planned on, but I think they came out Ok.

[Garith]

More?

Please......

[Raydarkhorse]

AHHH updates please, Lurch, Doc, jclaudii........ someone.

[Lurch]

AHHH updates please, Lurch, Doc, jclaudii........ someone.

I'm trying to be a good boy and let somebody else play too. Of course if nobody does anything by this weekend I'll have to do something, as the withdrawl pains will start by then.

[gart43]

Dude trust me. I'm having WAYYYYY worse withdrawl pains than you are.

[Raydarkhorse]

I dunno I'm laid off right now no money, and bored. The only entertainment I get is the stories these guy's post on here.

[gart43]

Me and RAy are getting antsy here..................I need some entertainment NOW .

[Lurch]

Sorry for the long delay.


Pat followed the other vehicles into the hospital parking lot. When got where he could see the entrance, he knew they’d have to walk, due to the incredible jumble of vehicles parked there. Apparently Inez had come to the same conclusion, as she parked several yards away from the nearest vehicle. Pat saw Hue Liu jump out the passenger door of the truck, and begin waving people to where she wanted them to stop. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know how to park a car, Chickie,” he muttered to himself, but stopped where she’d indicated. As he was getting out of the Jeep, he told Bubba and Emily to stay put for a minute. When he saw the subdued look on their faces, he was pretty sure they’d actually do as he’d asked.

Inez saw him limping as he approached, “How ya’ doing, kid? Gonna be able to keep going for a little while?” When she saw him nod she added, with a smile, “Good, because you don’t really have a choice anyhow.” Inez looked around briefly, “Hue Liu, why don’t you stay with the little ones? Just stay in the Jeep, with the windows up. We’ll let you know if it’s safe to bring them inside.” Not pausing, assuming correctly she’d be obeyed, she turned to Pat, “Pat, hobble your ass up to the E.R. door and see what we’re facing. Can do?”

“Sure thing, I think my ass has a hobble or two left in it.” He went back over to the Jeep for a minute retrieving his rifle, and the silenced Glock. As he approached the hospital he slung the rifle, and brought the pistol up in a two handed grip. Examining the vehicles interiors as he passed, he noticed very few of them held bodies, mobile or not, which made sense, since most of the vehicles had at least one door open. Passing an ambulance, parked on the grass, he heard moans coming from the inside. Finding that all its doors were closed, he decided that he could afford to turn his back on it. When he was almost to the entrance, he put his back to the wall, and started edging toward the door. Reaching the door, he stopped to take a deep breath, afraid of what he would find. Deciding he was as ready as he’d ever be, he stepped away from the wall, and turned toward the door…..and nothing happened. “Well, duh,” he told himself, “no power, no automatic door.” He stepped forward and peered through the glass. Nothing moved in the waiting room of the little E.R.. He noticed dark stains on the linoleum floors, which had at one point been stepped in and tracked around, before the tracks faded out. All of the doors leading out of the waiting area were closed. One set of double doors, on the left, had dark stains smeared on it. He decided it must be blood. Probably from a zombie trying to get in. Taking one last look around, he started back to report in. He was halfway back when he realized he’d passed an empty gurney, laying on it’s side. Not long afterwards, he was pushing his find up to where Inez was waiting, at the front of the pickup.

When Inez saw the gurney she nodded, “Good thinking.” Then she motioned him over to where Larry and Jacob were waiting with Ruth, and Pat told them what he’d seen. Taking one last look around, Inez told them she figured it was Ruth’s best bet.

Leaving Jacob to watch over Ruth, Inez took Pat and Larry back to the entrance of the hospital. When they got there they determined the doors were closed but not locked, so Pat and Larry got as good a hold as they could on the door, and pulled it open. Once it was open, it stayed open, and would until either the power came back on, or it was manually closed. Inez went through the doors when there was barely room for her to fit. She had both Brownings up and ready. First she went around behind the reception desk, but didn’t find anything there. Then she went over to a single door, which was located to the side, and behind, the desk. Holstering one of her pistols, she tried the door. Unfortunately this one was locked. She checked all of the doors leading out of the room, and found they were all locked. Having saved the double doors for last, she dragged a chair over in front of them, and stepped up on it to see into the room. What she saw didn’t make her happy. Hopping down off the chair, she told Larry to try and push the door open.

Larry took one look at the door and walked over to a box on the wall, pulling a pair of nitrile gloves out. After donning the gloves he tried to door. First he pushed on it, then he pulled on it, finally he kicked it, “Open. Up. You. Son of a. Bitch!” He said, punctuating each word with a kick. Finally admitting defeat, he limped over and hitched himself up to sit on the admissions desk. “Inez, we’re gonna have to find some other way in. That lock ain’t gonna break. At least not until after my foot does.”

Inez looked over at Larry, “You didn’t look inside, did you?” Knowing he must not have she went on, “There are some bodies laying on the floor in there. One of them looks to be law enforcement.” She paused to rub her eyes, “From what I saw, it looks like several people were trapped in there. They barricaded themselves in, while zombies beat on the door. That’s where all the blood on the door came from. Then - now some of this part’s speculation - someone inside was infected, maybe more than one, and bit the others. What I’m sure of is that the officer shot everyone else in the head, and then ate his gun.”

Pat looked over at Larry, who raised an eyebrow in a silent ’I dunno’, then asked, “What makes you so sure that’s how it happened? You can tell all of that from one little glimpse through a narrow little window?”

Inez, irritated, answered him, “Boy, I was creating scenes like that one before you were born. There were several times I found myself making a hit look like a murder suicide. Remind me sometime to tell you about a Mafioso in Newark who shot his compatriots, before turning the gun on himself.”

“Seems like I heard something about that. I was just a kid at the time, but it was all over the news, a big deal because they found out he’d been spying for the Soviets.” Larry said.

Inez grinned at him, “That’d be the one. Sometime remind me to tell you what happened to Jimmy Hoffa.” She stood up, “But not now, right now we need some medical supplies.”

Pat looked around, “Inez, I’m sure there’s stuff like that all over this hospital, but I’m pretty sure the surgery suites and supply closets are going to be darker than dark without electricity.”

“We’re not after a surgery suite, just tape, bandages, antibiotics, and painkillers. Stuff like that.” Inez told him. “Now let’s figure out how we’re going to get this fucking door open.”

Pat stood up, “If that’s all you need, screw the damn door. Follow me,” and walked back out onto the sidewalk. When he cleared the doors he slowed down, briefly looking around. Spying what he was after, he went over to the nearest ambulance. Inez was right behind him when he rounded the rear corner of the ambulance, and found the doors were opened, and the interior had been ransacked.

“Well, shit. Someone beat us to it. Nice thought though.” Inez told him, with a pat on the shoulder.
Pat didn’t say anything, he just looked over at the other ambulance, and started towards it. “Pat, it’s not going to be any better than this one. Let’s get back inside and start working on that door.”

Pat stopped and turned, “I’m pretty sure the other one’s intact. It‘s got a guardian.”

“What makes you say that? What kind of a guardian?”

“When I checked it out earlier, I noticed that the back end was closed, and I heard moaning coming from inside. That means either someone’s getting laid, or there’s a zombie in there. I’m betting on zombie, myself. Although it wouldn‘t hurt my feelings if somebody around here got laid.” He turned back and resumed walking.

Larry let out a chuckle, and passed by Inez, following Pat. Inez stood there for a minute before following, trying to decide who he meant by ‘somebody.’ Deciding she really didn’t care, she caught up to them at the rear of the other ambulance, where they were listening to the door.

After listening for a minute they stepped back, “I hear at least two,” Pat said, “maybe more, but at least two.”

“That’s sort of what I figure too.” Larry told him. “How do you want to do this?”

Pat thought for a second, glanced at the doors, and at Inez, before answering, “Here’s what we do, you get that side and I’ll get this side. We’ll both open our door, and Inez can shoot anything inside. How’s that sound?” Pat asked, looking at Inez, then Larry.
Inez looked back at him, “I’m impressed, Pat. On one condition though, I want the silenced Glock. No sense in advertising to the whole zombie world where we are.”

They quickly assumed their positions, and after Inez checked the Glock, they pulled the doors open. Inez, who had positioned herself about six feet from the door, had a zombie land right at her feet. Taking two steps back, she placed a round right in the top of its head. When it had collapsed, like a puppet with its strings cut, she proceeded to shoot the other zombies, who were just then falling/climbing out of the ambulance. After the shooting was over they counted six zombies. Looking them over, they decided it was the two person ambulance crew plus what must have been a family of four. Pat wouldn’t have thought that a whole family would have been allowed to ride in the ambulance. Of course, when dealing with a zombie apocalypse, some rules get overlooked.

Seeing that the supplies were relatively unscathed, they gathered what they needed and went to work on Ruth. Inez, among her many other skills, had some first aid training. “We’re not talking surgery or nothing. Just needed to be able to deal with some injuries in the field.” Careful examination of Ruth’s wound showed that the bullet had stopped against one of her ribs. Inez told them it really had gone through Bill first, and that’s why Ruth was still alive. She felt pretty sure the rib was broken, but that nothing serious was hit. Finishing up, she told Larry to make her comfortable, while she sat down for a minute.

Pat walked up and sat down beside her. “Inez, Bubba saw something as we came through town. He thinks there are survivors at the high school.”

Inez, chin on her knees, spoke without opening her eyes. “Forget it Pat. Anybody inside the high school has been dragged out of their hidey hole kicking and screaming by now, and have switched sides to the enemy. Going into the high school is nothing but suicide.”

“Well, that makes sense, but they’re not in the high school. They’re in the stadium. You know, tall chain-link fences, water, toilets, bleachers, and locker rooms. From what Bubba said, it sounds like most of the town is outside the stadium trying to get in. But he swears he saw people waving from the top of the bleachers.”

Inez lay down on the sidewalk, on her back, eyes closed, “Damn I’m tired. Tell you what, let’s find somewhere to spend the night, and we’ll talk about it later. Ok?”

“Sounds like a plan.” Pat said, and lay down beside her.

[doc66]

Thanks for the update, I've got too many things happening right now on the writing front. Eric and I are trying to get Alive Inside audio parts 2 & 3 finished for June and I'm working on a couple other thnigs at the moment. Even Cole has taken a backseat right now.

[Garith]

More please.

[jclaudii]

*********************************************************
Pat woke up, almost forgetting where he was. It took a moment to register that Inez and he laid down about 4 in some type of general store along one of the side streets close to the hospital. He then heard Inez's voice talking to a few of the others.

"We HAVE to go back and get that truck. Now I know we don't have anyone who can drive a truck, but if what Bubba says is accurate, perhaps one of them can drive it. Jacob and I, and perhaps Pat if he feels up to it, will head out late tonight. Were going to leave all the vehicles with you while we grab one of the abandoned one's from outside. A car will work fine as it was fairly clear on the way in here"

"What about those people that were after us, isn't there one still alive?" asked Ruth.

"Perhaps he's still there waiting on his backup or he may have died in the canon blast, we really didn't stick around and find out. This is going to be a quick break and grab. Hey look who's up from his nap, You feeling okay Pat?"

"Yea, I feel pretty good, how long was I out for?"

"I would guess about 5 hours, Have you heard much of our conversion?"

"Some, I heard that there is a possible rescue mission being put together to grab the truck that has my beloved couch in it. We may also want to grab those extra people too if we can."

This got a laugh from everyone that was starting to know Pat and his love addiction to his beautiful leather couch that was in the 18 wheelers trailer.

"So you'll go then?" Asked Jacob.

"Hell yea, but I'm going to be keeping my but in the car, you guys can go and do all the rescuing. I can't run anymore and if one of those runners gets after me, I'm toast.

"Alrighty then, anyone have any questions."

"Yea, if were not taking any of these vehicles which one we taking?"

"Well, Pat, your going to be the one to acquire our new set of wheels while me and Jacob get our supplies ready and I give him a crash course in reconnaissance. Emily and Bubba will stay here with you guys. Who wants to be in charge while I"m goine?"

"I do" as Bubba raised his hand and got a laugh out of everyone.

"Perhaps someone with a bit more experience." Larry raised his hand and all agreed he would be a good leader while they were gone. "Ok, I want regular patrols from the roof. Stay inside and out of sight until we get back. We will be back, Trust me! Never ginks a mission by saying anything but. Okay, were heading out at 0130."

"Why couldn't I go or be in charge Inez?" asked from sleepy eyes.

"Well Bubba, you just need more experience. The more you stay alive with us the more experience you'll get. So in a few years you'll be able to go out on missions and such. Now why don't you and Emily go get some sleep. We'll be back before breakfast hopefully." He hugged her and Emily followed after him as they went to find somewhere to sleep.

Meanwhile Pat was limping around outside with a coffee cup in one hand and the Glock in the other. He taped one of the flashlights around the suppressor to make for a quick aim light. It seemed like every car he tried was either locked or didn't have keys in it. He would see the occasional zombie still strapped in the car and he would shoot it through the windshield making almost no sound.

Mumbling to himself "Damn, I can't believe there are no unlocked cars with keys in them in this small town. On top of that, were are all the cool cars, not these beat up piece of sh...." He caught himself talking and stopped to hear some zombies in an ally way he did not see. He looked for cover but saw nothing out in the open he could use. He then calmly got down on one knee, set his coffee cup beside him and took aim with both hands. The pistol was aimed at the sound.

All at once the brass was ejecting and falling to the asphalt with small clings. The bullets were ripping through chests and heads as the zombies stepped out from the darkness. The rotting flesh filled the air as they hobbled and leapt at their attacker. The moans haunted the brisk night air, making what small animals that were around scramble and hide. The slide locked back and Pat dropped the magazine and slammed another one in chambering the first round. The silencer continued to hiss and keep the report from becoming very audible. He dropped 6 more with the 13 shot magazine. He took a tad longer fumbling for the third magazine, but got it in as he dropped two more that fell within inches of him. Their momentum carried them further than he realized. By his 5th Magazine he started to wonder how many more there were and how many magazines he actually had on him. "Damn, How many more fuckers are there" as he pulled the trigger back twice, dispatching the last one it seemed.

"Thats better, now your truly dead" as he gathered up his empty magazines on the ground. He then used his shirt sleeve to wipe the goo that was on his face off and took a moment to shine the flashlight around to make sure he was still clear. After standing up he counted briefly. "Well Hell, 28 Zeds out of 60 something shells, I've got to get more practice in."

He walked around the pile of undead and looked up and thanked for Lord for one more day. "I'm glad you guys were a trickle or I wouldn't be going on any missions tonight" as he kicked one of the dead bodies. The body immediately grabbed on to his boot and pulled itself into the biting position. It had enough force to cause Pat to loose his balance and fall. He still had the gun, but was disoriented. He was expecting to feel the jaws clamp down hard on his body but instead just felt the zombie touching him. As he looked down and aimed the Glock at the fiends head, he noticed it had no jaw to bite with. "Looks like you've had it rough" as he killed it for the last time.

He picked himself up again and walked over to the sidewalk by a storefront. He leaned against the wall for a few minutes to get his thoughts back and to thank the Lord one more time. "Buddy, now that was close, we've got to be more careful okay!". "Okay!"

He tried to spot his coffee cup, but couldn't. He then went over to the dark alley where all the undead where. "Lets see whats back here shall we" as he entered with the pistol out front providing light.

It was a small parking space for a few cars behind the storefronts of the main street. He then knew why the fiends were back there this time. There was a small radio that was still being powered with static sitting on a window ledge. He continued to shine the light around and found what he was looking for the entire time. Well, mostly. It was a 1972 Mustang Mach1. It looked like it was still being restored to it's former glory. Pat got closer to the car and noticed that it was empty and unlocked. After opening the door he checked for keys and found none. He popped the hood and noticed it had a fairly new engine with chrome accents. "Where were you when I was a teenager" he asked the car as he stared at it's engine.

He looked around for a bit outside and found a bit of iron pipe he could use to try and break the ignition lock. He banged on it a few minutes as the sound echoed out into the night. "You better give soon before every undead in a 3 block radius is eating me!" He told the car as he banged on it with every syllable. The ignition lock finally gave way and he hoped in. He went to crank it, nothing. "Damnit, I should have checked the battery first! Idiot!" he got out and popped the hood and noticed it was disconnected. "Thats odd, perhaps it has a short somewhere and the owner didn't want the battery to drain. As he put the cable on it made a sizzling sound as the interior lights and radio came on. He hopped back behind the hood and tried it again. This time ignition. She fired up all 8 cylinders and unleashed her noise on the town. Pat put it in gear and tapped the gas with a squeak from the tires.

Pat roared down main street one way and then turned around and started heading back towards the building beside the hospital. On his way back something caught his eye at a gas station. There were 3 three trucks out front with tankers mounted on them. "Fuel Trucks...Whooo Hooo!" as he did a power slide into the parking lot. He pulled up close enough to the rear of one and got out to fill the car up. After toping the car off and the extra container he found he made a mental note to tell Inez about the three trucks.

He finally pulled up close to the building they were in, waking anyone inside up in the process.

"Damn Pat could you be any louder, I mean, Wasn't there a Cadillac or something you could have jacked instead?" Larry said as he and Jacob started carrying supplies to the car.

"Yea, but this one seemed to call to me when I found it"

"Yea, it calls alright, every undead in a 10 mile radius" Inez said not looking happy about the ride.

"That may be true, but it's fast just in case we see any trouble. "

Yea, yea...Still got shit for brains though" Inez mumbled

"What was that Pat asked"

"Nothin'!" she said with a mischievous grin "were heading out in 10 minutes."


With several days supplies loaded up in the car, Pat pulled out of the side street back towards the town dot they had come from.

"Hey seems like we made pretty good time" Jacob said as he saw the city limit sign come into view. "Yea, kid traffic was pretty light today and I don't think there are any 5.0 on this stretch." "I think it had to do the with fact you were doing 65 swerving around abandoned cars and all." said Inez.

"Lets pull off up here at this small house and walk into town from here Jacob. We'll help Pat clear this house and we'll walk on in to town. Pat if you can keep an eye out for us up on the roof that would be great. I also brought these 2 way radios and here is a piece of paper you can use for signaling us by just pressing the key. We can talk on them if it's important, just remember not to post anything they can use to track or find us."

"Got it"

"Alright kid, Grab your bag and gun and lets go get our truck back. See you in a bit Pat. "

They walked for almost an hour being extremely cautious and sticking to the shadows as they approached the location where they were fighting yesterday. The bright moon light was doing little to keep their movements concealed.

"You smell that kid, somethings burning. Smells like plastic and fuel"

"Yea I smell it".

"Stay alert, just grunt if you need me"

"Got it"

The walked on a little further and saw the source of the fire several blocks away.

"Well well, looks like they tried to land the heli! I can see movement over there so I'm guessing the fire and explosion may have moved some of the zombies on the high school fence. C'mon, lets keep going, our main mission is the Truck."

They continued on to the spot in the woods where they hid the truck. They finally arrived at the tree line and could see the outline of the boughs and debris piled on the truck.

"Damn they did a great job with the truck"

"Yea, I helped some"

"Jacob I was being sarcastic, it stands out like a sore thumb if anyone happed to walk by here."

"Oh. Sorry"

"Don't be sorry son, just make a mental note to do it different next time."

"Alright, should we check it out now or go see if we can find those people at the stadium?"

"Lets check to make sure the truck is ready to go and then head to the stadium. I'll be damned if we leave it here again, I'll learn to drive it if I have too."

After clearing the area around the truck Inez stood guard while Jacob examined the truck.

"Inez, the keys are in it and in the off position, I also grabbed this crossbow from the back. I think we may be able to make our stealth last a bit longer if we use it."

"Do you know how to use it kid?"

"yea...I mean ummm...You just pull it back aim and shoot right?"

"Yea something like that, how many bolts do you have for it?"

"Looks about 25, half are broadheads, the other half are target tips".

"Alright. Lets get this done with. I sure hope those people are okay and The Comapny didn't do something to them. We need to be out of here before daylight as this place will be crawling with agents soon."

"Lets move out, kid" as she sent him first with the crossbow towards the high school.
************************************************************

[gart43]

Awesome update .

[gart43]

Anything new? I'm going through some SERIOUS withdrawl symptoms lately.

[Lurch]

I'll try and find some time to add something soon. My work schedule changed, so I don't have as much time to write. Most of what time I have is going to another project.

[gart43]

Thats ok take your time.

[jclaudii]

Perhaps I'll post up a little update here to get the juices flowing again.

****************************************************
After Inez and Jacob left, Pat found himself rummaging through the previous owners belongings. He looked at the pictures on the walls and noticed a smiling happy family of four. He went on into the kitchen and found that the pantry and cabinets still contained some food. He dug around for a can opener and poured a can of chef boyardee cheesy raviolis.

"I hate to eat these cold" he said to no one in particular. He left the bowl on the counter as he continued to look around in the house. He found several pairs of clothes that may fit Bubba and Emily and thew them on the bed for packing. He also found a 30-06 hunting rifle in the bedroom closet. He didn't see any boxes of shells for it, but found the magazine for it that had 6 rounds in it on the top shelf. The closet had several nice brands of outdoor cold weather jackets, but since he didn't need those, he thought perhaps there is camping equipment in the garage.

He made his way to the garage and spotted several large plastic totes stacked up in a corner labeled camping. "Haa...That was simple" as he smiled to himself. He opened the top tote and saw a it had several of the necessities of camping comfortably stored inside. He dug through it and eventually found what he was looking for, a small propane stove and several cans of propane.

He took his find back to the kitchen and set it up on the now defunct electric stove. He lit the stove and proceeded to heat his meal when he heard some noise going on in the back yard. He turned off the electric lantern he was using to light the kitchen and walked to the shuttered curtain sliding door to look out. What he saw in the moonlight were several people running through the backyard. He assumed they were the people that were at the football field, but he only got a brief look at them. A few moments later he saw a few zombies staggering after the fleeing souls.

"Well I can't help you folks out much, but I'll take care of these guys for you" as he lifted the Glock up and switched on the light and headed out the door. The light attracted the few zombies towards the house and when they got close enough he shot them in the head. He looked the way the people came from and gone and saw no movement. He made his way back to the house securing the door and closing the heavy curtain to contain the kitchen light. "DAMN...my food" He uttered as he headed back to the kitchen to find his boiling hot meal ready to be taken off the heat.

After the warm meal, Pat started packing a few of the things he found into the car. "Good thing these things have a huge trunk" as he pushed bags of clothes and camping gear into it and talked to himself. He wondered how long Inez and Jacob had been gone and with a quick glance at his watch he saw that it was almost dawn. He pulled the paper out of his pocket with Inez's scribbling on it and looked it over. "Press once to establish contact and check status, Press twice if status is good, Press three times if status bad, press four times if "base" compromised and on the move, Press 5 times if guys in black are spotted, Press six times for time constraint followed by time in minutes, Press 7 times if objective complete/making way to base, press to talk if all else fails." He keyed the mike once and waited for about 10 minutes with no reply static squelch. He tried again and still got the same result. He was starting to worry after the 10th time when he finally got one key followed by a two key. "Well at least there okay....I'm going to get some fresh air" as he spoke to no one.

As he stepped outside he could hear rustling on the other side of the fence in the neighbors yard and went back inside to the garage to grab the ladder. He quietly leaned it up on the opposite side of the house with the rifle and BOB slung over his shoulder and his glock holstered as he climbed. As he climbed, the ladder catches were not properly seated and made a loud "THUNK" as the catches locked in. The ladder dropped a few inches and scared Pat to death. He quickly climbed the ladder to the roof but whatever was making the sound next door had stopped.

He laid flat against the roof for several minutes looking around at the neighborhood with the rifle perched on the peak. He then heard the rustling start again and crawled over to where he could see across the fence and clicked on his light. He saw that someone or something was inside the house next door doing something. About that same time he heard gunfire from down the street. He resumed his position of laying flat and tried to locate the source of the sound. He heard several rounds go off and some shouting, so he figured their not too far away.

He was still listening to the gunfire when another sound caught his attention. The sound of the front door opening and closing on the neighbor house and a figure running towards the gunfire. The gunfire died down after a few minutes, but he could already see dark movement in the lightening sky of undead wondering in that direction. He tried to peer through the scope of the ought6, but it was still too dark to see much.

Pat awoke just as the sky was getting quite bright, but with the sun still not over the horizon. He looked at his watch and saw he had been asleep for about 30 minutes. "Damn, I can't believe I feel asleep in a time like this!" "Damnit!" He continued to cuss himself as he stretched his legs and surveyed the landscape with the presence of light. He looked in the direction of gunfire and saw a few bodies on the street that were not there before. A continued look showed no clues to where the shooters went. He then heard the sound of the radio squelch as Inez's key was pressed once and then twice. He followed with one key press and Inez followed with 7 key presses. "Alright, mission complete" he whispered to himself. He then pulled the rifle closer to his eye so he could see the view down the street a bit closer. He couldn't make out anything else, besides the fact that there were 4 more bodies on the street.

Pat was looking through the scope of the rifle when he felt the distinct presence of someone else with him. When he turned around to see what was behind him, he was knocked unconscious.
**********************************************************************

[Lurch]

Nice, thanks for keeping it going. I'm kinda stuck about what to do here. Keep going!

[gart43]

Oh dude your not going to take Pat out are you?

'Cause I will hunt you down if you do.

Just kidding, keep it rolling!

[jclaudii]

*****************************************************************
Inez and Jacob slipped silently through the streets of the small town, sticking to the shadows as to not draw attention to their movement. Jacob led the way with his new silent weapon of terror: a Horton Scout HD crossbow with a red dot site. The string was pulled back and locked with a broadhead loaded into the barrel. Their destination was a small football field about a mile from where the truck was stashed. As they got closer they could smell the sour smell of burnt flesh, plastic, and fuel from where the chopper was caught in Inez's trap. They were only about 500 feet from the fence that still held back the zombies from getting any closer to chopper wreckage when an undead looked up from behind a car.

Inez put her hand on the boys shoulder "Now remember what we talked about.....Aim.....Breathe slowly.....and squeeze the trigger."

Jacob shouldered the light crossbow, flicked the safety off and looked through the dark scope with the bright red dot. "Gotcha" is all he said as he exhaled slowly and squeezed the trigger as the Horton unleashed a 250 feet per second missile into the fiends head.....Killing it instantly without a sound.

"Inez, I got him...Yea...Alright..." as he tried to contain his excitement to whispers.

"Alright boy...Settle down. Good job, but you may want to reload that thing so you can shoot the next one" she said as she pointed over his shoulder by the undeads dead companion.

Jacob quickly dropped the weapon and put his foot through the stirrup and pulled the massive 125 pound pull to it's cocked position. The next bolt he put in was just a target tip, "might as well see if these work before we get to far" he said to Inez. He did just as he did before, exhaled and squeezed the trigger. He was rewarded with a direct hit to the head and a stumbling zombie. The zombie finally collapsed a few seconds later, but he was able to take a few wobbly steps towards them.

"Hmm...that was interesting" Inez said. "C'mon lets move on over to the pressbox

They finally found the gate to inside the football field relatively clear. Jacob dispatched a couple undead with one miss. They made it to the pressbox and saw a "guard" on duty. "Inez pulled Jacob aside "Son, i'm going to go in first and have a talk with the 'guard' here to see if they need our assistance. I want you to stay back here in the dark covering me. I'll give you the signal if it's safe for you to come out. If I should be apprehended, I want you to remain here for a few min and then go to Pat if I'm not out. I'll give you a signal if they just want to talk. You remember our signals right?"

"Yea. Should I shoot anyone if they hurt you?"
"No, Not unless they just straight up kill me then it will be up to you to stay or run."
"Lets do it" as Inez stepped out of the dark shadow of the building and into the moonlight. She looked up at the guy in the pressbox chair and cleared her throat.

The guy must have been half asleep as he was so startled, his chair fell over backwards and was caught completely off guard. After the loud collapse of the chair, he grubled "Who are you old lady and where did you come from?" He finally managed to aim his rifle on her as she set hers on the ground. Inez still had her her side arm hid by her vest for the moment.

"Old Lady....Why I ought to come up there and just kick you ass" she said with a menacing stare. But I did not mean to startle you, I only wanted to get your attention. You see, we saw you and several others up here waving at us as we headed out of here pretty fast after a rather hostile encounter."

"Ahhh....So yous the ones who just hi-tailed it out of here and rigged the explosive to take out the only rescue we've seen in months. Where are your little friends that was with you. Have you came to try and live with us?Why I ought to shoot you right were you stand for running off like that you lil...."

"Porter, there is no need for that kind of language to a lady, Why don't you go on in and get some sleep and I'll look after the lady"

"But, mayor...."

"Just do what I ask Porter, besides you've been out here looking for them to return all day. Miss, do you have anyone else with you? Would you like to come up and talk about why you are here?"

"I would not mind coming up and talking to you, but I am not alone and that is my insurance policy should you try anything with me. I'll leave my rifle here on the ground, but I'm keeping my sidearm on me. she stated to the gentleman."

"Well, were pretty peaceful, as long as you don't mean us any harm I'm sure we'll get along just fine. "

Inez gave Jacob a signal that she was ok and to wait for her out here and keep eyes out for other dangers. She climbed the ladder to the pressbox and picked up the chair that fell when she startled Porter and sat down in it. "Well....do ya wanna get out of here or stay here for 'rescue'?" Inez said as the gentleman sat down.

"Oh is that why you are here?"

"Don't get smart with me dipshit, On our way out of here, one of the people in our group saw you all waiving at us. We were running from some pretty bad foks. We came back here to get something we left behind and to offer our assistance to you. So whatever 'rescue' your people are talking about, I assure you it isn't what you thought."

"So the black chopper that was blown up"

"Yep, it belongs to the people who were after us. They say they work for the government, but their actions speak a different tale. We ran into them once, and they rather shoot than help. So we've been trying to avoid them, but somehow they keep finding us. Our group mainly consist of people that have been rescued or that we picked up along the way. We stay together because there is safety in numbers."

"Well, we saw that chopper and were in tears at the thought of being rescued. Then when it tried to land we saw it blown up. We could only conclude that it was you/your people who set the explosive. The good news is that with the explosion and the arrival of the chopper, the zombies have moved away from the pressbox enabling several of us to make a run for it. Several people from the group said they would go the same direction they saw your party leave in and kill you for leaving us and then blowing up our only rescue! I have no power to make anyone do anything, so about 5 of them left. There's only about 8 of us here holding out. We were getting really low on supplies when we saw your people arrive, but we didn't expect there to be a gunfight."

"We didn't either until one of our own members was spotted right before he got to town. So if you don't mind, I would like to get back to our location before sunrise if possible, can your people be ready to go in 15 minutes?

"Hell yea we will go with you. I'll wake them up and tell them to get there things together. But I have to warn you that the 5 that left us took our only loaded weapons. They were not happy to be cooped up with the rest of us and kept mainly to themselves on the roof. The rifle Porter had trained on you only had one round in it"

"We'll deal with them if they cross us.....is it Mayor?"

"You can call me John miss...."

"Inez, you can call me Inez. I'm going to head back down and tell my party to get ready. Oh yea. One small thing. Do you have anyone who can drive a 18wheeler?"

"I'll ask, perhaps Bo can, he seems the type."

She started down the ladder and once at the bottom finally replied to Pats persistent status check. She met Jacob back in the shadows and updated him. He also updated Inez.

"Look over by that fence. if you keep looking you'll see a face close to that light pole. The face moves, and I don't think it's a deadie. I just wanted you to look for yourself. I don't think it's seen me, but I also don't know if it means anything either."

"Yea I see something over there, it seems there was a falling out with some of the members of this little group after the chopper blew up. This could be one of them keeping an eye out on them. The main guy calls himself mayor."

"Whats the plan?"
"When they all get down here, Mayor is going to give me a driver hopefully, I'm going to let you take the driver back to the truck and meet us going out of town."

"Why not all of us go to the truck"

"Because if we are being watched, I don't want to take any chances with these peoples lives, I'll let you two sneak off in a different direction while that person follows us to wherever. When you get to the truck radio Pat that were on our way with the codes."

"Alrighty."
********************************************************************

[doc66]

Thanks guys, Shorty's graduation from OSU is this weekend maybe things will calm down then.

[jclaudii]

According to ms word, the group story now has 77,185 words and a 5.6 Flesche-Kincaid Grade reading level. This is a fun story to play around with. Keep reading and writing folks.