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The Long Roll Home Page 3

by Anderson, Diana E.


  “If you mean can I manage dressing, using the bathroom, washing up, that sort of thing, yes, I can. Arms work great, it’s just the hips and legs that don’t cooperate too well.” Cassie grinned. “Don’t be embarrassed. My injuries are not a taboo subject, just a fact of life. I manage okay, but I am really glad you are willing to come with me. I think that about doubles our chances of making it to the ranch safely.” Cassie pulled a small stool out from under the shelves and sat down. “Before we do anything, let’s get an inventory done. Then we need to figure out what we will need that we don’t have. I do have a pretty comprehensive get-home bag. That’s the pack sitting behind the front seat. Can you hand it to me please?”

  Andy handed Cassie the pack and asked, “What do you keep in there?”

  Cassie smiled at Andy and answered, “Everything but the kitchen sink, I think.”

  As they both laughed, she began to remove items from the pack. “I have spare clothes, socks and underwear; a small first aid kit; a backpacking stove and fuel; matches; a couple of lighters; a hygiene kit; a little sewing kit; water filters; sleeping bag; a tarp for shelter; knives; mess kit; maps and compass; several flashlights with extra batteries; gun cleaning kit; toilet paper; rope; candles; and a few other things – oh, and spare ammo. The box on the bottom shelf holds a wheelchair trailer. I’ll bet you didn’t know they make trailers especially for electric wheelchairs. It’s designed so I can hook it up to the back of my chair and tow it. That way, I have a place to carry things so my hands are not tied up holding my pack and other supplies. Without my electric chair, though, I’m not sure I’ll be able to use the trailer.”

  Andy grinned. “I wondered how you would manage that big pack and all the other stuff you were mentioning. The trailer is a good idea. Maybe if I can find a chair inside, we can figure out how to hook it to the manual chair. If nothing else, we can put a rope on it and I can pull it.”

  “Thanks. I try not to have to carry too much stuff. With one hand tied up steering the chair, it’s hard to have to hold stuff, too. The trailer is handy. Of course, if I have to use a regular chair, I’ll have both hands tied up. Up on the shelf, I also have a half a case of water, a few MREs, a big bag of rice, several bags of instant soup mix, and my winter jacket. I never go anywhere without my rifle and handgun and a bag full of magazines for both weapons. I also try to keep a bag full of granola bars, candy, gum, and other quick snacks. On the floor up front on the passenger side is a small cooler. It has a couple of cans of soda and a couple of sandwiches that were supposed to be lunch for Jen and me on the way home. What have you got?”

  Andy emptied his backpack, trunk, and duffle and began sorting out his belongings into two piles. The first pile contained socks, underwear, a couple of tee shirts, several pair of camo pants and shirts, his MP duty belt with holster and his handgun, a pair of jeans, combat boots, and a pair of tennis shoes. In addition, he had his hygiene kit, mess kit, canteen, a couple of sweatshirts, a field jacket and liner, rain poncho, hat, gloves, and a small box of memorabilia. The other pile had his class A uniform, some dressy shirts, ties, and pants. “I doubt I’ll be needing these any time soon,” he said as he pushed the second pile out of his way. “I’ve also got an AR 15 with a handful of magazines, but it is disassembled, and I don’t have any ammunition for it or for my handgun.”

  “What caliber is your handgun?”

  “It’s a 9 mm.”

  “Oh, that’s not a problem,”, Cassie said laughing as she reached into a small tote on one of the shelves and pulled out several boxes of .223 ammo and two of 9 mm. “I’ve got you covered,” she said. “My handgun is also a 9 mm.”

  Andy continued to sort through his gear, filling his backpack with the things he knew he would need. “I’m going to just leave all this stuff I don’t think we’ll need. That way, we can use the duffle to hold extra things that will be helpful on the way home. Maybe someday we’ll come back and get it, but if we don’t, it’s not a big deal.” Cassie nodded agreement as she worked to assemble the small trailer.

  “I think we ought to wait until after midnight to leave. There are way too many hysterical people running around out there right now, and I really don’t want to have to start our trip off shooting someone.”

  Andy looked at her in surprise. “Would you really shoot someone?”

  Cassie looked at him with a sad smile. “Well, it wouldn’t be the first time, but I hope nobody tries my patience.” Cassie reached behind her backpack and pulled out a second oddly shaped backpack.

  “What’s that for?” asked Andy.

  “This is Petra’s get-home bag,” Cassie explained. “It is a pack made to fit her and carries the things she needs to help get her home. Mostly it carries dog food, but it also has her blanket, two collapsible bowls, her brush, and a spare leash. I also try to keep a baggie of doggie treats for her in there, too. There are two pockets that hold water bottles, but since we have the trailer, I probably won’t make her do that. Just depends on how much fits into the trailer.”

  Andy nodded thoughtfully. “Sounds like you are about prepared for anything. But what made you think of putting all of this stuff into your van? Did you have an idea this was going to happen?”

  Cassie laughed and shook her head. “No, I’m not psychic, and I had no idea we would get hit with an EMP today. And, I’m not one of those crazy survivalist types, either. But last winter when I first got this van, I came down to the city for one of my VA appointments. While I was down here, it started snowing pretty heavily. On the way back, the van slid off the road and got stuck. Of course, my cell phone couldn’t get a signal at the spot where we were. It was nighttime, it was cold, and all I had was my jacket, a lap robe, and a couple of bottles of water. Petra and I spent the night curled up together under my lap robe freezing. When the highway patrol came by the next morning, I had already decided that I would never let that happen again. After I got home, I made a list of everything I thought I would need if I got stranded somewhere again, and now I don’t go anywhere without making sure I’ve got what I need. Of course, that experience did make me think more about preparedness, and as I read more, I learned that there’s a difference between being prepared and being a ‘survivalist.’ I choose to be prepared,” Cassie replied, as she continued to check the contents of Petra’s pack.

  Andy shook his head. “Wow, that is pretty impressive and smart thinking. I’m sorry you had to get stuck like that, but you sure are saving our bacon today with the stuff you’ve got with you.”

  Cassie smiled at him. “Yeah, I’d think it is going to come in pretty handy, as long as we get to keep it all,” she answered.

  “What do you mean? Do you think people are going to try to take it from us? Hopefully, we’ll get to your place before things get that bad.” Andy looked concerned.

  “I am betting if you were to look outside right now, you’d see people breaking into cars to find things they think they need to get wherever they’re going. In town, the stores are probably starting to see looters, since most people don’t have cash and plastic won’t work. I think we’re lucky we are headed away from any big towns, but we will go through a few small towns. I doubt we’ll make it home without running into some trouble.”

  “I guess my mother was right,” Andy mused. “She always told me I was too optimistic and that while I shouldn’t look for the negative stuff, I needed to at least learn to recognize it. I got good at recognizing the evil side of man while I was overseas, but this is America. We shouldn’t have to worry about that here.”

  Cassie reached over and patted his arm.

  “I’m sorry, Andy. Being over there taught me to be very pessimistic. I always expect the worst. That way, if all goes well, I can be pleasantly surprised. If it doesn’t, well, I’m ready for whatever hits the fan.”

  Cassie reached towards the back of the van and grabbed a plastic container filled with baggies of dog food and began putting several into Petra’s pack. Petra, of course, saw the food and
started whining for some. “Not now, girl, wait until supper time.” She reached into the pack and pulled out a doggie treat. Petra sat still, her eyes following every move of Cassie’s hand with the treat. After a minute or so, Cassie tossed the treat to Petra, who quickly swallowed it and then returned to her nap at the back of the van. Cassie put Petra’s bag next to hers and turned to Andy.

  “I think we need to make a list of the things we are going to need, so we can start thinking about how we will get them. I know a wheelchair is at the top of the list. I think we might make ten to fifteen miles a day, so that means at least ten days to get home. We don’t have ten days of food.”

  Andy looked thoughtful for a few minutes. “I think once people move away from the terminal, I can go in and see what I can find. With the restaurants and the vending machines, there ought to be some stuff we can use.”

  “Are you sure that it is safe for you to go back in? There’s still a lot of smoke coming out of the terminal, and there may still be people in there.”

  “I think I’ll be all right. The fires seemed to be mostly in the arrivals area, not so much where we were.”

  “If you think you can do it without getting hurt or trapped in the debris, it would be good if you could find some more food, and water, too. What else do you think we need?” Cassie asked.

  Andy began to empty the backpack he had just finished filling. “Well, we probably could use any first aid stuff I can find –You have a first aid kit, but I’m sure we’ll both have at least a couple of blisters to deal with before we get to your place. Toilet paper might also be nice. I’d love to find a sleeping bag laying around, but I doubt that will happen. Do you have a saw or an ax with you?” Cassie shook her head no. Andy continued, “We might need that, especially if we need to cut firewood or if a trail is blocked by a fallen tree or something.”

  Cassie nodded. “I have one of those commando chain saws- you know, the little wires with teeth and two handles? I don’t know how well it would work on a big tree, though, so an ax or saw is a great idea. Oh, I also have a hank of paracord, but if you see any rope, we could probably use that, too. Check in the luggage area and see if there are any backpacks there –maybe you’ll get lucky and see one that has a sleeping bag. If not, look and see if you can find blankets – maybe in the first aid center. I suspect it will get pretty cold out there at night. Can you think of anything else?”

  Andy shook his head no as he assembled his rifle and loaded a couple of magazines. When he finished, he strapped his duty belt on, put his now-loaded handgun into the holster and then put on his empty backpack. Grabbing his shemagh from his pile of supplies, he said, “I’ll go as quickly as I can. When I get back, we can repack everything and rest for a while before we get ready to leave.”

  Cassie agreed, but then looked up at Andy. “Please be careful, and don’t take any risks, okay?”

  Andy smiled. “No risks. I’ll be back before you and Petra even notice I’m gone. Keep the van locked while I’m gone, just in case there are any crazies out there.”

  Chapter 3

  Andy carefully climbed out of the van, allowing his rifle to hang from its sling, and quietly closed the van door. The air was full of smoke, making it hard to see more than a few feet or so. He could hear the distant crackling of the burning terminal, and every so often could hear faint explosions. There were vehicles stopped everywhere, shrouded by the smoke. He thought he could hear the sound of distant yelling or screaming, but he did not see any people. “Geeze,” he thought. “I might as well be back in Afghanistan. This sure doesn’t feel like the USA.” After a quick look around the parking lot, he wrapped the shemagh around his face and quickly ran back to the terminal.

  Inside the terminal, it was eerily quiet. There were no people to be seen, although there was discarded luggage left on the floor, on chairs, and on the now stationary carousel. He passed the burned remains of Cassie’s electric wheelchair and thought how lucky they were that he was able to get Cassie out of the chair so quickly. The air was heavy with smoke and the acrid odor of burning plastics and jet fuel. Other than smoke and debris, he could not see anything by the baggage claim area.

  Andy stopped for a minute to orient himself in the terminal. He remembered seeing the small first aid station behind the baggage carousels, so he started there first. Much to his relief, he found a folding wheelchair sitting right outside the door. He tried the door, but it was locked, so he decided to continue looking for supplies rather than waste time trying to break into the aid station. Pushing the wheelchair in front of him, he headed to the newspaper stand. Relieved that there was not time to put down the gates before everyone evacuated, he headed into the small shop and pulled his backpack off. He put the backpack onto the seat of the wheelchair and began to fill it with bags of nuts, candy bars, jerky, snack crackers, and granola bars. When the shelves were empty of snacks, he grabbed a handful of cigarette lighters, a few packs of over-the-counter medications, several small flashlights, and a number of bottles of water and juice from the cooler and added them to his bag. He then pushed the chair over to the baggage area. He found the small door through which the baggage loaded onto the carousel and pushed the chair through the rubber flaps that covered the opening. This room was a lot bigger than he expected and was very dark, even darker than the terminal. The smoke also seemed a lot thicker, too. He lit one of the little flashlights, and saw the room was full of luggage, including several back packs. Even with his face covered, the smoke was starting to get to him, so he rapidly looked through the luggage to see if he could find anything they could use. None of the back packs had sleeping bags, but he did find a heavy coat in his size, two blankets, and several pair of gloves. “I need to get out of here,” he thought. “At least I found a few of the things on the list, especially this wheelchair.”

  As he began pushing the wheelchair out of the baggage area, he noticed a fire ax and hose mounted on the wall. He grabbed the ax, then, after thinking about it for less than a minute, he grabbed the hose, too. Once outside the baggage area, he headed back to the exit doors, but made a quick detour towards one of the restaurants. He remembered seeing a first aid kit at the cashier’s counter at the front of the restaurant. He grabbed the kit, and also took the bowl of fresh fruit sitting next to the register. He stopped at a couple of tables and grabbed the salt and pepper shakers, as well as several full buckets of peanuts still sitting on tables. He thought about going back to the kitchen to see what other food he could find, but then realized anything in the kitchen would probably be too heavy for them to carry. He was about to leave the terminal, but turned suddenly and headed to the restrooms, where he was able to liberate several rolls of toilet paper and a package of paper towels.

  “I’ve got enough. I need to get back to Cassie,” he said to himself.

  As he approached the doors, he noticed one of the carts used by the porters to carry large amounts of luggage. “This is a lot bigger than the luggage cart I grabbed. It will hold a lot more, and the wheels look a lot sturdier.” He quickly set the wheelchair and its load onto the porter’s cart and headed out to the van.

  The walk back to the van only took a few minutes, but Andy kept looking around. He had the feeling he was being watched but could not see anyone. Finally, he arrived at the van and Cassie let him in. It only took a few minutes for Andy to load the chair and all of the loot he found into the van.

  “Wow,” Cassie exclaimed. “It looks like you found a lot of stuff. Thank you for finding the chair. That was the one thing I was really worried about. What’s with the fire hose, though?”

  “I thought we could use it if we needed to make any kind of sled or travois to carry things – it would be better to use for pulling than rope – plus, I didn’t see any rope. We can always ditch the hose if it turns out to be too heavy to carry.”

  He reached into his backpack and began pulling out all of the items he scavenged. As he pulled things out, Cassie sorted the items into neat piles.

&
nbsp; “I’m glad to see you found over the counter meds and a first aid kit. I have some meds in my first aid kit, but not much, and this first aid kit is a lot bigger than mine.”

  She pulled out the two buckets of peanuts. “Mmmm, the peanuts will be good, but the buckets will be really helpful, especially to carry and maybe even heat water.”

  When all of the items were unloaded and accounted for, Cassie spent a minute or two making notes on a small pad. Finally, she looked up at Andy and smiled. “I think we have enough food for at least two weeks if we are careful. Water will be tight, but we will cross a couple of creeks on the way where we can fill up.”

  “That sounds good. You think we can make it to the ranch in two weeks?”

  Cassie nodded. “As long as the weather holds out, we should be able to make at least twelve to fifteen miles a day.”

  Andy nodded agreement. “Hey, I was thinking. I brought back a porter’s cart from the terminal. It’s pretty big, and we could put all of our gear and the folded wheelchair on it, and you could sit on top. If I’m just pushing the cart and not carrying a pack, I think we can make a lot of distance that way. You’d be free to use the binoculars to watch the road ahead of us, and you’d have better access to your rifle.”

  “That’s really good thinking,” Cassie answered. “We’d still have the chair, so if something happened to the cart, we could still move pretty quickly. We could probably load the trailer, too, so if we lose the cart, we would still have something else to carry stuff in.” Cassie quickly opened the van door and put down the ramp. The two pushed the small luggage cart out of the van and pulled the larger porter’s cart up the ramp and into the van. It was a tight fit, but by rearranging things, they were able to make room for them to sit down.

  “What do the roads look like? Are we going to take the main highway?” Andy asked.

 

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