The driver stopped and I heard felt the truck vibrate. He lifted the tarp and saw me. He wasn't angry. He calmly asked me to join where the others will discuss how to stay safe. I signed a thank you and he smiled. The others were curious. Some discussed how to communicate. One person saw me signing and they agreed on sign language. The others talked about whistling otherwise known as bird language. They discussed how they were going to sustain this lifestyle. They agreed to keep moving they won't be caught. If they stay in one place they might get caught. Which means either they will be food or they will be forced to go back. Everyone searched their belongings and gathered what little they had. One of the escapees was a forager. He explained how we can survive with what nature provides. We started searching the vehicles. We couldn't do an inventory when I felt the vibrations. I knew the army was sending people to get us. I warned the nearest person by miming a gun. He called for someone who can sign and I told him what I felt. He warned the others.
They removed all items in their cars. A man told everyone to get going as he shoved a piece of clothes into the gas outlet. He lit it up and ran as fast as possible. Since we parked it in the same area. The explosion blew them up too. Someone picked me up and moved towards the bushes. We went where the military vehicles couldn't chase after us. The group walked till they were all tired. Then they settled down. I kindly asked the forager to teach me how to gather stuff. He waited till he was able and he took me to collect mushrooms. We collected chicken of the woods. They are an orangish yellow and are semi circle. They have a smooth underside. He showed the poisonous variety called Jack-o'-lanterns. They have gills on the underside. He harvested dandelion, wild garlic and blackberries. I carried empty bottles and filled them with water from the stream. We brought back to the camp. He strained through an old t-shirt and boiled the water before everyone drank it. And old man was ex-military he promised to teach everyone how to blend in and fight. The kids started to whistle so they can communicate.
We kept moving and at night we were about to sleep when I smelled rust and salt. I woke the nearest person who can sign. I told him what was going on. He quietly warned the others and they stood up to fight. Four vampires came and the old man used his gun to kill them all. Once they were dead I sensed around and I found none. Everyone agreed to sleep during the daytime when we found a clearing and we will take turns so no one is harmed. A sleep schedule was made and everyone stayed till the sun rose. Everyone was so tired that we all fell asleep. We woke up and was hungry so the forager and I went looking for food. He gave them his cast iron pan and searched the place for eggs. He found quail eggs and everyone ate that while we went searching for food. We found wild strawberries. They were smaller but intense in flavour. We got ramps and he showed me the difference between that and lily of the valley which is poisonous. We collected morel and chanterelle mushrooms and ate a decent breakfast.
Then he walked over to the trees he had tapped so we could have some tree syrups. There was walnut, maple, birch and sycamore trees. We had a few gallons so it took a few trips to get them to the camp. We were heading back with the last haul when we found a den of vampires who were trying cram into a cave to avoid sunlight. He warned the others and we left camp. Once we settled down he taught us how to make a dakota fireplace. First a vertical hole was dug. Then a decent size hole wass dug at a forty degree angle. The angular one is dug in the direction of the wind. So there would be no visible smoke. Small branches were snapped and thrown in along with a few pieces of paper. Some of the people were going home after grocery shopping so we ate noodles and fruit. We were trying to find a safe place to stay for the night when we found discarded cast iron pan. The forager said that it can be fixed if we can scrub the rust off of it. Everyone took turns scrubbing it to an inch of its life. Once it was deemed useable one of the cooks took it. We divided the supplies so no matter what we won't go hungry.
Cellphones were destroyed since they can be tracked. Walkie talkies were kept only after the forager showed us a portable solar charger. We kept in on the military channel. We didn't go very far from where we ate. We need a space we can protect. We should be able to see if anyone was coming. If possible we should be able to hide. I was amongst those who learned to fight. We learned hand to hand combat. We didn't learn shooting since the bullet were fewer in numbers. We found an abandoned town and got a few supplies. We got sleeping bags and ate like kings. Some wanted to stay there. The others wanted to move. I was amongst the ones wanting to move. The forager asked anyone wanting move to come with him. We took only enough supplies to last a week. The others chose to settle there. There was a shop dedicated to camping. We took sleeping bags, tarps, camp stoves, fuel canisters, cookset, coolers, headlamp, lanterns, power banks, hand crank flashlights, first aid kits, navigation tools, foldable multi tool and knives, paracord and finally water filters. One person even found a machete.
Once the sun went down. The others wished us a safe journey. Our number went from forty to fifteen. We didn't give up. We found a few new people to join us as we went along. We found ourselves at a scrapyard. We looked for useable stuff. One of the teenagers found a device which can be used during the time of the apocalypse. It was a foldable camp oven. Suddenly he calls out, "I broke it." The nearest man yelled, "That thing was supposed to last the apocalypse." A girl growled, "It's post apocalyptic. You are the apocalypse." Everyone laughed. It felt like we had a found a moment of peace. I smelled rust and wriggled my wrist so my hand turned from left to right like a fan. They realised something was up. I put both my index fingers in my mouth like fangs and they shut up immediately. All of the lights were switched off and hid. We saw tiny red dots illuminate like they were tiny suns. I watched someone used the paracord to make them fall flat on their faces. Then the ones welding machetes hacked them to death. One of the newly joined ones screamed in despair. We realised this one was a collaborator. We used wires lying on the floor to bind him and we made sure leave as quickly as possible. We made sure to avoid leaving footprints from them to find out. The ones on the back made sure to drag a broom so it was smooth lines.