by Alex Gunwick
After parking next to a gas pump, he hopped out of the truck. A red plastic warning banner was wrapped around the nozzle. He frowned. Were they out of gas too?
He dropped and headed toward the store. Before he could reach the door, three men wearing a woodland camo uniform he couldn’t identify stepped out. They each carried Bravo Company M4 Mod 2 Carbine rifles. He checked for nametag patches on their clothes. Nothing.
His chest tightened. Something wasn’t right.
“I need to fill up,” he said.
“Gas is being rationed,” the tallest man said. “Military and law enforcement only.”
“I just need a half a tank. Just enough to get home to my family.”
“A lot of people are trying to get home,” the shortest man said.
“I’ve got cash.”
The three men looked at each other, barely containing sly grins.
“How much you got?” Tall Man asked.
“Forty dollars,” he lied.
No point in letting them take anything more. He’d worry about how he was going to peel forty dollars off a wad of two hundred without them seeing later.
“Let’s see the money,” Shorty said.
“Okay. I’ll be right back.”
As Luke headed for his truck, the instinct to jump in and take off seized him. But he only had about twenty miles worth of gas left. He could try driving down the road to another station, but if he didn’t have any luck there, he’d be stuck. At least these guys seemed like they might sell him some gas.
Halfway to the truck, he heard footsteps behind him. The men closed in quickly. As Luke spun to face them, Shorty slammed the butt of his rifle into Luke’s back. He fell to the ground. A steel toe boot connected with his ribs. Every molecule of oxygen blasted from his lungs. He couldn’t breathe as pain radiated down his side.
He tried to stand, only to be kicked again.
“Stay down,” Shorty ordered.
“I don’t have anything worth taking.”
“Let’s see what we’ve got,” Tall Man said. “Food, water. Oh shit, he’s got an AR-15.”
“And a P938,” Shorty said as he yanked the pistol out of the back of Luke’s waistband.
“What the hell happened to your truck?” Third Man asked.
“Hit a deer.” Might as well lie since the truth wouldn’t matter.
“Must have been one hell of a deer,” Third Man said.
“Where were you coming from?” Shorty asked.
“Up north,” Luke said.
“Cuff him,” Shorty said.
“Wait. You can’t arrest me. I haven’t done anything.”
They laughed while Third Man slapped a pair of shiny new handcuffs around his wrists. The man hauled Luke into a sitting position and leaned him against the truck. “What should we do with him?”
“Throw him in with the other guy. Take his stuff and put it in the stockpile. We need to clear the lot before someone else comes,” Shorty said.
“I demand an attorney. You can’t arrest me without probable cause.”
“You probably didn’t hit a deer,” Shorty said. He rummaged through the glove box and pulled out a piece of paper. “And I doubt this is even your truck, Jose Fernandez.”
“My friend loaned it to me.”
“Same friend who ended up in your grill?”
“I want a lawyer.”
“And I want to fuck the president’s daughter,” Shorty said before spitting on the ground.
“That bitch is fuckin’ hot,” Third Man said.
Luke shook his head. Fucking assholes.
“I’m guessing you’re not cops,” Luke said.
“Jesus, we’ve got a fucking genius on our hands,” Shorty said. “Take Einstein inside. Gag him if he keeps talking.”
The two other men dragged Luke to his feet. They pulled him toward the empty row of stores adjacent to the gas station. Two of the three stores had boarded-up front windows. Tall Man used a key to unlock the door in the middle. They pushed him inside and slammed the door behind him. Before he could turn around, the key slid into the lock, trapping him for good.
“Fuck!”
“They got you too?”
The voice came from somewhere farther into the store. With the front window blocked, only a sliver of dim, hazy light sliced in to illuminate a parade of dust bunnies. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he picked his way through overturned tables. Toward the back of the store, a cash wrap counter blocked his view of the other person.
He cautiously stepped around the counter. A stocky man wearing jeans and a short sleeve red and black plaid shirt came into view. Large sweat stains darkened the fabric under his arms. His collar drooped under the weight of extra moisture.
“Name’s Grady.”
“Luke.”
“How’d they get you?”
“Pulled up hoping to get gas. I should have turned around the minute I saw the warning tape,” Luke said.
“Yeah. I figured they might sell me gas if I bribed them. It didn’t end well.”
“At least they only zip-tied you. Have you tried to get out of them yet?”
“No. These things are tight as hell.” Grady held his hands up. The zip ties dug into his skin, leaving streaks of red in their wake. “Hurts like hell too.”
“I know how to get out of them.”
“How? I’ve already searched this place for anything sharp. Couldn’t find a damn thing. It’s picked clean.”
“Stand up.”
Grady rolled onto his knees then stood up.
“Pull the zip tie as tight as you can get it,” Luke said.
“Any tighter and I’ll lose circulation.”
“Get it as tight as you can or this won’t work.”
Grady lifted his hands to his mouth. He gripped the end of the zip tie between his teeth and pulled.
“Make sure the locking bar is directly between your wrists. Now raise your hands over your head and come down hard against your stomach,” Luke said.
Grady followed his instructions and brought his hands down hard. The zip tie snapped free.
“Holy shit!” Grady’s eyes went wide. “I’ve been stuck in here for two days and you got me free in two minutes. Who the hell are you?”
“Just a man trying to get home to his family.”
“Me too. I was almost home when they got me.”
“Where’s home?” Luke asked.
“Lancaster. I’m about a hundred miles out. All I needed was a half tank of gas and I would have been home.”
“Where were you coming from?”
“Paso Robles. After the bombs dropped, I went up to check on my parents. Left the kids at home with their mom. I didn’t expect to have problems getting gas. I tried the truck stop, but they said they’re rationing to military and police only.”
“So that part is true.”
“Yeah. It’s horseshit. What are the rest of us supposed to do?” Grady asked in an exasperated tone.
“I don’t know, but we’ll figure it out.”
“How? You’re in handcuffs.”
“I don’t know, but I’ll think of something. How often do they come in here to check on you?”
“Twice a day. Lunch and dinner. Already had lunch today,” Grady said.
“How long until dinner?”
“About two hours. See that streak of light?”
“Yeah?”
“Soon as it hits the first table, they’ll come.”
“They’re consistent?”
“You could set a watch to it. If you had a watch,” Grady said.
“Okay, so we’ve got two hours to figure a way out.”
“Good luck with that. I’ve been in here two days and haven’t been able to do a damn thing to get out. They punched me in the face the first time I tried. It didn’t stop me though. I kept trying.”
“We’ll be out of here tonight,” Luke said.
He had no idea how he’d manage it without tools, but he’d
have to find a way. If he had to tear apart the walls to get out, he would. But with his hands cuffed behind his back, options were severely limited. As he stalked around the semi-dark room, he kicked furniture and looked under shelves. There had to be something in the room that could help him get free.
18
Liz dropped the frying pan into the sink and listened intently as bells jingled outside. She pushed back the curtains and spotted a man in his early fifties walking through the grass toward the front door.
“Did you hear that?” Kyle asked as he came barreling down the stairs. “The bells!”
“I heard. We’ve got company. Don’t say anything. I’ll handle this.”
As the man stepped onto the porch, Justice growled at the door. He stood at attention. Back rigid. Teeth bared. He was in full protection mode. She grabbed his collar a second before the man knocked.
“Who is it?” she asked.
“Edwin Wright, your neighbor.”
“What do you want?”
“I saw you folks come up the road last night. I wanted to see if you’re doing okay.”
She opened the door. Justice cocked his head to one side before sitting back on his haunches. His tongue hung out as he panted.
“There you are, Justice. I missed you the last few weeks.” Edwin rustled the fur on Justice’s head. “Oh, hey Kyle. How have you been?”
“Good! Did you catch anything in the lake after we left?” Kyle asked.
“You know him?” Liz asked.
“He goes fishing at the lake. Dad and I run into him all the time.”
No wonder Justice had calmed down. He must have met the man while on a fishing trip.
“I caught a small one,” Edwin said. “Had to throw it back.”
“That sucks,” Kyle said.
Edwin shrugged.
“I’m Liz.”
“Nice to finally meet you.”
“Likewise. Where do you live?” she asked.
“In the house on the next road over. Built it myself.” Edwin looked around the cabin. “Where’s Luke?”
“Out gathering wood,” she lied.
She wasn’t about to tell a man she didn’t know that they were alone and vulnerable. Even though Kyle seemed to know him, she didn’t. Until she could find out more about him, she wouldn’t share any additional information.
“I can wait for him,” Edwin said. “I damn near fell on my ass tripping over your alarm system. Pretty crafty to use bells and fishing line. You expecting trouble?”
“Haven’t you heard the news?”
“Sure, but it doesn’t mean the hills are going to fill up with the fleeing masses,” he said. “People are more likely to hunker down and wait it out.”
“Until they run out of food.”
“Good point.” He scratched his chin. “Maybe I should set some trip wires myself.”
“It couldn’t hurt.”
“I haven’t been able to get any signal on my satellite dish for the last two days. The radio works, but they haven’t given out any new information since it started.”
“Last we heard, eight cities had been bombed, including LA,” she said.
“Same as I heard. Hell of a thing. We should have wiped the Russians off the map thirty years ago.”
“I’ll let Luke know you dropped by.”
“I was hoping to see if I could borrow some waders from him.”
“What happened to yours?”
“Soaked through,” Edwin said. “Yesterday I fell out of the damn boat trying to reel a big one in. He pulled me clear over the edge. I thought they might be dry by today, but no such luck.”
“I don’t think Luke brought his waders with him.”
“Uh…” Edwin raised a brow. “They’re right over there.” He pointed at a pair of large boots.
“Oh, right. Well, I would loan them to you, but I don’t know if Luke will need them today.”
“No problem. Just have him come over when he gets back. How long did he say he’d be out?” Edwin asked.
“He didn’t say.”
“What, probably an hour or so tops?”
“I don’t know.”
“I like you. You’re not the kind of woman always needin’ to know where her man’s at. My wife would flip her lid if she couldn’t account for my whereabouts for five minutes, let alone a couple of hours. Luke’s a lucky man.”
When his gaze swept up and down her body, she narrowed her gaze slightly.
“I’ve got to get breakfast started,” she said.
“We already ate, Mom.”
“Lunch. I meant lunch.”
“Okay,” Edwin said, clearly not believing her lie. “I’ll come back later and see if Luke’s around.”
“He will be.” She shot a glance at Kyle, hoping he’d keep his mouth shut. He did. “I’ll send him over. No need to come back.”
“I don’t want him to waste a trip.”
“It’s no problem. I’m sure he’d be happy to head over to your place for a bit.”
“Can I tell you a secret?” he asked.
Her hackles rose, but she nodded.
“I’ll take any chance I can get to get away from Sandy,” he said.
“Your…wife?”
“Yep. The old ball and chain drives me nuts. I thought moving up here for retirement would be a good thing. I could go fishing, hunting, be a man. But she’s here too, so I’ve got to listen to her bitch and moan all day.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” she said dryly.
“Now don’t get me wrong, I love her. But when no one else’s around, we can get on each other’s nerves real quick.” His eyes lit up. “Hey, I’ve got an idea. Why don’t you come by later and meet Sandy? Maybe if we’ve got another woman around, she’ll calm down. She’s going stir crazy without the TV.”
“Okay. I can do that,” she said.
She’d definitely take the chance of heading over there. It would be a good reconnaissance mission. If people did start to flood the area, it would be good to have an ally down the road.
“Great,” Edwin said. “Why don’t you come by around three? I’ll see if she can whip up some scones and honey. She may talk too much, but the woman can turn flour into the finest pastry you’ve ever seen. Her croissants are good enough to make a Frenchman cry. In a good way, mind you.”
“Sounds like a plan,” she said.
After he left, she breathed a sigh of relief. He seemed nice enough. Maybe after she met his wife she could tell them the truth. In the meantime, she didn’t want anyone to know she was alone with Kyle.
“Can I go with you later?” Kyle asked.
“Sure. Have you been to their house before?”
“A couple of times. Sandy invites us over for cookies and milk.”
“Hmm, maybe I should have come with you during all of your ‘boys only’ weekends,” she said.
“You don’t have anything to worry about, Mom.”
“What do you mean?”
“Sandy’s old. Dad wouldn’t look twice at her.”
“Why would you even…never mind.”
“My friend Felix’s dad used to take him on dates with another woman.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “It wasn’t his mom.”
“That’s terrible.”
“Yeah, his dad’s a dick.”
“Language!”
“Sorry. Anyway, his parents are divorced now and he lives with his mom. But don’t worry. That will never happen with you and Dad.”
“Of course not,” she said. “I love your dad more than anything in the world. Except you.”
She ruffled his hair. He scooted away and swatted his hair back into place.
“When we go later, are you going to tell them Dad’s not here?” Kyle asked.
“Not yet. I think we should keep it quiet for now. They may be nice people, but we don’t know who else they know. They could let it slip that we’re all alone and end up telling the wrong people. We can’t take that chance.”
Sierra yawned and stumbled behind Derek as they crested a hill. After being up all night, she was ready to fall asleep standing up. But she couldn’t afford to slow them down. She definitely didn’t want to spend another night outside. Although they never saw the coyotes or a mountain lion, she couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched.
“We’ll go another mile then take a break,” Derek said. “How are you holding up?”
“Good,” she said with forced enthusiasm.
“Okay. Let me know if you need to slow down. I’d rather take more breaks if it means getting farther today.”
“I’m not stopping until I get to the cabin,” she said.
They trudged up and down hills, but the hike wasn’t too bad. At least they were on a hiking trail. She couldn’t imagine trying to hike through the tall, dry wild grasses. They were probably teeming with snakes.
She eyed the edge of the trail and listened for rattling. So far they hadn’t encountered anything other than a few scattering field mice and some persistent flies. She couldn’t wait to take a shower. Her sticky, sweaty shirt clung to her. A ponytail full of grimy hair hung down her back. Dirt and dust covered her shoes. She’d probably have to burn everything by the time she got to the cabin.
The last time she’d been this filthy, she’d been rolling around in a mud pit while trying to rush a sorority. Stupid snobby bitches. She’d done everything they’d asked but they hadn’t extended an invitation to her to join. Their loss.
Grasshoppers snapped their wings as they flew across the trail. Wind rustled the grass alongside the road. Her heavy breathing punctuated each step. She’d run out of water after the last rest stop and her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth.
“How much farther is it to the stream?” she asked.
“It should be right around the bend up there. Do you want some of my water?”
“I don’t want to take it from you.”
“Go ahead.” He pulled a canteen from his pack and handed it back to her. “We’ll be able to refill everything soon.”
“Do you come out here a lot?” she asked.
“Sometimes. I like to do practice runs through the canyons so I don’t get lost on the trails.”
“Have you ever fought any wildfires?”