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Chapter 9
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Jake
My eyes flicked from building windows to side streets and cars, ignoring the mess and the destruction I scanned for movement, even the slightest twitch but saw nothing I had been doing this for so long now that I had learnt t trust myself, I got a sense, a gut feeling when shit was about to hit the fan and right now everything felt calm. But we had a newbie in the truck, so I wasn’t about to take any chances, especially not when that newbie was Clara West.
“Clara you got anything?” I asked after a second scan on my side of the truck and seeing nothing but not wanting to tear my eyes away from scanning to check on her unless I had to.
“One dead in a building window, one walking down an ally, No threat.” She stated clearly, calmly. No panic and I took a second to turn and check her, she was positioned side on as was I, her head on a light swivel as she scanned the area, her shoulders seemed tense bu
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Clara.My heart pounded as I listened to the guys talking through the radios, their chatter somehow easing the shit storm of emotions that had gripped me when I pulled the trigger. It had been instinct, as soon as I saw the gun aimed in our direction I fired, not thinking, not caring. Then the blood had rushed through my veins so hard that nothing else mattered, all I could see were the dead, the infected, the danger. It kept me focused, alert so I wasn't knocking it but as soon as the danger had passed I was second guessing myself. I had shot someone. Killed them.I breathed hard, not someone, something. He wasn't human.“We're at the half way point.” Wheelers voice sounded, letting us know that we had another four hours before we would reach our target. Four hours of possible dangers. It was actually exhausting being so alert all the time. I let my eyes close for a second and took a deep breath. Even the
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ClaraI watched as Jake holstered his gun and I frowned not understand why he would do that.“Use your knives where possible. Gun fire will attract the dead.” Jake said to me as we jumped down from the truck. “You stay next to me. We will search for the lab first and grab anything there that might be of use then we will do a once over of the building and grab anything else we could use back at the compound.” He informed as we stepped up behind Wheeler and Porter who were waiting for us at the doors, Bubble took up the rear and with a nod to us all Wheeler pushed open the heavy looking door and led the way inside.It was obvious that people had been here, papers littered the ground along all the corridors, graffiti stained the walls and there were signs of a fire in the hall that had been extinguished. We moved quickly through the wide hallways, glancing into empty rooms, no sign of anyone, livi
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Clara.I swear my whole body relaxed when we drove through the first set of security gates into the compound, we hadn't faced any trouble at all on the way back though we did see several groupings of dead much to the worry of the guys. The fact that they were all worried had me terrified.“Well rookie you did good.” Wheelers voice called through the walkie as the truck pulled up to the garage entrance and Bubble stuck his head out for the guard there to see him and let us in.“Thanks.” I muttered although I was a little offended that he seemed so surprised.Jake smiled from his seat next to me and I watched as he switched off his walkie. There was no need for them now, we were home, safe.“They will unload all the supplies and inventory, then we debrief with the chief. Then we clock off for the night.” He smiled and I returned it, his happiness was infectious, his smile mouthw
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Clara“Team three.” A woman called from the main floor and the guys stood from their seats, still immersed in conversation. I walked along side Bubble as we followed the woman to a meeting room I hadn't been in yet.“Weapons check first.” Bubble told me as the guys started handing over their guns to an older guy, maybe fifty.I passed him my pistol, the one I had fired and watched as he ejected the clip and checked the ammo then placed it to one side. “You fire any of the others?”“No.”“Okay then.” He uttered and moved on to Bubble while I sat at the table next to Wheeler who was talking to a greying man I assumed was the chief.“Target was empty, completely, and no one in the surrounding area either. It might be worth sending another team out there tomorrow to scout the area, check for cleans and any supplies.”The chief nodded.
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Clara“Woo hoo.” Porter smiled. “I'll start. Forewarning you Rookie, I have every intention of getting you very drunk.” He stated and winked and I winced oh god what had I agreed to. “I've never, kissed a guy.” He stated with a smile and watched as I downed the small shot of brown liquid. “Hell we might need more booze, you got a stash Jones?” Porter asked Jake with a smile and I watched as Jakes curios eyes swung from me to Porter before he reluctantly nodded.“Why exactly are we trying to get me drunk? I'm already drunk, lets get Bubble drunk he's still sober.” I moaned much to the guys amusement.“No can do, like Rigs said, initiation night.”“Okay but do you have to embarrass me while doing that?”“Hell yeah, besides we'll all know each others secrets eventually, it happens when you work together long enough, mi
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Jake.I watched as her eyes closed for a few seconds before she forced them open again. “I should go.” She uttered without any will power and I spoke before I thought it over.“Stay a while.” She looked at me for a minute, assessing my expression the way I had been with her all night then she nodded and relaxed back on my bed.It had shocked the hell out of me when she admitted that she had slept with a guy. Then stunned me when she admitted to having sex. She seemed so pure, innocent. Maybe it was the blonde hair or the young look about her, I wasn't sure, but I know I definitely hadn't expected her to drink to that. The problem now was that I found myself curious and that was dangerous.She was a pretty girl, there was no denying that, I had always just thought of her as a girl, a kid. But the last week had proven she was anything but. She could fight as well as any man, shoot like a s
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ClaraThe gym was empty when I got there, I left my army blacks on, figuring I needed to get used to wearing them in all situations and I jumped onto the running machine. There was something about pushing myself like this that helped me think and I needed that. I had to figure out what the hell I was going to do about Jake.As much as I had tried, the feelings weren't going away, just the opposite. As I got to know him better I liked him all the more. It was frustrating and inappropriate. We had to work together. I took a deep breath as I sped up, my mind turning through possibilities.Maybe I should try dating someone else again, really try this time. Otherwise I was going to end up having to switch teams. I couldn't let it distract me, that wasn't fair to the team, they would rely on me to have their backs and if I was distracted by Jake it could jeopardise that. Jeopardise their safety and that wasn't a risk I was
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ClaraI squinted my eyes scanning building, old houses that had long ago been abandoned. “There's a cottage just ahead of us that should do. Its fairly intact, one broken window, no signs of movement and should be easily defensible. Slow to a craw, check the area for movement. If its clear we'll stop here.” Wheelers voice called out again and I scanned all the houses, side alleys gardens and abandoned cars as we slowed to a snails pace.“All clear here.” Porter spoke up.“Clear ahead.” Rig added.“Clear.”“Clear here and behind.” I stated after one last glance around.The trucks pulled to a stop outside a cottage that had seen better days but wasn't quite as bad as the others we had passed.“Grab your bags, you can wrap up inside.” Jake directed me as I slid from the truck, my hand ready at my side should I need my gun.
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Clara. The next few days at the compound were the busiest I had ever seen it, all army personnel were working overtime, patrolling the prison, searching through every room before declaring it clear. Cleaning out the bodies of the dead and filling the massive whole that now resided in D blocks shower room. The funerals started on the third day after the attack. It turned out that a lot more than just Wheeler had died, although his death was the one I felt the hardest. Thirty two people lost their lives in the attack. It would be a while before any raids were organised, too much needed to be done at the compound but the leaders were already planning to send teams out to collapse the tunnels that ran under the prison. Our team had been inseparable since the attack, maybe it was losing Wheeler, maybe it was fear of the unknown but almost every waking moment we spent side by side, only going our separate ways of a night. Jak
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ClaraThe corridors around E block were packed to capacity with dead who were trying to gain access to the living and the sight made me shudder as we came up behind them, it was like deja vu again only this time we had more men and better weapons.Three bombs were thrown into the midst taking out almost half off the dead before they even knew we were there. Then the fight was on. They raced at us, their bodies moving in strange ways and I opened fire on those closest to me. Five down. Another bomb and more firing. Slowly but surely we edged closer. The other hallways I knew were filled with soldiers fighting their own battles and a team were firing from behind the barricade in E block but still half an hour of fighting, of throwing bottles filled with a strange looking chemical mixture and shooting anything in our path and we still hadn't made it to the entrance. Porter Jake Bubble and Rigs fought along side me, none of us w
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ClaraI wiped the tears from my cheeks and followed Jake out onto the landing. He was right, there was work to do. I hadn't known Wheeler all that well but still my heart hurt knowing that I wouldn't get to see him again, and my heart hurt for Jake too, the look on his face when Porter screamed just about ripped me in two, he had been close with the team leader I knew that, hell he was close with all his team mates. He pushed his back straight and walked across the landing towards a guy I didn't recognise, he hadn't been with us earlier.A glance around the room let me know that the fighting here was over, the dead were nothing more than heaped bodies on the ground and the first floor landing was filled with soldiers. I spotted the chief across the landing and I sighed, at least he wasn't harmed, the last thing we needed right now was for one of our leaders to fall. Which briefly had me thinking about the other leaders and w
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Jake.“Wont be long guys, make sure your shots count.” I spoke up loud enough for my voice to carry across the landing to the other soldiers waiting for our nod. My finger itched as I let it rest against the trigger of my gun, I had spent way too long being inactive and it was making me nervous, well the nerves probably had something to do with the hundreds of dead that were clawing at the walls beneath our feet trying to find their next meal, their next target.I took a deep breath, Clara was ready at my side, her gun clenched in her hand, her eyes roaming the masses below us. I still couldn't get over how well she had been handling herself. Joining the army was a huge adjustment under normal circumstances and this was far from normal.“Okay coming up to B block, corridors are mostly clear.” Wheelers voice sounded through my earpiece and my shoulders tensed. “Okay guys w
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Clara.The noise in D block had settled considerably since the residents had calmed down, Peters Trundle and I spent close to an hour answering questions as best we could before they gave up and settled into their temporary housing, my parents were sharing a cell with an elderly woman by the name Bridie when I finally got around to speaking with them.“I cant believe that you are okay with that, with dealing with that every day.” Mum muttered glancing out the cell door towards the ground where the dead were still making a racket as they tried in vain to climb towards the higher levels.“It's my job Mum.” I state not knowing what else to say, this job, my job wasn't for everyone, I had known that before I signed up but more so now that I was an active soldier and had been out in the world, I still saw visions of my fist kill behind my closed eyelids, dreamt about the horrors in the world. I hid
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ClaraBy the time they reached me my hands were shaking and tears had built in my eyes.“You okay baby?” Jake asked, pulling me into his arms and kissing the side of my head. Our moment only lasted a minute but it was enough for me to pull myself together, he was okay, he was alive. I let my eyes run over him from head to toe checking for damage before looking him in the eye.“I love you.” I stated figuring that it could be now or never, I could have lost him then and if anything were to happen to me, I needed him to know how I felt.His answering smile was breathtaking. “I love you too.” He whispered back before attaching his lips to mine in a short hard kiss.“Come on you two.” Bubble stated pulling our attention and I nodded letting Jake grab my hand and pull me towards the other side of the landing where no one had taken up posts yet. They had finished
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ClaraThe room hummed with nervous energy while we waited for Jake to return with the Leaders everyone once again on high alert now that we knew there actually was a way for the infected to breach our walls, the impenetrable compound no longer seemed so safe.A shuffling of bodies shifted to reveal the grim faces of our leaders, each one looking tired and haggard, as though none of them had slept in a week and I contemplated that just maybe they hadn't.“Mr Jones said that you found something?” Jade questioned.“Yes, there are sewer tunnels running directly under the compound, the closest point of impact would be D block showers, none of the other tunnels are large enough to fit bodies. The tunnels run in either direction and fork off to four surrounding towns then carry on to the towns after that. They could literally enter these tunnels from anywhere and sneak up on us at any moment and we w
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Clara.The days passed in a blur, every hour consumed by one action, one task. The compound had been on lock down for almost a week, and everyone was starting to feel the strain of it, but we were no closer to answers than we had been in the beginning.I had barely seen my parents since that first day and I had seen Matt even less. My days were filled with all things security, working six hour shifts on protection detail of one area or another my off hours were spent brainstorming with my team members and other members of the army, catching up on sleep, eating or spending hours wrapped up with Jake losing ourselves in our own bubble of happiness.Everything between us was great, we hadn't had any profound conversations about our relationship but neither of us was in a rush, instead just happy to enjoy the time we had together.It was Wednesday when a commotion on the main floor of A block had us all sprin
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Clara. The rest of our shift guarding D block had been exhausting, emotionally more than physically as we spent hour after hour answering the same questions but not really having an answer to give. The team refrained from idle chit chat, barely speaking at all unless it was to try and calm the fears of one resident or another but Jakes silent presence by my side was more reassuring than any words could have been, he was my rock, my shoulder to lean on and that fact had a small smile building inside me, even given the circumstances.I had resigned myself to the fact that this would never happen, that we would never share comforting looks or the slight brush of a hand on my back, that I would never get to see him relaxed and carefree but the reality of our relationship was better than anything I had imagined.We had escorted the kitchen staff to their work posts after change over in D block and left for our six hours o
