“Steve, guys. We are in this together. We are safe in this building, and luckily for us we have the means to communicate with the outside world right there.” He pointed at the radios.
“We are not going to give up, Steve. The message that we just received is that we can not be extracted right now,” He said this with a stern look at BB. “but it’s likely that they will send a rescue team later. So, we are going to be patient. And we are not going to panic.”
It would have worked like a charm – it was working – but then Dan piped up.
“We got some movement down the street, boss.” He said, continuing to stare through the small window in the door. Abi poked her head in from upstairs to confirm the news.
“We’ve got a group of individuals heading our way, Mike! They look like...” She threw a cautious look at the civilians before she continued. “They look like they are, uh...”
Breanne spoke up as she walked towards the window. “Jesus Crist, what are we, a bunch of kindergarten kids? They’re zombies, Abi. You don’t need to beat around the bush.”
She tried to see through the tiny gaps in the shutters. “I’m too fucking short!” She shrugged.
“Let’s get a look from upstairs.” Tammy gestured towards the stairs. They quickly headed upstairs and joined Abi for a better look.
The crowd was still quite some distance away, so it was hard to make out details. But Tammy knew that they were seeking prey. They swung their heads, moved to one side of the alleyway and started beating on the walls of a tent. The tent collapsed under the onslaught, but the crowd did not stop at that. They trampled the downed tent, still searching for their prey. The zombies moved like a flock of birds. One would get agitated and beat at a spot at his feet, and all of the others would immediately move over to that same spot. It looked eerie and unnatural to Tammy. She knew that whomever or whatever had hidden in the tent was either dead or playing dead.
It continued for another minute. When nothing moved anymore, the crowd of zombies slowed down and came to a halt. For several long moments none of the zombies moved. It was as if they were frozen in place. Then, one quickly swung its head in a direction and started moving. This triggered the entire group and as one they moved further down the road.
Closer to us. Tammy realized fearfully.
“I think we should move back from this window...” Abi stated. The three women backed away, and silently made their way downstairs.
“They’re coming this way.” Abi stated, her voice cracking a bit with fear.
“Keep it together, soldier.” Mike scolded the woman. Abi visibly flinched. “Ain’t nothing we can do about it. We just have to keep a low profile.”
Abi nodded and grabbed a water bottle for herself and a few extra for their guests. Steve, Tammy and Breanne joined her at the table.
They sipped water.
And they waited...
Chapter Thirty-three
Dan
Dan still stood at the door, peaking through the little gaps in the slats. They were coming closer, and he was starting to make out individuals.
Their faces are so ... inhuman. Why do they have their mouths open so wide?
He watched them, as they moved to a position and then kind of froze, with their heads at a strange angle. It looked like they were trying to put their ear on the ground to listen, but without actually getting down to the ground.
Then on some unseen signal the group would move off into one direction.
They’re hunting! Dan realized.
The first of the zombies had moved to within twenty yards of the communications shack. Up to now, they had remained undetected. Even if they were detected, Dan doubted that the zombies would be able to get in. The place was locked down.
Dan was momentarily distracted by a wave of pain.
Ow! Ah, this fucking gut! It feels like I am leaking or something! Dan closed his eyes until the pain passed, after which he returned his attention out the window.
Dan was better able to make out details now that they were this close. They were of all races, male, female, young and old. The syndrome did not have prejudices, it seems.
Dan saw a boy. The kid was probably no older than eight. He was wearing a t-shirt with some cartoon character on it. His pyjama bottoms had slipped down and were stuck around his ankles, forcing the boy to move with even more ungainly steps. The boy didn’t have a scratch on him, which for some reason freaked Dan out even more.
Then there was this woman. She was also dressed in the tattered remains of pyjamas. Her long hair hung forward, in front of her face. For some reason not being able to see her eyes terrified Dan. She had suffered some serious damage. Her midsection had sliced open at some point recently. Her entrails had fallen out and were dragging along the ground behind her. Dan watched as another zombie stepped on her intestine. Somewhat thankfully, the intestine did not tear or snap. Instead, the woman was pulled back half a step, like she was on an elastic band. Dan still had to swallow back some bile on seeing the scene.
One of the zombies caught Dan’s attention as it fell. Dan could see that one of its legs was broken, the white shards of bones in sharp contrast to the grey skin that they were sticking out of. The zombie’s foot was turned inward in an unnatural angle. Yet the zombie would still try to walk. Every step it took would drive the foot further into an angle, and its leg bones would stick out a little more. The zombie would crash to the ground, and somehow pick itself up again.
Another zombie was similarly unbalanced. The former old man was still dressed
