The Demented Z (Book 1):The Demented by Derek J Thomas Page A

clear for now.”
    Tom
was standing in front of a different monitor at the end of the desk when he
said, “Look at this.” The feed was of the front parking lot. Tall buildings
were surrounded by thick smoke. Orange flames could be seen in the distance.
“We have to get out of this city.”
    “Yeah,
I’ve seen enough of Portland.” Hank said with his usual grin.
    The
trio climbed past the pile of undead and headed down the corridor for the
exhibit at the end. Standing at the dark entryway Tom clicked on his
flashlight, dimly lighting the space just in front of them.
    “You
two go ahead, I have an idea.” Hank said.
    Turning
Hank’s way, Tom said, “Watch yourself…the cameras don’t cover everywhere.”
    Tom
and Rachael stepped into the darkness and began looking through the booths for
good weapons. Between the flashlight and the dim ambient light, they were able
to work their way through the tables, getting an idea of what all was available.
    Rachael
suddenly froze. “Hear that?”
    Tom
nodded his head. There was a loud rumbling noise coming from the service
corridor. “It’s getting louder.” Shutting off the flashlight, he grabbed
Rachael’s arm and pulled her back behind one of the booths. The rumbling
increased until it sounded like it was right on top of them. Tom peeked over
the top of the booth, but all he could see was the silhouette of an enormous
object blocking most of the entryway to the corridor. The rumbling stopped,
followed by silence, and then there was a sudden blinding light.
    “How’s
that!” A familiar voice shouted.
    Tom
and Rachael stood, feeling a bit foolish, and walked up next to Hank, avoiding
the blinding light. “Look what you found.” Tom cheered as he recognized the
source of the loud rumbling and the lights. “I heard there were mogs at the
convention, just never had time to get to that exhibit.”
    Familiar
with the Unimog, Tom knew they came from a nearly legendary line of
multi-purpose, four wheel drive trucks developed by Mercedes-Benz. They were often
used by militaries throughout the world because of their ultra-high clearance,
reliability, always on the ground wheel system, configurability, and all around
awesomeness.
    “This
is no ordinary mog.” Hank said shaking his head. “Totally customized for
survival. High powered light bar on top.” He swept his arm out wide toward
the bright glow of the exhibit hall, and then looked back at the Unimog.
“Self-contained camper on the back, were talk’n kitchen, bathroom, shower,
potable water, air filtration system, generator, and a solar power system that
gives greenies wet dreams. Not only that, but this unit was sent to an outfit
in Cali to have the undercarriage and body armor plated. They put in hardened,
bullet proof glass as well.” Looking at Tom he said, “You and I know not
bullet proof, but bullet resistant, right?” He chuckled at that.
    Tom
had to admit it looked totally badass. “You’re a genius. We can load this
thing up and cruise right out of here.” He looked up at the cab and patted one
of the huge tires. “Let’s do this. Rachael, can you climb up in the cab and keep
a watch, honk if you see anything?”
    “Sure.”
    Hank
and Tom spent the next half hour going through the gun exhibit room. When they
found something they liked they would shout it out, so they both had a full
mental inventory. Each firearm had a zip tie through the breach that they
would clip off before loading them in the back of the Unimog. Rummaging
through tables, they gathered as much ammo as they could.
    Both
of them stood beside the Unimog. Smiling, Tom said, “Now that was fun.”
    “Nearly
the most fun I’ve had all day.” Hank said with a laugh.
    Tom
shut the back door on the camper and shoved the folding stairway back up under
the frame. “We’ve got a couple shotguns, a boat load of pistols, and a variety
of assault rifles. You’ve got the rifles you wanted, and I’ve got my new
baby.” Tom patted