“Bill, cover us from the roof. Emily,” John went on, “we will need to get people armed. You get to the armory if you hear that bell and prepare weapons for distribution. Now, who is comfortable shooting a rifle? Put your hand up.”
John surveyed the group. Half the group had raised a hand. He grinned.
“Wow. That’s quite a change from last week.”
It was true. Last week, the only civilian who could shoot a rifle was Nat. John saw the pride on some faces. It in turn filled him with pride.
“That’s great, guys. Glad to hear you were paying attention in class. I hope that by next week all of us can use a weapon. We might need it.” He lifted his hand to forestall any comments. “Hold on. One problem at a time. Here is what we will need: at least a couple of you will have to stay with the non-combatants. We will need three or four of you with me, right here near the front door. And I’d like one more guy on overwatch.”
“How about a girl?” Nat asked dryly.
John immediately nodded. “OK, Nat. You join Bill on the roof. The two of you are probably our best shooters.” He turned to Bill. “Bill, can you go to the armory with Nat right now and find a suitable weapon for her? Nat, I’d like you to keep that weapon with you. At all times.”
Nat nodded, looked over at Bill, and the two of them moved away. John smiled as he overheard Bill bet Nat that he was the better shooter.
The rest of the group stood around expectantly, so John dove into the challenge. He outlined an emergency response plan. The non-combatants of the group would go straight to the library when the “high” alarm rang. Ern, Ethan, and Jack would arm themselves and join them.
“That leaves Mel, Emily, Keith, Craig, Joe and me. The six of us will need to quickly assess the danger. I will take the point if we need to go straight into a fight. Mel and Emily follow, Joe and Keith next, and Craig stays at the door.”
“What about if it is another group of people. Like this morning?” Nancy asked.
John didn’t have to think long about that. “I liked the composition of our group this morning. Craig, you’re our leader and spokesman. Joe, you are part of that too — but I want you carrying a rifle. With your size, it can be an intimidation thing.” To his credit, Joe merely nodded in acknowledgement. “Mel, you and Emily secure the door, and Keith, Joe and I will back up Craig.”
He surveyed them once more.
“Are there any questions?”
There were none. Everybody was out of their element on this, with the exception of Mel. The impromptu meeting broke up quickly after that.
Chapter 11
Tammy
The two-vehicle convoy pulled away, heading down the road that ran parallel to the school grounds. A minute later, and the school was out of sight.
“That went well,” Breanne sarcastically commented from her perch in the very back of the Humvee.
Tammy snorted. She knew that she shouldn’t encourage Breanne, but the stocky woman’s sense of humor was growing on her.
“I’m glad you did the talking. Talking’s not my thing. And did you get a load of that guy?” Breanne’s expression portrayed disgust. “What a jackass!”
Tammy knew exactly which guy she meant. “He isn’t the leader, though. That tall guy, Craig, is. Joe is just looking after his family.” The excuse sounded lame.
“Family? His family tree must be a cactus!” Breanne stated with a mischievous grin.
Abi turned in her seat to look back at Breanne in confusion.
“Aw, come on ... You don’t get it? ... ’Cause he’s a prick?” Breanne said with fake bafflement.
The Humvee exploded in laughter. Tammy could see the satisfied expression on Breanne’s face.
I think she’s found her niche. Or, wait. Her thing.
The mood sobered quickly as Mike had to dodge a couple of zombies on the road. Tammy thought that the gated community was surprisingly clear of the undead. She wondered if the residents of that school had been clearing zombies from this area.
Several minutes later, the small convoy approached the gate leading out of the community. Several shapes gathered at the gate.
“Looks like we’ve got some more shooting to do today,” Mike said. He pulled the Humvee over as Abi and BB inserted fresh magazines into their weapons.
Mike, BB and Abi stepped out of the Humvee with their carbines and made short work of the zombies as the undead ineffectively reached for them through the bars of the gate.
They opened the gate once the last threat had been put down. Romy and Abi looked out for danger as Mike, Michelle and BB dragged the corpses off the road. They pulled the vehicles through the gate, and Q shut the gate behind them. He put a bit too much force into his action, causing the gate to bounce open again with a loud clang. Hurriedly, he closed the gate a second time and ran to the van as if zombies were on his very tail.
“Damn. Don’t know my own strength,” he said with a grin as he returned to the safety of the vehicle.
Abi tested her radio just before they pulled out. She contacted the Ren and had a quick exchange with the British woman. It all sounded very official to Tammy.
“Jeez, these radio folks have their own lingo. Let’s not get stuck in a room with them,” Breanne remarked behind her.
Tammy couldn’t disagree. It sounded like gibberish to her.
“Well, hopefully things will go better between us next time around,” she said to nobody in particular.
“Yeah...” Breanne answered without much conviction.
Chapter 12
John
It was midafternoon when the relative silence in the school was shattered by the ringing of the alarm. John happened to be at the armory, so the ex-soldier quickly grabbed an M4 and an extra mag.
Maria was ringing the triangle. “I didn’t know if I should ring once or repeatedly,” she
