128 More Progress
Dale was pretty insightful about a better way to protect the camp. Instead of the rough circle I thought to use, we worked out making channels for them instead, so the walkers could only approach in a line and not in a mass. It also cut down on how high I needed to make the dirt barriers around the camp, which was great.
He left with a happy smile on his face and seemed quite impressed that I had accepted his suggestions without argument. It made me chuckle and realize he was probably marginalized with the younger men at the camp, since they did most of the heavier work around the place and Dale could only help in certain situations.
I was not that shortsighted and knew he had both time and knowledge on his hands that could be used for everyone's benefit, so I used it relentlessly. I dressed in normal clothes for the first time since I woke up and checked the schedule Amy had stuck to the refrigerator.
Where the hell did she find a magnet? I asked myself and then shook my head. That wasn't important right now. I read both the watch schedule and the shower schedule and nodded. The 10 AM to Noon shift was for the women and the 1 PM to 3 PM shift was for the men. Since I could shower whenever I wanted, I could volunteer to watch the camp from Dale's RV for the afternoon shift.
That meant I needed to get my ass moving. Those latrines weren't going to dig themselves!
*
Glenn had stayed out of the way the last two days and he was glad he did, because it let him see just how much having a sheriff at the camp was affecting everyone. That Rick knew what he was doing was just a bonus, because everyone was happier and reassured with him there. He had cleared out hundreds of stray walkers according to Merle and Darrel and now he was puttering around the camp inside a tractor of all things and was building something.
His work caught a lot of people's attention, especially the kids, and Carl was the most vocal as his dad dug huge trenches in odd patterns all around. He even used the front bucket to tear out some of the trees to clear out better sight lines for defending the camp. It was quite the plan as it came together and everyone wanted to talk to Rick when he stopped working for lunch.
Rick's offer to take over the camp watch that afternoon, so the other men could go to his moving van to take a hot shower, was met with claps on the back and more happiness. He mentioned cooking supper and that earned the same from the women in the camp that usually did that chore. Keeping everyone fed was a chore that they had reluctantly accepted taking turns with, because they had the most experience with cooking.
Glenn remembered his first turn in the shower and it had been a mix of revelations and enlightenment, because the place was surprisingly like a real bathroom. How did Rick do it? A heated cushion floor? Carpet in the living area? An actual kitchen counter? The damn thing was an empty box a day ago and now it was as close to a mobile apartment was without appliances, which he had added that morning.
The best part about things changing at the camp was that he wasn't asked to make another run to the city to scrounge things for people. Yet, anyway. He expected one of the women would approach him soon to go find their favorite shampoo or something. He always told them no and went anyway, just because he liked having something to do.
Was it dangerous? Yes. Was he always careful? Definitely. Could he die at any moment from a walker surprising him? It was a constant worry. He still went when asked, though. He didn't have any other real talent to do anything else, actually. Being the camp's gofer was the best job he ever had, both before and after the world ended.
Glenn did have an idea he wanted to share with Rick, so he made his way over to the RV and climbed up the ladder. He didn't say anything right away and sat down beside Rick, whom was using the binoculars to observe the camp.
"I'm sorry I kind of took over your job yesterday." Rick said and broke the silence.
Glenn gave him a searching look and saw he was genuine with the apology. "You had a car and made it to town much faster than I did."
Rick chuckled. "Yeah, and where's that car now?"
Glenn blinked his eyes and turned back to look at where the squad car used to be parked. "Oh, right. You drove the tractor here."
Rick dropped the binoculars to hang around his neck. "I didn't realize it at the time that having someone else along might have been a smarter move, even if I had to come back to the camp first before going to get the tractor to clean up all the dead bodies from the highway."
Glenn nodded and his eyes landed on the motorcycle that looked like a Harley Davidson, even if he had no clue what it actually was or how to drive the thing. Now that he realized Rick no longer had a car to drive, maybe his idea would work better. He turned to look at Rick and saw he was looking back at him.
"I had an idea and I wondered if you wanted to hear it." Glenn finally said.
Rick smiled. "I'm listening."
Glenn took a deep breath and let it out. "I had a shower yesterday and saw how well your apartment came out. It made me think that if you could do it once, why not do it a few times? There were four other moving vans back at that lot and the keys were right there."
Rick stared at him for several seconds, making Glenn a little uncomfortable, then Rick burst out laughing. Glenn couldn't stop himself from joining in and laughed, too. He felt relief that Rick didn't call him crazy or thought the idea was stupid.
"Is that why you were looking at the motorcycle?" Rick asked after he calmed down.
Glenn nodded. "With your car not a factor, you could use the motorcycle to get there, load the van up with the basic things you need, then load the motorcycle into the back using one of the metal shelves like a ramp."
Rick looked thoughtful. "I did bring a crapload of smaller propane tanks for camp stoves I had in the van and they're just sitting there and not being used." He said and motioned towards the pile of hardware store supplies.
Glenn looked over and noticed the stacks of tanks that hadn't been there that morning and the boxes for camp stoves. When did he put them there and where were some of the other things?
"There were several other stoves and fridges in the back storage area at that department store, so it shouldn't be too much of a hassle getting them, assuming I can also find the right electrical panels and other parts I used to regulate the power from the car batteries." Rick said and rubbed his chin. "I just have to find or make the shower stalls, since I took the only one the hardware store had that could be used easily. The others there were not portable at all."
Glenn added in his own thoughts. "You already have the bed frames and mattresses here, so you don't need any more of those, except for the kids. Bunk beds, maybe?"
Rick smiled. "That's a great idea. The kids should enjoy a sleepover, if they all get to stay together, and it'll give their parents some extra privacy. Everyone needs a short break occasionally."
Glenn smiled back, because he was happy that Rick thought his ideas were good ones.
"I'll do a bit more work on the trenches and defenses this evening and then tomorrow morning I'll look at the motorcycle and see if it works and only needs gas." Rick said. "Any idea who owns it?"
"Merle rode it here." Glenn said and didn't voice that he didn't know if the crazy man owned it.
Rick saw his face and chuckled. "Remember what I said back in Atlanta."
Glenn's memory flashed back and realized what he meant. Rick wasn't going to pursue people for acquiring materials and essentials for survival during an emergency.
"I'll still ask for permission, just to be nice and all. Plus, I'm just borrowing it and it's for a good cause." Rick said and used the binoculars again to observe the camp. "I only have two more hours on my watch and then I have to start cooking."
"What are you making?" Glenn asked, instead of asking why he was cooking.
"Chicken curry." Rick said and Glenn winced, so he clapped the younger man on the back. "Don't worry, Glenn. It's tangy and not spicy. I always go for a savoury flavour instead of destroying taste buds."
Glenn sighed with relief and Rick laughed.
*
The tasty curry was a huge hit, especially with the kids. They had two helpings each, surprising all of the adults except me. My levels in cooking had risen unbelievably quickly while I prepared the simple dish, probably because I had to make a huge stock pot full of rice and half that amount of curry.
Preparing all those ingredients and cooking for so many people was significant, apparently. Well, either that or someone behind the scenes was artificially boosting my gains. I wasn't going to complain, especially since my inventory expanded again and gave me another 30 feet of space.
Inside it was a rack of various potions, a large shelving unit full of potion ingredients, and my transfigured and enchanted guitar from Danmachi.
I sat beside the lit campfire with Amy as we ate and everyone else talked to each other and seemed really happy. The kids had finished already and ran off to work some of that energy off, thankfully. I glanced at Amy and she was also looking at everyone else talking and enjoying themselves around the fire.
"It's kind of funny that something so simple can raise people's spirits." I whispered to her and ate another spoonful of rice after dipping it into the remains of the curry on my plate.
"It's amazing." Amy whispered back and she turned her head to meet my gaze. Her head tilted slightly and she gave me a very odd look. "Did you know it would do that?"
I shook my head and chewed on another spoonful. Damn, that's tasty. I thought and swallowed. "I haven't had a lot of time to practice cooking, so I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out until it was nearly done."
Amy's odd look went to surprise for a moment, then she giggled. "I think Dale would murder you if you used up the last of the chicken and then made so much food, only to waste it all in the end."
I barely held back my snort of laughter at Dale being the one to try to kill me, and coughed to cover it up. Amy looked really amused at my expression and ate some of her own food.
"It still would have been edible, you minx." I said after clearing my throat. "It just would have been bland as cardboard for the curry and the rice probably dry as sand."
Amy barked a laugh and nudged me with her shoulder. I chuckled and we fell silent again as we let the other people's voices fill the air around us.
After I was done, I gave her a quick kiss and a promise to not work too late, and made my way back over to the tractor. Luckily, no one had any clue how long a tank of diesel lasted on the thing and didn't question me about it. Setting up a small notice-me-not spell on a diesel fuel barrel was doable with my available magic and no one saw me using a siphon hose to put some fuel into the tractor's tank.
I stored the tank again and continued my work with the tractor as I made the trenches and mounds needed for the plans Dale and I had worked out. It really was a much easier way to handle things than my original idea, especially when Dale said to supplement my work with the larger rocks from the nearby quarry.
This worked into my other plan easily and I spent a half an hour making an appropriate runway as I cleared out a space to get at the larger pieces of rock, which I piled back near the camp. Completing sneaky plans in plain sight was both amusing and funny, because only I knew what I was going to use the thing for.
I finished up as it was getting dark and there were a lot of appreciative looks when I parked the tractor and walked over to my moving van. I smiled and waved, just to acknowledge that I saw them and understood, and I entered the back of the van.
"We need some real lights." Amy said as she changed the batteries in one of the camp lights.
"Hello, Honey! I'm home!" I said and turned around to close the sliding rear door. I locked it and turned back to face her as I started to strip off.
Amy looked confused for a moment, then she looked embarrassed. "I'm sorry if I snapped at you, Rick. I just... I've already used up half of the batteries I have, because some lights need to be on while people take showers. When the back door is closed, it's really dark in here."
I dropped my clothes onto the floor and gave her a look. Yep, that look.
Amy blushed and turned away. "Rick..."
"You're allowed to feel annoyed, Amy. I'm sorry I didn't think about working on the electrical panel to add wiring for light sockets and electrical plugs." I said and hugged her from behind. "It's not like I've done anything like this before and there are a lot of bugs to work out." Because an enchanted carriage didn't need electrical wiring. I added on in my mind.
Amy turned in my arms to face me. "Are you sure you're not angry?"
I had to chuckle at that. "If you threw one of the camp lights at me, maybe. You're only griping about replacing all the batteries on lights we use ourselves to see at night and I'm okay with that."
Amy smiled before she leaned in and kissed me.
"I'm making another run into town sometime tomorrow to grab another moving van. I'll stop in a few places along the way to pick up more wiring, lights and electrical sockets, and maybe a coffee maker and a microwave." I said and her smile grew. "I'll have this place as normal as possible soon. I promise."
"Okay." Amy said and let me go, then she pulled off her t-shirt and she wasn't wearing a bra.
My eyes dropped to her bare breasts and she softly laughed, then her hand gripped my firmness.
"I think I'm being spoiled." Amy said and led me across the mini-apartment to the bathroom. "I feel a little lonely if I try to take a shower by myself."
That made me smile and I twitched down there for her, making her laugh again.
We spent half an hour in the shower, cleaning up and getting dirty again, and neither of us complained when we climbed into bed and our fingers were covered in water wrinkles. Amy turned onto her side and asked to be the big spoon this time, which surprised me. I figured she liked being held while she slept.
With a shrug, I rolled onto my side and moved back to let her hug me from behind with one of her arms. I felt her nipples harden as they pressed into my back and then I felt her lips on the back of my neck and her hand slid down between my legs to cup my soft member.
"Let's see how much you like it when the one behind you is in charge." Amy whispered and lightly bit my earlobe.
I instantly grew hard for her, making her moan, and then I started to pant as she played with me.
"You're my claimed property, Rick." Amy softly moaned into my ear and stroked me.
I nodded and moved my hand backwards and gripped her hip to hold her close, silently urging her to keep going.
"Show me how much you love me." Amy whispered and started sucking on my neck.
Barely a minute later, under her fairly expert handling of my body and sensations, I unloaded myself into her cupped hand. I don't know how she caught it all and didn't spill any, because there was a lot of it.
"That's it, baby." Amy almost purred and her hand moved away from in front of me.
I heard her gulp and then she made a throaty moan. Surprisingly, she didn't try to do anything else. Her hand came back around my waist with a napkin in it and she wiped me off, then she hugged me and kissed the back of my neck again.
"Goodnight, love." Amy breathed against my skin.
"Goodnight, love." I said back and drifted off to sleep.
129 Moving Day
Merle laughed his ass off when I asked him for permission to borrow his motorcycle. He didn't admit to anything and only looked like he pulled the wool over my eyes as he tossed me the keys.
"Fill'er up before you bring her back." Merle said and kept laughing as he walked away.
"Everyone's a comedian." I commented and he laughed harder.
I went over to where the motorcycle was and gave it a quick check-up. The fluids were fine and the tank was almost empty with only dregs of liquid at the bottom. Since the engine was fairly fuel efficient, I would have enough to make it to where I 'parked' my police car for the gas cans I stored in the trunk. The ruse was easy to sell because the town was only twenty minutes away.
Glenn debated going with me until I started the larger motorcycle up. The loud rumbling turned him off completely and he cringed away before he asked me to reconsider the plan. I patted my walkie-talkie and waved to Carl, whom waved back, and I kicked the motorcycle into gear and rode out of there as quickly and safely as I could.
I spent a few minutes doing laps on the highway, just to see if there were any strays attracted to the loud noise, and nothing showed up. I nodded and poured on the speed and drove towards Atlanta. It really didn't take me long to get to a good spot to take out the police car and I emptied the trunk into my inventory, so I wouldn't have to keep pretending to travel to get things from it.
I drove to where the moving van lot was and saw that it was still intact, with the fence still closed. I took Glenn's advice and climbed over and hit the button, just to see if the generator was still running. It wasn't. It didn't matter to me, since I was taking the other four vans with me anyway. It really was an ingenious idea to make more and I didn't berate myself for not thinking of it myself. I was kind of busy getting things done to think too far ahead.
In any case, 30 extra feet in my inventory on top of the 30 feet extra I already had, gave me plenty of room to store three of the vans and the motorcycle. I drove the last van out of the lot and through the fence. The bumper wasn't even dented from such a soft hit and I drove back to where the department store was. It really did have a good store of appliances, much better than the hardware store.
I took out the three vans to leave in the back alley and opened the backs, then loaded in a refrigerator and a stove into each of them and several lamps each. I also added a toaster, a coffee maker, a teapot, a microwave, and several other things that would make an apartment complete. Was I going a bit overboard? Probably. Did it matter? Only for aesthetics. You see, even if they are never used, it gave people a sense of normalcy that you couldn't get while living in a tent.
I stored the other three vans again and drove to the street Glenn had pointed me to before. It really was a shame that it was as wrecked as it was, because some of the other stores could have had some great stuff for survival... which was probably why they were ransacked a long time ago.
I chuckled and gathered more electrical things I would need to fake adding the right setup for lights and plugs, filled a shopping cart with light bulbs and sockets, and grabbed more plumbing things to set the other bathrooms up. That reminded me that I didn't have any more easily installed shower stalls and only the larger display models were available.
I was really glad I had magic, because it made moving and installing them into the four vans much easier. I did not do the heated floor thing again, even if I did raise it for the plumbing to fit. That was a comfort only Amy and I were going to have. I did grab a few space heaters that used propane to add to the piles of materials, just in case.
How cold did it get near a rock quarry during the winter, anyway? I had no clue. At least the makeshift barriers should cut down on both the heavy winds and blowing snow, assuming we had any of that. Maybe I could make a run to grab some firewood and dry it with magic? The newer stuff at the camp made a thicker smoke that might give us away during the day if we weren't careful.
Since I had magic, I easily harvested the kitchen setups, even the damaged ones, and added them into the vans. They were coming along at a really fast pace and it was almost too easy to replicate my work the second, third, fourth, and fifth time. My skill levels really were rising unnaturally fast and I was glad for it.
I had to leave a door in the bathroom walls to add in the propane tanks for the stoves to use and I would need to raid a few of the houses in the suburbs to find working water heaters. Why didn't the hardware store have any for sale? Was it an order only item that they didn't carry? That was kind of shortsighted of them and it sucked for me, because now I had a lot more work to do.
*
Amy was slightly worried as she waited all day for Rick to come home. Carl kept them all informed as his dad worked and talked to him, giving the people at the camp a few laughs. He really was a funny guy and Carl basked in the attention, much to his mother's chagrin, probably because she thought it should have been her using the walkie-talkie to talk to Rick.
Surprisingly, Amy did not feel jealous of Carl in the same way. Rick had somehow balanced his time to not let either of them feel neglected or marginalized, which was impressive, considering how much the man had done the last few days. Now he was doing that much more and the whole camp was waiting in anticipation for him to return with his latest creation.
"He's on his way and he said he has bunk beds, too!" Carl shouted and the other kids cheered.
"Bunk beds? What for?" Carol asked.
Amy turned to the woman and wasn't sure what to think about her. She almost seemed happy that her husband was incapacitated and could only eat the gruel that Rick had made for him. What had happened in that tent and where did the fading bruise on her chin come from?
"That was my idea." Glenn said and everyone turned to look at him, making him shrink slightly from the attention. "He said it was a great idea and that the kids could have a sleepover occasionally to give their parents a break."
"Okay, I was kind of joking about saying I loved him before." Miranda said and hugged her husband. "But, that just earned him at least a kiss on the cheek, wouldn't you say?"
"I'm not doing it!" Juan immediately shouted in protest and everyone laughed.
"I meant me, you lovable fool." Miranda said, her giggles cutting off as he kissed her.
"Oh, I wouldn't mind kissing him in thanks." One of the other women said, her voice a bit deeper than usual. The man beside her chuckled and put his arm over her shoulders.
Amy decided to stay quiet and not comment on that, because they were one of the swinging couples that wanted her to share in the experience. Hell no was she going to have another man inside of her when she could have Rick all to herself. Why would she go from fantastic to disappointing? There was no way the chubby guy was going to perform anywhere near as well as Rick could.
Her thoughts stuttered at that, because she just realized the other woman knew that as well. She was stuck with the chubby guy and wanted a chance with a newer handsome one, because goddamn did Rick look completely tasty when he walked around camp wearing just shorts.
Didn't he realize his forming muscles had them all wanting him? Even her sister? Amy thought. No, no he didn't.
Rick wasn't arrogant enough to think other women would want him, just for his body, even after what she did to him the night before. Amy's face burned with embarrassment at remembering it and she wasn't sure what she had been thinking as she commanded him to show her how much he loved her. She really had claimed him like he had joked about and she absolutely loved that he went along with it.
The rattling of tires on gravel gained her attention and Amy stood up from beside the campfire, as did everyone else. They all turned to look and saw a nearly identical van to the other one coming down the road and their spirits rose at the sight. Was it just the new van or that it was Rick returning that had them all excited?
The van came to a stop where the motorcycle used to be parked and Rick climbed out of the driver's side.
"Hey, everyone." Rick said and closed the door and he looked sweaty for some reason.
Everyone rushed over to greet him and to see what else he brought back with the bunk beds as they gathered around the back of the moving van. Amy hung back a little, mostly because she didn't want to crowd him, and she held back the kids, too.
Rick saw them all there and he laughed a little. "You need to make room enough for the ramp. I can't get the motorcycle out with you all in the way."
They quickly parted and started whispering about how smart it was to do that instead of leaving the motorcycle behind.
"It was Glenn's idea." Rick said, throwing Glenn under the proverbial bus as a distraction, and then he unlocked the back sliding door and slid it up with a light push.
The gathered crowd made surprised sounds, because there were two sets of bunk beds set up on either side of the wide space and the motorcycle was wedged between them. They watched as he pulled out a double length metal shelf and he bolted it to the back of the opening, right under the back tire.
To their surprise, he then climbed up into the space above the motorcycle, using the top bunks as braces, and carefully slid onto the seat. The thrum of the engine made them all take a step back from the ramp and Rick laughed as he cut it and kicked the motorcycle into neutral. He then grabbed the handlebars and pushed with his feet on the bottom bunks and the unpowered motorcycle easily rolled out and down the ramp to the ground.
"That was damn slick." Merle said in appreciation from behind the crowd and his brother nodded.
"Thanks." Rick said and put the kickstand down and left the motorcycle there. "I brought both bunk beds this time and we can transfer one out when I finish working on the next van."
"Finish working? What do you mean?" Andrea asked, her voice betraying her confusion.
Rick gave her a warm smile and she blushed. "Why don't you go up there and see for yourself while I grab the propane tanks I need to install for the water heater and the stove?"
No one moved or said anything for several seconds, then there was a mad scramble as most of them tried to go up the ramp at the same time. Rick laughed and walked over to where the piles of supplies were on the tarps and grabbed two of the medium-sized tanks, which would work perfectly.
Rick casually walked back and set the two tanks on the ground by the back of the van because the inside of the van was full of people and they were all talking about how nice everything looked. Nothing was powered up or working, though.
"How did you do it?" Amy asked him as she hugged him from behind.
"I told you I was working out the bugs. Once I do something once, I get better and better at it the more I do it." Rick said and turned around to see Amy's epic blush. He smiled at her realizing he meant her as well and he kissed her deeply to distract her. No one was looking at them, so their hands went a few places they probably shouldn't have in public.
*
The next few days seemed to let me fall into a calm routine. A day working with the tractor to make the camp safer for everyone and the next day going to retrieve another van and converting it. The only problem was that I really was getting much faster doing them, so after I finished the third moving van, I had also spent a lot of time making noise and clearing out more of the walking dead from the city.
I had an odd thought of blocking all the streets off and then building a barricade all around the place, except I knew in the end it wasn't worth the time or the effort. There was no possible way to supply a place that large or support many more people than were already at the camp. I did make a concerted effort to look for more people that might need help, finding none, until I reached the Center for Disease Control.
As I knew from the original story, the rest of the people working there had abandoned their posts over a month ago and left a single man behind, because the man wanted to verify his results. It took him that long to run every experiment he knew, and some he created, to come to the conclusion he had suspected all along.
There was no cure for the virus. Once you were infected, that was it. Being bitten only hastened the spread and killed you faster. When you died, no matter the cause, you would rise as one of the walkers and hunt for the only food available... other humans.
Just like in the show, Dr. Jenner refused to let me inside, even though I had cleared all of the walkers from the area and stripped off naked to show that I wasn't bitten. I didn't bother trying to tell him I was immune, since it was based on my Karma system and not gained in-world. Not that it mattered, as he still refused to open up and talk to me.
I let out a sigh and dressed in my clothes again, then had an odd thought. I had gained access to some potions and I wondered if they would have any effect on either the people or the virus, especially the Pepper-up Potion. It was the cure for the common cold in the wizarding world, also an easily spreadable virus, and the ingredients were simple and easily grown.
Maybe it could help the man's research? I asked myself and prepared what I wanted to say.
Unfortunately, when I tried to offer the potion and the plants, the man laughed for several seconds and then cried. He kept saying it was contaminated like everything else and there was no hope for anyone. He told me he was going to save his research onto a portable hard drive and would let me take it, since there was no one else to give it to.
Several hours later, I heard a thunk near the door and looked up to see the blonde haired man wearing a full hazmat suit. He waved to me and pointed down at the wrapped bundle. I nodded and opened the door to grab it and pretended to tuck it behind my back as I stored it into inventory.
"I'm enacting quarantine protocols when I'm back in my lab." Edwin Jenner said.
I opened my mouth to tell him not to, then sighed. "It doesn't matter what I say, does it?"
Edwin shook his head. "The world is dying, Rick. Slowly, agonizingly, and inevitably. My wife, she already... I want to be with her and... and not..."
I nodded and stepped back, knowing he didn't want to become a walker. I waved to him and turned to climb into the driver's side of the moving van, then I paused and looked back at him.
"Before I go, can you tell me if there's a museum or something about planes around here?" I asked.
Edwin nodded. "It's about five blocks that way." He said and pointed. "The historical aeronautics display is in the back past the neanderthal display."
I laughed at the mix of subjects. "Thanks, Doc."
I hopped into the van and drove off with a smile on my face. The next step in my secret plan was going to be fulfilled soon and the last moving van I would pretend to go retrieve in 2 days was going to have crates of plane parts in them for me to assemble in front of everyone.
130 Turbulent Times Part One
The camp became much more pleasant after I used the tractor to make individual parking spaces for the apartment vans around the camp to give everyone more privacy. The four vans acted like a temporary barrier and gave off an extra sense of safety, which everyone appreciated. That each could still be driven, after disconnecting the toilet refuse container, made them even more appealing.
I took the same afternoon watch slot and the men all took showers. T-Dog won the draw to go first and he was really happy about it, because he had a date planned with a woman named Jacqui, pronounced Jack-E, because she made sure everyone knew how to say it right. They were going to be a good match, I was sure.
The best part about that was Jacqui hadn't met the good doctor at the CDC and the man didn't convince her everything was hopeless. She didn't give up and she didn't die with him when he destroyed the lab. That was a huge win in my book. Every time I saw her smiling face as she whispered about T-Dog, I knew her future was going to be a much brighter one than what she was supposed to have.
I spent the rest of the afternoon with Carl, playing card games and making all the kids laugh, because you knew as soon as one kid was doing something fun, they all wanted in. It was Basic Kid Care 101. When I mentioned it to Amy, whom had drifted over as she followed the kids, she nodded and said she used the same tactic to corral them when they started acting up.
Supper consisted of the leftovers of the curry and rice from four days ago, thanks to storing it in the freezer part of my refrigerator. It was just as good when it was reheated as it was when I first made it, which surprised everyone, and most of the women begged me to share the recipe. That made me laugh and I said they couldn't reproduce it because they couldn't add the same tender loving care that I could.
Instead of discouraging them, it only made them want it more, Amy included. I shared it with them, even though there was no more chicken to make it. That they knew of, anyway. I had insider information about where to go to find chickens, cattle, and goats, which would open up meat, milk, and egg production for the camp.
I wasn't going to reveal that until I built my airplane, though. A quick overflight would let me discover them naturally and cover up how I knew about it, which was the best way to not ruin everything. If they knew the truth about what was out there, they would lose hope in the future and I didn't want that. At all.
Of course, once I had access to a plane, there were a few places I needed to visit, like a large distribution center and the closest army base. My plan to stay away had to change when I gained access to my magic again. It unlocked so many possibilities that I had a hard time not rushing off to put them into effect.
The problem I have is that using foreknowledge can backfire pretty spectacularly if I'm not careful, like when I was in High School DxD. I screwed that up pretty badly before I had to leave it... even if it was with a bang. I barely ignored the phantom rush of power I felt tingle down my spine as I remembered exactly how large that bang was.
Amy saw something on my face, because she leaned in and whispered in my ear that she didn't want to wait to have another date night. All I could do was nod and she kissed my neck and went back to eating.
Needless to say, I spent the evening with Amy as I showed her around the inner fortifications I had built and what I planned for the outer ones and that we wouldn't have to worry about walkers ever again after I installed the moat. Amy laughed and hugged me, kissed me pretty soundly, and dragged me to our moving van and inside.
That was a thing, too. She officially moved in after I fixed the wiring and added both lights and electrical plugs all over the place. Andrea wasn't too happy about that, until I offered to switch places with her once a week, so that she and her sister could have a girl's night hanging out in plush luxury. I used those words exactly and made them both laugh, because Amy had stolen one of our pillows a few days ago and had given it to Andrea.
I didn't miss the appreciative looks that the both of them gave me and I chose to ignore them, because I was making Amy happy by including her sister in our lives and not ostracizing her like Andrea was worried about. How did I know that? I didn't use any magic spells or anything, I noticed Andrea's eyes when she looked at us carrying on and I just knew she missed having that with Amy.
The evening ended with Amy and I in bed and her muffled yells as she tried to scream my name. Yeah, I knew it was coming and I made sure to keep her mouth occupied every time she came. The amused look she gave me each time let me know that she knew what I was doing and found it funny.
The next morning contained another shared shower between us and I had to agree with Amy's view. I was definitely spoiled by having a beautiful blonde in there with me and I took full advantage of it every time. Amy was perfectly fine with that, too. After a quick breakfast of eggs, using up the last of the crate I revealed a week ago, I dressed in my full sheriff uniform and earned raised eyebrows from her.
"I'm making one last search through the city before I bring back the last van. If I find anything interesting, I'll bring it back as well and this outfit should mitigate any circumstances that might come up." I told her.
Amy nodded in understanding and kissed me goodbye before she lifted the two full baskets of our laundry out of the van.
"You don't have to do that, Amy. I can do it myself on the weekend when I'm not so busy." I said and she looked surprised, then she laughed. "What?"
Amy put the baskets down and walked back over to me to kiss me passionately. "I love you, you perfect bastard." She said and went to the baskets and carried them away, her hips swaying more than normal to catch my attention.
Yes, I stared at her ass covered in hip-hugging denim. Was I ashamed of doing it? Hell, no. She had a great ass and she loved that she could so easily gain my attention. The knowing smirk on her face when she looked back at me, kind of gave it away, too.
I closed up the van and waved at the others getting up and moving around, especially the kids, and I hopped onto the motorcycle. Merle was near the campfire and was cooking several nice slices of deer meat and I waved at him and pointed to the motorcycle. He nodded and waved back, getting that I meant it was the last time I was borrowing it.
I also may have enchanted it a little, just so it would last that much longer and was very easy on the gas I added to the tank. The empowering runes I used on the electrical panels seemed to work well on the engine and were the first ones I had managed to get working on something mobile. It was a great breakthrough.
With it and a few other smaller experiments I had planned for today as I waited to come back to camp, I was sure that while I worked on putting the airplane together, I could reinforce it like I had with the original. I couldn't make any new parts yet, though. Even with a wand, the transfigurations needed were just out of range of my ability. It shouldn't take much to unlock it, however.
I did a couple of laps on the highway to see if any walker stragglers had shown up since the last time and a few dozen appeared in the large fields across the highway. I spent the next twenty minutes shooting them in the head and clearing out the area, then did a few more laps. No more showed up, so I drove off into the city to a particular area that I hadn't gone near yet.
I avoided it for the simple fact that we didn't have enough food to support an entire old people's home of residents and the Vatos gang that were protecting them and trying to make enough vehicles to take them out of the city. Why would they want to leave a heavily fortified facility for a faint hope of more food? They were probably running out of food and definitely didn't have enough gas to go far.
I slowed down the motorcycle and let it idle as I drifted in neutral to make the engine sound less loud. It worked and I pretty much coasted by the industrial complex that was the Atlanta Nursing Home. Unfortunately, I didn't see any movement or could hear anything, which meant one of two things. Either their plan already succeeded or they had been overrun.
I pulled the brake on the handlebars and the motorcycle slowed to a stop out of sight of the facility. I stored it in my inventory and crept back towards the building and around the back where the parking lot for workers was. Every vehicle remaining there had their gas tank covers removed and there was a couple of clearly empty spots and sets of abandoned tools.
They left in a hurry. I thought and looked at the open back door. There were no sounds, so I entered the facility and it was the break room with offices and lockers in the next set of rooms. I checked every room I passed, my gun out, and I found nothing until I reached the patient area. I sighed at seeing each room had a secured body inside and they had clearly turned and had been shot in the head.
I found a large group of bodies in the recreation area and some of them had been dealt with execution style. I shook my head at the waste and moved through the facility to the laundry area. I wasn't surprised to find two industrial sized washers and two dryers, giving me a very neat idea. There was a youth group van back at camp that both washers and dryers could easily fit in.
When I checked the cafeteria, it was stripped to the counters and there was nothing left, not even baking soda to keep the stronger smells down. However, it could explain me finding and bringing back a lot of the perishable things I had stored from the hospital cafeteria I raided after I woke up.
It took me quite a bit of time unhooking everything and I stored the four large machines. I could get them into the back of the van easily; but, I couldn't fit them and the plane parts into the same space. I sighed and would have to make two trips, which annoyed me. Why couldn't I have things be a little easier, hmm?
I left the facility and went out the back, the same way I entered, and made sure I was out of sight when I took out the motorcycle from inventory. I hopped on and drove away, found a good spot that was out of the way and had no sight lines, and took out the last moving van. I added the industrial machines in the back and only had enough room to pile half of the crates and packages of fresh food on top of them. The motorcycle barely squeezed into the space by the door.
I stored the food again and waited around a few hours as I did my experiments on scrap pieces of metal. I stayed there just long enough for it to be believable that I had worked on the van and I put the food items back on top of the machines and drove back to the camp. I would have to make up an excuse about finding the museum and wanting to check it out later, only I had found the food first and rushed back to camp to offload it.
With some luck, it would all be distributed into the fridges of the five moving vans and wouldn't spoil. When mixed with the piles of dry goods they already knew about, we would have enough food to last us for most of the winter. The supplements that Merle and Darrel added for meat and the fish Amy caught, that we could now freeze and save, would expand that to spring at least and that was without rationing.
I chuckled as my radio came to life and Carl asked me what I was doing, just like he did every hour, and I was tempted to not say anything about coming back early. I couldn't lie to the little guy so blatantly, so I told him I stumbled onto a bunch of fresh and refrigerated foods that I was bringing back to the camp right away.
The cheers were so loud that I winced and had to turn the volume down on the walkie-talkie. They were all overjoyed about the find, apparently.
*
Amy was in awe as she watched the rest of the survivors raid the last moving van of everything. Thankfully, Dale was there to stop them from eating bits of everything and possibly ruining it. He quickly organized a proper storing system and spread the food out to each available refrigerator, including his own.
Dale also made sure to group things together to stop any one person from having a monopoly on the available food... and there was so much of it! Sooo soooo much! Amy hadn't seen so much food in one place before and she had seen what the college cafeteria had available, and wasn't that a surprise?
No one else seemed to notice what the crates and packages of food were on as they emptied the back of the van of edibles. Amy did see what was there and her eyes went to her man... her man... and he gave her a look that instantly made her wet. She stepped forward and grabbed one of the boxes with some of the sorted food in it, took Rick's hand, and went to their home.
Amy calmly and methodically put the food into the refrigerator, picked several things that could be frozen and added them to the top compartment to freeze them, and then tossed the empty box over the kitchen counter and gave Rick that same look back.
Her eyes dropped to his waist and saw him poking a tent and she turned around and peeled her tight jeans down over her hips, her thin panties following along with the thicker cloth, as if they wanted to be dropped off. She moaned as Rick entered her from behind and she leaned onto the counter, her moans not muffled at all as he took her right there.
Amy lost herself in the sensations and she let her body do the talking, because she really didn't have the words to express how he made her feel. In the back of her mind, her college education told her that it was her caveman or lizard-like hind-brain that was telling her that Rick was an excellent provider, giving her a home and food, and she needed to do everything she could to make him happy.
"And you called me perfect this morning." Rick whispered in her ear as his hardness plundered her.
"OH GOD!" Amy yelled and came hard. She came so hard that her eyes rolled up and she almost passed out.
"That was a nice one." Rick whispered and kissed her cheek, then he stood up and gripped her hips and kept going... and going... and going. He didn't stop until it was time to cook supper and Amy was little more than a soft bag of loose muscle and flesh that could barely move. She tingled all over, felt absolutely wonderful, and couldn't remember when they had moved to the bed.
Rick wouldn't be able to move the washers and dryers until the next morning and he worked on installing them in the youth group van, with T-Dog's permission. He added a water tank and power, a water heater, and added lights in case anyone wanted to wash clothing at night.
At lunchtime when he was done, everyone quickly realized they could have genuine washed and cleaned clothes that could be then dried in an actual dryer. It was no surprise that Rick's reputation with the entire camp was now through the roof.
None of them bothered to ask Rick why he was taking the last moving van back to town, not even Amy. It wasn't that they didn't care, because they did. They all just assumed he had a good reason and that was enough for them.
131 Turbulent Times Part Two
I didn't want anyone to accuse me of lying, so I actually did go to the museum to check it out. It was exactly what you would expect when you entered a museum and I wasn't disappointed. I was tempted to pilfer some of the art, except it was pretty much worthless.
Instead of raiding the office to find out which ones were the most expensive, I picked the best ones that would look good on a living room wall. I stored six of them and went past the caveman exhibit and into the next section. I whistled at all of the aeronautical memorabilia and spent half an hour just looking at everything.
For a lark, I took out one of my normal sets of clothing and transfigured it into a copy of a WW2 US Airforce uniform, minus all the badges and the rank identifiers. I didn't want to be accused of making fun of anyone or be seen as stealing their glory. I stored my new flight uniform and went to where the planes were.
They didn't have a copy of the plane I had in parts inside my inventory, so I went into the back and checked out what they had stored. All I found was the wings of an old bi-plane and the plans to make a new display. I copied the papers and grabbed several of the large empty shipping containers and left the museum.
I entered the back of the moving van and spent several minutes arranging and filling the shipping containers with the plane parts I had access to. I filled three of them to near the top and closed them up, then I set the larger pieces of the fuselage on top of them. It was surprisingly easy to set everything in place and I went to the driver's side to start driving back to camp.
I was halfway there when I remembered I needed to alter the shipping paperwork. I stopped at the side of the highway and did that and added the parts list, assembly instructions, and a flight instruction manual. It was simple in design, because it was made for civilians in a medieval society to put together and to learn from, which was perfect.
When I arrived back at camp, almost no one was there at the fifth parking spot to greet me, except for Carl and Sophia. I laughed at myself for being arrogant enough to expect a round of fanfare every time I came back, even though I didn't have anything this time for anyone to really get excited about.
"Hi, Dad!" Carl said and waved, as did Sophia. Unlike him, she looked a little lost and unsure about things. "You won't believe what we ate for lunch!"
I laughed under my breath and climbed out of the van and walked over to him to kneel and hugged him, then I turned slightly and did the same to Sophia. Her blush was quite red and the strength in her arms as she hugged me back, was worth the extra effort of showing her some affection. If she held onto me for a bit longer than Carl did, neither of us were going to mention it.
"I have a feeling that there was some kind of salad that you can't pronounce." I joked.
"That's RIGHT!" Carl shouted and several people around the camp groaned, because his voice echoed more than normal, thanks to the fortifications.
I laughed and swatted at his head to mess up his hair. "You don't have to answer like that every time someone asks you something."
"Yes, I DOOO!" Carl shouted and we heard 'dooo' a couple more times.
Sophia covered her mouth with both hands and giggled.
"That's going to stop being funny eventually." Amy said as she walked over to us.
"Not TODAY!" Carl shouted and grabbed Sophia's hand and ran off. The poor girl blushed hard at Carl being so bold in front of me and they disappeared from sight.
"You know, I didn't think he could become even more rowdy after getting his dad back." Amy said, her voice full of fondness.
I stood up and hugged her, giving her a quick kiss on the lips as a greeting. "I think it's more about not having as many things to worry about." I commented and left a single arm around her waist as I turned toward the moving van. "So, do you want to see why I had to rush back to the museum?"
"Nope! I am not interested at all and I didn't leave the kids with Miranda or arranged for someone else to take the afternoon watch for you." Amy said with a grin.
I barked a laugh and led her over to the van, opened the front door, and handed her the bulging folder full of papers. Amy gave me an incredulous look for giving her homework and I kept laughing as I led her around to the back and opened it up. Before she could open the folder, her eyes caught sight of the large shipping containers and the secured fuselage panels stacked on top of them.
"Oh, dear lord." Amy whispered and one of her hands reached out and touched a piece of tail section. "This... this... you can't... why..."
I gave her a kiss to distract her from being flabbergasted at the plane parts. "Read the folder."
Amy nodded and opened it and began reading as I set out some tarps and started hauling everything out. Not surprisingly, I started to gain attention as the more recognizable parts of the plane were deposited on the tarps beside the moving van.
Dale walked over and looked down at the quickly growing pile. "Well, that's something I never expected to see in person in my lifetime."
"I know, right?" I asked and placed a long piece of wing frame beside the solid pieces of the wing covering. "It's a reproduction, too."
"How do you know that?" Dale asked, clearly curious.
I pulled out another long piece of wing frame and tossed it at him.
"AHH!" Dale yelled in surprise and caught it automatically, then his eyes nearly popped out of his head as he easily held the huge thing up. "What is this thing made of? Air?"
I laughed and clapped him on the shoulder before I took the piece of wing frame from him and added it to the frame pile. "Close enough. It's all aluminum."
"Geeeee-zus." Dale whispered and looked at the shipping containers in the back of the moving van. "You're trading off some flight stability using lighter materials... but, damn... the extended fuel efficiency..."
"Exactly." I said and finished pulling out the rest of the framework. With that out of the way, I grabbed the first crate and pulled it to the edge of the floor. "I need the ramp for this part or the tractor's front bucket. There's no way I'm risking trying to lift these things without a lot of help or a forklift."
Dale nodded and followed me over to where I parked the tractor and he climbed up and watched as I easily operated the thing. His eyes caught every movement and lever pull as I drove over to the moving van and raised the wide front bucket up to the same level as the floor.
"You should get one of the crates on safely and we can use the straps to hold it." Dale said and we climbed down. "I assume you're going to move them somewhere you can assemble the thing?"
"Right over there in the quarry where I've been harvesting the larger rocks for the barriers." I said and Dale helped me slide the first crate into the bucket. It mostly fit and we used the straps I had secured the fuselage parts with and tied it down. He climbed back into the tractor's cab with me and I didn't object, since teaching the man to drive the machine wasn't costing me anything.
I dropped off the first crate in the right spot at the closest end where there was a lot of room and we went back to retrieve the other two crates. With them moved over, I added a tarp to the front bucket and then filled it with the fuselage parts. It took one trip for those parts and one for the framing parts, and then everything was where I needed it to be.
I parked the tractor back where it was stored when not in use and Dale gave me a huge smile and lightly gripped my shoulder in thanks. "I'll set some time aside this weekend and we can have a few more lessons while we work on the outer barrier."
Dale nodded and we climbed down and went back over to the fifth moving van. Amy was still there and reading intensely with her sister, whom looked both interested and a little afraid. I didn't ask about that look and brought Dale inside the moving van to prepare and share some food, since I had missed lunch. Amy and Andrea came in as well and ate absently as they sat on the bed and kept reading.
*
"It's so simple." Amy said when she finally finished reading the assembly instructions and the flight manual. "How can it be so simple?"
Andrea put an arm over her shoulders to hug her. "I think it was designed for people who... well, it was near the end of World War 2. There wasn't a lot of time to train people to work the things before they were sent out to fight."
Amy sat there and thought about that. "With things this easy, they... they... why didn't they win?"
Andrea softly laughed at her sister's reaction. "A good plan for a distraction, a higher production rate, a lot of luck, and a sacrifice that everyone will remember for the rest of time."
Amy blinked her eyes at her sister for the answer and realized what she meant. "Oh."
Andrea leaned in and kissed her sister's cheek. "Yes, oh. A really big oh."
Amy blushed at the double meaning and Andrea laughed.
"We should clean up and clear out before the last couple comes here to claim the new apartment." Andrea reminded her.
"That's a good point. How did you guys decide who gets to live in these things?" Rick asked as they cleaned up their mess from eating. When that was done, he hopped out of the moving van and attached the premade folding stairs on the back to let the others step down easily.
"We discussed it with everyone and decided your idea had a lot of worth." Dale said and nodded at Andrea. "There's only three families with children here, so Juan and Miranda moved into the first available one with their two children, Carol and Ed were moved into the next one with Sophia, and Lori and Shane moved into the next one with Carl. They all had to agree with the plan to take the kids once a week for a sleepover, too."
Rick chuckled. "Forced conscription as babysitters as an incentive? Nice."
"They didn't include us in that because our huge bed is so impractical." Amy said with a smile.
"Oh, no. There was a method to my madness. What a shame." Rick said with a flat voice.
Amy made a snort sound and then laughed, making her sister roll her eyes and Dale barked a laugh.
"This last van will be set aside as a kind of communal space and everyone will take turns staying here for... ahem... date nights." Amy said, her face slightly red.
"That's not a bad idea. It gives everyone a taste of proper living and no one is left out, even if it is only one night a week." Rick said and nodded several times. "I'll keep a eye out for more appropriate vehicles and I'll keep working on them when I find them."
"You don't have to do that, Rick." Dale said. "We're all more than happy with everything you've done so far."
Rick shook his head. "I haven't seen anything else in the city we could use as a mobile apartment, since that's the whole point. If anything happens, we can pick up and move and not be too inconvenienced if we have to abandon this place."
The three of them gave him surprised looks and he shrugged.
"I can think ahead sometimes, even when I'm distracted." Rick said and looked right at Amy, making her blush. "There's some time before supper, so I'm going to go work on putting the airplane together." He said and Amy handed him the folder. "Thanks."
"I'd help if I wasn't watching the kids." Amy said and then her eyes widened. "I'm supposed to be watching the kids!" She gasped and ran off.
"How could she forget she handed them off to Miranda?" Andrea asked rhetorically and walked off after her while shaking her head.
"They are definitely sisters." Rick commented and Dale nodded.
*
Carl had sneaked off from his babysitter and Sophia had gone with him. He knew he couldn't stay hidden for long with her there, and for some reason, he didn't care. He... he liked her... and his stomach did weird flip-flops when she smiled... and he wanted to keep seeing her smile. That meant kidding around and making her laugh, which was a lot easier to do after her dad was bitten by a snake and hurt.
He crept along the edge of the treeline and squatted by a stump, Sophia crouching right beside him. He didn't know why he liked that she could copy him without him having to tell her what he wanted her to do.
"What's your dad doing?" Sophia whispered, her eyes locked onto their target already.
"I dunno." Carl said and they stayed there for several minutes as they watched, then he chose to sit instead and gave his legs a rest. He held back a blush when Sophia sat right beside him and their arms touched from shoulder to hand.
When his hand twitched, he was surprised when Sophia's twitched as well and then she slid her hand into his and held on. Carl's face flushed red as he thought furiously about it and didn't notice that Sophia's face was also red.
They weren't running or anything and she was holding his hand! What did it mean? Carl asked himself and didn't know what to do or say.
"I think... he's making something." Sophia whispered.
Carl barely heard her and looked over, only to see his dad bolt something together and added it to a pile of assembled things. "You're right, Sophie. He is making something."
Sophie's blush deepened at the praise because she was completely unprepared to hear it. She glanced at the boy she liked and was glad he didn't notice how red her face was.
"What could it... it's a plane!" Carl said in surprise when his dad moved the frame enough to show off the shape.
"SHHHHH!" Sophie hushed him, only it was much too late for that.
"There you are." Amy's stern voice said from behind them.
Sophia jumped from the scare and almost fell over. If she hadn't locked her hand onto Carl's, she would have flopped over onto her side like a dead fish. Carl on the other hand, let out a sigh at being caught.
"Do you know how long I've been looking for you two?" Amy asked them and both kids looked embarrassed as they stood and continued to hold hands. She sighed, because she couldn't stay angry at them, and looked over at Rick. "Well, he's seen us now. We might as well go over and see if he needs any help."
"YES!" Carl yelled and the echo bounced a couple of times. He grinned at Amy's groan and his dad's laughter and happily led Sophia over to him and the awesome airplane he was building.
The four of them spent the rest of the time before supper talking about the coolest thing the kids had ever seen as Rick continued to bolt things together and adding in all the mechanical moving parts needed for a plane to fly. The brief history lesson was actually fun with both his dad and Amy telling it to them, because they didn't make him or Sophia feel stupid when they asked questions.
Carl was also secretly happy that Sophia held onto his hand the whole time, not realizing that Sophia was also secretly happy that he hadn't let go, either.
132 Turbulent Times Part Three
The entire plane could have been put together in about 12 to 16 hours, if I was an asshole and completely ignored my girlfriend and son as I worked my ass off. Since I wasn't an asshole or stupid enough to do that, the assembly was spread out for almost an entire week instead. Luckily, the parts list matched the available parts completely and I checked them off as I put the thing together.
I wasn't sure why I thought someone was going to sabotage the build or would either steal or ruin one of the parts. Maybe it was my paranoia kicking in and warning me to keep a closer eye on things? Well, I've never ignored my gut feelings before and I wasn't going to ignore them now.
I set up an alert ward, thanks to those scrap metal pieces I practised on using runic magic and I didn't detect anyone entering the space where the plane was, not even at night. It was a relief when I bolted the propeller onto the front of the thing and several sets of applause came from the gathered audience of everyone in the camp.
"We've all watched you work on that thing in your spare time, Rick." Shane said and waved at the completed plane. "Now what the hell is it?"
I laughed at that and saw a lot of the other survivors also didn't know. "I see some history is in order." I said and patted the spot beside the engine. "This is the Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter plane and it went into production in 1940 and ended in 1945. It almost made us lose World War 2, because it was cheap, fast, and could fly up to 1,600 miles and for up to 12 hours on a single tank of fuel."
"Holy shit." Someone whispered, clearly shocked by the information.
"Shh! Language!" Someone else hissed and a few people chuckled.
"This one is a lot more fuel efficient, since it's made almost entirely out of aluminum. According to Dale, it should just about triple the fuel efficiency, the time it can stay in the air, and the distance it can go." I said and a few of the men whistled at that.
"You could easily cross the whole country on a single tank." Juan said, clearly impressed. "It's only about 2,900 miles from New York to California."
"You're thinking too small, Juan. He could leave here, fly to New York, then fly to LA, and he could almost make it back here if his tank was topped off." Shane said, making them all look at the plane differently. "The only downside is the complete lack of radio."
Someone let out a curse and the others grumbled about that.
"Before anyone suggests anything, I've already tried to scrounge something from the big rigs and buses along the highway. Everything's wrecked or ruined, probably because they made a lot of noise when active and they were disabled by people to keep them quiet or smashed by the walkers." I said and a few more people made angry sounds.
"We can't offer to install the CB radio we have on top of the RV. It's all we have left to listen for others." Dale said and almost everyone nodded.
"All of the electronics stores I've come across also didn't have anything even close to a radio I could use." I said and sighed. "If I take this thing out for a flight, I'll be going out deaf to the world, because the walkie-talkies don't have the range for it."
One of the men raised their hands to ask a question.
"What is it, Jim?" I asked and he looked surprised that I knew his name.
"What's the use of it if you can't talk to anyone that might see you fly by?" Jim asked.
Since that was a great question, I chose to answer in the only way possible.
"That's what the landing gear is for. There are thousands of smaller airports, wide highways, and even open fields where it can land and take off easily." I responded and now most of them looked surprised.
"How are you supposed to get that thing out to the highway to take off?" Andrea asked.
"Highway? What do I need that for?" I asked and motioned to the cleared out area. "I just need to push those piles of smaller rocks aside a bit more and we'll have our very own runway with plenty of room for taking off and landing."
Andrea's head turned and looked, then she looked back where the plane was, then she looked back at the entire length of the runway. "There's no way... can you really..."
"I'll make more room tomorrow, just in case. Until then, we can talk about where I should go first. A flyover can at least let some people know there's someone else still alive around here." I said and they all looked happy about that. I slipped a lock onto the cockpit and secured it, and walked over to Amy. "Of course, there's no fuel in it yet, so it's not going anywhere until the tank's full."
Amy smiled and put an arm around my waist as we started walking back to camp. "Is this where I make a joke about you being grounded, flyboy?"
I laughed and kissed her cheek. "You can't call me that until after I put on the uniform."
Amy almost stumbled and I easily held her steady and saw her reddening face. "You... you have a uniform?"
"I wasn't going to take off into the wild blue yonder and not be appropriately dressed." I responded and Amy held on to me like she would fall if she ever let go. I brought her back to sit beside the campfire and she still wouldn't let me go, so I stayed there and let her recover and get her thoughts in order.
It took her almost ten minutes before she shivered and stood with a determined look on her face. She didn't say anything as she pulled on my arm that she still held in a death grip and almost dragged me over to our home. I didn't say anything either as she slammed the back door shut and locked it.
"Show me." Amy ordered and went into the bathroom and shut the door.
I wasn't sure what she was doing, then realized she was giving me privacy to get dressed in the uniform and wanted to come out to see me wearing it, rather than me being in the bathroom and her being out here. She must have assumed I hid it nearby and she didn't want to know where.
I held in my chuckle at that and equipped the uniform, since my inventory allowed that now. It even had the stylish hat the pilots wore off-duty and I looked pretty dashing with it on. Since it was altered with magic, it fit me perfectly, and I was sure Amy was either going to freak out about it or was going to be too horny to care.
I took out the clothes I had been wearing and tossed them aside as I spoke loudly. "I'm ready for inspection, ma'am!"
There was a soft thump from the bathroom and silence for a few seconds, then Amy slowly opened the door and stepped out.
"Captain Rick Grimes reporting for duty, ma'am!" I said and snapped off a perfect salute.
Amy seemed to gasp and her mouth dropped open slightly. She had to grab onto the still open door to steady herself. My eyes dropped to her jeans and saw a growing wet spot there, which made me smile. I had apparently stumbled upon one of Amy's fetishes and she really liked seeing me dressed up in a uniform.
I walked over to her and she had that look in her eyes, like a deer caught in a car's headlights, and I took her hand and walked over over to the bed. She stood there, a little out of it, and I stripped her off completely. Her excitement dribbled down her thighs and she trembled a little as I admired her.
"I request permission to come aboard." I whispered and Amy twitched and came again.
"Oh, God." Amy whispered and her hands reached up and caressed the lapels of the coat.
I started to take it off and she shook her head, so I stopped. She reached down and opened the pants, fished my hardness out of the confines of my boxers, and jerked on me for a few seconds. Her eyes never left mine as she played with me, then she sat down on the bed and laid down on her back. She spread her legs and her wetness was even greater than it was a few moments ago.
I accepted her silent invitation and slid inside of her, making her moan, and she kissed me so tenderly that it felt like she was treating me like glass and I was going to break. I mentally shrugged at the treatment and went along with it, since this was her fantasy. The thought of making her a gold bikini later and enjoying a little fantasy of my own, had me enthusiastically give Amy exactly what she wanted.
*
Before the meeting to discuss where I was going to go first on my maiden flight, I revealed having some of the artwork from the museum. No one asked where the paintings had been stored, even if I had the ready excuse that I found them in the storage crates for the parts. Well, I'd use it if anyone ever asked.
The six paintings were quickly picked over and each was hung inside the living areas of the five moving vans and Dale's RV. Out of all of them, Dale really liked the forest scene and the calmness he felt when looking at it, because it reminded him of his hometown and made the RV a lot more personable than it had been.
Since people weren't asking me where I was gettingthings and the discussion about flight paths was going to take a few days to work out, I started slipping a few more things into their lives. All those pillows I had pilfered weeks ago found better homes, much to the kids delight and made the pillow fights much more fun. I handed out warmer blankets and anything else I could think of to make the upcoming winter be more comfortable for everyone.
We had also changed around the tents and where they were positioned to bring them closer to the main campfire. I started making quick trips into the woods and bringing back piles of chopped wood to stack near the moving vans. No one questioned why they were all nice and dry and burned much better and cleaner than the older pieces of wood that the others had gathered.
It ended up taking a full week before the map of Atlanta had the appropriate spaces marked for where I needed to go, with a couple of my own suggestions added, since they were on the way to checking the areas where the authorities had said the safe zones were before the power went out.
My two suggestions were the prison near Newnan and the large army base near Columbus, mostly because both had large open areas nearby to easily land. Since the army base was about a hundred miles away, I barely needed any fuel to reach it and to come back. It would also be a fast trip if I only went there, which was why it took so long to work out a circuitous route to cover as much of the state as possible.
"Are you sure you can't squeeze in another seat or fit someone else into the cockpit?" Amy asked, her voice hopeful. We were all at the makeshift runway and they were seeing me off.
I took her into my arms and gave her a kiss. "If I wasn't doing anything else except flying straight, I'd consider taking someone along, even if the extra weight reduces the fuel efficiency."
A few of the men laughed and the women hissed. Joking about their weight was a mistake, apparently.
"Carl would also yell a lot if I brought him along." I said, barely saving myself from an argument. The look on Amy's face told me that I wouldn't be dodging it when I came back, so I leaned in and whispered in her ear. "If I find a two-seater while I'm out, I'll fly it back just for you."
Amy nibbled on my ear for a second. "I'm really going to miss you... wearing this uniform."
I chuckled and let her go as I stepped back. "I'll be back tomorrow afternoon. I'll land at the base when it starts to get dark, since there's no power anywhere and nothing's lit up, then I'll finish the planned flight in the morning along the rest of the safe areas and will come back here."
"We'll have some torches ready for you to land, just in case you're late." Dale offered.
"Thanks, Dale. I'm glad you're here giving us all such great ideas." I praised him and he smiled widely. I turned to the others and nodded, then knelt and hugged a nervous looking Carl. "Don't worry, buddy. If something bad happens, I won't let anything stop me from coming back here to you."
"Th-thanks, Dad." Carl said and hugged me back.
I heard a few people muttering that I probably should have said that to Amy. I smiled and let Carl go and stood. "I gave Amy the same promise every day for the last week and she's kind of bored of hearing it, honestly."
Amy nodded and gave me a kiss on the cheek. "It's sincere and also tiring to hear all the time."
"My plan worked? What a surprise." I said with a flat voice and she laughed. I picked up the backpack with enough supplies for two days and walked over to the plane. I stored it under the seat and waved to everyone, then I climbed in and closed the canopy.
The engine started with the first ignition and the soft sound shocked everyone there. They had all expected a huge rumbling sound and stared at the plane like they didn't know what it was. Did I cover a bunch of the parts with strengthening runes and sound dampening runes when people weren't looking? Yes, I did. The looks on their faces was worth it.
I may have also added power runes to the engine and I gunned the throttle to shoot the plane down the runway and I pulled up long before the end of it to zoom up into the air. The shouts and yells could be heard by me, even this far away, so I made a quick turn and a barrel roll to fly back over the runway and tilted the plane on its side to wave to everyone.
"GO DAD! GO GO GO!" Carl yelled as he jumped up and waved both arms at me.
I did another turn and barrel roll and increased speed, surprising the crowd even more. Most of them didn't realize the swift little plane could almost top out at 350 miles per hour without any modifications. With strengthening and empowering runes? It could top out at 450 MPH.
I didn't go that fast, obviously. I couldn't make observations of the surroundings if I was going too fast to look at them. I also had a notepad to write everything down, in case there was something close by the camp for us to go retrieve.
Well, for me to retrieve. I doubted that I could convince anyone else to leave for a few days to pick up cattle and chickens, except for Amy and Carl. They would probably follow me everywhere if I said they could come along, which proves the old adage that love makes you blind.
I laughed at the thought and checked the small hand-drawn map of the state I stuck to the front of the cockpit under the window. I checked the compass and turned the plane slightly to start the search pattern. With luck, I wouldn't have to deviate too much to find what I was really looking for. Better means for the people at the camp to live and not just survive.