Surviving The Virus by D.A. Sanford - HTML preview
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Surviving the Virus by D.A.Sanford
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Readers be advised
Warning: Contains adult content due to graphic descriptions of any or all of the following:
Battles, Language, Sexual
Both the cover and images in this book are not photographs or hand drawn art. They were created using AI text to graphics programs by the author.
Surviving the virus© 2024 D. A. Sanford
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the author or publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.
for permission from the author contact danielsanford@sbcglobal.net
Table of content
Chapter 5: Taking the war to them
Chapter 9: Roles and passers by
Chapter 10: Acceptance and protection
Chapter 11: Strange things in the wind
Chapter 12: Out of the mouths of the wise
Key Characters
Trevor Jones Becky Thompson Jessica Rodgers Rick Thomas Cindy Thomas Bob and Lisa age 10
Mary Amanda Judy Age 13
Bob and Lisa midteens Judy Midteen
The global politico was disappointed in the results of COVID. The underpowered virus turned out to be just another from of the flu. The chemical cocktail that they called a vaccine, pushed by everyone, was also a failure. The both became a joke. Only a small number of the population still clings to their masks. They needed something new, more virulent.
Their global mission was to reduce the populations down to the level where they could re institute the feudal lord system. COVID failed so they sent their labs back to work with the orders to create a more virulent strain. They succeeded beyond anyone's wildest dreams.
Only one thing went wrong.
The process is that scientists develop the virus then the vaccine. The virus is done but they are not having any luck with getting anything that will prevent infection so they keep on working.
With all the safety precautions in place, no one figured that one of them wanted to see what will happen in actual conditions. He took an infected animal and let it loose. It lived long enough to infect a few people. The virus, like COVID, is airborne transmitted so those few people infected everyone they even walked by while they coughed and sneezed.
Infected to death was less than 48 hours. Hospitals in that town saw a trickle that overnight became a flood. The hospital personnel were the first to recognize that this was not going to be controlled. There were the dedicated that stayed but a lot of the support personnel left their posts and ran to get out before it was too late.
It was too late.
First that town, then the county, then the country. The virus is doing its created design too well. With in a matter of days a country of multi billions was down to less than two or three thousand.
It spread globally due to modern transportation. Planes were landing with so many dead that they were not allowed to open their doors. Those planes were towed to remote areas of the airport. The problem was that people’s survival instinct over road the moral obligation of the greater good sacrifices. Pilots and flight attendants were opening the emergency exits and escaped along with the other passengers that could move.
After a week, the world was in bad shape. Without workers to maintain the electric grids.
The grids were failing to the cascade effect. The world has been plunged back into the pre-electric age. No radio, television and the worst, no cell phone or internet. It didn't matter because there is almost no one to use them.
The world population had eighty percent death rate. Of the remaining twenty percent, fifteen percent experienced mutations. There were both mental and physical mutations.
The mental mutation is almost entirely feral aggression. The physical was also feral aggression with an increase of strength but far less reasoning.
The remaining five percent were just trying to survive. I, Trevor Jones, am one of those survivors.
It must be a natural immunity, I don't know, really don’t care. My only concern is survival.
First things first, I have to get out of this city. It already is starting to take on the odor of decay. Disease from the festering bodies won't be far behind.
Fortunately, I love hiking and camping. I have everything I need so it takes no time for me to load up my Jeep and head out. After some detours through city parks and back yards I was able to get to the highway.
People are predictable.
The amount of people trying to escape had clogged the highways out of the city. That made it a bumper to bumper parking lot of rotting bodies with the occasional mutants beating on each other or the few normal idiots, that chose the wrong thing like doing what everyone else is doing, panicking.
I am driving the wrong way on the clear highway. Why do most people choose to follow the rules. There are only a few stranded cars otherwise it is clear as far as the eye can see. It is twenty five miles to the exit that I normally take to get to my cabin.
The only thing that I don't have is some sort of firearm, did not feel as if I needed one at my apartment. I was wrong but can’t do anything about it in the city. There are gun stores in the city but I'm not taking the chance. There are a few on the way to my cabin.
I do have hunting rifles and side arms locked up in the cabin.
I bought my cabin a while back because it is so out of the way that you have to know about it to find it. Tucked deep in the woods on a dirt path, so small that I can't even call it a dirt road. More like a hiking trail.
The last time I was there, the overgrowth was causing the branches to scrape against all parts of the Jeep Cherokee. That is a good thing for times like this. I don't need to worry about trespassers.
Lucky for me but not for them, the arms dealers near the cabin were among the eighty percent. Ignoring the stench, I was able to take almost every weapon in the small store, along with the ammo to support the weapons.
Now I had dual 1911 45’s semi-automatic pistols with extra mags strapped to my hips. I can breathe again.
I also raided general stores for the canned goods and non-perishable foods I could fit into the spaces in the Jeep left from the arms dealer. With hunting for my meat, all I really need is the vegies and snacks. Dried beans, pasta dry mixed and yes, much to my dislike, powdered eggs. Oh, I also got the vitally needed item that I would not be able to live without, coffee!
Starting the drive through the woods to my cabin, I begin to be worried. A lot of the branches seem to be broken. I stop the Jeep, grab my rifle, then I make my way stealth-fully through the woods.
Approaching the cabin, I hear what sounds like a drunken party going on. Music is blaring and the sound of voices echoes throughout the forest. Whoever is there is not concerned about being heard.
Now in sight of the cabin, I see a few cars there. Mostly young men but a few young girls. I say young girls because they don't look like they are even sixteen. Some of the men are armed so I know that they have raided my weapons.
Do they know how to use them is the question. It's my cabin and they are trespassing.
The rules have been thrown out the window. New rule, when in doubt, assume they will try to kill you.
"What the hell are you doing on my property?" I yell.
Their answer was to start firing in my direction. They were not skilled marksmen. I don't want to do what I must do. I am a marksman, Marine service trained. My first thought is to take down the ones who fired first. There were three who fired, the rest of the armed ones hesitated. I drop the one that was the most accurate. Then moved to the other two.
In the blink of an eye, the other two dropped.
"Drop your weapons and put up your hands. You try to run you die."
Two of the remaining drop their weapons but the rest run. They drop dead before their next step. that caused the others to throw up their hands. The three girls were crying.
"Please don't kill us, they kidnapped us."
The remaining two men are denying it. The look in their eyes say that they are hiding backups. They seem to nod to each other and start to go for their backups. They did not make it. I was trained, one shot one kill.
I emerge from my position. Rifle leveled. I can tell that the girls won’t be trouble.
"Please, we'll do anything, please don't kill us."
"If you would, please turn around while raising your shirts so I can see if you happen to have anything tucked into your waist bands."
They do exactly that. they don't have anything.
"Now step away from those bodies and sit down on the ground where I can see you."
They comply. I pick up all the weapons. Yup they are mine. Now that my weapons are back with me, I come over to the girls.
"First and foremost, if you want to live through the day, tell me the truth. How did you get here. and how long have you been here?"
One girl spoke up "We have been here for a day. Those guys said that we could escape the virus by coming with them to this cabin. They said it was abandoned."
She was starting to cough.
I look at them and sadly say,
"The virus has an eighty percent fatality rate it starts with a cough, like the one you have. In no longer than the rest of the day we will know. You have been together so, I'm sorry the three of you most likely are infected. Did anyone of them have a cough?"
She is panicking "Two of them did. They all did not look that well but I thought it was the booze."
"I'm sorry." I say.
With in a matter of 24 hours, two of the three were dead. The third showed no signs of being sick.
She is a young brunet that her hair came to her shoulders. She is between five and a half to six feet tall. Not skinny but a figure that is pleasant to look at.
"What's your name?" I ask her
"Becky Thompson."
"How old are you, Becky Thompson?"
"17. I'll be 18 at the end of this month."
"Well, Becky Thompson, age 18, since you are showing no signs of the virus, it's almost safe to say that you are immune. Welcome to the new world. I will invite you to stay, which is with no strings attached, or you can take one of their cars and go. I'd advise you to stay. I'll teach you how to survive. What's your choice?"
"I'll stay. What I saw out there on the news, it looked worse than it was here. I'll stay"
"Good. you can clean up the mess they caused in my cabin or you can help me get rid of these bodies. which will it be?"
"Cleaning"
I use one of their cars to drive the remains down to the ravine that is miles away for disposal. I never asked Becky their names and she never questioned what I did with them. By the time I finished, she had cleaned up the cabin.
"Looks good. Now there should be paper and a pencil in that desk. Get them. I'll say items and you write them down. We are making a list of goods we need to scavenge.
I have some that I gathered on the way here but we will need to replace all the stores I had here. They wasted a lot of essentials. We will travel to get these things. I say we because there is safety with two or three but any more is a mob."
"We need...."
I dictate a long list. Those guys must have been here longer before they got the girls.
They wasted most of the food. Picture this, you are in a survival situation and you have food fights.
Survival or suicide both start with s but so does stupid.
“Toilet paper streamers, Stupid.”
"Can I ask one thing?" Becky asks.
"Go ahead"
"Why did you kill all those men? Doesn't it bother you?"
"It bothers me but I can't let it get to me. If I had chased them off, I’d be looking over my shoulder waiting for them to ambush me. Killing them is a matter of self-preservation.
There are a few, a very few that will be like you.”
“Survival has rules. The first is trust no one at first. You must err on the side of caution.
The world is now the wild, wild west. The majority of people want what you have and won't hesitate to kill you to get your stuff. That's why those men had to die.”.
“Food fights!" I shake my head.
I think she understands. Old society rules do not apply now.
"That looks like the essentials. We'll take the Jeep. Do you know of any out of the way stores around? Also, hardware stores. We need a few 55 gallon drums to store gas for the generator and the cars."
"There is a generator here?" She questions.
“Second rule of survival is, keep your eyes open. Observe your surroundings at all times.”
Pointing to the to the switches on wall and the lamps, I continue.
“Most times, it is the obvious that escapes our vision. Those men were truly idiots. The gene pool is better without them.”
I walk over to the outside wall of the cabin. With the keys that were behind a hidden door by the fireplace, I unlock the outside door. There was the generator panel. I pour in new gas, flipped the switch to the on position and it came to life.
"Now we have well water. we can flush the toilet. By the way, thank you for cleaning it out, Idiots. You think that if there is a flush toilet there has to be a pump. A pump that needs electricity. See where I am going."
"I need to open my eyes" Becky replies.
"Correct! You're learning. Let's get our supplies. Do you know of an out of the way general store?”
“Yes I do.”
Sure enough, Becky knew of an out of the way market. She worked there up until this started to go down. This was a small town cross between a grocery store and hardware store. but more grocery.
We were able to replace almost all of the things wasted. There was more than the Jeep could carry. I commented that we would need to come back for a second run.
Becky smiled, "Know your surroundings you said. Wait here."
She goes in the back. I hear the back door open and close. Then to my surprise, she pulls up to the front of the store in one of those new tall delivery vans. She gets out and tells me
"They would not let me drive this. It's mine now. Let's fill it."
The size of the van vs. the size of the store, we can take almost everything needed and some that we really didn't. Waste not want not, we did load chips, cookies, beer, soda and other non-essentials. I took all the ground coffee.
With the van we now could go and get those drums. We found them at the feed and grain. They had a modest selection of clothes so we both grabbed all that would fit us including boots socks and underwear. I insisted that Becky take more of larger sizes just to have them.
We probably will be in the cabin for at least a year. Enough to let the mutants die out, if they do. All I can hope for is that they starve out.
The final thing, you can’t have enough weapons.
"You're from this area. Any gun stores or gun nuts in this area." I ask Becky.
"Down this road are both in the same store. The owner has a gun store and lives in the house next door. He always claimed that he could form his own army with what he had in his store room."
"Sounds good but let's go on the supposition that he is one of the survivors. We park a distance from the building. Then creep up to it and observe. It will be good practice for you. You tell me what you see.”
“Remember the flush toilet. Look for the obvious. Open windows, the trash cans, smoke and smells. We need to determine is there life in there or is he dead. Know this, from what you have told me, he is not the type to abandon his stash. Alive or dead, he will be in there or in the store. Alive we try to trade. Dead we clean him out."
As planned, Becky stops the van where she feels is a safe distance from the gun store..
I turn the Jeep around and then she does the same with the van. If the owner is there we do not want to have to drive by if we need to flee. Once that's done we slowly creep up to the store site.
If you did not know that there was a store out here you would not find it.
This is a wide road. Two lanes, you can tell that this was once a main road that slowly died due to the highway passing this whole section. The only people, outside locals, that would use this road would be vacationers looking at the scenery.
The reason I bought the cabin was the scenery. Large tracks of nothing but forest broken by old houses. The rolling hills afforded excellent vistas. Looking down into the valleys, you can see forest as far as eyes can see.
Some of the forest is being harvested by the local lumber mill but not like the strip loggers. They are thinning out the old trees. That will allow the younger trees to thrive.
Every once in a while, the only evidence that there is a town in the area is the church steeple poking out of the green leaf carpet that is the tops of the tree canopy.
The store is set in a carved out clearing. The house is the typical two story white with green shutters. The real one’s that you would close during a storm not those plastic decorations. The house was here before the store. Some family long ago may have had a farm. The land could have been cleared but now it is back to the old growth. Only the area around the house was cleared.
The store is definitely newer. Cinder block construction. Maybe forty foot square. There are large windows on either side of the door and have metal security bars over them.
The door is the typical recessed entry way. That too had security fencing. I get a chuckle at the flag sign. It says
"Jack's rod and gun." Below that are two lines that I like. First line says, "If it needs killing," and the second says "Jack's can do it." In the world before the virus, I would have stopped. Now though, it tells me to be cautious. I don't need killing. Good flag though.
Now behind the cover of the bushes,
"Describe what you see to me," I whisper to Becky.
She describes the store first.
"The door security gate is closed and the bars on the windows are still in place. I don't see any movement but I would not just try to go in."
"Why?" I ask
"It looks small so there will be plenty hidden areas."
"That's correct. Someone could barricade themselves in there. It would be a hard time to get them out of there. Now what about the house?"
"There are a few windows open. All facing the store. I don't see any sign of movement.
Trash looks like a bear got at it. The can is tipped over and bags of trash are torn apart.
The doors are shut."
"Anything else?"
"There is no smoke smell or cooking for that matter but there is a smell of decay.
Something is rotten."
I point to a corpse on the ground closer to the house and the car in the parking area.
"What do you think now?"
"Could be the owner but could be someone else."
"Is the body near the house or near the store?"
"It looks like the person was going towards the house."
"What you just told me is that I really need to be cautious. I would, for our safety, assume that the dead man was going up to the house and the owner shot him from the open window. Until we take a close look at the body, which is not going to happen now, we need to assume that the owner is alive, in the house and possibly watching. Err on the side of caution."
I tell her that what we are going to do is back off a little to where we can barely see the house. I'll yell and fire off a round from the woods across the road from the house. That will draw the attention of the owner. Alive he should be by one of the open windows.
"If he fires, I want you to get into the van and go to the grocery store. I'll meet you there.
We will abandon this store. Do you understand what we are going to do?"
I get a firm yes.
"If there is no response from the house, I'm going to shoot at the front door. You are not to come out until I say it is okay. Shots from the house, you run, no shots from the house, you wait."
I get a nod from her then I go back a little bit more, cross the road and disappear into the brush.
"In the house" I yell and fire a round into the air. No response. Again, per the plan, I fire another round. This time hitting the door. Still no response. I make my way back to Becky.
"Now we approach the store but putting the store between us and the house. This side only has a small window with bars. Could be a bathroom window. He could be in the store."
"Why don't you fire a round through that small window." She suggests.
"Now you are thinking." I take aim and in an instant the window shattered.
"Please stop firing Don't shoot me."
We are startled. The voice is coming from the house and it sounds female.
"My father is dead. He died from the virus"
"We won't shoot. Come on out but make sure that we can see your hands. Then we will show ourselves"
Coming out of the house is another young girl. Becky recognizes her.
"That's Jess. She was in my class. We graduated together," Then she yells
"Jess, it’s me Becky I'm coming out"
I stop her and loudly say, “She is not coming out.”
Beckey tells me that it is the owner’s daughter, Jess Rodgers.
She’s 18, long brown hair, mid five foot tall, a little overweight, mostly in the hips but also attractive. She grew up around weapons acts tough but is actually insecure.
The reason Becky did not tell me was that Jess was at her mother's place in the city.
She is not supposed to be here.
"The unexpected needs to be expected. All the information known needs to be told. Now I won't let you go out there. Tell her to come over here" I say
"Jess, you need to come over here to the store." Becky tells her.
Jess was almost to the store anyways.
"Becky, why were you shooting at me. I almost returned fire. Who is that with you?
"This is Trevor Jones, he owns that cabin way back in the woods. He saved me from some men that took three of us women to that cabin. Their all dead, the virus. You were supposed to be in the city.”
“Your father is not the ‘most friendly’ even when you know him. We had to see if he was alive We knew that he would shoot first then ask questions. Shooting was the way to see if he was alive."
Jess says "I was going to go but my mom called saying that she did not want me to come until the virus thing calmed down so I stayed home."
"It is a good thing that you did not go." I told Jess, "The city’s dead. The only ones left were the mutants. Listen, we need to get into your store and what you have in the house. What we offer is a room in the cabin to ride out the mutants. You have to know that it is only a matter of time until a group comes along to take what you have. You will be taken by force also."
Jess gets a serious but worried look.
She asks Becky, "Has he touched you?"
"He is nothing but kind. He has made no advance on me."
"What will it be? Let us take some of the arsenal and leave you here to fend for yourself or come with us and we take everything. Which will it be?"
"I'll go with you. Come into the house."
I tell them both that we needed to bring over the van and the Jeep. Jess walks with us.
She obviously does not want to be alone. She rides with Becky and within minutes we are back at the house. As we walk up to the house, we pass the body.
"My father," Jess says, "That's as far as I could drag him"
"You want me to bury him?" I ask.
"No. He always said that all I needed to do is drag him into the woods. Animals need to eat. I think he would be happy just to be left here."
"Okay then, let’s see what you have."
I am truly amazed. You name it, he had it. He was right, he could form his own army.
From small arms to RPG's, mortars grenades, as I said you name it he has it. We will really need to make two trips with the van. Uniforms and such, with the exception of boots in our size and military gloves, can stay here as stores but the weapons will have to go with us. They can't be allowed to fall into the wrong hands.
"Do you know of any other vans in town?" I ask.
Jess informs me that there is a dealer that is a few miles from the store. There are a few vans there.
We get into the Jeep. There are quite a few SUV size ones but it is the two that are like the one we already have that interest me. We find the keys in the office. Also, the keys to the gas pump.
"Here's the plan" I tell them "We fill up these two along with the Jeep. We are going to fill these with everything we want from the house and store. We drive the three vans to the cabin. Then come back for the Jeep later. These vans can make the perfect mobile storage units."
It took the better part of the day to load from the house and store but we now have all that were weapons other than the odd souvenir bow and arrows. If we need the other items we can come back. We will need to visit the other store in the near future to get Jess some clothes but for now she has most of her clothes packed and in the van.
It was quick to the turnoff but we took it slow coming up to the cabin. There are now a lot of scratches on all the vans but we made it here. It was turning dark so I started the generator. The water started to heat up.
“Showers would be ready in around an hour.”
Both girls were happy. There are two bedrooms in the cabin. The two will need to sleep in one room and I will take the other.
I cook something up while they are showering. We eat, they go to bed and I keep watch until I fall asleep.
It's morning when I wake to the smell of something being cooked for breakfast by both girls.
The three of us have now settled into a comfortable existence. The two girls are getting used to life after social media. For a while they were happy to be safe. Then the realization that everyone that they called friends and family were gone.
They are sad about that but realize that it is a different world and life must go on.
Thank God that we haven't seen any mutants, yet, but now that we had to deal with the possibility of an intruder following us back to the cabin. We need something for our safety.
It was Jess that came up with a great suggestion.
"Why don't we set up a fake camp somewhere that is closer to the town."
Life with her father, obviously things rub off.
"A fake camp?" I question. "I need to hear your reasoning behind it."
"We would lightly stock it with basic supplies. There would be an outside firepit that is being used for cooking. Maybe even a set up for hanging a pot over the coals. It would have to be not really clean. Give all the appearances of constant use."
"I get it," Becky says. "Make it look like it is being used daily. If it feels like we are being followed, we can lead them there instead of here."
"You would need some concealed traps." I say, "but we need to decide right now one thing, will those traps be deadly? If we decide that they need to be deadly, I know of quite a few nasty ones."
Becky answers "I bet you do. What if they are friendly? Do you think a sign saying something like wait at the town hall if they want to meet us would help sort out the good ones?"
"It would show their intentions but if they are at the site, why would they turn around?"
Jess answers, "We put up that sign at the town boarder signs. Instead of the town hall, we tell them to wait at the church and ring the bell. That way we would be able to evaluate their intentions from a distance."
"Okay. Going with that, what building is a safe distance with a clear view of the church?"
I ask.
Jess says that the town hall would be the best.
"If we unlock the back door, we could quietly go in and observe who's there. If they seem to be safe, we can go back out and greet. If they seem like they have an ulterior motive then we need to eliminate the threat."
Becky adds, "Even if they seem that they are not trying anything, we invite them to the fake camp as the final test. Warn them of some of the traps but not all. They will be told not to wander because it is not safe."
I some it up "So we have signs, we have an observation point to watch when the bell is rung. If they seem legit we take them to the fake camp to see if they will follow instructions.
“We would need to stay for a few days there so is there a site on the opposite side of the town, from where this cabin is, that has a building and an out building. One for us to sleep in and one for the other person or persons?"
"Why not my house?" Jess says
"We clean out the store including removing all the signs of it being a gun store. We can set it up to be a local crafts store with beds in the back. I think that there is a construction site nearby that has one of those port a potty. We bring that back, I was using the bushes out back while I was there."
"Sounds like a doable plan. Tomorrow we start by clearing out the store. Do we grab that last van to haul the items back here?"
Becky says that the basement of the grocery store would be good enough to store those items we left. Those are not weapons so it will be safe in the general store’s basement.
"As far as the van, maybe it would be better to have one of the large SUV's they have there. Smaller but easier to maneuver in tight spaces. There was a red one there that I would like to have."
Jess knows of that dealer, "That black one there is the one I want."
"Since it in now the three of us, I'll put the Jeep in their service bay and take one for myself."
I say to myself, why not. If they can have a new one so can I.
"Bottom line, do we ever bring them to this place?" Becky asks "because this is our safe place and I would feel uneasy about showing them."
"Living here I say no but, if they ultimately gain our trust we could let them visit." I say.
"Let's cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, new vehicles, clean out the store and make the area look like we live there. Jess, I will go today and move your father’s body far enough into the woods so we don’t smell it."
All she says is "Okay" as she is looking down.
Trevor drives over to Jess's house and stop short. The front security gate has been torn off the door and the glass in the door was broken. There is no car but he hears movement in the store. It is the sound of things being shoved over and crashing to the floor.
No wild animal would rip the gate off. He slowly makes his way to the side of the building. He can now hear the sound of rage, human rage. A mutant, in fact the worst variation, one with the mental rage but also the physical strength to match the rage.
Trevor sticks his head around the corner and is able to catch a glimpse of the mutant.
At almost six feet in height, the mutant looked like one of those steroid filled muscle builders. Almost to the point of being mistaken for a hairless gorilla. The clothes it had on were nothing but tatters. It seems to be looking for something.
I hear the mutant start to speak. It sounds almost like the parody talk we think cave men talked like. What I hear is the rage in his voice,
"Guns where guns, want guns, guns"
I had heard about them before I left the city. Had seen some of the destruction they could cause, especially when they came across a human. I had my side arms with me, 1911 Colt 45 military style semi auto along with a SMG. I draw my pistol. A head shot should put him down. I fire but it turns as I pull the trigger and the shot misses. The fight is on.
The mutant starts running towards me. The bars on the window stop him long enough for me to get a clear head shot. I again pull the trigger and the back of his head explodes in a burst of blood and brain.
Much to my shock he keeps trying to get through the bars for a few seconds so I pump a few more rounds into him. They did the trick. Head shots need to take out the primal brain. Heart shots are what’s needed. They aren't zombies, this isn't the movies.
I need to remember that. I need to get back to the cabin. This changes the game. This site will not work.
I left the mutant where it was. Jess's father's body was gone. It was dragged off by some animal. He got his wish.
The drive back to the cabin was quick. I felt an urgency. I needed to get back to check on the girls. My worries were abated when I saw both sitting on the deck waiting for me.
I get out of the Jeep. They already can read me.
"What's wrong?" Becky asks me.
"First I'm all right." they both relax, a little.
Looking at Jess, "Your house is off the list for the fake cabin. I had to kill a mutant that destroyed the store looking for a gun. I did find out one thing, when we try to kill them, don't bother with a head shot. I took most of its head off with a 45 round but it kept on coming. I had to put a round into its heart to bring it down. I left it in the store."
They both were now very concerned.
"It spoke. Just a few words. It was looking for guns"
"Are we safe here?" Jess asks as she holds onto Becky's arm.
"I think we are okay, for now. The way it ripped the door gate off the building showed me that the cabin will be no defense. We need a castle if we are going to be able to defend against one of them."
"Or maybe a underground bunker" Jess says. "I know where one is. My dad helped a very rich prepper last summer. I helped stock it. I remember that he had a special access code that we were to use to periodically check on it."
"What did you say? A bunker, where is it?"
"The area that the lumber mill harvested trees last year. Down the road from the car dealership."
"Tomorrow, first thing in the morning we go to there and see if you can still get in." I tell them. "If it is suitable, we move and make this the fake camp. By the way Jess, your dad got his wish. An animal dragged him off."
In the morning, we drove to the site that Jess talked about. If you did not know the bunker was there, you would not find it. There is new growth intertwined with the older growth. Stumps of the harvested trees are in a large pile off to one side. That is where Jess leads us. It seems that some of those stumps are fake.
She taps one and a small opening shows the keypad. "99681" she says then taps it in the code. The whole pile starts to move to reveal a stairway that goes down what seems like twenty five feet. At the bottom is a flush almost bank vault like door with another keypad "07773" is what she taps in and the door starts to make a gear to gear sound then opens. There are large bars that are now retracted.
"When closed those bars extend a foot into the reinforced concrete. It would take a direct hit from a nuclear bomb to destroy that door." Jess commented.
She was right when she said that it was a very rich person. this is no small one room tube shelter. There are large rooms. This really is an underground house. As far as I could tell complete concrete construction but all walls, floors and ceilings are made to look like real. Wood floors, walls that are painted in pastels with trim and popcorn ceilings. There are even windows with scenes of outdoors. From what Jess tells us the light behind the glass will change depending on the outside time.
The basement is full of stored food, Canned and dehydrated. A large walk in freezer, with vacuum packed frozen meat. The dates show that they are still good. This is the ideal place to ride out the first years. Unlike with the threat of radiation, we can go in and out so no real cabin fever.
"Propane fueled generator set to go on and off a few times a day to keep just the freezer going while the bunker is un occupied." Jess adds.
"We are definitely moving in here, but won't our vehicles give this away?" I ask.
"Not really" she says. "The garage built here solves that problem. Follow me"
She takes us to the far end of the bunker where there is another door like the inner bank door at the front. Entering the same code the door opens to another tunnel. We walk into an underground garage. High ceilings make this garage extremely bigger than the bunker. We could build a second floor for extra storage.
At the far end is a work shop with all the machines needed to do what repairs that will be needed.
Adjacent to the work shop is another tunnel, but this one is wide and high enough to accommodate our vans.
“Where does this lead?” I ask Jess.
She answers that she has never went through that tunnel. Always through the stump entrance. We need to find out where it comes out so we walk the tunnel. It felt like it was damn near a mile
The ramp leading up to the surface has a key panel so she tries her door code. The top slides open and we see daylight coming through a structure. When we walk to the top, I let out a large laugh when I realize that we are in the garage of the car dealer. The ramp is directly in line with one of the very large service bay garage doors at the far end of the garage.
"Of course," I remark, "Why else would there be a car dealership out here in the middle of nowhere. We're moving in today."
We go back through the garage tunnel and the bunker. To my pleasant surprise the doors are programed to close after a few minutes. That way no one should be able to discover the entrance.
I tell the girls
"We drive the vans over first. Then we take a van from the dealer and fill it with the things in the cabin. We will leave just a few months supplies that three people would need. That will give the impression that we live there. I will come over every so often to keep it looking lived in. We will stay here tonight."
The ride over to the cabin is bitter sweet. I really love this cabin but the needs of this current world is safety first. With mutants coming into the area. The point needed, to drive home the need for the move, was that when we drove by Jess's house, there was another mutant in the road. I put it down.
I must state here and now that the mutants were human but now they are not. They are just as much of a threat as those normal humans that now feel that brute power rules, the gang mentality. As long as there are two humans, there will be times that one feels like the other has the best and is not sharing it.
Funny, I sometimes feel that the girls are in complete agreement. They don't seem in competition with each other. They were friends before all this. Go figure the teenage girl’s mind.
I'm twenty five. Eighteen seems so far in the past. Was I ever that young. I do remember that the girls seemed so much more mature at that age then we boys were.
Boys that age, either their pants were around their ankles, or were obsessed with fast cars.
Back at the cabin, we give a quick inspection to make sure that we take every and all weapons that were at least semi good condition. We will leave a few those in normal condition for the effect of a lived in camp along with a box or two of ammunition for them.
We can now be generous because of the stores in the bunker. I decide to leave what would appear to be a few months food supplies in the cabin.
Both girls are already taking their clothes and toiletries. Those are going into the vans they will be driving.
After I load my stuff, leaving the worst condition clothes here, I look around. Sadly, I realize that we have everything including the two drums of gas packed. Our new life in three vans. I shut off and lock the generator door, returning the key to the indoor location One last look and we left the cabin.
As of the turning of our van keys, my, no, our home became the fake cabin. Only thing left is to make signs about the bell. Now that we have a secure place, I can leave both Becky and Jess alone. They can lock themselves down. I will know that they are safe.
Why is it that the idea of them being safe makes me feel warm.
We settled into life in our new home. There now is a whole set of new tasks and rules.
The tasks are normal housekeeping. Being courteous to each other and considerate.
The surface must be taken care of. Constantly making sure that it looked abandoned to nature. Most of the time we enter and exit through the dealership. Even there I made a movable trash buildup for in front of the door that we drive through.
The signs went up including the one in the church. The town hall has an attic so I made a few sniper holes so we could better control an encounter.
The first time we heard the bell was when there was a couple passing through. They were cautious when they rang the bell they stayed in their car until we came out after realizing they weren't any trouble.
They were on their way to the woman's home town. Asking why they rang the bell, they told us that they needed more food and fuel. They were hoping that we had some to spare, they offered some ammo in exchange.
For all those who horded gold and silver as a hedge against a collapse of the economy.
Precious metals can’t be eaten. The only metal worth anything now is lead. Food and ammunition is the currency of this world now.
Ask yourself, you have food in a collapsed world. How much shiny metal would it take for you to give up your food?
They did not know that we had a garage full of both. I was happy to finally see some good people. It gave both of my girls and I hope, knowing that the world did not go completely to hell.
I asked how far did they have to go. They said that it would be at least five hundred more miles to go. We filled their tank and gave them three five gallon cans of gas. Also, a week’s worth of food. Lastly, I asked them what caliber their weapon was. He had a 9mm so I gave him a box of fifty.
"You seem like nice people. If the place you are going to does not work out, we invite you to come back here."
"Thank you for all you have done for us." He says. "We can never repay you"
"Don't worry about that, just be safe."
They left and we went back home feeling good. Both Becky and Jess each gave me a hug. They thanked me for being kind. How long has it been since I had been hugged? I must admit that it felt warm.
Days pass. We have fallen into a routine. I go to the cabin once or twice a week to keep the lived in look. There have been no indications that anyone has been here but I still keep it up. Until a week after the couple left.
I went to check on the cabin. When I was passing through the town I noticed that the grocery store door was open. that caused me to stop the Jeep. I see a car parked in the street with the trunk open. Our small cash of food is being loaded into the trunk.
Watching from our sniper position, I can see that there are only two.
"What do you think you are doing?" I yell.
Instead of halting they drew their side arms and started shooting. I responded by dropping one of them. The other jumped in the car and drove off with the trunk still open.
He drove out of town opposite the way I drove in. He did not get all of what we left but he did get a lot. They found the food cash that we left in the freezer of the store. We had cleared that out of the rotten meat.
I figured that no one would open a freezer and be confronted with the stench but it appears that it is where they went. I hope it was just luck but I have my doubts. The only ones that we have encountered were the couple that we helped. I hope it wasn't them. I need to inform my girls.
Before I left, I searched the dead thief. He had a 9mm that he was using. There was not much was in his pockets but around his neck was a handmade necklace. It had a word on it, Rovers. I took it before I disposed of the body. Gut feeling is that this is not the last we hear of this.
The drive back to the bunker was full of thought. I knew that true humanity would creep in. I was hoping that I was wrong but the three of us needed to step up and begin training in earnest. Parking in the garage I walked into our home. The girls greet me but again read me like a book.
"What happened"
I tell them how I found our stash being taken. That it was the one from the grocery freezer. Becky was the first to voice her opinion.
"The only one's that saw the store food was that couple. I think that they were working for someone else."
Jess added her opinion, "It couldn't have been them, willingly. They were a nice couple."
I show them the 9mm pistol then the necklace. They both look at it.
Jess then says, "This looks like a club pendent or something similar. It looks like it identifies someone of a group. Like the Masons and their rings, badges and car badges."
"Now that you mention it," I say "you may be right. If this is a gang symbol, we can expect that we will see them sooner than later. The other man that got away will report back. I also think that you are right. The couple must have made it to their destination only to find the gang. They would have been threatened when the Rovers saw the food and gas."
"Didn't they say that it was around five hundred miles from here?" Becky asks
"That's what they said" Jess answers her.
Becky continues, "That means that that town is running out of supplies along with the surrounding area. For them to send a scouting party this far, possibly wasting the gas getting to and from, they have to be desperate."
I pipe in "That would give us a few days to a few weeks to get ready."
Leave it to Jess. Growing up with a father like hers and the people he mingled with she comes back with a wonderful suggestion.
"How about those cars in the post apocalypses movies?"
The lights go on. A car lot with trucks and vans, A dream work shop and a weapons locker full of doom. There is sheet metal in the work shop inventory. "
“Let's do this." I say.
Designs are swarming. First spikes out fronts of the three vehicles, gas powered, heavy but not too heavy. I know of the right ones. I'll need to say sorry to my girls. They will get the SUV's that they want but with quite a few improvements.
I bring in the three and start welding mesh to all the windows. Then I add the stainless square stock to the front. I cut some smaller square stock with ends cut so that the corners of each tube are solid triangle points. Ten on each give’s excellent coverage.
The maximum bite.
Buy this time both Becky and Jess found out what I was doing. They were initially disappointed but then their, shall we say, mistress side emerges. Jess wanted sharpened blades down both sides. Once Becky saw this, she had to have them. Then Becky said that the tires need to be covered with steel. All good ideas and naturally I add those to mine.
I notice, in the inventory of the shop, that there servo actuators and gear motors. I work up a switch set up that makes use of the steering wheel option control buttons. On the right the radio scan buttons now are up and down. The left set are now rotation. Now I can mount those fully auto machine guns that Jess's father had in his secret collection.
When Jess saw the setup she really needed the bathroom. She went yelling for Becky as she ran leaving a wet trail.
"You need to go take a pee first! Otherwise, Trevor will have two pee trails to clean."
Becky not really understanding decides that she better go. When both have emptied their respective bladders, I'm sitting in my driver’s seat. They come into the garage. I swivel the machine gun around and up and down. Becky sees it and runs for the bathroom.
When she comes back a little while later, Jess asked her "I thought that you emptied?"
Becky told her, "My bladder yes but that's not what was coming out! The extra time I took was to change myself."
They both come running over to me and kiss me. I have to admit it, it was nice. We are not completely ready for the Rovers.
It wasn't too much later, after the two Rovers encounter, that a woman showed up and rang the church bell. This time we came loaded, in one of the unmodified SUV's but this one had the sun roof open and I was standing holding my weapon. Don't want to tip our full hand. I recognize the woman. She had been with the man we helped.
She collapsed upon seeing us. We got her into the church. Both my girls search her only to find that she only had the keys to the car she drove and bruises all over her arms. They told me that it looked like someone beat on her mercilessly.
She woke up but seemed frightened. Becky and Jess comforted her until she calmed down. I ask her for her name.
"Margret," she says.
"Margret, I need to know why you are back. After you left, we were raided by two people who knew exactly where we stored our food. I killed one but the other got away. The only way they could have known is if you told them."
"I did tell them, right after they killed Ronald, the man I was with. They wanted to know where we got the gas and food. Ronald would not tell even though they beat me in front of them. Then they started beating him. It was more vicious than they did with me. I had to tell them. Once I did they shot him. They raped me repeatedly. After I passed out, they left me. I woke up and drove back here"
She continued "I drove back here to warn you. They are sending twenty or so of their people to take care of you after they learned that you killed one of the two. That night I was able to sneak out. I came here to warn you and then to accept whatever revenge you wanted from me for telling." Then she went silent.
Looking at her condition and hearing her story I said
"I will exact my revenge for what has been done but I will take it from them. As for you, we will take you to our cabin to get you healed."
Both girls know why the cabin. That was always the plan for visitors. We arrive there and take Margret inside. I start the generator. My girls get her cleaned up. Then get her to bed. She fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.
My girls, funny when did Becky and Jess become "My girls?" Could it be that I'm becoming possessive or is it something else. We will take care of the Rovers. Once I was told that she was beaten and raped, I knew that they had to go.
They came out from the bedroom and we went outside to talk.
"I want to tell you that what she suffered will not go un avenged. I can't help but think that our generosity got them into that situation."
Becky interrupted, "It wasn't us. We were generous but they are ass holes. I'm quite sure that you will find that they are led by a mutant."
Jess questions me, "What are we going to do with her?"
"Simple. Until the Rover problem is over and done with, she stays here. We never talk about the other place until they are done for and we can know for certain that she is definitely not involved with them. We will send her on her way if we find she does not fit in. I don't want anything to happen to my women."
Yes I said it deliberately.
"You said your women. You do mean us?" Becky asks
Time to man up. "I said what I meant. Over these past few months, we have been together, you both have shown me that the old stumbling block of me being seven years older has no bearing anymore. I have feelings for the both of you. The feeling that I need to protect you both but the stronger feeling of"
Jess finishes the sentence, "Love?"
I hesitate then confirm "Yes I love you both. You have become indispensable in my life."
They are both in a semi shock state. Becky is the first. She comes over to me, embraces me, tells me that she is in love with me, then kisses me long and hard.
Jess then came over, "I too have fallen in love with you." She then kisses me. I feel like I have been given a strong stimulant. It is a real rush.
Before this goes too far "I want you both to know that after this Rover situation is over, we will go in to that church and declare that we are married. Then and only then will we be intimate. It kills me to say that after what you both did but I want this to sink in. I want to make sure that both of you still feel the same way after what we will be doing."
They look at each other, then Becky talks for the both.
"We have discussed this at length over the past month. We both wanted you since we met you but we will abide with your terms but know this"
She looks at Jess and on queue, they both grab their shirts and rip them open exposing their breasts. Becky finishes
"This is what awaits you."
They giggle and sit down. The only thing is that they are not covering up. "Down boy" I think to myself as my pants get tighter. They see my distress and giggle as they completely remove their shirts. It must be cold to them, their nipples look hard as rocks.
I have the urge to take a cold shower.
In the morning I'm a little more composed. They saunter in and drape themselves all over me. They tell me that there may be more to see later on. Please help me, where did they get those Daisy Duke shorts.
I tell them that they will need to look after Margret today. I will be going to finish the modifications. they will be surprised. I am reworking those WW2 flame throwers so that it surrounds the entire SUV.
If there is time some spinning circular saw blades. What I will do is bring one of them over to the cabin.
"Is there anything you would like me to bring back with me?"
"Yes, you naked while driving that SUV back." They both are starting to wear me down.
"Not happening. What I need from the both of you is to feel out Margret. I really need to know where her loyalties lie. I thought about it last night. There is something that is not adding up here. She would have had to take at least two of those cans of gas and have
a full tank. I did not see the cans. If she was beaten as hard as she was, it would have been harder to drive. We need to find her out today."
"There are things that only woman to woman can find out. If we find out that she is not the suffering person she is portraying, you will come back to see someone tied to that tree like a dog but naked and it won't be one of us. That will play out after the Rovers."
Interesting women I think as I drive off. I do drive the long way to the dealership. Cross country with the Jeep. I don't see or hear anyone following but I wait until I get the feeling that I am alone. I do have a van in one of the bays that looks like someone was working on it. I positioned it so I can see out the windows. After an hour I see no one. I walk around the building no tracks. It's safe. I go about my work.
Back at the camp, Margret has emerged from the bedroom. They cook her breakfast.
"Margret, were you able to sleep through the night comfortably?" Jess asks
"Yes I was. After what I've slept on, that bed was heaven."
Becky then comments "I'm sorry to hear of the treatment you got. I thought that Harold was a nice man when you were here. Did you both make it to the town you were going to.?"
"Harold and I made it but the town was taken over by the Rovers."
"How many are there, that you saw?" Jess asks as she hands Margret a cup of coffee that she just poured.
Margret takes a long sip of the coffee then says
"They are a very large group. Men and women but mostly men."
"Any mutants with them?"
"No, I did not see any. Why the questioning?"
Jess says, "We need to know what could be coming our way. Do we fight or run is the decision. There is not much left here anyways. We were thinking of going after you but now we need to think about going in the opposite direction."
"This is a sweet setup you have here. Power, food and hunting. You must have more hidden. I would stay here. Harold and I talked about turning around and asking if we could stay." And she continues to drink her coffee.
Margret feels weird. She feels fuzzy and like she is passing out. She gives the two a desperate glance.
Jess holds up a bottle and says
"Knock out drops in your coffee. Sweet dreams doggy"
The day went well for me. I finished the three death mobiles, then covered each one for a grant unveiling. Again, taking the long way back to the camp, I find I pull up, and see a naked Margret tied up and chained to the tree.
"It seems like we do have a Rover after all" I say.
"Don't listen to them" Margret says crying, "They are crazy. They think that I'm one of the Rovers. I told them that Harold and I wanted to turn back to join you. They drugged me that's when they tied me up."
Becky points out to me, "Notice her extensive bruising"
I look and only the exposed skin that we saw was bruised the remainder only had some normal bruising. something that would result in bumping into objects.
"It was Harold, he would beat me, I escaped"
"Stop right there" I say "Who's Harold?"
"The man I came here with when you gave us food."
"Oh, Harold, I thought you said his name was Ronald?"
It was then that she realized her error and you could see that she was trying to figure out how to explain the error.
"Don't bother to try to explain." I say "We treated you with kindness, fed you and gave you fuel. This is how you repay us? Is there anything that would make us believe you now. Lie once in this new life and you will never be trusted."
Now the real Margret comes out. She spits venom, "If you know what's good for you, you'll pack up and leave this camp now. We are coming to take it and those two. Three against fifty. We will kill you and then the men will have two more play toys,"
Jess comments, "So this is the real you!"
"I can't help being who I am. Acting like that helpless woman turned my stomach. Now let me go and I'll let you run away."
"Arrogant, isn't she!" Becky chimes in "tied up naked to a tree and she's going to let us go"
"If you know what's good for you, you'll do just that."
"Becky is right, arrogant. I have to thank you for the last bit of information. So, there are fifty in the Rovers. Nice to know but you first told us that there was twenty or so. Where did the extras come from?”
The look is priceless. Again, she spouts
"Yeah, I misled you on the numbers. There are fifty well-armed Rovers coming to take this paradise from you. Let me loose."
Pulling my side arm, the Marine takes over, "Any last words"
"I'm a woman. You won't shoot me."
"You are a captured enemy spy. The charge is espionage."
I look at my two women, "What is your verdict?"
"Guilty" "Guilty"
"You have been tried in our court and found guilty of espionage. The sentence is death by firing squad. Again, any last words?"
She gets out "you won't shoot" then a startled look as I put a round through her heart.
"Now we fight."
I can't resist. I had the complete series on DVD. It was the campy TV version of Batman, and I loved it. I always wanted to say this
"To the bat cave."
Chapter 5: Taking the war to them
The best defense is a good offense. History shows, for the most part, that laying a siege against someone is better than waiting out someone surrounding you. First blood.
I kept the three SUV's under tarps. I want to surprise both Becky and Jess with the last minute modifications. Now all three are ready for action so I call a meeting.
"Why did Margret come by herself? Especially if she was ahead of the main body?”
"I feel that she was going to spy out the land, jack the Jeep and then leave us stranded in the middle of the night, in the middle of the woods. They want all our supplies and munitions." Jess states.
Becky says "I think so too. She may even have looked around when we went to sleep.
It's easier to look around when you are one person. "
"You both have said what I have been thinking but I don't think they would have stayed in the town waiting for her to get back. They as close as that car’s here and return gas milage. I would have sent her and given her maybe two days to scout and return. I would say that they are maybe a hundred miles out waiting on her. She would probably be expected to meet up some time predawn tomorrow then lead them here."
They both agree that that is most likely what they would expect.
"I have gassed up the muscle car. Tonight, I want to drive no more than fifty miles. I need to find a spot that we can lay in wait. Let them pass and ambush them from behind."
I put the area map on the table. and we all look at it.
Becky points out where the town they said they were going to. We see that there is only one main road connecting the two towns. With a force, it would not be logical for them to take the long way here. They want to invade the town as soon as possible.
"I really feel that she was trying to scare us off by saying that there is a large number of members in the Rovers. How many people have we encountered?"
They say that we have only seen the two but there were the people at the cabin.
"That was when this started since then only the two normal's and the two mutants. Then the two that raided the store. Six in two months, how long would it take to find fifty?"
Jess threw out, "Let’s go with half that amount and say there may be only twenty five."
"So, twenty five coming the five hundred miles. They must have wiped out their resources and the resources in their surrounding area to be interested in a five hundred mile trip. They had to be gradually working their way down this way.
I believe that they would probably use a bus of some sort to come. Most likely a school bus. They are gas motors and would save on fuel if you say that they would need five cars to take twenty five people."
"As I said, I'll go fifty miles up. There will be somewhere that we can use to conceal our vehicles until they pass by. That should take no more than a few hours. I want you to get a few days rations, get some sleep and then be ready to move out by 2 am. You okay with that?
"No problem" they both say.
I leave with one final instruction. "You both have been good at not peeking at those SUV's. Please wait until I get back."
They agree but are pouting.
I leave. Driving at night in a muscle car without any cops to worry about is the best fun I have had for a while. Around the thirty mile mark I spot something interesting. There is offset from the road an old drive-in screen.
You can barely see it due to the overgrowth. It has been closed for quite a few years.
Maybe as much as twenty years. The access is on a side road. I drive carefully over the brush and debris. The gate house is gone, fallen into a pile of boards. The screen however looks as if it is still sound, enough.
The screen side faces away from the main road. Close to the base is the rusted remains of the children's playground. Swings that were only half collapsed rusted bars with chains. The wooden seats rotted away long ago.
At the base of the screen is a door. I open it and shine my flash light in to find that it is a store room for the items needed to take care of the screen. To one side is a ladder that leads up to various platforms. I figure that one is for changing the marquee on the road side of the screen.
The ladder still looks in good shape. Sure enough, when I climbed up there was a door to the outside. The platform on that side had collapsed. but I could open the door enough that I could see up the road that they would be coming on. This is the spot.
I drove back. My women were waiting.
"Did you get any rest?"
"We'll sleep when they are dead. What did you find.?"
"There is an old drive-in thirty miles from here. It is over grown making it the perfect place to hide. From the road you barely see the screen through the over growth.
Becky tells me that they already have what we need in the garage.
Jess added, "We did not look under the tarps, even though we really wanted to. We may have given in to the temptation but you came back too soon."
"You have waited long enough."
I usher them to the SUVs and remove the tarp from mine.
“Both of yours have the exact same features as this one but with something special."
I point out what they already know. The spikes on the front with a V shape plow, teeth on the back. The side windows are welded over but there are tight mesh iron screens over the windshield and the two front side windows. Also, the back window, the back door and the back seat doors have been welded shut.
"Now I need you to stand back at least fifteen feet."
They do and I hit the button. Flames of napalm shoot out both sides ten feet. Pee breaks for both. They knew about the machine guns and the razor knifes that run the entire length on both sides.
Jess giggles uncontrollably pointing to the roof.
"Are those what I think they are?"
"Each car has eight RPGs mounted Two on each of the sides and front and back. There is para-cord to each dangling within the drivers reach. There are cut outs on the windshield so you can also fire hand guns."
Becky asks "What is that patch on your door and the hood?"
That's the biggest surprise. I say "Jess, yours is the black one on the end. Take the cover off. She does and an antenna like pole pops up. On that pole is the flag from her dad's store.
"I always hated that flag. I used to rib him about that saying." she says through the tears.
"Just wait, Becky take your cover off." As she does that I take the patches off mine. Both Becky's and my cars say the same thing. "Lead courtesy of Jack's rod and gun shop. Be sure to thank him."
I take hold of the two and draw them both into a hug. I then tell Jess.
"You know that he is saying right now that he told you so. That you would be happy for all he had bought."
"You are right." She said again crying, "Thank you dad."
"Okay let's go to the movies."
All three SUV's move out and within a short amount of time, the three death mobiles were facing the screen. We made a cold camp, no fire. They had thought enough to bring some hot coffee in a thermos. We took turns at the platform watching for any movement.
You could see the dark starting to gain lighter shades of gray and crimson. The sun was rising when Becky came down from the platform.
"There are two cars coming down the road" She whispers to us.
"Let’s see what is in those cars but it's most likely them. We will let them go by then ambush them from behind. Three of us against two of them. Kinda over kill."
I know what their answer will be but I try to lighten the mood, "Why don't you two wait here. I take mine and score both cars."
I get a resounding
"Oh hell no!" from them both.
I tell them that I was joking but they both looked at me and Jess said,
"Don't even joke like that. We fight too!"
They both get in their SUV's. I watch and see that the cars are packed with around six or seven in each car, there are weapons showing. I let them pass then, I always wanted to do this, I point my arm up and twirl it in the air. The old Navy carrier signal for the pilots to start their engines."
I grab my mic and tell them "They are packed in there to the point that they should not be able to fire back. Scare the shit out of them first. I say that we to each launch a forward RPG."
Both acknowledge so we come up within firing distance and then we pull a cord. The trail in the dawn light was short but spectacular. The explosions were very loud.
Watching both cars swerve violently was actually satisfying.
I heard both women give what only could be called a bone chilling yell. It was a yell that would have been comparable to that of the famous or should I say infamous rebel yell of the Civil War. They even intimidated me with it.
There were a few shots but when Jess and Becky trained their machine guns at both cars. I could see that they were cats playing with the mice. A few short bursts and now tires were gone.
I took aim at the trail car and gave it a full burst but I aimed at the people in it. The car swerved erratically then started to roll. It was apparent that it was a total kill. The game was over. The women both unloaded the same way with the same results.
I stopped and, with my pistol went to both cars. The trail car was a total wash. None alive. The first car in line, only the driver was alive. It was the man who we helped. He was able to speak.
"We only wanted food. Why did you ambush us?"
"We accomplished what you were going to do. With those weapons, you weren't coming to tea. Now I will send you to meet your wife, in hell!" I put him out of our misery.
Walking back to the women.
"How are you feeling right now?"
"Fine but this was too easy" Becky said. "I really think that we need to go back to the drive in and wait a while there."
As she was saying that, we heard the sound of more engines So we jumped back into our SUVs, did a one eighty and decide to go head on towards the cars. It appears that this group got antsy and drove ahead of the others. I figure that the guy was worried when the woman did not show up.
The other two cars were just the same challenge. This time it was head on but they stopped, got out and started firing. We drove through them, literally. The razor sides and plow made short work on most. They tried to get at the SUV's because we deliberately stopped. Now with in ten feet, napalm time. All but a few were running while burning, the remainder threw down their weapons and surrendered, or tied to.
They needed to be killed and we did go to Jack’s. Machine gun spray took care of the rest. We waited almost a full hour but no other cars. In total there were thirty dead, all had Rover tags.
We collected any weapons they had. In the trunks were food and other things. Of everything that happened, Becky opened one trunk on the last two cars. She started laughing almost hysterically. We go over there,
We see that this time she really laughed so hysterically that she did piss her pants. In the trunk was stacks upon stacks of hundred dollar bills and other denominations. What were they planning on doing. Instead of setting up stable systems of sustaining themselves, they were robbing banks.
Grabbing a hand full of bills, I ask "Becky, you need any toilet paper?"
She replies, "We need to go to the church. Then I need to have a shower. I have some tension that needs release."
"I will shower with you" Jess informs Becky. "I have pent up emotions that need to also be released."
Knowing exactly what they are referring to I guess I should take a shower also. The work shop has one. I did promise.
After the Rover encounter, we did go to the church and declared our marriage.
They were both eighteen but the new now is that our seven year difference no longer is an issue. Mental age is what counts. They both went into battle. Proved to themselves that they were defenders willing to, like the pioneers of old, kill to protect what is ours.
They also had a needy side. Jess more than others. She is very attractive but she has some extra thigh weight. She is not fat by no means but the children that she went to school with teased her about it. She still has an inferiority complex. I really should say had.
Jess discovered her true side. She now actually felt as if she was comfortable in her body. That night after we declared our love and we were married. The three of us explored each other.
Both Jess and Becky were mature women. Naked and beautiful to see, they could see in my eyes that I felt that way. I told each how much I loved them while caressing, licking, sucking and eating both of them. We lasted all night and some of the next day.
We were all happy, relaxed, tired and were resisting the urge to keep on going. The shelter was in total lock down. The garage sealed. The dealership looking like it was abandoned. I had planted weeds into the pavement so that it would look over grown.
The stump entrance has not been used for a long time. There was no one in sight.
A week went by before we even stuck our heads out. By that time, we were in need of an excursion. We needed to check the town and our cabin.
The town was in the same shape as it has been. Deserted, dusty but there is evidence that the wild life is returning to reclaim what they had lost when the town was first settled. Rabbits and deer mostly. I now felt that our side arms needed to be augmented with rifles. If rabbit and deer are in town then their natural predators won't be far behind.
A wild cat or bear needed more than a pistol.
There are signs that some predators has been at the cabin. Not a bear though. They would claw their way through a door to get in. There are no claw marks but the body of Margret has been dragged off. Didn't go looking for it.
We did check the food stores and they were as we left them. I rigged up spike boards for the doors and windows. That should keep out the bears. We want this to be a weekend getaway.
In order to survive the oncoming winter, we harvest most of the gardens around the town. People had started them and then the virus hit. We now have a lot of raw vegetables. There is a cold cellar in the shelter so it is well stocked with all the potatoes,
carrots squash and other vege’s we harvested. The lettuce and tomatoes need to be watched. They may spoil first. The freezer is full of deer, rabbit and birds, especially turkey. Cleaned out the cranberry sauce out of the general store.
All our cars are in the garage including a great find. The town, in between us and the now late Rover’s home base, had a propane delivery service in that town. I found two trucks that were full alongside the four extremely large propane storage tanks. The trucks are in the garage ready to be hooked up to the in ground tank fill. We are set for the winter.
It is our plan to start exploring the houses around here but after the freeze. The bodies in there will not be as offensive if they are frozen. Canned goods, dry goods, weapons and games. Above all DVD's. We have a large flat screen and DVD player but a very few DVD's. Jess had us go to her old house to get hers. Her father's collection were nothing but hunting and survival types. I took those anyways.
Becky, for her own reasons does not want to go to her house. She says that she does not want us to go either. We will respect her wishes.
I was able to get some work out equipment from the propane town. Now there is a full gym. Tread mill, work out bench with weights. mats, balls and everything that the modern work out center would have.
While I was loading that stuff into the van. My wives spotted a DVD rental place. I came out to find that they had filled two garbage bags with DVD's.
Leave it to the women, among the bags of DVDs they scavenged from the rental place was the entire "adult section." They were not trying to hide them, why would they. In fact, I did come home from a quick local run and heard moaning coming from the TV
room. There they were, naked as jay birds, enjoying themselves while watching an intense DVD.
All they did was ask me if I wanted to watch with them. I said yes so they separated and told me to sit in between them. Well after a few scenes, we weren't watching the movie.
I did tell them that there is a camera and tripod in the closet. That night, when I went into our bedroom, there it was and no blankets on the bed to be seen.
We did get quite a few board games, a lot of playing cards and such. Entertainment.
They did insist that we get more games for the game console Jess had. Tough to find but we got a few more.
The reason for gathering all that we had was the fact that when it snowed, we would not be able to simply shovel the snow and go where we pleased. When the snow melted from the pavement we could go out but with snow covering everything our home entrance would be easily found. Once I can look out and see that the pavement was
melted from the dealership lot. We could go out and frolic in the snow. On the opposite side of the town was a hill just right for sledding.
Then the snow arrived. Unlike other years with moderate storms, It almost seems like the world is relaxing. It was enjoying the snow because we received multiple white out blizzards that lasted a long time. Both Becky and Jess are from this area. They had never seen anything like this. It was to the point that I put thick plexiglass our side of the garage windows. After the third blizzard in a row, the snow drifts had covered over the doors.
Time seemed to slow down for us. We only heard the wind when we went to check what was happening. Being self-sufficient underground had its advantages but its disadvantages. We wanted to go outside in the lulls between storms. We could not. So much snow that any attempt to go out would make it very apparent that someone was there.
One really good thing that we did preparing for winter was the cleaning out the drug store. Both wives insisted that we take all of the birth control pills that were there. They had enough to last a few years. They also took the bottles of the morning after pills and all the pregnancy tests that were there. After they said that we needed to wait on children until things calmed down.
We all know the basics of child birth but until at least one of us read enough to call themselves a midwife, we had to wait. They did inform me that if we came across someone that was a midwife, she would be installed as my third wife. The impression I got was I had no say in the matter of additional wives.
Locked up in the storage area were the collection of all the other drugs on the pharmacy shelves. It was locked up, not because we did not trust each other, it is because they wanted to have children. Habits are hard to break. Not locked up, small hands could get at them. That’s not happening.
From the library we got books on what each drug was used for and books on symptoms long with the treatments. I was taught first aid in the military but the thought of a major illness or injury without someone trained actually makes me very uncomfortable.
Finally. we had a break in the weather The snow melted slowly but with the back door on the dealership garage, we were able to play around outside.
"I think that I need to store the Jeep in another location."
"Why" they ask.
"That way I could walk to it and then we could check out the town"
"You can do it but only after this snow melts."
There is enough wind that our tracks were mostly covered up as we made them. It was cold, windy so our little excursion came to a quick end. I came back later to check. All traces of us have been erased by the north wind blowing the drifting powder snow.
Eventually the snow started to melt. Our weather station showed that the temperature was slowly rising. Spring is coming. Time to start planning on this year’s gardens. It was agreed upon that we would use the gardens that we raided. The minor digging early in the spring will go without notice. The crops that were there last year would go in this year. The tomatoes and lettuce lasted so no worry this year.
It was great to be able to roam around again but the winter storms took their toll. It could be seen that no one had come through during the winter. The trees that were across the roads were still in place.
Now the question. Do we move them? I decide that we can tow them slightly to be able to get around but cutting them up would tip someone off as to our presence.
Some trees came down into a few houses. those will be the first ones searched but only after I can make sure they are safe. We wanted to start searching during winter but the storms made it impossible. Most of the bodies should be past the stage of rotting so with only a mask we should be fine.
Every item that we salted needs to be collected and stored in our storeroom. Now after almost a year since the virus was let loose, people not finding anything is actually normal. Like the three of us, like the Rovers, people will start to gather when they find people with like attitudes. So, areas cleanly picked would not be out of the ordinary.
Each place that is intact we search we will clean out. The houses that have damage we will make sure that there is some few cans of beans or something like dog food. After searching a few of our cleared out houses, a scavenger has to come to the conclusion that only a bare minimum is left in the town and move on.
All the signs that we posted were gone. Blown away. It was decided that we did not want to deal with outsiders after last year’s fiasco. We will take action on a case by case basis. With nothing left most will move on but there has been no one since the rovers were slain.
We plant the gardens, search the houses and then expand our search area to include the rural out of town locations. At one of the locations, we found what are now free range chickens. I immediately made some live traps. I'm catching me some chickens.
I tell my wives about the chickens and how I made traps. Then tell them "Breakfast needs eggs. We can raise the chickens in the garage. There has to be pigs out there."
They both are drooling
"Bacon and eggs..... "
"Here's some grain I found in the barn" Becky hands me, "Catch them quick, I want a real breakfast."
"With enough chickens, we can make other things, like cake" Jess adds, "I could really go for cake."
Then Becky asks me "You ever butcher a cow? I want hamburgers"
"Burgers, eggs, cake you two are getting demanding."
"Better expect more, it's a wife's roll to demand things" then they strike a superior pose.
"Both of you need to learn how to make bread if you want burgers." Then I set my traps.
Later that day I checked my traps. I caught six chickens. I put them in the pet carriers I found. Then reset the traps. I did find where they are laying their eggs. There were fourteen eggs in that area so there must be more chickens.
Side note, I did see a pig, shot it, gut it and it is now in the garage. The wives are busy in the kitchen making up supper. The squeals they made when I set the treasure trove on the counter. I escort them into the garage. When they see the chickens they let them roam the garage.
"You need to make a quick nesting box for them. Also, we need to run to that feed and grain store for their feed" Becky tells me, "You know, the one that we stopped at last year before we got Jess."
I remember the place "Tomorrow I'll go there before I check my traps again. If I catch at least four more and a rooster, I won't reset the traps. Let them roam. In the meantime, anyone for pork?"
I swear, they drool easily. "I better get butchering this. I'll smoke the bacon and most of the thighs. We can freeze the rest. The smoker will have some bacon ready for morning breakfast. I am limiting each one of us to two eggs but I want some cake for supper's dessert."
The next day it seems that it is a family outing. The wives needed to tag along to the store. They need new boots and jeans. It seems that some of the jeans we got last year turned into those shorts. I drove one of the vans here.
"I want you to take all the rest of the boots, pants and anything else in our sizes. Also take most of the few sizes up and down from our current sizes. I'll go looking for the feed."
Found it and a chicken feeder. I had loaded five large bags of feed on the cart along with two feeders also a few rolls of chicken wire. Fence them in and the chicken shit is not all over. I do find that they are making their third shopping cart trip. They are taking even children’s sizes. I hope they are not hinting.
"Found what I wanted. What's with the kid’s clothes?"
"We need to think ahead. We may accept people who have children."
Okay, I think. Let's leave it at that.
"While we are here I see there are a few more stores in the area. Up for some more scavenging? I want the pawn shop. there usually have some interesting things that are not necessarily survival related. "
"That adult store looks fun. I've never been in one." Becky remarks
Jess says "I've never been in one either."
Wanting to have some fun "Forget the pawn shop. I think the adult store would be more educational"
The look that they got when I got the door open and both enter the store, priceless.
Instead of being shy or intimidated they were in full blown hormone drive. Toys, books and outfits the way they were each pushing a cart. Items were filling the carts. Some toys, a lot of books but the majority were outfits. We spent almost two hours in there.
Now this is a large van but we may need to go home before I check on the chickens. It's Becky that says,
"Why don't we go back home and unload. Then you can check on the chicken traps."
They are scheming about something. They must have established a psychic connection. I didn't hear them saying anything.
"That sounds good. We have quite a load." Knowing something is up "What I'll do is just drop this one off and take one of the other vans for the chickens."
"That works for us"
We return and as planned, I leave that one here and check the traps. We are in luck five more along with the rooster, and eight eggs. I did not reset the traps. When I return, I unload the new chickens. I need to make the fenced in area fast. The floor needs to be washed.
Looking into the first van I see that the feed and such are still there. All the clothes and such have been taken out, as it should be. The stuff for the chickens has to be kept out of their reach.
After getting the new eggs, I go into the house. What awaited me was the stuff that a grown man has wet dreams about. What once were my beautiful wives were now standing before me. If I hadn't already set the eggs down, we would be having scrambled. There before me were the two but now they looked like the most gorgeous high priced whores I've ever dreamed about.
Becky had on thigh high stockings garter belt over a black lace split crotch panties. Thin black teddy that did not hide the lace bra with the open nipples. finishing it was the lace choker with the gold heart pendent. Jess was dressed the same with the exception that the colors were a blood red.
They were posing for me the way they had seen in the videos. My heart was going to beat right out of my chest. My pants were too tight already. With out a word, we end up in our bed room. We did not emerge until late the next morning.
They are all grown up
It was decided to make our first trip to the cabin. As we drive up, we see smoke. It is not a cabin fire as much as it appears to be a cooking fire. Someone is there. We make noise as we approach and stop a distance from the cabin. The door is shut but the nail boards have been removed.
"In the cabin, we mean you no harm"
A man sticks his head out. "What business do you have here?"
"I owned the cabin, but it looks like you have settled in so that makes it yours now."
"We thought it was abandoned but now you're saying it's mine"
"Right of possession. How long have you been here, if I may ask?"
"About four tough months."
I motion for my wives to get out. I make a daring move.
"I need to tell you not to panic. I'm going to unbuckle my holster and put it in the Jeep."
He does stiffen but does not move so I unbuckle my belt and put the rig on the front seat. I get a feeling that this one may be legit.
The three of us walk a little away from the Jeep.
I say "In the back of the Jeep there are some supplies. We were going to spend a few days here but it's your property now. You look like you could use the supplies more than I can. We will step away from it. You can go over to the back and take all that is there."
We step away. I whisper to them "There isn't any of your outfits there are there?"
Jess whispers back, "There was no need, we decided to go nudist."
The man comes back with a large box of food. Before anyone could do anything two children come out
"Is that food?" they excitedly ask.
I answer "Yes, and we have more where that came from. I'm Trevor Jones and these are my wives Becky and Jess"
A woman comes out of the cabin. "That is Rick Thomas, I'm Cindy. You can call me his wife. We met as this was going down. We picked up these two as we were leaving the city. Their names are Bob and Lisa."
"Nice to meet you Cindy. How are you fixed for food?"
Rick answers "Whatever I can trap. There were can goods that we found but we have been on short rations for a while."
"Kids, would you please get the remainder of the food out of the Jeep" I ask them.
They looked like they were both ten or eleven years old. It was fun watching them bring things one or two at a time. I motion to Rick and Cindy to come over to my wives.
The look on Becky and Jess is that they have just melted. I feel the same way. These folks toughed it out during the blizzards. He kept them alive. He and his family are real.
"Rick, Cindy, I won't tell you where right now but we have lived here for almost a year. "
"We started in this cabin because I owned it for a few years before the virus. As I said to you, Rick, I no longer own it. This new era right of possession is ownership. This is your property but it can be as large as you want."
"First things first, you must be out of gas. How are you drawing water?"
"The car has gas. During the winter, we melted snow in the fireplace. Now I drive to the river to get the water."
I think, here we go again.
"Jess, would you please get me a bottle of water. Rick, beside the fireplace on the right hand side you will find an almost hidden key hole." I hand him a key from my key ring.
"Use this and bring me the key you find."
Rick goes inside and after a few minutes he comes out with the key.
"It looks just like a knot hole"
"That's on purpose. Jess let me have the water bottle."
Now Becky knows what is going to happen as I walk over to the side by the door. I insert the key into the lock and the door opens. I unscrew the bottle top. Unscrew the cap from the pipe labeled water, poured in the water then I hit the switch. The generator sputters to life. I point to Rick and he comes over.
"You may not need to prime but if your do put around a bottle of water into the pipe marked water. The other one that is marked gas is obvious. It was full when we left it, so it will run around fourteen hours on a tank. In the back of the Jeep is the refuel tank we brought. Cindy, turn on the faucet."
I hear a scream of joy as she yells "Rick, we have water."
"Rick" I ask "May I go into your house?"
Dumbfounded by the generator, he just nods.
We go in and Cindy is beside herself. "We have lights Rick, lights"
"That's not all" I open a cabinet and flip a switch. "In an hour you will have hot water.
follow me"
I lead them to the bathroom. They have set up a bucket toilet in the shower.
"No need for this. Becky, please set it outside."
I flush the toilet "Okay that works"
This is too much for Cindy. She is now sitting on a kitchen chair crying like a baby. My wives are comforting her, telling her that it will just be getting better.
I pull Rick outside
"Rick you have shown dedication to your family. You toughed it out for the worse part of the season. It's spring, welcome to the better part." I hold out my hand.
"Never would I have imagined that good people still existed. We first were in a town miles away. We left there without stopping. There was a gang there. We traveled, scrounged for food, pumped gas from the in ground tanks. I actually made a wrong turn.
That's when we found this cabin. We made it, spring is here. Thank you for helping us.
We were ready to move on."
"Please don't move on. We need good people here."
I continue, "The spring planting is starting. We harvested the gardens people started before the virus. The plan is to get the various gardens ready for planting. Once we plant we do not do major weeding so that they don't stick out. Willing to help? if you do you get your share of the harvest."
"I will tell you this, we have a large cold cellar and a working freezer. Yours is small but we'll be bringing more on a regular basis. You mentioned trapping, are you good at that?"
"I do pretty good"
"I'm going to get you a side arm and rifle with plenty of rounds. Set up targets and teach Cindy how to shoot. For now, I'll hunt, you trap. We both exchange. Right now, you need the help so it will seem one way but there are things that we will both need to do."
I fill him in on the Rover situation we faced last fall.
"Those sound like the ones we ran from."
The children come out of the cabin.
"Mister your wives are very pretty. Their helping Mama Cindy make lunch. Your wives told us that we could eat until we can't eat anymore."
"Papa Rick is that okay?"
"You better believe it."
I tell them both that they can address us as aunt and uncle. "I'm uncle Trevor and the two ladies are aunt Becky who has the shoulder length hair and aunt Jess who has the pony tail hair. Papa Rick and I were discussing getting food and helping each other."
"We want to help too"
"You better. Your need to grow up strong and smart."
They giggle and run in to see if they could help.
"Rick, I am going to make sure that they stay happy from now on. Can I help?"
About that time, everyone comes out with food. It is refreshing to see those kids stuff themselves.
"They will sleep without being hungry, thank you" Cindy is again tearing up.
"Never again" my wives say with tears..
"Now for the most important thing, when you need help just ring the church bell we'll come running. Also, something to consider, we can help you get one of the houses closer to the center ready. It would be larger than this. I know where there are propane generators. We can install one there. Same place has propane tanks and trucks. We install that at one house and have a full tank truck parked behind."
"Let me think about that. It is very tempting." Rick answers.
It's only mid-day and both children are very happy, very full and very sleepy. Cindy ushers them inside, Rick follows.
"They need our help badly. Cindy was saying that their rations were such that they only ate every other day. Sometimes it was only one meal. They both would not eat days on end in order to have something for the children." Becky says.
Jess breaks in "We need to get them into town. I feel that they are real. If they continue to be an asset to us, we may consider to have them move in with us."
"You get that feeling already?" I ask
"No question, yes. Look around. They were not making it up. Even the poop pile away from the back shows that they have been here for a while."
"If you are talking about them moving in. Any hint of betrayal they would not be allowed to leave. You need to understand that."
They tell me they understand.
"Then how long until we offer?"
"I feel that it would be a matter of days." Becky says.
"Know then that the antics will be greatly curtailed."
"We can confine it to our room. We could put them at the other end of the house. There is that side that we don't use for anything but storage. The house is also very sound proof." Jess states.
"If that is how you feel, I feel the same way. It's a big gamble but I am going to try something for trust. We will talk about it when we get back. Let’s just say we will find out quick."
Thinking to myself, tomorrow at the latest. They have suffered enough.
The day is winding down, so as we say our good byes.
"Rick, I could use your help tomorrow for a few hours in the morning. You available?"
"Sure. Where do you want to meet?"
"I'll pick you up here. Be advised, it won't be the Jeep that I came in. Please don't be shocked, but the children will love it."
"Okay" but he seems puzzled.
When we get back to our home, I tell the women my plan. They say that I will need to bring him some pants. He looks like a size 38 waist.
In the morning, I put one SUV in the dealership middle bay after I drove mine outside. It is covered over just in case.
I'm laughing as I drive the last leg to the cabin. Over the winter I added a PA system to the SUV. I put in “The Ride of The Valkyries by Wagner”. I crank the volume up, turn it on, rev the engine loud and proceed up to the cabin.
My wives were right but I should have brought two changes. One for Rick and one for Cindy. They look like they should have had wet stains but both children were laughing while they bounced up and down. My death mobile is a sight to see. I rev the engine and then shut it down. The silence only broken by the laughter of the children.
Since the supplies that we gave them yesterday had it, I get out
"Got any coffee. For some reason I can't get motivated in the morning without coffee."
Then strike a pose by leaning my right elbow against the door.
Rick is stuttering "What, what, what!" and pointing at the SUV.
"Just call it traveling insurance. Where is the coffee?" I do lock it and tell the children to look but don't touch. They are dancing around it. We go and sit on the porch.
Cindy, still in shock comes out with two cups. One for me and one for Rick. Both still don't know what to say. I go to my favorite set of movies for my opening.
"Rick, Cindy, yesterday I came with my words of truth, today I come with my words of iron. By showing you my words of iron, I show you that my words of truth have the same iron. I call it my death mobile. It was used against that gang last fall. Not one survived.”
“As you can see,” I see the children getting to close to the blades so say to them. “Kids stay away from those blades, they’re very sharp, they will cut fingers off, Thank you.”
“Where was I, spikes on the front and teeth on the back. Fully auto machine gun with 360 degrees horizontal, 90 degrees vertical remote controlled movement. Ten foot distance knee level napalm flame throwers, gun ports oh yes roof mounted RPG’s."
Just for fun and to break the ice, "It comes with a hundred thousand mile warranty.
automatic, power steering and ice cold AC. I can have you in one. All you need is a hundred dollars down and a pay stub."
"Is that for real?" Rick finally is able to ask.
"One hundred percent real and lethal. I have another that I would like to train you in today. They stay in my custody but I want to take you into an uninhabited area so you can get the feel for it. Live rounds of course. You game?"
That brought Rick back to reality really quick.
"Oh, hell yeah." he answers.
"Cindy, I'll have him back in a few hours. FYI, I do have a change of pants for him."
"Rick go enjoy yourself, but home before dark. Okay?"
He says yes. I get in and unlock his door and he climbs in. This time I put in a different tune. It's the tune that the ice cream trucks used. The irritating, almost evil, version of
‘farmer in the dell’. We drive off to the dealership.
When we get there, I open the middle door and throw him the keys. That one does not have the PA. He starts it and pulls out, then stops. I show him the gun controls, explain the RPG ropes and the other items.
“We are going to an area 30 miles from here. It is totally isolated. Only a few wrecked cars that we have fired upon in the past. Just follow me but don't play with the buttons until we get there. We'll be able to talk with the radios to each other. Need any other instructions before we leave?"
“No” he answers so I get in my SUV and start towards the drive-in. We talk to each other on the radios. They have a very long range so my wives can hear. Jess came to the cabin after we left the dealers. Just after we left, Becky trails the two of us miles behind just in case.
When we get to the drive-in area, I pull off to the left side. I tell Rick target the car on the right hand side. The one that is on its roof as he is driving towards it. Rick is able to get most of the rounds into that car. Now time to test him.
"Rick do a one eighty and shoot the one just after where I am parked."
He turns it around, just as he passes me he fires but this time he is more accurate.
"How does it feel?"
"I love it. You can feel the power.”
I tell myself, time for the one last test.
“I want you to do another one eighty again and this time pass the car just off the road on your right hand side. It’s the one just past where I’m parked but on the right side. When you pass fire the right rear RPG at it. I need you to remember I will be on the left side of the road. Right rear only. Understand?”