Better Lucky than Good (Records of the Resistance) by Shaun Meehan Page A

were unable to reach one another. Only through messages, which were far too short to communicate anything of worth to one another, would they know if the other had lasted the night. Every passing day was a torturous experience, hoping to hear from one another. Now however, a man stood before him whom Kevin had just met only a few minutes prior, and was intent on prying his family from what would likely become their tomb.

    "Okay... So... What's the plan?" Kevin asked hesitantly, attempting to subdue his excitement.

    "Well, I doubt that they're armed..." Clay started, but was quickly cut off by Kevin.

    "Oh no... They're armed to the teeth. A guy that used to live in the building was a real paranoid nut. It's like the guy was preparing for just this occasion. Unfortunately, he was infected and never lived to see it." Kevin said.

    "So what's stopping them from just shooting their way out and making a break for our location? You said that there are only ten or so infected barring the back door. It should be easy." Melanie inquired.

    "The problem isn't a lack of arms. It's a lack of able bodied users. Most of the survivors in that building are women, children and a few elderly folks. There are only a few who are capable of fighting and no where near enough to assist the others in getting here. I suggested your plan to them a few days ago and they all agreed that no one was being left behind for the undead." Kevin answered.  

    "And the back door leads to a stair well that has been pretty substantially barricaded. An able bodied person would find it difficult to climb those stairs with all the debris they've piled down them." he continued.

    "Email them. Tell them to pack up everything of value. Stress to them, that the entire contents of those gun lockers are top priority. Search that man's apartment and anything that even remotely looks like it has anything to do with a firearm gets packed up. Tell them that tomorrow morning, we're coming to get them out and that they need to be ready." Clay instructed to Kevin.

    "We're only going to have one shot at getting this right and we'll need to be quick about it. Getting those people out of there is going to be a loud affair and it won't be long before we draw more infected to the building. We won't be able to go back anytime soon, after we leave." Clay finished.

    The relief and gratitude that Kevin felt was written all over his face.

    "... Thank you. Thank you both..." Kevin's voice shuttered.

    "Now... We don't have much time. I need some things from the hardware department. A drill press, some two inch pipe nipples and enough caps to seal both ends... Oh and some cotton twine." Clay said.

    Kevin and Melanie nodded and immediately left to begin their search for the items that Clay had listed. The moment the two had departed, Clay walked to his dry bag and began rifling through it. He was searching for his cell phone. Clay had considered leaving it behind at their island camp, believing that he would never use it again. He wasn't certain why he had kept it, but instead of throwing it away he had tucked it deep into the bottom of his pack. He held the power button impatiently, as if pressing it harder would make the tiny machine turn on faster. Clay began quickly scrolling through several of his phone's pages, until finally reaching the icon required to access his email. He instantly began to feel anxious, fearful and regretful that he had not made an attempt to contact or reach Brooke sooner than now.  

    Clay sat himself down on the floor next to his pack with his back against the bed. He was terrified at the prospect of what his inbox might hold. Time began to pass by while he stared at the cellular phone's display, without Clay even noticing. Finally he stretched his thumb out and tapped the inbox icon.

    ...

    Nothing.

    His inbox was empty, save for the email that Kevin had described which had been sent by the operating military forces responsible for defending the