by Bruno Miller
“Yeah, buddy, I do.” Ben tried to sound confident and hugged them both again.
“That’s what I told them. Casey can handle herself,” Jack added.
Ben, anxious to change the topic for the kids’ sake, stood up and introduced Allie and her mother to Jack and the kids.
“I’ve heard a lot about you guys. It’s nice to finally meet you.” Allie stooped down to greet the kids.
Bradley was shy and didn’t respond with anything more than a nod as he remained attached to Ben, but Emma reached out to shake her hand.
“Hi,” Emma said quietly.
Their handshake was interrupted by Sam, who joined everyone up on the porch, with Gunner right behind her. The dogs were covered in dust and dry grass from their escapades in the yard. Sam forced her snoot into Allie’s still-outstretched hand, and Emma smiled.
“I see you’re a jealous dog, too.” Allie looked at Emma and smiled before giving Sam a few good rubs on the head and the attention she demanded.
“Why don’t you guys grab your stuff and bring it in? I was about to make dinner.” Jack opened the door and was about to go in when the two dirty and panting dogs pushed past everyone and made their way in first.
“You should probably park out back by the garage. Just to be safe. I haven’t had any trouble, but a few of my neighbors have. I’ve been keeping everything inside since it happened.” Jack made eye contact with Ben in a way that made him think there was more to that story, but he didn’t want to get into it with the kids there.
Ben nodded. “Sounds good.”
They all walked out to the truck together to get their bags while Jack headed into the house ahead of them to get dinner started. Bradley and Emma stayed close to Ben and Joel and helped carry the gear inside. Ben set his bag down a couple feet inside the door and started back to the truck so he could pull it around to the outbuilding, but Bradley stopped him as he wrapped his arms around Ben’s waist.
“I knew you would come for us.” Bradley’s voice was muffled as he buried his face in his dad’s side.
Ben smiled and hugged him back. “It’s okay, buddy. We’re all here now.”
Bradley eventually released his father and wiped away a few tears as he stepped back.
Joel came over and put his hand on his brother’s shoulder. “It’ll be okay.”
Jack cleared his throat from across the room. “Why don’t you guys take Allie and her mom upstairs and let them get cleaned up? I’m sure you’re all tired. I have a couple spare rooms upstairs. Sandy, you and Allie can have one. Joel, you and your dad can share the other one. I was going to run the generator to make dinner, so you might as well make good use of it and get a shower if you want one.”
“Thank you. That would be wonderful.” Sandy’s eyes widened with excitement.
“No problem! Ben, I’ll meet you out back with the truck and we’ll see if we can’t make room for it inside the garage.” Jack headed for the back door out through the kitchen.
By the time Ben drove the Blazer around to the back side of the house, Jack had the large overhead garage door open and was hooking the tractor to the trailer hitch on the Jon boat. Ben was glad to see the old Jeep Scrambler that Jack used for hunting parked alongside the boat.
Ben put the Blazer into park and hurried over to help him get the boat hitched. Jack pulled the camouflaged duck boat out into the yard and parked it behind a couple trees off to the side of the property before driving the tractor back over to the outbuilding.
Ben already had the Blazer backed in where the boat had been and closed the large garage door behind Jack while he returned the tractor to its spot inside the building.
Looking around the garage, he could see not much had changed from the last time he’d been here. The shelves were still crowded with tools, boxes, and a bunch of other unidentifiable things stuffed in between—except around the Blazer, where the boat had been parked.
That area of shelving was filled with an assortment of duck decoys and hunting equipment. Over on the end, near a climbing tree stand Jack used for deer hunting, were a few large boxes marked MEAL, READY TO EAT/INDIVIDUAL. He was glad to see that Jack still had the MREs on hand, but he noticed Jack’s pickup was nowhere to be seen.
Ben watched as Jack stiffly climbed down off the tractor and headed his way. When had he gotten so old? It had been a few years since he’d seen Jack, but he wasn’t prepared to find him in this condition. He knew the man had been having some health issues but had no idea it had taken its toll on him in such a drastic way.
Ben couldn’t help but feel a little angry at his ex-wife for leaving the kids with Jack. Not a smart move, even under good circumstances, in his opinion. There was no point in wasting time thinking about that now, though. Thankfully, the kids were healthy and seemed to be in good spirits, all things considered.
He would never admit it to the kids, but the chances of Casey making it through this were slim to none.
If they were on a cruise ship, there was no telling what would become of them. The ship’s systems would have all suffered catastrophic failures. They’d be stranded and adrift on the ocean, trapped with hundreds—no, maybe a couple thousand—strangers all fighting over dwindling resources. It wouldn’t be pretty; that was for sure.
As Ben began to run through the possible scenarios in his mind, Jack fired up the generator.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Jack motioned for Ben to follow him outside and away from the noise of the generator. He led him through a smaller door in the side of the garage and locked it behind Ben before continuing on to the house.
“Can’t be too careful. People are starting to reach out farther and farther from town in search of food and water. Friends of mine that live a few miles closer in told me some people came around their place and made threats. He and his wife stopped by a couple days ago on their way out of town. They have some family in North Carolina they were going to try to get to. They offered to take us with them, but I had a feeling you’d be coming to get the kids. Besides, I’ve lived here my whole life. I’m not about to go anywhere.” Jack stopped walking when he reached a small garden halfway between the house and the outbuilding.
He pulled a pocket knife out and flicked it open before bending down with a grunt. He separated a few zucchini and yellow squash from a tangle of vines on the ground with a surprising amount of agility compared to the other tasks Ben had watched him struggle with since they’d arrived. The old man still had a little life left in him after all.
Jack pointed to a bucket that was hanging near a hand pump at the far end of the garden.
“Fill that up, would you? The water isn’t great, but it’s not bad after you boil it, and it’s the only reason these vegetables are growing.”
“We haven’t seen much rain since Colorado,” Ben said.
“Haven’t seen any here,” Jack quickly added.
“So I assume your plan is to take the kids back to Colorado?” Jack stood up, slowly juggling the fresh-cut vegetables and catching Ben off guard with his direct question.
“Yeah, that’s the plan. It’s the only place I’m confident I can provide for everyone on a sustainable basis.” Ben gave the pump handle a few cranks before the water started to trickle out. It wasn’t until it began to accumulate in the bottom of the bucket that he saw it had a brownish tint to it.
Jack exhaled loudly as he folded the knife and tucked it away in his pocket. He looked past Ben, out toward the horizon. “How bad is it out there?”
“It’s not good. You wouldn’t believe some of the things we’ve seen and been through trying to get here.”
“I can imagine.” Jack shook his head and started to make his way back to the house again.
“Colorado is the only place I know I can take care of the kids.” Ben paused for a second. He probably knew the answer to what he was about to suggest but decided to make the offer anyway. “I want you to come with us, Jack.”
The old man stopped shuffling
forward and turned around, looking out over the yard as he did.
“You see that magnolia tree over there? My wife and I planted it shortly after Casey was born.” He cleared his throat before continuing. “Carol’s ashes are spread around that tree.” Jack sighed.
Ben remembered flying out for the funeral when Casey’s mom passed away several years ago. It was about the same time they started having problems with the marriage.
“No, this is home. Anyway, someone’s got to be here if Casey makes it back,” Jack said with a finality that made it clear he wasn’t leaving.
Ben knew the possibilities of Casey ever returning were slim, but he didn’t have the heart to try to use that point to convince Jack to come with them. He already felt guilty enough taking the kids away and leaving him here all alone. It was useless to try to convince the old man otherwise, and he knew it.
Ben also knew that the best chance of survival for all of them was in Durango. He and Joel could provide food and clean water on a consistent basis back home with little effort.
“You’re not all going to fit in the Blazer, are you?” Jack asked.
“No, I don’t think so. We’re going to have to figure something out.”
“You’ll take the Jeep. I won’t take no for an answer.” Jack nodded toward the outbuilding.
“But what about you? I didn’t see your pickup anywhere. What if you need to go somewhere?”
“Me? Where do I need to go? The Smiths down the road are there if I need something. I wrecked the pickup a while back and didn’t bother replacing it. Casey wanted me to stop driving altogether and even got a service to come out twice a week to clean the house and check in on me. Can you believe that?” He rolled his eyes at Ben.
“You think the Jeep will make the trip?” From what he remembered, the Scrambler was pretty rough, and Jack only used it for hunting.
“I had it fixed up when I lost the pickup. It’s been my daily driver for a while now. Of course, Casey doesn’t know that.” Jack smiled as he made his way up to the rear deck and set the produce down by the grill.
Ben noticed a new, full soft top on the Jeep when he was in the garage but didn’t give it much thought. The Jeep was small, but it would work just fine and could easily haul two people, a dog, and some gear. It would also burn less gas than a bigger truck and a lot less gas than the Blazer would burn if it was pulling a camper.
Ben joined him on the deck and set the metal bucket down on the side burner as Jack lit the pilot light on the gas-fired grill. The little circle erupted with a whoosh of flames as they curled around the bottom of the bucket. The two men stepped back from the grill and watched.
“I can’t thank you enough, Jack, for taking care of the kids and offering the Jeep.” Ben reached out to shake his hand.
Jack surprised him with a firm grip this time as he looked him in the eye.
“You can thank me by resting here a couple days and then getting those kids back to Colorado safe and sound.”
Ben nodded. “That’s my plan.”
And if they had made it here, they could make it home.
* * *
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About the Author
Bruno Miller is the author of the Dark Road series. He’s a military vet who likes to spend his downtime hanging out with his wife and kids, or getting in some range time. He believes in being prepared for any situation.
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The Dark Road series:
Breakdown
Escape
Resistance
Fallout
Extraction