The Snipers of the Apocalypse

Resurrection Z Part 2

While Cassandra, Addy and I were talking about how out of place the compound seemed in the midst of the apocalypse, I noticed 10k staring at something. I followed his gaze to the girl at the gate that Joe and his female guard were talking about. A familiar feeling filled my body- jealousy. Why am I jealous? I'm not normally like that.

For some reason, I couldn't help myself. I slapped Thomas' arm, which caused him to look at me weirdly. I gave him a 'really?' look before I turned my attention back to Joe, who was now walking back over to us.

"Come on, I'll show you around." He offered before leading us on a small tour around the outside fence. After Garnett and Williams took a little time to catch up, Garnett went for something on his belt before chuckling to himself.

"I feel so much lighter without that damn hammer." He stated enthusiastically. Be happy all you want Charles, I'm pissed.

"Yeah, I feel naked- and not in a good way." Roberta spoke my mind.

"When we started out, everyone was armed. Then one day a guy decided to shoot his wife's boyfriend. He turned and we lost five people; so we made a rule. Only guards could carry inside. Then, a trading group came in; took a gun off a guard- seven dead that time, we were lucky it wasn't worse. We have a strong perimeter- never been breached. All our problems happened inside."

"So you removed the threats." I muttered, already missing the weight of my rifle on my back.

"That's right. No weapons inside the walls period. It's a better way to live; safer."

"If you say so." I rolled my eyes. This earned a pinch from 10k- who started doing that every time I was being overly sarcastic. I glared at him for a second before looking straight forward.

"Being armed all the time has an effect on people. Maybe I'm naive, but this gives me hope." Garnett spoke as he looked around at the people passing. As we continued walking, a cage entered my line of sight.

"Is this a zombie cage?" Warren questioned as we approached it.

"Doesn't seem much use these days." Joe spoke as he eyed the empty metal enclosure. "We patrol the surrounding area for Z's twice a day so they aren't really a problem; it's the people we have to worry about. Since going weapon-free, we've gone over a year without a fatality. Think about that- you've been out in the world. How many deaths have you seen in the last year?"

"Enough for a lifetime." Charlie spoke quietly, no doubt reminiscing on everybody he's had to watch die in the past 12 months.

"What if someone, you know, dies of natural causes?" Murphy butt in.

"Sure, that could happen." Joe led us inside and down a hallway. "All the doors and gates close automatically, sealing off each section of the compound- like on a submarine. Can't be opened by Z's. Everything's been zombie-proofed." Major Williams led us into a room that seemed to be almost like an office area- probably how they keep track of how many people are here.

"You ever heard of the Titanic?" I retorted, earning myself another pinch to the back of the arm from 10k. I ignored this one and Joe looked at me, clearly annoyed with my comments.

"You're welcome to wait outside in your vehicle."

"If I do, do I get my gun back?" Before Williams had a chance to respond, Garnett decided to atone for me.

"You'll have to forgive my friend, she's been through a lot. She's young and sometimes has a hard time biting her tongue." Garnett glanced at me over his shoulder, giving me a classic dad look.