Free OUTNUMBERED volume 3: A Zombie Apocalypse Series by Robert Schobernd Page A

mention being here, but last week he pushed hard and threatened me. I told them I'd left here, and when he learned Vera and my kids were still here he got really interested and wanted to know details. Some of the people who were the closest to him edged in and I saw looks I didn't like. While Williams and a guy they called Gunner beat on me I heard one of them tell another they planned to take your place over, keep the women and kill the kids and men. I thought you'd be badly outnumbered because I'd counted twenty-eight of them. Eventually, a big hateful brute, Gunner, hit me hard enough to knock me out. I woke when they threw cold water in my face. I was naked, and my forearms and hands were taped to the arms of a dining room chair. Gunner had the first joint of my right pinky finger in a pair of large wire cutters. He gave me a cruel grin as he squeezed the sharp edges down on the joint. I screamed from the pain, and he just laughed as he cut the end of my finger off."
    Vera, Suzie and Mitch sat awestruck, and tears ran down their cheeks.
    "I guess I passed out again because they threw more water on me and slapped me until I was awake. They did that twice more until I couldn't stand to take the pain anymore. They cut my finger clean off and said the one by it was next. At that point, I told them where your compound was and what I remembered from being here. They wanted to know everything: how many people were here and what ages."
    Nate’s eyes glinted with tears, and he wrung his hands. "I'm sorry I told them all of that, but the pain was horrible, and I couldn't take anymore." He looked to his family. "I'm sorry and beg you to forgive me."
    I said, "Don't feel bad for caving in under torture. Anyone who doesn't is a serious nut case. A rational human can only stand so much pain. You tried to hold out and I respect that." I stood. "Now, what's your plan? What do you want to do? Your Humvee is destroyed, but we can give you some other transportation if you want to leave again."
    "Tom, I apologize for being a butthole. I'd like a second chance to stay here and reunite with my family. I promise I won't be any trouble. I'll keep my mouth shut and do as I'm told. I'll do the exercise routines and I'll do all of the training as well as I can. I'll stay awake on watch and pull my own weight. I want my wife and kids to be proud of me instead of being ashamed of what I've done. If she'll have me, I'd like to work with Andrea in the kitchen. I'll work hard and do what she tells me."
    "I'll accept you on those terms. You can talk to Andrea yourself. But if you backslide and turn into the problem you were before you left, out you go. I'll not tolerate the crap you pulled before." I turned to Mitch and Suzie and winked. "Keep an eye on him and don't allow him to backslide. You kids need and deserve a top notch dad." They needed positive assurance that their dad would get another chance. I hoped Nate meant what he'd said, but if he even started to slip one of my team would put a boot up his butt.
     
    Martin Radcliff called my name over the radio. "Tom, we've finished scouring the woods for stragglers. We found three zombies and put them down and three of the military guys who attacked us were wounded. They were put down as well."
    I called John and told him it was safe for him and Anthony to inspect the outside of Deliverance. Then I called Shana to tell her everything was secured and she could bring the youngsters out of the safe room. I met her and told her about Janice. She volunteered to escort Larry and Brittany Holescheck to their room where Shane was expecting them.
    The outlandish attack and the loss of Janice, Eli, Morgan Jr. and Angie dragged me down to a melancholy mood. I wandered around Deliverance beating myself up for not having anticipated a major attack like we had endured. That would be a topic for a future leadership team meeting after we had time to recover. We needed to be even better prepared than we had been. The