Chapter 3: Prayers for the Slayers Part VII

The group was in what was designated as the conference room. There was a certain tension in the atmosphere, plus it was very hot in that particular room, so it would not be unusual to see how the men were sweating.

—We need to take steps to clear Grand Mont and protect the shelter. At the moment we have a total of five men as guards, we must also count Cindy who is the only woman wearing a suit. I have to assume that Chris and Malcolm are in good condition, which would make a total of eight people willing to collaborate in terms of surveillance and cleaning. —Nikolai expressed the number of civilians who could help with the cause.

—I don't know who Chris and Malcolm are, but if they are strong and fit, perhaps it would be fair and necessary to have their support as well. I have to believe that both you and... What's your name, son? —Greg pointed to Jason whom he didn't know well.

—Jason Slater, Sergeant. My name's not "son". Counting you and us, we'd have a formidable twelve people willing to stand watch and also help clean up. My concern at the moment is the wounded civilians. —Jason noted in a notebook the civilians who were indisposed and their conditions:

**Lexie Washington**: Cannot walk properly.

**Danny Lennox**: He is recovering in the infirmary while undergoing treatment for his severed arm and sexual abuse.

**Rob Shiner**: He is recovering in the infirmary while being treated for severe stab wounds to his body and is unable to walk due to the brutal rape in which he was involved.

**Cliff Emerson**: He is in good condition but is still in shock after being tortured when his eye was removed and he was sexually abused.

**Thomas Fisher**: Lies in a special area of the shelter undergoing treatment due to being shot in the left shoulder.

**Janet Brown**: Lies recovering in the infirmary due to second-degree burns to her face.

**Stacy Clinton**: She is recovering from a sprained ankle and severe starvation to which she was subjected.

**Leah Myers**: She is recovering from her sprained ankle.

—All right... we have a total of eight civilians who can't be useful to protect and can't protect themselves much either... Have they shown signs of infection? Are they injuries too serious? —Matthew finished reading Jason's notes and turned to the leader, as he wanted to know the status of these people.

—From what we have seen... no, none of the civilians have shown symptoms of infection, and we believe the only method of infection is bites. We also have other civilians... all women, who have no specific role within our shelter, among them is also a group of girls, you might seen them by now... and I doubt very much that the dogs among us do anything beyond eating and shitting all over the place. —Slater sighed and folded his arms, leaning back on the couch.

—I think we could get those civilians who don't have a "role" to keep the shelter clean, make food, keep the place fit and neat... heck, they could help us do laundry, honestly my clothes stinks. —Greg began to scratch his chin and wiped the sweat from his brow with the sleeve of his arm. —Not that we're asking them to do this because they're women... but someone needs to be in charge of keeping the place clean, and if they want to do something useful, maybe it would be good if they took the initiative to help with some duties.

—I'm sure some of those women can help us with taking cover and maybe even help with cleaning Grand Mont Plaza. —Nikolai pointed out. —Those women... Daisy and Kimberly... the lawyer I can't remember her name, Asha and Holly could be very helpful. They all know how to use guns. Asha is a very good shooter, I saw her kill... a dead guy from a distance with a gun and she aimed straight for the head.

—Don't they all have protective suits, do they? —Matthew guessed, smiling.

—No... but there's a sporting goods store nearby and we could make suits out of the clothes and pads. We could take stuff from there and make our own suits, we have the model, I think her name is Kimberly, I don't know, I hardly know her. She could help us make the costumes to our measurements, it might take some time but I'm going with the idea. —Nikolai answered, proceeding to take a cigarette and smoke.

—Her name is Daisy, the dressmaker's name is Daisy. I'm sure some of us women, at least those of us who aren't good with guns and definitely aren't going to risk it outside, plus the girls, can help her put together the costumes to protect you.  But it will be necessary for you to go out and bring the necessary materials... —Ashley was stressed. She took one of the cigars to light it and start smoking, which surprised Jason, who had never seen her like this before.

—You'll have the materials. —Bryan nodded. —We can have a group of us go to the store and get the materials.

—Remembering what Sergeant Greg said... it would be ideal if you also bring clothes from the stores, because I don't think you want to be naked if you're only going to have one item of clothing to wear, which is being laundered. I think I speak for everyone when I say that... it is NOT comfortable to wear the same clothes every day, I wear the same clothes for more than four days and I don't feel comfortable anymore. We have laundry soap and detergent, so we could wash clothes in the bathroom areas. —Ashley arranged her hair and tied it into a ponytail.

—I have another question, are you guys still going to do this civilian-saving thing? —Michael asked, as he was very curious to know if more people would be brought into the shelter.

—So far the business of bringing people here has been very helpful. Look we have with us a paramedic, a nurse... and also two policemen. I'm pretty sure Megan and Ashley have seen enough of the civilians through the cameras to tell us who to save. —Jason had full confidence in Ashley and Megan's work in the safe zone.

—Effectively. For example, what we do is watch the actions of civilians to see if they are potential people for our group. We've seen on camera all kinds of things... from murders to rapes. We have also seen civilians who need help and find themselves in trouble, some are saved by Jason and Nikolai who go to the plazas to rescue them, others unfortunately pass away before they can do anything. In fact before you arrived, Sergeant and Officer, we were reviewing the cameras and saw a particular series of events.

—Do you require help to save people? —Matthew's question took Nikolai by surprise. —I can accompany you, I'm sure you too. Isn't that right, Sergeant?

—Definitely. We have fought the dead head-on and we know some things that could be useful in dealing with them. For example, we have detected particular... behaviors in the dead. We know that they are quite attracted to smells and sounds, as they seem to have a very advanced sense of smell and hearing. One time we had to go to the armory and there were a lot of those bastards in the middle... Felicia, one of the officers, discovered that you can go unnoticed if you spill their blood on your clothes. —Greg said something that Jason and Nikolai had originally theorized, which they were glad to hear.

—I had suspected it... while we were rescuing a civilian the dead got too close and... I had to kill them, but in doing so I got blood all over my body. I was surrounded by them but they didn't attack me.

—Jason tells the truth. On the other hand, we also discovered that the zombie children emanate a particular smell that attracts the dead and, if you hit them, they start screaming, which stuns the zombies to the point of making them go crazy and kill the zombie child to shut him up. —Nikolai remembered what happened with the group in the playhouse. —I also know that the dead show a... peculiar behavior. I don't understand why, but the ones I've seen eating each other seem to like to... have sex?

The group fell silent when they heard that.

—The fuck? —Ashley's mouth and eyes were wide open as she listened to Nikolai. —I thought... I was seeing things but... I think Nikolai might be right, I saw some... "Dead People" having... "sex", but I don't think I can describe it as... well...

—When the Black Card Plaza rapists killed each other... well, Jason... Do you remember how we found the zombies? —Nikolai asked Jason to remember exactly what he saw.

—They were... they were having an orgy? One of the dead was licking the eye out of his zombie friend's head and then eating the eye... while two of the dead seemed to be devouring the mutilated body's crotch. It wasn't as much as having sex... but the behaviors of the dead are some of the most peculiar as... I won't lie to you if I tell you that there have been several zombies I've seen naked and with blood on their genitals. —Jason shivered —In any case... we would love to have your support in saving civilians. I think we could make a good team. Clearly we need to prepare a lot more before we start clearing the square, so we will require everyone's support... especially the civilians. I think it would be better to have the support of these people and give them a second chance rather than have them die and be forgotten. What do you say?

Jason's proposal was tempting to the officers. Greg chose to speak first before his colleague Matthew as he wanted to clarify a few points.

—If we are dedicated to helping you bring people to this place, and what comes with risking our lives, it means that Matthew, Connor and I will have more say in the decision making process, correct? —Greg asked with a sly smile.

—The opinions of the more productive members of the group are taken into account, however the decisions will ultimately be made as a whole, in meetings like these. If you care about your men you can be sure that nothing bad will happen to them from our people. We, like you, are trying to survive, and we are adapting. We know it may not seem like much, but we offer you a roof to rest under, beds to fall asleep in, the pleasure of a hot meal and security, which is not available in many places. —Nikolai's words made Greg nod, being grateful for what the group was offering them.

—If our priority will be to bring in civilians, then you will be pleased to know that there are several survivors scattered in different areas of the mall. If you would like to join us at the bulletin board in the security room?

That was how the meeting had ended satisfactorily... for the time being.

On the other hand, George and Lilly were talking about something in particular that happened in the infirmary.

—They died... George, I don't know if it has something to do with their scars and the fact that they were... —Lilly looked in discomfort at the bodies of Rob Shiner and Cliff Emerson.

Moments later both bodies started doing sounds with their mouths, their skins got pale and their eyes were all white. George took a knife and killed them before everything escalated.

—They didn't have any bite mark... Why did they died? —George was looking skeptical at the bodies.

—They had too many cuts and marks of sharp objects, maybe they were attacked by an infected weapon, like a knife that was used on some Fallen body... It wouldn't make any difference of getting bit and getting cut with an infected tool. —Lilly said, theorizing.

—Or they died because they were raped by people who had sex with the Fallen, not a corpse itself, but a Fallen, a zombie... this means...

George and Lilly didn't know that Lexie Washington was listening and, before they could do anything, she ran away.

## Next Chapter

Chapter 3: Prayers for the Slayers Part VIII