A Post Apocalyptic Virus Story (Book 2): Surviving The Virus [L.A. Rescue Mission] Read online

  Surviving the Virus

  L.A. Rescue Mission

  Matt Gregory

  Contents

  Preface

  1. The Solar Plane

  2. Gavin and Katie

  3. Test Flight

  4. Breakfast

  5. Flight time

  6. Emergency Landing

  7. The Waiting Game

  8. Gavin and Katie

  9. Back in the Air

  10. Life in the Concrete Jungle

  11. Crash Landing

  12. Keeta, lets go

  13. Getting James Harkley

  14. Marina Del Rey

  15. Sailing the Sea

  16. Working on the Radio

  17. Life at Sea

  18. First Contact

  19. Arriving in Port

  Epilogue

  Preface

  Previously on: Surviving the Virus

  The events take place after a virus that began in China spread to the United States. In the United States, the virus began killing 95 percent of the people, and ten minutes after their death, those unlucky people came back to life as zombies.

  Life in the United States got tough. There was no power, no food, no cell service, no gas. Everyone was left to fend for themselves in the virus-induced zombie apocalypse.

  An unlikely tandem of the conservative lumberjack Bill and the liberal inventor Theodore, teamed up to drive Theodore’s Solar SUV to Eugene so they could retrieve their kids. Along the way, they battled preppers and zombies, but they made it home safe and sound, and despite their differences became friends.

  1

  The Solar Plane

  Theodore Keith, a tall, lean man with a full head of brown hair, had the fiberglass cowling [similar to a car’s hood] off of his Cessna plane. A Cessna wasn’t his first choice. He would have preferred to go with a badass bush plane, but while the Cessna isn’t sexy, she is reliable and parts for the plane are abundant.

  The engine of the plane was exposed. He used a socket wrench to loosen bolts that held the engine in place. Lost in thought, Theodore didn’t hear Bill Speasl, a mountain of a man with a crazy brown beard, walk up.

  “Are you taking the engine out?” Bill asked.

  Theodore removed a few bolts and put them in a plastic Folgers coffee container that was on a metal supply cart.

  “Yes, Bill, I am. I’m taking the engine out and I will be installing an electric motor. You are supposed to be helping me out, but you have an excuse to go to town every time I need you. I’m certain you are avoiding the work.”

  “You’re wrong. I’m getting things that we need.”

  “So the gum that you got yesterday, that was vital? We couldn’t live without it in the zombie apocalypse?”

  Bill stroked his beard, “We need what we need, Teddy. I ain’t doing it for fun.”

  “Then please enlighten me, Bill, how many zombies did you kill on the trip? One or two?”

  Bill broke eye contact and looked at the plane.

  “Probably around 20 or so. I lost count.”

  “Some of our resources our sustainable, others aren’t. Don’t you think it would be a good idea to try to conserve when we can?”

  “Maybe I needed to kill the zombies.”

  Theodore sighed and rolled his neck.

  “I’ve been working 20 hours a day to get this plane converted to a Solar Plane so we can go down to L.A. and save my cousin. Now, something is telling me you don’t want that to happen.”

  Bill looked confused.

  “I thought you said he was in Colorado.”

  “Maybe I did. In my mind, that is where James is from, but he sold his house there a few years back and moved to Hollywood to try to make it as a Tom Hanks lookalike.”

  “It seems like we are risking our neck. How do we know he’s alive?”

  “He has the prototype Sat phone I made. We talked last night, and he is holed up in his 12th story penthouse apartment in Hollywood. Things sound crazy down there, but he is hanging on for the calvary.”

  “Teddy, what’s the big deal about saving him? Sounds like he’s doing fine.”

  The muscles tightened in Theodore’s face, and he said, “James saved my life about a year after Gavin was born.”

  Bill thought about asking a question but could tell that Theodore wanted to keep talking.

  Theodore sighed and said, “My wife Julie and I were swimming with my cousin James at Boulder Creek in Colorado on a nice summer day. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and it was around 85 degrees. James and I were having a beer, and Gavin was asleep in the shade. Julie was swimming by herself and must have slipped, or something happened, but she got into trouble, and the river started taking her away. She yelled for help.”

  Bill nodded.

  Theodore, stone-faced, continued, “James and I jumped in and swam toward her. A few big rocks were jetting up out of the water, and the current caught me, and I slammed into one of the rocks and bumped my head. That’s all I remember. James grabbed me and swam me back to the shore and went back in for Julie. They found both of them down the river, about a mile. They were in a rock bed on the edge of the river. Julie was gone, and the paramedics said James was too until they gave him a few shocks from the defibrillator, and he came back to the land of the living.”

  Bill didn’t know what to say and patted Theodore on the back.

  After a few minutes of silence, Theodore said, “Bill, so you know why I’m going down to L.A. So, I’m wondering why it seems like you are trying to delay the plane conversion?”

  “I ain’t trying to delay it.”

  “Tools seem to be missing left and right. You are too busy to help. What’s up?”

  Bill looked down at the ground and took a deep breath.

  “You can’t tell anyone, but I’ve never been on a plane.”

  A sense of relief washed over Theodore like a warm wave.

  “A fear of flying. I can help with that. You do know that flying is safer than driving in a car.”

  “I’ve heard that, but I don’t trust it.”

  “Bill, how about we make a deal. You help me get the plane ready to fly, and I’ll fly down by myself.”

  Bill ran his fingers through his hair.

  “What do you want me to do?”

  Theodore smiled and said, “We’ll start by removing the engine.”

  2

  Gavin and Katie

  The greenhouse was a large, 3,000 square foot building with transparent polycarbonate sheets on the roof and walls. It was like a giant warehouse with see-through walls and windows. It was a sunny day, so the greenhouse was warm, and if it weren’t for the ventilation system, it would have been extremely humid.

  Tomatoes, potatoes, onions, lettuce, zucchini, cucumbers, blueberries, and peppers filled the raised beds. There were walkways between the garden beds to allow for movement around. There was a custom-built sprinkler system suspended ten feet above the plants that made sure the plants got all the water they needed.

  Gavin and Katie burst through the door, laughing. Gavin was tall and lean and was a star track athlete before the virus mutated into the zombie apocalypse. Katie was a tall girl with blonde hair pulled back.

  “Race you to the edge of the greenhouse,” Gavin said.

  He took off sprinting, making sure not to trip on anything. Katie followed, but being a mere mortal, she had no chance.

  Out of breath, she said, “You are going to win every time.”

  “I know, but knowing you are going to win doesn�
��t make it less fun.”

  “If you say so.”

  “Come on. Its kill or get killed. Now with everything that has happened, it is that way more like that than ever.”

  “If you say so.”

  Gavin pushed Katie’s shoulder.

  “Katie, come on. What’s up? One minute we are having fun, the next minute you are a stick in the mud.”

  “We are different people, Gavin. Yeah, we are having fun, goofing around, making fun of our dads, and then you get super competitive. You are always trying to make everything into a competition. If I’m not cool with that, you seem disappointed, like I love being super competitive.”

  “No, I’m not like that.”

  “And you resist or say no to almost everything I say.”

  “Noooo. I don’t do that.”

  “Point proven,” Katie said as she walked for the exit.

  “Katie, come on. How about we do what we came in here for?”

  Katie walked over toward a table and pulled a clipboard off it. The paper on top had two columns, one for Katie and one for Gavin. They wrote the names of the plants, dates planted, and how tall the plants were.

  “Okay, then why do we have this paper?”

  “So, we can monitor the progress of growth.”

  “Right, and why do we have two columns? One column for you, and one for me. I’ll tell you why. To make it a competition.”

  “What’s wrong with that?” Gavin asked.

  Katie didn’t say anything; she stormed out of the greenhouse. Gavin shook his head and grabbed the clipboard and tape measure so he could chart the progress.

  3

  Test Flight

  The Cessna 182 was now the Solar Plane. Flexible solar panels covered the exterior of the plane. After a week of grueling, 20 hour days, they were ready to use the large grass field on Theodore’s 50-acre compound. The field was longer than they needed for a runway, which was a good thing. Tall Douglas Fir and Pine Trees surrounded it.

  Standing around the plane were Theodore, Bill, Gavin, and Katie.

  “Where is your mom?” Bill asked.

  “She started having palpitations, and her anxiety flared up, so she is sleeping. You know how it is,” Katie said.

  Theodore opened the door on the pilot’s side. Outside of a modified tablet, the interior remained intact. Theodore climbed in.

  He dragged his index finger on the tablet, and it sprang to life and showed that the battery pack was at 100%.

  “The battery is fully charged. We are ready for test flight one. Hop in Bill,” Theodore said.

  “Nope. I ain’t getting in that thing.”

  “Really? Bill, the big bad lumberjack, is too afraid to fly. Come on, get in.”

  “It ain’t happening. I’ll watch from here.”

  “Bill, your services will be required for the L.A. rescue mission.”

  “You said I didn’t have to go; now you are changing your mind. You lied.”

  “No, I didn’t lie. I hoped you would change your mind. Well, if you aren’t going. Gavin, you want to hop in? Katie?”

  Gavin smirked at Bill, who wanted to knock the smirk off his face.

  “Yeah, I’ll go. I’m not scared.”

  Katie grabbed her dad’s arm and said, “I’ll stay here with my dad.”

  “Have it your way,” Theodore said as he closed the door to the plane.

  Gavin climbed in the plane, and they both buckled up. Theodore punched the tablet with his index finger. The motor purred like a kitten. The prop blade sprang to life; it was loud.

  Both Gavin and Theodore put headphones on that had microphones attached. They would block the noise out and allow them to talk.

  “All systems go. We are ready for take off,” Theodore said.

  Gavin smiled.

  The plane began to move forward, gaining speed quickly. They were getting closer to the tall forest, but they lifted off the ground with plenty of room to spare. Soon they were flying over the woods. They could see the dense forest covering the mountains, the large bay, and the ocean.

  Theodore watched the tablet for the systems status like a cat waiting for a mouse. On the outside, Theodore might seem cool and calm, but he was a bundle of nerves on the inside. Sure, he had thousands of hours of flight time and flew a wide variety of planes, but never a prototype that used solar.

  Based on the statistical analysis that he ran, the flight had a 22% chance of failure, but he had no choice. Inventors, like Theodore, are risk-takers by nature. A person sets out and tries to come up with a new product, perhaps one with a radical new design. Even the best ideas implemented with perfection can fail. Sometimes a great, useful product doesn’t resonate with people.

  On a routine flight, Theodore would be enjoying the views and vistas, but not on this flight. Too risky. Gavin was a different story.

  “I haven’t been up in a few years, dad. It is amazing every time. Hey, there are the sand dunes,” Gavin said, filled with the naiveness that comes with being 21 years old.

  “If we can, please refrain from unnecessary chatter. I need to focus all my attention on making sure the flight succeeds.”

  The tablet made a strange BEEP. The battery pack showed a 50% charge, and panic crept into the air.

  “Something isn’t right,” Theodore said.

  “What?”

  “The battery isn’t charging, and it has already used up half of the charge.”

  “Why?”

  “I’m not certain, but it could be the power inverter.”

  BEEP. The battery pack showed a 25% charge.

  The solar panels convert sunlight directly into DC electricity, which gets stored in deep cycle batteries. An inverter is needed to convert the power into AC, alternating current for the motor that runs the propeller and other flight controls. Theodore was able to build an AC motor strong enough to power the plane.

  Gavin saw the tablet and brushed the troubles off.

  “Dad, could you imagine Bill up here right now? He’d be going crazy and would never fly again.”

  “I’m taking her back before we lose power.”

  The plane turned and veered back to the east toward the compound. Theodore looked at Gavin.

  “I’m glad Bill didn’t come, but we aren’t going to tell him about how bad this was. Got it?”

  Gavin nodded.

  BEEP. BEEP. 12% now.

  Theodore sighed, and the grass runway came into sight. They wouldn’t have much time to spare.

  The plane was a hundred feet above the forest. When the wheels hit the ground, the plane rumbled, and Theodore slowed the propeller and used the brake to slow the plane.

  Then, Theodore taxied the plane over toward the hangar/workshop.

  Bill and Katie met them there.

  Theodore and Gavin got out of the plane.

  Bill said, “Teddy, how did it go? It looked like it was good.”

  Theodore forced a smile.

  “It went well. All systems go. I will make a few minor adjustments, and we will be ready to rock and roll.”

  “Well, I don’t know about you guys, but I’m hungry, and I’m going down to make venison stew,” Bill said.

  “We will be down in a minute,” Theodore said.

  Theodore watched to make sure that Bill and Katie were gone.

  “I’m sure it is a simple fix, but I plan on leaving tomorrow, and I’m going to need Bill. I’ll need you to stay here and keep the compound running smoothly and watch over Katie and her mom. During breakfast tomorrow, we need to crush a few sleeping pills and put them into Bill’s breakfast. It is the only way we can get him on the plane.”

  “What about Katie? She won’t let us drug her dad and put him on a plane.”

  “I’m not sure if she has a choice, but you need to make sure Bill takes a nap after breakfast.”

  “Got it.”

  “Good, I have to work on the inverter and fix the problem.”

  4

  Breakfast

&
nbsp; Katie walked down the hallway that had an oak wood floor and concrete walls. A very modern feel to the place. The responsibility of cooking breakfast always fell to her and her mom.

  With one eye open, she walked through the dining room, which had one long cedar table with eight chairs. She heard the sizzle of a frying pan, the pleasant scent of bacon overtook her senses. What the hell? Who was in the kitchen? Her mom wasn’t feeling well, so it wasn’t her.

  She couldn’t believe her eyes as she walked into the kitchen. Gavin, with his square, handsome jaw stood in front of the stove, stirring scrambled eggs. He wore a red apron that said, ‘Don’t Eat Zombies’ on it.

  “Gavin, what are you doing here?”

  “Oh, I wanted to show everyone how good I can cook. Send my dad off with a good meal. If I hadn’t pursued sports, I could have been a celebrity chef.”

  “Mr. Modesty.”

  “Would you prefer I didn’t cook?”

  No, Katie loved the fact that Gavin was cooking. She was both repelled and attracted at how well he could straddle the line between confident and arrogant.

  “Have at it. Getting up early and cooking breakfast isn’t the highlight of my day. I’m just surprised. You eat half the food in the house, but I have never seen you lift a finger.”

  “No offense to you or your mom, but I figured my dad should get a proper meal.”

  Katie laughed.

  “I’ll make sure to pack him one then.”

  Gavin realized that the bottle of Temazepam sleeping pills might be visible behind the pepper shaker. He looked at the bottle a little too long, and suspicion sprang into Katie’s mind. He turned his attention back to the scrambled eggs.