by Dennis Elder
“Everything over the side, including your shoes,” responded Frank.
Two minutes later the 33 remaining men stood in their under clothing. Everything else was down the embankment. It was pretty chilly, and the men were holding their arms around their chests to keep warm.
“Ok,” said Frank, as he pointed back down toward the bottom of the Cajon pass. “Start walking south and don’t stop until you get to the bottom.”
Most of the men turned and began walking. One man stayed facing Frank. There was still a little resistance in his eyes.
“You killed my friends,” said the lone man.
“And you killed my friend,” said Frank as he pointed his Bushmaster rifle at the man. “And if you don’t get your skinny white ass moving down the road right now, I’m gonna kill you.”
The man turned slowly and began walking behind the other 32 men. They walked tenderly in their bare feet. Glass from crashed cars would be a problem.
“We’re going to watch you as you walk down the road,” shouted Frank, as the defeated men continued down the hill. “My buddy can dot the back of your heads at over 5,000 feet. I’d remember that while you’re walking. And don’t get any stupid hero ideas about circling back around and putting the jump on us. Like I said. We’ll be watching. You leave the road and we’ll drop you like the sack of shit you’ve chosen to become. Oh yea, we will destroy all the weapons left in your camp.”
Then Frank turned to Sam.
“Sam. Make sure they keep walking until Jake gets down here. Tell Jake to take the radio and keep eyes on them until we can call him to let him know we’re ready to move again.”
Sam nodded and turned to observe the 33 men walking south on the freeway.
Frank turned to Boon, Junior and Randy.
“You guys get up there and bust up their weapons,” said Frank. “Make sure nothing could come back to hurt us later.”
Boon and the others turned and made their way back up toward the bad guy’s defensive positions and began destroying their weapons. Stomping a couple of times on a rifle barrel was the quickest method. Handguns were rendered useless by removing the firing mechanism and crushing them between two large rocks. Any 5.56 NATO ammo was confiscated. There was more than enough to replenish their stocks. The rest of the ammo was buried in the sand.
Where the northbound lane of I-15 approaches the top of the Cajon Pass the two separated lanes begin to come back together at equal elevation. Mark and the women were walking their bikes up the final steep grade. No one talked. They were all still thinking about Robert.
Silvia’s eye caught movement from the southbound lane about a hundred feet above them. When she looked up she saw several men wearing only light shirts and underwear. They were walking down the road above them. As the men passed by more and more of their heads appeared over the side of the road above as they looked down on Mark and women. Mark and the other girls also began to notice the men above them as they passed.
Silvia took her eyes off the men and dropped her head back down to the asphalt under her feet. She was close to Mark.
“They the ones who killed my Robert?” asked Silvia.
Mark didn’t answer immediately.
“Maybe,” said Mark. “But there’s no telling which one did it. May have even been one of the dead ones.”
Silvia didn’t respond right away.
“Shoulda killed ‘um all then,” said Silvia.
Mark didn’t respond. He’d seen lots of soldiers react the same way when their buddies were killed. He knew Silvia would cool down with time.
By the time Mark and the women got to the top of the pass the men and boys had collected all their bikes and equipment and were standing in a group by the side of the northbound land. Jake was still back down the road watching the half-naked men pick their way down the southbound lane.
Doc and the boys found a little rise to the east of the road and had dug a deep grave for Robert. Because Robert wounds had badly disfigured his face, Doc and boys had gone ahead and buried him.
Silvia came forward first and knelt down by the side of the grave. She bent forward slightly and put her open hands on the mound above the grave. The recently upturned sand was surprising cool to the touch. Doc quickly knelt down beside Silvia.
“We went ahead and buried him because his wounds were so serious,” offer Doc as he held Silva’s hand. “I thought you and the girls would appreciate that.”
Silvia could not speak, but she nodded her head in appreciation.
The little group of eighteen souls stood around the grave of their friend Robert. Junior pulled out his miniature new testament again and said a few words over the grave. Junior was beginning to take on a priestly role during their journey. There wasn’t a dry eye in the group. Even Mark wiped small tear from his cheek.
After a few minutes of silence Mark walked forward and softly placed his hand on Silvia drooped shoulder.
“We can stay a bit longer,” began Mark, as reverently as he could. “But it’s close to 3 pm and we need to find shelter for the night.”
Silvia nodded again and two minutes later slowly stood up. Mark took her cue and raised the radio to his mouth.
“Jake,” said Mark. “We’re about ready to roll up here. What’s your status?”
The radio crackled a bit and then Jake replied, “We’re good here. They’ve been moving steady. Nobody’s stopped or turned around.”
“Good. Then grab your bike and get up here,” replied Mark.
The grade above the pass wasn’t very steep. They even found some spots with a slight downhill grade. By four pm Mark was looking hard for a regular neighborhood they could spend the night in. There were lots of motels on the side of the road, but they knew that any room that still had someone in it would stink to high heaven. When they got the Joshua Street over pass they spotted some houses to the east. There was no Joshua Street off ramp so they had to pick their way across 75 feet of open hard ground. They walked their bikes to prevent flats and soon found themselves down a residential street that was close to a grocery store.
Mark pulled out his notebook and barked a few orders.
“Sam and Rober…” Mark began, but then cut short his sentence. He’d remembered Robert was no longer with them in mid-sentence. The realization hit him harder than expected. There was silence for a moment. Sam put his arm on Mark’s shoulder.
“It’s OK boss,” said Sam.
Mark nodded and went back to his book. He carefully drew a line through Robert’s name.
“Susan and Connie are on body detail,” started Mark again. “Randy, Caroline, Junior and Cheryl are on dinner scavenge.”
Then Mark put his book back in his pocket.
As Randy and the others turned their bikes toward the grocery store Mark called after them.
“And Randy,” said Mark. “Try and find something special for tonight. They’ve earned it.”
Randy and the others headed off to find dinner. Tyrone had already opened the home’s garage door. Susan and Connie quickly moved inside the house to search for dead bodies. Everyone else pulled their bikes and gear into the garage.
Everyone except Robert.
Chapter 58: Zeiss glass
Marylin and Kevin made good time on their bikes during the first half of the day. But just after they’d stopped briefly for lunch the chain on Kevin’s bike snapped clean in two, and there was no fixing it in the middle of the desert. They left the bike by the side of the road but kept Marylin’s bike and used it as a carry all. Kevin put the packs across the handlebars and together they kept the bike upright as they walked along in the sun.
While they walked, Squeaky and Ralphy were riding.
“Maybe we can find a safe place somewhere around Victorville,” offered Marylin.
Once they began walking and pushing the bike their conversation dwindled to a minimum.
“Maybe,” agreed Kevin. “But we’ll have to find something with a source of water. Sooner or later we�
��re going to have to start growing vegetables. Store food will last only so long.”
Marylin smiled.
“Just think, you and me as Ma and Pa Kettle,” said Marylin as she looked over at Kevin.
They continued to make small talk for another hour. It was nearly three pm when they came to a mileage sign.
“Only three more miles to Baker,” said Kevin. “Be nice to sleep in a bed tonight.”
“You can say that again,” said Marylin. “Her back still had kinks in it from sleeping in the culvert the night before.”
When they got to the sign, Kevin decided they needed a break. So, he stopped and placed the old Schwinn Varsity bike against the mileage sign steel post while dropping the two backs to the ground. Both of them started stretching their muscles.
“Be nice when we don’t have to walk anymore,” said Marylin. “Hope we can find another bike in the next town.
“Amen to that,” replied Kevin. He turned his back on the soon to set sun and looked down the long empty freeway behind them. He rubbed his neck with his right hand. His neck was killing him. Suddenly he noticed something moving on the far horizon of the road. It was too far away to make out the details.
“You still have the binoculars in your bag?” asked Kevin.
“Yes,” said Marylin as she turned her gaze in the same direction Kevin was looking.
There was a brief moment of uncomfortable silence. Marylin put her hand over her eyes to shield them from the reflected desert sun. She couldn’t make out any detail on the distant figures either. She quickly dropped to her knees and fished out the binoculars and handed them to Kevin. Kevin brought them up to his eyes and adjusted the focus.
The previously blurred images were now clearly two men. They were riding bicycles and moving at a good pace. Kevin studied them closely. The binoculars they found in Nipton were an excellent brand and featured Zeiss glass. Kevin had almost left them behind because they weighed so much. Now he was very glad they’d kept them.
“May I see?” asked Marylin.
Kevin handed over the binoculars to the Marylin and she took a look for herself. After a few seconds Marylin handed back the binoculars to Kevin who instantly raised the binoculars to his eyes for a second time.
“I have bad feeling about his,” said Marylin.
Kevin studied the men some more. He kept moving the focus back and forth in an attempt to get the clearest possible image of the approaching bikers. After a few more seconds Kevin dropped the binoculars. Then he reached into his backpack and pulled out the revolver he’d found in Olivia’s basement two days earlier. He pushed the revolver deep into his belt.
“Let’s get moving,” Kevin said. “I don’t want to meet those guys in the open.”
Kevin and Marylin piled their packs back onto the Schwinn Varsity bikes handlebars once again and started moving forward.
“If we can get to Baker before they get too close, we’ll be able to hide until they pass by,” suggested Kevin.
“Sounds like a good idea,” responded Marylin.
The couple continued pushing and walking but definitely picked up the pace.
Kevin turned around from time to time to check on the distance between the couple and the approaching men.
Chapter 59: Lots of time
“That’s got to be them,” said Ralphy, as he and Squeaky looked forward while peddled their Wal-Mart mountain bikes down I-15’s southbound lane.
“If we hurry we can catch um before dark,” mouthed Squeaky.
They’d picked up the pace considerably ever since they saw the fuzzy outline of two people on the western horizon before them. Squeaky was a heavy smoker and the hard pedaling made his lungs burn.
“They must be on foot,” replied Ralphy between breaths. “Only a matter of time now.”
A huge grin spread across Squeaky’s sweaty face. It had been a very long time since he’d been with a woman.
Chapter 60: Like black Lego blocks
After two miles of pushing the bike up a long grade, Marylin and Kevin were nearly played out. They stopped for a short breather and Kevin quickly picked up the binoculars to see the men coming. Both men hand something strapped to their backs. “Rifles probably,” he thought to himself.
The two men were less than three miles away now, and based on their recent progress, Kevin wasn’t so sure they’d make it to Baker before the men caught up with them. They could see the town on the horizon before them, maybe a mile out. The sun was already down over the western hills. The sky was deep orange. Night was closing in fast. Baker’s building silhouettes stood out like black Lego blocks.
“Give me your backpack,” commanded Mark, as he reached down for it with one hand as he pulled Marylin up to her feet. “From here we run.”
“What about the bike and your pack?” Marylin voiced between deep breaths.
“Forget ‘um,” said Kevin as he took one last look at the approaching men on the bikes. Then Kevin and Marylin ran as fast as their weary legs would carry them.
Chapter 61: Almost
Ralphy and Squeaky knew they were close to finally catching up with the couple running ahead of them. But they lost sight of them temporarily because the last grade approaching the small town of Baker was pretty steep and the couple had passed over it just ahead of them. When the two ex-convicts finally made it up and over the top of the steep grade they saw the man and woman running off the Baker Blvd. exit ramp.
“Almost got um,” barked Ralphy. “Come on.”
Squeaky had fallen a behind a little. He just couldn’t keep up with his partner.
“Get um,” said Squeaky between breaths. “I’ll catch up later.”
Ralphy surged forward as fast as he stubby little legs would peddle. Their prey was finally in sight.
Chapter 62: Mexican stand off
Marylin and Kevin had their eyes on the small blue building for the last 300 yards. It was the closest structure they could get to and they hoped they could enter it before being spotted by their pursuers. When they got to Lakewood Dr. they ran right for another 20 yards as they crossed a barren parking lot that led to the front door of Baker’s only Post office. Unfortunately, the front door was locked. Kevin thought about kicking in the glass door, but then stopped because it would give their pursuers a clue that they had gone inside the building. So, they quickly slipped around the back of the post office and looked for another way in.
But there were bars on the back windows and the back door was locked.
Kevin slid one eye around the left corner of the Post Office hoping to spot their pursuers.
Ralphy had stopped his bike at the top of the Baker Blvd. off ramp. He was breathing heavy and sweat streamed from his dirty and unshaven face. His gaze swept left to right looking for movement.
Kevin saw Ralphy and swung back around toward Marylin.
“Are they here?” asked Marylin between breaths. Kevin and Marylin were equally spent.
“One of them is standing at the top of the off ramp,” said Kevin.
“What’s he doing?” wondered Marylin.
Kevin moved along the back of the Post office and looked through the back window. Then he positioned himself so he could see through the back and front windows simultaneously. The view was darker but Kevin could see the man. He was still sitting on his bike. Suddenly a second figure rolled up next to him.
“See um?” gasped Squeaky as he came up even with Ralphy. Ralphy kept his eyes on what he could see of Baker. He knew the man and woman had to be close.
“Not yet,” said Ralphy. “But they have to be right down there somewhere,” as he pointed to the right of the freeway and toward the closest buildings. His pointing finger passed right over the Post Office. The building was about 100 yards from their position.
“Shouldn’t we go down there and look,” suggested Squeaky.
“No,” said Ralphy. “We can see a lot more of the town from up here than at ground level.”
Back behind the post of
fice Marylin and Kevin continued to watch the two men through the Post office’s two windows. Marylin turned and slipped down to sit on the rocky ground. She reached for the smaller backpack and pulled out a water bottle. It was there last one. Thankfully it was full. Marylin opened the bottle and took a long and greedy drink. Kevin looked down at her.
“Better go easy on that,” suggested Kevin. “If that’s all we got we better conserve until we find more.”
Marylin nodded her understanding and passed the bottle to Kevin. He thought about taking a drink. He was certainly thirsty after their desperate run.
