by Bruno Miller
“Delmont, about forty miles outside Pittsburgh.”
Ben swallowed hard when he heard the name Pittsburgh. If Martin had been forty-some miles from the blast and experienced a shock wave strong enough to take out all the glass in his house and knock him off his feet, then it was certain Pittsburgh had been reduced to ashes. Ben and the others had assumed as much from their travels, especially after driving through the fallout on their way to Maryland. Ben would never forget the eerie silence as the Blazer’s tires cut silently through the bone-colored ash that covered the interstate. They knew then that Pittsburgh was lost, but to hear about it firsthand was something else.
“Allie’s father was in Pittsburgh.” Ben thought he should let Martin know about that to hopefully avoid any awkward conversation later when Allie was around.
“I’m sorry,” Martin said. Ben could tell by the look on Martin’s face that he was a little confused, so he proceeded to explain their situation. Ben gave him the basics of where they were from, where they had been, and where they were going. And even though he was anxious to get back and eat, he took the opportunity to mention Cloverdale and invited Martin to follow them in his own vehicle, which Ben would help him outfit. He seemed interested, but Ben didn’t want to push or talk about it anymore right now.
Before heading back, he showed Martin how to prepare the MRE and made sure he was capable of operating the AR-15 he’d brought for him; it would make a better primary weapon than the pistol. Martin admitted he wasn’t very “gun-savvy,” as he put it, but he had shot what he thought was the same type of rifle at a corporate retreat once. Ben didn’t have an abundance of confidence in his ability, but at least Martin was up front about it and seemed willing to take instruction. He’d rather deal with someone like that than someone who knew enough to be dangerous but didn’t realize it. Point, shoot, reload: it wasn’t rocket science, and with ammunition to burn, it wouldn’t hurt to have someone else returning fire if they were attacked.
Chapter Twenty-One
Thankful for the meal and AR-15, Martin was eager to exact revenge on any moonshiners who might show up, and he vowed to be diligent while standing watch at the gate. The moonshiners deserved payback for what they’d put his Dana through in her final days, and Martin made no apologies about being anxious to see that happen.
Martin also thanked Ben for laying waste to the compound and the moonshiners within but regretted that he couldn’t have been a part of it. He confessed to Ben that he hoped the other moonshiners showed up so he would have a chance to settle the score, as he put it.
“If anyone shows up at the gate, they’ll have to get through me,” Martin stated.
Ben believed him; he also believed Martin would talk him to death if he didn’t pull himself away. It was obvious the guy had been locked up alone for too long. But Ben’s stomach was grumbling, and at the moment, the desire to eat outweighed any other need. Ben promised Martin someone would return soon to bring him some coffee and to check on him.
Ben headed back to the others, full of newfound confidence after his talk with Martin. At least he knew he could trust him. And he didn’t blame Martin for wanting revenge. He couldn’t imagine the mental state the poor guy was in right now. Nobody deserved to lose his wife and then be trapped in a place like this. Hopefully his determination to exact justice on the moonshiners didn’t turn into a liability for Ben and the others, but for now, he’d take the win and welcomed Martin standing watch for as long as he wanted to.
Ben really hoped he’d take him up on his offer to join them on their way to Cloverdale. It would solve two problems: getting the surplus guns and ammunition to Vince and alleviating Ben’s guilt about leaving Martin to fend for himself.
Martin told Ben he was a pencil pusher and worked for an accounting firm in Pittsburgh. He commuted into the city every day and was your typical nine-to-fiver. When it came to survival, the guy was clueless; that much he admitted. But the more Ben got to know him, the more he liked him. He had a decent outlook on things, considering what he’d been through. And he was pleasant to talk to when he wasn’t locked up in a cage, something Ben no longer held against him.
If Martin played his cards right and listened to Ben, he could roll into Cloverdale as a hero. Loaded with ammunition and weapons, he would be welcomed by Vince and the others with open arms. Not that they wouldn’t otherwise, but bringing all that to the table would ensure him a place in their community if he desired one.
But there’d be time to think about that later. Right now, Ben needed to eat and start the process of bringing supplies up from the mine. Ben thought it best not to take a break after eating and get right to it, mostly because he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to force himself to start moving again.
Through some miracle, the other moonshiners hadn’t heard the explosion or the gunshots. Maybe they were located far enough away to be insulated from the noise. Whatever the reason, Ben was grateful for it but not foolish enough to think their window of opportunity to load up and get out of here wasn’t closing fast. With full daylight only hours away, it was just a matter of time before someone showed up looking for the former occupants of this camp.
“So how’s Martin doing?” Sandy handed Ben a steaming cup of coffee when he arrived. He didn’t answer right away and instead took a big sip, inhaling the aroma. He closed his eyes for a second and enjoyed the moment he’d thought would never come. Sandy had a hot pouch of food for him as well, and she set it on the tailgate along with a brown plastic spoon. Ben sat down and unloaded all that he was carrying. It felt good to sit, and he knew then it would be hard to get back up until the coffee kicked in.
“Martin’s good. He’s willing to stand watch while we get our stuff back.”
“Joel told us all about it. That’s crazy.”
“This is a big coal mining area. It makes sense,” Allie added.
“Environmental science with Mrs. Brewer?” Joel said.
“Yep.” Allie laughed.
“Well, I’m just glad it has a functional cart. It shouldn’t take us long if we work together. Two at the bottom and the rest of us at the top to carry it out to the trucks.” Ben shoved another spoonful of food into his mouth and washed it down with more coffee.
“You want us to move the trucks closer?” Joel stood up and emptied the rest of his MRE into Gunner’s bowl. Allie did the same for Sam. Ben assumed the dogs had already eaten, based on the open bag of dog food nearby, but they shot up from their spots near the fire to lick at the meager leftovers regardless. Bajer seemed content to stay at Emma’s side and take her chances begging for some of what the kids were eating.
Ben’s mouth was full, but he nodded his approval to Joel. He was glad to see that both Joel and Allie were as eager as he was to keep things moving. He envisioned having to coax everyone into action after eating a big meal, but that wasn’t going to be the case. Even Rita was on her feet and willing to chip in. Carlos wasn’t quite up to physical activity but was walking on his own and promised to make his way up to the front gate and help Martin keep a lookout. It was more than Ben expected out of the group, but freedom was a good motivator.
He started to get a second wind as he downed his third cup of coffee and squeezed the last little bit of peanut butter from the pouch. The main house was only a couple hundred yards away, but everyone loaded into the Jeep and the Blazer for the ride anyway. Ben stayed on the tailgate and leaned to the side as Emma encouraged all three dogs to join her in the back of the truck.
Joel drove slowly as the Blazer bounced and swayed over the rough terrain, while Allie and her mother followed in the Jeep. It only took a couple of minutes to get there and back the trucks into position.
Joel volunteered himself and Allie to ride down in the cart and send the gear back up. Ben didn’t like the idea, but it was the lesser of two evils. By the trucks, he’d at least be able to hear Martin’s signal if they were attacked and in turn be able to do something about it. If he was down in the shaft, he
could only respond as quickly as the cart would bring him back to the surface.
Ben, Sandy, and the kids watched as Joel and Allie descended out of sight and into the depths of the shaft. Ben let go of the switch and hoped he’d made the right decision about sending them down. Sandy went around the room and pulled curtains away from all the windows, allowing the sunlight a chance to penetrate the dismal interior of the container. Seeing more clearly was both good and bad.
Emma was disgusted by the conditions and had to step outside for some fresh air. Bradley didn’t seem to mind as much but went outside at Ben’s request to make sure his sister was okay and didn’t fall through any rotten deck boards.
“Sam, out! Dogs, out! Go on!” Ben shooed the dogs out after the kids when he caught Sam rolling in something in the corner of the room. He didn’t want to know what she had found and certainly didn’t want to smell it all the way to Cloverdale.
Ben wished he had a way of communicating with Joel; it was taking them way too long to send the first cart back. Or maybe he was just being impatient.
“They’ll be okay,” Sandy assured him.
“I know.” He sighed and moved away from the shaft. Staring down into the dimly lit tunnel wasn’t doing him any good. “How are the kids?”
Sandy peered out the door. “They’re fine. Emma’s getting to know her new friend.” Sandy rolled her eyes and cracked a smile. “So another dog, huh?”
“Yeah, just what we needed, right?” Ben smiled back. He appreciated Sandy trying to take his mind off the fact that Joel and Allie were a hundred feet or more below ground, but it was no use. He felt his heart skip a beat when the pulley at the top of the shaft squeaked and went taut under load. The cart was finally on its way back up.
Ben wrung his hands as he watched the shaft for any signs of the cart. He was half-hoping to see the kids riding on top of it but knew they would have to stay put. He was guessing about a dozen trips, maybe less, but he was being conservative.
Slowly but surely, the mine cart materialized over the crest of the shaft, and eventually, he could see the whole thing. Joel and Allie had done a good job, filling it to the brim and then some. Ben saw rifles and ammunition cans jutting out from the cart’s profile, as well as a small red light.
“That-a-boy.” Ben had to smile as he commended Joel for his thoughtfulness. Riding front and center on top of all the gear was one of the two-way radios. The radio was turned on, and as soon as Ben had the wheel chock in place and the brake set, he reached out to Joel and Allie.
“Come in, Joel. Over.” Ben wondered if they would work inside the mine. The distance wasn’t the issue, but the rock might very well block the signal. He didn’t have to wait long for an answer.
Pshhht. “Joel here. Copy tha… You’re brea…up a…bit. Over.” Shhhhhh. The signal was mostly static and a little choppy, but it was better than nothing and a good idea on Joel’s part.
“I’ll let you know when we’re sending it back. Over.”
“Need to hurry…generator only…gas left…”
“Roger that. Over.” There was no time to waste. If the generator ran out of gas, the lights would go out and the cart would stop working. But worst of all, Joel and Allie would temporarily be stuck down there in the dark. They had flashlights, but being trapped wouldn’t be a good feeling, and he wanted to spare them that.
Immediately, Ben started handing things to Sandy and had her call the kids in on her first trip out to the truck. Ben grabbed all he could carry and made a trip out to the vehicles as well. Bradley and Emma joined the procession, along with Rita, and before long, they had the cart empty and headed back down the shaft.
He thought about sending some gas down but didn’t want to take the time to find a can or siphon it out of one of their vehicles. Besides, they were going to need all the gas they had. If he remembered correctly, both the Jeep and the Blazer were below half a tank, and Ben didn’t want to make it out of here only to run out of gas and be stuck in the middle of nowhere an hour down the road.
Ben checked his watch. It was almost 7:30 in the morning. The sun was getting bright, and already he could feel the temperature rising. Running back and forth to the truck with heavy ammunition cans wasn’t his idea of a good start to the day, but that didn’t matter.
He thought about sending one of the younger kids to see if Martin could help. Carlos could certainly manage to blow an air horn if he saw anything suspicious approach the compound, but Ben wasn’t ready to trust their security on an old man who just recently found the strength to walk on his own. Better to just keep at it until they were finished. The sooner they were done running this mine cart up and down the shaft, the better. Ben’s nerves grew thinner with every trip the old rusty bucket on wheels made; the noises it produced while under load weren’t very encouraging, either.
Ben was able to communicate with Joel well enough to understand that he and Allie thought it would take about three more loads to complete the job. He was glad to hear it. Sandy and the kids were dragging, and he was right there with them. Each load of gear carried from the cart to the vehicles seemed heavier and larger than the last, and negotiating the decrepit set of stairs that led down from the deck only added to the challenge.
Ben encouraged the others not to carry too much at once, especially the kids and Rita. The poor woman looked like she was on the verge of passing out, but she refused to sit idly and watch while they worked, despite pleading from Ben and Sandy to do just that. The last thing he wanted was for someone to turn an ankle or take a fall. A broken bone or other serious injury would be a game-changer. Of course, that was always the case, ever since the first EMP hit.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Ben was tired. They all were. Both physically and mentally drained. The only motivator was self-preservation, and it was a good one. Just the thought of being locked up in that cage they’d spent most of the night in was enough to keep him on his feet. But he was worried about the others, and even though they were a long way from leaving this place, he was already thinking about the logistics of a multi-vehicle road trip.
Who would drive, and how long could they drive? Having intentions to drive all day was easy from where he stood now. But he knew well and good that a few hours behind the wheel in this heat could easily melt those ambitions, like everything else that touched the sun-scorched asphalt.
But it wasn’t just a concern over how long they could last before needing to rest. It was the increased potential for mistakes that concerned him the most. If they were going to team up and travel together for the time being, that meant more moving parts to a system that he and Joel had worked out pretty well. Up until all this, at least.
The experience they’d gained in their travels allowed them to fine-tune how they operated on a daily basis. And while they had things far from wired, Ben was content with how they were making their way and with their ability to deal with challenges. Adding more people and more vehicles would complicate things, hopefully not to the point of detriment or regret on his part.
Ben was conflicted about his responsibility to their new friends. Sandy and the kids were his main priority, and he didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize their safety or their chances of making it home. But from what Ben could tell, their new friends all seemed like decent people whose luck had run out. They were someone’s family, too, and he knew too much about them now to do anything other than help them out.
He also thought it was an important lesson for his kids to witness. Along with strength, resilience, and plenty of survival skills, if humanity was to make a comeback from this mess, it would take compassion between fellow survivors. This was an opportunity to show his kids just how that looked in practice. If good people didn’t help each other out, who else would?
Joel and Allie riding on top of the mine cart was a sight for sore eyes, although Ben would have preferred that they walked up alongside the rolling deathtrap. They hopped off before the cart stopped, and Joel helped his dad set t
he brake and chock the wheel. Ben felt like a weight had been lifted from his chest now that Joel and Allie were topside again.
Allie tightened up her ponytail. “I forgot how hot it is up here.”
“I’ll take over being down in that hole.” Joel started to gather items to carry outside.
“So that’s everything?” Ben asked.
“Yep, unless you want a box of dynamite,” Joel added.
“There’s a box of dynamite down there?” Ben stopped what he was doing and looked at Joel.
“Yeah, I tried to get you on the radio, but you didn’t answer. Plus, you weren’t really crazy about me taking it with us last time.”
“How much was there?” Ben didn’t like the idea of messing around with the dynamite, especially if it was old and unstable, but in this situation, they needed to consider all of their options.
Joel shrugged. “It was about half a box. It looked just like the other stuff we found. I would have brought it up, but I didn’t think you’d want me to fool with it.”
“No, that’s good. You made the right call,” Ben said with a nod. Meanwhile, all he could think about was the amount of firepower half a box of dynamite could provide if their backs were up against a wall. He shook his head and gathered an armful of gear. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.
Now that all the gear was piled around the vehicles, Rita finally agreed to sit down and found herself a spot on top of a stack of ammunition crates. Ben was thankful that he’d made them take their time and place everything in piles according to what it was. All the camping gear was in one spot, food in another, weapons and ammunition in another.
“Wow, that’s a lot of stuff.” Sandy stepped back and surveyed the haul.
“It’s more than twice what we came here with,” Joel added.
