by Nathan Jones
Matt shuddered. “I managed to get away before things got really bad.” He briefly described the riot at the store, the mugger on the sidewalk and defending himself with one of the dozens of cans of bear spray he'd dumped into his cart, curfew at the dorms, and the fires on the horizons. He also told his friend about meeting Sam and her help with the gas to get down to Aspen Hill, then asked if she could maybe come around to see the place sometime.
Lewis hesitated, looking reluctant. “You know I don't like telling anyone about this place. Aside from my family you and your parents are pretty much the only ones who know exactly where it is. Everyone else just knows I live somewhere north of town.”
“She's a good person,” Matt insisted. “You'll like her.”
“I'm sure I will. There are a lot of good people in town but I still like to be cautious.” Lewis frowned thoughtfully, then sighed. “I guess if she ends up staying with you long term, which is probably going to happen since I don't know what else she can do, she'll pretty much be part of your family. If you decide she's really trustworthy at that point of course she should know.” He abruptly grinned. “After all, I did invite you guys to a movie night.”
“It'd be my first underground movie,” Matt admitted, looking around the shed with its rounded walls. “I've already seen this place a few times but it's still pretty impressive how you managed to bury it. Not sure what the point was, though: staying hidden from prying eyes?”
“Didn't we ever tell you when you were helping us with it?” Lewis asked. Matt shook his head. “Putting it underground is for staying warm in the winter and cool in the summer, mostly. Although being hidden and less likely to draw attention is definitely a plus.”
That made Matt frown as he looked around again. “I can see that for the summer, maybe, like a cave being cooler than outside, but in the winter you've got the ground all around you constantly leeching heat out of this place. How is that better than a raised and insulated house?”
“Because a raised and insulated house isn't really all that insulated. Just think of how fast it heats up or cools down when you turn off the heat or air conditioner. Underground the temperature stays fairly constant, going up a bit in the summer and down a bit in the winter but never too extreme. It also makes great insulation so the temperature change is slow when it does happen.”
Lewis stamped his foot on the carpeted wooden floor. “This place isn't quite as ideal as true underground, since it has to be ventilated which lets cold or hot air in depending on the season. It's also not buried quite deep enough to truly match ground temperature, which stays around 55 degrees fahrenheit year round. Still, it's way better than a frame and wallboard house: no matter how cold it is outside the coldest this place has ever gotten is 40 degrees, and even on the hottest day of summer it's always comfortably cool in here.”
His friend pointed at the large stove in the back corner and the stovepipe snaking its way along the ceiling to disappear upwards out of a hole near the front. “And we've also got the stove to heat the place up to something more comfortable than that, and with the underground insulation it doesn't take nearly as much firewood to get the same results as heating a house like your parents'.”
Matt nodded slowly. “All right, I suppose that makes sense. But if this does so much better than normal houses for heating and cooling then why doesn't everyone build houses like this?”
Lewis shrugged. “It's a consequence of introducing modern heating and air conditioning into every household.”
He stared at his friend in complete befuddlement. What did that have to do with anything? “You're going to have to explain that to me.”
“Think about it. Before heating and air conditioning were developed to the point that they could be installed in every home and run off the power or natural gas grid, people didn't have easy solutions. In every region the world over people built houses suited to the climate, based on decades, centuries, or even millennia of human ingenuity and trial and error. Houses that were optimized for keeping the occupants warm in the winter and cool in the summer were necessary. Now the standard is framed houses of wallboard and plywood, poorly insulated and with big windows that are even harder to insulate, and everything aboveground. It's no wonder they're barely fit to live in now that the power and gas aren't coming in. Which people will find out pretty quick as the weather turns colder. Even houses with wood stoves like yours won't be quite as comfortable as their occupants hope.”
A good argument, but it still irked Matt that Lewis seemed to have had that speech prepared. “You just know everything, don't you?”
His friend didn't seem particularly insulted by the accusation as he took another bite of chili, chewed, and swallowed. “I try. The main problem most people have is shortsightedness, and with the introduction of easy heating and cooling everyone was quick to abandon all the past wisdom about climate appropriate houses for their regions in just a few decades, in favor of the ubiquitous frame houses that aren't really suited to any climate but a perfectly temperate one without needing a lot of heating and cooling. I try to avoid being shortsighted.”
“Yeah well it shows,” Matt said shortly, looking around the shelter with its piles of food near the back. He liked Lewis and respected the guy's careful nature and willingness to learn and understand things, but on the flip side sometimes it felt like his friend wasn't afraid to throw in an explanation even when it wasn't asked for, in a tone that bordered on smug superiority.
Or maybe that was Matt smarting at being caught completely unprepared by all this while Lewis and Trev were better off than anyone in town. Either way it annoyed him. He stood up. “Well it was good to touch base. Feel free to come around any time, and be sure to let Trev know about the potluck.”
“Sure, and I hope you'll visit more often.” Lewis got up and led him to the door and outside, squinting around at the bright day. As Matt started to walk past him towards the dirt road leading back into town he added. “By the way, good thinking with that bear spray. I've got a couple small cans of pepper spray on keychain rings for personal defense while jogging or whatever but that's it. If you want to do some trading bring as many as you like by.”
“Okay,” Matt said, thinking of the buckets and boxes of food in the shelter. That could really help his family, and also might provide him with something he could give the Tillmans in payment for the stuff he'd purchased earlier. “Take care out here, okay?” Lewis nodded, and feeling a bit better about the visit Matt made his way back to town.
* * * * *
The parking lot outside Tillman's was crowded when Trev arrived for the potluck. It looked like most of the town was there.
He meandered through the crowd, greeting people he knew and stopping to chat if they wanted something. He was tired after his patrol shift that had ended a few hours ago, especially since his body was still recovering from the hike down, but compared to lugging around his heavy pack for a week walking the patrol route with just his daypack, weapons, radio, and other necessities for the shift had almost been a vacation.
Well okay, it was still eight hours of steady walking with frequent breaks to inspect the area with his binoculars, but it wasn't brutal. He hoped his cousin would quit worrying about his condition now that he'd proved he was up to the task.
From what he was getting from his chats, as well as overheard snatches of conversation, the inspiration for this potluck was to use up the food going bad in people's unpowered fridges and freezers. That didn't affect him or Lewis since his cousin had long since finished the few groceries in his small fridge and had moved on to eating from their food stockpile.
From the sounds of it the town had set up freezers from the grocery store in the storehouse for whatever food people brought in, trading it for storehouse vouchers, but from what Trev saw of the food being prepared near the store on large grills or along long tables, most of what people brought was going to be eaten tonight.
That felt like a waste, but at the same time they wer
e racing against spoilage anyway so better to eat it than watch it rot. And Trev supposed it was good for the town to have events like this to remind everyone that they were part of a community and would be better off surviving together.
Still, he wondered if Lewis would approve. His cousin might've suggested they find ways to preserve the food instead and stretch it out as long as possible. And maybe he'd have a point saying that, since a party like this hinted that people still didn't get how serious things were. Or maybe they did and were trying to pretend otherwise for a few hours.
Either way he planned to eat his fill.
He found the Larsons up near the front helping out with preparing and serving the food, although Matt took a break from moving platters to the serving tables to greet him. His friend also introduced him to Sam, the girl who'd driven down with him. Trev didn't know her, but he had to admit she was cute and seemed nice. From the fond way the people working around her talked as she excused herself for a moment to greet Trev he also had the feeling she'd earned a lot of goodwill by pitching in to help.
After the introductions she returned to her work, and Trev grinned at his friend. “You could do a lot worse for a traveling buddy.”
Matt gave him an embarrassed look. “We're just helping her out,” he insisted. Then he paused. “Although you're definitely right.”
Trev chuckled and clapped his friend on the shoulder, then made his way over to the line of people waiting for food. He wanted to talk to Anderson and Turner about the patrol he and Lewis had worked out, as well as ask them how they were coming finding more people to work the shifts. But the smell of grilling meat and other cooking food was too tempting to pass up, especially since he and Lewis had decided to strictly limit their meals to the daily calorie consumption for an active adult male to stretch their stores out as long as possible.
His cousin also wanted to use up the wheat, rice, and beans in the buckets at the same rate as the more convenient canned food, which meant there'd be a lot of cooking to do. Luckily Lewis had thought ahead and had huge bags of spices of every variety, especially salt, as well as canned jalapenos and tomato sauce.
Still, cheating a bit this afternoon would be nice. He just felt bad that Lewis couldn't be here to enjoy it too, although he'd try to finagle his cousin a plate since he had a good excuse for his absence, being out on patrol defending the town.
Once he'd worked his way through the line Trev filled up his plate and went over to where the Larsons were sitting with a few other families. They seemed interested in his trip down, so he talked a bit about it and what he'd learned. Although he didn't mention the cache or bring attention to needing to leave anything behind when he abandoned his car.
After an hour or so Matt and Sam joined them, and it was Matt's turn to talk about his week up in Orem and watching the situation at the college deteriorate, then the riot and his near mugging. By the end of the story Trev almost didn't mind the time he'd spent walking considering what he'd managed to avoid by leaving early, even though he'd ultimately arrived on the same day as his friend.
After the story Scott Tillman pulled Matt to the side, and Trev overheard them talking about the remaining gas in Matt's car and something about a debt. Matt didn't look happy about giving up the gas, and he haggled fiercely over it before the two men finally shook hands.
By then it was nearly time to go, so when Matt returned to the table Trev suggested they head out. To his surprise Sam offered to join his friend on the shift, even though it meant a chilly, sleepless night hiking in the dark. Matt firmly refused, insisting she'd worked hard that day and besides she was already committed to helping clear up after the dinner. She looked disappointed, and for that matter Matt didn't look much happier about leaving her as they left the parking lot and headed up Main. His friend already had a daypack and warm coat with him, ready for the shift.
“She sure wants to stick around you,” Trev ribbed his friend as they walked. “I like you, buddy, but I wouldn't want to spend a miserable night walking with you back and forth for twenty or so miles just for the company.”
Matt looked embarrassed. “She just wants to help.”
“So I've seen. Still, do yourself a favor and assume maybe she might be interested in more than just being helpful. It sure looks as if she likes you.”
“Come on, man, we've only known each other for a day!” his friend protested. “Don't start ringing the wedding bells just yet.” Trev laughed, earning an irritated look. “Besides, we need to be worrying more about the situation the town's in right now. You're the one who's always obsessing about survival.”
Trev held up his hands. “Fine, fine. Let's talk about the patrol route, then. I can't tell you what it'll be like at night, but I can tell you how my shift went for me and some spots I noticed where you're more likely to see people traveling.”
Matt nodded, and as the two continued on they got down to business.
Chapter Eight
Refugees
It was the morning of the fourth day since they'd volunteered to patrol north of town and Trev was halfway through his fifth shift.
Even with Matt helping out by stepping in for two shifts the nonstop duty was taking its toll, and the only upside Trev could see at the moment was that his legs were basically solid iron at this point. He'd taken a walk into town yesterday to do some errands and talk to Turner, and it had felt like going out to get the mail in comparison to the hiking he was doing on his shifts.
The worst had been the second day, when he'd had to do the morning shift and then after an 8 hour break gone back to do the night shift. The combined walking was almost as much as the entire week he'd done coming down from Orem, with only being in much better shape and carrying only the essentials in his daypack making it possible.
At least if he had to head back north at this point for some reason he'd be much better prepared for the hike now. With just his daypack he could probably even manage the 50 miles in 24 hours Lewis had joked about after his car ran out of gas the day after the attack, although he'd probably be on the verge of collapse after such a brutal hike.
The patrol route he and his cousin had worked out was about an hour's walk away from the shelter and about 5 miles or a two hour walk from one end to the other and the same time back, meaning they could manage a complete circuit twice a shift. The walk to get to the route was farther than either would've preferred considering how much the extra distance lengthened an already lengthy hike, but at that point there was a long narrow hill that branched out from the foothills to the west and tapered east by southeast until it ended at Highway 6.
The highway entirely bypassed the town several miles east of it, meaning most people traveling along the only major road in the area would most likely pass right by without stopping. To increase the chances of that Officer Turner and a few volunteers had followed the highway digging up any signs that mentioned Aspen Hill and bringing them back to town.
Anderson hadn't been happy with that destruction of public property at all, but like with many other things pragmatism had overruled his objections. Between taking down the signs and the roadblocks just outside of town on the three roads leading to the highway Aspen Hill was now fairly secure. Combined with Lewis and Trev's patrol to the north, along with a patrol run by a few more neighbors south of town on that border, they'd managed to set up along all routes travelers could easily reach their town by.
Although Trev did hope that when things got more settled Turner would set up a patrol west of town, even if the only ways in from that direction were a few dirt roads leading up to the foothills and the slightly larger and better maintained gravel then dirt road going up Aspen Hill Canyon into the Manti-La Sal range and eventually meeting up with Highway 31 along some fairly terrible roads that required at least an SUV or better yet ATVs to navigate. It wasn't likely they'd see many people at all coming from that direction, but with millions of people on the move from the Utah and Salt Lake valleys unlikely wasn't impossible.
They also traded off their single piece of body armor to the person on patrol at that time. Or more accurately Lewis's body armor: his cousin had talked to him about buying his own, but Trev had decided that would be going overboard and he needed the money for other things. Now he kind of wished he'd taken Lewis up on his offer, mostly because after a few days of being passed around between three people constantly walking long distances the heavy vest was really starting to stink. And since it was always in use they hadn't had a chance to clean it or even air it out.
In spite of all that the walking was his only real complaint about patrol duty. His cousin might've been a lot less happy with the task, preferring to remain at the shelter continuing to do all the chores he wanted to complete before things really went sour, but in a lot of ways Trev actually didn't mind walking the south side of the hillside just below the west-east spine, out of sight of anyone coming from the north. It was surprisingly peaceful and the weather was cool and slightly breezy, which added to the sunny days made for just about perfect conditions for mild exertion.
And fairly regularly, long before the walking made him tired, he'd pause as part of his duties to poke his head up from behind whatever cover he could find. From those fairly comfortable positions he'd use the scope on his Mini-14, or more often his binoculars, to inspect the hills and valleys to the north for any sign of movement.