Detour: A Post-Apocalyptic Horror Story

by G. Michael Hopf

  “I’m not being mean, I’m giving you the realities of the world now. These people will care about you if you care about them. You can’t expect people to bend over backwards if you won’t reciprocate.”

  Paul unzipped the tent flap and stepped out. He wiped snot from his nose and said, “You’re right.”

  Kevin furrowed his brow in shock that his words of advice had resonated.

  “I miss her,” Paul said.

  “Me too,” Kevin said.

  “Who is this new guy?” Paul asked.

  “I’m still trying to get a fix on him, but he’s some sort of government defense contractor who worked at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada,” Kevin replied.

  “I’d like to meet him,” Paul said.

  “Then let’s go introduce you,” Kevin said, putting his arm over Paul’s shoulders.

  “Kevin, I’m sorry I was out of it for a couple of days,” Paul said.

  “It’s fine, but we can’t have you or anyone else do that; we all need each other,” Kevin said. “That’s not to say you can’t process a death, but we must toss aside the customs of the past. These are new times.”

  “It won’t happen again,” Paul said.

  “Glad to hear it. Now let’s go huddle up around the fire and have a drink,” Kevin said.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  SOUTHEAST OF PRESTON, IDAHO

  JUNE 6, 2020

  With Jason, the group now had a plan. With Faro, Yukon Territory, as their destination, they’d have to travel a distance of over twenty-two hundred miles, much of it in parts of Canada that had no services, meaning no food, water or fuel. If they were going to make such a long journey, they needed to stock up and planned to do so along the way, with their first stop being outside Preston, Idaho.

  When dawn’s first light hit, they set out. Jason rode with Sabrina, Trent and Ashley, and Paul and Kevin were in the truck.

  Jason had already pinpointed stops along his route before losing his vehicle to an attack by marauders south of Bear Lake. It was from there that he’d hiked and run into Sabrina and Kevin.

  One stop he had designated was a U-Haul rental facility southeast of Preston, Idaho. There he had planned on getting a trailer for the truck he had so he could load as much supplies as he’d need. The rental facility also had fuel and other items in their rental store they could use.

  Jason lowered the binoculars and said, “Looks clear.” He handed them to Kevin. “Take a look.”

  Kevin put the binoculars to his face and scanned the rental facility, looking for anyone, human or feral. “Yeah, seems to be empty.”

  “You’ve got a nice rig,” Jason said, eyeballing Kevin’s truck.

  “It was my girlfriend’s; she liked trucks,” Kevin said.

  “She had good taste,” Jason said.

  “What happened to your vehicle?” Kevin asked.

  “Stolen, the problem when you’re traveling alone is you’re alone. Short story version is I stopped to take a piss, got jumped; they beat me up and took my truck. She was a beauty too,” Jason said. “Just goes to show you can’t even trust your instincts. I thought the area where I had pulled over was safe—nope. Also goes to show you that we have as much to fear from non-ferals as ferals.”

  “How did you get the gear you have now?” Kevin asked.

  Jason took the binoculars back from Kevin and replied, “Stole it.” He walked off and went back to the car.

  Kevin wanted to judge him but refrained on account that everything he’d gotten so far was technically stolen. Although was there a defining line between scavenging and taking what you know someone else needs?

  Using a notepad and pen that Paul had found back at the park, Jason sketched the layout of the rental facility. Even though it appeared vacant, it might not be.

  “I say we drive in the main entrance, just go for it. Speed will be our friend. Kevin, Paul and I will go in first with the truck. Kevin, you’ll drop me at the front; I’ll go inside and get a hitch. You’ll continue around back—”

  “I’ve been thinking, why not just take a truck? Why are we messing with a trailer?” Paul asked, interrupting Jason.

  “We’ve gone over this already. Your time was then to speak up,” Sabrina said.

  “I remember, but I’ve been thinking. Why don’t we just take a truck instead?” Paul asked again, ignoring Sabrina’s snarky comment.

  “We end up spreading the driving among three vehicles versus two,” Jason replied.

  “Who’s driving it, you?” Trent asked.

  “Sure,” Paul answered.

  “But we’ll need to have someone else with you; that won’t be me,” Ashley chimed in.

  Kevin shook his head at the nasty comments.

  “You know, getting a truck would give us some flexibility,” Jason said, thinking over the idea. He’d been stuck on the trailer idea because that was his plan when he only had himself.

  “We can load more stuff in one of those smaller box trucks. It just seems more reasonable to take another vehicle if we can versus limiting the truck’s capability and performance,” Paul said.

  “I like it,” Jason said.

  “Me too,” Kevin said, nodding.

  “And who’s going to drive with him?” Sabrina asked.

  “I will,” Jason said.

  “And what about Kevin?” Sabrina asked.

  Ashley and Trent looked at each other.

  “Fine, I’ll go with him,” Trent said.

  “Then it’s a plan. We go for a box truck instead,” Jason said. “Things aren’t that different. You’ll drop me at the front of the store and drive around back. I’ll get the keys and meet you out back. We’ll take the truck, pull it up to the back of the store, and start loading. Paul, I’ll have you start filling gas cans; you’ll find the pumps located near the back of the lot. Sabrina, you and the other two will provide watch at the entrance. Sound good?”

  The group nodded.

  “Then let’s do this,” Jason said enthusiastically. “And remember, we get in and out as fast as possible, and radios, make sure they’re set to channel two.”

  “Are you always this chipper?” Sabrina asked.

  “I told myself after this shit show began that I’d appreciate life. Yeah, it’s hard, but I’m alive, and while I am, I’m going to try to be as positive as I can.”

  ***

  Everything was going according to plan. They arrived, got a rental truck with no issues, and had begun filling it with anything of value.

  Sabrina, Ashley and Trent took up positions near the entrance off the main road and stood guard.

  The facility was south of town and all by itself. Around it lay open land. It was about as perfect a location as they could get. With no neighboring buildings, they didn’t have to worry about anyone else.

  Out front, Sabrina felt like a bump on a log. She didn’t like that she was left out of the scavenging party. Knowing Paul was allowed to go infuriated her; she had come to find him annoying and, in her own words, lazy and unreliable. What made this situation worse was it was Paul’s idea to get the truck versus a trailer, with Jason eventually agreeing. She had broached the idea two days before, but Jason had quickly dismissed it. Was he being sexist? No, she thought. He was levelheaded and reasonable, but why change his mind on the spot, minutes from executing the plan?

  A low rumble sounded in the distance.

  All three snapped their heads and looked north towards town and saw three trucks heading south along the highway at a high rate of speed.

  Sabrina pulled her radio and keyed it. “Jason, we have someone coming down the road towards us.”

  “How many?” Jason replied.

  “Three trucks,” Sabrina answered.

  Jason stopped what he was doing and walked out of the store to get a better look.

  The trucks were close and beginning to slow. It was apparent they were coming to the facility.

  “Sabrina, I need all of you to fall back to the store, now, hur
ry,” Jason radioed.

  Doing what he ordered, the three jumped into the Subaru and raced back to the store.

  “Kev, we have company coming. How good are you with a rifle?” Jason asked.

  “Decent,” Kevin replied.

  “Good, take up a spot behind those trucks to the right; you’ll be our sniper. Where’s Paul?” Jason asked, keying his radio. “Paul, I need you to come back to the store ASAP.”

  Paul heard the call and came running.

  With everyone inside the store, minus Kevin, Jason said, “We have to expect that whoever is coming will mean us harm. We need to be prepared to stand our ground.”

  Everyone nodded and looked determined, except Paul appeared ashen. He’d never been in a fight much less a gunfight. He wasn’t even quite sure how to shoot the M16 he’d been given.

  They took up positions at the front and waited.

  The trucks pulled into the parking lot, one going left, one right, and the other stopping at the center near the front door. About a dozen men poured out of the trucks, all holding various styles of rifles.

  “Are we just going to start shooting?” Sabrina asked.

  “I don’t believe in asking questions, so, yes, on my count—”

  “Wait, what if they don’t mean us harm?” Paul asked, his hands trembling.

  “We can’t take a chance, they outnumber us, and our only advantage is surprise. We can get most of them, but it requires shooting fast and accurately,” Jason said.

  “I don’t like this. They might be good people,” Paul protested.

  A large man with a bolt-action rifle slung over his back approached the Subaru that was parked out front. He touched the hood and said, “It’s warm, boys. Someone is here!”

  All the men readied their weapons.

  “You three go around back,” he hollered to the men to his right. “You go that way,” he barked at the others to his left. “You stay out here, and the rest of you, come inside with me.”

  “We can talk to them,” Paul insisted.

  “No, Paul, we can’t,” Jason said.

  “Can we shoot?” Sabrina asked, her finger hovering over the trigger of her M16.

  “One second. Trent, go to the back and hammer those guys coming around that way,” Jason ordered. He keyed his radio and said to Kevin, “Fire when you’re ready.”

  Kevin heard the radio, flipped the selector switch of his M16 to SEMI, placed his finger on the trigger, and took aim on the first man he saw walking around the building towards the back.

  “This is a bad idea,” Paul said and took off towards the back of the store.

  “Where are you going?” Sabrina asked.

  “I’m not going to die,” Paul whined, disappearing into a back office.

  “Coward,” Sabrina snapped.

  “Forget him. It’s showtime,” Jason said, taking aim.

  The large man who was in charge headed to the front door, reached for it, then stopped when a handheld radio on his belt crackled to life. “Billy, get back to town. Some of those things were seen near your house.”

  Billy froze, pulled the radio from his belt, and keyed it. “I’ll be right there.” He whistled and hollered, “Let’s go, boys, some of those things are at my house. We need to get back.”

  “Don’t shoot, don’t shoot,” Jason said, seeing the men were leaving. He keyed his radio and conveyed the message to Kevin, who acknowledged the call.

  “But what about whoever is here?” a man asked Billy.

  “Don’t have time to worry about them. See if they left the keys in their car,” Billy said.

  Another man opened the door and cried out, “Keys are in it.”

  “Take it and let’s go,” Billy ordered, jumping behind the wheel of a truck and slamming the door.

  “They’re taking our car,” Sabrina said.

  “Let them go. If we don’t have to fight them, we won’t,” Jason ordered.

  “But our car,” Sabrina squawked.

  “It’s fine. We have a truck now,” Jason said.

  The rumble of the truck engine behind them came to life.

  “No, we don’t,” Trent said from the back of the store.

  “We’ll find another truck. It’s fine. Let them go,” Jason said.

  The group watched the others leave with their car and the box truck loaded with some equipment.

  “This is bullshit,” Sabrina cursed. “We should have opened fire. We could have taken them.”

  “There were twelve of them; our chances weren’t a hundred percent. Best they take a car versus take a life,” Jason said, walking to the front desk and fishing for more keys.

  “Where’s Paul?” Sabrina asked.

  Ashley walked into the back office and called out, “He’s in here hiding behind a desk. He’s curled up like a baby.”

  Kevin ran into the store and said, “That was close.”

  Sabrina shouted, “Your fat friend ran off and hid in the back!”

  “Huh, what happened?” Kevin asked.

  “Paul didn’t want to fight. He chose to run and hide,” Sabrina blurted out.

  Emerging from the back office, Paul came out with his head hung low. After seeing how the events had unfolded, he regretted his actions. “Sorry, guys, I thought we were all going to die.”

  “You expect us to forgive you for bailing on us?” Sabrina asked.

  “I don’t want to die,” Paul protested.

  “Neither do we, but we’re willing to fight for our lives, not run away and hide,” Sabrina chastised him.

  “Paul, is this true?” Kevin asked.

  “I got scared,” Paul confessed.

  Embarrassed, Kevin shook his head and said, “This is on you. I won’t defend what you did.”

  “I’ve got more keys. Let’s go get another truck,” Jason said, running out the back door towards the rear lot.

  “We shouldn’t have let those guys take our car,” Sabrina complained to Kevin.

  “It’s gone now, not much to do about it,” Kevin said.

  “How would you like it if they took Megan’s truck?” Sabrina asked.

  Kevin thought for a second and replied, “I wouldn’t like it, but it’s only a truck; I’d get another one.”

  “Let’s see how you feel when it happens,” Sabrina snapped.

  “What does that mean?” Kevin asked.

  “It means what I said, if your truck goes missing, don’t start bitching about it,” Sabrina said, pushing past Kevin and heading out the back to help Jason.

  Paul headed for the door but was stopped by Kevin. “We need to talk.”

  “I said I was sorry,” Paul said.

  “That’s not good enough. You can’t pull that shit, you hear me?” Kevin asked.

  Trent and Ashley gave Paul a hard stare and exited the store.

  “I just thought there was another way with those guys. Maybe we could have talked to them,” Paul said.

  “So because you didn’t get what you wanted, you decided to run off?” Kevin asked.

  “I know what I did was wrong. Stop giving me a hard time,” Paul growled.

  “You’re getting testy with me? I’ve backed you up all the time. Today, that was unforgiveable. If you want the others to protect you, you have to be willing to protect them, and that means fighting,” Kevin reprimanded.

  A lower rumble came from out front.

  Kevin went and saw two of the trucks had returned. Eight men in total got out and fanned across the front of the property. “Go, out the back, hurry,” Kevin said, pushing Paul towards the back door.

  Before they could exit, gunfire erupted on the left side of the building.

  The front door of the store opened.

  Kevin turned and saw two men walk in. He swung around and engaged them by shooting multiple times. He struck both men, but not fatally.

  Outside, he found Paul huddled near the box truck along with Sabrina, Trent and Ashley. “Where’s Jason?” Kevin asked.

  “Don
’t know,” Sabrina replied before taking a few shots from her position towards the left side.

  The others were returning fire, striking the side of the box truck.

  “Trent, come with me,” Kevin said, running along the back wall until he got to the right side. He peeked around and saw three men coming their way. He gave Trent a hand sign indicating what he saw.

  Trent replied with a thumbs-up.

  “On three—one, two, three,” Kevin said and pivoted out, took aim on the men, and started shooting.

  Trent followed suit.

  The two quickly eliminated the three men.

  The sound of a truck sliding came from behind them. It was Jason; he was in Kevin’s truck. “Get in!” he shouted from the open driver’s window.

  Paul didn’t hesitate; he ran to the truck and slowly climbed into the bed of the truck. Behind him came Ashley and Sabrina.

  “Go,” Kevin ordered Trent.

  Trent ran and, with one big leap, flew into the bed.

  “Kevin, come on!” Jason shouted.

  “No, I can take these guys,” Kevin shouted.

  “Don’t be a fool. Get in!” Sabrina shouted.

  Those in the bed of the truck were firing back at the men on the left side.

  Seeing his reluctance was causing them to remain vulnerable, Kevin gave up on his idea to take out the other few. He ran and leapt into the truck like Trent had.

  Jason slammed on the accelerator.

  The truck sprayed gravel and rocks, finally gripping the ground and shooting forward.

  Not wanting to drive north into town, Jason turned the wheel hard to the right, got onto the southbound lanes, and sped off.

  “Anyone hurt?” Sabrina asked.

  “I’m good,” Trent said.

  “Fine,” Ashley replied.

  “A-ok,” Paul said, his thumb raised.

  Sabrina rolled her eyes when Paul spoke up.

  Kevin looked back at the rental facility. He was thankful they’d gotten away but also saw the entire thing as a wasted opportunity. They were leaving with less than they had begun their day.

  NORTHEAST OF WESTON, IDAHO

  The group assembled around the campfire, dour looks on all their faces.