“They got to be somewhere, but I imagine they’re out in the sticks. They are probably better prepared for this situation in their own homes than in the town.” Priest replied.
The two continued on, passing grim building after grim building. None showed signs of life. They turned back onto the major road, heading through town.
“Whoa, stop the truck.” Priest called to Shaw.
“What? Why? What’s wrong?” Shaw was looking around for something he might have missed.
“No, no. Take it easy. Look over your right shoulder. What is that?”
Shaw turned to look, “It’s a motorcycle shop. And?”
“So, what are we missing with other mission needs?”
Shaw thought for a while, “Ah. Maybe something quick and more maneuverable. Maybe to scout or lead the infected somewhere. I like it, but you feel up to riding?”
Priest looked at him with an enormous grin, “Hell yeah! I’m ready to ride.”
“Well then, let’s go look and see what they have for sale.”
Shaw turned off the engine, and the two sat there for a couple minutes listening for any movement from the infected. After hearing nothing, they exited the Jeep and walked over to the door of the bike warehouse. Priest walked up and grabbed the padlock on the door.
“Shit. How are we going to remove that quietly?”
“Let the doctor operate,” Shaw said as we moved past him with a pair of bolt cutters.
“Where the hell did you find those?” Priest looked at him in disbelief.
“One never reveals their secrets. Ok, I picked them up at the 4x4 dealership.” Shaw grinned as he made quick work of the padlock. “After you, fine sir.”
They entered the warehouse and found themselves in the maintenance shop. There were a few bikes in pieces and a couple other waiting for repairs. Those repairs were probably never coming. They continued through a doorway on the right and came out into the showroom.
There were a few used bikes sitting there, but in pristine condition. With it being dark and Priest’s vision being filtered through the NVG’s, it made it hard to see the immaculate condition of the bikes in the showroom.
As he continued to scan, his eyes stopped on a particular bike sitting by itself. We walked over to it and ran his hands over it. Shaw joined him after noticing that he had stopped.
“Brand new Kawasaki Ninja 1000,” Priest said, somewhat in a daze.
“Yep, you think it fits the bill?”
“Shit, yeah!” Priest said, trying to contain himself. After a quick search, they found the keys and some riding gear in the pro shop. Priest turned the bike on to walk it out of the shop. They were back out at the Jeep and with Priest straddling the bike.
“Okay, when I crank this thing it will be loud as shit, you ready to roll out?” Shaw gave Priest the thumbs up. Priest cranked the Ninja, and it growled to life. He put it in gear and took off like a shot.
“Shit,” Shaw had to stomp on the Jeep to keep up with Priest. “Crazy son of a bitch!”
Priest had a feeling come over him he hadn’t experienced in a long time. The freedom of riding a bike on the open road. He thought about Lia holding on to him while they cruised all day and experiencing the freedom together. Probably why he had grabbed an extra set of gear from the shop.
The two reached the compound and settled in for the night.
The next morning everyone was in the dining hall, eating breakfast and listening to Shaw and Priest tell the story of obtaining the motorcycle. They all joked about riding it and how cool it was to have it as part of their transportation options.
Webb looked at Priest as he was pouring hot sauce on his eggs, “I think we need to check in with the scientists and see where we are with things.”. The eggs were powdered, but with the hot sauce, they weren’t too bad.
“I was thinking the same thing, but I kind of thought you were already in the know,” Priest said with a sly smile on his face.
“Dude, shut up,” Webb said shyly.
Priest just laughed, “Yeah, we can go down there and check it out.” Minutes later, the two entered the lab. Everyone was busy looking through microscopes, mixing samples and other research type actions. That’s what it looked like to Webb and Priest, anyway.