Chapter 9

[Virginia]

Not really awake, I groggily reached over and accepted the call. "Hello?"

A youngish voice said, "Are you real?"

I woke up quickly. I said, "Yes, I'm real. This is no recording. I'm George. Who are you?"

"My name is Dan. I'm by myself. I was out searching for food and saw your flyer. I had to call. I woke you up. I'm sorry."

I got in, "It's okay." Then, the rush of words started again.

"I've been so alone. My parents died of the virus. I'm an only child so I have no brothers or sisters. There's no one out and it's scary. I'm scared. Please, mister, help me."

"Okay, Dan, I'll see what can be done. Where are you right now?"

"I'm at the Wal-Mart close to Spotsylvania Mall."

Jane had woken up and was listening with a lot of interest. "I know where that is. Do you have a car?"

"Yes. May I join you? Where are you? Are there many with you?"

"Dan, slow down. I will meet you. It will be in a public area and it won't be for a couple of hours. I need to get up, wash, and eat breakfast. I have your number on my phone. I will call you in about two hours and we'll talk about getting together then."

"But I want to be with someone now!" I could hear anguish in his voice but I remained cautions.

"I will call you back. Go ahead with what you were doing. Bye." I thumbed the off switch.

Jane said, "It won't take that long to rush through washing up and getting there. Why didn't you tell him where we were? Why did you make it sound like you were alone?"

"Love, I'm cautious. You live longer that way. While I don't think it's a trap. Even if I weren't naturally suspicious, I wonder about him losing both parents and surviving. I don't want to find out that this is a trap after we're in the middle. There are two very attractive and desirable females with me. In case you haven't noticed, there is a shortage." She grinned at that.

I continued, "Let's get moving. You wake Bethany and we will make plans over breakfast. I want to be prepared and, if all goes well, this will be good practice. If it doesn't and we screw up, it could be fatal."

"Okay, you get showered and shaved. I'll wake Bethany and start breakfast." I headed into the bathroom.

Later, over breakfast, we talked about planning for meeting someone. "This will happen in the future, too. I want a system that we can use that will protect us but allow a new person to join us or be friends."

"What about me?" Bethany asked.

"Well, you drove up suddenly. If you remember, I moved us away from being silhouetted to further down I-95 and Jane frisked you while I covered her. What you don't know is that Jane is a great hand-to-hand fighter. I was sure she could handle you if you tried anything and I was ready to back her up and look out for other people, also."

She said, "Oh," in a small voice.

I said, "It worked out and we're glad you're with us. We just want to be sure for other people who will meet. We don't want to meet up with any more 'Bob's.' The cops are too few and far away to help."

Again, she said, "Oh," in a small voice.

"Now, I would like to get a second vehicle. A four-door truck with four-wheel drive can go most anywhere but it's neither fast nor maneuverable."

Jane said, "What are you thinking, George?"

"I'm not a trained fighter but I think we need a backup car. I will go in with the truck and meet. It affords some protection from bullets. You two will be backup in the car."

A pair of eyes flashed at mine. "George, we agreed we would stay together. You and I will go in the truck. Bethany will go with us this time. However, we will plan ahead for the future. Right now, I think you and I will get out while Bethany watches. She isn't a good shot yet but she can shoot in the general direction of trouble. You are our best shot so you will provide active cover. I will go forward. I have the fighting skills to have a chance of making it back to the truck with your help.

"We need to prepare how to do this before we get too far into meeting people. You're right to be cautious and we really aren't prepared. Let's go with that as a plan for now."

"Okay, if there is anything not good, you get on the ground and crawl back to the truck."

"Yes, Dear. I'm going to change clothes. I want anyone watching to know I'm female. It may protect me."

We were ready to go. Jane was stunning in a bright green pair of shorts and a sports bra top that allowed for her breasts to protrude. She was covered but there was no question that she was female. I called Dan and said that I would meet him close to the mall. He again was nervous and wanted to talk. I politely cut him off saying that I would call again with instructions.

We got in the truck fully armed. I made a mental note to get some vests before next time. We drove to I-95 and up toward the mall. As we went, I noticed that Bethany's car had been vandalized.

The ladies noticed it, too. Now, we were worried. I stopped the truck. Looking around, I didn't see anything but I turned around and started moving.

"Everybody down." I said. "We need to get away from here." Shots rang out pinging against the truck body. I floored the gas and we moved away as quickly as we could. I was using the mirrors to determine if we were being chased. There was a car well back but I knew it could certainly out accelerate me and out run me. I wanted a place to hide or fight. My phone rang and I handed it to Jane.

She thumbed the button and put it on speaker. Dan was saying, " ... heard shots. What's happening?"

She shouted, "Your folks are shooting at us. We're going to wipe them out and come after you." She thumbed the button off.

"Bethany, open the back window. I only see one car but it's coming fast. You and Jane try to shoot its radiator. They will be shooting at us soon."

Bethany opened the window as Jane crawled over the seat into the back. They both had rifles and began to shoot. Suddenly, I saw the pursuing car veer off the road and crash. "Keep looking. There may be more than one car!" I shouted.

They kept watch while I drove fast heading south in the northbound lanes of I-95. "If you haven't seen anyone, I'm going to get off here. The Interstate is too exposed."

"Okay, George."

I slowed and pulled off the Interstate. I began looking for a police station. The Ashland Police Department was right on the main street. I pulled to a side street and parked. We exited the truck warily, armed and ready.

Jane said, "What do you want, George?"

"I want vests and some better weapons. Hunting rifles are not a good idea if we have to fight people." Someone had already broken into the station. However, they left plenty for us. I took six vests and all the rifles and ammunition that I could locate. We quickly got back to the truck and loaded the new rifles and each of us put on a vest. Only then did I rest a little easier. I backed the truck a little further off the main street and we went scouting.

We walked around staying out of plain sight but not trying to waste energy hiding. I wanted to get a flavor of the area. We were headed back to the truck on a back road when I heard a click and a voice said, "Neighbor, I don't want to shoot you. Stay put." I had slung my rifle over one arm but slowly raised my free hand. Jane and Bethany did the same. A man and a woman came out of a house. He said, "Not too many people walk. Why are you here?"

I slowly lowered my arm as he approached and said, "We don't want any trouble. There is some of that by the Spotsylvania Mall. We did raid the police department for vests and better arms. We were walking around before heading back to our truck.

"I'm George Andrews. This is my wife, Jane, and her cousin, Bethany. We are living over on Lake Anna now."

"Well, George, I'm Amos Pittman and this is Doris. We were neighbors before the virus killed our spouses and my children. We're together now and thinking about moving somewhere else. There have been some fast driving folks on the main road lately."

I looked at Jane who gave me a small, quick nod. I said, "Amos, Doris, why don't you join us. It's pretty and there're plenty of houses. We went through the whole lake and saw no one at all yesterday." Amos and Doris were mid to late forties and looked like they had been solid citizens before the Day. At least, I hoped so.

Amos said, "There is safety in numbers, that's for sure. Come into the house and sit a spell. We'll talk about it." We went over to their house and sat in the living room. I learned in the conversation that it had been Doris' house before the Day. Amos had been a woodworker at a local cabinet shop and Doris had been a housewife. Doris' husband had worked at the same shop and the two families had been neighbors for many years. They were very interested in our story particularly when we explained that we had been in the White House while plans were being made.

Amos said, "I've been saying that the country is gone and we're on our own. What you say seems to agree with that."

"Amos, Jane and I are surprised to be alive. The virus had left no one alive before. I don't know whether it mutated and isn't as strong or if some people have a natural immunity. Either way, most people are dead. I don't have any proof but believe that is true all over the world. There is no government and we will have to fend for ourselves."

Doris said, "What do you think will happen?"

I said, "There are no modern day comparisons. My best guess goes back to the Middle Ages when the bubonic plague struck Europe. There were more people left then but civilization was still set back hundreds of years. European civilization almost collapsed.

Here and now, I believe we are in for some rough times. No one is drilling for oil or refining gasoline. It will run out. The power grid will go at some point and the people to fix it are dead. Our level of civilization takes a tremendous amount of background tasks to keep it going. Those tasks won't be done. Sooner or later, things will stop working. I suspect the power will last this year if we don't get a hurricane. Gas will start becoming rare in a year or so. Twenty years from now, cars and trucks won't run because there's no tires or gas. The power grid will have failed. Stores will be empty and we will have to grow our own food. I haven't seen or heard a jet since a day after the Day. It's going to be a different world."