Zombpocalypse (Book 1): Contingency

by Mariah Lynde

  “Looking at what Angel told us earlier, they’re already implementing some kind of quarantine. Things like that will be happening sporadically along with curfews to try and control the spread of infection. In some places, this will slow down or stop the spread of the virus, while in larger cities it will most likely speed up the process. No matter how much we try and figure out this scenario, we can’t. Not right now, and not with the limited amount of information we have. There are too many variables to take into consideration. Based on what we do know, we know that there are some places already being quarantined. That gives us a small, if not viable window, before the news goes public.”

  “How long?” Robbie questioned.

  “Based on what you have seen already? One day… to a week.” Brandon spoke softly, his fingers tapping away on his keyboard and doing little to settle my already frayed nerves.

  “Okay, but you said this would be a slow-burn, so what does it mean in the long-term?” Jay sounded less irritated and more curious.

  “It means that the world won’t go to hell overnight. Honestly, if we’re talking about full decimation of society and the human race type thing, that will happen more over the course of a couple of decades rather than just a few days. That is, of course, if we know exactly what is causing all of this. Without that knowledge, we’re flying blind. There will be some things we cannot control. There is going to be a panic when this goes public, and it’s going to be everybody who thinks rationally that survives.”

  “Okay, so what exactly are you suggesting that we do?” Dave harrumphed.

  “Yeah, that’s what I’m curious about. So far, you seem to be making sense.” Ray grumbled a little while Mack cursed in the background.

  “You guys aren’t going to like it,” he warned.

  “Who cares? At this point, we’re just making plans based on what-might-happen scenarios.” Sighing a little, I opened my eyes to glare at my monitor. Yep, long night had definitely become a reality. Too bad it was nowhere near finished.

  “True enough,” Brandon started, the soft click of keys a little unnerving. “I’m suggesting we get supplies and prepare to hunker down in our homes for this. At least at the start−”

  “What the hell is wrong with you?” Robbie cut him off, only to be followed by protests from others.

  “That’s a death wish.”

  “We’re gonna die that way.”

  “Are you insane?”

  “WAIT!” Brandon’s voice cracked on the line, the deafening sound almost blowing out my eardrums as the speakers of my computer threatened to explode. “Just hear me out, guys.”

  “Talk fast,” Mack muttered, while all the rest of us fell silent.

  “Okay, listen… If we spend the next few days collecting food and supplies, we’ll be ahead of the public. Not many other people know what we do. Obviously, they’re holding off on making the situation known, so that gives us time. If we use it to gather supplies, when the time comes that the public is made aware of what is happening, we will be in our homes and avoiding the initial panic that will likely come from it.

  “Think about it. An outbreak…zombie or not…will spread faster if people are crowding into stores and supply houses. More accidents, more injuries, more visits to the hospital, where it’s likely you will encounter someone who has been infected. We eliminate the possibility of being caught in the whirlwind events that put us in the most danger.” Brandon finished, and I suddenly clicked on where his thought process was going.

  “That’s bloody brilliant!” I exclaimed. However, I winced as feedback from my mic and speakers caused a high pitched whine to pierce the air.

  “What the hell, Angel? You think this makes sense?” Disbelief colored Ray’s voice and had me blushing a little in embarrassment.

  “Actually, yeah, I do. Remember, I told you, I was trying to avoid the rush to supplies by stopping on my way home tonight. I am also seeing Brandon’s line of thought about a slow-burn now. If we choose to stay in our homes, we’ll have access to certain things for a longer period of time. People who choose to rush out and leave their homes will be at a higher risk for infection because of panic and greed. If they are using preventative measure, they’ll be running crews at plants and companies to keep the public calm, so if we stay in our homes we’ll have access to power, communications, and utilities longer. Besides, I feel better about defending myself in this apartment because I know every inch of it. It’s a lot better than trying to defend myself out on the road, surrounded by panicked strangers and possible zombies to try and eat me.”

  “Makes sense, but what about after things get bad?” I could hear that Robbie was seeing the sense in what we were saying. In a way, it made me feel better, but in others it made me worry for him all the more.

  “We can worry about that after the initial phase ends. For right now, we plan for the immediate future with some thought about the long term.” Brandon offered gently, sounding almost tentative about sharing his thoughts now.

  “Like…what long term solutions should we be considering?” Again, it was Alec who seemed to be curious about this particular train of thought.

  “Well, even if we make it through the initial waves of panic and hysteria, eventually survival in any scenario depends on a group. Maybe not a large one, but a group of people who offer varying skill sets,” Brandon mused aloud.

  “So you’re saying that eventually, we’ll have to move?” Dave’s question was spoken in a shaky voice, more than a little disconcerted by that particular thought.

  “Yes, that is an inevitability. No one person can guarantee that they will survive any dangerous scenario that puts a large number of the population in danger. There are too many variables to be considered. Adding more people and joining up with a group cuts down on the amount of variables a single person has to consider, and breaks them all down to a more manageable number.” Brandon sighed a little. “Again, this is only a whole lot of ‘what if’s’ right now.”

  “Yeah, but scarily, it’s making a lot of sense.” Hearing Jay grunt a little, I waited. Taking a breath as he piped up again, “I think the kid is right. We prepare now, gather supplies, and prepare to hole up in our homes for the initial frenzy. Once that has passed, we consider meeting up and preparing for whatever comes next. That said, I think we need to consider more than just food as supplies, but medicine, weapons, and objects that can be traded if we need things later on. If we survive, there is the possibility others will too.”

  “Yeah. There is that,” I agreed.

  “Psh. You jumped the gun anyway. Knowing you, you went overboard tonight.” Robbie snickered a little, and I could only blush as the others joined him. While I considered crawling into a hole to hide my shame, he added, “So, what all did you get? The rest of us should know what we might need to consider.”

  “Uh…Do I have to?” Taking into account their reaction to Robbie’s comments, I could only imagine what they’d do if they realized just how overboard I had gone.

  “C’mon, sweetie. It can’t be as bad as all that?” Robbie teased.

  “Yeah, it can. I know when I get done, if in a week we’re all here and nothing has happened, I’ll look stupid.” Grumbling a little, I let my fingers trace over the glass top of my desk.

  “Or really effing smart if this does explode in our faces,” Alec slurred.

  “Oh, fine…” I muttered. Leaning back in my chair, I considered where to start, “You guys want the grocery list or the incidentals?”

  “Let’s go with incidentals, ‘cause this sounds interesting.” Robbie guffawed a little, and I knew he found this whole situation far too amusing.

  “I stopped at Wal-Mart. I figured if a zombie apocalypse was coming, I should be prepared to move it or lose it. I went to sporting goods and got a few things.” Things that I would need to read instruction manuals to utilize, but I didn’t tell them that.

  “Understandable. So what did you get?” Jay asked, eager. I groused and scrubbed my h
ands down over my face.

  “What was that?”

  “I said, ‘I hate you guys’,” I mumbled, only to be met by the sound of laughter.

  “Hate all you want, but that doesn’t mean you’re getting out of this. The best thing you can do is just tell us what all you got so we can make our lists.” Mack’s voice held an air of command that was almost enough to make me do a double take. To him, there was no embarrassment factor in this situation, only facts to be garnered and considered.

  “Ugh. Well, at Wal-Mart, I pretty much stuck to sporting goods for stuff I thought I might need. The first things I picked up were a tent and a couple of sleeping bags. From there, I grabbed things that it made sense to have: a two-burner camp stove with three pallets of propane to go with it, a battery operated lantern, glow sticks, and some of the deer scenting stuff in case I needed to cover my own trail or something. There’s also a cooler, some fishing poles, a tackle box, hooks, some rubber worm things, fishing line, a road emergency kit, waterproof matches, couple of packages of those starter logs, and several bags of charcoal to go with one of those hibachi grills I picked up.” With each additional item I mentioned, I found myself sinking further down into my chair in embarrassment.

  “Holy shit, Angel, what the hell are you gonna do with all that stuff?” Alec asked, and I could only frown a little, not really having an answer for him.

  “Well for starters, she’ll likely outlive the lot of us. There’s not one thing on her list that doesn’t make sense. I’m kinda waiting to take notes.” Ray gave a nervous laugh.

  “Thanks.” It was a show of female solidarity, and at that moment, I’d take anything I could get.

  “Truth, she definitely is one step ahead if things go up shit creek.” Mack chuckled and soon enough all of the others joined him.

  “Well, that’s all the incidentals?” Robbie’s tone was brusque, more so than I’d ever heard it. I could tell by the edge in his voice he wanted to hurry this along so we could get down to solid planning.

  “Um…no. I…kind of, maybe picked up some stuff in the grocery store to serve purposes other than food stuffs and drinks.” Shifting again in my chair, I heard the others go dead silent again. Please, please don’t let him ask. I thought to myself. I should have known better.

  “There’s more? Jesus, Angel…You seriously make me worry about you.” Robbie muttered before he sighed, “What else did you get?”

  “You know, basic stuff. Toilet paper, paper towels, aluminum foil, plastic wrap, Band-Aids, and other things I thought might be useful if we ended up needing supplies for different things.”

  “What…things?” Again, I could hear the impatience creeping into my best friend’s voice, and figured dancing around the subject would just make things worse.

  “Fine. I picked up multi-vitamins, liquid stitch, ace bandages, peroxide, rubbing alcohol, cotton balls, antibiotic ointments, toothpaste, mouthwash, different supplements, Benadryl, nasal sprays, Tylenol, over the counter drugs, some different types of braces, and a slew of other things for a small, makeshift jump bag.” Giving a small sigh of annoyance, I flopped back in my chair and waited for the others to start laughing.

  They never did.

  “You weren’t lying, she did think about everything. I never would have thought about half that stuff,” Brandon admitted.

  “Wait until she tells us what she did for food. I promise you, it’ll seem heaps scarier. Mark my words,” Robbie warned.

  “It can’t be that bad.” Ray chirped up. “I mean, look at her list of incidentals. That says it all.”

  “Which is exactly why I am telling you to be afraid. This food supply list she is going to give us will outline exactly how her brain works differently in a crisis situation. When we hear the list and start asking ‘why’ about certain things − I promise you her answers are going to make us cringe. We will never have considered the possibilities she will hand us.” Robbie hissed a little and then sighed, “So, come on then…Let’s hear it, Angel.”

  “You make it sound like I’m not even human.” Pushing my feet down on the floor to roll back away from the desk, I grabbed a Dr. Pepper before moving back towards the desk and frowned at the screen. “It makes me feel like a freak.”

  “Well, you are a freak, Angel. We love you anyway.” Alec chuckled to himself.

  “Thank you so much. Don’t you have a bowl to smoke or something?” I groused as I busied myself with popping open the top of the soda can. Truthfully, I would have preferred to be having any other conversation right now. I hated my obsessive tendencies when I focused on them myself. When they became a point of focus for others, it just became downright disturbing.

  “Aw, don’t be like that, hun.” Jay’s voice was full of warmth as he spoke. While I know he was trying to make me feel better about the whole thing, it wasn’t exactly helping.

  “Nah, it’s fine. I guess I should be used to it by now.” Taking a long pull from the Dr. Pepper, it vaguely registered in my mind that I should start rationing these buggers. If this did happen to be the end of the world, stuff like this would be in limited supply rather quickly.

  “Alright then, so tell us about your great food hunt,” Robbie said, trying to lighten the mood.

  Whelp, here went nothing.

  “The first things I grabbed were dry goods and canned stuff. Longer shelf life, easier to keep controlled. More options for different meals that could be made to stretch longer and farther. I started with the basics: flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt, and some other spices. Then in canned goods, I went for the stuff that would likely keep for the longest amount of time. Soups, vegetables, dinner additives, and meats seemed like the best way to go. I tried not to get too much of any one thing, because it just didn’t make sense to me to acquire that much of it.”

  “Dinner additives?” Dave asked, and I could only blush in response. Nothing could have made me more grateful that they couldn’t see me while I spoke.

  “Yeah, things like Manwhich, canned beef stew, baked beans, chili…You know, stuff like that.” My answer was almost whispered and I realized that everyone else was silent. All of them were focused on listening to me, and that thought had a rather unsettling effect. With all of them so quiet, I felt off balance so I chose to keep rambling. “After that, I picked up some yeast, dry milk, and dehydrated fruit before making my way over to produce. I will admit, it didn’t make much sense to get any of that stuff. If the world is going to fall apart, stuff that goes in the fridge wouldn’t last long.”

  “So what did you get?” Ray asked.

  “Two bags of potatoes, a bag of onions, a bag of mixed fruit, and one each of the water based roots, like celery and lettuce. I figure if I use them, I can put the bases in water and let them grow and produce more. Won’t be as tasty… but still viable, you know?”

  “What about bread? Eggs?” This time it was Alec who spoke.

  “I picked up some for now, but I figured that it might make more sense to get the flour and yeast to make my own bread later on. That’s why I got all the powdered stuff. I get that some of this stuff is convenient, but it won’t hold up for long periods of time. If the stores are closed, a lot of people will be out scavenging for bread and stuff. It will be a nightmare. I figured it was more efficient to get the ingredients to bake my own bread than to buy several loaves and hope that they don’t mold.”

  “You’re right, Robbie. She is freaking scary. I never would have thought about half of that,” Jay murmured, right before Mack and the others joined in.

  “This all sounds way too complicated. I’ll probably just go and buy some of those prepackaged meals that they’ve been stocking for the last several months. It seemed to me it would be a lot easier than lugging around all that stuff you just named,” Dave squawked aloud. Our poor Canadian, he was getting grumpy in his old age.

  “Yeah, you could do that, but what happens when they run out, Dave?” Robbie challenged, which caused a brief smile to cross my lips.
I knew exactly where this conversation would go and without fail, the next words my best friend spoke steered it just that way. “Other than the fact that they probably taste like burnt cardboard, Angel is right. If you buy the ingredients, they last longer and give you more variety on what you can make in the long run. Not to mention, those prepackaged meals are going to be what everyone is trying to get to, they’ll not think about more basic items that eliminate easy convenience.”

  “So, did you just stock up on cartons of eggs?” Ray asked again. It made me realize that I had not answered that part of her question.

  “Um…I got two dozen, and several boxes of those old school powdered eggs. I looked at the newer ones that the store was carrying. They’re made by the same company that makes the Ready Meals, but the picture has the powdered egg mixture looking almost green. While I like Dr. Suess, I’m avoiding any kind of egg that is the color of penicillin.” I snarked.

  “Okay, that makes sense. So what do we do now? Do we copy Angel’s list and start getting those supplies for ourselves?” This time Jay sounded worried, and I don’t think I could blame him. We were all lower middle class, so acquiring a large amount of anything would be difficult for us.

  “I’d say don’t do what I did and go overboard. I’ve been saving up on and off for the last five years, and more in the last few months so I could eventually move back home. Truth be told, if this ends up not being a true outbreak, I don’t want you guys hurting over it,” I advised.

  “I hate to be the one to ask this, but…If, and I do mean if this is what we think it is, what should we do about weapons?” Ray threw the question out there point blank, and I had to wince a little. This is why we had meetings during DEFCON situations, someone would always be thinking from a different aspect than the rest of us. The worst part of that is the closest a majority of us had gotten to an actual gun in our lives was playing games like Doom or Halo.