by Jeff Ping
Chapter 10
One of the police officers who had been manning the road block waved to us and came driving up beside us in his prowler. Stopping next to the plane the officer climbed out and said, "Ralph, we've been getting hit pretty hard by Zombies lately. Do you think you could lead a forage to Edwards and hopefully find some more ammunition while you are there?"
"Sure Chief. By the way, this is my brother Bill and his son Jack," Ralph said.
"Glad to meet you Bill, Jack. I'm Sheriff Tom Walker. You can call me Tom or sheriff. Just don't you start calling me marshal or chief like your smart ass brother," Tom laughed.
"Let's drop your stuff off at the hotel. And I'll arrange rooms for these two motioning toward me and Jack.
"After you all rest from your flight we'll hit Fred's Place. I'm off duty at 6:00. We can discuss the trip to the Air Base over a cold one and a burger. How does that sound to you young man?" Tom asked and slapped Jack on the back.
"Sounds good to me I can hardly remember what a burger taste like," smiled Jack.
As we waited for our burgers, I told Ralph about the warehouse where we had found Tony, Mike, and corporal Mahoney. "They had pallets of weapons and ammunition ready to load onto planes and ship to Afghanistan. We could check and see if any of it is still there," I told them.
"That sounds really promising Bill. It would be nice to make the trip there and back on the same day. I want to get started visiting some of the small communities as soon as possible," Ralph said with a grin.
Ralph flinched when someone placed their hands on his shoulders from behind him. He turned and it was Gus. "Gus, damn it all, you keep sneaking up on me and I swear I'll shoot you one of these days," Ralph said with a laugh. And then stood up and grasped the older man's hand.
"Still looking for skilled people to start your school, huh?" asked Gus.
"Yeah, we've got the beginnings of a decent engineering group already. I want to make a circuit through the towns in and around the South Belridge Oil Fields and Coalinga oil fields and try to find some survivors with petrochemical knowledge.
We can't depend on a non-replaceable fuel supply forever. Any gasoline these days has to have activator added and that stuff is getting hard to find. We really need to learn how to produce new supplies of fuel, and things like gun powder for that matter. We have already dispatched foraging party's to gather text books and research material for medical, mechanical, chemical, and pharmaceutical studies. Between here, Haven, and the Power Plant we have a good base for a trades guild," Ralph explained.
"Who are these gentlemen, I don't believe I've had the pleasure meeting them before?" asked Gus.
"Sorry about that. Gus, this is my brother Bill and his son Jack. Bill, Jack this crazy old fart is Gus. Gus is Wasco's number one pilot. Gus is the one that taught me to fly last year. Gus is also our primary chopper pilot. He is one of the only two experienced chopper pilots we currently have," Ralph said.
"I'm glad to meet any kin of Ralph the living legend," Gus said with a chuckle.
I looked back and forth between Gus and Ralph.
"Ignore Gus. He's made too many hard emergency landings, "Ralph said with a smile.
"Bill and Jack are based in a mountain town that has agricultural and ranching skilled people. They even have an old lumber mill we might be able to get operational again. And guess what? On the flight here Bill told me they haven't had any Zombie activity. At least not in the five years they have lived there. So, when I get back to Jennyville, I'm going to start organizing crews to comb every isolated mountain town and settlement that we can find on our maps. For the first time, I really feel that in a few decades we might be able to crawl out of this hole the Zombie Plague dug for us," Ralph said.
"But let's tackle the problem at hand before I start counting improvements that the school may create for us. I really feel better working with people I know I can depend on. Do you think Paul and Mel would be willing to go out among the Zombies again Tom?" Ralph asked.
"I've already approached them and they told me if you would lead it, they were willing to go. Two of my deputies are willing to go as well. This isn't going to turn out like the time your deputy tried to kill me is it?" asked Ralph. "No, these guys are OK Ralph. After all the problems we've been experiencing from the LA gangs they won't have any problem shooting first and asking questions second. There won't be any problems with them, I promise," laughed Tom.
"Oh yeah, Ralph, Elizabeth Doyle asked me if I knew when you were coming back to town. I'll stop and see her tomorrow morning before you guys leave. Maybe she would like to accompany you to the Air Base," said Tom.
Looking over at Jack and winking, Gus said, "See, what I told you, the man is a living legend. He drives the women folk crazy too. Hell, I've even fallen under his spell. I even volunteered to shadow Ralph in the chopper with Mel and Ruben working the door gun."
Later that night over several more beers Gus retold his story about "Regular nice guy, cold killing machine, Grandpa, Family patriarch, revolutionary, living legend, future Dean of a university, Don Juan and now big brother." The man never ceases to amaze me." Gus laughed until he choked.
We finally broke up and headed back to the hotel around midnight. Fortunately, we had Jack to drive for us. Jack had enjoyed listening to the tales and explanations of Gus's Regular nice guy, cold killing machine, Grandpa, Family patriarch, revolutionary, living legend comments about Ralph. And I have to admit I found his and Ralph's stories interesting and but they also made me feel a little sad that the Zombies had stolen from Ralph the son, the lover and the happiness that he had within reach. But, maybe he would find happiness yet. At least he has found good friends and a family and it sounded like he has a lady admirer too.
The next morning after a hearty breakfast, we prepared to leave for our trip to Edwards. Suddenly, Tom's police cruiser slid to a stop beside our APC.
"Ralph I've got another person that wants to accompany you guys to Edwards," shouted Tom.
Elizabeth climbed out of the cruiser and walked over to the APC.
"Mind if I accompany you guys to the base?" Elizabeth asked.
"Sure, climb in."
Jack jumped at the chance to ride in the chopper with Gus and the hunters when Gus offered it to him. Gus had told Jack he would give him flying lessons when this trip was over.
"We can always use more pilots, especially chopper pilots," said Gus.
Ralph lowered the rear hatch, and Elizabeth took an empty seat in the crew area behind the driver. As Ralph drove, we talked about the journey that had brought him into northern California. And I told Ralph about my trip north and how a wrong turn had led us to our current home in Appleton.
After we had driven about twenty miles, Elizabeth asked if we could change seats. I looked at her questioningly with my eyes. Elizabeth smiled and said that she really needed to talk to Ralph. So, I went to the back and talked to the truck drivers Paul, and Ron.
"Ralph, stay in Wasco when this trip is over. Or take me with you back to your home, but don't leave me alone again. You understand how I feel about the Zombies like no one else. I hate these damn Zombies as much or even more than you do. I would be glad to accompany you anytime when you go into their midst," Elizabeth said.
Ralph looked over into her face and saw that she was near tears. In all of the time he had known Elizabeth he had never seen her cry. Not when she told him about her husband being killed. Not when she had described in detail about watching her kid being torn apart as she fought the Zombies. So, he knew that he had to acquiesce to her pleas for help in settling the score.
"OK, OK, I'll help you to get the revenge you want. But I have to tell you, I know from experience, no matter how many you kill it won't bring back the ones you have lost or bring closure. The Zombies kill by instinct not from malice or spite. It's just the virus. They're not the people that they used to be. But I will help you to kill as many as you want to until you learn that for yourself," Ralph told h
er. Elizabeth reached over, and squeezing Ralph's arm said, "Thank you."