by Nathan Jones
What if she found time to search through them and didn't like his taste in music? Of course, considering the fact that the power was probably out for good he doubted she'd get a chance to hear any of it.
His mom gave the two of them an amused look. “That's very generous.” She went over and put an arm around Mandy's shoulders, careful of the sunburn. “Come on, dear, let's get you settled in.”
Matt glanced awkwardly at Sam. “I need to get packed up.”
To his relief she beamed at him, seemingly back to her old self now that things had been settled. “I'll help.”
* * * * *
“You're out of your mind.”
Trev gave his cousin an irritated look as he continued emptying the pockets on his backpack. “It's his family, man, and the guy's so clueless he walked right into a riot. I have to help him.”
“You're not much better off than him,” Lewis insisted, moving around to get in front of him. “This is crazy. We could at least try to get my fuel working in a car, or maybe try to find a vehicle that can run on it.”
“You've been trying that for days,” Trev argued. “All you've managed to do is gum up your truck's fuel injector, and Mr. Tillman's ATV didn't even splutter when we tried it in there.”
“So find a way to trade some gas.” His cousin grabbed his arm as he reached for some clean clothes. “You do not want to walk into the mess up there. Besides, how will you get them down?”
Trev shook his head. “There's no gas left in town. Running the fridges took a lot, and so did everything the town used the first week. What little remains is being used to charge batteries for radios and flashlights.”
Lewis sighed. “Think about this carefully. Here you have a home, a community, and everything you need to survive. If you leave here you become just another refugee, and refugees are the first to die when the Schumer hits the fan. You do not want to become one.”
“We'll have enough food to get there and back easy,” Trev promised. “And I'll make sure to avoid other people. We'll be in and out without talking to anyone.” He carefully set aside his Mini-14, ammo, and all the gear for it to stay behind. Taking two guns plus ammo for both of them was excessive, and anyway he didn't want to be shot on sight for openly carrying a tactical rifle. It may turn out to be a bad decision, but he'd prefer to trust his .45 in its underarm holster. And over long distances losing the weight would make a huge difference.
His cousin ran his hand over the rifle's stock. “Maybe I should go with you if you really plan to go.”
“You've got to watch the shelter,” Trev argued. “Besides, I can't ask you to do that. Especially not after you just got finished telling me what an idiot I am for going.”
“He's my friend too.” Lewis sighed again. “Although we do need to make sure you have a place to come home to and you're right that I don't really want to go. This is a bad idea, Trev.”
“I know.” Trev straightened and gave his cousin a solemn look. “Matt needs me and I said I'd do it.”
There was a long, uncomfortable pause as they stood staring at each other. “I'd better get you some protein powder to take with you, then.” His cousin turned and started for the back of the shelter. “And some flashlights.”
By the time Matt came around they had Trev's pack loaded. It felt full with the sleeping bag, pad, and tent, but when he put it on it was half the weight of when he'd first brought it down. Courtesy of taking just the bare essentials. Lewis checked their friend's pack and made him leave behind a few things, then gifted him with some protein powder as well.
After a few brief goodbyes Trev and his friend were on the dirt road leading away from the shelter, headed for Highway 6. At first Trev argued that they should head north and a bit east cross-country until they reached Helper, at which point the terrain got rough enough that it was better to just follow Highway 6 the rest of the way to Spanish Fork even if there was more risk of running into refugees and any trouble they might cause. He even pulled out the small map of Utah Lewis had given him so he could trace the route with his finger.
Matt immediately shook his head at the suggestion, insisting that he had to stay along Highway 6 and then I-15 the entire way because he wanted to run into refugees, if not to ask them about news up north then at least to check each group for his family.
Trev vehemently disagreed with the idea of walking right on the highway in sight of everyone, and after some effort managed to convince his friend that it would be better if they stayed barely within sight of the road with binoculars. That was a reasonable compromise, where they'd be close enough that Matt could check the faces of the refugees they passed looking for his sister and her family, but far enough away to avoid notice. Which meant they'd start by circling north around the new refugee camp springing up outside the town's borders beyond Roadblock 1, then take that road all the way to the highway and go from there.
Once they'd agreed on their course Matt immediately sped up to a quick trot, almost a run. Trev didn't even try to keep up, instead calling after his friend. “Whoa, slow down! Don't tire yourself out.”
Matt did slow, but only to look back at him impatiently. “I want to find April's family as quickly as possible. I don't care if I get a little tired.”
Trev sighed. “It's over a hundred miles to Midvale. You going to jog the entire way with a pack on your back? Believe me, I just finished a 50 mile trek and I learned a few hard lessons.”
His friend paused, torn. “We can rest when we get tired,” he said stubbornly.
It was hard to believe that after spending years on the high school basketball team Matt hadn't learned a few things about his body's limits. But then, he'd never really been on a long trek either, and Trev had been even more hopeless less than two weeks ago. “How do you feel after a game? Ready to rest for five minutes and go do it again? You can sprint for a few minutes at best and then your body's dead tired even after a long rest. Or you can walk for hours and take a short rest and your body will be ready for more. Believe me, it may not seem like we'll travel faster by going slower, but with constant walking we will. And we'll also reduce the risk of accidents and be less exhausted when we get there.”
Trev continued forward at the same pace he'd gotten accustomed to on the journey down as well as on his patrols, and when he caught up with Matt his friend fell into step beside him. “This may not tire us out,” he complained, “but going this slow is going to be agonizing.”
With a soft laugh Trev leaned over and slapped his friend on the pack. “We should be able to keep up this pace all day. You'll be surprised how quick we make the trip as long as we're careful to avoid accidents.”
The first part of the hike was uneventful. They reached 6 in under two hours and found plenty of refugees all following it south. Trev was surprised how many people there were, considering how few places there were to go aside from Price or straight on south to I-70 where they could follow it into Colorado. He supposed they could also keep going south to Moab, but that was just more dry, barren wasteland. And anywhere they might go aside from Price was a daunting distance without supplies, and more importantly with water scarce most of the way.
But here the refugees were, fleeing from a bad situation hoping they weren't going into a worse one. As planned Matt and Trev stayed barely in view of the highway, and from that point on Trev was surprised at just how much the hike felt like patrolling. They were following a line of hills running to the west of 6, staying just below the ridge on the opposite side and poking their heads up with every passing group of refugees so Matt could search for his family.
It slowed them down, definitely, because there were a lot of groups and his friend took a few minutes every time to meticulously check each face with Trev's binoculars. But even with the stops Trev kept them to the same steady pace, eating the miles behind them. He also made sure his friend was frequently drinking water, and every couple hours they pulled out the portable food they'd brought and ate as they walked.
Since both were used to patrolling neither had trouble keeping up the pace for the hour or so it took following the highway to reach Helper, at the mouth of Spring Canyon. Aside from Carbonville along 6 a bit south of Aspen Hill it was the only real town between Price and Spanish Fork. Because of that a considerable refugee camp, over a thousand people and possibly even more than the population of the town itself, had sprung up just south of the town along the Highway.
Trev was all ready to circle west around the camp and town both and make straight for the canyon, but before he'd finished scoping out the place with his binoculars Matt started right for the refugee camp. Hurriedly following his friend, he took one look at their destination and put two and two together. “You've got to be kidding. We don't want to walk into that hornet's nest.”
“We have to check,” Matt insisted. “What if April and her family are somewhere in there? We'd save ourselves a who lot of trouble and could just take them right back home. If nothing else we could ask for news about Midvale, and someone might have seen them or heard something about them.”
“There's millions of people up in the Salt Lake and Utah valleys,” Trev grumbled, although he fell into step beside his friend. “If anyone did know anything about April's family it would be like finding a needle in a haystack.” Matt just shrugged stubbornly, so with a sigh he checked his underarm holster beneath his jacket. The backpack straps made it slightly awkward to get to, but Lewis had helped him adjust it before setting out so it was possible. As he did that he noticed his friend checking his own Glock in its hip holster.
They passed a few groups of refugees heading the other way and got some odd looks about the direction they were going. Trev supposed that all these people were following the flow of humanity out of the cities, so seeing two idiots fighting against the flow to head the other way was unusual. Luckily odd looks were all the problems they encountered, and the refugees seemed just as eager to avoid them as they were to be avoided. Especially when the bedraggled passersby caught sight of Matt's openly carried pistol.
For all Trev's fears as they approached the camp he didn't see anyone who looked threatening. Most of the refugees seemed dispirited, not aggressive. In a way looking around the sprawling camp and seeing signs of so much human suffering as almost as daunting as threatening looks would've been.
Where could these people go? Who could they turn to for help? The government? From the sounds of it the Federal government was fractured and scrambling, facing the impossible task of fighting the chaos erupting all over the country. How much attention could they spare from that to protect and take care of hundreds of millions of US citizens fleeing population centers?
There was no help to be found anywhere, no place well enough off to accept so many mouths to feed. It almost sickened Trev to think it, but he wondered how many of these people would survive the winter.
Matt led the way over to where a family was setting up blankets and sleeping bags on a tarp under the open sky. Three adults and four children ranging from toddlers to early teens looked at him warily as he approached. “Hey,” he said, waving. “My name's Matt Larson. I'm looking for my sister, April Lynn. She lives up in Midvale with her family and might be heading this way.”
The only man among the group straightened. “Sorry, we came down from Mapleton. I haven't heard of anyone from Midvale.”
The older of the two women came and took his arm. “What about the FETF camp opening up in Salt Lake City?” she asked him.
Matt gave her a hopeful look. “What do you know about it?”
The woman looked over at the man to answer, and he shrugged. “Just that it's there according to what refugees are saying. We weren't sent south by FETF so we don't know what they're telling people, we decided to leave on our own before the wave of people fleeing Utah Valley clogged Highway 6 and brought their chaos with them. It was already happening when we left.”
“Which areas are being sent to the camp?” Trev asked. “Any idea if Midvale might be evacuated there?”
“Maybe,” the older woman replied. “From the sounds of it people on the outskirts of the population centers are being evacuated, while everyone in Salt Lake City and the surrounding areas that don't have anywhere to go are being admitted into the camp. Midvale might be close enough to be included in that.”
The man obviously decided it was his turn to get some information. “I'm Hal and this is my wife Janet,” he said, holding out his hand. “Looks as if you folks came from farther south. How are things there?”
“Not good,” Trev answered, shaking the offered hand. “Lots of people pouring into the area and there aren't enough resources for them. How about you? Where are all you folks heading?”
Hal shrugged. “South along 6. It's the only real way to go, right? There's nothing to the west but desert and badlands, east would be a nightmare trying to get through the Rocky Mountains, and to go north we'd have to go through some seriously bad rioting in Provo-Orem, Salt Lake, and Ogden.”
Trev shot his friend a glance, noting that Matt's expression had grown even more grim at that news. “And what about south?”
The older man frowned. “Pardon?”
“You looked at a map? There's nothing, nothing, then more nothing, all the way to Moab or along I-70 to Grand Junction. And as you go it's going to get drier and drier. It's not much better than the desert to the west.”
Hal obviously didn't like hearing that. He scratched at his cheek, frowning. “Not sure what else to do. Stay here in Helper? There's no food here. Or try our luck farther south in Carbon county?”
Trev shook his head. “Ever stop to consider it's going to be as bad wherever you go? Most places will be about as hospitable as Helper.”
Janet fixed him with a belligerent stare. “Well they'd better find a way to help us, at least until FETF can step in. What would they do, send us on into the desert to starve? Not in Utah.”
Trev opened his mouth to argue the point, but before he could Matt shot him a warning look. “Well thanks for the information. I hope you guys find a solution.” He pulled Trev away as the couple got back to setting up their crude campsite.
“So what now?” Trev asked. “Head for this FETF camp?”
Matt shrugged. “Midvale's still on the way to it so I guess we'll try April's house first, and keep looking over the refugees along the as we go for signs of them. Until then, though . . .” He abruptly cupped his hands around his mouth. “April! April Lynn! Terry Lynn! Are you here?”
Trev cringed, looking around as every eye turned their way. The last thing he wanted was to be the center of attention. But then again this was the quickest way to search the camp, even if it put them in more danger and might piss people off. He hated drawing notice but it was probably the right idea.
With a sigh he followed as his friend meandered through the camp, shouting the names of his sister and her husband. Before long they got to the other side, the only response to their calls refugees swearing at them and a few halfheartedly thrown rocks. Since they were already in the thick of things Trev didn't bother suggesting they go around Helper and just followed his friend through the town, noting how the highway was cordoned off to keep the refugees from wandering into town and men with guns were out in force in case anyone passing through started any trouble.
Finally they got through Helper and entered Spring Canyon, and in spite of still being surrounded by refugees Trev breathed a sigh of relief. Although he still insisted they get off the road again.
Staying out of sight was a bit more difficult at that point. They crossed over to the other side of the canyon and followed the hills opposite the road, usually no more than a stone's throw away, and did their best to keep behind cover. It slowed them down considerably, and a few times they were hailed by passing groups of refugees in spite of their best efforts to remain unseen, mostly to make sure they weren't planning to cause trouble. In spite of all that they got through the canyon in a couple hours without any problems, and on the othe
r side returned to their position within binocular sight of the road.
The going got harder and harder as Highway 6 meandered its way towards Spanish Fork Canyon, even though they still had a long ways to go to reach it. At some points they had no choice but to walk on the road itself in spite of their best efforts, but luckily there was plenty of room across the four lanes and the refugees they passed seemed perfectly happy moving over to the side of the highway as far from Trev and Matt as possible as they passed.
At one point they encountered a larger group of refugees that was mostly men, and Trev unconsciously checked his gun as he saw some of the looks being shot their way. But either the group wasn't aggressive or the sight of Matt's openly carried gun deterred them, and although they didn't move over to the side like the smaller groups they caused no trouble. Still, Trev breathed a sigh of relief when they were well away from the group.
After about 12 hours of walking they reached the ghost town of Tucker near the eastern end of Spanish Fork Canyon, roughly half the distance between Aspen Hill and Spanish Fork. By then it was starting to get dark, and Trev also noticed Matt looked tired enough that he was stumbling a bit. They could still go a bit further that day, but since this was a fairly good location for a camp he insisted they stop for the night and led the way well off the road.
Matt was only too happy to follow, and eventually they found a good spot in a copse of bushes on the top of a low rise, where they'd be able to see anyone approaching but were blocked from the view of the tide of refugees still passing by on the highway down below. They both groaned in relief as they took off their packs, and when Trev started setting up his one-person tent his friend was quick to start on his own. After that they spent the rest of the twilight stretching their legs and getting a good drink and a more substantial meal.
