Second {Z Nation}

Chapter 20

     The doors creak open and a very nerdy looking man with curly, brown hair and thick-rimmed glasses stands there, forcing the doors open. "Thank you," Warren nods to him and steps in. I hear the sound of guns cocking and I cock my own before side-stepping in, my gun targeted on a group of eight civilians. Six of the civilians hold everything from automatic rifles to revolvers- all trained on us. The unarmed two are a man and a small lady- the lady with an insane look on her face, clutching a knife- the man leaning on a wooden pole.

     "Welcome," says the middle-aged man who leans on the pole.

     Warren grabs the nerdy man by the shirt and points her gun at him, eyes not leaving the group. She stalks in and I follow right behind the rest of the group who file into the lobby as well. Vasquez hops in, gun directed towards the group, "lower your weapons," he orders.

     "Turn around and go back the way you came," one of the men in the group demands.

     "Look, we don't want to hurt you!" Warren informs them, motioning the nerdy man aside, "but we cannot turn around. There are way too many Zs out there," she notifies them, lowering her weapon.

     "Not much oxygen either," Doc wheezes as Zs start to thump on the doors.

     "Who's in charge?" Warren demands.

     "My name is Gideon Gould," pole man introduces himself, "I'm the facilitator here," he tells us before picking up the pole and making his way down the stairs, from the spot where his group stands. "But we don't really have a leader, 'cause everyone here participates in our decision making."

     "Great, we just need some shelter until the smoke clears and some of those zombies move on," Warren informs him as he reaches the floor which we are spread out on, and makes his way towards her.

     "Okay, well I think in order for us to put together a mutually beneficial agreement, we're gonna have to create a little framework of trust here."

     "How about we create the understanding that if you don't let us stay I'll put a bullet where the sun don't shine?" I snarl, flicking the barrel of my gun to his crotch.

     "Cap!" Warren snaps.

     "Do you want this done or not?" I snap back to which she gives me the eye- the one your parent gives you when you're in public and you insult someone of authority so they look at you and you know you're gonna get it later- but not now because you're in public.

      Murphy grunts. "Yeah, and buddy- I'd feel a lot more trust if you all pointed your weapons someplace else."

     The man looks from Warren to me, assessing if she has me under wraps- before nodding, "sure," he says before turning to his people. "It's okay everybody," he tells the group who all eventually lower their guns reluctantly. Gideon turns back to Warren. 

     I see the rest of my group lowering and holstering their weapons in my peripheral, all but me and Vasquez. But someone puts their hand on mine and I turn to see 10k pushing my gun down. I lower it and he nods as I holster it and turn back to Warren who regards me out of the corner of her eye. "What do you have in mind Mr.Gould?" She asks him.

     "Popcorn circle process?" Asks a blonde woman from the staircase and it strikes me odd how impractically everyone is dressed- Gideon wears a vest and dress pants, most other people are wearing suits, this woman, in particular, wears a grey suit with a red blouse.

     "You know what?" He asks as he turns to her, "that's exactly what I had in mind. That's a great idea, yes ma'am- come on down here," he tells her and she leads the group down the stairs in... heels.