Sonny returned from his toilet break after a few minutes and I made sure everybody was back where they belonged and ready to roll. I pulled the roller door down and latched it. Sonny and Indigo were already back in the cab, so I clambered up into the passenger side seat and closed my door.
As the truck started and the headlights came on, I thought about the falling snow and how it seemed to bring bad luck to me ever since leaving the Fosters’ residence. Where would I be if I’d stayed there? Captured by looters ... or the Chinese ... dead? Perhaps. Who could say?
“Did you get any encouraging words from Luke?” Indigo asked, as we pulled back out onto the freeway.
“Not really,” I said, chuckling. “Not with all the excitement. I’m pretty sure he thinks I’m not without hope, just a cynical pessimist.”
“I can see that,” she replied, smiling as she put her arm back around me and leaned in close for warmth.
“You think I am a cynical pessimist?”
“I wouldn’t like you so much if you were,” she replied, snuggling closer to my shoulder.
“Someone once said ‘there is nothing more pitiful than a young cynic, because they have gone from doing nothing to believing in nothing,’” Sonny said.
I knew he was teasing, but his comment stung a little. That saying was from a world much different to the one we now lived in.
“Well, there’s one good thing about my outlook,” I said, deciding not to take it to heart. “When good things do unexpectedly happen, I get a pleasant surprise.”
“Like the bear?” asked Indigo.
“Yeah, that was good, and definitely unexpected.”
“All jokes aside,” said Sonny. “You both did really well back there. You two make a good team.”
Our eyes met and Indigo smiled before looking back to the road ahead.
After a few more miles, the two sides of the freeway merged together and, with no median between them, became more like a four lane highway. Soon we saw roads and even driveways coming directly off of it. We continued travelling north at a speed of about 30 miles per hour. It was all the speed Sonny dared, given the swirling snow and limited visibility.
It took us nearly half an hour to get to the town of Hillsboro, New Hampshire. Here, the highway we were following merged with another and turned east toward Concord. We were mostly quiet during that leg of the trip. Sonny was concentrating on the road ahead and Indigo snuggled against me with her eyes closed. At one point, she began to snore, surprisingly loud for such a sweet girl, so I nudged her a little bit and she squirmed around and continued sleeping, but at least the snoring stopped.
“About five or seven miles further up the road we are going to come to another freeway. Do you think we should stay on the highway or take the freeway in and through Concord?” Sonny asked, as we were leaving Hillsboro behind.
“I think there’s good and bad about taking the freeway,” I replied. “The fact that they have limited access means we have fewer directions danger can approach from.”
“True enough.”
“But, on the other hand, that advantage can turn into a disadvantage because, if we do meet trouble on the freeway, there are fewer opportunities for escape.”
“Also true.”
“We are taking a freeway out of Concord, no matter what road we take in, aren’t we?”
“That’s the plan.”
“Then maybe it would be easier to get on here, assuming this freeway connects to one leading north. That way, we won’t have to hunt for freeway entrances while we’re navigating through the city, we just skirt around it.”
“Sounds like a decent plan, but what if the Chinese have occupied Concord? It seems likely to me that they’d be watching the freeways more closely than the side roads,” Sonny said.
“Risk versus reward, I guess. Every decision we make has to take those aspects into account. By not taking the freeway, we risk running right into a Chinese patrol on one of the streets of the city with nowhere to run. Let’s take the freeway.”
“You’re really starting to sound like one sometimes,” he replied, glancing at me with a small smile.
“Starting to sound like what?”
“A leader.”
Less than 10 minutes later, we were approaching the on-ramp to the freeway and Sonny pulled the truck to a stop. At first, I didn't realize why. He was staring at the freeway as it stretched into the distance, an incredulous look on his face.
“What…?” I began, before it hit me like a slap in the face. We could see the freeway stretching into the distance because the row of streetlights running along it were blazing, the light reflected by the snow. The freeway glowed, a white ribbon in the middle of a dark night. On this section of road at least, the Chinese had turned the power back on.
Indigo stirred between us and opened her eyes.
“Lights…”
“Yep,” I said. “Maybe sticking to the side roads and going through the city would be for the best after all.”
PART THREE
BLOODY NOSE
14
We continued on highway 202. It followed the freeway close enough that we could see its lights blazing though the trees. This went on for maybe four miles before the freeway veered off to the south east and we continued on toward the heart of Concord.
Reaching the outskirts of the city, we saw the freeway was not the only place where streetlights were working, although, none of the houses or buildings we passed seemed to have any lights on. The snow was still falling, even thicker now, with the large flakes clumping together in the air. Concord was eerie, the streetlights illuminating what was essentially a ghost town.
“If the electricity is on, I'd bet a hundred bucks that the Chinese have troops here,” Indigo said.
“I’d say so, but there’s not much we can do about it, if we want to get to Drake Mountain,” Sonny said.
“Maybe you should turn the headlights off,” I said. “The snow is reflecting enough light from the streetlights that we don’t really need it.”
He followed my suggestion. The road was still plenty visible in the ambient glow of the streetlights and hopefully we’d now be less noticeable.
“Should we stop and ask the others their opinions about this new development or should we just keep pushing on?” I asked.
“I think push on,” said Indigo, with a frown creasing her face. “Like Sonny said, there isn’t much we can do about it, short of scrapping the trip altogether, and do we really have anywhere else we can go?”
“Could we turn back and loop around, avoiding this city?” I asked Sonny.
“Probably,” he said. “But it would use a lot of gas up to do that. The roundabout way is long, all the way through Vermont and back.”
I looked at the gas gauge on the dashboard. It now read a little over a third of a tank. “Darn it, this thing gets horrible mileage.”
“What do you expect? It’s a rental truck,” Sonny said lightly. “Look, throw in the fact we don’t know if any other way we go is actually going to be safer than this way or not and I think it’s better we stick with this route.”
He paused at a traffic light which was blinking red. I was thankful we were the only ones that appeared to be out on this cold night.
“Maybe we could get some gas,” Indigo said. “If the lights are working, the pumps might be, too. We just need to find a gas station.”
“No, Sony’s right,” I said, shaking my head. “It would be too dangerous to stop and try and get fuel. I guess we stick to the plan unless we come across a real threat.”
“Okay. We push ahead,” Sonny agreed, pulling through the intersection and continuing his drive deeper into the city.
Street signs indicated that if we continued down the highway, we'd eventually reach Interstate 93, the freeway that should take us north to Lincoln. From there we could join the road leading to Drake Mountain Resort.
According to Indigo, who was examining the atlas, it was about 30 miles or mor
e to Campton, where we planned to ditch the truck, and another five from there to Lincoln. Sonny said from Lincoln to the ski lodge, where we assumed the safe haven was, was another couple of miles, so it looked like we’d be walking at least seven miles. I desperately hoped it would stop snowing by then.
The drive through Concord was eerie, the emptiness only highlighted by the illumination of the streetlights. I couldn’t help looking at the rows of darkened houses, wondering how many dead Americans were entombed in the snow-topped buildings. I shuddered.
Indigo saw it first.
“There’s a building with lights on up there,” she said, pointing ahead. “We might want to take a side street and go around.”
Following her finger, I saw what looked to be a squat building about two blocks up on the right. There was a neon Budweiser sign lighting up the street in front of it. Sonny slowed the speed of the truck and we inched closer.
I could see there were four Humvees parked in the small lot. Clearly, the soldiers were inside the bar, probably enjoying some leisure time. Something about Chinese troops sitting around drinking in an American bar, while its former owners rotted in their homes all around them, stung me badly.
“Take the next left,” I said to Sonny. “Then a right, and pull over.”
“You want to stop?” he asked.
“I want to take a closer look. Maybe we can learn something.”
“I don’t know, it’s pretty risky. Are you sure?”
“Well, if nothing else, we might be able to find a way to disable their hummers,” I said. “That could prevent at least this group from chasing us if we’re spotted.”
He regarded me for a moment, a curious look on his face.
“Alright, I guess I buy that,” he said.
He took the next left and then turned right onto a parallel road before pulling into a dark alley.
“Who are you taking with you?”
“Luke,” I said, without even thinking. “I’d take you, but we can’t both go, we’re the only drivers. Plus, you’re still not one-hundred percent.”
“I’m going, too,” Indigo said. “I can’t let you and Luke have all the fun all the time.”
“Are you sure?” I asked her. “It could be dangerous.”
“No kidding,” she said, crossing her arms. “Don’t worry about me, I can pull my weight.”
“I never said you couldn’t but…” I said. The next words kind of tumbled out of my mouth without me thinking. “It’s just that I like you – a lot actually – and I’d hate if anything happened ...”
My sentence was cut off when she leaned over and put her lips on mine. Excitement shot through me like a bolt of electricity.
“I like you, too, Isaac,” she said, as she pulled away smiling. “And I don’t want you to get hurt either, but that’s not going to stop you from going, is it?”
“I guess not,” I said, my face glowing.
Suddenly the night didn’t seem so cold anymore and I wondered how Luke would feel when he found out Indigo had stolen a kiss from me.
“Alright,” I said. “I guess just be careful and I’ll try to do the same.”
“Deal, so, let’s get Luke and get started.”
We said our goodbyes to Sonny, who told us he would keep the truck running, but he was getting out to stretch after the long drive. We also agreed that if we weren’t back in half an hour, he would assume the worst and leave without us.
Indigo and I climbed out of the truck and went around to the back; Luke was already crouching by the door holding his crossbow as I opened it.
“What’s up?” he asked, then I saw his eyes widen as he saw the streetlights. “The power’s on? I take it this isn’t just another whizz stop then?”
He jumped down and the others looked on with interest.
“We’re in Concord,” I said. “The Chinese have occupied it but we didn’t have a choice about going around. Anyway, there's a bunch of Humvees at a bar around the corner and it looks like they’re letting their hair down inside. We’re going to go on foot and check it out.”
“Alright, who's going?”
“Me, you, and Indigo.”
“Indigo ...?”
“Yes, Indigo, unless you want to take it up with her?”
Luke took one look at Indigo’s determined face and shook his head.
“Nope, all good here.”
“Okay. So we’ll see if we can scavenge anything they might have out there and maybe learn something about their number and positioning in the city. But our main goal is going to be to disable the Humvees so they can’t chase after us when we leave town.”
Ben jumped out and I could tell by the look on his face he was disappointed he wouldn’t be going.
“Ben, I need you to stay here and guard the truck. If we’re not back in 30 minutes, you and Sonny will be continuing without us.”
“Okay. Just make sure you’re back,” he said simply.
We said our goodbyes and were turning to go, when Brooke called out for us to wait. She jumped down and hugged each of us in turn. Luke was last, and their hug seemed to linger. He avoided eye contact as we walked to the corner, but his red face and the knowing look Indigo had shared with Brooke said it all. I guess I didn’t have to worry about him trying to impress Indigo after all.
We stayed in the shadows as much as possible as we made our way around the block to the bar. I gave Luke a whispered account of our trip since the encounter with the bear, only leaving out the part where Indigo had kissed me.
The fresh snow was already nearly four inches deep here, and it was resting on a half-inch of older, compacted snow beneath it and our boots made squelching noises as we walked. Reaching the corner of the main road, we could hear the beat of music and laughter even though the bar was still another block away. There didn’t appear to be anyone guarding the vehicles in the parking lot. Why would there be? What exactly did they have to guard against? Hopefully, we could take advantage of their complacency.
“We should cross the street and sneak up along the front of those buildings,” Luke said. “We don’t want to be exposed in the street when we get close to that place.”
“Good idea.”
I looked both ways to make sure we weren’t being observed before ushering Luke and Indigo across the street.
We moved carefully in the snow and gathered under the awning of a drugstore on the other side.
“I’m glad you remembered to look both ways,” Indigo said.
“I wasn’t looking for traffic…” I started, then realized by her cheeky smile that she was ribbing me.
“Well my mom always told me, you never can be too careful.”
Their faces told me immediately that my attempt to continue the banter had fallen flat and I made a mental note not to mention ‘moms’ to people who have recently lost theirs.
The window of the drugstore was intact and I could see the shelves were still fairly well-stocked. If we’d had more time, we probably could have raided it for supplies.
We crept as stealthily as we could towards the bar, in a vain attempt to prevent our boots from making too much noise. The snow was still falling just as hard as before, but now a cold wind had begun to pick up, blowing straight down Main Street. We were close enough to make out the music now. It was country and western.
Luke raised a hand, bringing us to a stop. “Are they really listening to country music? Are we sure these are Chinese soldiers?”
“Who else would they be?” I asked.
As silly as it was, even that one little question planted a seed of hope in my mind. Could it be Americans who had switched the power on? Had the Flu been stopped before it wiped out the whole country?
“Well, there’s only one way to find out,” Indigo said. “Let’s get closer; we’re still half a block away.”
Luke started forward again and we followed single file, our backs against the front of the buildings that lined this side of the street.
We stopped
at the corner opposite the bar and watched it from the shadows. The Grand Slam Bar and Grill looked as lively as it had probably been before the Flu. Now that we were closer, we could see there were two more Humvees parked back where we couldn’t see them from further down the highway. Humvees which clearly displayed the Chinese flag.
I swallowed my disappointment, even though deep down I had known it would be the case. Six Humvees. If they were manned like the one at the gas station, we were looking at upwards of 36 soldiers in the bar.
“Maybe this isn’t such a good idea,” Luke said quietly. He had obviously crunched the numbers, too.
“They’re all inside, and the windows of the bar are frosted and painted with baseball logos,” I said, knowing we would never get as good a chance again to do some damage to the Chinese.
“I don’t know,” said Luke, unconvinced.
“It’ll be fine. We’ll be okay as long as they don’t all come out at once, and from what we can hear I don’t think that’ll happen. We have to try and at least cripple the Hummers, Luke. Look, they have machine guns in the ring mounts just like the one from the gas station. Those things would tear the back of our truck to shreds if they came up behind us on the freeway.”
“Sure,” said Indigo. “Let’s do it.
Luke still didn’t look keen on the idea but before he could say anything, we were interrupted by some atrociously off-key singing. The troops had clearly broken out the karaoke machine.
We all looked at each other and burst into giggling.
“Okay, I’m in,” said Luke, knuckle bumping us each in turn. “I can’t let that horrible singing go unpunished.”
“Great, that’ll keep them busy and cover any noise we make. Come on,” I said and started across the street, moving as fast as I dared in the snow. Indigo and Luke followed closely behind.
When we reached the parking lot of the bar we crouched down by the front fender of the Hummer furthest away from the door. Indigo kept watch on the building while I scanned the streets and Luke reached up to try the driver’s side door. It wasn’t locked. He opened it slowly and looked around inside.
America Falls (Book 2): On The Run Page 10
