KCST 4: "The Stantonian Escape (part 1)" by Lilian Brandon (Tachyonic Raven)

As told by Lilian Brandon (Tachyonic Raven)

"Can't you be a bit quieter????"

"Dude, it's kinda. hard.  to break.  open. a bank vault.  quietly."  Martin grunted. “The combination isn't working, so I'm gonna have to do this the old fashioned way."

It had been three months since the zombies first invaded Stanton. At the start of the invasion, the townspeople had put up a brave fight. However, the undead proved to be more resilient than they expected, and they soon realized that minimizing their time outdoors was the best option. To make matters worse, Stanton was the home of the county jail, and in the chaos surrounding the zombie invasion, the police force was severely wounded, and the security of the prison was allowed to lax.  As the police force focused their attention on the zombie invasion, the inmates successfully managed an escape. Some of the inmates joined the townspeople in the fight against the zombies -- solidarity in the face of a common enemy. Martin was one such inmate. Others, however, saw the mass confusion and panic as an occasion to loot, vandalize, and steal. Many of those found themselves victim to the zombies. As days dragged into weeks, it became apparent that no one was going to help the Stantonians. They were like a leper colony -- outcast and forsaken. After all, what good was a town of zombies and criminals? Better to let them kill themselves off.  So, the townspeople retreated to the security of the county prison. It was strong and sturdy, like a bunker, and the zombies were not smart enough to figure out how to get in. As winter approached, they realized, with a panic, that their food stores were growing low - they were gradually exhausting all the food left on the grocery store shelves at the time of the initial invasion. Thus, they decided to make an escape from the town, to flee the zombies. That's where Martin and Gerald came in. Money would be needed once they left town, and the only place to get it was....the bank. Martin had been in prison for some high-tech bank robberies, so he was the natural choice. Gerald was one of the few cops left - they made an odd pair.

"Gerry, is it still safe out there?" Martin asked.

"I think so....the snow is coming down heavily, so it's really hard to see."

"Hm...ok. Argh this blasted lock!!!!" Martin grunted. He heaved down with his whole weight. "YES. I think I got it! " He shouted. Suddenly, sirens wailed. "Aw, crap, I forgot to disable the alarm system!!!!!"

"How in the world could you forget that, you idiot?!?!?" Gerry yelled.

"Well it's too late now, quick, let's just grab the cash and run!" As they stuffed their duffle bags full of cash, they heard an ominous pounding at the door. Gerry glanced back.  Zombies! "Quick, hurry up, they're coming!"  he told Martin. But it was too late. The zombies were already in the bank, lumbering closer. In a panic, Gerry ran back into the vault to grab Martin. As he did so, he tripped and fell into the vault, the door slowly swinging closed behind him.

THUNK.

"Whew, we're safe at least" Gerry thought.

"Gerry, what did you do?!?!? Did you NOT see me break the handle of the vault door in pieces??? We're trapped!"

"Yeah well at least we're alive. The zombies may be focused, but they're pretty dumb; they won't be able to get in."

"BUT WE'RE STUCK INSIDE OF A FREAKIN' BANK VAULT!!!!!!!!!"

"....Maybe the others can come get us -- is your phone working?" Gerry asked.

"Of course it's not, we're stuck inside of a concrete box!!!" Martin yelled.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to wait for them to come looking for us." Gerry sat down on the floor of the vault. "Might as well get comfortable and try to sleep."

"Fat chance, if we don't come back they'll probably assume the zombies got us." Martin said. "But yeah, I guess we can't do anything else but wait and rest." He shut off his phone to conserve battery power -- it wasn't going to work anyhow -- and tried to get comfortable.

(To be continued)