The Dark Road Series Collection

by Bruno Miller

  Ben pulled his shoes on and slowly got up and out of the tent. “I thought you were going to wake me up?”

  “Good morning,” Allie said.

  “Morning,” Ben replied.

  “I thought you could use the sleep. Besides, I wasn’t that tired.” Joel finished stuffing a few things into his backpack. “I didn’t hear or see any more wolves after you went to bed, by the way.”

  “Good. I see you guys have been busy. Did you get any sleep, Allie?” Ben glanced around camp. Both their tents and sleeping bags were piled up by the truck and ready to stow in the cargo box. The only thing they hadn’t packed yet was their personal bags.

  “I did, but I woke up early for some reason.” She shrugged.

  Ben grabbed his coffee mug and poured himself a cup of the hot, steaming liquid as he inhaled the aroma. That smell never got old. After he took a sip and savored it for a moment, he set the cup down and immediately got to work cleaning out his tent and breaking it down.

  Gunner hobbled over to greet him and Ben inspected the wrapped leg.

  “It was wet and dirty so I changed the bandage when I got up this morning,” Allie said.

  “Good job. How did it look?” Ben asked.

  “Thanks. It looked okay. I used the rest of the packet of antiseptic gel.”

  “Good.” Ben gave Gunner a few scratches behind his ear and got back to work organizing his gear.

  Allie began to boil some water in a pot and pulled out a packet of oatmeal from the truck. Joel remained seated on a nearby log with the AR-15 leaned against the side of it. He sipped his coffee as he stared off into the distance.

  “I guess you can get some sleep in the truck today, buddy. Maybe Allie can sit up front and help me navigate for a while this morning.”

  “Sure,” Allie chirped.

  Joel nodded in agreement but remained silent.

  He wished Joel had gotten a little rest last night. The poor kid looked exhausted. But Ben couldn’t complain about the extra sleep he’d gotten. He was still stiff and a little sore, but he felt rested and he knew the extra sleep was needed.

  If he got tired of driving later he could let Allie have a turn for a bit. Why not? She was perfectly capable, and if the roads were decent, he didn’t see why not.

  “I’ll drive until the first fuel stop. Then you can take over for a while if you feel up to it.” Ben looked at Allie.

  “Yeah, sure. I can do that,” she answered.

  Ben was impressed with both of them this morning, and it gave him a good feeling to know they were putting so much effort into keeping things moving. These were good kids. Really good. They gave him hope for the future.

  As the sun began to rise, the forest kicked into high gear. Birds and squirrels sprang into action with their calls and a flurry of activity and acrobatics from one tree to another.

  Gunner did his best to keep track of the squirrels as they launched themselves through the air and scurried loudly through the branches. He ran from tree to tree as fast as he could with his bandaged leg while the squirrels raced up and down the tall pines, always just out of reach.

  “Easy there, boy. You’re going to hurt yourself,” Joel warned.

  It was just another morning for the woodland critters. But not for Ben and his crew. It would be a long day of driving if they were going to make it to Ohio by evening.

  If they could get a solid eight or nine hours in, they might even make it to West Virginia or the Pennsylvania line. From there, it would be a short drive the next day to the outskirts of Pittsburgh and would leave them well rested for their rescue attempt. They’d need it if they were going to hide the truck and hike in.

  “Do you think it would be okay if I went down to the river to clean up now?” Allie asked. “I have my gun, and I’ll take Gunner with me.”

  “Go ahead. I’ll finish breakfast. Just make sure he doesn’t go in the water,” Ben said.

  Allie nodded. “Come on, boy. Let’s go.”

  Gunner forgot all about the squirrels when he saw Allie walking toward the river. He chased after her.

  “I guess the leg’s feeling better?” Joel shook his head as he watched Gunner sprint after her.

  “Yeah, I think he’ll be just fine. Hey, Joel?”

  “Yeah, Dad?”

  “Thanks for letting me get some sleep last night. I really needed it.” Ben climbed onto the Blazer and opened the lid on the rooftop carrier.

  “I know. You did a lot yesterday.” Joel handed the gear up to Ben as he stowed it away in the rooftop cargo box.

  After they were done, Ben took the boiling water off the fire and added it to the oatmeal pouch. He folded the bag closed and set it on the tailgate to cook. By the time Allie returned from cleaning up, breakfast was ready.

  “I feel so much better!” Allie pulled her hair back into a ponytail.

  “I bet. I’ll clean up when I take the dishes down after breakfast.” Joel scooped a couple handfuls of dry dog food into Gunner’s bowl.

  He ran over and gave it a sniff but waited a while before eating. Once he realized that was all he was getting, he began to eat slowly.

  Ben shook his head at the dog. “I’ll help you with the dishes. I want to get cleaned up, too. Plus, we need a bucket of water to put this fire out.” He divided up the oatmeal, and they all sat quietly as they ate their breakfasts and finished the last of the coffee.

  Then he and Joel gathered up the dishes in the bucket and headed down to the river. Allie and Gunner stayed back at camp while she packed her things into the Blazer.

  Ben and Joel returned in a few short minutes and put out the fire before loading the rest of the stuff up.

  Ben looked around at the campsite. “Well, I guess that’s it.”

  “Come on, Gunner. Load up.” Joel coaxed Gunner into the truck and then climbed into the back with him. Allie got in the passenger’s seat and took the map out as soon as she was buckled in and had her window rolled down.

  “Good idea.” Ben rolled his window down, too, as soon as he got into the driver’s seat. It was a pleasant morning and the air hadn’t lost its coolness yet. It would be hot later and they should enjoy the cooler temperature while it lasted.

  He started up the truck. The rumble of the Blazer’s exhaust echoed under the bridge and cut through the quiet of the morning like a knife. Gunner was already lying down on his side of the bench seat in a tight ball as they emerged from the shadow of the bridge. The familiar tone of the Blazer returned as the echo faded behind them and they made their way back onto the interstate.

  Ben stopped to look before pulling out, although he wasn’t sure why. Old habit. There were no other cars in sight. It wasn’t long before Gunner and Joel were both passed out in the back. Joel had actually fallen over on Gunner for a change and was using him for a pillow.

  Allie looked back at them and smiled. “That didn’t take long.”

  “I didn’t think it would. You know, we’re going to be on the interstate for a few hours before I need any help with the map. It’s okay with me if you want to get a little rest, too. I know you didn’t sleep well last night.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah, go for it. I’m in good shape. You guys can take over later and give me a break.”

  “I won’t argue with you. I am a little tired.” Allie balled up her fleece and put it between her head and the doorframe. She was out within a few minutes, and Ben was alone with his thoughts.

  He pondered a lot of things, but mostly his kids in Maryland and how he hoped they could hang in there for just a few more days.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Both Joel and Allie slept long enough for the Blazer to burn through almost an entire tank of gas. Only Gunner got up at one point and pushed his head up alongside Ben’s seat and out the window. He remained there for a few minutes with his face in the wind before he returned to his spot on the back seat with Joel.

  Ben didn’t need any help with directions right now, and there was
no reason to wake Joel or Allie. He figured it was better that they get some rest so they could help later.

  They were still using I-70 to make their way east, and there were the usual things to look out for on the road. But with the wide-open two-lane highway and generous grass median, it wasn’t hard to spot an obstacle from a distance and easily avoid it.

  Ben leaned over the wheel as he drove, scanning the horizon for any signs of a gas station. He glanced at the sky. Even though it was a clear day with very few clouds, it felt like the sunlight was being filtered through a yellow lens.

  There was an overall haziness to the air, and Ben wondered if it was contributing to the heat index. The Blazer had air-conditioning but he was reluctant to use it and burn the additional fuel in the process. Maybe this was a normal temperature for this time of year in Illinois. It was the middle of June, after all.

  Still, though, it felt unnaturally hot to him, and he wondered if the thick air was trapping heat in the lower atmosphere. The odd yellowish hue over everything was definitely a result of the EMPs. A mixture of dust and smoke, most likely, kicked up by the massive explosions.

  He thought about the towering plume of smoke over St. Louis that had nearly choked them all. He could almost taste the debris particles in the air when they were at the first bridge.

  How many times had that scenario played out all over the country? How many cities had been annihilated in the attacks? Pittsburgh would soon tell them a little more.

  The changing landscape hadn’t gone unnoticed by Ben, either. Had the kids noticed the change? They must have. They were too observant not to.

  With each new day the agricultural fields they passed looked worse and worse. Ben had chalked some of this up to the fact that all the irrigation systems were down.

  But now almost every field held dead or dying crops. Row after row of young corn plants withered away and dried out. Even the soil was beginning to crack and shrink as it formed a crust over the fields. If it was like this everywhere, the dead crops would only exaggerate the dire shortage of food.

  The only things that seemed to be growing well were the weeds on the side of the road. The shoulders and medians were starting to show signs of neglect. There were no road crews to cut grass or do maintenance.

  All of it added to the overall apocalyptic feeling.

  It dawned on Ben that they hadn’t seen rain since they left Colorado. He hadn’t seen any rainclouds or storm systems moving through the plains, either. That was odd for this time of year.

  The air was unusually dry, like all the moisture had been sucked out of it. The humidity level had to be extremely low. Ben found himself applying lip balm more often over the last few days to keep his lips from drying out and chapping. Had the nukes somehow affected the weather? Was that even possible?

  He wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead and leaned slightly out of the open window. The air rushed over his face but provided little in the way of relief. Even at 60 miles per hour, the wind was hot and stale.

  Gunner was sitting upright now and panting heavily, his big pink tongue hanging from his mouth. He leaned against the back of Ben’s seat with his head propped on top of the headrest as he tried to take advantage of the airflow.

  Ben felt bad for Gunner and reached his arm around the seat behind him. He searched the floor for Gunner’s collapsible dog bowl. When he found it, he pulled it up and set it onto the center console.

  Gunner sniffed at it right away.

  “Hang on, boy.” Ben kept one hand on the wheel and put a water bottle between his legs while he unscrewed the lid with his free hand. He emptied the remainder of the water into Gunner’s bowl and barely got out of the way before the dog eagerly lapped it up.

  “There you go. Feel better now?”

  Gunner sat back on the seat when he finished. Ben shook his head as he glanced in the rearview mirror. Gunner was sitting over top of Joel now, with two long streams of water and saliva hanging from both sides of his mouth.

  This was not going to end well.

  “What… Hey! Gunner, move,” Joel huffed as he sat up and wiped the drool from his arm. “Gross!”

  “Sorry about that. He was thirsty,” Ben said.

  “Where are we?” Joel asked as he leaned forward between the seats, still squinting while his eyes adjusted to the glare. “It looks weird out.”

  “We just crossed the Indiana state line about 20 minutes ago. You guys have been out for a few hours.”

  “It didn’t look like this when we left this morning.”

  “No, it didn’t. I thought it would clear up when we got farther from St. Louis, but it’s getting worse the more we drive east. It looks like mostly dust with a layer of smoke in the upper atmosphere. We could use a good rain to clear the air.”

  “It looks so dry.” Joel took a drink from his water bottle.

  Allie began to stir from her nap and she slowly sat up in her seat. “Where are we?”

  “Indiana,” Joel answered.

  “What happened?” Allie rubber her eyes as she took in the landscape. “Why is it so hazy?”

  “Yeah, we were just talking about that. Not sure what’s causing it, though,” Joel said.

  Allie adjusted herself in the seat a little more and took a drink of her water.

  “We’re going to need gas soon, so keep a look out for a decent place, guys,” Ben said. “After that, maybe one of you can drive for a while so I can figure out the best way to cut around Indianapolis and head north toward Pittsburgh.”

  “We’re really getting that close?” Allie asked.

  “Well, it’s still a ways to go yet, but yeah, we’re closing in fast,” Ben added.

  Allie managed a slight smile but didn’t say anything more about it.

  “There’s a place.” Joel pointed to the other side of the highway.

  It was an average, run-of-the-mill interstate convenience store and gas station, and they would have to cross the weedy, overgrown median to get to it.

  Ben slowed as they got close and turned into the median. Weeds brushed the underside of the truck as they crossed down and then back up onto the westbound lanes.

  From there, they took the exit ramp and followed it into the gas station.

  Ben drove the perimeter of the parking lot until he found the underground tanks. They were located close to the actual gas pumps, which meant he could park the Blazer in the shade of the roof that covered the pumping area.

  They poured out of the truck without saying much.

  “Stay!” Ben stopped Gunner from jumping out of the truck behind him. Scooping him up in his arms, he gently lowered him to the ground. Gunner hobbled off in search a suitable place to do his business. Ben knew Gunner should rest the leg, but it would be a while before they stopped again.

  Heat radiated off the blacktop from the moment Ben got out of the truck. Even in the shade, the heat was brutal. Gunner made his way back over to the shade near the truck when he was finished and whined at Ben as he started to set up the pumping equipment. “It’s too hot out here for you, boy.”

  Joel came to stand by his dad. “You want help?”

  “No, I’ll get the gas this time,” Ben said. “But you could help Gunner back into the truck for me.”

  Joel nodded and opened the driver’s side door. Gunner hopped up, put his front paws on the seat, and waited there until Joel boosted him the rest of the way up. Gunner made his way to the back seat and found his spot right away. Joel grabbed the AR-15 before he closed the door, and he and Allie walked around to the front of the Blazer while Ben got started pumping fuel. It didn’t take long to work up a sweat, and Ben took a break after a few minutes to remove his sunglasses and wipe his face with his shirt.

  Joel leaned around from the front. “Want me to finish up?”

  “No. Almost done anyway. Just get ready to drive,” Ben answered. By the time he had the tank topped off, he had worked up quite a thirst. He could put the hose and pump away in a minute, but right n
ow he needed some water. He grabbed a fresh bottle from the back of the truck and gulped some down. It was far from cold, but it was wet.

  He leaned against the truck and closed his eyes while he regained his composure from the heat.

  “Hey, Dad?” Joel said.

  “Yeah?” Ben responded without looking up.

  “We’ve got company.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Ben lifted his head quickly and screwed the lid back onto his water bottle. “Where?”

  Joel and Allie were staring west down the interstate. Joel was using the scope on his rifle and had the magnifier in place.

  Ben slid around the back of the truck and came up behind Joel.

  “Here. Take a look.” Joel handed the AR-15 to his dad. “There’s a white truck back that way. It looks like it’s just sitting there, watching us.”

  Ben saw it now, too. Maybe a tow truck, but it was hard to tell. The heat rising off the road distorted the image, making it hard to see details. He couldn’t tell how many people there were—or if they had any weapons.

  But they were clearly being watched by the white truck. Even more importantly, why?

  “Allie, keep an eye on them. Joel, give me a hand getting the pump and hose put away.” Ben left the rifle on the hood of the truck for Allie to use. “Use the scope and let me know if you see anything.”

  “Okay,” Allie said.

  Ben and Joel got to work stowing the hose and pump and were finished and ready to go in no time.

  Joel ran back to the front of the truck, where Allie was balancing the rifle across the hood and still looking through the scope. “Anything new?”

  “I think I saw a guy with binoculars looking at us. But the truck they’re in… I can’t really make it out very well. It looks odd.”

  Ben joined them on the hood, using his M24 and its more powerful 10 × 42 scope. “There are two people, and they are definitely watching us. I see the guy with the binoculars. The truck looks likes like an old tow truck maybe, but it looks like they’ve welded steel plating all around it.”