The group was getting anxious, the gun fires were getting more and more frequent, and not knowing the situation on the other side of the block was getting on their nerves.
A couple of minutes later Nicolas came back running very fast.
"We have an opportunity, it is a bit risky, but I think it is worth it." He said through the window of the first car while Fred and Delphine came out of the car behind to join the discussion.
"A meteorite fell behind the HDB*, just in front of the police station. Right now, the situation there is quite chaotic, and we can maybe use this in our favour to loot a few weapons for ourselves," he said while waving a police baton in front of everybody.
"A baton? I am not risking my life for a baton!" Delphine went mad. She was on her toes, the loss of her friends was still fresh, and she did not want to take unnecessary risks, especially when it was Nicolas's idea.
"Hold it! Obviously, I am not talking about police batons! But about firearms!" He retorted with a big grin on his face ignoring Delphine's hostility. "I saw a few on dead police officers. And I believe the police station is full of them and since the front has been partially blow-up by a meteorite…" he did not finish his sentence realizing the idea of going inside might be a bit too much.
"However, we have to face two problems, first zombies are all over the place. I think they are not a lot coming this way because the gunshots attract them, but I won't lie, they are quite a few of them. Second, the police that is trying to keep them at bay is, from what I could see, getting overwhelmed. It felt like they were more shooting indiscriminately then containing the situation. In a nutshell, it looks like a chaotic battlefield." Nicolas was dumping all his observation to his friends like he was in a meeting on a regular Monday morning. The front car passengers were already a bit used to it but the others from the second car were not ready.
"Is it only me or Nicolas just went mad?!" asked rhetorically Delphine.
Most were nodding in approval.
"Do you think we can pick a few without taking too many risks?" asked Baptiste.
Following his question, people were looking at Baptiste like he has lost it too.
"Not sure," Nicolas paused thinking, "getting into the police station is certainly a bit too much, but the outer area is definitely an opportunity. My guess, we just have to wait a little bit and the policeman will have to retreat inside the building leaving us free to loot the field."
Baptiste nodded while pondering about it.
The spectators were speechless, a few hours before both Baptiste and Nicolas were struggling entrepreneurs in a worldwide economy and right now, they were talking like second-rate gangsters in the apocalypse. Is the adaptation not too fast?!?
"Ok I am in, but we need to define clear limits, so we don't waste time and our life," said Baptiste while getting out of the car. Baptiste was very organized and like to plan things clearly; like for his projects, he was considering the idea of Nicolas, balancing the risk and benefit in addition to defining a plan in his head.
"Agreed," answered Nicolas.
Then followed a few minutes of debates and shouts as most of the group considered it madness trying to dissuade the two friends. While at the same time they were fixing the limits of the exercises. The overall discussion was monitored by Fred, the elder of the group, but he quickly became a punching bag for the cons and a good buffer for the pros.
They concluded and the conditions were as follows.
If a small group of zombies decided to come the way of the cars, they would flee without turning back.
Wait no more than 10 minutes for the zombies to break into the police station; if they did not, they would retreat, dropping the operation.
And no more than 5 minutes of looting.
All in all, it was a matter of security and speed. This chaotic situation was a good opportunity but staying immobile in this crisis was a risk in itself as time was of the essence.
Indeed, the more they wait, the more people will get exposed to meteorites, the more some of them will be turned and go around madly in a killing spree. Also, the more they wait, the more the government will deploy his assets, fireman, policeman, military, and others. Afterall the security of Singapore was the priority and once the government would get back the situation in hand, who would dare to pick a firearm on the streets.
While Baptiste was finishing to gear up with the Decathlan supplies, Fred took the wheel of the first car ready to move at any time. At the same time, even if most of the girls did not agree with the situation and were shaking in fear, they took their responsibilities and went to the nearby shops that were still open hoping to buy or pick food and supplies.
"Ok, let's go!" said Baptiste adjusting his helmet.
Nicolas nodded and dialled Lexie's number to use it as a talkie walkie and put it in his front pocket while Baptiste did the same with Jiajin.
This was the unconditional condition that both Jiajin and Lexie put forward to let the duo go into this madness. And since it was a pretty good idea, Nicolas and Baptiste agreed without hesitation.
The second later, the two left silently toward the police station, covering the 300 metres swiftly. They hid behind cars and construction barriers as much as possible progressing rapidly.
A few metres in front of them, the situation was totally different from the quietness of where they were coming from. People and zombies were fighting outside the police station and a lot of corpses were seen lying on the stairs in front of the building.
Shivers went down the two friends' spines!
The duo could still hear gunshots coming from inside the building. The situation had changed greatly since the first recon of Nicolas and it was to their advantage.
After assessing the situation, Nicolas took a glance in the direction of the meteorite crash with greed in his eyes, but dismiss the idea of snatching it as soon as it came up. With all the rubble and fights surrounding the crash, getting the meteorite would be suicidal.
"Good! we don't have to wait since the policemen have already retreated inside the building," whispered Nicolas.
"Maybe, but they are too many fights, we will probably get caught into it, this is too dangerous." Baptiste was not enthusiastic anymore.
"We're geared and we're two. As long as we're fast, we can do the trick!" Nicolas had his eyes on the prize. "I can see at least four firearms, two on the ground and two strapped to policeman dead body."
"Really?" Baptiste was doubting what he heard. For him, the people fighting for their lives would very likely pick those first.
"Yes, the only problem is the five crazy zombies feeding on the two policemen. Look there, on the left." He pointed in the direction of a lonely group.
"I admit will be a bit challenging. But you know the saying, there is no free meal; at least it is true for us. Haha!" Nicolas tried to crack a joke to lessen the pressure.
Not sure if he wanted to laugh or cry, Baptiste remained speechless.
After a minute arguing about what to do, they agreed on fighting to get the stuff. The target was not far from them, just a dozen meters in front across the street. Most of the fightings were on their right, in between the police station and the HDB buildings, while the street on the left was mostly empty.
The two improvised fighters were now clinging to their cricket bat tightly, the joints of their hand almost becoming white. A knife strapped securely on their belt. They had one shot to hit the opponents while they were distracted.
Surely, the duo was no warriors, but they knew that safety in this world was already a bitter memory. With all this madness, putting their hands on a gun or two could be a game-changer later for their survival.
Nicolas started to count nervously, "Three, two, one…"
*HDB: Housing and Development Board. HDB is commonly used in Singapore to talk about all the big and tall residence buildings built for Singapore citizens by the government. Cheaper but less sexy than condominiums.