He proceeded to say he had stumbled for a good mile.
So he was ill for miles. How long really could he walk with the virus? And he did walk. Nowhere did they find a means of transportation. It wasn’t hidden, there really was no place to hide it.
After a couple hours, Meredith suggested they head back. It wasn’t because she gave up, she just wanted to head out again, this time with the buggy and Hunter.
Meredith was convinced that the stranger not only walked into the village, he walked from where he woke or camped. Since he was sick, it couldn’t be that far.
She had no doubt that John would return. Meredith had every faith. She only worried that the delay was because John had gotten held up talking to Rusty… who loved to talk. She expected his return. She hoped he’d get back so they would have a few hours before sundown to go searching.
When she saw him roll into the village, she was smiling, but that smile dropped from her face.
Meredith watched for a short distance as he interacted with Matthew and handed him a backpack. John acknowledged Meredith with a glance, finished up with Matthew and walked to her.
“Did you find his car?” John asked.
“No. But I think… I think where ever their Genesis Lab is located, it’s close. Either that or he was camped out close. We just need to go back out with the buggy and cover more area. What’s wrong, you look upset?”
“We have a problem,” John said. “Rusty died.”
“What?”
“He got the virus. The same one as here.”
Meredith stared for a moment, her eyes continuously blinking in surprise. “How…?”
John raised his hand. “Scooter said that he ran into a sick Wrecker. That was a hundred miles away Mere. There’s no way that Wrecker got sick from these people or that stranger.”
“Oh, John,” Meredith folded her arms. “Do you think maybe it wasn’t the stranger, that maybe it is in the air?”
“No.” John shook his head. “I don’t think it’s in the air. I think… I think it might be in us.”
It was quite a change of pace for Malcolm. At least as far as traveling went. He didn’t know why he expected them all to pack up in his solar buggy, as if it were the only viable means of transportation.
Trey had explained the conversion of vehicles to the corn fuel system. In his mind Malcolm envisioned modified cars and trucks, haplessly put together and visually crude. Such was not the case in the travel vehicle they would use to hit the road and search out the other four Genesis labs.
The vehicle was slightly longer than a short school bus, but higher. On the roof were the solar panels and containers of corn fuel. Both sources of energy were needed.
The exterior was a light gray color, with few windows. Interesting enough to John were the four extra tires that rested on the outside of the van, positioned just above the wheel wells. The tires were large, bulky with spiked treads. When needed the driver would engage them, much like putting a vehicle into four-wheel drive. The tires would rotate, lifting the van and temporality replacing the regular tires. These were needed for heavily overgrown areas.
Inside was nothing fancy, five rows of seats, much like a bus. But a good portion of the van was dedicated to storage. Overhead compartments and a good third of the van was nothing but back room storage.
They carried a lot of supplies.
It was definitely transport for a dystopian world. It was designed and used by the military or Salvation Command, which would make regular trips outside the walls to make sure the country was still in order.
Their reports were deemed classified.
Malcolm learned quickly that the virologist and historian were also part of the SalCom military. But the two that drove along with them commanded and protected the mission were dedicated military men.
One of them was Colonel Norris. When Malcolm asked, ‘As in Chuck?’ The colonel didn’t get it but he knew other things.
He had been part of the United States Military since he was eighteen, having been orphaned in the outbreak. He worked aid stations, then security for the building of the wall. He did survivor runs and looked for immune after the wall was erected. He also served as a wall guard when many people were camped out there.
Twenty-three years he had dedicated his life to the military. First the Marines, then SalCom when it all switched over.
He told of how he made at least two trips out a year. Coast to coast, north to south. He knew what was out there; the best routes to take and the areas to avoid.
Even with all that happened, there were still pockets of really bad areas. Where people had turned lawless and savage. Malcolm knew all too well how people had turned.
It wasn’t an empty world. Far from it. There were just more areas of emptiness.
It worried Malcolm and he prayed with concern for his friends out searching.
The colonel mapped out the route, where they’d go first and when they’d stop for the night. He said it would be the safest route, but couldn’t promise there wouldn’t be trouble.
They’d head to the West Coast first, then Texas, Alabama and finally to DC. Maggie was certain the one north of New York City, G5, wasn’t viable and held out hope that the one outside of DC would still be there.
When he asked why, because to him Washington, DC, was toast, Maggie explained, “history tells us a SLBM, low yield was launched on DC. The area was more deadly due to accumulative radiation. So there is hope that the G4 lab is there.”
Colonel Norris confirmed the area wasn’t completely dust. He hadn’t seen a lab, then again, he wasn’t looking for one. For some odd reason, when mentioning DC, the colonel said, “I know what’s out there. We need to be careful.”
What was out there?
He seemed more at ease when he found out an approximate address, adding he’d figure out the best way in.
The East Coast was good news to Malcolm. He hadn’t told Maggie where he was to meet the others, but he hoped that on the return trip to Salvation they could pass through Champaign and find out if the others were there or had made it and moved on.
Depending on how long they stayed at each lab, timing would have Malcolm in Champaign around the meet up time.
The mission was simple. Find the labs, search them for answers and possibly the vaccine and look for survivors. Following the survival of the fittest rule that selectively saved Malcolm and his crew to, they estimated that around the same amount of people probably woke up at each location. That was if they were all set to wake up in the same year. Or rather reset to wake up.
It was conceivable that one or more of the labs woke up years earlier or not at all.
Malcolm was hopeful that one of the labs contained those still cryogenically frozen in their units. It would be interesting to see and to possibly help those who had trouble when they did wake up.
They rolled out of the gates of Salvation just before noon. It was a later start than originally planned. The colonel was thorough and wanted to make sure they had enough supplies for every possible scenario.
It would take nearly sixteen hours, if not more to reach their first destination. They’d stop for the night long before that.
Malcolm sat next to Trey, he was glad to have his son along. Trey was a bit nervous about going. He hated leaving his business and crops for so long, even though Mr. Diaz and a couple of others promised to run things. That’s what Malcolm guessed. Trey didn’t convey that. He tried to hide his anxiousness, but Malcolm saw through it. He just kept reiterating how happy he was that Trey was there. In truth, Malcolm needed him there.
While Salvation had its own unique means of communication, Trey was outside of that and had no way to check up on things.