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Nina asked,” How are we going to know if you get into any trouble, after you get around the corner of the building, and out of our sights?” Aidan kissed her and said, “ Stay on the radio. Now, you all get into the truck, and keep you heads down. I have to rile them up, before I can get them all to follow me at the same time. And, they move so slow that it will take a few minutes. Go on, now. Get into the truck.” They all went to the truck. He started the four wheeler up, then revved it up a few times. When he saw a few dead ones approaching from down the street, he went to the warehouse door. He hit the glass with the butt of his knife. The gory faces stared at him through the window. He opened the door, pulled down the door stop, and ran to the four wheeler. As he started off, one zombie that had staggered out from the behind a building, grabbing for him. He jerked to the side, just in time. It almost fell, when it missed grabbing him. It followed him down the street. Many of the living dead came stumbling out through the open door. They were growling and snarling, as their eyes were fixated on the four wheeling prey that, they wanted to eat. They all followed him, in sync. He drove around in circles ten feet in front of them. More zombies came from behind the other buildings. When, he saw them come closer, he took off, and drove for the storage yard. They all followed. He came to the gates, he stopped and revved the four wheeler. He looked at the length of the yard. He needed to get all the way to the end, and stay to one side. Then, he could turn around and drive back up the other side, to the gate. That would give him time to close the gate, and lock them in. They were getting closer. He turned around, and headed back towards the gates. All of the sudden, the four wheeler stalled. He tried to start it up. The light didn't blink on. He looked back. They were closing in on him, now. He tried to start it, again. It tried to start, then died out. He played with it, some more. “Come on!” Suddenly, one zombie grabbed him. He stabbed it in the eye. He turned the key, again. Then, pushed the button on the panel. It started. He turned to see them reaching out behind him. They were about to grab him. He pushed on the handle, and the four wheeler jerked into gear. “Yes! Come on! Just a little further!” He pushed the throttle all the way in. The four wheeler was in full movement, now. Complete, with a parade of the gory dead, in tow. He drove the four wheeler just outside the gate., and it slid to a stop. He jumped off of the machine, and rushed to the gate. He took the chain, looped it through the gate and fencing. He pushed the first lock through the chain, then the second, just in time to hold the zombies inside the yard. The dead mob crashed into the fence. Now, he rushed back to the four wheeler. He turned to see a mob of dead trying to claw their way out. But, they could not get out. He drove back to the truck.
Will and the others, reached the brickyard. They made it to the back of the large steel building. After they made it back there, they saw that there were other large steel buildings on the property. Will said, “I came out here a couple of months ago. Haven't been back since. We can get everything that we need here. It's just a matter of transporting it back home. Once, we get the materials to finish reinforcing everything, we will be able to fend off the land.” Scott looked around. He said, “Well, let's make sure that there no dead anywhere. This place is so big that, there could be some hiding. We don't want to get caught by surprise.” Kyle said, “We should split up into two teams. We can cover more ground that way.” Charlie said, “Well, the concrete and brick supply is back there. We should find the rebar there.” He pointed to the second building. They all turned, then looked in the direction that Charlie was pointing. Will said, “We should stay together.” He looked at Kyle. “Remember, the gov. complex.” Kyle hesitated, “Alright, maybe he is right.”
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Charlie said, “The trucks are in back.” Jimmy said, “We can follow you, but close. We need to check the area out. Then we can a truck. We should try to load up some bricks. We can build fire places with them.” Will said, “ Yes. That is a good idea. If we can get a forklift started.” Scott said, “Sounds like a plan. Let's make sure it's clear, first.” Scott said, “ Everyone, be careful. Don't just open the doors, and be in the path of those things.” Everyone agreed. They headed for the back of the large cement warehouse. Once, they made it to the back, they could see a long row of mixers and a couple big rigs. To the side, they saw the large drop area, where the cement was poured from the giant pour spout. Keith said, “ There.” He pointed to a large doorway. He continued talking, “That should be where the rebar and extra materials are kept. We should find get mortar and bricks there, too.” Will said, “We'll need to get a truck, first. And, we'll need to bring a forklift. If we can get one going. We'll need to unload, later.” Keith said, “ It should all be in that general area.” Scott said, “Okay, we go in first.” He pointed to himself and Jimmy. Then, he continued, “Kyle can you and Will watch our backs? Keith, you and Charlie follow. Then, if it looks clear, we all go in.” They all agreed. They went into the building. They saw some movement behind some glass. They all surrounded the cubby. It was nothing. They were all confused. Scott said, “I am sure that, I saw a flash of something back there.” Kyle said, “Let's look around in the back.” He pointed to a hallway. Will said, “Okay. Everyone do this quietly. Just in case.” Scott put his hand out, in a gesture to indicate for them to wait. He whispered, “We need to be ready for a mob of those things to come from any direction. If we come across more than one or two, if we can, we try to lock them behind a door, somewhere. That way, we can get in, and get what we need, then get going back.” They agreed. Scott slowly crept down the hall, while the others followed. All had their guns drawn. They came to a doorway. Charlie whispered, “This should lead to the back.” They all watched, as Scott opened a door. As soon as they saw that it was clear, they went to the back. They saw large piles of broken rock, in various stages. To the right, were conveyers. And, on the other side, was an open wall where they could see trucks lined up under the dump. Keith said, “We're here.” Jimmy said, “Let's look around, a bit. This a big place.” They went to the back of the truck line. There were mixers, and open dump trucks. Will said, “Okay. We need to see what is on the other side of those trucks, before we get too excited.” They crept through the open air. As they came to the line of trucks, Kyle tip-toed through an opening. He inched towards the corner of one end. He saw a girl running away. There were no dead. He half- yelled, “Hey! Wait a minute!” The others exchanged a confusing glance, as they watched him run out, then in between two stacks of bricks. Scott blurted out, “Kyle! Kyle, wait!” Kyle turned, “That's a kid! I'll go after her. You guys check this part out.” He ran off, before anyone could respond. Jimmy said, “It looks clear, here. But, we need to look around, and see what is behind those bricks.” Will said, “ If we can get a forklift started, we'll be taking them with us, so...” Keith said, “Let's hope Kyle can get that girl. It isn't safe for her to be out here, alone.” Charlie added, “She might be too scared of us. There are a lot of bad people out here. It's not just the dead that people we have to worry about.” Scott said, “We need to secure this place, and get everything ready to move out. Will, can you stay on the radio? See if, Kyle will respond.” Will said, “Yes. We need to open up the trucks, see what's inside. We have to get em started. Make sure that there is fuel in them, then load one of them up. We need keys.” Keith said, “If they aren't in the trucks, we have to find the office.” Scott said, “Okay, then. Let's see what's inside.” Will held the radio to his mouth. He spoke calmly, “Kyle. You okay?” Did you find the girl?” Will looked around. He spoke to the others, now.
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“He should be answering.” Jimmy opened a truck door, while Scott pointed his gun up at the cab.” The door swung open. There was no one inside. They repeated the process a few more times. The trucks were empty. The keys were missing. Will said, “I need to find Kyle. Can you all get these trucks started?” Keith asked Scott, “Are there any keys?” Scott shook his head back and forth, “No.” Keith replied, “Well. Why don't I go lo
ok for the keys?” Jimmy said, “Keith, I think that we should stay together. Just to be safe.” Keith said, “I can do this. It will be better if I go alone. It's easier to sneak around that way.” Will said, “I agree with Jimmy. We need to be careful.” He held the radio to his mouth, and angrily blurted out,” Kyle! Where are you?” Scott said, “I don;t like this. Maybe, he is pinned down, and can't make any noise.” Will asked, “Have you seen that guy fight? If he is pinned down, then they are in trouble.” Jimmy and Scott said nothing. Charlie said, “ I'll go with Keith. We go into the office, look for keys, if there are none, we try to hotwire one of these trucks.” Scott said, “ Alright. Just, stay on the radio. Okay?” They agreed and made their way towards the front. After making it back to the main part of the warehouse, Keith and Charlie looked around for an office. Keith said, “I think that is the office.” He pointed to a door several feet away. He walked to the door, and turned the door knob. He slightly, opened the door, just a crack. He peeked through the open crack to get a look. When he realized that it was clear, he closed the door and turned to Charlie. He whispered, ' It's clear. But, let's be careful.” They entered the office and crept around the desk. Back near the trucks, Scott and Jimmy were moving tools around. They had piled them up against on vehicle. After thet figured out which truck they would take, they would load the rebar and tools in, and get going. As they moved shovels and pick axes their pile,Will said, “We should try to find any other tools that we can find. There is some kind of shed over there. Maybe, that is where they keep some more tools.” Scott agreed, “Good idea.” They walked to the shed, knocked on the door. When they heard nothing, Will opened it up. They saw some tools, and a wheel barrel. Will said, “We'll grab these. We can't have enough of this stuff right now. Aidan is going to look for some tools today, too. He wants to start keeping better care of the vehicles. But, this stuff will help us with the building, and other projects.” Jimmy said, “Let's get this to the trucks. We need to grab some bricks. Maybe we can find a truck with a load of bricks inside and take it with us.” Both Scott and Will agreed. Will said, “ Jimmy, you read my mind.” Meanwhile, Kyle tip-toed between rows of stacked building materials. He crossed a large open doorway. At first, he was not sure if there were dead on the other side of the opening. Upon, peeking into the large warehouse from another large opening, he could see rows of large robotic arms and conveyer belts. At the end of one side of the warehouse, he saw a large door that read; Furnace Room. He looked around. For a moment, he thought that, he was losing his mind. He thought that he heard a baby crying. He saw an exit door. He went to the door, then peeked through the window. It was the other side of the brickyard. He saw a large, open yard. There were rows and rows of finished bricks out there. To the side, he saw another building, and a school bus. “A school bus?” He stared at the bus. The whole place was surrounded by fencing. Now, he needed to know why there was a school bus in the back of a brickyard, in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. He took a nearby cart, and pushed it to the doorway. He opened the door, poking his head out to see if there were any dead around. There were none. He pulled the cart right over the thresh hold of the doorway. The door could not close. He walked out into the brickyard. As, he walked through the large open area, he realized that there was a clothesline attached to the building. The clothesline ran from the building, to a large mechanical arm.
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The arm stuck straight up into the air. As though, it was suddenly stopped in that position, then left there. He came to the door. He pushed his ear to the outside of the door. His eyes grew large from shock. He heard voices. Several small voices. Still holding the gun in his hand, he rubbed his face. He got on the radio, “ Will, “ he whispered. “Will? Scott? Jimmy? Are you guys there?” Will came on, “Yeah. Where did you go? We need to get this going? Did you find out who that was?” Kyle said, “I think that there are people living here. I can hear kids.” There was a pause. Scott and Keith had returned with the keys. He cut in on his radio, “Do you think it's safe to talk to them? We should warn them about that herd. Just in case they come this way.” Kyle knew that they could be hostile. He also knew that they would not survive, with children, if the herd came this way, then broke through the fencing. He exhaled, “Give me fifteen minutes. If you don't hear from me, leave.” Will said, “Tell us where you are at. We'll come there, and try to reason with them. Is it a big group?” Kyle said, “I'm in the back, through the yard. You'll see bricks, and building materials. I'm on the other side of the brickyard.” Just then, Aidan called out. He and the others had finished up, and found what they needed for the group. He said, “Hey! We are all packed up. The ladies gave us a work out. I am glad we found those loading carts. They sure came in handy. They picked up everything. Anyway, we're going to meet you all at the brickyard. Are you guys still there?” Will got on the radio, “Yes. Kyle found some people. We don't know if they are going to talk to us, yet.” Aidan said, “We'll be there in a few minutes.” Will started speaking to Kyle, again. “Kyle, be careful. They may see you as a threat. Wait until we get there,” Kyle, was peeking through a window. He saw some young children sitting in a circle. They were playing with some toys. Across the large open area, he could see some adults. It looked like, they were looking at something on a piece of paper. They were talking amongst each other. He decided to just knock on the door. Before he could, he heard a voice coming from behind him. “What do you want?” He turned around, to see a girl, no older than thirteen or fourteen. She was holding a knife in her hand. She pointed the knife at him, and she looked spooked. “Stay back!” She was nervous. He said, “It's okay. I thought the place was empty. I am not here to hurt anyone.” Just then, the door came open. Both he and the girl, turned towards the older man standing in the doorway. “What the hell?” the man blurted out. He looked at Kyle, then the girl. “Who are you?” he continued. Kyle had already put his gun away. He said, “Sir. I heard voices, so I came here. I didn't realize someone was living here.” The man asked him, “What are you doing here?” Are you with anyone?” The man said, “Olive, put the knife away. If he was going to do anything, he would have already done it.” She blurted out, “Grandpa!” He said, “Now, Olive!” Now, the others had come to the door. There was a woman, a teenaged boy, and an older woman. They all stepped outside. The children stayed inside. Will and the others, came walking out from behind the bricks. Now, the man looked uneasy. He asked, “Can I help you people?” Will, and the others stopped. Exchanging a concerned look with Scott, Will said, “I'm Will Neely. This is Charlie, Jimmy, and Major Scott. I see that you have already met Kyle.” The woman spoke up. “What do you want? ” Kyle cut in, “We are trying to warn you. There is a herd coming. We came here to get supplies to reinforce some weak spots in our walls where we live.” The older man asked, “You came to warn us? We are fenced in here.” Major Scott spoke, “Sir. These fences you have, won't stop what is coming. This is a herd that is so big, it looks like a whole city of those things. There is no way that you all will survive, not if they come this way.” They all paused, and looked around at each other. All were trying to be cautious.
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Then, the woman said, “I am Gail. This is my father, Jack,” she pointed to the older man. Then, continued, “Olive, and Lucas.” she pointed to the two teenagers. “And, this is Hazel, our neighbor.” she pointed to the older woman. She continued, “I don't understand. You don't know if the herd is coming our way? But, you still want to warn us?” Will said, “No, not for sure. But, they are close enough that, if they do, and even if part of the horde comes this way, no one will get away from it. We didn't think this place was inhabited by anyone.” Hazel asked, “Do you have a place that is safe?” Jimmy said, “Yes. We came here to get supplies to bunker down and reinforce the weak spots and gates. Are those your children? You can't stay here with small children.” Scott peeked in to the side. He saw four children, in all. Gail said, “Yes. They are our children. Well, two.... Their Mom..... well, she didn'
t make it.” Will said, “We have a place that is safe. Well..... For now. We can't help you, if you stay out here. If a large mob of zombies gets through the fence, you may not be able to run with the children.” Kyle cut in, “Ma'am. I was going to quietly go back to the group, and tell them to hurry it up so we could get going. But.... then, I saw the kids. You all cannot stay out here. The fences will not hold with a herd that big. I saw it happen, when this all started. A large enough group of those things can walk right through a fence. Even if you lock yourselves inside, and they can't breach the walls, you'll have to go out for food. They'll have you surrounded.” They all looked worried. Even wonder-girl, with her knife. Jack said, “We don't have anything to give as payment. I am keeping my gun. And, the women have to take care of the children, most of the time.” Scott and Jimmy exchanged a confused look. Scott asked, “Did yo think that we wanted payment?” Olive blurted out, “That's what the Kasim's wanted.” Will said, “All that we ask, is that, everyone get along. We are taking turns watching the walls and gates, right now.” Charlie spoke up, “They took my family and I in. They saved us. We were being chased by a large mob of the dead. They got out of their vehicles, and fought them off for us. They could have kept going. But, they didn't. What they are saying, is true. Being out here, is too hard on children. Mine still don't sleep right. But, they are getting better.” Frank cut in, “ They helped myself and my daughter, too. They didn't have to, either.” The small group listened to Charlie and Frank speak. Suddenly, Aidan's voice blared over the radio. “Where are you guys? Better hurry. A small herd of dead are coming. We need to get going.” Will put the radio to his mouth, “We are in the back. On the other side of the brickyard. By the school bus, and the semi—truck. We found survivors.” Aidan said, “Are they coming with us?” Will said, “They are not sure yet.” Nina spoke, “Did you tell them what is coming?” The older woman put her hand over her heart. She was visibly worried. Gail, and the others, started to look even more worried. Then, Gail said, “Dad. We should try it. They could leave us here. They don't have to waste their time trying to help us.”
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