“Hmm.” Adept Kyle stepped up to the window, staring outside. “It seems that we have little choice.”
Andrew knew all too well what he saw out there. Deados. Lots of them. What was worse: Every day, there were more. Adept Kyle was right for once. Little choice was right.
No choice, really.
Soon, the wall surrounding this place was going to collapse.
And then we’re pooched!
Andrew looked over at Lou. One thing was certain. If those walls collapsed, Andrew would stick to the pock-faced man like white on rice. Lou was a survivor.
“Just look... There are hundreds of them.” Kyle turned to the rest of the group and beckoned. Penny stepped over and looked. Fergus, however, didn’t move from his position close to the door.
“Come, Adept Fergus,” Kyle urged. “Take a look.”
Fergus just shook his head, staying rooted in his position. “I believe you, Adept Kyle. We need to get out of here. I think we can all agree on that.”
“Are you afraid to look, Adept Fergus?” The question was leading, and everybody knew it. “It’s not like they don’t exist if you don’t look. They aren’t monsters under the bed.” Kyle smiled maliciously. “They get a hold of you, and they’ll be biting those chubby cheeks right off your face.”
“That’s enough, Adept Kyle,” Lou said. He took a step towards the man at the window. “You get off on intimidating others, don’t you? Why don’t you try me?”
Andrew tensed up. Violence hung in the air.
Kyle swung his gaze over to Lou. “You speak out of turn. I think you are going to need to be reminded of who is in charge here.” He stayed at the window, but Andrew was all too aware of the hand that drifted to his back pocket.
Andrew remembered the call for rifles and pistols when the new militia was set up and organized. People were funny, though, and not everybody donated their firearms to Lou and his men. Adept Kyle was one of those, and Andrew was all to aware of the Glock-19 he had in his back pocket. For days, the guy had boasted about the official police-issue nine-millimeter weapon his uncle had sent him from New York as they hunkered down in their first location.
Funny. I don’t remember him shooting that thing a single time. Andrew thought back to the evening when they were overrun and fighting for their lives.
He couldn’t recall seeing Adept Kyle at all that evening.
The Adept must have noticed that both Lou and Andrew had let their hands drop to their sides as well. He jerked his hand away from his own back pocket as if it had stung him.
“The Order does not suffer insubordination lightly. We have ranks for a reason, and you ought to remember that. Rest assured, Lou, that I will be in touch with our superiors as soon as Marge gets that radio running. The Order will send us a real Captain, with proper Swords,” he said with a sneer towards Andrew. “And Shields. You riffraff will be disbanded as soon as possible.
“I look forward to that,” Lou answered simply.
“Ah, stop this pissing contest, will you?” Penny walked back from the window to stand at the door beside Fergus. “Lou, just get your men ready. Fergus and I will prepare our people and get the trucks loaded up.”
“Good. Get to it.” Kyle stated, and again turned to look out of the window.
Andrew had to hand it to him as he followed the others out of the door.
The guy knew how to act like he was the boss.
Chapter 27
Shelley
November 7, 6:00 P.M., The Ren
The day had passed quickly for most of the group. They redistributed people in the classrooms so that the new folks could get settled. They destroyed any zombie that appeared at the fences throughout the day. They attended a weapons class, organized by Emily, and an aikido session, run by Keith.
They also still struggled with the loss of Craig. Some attended an impromptu grieving session. Others withdrew into themselves, finding private spaces to hang out on their own.
Shelley spent a couple of hours taking care of Melissa. The woman was incredibly strong and appeared to be mending well. The clinic’s team consisting of Joe, Christine and Shelley agreed that she wasn’t out of the woods yet. Infection was a real danger.
Shelley joined the aikido class when she had a break from the clinic. Keith was a great teacher. A bit goofy, but also funny and extremely patient. This was only her second class, and out of the four attendees she was the novice. That didn’t matter too much, as Shelley was grateful for the physical exertion and the mental distraction.
The evening meal started out as a subdued affair. It wasn’t helped much by Nancy’s announcement that the freezer goods were running out and the group would be down to strictly eating MREs within the next couple of days.
Shelley joined Nat at her table. She had grown fond of the strong-willed young woman. It was kind of like how she had gotten along with her colleagues at her job. They were opposites, but it worked.
Nat smiled at Shelley as she took her seat.
“Hey, Shelley.”
“Hi.”
Both women felt comfortable with the silence and started eating.
“Hi, ladies. Would you mind if we join you?”
Shelley craned her neck around to see who had spoken. Farmer Michelle had come up to them. Her dark-skinned friend stood behind her. Both held their trays of food. It felt very high school...
“Of course! Grab a seat.” Shelley replied as she slid over to make room. Nat had not spoken, which was neither an invitation nor a rejection.
“Great! Thanks.”
The tall woman put down her tray while her companion walked around the table to sit next to Nat. She turned to Shelley and stuck out her hand. “I think
