The idea stayed with him all through his journey out of the city. He knew he had to get out into the boonies, where he was more likely to find a group with a good setup. They weren’t going to be hanging out in downtown Rochester, that was for sure.
It’d been a long journey out of Rochester and to the lake house.
He’d found it more or less by accident.
It had been a magnificent stroke of luck.
One that he wasn’t about to give up.
The uniform he wore would give him prestige and authority. Or so he hoped.
He had no intention of doing what he’d said and joining up with the police or the National Guard and trying to heal the country. That had just sounded like a good, believable line, one that would make him more convincing.
From what Andy had seen on his way out of Rochester, the country was done for. Screwed. Toast. Completely destroyed.
The only thing to do from this point on was to look out for himself.
If he played his cards right, he could get a really nice setup for himself. And without much work.
He’d have to see if these people here really had something good going on. If it seemed like they might actually end up surviving, Andy would ingratiate himself into the group as best he could. And then, when the moment was right, he’d do what he had to do to make things better for himself.
If they didn’t seem like they’d survive, well, he’d take what he needed from them and move on to greener pastures.
He’d kill again if he had to. Sure, killing that cop had been a shock to his system. But it had been a good shock, like a breath of fresh air.
He’d do it again if he had to. And it wouldn’t shock him. Instead, it would invigorate him, give him the energy he needed to keep going on.
4
“What’s going on?” said Jessica, stepping out through the door and seeing a stranger there standing in a police uniform.
Her internal defenses immediately went up. Who was this guy? Was he really a cop? What was he doing here?
“How many RVs now?” Jim was saying.
“Four, I think,” called out Aly’s uncle Jordan from the rooftop.
“You think?” said Jessica sarcastically.
“It’s hard to see through the trees.”
“Who’s he?” said Jessica, gesturing to the man wearing a cop uniform.
“A cop, apparently,” said Jim. “Aly’s uncle wants us to let him stay with us.”
“With us?”
Jim nodded, but he didn’t look happy about it.
“That’s crazy,” said Jessica, who didn’t have any problem voicing her opinions in front of the stranger, even if he was a cop, and even if it was rude to do so. “We’re going to have enough trouble with the addition of Aly’s uncle.”
“I know,” said Jim. “But he’s right. It’s his house.”
“So, what are we going to do?”
They were standing a little away from the others now, speaking in low voices to one another.
“I don’t know,” said Jim. “Either stay here, or leave.”
“Aly’s in no condition to leave,” said Jessica.
“I know, I know,” said Jim, sounding stressed. “And we don’t have anywhere to go, either.”
“There are plenty of places to go,” said Jessica. “Think of all the houses that are going to be abandoned now. People are going to be fleeing, looking for a better place, a place where they can survive.”
“Exactly,” said Jim. “And if they’re leaving, it’s either out of panic or for a good reason. I don’t see someone leaving a house that has everything they need. So what are we going to do? Move into some abandoned house that wasn’t good enough for someone else? Where else are we going to find a spot near a lake, where we can fish, and get water?”
The sound of the approaching RVs was loud now. Jessica could clearly hear their engines.
A second later, the first one appeared at the end of the driveway. It was large, and it looked fairly new.
The RV drove fast, kicking up dirt and dust as it passed the driveway.
Another RV followed, then another, and another. Making four in total.
Jessica looked at Jim. “What do you think they’re doing here?”
Jim shrugged. “The same thing as everyone else. Looking for a place to survive.”
“What should we do?”
“Check it out,” said Jim.
“Sounds good,” said Jessica, readjusting the rifle strap that was slung over her shoulder.
“Not you,” said Jim. “I’ll go alone.”
“We don’t know who they are. You need backup.”
“We need someone here.”
“Rob’s here. It’ll be fine.”
“All right, come on. We’ll take the path through the trees by the shore. They won’t see us coming.”
Jessica started walking towards the lake, heading towards the path. Jim stayed back for a moment, saying something to the two new men, and then he jogged to catch up with her.
“You’ve got the binoculars?” said Jessica.
“Yeah,” said Jim.
They walked in silence in single file, following the narrow path that twisted through the pine trees.
The sun, as usual, was hidden behind the clouds. It was a gray day, as most of them were.
Occasionally, as they walked, Jessica caught glimpses of the lake. The water lapped gently against the shore. The lake wasn’t large enough to have real waves, but the ripples moved gently this way and that, giving her a peaceful sensation that was at odds with the situation.
Jessica’s mind was all over the place, running this way and that.
She didn’t think much about what was about to happen, about the newcomers in the RVs. They’d have to deal with whatever happened.
Instead, she thought about the future, about the practical things that they hadn’t quite figured out yet. Like water purification, fishing, and ongoing medical care.
The winter loomed large in her mind. Upstate New York winters were notoriously difficult. And that was with modern technology, with heat, with food in the supermarkets only a short drive away, with sophisticated medical care only a phone call away.
How would they fare once the winter came? Sure, they had several months before the first frosts rolled in. But they couldn’t simply wait without planning, pretending that it wouldn’t happen. They’d have to gather wood, figure out how to heat the small house. They’d have to gather enough food and figure out how to store it. They’d have to figure out how much food the lake could provide, and then drill a hole through whatever ice formed so that they could keep fishing through the winter.
They’d have to worry about their clothing, about boots, about the small countless winter issues that would become amplified into huge problems.
Up in front, Jim stopped. He held up his hand with his fist closed, signaling for Jessica to stop as well.
She already had her rifle in her hands. Her Glock was in its holster, fully loaded.
They’d walked only a small part of the way around the lake.
Jessica looked around carefully, but she didn’t see anything.
Not yet.
“You see them?” she said, speaking in a low voice.
“I see the corner of one of the RVs. You see? Over there, by the beach.”
Jessica looked, and sure enough, she saw the dim sunlight glinting off the fender of one of the RVs. They were still far off.
“It looks like they might be parking near the beach. There’s a big parking lot.”
Jessica nodded. She’d seen the beach only from the distance. From where they stood, they could see the beach across part of the lake, where the shore curved around.
“Should we keep going? What’s the plan?”
“Yeah,” said Jim. “We’re going to run into them sooner or later if they’ve decided to set up a more or less permanent camp here. And that’s probably what they’re doing. So, we might as well confront them now.”