Dangerous Shores: Book Three; The End of the Road

by Christine Conaway

  “I’m trying to think of where we can go to get everyone under cover for the night. If we were to leave now we wouldn’t make it far and other than dairy farms along the way, there isn’t much between us and the next town. I just don’t know. So much has changed since I was home last.” She shook her head.

  “Well you know we can’t stay here. We could take Brads boat out and anchor for the night and start out earlier tomorrow.”

  “We could have but because of me, I think I blocked the channel with the Annie-C.” Her voice turned soft with her words and she felt like she wanted to sit down and have a good cry. “Stop it!” she told herself.

  “Act now. React later.” She mumbled to herself.

  “What’s that?”

  “Talking to myself. Sorry. You’re right let’s get out of here. I suggest we stay off the main street and we’ll look as we go. Rob, we need to either take Franks whole pack or distribute the things between us.”

  “Wait! I have an idea. I’ll be right back.” And he took off at a jog. Ellen went back through the building to where the others had gathered. She was happy to see that Jamie and Brad had positioned themselves to keep an eye on the surrounding area.

  “It’s me,” Ellen said before she stepped out the doorway. “As soon as Robbie comes back we’ll leave.”

  Maggie looked up, alarm on her face. “Gets back?”

  “I don’t think he went far. He said he’d be right back when I mentioned the need to keep the things in Franks pack.” She saw the sorrow on Alan and Hannah’s face. Olivia still had tracks from tears on hers and she realized they had loved Frank as much as she did.

  She went to them and knelt down. “I don’t know how to make this any easier. We all loved Frank, but he’s gone. We don’t have time to morn for him right now. He wouldn’t want us to and you know it. He’d expect us to move on and get to the farm. So that’s what we’re going to do.”

  “Do you know how heartless you sound? He was part of our family and you’re acting like it’s no big deal.” Hannah told her.

  Ellen sagged farther down and her shoulders slumped. “I’m only trying to do what is right for us at this moment. Yes, Frank was part of our family. Was! Do you think he would want us to sit here drowning in sorrow or would he want us to accomplish what we set out to do? He’ll always be a part of our family, but he’ll live on in our hearts. We won’t forget him. If we sit here we won’t live long enough to have memories.”

  Alan leaned forward and hugged her. “You’re right. He would want us to go on. It just seems so…cold to think of leaving him behind. But I guess we’re not. Are we?”

  “No we are not.” She patted her chest. “He’ll always be with us. Now we have to go.”

  They heard crashing and banging coming from the office and Jamie stepped cautiously into the doorway.

  Rob was pushing a dock cart and pulling another. They were like big wheelbarrows with bicycle wheels. “I found these down by the other gate. There was a couple of bikes too, but they are unusable. These should work for some of the bags and will help keep us more mobile.”

  Franks pack went in the bottom of one of the carts. Ellen picked up Frank’s shotgun. He had modified it some with the shorter barrel and many times had sworn it was his firearm of choice. She hefted it in her hand. She took the hunting rifle from Jesse and handed him her Mossberg. With a nod from Jesse the hunting rifle went into the cart.

  All of the heavy packs came off and the sail bags were added on top. Dana and Olivia kept theirs as neither was heavy and Dana didn’t want to give up carrying Holly to anyone else.

  After a discussion it was decided that Brad and Alan would push the carts. With the others walking guard. Ellen and Rob led their sorry looking group up the road to the wrecked train cars. They had to carry the carts around the torn and broken cars but they were soon on the other side.

  “We kind of stick out like a sore thumb don’t we?” Rob asked.

  Ellen looked behind them and saw that he was right. In a town where they couldn’t see another living person they indeed looked out of place.

  “I hope we didn’t make a mistake leaving before dark.”

  The freeway overpass was directly in front of them. If they went right they would have to go down the main street. If they went left, there was nothing but the border to Canada and so straight seemed like the better option. It would keep them away from the high school and that they wanted to avoid in case the kid was telling the truth about where they were holed up.

  As they left the main street behind they passed houses lining both sides of the street. It was eerily quiet from all directions. Robbie walked beside Ellen, each of them watching their side of the street. Jesse, Maggie, Karen and Hannah surrounded the children. Brad and Alan pulled the carts in the middle of their group. They knew that to lose the carts would drastically reduce their chances of reaching the farm. They held all of their food, water and the remainder of their ammunition.

  “Rob?”

  “What?”

  “I was just wondering where all the people went. If they got sick wouldn’t you think they would try to go to the hospital? I think they would, at least those that could get there. Wouldn’t you think we would be able to smell the ones that couldn’t?”

  Rob sniffed drawing a good amount to air through his nose. He frowned. “I don’t smell anything. But you’re right. I don’t know how long it takes a body to decompose out in the open but maybe that’s what happened. It’s been over five months. If they were outside the animals would pick them clean. But the ones who died in their beds…I don’t know.”

  “It almost seems like they just disappeared. I think give or take some the population used to be around five thousand. If Frank’s friend Chuck was right and ninety percent of the people died either from the sickness or dependency on drugs or machines to stay alive and murder wouldn’t that leave about five hundred people?”

  “Sounds good to me, but where are they? Other than that kid we haven’t seen anyone.”

  “That’s what worries me.”

  “Maybe like the people in California, they all went to the hills to hide.”

  “That could be worrisome too.”

  “But didn’t you say it was twenty-five or thirty miles to your farm?”

  “And between here and there are two more towns. We can bypass them but it’s out of the way. I’m going to suggest we don’t stop until we can’t go any farther. When the kids get tired they go into the carts and we pack our bags. When we get too tired to go on then we’ll find a place to stop even if it’s a ditch on the side of the road.”

  “That seems kind of harsh, but I see your point.”

  Ellen laughed softly. “You think that’s harsh? I don’t think it anything compared to what we have in front of us. I’m only beginning to realize how easy we’ve had it up until this point.” She looked at Rob and saw the frown, “Well maybe not you. I don’t know your whole story but Alan, Hannah and myself. We’ve spent the past five months out of the general population. Don’t get me wrong. We’ve had our share of troubles too, but nothing like these poor beggars on land have had. We didn’t have to worry about watching our backs every second. We stood watches but we didn’t have to worry about someone sneaking up on us every second.

  “I don’t understand. Why did you come in then? Why come to land at all? You could have stayed out there forever. You could have found an island and never had to worry about any of this.”

  “After today…I can honestly say I don’t know. When this shit came down all I could think of was getting back here. Now, I have no idea why it was so important. It cost Frank his life.”

  “It cost all of us something. I know we probably can’t see it now, but someday, we’ll look back on this and know we did the right thing.”

  From behind them a dog barked. Ellen wheeled around her shotgun ready. She saw Alan sitting on the ground beside his cart. It sat lopsided the wheel flat on the ground. The dog sat on the end of a le
ad that Karen held on to. Ellen had forgotten about their dog. She saw Maggie had on one of the kids packs hanging off her front and Barbie was riding on her back. Rosa had done the same thing with Joe on her back. Both women looked exhausted.

  Ellen walked back. She watched Alan try to put the wheel back on. It wasn’t going to work. It was a very simple setup. The pin through the axle had snapped allowing the hub to slip off and they nothing to fix it with.

  Alan looked up at her. “What now?” He asked. His words were flat with no energy as if he had given up. He hung his head knowing they would have to find a way to carry all of the bags and they had many miles to go.

  She went to Brad, Jesse and Jamie and told them what she was doing. They stood with their backs to the circle of women and kids prepared to protect them. She took Rob and they jogged down a two-track driveway. At the end was a single level rancher with a cinderblock barn behind. There were no cows or any indication that anyone lived there or had been there in a while. The lawn in front of the house was uncut and it was obvious it had been a while. Dandelions and weeds ran up the center of the driveway.

  “Rob, this is more in your line of duty so I’ll let you lead. What would you suggest?”

  We go in and clear the house one room at a time. Then we do the same with the out buildings. Don’t know that’s the way Frank or the military would do it but that’s what I would do.”

  “Lead on soldier.”

  They went around to the back door and stood on each side of it. Rob prepared to kick it in, when Ellen stopped him by raising her hand. She reached over and turned the knob and it opened to the inside.

  “This is the country. Hardly anyone locks doors.” She whispered.

  They went in. The air was stale as if it had been closed up for some time. Nothing was out of place, no broken dishes or tipped over furniture. No signs that the owners had been under duress. They moved into the living room. Pictures were hung on the walls and on tables. A thin coating of dust covered the tables. One wall was completely made from smooth river rock with a fireplace insert. A row of chopped firewood was lined up on the hearth ready for someone to build a fire.

  The only thing on the coffee table was a white legal sized envelope. Rob walked by the table and glanced down. He started to pass it by and then he picked it up. He read the front as if he couldn’t believe it. He looked at Ellen, “I think this is meant for us. It’s addressed to whomever finds this letter.”

  “Well read it. You found it.”

  It wasn’t sealed so he pulled the single paper out, unfolded it and read; To whomever finds this; Our children are spread all over the world, one in China, one on her college graduation tour of Europe and one lives in Denver with their family. We have waited as long as we can. The hospital is no longer an option for us anymore. My wife has been receiving treatments for cancer but they are no longer available with the loss of power. We never believed they would help so we have chosen to find our own end at the time of our choosing. We are sorry it has to end like this and sorry for you having to find us.

  Whoever finds this letter is welcome to anything you may find to help you survive. There is a gun safe in the room at the end of the hallway and I have left the door open. You will find canned food in the basement as well as root vegetables in the root cellar at the back of the house.

  If you are good people or a good person you will honor our final request. I have dug our grave behind the house by the apple tree. It is large enough to hold both of our bodies. We would like to be buried together. We would have been married fifty-two years in February. I have tried to make our demise as sanitary as possible. You will find us in the bedroom on the left. Please feel free to make use of anything you find here, but please honor our wishes. God Bless!!!

  Live long and live free; Burt and Betty Younger. November 3 2016

  Chapter Thirty-nine - Respecting last wishes.

  Rob sat down on the sofa behind him, the letter crumpled in his lap. He looked up at Ellen, his eyes shiny with unshed tears. “This is real isn’t it? This whole freaking thing is real. People left with no other options but to take their own lives.”

  “It’s real alright. It’s been real from the beginning. It became real for me when I saw a father throw his daughter in the water to save her life.”

  Rob looked at her blankly, eyebrows meeting in the middle of his forehead. “What? Who the hell would do something like that?”

  “A father who loved his daughter and still had faith in people he didn’t know. I guess nobody told you how we came to have Olivia. I’ll tell you sometime when we have nothing else to do.”

  “What do we do now?”

  We finish clearing the house and then move out to the outbuildings just like we planned. Dammit, why didn’t we bring one of the hand held radios? We could have called them to come in.”

  “I didn’t realize we had them with us.”

  “They’re in Frank’s pack. Come on let’s get this done.” Ellen went down the hallway to the room on the left. Ellen tried to open the door, but it stuck. “I guess I need your help here.”

  The knob turned and the door moved but wouldn’t open. Rob put his shoulder to it while Ellen used her hands. She held the knob turned and they pushed. The door gave with a tearing sound and Rob almost fell when it opened. The air that escaped out the open door almost gagged them. On the bed in the center of the window wall held two people. They had been wrapped in heavy clear plastic sheeting. Dried brown on the plastic told the whole story. On the night stand was a picture of two elderly people. The woman was looking up at the old man with her heart in her eyes. The man had his arms around her looking down. The picture told Ellen and Rob how much the two of them loved each other.

  They didn’t know if the woman had died first and the man killed himself or if he had shot her first and then himself. It didn’t matter either way. They were both gone.

  “I can’t think about this right now. Let’s take them out back and just do it. It’s the least we can do.” Rob went around the bed and began to pick up on the plastic. The man must have thought of it and put sheeting underneath them. A white cotton sheet hung down under it. Rob flipped the edges up and over the two corpses. He lifted his side testing the weight.

  “The two if us can do this unless you want to go out and send Brad or Alan in.”

  “We can do it.” She said. She flipped her side of the sheet up and over covering them up. They must not have been big people because she and Rob had no problem carrying them down the hall. Out the back door and into the back yard. Rob was walking backwards and Ellen was guiding him.

  “To your right. I can see the pile of dirt right by the tree. Let’s turn and walk sideways because the ground gets bumpy and I don’t want us to drop them.”

  Once they reached the tree they had to set them down. Some of the dirt had slid back into the whole. Rob saw a shovel sitting against the tree and grabbed it. He jumped in the hole and cleared out the fallen dirt.

  “Just help me get them in here and you can go get the other’s while I fill it in.”

  Once he had the hole cleaned out he jumped out with Ellen’s help and they slid the plastic wrapped bodies in.

  “This feels so wrong.” Ellen told him. “Should we say something or just fill it?”

  “Go get the others and I’ll take care of it.” He began to shovel the dirt back. “Ellen…could you lock that bedroom door on your way by so the kids don’t go in there. Somehow it wouldn’t seem right to me.”

  “I was going to. It’s the least we can do. I’ll be back as soon as I can. Are you sure you’re okay with this?”

  “Just go. They’re probably wondering where we are.”

  Ellen thought she heard quiet sobs as she walked away. She had to swallow to keep her tears at bay. They must have had no hopes of a future to have taken their own lives. Or the man had not wanted to go on alone.

  For Ellen the thoughts of Frank being gone made her sad, she felt like she had lost her best
friend. She wasn’t sure it was enough to have had children or marriage. She had loved him, but at the same time she thought it was the love for a family member. Not the way he deserved to be loved.

  She wished she had enough time to find out. After all what did she have to judge love by. Her parents had never so much as kissed in front of her. Many times her Uncle Jerry had said he was surprised they’d ever gotten close enough to even make her. She didn’t know at the time what he’d been talking about but now she thought she did. They had married for convenience. She would rather stay single forever than suffer the same loveless existence her parents had shared.

  When she got to the road she didn’t see them. Her heart began to pound with fear. She realized that it was almost dark and she and Rob must have been gone quite a while.

  “Alan! Maggie?” She whispered loudly. “Oh my God…please. Where are you guys?”

  “Ellen?” The grass at the side of the road began to move and people began to crawl out.

  Ellen felt weak and had to sit down. “Oh my God! I thought you guys were gone.”

  “We thought you guys were coming right back and when you didn’t Jamie and Brad went to find you. Didn’t you pass them?”

  “No but maybe they didn’t use the driveway.”

  Rosa offered, “No they didn’t just in case. They went there.” She pointed off to the pasture.

  “Okay. They should find Robbie then. Come on kids. We’ve found a nice house to stay in tonight. Come on Olivia, I’ll carry you.” She hunkered down and Olivia climbed on her back.

  “Alan you want to bring the one cart and we’ll come back for the other?”

  “No need to come back. We transferred everything into the good cart and I’ve got the big pack on. We hid the other cart in the ditch in case we can fix it.”