First Draft Chapter 5

Back to the crisis at hand! I immediately ran down the hallway to inform the group of our current situation. We started coming up with different ideas to draw them away. We must have spent a couple of hours on this. No one got to sleep that night and it took a toll on us the next day. With all of us super tired, having migraines at eight in the morning, we decided to take a quick power nap.

Once up and awake, we concluded that we can just create another diversion like we did when getting here just a couple of days ago. With the plan set and stone, I sent Jim and Jeremy to go to the kitchen and janitor's closet to look for things that make a small explosion. While Jim and Jeremy were on their task, Rob and I were trying to figure out where to detonate the small explosive.

The parking lot of the old car dealership just right down the street should do the trick until we find a more permanent solution. The plan was to put the bomb into one of the old cars and that would keep the flames in the air long enough to attract the creature's attention giving them time to get over there. We also had to make sure nothing was in the direct vicinity of the blast; we didn't want anything else to catch fire. The last thing we want is an uncontrollable fire spreading around town.

After a while Jim and Jeremy returned with their creation, we needed to figure out how to get it down the street without anything noticing. I had to put on my A-game so that way my friends could get out there and back safely with NO casualties. I ran over to the monitor just right up the hallway and began scanning the screens trying to find the best route for Jim and Jeremy to take. It did take me a while, but I believe I had found the best possible path for them.

The first thing they had to do was wait until I gave them the signals to walk outside because first I sent Rob to the front to make some noise to draw the monsters away from the back where Jim and Jeremy will start their journey. After Rob swung the front door open and then slammed it back shut he ran straight back to us to avoid being spotted. That's when I gave the signal. Jim and Jeremy opened the back door and started walking down the back of the building.

Once they got around to the corner they were on their own. I could no longer keep track of them on the cameras. I told them to the radio if they got into trouble. The game plan was for Jim and Jeremy to run into the library which was located right next door and get up to the balcony so the creatures couldn't reach them. Jim radioed me said they were close and should be planting the explosive here in just a minute.

As Jim and Jeremy were planting the bomb, something occurred to me, why were there so many creatures in the area? Where we are currently located there are not that many people. It got me thinking that something else was happening, but it was not the time.

After Jim had planted the bomb, both of them began their way back. Everything was fine until they got to the library. Somehow the bomb detonated itself. That caused a flood of monsters leaving us and heading to Jim and Jeremy's location. They immediately ran into the library and disappeared. A couple of hours had gone by and I began to give up hope. Owen tried running out there to find them, but Rob stopped him. Rob told Owen that we can't lose anyone else.

"Trust me, I miss them too", Rob said with more emotion than I had seen from him since he came to America.

After an hour we all had to face that hard possibility that we had lost them and that no matter what happened we would have to continue to move forward. Hours began to pass at a very excruciatingly painful rate and still nothing on the cameras or anything at all. Time went on as it usually does. Night fell and we all went to bed without having to worry about any more of those monsters surrounding the facility.

When we all woke up the next morning something felt different. Checking the monitor revealed something very interesting and very promising, the garage door leading to the cafeteria was slightly raised. It was almost as if someone pried it open and snuck inside. I started scanning the cameras trying to find anyone else besides me and the rest of the gang. The thing was that I didn't find anyone.

That's when Jeremy came walking through the door limping around trying to find something to lean on. Owen immediately ran over to him and began helping him stand up straight. I then pointed out trying not to sound unhappy that he was alive,

"Where is Jim at?" I said with quickness in my voice hoping against hope that he was still alive. That's when Jeremy began to speak.

"Jim is alive, he is still at the library, I had to put him laying down on a high shelf so nothing could get him while I came back." As soon as those words left his mouth I could feel a huge relief in my heart, a relief that I didn't have to bury my friend.

"Owen go grab Rob and come back here so that we can retrieve Jim from the library!" I said trying not to bark orders but still express how important it was. Thankfully the moment I said that he just got up and started running towards Rob.

I made Jeremy give me exact instructions on how to get to him and if there was anything else wrong with him.

"When the bomb went off we were both injured but he was the only one that couldn't walk. I believe that he has a fractured leg but he should be fine." Jeremy said with that same quickness that I had just had.

After Own returned with Rob, we grabbed the stretcher and began preparing to go rescue Jim. Rob and I exited the garage doors once we had everything prepared. After exciting them we closed it behind us in fear of what could happen. We ran the entire way down the street until we got to right before the library. Once we reached the back door Rob said:

"I will make a quick perimeter check to make sure that we are clear to enter." I did not approve of the idea, but I wasn't going to stop him. Better to know it was safe than know nothing at all.

Once he got back we entered the building very slowly trying to reduce the amount of noise we made. I made my way to the stairs before I realized that Rob wasn't behind me anymore. I called out in a frantic effort to find him and it turns out that he already found Jim. Jim had managed to crawl his way down the stairs and over to the front desk. Jeremy was right, Jim has a fractured leg. It was nothing that Rob and I couldn't handle. Rob and I grabbed the homemade stretcher we had prepared before leaving. It was nothing more than something made out of the sweatshirt I was wearing and the rods on a book cart nearby. Jim was trying to tell us something, but I told him that it could wait till we got to safety.

After Rob got Jim in the stretcher, we began moving toward the back door. Once I opened the door to let Rob through first, I looked back and I could've sworn I saw a man standing there. I didn't think anything of it at the time. After a very long, slow, and risky walk back to the jail things felt slightly normal if you know what I mean. After walking in the back door, I called for Aaron to come and get Jim. Jim was touch and go for a minute, but Aaron said he should be fine and be up and going here in a few weeks.

I went to visit Jim in the second office right down from the bedrooms where he was recovering after the event today. Once in there I told him that he was trying to tell me something when we were moving.

"Ya I wanted to tell you that we didn't detonate that bomb, something else did!" He said with the look a smoldering intensity. Then after a second to let that horrendous act pass he started up again.

"I swear that while we were running for cover so that we could detonate that bomb I heard a gunshot. Then just milliseconds after the bomb was hurling fire at us." He said with no look of uncertainty.

"That just doesn't add up Jim, not only have we not made any enemies here we haven't even had the chance. None of us have seen any living people since the outbreak started." I said trying very hard to keep my emotions in check. But then I remembered back to the library.

That's when I began to believe him because I thought I saw someone when we were leaving the library! He seemed to be wearing some kind of sporting gear and maybe a mask. It all happened so fast that I couldn't get a good look at the guy. I also began to think, why would somebody shoot the device? What was the point? Who was this person and are they even trying to hurt us? None of it mattered anyway because I have more important things to worry about anyway.

About two days had passed when I was sitting down in the main office taking inventory of everything we had when I looked up and saw Jim walking in with crutches on and Aaron walking behind him. Once both of them entered the office Aaron said:

"No need to worry I found crutches in the med bay next to the cafeteria.

"Jim wanted to let me know that he was ready to get up and start working again. I told him that he doesn't have to yet and that he needed to rest so that his leg could heal properly.

"Trust me, I feel fine and I promise I can do something even if it's something really small", Jim said. I told him he could help me take inventory so that way we know what to get the next time someone makes a run.

We both began going through what we had when Jim pointed out that we are in desperate need of water. And man was he right, we only had enough water for maybe a couple of days at the max. I contacted Jeremy and Rob and told them to get down here. Once they arrived, we sat down and made a game plan on where to go and how to get there and back. The plan was to hit up the Elks Lodge up on the square located about two blocks away. It's a private club and bar for people who purchased a membership. In the kitchen, there should be plenty of water and maybe even food.

I gave them each a gun and some extra bullets and told them to haul ass back if anything went wrong. I walked them both to the back door and told them to stay there till I told them it was clear to go outside. I ran down to the control room and started looking at the cameras for anything out of the ordinary. I didn't see anything so I gave Jeremy and Rob the all-clear. They headed out the back door and around the side of the building. Once they got to the corner near the front I told them to stop. I could see something moving near the street. It seemed to be one of those creatures just dead sprinting down the sidewalk away from the jail. Once the thing had disappeared, I told Jeremy they were good to start moving again. I told them to keep me posted on everything and to check in every ten minutes.

I returned to the control room and constantly checked the cameras and continued to do so until both of them got back. Roughly ten minutes passed before Rob radioed in saying they are almost there and that they were taking the back alley up to the lodge. I said,

"good idea taking the back entrance, I will hear from you again in about ten minutes." Ron then signed off and yet again I was sitting there waiting for another ten minutes.

Sitting there waiting was a lot more painful than I would have ever thought. I felt completely useless just sitting behind these monitors watching to see if anything passes by or even just moves. Multiple check-ins had come and gone before something happened. I realized we needed soap. I know, not what you were expecting, but it was important. So I radioed Jeremy and told him to check the bathrooms. He thought I was crazy, but I am not getting sick.

About two hours had passed before they finally got back. Jeremy and Rob came through the back door with their hands full of stuff. Behind them were totes which they were dragging full of supplies. I looked Jeremy dead in the eye and said,

"Did you get my soap?" I asked with a look that of a crazy person. Then after just a second of looking at him with that look, he began to speak.

"I got your soap, no need to worry," Jeremy said with one eyebrow raised with a look of (Is that the most important thing?) as he was walking through the back door.

The time came and went and the days merged. I can still remember some things, but most of the time stuff disappeared. About two days had passed before anything interesting happened. It was about ten-thirty in the morning when we heard scratching at the front door, but when Owen and Rob got there, nothing was even at the door. After coming back to the meeting room, Owen told us he and Rob saw nothing. Not but five minutes later we heard the scratching noise again. Owen ran straight to the front door and yet again saw nothing at all.

This happened a total of eight other times until finally, Owen got there just in time to see what he said looked like a bigger dog. We all kept a look for the damn thing because well we had nothing else to do. We were all looking out the windows trying to find it, but no one could. With everyone distracted, the creatures started becoming more numerous around the building. I didn't notice until I looked at the camera looking towards the shed in the back.

I could see dents pushing towards the outside. It was just a matter of time until the wall would burst open. The man was I right not but 5 minutes later, the shed wall came crashing to the ground. The sound was so immense that it could've been heard for miles in all directions. It was like two freight trains hitting each other at full speed. I was just waiting for every creature in a two-mile radius to come running to our front step.

I could hear the mass amounts of them hurdling my way. All of a sudden out in the distance I saw the Elks Lodge burst into flames. The crimson rays of the flames gleaming through the afternoon air as it flowed to the east. It was quite distracting and even took my breath away. I had never seen anything so mesmerizing. The good thing was the attention wasn't on us anymore the horde of creatures began running towards the Elks Lodges at full speed. It didn't take long before the front yard was practically empty. We all could still hear the screaming and moaning of the creatures burning to death just a couple of hundred yards away.

We all went outside to see what had just happened right before our very eyes. Rob was the first one out while Aaron and Jim were the last since Jim's leg is still healing. Once outside all was calm and I felt somewhat relieved.

Then as they all began to leave my eyes drifted towards a large building with the word rogers written on top near us, while it was nice and kinda funny that some dude's name was written on top. There was one major problem when I looked over I could see a small figure. A tall man standing out there on top, non-moving, and also not getting attacked. It was like everything was going around him as if he didn't exist. I turned my head just for a second to double-check on my friends then back and he was gone. He was holding something, but I couldn't make out what it was.

After staring questioning what I had just seen, I decided that I needed to return to the group and tell them everything I had just seen. As soon as I came upon the group Jim stopped me and looked me straight in the eyes and said:

"I think it's about time we give these motherfuckers a code name. I think now is the best time considering that we have officially gotten our ass's handed to us by them. Jim said with a missive smile trying to lighten the mood.

"You know what I think you're right, got any ideas?" I said going along with it, my news could wait. It's better to shatter their hearts after having a little fun.

"Ya I do, let's call them Ceps!" Jim said acting like the rest of us would understand immediately with no help.

"Now why are we calling them that Jim, I don't think anyone else but you here knows the joke," I said, trying very hard to not sound like an asshole.

"We are going to call them the cep because they are creatures that eat people," Jim said with a satisfactory smile stretched across his face. I just began to burst out laughing along with the rest of the guys.

"You know what, I like it, the cep it is," and with that, we had finally named these life-ruining bastards.

Then after a second to collect myself I told the group about what I had seen, but they all said it was probably a cep just standing on top of the building and then fell off or walked away. I wasn't buying it, but I am not going to argue. We all returned inside before anything else shady was bound to happen. After getting back to the office where we sleep I told Aaron to make sure the break room was clean considering that was where he tended to Jim when Aaron was patching him up.