Chapter 1
Bright sunny mornings always get the blood flowing and today I could use it. It’s another work day at my home away from home and I have to drag myself out the door after a night filled with strange dreams. The drive to the shop was like any other day. Filled with Utah drivers being their usual narcissistic selves. The front of the shop was an inviting sight as I pulled around back and jumped out. I unlocked the back door of my and entered Crusader HQ. The familiar smell of Hoppes #9 and gun oil filled my nostrils. That smell is better than perfume to a gunsmith. I knew right where I was going, even in the dark. In the office I opened my laptop and put on the local talk station 105.7fm. The show host was going on about the usual political battle and the crap surrounding it. The hippies in D.C. pulling the usual stunts to destroy the country and blaming the results on the Republicans. “When are they going to figure out that we’re tired of that crap? Nothing ever changes but the faces in office. Very few of them actually do their job anyway. They‘re too busy being elitist dirt bags. They want real change, they want a good economy…then get the hell out of the way and we‘ll do it ourselves.” Ok, I knew yelling at the radio wouldn’t do any good but it made me feel better. Looking around I was glad no one was around to hear that today.
I was mentally going through what I needed to accomplish for the day while turning on the lights surrounding my work bench. I needed to get started on a batch of our custom Glock 22’s. The Ghost trigger connectors have to be fitted into each one. Good thing I’ve done it enough times to know right about where the sweet spot is. Just enough trigger reset length to keep a customer from bump firing the pistol while working the trigger reset and maintain only needed over travel. No need to fit a little and check it…a few more file strokes and check it. The trigger bars needed work and, of course, they needed a Slipstream pistol treatment. If I can get that much done on this batch I can refinish them tomorrow.
I was working on the forth trigger connector for the day when the news broke for an emergency message. There was a situation at the Salt Lake International Airport. Some lady went nuts and started biting people on a flight from California. “Where’s George to say something about the Zombie Apocalypse when you need him?” I was thinking out loud and, once 
again, ended up glad there was no one to make a crack about me talking to myself. All the same, there was something about this that didn’t seem right. They said on the radio that they would keep us posted. I kept it in the back of my mind that I would let it go for now but one more report like that and I was locking up and heading home.
I kept working but it was only a half hour until another emergency message. Everyone on the plane that was bitten got up from the first aid station and started shuffling around. Their eyes had turned milky white. The first person that walked was charged with amazing speed and they started eating the poor guy. Everyone that ran by was leashed out at by gnashing blood stained teeth. People in a mile radius of the airport started looting and destroying things in their path. Some were banding together in trucks and breaking into houses and stores. Grabbing everything they could, shooting store clerks or home owners, and some burning places down. More and more people were moaning and shuffling around biting people. Some got a hold of the looters. That wasn’t so bad. Served them right but that just meant more milky eyed undead roaming the streets.
“That’s it, it’s time to go.” I looked around. If this was a zombie outbreak then I’d need a few things from the shop. I packed up my toolbox and some other things and loaded them in my suburban. I also had a few guns that were finished except needing to be Cerakoted. They got loaded as well. I then counted them to make sure it would do. Two 12ga tactical shotguns (a Remington 870, and a Mossberg 930) one each of our Templar (18“ polygonal barrel good for dealing punishment from near or far), Paladin (24“ polygonal bull barrel for ultimate accuracy), and Guardian (16” polygonal bad to the bone carbine) rifles all in 5.56, a 7.62 Broadsword rifle (18” polygonal barrel and an Eotech) and a Longbow rifle (24” polygonal barrel and a 10 power Leupold Mil-dot scope). I also grabbed a few Glock 22’s and a 23. I had my G23 Reaper so I was really only grabbing an extra for my wife. She wasn’t a shooter but she would get that way in a hurry. As long as I could find ammo these weapons would be everything I needed to keep my family alive. Sure there were more than I could shoot but they would arm additions to our group down the road somewhere.
