by Eric Vall
“Nice job,” I said as they got to the end. “Let’s head outside and head to the next building.”
We all filed out of the store and moved to the automotive shop next door. I cleared the building first with my loaded gun, returned to the girls, and told them to take their positions.
It took them three times to clear the building before they did it smoothly and without making a mistake. First time Anna got a little excited and moved too fast for her team and ended up farther forward without support. The second time Bailey didn’t keep her angle and ended up pointing her rifle at Tara as she advanced through the store. The third run was smooth, and I gave them my seal of approval before we moved on.
We cleared two more businesses before I felt confident in their new abilities.
“Alright, we have another couple places left to clear,” I said as we met back out in the town square. “Load your guns again, we are going to clear these last buildings hot.”
“You sure we’re ready for that?” Bailey asked.
“Absolutely,” I said with a nod. “I’ll lead you in on these last ones.”
The girls all nodded as they reloaded their guns. Then we stacked up on the next business and ran through it as a team. It went smooth and the girls kept their guns free of each other and their eyes on their zones. I couldn’t help but feel proud of them as we finished the task and went back outside.
“Well that was pretty cool,” Anna said as we all regrouped at the vehicles.
“Yeah, that was fun,” Paige grinned.
“Good, but don’t forget we weren’t playing a game there,” I said. “The more we practice that stuff the better prepared you will be when the time comes to breach an occupied building.”
“Yeah, that sounds less fun,” Bailey muttered.
“I don’t know, I bet we could do it,” Tara said with a shrug.
“I don’t doubt that,” Bailey said. “I just wonder how many of us would get shot in the process.”
“Whoa now, let’s not jump to such fatal conclusions,” I interjected. “There is a reason we do this stuff. We train and prepare so that when we face opposition, you ladies will be ready.”
“He’s right,” Anna said. “We are stronger than we think, and with Tav’s help we will be ready for when we get into a fight and we will kick some ass.”
I grinned as the girls all looked at each other, then the weapons they carried, smiled, and nodded in agreement. It looked like they had finally started to realize that they were better prepared than they had thought.
“Alright, we will do this in teams,” I said. “I want Paige and Tara to head to the pharmacy first. I want you two to strip that place of any meds of value. Prepare for the future, because even if we don’t need it now we might need it later.”
“Where should we start?” Anna asked as she stepped up next to Bailey.
“You two will be hitting up the houses,” I said. “Start with the ones closest to the square and work your way outward. Again, clear the house before you dig in and start tearing it apart. Then take anything that you think might be useful. We aren’t leaving this place until we are full up.”
“What about you, Lone Wolf?” Paige asked. “Where should we come find you if things go south?”
“I’m going to start at the hardware store and get the supplies we need for the shower,” I said
“Oh hell yeah,” Tara exclaimed.
“The sooner we can get that built the better,” Anna agreed. “I am starting to get real tired of taking cold baths.”
“Hey, the water is starting to get warmer,” Paige said.
“Yeah, give it a month or two and that stream will be downright pleasant,” Bailey added.
“But I can’t wait that long to bathe,” Anna said.
“Plus, there is something about a hot shower than is just soo good,” Tara said.
“We’ll get it done soon,” I promised. “I’m gonna get moving. After I’m done at the hardware store, look for me in the police station.”
“That place is nothing but a husk though,” Bailey said as she looked over to the looming scorched black building.
“What do you hope to find in there?” Tara asked.
“I am hoping I could find some spike strips or something that would help us slow down the bikers.”
“Wow, that’s a really good idea,” Paige said. “I am kind of embarrassed that I didn’t think of it.”
“This is why I get to go off alone,” I joked.
“On that note, I think we’re going to head off,” Anna said as she nudged Bailey. “Have fun guys.” Anna headed out towards a block of houses, and the blonde haired hippie waved at us and then followed after her.
“That’s probably a good idea,” Tara said. “As fun as our little field trips are, I am always excited to get back to the campus.”
“Pharmacy is over there.” I pointed to the small building on the edge of the square.
“Thanks, see you soon,” Paige said to me as the two girls started to walk off.
“Be safe,” I yelled out. “Come find me if there is trouble.”
The brunette gave me a thumbs up in response, and her platinum blonde companion turned to blow me a kiss before they disappeared inside the dark building.
I chuckled, shook my head, and headed off towards the hardware store. Once inside I picked up an overturned shopping cart and forced it over the broken glass and into the first aisle.
I loaded my cart with almost everything still left on the shelves. With the coming fight I knew we would be using more of our supplies to build defensible positions, barricades, and traps. I loaded up on nails, grabbed more hammers, and found a neatly packaged manual drill. I wasn’t entirely sure what I would use it for yet, but I saw no reason not to have it.
I filled up on metal, and PVC pipes as well as a variety of shower heads, nozzles, and pipe valves. I grabbed a dozen bottles of PVC glue, some pipe tape, and various connectors to be ready for whatever situation we came across. Once the cart was full, I pushed it out to the jeep and started to fill the trailer with my first haul.
I made five more trips into the hardware store with the shopping cart. I filled the back of the trailer with more nails, screws, and fastening hardware than we would probably ever need. However, we had more than enough space to store everything, and we probably wouldn’t get another chance to grab stuff from Lanceton before it was burned to the ground.
After I cleared the shelves of anything even remotely useful, I started to raid the small supply of lumber in the back of the store. There were seven ten foot 2x4s, a couple sheets of pine plywood, and some 2x12s.
As I carried the wood outside I saw Paige and Tara emerge into the sunny town square once more. They squinted against the harsh light of the sun, and each of them carried a reusable bag full of pill bottles.
“How’s it going?” I asked as I laid the wood beside the trailer.
“That place was well stocked,” Paige said. “I am really surprised the people didn’t clear it out before they skipped town.”
“Well it was locked when I first went in on my last trip,” I said.
“Probably good for us,” Tara said. “Paige found lots of stuff to help us out if we get really hurt or sick.”
“Yeah, I found more antibiotics, anti-inflammatory pills, pain meds, and even some anti-depressants,” the brunette said as shuffled through the contents of her bag. “I just kinda grabbed everything, really.” She shrugged and looked up at me.
“We did pass on the penis pills though,” Tara said.
“Both of us agreed that you really don’t need any of those,” Paige added with a wide grin.
“Should I be worried about what you two talk about when I leave you alone?” I asked as I raised an eyebrow.
“Of course not,” Tara said before she gave me a wink.
“How’s the hardware store treating you?” Paige asked as she slung her bag into the trailer. “Looks like you have done well so far.”
/> “Yeah, I think I am just about done in there,” I said. “The power tools are really all that I left behind.”
“No kidding,” Tara said as she leaned in and looked at what I had gathered. She pulled out a bag of drawer handles, looked at me, and raised an eyebrow. “What’s the plan for these?”
“Not everything has a purpose quite yet,” I admitted. “I am just trying to be thorough.”
“Alright, but if you are turning into a hoarder, we may need to talk,” Paige joked.
“Hey, I’m not that bad,” I said.
“Not yet,” Tara teased.
“What are we talking about?” Bailey asked as she approached. She pushed a simple black mountain bike along beside her, and her backpack overflowed with loot. The bicycle had a single gear, and half full tires. It looked like it would be the perfect size for some of the shorter girls.
“Tav’s turning into a hoarder,” Paige said.
“That’s not true,” I laughed.
“He says he is just trying to be thorough but there is some pretty useless stuff here,” Tara said as she nodded at the trailer.
“I don’t have any jars of urine stashed away,” I joked.
“Good, that’d be a deal breaker for me,” Tara replied.
“Hey, where’s Anna?” I asked as I noticed the redhead was nowhere to be seen.
“Relax, she’s just around the corner,” Bailey chuckled. “I wouldn’t leave her out there all alone.”
A moment later Anna rode into view on a second mountain bike. This one was red, and had large sports tires, multiple gears, and full suspension. The redhead sped towards us with an equally full backpack and another bag tied to the back of the bike.
“Welcome back,” I said as she rolled up.
“What do you think?” The redhead asked as she got off the bike and gestured towards it. “Pretty sweet, huh?”
“It really is,” I said with a nod. “Bikes will be important soon enough too.”
“We have tons of gas though don’t we?” Tara asked.
“Yeah, but gas only has a shelf life of maybe six months,” I explained. “It won't be long before all of the gas we have goes bad.”
“What about the stuff under the gas station?” Paige asked. “Won’t that stuff last a bit longer?”
“Maybe, but I honestly don’t know,” I said.
“You think we could find a book about it?” Bailey asked.
“Wouldn’t hurt to check,” Paige replied with a shrug.
“Still, we need to ready ourselves for when our vehicles become pointless,” I said. “I know there are all these post-apocalyptic movies and zombie shows where people just drive cars everywhere, but the reality is that gasoline just won’t be around, and bikes are the most efficient form of travel.”
“Well Anna and I found two bikes, and we didn’t even go through that many houses,” Bailey said.
“We cleared and scavenged three of them,” Anna confirmed. “Turns out houses take a minute to clear.”
“Yeah, there are a lot of rooms to check through,” Bailey added.
“I take it they were all empty though?” I asked.
“Oh yeah, we would have told you by now if they weren’t,” Anna said.
“Did you guys find anything good?” Paige asked.
“Hell yeah,” Anna said. “We actually couldn’t carry it all with us, but we have it piled up outside so we can easily grab what we thought was important.”
“NIce, what sorta stuff did you grab?” Tara asked as she leaned on the trailer.
“Lots of toilet paper,” Anna said as she pulled a roll from her bag and tossed it to the platinum blond. “I know we aren’t exactly low, but I would rather keep it that way.”
“Yeah, I don’t want to switch to leaves, or whatever,” Bailey said.
“Bark works pretty well,” I joked.
The girls all turned to me with a visible look of shock and disgust.
“Yeah, I think I’ll pass on that,” Tara said after a moment. She tossed the toilet paper into the trailer, pushed herself upright, and looked at me. “Where should Paige and I search next?”
“Just starting stripping the other stores in the square,” I instructed. “The sporting goods store probably has some more bike stuff, and even an office might have some hidden gems.”
“Cool, will do,” Paige said.
“Well, I’m ready to get back to work,” the platinum blonde said.
“Agreed,” Paige said with a nod.
“Have fun guys,” Bailey said as they started to head off.
“Should we get back to it too?” Anna asked the blonde.
“Yeah, let me drop this stuff off, and we can go get another load,” Bailey said with a nod.
“I think once you two finish up we will break for lunch,” I said. “I think we are going to be here a while still, and we should pace ourselves a bit.”
“Sounds good, we will come find you once we have everything loaded up,” Anna said.
“There is a little bit more lumber in the hardware store that I want to grab so I will be around there,” I said.
“See you in a bit then,” Bailey said. “Try not to have too much fun alone.”
“Thanks,” I chuckled before I headed back out.
Based on the position of the sun as I entered the hardware store I guessed that it was a little past noon. We were making good time, but I doubted that we would be back before dark.
I grabbed the last of the wood and made my way through the almost empty store. It was sort of strange to think that this place would never be stocked again. While maybe not as explosively destructive as a nuke, the EMP really sent the entire world back a few generations.
I wondered if there was any place that had not been hit. Maybe the EMP was just a first strike in a larger invasion of the USA. It would be a long time before we would have any idea what became of the world outside of our little mountain home. Though, once the bikers were out of the way we would have the freedom to explore a little further.
I tossed the wood onto the pile I started next to the trailer. In an attempt to maximize our space I decided to wait until the trailer was full and strap the wood to the top. The plastic containers full of bungee straps I pulled from the store would help me keep everything in place, and I could take my time on the return trip if I really needed to.
Anna and Bailey were dumping another load of stuff into the back of the trailer. It looked like a bunch of camp gear such as small propane tanks, a couple lanterns, and some blue enamel tea pots. There were a couple very nice large backpacks complete with water bladders, and even more rope. Thankfully it was a common enough item that I doubted we would ever be in short supply.
“This is some nice stuff,” I said as I picked up and inspected one of the backpacks.
“Yeah, looks like one of the families who left this place liked to camp,” Anna said.
“We figured we would leave the tents behind though,” Bailey said.
“Probably a good call,” I agreed.
“We have one more load,” Bailey said. “Give us like ten minutes and we’ll be done.”
“I’ll be waiting,” I said with a smile.
The two girls rushed off to grab their last load as Tara and Paige came out of the sporting goods store. As they made their way towards me, I could see that they each had an armful of salvage.
“You haven't just been waiting here this whole time have you?” Paige teased.
“How lazy do you think I am?” I asked with a grin.
“I don’t know, but ever since you got back from that raid on the biker camp you have spent a lot of time asleep,” Tara said as she walked up and dropped an armful of heat packets into the trailer.
“Yeah, you slept for, like what, a whole day?” Paige asked.
“Right, my bad for needing to rest after spending a day sneaking around and taking out a few dozen bad guys, I’m sorry,” I chuckled.
“You better be,” Paige said with a smil
e and a wink. “You are supposed to be our leader here and right now the only thing I am learning is that it is okay to be lazy.”
I smiled, shook my head, and rolled my eyes.
Paige stuck her tongue out at me as she unloaded her own armfull of pilfered goods. It looked like she had managed to find a couple boxes of candy bars, and a bunch of extra shoe laces.
“Let’s take a break,” I said. “Anna and Bailey will be back soon, and I think we should eat something.”
“See, there he goes being lazy again,” Tara said sarcastically as she looked at Paige and shook her head.
“Man, he goes and has one heroic battle and suddenly thinks he doesn’t need to work,” Paige said as she shook her head.
“Alright, come on,” I chuckled. “I don’t want to hear you guys complain later so I figure we should all stop for some food now. Plus, we could have gotten some more work in before lunch if you guys had checked the traps faster.”
“Hey, we moved as fast as we could,” Tara pouted.
“Aw, don’t listen to him, he is just being an ass,” Paige said with a smirk.
“Says the girl who has been teasing me all day,” I said as I raised an eyebrow. “Seems a bit hypocritical, don’t you think?”
“What are you going to do about it?” Paige teased.
“Maybe I’ll find some handcuffs in the police station and lock you up as punishment,” I said with a wink.
The brunette blushed a deep red and said nothing in response to that. I think she really liked that idea, actually.
Tara giggled, hopped into the back of the beat-up pickup, slid out of her backpack, and pulled out a meal wrapped neatly in a pink handkerchief.
Paige joined her and pulled her own meal from her backpack. It was packed in a small black insulated lunch bag.
“Hey, Tav, look in that pile of stuff I just dropped into the trailer,” the platinum blonde said as she pulled out her water bottle. “There should be some of those little squeeze bottles of water flavor in there.”
“Nice find,” I said as I pulled out a couple of the small dropper bottles. The small berry flavored additive said it would give you more energy and help you work harder. While I doubted it would work quite as advertised the idea of drinking something other than plain water once in a while was nice. I tossed them to the girls in the truck.