They went back to the dock and found some cleaning supplies and a gas pump. The pump wasn’t working but they were able to find a generator, that also turned out to be dead, then they found a small container of gas they used to get the generator going. Once the generator was going they checked and the gas pump was working. They walked the bass boat over to the pump and filled up the tank. They went ahead and filled up the plastic gas container and took that as well. Once they had it packed with as many of the supplies as they could fit, they all got in and sat down.
It was a tight fit, but Frank was just stoked that they would be able to drive a boat the rest of the way to Florida, instead of fighting their way along the US 1. They got moving, keeping the bridges and keys in site they steered the boat along in parallel. When it started to get dark, they went ahead and pulled onto a small, unconnected island, and slept for the night. They woke up miserable, since a light rain had come through overnight and gotten them all covered in a layer of moisture. Miserable was a lot better than dead though.
They kept going the following morning, spotting a marina they pulled in a little closer to see if they could top off their tank. Pulling in close caused a howl to go up, the next thing they knew a line of Zombies were plummeting into the water to try and get at them. The Zombies would run, scream, jump in the water and drown with their arms outstretched towards their boat. Deciding that they had enough gas to keep going for a while, they left the lemmings behind and kept up the momentum they had gained to keep moving towards the mainland.
They spotted an isolated home with a large private dock so they headed for that. They made it there and did not see any gas pumps or anything but there was large sailboat tied up to the dock.
“Anybody know how to sail?” Frank asked. Everyone was staring at Rory who had been in the Navy for twenty years.
“How old do you think I am? I wasn’t in the Navy back when they still used sails. We had these things called engines and propellers and what not. Besides, I was a gunner’s mate, I had nothing to do with making the ship move, I just shot at shit. If that sail boat has a couple of large caliber weapons on it let me know and I can hook it up. Besides, I’m betting that sail boat has an engine on it and we can probably just ‘sail’ it the same way we’re ‘sailing’ this dinghy.”
Made sense to Frank. He guided their boat towards the dock. The engines coughed and spat as they drank the last bit of gasoline in them. Letting the boat drift up to the dock, the men pulled themselves in closer and then Frank and Twitch jumped off and went to go check on the sailboat. The sailboat had a big wheel at the back of it and you could obviously, cruise around sans wind as needed. However, you needed a key. They ransacked the boat looking for a key. Not finding one, they decided to go break into the house and see if they could find one.
Each of them had managed to hang onto half a set of edge clippers so they had those hoisted in front of them to fend off whatever nightmare wandered out of the house. Nothing came out of the house. Inside, they found an elderly couple sitting on a couch with their arms around each other. They had been dead long enough that the smell was not overwhelming any more. Cause of death was probably the empty pill bottles scattered around them. Not seeing any threats and it being a nice large house, Frank sent Twitch to gather everyone together and get them in here for the night.
They wrapped the bodies in a tarp from the garage, leaving the two to spend eternity amidst gardening and woodworking tools. They gathered anything that looked like a better weapon than their current hedge trimmers and set up for the night. There was also a key rack in the garage. One of the hooks had ‘Caitlyn’ written it which was the name of the sailboat outside. Grabbing the keys, they set about putting together as many provisions as they could and getting a few days’ rest before continuing the journey.
They ended up spending two weeks in the six thousand square foot beachside bungalow. It turned out there was a storeroom there meant to hold supplies for large parties at a moment’s notice. Either that or the elderly couple had been Mormons or Survivalists or something. Regardless, they had a ton of food and water in that supply closet. More than they could easily hump out and store on Caitlyn. They partied for a few days. Quietly. Mostly they sat around drinking and trying to figure out what had happened to make the world go crazy.
Meetch summed it up best, “The world is turning to hell and when you’re going through hell you got to just go as fast as you can. There’s no way we’re probably going to be able to find out what happened. All we can really do is push through and overcome. If we do find out who made this happen, I’d be happy to spend my last few days making sure they get their asses properly kicked. They could have at least let us know it was going to happen before I hauled my ass down to the hottest, most humid, state in the Country just in time for a loss of all air conditioning and refrigeration. Now I just wanna get North and check on my family.”
The day came when they were running low on the supplies from the house. That was the signal to head out to Caitlyn and get to sailing. They had spent some time prepping for this, or for a rapid insertion of the enemy requiring them to get the hell out of dodge, by loading the boat with supplies ahead of time. They had shoved enough stuff in the hold to be able to detect Caitlyn’s waterline going down a bit. Frank had no idea what they were going to do with all that crap once they got to the mainland and ran out of gas but he was reluctant to leave any of it behind.
They set sail. By set sail, they turned the key, figured out how to go in reverse and fumbled the boat away from the dock. The two weeks in that house would be looked back on fondly by all of them before their deaths, as the last time something went right for them.
The engine conked out within site of the mainland. The gauge said it still had a quarter of a tank but nothing they did would make the damn thing start again. They screwed around with the sails for a while until they got them raised. This seemed to be working as they started moving in the general direction of the shore. It took forever but they did finally make it to shore. They were greeted there by a couple of guys with guns who had been watching them approach from a seaside cabin. The guys took their boat, with all their supplies, managed to get it started after adding more gas to it and left them standing there after making them push the boat out and hold it for long enough for them to get it started.
Physically drained, soaking wet, with no supplies, Frank and his gang went up to the cabin and slept through the night. The next morning, they began their quest to get out of Florida. The quest started with a lot of walking, in the heat, it sucked. Most of their clothes were still moist despite being hung out to dry overnight. The cabin and surrounding properties had all been stripped of any useful supplies. Once they got past those it was just road and swamp. Frank did think he may get lucky and the mosquitoes might pick him up and carry him North. He was sorry he brought up that witticism when Meetch wondered out loud if the Zombie virus might be carried by mosquitoes.
Other than the occasional dead bodies beside the road, they did not see anything of note in the first day of walking. On the second day, they found an Expedition and a Sentra parked in front of a ramshackle trailer. They located the keys to both inside the trailer, attached to there still ‘living’ owners who were now an ugly shade of bruised blue with eyes so gunked over you could barely tell they were red. They didn’t make a noise until the door was open, then they screamed and ran at Frank and Rory. Frank and Rory both raised up their weak ass gardening shear halves and attacked.
Afterwards, covered in blood and funk from the now, really dead trailer trash. Meetch announced, “I came into this world yelling my head off and covered in blood, seems like that is going to be the way I go out to.”
They headed out to the cars and got in. The air conditioning felt ridiculously good. Frank turned it on and had it blasting in his face and thought it may qualify as one of the top ten most enjoyable moments of his life. Pulling out of the driveway, they headed back to the main road and started out towards Miami. The p
lan was to jump on the turnpike and try to avoid Miami as much as possible. There was a Harley dealership Twitch and Meetch had been to outside of Miami. They planned on hitting it up to get more maneuverable rides that were better on gas. They figured the turnpike was probably backed up like normal. Even the apocalypse couldn’t make the traffic any better on that route.
Air conditioning and cars made life rock. They started hitting civilization and saw a mini-mart off the side of the road. Frank pulled in behind the Sentra and started to put the Expedition in park. The loud sound of automatic weapons firing filled the air. Two men, shirtless, covered in tattoos came out of the mini mart raining lead down on the Sentra. Frank left the Expedition in drive and slammed the pedal to the floor. The big SUV lurched forward, flying towards the tattooed gunmen. They tried to scatter but got caught in the grill and disappeared from view.
Frank slammed on the brakes, got out of the truck with half a hedge clipper in hand and walked around to the front of the Ford. One of the guys was dead. His head had been smashed in the collision. The other guy was laying on the ground making a some kind of rattling noise every time he tried to breathe. Frank walked over and grabbed the two Assault Rifles and pulled off the guy’s belts and packs. He went and threw all that in the Expedition. In the distance, howls and screams were starting to fill the air. Rory and Meetch had jumped out and were helping the guys in the Sentra while Frank had been neutralizing and verifying the threat. Frank started to walk around and finish the one guy off but on looking over at the Sentra, decided to just let the guy lay there until the Zombies showed up and ate him alive.
The AK 47 rifles had been on full auto and aimed at the Sentra. Bullets had penetrated the doors and windows and gone through flesh and blood without slowing down. Everyone in the Sentra was dead. There was no need to even check, they were obviously dead. Frank walked over to where the living assailant was stating to regain consciousness. He positioned the man’s left leg on the curb and brought his boot down hard on the kneecap. The pain snapped the man out of his coma and he came to. Screaming in pain. Frank nodded, made sure the man saw him smiling down at him then walked away.
They did not have much time. Frank took the gas can out of the back of the Expedition and poured a liberal amount through the window on each side of the Sentra. Saying a quick prayer, he stepped back and flipped a match through the window of the Sentra and they all piled back into the Expedition, right as the first Zombies were running into the parking lot. Frank kept the car idling long enough to verify that the Zombies were able to find the guy laying on the ground. The man’s screams increased in both frequency and volume, as multiple sets of teeth bit into his body and started ripping him apart.
They were silent as they drove out of the parking lot. A few Zombies followed and some slapped up against the side of the Expedition and hung for a few hundred yards. Most of the Zombies had been distracted by the fresh meat on the ground though. All the men had been reminded how fast life can end in this new world. How senselessly they could die, no one would ever even know why the guys in the mini mart had attacked the Sentra so ruthlessly. They found a dealership a few miles up the road. It wasn’t the one they thought it would be, but close enough. They were able to get bikes and head on up the highway.
Entry 5: Radioactive Parking Lot
We all sat around the inside of an abandoned church. We’d come in here after the first three places we tried turned out to be nests. We were all stretched out on pews listening to Franks story. He had stopped talking after getting us to the Turnpike. We all tried to ignore the sobbing and very low sniffling we heard coming from his direction. All of us except Ann, she jumped right up and went and sat beside him. He sat up and she put her arms around him and rubbed his back while he struggled to get control of himself.
Telling the story was making him relive it. Like the rest of us, he had left behind a trail of his friends. Like me, he had been the leader and keenly felt the responsibility for each of those lives lost. Unlike me, he had not gotten any of his party to this point. Everyone under his leadership had died, through no real fault of his own. He may know that intellectually, knowing it in your heart and gut were a lot harder. He breathed in a few more times as we all moved quietly to sit around him in his pew. In a sign of solidarity and support, each of us put a hand on him.
“You guys know most the rest of the story.” Frank had his sobbing pretty much back under control at this point. “We made it up the turnpike, dodged some more Zombies, and ended up meeting up with you guys. Fifty of us started this journey and I’m the only one who ended up making it. I’m tired, but I’m ready to keep fighting. I’d like to hang out with you guys for a while if you’ll have me? I got no problem taking orders if you’re worried about that.”
Thomas, Ann, Reeves, and Ginny all rushed to say how welcome he was. I completely agreed but was racking my brain to come up with a ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ joke. I looked up and in the very small amount of light coming from the red chem light Reeves had broken out, I saw everyone staring at me. Giving up on coming up with a perfectly timed and apt zinger I echoed everyone else’s agreement for Frank to join up with us.
“I’m the leader when we’re in emergency situations because someone has to be and we picked me. Normally, we decide things by talking them through and I’m the tie breaker if need be. Don’t hold back if you have an idea but if we get into a situation everybody has to work together to try and get out of it. “
Frank smiled at my explanation of our chain of command and decision making. “Got it and not a problem. I’m in. Now what?”
A tension left the room that I had not even been aware was there until now. Looking around the room saw everyone was once again staring at me.
“I say we keep with the original plan. I doubt my parents survived but regardless I think the cabin would be an excellent stronghold for us to rest up in and maybe make a home out of. Motion is life and we need to keep moving so honestly I think it is as good a destination as any for now.”
Ann broke in, “We have plenty of weapons for right now but I would feel better with even more. Killing Zombies is one thing but if we run into another gang trying to take us on we’ll run through our ammo in a firefight before we even realize it’s all gone.”
“Food, water, ammo, transportation, shelter. I think as long as we try every day to accumulate some more of each we’re good. I agree with Steve that motion is life and we need to keep moving towards a goal. I worry about running into an ambush or something though so we need to stay alert and aware. Seems like a lot of the dumb Zombies have died off and we’re dealing with mostly the ones who are slightly smarter and fiercer.” We all nodded. When Ginny spoke, it was normally a smart idea to listen. She spent a lot of time weighing the available options and considering what we should be doing.
Frank stared at her for a minute when she was finished. “Smart girl. Where’d you pick that up from?”
“Her grandpa was a Gunnery Sergeant in the Marine Corps. He is one of the main reasons I’m still alive. He died protecting Ginny from some human scum. We all do well to listen to her.” Ginny beamed at my compliment of her and the mention of her beloved pampa.
We spent the night in the church. Easing into the extremely familiar roles of standing watch and sleeping with one hand on our weapons and one eye half open. Ready to bounce and fight as needed. I was thinking at some point we needed to find a place with multiple exits and no entrances so we could all enjoy an actual full night’s sleep. I was hoping the cabin up in Tennessee would offer that kind of sanctuary.
We all stretched and climbed off our uncomfortable pews in the morning. I was feeling cranky and my neck was pinched in a way that I knew it was going to be annoying all day. Ann walked by and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek which instantly made me forget about my neck. For about five seconds, then reality settled back in as we figured out we had exactly three cans of barbeque coated Vienna sausages and a plastic sleeve of Ritz crackers for br
eakfast. We’d found a couple jugs of unsweetened tea and sweetened tea in the breakroom so that made life a bit more exciting.
“Tea doesn’t go bad, right?” Asked Thomas.
I passed him the jug labeled ‘sweet tea’ instead. “No man, unsweet tea just kind of tastes like ass and I’m thinking year old, warm, unsweet tea probably tastes worse. It’s an acquired taste.”
“I’m really hoping I’m not forced to acquire the taste of it. Tastes like warm tree bark juice mixed with squirrel pee.”
I took a sip and decided his description was dead on. I’d never tried squirrel pee, but could pretty much see it tasting exactly like this if you threw it in a blender with some tree bark.
I choked down some sweetened squirrel pee and a handful of crackers with the sausages smooshed in between them and walked over to the front doors to take a look outside. Coast looked clear, we knew from experience that as soon as we started the truck Zombies would show up from somewhere if we stuck around long enough. The trick was to not stick around long enough. The other trick was to always have a few ways out so you didn’t get trapped. Travelling at night was safer when you were on foot but when you had a vehicle it pretty much woke the Zombies up regardless so you might as well be able to see them.
Everyone loaded up, we had already siphoned as much gas as we could get out of some of the cars sitting around the lot. I jumped in the shotgun seat and Reeves took the driver’s side. Ginny and Ann crammed in the middle and Thomas and Frank were riding in the rear with the gear. Not that we had a ton of gear. We did have guns though. I greatly preferred being well armed to being pretty much anything else. I’d drink squirrel pee all day as long as the cases of ammo stayed piled up high.
Zournal: Book 3: Scorched Earth Page 3