A Tale of Two Preppers

by Susan Gregersen

  With that, he got up and started to walk away. Jeannie called after him, “we’re sorry for your loss.”

  Jeff called after him, “It’s not to late to get out in a boat!” The man stopped and turned back.

  “What’s the point? I have nothing to live for now!” he scowled.

  “I’m sorry for your pain, but you’re alive! You’re healthy! You’re young! I know how you can do it. How WE can do it. We’ll help, but we don’t know anything about boats.”

  “Then how can we do it?” he asked. Jeff waved him down by them.

  “Listen, I saw boats on trailers in lots of driveways as we came through the suburbs. What little I know of motors, they should still work, despite the EMP. We just have to find one light enough that the three of us can manage the trailer with our muscles, and get it to the water. Where are the boat launches?” Jeff asked.

  The man got excited then and pointed toward the bridge to their right. Jeff could see where a road led down to the water’s edge. They climbed up the hill and looked at the houses on the culd-de-sac. At least half of them had a boat, either in the driveway or the back yard.

  “I’m going to grab our packs and we’ll walk around and check them out!” Jeff said, as he started back through the grass. Jeannie went too, and slung both duffel bags over her shoulder as Jeff swung the backpack onto his back. They followed Marty out onto the street.

  Marty glanced around, then said, “We should go over closer to the boat landing so we don’t have to man-handle a heavy boat and trailer any farther than we have to.

  They walked to the corner and started east toward the main street that crossed the river. Turning at that corner they headed back toward the river, and the second driveway had a boat at the back. They walked around it and lifted the edge of the cover to look at it.

  “No good. It would be better to find one that has an outboard motor with a pull cord to start it. We could probably get this one going if we had to, but let’s keep looking,” Marty said. The next driveway had a boat too, parked around the back of the house next to a concrete patio. Marty walked around to check the motor, and the back door of the house flew open.

  “GET AWAY FROM THERE!” bellowed a voice. All three jumped and looked at the big man pointing a rifle at them. They ran back toward the street as the man continued to yell things at them. They passed the next few driveways before they slowed down, not caring if there was a boat in any of them.

  “What say we knock on the door of the next place first, before we look over the boat!” Jeff said as they stopped to catch their breath.

  Across the street they saw a boat that was a bit smaller than the ones they’d been looking at. Marty motioned them to follow him and they jogged across the street. They stayed on the sidewalk while looking at the boat next to a garage..

  “It’s perfect. A boat that small is sure to have a pull-start motor.” He walked up to the front door and knocked. They waited a few minutes, then he knocked again. When no one came to the door they walked around to the back door. It was open. Marty cautiously stuck his head inside and looked around.

  “No one in sight,” he said quietly. “But the place has been trashed.” They carefully entered the house and crossed a kitchen. Jeff looked over the kitchen counter into the dining room and saw a pair of legs on the floor. He mouthed words to the others and pointed. They looked and turned away. A quick search of the house turned up another body, this one a woman, at the bottom of the basement stairs. It appeared as though she’d fallen down the stairs. They didn’t see wounds on her, but noticed that her hair was thinned out.

  “Isn’t this kind of far for them to have died of radiation poisoning?” Jeff asked.

  “Well, maybe they were closer to one of the targets and managed to make it home afterward, probably on foot, before they got sick,” Marty said through the shirt he had pulled up over his mouth. “Let’s go back outside.”

  They walked over to the boat. It had the right kind of motor and Marty was pleased. He jiggled the gas tank and said, “We’ll have to find some gas. It would be a good idea to have some extra too. Lots of these garages probably have gas cans in them, for lawnmowers, boats, whatever. We’ll have to watch out for ones that are already mixed for 2-cycle motors.”

  He went to the front of the boat and took hold of the trailer tongue and lifted it up and down a couple times, then nodded his head and set it back on the block it rested on.

  He walked to the garage and entered, returning with two gas cans. He took off the lids and smelled the gas, then poured a few drops out to look at the color. Satisfied, he set them in the boat.

  “Should we hole up somewhere for the night, or try to get on the river before dark?” Jeff asked.

  “Well, if you’re up to it, let’s go ahead and try to get going. It might be safer to travel at night, as far as danger from people. The river itself has dangers, and we’ll have to be diligent, but I think our greater threat is being seen,” Marty said.

  Jeff nodded. “What can we do?”

  “Go see if you can find more gas cans, and watch for little bottles of 2-cycle oil like this one.” He pulled a small blue bottle out of his pocket.

  Jeff and Jeannie carefully walked through the alley to the nearby garages. Most of them were unlocked, and they were soon back with 3 other gas cans. They set them in the boat and watched Marty pour fuel into the red metal tank in the bottom of the boat.

  “Okay, you two stay with the boat and keep an eye on things. You might want to wait inside the garage door, out of sight. I’m going to run back to my house and grab a few things.” Marty turned to leave as they headed for the garage door. While he was gone, they talked.

  “Do you trust him?” Jeannie asked.

  “Yeah, I guess so. Assuming the story about his wife and son is true.” Jeff pulled on the backpack straps to give his shoulders a rest. It seemed heavier when they were just standing than when they were walking. “I think this is a good chance to get away from the city in a safer way than walking. We’ll just keep our eyes open and watch what he does. Don’t leave anything unattended near him until we know we can trust him.”

  Marty was back pretty quick. He had on a backpack and was carrying several bags. He pushed them over the side of the boat and waved Jeff and Jeannie over to the boat. They added their load to the boat, then walked around by Marty.

  “I’ll carry the tongue of the trailer, and you two get on each back corner and push. Try to watch how hard the other one is pushing so you don’t knock me over and get us off course,” he said.

  When Jeff and Jeannie were each by a back corner, Marty lifted the tongue and used his foot to shove the blocks out of the way. He nodded at them and they began to push. Marty guided the tongue the direction they wanted to go, pulling at the same time.

  The boat rolled easily. It bumped out onto the street and Marty swung the tongue to face the boat the direction they wanted to go. It was slightly downhill and they had to hold back sometimes to keep from running Marty over. A few times he walked back and forth, causing the boat to weave and slow down. When they were above the boat landing he stopped.

  “Now the hard part. We have to get it down to the water without losing control of it and having it slide down too fast into the water. Let’s try and zig-zag to keep it slow, and when we’re close enough, I’m going to swing it around so we can back it into the water.” As an after thought he said, “We better undo the straps here in case we lose it and it lands in the river. At least then the trailer will sink and not pull the boat down with it and we might be able to save the boat.”

  He set the tongue on the pavement and ran around the sides, loosening the ratchet straps that held the boat to the trailer. Then he returned to the front and lifted the tongue and they started again. They held back hard and walked it down the ramp. Halfway down Marty pulled the tongue hard around to the side and then pushed toward Jeff and Jeannie to start it moving backward to the water. They leaned against the back, forcing the boat to
slowly roll toward the water.

  Jeannie’s muscles started to quiver. “I’m losing it! I can’t hold it!” she yelled.

  “We’re close enough. Jump out of the way now!” Marty called back. They did, and Marty ran with the tongue, trying to control the direction. As the wheels of the boat hit the water the tongue was yanked from Marty’s hand and made a loud scratching noise on the pavement as it slid into the water. Jeff spotted a rope on the front of the boat and jumped out and grabbed it, landing in water up to his knees.

  “Good catch!” Marty praised him! Jeff walked out of the water and held the rope that tethered the boat to them, while they watched the trailer recede and sink in the river. He and Marty pulled the rope to bring the boat back closer to shore.

  “You’ll have to get your feet wet, but go ahead and get in,” he said. “I’ll go last, and give the boat a shove out into the water before I jump in.”

  Jeannie started walking toward the water, but Jeff stopped her. “No sense getting your feet wet, too,” he said as he picked her up before she could stop him. Caught off guard it took her a second to put her arms around him and hold on. He walked through the water and set her over the side, then climbed in too, careful not to tip the boat. It was the first time either had ever been in a boat.

  Marty held the end of the rope coiled around his hand, walked into the water, pushed the boat and vaulted over the side, landing balanced. Jeff said, “nice!” Marty smiled at him and moved to the back and started messing with the motor. In seconds he was pulling the cord, and on the third try, the motor chugged and started.

  Marty immediately swung the boat around and headed up the river. “Anchor’s aweigh!” he said. “Where to?”

  Jeff and Jeannie looked at each other. Jeff looked at the river and then at Marty. “Wherever the river goes! Or should I say, wherever it comes from, since we’re headed upstream!”

  He and Jeannie were sitting on a bench across the mid section of the boat. Fresh air moved over their faces as the boat motored it’s way against the current. The sky darkened, stars came out, and the air became chilled. They pulled out coats and put them on.

  “Here, have something to eat,” Marty called. They turned and saw that he had pulled granola bars out of one of his bags. He handed them each two. They washed it down with water from their bottles.

  “How are you holding up?” Jeff called back to Marty after a while.

  “I’m doing fine. If you two are getting sleepy you could get on the floor and sleep for a while,” Marty said. No sooner had they done just that when shots rang through the night. Jeff held Jeannie’s head down while he peered back at Marty. Marty had dropped to the floor of the boat, with only his hand reaching up to control the tiller and keep them on course. He was looking from side to side, keeping his head as low as he could as he peeked over the sides.

  “I can’t see anything on the shore,” he said. He squinted and kept looking. Another shot made a ping-thunk against the bow. It was low but above the water line. Marty twisted the tiller handle to speed the boat up as fast as it would go against the current. Jeff pulled the shotgun out of the straps of the backpack and held it. A handgun had appeared in Marty’s free hand.

  The sound of a motor came across the water. “I think they have a boat!” Jeff called to him. Marty nodded his head and watched in the direction the sound was coming from. Then he pointed with the handgun and Jeff eased his head up to look. The boat wasn’t showing any lights, but he could see the disturbance on the water and a faint, white splashing. The sound grew louder.

  “You’ll have a better chance with that shotgun than I will. When you think it’s close enough, fire at them!” Marty said.

  “How close is close enough?” Jeff asked.

  “Don’t you know the range of that thing?” Marty asked, surprised.

  “No. I just got it. Only fired it once, and that was in close quarters,” he replied.

  Marty just stared at him for a minute and then said, “well, go for about 30 yards. Let one go then, and maybe it’ll make them back off. Be ready to fire again if they keep coming. If you have to, just lay the barrel on the side of the boat pointing their direction and keep firing, and keep your head down. Keep your extra shells handy.”

  Jeannie covered her head and crunched herself as small as she could and out of Jeff’s way. She braced for the noise but still jumped when it came. The blast from the shotgun shook the boat slightly and Marty held the tiller tightly as he guided the boat, almost blindly, upriver.

  “They slowed down but they’re still coming!” Jeff yelled.

  “Probably staying out of range while they figure out what to do. Don’t shoot again. They might decide to wait it out and let you use up your ammunition.” Marty yelled back.

  Jeannie thought she’d scream as minutes passed and the boat continued to buck the waves and current. She opened her eyes and watched Jeff and Marty.

  Marty caught a glimpse of motion off the other side of the boat and turned his head in time to see a canoe coming toward them from upriver. It was almost to them, coming in from the opposite side as the motorboat. He had just enough time to see the glint of moonlight on the barrel of a gun being raised and pointed at them, and he reacted instantly. His hand shot up and he fired the handgun.

  There was a yell and a splash as the person in the front lurched back and then tipped the canoe over. Marty steered as close to the canoe as he could and angled to the left as he passed it. As he hoped, the motorboat chasing them followed, heading in a straight line toward them. It didn’t see the canoe in the water until it was too late. They tried to turn but hit the canoe off balanced and bounced, turning sideways to the current. The boat righted itself, but the motor clanked and then died.

  “WOO-HOO!” yelled Jeff, sliding back up onto the seat. He reached over to help Jeannie up. She winced at the bruised, stiff feeling in her body, but threw her arms around Jeff and hugged him. Marty grinned at them, then went back to the serious work of guiding the boat through the dark night.

  They traveled several more miles before the sky began to lighten. Marty had eased off the throttle to save gas and because the motor would be quieter. Now he guided the boat to a side channel and slowed the boat, eventually shutting off the motor and letting the boat glide quietly toward the bank. He stretched his legs and then jumped out and pulled the side of the boat against the shore.

  Jeff reached forward and grabbed the rope and tossed the end to Marty, who unwound it and wrapped the end around a boulder, since there were no trees close enough to tie off to. He and Jeff helped Jeannie jump to shore, then Jeff followed. They walked around and stretched and did a few jumping jacks.

  “We’re almost to the point where two rivers come together to form this one. I wish we had a map. I know which river we follow, but I’m not sure how far to the get-out point,” Marty said.

  Jeff looked puzzled. “I have a map,” he said. “But I didn’t know you had a destination in mind.”

  Marty looked at the ground for a minute, then asked to see the map. Jeff looked at Jeannie, who shrugged. He unzipped the pocket of his coat and pulled the map out and handed it to Marty.

  Squatting, with the map spread on the ground, Marty studied it, tracing the river the fingers of one hand and planting a finger of his other hand on a place that looked like the middle of no where. Jeff hunkered next to him and watched.

  “I think we could use a hot meal. I’m going to cook something quick,” Jeannie said quietly. Jeff watched her jump back into the boat and begin looking through their bags. Shortly she was back on the shore and had something cooking on the little propane stove. Finally, Marty stood up, folded the map, and handed it back to Jeff.

  “So, what’s the plan,” Jeff asked.

  Marty looked straight at him with eyes that were clear and open. “Please, I’m going to have to ask you to trust me for now. You’ll be safe where we’re going…as long as we make it there.”