Saint Anthony was in my tent when I woke up checking my vital stats. I asked if I could see Kat and he said it was fine, so I got out of bed and went across to the next tent. She had a male nurse checking up on her as well, and she got out of her bed and ran to hug me. I asked if she knew what was going on, and all she knew was pretty much what Saint Anthony told us. We were cured! God, cured! I STILL can't get used to that! It feels so surreal!
After we reunited and got changed, Saint Anthony collected us for breakfast along with a few other people. He took us up to a sports bar and grill that was converted into a general family restaurant. Sitting at the table with us was the security chief of police Theresa Caldwell, a couple of guards whose names I couldn't remember and the mayor of Rhinelander, Thaddeus Shaw. Thaddeus insisted on meeting new members of Rhinelander after they've been purified, and he always brought Theresa and some guards with him just for safety purposes.
Thaddeus seemed to be a pretty likable person. He was friendly, even insisted on us calling him Thaddeus, not Mayor Shaw or some other formal address. He gave us a quick briefing of Rhinelander's recent history. The mayor that held office before him hit the lottery and diverted most of his personal funds into the solar roadways. The technology was still being developed, so Rhinelander became a pilot town, and even after the zombie apocalypse, the town's still had an uninterrupted completely self sufficient power supply. They quickly acted to dig the trenches once they were first attacked by a small wave of zombies and when the system was complete, it proved incredibly effective in warding off future advances.
He gave us a quick tour of Rhinelander as we road in an electric car. The car so quite, you could roll the windows down and hear the tires rolling on the ground. He drove us around and showed off the library and school. I noticed that there wasn't a single inch of pavement; the roads were made entirely of the hexagonal solar panels that made up the highway. Even the parking lots were made completely of solar panels. Every building had panels on their roofs and a couple sides of most buildings were also covered in panels. Thaddeus saw me in awe of so many panels everywhere. The town looked futuristic as a result, almost like it was a city made of mirrors.
He took us up to Hodag Park right next to Boom Lake, and I noticed off in the distance vast amounts of solar panels floating out in the water. Thaddeus said about 70 percent of the lakes' surfaces were covered in panels, and they're still making them to this day. I asked how that was possible. Surely, they'd need resources, and he said they use a barter system. He explained that Rhinelander, with all their solar panels, produce so much excess energy that they store it in giant batteries and representatives of other cities trade goods for the batteries. He said just last week, a truck heading back to Texas left with a trailer full of batteries down I-39. Suddenly, I remembered that truck. So that's what was in the locked trailer... I didn't mention anything to him about me being the cause of those batteries never making it there.
I asked if he knew how many settlements were out there, and he said 17 that he knew of. There were cities that were able to barricade themselves off scattered across the entire country. I told them how we were turned away from Indianapolis, and he said that's what most settlements will do. They don't want to risk any carriers entering the cities and infecting anyone. He told me there's a little more than 2500 people living here and my mouth hung open. 2500... It's been so long since I've seen that many people living together at once. Hell, the last time I was with a group of people was back in Lock Haven Hospital, and we were only 13.
I noticed the kids playing in the park, and Thaddeus said we have several families staying here, and they aren't just living; they're growing. They had two schools that served as K-12, a hospital and even a justice system. Fire, police and ambulance were rolled into one emergency service, and they weren't kept busy as for the most part, Rhinelander was very peaceful.
We were shown to where we'd be staying, a small house just along the Pelican River. It wasn't very spacious, but we were pleasantly surprised to see that it had running water and of course, electricity. The only thing it didn't have was natural gas, an amenity that was in very short supply. We had to use small space heaters for warmth, and the oven was gas powered, so cooking anything was out. They grew their own food as well, and Saint Anthony supplied us with some bread, cheeses and vegetables. Kat and I broke out the last can of tuna we had and it was nice to have an actual damned sandwich again!
For not doing much of importance today, I sure am beat. After Thaddeus and Saint Anthony finished with the tour and gave us orientation, Kat and I walked around all over town meeting people and seeing the many lakes and rivers and parks the town had. The more we saw, the more comfortable the place became. It was almost intoxicating, like a paradise that shouldn't exist among a Hell on Earth. A little something in the back of my head buzzed in alarm, but I simply ignored it. I just want to enjoy my stay here in Rhinelander.
Kat and I also made love for the first time feeling absolutely safe, without fear of knowing there were undead creatures just outside. We talked about staying, but then I mentioned to her that Thaddeus kept referring to use as members of the community, before we even said anything about wanting to live there. She said I shouldn't think anything of it, that it was expected that we were going to want to stay, but I just said I found it a bit odd. Sometimes I do over think things. Anyway, there's still much more I want to write about, but right now, writing in a fresh, clean and comfortable bed is making it too hard for my eyes to stay open.
Until tomorrow.
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