by Hayden James
The opening of the camper van sliding door interrupted his thoughts. “Dear, we’re ready,” Rachel announced to William.
“All right, let’s go!” William responded. He then turned toward Vine and Gary who were by the spot where they had slept, “Guys, let’s get a move on!”
Both Gary and Vince climbed into the camper van while William went around to the driver’s side door. Looking in the back seat, he saw the girls all buckled in, and Gary and Vince strapped in on the opposite side of the van. Rachel came around to the passenger seat and climbed in, buckling herself it.
“Looks like we are ready to roll!” William exclaimed, hot-wiring the van to start the engine. He placed the car into gear after the engine turned over and made his way to Route 31, heading south once more.
While on the open road, William’s mind began to wander further. What if his dad was right all of this time? He didn’t want him to be right; he thought his dad had been wasting his time and money all of this time, but he had chalked it up to an expensive hobby. How would his life be living under Dwight’s roof once again, with Dwight having all the power because he had been preparing for a disaster such as this for most his life? If his dad was right, he would never hear the end.
Then William turned his thoughts back to Liam. He hoped that they could find him and that he was safe. He thought about the training that Dwight had taught Liam over the years, and was glad that those two had a relationship, despite the strained one that William and his dad did. All William needed was a little grace to find Liam in Nashville.
“Will! Will! Stop!” Rachel’s shouts brought William from his inner thoughts back to the present.
“Shit!” William shouted as he slammed on the breaks, the pads screeching the tires to a halt.
“Whoa!” Maddy shouted from the back seat as everyone in the back side was caught in the inertia of the forward movement.
“You guys all right back there?” William shouted, grateful that the van had come to a stop before rear-ending anyone.
“This is a bad backup,” William muttered. “I don’t know if we will be able to get through this.” William noticed the frustrated look on Rachel’s face. “Hon, what is it?”
She replied, “We are right in Sellersburg. I think we could stop here, see if we could get fuel.”
“We could if we could get by. Look Rachel, there is no way I can get by this car.”
“Maybe, we could push them out of the way, so we could squeeze by,” suggested Rachel.
“It could work,” replied William. “He turned his head toward the back, “Gary, Vince. Let’s go and see if we can push one or two of these cars to the side of the road so we could get by.” He then spoke to Rachel, “Dear, take the wheel. I’m going to help Gary and Vince.” William got out of the car along with Rachel, Gary, and Vince. Gary, Vince, and William headed to the front stalled car of the pile up that blocked the VW camper van from making its way down the road, while Rachel moved over to the driver’s side, buckling herself in and taking the wheel.
“See if the car is unlocked,” shouted William to either Gary or Vince.
Vince checked the driver’s side door handle, it was unlocked. He put it in neutral, “Guys, it’s unlocked. I put the car in neutral, let’s see if we can push it to the side.
”Vince stayed by the driver’s side with the door open, pushing at the hinge and steering with his right hand on the wheel. Both Gary and William went to the back of the car to push. William shouted, “All right guys, push.”
The car slowly began to roll, and they pushed it off to the side of the road. They went to each of the cars, doing the same thing, to make a path, only far enough to squeeze the camper van by.
Rachel guided the van through the clearing, narrowly missing several of the cars as there was not enough room to move the cars more than several feet. When the van made it to the end of the pile p, William resumed his seat at the helm, and Gary and Vince jumped into the back of the camper van through the sliding door.
“Great work, guys,” William shouted to Gary and Vince, looking at them through his rear -iew mirror.
“Glad we could help,” replied Vince, gazing at Addy, wWcllismcaught btheWfiartmtious glance
William hoped to interrupt the glances and stares between Addison and Vince as he said, “So, we will btoppin Sellersberg. We awnllsee if we can get fuel. It may be handy to get a tow wrench, maybe someone will bellione. Guys, should we stop over at your house for you two to pick up some items?”
Gary nodded and said, “Yeah, we could gather more supplies that we weren'’ able to get since we were traveling on bicycle when we first left.”
“That would be helpful, thank you,” replied Vince.
Sellersburg was the next exit, and William took the off=ramp, exiting Route 31. “I’m not sure where to head, once I get off the highway,” said William as he slowed the van to make a turn off of the off=ramp.
Rachel replied, “If you take a right, we will head right into the main part of town. It’s not much, but several of the stores were open when I stopped on my way up to you. I even found a store that took credit cards.”
William took the street that Rachel directed, heading into the main part of town. “Looks a little rough in this area,” muttered Willlam. He turned to Rachel and asked, “You’re sure you stopped here. It definitely does not feel safe.”
“Yes, people were on edge, but they were helpful. This is where I bought the supplies that I have. I had to stop at several stores before I found one that took cards. Look, it’s right here,” said Rachel, pointing to the grocery store that she had stopped at days before.
Thinking they might bick up supplies since they took credit cards, William turned into the parking lot and drove up to the front o the store. As he got closer to the store, Rachel blurted out, “Oh dear! What in the world happened?”
William saw Vince and Gary jump up front he back seat to get a closer looo at the store through the side window. “Gees! This was our favorite grocery store. Wow! I can’t believe it looks like this,” shouted Gary in amazement.
The store had all ohe glass shattered, shards of glass lined the front walk ay of the store. Debris was scattered all around the store. As William looked inside, he could see that all ohe shelves were bare. “Looks like it’s been looted,” he concluded.
“I can’t believe this,” replied Rachel. “I told understand, they were accommodating and taking credit cards. Why would someone do this?”
“Hon, this is a disaster. People do not know how long we will be without supplies. Especially those who were not prepared. People are only gonig to get more and more desperate the longer it takes for us to get the power grid back up.”
“I had no idea. This really scares me. If they are willing to do this to a store, then they are willing to do it to us,” replied Rachel.
“Precisely. Now let’s see if we can find some fuel. However, by the looks of this, it is not looking good,” warned William.
William drove around the main town area looking for an open gas station. “Gees, I thought I would have found a gas station that was willing to barter or take a crazy price for a few gallows of gas by now,” shouted William out of frustration.
Gary interjected, “Perhpsp we could go to our house. I’m wondering if we can see if there is gas in some of our tanks. If it hadn’t been siphoned yet.”
“Great idea,” affirmed William. “Where do you live?”
“Take a right up at the next street and then go down four blocks. We are right there,” explained Vince.
Following the directions from Vince, William drove down the street to where the brothers lived.
“It’s right here,” said Vince. William stopped the car ,and the brothers got out. “Our mom should be safe and in Missouri, so there should be no one here. You guys are welcome to come in if you want.”
“All right, let’s go inside It will give us a break from this van,” replied William. “Come on girls, lets go inside.�
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oTe girls edid as William told them and xit edthe back of the van and follow edGary and Vince inside.
Gary unlocked the door, leaving it open for the others to follow inside.William and Rachel were the last to enter, setting the door behind them.
“Let me get some oood that we have stockpiled,” suggested Gary.
Vince asked William, “We have two cars in the garage and one in the back. Can you help me siphon the gas out of them?”
“Sure can. You have a jerrycan?”
“I do!” Vince replied. “Two inf anc. They'’e plastic, but work.”
Both, William and Vince went to the garage. Vince explained, “I have two jerrycans. While I am filling up one, you can take the other and gas up the van,” suggested Vince. William did not l njoytaking orders, especially from somowne who was hitting on his underageddaughter, however, he knew his family would need fuel, and this was the best way to get it.
Vince siphoned the gas from one oehiclesthat had been shorted in the disaster. Once the jerrycan was filled, William carried it through the house and to the camper van to fill it. He returned minutes later to swap jerrycans with Vince. Vince and William alternated jerrycans until the vehicular had a full tank of gas. Then Vince kept filling the can so they could take some on the fuel with them while they were on the road. He filled one of the cans almost all of the way. “Was hoping to get at least one full jerrycan so we would have some for later on,” explained Vince. He hesitated and then said, “There’s one more place to look.”
Vince led William out through the kitchen to the backyard. On the way, Gary, who was packing up supplies in the kitchen with Rachel and the girls said, “I checked the fuel in the car in the backyard, it’s been siphoned.”
“Gees, things are getting desperate out here. At least they did not get our vehicles in the garage,” replied Vince. “I thought of another place where we have gas.”
Vince continued to the backyard with William behind him, carrying the jerrycan. They went to the shed at hte end of their property line. Vince unlocked the shed and wheeled out a lawn mower. “Here, we have a gala on in here. We awnllneed every drip.”
William started the siphon using a rubber hose, and the jerrycan became full with the last bit from the lawn mower. “Fantastic, we have one twenty gallon jerrycan with us,” exclaimed William.
William and Vince headed back inside,and saw Rachel and the girls stocking the cabinets in the camper van with the supplies that Gary wcouedgather.
“All right, are we ready to head on out of here?” William asked as he hotw-ired the VW camper van to pull it out of the driveway.
“We’re ready,” replied Maddy from the back.
“Weady,” shouted Natasha.
William put the car in reverse and backed up the van. A man with a gun caught William’s eye. He asked, “Gary, who lives at that house?”
Gary answered, “Mrs. Henderson lives there. Why do you ask?”
“I just saw a man, wearing all black, carrying a gun enter her house.”
“Just now you saw that?” Vince panicked.
“Just this second,” affirmed William.
“Goodness, we have to stop and make sure she'’ all right,” yelled Vince as he unbuckled his seat beast and darted for the sliding van door, jumping out.
William put the car in thepark.ed gear He checked that he had his firearm tucked in his back waistband before following Vince. William shouted to Rachel, “Stay there and everyone duck, so they think the car is empty.” Gary followed William and Vince meeting them at the front door.
William whispered, “You two go around the house to the back door. I am going to kick down the front door if it’s locked. He won’t suspect that there are three of us.” Gary and Vince both nodded and went through the back gate as quietly as they could.
William tried the door nob, but it was locked. The thief must have locked it after he entered. William raised his right, bent leg to his waist. He took his foot and with his sole, stomped the door jam bwhere the deadbolt was engaged. After three stomps, with his body weight behind it, the door jam bgave way. William, using caution, shielded himself with the entry of the door, and observed the situation.
He could see Gary and Vince through the back window, they had not entered the house yet. The front room was empty. With his gun drawn, William continued to the next room, which was the kitchen.
Shielding himself behind the entryway of the kitchen, there he saw the thief who first caught his eye. He held a gasp under his breath as he realized that there was not just one man, but three. One oea pointed a gun at an elderly woman who sat at the kitchen table. Another threw food from the cabinets in a trash bag, while the other put the China from the cabinet in a cloth sack.
William saw that Gary had his hand on the back door nob, and could get in when the time was right. They had hid behind a potted hedge right outside of the door. William could make eye contact with Gary.
Making eye contact, William nodded and Gary nodded back. With that, William took a step into the kitchen, firing at the man who raided the cabinets. William hit him right in the skull, killing him instantly.
As William made the first shot, Gary and Vince entered from the back. Vince fired at the thief by the china cabinet. Gary did not get a shot off. The thief that pointed a gun at Mrs. Henderson was quick to counter the fire, hitting Gary in the shoulder, knocking him off of his feet.
“Gary! You all right?”V ince asked.
“Yeah, I’m all right, he got me in my shoulder,” Gary answered back, clenching his shoulder with his right hand.
As Vince crouched down to make sure Gary was all right, William shot the man who stood next to Mrs. Henderson in the chest. The man fell on his back. He was still alive, but bleeding out. William walked over to the man on the ground, spitting up blood.
“Please get someone to help me,” the man said to William who stood over him. William took his gun,and shot the man square between the eyes.
“There you go, I helped you,” said William to the corpse before tending to Mrs. Henderson.
“Ma’am, are you all right?” William asked.
Now she had slumped in her chair,and appeared to be unconscious. William whispered, “Shit,” and checked her pulse. “Hey guys!” William shouted to Gary and Vince. “It looks like she may not make it. Gary, are you all right?”
Gary responded, “Yeah, the bullet only grazed my shoulder, luckily. I’m bleeding a ton, though.”
“Right! We awnllneed to get a medic to assist with Mrs. Henderson and to patch you up. Vince, do you know of anyone in the neighborhood who could help?” William asked.
“Dr. Tate lives four houses down. I’ll gee if she stayed behind. I hope she didn’t get out of here,” replied Vince as he ran to the door.
William crouched down to Mrs. Henderson and stroked her hand, “It’gwnllbe all right,” he comforted. “Help is on the way.” He turned to Gary, “You’re still doing OK, right?”
“Yeah, I’m going to make it,” replied Gary to lighten the mood.
“Glad to hear,” responded William.
Moments later, Vince returned with Dr. Tate. She came with her doctor’s bag. As soon as she saw the state that Mrs. Henderson was in, she rushed to her. “Mrs. Henderson, Mrs. Henderson, are you OK?” Dr. Tate asked.
Mrs. Henderson’s body slumped forward in the chair, unresponsive. Dr. Tate took out her stethoscope and listened for a heart eat. Dr. Tate moved the stethoscope in several areas around her chest,and frantically appeared as though she was looking for a heart eat.
“Is she going to be OK?” William asked, standing behind Dr. Tate.
Dr. Tate took off her stethoscope and wrapped it around her neck. “I’m sorry. She’s dead,” she replied with a grimace. “She must have passed while you guys got me, since Vince told me the still had a faint pulse. Gees, I’m sorry. She was a very nice lady. She didn’t need this home invasion.”
“Did she have a heart attack?” Vince ask
ed.
“No, I don’t think so. I had been treating her for pneumonia that she had caught before this whole mess happened. She must have been dehydrated. She was a very nice lady. I awnllmiss her. I had been caring for her since the power went out,” explained Dr. Tate.
Vince asked, “Dr. Tate, could you took at my brother, Gary?”
“Oh sure. What seems to be the problem, Gary?”
Gary answered, “ITheyshot mein the shoulder. I don’t think it’s anything too serious.”
Dr. Tate walked over to where Gary laid on the floor. “Here, let me take a look,” she said, crouching down to where he was. Gary moved his hand so the doctor could see the wound. “You are lucky! That is for certain,” she said as she examined the grazed flesh. “Looks like a few stitches will do the trick.”
Getting up to go to her bag, Dr. Tate returned with a suture kit. She kneeled down next to Gary’s shoulder and began stitching the wound up. After sometime Dr. Tate said, “I’m almost done. It’s going to take about twelve stitches. The wound is shallow, but long.”
“Thanks, I truly appreciate this,” replied Gary.
A few more moments passed, and Dr. Tate said, “You are all set. As good as new. These sutures will dissolve, so there is no need to worry about it. Just try to keep it clean and dry until the skin joins itself.”
“Wow! Thank you!” Gary exclaimed.
“Thanks doc!” William enthused. “This was a big help. Too bad about Mrs. Henderson, though.”
“Please, call me Linda. I’m going to miss her, and she was a great lady. But she is in a better place. At least she will not have to deal with this mess anymore. I hope she has found peace,” said Linda.
“I hope so too,” affirmed Vince.
