Chapter 2

I decided to check on Julie's parents though I was pretty sure I knew what I would find.

I pulled up in their driveway and got out locking the truck. I went inside and found Roger dead in the living room and his wife, Mary, in the bedroom also dead. I decided to bury them and found a shovel in his garage and dug a shallow, wide grave in the back. I wrapped each body in blankets and placed them side by side. I covered them over and left the mound without a marker. I prayed for them and that they and Julie and my children would be together in heaven. I drove home. I went inside and cleaned up. I stoked up a pipe and mixed a drink and sat in the den after turning on some quiet music. I smoked and drank until the glass was empty and the tobacco was ash. I got up slowly and went into the kitchen and prepared a light supper from cans. I ate and went to bed.

In the morning, I rose with the sun. I showered, shaved, and dressed for a day at the house wearing shorts, tee shirt, and sneakers. I had coffee and a light breakfast. Thinking about the situation, I decided to look around the neighborhood. I walked out the front door and began walking down the street.

I had packed a pipe and lit it from a lighter while I walked. I enjoyed the smoke in my throat. It knew it was a bad habit but I enjoyed it. I knew I was smoking more because I rarely smoked around my children and not often around Julie though she always said that she liked the smell.

The street was silent. I heard no noises that one would expect. No cars, no kids, no people, no other sounds of a normal neighborhood. I stopped in front of the Wilson's house. They had been our best friends and he had called about Florida after I left. I knocked on the door and received no answer. I tried the door but it was locked. I went around back. The back door wasn't locked and I went inside. I found all four of them dead. Ben and Patty were in their bedroom and the kids were in their beds. I left quickly.

I guess that finding them dead brought home to me in a very real way that no one had survived. I walked further down the road and eventually made the full circle. I had walked a mile. I had measured it few years ago. Julie and I had run and walked laps for exercise. I went into my house and tried to figure out what I wanted to do.

I've always been organized so I grabbed pad and pencil to make a list. I decided that, for whatever reason, I was not going to catch the Slick virus. My plans needed to be both short and long as I dealt with an empty world. I thought a moment and then decided that it might not be totally empty. If I survived, others might also. What should I do about meeting people and determining if they were compatible with me? I thought about that for a while and then decided that planning for my future would work for any additional people or the plan would have to be revised anyway for the changed circumstances.

I spent the remainder of the morning and worked through lunch developing a list. The first was collecting food. I was almost out at the house and the camper had nothing but staples left in it. I would keep my truck. It was four years old and low mileage. Also, I was comfortable driving it. It already had a hitch and camper shell on the back with good mirrors. The king cab was comfortable for me and for passengers.

I had more on the list but decided that the afternoon would be well spent gathering food if I wanted a good supper. I put my lunch dishes in the dishwasher after rinsing them and walked out. In the distance, I heard a gunshot! I went back inside, found my holster and put my pistol in it on my belt along two clips. As I walked out of the house armed, I realized that the gunshot resolved any question about other survivors!

I went back outside, climbed in the truck and left for the local grocery store. I arrived at the strip center where the store was located and saw no cars or people. I parked the truck close and went inside.

There was no one there but I could see indications that people had been there in the recent past. There was plenty of food left and I loaded up with everything that I liked, particularly any fresh or refrigerated items. I filled another cart with a good selection of wines. I was drinking more but I knew that I wouldn't continue too far down that path. I had seen a friend descend into alcohol addiction. I took my carts out to the truck and loaded everything and left. Once out on the road, I realized that I hadn't been watching and cringed. I did watch my mirror all the way home but saw no one.

When I got home, I unloaded and stocked my fridge as well as the one in the garage. Once done, I left again for a camping store. I picked up all their freeze dried food that I liked along with anything else that looked worthwhile. This time, I looked before going into the parking lot and loading the truck. I drove back home and unloaded everything into the camper and the garage. When finished, I decided that I deserved a drink and a smoke. I mixed a drink and went outside to smoke and take it easy. I also listened for noises while out there. It was eerily quiet. Only occasionally, would I hear a motor. Even less often, did I hear a shot.

I went inside, prepared supper, ate, and went to bed early. I woke early to dampness and realized that I had had a wet dream. That was good news and bad news. The good news was that it meant that I was recovering from Julie's death. The bad news was an extra bath and a need for clean sheets. I showered and got ready for an early day. I stripped the bed and put the sheets in the washer and left the mattress bare to air a bit. I started my coffee and began breakfast. As I ate, I returned to my list.

Long term, I didn't think staying in the house was going to work. If the power went out, I would have to go to a generator which would be a pain in the ass. I decided that I wanted a farm. My mother's family had been farmers in Kentucky and her brothers and their children were still up there, if they were alive. I had good memories of farm life such as they were. I decided to look for a farm a little off the beaten path that could support me "off the grid" as the term goes.

I decided that I would ride out of town and look around at farms off the main roads. I would also look for people while out there. I rode out east of town and was quickly in the rural area beyond our town. I had a county map and chose side roads away from the Federal highway. I picked a longer one and drove two miles by my odometer before looking for houses or side roads. I came to the crest of a hill and took a moment to look around. To my left were some farms that were reached by another road. To my right was a dirt road about a hundred feet from me that went into a forest. Beyond the forest, I could see fields but no house for a long way. I decided to take the road to the right.

I drove down the dirt road which slowly curved further into the woods. On the right was an old house that had mostly rotted. Just further down the road on the left but well back was a nice farm house with a large barn. I pulled up and honked the horn. I waited. I got out and stood at the truck, shouting, "Hello! Is anybody home? Is anybody here?" It was deathly still. I walked to the front door and knocked hard, repeating my queries. I tried the door and it opened. I stepped inside and walked through the house. There was rotten food in a dish in the kitchen and the bed looked like it had been slept in but some time ago. I could see pictures of a family of three. It was a young couple with a son.