Just Trying To Stay Alive: A Prepper's Tale

by Michaels, Brian

  “Well, given the choice of living here with those creeps and the things they do, or going out there, (he pointed towards the outside), it’s really not much of a choice,” he replied. “The infected are everywhere and we have been seeing more of them show up every day. I don’t know how long we can stay here before this place is overrun too, but as far as I can tell there is nowhere else to go. I guess this is it and I am just trying to make the best of it for as long as it lasts.”

  I thought for a few seconds as I looked at the ragged old man.

  “By the way,” I said, “my name is Brian.”

  “I’m Ben,” the old guy replied.

  “Do you think that you and your wife would want to move over next to me and my family?” I asked. “It could make things a little safer for both of us. If you have a few friends that you trust, maybe we could form a group large enough that those creeps would leave us all alone.”

  “You would be willing to do that?” he asked.

  “Of course, if we are all going to be stuck here, maybe we can make life a little easier for all of us,” I replied.

  “That might be a good idea if we could pull it off,” the man replied. “Maybe we can talk about this a little more tomorrow. I better get back before they start to get suspicious, they have lookouts everywhere to keep an eye on us. Some of the others watch and tattle to the creeps too so the creeps will leave them alone, you can’t trust anyone.”

  “OK, I’ll leave first,” I said.

  “Good, because they would really be pissed if they see us walking out of here together,” he grinned. “They would know we’ve been talking.”

  I quickly used the trench and left the tent while the guy stood in the shadows at the back of the tent.

  “Poor guy,” I thought. “It has to be terrible to be that old and have to live with that kind of fear.”

  I walked over to the women’s tent, but I didn’t see Katie, so I walked around the tent and looked past the building towards our site, thinking that maybe I had been talking longer than I thought and Katie had decided to go back on her own.

  When I didn’t see Katie anywhere, I figured that she had gone back, but just to make sure I walked back to the women’s tent, pulled the flap back and called, “Katie, are you still here?”

  When I heard a whimpering little voice reply, “Daddy, help me.” I ran into the tent.

  I looked around for the source of the voice, but didn’t see anyone anywhere at first, then I spotted two feet with a pair of pink panties and blue shorts wrapped around the ankles that were sticking up out of the trench at the far end of the tent.

  I quickly ran over to where I saw the feet sticking out of the trench and looked down.

  Katie was lying on her back, her body wedged down in the trench, covered in waste.

  She looked up at me with tears in her eyes and pleaded for me to get her out of there.

  I got down on my hands and knees, reached down and grabbed her outstretched arm and pulled her up out of the trench.

  Katie stood there sobbing as the brown waste ran over her stomach and down her legs, her shirt was saturated and the shorts around her ankles were quickly becoming covered as the brown watery waste ran down her legs.

  “What happened? Did you fall in?” I asked.

  Katie shook her head no as she continued to sob and looked at herself in disgust.

  “Two girls pushed me in after they threatened me,” she said.

  I pulled my shirt over my head and held up the shirt in an attempt to give Katie some cover.

  “Get those clothes off and use your shorts to clean yourself off a little,” I said, “You can wear my shirt back to our spot.”

  Katie gagged as she pulled off her shirt and kicked off her shorts., She stood there, wiping off her stomach with her shorts, “I’m never going to get all this shit off me and I’m going to stink for a month.”

  I was holding my shirt up, attempting to give her some privacy, when she pushed the shirt away and thrust her pink underwear into my hands.

  “Would you wipe the middle of my back, I can’t reach back there, I don’t want to get shit all over your shirt when I put it on,” she asked.

  I quickly cleaned off the spot between her shoulder blades that she couldn’t reach and a few spots on her lower back that she had missed. When I was done, she took my shirt and carefully pulled it down over her head.

  “You said two girls pushed you in the trench and threatened you?” I asked.

  “Daddy, I’m so sorry,” she sobbed. “I didn’t realize I was acting like a tramp. You were right, you’re always right, but I just don’t know what I did that was wrong.”

  “I didn’t say you were acting like a tramp,” I said as I gave my little girl a hug. “I said that your actions could be misinterpreted by the guys around here.”

  “They called me a tramp,” Katie sobbed.

  “Why did they say that?” I asked.

  “I don’t know, the one girl just said if she sees me flirting with her boyfriend again, she won’t be so nice next time,” Katie replied.

  “Who said that?” I asked.

  “A mean looking girl with a tattoo on the side of her face,” Katie replied.

  “I think you just ran into the girlfriend of the guy you smiled at outside the restroom tents today,” I said.

  “But all I did was smile,” Katie replied. “It’s not like I was trying to hook up with him or anything, I was just being friendly.”

  “Did you by any chance moon her earlier today?” I asked with a smile on my face. “You know how catty girls can be. Maybe she was jealous of your butt and was holding a grudge.”

  “Don’t tease me,” Katie said then looked up at me sheepishly. “I was being a real smartass today wasn’t I? I guess I sounded like those snooty cheerleaders that I hate because they think they are better than everyone else.”

  “You were giving me that impression,” I smiled. “Let’s get you out of here. I think we have some water back at the lean-to, your mother can help you get cleaned off so you don’t smell like this all night.”

  “I’m sorry again, Dad,” Katie said. “Please feel free to have a talk with me whenever you want. I can’t believe how stupid and stuck up I was acting today. I promise never to argue with you or tell you that you are overreacting or being too protective of me again.”

  “If only that were true,” I grinned.

  “Tell me I have a shitty attitude,” she grinned. “That will remind me what could happen if I don’t listen to what you tell me. And thanks for cleaning the shit off my back, I hope seeing me like that wasn’t too embarrassing for you.”

  “That wasn’t the first time I’ve had to clean shit off your little butt,” I smiled, “and what do you say you don’t use that word again, I’m trying to teach you to be a lady.”

  “Yes Sir,” Katie replied humbly, and we left the tent.

  Chapter 5

  It was almost dark when Katie and I returned to our site.

  Emma looked at us curiously as we walked around the corner of the building, me without a shirt on, Katie wearing what looked like a long nightshirt and carrying her brown colored saturated clothes by her side.

  When she got a whiff of the smell coming off Katie and her clothes as we approached, Emma’s eyes got wide and she got up and ran over to meet us.

  “What Happened?” Emma asked.

  “Someone pushed me into the trench,” Katie replied.

  Logan overheard Katie’s reply and started laughing hysterically.

  “Not now, Logan,” I said.

  “Yes Sir,” Logan replied and quickly became silent, but the smirk remained on his face.

  “Katie, why don’t you spread your dirty clothes out behind our tent, way back near the other end of the building and wait behind the tent,” I said. “Your mother will be back to help you in a few minutes.”

  “OK,” Katie replied and walked back around the tent.

  “What happened again?” Emma w
hispered, “who pushed her?”

  “I’m sure Katie will tell you the whole story when you help her get cleaned up,” I replied. “Take my bottle of water and use my shirt that she is wearing and help her get washed off. I pulled her out of the trench and helped her get cleaned off the best I could, but there are still a few nooks and crannies that need your attention.”

  “You helped her clean up,” Emma smiled. “She is Daddy’s little girl, my God she screams bloody murder if I even try to come in the bathroom while she’s in the shower.”

  “Under the circumstances she didn’t have much choice,” I replied. “After you’re done with Katie, we need to talk. I ran into that guy from the restroom again, his name is Ben. I found out a few more things about what is going on around here we need to talk about. You know that Hangar over at Ellsworth that all the dead were trying to get into?”

  “Yeah,” Emma replied.

  “He said that was where most of the survivors had lived over at Ellsworth,” I replied. “When the dead started to overrun the base, the soldiers started to transport the survivors over here in trucks. They were only able to make one run before the base fell. Ben agreed that the dead were probably trying to get into that hangar because that’s where the rest of the soldiers and survivors are. There weren’t enough soldiers here to rescue those people, so they just abandoned them and left them there.”

  “My God,” Emma replied.

  I also got the story on the tattooed creeps down at the other end of the yard,” I added.

  “They are bad news, right?” Emma asked.

  “Very bad news, but go finish with Katie, then I think all of you need to hear what I found out,” I said.

  Emma hung a blanket behind the lean-to to provide some privacy so she could finish helping Katie get washed off, Katie’s dignity had taken a major hit today. I didn’t hear any complaining coming from behind the blanket, just quiet talking as Katie told her mother about what had happened.

  I expected that I would see a big change in her attitude after today, I just hoped it didn’t dampen her spirit because she was a good girl, unfortunately like all of us, she had been thrust into a different world where the rules of the game had changed. We were all now living in a world where the rules were unknown and were being made up as we went. In many cases, I’m afraid, we would find that there wouldn’t be any rules at all.

  I dug my last shirt out of my bag and pulled it down over my head and instantly felt warmer, Hank had been right, there was a breeze kicking up as the cool night air moved in. I hope we can salvage the shirt Emma was using to wash off Katie because if something happens to the shirt I just put on, I’m not sure what I would wear. Maybe I could ask Hank tomorrow if there are any extra uniforms I could have.

  I sat down and began to think about what Ben had said as I moved closer to the fire. I had only been there for a few minutes when I noticed Emma take down the blanket she had hung behind the tent, then Emma and Katie walked out.

  Katie sat down on the blanket next to me. She was now wearing Emma’s sweatpants instead of shorts, and a bulky dark t-shirt.

  Katie looked up at me and asked, “Dad, I had asked Mom a question and she said that I should ask you.”

  “What kind of question?” I asked as I glanced at Emma.

  “I want to cut my hair,” she replied.

  “Why do you want to cut your hair?” I asked.

  “You know why,” she replied looking humble.

  “Why don’t you just try pulling it back into a ponytail for a few days,” I replied. “See how you feel about that for a few days before you do anything drastic.”

  “Do you think that would be OK?” she asked.

  “I think so,” I replied.

  “OK, that’s what I’ll do,” Katie said.

  “When is someone going to tell me how Katie ended up in the trench,” Logan asked, grinning ear to ear.

  “If Katie wants you to know, she’ll tell you,” I replied giving Logan a stern look that suggested he drop the subject. “Right now, we have more pressing issues that we need to talk about.”

  My family looked at me waiting for me to go on.

  “It seems there is a caste system around here that we all need to be aware of,” I said.

  “What’s a caste system?” Katie asked.

  “In the middle ages, caste system was a word that described peoples place in society. There were kings, noblemen and peasants and each title determined your rights and privileges,” I replied.

  “What does the middle ages have to do with us?” she asked.

  “It appears that the same principle exists here at the safe zone,” I continued. “In the yard it seems that the tattooed group are the kings and noblemen and the rest of us are considered to be the peasants.”

  “You’ve lost me,” Katie said.

  “Well, do you know what a pecking order is?” I asked.

  “It’s when certain chickens pick at the weaker chickens,” Katie replied.

  “Right, it’s also like when certain girls, like the cheerleaders, think they are better than all the other girls and they try to push them around,” I added.

  Katie nodded, looking embarrassed.

  “We’ll the tattooed group thinks they are better than everyone else and they have been pushing everyone else around and taking their stuff,” I continued. “Remember when the soldiers were passing out food and water, Logan, we saw some of the tattooed members confronting the others. Then we saw the other people reaching in their bag and handing over some of their food.”

  “Why would they just hand over their food like that?” Logan asked.

  “According to Ben, if someone doesn’t hand over their food, they are paid a visit during the night,” I replied. “Ben said they get beat up, or they have their tent or blankets taken, and they have also taken advantage of any women at the site. They do it because they are afraid.”

  “Those bastards,” Emma said. “I knew the first time I saw one of those people that they were trouble.”

  I saw Katie’s body become tense and she began to tremble. I reached down and squeezed her hand.

  “We also were informed that the safe zone had been over at Ellsworth Air Force Base, but that it was moved here when the dead began breaking into the base,” I said. “But that isn’t the whole truth. We were also told that the soldiers had rescued about three hundred survivors so far, but the truth is there were over a thousand survivors at the base. There was also over five hundred soldiers at the base.”

  “What happened to them all?” Katie asked.

  “They were either killed or they are still over at the base in one of the hangars surrounded by thousands of the dead,” I replied. “Ben said there wasn’t enough soldiers left to try any sort of rescue attempt, so they just abandoned them.”

  “Why didn’t the soldiers tell us about that?” Katie asked.

  “Because they probably didn’t want us to know,” I replied, “and since the soldiers spend all their time inside that building, they are also aware of the pecking order among the survivors, so they weren’t too concerned that someone would tell us about what had happened.”

  “Why don’t the soldiers do something about those tattooed creeps?” Emma asked.

  “Ben said there is only thirty soldiers left,” I replied. “He feels that they are trying to help us, but there just isn’t enough of them left to do anything.”

  “It makes me wonder what the soldiers are going to do when the dead over at Ellsworth turn their attention to this place,” Emma growled.

  “I think if that happens, they just might get in their helicopter and leave to save their own asses,” I replied. “They did it once, the next time will be a lot easier. I don’t think we can rely on the soldiers for protection.”

  “So, you are saying that when the dead show up, we will be on our own?” Emma asked.

  “Then and now,” I replied. “I think they will continue to pass out food and water for a while, but I wouldn�
�t be surprised when the supplies get low that they will just lock the doors to their building and worry about themselves.”

  “But they seemed like such nice men,” Emma said. “Do you really think they would do that?”

  “The soldiers I’ve seen are all young, they haven’t been in the military very long, so they haven’t been around long enough to be hard core dedicated soldiers. They have already abandoned their fellow soldiers over at the base, I would expect they would do the same here when push comes to shove.”

  “I guess you’re right,” Emma said. “So we have to be prepared to defend ourselves. How are we going to do that? Especially with those creeps here.”

  “That is something we will have to worry about later,” I replied. “What I am worried about is tonight.”

  “You don’t think the dead are going to break into the safe zone tonight do you?” Emma asked. “There are only a few dozen of them and they don’t appear capable of getting over that fence.”

  “Logan, remember after we picked up our supplies today,” I asked. “Tell your mother what happened.”

  “You mean that creepy guy that came up to us and said he really liked corn.”

  “Yeah, that creep,” I replied. “But he wasn’t there to tell us how much he liked corn, he was wanting us to give him our can of corn.”

  “You don’t think?” Emma asked.

  “I do,” I replied. “I think we are going to be paid a visit tonight to teach us that we need to get with the program and learn our place here.”

  “Dad,” Logan asked, “what do you think they will do?”

  “I can only guess, but I would expect a few of them to come around during the middle of the night to kick the crap out of us,” I replied.

  “What are we going to do?” Logan asked.

  “When it is dark, we can move to another spot, that way they won’t know where we are,” Emma said.

  “We are surrounded by a fence, it wouldn’t take too long for them to track us down,” I replied. “We can only run for so long, what we need to do is deal with this tonight and send our own message or they will make our lives miserable.”