by Ryan Gawley
Arthur dressed, shaved and then busied himself gathering the various bags and cases Alice had packed. Once he had brought everything downstairs he passed through their kitchen and out to the shed at the back of the small garden to grab their pre-packed rucksacks and several other items from the modest store of emergency supplies Arthur had saved and gathered.
As he hoisted his bag onto his back and felt the weight settle it brought back memories of countless forced marches, blistered feet and some of the best and worst days of his youth. Knowing he wouldn’t have met Alice had it not been for his discharge meant he had long ago accepted the injustice but he still missed his friends and the life. Dismissing the thought he glanced at his homemade still and the several gallon jugs of moonshine whiskey he had stored away.
‘Ah sure why not make the journey a little more enjoyable!’ he thought to himself and hooked the index finger of each hand through the ear of a jug and carried them to the house.
The welcoming smell of frying bacon and eggs delighted his senses as he entered the kitchen. ‘Oh that smells fantastic love, bit of soda bread too if there’s any?’
Alice half joked. ‘Is that for you or for running the truck I wonder?’ pointing a metal spatula at the large jugs of liquor hanging from each of his arms.
‘It’s too good to leave behind and sure we’ll have something to celebrate with when we reach my cousin’s place. Besides, who knows how long it will take me to build a new still,’ Arthur replied as Alice rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to the stove.
Arthur went back and forth between the shed and hallway and in two more runs had lined up six jugs beside their other belongings.
He stood in the doorway between hall and kitchen massaging an ache in his lower back which served to remind him of his age and stared at the two large suitcases and a smaller bag Alice had assembled, both their emergency rucksacks and the six gallons of booze.
‘Geez love it’s just as well we’re taking the truck! What have you got in those cases? There’s enough in our packs to see the two of us right for the journey, what could you possibly need to bring all that stuff for?’
‘Arthur Graham!’ his wife scolded from behind and Arthur winced knowing what was coming. ‘If you have room to take all of that hooch of yours then I have room to bring a few things of my own. I want to leave this horrible old town as much as you but this was our home regardless of what it has become over the years and I won’t leave it all behind. A few small bits and pieces to remember better times and friends and family are worth the space don’t you think? A woman needs more than one frock too you know or don’t you want me to feel like a lady when we get to our new home?’
‘I’m sorry love, of course you’re right. There’s plenty of room, it’ll be fine. Let’s have our breakfast and not fight on this last morning here eh?’ said Arthur smoothing over his mistake. He couldn’t bring himself to tell his wife that if the going got tough they might have to dump the lot by the roadside.
‘Better to take a leaf from Alice’s book and be the eternal optimist,’ Arthur thought to himself.
After their breakfast Alice got to work checking their house over one last time for anything she might have forgotten, filled a cardboard box with food and treats for the road as if they were simply heading on a weekend trip to the seaside. As Arthur suggested she set timers on lamps in the front and back of the house which would come on and off at random intervals during the night and give the appearance they were at home. It wouldn’t matter really but a few of the neighbours on their street still cared enough to look out for an elderly couple and might get suspicious when they came home from work that night and found Alice and Arthur’s house in darkness. Anything that would avoid drawing unwanted attention was worth doing.
Meanwhile Arthur had walked the short distance to the lock up garages that were rented out to a few of the people in his area. As he approached his senses alerted him to the acrid stench of burnt plastic and metal and saw that a garage two to the left of his own was badly fire damaged, the roof had caved in where the wooden roofing supports had burned through but oddly the door was open and completely intact and the heavy wooden door frame was only lightly scorched. As he got closer he noticed the inside of the garage was a completely different story as everything had been incinerated. The contents were now a pile of ash, melted plastic and twisted metal. There had been only light rain the night before but the inside of the garage was completely saturated, puddles of black water mixing with the noxious chemical stew left from the fire.
Arthur’s concern was for the old Land Rover pickup truck in his own garage and he quickened his pace to check his lockup but to his relief found all locks intact, no signs of break in and apart from the overpowering smell of the neighbouring inferno his own garage was unaffected. He knew if vandals or burglars had hit one lockup they would have ransacked several if not all and the old truck would have been a great prize for a thief or arsonist. Opening the heavy creaking door the ancient springs protested as they took the weight and as the door rose up Arthur was relieved to see the heavy steel bumper and the faded red paintwork of the battered old truck.
He thought about the burnt out garage and the nature of the targeted attack and relatively controlled burn with obvious signs of the fire being extinguished when the job was done. He realised it could mean only one of two things. In the old days it was common for people to pull an insurance job for cash but since it was now a capital offence no one would dare risk their life for a few worthless dollars. That meant it had to have been a sanctioned incineration which in turn meant that someone had tipped off the Enforcers about stored contraband.
This thought worried Arthur more than any material concern for the old truck even though it was their ticket out. He regularly visited the garage to check the battery charge and to crank the engine over so as to keep the tired old machine from seizing up altogether. If someone had been watching his neighbour they could have just as easily reported him.
Although he owned the truck legally and had all his permits in order he knew the Enforcers would act first and ask questions later and a chill shivered though Arthur’s bones imagining his poor Alice being dragged out to the street as the Enforcers raided their home while another unit raced to catch him with the truck. It was just a touch of paranoia he knew but suddenly he felt a sense of urgency and trusting his gut wasted no further time in thought and loaded a few tools and two five gallon fuel cans full of diesel into the rusted load area of the truck covering them with an oily canvas tarp to hide them from casual observation.
He jumped into the cab, inserted the ignition key, waited for the heater plugs to warm then fired up the old turbo diesel engine which after a few turns and a couple of dabs on the throttle started with a cough of black smoke then settled into a reassuring rhythm.
‘That’s my girl,’ said Arthur patting the dashboard and he pushed the heavy clutch pedal down, engaged first gear and rolled out into the daylight. He looked out through the narrow windscreen to be sure no one was around then jumped out to lock the garage door and left the engine running to warm then quickly climbed back in the cab and drove off slowly, resisting the urge to race the aged machine back to Alice.
Although it only took a few minutes to pull up in front of his house and lock the truck it seemed like over an hour. He ran into the house and met Alice in the hallway then without saying a word pulled her close and held her tightly to him as if he hadn’t seen her in a year.
‘What’s the matter Arthur? Is everything okay?’ asked Alice picking up on her husband’s anxiety.
Arthur pulled back from Alice but held her with a hand on each arm and looked into her kind eyes. ‘All’s okay my love; I just had a bad feeling is all. Now, are you ready? Let’s hit the road.’
They worked quickly and in just a few minutes all the bags and cases and jugs of liquor were loaded into the flatbed at the back of the truck and secured with ropes and elasticated cords. Alice put on her thick woo
l coat and a warm hat and carried the food bag into the cab with her as Arthur locked the front door of their house for the last time then climbed into the driver seat. Before he started the engine he turned to his wife.
‘I love you Alice, you know that right?’
‘Oh you soppy old fool, are we going to sit here all day?’ laughed Alice but the sparkle in her eyes told Arthur all he needed to know and he fired up the truck and started on the road to whatever lay ahead.
Arthur drove quickly but carefully through the busy streets taking his time to get familiar with the nuances of the old truck, she was big and basic but handled well enough at the pace he was driving. It had been a several years since he’d last driven any vehicle and that had been a forklift unloading supplies at the docks during a few months’ work he’d been offered. Even so it’s a skill that never really leaves a person and both he and Alice were enjoying the thrill of driving around streets with very few other cars since private vehicles were rare now and most other vehicles were government supply trucks or public buses. The old Land Rover wasn’t paid much attention since Land Rovers were the standard Enforcer patrol vehicle and people were used to seeing them daily. The dented body panels and smoking exhaust of Arthur’s truck showed it to be just one more heap of junk running itself to the grave which meant it was relatively inconspicuous and therefore relatively safe transport for their journey.
It was mid-morning as they entered downtown and Arthur was glad they had avoided the rush where the streets would have been thick with pedestrians jostling and pushing each other to make it to offices, factories or schools.
‘Where do they all come from, I mean if nobody has any money and everyone is supposed to be at work where do all these people come from?’ asked Arthur aloud.
‘They’re just people Arthur, they’re getting on with their lives as best as they can. It’s depressing though isn’t it, I’m so glad we’re leaving. There’s really nothing left for us here.’
The old couple drove on in silence staring out at the people who wore faces as grey and lifeless as the buildings they mindlessly populated, slaves to lives barely lived.
As they followed the labyrinthine traffic system Arthur fought to keep his sense of direction.
‘It’s no bloody wonder people don’t drive anymore, we’ve gone further north than west but I can’t make a turn anywhere to get back on the route to the west gate,’ he said angrily, cursing the city under his breath.
‘We’ll get there, we’re making good time. Just try to take it easy and watch your blood pressure. I don’t want you having heart attack before we even get past the gate.’
‘Oh great, now we’re stuck behind a bloody bus. That’s it, I’m taking the next left turn wherever it leads and getting off the main streets, I’ll be better following my own bearings than the damn road markings.’
‘Arthur, look out!’ screamed Alice. ‘Oh my God, Arthur, did you see? Oh that poor woman, is she alright, can you see?’
Before Arthur got a chance to make the next turn the bus in front of their truck suddenly braked hard and the rear of the long vehicle fishtailed across the road blocking their path. Arthur stood hard on the brakes almost slamming into the back of the bus as he brought the heavy vehicle to a stop just inches from a collision.
‘What the hell? Never mind out there, are you okay? We nearly crashed. What’s going on love, are you alright?’ he asked more concerned about Alice than the incident on the street.
‘Why is nobody helping her? Look, they’re all just walking past like nothing happened! Arthur what’s wrong with people?’ Alice seemed to be in shock and staring out the windscreen at the bus but at the same time was scrabbling desperately for the door release and before Arthur could stop her she was out of the truck and running toward the accident.
Arthur shouted after her as he snatched the keys from the ignition and jumped from the truck to follow.
‘Alice, no, leave it alone. Alice! Come back, we have to get out of here,’ but even as he shouted he knew he couldn’t stop her.
Alice froze when she approached the bus, the carnage stopping her in her tracks she stared in disbelief. ‘She’s dead Arthur, she’s dead.’ Tears gently rolled down Alice’s face as she sobbed quietly.
A young woman, Alice guessed maybe early thirties had been hit by the bus and her body lay half under it, twisted and broken, blood still pooling around the warm corpse as it ran from her mangled remains. Arthur quickly stood in front of his wife and held her close to him gently pushing her face into his shoulder to prevent her from seeing any more of the gruesome spectacle but it was too late, no one could ever wash this scene from their mind.
As Arthur took a few moments to comfort his wife he looked around, recalling the words Alice had shouted as she climbed from the cab of the truck and he thought to himself ‘What is wrong with these people? Isn’t anyone even the slightest bit concerned?’ but he knew the answer to that.
‘Hell, if it wasn’t for Sam I’d be just another dead body queued up in Central Disposal myself,’ he thought. He looked around and saw the only signs of any interest were a few street security cameras pointed toward the bus and a shop assistant nervously glancing at the twitching remains under the bus while he swept broken glass from the street outside a supermarket.
Alice regained her composure and Arthur looked from the street to the bus driver. Through the blood streaked windscreen he could see the driver hadn’t moved and just sat staring blankly through the glass.
‘Hey, you okay mate?’ Arthur shouted. The driver didn’t respond so Arthur tried rapping the side window. ‘Hey, buddy?’ but still nothing. As he watched he saw a male passenger approach the driver and attempt to communicate.
In the distance now Arthur could hear the sirens of an Enforcer patrol heading in their direction. ‘Alice, we can’t get involved in this. If the Enforcers think we were involved in any way the truck will be taken, we’ll be interrogated and you know there’d likely be worse to follow.’
‘It’s just so awful Arthur, I saw her run out from the shop there and then it was all over so fast.’
‘I know love but we have to go,’ said Arthur leading his wife by the shoulders as quickly but as gently as he could. He helped her up into the cab then reaching into an inside pocket of his coat pulled out a steel hipflask with a worn leather cover, unscrewed the lid and gave it to her.
‘Take a good sip, it’ll help.’
He ran round the front of the truck pulling the keys from his side pocket and jumped into the cab, quickly started the engine and shoved the gearbox into reverse. The sirens were so close now he knew he had little time to back up and turn. As the crowds continued to pass around them seemingly oblivious to all but their own thoughts Arthur selected first gear and was about to pull away in the direction they had come when an Enforcer patrol screeched to a halt beside them. There was nothing they could do and Arthur knew it so he grabbed the hip flask from his wife, kissed her and then took a large swig to ready himself for what was coming.
The Enforcers sprang from their armoured patrol wagon but ignored Arthur and Alice instead focusing their attention on the bus. Husband and wife turned to look at each other not sure of what was happening. Arthur could have driven off but that would certainly have compounded their appearance of guilt and besides, the tired old diesel in his truck was no match for the three and a half litre V8 petrol engines fitted to patrol wagons so they turned further to watch through the back window of the pickup.
Arthur thought it strange how the Enforcers arrived so quickly for an accident in the Dreg quarters but then didn’t show interest in the cause of the accident at all yet had shotguns ready as passengers screamed, panicked and fled the bus through a broken side window. They pushed the passengers roughly aside shouting for them to get down. Whatever the reason for the Enforcers presence, the bus was their main concern. Suddenly the street echoed with gunfire and Arthur instinctively pulled Alice down behind the seat in the cab of the truck.<
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‘What the hell is going on?’ he said, his mind racing, fearing for Alice more than himself.
Almost immediately after the shots were fired the Enforcers made their way back to their patrol wagon and as he heard them approach Arthur looked up from behind the seat again. He heard the squad commander order a clean-up and then some garbled message came back over the radio. As the terrified husband and wife looked on from their truck all four Enforcers scrambled back into their vehicle and the driver started up the powerful engine, turned sharply then sped off with sirens blaring leaving wounded bus passengers, uncaring pedestrians and a bewildered elderly couple in their wake.
Arthur took another long drink from the hip flask and passed it to his wife. ‘I don’t know what that was about but it’s a sure sign we need to get the hell out of here right now.’
‘Arthur, get us away from this horrible place,’ Alice said grimacing as she took another sip from her husband’s flask.
The engine was still running so Arthur slammed the truck into gear and drove off fast, plotting his own route through the city and ignoring traffic signs. Alice held tight to the door handle and steadied herself with a hand on the dashboard as Arthur threw the old machine around corners as fast as he dared, conscious of the valuable cargo in the rear and the more precious cargo sitting beside him.
Soon Arthur could see the top of the west bridge and shortly after they were rumbling along the cracked concrete road leading across the stretch of waste ground between the buildings on the city’s fringe and the oppressive perimeter wall. ‘One more obstacle to overcome,’ thought Arthur trying to suppress his less than optimistic feelings about their chances.
As he rolled the truck to a gentle stop in front of the red and white steel barrier hoping in a moment to see it raised he said quietly to Alice. ‘Just leave the talking to me, I know what these type are like.’
‘No you don’t, you’ve no idea what they’re like, what are you talking about. Did you see what they did back there at the bus? They didn’t care about that poor girl and who knows who they killed on the bus afterward,’ snapped Alice understandably upset about what she had witnessed shortly before.
