“OH! Don’t make me think about that too much or I’ll really feel guilty for the way I’ve joked around with her.”
“She’ll always be more than that to us. You now have the best of two worlds. You have the daughter that you always wanted and one of your best friends as well.”
Kim was right but hearing it that way did make me feel a little uncomfortable. But then again, she wasn’t my flesh and blood or even a real stepdaughter. I guess I didn’t need to let it bother me too much. We all have to be ourselves, or we probably wouldn’t be as close as we are.
Kim then turned a little sad, so I asked her what was wrong, and she said, “I just wish you and Anna could have been close.”
I hugged her, “I know, but I don’t think I ever had a chance. Not since Dick was in the picture.”
“I wish we could find out something about them. It’s hard not to worry.”
“I know babe. Again, as you’ve told me over and over, we just have to have faith.”
We then jumped in bed, and she cuddled against me, and it wasn’t long before we both fell fast asleep.
The next morning, I woke right at dawn. I was anxious to see what the weather was, so I didn’t even grab my coffee before going outside. The minute I walked out, I got a big smile on my face because the wind was calm, and the sky was clear.
When I walked back inside to get my coffee, Mia was already up and dressed and had a big smile on her face.
“So, are we on?”
“Yes, we are.”
“What time do you want to take off?”
“Well, let’s let the sun come up, and everyone get up and then we’ll do this thing.”
Mia probably didn’t need any coffee as her excitement alone was enough of a stimulant.
During breakfast, we confirmed to everyone that shortly we were going to make our reconnaissance flight. Wit and Brandy immediately begged us to look for a clinic that looked like it was in operation.
I told them we would, as we would be checking the nearby towns first to see what kind of activity was going on. Paul asked if we were close, would we check out Freeman, Missouri as he would like to see if they’re doing alright as that was the town that helped him get here by supplying a tank full of gas in exchange for the use of the truck he drove up. I told him maybe, but we had to watch the fuel.
At 8:00 a.m., Mia and I were sitting at the end of the dirt strip, and she was making her final checks. We both looked at each other, just waiting for someone to call with a problem but nothing came over the radio. Everyone had driven or walked out to watch us take off. I waved at them, and I could see a worried look on Kim’s face, but she tried to turn it into a smile.
“Ok, Mia. I know you know this but ten percent flaps, apply the brakes, increase the throttle, and it’s all yours.”
With a big smile, she did just that. The takeoff roll was a little bumpy, but for what we were taking off from, it wasn’t bad. Soon, the plane rotated, and we left the ground. I could see the thrill come over Mia’s face, but I couldn’t say too much as I had the same look. It had been so long. Until you pilot a small plane, you can’t understand what you’re missing.
She circled around and then flew over our group waving the wings, and everyone waved. She leveled out at 1500 AGL and asked, “Well, where to?”
“Let’s head to Garden City,” and I pointed, even though she knew where Garden City was. Except for the stalled vehicles on Highway 2, everything looked so peaceful.
“Why don’t you take it up to 3000 ft.”
She smiled, “No, you do it.”
I turned in shock but didn’t argue. With a big smile, I said, “Thank you,” and took the yoke.
It took me a few moments to get my coordination back between the ailerons and the rudder but very quickly it all came back to me.
Soon, we were approaching Highway 7 next to Garden City. Our mood changed quickly. Along Highway 7, there was stalled car after stalled car, but the shocking part was spotting dead bodies along the road. Some looked as though they were walking along and laid down and never got up again. Most of them I suspect were due to acts of violence, even though we couldn’t be sure, but their positioning gave a huge impression that they were shot or killed in a struggle.
Garden City’s city limits start basically at Highway 7. I turned the plane back over to Mia and told her to drop down to five hundred feet as I wanted to take a good look around. On the northern border of Garden City was two gas stations, a Phillips and a Casey’s. The Phillips looked like it had exploded as debris was everywhere and the building was burned down to the ground.
The Casey’s, where we had bought gasoline and even pizza several times, looked abandoned and the doors had the glass completely broken out. As we flew over the medical clinic, it looked abandoned as well.
“Well, that’s not going to make Wit very happy.”
We then flew over the downtown area, which isn’t that large. I think Garden City has a population of about 1800 people. That’s where we saw people, some with grocery store carts, that were wandering around. We drew the attention of several of them as we could see them staring with amazement.
Finally, as we flew over the residential area, we saw some come running out of their homes to look at us. At least we knew that several were surviving, but when we first entered Garden City, I was starting to have my doubts.
I had Mia fly straight down Highway 7, towards the Harrisonville area. We flew over a gun shop that I had used to have a few guns shipped to me. You can order a gun online, but you must have it sent to a gun dealer, where they do the background check with the FBI. That made me think about how the left was so deceptive, making it sound like anyone could order a gun online and get it without any type of background check and of course much of the public swallowed their lies. Ordering a gun online is no different than going to a gun store to buy one. They still call in your information to the FBI and until you get the approval, you don’t get the gun.
Then I thought about how if we didn’t have the right to keep our guns, so many more would be dead, including us probably. Because if you take away the guns from law-abiding citizens, the criminals and the gangs will still have theirs and they’d take over everything. That’s probably how it is in all the major cities. Gangs, thugs, and criminals are probably the only ones left in many areas.
When we got to the intersection of Highway 7 and Interstate 49, very quickly, Mia asked me to take over as she thought she was going to be sick. Right on the overpass over Interstate 49, there were the bodies of what looked like a family, which included two little boys and a little girl. I had more rage come over me than the feeling of being sick.
The interstate looked like the worst scene that you’ve seen in any movie. Vehicle after vehicle, almost as though they were lined up at places. The body count was high. It was hard to understand how that many people could be dead and there was no one to pick up the bodies. Several had vultures and crows eating on them.
When we flew over Harrisonville, the west side that ran along the Interstate looked like it had been invaded. Several buildings were burned, but I doubt that Harrisonville had any kind of riots. It had to be from careless people, and when the fires started, there was no fire department to put them out. So many people now had to use open flame for cooking, preparing water and even for heat. Walmart had burnt down as Paul said it had, along with the strip mall that was just to the north of it. The parking lots still had what seemed like several hundred people living in tents and abandoned cars. We flew low, of course, drawing a lot of attention but we could see that most of the people didn’t look well. Even from the air, you could see that many were filthy and looked sick. That worried me as I’m sure many were spreading illnesses and disease.
We saw a few older vehicles driving around town along with a few ATVs and older motorcycles. Once we approached the residential areas, there were several neighborhoods that had roadblocks on the ends of their streets. Obviously, these areas had pulled to
gether.
There were areas where several houses just recently burned down, and some were still smoking. As recent as it looked, I’m guessing that someone started a fire for heat when the cold spell came in, and it got out of control. Then you add the wind and no fire department to put it out, the flames just went from house to house.
The farther we got to the east, away from the interstate, the more organized neighborhoods seemed to be. There were even more roadblocks set up that were being manned.
As we left town, Mia told me that she could take over and that she was ok.
“I’m sorry, Vince. But the sight of those kids literally made me sick. I almost had to use an air-sick bag.”
“I know. Don’t worry about it. It’s sad; it’s truly sad. So many people died that could’ve made it if they just would’ve been prepared for emergencies. I mean a lot were killed by violence, you can tell that but some of them probably just didn’t have any water or anything.”
“I was that way, Vince. I kept very little food in my place. I was one of those that ate out most of the time.”
“Trust me, you weren’t in the minority,” I paused and changed the subject, “Let’s go over East Lynne, it’s a small town about halfway between Harrisonville and the farm. Just follow Highway 2 for the most part.”
Just about that time, Kim came over the radio. “Vince, can you hear me?”
“Yeah, we’re picking you up clear as a bell.”
“Where are you at?”
“We just left Harrisonville and about to fly over East Lynne. After that, we’ll probably land.”
“How is it over there?”
I paused a few moments and then in a sober voice replied, “Some of the areas are pretty bad and the highways are tragic… but the east side of Harrisonville looks pretty organized in some neighborhoods. We’ll fill you in when we land.”
“Alright, let us know when you’re approaching the farm.”
“Alright, we will. I love you.”
Chapter Fifteen
As we approached the road leading to East Lynne, I laughed while saying, “Make a left here.”
Mia chuckled, “Oh no, it looks like my turn signal quit working.”
Since we were flying at only five hundred feet, I immediately spotted the church that was used as my polling place during elections, about a quarter mile up the road. Sitting on the road next to it was a manned roadblock along with a tent sitting in the parking lot of the church with several people around it.
As we flew over them, those at the roadblock watched us closely, but several at the church actually waved, even though there were some with stunned faces, so I had Mia wave her wings as we flew over.
We then discovered an amazing sight. Set up along both sides of the road were tents and shelters. It took us a few moments to figure out what they were, but people were setting up little shops, just like a flea market.
We flew to the north city limits of East Lynne, and at the bridge that crossed a river that ran on the north side of town, they had another manned roadblock and then another one on the west side of town.
When we flew back to the strip that the market was set up on, I asked Mia to put the plane into slow flight, so she raised the pitch of the plane’s nose and cut the idle down to right above stall speed. Everyone was watching us, but I was trying to see what all they had.
Finally, I said, “Good enough. Later, we need to see what they have.”
“I can land this very easily on the road to the south of the church.”
I really wanted to do it as I wanted to find out what they had going. If it is a market of sorts, I’m sure everyone in our group would be thrilled to go to it. But even though I doubted it, there was always the chance that they aren’t as friendly as they look, and I didn’t want to jeopardize Mia or the plane.
After thinking for several moments, I said, “No. We better not risk it. We’ll just come up in the jeep or send the guys out on their motorcycles to check it out. But I do want to see what they have. How about it, are you up for some shopping?”
“Always but what are they using for money?”
“Oh, I’m pretty sure it will be the barter system.” She looked at me with a puzzled look. “Trade, … they probably trade for stuff.”
“Ok, that sounds like fun.”
So, we headed for the farm. I called Kim and told her we’d be there in a matter of minutes. When we approached the farm, I saw everyone coming out to the landing strip, which included Blake, who had spotted us flying towards Garden City and came over to get a report on things. Mia circled around and started heading west over the trees at approach speed.
Mia, I’m sure, just having fun, said, “Do you want to handle the landing?”
I laughed, “No ma’am. I think it’s been a bit too long since I’ve landed a plane. This is all on you.”
When we came over the trees, Mia cut the engine, and she made a perfect landing, for a short field dirt strip.
“Well, that was a lot better than the first time.”
“You did a good job girl. I know I said it when you first landed but you’re a good pilot.”
“You’re not bad yourself for not flying for many years.”
“Well, as I said, I think I could have, but I don’t think I’m ready to make the landings you did.”
“You know what they say, it’s a good landing if you’re can walk away from it.”
Kim came running up and gave me a kiss, “Now that you guys are back, I want you to know this scared the hell out of me.”
I smiled, “I told you everything would be fine.”
When we all got back to the house, they had lunch ready. After lunch, we filled everyone in on what we saw, except for the East Lynne story. I wanted to save the happy news for last.
Wit said to Red, “Well, I guess it’s best that we didn’t go into any towns.”
“No kidding,” Red replied.
After everyone had absorbed the horror story we told, everyone talked it out. I then told them about East Lynne. Everyone got excited, so we decided that a few of us would head over to East Lynne to check it out.
Since Blake and Jake knew several people in East Lynne, they volunteered to make contact. There was a big discussion on how many should go as if we went over with too many, even though that would be the safest way to go, the guards at the East Lynne roadblocks may become very nervous.
The other side of the argument was we didn’t want to put anyone at risk. After a long discussion, we decided that Tag and Mike would go along for security reasons and they’d take Blake’s truck. The one thing that I insisted on was that they stay in regular radio contact and that no real information was given out about our group.
Jake grabbed one box each of .40 caliber, 9mm, and 30.30 reloaded ammunition, just in case he had a chance to trade for anything as they looked around. Not knowing for sure how the market worked, this trip would basically be a recon.
As we were talking, Angela walked in and asked, “Do you know what we need? We need to start having classes for the children.”
“That’s a great idea,” Jake said.
Blake spoke up, “Oh, yeah. I know Laura would love to have the kids in school, but they couldn’t be everyday students. We’d run out of gas quickly if we had to drive them over here every day.”
“Well, even if it was once a week, any education is better than none,” Angela responded.
“Hey, Wit, remember that middle school that we drove by? It wasn’t a country school, but it might as well have been as it was southwest of Holden. Do you remember?”
“Yeah, it looked abandoned, but maybe there are supplies in there. We can check it out.”
“Oh, that would be great. If you do, check for books, blackboards, chalk, etc. Whatever you can get.” Angela requested with a big smile.
“How close to Holden. You guys aren’t going into the town, are you?” I asked.
“No, it was a couple of miles from there. It was odd; it’s
just out in the country in the middle of nowhere. There are some gas stations close by, but it looked secure.”
“Well, if that’s the case, as soon as they get back from East Lynne, why don’t you take the jeep and trailer?”
Wit frowned for just a moment since he loved patrolling on his motorcycle but said, “Sounds good.”
“Oh, I hope there’s some stuff there,” Angela said with excitement as she ran off to tell the ladies.
We all laughed as we’ve never seen Angela so excited.
Later, as Jake, Blake, Mike, and Tag approached East Lynne, the moment they made the corner to approach the church and roadblock, they could see the guards going on alert. Blake parked the truck along the road and both Jake and him slowly but normally started walking towards the roadblock. They had on side arms but left their rifles in the truck.
Mike and Tag stayed standing on the bed of the truck behind the cab. Tag was observing the surrounding area while Mike scoped out the roadblock. He spotted one scoped rifleman scoping him, he raised his hand and waved and within moments the rifleman waved back. They were telling each other two things, that both were aware of the other one and also that they weren’t a threat to one another as long as everything stayed secure.
As Jake and Blake approached, the pastor of the church came walking out. He recognized both of them and smiled.
“It’s alright guys, I know them. He said to the guards. “Blake and I think Jake, right? How are you guys doing? I’m glad to see you’re weathering the storm.”
“Hello, Pastor. It’s good to see the towns doing alright. We heard that you had some shops set up here and thought we’d come over and check it out to see how it works.” Blake said with a smile.
“Yes, the towns doing pretty good. You know that the country was attacked, right?”
“Yes. An EMP and they nuked Washington. A neighbor has a shortwave radio, and that’s how we found out. How about you?”
Into the Apocalypse Page 23