They return to their base at last after a VERY successful supply run

Michael's (the MC) POV

It took some time to return because you were all deliberately driving your cars much more slowly than they theoretically could as they did not want to risk attracting more zombies with the noise of their acceleration, even if Sergeant Foreman had done an excellent job drawing most herds away from their path with the solar-powered drone, Still, around 20 minutes later, you arrived back at your apparent building.

The one that you now own. Along with everyone else inside, no less.

"How quickly things can change when we least expect it," You thought to yourself while shaking your head.

With the striker covering the vanguard of your small fleet of cars, you looked at the seats behind you as Amelia drove the brown pickup truck they had claimed from Carlos' gang up the hill that led to the entrance of the building, curious to see the first reaction of the new members of your group to seeing your large real-state property for the first time. You almost chuckled at that, realizing that you wanted to show off a little. After all, it's not like at any other point in your life before the undead rose you could brag about the fact that you owned a 10-story building, even if your acquisition of it was more than a little...unorthodox.

They didn't disappoint as their eyes widened. "You own this whole building? Jane asked in surprise. "You must have been rich before all of this."

You reacted by pausing before shrugging a bit at the comment, deciding to be honest about it while not exactly telling her that you claimed it with a somehow supernatural marker. "A little rich, perhaps. All four of my grandparents and even my own dad were doctors of one sort or another, so they were well off. Besides, the five of them ended up leaving my mother, my sister, and myself a sizable inheritance on top of the life insurance when they all died in a horrible plane crash many years ago," You admitted with a deep sigh as the memories unexpectedly crashed back in and ruined your recently bragging mood. "So, yes, I suppose you could say I became a little rich after that, even if the cost was great."

"Oh," Jane's wife, Clara, whispered as she visibly winced, "I am sorry to hear that. My condolenses.

"It was a long time ago, but thank you," You responded with a sad smile as the car stopped in front of Sergeant Foreman. "Well, we are here. Time to move all the valuables we gathered from the cars."

They nodded, and you opened the door to get off, seeing Laurel, her sister Sofia and her girlfriend Kira get out through their own pickup truck's doors while Amelia holstered her handgun and jumped from the back of said truck.

They approached you a bit nervously as you approached the entrance of your building and Sergeant Foreman in front of you, who was herself at the front of most of the residents of the building, who had gathered in a crowd outside. You simply gave them a reassuring smile and turned to look at the veteran you had asigned for Team 3.

"As you can see, sergeant, everyone," He said while waving at the fleet of cars and newcomers among you, "we had a very successful mission. We managed to find vast amounts of dried emergency food supplies in buckets, bottled reserves of water, many weapons with loads of ammo, and many portable tanks of propane, diesel, and gasoline for vehicles and cooking. These supplies should last us for a few months as it is and, even better, there is more where that came from, hidden in the classified military cache for a future supply run."

There were a lot of wide eyes and excited chatter from the crowd as they heard the extent of your team's success, sounding beyond pleased. That made you grin, pleased that you had been able to direct your efforts to provide many supplies for them as you had vowed to do.

Before long, however, you raised a hand for silence, and they soon got the hint. "Also, as you can see, I was able to find some of my other...lost pieces of property during our mission," You explained as you gestured at the seven women you had claimed during your mission.

They voiced greetings to the assembled residents somewhat nervously as they moved to show them all their marks of ownership. The members of the crowd looked a bit surprised at that development, but no one seemed to have any problem with that or your explanations. You took a deep breath.

"I will be giving them a few of the apartments that were abandoned by the other older residents of the building when they fled in the early days of the chaos," You explained. "All the same, I hope you make them feel welcomed. We are all in this together, after all, and the more we help each other as a group, the better our chances in this dangerous world."

There were echoes of agreement, with many of the residents nodding as they gave the newcomers welcoming smiles, which seemed to relieve the women you had more recently claimed.

"At any rate, I think all our accomplishments of the day demand some celebration," You said with a smile. "So, after we unload all of our new supplies, I think a little feast for all of us is in order," You added, knowing it would raise morale further. "Melissa," You called out, looking at Jeremy Carter's wife, who had cooked you a delicious breakfast that morning. "You are in charge of the cooking after we move the propane tanks and the extra food inside. And I give you the authority to recruit some assistants among the group to help you get the food done faster, especially if they know their way around the kitchen."

She blinked for a moment there at your orders, but soon, Melissa nodded with a smile. "Sure thing, boss! I will be sure all of us in the building have a great meal to celebrate."

"I know you will," I said with a brief chuckle.

"Well, everyone, let's get packing. Mills, Garcia, please help with the weapons and ammo."

They all nodded and started moving to perform their tasks. Soon, though, you noticed that the Medical Staff Sergeant of the squad was nowhere to be seen. So, you turned to Sergeant Foreman, who has been holding the fort in your absence.

"Where is Sergeant Zhang?" You asked her directly. "Has Team 2 not arrived yet?" You asked.

Foreman took a deep breath before responding. "They actually arrived almost an hour ago. Zhang has been busy organizing the new medicines and, errr, helping the newcomers she made a deal with settle in."

You raised an eyebrow at that piece of news. "She brought new people in from her mission?" You asked in surprise. "Why didn't she let me know in advance over the radio?"

"Because you told her not to interrupt you until you gave the greenlight to break radio silence, sir, given the conflict with that gang you were about to jump into," The Communications Sergeant First Class explained.

You blinked at that, then hit your own forehead with your hand. "Ah, right. I suppose I got distracted after our little war with that gang and forgot to give that order. My apologies."

She looked a bit surprised that you were even apologizing in the first place but then shook her head slightly. "It's fine, sir. But you should know, the newcomers are a family of female medical doctors. Four of them, in fact.

Your eyes widened at that, feeling thrilled on the spot. "Oh, now that sounds like a great addition to our group! Before that, we only had Sergeant Zhang's medical expertise and Aanya Patel, who studied to be a nurse before this madness started. But we would be much more covered now with more specialized medical doctors for sure."

"It does provide some valuable critical redundancy for our group, sir," Foreman said, sounding relieved that you weren't mad at Zhang's initiative without my permission.

Then Foreman paused and waited for Garcia to carefully put the firearm she was carrying down on the table they had designated for it.

"There is another reason Sergeant Zhang allowed the family of doctors asylum in your building complex, sir," She revealed. "You see, they had been taking care of another member of the squad we got separated from to nurse her back to health. In fact, they are currently treating her right now in a bed on the first floor apartment, taking advantage of some of the medicines Team 2 was able to get when they looted that pharmacy."

Sergeant Garcia's eyes widened at the news, and nearby, Lieutenant Mills was not far behind.

"Who is it? Who did they find?" Your mostly lesbian bodyguard and lover asked immediately.

Foreman smiled warmly at her with a knowing look. "It's Kristen, Josie," She said while using Garcia's first name in a less formal, more familiar fashion. "Your girlfriend is back."

A/N: Happy New Year, everyone. Let's hope for many more fun chapters this year we can enjoy.

Until next time, and as always, please remember to review.