While I was licking my wounds, Ethan went back to looking out his hunter rifle's scope, oblivious to how hurtful his words had been. I heard a few more muffled pops from the snipers before Bryon shouted.
"Openin' da gate!"
It took him and two others to unlatch the massive iron gate and swing it open. John scrambled down from his perch to join the few with their guns at the ready. They were pointing their weapons towards the now open gate in case any infected snuck in. Orange light from the setting sun flooded in from the giant opening only to be blocked by the truck barreling in. I recognized the blond mop of hair at the wheel. It was Darren. Why was he by himself? You'd think that a supply run would have more than one person.
Once the vehicle was inside, Byron and his two helpers tried to close the gate but infected had already started to slither in. They backed up in a rush, not wanting their fingers bitten off as they tried to close the gate. I took a handful of giant steps backwards as everyone started to unload rounds into the invading infected. It was like a live execution; except the things they were shooting were already dead. I would have helped, but I wasn't ready to reveal the fact that I had a gun just yet and they seemed to have it covered.
Onlookers from the clubhouse poured outside to see what was going on. Some started to run back to their condos at the sight of the infected, while others started to scream. Because screaming always helped.
"You're clear to close the gate!" one of the guards yelled.
Byron and the others hurried to close it back up before another wave came at us.
"Wait!" Wyatt yelled. "What about the deceased's bodies'? We can't just leave them in here!"
All this time Wyatt had been barking orders, but I noticed he didn't shoot once or attempt to help the people at the gate. He was a very hands-off leader. They made the worst kind of managers.
Byron shared an exasperated look with the others currently closing the gate.
"You guys keep yer guns trained on that openin', yeah?" Byron said to the two holding the gate, then turned to the others by him, "da rest of ya, help me drag dese dead out!"
In a matter of minutes Byron and the crew had removed the fallen bodies and reclosed the gate with zero casualties. I suppose they should be used to the drill by now. With being located in the city, I can imagine the infected body count was far more than I'd dealt with so far.
Darren had since parked and gotten out of the truck, was now starting to walk over to me.
"Well, well, look what the cat dragged in," Darren whistled.
"Really? That's the best you could come up with?" I arched a brow.
Darren flashed me a grin, "Yeah, I missed you too." And he gave me a hug.
"So you're a delivery driver now?"
"Sometimes," he shrugged. "When did you get here? Is it just you?"
"Chloe and I," I emphasized Chloe's name, "got here after lunch time."
"Glad to hear the squirt is okay too. And I'm impressed." He gave me a light shuck on the arm.
"Yeah well, I picked up a few tricks along the way," I said.
I turned to see John approaching us, his eyes narrowed. As soon as he reached us, he used two of his fingers to poke at the back of my head.
"Ouch!" I swatted away his hand.
"What happened to your head? I didn't notice that before," John said as he tried to get a better look. "That stitches?"
Darren got in on the action and started poking my head as well. They would make terrible nurses.
"Wow, that's really helpful," I muttered as I took my head back. "I got concussed at the apartments we were at."
John's eyes went angry like storm clouds, "And you drove like that?"
"Not like I had a choice and it wasn't that bad. I don't even have a headache anymore."
"Someone do that to you?" Darren asked all business.
I hesitated, "Eh, it's a long story."
"Well you best be tellin' it right now then," John said, his arms crossed.
I quickly explained the events of the last few days to them, both listening patiently.
"So that guy you're with, he shot the traitor?" John asked.
I may have told the story in Roy's favor so that he didn't look as bad.
"Yes and that's why they made him leave. They're too stupid to see that Roy did them a service."
John nodded, "Clearly. And you think mercenaries are after you?"
"Not just me, anyone who is immune- I think," I shrugged. "One of the guys from the apartment had a theory that they were taking people who had been attacked, but never turned. Roy's wife was immune and she was taken."
They both stood silent for a minute digesting all the information I had dumped on them.
"We've seen the markin's, just had no idea where they came from," John said, talking about the mercenary's graffiti left all over the place.
"What happened before that? After we got split up," Darren kept digging.
I sighed, knowing I'd have to recount this to everyone, "I'd rather wait until we're all here so I don't have to tell it a hundred times."
"Fine," Darren said, sounding slightly disappointed.
The rest of the civilians started to emerge from the dining hall once the gunfire and shouting had stopped. They reminded me of hesitant gophers peeking out of their burrows. I wondered how long some of these people had been here for. Some seemed like they hadn't even been outside these walls since they got here, judging from the fear radiating off of them when the alarm sounded.
Ethan had jumped down from his borrowed perch and joined us.
"Find anythin' good on your run, Darren?" Ethan asked causally, as if what he had just been doing was routine.
Darren shrugged, "Not much, just some canned goods and diapers."
I had only seen a couple of infants, but I assumed the little poop machines went through diapers like Zoe went through guys.
By now the others had joined our group.
"Is it all okay now?" Chloe asked.
"Yep, we got 'em all," Ethan said with a smile. "I gotta go return this gun."
John clapped his hands once, "Alright. Let's all meet up at our place in a few minutes and Bailey can finish her story."
"And mine!" Chloe added.
Suddenly I was nervous. All this time, I imagined how I would tell them that I had killed Riley and now I found myself reluctant to share.
Those of us without borrowed weapons walked over to their house, while the rest logged back in their guns. What a pain that would be.
Once everyone finally moseyed over, I proceeded to explain what happened with Chloe and me after we got split up at the cabin. Chloe proudly showed off her arm like a badge of honor when I went over having to glue her back together like Humpty.
Darren grinned full of himself when I admitted that I had learned the superglue thing from him. When it came time to explain what happened with Riley, I made the split decision to emit it. After I finished our harrowing tale, Chloe just had to pipe up.
"You never told me what happened to your neck."
Everyone turned to scrutinize my now healed neck, confused as to what she was talking about.
"Stairs, right?" Roy winked.
"Yeah, fell down the basement stairs," I said.
"Man, you're clumsy," Zoe shook her head. I think Zoe was the only one to buy that story based on the dubious looks I was getting.
"Alright guys, I got another round of trainin' to run tomorrow so I'm hittin' the hay," John announced as he got up. "And ya'll are in my bedroom."
I guess John had gotten kicked to the sofa after all. Everyone muttered and Chloe yelled, "Party pooper!"
John grinned and ruffled her hair, "Good to have you back, missy."
"Why does everyone do that to me?" Chloe muttered as she smoothed out her hair.
"And you too," John said as he wrapped me in a giant hug.
"Thanks."
"I'll walk you guys back to your condo," Ethan offered.
I wasn't sure why he needed to walk us back, but I didn't see the point in arguing. We went through another round of hugs before Roy and I left, him carrying an exhausted Amanda. Once we were on the street, Ethan turned to me.
"So what do you think? Pretty great place, right?"
"So far," I admitted.
"I'm just curious, but how do they make those radio broadcasts?" Roy asked quietly so not to wake Amanda.
"Uh, Wyatt makes the announcements from his office in condo number one. He has all the broadcastin' equipment there."
"Only he can use it?" I probed.
"I've only ever heard him use it, dunno if they keep it restricted," Ethan shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal.
I was really disappointed in Ethan; he seemed to have no issue with assimilating into this place. All the questions we were asking him seemed to roll right off. Maybe he was so happy to be here that he ignored any red flags that would steer him otherwise. I'd like to think my general air of suspicion made me more objective towards people and places; or just downright mistrustful. Something about this place just didn't sit right with me nor did the leadership here. I would just have to stay on my guard until I was proven wrong.
The next morning I awoke to the incessant cawing of roosters. I tried to block out the noise by smothering my head underneath the flat pillow, but it didn't work. It couldn't have been later than seven in the morning and with the late night last night, I was not loving natures alarm clock going off. Shoving the clean covers from my body, I stomped out of bed like a teenager being woken up early on a Saturday.
Roy and Amanda were already sitting at the island in the kitchen.
"Good morning!" Amanda said cheerily.
"Good morning to you to. How'd you sleep?" I asked them both.
"Pretty good. Took a while to relax, but it seems like a secure setup," Roy answered.
I peered around at all the cat paraphernalia, grimacing when my eyes landed on a cat shaped cookie jar on the counter.
"Think it'd be alright if we redecorated?"
Roy chuckled, "Well I won't object, but I'd give it a bit before we start changing anything around."
"I like it," Amanda piped in. "Can we go to breakfast now?"
"You were waiting for me?" Now I felt bad.
"Not for too long."
"Well go ahead, I'm gonna shower first," I shooed them out.
"Okay, we'll save you a seat," Roy said as they disappeared out the door.
I stood in the kitchen for a few more minutes enjoying the silence and the feeling of being on my own. I couldn't remember the last time I had truly been left alone. A little bit giddy, I jumped into the shower. It was a similar feeling to the first time your parents left you home alone for a weekend. There was no alone time at the cabin and sure as hell had been none since being with Chloe.
I purposely took my time with my shower, saying my thanks to whoever designed these condos to run off of an independent system. After washing my face, I even applied a little mascara. I hadn't bothered with that in a long time.
The walk to the clubhouse was a short one and I could smell the food as I entered the building. I got in the dwindling line and grabbed a plate of scrambled eggs and what looked like really thick bacon. Once I got to the end of the line, I spotted Chloe flagging me down while standing on her chair. A few heads near her were staring at her curiously. For a brief second, I was transported back to my high school cafeteria.
With a grin, I hurried over, ready to inhale my food. It was a luxury to have food like this; it made me wary of what the cost would be.
"Hey!" Chloe said loudly as I sat down. Ethan was nowhere to be found.
"Hey yourself," I said back. "When did you guys get here?"
John put down his fork, "Not too long. Just right before Roy got here."
We finished our food and left the clubhouse as a group. Zoe went off to the condo they used as a classroom, taking an unwilling Chloe and excited Amanda with her. Ethan was already with Wyatt, leaving me with John and Darren.
"Well if you two are wantin' to carry a gun or anythin' while you're here, you best come with me," John said to Roy and I.
I wasn't sure if John was in as deep as Ethan was in regards to this place, so I still didn't want to admit how many weapons we had.
"Of course," Roy nodded.
"Now I ain't gonna mention the Beretta I know you have, but I gotta know what other guns you brought," John said.
"Two AR-15 rifles and ammo for them," I said, leaving out my old handgun.
That I could easily hide.
"You know how to use 'em?" John raised a brow.
"I got some training for it," I admitted. "Still kind of need a surface to shoot on to keep my aim, though."
John nodded, "They aren't easy to use at first, but you'll get the hang of 'em. You know I'm gonna need to log 'em, right?"
"You think that's best?" I asked.
John hesitated, "It ain't what I think. Them's the rules."
I knew John wasn't all in with place, he had too much sense.
"What's with that?"
"This way they can better keep track of the guns and ammo. Less accidents, less theft. You'd be surprised how much crime happens when a group of people gather."
I was about to ask if he was specifically talking about this place, when the sergeant from yesterday appeared beside us.
"You ready to head out?" His voice was so loud, it almost sounded like he was yelling.
"Yes I am and we got two more to add to the trainin' roster."
Sergeant Grant looked us up and down like he was accessing his troops.
"Come on then."
"Do I need a weapon?" I asked, trying to match his brisk tone.
His eyes narrowed, "Yes, go grab those AR-15's you mentioned and meet us back here ASAP."
How had he heard that? Without giving me a chance to answer, he turned and walked off, dismissing me. That made my blood boil.
"He's a little brash," John said with a shrug. "Don't know many sergeants who aren't."
"I think the word is rude," I pointed out.