by Eric Vall
“Mhm,” was all I could manage since my mouth was so full.
I looked up from my plate after a moment and saw Betty smiling at me. She knew she was right to tell us to eat and she had the proud look of a mother who had just helped her child, so I couldn’t help but feel touched that she cared so much about us to boss us around.
I smiled back at her then finished what was on my plate. I felt ten times better after getting a hot meal in my belly, and I was ready to tackle the day and get the waterline set up.
After I’d finished eating Paige went and got a map for Rolly and Betty to look at, and they pointed to the places where the stores were. The place up north that Betty suggested was extremely close to Burlington, much too close for comfort, and while I figured we might still run into guys down south, there was a better chance that it would be a small patrol party rather than a larger one patrolling around the outpost.
“Down south it is,” I said with a nod.
“It’s a large store,” Rolly said. “But it’s mostly building and landscaping stuff, so I bet it hasn’t been too ransacked.”
“We’ll see when we get there,” I said. “But I hope you’re right. If not, then we’ll have to head up north, but we’ll exhaust all other options before it comes down to that.”
“Be safe out there,” Betty said with a frown. “I don’t like what’s been going on with all these druggies running around.”
“I don’t like it, either,” I chuckled. “But we’ll be safe, you know we will. Will you all be okay today? I don’t know when we’ll be back.”
“We’ll be alright,” Rolly assured me. “We’ll haul some water over like we have been.”
“Hopefully this will be the last day of that,” I said. “Girls, get ready and meet me at the truck in ten minutes.”
“On it,” Anna said.
I clapped Rolly on the shoulder as I walked by, then I followed the girls to the dorm room to grab my go bag and get prepped for our run. With what was going on lately I wasn’t taking any chances, everyone would need their vests and helmets, and extra ammo with them, too.
I ran up to my old dorm room where I still kept my clothes, and I threw on a pair of khaki cargo pants, some hiking boots, a white T-shirt, and a bandana to push my hair out of my face. I’d let it get shaggy and I didn’t need it in my face when I went to take a shot. I’d probably need a haircut soon, and possibly a beard trim, too, but that would have to wait for a different day.
I went back downstairs and grabbed my backpack, vest, helmet, rifle, and pistol from near the door. We’d gotten home late the night before, and thrown our stuff in the corner by the piano. It had become the designated kit corner, and typically the girls and I left our vests and rifles there so they were easy to grab if we needed them in a hurry.
As I put my vest on I looked at the piano and thought about how long it had been since Tara had last played it. There’d been so much going on since spring hit that we hadn’t been able to relax much. After all of this was over I’d ask her to play again because I missed having music in my life.
After I was finished putting everything on I stepped outside and headed to the military truck we’d take for the day. The girls already stood near it chatting, and I was proud of how quickly they had gotten prepared.
“About time,” Tara teased as I walked up. The platinum blonde had on a pair of denim high waisted shorts that showed off her hourglass figure, a pair of hiking boots, and a black tank top. Her long blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and she had her vest and helmet attached to her backpack which was slung over her shoulder.
“Yeah, yeah,” I chuckled, but I couldn’t stop staring at her cleavage in that tight tank top. “I was just thinking how proud I was of how fast you got ready, too.”
“Looks like you’re thinking about something else,” Tara laughed, and she pulled her arms in so her chest pushed out even more.
“Definitely does look like that,” Paige snickered, and I turned my attention to the brunette. My sweet, mousy bookworm wore a pair of tight blue jeans, and a gray Piper College shirt under her vest, which she had left unzipped. Her long, chestnut brown hair was not yet in its usual messy bun, and instead it hung down her back in loose waves. Her large, thick rimmed glasses sat on top of her small nose and made her look like even more of a professor than she already was.
“Alright,” Anna said with a clap. “Let’s get going.” My second in command was always the first to get down to business. Her red hair was pulled back in its usual long, thick braid that ran down the length of her torso. Instead of her usual athletic pants, today she wore a pair of small, spandex shorts that showed off her incredibly toned legs. She paired them with a pair of black sneakers, and wore a long sleeved zip-up athletic sweater underneath her vest.
I realized then that two out of three girls wore shorts today, so I looked over to Bailey to see how she was dressed. Sure enough, the blonde hippie girl wore a pair of shorts as well. They were looser than Anna and Tara’s, but they still showed off her petite and slender legs, and the tight tank top that she wore under her open vest displayed the gentle curves of her naturally sleek figure. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and she had her M14 slung over her left shoulder.
Three out of the four girls in shorts was a nice sight. I could definitely get used to the warmer weather if it meant getting this view every day.
“Stop gawking at us and get in,” Tara teased once more as she climbed up into the truck.
“Sorry,” I chuckled. “You’re all just too gorgeous.”
“We know,” the platinum blonde told me with a grin, but Anna rolled her eyes, and Paige and Bailey blushed.
It was already well into the morning at that time, so I pulled down the driveway and hit the gas as soon as we were on the main highway. Paige had shown me which roads to take, and I was confident that I wouldn’t need further directions. It was a pretty straightforward trip, we just had to be on the lookout for more druggies. They could literally be anywhere, and typically there was more than one jeep full of them in any given area.
I was slightly on edge about having to make the trip, but I was confident that my girls and I could handle anything that came our way. Besides, since we were headed south, if we had to take out any jeeps then it was less likely the druggies would connect it to the other groups we had taken out recently up north.
“You okay over there?” Anna asked from the passenger’s seat.
“I’m fine,” I answered as I stared out at the open road. The sky was blue and clear, and it felt like it was gearing up to be quite hot.
“Alright,” the redhead said, and I knew she wouldn’t push it.
“He’s just worried about the meth heads out there,” Tara said.
“Technically, we don’t know that they’re meth heads,” Paige said.
“What do you mean?” Bailey asked. “They were taking the Sudafed and stuff.”
“Yeah, that’s true,” Paige said. “But it’s not like we tested the drugs, they could be any sort of upper. I’m sure there’s stuff you can make from Sudafed that I’m not aware of.”
“Oh, come on,” Tara scoffed. “Just because we don’t have a test to prove it doesn’t mean we don’t know that they’re meth heads.”
“I’m just saying that technically those drugs could be anything,” Paige said with a shrug. “Even something new that they created.”
“She’s right,” Anna agreed, “they could be making that drug that made that one guy eat his friend’s face off in Florida.”
“Wasn’t that PCP?” Paige asked.
“Hell if I know,” Anna chuckled. “I just remember seeing it on the news. I thought for sure we were about to get a zombie outbreak, but it never came.”
“You seem disappointed,” I laughed.
“I mean, it’d be cooler than what’s going on right now,” the redhead replied with a smile.
“You’re the only one who would think that living in a horror film
would be cool,” Tara said with an eye roll.
“Oh, don’t tell me you never watched The Walking Dead,” Anna scoffed.
“Never heard of it,” Tara said, and she turned away and crossed her arms.
“You’re such a liar!” Anna laughed.
“Alright, alright,” the platinum blonde said. “I watched it. And yeah, it would be pretty cool.”
“I think people like the idea of a zombie outbreak because then they can kill without having to feel guilty about it,” Paige said. “It’s kind of fucked up when you think about it.”
Everyone was quiet for a moment, and we all looked at the brunette.
“Way to kill the mood,” Anna said, and we all laughed.
“Sorry,” Paige said with a grin and a shrug.
The drive wasn’t long, and we spent the entire time chatting more about zombies and different kinds of apocalyptic movies. It was nice to take my mind off of the dangers that potentially awaited us. I hadn’t felt this on edge in a while. After we had blown the bridge in the winter we had had a fairly quiet rest of the season. We checked traps, hunted, fed the animals, and stayed inside to keep warm. There wasn’t much else to do when there was at least a foot of snow on the ground. It had been a pretty happy time, and Winchester and the kids had enjoyed going outside to play from time to time. It had been nice to not have to worry so much about being under attack, but that sense of security couldn’t last forever, not with the current state of the world, and we had been lucky to get as long as we had.
I pulled into the town of Bakersfield and carefully looked around. The girls grew quiet as we scanned the area, but I didn’t see anybody around, so I continued on through town.
“Rolly said it was toward the end of town,” Paige said. “So we just keep going down this road.”
“Alright,” I agreed. “Keep an eye out, though. We’re going right through town, and I don’t want any surprises.”
We passed by some small shops and houses, and a few restaurants. It was a typical mid-sized town, with a population of probably a thousand people at most, and a lot of the shops were obviously locally owned, and it looked like they’d been there for a long time. It made me sad to think that people had to abandon their livelihoods to go with the National Guard. We all knew what kind of places they ran. I could imagine the town when it was still occupied, and I bet it was very homey and welcoming.
But now, where the shops had been lightly colored, with large storefront windows, those things were now destroyed. The shops themselves were dingy from disuse, and the windows were busted out. Blood splattered the streets, and some graffiti was marked on the storefronts with large, poorly drawn letters that told a tale of fear and desperation.
“Hey, are those people?” Bailey asked, and she pointed up ahead.
I pulled myself out of my thoughts and spotted bodies sprawled out across the street from the supply store we were headed to.
“Not anymore,” I said, and I pulled the truck up to the side of the store where it couldn’t easily be seen from the street, then turned the key. “Be careful, those bodies look fresh.”
I hopped out of the truck and pulled my pistol as I walked across the street toward the couple. It was a man and a woman, and it was obvious that they hadn’t been dead long. They were both around my age, maybe a few years older, and each had several gunshot wounds to the chest. It looked like they had bled out in each other’s arms. The male was leaned back against his backpack, and the woman was sprawled out across his legs.
He had thick, almost black hair, with a few gray strands sprinkled throughout. His head was leaned back, and his eyes were closed, but his mouth was wide open, and it was almost hard to look at.
The woman was even more difficult to see. Her eyes were open, and blood was smeared out of the corner of her mouth. I reached down and pushed her lids closed, but I still felt her hazel eyes stare at me from behind her eyelids.
“It looks like maybe he tried to comfort her before she died,” Paige said from beside me, and I could hear the sadness in her voice.
“This blood is fresh,” I said as I looked down at the still glistening substance on the road. It hadn’t fully dried yet, which meant this kill was new.
“You think the druggies are around here?” Bailey asked.
“I think so,” I said, and I continued to inspect the bodies. “Neither of them have a gun, but they both have knives.”
“That’s weird,” Paige said. “Either they didn’t have a gun, or somebody took their guns and left their knives.”
“Those are pretty nice knives,” Anna said. “Why would you just leave them there?”
“I don’t think these people had a gun,” I said, and I opened the woman’s backpack to look at the contents. “There’s a few canned goods and a full water bottle in here.”
“What’s the point of killing them, but then leaving their supplies?” Bailey asked.
“Killing just to kill?” Paige suggested with a frown.
“That’s what this looks like,” I said. “They were probably headed south so they wouldn’t have to go through another winter.”
“Damn,” Tara said. “They survived the winter just to be taken out by asshole drug addicts.”
Tara was right, these people had made it through the toughest season of the year only to be brought down by a couple of assholes with machine guns. It wasn’t right.
I was beyond pissed. After everything with Brody, and now this… why kill innocent civilians? There was no point to it except violence for violence’s sake, and that idea perturbed me to no end. This couple had been on their way south, and they would have been out of these guys’ territory in no time. They didn’t have a gun, and they were traveling together, so they were probably just scavenging to get by. I pulled their knives out and noticed the stains and marks on the blades, they had used them to pry open their canned goods. I doubted these people had hurt anybody in their time on the road.
“Let’s make this quick,” I said as I stood up.
“Right,” Anna agreed. “These assholes are probably still around here.”
Part of me hoped she was right.
Chapter 3
We left the bodies and headed over to the supply store across the street. The building was fairly large, and only one of the front windows was busted in, so I hoped that meant fewer people had come through.
I stepped through the large window into the building with my pistol raised. There were a few stray pieces of paper littered on the floor, along with some garbage, but most of the stuff on the shelves looked to be intact. People had probably used this place to escape the cold during winter, and since most people traveled nowadays there wouldn’t be a need for them to take the supplies from this kind of store.
I flanked left, and Anna stepped through the window behind me and flanked right. I had yet to see any of the druggies inside an actual store, but I wouldn’t discount it as an option, so I went through the aisles carefully. I wouldn’t expect any of those assholes to hide out in a building, but I wouldn’t take any chances. Part of me hoped that there were a few hiding in there, that way I could blow off some of the steam I had built up from seeing that innocent couple slaughtered on the ground.
Soon enough the building was clear, and I was mildly disappointed that I hadn’t run into a low life asshole I could put a bullet in.
“Anna,” I called, “stand guard by the window. If you see or hear anything, let me know immediately. Bailey, see if this building has roof access. Paige and Tara, start looking for the stuff on Rolly’s list.”
“You got it,” Anna told me as she headed toward the front of the building.
“I’m on it,” Bailey said as she went toward the back.
Tara and Paige set to looking through the shelves, and I started to go through them as well. We needed a lot of tubing, preferably hoses, but anything that water could run through would work. We also needed a spigot, and a few other things to get the water going. I saw Paige and Tara
head to the gardening section, but I stopped to look at the tool section before I headed that way. Pretty much everything that could be used as a weapon was gone, which left only a few saws and hedge clippers. I guessed people didn’t know how to use those in self-defense as readily as they did a hammer. Still, I grabbed whatever tools I saw that I thought could be useful, and put them into a pile by the register, then I went and found Tara and Paige.
“What have you found so far?” I asked as I came up behind the two women.
“We found some hoses,” Tara said, “and some connector pieces.”
“That’s a start,” I said. “I gathered some tools up at the front desk.”
“Hey,” Bailey breathed as she jogged over to us.
“You find the roof access?” I asked.
“Yeah,” she said. “I only lifted my head up, I didn’t go up there, but it’s pretty easily accessible from the stock room. Looked like a lot of people went up there to smoke, there’s like a million cigarette butts up there.”
“Gross,” Tara said, and her face scrunched up in disgust.
“Yeah,” Bailey agreed.
“Good work,” I told her. “Now, let’s find the rest of the stuff on this list, and we’ll grab anything else we can find that might be useful.”
“I saw some more hoses in the supply room,” Bailey said, “but there’s quite a few.”
“Tara, go with Bailey,” I instructed.
“Here,” Paige said, and she handed Tara a piece of paper. “This is a copy of the list.”
“Nice,” the platinum blonde said, and she followed Bailey out of the room.
“This whole thing really has you on edge, huh,” Paige said quietly after a moment.
“We should all be on edge,” I said as I pulled boxes down from the top shelf.
“That’s true,” the brunette agreed. “But I just mean that you’re upset about all these innocent civilians getting killed.”
“Damn right, I am,” I said, then I stopped and took a deep breath. “I had to see a lot of terrible things during my time in the military, but dead civilians were the worst of all. I don’t like this happening at all, let alone so close to home.”