Escaping Home

by Jeffrey Miller

  The gunshots were numerous. He couldn’t seem to get a handle on where they came from. He was feeling pinned down now and unable to return fire. He needed help. He needed an over looker or a sniper badly. He also didn’t have the high ground. Where in the world was Ben, he thought as he looked around and didn’t see him. Had he been shot? His parents…he had to find them. His heart raced at the thought of all three being caught in this crossfire. The anger was welling in him and then he felt the touch of someone.

  “Dad? Dad? Wake up, wake…” Ben was waking Nate up from a terrible nightmare. Nate slowly came around and realized he had been dreaming.

  “I’m ok, Ben. Sorry, I was having a bad dream,” Nate said calmly.

  Ben seemed scared. He had not seen his father have bad dreams before. In fact, Nate hadn’t had them in a long time. He chalked this one up to fear; fear of losing those around him.

  “I’m ok, son. You can go back to sleep now,” Nate said. He felt bad for having scared Ben, but he knew it wasn’t something he could control.

  Nate was glad it was just a dream. He wasn’t the kind to analyze dreams much, but he knew what it meant. It slapped him in the face enough for him to clearly see that he was merely afraid. It was normal under circumstances when you don’t really have control of your environment. Yes, a person could do all they wanted to prepare for whatever, and that was fine. It was the unforeseen that no one could accommodate. That was the essence of his dream; the gunfire coming from somewhere, but he couldn’t tell the location. That was life as it was now. He just needed to keep being reactionary and move; move forward.

  It wasn’t the best plan, but it was the best plan for the moment.

  The sun was up and so was Nate. Everyone else was sitting around the small campfire that his father kept up the rest of the night. Henry had to use some of the small logs that Nate had loaded in a tub in the back of his truck. The area they were in offered very little in the form of wood. Nate stepped out of the truck and stretched. Aside from the bad dream, he had actually slept very well. He never heard Ben the ninja, or his sidekick get out of the truck. Nate walked over to the fire. Henry had already poured him a cup of coffee. Betty had made Mountain House freeze dried scrambled eggs with bacon. She handed Nate a small single serving bag.

  “Should be ready, Nate; these things taste pretty good.”

  Nate wanted to turn his nose up at the smell, only because they ate so much of them on the way home.

  “Thanks mom, smells good,” Nate replied.

  Ben looked at Nate, turning his head some.

  “You hate these cause we ate so many before...”

  Ben was cut off.

  “I like them now Ben, cause I’m hungry,” Nate interrupted, winking at him with the eye his mother couldn’t see.

  “I forgot. Sorry,” Ben replied, smiling.

  “Well, after you eat, we can get on the road if you feel you are ready?” Henry asked.

  “I am feeling very ready today. I think we will go a little faster today,” Nate replied.

  Everyone cleaned up camp and put the fire out with a lot of loose dirt. Nate topped off his fuel tank with a few cans of gas. The truck was surprisingly very good on gas.

  “Dad, I think I will let Ben and Samson ride along with me, if you think that’s ok?” Nate asked his dad.

  “I think that’s a great idea, son,” Henry replied.

  Ben was elated. This came as a total surprise to him because he was getting ready to climb up in the driver’s side of the truck to get in the back. He stepped over to Nate with Samson by his side.

  “We can really come with you now?” Ben asked.

  “Yep, it will be fine. Go get Samson inside,” Nate replied. He patted Ben on his back as he turned to walk to the truck. Nate could see the concern in Betty’s face up in the truck.

  “I will talk to her, she will understand. She just loves the boy like she loves you, Nate,” Henry said, knowing that look on her face very well.

  “I don’t know, dad, if I have been too cautious lately, or not enough; but after not seeing many people, I just wonder how much of any threats we might see” Nate said.

  “Son, don’t ignore your gut and don’t think we are ever safe. Yes, many people have died, but there are many still alive and looking for free meals,” Henry replied.

  Nate nodded. He was right.

  “You are right. However let’s just pick up the speed some today,” Nate said.

  “Hey, I love to speed when there is no one writing tickets,” Henry replied.

  “North bound and down then!” Nate said as he shook his dad’s hand and they went to their trucks.

  Henry climbed into the big black truck. Betty was giving him the look of concern.

  “Betty, it will be fine; if Nate didn’t think so, he wouldn’t have suggested it. Besides, it’s his son now. They still have a lot of bonding to do,” Henry said.

  Betty turned to watch as Nate was pulling off the dirt and back onto the shoulder of the road.

  “I know, but it just worries me still.”

  Betty understood she couldn’t argue her side, but had to trust Nate.

  “Betty, I can see further ahead than Nate; we are up higher. If I see anything, we will tell him,” Henry reassured his wife.

  “For now that’s fine where we can see for many miles in this open range, but when we get near the mountains, and I assume we will, then what?” Betty asked.

  “Betty, by then we may all be in Nate’s truck. This truck may not make it all the way. Everything depends on the route and detours. Nate is aware of that and is trying to keep us on a path to get us there in both vehicles,” Henry explained.

  Betty seemed to calm down now. She had to come to peace with the facts of it all. Everything they had seen thus far was known to both of them. Nate already saw many things, and it would be best to trust his judgment. That didn’t mean she had to be silent, or not be worried; but being supportive was the best thing to do.

  Henry pulled the semi up onto the road and shifted the gears to get to the speed he and Nate agreed to earlier. He was now doing seventy-five miles an hour. Nate was about half a mile ahead of him with the morning sun shining through the passenger window of the truck, lighting up his wife’s beautiful hair.

  The town of Lamar, Colorado was ahead. Nate had been through this area on the way home. This time, instead of heading west, he would be going north; staying on Highway 385. The area they were driving in was just as desolate as the area they camped in. There were plenty of cars abandoned from all models. Nate saw a few bodies in some, but didn’t mention it. Ben was focused on a few magazines that appeared to be a few years old. He loved to look at pictures, but did read them from cover to cover. In many ways, Ben was like a sponge that couldn’t absorb things enough. He seemed to crave most things and seemed fascinated by everything.

  Off the road and far away, Nate finally saw someone on a tractor turning up soil near a small home. The man on the tractor waved a friendly wave as they drove by. Nate then heard the very loud sound of his dad’s truck behind him as a gesture to the farmer. Nate was encouraged by the sight. It was nice to see something that looked normal even for being so far removed from the smaller towns.

  The town of Lamar sat on the Arkansas River and had a population of nearly 8,000 before the collapse. It was small, but offered everything anyone might want; except Nate didn’t wish to travel right through the middle of town, he took a road that would take them west of Lamar. Both trucks took the small road with Lamar visible off to the northeast. Nate could see smoke in the town; a lot of smoke. Motion caught his eye as he detected a car headed toward town in a rapid rate of speed. It disappeared in seconds behind what looked like commercial buildings. For a second, the sight reminded him of some war torn places he had seen overseas.

  Soon, they were coming up to a railway crossing. About a half mile down the track was a crashed Amtrak train. It looked like it had been derailed. Small areas of smoke still billowed up
from the crash. It must have happened recently. Nate wasn’t surprised that the railways still were moving because of his own experience with riding one. Someone must have stopped it in hopes of finding resources.

  They were not out of danger yet. They needed to head west of Highway 50 until he came to Highway 287 north. Staying on this highway too long would likely bring issues. It ran along a densely populated area of small towns that sat right off the river. They needed to continue north. Nate was wondering how the semi was doing on fuel, but he didn’t wish to ask yet. He knew his dad would let him know. Nate had a goal, or an idea, that he hoped would work. He didn’t want to suggest it until they were in Wyoming. That was the concern though…getting into that state. Eventually they needed to start heading northwest toward the mountains instead of staying north only. This travel was easier, and so far safer, but it was going to take extra fuel in the end for both trucks. If they began to make a diagonal line from their current position to just north of Denver, Nate estimated they could make it at least midway into Wyoming with the semi. They did have some fuel in cans for the massive truck, but not much.

  The roads now were different. People could be seen everywhere. Some pushed Walmart carts while others road bikes. It was the most people they had come across yet. A few were surprised to see Nate and the truck that followed, but did not approach, mostly because they were driving very fast. Nate had drove in similar conditions in Humvees through far more crowds. The key was not to slow down. People are always less likely to jump a fast moving vehicle. Bad things happen when you do.

  Up ahead, Nate was surprised to see a cop car half blocking the road. His lights were on, but he didn’t look like an officer. If he was, he was out of uniform and just didn’t look the part. Around the cop car there were dusty abandoned cars that seemed to be pushed into place to block any traffic coming on Highway 50 from the west. The so-called officer was alone. Nate wanted to just blow through, but he wasn’t sure if they might have Highway 287 blocked north as well.

  “Dad, I’m going to stop with caution in hand. Stay close to my rear and have caution ready in yours. Get mom down. I have Ben in the back seat down,” Nate said.

  Henry already had Betty in the back cab on the floor. Ben was now in the back seat hunkered down with Samson as Nate slowly approached the man.

  “Where you all going so fast?” the man asked.

  Nate already didn’t like the man’s tone. It wasn’t his business even during normal times to ask such a question. Nate had his pistol leveled at the man just below the edge of the door.

  “Sorry, don’t care to answer that. Where is your uniform? Hell, where is your badge?” Nate fired back.

  The man was nearly the same age as Nate. His face turned red with anger, but he seemed to realize that he didn’t have the upper hand. His tone changed and he stepped back from Nate’s truck. His patience now seemed to show and his next words made Nate think perhaps he really was a police officer.

  “Listen, I’m sorry. We have to keep an eye on things. We are spread thin right now. If you are passing through that’s fine. If you are staying, we just like to know who you know. We had some bad apples show up last month and try to set up shop. It cost us four good men to stop them,” the officer said.

  Nate changed his tone also, but kept his gun pointed through the door.

  “We are headed through to the north. We are not staying. I’m sorry to hear about your men. I’m an officer and understand.”

  That was the first time Nate addressed himself as one willingly. He thought maybe it would by them some bonus points of understanding from the tired looking man.

  “Can I ask where are you from?” the man asked.

  “North Texas,” Nate replied.

  “I guess you heard about the three nuclear reactors down there,” the officer asked.

  “Yes, two around Houston, the other not far from Dallas. Many people were heading to west Texas,” Nate replied. “I don’t think they will make it this far though,” Nate added.

  The officer seemed to look relieved at that last comment.

  “I hope not. Well, you guys have a safe trip. It’s fairly peaceful north of here. If you were headed west I’d say you better have guns.”

  Nate appreciated the information.

  “Thanks, and you take care.”

  Just as he started to pull forward, Nate saw movement in the officer’s car. It was his small family; looked like a wife with two small children. Nate stopped. His father slammed on his brakes nearly hitting the Tundra.

  “Is that your family?” Nate asked. Now he could see the wife feeding the smaller kids what looked like some bread or something like maybe even crackers.

  “Yes, the only way I can make sure they are safe is to have them with me and pray that I don’t encounter someone here that will try something,” he replied.

  Nate felt a sick feeling in his gut. He was prepared to kill the man because he was so unsure he wasn’t an officer. If he had done that his family would have seen it all. Nate holstered his weapon and turned off the truck.

  “Give me one second to talk to the man in the truck behind me,” Nate said, standing up out of his truck.

  The officer look puzzled.

  Nate stepped up on the small ladder and spoke to his mother and father.

  “That’s his family in the car. I think they may be hungry. She is feeding those kids crackers or something. I think we can afford to give them a few things can’t we?”

  Henry looked at Betty who was the one who prepared all the rations of food.

  “Well, yes. Of course, son. We have plenty. Give them water if they need it,” she replied with a happy smile on her face. It felt good to help people.

  Henry kept an eye open though for any onlookers.

  “Nate, let’s not open the back. Do you have enough in your truck for now to give them?” Henry asked.

  Nate thought for a moment. He did have several extra Mountain House freeze-dried meals.

  “Yes, I can just give them some of mine,” Nate said, not really wishing to take the time to open the semi up. That would give people around the area the wrong idea. They needed to do this fast and keep moving.

  “Officer, come with me. I have something for you,” Nate said, waving him over to the truck bed. Nate reached over and pulled out a small five-gallon bucket with a gamma seal lid. Nate twisted the lid once, making it spin.

  “Here, take these. We have plenty. Also, take these gallon jugs of water; you will need them to cook with anyway,” Nate said, helping carry them to the patrol car. The man looked stunned. His eyes welled up with tears. The wife saw the food and got out. The kids stayed in the back seat.

  “Dear Lord, thank you so much. Thank you,” she said, looking at the variety of food.

  Nate wanted to do more, but didn’t know what else to do. Then he remembered something.

  “Do you guys have a home?” Nate asked. The officer turned slowly to Nate, still stunned by the gesture of food.

  “Yes, it’s just hot and way out in the county. We have some land,” he replied.

  Nate walked back to his truck, reached into the back bed again, and was digging for something. Then he came up with a large looking can. The can read Survival Seed Vault. It was a long-term food storage variety of twenty different seeds. In each of the different packets were hundreds of seeds.

  “Take these and start growing a garden. Then share if you like, but these will help you get food. Follow the guide inside if you haven’t done gardening before,” Nate said. The man took the can and seemed very excited.

  “I don’t know what to say,” he expressed.

  The officer handed the can to his wife. She was reading the label as Nate walked the man away from the car.

  “Let me give you some advice. You are basically alone out here now. If someone bad pulls up, you will be dead, and God knows what would happen to your beautiful wife and kids. Go home. You can’t police this, sir. Go home, be with them, and protect the
m on your own terms, not out somewhere like this. Go grow a garden and wait this stuff out,” Nate said, almost in a whisper. The words seemed to strike a chord of realization with the officer.

  “We will. I just was doing my duty I guess, but you are right, I can’t keep them out here. Let me give you an escort north, we are going that way anyway.”

  The man shook Nate’s hand. They parted, and Nate heard the officer tell his wife they were going home, for good.

  Nate got back into the truck and told Ben he could sit back up but to stay in the back until they cleared town. The officer moved ahead of Nate and did as he said. He gave them an escort. Every so often, Nate could hear the officer on the PA telling people to move off the center of the road and make way. Nate didn’t expect this, but appreciated the help also. After about fifteen minutes of slow driving, the police car picked up speed and so did Nate. Ten minutes passed before the cop car signaled he was turning to the right. He stuck his arm out the window and waved as did the kids and wife inside. Henry sounded the horn for the kids as he drove by. The officers unit slowly disappeared over a small hill.

  “Dad, that was nice to help them,” Ben said.

  Nate figured he had to start giving back. He was helped by so many nice people when he was trying to get home. He hated to see a family sitting all day in a cop car just to feel safe. He understood why they were doing it, but knew that it was for nothing. The odds of him getting killed doing his job increased one hundred percent. He was surprised it hadn’t happened already. Giving them some food and a means to start growing food, even if it took time, meant a chance to live. The officer had no chance by sitting in a squad car.

  “It was the right thing to do; sometimes you have to sacrifice things for others,” Nate explained.

  Nate didn’t care about the food or seeds. If he needed food, he knew how to hunt for it, and could provide off the land. He hoped when they finally got in Wyoming and settled down, they could really start to grow together as a family.