“Damn it, David, I taught you better than that,” Will snapped at his son. “Either kill the fucking thing or go help the women.”
The next shot took the zombie square in the head, dropping it like a sack of potatoes. Will had killed the other two in that time.
“You can’t do that if we come across the bigger groups,” Alvin said, clapping David on the back. “But the first time is always the roughest. Hell, I puked after my first kill.”
David gave him a slightly green sheepish smile, “I’m good.”
“My son can do the job,” Will growled at Alvin.
Alvin’s hand twitched slightly towards his holstered gun as the older man’s tone set off alarm bells in his head, tickling memories Alvin would much rather not be reminded of. “I’m sure he can,” his voice cold as he replied.
“We’ll split into three-man teams and clear each side of the street here.” Bill cut in on the tense situation, “Go into each building and fire at least one round. Any zombies in there will come for you then. Kill them all, then drag the bodies to the door. As soon as we can find a fucking trailer we’ll start loading.” Bill looked at Frank and Will, “I’ll take these two. Alvin, you got James and David.”
Alvin shrugged, “Will do. How far do we want to bounce down the street before we stop?”
“Aim for Broadway for now, we can think about pushing to Cherry after that,” Bill replied as he took his team across the street.
After two hours of killing zombies and dragging bodies, the two groups had reached Broadway. They hadn’t encountered any real challenges, so they decided to push on to Cherry Street. It was behind the tavern they found a trailer for the rig. Alvin noticed that David hadn’t missed another shot, but he was clearly unhappy.
“Alvin, go grab the rig and try to find a way back here to us,” Bill ordered. “You can probably push through N150W.”
“I’ll be back,” Alvin said as he took off at a jog.
“The rest of us will finish clearing out this section while we wait for him. Does anyone else know how to drive the rig, beside Alvin, Frank and me?” Bill asked, getting negative replies in return. “We’ll need to see about fixing that, if possible.”
Alvin had to vary his jog with walking as he found himself becoming winded as he went. “Need to improve my Hardiness for more health, and to not get winded so fast I guess,” he mumbled during one round of walking.
When he got nearer the truck, he saw that the looting group had moved off to the next street. He waved as he went by, getting return waves from the group and blown kiss from Becky. He got a ride from Betty back up to the compound to get the rig.
On the way to the tavern, he had to shove a few cars carefully out of the way, but he didn’t wreck the rig or cause it any major damage so he counted it as a win. Bill helped him maneuver into position for hook up. Once they had the trailer secured, they had a dilemma.
“Do we go back and grab the bodies we already piled up, or do we press on and load up the bodies last?” Alvin asked.
“I can drive the rig,” Frank spoke up. “Give me James and David to haul the corpses into the back and we should be good. You three can go on while we back and fill. We’ll catch up. Going to have to use the side streets, though. Main street is just too fucked to be used right now.”
“There’s an auto shop down the street, I’m hoping they still have their two tow trucks.” Bill stroked his mustache for a moment, “If they do, we might call it a day and start ferrying cars out as well.”
“Sounds like a plan to me,” Alvin agreed.
With that in place the team split with David looking slightly ill at the idea of moving bodies again. Alvin shot a glance at Will, “Your son going to hold up?”
Will all but snarled, “He’ll be fine. He’s a little soft, but he adapts when I tell him to. Rebecca is probably already over whatever issues she might have had, but she’s useless for anything important.”
“Well, let’s get this show moving again,” Bill grunted as he took point. “We’ll push to Long Street and see if the shop has the trucks.”
Alvin felt his hackles rise as they started off again. He was really not liking Will the more he was around him. He was reminded of Frank Harris every time Will snapped at or about his children.
Another two dozen zombies later, they had cleared all the way down to the auto shop. There sat the two tow trucks, and after a quick search they found the keys in the main office. Alvin took one and Bill the other. Will rode with Bill.
They moved out, taking side streets back to the start of Main, waving to the women as they went by. They got back to Main just as James and David had finished with the first stack of bodies. Alvin backed the tow truck up to the first car and got out, leaving the truck idling.
“No more zombie killing today, we’re stacking bodies and hauling cars,” Bill announced as he got out of his truck.
James nodded, “It’s going to be a bit of work to get these cleared out. Where are we going to put them all?”
“We’ll use the parking lots on either side for now. Don’t need to hook them fancy, just enough to move them.” Alvin said as he set about hooking the first car to the tow truck.
“He’s right, we’re just going to hook and drag,” Bill added. “Alvin, why don’t you switch places with David? He and James can help me hook. You and Will can go with Frank to get the next set of corpses.”
“Body disposal,” Alvin made a gagging motion as he walked past David. “You’re relieved of this job, go help Bill.”
David eagerly took off to help hook up cars to the tow trucks. Will watched his son with a pronounced frown before he followed Alvin.
The sun was setting by the time they had gotten all the current dead, including the ones from the first few side streets, into the trailer. Bill had managed to get a path cleared on Main up to where they had gotten with their zombie killing previously. The ladies had cleared all the easy loot from houses along the first two streets.
Tired, worn, and covered in blood Alvin jumped out of the tow truck. He was followed by James, Will, and David. All of them had more blood and gore on them then any of them had ever wanted. The women all stood back from them with various expressions of disgust. Frank only had a few small splotches on him and Bill had a touch more, but nothing like the other four. The women were all pristine for the most part, a bit of blood on their shoes, but that was it.
Frank waited for Alvin to unhook the trailer inside the Scrapper. Once it was done, he pulled the rig over next to the other vehicles before rejoining the group.
“Okay, we’re going to give this its initial run and pray that it works for body disposal.” Bill told them.
Susan nodded as she began to crank the door closed. While she did that, Frank secured the gate for the night. Once the Scrapper door was closed, she looked back at the group then pressed the big red button.
The Scrapper started humming with a vibration that rattled their chests slightly. The funnel on top began to send up a cloud of grey smoke. As it did that, small grey blocks about a foot square started to come out on the conveyor belt on the side.
Susan began to gather and stack them, the other women going over to help. As they worked, Susan called out over her shoulder, “You lot go shower. Once you’re clean again we’ll do dinner, then we’ll see about what we can do with all this scrap.”
Alvin grinned as he headed off for the door before the others could, “Yes, ma’am.”
Bill chuckled as he followed Alvin, “I notice you always seem agreeable when it comes to what Susan suggests?”
Alvin opened the door to the bunker and pulled off his boots, jacket, shirt and pants which left him standing there in just his boxers and socks. “Who wouldn’t be? She can talk like a drill sergeant, but she looks like a wet dream.”
Bill shook his head, frowning, as he took off his boots. He pushed Alvin inside. “No free shows. Get moving, there are women out here.”
Will nodded as he stripped and
followed Frank, who only had to remove his boots. “My daughter doesn’t need any peeks.”
David and James were last and hurried after the others. The women had all managed discreet glances while the men were stripping. When the men went inside they spent a few minutes comparing what they’d seen, and rating them in order of preference.
James was the clear winner. Surprisingly, David was second even though they knew he was barely legal, followed by Will and with Alvin coming in dead last. Only Becky made any comments expressing interest in him.
“Why Alvin?” Susan asked her.
“Are you kidding? He saved my life at school. He’s a hero to my eyes. Besides, he won’t be turning me down.” Her lips quirked up as she said the last.
Bridget snorted, “Took him for a test drive already?”
“Just a short turn around the block. Not enough time for a full workout,” Becky chuckled. “I did get a good feel for what he’s packing, and while it isn’t a bat, it isn’t far off.”
A round of laughter followed her announcement, and the others all offered ideas about how to get time alone with him and not tip off her father. Becky grinned, knowing she would have Alvin to herself without any competition from the nurses or Susan.
Alvin was the first out of the shower, he darted back to the room he shared, with only a towel around his waist. His clothes were in the room already. He got dressed carefully before he sat down and returned to his cell.
“Welcome back,” Jarvis’s voice greeted him.
Alvin looked down to find his clothing cleaned, “I love that effect.”
“The development team is thinking of changing it so that clothes only clean themselves once a day, at midnight unless upgraded,” Jarvis informed Alvin, “so don’t get too used to it.”
“Well, fuck. Guess I’ll need a second outfit then,” Alvin sighed.
“Are you just stopping by to clean up?”
“Basically. Got dinner first, then we’re going to see about building more stuff.”
“That was an interesting idea for destroying the bodies,” Jarvis commented. “None of the others have thought of that yet.”
“Well, we could have piled them all into a house and burned it down, but that just didn’t seem as effective,” Alvin replied.
“That is what the few who have thought about getting rid of the bodies have done,” Jarvis added.
“What about the others?”
“I can’t comment on that,” Jarvis added. “You should check the store before you go. There are a few new options.”
Alvin pulled up the summary report to check his total.
World Mode Summary
Total Experience Earned: 6,625 XP
Breakdown: 1 day in World 2,000 XP, Settler bonus 3,000 XP, Walkers killed 625 XP, Viewer bonus 1,000 XP
“Darn. I was really hoping for more,” Alvin sighed.
“Your bonus for the settlement has distorted your idea of what the XP return should be. That is a decent amount of XP, especially considering how easy it is for you right now.”
“Yeah, I keep waiting for the penny to drop and something horrible to come after us,” Alvin replied as he opened the store and browsed through the options. “Hey, what’s this Holographic AI option?”
“I’m glad you asked,” Jarvis replied, the smirk evident in his voice. “It allows your AI, which would be me, to appear as a hologram in any Settlement that you have opened up. The real bonus is that you can then use me to connect to the store without having to come back here.”
Alvin looked at the price and shook his head, “Gonna be awhile, then. That costs fifty grand, so yeah, not anytime soon.”
Hologram AI: Cost 50,000 XP
Allows your helpful AI to appear as a hologram in any Settlement you have started. Can be used to send messages between settlements. Acts as a store for any person who interacts with the AI. (Butler to go, at your service.)
“You know it is there now, though, so you can budget accordingly since you’ve finished upgrading guns for Bill.”
“True,” Alvin replied as he scanned further down the list. “Oh, for fifty grand I can get the Power to ID items out in World Mode.”
“True, but if you got my hologram form then…” Jarvis cut off. “That information is not relevant at this time,” came the robotic voice.
“Ugh, that sucks,” Alvin told Jarvis. “I think I understand, though. Have you been the one IDing items for me when I bring them back here?”
“That is correct,” Jarvis mumbled, clearly upset at having triggered the subroutine again.
“Yep, you’re right, that gives me something to save for,” Alvin told his pseudo-friend. “I do need to grab an emergency medkit while I’m here. Seems like a good idea to keep one on hand.”
“Understood. I wish you well in your continued endeavors.”
“Thanks, Jarvis. See you next time,” Alvin replied before he vanished.
Alvin got up off the floor, looking down at his clean clothes with a grin before he went out to see where everyone was. James nodded as he went by into the room, his hair still damp and a towel around his waist. Alvin grinned as he shut the door behind him.
Bill and Frank had just washed hands and faces besides changing clothes. Will was standing off to the side out of the way covered by a blanket, which meant that David was in the shower. Becky was sitting on the ground next to Teresa, listening to the tale of how Alvin had saved the elderly lady.
“Speaking of, there he is now,” Teresa added with a kindly smile. “How did you get those cleaned so fast?”
Alvin grinned, “A bug that the people in charge are ‘fixing’. That means I’m going to have to see about getting another set of clothes soon.”
“Everyone should have extra sets,” Will said from the side. “My family all has extra clothing already.”
“We can have the clothes set aside from all the other stuff, it shouldn’t take long to get plenty to go around,” Bill commented.
“The nurses all found extra sets for them today. Well, once they got over the hang up of wearing dead people’s clothes,” Becky added.
Alvin’s mind wandered for a second, imagining all the women trying on clothes, and taking them off again. Becky snorted as she watched him. “What?” he asked a little defensively.
“It was kind of obvious where your mind was,” Becky laughed.
He shrugged, “I’m a man and still alive, so yeah.”
Will’s teeth grated together as he snarled, “My daughter is still a child.”
“I’m a woman,” Becky snapped at her father, getting to her feet. “I’m eighteen. I’m not a little girl anymore.”
“Rebecca Woodrow,” Will snarled, “you will keep a civil tongue in your head, or so help me…” he cut off as the bathroom door opened.
David darted out of the bathroom covered in only a towel. Alvin saw two heads poking out of the kitchen as David rushed into the men’s bedroom.
Bill chuckled, “Ladies, if you don’t mind.”
Bridgett smiled at him, “We were just seeing if that was the last of you.”
Will’s brow furrowed, “I’ll get going then so we can eat.” He went into the bathroom, ignoring his still fuming daughter.
After he was in there for a minute, Becky walked off to the kitchen. “I’ll go help out in here.”
Bill glanced at Frank, who was shaking his head, “You think he’s going to be a problem?”
“I wouldn’t doubt it,” Frank replied with a sigh.
“I think the women are starting to figure out which of us they prefer,” Alvin muttered as he considered the scene a moment ago. He was trying to not react to Will’s obvious abusive tendencies that were pushing at his buttons.
“Of course they are,” Theresa added from her chair. “Death is something that hangs over all of us right now. Can’t blame them for thinking of comfort at a time like this.”
Alvin snorted, “True that, Gran.”
“It’s not like any on
e here is averse to the idea of cuddling with someone at night to reinforce the feeling of safety.” Terry added with a small smile.
Bill grunted, “Not sure I like the idea of Susan cuddling anyone.”
James came into the main room at that point, freezing as his face went red, “Err...”
Everyone broke into laughter except Bill and James, who just looked at each other for a minute. Bill shook his head, “Well, fine then, maybe if we get this place expanded I won’t complain as much.”
James coughed as he looked away, “I haven’t…”
“Dinner,” Susan called from the kitchen, much to James’s evident relief.
Rapture (Apocalypse Gates Author's Cut Book 1) Page 21