Once we cast off I called the fort and let them know our ETA. It was still strange to me that Sam didn’t answer the radio when I called. The rest of the team crashed and I kept watch while I maneuvered the boat. We certainly filled up on supplies but got nothing that would help us become more self sufficient. No seeds. No tools. No rain barrels.
I couldn’t help but get a little depressed about our success. I had to wake everyone up when we got close to the fort. But docking didn’t go too bad and we were soon secure. Everyone who could carry something was there to help, including Mal and Tabby. Lois wouldn’t let Tracie carry anything so she was on lookout.
“Tracie, copy.”
“This is Tracie.”
“I think we were watched as we loaded the boat so keep an extra sharp eye out.”
“10-4.”
After the boat was unloaded I went to take a nap. Thor decided I needed company. I did not get much sleep as my horrible dreams came quickly. If only I’d moved quicker when Sam got caught, she’d be alive. Maybe if I pulled harder, maybe if I’d been better, done more, she’d be alive.
Tabby came to get me when I didn’t show up for dinner. But it was nearly my turn to go up on lookout. I grabbed some food and headed up to relieve Tracie.
“How was your day?’ she asked.
“Exhausting. I don’t know how we can keep this up.”
“But, you got a lot of supplies today.”
“Yeah, but some of that was luck, which’ll run out eventually. And we are no closer to being self sufficient.’
“We’ll need these supplies while we work towards being able to take care of ourselves. You’re doing a good job Ryan. All these people are alive because of you.”
“There’s too many people who aren’t here. Too many faces gone.” I sat down and tried not to cry but the tears came anyway. Sam had died just four days ago. Tracie put her hand on my shoulder.
“We’ve all lost people Ryan. You miss your wife. I miss my husband. He’s never going to meet our child. It sucks but there’s nothing we can do about it. We have to go on. Nothing matters if we don’t get our kids through this; if these people don’t get through this. There’s a lot of people depending on you, including me.”
I stood up and tried to thank her but couldn’t bring myself to look her in the eyes. She put her hand on my chin and lifted my head up.
“Hey,” she said. “You don’t have to be embarrassed. I cry myself to sleep every night.”
“Not in front of someone you don’t really know.’
“We are all family now. It’s okay.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Now, did you get food?” I nodded. “Good,” she said as she started down the steps. “Ryan,” she stopped and turned. “You’re wife would’ve been proud of you, what you’ve done. You got all these people out here.”
I nodded and smiled a little. She was right. Sam would be proud. I just wished she was here to enjoy it with me and the kids.
About two hours into my shift, I called Mike up and let him in on a little secret. In the parking lot of the Teeter there was a trailer selling fireworks. I cut the lock and got all I could fit in my pack. They weren’t professional grade but they would do.
I had originally planned to surprise everyone but Mike agreed that fireworks going off suddenly would scare the shit out of everyone. And we were all a little on edge.
Mike left to go tell the other adults and let them in on the plan. About 11:45 I set up everything on the grassy area at the top of the Battery, not far from Sam’s grave. Mike brought everyone up just before midnight.
The kids were scared initially but I promised them that nothing was wrong.
“Tabby, do you know what day it is? No? Mal? Willie?” They all shook their heads.
“It’s New Year’s Eve. Tonight we celebrate the start of a new year.”
“I wish Mom was here,” said Mal.
“Me, too buddy. Me too. But she would want us to go on living and doing the best we can.” I got down on one knee and hugged my son. Tabby joined in. “I think your mother would be proud. We made it out here to safety. And the both of you have been awesome. She’d be proud of us for sure.”
We hugged for a few moments.
“And now it’s time to celebrate the start of a new year!” I said to Mal.
“How?’ he asked.
The fireworks were a big hit.
Thursday, January 1, 2015
The New Year dawned cold, rainy and just miserable. I was especially tired and achey this morning. We had a tough exhausting time of it the day before. And we were all up late. I remember when seeing 12:30 in the morning was a common occurance but things have changed. Without much artificial light and no TV we’ve been going to bed just after sundown and getting up with the sun.
I went over to the fire which was under one of the casemates today. Some warmth and a cup of coffee would probably do me good. Tom was already brewing some coffee.
“I’m sorry I didn’t have the pleasure of meeting Michael,” Tom said. “His son, Mike is a great young man. But I would’ve liked to have the opportunity to thank him for this percolater.”
“It does make a fine cup of coffee. Youd’ve liked Michael. He was a good man; a good father. Kept his family safe when the shit hit the fan.”
“Ryan, I think the fireworks were a bad idea.”
“Oh?”
“Everyone for miles heard and saw that. People will know where we are. We even saw those folks at Patriot’s Point yesterday.”
“People know where we are already, Tom. We blew the horn the first day. We fired our weapons the next day. And, we’ve had a fire everyday. Those people we saw at Patriot’s Point had to know where we were headed.”
“I’m just nervous after what happened at your house.”
“Nervous? Hell I’m terrified! If we hadn’t left the house in such a hurry maybe Sam would be alive. No, I couldn’t figure out a good way to hide out here. This is an almost perfect refuge. People will show up at our doorstep even if we were quiet. We just have to be prepared for them and choose who we want to help. I hate playing God. I know those two people downtown the other day aren’t gonna make it. But they gave me the creeps from the moment they got in the bus. I chose not to help them much.”
“I’m glad you guys decided to help me that day at the Bi-Lo. You could’ve kept going.”
“No, maybe someone else could’ve. But not me.”
“Well, I’m glad it was you that came by then.”
“I told Sam once that her generosity would be her downfall. She was always helping people. It took up her time and our money. I felt like people were taking advantage of her. We can’t help everyone we meet. But, I hope that when the time comes we make good decisions.”
“I’ll drink to that. What are we doing today?”
“Nothing. Or, at least as little as possible. We’re all beat. I’m feeling like I’m coming down with something. And this cold rain sucks.”
“Agreed.”
“Let’s just make sure everything from yesterday is organized and put away and we’ll be ready for tomorrow. Otherwise, we’ll lay low.”
And that’s how the day went. Organizing the supplies from yesterday didn’t take long. Great care was being taken already so nothing was wasted. We spent much of the day huddled around the fire trying to stay warm. Most everybody has warm clothes but few had raingear. And it was more important that the person on watch be comfortable so they were always given the best rain gear.
Mal played with Willie as Karen and Pat watched over them and drank coffee. Tabby was hanging out with Mike. I rested near a fire. Try as I did, I just could not get truly warm. When I noticed my throat hurt as a swallowed I knew I was sick. In the medical supplies I found the cold remedies we had and took what I needed for the next few days. Then I went back to my campsite, threw a log on the fire and slept.
Friday, January 2 2015
I awoke before dawn and w
atched the sun come up with Beth who was on guard duty. I was never up this early in the land before zombies. It was pleasant but I still felt like crap.
Over a light breakfast we talked about the day ahead.
“This is a day of forward thinking,” I said. “Except for three things: firewood, propane tanks and tank top heaters we are focusing on the future. We need barrels for rainwater collection, tarps, seeds, we need building materials for a chicken coop. Basically, if it’ll help us, not now, but in the future that’s what we’re getting today.”
After a little discussion about the specifics we geared up and headed out. I coughed and sneezed and sniffled the whole way across the harbor. We didn’t see anyone waiting for us at Patriot’s Point. Except for zombies. There were more on the Yorktown that had found the edge of the ship. Some were stopped from falling over by chains and other barriers, some just shambled right off the deck into the water below. The vehicles were where we had left them and didn’t appear to have been tampered with. The cargo van seemed more usefull as far as space goes so we took it and left the RV.
We started out by going past the Harris Teeter and Whole Foods since we knew what to expect from the roads. But we saw something we didn’t expect.
“Tom, bring the van up alongside of me and look at this.”
The road that we had been on the day before on the way to the Publix was filled with zombies. More than 100, maybe a lot more. They were just shambling along the road in between the parked cars. We could smell their stench from inside the vehicles.
“What the fuck?” said Mike. “Where did they all come from?”
“I don’t know. There’s a shit ton of them though,” said John.
“Why are they all moving together?” asked Tom.
“Good question. Maybe they congregate when they’re not after food,” I said.
“Shouldn’t we turn around?” asked Keith.
“No, I don’t want to lead them to Patriot’s Point. Let’s head towards the bridge and we’ll find a way to turn around.”
So, we made a left onto Hwy 17 and headed towards the Ravenel Bridge. The zombies saw us and picked up their shambling pace. At the next light we made a right turn away from Patriot’s Point. There was no way to know if the zombies could even see that far but I wanted to leave nothing to chance. The next left took us under the bridge and back towards Patriots Point but we were out of sight of the zombies.
“Hey Ryan,” said Tom. “Did we just doom downtown Charleston?”
“Maybe. Some of them might end up on the bridge. Some of them might follow where we turned right. I don’t know.”
The back way to the Walmart and Lowes was a nightmare to navigate. There were abandoned cars and wrecks every few feet it seemed. We went through a lot of parking lots and pushed a lot of cars out of the way. Then we backtracked twice because we couldn’t get through at all. It took nearly an hour of creative driving to reach the Walmart. The parking lot had maybe 100 cars in it. Why did dying people come to Walmart? Or did they come here and then get bit and turn?
“Hey Ryan, It’s Tom.”
“Yeah, go ahead.”
“What can we get at Walmart that we can’t get at Lowes?”
I had to think for a minute.
“Camping stuff, tents and such. Probably nothing else.”
“But, none of that stuff is on the list for today, is it?”
“I see your point. We’ll have to deal with this eventually,” I coughed. “But let’s deal with it later.”
The Lowes in Mt Pleasant was on one side of a large shopping center called Towne Center. There were about thirty or so cars out front. More than I expected anyway. And they were all empty. We pulled the two vehicles up next to the lumber side door and climbed out. It took only a moment to adjust our gear.
“Okay,” I said before breaking into a coughing fit. It took a moment to recover.
“Ryan, why don’t you let us do this?” said Tom.
“No, I’m supposed to be the leader…”
“You are, Boss Man. But, you obviously feel like shit. I bet your head feels cloudy and heavy?”
I nodded while I coughed.
“Then why don’t you watch our backs and we’ll take care of this part,” said Tom.
“Okay, be careful.”
I turned around and found a good spot to cover the rear. John went up to the door and slowly pulled it open about two feet. But, nothing came through. After a few minutes, John fired three rounds through the opening. But after a few more minutes nothing appeared.
“That’s weird. Hey, Ryan,” yelled Mike.
“Yeah.”
“What do ya think?”
“I don’t know. Lets get our headlamps on and get ready to go in.”
“Why don’t we give it a little longer?” said Tom. “Something about this feels wrong.”
“You mean that the zombies weren’t at the door waiting for us?” I asked. “Or, that they didn’t come to dinner when we called? Or, that we’re actually talking about actual fucking zombies? Which part feels wrong to you?”
I fell back against the bus and began to cough as I tried to catch my breath. I was sicker than I thought. It took me a minute to catch my breath.
“Tom, I’m sorry. I feel like shit and I was hoping this would be an easy day. But, I shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry.”
Tom came over and nodded.
“All of the above,” he said.
It took me a moment in my cloudy state but then we all began to laugh.
“It’s the fucking Zombie Apocalypse, Ryan. None of this feels right.”
We all laughed a little more.
“All right,” I said catching my breath again. “Lets fire a few more rounds in there and give it some more time.”
I turned back to my job and found three zombies about fifty feet away. I raised my crossbow and called out.
“Three in the rear. Engaging.”
I heard John fire off his shots into the store then fired my own shot. Each one found it’s mark. I was thinking about walking out and getting my bolts when Keith called out.
“Ryan, on your left.”
I looked over and there was another zombie not twenty feet away shambling towards us. My crossbow was not loaded so I grabbed my tomahawk and adjusted my grip. Damn, I really must be worse than I thought to not notice that one. A few more feet and I could’ve smelled the thing. Well, not as congested as I was. I raised my tomahawk and got ready to move when I heard a ‘zing’ and a bolt appeared in the zombies head. After it went down I turned to see who my savior was. Tom was reloading hos crossbow.
“Thanks.”
“You’ve saved my butt plenty of times,” he said.
We collected our bolts and looked over at John watching the door. He shrugged.
“Okay, now we get our headlamps on,” I said.
The Lowes was too big of a store for us to safely clear. There’s just too big of a risk for something to get behind you in an area you thought was clear. So, we made the decision to clear as we went. Two of us would provide cover while the other three loaded and carried. We were at the lumber door so we started there. Sheets of plywood and 2X4’s went into the van. Then came the chicken wire, screen and nails. Every so often we would pause to listen. There was a persistent noise coming from the far end of the store. Not exactly banging but not taping either. It wasn’t getting any closer and we didn’t see any zombies. We grabbed hammers, saws, screwdrivers and all manner of hand tools. We found large trash cans that would make great rain barrels. Laundry detergent, cleaning supplies, large brooms and most importantly, more toilet paper were grabbed, too. All the while, the persistent noise grew louder as we moved to the opposite end of the store.
Finally, we could see that the doors to the inside garden center were boarded up. I had no illusions as to what was behind those doors.
Most everything was set up for Christmas but there might be some seeds over here somewhere. Let’s spread out and
find them,” I said.
Keith and I made our way over towards the boarded up door and found a rotating stand that had seeds. We took everything. I was thinking about little pots to starts the seeds in and where plastic sheeting was for a greenhouse when the noise from the other side of the door intensified. They must have heard us. Before we could react, the door gave way, bursting in like an avalanche. An avalanche of the undead. The noise of the breaking door, the rush of the foul stench and the pile of zombies that came through was too much and I jumped backwards with a scream. I fell over a display of bug spray or fertilizer or something and went down. My foot got caught and my ankle turned and popped. I could hear it over the moaning zombies. I crab crawled away from the advancing horde with the same fear I’d felt the first time I saw Mrs. Thompson coming at me through the screen door of her house.
I drew my pistol and fired, once, twice, three times. But I couldn’t shoot and move. Then there were arms grabbing me from behind. I started to fight to keep from being bitten but it was Keith. He pulled and I fired my pistol. But the floor was slippery from whatever I knocked over and he fell. Panicked now, I crawled away from the zombies as fast as I could. Tom, John and Mike were running towards me, shouting and shooting. I didn’t know what they were saying and I didn’t care. I just knew that with their help, Keith and I were safe. Then I turned to see Tom and John shooting zombies at close range. Mike was pulling Keith out from under the pile of newly dead again zombies. What happened? Keith was right behind me.
I tried to stand and fight but couldn’t put any weight on my ankle at all. I collapsed again as the firing stopped.
I crawled over to where Keith was sprawled on the floor in the bug spray. The smell of the zombies mixed with the chemicals was nauseating. Tom was kneeling, talking to Keith and John was standing over them crying. Mike was checking for zombies that got missed. I saw tom unsheathe his knife.
“No, No,” I cried. “No more death.” I grabbed Toms hand to stop him. Keith was crying but his eyes were closed.
“Keith, hey,” I said. There was a chunk of his face missed, tore off like so much flesh. His eyes opened. They found my face and focused.
Knight Terrors: A Zombie Apocalypse Survival Tale Page 6