Solar Storm: Homeward Bound

by Vincent Keith

  “No rush, I’ve got all afternoon. Henry and I can play a game of cribbage.”

  Jack unpacked and carried everything to the guest room, then hit the shower. He put on his clean set of clothes and put the dirty set in the washing machine and started it. One upside to owning almost nothing was how little time it took to put everything away. He decided to show off the 1911, so he cleared it and grabbed an empty magazine. He checked again to be sure it was clear and put it in the holster he’d picked up in Arizona.

  Jack found Ray and Henry just starting their second game, so he pulled up a chair to watch. He spent most of the match thinking about having Henry and Ray as neighbors and having Eugene only three miles down the road. He wasn’t sure it was even worth looking any further. There were zoning questions, but Jack figured Henry and Ray had probably figured all that out already. The actual zoning requirements and setbacks were established when Ray got the variance for the smaller than standard parcels.

  “Right,” said Henry. “That’s a million-five you owe me now.”

  Ray laughed. “Good luck collecting that.”

  “Not interested in collecting, too much work. Just keeping track to see if you’re getting any better.”

  “Yessir, and I’m not.”

  “Nope, not a bit.”

  They both laughed and reached for their beers. The discussion continued through dinner as they talked about various options for building and access. Ray wanted full access to the piece across the river for fishing and to get his boat in and out. He also wanted to put a footbridge across, so he didn’t have to drive all the way around, but that would have to wait until he worked a few more deals. Otherwise, the inspectors would get troublesome.

  When Jack mentioned that maybe Ashley and Dennis would move up and might be interested in the next lot over, Ray smiled.

  “Well, if they do, I’ll only need three more buyers.”

  “Really? What’s it worth if I can sell two lots besides mine?”

  “I’ll give you another ten percent off on yours. You going to want three together?”

  “Probably, if I can talk another person I know into moving out here. Let me talk to a few folks, and then I’ll get back to you.”

  “Works,” said Ray. “I’ll swing by when I get back from Japan.”

  “Japan?” asked Jack.

  “Yeah, I’m working on a deal to buy about 30 pieces of heavy equipment, and it’s down to Caterpillar and Mitsubishi. I’m leaning toward the Cats because I don’t have to worry about parts availability as much, but it’ll depend on the price. At least, once I’ve figured in training for the mechanics and what not. I’m betting Cat will come through again.”

  “So what’s all the equipment for?”

  “New government contract, upgrading some roads and replacing a few bridges. Most everything else I’ve got is already contracted out, and I’m about at the point where I’d be replacing some of it anyway. I’ll be selling off about eight of the older Cats.”

  “So how much would it cost to buy one of the old Dozers,” asked Jack.

  “What’cha thinking Jack?” asked Henry.

  “If I buy land, I’ll need to clear it and dig out the basement, put in the driveway, and clear a spot for the garden. I’m not sure what else.”

  “Don’t buy,” said Ray. “I’ll rent you what you need including the operator, and it won’t cost you near what you’d have to pay if you bought one. If you need a backhoe or excavator for small projects, you can borrow my little one.”

  “Cool!”

  “You ever worked one?”

  “No. But it looks like it might be fun.”

  Ray grinned. “For the first month it’s a lot of fun, after years it’s just a job. But seriously, when you get to that point I’ll make you a deal on the work you want. I’ll be cheaper than you’d ever be able to match.”

  “Okay,” said Jack. “What’s the catch?”

  “You’ll be paying in trade,” said Ray.

  “Well, anything that reduces cash flow is fine by me.”

  20

  MISSED CONNECTIONS

  “Your friends all moved onto the same street?” asked Rachael.

  Jack smiled. “They did. I was more than a little surprised, but it’s worked out really well.”

  “Do you get to fish in the river?”

  “Sure, we get Rainbow Trout and Eastern Brook Trout.”

  “From your own back yard?” asked Lexi.

  “Yep. I’m not much of a gardener, but Henry, Marty, and Ashley are. So we grow a lot of our own food. Henry keeps chickens, and Marty has goats. I have dogs, big smelly dogs.” Jack reached out to pat Hoover on the back.

  “That sounds amazing.”

  “I think so, but I’m biased. Annie and Marty built their own Inn with Ray’s help, so we get a lot of visitors. They all seem to appreciate the area. It’s all a little crazy, but fun.”

  Jack yawned then looked at his watch. “Okay, that’s it for me. We need to be up and moving before sunrise, so I think sleep would be a good thing.”

  Jack’s yawn triggered yawns from both Rachael and Lexi. They’d already crawled into their sleeping bags and were asleep before he got his own sorted out.

  Jack was up before sunrise, and for the first time, he wished he’d spent the money on some night vision equipment. Under the cloudy sky with no lights, he couldn’t see his hand in front of his face. He made coffee and heated the water before waking Rachael and Lexi. By the time they finished breakfast, the sun was just below the horizon and the sky above was a dark blue—almost black with the first hint of color tinting the horizon.

  Jack's plan was to stash the bikes a half mile before they got to the Inn, then wait until the sun broke the horizon. He didn't want to risk injury crossing rough terrain in the dark, even though it added to the danger of being spotted. The three of them headed north along the west side of the lake, making good time. Jack could smell the wetlands at the edge of the lake, and the birds were making more noise than either the bicycles or the dogs at this point.

  They dropped off the bikes about a quarter mile out and walked toward the inn, cutting through fields. Jack found a reasonable spot and scanned the area around the Inn from the cover of some large rocks and a Juniper tree. The sun had just poked over the hills, and he had a good view of the Inn. Someone had torched it, but they’d done a poor job. Most of the structure was still standing. Jack sat looking through the riflescope, searching for any sign that someone was still at the house.

  After forty-five minutes of seeing nothing, Jack decided to check the shop before heading down to the house. Denny’s shop was not visible from where he was, and he needed to move. Jack took Dusty and left Hoover with the girls. Lexi had one of the two-meter radios. He took the other and made his way around south of the property, heading toward Denny’s shop. He knew Lexi would call if they spotted anyone around the Inn.

  It took the better part of an hour to get into a good position to check out the shop. The doors were open, and men were digging through cabinets and storage racks. No one that Jack recognized. While scanning and counting people, he got a good view of the patch they were wearing. It wasn’t Denny’s club, but he hadn’t expected them to be, given the lack of care they were taking. The gang was digging through parts, looking to salvage from whatever Denny had left behind. There was no sign of him or any of his guys, so Jack headed back toward the Inn.

  He came through the rear gate and hid in the garden, listening. There was no noise coming from the house. He waited almost ten minutes and then crept forward to the back door. One look inside convinced Jack that he would find nothing useful. The kitchen was a charred mess, and the windows were broken. He sat on the back patio and considered the problem. If they’d left a message where might it be?

  Jack worked around to the front of the house and when he spotted the old, unused doghouse, he smiled. Yeah, that would be about right, things had gone to the dogs here. He needed to cross the driveway, whic
h would leave him exposed, but he felt pretty sure no one was around. A quick look inside the doghouse and Jack found the envelope. Bingo, I wonder if it was Judy or Denny who thought of it. He grabbed it and did a quick check to see if there was anything else. Finding nothing, he headed back to Rachael and Lexi.

  “They’re gone, let’s see what this has to say.”

  Dear Jack,

  We’re heading north. It’s the 22nd, and things are going bad here faster than you can imagine. The idiot running this place has sided with an outlaw biker gang, and they’ve taken over the town, don’t go any closer if you can help it. I’d stay clear of the shop too. We chased them off once but we know they’ll be back, and they know where I live, so we can’t stay any longer. If you get this, plan to skirt town to the west. Things are changing fast, but I doubt it’ll be any safer for you than us. We’ve got enough gas to get us to your place, and we’re out of time. I’m sorry we’re going to have to show up on your doorstep like this, but we’ve got no other safe place to head.

  We’re bringing a lot of food and some parts to fix generators, tractors, and stuff, so we’re not coming empty handed. Everyone is well armed. Hopefully, we’ll get news of your location when you get closer, and we’ll come get you. If the gas holds out, and if we make it. A lot of ifs, too many to make me happy.

  Stay safe Jack. If you can get word home, and we can help, we will be there.

  -Denny

  “Damn. They’ve been on the road for…I guess six days. Hell, they’re probably at my place by now. If we can get ahold of Henry… I hope they made it.”

  “You said Denny and some of the guys are ex-Army, they’ll make it.”

  “Yeah, I think so. Let’s get the hell out of here, it’s going to rain soon, and we need to take the long way around Lakeview. Some of the bikers are down at the shop picking through what Denny left. We don’t want to run into them.”

  Rain fell from a textureless sky. The low cloud cover obscured the tops of the hills like a sheet of battleship gray steel had sliced through them. The only sign of motion was the occasional streamers of white mist that stretched out as if the slow moving cloud cover had snagged on a tree. With most of the day gone already and the rain coming down in buckets, Jack concentrated on finding another abandoned house to use for shelter.

  They’d covered only nine miles when he found a pole barn that would serve their needs. A well-trampled pasture separated the house and the barn. They pushed the bikes through the muddy field to the gate. Jack made sure to re-latch the gate once the bikes were under cover. Rachael and Lexi had already laid out the tent.

  Rain striking the metal roof reminded Jack of his cabin. The fragrance of hay covered the smell of wet dog. Jack scanned the property looking for signs of life. A small herd of cows stood in the rain, grazing the field behind the house. Faint blue smoke rising from the chimney disappeared in the rain.

  He hadn’t realized how wound up he’d been after his scouting trip around Denny’s home and shop. He considered going to the house to ask permission to use the barn. His eyes scanned the windows looking for any sign of life beyond the chimney smoke and found nothing. With a shrug, he decided the miserable weather would likely keep their temporary landlords inside. Avoiding a potential confrontation won out. If anyone came visiting, the dogs would let him know.

  It was cold, and Jack was reluctant to have an open fire, so they set up the tent and stove to provide better cover. They heated water on the little titanium wood stove and hung clothes up to dry. Rachael unzipped her new sleeping bag and used it as a comforter hugging it around herself and Lexi.

  Jack found some broken boards and a small pile of firewood. He set about splitting it up with the camp axe. When he finished, he fed the stove and put water on to boil. After they had eaten, Jack led them through dry-fire practice, then showed them how to break the guns down for cleaning.

  Morning arrived, wet and dreary. The cloud cover was still hiding the tops of the hill, and the rain came down in big heavy drops. They contemplated spending another day but the cost of food was too high, and Jack didn’t want to push his luck with the occupants of the house.

  Riding in the rain was cold and miserable. Jack had to remove the wool liner from his duster to keep from overheating. The Duster hadn’t soaked through yet from a day and a half of constant rain, but it was getting damp. He needed a full day out of the constant cold and damp to get the heavy coat completely dry. As long as they were peddling he was warm enough, except for his hands. When they stopped for a quick snack, he started to shiver as the sweat dampened layers cooled. The girls were doing better with their Gore-Tex, which had dried out overnight.

  They’d spotted smoke from several chimneys and had even seen the occasional lit window. There were still people in the area, and Jack took extra caution when scanning the road ahead for trouble. They were back on US-395 North when Jack saw the sign for Chandler State Park. He was concerned about such an obvious camping spot, but they’d seen no one in the last hour of riding.

  Jack and Rachael got the tent up and set up the wood stove. Lexi dug a small trench between the tent and the flooded ditch that followed the road. Jack didn’t think the water level would rise enough to flood the campground, but no one wanted to wake up in a soaking wet sleeping bag. The little trench would divert any excess water past the tent unless the rain came down a lot harder.

  Jack hung up his wet clothes hoping to get things dried out. He’d run out of dry clothes and opted to crawl into his sleeping bag while the tent warmed. Lexi came in and dropped a pile of wet wood near the stove.

  “I thought maybe that would dry enough to take with us unless we’re staying an extra day?”

  “I don’t think we can afford the time Lexi. Every day we spend not moving north is a day less food we have. We might just make it if we can keep up the thirty to forty miles a day. I know we’ve got a couple of serious climbs over the next few days that will slow us down. Still, we might make up for it when we hit the long downhill toward John Day.”

  “I’m okay with going longer, or faster. Mom?”

  “I’m fine too, but Jack’s got the heaviest load on the hills.”

  “Hmm, okay we’ll try going further. I’m getting used to it. My legs are fine, it’s my tail-end that hurts.”

  “So we can stay an extra day?”

  “Let’s see what tomorrow brings.”

  Jack was up several times during the night moving clothes around trying to get things as dry as he could. While the tent was large, with the three of them and both dogs, there wasn’t a lot of room. Then there was the smell of wet dog, which was only partly offset by the wet pine. It was, all in all, not a restful night.

  By morning Jack was mostly dry, but the clothes were still damp, and the rain was still coming down. Between the rough night, the wet clothes and the torrential rains, they decided one more day of rest, then they would try longer days in the saddle. They took the time to bathe, wash clothes, refill water containers and dry wood next to the wood stove. Jack went through everything with an eye to lightening the load, but he’d already eliminated everything he felt was superfluous back in Adin.

  The morning of the thirty-first came and the rain had slowed to a light drizzle. Jack was dry again, although if the rain got worse, it wouldn't last. They got going as soon as it was light enough to see. By afternoon they were climbing the hill toward Hogback Summit, and the drizzle had stopped. Jack had hooked the two trailers to the dogs.

  It was only two hundred feet above the plains, a gentle climb unless you were pulling a trailer full of supplies. The dogs were trotting alongside the bikes, enjoying the exercise. Jack was sweating and not enjoying the climb at all.

  They’d gone not more than a mile when they came to an abandoned car. They stopped and Jack surveyed the area through his binoculars.

  “It looks empty and considering how long it’s been I can’t imagine anyone sticking around, but let’s play it safe. Same as last time, Rachael, yo
u’ve got the medkit ready?”

  “Yes, but—”

  “Mom, can we please not have this argument again?”

  Rachael sighed. “All right. But be careful.”

  Jack lay on the ground with the .308 with the scope set to 5x. He scanned under the car, which was the only place someone could hide. Once he was sure there was no one hiding around the car, he headed off the road to the left. Rachael took Hoover and moved off the road to the right. Lexi sent Dusty forward to check out the car. With Dusty a good sixty feet in front of her, she drew her pistol and advanced on the car. Jack and Rachael were about ten yards ahead checking the terrain for any sign of motion.

  He hated sending Lexi in at all, but the only option was him going in with the dogs, and the girls just waiting around to see what happened. He felt sure they could handle the pistols, but they’d only just learned about the rifle and had never fired it. So, as usual, Lexi took Dusty up the middle with Rachael and Hoover to cover the right flank and Jack on his own, on the left.

  Jack felt confident that if anyone were on Rachael’s side, Hoover would find them and give everyone warning. Lexi was heading up the middle of the road, and unless someone hid in the car itself, this would be just another empty car. If someone were hiding in the car, Dusty would know long before Lexi got close.

  They were back at the bikes about ten minutes later.

  “Same as the others,” Lexi sighed. “Empty, and the windows are all broken. Looks like they couldn’t find the trunk release, so they pried it open. Why do we check each car? It seems like a lot of work for empty cars.”

  “I know, and I guarantee that the first time it’s not an empty car or truck we’re all going to wish it was. We’re in a period where anyone who owned one of these cars is either dead or has left the area. At some point, we’re going to run into people out scavenging abandoned cars and trucks looking for supplies. So far we’ve been lucky. Only one car with dead bodies in it, and no other surprises.”