The Caravan/Issue 1

This is Issue 1 of The Caravan, entitled "Ditance".

101; Distance
Jake remembered driving down this road before the outbreak. He was going on a vacation to Dresden with his wife and daughter, and got completely lost. They even had to cancel their reservations at the hotel they were supposed to stay in, in Dresden. It didn’t ruin the vacation though; they ended up staying in Leipzig instead, and had a great vacation. Jake’s favorite vacation, actually. Jake felt a little weird, driving down the exact same road. Last time he did, it was crowded. Now, nobody but himself and his group were on it. Them and a few zombies.

Back in 2012, a virus wiped out the majority of the planet, turning the dead into flesh-eating zombies. It took everybody by surprise, and only a small percentage of the world’s population survived. The only reason Jake survived was because he was working at an oil rig during the early stages of the outbreak, and so was isolated from it. Of course, he wanted to get home to his family to make sure they were safe, but his co-workers ensured him that he should stay with them on the oil rig, as they would be safe there. However, Jake wasn’t the kind of person that could do that when his family was in danger. He stole a lifeboat and headed for land, only to find everything in chaos. Dead people were walking around, killing the living, who were looting stores and residences. It took two days for Jake to get home, where he found his girlfriend dead, wrists slit. His daughter wasn’t there. He then went to his parents, and to his relief, they were alive and his daughter was with them. That was two years ago. A few months into the apocalypse, Jake and a few others established a small community in the southern part of Denmark. Supplies quickly ran out, so Jake got into an RV and started gathering supplies from all over the country. Eventually, he began trading with other communities all around Europe, expanding with further vehicles and group members.

Now, Jake was driving the RV again, following the lorry driving in front of him. A pickup truck was driving somewhere far ahead. It was getting late, and they would have to pull over soon. They never drove during night, usually just sleeping in the vehicle they were in. “Jake, wanna stop up here?” Martin Syberg said in the walkie. Martin was one of the two people in the pickup truck, the other one being Ralph Burnet. The two were in charge of The Caravan’s safety, always driving ahead of the two other vehicles to make sure that the road ahead was safe. Bandits and zombie herds were a big threat, but Martin and Ralph did a good job avoiding them. “Yeah.” Jake simply replied in the walkie. After a few minutes, the lorry in front of him stopped, and Jake then stopped the RV. Turning around, Jake saw the four people traveling in the RV with him playing cards. He got up and sat down next to his daughter, Maddie. “You’re winning, honey?” Jake asked, laying his arm around her shoulder, as he looked at her cards. “Nope, Ashley is. Like always.” Maddie said, laying down three kings. “We’ll beat him one day.” Helen Tandel said with a smile, giving Maddie a reassuring nod. Ashley and Helen Tandel were an elderly German couple. Ashley was a decent mechanic, and Jake always said that was why him and Helen were a part of The Caravan. The truth, however, was that Maddie really liked the couple, and Jake wanted to make her happy. Across from Jake was Adelina Iria sitting, looking frustrated as always. Adelina wasn’t the most polite person, in fact she was often rather rude. It took a while for Jake to get used to her attitude, but with time, he grew fond of her. Adelina passed her turn, quietly swearing as she took up another card. “Look at this.” Ashley said with a big smile, laying down his last two cards. Adelina cursed as she threw her cards away. Maddie sighed. “Congratulations, honey.” Helen said, giving her husband a kiss. “Rematch tomorrow.” She then looked at Maddie. “We’ll beat him there, right?” Maddie smiled. “Right!”

The lorry, always driving between the pickup truck and the RV, worked as a storage for The Caravan. Shelves were full of all kinds of supplies; food, water, weapons, medication, mechanical scrap, clothes. There was almost nothing they didn’t have. Of course, keeping the shelves stocked were a big problem, but many of the members of The Caravan often went hunting or fishing, enabling them to trade fresh meat with the communities around in Europe. Besides all the shelves and boxes, the lorry also had three couches and a table, located in the far end of the lorry. These couches served as sleeping space for the three people usually being in the lorry: Lisa Lorimer, Leslie Adler and Tim la Cour. Lisa Lorimer had been a part of The Caravan since Jake founded it, always having been in charge of the trading. She always knew exactly what they had on the shelves, and always knew what they were short of. While often having a very positive attitude, she’d get down to business when she had to. Leslie Adler were a former librarian, being in charge of the books, music and arts that they were trading with. He was a very quiet person, and not considered that important by some of the other members of The Caravan. He was never offered a spot in The Caravan, he just naturally blended in, after they decided to give him a ride a year ago. Tim la Cour was the newest addition to The Caravan. After their former truck driver, Adam, died four months ago, they ended up needing a new one. Martin and Ralph saved a bunch of people from a group of cannibals, where Tim was one of their victims. As they needed a truck driver, and Tim was a former taxi driver, Jake offered him the job.

Lisa was noting things down in her notebook, preparing for tomorrow where they’d arrive to Hakenstedt, a small community in the middle of Germany. Adler was sitting on the couch with a bag of peanuts, reading Jurassic Park. Adler liked to have a snack while reading. Tim was sleeping. “Ready for tomorrow?” Adler said with his mouth full of peanuts. “Sure.” Lisa muttered, continuing to note things down. “Are you?” “Absolutely. After we found that bookstore last week, we’re stockpiled on literature.” Adler said, as he took another handful of peanuts. “You should start reading.” “You keep saying that.” Lisa replied, seemingly deeply concentrated. “I need to focus on this.” “Your loss.” Adler said, as he left a bookmark in the book, then got up. “I’ve gotta go take a leak. Can we turn off the lights when I get back?” He nodded at the lantern standing on the table. “Sure.” Lisa said, finishing up.

As Adler went outside, he could hear the sound of zombies getting their heads smashed in. In the distance, he could see the silhouettes of Martin and Ralph along with a few zombies. The two of them got rid of the last one, then headed back towards the pickup truck. “Hey, Les.” Martin said, grabbing a towel from inside the truck. He gave Adler a friendly smile as he cleaned off his machete. “How’s the books doing?” “The books are doing fine, Martin.” Adler said, a little annoyed. Martin was one of the people that didn’t think Adler belonged in The Caravan. He would often ask witty and sarcastic questions to him, and often when Jake was nearby, to show Jake that they didn’t need a librarian. “Cut it out, Martin.” The Scottish voice of Ralph Burnet could be heard from inside the pickup truck. “Leave the man alone.” Adler tilted his head as a gesture, then entered the lorry again. Martin turned around and headed to the pickup truck. He was on watch for the next four hours, so he got onto the trunk of the truck, a hunting rifle swung over his shoulder. “You know I don’t want that guy here.” Martin said, sitting down on the roof of the truck. “Yeah, well.” Ralph said from inside the truck. “He’s here, and you’ve just gotta deal with it. Focus more on getting us a new pharmacist. Seems like Jake’s forgotten about it.” Three months ago, the guy in charge of medication, Meredith, had a heart attack. After his death, Helen had to take over, since she was a former nurse. However, she rarely dealt with medication when she was a nurse, and so it was challenging for her. The Caravan needed a new pharmacist, and Jake was aware of this. Until now, he just hadn’t been able to find anyone with enough experience. He hoped to find someone in Hakenstedt. “He hasn’t forgotten about it.” Martin said, looking around; they were surrounded by fields. He could see light in the distance. “But, yeah, you’re right. I’ll talk to him once we get to Hakenstedt.” For a long time, Martin had wanted to be in charge of The Caravan. He had always thought that he would be a better leader than Jake, but he also knew that the others would disagree. “You do that.” Ralph replied, ending the conversation.

Inside the RV, Maddie was sleeping in one of the two beds. Jake was sitting across from her in the other bed, looking at her. He was grateful to still have Maddie. They had met many parents who had lost their children, and Jake hoped to never become one of them. “Jake?” Adelina whispered. Jake looked. She was sitting with a map by the table. Ashley and Helen were preparing to go to sleep. Jake got up and sat down across of her. “Where should we go after Hakenstedt?” She asked, showing him the map. Jake sighed. Adelina asked this questions often, and he was getting tired of it. “Listen, we’ll figure that out later.” “I just want to know so I can…” Adelina argued. “Adelina.” Jake interrupted. “For now, just relax. We’ll figure it out later, okay?” “But I’d really like to…” “Just get us to Hakenstedt.” Jake said, and got up to get his sleeping bag, which was located under the couch on which he was just sitting. “We’ll figure it out after we’ve been there.”

Appearances
Jake Swane Martin Syberg Lisa Lorimer Adelina Iria Leslie Adler Ralph Burnet Madison Swane Ashley Tandel Helen Tandel Tim la Cour

Deaths
None