but found himself playing along.
"Six-month project minimum" Mike started "and that's not taking into account any bad weather or technical problems..."
"Cut the bullshit; what's this going to cost me?" he joked, making Mike laugh.
"Just let me know if you need anything" he finished before he walked away calling Ash to stop playing and follow.
He was happy with the engineering side, but was worried about Chris. He looked very tired and had been working long hours with Ana on the farm. Pete had taken days off hunting at a time to help him.
He decided that the Rangers new priority was another recruitment drive. He walked into ops to see Lexi and Joe kitting up for their tasks.
"New objective, people" he declared confidently as he strode in "find more survivors. We need more hands here, and we've been focusing too internally."
They looked at each other, then back to Dan to accept their new task.
"Take an extra jerrycan of diesel and try to stay out as long as you can; be careful." He said, then opened a map to give them directions so as not to overlap.
He kitted up himself and called Ash to him. He put on his Christmas E&E dog vest with a spare water bottle and packet of food and went to tell Steve where they were going.
HAPPINESS IS PURPOSE
He didn't really know how to explain it, not without upsetting people, but Joe was happier now than he had ever been. Not at first, not when he was sleeping on the floor of his shop and waiting for someone to tell him what to do, but now. Right now, this very moment, is the best moment of his life so far.
He was a failure before. He tried hard, but just wasn't good enough. So they said.
Now he was driving a hard-core truck, carrying an assault rifle and a handgun. Not only did he have all this great stuff, he now knew how to use it.
Joe was under no illusion that he was great; Dan and Steve were both ex-military – that was obvious. Lexi was fit and could fight, plus she'd already proven herself. He never mentioned this, in case the thought of stencilling a bad guy on the wing of your Land Rover was distasteful. Shit, even the vet had seen more action than him.
He wasn't immature about it, and certainly wasn't out to look for trouble, but he wanted to prove himself. He was fitter, stronger and more capable to handle himself than ever before. He practiced with his weapons until he was confident in himself. The only remaining test was a real life scenario.
If he followed the instructions from Dan and Steve, he would avoid problems. That wouldn't prove his worth much, but he was determined not to screw up.
He drove west, and after an hour started stopping at the places most likely to have attracted survivors. He found evidence of people having looted, indicating survivors had been there, but no evidence of people still there.
Another hour and still no sign of life. By lunchtime he had crossed into Wales, and struck gold.
In truth, they found him, not the other way around.
He drove along a lane into a village and was so surprised to see another vehicle coming towards him that he didn't react straight away.
The other car, a normal family estate, stopped in the road. Joe stopped and the two had a standoff for a few seconds.
Joe forced himself to think; what was he supposed to do now? He had expected to find grateful people huddled in terrible conditions waiting for rescue.
The driver of the estate acted first, by reversing away. Joe snapped out hid daze and dropped his own vehicle into gear to follow. He flashed his lights desperately, trying to get them to stop. They didn't, and after a poorly executed J-turn, were pursued by Joe to a campsite. The occupants of the car, two young women he saw, fled behind the buildings shouting.
A booming sound echoed out as a woman appeared from the side of a caravan, lowering a shotgun to point it at Joe.
He was sure this was a defensive thing, and that they were not attacking him. He switched off his engine and slowly climbed
"Six-month project minimum" Mike started "and that's not taking into account any bad weather or technical problems..."
"Cut the bullshit; what's this going to cost me?" he joked, making Mike laugh.
"Just let me know if you need anything" he finished before he walked away calling Ash to stop playing and follow.
He was happy with the engineering side, but was worried about Chris. He looked very tired and had been working long hours with Ana on the farm. Pete had taken days off hunting at a time to help him.
He decided that the Rangers new priority was another recruitment drive. He walked into ops to see Lexi and Joe kitting up for their tasks.
"New objective, people" he declared confidently as he strode in "find more survivors. We need more hands here, and we've been focusing too internally."
They looked at each other, then back to Dan to accept their new task.
"Take an extra jerrycan of diesel and try to stay out as long as you can; be careful." He said, then opened a map to give them directions so as not to overlap.
He kitted up himself and called Ash to him. He put on his Christmas E&E dog vest with a spare water bottle and packet of food and went to tell Steve where they were going.
HAPPINESS IS PURPOSE
He didn't really know how to explain it, not without upsetting people, but Joe was happier now than he had ever been. Not at first, not when he was sleeping on the floor of his shop and waiting for someone to tell him what to do, but now. Right now, this very moment, is the best moment of his life so far.
He was a failure before. He tried hard, but just wasn't good enough. So they said.
Now he was driving a hard-core truck, carrying an assault rifle and a handgun. Not only did he have all this great stuff, he now knew how to use it.
Joe was under no illusion that he was great; Dan and Steve were both ex-military – that was obvious. Lexi was fit and could fight, plus she'd already proven herself. He never mentioned this, in case the thought of stencilling a bad guy on the wing of your Land Rover was distasteful. Shit, even the vet had seen more action than him.
He wasn't immature about it, and certainly wasn't out to look for trouble, but he wanted to prove himself. He was fitter, stronger and more capable to handle himself than ever before. He practiced with his weapons until he was confident in himself. The only remaining test was a real life scenario.
If he followed the instructions from Dan and Steve, he would avoid problems. That wouldn't prove his worth much, but he was determined not to screw up.
He drove west, and after an hour started stopping at the places most likely to have attracted survivors. He found evidence of people having looted, indicating survivors had been there, but no evidence of people still there.
Another hour and still no sign of life. By lunchtime he had crossed into Wales, and struck gold.
In truth, they found him, not the other way around.
He drove along a lane into a village and was so surprised to see another vehicle coming towards him that he didn't react straight away.
The other car, a normal family estate, stopped in the road. Joe stopped and the two had a standoff for a few seconds.
Joe forced himself to think; what was he supposed to do now? He had expected to find grateful people huddled in terrible conditions waiting for rescue.
The driver of the estate acted first, by reversing away. Joe snapped out hid daze and dropped his own vehicle into gear to follow. He flashed his lights desperately, trying to get them to stop. They didn't, and after a poorly executed J-turn, were pursued by Joe to a campsite. The occupants of the car, two young women he saw, fled behind the buildings shouting.
A booming sound echoed out as a woman appeared from the side of a caravan, lowering a shotgun to point it at Joe.
He was sure this was a defensive thing, and that they were not attacking him. He switched off his engine and slowly climbed
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