by Akart, Bobby
“Oh, yeah,” added Levi. “I heard it a thousand times. He’d say, ‘Young people nowadays can’t even work a can opener, much less survive in the woods for a night.’”
Chapman shook his head. “Sadly, I missed all of that. You were lucky to spend so much time with him.”
“I really think I was,” said Levi. “I have no regrets about the life I chose. I used to be a little jealous of seeing you all over the world, reporting on weather and stuff. Hell, Kristi went to Africa, for Pete’s sake. For me, a trip to the Cumberland Mountains or a huntin’ trip with the boys was excitin’.”
Levi became solemn as the thought of Karl and Eddie, his buddies from high school, crossed his mind. He’d lost them and his dad, who were his best friends on earth, in a very short period of time.
After a brief moment, Tommy changed the subject. He glanced over Levi’s shoulder to ensure nobody else was coming from the church to join them outside. “Guys, I really didn’t want to take our little wagon train through Louisville, but that’s the next set of bridges coming up.”
Chapman nodded. “According to the map, we’d have to travel fifty miles farther north and then backtrack. That adds three days to our trip, not to mention that bridge may be out like the one at Mauckport.”
“I know Louisville pretty well,” said Levi. “Tommy and I can head into the city at first light. I-64 is only ten miles or so from here.”
Tommy nodded and finished shucking his last ear. He wandered over to the edge of the pavilion and stared mindlessly at the horses.
Chapman noticed his solemn demeanor. “Hey, you can’t worry about what happened earlier. Levi and I are very grateful you took care of Kristi. It was just a bad situation.”
Tommy sighed and cracked his neck. Without turning around, he expressed his concerns. “It was mayhem on the bridge. Pushing, shoving. People were panicked and did anything they had to, you know, to survive. Including me. I killed at least one and probably two others who got knocked off the bridge.”
Levi walked toward him. “It was unavoidable, man. Don’t sweat it.”
Tommy returned to the grill to warm his hands over the fire. “It’s not just that. I mean, this is day one and that bridge was in no-man’s-land. There are a million people in Louisville. Crossing the river is just part of it. How are we gonna fight ’em off? People are desperate and half-crazed. The frightened and hungry are to be expected. How about the bad guys? You know, the ones who will try to overpower us and take what we have.”
“Tommy, I really don’t have an answer for that, nor do I want to sugarcoat it,” began Chapman in reply. “We saw the attitude of people in Corydon, and you witnessed the mass of humanity trying to make their way into Kentucky. It’s not gonna be easy, but I really do believe that will be the biggest challenge.”
Levi was a little more direct in his response. “It’s like dealing with a bear, at least before, you know, this whole shift thing. Bears don’t want any part of dealing with people. If you make yourself look big and raise a ruckus, they’ll turn and go the other way. When we ride through town, we don’t need to look like a bunch of refugees ripe for the takin’. We need to look like the takers, the ones everyone should hide under their beds from.”
“A show of force?” asked Tommy.
“Exactly. Even the bad guys will shy away from a gunfight. They don’t wanna die any more than we do. They’ll find someone else to pick on.”
Chapman studied his brother and wondered if this was the approach he’d taken with Bully Billy Clark. He decided to trust his brother’s judgment. Chapman had tangled with a polar bear and ended up peeing his pants. He’d rather not do that again.
Chapter 7
Louisville, Kentucky
The Boones’ first night of solace inside the Antioch Church was both a blessing and a curse. It was a much-needed break from the incessant rainfall and now cooling nighttime temperatures. Since the collapse of the homestead, life in the rain-soaked barn had frazzled nerves and caused them to be dejected. They rallied at the thought of a new adventure, despite the realization they were leaving land they loved, only to be let down again when the simplest, most direct route to the mountains had been destroyed by the Ohio River.
As agreed the night before, Tommy and Levi set out for Louisville just before dawn that morning. Daylight was slow in arriving as the thick rain-filled clouds returned for the start of the eleventh day.
Levi directed Tommy on the most direct route he could find toward Interstate 64 and the massive six-lane Sherman Minton Bridge. This route across the Ohio was not ideal, as it would dump the travelers in the heart of downtown Louisville. There were a couple of other bridges farther upriver, not including the railroad crossings.
Once they made their way near the interstate, they immediately discovered an insurmountable obstacle, one that should have been anticipated, but hadn’t been considered because of their confidence in the availability of the original option at Mauckport. The interstate was packed with disabled vehicles and traveling pedestrians.
The geomagnetic storm had caught the entire population off guard. Certainly, warnings had been issued as part of the martial law declaration and through the news media prior to the president’s executive order imposing the shutting down of the power grid. Those who disregarded the EMP threat, especially the thousands who tried to make their way to Fort Wayne and South Bend out of Kentucky, paid a price.
The result was a jam-packed highway with vehicles that could not be moved because wreckers and tow trucks no longer functioned.
“Let’s park here and walk the rest of the way,” suggested Tommy. “I’m already uncomfortable letting people know our car runs.”
Levi leaned forward in his seat and pointed to a wooded area ahead on the left. “See that driveway with the brick columns?”
“Yeah, it’s a cemetery. That’ll work while we take a closer look.”
The two men secured the car, checked their sidearms, and shouldered their rifles. Levi, who was far more weapons-capable than Tommy, carried the AR-10 at all times. He assigned a shotgun to Tommy, loaded with alternating rounds of birdshot and double-aught buck. As he explained, The first is designed to warn or maim; the second to put ’em down.
They clumsily made their way up the soaked embankment and joined the refugees traveling toward Kentucky. As the two men approached the entrance to the bridge, they were able to get a clear view of the devastation wrought on Louisville. The water levels seen throughout the city put the Great Flood of 1937 to shame. As far as the eye could see, water filled the streets except the elevated roadways like the interstate and the railway crossings upriver.
Tommy stopped some of the refugees coming out of Kentucky. “Hey, guys, can you tell me if the roads are passable on the other side?”
“Yeah, some of them are,” replied a man in hunting camouflage. Then he managed a chuckle. “If you were looking from above, you’d think we were a bunch of ants walking nose to tail, following each other along sidewalks and trails.”
“Are these trails wide enough for cars?”
The man laughed heartily this time. “Oh, sure, if they worked. Have you looked around, friend? The world’s gone to shit. Um, planes, trains, and automobiles are in short supply.”
Two people on bicycles inched past the group as they talked. There were other means of getting around, if one was willing to change their way of thinking.
Tommy glanced toward the north side of the bridge. As the skies brightened somewhat, he was able to see a large group of people crossing what appeared to be a railroad trestle. He pointed to it and asked, “Do you know anything about that bridge?”
The man’s companion, an older woman, replied, “That’s the old K & I Terminal Bridge. It’s been closed for years, but folks have tried to convert it for pedestrian and bicycle use. Norfolk Southern has been really stubborn about it. Besides, you can see right near there another, better option.”
“You mean the Big Four?” asked the man. �
��It’s thin as a rail because of the lane separators. Bikes and joggers only. If that was gonna work for these folks, they’d just go this way.”
“Do you really have a car?” the woman asked. “I mean that runs?”
Levi lied. “No, ma’am. Horses and wagons. But they’re just as big as these things.” He tapped the fender of an F150 pickup.
“Well, give the K & I a look. It’s as old as Louisville. The bridge was built to connect the Wilderness Road with the Great Buffalo Trace. It used to be beautiful with its waterfall cascade underneath and all. Now everything around it is under water, but when you get there, you’ll see it is wide enough, and there won’t be a bunch of dead cars like up here.”
“Why’s that?” asked Tommy.
“Because there are a several concrete barriers on both ends to keep any vehicles and everybody off it.”
The man wrapped his arm around her shoulder and the two continued walking into Indiana. As they left, Levi became frustrated and began to slap his hand on the hood of the truck.
“Now what the hell are we supposed to do?” he lamented.
Tommy was unsure as well. The group wanted to avoid traveling farther north to more rural crossings because it would take them over a hundred miles out of the way, adding a week to their trip. He put his hands on his hips and turned in a circle to look for options.
Suddenly, a young man’s voice interrupted them. “Yo! I heard what you were sayin’. I got somethin’ that might help.”
Tommy turned to the young man, who was in his late teens. “We’re listening.”
The kid grinned, revealing a smile full of gold teeth. “No, dude. Ain’t nuthin’ for free no more. No cash either. Quality bling or one of those.” He pointed at Tommy’s handgun.
Levi shook his head. “Come on, Tommy, this kid’s full of crap. Let’s go.”
“Your loss, dude. I’ll get you across that river, if you really want to.”
“Hang on, Levi. Let’s hear him out,” said Tommy before turning his attention back to the young man. “Tell me what you’ve got.”
“We have a deal? Information for the shotgun.”
“No. Handgun only, and only if your story checks out. I’m not gonna just give it to you.”
The kid grinned from ear to ear and held his hands up. “Hey, fair deal, boss man. Come with me.”
He turned and retreated toward the bridge a ways, pushing and shoving his way through the throngs of people, who seemed to grow in numbers as daylight broke.
Levi led the way, followed closely by Tommy. Levi whispered over his shoulder as he struggled to keep up, “I don’t trust this. He could be leading us into a trap.”
Tommy wasn’t so sure. “Listen, I get where you’re coming from. I’ve lived in downtown Chicago almost my whole life. I’ve seen my share of hustlers and street kids. We’ll give this one a chance until something seems out of whack.”
Levi grimaced and shook his head. “All right. Eyes wide open and, as they say in the movies, weapons hot.”
Chapter 8
Louisville, Kentucky
“Come on, yo! I’m takin’ up a lot of my day to help you two. I gotta put a lot of faith, you know what I’m sayin’, into your promise to pay me.” The young man was half-jogging south on Main Street along the ever-expanding river’s edge, dodging swales of water. Soon, the imposing Duke Energy Power Plant appeared before them. Or at least the upper half of it did, anyway. As they crossed the intersection where Corydon Pike became Main Street, the impact of the floodwaters came readily into view.
Levi was winded and skeptical. “Hold up! There are no bridges down here. I’m done with this bullshit.”
“I ain’t said nothin’ about a bridge, man,” their guide shot back. “You wanna cross this river or what?”
“You runnin’ some kinda ferry boat?” asked Tommy, who also was glad to catch his breath. The young man had set a fast pace in the wet conditions.
“We’re almost there. It’s up ahead just past the recycling station.”
Tommy whispered to Levi, “All of a sudden, I don’t know about this. Kind of a rough neighborhood, if you know what I mean.”
“Yeah, no kidding,” agreed Levi. He was about to speak when the kid shouted to them, “Look, man. See those construction trailers and concrete trucks up on the hill.”
“Yeah, where the dirt and rock are piled up?” replied Tommy.
“That’s where we’re goin’. You’ll see.”
Tommy glanced at Levi and shrugged. “We’ve come this far. What’s another half mile?”
“An ambush. That’s what.”
Levi remained skeptical and alert. Nonetheless, he began to jog toward the young man, and Tommy scrambled to catch up. A few minutes later, the three of them were standing in front of a twelve-foot-tall chain-link fence connected to two large swing gates wide enough for dump trucks to go through.
Levi looked around at the deserted construction site and immediately became nervous. His instincts warned him they’d been led into a trap. He angrily pointed his rifle at the kid.
“Enough of this!” he shouted as his head turned on a swivel, searching for threats. Tommy was also concerned and was pointing his rifle in all directions.
“Yo! Y’all need to chill. Ain’t you heard of the Tunnel?” He slapped the fence with his hand and pointed at a sign affixed to the right side of the gate. It read MSD Water Protection Tunnel II.
Tommy inched closer to the sign while keeping his rifle at low ready. He quickly read the details and studied a map painted at the bottom of the sign just above the words NO TRESPASSING.
“A sewer?”
“No, man. This is more than a sewer. Read the sign, yo.”
Tommy looked to Levi, who nodded his approval. He mumbled as he read, “Stormwater overflow. Second of its kind. Slated for completion January one.”
He turned around and shielded his eyes from the rain. He glanced back toward the massive interstate bridge and then over to the top half of the Duke Energy plant. Finally, he looked up the hill at the imposing pile of rubble and dirt that had accumulated from the construction project.
“Tommy?” asked Levi.
“Well, if the kid’s right, this tunnel starts somewhere up that hill, goes under the water just this side of the power plant, and comes out the other side a few miles or so away.”
The young man added, “Waverly Park near the crazies.”
“Crazies?” asked Tommy.
“Yeah, you know. The looney bin. A sani—um, sanitiza—”
“Sanitarium?”
“Yeah, man. That place. Where they keep the crazies.”
Levi lowered his rifle and walked closer to the sign to study it for himself. The young man paced the road in front of the gate, nervously looking around.
“Yo! I did my part. Gimme the gun and I’ll be about my bidness.”
Levi shook his head. “Not so fast, hot rod. How do we know this thing is even passable? What if it’s flooded? Is it big enough to fit our wagons?”
“Man, I done told you. This is your key to the other side. I’m not gonna lead your horses under that river, too. I get closet-phobic.”
“Claustrophobic,” corrected Tommy.
“Whatever. We had a deal, so …” The young man’s voice trailed off as he held his hand out for Tommy’s handgun. Tommy began to reach for the weapon out of his belt holster when Levi spoke up.
“Okay, we still have a deal. I need you to show me how to get inside this fence, and then take me to the entrance so I can see for myself.”
“That’s gonna cost ya extra,” came the kid’s reply. “Two guns.”
Tommy played the game. “My gun and a magazine full of bullets.”
“What? Man, that was part of the deal. Gun and bullets.”
“Nope, you just said gun,” countered Tommy.
The kid became irate. “Don’t try me, big man. I want my payment or I’ll take it.”
Levi moved in and pointed the barre
l of his rifle at the kid’s chest. “Back off! Now!”
He stood his ground for a moment and then shook his head angrily. “I knew I should’ve never trusted you two. I’m outta here!”
He began to storm off when Tommy called after him, “No, we still have a deal. Gun and a magazine full of bullets. Just show us how to get in, and you can be on your way.”
The kid studied Tommy and Levi. He took a deep breath and scowled. “Yeah. I’ll take you in. It’s gonna be on you to get whatever you’re ridin’ through the gates. All my people cut through the fence up here. We ain’t cowboys like you two.”
“Lead the way!” ordered Levi, who was growing weary of the young man.
They followed him around the perimeter of the fence into a wooded area. Soon, a discernible, well-worn trail was revealed, and they followed him through the underbrush until they reached the fence again.
“This way,” he instructed, crouching down to push his way through a five-foot-tall opening that had been created with bolt cutters. He led the way up the hill toward a large circus-style tent. He talked as he went.
“It’s real muddy up in here. That’s why I left my best kicks at the house after the rain came. My granny says the Lord is washing away all of our sins, and the great flood is gonna take away all who don’t believe. I sure hope not ’cause I ain’t ready to go no place just yet.”
He pointed toward a zippered entrance to the large tent. Just as he bent down to open it, someone on the other side began to unzip it, causing him to get startled and slip in the mud.
An old woman stuck her head through the doorway and immediately popped open an umbrella. As she emerged from the tent, their guide complained.
“Yo! Don’t you know to knock or somethin’.”
“Shut up, fool! We’re comin’ out.”
The woman was followed by half a dozen young kids dressed in all manner of rain gear, including rubber boots. They were carrying various designs of reusable shopping bags from Trader Joe’s.