Z2: The Second Zombie Uprising

Deleted.

Travis had gotten up early and knocked on Amy's door. Of course she wa already up and organizing things and he had told her about his conversation with Hanna, leaving out her offer of her body if he went with her, and his idea to talk with everybody on the dangers of the outside world after dinner. He had gotten a half grateful look and a nod and then he had left her to her work, he had a full day ahead of him too.

He had spent another day teaching people who had never handled an assault rifle, how to shoot with one. Like usual he wished the full auto function on the things had been disabled. Most of them had some experience with firearms and after yesterdays lessons and today's, could hit near enough to what they were aiming at. Some of them were hopeless though. Luckily for them a weapon had been included that took this factor into consideration.

He took those people he thought the least likely to survive if they had to shoot it out with somebody and introduced them to their weapon. It was the AA12 shotgun. Fully automatic so they did not have to pump it after every shot and with a 10 round magazine. He explained that they would have to wait until the enemy was a little closer, about 100 meters away or a little closer if they were using the buckshot slugs, but they would cause carnage when they fired.

A lot of them were scared about how close they would have to get until he demonstrated the weapon. He loaded it with buckshot and placed three straw dummies fifty meters away and proceeded to shred them apart. Then they started to grin. He spent the next hour training them until he felt confident they could use them.

By days end he was sure most people he had trained could use a weapon and defend themselves if needed. He had checked to make sure the desal plant was working correctly and it was pumping out fresh water nicely now at a rate that would supply the camp and leave enough to enable them to start thinking about storing some and irrigate some gardens.

The generators were slowly charging up to full power despite the power drain on them from the camp. It was being kept to a minimum but before he left he would get them to turn on everything they thought necessary to see how much of a drain it put on them. Ideally one would run the camp while the other would charge up fully and act as back up in case of a failure. The desal plant had it's own solar engine but accidents happened.

Finally he dragged his weary ass to dinner and then the meeting. He was embarrassed when Amy thanked him publicly. This was his job and he was not in it for praise. Then she spoke up against the people leaving. Most of them still didn't seem to get it. They talked back and forth and finally Amy had to break it up and tell them they would meet in the morning and whoever wanted to leave could.

Travis shook his head then headed to the supply crates. He looked over what had been delivered and realized that they wouldn't be able to send people away with much and wondered if this was going to cause a lot of problems. Most of what they had received had been for long term use. Seeds for planting, flour, rice, grains, cans and emergency rations. These were things that lasted a long time. There wasn't a lot of meat, but there was a little that had been smoked and then there had been the quick perishable items and the long life milk and other luxury items.

He supposed that per person they could give out maybe a weeks worth of emergency rations, a small bag of rice, grains and flour, one milk and maybe a few other items. They would have to supply their own bag of course. Then there would be a radio, 1 firearm per group of 3, Ammunition, water, a small medical bag and of course the vaccine.

He set to work on the medical bags, packing a roll of bandage, sticking plasters, antiseptic cream, needle and thread, the vaccine, needles and alcohol swabs in a small zip lock bag. He made up about 20 and laid them out, then set out for his bed.

In the morning he settled down to breakfast and as everyone gathered he made a last ditch effort to dissuade them.

"Look I know that a lot of you have families outside the walls and with the cure you now feel it is safe to go out and look for them. Let me just say as a person who has had the cure for a little while now and has been out there, the Z's are hardly the worst things you are going to encounter. You might not want to hear this but by now things have pretty much settled down. If you didn't get to shelter you are either a Z or your dead. If your in a shelter like this you are lucky. This is the first time I have encountered this many people living so well together. Normally the groups are a family or a few people who have banded together. The others well they are the problem."

He took a deep breath and glanced around. They needed to know the truth or they were going to go out blind. "There are gangs out there now. Think of all those post apocalyptic movies you have seen and then times it by ten. These guys make Mad Max look like a kiddies show. They hunt Z's for fun and survivors are fair game. Let's just say if your not with them you are given two choices. Join them or get invited to dinner."

He wanted to spell it out a bit better but there were a lot of children around. However he saw that most of the adults had gotten the message.

"Of course those are the friendly ones that will give you the choice. Most will just kill you on sight. Now some of you are probably thinking I am just trying to scare you and you are absolutely right, I am. However I am also not lying to you. The world has gone to hell in a handbasket and while you may not have to fear the Z's anymore there are still a hell of a lot of things out there that will kill you quicker than they would."

He looked around and then he offered them a ray of hope. "Look I know it might not be much, but it's my job to go out there and I am damn good at it, hell I found you guys right," he chuckled. "If anybody changes there minds and stays, just give me an address or a map reference and I promise to check on your house or search for your loved ones. I will be taking a radio and checking in regularly so please don't risk yourselves and stay here. Let me do my job."

It was several hours later when he was ready to depart and he was disappointed to see how many others had turned out as well. Hanna and her parents were there as was Carl, a sight he had never thought to see. he had given his list to Amy about what he thought each person could take but he didn't know if she had followed it. He himself had just taken some emergency rations. he was used to living off the land. He had restocked his ammunition though.

He hugged Amy and headed for the gate, the new radio hidden in his bag. he had promised to keep in touch and he had a list of the sites he was to investigate for people. He looked back then headed out into the wild again. It had been a nice interlude but it was time to get back to what he did best.

Deleted.

Travis was a little conflicted. Not because of any attachment to the group although that was there. It was more the fact that there were possible survivors up ahead and it was his job to gt the cure to them. However Carl, Hanna and the rest all had vials and enough dosage's to cure anyone they were likely to encounter, and if they needed more the camp was only a day away.

"Sorry Hanna, it looks like you have this covered. Stick with Carl and the others and they will see you safely through."

He gave her a quick kiss goodbye and then walked over to Carl. He shook the big guys hand and motioned towards the radio.

"You get in trouble don't be afraid to call for help. I will be in the area for a few more days. I have some houses to check out, and the fort is only a day away."

Waving goodbye Travis turned and headed back west towards the town. Once there he checked the map he had been given and the addresses and set off. He doubted he would be able to check all of the houses today but he would get as many done as possible.


By the time night fell he had checked three quarters of the houses on his list and a few others besides. The town was a ghost town. The stores had been looted of everything that was remotely usable, either by the fort or by roving bands, as had the houses. A few of them looked like they had been lived in for a little while, with crude barricades set up, but they had been abandoned long ago. A couple looked like there had been violence done inside of them either by bandits or Z's and in one he found a few skeletons although they looked like they had taken their own lives. Luckily they were not on his list but who knew who they were. They had been picked clean of all flesh and were now just gleaming piles of white bone.

He finally decided to sleep in the supermarkets fridge. The door could be locked from the inside and opened and he slept peacefully until morning. He woke early and again started his search but as he thought there was no one in town. If there were going to be survivors they would be out of town and he had a few of them to check including Amy's place.

Deciding that was the best place to head, hey she had held them all together so she deserved a reward right, he headed off in that direction.

By afternoon he had covered a fair distance but he was starting to get a little worried. Some of the Z's were not acting right. There had not been many on his path but one or two had actually turned their heads to follow his progress. Nothing unusual most people would think but Travis was so used to walking silently it was second nature to him. The zombies should not register his presence at all. He filed it away for future reference and kept on. He had a ways to go yet and he wanted to make it before nightfall.

Deleted.

Travis was loping along at a mile eating pace. Anyone observing him might think he was just going out for a pleasant days stroll, until they saw the gun he carried and just how carefully he observed his surroundings. His eyes missed nothing as he moved down the road and he covered every shadow that moved as he continued moving.

As night approached he began to look for a place to camp and became so focused that the beeping of the radio on his belt almost scared him to death. He was not used to traveling with one so the unfamiliar sound had sent him flying into the air. Indeed he was so shocked it took him until the third call to answer it.

"This is Sergeant Perkins for Sheriff Roberts. I copy."

He waited and heard her reply and chuckled. "Nope I have actually been bitten by a Z and am coming back right now to eat you up."

There was a grain of truth in that. He wouldn't mind turning around and going back to not only eat her but doing a few other things to her.

He told her how Warrenton was basically a ghost town, inhabited by only a few Z's and some stray dogs. How there had been signs that people had barricaded themselves in their homes for awhile but then it looked like most of them had left under their own power. The town had also been stripped of most of it's valuables. Considering that the fort now had power there may be a few things left that might interest them. Some large cookers, power tools and the like.

Then sh asked him if he had talked to Hanna or Carl that day. He thought about it and then told her no. It puzzled him as well. Yesterday she had only waited a few hours to call and now a whole day had gone by. He assured her that the radios were good for the guaranteed 20 miles.

They then chatted for awhile before she said goodnight and she signed off. He was surprised to find it was full night and he had been walking all the time he had been talking. Damn he was surprised he had not walked through a bunch of Z's.

He quickly searched for a place to stay and holed up.

The next day he again started walking towards Amy's place but at about 9 am he decided to try to contact Hanna and Carl himself. He tried for ten minutes without success and was getting worried. There was no way he was out of range. Pulling the map out of his back pack he checked his position and worked out a few things. If he cut across country he could be at the airport they had been aiming for when he left them in a little over half a day. He then judged the distance to Amy's house. It was a bit further but it was almost as close.

He was torn. What was he to do? Go forward or back. He decided this was a decision he shouldn't make on his own. Keying the Mic he called into the Fort to explain the situation.
"Sergeant Perkins to Sheriff Roberts, Copy? This is Sergeant Perkins for Sheriff Roberts, Copy?"