I stood up and grabbed my crossbow.
“I am not losing anyone else,” I said and headed for the garage.
Out back, I spent some time practicing with the crossbow. I wanted to improve my reload time as well. By focusing on quick and efficient reloads and hitting the target I was slowly improving. More shots hit where I wanted them to hit and I was getting the shots off more quickly.
Suddenly, I realized that I wasn’t alone. After reloading I turned quickly, half expecting to find that zombies had gotten into the yard. But, instead it was the rest of the group coming out into the backyard. As the anger of being snuck up on faded, it was replaced by a sense of both embarrassment and pride. Each person was in their gear: from knives, to tomahawks, to AR’s and crossbows. Even Mal had his knife and a crossbow.
“Hey, boss man,” Mike called out. “You’re right, we’re sorry.”
“Yeah, Ryan,” said Karen. “We’ve got to stay on top of this stuff. It’s life and death now and if don’t stay on top of it we won’t get through it.”
“I love you,” said Sam. “You’re doing a fantastic job of keeping us all safe. We’re all behind you on this.”
Lois came up and put her arms around me and held on for a moment. This meant a lot. Tony reached out his hand and I took it.
“You’re obviously doing a good job, Ryan. Keep it up.”
“What’s the plan, daddy?” asked Tabby.
I had to pause for a minute as tears welled up in my eyes. I’ve never felt so much love at one time. It was overwhelming. And, I felt horrible.
“No, it’s me who should be apologizing to you guys. I was out of line in there. We’re all doing our best and I was being mean. My bad. There’s always just so much to do. It’s overwhelming.”
“Let us help, honey,” said Sam, taking my hand. “God knows, we’re all in this together.”
“Okay, we’ll spend some time tonight after dinner going over ways we can divide all the necessary tasks that we’re faced with,” I said. “It’s a good idea. Thank you.” I reached down and put my arm around my daughter.
“Now, to answer your question, Tabby. The first thing we need to do is get the bus unloaded except for whatever the Millers need. We need to figure out what the supply runs for the next few days are going to be, too. I think we ought to also consider doing an inventory both here and at the Millers.”
“We should do that first,” said Sam. “We don’t know what supplies we need until we see what we have.”
“True, if we keep getting water but run out of food, we’re just as dead,” I said. “Can we get an inventory done by the end of the day tomorrow?”
“Yeah, I think so,” said Sam. “With the ladies and the kids helping, of course.”
“We are definitely going to need firewood, though,” said Lois.
“We can make a firewood run tomorrow while the inventory gets done,” I replied.
“You know, boss,” Mike said. “I see a lot of trees around here.”
“You have what we need to chop down one of these big trees smartass? Bedside’s, this time of year there should be plenty of places that are, well, were selling firewood. I’m already thinking of a couple. We should collect that first.”
“We also talked about clearing the neighborhood,” said Tony.
“And, I still think that’s something we need to do,” I said. “Let’s get the firewood first. Then clear the neighborhood. Then with the inventory done we can plan what to do next.”
“I like it,” said Sam.
“Works for me,” said Mike.
Beth, Lois, Karen and Tony all nodded in agreement.
“I like it, too,” added Tabby.
“Well, then,” I said. “It’s a plan. Why don’t the rest of you practice on the crossbow while we get the Millers home?”
Tony and Beth went with Mike and I to split up what was in the bus. I had thought that most of what we got on the run today would go to the Millers but they seemed to disagree. Tony certainly wasn’t going to take the entire haul.
“We don’t need all this,” he said.
“It’s just the two of us,” added Beth.
“We went out today, in part, to get you supplies,” I said.
“You guys are part of the group,” said Mike.
“And we’re helping each other out here,” I said. “We need the extra manpower and I like having you at the other end of the neighborhood with a radio.”
“Thank you, guys. We appreciate the help, we really do. It’s just…” Beth was trying to voice her concerns but I stepped in as we pulled up to their door.
“Beth, I know we’re doing okay, but let’s look at this a different way. What if we have all the supplies at our house and we get raided? We’re screwed. Even from just a security standpoint it makes sense to split our supplies up some.”
“That makes sense,” admitted Tony.
“If you don’t want all of this, that’s fine,” I said. “But, let’s get most of it inside. Beth, can you keep watch?”
She nodded and the three of us went to work unloading the bus. It always takes less time to unload than to fill it up. When we were done, Mike and I were invited to stay for a few minutes.
The Millers house was small but it suited them perfectly. It had an efficient layout and the space was used effectively. You could tell that they were already somewhat self-sufficient. The pantry was organized and stocked. It was decided that we’d come back and get the Millers in the morning. Beth would spend the day at the house helping with inventory and Tony would help on the firewood run.
“Tony, do you have plywood to board up the windows?” I asked.
“Not like you, no. I usually tape the windows in a storm,” he said. “I’m not too worried. As long as we’re quiet…”
“Well,” I replied. “Think some more on it, though. There’s a lumber yard over on Maybank that we’re going to go by on the run tomorrow.”
“I will. You guys have a good evening. Be safe,” Tony said.
“And thank the ladies for me, Ryan,” said Beth.
“I will,” I replied.
“Ryan…” It was Beth again. I turned around to face her. She walked up to me.
“You’re doing a good job over there. I’m glad you found us.”
“Thank you.”
Back at the house, Mal and Tabby were eager to show me their crossbow skills. I was tired. Well, tired didn’t quite cut it. But, I hadn’t spent much time with them and couldn’t resist. Both of them shot pretty well, even Mal, who couldn’t hold the crossbow up for long. Of course, that was without something shambling up, trying to eat them. Even Tabby’s kill yesterday had been with her standing next to me. Neither could reload very well. They just didn’t have the strength. Still, I was impressed with their skill and their determination to learn and contribute.
Inside the house, the supplies were being organized by type, item and expiration date. Everyone was helping and Samantha seemed pleased with the progress.
“Ryan, can you handle the inventory of the weapons for me?” she asked.
“Sure, as long as I can do it later. How are you guys doing in there?” I asked.
“Good. But, we’re really just getting stuff organized. We’ll start counting tomorrow,” she replied.
I grabbed a soda, pad of paper, pen and a lantern. It was dark with the windows boarded up. I settled into my recliner and started taking notes. I was unaware of what was going on around me. People came and went from the room and the kids played nearby. Dinner was started and apparently, I even answered a few questions. I say that because I was truly surprised when the Millers showed up. Sam had asked me if they could come back over for dinner. I had no recollection of the conversation. Which bothered me in two ways. First, I was obviously more tired than I thought I was. Second, how were they getting back after dark? I guess Mike and I would follow them back.
After dinner, while everyone enjoyed a special coffee treat, I began to speak.
/> “First off, I want to say thank you to each and every one of you for putting up with me earlier today. Maybe putting up with me in general. I’m sorry about how I acted,” I said. “You guys are right. We have to celebrate every little win, no matter how small.”
“It’s okay, Ryan,” said Karen. “You’re doing a good job.”
“You’re doing a great job,” added Lois.
Sam just smiled at me. She knew I was doing a good job but she also knew I didn’t want the attention.
“Well, I appreciate your support,” I said. “I want to go over some preliminary plans and get your input. I realize that some of this might change based on the inventory. Tomorrow, Mike, Tony and I are going to get firewood. And the house inventory gets finished.”
“I want to go with you guys,” said Mal.
“I don’t know, Mal,” said Sam.
“I want to go, too,” added Tabitha. Although I suspected that had more to do with Mike and less with wanting to contribute.
“Ryan…” Sam sighed at me.
“We’re not going near any heavily populated areas, Sam I think it’ll be fine,” I said. Sam did not look happy about her kids leaving the house. “Mal, Tab, you have to understand that we’re going to get firewood,” I said. “You’ll have to help carry the wood or be the best lookouts you’ve ever been. It’s not a vacation or a trip to Wal-Mart like you remember. It’s serious. And, it’s not just up to me. Tony?”
“We can keep them safe, Samantha,” he said. “But, they’ll have to pull their weight out there or we’ll use em as zombie bait.” Tony laughed and that made everyone else laugh. Then the kids, who had looked nervous, started laughing, too.
“I’m good with it, too,” said Mike. “But I agree with Tony, we’ll toss you guys to the zombies if you don’t do your jobs.”
“I’ll keep them safe, Sam. They’ll be fine,” I said.
Tony and Mike both looked over at Sam and nodded. She seemed to accept it for now. I was sure I would hear about it later.
“Once we see the results of the inventory, we’ll have a better idea of what the next few days will look like. But, I want to start thinking beyond that. There’s a few big picture questions that we need to think about. Here’s the first… There’s 9 of us including the kids. Which means that we only have 7 adults that could fight or keep an overnight watch. More people would make our lives easier and safer. But, it would mean more space and more supplies. We need to be thinking about that. The next big question is do we stay here? With the windows boarded up we can probably keep the zombies out unless it’s a really big number. But, we wouldn’t be able to defend ourselves against looter. Bullets would zing right through these walls.”
“Or, they could burn us out,” added Tony.
“Right. Our fences are low and easy to climb. Ultimately, we wouldn’t be able to hold out for very long in the event of a determined attack. But, it would also be difficult, even with bus to move all of our supplies to a different location. And, finding a larger location with walls or ditches and ‘fields of fire’ would be a problem. We’re not in Europe, with castles just lying about. And then we wouldn’t have enough people to defend it anyway.”
“Do you think we’ll really have to move?” asked Sam. I knew that she would not want to leave our home. For that matter, I don’t want to leave our home either. “We’ve only seen a few zombies out here.”
“You don’t want to see a large group of them, either,” said Mike. “The horde we saw at Target this morning? If they knew we were in here, they’d get in.”
“I believe we’ll see more out here eventually,” said Tony. All heads turned to look at him after the comment.
“Look, they are driven to eat. We’ve seen that over and over, this single-mindedness. They have a need to eat live flesh, not each other. What happens if they can’t get any live flesh? There can’t be too many of the living left in some places. I think they’ll migrate to find food.”
“You mean they’ll come looking for us?” asked Lois.
“They’ll come looking for food, but it’s the same thing,” replied Tony.
“The bridges will help us out, there,” I said. “The Ashley River bridges are up and the connector is blocked pretty well with vehicles.”
“That’ll help, sure,” said Tony. “But, it’s just a Band-Aid.”
“That’s sobering,” said Karen.
“No kidding,” commented Sam.
“You guys are all doom and gloom,” said Mike.
“Which is why we have to plan,” I offered.
“You already have a spot picked out, don’t you,” said Sam.
I looked around the room to make sure I had everyone’s attention.
“I think we should retreat to Ft. Sumter.” Everyone took a moment to let that soak in.
“That would be cool,” yelled Mal.
“Very cool,” added Tabby. I loved my kids, the history buffs.
“Where would we sleep?” asked Sam
“You’ve been out there. They have the WWII facilities from when there was a gun battery on the fort.”
“Interesting,” Tony mused. “It would be easy to defend.”
“There are walls on four of the five sides,” I said. “The fifth side is a large grassy slope. It would be difficult for a zombie to get up the slope I think. And, except for low tide, the fort is surrounded by water.”
“Then how do we get to it?” asked Mike.
“By boat. And I think that might be the problem,” I replied. “I can drive a boat. We had one growing up that I went offshore fishing with. But, I can’t think of a boat on this side of the Ashley that is big enough to hold us and our supplies in one trip.”
“So, we’d have to get to Aquarium Wharf?” asked Sam.
“Yep, we’d have to get to Aquarium Wharf,” I replied.
“What’s Aquarium Wharf?” asked Mike.
“That’s where the boats that go out to Ft. Sumter live,” I replied.
“That’s not the problem Mike,” said Tony. “Aquarium Wharf is in downtown Charleston.”
“We were downtown, it wasn’t that bad really,” he said.
“Someone was working overtime to get the zombies attention while we were down there. I don’t know if that’s what they were trying to do, but it worked. There’s roughly 120,000 people living in Charleston at last count. I’d say that there’s not more than 10% left alive from what we’ve seen.”
“That’s a lot to think about,” said Lois.
“Yeah, “I said. “And we need to be thinking about it. All of us. Let’s discuss it over the next few days and we’ll get together and see what everyone thinks.”
We all agreed to think about what I had brought up and dinner was cleared. The Millers prepared to leave and were thanking everyone for the hospitality.
“Do you want help getting home?” I asked.
“I think we’ll be fine. I’ll call you on the walkie-talkie when we get in,” said Tony.
“Call if you need help, too,” I replied.
Tony called about 15 minutes later.
“We’re in,” he said. “There was on in the yard, but we took care of it. What time we leaving in the morning?”
“7:15 I think will be good,” I responded. “We coming to get you?”
“Nah, we’ll come to you,” he said. “Have a good night.”
“You, too. Be safe.”
After everyone was settled in for the evening, Sam and I laid in bed and talked.
“You did good in there tonight, lover,” she said.
“You think so?”
“Yep. It’s good that you’re getting everyone involved. Our family has gotten bigger.” I looked over at her, a little surprised.
“Is that how you look at this?” I asked.
“Yeah, sure,” she said. “The Millers and the Picklers are part of our family now. You don’t look at it that way?” I thought about that for a moment.
“I suppose. If one needed re
scuing, I’d put myself in harm’s way to help them. I tried like hell to get Michael out alive yesterday. But, if it was a choice between saving Mike or saving Tabby? Or, Beth and you? My family comes first.”
“I know you love us, Ryan. But, we’re all family now.”
“Speaking of family, have you seen the way Tabby looks at Mike?”
“Yeah, it’s hard not to notice. Are you worried about it?”
“I suppose so. It’s not something I really want to think about.”
“Ryan, he’s the only person anywhere near her age. I think it’s more about that than any kind of puppy love.”
“Well, keep an eye on them. I don’t want em sneaking off somewhere. We’ve been through that with her already.”
“I’ll keep an eye on them.”
Monday, December, 22 2014
The next day dawned overcast and cold. A good day for gathering firewood. I decided to wear an extra layer under my vest today. It was painful getting out of bed. Every muscle hurt. I’ve never worked this hard in my life. By the time I got downstairs, Mike, Lois, Tony and Beth were already talking in the kitchen over coffee. Beth smiled and handed me a cup.
“You look like crap, boss,” said Mike.
“Feel like it, too,” I replied. “Don’t worry, I plan on letting the kids do all the heavy lifting.”
“And where are the children?” asked Tony
“I guess I’ll go and fetch them,” I said.
And with that, the kids appeared from around the corner, all geared up and ready to go. Sam was right behind them. She couldn’t help herself, she just smiled. I handed her a cup of coffee and she asked the kids if they wanted any coffee.
“Hot chocolate.” was the reply.
“Very good,” Beth said. “I think we can manage that.”
Mal asked if Thor could go, too.
“No, honey. He’ll be a lot safer here.” I replied.
“But, he doesn’t get outside to play much now,” said Mal.
Dead of Knight: A Zombie Apocalypse Survival Tale Page 17