Not Dead in the Heart of Dixie

by R Kralik

  Mick has watch duty tonight, so I'm headed to bed alone. I'm definitely ready for some sleep.

  Bye for now.

  Tuesday, April 22

  Lootin' crews are in town today. Rona radioed back that the HDI population was smaller because of Rick and Ian's “outing”.

  Rick and Ian are on the rooftops, continuing their work. Rick says the HDI's seem to be drawn toward the rock quarry again. I hope that quarry gets filled to the brim so Chris can call in another round of cluster bombs.

  Dane, Mick, Soo, Isaac, and Jason left to get little wooden buildings. Dane called dibs on the first two so he can add rooms to his woodshop house.

  Wilky Place is borrowing our crane truck and log truck to bring home logs for their fence. We made a deal that we'd provide the fuel if we get one load of every three they bring home. We wanna use our lumber mill to build sturdy houses, or additions onto the little wooden buildings. Our first project will be the tunnels, guard towers, and catwalks.

  We also want to use the magic log splittin' machine to make sure we have plenty of firewood for winter on both compounds.

  The men at Wilky Place plan to use trailers and a gate in front. We'll be loaning a lot of equipment, but it'll be worth it to have another friendly compound and extra hands near Kapper Hill.

  I'm completely ignorant about construction projects. I don't know if we can use re-use shingles from roofs of other buildings. Maybe we should plan on tin roofs.

  I know we can use doors and windows as well as bathroom fixtures, and cabinets. That's about all I know. Can insulation be reused? What about sheet rock? At least we won't have to worry about electrical outlets at this time.

  Jeremy and Jesse are looking for hay. I hope they find some and I hope they don't travel far.

  None of our crews are allowed to head west until Chris figures out where the bad guys are and captures or eliminates them.

  I'm headed to Hisa's house to get Tom and Darlene's story. I'll take along a hand held radio. Josie's monitoring the radio and I told her that I wanna know where Mick is at all times.

  Uh oh, I hear trucks. It might be the fence crew.

  See ya later.

  2:20 PM...

  The fence crew is here and they're almost finished setting up camp in the field. Staff Sergeant Surn is staying in the Peterson house. I guess he likes the floor there better than a tent. We've already removed all the beds from the house.

  They plan to erect the fence around their camp. Every finished side adds a little protection to the camp, and they plan to start across the back. I think there are more than 30 men and women there. The extra troops will probably be guards, or cooks, or “whatever” while the men work.

  I was pleased to see that one of the soldiers is the young man who hooked up our washing machine. He came up the hill to find out if it's working for us. I told him it was my favorite post-apocalypse gadget ever and he just grinned. Lisa insisted she be allowed to escort him back down the hill. Hmmm.

  The lootin crews brought home an assortment of things including an American bulldog female and four pups. Rona found them in the janitor closet of a factory that makes bumpers for Mercedes Benz. I have no idea why she was in a bumper factory, but regardless, we have five more animals on the compound. Jason wants to train them to be guard dogs. They're definitely a mixed breed, maybe with German shepherd or something else long-haired. I have to admit, they're cute as buttons.

  The kids went nuts over them. Kevin grabbed a couple of doghouses from TSC and Momma Dog seems to like hers. She also likes Opie. Thank goodness his baby-makin' gear is out of business and the vet took care of Tig's when he was here.

  Buttercup's little filly is doing fine. She's hilarious and likes to play. The kids named her “Pride,” I thought that was a fancy name but they like it so, Pride it is.

  I asked Ian and Rick how many HDI's they took out while they were in town and they looked dumbfounded. They forgot to count them. I made a fuss about it and they ended up counting the ammo they have less so they could figure out how many they fired. They both agreed on the number 88, so I wrote the number in my HDI report book.

  As I mentioned earlier, I visited with the Sulligent's at Hisa's house this morning.

  Tom and Darlene Sulligent are from Falkville, Alabama. They owned a small jewelry shop when the HDI virus came to visit. They decided to close the business and hunker down in their house outside of town.

  Darlene had been diagnosed with cervical cancer a couple of weeks before Christmas and she was preparing for surgery and chemotherapy to begin after Christmas. They had two daughters in college at a university in Kentucky and wanted to wait until after Christmas to tell them the news.

  Their daughters didn't come home for Christmas. In fact, they never saw or heard from them again. They assumed the worst had happened when news stations began reporting HDI outbreaks and overwhelming amounts of crime in Louisville, Kentucky.

  There was approximately two weeks’ worth of food in the house and they decided to begin rationing immediately. The food lasted three weeks and they had no water other than the water in the toilet tanks and any rainwater they could catch. They tried looting houses in the neighborhood, but they were threatened and shot at several times.

  They decided to take their GMC truck and head for the hills. They had three cans of soup and a sleeve of saltine crackers to take with them. They filled a two-liter bottle from the toilet tanks, loaded the truck, and headed out.

  They came across several abandoned cars and discovered that many of them held bodies. Tom used a thick tree branch to bash in the head of an HDI in a government car with a license plate that read “recruiter.” They took a loaded pistol from the recruiter’s body. There was no extra ammo in the vehicle.

  They searched cars and truck cabs and found several half full water bottles, a few unopened soda cans, and a few snacks that must have escaped previous looters.

  They made it 25 more miles before the GMC ran out of fuel and they were forced to walk. Darlene was feeling terribly ill and Tom knew he had to find a safe place for her to rest. They came across a sign advertising a camp ground and walked the dirt road about a quarter of a mile before they found a small, primitive office.

  There were lots of decorations and furniture in the camp office, but there was no food or water. There was an outhouse in the woods behind the office, but no bathroom facilities inside. There was a refrigerator, and Tom made the mistake of opening it. Everything inside was ruined.

  Beside the office desk was a small display with pamphlets on edible plants, dangerous snakes, insects, first aid, and camp rules and regulations. Tom took the pamphlet on edible plants and went out to forage while Darlene rested inside the campground office.

  There were no campers or motorhomes there.

  He wandered around the campground, trying to identify the plants pictured in the pamphlet but the images were simple pencil drawings and Tom feared eating the wrong thing. He threw the pamphlet in his backpack and headed back to the office building.

  On the way, he noticed a large hand pump sticking out of the ground. He pumped the handle several times and almost jumped for joy when clear water poured out. He ran inside the office, pulled fake roses from a decorative vase, ran to the pump, and filled the vase. They had no food, but they had shelter and water. They stayed there two days before Darlene felt like walking again.

  They were on a small country road with several areas that had picnic tables where anyone enjoying the view could pull off the road and eat their lunch in the midst of nature. Tom and Darlene searched every garbage can at every picnic area. They found nothing.

  They decided to turn around and head back to their home so they could starve to death in peace. Along the way, they found a squirrel and one rabbit that had been hit by cars.

  It was winter and it was cold. They didn't have to fight very many insects for their raw road kill. Darlene became ill several hours later and they took refuge in an abandoned Honda Accord station
wagon. Tom found old french fries and several pieces of chewing gum stuffed in the seats. They ate everything.

  They were eight miles from home when Darlene collapsed and couldn't go any further. She begged Tom to leave her and go home, but he refused. He carried her into the woods and they slept, huddled together under the low hanging branches of a hickory tree. They stayed there three days. Tom dug for worms and grubs and anything edible he could find. It was just enough to keep them alive.

  They began walking toward home again. Darlene had to stop often and rest, but Tom was patient and gave her all the time she needed. They were within a mile of home when Tom noticed huge plumes of smoke coming from the direction of their subdivision.

  Darlene was sitting on the grass at the edge of the road and Tom was staring at the smoke when military vehicles began heading toward them at a high rate of speed. They heard automatic gunfire and Tom picked up Darlene and ran through the woods. He fell over a rock hidden under the leaves and both he and Darlene hit the ground. When he tried to stand, his ankle gave way and he removed his boot to examine it. He didn't think it was broken, but he couldn't walk on it or carry Darlene. They began to crawl.

  They crawled for two days before emerging from the woods into a clearing beside a paved road.

  They noticed a house trailer a few yards back from the road and Tom crawled to check it out. The trailer was abandoned, old, and had obvious leaks in the ceiling.

  He went back for Darlene and they took refuge inside the trailer. They found two small cans of green beans in the back of the cupboard. The expiration date was three years old, but they didn't care. Tom used his pocketknife to open the cans and they ate them over a period of two days. The beans tasted fine, and neither of them became ill.

  They slept on moldy carpet and went outside to take care of nature. They were lying down to sleep on the third night when they heard coyote's in the distance. They crawled into a filthy bathroom and slept in the tub with the bathroom door closed. The following morning, they left and headed west again. The fire from the direction of home was still burning and they'd heard several explosions through the night.

  They traveled for three more days, drinking water from ditches, mud puddles, and dew from leaves they could pour into the vase. They chewed the leather straps from their backpacks until there was almost nothing left.

  Tom wasted two bullets trying to shoot a couple of squirrels from trees, but his eyesight is poor and he missed both times. He decided to save the remaining bullets for protection.

  Finally, they gave up.

  They chose a beautiful spot in the woods and laid down together, holding hands and waiting to die.

  They fell asleep when night came, and slept peacefully.

  When Tom opened his eyes the next morning, he saw a young woman and a small child standing over him. He raised up on his elbows and tried to talk to them. The woman's name was Kayla and the child was Vicki.

  Kayla found Vicki alone in the woods two days prior and decided to take care of her the best she could.

  Darlene woke from the sounds of their voices and they sat together for several hours, telling each other their stories.

  Vicki had a can of clam chowder and a box of matches in her purse. They built a fire and warmed the chowder over the flames. That chowder, split four ways, was the last packaged food any of them had.

  They traveled west together, eating bugs, insects, and mushrooms from the forest floor. They ate acorns and wild strawberries and anything else they decided was safe enough to eat. They found several dead squirrels on the side of the road and cooked them over a small fire. They continued traveling west and had no idea where they were headed.

  One day, they were sitting on a log at the base of a large tree pulling mushrooms and cramming them in their mouths. They heard a sound from behind the tree and looked up to see two small children standing and staring.

  Tom asked the children where their parents were, and the young boy said “we ain't got none no more.” The young girl tried to repeat what he'd said but she was still in the “learning to talk“ stage and didn't do a good job of it.

  Tom, Darlene, Kayla, and Vicki took the children with them. Their names were Tricia and Dale.

  Several days later, they came upon a small camp. They watched the occupants for a while and decided to introduce themselves. Tom kept his hand on the pistol while the group talked.

  There were two men in the camp and they seemed to know which plants to eat and which ones to avoid. They also knew where to find water.

  The men were startled when Tom and his group walked into their camp. A few minutes later, they were all sitting around the fire while the two men fed wildflowers and weeds to the group. The men were Jose' and Carl, and they were headed west.

  They all decided to travel together, camping when they needed to and walking when they could.

  They came to our fence and decided to spy on the compound and see if there was food they could beg for. That's when Soo heard them.

  Soo's shot didn't hit Jose'. The bullet ricocheted off a tree and scared him enough to trip over his own feet, but that was it.

  Ian and Rick found them sleeping about a hundred yards to the east of the compound. They took one look at the group, picked up the children, and demanded that the rest of them follow them back to the compound. Rick and Ian promised them at least one meal. The group stood and followed their good Samaritans.

  You know the rest of the story.

  Josie stuck her head in the door a few minutes ago and told me that Mick and the crew are headed home. I'm going out to wait for them on the porch.

  See ya later.

  11:15 PM...

  Mick and the crew made it back with no trouble. There are four little wooden buildings on flatbed trailers beside the trailer fence. It looks like a munchkin village already around here.

  Dane says he'll... hold that thought.

  O M G I smell smoke and I hear yelling and gunshots!

  Wednesday, April 23

  2:00 PM...

  The only thing I can do is pray for help from God.

  The kids, including the older ones, have been in the basement all night with Nana and Emma. We allowed them out an hour ago. They were crying and worried, and had to use a bucket for potty time because no one was allowed to go to the outhouses.

  I was interrupted last night by the smell of smoke and the sounds of gunfire. Mick jumped out of bed before I could get out of my chair. We both ran to the kitchen door and I waited as he grabbed his weapons and headed to the front of the house. I saw Pop come out of the motorhome to follow him.

  Jason and Jeremy were running down the path. They stopped at the porch and asked what was happening. I told them I didn't know and asked them to come inside to look out the peep holes in the living room window plywood. The three of us put an eye up to a peephole and I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

  The old Peterson house was in flames and people with torches were trying to light the little wooden buildings on the trailer.

  Flaming arrows were coming over the trailer fence, and I saw one of them stick in the roof of Dane's woodshop house.

  Flashes were coming from the road and all over the field where the fence crew had camped. There was so much gunfire. It sounded like it was all running together.

  Five seconds later, I ran back out the kitchen door to the motorhome. Nana was sitting on the couch in the dark. I told her to go to the basement immediately and she followed me back inside to take the stairs.

  Kevin and Rona burst in the kitchen door and I told them what I saw. Rona ran back to the motorhome to get Luke and Larson. She met Marisa on the path, heading to our house with the kids in tow.

  Kevin headed inside to take a shortcut out the front door. The door was standing wide open and Jason and Jeremy were gone.

  Rona sent Luke and Larson to Mick's office and told them to yank the plywood off the window, break the glass, and stand watch. Deuce wanted to go with them but I told him t
o get his 12 year old butt to the basement. Against my mothering instinct, I allowed Carisa to take an M16 and go to the office with Luke and Larson.

  I ran to the bedroom and threw on a pair of pants. I threw a black jacket over my white t-shirt and zipped it. I grabbed the Glock and Marley and headed to the front. Emma was coming in the front door as I was headed out. She was calm, cool, and collected. I told her to go to the basement with Nana and the kids.

  I ran in the kitchen to grab my Ka-Bar and an extra blade just in case I needed it. Marisa was standing in the dark and I almost had a heart attack when I saw her. I told her I was going down the hill and she was to remain in the house and shoot from the front door if she needed to. She nodded, told me the kids were already in the basement, and headed to the front door.

  Folks were coming out of their wooden buildings and motorhomes and I was trying to count heads. It was impossible.

  I was half-way down the hill when Soo and Hisa's house exploded. I stopped in my tracks and prayed to God that this was all a bad dream. It wasn't.

  I decided to try and get to Hisa's house to see if anyone was alive. I had no idea how I would find anyone or what I'd do with them but I had to try.

  I met Soo, Merry, and Valerie coming up the hill. I sent Merry and Valerie to the basement and told Soo to run in the kitchen and grab guns and ammo, He screamed that he was already armed and going back for Hisa before he went anywhere else. We both headed toward the burning house.

  Bullets were flying in the field, and several made it to the hillside. Soo's shoulder barely missed getting hit.

  Elaine met us a little further down the hill. She was carrying a rifle and pistol, and said that Dane and Jesse were in the middle of the fight and they were loaded for bear. I sent Elaine to the corner of the house to stand guard. I told her to holler to Marisa and the teenagers as she approached the house so she wouldn’t get shot.

  I wanted to know where Josie was but I had to find Hisa first. My mind told me that Hisa was dead but I didn't want to believe it.