by Ben Reeder
“Come on, Dave,” Bryce said eagerly. “How’d you get away? Who were those guys, anyway?”
“Okay,” I said, bowing to the inevitable. “Here’s what happened.” I laid out the highlights of what had happened after I was captured, leaving out the more gruesome details and leaving off after the shoot-out at Highway 44. “Now it’s your turn. How did your trip go?”
“Slowly,” Porsche said.
“As soon as they showed up, I got everyone packed up and out the back gate,” Maya picked up the story. “That took us almost an hour, then the trip here…” she paused and shuddered. “It was dark, and we had to take it slow most of the way. My bike was the only one with a motor, so we pedaled it the whole way. We heard people screaming even after we got out of town. We finally had to stop after we got to Fellows Lake. There was some trouble there.” She stopped, and Karl put his hand on her shoulder.
“She had to shoot a man,” he said quietly. “He pulled a pistol on her and tried to take Amy.” I put an arm around her shoulders. If I’d expected trembling or tears, I would have been disappointed.
“I didn’t see a body,” I said quizzically.
“He was still alive when we left him,” Porsche said with a wicked grin. “He just wasn’t interested in taking a girl with him.” I made a pained face at the thought of where Maya must have put the bullet.
“We got here a couple of hours ago,” Maya said, suddenly sounding as tired as I felt.
“Then you guys need to get some rack time,” I said. “I’ll keep an eye on things for a while, then I’ll wake someone up to take over for me.”
“What about you, baby?” Maya said. “You’ve been awake as long as anyone else, and you’ve been through a lot since yesterday.”
“I was knocked out for a few hours,” I said as I got to my feet. “Besides, there are a few things I want to do before I crash.” I got up and kissed Maya again for good measure, then headed for the windmill. Karl fell in step beside me.
“How did you afford this place?” he asked me. “I know your books made some money, but not that much.”
“The books made more than you think, but Nate helped me finance it. Those two storage pods are his, the rest is mine.”
“So, is this your survivalist retreat or something? Were you planning on sitting out the end of the world with a pile of guns and MREs?” He laughed as he asked the question, and I turned to face him.
“No, I’m not that kind of prepper. Most preppers aren’t paranoid gun freaks waiting for the world to end. Look around you, what do you see? A little shack in the woods, a few outbuildings?”
“And an old windmill,” Karl added with a grin.
“Here’s what you don’t see,” I said with a wave of my hand. “That ‘old windmill’ pumps water, generates electricity and it’s an antenna for a shortwave radio. That shed over there holds a series of deep cycle marine batteries to store the electricity the windmill generates, and my radio. That shed over there holds buckets of heirloom seeds and hand plows. Back there is twenty acres that used to be fields of wheat. Inside that little barn by the windmill with the solar panels on it is enough food to keep four people alive for a year. This isn’t a survivalist retreat, Karl it’s a homestead.”
“We’re just going to sit this out here?” he said. “Is that your big plan?” He raised his arms then let them drop to his side.
“No. For almost anything else, that would have worked but this…no.” As I spoke, I went to the base of the windmill and grabbed the copper lead to the antenna. Most of the time, I kept the main antenna disconnected to keep the shortwave’s effective range lower, but today none of that mattered. “We may be safe here for another day or so, but not much longer. I don’t know if you saw it in the dark, but zombies are leaving the city.”
“Why?” Karl asked, for once not challenging me.
“They’re following the people; they’re following their food.” I connected the antenna lead and stood up to face him again. He’d gone a little pale and his eyes were vacant. Processing the idea that he wasn’t at the top of the food chain anymore must have been hard for him. “Go get some rest, Karl,” I told him. “I’m going to walk the fence line, make sure we don’t have visitors, then I’ll be back.”
By the time I got back from my trip around our fence line, almost everyone was asleep. When I took a look inside the cabin, I found Cassie and Bryce in their sleeping bags on the floor of our little front room, with Karl sprawled out on the other side of the room, with an empty sleeping bag in between them. Maya and Amy’s feet were visible in the loft bed, and Sherman was serving as a pillow for Leo in the little kitchen. All told, our little cabin wasn’t much more than twenty feet on a side, but it served well enough for today. If we were staying here longer, I would have wanted to get a camper or two for the first winter.
Porsche was sitting at the picnic table with her cell phone in her hands. When she looked up at me, her face was longer than a Friday before a three day weekend. I sat across from her and leaned the Ruger against the table’s edge.
“What’s up?” I asked gently.
“I’m sorry I left you last night,” she said slowly. “When you said go, the only thing I could think of was getting away.”
“No, you did exactly what I needed you to do, Porsche,” I told her. “You did the hardest thing anyone could have asked you to do. You left someone behind to save the rest of the people with you.” She shook her head and her mouth turned down in distaste.
“Doesn’t mean I like it,” she muttered.
“No one’s asking you to. But if you hadn’t, they might have gotten Bryce and Cassie. There’s no telling what would have happened to them then. So, you did good. I’m proud of you.” Her expression brightened a little at that.
“Thanks,” she said, still a little subdued. “So, what’s next? This doesn’t feel like our last stop.”
“What makes you say that?” I asked her.
“You still have that same look on your face you had whenever we got to one of the places we were going. It’s the same look you have when you get to work every day, and you’re planning ahead for something.”
“Okay, touché. This is just the first stop. I promise, I’ll tell you everything soon, when I tell everyone else. As soon as I know what the plan really is. In the meantime, why don’t you get some rest?”
She shook her head. “Not until you do. Maya has Amy watching out for her, you’ve got me. Deal with it.” I looked at her for a moment, trying to see what I’d missed about the woman sitting in front of me. At work, she’d been a lot like anyone else. Her interests had seemed pretty much mainstream, though she hadn’t been as obsessed with Hollywood gossip or reality TV as most of our co-workers. She’d had a couple of boyfriends that hadn’t worked out, but I’d never heard her get vindictive about them, and she went out on weekends like anyone else, drank a little too much on occasion and lamented the fact on Monday mornings. On the surface, she was normal. The only thing that had made her stand out was that she would actually talk to me. She had never made fun of my geeky interests, and she even knew about some of the things I liked. Maybe that had been the first clue to what I was seeing here. When it had come down to it, she’d been willing to do what needed to be done. Hell, she’d driven into a horde of zombies to save my ass less than an hour after shit had truly started to hit the fan.
“Okay,” I said. “Keep your ears open as much as your eyes. The fences should stop most undead a long ways from us so the road is pretty much the only approach for zombies. Other survivors are the biggest danger, and fences aren’t going to slow them down much.” She nodded and grabbed the M-4 from the bench beside her.
“You know how to use that?” I asked her.
“Maya showed me the basics. It’s only got one clip for it though.”
“Magazine,” I corrected as I pulled two more from my vest and laid them on the table. “Clips are different. Take those. It’ll do for now, but we need to get you bette
r trained on it. And on the M9. We’ll take care of that later. Right now, I need to get on the radio.” She nodded and scooped up the two spare magazines and tucked them into her pockets.
I left her sitting at the table and headed for the electrical shed. Inside was a metal folding table that held my shortwave radio, a heavily modified Icom unit that I had picked up when I was still in the Air Force. Laid out at the back of the shed were the batteries that stored the power generated by the windmill and solar panels. I’d put a kerosene heater out here for use in the winter, and a single energy efficient light bulb set in the rafters so I could work at night. I pulled the folding metal chair out and sat down at the table, then pulled my code book from its hiding place under the table. As the set warmed up, I plugged in the continuous wave key, which was basically a Morse code tapper, and opened the code book.
One of the things Nate Reid and I had worked out months ago was a series of five letter codes that each had a specific meaning. Without the code book, they read as gibberish. I entered the frequency we had decided on, then reached for the key. It was time to reach out and touch someone.
I woke up when Maya kissed me. My eyelids felt like they were glued shut, and I didn’t want to be awake, but there were these very soft lips against mine. Even sleep took second place to that. She giggled when I pulled her to me, and her lips went to my neck.
“Wake up sleepy head,” she whispered.
“Wha’ time izzit?” I mumbled.
“It’s six. The natives are getting restless. And dinner’s almost done.” That got my eyes open and my stomach rumbling. Maya smiled at me from inches away and sat up. “You have enough time to grab a hot shower, if you hurry.” I didn’t need any more prodding. I followed her down the short ladder and stumbled to the bathroom. The small shower was big enough for one person, or two if you didn’t mind it being a little tight, and the hot water heater was pretty efficient. The stream of warm water felt like magic on my skin, and I washed the sweat and grime of the past twenty four hours off of my body. Then I just stood there and let the heat soak through my muscles. When it finally started to cool off, I reluctantly shut it off and got dressed in a pair of sweats and a heavy sweatshirt. I emerged from the little bathroom feeling almost like a new person, though I still felt every bump and bruise from the journey out here.
The smell of beef stew hit my nose while I was putting my tennis shoes on in the front room, and I followed it to the kitchen, where Maya was stirring one of our large pots. She saw me coming and grabbed a bowl from the cabinet. Two ladles full of stew went into it, and she handed me the steaming bowl with a spoon before doling the same out to herself.
“Okay,” she said to Amy. “Remember, two full ladles for everyone, no more. And no seconds unless I say so.”
“I know, Mom,” Amy said as she rolled her eyes. “This has to last us for Goddess knows how long, this is all we have ‘til we grow our own.” She quoted Maya in a tired voice as she grabbed a pair of potholders and picked up the bubbling pot of stew. We followed her out and sat at the table. One of our lanterns was lit and shedding a circle of light on the table. Someone had laid a fire in the firepit, and it was crackling gently, providing more light and some welcome heat against the evening’s chill. More bowls were already stacked and waiting, and she served the stew out with exacting precision, even quelling her own father’s rebellious look with a glare she had to have inherited genetically from her mother.
“This is all we have Dad,” she said. “We have no idea how long we have to make it last.”
“You didn’t plan for this?” he asked me snidely.
“If he didn’t, you’re damned lucky he decided to let you come along!” Cassie said, her own voice sharp. “If it wasn’t for them, you’d probably be dead right now. And my son and I would be locked in a cell or God knows what else. So do us all a favor and shut up.” She sat down and turned her back to Karl, her bowl held in shaking hands. Bryce went to stand next to her, and he gave Karl hateful looks over his mother’s shoulder.
“Is that it?” Karl said. “I’m lucky he allowed me to come along? So I’m just here on sufferance?”
“Both of you!” I snapped. “Stop. Rule twenty two. Watch out for your friends and family. That’s why you’re here, Karl. And no, I did not plan for this. I didn’t plan for zombies and I didn’t plan for having more people with us. But someone did. And as soon as we’re done eating, I’ll let you all in on the plan.” I sat down and dug in to my food, my stomach sour.
“Way ta go, dad,” Amy said as she sat down beside him. Porsche sat beside Cassie and nodded to Bryce, who sat across from her and started eating as well. For a few minutes, silence reigned. The stew was freeze-dried Mountain House, which was good on its own, but Maya always added some potatoes and bullion to bulk it up a little and add some stronger flavor to it. My spoon hit the bottom of the bowl too soon, both for my stomach’s taste and my brain’s. Maya, to my relief, forced Bryce and Amy to take seconds, and Karl didn’t object, which I counted as a minor miracle. Finally, I couldn’t put the moment off any longer.
“All right, boys and girls,” I said as I got to my feet. The sun had faded from the sky, leaving the lantern and the fire as my only sources of light. Six pairs of eyes followed me as I went to the other side of the fire and tossed a log onto it. “First of all, we’re not staying here. I got in touch with Nate today, and he gave me a location for us to meet him. He also gave me something else: the combinations to the locks on his storage sheds. Everything we need for the trip should be inside.”
“You talked to my dad?” Bryce asked.
“Not exactly. It was all in Morse code. But he did ask about you and your Mom.” I dug out the slip of paper I’d written the combination to one of the locks on and held it out to him. “Here, I think he’d like it if you opened up this one. I’ll get the other one.” We went to the two cargo containers. I directed Bryce to the one on the right, and I went to the other one. The heavy combination locks popped open and I pulled mine free, then lifted the bar and pulled the door to mine open. A set of fluorescent lights blinked on as I pulled the door wide, revealing the contents in all their glory. My jaw could have hit the floor.
Inside the shed was the bastard child of truck and an RV decked out in digital gray camo. It had the front end of a truck, but the back end was a compact camper, but it lacked the large windows and cab-over bed. The windshield and windows were covered with a metal meshwork that was large enough to see through easily but too small for more than two fingers to fit through it. The front was big enough to hold four passengers comfortably. I could see far enough into the back to see a small stove and sink on the driver’s side. Storage lined the rest of what I could see. I looked over at Bryce to see what his reaction was.
“Wow!” he said as he stepped inside. I took a couple of steps over to see that the other shed had the same thing in it. Since they looked the same, I followed Bryce in and opened the passenger side door. From the inside, I could see that the vehicle also had room in the back for four single beds stacked two to a side. The driver’s side seemed to be devoted to living arrangements, with the tiny stove and sink set over a small refrigerator, and the cabinets above and beside it devoted to pantry space. The largest door opened onto a toilet and a sink, then a tall, narrow door that opened onto a tiny closet. The passenger side was a mix of armory and survival gear, including a couple of tents and a folding table. The gun cabinet opened to reveal a rack that held two M-14s, two Ruger 10/22s and a pair of Remington 870 pump shotguns, with two M9s clipped to the door. Boxes of ammo were stacked in the bottom. Two drawers below that revealed cleaning kits and four knives. I smiled as I recognized the Aircrew Survival Egress Knife, or ASEK, that I had suggested to him instead of the usual Army M9 bayonet. The ASEK was a better utility knife, and for civilian survival, it would do the same job as the bayonet, only much better.
While Bryce and Cassie explored their vehicle, I went back to the other shed. Amy was in the back, and
Maya had climbed into the front passenger seat. “Look, honey, it even has a laptop up front,” she said with a teasing smile.
“Great, I’ll be able to write another book,” I said.
“We should have grabbed some of our DVDs,” Amy said from in back.
“Guess we’ll have to stop at a Best Buy or something,” Maya answered. I left them to explore and went to the back of the vehicle, noting the emblem on the back that read “Land Master Edition”. There was a trailer hitch on the back and an extended storage deck. Karl and Porsche were waiting for me when I stepped out of the shed, neither of them looking happy.
“Where are we going exactly?” he demanded.
“To a place in southern Wyoming. Just west of Medicine Bow National Forest. Way off the beaten track, so there won’t be so many dead people walking around.”
“That’s a plus,” Porsche said. “So, what about all your stuff here? Seems like a lot to just leave behind.” To my amazement, Karl nodded in agreement with her.
“You’re right. We’re going to have to load up as much as we can tonight. There’s a trailer in the barn where we stored our food stock. We’ll get as much as we can in it, and stow the bikes on the back of the Land Masters.”
