“With what?” Jesse asked.
“Use their vehicle, the RV, and make sure they get helped straight away at the hospital. The poor things look like they need it,” Alex said.
Jesse bobbed his head. “Alright. I’ll make sure they’re taken care of properly.”
Alex turned back to the girl. “Miss…”
“It’s Rikke,” she replied.
“Okay, Rikke. Jesse here is taking you all to the infirmary. Once you get there, stay there. Don’t wander around unless it’s to retreat to the community center.”
“Why?” she asked with a frown.
“We’re expecting an attack from a horde of zombies. The infirmary or community center is the safest place for you to be,” Alex explained.
“The horde? Yes, I know. We encountered it in Jacksonville,” Rikke said. “It’s not far behind us. Maybe a day or two.”
“Jacksonville?” Alex repeated. “Are you sure?”
“Of course, I’m sure. We were trapped by the zombies and had to circle them as we made our way here.” She pointed at the younger boy and girl. “You can ask Arely and Eli. They were with me when it happened.”
“Uh, huh. There were so many of them, Mister. Thousands,” Arely replied while the boy simply nodded.
“Savannah,” the other injured girl muttered, her eyes still glazed over. “They nearly got me in Savannah.”
Alex frowned. None of it made sense. Jacksonville? Savannah? By all accounts, the horde was coming up from the south-west, not the south-east. Unless…
“I’m sorry about your troubles, but don’t worry. You’re in safe hands now. We’ll look after you,” he said.
“Thanks, Mister,” Rikke replied.
“When you get to the infirmary, look for Amanda and tell her Alex sent you,” he added. “She’ll do right by you.”
Rikke nodded, and Alex helped her and the rest back into the RV. Jesse got into the driver’s seat and tossed them a salute. “I’ll be back in a jiffy.”
“Off you go,” Alex replied, slamming his hand on the hood.
The RV drove away, and Alex went in search of Nick. He found him inside his office, along with Dylan, Saul, Tara, Richard, Jackson, and Mac.
Nick looked up when he entered and smiled. “Alex. This is a pleasant surprise.” But one look at Alex’s expression caused his grin to fade, and he asked, “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know how to say this, but I think there’s a second horde, and it’s almost upon us,” Alex blurted out.
“What?” Nick cried. “A second horde?”
“Oh, crap,” Dylan gasped, pressing one hand to her lips.
“If that’s true, then we’re in deep shit,” Richard stated with blunt pragmatism.
“More than that,” Mac said. “We’re dead men walking.”
“Well, I can’t have that. Not with Amy, Jenny, and all my friend’s lives at stake,” Alex said, folding his arms. “I suggest we come up with a plan.”
“A plan to kill a couple of hundred-thousand zombies?” Mac asked with more than a hint of disbelief.
“You heard me. If we work together and don’t panic, we can do this,” Alex said. “Besides, we don’t have a choice. If we run, we’re just delaying the inevitable.”
“Alex is right. We do it here, now, or not at all,” Nick said.
Dylan inclined her head. “Alright. Let’s get cracking.”
Chapter 15 - Nick
“They say the second group is coming up from the south-east? Jacksonville and Savannah?” Nick asked, staring at the map on the table. He traced a rough route with his finger.
“That’s right,” Alex replied.
“We need more information,” Nick said. “Saul, can you reroute a couple of the scouting teams?”
“Of course,” Saul said.
“But, don’t let them stay out too long. I want everyone back inside by the end of the day, if possible. The same goes for your raiding teams. I don’t want anyone to be caught outside napping when the undead arrives,” Nick added.
“I’ll make sure of it,” Saul replied.
“The only people on the outside by tomorrow morning must be the soldiers handling the defenses and those up in the observation posts,” Nick said.
“I’ll set up more posts in the rest of the city to warn of this second horde’s arrival,” Jackson said.
“Good. How are the outer defenses coming along?” Nick asked.
“Davis and his team are almost done inside the city. After that, they can focus on the inner barriers,” Saul said.
“Those still need a lot of work,” Alex said. “If the hordes breach the outer defenses they’ll wash over us like a tidal wave.”
“I know. We’ll have to speed things up. Especially now,” Nick said with a grim nod.
A knock on the door interrupted the proceedings, and Nick looked up to see a group of people led by Grissom. Among them were several familiar faces, including Big Joe, Wanda, and Mike Hansen.
“What do you want, Grissom?” Nick asked.
“I’m here to talk,” Grissom said in a placatory tone.
“Then talk. I have serious matters to attend to, and zero time to waste,” Nick said.
“Yeah, I thought you were leaving?” Dylan added with a fierce look.
“I was, but Saul dissuaded me,” Grissom said. “At least, not until I talked to you first.”
“Really?” Nick said, his eyebrows raising. “What’s this I hear, Saul?”
Saul raised one hand in the air. “Just hear him out, Nick. We need every single gun we can get, don’t we?”
“Yes, but I don’t have time for cowards and dissenters,” Nick growled.
“I’m neither a coward nor a dissenter,” Grissom said. “I want to fight, but as an equal. I think after all this time, I’ve proven my loyalty.”
“All he wants is his old spot in the ranks, Nick,” Saul said. “It’s not too much to ask, is it?”
Nick hesitated. “We’ll see, but what about the rest of you? Why are you here?”
Big Joe stepped forward with Wanda at his side. “We’ve talked it over, and we’d like to stay. I cannot fight, however. If I die, my family is left alone and vulnerable.”
“Same here. My Tom is half-blind. Without me, he’s helpless,” Wanda said.
“What do you want then?” Nick asked.
“We’d like to ride this out in the community center,” Big Joe said. “But we also want to help. Both of us know how to drive
