The Orphans (Book 5): Civil War by Mike Evans Page A

can keep them from melting onto the barrel. You think he can do that, Aslin?”
    “Focus, Greg, Aslin, Hammond, McQuaig, am I crazy or did I just see one tell the rest of them to leave?” Shaun said.
    McQuaig said, “Yeah, one of them seems like they were in charge. They yelled, the rest followed and they understood. That’s about the scariest damn thing I’ve ever seen, and we’ve seen a lot. It isn’t bad enough that they can heal, that they’re faster than us and never get winded, super human, but now we know they think and understand.”
    Shaun looked through his scope scanning the field. “I say we get in and out and if we run into any more of the Turned that we hit them with absolutely everything we’ve got.”
    Aslin nodded thinking of the implications that an alpha could bring. Aslin said, “I don’t know if that is a good or a bad thing having one of them in control in a group. I mean what happens if we kill the damn thing then what do the others do? Are they like a buffalo where you kill the leader and the rest sit there like fish in a barrel or does someone else step up and take its place?”
    “Well, I say if we get the chance to take him out then maybe we ought to and find out what their chain of command is.” Shaun said. “I know if each one of them has their own leader I'll happily split their head with a round. I know we can’t be that lucky to be able to take out one and have the rest of them just stupid and stand there while we kill them.”
    Greg said, “Yeah, we aren’t that lucky. We never are. Should we get going before it gets too much later? I got a feeling we’re going to spend some time getting stuff. They have those big ass doors though in back that we can drive the truck through if we can even get in the place.”
    Aslin said, “The front door of that place is glass so we’re going to get in.”
    Hammond couldn’t keep his mouth shut, “So you want the place that has all the supplies in the world to be open for the dead to come in and out of as they please? That sounds like a great idea.”
    Aslin was nodding before he’d picked up on the teen’s sarcasm. When he did, he decided they’d wasted enough time already with talking and needed to get going. “Come on and load up, and let’s get down there. Who knows how long those things are going to be gone. Per smart ass there I think we should try all doors on the store before we go breaking shit open. He has a valid point that once we clean this place it isn’t going to break my heart if we don’t have to waste time or stress on my heart doing it repeatedly.”
    They drove slowly down the hill towards the empty parking lot below. When they looked to the highway that wrapped around it in the distance there was no shortage of cars, most had car doors ripped from their hinges or holes large enough to pull a person out of. They drove to the front trying to push the sliding glass door open. Aslin used a crowbar to try and open it but even that was not enough. He said, “It’s either locked or the energy isn’t making it out here anymore. With no one to work at the energy office and a hard ass winter there’s a very good chance that the power is out. I didn’t see any stop lights when we went after Shaun and Greg that were still working.”
    They took a step back looking at the giant warehouse filled with what they desperately needed. Each of them were thinking how much creepier the massive building had just became. The shadows inside that could hide the dead were not inviting. They went to the rear of the building seeing that there were cars but these did not appear to be employees, the doors had been left open giving the appearance that a chase had more than likely ensued and these people had been running for their lives. Aslin pulled at the rear door and it did not budge. When he hit the button on the side of one of the many bays it started to go up an inch using the last shot of juice that it had in it and stopped after