The End Of Life

Donald coughed and tried to stir the discussion away from the topic, " Well, anyway, thanks for the hard work, Mark. With this we can make our own communication station, which could connect to a camp in the capital if there is one." he smiled. 

"It's alright, I owed you a favor and so I did my end of the deal which settles it. But you have to know, Donald, this journey to another City wasn't that easy at all. It was very tough." Mark exclaimed. He wanted to get something from the old man.

"I understand. I'll allow you to take out some ammo from our inventory. But it won't be much, only a few magazines. You should understand that the ammunition stock is now at a constant state." he suggested to Mark.

"As you might have already noticed from that map over there, the factories are not running. So, our supply is only decreasing every day. We are actually planning to scout the nearest factory and see if we can get it running again or if we can find supplies." Donald shrugged and leaned back.

Mark nodded, hearing the General's problems. With the factories not running there wouldn't be any supply, and even if they run, there is also the major problem of raw materials. There would be almost no supplier of raw materials in the current state of the world. 

"Alright General, I get you. I won't ask for much." sighed Mark. Even though they weren't low on ammo, getting a few more is always good. 

"Alright, I also need to talk about something." Mark finally leaned forward, looking into Donald's eyes. Donald also turned serious hearing him and nodded. 

"Did you guys run into that underground gang's base the past few days we were out of town? I want to know their situation in the town and their power." Mark slowly smiled. 

Donald remained silent for a few minutes before he stood up and said while moving towards the cabinet to the side and taking out a bottle of rum and two glasses. He slowly poured a glass for himself and said, "We ran into those bastards a few times in these past days. Do you want some?" he offered Mark. 

Mark shook his head and Donald continued, "So, yes, we ran into them while we were trying to find more supplies for the people here. You know the usual stuff." sipping his drink slowly. 

"There were a couple of shots fired from both sides a few times already. They are really getting on my nerves and I want to just rush over to their base and take them down in one swoop. But you asked for me to not take care of them, So, I didn't proceed and waited."

"Now tell me, what are you planning for that group?" He drank the rum and poured some more. 

Mark remained silent for a few minutes and said, "I intend to blow those bastards up."

Donald cracked up hearing this and replied, "Yeah, I figured you were aiming for that. So, do you have any plan to do that?" 

Mark shook his head and so Donald continued, "Well if you want I can send a small squad of five to six people with you for some help. Even I find those bastards a thorn on my side and would like to get rid of them. What do you say for a joint operation?"

Mark smiled hearing the proposal and replied, "Sure. I have no problem with that at all. When do you plan to send the people?" 

Standing up, Donald kept the bottle of rum back inside the cabinet and said, "A few days, mostly by day after tomorrow. I need to think about the people I can send with you after all." 

Mark's eyebrows slightly frowned upon hearing the man. Donald laughed, seeing how impatient the young man before him was, and said, "Don't be impatient. Your group has been traveling a lot for the past few days. Let them get some rest. I remember two of your members even have families here, so think about them also for a minute." 

Mark was silent, hearing the man making sense. They have been constantly traveling and could sense the fatigue it has been piling up on the gang. He nodded and said, "Sure. 2 days later send a team and we can get to planning before taking out that trash."

Donald smiled and replied, "Sure, no problem at all. So tell me, How is the Kroc on the other side?" sitting in his seat. 

"Didn't he mention anything about it in the letter he gave you?" 

Donald laughed hearing him and replied, "No, he mentioned nothing at all. If I have to guess based on our friendship, things must not be under his control. He is too ashamed to admit it." leaning back. 

Mark nodded and said, "That is exactly true. Their base isn't under military control like here. The local government there wants control and has the people's support. So they are constantly on their edges." 

"Looks like he has quite a lot of troubles over there. Well, we are lucky because most of the government personnel like the mayor and his staff couldn't make it to the camp in time. They clearly didn't check people before inviting them inside their hiding spot because before we could save them, they were all zombies with the doors closed." 

"You are indeed lucky," Mark commented. 

Donald nodded and then the door got knocked. Steve came inside and went to Donald's side before bending towards his ears and whispered something to him. Hearing his words, Donald clearly felt happy and said, "That is good. Send a team out so we can get things running."

Steve nodded and went outside. Mark turned towards the old man. Donald noticed his gaze and said, "The machine you brought back is indeed working. Now, all we need to set up is an antenna from the base so we can send signals from here via military satellites."