by Ned Sahin
I roll down the window. “We didn’t want to wake you up.” I try to smile as much as possible. The truth is that I didn’t want to talk to him again.
“Ah, you guys are very kind. We will be right behind you. We drive together to make sure we all leave the town safely,” he says. The last thing we need this morning is the bikers to tail us. However, I know that I don’t have an option. Saying no would make them suspicious and we also can’t force them to stay here.
“Sure.” I blink my eyes and tilt my head down. He goes back to his bike and puts his helmets on. His spouse gets behind him.
“They won’t leave us alone,” Kathleen says while I roll my window up. I nod and tell her about my conversation with Crypto last night while driving out the parking lot. We speed up on the street with all bikers following us. I slow down while passing by the Chinese place. I don’t see Crypto around, but I am pretty sure that he is hiding somewhere here.
I pull over the truck. The bikers stop right next to us. Gus is on their first row.
“You’ll laugh at us but… We forgot to fill up our containers with water. We have to go back to the hotel,” I say. They all chuckle. I am not sure if they do it for real or they are just faking it.
“Yeah, you may need some water during a road trip in the desert,” Gus says with a scoff. I see his silver teeth one more time. Hopefully, it’s the last time.
He leans his head forward to see Kathleen. Then he shifts his gaze to the backseat. I wonder if the briefcase is visible from his angle, but I can’t turn my head to check it right now.
He looks back at me.
“Nice meeting you, young folks. Have a safe trip,” he says. He glances through the back seat one more time before rotating his bike’s handgrip and moves the loud motorcycle forward.
I smile and raise my hand. They pass one by one. I make a U-turn and drive back on the street. I watch the bikers disappearing in the rearview mirror. Getting rid of the tailgating biker convoy was easier than I thought.
I make another U-turn and stop the truck in front of the Chinese place. I scan the surroundings of the restaurant, but I don’t see Crypto.
“There.” Kathleen points to the other side of the street. Crypto comes out of the bushes while smiling and waving his hand. He opens the backseat door and jumps in the truck.
“I thought you guys left me,” he says with a smirk.
“No friend left behind!” I accelerate the truck, then I realize that this is not true after remembering the couple at the hotel. “Unless they want to be left behind,” I add. I feel like I already miss Carlson and his wife.
Crypto put the briefcase on his lap like somebody who is holding a pet. He opens the briefcase to look through the documents and bottles. I think he is trying to find out if anything is missing.
He closes the bag while I drive on the ramp to get back to the highway on the Westbound.
I look at the rearview mirror and see Crypto giving me a brief look. I wonder if he noticed the missing vaccine.
Chapter 38
We are excited to be in the last stretch of our trip. The California border should be only about two hours away. It means we will be entering the Highland Republic’s territory soon.
Crypto tells that the people in the West live with the increasing fear of the dictator, Weck Highland. He and his generals rule the entire coast under an iron fist. There is growing civil unrest against him.
Weck Highland was a colonel in the US Military before the pandemic. With his practical knowledge about martial law and post-apocalyptic survival, he quickly united some of his fellow officers around him to rule the streets. With the supplies and human power he had gathered, he outranked his superiors and established the new so-called Republic.
Even though his propaganda team shows him as a leader who does everything to make his people feel safe and thrive, a majority of others know that he is a monster behind an angel mask.
He implemented a new type of slavery system to provide free labor for the food and supply factories to keep working. His militia either threatens to kill those who don’t want to work in factories, or they keep their loved ones hostage to make them do what they want. That’s one of the reasons why many people think he is a cold-hearted dictator and a monster.
Crypto is one of them forced to work against his will. Even though his sister didn’t do anything wrong, she’s held hostage in Alcatraz. He was promised his sister’s freedom if he comes back with Paizen’s documents and vaccine. This is why he has been holding the briefcase close to him all the time.
“What is the first thing you want to do when we are in San Francisco?” Kathleen asks. Her question changes the topic and scatters my worries about our next destination.
“After reuniting with my family? I want to go to that famous chocolate factory in downtown and try every single flavor!” I say. I have always been a big fan of their chocolate. I used to buy a few chocolate variety packs at the airport before returning to my city from family visits.
I can see both Kathleen’s and Crypto’s eyes lighting up after they hear the word chocolate.
“How about you?” I ask her.
“I want to have a beer by the ocean while listening to the waves and seagulls,” she says.
Even thinking about that scene relaxes my nerves.
“Seagulls are hard to hear now because of their masks.” Crypto chuckles, and we both laugh. A good mood is what we need before entering Western land.
I stop laughing as I see a distant black object in the rear mirror. It keeps getting bigger. Then it multiplies. The bikers are closing in.
“Oh, no!” I say. Both Kathleen and Crypto look behind to see what I saw.
This can’t be good. There is no way they went to Salt Lake City and rode back all the way to us. They probably changed their mind right after we got separated, or they came across somebody who told them about the museum explosion.
I speed up to increase the distance in between, but this heavy truck can’t go much faster. The stalled vehicles on the road make it harder to keep at the high speed as well. Motorcycles have better flexibility riding between these obstacles. They show up around a hundred yards behind us.
Gus is leading them as I expected. I see his lady rising behind him and pointing her handgun at us.
She fires two shots, which hit the rear hood of the truck. This definitely proves that they didn’t come all the way back to tell us their best wishes.
I am confident about the ability of this truck to handle a close car chase and gunfight. This is an armored military Humvee that is designed to be tough against attackers.
Gus gets to the left side of the truck and speeds up as two bikers close in right behind us.
I do a brake check that panics the bikers behind. One of them steers to the outside of the road while the other one can’t slow down or steer away on time and hits our bumper. He loses his balance and gets dragged to the curbside bushes.
Gus gets in front of us after our break check. His wife turns to us and points the gun again. Kathleen moves quicker and fires her gun outside of the window. The bullet doesn’t catch the target, but it was a good enough shot to scare them. Gus goes far on the left side and slows down to get on the same line as us again.
Another biker goes to the right side of us while two more bikers follow behind from a distance.
The biker on the right pulls up a shotgun with one hand while holding on the handle with his other hand.
“Drive him out!” Kathleen yells. I turn the steering wheel sharply to the right. The biker can’t find time to slow down or run from us. The Humvee hits his left handle and front tire. He falls with his bike and rolls over himself in a dust cloud.
I can’t keep the truck on the road after that sharp steering. We get off the road and fly over the irrigation ditch. We find ourselves on the bumpy terrain. I reduce my speed, but the truck’s tires continue to lift from the ground as we keep hitting pits and bush
es.
Gus and three other bikers go off the road as well. Their fancy motorcycles that were built for asphalt have difficulty maintaining stability and catching up with us. They reduce their pace as well.
I look at the mirror to see where they are, and there’s now a longer distance between us.
“Watch out!” Kathleen screams.
I move my eyes back to the road, but it’s too late to avoid a giant fallen log. I slam on the breaks right before the truck’s front tires hit the log and get lifted. The rear tires hit the log slower, but we still feel a huge jump in the truck. One of the bikers can’t stop on time either. He tumbles in the air twice before landing in the bushes.
Smoke starts coming out of our truck’s hood. I ignore it and hit the gas pedal again. I turn the truck back to the road. Bullets buzz around us. Some of them hit the doors.
The engine light goes off in the dashboard and smoke in front of the truck gets denser. I continue to ignore it and speed up as much as the engine can. There are still three bikers behind us. It looks like they are not going to leave us alone until they have the briefcase. Maybe we should throw the bag out before our engine fails and makes us vulnerable in the middle of nowhere.
“There! Almost there!” Crypto yells from the backseat. His finger is showing the road ahead of us.
As we get closer, I can see some vehicles behind a barrier of sandbags.
“Who are they?” I ask.
“The Republic… Looks like they expanded the border. It’s their checkpoint,” he says. This is a relief. Since Crypto works for them, they should be on our side in this ongoing car chase.
Our engine doesn’t sound like it will make it to the barrier. It loses torque, but I keep my foot pressing the gas pedal.
Bikers make another attempt to surround us, but they slow down immediately as they see the vehicles ahead. They stop before getting closer to the checkpoint. In the mirror, I see them turning around and going back.
Kathleen releases a deep breath. “That was close…”
Two heavily armed militias wave their hands to tell us to slow down and stop the truck. There are at least two more militias behind the barrier.
I stop the truck a few yards away from them. I roll down the window to talk to them, but Crypto doesn’t wait for it. He gets off the truck right away.
“Radio to Weck’s office. He’s been waiting for me,” he says. He shows some kind of ID paper in his hand. One militia goes to the truck behind the sandbags and extends the antenna on an electronic board.
Crypto walks to the other militia and points us a few times while talking to him.
Chapter 39
The militia tells me to park the truck off the road behind the barrier. Then he asks us to leave the vehicle and get in the Jeep. We do as he says. We look around the area while waiting in the backseat. The bikers disappeared after they had seen the militia. They may get around the checkpoint to cut our way off to San Francisco. The cargo we carried is a game-changer in this new world. I don’t think they will give up easily.
Crypto gets on the passenger seat and turns to us. “They will take us to the base in Reno. From there, we’ll use another vehicle to go to San Francisco.”
I am glad that he is still on our side. I was concerned about him leaving us on our own at the checkpoint.
A militia gets behind the wheel and turns the SUV to the West. It feels good to be on the backseat and not to worry about the road or vehicle.
I see a few ranches with farmers working on the land and feeding their animals. There is a drive-through fast food restaurant with a big “Open” sign in front of it. I even see an operational gas station with a few people filling their vehicles. The life on the other side of the checkpoint looks a lot more civilized than the inner states.
After being on the road for two hours, I see the casinos in Reno’s skyline.
“Casinos are under lockdown. They got hit hard by the virus… I think they still haven’t been cleaned out. We are going to the City Hall that is used as the command post for the Republic,” Crypto says. He hasn’t moved the briefcase away from his lap even for a second during the entire trip.
We pass another checkpoint before entering the city.
The city streets are nearly empty. Only a few people are walking on the sidewalks. Even though it’s almost deserted, the streets look like they are well taken care of. There are no overgrown plants or flying plastic bags. It’s nowhere near the abandoned messed up cities that are partially destroyed and burned.
We switch to another SUV at the command post. A different militia gets in the driver seat. Crypto still sits in the passenger seat. They are talking about some preparations in the Republic. It sounds like the militia force is getting ready for war by recruiting more people and doing tactical drills. I wonder who this war is going to be with. With another country?
After another two hours of driving, we arrive at Sacramento. The trip after the checkpoint has been a lot less stressful than I thought. We enjoyed going through the Tahoe forest and watching nature around the lakes. Most of California we have seen so far looks like there hasn’t been a pandemic at all.
California’s state capital is now the capital of the Highland Republic. People in masks and protective suits are walking around, shopping, lying in the downtown parks, and just moving along in their daily routines.
I see numerous militia members patrolling the streets. It reminds me of the Saviors. I remember watching them for weeks while hiding in my apartment.
The driver doesn’t stop at any red lights. There are a significant number of cars in the city, but two cars rarely come across each other at an intersection.
We stop in front of an office building that is about twenty stories tall and covered with black reflective windows. Its ugly look distinguishes the building from every other structure in the city.
Crypto opens his door. He turns to us before getting off the SUV.
“This is the end of the trip for me. He will take you to San Francisco and drop you off at your parent’s house. It was a pleasure meeting both of you… Stay safe,” he says and smiles. He definitely returned the favor we had done for him in Salt Lake City.
“You too, buddy. Thank you for the ride.” I wave goodbye.
“I hope you reunite with your sister soon,” Kathleen says with a nod and a warm smile.
I hope he gets his sister out of Alcatraz soon too. I can’t believe that we will be in San Francisco soon. I honestly didn’t think I could make it this far. Doing a cross country trip in a world filled with a deadly virus and deathlier creatures sounded impossible in the beginning, but I made it. I can’t wait to see my parents and brother soon.
“How do you feel?” Kathleen asks. She must have sensed my excitement.
The SUV shakes us as it goes over a huge pit on the road. Even buckled up, we still shift from our seats. Kathleen holds on to my leg as I hold her arm unintentionally.
“Sorry… I didn’t see it,” The driver says by glancing at us in the rear mirror.
“It’s…hard to explain… I’ve been waiting for this day too long…” I say. My eyes fill with tears, blurring my vision. This is the day. It was worth going through all the trouble.
I hope that they didn’t get infected. My father is the most cautious man I’ve ever seen. If there is one person who would avoid the virus at the expense of starving at home, it would be him.
My mom is the master of stocking up and rationing. I am sure she had stocked enough supplies at home to get through at least a year. She can make a gourmet meal out of almost everything. Thanks to her cooking skills, I am sure my father and brother were happy to spend months at home.
My brother has a strong personality to endure even the toughest mental and physical conditions. He used to tell me bits and pieces about his military training during rough conditions in the mountains. I have no doubt that he protected our parents no matter who the enemy was. The Republic’s ruler,
Weck Highland, should be afraid of him.
We pass the Bay Bridge and enter downtown San Francisco. As soon as we go down the ramp, some people start throwing whatever they have in their hands. I see water bottles, lighters, and vegetables hitting our car. I hear them booing and showing their middle fingers.
“Go to hell!” a guy says while punching the driver’s window. Apparently, the Republic’s militia force is not very popular here.
The militia doesn’t show much of a reaction. He briefly looks at the frustrated people around and turns his eyes back to the road. He seems to be used to this kind of welcoming ceremony.
“Is it okay if I leave you here? It will be more dangerous to go further,” the driver says while looking at us through the mirror.
“Yes, it’s fine. Thank you,” I say.
He turns to an alley to be able to hide from the people yelling at us. We get off the car without being seen. The militia backs off and speeds up away while some people are running after him and throwing more stuff, hits the rear window of the car.
“Wow… They really hate them,” Kathleen says. Even though we heard many stories about the situation here, we are still surprised.
“I am glad that we left the car without being noticed,” I say. “My parent’s condo is only two blocks from here.” We get out of the alley and walk onto the street by acting like we’re locals as much as possible.
My eyes search for the condo. I miss our house and the street I grew up around. Kathleen observes the people around while memories continue their parade in my mind.
I see some people preparing posters and banners with slurs against the Republic’s management. It looks like they are getting ready for a protest.
They seem to have democratic demands, but it’s never predictable how things turn out in a widespread protest. I remember the gatherings in the first few days of the second wave. Peaceful chants were quickly replaced with deadly anarchy.
A little girl approaches us with a bouquet of daisies she probably took from the roadside bush. With a big smile on her face, she extends her hand with flowers to Kathleen.
