by Shaun Meehan
Having expected a sea of protestation, Clay was surprised to instead receive nods of approval from the group. As Clay was in the process of returning to his seat, Tim rose to his feet.
"Clay... I lost my entire family during the outbreak. However, because of your actions, I now belong to another family." Tim said while spreading his arms out, indicating that he was speaking about the people who were arranged around the table.
"It wouldn't sit right with me if you and Melanie went off on your own... So, I'm coming with you. You'll need a wheel man anyway, in case you have any trouble on the road." Tim said, before returning to his seat beside Lindsay.
Clay could tell by the look on Lindsay's face that she wasn't thrilled about the notion of Tim venturing off, but by the way that she gently placed her hand on his shoulder made it evident that she was proud of him.
Kevin, who had been sitting next to Clay, stood to his feet.
"I would also like to go with you. Although I don't have any special skills to contribute to the expedition, I would like to repay the favour you did for my family." Kevin offered.
Clay sat silently for a moment, pondering the fate of the group should he fail to return. If that occurred, the removal of Kevin from the community would have disastrous results in that it would leave the people leaderless.
"I appreciate your offer Kevin, but I can't risk bringing you along with us into the city." Clay began.
Kevin opened his mouth as if he were about to argue against Clay's decision, but was quickly cut off by the wave of Clay's hands.
"I need to leave someone here that can keep our efforts to fortify this building moving forward. I need you to stay here. Should we fail to return, someone is going to have to carry on what we've all started." Clay said, putting his hand on Kevin's shoulder.
"I'll gladly go in his place." Jamie said, rising to his feet.
The hand of the young woman seated next to Jamie, was grasped by his own.
Clay nodded in approval to Jamie's request. "Both of you need to go with Mel and find yourselves some suitable firearms. Mick will assist you in modifying them to your liking, in any way that he can." Clay said, while looking towards Mick.
"I'll be right here, whenever you guys are ready." Mick said assuredly.
"We've only got a few hours before we leave, so I suggest you all get some rest. I hope that everyone else will carry on with the celebrations. You've all earned it." Clay said.
CHAPTER SIX
Day 6, 34 Days Post Infection
"Are you sure you don't want me to come along with you guys?" Kevin asked.
Tim and Clay were all standing around a small sedan belonging to Kevin, which had been parked outside the rear entrance to the department store. The night was overcast, and Clay had determined that traveling to the city with the vehicle's head lights illuminating the road would only serve to attract the attention of any nearby infected. It was dangerous enough to travel by means utilizing a combustion engine. However, the complete darkness afforded to them by the moonless night would make it difficult for any undead to pinpoint their exact location. It had also proven equally difficult for Tim, who was currently working blindly in the dark in an attempt to disable the vehicle's lighting.
"No, Kevin. We can't afford to lose you, if this trip goes south on us. You'll have Tom, as well as the others to organize tomorrow, anyway. We need to get this renovation under way." Clay replied to Kevin.
"Well, will you at least take Chance with you? It would be useful to have a little advanced notice about any incoming infected." Kevin suggested to Clay.
"We can't. The suburb that I used to live in is a maze of eight-foot privacy fences. Chance has to weigh at least one-hundred and thirty pounds. There is no way that we can toss him over those fences, especially if we have to get out of town in a hurry." Clay replied.
"I think I got it..." Tim said, standing himself upright from underneath the car's hood.
Kevin moved to the driver's side door belonging to his previously fully functioning car. After opening it and slumping himself halfway into the driver's seat, he turned over the engine's ignition. The car shuddered for a moment, having sat stationary for over a month now, but soon came to life.
"I guess the trickle charger from inside worked..." Tim said to Clay, having to speak over the noise generated by the exposed engine.
Tim dropped the hood of the car and motioned to Kevin that he should turn off the engine.
"Glad we're going to have you with us, Tim. I had never considered that none of these cars would have the juice to start. When Mel and I first saw them, we had planned to use them to get out of the city." Clay said, slapping Tim on the shoulder.
"You wouldn't have gotten very far, that's for sure. I stowed another one in Mel's pack, just incase you guys need a vehicle to get out of the city. All you need to do is attach the cables to the battery of whatever you trying to start. Give it a minute or two, then try to start it. It only holds enough of a charge for one or two tries, so make 'em count." Tim said, being able to speak more quietly now after having Kevin turn off the car's engine.
"Thanks..." Clay replied. "I hadn't thought of that either..."
"It likely won't hold enough of a charge for anything larger than a car this size. But if you come across a heavy duty pick-up, or any commercial sized transportation, you should be able to start it anyway. Industrial batteries hold one heck of a charge." Tim said.
"Yah, I don't see anything larger then a pick-up truck being an option. I've never driven anything bigger." Clay replied.
Melanie strolled through the back entrance of the store, with her large pack slung across one shoulder and her rifle cradled in her remaining free hand.
"I can..." she said, while approaching the three men.
"My parents owned a small hobby farm when I was a kid. My dad taught me how to drive his tractor." she continued.
Kevin began to laugh in response to Melanie's matter-of-fact tone.
“Well, you're just full of surprises, aren't you?" he stated, after quieting himself.
"How far behind you, is Jamie?" Clay asked.
He was quickly growing impatient. Clay had wanted to reach the edge of the city while it was still dark and if they didn't leave shortly, they may arrive as the sun had begun to rise. The suburb directly abutted a low crop of soybeans, due to it being one of the areas of the city which had been freshly developed. Crossing that field while it was flooded with daylight would give every infected in the area, an opportunity to spot them. It would be in their best interest to infiltrate the city covertly, and to avoid engaging any undead.
"He's coming. He had to pick up the shotguns from Mick." she answered.
"Good. Are you ready to go Tim, or do you need to get your stuff?" Clay asked.
"Nope. Said my goodbyes and threw my bag in the trunk when I came out to fill the gas tank, and pack the extra fuel." Tim answered casually.
Tim had readied himself before the others, so had attended to the party's gasoline requirements while they had been busy packing. He had syphoned enough fuel from the other two vehicles to fill the gas tank of Kevin's sedan, and enough Jerry cans to ensure they would have adequate fuel to make the return trip. He had also brought along equipment which would compliment his role for the duration of the journey. Tim would be responsible for maintaining the vehicle's operational capabilities while in transit. He had assembled a bag of essential tools and supplies that could be utilized to return their transportation to a road-worthy status, should something fail. Tim had also adhered to Clay's instructions, regarding appropriate armament for combating the infected. He had procured for himself a box of shotgun shells which had been found in the apartment building, as well as having a shotgun, whose barrel had been shortened to make it more conducive to tight maneuvering. Tim had also brought along the four-pound sledgehammer which he had carried on their trip to the lumberyard. Tim, while being a large man, had chosen such a lightweight hammer because it would allow him to
recover faster from an attack, and would fatigue him less should an encounter last more then a few minutes.
"Mel, what's in our bag?" Clay asked, turning to Melanie who was currently loading her pack into the back seat of the four-door sedan.
"About five-hundred rounds of twenty-two caliber ammunition, a few bottles of water, the trickle charger that Tim gave me, and another bag for you." she replied.
Clay had made it clear to Mel, that she was required to pack lightly. He had a gun cabinet of his own at home and they would need to be able to carry everything he had been storing inside of it.
"Good. And weapons?" Clay asked further, intending that the group should encounter no surprises while outside of the department store.
"My rifle and a machete. I know it's not exactly great for crushing skulls, but with a couple swings, I'm pretty sure I could lop a head off with it. It's also the only thing that I can comfortably swing." she answered.
"Good. It'll have to do and it's better then being unarmed. If it comes down to it, swing low and try to disable your attacker. They might not feel pain, but they won't be capable of walking if you split a leg muscle in two." Clay replied.
"A shotgun and a hatchet... And I'm carrying your canoe pack because it contains everything we need to survive, if we get stranded and have to walk back." Jamie said, appearing out of no where from behind the group.
"I figured that you were going to ask anyway..." he continued.
"Good. You're ready, then?" Clay asked to Jamie.
"Sure am." he replied, while handing Tim his newly modified shotgun.
"Alright then. If everyone is ready to move, let’s get loaded up. Remember to unroll the windows and keep the muzzle of any loaded firearm pointed outside." Clay said.
Tim sat himself into the driver's seat of the sedan, placing his hammer on the floor, with its long handle coming up between his knees and tucking his unloaded shotgun between the seat and the closed door. Melanie and Jamie, both began unrolling the rear windows before entering the car and sat themselves into their respective seats after they had finished; Melanie sitting directly behind Clay and Jamie behind Tim. Clay and Kevin were all who now remained outside of the car.
"Kevin. If we don't come back, do not under any circumstances come looking for us." Clay said to Kevin, receiving the vehicles key's from his outstretched arm.
Kevin nodded in response to Clay.
"During dinner, you had said that you don't have any special skills that would support this expedition. I'm going to tell you right now, that you're wrong. You're not coming with us, because you are most capable of leading these people should we fail to return. I gave Lindsay an envelope containing some instructions that you might find useful if we don't make it. If in two days, we don't come back, then ask her for them." Clay said, reaching forward and gripping Kevin's shoulder.
Kevin was momentarily taken aback by Clay's statement, sharing in common with Clay a disbelief in his personal leadership skills.
"Just come back... All of you." Kevin said finally, as Clay was seating himself in the passenger's seat of the sedan. Clay handed the keys over to Tim after having propped his shotgun on the edge of the car door's open window.
*****
The drive down the unlit highway had been a long and arduous one. The road had been littered with abandoned vehicles, presumably having had either broken down or run out of gasoline. Clay had instructed that Tim wasn't to stop unless the road was blocked, as it was their movement alone which was preventing any wandering infected from honing in on their position. It would be unlikely that any of the vehicles would contain anything of worth anyway; their previous occupants conceivably having emptied their vehicle's contents upon abandoning them. On several occasions, Tim had been required to ease the vehicle through rubble or along the shoulder of the road.
The most troubling scene which had been found by Clay and his companions, was encountered nearly halfway through their journey to the city. The roadway ahead of them had been strewn with the bodies of suspected infected, all of which were surrounding a pair of empty cars. Clay had stated that what they saw before them, was exactly the reason why they were to avoid stopping the vehicle unless absolutely necessary. Tim had been required to slowly drive the car over the sea of bodies which had littered the road, grotesquely bumping over the corpses of the undead and imaginably, a few of the vehicle's previous passengers.
Aside from the gruesome reminders of the outbreak, travel along the highway had been quiet. Clay had eventually begun to lead Tim along the backroads which would deliver the group to almost their exact destination. As a result, the party could avoid some precarious overpasses and highway off-ramps into the city that would surely be clogged with vehicles and debris.
The gravel backroads, although difficult to negotiate in almost complete darkness, had been free of any signs of infected. If Clay hadn't known better, it would have been easy to believe that the world was exactly as it should be, with the outbreak never having occurred. He began to wonder quietly to himself, if this had been what the early hours of the outbreak would have been like for many people. If they had simply carried on with their morning just as they had every prior day of their life, only to be fallen upon by a swarm of infected and beaten until they ceased to draw breath. Clay allowed his imagination to run wild momentarily until he was interrupted by the sound of Melanie's voice, and her arm which was lead by a pointing finger having streaked past his peripheral vision.
"What's that?" she asked hurriedly.
"That's a good question. Whatever it is Clay, there is no way that we're driving around it. I think it's completely bottlenecked the road ahead of us." Tim answered before Clay had been able to focus on whatever it was that had caught Mel's attention.
"Okay, throw the engine into neutral and shut the car off. We'll coast the rest of the way." Clay instructed, intending for their last known whereabouts to as far behind their true location as possible.
Tim obliged Clay's instructions, shutting the car off and leaving the quiet night filled solely by the crunching of gravel beneath the tires of the small sedan.
"Get as close as you can. When we come to a stop, Jamie, you're with me. Tim and Melanie, you guys watch your sides." Clay instructed.
Behind him, Clay could hear Melanie and Jamie both readying themselves, as per his instructions. The small sedan had maintained its momentum for much longer then Clay had anticipated, forcing Tim to apply the vehicle's brakes to avoid a collision with what appeared to be the rear end of a large truck, having stopped in the centre of the narrow gravel road.
"Let's go!" Clay said, throwing the passenger side door open and stepping out onto the dirt road, the moment the car had become static.
Clay held his position next to the front corner panel of the car until Jamie entered into his peripheral vision. Clay mounted his shotgun and began to walk quickly towards the large truck. Jamie mimicked Clay exactly, using his own peripheral vision to maintain his pace alongside him while still focusing forward in anticipation of any signs of movement.
"Stay left!" Clay said commandingly, indicating that Jamie should move along the left side of the truck.
Clay moved forward along the large cargo truck, which he now recognized as being a military transportation vehicle. The road to his front was strewn with the bodies of fallen soldiers, laying among the innumerable corpses of their undead attackers. His pace had inadvertently slowed, mostly due to the requirement of stepping over the bodies. Clay hoped in the back of his mind that Jamie's progress had also been similarly inhibited, as he did not want Jamie to continue pressing in his absence.
Clay was glad to see Jamie as he rounded the back of the truck, the pair having reunited almost simultaneously. Continuing their movement, a second large transport vehicle which had matched the first in typical military uniformity was directly to their front.
"Good, Jamie. Just like the last one. Stay left." Clay quickly instructed, intent on communicating to Jamie that he had
managed to accomplish exactly what Clay had wanted, despite only being given the briefest of direction.
The pair repeated their previous maneuver, rounding the second vehicle again almost simultaneously. Like the first, the road had been peppered with cadavers. This time however, Clay had noticed not only the seemingly endless numbers of spent ammunition casings, but also the putrid smell emanating from the bodies of the deceased.
It appeared to Clay that they were reaching the end of the small convoy, as they came upon a smaller G-Wagen light utility vehicle, obviously deployed as the vanguard of the column.
