by Bruno Miller
Allie was reading her book by a small lamp on the table between the beds. Gunner had found himself a spot next to her on the large bed and was sprawled out and snoring loudly.
Ben swung his legs over the side of the bed and rubbed his face for a second before he got up. He needed to get moving if he was going to take advantage of the amenities here before he went over to see Vince at his garage.
Just then there was a soft knock at the door. Gunner’s head jolted upright, and he let out a sharp bark. Startled at Gunner’s sudden outburst, Allie put her book down and sat up. Ben squinted as he focused through the peephole in the door. It was a young woman.
“It must be the vet student.” Ben took the safety chain off the door and opened it slowly.
“Hi, I’m Reese.” She stuck out her hand. “Vince sent me over to look at your dog if you want.”
Ben shook her hand and stepped back to allow her easy access to the room. “Yes, please come on in. I’m Ben. That’s Allie and my son, Joel.”
The kids waved from where they were. Before Ben could introduce her to Gunner, the dog let out a whine, followed by a noise somewhere between a bark and a howl, as he sniffed in Reese’s direction.
“Oh, settle down, boy.” Allie rubbed his head in an effort to calm him.
“And that would be Gunner,” Joel said.
Reese made her way to the bed and put her bag on the floor. She sat on the edge and let Gunner get familiar with her. He quickly warmed up to her and was wagging his tail in no time as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a treat. Gunner crunched loudly on the dry biscuit and then sniffed the bed for any pieces that might have fallen.
“So you’re a veterinarian?” Ben asked.
“Well, I would have been next year. I’m a student at Cornell.” She paused. “Was a student. Anyway, I’m the closest thing to a vet around here.”
Ben smiled. “That’s more than good enough for me!”
Reese began to unwrap the bandage on Gunner’s leg as Allie tried to keep him calm and still. “What happened?”
“He was trying to protect me last night and got into a fight with a wolf,” Allie answered.
“Oh my. A wolf, huh? What a brave boy you are!” Reese fawned over Gunner and rubbed him while she inspected the wound on his leg.
“We cleaned it and put some antiseptic gel on it before we wrapped it up. He was doing pretty well until we had to walk a few miles.” Allie continually rubbed Gunner’s head now.
“Well, it’s a little swollen, but otherwise I’d say just keep doing what you’re doing and it should heal up just fine. I don’t see any infection and there are no broken bones. I can give him something for the pain. Just try to keep him off of it for a couple days if you can.” She began going through her bag and pulled out fresh bandages and a few other things.
Ben glanced at his watch. “Well, if you guys have this handled and you don’t mind, I’m going to get cleaned up before I run out of time.”
“Oh, no problem. Go ahead. I can take care of this. Nice to meet you, Ben.”
“Nice to meet you, too, Reese. And thanks for coming out tonight and having a look at Gunner.”
“Glad to help out,” she said.
Ben grabbed his bag and headed into the bathroom.
He was about to pull out his headlamp for light but stopped himself and tried the light switch. The bathroom filled with a pale yellow light and Ben got a good look at himself for the first time in a while.
He stared at his reflection in the mirror for a moment as he rubbed at the gray hairs taking over his beard. He reached over and turned the water on in the shower and was surprised to see it pour out of the showerhead. He half-expected it not to work, but sure enough, there was soon a stream of warm water splashing off the tiles.
Ben enjoyed the shower thoroughly and was careful not to spend too much time in there. He could have easily stood under the warm, clean running water for much longer, but part of him felt a little guilty about using more than his share of resources.
What they had going on here was impressive, and it was refreshing in and of itself that they were doing so well in this little pocket. It also gave him hope for the future. There were bound to be more places like this where the better qualities of human nature had prevailed. Not everyone had regressed into a state of chaos and malevolence.
Reese had gone and Gunner’s leg had a fresh white bandage on it by the time Ben came out of the bathroom. The TV was on the floor, and in its place was one of the small gas-fired camp stoves. There was already a pot of water boiling, and Allie had a packet of dehydrated food in her hand.
“Don’t worry. I opened the window,” Joel said.
Ben was about to ask that very question after he saw the stove going. He really needed to start giving the kids more credit when it came to being responsible.
“I wasn’t worried. You’re a smart kid.” He smiled. “Thanks for getting dinner started, but I don’t want to keep Vince waiting. I’ll have to eat when I get back.” Ben hated to run out. It was late and he was starving, but he didn’t want to come off as ungrateful for Vince’s hospitality by making him wait around any more than he already had. He was also anxious to hear the information Vince had been so reluctant to share in front of the kids.
He grabbed a Clif Bar from his bag to stave off the hunger pains in his stomach and put his headlamp on. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Make sure you keep the door locked.”
“Got it,” Joel replied.
Chapter Six
Ben headed out across the parking lot and looked up and down the street. There weren’t any people out and about, but he did notice a few windows with the faint glow of lights inside. Everyone was probably enjoying the last few minutes of electricity.
As he ate the Clif Bar, he wondered if all the remaining houses had water as well. From what he’d seen so far, he wouldn’t be surprised. Even the streets were clean here compared to what they had seen in their travels. They were completely absent of any abandoned or wrecked vehicles. And any structures that had burned down inside the wall had been cleaned up and the debris pushed into neat piles out of the way.
Ben took his headlamp off and stuffed it into his back pocket. The moon was bright enough to light the way across the street to the service station. It was a small white building with a sign out front that read Major’s Auto Repair. There were a couple of gas pumps out front and a four-bay garage on the side of a small storefront. One of the large overhead garage doors was open, and he could see a faint light coming from inside the building.
“Hello. Vince, you in here?” Ben called while he knocked on the frame of the open door.
“Back here,” a voice answered.
Ben followed the light back to an office, where he found Vince sitting at a desk.
“Have a seat. Relax.” Vince motioned to the chair that sat opposite his desk in the cramped room. The old lounge chair showed its age with stuffing poking out through a few cracks in the dried and worn leather upholstery. But it was comfortable and it felt good to sit. The walls in the office were lined with shelves that were filled with books and automotive manuals adding to the overall crowded feeling of the space.
“Nice little business you got here,” Ben commented.
“It was.” Vince snorted and slid something across the desk at Ben. It was a replacement fuel pump for the Blazer.
“You found one!” Ben said.
“Yep. The van out back had a good one in it. That should work without any trouble in a ’72 Blazer. We can slip out to your truck in the morning and get it swapped in no time. I’m sure you’re anxious to get back on the road.”
“As much as we appreciate your hospitality here, we really do need to keep moving. We’re not nearly as far along as I’d hoped we’d be by now. Of course, we’ve had our share of setbacks since we started out over a week ago. Otherwise, Vince, I’d be very tempted to spend a day here and recharge. You guys have a good thing going here. You’ve really done a
nice job of keeping things together.” Ben played with the fuel pump in his hand.
He was eager to get as much information from Vince as he could, but he didn’t want to seem pushy.
“Well, it hasn’t been easy. That’s for sure. I can’t take all the credit, though. We’ve always been a tight-knit community. But to be honest, the first few days after the bombs, it was total chaos around here. Of course, I imagine it was in most places.”
“From what we’ve seen, it still is.” Ben shook his head.
“That bad, huh?” Vince paused and seemed to look past Ben for a moment. Then he opened a drawer in the desk and pulled out two small glasses and a bottle of whiskey.
Before Ben could object, he noticed the expression on Vince’s face had changed. His brow was wrinkled with a look of concern and sincerity. He poured a healthy amount into each glass and slid one across the rough wooden surface of the desk toward Ben.
Vince held up his glass. “To Maryland,” he said.
The last thing Ben wanted was a shot of whiskey on an empty stomach, but he felt obliged. After all, the guy had really come through for them in a big way. The least Ben could do was join him in a drink. One soldier to another.
Ben raised his glass. “Don’t forget Pittsburgh.” He followed Vince’s lead and downed the drink. The warm liquid washed over his tongue and burned his throat as he swallowed the generous portion in a single gulp.
Vince looked at Ben. “About Pittsburgh.” He stopped and shook his head, looking away and then back at Ben. “I don’t know if it’s true or not, but I’ve heard Pittsburgh is gone. I didn’t want to say anything in front of the kids.”
“What do you mean ‘gone’?” Ben asked.
“I’m not sure what you’ve heard, so stop me if this is nothing new. But North Korea and Syria were behind the attacks. It was a combined effort, with Syria running interference from the inside. They installed a virus into the National Missile Defense System while the North Koreans launched ICBMs from offshore locations on both coasts. Their intentions were high-altitude detonations all over the U.S. We did manage to launch a counterstrike, but our systems went down before we confirmed any detonations. I can only imagine the North Koreans and unfortunately many of their neighboring countries are probably in worse shape than we are. I don’t know if any other countries got in on the action, but I find it hard to believe they didn’t. There were rumors of a possible Russian attack while our defenses are down. But I think that’s more speculation than fact, although it would make sense now that we’ve bombed each other back to the Stone Age.”
“So far that goes along with what we’ve heard, all except the counterattack and the Russian involvement,” Ben said.
“That’s pretty much what I know, except…” Vince paused and filled the glasses again. “Except not all of the nukes detonated like they were supposed to.”
He didn’t wait for Ben to join him this time and downed the glass of amber liquid quickly before continuing. “Some of them went off at lower altitudes. I hear some places are completely wiped off the map. Places like Pittsburgh.”
Ben swirled the liquor around in the glass as he held it in his hand. He was trying to come to terms with the information Vince had just dumped in his lap and process how this was going to affect them. His first thought was of Allie and how this most likely meant that she had also lost her dad. This would devastate her. Now he felt like he needed the drink and willingly swallowed the contents of his glass.
Vince shrugged. “It might not be as bad as they say. Keep in mind, this information is coming from a bunch of old farts like me who play with ham radios for fun. You know as well as I do what happens to information after it’s been passed down the line for a while. It tends to become exaggerated and distorted. There hasn’t been any official broadcast that I know of. On top of all that, the incoming signals on the radio have been sporadic at best, with heavy interference.”
“Were any other cities hit like that? Like Pittsburgh?” Ben winced as the alcohol burned his throat.
“I heard San Francisco, Houston, Atlanta, and D.C. were all hit pretty hard. The National Guard and FEMA set up camps in some of the bigger cities, but they’re overwhelmed and can’t handle the number of people demanding supplies. Also heard a few of the units have pulled out and it’s every man for himself in some places. The government is in full-blown damage control at this point. I wouldn’t expect a return to order anytime soon.”
“Yeah, we saw a convoy headed to Denver. I picked up on a little radio chatter, but they were keeping it to a minimum. Wait. Did you say D.C.?” Ben leaned forward and put his glass on the desk.
“Yeah, is that near where you’re headed in Maryland?” Vince went to pour them another round of drinks, but Ben quickly covered his glass with his hand and stopped him.
His head was already spinning, although he wasn’t sure if it was from the whiskey on an empty stomach or from the new information he was getting and the horrible truth he knew about Allie’s dad and the realization he was going to have to share that with her sooner rather than later.
Chapter Seven
Ben forced himself to reply.
“No. My kids are a few hours from there. But we have to go pretty close to D.C. to get to where they are in Maryland.” Ben hadn’t been looking forward to getting through the Baltimore-D.C. area as it was. Now he wondered if they should even try. If they couldn’t get through, they’d have to go around the Chesapeake Bay to the north or south. And that would add at least another day to their trip.
“Hey, what time is it?” Vince asked.
Ben was caught off guard by the odd question and took a second to answer. “Ah… About a quarter after nine.”
“Oh, well, I guess everybody got a few extra minutes tonight. Come on. Walk with me. I’ll show you my power system.” Vince got up from his desk and headed out into the workshop.
Ben followed as he led them through the garage bay to a steel door in the back. He watched as Vince unlocked the heavy door with a key from his pocket.
Once inside the room, he flipped a switch. An old fluorescent ceiling fixture flickered to life, revealing what must have been no less than a couple hundred car batteries. They were all neatly stacked on wooden shelving that ran from the floor to the ceiling, all the way around the room. In the far corner was a series of six panel boxes linked together by steel conduit. The last panel box in the series had a large black cable that ran out through the concrete wall.
“Watch your step,” Vince cautioned as he pulled down a gas lantern that was hanging on a nail by the door. He got the lantern primed up and lit the wick, playing with it until he was satisfied with the way it was burning.
“Here you go. We’re going to need that in just a second.” He then sauntered over to the last panel box and opened the cover. He threw a few switches and the ceiling light quickly faded until the fluorescent tubes were dark once more.
The only light in the room now was coming from the lantern in Ben’s hand.
“I have them all hooked to solar panels on the roof. Most days, I can charge the batteries enough to give us a few hours of modern conveniences at night. I only turn it on for a couple hours, though, so we have a little power left in reserve for emergencies.”
“This is quite a system you’ve got here.” Ben looked around the room as he held the lamp up in the air. He was impressed with the mini power grid and, for a few seconds, forgot about the bad news.
“Thanks. It ain’t pretty, but it works. Plus, I think it helps keep everybody sane around here. A few creature comforts and a hot shower make all the difference.” Vince smiled.
“It’s a good motivator. That’s for sure,” Ben agreed as they stepped out of the room and Vince locked the door behind them.
“I won’t keep you much longer. I know you’re tired. I just wanted to show you one more thing before you head back.” Vince took the lamp from Ben and led the way once more through the garage bays, past the little office where th
ey had talked earlier.
They stopped at another locked door. This one opened into the front section of the building housing the store. Vince led the way in, and as the lamplight carved into the shadows, sparsely loaded shelves came into view.
“I don’t know how you guys are fixed on supplies, but I have a pretty good selection of stuff in here.” Ben’s eyes were immediately drawn to a large bag of rice and a small carton of canned dog food.
“Of course, we don’t take cash or credit,” Vince joked.
Ben smiled back. “I might have a few things you’d be interested in, too.”
“Well, then tomorrow morning, after we get your truck running, you can follow me back here and take a look around. It’ll give you guys a chance to top off your water and fill the truck with gas,” Vince offered.
“I really do appreciate it. I mean, everything you’ve done. It’s nice to know there are still good people out there. I guess we broke down in the right place,” Ben said.
“No problem,” Vince said. “We’ve got to stick together if any of us are going to make it.”
Ben tried to fight off a yawn as he looked around at the items on the shelves. A small pile of potatoes sat on the table. He nodded. “We’ll definitely come back and take a few things off your hands.”
“Good. Now go and get some rest. I’ll come get you bright and early.”
“Sounds good. I’ll see you then.” Ben was tired and anxious to get back, but now it was the bed that was calling him, not the food. He’d lost his appetite the moment he heard about Pittsburgh.
They shook hands and said good night.
Ben headed back across the street, his mind playing through the conversation he was going to have with Allie. He could imagine her reaction, and the thought of it all made him cringe.
He turned around, startled from his thoughts, when Vince closed the big steel rolldown garage door and locked up. The sound echoed down the dark, empty street. There were no more lights in the windows now and the hotel was quiet.