It never occurred to me that any of this could have happened. I doubt it occurred to anyone. I really don’t even know why it’s happening. It’s not important anymore.
The truth is is that we’re running out of everything: water, food and most importantly, fuel. Not long after the initial infection the military took control of everything. We were being used to transport huge amounts of supplies to Vancouver Island. All the islands out here have been quarantined. No one on or off. Not that it helped. We still lost contact with all of them anyways.
We watched as Tsawwassen terminal fell. We were taking on emergency supplies to transport to Victoria. There aren’t many who have access to the wheelhouse anymore. Authorized personnel only. So there weren’t many people who actually saw the carnage as it was happening. The military checkpoint on the causeway was overrun. Whether it was overrun by the infected or just survivors looking to get off the mainland we’re not sure. Perhaps it was both.
There had been a camp set up at the end of the causeway of people who were awaiting evacuation. But the order never came. When it was becoming clear that the ships weren’t going to be used to evacuate anyone these people began testing the limits of the military checkpoint and their patience. There were thousands of refugees. I’m actually surprised it didn’t happen sooner. Someone pulled a gun, that’s all I know about how it started. We could hear the gunfire from the bridge. They sounded like toy guns from this distance, but we could see the real damage they were causing.
It was someones bright idea to turn Victoria into refugee camp. That’s where the government decided to make a stand. Victoria turned into a war zone. It was all over the news. It didn’t take long for people to turn on each other, for things to get out of control. The news outlets were told there was an infection in the refugee camp they had set up at UVic. The military quarantined the camp and claimed they quelled the infection. No survivors, but that didn’t stop others from trying to get to the camps.
Our military liaison ordered us to stay docked to finish taking on supplies. Most of the other military personnel had been called off the ship to reinforce the checkpoint. This was our chance. As captain, I gave the order. We were getting out of here. We had to do it. Things were falling apart here, and if we remained dockside it would have just been a matter of time. The bridge crew overpowered our liaison and took his weapons. He didn’t resist too strongly. I think even he knew this is was his best chance to survive.
We could all see the hordes of people making their way into the compound. No one knew if they were infected or not, but the gunfire had stopped. Mixed in with the oncoming masses were civilians and military alike. It wasn’t likely that these were just refugees anymore.
The mass of people was getting closer to the ship. We had to get away from here. We had some military personnel stationed on the upper car deck. Thank god it was already fully loaded with supplies and the ramp was raised. I made an announcement on the PA to those soldiers to open fire, in an effort to buy us time to depart. The soldiers laid down on the deck to get better lines of sight on the group of infected running towards the ramp. They opened fire.
The deckhands were struggling to let the lines go. There was an issue with the hydraulic lines. The Chief Officer quickly grabbed an axe and ran to over the lines. The ship shuttered as the lines snapped.
Once those bow doors were shut we were ok. Nothing is getting through those doors. Nothing did get through. We were supposed to drop off these supplies in Victoria Harbour, but by the time we got there we learned that it had fallen too. There was nothing left. Unfortunately, in our haste to leave Tsawwassen we were forced to leave behind precious supplies. Some medical supplies, weapons, and several fuel trucks were still on the terminal.
The truth is is that we’re running out of everything: water, food and most importantly, fuel. It’s been weeks and we’ve sent our rescue boats to scout some of the Gulf Islands ahead of us, but all of them so far are infected. I believe we should work our way up the coast to the Queen Charlottes, but we need those supplies left in Tsawwassen to get us there. So here we are making our approach in the middle of the night using only our searchlights. There are no lights left on the shore, the grid has been down for a couple weeks already. It doesn’t look good, those things everywhere, but what choice do we have?