by Hunt, Jack
As Ferris continued to pepper him with questions, Terry came in the door, a look of concern on his face. “Uh, Ferris, you might want to see this.”
“What is it?”
Terry looked at the old couple and motioned for him to step outside.
One of the other officers watched over Mitch and his wife while he and Corey ducked outside. Vern and Noah were chatting and having a cigarette. Terry pointed southwest. “Found two bodies down by the water a few hundred yards from here. One is a ranger, the other an inmate. Both were shot.”
Ferris made a gesture for him to lead the way. They hurried through the forest, a sense of dread washing over them. The thought of them making it to Whitefish rocked him to the core. The department only had sixteen officers to police the ski resort town. It was challenging at the best of times but now? The thought of Ella and his unborn child came to his mind.
“If they weren’t armed before they are now,” Terry said as they trudged through the darkness. Terry wasn’t aware of what Mitch had told them, or the danger they posed if they managed to make it to Whitefish.
18
Vegas was gone in a cloud of dark smoke. The glitz and glamour had been reduced to rubble, and a smoldering mess. Unable to sleep, Tyler had been up early that morning to witness the first rays of light as it gave way to the horror of a world without power. He pawed at his eyes, wiping away sleepy dust and hoping to forget the faces of the Asian men. Most of the night he’d expected the fourth guy to come back with even more gang members. He didn’t. Some learned their lessons fast while others preferred to fall rather than admit defeat. Tyler sat alone on the roof watching the sun come up over a smoke-filled city looking for a glimmer of hope, a sign that this had all just been a bad dream. But there was nothing. There were no sirens. No cavalry to save the day. No FEMA. Just a deafening silence. He was used to the hum of the city, the clatter of workers and seeing the sidewalks filled with tired folk nursing coffee on their way to work. But the streets were barren. Although the military weren’t roaming the streets, he knew it wouldn’t be long before they would.
It was still hard to believe it had happened at all. Fires burned out of control, smoke drifted and then the echo of a gun firing alerted him to the harsh reality of a nation in distress. This was just the beginning, the tip of the iceberg, his father would say. It wouldn’t take long for a city to unravel. A few fires, a lack of police, plenty of people injured, and desperation would soon kick in. No surveillance cameras in operation presented new opportunities for criminals. Looting of businesses and home invasions would come first, followed by rape, murder and gangs seeking control of neighborhoods. An initial show of force by the government would be next but by then chaos would have spread across the nation, and America would become a war zone as people fought for control.
When his uncle appeared beside him holding a cup of steaming hot coffee, Tyler thanked him. They sat on the lip of the roof drinking and talking about the future or lack thereof. Although Lou was a diehard prepper, his military background meant he believed the nation would bounce back from it. He had hope. Tyler’s father? For him, it couldn’t be further from the truth. He was anti-government. He didn’t believe for one minute they would help, and if they did, it was only as a means to continue to control the masses. That’s where he and Lou didn’t see eye to eye but they never let it come between them.
Blood was thicker than water.
“Oh, here,” his uncle handed him a set of keys to the 1979 CJ5 4 x 4 Jeep and informed him that he wouldn’t be going with him.
“You want me to take it? Ah man, I can’t take it, Lou. It’s all you’ve got,” Tyler said giving the keys back to him. Lou placed them back in his hand and wrapped his fingers around them tightly.
“I can’t go with you, kid, but I can prepare you for the road.”
“Why? Come with us,” Tyler said gripping the keys. “Corey and my father would want you there.”
“She won’t make the journey, Tyler. And everything we need is here anyway.”
“Then I’ll stay.”
“No. You need to go. For your brother’s and father’s sake.”
Tyler snorted. “He’ll be fine.”
“He will. You won’t,” Lou said taking a sip of his coffee and looking out across the city. “We aren’t getting any younger, and I know your father has regrets over the way he treated you.”
“Regrets? Please.”
“He told me.”
“Yeah, in between bellyaching about my choice to leave?”
“Every time he phones.”
“Which is basically never.”
Lou chuckled. “Your father calls every couple of weeks to touch base and see how you’re doing.”
“And yet he never asks to speak to me.”
“He won’t. He’s a stubborn man, Tyler. I’ve told him he was wrong to force his ways onto you boys but you’ve got to understand. In his mind he was doing what was best — what was right by you.”
“Right for him, you mean?”
“For all of you.”
Silence stretched between them.
“It’s over a thousand miles. If you rotate driving, and you don’t stop except to gas up, and you avoid the main cities, you should get to Whitefish in about sixteen to twenty hours from now, give or take. Worst-case scenario it takes you a couple of days. But don’t give anyone a ride or help. No matter what situation they’re in. Don’t trust anyone.” He looked out again. “It’s going to get a lot worse before it gets better. I’ve already put together some food for you to take, a few bags of gear with several rifles and handguns, and plenty of ammo. I want you to head north on 318 then switch over to I-15 once you hit Pocatello. That route will keep you away from Salt Lake. It’s a straight shot, mostly small towns but don’t underestimate them. I mean that.”
“I won’t.”
After finishing his coffee and tossing the dregs over the edge, he pulled out a pack of smokes and lit one. Lou looked at his watch. “The others are still sleeping. You should head out soon. Get a head start before the rest of the city stirs.”
“I doubt they’ve rested,” Tyler said. “Lou. Are you sure you won’t come with us? What happens if that guy comes back?”
“He’ll regret it.”
“I won’t be here to help.”
“Kid, I did five tours in the forces. I think I can handle myself.”
Tyler smiled as Lou got up and patted him on the back. “Don’t sit out here long. I want to show you the route on the map.” Just as he walked away, he stopped and turned around. “She’s a good-looking woman, Tyler. Give her time. Sometimes that’s all they need.” Tyler’s lip curled as Lou disappeared down into the store. He downed the rest of his coffee and headed down.
When he came back into his room, Nate was crawling out of his sleeping bag. “For such a hard floor I slept considerably well.”
“That’s good to know,” Tyler said. “Roll it up. You’ll need it.”
“We having breakfast?”
“If you’re lucky,” he replied. He snatched up his bag from the end of his bed. Taking that damn thing with him everywhere he went had become ingrained in him like a habit he couldn’t get rid of. Now he was grateful.
“What’s your problem?” Nate asked as Tyler went to head out. “I apologized to her. Anyone would think I stole from you.”
Tyler turned, walked back over to him and squinted at him. “Trust is earned, and you might have won her over but it’s going to take more than swooping in to save the day to earn mine.”
“And I thought she was the one with high standards,” he said with a smirk.
Tyler narrowed his gaze then exited. As he came out into the corridor he nearly walked straight into Erika as she came out of the bathroom. “Whoa, sorry,” he said.
“Morning,” she said in a low voice, diverting her eyes and raking a hand through her damp hair. She was fully dressed in casual clothes and he hardly recognized her. She was wearing tight je
ans, a thin long-sleeved green top and flats. Erika flung a white towel over her shoulder as she walked on. There was a sweet scent to her like apples. He breathed it in and smiled as he stepped to one side. He took a moment to glance at her ass before heading up for breakfast. That morning Barb had put on a big spread — bacon, eggs, toast, beans and fried tomatoes. The sweet smell of coffee permeated the air.
“Ah you shouldn’t have.”
“You got to have something in your stomach before you leave.”
Barb was a few years younger than Lou, a white-haired beauty that often reminded him of Paula Deen, with her big personality and infectious smile. Barb suffered with MS and had for years been fighting the crippling disease. Her ability to taste anything had gone, she’d lost a considerable amount of weight and she wasn’t very steady on her feet anymore. He understood Lou’s reasons for staying. A sense of the familiar was often enough to keep a person content even in the worst circumstances but he wished Lou was coming. Having him riding shotgun would have certainly put his mind at ease, especially when he didn’t know where he stood with the other two.
After he took a seat at the table, Nate and Erika joined them a few minutes later. Erika had a smile on her face and was laughing at some joke Nate had told her on the way in. He eyed Tyler with a smug look that made him second-guess his decision to let him stay.
“Now you take as much as you want,” Barb said. Lou had everyone link hands and he prayed, thanking God for what they had, and asking for his help for the journey ahead. Unlike his father, Lou was a firm believer in God.
“Dear, before you go, let me take a look at that arm of yours. We’ll clean it up and I’ll wrap it in a new bandage,” Barb said to Erika. She nodded and cut Tyler a glance.
Over breakfast, Lou showed him the route on the map and pointed out a town that a fellow Army buddy lived in. “His name is Ralph Brunson. I’ve tried reaching him by ham radio but I’m getting no answer. He could be dead for all I know. I’ll keep trying while you’re on the road but if I don’t get through and you make it there, you just tell him that I sent you, and you’ll be good. No doubt he would replenish your supplies and hopefully give you some gas. We go way back. But just a word of warning. He’s not all there. He suffered a fair amount of head trauma from tours overseas. I mean, the times I have chatted with him it’s not been too bad but the years haven’t been good. Oh, and don’t stare too long at his scar.”
“His scar?” Tyler asked.
Lou made a gesture to his forehead. “He’s a little self-conscious and… well, just don’t.”
“Roger that.”
Tyler glanced at the other two. Nate was stuffing his face with food and paying no attention. Erika was listening intently, nodding her head. Right then, Lou turned to Erika. “You know how to fire a weapon?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“Okay. Before you head out, Tyler here will show you.”
“I can do that,” Nate said with a mouthful of food.
“No. I need you to give me a hand loading up the Jeep.”
“Look, is that necessary?” Erika asked.
“Loading up the Jeep or knowing how to fire a gun?”
“No, I meant, don’t you think we might be taking things a little extreme?”
Barb placed a hand on her shoulder. “Darlin’, had your friend not been there brandishing a gun last night, things would have got real extreme. It’s important to learn. I wasn’t one for guns but once you learn how to properly use one, you’ll feel safer. Trust me. You understand?”
Hearing it come from another woman must have helped as she nodded. Once breakfast was finished, Tyler took her up onto the roof and lined up some bottles on one of the steel air vents. “Okay, it’s pretty simple.” He took her through the basics. He wasn’t expecting miracles from her but as long as she knew how to hold a gun, load, unload, clear a jam, and fire, she would be good to go. The chances of her having to use it were now high and the more people who knew how to shoot, the better chance of their survival. “So remember, focus on the front sight and maintain equal height and light between the front and rear sights. That’s it. And then slowly breathe out as you squeeze the trigger.”
Crack.
The bottle smashed into pieces. Tyler squinted. “Not bad. Okay.”
Another shot and she missed, the next one she got it. “That’s good.”
He stood behind her and provided guidance. She leaned into him and he caught the aroma of her perfume. He felt his pulse speed up as she fired a few more rounds until she had taken out each of the bottles. “Well damn, girl, you are a natural.”
Her cheeks flushed. “Yeah, right.”
“No, I’m serious. You should have seen my first shots. I think I took out a bird, a bicyclist and a stray cat before I hit the target.”
She started laughing as he continued to take her through some safety steps to ensure that she didn’t shoot herself or anyone else nearby. Once finished, she thanked him and headed down to prepare to leave.
Tyler thanked Lou, and gave him and Barb a big hug before slipping behind the wheel. Lou leaned against the Jeep and gave them a reminder.
“Remember. You stick together out there. Don’t leave anyone behind. Watch their back, and they’ll watch yours. And if you find yourself in trouble, and you have no other choice but to kill, do it without hesitation. I don’t want to find out you never made it. You hear me?”
They all nodded, and he patted the top of the Jeep and then went over and hit the red button on the wall. The garage door went up and Barb walked over to Lou and wrapped her arm around his waist. The Jeep rolled out and Tyler gave one final glance in his rearview mirror. Would it be the last time he saw Lou alive? That uncertainty bothered him. He’d become like a father to him. As Lou and Barb bid them farewell, and Tyler gave the engine gas, he felt his stomach churn.
What if they didn’t make it?
19
“We can’t go that way,” Erika said, motioning for Tyler to take a different route. They’d only been on the road a couple of minutes, and made it a few miles from the surplus store, when she was barking orders. She had the map spread out on her lap and even though Lou had marked out which roads to take in red, and had made it clear not to take I-15, she wanted to go against that.
“But…” Tyler began to say.
“Midway, Utah, is a straight shot up I-15 then onto 189. If we take this route, we will be way off the beaten path.”
“Why didn’t you say something back at the house? At least then we could have got Lou’s input,” he said gripping the wheel tightly as he swerved around stalled vehicles. He glanced at Nate in the rear with Bailey. He had this permanent grin on his face as if he found it all amusing.
“He seemed pretty adamant. I didn’t want to interject.”
“But you have no problem doing it now.”
She folded up the map and tucked it between the seats. “You said you wanted to give me a ride. This is the direction we need to go.” The next ten minutes was spent in silence as they navigated the barren streets of North Vegas and looked on in shock at what had occurred within the first twenty-four hours. People weren’t rioting but looters had taken to the streets and busted into different stores, dragging out appliances, boxes of sneakers and electronics, but that wasn’t the worst of it. It looked as if someone had purposely pushed vehicles across the road to block off the ramp to I-15. Why? He wasn’t going to keep going to find out. Tyler yanked the wheel hard to the right and headed up Gilder Street, into a typical residential area.
“Where are you going?” she asked looking back over her shoulder.
“Seriously, we have a lot of ground to cover. Are you planning on being like this all the time?” he asked, focusing on the road ahead. “I’m the driver. I make the decisions. The road was blocked. I picked a different route.”
She unfolded the map again and he could see the wheels in her brain turning over.
“But we could have gone south, then
hung a right and tried the other exit.”
“You know what, how about you leave the driving to me, and you just keep your eyes out for trouble.”
Bailey barked once and Tyler smirked. “See, even your dog agrees with me.”
Her eyes narrowed and she put her feet up on the dashboard.
Tyler had to take the Jeep up onto the sidewalk to get around several of the vehicles. The Jeep handled it with ease, bumping back down on the road. They’d only seen three other older vehicles working that morning which meant they would be a target. If not now, soon. As they drove past some of the residential homes, things looked moderately calm. Vehicles were in driveways, curtains pulled back and some of the homeowners were outside talking among themselves. He figured by now someone would have attempted to stop them and ask for a ride, or at least try to take the vehicle, but that hadn’t happened. For a brief moment he couldn’t help but feel his thoughts as a kid had been validated. His father was wrong. Sure, he was right about a disaster happening but he was wrong about people. Inherently, humanity came to each other’s aid. Of course those Asian men at Lou’s had a different take on it and that was to be expected, but overall, the general population gave a shit about each other, at least that’s how it had appeared the night planes crashed into buildings and tore through the city like a hot knife sliding through butter. The truth was, in a city of 641,000, people would be more focused on getting what they needed to survive the first couple of days than on escaping or attacking others. They would be locked into a short-term plan — find food, medication, hygiene products, water, and make sure they could last until the lights came back on — but that was faulty thinking. Survivalists thought long term, and in doing so their short term would be fine. People like his uncle and father were already ahead of the curve.
It was also the reason why they hadn’t seen people breaking into homes yet. Yes, a few windows of businesses were shattered, and yes, they had seen groups of teens running out of a computer store with armloads of notebooks and tablets, but that was because they believed the nation would spring back. They were taking advantage of a volatile situation. They were of the mindset that this was temporary, nothing more than a glitch in the system. The fact was new behaviors were hard to learn, people always fell back on the system that was comfortable. Society didn’t teach people how to embrace the uncomfortable but his father had. Tyler gripped the wheel tighter as memories flooded his mind. He hated the thought that everything he’d taught them growing up was about to pay off, as that meant acknowledging his father was right and for so long, he’d told himself a different story.
