by Foy W Minson
“Olen, again.” Jason rubbed his fingers through his hair like he was trying to rub out a deep ache. “Looks like I made a mistake in letting him walk —”
“Huh uh!” Shaking his head, Charlie interrupted the village leader’s self-abasement. “You didn’t make no mistake except making me the judge. I’m the one that let him go, remember? I’m the one that thought because I said he would be shamed and humiliated by staying free to live among us, that he would…that he would learn the value of a community. Well, it looks like he don’t even understand the concept, no more than I understood judging. No, Jason, this is all on me. You find another judge for the village, and I’m gonna go find Olen.” He turned and began to walk away.
Jason reached out and grabbed his arm. “Hold on, Charlie. You can’t take all the fault on youself. We all heard your sentence, and we all agreed it was a good one; one that fit in with the values and standards we want to live by. Okay, you were — you are the judge, but you aren’t alone in this. And you don’t have to go after him alone, either.”
“Hell, no, you don’t.” Billy Ray stepped forward, still cradling Lila. “I want a piece of that piece of garbage, too.”
“You’re not gonna leave me behind,” said Woody. Raven was back on her feet, but she still looked weak and relied on the support of her husband’s arm to remain standing.
Joe Louis’s deep voice rumbled from within the crowd. “I don’t know if there’s enough of him to go around, but I’d sure like a piece.”
Similar comments floated about among the gathering before the destroyed house.
But it was Dagar that pointed out the obvious. “I doubt if he’s going to just keep running up the road until you run him down. With his head start, most likely you won’t be able to find him. There’s just too many places for him to turn off without leaving tracks.”
“Yeah, and knowing Olen,” Charlie responded, “He’ll stay on pavement as long as it lasts. Damn!”
Ed Silvers held his hand up to catch everyone’s attention. “Olen used to talk about selling his place here on the river and getting a new weekend place in Cazadero. He claimed the people were easier to get along with there.”
Charlie turned to Ed and nodded. “That’s not far from here, is it? I’ve heard of it, but never been there.”
“Just a few miles. Turn off from River Road is about halfway to the coast and goes north alongside Austin Creek into the mountains. There are two roads, Cazadero Highway and Austin Creek Road, one on each side of the creek. They both just follow the creek up the canyon to Cazadero. One crosses the creek after three or four miles and goes off into the woods on that side to more houses. The other one keeps going beside the creek a couple more miles to the town, if you want to call it that. But they both split off other roads into the woods and hills on both sides.”
Jason asked, “Sounds like a big, confusing place. It could be about impossible to find a man that doesn’t want to be found…even Olen.”
“Well, yeah,” Ed said. “I ‘spose it could be hard to find him if he don’t want to be found. But it’s not really big, just spread out. It’s about like all these places along the river that never bothered to become incorporated, so they’re not towns. I think Cazadero may be, ‘though it may not have as many people as some that aren’t. Ain’t much more’n a collection of wide spots in the road, clusters of houses scattered about among a whole lot of trees, a store or two and maybe a church…I think maybe a few industrial outfits.”
“And you think Olen may have gone there?”
“Well, Jason, he talked about liking the place, and he might have mentioned having a friend or two there. But since he didn’t live here all the time, I can’t say how much time he spent there.”
“Sounds like the best bet,” Charlie said and turned to speak to the others. “First place to look, anyway. I’ll leave at sunrise, if anyone wants to go with me. No point chasin’ him in the dark and runnin’ right past him. And, I’ll tell you now, I’m going to be double-timin’ it, so if you aren’t up to distance running, you’d best not come.”
CHAPTER 29
The sun cleared the eastern hilltops to find Charlie headed westbound on River Road at a fast trot. Many had wanted to accompany him, but most knew they wouldn’t have the stamina to stay with the Marine, and no one expected him to keep to a slow pace for them. Still, he wasn’t alone. Pounding the pavement on his right was Billy Ray, and Woody matched them on his left with Raven and Emmie trailing.
The town of Monte Rio was just a mile or so down the road, or what was left of it. Like a replay of the devastation of Gourneville, it was mostly beds of ash within collapsed, blackened walls. However, there were a few structures still standing. They weren’t habitable, but they might offer a resting place out of sight to a desperate man on the run. Even splitting up to conduct their searches, it still consumed precious time. Probably half of the community was on the south side of the river, accessed by a bridge bringing the Bohemian Highway to River Road. The bridge was heavily damaged and dangerous to cross, requiring a lot of climbing across rickety beams and trusses with nothing under them to catch a falling body but the deep water sweeping by. It was doubtful that Olen would have even tried it. The consensus was that he would have gone on to the turn-off to Cazadero.
The density of the forest spreading over the low mountains gave way to grass covered hills as the forest retreated more frequently from the road the closer they got to the coast. They passed occasional houses, but none that appeared to be inhabited, or even habitable. Still, each one had to be checked.
By the time they got to the first of two roads following a dry creek bed north into the mountains, the morning was more than half gone. There were no standing houses within sight, just two roads a quarter of a mile apart with a wide, waterway between them that was dry all the way to where it joined the river several hundred feet south of River Road. They found a spot beneath some trees to rest and decide which road to take.
Charlie pulled a folded map out of his pocket and spread it out on the ground. “Olen probably took the first one he came to.”
“You’ve got a map?”
“Yeah, Ed gave it to me. He found it in his desk when he got home last night and brought it back to me. Here, take a look. It’ll give us an idea what’s ahead of us.”
They all gathered around and studied the maze of roads on both sides of the creek and the extent of the area.
Billy Ray was the first to offer an opinion. “Looks like a whole lot of options. It could take us weeks to check every house — if we can even find them all.”
Woody was next. “That’s if there’s any that didn’t get burned down. From the looks it that place over there,” he pointed at a collection of gutted buildings a little north of the highway near the east bank of the creek. “The kryls didn’t just fly on past.”
Emmie responded with, “But they might have just shot whatever they could see off to the side when they went by following the river.”
“Well, we can’t tell much either way from here,” Charlie answered after gazing off beyond the mouth of the wide canyon. “There could be no fire damage, or it could be total. We’ll just have to go and see.”
Pointing at the map, Raven said, “And look, at least three bridges cross the creek before town. In fact, the creek splits before town, and there’re roads all over the place, so probably houses, too.”
Emmie jumped in with, “As far as that goes, the creek is dry. He could cross over anywhere.”
Charlie shook his head. “Not like Olen to tromp through sand and over rocks if he can help it. Naw, he’ll most likely stay on pavement.”
“We could miss him if he’s on the other side of the creek.” Raven peered off into the distance where the creek bed curved out of sight. “And the odds are even of that happening.”
Billy Ray said, “Looks like a lot of doubling back, whichever way we go. We could split up and go both ways.”
“Naw,” Charlie said. “We cou
ld wind up in smaller and smaller groups until everyone was solo, and still not be able to cover all the possibilities. Never did like to split my forces. Seems like it usually works better to stay together.”
After another pause, Charlie said, “Look, we aren’t expected back until we get back, so we can take as long as it takes to find him. Just so we don’t miss him, why don’t we go up this first way — what is it, Austin Creek Road — to this second crossing, checking each house we come to on this side, then doubling back on Cazadero Highway back out to River Road, checking each house on that side. If we don’t find him, then we go back to the crossing and continue on through whatever roads and town we find until we do find him.”
After everyone gave it some thought, Billy Ray said, “Sounds like a plan.” The others nodded in agreement.
It was easy to see why the place had been popular before the aliens came. The meandering creek bed ranged between ten and fifty feet in width with a sandy bottom, shaded by overhanging limbs of a variety of trees, and with easy access from both sides. Charlie imagined the creek flowing with water after rainy season and alive with salmon and steelhead returning to their birthplaces up smaller, side creeks to spawn. The wide, shallow canyon offered an abundance of home-sites among the trees towering over them.
They hadn’t gone far before it became clear the area had been hit hard by the kryls. When they did come to the first houses, most of them along both sides of the road had been burned, some only partially and some gutted. From their side of the creek, especially after the roads angled closer together after the first bridge, they could see past the scorched trees bordering the creek that the other side was pretty much the same.
On that first side, they only found three homes with occupants, and all of them were dedicated loners who had no use for them or anyone else that might come along. After they reached the second bridge and doubled back on the other side, they found a house where three people lived.
Byron and Emily were both mid-sixtyish. He was tall and lanky, heavily bearded with a fringe of gray hair circling a bald dome. He spoke in a deep voice, a younger, slightly shorter version of The Judge. She was gray, too, and appeared to have given up on keeping the tangles out of her hair. Like Byron, she appeared to have spent the past six years living on just enough calories to struggle to the next meal, whenever that might be. The rags they both wore didn’t appear to have been washed since the world had changed.
A third person, a man in his thirties, sat across the room from them and their hosts. Charlie hadn’t heard a peep from him since Byron had invited them all in. He just sat and stared, although it was hard to determine what he was staring at with his eyes seeming to be focused beyond the confines of the room
“That’s Gary,” Emily explained. “He lived across the road and a couple of doors down that way. When those things came flying through burning everything they passed, he was driving back from the store. His wife and two children were at home. By the time he got back, the house was blazing. The only things that made it out were the screams of his family that he couldn’t help. He hasn’t been right since.”
Raven couldn’t stop a flashback that put her back to that same day, but in Petaluma, when she had run home from a store to find the home she lived in with her mother, her father, and her brother…and a funny kitten she could no longer remember the name of. She had been too late to hear any screams that might have escaped. She only knew that no one that was home at the time had gotten out. Her brother, Jamal, was not home, but he died later. Her agony had dimmed over the past six years, but she knew the deep ache would be with her to the day she died.
Byron took up the narration of the care they had given Gary. “We’ve been feeding him and bedding him down in our spare room, but he hasn’t said a word since that horrible day. He can feed himself and take care of his private needs — well, mostly — but, otherwise, he just sits and stares. We don’t really know if he even remembers and has spent the past six years grieving or if his mind is just gone.”
“Bless him,” Emily put in. “I ‘spect that would be best if it’s so.”
Not knowing how to respond, Charlie fell back to the mission. “Emily, Byron, we’re on the trail of a man who did our village a whole lot of harm. We believe he might have come this way. Have you seen anyone going by last night or today?”
The couple exchanged glances, and then Byron spoke. “We didn’t see anyone, but we might have heard him. Neither one of us sleeps so good these days, and it don’t take a lot to wake us up. We both heard someone running past on the road sometime before dawn. They were heading towards town — just one person, it sounded like.”
Charlie stood and glanced at his companions. “He’s got a pretty good lead on us, so we need to get back to it.”
The others stood and started for the door, but Emmie stopped before she got to it and turned. She dug her trail food out of her knapsack and handed it to Emily. “It’s not much, but maybe…”
Emily gazed at the treasure extended to her and gaped. There was enough to feed the three of them for two days, three if they didn’t stuff themselves. “Oh, God bless you, dear. God bless you.” A tear made a slow run down her cheek.
When Emmie turned to the door, she had to swerve around Raven who was coming back into the room while digging into her own bag. Billy Ray joined her, although, he handed over only half of what he had. “I’d better keep some of this. No telling how long we might be tracking Olen down.”
Charlie caught Woody’s shoulder to stop him. “Hold on. We can’t give all our stuff away. It might be days before we can head back. As it is, we’re gonna have to share what we’ve got.” Eyeing their hosts, he added, “I’m sorry, folks. We can’t take a chance on Olen getting away just because we don’t have enough gas in the tank.”
Byron looked at his wife and stepped forward. “Here, take it back. We’ll be fine.”
Before Emily could do the same, Charlie said, “No, Byron, keep it. That’s not what I was saying. We’ll be okay with what we’ve still got, so you keep that. Really. Keep it.” Before he got any more argument, he turned and walked out the door. “Come on, let’s hit it,” came over his shoulder.
When they were able to close it up after Charlie slowed to a walk after a hundred yards or so, Emmie was the first to speak. “I’m sorry, Charlie. It’s just that they seemed so desperate. I guess I didn’t think first.”
Charlie reached over and took her hand, continuing to walk hand in hand as he replied, “Hon, don’t ever apologize for having a heart. We’ll be okay.”
After they pushed on, Raven said, “Why don’t we pick them up on the way home? They seem nice, and I’m sure we can find a place for them.”
“Yeah!” said Emmie. “And maybe the village would be better able to care for Gary. That poor man. I’ll bet Emily and her husband would be grateful for the help.”
“I’m sure they would. Okay, we’ll do it.” Charlie said. “It must seem more like sixty years to them instead of six.”
Six years after the burning, a few of the larger trees bore living needles and leaves again while low growing greenery and fast growing saplings were making a good start on new forest. But it was too easy to imagine the hell the place had been with the holocaust engulfing all that lived.
By the time they made it back to the road merge, they were all dragging. Billy Ray diverted over to the right where he slumped to the ground beneath a fully leafed-out willow on the bank of the sandy creek bed.
He tilted his head back and closed his eyes before groaning. “Man, I thought I had seen enough of this stuff in the last six years that it wouldn’t get to me so much. But I really don’t want to go any farther up there and on into town. If there is a town, even. I’d be surprised if there’s so much as a shack standing. Hey, Charlie, maybe if we was to just wait here, Olen’ll come back to us. Ya think?”
“Yeah, sure.” That and a snicker were Charlie’s only responses to what he knew was merely Billy Ray’s general grip
ing about exertion, something he had learned a long time ago not to take seriously. He joined the others in picking similar spots beneath Billy Ray’s tree to crash.
They all remained silent for a long time, agreeing with Billy Ray’s sentiment without expressing it until Woody remarked, “But, you know, it’s really no worse than Guerneville. I guess we’re all used to it and the others like it along the river that are nothing but ash piles. This place is fresh for us, and maybe we were all thinking, or more likely wishing, that it had somehow escaped the kryls’ notice.”
Charlie nodded. “And once it got a good start burning, it could have created its own wind to whip it through the canyon. The kryls might not have even gone all the way to the actual town.”
“If that’s the case,” Raven said, “it might not have burned all the way there. We might find a whole town of unburned houses and people. Olen could be surrounded by friends that won’t let us near him.”
Charlie didn’t even open his eyes to respond. “We are talking about our Olen, aren’t we? The guy that never helped out with anything? The guy that couldn’t buy a friend at an auction?”
“Yeah, you’re right, I guess,” Raven said with a grin. “Probably more like it that they’d show us which porch he’s hiding under. But, Mister Silvers did say he thought Olen had a friend here. He may not have to hide under a porch.”
They all stretched out, luxuriating in the cool shade and following their thoughts through the chaos that had begun just over twenty-four hours earlier.