by Lee Thomas
"Michelle, I want you to ride with the girls. There is only one other qualified driver that can drive that rig, and I want two drivers in each vehicle so we don't have to stop except to switch drivers or re-fuel. If you are watching the kids, that's one less thing I have to worry about, deal?" I asked her. I figured she would do it if I told her to, but I wanted her to kind of think it was her idea.
"Alright, I can do that.” she said, hugging her arms around herself and then turning to go back into the RV.
"What was the other CDL driver’s name, Jerry?" I asked him.
"Something like that, I'll go find him. Let's just get this done, shall we?" he answered back. We shook hands, he turned to head towards his rig, and I climbed on the RV. I made sure everyone was safe, no injuries, and that we still had a decent inventory of food and ammo. Once that was done, I went to the driver's seat and fired it up. I radioed to all drivers and made sure everyone was ready. I waited until Jeff was set and passed, then hit the gas.
We headed north on highway 641 back towards I-40. This was the first time we had been out at night since it all started and we gathered in the hospital. I radioed Jeff and told him to keep a sharp eye out, we probably wouldn't see any roadblocks until we were right up on them.
Luckily we made it all the way back to I-40 without seeing any infected, raiders, or roadblocks. I wished it would be that easy all the way to Norfolk, but I knew it wouldn't be. We turned east once more on 40. I stayed close to Jeff, off to one side so he could see me. I looked in the mirror and it appeared the rest were also in a staggered pattern as well, but I radioed to all drivers just to make sure. It was the best way to stay close to each other without any one vehicle tailgating another.
By now it was pushing nine o'clock, and I figured we wouldn't hit Nashville now until probably midnight. I knew I wouldn't be able to drive that much longer, so I told Jeff to stop in about another hour so we could switch drivers. I didn't want anyone getting too sleepy.
I glanced back and saw Michelle and the girls sleeping already on the couch, leaning up against each other. We also had two of Jeff's kids, Dustin and Nathan, as well as three other adults. It was crowded, but so were all the other RV's. We rolled along, not seeing any infected moving on the highway, but every so often we would see eyeballs reflecting our lights just off into the trees. I saw Jeff's brake lights before I heard the radio crackle.
"We got something in the road up ahead.” he said, slowing down. He moved off to the left, so I pulled up on his right so I could see what was going on. As he stopped, I pulled even with the cab and stopped the RV. It appeared to be a tree that fell over, and some cars hit it. I looked like a RV also hit it. There was quite a bit of debris on the road. I looked back and saw the rest of the group had tightened up like I asked them too, and everyone killed the lights, including Jeff and myself.
I got out, slowly, listening carefully, with my swords and a flashlight. I told Michelle and the girls to stay in here and keep it locked. I asked for a few men to come with me, and everyone in the vehicles to keep them locked tight. With no engine noise, all we heard was the slight sound of wind, and insects. The small group of us that got out made our way to the debris field, only turning on our lights when we got close.
"Well, shit, now what?" Jeff asked.
"Think we can move all this crap?" Aaron asked. He was one of the guys we picked up with Leni's group. He seemed pretty level headed, and easy to get along with.
"Most of the cars and major debris seem to be on this right side. We should be able to clean the rest off of the left side and pass over there. With those scorch marks, I'm guessing none of them have any gas left in them to scrounge though.” Dave said.
"Ok. Let's get a few more men out here to help. I don't want to be caught with our backs turned cleaning. I want guards.” I said. I sent Aaron and Kelly, another man from Leni's group, back to gather more hands to help. Jeff, Dave and I started for the debris field to start moving things. Most of the debris was small, so it was easy to pick up and throw off the road. I picked up a tire and rolled it towards the grass, then helped Dave pick up a hood and carry it over to the side. A few wires, a couple of shocks, it was likely that most of this stuff was only over here because one or two of the cars exploded while burning.
Aaron and Kelly walked up to us with eight more men with weapons and started to help, while the new eight took positions looking out to make sure we didn’t have anyone sneak up on us. We finished cleaning out a wide enough area for the rig and RV's to fit through and I told everyone to head back and get back in the RV's. I waited until Jeff fired up the rig before turning mine over, and I verified via the radio that everyone else was ready. I informed the drivers they would need to go single file through the clear area, but I wanted the stagger pattern resumed once we were through.
"Sheldon, your hour time limit is about to end. How much longer do you want to go?" Jeff asked me. I radioed to others to ask how sleepy they current drivers were. Once I got an answer from all of them, I answered Jeff back.
"The other drivers all say their good for now, and so am I. How much longer can you go?" I asked him.
"I'm good for another hour I guess. We should be an hour out of Nashville by then. It would be good to have fresh drivers going through there." He told me.
"Ok. An hour it is." I replied.
We rolled on for that last hour with no further incidents. According to the map, we should only be about thirty minutes outside Nashville. I saw a sign for a truck stop and radioed Jeff to stop. He started pulling over to the side to take the exit.
Making the turn onto the service road to go to the truck stop, we couldn’t really see anything. Very little moon or starlight out made it difficult to see anything past our lights. Jeff pulled into the truck stop and parked between the pumps and the building. I told the other drivers I wanted a perimeter with the RV's so we made an arc around the rig as best we could with the doors pointing inside. Once a driver was in position, they killed the lights and engines. Once it was all dark and quiet, we waited our customary ten minutes.
No movement anywhere did not always signal safe. Even though we couldn’t see anything, if any infected were fairly far off, they could still be coming, and in the dark we wouldn’t see them until almost too late.
As people piled out of the vehicles, I told a few to spread the word that I wanted watchers on the roofs, and for everyone to keep an eye and ear out for anything. I didn't want anyone wandering off by themselves, or too far off. We immediately split into three groups, one to search for and acquire any gas they came across, one to search the building, and one to get on the roofs and watch. I also instructed four men to get onto the roof of the building to watch, as there was an easily accessible ladder. I watched the guys climb the ladder, then I joined the team clearing the building.
Walking up to doors, the windows were all boarded up from the inside. Even the glass doors had boards on them. It appeared that someone was either staying here now, or at least had at one point. As we made it to the doors, Dave came over to me.
"If they're locked, why we don't we try knocking first? If someone is in there, we definitely wouldn't want to break their safety net if they decide to stay, right?" he asked me. It was a very good point. If this was someone's refuge, I didn’t want to destroy it by breaking their door. Before we could try it though, one of the rooftop guards got our attention.
"Sheldon, Dave, we got something up here you should see." Eric said. Jeff, Dave, and I looked at each other, then headed towards the ladder. I told the rest of the men to stay down here just in case. We climbed up the ladder and joined the four on the roof. Once my head popped over the edge, I saw they were not alone.
"This is Kevin, apparently this was his store, and he and a few others fortified it. Kevin, this is Sheldon, the leader of our little band.” Eric introduced us.
"Nice convoy you got here. Do you have a plan or are you just moving?" Kevin asked me as we shook hands.
"Oh
, I have a plan. We can go over it if you'd like. How about you, how are you holding out?" I asked him in return.
"Well, why don't we get your people inside and I will tell you. Does anyone have a problem climbing a ladder?" he said.
"No, they should all be okay with that. We have some kids, but none so small they can't climb a ladder.” I told him. I had noticed while we were talking the open roof hatch. Apparently that was their main way in and out. Smart, since it didn’t appear the infected were smart enough to climb a ladder.
"Dave, go tell the group what we found, and get them ready to get inside for a bit. I do want guards left on or in the vehicles though, their choice." I said, turning to Dave. I would like to see what kind of set up Kevin had down below. It might be worth repeating somewhere if we had the opportunity.
"Follow me then, I'll take you down.” Kevin said, turning towards the hatch. I followed him, along with Jeff and Eric. The others remained on the roof to keep watch. We went down a short service ladder into what appeared to be a mechanical area of the building. Central heat and air units, along with all the associated duct work ran all over the place. We had descended onto a small walkway between them that led to a stairwell only a few steps away. Those steps ended in a steel door which Kevin pushed open. We stepped out into what was probably originally office space. Now it seemed to be sleeping and living quarters.
"We started with about twenty of us, grew to almost sixty. After going on various food or ammo runs, or in the process of securing this place, we have lost a few along the way. Now we number twelve.” Kevin explained to us as we followed him through the rooms. "We had power for a long time, so with that we had refrigeration, but that went out about a week ago when we ran out of fuel for the generator. If your men are looking for diesel, they won't find any."
"That's ok, we should have enough to last us a little longer on that. We scrounge where ever and whenever we can. We had a similar set up back in Oklahoma. When I first gathered my group, we also started with about fifty or so in the local hospital. We did what you have done, boarded up windows, hoarded food and ammo. But that was only a short term goal. Let's sit down and talk, I'll tell you the long term plan." I said to Kevin. "Jeff, go help get everyone inside and comfortable for a few."
Kevin and I went and sat in a small area they had set up with couches and bench seats from restaurant tables. He had stopped one of his people and asked them to bring us some water to drink, and we got down to talking.
"Ok, so here it is. I know at any given time, there is usually one or two carrier groups in Norfolk naval base. My short term plan here is basically get to Norfolk, get aboard a carrier. Once on board, we can raise the aircraft elevators, post guards on the catwalk under the flight deck, in the line rooms, and on the fantail, an area in the back. Once the lines and fantail are guarded, nothing will be able to get on board that ship without us allowing it. Carriers are nuclear, so we will have power. There should still be food on board, as well as guns and ammo. We will have protection, security, and we won't be running anymore. I have plans for food production, and looking for other survivors. Once the ship is secure, I plan to start securing the base itself. It would be plenty of land for people to spread a little, yet be small enough to protect. That is the basics. If you want to join us, I would be more than happy to take you guys with us, but my rule is everyone helps, however they can. If you aren't interested and want to stay here, then we will leave you to it and continue on our way." I explained all this to Kevin as he listened carefully. We talked for a while longer, him asking questions, me answering, hashing out whether or not I really knew what I was doing. I really didn't, but I made it sound good.
"Let me talk to the group. We have barely been surviving, and hadn't actually expected to see anybody else at this point. I think we may take you up on it. If nothing else, you guys can get some rest, relax, we are safe here. I'll put some of my men up on the roof with yours so nothing can sneak up on us." Kevin said. We both stood and shook hands, and I went to find my group.
"Well, how did that go?" Jeff asked me as I found him and Michelle eating dinner.
"I think we may have to find room for twelve more people.” I said absent mindedly, not really paying attention to the conversation. I was thinking about where we could fit them.
"That would take our total up to about what, 120 or so?" Jeff asked. I nodded, knowing Roger and Val were keeping up with the numbers more than I was.
"So what do you want to do, it's like two in the morning, most everyone is trying to get back to sleep. Do we stay the rest of the night or get back in the RV's?" Michelle asked.
"Let them sleep. This is a safe place for now, we will continue in the morning. That will give Kevin time to decide if they are coming with us or not. Get some sleep yourselves, I'll talk to you later.” I said, taking my leave of them. I went back to the roof to check on our watchers before I went to sleep.
Opening up the hatch, I climbed out onto the roof and stepped over to the nearest set. They greeted me quietly, and I nodded back. I had four men up here, and Kevin sent four more, so there were two men watching each wall, as well as getting to know each other. I watched over the area with them for a minute or two, then went to the next set and did the same thing. After quietly visiting with each group, I headed back down.
"Well, the few that are awake right now have no problems going with you, if you will have us.” Kevin said as I came out of the door at the bottom of the stairs.
"Do you think the rest will follow too?" I asked him. I really didn't need people going with us, and some not, then the ones with us getting cold feet and demanding to be brought back. It was too much of a risk to the group as a whole. Once we left, we left.
"Yes. We all are close, one way or another. If a few leave, we will all leave. So what's your plan then?" he asked me as we walked away from the sleepers.
"Well, I guess I will let everyone get some sleep tonight since a lot are already out. We will take off in the morning, say around eight at the latest. We should make Virginia by nightfall, and the ship by nightfall the next day. If the roads were clear, and it didn't take too long to search for gas at each stop we could make the ship by dark tomorrow, but let's be realistic." I replied to him.
"Sounds good to me. Let's get some sleep and we can push through in the morning.” Kevin said. He patted me on the shoulder and then went to his sleeping area. I hadn't pulled my bed roll out of the RV, so I just found a place on a free couch and laid down. I fell asleep quickly, thinking of the next leg of the trip already.
Chapter 5
May 4th, 2018
I awoke to the sounds of people moving around, voices talking and laughing. I sat up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes, not feeling rested at all. As I looked around I saw people packing up, talking, and smiling. It appeared my group was mingling with Kevin's quite nicely.
"Good morning.” Kevin said, appearing at my side. He was holding out a mug of something hot.
"Please tell me that's coffee.” I asked, taking the mug and inhaling. It smelled wonderful, and tasted just as good as I took a sip.
"It's only instant, all we have left, but it's better than nothing.” he chuckled, sitting next to me on the couch with his own mug. "Can I ask you a question?" I glanced over at him and nodded, drinking some more of that wonderful coffee.
"How old are you?" he asked.
"Thirty nine, why" I replied, glancing over at him.
"I'm fifty eight, and I don’t think I could lead a group like this like what you're doing. How are you pulling it off?"
"Honestly? I don't really have much of a clue. When I was in the Navy, we ran different scenarios on a regular basis, as exercises. World War III, nuclear accidents, natural disasters, things like that. As odd as it sounds, zombie apocalypse was one of those scenarios. I came up with this basic plan during those exercises. When the news started about this thing, I don't know, something clicked and I remembered those exercises, and decided it was a good enough pl
an as any. I told a few of my friends and family, and we went with it. How am I pulling it off? Barely, but I have good friends who keep me grounded and back me up.” I told him. He laughed a little at that, then slapped my shoulder like an old friend, stood up and went to gather his things. I finished drinking my coffee while I thought about what we would do with twelve more people.
I set my mug on the table, stood up, and headed towards the roof so I could see what was going on. I nodded at and greeted several people along the way, and eventually found the roof hatch. It was already open since so many people were going in and out, and also to let some sun in and fresh air, I was sure.
I climbed onto the roof to find about ten or so men keeping watch on the perimeter, while two were dropping supplies to the ground with a rope and makeshift pulley. I walked over to the ladder since that was the side our RV's were on and looked down. There was a watcher on each of the three outermost RV's, I could see a team filling gas tanks, and two of our cars were gone which told me someone went to scrounge for food and supplies. It all seemed to flowing fairly smoothly, like everyone had been doing it a long time.
I walked around the perimeter of the roof, looking out, greeting people, and just getting a feel of my own on what was going on. I wanted the people looking to me to know I was more than willing to watch with them, and put myself out there and not just risk their lives while I stay in safety.
"Sheldon, we're almost done. I have two teams out to search for food and/or supplies. I told them not to leave a three block radius, so they should back very soon. Kevin said most of it was already searched and cleared out, so I'm not holding out much hope they find much. Val is finding room for the new people, and we should be able to leave in about an hour.” Dave said, coming up behind me. I was extremely glad I had several people I could count on, like Dave, Jeff, and the rest of my inner circle. It helped take some of the stress off of me.