Living people...and a big surprise

A/N: I have an important announcement in the author notes at the end. You may find it interesting.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the developments of this new chapter.

You raised an eyebrow at the sight of what you had to assume was a family of three grown, white women with slightly tanned complexion. At least you were pretty sure they were related, given how similar the short, brown-haired ladies who were probably in early to late thirties looked when next to the objectively attractive woman in her 50s that had clearly aged well; right down to the rare green-eyed color they all shared.

Then it hit you: the middle-aged MILF was wearing what could only be a white doctor coat and so did the younger women that were probably her daughters.

"Don't shoot, please," The youngest looking woman of the bunch said as she raised her hands first.

You blinked twice, calculating in silence as you looked around. Then you lowered your rifle slightly but kept it in your hands.

"I am not going to shoot you unless you ask for it but for now, don't come closer," You warned. "Now, state your name and business."

At that, the MILF with the large tits that you vaguely, just vaguely suspected that Garcia would love to suck on no matter how much she tried to hide it from you raised her hands in a placating gesture and took the lead.

"Doctor Emma Cruz," She said with a nod. "I am a specialist in Obstetrics and Gynecology. These are my daughters Doctor Reyna and Doctor Mia," She said as you suspected, pointing at them from eldest to youngest respectively as she said the names. "We used to live in the apartment building right behind this supermarket. And we have been on our own since this bloody madness started. As for our business that brought us here, we have been on the lookout for your squad since we saw them mow down so many zombies nearby in the fire from last night."

Your eyes widened at the realization that she might have concrete news about the missing members of your team that you had been searching for, but you quickly put your poker face back just in case.

"I see," You said evenly. "And why did you wish to find us?"

You were pretty sure you knew the answer to that already, given the circumstances, assuming they weren't planning anything...ill-advised. But you wanted to hear it from her while looking at her in the eye.

The woman grimaced and scratched the sleeve of the white coat as if to relieve some stress before responding. "We are doctors, not fighters. We are not trained for this kind of lawlessness and chaotic ****. But in times of crisis, our medical skills could be invaluable to your group now that you can't just go to the hospital if you or your fellow soldiers get into a fight. Please, if you give us a chance and take us in, sooner or later, we will pay you back with our knowledge and service 10 times over.

"You make a compelling case," You admitted with unease while your two teammates remained silent and allowed you to take the lead. "But I am afraid the decision to recruit you into our group it's not up to me, but up to my commanding officer. I am not so sure that I can bring you to our base without consulting with him first."

Which was a shame since you knew that they were right. Even with Aanya Patel to help you out as a nurse if need be, they were certainly better off with more medical professionals one way or another, not with less. But when you last spoke with the boss, he said not to break radio silence until he signaled all clear if it could be at all helped. Given how willing to please the unarmed women looked in the hopes of being accepted, you weren't quite sure that this situation qualified or that you couldn't afford to wait a little longer.

Still, she seemed determined to continue with the discussion but then, her taller daughter, Reyna, jumped in.

"Would it help if we were to offer you a fully stocked ambulance that we have parked in the back to sweeten the pot?" She asked in a pleading tone. "And we have another big gesture of good will if that is not enough."

Your eyes widened at her offer. "Honestly, and speaking as a Medical Staff Sergeant myself, I can tell you that this would definitely help your case and make me even more interested in trying to convince my commanding officer to take you in."

"Then let us show it to you so you are even more convinced," Emma begged. "Please, we can help each other."

You glanced at your companions for a moment to see what they thought. They seemed all for it if their vigorous nods were any indication, especially Jonathan, which really shouldn't have surprised you given your last conversation with him. And it was easy to agree with them.

Still, it still paid to be a little wary. "Very well. But you are walking out the back door first."

"Fair enough," She replied and then turned around.

After reminding your civilian teammates to keep their eyes open, you followed the family through the doorway. On the way, the OB-GYN slowed down so that you could catch up with her.

"In the interest of full disclosure so you do not get the wrong idea," She said with a touch of tension in her tone. "My other daughter, Jenna, is outside with the ambulance as our getaway driver. You know, just in case we had an unfortunate misunderstanding and were **** to flee."

You gave her a look of understanding and a reassuring smile at that. "Understandable. Is she also a doctor too?"

"Yes, but unlike her fraternal twin, Mia, she decided to become a veterinarian as a farm animal specialist," She explained with a fond smile. "She kept saying that the rest of us focused so much on treating humans that someone from our family should make taking care of animals a professional priority."

"Hmm, another useful specialty at the moment, given the circumstances. " You mused. "We don't have farm animals in our stronghold at the moment, but that may change once our new base is better defended and we aim for more long-term self-sufficiency."

"Then that's another reason to take us in," Her twin sister chimed in. "By the way, I am a dentist myself and believe me, that's the kind of specialized medical service that your group will come to miss before too long during this crisis."

"Indeed," You replied, unable to disagree. Then you looked curiously at the Doctor Reyna. "And you?"

"I am an ER Doctor," She explained with a touch of pride. "Been working under pressure in emergency rooms for years, so I will be a great addition to your group, if you let us join."

You contained the urge to shout jackpot yet again as the sheer, potential usefulness of this entire family started to sink in. But then you reached the parking lot. And after a quick look to verify that there weren't zombies within sight, you followed them to the ambulance. Jenna must have heard them coming because she got out of the invaluable car from the back entrance and approached her family, looking at you with cautious optimism.

And man, were you tempted to properly reward their optimism by taking them in without breaking radio silence and allowing your one true owner to punish you while totally naked if need be...

"I am going to take this scene as a good sign," Mia's twin said slowly before turning to her mom. "I just checked on our **** guest. She is still stable."

You raised an eyebrow at the comment before turning to the gynecologist as well. "You never mentioned having a patient."

You saw the MILF doctor smile in response, and it suddenly hit you that this was the first time you saw that expression on her.

"Well, like my eldest said, we had another gesture of good-will in store if the ambulance itself was not enough," Emma remarked. "So, tell me, will this convince you to let us join you on your way back to your base?" She asked as she pointed inside the ambulance.

You frowned at that as you followed her finger. But soon, you gasped.

A/N: Well, great potential additions to the group in this chapter, that's for sure! And just who do you think was being treated in the ambulance? :D

Anyway, I have a big announcement: after some thinking, I have decided to edit a few things from all of the past chapters in my entire branch that feature those things I want to change. Basically, back when I started this thread by branching out from Decadent Empire's storyline, I decided to keep the military ranks of the characters as were originally conceptualized. But then I decided to be more specific and say that instead of a squad of 4 soldiers, they actually got separated from a larger special forces team. To be more precise for those that like to pay more attention to my world-building and storytelling efforts, I was basing their composition on the 12-man teams of the US army that follow the military doctrine/classification known as Operational Detachment Alpha.

In summary, these elite squads usually rely on stealth to do their jobs. The teams are organized in small, highly trained, multi-lingual groups that are designed to conduct operations independently and are cross-trained in various skills, even if they have a main specialty. Among other things, this ensures maximum efficiency during a mission that lacks much, if any, outside support and, as you can imagine, it would be fantastic to have such a capable team in your corner during a zombie apocalypse. And not just because the MC could afford to take more risks for bigger rewards with a more reasonable amount of confidence they will succeed in their missions if he manages to get the whole team reunited, and under his leadership.

Because of this though, I came to the decision that I am going to have to rewrite the a few parts so the thread is more consistent with these parameters, such as, for example, giving Garcia a higher rank than just Private First Class, and by extension, make her a few years older than before, even if she will still be the youngest one of the original military team. And in case you didn't notice, I actually already started with that in the last chapter by stating for the first time that Zhang is a Medical Staff Sergeant instead of a Medical Specialist.

Regardless, I already have a plan in mind for all of that so don't worry, it will just take a bit of time to go over the chapters and to edit it all to my satisfaction. But it does mean that if you go back to reread some of them and get the impression that certain details are different from what you remember, now you know why.

At any rate, with that announcement out of the way, I will let you get back to whatever it is you were planning to say in the comment section...hopefully!

Until next time.