46 Hours To Home

by Pat Riot

  Rob got back into the habit of stopping at each cross street and checking both directions for movement before proceeding through the intersections. He went three blocks before arriving at the farmer’s market which sat on the east side of Redlands in between the cross streets of Kimberly Avenue and Alessandro. Rob first checked both directions down the cross street, then turned his attention to the store and could see the front windows and glass front door were smashed out. Someone beat me to it. It hasn’t even been a full twenty-four hours since the incident, and stores are already being looted. Damn. Oh well, still worth a check, there might be stuff inside.

  Rob crossed Kimberly and walked into the parking lot of the store, then to the front right corner of the building, where he drew his gun. Have to be ready for anything. He looked through the smashed windows as he made his way along the front of the building, searching the interior for potential threats before entering the building, then stopped next to the front door to listen for any movement from inside. Hearing only silence he walked through the broken doorway, leading with his gun up and ready. After entering he immediately sidestepped left to get out of the “fatal funnel” as he scanned the interior of the building. There was trash and debris everywhere. This wasn’t the work of one person, this was an entire mob that came in and destroyed this place. A series of fruit and vegetable displays divided the store into three aisles and the displays created numerous blind spots he needed to clear.

  Before clearing the building, he dropped his backpack by the front door so he wouldn’t be encumbered by his heavy pack if something happened. Ideally, he would have stashed it outside as it would be easier to come back and retrieve if he had to run from the building, but it would be disastrous if someone stole it while Rob was inside scavenging for supplies.

  He cleared the store, activating the weapon mounted light only sporadically and using the brief moments of light to make a mental picture of the areas too dark to see. I wish I had a partner, clearing a building by yourself sucks. He checked behind each fruit and vegetable display and found nothing but more trash and debris. Next, he moved to the back and walked through the open door that led to the employee and storage area, checking down each row of metal shelves used to store product. Empty as well. He checked the door that led out back and found it was metal and had a dead bolt that required a key to open it from either side. I don’t think that complies to fire code. Not that it really matters anymore.

  Once the entire building was clear he holstered his gun and pulled out the Surefire flashlight as he walked to the storage shelves. There he found a box of plastic grocery bags and pulled one out, then walked back to the front customer area to check for anything he could scavenge.

  All the junk food on the rack next to the checkout counter was gone, as were the sodas and bottled water from the cooler next to the door. Someone even took the time and effort to shatter the glass door of the cooler then rip the door from the hinges. Senseless destruction. What the hell’s the point? Rob thought. Most of the fruit and vegetables were gone as well, however, there was enough scattered about, on top of the displays and on the floor, that Rob was able to scavenge four apples, three bananas, a small bunch of grapes, and three tomatoes. All in all, a pretty good haul. It’s more than I expected when I saw the store had already been looted. This will help a lot. He retrieved his backpack and stuffed the grocery bag containing fruit into the large main compartment, on top of all the supplies. He was hungry but decided to get clear of the residential area before finding somewhere to eat and rest.

  Before leaving the store, Rob peered out the front windows, checking the surrounding areas for a few minutes before deciding it was safe to go. He preferred to go out the locked back door, but it would take too much time and energy to get through the metal door and frame. He shouldered his backpack and left the building, making an immediate right and walking to the north side of the store and through the parking lot to Alessandro, which crossed between the farmer’s market and the mom and pop gas station. It was the same Alessandro that ran in front of the dispatch center in Riverside, however here it was much narrower, one lane in each direction and divided by a yellow line.

  He approached the street, scanning his surroundings the entire way, then crossed and walked up to the south side of the gas station building. The gas station was small, having two pumps out front, a small parking lot with seven parking spaces, and a propane fill station. Rob poked his head around to the front side of the building that faced west and could see the glass in the front door was shattered. He didn’t really need anything from inside and he almost bypassed the gas station altogether, but he wanted to check for any water that was possibly still inside, left behind by the looters.

  Once again Rob drew his gun and approached the front door slowly. This building’s front windows were completely covered with advertisements showing what kinds of deals customers could expect inside, so Rob had no ability to check inside until he reached the front door.

  He reached the broken glass door and listened. After hearing nothing he stepped quickly through the door and side stepped to the left while moving the gun left and right, his eyes following, checking every open area he possibly could. This building was much smaller than the farmer’s market and the only areas he could not see was behind the cashier’s counter, and of course the employee area in the back of the store. He took a quick look over the counter and confirmed no one was hiding there, put his backpack on top of the counter, then proceeded to the closed door that separated the public area from the employee area. After listening, he quickly opened the door and swept inside, the door squeaking as he pushed it open. He used his weapon mounted light to flood the open area and realized right away that it was occupied by three homeless people who had set up residence. All three were asleep and between the door squeaking open and the light from Rob’s TLR-1 suddenly brightening the room, all three stirred.

  Rob started to back away but the only female in the group was already sitting up and talking to him, “Who’re you? Get that damn light outta my eyes!”

  After quickly confirming there were no obvious weapons around the three Rob pointed his gun towards the ground in front of the trio. “Sorry, I didn’t realize anyone was in here,” he apologized.

  One of the two males was now fully coherent and yelled at Rob, “Well there is! And you coulda knocked! You make it a habit of just walking into someone’s house?”

  “Your house? This is a gas station,” Rob stated, puzzled.

  “Not anymore,” the female retorted, somewhat proud. “Ain’t no way to pump gas, so we took over. It’s our place now.”

  “Okay, sorry,” Rob apologized again, trying to keep the situation from escalating. “I was just hoping to find a little water is all.”

  The third transient was still asleep. The male that was awake started to get up, “All this shit is ours, don’t you be tryin to take any of it. I swear to God I’ll cut you if you try.”

  Rob pointed his gun at the transient who was now on his feet. “Sit down or I’ll shoot your ass,” he said with command in his voice.

  The transient hesitated, decided Rob was serious, then slowly sat down. “Hey man there’s no need for any of that,” he said with a conciliatory tone.

  “You’re right, there isn’t,” Rob replied sharply. “Just stay where you are, and I’ll see myself out. You might want to wait a few minutes before checking to see if I’m gone too. If I think any of you are following me, I’ll shoot first and ask questions later.” Rob backed out of the employee area, picked up his backpack from the counter, and walked towards the front door.

  As he walked he took a quick look around and at the end of the front aisle found several gallon size plastic water bottles. Rob picked one up and walked out. He didn’t want to take the time to make sure the area was still clear, so he scanned as he walked. He walked straight out of the parking lot and turned right when he reached the street.

  He started walking at a fast pace north on Redland
s. Darkness had completely taken over the daylight at this point and while the aurora was back, it was not as strong as the night before. The light it created was less than a full moon, but still enough that Rob didn’t need to use his flashlight to watch for potential hazards. In short order he crossed Williams, Gifford, and Stevens Avenues. When he reached the intersection of Redlands and Bay Avenue, the houses on the left continued to the north however on the right the houses stopped and opened into a huge field. As he stopped at the intersection to check both directions he started to hear a commotion from the east. He crouched and creeped forward, trying to get a visual of what was happening.

  On the east side of Redlands, next to where Rob was at, a ditch ran north and south, paralleling the street and had a metal three feet diameter tunnel running under each cross street which allowed rain runoff to pass through without flooding the intersection. Rob hopped down into the ditch and moved closer to the intersection. That’s when he could see it. A large group of people, around fifty Rob estimated, several holding flashlights and a few holding lanterns, but all of them holding various weapons. Most of the weapons being wielded were things like bats and poles and even shovels, but several were carrying guns. Rob picked out at least three long guns and two handguns. He was sure there were more, but his view was blocked by the front of the crowd.

  Rob had to think fast. The crowd was less than seventy-five feet away and approaching fast. There was no way he could make it to the previous cross street and make the turn without at least one of the group spotting him and he knew he couldn’t run, no one can outrun a bullet, so the only option was to hide and hope for the best. There were no parked cars close enough, and the house he was next to had no cover in the front yard. His only option was the tunnel. He pushed his backpack and gallon of water into the tunnel then went in feet first, pushing the pack and water along until he was about five feet into the tunnel, where he stopped and drew his gun. There was no way he could shoot every member of the group, and if it came to that almost certainly he would be a dead man, but he wouldn’t go down without a fight. And it was possible the first few going down after being shot would cause the rest to scatter and give Rob a chance to escape.

  As Rob waited and prayed that no one would investigate the tunnel, he heard the crowd approach the intersection. They were obviously worked up about something, but what it was Rob didn’t know. The crowd stopped when they arrived at the intersection and quieted down some and Rob could hear one person addressing the rest of the group. He couldn’t make out what was being said, but it was obvious the leader was giving instructions to the rest of the group.

  Another two minutes passed before the crowd got loud again and moved off. Unfortunately for Rob, they split into two roughly even sized groups with one going south on Redlands, the other west on Bay. Damnit, now I have two groups to contend with. The only good news was that Rob was headed north, away from both groups. The bad news was he needed to figure out how to get out of the tunnel and make it north of the intersection without being spotted. Rob wasn’t sure what the groups were up to and he couldn’t risk that they were watching the area for anyone passing through. A group like that, all worked up and ready to cause havoc, wouldn’t hesitate a second to beat me to a pulp, if not kill me, and take my stuff.

  Rob turned as much as he could and looked down the length of the tunnel. Blackness. He holstered his gun, pulled out his flashlight, and covering the light with is hand to reduce the chance of someone seeing the beam of light, he turned it on, then slowly separated his fingers to allow some of the light to seep through. About halfway down the pipe there was some debris blocking half the tunnel. Rob decided it was worth a try and with only a little difficulty got turned around. He started army crawling forward, pushing his backpack and gallon of water in front of him, until he reached the debris pile. Using the flashlight, he could now see that it was a combination of trash and tree branches. The good news was that there wasn’t very much of it.

  Rob went to work quietly moving enough of the debris out of the way to create a large enough opening to crawl through. It took about five minutes, but he was soon on his way. Once he reached the north end of the tunnel, on the side of Bay that he needed to be on, he paused and listened. While trying to make sure the groups were no longer in the area he dug into his backpack and took his beanie out. It wasn’t very cold, but the black beanie would be much less likely to catch someone’s eye in the darkness than his bald white head. He also took out a pair of black gloves and put them on. The darker his profile, the better.

  When he was ready he pushed the backpack and water slowly out of the tunnel and followed it, getting into a low crouch and slowly looking around the intersection and as far down each street as he could, trying to see any evidence of either group. He could hear some yelling, but it seemed to be at least a few blocks away. Once he was reasonably certain that it was safe to move he shouldered his backpack, picked up his gallon of water, and took off, still in a crouch but moving as fast as he could. He decided to stay in the ditch as long as possible to reduce his chances of being seen.

  Less than a quarter mile later Redlands widened out from a single lane in each direction divided by a yellow line, to a single lane in each direction but now divided by a large landscaped island with a large shoulder on the west side of the street. This was due to a new housing development that was built in the last couple years. The thing that appealed to Rob was the horse trail that was set between the sidewalk and the block wall that separated the backyards of the houses from the main street. The horse trail was also partially hidden by bushes and would offer some cover, however Rob had to cross the street to get to it.

  He took a good look back to the south and waited. Nothing. He crawled out of the ditch and to the edge of the street. Still nothing. He decided to it was time and took off at a run. He was across in a few seconds and hunkered down behind a bush. He watched for a couple more minutes until he was satisfied that the mob didn’t see him cross the street and wasn’t coming north to investigate.

  Rob took a couple large drinks of water from the gallon he was carrying then opened his Eberlestock backpack and partially pulled out the water pouch. Using the plastic gallon, he topped off the water pouch then pushed the pouch back in. There was about half a gallon left. Rob took a couple more drinks then closed the container and set it aside. He had to pee. Not bothering to find a suitable place, he stood up, unzipped his pants, and relieved himself where he stood, preferring to keep a vigilant watch rather than worry about privacy. Once he was done he zipped back up, picked up the plastic water container, and walked north, using the horse trail.

  Rob came to the intersection of Redlands and Cottonwood Avenue, did his usual check of the area, and proceeded across, walking back onto the horse trail as it continued heading north. He needed to rest but had yet to see somewhere he was comfortable doing so. Instead, he powered on. During one of his times walking backwards he noticed a glow in the sky. That’s not the aurora, he thought. It was coming from the area of the gas station and farmer’s market. The next time he turned around to check his rear he could see flames rising above the tree line. Fire. I wonder if that group has anything to do with it. I’m glad I made it through when I did. Maybe that mob tried to loot the gas station and those transients fought back, with that being the result. Rob shook his head as he turned to keep walking.

  Rob crossed the intersection of Redlands and Dracaea Avenue. At this point Redlands narrowed back down; one lane each direction with a yellow line in the middle. While the horse trail also ended, so did the neighborhoods, and large fields stretched out on both sides of the street. He was happy to be out of the neighborhoods, but still did not want to stop until he found a place with suitable cover, so he pushed on. If he was going to rest, he didn’t want to be out in the open where he could be seen. At the next intersection, Redlands and Eucalyptus Avenue, there was a large plant nursery. That would be perfect. I doubt anyone is there, and I can hide on the property in
the middle of the trees and plants while I rest. What wasn’t perfect was the tall chain link fence topped with razor wire that surrounded the property.

  Rob walked until he came to the main entrance off Redlands. The gate here was just as tall but had no razor wire on top. Before climbing over Rob gave the gate a strong shake and let loose a low whistle. He wanted to make sure there were no dogs on the property. After a minute with no response he scaled the gate, not bothering to throw his backpack over first as the chain link made climbing easy and dropped down on the other side.

  He walked into the property and found the main office where customers contacted employees and paid for any product they selected from the grounds. Rob tried the door and found it locked, so he continued to look around the property until he came across a stack of hay bales situated next to a large area of potted trees. Bingo. That’s going to make a nice spot to rest. Rob finished walking through the rest of the property to be sure it was unoccupied, then walked back to the bales of hay. He reached up to one on top, and pulled, letting it fall to the ground, and repeated the action twice more, then pulled the machete out of the sheath on the backpack. He put the backpack on the ground to the side and went to work on the bales. They were bound together with three thick strings, but using the machete Rob was able to get the strings cut off without any trouble. He did the same for the other two bales, arranged the now loose hay into a pile, and then sat down.

  He sighed with relief. That’s nice. If I didn’t have to get home I’d stay here awhile. Rob checked the time. 9:49 pm. Almost three hours since he left Carlos and Rachel’s house. Three hours to cover two and a half miles. It might take him a little longer than he though to make it home, especially if things were worse when he reached Yucaipa. He reached into his pocket and pulled the picture of his wife and son out, stared at it for a minute, said a quick prayer asking God to keep them safe until he got home, gave it a kiss, then put it back in his pocket.