Chapter 8

In the morning, we woke. I was first this time and started my coffee. Alice came in a few moments later. “Good morning, Alice.”

“Good Morning, Hank. What’s on our to-do list for today?”

“I don’t think we have anything pressing. I would like to ride out to a rural area and look for a house that would do better when the power goes away. We might find some good people also.”

After breakfast, I went out to the garage and found an extra opener for the garage door. I also looked over my new car. I looked a few things over and realized that I needed gas though that wasn’t really a problem. This new car had a sunroof. I checked fluid levels which were all good. I closed it up and went back inside. I had a water and sat for a few minutes. The garage was hot with the door closed. Alice sat with me. Other than continuing to go armed, is there anything your think we should do for future meetings?”

“I won’t be even as trusting as I have been though I can’t think of anything different to do in a major way. However, I don’t think we should split up again. It worked out but you could have been trapped. It was bad enough but could have been worse if they hadn’t left.”

I could tell she hadn’t thought about that. After a while, she said, “Let’s go look around out in the country though I guess we will need to get gas first.”

I nodded. We grabbed our weapons and went out to the car. I opened the garage door and we left closing it behind us. I pulled in at the first convenience store with pumps. I put premium in the tank and filled it. We left for the more rural areas close to the house that were south and east of this location. South and west, there was a lake. Living on a lake sounded good but we needed a house from which we could farm and power when there was no more power. We went easterly.

We rode out of the area and into a rural area of rolling hills and farms. As I remembered, most of these farms were “hobby” farms or horse farms. It was late enough now that crops should be coming out of the ground noticeably. We saw nothing like that in this area. We continued to ride away from the house moving more due easterly now as we followed a state route.

We came to an intersection with a large highway. We went across the road and continued onward. I had looked but really wasn’t expecting to see anything on the road. If I saw the horses, they didn’t register on my mind. I didn’t hit one nor did one hit the car but I’m sure we all scared each other. I stopped the car and Alice and I got out.

I looked over at the horses and realized that three of them were being ridden! I looked at the closest rider and said, “I’m sorry. The horses just didn’t register on my mind. I’m not sure anything coming on a road would now. I’m Hank Rivers and this is my niece, Alice.”

A warm, female voice said, “Hello, Hank, Alice. I’m Sarah Hopkins. With me are my brother, Amos, and his girl, Janet Webb. What were you doing out here?”

I smiled. “We’re looking for a new place. We’ve been living in Alice’s parents’ house but know that it won’t work well when the power goes out and the food in stores goes bad or is exhausted. We decided that a farm that has or can be put on independent power would be best. Those aren’t found in combination in a suburb.”

“What about Alice’s parents?”

“They were killed by the crazies. What about yours?”

She looked a bit troubled. “They became crazy and we had to kill them. According to the Internet, the Z-rays aren’t reversible and eventually kill anyway.”

“That’s my understanding though having your parents infected would be tough. Alice’s parents were visiting friends. Her father’s sister left and we found the bodies later. It still wasn’t good.

“What are you doing with the horses?”

“We are herding them to our farm to care for them. Most everyone around is gone. Horses need care as do other animals.”

Alice asked, “Would you mind us following you and talking some more?”

Sarah said, “That would be fine. Hang back so you don’t worry the horses.” I nodded.

We followed them at a distance until they opened a fence gate to herd the horses into a pasture. I continued to follow Sarah and the others to a house. They tied the horses and I parked. The five of us went inside. Once inside, we met two more, a brother and sister. They were mid-teens. Alice’s eyes looked happy to me.

We sat down to lemonades and got to know each other. It turned out that Sarah was home recuperating from surgery. She had been in a car wreck that wasn’t her fault. She said that she still had a small scar over one eye. I couldn’t see it. Her brother lived on the farm in his own place. He didn’t detail why he missed the eclipse but, from the way he and Janet were sitting, I had my suspicions.

Sarah asked us about our experiences. I told her that I had been working and missed the eclipse while Alice had been sick. I described in generic terms the crazies as they went along the road while I was trapped at my office. I then explained what we had tried to do with the posters and our experiences with the responses thus far. To wind up, I told them that we expected two things to occur in the near future. One was that the power would be interrupted and we wouldn’t be able to fix it. The other was that the stores would run out of food. I said, “We’re looking for a place to live and learn to be farmers. It also needs to be a place we can power somehow when the grid fails.”

Sarah said, “I’ve not thought about power though should have given it some thought.” She seemed to think for a moment. “I think water power is the best bet. There’s not enough wind and solar requires a lot of batteries. I think both would be problematic.”

She thought a moment more. “There’s a few houses close by that would work. We might work together on power. I know there’s a small dam across the road that might take a generator or two in its spillway. Farming would be more difficult but not impossible. With the Internet, we can collect information to give us some instructions. I know that we should be able to grow a good truck garden and even expand it for more food.”

“I would like that. Alice and I have decided we needed more people or be part of more people to be successful for the long-term.”

Sarah gave a start. “How far out are you thinking, Hank?”

“We’re not old but too many people are gone. The world will be different and groups are going to be important for survival. That’s why we started with the posters though they haven’t born fruit yet. I still have hopes that more people will show up and call before we lose the cell phones. Those towers won’t work long if we lose power.”

“Hank, you’ve given me a lot to think about. What were your plans for the rest of the day?”

“Alice and I are house hunting. If you consider us to be fit as potential partners, maybe you’d come with us to give us the benefit of your knowledge of the area.” I would like Sarah to accompany us. She is taller than average and slim though not skinny. With blond hair and pouty lips, she was an extremely good-looking female.