“Yeah, I played half back for four years. I also was on the team that won the regional 400-meter relay my senior year.”
“What else should I know about you, Ilesh?” JR grinned mischievously. “Got cha.”
“There’s not a lot more. My dad was a pipefitter welder on pipeline jobs with his own welding rig on a two-year-old Ford F-350 dually pickup. After he died of cancer, I sold the Lincoln welding machine but kept the diesel engined, heavy-duty four-wheel drive truck we’re in. It’s a fuel hog even burning diesel, but it’s dependable, powerful, and tough.
“You know I was in high school in Lawton and played sports. I dropped out of Business Admin and Management at Cameron four months ago. I sold the house my parents and I lived in to buy the equipment behind us. I dated, but I wasn’t involved in a close relationship.” Sam decided to not mention Ari. He didn’t know why, but it felt right. She was in the past and he was moving forward. “I like the outdoors, hunting, fishing, and camping. I have the four-wheeler and the dirt bike you saw in the trailer. I was never into computer games heavily. I guess that’s a condensed version of my boring life.”
“What did you want to do with your degree?”
“Nothing definite. I planned for a job in my field where I could then work my way up to senior management. Just a normal job to support myself and a family.”
“Other than being different sexes, we’re pretty much alike.” JR turned the disc player on, leaned back in the seat to listen to the next song, then closed her eyes.
After several minutes, Sam added, “I plan to stop about every four hours for fuel, food, ice, and a stretch. In the next few days, I’m sure all three material items will become progressively scarcer and more expensive as more people flee north. Get rested because we’ll rotate drivers after each stop and drive twelve or more hours a day. It should take about twenty-four to twenty-eight hours of driving including food and fuel stops if we don’t have any problems.”
JR nodded. “Okay. We had a large camping trailer and I’ve pulled it before with my Dad’s three-quarter ton GMC.” She relaxed and stared half-heartedly out the glass again.
They crossed the border into Kansas Sunday afternoon at five and stopped at the north edge of Liberal for supper and fuel. JR drove when they left. “You said you’d continue with your view of where this zombie attack will take us. I need to understand what has happened and what it will possibly lead to. I’ll tell you up front it scares the shit out of me.”
Sam was thoughtful for a time as JR waited impatiently. With unbridled anticipation she stole several glances at him. They’d been together long enough for her to know he was several inches taller than her, maybe a little over six foot, He was stocky; she judged he must weigh about 220 pounds. His squarish face bespoke of ruggedness, and his dark eyes complemented his short black hair. The Apache heritage provided his permanent pecan coloring, much like hers. Sam was an above average good looking male; but he certainly wasn’t a pretty boy like some actors the women fawned over. Since meeting him, she’d also been impressed with his calm, sensible decisions and attitude. She instinctively felt he could be trusted. By the time they’d make it across the border into Canada, she’d have a much better idea if her judgement of his character was accurate.
“I guess, based on what happened in other parts of the world, there are two avenues open for survival against the undead. One is to band together in conclaves large enough to defend themselves against the zombies. That would entail a communal organization with officers making decisions for the group. I don’t relish that approach. My fear is some members would shirk their responsibility and drag the whole system down as has happened in the past. That’s what happened in . . . I think the sixteen hundreds, to the emigrants from England who landed on the East Coast at Plymouth. Half the indentured settlers laid back and depended on others to produce crops to last the group through the winter. During the next harsh winter many people became sick from lack of food or flat-out starved to death. I’m hesitant to let anyone else determine my fate. Also, a large group will attract rogue humans who will prey on weaker survivors and steal from them or kill the group if necessary.”
JR’s attention was evident as she said, “That’s not a good thought, but I guess assholes now will be even worse if times get bad and there’s no justice system to corral and punish them. They would likely steal from others rather than have to work to guarantee their future. That’s the same as it’s always been since the beginning of time. That’s partly why we have . . . had a welfare system. My dad and his friends bitched loudly about the lazy bums who took advantage of the welfare system instead of working full time, learning, and trying to advance. He was a union machinist foreman and proud of it.”
Sam nodded, then said, “And I’m betting we’ll start seeing that behavior soon as food and fuel get scarce and tempers flare. We’ll need to watch for that and try to avoid getting dragged into those situations.” He was silent for a long minute as JR waited. “A second option is to settle in hard to reach rural areas and live in seclusion and hope to be invisible to the zombies as well as
