Erin leaned over the front seat, shook Haley awake and pointed to Annie. Haley woke Annie, and they all stared through the windshield at the wall of blackness that approached.
“Find us a building somewhere we can ride this out,” Stryker said. “We need to be able to drive into it and stay the night, maybe longer. We’re probably looking for something like a barn.”
They continued down the highway, on a collision course with the storm, until Erin spotted a large building on the right side of the road.
“Over there?” She pointed to what appeared to be an old industrial building that sat on a hill above the highway.
Stryker slowed to a stop and viewed the structure. The massive building looked like a warehouse, with a high roof and smooth white walls. Small windows dotted the top of the walls and ochre-colored brick accented the doors and windows of the building. A receiving dock had an open door.
He drove onto the service road that led to the building, pulled into the bay that sat behind the dock, and shut off the engine.
“Get food and water out of the truck and let’s get ready to hunker down until the storm passes,” he said. “I guess we eat and spend the night. That storm is going to be around for a while.”
As if on cue, the heavens opened and it seemed as though firehoses were directed on them. The metal roof amplified the sound of the raindrops striking and they soon felt like they were living inside a snare drum.
Stryker looked around the building. It held old radiators and institutional-looking metal desks that sat in long rows. The lamps on the desks were identical and he imagined he was in a government building that served some unknown purpose.
He glanced around again, and thought the building was much smaller on the inside than it appeared from outside the structure. Looking toward the back of the building, he noticed a sheetrock wall that ran the expanse of the building. The rest of the walls were all made of stucco and brick.
“Erin, get Haley to watch the door. I’m going exploring.”
“What?”
“This building is all wrong. It’s much larger than what we can see here. I want to see what we’re missing.”
“Okay, I guess. I’ll stay with Haley.”
“Thanks.”
Stryker walked to the back of the building, studied the wall and, after finding no door, rammed his M-4 butt through the sheetrock. He pulled the wallboard off in small pieces, and then shimmied through the small opening he managed to create and found himself in another cavernous space.
“Holy shit!” he muttered, then turned around and retrieved a flashlight from the pickup. He then created a larger opening by ripping away more sheetrock, and again stepped through the larger entry.
Haley remained at the door with Annie, but Erin could not resist her curiosity and stepped through the opening, where she stood by Stryker as he pointed the flashlight around the room.
“What is all this stuff?” she asked.
“It must be a FEMA storage facility, or maybe military,” he replied, walking farther into the room. He turned on a switch mounted to the wall on his right, and was surprised to see the lights come on, bathing the room in a stark institutional brilliance. He then heard the soft rumble of a generator. “It must turn on and off automatically.”
What lay before them was what Stryker imagined FEMA would store ahead of time to forward deploy supplies for potential emergencies. Stacks of five gallon buckets filled with freeze-dried food were stacked to the ceiling, as were cases of bottled water, bales of blankets, and at the back of the building eight brand new Humvees were parked in a neat row in front of what appeared to be a large garage door.
“We need to go through all this stuff and see if we want to take it with us,” Erin said.
“I know already we’ll want to take one or two of the new Humvees. The battery on the truck is getting suspect and those should be new and in good condition. If the batteries are dead on them, we can find a charger and get them started.”
“I’m really tired of MREs, so let’s grab a few of the freeze-dried food buckets. They can’t be any worse.”
“Agreed. I’m going to go stand guard. I’ll send Haley and Annie back and you guys can sort through all this stuff.”
“Sure.”
Stryker walked back to the open bay and walked up to Annie and Haley. “Give Erin a hand, will you? I’ll watch the front.”
“What’s she doing?” Haley asked.
“Sorting through a warehouse full of stuff and deciding what we need to take with us.”
“Sounds like shopping to me.” Haley shrugged, smiled at Annie, and they both moved off.
The rain intensified and the light around the building seemed to be sucked out of the air by the dark clouds. Stryker glanced out the door. The dips in the highway were already filling with water, and large puddles lay at the foot of the hill upon which the structure sat. At the rate it was going, they would be completely surrounded by water in the morning, and they would probably lose a day waiting for it to drain away enough to get to the highway and continue their trip.
To the east the run off was as he predicted. It was flowing downhill and away from the high spot they occupied, but the ditches were not able to keep up with the volume of the rain, and the roadway slowly began to disappear from sight.
“It doesn’t get any better than this,” he muttered sarcastically. He closed the sliding door on the front of the building after first banging against it to loosen any rust that may have formed along the bottom rail. After locking it with the bolt latch, he walked the perimeter of the building, noting that the windows were so high up, and so small, they represented no threat to the group from a potential intruder.
Stryker walked through the opening in the wall, and saw the three women in different parts of the warehouse, searching through piles of the stored goods, and setting aside some items.
“What are you finding?” he asked Haley as he approached.
“I thought you were guarding the door.”
“It’s closed and locked.”
“I’m getting food for tonight.” She held up two packages of freeze-dried beef stroganoff. “Do you know if this stuff is any good?”
Stryker nodded. “It’s a lot better than MREs.”
She reached into a bag and pulled out two cans of coffee, holding them up with a look of triumph. “And we’ve got coffee.”
“Holy shit,” Stryker said, as if gazing at the Holy Grail in a museum in Europe. He could not believe their good fortune. “That is amazing. We have real coffee.”
“This place has a full kitchen on the other side of the building and a lunch break table as well. There’s also a small room with six cots in it beside the lunch room, and the lights work. And, get this, there’s hot water in the bathroom, and a shower. So, if we have to stay awhile, it should be pretty comfortable.”
“You do look on the bright side,” Stryker grumbled. “I like that. Never mind we may end up swimming to San Diego.” He walked away and approached Erin, who looked up from her mound of stuff. .
“I don’t even know what half this is,” she said. “It’s all kinds of electronic junk.”
Stryker stared down at the devices that covered the floor in front of her. “Well, you have parts of a biohazard kit that will detect pathogens in the air, what looks to be some kind of radiation level detector, and spare parts from a first responder’s kit. I have no clue how that ended up in this pile, but I suppose somebody had some rationale behind it. No idea who or why, but that’s all I can see.”
“Maybe they were in a hurry to put something together to go out and help people after the plague hit?”
“Possible.” Stryker shrugged and walked away, passing a pile of clothing that looked new. Annie was gathering cases of bottled water. He nodded as he walked by her, and then moved back out of the office part of the structure.
Stryker went back to the sliding door, unlocked the bolt, and gazed out at total darkness. The rain was now fallin
g so hard it sounded like hail against the roof of the building. The water level had now risen to the point that it was around twenty feet downhill from the building they occupied. There was nothing to be done about it. He’d made his choice when they decided to get off the road and to high ground, and worrying about it now was sort of like wondering how your high school girlfriend got pregnant; it was a rhetorical question that expressed regret rather than a plan to move forward.
“How bad is it?” Erin asked as she lightly touched his arm.
“It’s pretty bad.”
“Are we going to flood?”
“I don’t know.”
“What’s the backup plan?”
“There is no plan.”
“There’s always a plan with you.”
“Sometimes it just sucks being us. I guess we can try to stay dry by getting back into the storage area and crawling on top of all the stacked supplies if we get flooded. But, aside from that I’m out of ideas.”
They both stared out the door, watching the land get lashed by the most incredible rainfall either had ever seen. The rain fell so hard smaller drops actually rebounded off the ground. Stryker sighed again, and then said, “We may as well eat. This thing is not stopping any time soon, and I’d rather wait it out on a full stomach.”
“I’ll get dinner ready.” Erin squeezed his arm, turned, and walked back toward the kitchen and lunch room. Stryker continued to stare out the door, unable to see anything, but filled with a sense of foreboding that would not dissipate.
He stood by the door, watching the water creep closer to the structure, then closed and locked it, and walked back to the rear of the building. The ladies were standing around the stove, Annie furiously stirring something in a pot and the other two sipping wine from plastic wine glasses.
“Where did you get the wine?” Stryker asked after he entered.
“It was in the fridge.”
“Is there a beer in there?”
“A full six pack,” Haley answered.
“Well?”
“Well what?”
“Can I have one?” Stryker asked with a lavish civility.
“Certainly,” Haley answered in the same tone. She pulled the six-pack from the fridge and handed him a frosty bottle.
“My God! It’s really cold.”
“Welcome to Haley’s Bar and Grille.” She toasted him and took a long drink from her wine glass.
“I’m starving,” Stryker said, “That smells really good.”
“I tasted it.” Erin piled dishes on the lunch room table. “It is really good.”
“Let’s eat.” Stryker sat down and picked up a fork, then waited for the plate to be delivered. He took a small bite, hummed for a moment with joy, and then started into the dinner with gusto.
After fifteen minutes and two beers, Stryker pushed the plate away, and folded his hands over his belly.
“That was a nice change from the MRE’s. I could eat that stuff for the rest of my life.”
“I miss salads and fresh fruit,” Haley answered.
“We’ve driven by more fruit trees than I could count. Why didn’t you say something?” Stryker replied
Haley paused for a moment, and then answered, “I guess I didn’t know we were driving by them. I’m used to buying it from bins, usually in cartons of some kind.”
“Well, keep your eyes open from now on. They’re everywhere.”
Erin sighed. “I guess we should clean up.”
“Go ahead, I’m going to look outside again,” Stryker replied.
The women got up and cleared the table as he moved back to the front door and opened it. The rain continued to beat down and the water had advanced to within ten feet from the door.
Stryker stood and pondered the problem for a few moments, turned and studied the building behind him, then turned back to the door. He examined the mental photographs he had taken every hour since the rain stopped, marking the progress of the water toward the door by the hour. He concluded that, if the rain didn’t stop, they would be standing on a wet floor in two hours.
He turned back and stared again at the warehouse. After walking back to where Erin stood washing dishes, he cleared his throat. “I think we’re going to get flooded tonight. It probably won’t get more than a foot high in here, but we need to make sure we can leave, so I have to make sure the Humvees will start.”
“Why the Humvees?” Annie asked.
“Well, they have higher clearances than the pickup, they have new batteries, and they have skid plates. So, if we run over any submerged obstacles, we won’t lose the vehicle to the damage. Also, if we get stuck in mud, they can tow each other out.”
“So, we’re taking more than one?” Haley asked.
“Yes, we’ll take two and both will haul trailers. We need to empty the trailer on the truck and transfer everything to the shorter trailers the Humvees have. That way, we have a back-up vehicle, we can haul more, and we can get each other out of trouble if we have to.”
“You need any help?” Erin asked.
“Finish in here and then come see me in the warehouse.” Stryker turned and disappeared through the hole in the wall he’d created.
“Well, I guess that was a committee decision,” Annie huffed. A long pause ensued. “It would be nice if we were allowed to take part in the process.”
Erin stared at her in disbelief. She looked at Haley, who also gaped at Annie. Erin grew increasingly irritated at her tone and demeanor. This was another Annie who, unlike the one she thought she knew, was ungrateful and antagonistic.
“You need to check that attitude right now,” Erin said. “I don’t mind you calling my man ugly, and I don’t mind your shitty attitude, but don’t you dare disrespect that man one more time. Be grateful he had the honor to stop and save you.”
“She’s right,” Haley agreed.
“Well, I …”
“I don’t want to hear anything from you but an apology.” Erin looked as though she wanted to attack the woman.
“Okay, I’m sorry. I just thought we should all participate in making a decision.”
Erin glowered. “You don’t have any rights here. You do what he tells you to do, or you can walk home.”
“You need to take that on board,” Haley said, her voice low.
“Okay.” Annie held her hands up.
“You know what your problem is?” Erin asked.
“I don’t think I have one.”
“You do.”
“And what would that be?”
“You think that because you had a bad experience the world owes you something. We don’t owe you anything. You’re not smarter than we are and you sure as hell don’t know the meaning of gratitude. You are on a very short leash now, so wise up or you will go away. I guarantee it, and the best you will get is a long walk home.” Erin stood with hands on her hips.
“Where do I sleep?” Annie’s expression remained unchanged.
“Outside, if it were up to me.”
Erin spun on her heel, and Haley followed her through the opening in the wall to join Stryker. He was working on the Humvees, getting the batteries charged from a trickle charger he found in a far corner of the warehouse. He looked up as they approached and noted the sour expressions. “Who pissed on your Cheerios?”
“Annie,” Haley said in a neutral tone.
“She’s trouble,” Erin added.
“Well, she’s had a rough time, give her some space, and she will probably straighten out.”
“I don’t think so,” Erin said. “She is really angry and looking for trouble.”
“Well, she found the right place to find it I guess. If she doesn’t straighten out, we can just dump her wherever we have to and be done with her.” Stryker straightened from the slouched position he was in while working on the batteries.
“So, you’re not concerned?” Erin asked.
“Not yet.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t really kno
w her. I’m worried about other things right now and she is way down on my list of things to worry about. And, there is the fact that we can dump her at any time, so why would I worry about her? She stands or falls based on her behavior.”
“All right,” Erin agreed with a tone of reluctance.
“Right now we have to get our butts up in the Humvees and stay dry for the night. You guys want to get some blankets from the pile over there?”
“Sure,” Haley replied.
Four hours later, Stryker woke up and glanced over at the Humvee next to him where Haley slept. He saw Annie in the one next to her. They were both sleeping in the back seat, as was Erin, who slept behind Stryker. He groaned briefly, then got up and placed his boots on the ground next to the vehicle.
He moved out of the warehouse area and into the office space. After crossing the room, he unlocked the sliding door on the front of the structure and peered out.
The rain was still coming down in sheets. He sighed, walked back to the kitchen, and brewed a pot of coffee.
It was going to be a long night.
Stryker spent the rest of the night listening to rain pelt the building and studying the atlas he laid on the lunch room table. He also pulled out his topo map and his spirits sank when he saw several low areas between where they were and the next stop they would make in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
“Something tells me this isn’t getting better any time soon,” he said as he traced his finger over the map.
He again got up and gazed out the sliding door. The rain continued unabated, and he sighed, took a sip of coffee and decided that, as long as he had the coffee, he could put up with the rest of shit sandwich he had been handed.
CHAPTER SEVEN
The following morning, the rain was still falling, and Stryker watched the puddles outside grow deeper. The landscape surrounding the small rise was mostly underwater and the flooding seemed to spread across the land that lay at lower levels. There were a few high spots that remained dry, small islands surrounded by floodwaters that flowed to the east. Trees and bushes were partially covered and Stryker still wondered if eventually their refuge would also become flooded.
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