The next day Adam woke up and met with his friends at another restaurant that only seemed open for brunch hours. After eating an omelet, some variation of bacon, and sausage, with coffee for 38 caps, Adam felt ready to get moving again. However before he did he had a promise to keep."WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Ray shouted as he stood up through the hatch while Adam more or less did donuts around the area in front of the Tower where he was able to drive. If the roads were clearer he would have taken Ray further but with the roads being so unreliable he was unsure when he would be able to turn around again once he got going. And Adam had no intention of doing the trip entirely in reverse. However Ray did not seem to mind as Adam sped around as fast as he could manage in the small space while Ray seemed to be having the time of his life. Almost no one had cars anymore, so perhaps it was only natural to be excited to ride around in one, like he was. In either case Adam drove him around for about 20 minutes before finally pulling back out in front of the Tower.
"You are the man!" Ray said, holding his hand out for a high five and handshake. Adam obliged with a smile and gave him what he wanted.
"I made a promise. I try to keep my promises."
"Well no one will say you aren't a man of your word, I tell you that." Ray chuckled. "You taking off?"
"Yeah, it's time I move on. This has been great but I have more stuff to offload and a few more stops to make. I'm heading to the Raft next, excited to see what that place is like."
"Ah, well if you are heading to the raft next be careful. The people are good and all, but before they closed their borders I heard they had some issues that were plaguing them. I don't have any specifics just that it might be rather dangerous still." Ray cautioned.
"Thank you for the warning." Adam smiled.
"Well, I gotta get back to work. Thanks again for the ride! Let me know if you are ever in town again!" Ray said as he began to walk away, waving.
"He sure is an… energetic man…" Mira said, not sure what to make of Ray.
"He is like a child, unable to use all his energy." Deccanus remarked.
"Maybe he likes to take long naps." Percy chimed in. Adam just looked at them all.
"I didn't know I invited the peanut gallery along with me." He teased.
"Peanut Gallery?" Percy asked. Adam considered explaining but then decided it really was not worth it. So instead he just waved him off.
"You three ready to go? Fyre is already in the back and is probably itching to go kill some communists. Unfortunately I will have to disappoint him."
The three nodded and then began to file into the APC alongside Adam who once more set out on the road. Sometimes Adam felt more like a post apocalyptic trucker. He spent a large portion of his time driving from place to place, a trunk full of goods that need to be sold. Of course he did far more than transport goods, but it did make him chuckle thinking of it that way. Perhaps one day, if he loses the ability to continue being a scaver like he was, he could start a transport company. He already was considering starting a proper salvage company, though various events outside of his control put those ideas on the backburner. If he were to open such a service he would need more than just his APC, maybe a few box trucks or something. It was food for thought, at least.
The trip out of the incredibly hazardous roads that led to the Tower was no less difficult the second time around. The only saving grace was that Adam had at least some idea of which roads might be feasible so it took half the time to make it through. Once he was out he was on more open and familiar roads again so he set his course for The Raft.
In retrospect it might have been a good idea to bring Eve along anyway, after all he was visiting various settlements he knew nothing about, well two, anyway. It might not have hurt to bring Eve along so she could tell him what she knew before they arrived. Or, to that effect, Adam could have done his research before leaving. However time had been at a premium lately and, honestly, he found it far more fun to go in blind. Knowing that the settlement wasn't like Hell was enough for him to feel secure in just showing up. Though his one concern at the moment was if they would even let him onto The Raft. After all, as far as he knew, they had stopped letting people come in. Though he hoped that with Famine's defeat they would have changed that policy. There was only one way to know for certain though.
The ride along the bank of the lake was quite nice, even if the nice blue water that was made so by the invasive species of zebra muscles had turned a shade of green. Still, it was nice, it was at times like this it really did feel like the world was alright. Despite all the strife and conflict, he could still take a drive alongside the lake and take his mind off his worries. Regardless of the fact he was in a multi-tonned infantry fighting vehicle manned by a crew of multiple combat veterans past his time.
Adam began to see the settlement appear in the distance. As described it was a flotilla of boats all strung together with a mess of different bridges, ropes, ribbons, and all other manner of means to tie them all together. At the center of this huge flotilla was a massive tanker. The sort you would expect to see on the Ocean, not in Lake Michigan. However here it was, sitting right in the center of this mass of boats.
Regardless of the logistics of how this all came together, the boats, strung together, actually covered a huge area. Far bigger than Midway, even if you include the huge tracks of empty parking lots and plane runways in Midway. The sight was quite impressive. There was one small problem. There seemed to be no way to get on board.