Monday, April 11, 2011

Chapter 31

31: Meanwhile, at Wolf Cub Elementary, Rend was formulating a plan.  Richard Finestra, whose wife, Laura, was the principal at the school, was the one who had suggested to Rend that the Defectors could safely stay in the cafeteria.  He was given the task of overseeing the survivor's welfare while Rend was busy thinking of how to infiltrate the Untaken at the hotel.
  "One of the obvious first things we'll have to do is send out small parties to get us some food," said Richard.  "The supply closet has a lot of the toiletries we'll need.  The freezer has some old ice cream sandwiches left over from the school year.  They should still be good, but we need nutrition."  Richard noticed Rend's shudder at the mention of the freezer.  "What's wrong, my master?"
  "My son, I was once imprisoned in ice.  On my planet, that is how they treat criminals.  Could you believe they would do that to me?  I couldn't move.  I could only see what was immediately around me.  Me, treated like a common criminal.  I tell you, no one will ever keep me down again."
  Richard, too, shuddered at the thought of being frozen alive.  "If I have anything to do about it, no one will ever harm you again, master."
  "I trust your loyalty, son.  Now, go and make sure we get all the supplies we will need."
  Richard figured out a list of things they would require for a prolonged stay at the school.  He then prioritized the list and sent out three groups of four people each to various locations to procure the supplies.  In each group he made sure there was someone who could pick locks, two people who looked strong enough to defend against the Revenant and someone who was small enough to get into tight places.  Many of the things they needed could be pilfered from the houses in the surrounding neighborhood, but many of the houses would have to be broken into so they needed someone who could climb into a window if need be.  This would be a very dangerous operation if the Revenant were encountered in large numbers.
  By Rend's estimations, there were over nine hundred of the original Revenant, but that number grow limitlessly once the Scathing infected more of the living.  Fortunately, Rend had finally come up with a plan.

No comments:

Post a Comment