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low,
below the windows and out of sight of potential occupants.
  Tom slowly rose and peeked into one of the
windows. Rows of narrow bunk beds faded
into darkness, impeccable green blankets stretched tight over each one.
    Tom slid back down.
“Barracks. Don’t see
anything.” Tom whispered.
    “Movement was in a far window. “Hank said while pointing out toward the front
of the building.
    Nodding his head, Tom led the way around the corner of the
building, staying tight to the wall and below the windows.
  He had his bow out with an arrow notched and
ready as he eased up to a short set of steps in front of the door.
  Bear and Hank were right behind him with
their crossbows at the ready. Tom
clipped his bow on his back and ducked low right in front of the door.
  A quick nod from the others and he slowly
turned the doorknob and eased it open.
    There was a tense moment of silence.
 
    Hannah and Logan crouched down in the back and watched the
building next to them, as well as the hillside behind.
  The woods sat eerily quiet.
    Tom pulled the door all the way open, letting the light
spill in through the opening. Both Hank
and Bear brushed past Tom, sweeping in with their crossbows raised.
  Flashlights clicked on, illuminating the
interior. The stark glow hit on a
hideous face.
    The man, dressed in camo fatigues,
had a wicked wound running from his scalp, down across an eye, and onto his
neck. He had clearly been dead for
weeks, if not longer. The black, crusty
blood was dotted with green mold. His
eyes locked on Bear and he opened his mouth.  
Bear let a bolt fly, ending the shriek before it began.
  The shot was perfect, striking the undead in
his good eye socket. Camo
dropped to the wood floor with a thud.
    Bear started over toward the body.
    “Hold up.” Tom
said. “Till we know more, let’s stay
back.”
    Both Hank and Bear took several steps back, covering their
mouths with their sleeves.
    Tom could see a length of barbed wire wrapped several times
around one of Camo’s legs and the other end wrapped
around one of the metal bed legs.   Large
lag bolts secured the bed to the floor. Who
had done this and why, were questions that lingered in their minds.
  Before backing out of the building he took a
quick survey of the barracks and found it contained nothing other than bunk
beds and the single undead. Tom followed
the others out to the snow covered ground.
    “What was it?” Hannah
asked.
    “Sergeant ugly chained to a bed.”
  Hank responded.
    “What?”
    Tom described Camo and the
wire.
    “Now what?”
  Logan said.
    Tom looked at the main building that towered over them.
  “We’ll find answers in there.”
    “Hate leaving these unchecked.”
  Bear said while sweeping a hand out at the
surrounding buildings.
    Tom nodded in agreement.  
“I know it, but it would take forever to go through them all.”
    Hank looked up at the sky.  
“Not long it’ll be dark. Creep
factor is going to go way up.”
    “Good point. Let’s
sweep through buildings, find a clear one, and hole up for the night.
   Hit the main building at full light.
  Murphy’s law and all that.”
  Tom said.
    “Murph and I are well
acquainted.” Hank grumbled.

Chapter 6 - Murphy
    The next building they entered was a parts
storage, just the type of structure they were looking for.
  There were several rows of shelves with
neatly organized numbered boxes. A quick
glance through the boxes revealed that they were various vehicle parts.
  Most were unrecognizable and probably
specific to the helicopters and various military vehicles.
  No people, living or dead.
    “Make sure to brush all the snow off your gear.
  May feel cold now, but our body heat will
warm this place up, melt the snow, and get all your goods wet.”
  Tom said to the group.
    It only took a few minutes for all of them to get the
powdery snow off of everything. In the
meantime, Tom and Hannah rifled