First Night

No Less Than Three

Seeing the Zeke cuffed like a rabid dog was strange but not abnormal to me. I sighed knowing full well it could be their mother. I mulled over several questions as I returned to the group.

The stench in the bunker continued to make me gag as I approached them. Two weeks, at minimum. Judging by the conditions alone and not even their looks. The dry blood that resembled a Jackson Pollock spread across the connecting doorway of the bunker suggested a final stand. Judging by the survivors, I'd say it was successful. As the Zeke groaned from its prey getting away, Koby sent a glance at me.

"Zeke?"

"Yeah." I responded being sure to keep my voice monotone. I flipped my NODs up tapping his left shoulder. The girl was a stunning blonde with an eastern face. She definitely had some nice curves along with silver eyes and muscle clearly visible under the tank top. After checking her out and thinking for what seemed like minutes, my eyes finally made their way to her ripped cargo pants. The gauze bandage underneath was clean and from the looks, well wrapped. Her eyes traced mine and immediately grew panicked.

"It's not what you think, it's not a bite!" The unexpected normal level of speech made me jump back and made Koby almost reflexively pull the trigger. I spun on my heels and quickly closed the sheet metal door a few feet away. Flipping my NODs down I listened and peaked through the several gaps in the wall. Lucky us, nothing seemed out of place. Returning to see everyone had flipped up their NODs I thought back a few seconds. Not only could she speak English despite her very Russian appearance, she knew about the bite phenomena. My eyebrows peaked in interest. "Good, you speak English. That makes this easier." My voice was hard as I glared at her. Her eyes showed as if she got caught in a lie. Her accent was light but noticeable, the fear was quickly replaced with determination in her eyes. "What's your name?" I dialed back, asking the question without a hint of threat. Her eyes wandered to the boy to which I motioned Max and him over.

"He's got a gun on him." I let out a sigh while shuffling over to the boy. Kneeling down, I could clearly see a handgun in the dim light. "Isn't that... my Glock?" The more I looked the more I was certain. The way the blocky frame fit in the hard shell holster with its tritium irons shining in the light. "I'm going to take it back, you will not move, do you understand?" He shook is head vigorously as I reached for my gun. Strapping it back to my belt I dragged him by the shoulder next to the girl. After checking him all over and whispering some things in a Cyrillic language which sealed her Russian appearance, she let out her breath. She was clearly holding it in for a while, "Katya, Katya Selveria. What are you, special forces or something?" It took everything I had to keep from laughing, Koby answered for me as I stood behind them. "No we're not SF, and him?" Gesturing to the boy on the left, I walked around to stand between Max and Koby.

"Carter." She replied a little less on edge. Carter had blonde hair and a complexion much like his sisters. His hair fell a little over his eyes in a very emo manner, but his piercing blue eyes showed maturity beyond his age. The conversation went back and forth, answering on both sides. Time passed as we learned and shared. Koby and I looked at each other during a pause, "get up." We spoke in a near unison. The room turned sour as Max understood. He guided them to the wall and faced them away from the confirmed mother. Koby was emotionless as he plunged the knife through it's eye socket. I stepped back slightly not expecting the less than beautiful death. He wiped his knife and walked over to Max, leaving me shocked. Getting over my human emotions, I quickly stepped in line with Koby.

The big question, what do we do with them? Plenty of food to give and take, send them on their way. Koby was stoic while Max wore his opinion on his sleeve. Katya would be extremely useful to no end.

Her medical knowledge.

She was in her second year of college for a bachelors having completed her EMT basic and advanced. Before everything went to hell, she was well on her way to being a paramedic. My limited knowledge beyond bullet holes was less than ideal, meanwhile things like diseases and infections evade me completely. My dad would say, "Do what you can to stop the bleeding, you can treat infection later." I don't remember which movie brought on the conversation, but it was probably a great movie. Carter didn't show anything exemplary right off the bat and stayed quiet during our grilling session of Katya. Carter may have some hidden talents, or he could be as useless as the National Guard these past couple weeks.