Disclaimer: I do not own the characters to The Office. They are owned by MSNBC. I own the rest.
It was a close night. Zombies were scaling the walls; the survivors fought hard, sometimes going to the extremes they never thought was possible for them. In hindsight Oscar was astonished that he turned into a wild man, "Say hello to my little friend" and it made him chuckle as the last of the decayed and burned bodies were collected and thrown into a mass grave that Jim dug using a Caterpillar bulldozer. When it was done they retired inside the Shrute household to rest before resuming their repairs on their defenses. Oscar's hands trembled, blistered and red from use and his lips were chapped and bleeding. He was like the others, worn out, dried, and thankful to be alive for one more night.
One of the few not to be inside the house was Stanley whom was turning this into a vacation of sorts. No more paper company to be part of he sat under the umbrella on top of the barn kindly sipping on some tea, stretching his legs and watching the trees gently sway with the breeze and chuckled to himself at the irony for it was a vacation he always wanted and it had to be resorted to this to have it.
Able now to sit and reflect many of the survivors began to recount their fight during the night, of course Kevin would not stop with the endless jokes against Oscar, "Say hello to my little friend" laughing and giggling as they sat in the kitchen with Oscar, head in hands out of embarrassment now that the others heard this, "Yes, Kevin, yes." He would say trying to let it all bleed out and eventually Kevin would stop then came the spat he gave to Angela, "He said to Angela, 'Bitch get off my foot'!" and made the voice of Oscar sound loud and 'manly' and the others were at first stunned not believing that a rather quiet Oscar, whom would only explode when pushed hard such as when the cable guy would not show up on time, but against Angela, he always tried to avoid confrontations and the others began to laugh along with it.
Hank, the security guard, was walking around the perimeter, a shovel over one shoulder. He had removed his uniform top and the stained and sweat soaked under shirt showed he had been hard at work, trying to keep himself occupied rather than sitting down and reflecting. At work he was rather laid back, believing it to be only a way to pay the bills. Being security guard of an office park rather uneventful except maybe when Roy attacked Jim only to be deterred by Dwight's mace, and he was rather ruffled at Michael and now was stuck with him for what seemed to be permanently thus he tried to keep himself away as long as possible. With his shovel in hand he would go and find sags or holes in the earth wall and began to fill them up. His arms were sore and hands cut and blistered but he enjoyed it for it let out his anger and built up his muscles. Stopping to wet his mouth with a half filled canteen he looked at the barn where Moses was seen standing with a bag over his head, "Son, what is wrong with you?" shouting. Moses slowly lifted the burlap bag from his head until his eyes were visible, "You can see me?" Moses asked. "Yeah, I can see you" Hank responded. Moses appeared to be stunned, the bag was not working and he disappeared.
On the patio of the house Pam was overjoyed about the information that was passed that her mother and daughter, Cecelia, had escaped from Scranton. Now they wanted to go see them, but that was impossible at the moment then Pam asked if it were possible to use the phones that were dropped, "We can try, can't guarantee success," Charles replied knowing that Newport would be swamped with calls and only priority calls would be given preferences. It was better than nothing. Taking one of the phones into the open to gain better reception and turned it on and waited as the satellites were acquired then he pressed the numbers that had been written and laminated on the top of the phone. Waiting took a long period of time then they gained a signal and Pam grabbed the phone away and heard a voice on the other end. Pam was running up and down the field kicking up dirt where the zombies had been cut down, she ignored them and started to yell, "Cecelia Halpert….Cecelia….no, not Sylvia…." Signal was very weak, perhaps 2/5 and it at last cut out. Infuriated she threw the block phone onto the ground and stormed away running her fingers through her long brunette hair with Jim in pursuit to calm her.
Picking up and dusting off the phone Charles turned it off and used his own radio to acquire his friend not too far away. The sun was high overhead but some clouds kept the rays from being too intense and a light breeze was picking up from the North-West. When the bodies were buried and the garrison rested the next task was to repair their defenses.
Unable to sleep during the night; listening to the moans of the undead breaching the perimeter the people were worn out to continue. They were not military, but the office workers were learning quickly on how to adapt to their new hostile work environment. Sections of wire and tangle foot needed to be replied and the wall as well, the soft earth creating a hill but not a hill. They needed a more solid barrier, concrete but they did not have any and Darryl wanted to take another convoy out to see if any sites nearby may have it. Charles agreed but before they do that he wanted to see his friend in her safe house.
"We'll go by foot, recon the area," Charles said.
"What?" Darryl exclaimed in the kitchen, "Why foot when we got trucks?" and pointed to the window that had one of the delivery trucks sitting still and silent.
"We're going to areas that may be infested and engine noise will give us away. We have to be silent and avoid fights. Plan out some areas along with the safe house within a five mile radius and we'll scout them. If we find anything good and there is a clear route to it and out then we call for the trucks."
Darryl had to agree but it will be a hard march, even for five miles when they had not slept. "Those that are going get some rest. I need people that are coherent and won't nod off if we stop." Those going on the patrol were Charles, Darryl, Jim, and Dwight and they went the basement where cots were finally being put out for people to sleep. Before he could sleep Dwight was writing up a list of everything they would need and listed them in order of priority, with feminine hygiene products being last and contraceptives, "Why?" Jim asked reluctantly.
"We need to be able to reproduce and because we have good genes we can have a better society than we had before."
"What?"
Charles did not hear any of it and fell asleep wanting to get some sleep before heading out listening to Dwight decree that with the removal of all the "weak" and "unwanted" a better race could come from the ashes. The rest continued to work and there was also the mess of collecting the spent brass that could be recycled and the removal of the fuel tank from the delivery truck. The dock workers pulled it out and moved it to the barn. Erin was trying to keep herself busy by going outside and collect brass with the others. Kicking the dirt with the toe of her shoe she turned up the spent casings, pick them up, and dropped them into a plastic bag. Andy was with them and seeing Erin brought on a mixed emotion inside. He was with Gabe when he was bit and turned but since that time Andy wanted to talk to her but could not force himself to do so without embarrassing himself. "Listen…Erin," feigning a cough and moving in closer to her, "Ummm, you doing okay?"
"Yeah" Erin was surprisingly bubbly that stunned him.
"Really? Why so…." He went to ask but was cut off.
"Andy, we're alive. Don't you see? We could have been killed inside the office before we knew what was happening. We could've been zombies." A chill moving up her spine at the thought of being one of them and Andy was frozen himself for a moment and shook it off when Erin bent down and collected more brass where Toby's group was fighting and Andy could feel the twinge from the bud of jealously being planted inside him that would grow.
When Charles and the others in the party awoke after four hours they did feel better rested than before and sought to ready their gear for travel. Each one was to carry at least four quarts of water, seven magazines of ammunition for their rifles and six for their side arms, a utility knife as well as a hand to hand weapon that suited their tastes. Charles carried a long handled E-tool, Dwight still stuck to his fire axe with the others picking up the collapsible modern military e-tool. Before their departure Charles conducted a radio check with his friend and found she was still up and that the zombie presence around her perimeter was next to none. Satisfied Charles left the other radios at the farm after instructing the others how to use them. Dwight wanted to leave Angela in charge however Charles immediately shot it down wanting a more responsible person in charge and was in a paradox and Darryl recommended dock worker Michael to fill the void for their short departure. Agreeing to this the four did one last check of their equipment along with going over their route. Everyone was to carry a small map of the area with their main route along with alterate ones in case of the worst. Dwight knew of two companies that would have cement but did not know of their condition for they were small companies but it was the best shot they had. "No one is to go anywhere alone" Charles wanted to hone the rules that would keep them alive. "If you see one zombie wandering around far away, don't shoot it. Just leave it. Our goal is not to kill zombies but to recon and gather supplies." Nodding the four went to the 'gate' the burnt out delivery truck, and climbed the wall next to it. Before they went Jim gave Pam one last kiss 'I'll see you soon.'
The dirt road that led to the farm would kick up a large amount of dust if they walked on it, thus they stayed at least fifteen to thirty feet off, skirting it as they walked towards the main road. Because he knew this area Dwight was second with Charles at point Darryl third and Jim at the tail. Though strong Dwight's pace was constantly stymied by the others for their slower pace. Dwight wanted to get there fast but too fast meant they may overlook a hidden ghoul. When they reached the highway road they crossed it going down a steep incline that lead to a stream that was still flowing. By his calculations they had gone less than half a mile and the temperature was moderate, mid-eighties, with a light breeze moving through the thin trees. Their route was take them around settlements and directly towards the company, that meant crossing the stream. Moving carefully from tree to tree they approached and looked around. If they were to spot something they had to identify carefully and use hand signals instead of talking less they give away their position. With still full canteens there was no need to pause here and fill them thus Dwight crossed first. Jumping across and splashing in some mud he kept on up the slight slope beyond and came back a moment later with the 'all clear' and Charles went next. The last two Darryl and Jim were about to cross when Jim began to feel the tingle in his body, hair on end, his senses were kicking up that something was amiss, there was someone here. Remembering the rule on weapon discharges he pulled out his E-tool, holding the spade up high, head scanning around. Darryl was behind him carefully looking to the right at the trees. The ground was strewn with a mixture of wet and dry leaves. The stream water soaked the ground along with the first fall of leaves then new fall had not yet been soaked; each step gave off a soft 'crunch' that made their blood pump harder.
A man came around a tree holding a double barrel shotgun. At this range they both be dead but the man did not fire, but clutched his weapon tightly, body hunched forward glaring his stained black teeth, "What are you doing here?" the man hissed. Frozen in place the two stared wide eyed as the man came out more. He was filthy, looked like a hillbilly with a flannel shirt soiled and ripped along the arms and black pants also shredded at the cuffs, nothing about him was clean except his shotgun and when Darryl tried to take a step to the side to get a better look the man jerked the shotgun, "Hold it! Not one more move." Obeying the command Jim still held on to his weapon whilst staring at the twin barrels just ten feet away. "What do you want?" the man demanded.
"We're just looking…." Darryl began to say calmly only to be cut off by the man.
"Hold your tounge you God damn, %#$(#!" This made Darryl angry but he held his content as the man looked at Jim and seemed to calm down. "What are you doing here?" asking again.
"We're…we're just trying to find our way through here," he said trying to avoid any mention of a safe house there might be more people in the area whom might be willing to kill in order to stay safe.
"Oh, yeah? Where you come from?"
"From…Scranton." To sooth him Jim lowered his hatchet and Darryl did the same but kept his hand around the pistol grip of his rifle, the safety was off but he did not want to use it unless he could not defuse the situation.
"Scranton?" the man let out a shrill laugh, "Scranton is gone. Gobbled down. Gone. Nothing left." His chapped lips pulled back showing a smile. "Where you come from?" asking again.
"We're from Scranton," Jim said again becoming scared and wondering where Charles and Dwight had gone and whether or not they had seen this crazed man whom advanced closer towards them. Brandishing his E-tool in one hand Jim held out the other "Hey, stay back." The man kept inching closer, body hunched forward, one arm moved and wrapped around his stomach, snarling, flashing his teeth. Jim could not tell if he was infected, wounded, or deranged but he kept advancing. "Come on, stay back," voicing rising to alert the others that he was in trouble.
"Yah!" the man lunged forward with both hands and Jim swung hard out of reaction and felt the steel face of the slice into the temple of the man whom fell forward. In his swing Jim closed his eyes and yelled and opened when he felt the heavy body fall onto his feet, twitching as the blade sliced into his skull. It twitched then stopped and for a moment Darryl and Jim just stared at it wild eyed. He had killed a human being. Zombies were different; they were already dead. This man was not. Who was he? Where did he come from? Darryl knelt down to check him when Dwight and Charles came back and Jim asked where they had been.
"We saw the whole thing" Dwight confessed easily, "You had it under control. You're a warrior now," Dwight began, "You should take off his skull and drink from it like the Aztecs did that way his strength becomes yours."
"No, Dwight," Jim said bitterly as they resumed their march.
"You're still a warrior and have proven me wrong," Dwight said, "I salute you as such" and placed the face of his fire axe in front of his face in a form of salute. Jim, wanting to just resume and get this over with nodded and gave a quick Eagle Scout salute. There was no time to bury the man, instead they moved him to the base of a tree, crossed his arms over his chest and covered him in some leaves. Rather inglorious funeral but they had to keep going. Jim looked at the man with his sagging skin and hollow eyes and could not shake the fact that he was alive when he was killed at least here, where he was, it was peaceful with only the tweet of a bird heard in the distance.
Slugging one for an hour they came across some houses in the distance that appeared in tact but this was not their goal and did not want to bother anything. High property fences were also intact, this was a benefit, if chased they could jump over them and the ghouls would have a difficult, if not impossible task of trying to get through. Using his compass and map Charles began to become enlightened when they neared the safe house. Coming out of the forest they had to climb up a slight incline that was studded with thick trees and here he stopped and used hand signals telling the others to get down. Crawling on his stomach across the grass he reached the crest and moved to a tree stump to break up his outline on the crest and looked through his binoculars at what the others did not know. In a minute he came back down and told them he was going to cross the small field to scout and for them to stay here until he gave the signal to cross. Leaving the others and moving cautiously, carefully scanning the area for movement. When he reached the other side and paused, listening for movement, he went on, disappearing into some shrubbery.
Dwight looked over at Jim whom was still visibly shaken by what happened at the stream. "It was him or you and you were faster." Dwight said trying to reassure him what he did was right, "Survival of the fittest." Jim did not think of it that way. He viewed that man, though deranged, as a human being just like him; scared, alone, family perhaps gone he wanted to survive like them and Jim killed him. Looking down at the dried blood spattered E-tool Jim felt a pit in his stomach growing wider and forced himself not to look but he could not cast the weapon aside, might need it later. When Charles came back he used his radio to communicate with his friend. She was on the other end saying that the perimeter was clear and to 'come on in.'
Hunching forward and feeling their way through the shrubbery on the other side, thorns smacking them across the face and hands making dozens of small, sharp cuts across the skin, they made it through and were presented with a high cinderblock wall topped with razor wire.
"This is it?" Darryl asked rather surprised for it looked more like the outside of a prison.
"Yep," Charles nodded whispering as he beckoned the others to follow along side. The entrance was around the corner, a wrought iron sliding gate. Glancing up Jim could see a metal pole with small security camera encircling its peak and there was another on the opposite corner down the wall. "That's some security." Looking around the area, it was clear, no bodies, a far cry from what they thought it would be, a sea of undead constantly lapping at the walls. It was odd, quiet; Charles reached the control panel for the gate and found that the power was still on. Good, that meant she was using the hand powered generator and tapped in the code for the gate to unlock.
Click.
The others felt elated that there was something still working out in the middle of nowhere and when the gate slid open just enough for their frames to fit inside they filtered in one by one then Charles hit the cancel button on the console on the other side and had the gate closed.
"This is your place?" Jim said rather astonished. Before him was an elevated home at least 2,500 square feet flanked all around by the tools of survival. An above ground water storage tank that could hold 5,000 gallons. In the corner was a aluminum shed that would have tools both hand and powered and there were beautiful gardens and trees in bloom all bearing their crop and wrapped around them was a twelve foot high cinderblock wall and Jim remembered that it was reinforced by steel rods and in with the wire was broken glass that was planted with wet cement to deter human attackers. This was some place, they were prepared for everything. The front door flew open and out came a woman that threw her arms around Charles and began laughing, ecstatic that someone had survived and was there with her. Calming down a bit she looked at the three men with Charles. "Who are they?" Introducing themselves Charles informed that the other members were holding out at Shrute farms not too far away and that their set up was somewhat better than there for they had forty acres of farming land to raise crops compared to their backyard, however the crops she had were about to be harvested whereas the others had yet to be sowed. Looking this woman over she was a long haired dark brunette with gray eyes, nice figure, perhaps in her mid-twenties with plush cheeks and a good figure she was dressed in OD bottoms and boots with a green undershirt and hair in a pony tail.
"Is she your sister?" Darryl asked.
"Oh no," she laughed, "We're just friends." Turning to Charles she asked, "Where's your truck?"
"Some idiot hit me in Scranton but we salvaged the trailer and all the equipment," Charles replied heading to the garage that sat beside the house. It was elevated as well and the drive way had the incline to meet it. To get inside Jennifer directed them to a side door was locked. Using a key they went inside where a fluorescent light flashed on and there sat a green Ford F 150 pickup truck, intact, with a full tank. "Yeah, baby" Darryl laughed in excitement.
"How are your weapons?" Charles asked.
"Pretty good. Only used my pellet rifle on a annoying cat but that's it," Jennifer said as the new arrivals looked at the interior of the garage. They had so much, there were fire arms from shotguns to assault rifles to ropes of all types and length and teeth to make grappling hooks, it was Bert Gummer's house. "How could you afford all this?" Jim asked.
"We made most of it" Jennifer said pointing to the piles of blankets sitting in a corner covered in a plastic wrap to keep out dust and bugs, "We made all those blankets and we even made our own ammunition. It's cheaper than buying and I don't like buying stuff from China," she scoffed. This couple seemed to have thought of everything; procurement of food, fuel, living quarters, weapons, the whole shebang, the only thing they were not planning for was company. It appeared to be a better living environment than the farm however; again, there was not enough living quarters for everyone that was picked up inside the office. Dwight was not going to relinquish his family's farm however Jim and Darryl really liked this house. There was not a way to link the two settlements at the moment except ferrying vehicles back and forth; however they had the limit fuel stocks to think about. Shrute farm was more suitable for raising crops to sustain them however the safe house was better in defense. Charles opted to stay with Jennifer and have the others go back and inform the others as to what has happened that they did locate a survivor and a good place to live and that they could use their truck.
"I get to drive!" Dwight eagerly shouted.
"No" Darryl snatched the keys away, "I do."