"Noted," Sergeant Morris replied. "Get the hell out of here and complete the mission. Those people back at the school are counting on you."
"Roger that," the driver confirmed.
Tex looked to his men again, raising his brow as he said, "Okay, Smith, Washington. Let's see about finding us a defensive position in here. How's our ammo?"
"Just what we have on us," Washington, the larger of the two soldiers replied. "That and we had that last cart over in the hunting gear section. Got three shotguns and about twenty boxes of ammo for them."
"Sounds good," Sergeant Morris said with a nod. "They have an employee break room in the back. That looks like the most defensible place here. We'll set up two defensive lines, one at the door to the stockroom and a fallback line at the door to the break room." He looked to Zoe. "Can you get that cart of supplies back there for us?"
She nodded and assured, "Yes, Sir. I'll get it."
The break room was not very large, about twenty by forty feet. The back wall was lined with lockers; there were two vending machines on the wall to the left and a sink, counter and small refrigerator to the right. Four round top tables were staggered about in the middle, each with four plastic chairs surrounding it. It was a simple place where lunch breaks were spent and did not seem to have been disturbed for a while.
Sergeant Morris looked around him, and nodded. "Okay, I think we can hold out here for a while. Emergency exit is a full steel door and should hold them out and I think we can lay down a pretty impressive field of fire from here and the stockroom door. Zoe, set out what weapons, food and ammo we have in that cart out on the tables and let's see what we have to work with. Smith, Washington, check out the stock room and see what we can use for barricades. Even if we can string rope or cord across the doorway it would definitely give us some time and a clear shot at them if they find us."
They nodded to him and left the break room.
Tex turned and watched as the girl neatly stacked up boxes of shotgun ammunition on the table where she had the three pump shotguns in a perfect line. She also removed two rather large survival knives and set them down beside each other on that table. When she was satisfied that she had cleared all of the weapons from the cart, she pushed it to the next table and began removing bags of jerky, some eating ware, and she paused as she removed a bag of candy with many different colors showing through the plastic. As she held it, she slowly looked over her shoulder at him, anxiety on her features as if she expected a good scolding from him.
He raised his chin to her and asked, "Is that taffy?" When she nodded he ordered, "Open that bag and throw me a piece."
Her tension drained away and she tore the bag open, setting it down on the table as she reached inside. "Um, what flavor do you like?"
"It doesn't matter," he assured. He caught the piece she threw him with one hand and pulled the wax paper from it, popping it in his mouth as he turned toward the door. "Okay, we're going to have to funnel them into as tight a space as we can. I think those vending machines will come in handy for that." He chewed on his taffy for a few seconds before saying, "Stay put. I'm going to go see if I can find a hand truck in the stock room."
She nodded and watched him stride out of the break room.
Smith and Washington returned a few moments later with a coil of rope and some tools, and they looked to the girl who stood by the table where she had put the food.
Zoe drew her shoulders up and asked, "Would you guys like some taffy?"
In short order they had a defensive position set up and the three men sat around a table, chewing on jerky and taffy as they awaited the inevitable. Zoe kept watch out the door, looking sharp for any movement out in the store and fearing what they all knew was to come.
"Found some kegs of powder back there," Washington informed. "I'll bet we can dig up some fuse or something and make us some grenades."
Morris pulled a piece of jerky from what he held with his teeth and nodded. "That could sure take the edge off of them. I think I saw some over in the hunting department. We can also use some wire and light bulbs…" He trailed off as there was a sound outside the door.
Zoe backed away, her eyes wide as she said, "I heard something out there. I think they've come in."
The three men picked up their weapons, their attention locked on the doorway.
They were all silent for a moment.
Another sound reached them, a sound made as if someone was moving something. There was a metal on metal squeak that reminded Zoe of clothes hangers being pushed along a metal rod. Something was dropped on the floor out there nearby.
Zoe looked back at Sergeant Morris, her brow tense and arched high over her eyes.
He motioned with his chin for her to go and have a look, then he took the radio from his belt and showed it to her.
She understood, taking the radio that was hooked on her pocket, then she slowly crept out of the break room.
The store seemed quiet as she padded as quietly as she could toward the sounds she heard, the sounds that seemed to be coming from the hunting department. Her eyes panned back and forth constantly as she searched for the source of the noise.
Almost to the gun section, she saw movement and she stopped. Beyond a circular rack where camouflage shirts and vests hung, she saw three men looking over the remains of the weapons and ammunition. One of them had very dark skin, the other two much paler skin, but their skin was not gray! They all wore blue jeans, but different color tee shirts, and one of them wore a blue bandanna over his head. Their odor was of men who had not showered for some time, not bad enough to be offensive at this distance, but her heightened sense of smell told her they were not zombies.
She dared to go a little closer, tightly gripping the radio and grasping the clothes rack with her free hand as she watched them search for whatever they were looking for. The shirt she touched moved slightly and squeaked.
The three men stopped and looked toward her, and they all looked startled and afraid.
"There's one!" the man in the bandanna shouted. "Get it!"
All three quickly had shotguns or pistols in their hands and aimed their weapons right at her!
Zoe barked a scream and turned to flee, cringing as the first shot was fired. She could hear the men giving chase and panic coursed through her, and for the first time since this ordeal began she could feel her heart pounding in her chest.
"William!" she screamed.
One of the men behind her fired, then another. As she wheeled around a display of duck decoys, a third exploded right into the middle of it and decoys scattered everywhere, some bursting into fleeing shards of plastic.
Another shot hit a metal rack close by and she turned to see more merchandise taking flight, then she stumbled and fell to the floor, rolling to her back as she saw the three men overtake her, and all three were aiming their weapons at her.
"Put 'em down!" Sergeant Morris shouted.
The three men looked beyond Zoe, and the girl turned her head to do the same.
Tex and his two men were in a staggered line, and all three had their weapons trained on the three men who were chasing her.
All three men seemed hesitant to move and just stared back.
Zoe took the opportunity to scramble up and dart behind the soldiers, and she held onto Tex's shoulders as she peered around them at the other three men.
"I said put 'em down!" Sergeant Morris ordered again.
The three men exchanged looks, and the one with the bandanna nodded to the others, and all lowered their weapons.
The man with the bandanna looked to Tex and raised his chin toward the girl behind him. "Why are you protecting a zombie, man? We're supposed to be killing those things!"