by Newman, AJ
It was daylight as Tom led his team through the northwestern suburbs and they were surprised at how few people they spotted along the way. They stayed in the shadows and crept along the side of buildings as much as possible to remain hidden, but Tom knew they would eventually be spotted. “Stay sharp and keep your heads on a swivel. Don’t let anyone sneak up on us and watch out for traps and ambushes.”
Tom was now more hopeful of finding their needs since the significant damage from the giant meteor impact the other day appeared to be south of the city toward the airport’s location. “I don’t know what happened to the people. This is weird. Let’s skip the homes and work our way down to Highway 89A to the warehouses and factories.”
Cristy had a question for her dad. “Will we make caches of what we find on the way in and pick them up on the way out?”
“Yes, I wish we could bring the wagon with us, but that would be too risky. Remember we can only fill our backpacks and our duffel bags; anything that doesn’t fit is hidden for the next trip. Remember to perform triage every time your bags get full. You know what we need, and those items have to leave with us.”
They crossed Dry Creek Road and took a new road into an industrial complex on the north side of Highway 89A. There were a couple dozen huge buildings in the complex and Tom read the large sign with a list of companies located in the park.
“Hmmmm. I doubt if GMC Truck Parts Division and Electrolux robot vacuum cleaners will have much of what we need. Let’s hit the Arizona Cheese Factory and Kellogg’s warehouses to score some food, and then we’ll scrounge some of the others for the next items on the list.”
They entered the Arizona Cheese Factory warehouse, found it was still under construction, and empty. They found a few tools that Tom thought would come in handy and then turned their attention to the vehicles in the parking lot. Tom hated breaking their windows to gain entrance, but it turned out to be a good thing for the crew.
Meg tried to open the door of the new Cadillac using the door handle but had to resort to breaking the back side window to gain entrance. She looked in all the door pockets and then under the seats. “Eureka! Momma’s got a new toy.”
She waved a custom double stack Colt 1911 .45 in the air. “Look there are several extra magazines and three boxes of .45 ACP. I can’t wait to shoot this baby.”
Tom came over to her. “Hon, can you even get your hand around the grip?”
“Hell yes, I can. Looky here. You forgot I have big mitts for a lady. This made my day. Crap, I don’t see a holster.”
Tom knew not to argue with Meg about her choice of weapons, but she now had about ten pounds of pistols and magazines strapped to her body or tucked into her waistband. “Yes Dear. You now have a custom made Cliff Deane model 3 – 1911. That’s a $3,800 pistol.”
Meg crawled in the back of the Cadillac SUV and yelled again. “I found the holster and a Ruger MKVI. Damn it’s a sweet looking pistol. I think this model was just released last year.”
Tom called back to her. “Can I have the MKVI? It will be perfect if we encounter any Zombies.”
“Dear, you can have anything but my old or new .45s. Here take this and the box of mags and ammo for that little peashooter.
Tom took the pistol and found it to be the 22/45 model with a bull barrel. He checked to make sure it was loaded and tucked it into his vest. He thought the .22 would come in handy for killing bad guys in close up ambushes and they could save their more powerful ammunition. Tom was deep in thought when Lisa yelled.
“Tom, where did Cristy go? She was over there a second ago and then disappeared.”
☆
Chapter 11
Luke saw his new friends drive away without him. He wondered what had happened between Mr. Fox’s group and them to have his friends forced out of town at gunpoint. He saw Fox’s men escort Tom and several others back to the motel with their hands bound and then forced to leave. He stayed hidden in the shadows around Clarkdale for several days listening and gathering supplies. He stumbled upon his dad’s grave while foraging and fell apart for a couple more days. He searched bars and restaurants for alcohol and was drunk most of the time. Lucky for him he was passed out the two times patrols were near his location.
He knew he had to find his mom and knew that he hated the fact that some random thug had killed his dad, which meant he couldn’t seek out and shoot the bastard. Luke stopped drinking on the sixth day to clear his head and put a plan together to find his mom and his other friends. Bob, his dad, had preached prepping to him and his mom for years. Luke lay awake at night trying to recall his dad’s sermons on survival. One important one was to stay close to cities to scavenge for supplies but stay far enough away that you weren’t killed by the inevitable gangs and thugs who took over the city.
He found a map of the area and studied it for several hours making notes on where his mom wouldn’t go and where it made sense to go. Clarkdale, Stony Creek, and Cottonwood were scratched off thanks to Fox, so that left Prescott and Sedona as the likely places to start looking. He scratched off Prescott since he had been told the remains of the gang that had attacked Stony Creek and Clarkdale had fled to Prescott to hook up with another band. With that in mind, he began walking the 20 miles to Sedona on Highway 89A.
Luke was careful to stay hidden as much as possible as he worked his way through Clarkdale and Cottonwood to Highway 30. He crossed the bridge over the Verde River at night and cold camped on the west bank. He bathed that night in a deep pool close to a bend in the river and the water appeared to be nice and clear. This reminded him that he had to walk for a couple of days across arid terrain.
He found two empty gallon water jugs and filled them from the Verde River. Since the water was clear, he then added 10 drops of bleach to each gallon of water. His dad had preached using unscented household bleach to sterilize water and many other survival tricks. He then used a rope to hang the jugs from his shoulders.
He was only a mile from Highway 89A, and there was no traffic, so he made good progress to 89A and then settled into a pace he could maintain most of the day. He had to duck for cover twice as a pickup and then a small convoy of cars headed west to Cottonwood. No one saw him, or at least the vehicles didn’t stop to hassle him. He kept his mind busy, as he stayed vigilant by planning his future without modern conveniences.
He was surprised to see a large suburb four miles from Sedona and skirted around it by going deeper into the brush. He finally arrived where he decided to hold up and scout the area the next day. He checked his map and cursed when he saw it was dated 2024. Luke saw several people tending a small garden and wondered where they obtained water for the plants. He watched them until he was satisfied; they weren’t a danger to him and then moved into an empty home away from the others.
Luke had trouble sleeping that night due to the noise from a group of men and women partying until early morning. Several bursts of gunfire during the night even made him more nervous and on edge. He gathered his things before daylight and ventured out to see if the party was still going on that morning. He headed in the direction the sounds came from and was shocked to see several dead men and women sitting in lawn chairs around a fire pit. He almost gagged when he saw they all had bullet holes in the back of their heads.
Luke had his 9mm pistol in his hand as he scooted across the boulevard to an industrial park adjacent to the neighborhood. He needed some food and saw the complex’s sign had several well-known food processing company’s names. All of the signs indicated this was a distribution hub, so he hoped to find racks full of canned goods and boxes of cereal.
There was movement ahead of Luke, and he saw several people pushing a person towards an old military truck with a canvas cover over the back end. Luke ran as fast as he could and jumped on the back of the vehicle as it picked up speed. He lifted the canvas and saw a person struggling to get free. Luke climbed under the tarp just as something hit him on the shoulder missing his head. Luke drew his knife and dove at the sh
adow knocking the man down. The man grunted something and launched himself at Luke. Luke slashed upward with his knife and drove it deep into the attacker. The body slumped and fell out the back of the truck to the ground tumbling to a stop with its guts spilled on the street.
Luke cut the bindings from the captive and helped take the tape off the person’s mouth. The truck made a sharp turn, which caused the canvas flap to fly open letting daylight flash through the bed of the truck. Luke saw a familiar face. “Cristy, is that you?”
Cristy hugged Luke. “Yes, thanks for saving me.”
“Cristy, is my mom with your group? Is she alive?”
“Yes!”
Luke moved Cristy to the back of the truck. “Get ready to jump. I’m going to get the driver to stop.”
Luke went to the cab of the truck and sliced the canvas to reveal the window on the back of the cab. There were two men and a woman up front in the cab. Luke drew his 9mm and shot the man by the passenger window and then the driver. The truck lurched as the woman tried to move the man from the steering wheel and steer the truck herself. The truck ran off the road and onto the sand as it slowed to a crawl. Luke yelled out to Cristy. “Jump!”
Luke turned and shot the woman in the back of the head before the truck came to a stop. “Run Cristy. Let’s get the hell out of here.”
Cristy replied. “My dad and Meg are back this way. Follow me.”
***
Meg led Tom to where Cristy had been and heard the noise of a truck pulling away. “Tom, someone must have kidnapped Cristy. Her footprints end and the truck’s tracks start right here. We have to find her.”
Tom and Meg broke into a run in a vain attempt to catch up to the speeding truck. A few minutes later, they saw the dead man splattered all over the concrete and hoped it was Cristy’s handiwork. Tom stopped just long enough to grab the man’s 9mm Berretta and magazines. “Damn, that’s nasty. He’s been cut from asshole to appetite. I don’t think Cristy did that. Let’s run Babe.”
Tom’s mind wondered why the man was killed so brutally, and then a horrific thought popped into his head. “The thugs are fighting over her.”
Tom’s thoughts were interrupted by several gunshots ahead of them. “That has to be the kidnappers. Damn, it sounds like the truck has stopped. Follow close behind me, but we don’t want the bastards to see us.”
Meg looked past Tom and saw two people running toward them. “Tom, someone is coming.”
Tom turned and recognized Cristy. He waved and then ran to her. “Darling are you okay?”
He saw Luke. “Luke you are alive. Your mother will be happy. She thinks you might be dead. Cristy, what happened?”
Cristy told them what she knew and then Luke filled them in on what happened after she was taken. Tom noticed that both of them had an extra backpack. “Cristy, where did you get the extra backpacks?”
“We took them from the truck. There were four thugs in it, and the back end had quite a bit of supplies. We bugged out in case they had friends close by.”
Tom led them back to the truck and filled their bags with medical, food, and hunting supplies. He also took two AR15s, one 12 Gauge pump, and an assortment of pistols from the bodies and cab of the truck. There wasn’t much ammo, but the AR15s were very welcome. With their bags full they trudged the miles back to the wagon and then made another trip to bring back more supplies. They were tired and waited on Ann and Walt to come back from their excursion.
Tom made a small campfire under some trees so the smoke would dissipate in the leaves and Cristy and Meg prepared an early supper. Tom filled Luke in on their exploits since they were separated, and then he searched the bug out bag’s contents. One bag was filled with much-needed items necessary for survival, but the other had cans of beans, matches, and two bottles of water. Tom carefully packed the supplies in the wagon and joined the others.
Tom heard Walt’s whistle letting them know he was approaching and to keep their fingers off their triggers. Ann and Walt strolled into camp so loaded down with huge bags of supplies that they could barely walk. “Hey, help me unload this pile of shit before this old Injun collapses. Damn, is that Luke?”
Luke and Tom helped both unload their booty and display it on a tarp on the ground. Luke had barely helped Ann unload when Ann hugged Luke and kissed him. “Luke we missed you, and your mom is going to faint when she sees you.”
Luke hugged her back. “I missed all of you and honestly thought that I’d never see you again. I saw Fox’s men run you out of town but didn’t see Mom with you. I thought she was already dead. Can one of you lead me to your camp so I can see my mom?”
Tom viewed the two-thirds full wagon. “If you can help us make one more scavenging trip into town we’ll head back to camp this evening after dark instead of waiting until tomorrow. We have been more successful than we originally thought we’d be.”
“I’m eager to see my Mom, but these supplies mean survival to the team. I’m good.”
Tom asked Luke to join him and the others to check out the food warehouses. Tom, Luke, and Ann were to enter the Kellogg’s warehouse, while the others kept watch for danger outside the warehouse. His team left five minutes before the second group because a six-man group was too large to go unnoticed.
The trip down to the warehouses was uneventful; however, Tom mentioned that he felt as though someone was watching them from the shadows. Ann thought she saw movement once behind a car. “Tom, I think you are right. I know I saw a shadow move behind that Chevy back there. We could be walking into a trap.”
Tom reminded her that Walt’s team was about 500 yards back and should notice anyone following them from a distance. They arrived at the Kellogg’s warehouse and saw the truck had disappeared. They took the time to walk around the entire circumference of the building looking for ambushes and saw no issues. Tom saw Walt and signaled for him to hold his group in reserve until Tom gave the all clear.
Tom stepped into the building through an unlocked man door with Luke and Ann close behind them. They quickly noticed most of the racks still held food products. They saw every kind of Kellogg’s product from cereal to breakfast bars. They also saw that there were boxes of product strewn around on the floor. Ann cautioned, “Someone is still raiding this place. We need to grab as much high protein food as possible and high tail it out of here. I’ll signal the others to come in quickly.”
Tom replied, “Call them in.”
Ann walked to the door but stopped when she saw a shadow move just outside the door. She motioned for the others to join her. “Tom, someone is outside the door waiting to ambush us.”
***
Meg saw the two women and three men work their way from the back of the truck to the door that Tom’s team used to enter the building. She noted they all had crossbows in their hands but had rifles slung across their shoulders. “Walt, what do you make of the bows?”
“They are either trying to keep the noise down or are very low on bullets. They had to see Tom’s AR and the other’s rifles and pistols, so my guess is they want to avoid attracting any attention. The warehouse must be their main source of food. These people don’t look like punks.”
Meg pulled a white handkerchief from her pocket and tied it to the barrel of her rifle. “Walt, let’s try to avoid a shooting war.”
“No Meg, don’t,” was all Walt could say before Meg called out to the group as she stepped out into the open.
“Hello! We don’t want to hurt you. Why are you stalking our friends?”
One of the women replied, “This is our warehouse, and you need to leave.”
Meg thought for a second and knew her group had 4 AR 15’s, a 9mm carbine, and a 30 06 hunting rifle not to mention six 9 mm pistols and plenty of ammunition. The other group had a couple of hunting rifles and several odds and end revolvers. “Look, we have a dozen armed men and women with automatic rifles and plenty of ammunition. Why can’t we share the food and avoid the gunfire, which will attract the gangs who have bee
n preying on you? It’s your choice, but the food in that warehouse is not just yours. We won’t leave without some of it. Be reasonable and share. Each one of you has two rifles aimed at your chests.”
The lady laid her bow down and walked toward Meg. “Let’s talk. Are you the ones who killed the thugs that robbed us this morning?”
“Yes, those assholes kidnapped one of our group. We got her back and killed all of the kidnappers.”
The lady asked, “Good riddance. Why didn’t you take the truck?”
“Because a vehicle that size attracts attention. Did you take it?”
“Yes, we hid it in one of the warehouses.”
Meg saw Tom poke his head out the door. “Can we go into the warehouse and get out of this open area? I’ll have our snipers watch over the outside.”
“Okay, but we need to work up a trade for the food,” The woman replied.
The lady left two of her men guarding the doorway and joined Meg inside. Meg introduced the woman and her people to Tom, Ann, and Luke. They worked up a trade consisting of one AR 15, 50 bullets for the AR and 100 – 9 mm bullets for all the food they could carry away.
Tom called the others in, and they loaded their backpacks and duffle bags before saying goodbye to the strangers. Meg shook hands with the lady. “This will help make sure we get by until our crops are ready. I guess this shows that we should talk and ask questions before shooting.”
“Yes, I think we both learned a lesson. Come on back any time and get some of the food before the gangs get it all. I just hope you killed the only ones who discovered the food. Perhaps we can work up a barter system to help both groups out. By the way, I’m Alice.”
“I’m Meg, and it was good to meet you. Goodbye,” Meg said, and they headed back to the wagon.”
***
