It was almost too easy. There was a lone zombie wandering between two buildings, separated from the road by a low fence.

  David gestured and pointed. As the others looked and the driver stopped the truck he spoke.

  "No Charlie, not fire. We want a nice loud death cry. Perhaps the ice mages could do the honors?"

  Sarah nodded and gestured encouragingly to the girl sitting with her. The two stood in the bed of the pickup so they could see over the fence and took aim.

  The teenager's first bolt went wide, shattering against brick with a flash of frost. Sarah's struck center mass, coating the zombie's torso in spreading ice.

  "Head shot!" Sarah called. "Aim for the head!"

  The girl's second attempt connected. The zombie's skull cracked with a wet sound, then it collapsed, releasing its familiar death wail inaudible to everyone other than David.

  "Nice work!" Sarah said, genuine enthusiasm in her voice. The girl beamed.

  David opened his senses, letting that strange spiritual hearing extend outward. The death cry rippled through the area like a stone dropped in water, and he felt the responding surge of sound as Nath reacted and zombies began converging.

  "Moving in from the north and east," David reported. "It’s working, there are others further out but nothing between us and the rest of the group. We've got at least a couple minutes before they get close."

  Carl banged on the roof of the pickup, and they started to move.

  While he did that David pushed further, trying to extend his range, get more details. He remembered what the Herald had said about the Nath being good for scouting or something.

  To his surprise, the connection to the Nath within him responded. He sensed one emerge and spiral away from him, trailing that thin thread of, something, that he associated with his ownership. His Nath didn’t broadcast, it followed. Closing on the nearest signals with incredible speed. In moments he had a sense of four slow moving, embodied Nath approaching with a constant drone of communication linking them. There was also a sense of a couple of other free Nath flitting around before moving on.

  He could feel his Nath hovering over them and the tenuous connection gradually thickening as they approached, before a sense of slewing and fading as the soundscape grew more distant.

  It took him a moment to realize the pickup had turned around and was opening the distance.

  Fascinated, he reached out and tugged experimentally on the tendril connecting him to the Nath. The creature responded swooping towards him and returning in moments to hover beside him, its senses picking up his presence as a warm welcoming stillness surrounded by hard dissonant white noises.

  It took him a moment to realize that he was sensing what the Nath did, in more detail now it was so close. Then in wonder he realized that the hard white ‘sounds’ were his companions. Or perhaps more accurately their systems.

  The stark difference between him and his friends in the alien senses of the Nath highlighted how much he had been changed by that terrifying first encounter. He started, realizing that Carl was saying something to him.

  “I’m sorry, what was that?”

  “I said, how many?”

  “I’m not sure exactly, four in the first group. Hang on, I’m trying something new to see if I can pinpoint them better.”

  David closed his eyes and focused on his Nath again. This time he sent them out one after another looking for approaching Nath. Then he reached down each of the tethers to sense what was there.

  It was so easy, natural, like this was how it should be, his minions serving his will…

  His six spirits pulsed at the edge of his awareness. Something about actively using his abilities seemed to strengthen the connection. A quick check of his resource bars showed barely any drain.

  Compared to whatever he had done before this was easy…

  Still his senses were showing him more, the Nath were not just making best pace towards the death scream but clustering, aiming to arrive in groups. The six closest of which he was now monitoring.

  "More than I thought," David reported after a moment of concentration to sort out the impressions. "Closer to twenty. With more further out. But we've got time."

  Carl grunted approval. "That'll do. Camila, y'all ready?"

  The second part was yelled across at the waiting convoy. Camila gave a thumbs up from the cab of one of the moving trucks and a moment later the whole group was moving off, slow and smooth. Mindful of the people in the back without seat belts or similar.

  The lead truck pulled up to Liberty Firearms. Camila hopped out with the biggest crowbar they had scrounged up in hand. David missed it already, still he had a hefty pole with more reach. It used to be a heavy-duty broom, but a bit of work had removed the head and left him with the five foot long solid wood handle as an improvised weapon.

  He felt pretty good about it, and not just because it could keep zombies away from him. It also made him feel like a wizard with a powerful magical staff…

  He would never admit that out loud, or that the crowbar was absolutely exhausting to swing in a fight and this was lighter.

  "Let's go!" Camila moved toward the store's front entrance with decisive strides.

  The gun store was a squat concrete building with narrow windows and heavy security doors. Cameras watched from multiple angles, like blinded eyes of a failed watch David thought sadly as he looked at them.

  Camila wedged her crowbar into the door frame and pulled. The first attempt barely moved it. She adjusted her stance, set her feet, and triggered boost.

  The door frame groaned. Metal twisted. The heavy bolt tore free with a shriek of protesting steel the combination of superhuman strength and leverage too much for it.

  She murmured something in Spanish, all David caught was “…nenas!” then she was shoving the door open.

  Carl followed her in, rifle ready. David and Charlie came next, with the new recruits filing in behind them.

  The store's interior was dark, emergency lighting providing just enough illumination to see. Racks of assorted firearms lined the walls. Display cases full of handguns, racked hunting rifles and shotguns. Ammunition stacked in organized rows.

  And security gates blocking access to everything.

  "Cage is locked," Carl observed, examining the heavy steel barriers separating them from the inventory. "Figured it would be."

  "I can handle it," Camila said, already moving toward the gate.

  That's when David heard it. Not through normal hearing but through his spiritual sense. Two Nath, inside the building, their whispers suddenly focused and urgent.

  "Contact!" David snapped. "Two zombies, back area!"

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  A door marked 'Employees Only' in the back corner of the building was open. Two figures stumbled through, a man in a security uniform and a thickset woman wearing a manager's polo shirt. Both moved with that horrible lurching gait and the grey skin of the deceased.

  Carl's pistol cracked twice. The security guard dropped.

  Charlie's hands came up, flame already gathering. "Dude, there goes the plan!"

  The fireball caught the manager mid-stride, engulfing her completely. She collapsed in a burning heap.

  "Clear!" Carl confirmed, moment later having already moved to check the back room.

  David was swearing to himself, why were so bloody many zombies shut in somewhere?

  Still, the death screams would be bringing all the other zombies back. They had to organize.

  Camila turned to the security gate, wedging her crowbar into the lock mechanism. This one fought harder than the front door. She strained, muscles standing out on her arms.

  "Any time now," David said mildly, watching the entrance. The Nath noises he could hear had shifted as expected. “Charlie, cover me, I’m going to try and get more info on the incoming. Carl, can you get people ready, either in here or out there. I don’t think there are enough to trap even just us so maybe give the newbies a chance?”

  Then David closed his eyes. The zombies were getting closer and he wanted to work on pinpointing them.

  "Got it!" Camila grunted with a final heave and strain.

  The lock shattered. The first security gate swung up.

  "All right y’all get in here." Carl commanded. "Grab weapons first, ammunition second. If you don't know guns, ask someone who does. If in doubt, grab a shotgun, it's point and shoot."

  The organized looting dissolved into controlled chaos as people milled around while Camila worked to break more of the security gates exposing additional displays. Things accelerated when a couple more people who had picked boost as their skill joined her, though the difference in strength became obvious after they failed to crack gates with the same ease the Latina used.

  Carl grabbed Charlie and spoke softly. “Kid, David is trying to track the zombies, not sure how precise he will be, can you and Sarah keep some casters out there while people get guns. Yell before you engage…”

  Charlie nodded then spoke softly. “Bro, can you get me a badass backup piece. Like a proper six shooter and holster?”

  Carl gave him a serious look then nodded. “Good idea. A wise man always has a reliable piece as a backup. I’ll get you something good and walk you through it once this scrimmage dies down.”

  Charlie grinned then vanished towards the exit waving to Sarah.

  People were just sorting themselves out with guns and matching Ammo when David surfaced from his tracking.

  “Incoming, we will have ten or so here in about three minutes. Then a bigger group, maybe fifteen. Stragglers still coming in.”

  Carl called out organizing people as David stepped outside to speak with the rest of the team.

  Sarah appeared next to David twirling her finger vaguely towards the parking lot.

  "How long do we have?"

  David checked again. The zombies were close now, maybe a minute out. "Not long. We should-"

  "Let them come," Sarah interrupted. She looked at the new people, most of whom were fumbling with unfamiliar weapons. At least those who Carl had directed outside seemed to have a reasonable idea of what to do with a couple of people already holding guns carefully pointed at the ground and offering advice to others.

  "They need this."

  David started to object, then stopped. She was right. He hesitated to say it but with his powers he was reasonably confident that he could take the first zombies by himself. That wouldn’t help these people.

  they needed to face zombies while they had backup, while they had a chance to learn without dying in the process.

  "Alright," David said. "But we control it. Small groups, manageable numbers. We step in before anyone gets hurt."

  He raised his voice. "Everyone! Zombies incoming. We're going to use this opportunity for training. If you haven’t killed a zombie before, load your weapons and form an orderly shooting line. You need head shots. If you have magic get ready to use your spells. Everyone, stay in a line. No shooting unless you are on the front line. Call out if there is a problem or if you need to reload.”

  The arriving zombies hit the parking lot, ten strong moving in a cluster towards the building.

  "Alright folks," Carl called out, his southern drawl calm and steady. "Y'all hold fire. Rifles, shotguns take aim. Pistols and Magic users, take aim but hold when the others fire. Don’t panic If something gets too close, we'll handle it."

  “Rifles, Shotguns. Fire!”

  There was a ragged roar of gunshots and several people winced as the sheer volume rolled over them. David noted absently that even his single point in toughness was enough to mitigate, though his health bar (courtesy of Charlie) flickered telling him there was draw in his health.

  Several zombies staggered and one toppled and fell, David heard the familiar death scream even as Carl called.

  “Pistols and spells, Fire!”

  The second volley was quieter. And also less effective. The zombies were still more than thirty yards away, comfortable range for long guns but not so much for pistols, at least in amateur hands.

  "Lead the target!" Charlie called and a firebolt flashed behind a stumbling zombie. "They're moving, you gotta anticipate!"

  Then the second wave of pure gunfire hit. More zombies collapsed. Some to head shots more to massive trauma.

  Magic and pistols spoke again with the zombies at twenty yards.

  The girl with ice magic froze a zombie's legs, the firebolt hit this time and the last three zombies staggered forward.

  “Fire at will”

  Things got chaotic with staccato bursts of gunfire followed by dropping zombies. Just before David thought he would need to intervene it was over.

  “Reload, watch your muzzles. Do NOT point that at anyone.” Carl’s voice rang out like a range sergeant.

  “Well done everyone. The next group is bigger and about two minutes out!” David called.

  Carl continued to get people ready and into the firing line. By the time the next group arrived they were outnumbered more than two to one by the shooters as more people emerged with a weapon and Carl kept organizing.

  The training session became a brutal dance. New people fumbled and missed. Guns jammed and needed reloading. Zombies got too close on one occasion, and the team stepped in. David never had to actually use halt, though he did rip one Nath out of a body he didn’t think anyone even noticed as it got hit by half a dozen people before the corpse could even fall over.

  Sarah's ice bolts provided covering fire. Charlie encouraged people enthusiastically between his own fireballs and Carl, well Carl taught people like it was a day at the range.

  "Yes! That's what I'm talking about! Did you see that dude?!"

  "Stop, take a breath. Now let it out and stop. Aim for the head or the middle of the chest, head is best. Now squeeze. Good! Very good! Now do it again.”

  "Bro, you just took that thing down in two hits!"

  “Don’t worry my ice spell with slow it, take another shot.”

  Not everyone handled it well. One man froze completely, unable to pull the trigger even as a zombie lurched toward him. Katie stepped in, guiding him back from the line even as others shot the zombie to death.

  Another person vomited after their first kill, the reality of destroying what used to be a human being hitting hard.

  But most of them pushed through. Adrenaline and necessity combining with the combat high that came from earning experience.

  The last zombie fell to a combined assault of fire, ice, and buckshot.

  [EXPERIENCE GAINED]

  The notification flashed before David’s eyes, then it was gone. It didn’t feel like he deserved anything for his efforts. Still a quick check showed he was still hadn’t unlocked the first of the skills he bargained for.

  People checked their status screens, whooping and cheering. Some laughing with relief, others still processing what they'd just done. David knew this was easy, the training wheels would come off but he could see why they were excited.

  He imagined that if their overflows were set properly they had also all experienced real gains for the first time too.

  Carl was going round speaking to the new shooters encouraging. Camila had emerged from within at some point and spoke softly to David.

  “All the displays are accessible now, as well as the storeroom in the back with most of the ammunition. That was hard to break into.”

  "We need some groups to organize people better," David noted softly to her then raised his voice.

  "Well done everyone. We all need to take everything we need from here and move on to the fulfillment center."

  Carl added. “That means as much ammunition for your chosen weapons as you can find as well as everyone having a primary and a back-up weapon. Personally, I’m going to get me one of those sweet out of state rifles, I have my pistols and I’ve got a knife if things get desperate.”

  Camila called out. “If you need help head inside and hold your hand up. If you know this place and guns go in and help!”

  Carl finished with “In case I wasn’t clear, unless you have some plan involving magic, when you should talk to Charlie, or Fighting up close when you should talk to Camila I want everyone leaving here with a rifle or shotgun AND a pistol.”

  It took a little time and Carl grumbled that they cut the looting short but everyone was armed, they had spares and Carl and a couple of other enthusiasts even took a few people to the range in the back to practice before David called a halt to proceedings.

  The group was gathered, among the last to leave as Carl fulfilled his promise to Charlie and silently pressed a pistol and holster on David, Sarah and even Camila who hadn’t picked anything.

  Carl spoke while the others awkwardly belted the weapons on, checking his new rifle while they did. "They did alright."

  Realizing who he was talking about David responded.

  "Some of them are going to have nightmares."

  "Better nightmares than being dead."

  Carl's voice held no judgment, just statement of fact.

  "And they'll be more likely to survive the next time."

  Katie spoke softly, “and those who really can’t do this found out before them freezing could hurt anyone.”

  “Yep, you can keep them all away from the fighting. I hope they can stay soft but somehow I don’t feel we are doing them any favors.”

  Carl sounded grim, but he hadn’t done anything to stop Katie from organizing the people who couldn’t handle the shooting as support types, finding them roles as drivers and in one case having the person shadow Mark to work as a support medic.

  Still, the group was confident and in high spirit as they moved on to the fulfillment center.

  David knew things would get harder, but he didn’t discourage the new people who, now bloodied were starting to think they had this apocalypse thing beaten…