No Easy Hope - 01 (38 page)

Bill arrived in short order with a caravan of vehicles behind him. Their first stop was the gun store. It took them two hours and three trips back and forth to the compound to empty all the supplies from the basement. I could only guess at how long it took Alan to stockpile everything he kept down there. There were five entire pallets of 5.56mm military grade ammunition. Each pallet consisted of eighty thousand rounds. I thought Steve’s eyes were going to pop out of his head when he saw them. Old Alan must have had a hard-on for AR-15 rifles, because there were enough of them down there to give one to all of the survivors, and still have a few left over. Steve suggested to Bill that he start training the others to use the weapons as soon as possible.

I helped out with loading supplies onto the trucks, and I was amazed at the volume and variety of weapons we found. There were hunting rifles in every caliber imaginable, shotguns, pistols, AK-47’s, M1A’s (much to Steve’s delight), and we even found five Barrett .50 caliber sniper rifles. There was much more, but I lost track of it after a while. In addition to the massive amount of 5.56mm ammo, there were thousands of rounds in more calibers than I could count. The guns and ammo by themselves would have been worth the trip, but they were just the beginning of what we found. There was enough food down there for a man to survive on for several years. Once divided amongst the survivors it would only last for a few months, but it was nice to know that no one would be going hungry any time soon.

Once we cleaned out Alan’s shop, we spent the rest of the day pillaging any building that did not look like it was about to collapse. The two diversion teams returned mid-way through the afternoon and received a warm welcome. Bill was practically jumping up and down with excitement. His mood was contagious, and all of the survivors were in high spirits. Every time I turned around someone was offering a handshake, or giving me a pat on the back. My esteem amongst the other survivors seemed to increase dramatically once it was clear that my plan had worked. I shrugged off the gratitude, and pointed out the fact that I really hadn’t done very much.

Andrea stayed close to me throughout the afternoon, and I was grateful for her presence. I smelled horrible after handling all those corpses, but she did not seem to mind. After six long hours of work, Bill called a halt and ordered everyone to pack up and head back to the compound. There were a few complaints at that, as there were still many buildings yet to search, but Bill reminded them that the town wasn’t going anywhere. They could come back for the rest later.

The people who stayed behind at the compound had been kind enough to set up showers for us. Bill gave the diversion and sweep teams first go at them. Once we cleaned up, Bill and Andrea looked us over for any signs of infection. They gave us all a clean bill of health. Stacy brought me a change of clothes from my suitcase, and hugged me tightly as she gave them to me.

“I can’t tell you how happy I am right now.” She said.

I laughed and put my hands around her pretty face. She leaned in and I kissed her soft, warm lips. When I stepped back, her beautiful brown eyes smoldered.

“I don’t care how tired you are. You come to me after you get something to eat. Got it?”

I smiled and hugged her again. “Yes, ma’am.”

Dinner that night was mac and cheese, pinto beans, cornbread, and grilled Spam. It was one of the best damn meals I’ve ever eaten in my entire life. It is amazing how much better food tastes after a hard day’s work.

Chapter 14

Decisions

Me, and a dozen or so other people spent a few days running back and forth to Alexis collecting supplies. We stripped the place bare, and wound up with so much stuff that we ran out of space in the warehouse to store it. Bill had to assign a team to start clearing the factory floor. Ethan organized a task group of seven people to inventory everything we brought in. When we finally sorted and counted everything, the compound had enough food put by to last at least an entire year. They also had a large inventory of weapons, and more than five hundred thousand rounds of ammunition.

A few days after our first raid, Bill caught up with me during breakfast. I was sitting at a picnic table with Stacy, Ethan, and Andrea. Bill made small talk during the meal, and when everyone got up to go about the day’s work, the old surgeon asked if he could have a word with me in private. I agreed and followed him to the roof of the warehouse. Bill told the people on watch to take a break, and after they had gone back inside, Bill walked over to the eastern side of the roof. The air already smelled of burning flesh from the furnace in the factory. Work teams were still incinerating the remains of the four hundred or so infected that attacked the compound a little over a week ago.

“So how are things going between you and Stacy?” He asked.

I frowned, and looked down at the tarred roof between my feet.

“I was wondering when you were going to get around to this.”

Bill half turned to look at me. “She
is
my daughter, after all. She’s the only family I have left. I don’t think I’m stepping out of line by asking what your intentions are.”

I thought about it for a moment, and finally shook my head.

“I don’t know, Bill. She’s beautiful, intelligent, kind, and she has a great sense of humor. Stacy is everything a man can ask for in a woman.”

“But…” Bill said.

“I had plans before I came here.” I replied.

“Your friend, Gabriel.”

I nodded. “I promised him I would find him once things settled down.”

“And you still feel the need to satisfy that promise.”

“I do. Then again, I can’t help but see that we have a good thing going here. We have plenty of supplies, and its safe here. Well, as safe as any place can be, I guess.”

“I understand that you are in a difficult position. Just do me one favor, Eric.”

Bill stepped close to me and laid a hand on my shoulder.

“Be good to my Stacy. She’s suffered a lot. Don’t hurt her any more than she’s already been hurt.”

I looked him in his watery blue eyes for a moment before responding.

“I promise to try. You never know how these things will turn out.”

Bill smiled and patted my shoulder.

“Fair enough.”

 He turned and walked back to the edge of the roof. The sun was cresting over the green hills in the distance. There was a slight chill in the air, and a low fog lingered over the treetops. It was early October, but the weather stays warm in North Carolina well into the fall.

“I want you to know how grateful I am for everything that you’ve done for us.” He said, gazing off into the distance.

“I’m just glad I could help.” I replied.

“You’re a good man, Eric. You did a good thing for all of us here. Come what may, don’t ever forget that.”

I nodded, and smiled.

“Thanks, Bill. I appreciate that.”

The dark cloud hanging over Steve since the death of his brother seemed to lift in the weeks after the raid. Steve and I were not exactly friends, but we had a decent working relationship. We respected each other, and Steve began stepping up his efforts to train the other survivors. He set up some targets and instructed everyone, including the children old enough to handle a rifle, in the proper way to shoot. He insisted that everyone learn using iron sights, and issued optics to those who proved themselves the most proficient. I volunteered to pitch in on the training where I could. My marksmanship was good, but Steve’s was superior. I told Steve about my years of martial arts training, and he and I sparred a few rounds to see what I could do. Steve was good, but I managed to impress him by getting the better of him in most bouts. He had me teach classes to the other survivors twice a day.

Bill assigned Justin a full time job as the compound’s armorer. There was so much ordnance to keep track of that Bill felt it necessary to put someone in charge of it all. Justin turned out to be a great choice for the job. He was smart, mature beyond his years, and he had a good eye for detail. Justin got some more good news a couple of weeks later.

Emily was pregnant.

She confided in Andrea not long after I arrived that she had missed her period. She and Justin were not particularly careful about things, and she had a strong suspicion that she was carrying a baby. One of the businesses in Alexis that we raided was a pharmacy, and Andrea quietly procured a couple of home pregnancy tests. Emily used them on separate days, and Bill confirmed that she was most likely six weeks along. At first, she was mortified. She broke down in tears and told Bill about how she got drunk on wine and tequila the first night I was here. The old doctor reassured her that one bout of drinking was not likely to do any permanent damage, especially considering how young she was. He told her to take care of herself, avoid caffeine and alcohol, and let him know if she had any problems.

Justin took the news pretty well. He became much more attentive and concerned for Emily once Bill confirmed that she was carrying his child. I have to admit to being worried for her as well. Modern medicine was a thing of the past. Having a doctor and a nurse around improved her chances, but bearing a child is a risky proposition under the best of circumstances. I suggested to Bill that he choose a few bright prospects to pass on some of his medical knowledge to. For all we knew, he could be the last living medical doctor on the face of the Earth. He took my advice and started classes with a few students the following week.

I wish I could say that my relationship with Stacy deepened, but it didn’t. I kept busy most days between combat training, scouting for supplies, and guard duty. I still came to her bed most nights, but our lovemaking no longer had the hot, heady rush one feels in a new relationship. It was just an emotional release for the two of us. We both put on a brave face for the other survivors, but deep down inside, we were hurting. We spoke less and less to one another as the weeks went by.  I noticed that she spent more and more time with Noah Salinger, and I decided that I was okay with that. Noah was a nice guy.

I also decided that it would be time for me to go soon. I was waiting for something, but I was not quite sure what it was. My last two weeks at the compound were what cinched it for me. The housing development that Justin and Rick discovered became our focus after we stripped Alexis of anything that might be remotely useful. It took a lot of effort to clear out all the corpses in the development, but we managed to get it done. Greg and a few others started working on ways that they could better secure the neighborhood’s perimeter and start moving some of the families into homes there. Ethan and Andrea were thrilled with the idea of having an actual house to live in, and not just a shack on the warehouse floor. Aiden was starting to walk, and I imagined him toddling around in a well tended yard. It was a nice thought.

Unfortunately, we were not the only ones who had eyes on the neighborhood.

Steve spotted the trouble first. One day while he and I were doing an assessment of the security fence around the development, we noticed signs of other people having been there recently. Steve found footprints, broken twigs, and other indications that I never would have spotted on my own. It was obvious that it was not the kind of clumsy, aimless trail that the undead leave behind. Steve and I carefully followed the tracks as silently as we could, weapons at the ready. We found the ashes of several small campfires, discarded cans, empty water bottles, and human excrement a few hundred yards beyond the fence line. Steve carefully examined each camp that we found. He estimated that at least nine people had been there less than three days ago.

“Well that begs an obvious question.” I said, “Where did they come from?”

“And how long have they been watching this place?” Steve added.

We were silent for a long moment in the shadow of the tall pines, maybe hoping that the ashes and garbage might produce some answers. We told Bill about what we found and suggested that he call a meeting. Bill agreed, and the next day we detailed everything we saw to the other survivors. There was a lot of back and forth, and conflicting opinions about how we should handle it. Bill suggested that Steve, Cody, and Stan conduct an investigation and see what they could find out. I volunteered to go with them. That seemed to make everyone happy. We were to track the other survivors and attempt to make contact with them, then find out if they were interested in joining the community. At least that is what we told everyone.