Bug Out! Part 7: Mile High Motorhomes

by Robert Boren

  “Nice to meet you, Terry,” he said.

  “Nice to meet you too,” Terry said.

  “You aren’t from around here, are you?”

  “No, I’m from Utah. I came here with my uncle.”

  “Terry here was a deputy sheriff from his town. His uncle was the Sheriff.”

  “Oh, really,” he said. “Left your town behind?”

  “It got overrun by the enemy,” he said.

  “I heard some bad things went down in Utah. Around Bryce and Capitol Reef.”

  “That’s where we were,” Terry said.

  “Well, glad you got out alright,” he said. Then he looked back at Dobie. “I’d kind of like to get the hell out of here, actually. I think the shit is about to hit the fan. What’re you doing here, anyway?”

  “Well, two things,” Dobie said.

  “Go on,” he said.

  “First of all, we need a signal generator. I’ve got some options on this list.” He handed the slip of paper to Jake, and he looked it over.

  “What are you guys trying to do? This is expert stuff.”

  “We’re trying to give the enemy a hard time,” Dobie replied.

  Jake’s face lit up. “Oh, really? Tell me more.”

  “We can’t tell you more right now,” Gabe said. “At least not here.”

  “Sounds mysterious,” he said. “What’s the other thing?”

  “We were hoping to talk you into coming back with us,” Gabe said. “You know it’s not safe here.”

  “To the RV Park, eh?” he said, his hand messing with his beard. “What makes you think that’s safer than here?”

  “We’ve installed some fortifications, and we’ve got some good people there. Good at fighting,” Dobie said. “You might want to get Trish out of here. At least for now, it’s safer there.”

  “There aren’t a lot of young men there, are there?” Jake asked.

  “Just Terry here. Everybody else is at least in their early forties.”

  “What about my stuff? I’ve got a lot of merchandise here. Some of it’s worth a boatload of money.”

  “Why don’t you load up your bobtail out there with everything valuable? Bring it with us.”

  Suddenly there was gunfire. Everybody jerked around towards the front of the store.

  “Shit,” Jake said. He ran to the front door and locked it.

  “Wait, let us get our long guns out of the car,” Gabe shouted. Jake nodded and let the men run through. They got their guns and ran back inside. Jake locked it and then they all ran back to the counter.

  “Daddy, what’s happening,” shouted a young female voice.

  “Don’t know, sweetie,” he shouted back. “Let’s get on the roof. Follow me, guys.”

  “I’ll leave Duchess down here,” Dobie said. “Anybody coming in here is gonna have a bad day.”

  “Good,” Jake said. The men followed him behind the counter, to a rough wood staircase.

  “Who’s here, daddy?” asked the girl’s voice.

  “Gabe and Dobie and a friend of theirs,” he said. “C’mon, let’s get upstairs.”

  The men ran up the stairs quickly, to the second story, and then to the back, where there was another set of stairs.

  “Trish, come on!” Jake yelled.

  “I’m coming,” she cried. “I wasn’t dressed.”

  “You guys go on up those back stairs,” he said. “Be up in a minute.”

  There was the sound of another person coming up the stairs. A young woman appeared, wearing a sweatshirt and jeans. Her light brown hair was tied up on top of her head, held there by a white plastic clamp.

  “C’mon, honey,” Jake said. He put his hand on her back and moved her to the back staircase. They got out on the roof. The three men were standing at the façade, looking towards I-70. Terry turned and locked eyes with Trish. He smiled at her, and she smiled back at him, looking very shy. Terry turned back to I-70.

  “Look, they’re holding a gun on Bob,” Gabe said. “Crap. Wish Jeb or Kurt or the Sheriff were here. I can’t make that shot.”

  “That Weatherby sighted in?” Terry asked, looking at the bolt action rifle with scope, leaning up against the façade.

  “Yeah,” Jake said. “My eyesight isn’t what it used to be, though. No way can I make that shot.”

  “Mind if I try?” Terry asked.

  “Help yourself,” he said.

  Terry picked it up, worked the bolt to chamber a round, and took aim, looking through the scope. There were three men down by the barricade. One militia guy and two Islamists.

  “I think I can get two of them, but they might be able to shoot your friend before I get the third,” he said, still peering through the scope.

  “I probably can’t hit any of them at this distance,” Dobie said, “but I can lay down some fire with this thing while you’re shooting. He had his bolt action Remington .270 with a scope pointed at them. “Take the shot.”

  Terry squeezed the trigger. The militia man fell to the ground, and Terry worked the bolt and fired again. He missed the second shot, then loaded a third round as Dobie fired several rounds as quickly as he could. Terry’s third round hit one of the Islamists square in the back. Bob dived for cover, but came back up with his pistol in hand and blasted the third man. Then he got back under cover.

  “Damn, I didn’t know you could shoot like that, Terry,” Gabe said.

  “How could I not? I hang around with my uncle most of the time, for God’s sake.” He laughed, and looked over at Trish. She was staring at him, and looked away quickly.

  “Here comes the cavalry,” Jake said, pointing. Half a dozen squad cars rolled up to the barricade. Then Jake’s cellphone went off. He answered it.

  “Jake, who the hell was shooting from up there?”

  “A friend of Gabe and Dobie’s,” he said.

  “I had a feeling. Tell them thanks. You guys saved my butt.”

  “Will do. You be careful down there, Bob.”

  “You too. This is the second incident like this today.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, same thing happened just west of here. That’s why we have somebody manning each of the barricades.”

  “You sticking around here, Bob?”

  “I haven’t decided yet. Don’t know where else to go. You?”

  “I might fly the coop for a little while. I’m worried about Trish.”

  “Don’t blame you there. Gotta go, thanks again.”

  “Bye,” Jake said. He put his phone back in his pocket. “Bob asked me to thank you guys. Especially you, Terry.”

  Terry shot back an embarrassed smile, and then turned back towards Trish. She was staring at him again, and turned away when they made eye contact. Then she looked back at him and smiled.

  “Well, what do you think, Jake? You two want to go with us?”

  “I don’t know. Trish, come over here.”

  She nodded and walked over.

  “What, dad?”

  “We’ve been invited to join our friends here back at Gabe’s RV Park. What do you think?”

  “I think we ought to go, dad,” she said, shooting a sideways glance at Terry.

  “Alright, then let’s do it. You guys want to help me load up that bobtail?”

  “Of course,” Gabe said. “Let’s get busy.”

  They all went back down the stairs, taking their rifles with them.

  “I’ll back the bobtail up to the loading dock,” Jake said. “You might want to bring your SUV around here, that way I can block up the front of the store.”

  “Gotcha,” Gabe said. He trotted back through the store, unlocked the front door, and got to his SUV. He drove it around the block and down into the alley behind the store, pulling through the sliding gate and over next to the bobtail.

  Everybody got to work, moving all of the most valuable stuff from the store into the bobtail. It took a couple of hours.

  “Here’s that signal generator you were asking about,” Jake
said, walking over with it. “Put it in your SUV, just in case somebody stops the truck. I’ve got the feeling that it’s more important than any of the rest of this stuff.”

  “You think somebody might try to mess with the truck?” Gabe asked.

  “I’ve heard stories,” he said.

  “Don’t worry, we’ll caravan, and we have weapons,” Gabe said.

  “I know, but I’d feel better anyway,” he said.

  “Okay,” Dobie said. He took the box and carried it over to the back of the SUV, shoving it all the way back against the seat. Duchess followed him over, looking up in the SUV. “Not yet, girl. We’ve got to finish loading, then we’ll take off.”

  “Go get your stuff, Trish,” Jake said to her.

  “How much of it?”

  “Everything you can carry,” he said. “Maybe Terry could help. Hey Terry!”

  “Dad!” she whispered.

  “Oh, get acquainted. You know you want to.” He looked at her with a sly grin.

  “What do you need, Jake?” Terry said, walking over.

  “Could you help Trish carry her stuff out here?”

  “Of course,” he said, smiling.

  “C’mon,” she said, and turned quickly. Terry followed her silently into a room in the back, where there was a cot and a lot of girl stuff.

  “You’ve been living here?” Terry asked.

  She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, dad thought it was safer than the house. It’s so boring here.”

  Terry watched her as she puttered around, pulling things off of the shelves. He liked what he saw. She was cute. She wasn’t skinny…she was sturdy, but graceful too, with an hourglass figure covered by the long, loose fitting sweat shirt. She turned around quickly and caught him watching her.

  “Hey, buster, you checking out my butt?” She looked sternly at him, and then cracked up.

  Terry had an embarrassed look on his face. “Maybe just a little,” he admitted. “Don’t be mad.”

  “I’m not mad, silly,” she said.

  “You’re not as shy as you look,” Terry said.

  She smiled at him. “C’mon, help me with this stuff. There’s some boxes right outside the door.

  He brought them in, and they put her clothes and other possessions in the boxes. They were done in a few minutes, and carried them out to the truck. The men were just finishing up.

  “Ready to go?” Gabe said, looking at his watch.

  “Yeah, let’s move it out,” Jake said. “I’ll lock her up.”

  He disappeared into the store, locking and blocking up the front, and then locking the heavy steel rear door on the way out.

  “Terry, why don’t you ride in the cab of the truck with Jake and Trish,” Dobie said, “and have that gun ready.”

  “Fine with me,” he said, smiling at Trish. She smiled back and then looked down, embarrassed.

  “Look at the sparks flying there,” whispered Gabe to Jake.

  “I know, huh?” Jake whispered back, and snickered. “He’s going to have a tiger by the tail with her. She runs me ragged.”

  Both men laughed as they walked to their vehicles.

  “Hey, you know how to get there, right, in case we get separated?” Gabe shouted.

  “Yeah. Why don’t I follow you guys?”

  “Okay. I’m taking the back roads.”

  “Sounds good.”

  Gabe got into the SUV and fired it up. He drove through the gate. The bobtail followed, lumbering as it went onto the alley. Jake jumped out of the truck and ran over to the gate, sliding it shut and locking it. Then he got back in the truck and followed the SUV.

  They left the alley and got back on the main drag, heading quickly out of town. Then they were on the small road that bounded I-70, heading for the even smaller road that led into the back country.

  “I sense a new couple,” Dobie said, looking over at Gabe and grinning. “Did you catch how those two looked at each other?”

  “Yeah, Jake and I were joking around about it before we left.”

  “He doesn’t mind?”

  “No, Dobie, I think he’s relieved. It can’t have been good for those two to be cooped up together like that. I’ll bet most of her friends are long gone.”

  “Oh, crap, look over there,” Dobie said, pointing out the passenger side window. Duchess growled. There were about eight Islamists climbing off of the raised roadbed of I-70. One of them saw the bobtail and pointed it out to the rest of the men.

  “Step on it!” Dobie said.

  Gabe sped up, and watched the rear view mirror. Jake saw what was going on and sped up too. Terry rolled down the window of the truck and stuck his rifle out, pointing it at the group who were now running towards the road.

  Chapter 06 – Dirt Road Ambush

  “Can you get a bead on them from here with your handgun, Dobie?” asked Gabe as they were racing down the road.

  “Maybe,” he said. He stuck his torso out the window of the Suburban as far as he could and started to fire at the Islamists. He hit one of them, and the others looked towards their car and got ready to fire. Then they got hit with rifle fire from inside the truck, and they weren’t sure which way to shoot.

  “Here comes the first curve. We’ll be out of sight of those creeps in a minute!” Gabe shouted.

  “Slow down so the truck gets a little closer,” Dobie shouted. “Let’s tighten it up before we get there.”

  “Won’t Jake slow down?”

  “I’ll motion him forward,” Dobie said. He stuck his torso out and gestured to Jake to get closer. Jake got the message, and kept the truck at the same speed as the Suburban slowed down to make the turn.

  “Here we go,” Gabe said. They went around the turn. It was the first in a small set of switchbacks leading away from I-70.

  “They aren’t following us down here,” Dobie said, looking at the cliff going down from the right hand side of the road.

  “Good, Jake just made the turn,” Gabe said, looking in his rear view mirror for a second.

  “Son of a bitch,” Dobie said. “I didn’t think it would be that hot getting out of there.”

  “Wrong place at the wrong time. I hope Bob’s alright. Here, call him. Last in my call history,” he said, pulling his phone from his pocket and sliding it over. Dobie picked it up and found the last incoming call. He pushed the call button.

  “Gabe?” a voice answered.

  “He’s driving. This is Dobie. We just had to shoot our way out of town. There’s a group of Islamists that just climbed down from I-70 on foot and tried to take Jake’s bobtail. Watch out, they’re probably coming your way.”

  “Got it, thanks. I’ll warn the others down here. Be careful out there.”

  “Will do,” Dobie said. He hung up the phone and passed it back to Gabe.

  “Should be smooth sailing the rest of the way,” Gabe said as he took the phone. This road gets away from I-70 in a hurry. Lot of rough country in between.”

  “Look, choppers!” Dobie said, looking up. “Heading for town.”

  “Hope they’re on our side.”

  Dobie’s phone started ringing. He answered it. It was Jake.

  “You guys make it out of that without a scratch, I hope?”

  “Yeah, we did. You guys?”

  “They put a bunch of lead into the back end of the truck. None of it got to the cab. I suspect there’s holes in some of my stuff.”

  “Good thing it was back there. Otherwise they might have hit you.”

  “Seriously. I hope they don’t do too much damage in town.”

  “I called Bob and tipped him off. They’ll be ready.”

  “Good. Oh well, at least this is turning out to be a good day.”

  “Getting shot up?”

  “No, my daughter is finally going to have a boyfriend that I approve of.”

  “Dad!” shouted Trish. Dobie held the phone away from his ear. Then he cracked up.

  “Now be nice, Jake.”

  “I actually wasn�
��t just joking around. Terry saved our butts back there. Several of them were aiming at our tires before he started shooting at them. I’m in his debt.”

  “Alright, Jake, just don’t mess with Trish too much about it. That tends to put a wet blanket on romance. Talk to you later.”

  Dobie stuck his phone back in his pocket, and looked over at Gabe, grinning.

  “What was that all about?” Gabe asked.

  “Sounds like the back end of Jake’s truck got shot up pretty good. Glad we put the signal generator up here.”

  “What was so funny?”

  “Jake told me that Terry is the first of Trish’s boyfriends that he approves of.”

  “He said that in front of the two of them? Geez.”

  “Yeah, and she yelled at him,” Dobie said, laughing. “Jake said some nice things about Terry, though. Sounds like he saved them back there.”

  “He’s a good kid,” Gabe said. “We’re just about to the straight part of the road. We can speed up then. Be back to the park in no time.”

  “Just make sure you can see the truck before you speed up,” Dobie said.

  “I know. Don’t worry. I’ve had one eye in the rear view mirror most of the time.”

  The road straightened out, going into a long wide valley. Dobie felt relieved when he could see the truck emerge from the switchbacks. They drove along silently, watching the lush scenery of the valley unfold in front of them.

  “Pretty back here,” Dobie said.

  “Yeah, but it’s rough in the winter,” Gabe said. “We’re getting close now. See the road climbing up ahead? There’s a few switchbacks, and then we pick up the highway again. We’ll be on a stretch of dirt, but it isn’t a long one.”

  “I’ve never gone to your park this way. Been in this valley before, though. With my dad.”

  “Your great granddad owned about half of this valley, way back when. Wanted to build a lodge up here. Never could make it come together.”

  “Really? Wonder why my dad never told me about that.”

  “There were a lot of hard feelings over it,” Gabe said. “Big feud between your great granddad and two other people who owned property in the valley. They wanted to free graze sheep here. They had a big farm on the west end of the valley. Didn’t mix so well with what your great granddad wanted to do. They almost got into a shooting war over it.”