It may seem like a waste of fuel to take three of these behemoths with us, but the concept makes sense. The storage areas underneath the coaches are packed with the supplies from my basement with plenty of space left over. We talked it over last night and decided that in every city we pass through that seems safe enough, we’ll do some scavenging to collect more supplies until the compartments are all full. That way, we’ll have a lot of the things that we needed when we arrived in Wyoming. There’s no way to know if the stores at our final destination will be cleaned out or not and to be safe, we have to prepare for all possibilities. At least the fuel situation won’t be a concern because the guys liberated some siphoning hoses with hand pumps from the local hardware store that we can use to refill the tanks whenever we need. With so few people alive, there’s more than enough fuel to go around.
Because we did most of the work yesterday, including reinforcing the windows, we don’t have much more to do before we leave. They all worked hard trying to get everything finished yesterday, with Pete and Dad doing the physically demanding labor. Virginia and Nicole did a great job covering the windows and the doctor wasn’t a slacker either. He carried load after load of supplies up the stairs to pack into the storage area and never complained once about his legs bothering him, though after all the trips he made, I’m sure that they were.
The final thing that Pete and Dad did before we went inside last night was to install grill guards onto the front of the RVs. They’ll protect the engine compartment if we pass through a horde of undead and keep the body parts from getting hung up under the frames or wheels. They’ll also help to push wrecked cars out of the way. This is vitally important because getting out of the RVs in a strange area is always dangerous and we have no way of knowing if cars will be placed together as a trap. It’s best to be prepared for anything, even if it seems to be overkill. It’s the Boy scout motto, I think. ‘Prepare for the worst and hope for the best’ or something like that.
We’re almost ready to leave, but are just waiting for Dad and Pete to finish installing the CB radios so we can communicate with each other along the way. It doesn’t look neat with wires being held together with zip ties, but time isn’t on our side and as long as they work, who really cares? CBs might seem unnecessary, but if we get into a hairy situation or even come to a dead end and have to back down the road to turn around, not having to get out of the RVs to talk to everyone will keep us that much safer.
While they finish up, we are loading up the rest of what we need from my home. The beds in the RVs come with commercial bedspreads, but the mattresses need sheets an pillows. Extra blankets will come in handy if we aren’t able to hook up to electricity at night and have to sleep without the heat turned on. We also put clean towels in each of them, dishes, cookware and hygiene items. It’s good that we have time to do this because if not, we’d have to stop somewhere along the way to pick them up. We’ll need these things when we stop for the night.
At least I won’t be expected to cook for everyone. Virginia and Nicole seem more than happy to take over that chore and to be honest, I’m thrilled. It’s not that I don’t like to cook, but doing it for every meal and cleaning up afterwards can be tiring. I’ll be exhausted enough from driving all day and taking my turn of guard duty at night. You wouldn’t want to eat what I throw together when I’m tired. It could be anything from a banana and peanut butter sandwich to eating cold green beans straight from the can. I lose my motivation and taste buds.
We’re moving down the road at a pretty good clip considering the number of wrecked cars and debris along the roadway, but we won’t win any speed records. Dad is driving the lead coach, I’m following in the middle with Pete taking up the rear. So far it’s been a pleasant and uneventful trip. I brought my CD collection along. It didn’t take long before Nicole and I began singing along with the songs. We did such a bad job that there was nothing left to do but look at each other and break down laughing. We have a lot in common.
I love reading and signed up for Kindle Unlimited so that I wouldn’t go broke getting a fix on my book addiction. She’s the same way. The only differences are that while I like reading Joshua Guess and Mark Tufo, Nicole likes Jodi Taylor. We don’t agree on all music genres, though. For instance, she listens to country music every so often, but even though I grew up in the South, it’s just not something that I can get into. We both appreciate rock oldies, though and before long we were busy competing to see who knew the lyrics to the most songs and trivia about the artists. Nicole accused me of cheating since I own the CDs we are using, but she still kicked my butt on the trivia. Hey, it makes time pass quicker.
We almost reached to Woodward, Oklahoma before deciding to take a short break to eat and stretch our legs before traveling any farther. We’re trying to avoid the main highways because after talking it over, we figure they would be blocked with debris from all the people trying to escape the towns, so we’re traveling on highway 183 north instead. We’ll have to make a decision soon about staying on it or taking 270 west to 283 north. It runs south of Dodge City, then west again. The benefits of 183 are that it mainly travels through flatland instead of hills, so we can go faster and see for longer distances. The downside is that we’ll be easier for the zombies to spot at night and the mountainous areas aren’t as populous. Either way, we’ll try to skirt around any large towns to avoid problems.
Lunch didn’t take long. We ate what we could, used the facilities on the buses and walked around for a few moments to let the blood rush back into our legs, but everyone was anxious to get back on the road. Coco walked out and squatted in the grass then tried to run off to chase a butterfly that flew past her nose. It’s a good thing that she’s on a leash or I might have lost her. The words, “come back” don’t translate when her mind’s set on playing. I sometimes think that a brain transplant is in order.
To keep Coco busy while we were traveling, I moved her toys into the front room of the RV where she can play and still see me. The poor baby has a severe case of separation anxiety. As I said before, we’re attached at the hip. It seems to work out really well, especially when she got bored with gnawing on her stuffed toys and climbed up into Nicole’s lap to snuggle with her favorite veterinarian. At first I tried to apologize for the way she’s acting, but Nicole seems to enjoy the companionship.
Coco is having the time of her life. Not only did she have a new human around to coddle her when I am busy, but she and Jack were becoming fast friends. After the initial smelling of the butts, they chased each other in circles, then snuggled together on the grass and napped in the sunshine. As we sat on folding chairs next to the RVs eating our lunches, I had a sudden urge to take pictures and upload them onto Facebook to share with my friends. I guess it’s going to take some time to get used to the way that things are now.
We’ve been driving for hours now through the same boring scenery and are just staring at the lines in the road as we pass them by. No cars have passed us on the road and since it’s daytime, we aren’t surprised, but we haven’t seen any zombies either. It’s a whole lot of boredom. Up ahead is a sign for Fort Supply, Oklahoma. Dad is pulling his coach over to the side and we’re following his example. I picked up the mike to the CB and asked, “Why are we stopping here?”
Dad answered, “Before this road gets to Fort Supply, it passes by a prison on the right. There may not be a reason for concern, but it might be a good idea to wait until we’re rested and alert before we tackle going past there.”
“I agree with you,” said Pete’s voice on the radio, “but is there a safe place to hole up for the night around here?”
“Actually, I know exactly where to go. There’s an Army Corp of Engineers office on a back road near the reservoir. There aren’t any houses nearby and the whole thing’s surrounded by a ten foot chain link fence.” Dad responded.
“Sounds good to me!” said Pete. “Me and the missus are ready to call it a day anyhow.”
We slowly pulled back on
to the highway and followed Dad down a gravel road to the west of the highway until we reached another road heading north and then jogged back east for one mile to the reservoir and back north on a paved road to a tan building with a flag flying in the breeze and surrounded by a tall fence with a long gate on rollers.
Getting into the gate required pressing a button on a speaker located on the driver’s side and asking for entry, but since no one was there to open it, we had to be inventive. Pete and Dad got out and told us to stay put while they went to see if they could get inside the main building. They tried the door first, but of course, it was locked tight. They walked around the building trying to push up windows, but they were all locked as well. They ended up climbing over the fence and dropping down, then breaking into the back door.
The rest of us waited anxiously in the RVs as the men walked through the area making certain that all the rooms are cleared of people living or dead. They checked each of the offices in the building, but found nothing except the usual cluttered desks, filing cabinets and rolled up maps. They located the security console to open the gate near the reception area and as Pete was bending over the buttons trying to figure out what to push, Dad turned around to investigate a noise behind him. If he had waited even a second more, he would have been zombie meat, but he reacted quickly, shoving the Army knife around the back of the zombie’s neck and up into his brain stem.
It looked like the zombie had been guarding the place when he was bitten. The balding and pudgy older man was still dressed in his blue uniform with a nightstick dangling on one side of his belt and a can of mace on the other. His intestines were pulled out and hanging down to the floor and as he ambled along, causing him to slide on them and stumble, but according to Dad, he didn’t seem to notice or feel any pain.
When there’s one turned person in a fenced in area, there has to be another. The only other explanation would be if the guard was bitten outside of the gate and then got inside before he turned. Just to be on the safe side, Pete joined Dad in walking the perimeter and checking the interiors of the buildings. They found a pile of bloody rags in the guard shack and a cell phone lying together where the old gentleman must have tried to stop the bleeding and call for help, but nothing else.
After closing the gates behind us, we drove to the rear of the gravel lot where a long yellow building was located. It was a mechanic’s shop where they maintained the government vehicles and it had three massive bay doors built into it that are large enough to fit all three RV’s.
There must have been a dedicated power source to the buildings in the area of the reservoir because the lights are still working inside of the garage. This would be even better news if we had a place to plug in the power cords for the RV’s, but even though we couldn’t turn on the lights inside our temporary new homes, we had lights in the building to see by and just needed to raise the shades to let it inside.
Dad said it’s best to keep the lights on anyway since anyone who’s familiar with this area has already seen them and turning them off might cause someone to figure out we’re in here. Our goal on this trip is to be as inconspicuous as possible in order to keep contacts with not only zombies, but other humans to a minimum. Of course, it’s easy to do where we’re staying tonight because it’s in an isolated are. There are no houses or businesses within a few miles. The only other structure nearby is the reservoir.
After turning off the engine, I took Coco outside to potty with Pete standing guard. According to him, Jack and she had this in common, too. The first thing they do when they wake up is to go to the bathroom. All of us will get to know each other really well in the next few days of traveling together. I don’t guess that’s a bad thing.
Nicole and Virginia started cooking us some dinner on the propane stoves inside the Albertson’s motor home. The great thing about these vehicles is that even when there’s no electricity, they’re still functional. You can still cook, take showers by using the water pump and the refrigerators will still keep food cold because they automatically switch over to run on propane. The only downside is that without a way to hook up the electricity, there’s no way to move the slides out. No! Wait. There is. I can’t believe that I didn’t think about it.
The RVs we’re driving have generators, but they also have enough power in the 12 volt batteries to power the slides. I still don’t think it would be a great idea to leave the heat on inside all night because it won’t take long to run the batteries down, but we won’t need it tonight anyway. There’s a shop heater mounted to the ceiling high above where the trucks sit and mechanics work that is keeping it toasty in here, so we’ll be fine. I’m not certain what we’ll do from now on, though. We’re fortunate this time, but we might have to park outside at least some of the nights that we’re travelling. We can run the generators, but they’re loud and would draw attention to us.
I’m hungry right now and something is smelling really good.
We gathered in Pete and Virginia’s RV to eat dinner and I couldn’t help but drool. I don’t eat meat and apparently the ladies remembered that because there were plenty of vegetables for me to choose from. I know that as we travel, we’ll start running out of fresh produce, but while we have them, I plan to enjoy every delicious bite. They even made Southern style sweet iced tea to wash the food down with. This is comfort food and it reminds me of what my grandmother used to cook for us on Sundays after church. Come to find out, Virginia knows her way around a kitchen.
I sat there trying to keep my eyes open while the guys spent the time discussing the electricity situation and trying to come up with some alternatives to using the generators or freezing. They’re also a little worried about driving past the correctional center because if the inmates somehow got free when this started, then there’s no way of knowing what to expect. That could be dangerous. It’s a minimum security facility, but that could just mean they hired a good lawyer.
When things went crazy this week, people who had been friends and neighbors suddenly dropped their covers of civility and became the monsters that they really were. How much worse would these inmates be? There’s no way to know. They might actually be wonderful people, but it isn’t worth taking a risk.
The problem we have is that the prison is huge. It’s connected to the town of Fort Supply and is almost as large. We have no other choice but to discover a way to bypass it. It shouldn’t be that difficult. We’re at the Army Corps of Engineers, after all. They have maps for everything and that’s just what we’ll need to worm our way through the back roads to head west and then north to join back up with the highway.
Jason turned out to be a really good map reader, so he’s been “volunteered” to work as the navigator for this trip. He’s hard to get a bead on, so I’m not certain how he feels about his new duty, but he hasn’t complained, so there’s that anyway.
After eating dinner and taking Coco back out again before darkness hit, we went back inside. While Nicole was watching a movie on DVD, I hit the shower and it felt incredible. It’s not that we traveled a large distance today, but we had to be extremely careful to not run over anything and were always watching out for other people and zombies. It was mentally as well as physically tiring. I caught myself gripping the steering wheel too tight on more than one occasion and it made my knuckles turn white. I’m sure that tomorrow will be easier.
After my shower, I tried to read a book, but by the time I crawled under the covers, my eyes were already closing. Coco is snuggled next to me, I’m safe with my dad and new friends and for the first time in days, I’m beginning to feel hopeful about the future.
Chapter Eleven
Road Rage
“Man is the only kind of varmint sets his own trap, baits it, then steps in it.”
John Steinbeck
Dad’s an early riser, but I think that Virginia and Pete have him beat. I woke to the aroma of coffee and frying bacon before the sun’s golden orb had risen all the way. Coco woke up the same time as me and hopped do
wn off the bed we shared to wait patiently at the door with her tail wagging. I wrapped a robe around my body and strolled silently through the house to keep from waking Nicole, but of course she was already up. She’s a country girl.
After Coco finished going potty, we joined the rest of the group to savor the country breakfast Nicole and Virginia had whipped up consisting of homemade biscuits, creamy white gravy, country fried potatoes, crispy bacon, scrambled eggs and piping hot coffee. They were even thoughtful enough to fry up a few pieces of veggie bacon for me. If the ladies keep cooking like this, it won’t be long before I pop out of my jeans. This stuff is too tempting to pass up and it’s hard to say no to Virginia. It’s almost a personal insult to her if you don’t stuff yourself on her cooking. Yep, she’s a lot like my grandmother.
“I think that we should head north on 183” Dad told Jason as they bent over the map on the coffee table in front of where they were seated.
“We can save an hour by cutting east towards Denver and then heading north,” suggested Jason as he pointed to a curved line on the map.
“Yes,” Dad responded patiently, “but there are a couple of reasons we shouldn’t. First of all, the highways we’d need to take from there are mountainous and it would be slow going. If we get snow, they’d be impassible.”
Jason nodded his agreement and Dad continued. “Second, Denver had a population of what? About half a million?”
“Something like that.” replied Jason. ”Possibly more.”
“You said the other night you assumed that about five percent of the population survived the initial outbreak. Right?” questioned Dad.
Nuclear Undead: Wake the Dead Page 12