The Z Contingency

Chapter 20

Bubba pulled out his well-worn copy of the Anarchist's Cookbook. It was the sanitized version, but based on his own experimenting, discussions with experts, and a lot of research, he had filled in most of the redacted information, and turned his copy into a very useful how-to manual. One particular "experiment" had come with a price. Bubba subconsciously flexed the muscles in his left hand; the hand to which a partially missing ring finger was now attached.

After so many years of referring to the book, editing, and re-editing, it was now quite tattered. I wish I had ordered a new copy when they were running that free shipping deal.

"You thinking of bringing the book? It'll never survive another trip," his friend Earl yelled out as they were double checking their gear for the trek out to the safe house. "Besides, we're just checking for any leaks and rain damage after that big old storm, and restocking the food supplies. Those MREs up there are getting close to their expiration dates," referring to the Meals-Ready-to-Eat that used to be the staple of soldiers, but were discovered by avid hikers and campers as being very convenient to carry in backpacks. Survivalist groups were known to hoard them, as well. "We won't have time to mess around with bombs or traps if we have to meet up with Natalie soon. She's visiting, and wants to do some hiking, remember?"

Bubba shared a random thought that popped into his head before continuing with his mental checklist. "Maybe we should start another reality TV show called MRE Cookoff using the old ones we haul back." Bubba reluctantly placed the Cookbook back on the shelf, after lingering on page eighty-two for a last look at the vulnerable spots of the body to target in a knife fight, before continuing with his gear preparations. He knew Earl was right, and within seconds, any disappointment he felt was forgotten, as was always the case when he got the chance to handle his "toys."

"Torch lighter... check... water purifier... check... flashlight, shovel... ah! Knives!" Bubba had quite the collection of knives and at any given time you could be sure he had at least three knives concealed on his person, each with a specific use and purpose. Most boys growing up in the region were comfortable with basic pocket knives, passing time whittling branches and playing mumblety-peg, but Bubba's interest went deeper, having inherited his Uncle Jim's collection. His interest developed further during his time in the Army, excelling at hand-to-hand combat. But for these trips out in the remote parts of the AT, he liked his trusty Gerber Mark II. The ballistic nylon sheath was a bit the worse for wear. But it should hold up fine for at least one more trip. The knife itself was his favorite; he owned five now. It had the perfect weight and balance for a tactical knife, and his hand was so familiar with the heft and whip of the blade that he could consistently hit a target from twenty feet away with great accuracy. "You can never have too many knives." he muttered with a boyish smile. "Maybe I'll take two of them.... Just in case."

His latest purchase after considering the zombie apocalypse scenario was his new prized possession. A crossbow... weapon choice for those huge waves of zombies approaching, he chuckled, understanding the importance of not attracting more zombies with the sound of gunfire. He got a kick out of the fact that this disaster preparedness phenomenon was a fun way to collect more gear. And this was not just any crossbow. This was the Excaliber Matrix 420 - a lightweight hunting crossbow that could launch an arrow at an impressive 420 feet per second with little accompanying noise. Bubba was looking forward to a little target practice out in the wilderness. Natalie might have fun shooting it too, although it had a rather heavy draw weight. For fun, he printed a bunch of zombie images from various websites, including the CDC's, to use as targets. Smiling, his mind wandered back to that time, a number of years ago, when Natalie hooked him up with some group at her work to bounce around ideas for the CDC disaster preparedness program, using the popularity of zombies to draw interest from the public. Thank God we've passed the vampire craze. Bubba rolled his eyes as he recalled the conversation he had with Natalie a few years earlier.

"Tell me the truth, it's insane, right?" Natalie shook her head and laughed under her breath.

"You know, I actually think you might be onto something. People are into the undead and the supernatural. It is kind of unexpected, though, coming from the government." Bubba said thoughtfully. "I don't mind the CDC using our idea of the zombie apocalypse to get the preparedness message out. It's all just for fun anyway. I think it just might work. Who would have ever guessed I'd be helping little Miss Scientist at the CDC!" Bubba chuckled.

"Yeah, yeah... okay, I'll be meeting with the Director tomorrow morning, and he'll either think I'm a lunatic or... well, we'll see... and I'm going to need your help for some general information on survival preparation or whatever it is you ex-military types are into these days," Natalie teased her old friend. "What was the name of your group again?"

"The Z Contingency... and sure! I love this stuff... wait till I tell the gang!" Bubba was excited to be helping with something important, and started to see the possibilities in spreading the word about disaster preparedness, not to mention the extra hits he would start seeing on his website.

Bubba smiled at this recollection.   He and Natalie had been friends since the fifth grade, when they met at the town library. Natalie was already on her way to being a top notch scientist when Bubba found her sitting at a table studying one the books on plant biology for her school science fair project. Bubba had noticed Natalie in his classes, and knew they were both in Mr. Dearborn's science class, but had never spoken to her before. He knew that his friend Earl was her lab partner at school, and that he wasn't planning on entering a project in the fair. Maybe she doesn't have a Science Fair partner yet. Well, what's the worse that can happen? She seems nice enough.

At the time, Bubba knew he'd pull his own weight on the science project. Of that much he had been confident, and so had somehow mustered up the courage to approach Natalie in the library. He recalled that even at an early age Natalie had a gift of being able to sense what people were thinking and read their intentions. She quickly put his unease to rest and had agreed to work on the science project together. Bubba smiled as he recalled that Natalie, even at that time, was in her element, and was speaking well beyond her young years. Their project was based on studying the properties of plants including their genetic sequence. Natalie had explained how scientists were able to identify certain sequences that could be matched to natural properties of the plants, like garlic or Japanese shiso, both which were thought to have anticancer properties. Bubba had ended up doing far more work than he had envisioned, most of it at Natalie's direction, but he had thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. More importantly, working with Natalie had instilled in him a strong work ethic, and a greater focus on detail that he had lacked before.

Her natural, easy going and patient manner of explaining things easily captured Bubba's attention, and as it turned out, the knowledge he gained about plants was quite practical, especially when it came to disaster preparedness. The ability to identify edible plants, as well as ones with medicinal value, could be key to survival.

They had been friends and had managed to keep in touch, and he knew it would be great catching up with her on this backpacking trip through the A.T.

"You about ready to head out, Bubba?" Earl asked his friend. "We better get going soon if we want to reach the site before dark, and we still have to make a stop at the supply store," Earl reminded. "I want to pick up a few boxes of ammo, and fill up on kerosene."

Bubba finished the last of his packing and headed out to Earl's '97 Jeep Cherokee."I'm always amazed this thing still runs," he remarked with admiration. "I've got to hand it to you. You really know your way around cars."

"The last owner didn't take real good care of this thing so I got it for almost nothing, but I've had it in the shop for months." Earl beamed. "How do you like the enhancements? I was considering entering this in one of those contests for ultimate survivalist vehicle." The truck was outfitted with off road tires, a brush guard, snorkel and Earl even fitted a hatch on top as an alternate exit, or to man a gunner. "You never know when you'll need to make a quick getaway... armed."