by Lee Thomas
“We will get some stuff sent over asap to help you strengthen the walls. I think we have some stuff that would work great for you.” I told him as we watched the repairs for a minute or so.
“That would be appreciated. Any idea why this large of a herd would be so far out of a city though? Or why they would be so aggressive suddenly?” Greg asked as he led me back towards the center of camp. I heard Jeff telling one of the men to radio to the choppers to head back to the ship and have some trucks rolling this way to pick us up. I liked that idea, as flying was not something I particularly liked to do.
“No, but we seem to be having a herd gathering near our wall, close to one of our gates. They don’t seem to have noticed us, or else are ignoring us, but the amount that are gathering is becoming worrisome. We have also had more mutant sightings lately, and I’m wondering if they are somehow controlling the non-mutated infected. If so, that would pose a whole new set of problems.” I replied. It was the thought I had been mulling over the last few days, especially since that herd was spotted near the wall, but saying it out loud seemed to make it more viable.
Our entire team started gathering back in the camp, and we sat with Greg and listened to how they had been doing, the successes they had had, as well as a recent hunting trip that went a little sideways. Apparently, Glen was right, there were tigers in the area. The attack on the team showed that either the animals were getting braver, or more desperate, as tigers usually didn’t attack a group by themselves, according to Glen. Of course, if its den was nearby, it may have made it more aggressive to protect its own with the team following that trail. I wouldn’t think a wild animal would make a den so close to an obviously well-traveled trail though. Greg even showed us the pelt they had taken from it, and it appeared to be a good-sized animal. Watching for them went without saying, but I did ask Greg that if they did manage to take more of them, I would like as intact a pelt as they could get me.
Greg then showed us around the entire camp; the butcher shop where the kills were processed, the storage facility where they had managed to obtain and install a cold storage room, and the armory where the extra weapons and ammo were stored. Most of the people in the camp kept their weapons on them it seemed, for quick access in case of attack. I couldn’t blame them, as I always wanted to have my swords at least on me. He pointed out the houses where the people slept and lived, which seemed to be plenty of room for the number of people that stayed here. It was a decent little camp they had set up, and the defenses were well constructed. The only thing it lacked was running water, and only the storage building had power from a few solar panels they had installed on its roof.
The trucks finally arrived, and we gathered all our team together and loaded up. We left our extra ammo with the camp, as they had weapons that could use it, and needed it. I also promised that our blacksmiths would produce some new swords and axes as soon as they could and we would get them to the camp. They had some, but more would always come in handy, especially so they could conserve more ammo. Arrows were also a short commodity as after hunting, usually one or two of the arrows or crossbow bolts were either bent or unable to be found. That was just the nature of the thing though, nothing we could do about that except make or find new ones. We encountered a few infected along the road which were quickly ended by a well-placed shot from inside the trucks. No sense in letting them go anymore when they seemed to be massing now. If this was a new development, we would have to watch it and see what happened. We had learned that once they started to mutate they became smarter and stronger, seemingly able to communicate and coordinate attacks. The plus side was that they also seemed to become almost allergic to sunlight, or bright UV lights, so we had an added defense against them. It was nearing dark by the time we got back, so I dismissed the team to get some rest and relaxation from the day. I headed up towards my quarters to clean my swords and guns, then decided to simply shower and go to bed. Tomorrow I would start planning and making last minute preparations for the northern venture.
Chapter 3
Sept 14th, 2020, Monday
I awoke the next morning about eight a.m., got dressed, and headed to the office where I had my list of things to be done before the northern project could be started. I had the report from Shayne regarding the Jefferson which told me that she was going to be a fixture from now on, which meant the Nimitz was going north. I had inventory lists from Tony telling me about our ammo stores, and from Mrs. Grayson letting me know our food situation on the ship. I was rationing meat for now so that the group going could be well stocked before we left. I told the civilians to be moved off-ship by the end of the week, and the sailors were all making their preparations for moving back onboard and moving this floating city. We had plenty of gardens and small crops going on the base itself, so taking our hydroponics with us would not be a burden to the ones left behind. It seemed like everything was finally falling into place to be able to start moving people north and clearing the land. The search teams would have to be very careful, but we figured by rigging noise makers we could draw most of the infected up there to us and take them out as they came.
Gathering my weapons and armor, I decided to head out on the sailboat today and check out some areas I had seen on the map. I put everything into my seabag, slung it over my shoulder, and headed for the bridge to let them know I was leaving. Chief Smith was on duty this morning, and I began to wonder if he didn’t pick up extra watches up here since I saw him here a lot. He didn’t argue with me, since he probably figured I was simply going fishing or just a sail in the bay. I hoped to get out to the sloop without any interference, because I knew several people would stop me in a heartbeat if they knew I was planning on running down the shoreline. I made it to the hangar bay, grabbing two fishing poles and some gear along the way to create an alibi in case anyone asked any questions. Taking all the gear down to the pier, I made my way by foot towards the marina. It was quite a walk with all this gear, but I didn’t want to take the time to find a cart.
Stopping in the office of the marina, I grabbed the keys just in case I ran out of wind and then continued down the ramp to the marina dock. We had several sailboats and fishing boats here, gathered from wherever we could find them and brought back here. I made my way down to my sloop, tossed my seabag onboard, then carefully climbed in with the rest of the fishing gear. I checked the fuel level, which was about halfway, checked all the other gauges, and secured all the fishing gear in the locker designed for it and then took my seabag down to the cabin and left it on the bed. I checked the galley and discovered there wasn’t any food onboard, which was an oversight on my part, but there were some water bottles, some bread, and a bag of probably chicken. That would be enough for now as I didn’t plan on being gone all that long, and I could scrounge for supplies as well. Finding everything in order, I jumped back to the dock and untied the lines. Tossing them onboard, I jumped back onboard and headed for the wheel and started the engines. Gliding through the water, I made my way slowly out of the marina into the open bay without seeing anyone else on a boat. Once out in the open water, I killed the engines and prepared to raise the sails. It would be difficult to sail by myself, but it was doable.
Once the sails were raised, the wind took hold and I felt the boat lurch forward. There was a good west wind today which would take me out to sea, and I turned toward the fort, where the tunnel went underwater so I could pass by the bridge. The bridge could be seen from the marina, so it was no time at all before I was sailing smoothly past the fort. I continued heading northeast, aiming for the tip of the peninsula. I then turned north, following the river as I scouted the shoreline. So far all I was seeing was trees and what appeared to be farmland at one point that was now overgrown and left to seed. The wind and the waves made for a wonderful backdrop and made it seem almost peaceful, if it wasn’t for the fact I had full armor and a stash of weapons down below.
Gliding through the water heading north, I sailed as close in as I dared, as the maps said
the water got dangerously shallow close in, so most of my recon was done with binoculars. Scattered houses and other buildings dotted the landscape, evidence of human occupation long since gone now. Not expecting much else, I confessed to myself that I had hoped to see some sign of survivors; smoke from a fireplace, a flag waving, or even people out tending a field, or fishing. Seeing nothing was rather disappointing and discouraging. I continued sailing north, moving away from the shore some to avoid any potential sandbars, seeing much of the same until I came to what appeared to be a large industrial area. Tacking in close as I rounded the point, the southern point was an industrial facility of some kind, while the northern point seemed to be residential. There was a marina in between with a few boats tied up. I swung back around west to go back into the river and lowered the sail to stop for a minute after making it back to slightly deeper waters.
It was just after noon according to the sun and starting to heat up some, even on the water. I headed below to get some water and a hat, and to just get out of the sun for a minute. I laid the maps out on the table and reviewed them one more time. If I was looking at the right area, that put me at Cape Charles. Raising the sails again, I swung northwest to head towards the west side of the river and what appeared to be an island with only one bridge connecting it to the mainland. I hoped the infected hadn’t crossed the bridge since they did seem to be averse to that. I turned more north as I approached the shore, keeping about a hundred yards out to avoid sandbars, and looking through the binoculars I still couldn’t see any sign of people. I continued north until the very southern tip of the island came into view, which was essentially a large sandbar, and then turned slightly west to head into what the map called Milford Haven. I sailed northwest through the river looking for any signs of habitation. I saw flags flying, and as I approached what appeared to be a creek, I thought I saw movement on the point just west of the creek. I sailed in closer and saw people moving around, apparently, they saw me too as several pointed and raised their hands to their eyes. A couple of them waved their hands in the air to get my attention, so obviously, they were not trying to hide. I lowered the sails and turned the engines back on to make it easier to dock. There was a long dock just west of where the people were at, and I could see some of them following me as I passed them and headed for it.
Gliding up to the dock, I killed the engines and tossed the nearest line to the kid that ran down the dock as I approached, and he quickly and expertly tied it off. I moved forward and tossed the bow line down, which he also tied off as other people gathered near the end of the pier. I secured the sails and the beam so it wouldn’t swing, and then ducked into the cabin to put on my sword belt. It didn’t look like I would need it, but I wasn’t going to take chances. Stepping back out onto the deck, I saw about fifteen people standing in the grass surround the dock entrance, standing around talking, occasionally looking back at me. I walked up slowly, trying to size them up, determine if they were going to be friendly or not. The smiles seemed genuine as I approached, and I smiled back, keeping my hand close to my hilt however.
“Hello, you’re the first person we’ve seen that’s not trying to kill us in over a year. You’re not going to try to kill us, are you?” one of the men asked. He did reach out to shake my hand as he asked it though, and the look on his face didn’t show any sign of anything other than wariness, and maybe exhaustion, but not deceit. Glancing around at the others, I tried to read them, and they all showed the same kind of look, tiredness, desperation, but underneath that, hope. Hope that this nightmare would end, that they would be saved and able to live normal lives again.
“No, sir, I’m not out to kill anyone, I’m actually out here looking for survivors, safe places, and supplies. How have you been able to survive this close to the mainland?” I replied, returning the handshake.
“Come, we’ll show you. Follow me. The name’s Steve, by the way.” Steve said, raising his arm to indicate which way we were going. I gave him my name as we started walking, the children following us seemingly fascinated by my swords. A couple of them asked if they hold them, but I politely refused, partly for safety reasons so they wouldn’t hurt themselves, and partly because I didn’t know yet if I would need them here or not.
“Tell you what, if you want to know how we have been able to stay safe, it would be faster to get back on your boat and I could take you to the bridge. It’s a lot faster by water than walking. We can look at the rest of the island later.” Steve stopped and told me.
“Sure, why not.” I answered. I wanted to see how this island was staying safe, partly to see how easy it was to replicate it and partly to see if it needed help. Watching the infected over the last two years, we had seen how tenacious and determined they could be about getting to non-infected humans. If this community was to survive long-term, their security would have to be strong. It was obviously decent already if they had survived this long, so I was curious to see it. We walked back down the pier, the children running ahead of us to argue over who was going to untie the lines. Getting an affirmative answer, and a chuckle, from Steve, I proposed a question to the little dock rats.
“Hey, guys, relax, I have an idea. Who wants to play pirate?” I asked them. All five of them shot their hands up yelling ‘me, me’, hoping to be the one picked. Glancing over at Steve, he grinned and indicated it was my call.
“Okay, good. A proper pirate ship needs a crew, and as you can see, I am sorely lacking in one. So, you are all hereby conscripted into service aboard the Jolly Roger. You two, prepare to undo the lines, the rest of you bilge rats heave to and hop aboard.” I said in my best pirate imitation, giving them a hearty ‘arrgh’ and drawing my sword in the process. Steve laughed behind me and the kids all scurried to do what I said. I put my sword back up, grinned back at Steve, and we both climbed aboard.
Calling out orders to my new crew, it became obvious they knew their way around sailboats as they prepared the boom and the sails, waiting on my word to raise them. The two on the dock untied the lines on my nod, tossed them on board, then jumped on, securing the loose ropes to prevent injuries. I nodded at Steve, impressed with the skill the kids showed and he took the hint and played along, barking out orders to the kids to raise the sails, let loose the boom, and hold on as I went hard right rudder once the boat started moving. I swung us around in a circle, facing back out into the bay, heading northwest on Steve’s direction. The kids were having a great time already, yelling at each other, pretending they were on a hunt for some other pirates’ treasure. Throughout all the horseplay though, I did notice that they kept their sense about them and no one fell overboard, tripped, or hit their head on the boom. As we sailed, I noticed an abandoned boat afloat in the middle of the water. I nodded my head in its direction to Steve, who looked and nodded back.
“Look out, cannon fire!” I yelled at the kids, giving the wheel a sharp turn to port. The kids all grabbed onto something, holding on to avoid the cannon shot.
“Ship off the port bow.” I called out to the kids, who began yelling and preparing to board the enemy vessel. Following my orders, the kids lowered the sails as we got close, and let us drift closer to the other boat. Three of them were mimicking gunfire as they attacked the enemy. One got ‘hit’ and was attended to, while the other three rushed the boat by jumping across the narrow gap, and quickly finished off any ‘attackers’ they found. I let them rummage through the boat for a few minutes, not finding anything significant, but having fun anyways. After raiding a few ‘treasure chests’, the kids jumped back onboard and we continued on our way. Steve directed me a little more west now, and we eventually saw a bridge come into view. The closer we got, the more it appeared there were people moving around on it, and as he directed me towards a dock just to the north of it, we were finally close enough for me to tell it was infected, willingly crossing a bridge, and there was a small mob of them pressed up against some kind of barricade. I couldn’t tell what it was from here, but once the kids jumped off and tied us
up, Steve led me up the dock onto land and we headed towards the road. I directed my ‘crew’ to go get something to eat and drink, then return and guard the ship. They ran off, and Steve laughed one more time.
“Those kids are something else. There are a couple of old sailboats that aren’t in great shape at one of the piers on the north side of the island, and they like to pretend those are their pirate ships, and they sail to all kinds of places on them. They have a wonderful imagination, even with everything that’s going on. Here, the barricade is right over here.” Steve said, leading me through the grass, past a garage like building, on onto the road. The barricade appeared to be a semi-truck trailer, overturned at the point where the land ran out and the bridge started. It was a smart place, as the trailer was longer than the road was wide, and it appeared wooden braces had been placed under the outer edges to both hold the trailer in place and block off the underside from anyone, or anything, from crawling under. On closer inspection, I also saw concrete blocks stacked up to help support the trailer, between a second layer of wooden fence and supports. It was effective, and with a minimum of supplies, a very smart idea. There were five people standing around, apparently to keep watch, and various weapons were leaned up against the trailer like bats, what looked like rebar, a couple of hunting rifles, and three of the five had handguns holstered at their hips. They were sitting at a table that had been placed in the middle of the road, about twenty feet from the trailer, close enough to keep watch and hear anything breaking through, but far enough away that whatever was over there wouldn’t be able to smell them.
Steve nodded to them as we approached and he introduced them all, and me to them. We all shook hands, and he told them I had just sailed up. We talked for a few minutes about how the barricade got set up and when, and how many times they had been forced to defend it. Apparently, this was one bridge the infected didn’t mind crossing, as they said there was an almost constant stream of them. Most were turned back by the trailer, but some pounded on it to try to get through, and those are the ones that they would climb on top for and either shoot, or lay down and swing the bats at. So far they had not had a breakthrough, but there were a few times some of the mutated ones had crossed the bridge and jumped the trailer, killing some of them before being taken down. They told me the island was down to about a hundred people or so now as some fled when it happened, some had been killed, and others were already old and just passed away. That left plenty of space to spread out, and there were several fields already on the island which provided enough vegetables to keep them fed, as well as a small livestock farm that provided eggs, and the occasional chicken and ham. They had four cows for milk, and were in the process of trying to breed more so they could have meat as well, but fishing was plentiful so they had that. They didn’t appear to be starving, but like us, food wasn’t just overflowing anymore.