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Cornelius asked, “Are you staying behind those walls?” The two other men stood there. One of them, called Jerry, said, “We should just bring them to the Captain.” Then, one called Mason, said, “I don't think that, we should waste our time. Whether, they are with the guys that killed ours, or not, we should just kill em. Get it over with.” Cornelius said, “Nope. We bring them back to the Captain.” Mason asked Jimmy, “What are you going to do, when we get inside your place, and kill everyone? They are all dead.” He laughed like a psychopath. Cornelius said, “Blind fold them, tie em up.” Then he said, “We need to get back to the group. They are getting ready to attack.” Jimmy looked at him. Rose became terrified. She thought to herself, I have to get to Granny and the kids. They heard a voice blaring over a radio. It was not Jimmy's radio. It belonged to Cornelius. “Cornelius! We are going in. Stand by.” Cornelius said, “Okay. We have present for the Captain.” The voice asked, “What is it?” Cornelius said, “Two of their people.” The voice came back, “Okay. We are going in. Stay there, and wait for us.” Mason said, “You two get ready. Cause, we're going in, and we're taking it all.” Jimmy looked over at Rose. She was terrified. He had to figure out something. “Better make it quick.” They all looked at him, in surprise. Cornelius was interested. “Why? Do you two have an appointment somewhere?” Jimmy said, “There is a massive herd coming. Better hurry.”
“A herd?” Mason repeated. The men exchanged a look of confusion, now. Jimmy said, “Yep. A herd of flesh eating zombies, with numbers as many as a small city, is heading straight for us.” Now, the men looked concerned. Cornelius, who was trying to hide his fear, said, “Sure.” Rose said, “It's true.” They were all silent.
At the end of Renee's long private road, four vehicles had driven up to the large storage container that sat on the outside of the gates. Several men exited the vehicles. One man said, “This was not here yesterday.” Another said, “Al, maybe we need to go back.” Al turned to him, “No! They have an orchard! We go in. And, we take it! We will have to go in on foot.” They all started to hike it. At the gate, Jessie and Matt stood behind a wall, where the second gate was attached. “Jessie said, “Uh, Kid. We have company.” Jessie spoke into the radio, “They are here.” One man, pointed his gun at Jessie. Jessie shot him. Then they all started shooting at Jessie. He and Matt dove behind the wall. When they had worked, day and night, to weld up these steel walls, they wanted it to be over. But now, they were glad they had installed them. The firing stopped. Al yelled, “Well. That one is going to cost you.” Jessie peeked through a slit in the steel. He counted twenty- three people. He got on the radio. “Scott. Everyone. We're taking fire here. I counted twenty-three men. Trigger happy, too. They are going to try to get in. I will hold them off as long as I can.” He started fire, again. The men scattered. Some of them fired back. He hit, at least, three of them. Now, Al was yelling, “Fire back! We are going in!” They tried to get closer as they were firing. Jessie kept shooting at them. He yelled into the radio, “They are getting closer to the first gate!” Gun fire popped in the background. Everyone back at Renee's, were running around trying to get the women and children into the school. Renee heard him. She could hear Kyle's voice blaring from the radio, “I'm on my way! Who ever listening! Get ready to fight! Renee, get the kids hidden! Scott, get the walls covered!” Kyle was already inside the pickup truck. He was racing towards the gates. Will, and the girls, were listening in horror. The noise started over the radio as they were counting the weapons. Will said, “Hurry up! Get these guns loaded!” Scarlett came on the radio, “Dad! Do you hear that?” Will yelled, “Scarlett, is anyone at the wall? I'm coming!”
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She said, “I don't see anyone here. Just, listen to the others. Dad, we have to help them!” Will said, “Stay there! We're coming!” He looked at Rachel, and Stella. Rachel, you are going to stay here with Emma. Stella, you and I, are going to the gate. If, it looks clear, I am bringing some fire power to Rose's place. Come on, now.” Stella said, “Okay. Has anyone heard from Rose? They were outside the walls. Her and Jimmy.” Will yelled into the radio. “Clea! Clea, are you listening?” Tessa came on, “Wait, I'll get my Granny.” After a minute, “Yes, Will. What is going on? Did Jimmy find Rose?” He could tell that she was worried. “We'll get her Clea. Are you hearing any commotion at your wall?” Clea said, “No. But, Jack is still out there.” Will said, “ Ms. Clea. They are under attack at Renee's place. I am bringing them some fire power. If anyone get's up to your walls, you call us. And you shoot first, and ask after. You hear? You need to get the children to the school.” She said, “You know me, Will.” He said, “Keep your radio near.” Tessa, and Tyler, were already in the window. Will said, “Come on. Let's get this out to the truck. They are under heavy fire.” Rachel said, “Take the grenades.” Will froze, “You have grenades?” She said, “Yes. I put them in a bag.” He rolled his eyes. “Give em here, Girl.” She carefully pulled the bag from behind a box. “Here.” He said, “You be ready to shoot.” She shook her head up and down. “Okay.” Rachel grabbed four large guns, and four hand guns. She took plenty of ammunition, too. Will pulled the crates of fire arms through the door, and over the porch. Then, the three of them put everything into the truck. Will, and Stella, drove to the wall. Both of them ran up the steps, to get a look around. There was no one outside their walls. Will said to his daughters, “You girls keep watch. I am going to Renee's. If you see anything, and I mean anything, get on this radio.” Stella said, “Okay, Daddy. “Scarlett said, “Dad,be careful.” They both hugged their Dad. Then, he ran down the stairs, and to the truck. He drove as fast as he could through the back part of his property. They heard distant gunfire. Jimmy, and Rose, knew the group was under attack. It sounded like it was still coming from Renee's side. On Jimmy's radio, they could hear Scott yelling for Jimmy. “Jimmy! You there? We are under attack. Get inside, and get ready to fight. Don't know how many, yet. We are holding them back.” Cornelius grabbed the radio. “Jimmy's busy, right now.” There was silence. Then, Scott sent a message they didn't understand. “Sergeant, if you can hear me. Vlad.” Then, he went quiet. They all exchanged an uneasy glance. Cornelius asked Jimmy, “What does that mean? What did he just tell you?” The distant gunfire continued. When Will made it to Renee's place, he could see that, most of the group was involved in an ongoing shoot out, against the people on the other side of the gate. Even Pastor Dom, was shooting at the invaders. He drove close to the group. He rolled the window down, to get a better look. They were all ducking, while shooting He called out on the radio, “Scott, I have more fire power! Scott! Can you hear me?” Scott was hunched down, behind a wall that they had built over sides of the inner gate. Scott turned around. He sat with his back to the wall. “We are taking a lot of fire, Will. These steel walls are holding back the bullets, this was a good idea.” Will said, “I have more fire power! I have grenades!” He jumped from the truck. The wall was blocking many of the shots. He pulled some guns from the bed of his truck. Charlie called out on the radio. “The dead are coming.” When Scott realized what Will had, he jumped from the platform. He ran to Will. He grabbed one end of the large box. Will had the other end. They carried it to the platform. They dropped the box at the bottom of the stairs. Scott opened the box. He blurted out, “You are the man, Will!” He whistled up to the group, above. They all turned, and wide eyed, accepted the guns, and ammunition from Will and Scott. Now, they were better armed with fully automatic weapons. They started to mow some of the men outside the walls down.
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Some of them pulled back. But, when Will made it to the top of the walk-way, he could not believe what he saw. A few hundred feet away from the remaining thugs, were hundreds of zombies. They were headed straight for them. The men, were now, looking at what was behind them. One of the men yelled, “Come on! Retreat! Retreat!” Those left, started to run back around the storage container, to their vehicles. Two of the vehicles were driven a
way. Now, seeing what was coming, Scott yelled, “Come on! Leave the truck parked up against the gate. Jack was right. It may be our only way to wedge them shut.” Will and Scott yelled, “Is everyone okay? Jimmy. If you can hear me, the dead are coming! Find cover!” Everyone on the wall was alright, but in shock. Some of them headed back. Renee and Jessie stayed on the wall. Scott got on the radio, “To you thugs who have our people, a herd is coming. You better hope they get to you, before we do.” Cornelius, and his men, were trying to decide what to do. Jimmy, and Rose, were sitting with their backs to the side of the truck. They were tied up. Cornelius had been listening to the chaos over the radio. His charge had yelled into the radio, “The zombies are coming! Get back to base! The zombies are everywhere!” They listened as their group was surrounded by the dead. They could hear mass growling, and men yelling, “Get out of here! Keep going!” Jimmy could see that they were distracted. He was almost free. Cornelius told the men, “We are going to climb those walls.” Jimmy had his hands free. He whispered to Rose, “When I move, you run. You get back to the wall. Do you hear me?” Rose whispered, “What?” Jimmy said, “I am going to distract them. Get going, as soon as I do. Don't stop. The herd is close.” She was confused. “No. I am not leaving you.” Now, they could hear more distant gunfire. Jimmy held his hands behind his back to pretend that he was still tied up. Cornelius told Mason, “Go down the path, and see how close they are. I'll wait here, and watch them.”He nodded to Rose, and Jimmy. The two men reluctantly complied. After they left, the man turned to Jimmy, and Rose. “You two are going to get us inside those walls.” Jimmy said, “How are we going to do that?” Rose said, “No, we are not!” The man took a couple of steps towards them. “We'll see. If your people want to keep you alive, they'll let us in.” Jimmy said, “Even if our people let you in, you're outnumbered. And, out gunned.” The man studied him for half a minute. He said, “We'll have to call for back up, then.” Just then, several of the dead came limping out, from behind the trees. The man started to fight them off. Jimmy jumped to his feet. He pulled Rose to her feet, as though, she was a rag doll. He pulled her by her arm around the front of the truck. He was going to run off, and at the last minute, glanced into the vehicle. The keys were still in the ignition. He slid to a stop, opened the door, lifted Rose inside. “ Move over!” She complied. He jumped inside, and started the vehicle. While fighting off the dead, the man saw them. He tried to rush towards the truck, but was being chased by zombies. “Get back here!” yelled Cornelius. H sot at them, and missed, thanks to the dead.“Get down!” Rose leaned over. She yelled, “Jimmy! Hurry! He is shooting!” Jimmy took off in the truck, leaving the man running after them. They drove through the grass. Rose said, “I can't get this rope off.” Jimmy kept driving. He reached over, and opened the glove box. He found an exacto knife, “ Yes!” Jimmy pulled over, took the tool, then cut the rope tied around her wrists. “Thank you.” Rose said. He said, “Okay. Let's get this show on the road.” He drove off. He went towards the front gate, and slowed down as he made it there. They both saw dead bodies on the ground. Jimmy glanced over at Rose. She was in terrified shock. “Rose, don't look.” He went past them. Just then, the other two men that had been with Cornelius, came running at them firing their guns. Bullets riddled the back end of the truck. Jimmy slammed his foot down on the gas pedal.
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The truck zoomed away from them. Jessie, and Renee watched, from the wall. Jimmy glanced into the side view mirror. Both men went down. Jessie and Renee had shot them from the wall. Rose screamed, “Jimmy!” Rose was pointing down the highway, towards the opposite side of their turn off. Jimmy looked to where she was pointing. He slammed on the brakes. The truck came to a screeching halt. He could not believe his eyes. There had to be a thousand zombies coming at them. “How much gas?” Rose asked. Jimmy, in a stupor, asked, “What?” Rose yelled, “How much gas do we have?” He looked at the gas gauge. The needle pointed to half of a tank. “Half of a tank. We have half of a tank.” She said, “They aren't blocking the highway, yet. Drive! We lead them away from the group.” He looked over at her. She really is something , he thought to himself. “It won't be easy getting back.” he said. She said, “I know. But, there are children inside. My nephew, and niece. My Granny.” Jimmy reached over and held her hand in his. “We'll lead as many away, as we can. I'll get up the highway a little bit, then I'll lay on the horn. When they get close, I'll move up a little. It will take us all day. We may run into more of those guys. They took our guns. We'll have to try to run, if we do.” She shook her head up and down.”Okay, then.” He suggested, “Why don't look in the back, see if there is anything we can use as a weapon ? Just in case.” She agreed. He drove a few hundred feet. He started to slow the truck down. The dead were moving towards them from the field. The herd was moving closer behind them from the passenger side. Jimmy lay on the horn, drawing the attention of the herd. “Rose.” She responded, “ yeah, Jimmy.” He said,” Lock your door.” She did. Back at Renee's, Scott, Renee,Jessie, Aidan, and Kyle conferred over the radio. Kyle said, “Did you see anymore of them?” Scott said, “We are clear, here. Can't see anymore. We need eyes on all sides, that herd is here. Has anyone heard from Jimmy and Rose?” Will said, “Jack, and the boys, are at Rose's place.” Jack came on the radio, “Everyone, we got problems. That herd is bigger than I thought. Are the trucks parked up against all of the gates?” On top of the wall at Rose's, Jack, Ben and Jose, stood in shock. They were looking at the coming swarm of the dead, in terrified disbelief. Scott said, “We see it. Has anybody heard from Rose or Jimmy?” Scott knew that, if Jimmy and Rose had not found cover, they would not survive the herd. He was worried. None of them had seen anything like this, except when it all began. The herd was huge. He spoke, again, “Nicole, Renee.... Can you hear me?” Nicole was with the other women, and children at the school. “Yes.” Renee said, “I saw Jimmy, and Rose. They drove past in a truck. But, it was not one of ours. Some guys were shooting at them. We got em. But, they drove off.” Scott said, “Do you think they are going to go to one of the other entrances?” Renee said, “It looked like they were leading away the herd. Do you think the gates will hold?” Scott said. If we leave the trucks parked up against them, they should hold. There is no way they will breach the gates or walls. But, we have to stay in here. No telling how long it will be, before they move on.” Scott continued, “We need to keep all noise, and lights down. Keep the two dogs from barking. Keep all children inside the school. We need extra eyes on the walls. And, especially, by the gates. Charlie, how are the camera's working?” Charlie said, “They are all up. I'm in the camera room. I have the night vision activated. But, I have a blind spot near Will's place. I didn't have enough cable to set up on one side. Jimmy, and Rose drove out of view, but I think that they were leading the dead away.” Scott said, “Okay. We need an extra pair of eyes at Will's. And, double at Rose's place. Her place is the most vulnerable for breaches. It is right at the crossing. Clea, and the children are there alone in that house. If Jimmy, and Rose are trying to lead the dead off, it might be awhile before they can come back. And, no telling how they will try to get in. So, everyone keep an eye out for them.”
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Charlie said, “Overall, I have a good view of all perimeters. It's just, the one side of Will's place.” Renee said, “We are also going to need around the clock eyes in the camera room. Charlie can't stay there all of the time.” Ms. S. cut in, “We can all help with that. We can take turns. Every few hours.” Nine chimed in, “Yes. We can.” Scott said, “Nina, can you take names for that? We will need 24/7 on that.” Nina said, “Okay. Yes.” Those on the walls, saw hundreds of zombies. They stood there, staring in shock and horror. Some of the dead walked into the walls. They could hear thumping, and clawing. The sound of mass snarling, and growling, was deafening. Jose shook, as he watched the zombies claw at their storage-container walls. They had no affect. The steel was sturdy. Jack looked over at the young boys. Ben was staring
in shock, mouth open. He had goose bumps on his arms. He could see that, Jose was shaking. He reached over and patted the boy on the back. “Now, they can't get through these walls.” He studied the two young men. They were just teenagers. He thought to himself, it must have been horrific for them to lose their parents in this. He said, “Why don't you boys go check in with the group? They are all at the school. Until this passes, everyone should stay together. Get yourself something to eat. Get some rest.” Ben said, “No. We'll stay here with you. You may need an extra shooter, if anything happens.” Jack said, “I am going to be fine. Those men are scared of this herd. They won't come around until the coast is clear. If we didn't kill them all, that is.” Jose said, “I'll go check in, and bring you guys some food and water.” Jack said, “Go ahead, Son.” Jose stared at the herd through the slats, all the way to the steps. When he reached the top of the steps, he rushed down to the bottom. He headed for the school. Will sat at Granny's dining room table. He said, “Ms. Clea. They are going to be alright. We think that, they were leading the dead away. They are safer staying inside that truck, until this passes.” Granny was worried sick. Will could see it on her face. She was trying to be strong for Tyler, and Tessa. The children peeked through the doorway, from a nearby bedroom. Will suggested, “Why don't you, and the kids come and stay at my place? Just, for a while. I have more than enough room.” Granny looked at him, “No. I have to do some more canning. Got to pick some things from the garden. I moved a whole bunch of tomatoes, and cucumbers from the greenhouse early on. Too much to do. I'll send a couple of bushels of veggies to Renee, also. She has alot extra mouths to feed.” She stood up. You want something else to drink?” He stood up, “No, thank you. I'll be back to check on you. I'll keep you posted.” She said, “Thank you, Will.” Will walked outside, he stopped on the porch. He could hear the dead snarling. He could hear them, even though, the walls were hundreds of feet from Granny's house. He saw the storage container, turned guard shack, that sat on top of another part of the wall. He spoke into the radio, “Stella. Everything okay?” Stella came back. Dad. Have you seen over the walls, yet?” He said, “I can hear them.” She said, “Dad. This is bad. They don't know where Rose, and Jimmy are.” He said, “I know. Keep your eyes, and ears open. The walls are strong. But, we need to be watchful. I'll be home in a few minutes. I need to talk to the rest of the group.” Jessie spoke into the radio. He said, “Those things are walking away. Well, some of them are. It looked like Jimmy was trying to get their attention. He kept beeping. He went up the highway. There are still hundreds of them, though.” Charlie spoke, from the camera room. He said, “Yes. They led a lot them away. From what I am looking at, it looks like, there are still hundreds on Will, and Rose's side.”
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