by Bruno Miller
“I bet. I’ll clean up when I take the dishes down after breakfast.” Joel scooped a couple handfuls of dry dog food into Gunner’s bowl.
He ran over and gave it a sniff but waited a while before eating. Once he realized that was all he was getting, he began to eat slowly.
Ben shook his head at the dog. “I’ll help you with the dishes. I want to get cleaned up, too. Plus, we need a bucket of water to put this fire out.” He divided up the oatmeal, and they all sat quietly as they ate their breakfasts and finished the last of the coffee.
Then he and Joel gathered up the dishes in the bucket and headed down to the river. Allie and Gunner stayed back at camp while she packed her things into the Blazer.
Ben and Joel returned in a few short minutes and put out the fire before loading the rest of the stuff up.
Ben looked around at the campsite. “Well, I guess that’s it.”
“Come on, Gunner. Load up.” Joel coaxed Gunner into the truck and then climbed into the back with him. Allie got in the passenger’s seat and took the map out as soon as she was buckled in and had her window rolled down.
“Good idea.” Ben rolled his window down, too, as soon as he got into the driver’s seat. It was a pleasant morning and the air hadn’t lost its coolness yet. It would be hot later and they should enjoy the cooler temperature while it lasted.
He started up the truck. The rumble of the Blazer’s exhaust echoed under the bridge and cut through the quiet of the morning like a knife. Gunner was already lying down on his side of the bench seat in a tight ball as they emerged from the shadow of the bridge. The familiar tone of the Blazer returned as the echo faded behind them and they made their way back onto the interstate.
Ben stopped to look before pulling out, although he wasn’t sure why. Old habit. There were no other cars in sight. It wasn’t long before Gunner and Joel were both passed out in the back. Joel had actually fallen over on Gunner for a change and was using him for a pillow.
Allie looked back at them and smiled. “That didn’t take long.”
“I didn’t think it would. You know, we’re going to be on the interstate for a few hours before I need any help with the map. It’s okay with me if you want to get a little rest, too. I know you didn’t sleep well last night.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, go for it. I’m in good shape. You guys can take over later and give me a break.”
“I won’t argue with you. I am a little tired.” Allie balled up her fleece and put it between her head and the doorframe. She was out within a few minutes, and Ben was alone with his thoughts.
He pondered a lot of things, but mostly his kids in Maryland and how he hoped they could hang in there for just a few more days.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Both Joel and Allie slept long enough for the Blazer to burn through almost an entire tank of gas. Only Gunner got up at one point and pushed his head up alongside Ben’s seat and out the window. He remained there for a few minutes with his face in the wind before he returned to his spot on the back seat with Joel.
Ben didn’t need any help with directions right now, and there was no reason to wake Joel or Allie. He figured it was better that they get some rest so they could help later.
They were still using I-70 to make their way east, and there were the usual things to look out for on the road. But with the wide-open two-lane highway and generous grass median, it wasn’t hard to spot an obstacle from a distance and easily avoid it.
Ben leaned over the wheel as he drove, scanning the horizon for any signs of a gas station. He glanced at the sky. Even though it was a clear day with very few clouds, it felt like the sunlight was being filtered through a yellow lens.
There was an overall haziness to the air, and Ben wondered if it was contributing to the heat index. The Blazer had air-conditioning but he was reluctant to use it and burn the additional fuel in the process. Maybe this was a normal temperature for this time of year in Illinois. It was the middle of June, after all.
Still, though, it felt unnaturally hot to him, and he wondered if the thick air was trapping heat in the lower atmosphere. The odd yellowish hue over everything was definitely a result of the EMPs. A mixture of dust and smoke, most likely, kicked up by the massive explosions.
He thought about the towering plume of smoke over St. Louis that had nearly choked them all. He could almost taste the debris particles in the air when they were at the first bridge.
How many times had that scenario played out all over the country? How many cities had been annihilated in the attacks? Pittsburgh would soon tell them a little more.
The changing landscape hadn’t gone unnoticed by Ben, either. Had the kids noticed the change? They must have. They were too observant not to.
With each new day the agricultural fields they passed looked worse and worse. Ben had chalked some of this up to the fact that all the irrigation systems were down.
But now almost every field held dead or dying crops. Row after row of young corn plants withered away and dried out. Even the soil was beginning to crack and shrink as it formed a crust over the fields. If it was like this everywhere, the dead crops would only exaggerate the dire shortage of food.
The only things that seemed to be growing well were the weeds on the side of the road. The shoulders and medians were starting to show signs of neglect. There were no road crews to cut grass or do maintenance.
All of it added to the overall apocalyptic feeling.
It dawned on Ben that they hadn’t seen rain since they left Colorado. He hadn’t seen any rainclouds or storm systems moving through the plains, either. That was odd for this time of year.
The air was unusually dry, like all the moisture had been sucked out of it. The humidity level had to be extremely low. Ben found himself applying lip balm more often over the last few days to keep his lips from drying out and chapping. Had the nukes somehow affected the weather? Was that even possible?
He wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead and leaned slightly out of the open window. The air rushed over his face but provided little in the way of relief. Even at 60 miles per hour, the wind was hot and stale.
Gunner was sitting upright now and panting heavily, his big pink tongue hanging from his mouth. He leaned against the back of Ben’s seat with his head propped on top of the headrest as he tried to take advantage of the airflow.
Ben felt bad for Gunner and reached his arm around the seat behind him. He searched the floor for Gunner’s collapsible dog bowl. When he found it, he pulled it up and set it onto the center console.
Gunner sniffed at it right away.
“Hang on, boy.” Ben kept one hand on the wheel and put a water bottle between his legs while he unscrewed the lid with his free hand. He emptied the remainder of the water into Gunner’s bowl and barely got out of the way before the dog eagerly lapped it up.
“There you go. Feel better now?”
Gunner sat back on the seat when he finished. Ben shook his head as he glanced in the rearview mirror. Gunner was sitting over top of Joel now, with two long streams of water and saliva hanging from both sides of his mouth.
This was not going to end well.
“What… Hey! Gunner, move,” Joel huffed as he sat up and wiped the drool from his arm. “Gross!”
“Sorry about that. He was thirsty,” Ben said.
“Where are we?” Joel asked as he leaned forward between the seats, still squinting while his eyes adjusted to the glare. “It looks weird out.”
“We just crossed the Indiana state line about 20 minutes ago. You guys have been out for a few hours.”
“It didn’t look like this when we left this morning.”
“No, it didn’t. I thought it would clear up when we got farther from St. Louis, but it’s getting worse the more we drive east. It looks like mostly dust with a layer of smoke in the upper atmosphere. We could use a good rain to clear the air.”
“It looks so dry.” Joel took a drink from his water bot
tle.
Allie began to stir from her nap and she slowly sat up in her seat. “Where are we?”
“Indiana,” Joel answered.
“What happened?” Allie rubber her eyes as she took in the landscape. “Why is it so hazy?”
“Yeah, we were just talking about that. Not sure what’s causing it, though,” Joel said.
Allie adjusted herself in the seat a little more and took a drink of her water.
“We’re going to need gas soon, so keep a look out for a decent place, guys,” Ben said. “After that, maybe one of you can drive for a while so I can figure out the best way to cut around Indianapolis and head north toward Pittsburgh.”
“We’re really getting that close?” Allie asked.
“Well, it’s still a ways to go yet, but yeah, we’re closing in fast,” Ben added.
Allie managed a slight smile but didn’t say anything more about it.
“There’s a place.” Joel pointed to the other side of the highway.
It was an average, run-of-the-mill interstate convenience store and gas station, and they would have to cross the weedy, overgrown median to get to it.
Ben slowed as they got close and turned into the median. Weeds brushed the underside of the truck as they crossed down and then back up onto the westbound lanes.
From there, they took the exit ramp and followed it into the gas station.
Ben drove the perimeter of the parking lot until he found the underground tanks. They were located close to the actual gas pumps, which meant he could park the Blazer in the shade of the roof that covered the pumping area.
They poured out of the truck without saying much.
“Stay!” Ben stopped Gunner from jumping out of the truck behind him. Scooping him up in his arms, he gently lowered him to the ground. Gunner hobbled off in search a suitable place to do his business. Ben knew Gunner should rest the leg, but it would be a while before they stopped again.
Heat radiated off the blacktop from the moment Ben got out of the truck. Even in the shade, the heat was brutal. Gunner made his way back over to the shade near the truck when he was finished and whined at Ben as he started to set up the pumping equipment. “It’s too hot out here for you, boy.”
Joel came to stand by his dad. “You want help?”
“No, I’ll get the gas this time,” Ben said. “But you could help Gunner back into the truck for me.”
Joel nodded and opened the driver’s side door. Gunner hopped up, put his front paws on the seat, and waited there until Joel boosted him the rest of the way up. Gunner made his way to the back seat and found his spot right away. Joel grabbed the AR-15 before he closed the door, and he and Allie walked around to the front of the Blazer while Ben got started pumping fuel. It didn’t take long to work up a sweat, and Ben took a break after a few minutes to remove his sunglasses and wipe his face with his shirt.
Joel leaned around from the front. “Want me to finish up?”
“No. Almost done anyway. Just get ready to drive,” Ben answered. By the time he had the tank topped off, he had worked up quite a thirst. He could put the hose and pump away in a minute, but right now he needed some water. He grabbed a fresh bottle from the back of the truck and gulped some down. It was far from cold, but it was wet.
He leaned against the truck and closed his eyes while he regained his composure from the heat.
“Hey, Dad?” Joel said.
“Yeah?” Ben responded without looking up.
“We’ve got company.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Ben lifted his head quickly and screwed the lid back onto his water bottle. “Where?”
Joel and Allie were staring west down the interstate. Joel was using the scope on his rifle and had the magnifier in place.
Ben slid around the back of the truck and came up behind Joel.
“Here. Take a look.” Joel handed the AR-15 to his dad. “There’s a white truck back that way. It looks like it’s just sitting there, watching us.”
Ben saw it now, too. Maybe a tow truck, but it was hard to tell. The heat rising off the road distorted the image, making it hard to see details. He couldn’t tell how many people there were—or if they had any weapons.
But they were clearly being watched by the white truck. Even more importantly, why?
“Allie, keep an eye on them. Joel, give me a hand getting the pump and hose put away.” Ben left the rifle on the hood of the truck for Allie to use. “Use the scope and let me know if you see anything.”
“Okay,” Allie said.
Ben and Joel got to work stowing the hose and pump and were finished and ready to go in no time.
Joel ran back to the front of the truck, where Allie was balancing the rifle across the hood and still looking through the scope. “Anything new?”
“I think I saw a guy with binoculars looking at us. But the truck they’re in… I can’t really make it out very well. It looks odd.”
Ben joined them on the hood, using his M24 and its more powerful 10 × 42 scope. “There are two people, and they are definitely watching us. I see the guy with the binoculars. The truck looks likes like an old tow truck maybe, but it looks like they’ve welded steel plating all around it.”
The closer Ben studied their watchers, he could see that nearly the whole truck was modified with steel plate armor. A piece even covered the windshield and left only a long narrow slit in the middle so they could see to drive. The front bumper had been beefed up as well with two long pieces of steel that came out to a blunt point a few feet in front of the truck.
Even the wheel wells were covered with steel plating that hung over the tires and came to within an inch or two of the ground. The surface of the steel plating all looked to have jagged pieces of rebar welded in place at strategic locations. The truck was straight out of a Mad Max movie.
A gunfight with these guys wouldn’t go well for Ben and the kids. From what he could tell, neither of the men standing by the truck was holding a weapon, but that didn’t really mean anything. He was sure they had something with them in the truck. But he was also sure a gunfight wasn’t their intention.
He wished now that he had saved a few pieces of that dynamite.
“That truck was built for running people off the road.” Ben stood up from his hunched over position on the hood behind the M24.
Joel and Allie looked at each other and then back at Ben.
“What are we going to do?” Allie asked.
“We’re going to have to outrun them,” Ben said.
“Do you think we can?” Joel glanced at the strange truck.
“I think we have a good chance. All that steel plating is going to weigh them down.”
“You don’t think we should stand our ground and fight?” Joel asked.
Ben shook his head. “We won’t be able to make a dent in that thing. It would be a waste of time and ammo. Outrunning them is our best bet. Come on, let’s get in the truck. I’ll drive.” He grabbed the M24 and slid it back in into its case before he tossed it in behind the driver’s seat.
Joel and Allie ran around to the other side and loaded into the truck. Joel kept the AR-15 with him in the front seat while Allie got organized in the back with Gunner.
Ben started the Blazer and watched the needle on the fuel gauge rise to full. A good thing to see. As soon as he put the truck in gear and started inching forward, the white truck began to move.
“They’re coming,” Joel yelled.
“Hang on, guys!” Ben stomped on the gas pedal and the Blazer lurched forward, spitting sand and gravel from the rear wheels.
He took the same exit ramp they had used to come in from the interstate. It was the quickest way back to the open highway, where they would have the best chance of outrunning the modified machine. Unfortunately, using the ramp forced them to travel toward the other truck for a couple hundred yards.
As soon as it was possible, Ben cut sharply to the left, across the grass, and took a shortcut to the interstate.
The tow truck had closed the gap significantly, however, and was gaining ground on them.
“They really moving fast.” Allie’s voice was filled with concern as she watched out the back window, which Ben had left open, thinking it would help cool down the truck.
He pushed the Blazer harder and the speedometer climbed to 70 and beyond. Looking in the rearview mirror, he could see the tow truck somehow still gaining on them. They probably modified the engine, too. It was the only way they could hit these speeds with all that steel.
“They’re gaining on us,” Allie shouted.
“What I wouldn’t give for a stick of that dynamite now.” Ben shook his head.
“Dad?” Joel said timidly as he produced an old towel from under his seat. As Joel carefully unrolled the towel in his lap, Ben caught a glimpse of yellow.
“Is that what I think it is, Joel Davis?” Ben looked back at the road and swerved to miss an abandoned car. The tires squealed as he forced the Blazer through the maneuver and wrestled with the steering wheel to straighten the truck out. Once he regained control, he glared at Joel.
“We gathered up the sticks you hid along the road at the bridge.” He shrugged. “I thought you’d want them.”
“You mean to tell me you’ve been sitting on 10 sticks of dynamite for the last day or so and didn’t think to tell me about that?” Ben stared at his son.
“I know it sounds crazy, but I forgot. Please don’t be mad.”
Ben didn’t know whether to yell at the boy or hug him. It was a stupid thing to do, but Joel might have just saved their hides. “You shouldn’t have done that.” Then Ben smiled. “But I’m glad you did.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Joel grinned. “Cool.”
Ben cut his eyes at his son. “We’re still going to talk about it later. Right now, let’s put that dynamite to good use. Allie, grab my small pack and look in there for the role of fuse.”
“Okay,” she answered as she started digging around.
