Free Deadfall: Hunters by Richard Flunker Page B

different approaches.” Admiral Gurtz.
    The Admiral has approved the formation of civilian led and run groups of hunters to search out and destroy either individual or hordes of LImps. The idea is spearheaded by Evan Steers, a civilian from the Tower Cities federation. He plans to implement an ancient Roman style of training and fighting to eliminate the population of Limps within all civilian and military controlled areas. The plan is to slowly remove all traces of LImps from all areas around Tower Cities or Sunny Pointe in order to avoid a future disaster like Carolina Beach.
    “It will be a slow process at first, but with proper training, we can get rid of their presence so that we can live a bit more peacefully.” Evan Steers.
    Steer’s plan requires next to no modern military arms, allowing the military to keep its own equipment. This method of fighting will keep resource use to a minimum while allowing civilians to play a larger part in restoring our country.
    The groups will be made up purely of volunteers and training will begin in two weeks at Sunny Pointe. Plans call initially for the formation of seven separate groups, but training will be done together.
    This reporter has been tasked to be attached to Evan Steer’s group and will follow training that is due to begin next week as well as the beginning of operations a month after training. We wish these volunteers, men and women, the best of luck and hope this plans brings the results they expect and we want.
    Gracie Adams
     

Cape Fear Weekly

Training Underway
    New groups seen training along the river
     
    Training for the hunter groups is now fully underway. 193 men and women initially volunteered with 155 selected to form the first five hunter groups. Four were unavailable for duty due to health concerns. The rest will serve as a reserve system and will train to be in future hunter groups once the feasibility of the current groups are proven. Volunteers have come from individuals within the Tower Cities and some civilians living within Sunny Pointe. Individuals must be single and have no children, be between 17 and 29 years old, be in good physical shape and can only serve for two years.
    Evan Steers is under general command and organization of the units, but will only be in command of his own unit once the groups are operational.
    Steers has developed a unique form of combat based on ancient Greek and Roman styles of fighting using a steel carbon pike and a small shield. Men and women stand in a tight formation, five to six a line, with three to four lines deep. It is based on a tactic called the Phalanx line, originating in ancient Greece. Hunters use the pikes to spear the heads of zombies, keeping tight ranks to not allow any Limps to get through their lines. The line can flex and rotate as needed and members within the lines can switch as needed to rest or recuperate. The commander of the unit stays behind the line with two more hunters armed with rifles and swords to make sure they aren’t flanked.
    This formation is only the end of a larger tactic. The group spends some time in vehicles attracting Limps into manageable sizes and then getting them marching in one direction. Only at this point does the line of spears deploy and wait for the Limps to come to them. One more individual will be posted on top of their vehicle with a long range sniper rifle in order to control any stragglers.
    This is all theory, but training is being geared for this. This first week after recruitment, the men and women have been training their march and formation. Multiple groups have been marching back and forth across open spaces near the Cape Fear River. The groups move about under the orders of each commander, then a shout goes up to deploy, shields come up and pikes are lowered. Then the groups practice curving and moving as a solid unit. Each group has been doing this now for eight hours a day.
    Marching is one thing though, how will each unit and specifically each