The Other Side of the Apocalypse

[WildWest]

Eduard had some training. He was cool, dependable, and had good character. Jared was turning out to be a more effective sniper though, behind Will and Kelsey.

MOAR! Just to clarify, Eduard was the sniper correct?

[warpath650]

Keep it coming, lets SMASH those Pirates!

[WildWest]

Day 130

They never made it here, the people running from the pirates. Nobody was safe as long as they were out there. It’s apparently not a matter of survival for them; it’s a matter of power. They want to be in charge of the last living things in their small world. I do not find that acceptable. It’s a danger that I cannot allow to go on threatening my family, my community.

I only ask for the strength to do the hard tasks needed to stop this threat.

I prayed this morning. Not a quiet and meek prayer. A prayer of defeating my enemies. It was a prayer that seeks to make them come to a terrible end. All so my family and friends can go on and live the life that we were meant to live.

I wish I didn’t have to do this. I wish I never imagined what it is we will be doing.

It’s time. Will and Kelsey are coming.

We go to Vicky and describe what we need done. I already have some plans, but she’s creative. She an make it happen and make it work well. We’ll test the machines of course, but not for a couple of days. Vicky says she’ll need that long to get them ready. We’ll be gathering supplies for the machines today, probably tomorrow as well.

After we talked with Vicky, I spent a couple of hours making sure things were on track for our defenses and caring for the animals. Jack is working out how many sheep should be in the inside compound, outside compound, and in the barricaded area. He also wants to set up a pen and possibly a pasture somewhere for the cows. He’s going to check the area again today and let me know what he comes up with tomorrow.

At mid-morning we went out to get supplies for Vicky and Fabian. Vicky had the priority and we got everything she would need. In the afternoon we picked up some extra items we would need, stored them nearby, and then picked up even more of the shopping list for Fabian.

It was a productive day, but my mind was on the attack plan. I had no doubts about doing it. I just wanted to make sure we covered all the bases and minimized our risk; there was a lot of risk!

[WildWest]

Day 131

Sometimes when you preach, you preach for yourself. Sometimes when you preach, you do it for others. Today I was preaching for others. I set aside my own turmoil for a brief time and took a look at what most of our community was trying to accomplish. They were building a wall and a thriving town within. It was not at all unlike what the ancient Israelites had to do in Jerusalem after coming back from their captivity in Babylon.

It was important to encourage them in their work, our work. We don’t have any guarantees that it isn’t in vain. We only have our hope that we can please God in the work we do and the lives we live. We trust in God for the rest. I told everyone the story of Nehemiah rebuilding the walls when the people in the land around them wanted the Israelites disgraced or destroyed. Nehemiah wisely resisted their efforts and led his people to do what is right.

Evelyn sang a beautifully at the end of the service. Amazing Grace. As I sang alone, a lone tear slowly fell from my eye.


Nehemiah 4

The Wall Defended Against Enemies

But it so happened, when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, that he was furious and very indignant, and mocked the Jews. And he spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they complete it in a day? Will they revive the stones from the heaps of rubbish—stones that are burned?”

Now Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, “Whatever they build, if even a fox goes up on it, he will break down their stone wall.”

Hear, O our God, for we are despised; turn their reproach on their own heads, and give them as plunder to a land of captivity! Do not cover their iniquity, and do not let their sin be blotted out from before You; for they have provoked You to anger before the builders.

So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.

Now it happened, when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the walls of Jerusalem were being restored and the gaps were beginning to be closed, that they became very angry, and all of them conspired together to come and attack Jerusalem and create confusion. Nevertheless we made our prayer to our God, and because of them we set a watch against them day and night.

Then Judah said, “The strength of the laborers is failing, and there is so much rubbish that we are not able to build the wall.”

And our adversaries said, “They will neither know nor see anything, till we come into their midst and kill them and cause the work to cease.”

So it was, when the Jews who dwelt near them came, that they told us ten times, “From whatever place you turn, they will be upon us.”

Therefore I positioned men behind the lower parts of the wall, at the openings; and I set the people according to their families, with their swords, their spears, and their bows. And I looked, and arose and said to the nobles, to the leaders, and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”

And it happened, when our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that God had brought their plot to nothing, that all of us returned to the wall, everyone to his work. So it was, from that time on, that half of my servants worked at construction, while the other half held the spears, the shields, the bows, and wore armor; and the leaders were behind all the house of Judah. Those who built on the wall, and those who carried burdens, loaded themselves so that with one hand they worked at construction, and with the other held a weapon. Every one of the builders had his sword girded at his side as he built. And the one who sounded the trumpet was beside me.

Then I said to the nobles, the rulers, and the rest of the people, “The work is great and extensive, and we are separated far from one another on the wall. Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us.”

So we labored in the work, and half of the men[a] held the spears from daybreak until the stars appeared. At the same time I also said to the people, “Let each man and his servant stay at night in Jerusalem, that they may be our guard by night and a working party by day.” So neither I, my brethren, my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me took off our clothes, except that everyone took them off for washing.

[WildWest]

Day 131

Part 2

Will, Kelsey, and I were out all afternoon and didn’t return till shortly before dark. Nobody rested after the service. Work began again in earnest on the wall and accommodations for the animals.

Richard had a crew building two more bunkers. This gave us four for the outer wall. One bunker is located at each corner. Six more will be installed in the next few days. This will let us concentrate fire or change up sniper and spotter positions to keep any enemy guessing. Sandbags within the wall will go in last. That will actually be most of the sandbagging work and will last well into winter.

Cutting has been completed through the entire south side of the outer wall. Most of the containers have been bolted to each other and posts are being secured to the ground to anchor the wall. The main point where we would expect an attack is much more solid than it was three weeks ago.

Jack has taken charge of the animal husbandry. None of the sheep are being kept inside the inner wall regularly. The sheep are split between the outer compound and the neighborhood sections behind the Detroit walls.

Two momma cows and their calves are staying in the inner compound. They won’t chew the grass all the way down to the dirt and will keep a small milk supply close to home for the mornings. Two more pairs of mommas and babies are going to be kept in the outer compound, but in a pen that Richard is beginning to build as well. The last six will have to stay in the trailers for now and just be brought out for brief times on ropes until a better pen is constructed. Ultimately we will need to keep all of them within the outer and inner compounds when the zombies start going wild again.

Vicky was busy today too. People didn’t bother her in her workshop. She locked the door and kept everything under wraps. This was good because she wasn’t disturbed and was able to complete the two machines for us before bedtime. We looked them over and they were beautiful, in a creepy sort of way. Tomorrow we would test them.

[WildWest]

Day 131

Part 3

“This will be the last time I do it before winter sets in, I promise.”

“I don’t like this! It’s not like last time when you risked your life. I knew why you were doing it then. I’m having a baby and we needed a doctor. I was terrified, but I went along with it anyway. I could see what it was for. I don’t see why you’re doing this now!” Angela was in tears.

“I can’t tell you what I’m doing. I won’t tell you. I’m having to deal with one of the ugly realities of our time and it’s best you don’t know too much about it.”

“You can tell me. I can take it.” She said, only half trying to convince me.

“Angela, you always had trouble watching certain westerns, let alone war movies. Do you really think you would have any peace knowing the details of how I plan to go to war?”

“Yes, I would!” she said defiantly.

“Nice try. I know you too well. I also know how I’m going to wage this war. It won’t be gentle like war was before the end of the world. This will be a different kind of war, something more terrible. I need you to stay innocent of it.”

“Why! I want to help you.”

“I know. Believe me when I tell you this. After I get back, I’m going to need your help. This war may change me. Normal wars did that to men. This one more so. I’m going to need you as an anchor, a visible symbol of why I’m doing this and the good that I want to preserve in this world. I need this from you Angela, can you do that.”

“I don’t understand why?”

“I can’t explain the why. I just need you to be here for me. Can you do that?”

“I can. I can do that for you. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

We held each other close.

[WildWest]

Day 132

The sun has been down for an hour and we were ready to leave the vehicle bay of the warehouse south of Samaritan Station. Our Humvee stayed behind in the bay as we drove out in our three little hybrid cars.

The night was dark and there was no moon tonight. All the better for us, we were driving by night vision goggles. The cars were quiet going down the road. We picked three that were in good repair. They didn’t have too many modifications to them, just a double lining of cyclone fence separating the driver’s seat from the rest of the car. We also spray painted them a combination of flat black and flat dark brown. The paint did not shine and no chrome was visible.

Kelsey and I had the least room since we had large bottles of compressed nitrogen stuffed inside with a variety of weapons, equipment, and our shiny new machines. Will had the most disturbing cargo, and it reeked of hot tar.

Our ingress route turned out to be fairly easy. Many of the wrecks had been cleared by the pirates when they passed close to our area weeks before. When we ran into a blocked road, it was easy to turn the vehicle around quickly and move on. We moved quietly so the zombies only stirred a little bit, it was a warm night.

The frequent turns prevented a large horde from forming and I expected the return route would probably be just as easy. We took three hours getting to our staging area and the target was obvious from miles away. Light pollution made finding their base easy on a moonless night.

We coasted to a stop and checked to see if any zombies were closing on us. There were two. We moved a few blocks and tried again. One was closing in. The third time, we were able to stop unmolested. We were only two miles from their base at the long beach dock yards.

We got out and talked for a moment regarding our approach. Our black clothing and lack of shiny surfaces on us helped us blend into the night. The black face paint was an added touch. We disabled the engines so it would be battery only from this point on. A shuffle came from the building above and we got back in the cars, heading towards our destination.

I’m sure there were sentries. We probably passed an observation post on our way in. I don’t think they saw us. I’m not even sure they would be awake. It was midnight and nobody moved at night if they wanted to stay alive, except for us.

We rolled into position and set up two hundred feet from their outer wall. Excellent! They were land locked on the Wilmington side at a main dock and railhead. The military must have blown all the bridges to keep them from keeping their main base out on the docks proper. They would have had a problem with swimmers anyway.

[WildWest]

Day 132

Part 2

He didn’t hear anything before the thud. He didn’t see anything either. It wasn’t his imagination. He really heard it. The buzz he had going was pretty good. He felt a little wobbly as he peered into the shadow next to the building to see if it was a rat.

He knew he was safe behind the big wall, but he wasn’t stupid either. The crowbar in his hand felt good. Three feet of steel would drop a three hundred pound shambler in its tracks. He held it high and at the ready.

He saw it come out of the shadows, but it was way too fast for him. The swing would have been at least at foot over its head if the creature had not already moved in close and leaped at his face. Boy could it climb fast, and that smell…AAHHHHHH!

[WildWest]

Day 132

Part 3

She was patrolling the outer wall o the power plant side. This was always boring duty. Nobody ever tried to mess with us, except when the navy attacked. They have no reason to attack now. They have all the supplies they need and are in their tropical paradise for the rest of their lives. Now it’s just us and all the little weaklings nearby that get to bow down to us.

Even the cops over in Westminster are terrified of us. Why shouldn’t they be, we have a huge army compared to any of them. We could field four hundred soldiers if we had too. Sure we’ll last the winter. The Navy didn’t take everything. Just what was easiest to get at. We have food and water to last a lifetime. The only thing we don’t have is absolute power. That will come soon enough. Marco will make sure of that.

Something sneezed outside the wall.

There it is again!

Again! That wasn’t a sneeze. It sounded like gas, or maybe a spring.

It’s regular, whatever it is, and it’s coming from the power plant. I hope that thing isn’t going to blow up.

AAHHHHHHH!
That was a scream in the compound. Something’s up. “Base, this is November 1, Base, this is November 1, over” she said into her handheld.

“Go ahead November 1”

“Did you hear that scream?”

“Of course we did. Half the state heard it.”

“Well there’s something else out here. It sounds like gas escaping from the power plant.”

“Got it November 1. Anything else?”

“No, that’s it.”

“Keep an eye out November 1. We’ll assemble a patrol to check out both items. Over and out.”

AAAHHHHHHH! Many more screams from the compound, shooting too. This is bad.

[WildWest]

Day 132

Part 4

Setting up for the attack took only two minutes. Kelsey and I moved quickly, putting the black folding screen behind the cars we had backed near the wall. We opened the hatches and slid out the tables that mounted our gas powered catapults. We dropped the wooden legs to the ground and hooked up the quick disconnect lines to the dry nitrogen. Fifteen hundred PSI of dry nitrogen would give us at least five good launches each. We wouldn’t need any more than that. If we had any extra we would launch our secondary payload.

Will was security for us. He had his M4 slung and the M110 in his car. The weapon in his hands was a four foot crowbar. The kind that can easily smash through flesh and bone, but do so with a quiet crunch or a dead thud. I trusted him to have my back.

Kelsey and I worked together. I was the loader and wore two pairs of thick leather gloves. I only had gross hand movements, but protection from the payload was more necessary. Kelsey did the launching. With two machines, we were able to do one launch every fifteen seconds. Snip! Launch! Load! I bet we could have done it in half the time if we practiced more, but who wanted to be careless with the ammunition.

The ammunition! I have to think of it like that. We were launching zombies at them. Not just any zombies though. We had gathered four year old zombies that were in good repair. Four year olds! We bound them with plastic coated wire and spray painted them a flat black. We wanted them to move unseen at night. We refrigerated them at thirty-eight degrees for a day and a half. They were cold to the core. They were fast. They could run. They could also climb! Especially since we coated their hands, arms, feet and knees with fresh tar.

They could climb the Empire State Building. Cargo containers stacked five high would be nothing.

The first screams started before we were half done launching. The second came as we ended.

We launched our secondary ammunition. Tar filled balloons splattered down the outer wall. This took three minutes. A trail of tar stretched from top to bottom of their outer wall. A runner would have no trouble climbing that, even a great big burly one.

We were done. We packed up in two minutes. Nothing was left behind. Nothing except the six zeds Will had smashed up while we were busy killing the pirates.

We quietly rolled back to the vehicle bay. Once safely inside, we climbed into our armored Humvee. I keyed our radio and said, “It’s done.”

Angela responded, “Good. I’ll see you in the morning.”

[TheOrder45]

Whoa! Win. All of it. Your doing a great job.

[Big J]

I am truly enjoying this story, keep up the good work.

+1 to the scriptural referrences

And launching the Toddler Zombie Attack Force (patent pending), just... wow.

[WildWest]

Day 133

BOOM!!!

The mas in leathers slumped to the floor.

“THAT’S WHAT I THINK OF YOUR IDEAS!!!” He spat out screaming at the man with a gut wound.

The other four men in the room were still. They didn’t even blink at what just happened. Generals didn’t last long in this army if they went against Marco. The generals feared dissent. They also feared failure, which often lead to the same results. Most of all, they feared Marco.

“WE WILL NOT CRAWL AWAY ON OUR BELLIES!” Marco spat at his remaining generals, ignoring the moans coming from the floor.

“Nobody does what they did to my people and lives. We rule this land now! We have the iron fist! We will smash any who oppose us and leave their bodies for the dead. RIGHT!!!” Marco said, staring at his generals.

“Right!” they all said in unison.

His generals had been through this type of drama in the past. They knew what to expect. IF there was a failure or setback, one of the generals would die. They wouldn’t always be able to guess who, but someone always died. Marco banked on this fact. They all feared him. None of them got comfortable. None of them were allowed to build up their own following. Marco made himself an image of terror before his leaders, and in turn they held him up as a god to his people.

Nobody here was part of his original gang. Nobody here knew him from before his ascendancy to become a terrible warlord. They had feasted on his fear-inducing persona and it has become a part of their world, a spell that was not easily broken.

“Only two groups could launch this attack against us. All the others fear us too much. I don’t care which of the two it was, they are both going to be ground to dust. Do you HEAR ME!”

“Yes sir!” the generals yelled, still stiff as boards.

“It will be lightning this time, both on the same day. Once it’s done, we will prepare for the winter. I’m going to give each of you a list to be completed. You will follow my instructions exactly. Anybody that does not obey you will be executed. You will do that yourselves, and in public. If you fail to enforce discipline, you will share in the punishment.”

“Throw this thing over the wall.”

The four generals each grabbed a limb of their former comrade and carried him out of the trailer. They didn’t pause or set him down. They only carried him to the series of ladders that stretched up tiers of containers to the top of the wall.

People stopped and stared to see who it was that didn’t live through the strategy session. This general was popular with the troops and got things done. Apparently he thought his popularity and efficiency gave him safety or endeared him to Marco. Nobody endeared themselves to Marco except for Marco.

The general let out a pitiful scream as he was flung over the side by his former friends. They showed no hesitation. They showed no mercy. The people under them knew they would not get any more than that if they crossed them or Marco.

This is how order is kept.

[WildWest]

Day 133

Part 2

Marco had to give this some thought. This wasn’t a turf war where you just intimidated the people to do what you want. He had fifteen years of doing that in Compton before the zombies came. He was good at it too. This was different. Somebody went to war with him, and that hasn’t ever happened. At least if you don’t count the real military. This was somebody willing to go to war with him on his level.

Marco knew he had to deal with this. He could not maintain power if there was someone outside that didn’t believe he was the most powerful warrior left in the world. His people would lose their fear of him and start to rebel. His own generals would see him as weak and start to organize against him. Even if he had to spend his entire army, he would be safer than letting the others survive.

They learned from us how to attack with zombies. Maybe we can learn from them too? I have a lot more tricks I can use. It’s time to use them all, no holding back. This will determine what the world will be like. Marco wanted the entire world to bend the knee to him.

[wile e. coyote]

Wow!! This is some hardcore stuff using zeds against your enemies, very well thought out. Excellent writing WildWest!
The suspense is killing me, I know you just posted an update so I am trying to be patient...

I need MOAR!!! Please

[WildWest]

Day 133

Part 3

I know I’m pushing hard. I know they don’t like it either. We just have to do more.

Last night was gruesome. Unfortunately for me it was also gratifying. I got a lot of satisfaction from destroying those evil men. My stomach is turning though. Not because of what I did. Now I know I can live with that. The zombie children were just another weapon, a weapon of mass destruction to be sure. I’m no stranger to the psychology of that. I assembled nuclear weapons a couple of lifetimes ago.

My stomach was turning because I know they are not all dead. I heard the gunfire as we drove away. It was sporadic at first, mixed with screams. The screams kept going as we drove away, fading into the night. The zombies stirred and started into the streets. They weren’t too heavy, so we were able to get through the roads without trouble. Then came the noise that haunts me, sustained large caliber fire.

After fifteen minutes of carnage, they started an organized resistance to the runners. I’m sure of it. I know we hurt them bad. Starting with ten zombies running free in a confined area for fifteen minutes creates a geometric progression. They lost a lot of people last night, just not all of them.

I’m not dumb, and I don’t think they are either. Only two groups have successfully resisted them, the Westminster police and us. Neither of us are the obvious choice of suspects. They’ll come after both of us. Westminster is real small now, but they’re on the way to getting us.

We have to get ready. Defenses and preparing for winter, there is nothing else.

A second welding crew is up and running now. We aren’t clearing out everything from the containers either, just enough to get by. Hatches are in place at points along the wall so we can close them if there is a breach. The bunkers will be completed by tomorrow. We even used mini-pods to build a sealable tunnel between the inner and outer walls. It’s not just a wall now, but a fortress in itself.

Two more are sandbagging the water lines and the drinking water cistern. Too much has to be done in a short period of time. I’m going to spend tonight working on a model plane. I have an idea that might help if we have a sustained battle.

As far as preparing for winter, Jack and Renee are working on the enclosures. Doc has the basics for a clinic and he and Susan are going with Jared and Evelyn to gather from the warehouses.

[WildWest]

Day 134

It was late morning and Marco was getting ready to do his early walk through the camp. The healthy fear was back. Marco was worried about that yesterday; they suffered a horrible defeat as a group. His gang would not have held together after that kind of defeat. They would have turned on him and found their own way. These times are different though. Behind these walls, people don’t see any other options. Very quickly he became their entire world again, at least for most of them. The others have learned to act that way out of necessity.

It’s amazing that any of us survived the attack that night. The little demons flew over the wall. That much we know for sure. Once inside they killed quickly. They were all black and blended into the shadows, not making a sound. Real life stealth zombies!

Somebody got them ready special for us. They were put on ice to speed them up. We mostly saw the big ones running around when I got my troops ready. From the inside wall we took them out without even noticing the kids. We would have kept our losses to around a hundred if we knew they were there. Then they climbed the wall!

I killed two of the little monsters myself on the wall, at least six of my men too. It wasn’t enough. They got inside the inner camp. Most of my girls were bit. We threw down all the ladders to the inside wall. That kept the fresh ones from coming up. Some people were able to lock themselves in containers too. My soldiers would have held onto the outer wall too if we didn’t have a horde come at us from Wilmington. It would have been no big deal, but a bunch got up the wall, mostly small ones, but my people freaked on that wall. Only a small group held out at the highest point where we make our sacrifices.

It was a messed up night. Everyone on the ground died if they didn’t get in a box. We spent all night picking them off from the inside, and then sniping the ones climbing over the outer wall till we could get control of the outer camp. Nobody slept.

We didn’t get control till we stacked another level of clean containers over the breach. Tar! Who could have thought of that? My count was four hundred and thirty seven people before the attack. Now we are down to eighty-nine. It’s all good though. We still have way more people than any other group around. I could burn through most of them before I would lose control. If I need more, we could always take slaves?

Marco stepped out of his trailer, pausing to enjoy the sunshine. The bodies had already been removed, that was the first order of business after securing the camp. Marco had a forklift remove containers from the inner wall so he could make his entrance. Others took the ladders, but he had power here.

Walking through, he made his way to the wall with the high stack of containers, the sacrificial platform.

Stepping into a man-lift crane, he was hoisted up to the top, again a show of his power.

At the top was a wooden “X” constructed of four-by-four beams embedded into the container. Tied to the “X” was the female guard from the north wall during the attack. She had survived the assault by retreating to this platform. She had also been key to helping hold the platform and saving her comrades. What couldn’t be forgiven is that she did not stop the attack from happening in the first place. On her would be the blame for the results. On her would be the deaths of over three-fourths of the pirates. On her would be the wrath of all that remained.

Marco learned about early crucifixions from a history book. Before the Romans did it, the Assyrians had made it a dreadful form of punishment. They difference was they used an “X” rather than a cross. Marco took out a machete, razor sharp, and displayed it to all his people. He then drew lines of blood down her arms and legs. He drew a bloody “T” on her torso, signifying that she was a traitor. The camp cheered.

It was then complete. She was left alone, except for the crows.

[WildWest]

Day 135

AAHHHH! A girl’s scream came out of the container.

I could hear it on this tired and warm morning. Out of the hatch bolted Karl holding his arm up, blood pouring down his arm. It was pumping out from where two of his fingers used to be. He looked like he was in shock, pale faced and stumbling a little bit.

I brought my M4 up and aimed between his eyes.

Karl pleaded “Help me…”

Janelle came running out after him and stopped in her tracks when she saw me holding him at gunpoint. Quick to react, she said “It wasn’t a zombie! A metal plate sliced of his fingers!” She held up bits of two fingers, neatly sliced.

I lowered and safed my weapon, picked up Karl before he fainted, and carried him over to Doc’s clinic. Janelle followed after carrying the fingers.

Doc had heard the scream and had come running. He saw us heading to his house and met us there. Doc was cool, but very quick. Years in the emergency room made him very good at what he does. In fact, I would say an ER doctor couldn’t have done any better under the circumstances. The fingers were iced, the bleeding was stopped, and the fingers eventually reattached. We don’t know if he will ever have use of them again, or even if an infection will set in and cause this accident to be life threatening. For now, Karl is resting comfortably.

I was afraid something like this would happen. I keep pushing harder and harder to get more done. In a matter of days or weeks, we’ll probably get hit again from the pirates. They may still outnumber us. We can survive, but only by being a hard target. If we have strong and flexible defenses we can withstand an attack. If we can bloody their nose enough in the process, they may leave us alone for good. I don’t want my family and friends to die.

After making sure Karl was in Doc’s good hands, I headed back to the wall. I wanted to make sure everyone kept working. They were. Mark had grabbed Sean to help him install the hinge on another portal, complete with a simple lock. This was good. They felt the urgency as well.

I talked with Will and Kelsey about my concerns yesterday. They agreed and would help me keep everyone moving in the same direction. We put together a different crew to do the gathering. This left more skilled hands to work on the walls and bunkers. The bunkers were actually finished this morning too. Those kids are now reinforcing the corners inside the containers with sandbags.

We can do this. I know we can do this.

Lord, help us.

[WildWest]

Day 135

Part 2

Jared and Rachael finished loading the pallets in their trailer. Lauren and Kevin had finished a few minutes earlier and were keeping watch. They smashed plenty of zeds on their way out here to the Asian food distributor. This was their third trip here today and they were making a pretty big dent in their inventory. If they hurried, they could get one more set of trailers done before dark.

Rice was the biggest find of the day. This warehouse had pallet after pallet of rice. They had since moved on to loading cans of coconut milk, boxed of dried cuttlefish, and jars of pickled vegetables that they couldn’t really identify. Some of this stuff may not taste very good, but it will sure add variety.

A couple of zombies had wandered into the parking lot while they were loading on this trip. Kevin and Rachael were on guard and dispatched them efficiently with their .22s. The bodies were in the front corner of the lot, slumped down near the building. They were going to have to drive over them when they left.

Once Jared finished placing the last pallet in the back with the forklift they all hopped in the cabs. Lauren pulled out of the drive and headed north on Batavia with Jared close behind. As Jared started making his left turn, Rachael’s head exploded all over him and the windshield.

[WildWest]

Day 135

Part 3

Jared started screaming and crying as the rig slowly rolled forward into the turn. Rachael started to slump over towards him and he reached out to straighten her up, but his fingers went inside the gaping hole in the side of her head, blood pouring out. Jared screamed and started bouncing up and down in his driver’s seat.

He was still slow rolling in a the turn and the truck scraped along a parked car. Screaming and bouncing, Jared pulled his fingers from his sister’s head and started wiping away at her blood on the windshield. Using his bloody hand only made a thick smeared mess. He never stopped screaming as he switched hands and wiped a small peep hole with his other hand, leaving both hands coated in her blood.

Lauren called over the radio “We’re being shot at. Step on it!” Jared saw Lauren’s truck start to take off faster up Batavia. He hit the accelerator, but the truck didn’t seem to take off like it should. He stopped screaming and then heard the gunfire. He looked in the left side mirror and saw he was dragging a pickup pinned between the trailer and a telephone pole.

He jerked the wheel right and tried to look out the right mirror, finding it hard to look past his sister’s corpse. The passenger window was shattered, but not much of the glass had fallen out. He couldn’t see the mirror. As he floored the accelerator, the truck pulled hard to the right. His mind couldn’t register that the tires had already been shot out on that side; he just tried to force the truck to go forward.

Lauren and Kevin’s truck was already at the outer barricade. Jared smashed over a Jetta on the right side of the street and jerked the wheel hard to the left, way too hard. Before he straightened out the rig the cab had become exposed to the shooters to the south.

Jared didn’t notice the round going through his left hand on the steering wheel. That hand just went numb. Where Jared felt the sting was in his shoulder. A round entered through his shoulder blade, shattering it and then a rib in the front. The reason his arm was numb is that a fragment severed the nerve for his left arm.

Jared straightened the rig and kept going forward, but somehow wasn’t in as much of a hurry. He was more tired than scared now. His sister was gone and his hope had been dashed in a moment. He was tired, just tired. The rig rolled to a stop.

It only took seconds to go into shock. Jared bled out shortly after that. A main artery had been severed.

[Bearcat]

Damn!

[WildWest]

Day 135

Part 4

Will was in the center bunker on the south wall when he heard the shots. Then he heard an explosion in the distant southwest. Something was starting and he amped up. He called it out on the open channel as he ran through the wall tunnel for the southeast bunker. He knew four of their teens were out gathering and would be coming up Batavia. He had to get to that bunker right away.

“Gunfire south on Batavia! Gunfire south on Batavia!” Will yelled into the radio as he sprinted through the wall and leapt up into the bunker with his M110.

Richard started calling out teams and their code locations. They knew where they needed to be when the fighting started. People were running quickly to their stations, carrying weapons and ammunition.

[WildWest]

Day 135

Part 5

Lauren stopped the rig with the trailer blocking the gap in the outer barricade. She and Kevin sprinted down the center of the road, using the rig for cover until they got to the gate. Gunfire was ringing out from the south, but was also being answered from the bunker on top of the wall.

While Kevin unlocked the gate, Lauren replaced the neat stack of cars that were loaded on the forklift. Moments later they were inside the gate, running for the Detroit wall on Fletcher. They climbed over this barricade and through the outer wall gate. It sealed behind them and they were safe, they thought.

Will took out two pirate snipers from his bunker before they started to target him. He packed two more sandbags in the hole so that only his scope and barrel were exposed. Their sniper battle was running at four to five hundred yards now and he had the advantage. He was confident he would win this kind of battle. The game was about to change though.

[WildWest]

Day 135

Part 6

The smoke alarms I triggered at the south barricades started going off at the same time two garbage trucks started rolling up Batavia at high speed. The trucks were the kind that grabbed dumpsters and lifted them over the cab to dump them in the compacter. The pirates had placed dumpsters on the front and welded them in place so they wouldn’t come loose.

The first one roared up the road at fifty miles an hour, slamming through the outer barricade. The garbage truck avoided the rig and slammed through the cars. The impact sent them flying and skittering over the road. It made the breach looked so easy. The truck lost some speed, but the gap was enormous and would leave a clean gap for the second truck a quarter mile back.

It kept coming and tried to keep picking up speed. The truck slammed into the second barricade and the gate behind. It lost a little more speed here because the gate kept the cars from scattering as much. Will kept up fire on the snipers moving up Batavia. Others were using the firing ports in an attempt to hit the driver of the lead truck.

The garbage truck veered to the left and crashed into the east side of the outer wall. It left a huge dent in one container and split the metal with a four foot gash. The truck bounced off and flipped on its side from the impact and screeched to a stop in the center of the road, just short of trailers staged outside the Detroit wall on the Green River Drive entrance to the neighborhood.

The second garbage truck came up the road faster. Explosions occurred all down Batavia as phones poles exploded. I set off the charges, but it was too late. Most of the poles dropped behind it as it sped forward. One bounced off the back, causing the front end of the truck to lift in the air for a moment, but it kept coming.

Some type of iron or steel was placed around the driver of the truck and our rifles couldn’t bring him down. He Came shot through the remains of the gate and careened into the east wall. The truck hit to the rear of a container, splitting the metal, and solidly caught the inside face of the next container.

The bolts snapped and the container wall tore away. The dump truck bounced off, clean into the air, doing a corkscrew and bouncing end to end till it came to a halt. The top container fell backward and half off of the lower container. The lower container was peeled open like a sardine can, but a gap didn’t appear thanks the outer wall of the container ripping away and being secured behind against the curb. One problem was the portals in the containers were now accessible from the street. That’s when the runners started to come out of the dump trucks.