The five men and one woman looked at the stumbling group of undead heading toward their town in silence as they each speculated on how much this invasion would put the remaining population of San Miguel in danger.

Sheriff David Dells was the first to speak. “Alright, we need to get moving and I want us to work in teams. Fosters, you and Becca need to run and alert as many people as you can. Send the fighters to us and tell everyone else to get inside and lock their doors.”

Becca started to protest, so he hurried on. “Freddy, you’re armed, right? I want you and Henry to grab a working vehicle and start cutting down their numbers. Don’t get too close and don’t take any risks, but we need to start thinning them out as quickly as possible.”

“Yes sir,” Freddy said, but as he turned to jog off, he called over his shoulder. “And keep your eyes out. Remember there was already an outbreak here today. Other problems could be lurking.”

“So what the hell are we doing?” Cale asked.

“We are heading back to the station to grab some serious fire power and my ride.

Cale actually smiled. “Ahhh, the Suburban from hell, good idea.”

Having said his piece, Dells lead the way with a fast jog. Along the way a woman’s long scream disturbed the desert stillness. It was a brutal cry and the type they heard many times before.

Cale’s boots kicked up sand as he came to a halt. “Sounds like Freddy was right. The outbreak from before hasn’t be contained.”

“Keep going,” Dells ordered. “Things will be just one big outbreak if we don’t stop that horde before it reaches the town.” The sun blazed overhead and his body’s sweat dried almost before it could form as they took up the jog again.

Dells had two other deputies besides Cale and it surprised them that neither was at the station. It didn’t make sense. San Miguel wasn’t that big. They should have been on the streets already after the gunfire.

Cale stated the obvious. “Were the hell is everybody?”

“Doesn’t make sense, but we can’t worry over it now. Maybe they saw that group heading into town and we’ll find them helping Freddy.” Then, without another wasted word, Dells headed for the gun racks. He passed Cale four rifles and grabbed up two shotguns and a duffle bag full of ammunition.

Even after a year of plague, San Miguel still had a healthy amount of rounds. Unlike other areas, Dells hadn’t let the undead gain a strong hold in his little isolated town. Add to that the gun fever than many Arizonians had and he figured he probably had more rounds available than most cities did these days.

Once they had loaded up, the pair scanned the alley. Seeing nothing, they ran to Dells huge Suburban. Dells drove as they raced toward the conflict. The size of the swarm heading they way looked worse than his first guess. Almost three hundred of the walking dead were just reaching the outlying buildings of his town. Henry and Freddy were doing there best to drop the zombies, but they had barely made a dent.

“Should we get on a roof or something?” Cale asked.

“No, I think we should stay mobile. We will have a better chance to-”

His words were cut short when a bullet passed through the windshield of his ride.

“” he started, but then more shots came their way. He raced behind the post office, which covered him from the shippers. “Who could be shooting at us…?” Dells started, but then his voice trailed off for a second time as Cale’s body went into convulsions. He looked on in horror as he saw his friend slump against the truck’s door as blood welled up from a head wound.

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Check each next weekend for another episode in Dells fight to save his town from the Eternal Aftermath

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You can explore more of the Eternal Aftermath here!

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