by Mark Spaid
“And I’m sure you are but why’re you giving it to me?”
“As payment for the food,” Dave said. The man chuckled.
“Here, this is yours. I’ll write this food off as waste. I’m not taking a thing like that from someone for doing a good turn. Now, you better be moving while there’s still time and here, you may need this,” and he handed Dave some bills. They knew he was right so they didn’t argue and loaded the food in the back packs. When they were ready they all turned and thanked him then left down a hill behind the rest area. They heard the truck pull away and after a couple a hundred yards they stopped under a tree to rest.
“Listen everyone. We need to talk,” Tatiana said and they all turned to her. “Now, I’m not trying to be the leader; I’d gladly leave that to anyone who wants it but we need to get organized.”
“I nominate Tatiana to be leader,” Justin said.
“I second that,” Andy said.
“All in favor,” Justin said and there were ayes all around. Tatiana turned and gave Justin a look.
“Thanks…I think. Alright, now we need to keep moving, mainly to get away from anyone who might show up at the rest stop.”
“But who’d show up. We’re in a different Time Frame,” Justin said.
“You’re right and that only heightens our concern. We might be pursued by those Nazis back in our Time Frame or the new Nazis, the reconstituted SS or maybe the local police who no doubt are controlled by the Nazis,” Tatiana said. We can’t be sure of anything.”
“Not to take my wife’s side, though I always do, but she’s right, we probably need to live in a state of paranoia to be safe,” Dave said.
“What do we do?” Jessica asked.
“The long-term goal is to get back to Bloomington. We need to find those that are lost and we need to find Warren if we have a chance to get out of this,” Tatiana said.
“What about now?” Lexi asked.
“We need shelter for the night. This is a remote area, maybe we can find an abandoned cabin,” Tatiana said.
“Miss, Tatiana, may I suggest that Julieta and I go ahead as scouts. Maybe we can find a place and keep you abreast of what’s up ahead,” Little Wolf said.
“You read my mind,” Tatiana said and Julieta and Little Wolf took off.
“How will Little Wolf and Julieta find us when they come back?” Mallory asked.
“Don’t worry, Little Wolf will find us,” Andy said chuckling as he took Beth’s hand.
“I think we should move along that valley and put as much distance between the rest stop and ourselves as we can in case someone does come looking,” Tatiana suggested and they followed her. They walked at a brisk pace for two hours then stopped for a rest. Melanie had trouble walking great distances rapidly with her leg and Tatiana kept a close eye on her daughter. The most important thing was to get away but the second thing was the fatigue factor. They rested for fifteen minutes and ate a snack.
“Where’re we headed?” Justin asked Tatiana.
“We’ll parallel the highway and look for a town.”
“You know we’re probably a hundred miles from Bloomington.”
“Yes, I know, Justin.”
“We’re going to have to find a vehicle.”
“You’re right of course but we’ll need two or three, depending on what we find.”
“A bus would be nice,” Justin suggested.
“Well, I’ll order one and we can pick it up this afternoon.”
“Funny, look I know it’s going to be difficult but maybe we could find one that’s not being used,” Justin posed.
“You mean steal it?” Tatiana posed.
“Well…yes. Our money’s no good, except for what the man gave us and I think we should hold onto that.”
“Okay then we need to be on the lookout,” Tatiana said as she got to her feet. “Let’s get moving.” It was another hour when Little Wolf and Julieta appeared in front of them.
“We found a cabin?” Julieta said.
“Where?” Tatiana asked.
“About two miles southeast,” Little Wolf said.
“We’ll rest a while then follow you two.”
“It’s thick country…this cabin is isolated,” Little Wolf remarked.
“Is it habitable?” Justin asked.
“Yes, we cleaned it up as much as we could,” Julieta said.
“Good, okay, let’s go, we have a cabin for the night,” Tatiana said. It was a long trek with two young girls, one who was not a hiker and Belinda and Ariel who never once complained but they were struggling to keep up. Around five they arrived and went inside.
“This should do,” Dave said and they staked out various corners and places and sat on the floor.
“Miss Tatiana,” Little Wolf said.
“Yes.”
“We can’t walk to Bloomington. We need transportation…a bus maybe if we can find one.”
“Exactly Justin’s idea,” Tatiana said.
“Julieta and I saw a town across the highway about ten miles away. Someone needs to try and get a bus or something similar.”
“You and Julieta might not be the best choice given our new Time Frame,” Dave said.
“We were thinking the same thing,” Little Wolf said.
“What difference does it make who goes?” Andy asked.
“It could make a big difference,” Justin said.
“Ah, the race thing,” Andy said as it dawned on him.
“I’d say Miss Tatiana, Mr. Dave, Mr. Andy and Miss Jozette might be a good choice,” Julieta said and it was agreed.
“We’ll watch things here,” Justin said, “or rather Little Wolf and Julieta will watch things here.”
“Daddy, Mommy, where are you going?” Beth asked as she ran to Andy and hugged his leg.
“We’ll be back, honey,” Jozette said as she picked up her daughter.
“I’m scared.”
“Miss Belinda will look after you and Dixie,” Jozette said.
“I know but I’ll still miss you.”
“I’ll miss you too, Baby; why don’t you play with Gabby.”
“She’s not much fun. I want to climb trees and she just wants to look in the mirror.” Justin chuckled at that.
“Well, Maybe Dixie and the girls can play with you and Gabby okay?”
“Okay.” Beth said with a dejected tone in her voice. Jozette put her down and the four left for the town. Little Wolf had written down the directions for Tatiana.
“We’ll be back,” Dave said. “Hopefully with something that drives.” They disappeared and everyone went back inside the cabin.
“What’s going to happen?” Dixie asked as the girls sat in a circle in the corner.
“Nobody knows,” Mallory said. We have to get back to Bloomington first.”
“But then what do we do?” Dixie asked.
“Still no answer. We don’t even know what to expect with this new Time Frame,” Jessica said.
“I’m scared for Daddy and Zara,” Darcy said.
“We know, Darcy, and we’re going to try and find them,” Paulita said.
“I’m frightened, Paulita,” Melanie said as she held Paulita’s arm and leaned her head on Paulita’s shoulder.
“So am I but you just stay close to me though all of this.”
“I don’t think that’ll be a problem,” Mallory said grinning.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“There’s the town,” Andy said. “I remember this place; Palmerton. I was here about five years ago. There were maybe two thousand people. Nice little town.”
“The operative phrase is five years ago,” Dave remarked.
“Let’s go and see what we’re up against,” Tatiana said. This was a part of Indiana that was remote with few visitors from the outside so anyone new stood out. They walked past the sign that said population 2,364. It was a Tuesday around nine am but there wasn’t much sidewalk traffic or street traffic for that matter. They turned a corner and were start
led when a police car sped by and made a sharp turn, pulling up in front of a building. Three uniformed men got out and broke down the door. In a few minutes they were dragging a man outside.
“No, please, I can explain,” the man said.
“There’s nothing to explain. You harbored an undesirable for two weeks. We’ve been watching you to see if any more would show up,” an officer said as cuffs were placed on the man and he wasbent over the hood of the car.
“Where am I going?” The frightened man asked.
“You know the penalty for concealing an undesirable against posted regulations. We’ll carry out the sentence tonight. You’ll be shot and cremated. Your ashes will be sent to your parents.
“No!” I’ll obey the law from now on, I’m sorry. Please give me another chance!”
“There are no second chances,” the officer said and the man was shoved into the back seat and the car drove away. Dave saw what was on the side of the car. It was a large Swastika and the words were SS Purification Patrol.
“I guess it’s not a nice little town anymore,” Andy said. They kept walking and saw a few people who either gave a weak nod or turned their faces away and hurried down the street.
“They all look as if they’re scared to do anything,” Jozette said.
“Wouldn’t you be scared,” Tatiana said. “It reminds me of living in the Soviet Union.”
“It was like this?” Andy asked.
“Oh, sure, they’d come in the middle of the night and take your neighbors or your parents.”
“Where should we go?” Jozette asked.
“Some place that sells vehicles,” Dave said.
“We could ask someone?” Andy posed.
“Let’s try the newspaper,” Jozette said and they crossed the street and went inside The People’s Observer.
“It kind of reminds me of the Volkesher Beobstcher…the Nazi propaganda paper,” Dave said.
“What does that mean in English?” Andy asked.
“Roughly…The People’s Observer.”
“Ah, so further proof that we’re not in Kansas anymore.”
“You got that right, Andy,” Tatiana said as they went inside.
“Can I help you?” A woman asked, wiping her ink-stained hands on a towel.
“Ma’am, if I can ask, why’re you still using an ink press?” Andy said.
“Well, the advances of digitized printing haven’t made their way to the sticks yet.” She even grinned so they took that as a sign that there was still life in somebody.
“We’re looking to buy a vehicle,” Dave said.
“Okay, there are three dealerships in town.”
“We’re looking for a used car lot if there is one…we don’t have a lot of money,” Dave said.
“I see, well then, I’d suggest that you go out of town on route seven, south. There’s a guy…Woody Wilson; he has all kinds of used cars and he manages to get them running one way or another.”
“How far?” Jozette asked.
“About two miles…he likes the privacy.”
“Thank you for your help,” Tatiana said and they left.
“I need something to drink,” Andy said and they found a cafe. They had iced tea and were ready to leave when three uniforms came inside and everyone in the place stopped talking and gave the Nazi salute. Dave motioned that they should do the same and they did.
“What now?” A man asked and he had the bearing of an owner or manager. His name tag said Sid.
“You’ve failed to comply with the municipal ordinances regarding your signage,” an officer said.
“Why do I have to change my sign?”
“Because it’s not in the spirit of The Greater Reich,” the man answered.
“Maybe I’m tired of the spirit of The Greater Reich.” There were gasps from the customers. Many put their hands to their mouths and their eyes were wide with fear for Sid. The officers looked at each other and nodded.
“Sid Oliver, you’re under arrest for violating your oath to The Greater Reich. You’ll be taken to the local detention center where you’ll stand trial for treason.” Sid hung his head. Everyone in the café including the four newcomers knew Sid would be dead very soon. The officers left with their prisoner and drove away. Dave paid and they left for the used car lot. A block away they heard a car door slam behind them.
“Halt!” A voice shouted and Dave turned to see an officer approaching with a partner both with their guns drawn. The four stopped and put their hands in the air.
“What’ve we done, sir?” Dave asked. The officer was sizing up all four of them and Dave was sizing up the officer.
“Who Are you?”
“My name’s Dave Swanzy and this is my wife Tatiana.”
“I’m Jozette Kline and this is my husband, Andy.”
“You’re new in town, aren’t you?”
“Yes, we are,” Dave said.
“What’re you doing in town?”
“Well, strange as it seems we need a vehicle.”
“Where’s the vehicle you had when you came to town?”
“Actually, we walked to town. We’ve been on a mission of grief.”
“What do you mean?”
“I know this may sound silly but my wife and I had a dog…a Rottweiler that we had for twelve years. Like a member of the family and he died three days ago.”
“That’s terrible...I have a dog myself.”
“Really,” Dave said.
“Yes, and he’s a Rottweiler too and if anything happened to him, I don’t know what I’d do.”
“They’re precious, aren’t they?” Dave said.
“Where are you going for a vehicle?”
“We were referred to a Woody Wilson,” Jozette said.
“Yes, I know Woody. Jump in and I’ll give you a ride.”
“If it’s okay, sure,” Dave said. The officer pulled up to the car lot and everyone got out.
“Woody!” The officer yelled and out walked an elderly man using a cane, wearing a wide-brimmed hat with a large cigar stuck in the corner of his mouth.
“What can I do for you?” Woody asked.
“These folks are looking for something to drive.” The officer said.
“Well I can take care of this; you can run along now Tim.”
“But I wanted…”
“I said I can handle things here,” Woody said with a stern look and Tim hung his head and left with his partner.
“Do you always talk to authority figures like that?” Andy asked.
“Authority figures.” Woody said then broke out laughing. He’s a little wiener who thinks he’s some kind of big shot Nazi. The party won’t even have him so he got a job riding in a squad car stopping speeders and jaywalkers. Makes him feel like a big man. He’s not and never will be but we all humor him for the sake of his dad and mom.”
“Who were they?” Andy asked.
“They were teachers in the middle school until they were turned in for leading the resistance.”
“What happened to them?” Jozette asked.
“They were shot.”
“Who turned them in to the authorities?” Andy asked.
“He did, Tim, their son.”
“Sorry to hear that,” Jozette said.
“Yeah…Okay what kind of car do you need?”
“A bus if you have one,” Dave said.
“A bus…you’re kidding.”
“No, we have about twenty people,” Tatiana said.
“I see, well I don’t have much in the way of busses.”
“Anything will do…we need to get to Bloomington,” Andy said.
“Bloomington, hey. Well, let me see.” He stood and stroked his chin then let out a long puff on his cigar and the smoke encircled his face. “I take it from your demeanor that you may wish to get there without revealing you have a small army?”
“You’d be right, sir,” Dave said.
“Okay, come with me,” and they followed him to the back of the
main building.
“Wow, this is quite a display,” Andy said as he looked at a number of derelict vehicles; trucks, busses, a bulldozer and several cars none of which appeared to be in running condition.
“How about this over here,” Woody said as he stood in front of an RV.
“Kind of conspicuous,” Jozette offered.
“Perhaps but no more so than a bus. In the big cities they like to stop busses and ask for registration, inspection tickets, etc. These things don’t need inspecting and they’re everywhere these days. People drive out of the city to get away and they’ve taken to using these. For twenty people this is your best bet.”
“Does it run?” Andy asked.
“I just checked it out last week. The front end, transmission, engine are in good shape. She’s ready to roll.”
“How much?” Tatiana asked.
“A thousand.” Dave looked at everyone.
“We have sixty dollars,” Tatiana said.
“Well, you see that seventy-eight Chevy over there, with no wheels…that’s the sixty-dollar category.”
“I have this,” Dave said and took his watch out again. “I had it appraised at two thousand dollars, six months ago.” Woody looked it over.
“This was your father’s I take it…it looks old.”
“My grandfather’s,” Dave said.
“And, he entrusted it with you to carry on the tradition.”
“Something like that.” Woody looked at the four. In the Time Frame that they were in now there were few people who could be trusted. Your neighbor, best friend or your own child could turn you in to save their skin or to ingratiate themselves with the authorities. But as Woody looked over this crew, he reasoned that they were to be trusted and perhaps they were some of the good guys.
“Drive it up to the pump, you’ll need gas to get to Bloomington.” Andy pulled it up and Woody filled the tank. Woody went inside his office then came out. And handed Dave some money.
“What’s this?” Dave asked.
“There’s three hundred marks there. You won’t get far with twenty people on sixty marks in Bloomington.”
“But how can we pay you back?”
“Look, I make a fortune selling used cars…cleared well over six figures last year. Whatever you are embarking on I think you’re going to need some luck and maybe a few bucks. Here, I don’t want your grandfather’s watch.” Woody handed it back to Dave.
