Dash Dash Dot Dot

Topside

Piper looked through the glass doors to the small shopping centre. "Well, looks like someone has moved in since we were last here. All the windows have been boarded up. I wonder how many are holed up inside? Let's check the other entrances before we bust this one down. You three check the entrance at the hardware place, Tahla and I will go the other way and check the side entrance and we'll meet at the top side. Don't break anything, I just want to check what's been done with the entrances." Willow watched the four reach in for a group fist bump, all eyes turned to her and she put her own fist into the middle. "Alright, let's go, meet you three at the top. And watch your backs." The group split, Piper and Tahla went to the left; Willow followed Matthew and Jonesy to the right.

She had rarely used the lower entrance, but she knew it led in from the tiny undercover carpark near the front of the building. As they got to the corner of the building Jonesy slowed the group, he peered carefully around the wall, looking up the side street. Matthew had put himself at the back of the group so he could make sure nothing snuck up behind them, leaving Willow in the middle. She let her bat rest on her shoulder, not wanting to put it away keeping herself ready to engage in combat if necessary.

"There's two zoms about halfway up the street, they're wondering down the middle of the road, if we stick to the building and go slowly we should be able to slip past them without any problems." Jonesy informed them quietly then slipped around the corner of the building. Willow followed him, she kept her back to the wall of the building, her eyes focused on the two zombies standing in the middle of the road.

One of the zombies wore only shorts, one of the thongs he had been wearing was twisted around his ankle and dragged along the ground behind him, the other was missing, the exposed skin was blistered and seeping a deep red, almost black blood which had stained the once khaki shorts. The second zombie had no shoes and the skin on her knees had been torn away, she had more than likely been wearing heels and had fallen onto her front, her pantyhose dangled loosely around her legs, having been torn apart at the knees and worn through on the feet, the short green dress she wore clung to her skin from the dried blood staining it.

The shoes that one chose to wear during the outbreak either helped or hindered the survival rate. Enclosed shoes were key, but you needed something that was tight on the foot, anything loose could cause a slip or may fling off your foot while running. Shoe laces had to be tied tight to secure the shoe in place, as it would do no good to step on your own laces while trying to outrun a zombie. Common sense was really all it took, but some people refused to comply. Those people ended up like those poor suckers wandering the street mindlessly, following the noises they heard for their next meal.

They reached the undercover car park without incident, the two zombies remained unaware of their presence, but Matthew kept his eyes on them in case something alerted them. Jonesy checked the door, the narrow hall inside had a lot of stuff piled on top of each other, blocking the entrance. "Someone definitely doesn't want anyone getting in here." He mumbled. "Okay, up the ramp to the front then." The old ramp had been blocked off to vehicles for many years by the poles across the entrance, but it was still accessible by foot. They slowly and carefully made their way up the ramp to the upper car park. At the street level they could see down the main road, there were no zombies in sight. It was always a little worrying when there were no visible zombies. It usually meant they were just out of sight around a corner or behind a fence. They reached the top car park, Piper and Tahla had just come around the corner of the building on the other side.

There were a few zombies milling around the front entrance to the small shopping centre, which meant there were probably survivors inside, and this door would be the one they used to come and go from. Somehow the zombies could always tell, maybe the smell of fresh meat lingered in the doorway. Willow did a quick head count. There were thirteen that she could see, but there could have been more in the alcoved entrance. Piper and Tahla ducked down behind a car at the far end of the parking lot. Jonesy kept Matthew and Willow just out of sight on the ramp behind the concrete wall. Willow watched as Jonesy and Piper communicated silently across the car park. Piper and Tahla only saw nine of the zombies.

"John's air horn would have come in handy right about now." Matthew whispered to Willow, she nodded in agreement with him.

"There's too many for us to take down before they get close. We need to draw them away from the door, any suggestions? We also need to be careful not to bring more this way, like those two we saw downstairs."

"Can we not pick them off slowly?" Matthew had unslung his bow. "If Tahla and I can shoot them, maybe having the arrows coming from two directions will confuse them enough to be able to get them without them swarming."

"Maybe, but if the group comes this way or goes towards Piper and Tahla, that'll be too many."

"What about it we get one of those cars in the far carpark started? The engine should be loud enough to draw these ones away from the door but not too loud as to alert others in the area." Willow suggested, she looked over at the carpark behind Piper and Tahla. "Or we could get one of the cars across the street at the YMCA building started. That should buy enough time and lead them in a direction away from both of our groups."

Jonesy thought for a moment, "That may just work." He stood, his hands moving as he told Piper the plan then he ducked back down next to them. "She doesn't like it but she doesn't have any other ideas besides going in swinging." He took a deep breath. "Matt, you will need to cover me, I'll have to swing wide and come back up the ramp here. As soon as the zombies are past them, Piper and Tahla will make their way along the wall, and get any stragglers still at the entrance and will get the door open. Willow, you'll have to help Matt, if any zombies come this way, you will need to take them out." He looked across the road. "Now, I'm going to try for that red ute first, but I may have to break glass. We don't know what the zombie situation is over that side of the road, so I'll do what i can." He stood and gave a thumbs up to Piper. "Okay, everyone ready? Good. Let's do this."

Willow watched as Jonesy jogged silently across the road then she turned her attention on the zombies at the entrance to the shopping centre. Matt had an arrow cocked and ready. Piper and Tahla had their meelee weapons out and at the ready. With her back to Jonesy she strained her ears to listen for the sound of the car engine. If it was too quiet then he would have to rev the engine to get the attention of the zombies, and that was if it even started to begin with.

"He's at the ute." Matthew whispered to her. She was worried considering it had been her idea, but she knew nothing about hot wiring a car. She stared at the zombies in front of her. The grip on her bat was turning her knuckles white. She heard glass break, a few of the zombies turned in the direction of the noise, taking a few hesitant steps. Then the engine spluttered to life, the ute growled, louder than she had been expecting. She saw Piper and Tahla retreat a few steps. The zombies at the door turned and took off towards the noise, they bounced off the retaining wall, forcing them to move along it to get to the road. "He's coming back, how are the other two?"

"Good, only one zombie didnt move with the rest, they've taken it out and are at the door." Willow turned and looked at Jonesy. He had stopped in the middle of the road, his eyes trained on the side road. The two zombies they had passed ambled around the corner towards the sound of the car. Jonesy bolted up the ramp and the three turned and headed to the door. Using a crow bar Piper and Tahla popped the door open as the other three reached them and they all ran inside, turning to shut the door behind them.