The Story of Reyes Albert, Island Prisoner

Reyes Albert, Prisoner, Ch. 7

The lighthouse was nice, and had a lot fewer dead bodies on it than the prison. It also had some useful survival tools, and he’d seen a billiards table on one of the higher floors. It was a place made to make isolation livable.

He just needed to kill the two zombies stumbling about on the boulders outside. But he couldn’t find them. He hoped they had wandered into the waves, and sunk beneath the water.

Reyes began to load things onto his boat, which would be useful elsewhere. A pro fishing rod. Some pickled preserves. Some condiments. Rice. He ate heartily today, and was hoping to put on some weight.

He wanted to row around a bit more, and give some time for the zombies to wander off into the waves.

Refilling his water at the water purifier inside, he prepared to head out. It was 1:26PM, so he couldn’t leave for long. Sundown was in about eight hours.

He rowed west, to the next small island. It seemed to be like the others. Small, and full of ducks. Their immense quantity of shit was visible on the water’s surface.

He continued rowing northwest, into the expansive lake. He wanted to find shore, and the mainland.

After ten minutes, he was attacked by a jawed terror. A zombified shark, with rows of serrated teeth. It was bloody from a previous kill, which Reyes could see floating nearby.

jawed terror

He didn’t have a suitable weapon to fight a shark. He kept rowing, hoping to outrun it. Driving in a zig-zag pattern, he managed to evade it. Reyes knew he was extremely lucky.

His arms were very hurt. Gnashes scored his body, including a bite.

bite

Reyes was in severe pain. It had been foolish to row so far out. He needed to return to the safety of the prison immediately. It was about an hour’s rowing away…

He popped two aspirins, and rowed. This had been the worst day since the cataclysm. He was struggling to hold on.

The sharp pain of the bites stung him. He applied bandages to his arms, and took an antibiotic. He had fourteen of them, and hoped they would help with the numerous bites as they healed. Reyes popped a codeine, hoping it would help with the severe pain.

Keeping pace, he rowed past the lighthouse and back to the prison.

shark 1

Arriving, a shark was right on his heels. He dove from the ship, and landed on his ass.

shark 2

Reyes was badly hurt. It would take a few days for his arms to heal, and he didn’t like the look of his torso wounds.

hurt

He staggered into the prison. There was no direct route, so he had to disassemble part of the barbed wire fence. But his pain was fading away, as the codeine activated. Soon, he was painless.

Reyes floated through the prison compound, his arms in tatters. The shark’s gnashing maw had torn him up pretty bad. His military rucksack looked like it was coming apart, as well.

He went inside the prison entrance. The compound was nicely locked down. He felt pretty safe in here.

Reyes didn’t plan on leaving his fortress island any time soon. He poured antiseptic on his chest wound, cleaning the bites. If he wasn’t so sedated, it might’ve hurt.

He picked up a sharpened bit of rebar, which was fairly long. This was a shark-killing weapon. Standing from the shore, Reyes stabbed the zombie shark to death.

revenge 1

Then, he was free to take the rest of the valuables from his boat back into the compound. He had beached it pretty well, but it would be no trouble to push it back out to the water when he wanted to. But for now, the ocean caused him to shudder.

He wouldn’t explore any further until he had seriously upgraded his boat. The risk was too high, and the zombie sharks were too capable of killing him.

beached

For now, he would rest and heal. He needed to watch his bite, and manage any infection with antibiotics.

He picked up a fantasy novel from the medic’s office. But on his way out, he stumbled and fell into the pit. A foolish mistake, and he’d pay for it over the next few days. He was severely injured.

pit 1

stupid mistake

He took another codeine, patched himself up, and dropped into bed in a cell. The next morning, he awoke and habitually went to the cafeteria. It was still strange, coming here after the cataclysm. But this place was his now. He was going to make it a paradise.

cell 1

One thing it needed more of was natural light. He couldn’t keep up braziers or burning anything. If the lighting could be ambient, that would be much easier.

He ate some more pesto, straight from the jar. Loves the stuff. It was still pretty early in the day.

But he was freezing. He lit a fire in the kitchen. His arms were getting worse.

He sat there by the fire for a few minutes, getting warm. He grabbed a blanket from the laundry room, and put it on. Boy, was he cold. He could hear one of the zombies bashing away in the prison showers, behind bars.

warm

He took off his blanket as he left the prison entrance. He was injured, but wanted to be active today. He took apart some windows, and brought the glass to the roof. But he was getting too cold again, so he grabbed his blanket.

broken

His arms had both ceased to function. This probably happened due to the cold. His vest warms his body up, but his arms are exposed to the frigid spring night air.

This means he’s going to take quite a lot longer to heal. He worked away at creating splints, and soon enough he had one on each arm.

Reyes read a book on swimming. He could now swim, without drowning.

reading 2

He spent some time wandering the compound, planning projects. He had several holes he hoped to dig in the roof, to allow more natural light during the day. Reyes wanted to turn this prison island into a fortress paradise.

He slept back in the prison, and awoke at 3:30AM. He had a few hours to kill before daylight. He decided to pull together the materials for a light cart, to help him move goods from his boat into the prison. The fewer trips, the better.

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Reyes Albert, Prisoner, Ch. 8

Reyes brought in planks from the warden’s office, and left them in a pile in the prison entrance. He also added some other materials, like sheet metal.

When light came up, he would get started. It was still 4:19AM, and dark. He was chilly, and wrapped a blanket around himself. He sat in the prison entrance, looking over his items before the day began.

The sun rose at 5:18AM. Reyes started his day at the docks, and removed a few more ropes. His cart would need these for its frame. It would be lightweight, like the boat, and be easy to move.

docks 2

It just needed a single wheel. He’d pull it along like a wheelbarrow. He fashioned a crude wrench, just large enough to set the wheel into the vehicle.

He built it, and called it the Hauler. It was extremely light at 12kg, and could hold up to 75L. Moving with it was just about 1/3rd slower than regular walking.

hauler

He loaded everything up from the boat, and hauled it into the prison. It was so much easier to move along now. Reyes would have a much easier time with construction, as well as bringing goods back into the prison.

He loaded up some things from the prison entrance, as well. Then he unloaded them in the prison pantry.

Now that the Hauler was done, it was time to really start turning the prison into a paradise.

Reyes crafted a crude jackhammer, which he had a pretty good idea would let him dig through the roof. It took about three hours to put it together. He used some planks, sheet metal, and fashioned a durable head out of metal.

It was a heavy, manual tool. He loaded it into the Hauler, and brought it down in the prison hall. He’d start by wrecking the floor.

hallway 3

Although he was able to get it into the Hauler, he couldn’t wield it in his arms. He’d need to wait a bit longer before it was possible.

Today, he had to read and rest.

reading 3

He sat in the hallway near the gym, and began to read a samurai novel. He was feeling pretty great today. Maybe his paradise here could come true. Soon enough, it was 8:16 PM. Reyes closed his novel and grabbed some planks for fire. He would boil some more water before trying to sleep.

kitchen 6

He started to imagine what his prison compound could become…

As night fell, Reyes went to the docks to collect planks. He had hundreds of them at the docks, and was still thinking of what to use them for. He’d brought 32 of them inside the cafeteria, as fuel for the stove. The rest, he decided to use to add to The Lowrider.

health 1

He was starting to feel better, for the most part. His arms still gave him trouble, but hopefully they too would be healed soon. Then he could really get to work. For now, he was still capable, but was wearing two arm splints.

Reyes ate some marshmallows, and went to bed.

He awoke at 5:52AM, and reset the bandage on his left leg. After a nice big breakfast, Reyes disassembled more of the dock.

He moved some planks over to The Lowrider, to use to make it bigger. It would need defensive walls to protect him from the Z-sharks. His goal was to fortify it from all sides.

Reyes went through the parole office, and dismantled the shelves. Among the files he found a fully-charged flashlight.

parole

He brought a lot of wood down to the boat, to start the additions. This time he used full wooden frames, instead of the lighter versions. They had to be tough and durable.

The ship would need to grow almost three times the size. That meant he needed a lot of nails. He could cut costs where possible, but it was going to take a lot of resources.

lowrider 2

Reyes went around the island taking apart anything he suspected would have many nails. After he passed through a room, it was left in scraps. Loose pieces of furniture remained in disheveled piles, their nails taken.

He added a few more frames to the boat, before the sun went down. He doesn’t want to waste his flashlight, so he lives by the sun.

sleep 2

This morning’s breakfast is graham crackers. He heads out to find more objects to disassemble for nails. The Lowrider is hungry!

Desks are the best to disassemble. Bookshelves are good too.

On his way into the medic’s office, he closed shut the bars behind him. He noticed they had locked shut behind him… The only other way was through the pit. Last time, Reyes hurt himself falling into it. He tried again, and fell right in, on top of the dozens of pulped zombie corpses.

It couldn’t have smelled good. He climbed out. He was only a bit injured. Hopefully this wouldn’t delay his arms healing.

health 2

He bandaged his legs, and took a codeine.

For the boat, he had the basic shape figured out. It would be like a little wooden tank. Most of it would be walls, protecting a small interior.

Lowrider 3

Eventually, the sun went down and prevented further work. Another day had gone by, as Reyes continued to work on projects and heal. He ate, and slept.

In the morning, he boiled up some water and continued working on the boat, and disassembling nails from furniture around the island.

boat 5

He enjoyed working on the boat. Much more, he enjoyed the peace he had on the island. It had now been days since he saw the last zombie. He pulled the boat up a bit more onto the shore. Reyes was a bit afraid of the sea, ever since he took that bite from the jawed terror.

His boat would be a small tank. A small, squat container with good defenses. If he ever needed to, he wanted to be able to sleep on the water.

Most of all, he needed a shark-killing weapon.

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Wow, you had really lousy luck with those jawed terrors. I’ve done several Wizard Vacation starts that start on an island, and have spent weeks of game time paddling about in kayaks and canoes with only 1 jawed terror encounter (and mine ended much worse than yours). I generally find that beavers are a bigger hazard, just because they are much more common. And I saw a PR go in a couple of days ago that claims to tone down their hyper-aggressiveness. In general, I’ve found travelling on water to be pretty safe, overall.

BTW, I’m curious how slow that barge you’re building is going to be if it’s still powered by just oars.

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Yeah it was wild! Reyes saw three jawed terrors out there in his first big trip. If he’s lucky, they’ll just be limited to that area, instead of infesting the whole lake.

You’re right about the speed, I checked and it’s immobile at this weight. He’ll need to trim it down and risk the sharks still. Thanks for that, he was about to keep building the boat for two further days before checking. His arms are broken so he can’t take it out for a test run.

EDIT: Might see about building sails instead… They seem challenging, but that might be a fine option for Reyes.

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I have tried adding sails to a canoe or kayak, and can’t figure out how to do it. The only way I can get it to give me to option to add a sail is if I remove the oars. It seems like I can have one or the other. Give only one option, I’ve stuck with oars. But I’m probably missing something. It can be hard to figure out why an item doesn’t show up on the list of things you can install.

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Reyes Albert, Prisoner, Ch. 9

Reyes was working on his boat, preparing it for defense against the vicious jawed terrors that seemed to be all over the lake. He needed a good way to defend himself, and that included a weapon capable of killing a shark if he had to go head-to-head.

It also needed to have long reach. He saw that Z-sharks had a habit of crawling onto land slightly while trying to eat him. That meant everything from his weapon to his boat needed to take that into account.

Reyes started to get the materials together to make a crude hacksaw.

He needed more small strips of sheet metal, but couldn’t use his arms still. That meant no smashing things. He used a chisel to cut a piece of sheet metal into smaller strips, to attach to a crude hacksaw.

As he was working, night fell, and he had to wait to finish the hacksaw.

His boat needed more work. It was getting heavy, too heavy to row by oars alone. The choice now was whether to build it out as a full boat with sails, or strip it back down to basics.

From here onwards I’m using a ReShade preset I made. It’s like a group of filters you can apply to how the game is displayed. I set up a topic for ReShade here: ReShade - add visual filters to your game

boat 6

If he was going to build sails, he could retain most of his work, and make it closer to what he had originally imagined. That meant he needed to find some sheets.

sail

Being sail-powered meant Reyes would be free to wander around the ship while it moved. He could fight off Z-sharks, cook, or work over his gear while in transit. Moving would take very little energy.

However, the ship would be limited to move only in the direction of the wind. That certainly made pushing off from land more difficult, and he’d need to make sure the area he landed his ship was always clear.

larder 3

Reyes took stock of the food left in the prison kitchen. He still needed to get back to the lighthouse, which had lots of food in addition to what he had at-hand here. But for now, he had just a few days left.

Water was also important. The prison’s toilets had lots of water still available. This island fortress remained a good place to stay. He ate some coconuts. It was still early. 8:39AM.

He hoped to get the boat ready, by the time the wind turned westwards.

Reyes took apart some more desks, as he found them to be the best sources for nails. He’d seen there was a desk in each watchtower, watching over the prison. He took each of them apart. The day turned into night as he worked away.

night

Soon night fell, and he went to the cafeteria. He boiled up enough water to fill every plastic bottle and jar he had. There was no reason not to have as much clean water available as possible.

Reyes re-hydrated and cooked some lentils on the oven fire. Using the light, he crafted a few small things like more lockpicks, and hammered some steel into spikes.

fire 3

He awoke to his alarm, at 5AM. He wanted to get started more than he wanted to sleep in. He needed to finish up his boat, and head off the island.

He still needed more nails. Anything that was pinned down, he un-pinned and took the pins. He turned over beds, and took apart the bedframes for nails. Doorframes were also great sources, and had a dozen nails each.

The boat still needed walls before it was fully secure. That meant a lot more work still needed to be done. At least a few more days.

boat 7

The base of the boat was done. It was a flat surface, with a door at the back that he intended to add walls to. He put the oars in the boat. In case the sails stopped working, maybe he could swap them. He also put up a cloth roof over the seat, to protect him from the sun.

He may have to take the boat out sooner than he hoped. His food looked to be running low, and that meant he needed to get to the lighthouse within the week.

At least Reyes had been putting on weight. All that pesto made him fat, which would be spent if he had to go hungry for a while. But losing his fat was a last resort. His plan for now was to wait, and keep working on the boat for as long as he had food left. Worst-case, he could try rowing.

He knew there were sharks between him and the lighthouse, so the walls were a necessity.

The Lowrider was really coming along. After he finished the hull, and started on the walls. This ship was now even faster than his original design, with twice the top speed. This would jet him around the lake very quickly, so long as the wind was cooperative.

He set up curtains in the windows on his doors, to prevent sight. If he had to camp somewhere, the less chance he was spotted the better. By that logic, he decided to wall in the sides of the ship to prevent lateral vision.

It certainly became a tank. A small pillbug where he could be somewhat safe. He used some doors to make three windows at the front, for him to see through, and he installed curtains on each which could be pulled closed.

He’d been working so much that he had lost some of the weight he had put on in his pesto-eating days.

pillbox

Nightfall came, and Reyes headed back inside the prison to rest. There were just four essential pieces left before the ship would be seaworthy.

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Reyes Albert, Prisoner, Ch. 10

Reyes awoke to the dark of the prison.

prison cell.PNG

His stomach was rumbling, and he went to the cafeteria to prepare the day’s food. He picked up a can of clam chowder, and a bottle of water. After heating the chowder and eating it, it was time to finish building his boat, The Lowrider.

He stripped a few of the excess boat pieces he had made for a few last desperate nails, and searched through the guard tower nearby, breaking apart a chair for its binding nails.

He had ransacked the prison island by this point. Reyes had broken apart so much furniture for precious nails to build his boat. Only a few pieces of furniture still remained intact.

But finally, The Lowrider was complete! A small wooden raft, with a cloth roof overtop of the seat to protect Reyes from sun exhaustion. A sail extends above the ship. The Lowrider has a wide 3-door entrance to the front, and a small exit to the back. The doors each had curtains, which could be opened for viewing either forwards or backwards.

He was confident that his ship could withstand minor assaults. From the safety inside, he would likely be impervious to the Z-sharks that infested the lake.

pillbox1

In total, it must have taken Reyes nearly a full week to build. It had nearly a thousand nails, and represented much of the scrap furniture from the island. It was a makeshift masterpiece.

The sturdiest portions were composed of broad boards from the prison docks, where the seaplanes once landed when delivering Reyes to his sentence here. Other pieces of the boat were made from desks, chairs, and other furnishings he had plundered from his prison. It was a haphazard “tank-boat”, meant to protect him from ravenous Z-sharks so that he could travel the lake in peace.

It was later than he thought, and he went to bed. The morning came, and he ate some bologna and pickled fish. He grabbed a couple water bottles for the day.

It seemed safe on the island prison. It really was his own paradise, of sorts. But he needed to get to the lighthouse, as there were more supplies there, including a water purifier.

At last, the Lowrider was in the water again. He was somehow able to maneuver the boat by grabbing it and twisting it into the water.

He was now completely free to roam, safe in his wooden tank-boat.

He went back quickly to stock up on food and water. It was time to set off, and visit the lighthouse.

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Reyes Albert, Prisoner, Ch. 11, "Setting Sail"

It was time to go.

He grabbed much of his larder, and added the items to his mobile travois he used for carting goods around the island. Today’s destination had a great kitchen, with possibly more kitchenware than he had at home. It would be an excellent place to bring some of his hard-to-cook-with ingredients. He left simple canned items behind, as an emergency stockpile for if he had to flee back home. Reyes loaded anything that may spoil.

larder 4.PNG

He also loaded his two empty guns, the Glock and the Carbine. Even though they were out of ammo, it felt good to keep them in the boat at least.

It felt like so long ago that Reyes last killed a zombie. He still saw them daily, locked away behind bars near the prison entrance. Pushing themselves against the wall of their cellblock whenever he passed by.

Reyes decided, before he left, he could make a number of crude metal spears, each fragile but with enough reach to kill a shark.

He loaded his items into the boat. It was nearly at full capacity now. He could prepare only slightly more. Soon, it would be time.

On this last day, he crafted two additional crude spears, totaling him at three. He’d set out tomorrow morning, with the dawn’s light. He hoped the winds would be good. He almost wanted to pray, but he was sure that in this world, there was no God.

Reyes passed the evening boiling water, leaving behind a few days amount of emergency water at the prison isle. After all, the worst-case scenario could bring him back bleeding and dazed into the secured prison. Such an easy and essential thing as boiling water could very well save his life.

water1

He estimated his emergency stockpile had 8 days of water. He took two bottles with him, in case things went bad on his trip to the lighthouse.

Finally, it was time to leave. He unfurled his makeshift ship’s sail, which was powerful enough to pull the small wooden tank-boat off of the shores and into the lake’s water.

His heart picked up pace as exhilaration shot through him. So many days of preparation, and finally it was time.

His first objective was to get to the lighthouse. There was food there, as well as a kitchen. He wanted to have enough to last him a few days before he would explore further. He hoped to find the edges of the lake, or even scout a bordering town if possible. He didn’t have any recollection of just how large this shark-infested lake was.

Reyes had lost track of how long he was at the prison, but it was weeks for sure. Perhaps 3 or 4 weeks. His entire world had been that prison, since the Cataclysm.

The northerly wind carried him most of the way west. But he fought against it southwards, and came so close to the lighthouse. Eventually, however, the winds stopped and he was unable to turn the sails.

The boat was dead in the water, and he considered swimming. But that would expose him to the risk of being attacked by sharks, or for the boat to somehow drift off. He needed to wait til the winds changed.

sleep 3

He took a three-hour nap. When he awoke, it was midnight. The wind still faintly blew north. The ship was still immobile. Until the wind changed direction from north, he could go no further.

It was a serene night, on the waves of the lake. Any danger would have been hidden beneath the water’s surface. He bobbed up and down on the waves, watching the light of a full moon cast over the lighthouse.

At 1:00AM, the wind calmed and slowly Reyes pulled into the docks. Traveling slowly, he brought the boat forwards until it docked. He waited a moment, to make sure the boat was stopped, before stepping onto the pier.

The lighthouse seemed quiet. He remembered one or two of the zombies having been here. Last he saw, they had wandered into the deep water. Perhaps they had drowned there, unable to swim. Or perhaps they would wander back ashore if there were a sound.

For now, Reyes went into the lighthouse, and crept into the back to check the larder. As he remembered, it was well-stocked. Extremely well-stocked. Later, he’d count it all to see exactly how much. But for now, he still had to ensure the lighthouse was fully clear. Danger may still await him.

The kitchen. The bedroom. The bathroom. The rec room. The machine rooms. All clear.

Now that he was safe, he slept. Tomorrow, he would barricade the lower part of the tower. It had too many windows down there. Reyes wanted this lighthouse to be another haven. Perhaps even better than the prison isle. Here, there was even a water purifier.

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Reyes Albert, Prisoner, Ch. 12, "Lighthouse Refuge"

He awoke in the queen-sized bed upstairs. Gazing over the fireplace, lit only by the faint moonlight. It was 1:05 AM, a long time til daylight. But he was awake, and ready to take account of the lighthouse’s holdings.

He figured the best way to do this was to bring all the food to the second-level kitchen. There, he could set it all out on a counter and see what was there.

Stepping over the long-dead corpse of one of the zombies he killed a week ago (when he first visited this lighthouse) Reyes counted the larder up.

Reyes did an estimate of his food stocks. In total, weeks worth of food, if he used it right. He might also see about baking, to make use of the calorie-rich cornmeal and flour.

There were some odd cooking tools around, but nothing he needed. Reyes went out to the boat to collect his pan, and brought some other things inside while he was at it.

kitchenfire 1.PNG

Reyes took apart a some of the outside dock for firewood, and lit the kitchen oven. He made deluxe scrambled eggs from powdered egg, pickled fish, and clean water. Absolutely delicious!

Both of his arms were still broken, but healing. There was not much to do but pass the time, especially with such a well-stocked kitchen.

He kept on cooking, making cornbread, tortillas, flatbread. These baked goods would last for weeks and needed no refrigeration. In total, he made enough to last days. He planned to eat these in advance of any pickled food.

bathroom

Reyes explored the lighthouse. He found a pair of golfing gloves, which seemed light-weight and just a bit durable, and slipped them over his fingers.

Upstairs, a group of crates held items. Reyes broke them open to find a sewing kit, some preserves, a charcoal smoker with charcoal, and fish bait.

Fishing… he felt two ways about it. It meant sustainable food, but also huge risk with the Z-sharks all around. For now, it was a risk he didn’t need to take.

Reyes rearranged the shelves from the larder into defensible positions. He figured that if he placed them all around the central stairwell, it would be easy to block that stairwell off if danger arose, or whenever he left the lighthouse island. That could help him contain the zombies in case they invaded his lighthouse retreat.

defensible

He placed the other shelves blocking the room with the water purifier. That was one room he most certainly didn’t want the zombies to find their way into.

There wasn’t all that much else he really needed from the island. Reyes filled numerous containers with clean water from the purifier, which he estimated would last him over a week at sea. After this stop at the lighthouse, Reyes was confident he could survive an expedition further out from the prison islands.

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Reyes Albert, Prisoner, Ch. 13, "Deluxe Sandwich"

After packing his boat, Reyes headed out into the lake. It was calm, the light air softly billowing The Lowrider’s sails.

He hoped that, with weeks of food, he could set off on a long journey to scout the lake’s shores. Somewhere out there, there must be hints of what had happened.

boat 8

He went southeast. After setting the direction, he started to make a deluxe sandwich using flatbread, cheese spread, ketchup and bologna.

Reyes was so enraptured by making his sandwich, he drove right into the shoreline of the lake. Some beavers were ashore, scavenging about. The boat was beached, but not damaged.

The only signs of life he saw around here were an old, abandoned barn and a far-off road. He decided to try and get the boat back in the water to keep moving. But it seemed stuck. Perhaps he had beached it a little too hard when he was distracted by his sandwich.

Try as he might, he was unable to get The Lowrider back in the water. He decided to walk to the road, perhaps there were buildings nearby that he could check the status of.

For his trek, he brought along two water bottles, a can of soda, and a few other bare essentials. He hoped not to be gone for much of the day. He guessed perhaps by noon he would be back here at The Lowrider, where he would leave more food behind.

The road seemed to stretch on for a ways. It led west to a motel, which interested Reyes. This would be the first place on land he had visited since his escape from the prison island. With his two arms in splints, he anxiously crept towards it.

It was then that he spotted a burned-out zombie, shambling on the road. It was clear now. The zombies were here, too.

Reyes wasn’t ready for combat. But he did need to get further inland. He avoided them as best as possible.

On the road, Reyes spotted a bike. But… something terrible was beside it, with creeping legs. If he could get to the bike, he might be able to remove the wheels. If he then attached them to his boat, perhaps he could wheel it back into the lake.

What a disastrous mistake it was, beaching the boat.

Reyes wasn’t ready to risk an encounter. He continued down the road in search of vehicles.

Far in the distance he spotted what he could only recognize as a mass grave.

He kept walking, fueled by his desire for something positive. There must be more to it than an infested motel and a mass grave! Eventually, he ran into another prison. There would be no escape from this reality. It dawned on him, that his island paradise may be the best place for miles.

Reyes desperately wanted to get back home. He wished it were simple. But the boat was beached, and the closest wheels he could see were haunted by a disturbing undead. He decided to double back, and see if the zombie had wandered off.

Reyes could possibly outrun it, and draw it away from the bike.

Stepping towards it, Reyes held his spear out and waited to draw its attention.

Its wretched head turned to face Reyes, and it began to crawl on its spindly legs towards him. Reyes launched his spear, which fell short, as it slowly advanced. He decided it would be best to walk it southwest, off of the road, before returning for the bike.

He easily threw it off his tracks in the moonlight. It was nearly 4:25 AM, and not dawn for a short while still. Reyes returned to the bike.

It was working! He pushed the pedals and rode over the grass, back towards his boat.

bike

If he was going to adapt his boat, he unfortunately needed more materials. In all likelihood, that meant Reyes was stranded on land until he could find a jack to lift the boat, a welder, and a welding mask.

A tall order, but he did have his new bike, which could drive fast. He decided it would be good to scout the mainland here, and see if he could ideally find a town with a tool shop.

Reyes passed by the mainland prison, following the road east. He found a hybrid gas-electric motorbike, which was in good enough condition to ride, and with a full battery. Reyes moved his bike basket over to the motorbike, and hopped on.

The engine activated, and Reyes started cruising down the remote road.

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Imagine if he dies now. “That f :smiling_face_with_three_hearts: ing sandwich!” would be perfect epitaph, imho.

Unrelated: for a game that strives toward realism, CDDA allows some quite, ahem, interesting things, like crafting, throwing things and riding a bike with broken arms.

edit: about zharks - it looks like they love waters near island prisons. I rarely if ever saw them farther than, say, 5 OM tiles from those.

3 Likes

I’ve seen the zombie sharks around non-prison islands quite often, but I love an island hopping style of game play, so maybe I’m seeing more just from sheer volume than a lot of other players. Thankfully any weapon with a reach attack will make quick work of them if you’re on dry land. If you’re in open water, that’s another story…

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Reyes Albert, Prisoner, Ch. 14 "Horrific"

As Reyes motored through the deserted streets, wind blowing through his balaclava, the idea suddenly struck him.

He was more free than he’d been for years.

Ever since he was sentenced to prison as an embezzler, Reyes had been trapped in that island prison. It should have been years still before he was out, but due to the Cataclysm, he was freed early.

Reyes thought to himself… maybe he shouldn’t be in such a rush to get back to the prison. Maybe, he should live a little.

Reyes accelerated the bike to top speed. 44mph (71km/h) down the rural road. The light of the full moon cast over a nearby evac shelter, and he curved the motorbike towards it.

unkown

There was a fat zombie outside. Reyes squeezed the breaks a bit, and turned away from it. It didn’t spot him.

He ripped the motorbike around the shelter, peering through the glass windows. Some were shattered, but others remained intact. He positioned the bike away from the shelter, in case he needed to get out of there in a hurry.

Reyes entered the shelter, clutching one of his crude spears. Both of his arms were in splints, but he could always try tossing the spear before running.

Inside, he found bandages, a dust mask, and some forgotten rations.

evac 2

A set of stairs. Reyes held his flashlight out, and descended.

The light was nearly blinding, but he saw numerous of doors. One led to a bloody bathroom, where he found a hand mirror. It might be nice to give himself a haircut after all this time. A couple of first aid kits too.

Reyes returned upstairs. He broke through a door to take him up to the roof. There was a solar panel here, which he took apart and placed into the motorbike’s basket. Some of the metal parts here would be of great use to the boat, once he found the jack, welder, and welder’s helmet. He loaded scrap metal into the motorbike as well, dropping it from the roof and picking it up from the ground.

The bike was full. The clear dawn cast light over the surroundings.

bike 1

After failing to start a few times, eventually the bike sprang to life. Reyes could see further now, and noticed a small number of houses to the south, along with a grocery store.

He had no hopes for safety there. Whatever death he had seen elsewhere was likely all over this county. But if he drove nearby, away from danger, he could see if there were any tool shops.

Reyes blasted to full speed towards the southwest, passing a zombie child and a small gang of bulldogs.

There were a number of undead in the outskirts of this town, and it would be a squeeze to get by them. But Reyes wanted to make sure he got a good look at what the town contained, especially in its core.

minimap 1

The zombies tried in futility to reach him, but the bike was too fast. Reyes checked the meters; it had an hour left of proper gas. But perhaps the battery would hold out even longer. He started to question whether he knew it was actually electric.

Reyes zoomed past the zombies, keeping at range. Houses, houses, and more houses.

He had to swivel his head to see if he was truly seeing what he thought he was – a giant bee. It was as big as a dog. Reyes kept riding. What exactly had happened?

As he cleared the corner of a house, Reyes saw something horrific. He jerked his handlebars away, but not before he spotted something behind it.

Past the horrific creature, Reyes spotted the familiar logo of a mechanics business. This might just be his ticket back to safety.

mechanics

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Reyes Albert, Prisoner, Ch. 15

Reyes needed to get into that mechanics shop, but there was risk involved. He had time on his side, as his food and water stores were still high. It had barely been a day since he set off. Reyes wasn’t about to take undue risks.

Luckily for Reyes, the mechanics shop was near to the edge of town. Problem was, there were dozens of zombies in the streets outside.

mechanics 1

He took off west, away from the town, to gather his thoughts and plan this out. The bike tore down the road.

A cloud of bats flew by. A forboding sight.

bats

Reyes pulled over, and cracked open a soda. His plan was to use the bike’s horn to move the zombies out into the outskirts of the town. If he circled it a few times, he could likely divert many of them. Then, he would make a pass straight through the town and attempt to pull any of the stragglers.

the plan

There was no reason to wait. He went right back to the town.

But just two blocks away, the engine sputtered and stopped. It was out of gas. His plan would have to wait.

The only other vehicles Reyes had seen were in the town. Getting gas meant going in there on foot. Not a good idea.

A service road to the south led to a radio station. It was worth a shot. If he was lucky, the station would be empty of zombies, and could have some use.

radio 1

Reyes left the bike at the intersection, and went there. It had an undisturbed chain link fence, and the doors were not locked. Reyes even found a telescope at the top.

radio 2

From this vantage point, Reyes could see the hordes moving through the town. A sign held the town’s name, “Bethlehem”.

A pair of gun stores were on the main road. Only trouble was, there were a dozen hordes visible in the town.

bethlehem

There was also a rural farm, far to the south. And to the west, he could see the beginnings of another town, and a mall just past it.

Reyes just wished he still had that bike. A vehicle was extremely useful, especially given the broken condition of his arms.

Atop the radio tower, Reyes also found a map of nearby towns and cities. There were even some of the buildings noted out. It must have been left by another survivor… Notably, the cities Ogunquit and Yarmouth were to the west. There were dozens of smaller towns like Bethlehem, as well. This map would be extremely useful once Reyes restored his boat.

The town southwest of Reyes had written next to it, “Lab”, and “Beehive”. Reyes wondered what that meant.

He hatched a new plan. Reyes would walk back to the first bike, which was pedal-driven. That would give him the speed advantage he needed, regardless of whether he fought or fled.

corpse 1

During his walk back, he found a corpse. There was a cigarette pack sticking out of its front pocket, and Reyes pulled it out and pocketed it.

He tried to keep his distance as he squeezed through two feral runners. He kept a far distance, and tried to blend in as much as possible.

To his north, a group of zombies chased a fox out of the forest. Reyes needed to go in that direction. Reyes watched as the group of five chase it east, into a gang of bulldogs. The fastest zombies began to fight with the bulldogs.

minimap 2

Reyes took the chance to press north. He was almost at the bike.

He drew the attention of a tough zombie and a prisoner zombie, but picked up his pace.

The tough zombie drew close. Reyes needed to run to get away.

tough

shots fired

There were shots fired from inside the land prison. He figured it has a security turret that was still active. He remembered how the turret in his prison was torn apart by its zombies.

Reyes sprinted up to the bike, and hopped on. That tough zombie was following him up the road. He pedaled as fast as he could away, and back toward Bethlehem.

minimap 3

Keeping a steady pace, he pushed on. He noticed a car on the road. It had over a half tank of gas. But Reyes had no way to siphon gas. Maybe a hose could do the trick, if he could find one.

He arrived at Bethlehem, and started honking while circling clockwise.

honking

It was essential to get into the middle of town, and lead the zombies there outside into the forests. That meant taking a risk.

Reyes weaved into the town, circling a zombie child. He honked repeatedly, drawing the attention of a large group.

zombies

He led them out of the town’s northern edge. East was a forest, which wouldn’t ride through. He turned back to come around counter-clockwise.

He honked to grab the attention of a dozen more zombies, and led them west out of the city.

Reyes passed, honking. He spotted a zombie that was crackling with electricity.

zapper

He made sure to steer well clear of it.

Honking along the southern outskirts of town, he reached the other side of the forest. It was time to double back to the north side.

The outskirts were crowded now. It made riding difficult, but Reyes needed to get them dispersed from the town.

minimap 5

Reyes did his best to avoid them, honking between turns. The sound of shattering pierced the air. They were breaking through the homes on the northwest side. This was ideal – the noise would draw more of them.

He drove into the streets, and honked as he cut out. He drew them outwards.

While turning the corner, Reyes scraped against the corner of a chain-link fence. There was no serious damage, and he kept going.

He took another swipe.

It was tense, methodical work. He continued to stretch them out into the fields.

minimap 6

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Reyes Albert, Prisoner, Ch 16. "Bethlehem"

Reyes was luring the zombies out of Bethlehem, using himself as bait. He rode his bike around in circles, to draw them out further from the city.

It was working. He could see the metal bay doors of the mechanics garage. He let out a few good honks.

He also spotted a motorcycle with sidecar on the road. It looked to have been in mediocre condition. Maybe it had some gasoline…

sidecart

A security van was there too. A powerful machine, although it had numerous busted wheels. Nevertheless there were some excellent parts here.

Reyes could make this place safe, eventually. He did it to the island prison, it was certainly possible to do it here as well. If he blocked off some of the alleyways… and built walls to close part of the town in… this too could become a fortress.

But that day would be a long way off, if it ever did come. The town was still swarming.

minimap 7

Reyes kicked off and kept riding. And then the inevitable happened.

Crash! Smash! Reyes collided into the boulder. Worse, an undead police canine unit was only a short sprint away.

crash

Reyes reversed and changed direction as quick as he could. He was arm’s length away from the zombie, but managed to escape before it could swing at him.

How many times had he been in danger since crashing here? This must’ve been the fifth time he’s seen his life flash before his eyes. That damned deluxe sandwich! If we hadn’t been distracted by crafting it, he would still be safe at sea.

But there were riches in this town. If he could clear it out, he could live a life of luxury. That dream kept him going, as he pedaled away.

After gaining some distance, Reyes knocked back a water bottle. It was still just 6:15 AM. He was a bit tired, but figured that he may even be able to sleep indoors tonight if he kept pushing. The alternative was sleeping in the chair of in his beached ship The Lowrider.

Reyes noticed a corpse. The gang of bulldogs must have taken this zombie down. He pulped it with an extended baton.

pulp 1

Before he could react, a bulldog jumped at began to bite at his leg. Reyes struggled to get the bike moving as he shook the mad dog off.

bad dog

Reyes got away from the dog as it began to flee from the approaching undead. The poor bastard was bleeding from scratches, and attacked him out of instinct. He didn’t have the means to protect it, and pedaled away.

bulldog

There were other corpses around. Reyes knew he needed to pulp them, or they’d come back. But it was dangerous, with the bulldogs.

He got to a clearing, and knocked back some water.

Where the hordes were once right in the center of the city, they were now coming to the vast fields outside it. Reyes knew that if he kept working at it, they would clear out of the town.

Reyes flew through the streets, pulling as many as he could. He was making his mind numb to fear, drawing nearer to the zombies as he pulled a large group away from the front of the mechanic shop.

He slowed to maintain distance. He wanted these ones to follow him directly out of town.

Weaving back and forth, Reyes balled them up as tight as he could. It was always easier to avoid a ball than a carpet of zombies.

Reyes led them into the nearby swamp. He positioned himself across the water, and honked until the zombies were getting themselves stuck. This was a great location to leave them.

sinking

He gave a few last honks before pedaling off.

honk

They submerged themselves in the water as Reyes escaped. But he saw them emerging from the other side, which shuddered him to his core. Apparently they could move through the water, albeit at a slower pace. He drove past the radio station and circled back to Bethlehem.

He led a crowd from the northwest out, then stopped for a bite to eat. Two protein rations. He went to the motorbike, and removed its basket and placed it on his pedal bike. It still had a solar panel. He also removed the motorbike’s battery, and put it in the wire basket too.

bikes

A number of zombies had come near the mechanics shop, likely due to the noise Reyes caused earlier. He continued to draw them out.

minimap 8

There were many of them. He kept a distance as he wove them into a clump, and brought that clump to the swamp.

He wanted to do one or two more pulls, before corralling the entire mass even further to the west. Even the swamp was too close for comfort, especially as he had plans to fortify the mechanic’s shop, which was towards the southwest edge of town.

Reyes was early out of water, and headed back to his ship The Lowrider. Over time, the zombies would clear themselves out even more. He might even catch a nap while he’s there.

He dreamed of what the town could become. What he could do here once the zombies were gone.

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Reyes Albert, Prisoner, Ch. 17, "Mechanics"

He went north, to return to The Lowrider, continuing to draw the zombies away. The vast open fields made this fairly easy. The only trouble was maintaining range while also avoiding boulders or other traps.

hordes 2

Nearby, the bulldogs were still fighting the zombies. Numerous dead zombies littered the field, but they would come back unless Reyes caved their heads in with his extended baton. There wasn’t time to pull over, however, as the horde was in pursuit.

bulldog 2

As he neared the evac shelter from this morning, he pulled the zombies northeast off the road and picked up speed to lose them.

Reyes drank the last of his water, and ate two more of his protein rations.

He neared a second motel, which had a few zombies outside. Honking, he tried to lure them away while he was close.

Before long, he was back at The Lowrider.

Reyes went inside, closed the front curtains, and collapsed into the chair. He was dead tired.

It had been a long day. He had moved perhaps 40 zombies out of the town Bethlehem. Tomorrow, he would go back, and try to remove the last few zombies from in front of the mechanic’s shop.

dead tired

Reyes refilled his water. He estimated maybe three of four days were left before he would need to boil any more. He made another deluxe sandwich while reclining in his chair. Then, he passed out.

Around noon he awoke, the blinding light making it too hard to sleep. He had a cloth roof overhead, but in front of him was a large gap. He needed to make some kind of blindfold so that he could continue sleeping.

He fashioned one out of duct tape, and stuck it to his face. Then he reclined back again, and continued sleeping. It was rather comfortable there.

blindfold

He awoke at 9:18PM. His throat was parched, and he could use another meal. Reyes drank some of his water, and ate some pickled fish.

Reyes stepped outside. It was still light for a few more hours. Reyes unloaded the solar panel, and other scrap from his bike. The basket was empty, and ready to take any more salvage he could find. He kicked off his bike towards the south, back towards Bethlehem.

There were fish in the ponds and shores around here. That was good, as it meant that there may be sustainable food near this town. The bike made it all possible, as he was able to swiftly travel around without worrying about gas.

The dusk light was falling, which meant that Reyes would have an easier time avoiding being spotted by the zombies in the outskirts. He should be able to get right into the town, before drawing the final zombies away.

Circling around Bethlehem, the zombies were certainly at the outskirts of town.
Reyes pushed inwards, he needed to get more of them out. From the moans and groans he heard, he estimated that a bunch of them may have wandered back in.

bethlehem 2

His eyes confirmed that, seeing packs of zombies still inside Bethlehem. They may have been brought back in by some noise. Reyes still had work to do.

He passed by a community garden. It looked like some of the vegetables had grown wild. Some were rotten, but others seemed to be quite healthy and ripe.

At least this time the zombies seemed to be grouped together. Today, he had plenty of time to draw them out before entering the mechanic’s shop itself.

hordes 4

In the dusk light, it was very easy to lose the zombies. He circled around the buildings, driving his bicycle through the alleyways as he continued to move the zombies out of town.

Night fell as he circled the block.

More than sight, he used sound now to draw the zombies further.

And then, the opportunity finally came. Reyes brought his bike around the mechanic’s shop, to see the treasure he had been hoping for. The whole kit was there. A welding mask, welding torch, and a bottle jack. This was exactly what he needed to restore his boat, The Lowrider.

He pulled up right next to the broken glass. He removed the last few jagged bits, and climbed through.

He loaded a welding mask, acetylene torch, tanks of welding fuel, bottle jack, and a scissor jack into his bike’s metal basket.

Inside the garage, he flashed his flashlight to see what else was there.

It was a large chamber, with a small number of entrances. He could possibly make it barricaded. Reyes was glad no zombies had made it inside here.

In the northwest room there was clean clothing. Reyes wanted to wear something that would warm his arms up. He swapped his old boots for steeltoed boots, his golfing gloves for work gloves, put on a hooded hard-hat, and a tool belt.

He also picked up earplugs, safety glasses, four more small welding tanks, and two high-capacity medium batteries.

The bike was full, and Reyes was ready to head out.

mechanic reyes

The night air felt lighter, as Reyes brought the tools back north. Yesterday, when he had beached The Lowrider on the shores of the lake, he had felt like he had perhaps condemned himself to death. But now, with the metal tools bouncing in his bicycle’s wire basket, Reyes felt that he could handle even the worst calamity.

Reyes unloaded his tools in front of The Lowrider. Seven metal welding tanks, a pair of jacks, and a torch.

Now that he had the tools, he just needed some wheels. There were a few vehicles around which he figured he could scavenge for parts. Reyes loaded a few tools into his bike’s basket, and set off towards the vehicles he saw between here and Bethlehem.

He arrived at a car, and using the jack and his crude wrench, he took wheel off. A zombie was drifting close, so he hopped onto his bike. He wasn’t about to get under the car while a zombie was nearby.

The basket was full anyway, so Reyes took a trip back to the Lowrider to drop off that wheel.

There were a few zombies nearby the car that Reyes most wanted to scavenge. He had to draw them away using some honks.

One zombie had crawled into the car itself. It must have followed his scent from earlier, when he had been last working on it. He drew it out and away.

There was a bulldog towards the west, which had just put down a zombie. He lured the zombie close enough that it forgot about Reyes on the bike, and began to hassle the bulldog instead.

Reyes went back to the car, and started to take apart the wheel hub assembly. This would take him 15 minutes, during which he was vulnerable to an ambush. He managed to undo the assembly without a hitch, and loaded it into his basket.

The car’s wheels were not in great condition, but he removed them anyway. The only other vehicles he had seen were close to the town, and he wouldn’t dare go under a car in the middle of the city.

He kept working on that car, pulling off another wheel and its assembly.

A short bike ride along the road, and he was back at The Lowrider to unload. He looked over his parts, and figured that another two wheels might do the trick. While he was at it, he could even see if there were other parts he could disassemble, if not for utility then at least for the experience. He wasn’t confident about lifting the boat and putting on wheels just yet.

bike 2

Back at it. One or two more trips and he would have all the wheels he’d need to make The Lowrider amphibious. He still intended to make it sail-powered, and just needed enough to get it into the water.

While passing the land prison, Reyes heard a tinny voice from within its walls.

turret

The prison turret was still active. Perhaps Reyes could use this somehow, later…

Reyes passed by a corpse, obviously taken down by the bulldogs. He caved its skull in, to ensure it didn’t come back.

Then he was back at the car. He took off its rear wheels, and both assemblies. He also removed its gas tank. He hopped on his bike and pedaled back to The Lowrider. One or two more trips and he might be ready to start transforming his boat.

4 Likes
Reyes Albert, Prisoner, Ch. 18

Reyes needed to learn more about mechanics. He decided to try stripping the pieces down from a car. He took out the stereo system, and removed part of the roof, placing it into his basket. He stripped the car of a number of other parts.

scavenging

Taking the car apart let him see how it had been put together. In the trunk, he even found a spare car tire, in good condition. He loaded them, and took a trip back to the ship.

In the early morning, clouds appeared and made it dark. He had been able to get around yesterday due to the nearly-full moon. But now it was hard to see.

Reyes dropped off a load at his boat, and continued back to the road for more scavenging.

Before the night was through, Reyes wanted to make one last trip into town. He forgot to grab a jacket earlier, and his arms were very chilly.

The lack of light made it difficult to spot nearby zombies, but Reyes was confident he could swerve to avoid any he came across. The bike was highly mobile. Soon, the clouds cleared up and he could see easily again.

As he entered the town, there were a number of zombies to the east of the mechanic’s shop. But he decided to press on. It would be quick stop, in and out.

slam 1

Reyes clumsily slammed the bike into the corner of the shop. He looked around, and it seemed nothing had taken notice. He dismounted and began to walk towards the mechanic’s.

But before he could duck through the window, a zombie rounded the corner from behind him and began to pursue. He figured it wisest to hop back onto the bike, and get out of there. With a sprint, he mounted back up.

As he pushed hard to get the bike moving, it got too close.

close one

The zombie seemed to be lodged onto the basket. This was not good. Reyes frantically pedaled and turned the bike left and right, trying to shake it off.

partner

He felt its jaws try to close around his torso, but it wasn’t able to penetrate his tactical vest’s thickness.

There was nothing else to do but to dive off of the bike. Reyes ran into the nearby building, through a cleared window. Maybe he could circle around, and get back onto the bike in a quick minute.

He picked his ass off the ground, and ran into the house. Reyes pulled his flashlight out, and flicked it on.

Of course it was full of zombies. Of course.

But there was a gun in the middle of the room. Maybe it had ammo? Reyes went for it. It was a home-made pipe shotgun, with a single shot. Better than nothing. Reyes thought quickly, and headed out the south door. He shut it closed behind him.

Reyes needed to put some distance between him and the zombies, and then sneak around to the bike. The zombies were creating a lot of noise inside that house, as they shattered through what was left of its windows.

He used the winch in front of the mechanic shop gate to open it, and slipped inside. The shop itself was rather fortified, aside from the few glass windows to the north. But at least it would put off his scent.

inside

He slid to sit down on the floor, his back resting against the metal bay doors of the mechanic shop, and took a few seconds to get his bearings.

Through the north windows Reyes could see the bike. There weren’t any zombies immediately beside it. Since he was in the mechanic shop, he went over to grab the jacket he risked all this for.

He slipped on a work shirt under his vest, and a light jacket on top. His arms were encumbered, but they were still broken and healing with splints anyways. Some extra bulk may be for the best.

It was time to make a break for it. Reyes climbed through the window and crept towards his bike.

He hopped on and kicked it into gear. Inside the house, he saw numerous zombies breaking through the windows. Reyes honked as he escaped the town, trying to draw them further away from the mechanic shop. Those damned zombies kept coming back to town.

It seemed they were hesitant to follow him. He lost them quickly. So Reyes pulled up next to another bicycle, and removed its basket. He placed the basket on the front of his own bike, as extra storage space.

Reyes hopped onto that other bike, and brought it out of the town a bit. If he had enough time, he could even take some of the parts off of it, including the pedals.

He brought it a bit further west, where there seemed to be no zombies. Then he set to removing the pedals as quickly as he could. After that, he kept taking the bicycle apart. The sun began to rise, and Reyes noticed he was feeling dead tired.

Reyes hopped onto his bike, and rode back to the beached ship.

Soon enough, he got there. He immediately went in, drank some water, closed the curtains, put on his blindfold, and passed out.

He awoke at 3:38 PM. After making some clumpy milk from milk powder and drinking it, Reyes looked over his materials. He figured that, using some lighter wheel mounts, he could possibly make it happen sooner. If he attached four bike wheels to the corners, the boat might be mobile enough to get it back into the lake.

If he made it fully amphibious, he would never have to worry about beaching it again.

Since the sun was up, Reyes set to the task. He installed the first light wheel mount at the corner of the boat. Using his torch, he even fixed it up to optimal condition.

He just needed three more light wheel mounts, and the modification would be complete.

Reyes hopped on his bike and set out south again. He knew of at least two bikes he could scavenge. He would leave his own bike alone, and keep it mobile. There was no sense cannibalizing it before he could be sure the boat was on the water again.

Reyes filled up on food and water, and headed once more to the town of Bethlehem.

bike 3

All things considered, Reyes felt lucky he had crashed into such an ideal spot. It was far enough from any nearby town that he could work on the boat without worrying. The remote road made it quick, taking just minutes to get into town.

Reyes made a mental note of two cabins he saw a the treeline to the southwest of where The Lowrider was. Perhaps there would be some things to take from there, before heading back to the prison.

He yearned to be back on that island prison. Back there, he could rest easy knowing he was safe and secure beyond the lake, and behind its walls.

Today was warm, and Reyes removed his balaclava for the first time in weeks. He felt the fresh Spring air on his cheeks as he rode south, over the remote road.

He took off his filthy tactical vest and placed it in the front basket. He had plenty of storage, and didn’t need to wear that nasty thing. It had blood spatters on it, and sometimes the scent stung his nostrils. His backpack was also stained, but since he had no replacement he continued to wear it.

Several of the corpses killed earlier by the bulldogs had returned to life. Reyes cut south over the field.

bulldog 3

A dead bulldog. Reyes wondered if it had been the one that bit his ankle a day or two before.

There was no opportunity to stop. Too many zombies were around here. This had been one of the places he had drawn them out into over the previous days.

Reyes found his way to the motorbike. A day or two ago, that vehicle had run out of fuel, just before Reyes was about to haphazardly enter the town of Bethlehem in attempts to clear zombies. He was lucky it ran out here.

motorbike

Reyes took the last wheel off, removed the light wheel assemblies, and loaded his bike. In total, he had two light wheel mounts, two small wheels, and an extra-light frame. He took off as the zombies neared.

Reyes rode into town next. There was one other bike that may have a spare wheel close by.

But the zombies had moved there. He lured them off, and circled around.

After losing them in the outskirts, Reyes returned to the second bike. He hopped off and began to crawl towards the it. Hiding around the corner of a truck, he took apart the last bicycle wheel.

scavenging 3

He placed the wheel and its mount into his rear basket. This should be everything he needs to get the boat back into the water now.

Reyes stood up and hopped on the bike. He started pedaling back to The Lowrider.

4 Likes
Reyes Albert, Prisoner, Ch. 19

While biking home, Reyes acrobatically ate some pickled fish and pickled veggies. It was a tough task while riding a bike, especially with both arms in splints.

biking 3

Reyes was feeling good. He had everything he needed to get the boat back to sea. All he needed now, was to put in the time to get the wheels installed. There were still a few hours of sunlight left, and Reyes planned to use every one of them he could to get the boat mobile again as soon as possible.

He got to The Lowrider, and set to work.

After some tinkering, he realized he needed some more frames. Each wheel needed to be outside of the boat itself.

lowrider 10

He attached the first wheel, and tried to shift the boat. No luck, he needed at least one more at minimum.

Reyes set out again in search of frames. He figured it would be best to see about taking apart the last parts of the motorbike.

It was 8:01PM. The dusk would come soon.

Reyes’ thoughts drifted as he rode the bike down the road. He turned too late, and accidentally ran into a bush. The bike was not damaged. From here, he turned his head to see further into the prison. It seemed that two autonomous alert drones were patrolling near the entrance gate.

As he rode past the prison, he heard another gunshot. The turrets were active, and killing some of the zombies. They were probably coming back to life, after being shot.

Reyes really didn’t want to risk being shot as well, so he kept on with his plan to scavenge before dusk set.

After luring the zombies away from the motorbike, Reyes took the rear frame off. As he disconnected the muffler, night was starting to fall.

He decided the middle of the motorbike had too many parts to remove, and left it there.

Next would be the bike, just a bit out of the city. He started to lure some zombies from near the bike, bringing them to the outskirts.

dragging

Circling around a small forest, Reyes swung around and returned to the town’s northwest side.

He crouched beside his bike. There was one zombie nearby, but the sun was setting. He wanted to wait it out. But the zombie noticed him. He brought it up through a narrow alleyway to the north.

Reyes circled back around to the bike. It had two extra-light frames that he could remove… He crouched down, and got to work.

But a zombie emerged from the corner, possibly brought here by his scent. Reyes had no choice but to lead it away.

surprise 1

The home to the north was torn through, but Reyes felt it unlikely to have any hidden zombies awaiting him there. He rushed through an open window.

Bad luck. The door out of this bathroom seemed to be locked. Reyes pulled up his pipe shotgun…

BLAM!

The zombie’s torso was shredded for a critical hit of 100 damage. That just made a lot of noise.

minimap 9

This was so close to the vehicle he was scavenging, too. There was no time to wait, he had to get out of here fast, before the zombies on the outskirts closed back in.

He emerged back into the streets. He could see a tough zombie closing in. Time to go.

As he left, he could see a few zombies clambering into the house he fired the shotgun in.

shotgun 2

Well, that bike was not going to be scavenged. Reyes decided to head back to The Lowrider anyways. He needed some rest.

He would try to move the boat with only two wheels, but made his might up to cannibalize his bicycle if it needed two more.

Reyes arrived at The Lowrider, and unloaded the bike. Tiredly, he pressed on, and attached the second wheel.

He tried moving The Lowrider. It still dragged along the ground. Reyes went inside, and passed out after setting a six-hour alarm.

His alarm awoke him at 4:57AM. An early morning, he wanted to get the boat up as fast as possible. He could only sleep soundly once he was back home, at the island prison.

He ate some more clumpy milk, and re-hydrated some dried fruit. His food supplies had enough for perhaps a week.

It was time to say goodnight to his bike. Goodnight, bike.

bike scavenged

As the dawn rose, Reyes had taken off the rear wheel. His acetylene torch was running low on fuel, so he reloaded it from one of the many small tanks he had around.

reload torch

With three wheels, the boat could move. But Reyes went the extra mile and ensured it had four complete wheels.

And it was complete! Reyes had managed to attach the four bicycle wheels to The Lowrider. It was amphibious, able to move on land or water.

amphibious

Reyes wanted to bring as many scraps as he could back to the island with him. He attached the two wire bicycle baskets to the front wheel frames, so they would be accessible from land.

After using his torch to make sure everything was fully repaired, Reyes loaded the baskets with all the scrap and tools he thought most important.

It was high time to leave. Reyes went into The Lowrider, and adjusted the sail.

In seconds, he was at sea.

LowRider 13

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Reyes Albert, Prisoner, Ch. 20, "Sushi"

too heavy

The Lowrider was moving slower than Reyes had hoped. Perhaps he loaded too much scrap into the front baskets…

The ship was stalled in the water. Facing opposite to the breeze, Reyes was stuck here until the wind changed.

He slipped on his blindfold and took a nap. Six hours later, the wind was still against him.

stuck

The Lowrider was stuck, motionless. He hoped the wind would cooperate soon. Much of the remaining food was meant to be cooked with a fire, and Reyes had no place on his ship suited for cooking.

With nothing to do but wait, he sat back, and started reading a crime novel.

It was taking a long time for the winds to change. He estimated he had just two days left of water.

Twelve hours with not enough wind to move. It was time to jettison some things.

Reyes dumped a sheet of metal, and a foldable-light frame. His empty Colt Lightning .45 Carbine, which he had used to kill zombies inside the prison. A gallon of cooking oil, which he dumped into the lake, keeping the jug.

He had shaved off 20kg. He also dropped two planks, and a larger tank of gas for his torch. He still had a few smaller gas tanks left. He was up to 30kg of removed cargo.

wind

Aha! The winds finally changed, and The Lowrider started moving again. He steered into the breeze, which was pointed towards the prison. After a while, he turned slightly. It was better to go to the lighthouse first, and pick up more food and water there.

The boat bobbed along in the night, small waves lapping against its four wheels. Reyes steered tangential to the breeze, and before long he was at the lighthouse docks.

Reyes pulled the boat up to the shore, and stepped onto the sand. Call it superstitious, but before unloading, he felt the need to check the lighthouse for anything dangerous.

lighthouse main room

With a flick of his flashlight, Reyes checked the room. It seemed fine. Reyes went to check on the water purifier, and filled the three plastic bottles he had on him.

The bottom floor was all clear. He went up the stairs to the kitchen, dragging the shelves out of the way of the stairs.

He checked each room, and the lighthouse was all clear. As he passed the machine rooms, he picked up a rubber hose, to carry with him. Good for siphoning gas, which was a possibility now.

Home, sweet home. Reyes hadn’t felt this safe since he was last here, almost four days ago. It was a wonder he even made it back alive, considering how many zombies were in Bethlehem. He could recount multiple near-death experiences.

Reyes went into the kitchen and started an oven fire. He boiled 3L of lake water, giving him a couple more days of hydration. He filled the water heater downstairs, to store it all in. He kept going, amassing as much clean water as he could.

Eventually he had over two weeks’ worth. He filled a 3L jar and placed it in The Lowrider. He took all his foodstuffs out, and brought them to the kitchen.

He made himself a delicious quesadilla, from two corn tortillas and some canned cheese spread. Delicious, and had some calcium too. He made deluxe cooked oatmeal next, out of some forest honey, oatmeal, and clean water. Best yet, he had enough supplies to have that for a whole week if needed.

Reyes made some more. It was good trail food, and would last for a whole week. Reyes made a few days’ worth on the fire.

The sun began to rise as he finished up. He watched the dawn through the kitchen window.

It was serene, being here up on the lighthouse. Reyes had a few quick projects he wanted to do today.

First things first, he needed to make the boat more mobile. That meant probably widening it, and adding more supportive boards to keep it out of the water. Its main problem was water drag, caused by the weight of the cargo.

Reyes wanted to be able to make large cargo trips with it. That was essential, especially because the wind was unpredictable. When the wind was right, he wanted to be able to move anything he needed all in one go.

In his mind, he pictured a trawler, or a skiff. Something capable of longer trips around the lake.

He loaded his oatmeal into The Lowrider. There was maybe three days’ worth of the stuff.

Lowrider 14

Reyes would take apart the small canoe that was docked here. It had everything he needed right now to improve his boat.

As he added the boards on, the ship seemed much more capable of movement. Its water drag had halved.

After a short break to cook some deluxe scrambled eggs, Reyes was back at it. He made quick work of scavenging the rest of the canoe, and started to assemble the pieces onto The Lowrider.

He realized he would need more nails, and took apart some benches in the lighthouse’s entryway. He took apart desks and chairs.

Since he was just kicking around the lighthouse, Reyes took off most of his protective armor. He even took off his steeltoed boots, and walked around in just his socks.

reyes 1

The sun went down, and Reyes ate a dinner of deluxe oatmeal before going to bed.

He wondered what else was out there. Now that The Lowrider was getting to be sea-worthy, he was thinking of his next trip. He had originally wanted to scout the shores of the whole lake. He felt that was a good idea, but also that he could expect his trip to take even longer than the last one.

He awoke to his alarm, set for nine hours of sleep. He got up, and went to the kitchen. Breakfast was a healthy serving of honeyed water.

Reyes needed nails. He always seemed to need more nails for his projects.

Lowrider 15

His upgrades to The Lowrider were coming along nicely. It was becoming even longer than before, as he added length to the back. He planned to do the same to the front of the boat as well.

It would be nice to have more storage, at least, and he considered doing something with the solar panel.

All this work was teaching him more about mechanics. If he kept this up, he’d be able to transform his boat into almost anything.

fish2

There were fish here at the lighthouse. Reyes wanted to try his hand at fishing for a while. This was the perfect opportunity.

fish3

Fantastic. They must’ve been half-starved, they practically leapt onto the shore.

He set them out behind the lighthouse. Time to butcher the three fish.

image

butcher 2

Not bad at all! He took everything but the refuse and went inside. After trying some of the fish raw, Reyes decided to cook up some sushi rice, using dried rice, vinegar, and sugar.

He also cooked up the little scraps of fish meat that he was unsure about eating raw. One of the fish had a large enough liver to cook on its own, and he did so and ate it.

kitchen 10

He brought one of the lighthouse’s charcoal cookers into his boat. That would likely enable him to cook, and even boil water on the boat. It had plenty of charcoal. Reyes felt it would last a long time. That added days, even a week to his maximum voyage time.

Reyes had just a few pieces he wanted to add to the boat before it would be time to leave. The boat was fast becoming large enough to be autonomous.

He made a mental note to bring some of the mechanisms from the lighthouse’s old machinery with him, but he needed to build more on-ship storage first.

Like the prison island, the lighthouse was pillaged for nails. No desk, bookshelf, or chair was safe from The Lowrider’s hunger for nails.

Much of his work was complete, now. The Lowrider now had a front and back deck.

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Reyes Albert, Prisoner, Ch. 21, "Lucky Catch"

He awoke to a stomach ache. Perhaps yesterday he had a little too much raw fish. A little bit was good, but too much was too much. He’d need to be more careful to only eat raw meat when it was really fresh, and not let it sit out for even an hour.

He ate some of yesterday’s cooked meat scraps, which were still fine to eat. He tossed the last bit of old rotten fillet into the lake.

Reyes did some fishing, and caught four fish within an hour.

He cleaned the fish, and brought the fillets and scrap meat to the kitchen. He tossed the scraps together with some fatty bits and cooked those up, and then cooked the fillets. His goal was to make enough food to last a couple days.

An hour and a half later, he had a stack of thirteen cooked fish fillets.

image

He figured he could always get more fish wherever he ended up.

Reyes kept working on The Lowrider, adding more storage. He built a travois to carry more items, using some rope that he cut into shorter lengths.

He added this second travois to the back of the boat. It could hold another 70L of cargo space.

travois 1

This would be a good place for some of the passive items. Things he would only use when the boat was stopped. He put the charcoal smoker, pro fishing rod, and other items there.

He also thought that if he were able to make a nose for the boat, it might travel faster. It may even make it easier to dock.

It was quite good. Problem was, the nose of the ship was now keeping it stuck on the island. Reyes decided to rearrange the ship a bit, moving the wheels up on the nose. But it got dark before he could complete it.

He slept, and woke up the next day to finish eating the last of his cooked fish. The day began with fishing, and Reyes caught six fish today. More than any day before.

After cleaning the fish, he brought the fillets up to the kitchen to cook, and had his lunch.

Then, he finished up with The Lowrider, and took it for a spin.

It was fast. Capable of traveling faster on land than at sea, The Lowrider was really shaping up.

But during his test ride, Reyes found the ship stopped in the water when the wind turned.

There was nothing to do but wait until the winds changed. Reyes tried casting his fishing rod off the back deck. He caught, butchered, and cooked two fish.

It seemed to be easy enough to survive on the water. As long as he had charcoal for his charcoal smoker, he could provide for himself.

The only problems the boat had still were to do with mobility, and the unpredictability of the wind. Perhaps he could set up a motor, if he could find one somewhere along the lake’s shores.

But at current, travel on the boat would be slow. Reyes passed the time catching, cooking, and eating fish. He took a five-hour nap. Then he decided to jump back to the island, to get some tools to adapt his ship further.

When he returned, he was drenched. He sat there unhappily. Next time, he should strip before going for a swim.

When morning finally came, the breeze shifted and Reyes pulled the boat forward to the dock.

Then, he installed two wire baskets onto the front deck, and moved more cargo into the boat. Sheet metal, pipes, and more. Reyes loaded until the ship was heavy in the water. It would travel a bit slower, but he had everything he needed for a long voyage.

Reyes went through the lighthouse, and took all of the food. He also picked up books, and other machinery.

He found an electric motor upstairs, after disassembling part of the lighthouse machinery. This would be perfect. Reyes installed the motor at the back of the ship, under the travois.

mechanics 3

Reyes felt like he was becoming a competent mechanist. All this work on the ship was paying off.

He installed a solar panel beside the engine, as well as his motorcycle battery. Now, the ship could travel reliably. The solar charge was phenomenal, and could charge the entire battery in roughly 2.5 hours. The battery could run for one to three hours at a slow pace, depending on the wind.

The boat had come a long way from its first clumsy iteration, back when Reyes was first escaping the prison island. Now, it was an autonomous watercraft, driven by solar-powered electric motor, in addition to its original wind sail. Reyes felt unstoppable.

He decided it was high time he returned to his island fortress, to see what was there. It had been so long, he had forgotten the state of it.

The Lowrider churned through the water, kicking up foam as Reyes tested the new configuration. He kicked it up to second speed. The trip to the prison island was short, and he could let the battery recharge while he was on the island.

Lowrider 19

He arrived with 50% of the battery charge still available. It would be an hour before it was fully charged again.

Reyes pulled up on to the shores. Good old island paradise. He wielded his baton, in case anything had happened in his absence. But he knew he would be worthless at fighting, as his arms were still healing from being broken about a week ago.

Reyes grabbed the hauler from the shore, and pulled it inside the prison walls. He had forgotten just how secure it was, behind the barred metal fence.

He walked into the prison entrance. It felt good to be back in this cluttered fortress.

Returning to the prison fortress was so familiar to him. He remembered that initial struggle to make this place safe.

He remembered when the Cataclysm first happened to him. He was unarmed, and defenseless in the warden’s office. He had been punched through a plate glass window by a hulk.

killcount

Over the days that ensued, Reyes managed to clear the prison out using guns he found in the prison watch towers, as well as a large dose of luck. The zombie hulk managed to slay dozens of other zombies on its own, before Reyes killed it with his last bullet.

The prison was now a refuge, a place to come where Reyes knew he could be safe and secure. Especially after his recent trip to Bethlehem, he was sure it was a place unlike any other. Here, it was safe, and he could rest easy.

Reyes re-explored the island to see what was still here.

prison zombies

Just like he remembered. Some of the zombies still inhabited certain cell blocks. These ones were in the showers. But he was safe. He almost regarded them as old friends.

There were a couple stationary tools in the woodworking room. A drill press, and a power lathe. Both still needed power to function.

Reyes went to back The Lowrider with a load of items from the fortress. Splash! Reyes accidentally fell into the water while traveling around his boat. He hated getting wet.

After he dried off, he created another travois, which he hung up in front of the ship’s front door. With the new electric motor, he was confident that the boat could handle carrying even more cargo.

CDDA / DeadPeople tileset doesn’t render boat floors under other objects. Just know that underneath every travois are wooden floorboards, same as under the two wire baskets.

Reyes loaded in his three cans of beer, his books, and other goods from the prison kitchen here.

The battery was just about full, and Reyes decided to hit the lake again. His next goal was to scout it as far as possible, seeing whether there would be any towns along the coast.

daystats

As the boat drove south, Reyes kicked back, and relaxed. He kept his eyes on the water, especially after the catastrophe with the deluxe sandwich last time. The lake’s soothing waves were relaxing, as it continued on its course. He expected no trouble, especially now that The Lowrider was amphibious.

This should be a quick trip, out for a few hours before sunset.

driving

Reyes was getting pretty darned good at maneuvering vehicles, especially with all that bike riding near Bethlehem.

He drove the boat south, until he could clearly see the shoreline. Then he turned east, and began to chart the lake. Much of it was familliar wilderness. Geese, fish, and other harmless creatures.

charting 1

Reyes decided to have a bit of fun, and pulled The Lowrider up onto the shore. As he did so, a salmon got lodged in the front wire basket. Free food! He went out, killed it, and cut it into fillets. It was monster huge, weighing in at about 40kg. What a lucky catch. If there was somebody out there, they were watching over Reyes.

free food

Reyes took half of the fillets, and left the rest for the birds. Or the zombies… whoever came sooner.

What a fantastic machine. Reyes felt exuberant as he plowed back into the lake, laughing like a madman.

He pulled the boat to a stop. About 25% of the batteries remained, and it would take just an hour to fill to capacity. Reyes checked out what books were available to him in his ship-board library.

Truly, this was the life.

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