April used her teeth to pull off a mitten and pulled an old broach watch that Mrs. Moore had given them out of her pocket. She glanced at the time and felt relief.
“Only thirty more minutes left,” she told the other woman.
Jan stretched her back and zipped her jacket up.
“Well, I just needed to find a tree to water and then I might as well take over for you two. Jenny and I are up next anyway.”
Jessica didn’t need any more prompting than that. She shot up off the log and with a mumbled, “Thanks,” dove into the still open tent. April smirked at her friend’s actions and added another branch to the fire to build it up for Jan and Jenny. When the woman came back and held her gloved hands towards the fire, April reached down and picked up the thermos of hot tea and passed it to her.
Jan took it with a smile.
“Thank goodness for Norma! The supplies she traded for have really helped. I wouldn’t have even thought to get a thermos or an ax for that matter. We really are so lucky to have her with us.”
April murmured her agreement but just stared into the fire. Jan poured herself a cup of steaming tea into the thermos’s lid and took a sip.
“You can go to bed, sweetie. I’m just going to let Jenny sleep for a few more minutes.”
April nodded and passed the shotgun to Jan who leaned it beside her against the log she’d taken over from Jessica.
She stood up but before she left the fire, she asked, “What do you think we’ll find in Cranbrook?”
The large town was their next destination and they hoped to get there in two days’ time.
Jan took another sip of tea before answering her.
“Well, it was a decent-sized town before so hopefully they have some form of organization in place. I’m hoping they have some sort of transportation that will help us get closer to home. If they don’t, then it might be where we’ll have to spend the winter. We just won’t know until we get there.”
April looked up at the billions of stars above them for a moment before saying good night and following Jessica into the tent.
The next morning the temperature had dropped even farther and they could all see their breath as they sat around the fire waiting for their breakfast to cook. Mrs. Moore kept glancing up at the overcast sky and they all feared that snow would fall from it.
An hour into their travels, their fear was realized as soft fluffy flakes started to descend. The snow melted as soon as it hit the pavement but two hours later, the trees on the side of the road had accumulated enough to coat their branches and slush started to form under the bikes’ tires.
The group kept going but they were now looking for shelter. They watched for signs for a campground that might have buildings or any house along the way. Visibility was getting worse and worse as the snow came down harder and the wind blew it in their faces.
April was thinking they should just get off the road and set up their tents under some trees to ride out the storm when she saw Susan who was in the lead wipe out and land in the slushy snow-covered road.
They all tried to come to a stop but only April, Jan and Mrs. Moore who were pulling the trailers managed to stay upright on the slick, icy surface. April jumped off of her bike and rushed over to help pull her friends up when she also came to a sliding stop. Coming towards them out of the swirling snow was a bulky figure. It was covered in snow and waving aggressively at them with one arm.
Mrs. Moore came up beside April with the shotgun in her hands and pointed it at the figure yelling into the wind for it to halt. The figure paused at her yell but then strode a few more steps closer so they could better see him. April saw it was a man in a parka and snow pants with a hood rimmed in frosted fur. He’d thrown a rope over one shoulder that he dropped to the ground as he raised both his mitten covered hands up in caution.
Mrs. Moore took a few steps closer.
“Who are you and what are your intentions?” she yelled to be heard over the wind.
The man patted the air with his hands in a calming gesture before unzipping his park halfway and spreading it open so they could see a green uniform top of some kind. He quickly zipped it back up and yelled back to the teacher.
“I’m a park warden. What are you doing out here in this storm?”
Mrs. Moore kept the shotgun in her hands but tilted it down slightly as she approached the man.
“We’re looking for shelter. Do you have an office or cabin rear by?”
The man bent down and picked up the rope he’d dropped. It was attached to a sled that had a dead elk partially covered in snow before he responded, “I can do better than that. Follow me and I’ll lead you to a safe place.”
He didn’t wait for a response just started to walk off the main road while pulling his sled. The group watched him for a few minutes until they realized that there was a road branching off that he was taking. In the whiteout conditions they hadn’t even seen it. Everyone had gotten back to their feet and with bikes righted they followed behind the man for what seemed like hours but it was only about twenty minutes before he stopped and pointed ahead of him. The blowing snow made it impossible to see anything except a wall of white but he held up his hand so they waited. It only took a minute before there was a break in the wind and they could faintly make out a huge structure across from an open meadow. It looked like it was four or five stories high and there was a soft glow coming from some of the lower level windows.
April didn’t know what the building was; she was just relieved that they would soon be out of the biting wind and heavy snow. They followed the man on what must have been a long driveway but it was impossible to tell with it covered in snow. The bikes and trailers were difficult to push through the snow and they were all panting hard before he led them up a wheelchair ramp to a set of huge lobby doors. The man banged on the doors and it was quickly pushed open by another man in a green uniform. His eyes bulged wide to see the group standing with bikes and trailers behind his friend but he quickly moved to the side so they all could get through the door.
The man they had been following pulled off his heavy mittens and pushed back his hood revealing a strong weathered face with kind blue eyes and close-cropped grey hair.
“Go get the others. I’ll need help with this elk and these people will need an introduction before we settle them in to warm up,” he addressed the other man who quickly nodded and took off deeper into the building.
April and the others were looking around what had once been a lobby of a hotel. There were large pictures in black and white on the walls showing the history of the hotel and how it had changed over the decades since it had been constructed as a hunting lodge. The man cleared his throat bringing their attention back to him.
“My name is John Fitzsimmons. I’m one of four wardens that have made this lodge our home since the collapse. Welcome to Elk Horn Lodge.” Before he could continue, a young girl that looked around ten-years-old came careening around a corner yelling, “Dad!”
The sight of the girl made the two adult women relax slightly. They were grateful to be out of the storm but with so many teenage girls with them, they were nervous to be hosted by four men. They relaxed even farther when a group followed the young girl consisting of three women, three men and four more kids.
Everyone was talking at once and the newcomers stood together unsure what they should do or who to answer first as they were peppered with questions of who they were and where they had come from. They all fell silent when John put two fingers in his mouth and blew a loud whistle.
“There will be plenty of time to get their story but right now these people need to be put around a fire so they can warm up. We also need to get this elk dressed out. I didn’t have time to do it in the field with the storm. Let’s get everyone settled and then we’ll hear their story.” He turned to the teacher. “You can leave your bikes here and hang your gear up on that rack to dry out. They’ll be safe and no one will touch them.”
Everyone looked to
Mrs. Moore so she nodded and pushed her hood back and pulled off her snow hat causing the rest of her group to do the same. There were gasps and exclamations from the lodge group when they realized that the group was mainly teenagers and the younger girl bounced on her toes and clapped with a gleeful face as she squealed,
“YAY, GIRLS!”
She bounced over to Jessica and grabbed her hand. “I have two bottles of sparkly nail polish! Do you want to play beauty salon?”
Her happiness at having more girls in the lodge broke the ice and caused them all to laugh. Jessica was smiling wide for the first time since they had left Disneyland and she had tears in her eyes as she bent over and whispered to the girl.
“Only if I can paint your toes!”
A woman with the same features as the young girl stepped forward with a smile and put her hands on the girl’s shoulders.
“Hello, I’m Shannon, John’s wife, and this is my little diva, Zoe. I’ll introduce you to everyone else once we get settled into the atrium where it’s much warmer. Here, let me help you hang up your jackets.”
As they stripped off their snow-crusted outwear, John and another man pulled the sled with the elk carcass down a hallway and out of sight. The others from the lodge ushered the smaller children down a different direction. Mrs. Moore and her group shivered in the cold lobby as they changed from boots to their running shoes and then followed Shannon and a skipping Zoe. The hallway was dim but they had enough light not to bump into side tables that lined the hall at intervals until they came to a double set of glass doors that were flooded with bright light.
Shannon pushed one open and they all felt much warmer air waft out towards them. They crossed through the doorway and entered a huge atrium that had once housed a large swimming pool and hot tubs. The pool and hot tubs had been drained of all the water and filled with soil where green shoots were growing. There were five metal barrels on each side of the pool that had fires burning in them keeping the room warm. Each barrel had a pieced-together tin hood with a pipe in the center that led to a plywood square of wood that had replaced a window, venting the smoke outside.
There were groupings of couches and armchairs where sun loungers used to rest and at the far end was a huge boardroom table surrounded by chairs. Shannon and Zoe led them to a sitting area where the rest of the lodge group was waiting and made introductions. The other two couples were Troy and Sylvia and Bryce and Andrea and they both had two boys each less than eight years old. The last park warden was a young man in his mid-twenties named Gordon. He had no family in the lodge with him and explained that his people lived on Vancouver Island. He planned on waiting out the winter at the lodge before traveling west in the spring and trying to find a boat to take him to the Island. By the time the introductions were complete, John had joined them and he told the story of how the group had come to be at the lodge.
“All of us lived in or around Cranbrook before the collapse. There was around twenty thousand people living there and things were confused but calm in the first few days but looting and home robberies started to happen. We all worked together before so we got together and decided to move our families out of town before it got too crazy. We had a few ATV’s and Quads that still worked so we hitched on trailers and packed as much as we could before heading here. We managed this area before for work and we decided this place would be the best place to set up. The lodge only opens from May to mid-October so there’d only be a caretaker here at that time of year. The collapse happened at the beginning of April so they had received two deliveries of supplies but the staff hadn’t started yet. When we got here, there were eight people who had walked in from being stranded on the roads when their cars broke down and eleven more showed up over the next week. They were all so happy to see us in uniform and once we told them what had happened in town they all decided to stay until things calmed down. We had brought seeds with us so we all worked together to break up the front lawn and plant as much as we could. Hunting isn’t a problem for us so we always had plenty of fresh meat.
It was around June that the stranded people decided they wanted to leave and try to make it back to their homes so we ferried them to town and it’s just been us since then. We dried, canned and smoked everything we could in September and we still have a fair supply of stuff from the lodge’s deliveries. This old place has plenty of fireplaces in it and we’ve chopped cord after cord of wood for winter as well as setting up the atrium as a greenhouse to grow a bit of fresh food over the winter. All in all we’ve done pretty well and we should have no problems getting through the season.” He finished their story and smiled down at Zoe who had snuggled up to him on the couch as he talked.
Mrs. Moore beamed a smile towards the lodge people.
“Brilliant! You’ve all done an amazing amount of work and are an inspiring example of how mankind can adapt and thrive in the face of adversity. We’ve seen the best and worst that humans have to offer.”
Shannon leaned forward and asked the group.
“Did you travel very far?”
Mrs. Moore looked to what was left of her small group and with a sad smile before telling the tale of their journey so far. By the time she finished, the light was fading through the atrium glass and their hosts were shocked at how far they had come and all that they had lost along the way.
Shannon had tears in her eyes as she placed her hands on top of the teacher’s in comfort and support.
“You’re all more than welcome to stay here until the weather clears. John and Troy can lead you to Cranbrook if you want but I honestly think you should consider staying here for the winter. We have plenty to see us all through and it’s safe and warm. If you try to go on you might get caught in the pass where there won’t be much shelter or food.” She stood up and looked to her own group. “It’s getting late. We should get some supper cooking and make up some rooms for our guests.” Turning back to Mrs. Moore she asked, “Please just consider it for now. We can talk some more about it after we’ve eaten.”
Mrs. Moore nodded and looked at her group. She studied their thin tired faces. To have come so far and be so close to their goal only to lose more of them on a chance they could make it through the mountains seemed foolish. They couldn’t ask for a better place to weather and wait out the season. They would have to discuss it further but Shannon’s offer was a gift they shouldn’t pass up. Rising to her feet she smiled down at them.
“I believe we have some supplies we can contribute to the meal. Let’s unpack. I think we’ll be here for a while.”
Epilogue
The snow and cold came early that winter for the people of the world. The bombs that had been dropped in one small area were enough to disrupt the weather patterns and the first nuclear winter held the world in a deadly grip ending the lives of many who had managed to survive through the initial chaos the EMP had caused. Mrs. Moore and her group stayed in relative comfort in the lodge for six and a half months of snow and cold before the melt finally began in April the following year. They worked side-by-side with the park wardens and their families to grow food in the atrium and chop wood. John and Troy took the teenagers out to the forest and taught them how to hunt, trap and ice-fish so that they would always be able to feed themselves.
Almost one year to the day, the students and their teacher and chaperone said goodbye to the people that had become like family to them and headed north to Cranbrook. From there they joined the first convoy of spring that was headed east. It was a mixed group of older and antique trucks, cars and campers with people on ATVs and dirt bikes as well as bicycles spaced out between them. They traveled slowly as a group for protection and to help each other when needed. Some of the way they got to ride on the back of a truck with their bikes strapped to other vehicles and other days they rode their bikes until their legs felt like Jello.
It was six-hundred miles from Cranbrook to their home, and it took them thirteen days to reach it. There were four men manning a road block at the entrance to Pra
irie Springs when they brought their bikes to a stop. As the two groups stared at each other, recognition came over one of the guard’s face, and he took a stumbling step forward with his mouth gaping open in disbelief. Before he could speak, Mrs. Moore leveled her famous teacher glare at them.
“Gentlemen, kindly move aside. There are some parents waiting in town that would like to be reunited with their children.”
Withering under her formidable glare, the guards moved to the side and watched as the teacher and her group biked past them. Mrs. Moore guided them towards the community center at the heart of their town. She didn’t want the teenagers she’d tried to protect for so long to return to empty houses if their families hadn’t made it through. The people they passed along the way shouted out in excitement if they recognized some from the group and quickly spread the word of their arrival.
Their long journey together came to an end as they climbed off of their bikes and eagerly looked around for anyone they might know; they were all nervous and scared about the fate of their families. Within minutes they could hear yelling coming from down the street and as one they turned to see who it was. A man was sprinting towards them and yelling April’s name. Her knees almost gave out on her at her first step but she stumbled forwards and started to run towards him with a sob hitching in her chest.
It didn’t take long after that for Jan’s husband and Jenny’s father to find them and their reunion was filled with shouts of joy and sobs of relief. Jessica, Susan and Cindy’s families arrived next for a similar overjoyed meeting leaving Mrs. Moore and Liam.
Eventually a man approached them with his shoulders slumped and a terrible sadness on his face. Liam slowly came to his feet.
“Uncle Aaron.” Liam studied his uncle’s face before asking, “They’re dead, aren’t they?”
The man’s face crumpled in grief.
“I’m so sorry, Liam. I can’t believe you made it home. I thought I’d lost you all. There was some trouble here after the collapse and they didn’t make it. I’m so sorry!”
Stranded (Book 4): City Escape Page 19