Humanity: After It Happened Book 2 (7 page)

BACK ON THE HORSE

February ended, and the weather improved slightly.  A flurry of activity began on the farms and gardens; seeds were planted, animals were moved around and Chris spoke of his plans to introduce the young bull to their small herd of cows. 

All departments loaned extra bodies to help, and some renewed purpose infected the group.  Dan decided to start pushing the fitness and skills of his Rangers, and had them in the gym three times a week where he ran them until they sweated, then made them lift weights and finish with a session on the mats where they drilled over and over with close quarters scenarios.  Leah kept up as much as she could and paid close attention to the lessons in weapon retention.  She had also been training with Lexi and was starting to develop some muscle.

Twice Dan had overtly tried to get Marie to be part of Ops, and both times she flatly refused him.  He raised good points with her skills of planning and organising being an asset, but her mind was made up.  He had even approached Penny about it, but she was firmly on the side of Marie.

She felt her professional experience was of no value yet; there weren’t enough people to police and nothing to investigate.  She had decided to use her education in a more practical setting, and after some discussion she became the group’s first mental health professional.  She had a degree in psychology, and through her work had been trained as a counsellor.  She had also studied art, and ran a drawing class. 

She was allocated a room, furniture needs were met and the rules of confidentiality firmly set.  Similar to the medical records being established, Marie met each member of the group in turn, taking nearly two weeks, and discussed how they were coping.  Nearly half of the group booked a return visit.

Dan grudgingly attended, and was as closed off about his past as he always was but felt tempted to book a follow up session just so he could spend more time with her.  She fascinated him, but he couldn’t get close to her without looking like a lost puppy.  He tried to push her from his mind; he had a lot to plan for with scouting trips and scavenging runs set to start again soon.

Lexi had fussed over Paul who was very groggy for the first week.  Kate, using complex medical terminology, had declared him badly concussed with a raft of soft tissue injuries from the crash, and watched him like a hawk. 

“What’s a sub-dural haematoma?” Leah whispered to Dan as Kate spoke.

“It’s a lump on the head” Dan answered in a stage whisper to annoy the paramedic, receiving a cold stare from Kate in reward.

Paul insisted that he felt better, and was released.  The subject of his employment was raised in a council meeting, and Neil asked to talk to him with Mike to see if his architectural knowledge was of use to them. 

It turned out it was; not only was he an architect but he also site-managed and had built a few commercial properties.  He knew a little about scaffolding, and was instantly hired.  He also, being a bit of a gym nut and heralded as a ninja according to Lexi, agreed to take over the running of the fitness and self defence programs.

Interdepartmental requirements had been drawn up, and a long list of supplies was needed.  Scaffolding and building tools were requested for engineering, equipment and feed for the farm, food and water for stores as their supplies had been depleted over winter.  Sera needed veterinary supplies and equipment for the horses, Kate needed medical supplies and an abundance of suturing kits she joked.  Dan raised a self-conscious hand to the neat zip marks on his face.  Clothes were required, as was all the fuel they could find to keep their vehicles and generators running.

All of these requirements had to be assessed, prioritised and researched for the appropriate site.  These sites then had to be checked by the Rangers and reported back on as to whether it was yes or no to the site, and a decision on if the teams should be escorted.  Dan took a long list of notes, and decided to call his whole team in the next morning for an admin day and to lay down new standard operating procedures.

Neil, Mike, Carl, Ian, Adam and Paul set to work planning how the solar panel project would work and wrote endless lists of requirements, including every vehicle battery from the larger stuff that could be found.  Jack was recruited to the engineering team for his haulage knowledge.

Andrew worked with Jimmy to prioritise the required supplies, and woke Liam from his bored hibernation.  Everyone pretended not to know that he and Andrew disappeared during ‘generator time’ to play on an old Xbox in a small room they had sequestered.

Under Chris’ leadership, the farms and gardens were starting to flourish.  He knew what they needed, and where it could be found.  Dan decided to start the site recces as soon as possible, discussing new operating procedures as his team worked.

“Who is still happy to go out alone?” he asked them

They all were, despite the events of last year.  He was thinking of doubling up on all trips, which met resilience from the other three Rangers.  It was argued that it would put too much demand on them; maintaining a permanent guard and potentially running two trips a day would be too exhausting.  He had the final say, and he was tempted to demand a slower progress to make sure they always had backup.  He felt that he was being overprotective and when the realisation that he was giving advice he wouldn’t take hit him, he relented.

“If a site looks dodgy though, we send at least two to run protection” he declared, as ‘Mollie’ jumped onto the table and walked over their maps and notes with utter distain.

“Leah, do you need to do some target practice?” he asked in a light tone.  She smiled widely and nodded

“Good.  Shoot that bloody fleabag, please” he said, making the others laugh.  Leah was annoyed at him for using her as a joke prop again and picked up the evil cat lovingly.  It sat on her lap, kneading her legs with its paws and shot Dan a stare of pure loathing and superiority.  He would set Ash on that thing happily, only he couldn’t be sure of the outcome.  If only the cat could be trained, they could pack the guns away permanently.

A prioritised list of sites and supplies was produced, and Dan deployed all four of them on one morning with Neil taking over the guard.

Steve was sent to a large supermarket with Jimmy riding as observer, Lexi to the big B&Q they had checked once before with Mike, Joe to an agricultural wholesaler with Chris and Dan went to a smaller outpatient’s hospital taking only Ash as he knew what he was looking for.  They all had two or three other secondary sites which would be on the return trip, all mapped out by Leah with Steve’s help.

If any of them didn’t return then the others would retrace their steps in the morning.  The rest didn’t need explaining; they had all been coached in escape and evasion by Steve, and all of them knew what to do.  At least Dan hoped they would.

Leah asked to go with him but he asked her to stay and compile the reports, promising her a trip soon.  Even the evident disappointment on her face could not dissuade him.

Dan reached his target by mid-morning, carefully circling the building on foot with Ash at his side.  No sign of anyone, but the hospital had clearly been looted some time ago.  The smell of the dead was different now; not the gut-churning stench of rotting bodies but instead the musty smell from the drying corpses which had frozen and thawed repeatedly over the winter to be twisted into grotesque poses.  He thought it was best not to look at them much.

The looting appeared to have been done in haste and destructively.  Dan was appalled at the unprofessionalism he saw until discovering that the only medication that seemed to have been taken was from a locked metal cabinet which had contained a dark green liquid. 

Mephedrone.  Typical that out of the world’s remaining population at least one heroin addict would have survived.  The other medicines and equipment seemed mostly intact, so he made a more thorough check of the building before returning to his Discovery.  He smoked as he wrote notes on the site; access point, hazards, location of supplies et cetera.

He started on his long return route with, he guessed, five hours of daylight left.  Twice more he stopped as he found the addresses of another ambulance outstation and a veterinary practice which specialised in large animal care.  Both buildings were intact and there was no sign of danger in the areas.  Dan’s last stop took him past home to a motorway service station to the south. 

There he found a multitude of lorries, all waiting under the watchful eyes of dead drivers for their CB radios and large batteries to be plucked from them.  On his notes he recommended checking what the cargo was before stripping them in case they found twenty tonnes of something really useful already gift-wrapped.

He returned late afternoon and sat with Leah who had poured him coffee.  He gave his reports as instructed by the domineering almost-teenager, who he had noted had donned her vest with its empty holster in honour of being the senior member of Ops on site all day.  He recommended an escorted trip with Kate and Sera riding with him.  One crew from logistics with a small lorry should do it.  He congratulated Leah on the route, and suggested the recovery operation goes the same way.  Hospital first, then pick up another ambulance for Kate to drive and empty their supplies, then to the vets for Sera to pick up what she wanted.

The lorry park was a good bet, but he wanted a separate trip for that with Jack and Ian along as well as two Rangers and all the logistics crews.

Steve returned with a boot full of choice items and Jimmy ready to lead the way; no issues with the supermarket.

Lexi returned with Mike who was happy that the tools they would need were readily available, and had found a well-stocked scaffolding yard on their way back, but couldn’t get the loaded lorry started to bring it back.

Joe walked back in, limping, and carrying a box.  Chris followed as Joe deposited the box on the table containing three very small bundles of black fur.  The story was not a happy one.  They found the wholesalers with ease, and the stores there were worth going back for.  As they searched though, Joe was attacked by a desperately wild collie dog.  She was filthy and bone thin, and after she had bitten clean through Joe’s trousers and taken a chunk from his calf, he shot her. 

Only afterwards did they hear the tiny sounds the surviving puppies made after their mother had attacked the intruders to protect them.  Joe felt terrible and was close to tears.  Chris was far more pragmatic about it, and judged that she nor the puppies would probably have lived through to spring.  He shared that he had had to shoot one of his own dogs once, as it turned savage without warning and started killing sheep.  Sera agreed with Chris’ prognosis, declaring the puppies very malnourished and saying that she would be surprised if any of them lived a week. 

Joe was marched into medical where Kate set about him.  Dan looked out of the window, guessing there was probably an hour of light left.  He told Leah to grab Lexi’s Glock and her own emergency bag.  She flew from the chair and was ready in seconds.

He pushed the Land Rover down now familiar roads, eager to be back by dark.  Especially as he hadn’t thought to bring the night vision goggles.  They reached the small shop they had visited before, as Dan remembered seeing what they needed there.  He let Leah do a quick sweep of the building – never miss an opportunity for training – before he grabbed baby bottles and tubs of milk powder.  He ended up throwing almost all of it into a bag before driving back.

It wasn’t ideal, Sera said, but it would at least give them a chance of survival.

SPRING IS IN THE AIR

Leah interviewed the three new joiners. They knew of lots of interesting things in the city, but the general consensus from all three was that the city was a bad place to visit. Marie described the place as being plagued by pirates.

What wasn't spoiled or looted was prey to roving gangs of people who wouldn't exactly be welcome in their new society. These reports were put to Dan who decided categorically to avoid the larger population centres and stick to the more rural areas which had served them well so far. He explained this to the council and found no disagreement.

The run to the lorry park was made first.  Dan wanted to lead, as always, but Steve stepped in to softly persuade him that he would go with Lexi.

They were gone from dawn ‘til dusk and returned full of excitement. They had found countless trailers full of useful supplies and recovered an entire truck full of batteries. They had finally got two articulated lorries started and brought back hundreds of bottles of water in one, and another full of tinned food.

That put the trip to the supermarket on the back burner. They had encountered no problems, and Dan grudgingly left Steve in charge of the next four days of recovery runs there; they had to dump the emptied trailers nearby as there simply wasn't room for them at the house.

Andrew was busy with all the available bodies unloading and sorting the new loot as quickly as possible so that they could get going by the following dawn. After four days they were exhausted and Dan declared them officially stood down until Monday; they couldn't afford a crash through tiredness.

The next day Dan took Adam and Jay with Sera and Kate to clear the hospital and vet's surgery.

The weekend passed without incident, lorry park operations resumed on the Monday.   Jack argued to bring back a portacabin for additional storage space which was supported. Neil went with them also to siphon another tanker of diesel from the large tanks of the lorries.

They set the portacabin up at the side of the loading bay to their stores, and Carl began to stack and wire the lorry batteries together. It was one of those moments where having someone not qualified watching slows a professional down significantly, but it was insisted upon that he show Mike what he was doing and why. Surge protectors and other such complicated matters were discussed, all of which sailed over Dan's head - plugs, fuses and bulbs were the extent of his electrical knowledge.

By the time he returned with a lorry full of medical and veterinary supplies, another stocked ambulance - this one being a special weather one, miraculously a Land Rover Defender - and another 4x4 from the veterinary practice, the battery bank was wired and weather proof.  Leah rode shotgun for him, taking her role ever so seriously. They drove in alert silence with Ash nosing his now huge head between the seats so it seemed that all three played I spy.

The scaffolding trip wasn't a priority as the weather wasn't yet good enough for the project, and the abundance of supplies from the lorry park was taking most personnel off site for days. Dan accepted the back seat on that detail and rotated the other three Rangers to go in pairs as the full logistics and engineering teams went out for another week.

By mid-March, they had accrued more supplies than they could actually store, and Andrew began to backfill empty barns on the gardens and farm with the sturdier food supplies. Every day the teams went out to return with new fully-laden trailers which were hastily unloaded by a kind of all-hands approach. The next morning they would eat a large breakfast and set off again, with the group’s former professional drivers putting in more hours behind the wheel than they used to.

March ended, and so did the runs to the lorry park as they had scavenged all that they could. Pallets were added to the 'battery bank' and another layer of lorry batteries added and wired in. Dan was sure it wouldn't pass a health and safety inspection, but as long as any fire there didn't threaten the house then he was ok with it. Carl assured him that it was far enough away, but still had added a lot of foam and co2 extinguishers to the shopping list.

Dan checked the Ops calendar in early April, seeing a curious marking on the following Thursday. It had hearts and stars on it, and the number thirteen. 

It was Leah’s thirteenth birthday.