Edge of Collapse

by Alex Gunwick

  As much as Luke wanted to keep going, he couldn’t drag Grady all the way to Orange County.

  “How far is it to Lancaster?” Luke asked.

  “About an hour or so. It’s faster if you take 138 to 14.”

  “How would I get back to LA?” Luke asked.

  “Take 14 back to San Fernando Valley.”

  “Or we could go through the valley first and see what it looks like. I need to know if I can even get through.”

  Luke hadn’t wanted to voice his fear out loud, but they might not be letting anyone through LA at all.

  “I guess we could try to go into the valley then backtrack on 14,” Grady said.

  “Okay.”

  They passed the exit to Gorman and continued up an increasingly steep grade. Two miles later, a lone streetlight illuminated a barricade.

  “This doesn’t look good,” Grady said.

  “Yeah.”

  As he pulled to a stop in front of the barricade, he rolled down the window. A soldier ran over to meet him.

  “Road’s closed to LA,” he said.

  “I heard it was still open. We have orders to join the recovery effort.”

  “Orders from who?”

  “Uh, the command post in Bakersfield.”

  “We radioed and told them to hold off sending more troops until tomorrow.”

  “Why, what’s going on?” Luke asked. It was a risk to push them, but he needed more information.

  “They bombed LA again a few hours ago. We think they might have been dirty. We’re getting reports of what looks like chemical burns.”

  “Are they sure they’re not radiation burns?”

  “No. But they don’t want to send in more men until they know for sure. We’ve got a base camp set up in Gorman. You can turn around and go wait there until we get the all clear.”

  “Thank you,” Luke said.

  He made a U-turn and backtracked to the 138 turnoff. Fortunately it wasn’t blocked. He’d been lucky so far, but every time he had to talk his way through another roadblock, he’d be risking their freedom. It was too dangerous to keep using the same ploy.

  “I want to try to stay off the highway as much as possible,” Luke said. “Are there any alternate routes into Bakersfield?”

  “There’s a shitty, winding road that cuts through the mountains,” Grady said.

  “Sounds like fun.”

  “You have a pretty messed-up idea of what fun is.”

  “After everything I’ve been through, I’m looking forward to a leisurely drive up a dangerous mountain road. At least I’ll know the dangers.”

  “Maybe. Or maybe we’ll run into a militia or something,” Grady said.

  “A militia?”

  “I don’t know. Just trying to think of everything that could possibly go wrong.”

  “Been there, done that. About the militia I mean.”

  “No shit?”

  “Lost my truck to them.”

  “Then whose truck were you driving in Buttonwillow?” Grady asked, twisting in the seat to eye him warily.

  “Some guy I killed. It’s a long story.”

  “You’re not planning on killing me when we get to my house, are you?” Grady asked.

  “No. Why would I do that?”

  “So you could steal my stuff too.”

  “I didn’t steal anything. I was defending myself. I don’t kill unless provoked.”

  “I’ll be sure not to provoke you.” Grady slid farther away from him.

  Luke didn’t blame him for being scared. They’d only known each other a few hours, and he was right. A less honorable man would drive him to his house, kill his family, and steal everything. He just hoped his family wasn’t suffering a similar fate.

  20

  Late afternoon brought reprieve from the heat. As Liz walked the perimeter of her property, she tried to memorize as much as she could about its current state. The more she could remember about the lay of the land, the easier it would be to see if anyone had trespassed onto her property. Later she’d string up more trip wire alerts. She’d found two more boxes of bells in the storage along with several spools of fishing line.

  As she stepped out of the woods into the clearing in front of the cabin, a perimeter bell rang. She grabbed up the shotgun which was hanging in a two point sling across her chest. The moment she leveled it, two people walked up the road from the gate. She lined up the sight, ready to shoot.

  “Stop!” she commanded. “You’re trespassing on private property. Turn around immediately or we’ll shoot.”

  “Don’t shoot Mom, it’s me!”

  Liz lowered the shotgun an inch and peered over the sight.

  “Sierra!”

  Liz let the shotgun drop back against her chest. She raced across the field and pulled her daughter into a hug worthy of a momma bear. Tears ran down her face as she clung to her daughter. She hadn’t wanted to admit it, but she’d been terrified that she’d never see her daughter or husband again. Now at least one of them was home.

  “How did you get here?” Liz asked.

  “We walked,” the man answered.

  Liz released Sierra and took a step back. Her hands rested lightly on the shotgun.

  “Who are you?”

  “Mom, this is Derek. I was attacked by some men on the trail and he saved me.”

  “What?” Liz’s stomach dropped. “What trail? Which men?”

  “I used the trail Dad told me to use to walk to the cabin. But there were a bunch of men blocking the way. I tried to get around them but they attacked me. If Derek hadn’t come along…”

  Sierra turned and flung herself into Derek’s arms. He took a half a step back. Wide-eyed, he patted her back as if he wasn’t used to this level of affection. So he couldn’t be her boyfriend.

  “How do you know each other?” Liz asked.

  “We don’t,” Derek said. “I happened to be on the same trail.”

  “Why did you help her?” Liz’s eyes narrowed. Altruism was a rare trait these days. He had to have some kind of ulterior motive.

  “Mom!”

  “It’s okay,” Derek said as he gently pushed Sierra away. “She was a woman in trouble. Of course I was going to help her. After I rescued her, she mentioned that her father was Navy. I was in the Marines. We were heading the same way, so I asked if she wanted to travel with me.”

  “I wouldn’t have made it without him.”

  “Well, thank you,” Liz said.

  As much as she wanted to believe he’d taken care of Sierra out of the goodness of his heart, she wasn’t naïve enough to take his word at face value. Sierra shouldn’t have brought him to the cabin. Now their location was compromised. Was that his real motive? Was he scoping out their supplies so he could come back and take them?

  “Where are you headed?” Liz asked.

  “My parents live in the next canyon over. They bought a cabin out here when they retired. I wanted to check on them.”

  “Where’s your car?”

  “Some thugs stole it.”

  “That’s unfortunate,” she said, still suspicious of his motives.

  “You can stop the interrogation now,” Sierra said. “He’s a good person and he kept me safe. You should be thanking him, not grilling him.”

  “It’s okay,” Derek said. “I can understand your concern. If I were a father, I’d be extremely suspicious if a stranger walked up with my daughter in tow. Is her dad here? I’d like to meet him.”

  “Why?” Liz asked.

  “Mom!”

  “I just want to shake his hand and tell him what a good kid he’s got here. She’s brave. She walked twenty miles without whining and complaining.”

  “I complained a little.”

  “Not enough to be annoying,” he countered.

  Sierra laughed and smiled at him.

  “Luke’s busy at the moment,” Liz said. “He probably won’t have time to sit and chat.”

  “I should be getting on my way.” De
rek turned to Sierra. “I’m glad you’re safe. I hope you don’t run into any more problems.”

  “Thank you,” Sierra said. “I hope your parents are doing well. Thanks again for rescuing me.”

  He nodded and smiled before turning and heading back up the road. As soon as he was safely out of earshot, Liz put her hands on her hips.

  “What were you thinking bringing him here?” she demanded.

  “Why are you so paranoid? He saved me. He wasn’t going to hurt us.”

  “How do you know that for sure? He could have been lying the whole time. How do we know he isn’t going to come back with his friends and kill us all?” Liz asked.

  “I don’t think he has any friends.”

  “Everyone has friends.”

  “Not everyone. Some people prefer to be alone,” Sierra said. “Why are you being so paranoid? Where’s Dad?”

  “He’s not here.”

  “What? But you told—”

  “I lied.”

  “If Dad’s not here, where is he?” Sierra asked.

  “I don’t know,” Liz snapped. “Which is why we need to be careful. We can’t let anyone know we’re here alone.”

  “What about Kyle? Is he here?”

  “He’s inside the cabin. I told him not to come out unless I tell him it’s safe.” Liz sighed and adjusted the position of the shotgun on her chest. “I don’t know if you understand how serious this situation is.”

  “I understand completely,” Sierra snapped. “I’m not a dumb kid. We’re getting nuked by God-knows-who and we might not live through the week. I get it. But you didn’t have to be such a bitch to Derek.”

  “I’m just trying to keep us safe. I don’t know where your dad’s at. I don’t know when or if he’s coming home. I don’t know anything right now, so I think I’m allowed to be extra vigilant.”

  When Sierra burst into tears, Liz sighed. Maybe she was being too hard on her, but fear for her family’s safety had taken over. She would fight like hell to keep them safe, but she’d rather not have to fight at all. If other people found out about their large cache of survival rations and preps, they could easily come and take them. With only three people to defend the cabin, they could be outnumbered and outgunned with very little effort on the part of another group. She didn’t want to scare Sierra, but her daughter needed to understand the importance of keeping their location secret.

  “Now that you’re home, I don’t want you wandering off.”

  “I won’t. Trust me, I never want to leave the cabin. Not until Dad gets home. Do you think he’s okay?”

  “I hope so. He’s a strong man. He knows how to fight. I’m sure he’s on his way here right now,” Liz said, praying he really was alive and heading home.

  “I’m tired. I didn’t really sleep last night,” Sierra said sheepishly.

  “Go inside and get some sleep.”

  The front door of the cabin opened and Kyle stuck his head out.

  “Sierra!”

  Justice pushed open the door and bounded down the porch steps. Sierra bent over to hug the dog, but Justice’s momentum pushed her back on the ground. Justice licked her face and chuffed with joy. She laughed and hugged the furball.

  “I missed you, doggie.”

  “Woof!”

  Kyle joined them a second later. He dropped to his knees and tried to wrap his arms around Sierra and Justice. To see her family partially reunited renewed her strength and conviction that everything would be okay. But until Luke came home, she couldn’t truly celebrate.

  Liz slowed her pace as she approached Edwin and Sandy Wright’s modest log cabin. She scanned the ground, checking for trip wires or other traps. Since he’d mentioned he might set some up, she wanted to be extra careful in her approach. Sierra and Kyle followed behind like ducklings.

  She reached the front porch without incident. After knocking on the door, she waited. A grandmotherly woman opened the door and smiled.

  “Well hello,” she said. “I’m Sandy. It’s so nice to meet you.”

  “Hello. I’m Liz, and this is Sierra and Kyle.”

  “Come on in. Edwin told me you’d be coming so I whipped up some biscuits and honey butter. I hope you’re hungry.”

  They headed into the log cabin. A large stone fireplace dominated one wall. Several tan leather sofas formed a U-shape in the center of the room. A small hallway led to a bathroom and two closed doors, presumably bedrooms.

  The large open-concept living room opened to the kitchen. Sandy had already set the knotted pine table with red and white checkered placemats as well as plates, mugs, cups, and various utensils.

  “Please make yourself comfortable. Edwin’s just getting up from his afternoon nap.”

  As she bustled around the kitchen, she set a teapot on the stove and pulled fresh baked biscuits out of the oven. Steam curled up from the biscuits along with the yeasty aroma of fresh bread.

  Liz’s mouth watered. She hadn’t had real homemade biscuits in… well, not since she and Luke had visited his parents two years earlier. Had it really been two years? They’d planned on visiting them for Christmas this year, but who knew where they’d be in two months. With the whole world falling apart, their Christmas plans were probably going to be postponed at the very least.

  Her heart dropped. She should have taken the kids to see their grandparents during the summer. She’d taken for granted she’d be able to fly to Tennessee to see them. But since the attacks, she hadn’t seen a single plane in the sky. It would easily take three days of driving to get there, and who knew if the roads were passable. Probably not.

  “This is my great-great-great grandmother’s recipe,” Sandy said with pride. “I learned to make them as soon as I could reach the table. My mom used to say I started kneading dough when I was still in a booster seat. That might explain my arthritis.”

  “Thank you for cooking for us,” Liz said. “You didn’t have to do that.”

  “Nonsense. I’m not going to let my guests go hungry.”

  “Thank you,” Sierra said before taking a bite from the biscuit. “Oh my God, Mom. This is so good. Why don’t you cook like this?”

  Liz flushed. The closest she ever got to baking involved driving to the store for a premade cake. If there was a black thumb of cooking, she had it. She’d never met a meatloaf she couldn’t burn, and even frozen pizza was a gamble.

  “Yeah, Mom,” Kyle said with his mouth full. “Why don’t you make these?”

  “I’m sure your mom’s a very busy woman,” Sandy said. “What do you do for work?”

  “I’m a stay-at-home mom.”

  “How nice. Not many women get to stay at home to raise their children anymore. That’s why this world has gone straight to hell.”

  Liz tried to cover her surprise at Sandy’s comment by biting into the biscuit. Flaky layers of perfection melted in her mouth. Somehow she’d managed to infuse butter in every nook and cranny. It didn’t even need honey butter, but why not try a little?

  As Liz slathered the biscuit, Sandy opened a cupboard and pulled out a box of teabags.

  “I have chamomile, mint, raspberry, orange pekoe, ginger, blackberry—”

  “Blackberry,” Sierra said. “It’s my favorite.”

  “I like mint,” Kyle said.

  “Ginger, please,” Liz said. “My stomach’s been acting up.”

  “It’s probably all the stress of having to leave home. What made you finally decide to come up here?” Sandy asked.

  “Things were falling apart in our neighborhood.”

  “What happened?” Sierra asked.

  “People were running around with guns at night and the police couldn’t come to help anyone. The phone lines were down. Cell service was gone. It seemed like the right time to leave.”

  “It’s good you got out while you could,” Sandy said. “I heard there’s a group down on El Toro Road blocking traffic up into the canyons.”

  “I ran into that on my way up here,” Liz said.r />
  “There’s a church in the next canyon over. Pastor’s crazy as a loon, but there are enough sheeple in this world to follow him around. I think they’re the ones setting up all the roadblocks, but I’m not about to go investigate.”

  “Have you seen the roadblocks?” Liz asked.

  “No. Edwin was on the HAM earlier today. We’ve got some friends a few canyons over. They had to loop around through Rancho Santa Margarita and come in through the fire roads to get to their cabin.”

  “Sounds familiar,” Liz said. “Have you heard any other news?”

  “Nothing new. How’s Luke doing? Will he be coming over too?” Sandy asked.

  “He’s working on some stuff back at the house,” Liz said. A twinge of guilt pulled at her gut. Sandy seemed like a nice, sincere woman, but she wasn’t ready to bet her life on it.

  Edwin strolled in from the hall.

  “I thought I smelled biscuits,” he said with a grin. “How’re you doing, Liz?”

  “Great. Your wife is an incredible cook.”

  “She can cook a mean pie too. Maybe we’ll crack open some peaches and make a peach pie later.”

  “We?” Sandy raised a brow. “Since when do you ever do anything in the kitchen?”

  “I eat in the kitchen.”

  “Mm-hmm.”

  “I do dishes…sometimes,” he added.

  “Only when they’re piled so high I refuse to cook.”

  Liz kept her head down while the two bickered. They were an old married couple in every way that mattered. People who didn’t love each other didn’t argue like that. Although they probably wouldn’t admit it, they were clearly meant to be together. Just like her and Luke. God, every time she thought about Luke her stomach churned with fear. Where was he?

  After spending another hour chit-chatting with the couple, Liz stood.

  “It’s been so nice spending time with you,” she said. “I’ll be sure to give Luke the biscuits as soon as I get home.”

  “Don’t forget to tell him to put the honey butter on them,” Sandy said.

  “I won’t.”

  “You kids be good to your mom,” Edwin said. “Right now we need to be good to each other. No one else will be.”

  Liz nodded in agreement. The world at war could become a cruel, dark place. Fortunately she felt like they’d formed an unspoken alliance while sharing tea and biscuits. She might not be able to count on them to come in guns blazing if they encountered trouble, but they’d at least try to warn her. Maybe in time they could strengthen their relationship so that they could each provide an extra measure of protection for the other family.