slow to catch us.
Luckily, the road we were on was paved. It was an access road of some sort, with no real houses or buildings around us. We might have been in New Jersey, but no telling where exactly.
That was when Kyle started to mess around with the buttons on the dashboard. At first, I thought he was trying to turn on the radio, until he flipped a button that said “NAV” on it. The built in navigation system came to life.
It sure beat the hell out of a map. It told us everything, including where there were stoplights and gas stations. A-shame it didn’t have a built in zombie detector.
Chapter 8
Time to live off the land, or die trying.
After learning that we were, in fact, in New Jersey, and fairly close to where I95 met I278, we decided that we needed to stay away from the highways. Aside from being totally overrun with the dead, there was really no getting through the parking lot of cars and trucks that now filled both of these metropolitan throughways.
Back roads were the only real option.
After packing their most valuable possessions, the whole world seemed to have jumped in their cars and hit the roads. Everybody had someplace else, or someplace they thought would be safer to go. As we exited the access road, we came across a filling station that had a hand painted sign on a white tarp that read:
“$20 per Gallon !”
This was crossed out with a big red X. Below it, someone had added:
“GAS GONE!”
We drove by slowly hoping to see if there were any supplies inside, but it was obviously completely cleaned out.
As of now, there was a lack of zombies. Perhaps most of them were attracted to the boat crash, clearing the way for us. Perhaps it was something else.
Either way, Kyle and I were taking the moment of calm to strategize.
We knew we needed the basics: food and water. I had seen someplace that the average man would die after approximately a week without water. According to Kyle, symptoms of dehydration included nausea, dry mouth and muscle cramps.
Those were also the symptoms of fighting off zombies, I thought sarcastically. In extreme circumstances, confusion and weakness set in before a coma or full organ failure. We were both coming up on almost two full days without anything to drink. My mouth was beyond dry.
Kyle explained that, based on Urban Warfare training he took while in the army, the most effective tactic to re-supply was basically to loot and steal. Otherwise known as living off of the urban landscape, he joked. We needed to find stores that still had supplies like food, water and most importantly, weapons.
We weren’t willing to stop just anywhere. The Hummer provided a certain level of protection, and while we were not exactly surrounded at the moment, we felt a hell of a lot more comfortable with the windows up, and the doors locked.
The streets were still relatively bare. No people, no zombies, and no movement other than a few tree limbs that were swaying in the wind. The few remaining vehicles were abandoned. The area looked more like the type of pit stop town that travelers would fill up with gas at, and then quickly move on. I lived in one of these towns growing up. They always had a few gas station, some fast food joints and townfolk who were less than friendly when it came to strangers.
I noticed a car that had crashed into a tree down the road a bit. It appeared to be filled to the brim with stuff . As we eased up next to it, we came to a stop. In mutual agreement, we both stepped out of the Hummer; leaving the engine running.
It would be a hell of a lot easier to find supplies that someone has left behind than to go searching for them inside various stores. Maybe this was a lucky break.
I could hear some noise coming from inside the car. I motioned to Kyle to listen. With a small nod, he cocked his head a little, listening intently. We both approached from different sides. As I cautiously peered through the
Luckily, the road we were on was paved. It was an access road of some sort, with no real houses or buildings around us. We might have been in New Jersey, but no telling where exactly.
That was when Kyle started to mess around with the buttons on the dashboard. At first, I thought he was trying to turn on the radio, until he flipped a button that said “NAV” on it. The built in navigation system came to life.
It sure beat the hell out of a map. It told us everything, including where there were stoplights and gas stations. A-shame it didn’t have a built in zombie detector.
Chapter 8
Time to live off the land, or die trying.
After learning that we were, in fact, in New Jersey, and fairly close to where I95 met I278, we decided that we needed to stay away from the highways. Aside from being totally overrun with the dead, there was really no getting through the parking lot of cars and trucks that now filled both of these metropolitan throughways.
Back roads were the only real option.
After packing their most valuable possessions, the whole world seemed to have jumped in their cars and hit the roads. Everybody had someplace else, or someplace they thought would be safer to go. As we exited the access road, we came across a filling station that had a hand painted sign on a white tarp that read:
“$20 per Gallon !”
This was crossed out with a big red X. Below it, someone had added:
“GAS GONE!”
We drove by slowly hoping to see if there were any supplies inside, but it was obviously completely cleaned out.
As of now, there was a lack of zombies. Perhaps most of them were attracted to the boat crash, clearing the way for us. Perhaps it was something else.
Either way, Kyle and I were taking the moment of calm to strategize.
We knew we needed the basics: food and water. I had seen someplace that the average man would die after approximately a week without water. According to Kyle, symptoms of dehydration included nausea, dry mouth and muscle cramps.
Those were also the symptoms of fighting off zombies, I thought sarcastically. In extreme circumstances, confusion and weakness set in before a coma or full organ failure. We were both coming up on almost two full days without anything to drink. My mouth was beyond dry.
Kyle explained that, based on Urban Warfare training he took while in the army, the most effective tactic to re-supply was basically to loot and steal. Otherwise known as living off of the urban landscape, he joked. We needed to find stores that still had supplies like food, water and most importantly, weapons.
We weren’t willing to stop just anywhere. The Hummer provided a certain level of protection, and while we were not exactly surrounded at the moment, we felt a hell of a lot more comfortable with the windows up, and the doors locked.
The streets were still relatively bare. No people, no zombies, and no movement other than a few tree limbs that were swaying in the wind. The few remaining vehicles were abandoned. The area looked more like the type of pit stop town that travelers would fill up with gas at, and then quickly move on. I lived in one of these towns growing up. They always had a few gas station, some fast food joints and townfolk who were less than friendly when it came to strangers.
I noticed a car that had crashed into a tree down the road a bit. It appeared to be filled to the brim with stuff . As we eased up next to it, we came to a stop. In mutual agreement, we both stepped out of the Hummer; leaving the engine running.
It would be a hell of a lot easier to find supplies that someone has left behind than to go searching for them inside various stores. Maybe this was a lucky break.
I could hear some noise coming from inside the car. I motioned to Kyle to listen. With a small nod, he cocked his head a little, listening intently. We both approached from different sides. As I cautiously peered through the
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