Zombie Hero: Group 2 The Oakdale Galleria

[nexus]

I had alot of players for this game, I split them into two groups running in similar but slightly variant settings, Here's the first part of the second group. Again, adult language and situations.

 

Its dawn and a storm looms on the horizon. Dark thunderheads billow and churn in the distance, lightening flashing in ominous silence among them. It’s been 3 days since you've seen any people. Any living people anyway. There are plenty of bodies. People killed in the rioting, or that actually succumbed to the Flu...or "them" and died in the wreck clogged streets. The charnel smell of fire and rotting flesh hangs faintly in the air, tainting everything you smell or taste with its foulness. Supplies are running low.

The last of your canned goods are gone and your down to a few strips of jerky and some stale chips when you see it, like an oasis in the middle of the wastes, the shopping mall.

 

The sign says "Oakdale Galleria". Its a 3 floor mega shopping complex with a glass facade facing a broad open parking lot. Only a few burned out and stripped cars sit in the lot. Miraculously, nothing moves. The place looks almost pristine and untouched by the looting. Maybe there's something inside still.

 

Jasmine smiled. "Well, I could use a few more things for my wardrobe..." And nearly pissed herself when someone shouted behind her ""Hey! Lady! You all right?"

 

She squealed, spinning around and backing up.. The shouter was a huge woman, a platinum blonde bull dyke looking giantess of a woman, standing off to her left.

 

"Shut your PIE-HOLE boy," a male voice rang out, startling them both. "You're makin' enough noise to wake the dead!"

 

Jenna turned slightly in that direction, bringing the gun up. "In case you haven't noticed, BOY, the dead are already awake. But since you're talking, I'm guessing you're not one of them." She kept herself behind the car, watching them both.

 

"Oh, I'm so sorry...shut your pie-hole MA'AM. Is that better?" AJ asked sarcastically. "And now that we've all confirmed we're among the living, and identified our genders, AND possibly announced our presence to those who aren't alive...I'm assuming you two are wanting into this place as well?"

 

He didn't seem terribly concerned at the fact the larger woman had a gun of her own, and seemed to make it a point that she had one (whoop-dee-doo...). He had guns pointed in his direction by Panamanian guardsmen, Iraqi Republican Guard, Serbian Militia...one gun wasn't going to make him take that much pause.

 

He passed them by, looking to see where an entrance. The glass facade was probably shatterproof, but there might be more accessible service entrances around...

 

"Shall we look for a way in?" he asked rhetorically. "My wife hates it when she gets caught in the crunch of shoppers. Can't say I blame her."

 

God I wish she was here, he thought sadly.

 

"Every woman does, even me." Jenna said. She walked up closer to the man and the woman. "I don't suppose we could be lucky enough for the front doors to be

open, right?" She looked down at the other woman.

 

"Miss? Are you ok? It's nice to see living faces, even it they're not entirely friendly." The girl, she was gorgeous. In fact, almost too pretty but in a trashy sort of way, not like a model but more like a streetwalkers or a showgirl. Showy and a bit overdone.

 

Jenna managed to keep herself from ogling, and turned back when she heard the man speaking again. Then it hit her where she’d see her before. “American Bootyâ€, a pretty hot lesbian flick.

 

_Go figure on THAT..._ Jenna thought.

 

"Remote," AJ said. "Some malls leave their main doors open, so morning power walkers can come in and get their exercise. More than likely, we'll have to find an unlocked service entrance...or make an entrance."

 

If he had gone into boosting cars instead of selling crack when he was young, he might know how to pick a lock.

 

Jasmine nodded, trying the front door. "If we can secure all the doors, it might be a good place to hole up for a while..." The doors were locked. She could see inside and the place looked abandoned.

 

Suddenly, there was a rustling in the hedges beside the door...

 

Jasmine backed up, the other two were the ones with guns.

 

Jenna turned, raising the bat over her shoulder for a swing. She waited to see if anything was going to come out.

 

Johnson stepped back, and had his shotgun levelled toward the hedge...

 

"Say something now," he said menacingly, as he chambered a round.

 

"Hey, hey whoa," a little scruffy ragamuffin of a girl came out of the bushes. "Shit, I was just seeing if you were down or Deadheads, kay?"

 

Jenna breathed a sigh of relief. Lowering the bat, she smiled at the girl. "Well, I'm not a big fan of the Dead, and we're not dead, so I guess that makes us down. My name's Jenna." she said, holding out her hand.

 

The moment a little girl was in his sights, A.J. raised his weapon up

and away from the child. He scowled--which looked rather menacing.

 

"You could've gotten yourself killed..." he started, but then he realized just how stupid his comment was. His features softened. "Aw hell...I don't even know how you could've approached this any better. Yeah...we're among the living and breathing."

 

And looking for a way into this place, he thought.

 

"C'mon...we gotta find a way inside."

 

Jasmine exhaled. "Don't suppose you know a way in?"

 

"Whoa!" Sam exclaimed, taking a step back. "What the hell is going on here?" They all looked up at the new arrival, a slim, but attractive woman though a bit tom boyish in appearance.

 

AJ almost wheeled around with his weapon leading--the tension in the air was more than a little thick.

 

Stay cool, he thought.

 

"We're giving each other heart attacks and inducing paranoia, ma'am," he said. "In the middle of all this, we're trying to get in here. It might be defensible."’

 

Jenna turned, gun still in hand. "Better be careful about the surprises, Missy." she said. "We were just about to try and find a way inside. Hopefully in a hurry, cause that storm is about to rain on our parade."

 

She looked at the big guy. "So which way? Left or right?" she asked.

 

A smudge of charcoal grey seemed to bulge from the darkness of the parking lot. A figure moved forward, clad in black from head to foot. An alien: great petal eyes like pools of oil and beneath these a circle of a mouth like a perfect O, devoid of teeth, utterly black, surrounded by a skin of shiny plastic, all shaded beneath the gun-metal-grey dome of a helmet. Not the head of an alien grey but a gasmask; a man dressed in swat relief’s. Tubes drooped from the underside of the mask and coiled over Kevlar plated shoulders to tanks strapped on a wide back. The body-amour was also black- some kind of bullet proof vest. The figure wore a black boiler suit underneath and at his hip lay a satchel of midnight color stuffed with who-knew-what. Ammo would have been a good guess, for in his right hand he gripped a sub-machine gun and in the other a snub barreled sidearm. Like a wraith he drifted into the open. Something about his gait suggested disregard for fear, a harbinger of danger, not a savior of the law. This was no well armed policeman but something else.

 

"You shouldn't point guns at little girls," the voice, dark and muffled, was aimed at AJ, as now were the machine gun and sidearm, the former leveled casually from the figure's hip, the latter at shoulder height, left arm held rigid, gun aimed meaningfully at the black man's throat. "Point it somewhere else."

 

"What, you've never been surprised?" Jenna said. "Why don't you put that gun down. It was a mistake, and nobody wants to hurt anyone else." _Yet._ she thought.

 

Well, they all come out of the woodwork now, don't they, AJ thought.

 

"Already moved it away from the girl when I found out she still was a girl, fella," he said, gun pointed obviously into the air. "Maybe you might want to do the same thing...before this ends badly."

 

He was pretty sure he could get the deer-slug through the kevlar, if it came down to it. He was hoping that it didn't.

 

"Whoa whoa..." Jasmine backed up. "There are enough dead people around here already. And he was already pointing it away..." She edged over to the kid. "So, um, know a way in?"

 

Sam scoffed, then sighed. "I should have stayed at the yard," she thought to herself. She looked at the blurred reflection of the bunch assembled in front of the shopping mall through the eyes in the suit.

 

"What's the good of pointing a gun at anyone? I shot my husband fourteen god damn times and he didn't even blink."

 

"Did you know he was one of them before that?" Jasmine asked with a grin.

 

Sam grinned back at Jenna. "Yeah, I knew... but I was almost to that point, anyway."

 

"My husband is the only one I've encountered. After the bullets didn't work, I ended up burning him to a crisp in a junked car. Smelly, but effective."

 

It takes a lot." Jenna said. "The ones I took on stood up to bullets, even my strongest blows with the bat. I just kept hitting them til they went down." She put her pistol away.

 

"And them I hit them some more, til they just stopped moving." She unhooked the bat once more, holding it up. This works almost as well as a gun, in close quarters." The bat looked small in her hands, but it did look well used.

 

"Regular guns don't seem to be really effective," AJ admitted. "While we were making our stand, I found three things to be effective--fire, explosives...and blowin' large holes into 'em.

 

"Which is why I'm sticking to shotguns right now."

 

Jericho turns to the man with the shotgun and dips the chin of his gasmask, "...Mossberg 12 guage Bantam, pump action, positive steel to steel lock-up, blue finish, honey satin buttstock and pump grip, 24 inch VR ported Accu barrel with 3 choke tubes. Thumb operated tang safety for left and right handed use, wide vent rib with white front and brass mid-bead sights, 6 shot field capacity. That's the fully-rifled deer barrel model with different sight options, though the sight seems to be missing."

 

AJ raised his eyebrow. Whoever this was, he knew his weaponry. Either he had training...or he was one of those gamer geeks who got obsessed about guns. "

 

AJ went over to a nearby service exit door, to give it a try, and began to look at the possibility of climbing upward. There was a door down by nearby row of hedges, cleverly concealed to maintain the façade’s architectural integrity. Trying to open it proved fruitless. It was securely locked.

 

They were the first people Jeff had seen in two days. And all of them looked normal. Alive. Two men, two woman and a little girl. Ok maybe not normal. One of the women was a huge platinum blonde and one of the men was decked out in paramilitary gear like some weekend warrior survivalist nutcase. Most of them were armed, but given what was going on he couldn’t blame them. They looked to be trying to get into the mall, which wasn’t really a bad idea all things considered.

 

AJ heard the stranger as he read of the litany of what he supposedly knew about the shotgun he was carrying. He scowled a little at the fact that the door wouldn't open. He continued to survey the side of the mall, and decided to make a test climb. "I don't suppose anyone has a rope?", AJ asked frowning that smoothness of the mall’s walls. The glass was probably shatterproof; the exit doors didn't have to be. Moreover, there was usually a set of inner doors, so..."Unless anyone can come up with an alternative, I'm thinking we can blow out the locking mechanism on this door," he said. "If anyone has an alternative, speak now."

 

Jenna looked at the door, tugged on it. "I could probably pull it open, but I don't know how we'd get it closed again."

 

"Why don't we walk the perimeter? There aren't any of those dead things now, and it's no use blowing out a door and going in if there's a gaping hole around the other side and an army of those things waiting for us..." Jasmine shrugged. "We see if it's all good, if it is, we find a good door to break, that we can seal up from the inside. If this place is clean, it'll work for a home base until we can figure out what we should do..."

 

The rain started to fall, gently for the moment but heavy storm was looming in the distance.

"The rain is coming." Jenna said. "And me without an umbrella. If we're going to look around, let's get moving."

AJ nodded. "Okay...let's scout the perimeter. I don't mind a little rain, but let's keep in one group. We may not know each other, but right now, we're all we've got. Let's keep it that way."

 

He had no idea how this was going to work. If none of them knew how to jimmy a lock, he didn't see any other way to get in other than making an entrance.

 

"Bad idea," said Jericho, "might need the lock later. Here," he patted a coil of black rope tied around his right shoulder. The rope looked like the sort used by professional climbers, flecked with tiny smatterings of green and very strong but so thin it hardly showed against the rest of his dark outfit. He holstered the sidearm in a sheath strapped to his right thigh, swung the MP-5 sub-machine gun over his left shoulder and moved a satchel, which until now had been hanging at his hip, into closer view. Beneath this hung a small metal grappling hook. "I'll go up. Find a skylight. Open the doors from inside."

 

"I wish you said something sooner," AJ said. "Okay, I'll go with you.

No reason any of us should go anywhere alone."

 

"Do a quick runaround." Jasmine suggested. "Make sure we're not walking into a nest or something. We'll circle around while you get up there, meet you back here in ten minutes or so." It finally dawned on AJ where he’d seen here before. At a friend’s bachelor party. She’d been the star in three of the pornos running on the big screen TV all night long. Damn…small world.

 

AJ opened up a pouch on his belt, and pulled out a peculiar canister. "This is a thermite grenade," he said, handing it to the tall amazon. It makes a large radius of intense heat and fire. I only have one left, so don't use it unless you have to."

He then shouldered his shotgun and made his way back to the strangely dressed character. "Let's do it."

 

The kid chose now to speak up. “I can pop some of the locks if ya want me to…†;

 

"Really? Well, give it a go, kiddo." Jenna said. "Couldn't hurt anything."

Jasmine looked to the kid. "Have you been around here a while? Can you tell us what condition the mall is in?"

 

“I got here just a little while before you all did.â€

 

"Hold up, Batman," AJ said to Jericho, as he walked over to the kid.

"Well, that might be nice to try. Will we be able to lock 'em after your through?"

 

It wouldn't be much good if the doors couldn't be closed afterward, after all.

 

“Well, most a the time the lock don’t work when your done…†she admitted.

 

"No!", The gas mask shakes vigorously, "I go up. My rope, my risk. You go with the others." Up comes the mask again, facing AJ, "protection. At least one of us should stay with them. You have the Mossberg."

 

Jasmine nodded. "All right. We'll do a quick circle and meet you back here in ten."

 

AJ shook his head. "If you were in my platoon, I'd kick your ass for insubordination...but you've got a point, and I don't wanna argue. Okay, up you go. Just make it quick." He assumed that the guy knew what to do once he was in there. "Hold off on jimmying the lock, kid," he said. "Let's get some cover until we can get inside."

 

Jasmine headed off to check the perimeter of the mall, to make sure there wasn't a gaping hole with zombies wandering around. She didn't have guns like some of these people. She'd survived by running and hiding. It was no use running into this place if it was already full of those things...

 

No one else seemed to following here. She had an obvious choice: circle to the right or circle to the left.

"How long do we give him to get to the door?" Jenna asked. "Just in case, I'd likie to have a backup plan." She looked at the commando looking guy. "You think you can do this fast?" she asked. "We'll look around, see if there's another way in, as well. If you're not back in a while, I say we have the kid open the door. Or me."

"Name's Annie," the little girl replied, looking somewhat annoyed. "Not kid." She poked her head out to the commando guy and griped, "Hurry will ya? I coulda been inside and dry already."

Jericho shrugs, an agreement, indifference, or confusion. "Watch the night. I'll be back." He swings the grappling hook, the face behind the mask upturned toward the roof of the mall... The hook caught on something with a loud clang. Or at least it sounded loud in the quiet of the early morning.

"Same as before--ten minutes," AJ answered. "If push comes to shove after that, then one of you picks the lock--but not the main doors here."

 

He gestured to the side. "One of the emergency exits here. If it follows standard design, there'll be an inner exit door which we can secure."

He continued to keep an eye out for anything zeroing in on their position.

Jasmine decided to circle right; at a decent jog she could probably circle the mall in about five minutes. She pulled away from the main group, heading around the corner of the mall ahead of everyone else. There was a home depot on that side with a garden section. She could see inside. The plants were actually still looking pretty good in the greenhouse.

 

Jericho started scaling the outside the building. Given the wet concrete it was slow going.

 

Jasmine checked the gates and looked for gaps between the fencing and the roof. Well, more an awning, but it would probably keep the deadheads out... Maybe she could crawl in, though the inside doors were probably still locked. It might be a good place to run to if things got bad outside before they could get a door. The lot was surrounded by a fence. She could probably scale it without too much trouble and then she’d be in the green house area. Breaking the glass door would get her inside the garden center proper. As far as she knew, Deadheads weren’t together enough to climb Of course the door could be the same shatter proof material as the front doors. She was starting to feel a bit…alone out here by herself.

 

AJ didn't like it when people went out on their own--not at all. It usually meant that he'd have to go out by himself and bring them back...and beat the crap out of them--verbally and sometimes literally. But whether or not to leave the group...the rules of warfare had changed. Damn...

 

Jericho was half way, a small slip had set him back a few feet, but he was making progress.

 

AJ didn't like it when people went out on their own--not at all. It usually meant that he'd have to go out by himself and bring them back...and beat the crap out of them--verbally and sometimes literally. But whether or not to leave the group...the rules of warfare had changed. Damn. This did not feel right. People were scattered all over the place. This was the open, possibly hostile territory. This lack of discipline was going to get some people killed or worse, turned into one of those things. It was a hell of a war. Anyone was a potential traitor. The enemy had a 100 percent effective recruitment strategy.

Jenna walked around the building, looking for the woman who had gone. She saw her over by a gate, near a Home Depot. She moved to catch up with her, keeping an eye out around them. She still couldn’t quite believe this was the same porn star she’d seen in that movie. Almost hard to recognize her with her clothes on, she pondered, a slight smirk curling her lips as she admired Jasmine’s ass for a moment as she walked up. Of course, most folks would probably be surprised to find themselves breaking into a mall with a pro wrestler. The End of the World sure did make for weird situations.

Annie shivered, hunkering down inside her overly large leather jacket. She hated this. It was getting cold again. She was wet and these guys were screwing around playing GI Joe. Why didn’t they just go the fuck in already? This rate they were all gonna get the Black Flu and spaz. She could almost see them, their skin growing those black boils and coughing up their guts then coming at her, growling, drooling and hungry. The faces of her friends replaced them, her dead friends that had tried to eat her alive, would have if she hadn’t escape blocked the apartment door and squirmed out of window. With a soft, almost inaudible whimper, she closed her eyes and forced the visions out of her mind and focused on now. She couldn’t be a little fucking girl anymore. The bogeyman was real and she had to smart or he WOULD eat her. She headed closer to the building and got under an overhang. At least that kept some of the rain of her. But she really had to pee….

Jericho crested the building and pulled himself up onto the roof. It was broad flat, dotted with air conditioning units, vents and a couple of elevator access areas. He saw the stairway access across the way and, strangely enough, two deck chairs set up near it.

Oh well, at least the big lady's going to be there with her, AJ thought. I just wish they'd get back over here.

He could take the kid and follow along, but then the "masked marvel" would have no idea where they went. Divided like this though, they were very vulnerable...If he had to, he'd get the kid and follow the two women, but he wasn't happy about it and speaking of the kid. "Folks call me AJ," he said. "What do they call you?"

 

She looked up at him, short black hair plastered over her forehead by the rain. “I told you. Annie.â€

 

"Sorry...I forgot," AJ said. "I've had a few other things on my mind of late."

His "Daddy" side wanted to kick in and find a way to keep her dry, but he kept it under wraps. He had nothing he could give. Hell...he was still standing out in the rain himself, water dripping off of the brim of his cap. "So tell me Annie...have you ever loaded a shotgun before?"

 

Annie sneezed, bundling the large jacket around her, "No. You got a spare to show me?" She tried and most succeeded in sounding flip about it, but the idea kind of scared her. She’d only held a gun before once in her life. She hoped she wouldn’t screw it up, but mostly she just wanted to get in out of this rain. And find a place to piss. She really had to go.

 

"It's pretty easy," AJ said, wanting to get the girl's mind off of their situation. "I can show you in a few easy steps. It might come in handy, just in case things get hairy. I can give you a walkthrough now..."

 

Besides, it'd mean that he'd be able to give her something to do once the shotgun was drained of shells. He could switch to the Colt .45 while she reloaded, and then switch back to the shotgun...ideally.

 

Jasmine continued her tour, with the big blonde trailing in her wake. She circled around the back. Out of sight and found the loading dock. A bright candy apple red Porsche was parked in front of the dock.

 

"Mama like..." Jasmine sighed, heading over to check if the keys were in it. Now THAT would be lucky, though she'd still have to park the thing outside... Then again, maybe they had a gate to the loading dock area... They could stage a few vehicles there, maybe. No keys but there were a pair of panties in the back seat. When tried the door it opened.

 

Jasmine glanced to the big girl. "Well, if someone can hotwire a car, we've got a ride..." She headed back out, looking for a gate to close if any. There was a roll up door but the car was parked outside of the dock itself, just close to it.

 

"Well, maybe we can roll it in later..." Jasmine hurried off to finish her circle of the mall. She and Jasmine made the tour, a few more entrances, all locked. A Sears and off in separate building across the parking lot they saw an Applebees and a Petsmart. Both of them looked locked down, but there was a van front of the Applebees. One of the creepy rusted out serial killer vans with no windows in the back. "I think we can avoid that..." she muttered to herself.

 

"Well, that's unpleasant." Jenna said. "Let's get back to GI Joe, Rambo, and the kid." She paused, looking back at the Porsche. "You think that belongs to someone in there?" She thumbed back at the mall.

 

:"Could be... If they're still alive,†Jasmine replied and headed back to where the others waited. They’d taken a bit of shelter under an overhang, but still looked pretty wet and miserable. Not that Jasmine and Jenna were looking much better and the rain was really coming down hard now.

 

"Ladies...welcome back," AJ said. "Y'all had me worried for a little bit."

 

He still hadn't done much to shelter himself. He was a little worried about shoving the kid out of the protection of the overhang. So he had fallen back on his marine training, which told him to grit his teeth and bear it.

 

"Find anything interesting?" he asked.

 

Jasmine slipped under the overhang with her, shivering a little in what little clothing she had. "Well, all the doors look secure. There's a loading dock area we might be able to slip some cars into for a reliable way out if we need it, and a home depot with a fenced in garden area we could also use for that. Sears across the lot. Once we get settled maybe we can do a quick run over there for anything we don't have here. Should have auto supplies at least. Might be a few cars in the service bay, and some keys for them."

 

AJ nodded as he absorbed the information. He wished the Sears was attached, but the Home Depot might come in handy. However..."No other way in, I take it?"

 

"Plenty of doors, but they're all locked down from what I could tell." Jasmine said.

"She didn't mention the Porsche. Pair of panties in the back seat." Jenna said. "You know, if he doesn't hurry up, I may pull that door open anyway. I have to use the bathroom. In a hurry."

Annie nodded slightly, in agreement. It felt like her back teeth were floating and steady beat of rain was NOT helping matters any.

"Sounds like we might not be the only ones who thought of settling in here," AJ said. "What about the fence around the Home Depot? Is it climbable?" It might offer another way into the mall. Moreover, if they did bust the lock on the door, Home Depot would have heavy chains and locks to bar the doors again. Something had to happen soon, though. They needed inside in the worst possible way.

 

Jasmine nodded. "Yeah, we can climb it. And I haven't seen the deadheads climb yet, but we can board over everything if we break in, right?" She glanced through the windows. "I wonder if the suburban commando decided to ditch us..."

 

"Lady," Annie nodded from her huddled spot under the overhang to Jenna. "I gotta go. You and me, let's go around the corner and take turns." She didn't wait for an answer as she got up as she spoke, digging her hands into the leather jacket's pockets and walking back the way AJ and Jenna had come. Screw this waiting bullshit. If she had to piss around the corner then she had to. Not like some dumbass cop was going to bust her for it.

 

AJ chuckled silently. There were a number of reasons that it was great to be a guy, or so he was told. An issue of "Maxim" Magazine a few years ago listed a hundred of them. It really wasn't his type of read, but it was humorous nonetheless. One of the reasons listed: The world is your urinal. He kept his vigil up, nonetheless. He also noted how long it'd been since Jericho had gone into the mall, and hoped he'd be showing up soon.

 

"Annie, I'm with you." Jenna said. "Let's go around the corner." She looked at the others, and gestured over her shoulder. "While we're waiting, Annie and me are gonna take a quick run around the corner. We'll scream if anything happens. You do the same." She looked down at Annie. "You ready to go?"

"Ready?!" her dark expressive eyes were briefly visible to Jenna under the ball cap. She was not quite what Jenna had expected from the way she talked. Her face was pretty...perhaps she looked like on the verge of being a teenager. She turned back to check out carefully where they were going. "I've been fucking dying! I can't wait any longer!" her voice was held to an urgent whisper. "Can you watch out first?" she rapidly started undoing her baggy cargo pants under her jacket.

 

"Sure kid, lets go." the big blonde said, ushering the kid ahead her.

 

"OK," she spun around, reflexively swiping away Jenna's arm attempting to usher her, "Drop the kid bullshit first thing. I was all right before and I don't need to be talked down to like I'm less than you." Chip clearly a mile high on her shoulder; she spun around again to walk ahead of Jenna.

 

"Sure." Jenna said with a chuckle. For her size, her laugh was surprisingly girlish. "I'll keep first watch." She turned her back, to give the girl some privacy, while still being able to look in as many directions as possible. She held the bat like she meant business. "Go ahead and do your thing ki... Annie."

Annie squatted down, pulling her pants down and started to go like a geyser. It was an extreme relief. She'd been holding it for hours.

"Guess you really had to go, Annie. And hey, don't take any offense at me calling you kid. I'd probably call you that if you were twenty. Just a habit. Let me know when you're done, all right? I still have to go too."

No problem," Annie sighed with tremendous relief. "I snapped cuz it hurt to hold it. Sorry. You are boxer or something?"

 

Jenna chuckled softly," Close. Wrestler. Played Pro Basketball for awhile too." She almost turned but remembered the girl's modesty and stopped herself.

 

Annie bounced a little then rose, hiking back up her cargo pants and cinching them up, "Okay. All done." She stepped forward again, feeling much better. She wished she had some tp but there’d bee worse times.

 

“All right, my turn.†Jenna stepped around her and took care of her business. As she was, Annie saw something coming down the road. It looked like a small group of people…. No Not people. She could tell from the drunken lurching. In her mind she could hear the moaning and babble that would become enraged howling as soon as they laid eyes on them.

 

Annie peered but stayed completely still. Her voice didn't come at first then she managed to whisper after a moment, "Hurry... I see some things coming..."

 

Jenna was beside her almost instantly. "Oh shit." The figures weren't moving normally. They were shambling, stumbling drunkenly down the highway in a small mob. "Fuck, we gotta get inside now."

 

AJ was getting a little more than worried. The fugitive from the riot squad seemed to be taking a little long at this, and it'd be inevitable that some deadheads would show up. They ruled the open now...and human beings were either eaten or made to swell their ranks. That fence separating them from the Home Depot was looking like more of an option as time went by... Screw it, the sergeant thought. When the two ladies came back, he was going to recommend that they scale the fence, and get inside NOW.

 

Jenna picked up the smaller girl, and moved back around the corner, trusting that her longer legs would move them faster. She ran up to the others almost as if in answer to AJ’s unspoken summons. The look on the big woman’s face did bode well at all. "We've got company and not the good kind, if you know what I mean! We've got to get in there NOW. Fuck waiting for Joe Commando. Annie, you think you can get that door open in a hurry?"

 

“Sure, any you want,†Annie answered with a bravado she didn’t really feel. Her guts were turning to jelly. She didn’t want to see more of those things. Part of her, the small part of her that was still a child had been hoping maybe they wouldn’t come.

 

Shit, AJ thought. He wasn't about to waste the expletive by using it out loud..."Right, what the big lady said," AJ confirmed. "I've got some paracord on me. Once we get inside, I might be able to secure the door--assuming we don't take it off the hinges. "Meanwhile, looks like I'm giving cover support."

 

“Ya can put me down anytime now,†Annie griped at the giantess. “Which door we goin’ for?â€

 

"Emergency exit," Johnson said quickly. "It should be easier to resecure it when we're in." The nearest one was the door near the loading dock which also put them more out of sight of the approaching Deadheads.

 

Jasmine shook her head. "Home depot. We jump the fence. The doors inside may be open. If not they may not be as tough. Once we're inside, we've got plenty to secure a door with."

"All right, then. Let's get there, and get in. There's a group of them, and I don't want to get caught in the middle, if you know what I mean." She hefted her bat for a second, then put it in it's holder, and grabbed her .45 "Rather have some distance if we need it." she said.

Given the potential close quarters, Sgt. Johnson stuck with the shotgun. "Let 'em come to you," he said. "Wait until they come into your range--we have to make each shot count." He didn't know about the tall lady, but his ammunition was running out.

 

Annie high-tailed it for Home Depot, showing she was no slouch when it came to running, even with baggy cargo pants on. Her backpack held tight in her arms, she ran up to the fence and started climbing, hauling herself up to the top…

 

Jasmine nodded, heading off at a run for the Home depot, relying on the rest to keep up, or pass her. Once she got there she started climbing the fence and got about half way before she slipped on a wet rung and gashed her leg on a piece of wire! She cursed, gritting her teeth, trying to pull herself the rest of the way up. Last thing they needed was those things smelling fresh blood.

 

"Climb? You want me to... shit." Jenna said. She moved up to the fence, then jumped up and grabbed the top, pulling herself up. At the top of the fence, she lifted the awning, to let Annie get through, and then reached a hand out to Jasmine. "Need a hand gorgeous?" she asked. "Let's get you over and get that cut tended to."

Annie quickly scrambled up and over, dropping to the ground on the other side and ran up to the garden shop door to get to work. The lock was a piece of junk and she could crack it easily with a few seconds time.

Jasmine nodded, wincing as she shifted, pulling the gash open. "Thanks..." she said weakly, accepting the hand

Jenna pulled her up. "That looks pretty nasty. We'll bandage it up down there." She helped the woman over, then let her down, trusting her leg strength to hold while whe did so. She looked back at the black man. "Yo, Sarge. You need a hand?" She grinned at him.

Climbing was second nature to the marine sergeant. AJ slung his shotgun, got a grip, and did the type of climb over he did when he wanted to show up a cocky recruit. Once over, he landed on his feet, unslung the shotgun again, and got ready...just in case the lock couldn't be cracked easily.

Jenna laughed that girlish laugh as the sarge touched the ground. She swung her leg over, and dropped down, rubbing her right knee. She knelt and looked at the cut on Jasmine's leg. Tearing a strip from her shirt, she wrapped it around the cut, trying to slow the bleeding. "That'll do for a temp, I hope." she said. "If you need a hand, let me know."

Annie, working with chilled and wet fingers worked at the lock, blinking water out of her eyes. Her hands were shaking and she had to make concentrate to make them stop. Oh god, what if she couldn’t…then there came the welcome click. “I got it!â€

Jasmine sighed. "Let's get in and get it closed up again..."

 

"In!" Johnson barked. He took the rear position, backing toward the opened doorway. As he got closer, he had one question on his mind... "Can you lock it back up?"

 

"I can try..." Annie checked to see if her jury rig was reparable or not...heart beating so fast now she felt it would burst. God she didn't want to see those things... It was a cheap lock and she’d popped it quick. It was going to stay popped.

 

Jasmine limped in, hopping on one leg to get through the door faster.

"Annie? What do you think? Can you lock it back up?"

"Nope, no way...it's gone," Annie wasn't waiting around. As she quickly said it, she headed back into the Home Depot. If they came...she already wanted her hiding place and escape route planned out. She was small and fast...it was how she stayed alive before even when her friends...she didn't want to think about it.

 

"Okay okay...at least we're in a hardware store," Johnson said. "That'll come in handy." At the simplest level, they could block off the popped door with some lumber planks and reinforce the blockage with some 4x4 posts and several bags of compost or cement sand. At the very least, there were some chains that could be wrapped around the handles...

 

They were in the Garden section. It had soil, landscaping materials…lawn jockeys and other items for the yard with a counter with a register right inside the door.

 

"If we're lucky, they won't get over the fence... Haven't seen em climb yet..." Jasmine said. "We should have time, but maybe we can push that counter over to the door for now..."

"Chain the doors shut, then put some of those posts up." Jenna said. "Then we can look through here; see if we can use anything, before heading out into the mall proper."

[Edsel]

Re: Zombie Hero: Group 2 The Oakdale Galleria

 

Excellent Zombie goodness!

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to nexus again.

[nexus]

Re: Zombie Hero: Group 2 The Oakdale Galleria

 

Slow days for Game 2 as well. Possibly offensive language, some mature content but no violence (yet)

 

Jasmine nodded. "Got it. Chain."

 

Jenna nodded. "Jasmine, I guess that means you're with me. If you're not all right walking on that leg, we can find you a cart, I'll wheel you around. And we can find a first aid kit, I'm sure."

 

"It's not fun, but I'll live..." Jasmine said, gritting her teeth.

"All right. If you need any help, let me know. For now, let's see what we can find in here. I think they have first aid kits mounted in some of the aisles in this place." Jenna started to walk through the store, slowly, so that Jasmine could keep up.

It was slow going, but Jasmine seemed determined to keep up.

 

"We'll keep our eyes peeled as well," Johnson said. "Meet back around the garden section in ten--or some reasonably close facsimile thereof."

 

If they ever made it into the mall proper, hopefully there'd be a Radio Shack or something like it, where they could acquire some walkie-talkies. But for now, AJ grabbed up a pallet cart--one of those things customers used to haul around wood and other large home project materials, and got it rolling. "C'mon Annie," he said. "Time to do a little shopping."

There were plenty of carts. The store was disturbingly quite inside and their footsteps echoed off the high ceiling. It was also pretty dark, but the finding light switch was child’s play. The harsh click and buzz of the interior lights coming up sounded like lightening in the bare confines of the huge store.

Jenna walked slowly with Jasmine, looking for first aid kits that might be mounted on the walls, or industrial ones that might be sold in the store itself.

 

"So, Jasmine." Jenna said. "You're an actress, right?"

 

"More or less, yeah." Actress. Yeah. She could pull off a couple of good acts. Like making DP with a couple of smelly Puerto Ricans under hot lights look like fun. And she’d gotten an award last year for best oral scene… Not exactly an Emmy or anything but hey, you took what you could get.

 

"I've seen some of your stuff." Jenna said nonchalantly. "You're quite... talented." She looked back at the woman and winked. "I enjoyed them."

 

Jasmine smirked. "Nice to know my fan base has survived. Guess I"ll be making movies for you from now on, huh?"

 

Jenna blinked, then grinned. "Sure. I'm sure I can pick up a camera somewhere." She looked for the manager's office. "I used to get offers all the time to... perform in adult entertainment." she said. "Some sort of fetish films, I guess." She laughed softly. "I mean, can you see me doing that?"

 

Jasmine smiled. "Hey, the fitness and bodybuilder babes are in high demand. And wrestling is pretty big too. And Chyna's got nothing on you." As they went through the aisles, Jasmine stopped, dumping a few machetes and some survival knives in the cart, along with a few multi-tools. "Hey, everyone's got guns and stuff... And it might help to have a few tools..."

 

Now I know how some of the employees who work here feel, AJ thought. At least we seem to be secure for the moment... But they had to make sure they stayed that way. He rolled the cart to the appropriate section, and found what he was looking for--hardwood planks, hardwood posts, nails... "And a couple of nail guns," he said. "This should speed things up." He kept his eyes and ears open, hoping that they managed to seal the doors up before they found a way in.

 

Considering all the excitement, Annie started at the loud crash of the lights. "Right," she grabbed a cart and started pushing it, looking left and right for what she wanted. Five finger discount was in full effect. Nail guns, nails gun. How the fuck was she supposed to know where nail guns where? Woodworking seemed like as good as place as and the girl hurriedly wheeled in that direction, her belly in knots. She could imagine those things, growing closer every second. Hungry and drooling for her…

 

The best shot for first aid kit seemed to in the manager’s office. At least one for the store.

 

Thankfully, the woodworking aisle was close by the wood. AJ thought. More accurately, the nail gun was where power tools were found--a lot of them used for wood. "Over there," he said, pointing. "Those look like heavy duty nail guns." So far...so good.

 

Something fell over deeper in the store, clattering across the floor with a metallic sound….

 

Jasmine glanced to her companion. "Uh oh..."

 

"Son of a bitch..." Jenna said quietly. She grabbed for her bat, one hand still on the cart. "I REALLY hope that was one of our peopleâ€, she whispered.

 

Johnson's shotgun was in his hands, as he turned to where the noise came from. "Get your stuff on my cart and get it all back to the starting point, Annie." He began a cautious approach toward the noise...

 

Annie started to question but the look on his face shut her up. Without a word, but a surly look the teenager started wheeling the cart back to the door as fast as she could.

 

Johnson carefully peered up one aisle, back into the appliances. Out of all the refrigerators, one hung open, some canned goods rolling around in the floor. The white door was smeared with something, something reddish black. Blood?

[nexus]

Re: Zombie Hero: Group 2 The Oakdale Galleria

 

Who knew a Home Depot could be so exciting?

 

Jenna looked at Jasmine and put a finger to her lips, then handed her the gun. She moved over, and looked through the aisles, slowly and one at a time.

 

Jasmine nodded, accepting the gun, though she wasn't sure exactly how to use it. Point the tube end at something and pull the trigger, yeah, but past that..

 

Jenna wasn't sure about leaving her with the gun, but she took the chance... She wasn't seeing anything down the aisles she was looking at.

 

Jasmine glanced over. "Now what?"

 

"First thing, we find the first aid kit. Then, we get back to that door as fast as fucking possible." Jenna said. "You want the gun or the bat, pretty lady?"

 

Jasmine handed the gun off to Jenna. "I think I hear the soldier boy up front by the door.... I say we clump together." She reached into the cart to grab one of the machetes and a large bowie knife.

 

"You got it." Jenna holstered the gun once more, and hefted the bat. She pushed the cart, and they headed back toward the back entrance. "We lock up, and find the kit after."

 

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Oh this ain't good at all, Johnson thought. We might have company...of the unwelcome kind.

 

He made a quick decision in his head. He was one of the faster runners in the Corps, so he could catch up with the others in a heart beat...assuming he was in a position to run, of course.

 

He cautiously approached, sweeping the shotgun in wide arcs, looking out for any potential trouble as he approached the fridge. When he was close enough, he reached out a finger toward the suspect substance, and gave it a sniff.

 

If it was blood, his next action was going to be to backpedal back to the others, starting with Annie.

 

He made two steps before something crashed off behind the appliances, sending small cloud of flyers into the air. Threw the racks AJ could just make out a humanoid shape lurking. It moaned, lunging around it in his direction. It was a woman, her Home Depot smock caked with blood. Most of her right arm was flayed and torn but that didn't seem to slowing her down at all, as she staggered towards him at full speed, mouth hanging open....

 

"WE GOT COMPANY!"

 

As AJ barked out that line in his drill sergeant bellow, he brought his weapon to bear on the obvious deadhead, and began to back away half-speed, knowing he'd need as much distance as he could get, in order to get off as many shots as possible. He squeezed the trigger, and the 12-gauge roared...

 

The gun blast was like rolled threw the store like thunder and the woman's face disintegrated, exploding into a slimy red mush. Her body kept lumbering forward for a couple of steps before it keeled over and lay there twitching and jerking for a seconds in a the spreading pool of thick black blood.

 

------------------------------------------------------------

 

The others jumped at the sudden explosion then the few seconds of silence that followed.

 

As the scene played out in front of the marine sergeant, his mind raced. The girl must've been trapped in here...gotten her arm ripped off, which was where she had gotten infected..."There might be another one in here," he thought out loud. He quickly backtracked after the others. Johnson wasn’t sure where the big woman and Jasmine were, but if Annie had done what she was told, she’d be back at the door. There was no way they could have missed that gun blast so hopefully they’d be moving it back to the point A right now too.

 

AJ made it a point to rapidly move through the store back to point A. However, he also checked each aisle as he passed. The last thing he wanted was to have a deadhead coming in from behind. He didn’t see it, but he could hear it shuffling around out there in the store. He rounded a corner and came on Annie, hustling towards the door.

 

Annie had screamed at the incredibly loud shotgun blast. She fought desperately not to panic and run right then and there. She certainly had no attachments...and the girl...what were they her? But he held the shotgun and he was so sure. Besides who knows what else was lurking... she moved back with him, wishing he'd shown her how to reload already.

 

"Let's go let's go let's GO!" AJ said, in full soldier mode now. "We need to reinforce that door now! The last thing we need is an attack on more than one front!"

 

He knew the drill. Fortify the known vulnerable point, and find the others, one at a time, killing anyone who wasn't a "friendly", and secure the other doors and entrances. It didn't escape his mind that he had done the exact same thing before, and they had all failed. But then again, he knew his enemy better this time.

 

The other two women were hustling back, he saw them coming down the aisle, pushing the cart. He also saw the thing shamble out of the lane behind them at an intersection…apparently they didn’t.

 

Jenna raised her arm to wave to the Sarge, when she heard a scraping noise behind her. She slowed a bit, then turned around, raising the bat

 

"JENNA, BEHIND YOU!" AJ barked as he let go of the cart and brought his shotgun to bear.

 

Jenna screamed as she saw the hunched shape of a man in a rain slicker, crusted with dried blood. He snarled at her, eyes empty and wild. It lunged forward and she swung the bat HARD, aiming for the area of its head.. If she could knock it down, it would be easier to take out. The bat connected with a loud thud, knocking the charging brute to the side, but not down. "Take that, you bastard!" Jenna said, breathing heavily

 

Johnson followed the direction the deadhead fell, hoping for the shot but he didn’t dare with big ass Jenna in the way. One opening and he’d send that son of a bitch right back to grave!

 

The creature was moving, trying to rise and a red haze slid over Jenna’s vision. She hefted the bat in both hands and brought it down hard, cracking it across the back of the head, driving it down again. She swung again, and again and again, crushing the zombie’s skull like a melon. The bat was hitting gore stained metal, the clanging echoing threw the store before Jenna came back to herself. The giantess took a step and looking partway back over her shoulder, she said to Jasmine, "You ok?" Her voice was eerily calm.

 

Jasmine nodded, backing up, the cart pressed into her back. "Uh, ya coulda just shot it, ya know."

 

"Sarge? You think there are more of these things in here?" Jenna asked

 

Like maybe a few of 'em holed up in here with one of 'em infected?" AJ responded. "It's beginning to look like that. First thing's first though. We have to keep more of 'em from coming in through that door." If they could control their numbers in here, they had a chance.

 

"Right." Jenna said. She looked at the bat, and shook her head. "Let's do that, then and we still need a first aid kit." Outwardly she was calm, but her inside she was shaking. She had to protect them... didn't she? Shaking her head again, she grabbed the cart. "Ready when you are, Sarge." She looked at Jasmine and offered her a smile, and hoped it looked genuine.

[Guest WhammeWhamme]

Re: Zombie Hero: Group 2 The Oakdale Galleria

 

(sigh)

 

I really wish I could stat up heroic PCs better....

[CourtFool]

Home Depot Zombie. You can eat it. We can help.

 

I do not know how fun the game was, but that is some good readin'.

[nexus]

Re: Zombie Hero: Group 2 The Oakdale Galleria

 

"Okay...this is how it's going to be," he began. "Two will work on getting the boards in place and nailed into the wall. The other two will begin to pile those large bags of sand nearby. We get the boards across the door horizontal-like, then nail a set of boards vertically across those. Finally, we'll prop the posts against that, and use the sandbags as an anchor.

 

"If there are no questions, then Annie, you and Jasmine can start piling sandbags over here. Jenna, grab up a nailgun, and let's start getting the boards up."

 

In the back of AJ's mind, he really wondered how much of a chance they really had. Every effort at defense had failed so far. He found it ironic that the best way to defend themselves was to hole up and fortify--a literal step backwards, tactically speaking.

 

"All right." Jenna picked up a nail gun, and an armful of boards, leaning them up against the wall. She started at the top, nailing them into the wall. "Let me know if you need help moving these things, guys." she said over her shoulder. "And be careful with that leg, Jasmine."

 

Jasmine tried to help as best she could with the sandbags, her leg was starting to get a bit stiff. At least the bleeding had stopped, but she couldn’t stop looking down the aisle, waiting for another of those things to come. The kid looked really shaken up, her big brown eyes wide and staring at things Jasmine didn’t want to know about.

 

If this were the marines, he'd be in Jasmine's face, badmouthing her at top volume until she did what he wanted. But this wasn't the marines. She wasn't a raw recruit. She was scared, and he didn't blame her. "Jenna...why don't you go help Annie," AJ suggested. "Jasmine, could you hold up the board while I put a few nails in it?" He'd just do the best he could, and adjust where he had to.

 

Jenna looked at Jasmine and Annie. That leg was troubling her, and the kid looked like she was out of it.

 

"Jasmine? Why don't you take over the nail gun for the lower boards? I'll handle the sandbags. I can move more of them than you guys." She smiled, and did a quick muscle pose. She looked at Annie then. "Hey, kiddo. Take five. This is some scary stuff, but we'll get through it." She figured using the 'kiddo' term would get a reaction of some sort.

 

Annie shot Jenna a dirty look but didn't feel to say anything. Her eyes were looking all around. Take five. Yeah, right, what was she supposed to do? Ask for a few bucks and go look for the Teen Gap or something? Annie shrugged and sat on the edge of the counter, arms folded under her oversized jacket and stared into the silent store, waiting for something horrible to come out of the shadows and eat them alive.

 

Jenna chuckled, and smiled at Annie. "Annie? We'll get through this, I promise. I'm not going to let any of them get you."

 

Sealing up the door didn’t take long but made a bit of noise. Outside, past the fence and the pouring rain they could see more of the Deadheads gathering, at least a half dozen, just shambling and moaning, they ringing sounds of the nail gun driving bolts into aluminum doing nothing to stir their dead brains into action. Only the sight of warm living meat seemed to do that. Of course, the nut bar in the body armor was locked out now as well, but he’d gotten inside from the roof, right?

 

At least AJ hoped said nut bar made it in, because there'd be no getting in from the outside at this point. But he couldn't worry about that right now--it was out of his control. What he could do is help the three folks that were with him...and make sure their position was secure, before they entered the mall proper.

 

"Okay folks, good work," he said. "Here's what I'm suggesting we do next. Get to the manager's office--where we'll hopefully find a first-aid kit, do a sweep of the rest of the hardware store, and then we'll see about entering the mall itself. Any questions?"

 

Jenna gathered a number of sandbags in her arms, and moved them nearer the door, for easy piling. "Sarge? What about commando rock-climber guy? We didn't hear anything from him, so I guess he made it in, right? I'd hate to think we left him out there, but it's not like we had a lot of choice, right?" She went for another armful of sandbags.

 

"Nope...not much of a choice at all," AJ responded. "When you separate a group, you accept the fact that you can't control their actions once the other half's out of your sight. For now, we hope that he found a way in, and that he's okay. First we tend to our wounded--mainly you there ma'am, and then assuming we're secure here, we look for him. "Let's move it out, folks." His shotgun was at ready/rest position as he prepared to find the manager's office.

 

Jenna grinned. "Yes sir." She said. She hung the bat from her pack, and pulled out the .45. It almost seemed small in her hand, but she seemed comfortable with it.

 

"Jasmine, are you going to be all right? I can piggyback you if that leg's too sore." Jenna said then looked at Annie, and winked. "I meant what I said, Annie. If they try for you, they have to come through me first. All right?"

 

The kid was sullen and quiet. But all kids were at that age.

 

The manager’s office was a mess. Old food containers, clothing, used condoms and booze bottled scattered around and it stank, stank of moldering food and rotten meat. Somebody, likely those two had been using as living quarters, then well stayed there once they were dead. The window overlooking the store was crusted with dried filth and nothing moved in the room but swarms of flies.

 

Annie covered her face with the long sleeve of her coat, trying not to look but still having to look as they passed. She muffled her instinctive repulsed reaction. She’d lived squats cleaner than this and they didn’t have a working toilet.

 

"Damn!" Jenna swore

 

"Kids these days," AJ muttered. "Okay, we've all gone through worse in the last few days, I'm sure. Let's find that first aid kit." He knew that he had seen worse, but this was still nasty.

 

Annie shot a look over to AJ like daggers, feeling dismissed again as less then the rest of them but she found it better to nervously keep an eye on everything around them rather than look at the office. She kept the sleeve over her nose, but the smell kept seeming in, making her stomach churn a bit.

 

Jenna checked on the walls and such for a first aid kit, trying to stay out of the filthy room as long as possible. If those two were the ones that had been in here, they may very well have used the kit beforehand. "We may have to look elsewhere for one." She said, "Unless we're lucky." She took a step into the room and saw it, mounted on the wall by the cluttered desk

 

"Ugh" Jenna mumbled. Moving carefully through the room, she tried to move around

so she could get the kit without having to actually be in front of the window. She didn't know what was on it, and she really didn't want a closer look. "Cover me, Sarge." she said, just a little louder. She got the kit and returned to the door, a few flies clinging to her face.

 

Jenna brushed the flies from her face quickly. "Ugh... ok, now THAT was disgusting. Let's get away from this room, shall we?"

 

"Yeah, Lets find someplace a little more sterile," AJ said, "like the rest of the store...preferably with a source of fresh water." Since electricity was still working for some reason, he assumed that there was still running water...for now.

 

The inventory room was closet, a large and dimly lit room full of high metal shelves loaded with product for the most part. This store most of closed down right at the beginning of the plague. It was miracle it hadn’t been looted. There was probably enough building material in here to make a house.

 

"Well, at least we're good for the long haul..." Jasmine said.

 

This stuff might come in handy, Johnson thought. It'll make fortification and improvising easier, what with all the tools. He found a lawn chair, and brought it out for Jasmine. "Here, place yourself down, and let's see what we can do about that wound of yours."

 

Though she was reluctant to admit it, Jenna could use a place to sit down too. Her knee was starting to throb from the stress and the rain. "Damn..." Jenna said, leaning back against a shelf. "Hey, Annie, see if you can find that bathroom? They should have some sort of thing back here for employees, if nothing else."

 

She flexed her leg, trying to work some of the soreness out. "You can take the gun, if you want. Somewhere, we're going to have to find you a smaller one, though." Normally, she’d ice it when it got like this, but that wasn’t exactly an option now. Maybe if those refrigerators worked and had ice trays she could work something out for later.

 

"This looks like a good place to hole up for the moment." Jenna looked around. There should be a bathroom around here someplace, with running water. No problem finding a bucket, either. .

 

"Sarge, are you any good with first aid? I can shuffle a bucket of hot water back here, if you want to checkout the cut on Jasmine's leg." She looked at the wound, and set down the first aid kit. "Sit down, Jazz. Let's see what we can do for it."

 

Jasmine nodded, sitting out and turning a bit so they could get to her leg. 'Thanks."

 

AJ broke open the first aid kit, and started going through the basics. He wasn't trained as a medic, but he had the basics of first aid down. As a Marine, he also had a pressure bandage ready to go...and it looked like she might need it. The first thing though? Sterilize the wound. Luckily, it looked shallow and the bleeding he mostly stopped thought from the length of it, it had probably hurt like Hell. She’d need to work the leg a bit, to keep it from stiffening up, but she should be fine. Still a bandage would keep it clean. An infection was not what any of them of them needed right now.

 

"Okay ma'am...it might be good if I knew your name," AJ said. "But anyway, I'm gonna pour iodine over the wound area. I don't think I need to tell you that it'll hurt like a motherfucker, but I just did anyway. Now, on the count of three..." He poured on two--old Marine trick to distract the wounded.

 

Jasmine’s howl reverberated off the ceiling.

 

Annie heard and shivered. Unpleasant memories. She headed towards the back, stepping around a few shelves of plumbing material which ironically enough concealed the employee’s bathroom and the door to the lounge. She called out to the others that she’d found something.

 

"Just a minute Annie," AJ said, as he finished bandaging the wound. "You're going to have to put some weight on the leg--get it to workin'. The last thing you want is for it to go stiff. If we get a chance, we'll check on the wound tomorrow. "Okay, what'd you find?"

 

"Well....that rivaled...the anal scene...with John Studd..." she gritted. "And the name...is Jasmine..."

 

"Charmed. I'm Avery--most folks call me AJ," AJ said.

 

Jenna smiled. "I remember that one. Couldn't have been that much fun."

 

“I found the bathroom -- it's over there. Annie replied from where she stood,†And I don't think anyone should go by themselves anymore til we know this place doesn't have deadheads in here."

 

"Oh, my gracious, whatever will happen to my sense of modesty," AJ said cynically. "Good idea, by the way."

 

AJ's two words of light praise momentarily lifted Annie's whole demeanor. But she covered it back again. She offered her arm & shoulder to Jenna, turning in place and looking over her shoulder, "C'mon, we'll go there together."

 

Jasmine nodded, getting up and on her feet, gently putting weight on her leg. "Well, I know I gotta go...."

 

"All right, Annie." Jenna grimaced as she stood up, but as long as she kept the knee moving, it should be all right. She made a quick adjustment on the brace, and headed over to Annie. Annie had found the employee bathrooms and the lounge. All the doors to them were closed, of course.

 

Jenna looked at them. "Great... Sarge, you think any more of those things are in here? It seems pretty clean back here, but maybe they just couldn't get out."

 

"Of course they're closed," AJ muttered. "Just what we need to heighten our tension. Well, let's start openin' some doors--and keep your eyes peeled." Like he really had to tell them that last part. He kept his weapon unslung, just to be sure...

 

Jenna drew her gun, and moved toward the doors. "Take your pick, folks. Ladies or gents?"

 

"Whichever one has an open stall..." Jasmine said.

 

The bathrooms were clear and surprisingly clean since they hadn't been used in weeks. The ladies room even still had a small supply of sanitary napkins. A closer search turned up a janitors supply closet as well. The lounge was in a bit of disarray, the couch had been used as a bed and there were some old food containers on the meeting table. There were also a boon. Vending machines with snacks within, including a plugged in and humming Coke machine. Cold drinks!

 

Jenna grinned. "Anyone thirsty? Got any quarters?"

 

"Breakfast of Champions," AJ muttered. He knew they could probably jimmy the lock on this thing, but he was a little parched--not to mention a bit impatient. He fished for some change in his pocket (it wasn't like it was worth anything anymore, right?), and got himself some refreshing caffeine.

 

:"Neeeeedddd....caaaafffeeeeiiinnnnee...."Jasmine mumbled.

 

Everybody shot her a nasty look for that one. It was way to close to home.

 

Annie could almost taste a coke. Just bust it open, Sarge," she used Jenna's given nickname as well.

 

Still smiling, Jenna walked up to the machine, and looked at the side. Seeing the crack between the door and the rest of the machine, she stuck her fingers between them, took a deep breath, and pulled. After a few seconds, there was a sound of straining metal, then there was a loud breaking noise, and the door swung open.

 

Annie’s eyes widened “Damn..â€

 

The machine was pretty full and the drinks were refreshing. A similar stunt got them into the vending machine for candy bars and chips as well. After everyone had eaten some and caught their breath, it was time to sweep the rest of the store.

 

AJ grabbed up a bag of Cheezits and a Snickers bar, just in case they ran into anyone--they might be hungry. The fact that he liked Snickers didn't add to it...honest. "Let's do the once-over, shall we?" AJ asked. "Once we do that, we go and look for our missing survivalist type." Johnson wasn't sure whether or not he'd be able to get along with this guy, but the fact of the matter was that he wasn't a deadhead. The living had to stick together.

 

Jasmine nodded. "Okay, let's roll.... Want a weapon, Annie?"

 

“No, I thought I’d stick with harsh language.†She rolled her eyes.

 

"What kind of weapon do you want, Annie?" Jenna asked. "You can take the bat if you want. Or we can try to find you something else."

 

Jasmine handed over one of the machetes. "I've got a few more, and some of those big Rambo survival knives... Better than nothing at the moment." She grabbed two cokes, and some chocolate.

 

"Do you know how to use a pistol?" was AJ's simple question.

 

"I know the basics. Point and shoot," she replied.

 

AJ nodded. "Okay, this is a Colt 9mm automatic pistol. It's a heavy pistol, so you'll have to use both hands to shoot. The safety is here, and the clip release is here." He demonstrated each feature as he went along, including how to clear a jam. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't give this girl a weapon. But these weren't normal circumstances, were they?

 

The fact that AJ did give her a gun was appreciated and despite her gruff, "Ok," there was a subtle look of thanks. She left the safety on and put it in her deep leather jacket pocket in case it was needed. She would feel more comfortable if she could practice with it for a few rounds, but she could do that later.

 

As properly armed and ready as they’d ever be they small gang of survivors set out to sweep the store. The Home Depot was rather large and empty as silent rather ominous. Starting at the back the moved, aisle by aisle towards the front they checked every corner and closet, including the public bathrooms. The found nothing thankfully, except for the bloody refrigerator the Deadhead girl was rooting threw had some food in it, not tainted with clots of rotting flesh and spoiled since she hadn’t had the wits to close it. At the front of the store, the found a depressing sight, There were more creatures gathered out in the rain, wandering and shambling at random. At least a dozen with more in the distance….

 

Jasmine looked out, shaking her head. "Well, we're definitely stuck here... Should we board up here too, or just leave it and go through into the mall?"

 

Jenna stared out the door. "Yeah, guess we won't be going that way." She said.

 

Johnson said quietly, "Let's go to the other side, and see about getting into the mall itself." If this place was like any hub store in a mall, then there should be a large sliding door that opened into the mall itself. They just had to figure out how it worked

 

"Maybe there's a door from this place into the mall proper. We should find it, and see what else is here that we can use." Jenna looked around, “Think I can find a pretty dress out there to fit me?"

[nexus]

Re: Zombie Hero: Group 2 The Oakdale Galleria

 

Annie smiled, trying to imagine a dress on the amazon. She wanted new clothes too. These were old and sweaty and worse. "Yeah, maybe me too."

 

Jasmine grinned. "First stop Victoria's secret... Damn I need some new panties." She hefted her machete. "Maybe see if there's a Sears hooked in here. Might have a little gun area."

 

"Oh yes, get something to set off your eyes," Johnson said, rolling his eyes. "Let's just stick to the basics first, shall we? We find our other guy, and we assess security of the rest of the mall. "And THEN we get what's important. Food, water...and a fine cigar or two." As for the other door, it had the good fortune of still having its lock intact. Malls typically built their doors out of shatterproof glass, so the likelihood was that it'd stay closed. It still meant that they were trapped inside, and effectively besieged.

 

"No.. I look horrible in blue, for the most part." Jenna said.

 

It wasn’t hard to find the doors into the mall itself, a series of sliding glass doors partitioned the Home Depot off from the main mall thoroughfare and the keys from manager’s office unlocked them. The instant the doors open the light strains of “Don’t Worry Be Happy†spilled in from the mall.

 

"Oh, that's just the song I need to hear," Johnson grumbled. "Keep your eyes peeled, folks."

 

"Well, that's ironic..." Jasmine peeked out. "Maybe stop one should be the muzac controls..."

 

*Landlord, he say your rent is late. He may have to litigate…but don’t worry. Be Happy…*

 

"Ok, this is just wrong." Jenna said. "Not that they have any clue..." She looked down the mall. "Where do you think the best place to look is, AJ? And do we hit anything along the way, or just try to find him?"

 

In any new environment, it always helped if you had a map. So, the first thing Johnson looked for was an information kiosk and those stupid little maps of the mall. It might not be accurate enough for artillery drops, but then again, he had no artillery to drop, but before he could lay out his plan. Gunfire erupted, coming from the second floor and lots of it. Distinct pops and the chatter of automatic fire as well.

 

"Oh hell, sounds like our boy found something.... Um, you guys first..." Jasmine smiled, waving the machete that was her only weapon.

 

"Well, our 'friend' had an automatic weapon, right?" Jenna said. "Guess we should go see what's up. You take the lead, Sarge. We'll follow."

 

"Take cover!" AJ hissed, not wanting to give away their position fully. But where? They were in the middle of an open concourse, all the stores was locked and gated. There was map kiosk which came up to about waist height (less for Jenna), the Home Depot doors and some recessed doorways into a couple of the stores a short dash away. The gunfire sounded like it was coming from the second floor.

 

Worked for Annie. She was behind that little kiosk at AJ's hiss and pulling out her pistol. She swallowed heart in her throat. She had to admit, for the moment she liked it better being around these strangers than being alone. At least she was out of the rain. And they did all have weapons.

 

"Where to, Sarge? I can open up one of these stores, if you need me to." Jenna said.

 

"Anyone see the security office?" Jenna asked, hunching down.

 

AJ's main problem was that his weapon wasn't made for range. It was a shotgun after all. Nonetheless, he pointed his weapon upward, and looked to see if anyone was shooting at them directly. No gunfire was coming at them. It was localized upstairs.

"Stay close, and follow my lead," He said, keeping his voice low.

 

Jasmine nodded, letting the others take the lead.

 

Jenna nodded at him. "I'll bring up the rear. Annie should be right behind the Sarge, and Jasmine in front of me. I'm not good at hunching, but at least I can shoot over everyone else."

 

He thought about giving the others hand signals, but realized that none of them were soldiers, and probably would have no idea what he was trying to tell them. So instead, he closed with the others."Jenna, I need you to stay close until we spot the hostiles," he said quietly. "When we see our marks, I'll need you to cover me as I close. You two--" He turned his attention to the other two ladies. "I'll need you to act as backup in case we totally bone it--retreat if necessary. Can y'all do that for me?"

 

Jasmine nodded. "You got it."

 

There was one more shot from upstairs, then an ominous silence.

 

"Well that doesn't sound good." Jenna said quietly. "Guess we'd better see what's up."

 

"Sombitch," AJ muttered under his breath. He began to make his way upstairs, keeping as low as he could and as quietly as he could. If Batman got himself killed, the bastards who did it would have a shitload to answer for.

 

Oddly enough this mall was designed with a two large banks elevator banks instead of an escalator.

 

Jasmine shivered. "Oh, that's going to be fun..."

[nexus]

Re: Zombie Hero: Group 2 The Oakdale Galleria

 

"So much for surprise." Jenna said. "If there's anyone up there, they're going to know the elevator is coming. Maybe there's more than one elevator?" She looked up.

 

Of COURSE there were only elevators, AJ thought. Those'll practically announce us coming. He didn't see a choice though."Jasmine...Annie," he whispered. "I need you to send a car up from that bank over there--" He pointed to one bank."Don't get inside," he instructed. "Just send the car up empty. Jenna...we'll take this one up, and set up in firing positions. Any questions?"

 

Annie nodded quickly, anxious to do something.

 

Jasmine shook her head. "Nope... Guess the bonus is if we find upstairs clear, the deadheads are too dumb to get up..." .

 

Jenna nodded. "I'll defer to your experience here, Sarge. I think we can handle this much. The sounds have stopped, but we still don't know what's up there."

 

Jasmine headed over to the elevators with Annie. Annie clicked for an elevator with Jasmine. Once it had arrived she hit it to the top floor and stepped back out.

 

With no questions, AJ Johnson went to open the elevator he and Jenna stood at

 

Jenna moved toward the other bank, waiting for AJ. "You ready, Sarge?" she asked. "Let's see what's up there."

 

â€Lets do this.†AJ nodded. When Jasmine and Annie sent their car up, she and the sergeant took theirs up shortly afterward. Since he was shorter than Jenna, he was going to take a kneeling position and give her a clear field of fire. "Get ready," he whispered to Jenna. "This could get rough..." His goal was to get into full sergeant mode, and hopefully take them down without firing a shot.

 

Jenna nodded, checking the .45 to make sure it was ready. She chambered a round, and held the gun ready and loose at her side, waiting for the door to open.

 

The doors opened. Jenna and AJ saw three men, their backs to them the facing the other elevator. They had guns leveled at it, the taller, slimmer men with pistols and the guy with a shotgun, they seemed to be slowly coming to grip with the fact the other car empty….

 

Jenna braced herself, pointing the gun at the men standing across the way. She waited for AJ to make his move, so she could back his play.

 

As if to add emphasis to their situation, AJ chambered a round into the shotgun, making that characteristic "click-clack" sound that made most people give up without a fight. But just in case it wasn't enough...

 

"DROP EM! DO IT NOW! NOW!!!"

 

He was in full "drill sergeant" mode. Loud, uncompromising, all powerful "I am your daddy now, boy" attitude. And if they tried to do anything resembling hostile action, he was ready to ventilate.

 

The three men jumped and whirled as AJ’s shout boomed across the cause ways. “What th’ fuck!†the tall, mustached rent a cop blurted, the others just stared. “Who th’ hell are you!?â€

 

"Sergeant AJ Johnson 25th Marine Regiment!" AJ said at machinegun speeds. "Now DROP 'EM!" If they didn't, if they thought their extra number meant anything, he'd simply point out that at least one of them would have to play the "hero" to keep the other two alive. He hoped it didn't come to that.

 

Jenna stepped behind AJ, pointing her gun at the man who had spoken. "You heard the man." she said. "Drop the guns. NOW." She cocked the .45, like AJ had pumped his gun, and gave her best 'Giantess' glare.

 

The other two almost reflexively dropped their weapons, giving them a deer in headlight stare across the concourse, but the mustached man just lowered his. “and what the hell are you doin’ here, Sergeant?â€

 

_Trying to survive, you numbnut._ Jenna thought, rolling her eyes. She kept silent for the moment, it was AJ's play for the moment.

 

 

So...Mr. Mustache has a set on him, AJ thought. This could be interesting...

 

"In case you haven't noticed, remaining out of doors seems to be unhealthy," Johnson said. "Now, since this building is intact, well supplied and needs only a little work to defend against old style siege warfare...well I'll let you connect the dots."

 

“What makes you think ya’ll can just come in here, shooting up this place however you please?†he said, folding his arms. He still had his gun out.

 

Meanwhile, downstairs….

 

Jasmine looked to Annie. "So, we just wait here and hope our guys win?"

 

Annie shrugged, "Seems like the plan. If they don't, guess we're outta here."

 

"Yeah, guess we can't do a lot to help..."

 

Annie nodded, looking upwards nervously to the upper levels of the mall. All the yelling had stopped at least. "...It's quiet...that should be good."

 

“uuuuurh!†The low moaning grunt was the only warning the two got. They turned and saw the creature charging at them, a haggard human shape in a bloodied jumpsuit then it was on them, lunging around a old display cart. It pinned Jasmine against the elevator door, crushing the wind out of her lungs, teeth bared in a gruesome snarl. She could see pieces of rotting meat in its teeth and the stench was overwhelming…

 

Jasmine screamed as loud as she could, and then started tying to stab at the thing with her machete though hitting it in the torso wouldn't do her any good at all...

 

Hearing the scream, "Shit!" the sergeant swore. "It's always something." There was the small problem of Mr. Mustache though. "Well, you can either give a hand or you can be a buncha assholes. Which is it gonna be!?"

 

“Funny. Don’t sound like my problem.â€

 

Jenna heard Jasmine scream as well and felt her stomach drop. "Dammit, Sarge! We have to get back down there!" She pushed the elevator button for the first floor. "Can you handle this?" she said more quietly, The elevator doors started to close.

 

"Don't sound like...you're a real piece of work, Mister."

 

Great, a bunch of self-interested bastards, the sergeant thought. And now Jenna's going down the hole...terrific.

 

"Don't have much of a choice," AJ remarked. "Good luck..."

 

I'm gonna need it, he thought. "So, you were just going to hole up until...what? The power goes out? You run outta food? The cavalry comes in? I'm kinda curious at what you were thinkin' of doing."

 

“Way I figure it, eventually these things are gonna dry up or rot away.’ Mustache said. “What’s your big plan, GI Joe?â€

 

Yeah, you might be right at that," Johnson admitted. "The way I figure it though is that we could be waiting months or even years for that to happen. Years of them trying to get in here, years for which the water might stop, the food might run out, or the power might finally fade.

 

"The way I figure it, we can put the shit in here to good use, and maybe get our asses westward, where the population falls to next-to-nothing, and maybe live to see that day when they either dry up or rot away. Now can you dig that, Mr. Rent-a-cop?"

 

If he was going to call him "GI Joe", he felt obligated to return the favor.

 

There was another scream from down below Annie this time then a single shot. "Yeah. Sounds like your plans working out good there. Real good."

[nexus]

Re: Zombie Hero: Group 2 The Oakdale Galleria

 

Downstairs, the zombie lunched for Jasmine, snapping its teeth down on her shoulder. Pain shot up her arm and she screamed again, struggling against its unnatural strength. She tried to push it away, or pull away, stabbing with the blade she'd scrounged to no avail.

 

With a strangled scream, Annie raised her pistol in both hands and fired. The bullet tore a swath threw the Deadhead’s skull exploding out the other side in a shower of gray matter and clotted blood. It slumped back and fell, spread eagle to the floor.

 

The elevator arrived with soft “ding†and Jenna ran out, roaring, blood in her eyes, only to see the creature was already dead. Annie had dropped to her knees, head hung and Jasmine was still shaking, hugging herself.

 

"Let me take a look. I can probably patch it up for

you." Jenna turned her slightly, so she could look at

the shoulder. She hoped AJ was holding his own, she'd

head back up there shortly.

 

"How are things upstairs?" Jasmine asked, wincing.

 

Annie knelt on the floor and trembled, pistol clutched in her hands in a deathgrip she wasn't even conscious of. She stared downwards, breathing hard and fast. It was supposed to be safe here. But those things…they were here too. Damnit they were supposed to be safe!

 

"We encountered three guys with guns. We scared a couple of em, but one guy was being a real prick. The Sarge was watching over them with a loaded shotgun." She sighed. "Think you can move? We should get up there. And I want a closer look at that shoulder."

 

Johnson scowled. "So I take it you don't even wanna try? World's gone to shit and you become shit with it? That's just dandy."

 

Great, he thought. I'm stuck with a trio of assholes who've given up.

FINE examples of humanity. Now what do I do?

 

Before he could really formalize a thought, AJ saw motion out of the corner of his eyes. A figure sneaking around the far end of the upper level!

 

Not giving up his grim demeanor, AJ shifted his position slightly, making sure that whoever was sneaking up didn't have a line of fire on him. There were three possibilities. The first and obvious one was that a deadhead was sneaking up on him. The second possibility was that the rent-a-cops had a friend. The third...it was "batman" making his way up. This was going to be interesting, he thought. When does the next shoe drop?

 

Two shots rang out, AJ bolted for the nearest storeront. In this case, it was a Cinnabon store. “Mustache†capped off a shot himself while driving behind a heavy planter AJ rolled across the counter in one smoother motion when he took cover, he didn't mess around. Too bad there weren't any cinnamon buns available. Too bad he was being shot at!

.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jenna frowned. "All right. Let's get this situation resolved." She helped Jasmine stand up, then picked up her gun and stood up, her knee protesting the movement.

 

Two more shots rang out from above.

 

"Go on, help the sarge..." Jasmine said.

 

"Annie? Jasmine? You guys sure you're up for this?" Jenna asked.

 

Annie looked uncertainly at Jasmine, working to get to her feet.

 

"I'll slump down in the elevator. You guys have the guns." Jasmine smiled.

 

Jenna helped Jasmine into the elevator, and waited for Annie, then for the elevator to do it's thing.

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

In the meantime, AJ was practicing a little tactics on his four opponents. In this case, elimination of enemy cover. He took a potshot at Mr. Mustache's heavy planter. If he was smart, he'd go to the next nearest cover--toward his buddies.

 

When that happened, he could declare the fight over. He had one last grenade, with their potential name on it if they didn't surrender...though he'd rather save the thing for a real emergency. He wasn't about to die because of these motherfuckers.

 

The shotgun blew a chunk out the planter the head guard was hiding behind. He ducked down for a second but popped back up almost immediately and squeezed off a shot at AJ then ducked again. Fat Man managed to recall which end of his shotgun the shells came out of and took out the Cinnbun sign in a hail of pellets and other shot took out the cash register, popping it open and sending a flurry of old bills into the air.

 

"Oh joy...I'm rich," Johnson muttered, before getting up and firing back at the same planter, intent of making "mustache" move. All he had to do was be patient...well, as patient as a man could be while getting shot at. During his pop-up, he noticed that the elevator was being accessed--again. Shit...can't cover myself and them...but maybe I can use that in my favor. He blew another chunk out of the planter just as the Elevator arrived behind the guards and opened….

 

Jenna, Jasmine and Annie found themselves behind the three guards. Two of them were ducking behind cover, while the fat one with the shot gun was standing in the open, right in front of them plugging away with pump action.

 

 

She'd hidden down in the Rite Aid. She hoped that the creatures milling around would either not be able to smell. After the novelty of running through the place and collecting stuff she might enjoy at some point in the future if she should live, Lauryn had crashed and slept in a backroom, locked up behind a metal door. It had felt safe.

 

It really wasn’t all that bad, being holed up in the mall. She had books and some nonperishable she'd come across and plenty of warm sodas and candy from machines. She was thinking she didn’t even mind not going back to the apartment building when the shouting and shooting had begun. The two women and the girl had ducked into the elevator, apparently to head up INTO the shooting of all things.

 

Jenna paused for just a second, but there was really no choice... she couldn't let them kill AJ, and who knew what they might have in mind for the rest of them. She fired into the asshole with the shotgun, sighting down the barrel, hoping to take him out with one shot.

 

He spun, expression more surprised than pained, tying to bring up the shotgun but his arm wouldn’t seem to function…

 

"Oh, no you don't!" AJ locked onto fatboy with his own shotgun, not intent on letting him get the ladies with that room sweeper. He'd either take him down or hurt him bad enough to take him out of the fight...or so he hoped. The shotgun blast knocked the guard forward flat on his face. Annie screamed.

[BoneDaddy]

Re: Zombie Hero: Group 2 The Oakdale Galleria

 

And?!

[JamesG]

Re: Zombie Hero: Group 2 The Oakdale Galleria

 

I was glad to see the Oakdale posts updated Nexus, keep up the good work!

 

Hope that's Jericho (aka 'Batman') AJ saw sneaking around, I was worried the rent-a-cops blasted him.

[nexus]

Re: Zombie Hero: Group 2 The Oakdale Galleria

 

This had to end now. Whether "Mustache" realized it or not, they were on the same side. They were alive. "You're in a crossfire, assholes! Do the math!" AJ yelled. "I'm willing to end this if you drop yer guns! There're enough deaders in the world right now!" He had the answer to any snappy comebacks, but he didn't want to use it. Not really.

 

"Fuck you!" the guard shouted back, leveling the gun at him.

 

Not being an idiot, AJ dropped behind cover as fast as he could. His options were getting fewer. That grenade of his was looking better and better. His only other option was to hope that Jenna or whoever had the other pistol took the opening...And he hated both options.

 

Jenna started for a second, and then moved forward, ducking low. That shotgun might be more use than her pistol. She heard Annie scream. "Annie, stay down!" she said. "It's them or us!" _It's them or us._ she thought, trying to get to the shotgun, her pistol still in her hand.

 

Jenna darted over to the body and picked up the shotgun.

 

Mustache cursed. “Come on! Give it up, GI Joe!â€

 

“Ya shot JT! Fuckin’ bitch!†the guard by the bench shouted, snapping off a quick shot. Jenna felt something hot hit her in the stomach, but barely acknowledged it. She was seeing red, and the pain was just distant thing. Something that belonged to someone else.

 

Annie got some of her wits together and popped out and started shooting, squeezing the trigger over and over at the man that shot Jenna. The gun jerked wildly in her small hands, the shots going hopelessly wide. The girl was in the open, a perfect target framed in the elevator door.

 

Jasmine pulled her back to the side of the elevator. "Maybe I should try..." Not that she'd do much better with her shoulder, but who knew. "And don't stand out in the open. I don't want to lose you to some rent-a-cop..."

 

Everything dimmed to a dull roar. Through the red

haze, Jenna only saw the man who shot at her, and

would try to kill Annie and Jasmine.

 

"You rat-assed mother fucker!" she shouted, coming up to her knees and firing at the guard by the bench. "You're not fucking good enough for the deadheads!" The first blast blew off the guard’s lower jaw and tore his head mostly from his body. He flopped back against the bench, jerking and twitching as she pumped two more slugs into his body.

 

“God damn it!†Mustache dropped behind the batter planter, took aim and fired at the giantess. Jenna’s head snapped back a rooster tail of blood flying from her face. “Die, you fuckin’ dyke! Die!â€

 

"Like the man said: Fuck you," was his response to "Mustache". AJ popped up from a different position, and saw that Mustache had dropped out of sight, fat boy was down, and Thing 1 was missing most of his head and that left thing 2.

 

Whose potshot pinged off the counter beside AJ….

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

There were people. People who seemed...normal? Was that the right word? And it came at a time when Lauryn was starting to doubt the existence of anyone else normal, and even her own normalcy. She stood in front of the elevator, with her borrowed shotgun over the crook of her arm, her other hand absently counting and recounting the number of shells in her pocket. Hesitantly, she put out a finger and pressed the elevator button.

 

 

Aw man, this was going pretty bad, AJ thought. He kept himself close to the counter, and squeezed off another shot toward the last exposed asshole and blew off the top of his skull.

 

Mustache would have to do something stupid, now that his buddies were painting the floor. So would the sergeant. Jenna looked like she was a mess; he wasn't sure what her condition was from here. Damn girl...you should've stayed behind cover!

 

He scanned the area for Mustache, covering the area he looked with the shotgun. If he popped up, he intended to be able to nail him. He only had another shot before he’d have to stop and reload. Shells were at a premium.

 

The first floor elevator light lit up and the doors began to slid closed on Jasmine and Annie. "Shit!" For all she knew, a zombie bumped into the button.... Jasmine grabbed the gun, bracing with both hands and tried to slip her leg out to block the closing doors. The doors slid closed a second before she got her leg into position and the elevator started its descent.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

“Fuck!†Zeke, JT…these mutherfuckers had killed ‘em, FUCK! Jeb fired away at the big blonde, squeezing the trigger again and again, barely aiming in a blind fury.

 

Jenna didn’t even seem to feel the shots, turning on him. Her face and torso were caked in blood, her’s and the guards, the shot gun trembling in her hands a fury fought with oncoming shock.

 

She was hurt, but it didn't seem to matter. All that mattered was his mustached face, and what she was going to turn it into.

 

With a roar of fury, she charged at him, firing the shotgun. Jeb surged to his feet. "Die, you rotten mother fucker!!" She screamed, as she charged him. Jenna wild shot turned Jeb’s groin and pelvis into a mass of blood and shattered bone. The guard’s eyes bugged for an instant, then he dropped like he’d been pole axed and lay at her feet, twitching in a growing pool of gore.

 

She looked down at the man, her fury slowly subsiding. She finally became aware of her wounds. "Ow." She said, dropping to her knees, the shotgun falling to one side.

 

"I think we got em, Sarge." she said. "Is everyone ok?" Like a tall oak tree, she fell over on her side, trying to catch her breath. She tried to rummage through her backpack, looking for something to at least temporarily patch herself up, or at least slow the bleeding. She tried to staunch the blood flow, but things were getting hazy and dim. Too much blood in her eyes and it was so hard to think.

 

Fuck...it shouldn't have gone this way. We should've...aw, who the hell am I kidding? I'm no diplomat, I'm a Marine.

 

AJ kicked the counter-leaf up and began to approach the mess he and Jenna had created, still leading with his gun and taking it slow. He was worried as to who--or what--had called the elevator car."Jenna...talk to me girl," he said, still approaching cautiously, just in case one of them was playing possum. Given that all of them where missing major portions of their anatomy, that was highly unlikely. Jenna, however was in bad shape. Barely conscious and laying her in her own blood.

 

 

Jasmine pushed herself up. "Stay behind me, baby... I'll buy you time to get back up."

 

The elevator doors started to open, a figure stood there, pale, kind of raggedy looking.

 

"Bbb...back off!" Jasmine raised the gun.

 

The woman took a step back, but she did not lower her own shotgun.

"What's going on up there?" she demanded. She was talking, had a gun. She clearly wasn't a Deadhead.

 

"We were running, found the mall... Heard gunshots so some of the others went up to help. The mall guards started shooting at us... Hurry, there was one of them down here, we have to go back up."

 

Lauryn looked over the pair in the elevator and frowned. If she was

to get in there, she'd be at their mercy. "Hold the doors," she

said, after a slight hesitation. "I'm a doctor. Let me get my bag."

She turned and hurried back to the drugstore she'd holed up in.

 

Jasmine leaned in the doorway, keeping an eye out for deadheads."

 

They were waiting for her when returned and they took the elevator up. The woman, while pretty was haggard looking and the little girl a sullen pale figure. One of those waifish ghosts you used to see hanging out in malls like this trying desperately to look bored and jaded at the ripe old age of 13. Right now she just looked scared and vaguely green like she was about to vomit but was trying hard to be strong.

 

Lauryn shook her head. She had the distinct feeling she should have just stayed put and kept her nose in her own business. "Did you come here alone? Or are there more of you up there?"

 

Jasmine stepped forward. "Let em see me first. If my friends made it, you might not get a good reception. But be ready to duck and shoot if the rent-a-cops are up there..."

 

 

"Aw man..." AJ lowered his weapon and got to Jenna's side. This wasn't good at all. "Aw fuck...my kingdom for a field medic. C'mon Jenna...say something to me. Don't go into shock on me girl. I've lost too many good folks as it is...and quite frankly you make a lousy substitute for them...but I don't have a choice. C'mon bitch. Insult me, flip me off...anything!"

 

He had one pressure bandage on him, like all good marines do, but she had a resemblance to Swiss cheese. Still, he'd do the best he could, not being a medic, before he tried to move her anywhere. He wasn’t doing much good aside from making a mess of the bandage at this point.

 

Lauryn moved to the side of the doors, standing sideways where she wouldn’t be seen when the doors opened, but could step around them if she needed to act quickly. "What's going on with the guards? Are they deadites?" she asked, using her own special words for the deadheads.

 

"Nah, just assholes†Jasmine replied.

 

"I'm still here, Sarge." Jenna said. "Don't know why, but I am. Hurts like hell now, though." She managed a weak grin. "Just don't make me laugh." Jenna never heard if the Sarge had anything to say, or anything else, for that matter. She passed out cold on the floor.

 

The elevator doors opened on the second floor landing. Jasmine. Lauryn and Annie were stunned at the carnage for a moment. It was like someone had just splashed buckets of red paint all over the floor. Bodies everywhere and among them the crumpled form of Jenna laying there with AJ kneeling beside her, desperately trying to bandage her wounds.

 

“Oh shit, Jenna..." Jasmine hurried out. "Come on, you said you're a doctor! Help!"

 

"Holy shit..." Lauryn muttered, stepping slowly out of the elevator. She took in the blood everywhere and wrinkled her nose. "She's gotta be dead..." she mumbled, backing up. "I'm not going near that. What if her blood is tainted..."

 

"She's still breathing, dammit!" Jasmine said. "You want to keep it that way or not?" She tried not to look at the dead guards, but someone was going to have to grab what they had, and at least the Sarge seemed to have some idea what he was doing....

 

 

AJ looked up at the new sound, and heard the word "doctor", and that was enough for him.

 

"Well, get your ass over here, doc!" he barked. "She's not 'tainted' or whatever, she's just been shot, and she ain't dead yet but I don't know how that long'll last. C'mon and get over here, for cryin' out loud!" He wasn't about to lose someone else on his watch.

 

"I should have stayed in the drug store..." she muttered. Picking her way through the blood spatters, she nudged the man out of the way and lifted up the bandage he had sloppily covering a wound. "Good lord! She ~is~ alive! Put your hand back on this!" The woman had two abdominal GSWs. One looked relatively minor, a side hit that mostly skimmed the edge of the abdomen. The other was more solid, but thankfully seemed to have caused little overall tissue damage and the shell exited, missing the spinal column. She didn’t smell feces so hopefully there was not intestinal perforation or not spurting so a major artery hadn’t been hit. This woman had been incredibly lucky in that regard. The facical wound wasn’t pretty but she could sew it up. She’d have a scar but hopefully nothing horribly disfiguring. But she couldn’t worry about that now. Lauryn focused on the task at hand, stopping the bleeding and stabilizing her patient. It was like being back in the ER during her first year residency. Almost comfortable. She coolly gave AJ some direction as she tried to staunch Jenna’s bleeding.

 

"Annie... Keep an eye out..." Jasmine said, pushing herself up to go get the guards' guns and any keys or pass cards they had. She tried to keep her eyes off of the wounds.

 

Eyes off the wounds? It was almost impossible. One was missing his lower jaw, the other most of his midsection was gory mess. Including his pockets...She shuddered, feeling queasy, her knees wobbling. She quickly reached for the guns, picking them up and looking for keys on the ones that still had belts to hang them from. She laid them over by the group, and then hurried back to the railing, almost slipping in some blood before she caught herself and puked down onto the ground floor. Once there was nothing left in her stomach to throw up, Jasmine made herself return to the corpse. She had to look threw his pockets. She tried to ignore the glistening flesh and the smell as she rooted threw ruined pants. She found a key ring for all her trouble. She also wondered if she’d ever be able to eat again.

 

Being a sergeant, AJ knew how to give orders, but he also knew how to take them. He did exactly as this newcomer said, knowing that to do otherwise would jeopardize Jenna's life. He let his eyes drift over the rest of the motley crew, and the gory mess he was partially responsible for. He still wished there was another way. Weren't crises like these supposed to bring out people's better natures, or was that just in chick flicks?

 

Annie looked nervously from side to side, pistol raised in both her hands as she scanned for movement while Jasmine did her thing. She breathed to Lauryn, "Is she gonna be all right?" It seemed like days ago that she was there outside with the giant woman, now crumpled and helpless on the floor.

 

Jenna was going to make it. Lauryn (As it turned out was the doctor’s name) was fairly sure of that much. The woman was incredibly tough. She was breathing normally, the bleeding was stopped. Perhaps not totally out of the woods, considering the lack of facilities but if she could keep her wounds from getting infected Jenna should survive.

 

"Right...can she be moved?" AJ asked. "We need to find someplace where she can get some rest. Is there a furniture store on this level? On another note...has anyone seen our masked man?"

 

Jasmine shook her head. "No... Though if he's in here, I'd imagine he heard the ruckus..." She shuddered. "I've got keys... We should be able to open whatever we need..."

 

Lauryn thought for a moment. "I dont recall a furniture store, but the second floor of Sears Hechts and Macy’s is over there. They usually have beds and stuff where they sell blankets." She went over to one of the Food Court stores grabbed some towels and scrubbed her hands and arms. "We need to carry her as steady as possible. No bullets inside her, but she'll feel it if we bump her."

 

"Should we look for something to carry her? Maybe they've got a stretcher or something in the mall security office. First aid kit and stuff too..." Jasmine said. "We already ran into three zombies here... THey're not swarming like outside, but I don't want to go anywhere too big to sleep, until we clear this place out..."

 

By the time they came back, Jenna was awake and aware, in pain but awake.

 

"Let's try Hecht's then," AJ said. "I'd rather deal with someplace that isn't directly connected to the first floor, if at all possible. Good work with finding the keys, by the way.†If the deadheads got in, they might be able to have a bit of a barrier, being on the second floor. He noticed that she woke up.†Well good morning, Jenna...or afternoon. I sorta lost track. Keep still, we're going to carry you outta here."

 

Jenna looked around, and realized they had a new person with them. Then she remembered what happened, and covered her eyes, trying not to throw up. She felt that would be very bad right now. "Hi, guys." she said. "Did we win?" she felt her face, and realized that someone must have patched her up. She hadn't really expected to make it. "Guess I should be glad I don't have to do crowd work anymore, huh?" she said, with a wry smile. "Who's the new girl?"

 

Lauryn stared in awe at the woman, so badly injured, but still alive. "Hey, you're going to be alright," she told her, hoping that it was not a lie. "We're going to take you somewhere comfortable." She knelt down and opened the bag she'd stocked from the drugstore, and pawed through quite a few handfuls of pain pills. "I'll get you something to take for the pain."

 

"Um... yeah. Nothing too incapacitating right now, ok?" She said. "Not until we're somewhere that's actually safe." Slowly, the giantess started to get to her feet, offering a slight smile to the woman who was rummaging through her things.

 

"I guess I have you to thank for patching me up, doc? So, thank you." She held her stomach, where the worst of the damage was. "Everyone else is ok? How's Jasmine's shoulder?"

 

Annie watched from behind Lauryn, willing her eyes not to well up. But she was amazed and felt something she hadn't felt in a long, long time by seeing her pulling through -- hope.

 

"We had more important things to worry about." Jasmine said.

 

As he was asking this, he was looking around at the shops. At the same time, he was reloading his shotgun. He looked down at the mess he and Jenna had created, thinking that they'd have to dispose of the bodies somehow. He was pretty sure they'd attract deadheads like sharks to chum in the water.

 

Lauryn felt a bit nervous. As long as they were staying in the mall she could keep it under control. Blushing, the young doctor, not so far out of medical school, closed her bag. "Jasmine...?" she asked a bit confused. "I didn’t look at anyone else. I was concerned about you. But...I guess...I shouldn’t have been." It was nothing short of a miracle, and she didn’t believe in miracles. It didn’t look as if the woman needed it, but Lauryn got up and put her arm around her waist. "Let me help you," she offered, feeling quite unnecessary.

 

Jenna was surprised at the gesture, but even more so at the words. "Don't sell yourself short, doc." She said. "I was pretty torn up. Still am. I didn't expect to make it, really. "But I'm a tough girl." she continued, finally making it to her feet. She swayed, but managed to keep her balance.

 

"Hey, when guys like Dave Batista and Triple H say, 'Damn, you’re tough!', you kind of have to figure it was true." She looked around. "Holy shit, what a mess. Whoa... I think I might actually need to lay down. Where were we going?"

 

Jasmine nodded. "Well, Sarge, why don't you and Annie find us a good place while the doc helps us cripples along."

 

"Right. Let's move, folks," AJ said. "We can come back and clean up our mess later."

Of course, the sergeant had no idea how they were going to dispose of the bodies. These used to be people, and even though they were responsible for their demise, they deserved to be dealt with properly...and throwing them into a wood chipper just seemed wrong.

 

"Hopefully once we find a place to hole up, we can track down the security office..." Jasmine said. "We need a map, especially of all the back areas and halls... This place is going to be hell to try to clear out, but maybe we can lock off part of it..."

 

Lauryn noted that Jasmine was moving around and decided the best, safest thing to do was to go someplace safe to check her out. She eyed the dead around them, and the blood, and went pale. The deadites were going to love this...And when it was all gone, there they would be, however many feet they were above the ground, with no place left to go. "Let's get out of here then," she murmured, fumbling around near Jenna, uncertain whether she oughta give another ridiculous attempt at helping the woman who was unbelievably taller than she'd appeared while lying down. "I...Do you need help...?" she asked, softly.

 

"I could probably make it, doc. But I appreciate the help. I'm not feeling myself." She looked down at the much smaller woman. Of course, there weren't many women as tall as she was..

 

"So how did you get here? And when? The doors were locked up," Annie asked directly with curiosity to Lauryn. "And do you know who those nutjobs were?"

 

"Okay...we're going to Hecht's, since it's all likely contained on a single floor," AJ said. "We won't go too far ahead of you; there's strength in numbers after all. C'mon Annie. Keep an eye out for a Radio Shack, if you don't mind."

 

Places like that sold walkie talkies, and staying in contact seemed like a good idea. It also sounded like a good idea to set up a ham radio system to see if anyone else was alive--maybe even contact his superiors. Radio Shacks also tended to have "how to" books on the subject as well, he reckoned.

[nexus]

Re: Zombie Hero: Group 2 The Oakdale Galleria

 

There was one of those “You are Here†Maps in this area, which seemed to be the Food Court.

 

HECHTS

MACYS

SEARS

RITE AID

Home Depot

 

First Floor:

 

1- Richman's Jewelers

2- Game Stop

3- Claires Boutique

4- Nails and More Salon

5- Teen Boutique

6- Hobby Shop

7- Time Keepers

8- Banana Republic

9- Dollar Store

10- Motherhood

11- Drycleaner/Shoe repair

12- unoccupied

13- Chesapeake Knife and Tool

A- Forever 21

B- Athlete's Foot

C- Leather Shop

D- Suncoast Video

E- Candy Shop

F- Hallmark

G- Sunglass Hut

H- Water, Water, Everywhere

I- Franklin Mint

J- Disney Store

K- Silver and Gold Jewelers

L- Pretzel Time

M- B. Dalton Book Store

N- Gap/Gap Kids

O- Game Keeper

P- Unoccupied

Q- Small's Formal Wear

 

Second Floor:

 

Second Floor

 

1- American Greetings Card Store

2- News Center

3- The Wall

4- Florist

5- Hot Topic

6- Ann Taylor

7- Hair Cuttery

8- Hess Shoes

9- American Eagle Outfitters

10- KayBee Toys

11- Country Crafts

A- Foot Locker

B- Unoccupied

C- Ritz Camera

D- Walden Books

E- Katz Jewelers

F- 5*7*9* Womens Clothing

G- Sam Goody's

H- Victoria's Secret

I- Champs Sporting Goods

J- Spencer Gifts

 

Food Court

 

"Dang...not even a cellphone kiosk," AJ muttered. "No wonder the family and I never came here in the first place..." For now though, they had to get to Hecht's. And it looked like it was going to be one of those two-floor stores. Damn. Okay, first thing's first. Let's get the gang to someplace to rest, then we'll see about solidifying our siege mentality. "I'm thinking...I'm thinking the best thing we can do is to get roof access and find a way to cremate those bodies. I don't see us being able to do a proper Christian burial anytime soon," AJ said. "Any opinions?"

 

"Rite aid should have some medical supplies and stuff...." Jasmine said. "And the leather shop, if we can get close on the second floor for a look around... Get something a bit more protective... Does it show where the security or mall offices are? We're going to need a map of the back passageways and crawlspaces... I don't want to hole up somewhere and have them come in the back door.... If we're lucky, since those places are locked up there's less likely to be someone, and we can move around a bit more safely...."

 

"Actually, I'm thinking the sporting good shop would offer better protection," AJ said. "Hunting gear, BMX protection, paintball armor--I'm thinking hardened plates are going to do us better. But for now, I want to make sure we have a safe place to hole up, get you looked at better, and allow Jenna to recover for awhile. Then we can see about our next move."

 

"Well, think the food court still has anything cookable?" Jenna asked. "I could eat." Or maybe not... she felt kind of queasy inside, not at all like her normal self. "Security and stuff will be behind one of those 'employees only' doors." Jenna said. "Right now, I'd settle for a cold Pepsiâ€

 

"How about a nice canteen full of h2o?" AJ asked. "I'd rather get you someplace to rest up at the moment, and let your insides relax before we try this mall's questionable fare. Hell, to prove what kind of gentleman I am, I'll even wipe it off before handing it to you." What Jasmine said made sense though. It also made sense that there'd be hand radios, and maybe weaponry and ammo there as well. But before they did that, he wanted Jenna to regain her strength. Exploring through the mall just wasn't the same anymore.

 

Jasmine headed over to check the soda fountains. The closest kiosk was Great Steak. She slipped over the countered and tried the fountain and it worked. The syrup needed to be hooked up though since she was just getting soda water at the moment.

 

Lauryn shook her head. "I've been here a couple days but I’ve been stock downstairs. There’s not allot to eat down there. Some frozen stuff but I'm afraid that cooking it might draw ~someone~ here, or something. But anything from a machine should be easy to get to." She was still trying to valiantly aid the much taller woman in walking toward the place suspected of having a bed. She pointed toward the machines just past the food court. "Can someone go shoot open one of those and get her a drink?"

 

Jasmine called out. "I've got soda if anyone wants!" She looked around for more. "Might be able to get some food here too, if you don't mind waiting to cook... Looks like we've got power and all..."

 

Considering the array of brains, blood and viscera that was splattered and smeared across the food court and tainting the air with its stench, no one was in much of a food to eat at the moment.

 

"Ugh. Not at the moment, but maybe later. Sarge, we've got to think about cleaning this place out. At least the bodies. And see if there are anymore things moving around here."

 

"Jenna," Lauryn asked softly, "can you make it? Do you feel up to walking?" Of course the woman seemed quite efficient even with such a mess made out of her, but it still didn’t seem ~right~ that she should have to be moved. But it didn’t seem right that deadites were pawing around either. "I'll pass on the food. But we really oughta get some stuff in Jenna besides water, to get her blood built up again. Chips and chocolate and brownies. That kind of thing would help." She cradled her gun in her arm as she continued on, not wanting to leave Jenna's side as they made their way toward the store.

 

Jenna actually stumbled slightly. "I think I'd like to sit down. You guys sure don't want to have to carry me."

 

Lauryn took Jenna's arm and guided her to the side, to a bench set up by a potted palm and a small trash can. "Your healing is miraculous," she told her in a soft voice. "If you feel any pain or any dizziness, let me know. Otherwise, I don’t know how to help you.

You seem so fine to me..."

 

"Yeah, doc. I can make it. I'm a bit tired, but I'm all right." She was touched at the concern of the smaller woman. She WAS a doctor, or something like it, and she was cute too. An added bonus.

 

"Right now...I think I'll skip," AJ said. "Maybe after janitorial service cleans up and all?" They were going to have to do something about the corpses. He had the feeling that keeping them out here was going to cause more problems--aside from the obvious problems of disease. Thank goodness for Home Depot. They should be able to get the stuff to clean up here...but it wasn't going to be pretty either way.

 

"Or not... There should be stock rooms in back..." Jasmine said. "I'll dig around in the clean spots... Cookies and water..." Jasmine started looking.

 

"Uh uh. We are absolutely NOT sticking around here," Johnson said firmly. "Aside from the fact that you're likely to get infected with something as a result of rotting bodies, there's the distinct chance that we've put chum in the water. I'll carry you if I have to, girl." Back in Iraq, one of his squad was hit by shrapnel. He ended up carrying him five miles to the rear evac station. He was older now, but he was laying odds that he could do it again, if need be.

 

Jasmine grinned, returning to the group. 'Promises promises."

 

Annie covered her agape mouth with a sleeved hand, "oh sick..." at the sight of the food court. "But who were those sickos with the guns?"

 

"Well...they WERE, I'm assuming, rent-a-cops," the marine sergeant said. "In the end, the wrong decisions were made." Johnson still felt that this shouldn't have gone this way. If only...hell, if only things were normal again--he'd be hosting a BBQ with his two favorite ladies, being his wife and daughter.

 

 

It was only about 20 minutes later that Jasmine approached the others with a crude map she's sketched of the mall lay out from the map she's found in the small kiosk at the far end of the foot court. They’d take over a small part of Hechts upper floor, the bedding department. Annie was knocked out cold one of display posters, using her big coat as a blanket. She actually looked pretty cute curled up like and finally actually looked at her age now that the fear and bravado had faded from her sleeping features. It was a shame. She should be walking around this mall laughing with her friends about boys they like they like and fashion, not possibly hosing brains off the walls and burning corpses in a few hours.

 

Jasmine sighed, covered her up a bit more and walked over to the others, "Once we're settled, we can decide what we need and where to look for it. Though I think we should try the security office. It should be locked and we can secure it, and hopefully the surveillance cameras still work...."

 

Lauryn was gathering up her bag and what she could of stuff laying around the food court that they might need, and waiting on the others to make decisions. She wasn’t entirely comfortable with the larger number of people. She enjoyed the small space she'd had, and being alone. But...well...these people might need her, and Jenna...she might get an infection or something...and...Realizing she was trying to make excuses to stay with them, Lauryn gave up. There was no need to go through all that. If she wanted to stay, she'd just stay. Follow them where they led her. Having gathered her things, she headed over to the store they’d staked out.

 

"Right...let's get a little settled first," AJ said. "We need the rest." What Jasmine said made sense to the sergeant. Given how well armed the former security guards were, there was a good chance that there'd be more arms and ammunition available wherever the security office was.

 

Jenna stood up slowly. "Well, food, clothing, shelter. The three basic needs, right?" She looked at the others. "So, I think we've proven that splitting up is a bad idea." She looked around. "Did anyone grab my bat? Mick Foley signed that for me, and I want it back." She smiled then. "I think finding the security office would be best." she said, checking the bandages on her stomach. There was a little spotting but nothing bad. She still felt like Death two days old and warmed over, but was doing her level best to keep it off her face. She’d made promises, to Annie, to Jasmine and she intended to keep them. And Hell, the scar she’d have on her cheek would make her look kind tough.

 

Jenna sighed. "Hell, I'd be right at home in a hardcore match now." she mumbled. With a muted groan, she stood up. "All right, Where to first?" she asked. Hardcore match, the thought made brought old Eric to her mind. Of course the last time she’d seen him he’d was lurching towards her drooling blood with pieces of Steve Austin’s esophagus in his teeth and she’d crushed his skull with folding chair. Somehow, she thought he’d had wanted it that way. She shuddered in a mixture of remembered revulsion and suppressed dark humor. She didn't want to dwell on that... she hoped some of her friends had made it out ok, but she didn't know. And she might never know.

 

Jasmine nodded, handing over Jenna's bat, and one of the extra guns.

"Hey, Sarge... I think we should at least check out the rest of the store, so we can sleep in peace... Jenna can say here with Lauryn and Annie, and you can me can do a quick runaround..."

 

"Yeah...I'd say splitting up is a not-so-good idea," AJ said, "Though I might be stupid enough to do it now and again. I'm a guy, after all." That, and as a Marine, there were some things he could do better if he wasn't with a group--especially if the group in question didn't have military training. He had a number of ideas beyond "food-clothing-shelter". He wanted to use the materials in Home Depot and Sears to make sure that the entire mall could be secured. But more immediately, "After the basics, we have to see about cleaning up," he said. "As nasty as it might be, we need to get rid of the dead bodies. At the very least, they'll spread disease. At worst..." He didn't think he needed to spell it out again.

 

Jenna nodded. "No way are those bastards coming back. I'll go smash their heads in now, if I have to. But Jasmine is right. Annie's sleeping, and I don't think I'd be much good scouting right now. But heaven help any one of those things that show up. I'll just have the doc check me over, make sure I can hold my end for now."

 

"I'm more worried about 'em attracting deadheads, rather than becoming them," AJ said. "For now, get some rest. We’ll talk more about 'what-to-do's' later. I'll take first watch."

 

Jasmine nodded, finding a bed to curl up on.

 

Jenna nodded. "All right then. I think I'll just rest here for a little while." She grinned then. "Son of a bitch ruined my best shirt. Actually, that was my only shirt. I never got back to the hotel from the arena." The giantess laid back on the bad, wincing slightly.

"Oh well. One of those things to worry about later I guess." She closed her eyes. Damn, she could use a nice cold beer….

 

Jasmine grinned. "First order of business... Clothes shopping..."

 

Lauryn was exhausted. She'd been doing nothing for several days and all this strangeness had done her in. But she turned to Jenna and said softly, "I am at a loss. I have never seen anyone heal so quickly. It's a miracle you are alive. Then again, I haven’t been a doctor terribly long, either. You seem to me as if you could hold your own for anything." Lightly, the red-head reached over and fingered the bandage on Jenna's face. "I'll want to change that out in a few hours. We don’t want it to scar more than it has to."

 

"What can I say? I'm a tough bitch, I guess." Jenna smiled and put her hand on Lauryn's. "Thanks again for patching me up, doc. Good thing you were here."

 

As the others dozed off for awhile, AJ stood ready. It was an old trick for guard duty to stand rather than sit or lean over. To do either of those usually encouraged one to doze off before you knew anything.

 

So he remained standing for those first few hours, walking around the dozing group, but not wandering too far away, and remaining as quiet as he could. He reasoned that there weren't any deadheads in the immediate vicinity, since their blabbing didn't seem to attract them immediately, which it usually did.

 

Nothing disturbed them for a few hours and everyone got some much needed rest. There were some immediate concerns upon waking though, food, drink and bathroom visits primary among them, exploring their new “home†a bit more thoroughly was a priority as well.

 

"Mornin' folks," AJ said, stretching his arms out a bit, "Or is it afternoon? I forget. I'm in the mood for some OJ and flapjacks, and reading the morning paper. How 'bout the rest of you?"

 

Jasmine stretched, yawning. "Okay, so we look around this store, find the bathrooms and use em... Lock all the doors as we go so we know we've got at least one safe house... Then start looking around. We can plan for what we want, with he map I got."

 

"Right...and we don't go anywhere alone. Period," AJ iterated. "At least until we have a better idea that our position is secure...which isn't going to be for awhile, I'll wager."

He could really take a piss about now... It struck him at that point. He was the ONLY male in this group now. "And it occurs to me that privacy's going to be a little harder for me than the rest of you," he suddenly said. "On account of the difference of a single chromosome." Back at home, it wouldn't have made a difference. Sure he was the only guy there, but one was his wife, and the other was his daughter. That didn't exactly count.

 

Jasmine grinned. "Hey, I've seen plenty, Sarge. And you'd measure up real nice..."

[Thag13]

Re: Zombie Hero: Group 2 The Oakdale Galleria

 

More ....Story.....

 

MOre Story......

 

Need Zombie action.....