“You got this, Dan.” Mike stated calmly, continuing to wave his arms. He had stopped yelling.
“I got this.” Tammy heard Dan repeat. He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. Tammy was stunned at the incredibly loud sound of the rifle. A ringing noise started in her ears even as she saw the top of the zombie’s head explode in a spray of blood, brains and bone fragments.
Mike didn’t waste a moment. He immediately waved at the woman and the boy, motioning for them to come over. They came down the road at a jog, gingerly stepped around the corpse and finally made their way into the building. Mike closed the door behind them.
Tammy surveyed the newcomers, the ringing in her ears slowly fading into the background. They had collapsed on the floor just as she had a few minutes earlier. They sat with their backs against the wall, their knees bent and their heads down – trying to catch their breath.
The woman appeared to be in her mid to late thirties. Long brown hair had cascaded in front of her face, shielding her features from Tammy. She was somewhat short and squat, and obviously not used to the physical strain of running. The teenage boy seemed to be holding up better, although he was very pale. Tammy figured that he was in shock.
Mike knelt beside the two newcomers and quietly checked the two for any injuries. Dan was standing at the door, his rifle held to his chest. The soldier that had uttered the warning from upstairs had come down as well, although he hung back from the rest. The room felt over-crowded and Tammy started to feel the tickle of claustrophobia.
“What did I miss?” Abi’s bubbly comment broke the tension.
Mike turned to Dan. “Can you grab a couple of water bottles for these folks?”
With a nod, Dan moved off, returning with a couple of water bottles. The woman and the boy accepted these without comment. They were still winded.
Mike turned to the soldier at the stairs. “BB get back up there. We need eyes.”
“Uh, ok Mike.” Tammy studied the young man as he turned to head back upstairs. He was tall and skinny. His features verged on gaunt, with high cheekbones and deep-set eyes. Tammy wondered if this ‘B.B.’ was suffering from the syndrome. She turned to ask Mike about it, but he had already moved over to the radios and Abi. Tammy took a step closer so she could hear.
“What’s the word, Abi?”
Tammy was surprised at the casual and informal way these soldiers interacted. She was also surprised at how relaxed they seemed, in the face of this disaster.
“There’s a lot of radio traffic out there, boss.” Abi replied, the smile dropping from her face for the first time. “I can’t raise HQ at the moment, but from the in-camp transmissions I’m picking up...” A troubled look crossed her face as she listened. “It’s not looking good, Mike.”
Mike waited for her to elaborate, motioning for her to continue with a slight nod.
“Um, it sounds like the fence near the front gate was destroyed. Somebody ran through it with a Humvee. That’s when we got that code red call.”
Abi noticed Tammy’s presence and her interested look, so elaborated.
“All the codes correspond with a general message, which I then send out to all receivers in the camp. Code red is basically a call to arms – or all hands to stations.” She smiled at Tammy. Mike cleared his throat and Abi’s expression turned serious again.
“Uh ... Yeah, so the code red was issued because the perimeter was compromised. What I picked up since then, is that the fencing has collapsed in at least two other places. We...” Abi hesitated as the reality of the situation hit home. “We are overrun.”
Mike shook his head “Damnit! I knew our numbers were getting too light! Try to raise HQ. We’ll need extraction. If that’s possible.”
“Yes boss.” Abi replied, not unkindly. She put her headset back on and turned back to her radio.
Mike turned to Tammy. “Let’s go check on our latest arrivals.” His smile was meant to be reassuring, but Tammy could tell that the soldier was troubled.
The woman was still too winded to take a drink from the water bottle she had received. She held the bottle in her hands, which were resting on her knees. her head was still down. Thick and long brown hair curtained off her face. Tammy felt a brief shudder as she imagined the woman raising her face to reveal the mouth and eyes of a zombie.
The hair fell away from her face as she looked up. Much to Tammy’s relief, this revealed a youthful, flushed complexion and dark brown eyes. Tammy knelt in front of her, feeling somewhat embarrassed.
“Hey, just breathe deeply. You’re safe here.” She said. The woman responded with a small nod.
Tammy let the woman regain her composure and looked over at the boy. The sharp smell of urine accosted Tammy’s nose. She then saw his wet jeans. He had pissed himself.
The boy took a sip of his water, his eyes firmly on the floor.
“Hey.” Tammy started. The boy slowly looked up at her.
“Hi. I’m Tammy. Hey. You’re ok now. We’re safe in here.”
Instead of responding, the boy dropped his gaze back to the ground.
“Here.” Mike had stepped up. He held a pair of clean trousers in front of the boy’s face.
“Put these on. They’re Abi’s but they should fit you ok.”
The boy grabbed the pants. Slowly, he stirred himself and got to his feet.
“You can change in the bathroom over there if you like.” Mike said, pointing the way. With a mumbled thanks, the boy
