Meanwhile Billyhad unlocked the weapons area and had started filling backpacks full of ammoand weapons.
“Billy,pass out your backpack so I can fill it please. Also do you have a knife orsome sort of small weapon for Nia's backpack?” I called over to him.
Just as hebrought me the small knife, similar it my own, the door opened and we both heldour breath. Will came charging in, his clothes were grimy and soaked in sweatand blood where he had been running around fighting the zombies. When he sawus, relief flooded his features.
“Hey both,we need to go now! Where’s Nia?” he said slightly out of breath.
Still up inour room” I told him.
“Billy I'llfinish up here with George, can you go up and get Nia and meet us at theloading bay? Lewis has the trucks ready and waiting for us.”
“I'm on it.I will get her there safely Will,” Billy said already half way out the door, hepaused long enough to pick up one of the full backpacks and was gone.
“ThanksBilly, and be careful yourself,” Will shouted but Billy was already gone.
“I havefilled Billy's, Nia's and a few other spare backpacks along with Billy who wasdoing the weapons. How bad is it out there?” I asked now starting to getworried, would I ever escape this place or was I destined to die here.
“Bad. Theyard is overrun. The good news is that they are not inside yet but it’s only amatter of time before they get in here.” Will went into the weapon area andgrabbed a few boxes of ammo and three other handguns which he put into his backpack. He also grabbed an empty backpack and put a few boxes of porridge, somechocolate bars and some more powdered milk in. “What?” he asked when he saw melooking. “I like porridge.” He smiled a tight smile, worry creased the rest ofhis features.
“Ok thenare we ready? I got a few bottles of water in each of our backpacks. Shouldkeep us going until we get to the fire station,” I informed him.
“Great.Let's go!” he said picking up two backpacks and walking ahead of me. I pickedup a backpack I had been filling and Nia's backpack and followed him.
Before Loucould say anything, Will said, “Lou, Deacon needs afew men to get all of the filled backpacks to the loading bay and into thewaiting trucks. I'm on my way to the loading dock now to load this lot and getsome people into the trucks ready.”
Lou noddedand called over three of Deacon’s guys. I called them Deacon’s guys as theywere loyal to him and could in no way know our plan, well the real one anyway.
We quicklymade our way back down the corridor towards the loading bay. As we neared theend of the corridor we heard a series of loud bangs, the screaming increasedand got louder and the gunshots were now indoors rather than out.
We pausedat the end of the hall. The zombies had broken in, the screams and cries ofalarm confirmed it.
“What's theplan?” I asked Will.
“Same asbefore we get to the trucks and get as many people out as possible.” Justthen the kids ran around the corner led by Jack, one of the older ones.
They wereterrified. I counted five of them, and each looked more terrified than the onebefore. Jack look more determined than anything else but I could see the reliefin his face when he spotted Will.
“Willwhat's going on? What's the plan? Where's Deacon?” Jack fired off his questionsquickly.
“Deacon saidto get as many supplies as we can into our backpacks and to get to the trucks,”Will told him. “Come on kids, into the garage,” he said.
Will ledthe way with the kids in the middle and me at the rear.
Lewis andJohn sat in one of the big Land-Rover jeeps but when they saw us all John gotout and into the one next to him. Each Land Rover could seat seven people.
The firstjeep had Lewis driving, Nia, Jim and Kandace, then in with them we put Jack,Kate, and Sophia. Will gave Lewis a walkie-talkie so we could keep in touchwith them when on the road. Cell phones had long since died.
Then in thesecond jeep we put the other two kids with John and Billy.
“Get in andtell John where to go, just remember we can't really trust the kids, so saynothing of the fire station.” Will turned to go back into the corridor and thenLewis called him. He ran back to Lewis as another group of people came rushingto the door, some of them had backpacks, but not all. With his group were Kerys and her partner Gareth from the kitchen. Theyall looked to Will. “Get everyone into the truck,” he said to a man Irecognized as Xander and indicating the big armytruck I had been transported here in. He nodded and ran straight there, gotinto the cab and started it up. “Kerys, Nia is in thefirst truck but we have room for you and Gareth in the second one,” he saidpointing to the truck he meant. She nodded, grabbed Gareth’s hand and rantowards the Land Rover.
The othersfollowed Xander and jumped into his truck.
Will wasexplaining quietly to Lewis where to find the fire station when Xander shouted, “This is all of the survivors we could see,the zombies are not behind us at the moment, where do we go from here?”
“There issupposed to be a camp about 20 miles south from here,” I called back, henodded.
Just then Inoticed that the garage door into the corridor had been left open and as if bymagic in stumbled a foul smelling zombie. I took careful aim, took a deepbreath and missed. Trying to calm myself I took aim again and this time missedagain. I think by this point Will felt sorry for me and feared for all of oursafeties and he shot the zombie in the head for me.
I grinnedsheepishly at him and called thanks as I jogged over to the door to close andlock it. I jumped over
