Take the Hit (Nuclear Survival: Northern Exposure Book 1)

by Harley Tate

  “I just—” Midge didn’t know what to say. “I don’t know. Forget it.” She tightened her grip on her bag and took a deep breath. “The stables are a good plan.”

  Danny reached out as she took a step away. His hand slipped over hers. “We’re in this together, Midge. I meant what I said. We’re getting out of this city and we’re finding your mom.” He squeezed. “Together.”

  Midge swallowed down a wave of emotions. She couldn’t fall apart. Not now. After everything they’d been through, she owed it to Danny to see their way out of this. He would survive whatever came next, no matter what.

  Side by side, they walked down the pier and back into the park across the harbor.

  “The stables should be a few miles south, right? On the lake?”

  Midge nodded. “That’s what Owen said. They’re part of some cultural center complex. If we stick to the coastline, we should reach it by early afternoon.”

  “Then that’s what we’ll do.” He laughed to himself. “Maybe if we’re lucky a hot dog vendor will still be selling. I’ve always wanted to try a Chicago dog.”

  Midge laughed at the thought. “That’s what you want as your last meal? A hot dog?”

  “It won’t be our last meal.” He nudged her in the side. “Not even close.”

  They lapsed into comfortable silence as they walked, avoiding any groups of people on the water. As they left the harbor behind, the waterfront turned into a ghost town.

  No lovebirds out for a stroll. No kids skipping rocks across the water. Nothing except the pair of them, a flock of pigeons pecking at the sidewalk, and a horse-drawn carriage hanging out on the edge of the park.

  Midge gave a start. “Do you see that?” She pointed at the carriage. A man sat in the driver’s seat, fishing something out a paper bag. From their distance, she couldn’t make out more than his white hair and stooped shoulders. “You think he’d give us a ride?”

  “It’s worth a shot.”

  They crossed the park, tramping over grass and flower beds and anything in their way until they stood beside the carriage. The man in the driver’s seat smoothed down the lapels on a worn velvet blazer and smiled. “Good afternoon. Can I interest you in a ride this lovely day?”

  Midge stared at the gilded scrollwork adorning the carriage and the tufted seat for two inside, unsure what to say.

  Danny filled the void. “Excuse me, sir, but have you noticed what’s happening? The power outage? The stalled cars?”

  The carriage driver smiled. “Doesn’t matter to me and my girls. We’ve been walking this stretch of Chicago every day for fifty-seven years, rain or shine. Don’t see why a little trouble with the electricity would change that.”

  Midge swallowed. She couldn’t tell if he was crazy or just stubborn. “Has anyone tried to take your carriage?”

  The man opened his jacket with a flourish to reveal an old-school revolver. “A few have tried. Last night, especially. But a hunk of steel can be pretty persuasive. Chicago’s not the safest city at night, if you didn’t know. Always pays to be prepared.”

  He seemed to have his faculties so Midge pressed on. “We need to leave the city as soon as possible. It’s not safe here for anyone.”

  “And why would that be?”

  Midge swallowed. She was done running away from the truth. As quickly as she could, Midge filled the older man in, explaining about the EMP and the threat of a nuclear bomb. After a few moments, the man nodded. “Sounds like something the Russians would do.”

  Danny opened his mouth to argue, but Midge stopped him with a hand. “We don’t have a lot of cash, but we could give you everything we have left.” She reached for her wallet. “Could you take us out of the city?”

  The man thought it over. “You really think a bomb is coming?”

  “I do.”

  “It’s been a long time since Bethel and Beatrice have grazed on an open field.” The man leaned over and swung open the carriage door. “They’ll enjoy the change of scenery, I’m sure. No payment necessary.”

  Midge exhaled in relief and followed Danny into the carriage. She sank into the seat and a plume of dust rose up from the cushion.

  The driver held out his hand. “Welcome to Max Beasley’s one-way carriage ride into the country.”

  They introduced themselves and Danny immediately leaned back and shut his eyes, exhaustion taking over. His pain must have been close to unbearable.

  Midge bit her lip. The carriage had seen better days, but Danny obviously needed the rest. “Max, are you sure this carriage will make it all the way out of town?”

  “I don’t see why not.”

  “If it breaks down—” Midge didn’t know a good way to put it so she just cut to the chase. “Can we ride the horses out of town?”

  “My girls?” Max shook his head. “They’ve been pulling a carriage since they weren’t much older than foals. I can’t imagine they’d take well to being ridden.”

  Midge leaned back in frustration. If Max couldn’t navigate the carriage out of the city, then they would be back to walking. She turned to Danny and tapped him on the shoulder. “Maybe we should find the Mounted Patrol.”

  Danny cracked one eye open. “I don’t know if I can make it, to be honest. I’m spent. You are too.”

  Max agreed. “Let old Max take you on a ride. I haven’t been a carriage driver all these years for nothing. If I can’t get us out of this city, then no one can.”

  Midge exhaled. “Keep to the coast as long as you can. The streets are full of cars.”

  Max nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

  They pulled away from the curb and after a few minutes of riding, the steady clop-clop of the horses’ hooves on the pavement lulled Midge into a semblance of calm. Her heart slowed, her breathing eased, and she relaxed for the first time since leaving Jessica and Raymond’s apartment.

  The trek out of Chicago wouldn’t be easy, but Danny was right. They couldn’t give up. Not yet.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  DANNY

  Saturday, 12:30 pm CST

  Streets of Chicago

  Danny winced as he shifted on the seat. When he explained the fight over the bikes to Midge, he’d purposely kept it vague and light, but the fight was anything but. The men outweighed him and despite the few good punches he landed, he was no match for their determination. His side ached and Danny was pretty sure he’d bruised, if not broken, a rib. Add in the black eye, split lip, and jammed thumb and he was a certifiable mess.

  But I’m still alive. Danny took a deep breath, inhaling through his nose before exhaling through his mouth. They were on the road again, finally heading away from the heart of the city, and Danny didn’t have to drive, or steer, or read a map. He could relax for a few moments and recover.

  Max angled the horses through a tight squeeze, almost scraping the sides of the carriage on two poles intended to keep cars off the footpath.

  “Any chance we could speed up a little?” Midge leaned forward, worry creasing her brow.

  “Afraid not.” Max smiled at her from the front. “My girls don’t like to trot in the city. Once we’re out of the congested area, though, we can pick it up.”

  “Do your horses live with you?”

  Max chuckled. “No. They board in a stable not too far from here. Now that it’s just me, I’ve got a small place on the South Side. Has a great view of the lake, too.”

  Danny swallowed. “So there’s no one you need to talk to or go get?”

  “Not a one. My wife died almost twelve years ago now. Stroke. And my kids are, sadly, both gone. Amanda was killed by a drunk driver in ‘82 and Rebecca passed a few years ago. Breast cancer.”

  “I’m sorry.” Danny hated to ask about other people’s families for just that reason. He knew how it felt to explain about a loved one’s death.

  “No need.” Max clucked at his horses again, easing the carriage across a street and around a clump of stalled cars. “We’ll have to go a bit inland for a while. The sh
oreline is too congested up ahead.”

  As the horses plodded along at a steady pace away from the lake, Midge leaned closer to Danny. “What about your dad? Shouldn’t you call him?”

  Danny shook his head. “I told you, my father wouldn’t want to hear from me.”

  “You’d be surprised,” Max interjected from the front. “Fathers might seem like certifiable jerks, but deep down, they love their kids.”

  “Not all fathers,” Danny muttered. But he did as Midge and Max suggested and pulled out his phone. The chance of finding a signal had to be one in a million, but as Danny pulled up his father’s number, a single bar showed for service. He tapped his father’s number and it dialed.

  Danny licked his lips. He hadn’t spoken to his father in over a year. What would he say? How would his father react? Hope built inside him until the click of voicemail stamped it out. He exhaled and left a message.

  “Hi Dad, it’s Daniel. I don’t know if you’ve been following the news or if New York has power, but you need to leave the city. Go to Connecticut or the Hamptons or anywhere else you can think of. Manhattan isn’t safe. Leave as soon as you can.” He swallowed. “I love you.”

  Danny shut his phone down to save the battery and shoved it in his pocket.

  “There you go. That wasn’t so hard.” Max turned the horses into a small parking lot and pulled up in front of a convenience store.

  “What are we doing?”

  Max set the reins down and turned to face the back. “A friend of mine owns this store. The girls need to rest and eat some oats and I figured you two could use some food and maybe a bathroom break. My bladder sure could.”

  He rose up, knees creaking along with the floor of the carriage, and eased down the built-in steps to the ground. “Welcome to the best spot for all-day coffee and hot dogs this side of the city.” Max opened the door to the carriage and Danny stood up.

  A pain shot through Danny’s side, but he managed to keep from broadcasting the discomfort. He clambered out and Midge followed right behind.

  As soon as Midge stepped toward the store, she froze. “Something isn’t right.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “The door.” She pointed. “The glass is shattered like that bike shop window.”

  Danny exhaled. “Someone tried to break in and couldn’t.”

  Midge shook her head. “I think they succeeded. There’s something sticking out of the door. It’s not shut all the way.”

  Max took a step toward the store, but Danny reached for his arm. “How about you wait? We can check it out first.”

  “Nonsense. Charlie wouldn’t let some vandal in and he’s always kept a shotgun beneath the counter.” Max headed straight for the front door and Danny hurried to keep up.

  As the older man pulled the door open, a sticky sludge slid across the concrete.

  Midge gagged. “That’s blood.”

  “Oh, no.” Max tramped through the congealed mess and knelt on the floor.

  A man sprawled across the linoleum, arms stretching toward the exit. He’d died before he could reach it.

  “Is that?”

  Max nodded. “It’s Charlie.” He reached out and took the dead man’s hand. “Why didn’t you fight back? Why did you let someone do this?” Max rocked back and forth, staring at the dead man.

  Danny didn’t know what to do. From the looks of the store, the place had been ransacked. Toppled shelves littered the main aisles. Dollar sunglasses and trucker hats collected in heaps where they fell. Refrigerators that once held cases upon cases of beer stood open and empty.

  The plastic partition separating the cash register area from the general store looked like a battering ram used it for target practice. Danny couldn’t believe the destruction. The power grid collapsed less than twenty-four hours before and already thieves were hard at work ruining a convenience store and killing the owner.

  He stepped over the worst of the wreckage, searching for anything of value. Only bits and pieces remained in the store. A candy bar here, a bag of chips there. Danny stuffed everything edible into Owen’s backpack.

  “We need to leave before someone goes for the horses.” Midge stood by the ruined front door, staring out at the parking lot and the carriage.

  “I can’t leave Charlie like this.”

  “What if we cover him?” Danny offered from the rear of the store. “There have to be blankets or tarps or something here we can use.”

  Max heaved a sigh. “I guess it will have to do.”

  Danny looked around for something suitable. He found a cardboard display box of disposable ponchos and he brought them over. “It’s not much, but I found these.” He ripped two open and unfurled the bright yellow plastic.

  Max took one with shaking, gnarled hands. “I’m sorry, old friend.” He covered Charlie’s body with both ponchos and leaned over to say a prayer. When he finished, Max braced his hand on his knee and pushed his stiff body up to stand. “If you two will bear with me, I’ll be outside in a moment.” Max ambled down the store, bypassing the worst of the debris, and pushed open the restroom door.

  As the door swung shut behind him, Midge frowned. “Do you think other towns are like this?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “If the power outage is widespread, which we have to assume it is, what about all the small towns between here and Suttons Bay?” She turned toward Danny with a grim expression. “We’re sitting ducks in that carriage. What are the chances we make it all the way up the coast before someone tries to steal it, or worse?”

  “Are you saying we should leave Max and go on foot?”

  Midge pinched the bridge of her nose. “I don’t know.”

  “I do.” Danny crossed the store toward Midge. He stopped in front of the door. “Those two horses and that carriage might be straight out of a children’s book, but they’ll get us away from Chicago and away from the blast faster than walking and with a lot less of a toll.”

  He reached out and took her injured hand in his. “You’re hurt. I’m hurt. We’re running on a couple hours of sleep and barely enough to eat. We can rest in the carriage, eat what we have, and sleep if we can. Riding will give us the chance to recuperate.”

  “You really think it will be that easy?”

  Danny shook his head. “No. But we need to take advantage of every opportunity.” He glanced at the bathroom before turning back to Midge. “Max needs us, too. His friend is dead and you heard him; he doesn’t have anyone else. If we ride with him, we can make sure he’s out of the blast zone, too. If we make it all the way to Suttons Bay, maybe he’ll like it enough to stay.”

  Midge looked almost pained. Behind the dark circles and smudged makeup, a scared college student barely held on to her sanity. Danny knew the feeling, but he was determined to keep it together. Not just for Midge, but for Max, too.

  He’d almost fallen apart over Owen, but he refused to do that again. This wasn’t any different than the plane crash. Level heads would be the key to riding out whatever happened next.

  “I meant what I said earlier. We’ll make it through, Midge. Together.”

  The door to the bathroom opened and Max shuffled out. “Ready to go?”

  Danny turned to him with a smile. “We are.”

  Midge kicked at a case of water by her feet. “Found this tucked behind the firewood in the corner. Figured we could use it.”

  Max nodded. “At some point my girls will need a drink, too.”

  Danny clambered back to the rear of the store. He fished out a bucket he’d seen while looking for the ponchos. “Will this work?”

  Max sized it up. “Should do well enough. They were fed and watered this morning, but we’re putting them through their paces today. By nightfall, they’ll need to rest.”

  Danny collected what little food and water remained in the store while Midge searched for Charlie’s shotgun. It wasn’t there.

  Max said one last goodbye to his friend before the three of t
hem climbed back into the carriage. Max tapped the reins and the horses lurched forward, walking out of the parking lot and back onto the road.

  Danny glanced at Midge. Using her bag as a pillow, she snuggled down against the side of the carriage and closed her eyes. At least she was trying to rest. Danny flexed his bruised hand and turned back to face the front. He talked a good game, especially when trying to instill someone else with confidence, but deep inside his chest, fear and trepidation lurked.

  Leaving Chicago wouldn’t be easy. Traveling all the way to Suttons Bay might prove impossible. But he meant what he said; he would stick with Midge no matter what.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  MIDGE

  Saturday, 2:00 pm CST

  Streets of Chicago

  The carriage bounced into and out of a pothole and Midge opened her eyes. She couldn’t believe she fell asleep. Danny sat next to her, staring out at nothing. She groaned. They were still in the city.

  Midge sat up and stretched. “Where are we?”

  “Just crossed Eighty-Fifth Street, South Chicago.” Max directed the horses down the middle of a residential street lined with tan brick bungalows and only the occasional car.

  “How far from downtown?”

  “Ten or twelve miles, at least.”

  She turned to Danny. “Is that far enough away?”

  “To survive an initial explosion, sure. But have you felt the wind?” Danny stuck his hand out. “It’s blowing straight from the city.”

  Max nodded. “Most of our weather comes from the northwest. The Michigan side of the lake gets the worst snow, but we get the wind.”

  “Great.” Midge wiped the sleep from her eyes. “So even if we’re twenty miles away, we’ll still need to hide underground?”

  Danny nodded. “We should have more than an hour to find somewhere, but if these winds keep up, the fallout will head straight toward us.”

  It wasn’t what Midge wanted to hear. She’d naively assumed once they were out of the immediate danger zone they could relax and stop running. No such luck. She tucked her feet underneath her as Max turned the corner. The road widened and small front yards with wrought-iron fences gave way to a weedy plot of land used as a makeshift parking lot.