Apocalypse Empire (Book 1): Apocalypse Origins (20 page)

Jackson nodded. "I don't have anything like that. My
skill is more...self-taught I guess." At Greg's look he continued,
"Might as well get this over with now I guess. I spent some time in prison
when I was younger. Did a ten year stint. Don't know how you feel about
that."

"A week ago I might have made a number of assumptions
about you. But now? I'm more concerned about how I can use your skills to keep
everyone safe. You obviously know how to handle yourself if you survived ten
years in prison." Greg thought for a moment. "I don't know that I
care about what you were. I care about who you are now."

Jackson nodded. Greg nodded in turn and was just falling
asleep when heard Carol up front. "Greg," she said. When he didn't
respond right away, she turned down the radio and called again.

"Yeah?" he said waking up. 

"Ashton is the next exit. Do we stop or keep
going?"

"Stop," he said stretching as far as the confines
of the car would allow. "We need supplies."

Carol nodded and took the exit ramp. Getting into town was
slow going due to the cars that were all over the road. A few times, they had
to get out and move cars out of the way. Greg realized that this would probably
be a regular part of their day as long as they were on the main roads. He
mentally added a map to their list of supplies. They could make better time if
they didn't have to navigate around wrecks so much.

Once they made it into town they pulled into the first
subdivision they saw and looked for a likely house. It looked like the
infection had hit hard here. In addition to the car wreckage which was becoming
a common occurrence, there were bodies everywhere. As they got closer Greg
could see that some sort of animal looked to be eating the bodies. As they got
even closer, Greg saw that the animals were raccoons. They'd have to watch out
for those then. Those things were known for carrying rabies and such if Greg
recalled correctly. 

"Try a few blocks over," Greg instructed, "I
don't want to be around all these dead bodies." 

"Oh those poor people," Shirley commented as Carol
drove on.

The next few blocks showed the same story, wreckage and dead
bodies everywhere they could see. Greg was about to tell Carol to leave the
subdivision when the last street they tried looked a whole lot better. There
was still a good deal of wreckage but they didn't see any bodies in the
streets.

"This looks a lot better," Greg said. "Let's
find a house to hole up."

Carol nodded and drove down the street until they saw a
house that looked relatively untouched. It was a two story home with an
attached garage, perfect for their use. The group pulled into the driveway and
exited the cars. After taking a few moments to stretch retrieved Shirley's
pistol and handed it to Jackson.

"We'll need to clear the house," Greg said.

Jackson nodded as he received the weapon. "No
problem...and thanks," he finished with a nod."

"James, stay here with everyone else and we'll get the
garage door open."

James nodded and approached closer so he wouldn't be heard,
Jackson was already heading for the front door to wait for Greg. "You
trust him?"

Greg nodded. "We had a good talk during the drive. I
think I've got a pretty good read on him."

"Alright. I'm still gonna keep an eye on him though. I
trust your judgment but I'm still gonna keep an eye out."

"I know you've got my back, James. Wouldn't expect
anything less." Greg nodded then headed over to join Jackson at the front
door. He didn't see any signs of damage so that was a good sign. That meant no
one else had been to this house yet. It didn't mean they'd find anything inside
but hopefully they wouldn't run into other survivors. "Can you do anything
about that lock?"

"You think because I spent time in prison I know how to
pick locks?"

Greg chuckled. "No-"

"I'm just kidding. I don't know how to pick locks
though. I figure we kick it open and then barricade with furniture or something
once we're inside. I could probably get that bottom lock open with my knife but
I wouldn't be able to do anything about that deadbolt."

Greg looked the door over and saw that he was right.
"Alright, let's do it quick then in case the noise draws infected. I'll let
the others know what's happening first." Greg returned to the others to
let them know about the plan and they got back into the cars so they could be
ready to pull into the garage as soon as it was open.

Greg nodded as he returned to Jackson's side and they took
turns kicking the door. It took a few minutes but they eventually got it open.
They entered the house cautiously, not sure if something would be waiting to
greet them. They found themselves in a short hallway that opened up into a
living room. It had a couch and an easy chair that faced a large screen t.v.
Greg could see pictures of whoever owned the house on the walls but didn't go
to take a closer look.

The living room led to a dining area and the kitchen was off
of that. The kitchen had the usual appliances as well as a door that led to
backyard and one that led to what had to be the basement. There was also a door
that probably led to the garage. They took the stairs in the dining room to the
second floor and made sure that area was clear as well. There was a bathroom
and three bedrooms that showed no sign of the owners having left in a hurry.

"Think they were on vacation or something?"
Jackson asked.

Greg shrugged. "Or at least out for the day. Turns out
to be our gain though. Let's go get that garage door open." 

Greg led the way downstairs and into the garage. He saw a
tool rack with various tools like hammers, hedge trimmers, and so on. Greg hit
the button to open the garage and shut it as soon as the cars were inside.
"All clear," he announced as everyone exited the vehicles.

"Great," Laura said, "I'll get some lunch
started."

"I'll give you a hand," Carol announced.

"I'd help, but I'm terrible at cooking," Shirley
added.

Jackson laughed. "Go help anyway. You might learn
something."

Greg chuckled. "Why don't the three of us sit down and
think about what supplies we want to look for?"

At their nod, Greg led the way into the living room and took
a seat in the easy chair, James and Jackson sat across from him on the couch.
James held out his hand. "I'm James. Greg says he trusts you and I trust
his judgment, so welcome to the group."

Jackson clasped James's hand, "Thanks, I appreciate
that."

James nodded. "Alright, so what are we thinking for
supplies? We definitely want to get some gas."

"What do we need for that?" Greg asked.

"I think you need a hose and a pump of some kind. You
don't want to be trying to suck gas."

"Alright, we'll make sure we get that done. Gas is one
of our higher priorities. I'd like to find a map. I don't want to use the gps
on my phone. Not sure how long we can use that before the power goes out."

"Where are we headed anyway?" Jackson asked.

"North, for now," James said. "We've got a cb
radio and have been listening to see if anyone has set up a camp or
something."

"Ah."

"What's wrong?" Greg asked.

"Well, Shirley and I were in a shelter for a while and
it didn't end well."

"What happened?" James asked.

"Well, the problem was that they had too many people
and not enough space. That also meant they didn't have enough food to go
around. Part of that was the extra people and part was they were expecting the
government to come riding to the rescue." Jackson paused, remembering.

"It got bad pretty quick. After a few days of too
little food, people started getting angry. It got to a point where they
confronted the people and one of them got knocked out for his trouble. I
decided we had to leave the next time a fight broke out. We heard gunshots as
we were leaving. I didn't see it, but I'm pretty sure the guards shot the people
complaining."

"That's something to think about," James said.

Greg nodded. "Maybe we'll rethink that. Mostly, we were
trying to get away from Emerald Falls."

Jackson nodded. "I'm not saying this camp or whatever
is a bad idea if it’s out there. Just wanted to give you a heads up about what
could happen."

"No, you're right," Greg replied. "I suppose
on some level we were hoping to find someplace where things could get back to
normal. But normal doesn't exist anymore, at least not the normal we were used
to."

"What are you thinking?" James asked.

"I'm thinking Jackson makes a good point. A camp could
easily turn out to be just like Jackson experienced given the right pressures.
Maybe we should look for something of our own. Maybe find a farm or something
like that."

"That doesn't sound too bad," James replied. 

Greg nodded. "Something to think about at least."
Greg rubbed his chin. "What else should we look for while we're out?"

"Gas, food," James said, "we need those for
sure."

"What about trade goods?" Jackson asked. 

"Trade goods?" Greg asked.

"Yeah, stuff we can use to trade. Assuming of course we
find people that don't want to shoot us first."

Greg chuckled. "What sort of things should we look
for?"

Jackson shrugged. "Whatever we'd normally grab for ourselves
I guess. Whatever people are gonna need."

"That's not a bad idea," James said. "We've
still got a bit of space in the van."

"We can fit a few things in the suv also," Greg
said. "Should we find another vehicle?"

James shrugged. "We could carry more stuff that way but
that's another tank to keep full of gas. Not sure if it's worth it the
moment."

Greg nodded. "Alright, so gas, food, and anything extra
we can carry to trade with."

"Sounds good," James replied.

"Who should go?" Jackson asked. "Might be a
good idea for one of us to stay around here."

"That's true," James said, "I don't like the
idea of the girls not having some muscle around."

"You should take one of the girls along," Greg
said. "If we're talking about trade goods, you'll need someone to help
carry stuff."

"Lunch is ready," Laura said stepping into the
living room.

"Thanks, babe," James replied. "We'll head
out after lunch." The men headed into the dining room and sat down to a
lunch of instant macaroni and cheese. 

"I know it's not much," Laura said.

James shrugged. "Food is food. Not like we can be
choosers right now."

"There was some meat in the freezer," Carol said.
"We can have something better for dinner later."

"Maybe I can try my hand at that," Jackson said.
He smiled when everyone looked at him. "I know my way around the kitchen a
bit."

"Sounds good to me," Laura said. "I could use
a break."

"Jackson is a great cook," Shirley said.
"You're in for a treat."

"No pressure," Carol said chuckling.

After lunch, James and Jackson headed out to see what they
could find. Greg took the time to see what he could do to fortify the house
while they were there. He didn't want a repeat of last night's ordeal. He found
a few pieces of plywood in the garage and took some time to cover the first floor
windows. It wouldn't hold forever, but it would give them more time to escape
if they got attacked again. He was just finishing up with the last window when
he heard footsteps behind him.

"Hi," Shirley said.

"Hi, Shirley," Greg replied as he finished hammering
the last nail in place.

Shirley waited until he was done before continuing. "I
just wanted to thank you for taking us in. I know you had little reason to
trust us after last night."

Greg shrugged. "I admit, it's hard to trust people you
don't know right now. But, you did that broadcast. You didn't have to do
that."

Shirley shrugged. "I didn't feel right not getting some
kind of warning out."

Greg nodded. "And that's why I trusted you guys enough
to bring you with us. Jackson and I also had a good talk during the drive so
we're good."

"So that's what you guys were whispering about."

Greg smiled. "I don't know if he's mentioned it to you
yet, but he was thinking about sticking around for a while."

Shirley shook her head. "He hadn't said anything yet but
I'd like that. Safety in numbers and all that right? So anything I should
know?"

"We don't have any special rules or anything. Just help
out where you can and we'll be fine."

Shirley nodded and turned to go. "Thanks again,"
she said with a smile.

Greg nodded. "No problem. I'm glad to have you guys
around." Shirley left and Greg thought about what else they could do to
fortify the house. They'd probably have to keep watch from upstairs if they
wanted to be able to see anything. That was the downside with boarding up all
the windows. Greg decided to take a break and entered one of the bedrooms.

He sat down on the bed and thought about the conversation
he'd had earlier with James and Jackson. He wondered if looking for some sort
of refugee camp was still a good idea. If it turned out to be anything like
Jackson's experience, going there could be a really bad idea. Besides, did he
want to trust their fate to the government at this point? They hadn't seen or
heard any sign of governmental authority all week. No helicopters flying
overhead, no calvary to the rescue, and nothing but static on the radio. Maybe
striking out on their own was for the best. Maybe they could find an isolated
spot somewhere where they wouldn't see too much trouble. They hadn't really made
a plan on where they were going aside from just getting out of the city. Greg
shrugged as he lay down. He wasn't going to solve the problem right now but
he'd keep thinking on it.