Haven: Jennyville Read online

  Chapter 2

  Two days after the meeting, Rob and his team pulled through the gate and headed south toward Sacramento. Rob, Luther, and a volunteer were in the front APC. Bobby followed with two more of the volunteers in the second APC.

  Before they had started, Rob had explained the rules to the volunteers. "When one of the experienced members gives you an order, follow it. Failure to follow directions could result in your being left behind out there. Your performance out there will also impact whether you are allowed to go out on future trips because the experienced members will decide if you will be allowed to accompany them on any future trips or not. So stay cooperative and follow directions."

  Except for in the larger towns, they only encountered a few Zombies as they traveled south. At least there were no large groups. As they drove through the industrial buildings on the outskirts of Sacramento, the first group of about 25 Zombies was encountered. Bobby stopped before he reached the mob of Zombies. Rob slowed, but continued on toward the group. Rob plowed into the group of Zombies sending bodies flying. Bobby sent Kent, one of the volunteers, to the turret to start firing the 50 caliber into the crowd. He directed Kent to fire in short 3 or 4 second bursts. Kent was getting effective results, but due to the need to preserve ammunition, Bobby signaled the other volunteer Mike, to pull Kent back inside and button the hatch up.

  The majority of Zombies were down, so Bobby started moving forward in the direction Rob had gone. Mike checked the map Luther had marked for them and directed Bobby to turn left at the next intersection.

  Ten minutes later Bobby pulled to a stop behind Rob's vehicle parked in front of the National Guard Armory. The side door opened and Wally, the volunteer that was with Rob and Luther, hopped out and ran back to Bobby's APC.

  Bobby climbed out and asked Wally, "Where's Rob and Luther?"

  "They went inside the Armory. Rob told me to stay here and keep watch." said Wally.

  Bobby looked at his two volunteers and flipped a coin and said, "Call it, Kent." "Heads" Kent said. "Sorry, Tails." Bobby said, as he showed them the coin.

  "You stand outside the door and come in yelling, 'Zombies' if either you or Wally sees any Zombies. If any Zombies are spotted, we will want to know how many, and what direction they are coming from. Wally, if any Zombies are spotted, you get back inside the APC and button up and wait for us. You guys got that?" Bobby asks.

  "Yes sir." said Wally.

  "OK, come on Mike. Let's see if Rob has found anything." Bobby said.

  Mike and Bobby ran toward the front doors of the building. Once inside, Bobby called out for Rob. "Back here." Rob answered. Bobby led Mike down the hallway. Rob's voice had come from several doors down the hall. Bobby could see a door standing ajar. Inside the room, Luther was trying to cut a lock off of a cage containing weapons with the bolt cutters.

  "No go, this thing is case hardened. Maybe we can shoot it off." said Luther.

  "No, go pull my APC up to the door then feed the wench cable in here and we'll pull it off. It will take longer, but it will be quieter." Rob said.

  Luther ran outside to the APC and started feeding out wench cable. Luther told Kent to signal Wally to start the wench when he called that he was ready.

  "Kent you keep your eyes open for Zombies while Wally works the wench." Luther added.

  Five minutes later the door lay to the side and Rob and Luther piled weapons on carts while Mike and Bobby pushed them back to Rob's APC and loaded them into the back. They had found 52 M4's, 17 MP5's, 25 9mm pistols, and several thousand rounds of ammo for each.

  When Bobby and Mike returned for another cart load, Rob said, "Divide this stuff between the two vehicles. Luther and I will check the equipment yard and see what's stored there."

  Bobby said, "OK, Mike and I can finish this up, while Kent and Wally continue to watch for Zombies." and continued to load ammunition.

  As they loaded the last ammo boxes into the back of Bobby's APC, Rob and Luther came walking out the front door.

  "There are a couple of nice big portable generators back there and a big old D9 bulldozer on a trailer. There are also about 6 cannons, but we couldn't find any shells for them or 50 caliber rounds for our own 50's" said Rob.

  "Where is the closest military base Luther?" Rob asked.

  "Southeast of Sac there's an army depot that we can checkout." said Luther.

  "I say we go and check it out right now. We still need 50 caliber ammo for the APC's, we can pickup the generators on the way back there's no need to drag a couple trailers all over Sacramento. I'm not doing another town meeting just for their permission when we're just a few miles from a possible cache of 50 cal ammunition." said Rob.

  "OK with me, it's your show." Luther told him. Everyone else either shrugged or nodded in agreement.

  Luther showed everyone where the depot was on the map and they loaded up. As they traveled down highway 99, they attracted the attention of several hundred Zombies. Four or five times the convoy stopped and Rob had Wally, Mike and Kent shoot their M4's at them. Shooting actual Zombies was a lot different from target shooting and the boy's nervousness and miss's were proof that it was a lot tougher. Using Robs patented block circling technique they finally either out ran or killed most of the Zombies that had been following them. On a couple of occasions, lone Zombies were just run down on the highway.

  By the time they entered the industrial area which surrounded the Army Depot, only the occasional Zombie was spotted. When they finally rolled to a stop at the gated fence surrounding the depot, Luther handed the bolt cutters to Wally and told him to go cut the lock and open the gates while the others kept watch for Zombies. Inside the gated compound, they located several large power generators. The generators were truck mounted and were of considerable larger capacity than the generator presently in use at Haven or the ones the previously located at the National Guard Armory. Luther and Mike volunteered to drive the generator trucks.

  While they were at the Army Depot, Rob and Bobby refueled their vehicles. As Bobby pumped fuel into his vehicle, he told Kent and Mike to always carry an electric pump and plenty of hose.

  "You never want to chance running out of gas out here." Bobby told them.

  When they finished fueling up, the boys cut the locks on several large storage containers. They found containers of 5.56mm ammunition, but no 50 cal. ammunition.

  "We'll just have to keep our eyes open for more road blocks with vehicles having mounted 50 cal's on them." Bobby said.

  Rob said, "Boys we're on a roll now, and I say we run by the Power Plant and at least check it out. According to Neil, there are people there that would be able to help us in haven. He says they are suffering at the hands of those in charge at the power plant and would be glad to leave. I'm starting to get tired of being told what to do by stupid ass bosses myself. I say screw the Committee. When they come out on one of these expeditions with us, then and only then they will be entitled to have any input as to what we do or don't do. Only the people out here with me now get a vote as to what our action plan should be."

  Using their maps, Luther highlighted two different routes to the power plant that Neil had marked on their maps.

  "Bobby, you take this route and I'll take the other. We'll meet at our rendezvous point, a couple blocks from the Power Plant. We can keep someone up in the turret watching for any roadblocks as we travel. If we spot any military vehicles, we can investigate them and search for additional weapons and ammo. The priority will be ammunition for the 50's but we'll take whatever we can. Whoever arrives at the power plant first will wait at the spot Luther has marked on our maps and described in detail." said Rob.

  Rob, Luther and Bobby discussed the plan and agreed approaching the plant from two directions made good sense. An APC and a Generator truck would give the illusion they were a larger force than they actually were. Facing a large mechanized attack force might intimidate the plant personnel sufficiently enough to make them cooperate. Both of the genera
tor trucks and the APC's were loaded with ammunition and weapons.

  As Bobby drove the route Luther had drawn on his map, Kent watched for any military vehicles or road blocks. Having left the depot, about two miles down the road, Kent spotted the first road block.

  Bobby slowed the APC and told Kent to start loading MP5 magazines and be ready to start thinning out any Zombies that they encountered.

  Bobby pulled the APC to a stop several feet from the road block vehicles. He picked up an MP5 and several loaded magazines and directed Kent to do the same.

  "Take a MP5 and be ready to come outside when I call that it's clear." Bobby told Kent.

  Bobby hit the lever and lowered the back door on the APC. He ran out, and spun back toward the APC and started checking it for Zombies hanging on to it. "Clear" shouted Bobby.

  With Kent at his side now, Bobby said, "Always be prepared for Zombies hanging on to the outside of your vehicle."

  They walked over to the generator truck Mike was driving.

  "You just stay in your truck and keep watch. We'll go and see if we can find any 50 cal ammo." said Bobby. Bobby and Kent walked among the vehicles looking for weapons or ammo.

  Inside one of the police cars, Bobby spotted a Zombie slapping on the side window trying to get at them.

  "What the hell, how can that thing still be alive?" asks Kent.

  "They never die; they have to be killed." said Bobby as he raised his MP5 and put a burst into the things face. He then opened the front door to the police car and pulled out the shotgun fastened to the dash. He walked back to the APC, threw the shotgun inside, and then picked up the large wrecking bar that Ralph always carried.

  "Lets pop the trunks open." he told Kent. They popped the trunk on each of the vehicles.

  The road block was made up of police vehicles only, so no 50 caliber ammunition was found. But four 12 gauge shotguns, several hundred 12 gauge shells for the shotguns, some 9mm, and .45 calibers ammo were located.

  As Bobby and Kent loaded the ammunition into the APC, Bobby said, "What we need is to locate a military road block and look for some .50 caliber ammo for the turret mounted 50's." Bobby and Kent entered the APC and closed up the back hatch.

  As they continued the drive going toward the rendezvous point, suddenly, they spotted what they had wanted. A road block consisting of six APC's and two tanks was spotted on a side road besides a large office building.

  Bobby eased the APC down the street toward the road block. Then he spotted the Zombies. There were about 30 or 40 of them.

  "We need to mark this spot on the map and then we can come back with more fire power." he told Kent.

  "Come on man, we can take those guys out. Think about it, we'd be heroes if we brought back 50 caliber ammo and a tank!" said Kent excitedly.

  "With that many Zombies, the best bet is to use two APC's to run them down and a lot more fire power. It needs to be done quickly, not in an extended fire fight that draws even more Zombies to the area. If we got swarmed and killed, nothing would be gained." said Bobby.

  Kent was obviously unhappy with the decision, but let go of the argument.

  Bobby drove on toward the appointed meeting point.

  When Bobby and his team arrived at the rendezvous point that Luther had marked on their maps, Rob, Wally, and Luther were waiting for them.

  "We didn't see any road blocks, how about you guys?" Rob asked.

  Bobby detailed the situation and vehicles at the two road blocks they had found.

  "Good call Bobby. Luther and I got swarmed once in a Mall, and let me tell you, it was really hairy. It scared the crap out of both of us. We were lucky to get out of that one. How far is it back to the road block with the military vehicles?" asks Rob.

  "It's about five miles back to the road block." replied Bobby.

  "We'll go back now and check it out. If we could pull up to the power plant gates in an Abrams tank I'm sure they could be persuaded to lend us a couple of Power Plant techs. Maybe we'll find some ammo for the 50's there as well. But by the time we spend getting back there it will be getting too late to plan on returning here. So, we'll have to wait until tomorrow before we approach the Power Plant. But it'll be worth the wait to get that Abrams and whatever else we want and maybe we'll get some ammunition for the 50's." said Rob.

  Rob instructed Luther and Mike to leave the generator trucks here at the rendezvous point and load into the APC's.

  When the two APC's pulled onto the street leading to the road block, Rob motioned for Bobby to pull up alongside of his vehicle.

  "I want you to drive down toward the roadblock, one person mount the 50 in the turret and start firing into the crowd of Zombies. When they start toward you, back up this direction and we'll shoot them as they approach us. Then I'll run down as many as I can. When we draw them to us, I want you to take out as many as you can with your APC. "Ready?" asks Rob.

  Kent, who had mounted the turret mounted 50, gave a thumb up signal and said "Hell yes, let's do this."

  "I'm ready." said Luther.

  With that, Bobby started driving down the street toward the road block at about fifty meters from the Zombies.

  Kent fired his first 5 second burst.

  Zombies started pouring out from around of the road block vehicles.

  What initially appeared to be 30 or 40 Zombies swelled to at least a hundred.

  Kent continued to fire in five second bursts until the Zombies were about 20 meters from the APC.

  Bobby put the APC into reverse and started backing away from the mass of Zombies.

  Bobby yelled, "KEEP FIRING, why did you stop firing?"

  "There are too many of them!" screamed Kent.

  "Mike get up there and start shooting them!" yelled Bobby.

  In less than 30 seconds, Bobby heard the firing recommence.

  Bobby backed past Rob's APC. He made a turn at the intersection and yelled, "Stop firing, and button up the hatch!"

  Bobby and the others could hear the other APC's 50 firing. Bobby put his APC into forward and started driving back toward the road block. He was doing about 35 mph when he hit the first large group of Zombies.

  Rob's APC was still sitting in the same position as when they had backed past it.

  Bobby yelled, "Mike, can you see anything wrong over there? Does it look like they had a problem?"

  I didn't see anything, but nobody appeared to be at the controls of the APC." Mike responded.

  "Let's get out of here before we're all killed!" screamed Kent.

  Bobby yelled, "SHUT UP! Kent."

  Bobby brought the APC to a halt and shifted into reverse. They started backing toward the intersection again, this time at a much higher speed.

  The number of Zombies on their feet and pursuing the APC was now less than thirty.

  When Bobby braked to a stop at the intersection he yelled for Mike to get up in the turret and man the 50 caliber.

  Mike was able to fire five or six second bursts into the mob for less than 30 seconds when Bobby yelled to get inside and button up. Bobby immediately put the APC into gear and made another pass through the oncoming Zombies.

  As they neared the road block, Bobby pulled to the right of the street and whipped a U-turn. He waited until the Zombies had staggered into a loose group and was staggering down the street in pursuit of the APC. He then shoved the APC into gear and made one more pass through the remaining Zombies.

  When they were about 50 feet from the remaining mobile Zombies, Bobby braked to a stop and hit the lever to lower the rear door. "Come on, let's take them out!" Bobby yelled.

  Bobby grabbed up an M4 and shoved it into Kent's hands yelling, "GET OUT THERE NOW!"

  Running out of the APC, Bobby and Mike fired at the oncoming Zombies.

  As the last of the Zombies were crawling toward the two of them, Bobby pulled his 9mm and handed it to Mike and said "Go ahead and put a round into the heads of any that are still moving. I'll check on Rob and the oth
ers."

  Bobby ran over to Rob's APC and pounded on the side window. He then tried to jerk the side door open, it was locked.

  The APC appeared to be empty. Bobby looked around but didn't see any fresh blood. He then heard the chatter of an M4 firing inside the building across the street. He ran toward the sound of gunfire and yelled to Mike and Kent "GRAB A RIFLE AND FOLLOW ME."

  Without waiting for them, Bobby sprinted to the side door of the building with Mike following close behind.

  The door was standing open. Bobby went through the door and called out, "ROB, ARE YOU IN HERE?" There was no reply, but he could still hear gunfire.

  The firing seemed to be coming from upstairs. As Bobby started for the stairway; Mike came rushing into the building.

  "Where's Kent?" asked Bobby.

  "He got back inside your APC" said Mike.

  Bobby shook his head and said, "I'll make the bastard walk home if he doesn't pull himself together."

  "Wow, you sounded just like Rob." laughed Mike.

  "Come on, let's go and find them." Bobby said laughing. Bobby and Mike took the steps two at a time as they ascended the stairs. At the third floor they encountered the first Zombie.

  Mike raised his MP5 and fired a burst that tore the Zombies head apart.

  When Bobby opened the door, the sound of gunfire made it evident this was the right floor. "Watch yourself, keep your eyes open for Zombies, and try not to get shot." said Bobby as he entered the adjacent hallway and saw that it was filled with Zombies.

  There must have been ten of them. They were all trying to get through a doorway at the same time.

  "They haven't noticed us yet so switch to single shot and try for headshots." said Bobby.

  Using the suppressed MP5's, Mike and Bobby were able to make short work of the Zombies without ever attracting the attention on themselves. "Reload and switch to 3 round burst or auto. Let's go." whispered Bobby.

  As they advanced toward the open door, Bobby yelled "FRIENDS", and peeked around the door frame.

  Wally was standing there with his rifle raised.

  The room was littered with Zombie bodies. A few were still moving but others were obviously "dead". Bobby and Mike dispatched the moving Zombies. Then turning to Wally, Bobby asked, "Where's Rob and Luther?"

  "Luther's over there" Wally said pointing to a figure lying on the floor. "And Rob is still in the APC."

  Bobby ran over to find Luther unconscious but alive. Then he saw Luther's blood soaked shoulder. "Did he get bit?" Bobby asked Luther.

  "No, someone shot him right after he climbed up into the turret and started shooting at the Zombies. Then three guys ran up and one of them shot Rob through the window on his side of the APC. I think Rob's dead. His face was covered in blood, he was shot point blank. I guess they just didn't see me in the back. Then you guys backed past us with all those Zombies following you. Two of the guys took off running, but one of the guys ran over and started climbing in through the driver's side door. I knew when he got inside he would see me in the back, so I fired a burst into his chest. I dragged his body inside and latched down the side doors and the turret and then I opened the back and pulled Luther out of the APC. Then I closed the back hatch and removed the handle the way Rob showed us. I helped Luther up here before the guys could come back. Luckily, Luther was semi-conscious when I brought him up here. I don't think I would have made it if I had tried to carry him. Some of the Zombies must have seen us come up here. After a few minutes, the hallway was full of them. And I just kept shooting them until you guys got here."

  "OK, let's get Luther back downstairs and inside the APC, where we should be reasonably safe. Remember, if you button up the APC, there is no safer place for you to be. You should never get out of the vehicle to take refuge from Zombies." Bobby admonished Wally. "Let's get going. We need to check Luther's wound and check on Rob too. Wally, if Rob's dead you will have to drive the APC home." Bobby said.

  Mike took the lead on the trip back down the stairs. Two Zombies were encountered in the stairwell but Mike was able to take them out with the MP5 without much noise.

  When they reached the door, Wally supported Luther while Bobby and Mike checked the street for Zombies. Then, with a person under each of Luther's arms, they half dragged and half carried him across to Rob's APC.

  Wally pulled the rear latch handle from his pocket and lowered the rear hatch. Bobby and Mike dragged Luther inside and then Wally climbed in and closed the hatch. They stretched Luther out on the cargo and started trying to bandage his shoulder.

  Bobby rushed to Rob's side, and was relieved to see that Rob was still breathing. He grabbed a bottle of water and washed the blood from Rob's face, while Wally bandaged Luther's shoulder. Rob's eyes fluttered and then he opened them and looked at Bobby.

  "Damn, I came to and nobody was here, then I must have passed out again. What the hell happened?" Rob asked.

  "You've been shot. It doesn't look that bad to me, but what the hell do I know? But it's bleeding a lot." Bobby explained. "He then ran through the story for Rob.

  "Where the hell are the guys that shot me?" asked Rob.

  "The Zombies started chasing them and they ran off. Except for the one I shot. He's up front, lying behind the driver's seat." said Wally.

  "OK, the Power Plant will have to wait for another trip. The first order of business will be getting home." said Rob as he staggered over to the body lying by the driver's seat. He rolled the dead guy over and said, "Good, his face is undamaged". Rob pulled his pistol and put a round through the dead mans temple. "I want Neil to be able to tell me if this guy is from the power plant."

  "Wally can drive my APC. Luther and I will ride with Bobby in his vehicle, and Mike and Kent can drive the Generator trucks home." said Rob.

  "Then lets go before those guys come back." said Wally.

  "No wait! Bobby said a little agitated. "We still need to check out the road block for weapons and ammo. Kent and I can run down there and do a quick check for ammo and weapons. Mike, you and Wally wait here in case those guys come back. Bandage Rob's head while we're gone."

  Bobby climbed out of the APC and sprinted over to his own vehicle. After climbing in he looked into the back and saw Kent just sitting there. "Let's go and check the road block Kent." said Bobby.

  "Do we have to? Can't we just go home? I hate it out here, I just want to go home." whined Kent. All of his earlier bravado had disappeared and he just appeared to be a scared kid.

  "Yes we do, and unless you want to walk home, you'll pick up that gun and follow me. That's why we're here you know." said Bobby shaking his head. Although he was three or four years younger than Kent, he knew Kent wasn't cut out to survive out here. Bobby knew he wouldn't be making any more trips with Kent as a team member.

  At the road block, Bobby located several cases of .50 caliber ammo in each of the APCs. Although they already had a full load, the big boxes of 50 caliber ammo stacked well, and it was possible to squeeze it all into the APCs. Bobby noted that inside the tanks were shells as well but there wasn't any use for them without a cannon to fire them. But he knew Ralph and Rob would want to know about them.

  Kent whined and said he wasn't sure he could drive the truck.

  "Well, you can walk home then." said Bobby. Luther, who was on his feet again, said he would ride with Kent. That seemed to settle Kent down a bit. Between the inexperienced drivers and Bobby's watchfulness the normal four hour trip back to Haven took them almost six hours.