Sky! FUCK! SKY?!
I turned to Juan and asked, "Do you have Satellite Phones here?"
Juan's head tilted and replied, "Huh? What's that?"
"You know, those phones that don't use the cell sites to connect to other phones. Instead, they get their signal from the orbiting satellites across the world."
Juan nodded a few times before raising both of his hands in the air, "Oh, sorry no. That shit's too expensive to be sold in this place."
'Well, at least I tried. That would be too easy if they do.'
After a while, I turned to the crowd once more to bring up the subject we were discussing earlier. I clapped a few times to get their attention but most of them were already looking at me, waiting for what I would say next.
"Okay, back to what I was saying earlier. I would give you the decision of either staying here and waiting it out or going outside with me and taking your chances. If you do decide to go out, there are three options available to you. First, there is a DDR Camp in Malanday which is still holding up and has a good military presence. It was formed by conjoining a high school and a big hospital together so it had a lot of space and better than normal healthcare, for free too."
'Second best option in my opinion.'
I continued, "Second, a few of you probably used your own vehicle to get here so I suggest taking all the supplies you could carry and heading to wherever you want to go. It could be anywhere you wanted whether it's with your other family members, friends, or other DDR Camps available, I won't stop you. The moment you get inside your vehicle, I would have nothing to do with you as we'll go our separate ways."
"Any place you'd recommend if we wanted to drive on our own?" a guy wearing a cap raised his hand.
"The cities are the most dangerous places you could be in if you don't have the means to protect yourself. I suggest going into the provinces if you could or someplace where the dead would have a hard time reaching you, sailing for example. Just dock when you need to resupply but you need to have experience doing that."
"And the last option?" a lady from the back asked.
"Hmm, the last option is a little unique and a little more… personal. To give it to you straight, I have a place of my own. It's a small compound but we have food, water, shelter, security, etc. I could allow you in my compound but you must contribute and do everything I say, within reason. I'm not gonna say much about it but we're a close-knit group of people that wouldn't wait for anyone to do something about this thing. We do what we can and what we should and this shit isn't stopping us from living our lives."
The crowd just stared at each other as they began discussing among themselves. And while that was happening, I turned to Juan and asked him if he could lead me to the roof. My radio not being able to contact Oscar could just be a simple case of being inside thick walls and I just needed to be in a good location to be able to reach him.
"Uhh~ sure, follow me," Juan tapped his apron to look for his keys then he guided me to a set of stairs.
"I-I'm coming too..." Allan ran up to us.
"And Jenny?" I asked.
"She— um… asked to be alone for the moment..."
As we were heading up, I glanced down at Jenny and she was just sitting silently on a bench. There was a possibility of her following Bert's actions but I had a gut feeling she wouldn't resort to that.
The three of us continued to head upstairs and the moment we reached the roof, my radio buzzed.
-
*bzzt*
[Kid?! Do you fucking copy?! Answer dammit!]
*bzzt*
-
*bzzt*
[You said 30 fucking minutes! Fucking answer already!]
*bzzt*
-
*bzzt*
[Bro, you better not be fucking dead! I'll fucking kill you!]
*bzzt*
-
"Is that your group?" Juan asked, faintly smiling.
"They sound really worried, sorry for that," Allan added.
"No worries, we'll get there soon. But yeah, I said to them I'll be back in 30 minutes. It's been close to an hour now…" I replied.
I was about to answer the radio but I had a little thought. I composed myself for a few moments before I finally picked it up and pressed the button.
-
*bzzt*
"NnyyaRRghhh~! GrOOooHkkC!!! CHHhhkRRaaaAAa!!!"
*bzzt*
-
I tried my best to imitate their snarls and the radio was dead silent for a few moments. At the same time, Juan and Allan couldn't fathom how the fuck did I start messing around at a time like this.
-
*bzzt*
[Sky?! Fuck! SKY!]
*bzzt*
-
*bzzt*
[Kid?! Fucking shit! KID! ANSWER ME YOU LITTLE SHIT!!!]
*bzzt*
-
I tried to hold back my laughter as best as I could while the two beside me were shaking their heads with completely different expressions. My group at home continued to contact me but I did the zombie voice again. However, just by the way a two-way radio was operated, it would be entirely impossible for a deadhead to press and release the call button to have a simple back and forth.
Despite that, someone must've left the radio on from their side because all I heard was shouts and someone crying. It was chaos for a few moments but someone finally picked up the radio and realized what was going on.
-
*bzzt*
[YOU DENSE MOTHERFUCKER!!! YOU THINK I WOULDN'T NOTICE SOONER?! HUH?! AT THIS TIME, AT THIS FUCKING~ TIME YOU PULLED THAT SHIT!!! ZOMBIES CAN'T USE THE WALKIE, YOU STUPID FUCK!!! KID!!! KALEY ALMOST FAI— KID!!! FUCKING START TALKING NORMALLY OR I'LL SHOVE THIS RADIO UP YOUR ASS!!!]
*bzzt*
-
As soon as I heard Oscar's voice, I started laughing non-stop which in turn calmed the people from the other side. However, endless curses rained down on me after a short moment and I saw Allan's face in complete disbelief.
"That's totally not cool man, you can't joke at a time like this."
Allan shook his head with a difficult expression but I saw in the corner of my eye that Juan covered his face while his shoulders were going up and down. He was trying so hard to not burst out laughing and I soon decided to talk on the radio properly.
After a while of scolding from Aunt Sharon and Oscar, I finally told them the situation on my side.
-
*bzzt*
"If we're talking about supplies, this place is ripe for the taking. Do you need anything else besides the essentials?"
*bzzt*
-
*bzzt*
[None. But yeah, a little more wouldn't hurt. Just get your ass here tomorrow morning so I could slap some sense into you.]
*bzzt*
-
We then said our goodbyes and I surveyed the situation below. A few steps away from the fast food area on the left, something caught my eye. What looked to be an armored van was parked right next to a few vehicles but there was a blood trail that leads to the bank right in front of it.
'Hmmm....'
"Juan, does that bank below have a door connecting to the supermarket?"
"Huh? That bank— oh, yes it does. It has a glass door that acts as a partition but everything here is connected with the supermarket so the shoppers could have easy access," Juan replied, lighting another smoke.
"I see..." I planned the steps in my head then we went down.
"Dude, what's the plan now? Are we just gonna wait for morning to come?" Allan asked, following from behind.
"No, we have to prepare a few things so we will be ready for tomorrow. Grab another bag and fill it up with all~ the essentials because we're gonna have a sweet ride. You know how to drive, right?"
"Yeah, I know how to drive. What do you mean by essentials? Like food and water?"
"Yes. Food, water, medicine, clothes, weapons, etc. Also, change those slippers, grab some boots your size."
"Right. I forgot about those."
Allan started gliding through the aisles to get what he needed and I saw Juan talking to the other civilians with Jenny. I gave them the same instruction I told Allan and they soon joined him with several pushcarts on hand. It took everyone a while before they were finished looting the supermarket and I approached them after they were done.
"You guys decided on what to do?" I said with a voice loud enough for everyone to hear.
"I think my family would go to the DDR Camps."
"I'll grab my motorcycle at the front and go to my family."
"Can we really come with you?"
"I'll also get my car at the front and drive towards the provinces."
"I'll also go to the camps..."
"Me too."
"I'll still try for the cities. My family's over there…"
After hearing their answers, everyone ultimately decided to leave this place and not stay put. It was already obvious because each and every one of them had a bag prepared and a few people were already planning their own route.
'Good choice. Once everything here is depleted, what then?'
I nodded a few times then I turned to Jenny and Juan, "How about you two?"
Juan answered first but he was looking a little glum, "Umm, my family is probably at a DDR Camp somewhere close to Bulacan, not the one close to you. I'll try and check the ones closest to my house first and see if they evacuated there. But… can I still go to your place if they… you know..."
I scratched my head slightly, "Hmm, I can't just give away the location of my place but what I suggest is to head to the DDR Camp in Malanday. Sooner or later, I'd be frequenting that place to establish some sort of connection and if I spot you there, I'll take you with me."
"Thanks, that's good enough for me," Juan nodded a few times then he gave me a handshake.
"How about you?" Allan turned to Jenny.
"I… I'm not sure where to go, I—" Jenny stammered.
"Come with us then. Well, uh— if it's okay with this guy. We have more space, right?" Allan said, turning to me.
I nodded as I let out a chuckle, "Of course, we have more space. Aside from that, we'd need more people that could use a gun for security. We'd be happy to have you there."
Jenny went silent for a few moments but she eventually decided to come with us. Allan was overjoyed as he began to dance in place, making Jenny smile for a short moment. While that was happening, I gave the crowd another reminder about the things they should do.
After a while, I found Juan stacking his bags on a pushcart while a fire axe was just by the side of it, the same with a few people that prepared their own weapons to fend off the dead. I would've recommended something like a battery-powered nail gun but it wasn't sold in this supermarket.
I tapped him on the back and asked, "Hey, can you point me to your alarm clocks? Also, I need to borrow your set of keys."
"Alarms? What would you use them for?" Juan asked, handing me the set of keys first.
"Those things are attracted to noise and I'll use the alarms to lure them away from the armored van. I can't keep on using my guns even if it's easier. I'll run out of bullets before I know it and I don't want to use it before tomorrow."
"Hmm~ we have those little timers that people use when cooking, is that okay or do you need larger ones? I think we have them by—"
"No, that's good. I'll take the smaller ones."
With that said, Juan took me to the aisle where the items I was looking for were located and I decided to do a bit of shopping myself. He was with me so I took less time getting around the aisles, looking for the items I wanted to take home. Aside from that, he took me to their storage area which he actually saved for me because he was afraid I would be left with nothing good.
We wouldn't be able to take all of the items in the storage area but I was able to cherry-pick the most useful items.
"Juan, you just became my fucking friend. You didn't have to but you did," I chuckled, patting him on the back.
"Just returning a favor and making you owe me so you won't renege on your promise if things go south. Besides that, you also did something you didn't have to but you did, saving everyone. You could've just left with Allan and we wouldn't be able to do anything..."
"Heh, that's a good way of thinking about it. Anyway, help me get a few of those boxes ready. How big are those trucks again?"
"Ah, they're usually..."
After a time, I had my own set of supplies at the ready. However, I spotted something special in the corner of my eye and placed it carefully in my pushcart. It was a medium-sized box with red ribbons but the item inside was the most important.
With that said, everyone had their own bags filled with food, and medicine was the only thing divided equally.
'Next is the vehicles… What we have except for my Hayabusa are two delivery trucks in the back and the crowd's own vehicles. If things go smoothly, we would also have the armored van to take home...'
In the meantime, I asked Juan to check the situation outside by heading to the rooftop and reporting to me the happenings. All that he was telling me through the radio was that the dead seemed to be gathering in the People's Park for some unknown reason but there were still several deadheads roaming around.
After that, I went to the side entrance of the bank with Allan and Jenny.
Each glass door was locked tight but I still tapped on the glass a few times to check for any surprises. Surely enough, an armored figure emerged from one of the cubicles. It was a deadhead wearing blue overalls with a vest that was possibly bulletproof. A few things were hanging from its body and one of those items was something that I really needed, the keys to the armored van.
"GYAaaRChkKK!!!" The zombie guard suddenly lunged from seeing us though it couldn't break through the glass door.
At the same time, Jenny and Allan tensed from seeing the zombie coming toward us but I just redirected it to the gaps in the glass door. Once its head was in the perfect position, I slipped my blade through the gaps and it stopped moving before it slowly slid down, staining the glass door with the blood coming out of its new orifice.
After making sure that none would follow, I pulled out the keys Juan gave me and I opened the glass door. We dragged its body outside first but it would soon be sent to the freezers.
The first thing I took was the keys to the armored van but there were a lot more items to be taken. I managed to acquire a Glock 21 chambered in .45 ACP, an extra magazine, a flashlight, and a canister of pepper spray. After that, I also pulled the vest it was wearing along with the rest that came with it.
Even if the vest had some nasty bits of blood smeared on it, it was still in working condition. However, Allan was eyeing it almost uncomfortably so I decided to give it to him.