Dead Ones

Chapter 3: Alone

The rain had stopped and I had moved on. The days and nights seemed to merge together. My entire internal body schedule was completely off. Before, I had a routine of things. Now, everything came as I needed. I looted and ate when I felt hungry. Slept when I felt tired, usually at night as traveling in the dark wasn't a great idea. The best part about being completely alone in the world is that when you gotta piss, you can just go wherever. No one was around to judge you. There were no laws anymore. No rules to follow. This was so because there was no one to enforce said laws. Looting and lawlessness wasn't really a thing. I just did what I needed to do to survive and no one batted an eye. Mainly because there was no one to complain you were stealing their former belongings. I wasn't a thief, I was a survivor. I left most personal possessions and souvenirs alone as they were mainly junk to me. Someone else's memories would not aid me in my life as it is. One thing was certain. I needed more weaponry and ammo. I remembered encountering the horde. Two blades, a maul, a revolver, a semi-automatic handgun, and a bolt gun wouldn't stand a chance against ten or more of the dead. I needed weapons with a larger magazine capacity. A Glock17 or handguns like it, which were extremely common, would suit my needs right now. I had an idea. It was a stupid idea but it just might work. I had been wasting my time searching civilian homes, when I could be searching areas that would normally have weaponry in stock. I hit myself in the head with an open hand. Why didn't I think of this before? I was special forces, not specially challenged. I was annoyed with myself. It was humorously simple, and yet I hadn't thought of it. Then again, the past couple of days had been an emotional roller coaster. I was blinded by sadness, anger, depression, and hopelessness, with a hint of pain. I left the outskirts of the city and entered the center of it yet again. I was looking for government buildings. A police station would be ideal. Although, breaking into the armory would be a task. I would keep all of my current weapons, just hopefully add a couple others. I did make a mental note of the increasing weight of my gear though. It wasn't unbearable, but I didn't want to overload myself. Now that I wasn't traveling long distances anymore and didn't have a set destination in mind, I didn't need to worry about making a good distance daily. I could stop to rest whenever I wanted. I had nowhere to go so I stopped worrying about weight. I found my mark after a short amount of walking. 'Bangor City Police Department', read the sign above the door. I tucked the maul's handle until the head of the tool rested against the belt loop I tucked it through. I forced entry, weapon drawn. I announced myself. No response or disturbance, as usual. I swept the complex, searching for my goal. I had found it. A metal door with a small window. It wasn't fully stocked, but there were indeed weapons and gear inside. Now, the main problem. How the hell was I going to get inside?..

I exited out the back of the building, where all of the police cruisers were. Or at least, were supposed to be. Most of them were gone. There was carnage. Bodies of the dead littered the lot. Bloodstained tire marks revealed the vehicles that had left the lot in a hurry. An empty rifle lay on the ground with a deceased officer. I left it where it was. If its functionality caused the death of the officer, I didn't want any part of it. I went to the nearest parked cruiser and opened it. I needed some sort of identification to bypass the door. Trying to pry it open would be a lengthy process. I popped open the glove compartments and rummaged around. No luck. Maybe I ought to search the inside more. I retreated to the door I had come from. Upon placing my hand on the knob to open it, it burst open, throwing me back with force. A fully armored officer stumbled out from inside. I regained myself. It snarled at me from within its armored helmet. It wore riot gear. The helmet's visor pulled over its face. It charged me. I braced myself and body checked it backwards when it got close enough. It stumbled backwards and tripped over the door jam, falling back inside. It rose from the ground and began its steady forward march again. When it had reached the door, I was ready for it. I grabbed the door and rammed it hard into its face. I seized the opportunity the attack had given me and I pounced. I gained control of the being. It fought back with strength. I managed to wrestle it back inside. I pushed it up against a wall, banging its protected head hard on the wall. I propped it against the wall, using my body weight and one arm.  I drew my service knife and cut the strap on the side of the helmet, which fastened it to the dead one's head. It yelled at me, so I yelled back in its face. I headbutted it in the helmet, causing it to fall to the ground. It looked rather surprised at this. "Damn! You're one ugly motherfucker," I said jokingly. I smirked and rammed the knife into its skull. I let it slide down the wall to the ground. I searched the body, and around the belt, there was an armory key card. Jackpot. I cut it from the officer's belt. "Sorry officer, but I need this more than you do right now and you didn't exactly hand it to me," I said. I returned to the armory and door and scanned the card with excitement. I was like a kid in a candy shop. The scanner lit up red, and read 'access denied'. "The hell do you mean access denied?" I said aloud. I guess the police department deactivated all armory cards after they had gotten their gear. I wasn't taking no for an answer. I stormed back out to the back lot and grabbed the rifle laying on the ground, which still contained a few rounds. I returned inside, to the armory. I opened fire on the door, concentrating my shots on the lock and the window. When empty, I tossed the rifle aside, which had failed to eject the final spent casing. It was faulty after all. I tried the handle of the door, which didn't budge. I knocked out the shot out glass in the small window in the door and reached my arm inside. I disabled the lock from the inside and opened the door. "Access denied that," I sneered at the door. I had gone loony. Here I was, making fun of a door. I chuckled to myself as I entered the armory. It was like shopping for a new toy as a child. I was giddy. I hadn't been this lucky with looting. I paced around, looking over the inventory carefully...