Trying to Survive (Part 3)

by Crowley,C. J.

  “They have to have a rather large group to accomplish all of this.” Jenny replied as she backed out of the parking lot and continued on.

  Allen excitably called out and caused Jenny to swerve a bit. “Gun store to the right! Pinault’s Defensive Solutions.” He nervously laughed. “Sorry, Jenny.”

  Veronica barked “Fuck that! Let’s try to find these people. They’re obvious all working together to clean up this whole place – they should welcome us.”

  I turned back and said “We can’t just drive up to them.” I looked to Jenny. “We have to try and observe them from afar first.”

  “Agreed.”

  Veronica sighed “Yeah, I forget… we haven’t had any bad experiences with other people yet.”

  I could see the worry spread across Clara’s face as her eyes thinned and her brow slowly crinkled. She may have started to open up to us again, but it was clear that she was still intensely frightened of new people… If anything, I wished the others shared her level skepticism.

  The gun store was stationed at the end of strip mall, directly across the street from another strip mall. It was probably a waste of time since people had obviously cleaned out the area, but I said “Let’s check it out. You never know...”

  Jenny turned off the main road and slowed down to about 15mph. “Look at all the bodies and bullet holes in the walls. These people have used up thousands of rounds. No way that gun store has anything left.”

  After seeing that the gun store was empty and offered nothing but corpses, Jenny continued so we could check all of the stores. I said “They’ve been at this for a while. Everything of use is gone.”

  Jenny pulled back onto the street and came to a stop. “Driving around and looking for them will get us spotted… James, how’s your leg feeling?”

  “Pretty damn good.”

  “I haven’t seen a single live shredder yet… You and I are going on foot.” She turned back to the others. “Walt, you follow behind us in the car at least a block behind, and don’t move forward unless we direct you. Allen, you sit up front and be ready to fire if need be.”

  Walt snapped “What? But, all it takes is for one to pop out and you’ll be forced to shoot it and give us away.”

  “I don’t think we really have to worry about that… Whoever killed them all was very thorough. And they obviously live here, otherwise they wouldn’t have gone through the trouble to shoot every shredder in sight.”

  I opened the door and stepped out. “Let’s do it. Pop the trunk so we can swap out to the long range scopes.”

  As Jenny and I switched out our rifles, Walt came around back. “James, make sure to always stay on the right side of Jenny so she can watch your left.”

  “Already thought of that, believe me… It’s really not as bad as you think though. It’s back and to the left that’s pretty much gone. I can watch to the side just fine.”

  Jenny checked to make sure the old, bolt action rifle was fully loaded and said “Sorry Walt, but James is the only one here I know for a fact can make shots at over three-hundred yards while under pressure.”

  “What about Allen. His leg might not be a healed as he thinks.”

  Allen called back from up front. “The shooting range I used to go to was kind of small. The farthest targets were only 150 yards away.”

  Walt folded his arms over his chest. “What if you have to run? I think you’re getting ahead of yourself.”

  “I’m fine.”

  Jenny basically just blew him off and said “Okay, follow us to the main road and then stop. Don’t pull out until one of waves you on… James, we stop at every intersection and take our time to look around before we cross the street.”

  Walt thinned his eyes and began scanning our surroundings. “They might already be watching us.”

  “What do you suggest? We just leave? It looks like these people have succeeded in making this whole area safe. Look around.”

  “No, of course not… I just think wandering around in the open is a little risky. They can’t have killed them all.”

  I cut in. “Walt, remember what I said about all paths being covered in shit?”

  Jenny glanced over at me and frowned. Walt sighed out “Yeah” and went around the front of the car so he could get behind the wheel.”

  Before Jenny closed the trunk she called up to Walt. “Remember. Don’t go out on the main road again until we signal… Clara, Veronica. Stay low and keep your heads down – just in case. They might chose to let us know we aren’t welcome by firing a few shots.”

  She turned back and looked me in the eye. “You ready?”

  I nodded and turned off the safety on my rifle.

  “Just follow my lead.”

  “Of course.”

  Jenny stopped at the end of the street and brought the scope up to her eye so she could see farther down the main strip of town. “I don’t see anything but cars and bodies. There’s no movement at all... Let’s go.”

  As we came upon the first intersection I was already in a state of utter amazement… They’re all dead. This whole town is empty... Maybe we really found something. Maybe no one else has to die…

  Jenny raised her rifle. “Okay, let’s take a minute to look around before we cross.”

  She leaned around the edge of the building to peer down the side streets and I checked straight ahead. “Nothing.”

  “Same here. Cross.”

  When we made it to the second intersection (in a long, long line of intersections stretching further than I could see) Jenny turned back and motioned for Walter to pull out and move toward us. When he got about fifty yards away she motioned for him to stop and stay near some parked cars to blend in.

  After about a half hour of robotically moving forward and checking every direction and store, I finally said “Maybe whoever did this moved on.”

  “That just wouldn’t make any sense. Even if there’re fifty of them, which I highly doubt, cleaning out all these stores would give them years of supplies. And why would they waste all this ammo on shredders if they didn’t plan on staying?”

  Maybe they’re all dead… “I guess you’re right.”

  “According to the map, there aren’t many roads leading into this city. So I assume they’d post up somewhere near the center so it’s easier for them to see people coming.”

  Just as I was truly beginning to think we were wasting our time, Jenny barked “Stop.” She came back behind the wall and said “I see a blockade… A good one. Like they raided a Home Depot and really put some work and time into it.”

  “Do you see any people?”

  “No, just about a hundred dead shredders in front of it. But I did see a rifle poking out from the top of the wall. Like someone just stepped away for a few minutes… We’re too close. We need to head back to the last intersection and go east so we can get a look from further away.”

  We started heading back to the SUV and she motioned for Walt to stay put. When we both jumped back in, he said “What happened?”

  Veronica and Allen leaned forward with anticipation. Clara didn’t look away from the window, but her right leg was shaking and she was biting her fingernails… At least she’s not just sitting there like a zombie…

  “Turn around and take the next left. We found a big wall. They have a section of town blocked off.”

  Allen said “A big wall?”

  “It looks like it’s made from wood and large sections of metal roofing… They put a lot of work into it. To collect all the materials and get it built in such a short amount of time, to accomplish all of this… It has to mean there’re at least twenty of them or something like that.”

  I optimistically added “This really might be what we’ve been looking for.”

  Walt said “So, where am I going?”

  “I want to get about a half-mile away so we can spend the rest of the day observing. This might be too good to be true. Just go up one more street and make a left, but stop before you hit the next one.
I can lean around the building and get a perfect view.”

  Veronica said “Why wouldn’t they welcome more people? I just don’t understand why anyone wouldn’t want to work together right now. It’s the only way to make it… People can be so stupid.”

  Allen scoffed “Some people are just pieces of shit… murderer’s, thieves… You get my point.”

  I said “Exactly. We shouldn’t even think about approaching them until we learn more than a little bit about them. Even if it takes a week.”

  “In the very least, we need to get a look at them. We might end up seeing military uniforms, cops and just regular, nice looking people.” Jenny remarked.

  I kept a close watch for any movement inside the buildings, but there was just nothing. Every single street was littered with bodies and shell casings, no matter where I looked. I suggested “Maybe a lot of them came from Savannah and then hooked up with another group here.”

  “I guess that would explain how there could be enough people to do all this.” Allen replied.

  Walt took his foot off the gas and pulled over to the side of the road to blend in with some other parked cars. Jenny said “Alright, James… Everyone else stay put for now.”

  I followed behind Jenny as we approached the edge of the building at the corner. I checked through the windows of what appeared to be a bakery while Jenny started to inch her way out into the open so she could get a better look at the wall.

  Before she raised her rifle, she just barely leaned out to get a glimpse. When she kept leaning out and brought her rifle around, I assumed there was no one in sight. “Anything?”

  “Not yet.” She brought the scope up to her eye. “That rifle is still leaned up against the wall.”

  “Maybe whoever they have on watch is taking a shit.”

  “They must feel pretty comfortable to only have one man up on that wall.”

  “You know, that might not be the only one… Do you see any kind of entrance?”

  Jenny paused for a few moments. “Now that you mention it… No, I don’t.”

  “They would have to build more than a few to box themselves in. We just need to find the main one that they use to come and go.”

  Jenny lowered her rifle and came back behind the building. She looked to the ground and began slowly shaking her head. “How could there be so many people here?.. I mean, I could see one wall going up, maybe two, but it hasn’t even been a month. And they have to be at least ten feet tall… How could there be several more unless they had dozens of people?”

  “It’s hard to believe… but there it is. Only way we’ll know is if we make contact with them.”

  “Yeah. We keep going. Go back to the car and tell Walt to start following us again.”

  I purposely jogged over to the car to get a good sense of how my leg was feeling. There was a little pain when I really put some strain on the muscle, but I honestly felt like I’d be able to run for a decent distance if need be. I might pay for it later, but it was definitely possible.

  When I reached the car, Walt said “I guess your leg really is feeling better, huh?”

  “I told you I wasn’t full of shit. I’m definitely not at a hundred percent though.”

  “So, what’s up?”

  “That’s not the only wall. There’s no way in or out, so it can’t be.”

  Allen cut in. “That has to mean there’re a lot of them.”

  Walt scoffed “All the more reason to be extra cautious.”

  “Anyway, we have to keep moving. Just follow us again, and gas it through the intersections so you aren’t in sight for long.”

  It was surreal to see so many bodies in the streets and scattered on the floors of any store window I’d peer into. This whole time the shredders had made sure that not a single piece of anyone remained. In a way it was more unsettling than almost anything else I’d witnessed so far. It was a true testament as to how many people have actually died.

  “James, I see two men posted at the top of the wall… But I also see bullet holes all over it. Someone attacked them.” Jenny said as she leaned out from behind the building at the next intersection.

  I heard her, but my mind instantly pushed it away as I continued to stare at the bodies. “What? Sorry.”

  “I said I can see two men posted at the wall, and that they’ve been attacked by other people. I can see the entrance too. It’s large enough for cars, but it’s covered in bullet holes and it looks like they had to repair some extensive damage. Someone was definitely trying to get through.”

  “So, they’re probably on high alert… But, it could also make it so they’re happy to have more people join them. They had to have lost some people defending this place.”

  “Or they lost, and it’s been taken over by the kind of people who go around murdering and stealing what others have… I don’t think all of these bodies are shredders.”

  Jenny came back behind the building and stood up as I said “Shit… What should we do?”

  Jenny walked out to the street and began to look around. She started heading toward a stationary store and said “Go get a white towel out of that duffle bag.”

  When I approached the SUV Walt said “What did you see?”

  “The entrance… Jenny said she could tell they’ve been attacked. Said she saw bullet holes and could tell they had to repair some damage.”

  “So, they’ll probably shoot at us the moment they see us?”

  “Yeah, most likely. But I think Jenny has a plan.”

  “What’s she doing in that store?”

  “I think she’s going to make signs so we can communicate from here. She asked me to get a white towel. I’m assuming we’re going to start off by hanging it past the wall.”

  Veronica remarked “Clever.”

  Allen’s thoughts closely matched Jenny’s. “What if the people who originally did all this lost the fight, and a bunch of crazy fucks are behind those walls now?”

  “Jenny thought of that. All we can do is try. If that is the case, they probably have so much food and shit that they wouldn’t risk trying to kill us for what little we have… I’m hoping they’ll either tell us to come on in, or to go fuck ourselves.”

  “What if it’s a trap?” Veronica asked.

  I put my hands on the roof of the car and slightly leaned inside so I could see her. “I was just thinking about that, but don’t worry, we’re going to be watching them for a while before we make contact. That hasn’t changed… A lot of times you can get a read on people just by looking at them.”

  They all agreed, so I grabbed a white towel and met Jenny in the street as she walked out of the store holding large, poster-sized pieces of paper and a package of magic markers. “What if they bullshit us and then kill us once we get inside… Or just rob us and send us back out with no protection.”

  “What are you saying we should just leave? This is exactly what we’ve been looking for… This is what everyone died for, James.”

  “No, of course not. I’m saying we shouldn’t try to communicate with them until we get a good look at them… They might look like a gang of pirates or some shit. Know what I mean?”

  “A gang of pirates?”

  “I used to work in construction… Trust me, they still exist.”

  Jenny bit down on her bottom lip and looked off to the side. “You’re right. I just got excited so I wasn’t thinking.”

  She started heading back toward the SUV. “Follow me, I have a new plan.”

  Jenny asked the others to get out of the car and gather around. She pointed to an antique shop across the street. “I take it James told you the situation, right?”

  Everyone nodded and waited for her to continue. “Something happened here, and it could have had several different outcomes. Either way, it’s dangerous for us to let them know we exist yet… That store has tinted windows, and the door is far enough to the right that they shouldn’t see us enter. We should be able to safely hide out there and watch them. We can leave th
e car right here. They won’t notice if they happen to come this way.”

  She took a moment to lock eyes with every one of us. “What do you all think?”

  We all agreed. Allen said “This is what we’re looking for, right? We have to try. If these guys look like assholes we just keep moving... This can’t be the only place where people were able to clear out all the shredders and wall themselves in.”

  Jenny nodded. “If we’re not completely sure about these people we won’t even make contact.”

  Clara’s voice came from behind Veronica. “I don’t like this place. We should leave.”

  Jenny’s face softened and she approached Clara. She sighed and took a knee. “I know Naya made it so you don’t trust anyone. I understand, Clara… What happen changed me too. It changed the way I think about people… But, it’s just as dangerous to keep traveling around on our own and trying to survive.”

  “I know… It’s just this place. I don’t like it here. I think all the good people are dead.”

  Jenny looked over to me as if to ask “Any ideas on what I should say? What if she’s right?”

  I said “Clara, I promise we’re going to take the time to really watch them and find out who they are. Even if it takes days. And like Allen said – if they seem even a little suspicious we’ll move on.”

  Clara’s eyes moved to the ground as she began to nod. Jenny took her hand and started leading her across the street. Clara gently pulled her hand away. “It’s okay, Jenny. I’m not a baby.”

  I stopped Walt and told Allen and Veronica to go ahead and follow Jenny. “We’re probably going to be in there for a while. Might as well grab food, water and extra bullets now.”

  As we gathered what we could hold, Walt said “You know, maybe these people have the wrong idea.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You said they’ve been attacked, right? Maybe setting up in the middle of a town like this isn’t the way to go… Every gang of assholes that passes through will try and get in.”

  He raised a good point, but I wanted to concrete on getting everything we need and disappearing, so I began heading across the street. “You’re not wrong… But you’ll also miss out on all the good people coming through too.”