This Forsaken World

This Forsaken World Chapter 17

This Forsaken World Chapter 17

Sergeant Victor Grimm

After roughly half an hour of traveling at sixty miles per hour, obstructions on the road allowing, the muscle car sputtered and died. I estimated we had over an hour to travel still to reach our destination and grunted in irritation.

Pulling up alongside the mustang I was grateful for the fact there were no infected in sight. Many of the mobs had seen us and attempted to follow but our speed kept distance and they'd swiftly been left in our wake.

As I neared the vehicle everyone was in the process of exiting the muscle car and surrounding it as though it were a shield against any threats.

"What's the word? Out of gas?" I asked, unhinging the kickstand and dismounting the bike.

"Yep, the gauge has been on empty with the light on for a while but I was hoping the fumes would get us a bit further. Unfortunately this model only gets around ten miles per gallon if my research is correct and we burned up a lot of that in the city. How's the bike?" The staff sergeant asked, leaning up casually against the side of the vehicle and crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Leaning over the Ducati I checked the gauge and shook my head. "Not good, it'll get us to the destination I think but I'm not familiar with this thing so its hard to say." Joining the others I pondered what to do.

Evan took up a flanking position not far from everyone else with the shotgun on his hip and kept watch as Hank and I put our heads together.

"There is the siphoning option but I don't think it'll be enough with the poor mpg the car gets. Not everyone can fit on the bike, our only other course of action is to try and siphon from these abandoned cars but they've been out here for a really long time, chances are the gas in there tanks is bad, gas is only good for a few months and its been well beyond that. Walking is an option but not with our lack of defense." I sighed as I failed to come up with a solution.

"I guess two of us take the bike and the rest walk, its the best thing to do. Or two people on the bike can ride to the base while everyone else finds a place to lay low. You guys could get help from the troopers at the depot and come back for us with a different vehicle." Hank spoke up and the idea was actually quite brilliant.

"You'll have to be one of the people traveling since your familiar with the site and your a higher rank so they'd let you in a lot faster than any of us. Take Lila with you, she shouldn't be out here. The rest of us will take refuge somewhere nearby and wait for you." I scanned our surroundings to find a suitable location to reinforce.

Evan pointed a finger in the distance off the highway and I followed his finger. "What about there?" He asked. Sitting off a side road less than a mile away was a mini-mall with a number of stores. One of the attached buildings was a large sporting goods store and I grinned.

"Yeah that will work. Hopefully they still have some guns, I doubt everything was looted when we evacuated to the walled cities, there weren't enough humans left and too many infected to take the risk. Even the military wouldn't deem it necessary for salvage." I felt a wave of relief and excitement. Popping open the trunk I took stock of the supplies that had so conveniently been left for us.

Hank moved to look over my shoulder and whistled in appreciation. The contents were very useful in our present situation and would definitely come in handy. There was a pack of emergency flare cartridges with a gun, a bag full of MRE's still sealed up, a few heat blankets, a space heater with a propane tank, a hatchet and a machete with a compass built into the pommel.