by Bruno Miller
Ben hoped and prayed he wasn’t making a huge mistake. But what choice did they have? They were running out of options. Even with the makeshift stretcher, it would be a slow-going and arduous last couple miles into town.
With any luck, the guy would still be alone. If things did go badly, Ben could most likely handle him one on one. Still, he wasn’t one to underestimate anyone’s capabilities, and he wasn’t about to start now.
He dropped his pack to the ground and laid the M24 across the top. He repositioned his concealed carry holster from his hip to the small of his back and pulled his T-shirt over it. As he stood there waiting, he thought back to Durango and the day this had all happened.
He thought about how he and Joel had gotten a ride to their house from Dale. In that moment, he wondered about old Dale and his rusty pickup. Ben hoped the man was able to find his family and get out of Durango. But even more so, Ben hoped they could get a ride from this guy in the station wagon. Would he even stop?
As the ancient Ford got closer, Ben saw that it was just the one guy they had spotted before. There was no going back now. He’d surely been seen by the driver now as there was nothing between them but an open stretch of asphalt. Ben waved his arms over his head in an attempt to signal the guy without seeming too aggressive.
The wagon slowed and stopped about 40 yards away on the other side of the road. The man stayed in the car and kept it running while he eyeballed Ben and the surrounding area. Finally, the door opened and the man stepped out. He remained on his side of the car as his gaze shifted from Ben to the woods and then back again.
“Hello,” Ben called out.
The man didn’t answer at first. Instead, he opened the rear passenger’s side door on his side of the car and pulled something out. Ben resisted the urge to draw his gun but his muscles tensed in anticipation of a conflict.
The man proceeded to walk around the front of the station wagon and Ben saw what he was carrying. Cradled in his hands was what looked like a 12-gauge pump shotgun. He held the gun loosely at his side and didn’t aim it at Ben.
Ben kept his arms at his sides, making sure to keep his right hand a little closer to the side and center of his back. It was as close to the Glock as he dared move his hand without risking escalating the situation any further.
“What are you doing out here?” the man asked.
“I’m not looking for any trouble. We had some car issues a few miles back and we’re trying to get to Cloverdale to look for parts,” Ben explained.
The man walked closer, and all Ben could think was that he had made a terrible mistake trying to reason with the guy. They should have taken their chances with the stretcher and walked the rest of the way. The man now stood fewer than 10 feet away from him and was still holding the shotgun at his waist.
Suddenly, the man’s demeanor changed as he raised the shotgun and rested it over his shoulder, barrel toward the sky.
“Army, huh?” the man asked as he looked at Ben’s arm.
Ben looked down at his left arm and saw the man looking at his tattoo. The bottom half of the shield and lightning bolt with the word “ranger” protruded from under his sleeve.
“Yes, sir,” he replied.
The man smiled and pulled up the arm of his T-shirt to reveal a tattoo on his shoulder. It was old and faded but Ben could make out a screaming eagle with the words “101st airborne” written on a banner below it.
“Nam.” The old guy cleared his throat and extended his hand toward Ben. “Vincent, but my friends call me Vince, although I don’t seem to have many left these days,” he huffed.
Ben took his hand. “Ben Davis. Glad to meet you.”
“Sorry about all that. You can’t be too careful these days, you know.” Vince shuffled his shotgun to his left hand and let it hang by his side.
Ben nodded. “I know what you mean. No offense taken.”
Ben turned back to the woods and motioned for the kids to join him. Joel, Allie, and Gunner emerged from the vegetation one by one. “This is my son Joel and his friend Allie.”
Before Joel or Allie could make their way over to shake Vince’s hand, Gunner hobbled over to him faster than Ben had seen him move in a while. Gunner let out a few sharp barks and growls as he approached Vince, but his tail gave away his true intentions as it wagged with approval.
“And this is Gunner, who had a little run-in with a wolf the other night. Don’t let the attitude fool you—he’s friendly,” Ben said.
“A wolf?” Vince seemed surprised. “Don’t see too many of those around here, but I guess they’re out there.”
Gunner continued his approach to Vince and, after circling him a few times, finally settled down enough to receive a few scratches behind his ears from the old man.
Joel and Allie walked up and offered their hands to Vince, who took both in turn.
“Hi, I’m Joel.”
“And I’m Allie. Nice to meet you.”
“Pleasure to meet you all. So you had some car trouble, did you?” Vince looked back at Ben.
“Yeah. Fuel pump went up, I think. At least I hope it’s only the fuel pump. We hid the truck a few miles back in the woods.”
“I was going to ask because I didn’t see anything new on the road. I travel this route almost daily, looking for parts and things. You wouldn’t believe some of the things you come across out here.”
“Oh, I believe you. We’ve seen it all since we left Colorado,” Ben remarked.
“Wow. Colorado. That’s a long haul. Where you headed?” Vince asked.
Joel spoke up. “Maryland to get my mom and brother and sister.”
“But first, Pittsburgh, to get my dad,” Allie added.
The smile left Vince’s face for a moment when Allie spoke, and he looked like he was going to say something to her but stopped and looked at Ben. “Well, that’s quite the trip. I think I can help you guys get back on your way. I run a garage in Cloverdale. Well, I used to. Nowadays I pretty much just scavenge what I can find and run a bit of a trading post. What kind of vehicle you drivin’?”
“My son’s ’72 Chevy Blazer,” Ben answered.
Vince looked at Joel. “Oh, nice. A classic. Of course, I guess they’re all classics now.” He chuckled to himself. “I have an old Chevy van with a blown transmission in the yard behind my shop. I believe the fuel pump off that ought to work in the Blazer.”
“We’re more than happy to pay you for your trouble,” Ben offered.
“No trouble. Let’s get you guys back to town so you can rest up and we’ll take a look at that van. I have a spot for you guys to use to get cleaned up and spend the night if you like. We can come get your Blazer in the morning if that’s all right with you. The highway is no place to be at night. We’ve been having problems with bandits out here and found it’s best to stay in town.” Vince began walking back to his station wagon.
Ben and the kids followed him, Gunner dragging behind once more.
“Come on, boy, just a little farther,” Joel promised.
“Yeah, I think it will be all right until morning.” Ben really didn’t want to leave the Blazer overnight, but it was hidden well, and if Vince was willing to help out, he wasn’t going to say no.
Ben was a decent mechanic and there wasn’t much he and Joel couldn’t fix, but if Vince was a trained mechanic, even better. What if it turned out to be more than a fuel pump? It would be nice to have an expert set of eyes take a look at it. Besides, if they were still traveling, it was already getting late in the day and was about the time they’d be stopping to make camp anyway. Vince hadn’t mentioned what type of accommodations he had for them, but it couldn’t be any worse than sleeping on the ground.
Joel and Allie helped Gunner onto the back seat while Vince moved a few things out of their way.
“Sorry about that. It’s a little junky back there. I wasn’t planning on any passengers today.” He moved a few car batteries off the seat and put them in the back with the rest. He must have had a do
zen batteries in the back along with a few other random parts that he had collected.
Joel and Allie loaded in their bags and weapons, then climbed in after Gunner and sat on the now-empty bench seat.
“I really can’t tell you how much we appreciate this,” Ben said.
“It’s no trouble really. I’m glad to help you guys out,” Vince reassured him. Once everyone was in the station wagon, he put the car in gear and pulled out. He picked up speed and surprised Ben with the old wagon’s quickness.
“She ain’t pretty, but she’s got it where it counts.” Vince laughed and sped up even more as the engine roared to life. “So Colorado, huh? You’ve seen a good bit of the country then, I guess. What’s it like out there? I haven’t ventured out farther than 10 or 15 miles from town in any direction since it all went down.”
“It’s pretty rough. People are desperate and willing to do anything. We’ve run into our share of bad guys out there,” Ben answered.
“Boy, that’s a shame. It’s really brought out the worst in some people. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised when we get to Cloverdale. We’ve managed to keep things pretty civil.”
“We?” Ben asked.
“Oh yeah, there’s quite a few of us gettin’ by in town. Those of us that survived the fires have combined our resources and are trying to keep things as normal as possible.”
“What do you mean by that? Survived the fires?” Ben asked.
“Well, when the EMPs hit, a lot of places burned down. It must have caused electrical surges and things went haywire,” Vince answered.
“Yeah. We’ve seen a lot of that,” Ben agreed.
“Well, most of the population died from that. At least in our town they did. At that hour of the morning, most folks were in bed. With no smoke alarms or smoke detectors in operation, a lot of people never woke up. And they were the lucky ones. We lost a lot of people from severe burns and smoke inhalation in the days that followed. There’s about 30 of us left.” Vince’s face was serious now, and Ben knew what he’d meant before about not having many friends left.
Ben saw the exit up ahead, and Vince began to slow down as he approached the curve of the ramp.
He grinned. “Almost home.”
Chapter Four
As they rounded the curve of the exit ramp, Ben saw what looked like a row of brand-new Cadillacs and Chevys lined up across the road. The cars extended off in both directions and formed a wall that curved back to connect to buildings on both sides of the road. The wall of cars created an impenetrable barrier and ran between the buildings that remained standing.
“You like it? Courtesy of the local car dealership. We’ve got about 10 acres inside the wall and a gate on both sides. Only way in or out, at least by car,” Vince said.
Ben nodded. “Impressive.”
It was a strange sight, for sure, to see the mostly pristine vehicles crudely lined up. There were even a few Corvettes in the mix, bumper to bumper with the Escalades and Suburbans. That was all they were really good for anymore. The EMPs had reduced the high-dollar cars and trucks to nothing more than a movable barricade.
A man with a rifle stood in the bed of a Dodge pickup truck. The truck was parked on the inside of the wall of cars at an entrance point on the road in. When the man saw the wagon coming, he jumped down and got in the Dodge and positioned himself behind a brand-new Suburban that still displayed its paperwork in the driver’s side window. He proceeded to push the shiny black SUV out of the way, making an opening for Vince to drive through.
Vince waved at the guy as they drove through. “That’s Bill. He and his wife and their little boy were a few of the lucky ones. They lost their house but made it out alive. They’ve moved into town here like the rest of us. Most folks have been sleeping in the local motel. I got the place hooked up with a power supply that we use sparingly for a few hours at night and when needed.”
“Welcome back, Major.” Bill gave a casual salute as he hung out of the window of the old Dodge pickup. As soon as they were inside the wall of cars, Bill drove around to the front of the Suburban and pushed it back into place with his truck, closing off the entrance.
“I guess you could say I’m the unofficial mayor in town.” Vince grinned. “And on that note, welcome to Cloverdale.”
Ben noticed on the way through the wall of cars that, on the outside, the cars were dented and scratched in a few places and some of them sported more than a couple bullet holes.
He looked at Vince. “You’ve been having a lot of trouble here from outsiders?”
“Yeah, but nothing we haven’t been able to handle so far. We all take turns standing watch, and so far, we’ve been able to stay one step ahead of them. In addition to people at the gates, we always have at least two others patrolling the wall perimeter 24-7. It makes for a busy watch schedule, but we manage. Not that we have a choice.”
As they drove farther into the town, Ben immediately noticed that most of the stores still had the windows intact and hadn’t been looted or robbed. He glanced back at the kids and saw they were looking out windows, probably as shocked as he was to see a semi-normal-looking streetscape. The only indicator that things weren’t as they should be was the missing people and the occasional burned-down structure.
“You guys have done a good job here. It almost looks normal,” Ben said.
“Thanks. It hasn’t been easy. I guess you’ve seen worse, huh?”
“A lot worse! Some places are completely destroyed. St. Louis is gone. We didn’t get that close, but there was no need to. The smoke was still rising when we passed.”
Vince’s expression changed to the same one he’d had before, when Allie had mentioned Pittsburgh.
He swung the old wagon into a motel parking lot and parked at the front office. “One of the guys here in town is a ham radio nut and he was able to save his equipment. He’s been able to get a little info here and there. The signals have been few and far between and mostly static. I can tell you what we know later, but right now, let’s get you guys settled for the night. I’m sure you’re exhausted.”
Ben picked up on the notion that Vince didn’t want to get into the details of what he knew in front of the kids. He took the hint and didn’t push him for any more information. There would be time to talk later. Right now, he was looking forward to the prospect of getting cleaned up and lying down on an actual bed tonight.
They all followed Vince’s lead and got out of the car with their gear.
“Are we going to stay here?” Allie’s eyes grew wide with excitement.
“That’s right. We’ve got a room with your name on it,” Vince answered.
Allie looked around at Ben and Joel with a smile on her face.
“I’ll be right back.” Vince disappeared through the door to the motel’s office and was back out in under a minute. He tossed a set of keys to Ben. “Room 117 is all yours. Everything in the room will work from seven to nine tonight, so take advantage while you can. Except the TV, of course. After that, we shut it down.”
“Even the water?” Allie bit her lip.
“Even the water. We have a natural spring in town not far from here and we managed to get the hotel’s plumbing tied in.” Vince gave her a smile, then turned to Ben. “Maybe after you get settled, come on over to the shop and see me. I’ll check and see if we can use the fuel pump off that van. I’m right across the street.” Vince pointed to a service station on the other side of the road from the motel.
“Thanks again,” Ben said.
“Yes, thank you so much!” Allie said.
“Thank you!” Joel repeated.
Vince started to get back in his car when he stopped. “Oh, I almost forgot. The Morgans’ daughter was going to college to be a veterinarian. She was home for the summer, visiting her folks, when it all went down. I’ll see if I can catch up with them and have her swing by and look at your dog. Maybe there’s something she can do for him.”
Ben shook his head in disbelief. “Wow! An
d at the risk of sounding like a broken record, thank you again!”
Ben and Vince shook hands. Then Vince hopped in the wagon and was gone. The three of them and Gunner stood there in the parking lot for a minute as they watched him drive across the street.
“Well, let’s check out the room!” Joel headed for the row of doors under the covered walkway. Ben and Allie were right behind him as he counted off the room numbers.
“115, 116, 117. This is us.” Joel stopped in front of the door. Ben handed him the keys and let him open it. He let Allie and Gunner in first, then followed them in.
Ben took another quick look up and down the street before he joined them inside the room.
Allie opened the curtains before anyone put their things down. The remaining light left in the evening flooded the room as it reflected off the dust particles in the air. The dim light cut through the otherwise dark room to reveal two double beds and a dresser with a TV on it. The room was dated and looked straight out of the ’70s, complete with red shag carpet and wood paneling. The air was stale and had a musty smell to it, but compared to their normal accommodations, it felt like a five-star resort.
Even Gunner seemed to come to life a little as he sniffed his way around the room.
“What time is it?” Allie asked.
Ben checked his watch. “It’s about a quarter to seven. You guys go ahead and use the bathroom first. I’m going to lie down for a minute.” It was the most comfortable mattress he had ever felt in his life—or at least it seemed that way right now.
And as the fluffy down pillow enveloped his head, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.
Chapter Five
“Dad. Wake up, Dad.” Ben opened his eyes to find Joel standing over him and shaking his arm. “Sorry to wake you but the bathroom is free now. I wanted to get you up before they turn the utilities off.”
“Yeah…thanks.” Ben sat up and stretched his arms out in front of him. He didn’t remember falling asleep. Looking down at his watch, he saw that it was nearly 8:00. The curtains were still drawn back but there was no longer any light coming in from outside.