Andy’s Brave New World: Part 2

The group leaves Yosemite, encounters Crystal.

Based on a post by the
hospital. Listen to the Podcast at Explicit Novels.

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Day 7, Morning

The morning sun caught the fresh paint scratches on the two
Ford F-350 Super Duty trucks as they pulled out of the Yosemite Valley
maintenance yard. Both were recent-model crew cabs in dark green, commandeered
from the park's heavy maintenance fleet, their diesel engines rumbling with
carefully checked fluid levels and fresh filters.

Andy drove the lead vehicle, while Daniela rode shotgun, her
Remington propped against the center console within easy reach and the
binoculars Andy had found yesterday hanging around her neck. She sat at
attention, eyes sweeping the tree line. Despite the A/C, they were sweating a
little under their body armor.

In the truck's bed, they'd packed their supplies with care.
Multiple jerry cans of diesel fuel secured in metal racks, the heavy weapons
cache (including the RPG and its rockets, carefully cushioned), cases of
ammunition, tactical gear, and the most essential survival equipment. The rear
seats held their medical supplies, communications gear including the Starlink
array, and several days of ready-to-eat food and water.

Sarah followed close behind in the second truck, its bed
loaded with the bulk of their food stores, camping equipment, tools, and
additional fuel. She'd gotten her way about the clothing, she wore a matching
set in a striking deep purple: high-waisted Alo Yoga leggings that hugged every
curve and a longline sports bra under a cropped zip-up jacket. Her highlighted
hair was styled in loose waves, and she'd even put on light makeup.

"If we get into any actual fighting, I'll be useless
anyway," she had insisted, gesturing at Andy and Daniela's tactical
loadouts. "You two are the ones with the training. I'm just a
driver." She gave one of her practiced smiles. "Besides, first
impressions matter. When we meet other survivors, one of us should look; approachable."

Andy had started to argue, but Daniela simply shrugged.
"She's right. We look scary. It'd be good to have someone look not
scary." The conversation had ended there.

Now, as they passed the park boundaries, Daniela pulled out
their carefully annotated road atlas. Their route would take them west on
Highway 140, then north on 99 through the Central Valley, avoiding both Fresno
and Modesto. They'd skirt Sacramento to the east, then cut west to the Bay Area
through the Delta region. The path balanced speed with security, staying on
main roads for ease of travel while avoiding major population centers.

"Time check," Daniela's tense voice crackled over
their handhelds. "0700 hours. Three hours to the first waypoint."

"Have you spent much time outside of the park?"
Andy asked, trying to see if conversation might help her relax.

Daniela shook her head, staring out the window at the wooded
hills. "No, not really. Just for track meets. Dad hates cities. He'd
always complain to the school that our trips weren't secure enough."

Andy had a sudden mental image of Miguel lecturing an
exasperated school bus driver on sight lines and evasive maneuvers. He chuckled
slightly. "Yeah, that sounds like him." Noticing Daniela still
looking somber, he tried to pivot. "Well, are you excited to see San
Francisco?"

A pause. "I don't know. I know it's the right place to
go, but I'm a little scared to leave Yosemite behind." She looked off into
the distance. "I'll definitely miss being in nature."

"You might be surprised, SF has a lot of parks and
green spaces. Maybe we'll end up somewhere nice."

Day 7, Midday

The Sierra foothills gave way to the Central Valley floor,
and with it came the strange emptiness of abandoned agriculture. Vast almond
orchards stretched to the horizon, their spring blossoms still clinging to the branches.
A dairy farm's holding pens still contained its imprisoned casualties, forcing
them to detour around the sprawling facility to avoid the smell. In an adjacent
field, a small herd of escaped cattle grazed freely, looking up at the trucks'
passage with mild curiosity. They passed a tomato field where harvesting
machines stood frozen mid-row, the ripe fruit beginning to soften on the vine.

"Movement, two o'clock, approximately two miles
out," Daniela reported suddenly, her binoculars trained on the horizon.
"Vehicle heading north." She tracked it for a moment, dust trail
visible against the morning sky. "Pickup truck, moving fast. Can't make
out details at this distance." Her voice remained neutral, but her grip
tightened slightly on the Remington.

Andy glanced in the indicated direction but kept the truck
steadily on course. In the rearview mirror, he saw Sarah's truck maintain its
careful following distance. After a few minutes, Daniela lowered the
binoculars. "Vehicle has maintained its course northward. No change in
direction."

The radio crackled. "Everything okay up there?"
Sarah's voice carried a hint of nerves.

"Just another survivor," Andy replied.
"They're heading away from us. Nothing to worry about."

They passed through Merced without incident. The smaller
city was eerily still, traffic signals dark at every intersection. A home
security alarm wailed somewhere in the distance, its battery backup still
functioning after a week without power. The highway was mostly clear, the
outbreak had moved too quickly for large-scale evacuation traffic.

Sarah's voice crackled over the radio: "Hey, I've had
cell signal for the last few minutes, must be near a tower that's still
running. There's a Beacon post from yesterday, someone near Turlock warning
about a big pileup blocking the 99 around Keyes Road. They've been detouring
around it on country roads."

"Noted," Daniela responded crisply, already
marking the atlas. "OK, here's the alternate route. We'll exit at Pueblo
Avenue, rejoin the 99 past the blockage." She paused, then added with
mechanical precision: "Adding fifteen minutes to estimated arrival time.
Let us know if you see any other posts while you have signal."

"Actually, let's stop real quick so I can give you my
phone, it looks like I'm more likely to get signal than you, and I shouldn't be
looking at this while trying to drive this thing."

The valley heat was building as the day wore on. The radio
stayed quiet. Each member of their small convoy seemed lost in their own
thoughts, processing the scale of the abandonment around them. Occasionally
they'd pass a house or farm with a hastily painted "Help" sign. Once
they saw a pickup truck that had crashed into a pole, its driver still sitting
upright behind the wheel, succumbing to the virus before the accident could
kill them.

As they approached the outskirts of Modesto, Daniela began
scanning the atlas with renewed intensity, plotting their route around the city
center. The midday sun cast a strong heat, and in the distance a thin column of
smoke rose from somewhere in the city's north- whether from an electrical fire
or something else, they couldn't tell.

"Contact ahead, approximately one mile south,"
Daniela reported suddenly, binoculars trained on the distant road. "Single
vehicle, silver Mercedes sedan. One subject visible outside the vehicle."
She paused as she assessed the scene. "Vehicle appears to have front-end
damage. Subject is; actively signaling for assistance."

Andy keyed his radio. "Sarah, hang back for as
sec." Through the windshield, he could just barely make out a glint of
metal on the horizon.

"Copy that," Sarah responded, as she let her truck
slow to a stop behind them.

"Update on subject?" Andy asked.

Daniela adjusted her optics slightly. "Female, white.
Light-colored hair. No visible weapons. Standing clear of the vehicle,
continuing to wave." She swept her view across the surrounding terrain.
"I don't see any other movement."

They approached slowly, staying in the northbound lane,
until they were about a hundred yards from the Mercedes. Andy could now make
out a figure in light-colored clothing standing near the disabled vehicle's
front end, still waving periodically.

"Hello!" a woman's voice carried across the
distance. "Please, I could really use some help!"

"Stay where you are!" Andy called back through his
opened window. "Are you alone?"

"Yes! Just me! My car hit something back there, I think
the suspension's broken!"

Andy glanced at Daniela, who gave a slight nod. "Could
be a trap," Daniela said quietly, though her tone suggested she didn't
really believe it. "Though; it's a really crappy location for an ambush. A
random gravel side-road in the middle of the fields? Plus you have poor sight
lines, no cover, and multiple escape routes for potential targets."

"Agreed," Andy said. He keyed his radio again.
"Sarah, we're going to pull up closer. Stay a little bit behind us."

They rolled forward slowly, closing the distance to the
disabled Mercedes. As they got closer, the woman took a few steps back from her
car, keeping her hands visible. Andy's breath caught slightly as her features
came into focus. Even disheveled and stressed, she was stunning, the kind of
beauty that belonged in magazines, not stran