Still, Tess, on Robin, and Eric, in his private enclave, slept peacefully unaware of the storm cells approaching from the west.
Gus & Ela - Unaweep Canyon, CO
They both jumped up from the table. Gus ran to the living room to grab the rifles, and Ela opened the door a crack to see out, since the windows on the front of the house were covered with tarp.
"What is it?" asked Gus, as he ran back from the living room.
"It’s another one of those guys, wearing black, on a snowmobile."
"This is loaded with the safety on," Gus said, handing her one of the ARs. "Stay inside the door, but take the safety off and shoot that son of a bitch if he even acts like he wants to do something. Don’t shoot me, if at all possible."
Gus put the weapon to his shoulder and walked out the door to face the oncoming snowmobile. Gus stopped with the rifle pointed directly at the driver, and then he jerked the rifle down and fired twice. Two puffs of snow erupted in the path of the approaching snowmobile. Gus jerked the rifle back up in an obvious move to let the rider know where the next round would go.
The rider threw both hands in the air. As soon as the machine coasted to a stop, about twenty yards in front of Gus, he shouted, "Keep your hands up and state your business."
"We’ve had trouble at Unaweep Resort Ranch. I’m going to Gateway to try to get help," a scared male voice said.
"What kind of trouble?" Gus asked, still looking at the man through the rifle’s sights.
"When part of Highway 141 was washed out in a flashflood five days ago, the guests that were due to leave couldn’t, and they’ve been trapped there ever since. They are all high rollers and pretty demanding with the staff that are trapped there with them. Some of the staff started drinking and decided to rob them and then leave, to let them fend for themselves. They locked those of us that wouldn't join up with them in the bunkhouse. I escaped, and I'm trying to get to Gateway to bring back help," the man said.
"You know anything about two others from the ranch coming this way on snowmobiles?"
"Yes, one of the ringleaders took his wife to Gateway. He was supposed to bring back his friend, but they haven't come back. I think that's how I got away; they're short-handed until he gets back. Can I put my hands down?"
"You can, then get on out of here; and see if you can find help. We have an injured woman inside who will die soon without medical attention." Gus lowered his rifle as the man sped away leaving a rooster tail of snow.
Once back inside Gus looked in on Beth and saw no change; she was still breathing, but unconscious. So far, Gus had been in a reactionary mode since this whole thing started. Playing catch-up ball in the game of life didn’t offer a bright future. He wanted to get ahead of the curve and be ready for whatever came next.
He asked Ela to sit down with him at the kitchen table, so they could figure out what would be a good next move on their part.
"You heard what he had to say?" he asked.
"I did. Do you believe him?"
"Parts of it, I do. Everyone in Colorado knows about flashfloods, so the part about the highway being washed out fits with why we haven’t seen or heard a snowplow. Using this storm and power outage as cover, and as an excuse for a robbery, also fits. Which side he’s on beats me; if he shows up with help for Beth then I’ll believe him. If he shows up with help to finish robbing this place, then I guess we fight, and maybe die," Gus replied, deciding not to sugarcoat anything.
What Ela heard Gus say dovetailed with her own thinking; danger lurked in all directions. "Welcome to the die-off," she said.
"What’s that suppose to mean?" he asked.
"The last news I heard over the radio, about the attacks going on, reminded me of a plan hatched by a group of hackers I know of. These extreme storms are becoming more common, and this guy explained how they would attack during these storms to make the damage worse, and last longer. If they are successful in doing that, civility will be strained to the breaking point. Governments commandeer, civilians loot, and all of them start shooting at each other after three days without electricity. That's what I think is happening."
"Maybe in the rest of the country, but back in this neck of the woods, here’s how I see it. We now know we have trouble brewing at the next place up the canyon from us. We also know at least some family, of one of the two dead bodies in the shed, lives somewhere down canyon from us. We are not able to climb out of here until after the snow melts, I can assure you of that. As I see it, we are in no man’s land," Gus said.
Ela gave Gus a puzzled look, "What do you suggest we do?"
"A big piece of that question is what to do for Beth? You know she will die without getting medical help soon. She isn’t eating or drinking anything, so she won’t last long; we need to face the facts."
"You want to leave her and take the snowmobile to Gateway? Is that what you are trying to say?" Ela’s voice rose with the building tension.
"That’s not what I’m saying. What we do in the next twenty-four hours very well could be the difference between life and death, is what I’m trying to say. I tried the radios in both vehicles, and neither picks up anything except static, so we have no word of what's happening in the rest of the country. Until we get some news, we both need to worry about our little world inside this freaking canyon. How do we survive if more assholes come? There are three rounds left in Con’s pistol, Al's pistol is empty, and we have eighteen rounds between the two rifles; after that, we’ll be throwing snowballs to defend ourselves," Gus said, louder than he meant to. He decided to go outside, check the area for movement, and regain composure.
~~~
"Can you open that safe in there?" Ela asked when Gus entered the kitchen.
"Yeah, if I had a cutting torch. I'll look around in the shop, but I didn't notice one. Look, since it’s almost dark, I don’t think anyone from Gateway is going to show today. Maybe, but it’s more likely it will happen tomorrow. Tonight we can take turns doing watches here in the house. Early tomorrow I suggest we move out to the shop, since they will expect us to be in the house caring for Beth. We can check on her and keep the house warm, but we will need some element of surprise to win any battles, if more than one guy shows up."
"Okay," Ela said and got up and left the table. The irritability between the two of them had grown during the afternoon of waiting to see if anyone would come, friend or foe. She checked on Beth and found no change—another death in the house soon. Ela wondered if her interactions with Gus were a microcosm of what was happening across the storm-affected areas, where the power had been off longer than the three days' worth of food most people have on hand. Was everyone becoming irritable and angry, in addition to being hungry? Were dead bodies piling up around the people who were still hanging on?
Ela thought about Gus with his enormous physical strength and his get-it-done attitude. When he saw something that needed to be done he figured out a way to do it, and did it. She admired that part of him. Yet, there was another part of her that associated him with everything bad that had happened, once he had entered her life. She knew that blaming him was a coping measure, promising to make her path easier for the moment, but adding a burden to her future.
In her mind she again heard her mother asking her questions about choosing between a strong or weak partner, while pressing her to pop out a couple of grandbabies. It was as if somehow her mother had known that she would face such a decision under duress, and had tried to prepare her for it. For the first time since her mother's death, Ela reconnected with her spiritually, and realized their relationship continued in a new realm, and that the healing process could begin.
~~~
Outside, a breeze from the southwest brought warmer, moist air to the region, almost identical to the one that had come through exactly one week ago.
Andy, Jennifer, Tye & Reb - East Texas
Jennifer went to the front window for a better look at the approaching vehicle and said, "It's Sam, and he has Melissa and Leo wit
h him." She continued to the front door and opened it.
Deputy Sam was supporting the arm of Melissa, who carefully carried their four-year-old son, Leo, along the ice encrusted front walk. "Glad to see you," Sam said when Jennifer opened the door. "We figured you'd be here when there was no one at your place, things are turning bad, it's good to know you're safe."
The family safely negotiated the ice and entered the house as Jennifer closed the door behind them. "We're just finishing breakfast and the cooks made plenty, anyone hungry for a hot meal?" she asked.
"I'm hungry, Aunt Jen," Leo said reaching for her.
"Sam, did Reb forget to pay her parking tickets?" Tye asked.
"Probably, but that's not why we're here. Our house and neighborhood flooded. We went to Jennifer's house first, at Melissa's suggestion; the house isn't flooded, but some areas around it are. When we found no one there we decided to come out here to check to make sure she was here and safe."
"Melissa, you and Leo are welcome to stay here with us," Reb said putting more plates on the table. Sam, it'll cost you to stay; payable in information."
Sam smiled at Reb, "Careful what you wish for. There isn't much good news, unless you count the pipes that haven't frozen and burst yet. The County is at a standstill this morning, not even able to assess damage, or make estimates of when power or municipal water will be restored. As you can imagine tensions are high with people needing governmental help, and we're almost out of resources at the local level. And to top it off there is some sort of electronic counter-measures going on that have jammed radios around here. The tech guys think the military is responsible, and that they are trying to prevent more cyber attacks. We'll probably be sending up smoke signals, as soon as we can get some fires started."
"You're not serious, no radio communication between cop cars?" Andy asked.
"It's serious, we're handicapped while our radios are being jammed. Since I have one of the few vehicles with chains, I need to go. If Melissa and Leo could stay here, it would take a big load off my shoulders," Sam said.
"You know better than that, they're family to us and always welcome. Melissa just about grew up in this house," Reb said.
"Reb, Tye, thank you for taking in my family. I'll be back tonight, late probably."
"Andy and I will walk you out," Jennifer said.
Once outside, Jennifer cornered Sam. "Straight up now, what's going on out there and at the store?"
"The cold is bad, and keeping most people indoors and huddled up, but home fires are increasing, and there's nobody to fight them. Those left homeless from the fires and flooding, like my family and me, have overloaded our public service resources. As to your store, all the low area around it is flooded, and no one has been out to the hill. But it's highly likely there is looting going on out there, so plan on it being a total loss, and you won't be disappointed."
"That's what I've been thinking, but we had such a run of customers the day before yesterday, there wasn't much left to loot. Anyway, be careful," Jennifer said, as she gave Sam a hug. Then she stood beside Andy, and they watched as Sam drove toward town.
"Sorry about the store, but on the bright side, neither of us is out there fighting with people over the last burrito. I think we're really lucky to be here on your family's farm."
Andy went over to the truck and started to pry open a frame-mounted toolbox under the flatbed. "Your dad mentioned there are tire chains in here, if I can get it open."
"Andy, I just had an idea. While you do that, I'm going to run in and tell them we're taking a ride to check on the cows."
In the house Jennifer gave Melissa a hug, then went toward Leo to give him a hug, shying away from his syrupy grip at the last moment. "I'll hug you later after Grandma Reb gets done with you. I'm going to show Andy around the place while you finish eating, be back before you know it." On the way out of the house she picked up the shotgun and a handful of extra shells.
Andy got the toolbox open after beating it with a tire iron to break the ice. He laid the chains out individually, making sure they weren't twisted, before draping them over the tires.
When Jennifer had returned and was in the truck he asked, "Jennifer, can you pull forward a couple of feet?" After she'd done so, Andy made sure Jennifer had the one-ton out of gear before he finished connecting the chains.
He got in the cab and said, "We'll probably need to tighten them after we drive a bit. Try it."
The old truck lumbered along with no trouble and proceeded a few hundred yards before Andy signaled a halt. Then he went to each wheel and took up a link where he could, making sure the chains fit snuggly against the tires.
Andy climbed in the cab and slid over next to Jennifer until only the shotgun separated them, "Not often you find a bench seat as big and comfortable as this one."
Jennifer looked over and up at Andy beside her. She snuggled up to Andy's warmth considering her reply, when the sound of gunfire reached them. Motionless and nose-to-nose, they listened to the increasing rate of fire.
"That's coming from the direction Sam went," Andy said, after he had leaned out of the cab to better hear where the sounds came from.
"We need to find a way to see what's going on," Jennifer said, as she floor-boarded the truck out across the field. When they arrived at a gate she asked Andy to open it and leave it open. After passing through the gateway she turned toward a high spot in the pasture that allowed a view of the two county roads that led to town.
Once there they got out and saw that the intersection of the two roads had been blocked by a four-door pickup, parked in the middle of it. The Sheriff's vehicle that Sam had been driving was stopped at an angle, thirty yards away from the blocked intersection, with the front of it angling into the ditch alongside the road.
From their vantage point they could see four men lying prone, and taking cover, behind the pickup that blocked the crossroads. Alternately, the men were rolling out far enough to shoot in Sam's direction, and then ducking back for cover. Andy and Jennifer couldn't see Sam, but could hear shots coming from the front of the stopped Sheriff's vehicle. They did see the impact of Sam's bullets on the pickup the men used for cover; the tires were flat, and liquid leaked from under the engine compartment.
Andy looked at Jennifer and said, "Since we're behind them, if I can sneak within shotgun range, I think I can make them drop their weapons."
"What if they don't? You ready to shoot them?"
"Time to find out. You get ready to take off in the truck to get to your Dad if this doesn't work, okay?"
"No Andy—"
"Jennifer, we don't have time. Sam has four guys shooting at him, he needs our help, now." Andy pulled her into a tight hug, kissing her passionately, but briefly. Then he was off, hunching over and moving as fast as he could, trying to keep his balance across the icy field. He racked a round into the chamber, as quietly as possible, as he progressed across the frozen pasture, taking advantage of any concealment he could find.
A few minutes later Andy slid under the fence, and estimated his distance to the men behind the vehicle at less than fifty yards. Andy stood up and fired a round into the cab windows of the truck, showering the area with glass, and immediately pumped in another round yelling, "Drop your weapons."
Two of the men nearest Andy, at the front tire, locked up and didn't move; at the rear tire one of the men rolled over, firing a pistol at Andy. The roll had put him even closer to his partner, and Andy fired back knowing both men were in the pattern of the shot; without thought he pumped and fired again. Then, after loading the next round, he hesitated on the trigger. Seeing the men he had shot at on their backs facing skyward, he shifted his aim to the other two men. They remained prone on their backs with their hands above their bodies, watching Andy intently.
"Sam," Andy hollered at the top of his voice, never taking his eyes off the prone attackers. "You alright?"
"Andy?"
"Yeah."
"I'm hit, what's the status of the sho
oters?"
"Two down, shot and bleeding. The other two dropped their weapons and have their hands in the air."
"Good. If any of them so much as blinks, shoot them; and keep shooting till they stop moving. Can you get to their weapons?"
"No. But I hear Jennifer coming in the one-ton; when she gets here we can do that. How badly are you bleeding?"
"I'm okay for now."
"I'm here," Jennifer said, jumping out of the truck and coming up behind Andy.
Andy kept the shotgun on the two men, he didn't know where all their weapons were, and didn't want to approach until he did. "I want you two to stand up, one at a time, one nearest me first. Do it! Assume the position—lean against the truck and spread your legs. Now, you on the ground, do the same."
Andy gave Jennifer the shotgun and approached the two, carefully keeping out of her line of fire, while picking up a pistol and an AR-15. He pulled and then reinserted the AR's magazine, making sure it held rounds, and then he fired one in the air verifying the weapon was functional.
"What was that?" Sam hollered.
"A test, now both Jennifer and I are armed, but I only have two weapons here with four men," Andy answered.
"You check under the men that are down?"
"I'll do that now."
"Be careful, but not gentle," Sam said.
"Okay, now I've found four weapons and one dead body, one about to be."
"Jennifer, can you come over here while Andy watches them?"
"On the way."
Jennifer crossed the road and found Sam lying in a pool of steaming engine coolant, under the front of the now well-ventilated Sheriff's vehicle. She could see the red blood, dripping from a wound in his leg, was mixing with the green-colored pool of antifreeze, staining it orange.
"Now we'll see how much I learned from that first-aid course you taught," she said, as she approached him with a look of concern that belied her attempt at humor.
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