But they still deserved the right to know.
Dave and Julianna stopped by the sheriff’s office to change vehicles and were now in a White Yukon adorned with the Teton County Sheriff’s Department paint scheme.
They were just west of the tiny town of Wilson, working their way along Highway 22.
They turned north on the first dirt road they came to.
Actually, “road” was a bit generous, for it was actually little more than a couple of tire ruts overgrown with weeds.
But this was the kind of road which led to hidden cabins and homesteads.
Dave turned on his siren, then manually turned the volume down as low as it would go.
It could be heard by up to a couple hundred yards, but wouldn’t be loud enough to startle anyone.
“I don’t want to sneak up on them and scare them,” he explained to Julianna. “I want them to hear us coming, so hopefully they’ll come to us instead of us having to search for them.
“Hopefully by identifying ourselves as cops, it’ll reduce the chance of us getting shot.”
Julianna caught her breath.
“Do you really think they’d shoot us?”
“I don’t know. I hope not. But like I said, I don’t want to take anybody by surprise.”
They bounced along at a snail’s pace.
It hadn’t rained in a couple of weeks, and that was a good thing. The rutted road was very deep in some places and even the Yukon, with its high clearance and knobby tires, might have gotten stuck if it had been muddy.
After half an hour bumping along at a mile an hour or so, they rounded a curve to find an angry man directly in their path.
“What in tarnation is going on here?”
Julianna whispered to Dave, “What does tarnation mean?”
“I don’t know. But I don’t think he’s very happy with us.”
He put the vehicle in park and stepped out.
“Good morning sir. I’m Deputy David Regal. This is Ranger Julianna Cervelli.”
“Yeah, so what? Who the hell are you pursuing in these woods that you need that noisy siren going on?”
“Sorry about that. We didn’t want to sneak up on anybody and catch them off guard.”
“Well I’d say you accomplished your mission, you young fool.
“What the hell do you want?”
Chapter 17
“We’re here to help you,” Dave replied.
The old man laughed.
“Nobody from the government ever helps anybody but themselves.”
“I’m not with the government. I’m with the sheriff’s office.”
“Do you get your paycheck from the county, young fella?”
“Well, yes.”
“Then you work for the damn government. Where do they find you guys, anyway?”
Dave gave up. It was obvious he’d met his match.
Julianna tried.
“Sir, we’re here to help you. There’s a super volcano beneath Yellowstone National Park and it’s in its early stages of erupting.”
He looked at her as though she had three heads.
Then he softened and smiled and said, “Say, you’re a pretty little filly, aren’t you?”
That caught her off guard.
She managed a mumbled, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I ain’t seen a woman in… let’s see now… going on five years now. That’s the only thing I miss about being out here.”
“Yes sir.”
“And you said something about a volcano? I’ve lived around Yellowstone all my life. Been in the park a thousand times. There ain’t no darned volcano in the park. You must be as loony as your partner there.”
“The volcano isn’t in the park, sir. It’s beneath it.”
“An underground volcano? Are you sure? That sounds kinda illogical to me.”
“Yes, sir. I’m sure. It’s always been there. And scientists are saying it’s getting ready to erupt.”
“Well, either way it doesn’t affect me, little lady. I don’t live on Yellowstone. Hell, I’m miles away from it.”
Dave jumped back into the conversation.
“That’s just it, sir. This will be a huge eruption. It will destroy everything and everybody for hundreds of miles in all directions.”
“I wasn’t taking to you, young fella. I’m talking to her. She’s a lot easier on my eyes.”
“Sorry.”
The old man turned back to Julianna.
“When is this supposed to happen?”
“They’re not sure. Some scientists say sooner, some say later. A couple of them say it’s not going to happen at all.”
“Then why is it so consarned important that you guys are out here botherin’ me about it?”
“We’re trying to get the word out to everyone outside the park so they can evacuate before it’s too late.”
He rubbed his heavily whiskered chin and pondered her words.
“Is your pal here gonna arrest me if I refuse to go?”
“No sir. But I hope you’ll heed our warning and evacuate.”
“What’s your name, darlin’?”
“Julianna. What’s yours?”
“Sam.”
“Sam, we can give you a ride to the Red Cross relocation center in Jackson.”
“Why? What’ll they do for me?”
“They’ll arrange for transportation for you and whoever lives with you.”
“Ain’t nobody lives with me. I ain’t needed nobody since my wife died twelve years ago. It’s just me and God’s country and His animals.”
“Okay then. They’ll arrange for you to relocate to a safer place of your choosing. They’ll make sure you get there and they’ll try their best to get your belongings there too.”
“They’ll try their best? You don’t sound too sure about that part.”
“I understand getting trucks in and out of here is a problem. But they’re negotiating with the National Guard to start moving belongings.”
He studied her face and smiled.
“You couldn’t tell it now, but beneath all these wrinkles is a handsome face. When I was younger, I’d chase a pretty little thing like you.
“And guess what? I’d have caught you too. You’d have been my girl, and I’d have taken you all over the county, showing off to everybody that my girl was prettier than theirs.”
She flushed.
She was getting nowhere with this guy.
She tried a new tactic.
“Well if you were my man, Sam, I’d lay down the law. I’d tell you to stop with the foolishness and pack up a few things and come with us to the Red Cross station.
“I’d tell you this is beautiful country. And that you’re right about it being God’s own.
“But living out here isn’t worth dying out here. And that’s what’s going to happen if you don’t evacuate.”
“Gotta die somewhere. Might as well be here where it’s pretty and quiet. Better than any big city I’ve ever been in.”
He winked at her.
“So are you my girl?”
“Would you come with us if I said yes?”
“Nope. But I’d die a happy man, knowing my last girl looked like you.”
“Oh, you’re impossible, you know that?”
He snickered.
“Oh, I know. That’s what my Martha used to say.”
Dave asked, “Is there anybody else farther up this path?”
“Just old Jake. I’ll tell him what you said.
“But he won’t evacuate either.”
Julianna wasn’t quite willing to give up.
Not just yet.
“Sam, will you at least think about leaving and bringing Jake out with you?”
A first he started to shake his head no.
Then he saw the fear in her eyes. This sweet young woman he didn’t even know was worried for him.
“Yes. For you, pretty lady, I’ll think about it. Just don’t count on me changing my m
ind.”
It wasn’t much, but it was all they were going to get.
“If you change your mind, hike down to Highway 22 and flag down a motorist.
“There’s a lot of them these days. They’re all heading away from Yellowstone.”
Chapter 18
The pair left discouraged, and against all logic both were worried about the cantankerous old man.
They almost advanced farther up the heavily overgrown and heavily rutted road, so they could talk to Jake and try to enlist him as an ally.
But Sam knew Jake much better than they did.
Sam’s contention that Jake would shoot them on sight before they got a word out, and probably before they even saw him, unnerved them a bit.
His contention that Jake would never consider moving despite their best efforts to coax him away worried them as well.
But he’d promised to pass along the message.
That was all they were going to get on this particular day.
The two headed back toward Highway 22, driving in silence for several minutes.
Julianna finally spoke.
“Do you mind if we come back in a week or two, after he’s had time to think about what we said? Just to check on him, I mean, and to give him another chance to get out?”
Dave looked at her for a moment.
He smiled.
“You really took a liking to that guy, didn’t you?”
“Oddly enough, yes.”
“Me too. He reminded me of my grouchy old grandpa.
“And yes, we can come back if we have time. But remember we have a lot more ground to cover. And we agreed once the sheriff issued the order for us to get out we’d obey it immediately.”
Once back on Highway 22 they headed west again, and went less than half a mile before coming to the next roadway.
It appeared to be an old logging road which headed more or less north from the highway.
They spent the rest of the day checking out trails and pathways which led from the logging road into the heavy woods.
Most of the time they had to park their vehicle on the logging road and hike in, for the paths were too rough or narrow for vehicle traffic.
Most of the people they talked to were more receptive than Sam. Some asked if there were resources available.
All were offered rides to the Red Cross center, but few took them up on it.
They knew it was a big thing to ask, perfect strangers appearing out of nowhere and encouraging them to abandon their homesteads to go to places they weren’t familiar with and would likely despise.
“I don’t blame them,” Julianna decided. “If I were in their shoes I’d be suspicious too. But if they don’t leave they’ll die.”
“All we can do is try to make them see the light. We can’t drag them away, kicking and screaming, from the land they love.”
At six p.m. they decided to call it a day. They were tired and dirty and covered with mosquito bites.
Mostly they were frustrated.
But there was a ray of hope.
Back on Highway 22 and headed back to town they came across a young couple walking on the road’s shoulder.
“Hey, those are the people we talked to earlier.”
“Well, I’ll be darned. It is, it is.”
They hadn’t been very keen about the whole evacuation idea when they’d talked a couple of hours before but after reflecting on it decided to leave.
They each had a backpack and a rifle. The man also lugged a military duffle bag.
It appeared to be very heavy.
And they seemed very glad when Dave pulled his vehicle alongside them and offered them a ride.
“We thought about it and decided it wasn’t fair for us to make a decision for our child. It should be his decision whether to stay here and risk dying or to move back to Austin where we came from.”
Dave panicked just a bit.
He never saw the couple’s son. They never mentioned him before.
He brought the vehicle to a sudden stop.
“Where is he? We’ll go back after him. Is he back at your cabin?”
The woman laughed.
“No. I haven’t had him yet. We just found out I’m pregnant. I haven’t even started showing.”
“How do you know he’s gonna be a boy?”
“Oh, he has to be. You see, we both came from large families. And each of our families had boys first.
“We both grew up in an environment where we had a big brother to teach us things and to protect us from bullies.
“We want the same for our kids as well.
“That’s why we decided to leave. Because it’s okay for us to decide to stay here and risk dying, but it wouldn’t be cool for us to decide for our children.”
“So that’s where you’re going? Back to Austin?”
“Yes. For the time being. We’ll probably only stay long enough to make some pleasant memories with our families before we’re off again.
“We’ve always half considered moving to the high desert of California and living in the Mojave.
“Have you ever lived in the desert?”
Julianna said, “Ugh. Cactus. Scorpions. Rattlesnakes.”
The woman laughed.
“Well, yes. There’s all that. But the beauty of the desert makes up for that. There are flowers that grow in the high desert of California that you can’t find anywhere else in the world.
“In the springtime, after the first good rains, the desert comes alive. Colors everywhere. It’s truly a spectacular place.
“There’s no way to adequately describe it. Unless you’ve been there you wouldn’t understand.”
“Of course,” her husband added, “That might change.”
“How so?”
“Well, you’re saying that a third of the country is in the inner or outer danger zones. One of the best things about the desert has always been the solitude you feel when you’re out there.
“But if one third of the country has to relocate into the other two thirds, it’s going to get awfully crowded. I see the deserts as places they’ll develop into big metropolitan areas.”
“I hope not. And if America’s bikers get their way in Washington, the deserts will be left alone.”
“But where will everyone go?”
“North. To Alaska.”
Chapter 19
Marilyn frequently suffered from bouts of depression.
Especially in the months immediately following the SIDS death of young Jacob.
The real one, not the baby she stole from Hannah and called by Jacob’s name.
Now she was lower than she’d been in many months.
The manager at Food King had ignored her pleas.
“No,” she’d wailed. “They’ll take my baby from me!”
And it wasn’t that he didn’t care.
He wasn’t a heartless man. He had his own children. He couldn’t even imagine how it would feel if the state came in and took his kids away from him.
But his hands were tied.
It was corporate policy, and one corporate headquarters adhered to without exception.
Food Kings gave a break to first-time shoplifters, provided they tried to steal less than a hundred dollars worth of product.
Instead of prosecuting them, they called the police and had the police serve what was called a “trespass order” or T.O.
The T.O. said, in effect, that the shoplifter was never to step foot on Food King property again at any place, any time.
If they did, they would immediately be arrested.
Even if they weren’t stealing.
There were no second chances.
Once the manager determined Marilyn had been trespassed at another Food King in another city, he had no choice but to have her arrested.
He felt bad for her at first.
Then he went one step further and called up her police record.
His sympathy for her waned once he saw she’d been arrested on
seven previous occasions for shoplifting or trespassing, in addition to several drug arrests.
“I’m sorry you'll lose your baby, ma’am. But it’s only temporary. Maybe after you beat your drug problem you can stop stealing for your dope and they’ll give you your baby back.
“Good luck to you, ma’am. I hope you can beat your habit.”
The ironic thing about it was Marilyn had already kicked her dope habit long before.
When the jail performed their mandatory blood draw there wouldn’t be a single sign of illicit drugs in her system at all.
No, the truth was that while she did have a bit of a drinking problem she was no longer a druggie.
The manager assumed she was stealing the baby formula to sell for half-price on the black market.
And that the money she got for it would be shot into her arm or inhaled into her lungs.
He didn’t believe her when she said she was really stealing it for the baby.
And she was telling the honest-to-God truth for a change.
In the end it didn’t really matter why she was stealing it.
After all, stealing is stealing no matter the reason.
And her criminal past precluded any chance of a break.
The police and Child Protective Services were called, the cuffs were placed on her, and she was carted off to jail.
But not before the CPS workers gave her a chance to say goodbye to little Jacob.
They were mothers too, the two of them were.
They’d never lost their own children, not even temporarily.
But their hearts typically went out to parents who did.
As long as those parents weren’t causing physical harm to the children.
That was a whole other story.
In Marilyn’s case, they could see her love was true.
So was the agony she was feeling, knowing her baby was about to be carted away.
One of the workers dug into her own pocket and purchased some formula to fill the poor baby’s belly.
And they let Marilyn hold him for several minutes, kissing and cooing and comforting him, until the policeman said it was time to go.
They explained to her that the baby wouldn’t be placed in a non-family member home immediately.
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