Solar Storm: Homeward Bound

by Vincent Keith

On the second day of their stay, they saw their first snow of the season. Fortunately, it was just a light dusting. Jack and Lexi met with the members of the high school ham radio club, Josh, Ginnifer, Kevin, and Eric

  Josh, the most experienced of the high school kids from the radio club, helped Jack with the electronics, fixing what they could. Unfortunately, the club’s only radio was a charred mess. Josh threaded two colored wires through a ferrite toroid needed for the antenna balun. It was a simple two-inch donut shaped ring with two wires wrapped around the rim twelve times. Tedious work for such a simple component.

  Jack had built several baluns over the past ten years to save money. He was happy to pawn the job off to a set of younger eyes, and more dexterous fingers. Instead, he spent his time fixing an old mechanical antenna tuner by replacing burnt wires, and repairing fused relay contacts. The antenna analyzer was more challenging. Jack replaced several burnt components and wired jumpers over a few spots on the printed circuit board where the copper traces had burnt through.

  Lexi, Eric, and Ginnifer were busy climbing the three sixty-foot antenna towers to replace the burnt transmission lines. Kevin was rigging a support for a new NVIS antenna about fifteen feet up the central tower. The long dipole at the top of the tower was for long-range signals and under the right conditions would reach stations all across the US, Europe, and Asia. It seemed like a lot of work considering they had yet to find a working or repairable Ham radio.

  Rachael had shown a talent for scrounging. She’d managed to get dog food, medical supplies from the hospital, topographic maps, and two large dry venison sausages. The sausages were only two days old and would keep for weeks. With Jack’s permission, she traded away two hundred rounds of .22LR ammo. Most of the ammo was to cover the cost of the irreplaceable medical supplies. She’d collected sutures, painkillers, five vials of Lidocaine and six doses each of Doxycycline, Ciprofloxacin, and Amoxicillin, four doses of Vancomycin, and two of Bactrim. She also picked up twelve EpiPens and assorted gauze wraps and pads. The Chief also gave her a dozen blowout kits for treating gunshot wounds in exchange for two days’ help at the local hospital. Rachael prayed she’d never need one.

  With the barter market being so new, every trade was a challenge. The value of items was often nothing more than a guess at how rare or how useful the item was. The antibiotics would be life-savers if they were needed. If not they’d eventually expire and be worthless. Jack explained the value of the .22LR ammo and the difficulty in finding more to Rachael. He simply had to trust her judgment as to the value of the medical supplies.

  JACK PACKED up the last of the equipment and then hooked the carts up to Hoover and Dusty for the climb out of John Day. The first seventeen miles were mostly uphill as they gained 2,300 feet in elevation. The next forty miles were almost entirely downhill, and they made up for the hours spent climbing out of the valley.

  A small river ran along the road for miles as it curved through the hills. They passed a few houses close to the road. It was one of the few times they’d seen visible signs of people living outside of the small towns. Most of the houses they passed looked empty. Here and there they chatted with people, spreading what news they had.

  They left one man somewhat stunned. He’d finally reached the point where he was going to drive into town to find out when the power might be restored. Jack could tell by the look on his face that he didn’t really believe what they’d said to him. Jack wondered if the man had tried to start his car since the power went out. Maybe he would be one of the lucky few with a working vehicle. As evening began to settle in, Jack took them off the road and down into a clearing near the river where they camped for the night.

  They rejoined US-395 ten minutes after breaking camp and almost immediately started climbing again. The dogs were trotting along in front, but Jack and Rachael were still pulling the trailers. After a half mile, Jack called a halt and put the dogs in harness. With both dogs pulling trailers, they made better time, but the climb was still brutal, more than three thousand feet in just over five miles. Jack had traveled this highway dozens of times and was surprised that he’d completely forgotten about this hill.

  After a short break, they started the downhill section with the dogs inside the trailers. The bikes coasted down the hill at an easy thirty-five miles per hour, until they started up another incline, much gentler than the last, but still exhausting. They switched back to the dogs pulling carts one more time after almost ten miles and hit the last peak ten miles further on.

  Exhausted from the long climb they broke for lunch. Jack unclipped the trailers and let the dogs loose. After emptying their water bowls, the dogs explored the area while Jack made lunch.

  Whenever they were moving downhill, the trio stuck together and rode past the broken down vehicles at speed. There wasn’t much chance they’d get ambushed so far from any population. Jack hoped that moving past at better than twenty-five miles per hour would keep anyone from successfully stopping them. It paid off as they passed one small group of homes. Jack looked to the rear and saw men with guns running toward the road then heard shots. Moving at what Jack estimated was faster than forty miles per hour they made difficult targets.

  Jack wasn’t sure what they’d do when they came across a populated area on an uphill stretch. Guess I’ll worry about it when we find one.

  They had continued to check out vehicles on the uphill stretches. Given the time the vehicles had been abandoned, Jack started checking them out with the dogs and leaving the girls to cover him from the edges of the road. It saved a fair amount of time, and he was pretty sure no one was going to hide from the dogs.

  23

  DESCENT

  Morning arrived in hues of purple and orange. Wisps of colored clouds clung to the mountain peaks leaving broad stretches of violet, nearly black sky. Jack exhaled deeply and watched the white wisp of vapor float away in the still morning air. He smiled as the wonder of a glorious sunrise washed away his concerns, at least for a little while. Jack watched the sunrise for a few more minutes before turning back to the morning camp chores.

  By the time they'd broken camp it was shaping up to be a nice day. He glanced at the map once more and felt sure they'd reach Pendleton today.

  Pendleton was one of the bigger towns on their route, and the idea of passing though it sent a chill down Jacks' spine. They'd have to either go through or around, and he wanted to find a way around. It was possible that things were fine, but in a town that size, they could be stuck before they realized there was a problem.

  Jack thoughts were so focused on how to deal with Pendleton that he’d forgotten about the little town of Pilot Rock. They were almost to the roadblock before he realized his mistake. It would be the first time they’d turned back in the face of a roadblock, and Jack wasn’t sure how the locals would respond.

  He stopped a few hundred yards from the barricade. Rachael pulled forward and stopped next to him.

  “Is that Pendleton?”

  “No… I think its Pilot Rock. Damn, I forgot how big it is, it almost doesn’t show on the map.”

  “Now what?”

  “I wish I knew. We can turn around and pedal up the hill a half-mile, and then see if the map shows any way around. Or, we can see what kind of welcome they’re offering.”

  Hearing the sound of a motor behind them, Jack almost lost his balance as he spun to see where the noise was coming from. A little quad-cycle pulled up with two men aboard, both armed.

  “You might as well go on down,” said the driver. “If you’re thinking of staying, don’t. They’ll put you back on the road on the other side of town. We’ve got water, no food. If you have skills, well, maybe something can be done.”

  “No,” said Jack. “We’re trying to get home. We won’t be staying.”

  “Home? Man, it’s been almost four weeks, where the hell you been.”

  “Truck died north of Susanville, walked the first sixty miles or so, traded for the Bikes in Adin. We spent almost a
week there helping them get organized. Then we spent another couple days with a friend who’d gotten himself shot. Spent most of a day avoiding Lakeview, which last we heard, elected a Constable after a mob killed the bikers, the mayor and the cops who’d taken over the town. Working around a town takes time. I hate to admit it, but I forgot you guys were even here until we saw the roadblock.”

  “Yeah, well, it’s not much, but it’s better than Pendleton.”

  “Oh, that sounds bad.”

  “Look, head on in, they can fill you in on the local news and fill up your water bottles. It’s late enough they might let you stay in the park for the night. Don’t even bother to ask about food.”

  “Rachael?”

  “Might as well.”

  “Right,” said Jack. “Thanks for the news, you have a nice day.”

  “Nice day, yeah, right.” He started the quad and roared off up the dirt track to a camp behind the barn.

  Jack coasted up to the roadblock and stopped. A man in uniform stepped out from a little lashed together shack. “I guess Harry told you what to expect?”

  “More or less, yeah. Water is available, don’t ask for food, and keep moving.”

  “That about sums it up.”

  “Where do I go to find out about Pendleton?”

  “Oh, stop at Dave’s, they’ll fill your bottles, and you can get the news, such as it is. Just follow the road, it’s on your right as the main road makes a hard right.”

  Jack continued with Rachael and Lexi following behind. He kept the dogs in the trailers. Dave's turned out to be a two-story brick building on a corner. Once a cafe, the shop was now more of a community center.

  “Why don’t you and Lexi go on in. I’ll stay out here with the bikes and the dogs. They’ll need water so let me empty these bottles before you go.”

  “You don’t want to go in?” asked Rachael

  “You know what we need to find out, and honestly, you’re better with people than I am.”

  “If you’re sure…”

  “Yeah if you run into anything, you can always come get me.”

  “Is something wrong?”

  Jack sighed, “I’m not sure. I don’t like the look of those kids across the street. I just think once they get a good look at Hoover and Dusty, they’ll find something else to hold their attention. If not, I’d rather have you inside.”

  “Jack they’re just kids.”

  “Mom, they’re older than me, and I’ve been carrying a gun for almost a month, and they grew up in the country. They’re not just kids.”

  Rachael looked at Lexi and raised an eyebrow. “Hmm, maybe you’re right. Just be careful.”

  The girls went in with the empty bottles. Jack maneuvered his bike to put the trailer out of view of the boys across the road. He got Dusty out of the trailer. She could feel his tension and was on alert.

  “Dusty, patrol,” Jack tapped the side of the building and made a hand gesture.

  Dusty tilted her head and then walked toward the back of the building. She'd played this game hundreds of times at home, but this was the first time she'd done it in a strange place.

  Jack walked over to the other trailer and got between it and the road and unzipped the cover. He gave Hoover a signal to guard. The big dog shifted to a crouch with his ears cocked toward the road. Jack heard a cowbell jingle as the girls opened the door and went inside. As soon as the girls disappeared, the boys started his way.

  “Crap.”

  The older boy had a real swagger, and they were all armed. Wearing western gun belts set up for cross draw, and dressed in jeans, cowboy boots, and sturdy blue work shirts. Two of the boys wore cowboy hats, one a ball cap.

  “Hey mister, I think you’d better give us back what you took,” said the oldest.

  “Really? And what did I take?”

  “How about I look through there and see,” he said nodding to the trailer. “I don’t know everything you tried to steal.”

  Jack shook his head. His rifle was still tied to the handlebars. He could slide it out but probably not fast enough. He considered going for the pistol in the chest pack but decided he'd wait until the kid got his surprise.

  “Sure, take a look.”

  The apparent leader of the little gang smirked at his friends. The other two weren’t smiling and seemed rather nervous. Jack got the feeling they’d done this before, but the two followers weren’t happy about it. The boy pulled the cover up, screamed and fell backward as Hoover came over the side of the trailer and landed standing over the kid. The others were too surprised to do anything other than yell.

  “Goddamn it, get this dog off me before I shoot it.”

  Jack had the pistol out, but not pointed at anyone in particular.

  "You move a hand toward that gun, and you're going to wish you hadn't."

  “Is there a problem here?”

  Jack looked up to see another man in uniform step around the corner. He was holding an M4 carbine.

  “I guess that depends on you, and them. If this is the way you folks commonly treat people passing through, then yeah, I’d say we have a problem.”

  “Ray,” the man said, “mind telling me what you and your buddies are doing messing with this man’s bikes.”

  "Get the dog off me Jackson, or I'm gonna shoot it." The boy's hand inched toward the gun on his hip. Hoover shifted closer to the boy's arm, and the growl got louder.

  “Might want to reconsider Ray, that dog’s got a good thirty pounds on you. Why don’t you just lie there and keep your mouth shut?”

  He turned to the boy in the ball cap. “Jason, talk. And if I think you’re even stretching the truth I’m gonna run all of you out of town bare-ass naked.”

  “We were just fooling around Sheriff.”

  “Fooling around. With guns. And an armed stranger? You’re trying my patience son, and I don’t have any left.”

  The third boy spoke up. “Sir, Ray wanted to see what he had that we could take. He said it would be easy, ‘cause a stranger wouldn’t want to stir up any trouble.”

  “Goddamn it Robbie, shut your trap!” yelled Ray.

  The officer stepped closer and kicked Ray in the back of the head.

  “Ouch!”

  “I believe I told you to shut up. Now, mister, I’d appreciate it if you’d put that piece back in your holster. I don’t know you, but I know these kids, and I’d hate to explain to their folks how they got themselves killed for being stupid.”

  "No, I don't think so. Two of the armed individuals who attempted to rob me are standing right there. The third is about to lose an arm if that hand gets another inch closer to that gun. All three of them are still armed, and then there's you and your rifle. It sounds like you understand what's going on here and that you're not going to back them up, but as you said, I don't know you. So how about I just stay right where I am until things get a bit clearer."

  The officer didn’t look happy at that.

  "You two put the guns on the ground then go wait for me in Dave's. We're not done. Ray put your hands over your head, and I'd recommend you do it slowly."

  The two boys put their guns on the ground and turned to leave, then froze. Jackson turned to look at them and for the first time noticed Dusty standing behind them. “Jesus H. Christ!”

  “Dusty sit! Gentlemen, meet Dusty, you’ve already met Hoover. Oh, and don’t worry, as long as you’re not threatening she’s more likely to lick your hand than bite you.”

  “Where the hell did she come from?”

  “I sent her around the back when I noticed the look of mischief on the boys across the street. Thought I might need reinforcements.”

  “Christ… You boys git. Now!”

  With a glance at Jack, Dusty, and Ray, who was still pinned under Hoover, they departed around the corner to await Jackson’s wrath.

  “Goddamn you, Jackson. My father is going to have your job for this.”

  “Your father is going be too busy covering his own ass, you s
tupid little shit. Now, do what I told you.”

  Jackson dropped a pair of handcuffs into Ray's hands. "Put those on. You've been here before. You know how they work."

  “Asshole, you’re gonna pay for this.” Ray snapped the cuffs over his wrists.

  “Okay officer, I’m going to holster now.” Jack put the pistol back in the holster and zipped up the chest pack. “Dusty, Hoover, come.” Dusty, figuring the game was over, sniffled and then wandered back to Jack’s side. Hoover growled and backed up. Jack patted his side as the dog walked around the end of the trailer to sit next to Dusty.

  Ray decided it was safe to get up and in the process reached for his gun, even with his hands cuffed. Jackson expected the move, or something like it, and kicked his legs out from under him then dropped a knee into his stomach taking his wind. While Ray struggled for breath, Jackson pulled the .357 magnum from Ray’s holster, rolled him over and pulled a little Remington .38 from his waistband. “Stupid kid. Think you’re such a badass. Too damn stupid to realize you’re nothing but a punk.”

  Jackson turned and waved toward the boarded up Shell station across the street. A man not in uniform, but with a badge around his neck came across the street, rifle in hand.

  “Take this piece of shit and lock him up, then send someone out and drag his old man in, I’m done playing these games.”

  “Right Boss.” He grabbed the still struggling boy, slammed him against the brick wall, put a knee on his back and removed the cuffs just long enough to pull them down and fasten them behind his back.

  “Mister, I know things are miserable all over, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to let his town go to hell. This isn’t the first time that little shit has played this game. The last time he was smart enough to pick on someone who’d been in town overnight and might have actually had a chance to steal something. His father got his friends together, and because it was everyone against the traveler and those boys claimed to witness the theft, I had to run him out of town. We took his only gun and sent him on his way. I’m afraid I may have gotten him killed… but I sure hope not. When I got the word you’d come into town, I figured I’d better keep an eye on that little shit, and sure enough.”