He also asked his wife to write everything down and to make a roster so that they could keep track of everyone’s information.
Bryce started with himself and he told the group about how he had been a quartermaster in the Army. He told them about how his last station had been Fort Huachuca and that after he had gotten out he had stayed in the reserves. This gave him vital information on military bases and depot centers across Arizona. He didn’t elaborate on those details, because he wanted to keep that mostly in his pocket, for when the time was right. He also told the group how he had come to the hatchery and what they had done thus far.
For the first time, Bryce also laid out his plan for the hatchery. He told them how he wanted the hatchery to be a colony that survivors could come to for safety, security, and a place to call home. A place that would begin to rebuild civilization, one brick at a time, and ultimately would reclaim what was lost after the Outbreak. He didn’t go too far into detail with his plan, but he knew inside that the plan had a much larger scale than what he expressed to the group.
Bryce received some weird looks from a few of the newer members after he told them the plan, but ultimately everyone seemed to be on the same page. It seemed like everyone just wanted a little safety, security and hope in their lives. If that was something Bryce could give people, it would make them follow him, and that was what he needed.
Next, Victoria stepped up and gave a quick speech about how she had been a hair stylist before the Outbreak. She told them that she could give everyone haircuts, and how she could help keep everything clean and organized. She also introduced their son Trystan to everyone new, to which he responded with a cute smile and a hello.
Bryce introduced Greg and Cindy Roberts next. Greg went first and told the group how he had been a truck driver before the Outbreak and that he was a pretty good handyman, carpenter, and mechanic. He told them how he could fix just about anything if he tinkered with it long enough, and that he was generally just good with his hands. Greg told everyone that they had followed Bryce to the hatchery upon recommendation that they flee the city. He also made it a point to say that if it weren’t for Bryce him and his wife would most likely be dead. Bryce took the compliment and shook Greg’s hand before Cindy began.
Cindy explained that she had largely been a stay-at-home wife and that she took care of Trystan when her daughter went to work. She also told the group that she had her own garden at home and that she knew quite a bit about growing fruits and vegetables.
Since his dad was in bed, Bryce took a second to explain his father to the group. He told everyone that his father had been a surgeon before the Outbreak and that his mother had been a doctor as well. Bryce left out the fate of his mother, they didn’t need to dwell on the loved ones they had lost, because everyone had lost loved ones. He told everyone that Benjamin had come to the hatchery after his mother had passed away during the outbreak.
After Bryce finished the summary of his father, he introduced Jessica. She quickly told the group about how she had been the main caretaker at the hatchery. She said how she had elected to stay behind to keep the hatchery running when everyone else had left. Jessica explained how Bryce had come into her life, and how she had become part of their family since then. She also talked about how she had become part of the team when it was time for their missions, and that she held multiple roles around the compound.
Next up was Logan Bartlett, his wife Christine, his son Robby, his daughter Rebecca, and the twins Sarah and Timothy.
Logan told the group the abridged version of his military experience and how he had started in the Navy, and then advanced later to the SEALs, before he ultimately got out while he was still alive. He left out all the gritty details about how many brutal, deadly missions he had been on, how many times he had almost died himself, and all of the horrible things he had seen. He didn’t need to give anyone a summary of his skills, because his military career alone justified itself, or so he thought.
Instead Logan explained the trials they had been through before they had come to the hatchery, and how Bryce had saved their lives. He also told Bryce that he was indebted to him greatly.
Christine stepped up after her husband to tell the group that she had been a Navy nurse and that was how she met Logan. He had needed to be patched up at one point in his career for a twisted ankle and the rest, she said, was history.
Robby told the group how he had been an Eagle Scout and a member of the JROTC club in high school. He also told them about how he had been a competition shooter in his age group, and how apparently, he was a crack shot. He also talked about hunting, fishing, and camping with his old man.
Rebecca told them how she had been a member of the National Academic League and how she had won the nationwide competition when she was only twelve years old. She also explained how much she loved track and field and that she was one of the fastest runners on her team.
The twins didn’t have much of anything to say, so they simply introduced themselves, to which most everyone told them how cute they were.
After Logan’s family went through the paces, Bryce signaled for Trevor to stand up.
Lieutenant Trevor Steele was very awkward, as if he had never spoken in front of people before, which everyone knew was a lie due to his rank. Either way, he carried on and told everyone about his career in the military, and how it was generally boring. He told them how he had been slated to go to Iraq, but their mission had been shit-canned at the last minute until the paperwork had been worked out. Then, before he could actually go, the Outbreak had happened and they had been ordered to defend Tucson. He told the group that outside of the military he had planned to be a banker and had started schooling to get a degree in finance. Trevor got a few raised eyebrows over that career choice, so he turned it over to Anthony Smith.
Anthony gave everyone the generic rundown of how he had been the radioman for the unit and outside of the military he had been a computer technician. Anthony didn’t talk much, so he didn’t waste any time with his synopsis.
Jose stepped up next and told everyone how he had been a member of a gang in Phoenix and had been given a second chance to join the army. He had been given the military job of diesel mechanic because he had been the guy who fixed up all the cars at a body shop owned by the gang he had been in. Jose told them that he could fix anything with an engine and they all believed him.
Last up for the soldiers was Nathan Jenkins. Nathan was the squad’s designated marksman. His marksmanship records both in and out of the Army were just that, world record-breaking. If anyone gave Nathan a rifle he could shoot the wings off a fly. In the civilian world he had been a sponsored shooting competition member.
After all of the Huachuca men were done, Bryce asked for the newcomers to also step up and talk about themselves.
Harry Steeple, the oldest member of the group stepped up first. He told them that he was both the father, and grandfather to the group. He introduced his sons Henry and Mitch, and their two wives, Missy and Gloria. Harry also introduced Riley and Emily, Henry’s daughters.
After he introduced everyone, he told the rest of the group how he was a retired US Forest Service firefighter and that he had lived in Payson his entire life. He was also an avid outdoorsman and hunter. He told them that he knew the Mogollon Rim, where the hatchery was located, like the back of his hand. He told everyone that when the Outbreak started he had called his two sons and told them to grab their stuff and head up to his cabin in the woods, and how they had lived there unharmed until they ran out of food and were forced to make a supply run in Payson. Unfortunately, it had been that very first supply run that had landed them in hot water with the gang that had chased them down. Harry was one more man who was indebted to Bryce, and they all began to see a pattern.
After Harry finished, Henry, the oldest son stepped forward. Henry explained that just like Trevor, he had gone to school for banking and had been a personal banker at Chase. He wasn’t entirely proud of his job, and
honestly told everyone that he didn’t have many applicable skills for the apocalypse.
Henry’s wife Missy copped to the same problem. She had been a cheer coach and raised their two girls. She nodded toward Cindy and Victoria and asked if she could help them with their duties around the hatchery, to which both Victoria and Cindy approved.
Emily and Riley, Henry’s daughters, both introduced themselves and talked about where they had gone to school and what they had done before the Outbreak. To their credit they both volunteered to help out with whatever tasks needed to be done.
Lastly, Mitch Steeple stepped forward to introduce himself and his wife. He told everyone how they had met at a courthouse in Phoenix. He had been a detective with the Phoenix Police Department and she had been a defense attorney. After a particularly painful court case in which she had gotten a criminal loose, he had wanted to make her pay for the crime. Instead, her good looks and charm intoxicated him and he took her out to dinner, They had married only two months later. They both shook their heads; what a story. In addition to his Casanova-esque capabilities, he took after his father. He was an avid shooter, hunter, and general outdoorsman.
Gloria, Mitch’s wife introduced herself and punched Mitch in the arm for having told their story like a cop, analytical and without emotion. She told everyone that while she was a lawyer she wasn’t the stereotypical city-dweller form of a lawyer. She had also been an avid shooter and outdoorsy girl as well, and often went on camping trips with her husband.
After a considerable amount of time, everyone had gotten his or her story out, and Victoria had recorded it all. With the roster complete, Bryce told the group that this was how he wanted each new member of the group to be initiated. They needed to know what skills they had and a brief history of their life events both before and after the Outbreak. This was to make sure they were of solid character, and to figure out what these potential members could do to be helpful around the compound.
With that done, the next order of business was to assign job duties.
“Ok, guys, with this recent scare of infected coming into the compound, we are going to have to crack down on security. Along with that, there is a ton of work that needs to be done around here,” Bryce explained.
“We need to assign everyone to certain jobs to ensure that everything gets done and we don’t run into any problems,” he continued.
He looked at the roster and contemplated things for a few minutes.
“Okay, first things first, Logan, Robby, Jessica and the four soldiers are going to be with me. We are going to be the security force, reconnaissance force, and combat force of our group,” Bryce began, then looked back at the roster and added, “Mitch and Gloria would you like to be added into that group, as well?”
Mitch nodded his head and figured that is the best place to use his skills as prior law enforcement. Gloria nodded as well, because she wanted to be on the security team as well.
“Okay, that’s settled. Next, we need to figure out who’s going to start putting up the fencing, floodlights, and clamping down our security. How about Greg, Harry and Henry?” Bryce asked.
With no objections, he continued, “Greg, I want you to lead that team, and figure out the best way to protect the vital buildings. We want to be able to walk freely between all the buildings without having to worry about getting attacked.”
Greg nodded and acknowledged the task.
“Also, as soon as my father is better, he and Christine will be our medical team,” Bryce added, without asking, because they were the only ones with real medical training.
“Lastly, the rest of the women and children will be split into two groups, maintenance, and agriculture. Cindy will lead agriculture and Victoria will lead maintenance. Maintenance will be in charge of keeping our living quarters livable, cooking for this huge group, and keeping everyone comfortable. Agriculture will be exactly what it sounds like. The ground is still too cold to start planting, but let’s get some gardens going, and get a greenhouse built. Greg you can help Cindy with that last part,” Bryce said to the group.
“Any questions or concerns on these job assignments?” Bryce asked.
Everyone looked around and pondered on it for a bit, but they all seemed to be okay with things for the moment.
“That settles it. Let’s get to work, guys, we have a lot to do,” Bryce said.
As everyone started to file out of the building, Bryce asked the Steeple family to follow him to the armory. After they had walked across the compound, he opened the door, flicked on the lights, and invited them in.
They all looked at it with a sense of wonder. In a small pile in one corner of the room were the weapons they came into the compound with, which they had surrendered until their fate was decided.
“That pile of guns over there is yours, obviously, and you are welcome to take them or leave them. We do have one mandate, however, and it is that everyone carries a firearm at all times. We need everyone to be prepared around here,” Bryce explained. “You don’t have to give the kids any guns. That is entirely up to you, but all the adults need to carry a gun.”
“If you’re not too keen on carrying a gun, or aren’t sure how to safely operate one, please let me know, and we will provide training at the next range session we have. For now, just grab one of these,” Bryce said and picked up a Beretta, loaded a magazine into it, chambered a round and clicked the safety on.
“Just remember that as long as the safety is on, it’s perfectly safe,” he said as he slid it into a holster and handed it to Gloria.
She took it from his hand, set it down nicely on the pile, and grabbed a Colt 1911 from another pile instead. She grabbed a loaded magazine, rammed it into the grip, chambered a round, holstered it, and left the safety off. She gave Bryce a sly grin.
“I’ll do fine with this,” she said.
She is the wife of a cop, Bryce reminded himself.
Eventually, everyone had been armed, even 16-year-old Emily. Bryce left them to start work as part of their new job details.
Bryce walked over to find Logan and the other soldiers sitting and chatting. He walked up to them, and they stood up.
“Let’s get going, guys. We need to get out and run some patrols to see if there are any infected lurking around. I don’t want any more surprises from our immediate area,” Bryce said.
Bryce told Trevor to split his guys into two groups and have them take out the quads, one driving and one riding on the back faced to the rear to have twice the coverage. They shuffled off and Trevor rode with Anthony on the back. Nathan rode with Jose on the back and the two groups took off. Bryce did not give them instructions on where to patrol or what to look for, but he figured they were smart enough to figure it out.
Bryce waited for Gloria and Mitch to come out of the armory before he continued, “We are going to take a ride out of the back end of the compound here. I want to take a look and see where this road leads, just to make sure we aren’t going to get backdoored by anyone.”
“Sounds good, what vehicle do you want to take?” Logan asked.
“I think we better take the Chevy, we might need the four-wheel drive, and the Ford is too damn big to get back there, I can already tell you that much,” Bryce responded.
Logan took off to the warehouse building to grab the truck and in the meantime everyone else grabbed their gear. Robby ran inside to get his own stuff and his father’s bag. Bryce grabbed his backpack, his M4 and both his handguns.
They weren’t going to leave the hatchery without adequate firepower, that much was certain.
Chapter Forty-One
Mogollon Rim, Arizona
Bryce, Logan, Robby, Jessica and their new members Mitch and Gloria piled into the Chevy pickup truck. It was a tight squeeze, and Robby had to sit in the bed of the truck, which Bryce was sure he would enjoy as they bumped down the road. The Chevy had four-wheel drive, which would come in handy for their recon mission. Bryce wanted to take the trail that led north of the ha
tchery and farther up and out of the canyon. Bryce wanted to know where it went and if it was a back door for infected or other unwelcome visitors to use.
Bryce and his group followed the trail back into the woods, and before long it turned into more of a goat path than a road. There was barely enough room for the truck to squeeze through, and they left some paint on the sides of the path, but they travelled onward. Eventually, they had to put the truck in four-wheel drive to continue, but still they were not deterred. After a little while longer, which felt like eternity to the passengers as they travelled down the bumpy path, they saw a road. It was a dirt road, but at one point it was graded and could be counted as a real road.
They drove up onto the road and followed it east. After about ten miles, they saw signs for Bear Canyon Lake.
He immediately knew where they had come out of the canyon. Bryce had fished these lakes when he was younger and he remembered the road at once. The road they were on spilled out onto the highway after twenty miles. Bryce was happy to find an escape route out of the compound, but worried about the security implications. The trail into the hatchery was barely that, a trail, but if someone found the trail and followed it to them, it would be disastrous.
Bryce told everyone in the truck his concerns, and they agreed that the road needed to be secured from both infected and possible marauders.
With that knowledge in mind, they turned the truck around and headed back down the bumpy road to once again take the trail that led back to the hatchery.
Chapter Forty-Two
Resort, Mogollon Rim, Arizona
Quinton Grymes sat in the small hotel room that he had shared with his family and called home for the last four weeks. Sure, they had a kitchenette and a fireplace, but it left a lot to be desired.
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