“Deputy Mayor Battler! Deputy Mayor Battler!”
As I strolled through the gym, my constituents peppered me with questions.
“We’re running low on gas.”
“People are eating too much.”
“I can’t find my shoes.”
“Ration, ration, and they’re on your feet,” were my immediate answers.
“BQB,” VGRF said. “Is it me or are you more decisive lately?”
“Well, I have been taking alpha male lessons from Gillian Zane, so could be.”
The DiStefano brothers found me.
Carl showed me his cell phone. On it, there was a video of a large group of people wearing gas masks and toting assault rifles walking past the security fence.
“We scoped this guys near the north perimeter,” Carl said. “What do you make of it?”
“Are they military?” I asked.
“I don’t think so,” Carl replied. “Shit, they’re all in plain clothes.”
“Huh,” I said. “Did they see you?”
“Yup.”
“And they didn’t interact?”
“Nope they just moved on.”
“Weird,” I said. “Could be someone trying to make a move on us. Could be just another group of survivors passing by. Keep an eye on it and let me know if anything happens.”
“Sure thing, Deputy Mayor.”
The DiStefanos walked away.
I sat on the bleachers with VGRF. We gabbed it up for awhile until Mario Guzman found me.
Before the fall of humanity, Mario had been an accountant. Today, he used his CPA skills to keep a running inventory of all our supplies.
“Deputy Mayor, can I show you something?”
“Sure.”
VGRF and I followed Mario to the rec center’s storage room. It was full of boxed and canned food, nothing tasty of course, but everything was chock full of preservatives and guaranteed to last a long time.
Mario closed the door behind us.
“We’re being robbed.”
“What?” I asked.
“There’s a thief in our midst,” Mario said as he showed me a clip board.
“I have no idea what these numbers mean,” I said. “I hate math.”
“I’ve been keeping a daily count of everything we have since our community began,” Mario said. “So far, the numbers have added up but a few days ago, I noticed we’ve been consistently down ten percent of everything.”
“Everything?”
“Everything!” Mario replied. “Look. Powdered milk -10%. Toilet paper -10%. Bottled water – 10%. Cereal -10% Rice – 10%. If it was just one or two items I wouldn’t be worried but someone is pilfering our stuff regularly.”
“Who has access to this room?” I asked.
“Just Hauser and his inner circle of advisors,” Mario said.
“Let’s change that,” I said. “Put a trustworthy guard in charge of this room. Anyone who enters has to sign themselves in and out and note what they’re taking. The guard will keep an eye on people while they’re in here to make sure no funny business transpires.”
“You’ve got it,” Mario said as he exited the room.
VGRF and I were alone. My girlfriend rubbed her hands on my chest and leaned in.
“I think I’m going to like this new you.”
“Yeah well, get used to it, baby. I’m alpha nerd all the way now.”
VGRF leaned in for a kiss.
“Is that a space phone in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?”
“It’s a space phone,” I replied. “Speaking of, there’s a zombie author I’d better call.”
Bookshelf Battle 