by Pete Thorsen
While walking on the highway his new wagon pulled very easy on the hard smooth surface and he had a lot of room left in it. He continued to look through all the vehicles and found miscellaneous items in several that he decided to take with. He was sure to look through every glove box and floor console and often found match books and cigarette lighters. He took all of these that he found. Now looking under the fronts seats he found more stuff than before.
He found several pairs of gloves and now wore a well fitting pair to prevent any blister trouble on his hands from the wagon handle. Gradually he was building up some supplies that he thought would be very useful for the trying times that were surely ahead. Having the backpack in the wagon made it much more comfortable carrying the rifle slung on his back. When the sun was low Cal again found a car to sleep in and he sure hoped the next night he would find something much more comfortable, which after just a few minutes on the car seat that something would be most anything.
Chapter Three
Waking just after the dawn, Cal was in no hurry to continue his trek south. Today he knew he would be in the city of Fort Collins and he assumed it was still burning at least to some extent. He also wondered where the people went that had been on the highway. He had noticed that the people he saw when he was walking seemed to be getting less and less. This seemed backwards to him as he would expect to see more refugees from the cities traveling on the highway to where they thought they might find salvation.
Cal had some breakfast and went to get his wagon which he had hidden off the road nearby. It was empty as all the stuff in the wagon he had put in the car with him over night. He found the wagon safe and sound and loaded up his supplies. He realized he needed to find some cooking pots both for cooking and to boil water to make it safe to drink as finding full water bottles was obviously only a short term solution. He thought he would have to go into some houses that were not totally burned up to find the cooking pots.
Also on his wish list were a tent and a sleeping bag. He would like a 22 rifle also to shoot a rabbit to cook as he had seen a few while walking on the highway. Supplies of any kind would be hard to find because most all buildings had at least partially burned down with all the stuff inside them also burnt up. If every house and every warehouse had burned down with everything inside them now gone, where was everyone going to get their food from?
It was going to be hard just for people to find decent shelter with most buildings burnt. He was starting to realize how many people were going to die in the times ahead even though many had likely died already from all the fires. It was probably a blessing that the Event had happened during the day when most people were not sleeping or the death toll would be much higher he thought. But then maybe it would have been better for many if they had died in their sleep instead of dying of starvation or thirst or freezing to death this coming winter.
Cal knew that he planned to survive and the highways of the nation were the best place to look for supplies he thought. There were untold numbers of semi trucks that were sitting waiting to be opened and they weren’t all burnt up as they had very little wiring in them. Then he thought of the railroads and realized many things shipped by rail and those rail cars had no wiring so they would be in pristine condition. That little fact might be overlooked by most people.
Cal started opening every vehicle he came to – locked or not. He used his steel fence post that he had retained this whole time to smash windows to open doors or to pry doors open or twist locks off. He could even pry open trunks with the long fence post. It wasn’t long and his wagon was getting full and he became very picky about what he kept from the vehicles he opened.
Then he transferred the back pack from the wagon back onto his back. He only put lighter items of food and other supplies in the back pack to make it easier to carry. He used cardboard from boxes in the trucks he opened to make sides for his wagon that were higher and found a tarp and several bungee cords to fasten things down.
One thing he found that he thought was valuable was a road atlas. He ripped out all the pages except for Colorado and each of the surrounding states. Using this map when he got to Fort Collins he turned east to pick up highway 85 to take south. He had noticed a rail road line on the map that followed that highway. That could be handy if he found a train full of goods. Also he thought bypassing Denver on the east side was the best bet.
Cal ended up bypassing much of the city of Fort Collins and that was a good thing because there was a lot of smoke still in the air and obviously many things were still burning. There were many people on the highway again and he started to carry his rifle instead of having it slung on his back.
The previous day he had found a baseball cap and sure was thankful to have it. In the worst smoky spots he wrapped his bandanna over his face but he didn’t think it helped at all. Late in the afternoon he watched for houses that were not totally burnt and checked out several to stay in but none were a good choice though he did find a couple of cooking pots. He instead found a covered cargo trailer that was mostly empty but had plenty of room for him and his wagon and he decided that would be the spot he slept in that overnight.
Chapter Four
The next day Cal continued his walk south but now he was on a smaller but still major highway. He did go through the very small town of Ault. He did not like being in any town now. Besides the smoke there were too many spots to be ambushed from. He left his rifle on his shoulder but made sure his pistol was free in his holster. He had done a lot of quick draw when in the Cowboy Action shoots so he was confident of his ability to draw and fire very quickly.
But he made it through the little town without mishap. And he might have got some information on the Event. He had talked briefly with a couple older guys and one was quite sure he knew exactly what caused the Event. He said it had happened at least once before in 1859.
This time might have been more severe but it was hard to tell because there wasn’t any electric wires back then except for the telegraph wires. He called it the Carrington Event and it started some fires and caused some batteries to burst back then also. It was caused by the sun sending a solar flare or coronal mass ejection out that hit the earth and likely effected everywhere on the earth. Whether that was it or not Cal didn’t know but the guy sounded like he knew quite a bit about it and was not just full of bull scat.
Cal continued south even though he had no destination in mind. He had started south from Cheyenne just to get away from the burning city and now he just kept going south. It was as good a direction as any he thought. He had no family as he was an orphan who never knew or had seen his parents that he remembered anyway. He had been raised in a few different foster homes. His foster parents had all been OK people and he thought that each of them had truly cared about the kids they took in.
But it was a fact that they were not his real parents and he admitted to himself that he had not been the best of children. But that was in the past and now he had no where to go and no one he cared about so he just best get on with trying to survive and that he thought was going to be a very difficult task in the times ahead. Cal thought to himself that the worst times would be the next month or two. People would be very desperate and not know what to do. He assumed after a month or so many or even most people that were alive right now would be dead from several causes. Some would die of starvation, some from thirst, some from dysentery from drinking bad water, some from accidents, and many from violence. He also guessed some would not be able to cope and commit suicide.
With many fewer people things would somewhat settle down. After awhile people would accept the new normal and learn how to survive. So he kinda thought now was the most dangerous time. But it was also the time of finding the most supplies before they were used up or taken. The trouble was there was no practical way for him to safely gather and haul much for supplies. Even now with this cart he knew he was a tempting target. Traveling well off the road would be the safest but much harder and he would find nothing off r
oad in the way of supplies (except wild game meat).
He knew that with no medical care available any wound could be fatal, even a simple small cut could get infected and kill him. He had found some varied medical supplies in some of the vehicles and two first aid kits in a couple different trucks so he did have a few simple things that would help if he got hurt.
What he was thinking about was an ideal situation where he would find a place to hole up that was not too far from a good salvaging spot on the highway. Somewhere with good water available and maybe a food transport truck within a couple or three miles. Then he could hole up while things sorted themselves out. He did realize that he would never find an ideal spot but he just might find some where that would workout for this purpose.
On this smaller highway there were houses and small businesses often found along the road. And people and Cal did not care for that. But it couldn’t be helped because if he wanted to go south it was this highway or the interstate that he had been on and that went right into Denver. So this was where he was going to stay. There were fields of crops on both sides of the road in most places along here. The land was quite flat and that made it easier to pull his wagon.
He continued to look in the vehicles he passed and did get a few more little things now and again. Then he came across a pickup and he hit the jackpot by finding a tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, and another backpack. The backpack was fairly full of stuff but he thought he would look through it later. He tied it all on the wagon with the tarp over the top and continued his journey. He really couldn’t figure out why the owner of the pickup would have left that gear behind, it made no sense but without being there at the time of the Event he would never know.
With the added gear he was very well set now and felt better about the future. In the afternoon Cal left the highway at an intersection and took a small road that paralleled the highway about a quarter mile to the side. This is where there were houses every so often. At least most of them had stopped smoking but none looked very good and some were not much more than foundations.
But Cal wasn’t really looking at the houses at all but at the out-buildings instead. Many of these smaller buildings were not ravaged by fire as likely they were not wired for electric service. When he saw no people at one place he walked up to check it out. There was part of the house standing and several out buildings including one large metal building that was destroyed by fire.
He looked in each of the still standing buildings and found one that he thought might be fine for the night. It had a wood floor which he swept out using a push broom from another shed. After putting his wagon inside he searched through each of the other sheds thoroughly and found a lot of stuff that would be quite useful in the times ahead but very little that he could take with him. He did take all the candles he found and a box of strike-anywhere matches. Then he went to check out what was still standing of the house.
After trying to search the house Cal decided it was just too dangerous to be in there so he gave up that idea. If he were in dire straits for supplies he would search it but right now it was not worth the risk. Instead he made himself some supper and after supper he looked through the loaded backpack he had got from the pickup that day. There were a few clothes that did not look like they would fit him but some clean socks that would. There was some freeze dried food, a backpacker’s stove with fuel, a good hunting knife and hatchet, a Katadyn water filter, a set of nested pots, a poncho, several fire starters, and a mix of a few other items.
This backpack was a way better one than what Cal had been carrying so he switched a few things around and would now carry the better pack. He rearranged the items so he would have stuff he really needed to survive in the pack on his back so if he lost the wagon load he would not have to start all over finding essentials again. Most of what was in the better pack stayed (except the too small clothes) and he put a few more things in it. He would hate to lose the tent and sleeping bag but not enough to fasten it to the pack and carry them all day. Plus he shouldn’t have to lose anything but it was best to be prepared. He went to bed and directly to sleep.
Chapter Five
Cal kept heading south; the Event had happened the Tuesday after Labor Day so winter would be coming soon enough. The farther south he was the warmer the winter would be so south it was for a month or so maybe. Throughout that day Cal checked cars and trucks along the highway. He found some ammo in a couple vehicles he couldn’t use but he did take it with and a pump shotgun with ammo in another. He removed the barrel from the shotgun so he could store it near the bottom of the wagon and decided at the first opportunity he would cut the barrel shorter. He found water and other drinks and more food items. And he walked which he hated.
Cal had never liked walking ever. As a kid he always had a bike and rode that, after he got older he had cars and a few cycles. It hurt him to realize that he would likely be walking for the rest of his life but that didn’t mean he had to like it. In the afternoon he walked through or at least the edge Greeley. Again there were too many people and too many places for ambush to suit him. He kept his head on a swivel the whole way walking in town always looking to try and see any trouble before it saw him.
The highway he was on bypassed most of the town and again he had no trouble though he heard shots in the distance a couple times. Twice he passed slower moving people that were on the highway. Two people had wheeled suitcases they were pulling and while that worked the suitcase wheels would not last long as they were not made for long distance use. He saw some people on bicycles but they were not on the highway so he paid little attention to them.
Once out of Greeley he started looking for a spot to hole up for the night. He found a shed again that looked like it would do fine and brought his wagon inside. He propped the door open and quickly ate something for supper and after the sun went down he crawled out the door and lay down next to some hedges near the shed door and waited.
It was a very short wait when two guys could be seen sneaking up to the door in the moonlight. Cal waited till they were next to each other and near the shed door before he shot both of them with his rifle. It was just like the Cowboy Action shoot except there were only two targets. He shot one and the other never even had a chance to start turning around before he fell also. Cal waited a half hour or more to see if anyone else showed up but apparently it was just the two of them.
He had been sure someone was following him and took a chance that they would wait until after dark before they attacked. It worked out this time in his favor. Both the dead men had pistols and one had a shotgun also. They did not have a lot of ammo on them but Cal went through their pockets and took everything he thought worthwhile. The guns and ammo went in the wagon for trade stock. After a quick decision Cal stayed in the shed that night without any more visitors. The next morning he was up and on the road early.
The day started exactly the same as everyday since the Event. Walk. Break into vehicles. Walk. Cal was in a bad mood everyday because he hated to walk. But he had to walk, hence the bad mood. Along about mid morning he heard some awful yelling and screaming. He did not know who was making all the racket but he had to admit they were certainly good at it.
The noisemaker was ahead of him and after a bit he could see a man that was obviously holding down a woman with his intention very plain. She was fighting him something fierce and making a heck of a lot of noise but it appeared to no avail as the man was way larger than the woman and would shortly get his way.
Cal thought it was no business of his and he should obviously walk past and was surprised when he heard his rifle go off without him even realizing that he had brought it up and aimed. But the shot was true into the man’s head and he fell onto the woman who was under him. He thought as long as he had wasted a bullet he might as well look and see if the man had anything useful on him. As the man was face down Cal checked the back pockets first then kicked the man over to check the front pockets. When he did so he saw that the woman’s shirt w
as ripped open exposing her breasts as she was struggling to get herself out from under the man. She said “A gentleman would certainly look the other way until a lady could cover herself.”
“Well I can tell you there are no gentlemen present and they will likely become extinct quite fast now days.”
The woman had wiggled free and pulled her shirt together and backed off a few steps. Cal continued searching the man’s pockets then unbuckled the man’s belt and retrieved the mulitool cased on the belt which he put on his own belt. Then put the man’s belt and the couple other items in the wagon, picked up the wagon handle, and started walking down the highway.
“Hey where are you going? You have to wait for me.”
“No I don’t have to wait for you and where I’m going is none of your concern.”
“You can’t just leave me here. You saved me. And now you’re responsible for me.”
“No I didn’t save you. I saved me from hearing all that caterwauling you were doing. It was incredibly irritating. Now you can go about your business while I go about mine.”
“You’re just going to leave me here with nothing?”
“Ah, now that you put it that way then. Yes I am.”
“I could be very valuable to you. I know a lot of stuff that could help you.”
“Why do I seriously doubt that?”
“I do know stuff. And I could be a big help to you. I can cook and I would be able to help you watch for bad guys. Just an extra set of eyes would help you a lot. Plus I know how to shoot. That would help you.”
“I can see how good you are at watching that’s why you had a man on top of you. As you saw I can shoot fine myself. With all your knowledge I would just get in your way. I wouldn’t want to hold you back so your best bet is to go your own way.”