Time to Move On (Part 1)
Posted on Fri May 31st, 2024 @ 12:47am by Hale Stratton [Major, United States Army] & Emma Lynn Starsky
2,722 words; about a 14 minute read
Mission:
Winter is Coming
Location: Famhouse Outside of Bangor, Maine
Timeline: 6 September 2010 - 7:00 a.m.
Breakfast, a combination of fresh-cooked eggs, tuna fish sandwiches, Ramen, energy bars, and a small bag of fresh fruit, had been served and eaten. And now, with the thought of the "dead" moving toward the fiery expanse that had once been Bangor, the group got moving. Four hours walking on the road brought them to a car dealership where there would be ample transportation provided they could find keys and enough gas to get them moving.
Reuben looked at the building of the car dealership. He unhooked his survival axe and slowly made his way to the glass front. He peered inside the glass and did not see anything concerning, but he knew better than to trust that. Next, he and Kenny got to the glass doors. He gently checked the doors, just his luck, they were locked. Looking at Kenny he smiled and whispered, "Well buddy looks like we do this the hard way." He then unslung his pack. He took his Leatherman and pulled up the thinnest blade it had. He slide it up the crease of both the glass doors until he hit the locking mechanism. He muttered under his breath as he found the notch of the lock. He then gently began wiggling it until the bolt loosened up. With the bolt lose he then gently forced it back into its housing. Sweat was running down his face as he finished.
Hale watched Reuben, already at the front door of the showroom, and shook his head, a bemused expression on his face. "I was going to say we should check the perimeter, make sure there aren't any surprises, but that decision's been made," he said. "Thea, why don't you stay back here until we're sure its safe. Vienna, if you wouldn't mind staying with her. Call out if you seen anything worrisome."
Vienna and Thea exchanged glances. “That’s fine” She smiled warmly at Thea. “We’ll call if we see anything to worry about.”
“Sounds good to me” Thea nodded in agreement as she kept a hold of the improvised spear Reuben had given her, she was glad to have a friend like Vienna.
"I think I still want to take a run around back, make sure it's as empty as it looks," Hale said. "Rene, Killian, you two want to come with me? Consider it some on the job training."
René dropped his pack on the ground next to Vienna and moved off to join Hale. "You want to stay together or split up and circle around in opposite directions?" He half figured Hale would choose the first option as it was safer.
"We'll split up," Hale said. "Just keep moving around the building until we meet up again. We'll compare notes." He paused a second, laid a hand on Rene's arm. "Stay safe."
"The rest of you can go with Reuben. You know what we're looking for. These are used cars so, do the best you can. Best would be vehicles that can handle off road if needed. Also gas cans and rubber tubing. Not likely but maybe we'll get lucky in the maintenance shop. Don't go off on your own though, not until we're sure that the place is cleared out. And go quietly. Remember that there are other threats than the not-dead-enough-to-suit-me."
Like a bunch of motley misfits breaking into a car dealership thought Alonzo. People like them were exactly the sort of other threats that came to Alonzo's mind, armed and some a bit jumpy or skittish. "I don't volunteer this information lightly, but if we need to hot wire anything" Alonzo shrugged.
Now that Reuben had successfully unlocked the doors he wiped the sweat of his face. He could feel the major's bemusement and annoyance at his actions, but old habits die hard. Combat weathermen were always out front, even more so than any other special operators. He had done a quick scan before moving in, confident of no immediate threats. Reaching down he picked his survival axe up and put the Leatherman away. "Okay here we go, just a small opening of the doors so we can get a whiff of the interior. Smells okay we then proceed carefully into the showroom. Who knows, may get lucky and find some edible food and coffee." Reuben said to Kenny in a low tone. Reuben reached up and opened the door about six inches, the smell of rotting flesh assailed his nostrils. Looking at Kenny he whispered, "Why does everything always have to be difficult." He slowly closed the door and waited for the others to join him.
"What did you find?" asked Alonzo noticing how quick Reuben was at closing the door. He caught a whiff of the odor. "I'm beginning to miss the odor of stale teenagers."
Reuben chuckled, "Well I found the smell of Eau de dead when I opened the door. Seriously doubt it is from there limited supply of break room food rotting. So now the question is, is the smell coming from a dead-dead corpse, or the not-so-dead corpse. Given my luck as of late most likely the latter. I say we go in, nice and quiet. Search the place and neutralize any threats with extreme prejudice. Are you up to it? Oh, and before you respond, know that it is best not to use firearms." Reuben looked at Alonzo, sizing him up for this mini-op.
"I don't plan on using a gun. There wouldn't be much point in it anyways, not with what I have. A small revolver...great six shots and I'm zombie chow" stated Alonzo. He pulled out a knife and looked at Ruben. "Ready when you are" he stated.
Ethan and Emma, side by side, watched the groups split off but made no move to join either one. Emma, who was used to being on her own, surveyed the surroundings and notice a used RV featured prominently for sale. She tugged on Ethan's arm and he followed her willingly enough; once they climbed up to the top, she pantomimed him lying flat and keeping watch. Not easy to do but he was quick to understand and nodded. Once he did, she reversed position so that she could keep watch in the other direction and settled in to wait.
Back outside Thea looked at Vienna offering a worried glance. “Do you think there’ll be any of those...things here?” She kept a tight hold of the spear Reuben had given her.
“It’s hard to say” Vienna offered a kind smile. “Try not to worry they’ll be back for us as soon as it’s safe.” She looked around hoping they wouldn’t be alone for long.
René began to circle around his side of the building. He knew he would only be not in sight of one of the others for under a minute or two. He drew his sword and dirk as he passed out of sight. He looked carefully about as he walked, scanning for even the slightest movement.
Hale circled the building going the other way. It was large in size, as befitted a dealership, so he moved at a light jog checking windows and doors as he went. From what he could see, everything was locked up tight and nothing was stirring in the vicinity. Surprising but then, it was early days.
René was a quarter of the way around the building when the wind shifted and brought with it a horrible stench. He paused for a moment. He was near the back of an RV that overlooked a drop off. He resheathed his weapons and climbed the ladder to scoot along the roof. What he saw sent chills down his spine.
A hundred or more of the Soulless were milling around the parking area of a tall building that looked to be a hotel of some sort about 100 to 150 meters away. He turned and crawled back to the ladder, descending as Hale came into view. René gave a wave with one hand and a hushing gesture with the other.
Hale nodded his understanding and joined Rene at the bottom of the ladder, moving silently, he climbed up and got a look at the situation. He lay flat on the roof, watching for a moment, trying to suss out what made them all stay there and not move on but saw nothing that caught his attention. Maybe, he thought, as he climbed back down the ladder to join Rene at the bottom, it was lack of other input. Without something to draw their attention, they just wandered in place.
Gesturing for Rene to follow, he made his way back around the side of the building to the front of the dealership before speaking. "Good catch," he said quietly. "If we're quiet, they won't be drawn toward us until we start the vehicles. Let's go tell the others."
René spoke just as quietly. "The hill between us and the Soulless Ones is pretty steep. They might have trouble navigating up it." He glanced at Vienna and Thea. "You want I should stay with them? Let them know to stay quiet?"
"Yes," Hale answered. "See if you can find them some sort of shelter." Hale frowned slightly. "Not sure how able Thea would be to run if its needed."
René gave Hale a nod and headed over towards Vienna and Thea. He kept his voice low as he approached. "Commandant Stratton suggested we find shelter. There's a large number of the Soulless Ones down there hill at the nearby hotel."
Thea exchanged worried glances with Vienna. “Are we sure we should be hanging around here?”
Vienna offered a comforting smile as best as she could, “We’re going to need as many supplies as we can get. As long as we don’t make any noise we should be okay.” She looked at René hoping that was right.
René nodded. He pointed back to a building at the end of the next block. "I think that is an apothecary from the mortar and pestle sign. We could go there. We might be able to find supplies too."
Vienna nodded. “Sounds good, we could use as many medical supplies as we can get, as well as vitamins for you.” She looked towards Thea.
Thea nodded. “I think we should stockpile baby milk too if we can, it’ll come in useful for the future.”
"Let's go." Rene started moving towards the Walgreens store at the end of the next block. "Let's hope we don't have to break out a window. If we can't find an open door, I will see if I can get in from the roof."
Following on quietly behind René, Thea was hoping they could get inside quickly, she felt uneasy out in the open knowing that the deceased were nearby.
Vienna looked towards René “We need to make sure there’s no soulless in there, we can’t afford to come up against of them.”
René glanced at the front of the Walgreens store. The glass doors were shut and locked. He gestured for Thea and Vienna to follow him around back. He paused as the reached the back side corner of the building. The delivery service door was standing ajar, which didn't sit well with him. He drew his dirk and handed it to Vienna before drawing his rapier. "I'll check it out."
“René...be careful” Vienna gave René a concerned look, before backing off slightly with Thea.
René entered the back of the Walgreens a few steps in brought him to a storage area that was actually fairly well stocked. There was food and water and no signs of looting, puzzling since the back door was ajar. He continued on and found a door to the sales floor. He peeked out and listened for a moment. Nothing. He locked the door and went back to the ladies. "Storage is clear and doesn't look to have been looted. Back door lock is broken, but there's a cross bar bracket and wooden plank that can actually secure that space. You can both come in there and be safe while I clear the rest of the store."
Vienna nodded and smiled motioning for Thea to follow on first behind René while she brought up the rear. Entering she immediately spotted the storage area, surprised by just how well stocked it was.
“This is amazing! Just look at how much food there is!” Thea’s smile said it all. “We should pack as much of the non perishable as we can, and the water too.”
Vienna nodded. “Agreed let’s see if there’s some bags we can pack some of it into. We don’t need it all so let’s leave some in case other survivors come this way.”
"Vienna, if you have a moment?" René stepped over to the door leading to the sales floor. "I need to check the rest of the store. When I come back I will knock once and after a moment twice more to let me in."
Vienna nodded. “Understood, just take care I don’t want anything to happen to you. I’ve lost enough already.”
René gave Vienna a soft kiss on the cheek. "I will monitor amour." He stepped out onto the sales floor and quietly checked the aisles, finding nothing. He went back to the pharmacy and discovered the door had been smashed in. He drew his rapier and entered. The body of person about Alonzo's age was slumped against the preparation counter, a needle stuck in his arm and an almost euphoric expression on his face. There were no signs of bites or scratches and the body did not look to have been dead very long. René crossed himself and uttered a prayer before returning to the store room and knocking once, followed by two more knocks.
The eyes on the dead young man opened as René left the pharmacy area. It rose slowly to its feet and followed the sound of Rene's footsteps.
Vienna and Thea were busy packing bags with what spare supplies there were. They’d certainly have plenty of food and water for the group, plus they’d managed to find vitamins and tinned baby milk and food with a long date too.
“There’s knocking...” Thea looked at Vienna. “It must be René.”
Vienna rushed to the door opening it just in time to see someone coming up behind René. “René Look Out!!”
René spun to see the Soulless junkie lunging for him, arms outstretched. He instinctively brought up a leg with a powerful kick to the chest. His foot connected and sent the not-nearly-dead-enough junkie flying back and crash into a display of glass bottles of tea. The display collapsed and bottles broke in a loud staccato akin to a machine-gun firing. He drew his rapier and thrust it through one of the things eyes which put an end to its movement.
Vienna quickly rushed to René’s side. “Are you alright!?”
Rene nodded as he planted his foot in the dead junkies chest and yanked out his sword. He resheathed his blade and took a knee to get a closer look at the corpse. Something was wrong. Something he needed to talk to Hale about before saying anything to the others.
Thea looked towards the two of them.“We should get out of here! All that noise...it’ll attract more of them!”
Vienna nodded as she looked back towards René. “We’ve got loads of supplies in trolleys, we just need to get them out of here!”
René shook his head. "Commandant Stratton was very clear in his instructions to me. He glanced at Thea. "He wanted you off the street because of your pregnancy. The place is pretty well sealed up and even if the breaking bottles were loud enough to be heard outside, it probably wouldn't be far."
“I knew this would happen...” Thea looked at Vienna, then at René. “Everyone is going to have to risk themselves protecting me! I didn’t join this group of yours to put people in danger!”
To be continued in Part II
Hale Stratton
Alonzo Blazevic
Rene Rouen
Reuben Baptiste
Vienna Quinn
Thea Mathews
Emma Starsky
Survivors One and All
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