Chapter 3: Prayers for the Slayers Part VI

Being already afternoon, Nikolai and Jason stayed in the cafeteria talking with the policemen because since their arrival they began to talk about the plan they had for the shelter, being part of it the rescue of civilians to help them to clean Grand Mont Plaza to have assured a place in the mall free of zombies, The policemen were left thinking about the idea and how they could distribute the civilians in the areas corresponding to the fourth floor of Grand Mont.

—Let me get this straight. This shelter will be inhabitable in about... three months. In that time we have to take care of cleaning up Grand Mont Plaza. Correct? —Greg asked Nikolai.

—That's right. The fourth floor is separated by areas. At the moment we have a group of people who know how to use firearms and are in good physical condition to carry weapons. Our priority is to kill the dead who lurk on the floor of the plaza and make it a safe zone. —The Serb replied.

—But if you mean clean up, we're not just talking about killing the zombies. Whether you want it or not, you leave a residue... a corpse. Those shits out there are rotting and, when they die, they will leave a stinking corpse that needs to be cleaned up. How do you intend to dispose of the bodies? —Matthew questioned, sipping a cup of coffee.

—We think it would be best to dump them outside the mall, in the parking lot area. We discovered that zombies are scavengers... they eat each other whether they are dead or alive, almost like a nature cleaner, like flies and cockroaches eat human corpses. Grand Mont Plaza itself already stinks from the bodies left behind by the snipers, and at the moment the plaza is "closed", it is divided into sections. —Jason showed the cops the map they made and how they plan to clear the plaza, starting at point D.

—Definitely we will need all the help we can get... and considering that your mission will still be to bring in civilians, we must make the place safer for their escort. I have an idea. Let's kill the zombies at Point D. We've already got that figured out. We should leave the corpses in a room that no one occupies and, by the time we free the fourth floor of Grand Mont Plaza, we throw the bodies out of the windows, I thought I saw windows. We can't walk through the corridors without knowing if we're stepping over a dead body or a dormant zombie. —Greg scratched his head trying to process the situation.

—We need to wear masks, gloves, leather suits that can repel insect bites from the corpses... we don't know if flies or cockroaches can be carriers, so we'll have to be very careful. —Matthew pointed out.

—In fact, we had already thought about taking the corpses to a useless place, like a makeup store we have nearby. It's big and we can put the bodies there. —Jason smiled. —We'll organize our groups and clean up the fourth floor. Anything else?

Nikolai crossed his arms and looked at the rest of the council members.

—We must have a checkpoint on the roof. The small office up there will do, but it's not enough. We need guards to keep watch at night, we need more security. With what happened with Chelsea, we don't know who might commit suicide in the shelter... INSIDE the shelter. —Lilly seemed upset about what happened with Blackwell in the morning.

—Chelsea? —Greg asked in confusion.

—A woman who committed suicide. You see, Greg. We've had a few deaths at our shelter before... in fact she was almost in danger because a woman we rescued blew her head off with a gun, but even for killing herself was stupid because she didn't even shoot herself right. The thing is she came back from the dead, but she was neutralized. We are thinking that eventually the people who live with us will throw in the towel, but we want to be prepared. —Nikolai replied curtly.

—What we can do for the time being is to appoint guards for the rooms, especially the rooms with wounded civilians. Currently in the infirmary are some civilians who need to recover and, someone must see to them, and leaving all the work of guarding to the paramedic and the nurse is selfish. —Lilly objected. —We're not asking, we're demanding more security. Michael being there to help us is fine, but it shouldn't just be Michael's job. We need at least three guards.

—I agree with Lilly. Personally, it would make me feel safer to have three guards looking after us health care staff while we rest or treat our patients' wounds. I don't feel safe, especially if you keep bringing injured people to us. —George showed his displeasure and received surprised looks from Jason and Nikolai.

—We should talk to the other civilians so they can help us keep watch... but we also need more suits and more body protection. We need to start dressing for the occasion, and while we have some military uniforms, they are already taken. —Nikolai commented crisply.

—We can go back to Black Card Plaza for more suits, I am absolutely sure that the last thing people think about is how to dress, proof of that is that none of the civilians we encountered dressed for the occasion, they all come dressed in what they brought from home or their work clothes. —Jason made a rather peculiar observation.

—We need people who know how to defend themselves, healthy people and people who are useful to be part of the expedition teams or groups to Grand Mont Plaza. Clearly Jason and Nikolai are part of these groups, I dare say Markus, Bryan and Michael are also an excellent addition... But the others? Malcolm does absolutely nothing, Chris neither. I can't say anything about the other men because they are injured. What about the women? —Harry made a rather glaring point about the group. —It's not about being in the kitchen all day or in your rooms.

—Sorry? —Lilly grimaced in disgust. —What the actual fuck? Bessie Doyle is doing everything she can to help us even though she's a vet, George can tell you, Harry. Molly doesn't know anything about nursing but I've been helping her practice and she's been helping me disinfect Bryan's son's wounds and also the women who have come in injured. If you mean Asha and Holly, let me remind you that Asha is in charge of feeding the shelter because she doesn't leave the kitchen, and Holly already risked her life, so she is in optimal condition to leave. What do you want Lexie to do when she can barely speak and walk?

—Hey, people... we're here too. Daisy and I know how to shoot, we took classes and we know the basics, if you like to instruct us we can do something useful for the group, however I don't think it's fair for us that this Harry guy asks for that kind of explanations when even the group hasn't been good enough to give all the members an occupation —Kimberly spoke sincerely, which caused Nikolai to raise an eyebrow. —I understand the needs of the group, but you have to understand too... we are not "geniuses" or "fortunetellers" as to know what to do, you must be clear with your orders.

Daisy raised her hand.

—I agree with Kim! You must be clear. We thank you for your hospitality but you should have told us before what you wanted when you rescued us and what you wanted us to do after. I'm sure people like Leah, like Stacy... like the wounded women and men want to do something for the group but they can't because they simply aren't up to it. Will they be required to do it too, Harry?

Harry showed his displeasure with his gaze by biting his lower lip and looking at the ground.

—Forget I said anything. You clearly missed my point.

—It's not that we don't understand your point, it's just that I find it very inconsistent for you to demand of us when you aren't even good at giving instructions. Kimberly and I are not stupid, if only our leaders had a way to manage us they could have had their said groups and guards long time ago.  —Daisy replied as she smiled.

—Woah, clearly we need to calm down. Nikolai and I will discuss the details of the organization, however we need to calm down. We know this situation is keeping us stressed and quite overwhelmed, but we need to stick together as a group and think that we all need each other's support. If you want, we can take a break, have a dialogue, and then we can all get together to talk about this calmly. —Jason hoped that his words would have an effect, as he did not want problems to start in the shelter so soon.

—Can I say something...? —Lori raised her hand to get everyone's attention. —As a lawyer I was always involved in the middle of this kind of issues, at least in my job it was essential to maintain order and to know how to be a leader in order to manage the best resource of all: Time. I think we must be realistic with what is asked for the group and there must be specifications for each member.

—And how are we supposed to do this, Miss Lawyer? —Tanisha asked teasingly. —Because rest assured, I'm not going to use my precious fingernails to lift a dead fucker off the ground because it's not my job.

—Precisely... uh... Your name, please?

—Tanisha Johnson, honey, and you better remember my name because I'm not going to repeat it twice.

—All right, Tanisha. So what I propose is that the group leaders distribute the group to sections of the shelter or specific tasks. I understand that the role of the Meds is very well established, and that people in recovery can't do that much for our group. But what about the others? If you could get organized among the leaders and know what they want to do with the group... they are taking their time in taking action. —Lori got Nikolai to start thinking about what he could do to get that idea off the ground and improve the organization of the group.

—Clearly you need help with organizational issues. If you like we can lend a hand and help you with this matter. —Greg nodded, pleased. —We can have a small meeting among the leaders of the group and if you like they can listen to your suggestions. For the moment we must establish some points that will be important for the correct functioning of the shelter.

**—That's** what we are going to do... —Nikolai sighed, letting out some tension. —Okay. Jason, come with me to the officers to fucking organize this. Michael, come with us, Bryan should come too. Are you coming, Ashley and Megan?

—I have to stay and check the cameras, Nikolai. —Megan got up from her seat and left. —There may be more civilians who need help. I'll notify you if anything happens...

Megan left the cafeteria and Ashley shrugged her shoulders and sighed.

—I'll go. Are you coming, Lilly?

—I'm sorry, Ashley. I have to see my patients, we have to... George and Bessie will help me. —Lilly left the cafeteria saying goodbye to everyone and was followed by Bessie and George.

—Well, gentlemen. If you'll follow us we'll go into the meeting room... what was actually the office of the plaza manager.

Nikolai invited everyone into the room to start a conversation.

## Next Chapter

Chapter 3: Prayers for the Slayers Part VII