299 Days: The Change of Seasons

by Glen Tate

  The carwash hit was a one-time thing. Sellarman just showed up at the carwash right when Josh predicted he would; it was too easy. Too convenient. That probably wouldn’t happen again. Eric needed to think about how to do more. He came up with a plan.

  He knew who he needed to meet, but he didn’t know how to get access to that person, so he worked hard on getting to know someone who knew the ultimate person he was interested in. The person who knew the ultimate person was a beautiful young woman named Michele, who after weeks of observation and planning, Eric “accidently” bumped into at a college coffee bar. A week later, they were dating. Exactly according to the plan.

  “You gonna turn me on?” Michele softly asked Eric as he was undressing her.

  “Oh, you bet,” Eric said and he proceeded to do so. Very well.

  Eric allowed himself to enjoy the amazing sex they had, but he was determined to stay focused on the job at hand. After they were done, Michele asked him, “So, you wanna maybe move in with me?”

  “Thought you’d never ask,” Eric said with a smile. And then they went at it again. Even Angry Eric had to admit this was pretty awesome.

  “What will your roommate think?” Eric asked Michele after round two. “You know, about another person living here?”

  Michele’s roommate was Maddy Popovich. Maddy and Michele were students at Olympia’s extremely left-wing Evergreen State University. Maddy was the leader of Students for Democratic Action (SDA), a radical communist group. SDA had ties to the Red Brigade, the left-wing terrorist group.

  Maddy was a very effective leader on campus and managed to rile up over 2,000 students who served as foot soldiers in the Left’s army of thug enforcers in Olympia. They were the very people who burned down the WAB building back in May. They were the very people whose mouths Angry Eric wanted to smash.

  “Maddy’ll be fine with it,” Michele said, having no idea how Maddy would react, but wanting Eric to live with her. Maddy was rarely in their tiny apartment, anyway. She was always at some rally or meeting. Maddy probably wouldn’t even notice Eric was there.

  “Well, okay, then,” Eric said as he kissed Michele. She tapped him on the shoulder. “Twice is enough for me, baby,” Eric said. Michele understood.

  As Michele drifted off to sleep, Angry Eric was energized and telling Nice Eric what needed to happen.

  Two weeks later, Angry Eric’s plan happened. Maddy was found dead in her apartment after being murdered in a violent and horrific way. Michele was found there, too, but had died in a painless way.

  She had, “Sorry. Nice E,” written on her forehead.

  Chapter 221

  Angie

  (August 4)

  “I don’t know what she sees in him,” Granny whispered to Molly Prosser one day out at the Prosser Farm. “I mean, I’m happy for him, but what’s the attraction here?”

  Granny felt terrible for saying that about Dennis, who was a really nice man. But Dennis’ new girlfriend, Angie, was … well, out of his league. Dennis was a good man, but not a looker. Angie, on the other hand, was stunning. What could she possibly see in him?

  “Stop being a gossip,” Molly whispered back. “You sound like some small town old lady. Just be happy for him.”

  “I am, I am,” Granny said. “I just wonder, that’s all.”

  By this time, Angie and Dennis came up to Granny and Molly’s picnic table. They were having a Sunday picnic like they had been doing that summer. The weather was beautiful and the food was superb – well, superb for a post-Collapse picnic. About a dozen families nearby came over. The kids played, the dogs ran, and the grownups got to talk and relax. It was magnificent.

  “Granny,” Dennis said, proud as can be with his chest puffed out a little, “have you met my girlfriend, Angie?”

  “Pleased to meet you,” Angie said, sweetly. She seemed very nice, but Granny couldn’t help noting, Angie seemed a little out of place. It wasn’t just that she was so beautiful, but she just looked … out of place.

  “Angie, would you care for a glass of iced tea?” Dennis asked politely.

  “Sure, honey,” she said to him. He swelled with pride when he heard that. He, Dennis, had a pretty and nice girlfriend. He was a still a bachelor in his mid-thirties. He had started to wonder if he’d ever meet someone nice. And now he had. He was on top of the world.

  Now that Angie was alone with Granny and Molly, Granny decided to do some digging on this girl.

  “So, Angie, tell us a little about yourself,” Granny said and then smiled.

  “Oh, I’m pretty typical,” Angie replied. “I was an art student at Evergreen,” which meant the liberal college in Olympia, “and now, with all that’s going on, I’m not a student there anymore.” She shrugged. There wasn’t much more to say.

  “Are you from here?” Granny asked.

  “No…” Angie was searching for the best name to call Granny. “Do you go by ‘Granny’ or something else?” she asked.

  “Oh, ‘Granny,’ is what I go by,” she said. Angie had manners, Granny realized. That was a scarce commodity among today’s young people.

  “I’m from Southern Oregon,” Angie said. “Ashland. You know, where the Shakespeare festival is every year.”

  Neither Granny nor Molly had ever heard of that.

  “Oh, of course,” Granny said, pretending to be cultured. “The Shakespeare festival.”

  “So what brought you out here?” Molly asked, “To the farms?”

  Angie squirmed a little. She did not feel comfortable answering that question. “Well, I needed a job,” she said. “You know, with the college closed down and all.” She shrugged.

  “What brought an art student out to a farm?” Granny asked, a little too bluntly, and she felt sorry for that.

  Angie expected that question and had rehearsed an answer. “You know,” she said cocking her head to one side, “I didn’t know. I just knew I needed a job.” She shrugged again.

  Granny wasn’t feeling like her questions were being answered. It wasn’t that Angie seemed evasive, it just seemed like there was no answer to the questions.

  “Have you found a job out here?” Molly asked, trying to be a little nicer than the slightly too blunt Granny.

  “Oh, yes,” Angie said as her eyes lit up. “I’m helping Dennis at his place.”

  “Doing what?” Granny asked. Again, a little too bluntly.

  “You know,” Angie said, “stuff.” She started to shrug again, but stopped mid-shrug. She didn’t feel comfortable shrugging anymore.

  “Household chores,” Molly said, trying to rescue the conversation. “That kind of thing?”

  “Yes, yes,” Angie replied, relieved that Molly was helping her along in this uncomfortable conversation with Granny.

  “Oh,” Granny said with a smile, “I understand. That’s great.” The ice had been broken. Granny just seemed awkward, not mean.

  By this time, Dennis was back with two Mason jars of iced tea. “Here you are, honey,” Dennis said. He had never called a

  woman “honey” before and was very thankful he finally could. He was so happy his hands started to shake a little, causing him to spill a few drops of iced tea.

  “Oops, silly,” Angie warmly said to him and grabbed a rag and wiped up the few drops of iced tea. “There, honey,” she said with a smile. Dennis smiled back at her. He couldn’t stop smiling.

  This was shocking to Granny and Molly, who had known Dennis his whole life. He had never had a girlfriend and now was swapping “honeys” with a beautiful woman. It was so out of character.

  “So how long have you two been dating?” Granny asked them.

  They looked at each other to see which one would answer. “Go ahead, dear,” Angie said, “Tell her the story.”

  “Well,” Dennis said as he slightly puffed out his chest again in pride, “I was on guard duty a couple of weeks ago at the Delphi guard station.” He looked at Angie as if to ask if she wanted to tell the next part.

  She a
ccepted the invitation. “I was walking down Highway 101 looking for a job or whatever,” she said, lowering her eyes a little. Granny noticed this, and it confirmed what Granny was thinking.

  “I was walking during the day because it’s much safer than at night,” Angie continued. “You know how bad things are in Olympia, especially at the college.”

  Granny and Molly had heard stories of the students being basically abandoned out there. No food trucks were coming in, so the students were getting in their cars, if they had any gas, and trying to drive back home. Most didn’t get very far. Quite a few just started walking toward town. They would camp out in large groups. It was summer so they just needed a blanket to put on the ground.

  “What did you do during the time until you came to Delphi?” Molly asked.

  “Well,” Angie said, “like a lot of the students, we camped in various places for a few weeks.”

  “It got old fast,” Dennis interjected. “Angie didn’t have anywhere to shower.”

  “Yep,” she said. “It got old. Then I found a job in town.”

  “What kind of job?” Granny asked. She was getting more and more comfortable being direct like that. She needed to find out about Angie. For Dennis’s sake.

  Angie looked down and then looked up and said, “I, um, worked for a guy in town. I did, you know, general things for him.” Granny and Molly nodded. They were starting to figure things out.

  “What kind of work?” Granny asked.

  “I went out shopping for him,” she said. “The lines are so long for everything. I’d wait an hour to get him gas, and then another hour for groceries. That kind of thing.”

  “How old was he?” Granny asked, closing in on the kill.

  Angie was getting uncomfortable. She looked down and then up at the sky, as if she were thinking.

  “Well,” she answered, “let’s see. I think he said he was forty or something.”

  “Why couldn’t he get his own groceries and gas?” Granny asked. Her tone was polite, but she was determined to get some answers.

  “He had a big job,” she said. She paused and nodded.

  “Doing what?” Granny asked with a smile.

  “He was some guy for the state,” Angie said. She knew Granny would ask her for more detail, so she started to think what he did for a living. She kept looking up at the sky. She seemed to remember the answer and said, “Some highway planner guy or something.”

  “Oh,” Molly said, hoping to soften the line of questioning, “so he had a lot on his FCard, probably.”

  “Sure did,” Angie said, once again glad Molly was rescuing her from Granny’s direct questions.

  “That must have been a good thing to have,” Granny said, steering the conversation back in the direction she wanted.

  “Yeah,” Angie said, once again looking down, “I guess.”

  Dennis was oblivious to all of this. All he knew is that he had a pretty girlfriend. He was finally in love. Finally. He wanted to marry Angie.

  “So how long did you stay with him?” Granny asked.

  “How long did the job last?” Angie shot back, too smart to fall for the trap Granny was setting. Angie did not like this Granny lady’s questions. She understood Granny’s need to find out about Dennis’s new girlfriend, she just wished she had better answers to the questions.

  “Yes, dear,” Granny said. “Of course. How long did the job last?” Granny was playing along. She wasn’t going to cause a scene or make Angie mad, which would be bad for Dennis. She wanted Dennis to be happy.

  Angie looked up at the sky again, as if she were counting. “Let’s see. Early June to not that long ago. So that’s, like five weeks.”

  “Why did the job end?” Granny asked. Another fair and logical question, even if Angie didn’t want to answer it.

  Angie decided to tell the truth. She was an honest person and didn’t want to lie. “His wife came back,” she said. Granny and Molly were silent. Dennis was oblivious.

  “His wife came back?” Granny repeated.

  “Yeah,” Dennis said, “so he didn’t need Angie’s help anymore. His wife could do stuff.” By “stuff,” Dennis meant waiting in lines; Granny and Molly suspected “stuff” meant something else.

  Angie nodded. She was relieved that was now out in the open.

  “Oh,” Granny said, still trying not to cause a scene. “So then you moved on and came out here?”

  “Yep,” Angie said. “I started walking down Highway 101, thinking that people in the country were better off than in the city. You know, more food and everything.” She pointed around her at all the gardens and cows.

  “Well,” Granny said with a reassuring smile, “You came to the right place. We have plenty of food.” She wanted to soften things and be nice to Angie. She didn’t dislike the girl; she just wanted to know what Dennis was getting himself into.

  Someone yelled, “Who wants pie?” and Angie, sensing her chance to break free from this uncomfortable conversation, jumped up and said, “We do!” She turned to Dennis and said, “I’ll go get us some, honey.”

  “Sounds great, honey,” he said. He loved to hear that word. Over and over again.

  Dennis looked around and saw Angie was several yards away going to get the pie. “So?” He quietly asked Granny and Molly, “What do you think?” He was beaming.

  “She’s lovely, Dennis,” Granny said. “A sweet, sweet girl. She’s perfect for you. We’re so happy.” Molly nodded.

  Dennis clapped his hands and yelled, “Wahoo!” Getting the approval of Granny and Molly for Angie was the second happiest day of his life; the happiest day being when he met her at the gate.

  “Some people want to talk to us,” Angie yelled from the pie table as she motioned for Dennis to join her. He got up and said, “Gotta go.” He trotted over to be with this magnificent girlfriend.

  When Dennis was far enough away, Granny asked Molly, “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

  Molly nodded slowly.

  Chapter 222

  The Think Farm

  (August 4)

  “Of course!” Brad Finehoff shouted to his son, Russ, who was disguised as a homeless man at the Union Gospel Mission. “I’ve been waiting for this opportunity.” Jerry, Mike, and Chrissy clapped. They were gambling that Brad would accept Russ’s offer; if he didn’t, they would be exposing themselves as Patriots. But, like with the tugs of the left ear, they knew each other well.

  Brad paused and, after realizing that his missing son was now alive and well, asked Russ, “Oh, and where the hell have you been for the past ninety-four days?”

  Russ started to answer and Mike put his finger up to his lips, signaling Russ to be quiet. Brad saw this and nodded.

  “Now isn’t a real good time to talk, Dad,” Russ said. “I mean, I’m in Olympia and I’m not exactly super welcome here.”

  “Got it,” Brad said. He looked at Jerry, Mike, and Chrissy, put two fingers up in the air and pointed toward the door, which was the signal to get their protected guest out of the room. As they’d done a thousand times together, the closest one to the door, Mike, went out with Chrissy behind him and Jerry maneuvered around to take up the rear behind Brad and Russ.

  They quickly and discreetly exited the mission. Most of the homeless men got out of their way and put their hands up as they passed. They didn’t want any trouble with these people, who were obviously with the government.

  By the time Jerry was at Chrissy’s car, she had already started it and Russ was getting in. Brad was heading toward Chrissy’s car when Jerry said, “My rig” and pointed toward his truck, which Brad recognized. It had been pre-staged at the mission because they knew they’d run out of room for all five of them in Chrissy’s car. Besides, they wanted to split up the cargo, with Russ in one vehicle and Brad in another in case something happened to one vehicle. A final, and very important, reason for two vehicles was to check for a vehicle following them. The vehicle in the rear would drop back a few vehicles behind the
lead vehicle and keep track of the vehicles around it. Then the rear vehicle would move up to the lead and the vehicle formerly in the lead would drop to the rear. This way they could tell if one of the vehicles they were keeping track of was speeding up to follow the rear vehicle that was now up in the lead. The EPU unit did this so often that they didn’t even notice they were doing; it was how they rolled.

  Brad grabbed the little radio under the passenger seat of Jerry’s truck, where it always was. It wasn’t the government-issued ones they usually used, but the controls worked the same as the ones he was familiar with. Jerry concentrated on driving while Brad worked the radio, which was used to keep in contact with Chrissy’s car. They only talked on the vehicle-to-vehicle radios if they needed to. Chatting was looked down upon.

  Brad was finally able to take in all that had happened that day. His career ended, his friends joined the Patriots, his missing son was found, and now Brad was joining the Patriots, which, of course, was a death sentence if he got caught.

  At least he was with his son and his team. The only thing that would have been better would be being with his wife, Kathy, but she had left him a decade ago, when Russ was in high school. She couldn’t handle having a husband who was never around. Her leaving had made Brad even more devoted to his EPU team: if it had cost him his marriage, he might as well enjoy all the time he could with the people who had stuck with him all these years.

  Russ was included in that category. When Kathy left, Brad and Russ were on their own. They took care of each other and became even closer, which was why it was so hard when Russ turned up missing right after the May Day riots.

  Brad was trying to stay silent so Jerry could concentrate on driving, but he couldn’t contain himself. He settled for merely saying, “I bet there’s a hell of a story waiting for me about how that homeless dude with the sandwich ended up in that kitchen.” Jerry looked over at him and smiled.

  They quickly arrived at a nearby welding shop. They drove up, and Mike said, “Albatross pepper,” from Chrissy’s car on the vehicle-to-vehicle radio. Right on cue, the large garage door of the shop opened and both vehicles drove in. The garage door closed right behind Jerry’s truck.