Chapter 8

It took several moments before Derrick realized we were here. When he did the radio fell from his hand almost hitting the floor before he madly scrambled to get it back into his grasp. Whomever was on the other end was informed that Ally was back and seemed to be safe and to call the other teams back.

After confirmation that the information was received he turned a dial at the top of the radio, changing channels I would assume. "Jane ... Jane pick up. Are you there?"

Several seconds passed before this Jane person answered. "Yeah, I'm here. Derrick? Did you need something?" the person at the other end sounded upset as if they'd been crying.

"Not really, just thought you'd want to know that Ally was back.

"WHAT!!!!!! I'm on my way!" screamed the voice before it disconnected. I turned to Ally, the question obvious in my eyes.

"Jane is my sister. She's been taking care of me since our parents died." It was at that moment that a young woman who I assumed was around my age slammed into the open door while trying to come to a stop.

"She's also a klutz," Ally added to me in a soft whisper meant for my ears alone. Ally stood as Jane righted herself and allowed herself to be crushed in a hug.

I watched for several moments as the two women embraced one another. Jane was a slightly larger version of Ally. She stood maybe 5 foot 6 inches tall and couldn't weigh over 52kg. From what I could tell in the loose fitting clothing she wore, her shape was most definitely pleasing and her face was just as appealing. It was then I noticed that Derrick had been watching me since Jane had entered the room and took my attention.

I didn't let on that I knew, if he wanted to do something he would've already tried. Not to mention that Chris was also in the room. They hadn't taken our weapons from us and though Jason and the other guy already had their weapons in hand I was confident that Chris could handle the both of them. Her combat software was state of the art and I knew she'd already have firing solutions for everyone in the room if not the entire building. The sub-band communication available between androids and AI's was something to envy. With the help of Christine she'd have information on anyone within sensor range.

Jane and Ally were babbling on now holding each other at arms length but both refusing to let go. One asking if the other is O.K. While the younger tried to tell her story over her sister's constant verbal assault. Finally it seemed that Derrick had had enough and asked for both girls to cut their yammering as he put it.

"So you want to tell us what happened to you and who this guy is?"

Ally told her story in amazing detail on how she'd gotten separated from the group she was with. Something had drew her attention and she went alone to check it out. Jane told her how stupid that was and Ally completely agreed. She then went on to say that by the time she realized that, her group was gone, it'd already gotten late and she couldn't find a straight route back to base. "There seemed to be zombies everywhere," she said.

Jane comforted her with a hug at that point saying what a brave girl she'd been for not panicking.

Ally told how she had to move quickly and stop constantly to remain hidden and how night time had managed to surround her quickly. She spoke of how she tried to run across a street only to trip over something, screaming as she fell. Jane was once again holding her close and searching her body for permanent injury. Ally assured her that she was fine and that she'd been really dazed and by the time her sight cleared she'd been surrounded by zombies and couldn't find a way out.

"And just where do you fit into this story then friend?" Derrick asked pointedly to me.

"He saved my life," Ally answered before I could take a breath.

It seemed to be my turn to receive some affection from Jane. Her arms circled around me before I could even move. I did hear a shuffling of clothing behind me. I'm sure it was Chris trying to intervene on my behalf before she realized I was not in any trouble. Jane hugged me and I have to admit I didn't mind one bit. Her unassuming chest was actually a lot larger then I would've guessed. Not that I'd had a lot of experience in that area. The warmth and scent from her body affected me in a way that wouldn't allow me to be standing for several moments. Finally she did let go and I heard Ally giggle softly as she noticed the blush that must have been apparent on my face, not to mention the crap munching grin I knew I couldn't remove from my face with a torch.

"So, you saved her? And just how did you save her with so many zombies around. Did this young lady behind you help?"

"No, she was still on..." I began before catching myself. "she was still at our camp watching our things when I decided to take a look around. I came across Ally completely by accident," I lied. Ally knew it was important that I not reveal who or what I really was.

"And you managed to take out over a dozen zombies single handedly?"

"Well I think it was almost two dozen to be exact, but yes. I did save her."

"Why didn't you bring her back here once you saved her?"

"Well, to be honest I had no idea where here was until Ally told me," I lied again. " I picked her up, she was totally exhausted and once the adrenaline wore off, she passed out, so I took her back to camp with me until she woke up."

"And what exactly happened to her clothes?" He pointed out. I'd forgotten about those and did my best to keep the busted look off my face. "And for that matter, what type of uniform is that? I've never seen the like before."

"It's the uniform for my ship."

"So you were in the navy?" He asked and I'm sure he was going to start asking military type questions if I answered in the affirmative

"More like a cruise ship actually. I worked in the boiler room and this is the type of uniform they made us wear."

"And you happened to have a pair in her size? The size of a child?" He'd found the hole in my explanation and I realized that this was getting us nowhere. If anything he'll just try to shoot me or throw me out once he'd decided I couldn't be trusted. Before I could answer shots rang out in the distance. The radio started clicking and clacking as multiple call attempts happened at the same time.

"Sir there seems to be approximately 230 to 240 zombies located between the perimeter fence and two of the search groups that are attempting to get back to base. There also seems to be four times that number of zombies about a 150 yards from the rear of the returning groups. They are heading right in that direction and are blocked from view by a large building and tall fence. Chances for survival for the groups is less than 2%. They are being surrounded and have no hope for survival." Chris informed me to the astonished looks of the other 5 occupants of the room. I had to act quickly. I'd decided to help these people and didn't feel that waiting would be beneficial for anyone.

"Chris, have Christine bring the ship into the compound and go and get our rifles. We'll need something a little heavier than what we've got.

"Yes Sir," she said before moving to follow my orders. The guard, not Jason, lifted his weapon training it on Christine's middle telling her to halt. She never stopped but instead grabbed the rifle quickly snatching it from his grasp. When he realized he'd been unarmed he made a grab at her. She instead took hold of one of his hands pulling him toward her. She flipped him over her hip and he landed with a loud "Ouff," she then left the room and I heard her steps increase as she began to run down the hall hitting her top speed in mere seconds.

"Oh shit!" Jason called as he watched the other man soil himself. A wet spot forming on his front and the puddle slowly spreading on the floor.

Derrick had taken the scene in and simply said, "we'll talk later." I nodded in the affirmative before rising myself and calmly walking out the door. I heard a shuffle as several people fell into step behind me and I felt Ally press her little body to my side. I looked down at her calmly with a reassuring smile. I wouldn't let anything happen to her nor anyone she knew if I could help it. She'd lost her parents and I'd be damned if she lost her current family as well. A group of zombies that large would make short work of their fence and would over run the compound quickly.

By the time we made it outside Chris was kneeling down on the ground, a shiny metal case open in front of her as she assembled her rifle. It was a full military model with an on board replicator. My grandfather had given me these for the trip. Since grandfather had given me the nanos and spider bots he felt that full access to the replicator technology was also needed. I could now even build larger more complicated replicators with these same capabilities as well. The rifles could be set to fire four different size explosive rounds varying their collateral damage range. The ship was nowhere to be seen and I doubt anyone even noticed a woman disappear and then reappear from thin air holding two cases, each the length of Ally. I quickly joined her, checking my weapons readiness and soon we were marching to the fence.

We climbed to the top of a 'guard tower', the one Jason had occupied earlier, I took stock of the situation. Two of the four groups had already made it inside the fence and were now trying to lay covering firing for the two that were remaining. Before we'd managed to make it to the platform the two remaining groups had merged into one, attempting to blast their way to the fence. There had to be over two hundred zombies between them and the gate, the situation wasn't looking good. Their shots, sporadic at best, missed their mark more often than not. They'd run out of ammo at this rate before even putting a dent in the mob before them. Not to mention the much larger force coming to their rear that they didn't even know about yet.