by Lee Thomas
I broke the meeting up after informing everyone I wanted to start packing at six a.m. and be on the road by eight. I figured it would be a least a four day trip to Virginia with having to avoid infected, bands of looters, plus having to search for gas along the way. I had got a hold of my cousins in Missouri and they should be ready to go when we passed by there to get them. Also, my friends Dawn and Tony from Texas should be meeting us in Virginia. Dawn has family near the area we were going to, and they were supposed to be going there to meet them. The plan for them was to find some shortwave or CB radios, and wait for us to get close enough with our own and make contact with them. We would then link up with however many people they had saved and start my ultimate plan.
I made my way back down to the lab to scout outside and get my stuff packed up. I made my way to the back wall and jumped up on the counter, crouching to avoid being seen if anyone was out there. The moon was out, and it was a fairly clear night, so there was quite a bit of natural light. I didn't see anyone out there, or even any animals. Our cars were still in the parking lot, seemingly untouched. Tomorrow morning we would pull eight of them around to the back and hook them up to the tow hitches we had on the RV's to take with us. They would make handy supply storage, as well as being able to post guards in them to help watch.
After watching for about twenty minutes, and not seeing anything, I hopped down and began packing my things. I had several tubs and big gym bags which were more than enough. I didn't really have much, a few changes of clothes, some mementos, my weapons. I had more swords than I could use or carry at one time, but it was always good to have backups. I did carry one Walther PK380 handgun, but I didn't like using it much. I was pretty good with it, but I wasn’t a big gun fan.
I got everything packed up, then placed all my bags and tubs by the front door to be picked up and taken out later. I then went and laid down to try to get a little sleep before the organized, I hope, chaos tomorrow.
Chapter 2
May 1st, 2018
I woke up to Jeff shaking me. I looked at my phone, which with no service was really only an alarm clock now, and saw it was a few minutes before five a.m. It would have been going off then anyways.
"What is it?" I asked, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from my eyes. I swung my feet over the side and started looking for my boots.
"Nothing, it's just time to get up and about. You're the one who set the six am timeline to start packing. I figured you would want to set an example.” he chuckled, laughing at me. He knew I wasn't that much of a morning person.
I shot him a nasty look, which only made him laugh harder. I got dressed, put my sword belt on and got the dolly to put the tubs on. I put both tubs on it, then the two gym bags on top of that and wheeled it out the door. I placed my stuff by the front door, as I was going to put it in my car, which was one of the ones to be towed behind a RV.
Jeff left to go wake up Michelle and the girls, who were not morning people at all. I did not envy him that task. I went to the second floor hallway to the front of the building where there were several windows looking out. I looked out over the parking lot, but with the sun still down it was difficult to see anything. I didn’t see anything moving at least. I stayed there as the sun started coming up and I heard people behind me talking. Since I still didn’t see any movement, I headed towards the back door.
When I got there, I found that it had already been opened, and several people were already in the process of loading up. I waved to everyone who greeted me, and watched the process unfold. Everyone was pretty focused, and I noticed we did have several standing guard outside. I watched the organized chaos for a while, making sure that not only were everyone's personal belongings being stowed, but we were packing the food, medical supplies, pretty much anything that would be useful on the road as well. We had placed several metal shelves in the trailer of Jeff's rig and bolted them to the wall. I went and checked and saw that all of our gas cans were there being strapped down, supplies were loaded so that we could find things easily, not just thrown up there. I liked it, and it was going well.
Around seven thirty I saw Jeff coming up with Michelle and the girls in tow, their things loaded up and ready to pack. I assumed Jeff would have his in the truck with him, and I was hoping to put Michelle and the girls in the first RV behind Jeff. I passed the word that I wanted everyone in the cafeteria for one last meeting before we actually left, but after all the packing was done. I went back to the cafeteria to wait.
Once everyone filtered in, I was told a few had stayed as guards since some movement had been seen down the street. It was undetermined if it was infected or not, so guards had stayed just in case.
"Alright everyone, here it is. We have no power, no water. We have enough food and water stockpiled for about two weeks if we don't go nuts eating and drinking. We are low on ammo, but several of us have, and are good with, a sword. I am anticipating it to take about four days to get to Norfolk Naval Base, which is my goal. We are limited on gas, and will have to scrounge for gas along the way. I don't expect us to sleep in the RV's every night either, so hopefully a secure area will present itself where we can stop and rest along the way. The RV's do have working restrooms and are fully stocked on water for them, but I would ask that you only flush when necessary to keep it that way. Also, the more flushes, the faster we will have to dump them. Jeff will be in the lead with his rig, in case we run into any roadblocks, stalled vehicles, etc. Each RV will be towing a car as well, for extra storage and guard posts to help keep watch. We have shortwave CB radios for every vehicle, so everyone should stay in touch at all times. We have one stop to make along the way for the rest of my family, and I understand others have friends and family along the way they would like to check on. That should be no problem. I know everyone in this room has already lost people to this virus, or whatever it is and my hope is we don't lose any more. Let's saddle up and get moving." I told them, trying for inspirational. I knew the odds were against us finding others still alive, but we had to try. I just wanted to get to Norfolk with everyone alive, find a ship, and hunker down for a while. Most of the looting and rioting should be done since there were probably not many people left after what the news had started to call 'The Event' just before they all went off the air. The last news was that there was still no cure for it, no one took responsibility for it, and no one knew where it came from. I was hoping that the news I heard about Italy, Great Britain, and Ireland shutting down their borders early on was true, so maybe there were other survivors we could link up with. My hope was that a ship would be there, and still be functioning with operational communication equipment.
Everyone started shuffling out, interrupting my thoughts, so I headed for the front door to load my things into my car and get it ready for towing. Several others were also loading their cars, so we went as a group across the street. Once the RV's were loaded, they were supposed to pull around for the cars. By the time we had all loaded our cars, the first of them pulled around the corner. It took us until about eight thirty to get everything loaded and have the cars hooked up. Once we did, Jeff, Shayne, myself, and four others took one last run through of the hospital, making sure we didn't leave anything behind of use or a clue where we were going. Not finding anything, we then got in our respective vehicles and took off.
I decided to make one stop before really headed out. There was a Wal-Mart in Glenpool, right at the junction of highway 117 and 75. We stopped there for any supplies that hadn't already been looted. I had Jeff pull around to the tire and lube center and we loaded up as many tires as we could for the RV's and other cars. Spare parts for the vehicles, oil change supplies, lights, anything we could think of that was still there we grabbed. Most of the food was gone or rotten, as well as guns and ammo, but some camping supplies were left along with a few batteries. We grabbed whatever we could find and loaded it up in the rig. I had a team siphon gas out of what cars were in the parking lot while were inside as well.
We then hea
ded north on highway 75 out of Glenpool, heading for I-44 to head towards Branson for my family. Others had family also along 44, so it seemed a good route to take. We would also eventually link up to I-40, from which we could hit several other towns people needed to go to. I figured we would have enough gas to get there easily in one shot, but we would scrounge for gas whenever the opportunity presented itself. We made several short stops at various stores along the way; Sam's, for food and household supplies; Dick's Sporting Goods for bows, crossbows, arrows, camping gear, etc.; Lowes for anything we could use there; even a video game store or two so we could stock up on entertainment for the kids.
It was pretty uneventful for the most part, no major roadblocks, or infected herds. We did see one or two infected here and there, but they didn't seem to take notice of us. A few stalled cars were on the road and we stopped to siphon the gas out of them as much as we could get. None of them had anything else of use to us though. We made it all the way to the border with no real issues, and since we were good on gas for the moment, I decided to push on to Springfield, MO.
We stopped at a truck stop in Springfield around noon for a rest and to look for supplies. I had a few guys go siphon gas out of the tanks just to top us off, while several of us went inside to see what was left. The whole place was pretty wrecked; food was gone, or trashed. There was really not anything left, but a few small blankets, a couple of pocket knives, and some various car accessories. After pulling what gas we could, we all piled into the building just to get out of the vehicles for a bit. We stayed for about an hour, stretching our legs and getting ready for the next leg of the trip.
We loaded back up without seeing any infected or looters. We then headed south on highway 65 towards Branson. With any luck we should be able to get to my cousins place and pick them up along with my dad and brother by three. A few miles north of Branson, we encountered a small road block of several stalled and abandoned cars. We stopped the convoy and took it in. I got out, along with about 15 others, including Jeff, and surveyed the block.
"Think you can push them out of them way?" I asked Jeff. I really didn’t want to push them all out of the way by hand, but we would if need be.
"Probably, but they are all pointing different directions. It would be difficult without damaging the truck." He replied.
"Alright, crap. Let's see if they have anything we can use, siphon gas, then we will put them in neutral and push." I said to the group. We all started checking them out, watching for infected, or a trap in case there were non-infected around trying to jump travelers. We didn't find anything in the cars we could take, and several were locked. We busted windows out, put them in neutral and started pushing them out of the way. We had them all cleared but one when the first infected came out of the woods. One of the guards noticed it first, and quietly got our attention. Since I didn’t want any undue attention, I signaled him not to fire, and I drew my sword. I crept up towards it as it shambled towards the group, keeping myself low behind the cars.
As I crouched behind a SUV we just moved, it came around the corner, its attention on the closest guard to me. I waved at him to keep its attention, but not fire. I stood slowly as it passed me, and then planted my sword in the top of its head. The thing hit its knees as the force of my blow forced it down. I kicked it in the back as I pulled my sword out and it hit the ground, face first. I watched it until I was sure it wasn’t going to move anymore, and then looked around for more. Not seeing any movement I cleaned my blade then put it away. The guards had finished moving the last car by then, so I signaled to load up and keep moving.
Everything went smoothly again until we got to Branson. As we drove, there were several areas with wrecked cars, burned cars, burned buildings. It appeared that Branson was hit pretty hard by looters and rioters. There were bodies beside the street, trash everywhere, and most of the businesses had busted out windows and doors hanging off the hinges. The more we saw, the more worried I was for my family and their friends.
We came up to the exit for the lake. My cousins had decided to hole up at a friends' resort on the lake. Since my dad and brother lived on the same lake, they could just take their boat there. I hoped that they were there and not forced to leave. I didn’t know how I would find them if they had to go somewhere else.
We passed more burnt buildings, cars abandoned and destroyed. There were some buildings that appeared to have been fortified at one point, but it looked like rioters had broken in. It took about thirty minutes to get to the resort from the highway, and the gate at the entrance had been smashed in. I radioed to Jeff to not go in, and he pulled off to the side and stopped. All the drivers pulled up in a line, or side by side, and we got out. I surveyed the gatehouse, the broken gate, and decided I wasn't taking the convoy in. I would unhitch my car alone and go in search of my family.
"I don't think that’s a wise idea, Sheldon. At least take an RV, with guards. We can undo the trailer and leave it. At least that way you would have space to bring everyone out, and have protection.” Jeff pleaded with me. I considered it, and then decided his idea was better. We took off the trailer from the closest RV to the gate, left it sitting in the road. I asked for volunteers to go with me, and picked only five out the ones that raised their hands. We then set out into the resort to look for survivors.
We pulled up to the office first, and we went inside to search for a map. I found one, and realized the resort was actually pretty big. I figured they would want access to the boat dock, so I started my search for them there. It appeared that there was a sizable building near the docks that could be defended, so that was my first target.
We took off through the resort slowly, keeping an eye out for both infected and scavengers. I really didn’t want to have to fight anyone, especially if they weren't infected. We rolled through the streets, passing cars, rolling over trash, seeing no movement but the wind. Windows were broken out all over the place, discarded food packages strewn all over the ground, and the occasional body on the road or off to the side were the only things we saw.
Finally the conference center came into view. That was the building near the docks I was headed for. It appeared to have been attacked at some point, as windows were broken and boarded up, the main door was broken and boarded as well. My heart sank, expecting the worst. I pulled up to the front and stopped the RV in the middle of the street so there was space on either side. I had the guards watch all sides, and I then got my gear sorted. I put on my riot gear, followed by my double swords, my short sword I called 'Cross', and my set of Sais. I then stepped out with only two guards, Randy and John.
"Keep an eye out, but remember, we are looking for survivors, so no shooting unless you have to. Even if it's an infected, try to use the bayonets first. Gunfire will only draw more." I told the two with me. I drew my sword and we started towards the building. We fanned out, looking for a way in. I just hoped they were here.
I decided to start with the main doors, just in case they were accessible. They were boarded up pretty good, and I didn’t even see any ways to look out. The guards had spread out to either side, so I looked up. It was a three story building, with a covered porch running all around the front and sides as far as I could see. I decided to climb up on the roof of the porch and see if I could get in on the second floor. I sheathed my sword and began climbing a tree that had a large enough branch that spread over the porch roof. I eased out onto the limb, and then dropped onto the roof. It creaked, but held my weight.
I eased over to the first window. It was boarded up halfway on the inside, but I could look in. it was apparent someone was or had been staying there by the items strung about. I walked over to the next window and that room was the same way. I tried pushing up the window, but it was locked. I walked from window to window trying them all until I found one unlocked on the side of the building. I eased it up, still not seeing any signs of life other than trash. The guards on the ground had both made it all the way around and met back up without finding any way
in. They noticed me on the roof and stayed with me, just in case. I waved to them and motioned I was going in. They nodded and kept watch. I knocked on the boards to tear them loose, sure if anyone was alive inside they would hear me and come investigate.
After the last board fell, I waited to see if I had drawn any attention. With no sounds coming from inside anywhere, I laid on the porch roof with my head over the side to talk to the guards.
"I'm going to go in. I will find the closest door and see if I can open it. I'm going to check the upstairs first, so it may be awhile. Go tell the others in the RV and come back to the back door. Wait there for me and keep watch.” I told them. They nodded and headed for the door. I eased myself into the room, which appeared to be a small storage room. There were shelves with a few things on them, such as toilet paper, printer paper, what looked like thermal paper, pens, and pencils. I turned my flashlight on and shined it around the room. When nothing moved, I turned it back off and crept to the door. I slowly opened it and peered into the hallway. The upstairs appeared to be full of storage rooms, offices, maybe a smaller conference room or two. I was at the corner of the building, so the hallway ran in front of me, and then to my right. I peered straight first, then opened the door more to look to my right. Nothing was moving, and I heard nothing.
Sword first, I stepped into the hallway. I had some chalk with me, so I marked the door I just came out of with an 'X' so I knew it was clear and eased it shut. I knew from looking in the windows that the next five rooms were also clear, so I marked them as well. I then went back to the corner and headed down the hallway, looking for stairs. The exit sign was dead ahead of me, so it seemed like a good sign.
I put my ear to the next door and listened for movement. Hearing nothing, I eased the door open, sword at the ready. I flung it open after just a little bit and jumped back. When nothing came out, I looked inside. Another conference room, but the table had been lifted on its side and the chairs placed so it wouldn't fall over and it blocked the windows. I closed the door and placed an 'X' on it. Three more rooms between me and the stairs were also clear. Once I marked all of them, I went to the stairwell door.