We made it to the radio station a few days ago.
It was an eery entrance. They had tied shamblers to posts all around the parking lot and walls of the station. The building was nondescript if you saw it from the road. There wasn't any signs on the outside and there was only one station vehicle that has been covered in grime from not being moved for so long. There were two other vehicles parked at the far side of the parking lot. One vehicle was covered in a tarp while the other looked used (not covered in dirt and the ice that seems to be everywhere these last few weeks) but tucked away as a get away vehicle. We also parked facing the road in case we needed to leave suddenly. There wasn't many dead walking around the premises but the road its self seemed to be covered in them. They all took note of our direction and had started heading our way. We had a hand full of minutes before they would reach us.
I dialed the number again to the station and held my breath as I counted the phone pulses. Once I had gotten to four the cheery woman's voice answered, "Oy! You made it? Blaze is going to answer the door for you chaps. Be quick about it, mate." Click. She hung up on us. She didn't tell us which door to go to. We parked by the main door but it seemed all boarded up. I nodded and we all got out of the SUV and armed ourselves with weapons and our bug out bags. A crawler came around the edge of the building and Oliver stomped him with his combat boots. The older the zombie the softer the bones. I grimaced at the squishy noise the already open and oozy skull made as it was completely destroyed. The zombies that were mounted to the walls had missing arms from the elbows down but they waved their stumps enthusiastically towards us. Their broken mouths motioned, their eyes widened and their bodies shook trying to get to us.
"Wait." I said, "Whats that?" I whispered to the group.
"Sounds like a whistle to me." Kroger said. We all listened closely. It was a whistle, a high pitched human whistle. We all peered around the corners with our backs pressed against the building. "This way." Kroger motioned and we made our way down the side of the building. A big silver door with a number punch pad as the door handle was opened and a male head was poking out. That must be Blaze. I headed the group since I had spoken to the DJ.
"Blaze?" I asked. He just nodded and took a step back, holding the door open. We all hustled in. Once we had all gotten inside I had a sinking feeling once I heard the big metal door click shut behind us. What if this is a trap? We had come across people who hinted at cannibals who had lost their minds and found other humans a far easier prey than animals or growing their own food. They obviously had been here for a very long time.
"Look-- If you people are going to start some shit we'll shoot you. If you plan on trying to overtake us and get our shit-- you're dead before you even start. Agreed? Dana is a sweetheart that thinks she can save the world from those assholes out there but honestly, I think most of the world is assholes. We've rescued a few of you fuckers and most of the time people just want to mooch and get our shit and they ALL die trying. So listen the fuck up and don't be assholes. The only reason why I let her try to get other survivors in here is because I was one of you and she rescued me. We have rules. You don't follow the rules you're dead, okay? Dead. I'll strap you to a pole myself and let those other assholes feast on your asshole faces. Deal?" Blaze pointed a lot and got in our faces. Avery flinched a couple times making John buck up at Blaze and I just tried to keep from rolling my eyes. This is a great tactic to see every ones temperament before we get too far into their safety zone. I respected what this Blaze guy was trying to do but I honestly just wanted a safe place to sleep that didn't involve smelling the butt-funk that has become the group. We all smelled terrible, it was true.
After we all vocally agreed to Blaze's terms we were corralled down the narrow hallways into a conference room where, I'm assuming, Dana was seated at the head of the table. There were blankets and pillows along with other sleeping essentials scattered around the room. Dana stood as we all entered and she motioned for us to sit as three armed individuals joined Blaze strategically around the walls of the room. Another smart move on their part. Not that we had any plans to overthrow them, but Blaze made a lot of valid points about assholes earlier.
"Now that Blaze has probably scared the bejesus out of you, it's my turn." Dana smiled a coy smile and sat back down, her machete resting on the table in front of her. She was dressed for indoors. Her feet in tennis shoes, her legs only covered in black leggings and she wore a loose fitting tshirt with a light but fitting runners jacket partially zipped up. Her hair was cut very short but styled in a girly fashion. Most notably, Dana has a large scar that ran the line of her jaw bone from chin to ear. The scar looked maybe a year old. Her skin paled from being inside without windows. I was kind of frightened of her, to be honest. "Not to frighten you, of course, but to talk to you, I mean." Dana's accent went in and out. It made me think she had a split personality, which further frightened me. The lines of craziness had been deeply blurred in this apocalyptic hell. "We have rules here. Rules you must abide by and instead of punishment you just get death. No judge and jury here-- just me and mine. I've blindly trusted and tried to see the good in everyone only to get my face slashed and my body defiled. I have no time for bullshit. First impressions are important so I want this to be very clear-- Fear me, do not befriend me. I'm not here for kissy faces or songs by a goddamned campfire. We are at war here and this is my headquarters. I'm not interested in your 'before infection' stories and if you try to get romantic I will shove my blade deep into your bum." We all flinched at this image in our minds. She went on for a bit while we sat there, trying to stay awake.
After she had gone on for what seemed like hours I found my place to interject, "Miss, I don't mean to be rude and I certainly don't want to offend you but we are all awfully tired. We've been on the road for months and just got to your town a couple weeks ago. It's been terribly cold out and we will try our best to live by your standards. Honestly, we will gladly stay here as a temporary thing. We'll leave first thing tomorrow morning. It'll help us out a ton if we could just sleep for a couple hours without fearing for our lives. We've been in the combat zone, as you call it, for years. We settled for just over a year to only be sent back out into the war. We are all exhausted and hungry, while we respect your fear for lives sake we live by very similar bylaws. I appreciate what you're doing for others and especially for us. We will discuss your terms and abide by them willingly. Death is the last thing we wish on ourselves but we are still a unit. We have our own supplies and will only take up space until we can move on. Now please, may we continue this tomorrow?" The whole room tensed up, apparently Dana wasn't used to being spoken to in such a way, which made me get even more nervous. Her henchmen were ruled under a heavy fist, I feared what I had gotten us into. Why did they choose me as their leader? It's so much easier to be a follower when lives are at stake, no one wants that burden to bare.
Dana kept a solemn face during my interjection and I watched her expressions closely. The corners of her mouth kept north so I felt at least a little reassured. I tried with all my might to keep my voice unwavering. I found it difficult to be headstrong but submissive at the same time. Even though I had been a leader in our group for so long I had always been the friendly, co-parent to every decision and not so much the supreme overlord as Dana portrayed to us.
After a long pause Dana responded, "Sounds good. As you can see there is sleeping stuff in here, you have eight hours. I would like to add that this is the heart of the building. There are rooms all around you and more of us than you. We will have people guarding each door for our own protection. We have a working toilet that each guard will gladly escort you to. We won't take your weapons as it seems you only have melee and not firearms. We won't search your bags because, frankly, my gut is telling me that you people are decent individuals and I trust, ah... what did you say your name was?"
"Beth"
"I trust that Beth has you all in check and everything will be fine. Leaving in the morning isn't much of an option though because you have most likely let all the surrounding assholes know you are here so it's a bit crowded out there but you are prisoners, the guards are simply so my people can rest easy. Keep your weapons on you at all times, this is a war zone people, keep on your toes. If you have any questions the guards know how to find me. You are restricted to this room for the night, but in the morning we'll see how it goes. We have electricity in the building so feel free to plug anything in that needs charging and I have provided you with a hot plate and water." Dana hesitated and then nodded as she left, her henchmen departed with her, closing the doors on the far sides of the room behind them.
That was about four days ago. We were told the next morning that it would take up to ten days before we could leave again but she knows of the place we got directions to. She corresponds with the location and has sent people there before. She screens "prospects" for them, as she calls it. For as hard and mean she seemed on day one, she has softened up quite a bit. I guess we are blending in pretty well, we are just happy for shelter and the growth of numbers.
It was an eery entrance. They had tied shamblers to posts all around the parking lot and walls of the station. The building was nondescript if you saw it from the road. There wasn't any signs on the outside and there was only one station vehicle that has been covered in grime from not being moved for so long. There were two other vehicles parked at the far side of the parking lot. One vehicle was covered in a tarp while the other looked used (not covered in dirt and the ice that seems to be everywhere these last few weeks) but tucked away as a get away vehicle. We also parked facing the road in case we needed to leave suddenly. There wasn't many dead walking around the premises but the road its self seemed to be covered in them. They all took note of our direction and had started heading our way. We had a hand full of minutes before they would reach us.
I dialed the number again to the station and held my breath as I counted the phone pulses. Once I had gotten to four the cheery woman's voice answered, "Oy! You made it? Blaze is going to answer the door for you chaps. Be quick about it, mate." Click. She hung up on us. She didn't tell us which door to go to. We parked by the main door but it seemed all boarded up. I nodded and we all got out of the SUV and armed ourselves with weapons and our bug out bags. A crawler came around the edge of the building and Oliver stomped him with his combat boots. The older the zombie the softer the bones. I grimaced at the squishy noise the already open and oozy skull made as it was completely destroyed. The zombies that were mounted to the walls had missing arms from the elbows down but they waved their stumps enthusiastically towards us. Their broken mouths motioned, their eyes widened and their bodies shook trying to get to us.
"Wait." I said, "Whats that?" I whispered to the group.
"Sounds like a whistle to me." Kroger said. We all listened closely. It was a whistle, a high pitched human whistle. We all peered around the corners with our backs pressed against the building. "This way." Kroger motioned and we made our way down the side of the building. A big silver door with a number punch pad as the door handle was opened and a male head was poking out. That must be Blaze. I headed the group since I had spoken to the DJ.
"Blaze?" I asked. He just nodded and took a step back, holding the door open. We all hustled in. Once we had all gotten inside I had a sinking feeling once I heard the big metal door click shut behind us. What if this is a trap? We had come across people who hinted at cannibals who had lost their minds and found other humans a far easier prey than animals or growing their own food. They obviously had been here for a very long time.
"Look-- If you people are going to start some shit we'll shoot you. If you plan on trying to overtake us and get our shit-- you're dead before you even start. Agreed? Dana is a sweetheart that thinks she can save the world from those assholes out there but honestly, I think most of the world is assholes. We've rescued a few of you fuckers and most of the time people just want to mooch and get our shit and they ALL die trying. So listen the fuck up and don't be assholes. The only reason why I let her try to get other survivors in here is because I was one of you and she rescued me. We have rules. You don't follow the rules you're dead, okay? Dead. I'll strap you to a pole myself and let those other assholes feast on your asshole faces. Deal?" Blaze pointed a lot and got in our faces. Avery flinched a couple times making John buck up at Blaze and I just tried to keep from rolling my eyes. This is a great tactic to see every ones temperament before we get too far into their safety zone. I respected what this Blaze guy was trying to do but I honestly just wanted a safe place to sleep that didn't involve smelling the butt-funk that has become the group. We all smelled terrible, it was true.
After we all vocally agreed to Blaze's terms we were corralled down the narrow hallways into a conference room where, I'm assuming, Dana was seated at the head of the table. There were blankets and pillows along with other sleeping essentials scattered around the room. Dana stood as we all entered and she motioned for us to sit as three armed individuals joined Blaze strategically around the walls of the room. Another smart move on their part. Not that we had any plans to overthrow them, but Blaze made a lot of valid points about assholes earlier.
"Now that Blaze has probably scared the bejesus out of you, it's my turn." Dana smiled a coy smile and sat back down, her machete resting on the table in front of her. She was dressed for indoors. Her feet in tennis shoes, her legs only covered in black leggings and she wore a loose fitting tshirt with a light but fitting runners jacket partially zipped up. Her hair was cut very short but styled in a girly fashion. Most notably, Dana has a large scar that ran the line of her jaw bone from chin to ear. The scar looked maybe a year old. Her skin paled from being inside without windows. I was kind of frightened of her, to be honest. "Not to frighten you, of course, but to talk to you, I mean." Dana's accent went in and out. It made me think she had a split personality, which further frightened me. The lines of craziness had been deeply blurred in this apocalyptic hell. "We have rules here. Rules you must abide by and instead of punishment you just get death. No judge and jury here-- just me and mine. I've blindly trusted and tried to see the good in everyone only to get my face slashed and my body defiled. I have no time for bullshit. First impressions are important so I want this to be very clear-- Fear me, do not befriend me. I'm not here for kissy faces or songs by a goddamned campfire. We are at war here and this is my headquarters. I'm not interested in your 'before infection' stories and if you try to get romantic I will shove my blade deep into your bum." We all flinched at this image in our minds. She went on for a bit while we sat there, trying to stay awake.
After she had gone on for what seemed like hours I found my place to interject, "Miss, I don't mean to be rude and I certainly don't want to offend you but we are all awfully tired. We've been on the road for months and just got to your town a couple weeks ago. It's been terribly cold out and we will try our best to live by your standards. Honestly, we will gladly stay here as a temporary thing. We'll leave first thing tomorrow morning. It'll help us out a ton if we could just sleep for a couple hours without fearing for our lives. We've been in the combat zone, as you call it, for years. We settled for just over a year to only be sent back out into the war. We are all exhausted and hungry, while we respect your fear for lives sake we live by very similar bylaws. I appreciate what you're doing for others and especially for us. We will discuss your terms and abide by them willingly. Death is the last thing we wish on ourselves but we are still a unit. We have our own supplies and will only take up space until we can move on. Now please, may we continue this tomorrow?" The whole room tensed up, apparently Dana wasn't used to being spoken to in such a way, which made me get even more nervous. Her henchmen were ruled under a heavy fist, I feared what I had gotten us into. Why did they choose me as their leader? It's so much easier to be a follower when lives are at stake, no one wants that burden to bare.
Dana kept a solemn face during my interjection and I watched her expressions closely. The corners of her mouth kept north so I felt at least a little reassured. I tried with all my might to keep my voice unwavering. I found it difficult to be headstrong but submissive at the same time. Even though I had been a leader in our group for so long I had always been the friendly, co-parent to every decision and not so much the supreme overlord as Dana portrayed to us.
After a long pause Dana responded, "Sounds good. As you can see there is sleeping stuff in here, you have eight hours. I would like to add that this is the heart of the building. There are rooms all around you and more of us than you. We will have people guarding each door for our own protection. We have a working toilet that each guard will gladly escort you to. We won't take your weapons as it seems you only have melee and not firearms. We won't search your bags because, frankly, my gut is telling me that you people are decent individuals and I trust, ah... what did you say your name was?"
"Beth"
"I trust that Beth has you all in check and everything will be fine. Leaving in the morning isn't much of an option though because you have most likely let all the surrounding assholes know you are here so it's a bit crowded out there but you are prisoners, the guards are simply so my people can rest easy. Keep your weapons on you at all times, this is a war zone people, keep on your toes. If you have any questions the guards know how to find me. You are restricted to this room for the night, but in the morning we'll see how it goes. We have electricity in the building so feel free to plug anything in that needs charging and I have provided you with a hot plate and water." Dana hesitated and then nodded as she left, her henchmen departed with her, closing the doors on the far sides of the room behind them.
That was about four days ago. We were told the next morning that it would take up to ten days before we could leave again but she knows of the place we got directions to. She corresponds with the location and has sent people there before. She screens "prospects" for them, as she calls it. For as hard and mean she seemed on day one, she has softened up quite a bit. I guess we are blending in pretty well, we are just happy for shelter and the growth of numbers.
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