Solar Storm: Homeward Bound

by Vincent Keith

  “Spain! You must have a better antenna location than we have. Most of my contacts have been on the NVIS you installed, got a few DX contacts on the dipole. Then again, we’ve got mountains in every direction except south. I think my Hex-Beam Antenna is fried, the rotator works, but the meter pegs and the transmitter shut off. I’ve been working my rig off a random wire antenna. At some point, we’ll get it sorted out, but we keep having other priorities.”

  “Understandable. Well, the news is bad, if it’s true. Nukes in the Middle East, Pakistan, India, China, and Russia. No news of nukes in the US, or news of launches, yet. I suspect we may have been hit by EMP right after the storm. Or it might have been a second CME, I have no way of telling.”

  “Dear God, like we don’t have enough trouble. That means we need to plan for fallout too. Any idea of how long ago?”

  “No, but I’d assume it happened almost right after, as soon as everyone lost their satellite coverage, but that’s just a guess.”

  “Right. Well, I’ll get things shifted to putting up greenhouses then. We’ll make sure the water storage is full, and then we’d best cut off the rain traps until we can rig some deep sand filtration. How are you going to handle it?”

  “No idea. One of the guys here worked up at Hanford. I traded 100 rounds of .22 for a radiation meter, but if the water gets contaminated, I’m not sure there’s anything I can do.”

  “Be careful about spending the .22 ammo, its value has gone up a lot. A hundred rounds for a radiation meter seems kinda steep.”

  “Well, I’m sort of playing it fast and loose I guess. The town has been keeping us fed, I’ve been cleaning and checking guns, mounting scopes that never quite made it to the weapon. One guy bought a ton of reloading equipment and supplies back when Obama got elected the first time. He never learned how to use it, so I’ve been working with him.”

  “Damn, wish I’d been thinking that way back then.”

  “Don’t we all?”

  “Hey, if you see any radiation, look for irrigation wells. They tend to go pretty deep to get the necessary flow for those big field sprinklers. That would give you clean water. You’ll need to look for wind-powered pumps. They used to be pretty common.”

  “Yeah, that means contact, but I suspect we’ll be running into folks now and then anyway. The guys here have rigged up two wind powered mechanical pumps, and they’re filling up a water truck they used as an auxiliary supply for the fire engine.”

  “Yeah, forgot about the water pumps, we switched to the hand-pumps. I guess we’ll need to do something about setting up that mechanical wind-pump soon. If you need to contact people, I’d recommend you show up with nothing but empty water bottles and ask for nothing but well water, trade for news. Just don’t give them too much information.”

  “It’s going to suck no matter what I do. I’m stuck with traveling roads for now, which means cars, houses, and towns. I’ll just have to play it by ear. Let’s plan on contacts at nineteen hundred and twenty-three hundred, say every other day, starting with today. If I can, I’ll check in every evening, but it’ll be on the twenty-meter band. If I can’t get through I’ll try the NVIS again, but say every Tuesday, same hours.”

  “Why not stick with the NVIS?”

  “Setup hassle mostly. Stringing out that much wire is a pain in the ass. Eighty meters seems to be working well enough, so I suppose I could just hang the thirty-eight-foot elements with the coils—I’ll figure it out.”

  “We’re monitoring all the bands and I’ve got some of the kids listening twenty-four hours a day as it is. I’ll make sure someone is listening on twenty and eighty at 9:30 which is a bit after sundown here. Once we establish a few more regular contacts, I suppose we’ll back off, but right now we need the news.”

  “Okay Henry, we’ll be on the road in the morning, but I don’t expect to have anything new to report for several days.”

  “Be safe son.”

  “Copy and clear.”

  Jack carefully packed the radio and the antenna before going back inside. The girls were busy organizing for travel.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to stay here?” asked Jack. “It’s a great little town, and they’ve said you could stay. If you come with me, it’s going to be dangerous, and it’s a long, long walk.”

  “Lexi and I talked it over. They’ve got two vets, a doctor, four nurses, and a dentist either here or over in the next little town. I’ll be a lot more useful to you and your friends than I would be if we stay here. And the truth is, we wouldn’t feel right leaving you alone. Unless… You’re not asking us to stay are you?”

  “No, I’ll be glad for the company, but it’s going to be hard, harder than I think you or Lexi believe.”

  “Life will be harder than anything we’re used to no matter where we stop, and I can’t imagine we’ll find something better than what you’ve offered. Adin’s nice, but no, we want to go with you.”

  Jack nodded. It would be safer for him to have them along although a couple of men would be safer. He knew there would be those along the way who would look at the women as a prize to be taken. That’s not likely to turn out the way they might expect…Guess I’ll cross that bridge when it comes, he thought.

  There was really no path north except CA-139, then again, there was nothing but ranches until Canby and Travis thought the town of Canby should be safe. After that was Alturas, and no one had heard a thing from there. Alturas was almost a city compared to little towns like Adin. Jack studied the maps and decided it might be best to head up Crowder Flats Road and then follow the forestry roads that ran through the Modoc National Forest. He still had days before he needed to worry about the Goose Down Inn and the folks there.

  “That’ll take us north, and then we can cut over east toward Goose Lake. They’re having trouble up that way, and I expect Denny and Judy will be gone by the time we can get there, but I need to be sure.”

  “Will they be walking too?” asked Lexi.

  “No, he was able to get some of the motorcycles working.”

  “Oh that reminds me,” said Rachael. “I’ve got a little surprise for you.”

  “Oh?”

  “Come look.”

  They headed out the door of John’s house.

  “Isn’t it cool!” said Lexi.

  “Ah… Isn’t what cool?”

  “The bikes. John’s giving them to us.”

  Jack looked from Rachael to Lexi, then back at the bikes. “Ah… Wow.”

  “Okay, what’s wrong?” asked Rachael.

  “What do you mean?”

  “You don’t seem nearly as happy as you should be.”

  “I… Well… I’m not sure how the dogs will keep up if we’re on bikes.”

  “Oh, that’s what the trailers are for, that and pulling the stuff.”

  “Trailers?”

  Rachael looked again and realized the trailers weren’t there. “Well, we had trailers…”

  “You still do,” said John coming out of the garage. “I was just putting new tires on one and finishing up the rigging. I figured you could make much better time with the bikes than on foot. My wife and I used to do a lot of bicycle camping, so I’ve got half a dozen old bikes around. These are the newest, and the best of the bunch. With things the way they are I don’t think we’ll be making any long trips. The other bikes will be fine. God knows we’ve put enough miles on them in the past.”

  “I… Thanks, John, you may have saved our lives with these.”

  John looked at the ground, embarrassed by the praise. Breaking the awkward silence, he smiled and pointed at Lexi. “It was really her idea. I had Lexi helping me organize the freezer. With the generator running now, we’ll be able to keep the food a lot longer, and a lot of folks are bringing their frozen goods in, at least the stuff that’s still frozen. I’m afraid we lost a lot of food in the past two weeks. She was cleaning off some shelves in the garage that I wanted to move into the big walk-in when she saw all the bikes hanging f
rom the rafters.”

  “Well, thanks to all of you.”

  “I rigged your cart to hook up to one of the bikes and still let the dogs pull it if need be. The other trailer I rigged as close as possible to how you had yours set up for towing. Give it a try to be sure I got the height right for the dogs. We figured you could put the dogs in the trailers for the flats and down the hill sections. Just let them out for the uphill stretches. That’s what Mary and I used to do. Then again, Benny used to get pretty bored riding in the trailer, and he’d often jump out and run alongside for hours. But then, Benny wouldn’t have been able to pull one of these unless it were empty.”

  “This is great, I just… Are you sure? That’s a lot to give away.”

  “We’re sure. We haven’t used the trailers in years, and it’s been a year since we went anywhere on the bikes.”

  “Yeah, but now? It’s not like the gas is going to last. Then you might wish you had the bikes.”

  “No, there are a lot of bikes in town, folks bought ‘em for their kids. Kids who went off after high school and never came back. Or moved on to cars. It’s that way in lots of little towns. Kids mostly left looking for a more exciting life, not wanting to be a farmer or a rancher. It’s hard work, and it tends to wear you out early. I know, I was one of them. Mary talked me into moving back after Donna was born. I bought the store, and I’m glad I did. No, you take the bikes, get home to your family and friends. You’re a capable man Jack, they’ll need you.”

  Now it was Jack’s turn to be embarrassed, “Damn, well thanks again. This will make a huge difference.”

  “It should. We used to do about sixty miles a day, but we were doing it all the time. You guys? Thirty or forty on the flat, maybe as much as fifty once you get used to it. The hills will be slow going, especially with your load. Then again, you can have the dogs pull the trailers on the hills.”

  “I did sixteen miles on foot in one day. That was plenty for me. I try to keep it down to around twelve. Even slower with these two, but they were hardly set up for foot travel. Dragging a suitcase is hard work.”

  “I’ll say,” said Lexi. “But, we’ve got packs now.”

  “You really think we’ll be able to make thirty miles a day?”

  “Easy, until you hit the hills. What you’ll find is you will want to travel for a few hours, then take a half hour or an hour break. About your third stop, you won’t be too eager to get back on the bike. After you get used to it, ten miles per hour is pretty nice. Then you can look forward to sixty-mile days. With no trailer, I used to do a hundred without much trouble. Then again, I rode twenty miles every day for years.”

  It had been years since Jack had been on a bicycle and he figured they’d best take it slow at first. “It’s a different set of muscles. I plan on doing a couple hours of riding then maybe some walking.”

  Rachael smiled, “Well, this may be where Lexi and I come out on top. We’ve been riding almost every day for years.”

  “Yeah, but I’ve been through San Bernardino, you only have one little hill down there.”

  Rachael took a playful swat at him, which Jack dodged. “There are hills, but you’re right, it’s not like this. Still, I’ll bet a week of dish duty you’re hurting more tomorrow than we are.”

  “No bet. I’m not sure if I’m more worried about my legs or tailbone, I guess we’ll find out.” Jack turned to go find Travis then stopped. “Hey, we don’t have any dishes!”

  Rachael just laughed.

  It was a bit past noon when they finished packing and said their final goodbyes. This is why I like small towns. Being neighbors means something.

  Jack was sweating by the time they’d made the top of the little hill going out of town. He dried off in the dry chilly air fast enough once they hit the long flat stretch. Curly’s ranch was only six miles up the road. He’d been surprised Curly hadn’t made it into town during the four days they’d been there. He hoped everything was okay.

  The sun was behind the mountains when they reached the turnoff for Curly’s place. Jack got off the bike and pushed. Hoover jumped out of the cart and trotted off in the lead.

  “What’s up Jack?”

  “I’m about done sitting on that seat, and this will give the dogs a chance to do their business. Curly’s place is just ahead. He’s not expecting us, so I want to approach the house slowly and make sure he knows we’re coming.”

  “Who’s Curly?” asked Lexi.

  “Curly was the art director at a magazine I use to shoot for. He retired about eight years ago, but we’ve kept in touch by email. I’d swing by when I was in the area, and we’d catch up. He’s become quite the gentleman farmer. He’s got a small herd of buffalo, and he farms fish as part of his Aquaponics system. I’m hoping he still has a supply of smoked fish, it would carry pretty well, and it tastes fantastic.”

  “Hold it right there!”

  Jack froze. The voice came from near the bend in the driveway, but it didn’t sound like Curly.

  “Why don’t you just turn around and head back where you came from?”

  “My name is Jack Donovan. I came by to see Curly Lewis.”

  “Shit. I don’t know you mister, and we got enough trouble without more strangers about.”

  “Last time I was here, Curly lived alone, who the hell are you and where’s Curly?” Jack was starting to get both worried and a bit pissed off. He gave Hoover a hand signal, and Hoover headed off into the tall grass. He wasn’t sure if the man could see the dog, nor could he tell if there was a gun pointing at him. Whoever it was, they seemed to be concealed by a clump of aspen, but it was just dark enough that Jack couldn’t be sure.

  “Damn it,” Jack whispered, “Rachael, back up and get behind that stump we passed, use the scope on the rifle and see if you can spot him.”

  An incoherent scream came from the trees up ahead. Jack yanked open his chest pack with his left hand exposing the pistol compartment. He drew the pistol with his right as he ran toward the side of the road. Once he was off the road, he changed directions and headed for the shouting.

  “Get it off! Get it off!”

  Jack slowed. The ‘it’ in question was Hoover. The huge dog had knocked the man face down and was holding him by the collar of his jacket. As Jack approached, he realized Hoover wasn’t standing, he was sitting on the man’s back. Every time the man tried to get free Hoover gave a jerk on the man’s collar.

  “I see you’ve met Hoover,” said Jack. He did a quick check but didn’t see a gun anywhere on the ground. “You armed? Hate to have an accident just now.”

  “No! Please,” the man croaked out, “just get him off me!”

  Jack heard a giggle from behind and knew that Lexi and probably Rachael had followed.

  “Hoover, release!”

  Hoover dropped the collar, and the man’s face hit the ground. Jack heard a muffled grunt as Hoover stepped off then a gasp of air.

  “Now, who the hell are you and where’s Curly?”

  It took a minute but the man — No, teen maybe? — rolled over. “He’s my uncle,” he said. “He’s hurt, and I couldn’t leave him to go to town for help.”

  “Shit, so the first thing you think to do is chase off the possible help?”

  “It’s how he got hurt, two people came, asking for help, they shot him. They ran off when I fired off the twelve-gauge. He’s been feverish, and I just don’t know what to do!”

  “Rachael, see what you can do. Lexi, head back to the bikes and get the handheld radio. Make sure it’s set for town then call them, tell them we need help.”

  Jack reached down and pulled the kid from the ground. “Where’s the gun?”

  “I don’t know, when that monster hit me it went flying.”

  “Damn. Okay, go follow Rachael, she’s a nurse, do what she asks. I’ll find the gun, and we’ll be in as quick as we can.”

  Jack flipped on the flashlight attached to the pistol and started scanning for the weapon. He stood where the kid ha
d fallen looking back up the road, then imagined getting hit from behind by Hoover. “Must be that way.” He was still searching when Lexi returned.

  “Travis and the Doctor are coming, maybe someone else. Ralph said fifteen minutes at the most.”

  “Thanks, Lexi, good job. Take the radio and a flashlight and go out by the road. See if you can raise Travis. Tell them to flash a light when they get close. When they do, use your flashlight to direct them in. Travis may know where the driveway is, but maybe not. If you’re not sure it’s them, you stay hidden, you hear?”

  “Okay, Jack. I’ll be down in the ditch until I’m sure.”

  “Okay scoot.” Jack waved her off. “I’m going to go check on Curly, once I find that gun. Hey!”

  Lexi skidded to a stop, “Yeah?”

  “Take Dusty.”

  Lexi took off sprinting toward the bikes calling for Dusty.

  Jack looked around for Hoover, who was sitting about four feet away, with a shotgun in his mouth like a giant bone.

  “Hoover, you dummy, that’s loaded.”

  Hoover just sat and waited for Jack to come get it.

  13

  MAKING TRACKS

  With dinner finished and the dishes done, everyone joined Curly in the living room. Travis and the Doctor had come and gone with a promise to send more help.

  “At this rate,” said Jack, “it’s going to take a year to get home.”

  “Oh quit your whining and pass the Scotch,” said Curly.

  Rachael reached over and grabbed the bottle. “Not a chance buster. You are not mixing Scotch, Vicodin, and antibiotics.”

  “Damn,” said Curly. “Best I’ve felt in days, and you want to spoil it.”

  “Oh, you think so, huh? Maybe I should let you have the Scotch, see if you still feel that way in the morning.”

  “Curly, stop being a curmudgeon,” said Jack

  “Can’t. It’s who I am.”

  “True… Okay, listen to Rachael or you will have fish for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the next week.”

  “Bah, fine. How about some water?”