He dropped his gas can in the snow and walked around the new machine to get a good look at it before turning to Josh and giving him a hi-five.
“Man, only you would find the only working toy that you’ve always wanted in the apocalypse!”
Josh puffed out his chest and gave an exaggerated bow. “You may call me King of the Scavengers!”
Quinn huffed out a laugh. “It’s great but those wheels aren’t going to make it home in all of the snow. We’ll have to stash it somewhere safe and come back for it after the melt.”
Josh held up a finger. “Ah, ah, ah, au contraire! Observe the other scavenged items in the cargo bed. I give you the Sno-Cobra ski and track system. Designed to turn any utility vehicle into a snowmobile! I’m gonna drive this baby into the garage and swap out the wheels in no time. Today, we ride in style!”
Quinn nodded slowly in appreciation and then looked down at the old watch on his wrist.
“Alright, let’s get it done and get going. It’s already nine thirty and it’ll take at least an hour to mount the parts.”
Josh snorted. “Pfff, it’s not going to take me that long, but yeah, let’s get on it. How did you guys make out for gas?”
Lisa spoke up. “We siphoned enough to top off the tanks and refill our cans so we’re good to go.” She turned to the other girls. “While these two play mechanic, why don’t we go into the office and showroom area and see if there’s anything worth taking.”
Josh nodded and jumped back into the UTV. He fired it up with another grin and drove it into the garage bay where all the tools he would need were waiting for him. The girls headed deeper into the building.
The first room they came to was the staff lunch room. It had already been thoroughly searched and the glass door to the vending machine had been smashed open.
It didn’t take them very long to clear the building. It was clear that someone else had been through it before them so they settled into a small seating area with leather love seats in the front lobby and waited for the boys to finish up in the garage. They chatted at first but the combination of soft couches and little sleep the night before had each girl nodding off.
Forty-five minutes later, Josh and Quinn stood looking down at the sleeping girls with amused expressions. Josh went over to Dara and planted a kiss on top of her head to wake her. Quinn went to Alex and without thinking gently tugged on one of her red curls. That simple action brought back the memories of his grandfather doing that exact action so many times. The flood of pain was immediate and brought a harsh scowl to his face so that’s what Alex saw when she opened her eyes. Her reaction was to bat his hand away and heave herself to her feet.
She turned her back to him so she missed seeing the sadness that flashed across his face and asked Josh, “Are we ready to go?”
Josh looked past her at Quinn and let out a sigh before looking back at her and giving her a nod.
“Let’s hit it.”
Chapter Nine
Everyone’s legs were aching from walking through the deep snow by the time the manned barricade came into sight. They had stashed their machines, including the new UTV, in two different places. Half behind a partially burned out office building and the other half behind another building down the road. Both stashes were covered by a tarp with snow piled on top. If someone were to stumble upon them, they would hopefully only lose half of their machines and supplies. They had also left their assault rifles behind and only carried concealed handguns.
Walking through the deep drifts was slow going, but it would have been worse if there hadn’t been some old ruts made by a vehicle. The ruts weren’t fresh but they had packed down some of the snow giving the group an easier trail to follow.
When they reached the barricade that consisted of two yellow school buses fronted with concrete barriers, they were all breathing hard and sweating in their snow gear. The temperature continued to climb from the bone-numbing cold they had grown used to.
Four bored looking soldiers greeted them with half raised rifles. One of them stepped forward and nodded back the way the group had come from.
“No room in the Inn, folks! We aren’t accepting any new refugees until spring. Come back then and there’ll be a place for you if you’re willing to help with the crop planting.”
Josh dropped his pack to the snow and shook his head with a smile.
“Uh, yeah, thanks for the offer but we’ll be planting our own crops then. We aren’t here as refugees. One of our friends joined up with you guys after your medics patched him up. We were hoping to check up on him and maybe do some trades while we were here.”
The three other soldiers started smirking as the one who had spoken started shaking his head before Josh had even finished speaking.
“Do you know how many citizens we have packed into the hotels and apartments in this area? There’s no way you’ll find one guy in that mess! Sorry pal, but what do have to trade? We can do that here.”
Josh cocked his head to the side and gave him a condescending look. He knew that any “trade” with these guys would be more like confiscate than anything else.
“Sorry, I wasn’t clear on that. Our friend enlisted with your outfit. So he should be fairly easy to find, right?”
The soldier’s eyebrows shot up. “Your guy is one of us, military?” When Josh nodded and gave Cooper’s name, one of the other soldiers stepped forward.
“Hey, I know Coop. He’s got a rack in my barracks. He’s a good grunt. If these are his people, it’ll make his day.”
The first soldier frowned and then shook his head again. “No, we aren’t supposed to let any more in. These guys could just get lost in the crowd and then we’ve got six more mouths to feed. Sorry, man, orders are orders.”
Alex pulled out the paper bag with what was left of the lunch Josh’s mom had packed for them and stepped forward. She held it up and asked, “Is food tight for the people here?”
When one of the soldiers snorted and said, “Food? More like slop!” Alex nodded and tossed him the bag. He let his rifle swing down to catch it and looked warily at her before opening the bag. His eyes grew wide before he stuck his nose into the bag and took a deep smell. When his head came up his eyes were filled with awe.
“Holy, Mary, Mother of Tim Horton’s!” When he passed the bag to the soldier who was refusing them entry Alex spoke.
“That’s just a snack for the trip. Do you really think we would trade everything that comes with that for your “slop”? We just want to check on our friend and get home before the temperature drops again.” When the soldier reluctantly tried to hand the bag back to her, she shook her head. “Keep it. Call it a gift, toll or admission, whatever. Just send us to the right place to find our friend and we’ll pay again in a few hours when we leave.”
The soldier gave her a hard look. “Are you trying to bribe me?”
Alex gave him her sweetest smile and batted her eyelashes at him. “Why yes, yes I am!”
He stared her down for a few more seconds before the corner of his mouth twitched like he was fighting a smile. He finally gave up and shrugged.
“Fresh baked muffins and a pretty redhead fake flirting with me? Yeah, that’s about all it takes these days.” He turned to one of the other soldiers and addressed him. “Fire up the radio and find out where their grunt is right now then come eat your damn muffin! BUT…I got dibs on the crab apples.” He turned back to Alex. “My little girls get those tonight.”
As soon as the group got directions to Cooper’s location they were let through the roadblock. It was much easier going from there on because a path had been plowed in the snow down the middle of the road. They didn’t see anyone else on the empty street until they rounded a bend and the road opened up to a commercial area. The group stopped in their tracks at the sight of more people than any of them had seen since last spring in California. There were hundreds of people out on the streets moving around. Alex figured with the warming temperatures that this was the first time
most of the people would have been able to spend any time outdoors since the first snow.
As they started up again and got closer, she got a better look at some of the people milling around and was saddened by their condition. Almost all of them had gaunt, grey faces like they were near to starving with their coats practically hanging off of their thin frames. Alex didn’t see a single person that look healthy or well fed and it reminded her to be thankful for all that she and her friends had that these people didn’t.
She saw one group of children that were sitting around a tired looking woman who was reading to them from a school textbook. None of the children were smiling or seemed very interested and Alex couldn’t help but think of the contrast between this year’s first chinook and previous years. Winters in Alberta have traditionally been very cold but there were always chinooks to break it up. In years past, the first chinook of the season would have children exploding outside to run and play in the snow without fear of frostbite. These kids looked like they didn’t have the energy to learn, let alone play. She had to look away from their small listless faces. After they passed the group, she just put her head down and followed behind Josh and Dara who were in the lead.
No one spoke as they wound their way through the throngs of people until Josh came to a stop and pointed at a large warehouse in a row of them across the street.
“I think this is the place.”
The front of the building was devoid of anyone and it looked just as deserted as all the other buildings, but the sound of metal crashing could be heard from around the back so the group skirted around to see if they could find anyone to direct them to Cooper.
When they rounded the corner of the building, they saw rows of dumpsters piled high with scrap metal. People were carrying more out of big bay doors and dumping their loads into the bins. Spying a man in uniform holding a clipboard, Josh headed in his direction with the others following close behind.
When they got a few feet from him, he looked up and frowned at them.
“What are you doing? Break isn’t for another hour. Get back to work!”
Josh’s face split into a grin in response to this guy thinking they worked here and he shook his head and joked,
“Nope, day off! We’re just looking for a friend of ours. Is Cooper Morris around?”
The soldier took a better look at the group of teens and confusion spread across his face when he realized that these kids didn’t look like most of the beaten down citizens of the city.
“Uh, yeah, stay here. I’ll go get him.”
Alex turned away and looked out at the rows of dumpsters to try and figure out what they were doing here. The fences between the warehouses had been pulled down so that there was a long lot running behind them and all snow had been cleared from the area. A few buildings down, she could see thousands of windows in frames stacked up and leaning against each other. Further down the lot, there was what looked like different types of lawn equipment. There were riding mowers and push mowers as well as weed whackers. The bins closest to them were filled with pieces and parts of small electronics and appliances. There was some major scavenging happening in this city to produce this much scrap. A sharp intake of breath had her turning back to her friends.
Standing in the bay door looking out at them was a soldier. His close-cropped black hair was a real change from the thick curls he used to sport but there was no mistaking the green eyes that zeroed in on her. The last time she had seen him, Cooper had been on his back with a bullet wound to his chest. He had been shot when he rushed the leader of the gang that had been holding their families hostage as slave labour. At the time, that man had been using Alex as a shield to try and escape from their retaken town.
The look in his eyes now told Alex that he still had feelings for her and it caused a pang in her heart for the pain she had caused him by choosing Quinn instead. She stepped forward to speak but Josh beat her to it.
“Coop! Man, it’s good to see you on your feet.” He stepped up to him and pounded him on the back.
Cooper tore his eyes from Alex and returned Josh’s smile, pulling him into a one-armed man hug. Even though it was a huge surprise to see his friends, it made him incredibly happy. They had formed close bonds traveling back from California after the lights went out and he had missed all of them very much. He felt like it was the right decision to not return to Prairie Springs after he had healed up, but it didn’t change the hole that was left from missing the first real friends he had in his life.
He pulled back from Josh and accepted hugs from Dara, Emily and Lisa before turning to Quinn. Something about his friend’s face had changed since he had seen him last. There was a hardness there and his eyes didn’t hold the usual warmth that Cooper remembered. He hoped Quinn wasn’t holding a grudge over his feelings for Alex. After all, she had chosen Quinn in the end.
Cooper held out his hand to Quinn. There was a brief hesitation but then the other boy’s face softened slightly and he reached back and shook Cooper’s hand.
“Cooper, it’s good to see you.”
Cooper nodded. “Yeah, nice to see you guys without bullets flying our way.” He looked past Quinn to Alex and sent her a wistful smile and nod before looking back at Quinn and asking, “What are you guys doing here?”
Quinn’s face hardened again. “We need your help.”
Chapter Ten
Cooper had led them through the dim warehouse to a staff break room that was brightly lit with several lanterns. They all took a seat around a long table and filled him in on what had been happening in their town.
Josh leaned forward in his seat. “What’s the leadership here like? Do you think they would be willing to trade for the meds we need?”
Cooper rubbed at his mouth thoughtfully before replying. “Colonel Tremble seems like a fair man but he’s also made some hard rules. They won’t accept any new refugees until spring and everyone here over ten years old has to work or they don’t eat. They’ve been very tight with the rations lately and medicine is one of the things they don’t have a huge supply of. I honestly don’t know if he would trade with you.”
Josh sat back with a frustrated sigh. “Yeah, apparently the town council had contact with him on the radio when the virus first hit. He told them to quarantine and ride it out. He wasn’t willing to part with any medicine no matter what they offered him. Said he wanted to keep the supply in case the city got hit with it. Do you think he’d change his mind?”
Cooper shook his head. “I don’t really know him that well, but like I said he’s a stickler for the rules so I doubt it.”
Quinn gave a hard nod and waved his hand dismissively. “I didn’t figure we’d have any luck here. So, let’s move on. Cooper, you’ve been with these guys since early summer. Have they already cleaned out the bigger cities, Calgary, Edmonton?”
Cooper’s eyes widened. “No, no way, man! You guys can’t go all the way to Calgary or Edmonton. The cities are a death trap. Even the military stayed out of them. They planned on waiting until next summer before heading into them. That way most of the population would be dead from the cold or starvation.”
Quinn just nodded and turned to the others as he pushed his chair back and got to his feet.
“Good, I was worried they might have gone in and stripped the hospitals. That means the meds should still be there.” He looked down at his grandfather’s watch. “Let’s get going. We’ve wasted too much time today already.”
Alex checked her own watch and saw that it was already eleven thirty. A sense of urgency overcame her now that she knew they would have a longer journey ahead of them. She had hoped they would make it home by dark, but now she knew it wouldn’t be possible so the sooner they got to Calgary the faster they could get on the road tomorrow.
“I agree with Quinn. Let’s get going. If we need to search multiple hospitals it will take a really long time, so the sooner we get to Calgary the better.”
Everyone else except Cooper nodded and got t
o their feet. His bewildered face looked to each one of them until he, too, stood with his hands held up in a stop motion.
“You guys aren’t seriously going to go all the way to Calgary in the dead of winter to look for something that’s probably already been looted, are you?”
Emily looked him dead in the eye and asked, “Are you willing to steal the medicine we need from here?”
When he shook his head “no”, she shrugged.
“Then, yes, we are. Just like we crossed a broken country to get home. Sailed a dead ocean and fought and killed a gang of thugs to save our families. A little trip down the highway to find medicine for people who are dying isn’t that challenging. Maybe living here has made you too comfortable -or have you forgotten what it means to fight for the people who matter to you?”
Cooper’s face flushed red at such words coming from the sweet girl he remembered her to be and realized that not just Quinn had changed. He looked at the determined faces around him and it reminded him of what he had felt when he had fought by their side not that long ago. The past few months had been easy and comfortable in some ways, but the time had left him feeling empty and without purpose. Squaring his shoulders, he cleared his throat.
“You’re right. I thought staying here and joining up with the military would make me useful. The truth is, we haven’t really done anything to help people except give them busy work to keep them occupied. During the summer there was farming and outreach to other communities but since the harvest they’ve locked this area down and don’t let anyone in or out. They don’t help when radio calls come in either. All we do here now is go house to house, business to business and strip them clean of anything useful and then store them. I know they plan on building even more greenhouses in the spring and planting more crops but I haven’t heard anything about them having plans to help out the rest of the province or country. Don’t get me wrong, they aren’t overlords or anything like that, but they have everything they need right here with all the supplies and an easily controlled workforce to do all the farming. I think this is it for them. I thought I would be helping more people if I stayed. What they’re doing here is a good thing but it’s kind of a let down to what I was expecting.”
STRANDED: Box Set: Books 1-6 Page 85
