“Honey, like I said we may not have anything to come back to if we’re not here to protect it and I’ve seen those things, our neighbors don’t deserve for us to run out on them.” he explained.
Jake could tell his wife was thinking about it hard, so he had to let her know he was serious.
“Honey, I love you more than anything in the world and honestly the best choice is for us to stay here with safety in numbers, I was selfish to think we could run away if something were to happen to us, the boys would be on their own but at least here they know people,” Jake said.
Emily leaned in hugging him tight and in that instant, he felt happy, content, and safe.
“I love you! We are so lucky to have you,” Emily said.
Jake looked into her big brown eyes, the same eyes he first looked into years ago. He knew then he would marry then grow old with Emily. As he looked at her smiling, Emily leaned into kiss him. As his lips touched Emily’s, the front door burst open as the boys came crashing into the house. “Mom! Mom!” Jeff yelled excitedly “Dad’s here!!!”
Behind Jeff standing on the porch was Jeff's dad, Simon.
Simon raised his hand, “Uh, hi,” Simon said meekly to Emily. Simon was a big guy usually pretty loud. Right now, Jake noticed Simon wasn’t being very loud and obnoxious. The journey from downtown Vancouver to here couldn’t have been easy one Jake thought.
“Well, this just got weird,” Paul said, walking past Simon into the house.
Jeff grabbed Simon's hand “C’mon, Dad, come in,” Jeff said, leading Simon into the living room. Jake walked into the kitchen gulping down his coffee. Jake grabbed the coffee pot for more while Simon was laughing in the living room.
“I love you, son! Daddy had to come get you! My God, downtown is a nightmare! Those people! Those things are everywhere!” Simon told them. Jake had never gotten along with Simon. In fact, he despised this man but had to admire the fact that he made his way here from downtown.
“How is it downtown?” Jake asked.
“It’s a lot like it was on the news about Portland, people looting, rioting…chaos! That and they’re getting infected fast then turning on each other,” Simon explained.
Jake could imagine how a densely populated area could become a cesspool for a virus in no time.
“I’m so glad you’re okay and here, Dad! “Jeff said hugging Simon.
“We’re going to keep bad guys away! So, you’ll be safe here with us,” Jeff said proud.
There was a knock at the door, so Jake opened it to see Charlie and Nathan standing there. Jake invited them both inside. Dan invited them in then led them into the kitchen where they could talk. “What can I do for you guys?” Jake asked
“We came to ask for your help,” Charlie began “We’re going to go see Ken and want to propose a few things,” Charlie said.
Jake was a little confused as Charlie had made great points in front of Ken's place, so he wasn’t sure why they needed him.
“Such as?” he asked them.
“You seem like a smart guy, you're a doctor and Ken likes you, so we need him to agree to let us put up watch posts in some gardens and use empty trailers for storage for supplies” Nathan said speaking up.
Jake smiled, as he was about to correct them about him not being a doctor. Emily spoke up from the living room. “Course he’ll help! We need to make this place as safe as we can,” Emily said smiling at him.
“Oh, he’s not a doctor, he looks after old people” Simon said, chuckling.
“And who the fuck are you?” Charlie said, glaring at Simon.
Charlie looked at Jeff then at Emily “Oh, sorry for the language,” Charlie said like a kid in trouble. Emily smiled, waving her hand that it was fine.
“C’mon, let’s go see Ken,” Jake said as he walked towards the door.
As the three made their way towards Ken's place, Charlie looked at Jake, “So who the fuck is that guy and what was with the tension?” Charlie asked.
“That’s Jeff’s dad, guy’s a dick” he told them.
“Seems like one, smug prick,” Nathan said, smiling.
“Emily and me got together when Jeff was three, but that clown kept trying to break us up and was possessive and abusive of her their whole relationship,” Jake told them.
“Yeah, that’s why I don’t fuck with relationships,” Nathan said. Jake could tell the guy was trying to lift the mood.
“You don’t fuck with relationships because you can’t get one which is why I think you bat for the other team” Charlie added. Nathan just replied with the middle finger.
Once they got to Ken’s place, Charlie stopped at the steps, looking at Jake.
“Age before beauty, lil’ fella,” Charlie said. Jake walked up the steps then stopped turning back to Charlie.
“You guys know what you want to do?” he asked before knocking on the door. Charlie nodded yes then before Jake could knock on the door it opened. Ken was standing looking like a parent who had waited up for their kid to come home.
“I was hoping someone would come see me,” Ken said inviting them in.
“You were expecting us?” Jake asked.
Ken nodded gesturing into the living room. “I know it’s going to get rough,” Ken said.
Ken rubbed his white, short, well trimmed beard. “I know if we want this place to be safe, we need some young bucks to help get it going and I’m just glad it wasn’t those blasted Jones boys who came knocking right now,” Ken said with a smile.
Jake looked at Ken but wasn’t sure what to say, so he turned to Charlie. Charlie took his cue stepping up and detailing his plan.
“See this,” Charlie said pointing to a map of the park on Ken’s wall by the door. “When we helped out at Katrina we had a cross we would paint on every house that let us know who or what was inside, we go door to door and mark it all down here on your map and we also mark empty and vacant lots that we can store supplies in, which we’ll need to gather but we’ll need to do a perimeter walk to check for gaps, holes in people's fences. Also set up a couple of watch points on people's roofs or sheds that overlook the fence in all four directions,” Charlie grabbed a pen. Ken handed Charlie some paper as Charlie looked at the map then started scribbling notes.
Ken looked at Nathan, “What about the front gate? You guys closed it but what if people want in?” Ken asked.
“We’ll also need round the clock watch on that gate, too, and also take a tally of guns and ammo to put away,” Charlie said handing the pad of paper back to Ken.
“These supplies I think we can gather from around the park and also the management supply shed but the guns…” Ken paused while reading the list.
“What if people don’t want to give them up, I mean the news said they should defend their homes,” Ken continued.
“If people think we’re going to keep their means of protecting their family then they might lie about having them and we can’t start off like that, we need full disclosure and everyone in this park on the same page, we don’t want to have to worry about people inside the park as well as people outside the park,” Jake said.
“Well, we keep a tally and itinerary then of weapons,” Charlie suggested.
They all agreed then planned to go in twos, house to house, around the outside of the park first since it was basically one big huge circle. Charlie went over what was marked on the notepad about where to put up the watchtowers. The first was at the entrance on top of the mailroom shelter. The second was in Pete’s yard on the tall shed in the back, they could set up on the roof. The third was over by the Jones’ place overlooking the rock quarry. Looking down into the quarry meant it didn’t need to be too elevated.
They agreed while checking homes they would let people know of a signup sheet they would post on the mail shelter bulletin board for watch shifts.
As they headed out, Jake paused as he noticed a shotgun by Ken’s front door.
“As I said I knew someone would come knocking I just wasn’t s
ure if it would be a friendly face or not,” Ken said.
Ken had given them all paper to keep track of numbers. Ken went with Charlie taking the east side of the park. Nathan and he took the west side, which meant he could stop in to see Emily. He wanted to fill his wife in on the plan of action of what they were doing.
As they started out, Jake felt good about his choice to stay. He thought he’d use this opportunity as a chance to get to know Nathan. This whole time he’d lived here, he hadn’t really tried to get to know anyone. Nathan apparently had the same idea as just after putting the sign-up sheet to the bulletin board, Nathan asked about Emily and the boys.
“So, it just your wife, you, and your two boys?” Nathan asked,
“Yeah, Paul’s my son from another marriage but his mother’s not in the picture and Jeff’s Dad, well that’s the prick you met earlier” Jake said with a smile.
“So, wait with all this going on...” Nathan paused. “Is he going to be crashing with you?” Nathan asked with raised eyebrows. Jake hadn’t really considered it, but he couldn’t just toss the guy out despite how much he disliked the man. He wouldn’t want to see anyone leave who was safe in here as he knew this was the safest place to be right now. Strength in numbers was important just like Charlie had said earlier.
“Maybe we can get him a tent, or he can stay in a vacant trailer,” Jake suggested.
“I got a couple of tents in my shed he can use, they’ll be nice and ripe smelling too from the last time Charlie and I took a trip on Larch Mountain,” Nathan offered.
Jake couldn’t tell if Nathan was joking or serious, but Larch Mountain was pretty isolated. A good idea he thought to bring up later if they ever had to leave here or stash some stuff.
It was Jakes turn to ask a question now as they stopped outside the first trailer.
“So, you guys in the military?” he asked.
“Charlie was, he was in the Marines for eight years then had enough, said he was tired of seeing the American people getting treated like shit in bad situations. He helped out in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina hit and that was it for him,” Nathan told him.
“I see, well hopefully, we won’t need the government's help to get through this” Jake said trying to stay positive.
FEMA and the Red Cross where nowhere in sight and Jake’s only interaction with them since this started wasn’t a very good one.
Rob
The camp was busy with helicopters, trucks and hummers coming and going for the last couple of hours. Rob had been watching what was going on in the inside of the camp from the fence. The army had been expanding the size of the housing area they were in. Clearly, they were expecting more people. There had been trucks going on the dirt track on the other side of the freeway, too. This made Rob think they were possibly building another camp like this one on that side of the road, too.
Heavy machine gun fire ran out getting his attention. It was coming from the bridge above the camp. The 205 bridge connected the I-205 from the Washington side to the Oregon side over the Columbia River. The army had set up barricaded secure checkpoints on both sides of the bridge.
The gunfire was coming from the Oregon side across the water. Rob couldn’t see what was being shot at, but the gunfire was echoing across the river.
“Sickos trying to cross the bridge,” a voice said from the other side of the fence.
It was the soldier Rob had helped earlier. “Hey kid, how you feeling?” Rob asked.
“I’m okay, not supposed to be over by the housing section after earlier but saw you standing here and just wanted to come say thanks,” the soldier said with a smile.
“Housing section? That what they’re calling this fenced off part of the camp?” Rob asked.
“Well, this is general housing, secured and safe from the barracks, medical units, and quarantine” the soldier said waving at the rest of the camp. The large fenced off area Rob was in was definitely secure but it was more to keep them in rather than safe, he thought.
“Anyways, thanks again” the soldier said.
“Wait, hey what’s going on up there? On the other side of the freeway?” Rob asked before the soldier could walk away.
“We’re expanding, there’s more and more people needing evacuated and the housing area you are in is getting pretty full. Tensions are already getting high so we’re building another part of the camp on the other side of the road,” the soldier said.
“Evacuated?” Rob repeated, puzzled.
“Yeah, most of Portland's going dark except the people in PGE park stadium and The Moda Center so we’re trying to get as many survivors out as quick as possible with some place to go,” the soldier said.
“Going dark? I thought this thing was being brought under control? We’d be getting to go home soon?” Rob said confused.
“Not anytime soon, I’m afraid. This is going to be one of the main safe zones in the area. They’re calling it Camp Hope,” the soldier said before walking away.
Rob looked up at the 205 bridge covered in razor wire, mounted machine gun emplacements, and flood lights. This place was definitely well protected but the fenced off area he was in was already getting pretty crowded. If there were more people going to get packed in, then he knew it was only a matter of time before guys like Brandi’s friends tried to break out.
Rob walked back to the tent he’d slept in to find Brandi laying on a cot. There had been cots in each tent but now there were more people than cots.
“You asleep?” He asked.
Brandi didn’t say anything, so he didn’t want to disturb her as she’d been pretty upset and crying a lot. Rob knew the girl needed rest, so he left her. The other cots in the tent had other people laying on them, too. Some were whimpering, some were sobbing, but the feeling of despair was thick in the air. Rob’s heart got heavy as he looked at the people laying on the cots upset. This was something he never thought he’d see in his country. The government was meant to take care of its people, keep them safe. What Rob was seeing he knew deep down inside this wasn’t the government taking care of its people. This was damage control and made Rob think maybe Brandi’s friends were right.
The government was cutting its losses if they were just going to abandon Portland. The soldier may have been convinced by the line of bullshit given but he wasn’t. Even with another area the size of the area he was in there is no way they could house people from Portland. Rob saw those infected up close, so he knew how vicious they were. If one of them was to get loose in an enclosed area like the one he was being held in, it would be a massacre.
He looked at the armed guards standing inside the camp. Even inside a secure camp with civilians locked up in this pen the guards were still armed. The higher ups clearly didn’t have enough confidence in their perimeter security or men. Rob knew he needed to make a plan, just in case things went south and he needed to get out of Camp Hope.
Jake
After checking out the side of the park they’d been given, Jake looked over what they'd tallied up. Eight out of the thirty-six trailers they'd checked had no one home. Jake knew this either meant they weren't answering or were out there somewhere. Satisfied, they headed back to Ken’s place to put their list together with Charlie and Ken's. This way they had a total of how many people were in the park, the number of weapons, and how much free space they had. As they approached Ken’s, Charlie was standing out front talking to whoever was at the gate. Charlie looked at them and started waving at them to hurry up. Jake wasn’t sure what could be going on but hoped it wasn’t infected at the gate. As they got closer to the front of the park Jake saw Benny, Alice, and Marcus inside the gate talking to Charlie. Jake was a little surprised as they’d just left a little bit ago with their supplies from Wal-Mart.
“You guys okay?” Jake said, still surprised to see them.
“Yeah, the army has roadblocks and diversions up everywhere.” Alice said, sounding frustrated.
“Every time we got stopped heading back to our
side of town, they told us to either go back or follow them downtown to the military facility being set up to help relocate displaced people” Benny said.
“Displaced? By what?” Nathan asked.
“Probably by all the roadblocks, shut down sections of road and quarantine parts of town,” Benny said.
Jake thought about all the empty trailers they had; if people were stuck out there when this all kicked off that would explain why so many are empty. The families could be trying to find a way around roadblocks or at a FEMA or Red Cross facility. Waiting until it was safe, or they got the go ahead to return home.
“Quarantine? It’s getting that bad already?” Charlie asked.
“Yeah, we saw parts of town fenced off with a lot of soldiers. The freeway’s jam packed too! They have hummers going up and down the shoulder and carpool lanes, they advised us to take an alternate route to get downtown to the I-205 bridge to this safety and relocation zone they’re setting up” Benny said.
Jake wasn’t surprised as from what he’d seen at the old folks home this virus spreads fast. Keeping the park secure was definitely a priority now if areas on this side of town were being quarantined.
“Did they say anything about the virus?” Jake asked.
“No, we were about to ask when some people, I’m assuming who were infected, ran at the soldiers,” Alice said
“Yeah, we took that as our cue to book it but thought since we couldn’t get answers from a camp here maybe head to the one downtown. Take some back roads like we did yesterday from work,” Benny suggested.
This idea made Jake a little nervous as they really didn’t know how bad things were towards downtown. The last thing he wanted was to be stuck somewhere and not be able to get back to his family.
“That sounds like a great idea! We sneak our way towards the 205 bridge and ask Uncle Sam for the what's what on this zombie crackhead cannibal conundrum. Come back and set everyone's mind at ease with the news straight from the top,” Charlie said matter-of-factly.
“Simon just came from downtown, we could ask him for details of what it was like,” Jake said
When The Dead Rise (Book 1): The Outbreak Page 25