Day Sixteen

The next morning after breakfast had been dealt with they were all stood around the dining table, looking at the map Lars had been marking. Concentration was etched on the faces of all the men as they asked relevant questions about the store they were considering, available exits, nearby structures, residential proximity and so on. The list Louise had given him for medical supplies they still needed to get was in his hand and he was reading it to himself, checking what she had asked for.

"Would all this stuff be available in the CVS Pharmacy we're looking at?" he asked Louise.

"Most of it would yes, the general stuff like bandages, surgical gloves, antiseptics, gauze. All that stuff is shelf stock. The other more complex items for surgery and stitching and the like I thought we could hit the Animal Hospital at the end of the street."

"And how exactly would you know what street we are on?" Lars enquired, his eyelids dropping slightly as he assessed the women in front of him. The others were looking at them, just as puzzled. Nobody had told them where the bunker was positioned. This was a break of protocol and a risk to their safety should the two women turn out not to be suitable for the group.

Louise looked at Cassandra and smiled. "Go on, tell them."

Cassandra crossed her arms in front of her, resting backwards against the pillar behind her. "You know how you want me around for information?"

Lars nodded.

"Well don't you think that someone like me, who is writing fiction about survival, would know the exact location of the only surviving 1960's nuclear bunker in the entire city of Las Vegas, particularly the bunker built by a multi-millionaire? There are other bunkers under various Hotels which are available to the public for case of emergencies but this is the only privately owned original bunker in the city. So... once you said the year of the build I knew it would be the bunker located under 3970 Spencer Street in Las Vegas. I also know we are 26 feet below ground and that above us is a two bedroom house with a four car garage and that originally a subterranean tunnel was available connecting this bunker to a nearby office building but that it was filled in when the land the office block was built on was sold."

"Well, isn't she a clever one." Max said out loud, clearly impressed by the local knowledge she displayed.

"You didn't decide to keep me around just for my charming personality." A smile glowed on her face as she looked at Max.

"Tell me about the clinic." Lars told Louise, getting back on topic.

Walking around the table until she was near him she bent over and looked for the exact spot where the bunker was located. Grabbing a pen she pointed out the Animal Clinic on the map.

"The only problem I see is this one." She added, to a small point on the map next to the animal clinic. "That's a medical centre and I wouldn't want to go in there considering the sheer amount of zombies that could be roaming the building and the grounds. The clinic is next door, just around the corner. Now if you don't want to risk it there is another big vet clinic heading the opposite way but that one is right next to the big shopping centre. Now between those two there is a third place, but it's a centre for re-homing cats, not a vet clinic so I don't know how much of surgical equipment they would have there is any."

"You've given this some thought." Lars told her, considering her advice and the logistical difficulties either spot would involve.

"Yeah, at the end of the day if I'm going to be part of this group, or we are anyway," She added looking at her sister, "then I want things to go as smoothly as possible for all of us. And if my sister or I happen to go with you then the less risk for us the better."

Cassandra interrupted then, having her own request to make. "I was wondering if it would be possible to make a stop when we hit the CVS pharmacy."

"And that would be?" Lewis asked.

"At the rear of the CVS there is a clothing store and my sister and I aren't exactly kitted out for our longer term needs. I would like to go in the store and grab us some essentials."

Looking at each member in turn before he answered, Lars saw them each giving a quiet nod in agreement. "No problem! We will hit the CVS first, the store after that. We do the clinic tomorrow after I've given it some more thought. The risk is too high that we will come across high numbers of undead so best to give each other plenty of time to deal with that. Let's get our gear together and head out."

As everyone dispersed to grab their weapons and check their ammunition clips Lars approached Lewis and had a quiet word with him. The Brit smiled and nodded before he walked towards where Louise and her sister were standing.

"Grab your things ladies, your moving into the guest house."

"Really?" Louise squealed with delight. "No more sauna?" and with that she threw herself at her sister and jumped around with excitement, running to Lars immediately after and giving him a hug too before blushing furiously and letting go. "Thanks Lars, I really appreciate it."

The Viking simply cleared his throat and left the room, pretending that physical contact had never happened, much to the enjoyment of Lewis who liked nothing better than to see him squirm.

The guest house turned out to be rather comfortable. It was a much smaller version of the main house but just as nice. It had its own sitting room with a pull out bed, a main bedroom, a small kitchen and a shower room all of its own. It was small but perfectly formed and exactly what the sisters needed, not minding sharing a bedroom and a bed for the foreseeable future. Grabbing their things out of the sauna they moved them into their new lodgings, taking time to savour the much softer bed. Cassandra had been right regarding the fact they had very few possessions, with only a spare set of clothes and some toiletries to their name.

Everyone was ready to head out. Each member was given a bulletproof vest to wear, at the exception of Viktor who would never be able to fit into it. Cassandra was given two full clips to reload the Glock that Lars had returned to her the previous day, her Glock in fact. Louise would stay behind with Eli and Rina as there was no need for her to go on the raid with them. Kissing her sister as they left, Louise wished them luck and locked the doors behind them.

Eli gave her a reassuring smile, since he was a man of few words and Rina rudely turned her back to her and went about her business. The Israeli woman had taken a deep dislike to Louise and for the life of her she could not work out why.

The group made their way up the stairs that led into the garage above. Inside it they had Cassandra's SUV and two armoured Land Rovers painted with brown camouflage patterns. They split into two groups and got into the armoured cars while Viktor waited by the garage doors. When the engines started Viktor opened a small window that was cut into the garage doors, checking to make sure the area outside was safe to open. Opening it they reversed the vehicles and Viktor closed the doors again, making the area secure.

He didn't immediately get into his teams car, instead he walked around the house towards the front where the gates to the property were located. Shooting the zombies nearest the gate he opened them and Lars and Paul drove their cars past him while he closed safely behind them, padlocking them shut. Once he was inside the safety of the Land Rover they set off in the direction of the CVS Pharmacy.

Cassandra had been surprised at just how spacious the armoured cars were, each one intended to carry up to eight people but now less than half full so that they could use the remaining space to store the goods they were getting. She could not imagine that anything would easily get into one of these vehicles and she certainly felt safer in it that in her own SUV. All around her the men in her team were cautiously looking around, at the road and buildings, looking for signs of trouble from both the dead and the living.

The building they were raiding was only two blocks away from the bunker in a retail zone. A large parking area was at the front of the CVS Pharmacy with several other retail units either side of the main store. The parking area was mostly empty, only a few abandoned cars remained. There were a few bodies strewn across the ground but none looked like zombies, perhaps they had been killed during the first few days of the outbreak.

"We found some bitters before that looked like regular dead people but they soon got up when they heard us. I would be careful approaching them." Cassandra said, both to the men in her car and also to the ones in the other vehicle, using the communication device they all had been given. "Also they don't go down unless you destroy the brain so shoot them in the head."

"Roger that." Max replied from the other car.

They pulled up close to the front of the CVS. Metal shutters were placed along the front windows and doors of the unit to prevent robberies. None had been damaged so far so the store was most likely untouched. Cassandra watched as Paul removed a canvas bag from his Land Rover, placing it on the floor where he stood, near the main door shutters. Around him the other men formed a perimeter to defend him while he allowed them entrance. Removing a crow bar he jammed it under the shutter, applying pressure he created a gap between the floor and the steel frame. Replacing the crowbar into the bag he removed a car jack and slipped it into the gap he had created. Pumping it he raised the shutters until a large crack announced the gears in the automatic shutters breaking and pushing the shutters up until the main doors were exposed to waist height, where the locks were located.

They didn't want to break the glass doors and make the store unsafe for future use so he removed an angle grinder from the canvas bag and slipped it between the doors, using it to cute the locking mechanism in half. Unfortunately it was not a quiet job and the noise started to attract any roaming undead in the neighbourhood. When he was finished Paul returned his tools into the bag and placed it in the Land Rover once again, locking it shut behind him.

They all entered the store and lowered the shutters behind them, although they wouldn't lock they still afforded a measure of safety. Everyone had a list of items to grab so they split into teams and went in different directions to find the supplies Louise had requested. They would also grab various other items they would need since they could all be found under the same roof. Turning on their flashlights they scouted the aisles as they went until they found the right ones and got to work.

The store had been empty and they found all the items they had wanted which they loaded into the cars. They all jumped back into the cars and drove around the rear where Cassandra had told them the clothing store was located, by this time large numbers of bitters were flooding into the car park and following the noise of the heavy engines the armoured land rovers needed to run. Putting their foot down, they raced to the building, getting as much space between them and the zombie hordes.

Broken glass littered the ground, the neighbouring units were all restaurants and had been broken into by people looking for food. Since they didn't need to keep this particular shop safe Lars rammed the main doors open with the front of his armoured car before reversing to allow access.

Lewis, Cassandra and Viktor entered the store, the others remaining outside to deal with the zombies that were starting to make their way to where they were. Almost immediately Cassandra heard the spray of bullets and the sounds of bodies hitting the ground.

"Hurry up." Lars shouted at them, aiming his sidearm at the head of another zombie and pulling the trigger.

Quickly Cassandra grabbed a large weekend bag that was on show by the main doors and stuffed into it several items for herself and Louise. They each got three pairs of jeans and one set of shorts, several fitted vests and t-shirts and enough underwear to ensure they wouldn't have any concerns for a while. Finally Jessie grabbed two pairs of boots, one for each of them, knowing the hiking boots they both had were not intended for everyday use.

"Oh bloody hell." Lewis said out loud, standing behind Cassandra. "Time for us to go." Grabbing her arm and dragging her out of the store, Viktor close on their heels and shooting down a zombie as they left the store.

Outside large numbers of bitters had approached the men and they had been taking them down, starting to surround them and becoming a real risk. The number was too large for them to be able to clear the entire horde. Slipping into her ride Cassandra pressed the button on the comms device she carried.

"If you have grenades just use them. The head is great but in these numbers the legs are just as good. They can't bite you if they can't reach you!"

Beside her Paul reached for the grenade launcher he had in his car and aimed at the herd.

"Incoming." He shouted to warn the others.

"Bring the rain." Max shouted back.

Turning around quickly Viktor covered the door to the car where Cassandra was sat, ensuring that no debris would get inside and injure her.

Paul did indeed bring the rain, rain of guts and blood and limbs sprayed all around them. Some zombies had been totally destroyed, the rest too damaged to pose an imminent risk and solving their immediate problem. Pushing Viktor out of her way and jumping out of the car Cassandra grabbed her Glock, aimed it at Paul and pulled the trigger. Behind him a body fell to the ground. Turning to look Paul see's the remains of a zombie minus the head, now blown to bits all over the parking lot.

"Nice shot."

"Thanks, I had lessons when I bought the Glock." She explained.

"Get back in the cars." Lars told them, shooting several more zombies as he said it, the ones who had survived the grenade blast as they were further away from the impact area.

Returning to their respective land rovers they drove away, using the armoured vehicles to run over and squash the bitters that had surrounded them. Somehow the sound of squishing bodies brought great pleasure to Cassandra and she wondered if she might be going a bit crazy after everything that had happened.

Back in the safety of the bunkers garage they unloaded the goods out of the cars and carried them downstairs, stored in carrier bags they had grabbed from the checkouts by the front of the store. Louise immediately started going through the medical supplies and placing them in separate containers she had pre-labelled ready for their arrival back. She took her time as she sorted through them all, leaving aside the extra items they had brought along too. They had laundry detergent and hygiene products, toothbrushes and pulse monitors, all sorts of energy bars and drinks, several bags full of everyday over the counter medication covering everything from flu and upset stomachs to the more complex antibiotics and pain relief she had requested. They even had support braces for every part of the anatomy as she had wanted to be able to treat a sprain or break should someone take a bad fall.

When she returned to where the others were sat having a drink she immediately noticed the blood. "Viktor, you're bleeding."

Looking down he realised she was correct and touched his trouser leg, staining his hand bright red with blood in the process.. "It not serious, just glass from when the grenade went off." He told her, ignoring the blood.

"Grenade? Why did you have to use grenade?" she asked as she knelt down to have a better look at the injury for herself, ignoring his protests.

"Your sister suggested it." He explained, trying to move away from her reach.

"Well you are my first live patient so get up and follow me."

"I'm fine, I don't need it looked it." He argued.

Lars intervened then and told him to just let her do it so getting up Viktor followed her into the store room and took a seat in front of her. They had created a small triage area in the corner of the large store room, with a bed in the corner, a full length table in the middle where patients could lay down and two chairs.

Putting of some sterile gloves Louise reached into her boxes and removed tweezers, antiseptic wipes, gauze and bandages. Once she had removed shards of glass that had become imbedded into the back of his leg she cleaned it and wrapped it securely.

"Do you need painkillers?" she asked him when she was finished.

"Yes, Vodka would be good."

"No vodka, alcohol thins the blood and will only make you bleed more. I meant the regular pain relief type. I have some if you need it."

"I don't need them but thank you." He told her gently, becoming pensive for a little while. "I'm happy you stayed with us and I'm sorry if I scared you back at the store the other day. How is your neck?" referencing the choke lock he had used to knock her out.

"A little bruised but it doesn't hurt anymore. I'm just glad you didn't break my neck. Sorry to have hit you with the baseball bat." She replied, blushing as she remembered how she went native on him that day.

From the doorway Lewis watched the conversation, happy that they women were fitting into the group. Viktor was not one for any kind of conversation and seeing him speaking and apologising to Louise was a good sign. Once the Russian liked someone he would cross oceans to help them and protect them.

"Stop chatting up my girl." He told them knowing they hadn't realised he was there.

"Your girl?" they both replied.

"Yeah, all mine. Thought I told you about that." He said as he walked towards Louise.

"No, I think you forgot to mention it. Did I blink and miss the date night or something?" Louise asked Lewis, giving him a cheeky smile in reply.

"I will leave you two alone." Viktor stood up to leave the room. "No crazy business with the girl. You might want to tell Rina too, you know what she is like and she won't like being swapped for a newer model." The giant laughed.

"Were you dating Rina?" Louise said looking shocked and taking a step back from Lewis. She would never take another woman's boyfriend, on purpose or otherwise.

"No I wasn't. We flirted but she's too much hard work for me." He replied, gently placing his hand on her cheek.

"And you think I'm not? You have one hell of a surprise coming." She giggled, taking a step towards him and resting against him as she did so.

When Lewis finally kissed her, gently touching his lips to hers, she moaned in delight. Before long the kiss became more passionate. Placing her hands on his chest she broke the kiss and created a gap between them.

"I still want date night by the way, but this is a good start." Winking at him she left the room, leaving Lewis alone with a huge grin on his face.

"Yep, life just got interesting." He told himself before leaving the room and joining the rest of his friends.