Radioactive Omnibus- A Prepper Survival Story by BJ Knights

three more miles on the left. You’ll see the PamTech sign,” she said.
     
    “How do we even know that the drive is still there? I mean what if it got looted with the rest of the city?” Coyle asked.
     
    “From what Matt told me, you wouldn’t be able to find it unless you knew where to look,” Jim said.
     
    Jim’s confidence began to dissipate the further they rode into downtown. The conditions just kept getting worse, and the number of people they saw along the street started to increase. They didn’t scatter when they saw the military truck.
     
    “Get down,” Jim said.
     
    Jim pushed Annie’s head down behind the walls of the truck bed. He scanned the people on the sides of the street. The truck wove in and out of random parked cars that were abandoned during the evacuation. Suddenly, he could see them. Hidden at their sides or around their backs were guns. His eyes lifted towards the buildings above them. He flipped the safety off his AR-15 and slowly brought the butt of the gun up to his shoulder. 
     
    “Keep an eye out for the top floors,” Jim said.
     
    Twink pointed ahead. “There it is.”
     
    “Thirty seconds, Jim,” Brett shouted.
     
    The people alongside the street were growing in numbers. Bats, crowbars, rifles, guns, knives; most everyone that was outside was armed. Jim kept his finger just over the trigger and looked into the scope. He must have counted at least sixty people on his side alone.
     
    “Coyle, how many you have on your side?” Jim asked.
     
    “At least forty,” he shouted.
     
    The truck was moving slower now that the thickened cars were piling up. Brett turned around and saw Jim and Coyle with their rifles at the ready when the truck finally came to a stop.
     
    “We’ll have to hoof it from here, boys,” Brett said.
     
    Jim jumped out of the truck and helped Annie down. He told her to stay behind him. Samantha piled out next and grabbed one of the ARs. Jim looked at her with his brows raised.
     
    “You remember how to use that?” Jim asked.
     
    Samantha racked the chamber and checked the scope.
     
    “It’s not my fault dad wanted another boy,” Samantha said.
     
    Twink jumped out of the driver side and kept his rifle on the circling crowds.  They met up at the front of the truck, and Brett motioned up ahead.
     
    “There it is,” Brett said.
     
    Jim felt the adrenaline coursing through his veins. His heart beat faster. The heightened sense of awareness that allowed him to see and feel everything around him was coming back; it was like riding a bicycle.
     
    “Samantha. Coyle. You two keep Annie between you. Brett and Twink, you two take point. I’ll bring up the rear. Let’s move,” Jim said.
    The crowd moved towards the truck, and once Jim and his group were safely inside the lobby, the crowd tore it apart. They took whatever they could find and swarmed it like ants piling on crumbs left on the ground.
     
    “Well, there goes our ride,” Coyle said.
     
    Jim jumped over the security desk and dug into the bottom left drawer and pulled out a guard key. He walked over to the door and entered the code: 4-2-8-5 and slid the card key through the reader. Samantha, Annie, and Coyle followed Jim inside while Twink and Brett stood watch at the door.
     
    Jim pulled the red filing cabinet from the wall. There was nothing behind it except concrete. He ran his hands along the cold gray to look for any creases, but couldn’t find any.
     
    “He said there was a panel,” Jim blurted out.
     
    “There’s a panel,” Coyle said.
     
    Jim dropped down to get a better look. He ran his hands along the baseboard and found a small groove. He couldn’t see it, but he could feel it. He dug his nail into it and pried a section of the paneling off the wall. The piece of wood concealed a small safe no larger than a book. Jim typed in the code and it sprang open. He was met with the sight of a small hard drive the size of his index finger.
     
    “Well, that was