Dmitri and Connor entered Unit 9 - 6 and glanced at the three survivors. Their bodies were shriveled, pale, and trembling all over.
Caleb, the lethargic person from before, hugged his body tightly and cautiously glanced at the soldiers assisting him. His black hair was rugged, and a scent of alcohol escaped from his mouth. He would blabber nonsense from time to time as if his mind was no longer there.
On the other bed was a middle-aged man named Walter. His back was drenched in sweat despite the cold atmosphere in the room. He explained that he had been too anxious, too fearful that the zombies had taken over the barricade.
Meanwhile, the youngest was named Evan — the most apologetic of the three. His black hair was neatly combed, a complete opposite of the two.
What Dmitri observed on his youthful face was hope, reignited when Evan heard and saw these soldiers.
The nervous young man recounted their story of being trapped in the second apartment building while doing maintenance work at the ninth floor. When the meteorites exploded, the three became unconscious for a while.
As they woke up, they found themselves to be the only people left alive in the building. The rest either succumbed to the virus or were slaughtered downstairs.
Neither of the trio were too brave to check out what happened.
Evan was too young, recently getting the maintenace job and was still green around the edges.
Caleb was a nerdy guy, but had little courage when it came to fighting against other people—what more against zombies.
And Walter. He was the oldest of them, too exhausted to move. The poor guy did all the work, and would leave the calculations to Caleb or Evan, whoever was right.
He had been sickly the past few days, his fever worsening. In Evan's view, should rescue had not come sooner, then Old Walter could have died days from now.
"We had an opportunity to barricade the stairwell, gather supplies in the other rooms, and wait for an eventual rescue." Evan clasped his trembling hands, recounting the nightmare he wasn't fond of reminiscing.
"So, the keys you had gave you access to every room in this building?" Dmitri knelt in front of him and asked.
"Yes, the keys are over there if you want them." Evan pointed to a large circular key holder holding a lot of keys. There were labels at the middle, making it easy to identify which one unlocked which door.
"Ah... I don't know if it's a blessing or a curse to still live out here." Evan added, "Dear sirs, soldiers, please take us with you. We... we really don't know where to go, or who to cling to!"
"We've been stuck here for days, maybe a week or so now. Old Walter's had it rough. He... he's too old compared to us both, so... so if you want, I can do the work and leave Old Walter alone!"
Dmitri and Conner looked at each other, almost wanting to laugh about Evan's promise. The Commander they knew was too benevolent and he wouldn't treat these guys roughly.
Still, to reassure Evan, they had to do their job.
"Don't worry, boy. Our Commander will not be harsh upon you if you do your job well." Dmitri patted Evan's shoulder.
The young man shrivered but was comforted by those hands, "Thank... thank you, sirs."
"Okay, I have other questions to ask." Dmitri stood up.
"Uhm, sure. I'll try to answer your questions... if I can..." Evan rubbed his palm, trying to ward off the nervousness.
"Did the rest really die? No survivors except you?" Dmitri looked at him, eyebrows raised.
"Ye... yes. But I don't know, there were screams downstairs, but we were too scared to check. Please forgive me, sir... soldier." Evan stuttered, unsure of how to make these people believe him at all.
"Hmm, I see." Dmitri nodded, "How about other crews?"
"Uh, there should be only us called here by the manager. We were already on our way downstairs when that... thing happened."
"How about the other apartment buildings, and the manager's office? Can you describe them to us?"
"I am not so sure, sir, soldier." Evan scratched his head, "The other apartment buildings are the same, but Old Walter said he disliked the third apartment building 'cause it's wasting him time."
"Ye, Evan's rayt!" Caleb interjected, "That damn building only a few residents, eh? Dunno what was up that manager's ass... to call us and do shit in it. People said it was cursed, but who believes in that nonsense nowadays?"
"Fourth one's much better. Lots of dudes and gals out there, but uh... well, they're dead aren't they? Aih, so unlucky... There was that bitch with the fat ass..."
"But the manager... he sure is wealthy! I 'member those blue dudes... carrying some stuff at night. Dunno where it goes, where it's from, but sure as hell sounded like money!"
"Ding ding ding, just like that. You hear me?!"
Caleb then started rambling about random things, forcing Dmitri to signal at one of the conscripts and quiet the lethargic guy down.
He wanted to talk to Old Walter, but the latter's condition was a little difficult so he didn't push it and shook his head instead.
Dmitri and Connor left the unit and walked in the ninth floor's hallways. Dmitri's face frowned as he took note of Caleb and Evan's descriptions of these three buildings.
"The manager's office has some goods, but we don't know if it's locked behind a vault or was it transported somewhere else." he muttered.
"The third building has little to no zombies. No wonder only a few cars parked there. I wonder why that's the case."
"And the fourth building is crowded."
Connor followed after him, interrupting his thoughts, "Sir, what do you think? Are they friendly and useful?"
"Maintenance crews are a gem in this apocalyptic world. The Commander would surely welcome them." Dmitri concluded, "As for their loyalty, the Commander shall judge that. To me, what they've said will help our next operations. For now, tend to their needs. I need to go somewhere first."
He halted at the stairwell, glancing downstairs. "I almost forgot. Move two conscripts from your team into the entrance. I want it fully secured."
"Roger that." Connor saluted and returned inside.
Dmitri walked out of the ninth floor and headed to the rooftop. He tapped on his comm bead and spoke.
"Team C, do you copy?"
"This is Team C, over."
"Grab the keys from the maintenance workers and resume clearing the locked rooms of each floor. Then, secure the lobby and wait for the other teams to exit the area. Ask Connor for the keys in the ninth floor. Team A, out."
"Copy, Team A. Team C moving. Out."
The transmission ended, and Dmitri let go of his comms bead. He raised his head and welcomed the warm rays of the sun.
"We are ahead of schedule. I thought it would take more than a day to clear this building." Dmitri felt that he had underestimated their fighting prowess.
"Let's check the apartment buildings and the manager's office first."
Dmitri equipped his binoculars and glanced down, overlooking the 2-storey manager's office situated between the second and third apartment buildings.
The roof was flat, filled mostly with airconditioning vents whirring until now. Shards of glasses from windows and walls were scattered on the ground, stepped by zombies wandering in the area.
"The building is larger than expected." he muttered.
Zombies were sparse, but that wasn't his main concern. There were those who wore armored vests with a thick label of "SECURITY" on their backs.
"Security guards. The security room must be over there. If the cameras are working, they could be put in use."
He had seen cameras in the hallways, entrances, and some areas in the parking lot. Although most of them were destroyed, the remaining few could still be used to monitor movement in the buildings.
Maybe I can monitor the third apartment's hallways through that, see what's inside.
Dmitri scanned the rest of the area for a while and didn't spot anything out of place.
When he turned to the third apartment building, his eyes narrowed about the silent meteorite shards still stuck on the gaps.
"Dangerous, indeed." he gulped, "A special infected could be inside. We have to tread carefully."
He quickly shifted to the fourth apartment building and scanned its surroundings. There was nothing remarkable aside from the larger population of zombies loitering on its entrance.
Caleb's information is mostly verified. We still need to talk to that old man. Old Walter, was it?
Dmitri lowered his binoculars and took a deep breath. He savored the feeling as another breeze whistled by. He opened his eyes and stored his binoculars into his tactical pack. He retreated from the rooftop and returned to the ninth floor.
"How are the maintenance workers?"
"They are ready to go, sir!" Connor saluted. "That guy named Walter might need medicine."
"Is that so? We'll find medicines later. For now, pack up and leave. Close the doors on your way out." Dmitri advised, "We do not want stragglers entering these rooms."
Connor nodded and gestured his team to leave.
Alexei and Selene moved out first, followed by the three maintenance workers. Connor carried the middle-aged man by the shoulder, while Marek carried Caleb.
Lastly, Team A protected them from the rear.
"Team C, do you copy? Over."
"This is Team C, copying."
"We're moving out. Have you cleared all the rooms? Over."
"All rooms have been cleared. No zombies found in the locked rooms. Team C is waiting at the second floor."
"Copy, Team C. See you there, over."
The two teams made their way downstairs without a halt. Meanwhile, Evan nervously followed them and asked a question.
"May... may I know where you are taking us?"
"A safe place." Alexei replied, "Don't ask too many questions now."
"Uhm, okay..." Evan cowered, afraid that he would earn Alexei's displeasure.
Selene glanced over and harrumphed, disapproving of Alexei's behavior. However, time was of the essence. She focused on leading the way until they met up with Team C.
"How's the haul?" Dmitri asked.
"A lot. The Commander will be pleased." Lukas grinned.
Dmitri nodded, "Team C, take point. Do not use guns outside."
Everyone except Dmitri immediately switched to their knives, crouching their bodies back to base. Evan and Caleb looked at them suspiciously, wondering if these group of soldiers didn't have that much ammo.
As they passed through the second apartment building's entrance, Dmitri halted for a bit and instructed the four conscripts.
"Secure this apartment's entrance, block any open areas, then return to base as soon as possible. The Commander will send reinforcements to help you."
"Roger, sir!" they saluted and immediately assigned roles.
Dmitri didn't want anyone to remain far away from the first apartment building due to the threat of the meteorite shards in the third apartment building. The risk of troops losing their minds was too high, as recruiting each soldier costed their Commander a fortune.
Dmitri knew this too well.
"When those shards are dealt by the Commander, securing this area will not be a problem anymore." he concluded.