Dead of Knight: A Zombie Apocalypse Survival Tale (11 page)

“Ryan, I wouldn’t give this to just anyone.  We don’t have enough supplies to support many more people than we already have.  But, I think you’re good people.”

“Thank you again, Jack.  Dale.”  Handshakes all around again.

“Give our thanks to Kevin, too.”  Karen added.

We parted ways with the guys and headed out to the highway.

“They were really good guys.  I do love country folk,” said Karen.  “I hope we see them again.”

“I don’t,” I said.  “It’ll mean things have gone horribly wrong and our best option was to run all the way back down here.  That would not be good.”

“Maybe we’ll see them again because life is back to normal.”

I smiled but I didn’t believe that was ever going to happen.  The rest of the conversation was about my experiences with the family in the RV in Yemassee.  God, was that just a few hours ago?  Karen listened to my story.  Then she offered that maybe Michael or Lois had some skill they could bring to the equation like a medical skill or something.

“And even if they don’t, they could still be helpful.  Many hands make light work,” she said.

“And, there’s safety in numbers.”  The conversation with the guys at the Bass Pro Shop unnerved me a little.  It’s one thing to kill a zombie.  I’d already done that.  It’s something else to not help someone because your family is more important.  But, it’s another thing entirely to kill another human being, even one who is trying to steal from you.

The RV was just where it had been when I drove away.  I didn’t see any living people around and my heart sank.  I banged on the door to the RV and there was no answer.

Damnit.

Now that I was looking forward to maybe having them join us they’ve probably been bitten and turned.  There was a ladder on the back of the RV and I climbed it to get a better look around.  Across the street there was movement.  Squinting, I could just make out Michael, Lois and Mike Jr leaving a convenience store on the other side of the highway.  They had their arms full of water and food.  More importantly, even though they saw him on the RV, they didn’t yell out.  I kept a watch from my vantage point as they made their way over to me.  They seemed different somehow, more confident.

“Hey, Mr. Knight,” said Mike Jr.

“Ryan, thanks for coming back,” said Michael.

“I said I would.  You guys look like you’re doin’ good.  Oh, this is my mother in law Karen.”  Handshakes and introductions all around.

“Well, we couldn’t find a generator for the pumps and we got tired of sitting around.  So, we thought we’d raid the other stores.”

“I killed one myself,” exclaimed Lois.

“Excellent, Lois.  Good job.”  I gave her a well deserved hug.

“She squealed the whole time,” said Mike Jr.

“Yeah, but she did it,” I said.  “Good job.”  I looked over at Karen and she nodded.

“I grabbed an extra hand pump at the Bass Pro Shop on the way back.  Once you’re gassed up, what are your intentions?”

“We hadn’t decided,” said Michael.  “Lois wants to head for the hills and Mike Jr wants to go home.”

“Let me give you a third option.  We think that there’s safety in numbers.  The house next to mine is empty.  It’ll have to be cleaned, my neighbors turned in there.  But we can board up the windows and make it pretty safe.  Right now, there’s not too many of these things in rural areas.  Anyway, you guys can help us and we can help you.  What do you think?”

The three family members looked at each other for a moment and then Michael extended his hand to me.

“I think that’d be great.  We were hoping you’d ask.”

“Then let’s get you fueled up and get out of here.”

It took a bit to figure out how to use the hand pump, eventually requiring us to actually read the instructions.  Then it was all Michael and Mike Jr and I could do to push the small RV over to the tank.  Lois steered and Karen kept watch.  Once situated, I decided to top off my tank when they finished.  The process took longer than I wanted, almost 30 minutes.

“Please, don’t use the horn.  If you have trouble or need help just flash your lights.”

Initially, I was worried about them following me through the maze of wrecks and abandoned cars.  But, they kept up and I stopped worrying about them after about 30 minutes.  The trip back wasn’t any shorter that he trip out.  We arrived at home just as the sun was going down.

I backed the Land Cruiser into the garage after checking the street for zombies.  The RV pulled into the driveway behind Sam’s car.  I made sure everyone was safely in the garage before I closed the roll up door.  Immediately, the door to the house opened and Malcolm and Tabby ran out with Sam right behind.  They all threw their arms around me and then Karen joined in.  We all just stayed that way for a moment and all was right in the world.  Finally, we began to release.

“We have guests,” I said quietly.

“I know,” said Sam.  “I saw through the upstairs window.  This was more important.”

“I completely agree,” said Lois.  “I’m Lois Pickler.  This is my husband Michael and my son, Mike Jr.”

Introductions and handshakes were given and taken all around.  Thor came up to greet the new folks and got lots of attention.

“I ran into them near the gas station in Yemassee that we usually stop at when we go to your mothers.  When we were at the Bass Pro Shop, your mom and I ran into a few nice country boys.  They are more concerned about the living than the dead.  Once the food and water run out anyway.  They suggested safety in numbers and I think they’re right.  These folks can live next door and we can all help each other out.  We’ll have to clean up the Thompson’s first, but I think we’ll be safer with more people.”

“That makes sense,” agreed Sam.  “They gonna bunk in our house tonight?”

“Yeah, it’ll be dark soon.  We won’t be able to do anything over there tonight.  Zombies are scary enough in the daytime.  We grabbed some sleeping bags and there’s the sofa.”

“That’ll be fine,” said Michael.

“Better than being outside in the RV again tonight,” said Lois.

“Speaking of the RV, is there anything you need to have out of there for tonight?”

“I think there are a few things,” said Lois.

“Okay, I’ll go out with you.  Mal can you run upstairs and give a look?”

After Mal gave the all clear, the Picklers and I went back outside to get what they needed.  It was getting dark and I was not happy about it.  I really didn’t think that zombies were different in the dark but I’d bet they sneak up on you pretty effectively at night.  It’d be terrifying to see one up close in the beam of your flashlight. 

“Just whatever you can’t live without tonight,” I said.  They were done quickly and we retreated back inside the garage.  I put the door down slowly and locked it.

Inside, Sam, Karen and the kids were putting dinner together using candlelight.

“Do you have enough light?  We picked up a few lanterns.”

“I think we’re good for now,” said Sam.  It’s just chicken salad sandwiches with chips and fruit.”  Did you get us a way to cook?”

“Two of them, actually.”

Dinner was mostly about the new family, the Picklers.  Turns out, they were on their way to Disney from D.C. when the world ended.  They’d been stranded at the gas station for almost 30 hours.  Mike Jr was 16 and in high school.  He played three sports but liked soccer the best.  Tabby had some difficulty taking her eyes off him.  Maybe losing Justin wouldn’t hurt so badly after all.  Michael and Lois had been married for 22 years and he was a banker.  Lois was a veterinarian. 

“While I don’t want to do any surgeries if I don’t have to, a lot of the medical training transfers over to humans.  I could do wound treatment and care, like stitches and such,” she said.

“That could be very helpful,” said Sam.  “I just hope we never need your expertise.”

“We will, though,” I said.  “Something will happen eventually.  Michael, I don’t think I’m really that sorry about it, but we will never need a banker again.”

“Thank God,” he said.  “Now our savings is measured in days and family.”

“Here, here,” said Karen.  Everyone smiled and raised a glass of whatever they had. 

“To family”

Eventually, the conversation came round to where it always seemed to end up.  Karen asked the question this time.

“What next?”

Everyone at the table looked at me, including the Picklers and Karen.  I returned their gaze with an unhappy expression.  Karen spoke first.

“I learned today that you’re a much better leader than I ever gave you credit for.”

“Thanks, I think.”

“And when we decided to throw our lot in with your family, we knew you’d be in charge.  You have already shown all of us your qualities,” said Michael.

“And you’ve obviously done a good job taking care of your family,” said Lois.  “You guys are stocked up.”

“Thank you all for your kind words.  I don’t share your confidence in my abilities but I will continue to do my best.  Please don’t ever hesitate to give your opinion, I’m far from perfect.  Lois, that’s really only a few weeks’ worth of supplies.  And that was before Karen and you guys got here.  You’ve got some things in the RV but it’ll go quick I think.  We have to make getting more supplies a priority.  Even if it means you guys sleeping on the sofa another night.”

“That’s no problem,” said Michael.  “Greater good and all that.”

“We may already be too late,” said Karen.  “I’ve been thinking a lot about what our redneck friends had to say.  People are going to be running out of food and water if they haven’t already.  They’ll come out and scavenge soon.  They’ll have to or starve.”

“Yeah, I’ve been trying to protect Sam and the kids from the zombies.  But, they might not be the biggest threat.”

“You think we need to raid a grocery store in the morning?” asked Mike Jr.

“No,” I replied.  “Costco.”

“Why not a grocery store,” asked Sam.  “There’s one a lot closer than Costco.”

“Less fresh food, so theoretically anyway, there won’t be any noxious gases accumulating yet.  And, I bet they have more of what we need than Publix or Bi-Lo.”

“We can take the RV,” said Michael.  “There’s more room.”

“I’m thinking of something better,” I said.  “One of the many types of tours I do is bus tours.  I drive a mini-bus.  It seats about 26 people and except for the seats, it’s open inside.  We could stack a lot of stuff.  And I have the keys upstairs.”

“Where are they?” Karen asked.

“That’s the problem,” I said.  ‘They’re kept downtown.”

The discussion this revelation created lasted about an hour.  Everyone was concerned, and rightly so, about the condition of downtown.  The last images we saw on TV showed numerous fires and groups of zombies moving around.  And, the buses were kept right in the middle of all that.  There was no telling what we would find once we got there. 

We all agreed that the bus would be better at gathering supplies.  It was diesel and would get better mileage.  That would become important quickly when we had to pump it using the hand pumps every time we had to fill up.  It was also bigger on the inside than the RV and that meant fewer trips.  Which meant less chances of anything bad happening; either with the zombies or with the living.  And, everyone agreed that getting the bus and, therefore, the supplies was more important than getting the Picklers settled next door.

I didn’t want to split the group any more than absolutely necessary.  But, someone was going to have to drive us down there and drop us off.

“I have an idea,” said Tabby.  “Why don’t you take a car we don’t use and leave it?”

“That’s a good idea, Tab,” I said.  “But, why don’t we take the Thompson’s car and leave it?  I don’t think your mother is ready to give up her car even if it is the zombie apocalypse.”  I got kicked under the table for that remark.  It wasn’t subtle either.  Everyone laughed, including Sam.

“Who’s going?”  Mike Jr asked.

“Well, that’s the next thing, isn’t it?  I have to go because I can drive the bus.  Michael, can you shoot?

“I have gone hunting with Mike Jr there in the past.  We get a deer once in awhile.  He’s a better shot than I am, of course.”  Michael said.  Mike, Jr beamed a little at that.

“Lois?”

“Oh, no.  I think I could shoot a gun, but…”

“Okay, well, it’s me, Michael and Mike, Jr.  With your permission, of course, Michael.”

“That’s good.  He did a great job after you continued to Savannah earlier.  Really stepped up.”  Lois nodded in agreement and Mike Jr beamed a bit more.

“Hey, that’s a little sexist, dontcha think?” said Karen.

“No, Karen.  I don’t.  You want to go?”

“No, I was just saying…”

“Look, this is the best decision.  That leaves three adults here holding down the fort.  I might be able to coordinate the three of us on the trip.  I’m not sure I’m ready to coordinate four people yet.  The three of us are also the strongest.  And this is really a supply run.  You did great earlier at the Bass Pro Shop.  I mean it.  I know this sounds harsh and I don’t want it to, but how are you going to do carrying 100 cases of water and stacking it in the bus?  How do you think Lois will do with that?  Or, Sam?”