“I just left him. He said he wouldn’t mind watching a while longer. He’s carving hiking sticks for him and me. I’m supposed to ask if he’s old enough to have a cup of coffee, and I want some more of the orange drink we had yesterday.”
“The orange juice for sure, but I’ll have to defer to the doctor about the coffee. Doctor Herman, what is your profound opinion as to Al’s request?”
“Let’s see, I believe you told me the young man in question will soon be fifteen years of age. It is my profound opinion that he has reached an age where a little caffeine in the line of duty can be allowed.”
“Does that mean yes or no?”
“It means yes, honey.”
“Then just say yes. You two are weird today.”
“Yes we are, aren’t we, Eva?”
“Why is Eva turning red?” Janie asked, “Is she getting sick or something?”
“Mostly or something,” Agnes answered. This answer caused Eva to burst out laughing again, grimacing with pain at the same time. Agnes lost control and joined her. At that moment, the sounds from the clearing again reached a peak and died away.
“I make that six.” Agnes said, smiling, even though tears were flowing down her cheeks.
“No, that’s seven,” Eva replied, “I called six the last time." For some reason this caused them to laugh even harder. Janie stalked past them in a huff, and began mixing the powdered orange drink herself.
“You two are silly today.”
*
Jake and Beth made their entrance the following morning into the kitchen. Agnes and Eva were at the sink cleaning the breakfast dishes. Beth had made an effort to make her hair presentable, but it was obviously a hurried attempt.
“Jake, married life is suiting you.” Agnes declared, “But girl, we’ve got to do something with your hair. You look like you stuck your head in a blender.”
“I did,” she replied with a wide smile, digging a brush from the bag she was carrying, and handing it to Agnes. “Would you mind fixing me, I can barely lift my arms?”
“I wonder why,” Agnes said, returning her smile, taking the brush and guiding her to a chair. “You want to take a seat too, Jake?”
“No, I’m fine… on second thought, maybe I will, I’m starving. Is there anything left over from breakfast?”
Eva went to the oven and removed two plates piled with ham and reconstituted powdered eggs.
“I knew you two would be hungry when you showed up. You can have your coffee after you drink two glasses of water or orange drink.”
“Doctor’s orders huh?” Jake said, glancing at her. A thought came to him. “Al and Janie are on guard together?"
“We tried to separate them so they would each have an adult partner, but separating them would require the use of force,” Agnes said.
“Well, we can’t fault their teamwork,” Jake responded.
Agnes continued working with Beth’s hair, speaking as she did. “No we can’t. This morning she told me it was her job to protect us when she is on duty. The little girl sounded so grownup when she said it. I think all of us are developing disaffected personalities. Death and violence seem to have become the norm."
“That’s a cycle that’s going to stop. I won’t get into depth about how, but I’m hoping all of you will be major players in my plans once we get to Haven.”
“Beth’s a given,” Agnes replied, “but understand this Jake, you should know that my participation in any effort you undertake is also a given. I believe I speak for Eva as well.” She gave Beth’s hair a final pat. “You’re done... You know, you may as well tell the nanobots to install a permanent relaxer in your hair. Tell them it’s for Jake, and they’ll probably do it,” she suggested with a chuckle.
“That’s a good idea,” Beth replied. “I should have thought of that.”
“Jesus,” Jake said, “you three are treating the nanobots like pets. They killed over seven billion people!”
“We’re aware of that Jake, but that part of them seems to be over. All we see now is their benevolence,” Eva said. “I believe as you do that the humans left alive are mankind’s second chance.”
“They may be showing benevolence now, but all they will get from me is malevolence. The research teams will find out who sent them and they will get a taste of what they fed us.”
“Damn right,” Agnes agreed. “But in the meantime we’ll use them any way we can if it helps keep the few surviving humans alive.”
Jake threw his arms up in surrender. “At this point we may as well. As soon as Beth and I finish eating, I’d like us all to join Al and Janie at the cut.”
*
“All quiet?” Jake asked as they approached the two on guard.
“We haven’t heard or seen anything,” Janie answered.
“Eva told us we’re leaving,” Al said. “Are we really taking the truck?”
“Only a few miles up the cut to a place Beth and I found,” Jake, said, as he motioned them all to take a seat on the ground. “Time is getting short. We need to be in Haven by the middle of June. There are groups of people who should be arriving near the end of the month. We don’t know what the conditions are there, and I want time to prepare the place to receive them.
“This is the end of May. We could probably walk it in the time remaining, but we can’t rely on probably. Anything can happen on the road, and, as we’ve experienced, things that ‘happen,’ usually mean delays.”
“That’s for sure,” Agnes interjected.
Jake nodded to her. “Anyway, about three miles from here, Beth and I, discovered an armored military transport vehicle called a MaxxPro. There’s also a huge covered trailer to pull behind it. I figure we can put everything useful here into our truck and transfer the load into the trailer. That will leave the big transport with plenty of room for us. Without getting into the technical details, I will tell you it would take a massive attack to stop us once we get the beast rolling.”
“Wait until you see that MaxxPro thing,” Beth said. “It’s as big as a house and it’s got a machine gun on top.”
“It is huge,” Jake agreed, “but we’ll be traveling in style. If we load the truck tomorrow, we can leave the next morning, transfer the load from the truck to the trailer, and be in the vicinity of Haven in two, maybe three days.”
“What about the noise factor and what you said about keeping out of sight?” Al asked.
“Let’s review that,” Jake replied. We’ve been very careful, and in being very careful, you’ve suffered a broken leg and Beth was attacked while doing a simple patrol. Just recently, you and Janie had to eliminate a man trying to sneak into our camp and only your quick action preserved our safety.
“Not to mention that we’re still only about twenty five miles from our home after all this time,” Beth added.
“You know,” Eva interjected, “maybe you were supposed to be delayed. I mean what are the chances, out of the so few people left alive in this world, the two people you rescue just happen to be a nurse and a doctor. What are the odds?”
“I have to say, that thought has crossed my mind,” Jake said. “I’m going to call it luck of the draw because I would not want to even consider the nanobot are able to direct long term plans to manipulate us, I’m glad you two are with us. I just hope nothing else happens to cause delays."
“I see what you mean about using the MaxxPro,” Al said, returning to his original subject, “but what happens if we run into a bunch of Saint’s men?”
“Not too long ago, your sister told me that your mother had a saying, ‘Bold people do bold things’. If we do run into any of Saint’s men, we fight and we kill them. No more running and hiding. If we have to fight them every inch of the way to Haven, then so be it.”
“Bravo, bravo,” Eva shouted.
“I agree, and I say bravo too,” Beth said. “It’s time they learned to fear us.”
“Jesus, Jake,” Agnes said, laughing. “You’re running with a crew of blood thir
sty Amazons. I say kill anybody who gets in our way. Let’s ride.”
“We could start bringing things from the basement today,” Al said. “There’s a lot of food and water, and tools, and other stuff down there. I don’t think the truck can hold everything.”
“We’ll bring it out and make our decisions as to what gets loaded,” Agnes said.
“We may as well start now,” Beth said. “I guess our honeymoon is over, Jake. We have work to do. Before we go to the barracks, I want say something while we’re together. The day we found Eva, the day that man ran from the woods and tackled me, made me think about something important. He should have never been able to get that close to me.
“To be honest, my thoughts were on Jake. My mind should have been on our safety and our mission. If I wasn’t thinking about Jake, I would have put a bullet in that filthy-son-of-a-bitch before he got within twenty feet of me.
“What I’m saying is, this is a dangerous world, and even when we get to Heaven it will still be dangerous. We can’t let our guard down unless we know someone is watching our backs.”
“You’re right of course,” Jake agreed, “Even here we should have been more cautious than we have been. I let myself be lulled into a sense of false security because no one had come up this cut until the day Puckett did. The truth is, we could have been attacked at any moment.”
“You’ve got that right,” Agnes agreed. “I guess we need to put our personal lives on hold until we know we’re in safe places.”
“We want to help load the truck,” Janie said. “Anyways, mine and Al’s guard time is up.”
“Jake, why don’t you stay here on guard, we can handle moving the supplies,” Agnes suggested. “I think the young ones are a bit too excited about moving day to leave them here.”
They left Jake alone at the cut and he settled in a comfortable position behind a screening veil of foliage. He looked out at the lush, sun-warmed landscape, and let his thoughts run free. An image of his dead wife and sons came, and his eyes closed. He remembered taking the picture of them grouped together by their Christmas tree. The moment passed, the image faded, and he shed his only real tears since their deaths, lost in the joy of seeing his family whole and complete for the first time after so many years. His inner vision expanded and now he was walking from the curb to their house. Joan and the boys had seen his approach and came rushing out the front door into his welcoming embrace.
“Joan, Ben, Bobby, I wish you could meet Beth, and Al, and Janie. I know you would love them, and they would love you. I miss you three and think of you every day. I have your fullness in a part of me where you dwell. I am not complete, but I can taste the feel of it. I can put my lust for vengeance aside. Your memory will live by telling my new family about you, about the life you three gave me, about the love we shared. I love you Joan. You and our boys rest easy.”
*
Several hours later, Janie and Al returned to the cut and informed Jake he was needed at the barracks.
Everything of any value was stacked on the front porch. Jake stared in amazement at the mountains of food and water that was left after the amount of time they had spent there.
Agnes surveyed the stacks and piles with him. “If we leave off most of the water, we can bring all this with us.”
“You think so?” Jake asked.
“I do, and I’m wondering why we should wait to load. I say we do it now and head out at first light tomorrow instead of waiting until the next day. I don’t know about you, but I’m getting kind of spooked staying here, since our talk earlier. I say we get to Heaven as fast as possible.”
“I agree,” Beth said. “Is there any reason we can’t leave tomorrow?”
“No reason, I just didn’t want to rush things. I’m for getting out of this area too.”
“It’s agreed then. Let’s get stepping before we stiffen.” Agnes ducked into the bed of the truck. “I’ll stack. Make a line and start passing.”
CHAPTER 14
Agnes and Eva were awake before dawn and prepared breakfast so they could get an early start. The cab of the truck would not hold them all. Jake and Janie remained behind while the others hiked to the barn. A couple hours later Beth radioed to let them know to come ahead.
Jake drove the overloaded truck to the site and parked it near the opening to the barn and joined the others waiting inside.
“We want to keep our time here as short as possible,” he said, “but I want to break into those padlocked storage rooms. If Mister Walsh, the guy who owned this place had a MaxxPro, it stands to reason he will have other military supplies.”
“Let’s get them open then,” Agnes said. “Maybe we’ll find bazookas or machine guns in there.”
“Could be,” he replied, “but I have to warn you, Walsh put the bodies of his wife and daughter inside one of them. We’ll probably find their remains.”
He found a stout steel bar and wedged it in the lock. With Agnes helping, they managed to rip the hasp from the first door. This cubicle contained a goldmine of compact military issue MREs or, 'Meals-Ready-to-Eat', in answer to Beth's question. There were also cartons of freeze dried meats and vegetables, and irradiated canned goods “Whoa,” Agnes exclaimed,” We definitely want this to go with us. We could feed a small army.”
Jake agreed. "I'll move the truck next to the trailer. While you all transfer the load from the truck, I'll start mixing fuel for the transport.
Jake gathered the tools and materials he would need and set to work. Using the booklet he'd found on their previous excursion, he began mixing the ingredients for the bio-diesel. According to the instructions and constrained by the size of the available containers, he could only prepare five gallons at a time. The guide stressed that the liquids had to be thoroughly mixed for thirty minutes utilizing the provided paddle he found on the shelf with the oil. Within a short time, he was covered in sweat. He finished the first batch, poured it into the transport’s tank, and sat wearily on the concrete floor. A few minutes later, the others joined him. They were as drenched in sweat as he.
Agnes sat with her back against one of transport's tires and wiped the moisture from her face with a rag. The rest sat nearby. Al tossed Jake a rag.
"Whew, it's hot and humid in here. Feels like summer. This is going to take a while," Agnes said.
Jake dabbed at the sweat running down his neck. "A lot longer than I thought it would. The tank holds seventy gallons of fuel. I can only make five gallons at a time, and each mix has to be stirred for thirty minutes. I'll need fourteen batches, and that's seven hours without breaks. Looks like we'll have to overnight here."
"So much for being on the road today," Eva said. "Do you think we should have guards out?"
Jake considered her question. “Yes I do. You nose is much better, but I can tell you're having difficulty breathing. I think it would be a good idea for you and Janie to guard while the rest of us do the prep."
"I don't know how to use a firearm."
"That's okay. Just use your eyes and ears. If you two spot anyone or hear something, run in and let us know... Janie, you have your bow, Al will loan you his pistol. He can go with you to help pick a spot to guard from and show you how to engage and disengage the safety. If you see you've got an emergency on your hands, just fire a round into the air, and we’ll come running."
Before Jake went back to mixing fuel, he removed two, very heavy, lead-acid battery-shells from a shelf. He carefully filled them with acid before putting them in an out of the way place. The batteries needed to condition for a few hours before being charged.
When the others finished transferring the material from the truck, they began moving the food supplies from the cubicle. Jake finished the second batch of fuel, and poured it into the transport to free up his container. He set the empty can down, and retrieved the steel bar they had used to force the lock on the first cubicle.
"Agnes, let's get these other doors open so we know what we have."
The second cub
icle yielded cases of military issue rocket propelled grenades, hand grenades, and M-79 grenade launchers.
They found the mother and child lying on the floor inside the third cubicle, their clothing collapsed over their skeletal remains. This cubicle was full of cases packed with military fatigues and boots.
There were no bazookas in the last space they opened, but it did yield ten cases containing four M-72 LAWs each, which, Jake informed Agnes, stood for Light Anti-Armor Weapon, compact shoulder fired missiles. There were also cases of M-16 automatic rifles, Beretta nine-millimeter pistols and many cases of ammunition.
Agnes looked at the opened spaces. "Damn. That's a lot of material. Walsh must have planned on outfitting a small army... I think we should put the clothing inside the trailer now, and then sort of mix the remaining food cartons in among the weapons. It may be we have to leave some of this behind."
Jake, was on his ninth batch, when Agnes called out they were finished loading the trailer. By dent of her careful packing, they had managed to clear the cubicles. It took all of them pushing to close and latch the trailer doors.
"Break time, wash up time and food time," Beth declared.
"Yeah, maybe even nap time," Al echoed. "I'm tired."
"I agree to all of it," Jake said, pulling his rag from his back pocket to wipe his face. "Why don't you three cool off for a bit? I'll relieve Eva and Janie so they can prepare a meal. I can rest while I'm guarding.”
It was early evening before everything needing to be done was completed. Al and Eva took over from a weary Jake and finished stirring the last two batches of fuel. Since the pouring container had a sealable lid, Jake decided they might as well prepare one more mix to take with them.
Janie said she could hear running water behind the barn. Jake sent Al out to search for the source. He found a small creek a little over a hundred yards away. Two at a time, they made the trip to the creek to wash and cool off.
After dinner, Jake drove the pickup out of the barn and hooked up jumper cables to charge the new batteries. He and Beth took the first guard shift. The others bedded down on the seats and benches of the vehicles.
HARD ROAD: Heaven Bound Page 20
