hatch back open and knocked loudly.
Immediately the door opened and I saw a portly middle aged man holding a formidable looking table leg. Inside his house I could see where he had gutted and removed his stairwell to create a second floor safe zone if the zombies ever broke in. He asked me, “You got a safe place?”
Kneeling awkwardly in the back of the car while I held up the hatch, I answered, “yeah.”
Then he asked, a hopeful look in his eyes, “You got food and water?”
I answered, “Yeah.” again.
He stepped forward and said, “I ain't got jack here. Let's go if you don't mind my company?”
I moved back and he climbed into the car. We secured the hatch and headed back to the shop.
His name is Eric. He used to be a grocery store manager. He had a family, but they'd gone out to get more supplies on the day the plague had swept through the area. They never returned home. He blamed himself for not going with them and protecting them, even though he had tried to talk them out of it.
Castles
Eric and I have been reinforcing the garage. I've been lucky over the last couple of weeks that the zombies haven't taken notice of the garage and taken an interest. It's a bit darker inside now that we've covered over and fortified the windows. On the plus side, we have gotten comfortable opening the rear door and letting in fresh air. The back of the lot holds several cars in various states of disrepair, two large storage sheds and a strong fence probably put up to keep out vandals. On the other side of the fence is a large canal with a good flow of water that we like to call the mote. Right now we are comfortable that no zombies are going to get in through there, but we still shut the door at night so we can sleep comfortably
We've really got more time on our hands than we know what to do with. We keep busy by modding a small army jeep that is parked in the shop's back lot. The subcompact that I've been using for supply runs is pretty tight with the two of us, so we're going to work on a new chassis that will comfortably fit both of us and hold whatever supplies we think we should need on the road.
The jeep wasn't in very good shape when we started. The engine has been pulled out and there wasn't any top at all. Of course that left us free to fix it up the right way. There was enough sheet metal, body parts and automotive scrap lying around the back lot that we welded together a really sound passenger compartment. We even managed to improvise some really good doors for the roof top, but there aren't any side doors since we decided to keep the catch-drawer system for scavenging supplies.
While fixing up the interior, Eric made a startling discover, cars get hot in the sun. He insulated the interior with some sheets of insulation that he found in one of the sheds and painted the exterior of the jeep a glaring white. We added some racks inside to hold a basic supply of food and water, as well as some storage bins to hold our loot when we go out raiding the stores.
When finished, it was an ugly garishly white bastard of a vehicle that somehow looked right to us. We found a small V6 engine that would couple with the transmission and mounted without trouble in the engine compartment. It started up fine but we didn't test it for too long to avoid making too much noise.
On our next run, we'd give the jeep its chance to prove itself.
Smokers
With the convenience store picked clean, Eric and I chose the next nearest store to scavenge from. It was a moderately large sized drug store that looked like it still had a good load of loot. The doors and windows were already busted out, but the shelves inside were still visibly stocked when we viewed them from outside. A few zombies were wandering inside, but we would be able to bring the jeep inside and employ the salvage drawer catch system.
We idled the jeep into the store and started scavenging a wide assortment of items. Drug stores are a great site to get a wide variety of items, from canned foods, health and beauty products, electronics and the what-not. We had also decided earlier that we were going to hit the pharmacy and load up on some of the medications which, in our limited medical knowledge, would be beneficial. We were going to load up on antibiotics, basic narcotics and heart burn medicine.
As I slowly brought the jeep around the isles of the store, making our way to the pharmacy, I noted a small group of zombies had gathered themselves at the pharmacy counter. They didn't seem to notice us as we crept up, V6 engine idling, in the jeep.
It was not until we backed the jeep up to the pharmacy door that they noticed us and began pounding on the outside of the jeep. From behind me in the back of the jeep, Eric told me to shut down the engine because the exhaust fumes were getting bad while we idled in one spot. After I shut down the engine, he opened the back door of the jeep, which was now flush against the walls and pharmacy door. He cursed aloud as he realized it was locked and said he was gonna shoot out the window.
Then he screamed like a girl and jumped from the back of the jeep all the way to the front where I was sitting. Looking back at the window of the pharmacy door I saw two faces looking out at us. Then shouted, “help us,” through the glass.
Trapped in the pharmacy office were two young pharmacy technicians. Eric went back to the window and smashed it with our L-shaped salvaging pole. The women tried immediately to force their way into the jeep, but Eric explained that we were trying to stock up on medications. They disappeared for several minutes and then came back with several boxes. It was obvious that they had a greatly expanded knowledge of medicine, since we were clueless about everything that was in those boxes. After passing the boxes to us, our newest guests, Michelle and Sarah, weaseled through the broken pharmacy window and into the back of the jeep. Eric resealed the back door and let me know that we were ready to go. I started up the jeep and we headed back out of the store. Before leaving we stopped first at the women's hygiene section for our new guest on the way.
Eric and I definitely appreciate having new friends, the presence of Michelle and Sarah changes the atmosphere and temper of our group, although the jeep is really too small for the four of us. It may be wise to have two people remain in the garage while the other two go out to forage.
Eric has added a hand crank inside the jeep that he has coupled to the transmission. He said that the engine fumes are too strong while we were in the confined space of the store. Again, we'll give it a try on our next run.
Elbow Grease
We took the jeep back to the drug store to finish gathering the food still on the shelves. Eric tried the hand crank to see how well it would work. It worked great and we were able to breathe easier as we went about collection supplies. It helped that the air was clear, since moving the jeep via the hand crank was very slow. We spent a long time creeping through the aisles
On the way back to the garage, Eric had me stop at a thrift store. He dashed out from the back of the jeep and dragged several bicycles back.
As soon as we were back at the shop, he went to work fiddling with the bicycles and the hand crank that he had previously installed in the jeep. Several hours later he showed us the improvements he'd made. Sitting crosswise in the back of the jeep, he had set up a pedaling station. Someone could comfortably sit down at the station and use their legs to power the crank. HE EXPLAINED how the bicycle gears would make pedaling a breeze compared to the back breaking work needed to turn the hand crank. In addition, he had installed a small fan to keep us cool and had added more water containers in the back.
Public Transport
After seeing how cramped the jeep had become with storage racks, the drawer catch system and Eric's pedaling station, the girls pointed out that it was even more cramp than when we had rescued them. We suggested that they could use the compact car if the need ever arose. They made a stink about it and pointed out that the welded on armor was badly damaged from the zombies beating on it and that the suspension totally shot from the extra weight and abuse I'd given it. The little sub-compact car was sorry sight and looked did look hideous. The girls sugg
ested that we focus on fixing up the big 4x4 pick-up truck that I had made my first failed supply run.
Their suggestion made sense, since the truck would hold everyone and had room for a great deal of supplies. We took several days fixing it up to our latest zombie-proof standards. We added an up-armored a camper shell for the back and Eric installed two pedal stations in the back. “Just in case the need ever arises,” he said. We also added a tow mount to the front of the jeep in case we ever wanted to tow it behind the truck.
Finally, we stocked it with the basic essentials of food and water, and called it good.
Attack
I'm typing from inside the armored jeep right now. Sarah sits next to me. Eric and Michelle didn't make it.
They, the zombies, attacked in the middle of the day. I'm not sure what brought them to the shop after so many weeks of peaceful existence. They could have smelled us. They could have heard us. They could have seen us when we worked in the back lot of the garage. When the moaning started, we quickly locked up the garage and double checked all of the barricades. For hours they attacked and we waited in fear. It was hours of moaning and pounding of flesh on the outside of the building. Their stench was different now. It had taken on a milder sweet
Zombie Apocalypse Survivor: The Original Story Page 4