a time when we will encounter marauders. We must be prepared for them.”
Benny suddenly frowned.
“There was a group who passed through our area, we think. There were two men and their wives who had gone out scavenging,” his face darkened at the memory. “The men were shot. We never found the women and believe they were kidnapped,” he wiped his brow. “There was nothing we could do.”
I nodded thoughtfully. “We’ve been lucky, but if we keep broadcasting on the radio, we’ll eventually attract the wrong kind of people.”
They nodded with concern. I continued showing them the modifications we had made. In addition, I showed them the chicken coop, the smokehouse, the barn, the root cellar, the greenhouses, and other modifications.
“All of these things were done with a purpose and placed strategically. Some of the projects on the to-do list include things like another silo,” I gestured around. “All of these things should be done to the school as well in order for y’all to be self-sufficient.”
Benny nodded in agreement as we walked inside. I sat them at the kitchen table and got a pot of coffee going.
“I certainly hope y’all are going to help us out,” Benny suggested hopefully.
“Yes, we will,” I said and paused a moment.
“Alright, fellas, I have a bit of a complicated question to ask,” they looked at me attentively. “Something is going on with these infected people. Everyone has been calling them zombies since the outbreak, but I don’t think it’s an accurate term anymore. They’re evolving. Their bodies are showing signs of regeneration and their actions suggest they’re starting to think again,” I got a bunch of wide-eyed looks.
“Really?” Benny asked.
I nodded, and spent the next hour carefully explaining my observations, the reasoning behind my rules, and the journal I found.
“So this Boom-Boom character conducted experiments on infected prisoners?” Marc asked in wonder. I nodded.
“He did, in a manner of speaking. His testing procedures may not have been in strict compliance of scientific standards, yet the experiments he conducted were pretty interesting. His journal was fairly detailed.”
“I’d love to read it,” Marc said.
“Unfortunately, it burned up in a fire,” I went on to explain about Andie’s uncle, his crew, what they had done to us and what we did to them.
“So you killed all of them?” Ward asked.
“Most of them,” I corrected. “The Captain had escaped out of the house before I set it on fire. He figured out we were using the barn as a staging point and ambushed us. He beat the hell out of the two of us, and then he started taking a knife to me. That’s how I got this,” I said, pointing at the scar on my cheek. Marc and Ward looked horrified and absently sought out each other’s hand.
“What happened to the Captain, Mister Zach?” Benny asked quietly.
“Andie had a hideout gun. The Captain missed it when he searched her. While he was busy torturing me, she fished it out of wherever she was hiding it and killed him.”
I topped off everyone’s coffee mug. “Since I’ve told you about Andie, I have an additional favor to ask you guys, which fits into your expertise. I’m worried about her emotional health. She’s been through a hell of a lot for a teenage girl.”
I suddenly remembered her birthday was this month, but had forgotten the specific day. I made a mental note to find out.
“Do you two think you could offer her counseling? She’s experienced some awful events, which has most likely left some deep emotional scars.”
“Absolutely,” Ward immediately replied. Marc nodded in agreement with his partner.
“Okay, good. She’s stubborn, but I bet you two can get through to her.”
“What is the first favor you wanted to ask us?” Benny asked.
“I want to build a man trap, or, more specifically, a zombie trap. I want to catch one of these bastards and do some testing on it.”
Marc gasped. I
Benny suddenly frowned.
“There was a group who passed through our area, we think. There were two men and their wives who had gone out scavenging,” his face darkened at the memory. “The men were shot. We never found the women and believe they were kidnapped,” he wiped his brow. “There was nothing we could do.”
I nodded thoughtfully. “We’ve been lucky, but if we keep broadcasting on the radio, we’ll eventually attract the wrong kind of people.”
They nodded with concern. I continued showing them the modifications we had made. In addition, I showed them the chicken coop, the smokehouse, the barn, the root cellar, the greenhouses, and other modifications.
“All of these things were done with a purpose and placed strategically. Some of the projects on the to-do list include things like another silo,” I gestured around. “All of these things should be done to the school as well in order for y’all to be self-sufficient.”
Benny nodded in agreement as we walked inside. I sat them at the kitchen table and got a pot of coffee going.
“I certainly hope y’all are going to help us out,” Benny suggested hopefully.
“Yes, we will,” I said and paused a moment.
“Alright, fellas, I have a bit of a complicated question to ask,” they looked at me attentively. “Something is going on with these infected people. Everyone has been calling them zombies since the outbreak, but I don’t think it’s an accurate term anymore. They’re evolving. Their bodies are showing signs of regeneration and their actions suggest they’re starting to think again,” I got a bunch of wide-eyed looks.
“Really?” Benny asked.
I nodded, and spent the next hour carefully explaining my observations, the reasoning behind my rules, and the journal I found.
“So this Boom-Boom character conducted experiments on infected prisoners?” Marc asked in wonder. I nodded.
“He did, in a manner of speaking. His testing procedures may not have been in strict compliance of scientific standards, yet the experiments he conducted were pretty interesting. His journal was fairly detailed.”
“I’d love to read it,” Marc said.
“Unfortunately, it burned up in a fire,” I went on to explain about Andie’s uncle, his crew, what they had done to us and what we did to them.
“So you killed all of them?” Ward asked.
“Most of them,” I corrected. “The Captain had escaped out of the house before I set it on fire. He figured out we were using the barn as a staging point and ambushed us. He beat the hell out of the two of us, and then he started taking a knife to me. That’s how I got this,” I said, pointing at the scar on my cheek. Marc and Ward looked horrified and absently sought out each other’s hand.
“What happened to the Captain, Mister Zach?” Benny asked quietly.
“Andie had a hideout gun. The Captain missed it when he searched her. While he was busy torturing me, she fished it out of wherever she was hiding it and killed him.”
I topped off everyone’s coffee mug. “Since I’ve told you about Andie, I have an additional favor to ask you guys, which fits into your expertise. I’m worried about her emotional health. She’s been through a hell of a lot for a teenage girl.”
I suddenly remembered her birthday was this month, but had forgotten the specific day. I made a mental note to find out.
“Do you two think you could offer her counseling? She’s experienced some awful events, which has most likely left some deep emotional scars.”
“Absolutely,” Ward immediately replied. Marc nodded in agreement with his partner.
“Okay, good. She’s stubborn, but I bet you two can get through to her.”
“What is the first favor you wanted to ask us?” Benny asked.
“I want to build a man trap, or, more specifically, a zombie trap. I want to catch one of these bastards and do some testing on it.”
Marc gasped. I
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