by Lee Thomas
“Thank you Allen, let Jackson know I will be down later to look at it all with him.” I replied. Depending on how bad it would be, it may delay my northern plan some, and Jackson didn’t get worried over much when it came to weather, and for him to say it could be quite bad meant we would probably need to go to ‘storm stations’, which was where the ship was completely sealed, all outdoor activities were stopped, and the animals were all taken indoors. We basically prepared like it was a hurricane or tornado coming through. Michelle said her goodbyes then and headed out for her own cabin. I knew she hated sharing space, and I was glad that so many people decided to live on land when the wall was built, as that allowed us to renovate some of the smaller barracks rooms into single or double cabins. Michelle ended up with one of the renovated ones, giving her a living area and a separate bedroom. With a bathroom close by, it was almost as good as her having her own apartment. None of the girls lived onboard anymore, as they all had taken jobs off the ship, so they lived on base to be closer to their duties. I expected Michelle to be doing the same any day now.
Once she left, I was left alone with my thoughts once more. I considered going back to the maps and such, but I didn’t want to get into that again. I could only look at maps and personnel reports so much before it all blurred together. I put all the maps back together and straightened the reports, putting it all up for the night. I headed down to the hydroponics labs to check on their progress, which I was always impressed with since I had no green thumb whatsoever. We had several, placed in the old missile storage bays since the sailors had removed the missiles when the world went to hell, along with the airplanes. I chatted with each grower team for a little bit, then made some rounds around the rest of the ship, hitting medical, the armory, even engineering. I loved walking around the ship, and it let the people know that I was watching out for all of them.
Since it was late afternoon now, I decided to head out onto the base, check in with some people there, and see what Dave was up to. Dave graciously took over overseeing the base once we finished the wall and started moving people onto land. It was a cushy job, only someone for the wall guards, the animal keepers and farmers, and the engineers keeping the water pumps and such running to turn their reports into. Dave forwarded those reports on to the ship weekly, unless something came up that needed more immediate attention. One of the things Dave did before the world ended was computer repair, as well as karaoke on the weekends. He helped with the computer stuff and gave everyone something to do that they could have fun with to help relieve the stress of what we were going through. Recreation was important, and in that regard we had acquired several pool tables, gaming systems, and several board games and decks of cards to spread throughout everyone.
With the construction of the wall, we left the elevator down pier side most of the time for ease of travel, so I didn’t have to request it be lowered to head out. I nodded and waved to the guards we had posted just inside the hangar bay watching the elevator and continued on my way. There was hardly any sound, the faint splashing of those swimming, the occasional low of an animal, and the birds cawing was all I could hear. I knew once I got further onto the base I would start hearing people talking, laughing, and if they were working I would hear the blacksmiths hammering away on whatever project they were currently on. I opted for one of the electric carts we had instead of walking, and after getting one I made my way through the streets slowly, waving to people, and nodding to or greeting them as I made my way to the old base headquarters building. Dave had opted to keep it as the center of information for the base, as I did with the bridge on the ship.
Children were laughing and playing, and riding bikes up and down the street, it almost could make you forget about what’s on the other side of the wall and think that life hasn’t changed and the world didn’t end. We couldn’t forget, however, or we wouldn’t make it. The threat was real, and ever present, which made some people’s stress level skyrocket, like mine. We were lucky to obtain so many choices for recreation though, like my PlayStation in my cabin, the various board and card games, and the pool tables. There were a few of the houses within the wall that had pools as well, so the bay wasn’t the only option for swimming, and some people preferred the privacy of the backyard pools, especially the few couples that were on the adventurous side.
Finally making it to the headquarters building, I walked in the front door and made my way to Dave’s office. It had turned out that there was a small apartment there for the base commander, so Dave stayed there occasionally too. Since he had a wife, she overruled him on living in a small apartment, so they had a regular house as well. If this was still an operational Navy base, I would have been stopped by three sets of guards by this point, but since this was a glorified house now I walked straight to Dave’s office and knocked on the door. When I didn’t receive an answer, I cracked the door open and found out Dave wasn’t even here. I backtracked out of the building and headed for his house, which was only around the corner and down a short bit. I decided to walk it since it was so close, and I had been neglecting my exercise lately.
Several others were out walking around as well, some with food carts loaded with fruits and veggies, probably taking them to the mess hall. Since we had so many people, and limited food, we pooled it all into one central location so we could make sure everyone got fed. Others seemed to just be enjoying the day, since it was a fairly nice one, and just walking. There were joggers too, probably doing it for exercise reasons as most of the joggers I recognized as on the guard detail. There were enough volunteers for that, and the wall secure enough, that we could make sure the rotation was such that no one guard was on watch for too long, or too often.
“Dave!” I yelled as I got close to the house he had claimed. I could see him and his wife sitting on the porch talking. I waved as he looked up, and they both waved back and motioned for me to come up.
“How’s it been man, haven’t seen you in a while. Things going okay on the ship?” he asked as we shook hands. His wife got up and motioned to the other seat while she went back inside to refill their glasses.
“Yeah, everything’s fine. Waiting on some information regarding a big project I want to start, but other than that it’s all good. I just wanted to come check on you guys, catch up. I haven’t been around the base fully since the hurricane, and I just wanted to check on people. I know we had a couple of survivor groups find us, and I also haven’t officially met them yet.” I replied.
“Yeah, I think I know the ones you’re talking about. We originally set them up in one of the barracks, and I don’t think they’ve moved out. They both seemed pretty shaken by what they dealt with out there, and I don’t think they understand the wall just yet, so they are afraid to leave the safety of the barracks for long. Maybe you can talk to them, show them around?” he told me.
“Yeah, I can do that. Have they tried mingling with anyone else yet, or stayed to themselves mostly? Thank you.” I asked Dave, and said to his wife when she came out with their refills and a glass for me.
“For the most part stayed to themselves. A few on our side have gone up to them to try to get to know them, and they seem friendly enough, just traumatized, and unwilling to trust the wall just yet. It makes me think that they had to have had someplace secure at some point that got overrun, so they are not willing to trust that again.” He said. He usually had a pretty good feel for people, so I assumed that was accurate. We chatted for a bit more, watching the people on the street and the sun go down. It was almost tranquil, enough to make you think life is good, and forget the horror on the other side of the wall. I realized then that my original plan of getting people here, and safe, had finally been realized. Everything since then I had simply been winging it. I was just thankful I had good friends who helped me with it all. The soldiers and sailors that joined us helped immensely as well, with their various skills and backgrounds. There were so many things we couldn’t have accomplished so far without them.
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��Alright man, I’m gonna jet. You guys have a good night; I’ll see ya around.” I said, standing and reaching to shake Dave’s hand. His wife gave me a quick hug and we said our goodnights. I left them sitting on the porch still as I made my way back towards my cart. By the time I had reached it, I decided to head to my house instead of back to the ship. Since I had brought my dogs, as well as others bringing their pets, I had taken one of the houses so they could have a proper yard to play in. There was a group of people that looked in on all the animals daily, making sure they had water and food. That seemed to be one thing people didn’t think of when the world went to shit was pet food, as we managed to find massive amounts of it everywhere we scavenged. Of course, over time it dwindled and we were forced to find alternatives for them, and one of our cooks had the idea of saving the scraps from every meal and grinding it all up into a paste. We had two vets with us, and they discussed it and decided that would be okay. We also threw some fresh chicken and fish in whenever we could for the protein. The animals seemed to be okay with it, so not only were the people fed, but our animals too.
As I stepped around the corner of the headquarters building, I noticed my cart was gone. That was a common occurrence around here, as the carts didn’t belong to any one person, and we always left the keys in them. No other carts were in sight, so I decided a walk would do me some good anyways. It was still, even with the wall, a little unsettling to be walking around at night without my swords. If I wanted people to trust the wall, I guess I should too. Luckily the house I had picked out wasn’t too far away, so it shouldn’t take me too long to reach it. I knew the bridge would be looking for me to return, so I would have to make sure I radioed them from the house when I got there. Might as well stay there tonight since it was so late, plus it would give me a break from the ship.
I made it to my house a little before ten, my dogs Max and Maya greeting me as I entered the gate. They were both hyper, jumping and growling with their tails wagging fast enough to shake their whole back. We played for a few minutes, jumping around each other, using his rope for tug-of-war, generally wearing each other out. Eventually I had enough, so I stepped up on the porch and opened the door. Max ran in first, followed by Maya, which was a treat for them as I didn’t come over often for them to be allowed inside. I did have a caretaker come over and let them in during storms though, and if I couldn’t be here, there was someone here during the cold months too so they wouldn’t freeze to death. I went to the kitchen to see if food had been left, which I doubted. A few packages of the processed dog food for them, but nothing for me. I shrugged as I cracked open one of the jars for each of them and dumped it in their bowls, watching them sniff at it before taking a bite. I rubbed Max’s head and headed for my office. It really only held a radio to stay in contact with the ship and a desk I could review maps and reports from. If I wanted to, I could easily just move into the house permanently, let Jeff take the captains’ cabin on the Nimitz, and run things from here. It was something to think about, now that my portion of the plan was all but done. I had others running the day to day stuff, so I didn’t need to be consulted about every little thing that went on, and I was now free to relax, or whatever I wanted. I radioed the ship, let Max and Maya wind down some, and then went for bed. A good nights’ sleep on a real bed would be nice.
Sept 12th, 2020
I awoke to the sound of Max barking, apparently wanting outside. Since this house didn’t have a pet door, I had to get out of bed and let him out before he messed in the house. After letting him out, Maya following him, I started a pot of coffee, then headed to the office to radio the ship, see if anything happened overnight. Getting an all clear from them, I told them I would leave my radio on, but I would probably be staying there for most of the day. I wanted to spend some time with the dogs, check on the farmers and animal handlers, as well as touch base with the wall guards since I hadn’t done that in a while. After a few cups of coffee, I played with the dogs for a little while, then headed out to check out the rest of the base. The first place I went was the animal pens, partly to see how they were doing and partly to get a horse since I lost the electric cart. I loved riding, and it would make a more enjoyable day to check on everything by horseback.
Heading towards the stables, several people stopped me and talked for a few minutes. A few were newer people to our group who were still in the awestruck stage of what we had, and still shell shocked by the way the world was now. It was a struggle every day now just to live, but with the hard work and dedication of everyone, we managed it. At the barns, I spoke with the workers there, and it all seemed to be going well. The animals were all doing well, and they seemed to have plenty of space for now. I left on horseback, slowly trotting through the base, heading to the residential area first, chatting with a few people there, and then heading for the wall. I started at the western end of the wall, where there was a small gate with a bridge across the water. I talked to the guards, just chatting, getting a feel for how their morale was. Most of the people here still considered me in charge, even though I had passed most of the responsibilities to others more capable of handling them.
“Enjoying the day, Admiral?” Alex asked me. She was one of the leaders of the Bravo day crew of guards. There were enough that there were three crews, Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie, split into a day shift and night shift.
“Yes, ma’am, I am. I haven’t been off the ship in quite a while, I just wanted to touch base with everyone again, check on how things were running.” I replied to her. I didn’t know her well, but I did get reports from all team leaders, and hers were some of the better written ones.
“Well, it seems to be running pretty good. This section is usually quiet, the infected don’t like to cross bridges much apparently. We spot them from a distance, but they don’t come too close to the water, as I’m sure you’ve read in my reports.” She said.
“Yes, I remember. I wish more of the section leaders knew how to write reports like you do. Keep it up, it is appreciated. I’m gonna head on out, be safe.” I told her. Lightly kicking the horse into a trot, I continued down the line of the wall. I stopped at several watch stations and checked in, inspecting the wall as well to make sure there were no structural issues. Near the midpoint I climbed to the second level and looked out over the outer area. Without tending, the grassy areas had grown out of control, and even started to grow up through cracks in the streets. Bushes grew up, hedges filled out, all because nature started taking back over.
Handing the binoculars back to the watchman, I nodded to them and continued on my way. I maintained an easy trot, fast enough to not take all day to reach the end, slow enough to not overly tire my horse. I made it to the eastern main gate and checked in with the guards there, learning that they had seen several recent herds of infected milling about. The night crew had also reported they had seen a few of those mutated infected lurking about after dark as well. The mutants were worrisome as they were faster, stronger, and smarter than the regular infected. They also seemed to be able to think, plan, and communicate. I made a note to have extra people nearby, just in case, from now on.
Continuing on my way once more, I passed by more bunkrooms and watch stations, talking to several, and making sure everyone was doing ok and that the wall was not damaged. I eventually made it to the easternmost point of the wall, which ran out into the ocean far enough that the water was chest high at low tide. Since even the stronger mutants avoided the water, that prevented them from swimming around the wall. A full guard post was stationed there anyways, just in case. There was what used to be a beachside hotel there that was being used as getaway for people who needed a break from the daily struggle for a short time, as well as beds for the guards stationed there. Its height allowed for excellent long range viewing of the area, and several snipers and watch stations were set up along the facing wall. I tied my horse to a pole near the door in the grass to let him rest and eat, while I headed inside to check things out. I headed up to the roof first, to
get the best view of the surrounding area. The guards there greeted me and handed me a rifle scope to use. It was on a wooden blank shaped partly like a rifle to make it easier to hold, so I raised it to my shoulder and scanned the area.
Over the years, several fires had broken out and burned good sections of the surrounding city, especially the residential areas. There were two blocks of businesses headed inland from the hotel, and then residential neighborhoods, most of which had been burned at some point. The remains of the houses were still black in parts, but nature was starting to reclaim the land. Trees were growing back up, the weeds and grass were tall, and I’m sure that some animals were making homes in the ruins. No movement was seen the whole time I was up there, except for birds, so I handed the scope back and headed back down. Before I left, I stopped in what used to be the hotels office, which now housed the radio they had to keep in contact with the ship. After contacting the bridge and finding out there was nothing of note today, I let them know I would be on horseback still the rest of the day, but had a portable radio with me. I then took my leave of the hotel and trotted down the beach.
Since this part was safe, there were a few who were taking advantage of it, sunning or swimming, kids playing in the sand. I waved to most of them when they noticed me, and I enjoyed how we could have even this small amount of normal life, even with the threat beyond the wall. It made me glad that my plan, while admittedly off the wall, had worked so far. It had kept people safe, and so far, continued to do so. We had suffered losses, but overall the group was growing, surviving, and starting to become self-sufficient.
Once I made it to the end of the beach, I started following the road again for a bit. We had a watch station set up at the entrance to the tunnel leading to the mainland at the Hampton Roads area, but since it was so overrun, we had collapsed the tunnel portion. The small island created by the entrance, however, made an excellent mini-fort to watch the waterway and give us warning if any ships or boats were coming. So far, none had tried. With the distance and the lack of grass, I decided not to take the horse across the bridge to the fort, as some had started calling it, instead I turned and headed back into the base. I was still technically in the city portion of Norfolk, as a good chunk of the area we had secured with the wall was city, and outside the naval base. As an added level of protection, we built up the base fence after the wall was complete. It was a mix of chain link, wood, and tin panels, but it would hold temporarily. Of course, if the wall was ever breached, we would evacuate the whole base anyways, the inner fence would just give us time to do that.