by Bruno Miller
He had made Joel a deal that when he turned 16, Ben would match whatever funds Joel had saved up to buy a car. Joel had saved over 7,000 dollars by the time he was ready to buy his truck, but what Ben hadn’t counted on was his contribution coming in the form of parts and labor.
They probably had around 100 hours of labor in this truck. Nights and weekends for a couple months were spent in the garage with the Blazer on jack stands most of the time. He wouldn’t have had it any other way, though, and it turned out to be a good excuse to spend lots of time with his son.
He was grateful for those memories but sad that those days were long behind them now.
Chapter Eighteen
As Ben reminisced about the times he and Joel spent fixing up the truck, he almost didn’t see the small, isolated gas station a few hundred yards off the road. It sat a little ways back off the highway, but it was a standalone building that looked empty and low risk. They would still be able to keep an eye on I-70 from there and watch for any traffic that might approach from either direction.
Ben slowed the truck and took the exit.
“Are we stopping here?” Allie asked.
“Yeah, we’re really going through fuel quick. I was hoping to go a little farther, but there’s no need to push it.” Ben surveyed the surrounding area as he made his way to the gas station entrance.
“Looks like a good spot.” Allie watched out her window as they pulled in near the gas pumps and slowly rolled past the front of the store.
Joel leaned up from the back seat to get a better look at the place.
“Looks empty, just like all the others. I can’t believe every single place we’ve seen has been completely cleaned out like this.” Joel sighed as he looked at the battered storefront.
Most of the windows were smashed, and the double glass doors at the entrance were no longer attached to the building and now lay in the parking lot several feet away, ripped off their hinges.
Joel pointed. “Somebody must have pulled those doors off with a truck or something.”
“Probably.” Ben continued to drive around the place until he was satisfied they were alone, finally bringing the truck to a stop by the fill caps near where they had first entered.
“Well, you know the drill.” Ben shut the truck off and got out. Allie and Gunner followed with Joel not far behind. He remembered to grab the AR-15 on the way out and headed for the front of the truck while Ben got things ready to pump gas.
“When we’re done filling up, we’ll practice with the guns, okay?” Ben called out from the back of the truck.
“Okay. I’m ready,” Allie replied.
Ben heard Joel and Allie talking as he started cranking the handle on the pump. He would let them talk while he topped off the gas tank. Joel had done it the last couple times. Besides, he was going to let Joel drive for a little while the conditions were good.
Just then, Ben heard a low rumble that sounded like it was coming toward them. He stopped turning the handle and listened, instantly on alert.
“Do you hear that?” Ben asked.
“Yeah. Sounds like it’s coming from that direction.” Joel pointed east down I-70.
Ben thought for a second about pulling the hose and packing up, but he thought it would be better to stand their ground against whoever was coming. If they tried to run, they wouldn’t get far with the amount of gas they had in the tank anyway.
Ben left the pump hanging by the short end of the hose that ran down into the truck’s fuel tank. Then he made his way over to the driver’s side door. Climbing halfway in, he reached under the back seat and pulled out the padded rifle case that held his M24. He laid the case across the hood and unzipped the end just far enough to slide the rifle out.
Joel was already looking down the sights of the AR and had the magnifier flipped up. The kid learned fast.
He played with the focus on the scope. “I can see something coming around the curve way down the road, but I can’t figure out what it is. I think the heat coming off the road is playing tricks on my eyes.”
Ben held the Remington up and looked through his more powerful scope to get a fix on what was headed their way. Whatever it was, there was more than one. Ben started to make out a line of vehicles as they emerged from the curve in the road.
“Put your gun down, Joel. It’s an Army National Guard convoy.” Ben lowered his rifle and slid it back in the case.
“Really? Well, that’s good, right?” Joel asked.
“Yeah, at least we know the government is still functioning on some level.” Suddenly, Ben had an idea and hurried over to the truck again to grab one of the handheld radios.
He walked back to where Joel and Allie were watching the approaching convoy and turned the radio on. Pressing the scan button, he held it out in front of him and watched as it ran through the channels.
The radio paused several times as it made its way through the numbers, but he could only static until it came back around to channel six and stopped. There was no sound at first, and Ben thought maybe there was something wrong with the radio—until he heard it.
“X-ray, X-ray come in. This is CC. Over.”
“CC, this is X-ray. Send it. Over.”
“X-ray, be advised, we are to continue on to Denver without delay. Do not offload M9s at previous destination. I repeat, do not offload M9s at previous destination. How copy? Over.”
“Roger Tango. Lima Charlie. X-ray is out. Over.”
The radios sat silent on the hood of the truck once more. The conversation was brief, but at least Ben knew where they were going, although it really didn’t help him and the kids much. He would rather have known where the Guard was coming from and what the conditions were like there.
“What was that all about?” Allie asked.
“Slight change of plans for them, I guess. Sounds like they’re headed to Denver with those M9s. Those are the big armored bulldozers on the flat trucks. They’re actually called Armored Combat Earthmovers.” Ben watched as the convoy passed.
He noticed the normal lineup of ASVs (Armored Security Vehicles) and JLTVs (Joint Light Tactical Vehicles) with the occasional Humvee now and then. But what really stood out were the white buses that seemed to be traveling in threes. They were completely white and had no markings whatsoever.
“What are the buses for? I’ve seen National Guard convoys before, near Durango, but that’s a lot of buses,” Joel exclaimed.
“FEMA is my guess. Must be headed to Denver to provide relief, maybe set up a FEMA camp.” Ben left the radio on the hood and put his rifle back in the truck. He returned to the hand pump and continued where he had left off with the refueling process as he kept one eye on the steady progression of vehicles passing by on the highway.
He was glad that the gas station was set back off the road now. Not that he was worried, but he was content to remain unnoticed. There wasn’t anything they needed from the convoy and he didn’t want to be forced into some FEMA camp for their own good.
FEMA had good intentions, but he and the kids would be better off on their own. FEMA was underfunded and notoriously incompetent in his experience. He wasn’t overly concerned, though, and doubted the convoy would even stop to bother with them if they were spotted.
They were clearly in a hurry to get to Denver, where Ben guessed they would run out of supplies quickly.
Chapter Nineteen
“Thirty-two trucks,” Allie stated as they watched the last Humvee roll past and follow the long line of green and white vehicles weaving down the road.
Nothing more had come across the radio since the first transmission, which meant that they were practicing radio discipline and trying to minimize their transmissions. Ben wasn’t sure why a rescue effort would do that, but he was certain there was more to that story.
“That was a good sign, right? The government is trying to help people?” Allie asked.
“Yeah, but if they’re headed for Denver, it’s going to take a whole lot more than the suppli
es they could have been carrying.” Joel shook his head and looked at his dad.
“It’s better than nothing, I guess, but it’s going to give a lot of people a false sense of hope. And when they run out of supplies, well, it will be like what Jon told us happened in Kansas City.” Ben cycled the pump backward for a minute and then started to gather up the hose and stow everything.
“Do you think they’re setting up emergency services in all the big cities?” Allie asked.
“I don’t know. I imagine they’re spread pretty thin right now.” Ben noticed that Allie looked disappointed at his answer, and he was sure she was thinking about her dad in Pittsburgh.
Ben glanced back at the ever-shrinking column of vehicles and decided now was as good a time as ever.
“Allie, if you’re up to it, now would be a good time to go over the shotgun and the .38. What do you think?” Ben asked.
“Sure. I’m ready.” Allie straightened her posture.
Ben gathered the shotgun and the .38 pistol from the truck, along with a several rounds of ammo for each, and brought it all up to the front of the truck. He laid it all out on the hood and began to go over the shotgun with her first.
“I know Joel went over a lot of this with you already, so I’ll try to stick to the basics, and if you have any questions just ask, okay?” Ben held the modified shotgun in front of him.
“Okay.” Allie nodded.
“This is a semiautomatic, so that means the only time you have to set the gun up to fire is for the first shot. After that, it automatically loads another shell into the chamber and cocks the firing mechanism, making it ready to shoot again right away. It holds five shells, and you can shoot them as fast as you can pull the trigger, although it’s best to take your time and conserve your shots. Always treat the gun like it’s loaded, and always know where it’s pointed.” Ben slid three shells into the bottom of the gun.
“So far so good.” Allie eyed the gun.
“It used to be a little bigger than that,” Joel huffed.
Ben addressed his son’s comment. “Yes, it did. And since I reduced the barrel length and turned the stock into a pistol grip, this is meant to be shot from the hip now.” Ben held the gun down low and showed Allie what he meant before handing it over to her.
Allie took the gun and mimicked Ben’s actions.
“Most important thing is to be comfortable and grip it firmly, but don’t squeeze it too hard.” Ben pointed to the bolt on the side. “Pull this lever back.”
Allie pulled it back and the shell slid up into the chamber.
“Go ahead. Let it go. That’s it.” Ben nodded.
She released the slide lever and the action slammed the chamber shut.
CLICK.
“Okay,” Ben said. “Last thing. This is the safety.” He tapped it to show her. “Red means danger, and you’re ready to fire.”
She nodded very seriously. That attitude pleased him.
He flicked off the safety with his finger, revealing a small red dot. “Go ahead and take a few shots at that sign over there.”
Allie turned to her left and squared off with a small metal sign that read ENTRANCE ONLY. She glanced back at Ben and then Joel.
“Go ahead,” Joel encouraged her.
She turned around, and without any more hesitation, she pulled the trigger.
BOOM. The steel bird shot tore into the ground and lower portion of the sign post.
Allie grinned. “That wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be.”
“Aim a little higher this time.” Ben nodded.
She got back into her stance and raised the gun a little.
BOOM. This time the steel shot found its mark in the center of the sign and shredded the thin metal like it was paper.
“Wow! Again?” Allie looked at Ben.
He nodded.
BOOM. Once again, the steel shot tore through the sign with ease, leaving small holes scattered across the surface.
Ben smiled. “Good job! Well done!” She was doing surprisingly well.
Joel held the AR under his arm and clapped. “Nice.”
“Okay, let’s see how you do with this one.” Ben took the .38 off the hood and flipped the cylinder open. While Allie watched, he placed six bullets in the gun, spinning the cylinder as he loaded it.
“So this is pretty much the exact opposite as the shotgun. It’s a single action revolver, which means it won’t fire unless this hammer gets cocked. You can either do it manually with your thumb, or you can do it by pulling the trigger.” Ben pulled the hammer down with his thumb and then let it back down slowly.
“All right,” Allie said.
“You’re also going to need to aim this one, so we need to find out what which eye is dominant. Hold your arm out like this.” Ben held his arm out full length and stuck his thumb up.
“Now pick an object and cover it with your thumb. Let’s use the sign we’re shooting at.”
“Okay.” Allie set the shotgun down on the hood and copied Ben, holding her arm out in front of her with her thumb extended upward like she was trying to hitch a ride.
“Are you right-handed?” Ben asked.
“Yes.” Allie nodded.
“Cover the sign with your thumb and close one eye. Try looking with your right eye first. Open and close your left eye, and if the sign remains behind your thumb, then that’s your dominant eye.”
Allie opened and closed her left eye a few times as she lined the sign up behind her thumb with her right eye. Then she switched and tried the same thing with the left eye open and closing the right one this time.
“Oh, I see what you mean. When I use my left eye to aim, the sign seems to move when I close my right eye, but the sign stays behind my thumb when I use my right eye and close the left one.”
“Okay, so we know that your right eye dominant, and that’s how you should aim down the pistol sights.”
“Got it.” Allie took the .38 from Ben as he handed it to her.
“There is no safety on that, pretty much just the hammer. It won’t shoot with that hammer down.” Ben thought maybe he was over explaining things, but he wanted to be sure she knew how both of these guns worked. Her life, as well as theirs, might depend on it.
Joel set the AR down on the hood of the truck for a minute and walked over to Allie, then showed her how to hold the pistol and aim down the sights properly. Then he stepped away, giving her room to shoot. “Don’t worry. This one hardly kicks at all.”
“Go ahead. Give it a try.” Ben had considered getting ear protection out for her but decided against it.
He wanted her to be familiar with the guns, and that included the noise they made. If she needed to use either of these weapons, there wouldn’t be time to put in earplugs and he didn’t want her to be startled by the noise.
Ben picked up an old flattened paper cup off the ground and opened it up again as best he could. He walked over and placed it on top of the sign post.
“Try and shoot the cup. Take as many shots as you want.” Ben jogged back to a safe spot behind her and waited, arms crossed.
Allie lined up the sights and aimed at the crumpled paper cup.
Bang… Bang. On the second shot, the cup fell to the ground.
“Nice!” Joel nodded.
“I think you’re a natural.” Ben smiled. “Go ahead and shoot the rest at the sign if you want.”
Allie turned her attention back to the sign without hesitation and fired the gun. Bang… Bang… Bang… Bang.
Ben could see where at least three of the four shots hit the sign and made larger holes than the smaller buckshot.
“That’s really good.” He was genuinely impressed with Allie’s shooting skills and thought maybe she was more prepared to take on this harsh new world than he realized.
“For your first time, that’s awesome! Believe me, we’ve seen a lot worse at the range, right, Dad?” Joel looked at Ben.
“That’s for sure.” Ben shook his head as he began to
gather things up off the hood. He handed Allie the box of bullets and small holster that went with the .38.
“It’s your gun now. I would like you to keep it with you any time you’re outside the truck.” Ben looked at Allie. “And keep it loaded because it’s just a paperweight without those.” He motioned at the box of bullets.
She cradled the weapon in her hands. “Thank you. I’ll take good care of it.”
“I’ll show you how to unload and load it if you want,” Joel offered.
“I can do it. It’s my gun after all.” Allie smiled.
“Come on, Gunner. Let’s go.” Ben called out to the dog, who was sniffing around a dumpster in the other corner of the parking lot when he heard his name.
He looked up to see them loading the truck and paused for a moment before he realized they were leaving. Racing across the parking lot, he leapt into the Blazer without breaking his stride, nearly knocking Joel over.
“Whoa there, dog! Take it easy,” Joel scolded.
“How do you feel about driving for a while?” Ben asked.
“Sure.” Joel headed around to the driver’s side.
Gunner was already getting situated in the back with Allie. She was working out how to attach the holster to her belt as Ben climbed into the passenger seat and slid the shotgun back under the rear seat.
He watched her for a second. “There’s no right or wrong way really, just whatever feels comfortable and makes the gun easy for you to grab quickly with your strong hand. Joel and I each wear ours differently. Plus, he’s left-hand dominant. So just do whatever feels right for you.”
“Thanks, I will.” Allie played with the position of the holster on her belt for a little bit while Joel started the truck up and pulled out onto the access road that led to I-70.
Chapter Twenty
