"I'm Kira Schafer, and Paige is my daughter. Thank you for taking us in. My father was Walter Conley. I guess you all know what happened to him. We were at a Walmart in St. Peters, Missouri, looking for food when we were attacked by zombies. Three of your people found us there. My husband, Carl, was bitten, died and turned." She patted Paige's leg as tears flowed from the child and Kira continued. "Carl had trained us in what to do if one of us, any one of us, was bitten or scratched by a zombie and blood was drawn. I watched Carl spring up from the floor and lunge toward Paige. She moved a few feet to stand behind and to the side of me. I waited as long as possible before I shot Carl. Body fluids and brain matter sprayed onto my father. We thought he was okay... but Tom Jacobs said he wasn't and killed him." She said the last part harshly and glared at me. I chose not to confront her as she grieved and let the unjust remark pass; but it stung none the less.
Ira Sparrow didn't let the comment lie. His lean frame stood as he interrupted her. "Mrs. Schaffer, we're all terribly sorry for your loss, but Tom did what had to be done. Anyone in our group would have done the same thing. I'm a veterinarian and I serve as the doctor here. I examined Walter after he died. It appeared the infection entered his body around the skin at the base and sides of his fingernails. His cuticle areas were red and badly swollen. If Tom had been away one of us, likely Shane Holescheck or me, would have ended your father's life. It had to be done for the safety of everyone here, including you and Paige. Please don't blame Tom for your father's misfortune because it's unfair and not true." Ira sat. Kira cried quietly but nodded.
Janice seized the moment to speak into the empty silence. "Kira, can you please tell us more of who the Schafers are?"
Kira brushed tears away with the back of her hand and cleared her throat. "My husband, Carl, had been a Navy Seal. My father was an avid hunter and outdoorsman, but he had no military background. Carl correctly saw the course of the zombie affliction early on. He tried to warn relatives, friends, and neighbors. No one listened seriously. They mostly agreed, but all of them had misplaced faith that the government could and would contain and eradicate the zombies. After all, this was the USA and they believed we were invincible.
"Carl trained me, Paige and my father as if we were Special Forces recruits." She smiled and patted Paige on the thigh. "We learned a lot and improved greatly, but, of course, we were never equal to Carl or any other special forces trained person.
"My father had owned a cabin at the edge of the Mark Twain Forest in southeast Missouri for many years. We moved there before the zombies began to spread to our locale. The area is remote, and zombies didn't wander there often. We felt safe back in the deep woods, but we had to venture out routinely for food and other supplies. That's how we came to be at the Walmart in St. Peters where Carl died." Kira looked at me. "I apologize for blaming you for my father's death. I know it wasn't your fault, but. . . ."
Paige cried and clutched at Kira's arm at the mention of Carl's death. Kira didn't ask her to address the group.
Kira wiped tears away and straightened. "I would like to know more about the origin, workings and structure of your group, so we know who you are and what to expect."
Shane remained seated but raised his hand to get Kira's attention.
"I'll take that Mrs. Schafer. I'm Shane Holescheck." His red hair and short red beard outlined a ruddy complexion. "A year prior to the first recognition of the zombie affliction spreading across the Mid East and Africa, Tom won the Illinois State Lottery. He owned a construction business, and he and his wife, Emma, loved to ride horses. She was Tom's office manager, a part time physical fitness trainer, and a horsewoman. She died recently during a zombie attack.
"After taxes, Tom and Emma, had almost six million dollars. They bought two hundred acres of ground here where this building sets. Sixty acres are tillable, the other one hundred forty acres is woodland with a thirty-two acre lake. They'd planned to build a large horse barn with an indoor competitive riding arena. They had dreams of training and boarding horses and working that together in addition to his construction business.
"As zombie's attacked major European cities, Tom changed the building plans and made it into a place of refuge. John Alton, our mechanical engineer, solved the detailed engineering aspects. Tom and Emma invited twelve of their best friends and their families to join them at the farm and prepare to live here for the duration of the siege we all anticipated. All of us agreed the threat to our country was great, and we felt the politicians would dither away precious days and weeks with their infighting and one upmanship. We predicted the government would be overrun just as the Mideast and Asia had been. Europe was in the first stages of failure and the apocalypse was clearly spreading faster than they could react to it. We strongly felt we would be next.
"All of the original twelve members had a say in the design and construction of the facility. We quit our jobs, moved trailers to the property, and began building this one hundred foot by two hundred foot two-story building ourselves. It has many special features we'll be glad to show you.
"Two
