State of Decay 1: Task Force Zed

Prologue:

On the 5th of June 2013 the world changed forever, when a violent and deadly pathogen erupted across the world, North America was struck severely with several outbreaks of the Plague occurring in various states. The United States Government declared a state of emergency and instituted martial law and recalled all armed forces from overseas in an effort to combat the growing hordes of the Undead.

Nothing was heard from Washington D.C, some feared that the capital had fallen, or had gone into a state of quarantine to prevent infection. Yet it was claimed by the military forces that were spread across the country that Orders were still being given to them, the priority was clear for them, Quarantine and Contain until either a cure or a proper method of preventing the spread of the infection could be found.

To contain certain outbreaks entire counties even states were put under lock down with high concrete walls and gated checkpoints being constructed and established to prevent anyone from leaving the "Quarantine zones", the army even reported that if needs be then they would conduct fire bombing on areas that swarmed with the infected. Whereas others would be secured so researchers and scientists could be able to investigate the infection and perform examinations on the undead.

One such place was the County of Trumbull Valley in the state of Washington, where small bands of survivors tried desperately to cling onto survival against the roaming undead that now dominated the valley. The police had been overrun during the initial outbreak, the town of Marshall was now filled with the undead, the community of Spencer's mill across the river near Mount Tanner belonged to the roaming corpses.

Yet this didn't mean that the survivors had given up, those that survived the initial onslaught and the roaming zed as they now were referred formed small bands and held themselves up in relatively secure locations only leaving when they would go out to scavenge for supplies, for the most part they kept to themselves and very rarely interacted with each other, holding to the idea of everyone for themselves.

Yet this would change with a small group of campers.

Chapter 1: From the Mountain to the Vets

It had been several weeks since the wave of Zed had overwhelmed the residents of Trumbull Valley, several weeks of having to scrounge for everything, from food, medicine, fuel, ammunition, material's to build with even the simplest hand held weapons ranging from heavy branches to kitchen knives. 

Then one day a group of survivors who were holding up in the Church of the Ascension in the community of Spencer's Mill received a message over their radio, the message was a clear call for help. Survivors who had been up around Mount Tanner had been attacked and were seeking a place of relative safety. They assured that they were not "Freeloaders" and would be more than willing to work for their place in the "Sanctuary" and to be truthful they were anything but freeloaders.

Among them was a man who would forever change the battle against the Zeds, he was Eric no one really remembers his last name since he never really gave it. Some would question him since technically before the outbreak he was working as a Private Military Contractor and a well paid one apparently, some rumours the other survivors spoke of depicted him as some kind of former black ops kind of guy, of course no one was stupid enough to ask him.

The group he arrived in was a collection of different people, some were just simple campers who were looking for any easy weekend on the mountain, one was a park ranger and finally a marine sergeant who had lost her closest friends to the infected. But Eric as the man who changed it all, one of their party had been bitten by a Reanimated corpse and was getting worse, a deal was struck, the group would be allowed to join the Church "Community" if they helped in gathering as much in the way of Medical supplies as they could carry.

The main problem was where to get it, Eric volunteered to go out and perform a recon mission, Maya Torres the marine who had come down from the Mountain went with him to watch his back. They scoured the entire community of Spencer's Mill and yet for all their expertise, the supplies needed just were no where to be found, the community was made up of all houses with a small restaurant/drive thru a gas station and corner shop. Yet in the distance they spotted that which would be a gold mine in a sense.

For on one of the three roads leading away from the small community there was a single building, a veterinary clinic, since the area was primarily made up of Farms, then the likelihood of a vet being filled with medical supplies would be a good choice to scavenge. And plus not many would think to look at a veterinary clinic for thing that humans would need. The pair made their way back and reported on what they had found, soon a group was put together, with Eric, Maya and two others to try and scavenge what they could.

For hours the Church and the others waited, together with the new comers they numbered only around 6 or 7 and they were all tired in just making the Church relatively safe. When the scavenging party finally returned they came back with more than could be hoped for, each of them had brought a large bag filled with all kinds of medicines and various other items including some disinfectant and instruments. The Mountain survivors were granted permission to stay by the Church. They were shown around, by the primary gate that was closest to the other buildings in the Community, a simple makeshift watch tower stood guard, with someone on top at all times, but that was it for the impressive nature of defence, the walls surrounding the church had been lined with Barbed wire at that was it. 

The Inside was not much else either, a wooden structure that would have been once used for outdoor seating had been turned into a simple medical area with a raised camping bed for the patients and that was it nothing else made it resemble anything meant for the proper care of sick or injured. Inside the church, the "Hall" had been split in half, the majority was filled with boxes and bags of varying sizes, clearly the room was being used for simple storage where the survivors would just place items from their attempts at scavenging. The other half well really the corners near the main door into the church had two different things, if looking at the door from the inside, on the left was a desk with a foldable chair, with a radio system set up for the primary "Co-ordinator" Lily to keep in touch with those going out scavenging as well as her attempts at contacting any other survivors in the valley. On the right hand side was a collection of varying weapons, from hand to hand weapons which included axes, knives, wooden planks and of course the fire arms to go with them.

The kitchen was a mess with pots and pans being taken for weapons, plates were all smashed, cans of food had been stacked up in a corner with other food items.

The bed room if it could be called that was a shamble, only three beds crammed in tight and no others, the survivors of the church were either having to sleep on the floor or were time sharing the beds for proper sleep. Eric was some what demoralised at the state of the church, after a few hours sleep leaning up against the side of the Main hall he awoke with an extreme pain his back but decided to get straight to work. Ignoring the pain in his back he grabbed a sheet of paper and a pencil, sketched out a rough layout of the church and the area within its walls, constructing the ideas that would be of greater help.

He mapped out what was already in place and noted what could be improved, the Kitchen needed to be cleaned up and the food stored properly to ensure that things like rats didn't run amuck. The Storage area needed sorting, so that everything was properly established and clearly marked, so that was his first job, for the most of the night whilst some of the others tried to get some rest, he worked pulling and heaving boxes and bags into different points which he kept in his head.

Once the space was cleared, he planned it out in his head, what would go where. He decided to divide in two, immediate and practical left and right, immediate would include anything related to food and medicines, whereas Ammunition and materials that could be used in construction would be on the right as Practical. When the rest of the Church awoke, they found the hall not a mess that they had left but a neatly organised, the kitchen was now in the process of being scrubbed down by Eric, he was cleaning everything when asked he said "Clean makes it safe".

At first people questioned why exactly he had committed himself to this task all by himself, but few could argue with the results, after all in a sense he was paying for his place in this relatively safe location. 

Chapter 2: Sweep and Clear

For the rest of the day, Eric continued to work, explaining his plan. he thought of possible improvements to the Church, with enough resources they might be able to put up a large tent that could hold some bunk beds allowing everyone to get a comfortable rest when they can. Everyone liked this idea, but they didn't have those resources, for starters they didn't have such a large tent to put up. Eric told them it didn't really need to be a tent, tent, but a large waterproof tarp that could be raised up to cover them and keep the worst of the wind and rain out.

And he explained that anything they needed would be down in the abandoned houses nearby, some were mere construction sites that would have everything they could need to build things. He explained everything, each day a small team of two maybe three could go out and scour a house or two for anything of use, from weapons, food, medicines, building materials even simple things to help keep their sanity like books. The two would work together, one scavenging and one standing guard after which they would switch and then come back with what they had. 

The Church liked the idea, they needed everything their supplies of food were getting smaller and smaller, they lacked a sufficient surplus of weaponry most especially guns and the bullets needed for them. A day later the plan was put into effect, and despite a few close calls the first team came back, with two bags full of stuff, they had raided the closest house to the Church to be safe, they had snagged everything in the medicine cabinet, cleaned out the kitchen cupboards as well as grabbed items of clothing so everyone could change out of the dirty ones they were wearing.

Over the following days with each having a success in scavenging, the Church began to take better shape, the survivors managed to have enough tarp sewn together to make a rudimentary cover for a large "tent". They hooked one end to the walls of the Church and the other to the surrounding wall itself, they had it angled so that if it rained the water would flow down the side into waiting buckets. Now the matter of the bunk beds came up, they had the wood to make them, but without a clear plan or without anyone with any real experience in wood work then the task would be even more difficult that the actual tarp.

Help would eventually arrive when Lily was able to make contact with a new band of survivors, they were holding up in a small house on the opposite side of Spencer's Mill next to one of the roads leading out. Eric suggested that they join with the Church group for the benefit of mutual protection, the Church despite being small was defensible and when you add on the combined strength of everyone working together should the Church be attacked then they would be in a better position to repel any Zed attack.

After some convincing Eric told them he and one other would come out and meet them at their location and help in bringing them back to the Church. They agreed and within the hour Eric and a volunteer headed out with only their weapons, they had no intention of scavenging for supplies whilst they were out there, it was solely an escort job. 

The time of the day was perfect, high noon. Over the past days the Church Survivors had learned that the Zed are more active during the twilight hours when its dark. So the entire "Community" agreed that under no circumstance should anyone be out at night. On their walk down the street away from the Church, Eric noticed something there was a house on the street with a good strong wall surrounding it, he made a mental note thinking that it could be used as a possible "Outpost" or as a viable place to establish a camp for the "Community".

When they found the other group, the survivors were nervous obviously they had been surviving on their own for a number of weeks. So naturally they were very pessimistic when it came to the matter of other survivors offering their help, most people they had encountered had tried to rob them of what little they had. Now here they were meeting with a group who were not only offering help, but also a place where they could stay in relative safety. 

It was with this group that Eric unveiled his plan, he explained it thoroughly.

Survivors in small groups have no real chance against the Zeds, they could be isolated and picked off one by one or overwhelmed by a large group. But if those small bands came together and started working together as single Community, then the chances of long term survival increase dramatically, together they could secure a large "Base of operations" establish outposts to surround it, in effect they would create a safe zone where people could be safe away from the Zeds.

Even if people didn't want to join the single community and have their own then at the very least he wanted them to try and work together in a Network of Cooperation. Where each community would help the other in all matters, from security to other matters like food supply and construction, the idea being about rebuilding a sense of a society. 

The survivors liked the idea of surviving and joined up, together with Eric and the volunteer, they past again the house he had noted before, but now he pointed it out. He asked what they thought on regards of fortifying the walls around it and turning it into a new location for the Community to use. At first they were unsure, as after all the community was all in the church, Eric explained however that there was only so much space in the Church, they had enough room with the new tarp to have enough beds for everyone, but matters such as food and repairs then there wasn't enough space.

When questioned, he told them that sooner or later the supply of food in Spencer's Mill would become lesser and lesser forcing the community to search further and further out to find enough to properly look after everyone. As well as that, eventually things are going to break down, weapons will need repair etc.

If they could secure the place, then they could turn the garden into a small farm to grow food a stepping stone to self sustainability. Meaning that the necessity for them to go out more often would lessen as the need for food would be far lower, hell the production of fresh food would also mean trade, they could make trade deals with other groups of survivors for things that they might need.

Even when the time comes that the they may have to leave the church and set up somewhere else to get a location that has more space for other survivors that may join as time goes on. The House and even the Church could become outposts for runners and scavengers when out and about, slowly as he explained those with him started to become more and more convinced, he had good points many good points. And he had told them before, if they were going to get out of this alive. Then they needed to work together.

Chapter 3: Expansion of Home

After a few days of becoming acquainted with their new home, Eric finally plucked up the courage for his big plans. He had discussed the matter with several others, many supported his idea of establishing a cooperative system between groups of survivors, as well as establishing outposts in other areas where they could build the community up.

So one night he gathered everyone together and gave every detail he could on his plan, he even gave it an unofficial name Task Force Zed, a group of people from various walks of life and experiences who would work to help bands of survivors across the Valley. Helping them in building sustainable home sites, make them safe, secure, capable of producing food, liveable and above all get them to work together in rebuilding society. Some had qualms with this idea, after all they had their own troubles to try and sort out, taking care of themselves whilst also trying to help others who might not be as willing to return the help.

But Eric was persistent and persuasive, he made the point of even if they don't help directly, the more places that are safe and secure where survivors can find shelter will always be for the better. He spoke of his intention of turning the walled off house nearby into a new home base where they could house more people and even maybe make a garden to grow food so that they would less dependent of scavenging runs. This convinced the last of the waverers who were more cautious, the Church was very cramped and even with the Beds that were everyone was pitching in to build, living space was still going to be very tight with another base nearby some could move over and have a bit more comfort and allow those remaining in the Church the same.

The Plan was agreed, the Community voted and the Task Force got a overwhelming majority, Eric was voted "Commander" of it and asked for volunteers to help him in reinforcing the defences around the house along the street. Maya and another guy who he had met on Mount Tanner, Marcus agreed to help. Some of the others volunteered to move in when the defences were set up and help build up the interior.

But first they needed a plan or layout of the House, So the next morning Eric, Marcus and Maya went out and instead of a simple walk by they went in, Marcus kept watch whilst Maya went through the house, looking over what was already there, she found a bedroom that with some work would be suitable for a two or three people. A Kitchen that despite being grubby and filed with all kinds of rubbish and waste could easily be cleaned up and turned into a proper place to cook, she even looked at the garage next to the house, again the place was filled with boxes of rubbish and other stuff they wouldn't need, but with it all removed the garage would be a good place to store supplies.

Eric, during his walk around, had a pencil and piece of paper drawing a hasty sketch of the structure on the inside and outside plotting out everything of note. Maya told him of the Bedroom, Kitchen and Garage, which he recorded with simple markings on his sketch, but he left empty squares at certain points. These were places he judged could be good spots to build other things he wasn't sure what yet he would need to talk to someone who knew construction work. But he was certain about one thing near the Garage overlooking the street would have to be a tower where someone with a long rifle could keep watch and snipe any Zeds that got too close.

When the trio got back to the Church, everyone was curious about what they had found, Eric showed his sketch on a table,  he pointed out everything, Kitchen, Garage, Bedroom, available space everything. He noted that the one thing that was an absolute necessity would be a tower to help protect the location, obviously everyone agreed, the simple tower structure they had at the main gate to the church was a crucial job for everyone to take turns on. Eric asked if anyone had worked construction or carpentry before the outbreak, the only real person was one of the new arrivals. Yet he explained that he didn't really do construction he did a lot of wood working as a hobby, even then nothing of any real size mostly things like bird houses, small boxes. But it didn't matter, some experience in wood work would be better than someone who knew absolutely nothing about how to build something to last, as Eric himself put it, "The Tower is literally gonna be a big bird box on a set of wooden poles".

Over the following days, the task force began the process of gathering and moving resources and equipment from the church or other scavenging points to the Kirkman house, in a garage they found a substantial length of barbed wire, which they would use to line the top of the wall around the property, a little extra defence for the house. But before anyone really moved in the tower needed to be constructed, the birdbox maker planned out everything he would need, he guessed four strong logs for the tower to be built around, he anticipated about five planks of wood for the actual stand itself where the lookout would stand with another six that would be wider to line the area where the lookout would stand, so then if anything came that had something to lean on to steady their aim.

The materials were easy to find as many of the houses within Spencer's Mill had tons of building items and the tools to use. It took a lot of work but after a few days of heavy lifting and hard hammering, the tower was set. It was not a masterpiece yet that was not its purpose, the point was to a be a steady platform for a person to stand on and be capable of shooting down on any wandering zeds.

By this point another group of survivors had been contacted, like the other group the Church survivors had found, the new group was more than willing to join with the Community. But since the Church was not a spacious place to live, they were brought to the relative safety of "Outpost Kirkman" as it had become known to the community. There was enough space inside for the people coming in to have a restful and some what peaceful nights sleep, when they awoke they didn't hear the constant banging and snarling of the zeds but a more unsettling peace and quiet.

To the surprise of the Community however the greatest gift by the new comers was the fact that among them was a young child, barely a year old. The arrivals explained that the child called Billy was the main reason they were eager to join up, because on their own they could not guarantee that the kid would be safe, but with the help of Task Force Zed and the growing number of people in the Community, the hope was that here they could keep both themselves and Billy alive.

Yet the new comers did give a piece of intelligence that would be of even greater help for the task force. Eric on his plan for the Kirkman Residence was for a small farm to be built in its gardens. But even then the place was not large enough to properly grow enough food to feed everyone properly, but the new comers had informed the Task Force members that during their escape from the town of Marshal to the south west. They had held up in farmstead that was roughly in the middle of map between Spencer's Mill and Marshal, hearing this Eric instantly grabbed the road map of Trumbull Valley he had, he asked them to mark out where it was. The answer was just as they had claimed, the Farm was in the very heart of the map almost slap bang in the middle, surrounded by farm land for miles in each direction, Eric wanted to see it himself, he asked for someone to take him and one other to see the place so they could judge whether or not the Farm would be a suitable location to establish a future safe haven for the Community.

Chapter 4: Anyone!

Thanks to their scavenging runs the Task Force had a tourists map of Trumbull Valley which they used in their plans for the week as well as to provide information on matters of the area such as the density of the Zeds in a certain area, where the zed packs had been spotted last. This was all done with the use of chess pieces, with the white representing the task force and groups of survivors and black being the zeds.

Chess identification: different paint for specification

White:    Pawns - blue paint top = Scouts Red Paint top = Scavengers               

               Kings - Task Force Strongholds

               Queens- Survivor Groups

               Knights - Fighters

               Bishops - Supply Runners and Drivers

               Castles - Outposts

Dark:      Pawns - Large group of Zed

               Kings - Large Horde

               Queens - Standard Horde

               Knights - Freak - Red=Juggernaut, Blue- Screamer, Yellow=Bloater, Green=Armoured,                                                       Purple=Feral

               Bishops - Unknowns

               Castles - Infestations - Red=Severe, Blue=Worrisome, Green=Low threat

               

For several weeks the community in Spencers Mill had been limited to the distance they could travel, even with some use of the few vehicles that were still capable of being driven around, they had mostly kept themselves to the area around Spencers mill, the Commander thought it was time to try and reach out to other survivors in other areas of the valley. So with some ingenuity the task force managed to get a makeshift radio dish set up with the remains of a small television satellite dish, with this they were able to get a better signal and in turn send out their message of mutual co-operation to the rest of the valley. At least that was the theory, with an automated system that would send out the message informing any survivors of the Task Force, its aims and the safe havens no one seemed to be replying to it. Even after several Days.

This made many of the community a little disheartened as the idea was planted in their heads that besides them and the Wilkersons there were no other survivors in the Valley. It came to the point that after a number of days of silence, the commander decided to get onto the radio himself and recorded a new message to be sent out telling the absolute truth.

"This is an automated Message

My Name is Eric Muller, I am the leader of Task Force Zed, we are a group of survivors operating within Trumbull Valley.

We are broadcasting on all A.M frequencies, if you are out there, contact us so that we may help you.

If you are out there, we can provide food, we can provide shelter, we can provide security.

We are building safe havens to house, protect and support those who continue to survive in Trumbull Valley.

If you wish to join our growing community then we shall welcome you. If you feel it is too dangerous for you to travel, we shall come and get you and bring you safely.

If you do not wish to join us then we shall not force you, but we will help you to survive.

If You are out there, If anybody is out there, Please let us know, that we may keep hope alive.

This message will repeat every ten to fifteen minutes, we shall also transmit on all frequencies on matters we have identified. If we locate infestations we promise to tell you, if we locate roaming herds of zed we promise to tell you, if we spot any "Freaks" we promise to tell you... Stay Alive Trumbull valley"

After another day of waiting the long awaited, anticipated response came. Not from a band of survivors but from a unit in the United States armed forces who were operating in Trumbull Valley, as soon as the message was heard, the commander put a team together to go out an meet them. It turned out that unit that they had made contact with were nearby working on a nearby house.

The commander sent Maya in charge as she was a service member who had volunteered into the Task Force. Upon arrival Maya was shocked to find that an old friend of hers was in charge of the specific squad in Spencer's mill, she gave a full report on the task force. But when the operational officer came out she instantly ordered the Task Force shut down and told the scout team to go home and ensure that everyone hunker down and wait.

Members of the team however argued that many had done so and the Zeds had broken down their doors or came in through smashed windows. They explained that if it wasn't for the Task Force establishing and securing the safe havens of the Church and the Kirkman residence then there would be no one left alive in Spencer's Mill. Before leaving the Sergeant who Maya knew personally apologised but they had their orders, that he would keep his ears on the radio for any updates from the Task Force.

Recognising that they were going to receive no help from the military, the Commander and the community decided to redouble their efforts on securing the Mcready Farmhouse and expanding it. It was clear to those who knew construction best that the job would be difficult, they recommended that instead of just securing the farmhouse, they should instead connect the house to the barn on both sides thus securing a much larger portion of ground allowing the Task Force to produce a larger quantity of crops within the relative safety of the defences. The Commander like the idea but sadly noted that at the time the Task Force lacked the necessary resources and specialised manpower needed for such an endeavour and that the priority should be securing the Farmhouse and later when things are more secure they could consider expansion.

Within a few days the needed materials for the building of defences were brought in and were stocked safely within the Farmhouse itself. And soon the plans were established for the "Farm" as it had been dubbed by the Community.

The plan was simply for the community to divide up times at each location the Task Force had secured, the idea being that some locations would be more about being able to relax and catch a breather from the hard work other locations would be focused on, such as the Farm which have the obvious focus of food production. The Commander even quried that should they be able to the Community of Trumbull valley might be able to keep livestock again, small animals obviously. Such as Chickens, Goats and maybe pigs.

Some of those who worked on the farms liked the idea, as did some of survivors with medical training such as Doc Hanson who believed it important for the Survivors to have a balanced diet.

Chapter 5: Someone

Then after a number of days establishing the Farm, the Radio network of the Community and the Task Force was expanded. With the farm the Community was now able to properly begin a plan of what the Task Force referred to as Sweep and Clear, lead by Maya Torres, who was chosen to be the Task Forces chief fighter, teams of trained fighters would be go out into areas around the safe havens other survivors to perform a single action, Killing Zeds.

The idea was that by killing zeds surrounding the safe havens established by the Task Force or by other groups of survivors then those locations would be relatively safer and the survivors inside be able to perform actions outside the fences and walls of the havens such as scavenging and gathering safer. To test the idea, the Commander had Maya take a team of 6 fighters and volunteers from the Church and Kirkman residence to do a sweep and clear of Spencer's Mill area, killing any zeds they found on the streets, alleys and overgrown around the Kirkman Residence safe haven.

Due to the limited supply of ammunition, they were ordered to limit themselves to close quarter engagements and using their firearms only on Zeds that were too dangerous to approach such as ferals which had been spotted recently. Despite a few hiccups, the plan was carried out with very little hitches, with only one of the team being hurt after being tackled by a Feral zed which caught them unawares. But the number of dead zeds meant that the Church and the Kirkman residence population could perform mainitence on the defences around the compounds and go further in scavenging runs without running into more zeds.

Better news soon came from the Farm compound, who reported that they had picked up broken radio transmissions from a group in the heart of the Town of Marshall. Immediately the commander had them reply to try and get a direct line of communication, to see whether or not they were in need of assistance or were willing to join the growing community. Despite numerous attempts however there was no reply, any time they heard the voice over the radio, it seemed to speak out randomly and never replied when they tried to answer.

The Commander had no choice but to believe it was a automated message from a group that had likely been overrun. But that thought was small, for despite the belief the community asked for the task force to at least try and find them, even if the survivors had been lost the town of Marshal must have some survivors hiding out somewhere as well as fresh locations for scavenging runs, which would include weapons and ammunition which the Task Force desperately needed.

Soon the plan was put into action, two teams with two vehicles each would approach the town of Marshal from the two main roads leading to the town, one in the north and one from the East. The objectives included locating any survivors and ensuring their safety, identifying locations for future scavenging runs, locating the radio signals broadcast location and identifying possible locations that the Task Force could secure and turn into compounds to grow the communities living space.

The First team to set of was the group that would go via the eastern route, where they past the abandoned Jurassic Junction Truck Stop, several derelict vehicles. When they finally arrived in Marshal itself they found the southern portion of the town overrun by Zeds, they were forced to constantly keep moving before having to take shelter in a restaurant called "The Alamo" which they reported back by basic short wave radios in their vehicles as a good location for a Compound for the task force.

When Questioned why, they said that is location would be perfect for scavenging runs in Marshal as its central location was close to the police station, courthouse, a supermarket and several smaller businesses, besides dozens of homes and other buildings. The Commander agreed and ordered them to hold up inside, keep the location secure so a building team can move in and build up the defences. Whilst the Task Force set up a plan for the location and what it would serve as.

Then whilst securing the site, they discovered something immense. The Radio signal was coming from the Courthouse itself. And instead of being overrun and lost, the survivors inside calling itself the "Society" were well secured, with what remained of the towns police force protecting a small group of around 40 survivors who had taken shelter there. The leader of the Society a female judge informed the team that she intended to rebuild society and enforce the law to the letter, over radio communication, the Commander told her that the Zeds do not care for the law, they will eat anyone and everyone, that before the task force came along people were barely surviving.

The Sheriff recognised the aims of the task force but relented that as sheriff he a job to do, but did ask if the Task Force would be willing to help him and his deputies in keeping the Courthouse and the survivors inside safe. The commander agreed and promised that the Task force will help if the courthouse comes under attack but requested that the people within the compounds under protection of the Task Force not be subjected to the "Laws" of the Society, without the permission of the community as a whole.

Chapter 6: Ammo! Ammo! Ammo!

As for the other team, they returned with even greater news, they had found a number of survivors hiding out in a gas station next to a bridge who were willing to join the growing Trumbull Valley Community. Whilst also informing the community that they had found not one but two locations that would suit the growing community and the task force for new secure compounds, the first would be best suited as housing for the growing population, a walled home with a tree next a bridge across the river that cuts the town of Marshal in two. Within the walls the house was safe and secure little damage, and the tree within the walls had a treehouse already built in it strong enough to fit the job of a watch tower.

The Other was a warehouse next to the gas station they found the survivors, with a huge amount of space to allow for anything and everything the Task force would need. But one thing was already in the plans for the Commander, he and everyone knew that their supply of ammunition was limited, they needed a way of getting more bullets. But none of the locations they had as secure compounds would be suitable for the manufacturing of bullets on a scale that the Task Force and Community needed.

But the trucker warehouse was perfect, with a fence surrounding the warehouse iteself for safety and plenty of space inside and out to build a variety of facilities needed for construction and manufacturing of bullets. The Commander decided this location would be the first of the two northern compounds to be secured, deciding it was more important that they have more bullets available for them to use especally with the growing number of "Freaks" the scouts were finding during their runs around the valley, Freaks that were too dangerous for fighters to engage in close quarters combat.

In just a few weeks of the beginnings of the Task Force and the growth of the Community, a number of new types of zeds had begun to show themselves, there were a growing number of screamers and ferals as well as new ones. Such as the Bloaters that exploded in toxic gases and the more menacing juggernaut a huge zed that could take a whole group of people to take on directly, capable to taking a greater amount of damage before finally staying dead.

Even though the task force was focused still on the expansion on the Farm and its constant supply of food alongside the continued construction of the Alamo compound in Marshal, the Commander decided that for the time being the priority should be the focus of securing and building up the Warehouse for the purpose of turning it into a weapons and ammunition factory.

Although living space would be severely limited, the decision not only by the commander but also the community as a whole by a unanimous vote was that there would be at least 15 people there at any one point for the single purpose of not only building it up but also protecting it from any dangers that might arise with its location. But one thing was clear, the growing community needed a greater level of security, with a growing number of zeds gathering into larger packs and small hordes, the commander decided to order scouts to identify buildings that could serve as outposts, locations where fighters could protect a radius around them with sharpshooters on the roof tops, so within a certain radius around that building there would be no zeds around I.E a basic safe zone.

These outposts would be in certain areas and always buildings that allowed for a level of protection for the fighters stationed at them. For example outposts were established at the gas station next to the Warehouse and the bridge next door, thus no zeds could cross the bridge and catch the warehouse unawares. Another was the Veterinarian clinic in Spencer's mill this meant that one of the two roads leading into the area where two compounds were located was protected.

To provide some additional protection to the Courthouse and the Alamo, the Task Force even secured Marshals police station and made it an outpost with sharpshooters covering the area of the main road through the town. With this extra level of security, the construction of the compounds of the Snyder Warehouse and the Alamo actually went quicker as those present there were not having to worry about having to keep the zeds out whilst they made noise building.

Chapter 7: Troubles began

Things seemed to be going good for the Task Force, so much so that a level of normalcy began to creep in, the number of scavenging runs lessened as the constant fear of running low on certain items began to decrease. Although the constant hassle of moving people around from the compounds that served a purpose to those that were just for living in as well as moving supplies such as food from the Farm to the other locations meant having to run the zed. But such matters were easier with the several outposts to hop to during the drive thus ensuring the safety of those making the trip.

But normalcy scared others, the Commander in particular, for he knew it would only take one wrong move before things would shift out of hand. And it did, during the middle of the night, the Task Force received an immediate message from the Courthouse, they were under attack from a large horde of zeds, and they had broken through, those inside were in danger of being overrun and slaughtered.

Being woken up to the news, the Commander immediately ordered any and all task force members to respond and help. All the fighters that could be spared at the Alamo and Snyder Warehouse set off armed to the teeth for the fight of their lives. Due to the danger that if the information was right then the Horde was far larger than any they had ever faced.

Despite a tough fight in which they burned through nearly all their ammunition, they were able to save the majority of the survivors from the Courthouse, sadly both the Judge and the Sheriff were among the dead. The Commander offered sanctuary to the other survivors which was graciously accepted, those who had served in the police force offered to join up with the Task Force and again it was accepted. But the clear threat to the community was evident in the size of the horde, the Commander and the leading members of the Community agreed that they needed to ensure the safety of everyone in the valley and if necessary secure a route out of the valley should the situation become untenable.

But the worse was to come, when a message came from the unit of United States army troopers operating in the valley. They were in need of help getting to the north side of the river which had been sealed off by concrete walls and metal gates by the army itself, wanting to help and find out what was happening the task force gave aid. When the team sent along with the soldiers discovered why no one had been answering the soldiers requests to cross things changed quickly, the army camp next to the fairground had been overrun with everyone inside either dead or turned.

Again the Commander offered sanctuary to the surviving soldiers, whilst they agreed to help they did inform that survivors could be further away near the reservoir. But when they got there, it was clear that entire plan and efforts of the Task Force and Community was now in immediate danger.

Chapter 8: No Choice

The matter was clear as soon as the Commander saw it himself alongside Maya, the waters behind the dam were filled with the decomposing bodies of what could only be presumed to be hundreds of Zeds. Which in itself was no real danger, but the reservoir behind the dam supplied the drinking water for the entire county of Trumbull Valley, the same water everyone had been drinking for weeks. The Commander immediately ordered everyone to cease drinking tap water and for the time being rely on bottled waters and others drinks for hydration and informed everyone to not use the tap water for cleaning or washing.

But the danger was still clear, the dead were not from Trumbull but further up the river, from what everyone could only presume was from way up in the City of Danforth. And if the number of dead zeds present was evident, then the city must be overrun and could spill out at any point.

With no alternative, the Commander called a meeting of every leading member of the community in Trumbull valley to discuss the matter, he wanted to evacuate people from the Valley get them out before the Valley became too dangerous for them to remain. Some wanted to hold up inside the compounds and wait it out. But others argued that the zeds they had been facing were in the low hundreds when it came to hordes, but if the city of Danforth was lost, then the valley could be facing a horde of thousands maybe even tens of thousands.

A vote was called and the majority vote was in favour of evacuation, but the choice would be made to every survivor, if people wanted to stay and hold up inside a compound they were welcome to with the Task Force leaving enough supplies and ammunition for them to survive a good period. The rest would gather at a new location on the North side, whilst on a scout Maya had located a suitable place for a possible compound in the fairground. The location was defensible but not good for habitation on a morale status, but with the large carpark nearby it would serve as the temporary gathering point for everyone willing to go.

They would gather there along with all the supplies of food, medicine, ammunition and weapons they would likely need wherever they settled, but also all the equipment that they gathered such as the means of manufacturing ammunition and making makeshift weapons. For the moment however they needed vehicles and a great many of them alongside the fuel needed for them. Any car or truck that could be driven was gathered there those with damage were looked over and given basic repairs by those with mechanical experience, whilst scouts and scavengers collected all the fuel they could siphon from the broken down cars and abandoned gas stations.

It took several weeks but with a lot of work, the decision was finally made, Task Force escorted all the survivors willing to join them in the evacuation of Trumbull Valley were taken to the Fairgrounds meeting point where basic living was ready for them. Once they arrived they would get comfortable for a time until everyone was together and all were ready to go.

Chapter 9: Evacuation

There were some hitches off course, the abandonment of the outposts meant it became more risky for people to move around in small groups, thus the Task Force had to escort them fully armed and in larger numbers with a great number of fighters watching over them.

But the greatest hitch was the discovery that the only road in and out of the valley had also been sealed off by the military, not with a gate, but a solid concrete wall. With some help of the surviving soldiers, the task force was able to procure some explosives powerful enough to bring the wall down, but not too powerful to bring the rocks on either side tumbling down.

Yet in the end a final sacrifice had to be made, after the explosives had been placed and the convoy at the ready to roll out, it was heartbreakingly discovered that the detonator was broken, the only way to make the explosives go boom was to do so by hand. Despite a number of volunteers it was one of the soldiers who committed themselves to the act, as he confessed that he had been infected by the reservoir water and that it was better for him to go out this way then turn later.

With the blast the road was opened again and the entire convoy of survivors rolled out of the now partially abandoned Trumbull Valley, ahead of them in the distance they could see what they could already have guessed. A great plume of smoke rising up from the horizon from the direction of where the city of Danforth should be. The Commander ordered the convoy into a different direction and they all sped off into the unknown, with the clear goal of establishing themselves again and helping survivors across the state and perhaps even the country.