Ben stopped the door from shutting with his foot and slipped in. Because it had a swiper thing on the door, he dropped a pile of gowns on the floor so it wouldn’t lock him in. There were all sorts of samples of prescription meds and over the counter stuff on the shelves. To him, most of it looked like allergy meds and nothing he could identify as a pain reliever. He grabbed some gauze pads and medicinal wound cleanser and a saline water bottle and stuffed them in his coat pocket. The baby started to fuss and squirm. Probably because he was frantically searching to see if there was anything that seemed like a pain med or an antibiotic. He found ointment. He found samples of something that looked promising near the sample sized baby Tylenol. And he grabbed that too, stuffing his pockets and then slipping some things inside the baby wrap and tightened the elastic around the bottom of his coat against his waist so he could fill inside his coat too. Perhaps Natalie would be able to identify what all he found. He could identify the ibuprofen and adult acetaminophen before he stopped raiding the closet. He only took what he felt they could use. There was still plenty left in the closet.
With his coat loaded, he checked the hallway and slipped out the door undetected. He headed for the exit hoping that Nate and Natalie had everything under control outside.
Right as he was about to open the door, Natalie jogged around the corner, looking behind her. She nearly bumped into him.
“There you are, go. Go now. I thought you were still in the waiting room when they came in so I was scared for a minute. They caught a glimpse of me and totally freaked out. Can you hear them? Those big guys are holding them back. They’ve called the cops. Then they’ll find out what we did to their truck. We really have to hurry. Come on.” She pushed him out the door.
He moaned when his head went woozy.
“Don’t pass out now.” She grabbed his good arm and held him up and took a peek at her baby. “I’m not big enough to stop you from falling on Lilly.”
Ben was fighting the misery to keep moving and keep up with Natalie.
Nate pulled up in front of them. “Hurry, get in. The cops are almost here.”
Natalie jumped into the Ranger. Ben struggled with the handle but somehow managed to get it open and climbed in.
He hadn’t even closed the door when Nate gunned it for the street. Their forward momentum slammed the door.
They could hear sirens. Nate turned onto the main road and took off. Once Ben’s arm hit the door when Nate turned, everything went black.
36
Tammy
While they waited for Jess, Tammy took advantage of the downtime to take all her medicines and vitamins while they waited for Jess to return. She missed a dose earlier, perhaps two, and they’d had quite the adrenaline rush all afternoon to get as far as they did.
Their cabin was up the mountainside, surrounded by pine trees. The small town of Crouch was in an area just to the east side of the mountain, right near the edge where the terrain started to flatten out into Garden Valley. The valley lived up to its name in the summer. Green and lush vegetation covered the area where it was flat. There were quite a few homes and small farms in the area with the Garden Valley business district in the center. Leafy trees and pines grew along the Payette River and along the creeks. The pines covered the mountains that surrounded the valley hiding cabins and mountain summer homes.
Even with a little town nearby, their cabin was still in a remote area and not easy to find, hidden by trees near the end of the road. Yet they weren’t completely isolated from the world there. They had neighbors that would stop in occasionally. Ben was careful who he’d allow on the property while he was building, at the same time he tended to make friends easily. They soon discovered a lot of their neighbors that lived there full-time had the same prepping mentality that he had. The grumpy old man that lived at the end of the road was totally off-grid, kind of a hermit. He was the only person she had met that had made her uneasy. Tammy did have a tendency to keep to herself but she had gotten to know quite a few of the preppers in the area and the ones that didn’t know what that was knew how to stock up because they were so far from town and winters could be harsh. That would help the community a lot. It likely wouldn’t spiral out of control as rapidly as it had in Boise.
That was what Tammy liked most about the area. Many of the people they’d met in the community were a lot like Jess, prepared for anything and willing to help anyone in a bind. It was good to see that Jess was out and about a week after the grid went down which meant they weren’t inundated with stranded people, or if they were, they had a handle on what was going on.
Jess showed up about an hour and a half later with an old Kubota tractor. “Good thing they made these things so basic. I think this old relic will outlast all of us as long as I have the right parts in my stash.”
She attached the trailer the best she could. “It’s small but we’ll go slow. I’m sure anything is better than pulling this thing by hand.”
Jess did go slow. The paved road was easy. However, once they were on the dirt road, the old tractor struggled to pull the trailer up the hill.
“Amanda, come help me pull for a minute so we can help get things moving.” Tammy waved her daughter over.
“You guys look like garbage. Let me do this.” Jess was determined to make the Kubota do all the work but it wasn’t having it. If she tried to gun it at all, the big back tires would fling gravel at anyone who had the misfortune of standing in the rock spray zone.
“It will be easy for us to pull because your tractor is still doing most of the work. At least it won’t be so hard on the engine if we help get it moving.” Tammy grabbed the handle and actually appreciated having something to hold on to.
“Mom, you’re looking pale again.” Charlie wanted her to move so she could take her spot.
“You take Tyson. He is wanting you again.” Tammy waved her off.
“I don’t want to take him.” Charlie was pushy about wanting the handle.
“You take him or Amanda can take him. I can’t carry him right now but I can do this.” She was firm.
Charlie gave her a whole bunch of attitude before she stormed off to pick up the little boy. He was crying again.
“Where’d you get that little guy from, Tammy? I thought you only had daughters.” Jess waited for the girls to get situated. Zoe was pulling the wagon alongside the trailer, Mae was walking Mitsi, while Holly held Buddy back so he wasn’t the one walking her.
“We found him after the Suburban broke down. He’s quite traumatized after spending so many days alone in a car with his dog and his dead moth…” She made a face for Jess to fill in the rest of the word.
“Oh, I see. Poor little guy.” Jess revved up the tractor and it lurched forward once they were prepared to go again.
It was the shortest stretch they needed to cover but the most difficult. They climbed the mountain on the gravel road that badly needed a road grader to smooth it out. Potholes and large rocks were in the way. A few spots had deep ruts that crossed the road from the rainwater rivers that dried up right after the rainstorms.
One soggy section had spring water running across it which made the muddy parts slippery and hard to walk through. Living near the top of the mountain wasn’t so bad when one had a running vehicle to get them there. The cabin was so close but they weren’t getting there fast enough. The tractor was like the sloth of vehicles. Only slightly faster than if they were walking it themselves. She didn’t think she had the stamina to keep it up much longer.
They turned the last bend. The only thing that must have been keeping the girls going was knowing they were about to see the cabin at any moment. There was no more talking, no more fighting. It was just putting one foot in front of the other.
The sun had disappeared behind the mountain but it was still daylight enough for them to see the small roughly built cabin they’d constructed as a family once they finally made it.
The driveway to the cabin was the hardest stretch to walk and it wasn�
�t that long. Jess told them to let go because she could pull the trailer in the rest of the way without their help.
“When did you guys put that big ol’ fence up?” She waited for them to catch up.
“Ben finished it before he left town in the spring. The fence poles have been in place for about a year.” Tammy tried to hide her trembling hands while she looked for the key to unlock the gate so they could get the trailer in the “yard.” That’s what Ben so lovingly called it. Like he had his own business but it looked more like he was protecting a bunch of run-down old junk that he’d salvaged.
“I’m surprised I haven’t heard any complaints in town from you-know-who.”
“From that old man? I think Ben made friends with him when he cleared a bunch of stumps off the old guy’s property and he leveled out his new garden area for free. I think he knew that old fart would complain if he didn’t offer a decent peace offering first.” She swung the big gate open so Jess could pull the trailer in.
Tammy needed to keep the girls from going in the cabin or they’d quit and they weren’t quite done yet.
“Girls, before we go inside, let those chickens loose in their run. They need to stretch. We can feed them a little later.” Once the girls were heading to the coop, Tammy gripped the stair railing. Her nails dug into the soft wood as her body was on the verge of collapse.
Once Jess had finished parking the trailer, she hopped off the tractor and was right by Tammy’s side. “You’ve been limping. Did you get hurt earlier? Are you okay? Oh, I see some bruises on your face now.”
“I fought off some intruders before we left town. My bruises are a few days old. I was very sick yesterday, though, and I think it’s coming back. I have an infection where I have a massive bruise on my leg. There’s no broken skin so I’m shocked that it’s infected.”
“Do I need to get Becca? She’s got some good stuff she’s been hoarding. You know she’s one of those nurses that are practically doctors, don’t you?”
“I don’t want to bother her this late.” Tammy wanted to go to bed more than anything. “Maybe if I get some decent sleep, which I think I can do here, I will probably feel much better by morning. I haven’t had a decent night’s sleep since the power went out.”
“Let me help you in the house. Can I do anything else for you?” She held out her hand for Tammy’s key so she could unlock the door for her.
She handed Jess the keychain even though she could hear Ben saying how no one was supposed to go inside their cabin after they moved most of their furnishings to the bunker. She could hear him as if he was right there insisting that they were fine and Jess could go ahead and leave. Tammy silenced Ben’s nagging voice in her head. She had no intention of taking Jess to the bunker even though that’s where they had been living when they spent time at the cabin, practicing for when the end of the world happened. And there they were.
Jess helped Tammy into the living area. The main part of the tiny cabin still looked lived in for a weekend home. They hadn’t taken everything down to the bunker. Part of the point was to make sure the cabin appeared habitable so no one would suspect that they had a massive bunker that stretched out far beyond the footprint of the cabin.
“Just help me to the sofa.” Tammy felt as if her body knew relief was finally in its grasp and it wanted to give up all at once. She could barely walk and she was lightheaded feeling like she might pass out.
“This place is really small. How do all of you stay here?” Jess looked around the open room.
The kitchen, small bathroom, and bedroom were under the loft and the section of the main floor where they were sitting was the living area with a vaulted ceiling. A ladder led up to the loft and that’s where the girls slept when they were working on the massive basement that was three times the size of the cabin. Basically, the cabin was there to hide what they had underneath and it also hid their secret main entrance to the bunker below.
“We manage. The girls all sleep up there. Ben and I don’t need much in the bedroom. A closet, a bed, some nightstands. Standard stuff.” Tammy didn’t want to take her on a tour. None of the bedroom furniture was in the cabin anymore. It was all down below.
When the girls came inside, they were immediately uncomfortable when they saw that Jess was still there.
“I think the girls can help me out now. I appreciate everything you’ve done. Who knows how long it would have taken us to get here on our own. If I need Becca, should I have the girls come get you so you can help them get word to her? I don’t think they know where she lives.”
“I’ll just come back tomorrow. I want to see for myself how you’re doing.”
Tammy drew in a long slow breath. That would mean she’d have to be up and waiting for Jess’s arrival upstairs so her friend wouldn’t wonder where they all were if they didn’t hear her knock.
“I won’t come early. I know you are all exhausted.” She looked at all of them before she headed for the door. “I hope you all can get some rest. You all look whipped.”
“Thank you so much.” Tammy meant it. “I don’t know how we would have managed without you.”
“Anytime.” She held the door for a moment and looked uncomfortable before she spoke again. “I hate to ask this, but do you have any of that diesel available? I could use it to get back.”
Tammy nodded and was about to stand up when Amanda made her sit back down. “I can get it, mom.”
Amanda followed Jess out the door and took care of it.
Tammy didn’t mean to but as soon as she eased her body down on the sofa, the second her head hit the pillow, she was dreaming.
37
Ben
Small baby cries woke him up. He could hardly lift his head and it jostled back and forth as he fought to lift it upright.
“There he is.” Nate exhaled slowly. “That was a close call. We barely made it out on the street when we could see all the cop cars.”
“Is the baby okay?” Ben asked weakly.
“She’s fine. I got her off your chest and she’s in the car seat. She’s mad because I won’t nurse her right now. Nate’s trying to push this thing as fast and far as we can go.” Natalie was sitting up close to the front seats.
“Shouldn’t you have a seatbelt on?” Ben asked.
“I was keeping an eye on you. You passed out when we got on the main road. I seat belted you in. I’ve been finding all sorts of goodies inside your coat and in all your pockets. I see you found some of the good stuff. No wonder you were slow to get out of there.”
“I had no idea what was going on when I came out of the restroom. I heard the ruckus at the front desk. I took it as my cue to get out of there.” He pinched the aching nerves on his arm. “I wish I found something to dull my misery.”
“You came close. There’s some stuff here that can take the edge off.” Natalie bounced the baby’s seat and Lilly settled down as they went down the windy road. Mountains were quickly growing in size the closer they got.
“We are about to officially leave the Yukon and discover the mountainous edge of British Columbia and we will weave in and out of the Yukon for a few miles before we get to Alberta,” Natalie said. “I know this road from visiting my aunt and uncle a few months ago.”
“It looks like we are headed into more snow.” Ben wanted his sleeping bag. He was shivering.
“Yeah.” She sighed. “I wish this had the warmth of a real car.”
“Me too.” Ben gladly took the blanket Natalie handed him. “Are you going to manage to keep driving okay?” He asked Nate.
“I’ve had some adrenaline pumping through me so I’ll be good for a while.”
The three of them were silent as the road stretched out before them, the northbound traffic was light heading to Whitehorse. Not so many people caught up to them heading south but they were all jumpy whenever a vehicle crept up behind them. None were the white truck.
“What did you guys do to their vehicle?” Ben mumbled. He was not feeling well at all
.
“I popped their hood and cut some of their plug wires and Nate let the air out of their tires. I told him he should have slashed them. Would have been faster and I’m sure they would have been stuck for days. He doesn’t have a mean bone in his body, does he? Nate did stop me from doing something to the radiator, it was too hot and he reminded me I would have been burned. They did come out for a second and were heading to the truck before Nate finished. I was running around the building to come find you when they returned for one more look inside and that’s when they saw me. I managed to ask someone where their restroom was so I was able to slip down the hall. The jerks made so much noise earlier that no one was letting them out of that lobby once they returned. Then I was looking for you and was in a panic because they nearly pushed their way past those big male nurses wanting to go after me right before I found you.”
“They must have gotten a good look at you then.” Ben sighed.
“I was wearing Nate’s coat and your baseball cap. I tried to throw them off by not looking like myself but I wasn’t expecting to see them when I did.” She turned to look out the back window and jarred Ben’s seat again.
His head was heavy and hot. “I need you to stop using my seat as your handhold.” Ben closed his eyes.
“Here. Take this.” She handed him one of the pills. “This medicine you swiped is used for several different ailments. It’s practically like Benadryl for allergies but it also helps with pain, sort of like an antidepressant, not just an antihistamine.”
He wanted to refuse it.
“It will also help you rest while we’re driving.”
“I don’t think resting in my present condition in this miserable seat would be wise.”
“Take it, Ben.” Nate prodded him.
“Yes. Listen to your friend if you won’t listen to me. Please take it.” She handed him the pill and a bottle of water.
Endure Series (Book 2): Enduring The Journey: Page 26
