Dark Days Rough Roads dd-1

by Matthew D. Mark

  Haliday didn’t see Alan’s truck anywhere nearby. Alan worked for a construction company as an estimator and salesman and his job took him everywhere across the tri-county area. That was going to suck, no telling where he had been at the time. None of them bought into the preparedness realm, so he knew they didn’t have GHB’s or anything. Not even a pistol that he could remember.

  They got a lot of looks as they drove up. Haliday backed into the driveway. He would get used to doing this for tactical reasons. He did it in the military and they did it at work, it saved time from trying to back out of areas or parking spaces so you could get out quicker, or respond quicker without the hassle of ground guides or watching your mirrors constantly. Too many blind spots that way too. Took too much valuable time to back up.

  “Kayla and Linda, you guys cover the Tahoe. Keep everyone away. Fire two quick shots if you need us, or if you need to take action, keep firing and we’ll be there ASAP.” Haliday and Mike walked around the house and noted it was all locked up. A neighbor came out of the house next door and asked them what they were doing.

  “I’m looking for my brother Alan.” The neighbor only slightly recognized him, but more so he saw the family resemblance.

  “Have you seen him?”

  “No, haven’t seen anybody, but I just got home last night. Haven’t seen anybody around here since then.”

  “Thank you,” Haliday said. “I’m going to go in and check it out.” They walked around to garage and he tried the handle, but it was locked. It seemed the whole house was locked up. He went to the Tahoe and grabbed a pry bar. He used it to force the garage door open.

  Once inside he called out to see if anyone answered. There was no answer at all. He started to do a search of the house and started by the kitchen. He walked in and looked around. He spotted some paper on the table under a glass. He picked it up and read it. He didn’t know what to make of it.

  Waited for the kids to walk home from school. Then we waited as long as we could. Packed up what we had and went to Ken and Barb’s. We’ll stay there as long as we can. Hope you make it there. We love you.

  He assumed Nancy and the kids were here and left the note for Alan.

  Haliday was glad the kids got home ok and they went to stay with someone, but he had no idea where that might be. He looked around for an address book, but figured there wasn’t one. She most likely kept it all in her phone and on her computer like everyone else these days. Nothing he could do here. If it had been close he would have picked them up, but he had no idea where they were.

  He went in the garage and looked around. He spotted a five gallon can of gas that was almost full. He went and dumped it in the Tahoe. He went back in the garage and walked over to Alan and Nancy’s Harleys. He pulled the fuel line from the tanks and emptied them into the gas can and dumped that in the Tahoe as well. He got about an extra 10 gallons total, which was good enough.

  He loaded everyone up and looked around. People were just standing there. To him it almost looked like the zombie apocalypse. These people looked that far out of it. Unshaven facial hair, unwashed hair, dirty clothes, dirty faces, blank stares and that look of despair. What the hell were they waiting for? These were upper middle class, who thought they were immune to disaster and probably counted on a government rescue. Wait until the lower class gets a hold of them. Wait until they turn on each other.

  He was thinking about the note saying the kids made it home from school. Since Kayla was in college he hadn’t really thought about that. He wasn’t worried about the junior high or high school kids. What the hell did they do with the smaller elementary school kids? Did you turn loose a 5 or 6-year-old? Hell, a 7 or 8-year-old? That was scary to even think about. In some areas they needed buses to get home.

  He guessed that they might have food for a while at the schools, but eventually that would run out. What about the staff? How long were they willing to stay and watch them if that was even the case. Would people be able to walk there, pick up their kids and make it home? With so many people relying on two family incomes to live, he wasn’t sure how many would have been close enough. He didn’t really want to think about it.

  Mike said, “Hey, we going to get back on the road?”

  “Oh ya, I was just thinking.”

  “Thinking about what?”

  “Nothing really.” There was no sense in sharing his concern with the rest of them; there was nothing they could do anyway. The thought of kids in school or abandoned haunted him a bit. It was time to get home now though. He pulled out of the neighborhood ready to get home.

  “Listen Mike, what do you say we run the highways as far as we can go?” Mike asked if that was risky.

  “Well, it’s the quickest way to get back home and there might be some issues, but look at it like this. We’ll be clear of Detroit, so we are avoiding that sewage dump. I figure we have an hour and a half using the highways or four if we use the county roads and smaller streets.

  “I think it’s worth the risk. Too many little cities on the county roads, the gas mileage sucked, and the highways should be clear of people as they most likely found their way into the neighborhoods and I’m betting we only have to dodge cars. I’m tired, I’m sore, and I want the hell out of this damn truck.”

  “Do it Dad,” Kayla said.

  Linda said, “Whatever Mike thinks is good with me.”

  And Mike said, “Ya, let’s do it.”

  He knew the way home from here and he was ready to get there. He dreaded making this call. Everyone was still listening and waiting for the report when he came back on the air.

  He had dumped the radio protocol long ago and as long as he didn’t reveal last names or locations, no one knew who they were, where they were, or what their plans were. Everyone else understood this as well, so he just clicked the mic and laid it all out there.

  “You guys out there?” He got the two responses. “Ok listen. Alan’s house was empty. It appears Nancy was home and the kids made it home ok. They waited and then packed up and went to a friend’s house. No idea who, no idea where. There’s no sign of Alan, he might have made it home and then went there later, I don’t know.”

  Bev asked him if he checked the area.

  “No, not at all. I kept an eye out for his truck around the general area as we drove in, but we are getting back on the road now.”

  “Can you just look around a bit more?” she asked.

  “No.” He left it at. She didn’t argue the point either. She knew it would be a losing battle with Roger. Roger understood the endgame more than anyone else here. He was thinking about his brother in Missouri and sister in Texas, wondering how they were doing right now.

  It was late afternoon now and would be dark in a couple more hours. On the highways there was the occasional vehicle, but not many. He did notice a couple people looking through cars and just figured them to be looters. He kept telling himself, just three lousy days. The zoo gates opened and the animals were set free.

  After dodging the cars for about an hour he was heading north on one of the main roads called Telegraph and hung a right on Square Lake road. This would dump him onto I75 for about a mile where he would pick up 59 East back toward his house. He couldn’t help himself; the hospital was too close to pass up. He could hang a left, pass by, then within another five minutes jump on M59 directly.

  He passed the hospital slowly. It was just a big dark building lurking there as dusk set in. In another 30 to 45 minutes, it would be totally dark. He looked at all the buildings on the property and it was clearly evident they had been ransacked a long time ago. He had no idea who was left in the building and he didn’t care. No doubt the residents of this place they called Ponticrack had done a thorough job taking what they wanted.

  He popped up unto 59 and headed east. It was like déjà vu. He remembered all of the cars being here and the trip he made with the old man within just an hour of the event. He was passing by the little strip mall and saw that the grocery store had
the windows broken out and just as he predicted, it was completely empty.

  He pulled into the parking lot and slowly drove by. Definitely empty. He drove by the pizza joint and noticed it too was empty, nothing at all, not even the pop. He pulled out onto the road and started to head for home. Just another mile, that was it. They would be home, they would not be there long, but it was still home.

  Kayla screamed out, “Stop Dad, stop!” He hit the brakes hard. Max had taken up residence on the center console and tumbled forward. He looked up at Haliday, who just smiled. They had a love-hate relationship, they loved to hate each other. What was it he missed? He started looking around.

  “There,” Kayla said, pointing away from the Tahoe.

  “What?”

  “Over there Dad,” and she pointed out the window.

  “Ok, I guess I’m blind, I’m not seeing it.”

  “It’s Blake Dad, from school.”

  “What school?”

  “High school Dad, he played football.”

  “Ok, it’s Blake. Let’s get home.”

  “Wait Dad. Hey Blake, come here.” The kid came walking up slowly then a little quicker when he recognized her. Kayla jumped out causing Haliday to jump out too and draw his pistol in case of trouble. Kayla gave the kid a big hug.

  “Dad, you know Blake.”

  He looked at the kid and said, “Ya, thanks for the pizza.”

  “No problem Mr. Haliday.”

  “Why didn’t you say something the other day? I didn’t recognize you. Of course, whenever I saw you it was during the football games and you had a helmet on.” Kayla had been a cheerleader since 7th grade and into her first year of college, After that she decided to work to help pay tuition. “It’s been a couple years since then too,” he added.

  Kayla asked Blake how he was doing.

  “Well, I went back to the pizza shop and took the flour and all of the canned pizza sauce and took it home. I used my mom’s garden cart for that. I only started at the pizzeria a couple weeks ago, so I didn’t have a lot of money but bought some stuff from the grocery store before it closed for good. I saw it get looted this morning, there was nothing left after only a couple hours.”

  “How’s your mom?” Kayla asked.

  Blake looked down at the ground. He lived with his mom who was widowed. He and Kayla were like brother and sister with Kayla having lived at home with Haliday, who was single as well. They had a connection based on that, but that was it. She had helped him get through Spanish in high school and he helped her with her math. Then there was student council and football and all that other stuff they both belonged to.

  Blake just looked up at her but didn’t say anything. Haliday sensed something wrong. “Blake, is she sick or hurt? Does she need help? Take me there and I’ll see what I can do.”

  “She’s not home,” he said.

  “Does she work near here? Was she at work?”

  “No,” he said. “She went on a cruise with my grandma. They would have been at sea when the power went out.” Oh shit, Haliday thought. Another thing to consider.

  If the ship got hit they would just be floating around out there. He wondered what would happen. No bilge control pumps, no water desalination, no way to cook really and thousands of people on a small floating hell just drifting wherever the current would take them. He shuddered at the thought. Mike and Linda had gotten out of the truck at this point.

  “Kayla, grab the Tahoe, back it into Blake’s driveway and wait for us there. Mike, you and Linda go with her. We’ll meet you there.” The driveway was only about 150 yards down. “I need the walk. I need to talk to Blake here as well.” They went to Blake’s and waited for them to get there.

  “Blake, you have any family close by?”

  “No sir.”

  “Where’s the closest family you have?”

  “My aunt is in Kentucky and my grandpa, who didn’t go on the cruise, is in Florida.”

  “Any close family friends around here?”

  “No sir.”

  “What have you been doing the last few days?”

  “Well sir, I boarded up the windows of the house and hid everything inside. That’s about it. I looked around in the garage for stuff I could use. I found some firewood for the fireplace, but not much. I was going out to look for some more for tonight because I ran out.”

  Haliday and Blake reached Blake’s house at that point. “Kayla, take Linda to the house, get Randy and Kevin and bring them back here and I mean quickly. Bring the Cherokee. Bring flashlights too. It’s getting dark. Make sure they have firearms. Make sure the house is secured and everyone is on high alert. We got a lot of people watching us right now.”

  “What are you going to do Dad?”

  “We’re going to get Blake here packed up and bring him along.” Kayla started to cry a little bit.

  Blake looked at him and said, “I don’t know what to say.”

  “Well, for starters, you say thank you, secondly, that you will abide by the rules, and third that you will pull your weight around the homestead. Final item, she’s off limits,” he pointed to Kayla. “Now, just so you know, we aren’t staying around this area. We’ll be leaving in the morning. Is that a problem?”

  “No Sir, not at all, and thank you.”

  The group arrived and Haliday had them back up close to the door. Next they went inside and he had Blake show them where all the food was. They piled it into the living room. He helped Blake pack clothing and some personal things. Next he told Blake to grab anything of value like jewelry or coins or anything he could use to trade. He told Blake these would be his bartering items and no one else’s.

  He walked the house with Blake and then the garage to see if there was anything else. In the garage was an older Yamaha 250. “Does it run Blake?”

  “Ya, but I don’t have any gas in it.” Haliday told Randy to grab some. There were a couple jerry cans on the back of the Cherokee. He grabbed one and dumped a little in the bike. They’d be taking that too.

  “What about firearms Blake?”

  “I don’t have any.”

  “You know how to use them?” He shook his head no. “Well, there’ll be a crash course tonight or tomorrow morning. You’ll be expected to use them if we need to, any problems with that?”

  “No sir.”

  “Ok, we’re heading over to my house now, anything else you need here?”

  “Just one second please.” He ran into his bedroom and grabbed a handful of pictures out of his nightstand drawer and a small picture frame with a picture of his mom in it.

  He grabbed a black marker and wrote on the wall, he didn’t want any notes blowing away or getting lost. Went with Kayla and her dad, be back, he looked at Mr. Haliday. “Spring, Blake, in spring.” Be back in spring, he wrote, I love you Mom. Blake’s eyes were glossy. Randy, Kevin and Mike had thrown everything into the Cherokee and Randy wheeled the Yamaha out front for Blake. Blake closed everything up in the house, and then made sure the bike started. They all went back to Haliday’s.

  When they pulled in, they put the Yamaha and Tahoe in the garage. They pulled the Cherokee around back and locked it up tight and put a steering wheel lock on it. A good old fashioned “the club” came in handy now that alarms were useless. They double-checked everything and went inside.

  There were lots of hugs, kisses and tears. It had been a hell of a trip. There were a lot of questions, but not a lot of answers right now. There’ll be plenty of time to talk soon enough. He had introduced Blake to everyone as well. “He’ll be treated like family,” he added. “Anyone have problems with that it’s too bad.

  “Now, first off, we get security set for the night, and then we eat and sleep.” Haliday called Dawn and told her they were back. “Make sure you’re ready to move out in the morning.”

  She said, “Glad you’re back safe. Talk to you in the morning.”

  “See you guys soon,” he said. He hoped they would all make it.

  Haliday
went into his bedroom and into his bathroom. He took his shirts off and looked at his abdomen. The bruise was about the size of a basketball. Damn that had hurt. He left it unwrapped and powdered his skin then put a shirt on. After that he went back into the living room. He saw the kerosene heater there running and stood by it for a minute. Fall was here and winter was well on its way.

  He just looked around. He went and checked the closets and cupboards. He shook his head from side to side. “Is it all gone?” Bev asked.

  “No, not really, a drop in the bucket considering,” he answered back. “About two month’s worth of canned goods and dry goods.” Still it made him angry. He peeked in the garage, but didn’t comment.

  He called for a meeting. Everyone gathered around. “Look,” he said, “this hasn’t gone as planned and it’s probably not going to be any easier. This is what we have to accomplish in the morning and through tomorrow night.” He laid out the objectives and asked if there were any questions. No one had any. He wandered off to his bed and crashed hard. Morning would be here soon, and then it was back on the road.

  Chapter 14

  Haliday got up and walked out into the living room. Everybody else was already up. He looked around and they all looked at him. He went back into the bedroom and put on some clothes. He was used to walking around either naked or in just his underwear, thank goodness he had his underwear on. He looked down at his cat, seemed like he had made a friend with the mutant dog. “Romeo, you’re a traitor,” he said. Bev’s cats could have cared less about the dog.

  When he walked back out into the living room, he could see them cooking breakfast and could smell fresh coffee in the percolator. David said, “Nice bruise I saw there, how did that happen?”

  Roger said, “Long story. Thank goodness for body armor.” Blake was at the griddle making pancakes. There was a pitcher of Tang too. This kid may be alright if he stays away from Kayla. Everyone ate and then enjoyed some coffee before getting to work.