Infected: They Will Eat You!: A Story of Family Survival in a Zombie Apocalypse (4 page)

“We will see a change definitely but an end, I’m not sure about that.” I added, “I do know that there are things going on now that we need to watch and be ready in case food and water or gas or whatever gets scares or really expensive.”

“We have the garden and the rabbits” said Caleb, “and we can hunt and find food in the woods.”

“Yep.” I agreed, “But what if everyone is doing that. And what if people are out there who want to take it from you? Ya may not be able to just walk into the woods and come home with dinner. Ya may come home dead. ”

“If you were dead you couldn’t
come
home.” corrected Jesse.

“That’s my point. We need to have an idea, a Plan Of Action, a POA.”

“We need more of those filter straws and dried camping food. They are light and easy to carry.” Caleb added.

“Yeah. We and we need a plan. Knowing what to do when is usually what saves people. Would we stay here, if not where would we go? How long could we survive in the house? Could we protect it if need be?” I said.

“We wouldn’t leave, we have friends here.” Christine said.

“Depends on what’s going on. If it came to hyperinflation and food was really expensive or hard to get people from larger cities could head here. More people means more trouble. And we live in town, more people around us, not good in case of riots and looting.” I pointed out.

She wasn’t buying it, “More people means more help, more protection and more people
to
help.”

“My first concern is our protection, then others. We can’t help if we’re dead or have nothing to help with.” That was my last word on the subject, we didn’t agree but knew each other’s feelings. “Take your plates and help in the kitchen.” I told the boys.

Dinner was done, it was later than usual and I was tired. We got things cleaned up and put away, Christine, Caleb and Jesse sat down to watch TV, I headed to bed with thoughts of fortifying the house and places to escape to running through my head.

-——————————————

Routine is good. There was a time when I would have scoffed at that statement but I’ve learned the truth of it. We make thousands of decisions every day, some difficult, some mundane, routine allows us to
just do
. It relieves us of thought and allows simple action. It’s comforting. Each day it was getting more difficult to continue my morning routine of coffee, cat, office, work…..I wanted to head straight to the TV and get news updates. I couldn’t allow that to happen so I forced myself to slow down. With hot coffee in hand I walked downstairs to my office, woke up the computer and turned on the TV. Before I could sit down sounds of screams and sirens emanated from the speakers…..more bombs.

The map now on the screen showed a similar attack line up the middle of Israel from Be’er Sheva to Karmiel. Six cities had been attacked with at least ten bombs. This time there was no ignoring the hazmat suited workers. it was evident that today was not like yesterday or any bombings before.

At the commercial break I went to the computer to see if anything was showing up. It was. Everywhere I checked I found alerts and stories, pictures and video of the attacks. Each said mostly the same thing the bombs were not just explosives but had contained chemicals. Everywhere you could see white and yellow suites working to contain the area. Not everyone was hazmat suited though. Police and fire, medical personnel, military and civilians were doing what they could to help. Today was also different in that news of the bombings was everywhere. Most TV networks were running some sort of coverage. The internet was covered with images and information. Within an hour I realized that I was receiving the same information for the third and fourth time. I kept the TV on and went for a coffee refill.

Christine was up and coming downstairs so I fixed her a coffee and waited in the kitchen.

“Hey!” I greeted here. That’s not what she likes in the morning and gave out a growl.

I handed her the coffee, she took a sip
then
gave me a hug.

“There were more bombings in Israel.” I let her know, “Looks worse than yesterday.”

“Oh no.” was her response.

“They may have used chemicals this time. There are people in hazmat suits all over the scenes.”

“It could be a precaution.” she said.

“Yeah, hope so.”

She went to her computer, I back to my office, each to see what was happening.

By six-thirty I was ‘newsed out’ but not in the mind to work so I started writing a POA. First was to get to the grocery store and stock up on more food and water. Wegman’s and Wal-Mart were open all night so I could get there now. Maybe head to Sam’s Club when it opened to buy bulk items. As it got later and people started to hear the news they could think the same thing and want to stock up on things, that could cause shortage, at least a crowd. I hate crowds.

If I planned right I could be at Gander Mt. when they opened and pick up some more ammo and ‘survival items’. I just wanted to get the stuff now that would disappear first if a run happened. We see people rush to the store when there is a prediction of a big snow storm, if people fear something worse, like another September 11
th
attack who knows what will be available and if the government tightened up security supply lines could slow or stop all together.

I went upstairs to let her know I was going out.

“Homeland Security has raised the security level to orange, a
high risk of terrorist attacks
.” she said as I entered her office.

“Makes since.” I said, “I’m going to run out and get some things. I’ll get the boys up and they can help.”

“Where are you going?” she asked.

“Wegman’s and Wal-Mart are open now.” I said, “I’ll get water and some extra food stuff. I’ll bring that back and go to Sam’s and other places when they open. We should put buckets and bottles of water in the freezer.”

“I can do that, I can go to Wegman’s.” she volunteered.

“OK, I’ll get the boys up.”

We had a plan for the morning and needed to get moving. Once people got up and started hearing the news it could be too late.

“Time to get up.” I said as I walked into the boy’s room, “We have work to do. You need to get up and do your bathroom stuff quickly. Without fighting!”

“What about breakfast?” Jesse questioned.

“What are we doing? What’s going on?” Caleb asked

“We’re going to the store to get some stuff.” I answered, “There were more bombings in Israel last night and I want to stock up on some things before people start panicking.”

“Do you think people will panic?” asked Jesse.

“Not sure.” I answered, “I just want to be more ready than we are just in case. Let’s go.”

We all got ready and left. Christine headed to Wegman’s downtown, Caleb, Jesse and I went to Wal-Mart then Giant on the way home. We loaded up on canned and dried foods, water, first aid items and various toiletries. At Wal-Mart we also picked up more shotgun shells, a couple machetes, propane and dried camping food. By nine we were back at the house and unloading. My objective was to have this stuff inside and at Sam’s by ten-thirty. Christine was not home by the time we were ready to go so I called her as we jumped in the truck.

“You OK?” I asked when she answered.

“Yeah, I’m almost finished. I saw Emma and we were talking about the bombings.” she answered, “She’s worried that we will be next and she’s buying water and food.”

“OK,” I said, “we’re heading to Sam’s and the mall.”

“Let me see if Kathy wants anything from Sam’s.” she said.

“Just text me with anything.” I said.

“OK, be careful. I love you.” She said

“I love you too.” I replied.

“What did she say?” asked Jesse.

“She’s almost done.” I answered, “Kathy was there and they talked. She is stocking up on some things as well. I guess it’s starting to get busy.”

“What if people do start to panic?” asked Caleb.

“Things will become scarce I guess.” was my short answer. It wasn’t enough.

“Like food and water?” he asked.

“Certain foods will disappear,” I answered, “canned goods, dried foods like rice and beans and bottled water…things like propane and toothpaste. People with babies would stock up on dippers and baby formula. That’s not a bad thing for us to get, baby formula. It’s powdered and will last a long time and it’s high in nutrients. Ya just mix it with water.”

“Couldn’t we just get the powder mommy gets?” he asked.

“I guess, we can look at both.” I said, “But what if someone we know with a baby ran out of formula. We could give them ours but the baby probably couldn’t have the other stuff. Things that have multiple uses are more valuable especially in tough times.”

“Yeah, OK.” was all he said

“Like a stick.” chimed in Jesse.

“What?” Caleb and I puzzled.

“A stick.” he repeated, “You can use a stick for protection, to whack someone, you can burn it, you can hunt with it or make something else.”

“OK, yeah.” I said. My boys loved sticks. The yard was generally full of them of all lengths and sizes.

Sam’s was open by the time we arrived and not too busy yet. We didn’t shop here much, a couple times a year but I was happy we had the store right now, it would be easier to pick up some supplies here than at the grocery store.

It took about forty-five minutes to race through the store getting everything from toilet paper to peanut butter, bags of rice and coffee and olive oil…… We got a few pieces of beef and some apples, strawberries and other fruits. These aren’t the normal emergency supply foods but the plan was to slice these and put them in the dehydrator right away. Once dried we could vacuum seal them and they’d be good for a while. We had a truck load by the time we checked out. For a moment a piece of me hoped something did happen because we were racking up some huge credit card bills. The good part was that if there was no disaster we could live for a year on the food we’d bought in preparation.

We had so much stuff it took twenty minutes to fit it in the truck. By this time Sam’s parking lot was filling up and we could hear conversation about the bombings and what may happen. We headed for Gander.

At Gander Mountain the boys took a cart and headed for the camping section while I took a cart and went for ammo. We met up at the knives each with a cart nearly full. Between us we had an assortment of
stay put
and
travel quick
items. The truck was so full that on the way home we were literally sitting on or had things sitting on all of us.

We passed by Wal-Mart and could see that the parking lot had filled up. Giant and K-mart were the same. All of the drug stores looked full as well. Every place where you could buy supplies of any kind were busy. I was glad we started early.

When we got home Christine was there and unpacked. The difference in what we each bought was amusing. Comparing the volume we each got was hysterical. I had almost two truck loads full she had seven grocery bags.

“I knew you were getting stuff” she said, “so I just got a few things I thought you would forget or that I especially wanted.”

“It’s OK. I just think it’s funny.” I said and went to putting our supplies away.

The boys and I started taking things to the basement. I wanted to get everything inside as quickly as possible so we had just carried it in and piled it up. That didn’t sit well with Christine but she accepted it as ‘temporary’. We had things stacked in the living room, dining room and kitchen, now we were moving it to the basement or wherever it needed to be stored.

“Turn the TV on so we can see if anything new’s going on.” I said to Caleb as I passed him going into the basement.

When I came back I found Caleb and Jesse sitting watching the TV.

“That doesn’t look good does it?” I said as I stood and watched.

“No.” came out of both boys simultaneously.

We were watching buildings burning and people running in one scene and then desolate streets in another. I didn’t stop long enough to be able to get the jest of it all, I had supplies to store away.

“Keep me posted on what’s going on.” I said as I went back to work.

As I would pass by one boy or another would give me an update. Most of the information was a rereport from earlier. There were some scenes of runs on stores in the U. S. and around the world. They were even showing celebrations.

“They look like they’re happy.” Jesse said as he watched people hop up and down singing while burning Israeli and U. S. flags.

“They are Jesse.” said Caleb.

“But why?” he asked.

“Because some people hate Israel and Jews. They hate the United States. They basically hate anything and anyone who does not fit into what they want or believe.” I answered, “And some are just brainwashed and do what they are told, like strap on a bomb and blow up people in a coffee shop.”

I went back to work, they sat and watched.

Christine was on the phone talking about all that was happening while putting things away.

-——————————————

It was late afternoon before we had everything squared away. I wanted one more thing so I quickly went to pick up some five gallon buckets and barrels. I had ten five gallon buckets and added another twenty, five gallon buckets with lids and four, forty gallon plastic drums with clamp-on lids. These would be great for water storage.

Hungry and tired I sat down in the living room with the family. We were stocked up on supplies, had the storage containers in the basement ready to be filled and were starting to develop a plan. In an odd way it all felt good, but I was really hungry.

“Dinner!” Christine called out just in time.

“Let’s turn this off and find something to eat.” she said, “As if we don’t have any food in the house.” she added with a chuckle.

“NO!” the boys cried out as the TV went black.

“There’s nothing new there that we haven’t seen twice already.” she countered, “Now come and help me with dinner.”

It was true, there hadn’t been any new news for hours. Most of what was shown was from early this morning and the reporters were saying the same thing, once they had new information or new video they would show it. There just wasn’t any.