Sarah directed August to the next door. The room was dead bolted with a thick metal door. Sarah knocked on the wall to demonstrate the contents within were highly secure with metal plates. She unlocked the door to show August the same kind of layout as the silent weapon armory. Instead, this room held many manners of guns. The rack in the middle of the room held military-style assault weapons. One wall had hundreds of cabinets with a handgun in each. Cases of ammunition filled the bottom three cabinets.
The next wall had three rows of rifles. There were different varieties, but they were all hung proudly for the purpose to protect everyone within the safe zone walls. Some of the rifles were scoped. Some were simple old hunting rifles. Two of the rifles were successfully equipped with detachable bayonets. There was a work table on the far wall. Above the table were shelves with different attachments, such as flashlights and silencers.
The third wall held smaller guns like semi-automatics and smaller machine guns. Sarah took one of Robert’s favorites down. It was a golden Uzi that was once owned by a drug mule.
“This is unbelievable,” August said. “You have better gear than we did.”
“This has been Edgar’s task each day. He hasn’t had a day where he didn’t bring back something to add in here. Like the last room, we have three armories like this, and we may have to make a fourth with the excess weapons we stored.”
“Here we go,” August said when she lifted a hefty black shotgun. “I’ve always liked these.”
Sarah picked up a handheld scanner and a printer from the work table. She scanned a barcode that was placed on the shotgun. She typed in August’s name into the scanner. A label printed with her name on it and Sarah stuck the label on the shotgun. Sarah then wrote some information onto a clipboard.
“It’s yours now,” Sarah said. “You can keep it in here, or with you.”
August placed the shogun back on the forth rack with others of its type.
“Seems like all the others were left here,” August said, examining the other weapons more closely. “I don’t want to stand out anymore than I have to. Who owns that golden Uzi?”
“No one,” Sarah replied. “It’s kind of a mascot.”
“It’s a bit much,” August said with the first smile Sarah had seen from her. “One wrong glare from the sun could cost you your life.”
Sarah locked the door when she was ready to show August more of the zone. She went back to the silent armory to shut down the generator. Sarah led August to the cafeteria, the sleeping quarters, the game and movie rooms, and finally the map room.
The maps on the wall were shaded with highlighters that depicted areas that were searched. Pink indicated areas with undead. Sarah told August that the entire downtown area and eastward was destroyed. Someone colored out the area with a black permanent marker.
August looked over a map that showed the safe zone and surrounding area.
“Can I take this down?” August asked.
“Sure,” Sarah replied.
August took the map to a table in the middle of the room where she drew a line along Mercury Drive, Ford Road, and Southfield Freeway.
“We should work at securing this entire area,” August said. She traced the line with a finger. “This is an inn, I believe. We can move in there after it’s secure. I’m not sure how to keep the area clear, but I’ll think of something.”
August studied the map for a bit longer.
“Scott was thinking we could move to a better location,” Sarah said.
“No,” August said. “This area has a great field of view. The store is already pretty secure the way its set up. You already are making great strides in making it a hell of a lot better. We have a lot of space to work with here, and we can make it a focal point while figuring the rest out. With us here now, we can help keep the unwanted out.”
“We’d all appreciate that,” Sarah said. “What do we do with unwanted guests?”
“Kill them,” August replied. “Have you set up a protocol on who’s allowed in?”
“No, we haven’t really faced anyone yet that fits the unwelcome list.”
“We’ll discuss that another time,” August said. “I know of a couple we don’t want in here.”
“That doctor and the Dearborn cop,” Sarah guessed.
August nodded. She went back to studying the map until her finger jabbed a location.
“Dearborn Police Station,” August said. “We can hold the unwanted there. We can also use it as a station to direct people to.”
Sarah liked this woman. August had the frame of mind to help people. That, with military training, could potentially make her a very valuable person for the future of humanity. Sarah figured that the colonel who was over Warren was the polar opposite, and a person she didn’t ever want to meet.
August left the table by slapping her hands on the table. She began to pace back and forth.
“Walls would take too long to build,” August said as if she was planning out loud. “At least the kind we need and the amount of area we want to cover. Chain-link fences, even reinforced, can keep out the risen for so long, but the living will just climb over.”
“We don’t have materials for anything other than chain-link or brick,” Sarah said.
“Cast Iron or steel fences would be nice, but again, it would take a long time to build.”
“What about trenches?” Sarah asked.
“That’s simply brilliant,” August said. “The grass areas around the edges of the road could be dug out. We could build gates at the roadways in.”
August flipped the map over and wrote down the plan. She drew diagrams of guard posts or sentry stands over the gates.
“There you are,” Craig said at the doorway. He was accompanied by Jeremy. “Scott’s been frantic trying to find you.”
“Where is he?” Sarah asked.
“Manager’s station,” Craig replied. “He’s logging in the names of the newcomers.”
“Is this the one who brought all those people from Farmington?” Jeremy asked.
“I was actually in command of that camp,” August told Jeremy.
Sarah saw a gleam in Jeremy’s eye as he looked at August. She nudged him lightly in his gut.
“Behave,” she said at almost a whisper.
“What?” Jeremy said. “I didn’t do anything.”
“Uh huh,” Sarah said suspiciously.
‘That’s why you don’t have something sticking out and saying hello,’ Sarah thought. She had noticed Jeremy’s erection almost immediately. She ushered her team out to make it inconspicuous for Jeremy to leave.
Craig had noticed as well and chastised his teammate as they walked away.
“She’s a freaking goddess,” Sarah heard Jeremy say before they were out of earshot.
“Come with me to talk to Scott,” Sarah said to August. “We can show him your plan.”
“Looks like I already have an admirer,” August said.
“He’s alright,” Sarah said.
“Of course he is,” August said with a chuckle. “He’s a heterosexual male that sees someone he likes. He’s not bad looking himself. Do you have a man?”
Sarah and August left the map room to meet with Scott.
“I did,” Sarah replied sadly. “My husband was murdered when this all started. His name was Mark.”
“I’m sorry,” August said. “What about kids?”
“I have a seven-year-old daughter named Tracy,” Sarah said. “What about you?”
“No man, and no kids,” August said. “You have to teach yourself to marry the military and treat the other members as your family, especially if you’re a career soldier.”
“You never,” Sarah started. “Sorry, that’s none of my business.”
“I had a great relationship with another soldier when I first joined, and he was great in bed,” August told her. “We drifted apart when he was assigned to another camp. Since then I just focused on my duty.”
“Hey Sarah,�
� Scott said when Sarah and August came to the manager’s work station. “Everyone is logged in other than your companion.”
“I heard you were frantic to see me,” Sarah said.
“I was looking for you, yeah, but I wasn’t ‘frantic.’ What are we going to do about their weapons?”
“We can turn them in with the others if you want us to,” August told him. “We understand the necessity of using quiet weapons around here.”
August placed an explanation point on her statement when she gave Sarah her sidearm.
“We also have a few more M16s that we hid at the bowling alley. No one but Private Shale or Specialist Smith knows where they were stashed.”
“Those will come in handy,” Sarah said, trying to convince Scott to let her take the team to get the guns.
“Tomorrow,” Scott said. “It’s nearly six now and we’re about to feed people. Let’s allow our newcomers to get some rest.”
“August has come up with a way to get us more secure,” Sarah said.
August handed Scott the map. He looked it over, but handed it back with a shake of his head.
“That would take too much time to do,” Scott said. “We don’t have the machinery to do it quickly.”
“That could be a task for tomorrow, Scott,” Sarah countered. “We could locate the machinery.”
“Who could operate it?” Scott asked.
“We could ask,” Robert said as he leaned against the wall. Sarah had noticed him come and she gave him a smile. “Hell, I was an ACE with the Marines, and I piloted CH-53es. How hard could it be to learn?”
“You flew Super Stallions?” August asked.
“Yes ma’am,” Robert replied.
August found Jeremy later that night in the fenced in area. It was obvious he truly was interested in her as he couldn’t take his eyes off of her when she appeared. She could barely take her eyes from him either.
After they spoke for a little while, August kissed Jeremy suddenly. He kissed her in return for some time until they decided to continue in his room. As soon as they went inside, they stripped each other while they kissed. August pressed herself against him and they embraced. It became the wildest night in both of their lives. August decided to stay with him that night, and from that moment on, the two became inseparable.
The lieutenant never imagined meeting anyone like Jeremy, and she never believed in love at first sight, but Jeremy felt right from the beginning. He proved to her that they had sexual compatibility. The connection also heightened their sense of protecting the others.
The next morning, Sarah was told by August about the night before. She didn’t go into detail, but she assured Sarah that the two were a pair.
“You’re both adults,” Sarah told her. “I had a feeling that something would happen between you two.”
“Sarah, I also thought about things last night,” August said. “I’ll do whatever it takes to keep everyone here safe. All I ask is, let me drop my command rank, at least for awhile. Let me live as a normal person with the rest of you.”
“Ok,” Sarah said assuredly. “You deserve at least that much.”
“I’d also like to join your team,” August said. “You have been the best person so far, other than Jeremy, who welcomed me here. Everyone is great here, but you are the most outgoing person…”
The incoming danger alarm cut August off.
“What is that?” August asked.
“Shamblers are coming,” Sarah said. “That alarm means there are a large number of them. We need to report in.”
Sarah led August to the lawn and garden fence to find the number of incoming undead was massive. There were way too many to count.
“We’re in for a long fight today,” Robert said. “There could be over five thousand, and they are moving directly at us. We may have to ditch the quiet weapons and use guns. We don’t have enough silencers yet. We have enough time, so go get armed.”
A car horn blared from the west. It got louder by the second. They spotted the vehicle fly past on Ford Drive going eastward.
“The shamblers are being led here,” Sarah said. “This was intentional.”
“I think it’s our doctor,” Alex said.
“Go get armed!” Robert ordered.
The defenders scrambled for the nearest gun armory. Guns were handed to each person and ammunition was stacked on tables for easy access.
“Get your radios on,” Edgar told everyone before they were posted.
“Get the kids and elderly locked down,” Scott ordered the defenders inside the building over his radio. “Close off all but main corridors.
August heard people running on the roof for a better vantage point. She elected to stay with Sarah and Jeremy at the fence.
“We can still spear them when they get to the fence,” Robert said.
“We got it,” Private Shale said, ushering a crew along the fence.
Sarah and Jeremy joined the spear crew while Robert and August climbed on pallets for a better view. The gunners all vocalized that they were ready.
The private tossed spears to his crew and directed a cheer to get the crew motivated.
“We will not back down, will we?” Shale yelled.
He received a simultaneous “No!”
“We will not fall!” Shale yelled.
“No!”
“We will not fail!”
“No!”
“Here they come! Send them to hell!” Shale yelled.
The first bunch of nearly four thousand shamblers appeared from behind the Home Depot. They had been gathered and led by the Dearborn police officer who had been left behind. The vehicle that had been honking came around from the east and drove up Mercury Drive.
The guard posted in the tower over the Garden Ridge began to fire down on the massing of shamblers.
Doctor Grayson waited until the survivors were engaged with the undead. Bursts of gunfire filled the air from the defenders. When there was a constant chorus, Doctor Grayson made his move. He sped his truck toward the back of the store to an emergency exit.
‘No one leaves me behind,’ Grayson thought.
He took a crowbar from the passenger seat to break open the emergency door. He approached the exit with a constant glance at the roof. When he was at the door, he wedged the crowbar into a very narrow gap in the door. The door broke open with a pop. He waited until he saw a group of undead arrive.
‘I’ll kill every last person here,’ Grayson swore to himself. ‘No one leaves me behind.’
Nikolai shot his handgun into the air to catch the attention of the group of undead. They heard the gunshot and followed it.
“What the hell?” someone from inside said.
Grayson aimed the gun at the person and fired three times. One of the shots hit the defender in the forehead, and the man was dead before he hit the ground. Grayson led the group of undead inside. The exit was at the end of the main corridor.
Another survivor appeared down the corridor and saw the doctor come inside with the group of undead behind him.
“We have a breach!” the survivor yelled in his radio. “North side exit, main corridor, I need help!”
Grayson shot at the survivor, but his shot was way off. The man went inside a room to get away. The doctor realized he had a problem instantly when he saw there were closed gates along the corridor. The main corridor directed him to the front entrance.
‘What kind of Walmart is this?’ Nikolai thought.
Nikolai’s plan fell apart. He had no choice but to continue for the main entrance. A group of survivors saw the undead, but missed Doctor Grayson. When they entered the corridor, he took the opportunity to leave. He ran right into a female survivor with a seven foot long spear. He yanked the spear from the woman’s hand and grabbed her. He placed the muzzle of his gun on her forehead.
“Pow,” Grayson yelled before he squeezed the trigger. The woman dropped to the floor. Blood poured from the wound. “That’s two for me.”
&n
bsp; Three more survivors quickly arrived. The doctor recognized August immediately. She was accompanied by two others who carried spears. August was the only one carrying a gun.
“Are you kidding me? Since when did you start taking spears to a gunfight?” Grayson asked August mockingly. “Drop it!”
The doctor again grabbed a spear out of a woman’s hand and pointed the gun at her head. He didn’t think he had any bullets left, but they didn’t know that.
“I said drop it, August,” the doctor said.
August set her M4 on the ground gently.
He pulled the woman back with him toward the gate he entered. In the corridor, the survivors pushed the group of undead back toward the rear exit. Multiple bodies lay on the ground as the survivors pierced the undead with spears using a porcupine formation.
“Open the gate,” Nikolai told the woman. “Open it!”
August and an Asian man had followed them into the corridor.
The woman fumbled though the keys until her trembling hands unlocked the gate on the opposite side of the corridor. August was joined by two more men and they followed the doctor to another exit. He opened another emergency exit using his back, and dragged the woman with him.
“I dare you to follow me,” Grayson said to August.
She and her companions took the bait. This woman he held must have been important to these survivors.
‘What would happen if I just shot her right now,’ Grayson asked himself.
The other emergency that he broke open had been closed.
“Keep that door open,” Grayson ordered August and the other survivors.
One of the survivors ignored the doctor and ran for the door to close it. Before he got to the door, the doctor used his last bullet and shot the man down.
“Edgar!” the woman he held screamed.
Grayson pointed the gun against the woman’s head and squeezed the trigger. It merely clicked. Nikolai struck the woman with the handgun. He then pushed her toward a group of approaching undead. The Asian man sprinted to grab her.
Another man carrying a mallet ran for the door and slammed it shut.
“Crush that son-of-a-bitch, Walter,” the Asian man snarled.
Doctor Grayson ran when he saw the large mob of undead come closer.
Detroit Reanimated Page 18
