Chapter 4
Chapter Four
When he rolled into the rest stop, the place was a mess, with abandoned cars in the lot, broken windows, the doors gaping open, bloodstains on the pavement…
Modern day ground vehicles didn’t require any type of refueling but humans hadn’t evolved beyond the need to stretch their legs, use the facilities and have a snack or a meal.
He also wanted to get his two bus convoy more organized, to feel in control of the situation he’d been thrust into.
Accordingly he kept the doors closed and called Ethan.
“Keep your people on board until I’ve checked the place out. ”
“Roger. Need help?”
“Nah, I got a couple of armed guys over here.” Rising, he faced the passengers.
“I need a few volunteers to go with me to check the place out for infected. I can see a couple of the creatures trapped in their cars already so there may be more.” He pointed at three men carrying blast rifles. “You, you and you. Now.”
Two of them came forward without demur but the third got in his face. “Who put you in charge?”
“The woman who told me there was a bus to escape on, right before the infected broke into that shabby ass compound,” he said, holding his projectile gun at his side.
“You don’t like it, you can leave.” He waved his gun at the now open door, where the other two men stood outside on the pavement beside the bus, weapons ready.
The malcontent muttered a curse under his breath but descended the stairs to join the others. Les eyed his remaining passengers. He pointed to the woman in seat one. “You’re in charge till I get back.”
She didn’t argue or seem reluctant to step in. “I’m not sure I can drive a bus.”
“Hopefully you won’t have to. Don’t let anyone out. Close the door behind me.” He showed her the control and left the bus.
With his squad of draftees, he cleared the buildings, which consisted of a gift and snack shop, a restaurant and a small stockroom.
There were a couple of big groundtrucks parked off to the side of the huge parking lot and he eyed them but left them alone.
They found one infected trapped in the stockroom and shot him, leaving him where he fell, in a pool of black ichor.
“I want a guard on the road in each direction,” Les said as he and his helpers emerged from the store, which had been looted at some point. “You and you. You see anything moving our way, come running.”
The duo nodded and moved off as ordered.
He hoped he’d gotten himself a couple of good guys to work with but his trust level was low.
Returning to the bus, the grumbler at his heels, he signaled for the woman to open the doors and when she did he stepped inside.
“It’s a mess but all clear. We’re going to have a meeting in front of the buses and then we’ll take half an hour here before we set out again.
” He picked up the com and reiterated his message to Ethan.
“Everybody out but stay beside the bus,” he said when he was done briefing his fellow driver.
When they were all assembled and Ethan had brought his group of passengers to join them, Les stood on the bottom step so everyone could see him and he could keep an eye on the small crowd.
“I’m Les McDaniel and this is Ethan Cole.
I was told to take these buses to a place further north called Glastine, where there’s supposed to be a big government-run refugee camp.
I don’t know anything more about it. Anyone who doesn’t want to end up there can leave now. ”
He watched a few people whispering to each other and wasn’t surprised when the man who‘d complained about helping to clear the facility stepped away, followed by a few others.
“Anyone ever been to Glastine before?” he asked.
A few hands were raised. “It’s about two thirds the size of New Damarkal,” a woman volunteered. “Probably four or five days drive from here. There isn’t much between here and there.”
“A couple of small villages,” added another man.
“Might be best to avoid those if we can,” an older woman said.
“We’ll take it as it comes,” Les said. “From what I saw on the map holo, the road goes pretty much straight through. All right, here’s the deal for right now.
I want all you people to forage through this place, open every cabinet and drawer and grab anything edible that isn’t spoiled, as well as any water or other drinks. It’s community property now—”
“I’ll take charge of it, if you want,” the woman with the toddler volunteered. “I’m Devora Sims from Rosewater. I’m a police dispatcher, or I was, and I was the head cook at Jonny’s compound. I’ve got experience making the food stretch.”
“Done. Thank you. We’ll use the bus cargo compartment as our collection point,” Les said, grateful for Devora stepping forward.
“We’ll divide the supplies between the buses in case we get separated.
I want to redistribute the passengers as well, to even it out and give people more elbow room.
” He estimated he had about fifty survivors, not counting the five who’d already moved to the side and were discussing their plans.
“I need two volunteers to relieve my guards in fifteen minutes so they can catch a break.” He was pleased to have more volunteers than he needed and picked a woman who projected a tough, no nonsense air as she brandished a small stunner and a man with a hand blaster.
“Use the facilities, pick up anything you want for yourself that isn’t food or beverages and keep in mind we’re leaving in thirty minutes.
Let’s move with a purpose, people.” He made a shooing motion and after a brief hesitation the crowd scattered, some going to the gift shop and others heading for the restaurant.
Les stepped off the bus step with a grateful sigh.
Ethan and Devora remained at his side. Looking at his fellow driver, he said, “There was a park a few hours ahead. I figure we’ll spend the night there and then we can have another meeting, find out who everyone is, do the kumbaya thing.
You and I can also go over the buses then, make sure they’re going to hold up for the entire trip.
And turn off the damn flashers, alarms and red lights. ”
Ethan grinned. “Sounds good. I’m going to go check out the store here.”
Les directed his attention to Devora next. “Cute kid. What’s her name?”
“Jenny,” the child said, giving him a shy smile from the safety of Devora’s arms.
“We found her abandoned in the yard,” Devora said quietly. “Tamsyn gave her to me and here we are.”
“Thanks for volunteering to be in charge of the supplies,” he said.
“You think everyone is going to share what they scavenge in there?” she asked skeptically.
“Most will. Sure a few people may grab something for themselves but I can only control so much here, lady.”
The man who’d been so unwilling to do what Les had asked came up to them, the other people lingering a few steps back. “We’re gonna clear those two cars and take off,” he said.
”And you’re telling me why?”
“We want our share of the food and drinks,” the man said.
Les stared at him for a moment and transferred his glare to the others. “Your share? You ain’t part of my group anymore. You opted out, remember? But hey, it’s a free country, see what you can find inside.”
The defectors rushed off without further discussion.
“I wonder where they plan to go, if not to the camp at Glastine,” Devora said.
“I don’t know and I don’t care. I’d rather not have them on my buses.”
Devora shuffled her foot uneasily. “Can I ask a favor? Would you walk us inside to the restroom? I know you said you’d cleared the building but I’m scared of meeting any more infected And I’ve got Jenny to watch out for as well.”
He didn’t mind at all. It would give him a chance to check on the people he’d set to foraging. Making a grand gesture, he indicated for them to precede him to the store. On a whim he took Jenny from Devora and hoisted her to his shoulders, which made the toddler giggle and clutch at his hair.
The store had been a mess when he entered it the first time but now it was even more of a disaster, with all the people rooting through the shelves and the debris on the floor, searching for anything usable or edible.
He escorted Devora straight to the back, where the bathrooms were and actually walked into the ladies with her.
“We checked in here but let me do a quick recon to set your mind at rest,” he said, ignoring the startled objections of several other women.
He felt rewarded by Devora’s smile and soon enough he left her in the large sink area as she was cleaning Jenny’s face and hands.
Once outside he made a quick circuit of the store to see how things were going and on his return to the restroom area he paused at a colorful display of cheap kids’ toys.
Grabbing a hot pink backpack with unicorns and comets on it he hastily stuffed some coloring books, crayons, a toy car, several action figures and few children’s books into it, along with several sparkly tee shirts and a nightgown with a fairy princess on it.
He paused at a shelf holding tiny stuffed animals and grabbed as many as he could, sealing the pack shut and stepping to the ladies’ room door as Devora emerged with her charge.
“Got this for the kid,” he said, thrusting the pack at her. “Help keep her from getting bored on the road since it’s going to be a long drive. Wait to let her open it till we’re on the move.”
“That’s so thoughtful of you,” Devora said, flashing him a tired grin.
“No surprise no one else seems to have wanted any of the stuff.” He took a pair of sparkly sunglasses with butterflies on the frames and put them on Jenny’s head. “For you, kiddo.”
They went outside to the buses and Les was pleased to see people piling their finds next to the bus cargo compartment as ordered.
“I’d better get over there and start cataloging what we’ve got,” Devora said. “I’ve got my handheld powered up, at least for now.”
“We can charge it off the bus engine too,” Les said.
Once they arrived at the side of the bus, Devora undid the backpack and took out a picture book, which she handed to Jenny. “You can help me with all of this by sitting and reading, okay?”
The toddler took the book and plopped down on the pavement.
“Might as well open the cargo area,” Les said.
“We can load up as soon as you’ve made your tally.
” He fished the driver’s token from his pocket, having found it stuck to the dashboard by its magnetic back and pressed it to the locking mechanism.
The bus panel slid smoothly aside and he and Devora stared in disbelief at the contents.
There were boxes and boxes of survival rations and a number of packs of sealed nutrition drinks, as well as flats of bottled water.
“Guess the late Rosewater warlord did think ahead to some extent,” Les said as he gestured to Ethan to join them.
Devora shook her head. “I’m positive it wasn’t Jonny.
He wouldn’t have done this because he never expected his compound to fail.
I was told the owner of the local sporting goods store was in charge of the evacuation plan, which Jonny agreed to grudgingly and he must have brought stock from his store. ”
“Did he make it out with us? I’d like to thank him,” Les said.
Devora shook her head. “He was on the barricades last night.“
Ethan whistled as he walked up to them and got an eyeful of the bounty in the cargo compartment. “Nice.”
“Go check your bus and see what you have over there,” Les said. He eyed the pile of foraged goods, which was growing slowly. “We’d have had a hard time feeding the group with just the junk food from this place.”
“Get me somewhere with a stove or even a big pot and a fire and I can make a filling meal with what’s been brought out from the restaurant kitchen,” Devora said, pointing at large containers of beans, tomato sauce and other basics.
“If we’re going to stop at the Killdeen Hot Springs and Wildlife Preserve Park tonight, I can take over one of the cabins and cook. A good meal will help morale.”
Les grabbed a young woman who’d come to drop off a few sticks of candy and a six pack of soft drinks.
“You’re now Devora’s assistant, congratulations.
Help her make an inventory. I’ll get a couple of guys to load up the bus.
” He was getting impatient and the longer they parked here at the rest stop, the more the suspicion grew they needed to move on.
He saw the car the small group of refugees had hotwired go peeling out of the parking lot and heading south, which didn’t make much sense to him Nothing in that direction but Rosewater and beyond that New Damarkal, both of which were overrun with infected.
Maybe the group knew something he didn’t but clearly they had a destination in mind and motivation to get there.
Fewer mouths for him to feed so goodbye and good luck.
He rounded up his passengers, splitting them evenly between the two buses but making sure Devora and the little girl stayed on his bus, in the seat right behind his.
He felt an extra measure of protectiveness toward the two and told himself it was because Devora had stepped up to take charge of the food inventory. She was making his life easier.
It couldn’t have anything to do with her sparkling eyes and no nonsense manner, or the curvy figure she was hiding in her baggy clothes. Who could think about those things right now in the middle of an apocalypse?
Well, he guessed he could, given the right woman.
He pulled out onto the main road ten minutes later without incident, Ethan following a few yards behind and headed north at a good rate of speed.
Les was anxious to hit the park before dark and check the place out thoroughly, as he’d done here, before he allowed his group to rest for the night.
The buses had a limit on how fast they’d drive, maybe because they started life as school buses, but he and Ethan were definitely going to work on the issue tonight.
He wanted all the speed he could squeeze from the engine if there was an emergency.
The infected couldn’t move as fast as the bus could go but watching the car full of departing refugees had gotten him thinking about human predators they might meet on the road before reaching the presumed safety of Glastine.
He wished the group had more weapons but it was a miracle they had any at all.
He was giving himself a headache, thinking of all the contingencies and trying to make plans which had to remain inadequate, given the circumstances.
Engaging the AI, he put his feet up and dozed off.
The sound of the child behind him singing a lullaby over and over to the stuffed animals he’d gotten her lulled him into a nap.