Trekking Home

by Jeffrey Miller

  Nate helped secure their gear and some of the killed game to the ATV’s. This would help them and the people back in Cripple Creek. Nate had written out a note to give to the local police authority explaining the actions he came across and what he’d done.

  Nate watched as they all got on the ATV’s and slowly pulled away with the train of seven men behind them walking very fast. Nate had spoken to them all away from the men warning them not to for any reason let any of them loose for any reason, not even to use the bathroom. Just get to the town ASAP. He was assured they would not be stopping. Even though it was close to midnight now the women insisted on getting to town, they had family there and didn’t care about sleep.

  Nate watched with Ben as they disappeared around the bend in the road. He could still hear the engines of the ATV’s slowly plugging forward.

  “Will they all be ok?” Ben asked. Nate reached down to pick up his sling bag.

  “They will be fine; those men won’t be. I suspect they will be greeted by some pretty mad people when they find out what they did.” Nate replied.

  “Come on, let’s go make our camp site down the road away from this mess,” Nate said putting his arm over Ben’s shoulder and leading him up the road.

  Chapter 18

  In The Clear

  The next morning, the skies were clear, and no sounds could be heard other than the sound of burning wood from two separate fires. The large bonfire up the road was burning itself out, which was good because Nate had no way to put it out. His fire was very small and did its duty overnight. He rummaged through his pack, making a mental note of what should still be in the bag, and so far nothing was missing. He managed very well he thought to himself in how he handled the situation the night before. He wanted to do more than he did but thought better of it, leaving whatever police still existed back in Cripple Creek to make that determination.

  Nate tended to his small percolator of coffee as Ben was stirring in the tent. Nate was impressed with how Ben handled things and never bothered to tell him that he misunderstood the sign language of instructions. In hindsight, Nate didn’t and should not have expected a teen to understand, regardless of any high functioning autism. Ben was a very smart kid. In reality, far smarter, Nate thought, that he was at the same age.

  Ben unzipped the tent and pulled himself out and up stretching his frame. He whipped his eyes off the dirt and walked over to where Nate sat legs crossed on the dirt road. Nate set their camp right on the road, why not no one seemed to travel this route right now. It seemed like all the traveling had been done and Nate wondered how many people had survived to turn around and flee to tell others about the road being dangerous. However, it was more likely people were just running low on gas.

  Nate was fortunate right now he still had plenty of gas and would also remove what gas was left at the generator and the small plastic gas containers. He filled up the women’s ATVs with plenty of fuel and even sat a few extra cans on the back of the ones that had room. What remained would be their extra boost going home. You could never have enough gas, Nate thought.

  “May I have a cup of coffee?” Ben asked as he sat down across from Nate. He squinted his eyes, still trying to adjust to the bright early morning Colorado sun.

  “I think you may” Nate replied.

  “You will need this today; we have a long stretch ahead of us,” Nate said removing a cup from his pack and filling it half way.

  Nate had gathered about 7 gallons of gas from the site of the turmoil up the road. Nate decided to take all he could that was trash and lump it all into the small burning fire that once was as large as a small house. Tents, nasty smelling blankets, trash of all kinds went into the fire. Nate left the speakers, and generator where they sat, they were far too heavy to transport and would consume precious fuel. By 8:30 AM, they were loaded and headed south on the long narrow canyon road. The next town was over an hour away, but Nate grew more excited because he figured that in a few days, maybe that he would be making the turn to the southeast headed for Texas.

  The small town of Penrose was uneventful; again they saw many people scampering about, everyone seeming to have a place they needed to be. Nate kept the Ranger now on the main highway, not something he wanted to do, but it was making them a good time. Penrose was not very populated and the main road the highway was on the outskirts of town. Nate just kept going headed for Pueblo. He had been through these areas before but traveling this way was much different. The route was not without obstacles, so many cars had run out of gas, and some had crashed into other cars for reasons he didn’t know. He had to navigate many semis as well; most looted for their goods. Most were food trucks, fuel trucks, and even dairy trucks. Up ahead, Nate saw one large mountain water bottle truck. It looked like all the bottles were gone. Then he spotted one that had rolled off the road and was partially hidden with a scrub brush. He drove off the road and looked around there was no one around. The terrain was getting easier to see at greater distances. For the most part, the mountains were behind him now.

  He stopped the Ranger and told Ben to sit tight. He walked about ten feet and pulled up the large five-gallon container of water. It still had its seal. It was just like the kid you would see in Wal-Mart, or the kind you would have in your home turned upside down. He carried it to the back of the ranger and used some rope to lodge it in place. They were lucky. They had some water left, but this would be nice to supplement with creek water when cooking their dehydrated meals. Nate headed back up the road and into a stiff breeze coming from the east.

  The next city was Pueblo. Nate drove through here a few times in the past. Pueblo always seemed nice and with a beautiful historic Arkansas River walk running through town. It seemed lately crime was on the rise from what he had learned in the past few years. He would do his best to keep a steady path and not stop. The city was the largest they would travel through thus far.

  The temps seemed much hotter, but Nate knew he was riding in the High Desert. This area was the highest desert in Colorado, very dry and hot. He was glad they had stumbled across the extra 5 gallons of water when they did. At their last stop for a water break, Nate took the time to review his course into Pueblo. They had a good size population, and he wished to avoid as many people as he could. As the collapse of the economy drew out, it was logical to assume people would do two things. The worst scenario is the one Nate didn’t care to think about. Some would band together, becoming marauders in search of sustainable food and fuel doing whatever it took to obtain those items. Others would bug in, meaning stay at home waiting out the crisis as long as they had provisions to last. Nate only wished he knew exactly what was going on daily everywhere to help plan out his next course. Regardless, he knew how close he was now to home and wasn’t about to stop for anything.

  The landscape started to look much like home in many ways. No trees, lots of expansive land for as far as the eye could see and long stretches of highways. The number of abandoned cars was unbelievable and now something he had not seen before: dead bodies. Most with their pockets turned out. Some didn’t have any clothes on. He could count at least five per every 5 miles sometimes more. He looked over at Ben, who had started to keep his head down now as the count grew higher.

  “It’s ok Ben; we will be fine. These people just didn’t plan out stuff and were not prepared for what occurred” Nate said trying to give some reason for the visuals, but he lacked the proper verbiage.

  “It's sad; I wonder how many of these people have families that wonder where they are. I’m glad I am with you, and not alone.” Ben replied opening up a comic book that Nate had seen him read more than a dozen times already.

  “I’m glad too, Ben” Nate replied, rubbing the back of Ben’s head. Ben leaned forward smiling as Nate did so.

  Nate suddenly swerved off the road and down into the side ditch to avoid the action that was in front of him.

  Nate corrected his steering of the Ranger and was already removing his Glock as he came to a stop
in front of an abandoned semi.

  “Pop-pop,” The sound of small arms fire rang out around the ground and near the semi front right quarter panels.

  “Ben, head down, stay down. I have to respond, don’t move” Nate yelled over the sound of shots being fired and drawing closer. Nate had barely avoided an ambush of three men hiding behind a stopped car that looked like it was still running. Nate wasn’t sure if it was the car he saw or the SUV next to it, but they came from between them both. He had scanned ahead well or so he thought but the angle of the road and exactly where they hid shielded them until it was almost too late. Nate was furious with himself. He knew better than that; to stay off the main roads, but was getting anxious for home. He jumped out and pulled his Glock up and dropped to the ground to see exactly where the men were. They were all still grouped together behind a car across the road in the median. He could hear one of them talking; he was so close.

  “I think we nailed his ass, let’s go.” one man said. The other two didn’t move so fast but slowly followed behind. They didn’t split up or even try to flank Nate.

  “They must have done this many times, and now they’re feeling confident,” Nate thought to himself. He waited until they got in the middle of the road and took his position lying flat on the ground in the shadow of the semi tire. He figured they wouldn’t see him unless they dropped to the ground to look as well. They were not that smart.

  “Did you see that big tank of water and those gas cans? We hit the jackpot Billy”, one of the men said.

  Nate took a steady aim. He opened fire on the man in the rear taking out his knee cap. A red burst shot from his knee. The man fell to the ground and Nate could see his face looking around. Nate stopped the man with a second quick shot. The man in the middle was next. He turned to see what was going on. Nate placed the shot in the man's enormous thigh. He still stood screaming as the other man kept twisting, trying to figure out where the shots came from. Nate fired off three shots rapidly into the lead man and saw a very large AK-47 fall to the ground. The metal clanged about, fortunately not firing. Nate never heard that weapon fired and figured they didn’t wish to destroy the goods. Nate was very grateful. The lead man was flapping around on the pavement, trying now to reach for the gun because he could see Nate laying flat nearly under the semi. Nate smiled as the man finally reached the gun, but he was too late. Nate waited and listened all he could hear was a vehicle running.

  Nate backed up from his position and slowly made his way to the side aiming the entire time at the men on the ground. They didn’t move. Nate checked each one over; they were all dead. He then walked around with a wide angle to clear the vehicles that might be hiding another shooter. He finally made his way to the running truck. The doors were open, and the vehicle was clear of anyone. The truck was huge, a new model Toyota Tundra. Nate was certain it was stolen because the key still had the dealer yellow tag on it. There were also no plates on the truck. It was possible that one of these men owned it, but it didn’t matter now. He opened the glove box and found two pistols and a several ID’s. Nate was right; they had been doing this for a while.

  Nate shut the truck off but not before looking to see how much gas was in it. The gauge read nearly full. He stepped out of the truck and carefully made his way back to Ben, who was patiently waiting still reading the comic book.

  “Ben, are you Ok?” Ben looked up and spoke.

  “Did you get them all?” He asked. Nate looked at Ben and could tell he was scared but trying hard not to show it. Nate had tried to put Ben in the safest place possible right in front of a massive diesel engine but now realized the safest place was at home.

  “Yes, they are taken care of, I had no choice. They would have taken care of us Ben” Nate replied slowly.

  “I know you had to its ok, I understand. I do watch TV” Ben replied. Nate asked Ben to stay right where he was for just a few minutes; then he had a plan.

  Nate dragged the bodies over to the rear of the semi. He checked the men for their own ID’s. None of them appeared to be related and in fact, seemed to all be from different parts of Colorado. Nate did find a set of spare keys on the man who was leading the attack. The man also wore a band of 7.62x 39 ammo, perhaps 30 rounds around his torso. The AK-47 appeared to be very new and was pistol grip type. It had one full 30 round mag. After removing the bodies from the road, Nate went back to Ben and drove him to the Tundra. Ben sat and looked over the large truck compared to the Ranger. He still sat in the Ranger as Nate opened the rear doors to see what was in the truck.

  The Tundra had four large duffle bags all black inside. One bag was very heavy. Nate unzipped that one first.

  “Holy Moses,” He said out loud. Ben could even hear Nate. The bag was full of small food rations, mixed boxes of ammo of various calibers, small knives, two sawed-off shotguns, flashlights, few water bottles, and many wallets. Nate removed the two shotguns; he couldn’t leave those for someone else to use. He knew what he was looking at. These were likely the belongings of those they robbed from. Many people probably died. Nate was disgusted by sight. He zipped the bag up and tossed it out. The next bag had similar items. That bag was also tossed out.

  The next bag was heavier that the first but Nate knew why before he opened it. He unzipped it to find many brands new hunting rifles with several boxes of ammo to match. Nate figured they had looted some sports store somewhere. He would take these to be put in the hands of lawful people.

  The last bag was very light weight. Nate figured it would be clothing and as he unzipped it, he discovered he was correct. Several packages of men’s underwear and t-shirts, socks and oddly enough even women’s panties, all still in packages. He moved the packages around to find no less than 25 small Mountain House lunch meals. All of the clothing and packages of food seemed to come from the same store. Nate removed all the bags and set them on the highway. He consolidated everything he could into two bags and placed them in the floor board. He stepped to the truck and peered over the bed to look inside. There were two full five-gallon gas cans inside strapped down. Nate placed his head on the rail of the truck and closed his eyes.

  “Dear Lord, please forgive me for taking the lives of these bad men. I had no choice. I thank you, Lord, for blessing us with this gas, and truck, but most importantly, our lives” he prayed.

  “Are we leaving this here?” Ben asked breaking the silence Nate felt coming over him and his prayer.

  “Good question, Ben.”

  Nate backed the truck off the road, engaging the four-wheel drive on the loose gravel. He slowly then backs the truck up with the tailgate down until the slope met the truck gate. Ben stood watching and then slowly smiled as he realized what Nate was doing.

  Nate got in the Ranger and drove the now unloaded ranger down the side of the road and right up into the back of the Tundra. It was a tight fit, but it worked. Nate removed some rope he had on the Ranger then secured it to the truck bed. He had to leave the tailgate down, but it fit, looked odd and may have been top heavy, but it would hold. Nate through some thicker rope, that was in the bed of the truck through the middle of the Ranger and secured it down even more. He and Ben took everything they had on the Ranger and placed it inside the truck's back seat. They both climbed in the tall truck and shut the doors. Nate turned the key, and it fired right up. The sound was beautiful to his ears. The powerful roar of the engine was a sound he loved.

  Nate looked over to the side of the road behind the semi where he had placed the bodies. He also sat near them the bags of stolen goods and stuffed all the stolen ID’s in their pockets. He hoped someday they would be found by law enforcement and the blame placed where it should fall. Nate didn’t care much about driving the stolen truck, he knew and understood it wasn’t his. He had to confiscate the truck as a lawman, and he would return it someday, he told himself. He just had to get home first. He slipped the transmission into gear and did a U-turn slowly to head in the right direction. Pueblo was just miles ahead, but unless there
was a roadblock or another trap, he didn’t plan to stop for anything. He gave the gas pedal some more fuel then remembered they are going to need every drop now. He let off the fuel turned off the air conditioner and rolled down the windows. They had become used to the heat anyway, but at least they could move faster now. He still had to navigate around abandoned vehicles and semis, but soon they were going to the north of Pueblo, Colorado. They could smell something burning and then could see the fire. As they got closer, they realized that the fire was coming from a nearby car dealership. From their vantage point, they could see people running in and out of business. Several cars and trucks were set on fire, while others were being broken into.

  “Ben, open that glove box and tell me the name on the top of that big piece of paper inside at the top,” Nate said as Ben unfolded the large window sticker.

  Ben pointed at the name.

  Pueblo Toyota was what it read. The fire they could see was the same name of the business.

  “This truck came from there, Ben,” Nate said pointing at the fire.

  “I’m glad God blessed us again” Ben replied, apparently hearing Nate’s prayer.

  It was obvious now that Ben had ears like a hawk. Nate knew with this truck, if all went well, they could be home in a matter of hours now. Nate avoided the I-25 south and stayed on Highway 50 headed to La Junta. Nate remembered the small town from a few years back when he had stopped to eat at the famous Azteca Mexican joint. His stomach ached for the food now. The distance between Pueblo and La Junta was less than an hour’s drive, and he was nearly through the town. Amazingly, he was now passing a few other smaller Honda Civics that were also on the road. It was nice to see, and as he drove by the people in the cars, he could see that each one were young families. He said a silent prayer for them and lost track of them in his review mirror as they all had taken side roads to other destinations. The sign for La Junta was dead ahead, as well was one State Trooper who was sitting on the side of the road. His car appeared to be broken down. The hood was up, and he was behind another abandoned vehicle. He flagged down Nate. Notes first gut feeling was to keep going. He always listened to his gut but this was an officer, and he was an officer now too.