by Nathan Jones
“Lewis drag you all on this adventure, too?” he joked as he and Deb arrived. Although he had to wonder if taking a bunch of young'uns so far away from town was the best idea.
“Well yeah, we're here for adventure,” Alvin called over. “But mostly for snack cakes.”
Trev bit back a smile. So that was why his normally pragmatic cousin had finagled to have junk food as part of his six month supply. Planning to pay off his helpers even then.
Linda made a face. “Those things are awful. I'm doing it for honey treats.”
That made him blink. Not that his sister preferred eating healthy, but that those were an option. Aunt Eva had been making treats out of the honey Trev, his mom, and Lewis had gathered last spring in this very valley. She added a variety of wild seeds and ground nuts into the honey until she could roll the mixture into balls, then dipped those in rolled oats for an outer coating.
Back before the Gulf burned Trev probably would've picked them last on the dessert table, but before the military's windfall arrived they'd been about the only sweet thing in new Aspen Hill, especially made with fresh ingredients. To a palate starved for variety they were delicious. Or at least, they had been before the town was flooded with enough sugary goodness to stock a dozen stores. Apparently for Linda they still were.
“Sounds like he's making this trip worth your while,” Deb said, sounding amused.
Eve eagerly piped up. “He is! He told us we'd get one for every thousand shells we found.” Her eyes drifted over Trev's shoulder. “Right?”
Trev turned to see Lewis and Jane rolling up on their bikes. “Right,” Lewis called. “That's the deal.”
His cousin was probably using up days' worth of rations for this. Although that wasn't what Trev had a problem with. He left Deb with the others and walked over to the two, stopping them out of earshot of everyone else. “Is it safe to bring them?”
Lewis shrugged. “I had Chauncey radio the military. They assured him that Highway 6 is free of trouble right now. Refugees are traveling along it with escorts, not to mention the usual military patrols, and there's been no sign of bandit activity since the blockheads left.” He smiled. “Besides, we can keep them safe.”
Trev nodded dubiously. “You asked their parents, right? Our parents too?”
“Of course.” Lewis patted his backpack, where presumably the various treats were packed. “They seemed happy enough at the chance for the kids to get some free food. Chauncey even joked that visiting the site of what's probably going to be a historical battleground is a good educational opportunity.”
“Okay. I'm still not sure about this, though. It's a long way to go, in territory that was dangerous not too long ago.”
Lewis looked a bit deflated by his objections. “Fair enough,” he agreed reluctantly.
Trev figured if the parents were on board then he was just dampening the mood, and this was something his cousin was excited about. So he decided to lighten things up. “I'm getting sugary bribes too, right?”
Lewis grinned. “Nope. Deb has the same deal as the others, but your reward is you get to help me and Jane with the dull, repetitive task of reloading all through the winter months.”
Trev made a face. “Seriously? Remind me never to put you in charge of finding stuff for me to do.”
“Well I mean, I'm not forcing you to do it or anything. It's as much your opportunity as mine if you want it.” His cousin leaned off his bike and bumped Trev's shoulder with a fist. “Partner.”
That perked him up. “You mean business partner, not “howdy, partner,” right?”
Jane snorted, and Lewis laughed. “Right.” He abruptly raised his voice. “All right, let's get this show on the road!”
Everyone scrambled onto their bikes, and in less than a minute they'd put their backs to new Aspen Hill and their faces to the rising sun, with Lewis and Trev in the lead and Jane and Deb as rearguard.
As they started out a thought occurred to Trev. “You're paying them by the thousand, huh?” Riding beside him his cousin nodded. “Are you going to make them count that out?”
Lewis shuddered. “Ugh, I wouldn't do that to them. We'll just weigh whatever they get.”
That made sense. “How much do a thousand casings weigh, anyway?”
His cousin hesitated. “No idea,” he admitted. “Although it won't be too hard to figure out. I suppose that means I'll have to count to a thousand at least once, though.”
After the ride up to the eastern ridge of the valley most of the rest of the morning was spent speeding downhill, aside from the aggravating delay picking their way over the collapsed cliff blocking the road while pushing or even carrying their bikes. But other than that it was an exhilarating trip, especially after the drudgery of hard labor and sentry duty.
It brought Trev back to his bike trip to Michigan last spring, when he'd spent long days putting the miles behind him. That had been a hard and exhausting journey, with more than its share of fear and misery. But there'd been plenty of enjoyable moments too, and most of them involved the wind in his face as the road blurred by beneath him.
The long mountain roads gently sloping downwards to Aspen Hill Canyon were the best for picking up some serious speed, while the sharply twisting canyon canyon road required them to frequently brake for sharp turns, at least once they got past the blocked off part. Those steep corners provided their own enjoyment as he and his cousin took them at borderline dangerous speeds, although Trev felt a bit irresponsible considering the kids following behind. Common sense prevailed and he slowed down.
Even so, it felt like no time at all before they were passing the burned hulk of Aspen Hill. The sight sent a surge of pain through Trev, not only at what they'd lost but at his failure to prevent it, irrational as that was. He had a feeling the others felt the same; the banter fell silent as they concentrated on hurrying past at the best speed they could manage, and their good cheer didn't make a comeback until the ruined town was out of sight behind hills.
The second leg of the trip along Highway 6 was uphill again. Nowhere near as steep as Aspen Hill Canyon, but it definitely got their lungs burning and turned their legs to rubber, forcing frequent stops to dismount and walk their bikes for a while. Trev could've gone for much longer at a better speed, but that's how traveling in groups went; they were always limited to the pace of the slowest member. Which was fine, and kept the trip more relaxed.
At least for everyone but Linda, who did her best with her obvious (and vocal) misery to show everyone she regretted her decision to come along. But in spite of her complaining she pushed hard to keep up, which was something.
Just before reaching their destination they passed a group of refugees coming the other way, maybe 50 people escorted by several soldiers. The refugees had stopped for lunch, which prompted a rest break for Lewis's group as well that Linda practically demanded. During that break Trev, Lewis, and Jane, less tired than the others, took a moment to briefly chat with the leader of the refugees and the soldiers guarding them, and learned that the large group wasn't just randomly wandering.
The military, no fools, had realized that for all the safety the mountains offered they were going to be a horrible place to be once winter rolled around. Especially nuclear winter. Ever since the blockheads left two and a half weeks ago, they'd been having their scouts on patrol also keep an eye out for likely spots in the valleys east and west of the mountains. Whenever they found one they encouraged as many refugees as the spot could accommodate to move there, and once the people were relocated they trucked in supplies for them, their 6 months of rations as well as any necessities the refugees couldn't carry on their backs.
It seemed like a pretty good deal to Trev, all things considered. The only downside was that the relocated settlers had to walk to their new homes. To that the refugee leader stoutly replied that since most of them had already walked so far already, a little farther was bearable.
The soldiers seemed curious about why Lewis was towing an empt
y trailer, and his cousin obligingly pulled a spent shell casing from his pocket to show them and explained about his reloading idea. Trev couldn't help but think that considering how serious Lewis was about collecting as much brass as he could before other people had the same idea, he sure was telling anyone who would listen.
But on the plus side the soldiers, who'd been slightly suspicious, relaxed at the explanation. Most seemed amused, as if they thought it was a waste of time, but they wished his cousin and the group the best of luck in their scavenging as they returned to the refugee group and their lunch. Lewis led the way back to their group as well, declaring the break over to groans from Linda and Eve, which he responded to with amusement.
“We only stopped to talk to the refugees,” Jane said, pointing. “Where we're going is literally just over that next hill. You can ride another hundred feet.”
That ended the complaints, and even Linda pedaled with a last burst of energy as they reached the former battle front and made their way to the US side of the no man's land. When they got there Trev and the others who were seeing it for the first time gawked at evidence all around of the major conflict that had taken place here for weeks in the final phase of the fighting.
It was easy to fall into the trap of believing that the war he and the other volunteers fought near Highway 31 was how it had been everywhere. But they'd been at a relatively small, out of the way place guarding a blocked road, and the enemy had been focusing their attention on places like this.
Lewis didn't give them much time to take it in, hopping off his bike to break out garbage bags and gardening gloves and pass them out. “Remember,” he said. “We're looking for brass that hasn't been bent or damaged. I plan to round up to the nearest thousand with any extra shells you gather, but if you bring me too many unusable ones I might be tempted to round down instead.”
There were nods all around, and immediately the group split up to begin their hunt.
Lewis had Trev and Deb go farther up the road to keep an eye out for potential threats coming their way, while he and Jane stayed at the other end where they could keep a casual eye on the refugee group, just as a precaution.
In between them the kids scurried around in a crouch, gloved hands stuffing handfuls of shiny brass into the garbage bags they dragged behind them. Trev worked at a slightly less frantic pace, wanting to keep half an eye up the road, but Deb was just as eager as the others.
“This is fun!” Eve called enthusiastically to her brother from not far away, coming up with another handful of casings. “It's like a scavenger hunt!”
Trev couldn't help but think wryly that a generation of kids brought up on internet and video streaming for movies and TV shows must be pretty hard up for entertainment to enjoy something like this. It did have its own mindless enjoyment, sure, but it wasn't exactly exciting. Although he couldn't complain that she was bringing a good attitude to it, considering the alternative.
He tried not to glance at Linda as he thought that. Even with gloves on his sister looked squeamish about rummaging around in the dirt, and she kneeled on the edge of the garbage bag so she wouldn't get her knees dirty. But she was finding brass just as quickly as anyone, eager for the honey treats she'd been promised.
Trev noticed with some amusement that Alvin and Wes were working not far from the young woman, trying to engage her in casual conversation that did a poor job of hiding their interest. As for Linda, even though she seemed to enjoy the attention she wasn't giving the two young men an easy time of it. It was pretty obvious she wasn't interested in either of them, and Trev felt a bit bad for Alvin especially. The recently orphaned young man had obviously had a crush on her almost from the moment she'd arrived at the shelter, in spite of his poor chances.
Oh well. They all had a lot of growing up to do before seriously considering dating or marriage.
Which was a shame. Trev liked Alvin, and his sister could do worse than an honest, hardworking guy like him. He supposed he felt a bit protective of the young man considering his father, Tom Harding, had died because Trev led him and the rest of his squad in a reckless ambush that had ended up with them getting ambushed in turn.
He was just glad Alvin didn't seem to blame him for what had happened. He would've understood, but he already felt enough guilt about it.
“Hey Alvin!” he abruptly called. At his side Deb jumped, startled. As the others turned to look at him he grinned. “We've been here for almost ten minutes and you haven't made any bad jokes yet.”
The young man shrugged. “I've got plenty of garbage puns, but they're all offal.”
Wes groaned. “Did you have to get him started?”
“I don't get it,” Linda said with a small frown.
Before Alvin could explain the joke there was a commotion from up the slope north of the road, in the direction Eve and Harry had wandered off. Everyone turned, alarmed at the shouting even though it sounded excited rather than fearful.
It turned out the racket came from Harry, barreling down the hillside holding a dirty AK-47 over his head in both hands, while his older sister stumbled to keep up while also yelling in excitement.
“Look at this!” the boy yelled, waving it wildly towards them. “I mean seriously, look at this!”
Trev was looking, and while the find was certainly exciting, he couldn't help but notice that the rifle had a magazine attached. If it had been discarded while loaded, with the safety off, the kid might accidentally shoot someone.
Lewis apparently had the same thought, and he was closest to the approaching siblings. He hurriedly strode over and yanked the weapon out of Harry's hands, although he tried not to show he'd been alarmed. “I can't believe scavengers didn't snatch this up,” he said, inspecting the dirty mechanisms while unobtrusively flicking on the safety. “Where did you find it?”
Trev and the others were all gathering around for a closer look, and the boy puffed out his chest proudly. “There was a spot where the ground was all torn up, like a bomb went off. I was poking around there and stepped on it, all buried in the dirt. The explosion must've covered it up.”
“How about that.” Lewis used his sleeve to polish along the barrel. “It's been pretty dry since the blockheads left, and not that long either. With a bit of cleaning this'll probably be good as new.”
“How many cakes is it worth?” Eve asked excitedly. Her brother nodded eagerly at the question.
Lewis laughed. “This is worth more than snacks . . . it's a real treasure. You'll want to take it home to your parents. It'll make their day, not to mention making life easier for your family no matter what they decide to do with it. They might even want you to keep it for yourself and start practicing how to use it.”
Harry's eyes went huge. “Really?”
“After you've had some safety training,” Jane said sternly. “Like not running around waving a loaded weapon with the safety off.”
The boy flushed in embarrassment. “Right, sorry.”
Lewis slung the new weapon over his shoulder alongside his own and patted Harry on the shoulder. “It's an important thing to learn. I can give you a few pointers about gun safety and targeting as we go.” He abruptly clapped his hands. “But in the meantime let's get back to work, people! I see a lot of empty bags around here.”
Everyone was more than eager to get back to searching, although Trev couldn't help but notice there wasn't much stooping to pick up brass going on. Actually most of the group made a beeline for the site of the explosion, and once there began digging around in the loose dirt hoping to find more stuff.
“Come on, guys,” Trev called good-naturedly. “Finding an AK-47 was pretty awesome, and it's possible there's more stuff out there. But this place has been combed by thousands of soldiers and scavengers, so it's not too likely. You can keep looking anyway, or you can pick up casings that you know are going to get you something.”
Eve, Harry, and Jim continued poking around, while everyone else made their way back to the road to continue sc
avenging brass.
The next half hour was spent in busy silence as everyone focused on the work. There were thousands and thousands of shells around waiting to be picked up, but even moving fast a person could only pick up so many at a time. Lewis wouldn't just be giving away those treats, and if anything Trev thought his cousin might not be rewarding the kids well enough for their efforts.
Deb must've been thinking the same thing, because she'd abandoned her gathering and started exploring the area searching for more disturbed earth that might hide valuables others had overlooked. Trev was torn between joining her and keeping going on casings, since after all he was Lewis's partner in this.
Before he could make up his mind he became aware of distant sounds, nearly drowned out by the crunch of feet and conversation of the rest of the group.
He paused, straining to listen. After a few seconds he identified the noise as coming from down the road, distant popping and what might've been voices. Hearing them made the hairs on the back of his neck stiffen.
He'd heard those kinds of sounds before plenty of times while fighting the blockheads. Gunshots and people screaming in pain and terror, coming from the direction the refugee group had gone.
“Trev!” Lewis shouted, already bolting for the bikes.
Trev was right behind him. “Deb, Jane, get the kids packed up and ready to go, then find any cover you can hide behind! We'll see what's going on and radio a warning if there's danger.”
Everyone else was staring at them like they'd lost their minds, but Jane was quick to start chivvying the others into action. Lewis grabbed his wife's bike since his own was attached to the trailer, only taking a moment to toss the AK-47 Harry had found into the trailer as he passed. He was already ten feet down the road by the time Trev started pedaling furiously after him.
The noises were distant, miles away, which meant there probably wasn't a need for caution just yet. Even so they didn't travel as fast as they could've on the downhill road, and constantly scanned the way ahead for any sign of activity.