Mark Clodi - Outbreak

Jimbo was about a dozen steps behind them and almost ran into Veronica near the front door.

“Well?” he whispered.

“Get out! We will tell you when it is clear, like I said!” she whispered harshly back.

“I am already in sweetie, I have a strong need to cover your ass and make sure absolutely nothing happens to you. Besides this place is empty, can’t you see it?”

Veronica nodded, “Yeah, looks dead, you’re right. Check the garage. I will help the girls prowl around.”

“Ah no, reverse that the garage is probably safe, the house could contain unknowns, I don’t want you getting shot.” Amended Jimbo.

“Whatever.” she replied as she headed towards the kitchen and the door to the garage.

Jimbo headed upstairs after nodding at both the zombie soldiers and saying, “Watch Veronica’s back, I am going to check upstairs.” He headed upstairs, made a show of searching the bedrooms and closets before stopping at the attic, it appeared to be a pull down ladder kind, you just pulled the rope and the ladder unfolded into the hallway. Jimbo reached up quietly and grabbed the rope. As he tugged on the rope he had to apply increasing force until it became apparent the ladder was being held in some way and would not open without breaking something. As he applied one last pull the rope broke off and hit him in the face.

“Shit!” he said softly, wiping his hand across his forehead. “That hurt!” Jimbo had noticed that his sense of feeling was very sensitive lately, the slightest touch would create a sensational feeling that he had never gotten before he came back from the dead. 'Well that pretty much does it.', he thought, 'I think I can keep these guys alive for awhile, now I have to spin this in the right way.' Jimbo went downstairs looking for Veronica. He found her in the kitchen.

“There is a mini-van in the garage, right?” he asked.

“Yeah, how did you know?” Veronica replied.

“They are in the attic.” He held out the broken rope for her to see, “They have it barricaded in some way, we can get up there, but it might take an effort. I don’t see any reason to break in though, I mean, they are not going anywhere right? Lets just save them until we need them or until Max gets home.”

“Maybe. Some of my people could use the boost. Any idea of how many are up there? I already sent one of the troops after Nancy and Trish.”

“Yeah three there was a bedroom for a girl and a boy and a master bedroom. The boy's room had a bunk bed, so there could be four. I think they are in the attic, I can kind of tell where they are, my vision is sharper when it comes to seeing the living now. Now about Nancy and Trish, we don’t have much time, you need to know, they are kinda of getting together, like a political alliance. Nancy is going to do something for Trish, I am not sure what. They wanted me in, but did not try very hard, I firmly came down on your side of things, so, I guess what I am saying is for my support I need you to watch my back, okay? Also you gotta do something very soon about Julie. Very soon.”

Veronica stood there for a second, absorbing what Jimbo had said, before nodded, “You got it, I watch your back, you watch mine. You are getting the next recruit, they don’t have to know about it, but you are. I may need, I mean, ‘we’ may need you to have more resources. Here they come.”

Jimbo and Veronica were standing quietly in the kitchen when Trish and Nancy came in.

“So the gangs all here, the important members anyway. What’s the story V, is the place clear?”

“No they are some living in the attic, we don’t know how many, they are barricaded in.” Veronica said. Jimbo marveled at her control, she was not giving anything away in her mannerisms in her speech to Nancy now.

“Well V, lets go see this attic and decide what to do.”

The four of them headed up the stairs and Jimbo showed them the broken rope and pointed out the attack opening to them in the twilight of the pre-dawn morning.

“Get em out, I say.” said Trish, “Just like we agreed.”

“Yep, it is chomping time, it is high time for the executive and judicial branches to get some support, and you too Jimbo, if there are three.” said Nancy.

“I want to wait.” said Veronica, “They are not going anywhere and if Max gets here and is stronger than we think, well, they might prove to be a good bargaining chip to get our shit out of the fire. Plus we don’t really need any food just yet. So I say we save them until we need them. If Max does not show in a day or so we go in after them, no sense in letting the meat spoil, right?” said Veronica.

Nancy replied, “Not how we agreed to do things V. Not at all what I was thinking. Jimbo?”

Jimbo seemed to think it over for a bit as the three women looked at him, “You know I was kinda looking forward to a new recruit or two myself, but Veronica seems to make sense, what is another day or two, we can scrounge for other refugees in the neighborhood if we get hungry….”

“Dammit, I want a little old fashioned revenge on Max? What about that? Lets pull em down and dispense a little justice!”

“We don't need em Nancy! Justice can be served later, why rush things?”

Nancy seemed to think this over for moment, then looked up at the ceiling. The changes that had happened to her had sharpened her vision to the point where she could see the glowing pattern of a living person even through thin walls. Up above her she noticed the flowing lines of a living being just to one side of the attic access. “Well so we don't open up the door then?”

Jimbo and Veronica nodded, Trish just scowled. Nancy sighed, nodded her head and leaped upwards driving her hand through the ceiling drywall to grasp what she thought was the leg of someone she presumed to be Max's wife. A bit of chaos ensued as Jimbo grabbed Nancy's leg and tried to pull her down from the ceiling. Sarah started screaming as her leg was pulled through the ceiling, which woke the kids up. They immediately stumbled over the ceiling rafters to pull ineffectively at their mom's arms as she tried to lever herself up out of the hole that was forming in the weakened drywall between two of the rafters. Underneath Trish punched Jimbo, dazing him, yet he held onto Nancy, Veronica hesitated for an instant before coming to Jimbo's aid by tackling Trish, the two of them tumbled down the nearby stairs at the same time that Jimbo took another blow to the face from one of Nancy's kicks. The blow was hard enough to dislodge his grasp from her other leg and left him sprawled with his head and shoulders through the bottom part of the bathroom door. Cursing he struggled to get free of the hollow core door and stop Nancy, he was too late and he could only watch as Nancy, hands wrapped around a woman's leg bent her head over and took a meaty bite just above the knee.

The woman screamed as Jimbo jumped up, Nancy let go of the leg, which disappeared quickly into the ceiling with a shower of insulation and broken drywall. Nancy, of course, landed on her feet, then looked at Jimbo and laughed, saying, “See? I didn't open the door.”

Infuriated Jimbo just looked at her, “You selfish…..” He turned away to compose himself and then received a mental message from Bobby, “A woman and a boy just pulled up and got out of their car, they are heading up to the house now.”

“What? What Jimbo? Nothing to say?” taunted Nancy. Then she heard the front storm door creaking open and a woman’s voice call out, “Hold up Cory, you don’t know what is in there, wait for me.”

Cory reached the door first and had it half opened when Amelia warned him to wait for her. He paused at the door and was looking back at her when the zombie woman appeared behind him, behind her another woman appeared