STRANDED: Box Set: Books 1-6

by Theresa Shaver

  What they didn’t see was people. There were campgrounds and recreation areas along the highway but not a lot of residences. Anyone who had been stranded on this road would have walked out a long time ago. It had been twenty-four days since the world changed and most people would have made it to where they were going by now.

  The highway mileage signs counted down the distance to their destination and they had to keep slowing down to a safe speed as their excitement got the better of them. Even in the excitement to get to Merritt, it was impossible not to be in awe of the amazing scenery they were passing. There were mountains, lakes, valleys and meadows filled with new spring growth all around them. The peaks still had snow on them and the clean air filled their lungs. It was one of the most beautiful places on earth and it inspired a peaceful feeling in all the teens.

  The Coquihalla Highway was beautiful in spring and summer but was dubbed the Highway through Hell in the winter. It twisted and turned with the land and avalanches happened often. There were tunnels in the highest danger areas that would protect travelers from the rushing slides of death. The road didn’t go through the town they were heading towards but circled around.

  They came to the exit for the town in the early afternoon and as they made their way off the highway they could see the huge visitor center ahead of them and, for the first time since they got the quads, people. As they got closer they could make out four men and a woman sitting in lawn chairs around a fire in the middle of the parking lot. When the people heard the engines of the quads, they got up and walked towards them. One man raised his arm and waved. The people were all armed but the rifles stayed slung on their backs or shoulders and no one seemed hostile.

  As the teens came to a stop at the entrance to the parking lot, one man stepped towards them and Emily could see he was wearing an RCMP uniform. She smiled a huge smile at him and removed her hand from her pocket. She had been clutching the gun tight. There was only one bullet left but she would make it count if she had too.

  He looked them over with a nod.

  “Hello! Where are you kids heading?”

  Emily took the lead. “We were hoping to head into town. My best friend’s brother lives here and we were hoping to find him.”

  “Sure, you guys head on in. If you don’t find him, there are two refugee camps set up and anyone in town will direct you. If you kids are planning on staying, there’s a registration desk there and they will get you set up with food and housing.” The officer smiled at their looks of disbelief.

  Lisa asked him tentatively, “Is it safe?”

  He gave her a sad smile. “Yes, it is. We have a small population and when the Event happened, most everyone stayed calm. We had a few bad apples that started some trouble but we put them down fast. Most people here are used to losing power so we have a lot of generators and the hunting around here is pretty good so food wasn’t much of an issue. I take it you kids have seen some trouble?”

  Before they could answer the woman came over and handed out travel mugs she had filled from the pot on the campfire. The teens smile gratefully and sipped at the hot chocolate in the mugs. The woman looked them over with compassion.

  “How far have you come?”

  The shocked looks on their faces were comical when Emily said, “California.”

  The officer sputtered. “What…how? There’s no way!”

  Emily and the others nodded with serious faces and she explained where they had been and how they had come so far. The people just stared at them in awe so she kept talking.

  “We live in central Alberta so after we find Peter, we plan on continuing on.”

  The officer just shook his head in amazement. His eyes narrowed at a thought and he asked, “Wait a minute. You kids were on a class trip and you’re all from Alberta?”

  When they nodded, his face broke in to a grin. “You’re looking for Pete Andrews, aren’t you?” he asked in disbelief.

  Emily leaned forward. “Yes! How do you know that? Do you know him?” She was almost vibrating with excitement as the officer started to laugh.

  “Yes, I know him, we work together. He told me a while back about his sister being in California. He assumed she didn’t make it, a city that size would have exploded with violence. You said she was your best friend. Is she with you guys?” He looked at Lisa questioningly and she shook her head.

  The woman stepped forward and handed a radio to the officer. “Bill, call down to the station and get Pete up here. He can lead them to his place.”

  He took the radio and stepped away to make the call. The woman waved them over to the campfire so the kids left the quads and went to stand around the fire, warming their hands.

  “When was the last time you kids ate?” she asked with a frown.

  David smiled at her concern. “We had a hot supper last night but nothing today, ma’am.”

  She quickly opened a cooler and pulled out a plastic container of sandwiches. After thanking her, they all devoured them. A thick slice of venison roast on freshly baked bread with spicy mustard was heaven to the kids and they all groaned in pleasure at the taste.

  Emily couldn’t keep her eyes from watching the road to town and she paced back and forth waiting for Peter to get there. She was dreading having to tell him about Alex. While they waited, David told them about the sealed up Safeway truck and where they could find it. The four of them were happy to hear about it and the woman started making calls on the radio. When the sound of a motor finally reached her ears, she stood frozen and watched Peter come tearing into the parking lot. He had barely come to a stop before he was out the door and running towards her. The look of joy on his face was all it took for her to launch herself at him and his big arms wrapped around her and swung her in a circle. He was laughing as he set her down and looked at her tear-covered face. He planted a huge kiss on her forehead and then looked at the other kids that were standing watching the reunion. Peter grinned at David and nodded at Mason and Lisa but his eyes were searching the parking lot for his sister. When he didn’t find her he looked down at Emily with confusion.

  “Em…where’s Alex?”

  Emily’s face crumpled. Looking at him was like looking at Alex. They both had the same strawberry blond hair and green eyes. It made it even harder to tell him. “Oh, Peter, I don’t know! I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!” she wailed. He pulled her back into his arms and held her tight.

  “It’s okay, it’s okay,” he soothed her. As Emily sobbed in Peter’s strong arms, David told him what happened and how they had split up.

  “She’s with Quinn and Josh and a few others so they are probably home by now.”

  Peter nodded and gave a half-hearted laugh. “Oh man, I can just imagine the trail of destruction that group will have left behind!” he joked. “Okay, let’s get you guys to my place. Susan will help you get settled. I need to get back to work but we can talk about our next steps over supper when I get home.” Emily went in the truck with Peter so they could talk while the others followed behind on the Quads.

  “How is Susan? Did she have the baby yet?” Emily asked him. She didn’t know Peter’s wife very well. He had met her in Lethbridge where he had been posted when he had first started in the RCMP. His wife had visited their hometown a few times before their wedding but they had spent most of their time with Peter and Alex’s parents. She was pregnant with their first child and was due at any moment.

  Peter smiled. “No, her due date is still two weeks away. She’s been pretty tired and our doctor wants her to take it easy. I thought about going home to Prairie Springs after the Event but with her so close to delivering, I felt it was safer to stay put. I think the hardest part of this whole thing is the not knowing. It’s driving me crazy not knowing what’s going on at home.” He glanced at her and smiled. “I’ve been so worried about Alex, but even though we don’t know if she made it home, I feel a lot better knowing that they tried to get out of that city. I can’t imagine how bad it was but if they took off right away
, they had a good chance of making it.”

  Emily watched the town slide by and was amazed at how calm everything was. A lot of front lawns had been dug up and were ready to be planted for gardens. There were many tree stumps with piles of cut logs in a lot of driveways. There were plenty of people out walking in the spring sun and she even saw a few mothers pushing strollers. It was almost like the town hadn’t been touched by the new world.

  Peter kept talking as they drove to his house. “After the baby is born, I want to give Susan a month or so to recover and then we can all travel to Alberta together.”

  Emily looked back out the window at the peaceful town and considered staying here safe and sound for the next two months. It sounded like heaven but she knew they couldn’t do it. Her parents had no idea where she was or even if she was alive and the others all had families to get home to as well.

  “Thanks for offering to let us stay, Peter, but we need to get home. We will probably want to get going in a day or two.”

  Peter looked at her as if she were crazy. “Are you kidding me? It’s almost eight hundred kilometers from here to home. There’s no way I can let you kids travel that far alone. It’s way too dangerous!”

  Emily just tilted her head and stared at him in silence until he glanced away from the street ahead and looked at her.

  “What?” he asked in confusion.

  “Peter, how far is it from California to here?” When he didn’t respond, only looked back at the street and frowned she went on. “It’s a lot further than eight hundred kilometers. We have been traveling alone for twenty-four days. I know exactly how dangerous it is out there. I’ve lived through it!”

  The last was said with bitterness and Peter looked at her sharply. “Did something happen out there? Did someone hurt you, Emily?”

  She could only shake her head and look away. The rest of the drive was in silence and they were soon at his home. As they were getting out of the truck, the front door opened and a very pregnant Susan came down the steps. Peter made the introductions and they all went into the house. Peter kissed his wife and told her briefly what had happened to the teens before leaving to go back to work. Susan was very gracious to them and she showed them where they could sleep. They had a generator so there was hot water for a few showers and Peter had set up a solar shower in the back yard as well. The boys offered to use the solar one and the girls raced each other to the bathroom. It felt amazing to be clean and even better to have clean clothes when Susan offered some of her pre-pregnancy clothes.

  Emily felt amazing. They were safe and clean with the closest thing to family she could find. She and Lisa helped Susan prepare for supper and the simple normal task of peeling potatoes and carrots made her smile. By the time Peter returned from work, the house was filled with the smell of roast venison and baking bread. They were all sitting in the living room sharing stories with Susan and it was the most relaxed any of them had felt in almost a month.

  When Peter joined them he sat beside his wife on the couch and leaned over to kiss her large belly. When he addressed them, it was in a serious tone.

  “Emily said that you guys want to keep going in the next day or so. I just want to ask again if you would consider staying until after Susan has the baby and we can join you.” When they all shook their heads, he went on. “I understand you want to go home but you’ve already been through so much and it scares me to think of you leaving alone. So, I put out some feelers and got some information. There is a group of people leaving here tomorrow in a convoy. They are headed up to Kamloops and then east on the Trans-Canada to Golden. Some of them are stopping in places along the way, but four trucks plan to keep going and head up to Jasper. It doesn’t get any better than that. They would drop you off at the Highway 11 junction and from there it’s a straight shot home. The junction to town is only about a hundred and fifty kilometers so on the quads it shouldn’t take you more than a day. Two of the trucks going are pulling toy hauler campers and they agreed to take you guys for some trade goods I put together.”

  Emily sprang across the room and hugged Peter. “We can’t thank you enough! Oh, Peter…two days and we will be home! Thank you, thank you!”

  He studied her face in seriousness. “I don’t know what happened to you out there, Emily, but from this point on I want to make sure you are safe.” He looked at the others. “I want all of you to be safe. So…who’s ready for supper? It smells like it’s done!”

  Dinner was amazing and there was even enough for second helpings. Emily groaned from her stretched belly. None of them were used to eating so much after days of rationing. After the dishes were washed and put away they all settled around the coffee table for a game of Monopoly. There was a lot of laughter and Emily was surprised to realize how much she missed laughing. There had hardly been any reason to laugh since they left California.

  The night wound down and when Susan went to bed the others followed quickly. They would have an early start in the morning and they wanted to get a good night’s rest. Emily and Lisa were sharing the queen-sized bed in the guest room and the boys were on the pull-out couch. It felt so good to lay down on a soft mattress with clean sheets and Emily figured she would fall asleep right away.

  Two hours later, she was still awake staring at the ceiling. Her mind was on overload with thoughts of home and her parents. She finally gave up and got dressed. She quietly slipped out of the room so she wouldn’t wake Lisa up and crept through the house to the back door. She grabbed one of Peter’s jackets hanging by the door and went out to sit on the back patio.

  The night was cold and crisp and beautiful. She let herself go back and retrace the whole trip in her head. All the horrible things that had happened and the things she had seen flashed through her mind. She was a different person than the girl that left Disneyland. They all were. Mason and Lisa had changed so much from the people they had been and she was glad that she could call Lisa a friend now. And David, he had always been a good friend but she saw him differently now. He was so much more than a friend and she wasn’t sure what that meant.

  As if her thoughts had summoned him, he came out of the house and sat down on the bench beside her.

  “Are you okay?” he asked softly.

  She smiled and took his hand in hers. “Yes, I was just thinking and looking at the stars. They’re so beautiful, aren’t they?”

  He squeezed her hand and said, “Yes, beautiful.”

  When she looked at him, he wasn’t looking at the stars but at her. She felt her cheeks redden and she looked down at her lap in embarrassment.

  “I’m an idiot, right?” she whispered.

  He laughed and tilted her head up so she was looking at him. “Yes, but so am I for waiting so long.” He took a deep breath and stared deep into her eyes. “I’ve loved you since you had pigtails, Emily Clarkson, and I’ve waited all this time for you to notice. I almost lost you yesterday so I’m not going to wait anymore.”

  “Oh, David, I’m sorry I was so blind,” she said sadly.

  He was very serious when he said, “It’s okay. I know how you can make it up to me.”

  When she raised her eyebrows in a question, he leaned forward and kissed her. It was the sweetest, most meaningful kiss of her whole life. Emily’s body lit up with love and hope. This was where she was supposed to be and this was the boy she was supposed to be with. When they pulled apart, they both had tears in their eyes and they held onto each other. David and Emily had spent almost every day together while growing up, and they knew that they would spend the rest of their lives together, too.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Emily looked down the line of trucks, an antique school bus and two antique cars that were parked at the visitor’s center. The owners of the toy haulers were finishing strapping down the quads and they were almost ready to go. They had already put their backpacks and extra supplies that Peter and Susan had given them in the front of the camper and all that was left was to say goodbye.

  S
he turned to Peter and he handed her a letter to give to his parents. “Tell them we will be there in two months, in plenty of time to help with the harvest. Mom better get busy making cloth diapers because we will be out of disposable ones by then!” He pulled her in for a hug. “Be safe, Emily. Be careful and give my sister a kiss for me when she shows up.”

  Her voice was too choked with tears to say anything, so she just hugged him harder. David came up and shook Peter’s hand. Everyone thanked him again for all his help and then they were climbing into the trailer and pulling away.

  The trip to Golden was the easiest day of travel since they had come ashore. They sat at the dinette and played cards while the miles passed them by. The convoy stopped at quite a few towns on the way but only long enough to get out and stretch their legs and say goodbye to one of the vehicles that were stopping and then they moved on. When they finally got to Golden, it was just before supper and the four trucks filled with families set up the trailers and started BBQs. It all seemed to go so fast to Emily and she couldn’t believe that they were down to hours before they would be home. She expected to have trouble sleeping again but within minutes of crawling into one of the trailer’s bunk beds, she was gone.

  Hot cereal and canned fruit were served at dawn for breakfast. With no electricity, people had started to get up with the sun and go to bed early. With everyone pitching in to clean up, they were on the road by seven. The teens weren’t used to traveling so fast after days of walking so they were all surprised when they felt the trucks slow down and stop. When they opened the camper door, the first thing they saw was the highway sign for the exit to Highway 11 and Prairie Springs.