by Tom Larcombe
The man tending the grills turned around and made a gesture with his hand. The music stopped and Rynn realized he must have turned it off. There were groans and hisses from the crowd.
“Just a minute and I'll put it back on,” the man said.
He raised his voice and called across the street.
“Come on over and have something to eat. We've got more than we'll ever finish. Had to cook it all up when the power went out.”
He turned around and the music started up again.
Rynn looked at the kids. Cindy looked scared, but Eugene was licking his lips and sniffing at the air like a bloodhound.
“What do you think?” she asked. “We could get something to eat if you like. I'm of the opinion that it's safe. I'll check the food before we eat any of it though.”
Eugene nodded emphatically. Randall licked his lips and ventured a quiet “yeah”, Andi thought for a moment and nodded. The other two stayed quiet.
“Alright then, it's an early lunch break,” Rynn said.
She led the kids across the street and up to the grills. The man turned the music down, but not off, as static started to crackle through the speakers. Rynn stepped farther away from the radio and the static faded.
“Welcome, want a bite to eat?” he asked.
Pointing to each grill in turn he recited.
“Chicken, beef, and pork. Take your pick, with or without sauce.”
“What are you doing?” Rynn asked.
The man pointed to a small chalk board leaning against the door to his house. Rynn looked and read:
'The Block Party to End All Block Parties!'
below that someone had written in smaller letters:
'and maybe to end everything else also'
Okay, Rynn thought, he's gone over the edge, unless he knows something I don't.
“We'd love something to eat,” she said. “But why are you doing this?”
“Because everything is seriously screwed, big-time screwed. So screwed that things aren't gonna get right again any time soon.”
He looked at the children and pointed across the yard.
“There's cokes over there in the cooler if you want a drink,” he said.
Turning to Rynn he continued.
“You can have one of those if you want, but there's some beer in the other cooler behind me. You look old enough.”
“Don't mind if I do,” Rynn said.
She reached around him and pulled a bottle from the cooler.
“So, what can I get for you? Like I said, we have beef, chicken, or pork, sauced or not.”
“Let's get the kids fed first,” she said.
Eugene was the first one to return and she turned to him.
“What kind do you want?” she asked, “Show the man.”
“I'm sorry, I didn't introduce myself. My name's Greg Simmons.”
“Rynn, Rynn Alston. These are some of my students that couldn't get evacuated from the boarding school I work at.”
“You're a teacher? Wow, I never could handle a lot of kids. I'm in banking. Well, I should say I was in banking until a few days ago. Now I don't think the profession exists any more. That's why all of this,” he said, gesturing to the party.
“This is Eugene, he's very bright, no mental problems, he just won't speak. He can, but...”
Greg nodded.
“Other than at work, there were days I didn't say more than ten words to anyone other than my wife. After she died last year, there were days where the only talking I did was to my television. So I can understand that.”
He turned to Eugene.
“Son, it's your choice. You might want to talk while you have people you want to talk to though. Way too often you'll run into the other sort. You just point at what you'd like though and I'll get it for you.”
While Greg talked, Rynn separated a small bit of her consciousness and scanned the meats with it. She gave Eugene a slight nod.
Eugene pointed to a beef steak on one of the grills. Greg slapped it onto a plate and handed it to him.
“There's some silverware over on the picnic table. Dig in, son. Enjoy it while you can.”
The rest of the children were waiting and Greg served each of them in turn. Rynn chose a thick hamburger and started to eat it while still standing near Greg.
Greg started talking again, Rynn guessed that if what he said was true, he was trying to make up for lost time.
“Like I said, I worked in banking. A few days back, all the processing systems for cards started having glitches. The day after that not a single card worked. Hell, I even tried the card the bank gave me for expenses and it wouldn't even run through the system of the bank that had issued it. I knew right then that we were screwed. I pulled out a bunch of cash and decided to get to know my neighbors. Lived here thirty years and couldn't have told you Doug's name, that's my next door neighbor, until two days ago.”
He waved to a man who looked to be in his late thirties with a closely cut beard. The man lifted his beer in a return acknowledgment.
“What happened? Why did they stop working?” Rynn asked.
“Don't know. The IT guys were working on it. Said it looked like hackers had broken in and instead of taking over, they'd wiped the data completely clean. My boys restored a back-up, which bought us another day, then it happened again. Meanwhile cards wouldn't run until the back-up was fully restored and there were a lot of cards being declined. An hour after the back-up was restored, it happened again. When they went to restore the back-up file again it was gone, deleted.”
Greg's eyes unfocused as though he were remembering something as closely as he could.
“They said something about there not being an air-gapped back-up, that all the back-up files were deleted, that everything was reformatting, all kinds of gobbledygook. The final straw was when they actually found an older back-up and discovered that we couldn't even log into our own machines any more. By that time I knew we were screwed. I just got my cash and left after I found out it was happening to other banks also.”
“So someone did it on purpose?”
Greg nodded.
“It didn't happen to all the banks, just all the major ones. Smaller ones were fine, but the system was returning 'declined' or 'no such card' on ninety percent of transactions by then and everyone thought the whole thing was trashed. From what I've heard since, the EBT cards not running was the icing on the cake. Half the people who had those things just started walking out of the store with whatever they had in their cart when their cards were declined.”
“EBT cards?” Rynn asked.
“You know, Electronic Benefits Transfer?”
Rynn shook her head.
“SNAP program? Food stamps?”
Rynn finally nodded.
“You don't look old enough to know those as food stamps, young lady. Are you pulling my leg?”
“No, I just don't follow the news. I haven't since I was a child. I hate almost everything they report on so I just stopped.”
“Hell, I don't know what I'd do without my evening news. I suppose I'll find out tonight though. You want another burger?” Greg asked.
“No thank you. We need to be going soon. I've a friend in a rural area that's promised to take us in if we can get there. It's a long walk though.”
“Well, take a few drinks to ease you on your way. If you want I can wrap up some burgers for you to take also. I bought out the store's fresh meat a couple days back, but I need to cook it all up now or it's just gonna go to waste.”
Rynn gauged her own load and decided she could carry the extra food for a few hours.
“That's very kind of you. We'll accept your offer. I need to warn you also. There's at least one gang running rampant downtown. I saw them shoot a bus driver for no reason except they felt like it. They're a couple hours away on foot, if they have transportation though? I just don't know.”
Greg looked down at his prodigious belly.
“I'd try to find a place
too if I thought I could handle it. It's just that somehow I don't think the rural life would agree with me.”
He put another batch of burgers on the grill as Rynn went over to her charges.
“Greg said we can take some more drinks with us. He's also making us more burgers, so we'll eat those tonight.”
Eugene pulled out the small notebook he had in his pocket and scrawled on it. He removed the sheet, gestured to Greg, and held it out so Rynn could read it.
'Thank you, sir. The steak was delicious.'
“Yes, I think he might appreciate that. Go give it to him.”
Eugene walked over and handed the sheet to Greg. The ex-banker started talking to Eugene until Rynn approached several minutes later.
“Go get another drink Eugene, put it in your pack for later.”
“Good kid there, even if he doesn't talk. Got manners. You don't see that very much nowadays. One of my favorite authors said that a decline in manners tells you more than a riot. Guess he was right, we lost our manners, then we got the riots. I don't want to think about what we'll get next.”
“You've been very kind. Is there anything we can do for you?” Rynn asked.
“No, young lady, there isn't. I'm just trying to let people have a good time once more before things finish going to hell in a hand basket.”
He went silent for a moment.
“You know what? Yes, there is something you can do for me. Keep those kids safe. If anyone's going to live through this mess, it'll probably be them or others their age. They're a lot more adaptable than us older folks.”
“I'll do what I can to keep them safe.”
“I can't ask any more than that. Now, your burgers are ready and I should probably go take my insulin. Don't know how long that's going to last either. It might outlast me, might not.”
He wrapped the burgers in aluminum foil and handed them to her. Then he turned the music back up and went into his house. Just before he closed the door, he gave Rynn a sad smile and wave.
She went back out to the kids and checked to see if they were ready to move. After she made sure everyone had their packs, they started walking again.
“We'll walk slower for a while since we all just ate,” she said.
“I'm sorry I was scared. He was a nice man, even if he seemed kind of sad,” Cindy said.
“That's okay. From now on it will probably be better not to trust people right away. I did check the meat and make sure it was okay before any of us ate it,” Rynn replied.
* * *
Rynn puzzled over the road map. She'd been trying to keep them off the main roads and highways so far. If there were any traffic it wouldn't be safe for them to be walking on or beside those. She didn't see that she had much of a choice any more. The best route she could find, the only one for long stretches at a time, was going to be on county roads with no sidewalks. There were huge stretches of undeveloped land along their route and trying to go cross-country would only get them lost and slow them down.
“Kids,” she said. “We're going to have to walk along roads that might have more traffic soon. We don't have another choice. I want you to all walk single file and no horsing around while we do that. If a car comes speeding by I want you well off the road. I'm guessing there won't be any speed traps or police out to ticket people any more, so some people will drive as fast as they can.”
“Yes, Rynn,” came the answering chorus. Eugene nodded.
“We're headed for a very small town called Crystal Beach. It's south of Las Animas in Bent county. I'm telling you in case we get separated or something happens to me. I hope none of that happens, but if it does then there's still a chance you can get there on your own. If you do, ask for Michael Hart. He runs a mine right outside the town.”
The childrens' faces sobered a little as Rynn talked. They hadn't given any thought to the fact that something could happen to them, even after witnessing the gang shoot the bus driver that morning.
“Now, we need to keep moving,” Rynn said.
She led off again with the children following. There were cars on both state highway 83 and C-470, but at least the ones on 83 were still obeying the speed limits. She kept the children as far off the road as she could, there were places where that wasn't very far though. Finally, the sun started to set.
They'd made it into an area that wasn't heavily built up with houses. The map showed a park another couple of miles farther along the road and she was hoping they could make it there before full darkness.
They didn't make the park, but there was a veritable wilderness alongside the road just before the sun finished setting.
“Okay kids, off the road. Down there, in the tall growth. We'll roll up in our blankets and stay close for warmth,” Rynn said.
Eugene was the first over the guardrail. He slid down the slope and trotted over to a stand of trees.
“We probably want to stay in the tall grass, it'll give us better protection from the wind,” Rynn called to him.
Eugene shook his head and removed his duffle bag from his back. He rummaged around in it and pulled out several items. Rynn slid down the slope and walked over to him.
“Oh, you brilliant boy. I didn't know there were any tarps at the school.”
Lying on the ground in front of Eugene were a tarp, a ball of heavy twine, and a roll of duct tape.
He pulled his pocket notebook out.
'Maintenance had a couple. The other one's in my bag still. Would you tie one end of the twine to that tree at about head height?'
Rynn picked up the twine and tied it off as requested. She unspooled some more and secured it to another tree Eugene indicated. Meanwhile Eugene had removed a section of duct tape and was twisting it into something resembling a heavy cord. When he had it small enough to slide through the grommets on the tarp, he stopped. Then he started the process again, completing a second section of duct tape cord.
He slid it through the grommets and tied one end off on the tarp. The second cord went on the far end in a similar fashion. Then he slid the tarp over the twine. He took one end of the duct tape cord and wrapped it around a branch coming off of one of the support trees. Instead of tying it, he wrapped it around about eight times. The other duct tape cord received the same treatment. Then he stopped to scribble again.
'I read about this, never tried it though. The duct tape rope should stay in place without tying unless we get a high wind and this way the twine only supports part of the tarp's weight. Not great for high winds or rain, but for right now it's quick and easy.'
He spread the tarp out and staked small twigs through the grommets that were nearest the ground, keeping the tarp well spread out. Then he walked in one open end of the improvised shelter. Rynn followed him in. They both had to stoop, but there was still more room. She called the other children in. They all fit, although it was tight.
'I suggest we not all be in here except for sleeping,' Eugene wrote.
He laid his duffle bag on the ground at one of the open ends after pulling out his blanket. He gestured for everyone else to do the same and that end was nearly closed off after all their bags were there.
Rynn pulled out the hamburgers from earlier on and distributed them. The children tore into the food as though they were starving. When Rynn started to eat her own burger, she understood why. She wasn't hungry until the first bite, then she couldn't eat it fast enough.
When the children finished eating, they sprawled on the ground.
“Wait,” Rynn said, “before you go to sleep, I want Cindy, Andi, Eugene, and I to all take a watch. Stay on guard for wild animals or other people. Wake me if there's a problem. I'll take the first watch. Then Eugene, Andi, and Cindy in that order.”
The children settled into their blankets. Rynn moved out of the shelter to give them more room. After stretching some so she wouldn't stiffen up, she sat still and watched the stars. She was keeping watch with her ears. With the lack of cars passing by, she could determine more with her hearing than
with her sight.
After two hours passed she slid into the shelter and woke Eugene.
“Your watch now,” she said softly.
He gestured towards his wrist as though he were tapping a timepiece.
“Hah-hah,” she mock laughed. “Do you mean how will you know when your watch is done?” she asked.
He nodded.
“When the moon goes down all the way behind that tree,” she pointed, “your watch will be up. Wake Andi and make sure she's awake before you crawl back into your blankets.”
Eugene gave her a thumbs up and slid out of the shelter.
When Eugene came in to wake Andi, Rynn woke also. She trusted Eugene on watch. She wasn't so sure about Andi or Cindy though, so she planned to stay awake through their watches. The two hours of sleep she'd just gotten had refreshed her nicely, so it shouldn't be a problem.
By dawn Rynn was glad she'd stayed awake. Andi stood her watch just fine, but shortly after Cindy took over Rynn heard her breathing deepen and then turn to soft snores.
I'm not going to take her to task over it. I'm also not going to trust her with anything important either, Rynn thought.
When it started getting light out Rynn intentionally made enough noise 'waking up' that Cindy was awake and rubbing her eyes by the time Rynn made it out of the shelter. It also had the side benefit of waking the rest of the children.
They broke down the shelter. Rynn noticed that Eugene took the time to untie, instead of cut, the twine. He also left the duct tape cords attached to the tarp when he folded it and put it back in his duffle.
They ate breakfast next. When Rynn thought to check, most of her charges were either low on, or out of, the water they'd started with.
“Okay, I guess we find some water next,” she said.
* * *
Chapter 8
Since Rynn had contacted him mind to mind, Michael was sure that she wouldn't try to use the phone again. He picked the handset up and dialed his father's number.
“Andy's Automotive, we keep your older cars in perfect running order. No-one's here to answer the phone right now, please leave a message at the tone... beep...”
“Dad, it's Michael. I wanted to check up on you. Looks like things are going crazy everywhere. If you need a place to go, you know where I am. Call me if you can. Love you. Bye.”
