Desperation

by Bruno Miller

  Ben thought the supplies were the least they could do for the town, especially if they were going to crash there again for at least a night. And he was sure Vince would be more than happy to top off their tanks and put them all up for the night once he saw what was in the back of the Scout. But Cloverdale was important for other reasons, primarily since it was a place willing to help people in need, and that was rare these days.

  A cache of weapons and ammo, the likes of which were in the back of the Scout, could carry a town like that for an awfully long time if it was conserved. That might be easier said than done, though, with nightly attacks from the gang of looters that seemed intent on taking over the town and seizing its supplies. One or the other would give in sooner or later. Ben hoped it wasn’t Vince and his people. Actually, he was counting on it, as much as he hated to admit that. If things kept unfolding the way they were out here on the road, Ben and the others would need Cloverdale as badly as Cloverdale needed the resupply of weapons and ammunition.

  Everyone started to load into the vehicles. Emma and Allie did their best to clean the dogs up with towels before coaxing them into the trucks. Sam was showing her age and needed to be lifted into the Blazer. After all the running and swimming they had done, the dogs were moving a little slow. Except Bajer, who flew up into the passenger seat and made her way to the back of the truck with little effort. Even Gunner needed a boost and was only willing to exert enough energy to place his front paws up on the doorsill, where he waited for Joel to pick up his rear end and push him the rest of the way into the Jeep. It was a lazy habit Ben had seen before after a long day of duck-hunting.

  With everyone ready to leave, he thought it would be a good idea to give them all a short rundown on the afternoon’s plan, or at least what he was shooting for. He especially wanted to be clear with Martin on when and where they would stop next. He didn’t need any more surprises today. Admittedly, that was something they couldn’t control, but reining Martin in would certainly reduce the chances of things going south. Ben thought for a moment about what he was going to say. He’d try his best to make it sound like he wasn’t picking on the guy.

  “All right, I hope that was a good recharge for you all. I just wanted to go over the plan for the afternoon with everyone before heading out.” He scanned the small group of people surrounding him. It was hard to believe that what started out as him and Joel driving to Maryland had turned into a group of nine heading west. Some of the faces belonged to complete strangers less than a few days ago. And now these people were entrusting their lives to him. It was not a responsibility he asked for, but it was one that he took seriously.

  “So what’s the plan?” Joel asked.

  “The plan is to camp in Ohio tonight on the Little Yankee Run. It’s a medium-sized creek that looks to be about an hour’s drive from the border. If we can keep the stops to a minimum, I think we’ll arrive with some daylight remaining. I was thinking you boys could catch us some fresh trout for dinner.” Ben watched as Joel and Brad looked at each other and smiled.

  “How long do you think it will take overall to get there?” Rita asked.

  “My best guess is around four or five hours.” Ben opened the map and laid it across the hood of the Blazer. “We’re right about here. I’m hoping to get here.”

  Rita stepped forward as he pointed to Little Yankee Run. She glanced back at her husband with a concerned look on her face. Ben knew it was a lot to ask of her.

  “We’ll break it up. We have no choice, really, because of the Scout. Based on the fuel Martin went through today, I’d say with the ten gallons he just added, we’ve got about an hour and a half of driving before he needs to stop.” Ben looked at Martin, then at the Scout.

  Martin shrugged. “I’m trying to take it easy, but it doesn’t seem to matter.”

  “I know. You’re doing a good job driving. The fuel economy might improve when we reach flat land, but not by much. We can deal with stopping for gas, though. We’ve got the equipment to get in and out pretty fast. It’s the unplanned or impulsive stops that hurt us.” Ben remained focused on Martin as he spoke.

  “It would be easier with another radio,” Martin argued.

  “You’re right, but we don’t have one, so you need to use the hand signals Allie wrote down for you. And use them early, not the moment you realize you’re on empty.” The calmness Ben had felt near the river was beginning to slip away.

  Martin threw up his hands. “I lost the paper. I was afraid I was going to give the wrong signal.”

  “Then we’ll get you another copy. We’ve come too far and worked too hard to make stupid mistakes,” Ben shot back.

  “Well, I’ve only been with you for a couple days, and I’m not very good at all this.” Martin was pacing back and forth now. Ben felt someone’s hand on his shoulder and turned to see Sandy. He took a deep breath and paused for a moment. She was right; arguing was a waste of time and energy, and it wasn’t getting them any closer to Cloverdale.

  “We just need to work as a team. The stakes are too high and there’s no second chances. I’m sorry I yelled. I just want us all to be safe.” Ben had already said more than he intended to; he certainly didn’t plan on getting into it with Martin like that. But maybe it was best to get everything out in the open. He’d been holding some of that in since this morning, and the snafu back in town had nearly pushed him over the edge. But the thing that bothered him most was that, prior to today’s events, he was just starting to think Martin was catching on to the way they did things.

  “This is all crazy. Are we insane? I mean, where are we going, anyway? I don’t even have a home anymore. Why don’t you just leave me here to die?” Martin started pacing again and biting his nails. He was spiraling out of control, and it was starting to freak out the kids. The last thing they needed was a grown man having a nervous breakdown right here in front of them. But mostly, Ben couldn’t help but feel a little guilty about the fact that he was more concerned with the time it would cost them.

  He approached Martin mid-stride and stepped into his path. Looking him straight in the eye, Ben grabbed both of his shoulders and held him in place at arm’s length.

  “Nobody is leaving you here to die, you hear me? And your home is with us—or in Cloverdale or wherever you choose it to be. Take a drink of water and get a grip.” Ben had meant that to come out better than it sounded, and he doubted it did much to ease Martin’s nerves, which was why he was more than willing to step out of the way and let Sandy have a crack at smoothing things over. He didn’t have the patience for this today.

  “Look, Martin, I know you’ve been through a lot—we all have—but we need to stick together. There’s strength in numbers, and that’s what we have here: strength. But we need you to stay with us, okay? We’re a team, right?” Sandy looked around at the others, who had picked up on her cue and chimed in with encouraging words of their own. Ben stayed silent, afraid he would let slip something worse than what he’d already said.

  Martin did seem to come to his senses a little after Sandy’s pep talk, but Ben had one eye on his watch, and he was growing impatient. As soon as he saw the opportunity to speed things along, he spoke up.

  “Everybody good to go? The longer we spend here, the longer we’ll be on the road tonight.” Ben only made brief eye contact with Martin this time.

  “Yeah, we’re ready. Let’s go. I want to get there before it gets dark.” Joel headed for the Jeep with Allie and Brad right behind him.

  “Hang in there, Martin. This is your second chance at life. At least we’re not still trapped in those containers, right? It can always be worse.” Carlos did his best to encourage Martin while Rita laid a hand on his back before they both started for the Toyota.

  “We’ll do our best not to slow you all down,” Rita called out to everyone.

  “Joel, you stay in the lead. We’ll keep bringing up the rear. Everybody in the same order that we’ve been in,” Ben shouted before climbing into the Blazer. Emma h
opped up into the truck and joined the dogs on the back seat. While Ben waited for Sandy to get in, he watched Allie run what he assumed was another copy of the hand signals over to Martin. Then she returned to the Jeep.

  “Oh, good, I was going to do that. At least he has them now.” Sandy buckled herself in.

  “Yeah, let’s hope he remembers to use them.” Ben waited until it was their turn to pull out and gave the Scout plenty of room ahead of them. It felt good to be behind the wheel again, and other than the argument with Martin, the stop had been a good one. He reached his hand back and patted Emma’s leg. She returned his affection with a brief smile in the rearview mirror and then went back to insulating the water bottles with towels while the dogs made their spots awkwardly around her.

  Ben had high hopes for the remainder of the afternoon, and he had every right to, didn’t he? Hadn’t they been through enough for one day already? They deserved a break. Things couldn’t keep going like this the rest of the way to Colorado.

  Or could they?

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  It wasn’t long before they found blacktop again and were headed west on a small two-lane road lined with half-dead trees. The landscape away from the river wasn’t much to look at, but the familiar hum of the tires was music to Ben’s ears. And for once, he was feeling optimistic about reaching Ohio tonight. They were more than halfway there, and even with the fuel stops factored in, they should make it to the campsite long before dark.

  The sense of accomplishment didn’t last long, though, and he started wondering if they shouldn’t be pushing farther tonight. He tried to dismiss the thought, reminding himself how important it was to take their time and be selective about where they stopped. Just because the place looked like it had potential on the map didn’t mean it would turn out to be a suitable or safe place to spend the night. Better to take their time finding the right spot before committing to setting up camp, then waking up to find out they’d made a mistake. And that could require driving farther than expected.

  There were no guarantees anymore. The creek on the map could be polluted or, in this heat, bone dry. Ben pictured the oily sheen swirling on the surface of the stream they crossed while traveling east. That was one of the spots he marked on the map to avoid on their way home. And it was another area of the country that wouldn’t improve with this weather, although the storm last night gave him hope. Depending on what they found tonight, it might be best to ration their water. After they’d gone through so much water at the motel yesterday and this morning, he’d be sure to keep a closer eye on their usage going forward.

  But that was one of the advantages of camping, as far as he was concerned. He could see what was going on and what everyone was doing. He wasn’t worried about his kids wasting resources; they knew the drill when camping and understood you couldn’t operate the spicket on the water jug like you ran the tap at home. Allie and her mom were equally competent at this point and appreciated the scarceness of supplies. But he wasn’t so sure about the others. With everyone in separate rooms last night, he had no idea where so much of the water had gone. He had his suspicions but didn’t want to point another finger at Martin. Not yet, anyway, even though he did look rather well-groomed this morning, all things considered.

  Ben didn’t want to think about Martin right now, though. It was bad enough he had to stare at the back of the Scout, a constant reminder they were going to have to stop again and get gas. Most of the trouble they ran into was the result of an unlucky fuel stop. But thirsty Scout or not, it was a necessary evil.

  They’d been on the road for one hour and forty-five minutes exactly. Ben knew because he was watching the time and waiting for Martin’s arm to pop out of the window and signal that he needed to stop. The last readable sign they’d passed said it was thirty-nine miles to Hubbard, Ohio. They were just a few miles from the border now, making it all the more bothersome that they were going to have to stop soon. Ben was hoping they could at least make it out of the state before doing that. He couldn’t blame the Scout this time, though. The Blazer was nearing a quarter tank, and he knew the Jeep was probably running at about the same.

  “We’re getting close, huh?” Sandy had the atlas on her lap.

  “Very. It would be nice to get out of PA before we stop. I’ve seen enough of it to last me a lifetime.”

  “How are we on gas?” Sandy leaned over. “Oh, I see.”

  “Yeah, I’m afraid it’s about that time.” Ben stuck his arm out the window and began signaling Martin. Like it or not, they needed to find a place to fuel up. With both jerry cans emptied into the Scout, they were without a safety net in the fuel department. Might as well start the process of scouting for a place. Martin finally waved back. Ben tapped the door a few times and followed it up with three sets of five fingers to indicate they should find a place in the next fifteen minutes or so. Martin gave a thumbs-up, but Ben wondered if he’d picked up on the fifteen-minutes bit.

  It was time to let Joel know what the plan was over the radio, but Ben wanted Sandy to do it.

  “You want to let the kids know?” He handed her the radio.

  “Sure.” Sandy pressed the mic and the radio squealed. “What am I doing wrong?” she yanked it away from her face.

  “That’s funny. They must be trying to get ahold of us at the same…” Ben’s voice trailed off.

  “What is it?” Sandy followed his gaze out the window and saw the large red and blue sign for herself.

  OHIO WELCOMES YOU. But it wasn’t the friendly greeting that had Ben’s attention. The skull and crossbones painted over the sign had him concerned. Large streaks of black paint ran from the graffiti, and he almost missed the letters written out below.

  PH TERRITORY. The writing was sloppy, and he read it again to himself to make sure.

  “PH territory?” Sandy shook her head. “What does that mean?”

  “No idea, but it doesn’t look like they want company,” Ben answered. Great, just what they needed, and only because they had to stop soon. He didn’t know what, or who, the PH was, but they could have this place. Ben would happily pass through and leave this area to them if he could. But that wasn’t an option.

  Joel’s voice crackled over the radio in Sandy’s hand. “Come in, Dad. Over.”

  “Here.” She shoved the radio at Ben.

  “Go ahead. Over.”

  “Did you guys see that? Over,” Joel asked.

  “Yes. Over.” Ben didn’t know what else to say about it.

  “What are we going to do? I’m gonna need gas soon. Over,” Joel said.

  “We all do, unfortunately. Keep looking for a place to stop. Over.” Ben thought about the sign and its possible meaning. The graffiti could be old. Maybe the people responsible for it weren’t even around anymore. But he had no way of knowing, not that it would have mattered anyway. With both jerry cans empty, it wasn’t a matter of if they would stop, but when. They would have to do their best to pick a place that looked the least dangerous, however they were supposed to do that.

  Now he wished they’d fueled up sooner. They had passed plenty of gas stations in the last half hour or so, but Ben had been so determined to put Pennsylvania behind them that he avoided stopping until they absolutely had to.

  “I see a place up ahead. Over,” Joel announced.

  “What’s it look like? Over.” Ben leaned toward Sandy in an attempt to see past the Scout, but he couldn’t. “Can you see what he’s talking about?” he asked her.

  “Not yet.” Sandy strained to look ahead, but Martin was already slowing down, and Ben did the same.

  Joel’s voice came back over the radio. “It looks like all the others. At least it’s close to the road. Over.”

  “I see it.” Sandy pointed.

  “Okay, you guys know the drill. Be ready for anything, and if something doesn’t look right or feel right, get out of there. We’ll find another spot. The trucks have a few more miles left in them. Over,” Ben warned Joel.

 
“Copy that. Over.”

  Ben set the radio down and put both hands on the wheel. He glanced back to let Emma know they were stopping but she was sleeping again.

  “I wish I could sleep that easy,” Sandy joked.

  Ben shook his head. “Yeah, must be nice.”

  “Should I wake her?”

  “Let her sleep. We’re not gonna be here long anyway. I wanted to try doing this without even letting the dogs out if we can help it.” Ben was going to do his best to make this the quickest refueling stop yet.

  “What do you need me to do?” Sandy asked.

  “Joel and Martin can help me pump gas. I need the rest of you to keep a lookout. If there’s anybody around here, we need to be ready. Keep your AR on you at all times here.” Ben probably didn’t need to remind her to carry her weapon, but he wasn’t leaving anything to chance. If he was going to try and be fast, he wouldn’t be able to keep an eye out for trouble very well. That responsibility would fall on the others.

  Ben could see the place clearly now. The Loves gas station sign towered above the interstate from a cluster of trees just off the exit. The sign was in good shape, only missing the bright LEDs that normally advertised the price per gallon to highway travelers. It towered over a large service center that primarily catered to eighteen-wheelers, but there was a set of pumps off to one side for cars as well. The convenience store and small restaurant advertised on the sign were no longer standing. But the oversized parking lot made it easy to see down the interstate in both directions and gave them plenty of room to maneuver, should the need arise. Ben wasn’t crazy about the secondary road that ran past the place and made a sudden turn before disappearing around a corner.

  The Blazer brought up the rear as the line of vehicles snaked its way around the perimeter of the property.