by Robert Boren
“Not too bad,” Frank said. “Only took 30 gallons.”
Jane looked at the receipt and shook her head.
“Geez, $5.50 per gallon?”
“I actually expected it to be worse,” Frank said. “We got topped off for about $170 bucks.”
“Alright,” Jane said, sounding exasperated. “Let’s get out of here.”
Frank nodded, and drove back onto the highway. The onramp for Route 89 was right there, and they got on, heading north. The road was nearly empty.
“Wonder why there aren’t more people heading out of southern Arizona?” asked Jane. “This is a good way to go.”
“Something probably has the road bottled up down there.”
“Look, another military convoy,” Jane said, pointing.
“Wow, look at all those tanks.”
“Yeah, that’s the most we’ve seen so far,” Jane said. “It’s a good sign.”
“Or a bad sign. There aren’t nearly as many personnel trucks with this one.”
An explosion rumbled the ground under them.
“Whoa, did you hear that?” cried Jane. She had a worried look on her face. Lucy was looking all around, trying to figure out where the noise came from. She growled.
“Crap, somebody blew up one of the tanks. I can see it in my rear view mirror,” Frank said. “Why don’t you go look out the back window to see if there are any choppers around.”
Jane got up, causing Lucy to jump to the floor. She made her way back and took a look out the window. No aircraft in sight. She came back up to her seat.
“Nothing flying back there that I can see. Boy am I glad we left when we did.”
“You and me both,” Frank said. “Wonder if it was an IED?”
They drove along, going to the east of the Grand Canyon. There were two more military convoys that raced past them, including one that had a crane on a giant trailer.
“I’ll betcha that’s being sent there to clean up the mess,” Frank said. Jane nodded.
“It looks like about half of the coaches that were with us before are behind us again,” Jane said, craning her neck to see back in the passenger side mirror.
“I know. I haven’t seen the ones that were in front of us for a while. They probably got a ways ahead while we were pumping gas.”
They were silent for a while, watching the scenery go by. It was peaceful, but both of them were nervous. It was heading towards dusk, causing the shadows of the trees to get longer and longer.
“Look, there’s the Utah border!” said Jane.
“Finally,” Frank said. “I don’t see any checkpoints yet.”
“If there are any, I would guess they would be on I-15, not this little highway.”
“You may have a point there, Jane. Why don’t you turn on the radio? It’s been a while since we’ve heard news. Maybe there will be something on the battle down south.”
“Alright,” Jane said. She leaned over, turned on the radio and hit the seek button. Lucy jumped off her lap and got onto her bed. “Good, I needed a break from Miss Lucy.”
“Yeah, I’m surprised she didn’t pee on your lap when that explosion happened.”
“Ahh, here’s a news station,” she said. She turned up the radio.
“News coming out of New York City is sketchy at best,” said the announcer. “The incident happened just over an hour ago. All cities are now locking down their ports to incoming vessels, and searching anything already in their harbors.”
Frank looked over at Jane, who had a terrified look on her face.
“Oh, crap, what happened?” he asked. Jane just shook her head.
“This just in,” the announcer said. “Another device has gone off in Puget Sound, near Seattle, Washington. It appears to be a larger device than the one detonated in New York harbor.”
Chapter 2 – No Safe Harbor
“Oh, no, are they talking about what I think they're talking about?” asked Jane. She had a horrified look on her face.
Frank glanced over at her, eyes wide open, shocked.
The radio announcer continued with the story.
“Seattle police are working out a way to evacuate as many people as possible. Prevailing winds will probably blow the fallout east, which is going to make evacuations more difficult.”
“How close is Portland to Seattle?” Jane asked.
“Too close for comfort, but Sarah will probably be alright. The fallout is blowing to the east, and she’s south.”
“Should I try to call her?”
“Yes, but I’ll bet you won’t get through,” Frank said. He felt numb.
Jane tried to call on her cell phone as the radio announcer continued.
“The blast in New York harbor has caused tremendous damage in lower Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Jersey City. There are no estimates of casualties there, but the numbers will be horrendous, as will the economic impact.”
“I’m only getting a busy signal,” Jane said.
“That’s what I expected,” Frank said. “I hope one of those doesn’t go off in LA Harbor.”
“Would Robbie live through that?”
“Probably, because he’s on the other side of the hill from the harbor. I think the fallout would be going east, not north, but you never know.”
“The White House has just released a statement,” the announcer said. “We know who made these attacks possible, and they will pay a heavy price.”
“We're getting close to Capitol Reef,” Jane said. “See that sign we just passed? There’s a big RV park just off of the highway up ahead, and several more down the road a ways”
“Good, I think we need to get off the road,” Frank said. “I’m too worked up to drive.”
“This just in,” the announcer said. “The Port of Vladivostok in Russia has just been hit. The device was larger than the New York bomb. It appears to have been the size of the device detonated earlier today in Puget Sound.”
“Son of a bitch,” Frank said. “Well, at least this is good news in one way. I don’t think there will be any nuke exchanges between Russia and the US, and they're the only country that is a real threat to our existence.”
“Unless the Russians did that to themselves,” Jane said.
“I wouldn’t bet on that. They don’t have enough ports as it is. They can’t afford to blow one up.”
“There’s a good looking RV park about forty miles up the road, in Panguitch,” Jane said, looking at her cellphone. “Think you can handle another forty miles?”
“Yeah, sure,” Frank said.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we have yet another report of an attack, this time in Charleston Harbor,” the announcer said. He sounded really shaken now.
“We're under a huge attack,” Frank said. “This is really bad. The world will never be the same.” He looked over at Jane. She was crying now.
“Can we turn that off for a while?”
“Sure, honey, go ahead,” Frank said. Jane switched off the radio.
They were silent as the miles rolled by. They saw two military convoys going south, both with large numbers of tanks and artillery. The sun was slowly getting closer to the western horizon. Jane dosed off. Frank’s mind was racing. Who did this? Obviously the Islamists were part of it, but who helped them? North Korea? Vladivostok was close to North Korea. Was China involved? How was our government going to respond?
Lucy got out of her bed and sat next to the passenger seat, whining to get Jane’s attention. She wanted up.
“Lucy, quiet down,” Frank whispered. Lucy turned her head to him, then turned back to Jane and whined some more. Jane finally stirred and woke up. She had a disoriented look on her face.
“How long was I out?” she asked.
“Not that long. Only about twenty minutes. I tried to get Lucy to quiet down.”
“No problem, honey,” she said. “Come on up, girl.” Lucy jumped on her lap, and circled around a couple of times, then settled in.
“We’re getting close to a t
own called Panguitch now, and I’ve been seeing signs about RV Parks there. I vote that we go to the first one that looks decent,” Frank said.
“Alright with me.”
The exit for the town was ahead of them, and Frank put on his turn signal. He looked in his rear view mirror saw the other coaches behind him do the same. He slowed down and took the turn into the town.
“Which way?” Frank asked.
“Turn right, and follow the road to the outskirts of town. There’s a large park there. It’s not very far.”
The town looked almost deserted, until they passed a bar and grill about five blocks in. The parking lot was overflowing, and there were people outside the front door smoking. A couple of them waved to the caravan. They had sullen faces.
“There it is, Frank.” Jane pointed to an access road on the right, next to a sign that said Capitol Paradise RV Park and Resort.
Frank pulled down the access road. There was a long parking and staging area next to the office. Frank pulled as far forward as he could, and shut off the engine.
“I’ll go check it out,” Frank said. He unhooked his seatbelt and headed for the door.
“I’ll take Lucy out,” Jane said. She got out of her seat, and reached for the leash.
Frank walked to the office door and opened it. Light flowed into the dusk. There was a middle aged woman at the counter. She had her hair up in a bun, and had a western style dress on.
“Good evening,” she said. “I’m Hilda. Can I help you?” She was trying to smile, but Frank could tell that she'd been crying.
“Do you have spaces with 50 amp?” Frank asked.
“Yes, we have plenty of space. This war has killed off all of our European tourist trade. How many in your party?”
“Well, we aren’t exactly a party,” Frank said. “We’ve just ended up leaving the last place we were in at the same time, and you can only go north at this point. I think there are twelve or thirteen coaches behind us. We were all down by the Grand Canyon earlier today.”
The door opened, and Jeb walked in.
“Hi, Frank,” he said.
“Jeb, good to see you. Glad we ended up in the same place.”
"Jeb, how are you?" asked Hilda. "It's been too long."
"Hi, Hilda, nice to see you. Go ahead and help Frank, and we can catch up later."
“Okay, Jeb," she said. Then she turned back to Frank. "We have about ninety open spaces. Most are pull through. Price is $40 per night. Is that alright?”
“Suits me,” Frank said. “Still take credit cards?”
“Sure do,” she said. “Just pick out a spot that you like, and come back later with the space number. We’ll do the payment then,” she said. “Any pets?”
“Just a small dog,” Frank said.
“OK, that’s fine, just clean up after it.”
“Always,” Frank said. “Should I tell the others to go on in?”
“No, I want them all to walk in here so I can get a look at them,” Hilda said. “But you two can go ahead.”
He smiled and walked out the door with Jeb.
“You been listening to the news?” Frank asked.
“No, why?”
“There've been nuke attacks in several of our harbors.”
Jeb stopped walking, and looked Frank in the eyes.
“No,” he said. “Where?”
“New York, Seattle, and Charleston,” Frank said. “Maybe more by now. We turned off the radio a while ago.”
“Who?”
“Don’t know for sure. Pretty sure it isn’t the Russians.”
“Why?” asked Jeb.
“Somebody hit the port in Vladivostok too.”
“Wow. Somebody is going to get it,” Jeb said. They shook hands and walked back to their coaches as some of their fellow RVers were walking to the office.
“Well, what’s the deal?” Jane asked, walking up with Lucy in tow.
“It’s a little expensive, but they have plenty of spaces, and it’s 50 amp. Forty bucks a night. We pick a space, and then go back to the office with the number.”
“That isn’t so bad,” Jane said. Frank opened the door and Lucy bounded in. They followed her in.
Frank got in the driver’s seat and started the engine. He pulled forward onto the access road, and into the park. The spaces were large, with nice shade trees. There was a pool and club house in the middle. Frank drove past the pool a little ways, and turned down a row of pull through sites to the left. He drove down close to the end of the row and pulled in.
“This looks long enough for the TOAD,” Frank said. “Better get out and watch the tree branches for me, though.”
Jane nodded and got up. She went out the door and looked up. There was plenty of clearance. She got in front of the coach and motioned Frank forward. He slowly pulled up until Jane put her hands up to stop him. She went around the back. The TOAD was out of the road, just barely. Frank was coming out of the door as she walked back towards it.
“You’re good….the TOAD is out of the road. Nice space, actually.”
“Good, I’ll get her leveled out, and get the slides out.”
Frank took a little time to do that, as Jane started to get a few things out inside the coach.
“I’ll go get the hookups done,” Frank said. He left the coach and got that done, then pulled the chairs and table out of the storage compartment and set them up. Jane came out the door and stopped on the steps.
“Shall extend the awning?” she asked.
“I wouldn’t worry about it now. The sun is almost down.”
“Alright. Did you turn on the water heater? I think we are going to both need showers.”
“I was already thinking that,” Frank said. He chuckled. “I think I want a drink first, though, and I want to listen to the radio for a while.”
“I’ll bring the portable radio out there in a minute,” Jane said. “What do you want to drink?”
“You know.”
“OK, I’ll make us martinis.”
Frank nodded and smiled. He walked out to the road and looked down towards the clubhouse and pool. The other coaches were coming in and parking. There were more than he thought. Jeb’s coach was in his row again, down towards the center access road. The lights inside the coach were already on, and he could see Jeb sitting at his dinette.
“Here’s the drink, Frank,” Jane said as she was walking down the steps. Lucy followed her, tail wagging.
“Great, thanks.” He walked over to her, took his drink, and slipped his arm around her waist, pulling her close. He kissed her. She started to sob lightly.
“You alright?” he asked.
“Yes, sorry. Hard day. I still can’t get to Sarah. Nothing but busy signals up there.”
“It'll settle down in a little while, probably.” He took a sip out of his drink. “Oh, this is so good.”
“I’ve got to go grab mine. I’ll feed Lucy and Mr. Wonderful, and then be back out.”
Frank nodded, and sat down. He had another sip of the drink, and tried to relax. He could hear the pitter patter of Lucy’s feet as she followed Jane around in the coach. Dinner time always got her excited. Then he heard the cat meow. He laughed to himself, and shook his head. Nothing bothers Mr. Wonderful. He took another sip, bigger this time. He felt the gin hitting his brain. It was a good comfortable feeling. He heard the steps creak, and looked around to see Jane walking down. She shut the screen door behind her. She had the portable radio in her hand.
“Don’t drink that too fast, sweetie,” she said, sitting down. She put the radio on the table between their chairs. “You want me to turn this on now?”
“Let’s wait for a few minutes and relax,” he said.
Jane nodded, and took a sip of her drink.
They sat silently for a few minutes, taking in the place. Pine trees, green grass, gentle breeze. Cool air of dusk.
“You know, Frank, this place is really closer to Bryce than it is to Capitol Reef.”
�
��Really? Might make it harder for some of the group to find us, then.”
“It’s on Hwy 89, and it’s a good distance for a stop from where we came from, so I suspect we’ll still see quite a few folks showing up here in the next day or so.”
“Jeb is here already.”
“Jeb?”
“Oh, sorry honey, I forgot. You didn’t meet him. He was parked down at the start of the row we were on in Charlie’s park. Nice guy.”
“I recognize some of the other coaches from the last place too,” Jane said.
They heard footsteps in the gravel, and looked over towards the road. It was Jeb.
“Hi, Jeb,” Frank said, getting out of his chair. “This is my wife, Jane.”
“Good to meet you, Jane,” he said.
“Want a drink, Jeb?”
“No thanks, want a clear head tonight.”
“Alright. Have a seat,” Frank said, motioning to one of the empty chairs. They both sat down.
“Listened to the radio yet?” asked Jeb, looking down at it sitting on the table.
“No,” Jane said. “We wanted to savor our drinks and relax for a few minutes.”
“Well, quite a bit has happened.”
“I figured that would be the case,” Frank said.
“Our president and the president of Russia just made a joint statement. We're going to work together with them to take out the folks that did this, and everybody who helped them.”
“Good,” Frank said. “Did they say who did it?”
“No, they aren’t saying anything official. The pundits are all over this, though, and I don’t think it’s going to be too hard to figure out as the events unfold.”
“What are the pundits saying?” asked Jane.
“North Korea supplied the devices, and the usual suspects in the Middle East all had a hand in getting them placed and detonated. You know, Iran, Syria, Libya, what’s left of Iraq, and Pakistan.”
“All of these countries are denying it, of course…” Frank said.
“Of course, although Iran has been taunting. They are used to this milk-toast administration doing nothing. I think they will be sorry for that.” He leaned back a little bit and stroked his beard.
“Any other of our cities hit?” asked Frank.