Better off Undead

Chapter 13: Shelter from the Storm

There was only darkness and silence. Then a loud noise, the sound of something hard pounding into something not quite as hard, echoed through the emptiness. The sound came again, and a sliver of light cut its way through the dark, blinding and brilliant.

The sliver widened and the light grew brighter, cutting its way into the room with fiendish delight, until it stretched its way into every corner, every nook, and every cranny. It was a weak light, really, the light of a setting sun that had already disappeared behind trees. So to the group that stood there on the outside looking in, the large room appeared foreboding, menacing, dark, and dreary. Yet compared to how it had been only moments before, it was now bright and alive.

"Yup, it's a warehouse," one of the group – Marshall – said.

"Told you," Devin replied.

Flashlights clicked into existence and the room filled with beams of bright white light crisscrossing the walls, floors, and ceilings as the group made its way inside. "This will be a great place to set up a base camp," Marshall went on. "At least until we find something better."

"You know, some of those things might be in the building, or at least on the base," Eli said. "It'll be dangerous to stay anywhere until we check that it's clear."

"You hardly need to remind anyone," Marshall growled.

With everyone inside they closed the gate, and threaded a pipe through adjacent holes in the frame to lock it in place. The room fell back into darkness, the sunlight now gone, and only the various flashlights provided any illumination. Everyone stood still for a moment, blinking in the lower light. A few people began fishing through their bags, grabbing out candles and lanterns and began lighting them to place in various spots around the room.

Marshall and a small group of others stepped over to Eli. "We were going to break up into groups and search the building. Mostly only people with guns, though you seem insane enough to risk your neck with just those baseball bats, so we thought you might be willing to join Jay and help out."

"Sure," Eli responded. "You can never face too many close calls in one day." Despite what the others seemed to think of him, he actually did not enjoy risking his life. In fact, he was rather mortified at the thought of jumping in feet first again, especially if there were any more zombies like the ones outside. He said none of this, though.

"Good," Marshall said, apparently oblivious to Eli's sarcasm. "So Devin and I will take the top floor. Rico, you and your cousins take the second floor. Daniel and Matthew, you two can take the bottom floor. Jay and Eli, you're on the bottom floor, too. You guys take the south side. It looked like there was a hallway between this building and the next. I want you to check it out, see if it's open. Don't go too far though. We'll help you search the next building when we finish our floors. Got it? Let's keep this simple. We're just searching for any signs of life, death, or undeath, and any open doors or windows that might need to be shut. Everyone be safe and keep in radio contact."

"We have radios?" Eli asked. In answer, Jay held his up and smiled proudly. "Cool."

"What about us," Amber said, walking over with Tisha. "I have a gun. Tisha and I can form a group."

"I suppose..." Marshall began, though he seemed hesitant to agree.

"Actually, it probably would be good if a few people with weapons stayed here to guard the camp," Eli cut in. "You know, just in case something slips by us."

Amber stared daggers at him. Eli smiled warmly back at her.

"That's a good point, Eli," Marshall noted. "Yes, do that. We don't know what's in here. We definitely want someone capable guarding the camp."