“Charlie, do you remember what we packed back here?” She had repacked it so many times, she wasn’t sure.
“Oh, that doesn’t look good. I think it was some of the meat you canned in those glass jars. Do you think it went all the way through?”
“I have no idea. Maybe we have enough layers with the siding and the tubs that it didn’t do much damage.” Tammy was sure that was wishful thinking. “We don’t have time for this. Let’s go so we can hurry up and get to the cabin.”
They were back on the road or whatever it was that they were traveling on.
“Amanda, is there really a road on that map?” Tammy was wondering where they could have possibly missed a turnoff. There hadn’t been any for miles.
“I’ve told you, yes, I don’t understand why it’s not really a road. We aren’t lost because there is nothing until we come across Dry Creek road and we aren’t supposed to take that one.”
They did pass Dry Creek turn off and it didn’t get any better. The girls were bouncing all over in the backseat and there was no way to go easy or gentle as Tammy tried to avoid the tire ruts. When she thought it couldn’t get any worse, they came across a stream that turned the trail they were following into an undecipherable muddy mess and had washed out the section that it crossed. It spilled down a small embankment in between some bushes and trees.
“There’s no river or creek that goes this way on the map.” Amanda unfolded the map again to get a good look.
“It’s probably a natural spring. That happens sometimes. They just show up. There must be a creek or some standing water down over there with so many trees along the trail. Even though this is a low spot in between the hills on each side of us, we have been continuing to gain altitude. I don’t know if that has anything to do with it. Well, let’s see if we can get through that muck without sliding sideways off the road and getting stuck in those trees.” Tammy shook her head and sighed.
“If the pioneers pulled handcarts across rivers when they crossed the country, I bet this is nothing.” Mae chirped from the backseat.
“We did need a little optimism and thanks for putting our predicament into perspective.” Tammy actually didn’t appreciate that perspective. She was still in a situation with only five young helpers to get her out of it. She maneuvered the Suburban and the trailer out of the ruts and gunned it. The Suburban was fine at first until the back tires hit the slimy mud and they started to fishtail. The front of Old Betsy made it through the worst of it and the backend was almost in the clear when they slowed down significantly. The trailer bogged down when the weight sunk the tires deep into the new ruts the Suburban had created. They had to stop. She tried again rolling forward and back to get Old Betsy going and try to figure out where she could find some traction.
There was a hill in front of them so it was hard to get the momentum they needed to go forward at first. Old Betsy whined and complained and soon they had the trailer dislodged. The tires were covered in mud and the small rocks or mud clumps banged around inside the wheel wells when they were going again. Old Betsy didn’t have the same traction she had before the mud pit. Soon the tires were clear and they were climbing to the top of the mountain. One of the belts started to squeal right before there was a clunk and the steering became totally unmanageable.
Tammy stopped and checked all around the Suburban before she opened the hood. She knew a belt had fallen off. It happened once before years ago and she helped Ben put the new belt on. Because it was so long ago, she wasn’t sure if she could remember how to put the belt back on. After Tammy fished it out from where it was dangling low in the engine, she got a couple of wrenches and had Amanda and Charlie help her. It took the better part of twenty minutes to get it on. With lots of whining as the girls struggled to pull the pulley down, she finally could slide the belt back on the last one. After the three of them regained their composure and were done insulting each other, they were back in Old Betsy and moving again.
The road wasn’t improving, it was getting worse, and the belt was screaming as they went. Fortunately, they finally made it up high enough to the top of the mountain where they could see where the road was headed. All they needed to do was follow it down the mountain to where it finally flattened out to farm fields. Soon their truck rut path would finally meet a real road. She couldn’t wait.
It was right then, where she had paused to take in where they were headed, when the Suburban lost the belt for the second time. She got out to fish it from the engine before easing Old Betsy down the hill with the engine off. Very slowly they meandered down the mountain to the bottom. The trail wasn’t as bad but not having power steering was wearing out her arms. She turned on the Suburban again and hoped she could get it to the main road before it overheated. Old Betsy’s radiator was in the red when they finally stopped.
Tammy let out a big sigh when she turned it off again. “Well, we are going to sit until she cools down and then we’ll put that belt on again. In the meantime, I think I’m going to close my eyes for a few minutes.” She left all the windows rolled down. It wasn’t the engine warming up the cab. She was right that it was going to be a warm day. It was a good thing they weren’t back in the city because the temp would be far more uncomfortable especially with all the awful smells that had been festering in the afternoon heat.
10
Ben
Six days, six days kept running through his mind whenever Ben was in the hazy state of wake and sleep. He didn’t know how long he dozed while in the back of the truck. The movement kept lulling him to sleep. He was so wet and cold that he knew hypothermia was a real danger but he also hadn’t slept much the night before so it was battle to stay semi-conscious.
When they made it to the outskirts of Soldotna, the slowly rising sun finally made an appearance above the mountain range. Traffic was equally as slow in town.
“You think all these cars are headed to work or do you think they’re heading to Anchorage?” Nate asked.
“I hope to work. We aren’t that close to the ocean here, are we?” All Ben could see out his side of the truck was buildings, signs for stores and businesses and not much of anything else. The view of the mountains was behind his back.
“Soldotna? It’s not as close to the water as Kenai is. But the two towns look like they’re so close together on the map that they should be one big city. The thing that perplexes me is Anchorage is near the water too. So why is everyone going there?”
When Dimitri pulled into a gas station, Ben hoped he’d have a chance to get something dry to wear. He desperately wanted to warm up. “I gotta move, maybe grab something dry out of my suitcase.”
“I don’t know. You might not want to get out.” Nate pointed at the crowd of people surrounding the store and the lines of cars getting gas. “He’s not in line so I don’t think he needs gas.”
Ben tried to look out the side window of the camper shell but there was too much stuff in the way.
Because it was finally daylight, what he could see was what was surrounding them in the back of the truck. He took off his coat and sat on the driest part before pulling some of the loose comforters and blankets over his body. He got a whiff of one, it must have belonged to a little kid that wet the bed and it was overdue for a cleaning. He tossed it far away from him and grabbed another one. Nate grabbed the bedding closest to him.
“Geez, why didn’t we look to see what was back here earlier? I think I’m going to be cramped up for days from shivering for so long.” Nate settled in with a blanket tucked under his chin.
“I didn’t want him to think we were rummaging through his stuff when we couldn’t see much. At least we aren’t as soggy as we were. I’ll feel bad if we get their bedding all wet.”
“True. I have been trying to convince myself for the past hour that I’m warm and that I don’t have to pee.”
“You guys still alive back there?” Dimitri lifted the window and looked inside. “Good. You look warm. I just stopped to check my tires. So
mething is pulling to the right. I don’t want to poke around with the way the traffic has picked up so if everything’s good, we’ll be back on the road in a minute. We are about to head into the mountains so the ride isn’t going to be as smooth. Hopefully none of our stuff shifts and crowds you more than you already are.”
“Thanks. We really appreciate it.” Ben meant what he said. If they were still driving in the rain on the ATV, they would have been far more miserable than they already were and definitely wouldn’t have made it to Soldotna so early.
Dimitri checked his tires and filled them with air before he was back in the cab and on the road again.
“Did you notice his accent?” Nate asked.
“I didn’t but now that you say something, he does have one. It’s not that thick though. What kind of accent would he have? He’s so fair-skinned.”
“I want to say it was Russian. He does have a really round face like many Russians do. Wild guess.”
“So the Russians may have taken out the grid and we are hitching a ride with one? Not sure what to make of that.” Ben looked closer at the things surrounding them wondering if he had been mistaken to trust a stranger.
“I know. But you know what? He didn’t have to stop in the rain to offer us a ride. He was the only one that stopped.”
“No, he sure didn’t have to stop. Not in that mess and he stopped anyway.” Ben relaxed. Nate’s reminder was a good one. “Doesn’t matter where he’s from, he’s been a godsend.”
“I agree.”
Dimitri wasn’t kidding when he said they’d be in the mountains. The road started to climb once they were clear of all the residential areas outside of Soldotna and the next town connected to it, Sterling. There weren’t as many turns as Ben had anticipated. They seemed to be in between two mountains as they continued to climb. The trees were denser, closer to the road, obscuring the view of the river and lakes they passed. Far more deciduous trees that were half-full of fall yellow and orange leaves were interspersed with the rugged pine trees.
The mountain peaks were surrounded by clouds so the impressiveness of the mountain range they were navigating through was obscured and it dwarfed the sheer impressiveness as they continued on. The journey was slow. Cars were behind them as far as they could see. It was probably the same in front of them too.
After several more hours, they finally made it to Anchorage. The city spread out at the base of a massive mountain range. Not too unlike Salt Lake City in Utah and there was already snow covering most of the mountains. It looked like the snow was slowly creeping down the mountainside, closer to the city, ready to overtake it any day now.
“Winter is coming,” Ben whispered and shook his head.
Dimitri pulled into the parking lot of a grocery store.
He opened the back window and smiled at them. “We made it to Anchorage. I never got a chance to ask you where you needed to go once we made it this far. I’m actually headed to Palmer.”
“Our boss Dave’s office is in Eagle River. I don’t know if that’s on the way or what,” Nate answered.
“Actually, it is. It’s right off the highway and the town is not as big as Anchorage. I was worried you were going to ask me to navigate around town and I was afraid I was going to have to tell you this is where I leave you but if you’re headed to Eagle River, we’re good.”
“We never asked you where exactly you’re headed either.” Ben had to know. Maybe he’d shed some light on where the Russians might be hanging out.
Dimitri clenched his jaw as he took off his raincoat. It had finally stopped raining and the sun was peeking through the clouds. There was no denying he had to be Russian when he took off his coat. He wore an embroidered high collared shirt, something that wasn’t modern at all. In fact, it looked like something he’d seen in a history book. Dmitri’s shirt was long with a skinny belt around his waist. The length was more like something his girls would wear with leggings but he was wearing jeans so he hadn’t exactly stepped out of a time machine.
When his wife, two or three-year-old daughter, and perhaps five-year-old son came around to see who Dimitri was talking to, there was no doubt of their heritage. The wife was wearing a colorful headscarf and a long skirt that nearly touched the ground. The little boy wore a shirt like his father and the little girl that was trying to hide behind her mother was wearing the most brightly colored old-fashioned Russian dress he’d ever seen.
“This is my wife Elena. We are heading to her brother’s home. I fish for a living and had a scare on my last run before they restricted the boats. It’s not safe out there.” He folded up his coat and handed it to Ben to put in the back off the truck. “I have been watching the Navy and Coast Guard boats patrolling the coastline more than they ever have. We don’t want to be that close to the ocean if war breaks out. We may even head to Fairbanks, depending on how things get around here. So many people are fleeing the peninsula.” Dimitri shook his head. “Our ancestors have had to flee from danger many times in the past. That’s the reason why we’re here in Alaska now.”
“So are you Russian?”
“Yes, but we have never lived in Russia. We are Old Believers and we live in a village with other Russian Old Believers. Our people fled our home country when we were persecuted because of our religion during the Bolshevik Revolution. Our ancestors stayed together as best they could, moving from county to country. Some of the families relocated east of Anchor Point. That’s where we are from. A few other families started their own villages east of Homer. We still practice many of our old traditions including how we dress. Well, as best as we can. Things have definitely changed. Our village is becoming more modern than the other Old Believer villages outside of Homer.” Elena held her daughter’s head against her hip and smiled at her. “And not everyone stays. My brother left years ago. He asked us to come stay with him after Dmitri was told he couldn’t continue to fish. He says we will have better access to food and fuel here. I don’t know, though. All the traffic heading here has me worried.”
“Don’t worry, Elena. I agree with Nikolai. No matter what, we will be better off here than down there. We were too vulnerable being surrounded by water with one main road to get out of there. I’m sure the fuel refinery in Kenai would eventually cut us off. Especially if the demand from the bigger cities picks up because they are overrun with all the evacuees. That was been my biggest concern if we decided to stay, that we’d be the last to see any of the supplies.” Dimitri rubbed his wife’s shoulder.
“If you practice the old ways like you say, why do you have four-wheelers?” Nate asked.
“Some of us really embrace the ease of modern transportation.” Dimitri winked at them. “It can’t be helped. Our village is not like it was over fifty years ago when our families relocated there. There’s so much access to technology now. In order to keep the younger generations from leaving, we’ve had to embrace some of the modern ways and comforts. It has changed so much so fast that our youth aren’t learning Russian in school like I had to. It’s a long, complicated history. Now is not the time to reflect on our floundering village because we need to get on the road. We probably have another hour of travel to go today after we drop you off. The children are restless and can’t wait to play with cousins.” Dimitri gave his little boy a hearty pat on the back. “Right, son?”
The little boy nodded profusely as a huge grin spread across his face.
“Do you have an address?” Dimitri asked.
“Yes.” Ben searched for his wallet but Nate beat him to it, pulling out a damp wrinkled business card that he handed to Dimitri.
“Good. Next stop, Eagle River. Ready?” Dimitri asked before closing the window.
“Yes, sir,” Nate said and then grimaced at Ben once the window was locked. “Those kids of his must not have bladders.”
“Yeah, I’m feeling it too. I wonder how long it will take for us to get to the office.” The jarring of the truck turning with the weight of the trailer on the back didn’t h
elp at all.
11
Tammy
Once Old Betsy had cooled down and had her belt on again, it was far easier for Amanda to tell Tammy where to go. They were still on a dirt road but it was well-maintained and when they reached an intersection, the roads were clearly marked. At least it was only the serpentine belt that was giving them grief and that it hadn’t fallen out of the engine compartment when it slipped off. But it had stretched out so far that it wasn’t staying on for long. So she’d go until the radiator was in the red and nearly overheating before she’d stop to fix it. The radiator was smelling worse though, like the rubber hoses were burning up.
Amanda and Charlie were handling the tools better and they were well-practiced getting it on but they were all in a bad mood about the whole situation. The day was continuing to warm up and the heat from the engine just added to the misery.
“Are we going to do this all the way there?” Charlie wanted to know.
“If that’s what it takes.” Tammy wasn’t any happier than they were.
“How close are we anyway?” Charlie asked.
“We are close to Horseshoe Bend. When this road ends, we will be in the middle of town,” Amanda answered.
“That’s like maybe halfway.” Charlie threw her head back in aggravation.
“Just shush and let’s keep going and doing what we have to do to get there. This trip won’t last forever.” Tammy had no idea how much time had passed since Dale left them. The only sense of time she had was that she was starving but the black grease covering her hands from messing with the engine all day subdued her desire to eat.
Endure Series (Book 2): Enduring The Journey: Page 8