A Post Apocalyptic Virus Story (Book 2): Surviving The Virus [L.A. Rescue Mission]

by Gregory, Matt

  Bill popped out of the plane, his rifle ready for action, but there were no zombies. Movement down the street caught his attention.

  “James, you see that?” Bill asked.

  It wasn’t people or zombies running toward them. The figures were smaller. Too small to be dogs. James spun around, and Keeta growled.

  James squinted to see better.

  “It looks like a bunch of cats.”

  “Cats?” Bill asked.

  Bill pulled up his rifle and looked in the scope. Yep, they were cats, alright. Their eyes looked crazy, and their hair was all blotchy, and there were patches of missing hair exposing their skin. The pack consisted of 73 cats.

  “They are a bunch of zombie cats,” Bill said.

  James’s face scrunched up, and he scratched the back of his head.

  “Zombie cats?”

  “Yeah, and you should go get a gun from the plane.”

  The pack of zombie cats were moving like cheetahs. Bill aimed the rifle and POP. POP. POP. A few cats dropped, but more kept coming.

  James held Keeta back so she wouldn’t turn into a zombie dog. He rushed to the plane, grabbed a 12-gauge shotgun from the back seat, and stuck a few magazines for the gun in his pockets along some extra shells.

  “Stay inside the plane, girl,” James said as ushered Keeta inside and shut the door.

  Bill kept blasting cats, and their heads exploded like little watermelons. James took his place next to Bill and began firing the pump-action shotgun. BLAST. PUMP. BLAST.

  The zombie cat pack dwindled to five. POP. BLAST. POP. BLAST. Only one little zombie kitten remained. Even with the blotchy hair and exposed skin, it was a cute calico kitten. It didn’t seem to be aggressive.

  James leaned down at the cat. He had a soft spot for dogs and cats, especially kittens.

  “This has to be the cutest little zombie kitten I’ve ever seen. What should we do with it?” James asked as he stood up.

  POP. The zombie kitten was no more. James snapped his head toward Bill.

  “Bill, what the hell?”

  “I don’t like cats.”

  “The little guy didn’t mean any harm.”

  “Don’t care. We don’t know what that little thing was capable of.”

  Theodore sat frozen in the pilot seat of the plane. James walked over to the Solar Plane. He gave Bill some dirty glances as he got in.

  Keeta jumped out of the plane and began barking at the dead cats whose bodies began to dissolve.

  “Teddy, we have to get to a boat now while the coast is clear.”

  Theodore had a glazed over look on his face.

  “What?”

  “Let’s go,” James said.

  James got the two backpacks out and put them outside the plane.

  “Are you going to grab one of these?” James barked to Bill.

  Bill grabbed one of the large backpacks and slung it over his shoulder.

  It took a few minutes, but they got all the guns and ammo they could carry. James had the other backpack on.

  Bill opened the door and said, “Teddy, come on, buddy. It will be alright.”

  He then grabbed one of Theodore’s legs and shifted it. Theodore took the steps and was out of the plane. Every muscle in Theodore’s body was tense with anxiety; the sat phone clenched in his hand.

  “We are good to go now,” Bill said.

  The three men and Keeta headed down the ramp to the dock. Expensive sailboats lined the docks. They kept their eyes out for one that looked suitable and might have enough fuel to get them out of the harbor so they could set the sail.

  Bill scanned the perimeter, making sure all was clear. They stopped at a 50 foot Beneteau Sense sailboat. It was blue, and before the zombie apocalypse, it could have sold for over $400,000. In red, in had the name, Ocean Lover stenciled on the hull. The boat had two steering wheels in the stern of the ship. It had a covered area and then went downstairs into the galley, which had a kitchen and table. All of the wood was oak with a stain finish. Inside, the boat had a master stateroom with a king bed—another stateroom with two bunks.

  James sat the pack and guns down and climbed aboard the vessel and disappeared into the cabin. Keeta jumped on board and followed him. He popped out a few minutes later.

  “Looks like we are good to go. Load up fellas,” James said.

  Bill threw the backpack on the deck of the sailboat. He handed the guns over to James. Theodore stood like a statue on the dock.

  “Teddy, you need to get on the boat now. James is going to fire up the engine, and we are leaving,” Bill said.

  “I can’t do it, Bill. I want to, but my legs won’t move.”

  Bill untied the ropes from the dock but held one of the rails on the sailboat, so the boat wouldn’t float away from the dock. He heard the sound of the diesel engine start.

  “Hear that, that’s the engine. We’re leaving now, Teddy. Try taking one step.”

  Theodore tried to move, but his muscles wouldn’t work. Some emotional damage was so deep inside it controlled his every move.

  At that same moment, Bill saw a giant pack of zombie cats running down the ramp toward them.

  “Oh, crap. Teddy, we got trouble. You need to get on now.”

  No movement.

  The pack of cats moved closer. Bill had enough.

  “The hell with it.”

  He reared back and punched Theodore between the eyes, who crumpled to the ground. It wasn’t easy, but Bill managed to drag Theodore onto the boat. With his foot, Bill pushed away from the dock just in time.

  The cat pack arrived, but it was too late. Even zombie cats hate water, and none of them were willing to swim in the water or try to leap onto the boat.

  Bill shouted, “All clear.”

  James was at the wheel of the boat, and he waved his hand in acknowledgment.

  15

  Sailing the Sea

  Somewhere 5 miles off the coast in California.

  James was at the wheel of the sailboat. The ocean had six feet swells and wind coming out of the north at 20 knots per hour. The mainsail and jib sail were both up. The book tacked back and forth in the wind made it slow going.

  Bill came out of the cabin and yakked over the side of the boat.

  “Week in, I thought you would have your sea legs by now,” James said.

  Once the contents of Bill’s stomach were in the Pacific Ocean, he wiped his beard clean.

  “I’m a logger, not a fisherman,” Bill said.

  “Don’t worry; you’ll get your sea legs.”

  The boat kept rolling back and forth from port to starboard. Bill wobbled as he walked to the cabin and plopped down in the bench seat at the table. Keeta was asleep on the floor next to him. Bill had always liked dogs, and Keeta had taken a liking to him. This made Bill happy since his dog; Thumper, had been killed by preppers a few months back.

  Theodore came out of the master stateroom and walked toward Bill.

  “I never said thank you,” Theodore said.

  “For what?”

  “Helping me to overcome my fear.”

  “It was the least I could do. I mean, you drugged me, so I figured knocking you out made us even. Plus, even though we have different views on things, I didn’t want you to get eaten by a pack of zombie cats.”

  “Again, thank you. I’m hungry. How about you?”

  “What do you got?”

  Theodore opened a cupboard; the only content was cans of spam.

  “Looks like we can have some spam or spam. What will you have?”

  “I shouldn’t. I’ll throw it up in five minutes.”

  Theodore didn’t say anything as he grabbed a can of spam, pulled back the metal lid, and found a fork. He started to eat it.

  “I know it should be gross, and I’m almost certain I will never bring myself to eat it after the trip, but somehow I’ve grown very fond of this can of meat.”

  The spam smell of vomited meat hit Bill’s nostrils, and he gagged. He
could feel his stomach twist, and the orange enzymes in his stomach ask to come out.

  James came down into the galley.

  “How’s my little sailor doing?” James asked.

  Bill wanted to serve up a knuckle sandwich for James but didn’t have the energy for it.

  The sat phone was on the table.

  “When’s the last time you called Gavin?” Bill asked.

  “I called him this morning. He’s doing good. He said that he and Katie are getting to know each other, and they have been working on the old ham radio we have.”

  Bill wasn’t sure if it was the idea of Katie and Gavin getting to know each other, or the smell of spam, but he had to rush topside to heave whatever he could out of his stomach.

  16

  Working on the Radio

  “Well, the battery is powered up, and we are good to go,” Katie said as she flipped the switch on.

  The ham radio came to life; a blue light came on. They were in the tree fort. They considered taking the radio out of the tree fort, but the antenna was in an optimal location.

  Gavin had played it cool since his failed attempt to kiss Katie. One of his buddies in college said, the less interest you show a girl, the more she’ll like you.

  The only sound the radio emitted was static.

  “Do you think we can contact someone?” Gavin asked.

  Katie nodded.

  “Does your dad have anything that could boost the signal?”

  Gavin smelled a scent of coconut; it was coming from Katie’s hair. It wasn’t the first time he smelled it, but now it seemed to get to him a little more and more. Gavin, lost in thought, had a thousand-yard stare.

  “Earth to Gavin. Are you there?”

  He snapped out of it.

  “Yeah, what were you saying?” Gavin asked.

  “Geeze, you aren’t even listening to me.”

  “Yes, I was. You said something about boosting the signal.”

  “Good, so you were at least partially listening. Do you think your dad has something we could use to boost the signal?”

  “Let me think. I remember when I was a kid, he talked about something. I believe it was a repeater. We had planned to add it to the top of the radio tower on Beaver Mountain, but we never did.”

  “Well, maybe you can call your dad and see if he knows anything about it.”

  “Sure, but I’ll have to go back to get the sat phone. It’s in the bunker. You want to come?”

  “No, I’m going to stay and fiddle with the radio, see if I pick up a signal from anyone.”

  Gavin left for the bunker. Katie stayed and checked different frequencies for a signal.

  Thirty minutes later, the trap door of the tree opened, and up came Gavin. Katie relaxed on one of the cots.

  “Looks like you are working hard,” Gavin joked.

  “What’d you find out?”

  “He said they put the repeater up back when I was a kid. He said it probably stopped working because of the power outage. If we want to get it working, we will have to take the Solar SUV out to the radio tower and add a small solar power setup for the repeater.”

  Katie sat up, excited.

  “We should be able to figure that out. As far as I see it, we don’t have any choice. We need to see if we can reach anyone, get some news. Let’s go.”

  “I like that you like adventure.”

  “So, what’s the plan?”

  “We will go back and load up the Solar SUV with tools, guns, some ammo, and all the equipment for the solar power setup.”

  “Road trip. This is going to be fun. It has been so long since I’ve been out.”

  Gavin got up and headed for the door, and Katie patted him on the butt. He turned around and said, “Or we could go somewhere else.”

  “Don’t take it the wrong way.”

  Gavin shook his head, opened the trap door, and headed out of the tree fort. He thought to himself; women are strange creatures.

  “Are you sure this was the right road?” Katie asked.

  “Yes, I’m sure. Don’t worry. We will get there.”

  Gavin drove the Solar SUV down a gravel logging road surrounded by 20-year-old pine trees. They drove slow, both peering out the window for signs of the radio tower.

  “Right, there. I think I saw it,” Katie said.

  “Where?”

  “Over there on the right. Not sure this road leads there.”

  “That’s fine. We might be able to hike there. There shouldn’t be any zombies out here.”

  Gavin pulled the SUV to the side of the logging road. They would have to hike through the forest.

  “Alright, I’ll load up the tools in a backpack. You grab a gun,” Gavin said.

  Katie opened the back door and got a thirty-aught-six rifle out. She took several extra magazines. Gavin took the hiking pack that had plenty of tools, and it also had two three-foot solar panels strapped to it.

  “Alright, let’s do this,” Gavin said as he stomped in the lead toward the tower.

  Katie grabbed him by the shoulder.

  “Hey there, Cowboy. How about I lead the way since I’m the one that saw the tower?”

  Gavin didn’t like it, but he let her take charge. There was nothing inherently wrong with it in his mind. He wasn’t use to it and never met a girl that was so strong-willed. Gavin liked it.

  “Okay, try to keep up mister track star,” Katie said as she began taking the longest strides she could.

  She was tall for a girl, but Gavin was four or five inches taller than her, and she wanted to see if she could outdo him. Through the brush, they went. The forest was dark, with little light shining in.

  To leave Gavin in the dust, Katie gave it everything she had. She had loved hiking, and even in post-virus life, she was in fantastic shape. Left foot. Right foot. She hustled, and Gavin held pace.

  Soon, Gavin began to fall back a bit due to how heavy his load was. His training had declined without the structure that the athletic program of the university. The competitive nature of Gavin kicked in. He would not let her beat him. He decided to pick it up to a slight jog.

  Katie didn’t have to turn her head; she could hear the thin branches snapping behind her. She picked it up to a run. Even with the gun, she made good speed as kept the barrel pointed toward the ground. Bill taught her well.

  The jog melted into a sprint once she saw another logging road through the forest ahead. Out of breath and sweating, they both pushed it and came to the logging road at the same time. They came to a small clearing with a 300-foot tall radio tower.

  They both smiled.

  Katie kept staring, Gavin expected her to look away, but she walked over and planted a big kiss on him. They both felt the electricity. But, like all good things, the kiss ended.

  “Alright, time to set up the solar panels and get them wired up,” Katie said.

  She was back to business, and Gavin shrugged it off. He set his pack down, and they went to work.

  17

  Life at Sea

  5 Miles off the coast of Crescent City, California.

  The wind gusted from the northwest. Theodore was at the wheel, driving the boat. The boat crashed back in forth in the swell and waves. Bill and James sat on the comfortable bench cushions. Keeta was asleep on the floor next to James’s feet.

  “It ain’t true,” Bill said.

  “Sure, it is. I ran for a senate seat in Wyoming. Never been to the state, but James ‘Coaltrain’ Harkley got almost four percent of the votes in the Republican primary. 3,740 people voted for me.”

  “How did that work if you had never been to the state?”

  “It was a hassle, but I had to set up a virtual mailbox, and Wyoming didn’t require that the candidate have an actual residence in the state. If I would have won, then I would have had to establish a residence.”

  Bill laughed.

  “Damn, too bad you didn’t win. That would have been something else.”

  “Yeah, that was
a fun art project. I almost ran for governor of California, but it ended up being too much work.”

  “I wish I could be creative like that. Give me a tree to cut down, I’m your guy, but if you want me to pull a cool idea out of thin air, I can’t help you.”

  James shifted his weight and sat up a bit straighter.

  “The only trick is parlaying that creativity into some dollars. It is hard for creativity to generate money. Even side money.”

  Theodore sat at the wheel of the boat and looked comfortable. He could see the California coast to his east. Part of him cringed that he had missed chances to go on boats with friends over the years, but glad he was on one now.

  Bill got up.

  “Hey Teddy, you want some spam?”

  “No, thanks, Bill.”

  “Whatever floats your boat. I think I love spam now,” Bill said as he turns to James. “Where did you get all of this spam?”

  “It took years to collect it. I always had a hunch something like this would happen, glad I saved it all.”

  18

  First Contact

  Gavin and Katie sat by the ham radio. There was static and nothing else.

  “Hope we hear someone,” Gavin asked.

  “Me too,” Katie said as she changed the dials trying to pick up a signal, and they heard a faint voice.

  She grabbed the microphone from the radio and said, “This is Coos Bay, Oregon. Does anyone read me? Over.”

  She heard no response. There were little grumbles like someone was talking. She turned the frequency knob, and the voice became louder. The voice on the radio said, “This is Ted Stallworth in Eugene, Oregon. Does anyone hear me? Over.”

  “Eugene, Oregon. This is Coos Bay. We hear you loud and clear, over,” Katie said.

  She smiled at Gavin.

  “Nice to hear from you, Coos Bay. How are things going down there? Over.”

  “We’re safe and secure. Most of the town is zombies, but we are in a remote location. We have a protected barrier, so we’re pretty safe. How is it in Eugene over?”