Defect by Dave Conifer

Author:Dave Conifer [Conifer, Dave]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Post-Apocalyptic | Dystopian | EMP | Survival
Published: 2019-01-10T05:00:00+00:00

Fourteen

Squid, Lou and Plankton crossed the border into the Garden State about a week after commandeering the truck. Just as they’d planned, they’d been able to siphon gas out of abandoned cars along the way, once they’d found an old garden hose and a few metal pails. At a battered gas station they acquired six three-gallon gasoline cans, in which they stockpiled fuel whenever they came across it. This enabled them to continue moving south through barren sections of roadway that offered no gasoline for the taking, and, more importantly, the flexibility to skirt areas where there looked to be trouble.

“What are you collecting all the bottles for?” Plankton asked Squid one day. Ever since they’d fought off the three men he’d noticed Squid storing every bottle he could find in corrugated boxes, padded with leaves to prevent breakage. “Water?”

“Weapons,” corrected Squid. “For the next time we get into a battle. Ever heard of a Molotov cocktail?” When Plankton indicated by shaking his head that he hadn’t, Squid continued. “It’s a mini-fire bomb. You put some gas in it, stick some cloth down the neck as a wick, light the wick and throw it. Trust me, it’ll stop somebody in their tracks. They’ll be too busy putting themselves out to bother us anymore. And we need all the help defending ourselves that we can get.”

“Sad to think we’d have to do that to somebody,” Plankton said.

“You aren’t kidding,” Squid answered. “But if it comes to that, it isn’t going to be me who’s unprepared for a battle.”

“Dang, Squid,” Plankton remarked. “You’re looking for another fight, aren’t you?”

“Not at all,” Squid answered. “My first order of business is always to avoid a conflict. You know that. But if I’m going to have one, I plan on winning it.”

“Okay, gotcha,” Plankton said.

“My leg’s feeling a lot better, though,” Squid said with a grin. “If somebody comes at me now, I’ll be in better shape for a fight, I can tell you that.”

“We’re in New Jersey, now, right?” Lou asked. “I haven’t been paying attention.”

“Yes we are,” Squid told him. “We went the long way so we could stay away from the urban areas. There’s bound to be a lot of desperate people there. Nothing good would come of going through places like that, even if it’s a shorter trip.”

“I never knew there were mountains in Jersey,” Plankton said. “I guess I just knew the turnpike.”

“We’re way up in the northern end of the state,” Squid said. “The rest of it’s flatter. But yes, there’s a lot more to this state than what you see when you cut through on the turnpike.”

“You seem to know a lot about New Jersey,” Lou said.

“Doesn’t everybody?” Squid replied with a smile.

“Where are you planning on going?” Lou asked. “Florida? I’d like to know, just in case I decide to tag along.”

“Just south, for now,” Squid said. “I could see ending up in Florida.”

Hmm,” Lou said. “Something tells me you don’t have any intention of going nearly that far.

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