“Got it,” Jay said, nodding. Gabriel let him go and he hurried off to the car.Robert came up and patted him on the shoulder. “Best of luck, young man,” he said, then hurried off to his car. Gabriel watched as all the vehicles pulled off, the SUVs headed away around the side of the building and his own car pulled off into the field. For some reason, in this moment, he felt a lot more alone then he ever recalled feGabriel ng before. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he turned and made his way to the parking lot.Drawing two bats from his bag – one aluminum, one wood – he began calling to the creatures. “Hey, you zombies! Free meal! Come and get it!” He stepped right up to the closest one and swung his bat right into its face, knocking it flat to the ground. He looked around to get his bearings and stopped. Even still, none of the creatures took note of him. “Hey, come on! What’s the matter with you?” He shouted, banging his bats together for extra noise. He started to say somet

Jay caught up to Gabriel and followed his gaze around the corner. “The far door?” he asked after a moment, and Gabriel nodded his agreement. The door furthest from them was cracked open just slightly, almost even imperceptibly, but it was definitely open. All the other doors were closed.The two companions quickly stepped over to the door, and then pressed their backs to the wall on either side. They exchanged glances briefly, and then Gabriel reached out and pushed the door open. They quickly raised their flashlights into the room, flicking the beans about in the attempt to uncover something, anything, at all. Beyond the fact that this was another laboratory of some sort, however, there was nothing at all inside. Jay raised his gun in front of him, ready to fire, and stepped into the room, Gabriel hot on his heels.They moved cautiously, letting their flashlights dart about, covering as much ground as possible. Like the lab they’d been in a few minutes earlier, this one looked li

The man’s face grew very serious, and his eyes met Gabriel ’s. He sat in silence for a long moment, choosing his next words with great care. “Would it make a difference to you if I told you this wasn’t a safe place to stay?”“Why is this not a safe place to stay?”“I can’t tell you that.”The man’s gaze did not waver. His eyes, cold and dark, proved unyielding and uncompromising. “We’ve been up and down these dark corridors for a good hour now, and we haven’t found any sign of any life, death, or even undeath aside from you. Is there something there we aren’t seeing?”“I can’t tell you that.”Gabriel sighed and stood up straight. “Well then, I can’t bGabriel even Gabriel you. I have something like thirty tired, hungry people I have to look out for, and they just need some food to eat and a place to sleep. The food we have, the place you have. Maybe you’re right, maybe we don’t want to stay here, but we can discuss that in a civilized manner tomorrow, after a good night’s rest. What d

“Christ, what kind of people do you think we are?” He looked around the room, glancing from face to face. Each person’s face unquestionably betrayed exhaustion and weariness, but they also smiled warmly as conversations carried on, and the occasional peal of laughter ripped through the room. The air was alive with the buzz of humanity. “Are you really saying you don’t think anyone in here is capable of caring for other people, of working to help other people, without being forced to do so? Is that all we are, just survival instincts on legs?”“When things are going well, like they are now, sure, we’re all happy to help out and do our part, but when times get rough, when food and water are scarce and we’re struggling just to find a safe place to sleep at night, rule number one in each and every single person’s book becomes the survival of the self.”Jay shrugged his shoulders and shook his head sadly. “I don’t like it any more than you do. But I’ve already seen it. You’re fresh to this

The next day went much the same as the previous one had, but without any big fights in the dining hall. The garden really began to develop over the course of the day, and a finalized list was developed detailing exactly what supplies were available. The work continued much the same as the next few days passed, and slowly tensions in the group began to ease as one by one they grew comfortable with the fact that, for once, an attack might actually not have been coming.Yet as most of the group became more relaxed, Robert could feel a concern growing like a cancer inside his stomach. He knew more intimately than the rest the actual state of their supplies, and knew that before long they were going to have to go into a town and gather more for themselves. He discussed with Paul about the location of the nearest town, and fortunately he was able to provide a map Robert could study to help prepare them for the trip. He figured they could last a few weeks without a supply run, maybe even ove