Dark Days Rough Roads dd-1

by Matthew D. Mark

Haliday grabbed a cigarette out of a pack in his pocket; he didn’t smoke, just used them for projects. He grabbed a wooden match and poked it through the cigarette near the filter. He grabbed a paper clip and bent it into shape. He placed this down by the gas on the ground. Looked like a little cannon pointing toward the sky. The cigarette would burn down, ignite the match which was close enough to the gas, and that would set it all ablaze.

  This would buy them time to get out of the area. They walked back into the woods and took off. They were well enough away from the area when the gas ignited and the car became engulfed in flames. This drew the attention of the nearby homes as they came out to look at what was burning. This would be reported if it wasn’t seen by a patrol.

  They hit another spot about four miles away and further north. Haliday showed Blake how to do it. “We don’t need the gas, but we need the diversion,” Haliday said. Blake looked at the car.

  “Oh man, Mr. Haliday, it’s a Camaro,” Blake said.

  “What’s wrong with that, they don’t burn? Blake, the car is useless. If it makes you feel any better I’ll write the owner a check. Let’s move.”

  Blake set the makeshift fuse and they took off again.

  “Last but not least, the grand finale for the night. This third car is where it gets risky. This is what we’ll do.” He explained the plan to Blake and they got ready to go. “If we get separated, you meet me back here. Let’s go.”

  They cut the engines on the bikes and rolled down a hill about an eighth of a mile. When they stopped by the car, Haliday went and punctured the tank. No gas, though. He walked over to another one and same result. This wasn’t going to work out that well. There were no other cars far enough away from the homes.

  He looked around and saw an older store by itself with a dirt parking lot that looked empty. He checked it out and it appeared it had been empty for probably 10 years or more. The people in the Thumb Area had it made. Nice rural areas, but they still had that American dream—they’d open a business; it would fail and sit empty. Simply not enough people around to support it.

  He found an old bottle and poured a little gas inside with a piece of rag to make a Molotov cocktail. He lit it, then grabbed a rock and tossed it through a window. He tossed the flaming bottle in next. Blake and he started yelling and fired a few shots from their rifles and also Haliday’s .40. They got on the bikes and took off. There were plenty of flashlights and candles glowing now.

  They were heading down the road when they spotted a pair of headlights coming their way and a spotlight sweeping the road. Haliday peeled off the tape from his headlight and shot into the woods. Blake followed him. They got about 150 yards in and killed the bikes, laid them down and took cover.

  Haliday grabbed a camo jacket shell and tossed it over his bike. Blake grabbed one and did the same thing. Haliday liked this kid. He learned quickly. They threw some small deadfall branches on them as well. There was not a lot of wooded area here and they’d be easy to spot if they tried to make a run for it. Staying put was the only option next to abandoning the bikes. They couldn’t afford to do that.

  The vehicle that was approaching stopped about a mile down the road from the burning store. It was moving slowly toward the store and sweeping its spotlight into the fields and woods searching for them. They must have misjudged distance because they did this for almost half a mile past the store. They weren’t sure where they were hiding. With the spotlight, Haliday knew they weren’t using NVG’s or any type of thermal unit.

  As they sat and waited, another vehicle came screaming by. It didn’t stop until it got near the store. Haliday looked through his binoculars the best he could. Once again he wished he had NVG’s. Looked like an older Jeep and older pickup. Four guys were standing near them talking and waving toward Blake and Haliday’s general area.

  “Mr. Haliday, I’m a little scared.”

  “Look Blake, just stay down, do not move or do anything. Listen to what I tell you.” Two of the guys got back in the truck and then the truck made another sweep down the road with the spotlight. Haliday covered the binoculars up and looked at Blake. “Don’t worry kid, just put your head down and don’t think about it. I’ll tell you what they’re doing and if you need to do anything if that helps.

  “Ok Blake, they are still spotlighting the road and whole area, if they had spotted us they would be coming at us already. They are heading back toward the store. The Jeep is taking off now. It’s heading in the direction of the second car fire. The guys in the truck are still looking around. Looks like they plan to stay a while because they just opened up a cooler and it looks like meal time.

  “Blake, carefully low crawl over to your bike and grab that wool blanket out of your pack. Cover yourself up with it. We’re going to be here a while.” Haliday followed suit and grabbed one out of his saddle bags. They laid there for a while watching the guys stand by the burning store. Haliday asked him about football, why he didn’t go to college, anything to help keep the kid calm. Haliday had waited like this before, hours upon hours; it didn’t bother him.

  Blake had pretty much settled down and now it was almost 2:30 in the morning. The guys got in their truck and took one last look around before they left. Blake said, “can we go now.”

  “Absolutely not.” They still laid there. About half an hour later the truck drove back by. “That’s why we waited Blake; they were still looking for us.” After another hour they got up and shook off the cold. Haliday grabbed a map and hid under the blanket with a red flashlight to read it.

  He turned the light off and flipped the blanket off. “That was something else, huh Blake?”

  “Oh ya, ranks up there in my top 10 list of favorite things.”

  “Get used to it. It ain’t combat, but you are fighting for your life. Remember that. Any time you feel giddy enough you can leave if you want to.”

  “No way Mr. Haliday. I just never thought I’d see stuff like this happen and I don’t like those guys for some reason. I don’t trust them.”

  “Tape your headlight up again and let’s get going.” They worked their way to another farm area. Haliday spotted a rundown barn with a “for sale” sign just off the road. He could see a house. He walked up to the “for sale” sign and pulled a piece of paper out of a plastic box on the side of the sign post.

  He grabbed his flashlight and blanket again and read the paper. “Fifty acres, good for sugar beets, blah blah blah, old barn can be repaired, mobile home removed from property, but foundation left in place. Good, abandoned.” They worked their way to the barn, pushing the bikes just in case. They went inside and except for a few rusted old hulks of farm implements, it was empty. “We’ll stay here for a bit, Blake.

  “Go ahead and make yourself comfortable and grab a couple hours of sleep. I’ll wake you up later and we’ll switch off.” He went and grabbed a granola bar and turned to offer Blake one, but Blake was already out like a light with his sleeping bag just draped over him. Haliday munched on the treat and took a look around the barn and land. This wouldn’t have been a bad place to build, he thought.

  He changed the frequency and gave his group a quick hello. “Hey Uncle Roger, it’s Randy.”

  “Hey Randy, everything ok with you guys there at the camp?”

  “Well, we could all use a drink.”

  “Why, what’s going on?”

  “You guys have definitely stirred the pot. There are a whole lot of people wanting to skin you guys alive. They are super pissed off. It was quite intense to listen to.”

  “Well, that’s our plan, you guys learn anything good?”

  “Kayla and Dawn took notes and then after it all settled down, grandma and grandpa took notes too.”

  “Ok, I’ll call again in a few hours; we’re getting some rest right now. Tell everyone we are ok and talk to you soon.”

  Haliday walked around a bit more then went over and woke Blake up. The sun was starting to rise and Blake should be able to stay awake. Haliday doubted he would
have been able to take the first watch. “Before I crash, you want any coffee or anything?”

  “I’m a little hungry.”

  “Here, start with this.” Haliday tossed him a Snickers bar. “After that go ahead and crack open an MRE. Eat it all, Blake. You’ll need the calories and energy.”

  Haliday dropped his sleeping bag to the ground, unzipped it, and climbed in. He wanted to zip it up, but also didn’t want to get stuck in it if something happened. He looked over at Blake struggling with the MRE. Blake glanced over and saw him watching. “Blake, the directions are on the side. Use the red lensed flashlight.” The kid would need a couple more hours of sleep before they moved out so he was aware of what was going on.

  Blake nudged him awake. Haliday opened his eyes and Blake was telling him to be quiet. Haliday slowly got out of his bag. “What’s going on?” Blake whispered to him that someone else was here already. “What the hell, where are they?” He walked over to a window and Blake pointed them out.

  About 50 feet from where the concrete pad of the mobile home had been was a door sticking up in the air. There was a man and a woman standing there talking. They had walked their bikes right by it when they came in last night. It was an old tornado shelter and it looked like it had been used last night. Haliday looked around and the bikes and gear were all there. At least they hadn’t been discovered yet.

  He motioned for Blake to check his weapon and make sure it was ready to go. He checked his own as well. He signaled Blake to go to the other end of the barn. He found a hole in the side of the barn and watched them for a few minutes. They were just standing there talking. A third figure appeared out of the shelter.

  This was a young child, maybe 8 or 9 years old. It looked like a boy, but with some of the hair styles kids wear these days he didn’t make judgment just yet. The kid turned around, definitely a boy. The parents stretched a bit and the kid kicked around a rock.

  He came close to the barn a couple of times, which made them nervous.

  For a minute, he eyeballed the barn and started walking toward the door. “Timmy, don’t go in there, it’s dangerous,” the mother called out. He turned around and walked back toward her. “We need to get moving again, we have a long way to go.” They went down into the shelter and the father came out with a bike. He went down again and came back out with another one. One more trip and they now had three bikes.

  He went down once again and brought up a small two wheeled cart like those you tow behind bikes with your dog in it. They retrieved some packs and things, then started getting everything loaded up. “Looks like they just stayed for the night.” They were about to pedal away when they heard a vehicle coming down the road.

  The truck pulled in and right up to the family. A man and woman climbed out and walked up to them. Looked like they were wearing some kind of Russian camo pattern. The man spoke first. “Who are you guys?”

  “We’re members of the Bad Axe Minute Men. Who are you?”

  “My name is Steven and this is my wife Jill and son Tim.”

  The Minute Man spoke, “You guys from the area?”

  “Yes we are. We’re from Port Austin.”

  The woman walked around the three of them and looked down the steps of the shelter. “Anyone else down there?”

  “No, we were just staying the night and getting ready to leave.”

  The woman went down into the shelter and re-emerged. “No one else down there.” She went and stood back next to the other guy. Haliday was shocked at how much risk they took.

  “What about the barn,” she said.

  “We looked in it last night, but it’s empty. We chose the tornado shelter because it had the old cots down there. There was too much rusty stuff to get hurt on in there and my son is curious.”

  “Where you guys heading?”

  “Imlay City to my parents house. We left yesterday and stopped here for the night. We hope to make it there some time in the next couple days before it gets much colder.”

  The guy walked around and looked at their bikes and packs. “You have any weapons?” he asked.

  The guy said, “No.”

  “Mind if I check?”

  “Yes I do. You’re not a cop. You don’t have the right.”

  “Look bud, times are different. This area is under control of the Bad Axe Minute Men now. What we say goes. We have a no weapons policy for travelers.”

  “You don’t have any right to search us.”

  The woman walked up and grabbed the guy’s pack; he struggled but then got hit by the other man. The wife yelled at him to stop it and the little boy was crying and yelled for them to stop. The minute man laid one more punch in the guy’s face and knocked him down. Haliday was fighting the urge to fire. Blake just had this WTF look on his face, but Haliday signaled him to stay down.

  The minute man picked up the bags and dumped everything out. He picked up a small pistol. “No guns, huh?” He kicked the guy while he was down. “You answer with the truth when asked a question. We’ll be keeping this. You’re damn lucky we ain’t taking your food too. Now get the hell out of here.” They were about to get in the truck when they heard a noise by the barn and stopped.

  Everyone looked over at the barn. Haliday was ready. A big raccoon went scurrying out from one of the windows, down the side of the barn and across the field. The minute men lowered their rifles and got back in their truck. They told the family to get going. They took off down the road. Haliday heard them call the check in on the radio. That was a close one.

  Blake said, “Let’s go see if they need help.”

  Haliday said, “No, we can’t. If they get stopped again and they are afraid, they’ll rat us out in a heartbeat. They have two days tops to get to Imlay City, maybe three if they move slow, but they’ll make it. You go hit the sack for a little bit more and I’ll keep watch again, it’ll be a while before its safe to go.”

  He watched the family gather themselves and head out. What the hell kind of militia was this? These guys should be helping these people not beating them and disarming them, especially when they are out on the road. That was total BS in his mind but he had to stay focused on his own group. Were these guys rogue from their own group. He kept wondering about them. He should have shot them and given the truck to the family, but that would have opened up a whole different can of worms.

  After the family left and was well on their way, Haliday called his group. “Hey listen, if you are approached by a group of militia, or members of the militia be careful. They seem to have designated a Russian camo as their uniform which looks like the old U.S. woodland BDU pattern, only with finer detail and the colors are not as contrasting. Shoot the bastards on sight. Don’t mess around with them.” He relayed to them the story of the family.

  He woke Blake up. “You feeling better?” he asked.

  “Ya, I’ll be ready to go.”

  “Good, now tonight is going to be tense as well. I’m going to cover a few more basics on the rifle with you. We can’t live fire or we’ll attract attention, but you’ll do fine.” He spent about an hour covering a few marksmanship skills and safety points with him.

  “This is Roger, you there Kaybear?”

  “Ya Dad, I’ve been waiting.”

  “Ok, let me know what the latest news is.”

  “Ok, you ready?”

  “I’m going on memory Kayla; I don’t have the resources for notes.”

  “Ahhhh, alrighty then. How’s Blake?”

  “Kayla, he’s fine. If you want him to stay that way, spit it out.” It’s starting already, he thought.

  “Ok, they talked on the net about contacting the Bay City group and how Bay City themselves had big trouble and could not send help. It sounds like they are running the four patrols and now two response unit’s 24 hours a day now. I did notice they seemed to be concentrating on the northern areas a bit more. That’s the plan right?”

  “Yes it is kiddo. Anything else?”

  “Oh ya, lots more. />
  “They have been talking about people traveling and how they have been disarming them. They even mentioned seizing a truck. Sounds like their own version of martial law. They also said they were posting signs: looters would be shot on sight. They set out signs for curfew as well. No one is to be out from dusk until dawn. Now for information on you.

  “They think there are six motorcycles and about a half dozen trucks. They said your manpower would be at least 24 to 30 or more. They figure you guys to be operating in the northern sector somewhere. Sounds like they are going to concentrate patrols there. They are trying to find your base camp. One last thing Dad, they’ll shoot you first before they try to stop and ask you questions. Be careful, love you, Dad.”

  “Love you too, kiddo.”

  “Roger, you want us to stay on schedule?” It was David now.

  “Yes I do. Promptly. You’ll have to get the horses moving quickly. If it becomes an issue they are going to have to leave them. Be firm about it. You might want to give them an hour head start actually. You only have about 12 miles to go. Get them there, ok brother?”

  “Ok, be safe.”

  “You too.”

  Chapter 18

  Haliday and Blake were getting ready to go. It was noon and they wanted to be in place by dusk. They wanted these guys to be tired and pissed off. If they started around 1800hrs that would put the fresh shift on duty. The others would not be in bed yet. Chances are they would all want to play cowboy and show up for the festivities. When morning came, around half would still be tired from the night before and the other half ready to go home.

  They took off and followed a small river toward Oliver Township. They barely crept along to avoid overly loud engine noises. Haliday remembered people always talking about what vehicle you should have for this. What you should have for that, and it drove him nuts. Pretty much anything running was a gem these days. What really drove him crazy were the guys who swore by two strokes. Way too loud─ way too easy to find.

  It seemed like it took forever. Once they reached a secure location, they got off the bikes. They dug into a couple MRE’s before they got going again. They would be walking for the next couple of miles. They camouflaged the bikes and took some mental notes of the area.