Last time on, Lovin' in the Apocalypse!
Tom and Rachel reconcile in a not so romantic but intimate way. The air clears for Rachel and she begins to accept life inside the new camp.
Meanwhile, another group not too far away deals with some internal conflict and sets its sights on distant enemies. Their leader shows unbending will and promises to keep his son safe no matter the cost.
How will Tom and Rachel handle being out in the open after a while behind walls? Will their courage hold as unseen danger closes in around them? Find out now!
Chapter 5: On the Job Training
Cameron pulled the pickup truck down a bumpy gravel road and slowly moved along, careful not to make the engine growl too loudly. Diesel engines were noisy enough while idling to attract the infected's attention. The day was quiet and the evening sun was still bright enough to allow them to operate. They would have to start looking for a place to bed down soon though. Moving around at night was a good way to get trapped or worse.
"This is an abandoned construction site. Some housing development that was nearly finished. We found it early on and got a lot of great tools and stuff. We need to give it another look though. We need plywood, insulation, carpet, anything we can find to make the cabins a little better. It gets pretty cold in the winter, don't it?" Cameron reached over and squeezed Kelsey's knee.
"Yep." Kelsey was looking out the window. She had been silent and broodish throughout the day.
"Kinda weird without Gregg here, huh?"
"I guess." Kelsey squirmed a little.
"You okay?" Cameron glanced over, knowing she probably was not going to share.
"I'm fine, dad. Just tired."
"Alright. Well, keep your head up. We'll stop to wait out the night soon." Cameron pulled the truck up to a trailer that would have been used as a supervisor's office. He positioned the truck so that if they had to peel out in a hurry, he would not have to waste time finding the road. "Let's set up camp and then we'll take a quick peek. I think we'll do most of the searching tomorrow."
"Sounds good." Tom hopped out of the truck and stretched. He reached back in the cab and pulled out the bow and arrows that Cameron gave him. He did not want to admit how eager he was to use the weapon. It felt familiar in his grip, giving him a small dose of nostalgia. He knocked an arrow and looked around for a target. A stack of hay squares was nearby, mostly black from rot but still standing. Tom pulled the arrow back until he felt the tickle of artificial feathers on his cheek. He released a slow breath and let go of the arrow. It flew true, thumping into the center of a hay bail. Tom wore a boyish smile as he jogged to reclaim the arrow.
Rachel looked over the skeletal frames of incomplete houses. It felt like she was standing on a historical site. She wondered if humans would ever be free to build homes like this again. These places were built with relaxation and luxury in mind, things that people these days were not concerned with. If humans survived, who could say what their future homes will look like. These thoughts were philosophical entertainment but the reality was, the chances of making it past this extinction event was slim.
They put their supplies in the supervisor's trailer, planning on sleeping there during the night. Cameron kept his pack on just in case. He carried things like notebooks and inventory logs that he liked to look over while scouting. He holstered a 9mm pistol with a silencer screwed on the barrel to his thigh. Kelsey's aloofness was gone now, her eyes were sharp and focused as they grouped up to move around the houses. She and Rachel both tied their hair back to keep from having anything easy to grab. They were each holding a machete in case anything surprised them. Tom was holding his bow with an arrow at the ready. He was moving in slow circles, watching everywhere.
They moved over to the closest house, one that was less complete than the others. Since this one was still mostly studs, they could see bundles of resources inside the house. The lumps were protected by plastic from the weather. It would likely be window or electrical equipment, stuff the camp did not really need but it still was worth looking over. It turned out to be just that and Cameron noted down the findings in his journal.
"There's steps over here. Looks like this place was going to get a basement." Rachel was looking down the dark steps. She could make out some shapes but nothing solid. "It's pretty dark down there."
Cameron dug in his pack and pulled out a flashlight. "If there was any infected down there, they would have come up by now. I'm gonna take a quick peek." He went down the steps slowly, careful to look in all the corners before paying attention to the covered mounds of resources. Once he was convinced he was alone, Cameron lifted one of the tarps. "Holy shit! This is it! The holy grail!"
Tom, Rachel and Kelsey hurried down the wooden steps and saw Cameron smiling. He flipped the tarp away like a showman and revealed a neat stack of wrapped insulation. "The mother fuckin' jackpot!" It was only one of several covered stacks.
"This is a good enough find for today." Cameron moved the flashlight beam around the basement. "I want to get a count of what's down here and we'll call it a night."