THIS CHAPTER TAKES PLACE BEFORE CHAPTER 76 The years have not been kind. The world slowly ate itself. Scattered around the world, from the urban decay of once mighty cities to the blackened forests, pockets of survivors exist. One such group found themselves fighting tooth and nail to stay alive and keep the infested at bay. Their location is the outskirts of a small town in the Midwestern United States.
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The newly built office building with an attached parking structure, paid for with taxpayer funds, was sold to the citizens of the small town as a draw for businesses which in turn was to strengthen the local economy by providing "good-paying jobs". That dream never came to fruition and it sat almost entirely unused, the sole business occupants a small security company, AV Security a subdivision of a subsidiary of the ARBCO Corporation. When the dead of the world stood up and began devouring the living the employees of AV Security went to work and stayed there. The building had an unremarkable design, the first floor was made up of thick reinforced concrete with high set windows with a set of heavy glass doors that opened into a short foyer leading to a second set of heavy glass doors. Both sets of doors opened automatically with no visible handles. The lobby had a large security desk directly in front of the doors. With several small couches and tables on either side. The building's two elevators were set one on each side of a small alcove behind the security desk. A plain door was on one side of each elevator allowing access to emergency stairs for the upper floors as well as leading to the emergency exits at the back side of the building. The two emergency exits were thick steel fire doors which also had no external door pulls. The upper levels were a sleek steel and glass design offering beautiful unobstructed views of the small town in the distance and the surrounding desert landscape.
They immediately began fortifying their position, blockading doors and moving all operations to the upper levels of the modern building. The automatic glass doors were turned off and secured with specially designed door bars wedged between preexisting holes in the floor previously hidden by the entry carpet and attachment points on the metal frames running around the clear glass. The employees wasted no time turning the security desk into a machine gun nest complete with sandbags and a 50cal machine gun. Whoever was posted on the lower level, knew to only use the large weapon in the worst-case scenario, full compromise of the triple layer bullet-resistant acrylic doors. They had been designed, as the whole building had, to stand up to a full-scale military attack, the undead shouldn’t pose a threat.
After spending years defending office building from THEM the employees of AV Security received their orders.
Orders to secure New Springfield. Begin full clean and sweep. Expect other operators to begin rallying at their location.
They’ve spent the last two months slowly spreading out, securing their ever-expanding territory.
The town has been fully secured with all threats eliminated.
They have moved on to the neighboring town not only to clear it of undead but also to gather supplies.
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The dark alley is ripe with the stench of rotting garbage and the stinking fetid remains of the dead and formerly undead. Lurking in the inky shadows four subjects make their way to the intersection of the alleyway. Without warning the shuffle of footsteps comes to a halt with the wave of a hand sign. The four crouch against the wall of the crumbling building, rifles pointed at every gloomy silhouette ready to unleash fury should anything twitch.
The point man carefully checks the corner. Left. Then right. He signals the all clear and each member of the assault team makes their way forward all covering their assigned sectors. Today’s mission carries an extra layer of gravity as the team is looking to secure provisions to replenish their dwindling cache. Going store front to store front the team works efficiently, grabbing whatever rations they can find.
After entering the remains of a local hardware store, “Ramirez, how’re we looking?”
“Well, Boss we’ve found some questionable cans, half a case of water, a handful of batteries, some random cordage, and a few odds and ends for the toolbox which should make LT happy. We’re still holding out for more TP.”
“Okay. Move it to the top of the list. Highest priority.”
“Done.”
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Before he retakes his position just inside the entryway, hidden from any onlookers, while maintaining a clear line of sight, he relays the change in priorities to the waiting Alley Vipers. His spotter, Sullivan, nods out across the street, “Second building on the right.” A mangled corpse wearing the tattered filthy remains of a once-white apron staggers against a cracked window.
“I see it. Not worth taking out.”
