The Year Without Summer: A Post-Apocalyptic Survival Thriller

by Hunt, Jack

  “What are those for?”

  “A black 4 x 4 Ford truck, the one I was in before you rudely dragged me out.”

  “Hey, I was saving your ass.” He frowned, looking confused. “Where were they?”

  “Inside the truck. The owner must have shut it off and forgot to collect them. So it looks like we won’t be needing that gasoline.”

  “Of course we will, you idiot. We can’t drive out of here in a stolen truck. You know how fast they would catch us? The owner is probably on his way back to find them. Go take them back.”

  “No, we can drive out of here. They won’t be expecting us to drive out the east gate.”

  Billy groaned and slapped his forehead. “They’re looking for two guys. Now if word gets out that a black Ford truck is missing, and they still have those roadblocks in place, what do you think will happen?” He paused for a second and when he didn’t get a response he continued. “Exactly, so let’s put the keys back and just siphon the gasoline out.”

  “Using what, our mouths?”

  Billy rolled his eyes as he got up and reached over into the truck they were hiding behind, withdrew an empty five-gallon canister, and dropped it in his lap. “There we go.”

  “Oh c’mon, I checked nine different vehicles and the first one you look in has it?”

  “What can I say? I have the luck of the Irish.”

  “But you’re not Irish.”

  “Then things must be really looking up.” He smiled and they made their way back to the truck. Billy kept watch as he put the keys back into the 4 x 4. Once it was done they strolled along the back of the vehicles, heading for the tree line. They were five yards from the end of the parking lot when Billy dragged Wyatt to the ground.

  “What?”

  He didn’t say anything but looked toward where he left the dirt bike. There were two park rangers examining it, along with his backpack, which he’d left behind. They had pulled out his wingsuit. One of them got on the radio while the other one looked around. All they could do was watch as the ranger hauled the bike up and led it away.

  “Oh, you have got to be joking!” Billy placed his head in his hand.

  “Well that settles that,” Wyatt said. “I guess we’re taking the truck.”

  The journey over to US-212 was a solemn one. Logan couldn’t bring Hank up as he was pinned beneath two large boulders and it would require equipment they didn’t have. He radioed through to search and rescue and the team reassured him they would head out there as soon as possible. They were currently dealing with two lost hikers on the east side.

  The pilot brought the helicopter down near a rest area along the northeast entrance road. It was a barren spot in the park just north of Death Gulch and the location that Rebecca and one of the other members of the USGS team had chosen. They were working out of a white van packed with seismic instruments and high-end computer equipment.

  Catherine glanced out the window and saw Rebecca standing beside the van in cream-colored khaki pants, and a tight V-neck T-shirt that was bursting at the seams. Her hands were clasped behind her back, her chin out as if readying for an onslaught of questions. Beside her was Kyle Davenport, her lap dog.

  They felt the helicopter jolt a little before it finally settled on the ground. Logan and Catherine slipped out and stayed low as the wind whipped their clothes. Within seconds the helicopter took off again to collect the other three USGS team members.

  “I heard what happened. I’m sorry,” were the first words out of her mouth. As much as Catherine appreciated her humanity, it hadn’t made her forget the danger of the situation.

  “You need to speak to the superintendent. There is far too much activity happening. The seismic readings were off the charts.”

  “We’re getting nothing right now,” Rebecca said leading them into the back of the van to show them what they had found.

  Kyle tore off a sheet of data and handed it to Catherine. On it, she could see the same readings printed out back in Death Gulch except now it had returned to normal. She handed it back. “I’m telling you, Rebecca. This caldera is awakening and…”

  “And… we are here to monitor, collect data and then decide what course of action to take. I will not have a repeat of Mammoth Lakes.”

  “You mean you won’t risk your career?”

  Rebecca narrowed her gaze and then told Kyle to hop into the driver’s seat and get ready to take them back to the main headquarters in the north end of the park as soon as the others returned.

  “That’s it?” Catherine said.

  “Did I say that was it?” she replied staring back at her. “Look, I know you were close to Hank. We all—”

  “Please. Don’t say you were.”

  She opened her mouth to speak then closed it. A couple of seconds passed before she continued, “I’m just saying that until we have taken readings from the seismograph stations, observed the thermal activity and spoken with NASA we cannot form a definitive decision.”

  “Hank was sure.”

  “Well I’m not,” she snapped.

  “Thousands of lives are on the line, Rebecca.”

  “And so is the economy and livelihood of communities in and around Yellowstone.” She paused. “I will not have you pushing your own agenda.”

  “My agenda? And what would that be?”

  “Trying to prove I was wrong all along.”

  Catherine snorted. “Believe it or not, Rebecca, not everything is about you.”

  She hopped out of the van to get some air. Rebecca hollered, “You do your job and we’ll do ours.”

  Before heading back to the headquarters in Mammoth they were planning on visiting the northeast quarter of the park. NASA had positioned one of its drilling rigs not far from the entrance in a mountainous landscape called Republic Mountain just south of Silver Gate. They couldn’t leave until the others returned, all of which meant biting her tongue. Between Rebecca, Richard, the activity and Yellowstone, it was making for one hell of a getaway. She took a seat on the curb a good distance away from the van to think about Hank. He’d always been nice to her, treated her with respect and on the same level. There were few geologists that were like that, and now they were short one more.

  Logan stepped out of the van and muttered something to them before scanning the lot. He strolled over with his hands in his pockets, gazing around him. “You okay?” he asked, putting one foot up on the curb and placing an elbow on his knee.

  Catherine wiped away a tear. “I will be once she’s out of my face.”

  He snorted. “There is always one bad apple among the bunch.”

  “Isn’t that the truth? I’ve never been sure what her deal is.”

  “It’s called ego.”

  Catherine smiled.

  “I can’t believe he’s gone.” Logan said. “I’m gonna miss that old coot.”

  She was about to reply when her phone began vibrating in her pocket. She fished it out and answered.

  “Yes?”

  It was the ranger in charge of the tour her son was on. “Ms. Shaw, I don’t want you to get worried but… Jordan has gone missing.”

  Chapter 15

  Their nerves were on edge as they drove east out of Bridge Bay Marina’s parking lot, sticking to Highway 14. A strong wind blew against the vehicle causing a whistling noise because one of the windows was partly open. Wyatt drove while Billy stayed low on the passenger side covered with a blanket.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to go north? It would save a lot of time.”

  “No, we head for Cody.”

  On a good day with average traffic it would take roughly two hours. By that point they would be outside of the national park and no one would be searching for them. Billy looked up at Wyatt who kept adjusting his hands on the wheel. His knuckles had turned white.

  “You’ve jumped out of an airplane, bungee jumped and wingsuit dived at low elevations and yet you look like you’re going to shit yourself.”

  Wyatt didn’t br
eak a smile. He shot him a glance and swallowed hard. “What do we do if we come across a checkpoint?”

  “Play it cool. They aren’t going to search vehicles.”

  “Yes they are. They were doing it in the west.”

  “Right,” Billy said, clenching his teeth. In all fairness he hadn’t really given thought to what they would say if they were stopped. He touched the handle of the knife in the sheath on the side of his waist — that knife was the only plan he had and he didn’t want to use it.

  “They can’t have every road blocked,” Billy said.

  “We are on a main through road so unless you have a plan, we might have to go off road.”

  “So we go off road but we’ll deal with that when we come to it.”

  Wyatt nodded and looked down at him. Every so often he would glance at him. Billy knew he wanted to say something but he didn’t.

  “What is it?” Billy asked.

  “Nothing.”

  “You’re not very good at lying.”

  He breathed in deeply. “What if the ranger you stabbed is dead?”

  Billy studied his friend’s face. He could see fear and concern had got the better of him. It wasn’t that Billy didn’t care about the consequences of his actions, it was just he’d spent so many years dodging authority figures, he’d formed a belief that he was untouchable. But was that what Wyatt was worried about?”

  “It was just a flesh wound.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah.” Billy nodded, trying to convince him that it wasn’t a big deal. Wyatt changed his mind all the time and the last thing he needed was for him to fall back into panic. That had been the reason why he’d driven away the night before. The truth was the ranger might be dead. He’d driven that knife deep into his thigh. He saw the blood gushing out and soaking his pants as he fled. In that moment he didn’t think about if he would live or die, he just wanted to escape and get far away from trouble.

  “Anyway, where are we now?”

  “Just coming around Indian Pond. The road is clear so far. We might actually be in luck.”

  “Yeah like I said. You worry about a whole bunch of nothing.”

  No sooner had the words spilled out of his mouth than Wyatt eased off the gas, slowing the vehicle and bringing it onto the hard shoulder.

  “What is it?”

  “A roadblock.”

  “You’re kidding.”

  “Billy, do I look like it?” he said gripping the steering wheel tighter. “We’ll have to go back.”

  “We can’t go back to Bridge Bay.”

  “No, there was a trail back there near the pond.” With that said he did a U-turn and drove for another few minutes before he left the road again. Billy rose and looked out the window. They were barreling down a dirt trail that went parallel to Highway 14, then it took a sharp turn north.

  “Do you know where you’re going?” Billy asked.

  “No but we are out of options.”

  The terrain was full of wide-open spaces of greenery, then patches of dense woodland. They drove for what felt like thirty minutes and didn’t see a single vehicle or ranger. Billy pulled out his phone and tried to get a signal but there was nothing. The further north they went the thicker the woods became. The trail appeared to have been formed over time through constant use but then some parts were thick with undergrowth indicating that no one had been out this way in a while.

  “How we doing for gas?”

  “That’s the one thing going for us,” Wyatt said. He tapped the fuel gauge. “Unless this isn’t working.”

  “Don’t jinx it,” Billy said pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. He offered Wyatt one and he took it. “Well you know what, Wyatt. This will make one hell of a story to tell your grandkids one day.”

  They both laughed.

  “Anyway, how’s Rita doing?”

  “You mean, is she still mad at you?” Wyatt replied, his lip curling up.

  “That as well.”

  “She hasn’t mentioned your name in a while but that doesn’t mean you are in the clear.”

  Wyatt had been dating Rita since their school years. He already had two kids and she was pregnant with their third. At one time she was pretty cool about them going out and doing crazy things like sky diving and jumping off cliffs, but with their third on the way she’d begun applying the brakes on their ventures and nagging Wyatt to get a real job. That’s why he let Wyatt go after stabbing the ranger. He didn’t want him getting into trouble and they had come close to it over the past few years.

  “You know she won’t ever let you come out again with me after this.”

  “She isn’t going to know about this!” Wyatt said, flashing his pearly whites. “If we get out of this, it’s time to settle down, Billy. I’m heading out to Maine and starting afresh and I think you should do the same.”

  Billy wasn’t dating anyone, though that didn’t mean he slept alone. That was the upswing to their job and the reason he wasn’t keen to do anything else. Although they didn’t show their entire faces on video, people could hear their voices, and he didn’t think twice about whipping out his phone when he was in a bar and showing the ladies. At first they would blow him off and say he was full of it and then he would pull out the bandanna worn in the video, tie it around his face and repeat something said in a video and he’d watch their eyes widen. Like goddamn, he felt like Zorro, the people’s man, well that was if Zorro was real, an adrenaline junkie, and had a massive online following.

  He was lost in the memories of days gone by and enjoying his cigarette when Wyatt leaned over and tapped him on the arm. “Hey, look.” He pointed up ahead to a rugged log cabin that was nestled into a large diamond-shaped patch of woods. For the most part the terrain on either side of them was wide and nothing more than dusty landscape. “This is a little off the beaten path to have a campsite.”

  “That’s not a campsite. It’s an old ranger cabin. Most national parks have them. They built them back in the 1920s and ’30s. Not all of them are in use anymore but some are.” There was no vehicle outside.

  “You want to stop?”

  “No, keep going.”

  The road curved as it got closer to the cabin and continued north, cutting up through a mountainous region called Pelican Cone. They drove on for another twenty minutes until they found themselves on a steep incline heading down into what seemed like a canyon. Wyatt yapped on about Maine, and buying a house by the water, and recounted all the tales his uncle had told him about how great life was out there. He made it sound like the gold rush era except the gold was fish and it was easier to find. As they came over a rise in the trail, Wyatt slammed the brakes causing Billy to jerk forward and nearly go head first through the windshield. About to go nuclear on his ass, he looked out to see what the problem was and saw the road was blocked. Though this time it wasn’t a checkpoint — large boulders had cascaded into the canyon floor cutting out any viable way of continuing on.

  “Shit! I swear someone up there has it in for me,” Billy said balling his hand and banging the dashboard. He opened the door and got out and kicked the side of the truck a few times before walking over and climbing up on the boulders. Wyatt joined him and looked at the steam rising through the cracks. In some spots there was smoke.

  “That doesn’t look good.”

  Billy looked up the rocky slopes. “Must have been another earthquake.”

  “More reason to get the hell out of here,” Wyatt said turning and heading back to the truck. They didn’t waste time. Wyatt reversed and turned the vehicle around and gave it some gas heading back the way they came. He was sure he saw a turnoff a few miles back. Billy began fishing around inside the glove compartment.

  “What are you searching for?”

  “Water. I’m thirsty.”

  “I think there is some back there behind your seat.”

  Billy twisted around and looked but there was nothing. He groaned.

  “Look, let’s stop at this cabin
. It might be stocked.”

  “And it might have a ranger. And knowing our luck it will.”

  Wyatt laughed. “Such a pessimist. All the rangers are out looking for us. No one is coming out here.” He veered off the road causing a plume of dust to swirl behind them and crossed over a small driveway that led up to the rustic cabin. They parked outside a few feet from the porch and Wyatt hopped out.

  “Well you coming?”

  Billy nodded and grabbed up his rifle. He wasn’t taking any chances. The door was locked but a few hard kicks and it soon gave way, swinging wide. Inside there wasn’t much to the place. A bed in a loft-style area accessible by a wooden ladder. A musty smelling couch, and a rocking chair. In the rear was another room with a table that had some kind of contraption on it covered by a sheet. There was a shelf with a few old books, and the kitchen had a sink and counter with a couple of cupboards. It was equipped with electric lights, electric stove, and a wood stove for heating up the place. But there was no drinking water. “Great,” Billy said.

  “There is a stream not far from here. And I’ll go check the rear of the truck. I think I saw a cooler. Hopefully there’s beer.” He smiled as he headed out. Billy fished through the cupboards but they were empty. Not even a can of Spam. A cockroach scuttled across the ground nearby and he crushed it beneath his boot. He climbed up into the sleeping area and ducked some of the big spider webs. What a dive. It was clear no one had been there in years. He bonked his head on one of the rafters and cursed under his breath. This wasn’t how he saw the trip playing out. It was meant to be seven days of eating good, eluding the rangers, filming some crazy stunts on their bikes and drinking beer.

  Suddenly, Wyatt yelled.

  Billy hurried over to a small dusty window and looked out. He ran his hand across the thick layer of dust to see Wyatt chasing someone. “What the hell?”

  By the time he made it down and was out the door, Wyatt was halfway back clutching a young kid in both arms. One glance at his white Nike sneakers and he knew who it was.

  “Get off me, man!” the kid yelled.

  “Stop resisting.”

  He was wriggling around in his arms as Wyatt dropped him to the ground.