water from the bottle Charlie offered him. “And they’re still cleaning up a mess in the basement.”
Charlie frowned. “A mess?”
Darrell nodded. He looked around and whispered, “Yeah. He didn’t tell us what was down there until after you left. Charlie, it’s bad, like something out of a horror movie. They’re still down there cleaning up body parts and hosing down the basement, there’s blood everywhere.” He licked his lips as he looked up at Charlie with anxious eyes. “I’ve never seen anything like it. Dexter said it would probably take another hour to finish, but they have to clean up the worst of it before we can let all these people go over there.”
“ Agreed,” Charlie said dismally. “But that’s gonna cut it close, it will be dark in a few hours.”
“ I know, Dexter said. “They’re hurrying as fast as they can, but it took them awhile to find enough stuff to clean up with. When I left, they were bleaching and hosing the whole basement down.”
“ We may need to keep everyone here one more night,” Charlie said as he glanced around the room. “I hate to do that to them, but we may have no other choice.”
“ Dexter said if they’re not back in an hour, to let everybody know they’ll have to stay here.”
Charlie nodded, then asked, “So what do you think happened down in that basement?”
“ Not sure, but Dexter has a theory.”
“ Really? And what is that?”
Darrell leaned forward and lowered his voice even more. “He thinks the zombies took people down there by force or lured them there, then ate them.”
Charlie drew back in surprise. “He thinks that? What makes him think the zombies could be that smart?”
“ I asked him the very same question. He thinks they’re smarter than what we give them credit for.”
Charlie rubbed his temples as he tried to digest what Darrell was saying. “If they are capable of thought...even a little bit...then we could be in big trouble.”
“ That’s what we were thinking,” Darrell agreed in a weary voice.
Both men looked up as Jenny approached with a smile on her face. “Darrell! I didn’t see you come in,” she said as she sat down on a cot next to Charlie. “So, are we leaving this hell hole soon?”
At Charlie’s warning look, Darrell smiled feebly. “We were having some trouble getting the place secured, but we’re still hoping to get everyone moved today.”
At Jenny’s disappointed look, Charlie patted her hand. “Look on the bright side. If we rush it, we could have problems. If we have to wait until tomorrow, it’s only to make sure it’s safe, we don’t want anyone getting hurt.”
“ You make a good point.” Jenny admitted. “We have a lot of little kids in here and I’d hate to see anything happen to them.” Changing the subject, she continued. “By the way, what’s the plan for defending the place?”
“ We found a ladder and two people will be up on the roof, we might cut a hole in the roof so we don’t need the ladder to change out people, but they’re still thinking on that,” Darrell said. “If we need to, we’ll have lookouts on the upper floor stationed at some of the windows. Then we’ll have a few folks patrolling both floors. Fortunately, the area around the apartment is clear, so we should be able to see all around us in plenty of time should those walking nasties appear. If they do come and it looks like we can’t hold them outside, we’ll move everyone upstairs and take them down as they come in. Worst case scenario, we’d have to blow the staircase.”
“ Blow the staircase! How would we do that?” Charlie wanted to know.
“ Dave gave Dexter a few goodies,” Darrell explained with a wry look on his face. “He’s got a couple of flash-bangs and hand grenades.”
Charlie whistled softly. “Dave’s just full of surprises, isn’t he?”
“ I can’t wait to meet
Charlie frowned. “A mess?”
Darrell nodded. He looked around and whispered, “Yeah. He didn’t tell us what was down there until after you left. Charlie, it’s bad, like something out of a horror movie. They’re still down there cleaning up body parts and hosing down the basement, there’s blood everywhere.” He licked his lips as he looked up at Charlie with anxious eyes. “I’ve never seen anything like it. Dexter said it would probably take another hour to finish, but they have to clean up the worst of it before we can let all these people go over there.”
“ Agreed,” Charlie said dismally. “But that’s gonna cut it close, it will be dark in a few hours.”
“ I know, Dexter said. “They’re hurrying as fast as they can, but it took them awhile to find enough stuff to clean up with. When I left, they were bleaching and hosing the whole basement down.”
“ We may need to keep everyone here one more night,” Charlie said as he glanced around the room. “I hate to do that to them, but we may have no other choice.”
“ Dexter said if they’re not back in an hour, to let everybody know they’ll have to stay here.”
Charlie nodded, then asked, “So what do you think happened down in that basement?”
“ Not sure, but Dexter has a theory.”
“ Really? And what is that?”
Darrell leaned forward and lowered his voice even more. “He thinks the zombies took people down there by force or lured them there, then ate them.”
Charlie drew back in surprise. “He thinks that? What makes him think the zombies could be that smart?”
“ I asked him the very same question. He thinks they’re smarter than what we give them credit for.”
Charlie rubbed his temples as he tried to digest what Darrell was saying. “If they are capable of thought...even a little bit...then we could be in big trouble.”
“ That’s what we were thinking,” Darrell agreed in a weary voice.
Both men looked up as Jenny approached with a smile on her face. “Darrell! I didn’t see you come in,” she said as she sat down on a cot next to Charlie. “So, are we leaving this hell hole soon?”
At Charlie’s warning look, Darrell smiled feebly. “We were having some trouble getting the place secured, but we’re still hoping to get everyone moved today.”
At Jenny’s disappointed look, Charlie patted her hand. “Look on the bright side. If we rush it, we could have problems. If we have to wait until tomorrow, it’s only to make sure it’s safe, we don’t want anyone getting hurt.”
“ You make a good point.” Jenny admitted. “We have a lot of little kids in here and I’d hate to see anything happen to them.” Changing the subject, she continued. “By the way, what’s the plan for defending the place?”
“ We found a ladder and two people will be up on the roof, we might cut a hole in the roof so we don’t need the ladder to change out people, but they’re still thinking on that,” Darrell said. “If we need to, we’ll have lookouts on the upper floor stationed at some of the windows. Then we’ll have a few folks patrolling both floors. Fortunately, the area around the apartment is clear, so we should be able to see all around us in plenty of time should those walking nasties appear. If they do come and it looks like we can’t hold them outside, we’ll move everyone upstairs and take them down as they come in. Worst case scenario, we’d have to blow the staircase.”
“ Blow the staircase! How would we do that?” Charlie wanted to know.
“ Dave gave Dexter a few goodies,” Darrell explained with a wry look on his face. “He’s got a couple of flash-bangs and hand grenades.”
Charlie whistled softly. “Dave’s just full of surprises, isn’t he?”
“ I can’t wait to meet
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