Chapter 13

Day 12 Tuesday 24 April 2007 - Impact Plus 8 days

Right at this very moment I was so glad I didn't own a dog. I was having a very nice dream, or at least I think it is a dream, of me and Betsy having very good make-out secession while lying in the bed. In the movies every time this happens, like in a comedy, the character wakes up French kissing a big dog of some kind. So I was very happy I didn't own one when I opened my eyes and found I was actually kissing Betsy.

When Betsy saw that I opened my eyes," about time you woke up. I have been kissing on you for almost 5 minutes to get you to open your eyes." she said.

"Well subconsciously I knew you were kissing me and I didn't want you to stop, so I just stayed asleep," I groggily responded with a smile.

She smiled, "I don't mind this time, but next time I'm just going to dump water on you."

"No don't do that, I liked this way much better."

"Well so do I and I don't have to worry about getting the bed wet."

"So true. What time is it?"

"Just after 3 PM."

"Yep, time to get back to work," I said looking around. "Where are the twins?"

"I don't know. They were gone when I woke up, but they also got into bed a lot earlier than we did."

"That's true. I didn't even feel them when they got out of bed, so I must have been sleeping pretty well."

I gave Betsy another quick kiss then rolled over and sat up in bed and tried to get my bearings, and knock the rest of the sleep out of my mind. When I had my shit together I started getting geared up for another long day in the trenches.

"So what's the first thing we are going after today?" Betsy asked.

"I think the first thing we do today is make a quick run over to that truck stop and pull all the trailers we found there yesterday back here. It should be a pretty short trip and a quick turn around. Then since we are done emptying out SYSCO we go and see what else we can get from the Wal-Mart warehouse," I stated.

"That sounds like a plan."

When we were finished getting geared up, we went outside and headed for the chow hall.

On our way to the chow hall I noticed another team has come in with supplies and the ground team was busy with the skidders moving the trailers into their storage places.

"Looks like someone went and picked up 4 more skidders while we were asleep," I said.

"I'm glad they did because we really needed them," Betsy stated.

"Especially if what happened this morning is going to be a common occurrence."

"Which it probably will be."

"I have no doubt."

We got into the chow hall and got a plate, some food, and a drink and we went off to the tables to sit down.

When we got there we noticed some of our scavenging team already there eating their meals.

"So are all of you ready for another fun filled day of scavenging supplies?" I asked.

Most just grinned and nodded Kristian said, "There is nothing like going out and getting shot at to liven up a dreary day."

"Yes I would agree that getting shot at does make for an interesting day. Let's just hope no one gets hurt on our side with all the fun we are having," I said.

"I second that thought," Dad said.

Betsy and me found a couple of chairs nearby and started in on our meals. When I was finished with mine I spoke up to my team members that were in ear shot.

"I think the first thing on the agenda is to head over to that truck stop we were at yesterday and pick up the trailers we looked at. After we drop them off here we can head over to the Wal-Mart warehouse and pick up trailers and load up what we can there. Then split up into teams and hit a couple of hospitals and firehouses in the area for medical supplies and equipment."

"Sounds like a plan," Tony said.

"Ok, its 3:45 in the afternoon now, let's get geared up and head for the trucks and see if we can head out at 4:00," I said.

Everyone agreed and started cleaning up their mess and headed for the door.

"I guess we need to find the twins and Mark and get everyone headed for the truck," Betsy said.

"Yeah, why don't you find the twins and I'll go get Mark."

"Will do, we'll meet you at the truck."

I figured that I could find Mark in his room so I went there to look for him. I was about to the tent where he was sleeping when I saw him coming out of the tent with his gear in hand.

"Good morning my liege," I said bowing to Mark, "Did you sleep alright?"

"Good morning, yeah it was great. Beats sleeping out on the road any day," Mark said.

"I bet it does at that. Well are you ready for another fun filled day scavenging?"

"Yeah I think I can psych myself for another day of it."

"That's good to hear. Have you gotten something to eat yet?"

"Yeah I was over there earlier, then went and got all my gear ready for the day. I was actually off to find you and see if we were going to do anything today."

"Well the first thing on the agenda is to go back to the truck stop were we checked out all those trailers yesterday. Then we will head to the Wal-Mart warehouse and pick up trailers and fill most of them there. Then maybe spread out a bit and see if we can pick up more medical supplies."

"Sounds good when are we taking off?"

"In about 10 minutes. I should have enough time to pre-trip the truck to make sure it's ready for another day."

Mark and I moseyed over to the truck and got our gear onboard and started on the pre-trip inspection. Checking the oil and water and draining the air tanks of any moister buildup, then checking the tires and hoses for wear and tear. About the time I was finishing up the inspection the rest of our crew showed up and they started loading all their equipment into the truck.

I hit the send button on the radio and said," Team one radio check."

I listened as one by one everyone checked in.

"Ok let's get mounted up and get on the road, same formation as this morning," I said.

I climbed up in the truck and started the engine, when the twins got in from the other side I said," Good morning girls. How did you sleep last night?"

"We slept great; we were so tired we didn't even feel you when you and Betsy got into bed." Julia said.

"I know what you mean there, we were so tired we didn't feel you get out of bed and you had to crawl over us to get out," I said.

"Well we didn't climb over you; we crawled out from the covers and went overtop the foot board. You and Betsy looked so peaceful we didn't want to wake you when we went to get coffee," Caroline said.

About that time the front vehicle in our convoy pulled out so I got in behind them as we headed for 220 and the town of Monterey.

The trip into Monterey was uneventful, but it gave us a chance to get back into the groove of things before we had a chance to run into trouble.

We got into Monterey and we saw a few people milling around and talking but no one bothered us as we made the trip through town. But even as quiet as it was we still kept on the ball in case something did go down.