Cloverdale (Book 4): Confrontation

by Miller, Bruno

  “Well, I was thinking of setting up a jail or at least a place where we could hold someone if we had any trouble. I mean, if we had someone who was less than pleasant, we wouldn’t want them at the motel around the others or the kids.” John continued selling his idea as they drove past the old house and followed Cy in the loader, down Main Street and out of town.

  “It wouldn’t take much to fix it up, I guess, and run a power line over there from the garage.” Vince wasn’t sure powering the jail was necessary or a priority, but if it meant that his friend would have a renewed sense of purpose, he was all for it.

  “Yeah, to keep the radios charged. The place wouldn’t need much, really. I went over there and snooped around last night. It still has a well in place and a pump that just needs power, so it wouldn’t need water run to it, just electric. I was thinking the first-floor bedroom would make a good holding cell if we used some of the chain-link fence from Mary’s store that survived the fire, and I could move into one of the rooms upstairs.”

  “Yeah, I guess we could set that up pretty easy,” Vince agreed and wasn’t at all surprised that John wanted to move out of the motel. It was getting busy over there, and he clearly enjoyed his alone time these days. In fact, Vince wondered if the whole jail idea wasn’t more about John moving out of the motel than it was about establishing a police station.

  “We’re bound to get more survivors trickling in over the days and weeks to come, especially if we have any kind of lights on at night. We’re going to attract people, some good and some not so good.” John raised his brow.

  He was right, and Vince knew it. He didn’t like that John’s mind went to the darker side of things, but it was in his nature. He’d been a sheriff for most of his life, after all. They would definitely see more people come into town; it was just a matter of time.

  “Is this something you’ve been thinking about for a while? You sure you want to move over there?” Vince asked.

  “Yeah, but to be honest, the three that came in last night made up my mind for me. We don’t know these people. It’s one thing when people from town join us, but strangers? That’s a whole other story.”

  Vince nodded. “Yeah, I have to agree with you there.” He was glad someone else shared his skepticism of the crew that had wandered into town last night. John’s idea for setting up a jail wasn’t bad. If nothing else, maybe having a police station of sorts in town would send a message to anyone thinking about causing trouble. It might be a good deterrent and would also let any newcomers know that Cloverdale planned on maintaining a certain level of civility, not to mention law and order.

  “So what do you think?” John asked.

  “I’m game. Getting power and water to the motel should remain the priority, but after that, I’m all for it,” Vince said.

  “Great, we’ll let the others know at dinner.” John didn’t smile, but his face seemed to loosen a bit, and his jaw unclenched. It was the closest thing to a good mood Vince had seen from the man since all this started. Setting up the police station would be extra work, but it would be good and a step in the right direction toward reclaiming Cloverdale as a haven for their group and anyone else who wanted to be part of civilized society.

  Chapter Five

  Cy proved to be quite adept at maneuvering the loader and trailer through the narrow portions of town, and once they were close to the dealership, John and Vince went on ahead without him. They were careful to take a quick drive around the place and make sure it was clear. Everything appeared as they had left it yesterday, not that they expected anything to have changed, but they weren’t taking anything for granted. Without an attack last night, Vince was a little on edge and half-expecting the bottom to fall out any minute.

  The dealership was far enough outside of town that Vince felt isolated from the group, and while he had radios for communication, they were basically on their own out here. It would take well over ten minutes for anyone to reach them, should they run into trouble. Vince wasn’t overly concerned, but the looters were always on his mind to some degree.

  He took a quick tally of the remaining cars in the lot. There were only about fifteen remaining. Counting the thirty or so they had moved in the previous days, he figured they would have about forty-five or fifty batteries to string together. Vince had managed to scavenge a few from some random wrecks around town as well. He’d have more, but they could wire up what they had and add more as they found them. It was a good start and would go a long way toward providing power to the motel and wherever else they needed it. Now it was up to Tom to make it all work.

  “We should be able to get the rest of these today, don’t you think?” John asked.

  “Yeah, I think so.” Vince was glad to see a glimmer of hope in John’s eyes.

  They didn’t have to wait long for the big yellow loader to arrive. Cy aimed the trailer into the car lot and whipped it into place near the last row of cars like he’d been doing it his whole life. Vince began to think they had made a mistake in not letting him run the rig from the start.

  The temperature rose, as did the position of the sun in the sky, and what started out as a quick pace slowed significantly as the group had to take breaks more frequently. They brought a few large containers of water, but they would need to refill those on their next trip into town. The yellowish-brown clouds that occasionally drifted by helped filter out some of the direct sunlight, but only for brief periods at a time. The haze also seemed to trap in the heat and make the air feel stale and downright stifling at times.

  Vince checked his watch and was disappointed to see that it was already close to noon. He’d hoped to have more done by now, but at least he would have two fresh bodies to help out soon. Bill and hopefully Travis would be joining them shortly, although he wasn’t sure how much they would get out of the new guy. That remained to be seen, but if Travis wanted to eat and stick around for a while, he would have to pull his own weight. However, based on Travis’s attitude last night, Vince wasn’t holding his breath.

  He was also eager for Bill to arrive so he could head back to town and check on Tom’s progress. He had high hopes for the system and was looking forward to energizing the motel for the others. It would be nice to walk into the room and throw the light switch, even if only for a couple of hours every night. Lights would be a creature comfort they would all appreciate. The other and equally important accomplishment would be made possible when they had power hooked up: running water. That luxury alone would be enough to boost morale tenfold, especially considering how some of them were starting to look and smell.

  One after another, they winched the cars up onto the hauler. The hotter it became, the longer each one seemed to take. As they were about to hook up the last car for this load, Bill pulled up in his Dodge pickup. Travis was in the passenger seat. Bill parked nearby, and the two approached. Vince was glad to see that Bill had been thoughtful enough to bring fresh jugs of water.

  “’Bout time you showed up,” Cy yelled down from the loader with a smile.

  “Yeah, yeah, I see you guys haven’t been doing much this morning.” Bill returned Cy’s sarcasm and threw one of the jugs up to him.

  “Thanks, we could really use a little of that,” Vince said.

  Bill surveyed the cars on the hauler. “Looks like you guys are about ready to make a run back to town.”

  “Yeah, one more and we’re ready to head back with this load. I figure two or three more runs and we’ll be done here,” John answered.

  “Is that going to be enough?” Bill asked.

  “Well, it’ll cover the streets. The rest of the openings can be filled in with debris from around town.” Vince wiped his mouth dry after taking a big swig from his newly filled water jug.

  “It won’t keep them out, but it will slow ’em down for sure,” John commented.

  “It’ll prevent them from driving into town, anyway,” Cy added.

  “Is this biker gang really that bad?” Travis scoffed.

  �
�Yeah, they’re really that bad,” Vince answered sternly. Travis’s tough-guy act wasn’t fooling him, and if the looters showed up, he’d put money on this punk finding a good place to hide until the fireworks were over.

  “Well, we appreciate ya’ll letting us stay here. I’m willing to help out however I can.” Travis changed his tone after Vince’s rebuke, but his comment still lacked sincerity.

  “Oh, you’ll earn it today.” John huffed and wiped the sweat off his face with a rag.

  “So, Travis, how about showing us a little of that willingness to help right now? You can jump in here with these guys and help them load the last car while Bill and I pull the rest of the batteries. I’ll take them back to Tom and help him with the power hookup. How’s he making out, by the way? Any idea?” Vince looked at Bill.

  “I asked him how he was doing when we got water, and he said, ‘It was coming along.’ Whatever that means.” Bill shrugged.

  Vince was hoping for some good news, but he didn’t really expect much so soon. Tom was working with only one good arm, after all. Rigging up the solar electric system to the motel was no small feat, and he doubted it would be finished today.

  “The Meyers are coming along on the water situation. They said if they have power, we could have running water by tonight,” Bill added.

  “Wow, running water. I can’t remember what that’s like.” Cy looked at his jug of water and swirled it around the container. “It sure would be nice to take a shower and get clean. I mean really clean for a change. I feel like I’m developing a second skin.”

  “I know what you mean.” John brushed his hand over his arm and rubbed at a spot of grease that had smeared on his skin. They were all pretty dirty and “ripe,” as Mary would put it. The others back in town were no exception. They’d done their best to clean up on a daily basis with the water carried over from the garage well, but it was a superficial cleaning at best. They had even attempted to hand-wash some clothing, but it was time-consuming work and, after a long day, not really something anyone had the energy to do.

  Only a few of them, like Reese and Cy and some of the others, had more than one set of clothes on them when the EMPs hit. Fortunately, Mary was willing to pull some of her husband’s wardrobe boxes from her attic and make his old clothes available to anyone who could make use of them.

  The motel had a couple of oversized washers and dryers that were mainly used to launder the linens. They would be perfect for doing large loads of clothes, and Vince figured it wouldn’t take long to get everyone’s stuff clean. Running the washer would probably drain a lot of power from the system, but it would be well worth it. And once they were caught up, washing wouldn’t be an everyday thing.

  Bill gave Vince a hand pulling the rest of the batteries from the remaining cars on the lot while the others went back to work loading the last car they would take on this load. They started the wall on the outside of the street, using two old brick buildings on either side of Main as anchors, and were gradually working toward the middle, where they were planning to place a gate like they had at the north end of town. At the car lot, there was one Suburban earmarked for that purpose.

  Vince really hoped they could get the oversized SUV in place before the day was over. They had stacked some of the small cars two high in strategic areas to help build up the wall and give them more cover to shoot from, but with the Suburban in place, he would sleep a little better knowing it was impossible for the looters to enter town by vehicle.

  He’d been worried about a drive-by shooting at the motel. He wished the building sat farther off the road, but it didn’t. Though the location made him feel exposed and vulnerable, with the wall in place and finished, his mind would be at ease. Not entirely, but a little. Of course, the looters could just as easily come in on foot. Climbing the wall of vehicles and attacking that way wouldn’t be difficult, but that was what the person on watch was for. And once they hooked up the security lights, they would be as prepared as they could be.

  Vince wasn’t naïve enough to think that this would prevent the looters from trying to sneak inside the perimeter, but it did give him the satisfaction of knowing it would slow them down and at the very least make it more difficult for them to carry out an attack. An attack that was sure to come at any moment now.

  Vince had a feeling they would strike tonight. It had been quiet for too long now, and he knew they wouldn’t give up that easily. The more Vince and the others accomplished, the more they made themselves a target. It was only a matter of time.

  Chapter Six

  Bill and Vince loaded the rest of the batteries into the back of Bill’s pickup, and Vince prepared to head back to town. Bill could ride with John and help him keep an eye on Travis. Vince felt better that way, and having Bill and John travel together helped mitigate the chance of Travis trying to pull something.

  For the most part, the guy seemed to be doing what was asked of him, and Vince was starting to second-guess his original suspicions, but he just couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. Every time they made eye contact, it was awkward. Something wasn’t right about the guy or his story; Vince couldn’t put his finger on it. He was glad John had come around a little this morning. He at least was up to the task of keeping an eye on their new friend.

  Vince climbed up into the lifted Dodge and started the engine.

  Bill stuck his head in the passenger side window. “Take care of her. She’s the only thing left I own that’s still in one piece.” He was half-joking, but the sad part was, he was right. Bill and his family, like most of them, had lost almost everything, and they were the lucky ones.

  Vince patted the dashboard with his hand. “Don’t you worry. She’s in good hands.” Bill smiled and stepped away as Vince pulled out. He glanced back at Travis once more and watched for a second as John showed him how to attach the winch cable.

  Vince tried to put Travis out of his mind. It was time to focus on helping Tom. Besides, John, Cy, and Bill had things well under control here. With the odds against him, Travis would be foolish to try anything. At least that was what Vince told himself as he drove away and watched them in the rearview mirror.

  Without having to wait for the loader, the drive back to the garage didn’t take very long at all, and as much as he wanted to help Tom with the electrical project, he could have stood a few more minutes of air blowing through the open window. Thanks to the heat, it had been a tough morning, and the day wasn’t even half over yet. At least in a couple of hours the temperature would start to back off and provide them with some small amount of relief.

  Vince scoured the motel parking lot for any signs of life as he drove by and prepared to turn into his garage. He was happy to see Dalton pushing a wheelbarrow and Jackie walking alongside him with a pitchfork. Mary was keeping them busy, and rightfully so. No doubt she had fed them a hearty breakfast or lunch when they finally woke up. Maybe they would prove to be welcome additions here. Only time would tell. If any of the three newcomers had less than good intentions, maybe the announcement tonight at dinner about plans for a police station would be enough to squash any nefarious ideas they might have.

  Vince pulled the big Dodge into the lot and parked in Bill’s usual spot at the side of the building. One of the bay doors was open; Vince was expecting that, though, and hoped it meant that Tom was hard at work in the back. Vince had some ideas about how the system should work in theory, but it was up to Tom to make that happen. With his background as an electrician, he was their best chance at success.

  Vince grabbed a couple of car batteries out of the bed of the truck and headed inside to see what progress Tom had made. The first thing he noticed when he entered the back room, where the inverter was installed along with the other solar electric components, was a newly built shelving system. Tom was hard at work in the corner, running wires, and to Vince’s surprise, Fred was there as well.

  Fred stopped what he was doing to wipe a bead of sweat from his brow. “Hey, Major. I see you
’ve got a couple more batteries for us.”

  “Looking good in here.” Vince panned the room. Fred had built shelving out of wood scrap for the batteries. The multilevel shelving ran the perimeter of three walls and was half-filled with the batteries they had already gathered from the cars at the dealership. Vince placed the two he was carrying in line with the others on the shelf. “I’ve got more out in the truck.”

  “Great, I’ll give you a hand. I could use some fresh air anyways.” Tom stood up. It was hot in the small, windowless room. The fact that the men had one of the gas lanterns burning for light wasn’t helping.

  “You guys could use the power for light while you’re working in here.” Vince felt bad about the working conditions they had to deal with.

  “We could, but I’ve got it disconnected right now while I wire everything up,” Tom answered.

  “Yeah, that makes sense.” There was no way around working back here in the dark and the heat, but Vince decided to open up some of the other doors to the shop and see if he could at least get a little air moving. Tom and Fred helped open the place up, then joined him in moving the twenty-plus car batteries inside. Even with the new batteries that Vince had brought from the car lot, there was still plenty of room on the shelves for more.

  Vince thought about the next-closest car dealership. There was a Chevy-Buick dealership just outside of Prairie City, but that was a good drive west down Interstate 70. Vince hadn’t ventured that far out of town yet and had no idea what conditions were like or if traveling was safe. The farthest out of town any of them had been was during the night raid on the looters’ camp. He’d have to think this through before he attempted to drive that far in search of additional batteries. Maybe he’d start by scavenging wrecks along the interstate. That would give him a chance to do a little scouting as he went.