บท 46: In Many Minds

"They're already on the move; we'll have news from them by tonight at the latest. Keep looking for names; I'll take care of the rest, and soon we'll know about their relatives," Dominic informed the more than fifteen people who had decided to trust him.

Everyone was calm; they wanted to know if Dominic would really keep his word, and if not, then they would take matters into their own hands.

"How do you have connections with people outside of this place?" Arsher was curious about how Dominic had the tools to help them.

"Let's just say I have friends in special places; favors will be repaid with actions, and that's what I expect from all of you. If we don't look out for each other, we'll end up being eaten by those undead," Dominic smiled slightly, trying to humanize his words.

"Well said, Corporal; let's get moving."

Sergeant Castro, who was discussing some things with Major Moyers, approached the group and said, "Stop chatting; we've received a mission to clear out a library, so let's move."

"Understood, boss, but we should consider taking more rest breaks since many are having psychological issues from seeing so much blood." Cole wanted to say more but stopped when he saw how the Sergeant was looking at him.

"We're all mentally exhausted, Corporal, but we must push forward because if we don't, this will never end." Sergeant Castro turned away after saying that.

Sergeant Castro was the most informed, thanks to Diaz, about where that man's family was, and his team should be moving towards that place right now.

The soldiers' mission wasn't just to rescue civilians but also to create routes to secure the most valuable resources from that place.

Weapons were Priority A, canned food and water were Priority B, and resources like fuel or electronic devices fell into Priority C to have total control over the most important resources that needed consideration.

All the members of this squad were selected according to Dominic's plan; he knew that having a hundred soldiers under his command was more than enough to start with.

If he could get into the minds of those soldiers and save their families, he could guarantee the lives of other people. He had the resources, so it was necessary to use them; once he had the right people giving their all to follow orders, Dominic had won.

Dominic, despite controlling them, was necessary for their survival. He wasn't exactly sure how other people might interpret his way of doing things, but he hoped they would understand.

"Do you have anything in mind, Corporal Williams?" Sergeant Castro looked at the silent Dominic and asked, wanting to know his mental state.

"I'm fine, sir, ready for whatever needs to be done today." Dominic gave a confident look to Castro, who stopped looking at him after getting his answer.

He might not look well, but he was sure he would respond well to the situations that would arise. When they arrived at the cleanup point, everyone got out of the Humvee vehicles.

"Split into two teams; the first will take care of cleaning the upper floors, and the rest will handle the parking lot."

Everyone started moving; Dominic went up to the upper floors of the library and, leading the team, saw several walkers who hadn't noticed their movements.

"There are more walkers in the rooms to the right; we must eliminate them once and for all and be quick." Dominic pointed at the walkers ahead, but at that moment, before firing, he felt a presence to his left that was practically running.

What the hell?

Dominic turned around, but not in time, before that black figure hit him hard and sent him flying off the second floor, connected to the first.

"Fire!"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The soldiers behind Dominic, as soon as they saw that he had been thrown by what seemed to be a walker, all opened fire.

Crack!

Dominic fell among the bookshelves, and when he tried to stand up, he saw several walkers approaching from behind. "Have they eliminated it?"

"The target has been eliminated, but this one is different. Much faster, stronger, and smarter," Diaz said, nervous that there might be more walkers like that in this place.

Arsher, who saw how Dominic had been thrown, joked, "Surely that idiot was an athlete; wasn't that Usain Bolt?"

"Stop joking; Dominic, how are you feeling?" Cole, who came down with a team to check Dominic's condition, asked after seeing that Dominic had taken out a few walkers in the vicinity.

Standing up, Dominic nodded, but after feeling his body better, he realized that a piece of wood had cut his back. "How bad does it look?"

Diaz, who looked at Dominic's wound, immediately said, "More blood than usual is coming out, but you'll be fine; let Carlos take care of you while we handle this."

"Will you be okay without me?"

"Haha, you just got thrown; I think we'll manage better."

Dominic smiled as he watched these soldiers quickly take care of the walkers, but a look of concern came to his face when he saw that there seemed to be variations of walkers.