Author's Notes: Thank you to all my readers and thank you for the good
reviews so far. I'm really trying to tie the original Dawn of the Dead
into my own remake of Day of the Dead. I hope that everyone enjoys this so
far and if anyone has something that they would like to tell me, even if it
is bad, about my stories please review and let me know.
"I can't believe that we traded one rat cage for another. Worse than that, this one has bigger rats."
--Ana
Chapter 3
Walking ahead of the four new members of the silo group, Scott gave the tour. He walked down the main stretch of corridor that connected every room of the cavern. Every so often there would be a light bulb dangling from the ceiling, giving off just enough light to keep you from tripping over a miscellaneous stone that might lay in the path.
Ana noticed many doors on each side of the hallway, more doors than she could keep count. There was a cool breeze that came from an unknown source that made the cavern worthy of a jacket. Ana wrapped her arms around herself to keep the chill bumps from emerging on her soft skin.
"Over there is Dr. Moran's labs, which are off limits to us all", Scott said as he pointed to a heavy, steel door.
"I'm guessing that Wilkers doesn't approve of that much now does he?" Kenneth wore a smirk on his face as he spoke. It was more than obvious that this amused him greatly.
"No, he doesn't. Unfortunately for Sgt. Wilkers, he doesn't run everything around here." He motioned to the door once more. "Dr. Moran has requested that no one is allowed into his labs or his sleeping quarters, which are also behind that door, without is permission. None of us have actually seen to the other side of that door."
Ana looked over at Kenneth and visa versa. They shared a mutual feeling of regret for leaving the mall. It showed on their faces as the walked down the dark and secluded hall of the silo that they were forced to call home. There wasn't enough gasoline or oil to get anywhere in the ship and even if they wanted to sail somewhere solely dependent on the wind, the path back was thick with those things.
"Over here is where you will sleep, Barracks B", Scott said as he turned his body so that he was facing them. He had an expressionless look on his face that was impossible to read. It was much like Michael had been for the duration of their stay at the Crossroads Mall. "I'm sleeping just across the Hall in Barracks C."
"Why aren't you sleeping with the other military men?" Nicole asked with something new hidden in her voice. Her attention seemed too focused on him and it bothered Terry, who noticed it right away and gave her a look that showed it. She didn't notice the look due to the fact that she was very intent on Scott.
"To tell you the truth, I chose to sleep on this side. For one thing, it is farther from the entrance which just plain makes me feel safer, it is farther from the corral which defiantly makes me feel safer, and it is farther from the my comrades."
"You don't like them?" She asked with curiosity ridding heavy in her tone.
Scott straightened his back and looked up past the four newcomers. Nicole and the rest of the group looked over their shoulders and spotted a small camcorder that was secured to the wall. Informing the group that the camera was turned on, a little red light shinned dimly. All eyes turned back to Scott who was looking at Nicole.
"To answer your question, no comment", he said with a smile at Nicole.
Terry's arm went up and hung itself around Nicole's shoulder, pulling her closer as it did so. He looked down at her to study her face, which was facing the ground at the moment.
"Which way is the corral?" Ana asked with a sense of self-security in her voice.
"We are at the far end of one side of the silo and the corral is at the opposite side. In between here and there is about four hundred yards of turning and twisting hallways that hold two mess halls, a briefing room, three laboratories, a gym, a shooting range, and six barracks."
Suddenly there was a bone rattling beep sound that came from the roof followed by the harsh yells of Wilkins. It was an intercom system that apparently ran the entire length of the cave. "Dr. Frankenstein, get to the briefing room A.S.A.P.".
The intercom didn't stay silent for very long before Dr. Moran responded with, "Name-calling isn't very polite, Mr. Wilkins. What seems to be the problem? I don't want to get all the way down there just to find that you are raising more fuss about me not having a security camera in my labs."
"Just get your ass down here and I'll be asking the questions!"
Ana looked off down the long and dark hallway. "I can't believe that we traded one rat cage for another. Worse than that, this one has bigger rats." Kenneth chuckled at the comment but Terry and Nicole didn't. They seemed to have other things on their minds.
"Okay, I'm on my way." About that time the large steel door that kept Dr. Moran's side of the world from the rest of them. The small, old man came wobbling out of his room awkwardly. There was nothing appealing about him in the least bit. He had ink and bloodstains on the white jacket that was clean just hours before. He reminded Ana of a penguin with the way that he walked, completely ungraceful.
"If you guys want a hint on how to survive around here, stay out of Sgt. Wilkins' way as much as possible and try as hard as you can not to clash with him at all. Don't assort yourself with Dr. Moran because everyone here looks down on him and will do the same with you very quickly. You have a clique going on with yourselves and I would just stick to that. And whatever you do, do not underestimate Dr. Jones. She might be pretty and small but her bite is worse than her bark." He looked back at the camera for a second and then his voice got a little lower. "Sgt. Wilkins might think that he has this place under his thumbs but Dr. Jones is the actual puppeteer pulling the strings."
"What do you mean?" Kenneth asked. It appeared to Ana that Kenneth had taken an interest in Sgt. Wilkins. It was more than obvious that Kenneth didn't like him and now it seemed like he was sizing him up, looking for weakness and strong points.
Scott's voice got lower once again. "Sgt. Wilkins started to miss the company of the opposite sex. Dr. Jones was more than willing to, um, fill the void for him. It ended up that she took most of the control without him even knowing. Piss off Dr. Jones, get bit by Sgt. Wilkins."
Ana looked at Terry's eyes and then shifted to Nicole and then to Kenneth. Her thoughts were spread over her face like a road map of her soul. After spending months together in the Mall and weeks together on the sailboat, they'd gotten to the point where they knew each other better than they'd known their own families. Now, they were a family, a family that was put in a strange environment with strange people that were potential more dangerous that then monsters outside, or inside if you considered the corral.
"I can't believe that we traded one rat cage for another. Worse than that, this one has bigger rats."
--Ana
Chapter 3
Walking ahead of the four new members of the silo group, Scott gave the tour. He walked down the main stretch of corridor that connected every room of the cavern. Every so often there would be a light bulb dangling from the ceiling, giving off just enough light to keep you from tripping over a miscellaneous stone that might lay in the path.
Ana noticed many doors on each side of the hallway, more doors than she could keep count. There was a cool breeze that came from an unknown source that made the cavern worthy of a jacket. Ana wrapped her arms around herself to keep the chill bumps from emerging on her soft skin.
"Over there is Dr. Moran's labs, which are off limits to us all", Scott said as he pointed to a heavy, steel door.
"I'm guessing that Wilkers doesn't approve of that much now does he?" Kenneth wore a smirk on his face as he spoke. It was more than obvious that this amused him greatly.
"No, he doesn't. Unfortunately for Sgt. Wilkers, he doesn't run everything around here." He motioned to the door once more. "Dr. Moran has requested that no one is allowed into his labs or his sleeping quarters, which are also behind that door, without is permission. None of us have actually seen to the other side of that door."
Ana looked over at Kenneth and visa versa. They shared a mutual feeling of regret for leaving the mall. It showed on their faces as the walked down the dark and secluded hall of the silo that they were forced to call home. There wasn't enough gasoline or oil to get anywhere in the ship and even if they wanted to sail somewhere solely dependent on the wind, the path back was thick with those things.
"Over here is where you will sleep, Barracks B", Scott said as he turned his body so that he was facing them. He had an expressionless look on his face that was impossible to read. It was much like Michael had been for the duration of their stay at the Crossroads Mall. "I'm sleeping just across the Hall in Barracks C."
"Why aren't you sleeping with the other military men?" Nicole asked with something new hidden in her voice. Her attention seemed too focused on him and it bothered Terry, who noticed it right away and gave her a look that showed it. She didn't notice the look due to the fact that she was very intent on Scott.
"To tell you the truth, I chose to sleep on this side. For one thing, it is farther from the entrance which just plain makes me feel safer, it is farther from the corral which defiantly makes me feel safer, and it is farther from the my comrades."
"You don't like them?" She asked with curiosity ridding heavy in her tone.
Scott straightened his back and looked up past the four newcomers. Nicole and the rest of the group looked over their shoulders and spotted a small camcorder that was secured to the wall. Informing the group that the camera was turned on, a little red light shinned dimly. All eyes turned back to Scott who was looking at Nicole.
"To answer your question, no comment", he said with a smile at Nicole.
Terry's arm went up and hung itself around Nicole's shoulder, pulling her closer as it did so. He looked down at her to study her face, which was facing the ground at the moment.
"Which way is the corral?" Ana asked with a sense of self-security in her voice.
"We are at the far end of one side of the silo and the corral is at the opposite side. In between here and there is about four hundred yards of turning and twisting hallways that hold two mess halls, a briefing room, three laboratories, a gym, a shooting range, and six barracks."
Suddenly there was a bone rattling beep sound that came from the roof followed by the harsh yells of Wilkins. It was an intercom system that apparently ran the entire length of the cave. "Dr. Frankenstein, get to the briefing room A.S.A.P.".
The intercom didn't stay silent for very long before Dr. Moran responded with, "Name-calling isn't very polite, Mr. Wilkins. What seems to be the problem? I don't want to get all the way down there just to find that you are raising more fuss about me not having a security camera in my labs."
"Just get your ass down here and I'll be asking the questions!"
Ana looked off down the long and dark hallway. "I can't believe that we traded one rat cage for another. Worse than that, this one has bigger rats." Kenneth chuckled at the comment but Terry and Nicole didn't. They seemed to have other things on their minds.
"Okay, I'm on my way." About that time the large steel door that kept Dr. Moran's side of the world from the rest of them. The small, old man came wobbling out of his room awkwardly. There was nothing appealing about him in the least bit. He had ink and bloodstains on the white jacket that was clean just hours before. He reminded Ana of a penguin with the way that he walked, completely ungraceful.
"If you guys want a hint on how to survive around here, stay out of Sgt. Wilkins' way as much as possible and try as hard as you can not to clash with him at all. Don't assort yourself with Dr. Moran because everyone here looks down on him and will do the same with you very quickly. You have a clique going on with yourselves and I would just stick to that. And whatever you do, do not underestimate Dr. Jones. She might be pretty and small but her bite is worse than her bark." He looked back at the camera for a second and then his voice got a little lower. "Sgt. Wilkins might think that he has this place under his thumbs but Dr. Jones is the actual puppeteer pulling the strings."
"What do you mean?" Kenneth asked. It appeared to Ana that Kenneth had taken an interest in Sgt. Wilkins. It was more than obvious that Kenneth didn't like him and now it seemed like he was sizing him up, looking for weakness and strong points.
Scott's voice got lower once again. "Sgt. Wilkins started to miss the company of the opposite sex. Dr. Jones was more than willing to, um, fill the void for him. It ended up that she took most of the control without him even knowing. Piss off Dr. Jones, get bit by Sgt. Wilkins."
Ana looked at Terry's eyes and then shifted to Nicole and then to Kenneth. Her thoughts were spread over her face like a road map of her soul. After spending months together in the Mall and weeks together on the sailboat, they'd gotten to the point where they knew each other better than they'd known their own families. Now, they were a family, a family that was put in a strange environment with strange people that were potential more dangerous that then monsters outside, or inside if you considered the corral.