Chapter 19
The snow was falling fairly good back in the outpost. It started ten days before Thanksgiving for the first time in years it was snowing before December. Since the guys left on Devil’s night the outpost rarely saw any zombies near the outpost only when they had to go in search of food or supplies. Christi managed the CB and radio duties of the compound. She listened daily for any broadcast calls for help and would answer any distress call or send a rescue party out to assist if they could. Any parties sent out only every assisted with the zombie attacks and never gained any new community members. Christi received a call out a couple days after Thanksgiving over the CB but this just wasn’t any call the voice called for her by name and she recognized it immediately, especially since it was her husband. Come in Christi this is Special Agent Vaiddein the voice said. With a large smile coming across her face she answered. We read you loud and clear still glad you have come back from the dead Christi answered laughing. We have a small task for you to complete and it is a touchy situation I said. Dr. Chen was alive and in Washington D.C. I started. He was a special agent for the FBI and his job was to scout a compound out so the FBI could destroy it. So first keep the outpost on high alert at all times now I said. How did he survive four gunshot wounds to the chest? Christi asked. He was one of those advanced zombies and we have confirmed the only way to kill them is blunt trauma to the head I said. I am not sure if Dr. Li knows what her husband was or if she is in on the whole thing so make sure to keep a close eye on her I said. I love and miss you very much, but I have to go. I need to get Rus and Don over to the wax museum and get them fitted for new faces I said. Ok I love and miss you too be safe and I will talk to you in a couple of weeks Christi said. Christi got off the CB in search of Bev and Abby who was due within the next few weeks around Christmas time. Once she located the girls she updated them on the boys in Washington D.C. and the fact that I was alive as well. Their mouths dropped open when Christi mentioned I was alive. Aren’t you excited Bryan is alive Abby asked? Christi lowered her head a talked quieter as she said sorry I lied to the two of you but I knew he was still alive. Bryan had contacted me just days after he was attacked and saved the others to continue the mission Christi said. But most importantly is the fact they came across Dr. Chen in Washington D.C. and discovered he works for the FBI Christi said. Bev and Abby looked at Christi in disbelief. There is no way Dr. Chen survived four gunshot wounds Bev said. He survived because he was one of those talking zombies Christi said. I guess he gets into a community gathers information and then the FBI move in and “kill him”, then once the information is retrieved the FBI move in and destroy the community Christi explained. We have to be on the lookout since the guys are unaware if Dr. Li knows about her husband or if she is also an FBI agent Christi said. We will have to watch everyone in the compound cause if Dr. Chen was an advanced zombie and no one knew it anyone here could be a zombie Bev said. I think I have a plan on how we can search everyone, Abby are you able to watch over the camp while Bev and I take a group out on a food pickup? Christi asked. Abby cocked one of her Uzi’s and said whatever you need. Well first I need you both to follow me to the hospital and I need to draw your blood Christi said. Christi, Bev, and Abby made their way out to the hospital where Christi started to explain her plan. The plan is to take a group to get food and supplies with a short trip over to the hospital in the River District where I can look under a microscope at everyone’s blood sample that way we will know for sure if everyone is ok Christi said. The only one who will not go will be Dr. Li and we can explain to everyone that once we get to the hospital as well. Then we will get food on the first trip so we don’t draw attention to our plan or the others who haven’t been tested. Christi had just finished drawing Abby’s blood when Dr. Li walked into the hospital. Christi and Abby quickly put a bandage over the vein to stop the bleeding when Dr. Li noticed them in the hospital. Christi quickly put the vial she just drew from Abby behind her back. Oh sorry I didn’t know anyone was here Dr. Li said. I just got a small cut on my hand while making dinner and Christi was just patching me up Abby said. Bev walked up behind them and placed another vial in Christi’s hand and said so did you get all patched up Abby. Yes I am fine thanks for asking Bev, also dinner is ready Abby said. Dr. Li and Abby headed for the mess hall. I marked the other vial with a B Bev said. Christi and Bev headed for the mess hall. Christi made an announcement that night at dinner that more supplies were needed and that she and Bev would be making two separate trips in the upcoming weeks before the snow fall gets to heavy and a two different groups would make each trip Christi said. While we are gone we will have projects that need to be completed Bev added. Tomorrow morning we will have a list posted in the mess hall of who will be going on which trip and what projects need to be done over the next two weeks Christi said. After dinner was done Bev, Abby and Christi headed to the command center to work on the projects and list of who is going on what trip. I think we need to take everyone that we know are able to handle a weapon just in case Dr. Li is working with her husband and an attack happens we will have a second chance Christi said. Abby, I am going to put you and Dr. Li on the second list and since you will be close enough to giving birth I need you to find a way to go into labor by the time we leave cause I need her to not know we are watching her if she is working for the FBI Christi said with a smile. I think the first trip we will take Bart, Blake, Jessica, Chris, and Janelle and the second trip will be Dr. Li, Abby, Samantha, Jennifer, and Pastor Scott. Bev said. What needs to be done while you are gone Abby asked. Well I know we need to be prepared Bryan said so an inventory of the armory needs to be done, all the clips can be filled with ammo, all the arrows and tips assembled, someone can make mounts for the sniper rifles to hold them steady, let’s find glass bottles when we are out for Molotov cocktails which may come in handy for slow moving zombies, and maybe make some boxes and put them along the walls so we can store ammo and explosives in them Christi said. Make sure the boxes can stay at a consistent temperature so the ammo or explosives don’t go off Bev said. Ok ladies let’s get some sleep and the first group will head out after breakfast tomorrow Christi said.
After everyone was up and eating breakfast the next morning Christi and Bev made the announcement of what needed to be done and the list of who was going on the first trip. The group loaded into the hummer and Bev drove the refrigerator truck. They headed east toward the main road where Christi instructed Bart to follow Bev who was leading ahead of the HUMVEE. Bev made her way to the hospital and stopped at the entrance to the ER. Everyone exited the HUMVEE and followed Christi and Bev into the hospital. What are we doing here? Bart asked. Christi sat everyone down and told them about what had happened so far in Washington D.C. and the fact that Dr. Chen appeared alive and working for the FBI. Christi then went on to explain that she needed to draw everyone’s blood and look at it under a microscope to see if it was human or zombie infected. Everyone lined up right away to have their blood drawn. Christi first looked at the sample that she drew from Abby and one by one had everyone take a look at the sample. Afterwards Bev handed Christi her own sample and after Christi looked at it she have everyone look again and then one at a time Christi drew the blood of each member including herself and had everyone look at the samples. Once everyone had their sample drawn and viewed by everyone Christi went on to explain that Dr. Li would not have her sample drawn and needed to be supervised but without her noticing we are watching her. Everyone agreed and then loaded back into the vehicles to head out for food. Since most of the local stores around had been salvaged completely empty including the shelving units, so they had to head west to see what they could find since that was the only way they hadn’t searched for supplies. Meanwhile back at camp Abby faked contractions to keep a close eye on Dr. Li while everyone else went and did inventory on the armory and Pastor Scott lead the team of the remaining people at the outpost and showed them how to load the clips and put the arrows together. Being a hunter Pastor Scott had
excellent knowledge of how to load guns and assemble arrow heads.
Bev led the team almost an hour west of the outpost location in search of a large food supply store because they wanted to get enough food to last three to four months and they wouldn’t have to go out much in the snow since the roads would not get plowed this year. After making the drive to the closest major city they hadn’t yet salvaged from they found a large food depot that was used by many restaurants around the state. Bev hooked the truck up to the loading dock and met up with the HUMVEE at the front of the warehouse. All the doors are locked and I don’t see a way in Chris said. Christi raised the shotgun she had brought and pulled the trigger. Blowing the front window out of the main lobby Christi looked at Chris with a cocky face and said I found a window that is opened. They entered the food warehouse and had the smell of rotting fruits and vegetables. Well I guess any fresh food will be out of the question Bev joked. Well grab some forklifts and start pulling down pallets and see what hasn’t spoiled yet Christi said. Janelle and Chris grab a flatbed and the three of us with search the freezer section Bev said. Blake and Bart each grabbed a forklift and started pulling pallets down while Christi and Jessica searched for expiration dates and what the pallets were. Searching several pallets they found canned fruits, vegetables, beans, ravioli and tomato sauce as well as flour, sugar, cereal and pasta. Over in the freezer and refrigerator section Bev, Chris, and Janelle had a more disturbing find while searching for food. They first walked into the dairy section first where they found unspoiled milk, butter, and cheeses once they loaded up the flat bed they made a stop to the truck to unload. Once they unloaded their first load they headed back to the seafood and poultry section where they were able to get full chickens, turkeys, and ducks as well as shrimp, king crab, lobsters, scallops, and mussels. Lastly they headed into the meat freezer and as they were looking at half cow carcasses Janelle let out a scream that could be heard across the entire warehouse. Everyone ran to the freezer section where Janelle was crying on Chris’s shoulder. Chris pointed farther back into the freezer where they made their way pass animal carcasses and found Bev looking at five bodies frozen in the freezer all huddled together. They must have gotten locked in here hiding from zombies and tried to stay warm when they slowly died one by one without knowing it just trying to stay warm. Bev looked thru the pockets of the victims for anything that would be useful but only found a couple of box cutters. Well I guess let’s pack these victims and we can feed them to the kids when we get back to the compound Bev said. The bodies were loaded at the front of the truck with pallets of food behind it and five hundred pounds of frozen meat. The group walked toward the window that they entered to be met by zombies coming toward them. They must have heard Janelle’s scream Bart said. Quick back into the warehouse Christi said. Blake and Bart jumped back on the forklifts then had everyone stand on the forks and raised them up to the higher racks. Bart jumped off his forklift and jumped on the back of Blake’s forklift and pulled his gun out and took aim at the only way in or out of the warehouse. The zombies started entering the warehouse through the door one by one so they were easy targets for everyone and one by one the zombies were shot as they entered the warehouse when suddenly a loud roaring scream came from outside the warehouse. What the hell was that? Christi asked. Hearing tires squeal and a loud crashing sound a black SUV came smashing through the door opening running over several zombies. The doors flew open and out came four FBI agents with guns drawn and jaws opened up. Oh my god those must be those super zombies they talked about Christi said. Opening fire on the agents she screamed aim for their heads. Two of the agents grabbed the abandoned forklift and threw it at Bart and Blake missing them but the forklift smashed a large hole in the wall. Two of the agents dropped from fire in the racking while Blake gave fire cover Bart lifted the forks back up to get everyone down. Once he got everyone down they continued firing until all four agents got shot in the head and then they made their way out the next exit that was created. Bev, Chris, and Janelle jumped into the refrigerator truck while everyone else ran around to the front and got into the HUMVEE and as they drove off they looked in the rear view mirror to see the facility over run with zombies.
They returned to the outpost where they unloaded the truck and stored all the food. Bev and Christi went to the hospital to check on Abby. How did it go? Abby asked. The FBI showed up after we had loaded the truck luckily Bev said. We killed the agents that were attacking us and got away as the facility became over run with zombies Christi said. How have you been holding up? Bev asked. Well Dr. Li has been by my side most of the time so it was very easy to keep an eye on her but I really have gone into labor Abby said excitedly. Bev and Christi got excited as well and Abby asked if one of them could contact Bruce for her and let him know that she started having contractions. Christi told Abby she would go and get on the CB to notify Bruce for her. As Christi headed for the house she stopped to check on the projects form Pastor Scott since he was the one left in charge while they were gone. Well I wish we could have done more while you were gone but we got the full inventory done of the armory, all the clips loaded and ready to go, also all of the arrow’s are assembled Pastor Scott said. That’s find Pastor that will help us out a lot because the next groups job is going to be locating more weapons an additional ammo Christi said. I have to go CB the guys in Washington D.C. cause Abby has gone into labor and I have to notify Bruce his child is about to enter this world.
Agent Vaiddein are you there? This is the outpost calling Christi said then waited several minutes. Go ahead outpost this is agent Vaiddein, I called back. I need to speak with Bruce right away Christi said. I ran to grab Bruce and told him there was a CB call for him. Hello outpost this is Bruce. Bruce called out. Bruce this is Christi we wanted to call and tell you that Abby has gone into labor, the contractions just started but she’s not that far along yet. That’s awesome, tell her I love her and I will hurry home as soon as we finish up here Bruce said. Ok I will and we will call back as soon as we know something Christi said. Thank you Bruce said excitedly. Christi got off the CB and headed back to check on Abby at the hospital. Bev was sitting in a chair next to Abby holding her hand and helping her get through a contraction which had started to get shorter. How you doing sweetie? Christi asked. I’m dilated to five and the contractions are about forty-five seconds apart now. Dr. Li entered to check on Abby. She progressing nicely, I would say she’ll be ready to push within the next couple of hours Dr. Li said. Bev and Christi stayed by Abby’s side over the next few hours with Dr. Li coming in periodically check on Abby. After three more hours Abby was ready to start pushing. She was moved behind a curtain where Christi and Samantha assisted Dr. Li in delivery. After about two hours of pushing Abby gave birth to a healthy none infected baby girl. She weighed six pounds eleven ounces and was about twenty one inches long. She got cleaned up by Samantha then wrapped up and handed her back to Abby. So do you have a name picked out yet Christi asked. Yes we are naming her Olivia, Abby said. That was my mother’s name and it’s a very beautiful name Dr. Li said. Christi will you tell Bruce he has a beautiful healthy baby girl waiting to meet him when he gets home Abby said. Christi excitedly ran to the command center where she rushed to call on the CB. Christi called down to Washington and excitedly asked for Bruce right away. This is Bruce, how is Abby doing? Mommy and baby are doing fine Christi said. So do I have a son or a daughter? Bruce asked. You have a beautiful little girl Bruce, her name is Olivia, she weighed a little less than seven pounds, twenty one inches in length, and she looks just like you with mama’s skin tone Christi said. Abby’s look with her skin tone made you think of Pocahontas. She sounds amazing and I can’t wait to meet her, tell Abby I will be there before spring time hits Bruce said. Finish out what you have to do up there because according to the radio down here the Midwest is expecting a huge snow storm in the next few days Bruce warned. Thanks for the warning Christi said. Christi left the command center and informed everyone about the birth of Ab
by and Bruce’s daughter and the compound went to the mess hall and had a celebration.
The next morning and with some hangover still looming Christi and Bev took the second group of people out and led them to the hospital. Meanwhile back at camp Chris got to work on making mounts for all the sniper rifles and attaching them to the southeast, south, and southwest wall since that had the most open area looking out over nothing but open fields. Again once they arrived at the hospital they informed everyone of the situation with the guys in Washington D.C. and everyone jumped in lie to get there blood drawn as well as looked at by everyone else. Ok everyone in the compound has been verified except Dr. Li so for now we all need to keep an eye and monitor her to see if she tries to contact her husband or the FBI Christi said. So is this all we came out here for Pastor Scott asked. No we are going on a weapons run Bev said. They loaded back up into the vehicles and drove to the sheriff department in search of any weapons that may remain. Once they arrived at the sheriff’s office they went through the main doors and looked around for anything they could find. Going through the desks in the office area only three handguns were found and two shotguns in a locked case. Bev shot the lock off and grabbed the ammo, two shotguns, and loaded them in the HUMVEE. Everyone else continued searching and made their way to the cells. As they walked down the hallway they noticed some of the inmates were dead in the cell probably due to starvation being left alone in the cells when police left the station and never returned. Suddenly a loud scream came from one of the cells and when everyone looked a zombie was locked behind bars. I guess either this was one trapped or was an inmate that got infected Pastor Scott said as he said a prayer raised his gun and blew the zombies brains all over the back wall of the cell. They made their way to the stairwell at the end of the hallway and headed to the basement area. Once they made it to the bottom of the steps they headed down another hallway and stopped in front of the evidence room. I’ll bet we will find weapons in here Christi said. They entered the evidence room to a large hall of weapons not quite as heavy as the armory at the army base but enough for what they were looking for. So what do we have here shotguns, semi-automatic submachine guns, homemade pipe bombs, knives, and Molotov cocktails Christi said with a smile like they hit the jackpot. Load everything and then we will head for a recycling center to get glass bottles to make more Molotov cocktails Christi ordered. They loaded all the weapons up and headed to the recycling center where they loaded a full tub of glass bottles from one of the local stores before making their way back to the outpost just as snow started to fall.
Government Z (Book 1): The Beginning Page 17