Chapter 70: 70
“I looked at Oscar’s SUV. If the M134 is to be mounted there, it would be facing up first. We’re gonna connect it through the button where you press so that the door on the roof opens. It’s gonna be a few days of work but it’s possible, maybe a week or two and it would be done. It’s the first time I’m doing this and it might take a while since we need to do this carefully.” Raphael said.
“That’s good guys, thanks.” I said as I nodded.
“Listen up, I will be teaching classes every afternoon after the broadcast ends. We will alternate between ranged weapons, melee weapons and hand-to-hand. Everyone is welcome to attend though I’ll be teaching a few at a time. Everyone can sit in to watch and don’t be shy to approach the others if you want to learn from them.” I said.
“Remember our rules on the lights and noise and don’t forget the watch duty for tonight. Any questions?” I added.
“Umm, can I ask why my revolver was taken? I see a few people here with guns and I’m not saying that it’s unfair, I’m just wondering though.” Bobby said.
“Honestly speaking I don’t trust you with a gun yet. You just had it in your back hip without any proper holster to carry it. You don’t have the other bullets for it and there’s no sign of it being fired yet. Where did you get it? No offense, but I think that it’s not yours. Am I correct? You look like a good guy and you are an honest one from evidence. I’m just wary that you might not know on how to use it properly.” I explained.
His eyes widened and he was taken aback.
“I-I…” he was speechless.
“I was gonna ask you to come earlier to train with us in the court but you seem to be inside your room for a while. Is there any problem?” I asked.
“Oh, I should’ve come outside. T-the reason is very embarrassing…” Bobby said weakly.
“What? You milking the dragon or something?” Oscar joked as I facepalmed.
“Ah! N-no… that was my brother’s revolver. He… uh, earlier…” his eyes started to water.
“I get it, I can hand you the revolver later but I can’t give you the bullets for it yet. Come for the training next time or ask Oscar or Johnny for pointers.” I said.
He just nodded and he took a seat as he was comforted by some of the group.
“Bobby, I know what it’s like to lose someone very close, I’ve experienced it before. It’s strong of you to not show it earlier when we met you and not just burst out in emotion. So far, we’ve been very fortunate to not have any casualties. We have a few close calls but we have each other for it. You have us on your back now, whatever happened in your home we could talk about it when you’re ready. It’s gonna be a hard the following days, weeks or months for you, heck it could even take years I’m not gonna lie to you or sugarcoat it. I can’t just say brighten up or man up since that decision is on you on how you want to cope with your loss. Just know that you have people here to rely on yeah?” I said earnestly.
“Thank you.” he mouthed.
“Any more questions?” I looked at the group.
“Yeah, kid, you mentioned that you traded numbers with the soldiers at the DDR camps, did anyone contact you yet?” Oscar said.
“So far, Ken is keeping contact with them. But I think they have built a working system there too. We still see their helicopter bringing them supplies and probably most of the people would come there first than over here since most would come over that place first before seeing our place here. It’s evidenced since we’ve never seen any people come here randomly yet. Is there any news from them yet Ken?” I said.
“Oh! Uhh, I only talked to them once but I turned one of the radios here to their frequency to listen in on their conversations. It’s mostly just checks on each other positions most of the time and a few banters. Nothing seems out of place from their side.” Ken reported.
“Okay, just keep on checking in with them so we have another line of communication.” I said.
I saw Johnny raising his hand.
“Yes Johnny?” I said.
“I heard that we have only built fences from the gate there and on the other side where the canal system is. Why is it that we don’t cover the whole place around?” he asks.
“Oh, it’s a natural barrier. If you even manage to climb to the houses and the walls far back, you’d drop on the body of water after it. We’ve never seen zombies swim much less float.” I said.
“But Oscar mentioned that there are sprinters, right?” he said.
“Oh, you’re asking about the special ones? So far, I’ve only witnessed two types. The sprinters up close and the still ones from the broadcast. However, me and Kaley noticed when I took her outside to practice with the AR-15 a few that exhibits irregular behavior but not like in the case of the special ones. If you’re worried about a few of them turning to a special type that could swim in the water it would still be unlikely for them to reach us.” I explained.
“How so?” he asks.
“The fishing areas here has a net that covers a perimeter of it. They’d need to pass through 2 sets of nets and they will just end up caught in it not to mention the nets that are below to separate some of the fishes. Even if they did, they might also need to learn how to leap from the water since it’s a 3-foot gap to reach the road.” I explained.
“Have there been any breaches though?” he asks.
“He’s really concerned for security huh? That’s good.” I said to myself.
“None, if there were any, near the fishing areas is Andrew’s and Arthur’s houses. They could immediately radio in and Ken would fly the drone in intervals to scout the area.” I said.
He gives a few nods and he seem to trust this place more and myself.
The group doesn’t have questions anymore so we concluded the meeting. The watch duty for today has been posted and the new guys volunteered to be included in the first watch. Kaley was in the second watch though. We headed for my room again for our nightly ritual of watching a movie. Before we even get to start, I hear someone knocking on the door.
“Hey, Sky the rabbits are giving birth now, want to see them with the girls? I thought it would be later but-” Derek said.
Almost immediately, Kaley and the girls bolted past Derek and I to reach the barn, only Tatiana was left inside with me.
“Rabbits huh? Those are delicious creatures.” Tatiana said.
“Yes, don’t tell Kaley and the girls in front of them. They’ll lynch you hahaha!” I said as Derek also gave a laugh.
We three then made our way inside the barn and I see a group of people watching the rabbits give birth gradually.
“They look like little rats!”
“They’re a b-bit ugly without the hairs though…”
“They still look cute though.”
“Why are they hairless?”
“We need to wait a couple of weeks.”
“Woof!”
“Be quiet Zeus, you’re scaring the mother.”
“Look! It’s giving birth again!”
“OOH~”
“What is that one doing?”
“She’s cleaning her baby… wait….”
“NOOOOOO~!”
“She’s eating them!”
“Stop it!”
“Zombie rabbit~!”
One of the mothers started to eat her babies and we decided to separate that one from the rest.
“Why did you separate that one though?” Olivia asked.
“Uhh, because she’ll probably eat all of them. We’re probably gonna eat that one tomorrow.” I said scratching my head.
“NOOOOOO~!” some of them protested.
“It’s no use keeping her though, everytime she gives birth, she would just keep on eating her babies.” Derek said.
“We could make a small hat out of the fur though.” I said.
“No! I’m going back now!” Olivia screamed.
“The other ones are still giving birth though…” I said.
“Right! I forgot!” she immediately went back.
“NOOOOO~! Another one is eating their babies!” one of the girls screamed.
“Oh, she’s not eating them, she’s just eating the placenta.” Derek explained.
“Ohh, I see.” Charlotte said.
“They’re a lot though.” Kaley said.
“Do rabbits taste good?” Aya said.
“Of course, I’ll share some with you tomorrow.” I said.
“Thanks!” Aya said.
We then let Derek took over the procedures as some of them are starting to leave the barn. We said goodbye and we went back to my room. There were 19 babies in total and he grabbed a few more blankets to keep them warm and he said that he would stay and watch them for a few minutes and get back to them every now and then.