J. Knoll - Zoe, Undead

With a nod, Tex said, "Sounds like a plan, Colonel."

Halstead's eyes shifted to Zoe. "You're our secret weapon, Cupcake. You ready for some payback?"

She raised her chin and loudly barked, "Yes, Sir!"

Looking back to Morris, the Sergeant ordered, "Your platoon will take two Strykers and a bus over to a shopping mall of some kind about two clicks south of here. There is word of survivors but we haven't been able to send anyone in to confirm this. There is also word that the area is thick with moaners, and once you make contact I'll want you to advise Echo Base and get reinforcements before you engage in earnest. Establish and hold a perimeter and await reinforcements."

"Understood, Sir," Sergeant Morris said with a nod. "How far out will our reinforcements be?"

"Allow about fifteen minutes," the Colonel answered, "but don't get yourself in too deep. This isn't just a rescue mission, this is a seek and destroy mission. If we have a lot of moaners in one place then we're going to want to take out as many as possible. Draw them in and give the main force a cluster to take out all at once."

Tex nodded. "Got it, Sir." He looked to Zoe and ordered, "Let's get mounted up."

As with the other mall, the parking lot of their target was virtually empty but for a few abandoned cars and a couple of trucks. The Strykers pulled right up to the front doors and turned around, then backed toward the building as far as they could and stopped.

The back of one opened and Zoe stood ready to jump out and go about her mission. Around her black belt were small pouches, her gun in its holster over her left hip and she wore a black utility vest that was closed and fitting her snugly over her white tee shirt. Tex stood behind her, his hand on her shoulder as they both looked to the shattered glass doors of the mall.

"Just remember everything I told you," he ordered. "Stay in contact and let us know what you find. Use your speed loaders and take shots sparingly. You have sixty rounds so try not to waste them."

She nodded and assured, "I'll be careful, Sergeant William." Her radio was in her hand and she looked down to it, knowing that it was her only contact to those who awaited her in the Stryker. She found herself not afraid, but anxious, and this showed on her face as she stared into the depth of the mall she was about to enter, a place she had been many times.

Looking over her shoulder to the Sergeant, she informed, "We used to come clothes shopping and stuff here. It's cheaper than the other mall, but I like the food court at the other one better. This is where I got my sparkly princess tee shirt."

He nodded and looked down to her. "Just remember we're looking for zombies and survivors this time, so try to stay focused."

"Okay," she sighed as she looked to the mall again.

There was shattered glass from the doors all over the floor and she walked gingerly over it, looking around her for any movement. With the .357 Magnum on her side, she felt rather safe and was sure that there was nothing inside that she could not handle. Turning right, she followed the pathway along shops that were familiar to her. Like the last mall, many stood open, but many had the cages down and were locked down tight. Bad memories of the last two times were still with her and her eyes panned around nervously as she felt her confidence begin to shake, and just the inklings of a nervous crawl in her belly.

Reaching the end of the path where a major department store sat, she looked to the cages that sealed the glass doors, gently grasping one with her hand as she looked inside. There was no movement, but there was quite a mess in there. She tried pulling up on the door, but found it locked. Time to move on.

Halfway back to the middle of the mall, she saw something ahead of her that was very familiar, a tee shirt shop that had always been one of her favorites. This one she went into and her mission would have to take a back seat to something else for a while.

Zoe strode a few steps into the store and stopped to look around her. It was much as she remembered with circular racks on which hung hangers of shirts. Hundreds of them! Along the walls were shelves and above them were shirts that were splayed out to be seen by all, and they were displayed all the way to the ceiling. This was a colorful, festive place and she had always loved to come in here. Now, though still colorful as she remembered, it seemed empty, somehow hollow, only an echo of the place she had enjoyed going so many times with her family.

She strode in further with slow steps, looking around her for what she sought. Rounding one of the circular displays, she panned back and forth to see everything, and when she looked ahead again, there was something on the far wall, someone! Seeing the zombie girl that stared back at her sent such a fright through her that she screamed and retreated a step. Reason returned to her quickly and she grasped her chest and drew a deep breath as she realized she was looking at her reflection in a mirror. With a little smile and a shake of her head, she turned her attention to one of the racks of shirts, these all red, pink and purple, yellow and orange, and she began to sort through them, moving them to one side one after another, and finally she found what she was looking for. A big smile found her lips as she pulled it off of the rack and held it in front of her, gazing at her hot pink prize that read Princess in silver glitter across the front. Hanging it back up, she reached for her vest and unfastened the three buckles that held it in place, then she lowered her arms and held them behind her as she allowed the vest to fall from her to the floor. Reaching to the bell of her shirt, she grasped it with both hands and quickly stripped it off, laying it on top of the display rack behind her, then she took the pink shirt from its hanger and slipped it on.

"Sergeant Morris to Zoe," her radio summoned. "Come in, Zoe."

She turned toward her vest and took the radio from her belt, looking to the vest that lay at her feet as she answered, "Hi, Sergeant Morris." She crouched down and picked up the vest, continuing with an enthusiastic tone, "I got a new princess shirt!"

"That's great, Princess," he commended patiently. "Find any zombies in there?"

"No, sir," she replied, still looking down at her vest. "I saw my reflection in a mirror in here and I didn't expect to. It scared me so bad I almost peed myself. I guess I'm still not used to how I look, that and I really wasn't expecting to see someone in here looking at me." She clipped the radio back onto her belt and shrugged back into the vest.

Tex had clearly been laughing when he spoke again. "Well, stay in contact, Kiddo."

Back into her vest, she took the radio from her belt and assured, "I will."

After taking the time to fasten the vest back, she wandered from the store and continued her search of the mall.

Reaching the other end, where the food court was, she made the full circuit and started around to the other side. There was a shop at the corner that held many edible gift selections, including many different cheeses, summer sausage, spices and the like. It always had an interesting odor about it and she liked the smells of the many spices mingling with the peppermint and other candies they kept in bulk. Her eyes were that way when she saw movement, and she froze.

A dog stepped into view from around one of the displays, a really big dog! What kind it was she was not sure, but it was black and looked something like a Rottweiler with a huge head. Its eyes were white with small dots that were the remnants of its pupils and it had lost a few patches of hair. It was not just sick. It was clearly infected, and a zombie dog was a threat on an entirely new level.

It looked right at her and just stared for a moment, then it lowered its head, its lips sliding away from its teeth as it growled a deep, menacing growl.