ROAD TRIP THROUGH THE APOCALYPSE

by Vincent Fields

  CHAPTER 16: Flea Market

  A my cheered from the RV’s recliner as they passed a big blue sign on the right side of interstate 75 that read:

  Welcome to

  FLORIDA

  THE SUNSHINE STATE

  The O in Florida was a big ripe orange. “Well, were less than 200 miles from your family now Amy”, Nathan commented from the driver’s seat. “Normally that would take us less than three hours from here, but I’m thinking we can quadruple that figure with this traffic.” Just then they passed another sign. It was billboard that read “Florida’s largest flea market and swap meet - 10 miles ahead in Lake City. “How about we add a few more hours to that estimate and hit that flea market?” Tak suggested. Amy scoffed, “We’ll have time for shopping later Tak; I want to get to my parents as quick as possible. “I do too Amy, but a large flea market sounds like the perfect place to get rid of our cash while it still has any buying power at all. In just the last five days the dollar has lost over three quarters of its value. I expect in a few more days it will be practically useless. I’ve got five grand in cash that I want to dump quick, and I suggest ya’ll do the same with any you may have. We may not get this opportunity again.” Amy slowly nodded as she came to understand his reasoning. Nathan chimed in, “I’ve only seen “out of gas” signs for many exits now. Were about to have to tap into our reserve on the roof. To make it down to St Petersburg and back to Marion were going to have to use all of the gas in the cans on the roof and top off the Beast’s tank one more time. I bet we can get a lead on where to get some at the flea market.” Amy signed in resignation, “OK I hear ya. Let’s make the stop as quick as possible.” Tak reached over and put his hand on her left knee and gave it a gentle pat. “Don’t worry babe… we’ll be there by tomorrow at the latest.”

  About an hour later they arrived at the Lake City flea market. It sat on a large fairground with booths and rows of vendors lined up side by side for almost a quarter mile from end to end. Nathan parked near the rear of the huge parking lot near a few dozen other RV’s. Several motorcycles passed them by and made their way towards the front of the parking lot. Some slowed down and peered into the RV closer than the friends found comfortable. They pulled the privacy curtains closed so nobody would be able to see in as they made some final preparations before taking off. Tak lifted the couch up to reveal the hidden cubby area. He grabbed his backpack and removed a small black hard-plastic case. He opened it for a quick check; it held six one-ounce gold coins individually packaged in plastic sleeves and a plastic baggie of cash. He had no intention of getting rid of his gold unless he absolutely had to. He removed the baggie and took out a stack of 50 hundred dollar bills and stuffed them deep in his right front pants pocket. He closed the case of coins and put them back in the backpack and started to close the couch back down, but paused as he looked over at his sword. Amy seemed to read his mind, “Ya, I wouldn’t let that out of my sight if I were you.” Tak nodded his agreement as he grabbed it and slung it on his back, adjusting the strap for a snug fit. The handle stuck up behind and to the right of his head, while the end of the scabbard hung down near his belt on the left side of his lower back. He adjusted his freshly cleaned and reloaded XDS where it was clipped inside his pants just to the right of his belt buckle. Out of habit he reached down and felt the outline of the short extra magazine in his left front pocket to confirm that that it was still there.

  As Tak was making his preparations Nathan had been petting their new four-legged friend. “Hey, Ringo would probably enjoy getting out to stretch his legs.” Ringo’s bright eyes locked with Tak’s as he seemed to be waiting for his permission to join them. Tak smiled and agreed, “Good idea bro; its better than leaving him in this hot Beast, even with the fan on.” Ringo stood up and barked with understanding as his tail wagged. They all laughed at his excitement. “Smart dog”, Nathan mentioned as he made sure his 1911 was locked and loaded in its holster underneath his left arm and over his loud Hawaiian shirt. Today he wore a bright white button up covered in orange and blue flowers. He attached Ringo’s leather leash to his collar and walked him down the extendable step on the right side of the RV. Amy checked her pistol where she kept it concealed in an inside-the-waistband holster on the front right side of her jeans. They were all ready to go.

  The four made their way towards the entrance of the huge fairgrounds parking lot. Several dozen vehicles were parked there, but more spots were empty than taken. Most people had run out of gas and were using alternate transportation. The fairground was surrounded by a tall fence. A large central gate was open and scores of people were going in and out. At least a hundred motorcycles were parked up close to the entrance. Just behind them several hundred bicycles were up against the fence on each side of the gate. Vehicles and people were constantly coming and going. The throng of folks walking by looked like a post-apocalyptic parade of desperate survivors. Many of them openly armed weapons. Rifles pistols or shotguns adorned more folks than not. Others wore swords or machetes or carried baseball bats or other melee weapons. Everyone seemed to sense the danger all around them. A few shots rang out off in the distance from within the fairgrounds, but nobody seemed to pay them much attention. The group noticed a windowless blue van that was rocking back and forth as a scraggily haired man with a pistol on his side stood guard at the rear doors. He seemed to be propositioning anyone who got close enough for him to do so. About 50 feet over to their right behind the back of a large military 6x6 truck, a bloody fight was going on between several men. Amy spoke in hushed tones to her friends, “There’s trouble here; we need to get in and out ASAP.” Nathan nodded as Tak put his hand on her shoulder, “Yep. We’ll make it as quick as we can.” He threw her a reassuring wink. She took comfort in his words and demeanor, but didn’t let on to it just then.

  They walked through the main entrance and merged with the crowd of shoppers. Several aromas wafted through the air. The closest was coming from a trailer sized barbeque smoker selling pork sandwiches and drinks near the entrance. Nathan inhaled deeply as he stopped to investigate, “Mmm.. oh yea, I’m getting some of that.” He stepped up to the table between himself and the smoker as a man in front of him left with a small sandwich. A cardboard sign listed the prices in black marker:

  BBQ PORK SANDWICH = $60.

  CAN OF BEER = $60.

  SANDWICH & A BEER COMBO = $100.

  His jaw dropped at the ridiculous prices… even though they truly weren’t a surprise to see. Everyone knew the dollar was losing value at an alarming rate, and those still willing to accept it at all were taking a gamble. A woman working on the other side of the table approached him as others behind her worked the smoker. She was a middle aged blonde with blue eyes, large breasts, a tight black tank top, cut-off jean shorts and tattooed angel wings showing on her shoulders. “What’ll ya have?” Nathan pulled a thick brown chrome chained wallet out of his rear pocket and produced five 20’s and handed them to her with a smile. “What the hell… make it a combo sweetheart.” The lady smiled back and placed his cash in a zippered bank bag inside of a large pouch around her waist. Nathan noticed she had a small black revolver in there. “Yes sir…would you like any sweet or hot sauce with that?” Nathan eyed the fresh smoking meat that sat on the buns. “Well you can just dip your finger in it to make it both honey.” He threw her a wink as he finished his flirtatious kidding. Tak looked at Amy and rolled his eyes as he grinned. Nathan had always been over the top friendly and outgoing with strangers. The woman continued to smile and got his sandwich from a man working the smoker. As he waited he fantasized about the upcoming taste that would fill his mouth. Nathan grabbed a couple nearby napkins and then she handed him his paper plate with a big sauce dripping BBQ pork sandwich on it. She reached under the table and grabbed a can out of a large, fully iced cooler of beer. “Here ya go sir, thank you very much.” Nathan took it with a big smile on his face. “No mam… thank YOU very much!” Then he eyed the can before looking to her again, “Well looky
there… the mountains are still blue! Just like your pretty eyes.” She then looked left and right and leaned in to whisper, her lips brushing against his left ear as she spoke. After a few moments Nathan smiled and spoke back, “I’ll see what I can do darlin’.” Tak turned his head to hide his smile… ol’ Naff was one of a kind. He knew his friend was in pain from the recent loss of his wife back in Southern Illinois, but he was good at hiding it. No matter how bad things got Nathan always seemed to be happy and friendly. Tak doubted his friend had any intentions of pursuing this woman, but his flirtations always seemed to get him larger portions than those around him; as evidenced by the overstuffed sandwich that now sat atop his plate.

  Ringo whined for a taste next to his side as Nathan took the first big bite of the smoking sandwich. “Mmm Mmm!” he uttered as he turned around, his mouth stuffed with the delicious meat and sauce now smeared on both sides of his mouth. Tak and Amy just stared at him. “Wha… you wan sum?” he muttered through a stuffed mouth. Amy chuckled, “Let’s go Ricco Suave, times a waistin’”. Nathan pulled a string of the meat from his mouth and gave it to Ringo, who practically inhaled it. “Cut me some slack, this could very well be the last BBQ pork sandwich and cold beer I’ll enjoy for the rest of my life!” Tak replied, “Nah, looks like you could get another later if you wanted.” “Ahh, you know me, I’m just being friendly. Ya get more flies with honey, ya know.” Tak agreed with the logic, but could never be so flirtations himself. He couldn’t argue with the results though, as Nathan began to work on the huge sandwich.

  The friends turned to continue deeper into the market and Nathan quickly followed suit, struggling to hold the sandwich plate in his left hand and both his beer and the loop of Ringo’s leash in his right hand. He popped the top and took a big gulp as they walked, seemingly oblivious to the dangerous environment around him, which was rarely the case for him. Tak saw Nathan’s predicament and carefully took the leash. Naff nodded his thanks as he continued to chomp away in seemingly pure bliss.

  They walked down the large central row of the market. Thousands of items lined tables and filled booths and tents. Some places had boxes full of stuff sitting on tarps on the ground instead of displayed on tables. The usual flea market assortment of items was there; cheap knives, leather biker clothing, helmets, arts and crafts and various kinds of food. There were more items than the eye could take in. There were tents filled with homemade creations; wind chimes, mailboxes, license plate frames, walking sticks, bumper stickers and a countless other knickknacks. Other tents had ragtag collections of thousands of items left over from rummage sales and unclaimed storage units. Pops of small arms gunfire went off every few minutes, some close and some in the near distance. “They might regret waistin’ those rounds in the near future”, Tak lamented. Amy nodded, “Yep.” Funnel cakes, hot dogs, popcorn, candy and scores of other edibles continued to fill the air with smells and sold at incredibly high prices.

  Mixed in with the junk and the food were several items that were in particularly high demand this day. The lines at these few vendors were longer than at the others. One booth was filled with packages and boxes of military food rations. Several others had various types of melee weapons, some common and some exotic, laid out on display. Bats, swords, spears, glaives, morning stars and dozens of other types attracted shoppers in droves. Most of them were of low quality but that didn’t keep folks from seeking them out and arming themselves with whatever they could acquire. The friends noticed another thing different about this flea market than any others they had seen before; in addition to the crowd, the vendors in almost every booth were well armed. The times had certainly changed in just the past few days.

  Tak stopped at a booth that had coins in display cases. A sign there read “WE BUY GOLD AND SILVER”. More shots accompanied by yelling rang out somewhere within the market, this time much closer than the last. This series of gunfire sounded more like a brief gunfight than just a test firing. People looked to see where the firing was coming from, but that was the extent of the reaction of those not in the immediate area of the shooting. An elderly white man with a white beard who worked the coin booth chuckled and commented to Tak, Amy and whoever else was within earshot. “There’s more than a few folks learnin’ not to steal the hard way today, mm hmm.” Tak noticed that he was wearing a hat that read “US Army Veteran” and he carried a worn cowboy pistol slung low on his right hip in an open-top holster. Tak nodded to him, “Yes sir… and thank you for your service.” The old man nodded before Tak continued. “Sir, do you know of any place we can buy some gasoline?” The old man reached up and stroked his beard and pointed to a large tent further into the market on the right side of the central isle. Several leather clad bikers were working a tent that had a line outside of it. “Those boys down there wheel and deal in firearms and pretty much anything else they can get their hands on, legally or otherwise. They have somehow acquired a gas truck and they take folks to it who buy it at their sky high prices. I’ve heard other customers talking about it today.” Tak nodded appreciatively as he stuck out his hand, “Excellent, thank you for the information sir.” The old man shook his hand and pulled Tak in closer so he could whisper, “You be careful down there with them boys.” The old man released Tak’s hand and spit in their direction as he finished his sentence.

  Tak thanked him again and turned to his friends. They huddled in a small circle to speak. Tak peered over at the biker’s tent as he considered their next course of action. “I don’t see another choice; we have to get gas so were gonna have to deal with them. I want to keep an ace up my sleeve and keep you two and Ringo hidden. Hang back out of sight and keep an eye on me. If I make a deal and I have to follow them to wherever they keep their gas ya’ll go back to the RV before I get there and hide inside.” Finishing up his sandwich, Nathan nonchalantly nodded, “Sounds like a plan.” Amy looked concerned with the idea, “My negotiating skills and womanly charm might help you to end up making a better deal in there.” Tak nodded, “True, but I don’t want them to begin to formulate any other plans for you if they were to find out a beautiful woman was heading to their secondary location to get gas. You’re one of the aces up my sleeve. If I do strike a deal with them we’ll be heading onto their turf, and any element of surprise we have could benefit us greatly. I want ya’ll to be ready to come out for war. Does that sound ok with you two?” Naff drank down his last swill of beer and spoke with an easy going grin, “Yep; you need us and we’ll come a shootin.”

  Tak looked at Nathan with a bit of concern. “Hey man… I know you’ve been through hell and I can’t imagine your pain right now. I’m a bit concerned about you Naff… I hope your head is in the game.” Nathan took a breath and nodded as he considered his answer. “Well man, my world has changed and I’m dealing with my loss in my own way. I’m still sort of digesting everything… what happened back in Marion seems surreal to me. I’m not really worried about what happens to me, but I don’t have a death wish either. But don’t worry about me man… I’ll be ok.” Tak gave his lifelong friend a hug and a couple pats on the back, “OK brother. If you want to talk about that stuff just let me know. I won’t bring it up again otherwise.” Nathan nodded, “When the time is right, you know I will.” Tak turned to Amy and gave her Ringo’s leash. She kissed him quickly, “Be safe Tak… we’ll be watching.”

  Tak nodded and headed deeper down the central isle of the market towards a large green 30 by 30 foot square military tent that was open along the front side. It had several long folding tables there that acted as a barrier between the central isle and the inside of the tent. Three men in leather biker vests worked inside the tent, showing and selling firearms to customers on the other side of the tables. Three more men stood security outside of the tables; two of which were armed with shiny, obviously new M-16 military rifles. The unarmed one was a monstrous biker with a red swastika tattooed on his forehead and small black goggles over his eyes. Like most of the other bikers working their tent, he wore jean
s and only a leather vest over his torso. He towered at almost 7 feet tall, with huge crossed arms to match his big gut. His tan bald head glistened with sweat. The word “BULL” was patched onto the upper right chest area of his vest. A patch adorned the backs of each biker’s vests. It was a skull with crossed swords behind it and the words “DEATH KEEPERS” in an arch above it and “MOTORCYCLE CLUB” underneath it. A “1%er” logo was on each their vest’s front left chests. Tak went to the end of the line and waited. A large cardboard sign written in thick black marker sat on the center table: