city of moans

8/6/2019 City of Moans

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City of MoansBy Cameron Carter


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1.

Five well aged men were sitting in ones living room. They were adequately, yet

not completely lit by the afternoon sun just outside.

The television was displaying a manin about his fifties discussing the days news. Outside a car quietly drove by, no doubtdriving away from the suburbs and towards the country, just like the five men sitting and

watching the news. They all despised the city equally, but not because of crime, or loudnoises, or rushing, or any of the traditional city downsides. No, in fact the only thing that

came between them and the city was their past. Their past experiences of the city werewhen they were all either seventeen or eighteen, none of them could remember.

None of them wanted to remember.Smoke from cigars and cigarettes gently floated toward the ceiling where a

slowing spinning fan parted and gently dissipated the smoke. The was a small hint ofbrandy and cheap wine in the air along with the smell of fresh cut grass, smoke and aged

mahogany walls.

The anchorman on the channel seven news stated with the classicanchorman tone.

Another successful hunt in South Grotto County turned up three heads, asreported by lead hunter Eric Parkson but no one was really listening once Nick spoke

up.I remember, He breathed pushing up his glasses with one finger while the rest

clenched a glass of brandy when this all started. About 22 years agowasnt it? Mostnodded, but one simply puffed slowly on his strawberry flavored blunt. He pulled the

blunt away and blew out a new stream of grey smoke towards no particular direction.I remember, rasped Parker who quickly cleared his throat, I remember the

city, he reminisced much clearer I also remember the other. One of the five scowled,another simply closed his eyes for a second. But, remarked Parker, his tone becoming

more cheerful I remember the drinksthe clubthe gardenand the rescue. All ofthem smiled softly, and either puffed a cigar, took a swig of alcohol, or in the case of

oneboth. James spoke up; his voice grabbing their attention as well as it did twentytwo years ago.

I remember everything, he spoke quickly as if wanting to leave himself time tothink in between each sentence, I remember that twenty two years ago, I awoke to

darkness, sirens, screaming, and chaos. I remember how we all happened to just bumpinto each other when we were running. I also distinctly remember six of us.

At that last thought all five of the mens vision slowly faded to the back of theirminds, where a memory of magnitude that could never possibly be forgotten, welcomed

them.They were running. Everyone was running. Running and screaming, hoping they

couldnt catch up. Hundreds of people, all running in the same direction. Soldiersrunning in the opposite, to meet their opponents. Everyone was on the highway.

Hundreds of planes and helicopters were taking off. Anyone who had a car was alreadygone. It was amazing that through all this din and chaos that the six of them stayed

together. So well did they stay together, it was almost as if they rehearsed it. Stillrunning they lost no energy, whether by adrenaline fueling them or by the fact that


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perhaps theyre bodies understood the situation better than their minds, and turned off thefeeling of exhaustion. The highway was beginning to pinch, but no one was willing to

slow down. People were being pushed off the highway, only to plummet another eightyfeet down to the concrete below. These were the only screams which seemed to stick out

among the rest.

The crowd reached a road block, where police and riot specialists, painstakingly,slowly allowing people to pass. They tried to control the situation but it only made thingsworse. The six of them were toward the back, and the police were working so slowly,

that most of the crowd stood still. Theyre radios blared nonsense, most of whichscreams, nothing new to anyone though. Suddenly the crowd began to grow erratic, and

the screams grew more intense. The six of them looked back in horror, as they could seethe militarys failure was catching up to them. They all looked to each other, and

instantly new what to do. They all jumped off the free way and onto a nearby tree.Landing on the ground swiftly afterwards they all sprinted down the road. Darkness had

finally come after hours of looming twilight. Barreling open the door of an abandonedbuilding, they quickly went inside and barricaded the door.

They stepped away from the entrance and stared at it intently, and some, evenangrily, as if viewing for the first time some viscous beast. It was all quiet; theyre

heaving breathing the only thing piercing the thickening silence and blackness. Distantgun shots thumped gloomily. They went on for a minute or two then stopped abruptly. It

was once quiet againno breathingno guns. One of them leaned up against the wallbehind them.

Were all alone, he sighed depressingly.


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2.

We need to get organized, stated James ominously. Everyone knew it though;

this was no time to panic.

James pulled a Zippo lighter from his pocket and flicked ittwice with his thumb, striking a small flame on the second try. The dim light illuminatedeveryones dark expressions poorly, enough, however to cause Parker to fix his askew

glasses. James pushed past the other five and signaled them to follow him. Footstepsechoing softly, all six moved down the hall, towards and unknown destination.

The group reached a stair case. James began to push the door open whenHarrison grabbed his hand. James held the lighter close to Harrisons face, with a motion

that said: What? Harrison was an average sized and proportioned guy. He alwayswore the simple stuff, blue jeans, skate shoes, leather jacket, and an AC/DC shirt. His

personality showed, however, in his hair and tiny quirks. He always let his hair; hairdo,beard, sideburns, and such-grow just a little bit longer than the average person. He also

wore movie prop rings, a few holy symbol necklaces and a Celtic armband over hisleather jacket. Harrisons expression was dark as he stated in a tone even more dark than

his expression.What if theres more? James shook the lighter.

This is my only weapon, he said exasperatedly. Harrison pulled out a switchblade and opened it up to reveal a six inch blade.

This is my only weapon, he responded with an almost non-existent smirk.James pushed open the door slowly and held the lighter up high. The immediate

stairs seemed to be clear. Harrison moved forward cautiously his knife bore out in frontof him at almost arms length. James followed him in, equally as cautious. Next of the

six was Alex, who promptly pulled a small metal bar out of an unseen corner. Alex wasthe biggest of the group, standing at about 6 3 and weighing at about 174 pounds. He

wore a slightly small shirt, camouflage BDUs and his black plastic framed glasses.Though he was one big dude, he was the most cleanly kept of them all. His clothes rarely

had a wrinkle, and he kept himself well trimmed-black hair in a neat tuft upon his head.He brandished the metal bar in his right hand, the other clenched in a meaty fist. The

fourth of the group to crawl through the now dimly lit doorway was Nick. Though thethird tallest of the group he was a little skinny. About 6 and only weighing about 148

pounds, he kept himself clean as well, but with more preventative measures than Alexused. He kept a very thin amount of black hair atop his head. He wore a simple white t-

shirt and jeans, black skate shoes. As he walked his glasses slipped down to the tip of hisnose, which he promptly pushed back up. The fifth to follow through was Cameron,

followed by Parker. Slowly all six of them ascended the stairs.After what seemed to be an hour they reached the third floor, second floor being

locked. James slowly eased open the door to reveal, what looked like a storage room.Mostly stacked chairs and some table, but there were a few boxes, the contents of which

could not be ascertained from the entrance. Nick found a light switch and flicked thelights on. The bright, pure white, glow of the fluorescent lights washed over them.

Parker shielded his eyes, whilst James closed his lighter. James stood at about 5 10 andhad a light layer of dirty blonde hair. He liked to embellish his personality, so he wore


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black Jeans, with a black t-shirt that said keep staring I might do a trick He sported acloth trench cloak which stopped at just below his knees, and military surplus boots,

which ran 8 up his leg. He walked over to an un-open cardboard box, ripped it open,and began rummaging through the packing peanuts within.

Cameron ran and checked outside the windows. Moving a vertical standing

plastic blind he scanned the streets for movement.

Cameron was the most well read ofthe six. Having spent much of his time in high school researching intensely upon hissubjects and hobbies, he knew his stuff well. He stood at about 5 11, and had an army

style buzz cut. Cameron was proportioned to be a very large person, but not nearly as bigas Alex. He wore olive drab BDUs, a Slipknot t-shirt, and a woodland digi-camo BDU

jacket. He wore a black polished stone ring on his left middle finger. Inscribed upon thepolished obsidian, in polished red stone, was a German phrase Sheisse geschiet, which

means Shit happens. After sweeping over the streets a few times he looked to theothers and said I dont see any more coming.

Good, said James, now ripping open a second box, finding nothing in the first.Nick and Harrison were examining on the left side of the room, while Parker and Alex

were fiddling with a locked door on the right side of the room.

Parker was the secondtallest at about 6 2, but slightly lanky weighing about 158 pounds. He was the clever

one, the funny one, the one with the tiny fro and aluminum framed glasses. The one whowore blue jeans, black sneakers, and a blue shirt displaying a pink bunny with an arrow

pointing to it, signaling its name was Badass. He also wore his pride and joy blackjean jacket.

Cameron noticed a box cutter on the window. As a matter of fact it was in thewindow. Actually it was stuck to the window by means of a severed hand on the outside.

Guys he called slowly. Everyone looked up, and everyones blood rushedinward, turning there skin from an average stained white, to a nearly albino pale.

Cameron slowly pulled the knife from the window, blood clinging and squishing againstthe blade. He removed the knife and the hand fell. He dropped the blade, splattering

bubbles of blood on the blue green carpet, and they all fell silent. The lights above theirheads buzzed silently.

The door that Parker and Alex were tinkering with suddenly began to creak open.A bony and rotted hand wrapped around the edge of the door, and pulled it back. A man,

dead, but living, stood there; clothes torn, encrusted with blood, moaning, and oneeyeball hanging loose, began to shuffle towards the two.

WOAH! was all parker could say as he fell back and began to slide away. Alexstepped back but brought the metal bar above his head. Harrison started towards the

zombie, knife at the ready. Cameron froze, out of amazement, as Nick and James readiedthemselves to run. Alex brought the bar crashing down onto the zombies head. With a

fleshy-metallic thump, it moaned one last time then toppled to the ground in a stinkingheap, jaw still eagerly open.

Alex poked the corpse a few times with the bar, then tore off a section of thethings shirt, and began to wipe the coagulated blood from his metal bar. Cameron

leaned over picked up the box cutter and slowly, started for the corpse. Harrison loweredhis knife but never took his eyes from the zombie. Cameron leaned over the corpse, also

tearing off some shirt and wiped off the knife, while retracting the blade.


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Lets face it, he said gloomily, were going to have to deal with these thingsfrom now on. I say that we get our bearings, establish a safe base, and wait for rescue.

Harrison continued to stare at the corpse. Alex, stilling scrubbing his bar noddedapprovingly at Cameron. James grunted and Nick sighed. Parker was the only one who

gave a response.

I know a police station nearby, and they stockpiled supplies in case ofemergencies. They would never have gotten all of it out in time, but its probably beenlocked up. We can start there.

Good idea, replied Alex finally done scrubbing. Cameron pocketed the boxcutter and looked to his left, down the hall past the zombie.

There were three rooms, two on the right facing the blinded windows, and one atthe end of the corridor. Lets search those rooms, James spoke everyones mind. Nick

once again found another light switch and illuminated the hallway.The first room on their right looked like a bomb went off. Most, no, the entire

back wall, and some of the left corner had been completely blown off, revealing the dark-quiet city and starry sky above. The ceiling, which was part of the third and fourth, and

some of the fifth, was missing.

A pile of rubble seemed to lead up to the third floor.

Arandom brown cloth clung to the left wall, wafting gently in a light breeze. Nick raced up

the rubble and looked through the half destroyed wood door on the third floor.What do you see Nick? inquired Alex.

I see droned Nick, obviously straining to see uhI see a window, somerubble, and a bed. It looks like the room caved in on either side. Theres just a bed near

the rubble, perpendicular to a windowwith no glass. Nick spun about, jumped on therubble pile, and slid smoothly back down.

So is it closed off? asked James folding his arms.Yeah, replied Nick matter-of-factly.

The six exited the open room and searched the second room on the right. Insidewere a bunch of couches, a coffee table, and a pull cord on the ceiling. It appeared a

break room. Parker pulled on the cord, and down came a ladder. James re-lit his Zippoand went up. He stuck his head through and called back down.

Its an empty room, just some crates and somewhat looks like racks.Hand me that lighter, asked Cameron in a puzzled tone, he held it high, as he

climbed up and poked his head through.Theyre gun racks, he called back through. He put out the Zippo and climbed

back down, Theyre lining the walls, he said as he handed James his lighter back.Finally the group searched the final room. It was a bathroom complete with a

medicine cabinet.Man this place is weird, groaned Harrison. Alex put his finger to his lips and

whispered loudly.Shhhh dont jinx it. James opened the medicine cabinet, looked over its broad

array of contents, and then closed it. He leaned against the sink facing everyone andinquired to the rest.

What should we do now? A few seconds of silence floated by then Cameronspoke up I say we should just sleep tonight and figure things out in the morning.


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No one questioned his suggestion; everyone just nodded, trudged into the couchroom, found a spot, and went to sleep. Everyone except James, who lay with his hands

behind his head, staring at the ceiling, thinkingthinking on what to do.


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3.

They all awoke at different times in the morning, for no one had a watch. Once

everyone was awake, however, James called a meeting in the break room.

Everyone satdown on a couch. James stood.Alright everyone, he called their attention. If were going to survive we need

to organize. To organize we need several things: one we need to trust each other. Thatsalready been done weve been with each other for years. Two, we need to know what

weve got and what we need. Three, we need to know what we need to do. So letstackle number two; lets empty our pockets onto the table.

Everyone did so. Everyone had very little. James put his lighter out onto thetable. Harrison placed his pocket knife out front of him, blade sheathed. Nick could

offer nothing. Cameron unceremoniously dropped the box cutter on the table, causing itto spin briefly. Alex offered up his bar. Parker pulled a quarter out and very carefully

spun it on the table.

Ok, well its not much, but we can make do, James declared. Now, weve also

got some medicine, which is useful.It has a lot of useable stuff, interrupted Cameron but some of it is just way too

specific to be of much use. I took a look in it last night, he responded to everyonespuzzled looks.

Alright, continued James What have we got to do? Lets look at what weneed. We need: food, water, and weapons. Parker spoke up.

Well, like I said that police station should do the trick.Good, James pointed to Parker.

Oh, Parker once again spoke and I can garden. Everyone but Nick gaveParker a confused look

You mean your asking us to haul some dirt up here so you can make a garden inthat ruined room?

Yes! Parker exclaimed nearly knocking his glasses off.Thats not a bad idea, Harrison stated thoughtfully. Alex spoke tiredly to no

one in particular.I could build the pit out of some of that gravel. Everyone got the picture but no

one replied.Ok, then weve got plenty of garden supplies; they were in the boxes we were

searching last night. Nick looked puzzled I thought they were empty.I took a second look, because I couldnt sleep.

Ah, replied Nick, quieting down.So whats our move then? Cameron asked the question playing on everyones

mind.Parker, James began to inquire as he re-pocketed his Zippo wheres this police

station?


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4.

Alex crashed his foot into the steel door, snapping the hinges and flinging it into

the thinning darkness of the police station.

The door landed with a resonating clap,sending miniscule clouds of dust floating up and out to the heavens. Alex stepped in,metal bar at the ready, Harrison followed knife at the ready, followed by James with a

light, Nick, Parker, then finally Cameron with the box cutter.The six stood fanned out in front of the doorway, looking about tense readiness.

They had already decided the plan: they would stay together until they found some goodweapons, then search the building separately. James broke away from the group, and

found a key upon a nearby desk. The key was worn, and the label was badly in need ofreplacement. The overly-aggravating faint letters, James perceived, M-O-R-Y.

I think this is it, James announced the rest.How do you know? inquired Parker with nearly a whisper.

It says MORY, but its worn so I think its really Armory.

Nick had noticedsomething on the wall, and was ascertaining as to exactly what it was.

Heres a map, Nick gestured, with his finger, the path as he spoke we need tofind stair case 3B, and then we need to climb to floor four. The armory is therethe

major one anyways, theres a lot of small, personal ones, but I think the big one is ourbest bet. Alex scratched his muscular back with his pipe as he pointed out.

Weve really got nothing to lose, so lets just go for it.They all carefully walked around the right corner, and started down the hall way.

Overhead dying fluorescent lights blinked, while below Jamess heavy boots clunkedsoftly on the smooth tile floor. They passed the stairs: 1B, 2B, 3B. Cameron grabbed

the door handle, and opened the door. A body fell through the doorway at the group.With quick reflexes, Cameron thrust the blade from the box cutter, and drove it deep into

the body. It fell limp onto the ground. Brown with decay, and crusty coagulated blood,the body stared lifelessly at the nearby wall. It had been dead for a while now, the one

milky screened eye gently rolling without control. Parker made a quiet, slight gaggingnoise, and then spit on the corpse, wiping his mouth on his ebony jean jacket.

The group slowly, carefully, climbed the stairs from floor to floor. Once theyreached the fourth floor, Parker made for the door. Everyone braced themselves. Parker

tore the door open, to reveal a full scene. The only thing that truly registered oneveryone, was the fact that the hall way was occupied by a lone zombie, which moaned

softly, expelling clumps of blood and slowly stumbling towards them. Alex sprung intoaction; he sprinted forward, and began to slide on the smooth floorjust what he wanted.

He glided easily past the zombie and collided the bar square with the zombies face. Theskull of the horrid creature crumpled slightly as a mixture of teeth, blood, and spittle shot

forward, nearly missing Harrison, who had already, ran forward-knife drawn. He thrustthe blade between the eyes of the ghoul. The non-living abomination fell back thumping

to the floor, spilling blood and some pink brain matter onto the now unclean floor.The rest had already filed into the hall way, and were examining the horrible

scene. Corpses lay everywhere, some clearly suicidal, some clearly once undead,someindistinguishable. A heavy metal door, with streaks of blood slanting down ward


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in clawing motions, was labeled: ARMORY. James grasped the handle of the heavymetal door, coat momentarily flapping, and slowly pushed the door open.

The armory was unpredictably full. A vast arsenal lined the walls of the armory.Cameron began to rant like an eccentric professor.

Ok guys, choose your weapons-weve got long-arms, handhelds, melee, heavy,

light, primary, secondary, non-lethal; you name it we got it!Youre the expert, said James in awe by the pure fact that in such a small room,you could supply a small army.

Alright then, just tell me what you want out of your weapon and Ill give you it.You first James. James stared in still awe, but clearly now in thought, for a second then

snapped his head at Cameron, looking extremely serious.I want to mow these bastards down like grass. Cameron spun around and

scanned the racks. His gaze passed by a box in the corner, then less than a second later itsnapped right back. He pulled two black-pistol looking weapons out, and handed them to

James.The safetys on, leave it on; these are MAC 10s, basically the American UZI.

Remember this number: 9mm Parabellum.

James looked about to interrupt butCameron cut him off.

Thats the weapons caliber, youll need it later. Ok, now Alex! Alex steppedup, and looked him in the eye calmly.

Something I can control.Ok then, Cameron spun around again and looked the racks over, and then he

pulled an oblong, somewhat odd-looking weapon from the top shelf, and a pistol off awall prong just below it.

This is an XM8; its fairly accurate and handles fairly well. The caliber is5.56mm NATO. This sidearm is a Glock 22, it is used quite commonly, and its also

somewhat new. It has 10mm caliber. Alex nodded, took the unloaded weapons andbacked off next to James. Nick was about to step up, but Harrison cut him off, blocking

him with his leather enveloped right arm.Step back Nicholas, he spat Im next. Before Harrison could speak Cameron

already handed two small, yet ominous looking weapons.I already know what you want Harrison, these are riot guns. Two shot, handheld

shotguns. The kickback is overwhelming, because the caliber is 12 gauge so prepareyour self. Harrison walked over to where Alex and James were talking, and whispered

Yeah, to them. Nick was next; he looked quite astute, yet serious when he told of hisrequirements.

I want deadly accuracy, but want to be far away from the action. Withoutlooking back, Cameron reached behind him and grabbed a rifle off the shelf

This is an M24 SWS, without the scope. Its a sniper rifle, the caliber is 7.62mm. The reason the scope isnt on is because we dont have time to sight it. Also,

Cameron reached behind him and pulled out another Glock 22 your side arm. Nicknodded and joined the buzzing group over in the corner. Parker, last in line, rose up in

front of Cameron. He gestured with his hands as he told of is own wants.I want to carry all the ammo, so give me a small, easy to carry weapon.

Cameron looked over his shoulder, and pulled two, very similar looking weapons off theshelf directly behind him.


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This, he shook the larger of the two softly Is an HK UMP this has a 10mmcaliber like the glocks, and the smaller one here, he shook the other equally as soft is an

HK MP5K it has a 9 x 19mm NATO caliber. Parker smiled and, like the others, joinedthe talkative group.

As for me, Cameron muttered to himself I have a special weapon in mind.

Cameron carefully scanned the racks; go back and forth over each weapon, sometimespicking some up, until he found what he was looking for. He grasped the barrel of thelong arm and pulled it out. The M4 Carbine with a 5.56mm NATO round. Always been

a favorite. Oh, and it even has a laser sight mounted on. He grasped a side arm that heknew hed be grasping right from the start. An M1911, this must be the only one here.

A .45 caliber bullet ought to do the trick.Cameron turned to the loud group and raised his voice to get their attention

OKAY, ladies, lets arm up, pack up, and search the building. What were goingto need to do is load our weapons, get extra ammo, pack up extra ammo and weapons,

search the rest of the building for any survivors and head back. No one disagreed sothey set to work. Cameron directed them where to get their ammunition and magazines,

told them what harnesses would work and which ones wouldnt, and packed weapons andammo. Bullets clicked into place, harnesses snapped or zipped into a comfortable spot,

duffle bags were stuffed, various other equipment was packed, and guns were cocked.Once everyone had settled James spoke up.

OKAY, Ive taken the map from down stairs and so Ive developed a plan, butlets just make sure weve got everything. Cameron, youve packed weapons and ammo

correct? Cameron nodded. Parker I know you packed the miscellaneous stuff because Ihelped you, but we need food.

Among the miscellaneous stuff they had packed were: two riot shields, a night-stick, four flashlights, a rifle scope, a battering ram, batteries, a pair of shoes, a riot mask,

and one completely bulletproof SWAT uniform. Besides the batteries, the ram, theflashlights, the scope, and the shoes, one of them could be completely armored from head

to toe. James continued, unfolding the map, everyone gathered around close to him.Ok, Parker and me are going to search the rooms above, because thats kitchen

and kitchen storage. Alex and Nick are going to continue to search this floor, and thenCameron and Harrison are going to search the floor below us. We all meet in the ground

floor in two hours. The rest agreed in various ways, some silently, some with aninaudible noise perpetrating their lips.

Alright, then lets go.All six, left the safety of the armory, baggage in tow, to search.

Harrison slowly moved down the stairs. Cameron followed, carrying the one bag

they were assigned, equally as slowly. They reached the door and both cocked their gunsin preparation. Harrison looked to him and told him the plan.

Stay close to me, and watch our backs, I want to get out of here, so were onlymaking one sweep. If you see anything, stop me. Even a cat, just stop me OK?

Cameron nodded grimly.


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Harrison gripped the push-bar with his hand, tightly, and slammed open the door.He rushed in and peered around, shotguns up and ready to fire. Cameron followed suit,

M4 raised and ready to go.Harrison whispered to him Were going right. Cameron followed without

question.

The hallways were dimly lit, fading and broken fluorescent lights were the onlysource, due to lack of windows. Their feet gently rapped upon the floor, echoing softly inbleak and empty hallway. A slight stench of god-knows-what wafted in the air.

At first their progress gave them only a door for another stair well, but as theyrounded their second left, they came to a hallway with five doors.

They came to the first door, and Harrison leaned closer to listen in. He pulledback, and with a violent yet aimed kick, opened the door.

Nothing. The room was empty. A small brown table was in the corner, but otherthan that nothing.

The second door was no different from the first. Harrison kicked it open, andfound a penny, but other than that a small brown table and nothing else.

The third door was closed but not all the way.

Harrison gave it a tap open, all thewhile Cameron panning down the hallway constantly. Harrison reeled back in disgust, a

torn, rotten, and fetid body lay dismembered upon the floor. It was sitting against the farwall, head bent sleepily over the torso, left arm tore right out of the socket and laying not

three feat away, and right arm ravaged to the bone. Its legs were intact but quite torn up.A small brown table decorated the rest of the room nearby. Harrison gently closed the

door, and continued on.The fourth door, opened up into an employee break room. The only abnormality

seemed to be spilled coffee that had long since dried up and stained the oblong grey tablewithin.

The final door revealed a little prison. A desk was next to the door and seemed tobe in disarray, but on the far end of the room were the bars of a prison wall. No one was

contained in the room, so they left.Disappointed in an uneventful search, Harrison beckoned Cameron down the

stairs to the first floor.

Cmon Parker, James asserted. They had reached the kitchen and found itempty of all but M.R.E.s or meals ready to eat. Parker had been nervous ever since

they found a zombie in the meat freezer; completely solid and looking as if hed beenthere awhile. With his eyes constantly sweeping over the massive industrial kitchen, he

slowly entered. His bag caught on the door and he jumped. James unhooked the bag andsighed.

Dont be so jumpy.He turned to have a now thawed zombie grasp his throat with stiff icy hands. A

gurgling moan escaped its gaping, wreaking mouth as it slowly leaned forward, icecracking and breaking as it did so.


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Parker fired, three bullets piercing into the fetid icicle. The first round sunkharmlessly into its left arm, but the other two blew two, almost perfect, holes just behind

its eyes. It slumped, solidly, to the tiled floor.James tore and clawed the hands free of his throat and he backed up, breathing a

little heavier than normal. He looked up at Parker who was chattering his teeth in both

disgust and nervousness.

His gun was not shaking.From now on, we put a bullet in all undead. Ok?

Parker nodded curtly.

As they made there way towards the door on the opposite end of the room Jamesthought to himself, Would the body in the hall way cease to be a body? An M.R.E

dropped from Parkers accidentally unzipped bag. He dropped the bag and put the M.R.E.in the side pocket it had leapt from. James exited the door and came upon a sight he was

not entirely ready for.A zombie was kneeling next to the body, a dismembered arm in its clutches. It

tore hungrily at a muscle fiber as James came into sight. It stared at James almostindifferently, chewing the forearm muscle of a dead man. It swallowed and stood up,

clumsily.

Its legs were bent-in unnaturally.

It opened its disgusting, crimson drippingmaw and let loose a deep, quiet groan.

Parker zipped closed the side pocket.

Alex and Nick had almost completely finished their search. They had come upononly one zombie, but it was dismembered, and had only half of its right arm to craw

towards them. Alex crushed its skull noisily with a single stomp of his new police boots,confiscated from a dead body.

Nick kept watch just outside the door; gun, up and ready to fire. Nick had nervesof steel and the patience that even saints envied covetously. Alex could be napping in the

next room, and he wouldnt care. What kept Nick so disciplined was that he knew hispatience always paid-off. Most to Nicks dismay, it wouldnt stop now. Three zombies

stumbled around the corner of the end of the hall. Nick took aim and made a wholebetween the eyes of the middle zombie.

Alex bounded out of room, accidentally hitting the door, which hit Nick, causinghim to shoot the floor, putting a rather large hole into it. Alex brought his rifle to bear

and opened up on the remaining two. Clouds of crimson, and the occasional white dot ofsinew followed his helter-skelter shots. The zombie farthest on the right fell first, but the

other kept on trucking. Alex fired five more shots into it, missing most of them, butlanding the last one into its shoulder. *click* the clip was empty. Alex let go of the rifle,

letting the sling catch it, and he pulled the metal bar from his back belt-loop. He chargedbellowing at the zombie. As he drew closer, the janitor (as identified by his green

coverall uniform) raised its arms eagerly. Alex swatted them to one side with his leftarm, and then collided the metal bar into its head. The zombies moan was cut short as its

left eye socket collapsed inward and sideways. Pink brain matter mix with blood,exploded forth, staining the floor and walls and even a little bit of a ceiling light. The

ghoulish janitor smashed against the wall, cracking the right side of its head there andthen slid lazily to the floor.


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Alex cleaned off the metal bar, slid it into his back belt loop, reloaded his rifle andfollowed Nick down the stairs to the first floor.


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5.

Harrison leaned against the wall, right next to the door, and watched as the rest of

them materialized themselves from the stairs.

He was disappointed that he was the onlyone that didnt get any action, but it was a long haul and he doubted hed never get to usehis guns.

James stood in front of the door and began to announce to everyone.Well we found some food, but thats about it. So I think we should head back,

store the crap and call it a day. Everyone agreed, so James turned and opened the door.Everyone filed out neatly, turned left and headed back to Home Base as

Harrison had secretly dubbed it. The six crossed the first intersection when Cameron, infront, held up his hand which signaled everyone to stop. He gently crept forward and

peered, ever so slowly across the corner. As he did so, a barely audible groan soundedfrom that direction. Cameron sidled urgently back to them and told the group:

Theres a huge crowd around the corner, blocking our way home.

As the group began to discuss the pressing issue, Harrison lifted his head and

peered around. The group had seen many vehicles, but never thought of trying them,figuring they were either wrecked or out of gas, which most were blatantly so. However,

Harrisons eyes rested blissfully upon a large pickup truck, just across the street and backabout five yards. So he broke off from the rest of the group, and investigated the truck.

It was a Ford F250, as he popped the hood he also noted that it bore a power stroke dieselengine.

Daddy likey, he muttered to himself gleefully. He opened the drivers sidedoor, placed his bag in the passenger seat and leaned over to hotwire it-when he noticed

that the keys were still in the ignition. He grasped them, and with a shrug that impliedWhat the hell started the truck. The roar of the engine was like pure ecstasy. The

AC/DC dressed boy leaned out the window and yelled to the group:THERE IS A GOD!

The five others cheered and ran towards their new figment of hope. Parkergrabbed shotgun, while James and Nick grabbed the back seats, James getting the seat

next to the back-door. Alex and Cameron grabbed up everyones bag and threw it in thetail, where they-themselves took refuge.

James leaned up to Harrison:Can you drive?

I did, until I ran out of gas, replied Harrison, shifting into full wheel drive.Fasten your seat belts, its gonna be a FUN ride, he exclaimed with a long

whoop as he slammed on the gas. The truck roared to life like a tiger or grizzly bear onPCP. The ebony beast tore around the corner, towards the undead masses. An explosion

of crimson, green and moans welcomed them and they pounded into the crowd. Thetruck bounced and jostled as it mercilessly drove over fallen ghouls. Zombies moaned

and clawed at the truck but yielded nothing. The select lucky few, that managed to hoistthemselves up to the passenger/drivers side window received theyre much deserved

allowance of lead.Bloody hell! Theres a lot of these moaners arent there?


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The horde of zombies stretched all the way down the street, and around bothcorners, out of site. As the traveling fortress neared the end of the street, it began to slow

slightly. Zombie resistance was increasing. Harrison yelled back to Alex and Cameron,Hey, take out some of these guys in front of us, OK?

Cameron stood up, and with surprising accuracy, cut down a row of zombies by

the heads.

The truck surged forward, barreling through more and more of the fetidmoaners, and then curving fiercely to the right, to reveal an end to the crowd. The truckbroke free like it was leaving deep mud. The six roared down the street on theyre new

hope for survival, cheering and taunting the stumbling zombies the whole way home.

Cameron kneeled on the floor as the bags of weapons were handed up to him.Once all six were handed to him, his task of racking, and taking an inventory of

everything deadly began.

Thanks Alex, Parker said as Alex left the ruined room. He began to till the dirtin their new garden to plant the seeds. He and Alex had hauled up the dirt from a hole in

the road, not twenty yards north of the building. The garden was roughly three meters bytwo meters, so it was decent size. What James had meant by garden supplies was

really just a very large amount of peas and carrot seed bags. He took up the bag of peaseeds in hi right hand, and poked a hole in the loose soil with his right forefinger. At the

same time he dropped in two seeds, and used the heel of his left palm to cover the hole.After two holes, he dropped down to his knees, Much more comfortable, he mused to

himself. As he systematically planted, his mind began to drift into thoughts about thecity.

The city of Rumsfield, named after the founder, was not a metropolis, but itwasnt a town either. Contrary to the usual hustle and bustle of normal cities, Rumsfield

had a slight air of comfort and relaxation to it. The streets seemed to be not too packedwith cars, but not to empty; the sidewalks, never crowded. One could come to the

conclusion that it was a country boys idea of good city life.Nick, bearing his rifle and a duffle bag, nodded to parker as he entered. He

nimbly skittered up the gravel to the upper roominside light, muffled shufflingresounded.

Parker finished the third of the seven rows of peas and sneezed, sending two peasflying over the edge of the broken wall. Push, drop, cover; Parker continued to plant the

peas; push, drop, cover. Harrison walked by the closed door, his voice fading in and out.For those about to rock, we salu- the last few words cutting off. Parker finished

the fifth row. Nick fired his rifle, the crack stopping Parker immediately as if he hadbeen instantaneously paralyzed. James ran in and called up to Nick, inquiring as to the

racket.I saw one walking up the street, he called back. James nodded, yelled an

approval back up to him and exited the room. A muffled call from James could be heardemanating from the box room.


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Push, drop, cover; Parker returned to his systematic work. Finally finishing theseventh row, he began on the carrots.

James started to sort out into boxes the water and M.R.E.s he and Parker found atthe police station. He put in the last bottle of brand X water and closed the cardboard

box. Harrison was leaning up against a wall taking to Alex:

Ok so a lawyer walks up to a teacher, and says to the teacher- their voices fadedas James walked towards the break room. He opened the door just wide enough to lean

inside the comfortable room.Hey, Cameron!

Whaddya want James? Cameron returned sarcastically angry.Dinner is in ten. Mkay?

Good, Im ravenous up here.James went back down the hall and called to Nick and Alex the dinner

announcement.

As James re-entered the box room, Harrison and Alex broke intolaughter.

Dinner in 10 guys.Yeah, yeah alright, Harrison replied, his voice transformed with laughter.

In about five minutes, the whole gang was in the box room milling about. Jamesopened up the two boxes of M.R.E.s and water and told everyone to grab some.

Alex! I called that one! Harrison called loudly after the burly camo dressedboy.

Well, maybe you should take it from me, Alex retorted.Well maybe I will.

Maybe you will.Maybe I do want to be a french-fry.

The last comment by Harrison aroused a little laughter from the whole group.Soon afterwards Harrison tackled Alex, sending the un-opened M.R.E. flying. Once on

the ground, they began to grapple. Obviously for the fun of it, for everyone was laughingat this.

Hes got you in the guard Alex, Nick taunted.Alex had the upper hand of being larger than Harrison, but he failed to gain the

upper hand in the struggle. Harrison wrapped his legs around Alexs waist and kept themassive girth from gaining any more of an advantage.

A few years ago, the whole group had gone and done some Ju-Jitsu training.They werent versed in the art, but had enough to get by on.

Alex expert fully grabbed hold of Harrisons arms, and pinned them against theAC/DC fans chest. Leaning in with his entire weight, the massive boy further pinned

Harrison.Oh, god hes heavy, was all Harrison managed to gurgle.

By now the whole group began to chant:GO GO GO GO GO GO GO GO!

Harrison wiggled about like a grub worm, until he managed to free an arm. Withhis now free left hand, he began to tickle Alex.


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Coochiecoochiecoo!At first, Alex was able to resist, but soon his face contorted in resisted laughter,

but he couldnt hold it indefinitely. He released his grip and Harrison slipped free as thelarge boy laughed convulsively. The fan boy sprang over to the M.R.E. and held it up

like a trophy.

James and Cameron cheered, while Nick slapped five bucks down onto Parkersawaiting palm. As the meal continued, small conversations of past events crept up anddisappeared. Oddly enough the reminiscing did not dismay nor brighten their spirits. It

seemed more as if nothing had happened at all, and they were just out to lunchsomewhere. This theme stayed until James finished his M.R.E. He swallowed the last

bite of what he guessed was bread and tossed the scraps out the window. Nick and theothers followed suite, but they did so as James spoke.

Alright, well I dont know about you, but I think we need to lighten this joint upa little bit.

Oh, before you go on, Alex piped up I think we need to make some sort ofsign for rescuers. Like on the roof or something.

Sounds good, nodded James in approval.

As I was saying, I think we need tolighten this place up a little bit. I know a bar thats not far from here where we can get

some good stuff.Everyone sounded their approval with a hoot or whoop.

Then lets start up shall we? James implied. Cameron, give everyone theirstuff. Cameron gave a crisp salute, and then ran to the break room.

It was roughly three o clock; three o clock around Rumsfield is like any New

York city. Dim, but lit. They all marched down the street, relaxed but weapons at theready. Cameron, just behind James, yawned a little. In the very back, Harrison, was

whistling Airborne Ranger. After about two blocks James signaled the bar across thestreet. The Coyotes Howl was what the sign read.

They entered; the antechamber was a small room with a hallway leading to theleft. As they followed it, it curved slightly to the right, and they were in the main bar.

The first thing to register was the intense aroma of strong alcohol. Tables and chairssurrounded raised platforms with poles rising to the ceiling; a small bar was over on the

left hand side.James- began Cameron, but he was cut off.

Im eighteen. He turned to face the others, well lets get some drinks. Jamestook his duffle bag off his shoulder and started for the bar. A soft moan stopped them all.

From behind the curtains on the raised platform, a short yet slender zombiewalked out. It was, unquestionably, a girl, for she was topless, her dark brown hair

draping uselessly over her cream colored back; white panties with pink frills was her onlycovering.

Good lord, sighed Alex.A small red dot appeared on her forehead, just above her black framed glasses.

She had already begun a disgusting routine of moaning and rubbing herself against one ofthe poles, when a round from Camerons M-4 sent her teetering to the floor.


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Thank you very much, James sighed.James jumped; he had been hit with a cold stream of something. Another zombie,

appropriately clad, but clearly Italian, had sprung up from behind the bar. She onlymoaned as she used the bar-mixer dispenser as a futile weapon towards James.

What the- James started, but he interrupted himself with a burst from one of his

MAC10

s.

Her macabre head tore from side to side as the rounds found their new homes,kicking out chunky bits of blood and brain fluid. She fell back, smashing the bottles andstained mirror behind her. Finally, the decrepit thing slumped forward, back full of glass,

onto the floor behind the bar.Nice shootin Mack, remarked Harrison.

Who the hell is Mack? inquired the bartender-killer.Your guns are MAC 10s, so Im just gonna call you Mack.

What ever, sighed James, already beginning to load the bag full of booze.Cameron and Harrison hopped atop of the platform and inspected the dead

stripper. Nick went to aid James, while Alex and Nick checked out a door in the backright corner.

Hey! called Alex.

I found some paint, save room in the bag for two cans!Got it, returned James, still sorting the good stuff from the light stuff. Up on

the platform, Harrison parted the curtain with the riot gun in his right hand, and peeredabout behind the curtains. He looked back to Cameron with an evil grin.

If it wasnt so wrong, it would be so right, he informed the weapons expert.Cameron merely shook his head and sighed slightly. Harrison stepped behind the curtain,

firing two booming shots. He came back out and mouthed to Cameron I love these.A bottle chinked as Nick inserted it into the bag, Alex and Parker returned, Alex

with a can of paint in either hand; XM8 slung over his back.Parker, shells, Harrison grunted. Parker reached into his left hip pocket and

took out two red shotgun shells, and tossed them to Harrison. He snatched them frommid air and held them with his teeth. He stuffed his right riot gun into his back right

pocket, and opened the chamber of the two barrels in his left. He tossed the empties overhis shoulder with a flick of his wrist, and loaded the other two in. As he closed the

chambers and cocked it, Cameron hopped down and went over to the bar. He used onehand to help himself hop over the counter and then he crouched on the other side.

Sniffing once, he shrewdly examined the inventory.Get down from there, your not sexy at all, Nick commanded. Harrison was

imitating the now dead-again stripper, and doing a less than tasteful dance with the pole.You know you want me, he returned. Nick smirked and returned to his work.

Ah, 03 Arbor Mist; cherry flavored, excellent wine. Cameron was smiling ashe read over a wine bottle; he grabbed up three more and set them on the counter. He

pulled a burlap sack out of his back pocket and put the bottles in the sack. Parkersneezed; wiping his hand on his ammo vest he looked around. A shadow moved.

Squinting he questioned the group:Guysis that apimp? The group instantly stopped what they were doing and

looked over. A zombie, with abnormally pale skin, long black hair and a white suit, wasshambling toward them. In one hand, he desperately clutched a smooth black cane, while

the other reached desire fully towards them. He moaned loudly and continued to stumbleforward.


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I got him, Harrison marched forward and put his riot gun right up to the thingsface. It brought its hand up to meet the shooters neck. Harrison pulled the trigger and a

brief roar erupted the things head. Sending bits of bone, brain, and an unidentified clearjuice to the floor ceiling and far away wall. It fell to its knees, clumpy blood spurting

from its ragged neck, and hand uselessly sliding across Harrisons stomach as it finally

collapsed sideways.

Blood continued to spurt from the neck in light plats onto thesmooth tiled floor. Harrison turned and marched back, a proud smile spread across hisface.

Alex and Nick continued to sort bottles, as Parker and James discussed somethingabout the roof and a sign. Cameron was crouched down rummaging underneath the bar,

while Harrison spoke to him of whiskey in his basement.A gurgling moan cut off everyones speech like a mute button. The zombie

stripper had somehow managed to rise up again and shamble her way all the way over tothe bar. She held her hands up in a grim welcome as she stumbled forward; mouth open

in what appeared to be anger. A small stream of coagulated blood dripped from a holejust above her left eye.

Harrison, once again beat everyone to the punch by, once again, shooting thezombies head. Buckshot lodged it self in several places across her face, spraying blood

and pink fluid out the back. The fetid temptress slowly leaned back, and collapsed onceagain on the floor.

Parker, shells. Harrison once again commanded. Parker obliged, and as the hotshot reloaded, Cameron put one last round in the annoying zombies head.

Bitch, he said after he put one last round into her skull.Alright guys, lets go. Alex told me hes going to climb up to the roof and paint a

big ass HELP up there. James shouldered the pleasure-pack and strolled towards theexit. Everyone followed suite.


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6.

James stared out of the hallway windows down into the depressingly empty

streets below.

His eyes briefly flickered to his reflection in the window.

What he caughtwas his brown hair, the ebony collar of his trench coat and the white words keepstaring of his t-shirt. A faint snore sounded from the break room. James always awoke

earlier than the others. He, as he had done not a few minutes earlier, recalled the day-plan for today. Today; Parker was to tend the crops, while Harrison, Cameron and Nick

drew up a patrol plan. Alex volunteered to paint the big HELP on the roof; in the endthis left James the job of exploring the rest of the building.

The door behind him opened, and Cameron, dragging his feet behind him,emerged.

Hey, James said nonchalantly. Cameron replied with an un-intelligiblegrumble, and went into the bathroom. Soon everyone was up and about. Parker was the

first to get to work, stuffing down a few bar peanuts as a breakfast.

As everyone else setto get started, James went up to the armory. He delightfully loaded and readied his MAC

10s and set the aside as he set to work on his harness. He slipped off the trench coat andpulled over the harness. He tightened the straps to a snug application, pulled the coat

back on, and holstered his MACs.James exited the armory, not bothering to lower the ladder knowing that the

others will inevitably be in the same spot later. He went through the box room and sawNick and Harrison, each with a bottle of something in their hands, talking and pointing to

the city out the window.Im gonna explore the rest of the base, James called to them as he went through

the door.Got it, Nick called back, and went back to his discussion with Harrison.

Jamess steps echoed as he descended the staircase. He creaked open the steel door at thebottom and stared about the hallway. Besides the barely seeable edge of the entrance

door was the only door there. Sighing his with slight disappointment he exited thebuilding and walked around the left corner.

Around back he could see the hole in the street, and a weathered looking metaldoor. Faded letters above the door read Garage. His interest sparked, he went up to the

door and tried it. Locked. He jiggled the handle, but to no avail. He stepped back andexamined the door. He looked for hinges, but could find none.

Aha, the hinges are on the inside. James thought to himself. He stepped backonto the side walk, giving himself about five yards between the door and himself. James

readied himself, and then with some wide and powerful steps, thrust himself towards thesoon-to-be open door. He leaped into the air, and brought his right knee up. A moment

or two in the air and he then he threw his kick. The bottom of his boots collided with thedoor and sent it slamming inwards. He landed with a bit of a stumble just inside the

threshold of the door and looked down into the faded darkness of the staircase leadingdown. He drew his MAC 10s and carefully treaded down the steps.

The garage was more like a spacious storage area. Only a few vehicles wherevisible in the dim light of the tiny rectangular windows that lay close to the ceiling. Here


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and there were some tools and areas enclosed by chain link fencing. James took the timeto search each one with his eyes, but all of them appeared empty. However one

contained a single corpse, severely tore up and encrusted with a gross amount of driedblood covering it. James grimaced as the terrible smell infiltrated his nostrils like an

invading army. He glanced about and his eyes rested upon a lean black motorcycle. He

approached, and the closer he approached the more gleeful he grew.

White letters laidacross the bike read KATANA 600.Hell yes, James whispered as his eyes panned over the dark beauty. A slight

rattling stole him from his fantasies; he glanced over his shoulders and beheld the not sodead corpse struggling against the chain fencing. Its mouth was drooped open, but no

moan escaped. The mute-moaner pushed against the fence, but it held its place. With aswift burst, James put the thing out of his misery. It teetered a moment, the momentum

from the shots unsure where to drop it. Inevitably it fell back, but its grip held it to thefence. James felt a slight pang of sorrow for the poor thinggrasping desperately the

metal chain link as its head was tilted far back as if examining the ceiling.James holstered his weapons and looked over the bike once again. He lifted the

helmet from the front of the bike and saw that the key was in the ignition.

Our luck is practically divine, James thought, almost aloud. He swung his leg

over, mounting the bike. He slid on the jet black helmet and turned the key in theignition. It popped to life as if it were excited, head lights illuminating the far wall of the

garage. James revved the engine, kicked up the stand, and took off into an unknowndestination in the garage. After riding around for a bit, he finally found the door. He

kicked down the foot stand and walked over. He shadow almost perfectly black againstthe section steel door, he gripped the bottom bar and heaved it open. Bright sunlight

washed over him. He strode proudly back to the bike and remounted. He barely hadtime to pull the stand back up as his excited hand thrust the bike out into the world. He

drove around to the front of the building and did a wheelie past their truck. To turnaround he slid the bike almost parallel to the ground, using his left foot to keep the bike

from falling. He revved the engine of the slim Katana once and steadily rode it to itsparking spot behind their truck.

Alex leapt from the rubble onto a nearby fire escape. As he landed he wobbled

for a second as the liquid contents of the paint cans sloshed about. Through his blackframe glasses, he squinted upward at the roof.

Only three more floors, he thought to himself. Thankfully, however, the restwas easy going. He climbed the noisy metal stairs. At around the second flight, a breeze

caught his hair and blew it back over his head, and then into his face. He cast it out of hiseyes with a shake of his head and a quick puff of air from his mouth. At the top, there

was a small ledge to get over, so he set the cans on the ledge and hoisted himself up.The roof was very blank; just a few chimney pipes, but no doorway leading from

the building. He picked up the paint cans and went to the center of the roof. The burlyboy set them down, once again, and then opened the first can.


23/79

Crap, he thought I dont have a brush, he announced aloud. He looked aboutand found nothing that could be of use. He started feeling around his pockets. His bar

wouldnt work, neither would any lint.Aha, Alex exclaimed as he pulled a brochure out of his back pocket, this will

do nicely. Alex had found a brochure of the Coyotes Howl on the counter at the bar,

and absent mindedly put it in his pocket.

Now, he dipped one end into the bright orangepaint and began to paint on the first line in H. He continued his work, all the whilethinking of the Llama Song.

Heres a llama, theres a llama, another little llama, fuzzy llama, funny llama,llama, llama, duck. When he was on the last line of E he heard the scream of a bike

engine. Instantaneously dropping his brush Alex ran to the edge of the roof and lookedover.

There was James, doing a wheelie, on what Alex assumed to be his newtransportation. The boy let a small laugh and returned to his sign work.

Cameron was still laughing as he switched on the police walkie-talkies. He

handed one to Nick and Harrison and watched them both leave. James never changed.He looked down at the map that they had drawn on to illustrate patrol routes.

There were two routes: an eastern route, and a western route. They had two routesbecause the east and west side combined was too much for one person to patrol; this

system however worked perfectly for two separate patrol units.James you are a silly bitch, he heard over the radio.

Indeed he is, Cameron chimed in with a reply. He continued to look over themap, checking the routes over and over again for any possible error. Nope everything

was just fine. James opened the door to the room, said his greeting and went outside tomeet Parker.

Hey, Cameron Nick announced over the radio I think you should listen tothe truck radio. The statement hit Cameron like a kick in the balls.

Why didnt I think of that?! Cursing himself internally, he listened intently.The static was unreal.

That was Dave on how to properly send a smoke signal. Now for the rescueannouncement. For anyone who is in need west of Rumsfield, just stay put and put up a

smoke signal, well be around in the next day or so. Do not, I repeat DO NOT enter thecity. Reports have confirmed an overly dangerous number of undead, we will not risk

any lives entering the city. For anyone listening, if you are in the city, do not try to leave,just hide out for now; our helicopter is almost done with repairs, and once that is done we

will make sweeps over the city. We estimate that the sweeps will begin within the week,so just stay put and stay safe. Now were back to Dave on how to hide from the zombies;

Dave?Hear that Cameron, Harrison interrupted the radio announcer Were going

home ya slimy bastard! WERE GOING HOME! Cameron let out a victory cheer andran to tell the excellent news to Parker, James and Alex.


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Harrison started up the truck and pulled out onto the western route. The two

drove on in pleasured silence for a moment or two. What was there to converse aboutafter hearing such awesome news? They were getting out of there, and that was that.

Theres a gas station. Nick pointed out a Hess gas station that seemed to still be

in decent order.

Harrison pulled up next to a pump, hopped out and started fueling up thetruck. With the nozzle in the tank he pulled out his riot-guns and checked the chambersfor ammunition. Loaded and ready to go. Nick pulled out his Glock, cocked a round into

the chamber and went into main Hess building. As he opened the glass door a small bellrang, but Nick was so accustomed to it, he didnt notice it.

Yawning softly, the sharp eyed boy looked over the store. Some of the aisleshelves were knocked over, food and drinks were scattered over the ground. The store

had a faint air of bleach and must to it. He walked nonchalantly over to the counter andlooked over the tobacco products on the far wall. Nick smirked.

He leaned over the glass counter and searched the ground quickly. Nope, nozombies. With a HYUP he hopped the counter. Without out taking his eyes off the

cigars, we grabbed a plastic bag and opened it up with a swish.

Nick holstered hissidearm and began to shovel the boxes of cigars into the plastic bag that read Thank

You over and over again. As an afterthought he also threw in a box of playing cards.Nick grabbed a few more plastic bags and cleaned house. Well, what was left of

the house anyways. In the end, he had only about eight bags of food and drink, mostlycanned food, and sport drinks. However he did grab a bottle of Vodka. As he was

stuffing some candy bars into another bag Harrison walked in and grab a lighter with theAmerican flag on it. As if he had known the whole time, he pulled a cigar box out of the

bag, bit open the end, spit out the excess and lit the blueberry flavored blunt. With agrimace he tossed the thing down, spit, and then crushed the cigar with his shoe. He

pocketed the lighter, grabbed two more and looked at Nick.Im going to go into the back room and get some gas tanks, you load the crap

into the tail, he ordered. Then he turned and went into the back. Nick grabbed the bagsand loaded them into the back of the truck. While he waited for Harrison, he sat on the

side of the tail, cocked his rifle and sat ready. He inhaled the stale city air and lookedabout the grey, very grey empty city.

Ill be glad to get out of this cesspool. Nick almost thought aloud. Squeakywheels caught his attention. His head snapped to the side to see Harrison, with a cart

encumbered by a few cans of gasoline which sloshed and ker-plunked as he went.Theres a few more on another cart, go get em, Harrison said and nodded back

at the station. Nick hopped off the tail, which made the truck bounce for a moment, andwalked to the back room.

The room was cold and barren. Dimly lit by dying fluorescent lights that gave thedark grey concrete a ghostly look. The unwelcoming room smelled heavily of gasoline.

Nick spotted the other cart and went over to it. The cart stood, with only two cans ofgasoline next to some wooden crates.

Nick put his foot on the low bar, gave it a nudge with his un-armed left hand andthe two wheels slid forward. Warm moist hands gripped fiercely the back of Nicks

neck. His eyes opened wide with surprise. He could hear the faint moan, and feel the hotwet breath on the back of his head. Gritting his teeth, Nick brought his leg up and then


25/79

thrust it behind him with all his might. The zombie his the wall with a satisfying thump.Nick spun about to a crouching position, took aim with his rifle and put a bullet between

the eyes of yet another dead-again citizen of Rumsfield.Without giving the zombie a second look as it gently slumped to the floor, Nick

wheeled the gas back to the truck.

Well were going to be rescued in a few days, so why bother, Alex arguedcalmly. Parker had finished his gardening and was discussing the groups next course of

action. They had been debating whether to raid a nearby (three blocks away) warehousefor supplies.

If theyre going to rescue us, Parker pointed out as he pushed his glasses backup on his nose Then we might as well bring them a little thank-you gift as well. Plus

itll be fun.Parker has a point, James sighed just before lifting an eighty proof1960s

whiskey bottle to his lips.

He gulped generously at the amber liquid.

Ah.

Anyways, Iused to work in that warehouse, they dont have any food but its a big tool warehouse-

Tools, we could use some for the vehicles, Alex interrupted.Not just that, think about chainsaws, James pointed out before another healthy

helping of whiskey. Alex grinned gaily.Its getting late in the day, Parker remarked, observing the low sun that seemed

to be just outside the city limits. Im not too keen on being out there at night.Understandably so, yawned Alex. The three of them turned as Nick and

Harrison entered.Sup, me and Nick found some gas, its on the trucks tail, Harrison gestured

with his thumb behind him. A muffled exclamation from the bathroom markedCamerons whereabouts.

Dont push too hard youll break a blood vessel, Alex called after him.SCREW YOU ALEX! Camerons hindered voice replied.

So we raid tomorrow? Parker inquired.Whos raiding what now? Nick interjected.

Were raiding a warehouse tomorrow, retorted James.Ok, Nick replied as he shrugged his rifle off and started down the hallway.

The storage room grew silent and took on a red tint from the setting sun. Jamessloud drinking broke the silence. The swishing of the liquid seemed to be a silent signal

for everyone to depart, for the group lazily made their way to the sleeping quarters.

Cameron was sitting rather comfortably on the back of the truck as it rumbleddown the street, James riding along side of them, towards the warehouse. The air had a

strange emptiness to it; the usual smell of the city was still grossly apparent, but itseemed as if the air had been canned and stored for another time. After about thirty five

years of storage, somebody had finally opened the can and the now nearly stale air had


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permeated the city, causing everyone to feel sluggish and slightly depressed. Boredomwas a very conquering feeling in such canned air.

The truck finally came to a stop, the gas cans sloshing and plunking in the tail.Cameron and Alex hopped off, cocked their guns and awaited James to give orders. The

trench coat-dressed boy came around the side of the truck, guns already in hand.

Okay, heres how its going to work, theres only six floors to this thing.

Eachof us will take a floor, pick up anything useful and load it into the elevator. Once its fullsend it down to the first floor, where Ill be loading it into the truck. The first floor has

always been storage for crates and boxes, nothing else so Ill have nothing to do butloading down here. Any questions? No one replied.

Alright then, Alex youve got the second floor, Cameron third, Nick fourth,Parker fifth, Harrison sixth. Lets move.

They all entered the warehouse, which felt quite warm as far as warehouses go,however the place was not as big as they thought, but it was still a warehouse. The

elevator was just to the left of the door, in an open shaft that made it look more like a lift.James stayed behind as the five filed silently onto the elevator and began their

ascension.

Cameron was alone in a dimly lit room. He was alert, but calm. His floor was,compared to the other two he had seen, the same as the others: a maze of boxes. By

opening a few he discovered that he had been graced with the job of selecting electronics.Not much of use, but he knew that he would eventually find something.

He rounded the corner to find the mundane ness of more boxes. He decided toopen up one box that seemed to catch his eyes every time he passed over it. He let his

sling catch his rifle as he pried open the overlapping box flaps. The box was filled withiPods. Tsking, he closed the box, pulled his rifle to bear and continued down the

hallway. Boxes, boxes and more boxes, it never ended.The now slightly annoyed survivor rounded a left and came promptly upon a

spilled box. He narrowed his eyes as he crouched to examine the contents. Tazers.Something useful, he whispered with a slight smirk.

He tipped the box back up-right and put the spilled tazers back into the box. Theywere the handheld kind that were assigned to police officers and purchased by civilians.

Searching nearby boxes, he found the appropriate batteries and secured a loaded tazerfor himself.

Cameron flung his rifle over his shoulder and hefted the two stacked boxes,carrying them back to the elevator; the contents clunked and shifted about as he moved.

He set down the boxes rather unceremoniously near the empty elevator shaft and startedback towards where he found them.

He continued on, finding boxes of useless DVD players and satellite radios. Justwhen he was about to give up he heard a small whimper. Pushing a few boxes to the side

he looked through the shelf into the aisle beyond. The dim light revealed nothing to him,but yet he again heard a tiny whimper.

SNAP!


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Something stung his leg. Cameron fell back; clutching his right leg as it shookuncontrollably, yelling through clenched teeth, his rifle caught at an awkward angle

against the tiled floor. Leg still convulsing he looked back at the shelf and saw afrightened girl stare back at him with a panicked look and a tazer in her left hand.

Cameron stared back at her, letting his leg settle down before finally heaving a

sigh and attempting to speak.You make, he spoke between heavy breaths a hell of a first impression. He

stared into her eyes; he could tell that she was scared. It looked as if she had been on her

own for awhile; her clothes were ragged and worn, her skin was splotched slightly insome areas and her blonde curly hair looked quite scraggly. The only thing that seemed

to have stayed pure was her deep blue eyes, which bestowed to him an intense feeling offearful distrust. She was beautiful.

Cameron sighed and shook his head. After staring at the floor for a few secondshe got up to a crouching position and smiled trustingly at her.

You can trust me, Im not a zombie. Im here to help you, he told her softly.Here, give me your hand. Cameron reached his hand forward, and she took it

very cautiously.

Her skin felt velvety smooth, so smooth that it sent a small sensationthrough Cameron as he delicately helped her through the shelf.

There you go, when she was fully through he helped her to her feet. She stoodshaking slightly as she stared up at him with those gorgeous eyes. Cameron stared right

back, the smile never leaving his face. They stood there for a moment or two, staring ateach other, when suddenly the girl began to weep. She fell into him, wrapping her arms

about him as she heaved huge sobs into his BDU jacket.Hey, hey, its going to be alright now, Cameron whispered to her as he gently

stroked her hair with his left hand. Cameron frowned as he could barely feel a handsliding down his left side to his pistol holster. He felt the sudden jerk of the weapon

being yanked from its holster. Shocked the boy looked to her, the girl had the muzzle ofthe weapon to her forehead, mouth contorted with pain and face still shining with tears.

The report of the weapon echoed throughout the floor as she pulled the trigger, ablack and red hole formed at the top of her forehead, just under her hairline. She

collapsed to the floor with a heart-breaking thud. Camerons pistol, as if it had a mind ofits own, fell from her velvety fingers and spun on the floor to his boots.

Cameron was shocked at what had just happened. Not knowing what to think, heabsent mindedly holstered his pistol, whispered an apology to the body of the girl he

could have saved, and went back to the elevator.

Alex had heard the pistols report; however it had been very feint indeed. He hadbeen in a relaxed mood until then, now he was tense as he navigated the maze of crates.

The floor he had been assigned to was for the storage of tools, both manual and powertools.

As he swept a dead end over with his eyes, one particular box kept attracting hisattention. His interest piqued, he went over and opened it up. Alexs grin grew so wide

it hurt. The box contained chainsaws. Slinging his rifle over his shoulder he picked oneup and held it. It was heavier than he thought.


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Alex held it aloft in the dim light and looked it over. The word DEVOUR waspainted in white across the 20 bar. As he shifted his hold on it he could hear a faint

swishing sound from inside the saw.Gas powered, Alex thought as he again looked in the box. There were about

three more; packed over in one corner were the owners manuals. He set his saw down

and grabbed one.

Alex whispered aloud as he read.Congratulations on your purchase of a Devour brand chainsaw. You should

know that you are now the lucky owner of the worlds finest Canadian made chainsaw.

Notice also the trademark 50.0CC industrial grade gas engine as well as the diamondtipped titanium teeth; you may own this saw for over thirty years and never have to

sharpen it once. Take also careful note of the self oiling system at the base of the chainbar. The oil tank will have to be refilled once ever three years in order to insure optimum

efficiency. We once again congratulate you on your wise decision to by a Devour brandchainsaw, and we hope the product brings you many years of reliable service

Before Alex could read on he heard a soft moan. His head snapped up so fast, healmost cricked his neck. A zombie was ambling labouredly towards him on distorted

legs.

Alex looked down at the chainsaw, and hoped that Devour was good as they saidthey were. He put his foot on the foothold in the handle, primed the engine, turned it on,

and gave a sharp yank on the pull cord. The saw roared to life, almost as if it wereexcited.

Alex lifted it from the ground and revved the engine twice, beckoning the zombiecloser to its own demise. As the zombie shuffled closer and closer, adrenaline and a

sense of power flooded Alex, the anticipation was almost too much. When the moanerwas effectively within range, Alex raised the saw up and brought it down mercilessly

onto the zombies right shoulder. The engine screaming hungrily as the chain tore into itsfresh meal of flesh, bone and sinew. Coagulated blood shot in all directions, staining

Alex and the crates around him. After a second the saw burst through its armpit, the tore-up arm plopping onto the blood splattered floor. Adrenaline and a power trip totally

taking over Alex, he swung the blood thirsty saw to his left and brought it fiercely backinto the zombies right side. The saw tore hungrily into its new meal of zombie torso; it

only took a second or two for Alex to saw the fetid thing in two diagonally. When thesaw broke through the other side, the zombies upper half slid off and splattered on the

slick floor. Coagulated blood and entrails spilled on the floor; the things lower halfdropped to its left and splattered even more chunky blood on the crates and the floor.

Alex turned off the saw, breathing heavy from excitement, a sadistic grin spreadevilly across his face. Absent mindedly he kicked the two halves of the corpse to the

side; he set his new toy down into its box and began to drag it back to the elevator.

At least someones having fun, Harrison growled as he smacked the muzzle ofthe riot gun in his right hand against the face of a zombie. Letting out a stifled moan it

crumpled to the floor. Harrison put the barrel an inch away from its forehead and pulledthe trigger. He looked down the hall way of boxes, more were coming; he chanced a

glance behind him, more were coming.


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You want an ass whoopin? Well COME AND GET IT! He raised the riot gunand fired, the buckshot tearing open the skull of the closest zombie and hindering the one

just behind it. Stepping forward just a tad he let loose a shot from his left gun. He wasrewarded with a splat as the now dead again zombie fell to the floor. Harrison leveled his

left gun again, this time in front of him and blew the head clean off another one. A quick

peek over his shoulder was all he needed; he kicked out directly behind him, sendinganother one falling to the floor.His way now clear, Harrison stomped over the freshly kicked moaner and charged

around the corner, away from the growing group. Finding a safe spot he leaned upagainst a shelf, heaved a sigh and ejected the spent rounds from their chambers. His

leather jacket creaked as he stuffed the riot gun in the crook of his right arm. Harrisonraided his hip pockets, pulling out fresh shotgun shells and sliding them into their

chambers. He stuffed that one into the crook of his left arm, pulled the other one out, andfed it some deadly stuff as well.

Already feeling the adrenaline returning he cocked the twin guns once more andstrode back to the group of moaners. Grimacing, Harrison followed the smell of the

rotting flesh, where they were impatiently waiting for him.

Harrison wasted no time in cleaning up the mess, he pumped some shot into the

one that was rolling around on the ground, and then moved towards the crowd. Shot aftershot, the zombies fell, until there was only one left. Smiling slightly he raised his right

gun and pulled the trigger.*Click*

Frowning slightly he switched arms.*Click*

Dropping the guns he took a step back and spoke quickly to the lone undeaddrawing slowly closer.

It seems as if youve caught me off guard, but I have an ace up my sleeve.With a thrust of his right arm a knife slid into his hand. Harrison flicked his wrist and the

clean silvery blade glistened into existence. Harrison held the blade out and on guard,waiting for the ghoul to draw closer. When it was finally in range, he thrust the blade

deep into the side of the things skull at an upward angle. He wriggled the blade a little bitto loosen it, and then pulled it out, blood and brain matter sticking to the blade.

The zombie groaned and leaned to the left, spilling more and more blood and pinkand clear fluid onto the ground until it finally collapsed onto the ground. Harrison bent

down and wiped the excess fluid off of the blade and onto the zombies shirt, folded itback up, and stashed it away in his jacket. Picking up his guns and beginning the process

of reloading, he looked around.Well I didnt find anything but packing peanuts, so I might as well call it quits,

he thought to himself. With a loud click, the guns announced their readiness to fight oncemore. Instead Harrison strode with them proudly back to the elevator.

Parker was panting heavily as he leaned up against a stack of boxes. Why was I

given THIS floor? There must have been hundreds of zombies on his floor. He had


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spent a good portion of his time fighting, and he was low on ammo. For some reason noone bothered to come to his aid, perhaps they thought he was shooting bottle cans?

Parker ejected the nearly spent clip from his UMP, stuffed it in his pack, andgrabbed his last full magazine. Harrison, for the love of god, get the hell down here.

He threw himself around the corner and cut down three ghouls with a spray of automatic

fire.

Four more were still shuffling towards him, down the hallway.

A fifth one with nolegs drug its pale, rotting, moaning body around the corner and followed his friendstowards the now getting angry survivor.

Theres just no end to you bastards, IS THERE?! Parker growled after the five,no, six zombies shuffling towards him. A quick word from his UMP sent two of them

falling and a third one stumbling to the floor. Parker rushed up, kicked back the one hemissed and crushed in the skull of the one that stumbled. He fired a single, controlled

shot right through the top of the legless one, and sent an angry, lengthy burst of gun fireinto the sixth one. Number five tried to get up, but the last three shots in his clip put him

down for good. Lucky number seven rounded the corner about a half of a second afterthe last shot was fired, and received its warm welcome of a UMP-stock-to-the-face.

Parker finished him off with a downward stomp.

Four more moaners hobbled towardshim.

Parker was out of ammo, and out of luck. He slung the rifle over his shoulder andwent back to the elevator, calling up the shaft in the hopes of Harrison hearing him.

GET THE DAMN ELEVATOR ON MY FLOOR, NOW! Painful seconds past by, butthe dark metal bottom of the elevator did not move. However after a minute or two, Nick

called up to him.Parker, is that you?

Yeah, its me Nick; Im in a tough spot. Theres hundreds of these fuckers.Parker wiped the sweat on his forehead off onto the only un-bloodied spot on his shirt.

Holy shit! Um.Im sorry I cant help you.Its okay, I just need HARRISON TO LOWER THE ELEVATOR. FUCK!

Harrison called up even more angrily than before, in the hopes of Harrison responding.I have never seen you so pissed off before Parker, Nick replied with his steady

calmness that he always had.Fuckin A Righ-DAMNIT! Parker was cut off when a zombie grabbed hold of

his arm. A quick redirection of momentum sent the ghoul cascading down five floors. Itlanded with a horrible thump. HARRISON, IM GONNA CASTRATE YOU!

After a few more tense seconds, the elevator finally lowered. As soon as Parkercould, he climbed aboard, thanking god over and over again. Upon passing his floor,

Harrison took out one zombie that had just hobbled around the corner, staining the boxesbehind it.

Find anything? Harrison inquired excitedly.Parker, now completely calm, cool and collected, responded with a simple No

as he sat in the corner behind Harrison.Nick boarded, he had had the most boring of times, as he put it. Cameron and

Alex had both found useful things. When they reached the first floor, they were greetedby James, who was about to say something, but was cut off when a zombie landed

squarely in the center of the elevator with a loud SPLAT, sending some coagulated bloodto the walls and floor of the elevator. They were raining down the elevator shaft after


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them. Without another word, Cameron and Alex grabbed there packages, followed bythe rest of them into the truck, and James on his bike, and tore off down the road.


32/79

7.

Ooooh, Im getting chills! James said giddily as he lifted his devour chainsaw

from Alexs crate-o-saws.

Night had fallen just as they reached the big empty storageroom, their seen of joyful unpacking was lit brightly by the over-head fluorescent lights.The smell of new electronics, mixed with new hardware, gave the six a feel that

Christmas had come early.Alex, I would kiss you, but I am not on that side of the fence, Cameron

remarked with a grin as his eyes washed over the beauty of his chainsaw.You had a pretty nice find yourself, Alex retorted as he examined a tazer. He

pulled the battery cover off, inserted a rechargeable battery that was included in the box,and pressed the on button. A blue spark connected the two conducting prongs at the head

of the defense weapon. The batteries come fully charged.Dude Nick sighed excitedly as he walked from the chainsaw box over to the

tazer box.

I think we should keep one saw in the truck, and the other three up here, James

suggested.No argument here, Cameron replied, never looking up from the saw once.

Fine by me, Harrison replied, now pulling out the last saw and looking it overhimself.

Ill bring this one down in the morning, Alex said, tapping the saw on his rightside gently with his foot.

As long as I get to carry a tazer, Nick said his voice slow and emphasized.Ditto, Parker replied with minimal enthusiasm.

Cameron strode besides the burly Alex out of the door of their home. Alex was

still wiping the last traces of sleep from his eyes, so his weapon was slung over hisshoulder, while Cameron, wide awake, carried his M4 abreast. James walked from the

truck, back towards the door.You guys heading out, their unofficial leader questioned them.

Yeah were just going on a patrol, Cameron replied. Though they werentreally patrolling the areas, what the M4 wielding survivor meant was that him and Alex

were just going to wander about the eastern section of the city, to see if they could findanythingor anybody.

Alright, radio if you guys have trouble. Cameron gave him a two-fingeredsalute as he passed.

The city had a certain air to it in the morning. Though it always had that same oldcity smell, in the early morning, when the first lances of sunlight rushed through the

distant trees and amongst the tall city buildings, one felt as though he were walking infog. The air felt cool, refreshing, and moist, as if the city at night had try to cleanse it self

from the polluting its had inhabitants had done at day.


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Cameron and Alex began to engage in a happily relaxed conversation. Theydiscussed the old days, before the outbreak, back when the only survival concerns were

bad food and old girlfriends. The two passed a corpse, being pecked at by crows.Cameron caught the eye of one crow that seemed to be much cleaner and better kept than

the rest. The boys mind delved into the recesses of the crows pupils, his thoughts

drifting to a friend of his, who loved crows.

He would be over to her house, sippinggreen tea and chatting about various trivial things. Whenever a crow would flutter downinto her yard, any conversation, no matter how interesting, important or engrossed, would

halt immediately as if someone hit a giant pause button, and the two of them would watchthe crow; her, most definitely more intently than him. These memories pained him, but

in a good way. They reminded him not to give up hope, that if they got through this,perhaps he could meet her again, could talk of trivial things over green tea again.

Cameron blinked slowly to push the event into the back of his mind, and continued hischeerful discussion with his muscular comrade.

After several minutes of walking and talking, the two finally reached the e

city of moans

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