“It’s pretty crazy. We’re about 10 miles north of town. We must have a similar situation as you guys; we have a good fence and a strong perimeter. So we haven’t had any trouble with zombies. We’ve had a few preppers try to take some action, but we’re able to run them off. Over.”
“Perfect, perfect. Have you made contact with anyone else? Over.”
“No, ma’am. You’re the first person I’ve talked to besides my wife since this whole thing went down. Over.”
“Copy that. We have a powerful repeater, so we’re hoping to pick up a signal from overseas. Trying to get some news, over.”
“Roger that. Coos Bay, I’m going to sign off here, and if you guys hear anything, please let me know. We should stay in contact every few days. Over.”
“Sounds good, Eugene. We will do that, over and out.”
Gavin caressed Katie’s back and said, “Well, that went good, so we made contact with someone. Now, if we can get ahold of someone in Japan, that’d be good.”
“Yes, that will be good. Right now, it’s the middle of the day here, so it’s nighttime there. Chances are people in Asia are sleeping, so we’re going to need to try in our afternoon, so it’s their morning.”
“That makes sense. So if we have some free time, I’m thinking, you know.”
Katie said, “You should get your mind out of the gutter. I need to check on my mom.”
“How’s your mom doing today?”
“She started today okay. She’s the one that made breakfast, and then her anxiety flared up. Her heart rate shot up to 120, so she went to lie down and take her meds.”
“Was she always like this?”
“No, not always. I guess you could say my mom was always a little bit of a worrier. It wasn’t until the virus outbreak until she became worse.”
“Alright. You go check on your mom, and I’ll sit around with the radio, and later we’ll have some fun,” Gavin said with a wink.
Katie gave him a naughty smile.
19
Arriving in Port
“Alright, boys, it looks like we’re coming around Cape Arago. We are almost home,” James said.
“Teddy, have you talked to Gavin?”
“Yes, I talked to Gavin. We will sail the boat around the bay into Coos Bay and have him pick us up at the boat ramp in Eastside. That way, we don’t have to drive through town.”
“That makes sense.”
“He’s on alert, and once we get closer, he will drive down there.”
The Northwest wind had calmed down, and the ocean was flat, but there was still a slight breeze, strong enough to help them keep sailing North.
The month-long sailboat ride up the coast took its toll on all three of the men, and they were ready to be back on solid ground. James and Theodore had month-long beards. It’s safe to say that none of them would ever eat spam again in their life unless their survival depended on it. They spent the last week talking nonstop about all the vegetables and fruits they were going to eat from the greenhouse at the compound.
“Hey Teddy, what are you going to eat first?” Bill asked.
“I have to say that nothing in the world would make my taste buds jump as much as a nice salad right now.”
“Soon enough, my friends, soon enough,” Bill said as he turned to James, who steered the sailboat. “How about you, James?”
“Call me crazy, but I think I’m going to stick to the spam.”
All three guys laughed.
James added, “All kidding aside, I think I’m there with Teddy. However, I’ll want a nice big salad for about a week straight, nothing but salad.”
The men did have some vitamins, which helped supplement their diet of spam. It helped them maintain some level of health, but didn’t offer their taste buds any pleasure.
It took a few hours to get through the bar and past the Charleston fishing village section of town. They sailed up past the neighborhood of Empire and the town of North Bend into Coos Bay, which is one of the best natural ports on the west coast.
There was a dock that stuck out into the bay. Next to the dock was a ramp for fisherman to put their boats into the water. Before the virus is was an excellent spot for sport fisherman.
As they came closer, they saw that Katie and Gavin were standing outside the Solar SUV. The kids waved.
James, like usual, was at the helm of the boat.
“Alright, boys, this might get a bit messy. Trying to come into the dock with only the power of the sails will be tricky, but we will get it. You guys get ready with the tie lines. If worst comes to worst, jump onto the dock. Keeta and I can always jump in and go for a swim.”
Since the boat was heading south in the bay, they had the wind at their backs. James turned the wheel to steer the rudder, and the boat turned, heading toward the dock. The boat came in faster than James would have liked.
Theodore put the sat phone in his back pocket. Bill stood at the edge of the boat with ropes in hand. If the opportunity presented itself, they would tie the boat up to the cleats on the dock. The sailboat came in too fast and rammed the dock. Katie and Gavin ran down to the dock to offer assistance.
The wind and current began moving the boat away from the dock. Both Bill and Theodore jumped the few feet onto the dock. The boat drifted away. Soon it was twenty feet away. It had been a long trip, and James was sick of the boat, jumped into the water.
He splashed into the 60-degree water; it was a cold shock. James came back to the surface and noticed Keeta still on the boat. He whistled.
Keeta dove in, and doggie paddled toward James. Together they made their way to the boat ramp. They came out of the water, a sopping mess.
Gavin hugged James and said, “Nice to see you, Uncle James.”
Even though he was his dad’s cousin, he always called him uncle. Katie hugged her dad as Theodore watched the sailboat drift away. The water no longer held power over him, and he felt a twinge of nostalgia for the boat. Not enough to care, but enough to stare at the boat with fond memories for a minute or two.
“You guys are probably starving and want to get something to eat,” Katie said.
“Dad, I’ve never seen you with a beard. Come on, guys, let’s head home,” Gavin laughed.
The compound was a little more alive with the artistic James Harkley and his dog Keeta, but everyone settled into their roles. James grew some hops so he could brew his beer, and that simple feat secured Bill’s friendship for a lifetime.
Gavin and Katie spent more and more time together. They took care of the garden and operated the ham radio as often as they could. Ted Stallworth remained the only contact, but they had heard a few other faint signals.
Theodore spent most of his time tinkering on projects in his workshop. He decided to work on a solar set up so that if somehow they have to get in a boat again, they will be more prepared.
Bill spent most of his time doing the routine maintenance that was required to keep the place operational. He also snuck into town to kill some zombies once in awhile.
Katie’s mom cooked breakfast and lunch on good days. Bad days were spent in bed either reading Harry Potter novels or sleeping.
Keeta was happy and spent hours upon hours running around the vast acreage of the compound. Never had a dog been happier.
Epilogue
One month later.
Gavin and Katie cuddled on the floor of the treehouse with a blanket underneath them. The ham radio crackled behind them. The lovebirds held hands.
“So, you think we’ll make contact with anyone overseas?” Katie asked.
“Sure, why not?”
A voice came booming across the radio. The accent sounded like someone from China, maybe Korea, to Gavin and Katie’s untrained ears.
“Hello, does anyone hear me? Does anyone in the USA hear this?” the voice asked.
Gavin bolted up and grabbed the microphone.
“Hello, we hear you loud and clear. We are in Coos Bay, Oregon, on the west coast of t
he US. Over.”
“Hello, my name is Zhong, and I’m in eastern China. I’m trying to get a message out to warn anyone in the United States. Over.”
“Warn us of what, sir?”
“I’m not sure what reports you guys have heard or if there was false news, but only in North America has the virus mutated into a zombie infection. In the rest of the world, it is a normal but serious respiratory virus. Thus, China and other world powers figure that the only way to stop the zombie infection from spreading is a large scale nuclear bombing of the United States. Over.”
Gavin almost dropped the microphone. Katie stood up, but her jaw fell to the floor. She couldn’t even talk.
“Hello. Are you there? Over,” Zhong said.
“Yes, we are here. Do you know when they will be bombing? Over.”
“They will begin the airstrike in 2 weeks. They needed to get approval from the twenty top world leaders. I hope this helps, and please spread the word. Best of luck, my friends. Over and out.”
Katie had a tear run down her face.
“We need to tell Ted Stallworth and his wife. Give them warning in case they want to try to escape.”
Gavin nodded.
“Yes, and we need to tell our parents and Uncle James right away. I’m sure my dad will have a plan, but I imagine we will have to get a boat and head into the ocean.”
A Post Apocalyptic Virus Story (Book 2): Surviving The Virus [L.A. Rescue Mission] Page 6
