Chapter 20

Getting My Boat

Now many people might wonder why the dollar store. I have several reasons. First is that it is smaller and less popular than big box stores, but carries a lot of the same stuff we need. The food and items might be limited, but they are available. Next is that the competition or chance of meeting other survivors is lower than going to other places. Finally, I figured there are a lot more dollar stores so there are a lot more places to check for supplies. Michael and I drive up to our first looting stop of the day. Mighty Dollar prepare to be looted.

We take fifteen minutes to clear the area both inside and out and then back the trucks up to the loading dock in the back of the store. I quickly make a list of the top items we are looking for. I want some of each on both trucks in case we have to abandon one somewhere. That way no matter what we should get back with some of everything I want. The quick list I give Michael is simple and easily explained.

Toilet Paper- I refuse to use leaves. Non-perishable foods – cans, pasta, jerky, chips, granola bars and such. Only a little candy as rewards for the kids as we need to save space. Communication equipment and flashlights plus the batteries for them. Matches and spices for food.

I figure this is all we will be able to get out of a dollar store. Some of them have more and some of less selection. There are so many types of dollar store’s now that I cannot keep them straight. In less than an hour we had found and loaded our targeted items and Michael was now leading us to my next target, Tractor Supply. I loved this next store. I could wander around in it for hours sometimes, even though it was not that big. This time I had to be more ruthless and when we arrive after clearing out another group of zombies I give Michael the new target list.

Five sets of basic tools. 2000 feet of garden hoses, and all hand pumps that can get gas out of tanks. Every seed and gas container they had. A good supply of oil and a wide variety of clothes and footwear.

Once again everything went much smoother than I expected. This was starting to make me nervous and jumpy. “Michael, do you feel like this is just a little too easy?”

“I know what you are saying Mark. I feel like we should have had more of a challenge or something. Either supplies not there or more zombies. This is kind of eerie.”

“Well if both of us are on guard when the crap hits the fan we should be alright.”

With this we finished loading and I gave Michael our final destination after we snacked on some of the supplies we brought along for lunch. “Last stop Michael is for self-defense. We need to hit every gun store you can think of before others wipe them out.”

“Well Mark there are only three large ones in this area. There are a few pawn shops, but only three dedicated gun shops.”

“Alright Michael lead the way. I have a feeling that this is where we are going to finally be challenged on our little expedition.”

After 20 minutes of driving I got on the walkie talkie with Michael. “Michael how much longer do you estimate the trip to be?” “About five to ten minutes Mark, why?” “You probably can’t see them from the lead position, but we are attracting a much larger group of zombies than I am comfortable with.” “What do you want me to do?” “When we get close to the gun shop I want you to speed up and then park one or two blocks away. Clear out the building you park next to and set up a shooting stand on the roof. I will slow down so I am just faster than the zombies following us to give you more time and be the distraction. When you are ready, let me know on the radio. Then I will speed up and park next to you and join you on the roof. Make sure to leave us an escape route if this doesn’t work.” “Okay Mark I can do that.”

About 2 minutes later I see Michael accelerate and soon he was out of sight. I slowdown from my original speed to about 15 mph. I figure I need to give Michael at least five minutes get everything done. A little over four minutes later Michael come back on to the radio. “Mark can you hear me.” There was a little static on the line, but he was understandable. “Yes I can Michael go ahead.” Be careful as you pass the gun store. I heard a gunshot and when I pulled over there was a bullet hole in the side of my moving van. I am not sure it was intentional, but be careful.” “Copy that. Don’t start shooting until I join you unless it is to protect your life or mine.” “Understood.”

Another couple of minutes roll by and I see a sign advertising for the gun shop. I am nearly there. I gas the truck and speed up. 35 mph does not seem fast but when you have been going 15 mph for almost ten minutes and then go more than double it sure feels like it. I quickly pass the gun store and hear a gunshot. No glass shatters and I feel no pain, so I am okay. I see Michael waving from an office building roof a couple of blocks down, but I don’t see his truck. He must have parked on the side or behind. I make a left turn when I reach the building and sure enough, there is Michael’s moving truck. I pull up behind it and notice the fire escape on the side. Great positioning Michael. I quickly climb up the ladder with my weapons and ammo and join Michael on the roof.

“I saw the people this time when they shot at you. I don’t think they were trying to hit you, but rather warn you or scare you off.”

“I really don’t care about that. I don’t like being shot at. Here is the plan, we sit here and do nothing and let them do most or all of the work, whoever them is.”

“Sounds good.”

That is precisely what we did. I can see the now mini zombie horde coming down the street I had just left. There had to be at least 150 zombies in that group if not more. We had collected a few more followers than I thought. This should be interesting. The best strategy for the people holed up in the gun shop would be to just stay quiet and let the zombies go on by. However, since they shot at us I have a feeling that they feel pretty secure and will believe that they can handle it. Whoever they are they are amateurs though. They don’t have anyone on the roof and are just holed up behind a barricade in the store. Soon enough someone in the store could no longer resist the temptation and started shooting the zombies in the mini horde.

The results were as you might expect. The zombies turned their attention completely to the gun shop. I wonder how many they are going to be able to take out? I don’t think with their preparations that they are going to survive this.

“Michael, what do you think? Should we help them?”

“Mark this might sound a little cold-blooded, but since they shot at us I say let them deal with it. We can clean up the mess and get what we need afterwards.”

“I was kind of leaning that way also. If they hadn’t shot and we had met them while going into the gun shop I might be more inclined to help, but I think you are right. We should just see how things play out and then go from there.”

It took almost an hour, but the zombies won in the end. They had the numbers and the tenacity. It only took one mistake. I don’t really know what happened. We are listening to the people in the gun shop shoot regularly when suddenly there is a silence. My best guess is that there is a horrible weapon jam or somebody didn’t reload right. After an awkward pause of about 15-30 seconds with no gunfire the zombies are practically inside the store. They must have fixed the problem but it was too late. There is a flurry of gunshots, probably from close range and then nothing else. The good news is that they have killed about 2/3 of the zombies that were attracted to the area. I thought for a second that they might actually make it.

“Alright Michael. There are about 50-75 zombies left. You start with the close targets and I will start with the far ones. We will meet in the middle. There is no rush, so stay calm and don’t waste ammo. We only have a little more than 200 shots between us for the rifles. After that we have to go in close. I would rather use up all of our long range ammo first before we try that. Understand?”

“Yes sir.”

Michael was a decent shot. Not great, he would never be a sniper, but definitely competent. If it was within 50 meters he could nail the center of the chest every time. Beyond that range he could still hit the zombie, but his accuracy in shot placement dropped. I corrected a couple of things I saw that he could improve and then got down to shooting zombies myself. Since we were up high and had a much better view of the situation we were able to clear the area of what we could see in about 30 minutes. The people that were inside the gun shop had the disadvantage of only being able to see those zombies that were directly in front of them.

When the last visible zombie dropped I have Michael stop shooting and teach him proper care and maintenance for his rifle. I do not want a jam or misfire, like what might have happened to the gun shop people. In the end we did not do so bad. I estimate we took down 70 -80 zombie with a little over 100 shots. That means we have half our ammo left in case there is an emergency. Better than I hoped for. After the guns are cleaned we descend the fire escape and move the trucks into the alley behind the gun shop.

I wonder why the people inside didn’t try to escape through the back? When we reached the back door I find out. The people inside were obviously not the owners of the store. The back door was forced open. To protect themselves they barricaded the back door with as much stuff as they could. I can actually see one zombie inside still eating someone collapsed on the barrier in front of us. They must have been trying to clear the way out when they were overrun. I pull out my .22 pistol and put the zombie I could see down with a couple of shots.

Michael and I start to clear the debris blocking the back entrance. We make sure not to repeat the mistakes of the people inside. Every piece we remove is moved somewhere where it will not block our escape route. Every minute or two a new zombie is attracted by the noise from their feast on the inside of the shop. We then pause and take care of the problem with our pistols and then continue. It takes us about an hour to clear the mess and make sure the inside of the shop is safe. However, all the work is worth it. There is enough weapons and ammunition to last our little group a long time. With a couple of more raids of this size we should have enough to last for years.

Once everything is loaded up, Michael and I head back to Sunshine Marina with our spoils of war. Once there I formally ask if Michael would join my expedition team. He agrees. I like this kid. We head back towards Gerald to see if there is a boat captain he can recommend. After a quick talk and a few suggestions, we are on a bass boat with a lady named Trika. Captain Trika was from the other Marina that Gerald had gone to negotiate with today. The basic gist of her story that I got from listening to others was that her family was killed, and she really wanted to leave the area where all the memories were.

“Captain Trika. We are looking for a larger yacht that could be operated by the three of us to scout and hold a large number of supplies. I want function over prettiness. I would like to use this a long time. If it has an onboard crane or something to help with loading of masses of supplies that would be helpful.”

“How many crew?”

“Just us three for now. I hope to expand it to five, but no more than seven in the future.”

“Distance.”

Man this lady did not like to talk.

“We need to get down to the Bahamas safely with the three of us. After that it will be island hopping and raiding of the mainland.”

“Anything special besides the crane?”

Michael spoke up at this point. “How about the ability to get to places that others can’t.”

“I don’t understand that one Michael, please explain.”

“Well we want it big to carry a lot of stuff, but it needs to be agile enough to get into smaller ports. Over time the big areas will be targeted first and we will need to get into smaller areas sooner or later.”

“You’re thinking of draft. You want a shallow draft to get closer to shore and up and down rivers and other places.”

“Yeah that’s it a shallow draft.”

“How you planning on refueling?”

“Generator operated sump pump to clean out diesel tankers and storage tanks.”

“Okay I will be your captain. I have a boat in mind.”

I looked at Michael and we just kind of shrugged at each other. That was one of the weirdest conversations/interviews/get to know you sessions I ever experienced. I guess it really doesn’t matter as long as she was capable and willing to help us. I decide to just relax and enjoy the ride while I can. This would have been a beautiful day on the water during any regular summer. It still is as long as you ignore the occasional moans and cries from the shore as we go past. After a rather enjoyable 45 minute boat ride Trika slowed the boat down and grunted. “That one. She will do what we want.”

I was looking at some type of weird hybrid boat that was in between some very luxurious yachts. So no premium yacht for me. “Um. Captain Trika, what exactly is it?”

“Called yacht tender. New type, here to be shown at boat show. Holds five times the fuel, comes with two-ton crane and large deck space, draft of under five feet fully loaded.”

“So this was designed to follow and hold the toys of the rich yacht owners so they wouldn’t have to see them?”

“Yes.”

“Where would we find the keys?”

“Should be on the boat. This was a boat show that got canceled last minute due to plague. They have to fire up all yachts and other ships to show all bells and whistles.”

With that wisdom imparted to us, Captain Trika pulled us up behind the Yacht Tender. The name on the side of the boat was just YTX. Probably stood for Yacht Tender X. The new owner would have the pleasure of naming her.