The Dark Road Series Collection

by Bruno Miller

  “There’s a station. Up there on the right.” Allie pointed.

  Ben slowed down as they approached the small service station from the shoulder of the road. It appeared empty except for a few cars, which looked like they were there for repair, along the side in a fenced-in area.

  As they cruised by the front of the little convenience store section of the building, they could see that it, too, had been vandalized and looted. It didn’t look like there was much left of any value inside the store. The place was a mess, and it reminded Ben of what he saw on their trip into town. The windows were smashed, and shards of glass and trash were scattered everywhere. He pulled around to the other side of the store to look for any signs of activity.

  “Place looks deserted.” Joel shrugged.

  “Let me check it out while you guys wait here.” Ben parked on the side of the store. “I need to find the key to the tank lids.”

  “Dad, let me come with you,” Joel pleaded. “I can help.”

  “No, just wait here, please.” Ben didn’t want Allie left alone.

  “Um… Mr. Davis, I need to use the restroom,” Allie said softly.

  Ben rubbed his forehead with his fingers, closing his eyes tightly for a second. He couldn’t keep them hidden away in the truck for the entire trip. They were going to get involved sooner or later. It might as well be on his terms. Besides, the place looked empty anyways.

  He looked at Joel. “Okay, then. Got your gun?”

  “Got it,” Joel answered quickly.

  “Allie, stay close to us and let us check the bathroom first, okay?” Ben glanced into the rearview mirror to make eye contact with her.

  “I will,” she said.

  They all made their way out of the truck—Gunner included.

  “Gunner,” Ben said sternly. “Load up.”

  Gunner lowered his head and then reluctantly hopped up into the driver’s seat, knowing that the tone of Ben’s voice meant it was a nonnegotiable command. Joel had taught Gunner a few commands when he was a puppy. That was one of Ben’s rules when they got the dog: that Joel would have to work with him and teach him some basics. Now the front seat was Gunner’s preferred place to sit whenever he was made to wait in the car.

  “Too much glass everywhere, boy. Besides, we need you to watch the truck.” Ben rubbed Gunner between his ears briskly. He gently closed the door, leaving the dog inside with a pitiful look on his face as he stared back out through the window.

  “We’ll be back. Good boy,” Joel said.

  They made their way to the front of the store, trying not to step on any of the larger pieces of glass lying on the ground. The smaller pieces were unavoidable and crunched under their hiking boots with every step they took.

  Ben held his hand up, signaling them to stay put next to the commercial ice chest they were standing near. It was missing one of its doors and the other barely hung on by one hinge. The cooler was now empty, and its contents formed a large puddle of water around it on the sidewalk.

  Ben continued forward alone, slowly pulling the battered empty frame of a door open enough to slip by. With his gun drawn, he made his way down each aisle, carefully checking each lane. The bathroom doors were on either side of the drink coolers in the back of the store. The only other door in the place was behind the register up front, and it looked like it went into the garage area of the service station.

  Ben quickly peeked inside each of the restroom doors. The sharp stench of neglect filled his nose, causing him to pull back instinctively. They were both small, single-user bathrooms, and it was easy to see they were empty.

  “Come on, guys. All clear.” He kept his voice to just above a whisper.

  Joel and Allie emerged from behind the large cooler and entered the same way they watched Ben come in.

  “The bathroom is clear. Have at it.” Ben motioned to the ladies’ room door. “I should warn you, though, it’s a little rough in there.”

  “Oh… Okay.” Allie grinned nervously as she opened the door.

  Immediately pulling back from the pungent odor, she yanked her shirt collar up over her nose and forged ahead.

  Ben gave her points for that. “Joel, I need you to stay up by the front of the store and keep an eye out. I have to find a key for the gas tank access. Maybe you can look behind the counter while I check in the garage.”

  “Okay. What kind of key am I looking for?” Joel asked.

  “It should look like a short round pin with a ring attached to it, maybe an inch or two long.” Ben held his fingers apart to show the approximate size.

  Joel nodded and started looking under the counter where the register once sat.

  Ben opened the door to what he presumed was the garage, and after a quick survey he stepped through the doorway and into the big room. It was a four-bay garage and looked pretty much as he expected. The only thing out of place was an overturned toolbox with a line of wrenches strewed out in the middle of the floor. He scanned the wall until he found a key rack and searched through the few sets that were hanging.

  He didn’t see anything like what he was looking for. He’d seen more than a few fuel transfers in the Army and always noticed the driver had to unlock the lids with a little silver key like he had described to Joel. He was sure the tanks buried underground here were no different.

  Maybe Joel had found it under the counter. The place was such a mess they might never find it, if it was even there. He wondered if he could pry the lid off and started to look for something when he heard the door open behind him.

  “I thought I told you to stay up front?” Ben snapped.

  “Sorry, but I figured you might want this.” Joel dangled a little silver key on the end of his finger while flashing Ben a big grin. “It was hanging on a nail under the counter.”

  Ben shook his head as he walked over and took it from Joel. “I guess we better get those walkie-talkies out and start using them.” Ben eased his tone. “Good job finding the key, by the way.” Ben patted Joel on the back on his way past.

  Allie was coming out of the bathroom as Ben and Joel made their way out of the garage.

  “I found the key,” Joel boasted.

  “Good job,” she said. “Too bad you didn’t find some air freshener.”

  Ben chuckled. It was a good sign that she could make a joke. “Allie, if you’re ready, we should get going. We still need to fuel up and fill the spare cans.”

  Just then Ben heard the rumble of loud exhaust, and it was getting closer by the second. They all turned to look.

  “Everybody, get down. Hide,” Ben instructed. He grimaced, sorry that he had only brought the pistol with him.

  Chapter Nine

  They watched in the direction the sound was coming from and waited. Whoever was coming was moving fast. A small office building next door, which sat up closer to the road, blocked their view to the south and made it impossible to get a preview of what was coming toward them.

  The exhaust note was echoing off the buildings at this point and sounded like it was coming from multiple directions. Whatever it was had no muffler at all.

  A camouflaged Ford pickup suddenly appeared from the corner of the building next door and went screaming by. There were at least two people up front, and what looked like a rifle protruded from the passenger window. The most surprising thing, though, was a guy standing up in the bed of the truck and hanging onto the roll bar to keep himself from being blown off the truck. He was brandishing a bottle of something in his right hand while he hung on with the other hand, yelling something at the top of his lungs as they rocketed by.

  “Did you see that?” Joel leaned out a little farther from his hiding spot behind an empty display shelf and laughed. “That won’t end well.” He looked back at Allie, who nodded in agreement.

  “Yeah, let’s hope they didn’t see our truck.” Ben remained crouched down, looking in the direction the truck had gone. “Stay put a minute.”

  They stayed in their hiding spots for another min
ute until the sound of the truck faded to a dull rumble as it sped away.

  “All right, let’s go. I want to get back on the road ASAP.” Ben scurried from his spot and quickly exited the store.

  Joel and Allie were right behind him as they all jogged to the truck. Gunner was fogging up the front window and wagging his tail with excitement as they reached the Blazer. Ben opened his door and shooed Gunner to the back seat while Allie climbed into the back from Joel’s side.

  Ben didn’t bother closing his door as he started the truck and drove over to the colored gas tank lids protruding through the blacktop at the corner of the parking lot. Stopping abruptly, he threw the truck into park.

  “Grab that and come with me.” Ben nodded toward the AR sitting in the soft case.

  Joel was surprised but saw that his dad wasn’t kidding around. He unzipped the bag and slid the gun from its sheath, then bolted to the back of the truck, where his dad was pulling the bungee cords off the jerry cans and the cooler.

  “Joel, I want you to set up on the hood like I was when you came out of Allie’s house. Our biggest threat is that way. Use the scope and keep an eye down the road in case those jokers decide to come back. Go!”

  As Joel scrambled around to the front of the truck, he could still see his dad occasionally out of the corner of his eye. He was moving around and pulling things out of the cooler. He flung the coiled-up hose out on the ground in a way that made it unroll almost completely. At one end he had the hand pump attached with three small hose clamps. Prying the cap off the tank filler, he stuck the key into the hole. With a jerk of his arm, he brought his hand back out with the cover and laid it down. Not wasting any time, he immediately began shoving the garden hose into the opening.

  Joel suddenly realized that he wasn’t doing what his dad had asked him to. He hastily turned his attention to the task he was given and scanned the horizon through the magnified scope. Spinning the gun around, he checked down the road in the direction the truck came from. Seeing nothing in that direction, either, he aimed the gun back the other way and then looked to see how his dad was making out.

  To his surprise, he was already standing by the truck with the small hose from the hand pump inserted into the Blazer’s gas tank while he cranked the handle around.

  “Road is all clear in both directions,” Joel called out.

  “Good. Keep watching!” Ben answered.

  “I’m on it.” Joel caught Allie’s gaze as he was turning back to the gun and she gave him a quick smile.

  A sense of pride came over Joel and seemed to enhance his focus down the scope. He really wanted to prove to Allie that he was responsible and dependable. He hadn’t really known what to say to her at times about her mom, but he had done his best to at least listen to what she had to say. It felt like there hadn’t been any awkward moments with her. She was easier to talk to than other girls he knew from school. From what he could tell, she seemed pretty down to earth, and he was really starting to like her a lot. He wondered if she felt the same about him.

  * * *

  Allie watched Joel through the windshield. She could hear his dad behind the truck but couldn’t see him through the windows or over the gear. She hoped he could get the hand pump working so they could get back on the road quickly. Being stopped like this, especially after that truck with those guys in it had gone by, made her a little nervous.

  Suddenly, she felt guilty just sitting there in the truck while they were outside doing all the work.

  “Can I do anything to help?” she called out to whoever could hear her through the partially open driver’s door.

  “Sit tight. Almost done out here!” Ben shouted back.

  Joel turned and looked back at her, and she gave him a little smile.

  She had liked him for some time now but hadn’t had the nerve to ever say anything more than a few passing words to him at school. With their senior year approaching fast, she decided not to risk missing out on her chance to get to know him. Of course, she had no idea they would get to know each other like this.

  She was still pretty blown away by the fact he had come looking for her. If it wasn’t for Joel and his dad, she might not have lasted much longer. She shuddered at the thought of being curled up in that attic all night. Truth was, she probably owed them her life.

  She was very grateful that Joel’s dad had agreed to take her to her father in Pittsburgh. Ben Davis seemed like a good man, and he was certainly good at “things,” as Joel had put it. They were her best chance—no, her only chance—at seeing her father.

  He was all she had now if her mother was truly gone. She choked back tears as her throat tightened, but something inside of Allie wouldn’t allow her to give up on the possibility of her mom being out there somewhere. She might not have been flying when this happened. Allie really had no way of knowing. But she wasn’t ready to give up hope.

  Chapter Ten

  “Okay, Joel, wrap it up.” Ben stuffed the garden hose and hand pump back into the cooler and strapped it down next to the freshly filled jerry cans. He glanced at his watch.

  “That wasn’t too bad. Only took about 20 minutes,” Ben muttered to himself.

  There was a bit of a learning curve to siphoning gas, but they would get more efficient at it, especially as often as they were going to be refueling. With any luck, the key would work at other gas stations and they wouldn’t have to waste time searching the store. Hopefully next time would be under better, safer circumstances so he could show Joel how to do it.

  Ben pulled off his leather gloves and wedged them between the cooler and the jerry cans on the rack. He wanted them to air out and not stink the truck up with fuel. When he got in, Joel was already in his seat and had the gun tucked back into the bag.

  “How’d it work?” Joel asked.

  “Pretty well, actually. We’ll have to stop more often than I had initially planned on, but it won’t be too bad. Especially next time when you help.” He chuckled and shoved Joel’s shoulder lovingly.

  “Yeah, I’ll help,” Joel said.

  “Maybe next time I can go through it with you so you’ll know how to do it,” Ben said as he started the truck up and pulled away from the gas station.

  “Totally.”

  “How far do you think we’ll get today, Mr. Davis?” Allie asked.

  “I’m not sure, but I’d like to at least get on the other side of Wolf Creek Pass if we can. We also need to leave ourselves some daylight to make camp and get set up for the night.”

  Ben accelerated quickly once he was back out on the highway, anxious to put some distance between them and the camouflage truck. He hoped to get in a few productive hours of driving, but more than anything, he just wanted to get out of Pagosa Springs without incident. He’d be able to relax a little once they were back out in the rural areas.

  They drove on for a few minutes, the area getting denser with buildings as they neared the center of town.

  “You see that?” Ben leaned forward in his seat.

  “Yeah, it’s like they pushed them out of the way with something.” Joel stared at the burned-out frames of several cars all twisted together as they passed by his window.

  The deep gouges in the road where the metal dug into the asphalt combined with the trail of ash and smaller burned pieces made it obvious that they had been pushed or pulled off the road. The most unsettling thing about it, though, was that whoever did this hadn’t bothered to remove the bodies, which were now as twisted up as the cars.

  This made the driving easy, but Ben wondered who had done it. He hoped it wasn’t connected with the idiots they’d seen in the pickup, although with the apparent disregard for the deceased he doubted it was the National Guard or other government agency. More likely a bunch of rednecks had cleared their own personal drag strip.

  The farther they went, the less Ben liked what he saw.

  His hopes for a hassle-free departure from town were dashed as they rounded a curve in the road. There, in front of
them about half a mile ahead, was the camouflage Ford doing donuts around an enormous pile of burning trash in a Walmart parking lot. Now missing its rear passenger, the truck spun wildly on the blacktop, leaving tire marks behind.

  The Walmart was situated down off the highway a little ways and was separated from the main road by a smaller access road. They were at a high enough elevation on the road above the shopping center that they had a good vantage point into the parking lot.

  “Well, that’s what they’re using to move the cars.” Joel pointed at an old rusty yellow backhoe parked near the front of the store.

  Ben could see a couple other pickup trucks near the entrance of the store, as well as several people out front. He assumed all the trucks were in running condition. A few of the bystanders appeared to have AR-style guns slung over their shoulders, and even more of them had bottles in their hands.

  Ben slowed the truck quickly and stopped. He could see they had even gone so far as to build two bunker-style pits with bags of mulch and potting soil on either side of the main entrance. Apparently these people had made Walmart their new home. He was momentarily impressed at their resourcefulness but quickly moved on, trying to figure out the best way around them.

  The shopping center backed up against steep rock-covered hills, and there was no road around from their right. The side streets to their left had been barricaded off with cars and dumpsters pushed into a roadblock at every intersecting street.

  There was no other way around. They were funneling traffic directly past them on purpose. From what he could tell, there was nothing blocking the road in front of the parking lot entrance. Ben figured they hadn’t got around to building a checkpoint but probably would in the near future.

  “Looks like they’ve moved into Walmart.” Joel shook his head.

  “What are we going to do?” Biting her lip, Allie leaned forward over the console in the truck.

  “Let me think.” Ben sat quietly and rubbed his now semi-bearded jawline as he stared at the shopping center.