The Shepherd: Society Lost: Volume One (A Post-Apocalyptic Dystopian Thriller)

by Steven Bird

  Pausing to gather his thoughts, Jessie replied, “When I left the homestead, I set out to find my sister. She’s my only living relative. At least I hope she is.”

  “Where was she when last you knew?”

  “East Tennessee,” Jessie replied.

  “That’s a long way these days,” Spence replied. “How did you plan on getting there?”

  “I had a friend near Cortez that owned a Cessna C-185 tail-dragger.”

  “Are those the ones that look like a Super Cub?” asked Spence.

  “No, I believe you’re thinking of a Husky or a Scout,” Jessie replied. “A C-185 is a six-seat, high-wing, utility airplane with a tailwheel landing gear configuration, making it suitable for off-airport bush flying. They’ll hold six people, or four people with a lot of gear. They’re basically a flying pickup truck.”

  “And you can fly that thing?” Spence asked.

  “I used to do banner towing and fire patrol when I was younger. I wanted to be a professional pilot before I ended up following in my father’s footsteps and pursued a career in law enforcement. I did the banner tow and fire patrol gigs as a way to build flight time.”

  “What makes you think the plane is still there? After all that’s happened?” Spence asked.

  “Joe had previously lost his medical certificate, so he hadn’t been flying it. He kept the airplane in his barn and not at the airport, so there may be a chance it’s still there, even if Joe isn’t,” Jessie said in a somber tone. “He was in pretty bad shape last I heard. He had prostate cancer, I believe. So without a medical infrastructure... well, let’s just say I doubt Joe fared very well after it all went down.”

  “So, you plan to fly a tiny little airplane across the country, having to stop for fuel along the way in today’s crazy world?”

  “Yeah, basically, that’s it. Or at least that was the plan. I can’t get ahead of myself,” Jessie replied. “I have to check on Ash and then go from there.”

  “How would you get fuel? I would imagine the limited supply of avgas at any of the airports along the way would’ve been taken long ago.”

  “You can run autogas in those things. The government-mandated ethanol can cause a few problems with rubber components such as seals, and methanol can cause problems with getting water in your fuel, which is dangerous for aircraft fuel-system icing at higher, colder altitudes, but for the most part, it’ll run. You have to watch out for conditions that may cause vapor lock, which can also be a problem, but for all intents and purposes, it’s a one-way trip anyway. It doesn’t need to run for long.”

  “So you’re gonna scavenge for autogas along the way?”

  “Yeah, basically,” Jessie replied. “It’ll be a little risky since there isn’t really any fresh gasoline out there anymore. What I may find has been sitting there in some old abandoned car’s fuel tank for a while, but like I said, it’s a one-way trip. I’ll make it work.”

  “I’ll make you a deal,” Spence said, giving Jessie a serious look.

  “What kind of a deal?” Jessie asked.

  With a solemn expression, Spence looked at Jessie and said, “I want to go with you. Unless, of course, that would conflict with your plans.”

  “Why would you want to put yourself at risk like that, trying to find my sister? What’s in it for you?” Jessie asked, confused about Spence’s motivations.

  “Because I don’t want to just sit here and wait to die alone,” Spence replied. “What you described sounds like the adventure of a lifetime. I would rather go out on some incredible journey than to wait for some illness or thieves to pick me off. When we get wherever it is we end up going, if you find your sister, I’ll be on my way and won’t be a bother. But in the meantime, it will be one hell of a ride. Besides, I never got married. I never had kids. I’m all alone in this world. The ironic thing is that I was a closet doomsday prepper, one could say. I had weapons, food, medical supplies, everything I needed to ride out a major event like this one. People back then who knew, thought I was a crazy whack-job on the fringe—but look who is alive and eating well tonight,” he said with a crooked smile.

  “The one thing I didn’t prepare for,” Spence said, pausing to gather his words, “was to have someone to survive with. To have someone to survive for. I don’t have that. Without that, I might as well be out there living the heck out of life.”

  “Besides, I’m your doctor and it’s doctor’s orders that you take a medical professional with you in the event of complications.”

  With a smile, Jessie said, “I’m probably not going to make it. You know that, right?”

  “I know what I would be getting myself into,” Spence replied.

  “Well, okay then,” Jessie said with a nod. “But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. My first priority is to look for any signs of Ash and the girl. If they need me, that’s where I’ll be.”

  “I understand completely,” Spence replied. “If it’s not out of line for asking, was this Ash woman special to you?”

  Looking him directly in the eye, Jessie quickly replied, “She’s special because she took me in when she didn’t have to. She’s special because she’s a great person, inside and out. She’s special because she wanted to put herself at risk to help others, like the girl we saw them take to the treatment plant. But if you mean romantically, no. Absolutely not. My heart still aches for my wife whom I still love with all of my being. I don’t imagine I’ll ever move on emotionally from her. And to be honest, I don’t want to. No, Ash is more like a little sister. She’s good people, and in this world, good people need each other.”

  “I understand and completely agree,” Spence said. “Whatever we find at the treatment facility, whatever direction it takes, I’m there with you. Now, let’s get a good night’s sleep tonight. Tomorrow, we can discuss what to take with us. After we’ve got that all lined out, I’ll help you clear the water treatment plant and we can decide how to proceed from there.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Peeking out of the window at first light, taking a sip of coffee, Spence turned to Jessie and said, “The rain finally stopped, but it looks like it’s gonna be cloudy and overcast for a while. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, though.”

  “I would go out there in a hurricane today,” Jessie replied. “I’m obviously still sore, but I feel good enough to get the heck out of here.

  Stepping away from the window, Spence said, “I couldn’t sleep so I got up and put some stuff together for us.” Tossing Jessie a camouflaged rain poncho, he said, “We can use these today in case it starts to rain again. It’s still wet and damp out there and, if nothing else, it will keep the wind off.”

  Catching the poncho, Jessie said, “Thanks. What else did you pack?” he asked.

  “Since you and your lady friend already took my shotgun and shotgun shells, I grabbed the remaining .38 and .357 shells, divided them up and put half in each of our bags. Luckily, you two didn’t figure out that some of the shelving covered a hidden door which opened into a closet where I had a security cabinet.” Pausing, distracting himself with a side thought, he continued, “Yep... I was a crazy prepper. Now, though, you can just call me a survivor. Anyway, before I derail my train of thought anymore, I’ve always been a subscriber to the preparedness rule that two is one and one is none. With that in mind, I just happened to have a second M-1A hidden safely away where looters like you and the girl couldn’t find it. Lord knows if you did, you would have taken it with you when you assaulted the water treatment plant and it would be lost to us now.”

  “I can’t argue with you there,” Jessie said, nodding in agreement. “Just keep in mind, we thought you were dead upstairs. We didn’t realize we were stealing.”

  “I know. I’m just giving you a hard time. So anyway, I packed us each some basic provisions and put the pain meds and antibiotics that you may need, as well as extra wound care items, in your pack.”

  “Sounds good,” Jessie replied, nodding in the affirmative.
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  “Are you about ready to get on with this?” Spence asked.

  “Absolutely,” Jessie replied.

  Picking up his rifle and pack, Spence said, “Let’s get on with it, then.”

  ~~~~

  Slipping into the basement and exiting the house through the basement doors, Jessie and Spence worked their way slowly and cautiously toward the water treatment facility. Passing the burned house where he had narrowly escaped with his life, Jessie was once again reminded of how many times he had somehow managed to survive perilous situations, although not unscathed. The emotional and physical damage was beginning to take its toll on his body and mind.

  Pressing on toward the treatment plant, Jessie and Spence ducked behind an old thrift store which had been looted and partially burned. Being the closest standing structure to the plant, Jessie said, “Let’s observe from here for a bit. We can’t get any closer without exposing ourselves.”

  “Roger that,” replied Spence as he began to scan the area with his binoculars.

  After they had spent half an hour observing the facility, seeing no movement, Jessie said, “Okay, my last known location for Ash was on the lower level. She was supposed to enter the basement door facing the river while I made an attack from the opposite side, drawing their fire. From there, it all went to hell once I got inside and I ended up escaping out of that door there,” he said, pointing to the upper-level administrative office entrance facing them.

  “Was it still open when you got away?” asked Spence, noting that the door was open, exposing the interior of the building to the elements.

  “I was running at a full sprint, so that guy behind me probably wouldn’t have taken the time to close the door. If it has been open all this time, it would indicate that there is no one inside. They would have closed it by now to keep the wind and rain out otherwise.”

  “That’s what I was thinking,” replied Spence.

  “Okay, then. Let’s work our way down Railroad Avenue, using the overgrown decorative shrubs as visual cover. Once we reach the upper parking lot, you peel off, hugging exterior walls for cover and work your way over to the open admin office door. I’ll swing around to the lower exit where Ash was supposed to enter the building.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want me to go to where Ash was? You know, just in case,” asked Spence, concerned about what Jessie might find.

  “No, I’ll need confirmation one way or another. I’ll go through the bottom. Anyway, if it’s clear up top, work your way down the stairs and I’ll meet you in the main basement space down below.”

  With a nod to the affirmative, the two men worked their way down Railroad Avenue as Jessie had suggested. Reaching the facility, Spence edged his way to the administrative entrance, while Jessie stuck to his plan of entering through the lower basement door.

  As Jessie approached the door, he swung the M-1A over his shoulder and drew his Colt revolver. He appreciated the firepower the M-1A had to offer, but knew its weight and length made it less than ideal for close-quarters battle scenarios. Cocking his old single-action Colt with his thumb, he slowly pulled the door open, noting that it had a spring-assisted closing mechanism, which may have explained why it was still closed after the attack.

  Entering the dark hallway, Jessie turned back and propped the door open with a rock, allowing light from outside to shine into the hallway, illuminating his way. Overwhelmed by the smell of death, Jessie swatted flies away from his face as he looked at the man whose guts had been spilled on the floor by Ash’s blade. Damn, girl, he thought.

  As he stepped carefully through the grizzly scene, something on the floor caught his eye. What the—? he thought, as he reached over to pick it up. Well, son of a—, it’s Ash’s watch. Attempting to wipe off the dried blood to no avail, Jessie slipped the watch into his pocket and continued his search.

  Looking into each of the side rooms, he saw no one else other than the man Ash had shot upon her initial entry into the hallway. Looking down at the blood stains on the floor, Jessie could see both Ash’s footprints, as well as those of a smaller-framed person who was apparently barefoot at the time, both leading back out the door. With a smile, Jessie thought, she got her.

  Hearing the upper door leading down to the basement creak as it slowly opened, Jessie entered the main basement area, while covering the stairs above.

  Looking down at Jessie, Spence said, “All clear up top... well, no one living up top, that is.” As he scanned the main basement area illuminated only by the small windows mounted high at the ground level, he said, “You did all of this?” referring to the bodies, some burned and some beginning to rot.

  “It needed to be done,” Jessie replied.

  “I’m not arguing that. Just... Just glad you made it. That’s all.”

  “Ash isn’t here,” Jessie said. “Her tracks led her and the girl back outside.”

  “You can see her tracks?” Spence inquired.

  “Trust me, it’s obvious,” Jessie replied, “Now, let’s get to the reservoir where we were supposed to meet up.”

  ~~~~

  Making their way to the reservoir, following along the river bank, which was Ash’s most likely route of travel, Jessie was frustrated to discover that the heavy rain had washed away any sign of Ash and the girl’s travel. Pressing on, he came to a secluded area where the smell of death was in the air. His heart feeling heavy in his chest, he was afraid of what he would find if he followed the source of the smell but knew he had to see for himself. As he worked his way through a small cluster of trees, Jessie came upon a dead body lying flat on his back with a devastating gunshot wound to the head that took off half of the back of the man’s skull.

  As Spence caught up to him, he placed his hand on Jessie’s shoulder and said, “Do you know him?”

  “It was Wolf,” Jessie replied. “She killed him,” he said as he paused to maintain his composure. With a smile, he looked at Spence and said, “She killed him. They got away. She got that poor girl away from them.”

  With a sense of relief, Spence asked Jessie, “Do you know where she might be now?”

  “I told her if I didn’t return to take the van.”

  “Van?”

  “We took out one of the gang’s scouting teams and took their van. We parked it a few miles west of town in an old pole barn at an abandoned house. They’ve had plenty time to get to it and get away. Ash is tough. She had been hardened by a lot since it all began. I’m sure they’re fine,” Jessie said with satisfaction in his voice.

  Jessie wanted to be able to see Ash once again, to let her know how it had all worked out. He felt bad about the fact that more than likely, they would never again cross paths, but he took solace in the fact that he knew she would be able to make the best of her situation, and would continue to fight and survive in this shattered world they had all come to know.

  Chapter Thirty

  In preparation for the journey that lay ahead, Jessie set out to check for fuel in the tanks of the abandoned cars that remained in Dolores, while Spence rode his bike back to the discreet location where he had left his car before making his way to his home. No longer concerned with concealing his whereabouts in town, Spence drove right up to the front of the house so that he and Jessie could load the car with ease.

  Impressed at the stealth in which the car traveled as Spence pulled to a stop, Jessie said, “Wow, that thing is quiet.”

  “I doubled up on the mufflers. I basically welded an extra one on after a one-hundred-and-eighty-degree bend in the pipe at the end, re-routing the exhaust back through the second muffler before dumping it out in the center of the car. It’s not ideal. It robs the car of a little more power than the single muffler, not to mention the fact that the exit location would make it too easy to gas myself if I sat in it too long with the engine running and not moving, but hey, it's got its purpose and it serves that purpose well.”

  “You’ll hear no complaints from me,” Jessie said, admiring the little car. “I on
ly managed to get twelve gallons of gas in all. I’m amazed so many of the cars had already been siphoned dry, but then again, the gang at the bridge had probably been feeding off them since they arrived.”

  “How far outside of Cortez is your friend’s place?”

  “A few miles to the east of town. He’s on a ten-acre parcel of land.”

  “I’ve got maybe eight or nine gallons left in the car here. Once we get to your friend’s home and decide whether or not the airplane is a viable option, we can drain the gas from the car as well, if need be. It’s not like we’ll be needing it anymore from there,” suggested Spence.

  Strapping the last of the fuel tanks on top of the car’s rear deck-lid cargo rack, Jessie walked over to the passenger-side door, began to open it, and said, “Let’s stop by the treatment plant. I’ve got a few things I want to look for that those fithly scumbags took from me.”

  “Sounds fine to me,” Spence replied.

  As they closed both doors, Spence started the little car and began to adjust his rear-view mirror, only to realize that the fuel tanks strapped to the rack were blocking his view. “Oh, what does it matter, anyway?” he said with a chuckle as the two began driving down the street.

  “Are you sad to see it go?” Jessie asked.

  “What?”

  “Dolores. Are you sad to be driving out of Dolores for the last time?”

  Looking over at him with a serious expression, Spence replied, “Dolores is nothing but a graveyard to me now. Everywhere I look, I see the homes that have become the tombs of my former friends and neighbors. I don’t care if I ever see that place again. It’s just full of ghosts for me.”

  Knowing exactly how Spence felt, with similar feelings having driven him from his beloved mountain homestead, Jessie simply nodded to show his mutual understanding.

  As Spence pulled into the upper parking lot of the water treatment plant, Jessie said, “Keep the car running. Just because it’s safe here now doesn’t mean it will be in ten minutes. You never know what’s going to come down that road next.”