Trying to Survive (Part 3) (13 page)

   When I reached the car, Walt said “I guess your leg really is feeling better, huh?”

   “I told you I wasn’t full of shit. I’m definitely not at a hundred percent though.”

   “So, what’s up?”

   “That’s not the only wall. There’s no way in or out, so it can’t be.”

   Allen cut in. “That
has
to mean there’re a lot of them.”

   Walt scoffed “All the more reason to be extra cautious.”

   “Anyway, we have to keep moving. Just follow us again, and gas it through the intersections so you aren’t in sight for long.”

   It was surreal to see so many bodies in the streets and scattered on the floors of any store window I’d peer into. This whole time the shredders had made sure that not a single piece of anyone remained. In a way it was more unsettling than almost anything else I’d witnessed so far. It was a true testament as to how many people have actually died.

   “James, I see two men posted at the top of the wall… But I also see bullet holes all over it. Someone attacked them.” Jenny said as she leaned out from behind the building at the next intersection.

   I heard her, but my mind instantly pushed it away as I continued to stare at the bodies. “What? Sorry.”

   “I said I can see two men posted at the wall, and that they’ve been attacked by other people. I can see the entrance too. It’s large enough for cars, but it’s covered in bullet holes and it looks like they had to repair some extensive damage. Someone was definitely trying to get through.”

   “So, they’re probably on high alert… But, it could also make it so they’re happy to have more people join them. They had to have lost some people defending this place.”

   “Or they lost, and it’s been taken over by the kind of people who go around murdering and stealing what others have… I don’t think all of these bodies are shredders.”

   Jenny came back behind the building and stood up as I said “Shit… What should we do?”

   Jenny walked out to the street and began to look around. She started heading toward a stationary store and said “Go get a white towel out of that duffle bag.”

   When I approached the SUV Walt said “What did you see?”

   “The entrance… Jenny said she could tell they’ve been attacked. Said she saw bullet holes and could tell they had to repair some damage.”

   “So, they’ll probably shoot at us the moment they see us?”

   “Yeah, most likely. But I think Jenny has a plan.”

   “What’s she doing in that store?”

   “I think she’s going to make signs so we can communicate from here. She asked me to get a white towel. I’m assuming we’re going to start off by hanging it past the wall.”

   Veronica remarked “Clever.”

   Allen’s thoughts closely matched Jenny’s. “What if the people who originally did all this lost the fight, and a bunch of crazy fucks are behind those walls now?”

   “Jenny thought of that. All we can do is try. If that is the case, they probably have so much food and shit that they wouldn’t risk trying to kill us for what little we have… I’m hoping they’ll either tell us to come on in, or to go fuck ourselves.”

   “What if it’s a trap?” Veronica asked.

   I put my hands on the roof of the car and slightly leaned inside so I could see her. “I was just thinking about that, but don’t worry, we’re going to be watching them for a while before we make contact. That hasn’t changed… A lot of times you can get a read on people just by looking at them.”

   They all agreed, so I grabbed a white towel and met Jenny in the street as she walked out of the store holding large, poster-sized pieces of paper and a package of magic markers. “What if they bullshit us and then kill us once we get inside… Or just rob us and send us back out with no protection.”

   “What are you saying we should just leave? This is exactly what we’ve been looking for… This is what everyone died for, James.”

   “No, of course not. I’m saying we shouldn’t try to communicate with them until we get a good look at them… They might look like a gang of pirates or some shit. Know what I mean?”

   “A gang of pirates?”

   “I used to work in construction… Trust me, they still exist.”

   Jenny bit down on her bottom lip and looked off to the side. “You’re right. I just got excited so I wasn’t thinking.”

   She started heading back toward the SUV. “Follow me, I have a new plan.”

   Jenny asked the others to get out of the car and gather around. She pointed to an antique shop across the street. “I take it James told you the situation, right?”

   Everyone nodded and waited for her to continue. “Something happened here, and it could have had several different outcomes. Either way, it’s dangerous for us to let them know we exist yet… That store has tinted windows, and the door is far enough to the right that they shouldn’t see us enter. We should be able to safely hide out there and watch them. We can leave the car right here. They won’t notice if they happen to come this way.”

   She took a moment to lock eyes with every one of us. “What do you all think?”

   We all agreed. Allen said “This is what we’re looking for, right? We have to try. If these guys look like assholes we just keep moving... This can’t be the only place where people were able to clear out all the shredders and wall themselves in.”

   Jenny nodded. “If we’re not completely sure about these people we won’t even make contact.”

   Clara’s voice came from behind Veronica. “I don’t like this place. We should leave.”

   Jenny’s face softened and she approached Clara. She sighed and took a knee. “I know Naya made it so you don’t trust anyone. I understand, Clara… What happen changed me too. It changed the way I think about people… But, it’s just as dangerous to keep traveling around on our own and trying to survive.”

   “I know… It’s just this place. I don’t like it here. I think all the good people are dead.”

   Jenny looked over to me as if to ask “Any ideas on what I should say? What if she’s right?”

   I said “Clara, I promise we’re going to take the time to really watch them and find out who they are. Even if it takes days. And like Allen said – if they seem even a little suspicious we’ll move on.”

   Clara’s eyes moved to the ground as she began to nod. Jenny took her hand and started leading her across the street. Clara gently pulled her hand away. “It’s okay, Jenny. I’m not a baby.”

   I stopped Walt and told Allen and Veronica to go ahead and follow Jenny. “We’re probably going to be in there for a while. Might as well grab food, water and extra bullets now.”

   As we gathered what we could hold, Walt said “You know, maybe these people have the wrong idea.”

   “What do you mean?”

   “You said they’ve been attacked, right? Maybe setting up in the middle of a town like this isn’t the way to go… Every gang of assholes that passes through will try and get in.”

   He raised a good point, but I wanted to concrete on getting everything we need and disappearing, so I began heading across the street. “You’re not wrong… But you’ll also miss out on all the good people coming through too.”

   I slowed down so he could catch up. “A place like this could save hundreds of people… There aren’t much of us left, Walt. We need to try and help as many people as we can, not just ourselves. I know I probably sound like a dick using this line, but… People like us really are the future of humanity.”

   “I gotcha, and I agree, but hear me out… I was looking at the map and I noticed there’re a bunch of islands directly east. One of them even has a wildlife sanctuary, which means we could have real food instead of chips and Little Debbies. And it’s only a short trip to an area that has stores and houses to search.”

   “I actually really like that idea. Go back and grab the map so you can show Jenny. We need a second option anyway, and it’ll give us something to talk about… This is gonna be boring as shit.”

Chapter 18

   I was wrong. I stared at the two men guarding the top of the wall for hours. And continued to stare when two others eventually took their places. I couldn’t tell whether they were good people or not. Their beards were overgrown, their clothes had blood stains and they looked dangerous and desperate.

   The only problem is that I know we do too... I tried to imagine what someone would think if they studied me from afar. My scars, the bandage over my eye and the blood on my jeans probably made me look like the type of person who should be avoided. Yeah, I had a clean shirt, but I looked about as untrustworthy as it gets. The way a person looked meant absolutely nothing. They looked like us. Just some normal people trying to survive.

   I knew our paranoia was warranted, but I also worried it could manifest things that don’t actually exist. It could end up convincing us to leave, and we’ll lose out on something that could make it so no one else will die.

   As I listened to Walt explain his idea to Jenny it became increasingly agreeable. It would most likely make it so we never ran into any more people, but we’d also be secluded and safe. The only issue could be that others will have the same idea, and we’re such a small group that we’d be easy to overcome.

   That’s what made all of this so difficult. It seemed like no matter how good an idea was, once my mind got going the potential for danger was almost endless.

   Jenny broke me away from my silent state of confusion and uncertainty. “They’re just talking and laughing… They don’t look like they’re recently been attacked or lost people.”

   Walt replied “It could have been a week ago or something.” He put his hand out. “You mind if I look?”

   Jenny handed Walt his rifle so he could look through the scope. “You’re right. It definitely looks like someone tried to run a car through that wall... And fuck that’s a lot of bullet holes.”

   Walt handed his rifle back to Jenny, stood up and walked over to one of bodies near the front door. He got to his knees and rolled the body over so it was face up. He reached out and spread open its eyes. “This was a shredder.”

   He quickly checked the other two bodies in the store and said “I wanna check some outside. I’ll be right back.”

   Jenny snapped “Make sure to listen for cars and voices. Pay attention.”

   “I will.”

   There was a red convertible left crooked in the middle of the road. It was riddled with gunfire and three of the tires were flat. Walt checked every direction, and then approached the two bodies right next to it. After leaning down to inspect their eyes he turned back and began to nod. He jumped up and sprinted back to the store.

   “Those two weren’t shredders... There was a small war here.”

   Jenny said “It has to be all the people who escaped from Savannah. A large group of them must have come this way.”

   “The question is what happened.” Allen remarked.

   I said “There are so many different possible scenarios… It’s a waste to even try and guess.”

   “We should just go to the island.” Clara pleaded. “We don’t need more people to help protect us if we’re safe and far away from everyone else.”

   Walt added “That smaller island with the national forest will most likely be completely empty. Only shredders out there would be forest rangers who turned, campers or something like that.”

   Without looking away from the scope, Jenny said “That’s the new plan if we don’t feel comfortable once we really get a good look at them. We’ll leave and never look back.”

   I said “Things are just going to get worse. People are going to get more desperate and hungry. More likely to try and steal. Seclusion does seem like the best idea at this point… Especially since a place like that will have plenty of hunting opportunities. It’s just… What happens if someone attacks us? We’re a small group. And we’ll be stuck on an island.”

   “If we do end up meeting with these people, maybe we should pitch Walt’s idea to them. Convince them to come with us and possibly avoid ever being attacked again. We already know they have a massive supply of… everything.”

   Jenny suddenly tensed up and repositioned herself. “James, it’s starting to open. Everyone else get down for now.”

   I quickly brought the scope to my eye. A large section of the wall was sliding to the side, slowly revealing a beat up truck that looked like it’s mowed down a lot of shredders. The two men stayed on top of the wall, one was pushing the section of the wall open and a woman stood next to the passenger window. She was speaking to the three men I could see inside the truck.

   “I see seven, what about you?” Jenny asked.

   Just as I was about to confirm the number, another man approached the driver’s side and held his hand out. The driver dug around and then handed him a cigarette through the window. “You see the eighth one?”

   “Yeah.”

   It was hard to see any real details due to the distance. I could barely even get an idea of how old they were. I was beginning to worry that watching them wouldn’t tell us much.

   When the truck pulled out, I was hoping it would come straight for us so I’d have the opportunity to get a good look at the three men. Instead, it immediately turned left and took off like they were in a hurry.

   Jenny barked “Fuck… This isn’t going to tell us anything. We really need to get closer.”

   I interrupted her. “I’m thinking we wait until its dark and try to get up on one of the nearby roofs. I’m sure they’ll build a fire tonight to cook and all that… We’ll be able to see them, but they won’t see us.”

   Walt said “Don’t you think that’s a little risky? They could have snipers around that we just can’t see.”

   “It’s the only way… And I’ll go alone.” Jenny bluntly replied.

   “Go alone? At night?”

   “They’ve killed all the shredders.”

   “We thought there weren’t any around in the gated community either…” Walt reminded her.

   Jenny snapped “I’m doing it alone, so no one else has a say. I’m taking the risk for all of us.” She looked away from the scope and turned to Walt. “It’s my choice. And I need to go alone to lower the chances of being seen.”

   I wanted to join Walt and try to talk her out of it, but I couldn’t help but feel that if Jenny hadn’t volunteered I would have… It has to be done, and I knew everyone else agreed because they all joined me in silence.

   I expected Clara to protest, but she just sat there and quietly examined the store. It was full of old, but pristine furniture, paintings and decorative pieces that seemed to date back hundreds of years. There wasn’t much light making its way inside, though I was able to perfectly see the abnormally large painting hanging behind the front counter.

   It depicted the end of a great battle. A man on a chariot who appeared to be a Greek or Roman General was riding through the crowds of soldiers and corpses, showcasing the victory of his army by holding up their flag. His white stallions were embellished with tapestries and armor of red and gold, matching his own.

   Pillars of smoke rose into the sky from the city burning in the background. Men, women and children were being corralled by the soldiers to be taken as slaves or forced to join their ranks.

   As I sat there in awe of the detail I began to grow nervous. It reminded me that since the very beginning, man’s nature has been to form groups and war over territory, resources and power. I started to wonder if the most dangerous times would come when the shredders are gone and the fight for survival between those of us left alive begins.

   In most cases a war is not agreed upon, but forced by the aggression of one side.