Free Capshaw's First Command by Josh Hilden

 
    Introduction             
     
     
                  The stories in the “Before the Shores of the Dead” series are NOT strictly speaking zombie tales. These of the stories on my main and secondary characters before the events in the series. Or tales which take place during the run of the three books but were never covered in the original work. Sometimes the tales will be linked with events during the published work (either mentioned or implied) but these are character pieces. There are new books coming in the next few years but first I want to tell some small stories to add depth to the people who inhabit my universe.
                  There will be six of these short stories. When I am finished writing them I will be publishing them in a collection. Following this I will be writing a several novellas or short stories also set in the “Shores of the Dead Universe”. These WILL be zombie tales and will take place solely as straightforward narratives in the time encompassed by the first three books and the anthology of short stories.
                  I hope you enjoy reading these tales as much a enjoyed writing them.
     
     
    -           Josh
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Now, Dockside Duluth
     
                  “Move it people, we have one hour and then either we have the fortifications up or it’s back to the boats!” Major Brian Capshaw called out. He stood on top of the cab of a liberated garbage truck, the Scouts had managed to get up and running before the Guard arrived. His field glasses were pressed to his eyes as he scanned the scene of Guard troops and risen dead.
                  “Yes sir,” Captain Hacker called from his post on the ground. He had the laminated blueprints in his hands and was giving instructions to the engineers and sections commanders. All around him three and five person squads scurried over the water front area of Duluth while fire teams kept the dead at bay.
                  The operation was supposed to be a simple raid. Capshaw was to lead the Guard troops into the abandoned lake city behind an advance team of Scouts. When the message from New Harbor arrived all of that was thrown out the window. Now instead of coming in and taking what they needed, they were settling in for a permanent occupation.
                  “I want those streets barricaded in the next five minutes or there are going to be more dead-heads on us than we can handle,” Capshaw was calm and controlled in his orders. “I do not plan on being here after dark if the fort is not secure. My idea of a good time is not a sleepover with Dead Dave and Decaying Dora!” He thought he heard Hacker laugh. The man was entitled to his mirth, they’d been together for a long time now and he was like Capshaw’s good right arm.
                  The Michigan Guard Troops knew their roles and didn’t need to be told twice. He watched, holding back a smile filled with pride as five person fire teams assembled the pre-made barricades across the streets. Behind them other troops sealed off the buildings and dealt with the dead inside of the mobile fortification. It was called a “Frater Fort” after Katie Frater the engineering student from Findley who’d designed it.
                  “Major, I have Captain Skeels on the radio,” one of the Guard Communications troops said handing him a compact handset which might have been Desert Storm vintage. Some of the gear stored at the White River facility was far from its prime, but it was still functional so they had no complaints.
                  Reaching down Brian took the unit with a grin. Like everyone else in the Republic’s defense forces he’d been shocked when the tough Sergeant Major