My Zombie Shelter (open to everyone)

When the man appeared with his kit I asked him, "We ready to go?" I was nervous, clutching my weapon tightly and eyes jerking around and searching for the threats. I could hear the motorcycles but now they seemed to be fading. Still, I didn't want to take the chance that they would turn around and come back. This place was too hot for my taste. At least there were some more people around, but I didn't tell them yet about my hideaway, there had to be better trust forming between us before I would tell them something like that, but I could point in a general direction that would close the distance towards my place and minimize our exposure.

What I couldn't believe when I looked over this place was how quickly it all fell apart. When the zombies rose this place was turned upside down and people turned against each other in horrific fashion. I shook my head in shame because of how fragile it all was

Not knowing how long before the bikers arrived I ran out the door following my rescuer. I took cover and started to put on the tee shirt he gave me. Fortunately I was shorter than him so his tee was like a mini dress on me. Longer than some mini skirts I used to wear.

The new guy was just standing there looking around like he was waiting for trouble. I looked at my rescuer wondering what we should do if hat asshole was in cahoots with the bikers or if he gave our position away.

"We ready to go?" Michael asked as I rounded the corner.

"Roger that, let's make like horse shit and hit the trail." I said looking around to see if I could spot the young woman that had warned us to get out of here.

The naked girl from before came running up behind me and started putting on the t-shirt I had changed out of when Pandora had gotten shot. It was still damp from the rain when she had been wounded and clung to the girl's body. I guessed that she had opted for the shirt instead of the coveralls, and although it didn't matter to me, I did think it odd that she didn't seem in a hurry to cover up around all of these strange men, especially if she had endure what I thought she might have.

"What's your name?" I said after she finished dressing behind me.

"Erin" I answer him as I try to get used to the feeling of material covering my skin for the first time in months. One look at the coveralls told me the legs would be way too long, and would pose a tripping hazard, not something you want to worry about when running for your life.

"Thank you for saving me" I say looking at the men who saved me and I hoped would help me with the others. "I believe this is yours" I say handing him back the knife.

I waited for these obviously well trained and armed men to make the decision where to go.

"Erin, ok, nice to meet you." I say as I take the knife she handed me.

I had been in such a hurry to get my shit and get out that I had forgotten all about it. The back goo from the walker's cranium still clung to blade and I wiped it on my jeans before returning it to the sheath.

"Don't thank us yet, at the rate I am going I still may end up getting you killed."

I looked at Michael and then back to Erin. It was obvious that he had had at least some sort of training, while I was just a mechanic that could shoot straight, and had liked watching military themed movies just a little too much.

"Maybe you should follow him and I will watch your ass...I mean get behind you...follow you. My buddy Mike is still around here somewhere and I hate to leave without at least knowing whether or not he is dead. He has saved my bacon a hundred times and I owe him the courtesy to try and do the same."

I looked around..." He was with us when we got here, and I didn't see him leave. I hope he gets back safely..." I bend down picking up a length of pipe. "Now let's get the fuck outta here, and hopefully find your friend."

I smiled at her for two reasons. The first was the view of her naked ass that she kept giving me. I was still distraught over the loss of Pandora, but c'mon, ass is ass. The second was her attitude. She was tough, and had spunk, and I liked that. Here she was barefoot, dressed in only my t-shirt, just recently escaped from some hellish ordeal or so I believed, and she was willing to find a weapon and help me search for Mike. I had to kind of respect that, and I thought if nothing else we will make pretty good friends.

"Well alrighty then, let's get to it. He will have a dog with him, named Max. Be careful how you approach him, he is a great dog but has no qualms with ripping your face off."

I turned to Michael, "Dude, let's circle around the edge of town. I wanna see if I can find Mike before we bug out."

So, Randy and I were discussing options when the smoke cleared and a naked chick stood up.

Really.

A naked female. A living one.

She was dirty, and scared, and on the verge of collapsing.

Randy moved in to help her, and I was about to circle around him and do the same when Max took off like a rocket.

"Shit!" I said under my breath and took off after him. I was shaking my head as I bounded over a few of the re-dead corpses littering the street. Max had ran across the street and headed back the way we had come from the hotel. I caught sight of his bushy tail as I turned a corner. He had crawled under a fence, and I jumped over it shortly behind him.

"Max!" I whisper-shouted, "Quit fucking around!"

I heard movement ahead, and saw his tail again sticking out from what looked like an old in-ground well pump house.

"Max, hier!" I shouted again. I heard him whimper, and then stick his head out of the shed, look at me, and go back in.

I began walking to the shed. "It's on, buddy, you know that, right? Your ass is grass and I'm the fucking lawn mower, you hear me, boy?"

I stepped to the shed and peered in, the muzzle of my M4 leading the way. The old wooden building had plenty of dilapidated slats that were letting the light in, so my dog was pretty well lit. And so was the growling sight of a momma fox with a litter of small pups.

I shook my head again. I grabbed Max by the collar and put him on lead. "Not much you can do here, my friend," I told him.

I pulled the German Shepherd Dog from the shed, and propped the door open just a bit. Momma Fox was still on a steady growl, and she was nosing her pups (there were three of them) closer to her. They weren't but a few weeks old, but all had their eyes open.

"Bleiben," I told Max, and he stayed still while I took my backpack off. I rummaged around in it and pulled a couple of cans of his wet food out. Max looked at me as I held the cans up and he seemed to understand what I was doing. He looked back to the fox and her pups and then to me again.

"I'm sure it's tough being a momma fox these days. Trying to find food and all," I explained. I opened the cans and dumped the food onto a small piece of plywood that was lying on the grass. I told Max to stay again, just for good measure, and I pushed the food just into the edge of the shed. Momma Fox continued her growls, but she nosed closer to the food and took a sniff. She immediately began eating.

I petted Max and scratched his ears. I figured he must have seen her going into the shed or behind the hotel or something after Randy and I had dispatched those walkers.

Speaking of Randy, I'm sure he was wondering where the hell I had gotten to. I thought Randy would probably want to see this sign of life and endurance despite the world going to shit. Momma Fox was eating, and would be able to have the strength now to forage for food and feed her babies. Maybe she and the pups had a chance, now, thanks to Max.

"Max," I said. "Go find Randy!"

Max's ears perked up and he looked at me, then looked back to the street. We were only about 30 yards from the street where Randy and I had cleared the geeks out, and we were just behind the hotel that was across from the gas station where Pan.......

So, anyway, we were still close.

"That's right, Randy," I said again. "Where's Randy? Where's he at, boy?"

Max looked back towards the street and took off at a run.

-------

Max stopped when he got into the street, taking in the remaining scene of the carnage. Randy's scent was still strong in the air, and new human scent floated here, too. Randy was close. Max knew it.

He turned in a circle, his nose up, trying to capture the dissipating scent that floated on the air currents. He barked a few times, mostly in frustration because he couldn't quite pinpoint it. He then remembered the gas station, which was almost directly across from where he was standing. Could Randy have gone back in there?

Max trotted to the gas station and stopped outside on the sidewalk. He looked at the decrepit old building and barked.

"Was that a dog barking behind us?" I asked my companions

Whilst everyone else was looking for supplies, or doing other stuff, Olivia had made her way past the last few houses and crossed a large open area of knee high grass. The few walkers that had been in the area were easy enough to take out silently with her bow, the arrows retrieved and the blood wiped off. It hadn't taken her long to realize that the contagion was spread via saliva and blood, a bite, or an open cut splatted with zombie blood during a fight. Spray entering your mouth or eyes, or you cutting yourself on something that had zombie blood or guts on...it was too easy to turn, and simple mistakes had claimed so many lives.

With a walker dead ever fifty meters or so, following her trail wasn't rocket science, and if they couldn't tell a fresh corpse from one that had been in the open for a few days then she didn't want them following her.

The treeline was shady and gave her some relief as she rested against a tree. She had taken five minutes to just listen to the undergrowth, trying to hear the soft rustling of feet on the ground or a snapping branch. But it was silent, apart from a rare few birds that chirped away quietly. A good sign that nothing was in the immediate area.

She scanned the edge of town with her rifle, the scope pausing on the body of the man (Randy) who she had called out to earlier. They hadn't moved very far from the Gas Station.

Somewhat annoyed at their speed, Olivia ripped a small portion of rag from her shirt and tied it around one of the trees. Before moving further into the woods, making sure no walkers or roamers were hiding in wait. The faster they could move, the better...and small checks like scouting ahead saved lots of time.

Her father had taught her that.

As soon as I heard the bark I stopped in my tracks. "Max?" I said to no one really. "MAX!, come here boy!" I shouted, looking back to the filling station. I did an about face and started walking back to the front of the building to see if I could see him.

I was confident that if Max had made it, then Mike had to and I felt a wave of relief wash over me. I didn't have any reason not to trust the new people I had just met, but it was always nice to have someone that you knew and knew that you could count on traveling with you.

I just made it around the corner when I saw him standing there on the sidewalk. I took a knew and clapped my hands together to get his attention.

"Come here Max, come here boy." I must have been quite a site kneeling there grinning like an idiot as he trotted over to me. I stroked his fur and patted his side, trying to let him know that I was very happy to see him.

"Where's Mike Max? Huh? Where is he?"

I followed my rescuer back around the building, happy to see him excited about a dog. Anyk e who cares about a dog that much can't be all bad I thought to myself.I stayed back in the shadows not knowing WO else would show up. "For a God damned apocolypse this place is like grand central fucking station" I mutter under my breath.

I see a corpse a few feet away from me. I walk over and nudge it with my naked foot. It doesn't move so I begin to check it for anything I can use. It has a back pack that's mostly empty but I can use it to carry supplies. I roll the ody over and see he is wearing a belt with a holster. Thee is a Glock 21 9mm in the holster. I pull it out and find it only has 3 rounds in it. I check the pockets of he dead mans pants and find 2 full mags of ammo and about 30 loose rounds. I fully load the almost empty mag and reload the weapon. He belt is way to big for me so I put it on like a bandolier, and replace he gun in the holster. Making sure a round is chambered and the safety is on.

I put the coveralls in the pack and put it on my back I look at his sturdy hiking boots, knowing how big yet would be on me. "Fuck it I say and leave them. Better to be barefoot and able to run than tripping over shoes too big. I pull up his pants and find a nice noot dagger that was really finely honed. I was recall pleased to be dressed, armed and with competent survivors who seems dto have kept some semblance of morals.

"Don't worry girls. I will be back for you" I mumble under my breath " with or without help, I will be back. And those fuckers will pay!" I say fighting back the tears.

Max took the scratching from Randy with a shake of his head. He gave Randy a nip, turned, and quickly ran a few feet away. He stopped and turned around giving a Randy one quick bark. Max then ran across the street towards the hotel. He stopped and turned again to face Randy, his ears up and forward and his tail wagging.

----

I heard Max barking. I knew he had found my friend and the new naked chick. I could then hear Max bark again. I knew he was close, which meant Randy would be along any minute.

I watched Momma Fox as she gulped down the food. The babies were nosing close to her, yet their eyes were curious and they occasionally stole glances at me as I knelt just a few feet away.

Max came bounding back up to me. He was all excited with his tongue hanging out and his tail going a hundred miles an hour.

"Good boy," I told him as I gave him a scratch behind the ear.

"I'll be right back Emily." I said turning my head and seeing her gunning up with stuff that she had found on one of the creepers.

I followed Max across the street toward what looked to be a hotel. I followed him around the building looking around for any sign of where Mike was. I finally caught a glimpse of him knelt inside the door of one of the outbuildings.

"Yo Mike! Good to see you dude." I said trotting over to where he was. "Shit got crazy there for a minute man, I wasn't sure if you made it. Turns out the naked girl is Emily, and apparently she escaped from some real assholes on bikes. There is another guy named Michael, he seems kind of squared away, maybe former military, but we really haven't had a chance to talk. There's another girl too, much younger carrying a bow and a rifle. I haven't seen her for a bit, she went on ahead of us."

I realized that I was babbling like a school. I decided that the update would do for now and just extended my fist to bump with his.

"It's damn good to see you man."

"Erin! I'm Erin." I call,out to him as he runs off with the dog promising to be back. I look around for Michael, whomwas in front of me when before we decided toreturn to the gas station. Wonder where he got off to. I think idly as a wait for one of the three guys I was with to return to this damn gas station so we cold get the fuck outta here.

Walking through the undergrowth Olivia was rather relaxed considering the situation. Her nerves had been worn thin during the outbreak, always staying on high alert, and in the end she finally found solace in the unknown. Even when concentrating to your full ability there was always a chance that you couldn't be thinking of every possible danger. So why become frazzled and stressed and clog your mind, when free thinking and clarity allowed for quicker reflexes...sometimes.

The sun was brilliant, the clouds provided occasional refuge from the heat and the breeze was strong enough to give relief but calm enough to not interfere with a good shot.

Something cracked in the undergrowth up ahead, and she froze mid step, one foot almost ready to land as she braced herself. Silence followed for about fifteen seconds before another stick cracked under something's weight. Olivia glanced to the ground, finding a place to put her foot down without making a sound. Crouching, she looked for color or movement through the undergrowth, luckily walkers often wore clothing and that was easier to pick up than most animals she used to hunt.

But there was no color.....and the scent of rotting flesh was not prominent. There were no snarls or growling of a walker stuck on branches and pissed off. So that might mean a fresh source of meat for the next few days. Deer, rabbits, and several of the larger bird species were a welcome change from dried fruits and noodles.

Creeping forward, arrow already drawn back, she sighted a small deer. To it's right was a doe and further way was a stag. Whilst she hated the idea of breaking up the happy family, at least if the parents survived they would continue to introduce more fawns into the mountains. Taking out the Stag, whilst a trophy in itself would be more devastating, as would removing a breeding female.

So unfortunately, and with sadness and respect, she stalked the fawn.

If the others were in the area, they would hear it's brief squeal as the arrow penetrated it's chest before it took a few steps and died. A clean shot, minus the brief seconds it took to bleed out...better than letting it run for hundreds of meters at least.

She spent the next fifteen or twenty minutes preparing it for transport and preserving. Severing it's jugular so it bled out quickly, she tried to hoist it up vertical, so the meat wouldn't be too blood soaked. Removing it's head, lower legs and gutting it, she took off her shirt and used it to protect the carcass from flies, wearing only a short tank top now. If she could find a cold stream she would be able to keep the meat for a week perhaps, taking bits off it every now and then.

*This is how she will be until you guys meet up, if you don't want to meet up then I'll reply later catching up with you perhaps*

I come out and find the woman looking around and come up beside her, "This place is gone. We're best getting out of here and going some place safe, some place that we can easily defend," though I still didn't hint towards my safe house. I still didn't know them and didn't want to risk have an infiltrator coming inside. "We need to stick together," that's what I said, but I guess that they knew this, but my nervousness came from being alone for so long and this being my first time with another living person and the distant threat of people looking for us made my nervous.

"We'll leave when he gets back." I say certain that he would return in short order.

"In the meantime you got a plan or hidey hole we can use to make some long term plans?"

gearhead73 said:

"It's damn good to see you man."

Click to expand...

"Yeah," I said returning his fist bump. "I'm sorry about running off." I pointed at Max. "He must have seen this momma fox, and he went chasing after," I smiled. "Gets it from his old man, chasing foxes and all." I stood from where I had been kneeling down. "He doesn't usually bolt off like that, so when he did I figured I'd better see what the fuck was up. Anyway, he found you and told you where I was, so I guess he redeemed himself," I finished as I patted Max's side.

"So we've got new people?" I asked as I shouldered my M4. "Cool." I turned to look back towards the street at the front of the hotel building. "Guess we better regroup."

I turned to head out, then turned back to Randy. "Look, bro, you know it's not easy to trust anyone these days," I told him with all seriousness. "I trust me, I trust Max, and I trust you. If these new people are on the level and want to work as a team with us, then I will trust them, too.

"I've been thinking, though, about today. We hit a hard spot, my friend. We've lost a lot. Our ammo is down to almost nothing. I've got 4 rounds in the gun and one more full mag. After that runs out it's handguns, knives, and garden hoes if I can find one. I'm seriously thinking we need to return to the compound. Regroup, rearm with the 5.56 I took from the Subaru, and just take a fucking break.

"If our new additions want to join us, and you think they fit, then by all means. Never hurts to have more guns."

I dug a plastic can of Skoal out of my cargo pocket. I had snatched a roll from the gas station. I wasn't sure how old it was, but the roll had been sealed in plastic, and it was in a plastic can. I opened it with my finger nail and popped the lid. It was still good, or as good as it could have been, I suppose. I took a pinch of the tobacco and put it in my lip.

I'm sure I smiled for second but I couldn't help it.

"What ya think, man? Back to the compound for a rest, then head back out again?"

Dr. Mallory White was feeling quite uneasy. She had just heard spurts of gunfire not too far away. Her large animal practice was situated on the edge of town and she had managed to ward off any walkers that explored that far. She reached down and stroked the furry head of the Border Collie next to her. The poor dog had been in to have her teeth cleaned right before everything went crazy and her owners had never come back for her. Mallory assumed they were dead and decided to care for the dog herself. The small barn attached to her residence also housed a large black Thoroughbred that had also been abandoned. Mallory had been caring for Romeo too after his large abscess had healed. It was just the three of them here, stuck.

“Shh, easy girl,” she told the dog in a sweet soft voice.*

Abby had been whining intermittently through the whole ordeal and Mallory wasn’t sure if she should risk going outside to see what was going on or not. The loud noises usually drew the walkers out and the last time she made it out of her practice to try and find some food, one had almost bitten her. She alternately gripped and relaxed her left hand on the .22 as she calmed Abby. Mallory was not one to sit around and wait for things to happen. It was time for her to make a move. She couldn’t stay here alone forever. She’d been eating one meal a day for the last few weeks to conserve and she was running out of grain for the horse and down to the last half bag of her dog food stockpile.*

She got up from her office chair and walked the short hallway to the barn with Abby, rifle in hand. She was a damn good shot having grown up hunting with her father on a farm outside of town. She checked Romeo’s water bucket and refilled it, accidentally splashing a little water on her faded blue jeans.*

“Well girl, I think I better go check it out,” she told Abby. Abby’s floppy ears pricked up and she tilted her head quizzically, “come on girl, in you go.” Mallory opened the door to her big blue truck and let Abby ride shotgun.

Mallory strapped the Glock to her hip and made sure she had extra rounds in the .22 before throwing it in the truck. Her 8 stall barn had a garage door at one end, and she was extra thankful she had pulled her F250 in the barn aisle way that fateful morning. She was trying to protect it from the hailstorm they were supposed to get that day. Abby was more than excited to get in the truck, Mallory swore the dog had no idea what was going on outside the walls of the clinic. If only she could be that niave too. She smiled and raised the garage door manually before checking the area swiftly and expertly. She pulled the truck out quickly and closed the door behind her; Romeo’s big dark eyes watched her as the door went down.*

“I’ll be back big guy,” she promised him. She pulled her long auburn hair into a pony tail after she hopped in the truck. She put it in gear and slowly cruised down the road into town, eyes peeled. At least in the truck she could mow down a walker or take a shot from the window without being too vulnerable. She put her aviators on to block some of the sun. As she pulled into the heart of town she thought she saw a band of people in the street, a couple of them carrying some pretty high powered weapons and one very fierce looking German Shepherd.*

“Great,” she said to Abby, “more trouble.”

"What ya think, man? Back to the compound for a rest, then head back out again?"

I thought about the question for a moment. He was right, we were low on ammo, and I was tired as shit. If nothing else some time behind the walls of the compound would give us some time to figure out what kind of people we were dealing with. We could eat, shower, reload, and if shit didn't seem right, we could bug out.

"Yeah, sounds like a plan man. I am fucking beat and way low on ammo. I say we head back, grab some chow and a shower, and see if these new people seem like they are going to try to kill us in our sleep."

I looked around at our surroundings. It had been nice to get out from behind the walls, but we had lost so much since them that I now wondered if it was worth it.

"I do think we should make a wide circle though and see if we can find the chick with the bow. She seemed the type that could handle herself, and could be another asset to the team."

I knew the sound as soon as its waves reached my ears. The familiar clanky rumble of a Navistar diesel. In just seconds after I heard it I saw the pickup truck glide to a stop at the end of the street.

"We got company man. I think I might new a rub of that Skoal if you don't mind." I said calmly as I slid my rifle from my shoulder and pointed between the buildings to the truck.

Mallory pulled the truck up about 150 yards away from the small group and threw it in park. They looked pretty ragtag, the two men looked proficient with their firearms and she knew there was no way she could shoot both of them before one of them took her out if they were hostile. A lot of people had passed through town and they had not all been friendly. Her office had even been broken into a couple of times prompting her to board up the windows and reinforce the doors. She sat there a moment and decided to approach them armed, she couldn't afford not to. They might take her down but she’d take at least one of them down with her. She shook her head and hoped for the best.

“Stay,” she told Abby firmly. The dog’s tail thumped against the passenger seat at the sight of another dog.

She opened the door of the truck slowly and stepped down while unsnapping the holster of her Glock and drawing it, pointing it at the ground with the safety off. Her long ponytail moved in the light breeze and the air passed through her thin t shirt making goose bumps appear on her arms. She clenched her jaw and stepped out from behind the door of the truck in a shooter’s stance, weapon still lowered. Most people didn’t think about crossing her; she was tall, athletic, and didn’t take shit from anyone.

“Identify yourselves,” she called out.

I saw the two guys I had approached earlier that day returning at the same time I heard a large motor. "Fuck Mike take cover" I tell the guy with me, as I crouch behind a dumpster.

"Survivors who just want to go about our business" I call out.

I try to move to a better position for a shot not knowing how much ammo the other huys had left. My choices were really bad either an incomplete site picture or risking knitting the others across the street. I relayed on my training as an MP to try and get a read on this woman's intentions.

Mallory heard a woman's voice in response, "Survivors who just want to go about our business."

"Do any of you need medical attention?" She called out next, it was the least she could coffer. On eof the women looked like she was in rough shape, and barely clothed. Mallory wondered what they'd done to her.

She kept her weapon lowered but ready just in case someone tried to get squirrelly. She could just jump in the truck and floor it in reverse if she had to.

The offer was tempting. I ached in places I didn't know could hurt . My feet had some really bad cuts, and I was sure I had some kind of infection.

Then i remebered the last time some harmless lookimg woman offered to help my group. After months of hell, I escaped leaving the others behind to.... "Keep it together girl, you've gotta be strong and survive and save the ones who were unlucky enough to have lived this long.

I waited for the guy who seemed to be the leader of the group to speak up.