Final Panic

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.”

“Confront them? You mean just like walk up and introduce yourself?”

“Basically,” said Jim. “But I want to get closer first. Check to see if they look like they’re carrying weapons, that sort of thing. Get a read on them.”

Jim had spent time here before the EMP, and he knew the lake better than anyone except Aly, and presumably her uncle, too. He explained that there was a path that would take them around to the other side of the parking lot where the RVs were parked. They could stay behind the trees for most of the way, only having to cross the road once.

Jessica agreed to the plan, and they spent another five or ten minutes walking along the path. The only time they were exposed, out of cover, was when they crossed the road. But there seemed to be no one there.

When they were in position, they could see all four RVs lined up in the parking lot.

“What now?” said Jessica.

“Wait and watch,” said Jim.

And that’s what they did.

They watched the parked RVs closely. They took turns passing the binoculars back and forth.

The idea was for one of them to always be the “spotter,” similar to how snipers worked in the military. That way, someone couldn’t sneak up on them easily.

“What do you think they’re doing?” said Jim.

There were a half dozen people or so gathered around the RVs. They were shuffling around, dragging things like coolers and tents around. It was hard to tell exactly what they were doing.

“I don’t know,” said Jessica. “I’d say they’re setting up camp, but that doesn’t make sense. Wouldn’t they just sleep in their RVs?”

“That’s what I was thinking,” said Jim.

The people around the RVs looked normal enough. They were in their forties, fifties, and sixties. There were men and women, wearing shorts, pants, t-shirts. Just normal clothing.

“OK,” said Jim. “They don’t look too dangerous. I’m going to go see what’s up.”

Jessica nodded and watched as Jim holstered his revolver, stood up, and started walking towards them.

She waited, rifle in her hands, ready to back him up if need be. From that distance, she was confident that she could get off a good shot or two if needed.

But she hoped they weren’t dangerous.

If they were, Jim would be in a bad position. He’d be outnumbered, and there was only so much he could do with his revolver, and so much Jessica could do with her rifle.