The location of the base isn't the best place. It was exposed to all directions, knowing that a warehouse that people used to go grocery too, this place is a target for hostile groups. My brother knows this but he still insists on constructing a base here due to the abundance of supplies. I don't object to that thinking. Having a wider surrounding field will allow them to defend themselves in case of a zombie horde and possibly hold against hostile groups if they plan to invade them.
What matters now is the duration of construction, and how long it takes to fortify this place to make a defensible base.
Yesterday, they found three survivors, a woman, a man, and a kid, they're a family. They're equipped with nothing but basic tools for defending themselves. I wonder when will he send out a group to scavenge some materials. Although with the abundance of food, we shouldn't underestimate the number of people we could bring back since it has been a week since the start of the outbreak from what I know.
"Fianna!" My brother called out.
I turned towards him, facing him with my brows furrowed. "What's the matter?"
"Can you come in? I have to introduce you to everyone, including those who just recently joined." He suddenly nudges my arm to insist I come.
Knowing each ally is necessary in these dying times.
I answered, "Sure, why not."
He happily smiled and gestured for me to come with him.
"Isn't this building currently vulnerable to raids?" I questioned him merely to test his critical thinking.
"Of course, I know, not like I'm clueless at what I'm doing." Rolling his eyes in the process.
The moment I walked into a marble floor, I immediately notice that they moved all the shelves away to leave the area spacious.
"What's the space for?" I asked.
He instantly responded with, "A place for people to sleep."
I hummed in my throat just as I expected he would say that. It is not a good place to settle your bed around but still, it's a good utilization of space. I thought it would be better to place a crew sleeping area close to the resource storage room to provide necessary protection to the place in case of someone steals without consulting with anyone who manages it. Wait! Managing!
I glance just to see if there is anyone taking watch of the storage but it seems there is none.
"Who's keeping watch of the storage room?" I inquired him to answer me.
"No one." He casually said without contemplating whether there is something wrong.
I stared at him with my eyes wide and eyebrows raised.
"You don't assign anyone to take up the task of managing the resources?" He nodded his head like he doesn't get it.
"Why would I need one?" He looked at me confused about what I'm talking about.
He seriously doesn't get it.
"YOU have to in case of theft since we have to preserve these resources we have." He suddenly realized how stupid he looked and answered.
"Oh yeah! Sorry, my head wasn't running properly these days." I was dumbfounded when he answered me with that avoiding eye contact thing.
"I'm truly surprised that you didn't even consider this." I was amazed at how is clueless about this, this is the primary place that he fortified his base around for.
"I still need someone to trust with this," he murmured in his mouth.
"Yes, you do." I quickly responded.
I was confused, how would he not prioritize this? "Is there something wrong?" I questioned him.
He was silent for a moment before he said, "Nothing."
He's lying, "You sure? You seem like you're up in the sky just a minute ago."
"I..." He was about to respond when a sudden gunshot was fired somewhere in the distance outside the warehouse.
Everyone seems to be panicking, running out with their weapons in hand to see if there's a hostile group attacking them.
I quickly responded to the commotion by quickening my step and dashed towards the entrance of the building.
Another shot was fired then came a bombardment of several sounds of gunshots, this indicates that there appears to be a full-fledged invasion. I boosted up my speed and ran as fast as I can toward the gun sounds while pulling out my automatic rifle to prepare for combat.
When I got there, I saw people lying around, severely injured but with no dead bodies. People are hiding behind vehicles that were full of bullet holes and some others are hiding against concrete walls.
It looks like they're underequipped, unable to defend themselves. Many brought bows to a gunfight, and some does have a gun in possession to fight back but it wasn't enough cause the enemies are all equipped with firearms.
The people began to look at me as I was fully geared and prepared for combat.
Holding onto my rifle, I slid behind a bullet-holed vehicle, taking cover next to a brunette girl and asked, "How many are there?"
"I saw 11 guys getting out of the vehicle and started firing at us."
"You sure there isn't any more than that?" I further asked her.
"Probably, I'm not sure." She answered while covering her ears when the bullets start flying towards us.
Turning off the safety mode on my rifle, I tell others to distract the enemies so I could start firing back. "Hey! Distract them. I can't fire back if they are focusing on me." The others nodded and seems to take their time and plan out how to distract the hostiles.
I told the girl, "Hey if you don't get away from this vehicle, there is a chance it might explode." She trembled when I said that then frozen at the sudden thought, "How can I run away when the shots are fired around me?"
I quickly gestured to the others, "Hey! Wait for my signal before starting to distract them."
Then turned back to the girl and placed a palm on her right shoulder, "When I said go, run away from the firing range and enemy sight as fast as you can." She nodded but her body is still trembling.
I looked at the others, to see that they raised a thumbs-up to signal me that they were ready.
I gestured for them to go then they start to fire back all at once toward the enemy. I told the girl to run then the girl immediately tries to run away without caring whether the enemies will fire at her or not. She ran into the others and suddenly collapsed on the ground due to the amount of fear she had to sustain based on how she probably doesn't want to die.
Now she's out of the way. I stood up and peeked out to see that the enemies are all hiding from the bombardment of shots being fired at them. I took aim, remained at my spot, waiting for the bombardment to stop and for enemies to peek their heads up. I shouted out, "Hey, stop firing!" And the shooting came to a stop. The enemies seem to have taken notice of that and began to fire back but they didn't know that someone is waiting for them the moment they peek their heads up.
I heard one of the possibly commanding people from the hostile group shouting out, "Fire back! Fire back!"
They, one by one began to peek their heads up and start to fire back but a shot ran through one of their comrade between his eyes. He fell limp to the ground, unmoving with his hand still protruding outward, remaining at the moment when he held a gun. It was instant death.
5 other shots went out and pierce through their skulls like nothing and went out the other side. Their brain matter seems to have fallen out with the bullet and stained the ground behind them. All of that just in merely 3 seconds. 6 of them down, 5 to go.
Their leader noticed this and told their men to not peek their heads while I was still waiting for them. Suddenly, they began to start a blind firing attempt by sticking their weapons out without looking and began to fire several blind shots. I immediately ducked in. Their firing eventually stopped seeming like they emptied their magazines. I wouldn't take the risk to peek my head out now and potentially getting caught in one of their plans. I predict that there is a possibility that they borrowed my previous plan and use it against me. The air was quiet, nothing seems to be firing, my prediction may be right. I need another plan.
I immediately notice the car mirror and break it off. Extending it out to give me a reflection of where the enemies are. A shot was fired and scattered the mirror as I was expecting. They're waiting for me to peek my head out. I have taken a glimpse of the people who peeked their heads out before the mirror was broken so I got a clue of where they are now. The only thing I need is to distract them. I don't want to use the distraction strategy previously done again cause that could cause someone to die during that attempt so instead of that, I use my already broken mirror and toss it upward into the sky. Assuming that the enemies looked at it in 0.3 seconds, considering that as a worth of time of distraction, I peeked my head out beneath and next to the bumper of a car and fired 3 shots, killing 3 of them. There are 2 left.
The group seems equipped with weapons. There is a possibility that it is a whole organized group that racked up a bunch of firearms at their base. I need one to be alive to prove that a group or a clan like this exists. Keeping two is better. I'll incapacitate their arms first.
I took a swift to peek to see if those two are still keeping their eyes on me but they were not, they were ducking behind without any intention of firing back. They are either preparing to surrender or just preparing to run away.
"It's best if you just give up. You can't continue this anymore. You're outnumbered and out-gunned. There is no way for you successfully capture this warehouse so give up." I shouted and continued with "Drop your guns and walk out and towards us." They seemed hesitant as it took them a while to consider.
"Hey, I don't have all day to wait for you. Either you come here or we're gonna blow you up." That sure will prove to be an effective way to threaten them and make them surrender faster. But they don't seem to even move. I know they're discussing with each other behind that vehicle because I still see 4 feet underneath. And by the time I said that I heard the sound of a rifle dropping down on the ground and a person walking towards us with his hands in the air, palm facing towards me as I peeked my head up and locked my muzzle at him.
"Stop! We surrender!" He continues to walk closer. I noticed something sketchy as the other one still hasn't dropped their weapon.
"Tell your partner to drop his weapon and come here also, if not, I'll shoot you and him." I threatened him.
"It's alright now, drop your gun and get over here." The second dude then dropped his weapon and stood up, walking towards us with his hand in the air. He walked to then stopped next to the first guy, then they both started to walk together towards me.
Something is sketchy which made me tell them, "Stop right there!" My muzzle still pointing at them.
"Strip down your clothes except for the underwear," I told them.
Without further ado, they immediately stripped to their underwear.
No explosives. Good. They're safe.
"Now walk towards me." I lowered my weapon and gestured for the others to tie those two up. They obliged.
I stepped out from behind the car and walked towards the two with their hands restrained by a robe.
"Why did you start the fight?" I inquired them while gesturing for others to stand back.
"We were told to do." He said casually, the dude with a good-looking face and a very refined muscular body. He looked like a model. While the other one with an also but unproportionate muscular body and normal-looking facial features.
I gestured for the others to search the enemies' vehicle and whatever was useful out of it.
"We were scavenging for resources." The handsome dude said. They were scavenging for resources so it is possible that they reside with a clan.
"And we found this place, a warehouse that we assumed to hold an abundance amount of resources." He continued.
"You attacked us because you thought we were vulnerable and not well-equipped like you guys," I added to it.
"You're right." He affirmed my assumption.
Taking out my pistol, I pointed to his head while it tilting down, looking at the ground. "Tell me why shouldn't I kill you right now," I asked them with malice.
"I know the place where all the resources we accumulated." He said it with protruding confidence.
"Right." Pressing the muzzle of my gun down his head, slightly causing the head to tilt further. "Tell me where it is." He didn't seem to tremble at the fact that a gun barrel was touching his head right now.
"About 2 miles away." The other dude seems to have clenched his fist and his veins can be seen throbbing.
That's quite close to here. "Take us there now."
The average-looking guy interrupted me, "You want to them away our resources? For what?"
"None of us are alive anymore." He stated
"So you two are the last ones?" I asked him.
He nodded his head to confirm that.
"She killed Jenna." His friend said but he retorted with, "So what! She's already dead. Good luck saving a corpse." That got the other dude fuming with anger and launched toward him. "You fucking shit." I can see his face as red as a tomato. Don't want to listen to this jackass expressing his anger, I kicked hard into his stomach, making him roll on the ground.
"What's your name?" I asked the good-looking dude.
"Andrew. And that is Mark." He looked fine after intimidating the other dude.
I gestured to the others, "Put them in confinement. Do not let them out until we finish with the preparation."
Andrew and I stared at each other before I head in the opposite direction, walking away.